Chapter 99 - Home

Author's Note: There's only an epilogue left! :')

Also, we're starting to post another OC fic (in addition to the Ahsoka/OC fic, Mosaic) called Phantoms of Glory, where the OC, Ashla, is Anakin's childhood bestie on Tatooine. :D If you enjoyed this fic, you might enjoy those as well! ^-^

~ Amina Gila

Vizma is overjoyed to return to Lothal, if she's being honest. Coruscant is too crowded. Too busy. It's too bright, and there's too much noise. The Force there is too... there are very few plants and so much life compacted into a very small space. She doesn't like cities.

Lothal is strong in the Force, and it's so very Light. It's so grassy, and it's beautiful. This isn't where her adventures began, but in many ways, it feels like it was.

The Ghost Crew is waiting when their ship touches down. Her parents are here, and she couldn't be happier to have them together again. It's been so long that they were apart. She missed this. Anastasia is here, too, and they'll finally be returning to Mandalore after this. They're going back home.

Though she can't deny being sad that the Ghost crew won't be with them to Mandalore, at least not right away. Sabine wants to come back, but Ezra wants to make sure Lothal is settled down before he goes, and he'll probably never want to permanently leave. She understands that, and she doesn't, either.

"I made a new lightsaber," Vizma announces cheerfully.

"That's great!" Ezra exclaims, "Can I see it?"

"See it or see it?" she teases, pulling the hilt from her belt and spinning it around.

"Double-bladed?" Kanan asks, eyeing it.

"I used my... grandmother's crystals," she replies, activating it, purple blades hissing to life out of both ends.

"Haven't heard you call her that before," Hera comments.

"I think the fact that she's not strutting around as an Inquisitor has helped with that."

"Yeah, I agree," Zeb mutters.

"I didn't expect it to be purple," Sabine comments.

"Do you know how to use it?" Kanan asks.

"Learning," she replies, "We can spar some time." She dramatically spins the lightsaber again for good measure before slipping it away.

"Any time," Ezra offers.

"What's the situation here now?" her father inquires.

"Governor Pryce resigned, and Azadi is in charge again," Kanan replies. "Most of the Imperial troops have left the system."

Marr nods. "That's good to hear."

"Are you planning to stay on Lothal?" Vizma wonders, "Forever?"

"For now, at least," Ezra replies.

"You know, forever is a long time," Sabine points out.

Vizma rolls her eyes. "Yeah, but for now, I'm going back to Mandalore."

She nods. "I'll come there for a little when things settle down."

"I'll be there, too," Ezra promises, "I wanna meet your family."

"You'll all be welcome there. At least in our area," her father replies, then pauses, "Whatever happened to Kallus?"

"He's still around," Zeb replies, "Staying on Lothal, too."

"What do you think of him?" Vizma wonders. He still helped massacre an entire people, even if he did have a change of heart, and she doesn't really know what to think of that. Even Anakin never did anything like that. Not by choice.

"I don't know yet," Hera admits, "He knows he made many mistakes under the Empire, and he wants to make up for it. He's apparently been a Fulcrum agent for a long time."

Her father nods. "I suppose that is all any of us can do now. We need to focus on rebuilding. Are you planning to go back to Ryloth?"

"Perhaps at some point," she says, "I heard they did well there."

"Your father is the new Senator," he comments.

She half-smiles. "He's been the main leader of Ryloth for decades now. Actually being so in name hardly changes anything."

"True enough," he admits.

"Once things 'settle down'," Zeb interjects, "Maybe I'll go to Lira San."

"Now that, I want to see!" Vizma exclaims excitedly, "You literally went through an imploded star cluster. I want to see."

"One wrong move, and I don't think there'll be much to see," her father says dryly.

"They did it once. I'm sure they can do it again."

"It's charted out now," agrees Hera, "Going through a second time will be easier."

"How long will you be staying here?" Kanan asks.

"A couple days," her father answers, "We need to stop by on Onderon, and then, I'd like to go back to Mandalore soon. It's... been a long time."

"I can understand that," Kanan admits. "It's your home. You can come back here any time."

