Kanan knew that things were pretty much perfect. The whole family was together again. He and Hera were making good progress in the process of adopting Ezra and Sabine and every day he felt closer and closer to his kids. Alex was becoming a fairly regular dinner guest, and the discussion of him moving in was becoming less theoretical and a lot more concrete, to everyone's excitement (but especially Zeb's.) And speaking of relationships moving forward… Well, he hadn't popped the question yet, but he and Hera were definitely discussing the possibility of getting married, to the point that he'd asked Sabine if she'd be willing to design a ring, which she had immediately jumped on the opportunity of. She'd not only designed but started to make the ring out of scrap metal she'd somehow found online from an airplane and the diamond from Kanan's mother's ring. It was turning out beautifully, and Kanan knew that Hera would love it.

So yes. Life really couldn't get any better than this.

…Then why couldn't Kanan relax? No one else seemed to be worried, and they were all enjoying just being together. Why couldn't he do the same? But something just didn't feel right-it was like he was missing or forgetting something, and the other shoe had yet to fall.

As it turned out, the other shoe finally fell on a Friday night right before Halloween. They were all in the living room together watching a movie, Kanan finally feeling at peace for once with Hera leaning against him on his right side and Ezra curled up on his left, Zeb and Alex taking the loveseat, too wrapped up in each other to notice Sabine playfully tossing the occasional piece of popcorn at them. Then suddenly their phones all chimed at once with a text alert. Kanan figured maybe it was a severe weather warning, frowning when he saw it was a group text for all of them from an unknown number.

"The hell?" he mutters to himself, opening the text and hoping it wasn't a virus. As it turned out, it was something even more chilling.

Come to my office at 8 am sharp tomorrow morning. I know you don't have anything scheduled so don't try to make excuses. -Dr. Tano.

"What the kriff is this?" Kanan hears Zeb muttering as he himself was trying to process what he'd just read.

"What the heck? How does she have my number-it's changed since we played the game!" Sabine cries.

"I didn't even have a phone," Ezra adds.

"And what does she mean by 'I know you don't have anything scheduled'?" Hera asks with a frown.

Kanan feels himself looking over at Zeb, and he could see something in his eyes that told him that he was thinking the same thing as him. All those times they'd thought they'd seen some stranger watching them, had felt eyes on the backs of their necks but had turned around to find no one there-they'd finally written it off as paranoia. But was it possible? Had Dr. Tano been spying on them, or having others spy on them for her? And if she had, why? What could she possibly want with them after all this time?

Hera seemed to be thinking exactly what he was because she asks out loud, "Why would she want us to come back?"

"I say we ignore her," Zeb grumbles. "After ignoring us all this time, let's give her a taste of her own medicine."

"I don't know…" Alex's brow was creased with a frown. "Maybe we should go. She might have some answers about the strange effects we've been having since the game-it might be worth hearing what she has to say…"

"But what if she's found out that we've found each other and she's mad and going to try to break us apart because of the agreements we signed?" Ezra asks in a trembling voice, and Kanan feels him pressing closer to his side.

"She can't do that!" Sabine cries. "The agreements only said the testing facility couldn't give us information, not that we couldn't find each other!"

"But I hacked their computers-"

"Well we're not going to admit to that! You used a library computer, they can't prove anything! Right, Dad?"

Kanan hadn't even thought about that being a possibility-it seemed unlikely that the facility would wait this long to contact them since Ezra's hacking had been over half a year ago, but maybe they hadn't discovered it or hadn't been able to get solid proof until now. He hoped not, and he didn't like how threatening the text sounded, but Alex had a point.

"Maybe it would be best to go and see what she wants," he says out loud. "We'll hear her out, but if she tries anything shady we're leaving, and she can't stop us."

"And if she does Lyst's fiance is a lawyer at a very well known firm, we're well protected," Alex adds.

Everyone seemed fairly satisfied with that, although none of them seemed terribly at their ease, least of all Ezra (or maybe it just felt that way to Kanan since he could feel all the fear and turmoil in Ezra's force signature.) He tried to remain as calm as he could for both their sakes, and he thought that Ezra was doing okay, but only a few minutes after he'd lain down to sleep he heard a timid knocking on his door.

"Who is it?" he calls, half asleep.

