"Why isn't she coming back! You said she'd be healed!" Anakin's voice rang out in the clearing. The Father looked up in agony as his Daughter faded away.

"I promised no such thing. Your friend's light energy was too much for the waning force of the Daughter. There is no hope for the galaxy. All is lost."

Anakin let out a wordless wail of grief, and Obi-Wan's heart thumped heavily in its cage. Not Ahsoka. Never Ahsoka. The bright, snippy padawan who took after her Master more and more each day. She couldn't be gone. But she was, and the galaxy would have to live with one less Light energy in it. Anakin's eyes darkened menacingly as he stood, out to find the monster that had killed his young charge.

Rex didn't know what exactly happened, only that the transmission with the generals and commander had glitched out, and when they came back it had apparently been days for them. All he knew was when their shuttle docked in the hangar, Skywalker seemed to have clouds of grief and rage surround him. All he knew was that General Kenobi looked saddened and resigned. All he knew was that there was a lack of fiery little togruta. According to Kenobi, there wasn't even a body. As soon as the knowledge of her death had reached his ears, he wanted to scream and strangle the life out of whatever had dared hurt his little vod'ika. Also according to Kenobi, his general had already done it. The captain now found himself standing outside of the barracks, where he would tell the loyal men what had happened to their little sister. He suspected they already knew something was amiss- gossip traveled fast aboard the venators. He took a deep breath before palming the door open. The hiss of the door alerted his men, and the looks on their faces told him everything he needed to know.

"Sir?" Tup, one of the newest vod'e, asked hesitantly. He sat on the bottom bunk, his hair still braided from earlier when the commander was practicing her "stylist skills". The vets all had disbelieving looks in their eyes- the commander was above it all, untouchable, even. Once again, he took a deep breath, before opening his mouth.

"She's not coming back." Even though his voice was low, it still carried around the room. It still cracked. Even though he wanted to burst into tears, he was the captain and ori'vod, and he had to hold it together for his brothers.

"H-how?" Echo leaned into Fives, who looked mutinous.

"Who."

"General Kenobi says that they were in a place called Mortis. There were force deities, and one was the deity of darkness. He took her and killed her." That wasn't exactly what he had said, but the facts were still the same. She was never going to go home. She was never going to put sand in the general's room again. She was never going to sit with them and siphon the nightmares away again. She was never going to hug them again. She was never going to do anything again.

"Why weren't any vod'e with them?" Jesse sunk back in his bunk, pulling his arms tight around himself.

"The generals were there."

"They aren't us. They aren't brothers," Fives snapped. He had never coped well with grief.

"They're Jedi. Something they couldn't do, we have no chance in even dreaming of doing," Rex was suddenly tired, feeling the strain of his muscles, and his tormented thoughts banging on the walls of his head.

"But she's the commander, she can't be de- gone, she can't be gone." He winced at the broken tones of the young trooper. But the clone was right, she was infallible, she was untouchable. She was supposed to outlive them all. They were fighting so that she could live a good life without war. What would happen now that their reason to fight was gone. Rex's thoughts were interrupted by Fives, who stormed out of the barracks. Echo looked up, and after a second followed. The former would punch his grief away until his next mission, the latter would drown himself in words and regs. Rex himself would suffocate in work, trying to keep her out of his mind. Of how he failed her. Later, Kix would threaten him if he didn't sleep. And even later, Kix made good on the threat, using a hypo to knock him out, dragging him to his room. Rex would dream about orange skin, and happy smiles. He would dream about commanders who are not there, and futures never to be. He would dream about a universe without a war, where his family could be happy. Until he woke up, and it was all gone.

About a year after her death, the 501st was on a relief mission to a planet Rex couldn't even bother remembering the name of. The brothers all sat around a fire with the general, and the only noise were kids screaming in laughter.

"You know, this place reminds me of Ahsoka," Skywalker had long come to terms with what happened, even as he still grieved and wished her back. Even as he called for her. At first, the captain didn't see it, until he took another good look around. The grass was the same color as her skin used to be. The rusty orange. And the children laughing reminded him of her joy.

"Yeah. I still miss her a bantha-ton, though," Fives spoke up.

"I think we all do." As Rex said this, they all swore a light warm breeze danced around them, carrying a song of laughter that sounded like Ahsoka. They smiled- she was still with them.