"Hey, we'll be going there before you know it," Sabine reminds. She's trying to sound... light, but Vizma can feel that it's at least partly a ruse. Her mother is dead, she'll never see her again, and she hasn't forgotten that. She'll recover in time, but... Probably not until a while after meeting her father and brother again.

"Then we'll see how well you can use your new lightsaber," Ezra chirps.

"You can see that right now," Vizma shoots back, unclipping it again. They don't have anything else urgent to do, so what does it hurt? She's missed being with all of them, and she can only be grateful they can be together now, without fear of being torn apart.

**w**

Ahsoka never thought she would see Lux again, least of all like this, but she is. Saw Gerrera died fighting the Empire in an effort to take down Sidious. Steela survived, and now, she and Lux are getting married.

Ahsoka has long, long since let go of Lux, but she still doesn't know how she feels about it.

Once, her and Theseus were... well, they had a sort of thing between them, that was mostly unspoken, but it fell apart after Mortis. Then... there was so many reasons, and even if they had time, Ahsoka doubts she would have chosen that. It's the same with Lux. She's a Jedi, and she can't ever imagine living with someone forever except Anakin, and that's completely different.

It's probably as awkward for Lux as it is for her. He and Marr knew each other from afterwards, also, which makes her feel slightly more comfortable.

"I'm glad you could come," Lux tells her, "I'm actually glad you're still alive. I was afraid you were gone. I haven't forgotten what you did for Onderon."

"I remember," Ahsoka replies, and she remembers a lot about that, truthfully. Lux had been... very important to her, but she had to let him go eventually.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Marr tells him, "I knew you and Saw were friends."

"Steela is taking it hard," Lux replies, glancing towards some of the other gathered people, presumably where Steela is, "We knew the risks, and I can only be grateful we still have something personal to look forwards to."

To the side, Ahsoka sees Vizma talking to another girl. Jyn, her name was – apparently, Saw and Steela adopted her when her father was forced to work on the Death Star. Luckily for Jyn, her father – Galen Erso – is still alive. She got her first father back after losing the second. "I'm happy for you," Ahsoka tells him, "Even if I don't fully understand this commitment."

"If you're not going to get married, you don't need to," Marr points out, nudging her. "It's difficult, but it's worth it if you want to try."

"Which I don't." She doesn't want that. She doesn't want to risk getting herself attached solely to one person so they can make a mistake like the Council did and drag her down with it. Not again. She doesn't really know how to be close to people anymore. It's something all of them are struggling with.

Anakin certainly is, and so is Obi-Wan.

"You helped free the galaxy," Lux adds, "Thank you."

"Of course," Ahsoka replies, "I was only trying to help."

"I know you were," Lux points out, "But someone had to do it, and if not for you, the galaxy would still be enslaved."

"It was really here on Onderon that the idea of a rebellion came," Ahsoka adds, "Anakin taught me everything I would need to know about it, so I could teach it to you. I never realized how much that could help."

"None of us did," Marr agrees.

For a moment, she can only marvel at how clearly everything played out. Sidious's destruction was his own doing. It was the Clone Wars that helped so clearly to lay the network for the Rebellion. It was Anakin who saved them all because the Force brought him to where he needed to be, though Ahsoka still doesn't know what to think about him Falling. It's still hard to accept. She doubts that will ever change. He raised her, after all, and it's difficult to imagine him being anything other than the kind, compassionate master she remembers him as, who he very much still is now.

**w**

"I can't believe we're here," Vizma murmurs, as they stand outside the house that was once their own home. They're finally back on Mandalore together again – except Anastasia who's gone on some bounty hunter mission Marr didn't ask for details on – and this time, it's permanent. He'll leave from time to time, of course, but he can finally call this place home again.

"It's hard to believe," Marr agrees, past the emotion clawing at him, as he stands there looking at the building. He spent so much of his life here. Vizma grew up here, but they haven't been back to this area since before everything happened. It was too dangerous with the Empire in control.