A few moments later a quiet voice answers, "D-Dad? Can I come in?"

Ezra? Kanan quickly flips on his lamp and sits up. "Yeah, kiddo, you can come in!"

The door creaks open and Ezra comes shuffling in, his slightly too-big pajamas making him look even smaller than he already was. He was fidgeting with the cuffs of his shirt, and even from this distance Kanan could feel the anxiety coming off of him in waves-definitely not good.

"Ezra, what's going on?" Kanan asks gently, more than ever needing to be calm for both of them.

"I… N-No, it's stupid," Ezra mumbles. "I shouldn't have bothered you, I'll just go-"

"What? Ezra no!" Kanan practically jumps out of bed in his hurry to keep him from running away. "Please tell me what's going on, I can tell you're upset!"

"That's the problem-I'm the only one who's upset about this!" Ezra's voice cracks as he wraps his arms tightly around himself. "No one else is really scared about tomorrow, but I am! I-I'm scared all of you are going to get taken away from me and I'll never see you again! And I don't know if no one really cares about that, or if I'm just weak for being afraid-"

Kanan, without even thinking about it, draws Ezra into his arms, hugging him as tightly as he dared. "Ezra, you are not weak," he says fiercely. "And of course we care-you think you're the only one who's scared about tomorrow?"

"Well… Yeah," Ezra mumbles. "I-I can feel how calm you are, it's obvious you're not scared!"

"I'm only calm because I'm trying really hard to be," Kanan answers, pulling Ezra closer. "Believe me, I am terrified by the idea of losing any of you. I just didn't want to make you even more worried-I'm the dad, I'm supposed to be the one being strong for you."

"...Being strong is nice," Ezra finally says. "But I feel better knowing I'm not alone in being scared, y'know?"

"In that case I'll try to be better about that," Kanan promises, finally letting just a bit of his fear out-not a lot, but hopefully just enough to show Ezra that he wasn't alone. "But I promise, even with feeling some fear, I won't let anything happen to our family, okay? Can you try to believe that for me?"

"I'll try," Ezra answers, finally relaxing into the hug.

Kanan stays with him, just holding him, until he could feel Ezra starting to drift off, and then he carefully leads him back to his room and tucks him into bed. Tomorrow would be fine. He would believe that, because he refused to let anyone or anything take his family away from him.

He was admittedly feeling a bit less confident as they all walked up to the testing facility the next morning-the grey building looked austere and cold, not a place with the promise of a fun adventure like it had been when he'd first come here. Now it felt more like walking into enemy territory, although he wasn't quite sure why. Dr. Tano wasn't exactly an enemy. ….Was she?

As they walk through the doors towards the receptionist desk Kanan internally flinches-he half expected to finally have security called on him this time, despite having been asked to come here. But when the receptionist sees them she merely gestures to the door next to her desk, saying, "Right through there, Dr. Tano is expecting you."
Whew. That was one hurdle down at least.

Kanan took the initiative and led the way through the door since everyone seemed a bit hesitant to go through. He hoped that he'd be able to remember the way to Dr. Tano's office, or that someone would be there to guide them. As it turned out, Dr. Tano herself was waiting for them just inside the door.

"Good, looks like you're all here," she says, giving their group a quick once over. "Follow me, please." Then, without waiting for any replies or questions, she turns on her heel and sets off briskly down the hallway, leaving the others no choice but to follow her. She finally stops in front of a frosted glass door with her name on it, unlocking the door and gesturing for everyone to step inside. Kanan felt a bit reluctant to do so, but they'd come this far, and he wanted answers, so he finally does, followed one by one by the others.

Dr. Tano remains silent until they're all inside and the door is closed behind them, and as she walks to her desk Kanan could palpably feel the tension in the room rising. He hoped that Dr. Tano would be the one to finally break it, but as it turned out, Sabine was the one to do it.

"Alright, you've got us all here-tell us what you want!" she demands as Dr. Tano takes a seat behind her desk. "I know you're mad we all found each other even though you were trying to keep us apart, but we haven't done anything wrong so we won't let you tear our family apart!"

"Tear you apart?" Dr. Tano repeats, blinking and looking… amused? "Why would I tear you apart when I've spent so much time making sure you all found each other?"

"...What?"