Being here brings back a lot of things. Many of the years here he spent mourning all that he lost, and he instinctively reaches for the bonds with Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan, burning brightly in his mind, just to remind himself that they're still out there.

They'll be coming for a visit once they get everything back under control on Coruscant. There's a vote in the Senate right now for the first Chancellor of the New Republic, and he suspects that Mon Mothma might be chosen. Whoever it is, they'll have a lot to do in straightening out in the galaxy. Anakin took care of the worst of it, but he doesn't want to keep the position forever. It's not really his area of expertise either, even if he was doing a good job – certainly a much better job than any of the last Chancellors ever did.

"It has been a long time," Bo agrees, as they step inside. Echoes of their presences still cling to the walls – of a much younger Vizma, her when her Force-presence constantly vibrated with a bouncing ball of energy. It's how all children feel, after all, until they start to grow a little older.

It's far more suppressed, but in some areas, there's still faint traces of Satine's presence, and from the look on Vizma's face, Marr can tell she senses it, too.

"It's like she was just here," Vizma murmurs, looking around. No one's been here, so the Force signature was never overridden.

"Yes," Marr agrees quietly, "It will fade now that we're back, but..."

"What?" Bo asks.

"Satine," he explains. "I can still... feel her."

Bo nods – she's long accustomed to such strange comments. "She died for Mandalore. Her sacrifice was not in vain. We avenged her." It's true, but it doesn't change the cost of it all – how so many have died for the galaxy to win freedom. He can only hope it will last this time.

"We'll have to make room for guests," Marr comments, looking around.

"I don't mind sharing my room," Vizma chirps.

"Of course, you don't," Marr replies, smiling fondly.

"Just how many 'guests' are you expecting?" Bo asks dryly.

"Count on the rest of my family being here a lot," he replies, "And that's at least ten."

"We'll manage," she decides, "But for now, I think there's another guest here to see."

He doesn't have to wait long for the familiar figure to show up. "Korkie," Marr greets.

He takes his hand, in the Mandalorian handshake. "It's been a long time." The last couple times Marr was here, Korkie didn't have time to be there. They've only seen each other once since everything fell apart.

"At least this time I'm not here to teach you how to overthrow another government," he smirks.

"That's what makes it stranger," Korkie deadpans, and he chuckles.

"Yes. It does."

"Don't worry," Vizma advises, "I'm sure we'll have more to overthrow soon enough."

"We will," Bo promises, "With the chaos, many clans may try to assert their dominance."

"Then it might be up to the new Mand'alor to deal with leading here," Marr says.

"Who is the new Mand'alor?" Korkie asks.

"A Child of the Watch. I don't know if he's going to turn up or not," Marr replies, "But Anastasia is out there with him right now. I think she's considering challenging him for the Darksaber."

"That's never been Anastasia's strength," Bo comments, "I don't know that she'd win such a duel."

"Then maybe she will propose to him," he mutters.

Korkie gives him an incredulous look.

"Hey, as long as she shuts up about it, it doesn't matter to me," he shrugs.

"You don't? You were... good as the Mand'alor," Bo counters.

"Maybe," he concedes, "I think it's time the mantle goes to someone else. All I wanted was to bring freedom. My fight is done."

"Have you thought about what you plan to do next?" she asks.

"What about starting a new Force Order?" Vizma chirps.

Mar blinks in surprise. "... maybe." He never really thought about it. But someone does have to, eventually. He doesn't know if that's a burden he's ready for, but who else is going to do it? It's something he'll have to think about later.

**w**

Marr only now can somewhat understand why Anakin seemed so freaked out at the thought of them going to his castle. They're all on Mandalore now, together, and staying at his old home is bringing up so many memories of what things were once like. He hasn't lived here since Sabine left, and that was years ago. It still feels like home, and more than that, Satine's lingering presence has yet to fade. It's another glaring, painful reminder of how no matter what they have now, not everyone is together.

He still hasn't fully accepted that Master Yoda is gone, either.

From the look on Obi-Wan's face, he's a little unsettled by feeling Satine, also.

"We lost her when we escaped," Marr tells them quietly. "She saved everyone." He and the others have already been here for a bit, but at first, it hurt almost as much as seeing the Temple again. This building holds just as much time of his life, only it's fresher in his memory. He finds himself wondering what the others think of it. They were alone while he wasn't, and that must be difficult to see how Marr wasn't even though they were.

"I miss her," Vizma admits finally, stopping outside of her bedroom. Marr can't imagine what it must be like for her to have left the place she grew up in at such a young age, and he loathes how the Empire did this to her. It's relieving that Sidious was already dealt with.

"We all do," Bo replies.

"It's definitely a nice place," Ahsoka interjects.

"I wish you could've had a place like this," Marr says, "I can't imagine you were ever able to settle down."

"Not particularly," she shrugs, "I can't really imagine it."

"What will you do now?"

"I don't know. I would like to stay with you and Anakin for a while, but then I can't imagine living in one place permanently."

"Neither can I," Anakin agrees, glancing at them, "I can't shake the need to... do something."

Marr can completely relate to that feeling. He struggled a lot at first when he was on Odessen. He had already accepted it when they were on Mandalore, and he's been feeling a bit like that since Sidious's death.

"Truthfully, I never thought about the 'afterwards'," Obi-Wan admits, "When I was on Tatooine, I was only focused on protecting and training Luke. Not what we would do once he was old enough."

"Isn't that the first thing you would need to know?" Ahsoka inquires dubiously.

"Hey, this is Obi-Wan," Marr points out teasingly.

"I had no reason to concern myself with it, when it was years in the future," he protests.

"Well, it's a concern now," Ahsoka says.

"Vizma was mentioning something about starting a new Order," Marr begins.

Everyone stills at that, and he can instantly feel Anakin's flare of... guilt.

"I thought about it in concept," Obi-Wan admits, "I always assumed Master Yoda would be here to advise us on it."

"Me too," Marr agrees, "But there's just us. And the last Order fell. I don't think we can expect the next one to stand if we do the exact same thing." It feels almost arrogant to be saying so, as though he knows better than far older masters from the past thousand years, but it's something they need to talk about.

"What are you saying?" Ahsoka asks.

"Attachments can be dangerous when they aren't controlled, but we all know that our families have given us strength. Strength we would never have had without it."

"It's not the Jedi way," Obi-Wan objects unhappily.

"That's my point," he replies, "I am willing to help with a new Order, but I can't teach people what I know can hurt them."

"Teaching others about the Dark Side is dangerous," Obi-Wan warns.

"I don't mean the Dark Side. The strength found in family and clan outweigh danger, if they are raised controlling their attachments. Mandalorians do it all the time. And I think living among the populace like Kanan and Ezra is far more effective in helping people. Things need to be... different."

"I can see some of your points," Ahsoka admits, "But how do we know this won't be a mistake?"

"We don't have to start big," Marr reminds, "And the Force will guide us. We can even the out all those details later." He doesn't even know where to begin right now.

"Someone will have to take the responsibility for leading it," Obi-Wan points out.

"You're the oldest former Jedi around," Ahsoka says.

"No," Obi-Wan protests, "That's not a job for me. I already have my hands more than full with Leia."

"I don't mind," Marr admits, "But I don't know how to do this by myself."

"We'll all be here," Ahsoka promises, "I thought about rejoining the Order once, and if we're all here..."

Anakin has been unusually quiet. Well, he's always quiet – especially now – but...

"Anakin?" Marr asks, eyeing him.

"Yes?"

"Do you have any... suggestions?" It always seems to throw him off when someone asks him a direct question about his opinion like that, and it's more than a little disturbing. But Marr doesn't know how else to help him understand that yes, his opinion does matter.

"I failed as a Jedi once and destroyed the last Order. I do not..."

"But you're a Jedi now," Obi-Wan argues, "And we need your help."

"You've started teaching Luke," Marr points out, "This won't be that much different, and I think it would help you." Or at least he can hope so. Anakin's entire existence seems to have been nothing but trauma, and Marr is still hardly sure how to deal with that.