Kanan was sure he looked just as surprised as Sabine sounded-helping them find each other? What was Dr. Tano talking about?

"You certainly weren't helping us when you were having your staff threaten to kick us out for trying to find each other!" Zeb snaps.

"I am truly sorry about that," Dr. Tano answers, folding her hands on the desk. "But I think in just a minute you'll find out why it was necessary, if you'll give me the chance to explain."

"...All right." Zeb crosses his arms over his chest. "We're listening."

"First, let me start with a question." Dr. Tano looks around at all of them. "Have you experienced any changes since the game-changes you can't explain?"

Kanan stiffens. How could she know that? Unless...

"I'm not saying we have or haven't," he says, trying to keep his voice steady and emotionless. "But have you, or others who have played the game?"

"You mean like this?" Dr. Tano lifts a hand off her desk, and at the same time a mug that had been sitting on the desk also rises into the air.

"No way!" Ezra gasps. "You have the force too?"

"Yes," Dr. Tano answers, the mug floating back down to her desk. "And more than just that-something I'm sure you're familiar with, Hera." She looks pointedly at Hera's arms and then opens a pack of what Kanan was pretty sure were makeup wipes on her desk. She pulls one out, starting to wipe her face with it. As the makeup comes off, Kanan was shocked to see that she had not only the white markings of her avatar on her face, but that her skin had taken on an orangish tint-not just bad spray tan orange, but the orange of a Togruta.

"Dr. Tano!" Hera gasps, and Kanan could hear the fear in her voice. "W-What happened to you?"

"The game," Dr. Tano answers, not sounding the least bit afraid. If anything she actually sounded excited. "Haven't you figured that out yet? The game is behind all of this!"

"How could a game cause physical changes, or give someone powers?" Alex demands, and Kanan could see the way his hand was clenching tightly around Zeb's.

"I don't know." Dr. Tano shakes her head.

"You don't know?"

"I haven't a clue! I was just a programmer trying to make the most realistic game possible-I had no idea that I could tap into the force, or that the longer I spent in the game the more my powers would grow!"

"That's preposterous! There's no way that you happened to tap into the force by making a game-the force shouldn't even exist here!"

"But it does-you've seen it or yourself," Dr. Tano calmly answers. "Not just with me, but with Kanan and Ezra as well."

"But the force doesn't just go around changing people's bodies, turning 'em into video game characters!" Zeb protests.

"All life comes through the force-maybe it's decided to bring more forms of life here," Dr. Tano answers with a shrug. "Or maybe it's just helping us become our best selves."

"My best self is not a purple alien cat!" Zeb roars.

"Then why did you pick that form?" Dr. Tano presses. "Why that one, out of all the choices you could have made?"

"Because it was a game! Because I wanted to try something new in a world where that made sense! I didn't sign up to have my body altered without my permission!"

"So are you saying that we will eventually fully turn into our avatars?" Hera asks quietly.

"Well not as things stand right now, no," Dr. Tano answers, actually seeming put out that they weren't more excited about this. "As far as the experiment goes, I think you've gone as far as you will without spending more time in the game."

"Experiment?" Ezra repeats, eyes wide.

"You'd better start explaining what the hell is going on," Kanan says, every protective instinct in his body rising to the top.

"That's exactly why I called you here, if you'll ever let me explain," Dr. Tano huffs.

"Fine." Kanan crosses his arms over his chest. "We're listening."

"Thank you," Dr. Tano leans back in her chair. "Well, as I already explained, I discovered from testing the game that I could tap into the force, even after I left the game, and that the more time I spent in there the stronger my connection became. And it wasn't just the amount of time-I found that if I went through an experience in the game that provoked strong emotions-positive or negative-that would cause my connection to the force and the changes that were making me more like my avatar-like Ahsoka-to speed up exponentially. Of course I was thrilled! But then I had to wonder-was it just me, or was it possible for others as well? A few of my colleagues were willing to try and had similar results, but most were too cowardly, which is why we moved on to the public tests. The game was due for testing with the general public anyways since the plan is still to release the game for widespread use, and we wanted to see if the effects were limited to just those of us who had made the game or if it would affect the players as well.