Anakin only nods slightly, and so they leave it at that for now.

**w**

Truthfully, Vizma has no idea how Leia ended up a princess and Luke a farmer of all boring things in the galaxy. Who thought that was a good idea? Not that it many matters, but the way the twins are practically glued to each other most of the time surprises her. Her father and Anastasia were never like that. They make it easy, though. Leia is a lot like Anakin. She's fiery, but she's sweet, and she's really good at hiding her compassion. Vizma can feel that – it's so light in the Force.

Luke is similar, but there's a certain darkness to him that she highly suspects is because of where he grew up. Leia's childhood was peaceful. Luke's was tense, chaotic. He always had to be aware of his surroundings, lest he end up dead. Tatooine has all sorts of dangers everywhere. It's a merciless place, and it shapes everyone who lives there.

"You can see the damage caused by generations of war," Vizma muses, staring out her bedroom window across the landscape. There were once forests all across this area, and it used to be more beautiful. Years before her and Sabine were born. There was a massive war before Aunt Satine took over and ended the fighting. Bo is angry at her for it, but Marr insists it was probably the right option, even if she shouldn't have been willing to destroy her own culture. Vizma quite frankly agrees with both of them.

"Alderaan has generations of war, too," Leia says, "The trees there hold many stories."

"I never saw trees at all until leaving Tatooine," Luke chimes in.

"I don't think I ever want to go there," Vizma decides firmly.

"I don't want to go back – except I want to see Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru again. Getting out of there was hard enough."

Vizma laughs. She can't help it – though really, she can't imagine a life of being kept away from action. Her father didn't want her to be there, but it was in her blood and there was nothing anyone could do about it. "I've been fighting since I was twelve," she says, "I can't imagine a life outside that anymore. It's too much of who I am."

"Mandalorians always find a way of finding war," Leia points out, "I'm sure you'll find another soon enough."

"Not that I want there to be," she adds hastily, "I just can't imagine living without."

"I wanted to leave Tatooine to fight the Empire long before I found out Father was once a Jedi," Luke says, "Now that it's gone, I don't really know what to do."

"I'd suggest a trip back home," Vizma replies, "I imagine Anakin would want to meet his family, right...?"

"They didn't really know each other," Luke replies, "They were stepbrothers. It was after he had already become a Jedi."

She'll never understand why someone would be willing to leave their family to become a Jedi, or for anything at all, but it's not like she knows anything about Anakin's background. Marr has told her before that it's not fair to judge someone without being in their shoes first. She still can't imagine it, though. "I can't imagine why someone would leave their family to become a Jedi, but I don't know the circumstances."

"My grandmother wanted him off Tatooine," Luke replies, "I was the first freeborn in my family."

Wait – Anakin was a slave? That's... She suddenly thinks it explains a lot about him. "... Oh. So, what do you think of Mandalore?"

"It's nice here," Leia offers.

"I've always wanted to visit other places," Luke replies.

Vizma grins. "I did, too, but then I missed home. Though I can't see you missing Tatooine."

"Not likely," Luke agrees.

With her father and Anakin being kind of like brothers, that makes Luke and Leia like her adopted cousins. Admittedly, they already feel more like cousins than Korkie ever did. He was so much older than her, after all. More like an uncle than anything. She doesn't know how long they'll be able to stay, but she hopes it will be for a while.

**w**

Marr is more than a little surprised when his twin gets back, with Din in toe, who's holding a tiny, green creature in a satchel.

A green creature who looks suspiciously like a tiny Yoda.

What?!

"So, how'd the mission go?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. They've been gone for over a month already with whatever they were doing. He didn't expect it to take this long.

"We're marrying," she replies cheerfully, "Meet our new son."

He blinks. "You're crazy."

"Thanks for the congratulations," Anastasia snips.

He shakes his head slowly, looking between them, then decides to risk the embarrassment. "Is she serious?" he asks, turning to Din.

The helmeted head turns, light reflecting off it as he looks at him. "Yes. We... are."

He blinks, continuing to stare at them. Um. Okay. "I – don't mean to disrespect your beliefs, but –" he looks back to his sister, "– how are you planning to marry someone when you don't know what they look like?"

"Who said I don't know what he looks like?" she retorts with a devilish grin.

Marr whacks her arm. "I do not have any interest in knowing if you're implying something."

She snickers. "It may have started with a good luck kiss –"

"Shut up, you maniac."

Din just... stands there. He's strangely quiet, by nature perhaps. Or he finds them both crazy. Not like that would even be a hard conclusion to reach.

"After spending a month with her, I'm surprised you can still tolerate her," Marr says flatly.

"I think Bo-Katan could say the same," Anastasia shoots back.

"So, who's this... baby?" he wonders, stepping closer to get a better look. "Where'd you find him?"

"It was the bounty that we adopted, because apparently it's sentient," she replies.

"He," Din corrects.

A light, curious presence briefly brushes against Marr's mind, and he stills, eyes widening. He's – he's Force-sensitive. Is that really Grogu?! He remembers now, there'd been an Initiate of Yoda's species at the Temple, who'd he'd met very briefly a couple times, but –

"Grogu?" Marr asks, and the tiny being perks up immediately, making an adorable squeak.

"Grogu?" Din repeats. It looks up at him, with wide eager eyes.

"That's his name," Marr replies.

"How do you know?" Anastasia objects.

"He was at the last Jedi Temple. I don't know how he got out, but that's his name."

"I can't believe we spent all that time thinking of a name for him, for no reason," his sister whines.

"We did not," Din replies flatly, though Marr can feel a faint amusement in the Force, "Even begin discussing a name."

"Well, come inside then, unless you're going somewhere again," he offers finally, "I imagine the others will be eager to hear the news." He still can't believe it himself.

**w**

Helping rebuild the Order is an enormous responsibility, especially if he'll be teaching them to control the Dark Side and to have families – something he only learned through time himself. He's relatively confident on teaching people he knows well how to do that, but starting an entire new Order?

The Jedi already fell – he doesn't want what he's doing to do the same. He doesn't want to risk hurting people either, but someone needs to do it. The others will help, of course, but... He's in the leader position again. At least the fate of the entire galaxy doesn't feel like it's in his hands this time. He'll have plenty of help.

He's sitting on the balcony outside, letting himself slip into the currents of the Force, reaching for someone he hasn't tried speaking with for a very long time. He'd been too busy, even if he occasionally thought about it.

Except, this time, when Revan appears, there's another figure standing near him, too. She looks – he knows who she is immediately. He saw her once, so many years ago, on Mortis, when she helped him. "Bastilla?"

"Yes," she replies.

"What – why are you here?"

"I have been watching you, too," she answers.

It's touching and unsettling at once to know that two spirits are watching him. Or more. How does he really know? "Then I want to thank you, both of you, for... everything. For guiding me this far."

The helmeted mask inclines in acknowledgement. "I guided you," Revan replies, "But the choices were your own."

He's not entirely sure if that's supposed to be a compliment or what. Why do so many adults always talk in riddles? "I wouldn't have reached the end of my journey if not for you."

"You believe it's the end?"

Marr frowns. "Isn't it?"

"Do our journeys ever end?"

"I suppose not," he muses, "And you told me to help Anakin before, and I failed."

"Not everything is within your control," Bastilla points out.

"Learn from your own failures, and that of others, to do better in the future," Revan replies.

Fine. He doesn't believe in compliments, does he. Or maybe he's as vague about it as Obi-Wan, just in a very different way.

"The Force is in balance now, isn't it?" he asks. Now that he's meditating, he can feel how at peace it seems. There's still so much destruction, but he hasn't felt it like this ever, actually.

"Yes, but there will always be causes of imbalance," Revan tells him.

"I need to rebuild the Order," Marr declares. "I don't know if I'm the right one to do it."

"Trust in the Force, let it guide you, and you will not fail."

He nods, relief flaring through him. "Alright."

It's all he needs to know for now, and it's time for the next part of his journey to begin. At least this time, he'll be with his families. (With Anakin.)

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