"At first our tests were inconclusive-short stints in the game like most players would experience presented minimal results, if any. That's why we came up with the idea of the contest: forty-eight hours of real time gameplay, a lifetime of in-game time, with the most emotional storyline we could manage, guided by me of course, would gives us the most optimal results-"

"Wait." Ezra interrupts her, and Kanan could feel the beginnings of a very angry wave of energy coming off of him. "Most emotional storyline? With you 'guiding' it?"

"Yes," Dr. Tano answers complacently. "Your point being?"

"...You're the reason Kanan died in the game, aren't you?" Ezra's voice was a tense whisper. "It was your fault his controls stopped working and he couldn't jump to safety."

"I admit that was me." Dr. Tano bows her head. "But it was just in the interest of the experiment-"

"And then you let me save you but not him in the temple!" Ezra cries. "I could have saved him, couldn't I?"

"Well yes, but that's what I'm trying to explain-"

"You're a murderer!" Ezra shouts, and Kanan has to lunge forward to physically restrain him, even though he felt very much like punching her himself. "You killed him, and you let us mourn him when we could have saved him, you selfish bitch!"

"Well he wasn't actually dead," Dr. Tano scoffs. "If the experiment had continued we might have eventually brought him back as more than a force ghost. And, more importantly, I helped you all find each other afterwards! You had no one-none of you did-and I gave you all a family!"

"...How did you know that none of us had families?" Sabine asks suspiciously.

"I'll admit it, I did background checks on all of you." Dr. Tano leans back in her chair. "I chose people who didn't really have a lot of connections so-"

"So no one would notice if something happened to us because you decided to fucking play god?" Zeb scoffs.

"Because I of all people know what it's like to not have anyone!" Dr. Tano cries. "And I know just how important finding people to call family is for people like us! That's why I took steps to give you the best reunions possible: that emotional energy would help you become your best selves, the people you became in the game!"

"You couldn't have planned all of that-it's impossible!" Alex protests.

"Well I couldn't plan everything, but a little nudge here, a little nudge there-it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"So you were okay with letting Ezra starve and Sabine be abused just for the sake of your experiment?" Hera snaps.

"I wouldn't have let them ever really be hurt!" Dr. Tano answers defensively. "And it's not like you could have taken them in before you were certified to be foster parents, right? There timing was delicate-"

"Delicate my ass, you could have still done a sight more than you did, which was nothing," Zeb growls.

"What was your endgame with all of this anyways?" Kanan demands. "Did you think we'd let you turn us all into video game characters and then-what? We couldn't very well live normal lives after that! Did you think we'd all go form some Star Wars commune out in the woods or something?"

"...Yes? I-I know how much you all love that world-you love it as much as I do!" Dr. Tano answers, looking stunned. "This world is shit to people like us, why wouldn't you want to go live somewhere you'd be cared about by people who actually understand you? I picked all of you for a reason-I picked the perfect family! I-I picked you to be my family…"

"We would never be family with someone who manipulated us and changed our bodies without our consent!" Zeb growls.

"Or who murders our dad!" Sabine adds, eyes flashing.

"Or who lets our kids be abused for her own gain!" Hera snaps.

Kanan was just as angry as the rest of them, but deep down he actually felt a bit sorry for this desperate woman in front of him.

"I considered you a friend once, Ahsoka," he says softly. "Even family. But after all of this… I might be able to forgive you someday-"

"I won't," Ezra snaps.

"-but I could never trust you again," Kanan finishes. "I hope someday you'll find what you're looking for, but it won't be with us. Because family doesn't do to family what you've done to us."

"I could make you stay," Dr. Tano whispers, her head bowed, not meeting any of their eyes. "I could make you want to stay."

"You could," Kanan agrees, feeling somehow much less afraid than everyone else in the room. "But you'd know it wasn't real, and you know you'd never be truly happy living a lie like that."

"...Fine." Dr. Tano doesn't even look up, just waving a hand and making her door fly open. "Go. Just… go."

All the others seemed only too eager to leave, but Kanan lingers for a moment, feeling almost sad for this woman who had gotten so lost somewhere along the way that she'd come to confuse control and power with love-or maybe she'd never had the chance to experience what real love was like. He really hoped that somehow she'd find her way back. But he wasn't the person to help her do that, and he refused to let his entire family suffer for the sake of one person (the person who had abused and taken advantage of them all), so he finally turns around and walks out of her office, using the force to close the door behind him.