Ania's yellow eyes glared at him as she pressed against his lightsaber. Ezra gave way and rolled to the side. "I don't want to fight you!" He called.
"That's not going to end well for you." It was her voice, but it wasn't her speaking. Ania flung herself towards him again.
Ezra ducked and pushed her aside. Ania's fist tightened around the dagger. She lashed out, striking towards his face. Ezra caught her wrist and jammed her elbow up. He ducked in front of her and threw her over his shoulder. She gasped as she hit the ground.
Ezra jumped out of range as she attempted to sweep his legs. "Come on, Ania. Fight him off!"
"Don't you see? She can't. She belongs to me now and as soon as I get her off this planet, she'll be gone," Ania's voice was layered with the Son's.
"I won't let that happen." Ezra narrowed his eyes.
Ania charged towards Ezra. She landed a punch to his gut and hooked her knee into his jaw. Ezra fell to his knees as Ania raised the dagger. He looked up at her, daring her to do it. "You know you can't," he growled. "She won't let you."
With a screech, the dagger plunged down. It stopped right before Ezra's forehead. He looked into her eyes again. They were blue, but yellow tinged her pupils. "Get...the dagger..." Ania gasped. "I can't hold him..."
Ezra wrenched the dagger from her grasp. "Now what?"
A faint aura appeared beside him. The Daughter stepped forward. "I know this isn't what you wanted, Ania, but it's the only way."
Ania just nodded. "Get it done," she gasped.
"As soon as I join with Ania, you must drive the dagger through her heart and then destroy it," the Daughter said to Ezra.
"Wait, what?" Ezra's eyes widened.
"Ezra!" Ania gasped. The Daughter lunged towards her and with a flash of light, disappeared. A strange glow surrounded Ania, bleeding red and gold. "Now," her voice was barely more than a whisper.
Ezra steeled himself and thrust the dagger threw her heart. Ania placed a hand on the hilt of the dagger and sent her power radiating through it. The dagger cracked, white light gleaming through it, before exploding into tiny shards. Ania collapsed, the life fading from her eyes.
"No!" Ezra fell down beside her and pulled her towards him. "No, no! Ania," he shook her. "No, you...you can't..." He held her tightly as the tears began to fall. "I just lost Kanan. You don't get to leave me too," he whispered. He sat still for a few minutes until, her hand found his.
Ezra started and stared down at her. Ania grinned faintly. "It takes more than that to get rid of me," she rasped.
Ezra glared at her mockingly. "Don't ever do that again. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
"Probably a few more." She lifted a hand to his cheek. "Thank you for trusting me."
"There was a few times I thought you might have lost it," he admitted. "I wasn't sure I would be able to bring you back."
"You always could." Her gaze met his. "It was always you, Ezra." She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but hesitated. She leaned forward and kissed him gently.
Ezra grinned broadly as she pulled away. "I think it's time to leave."
"Me too. I've had enough of this planet." She stood shakily and Ezra put a steady arm around her. Ania glanced back at the arena and shuddered slightly. Something tells me I haven't seen the last of this place.
"How are we going to find the ship?" Ezra asked as they walked down a mountain slope.
"Let me try something." Ania let her presence drift away and connect with the planet. As they walked, the terrain around them moved. In a few steps, they were back at the ship. Ania lifted a hand to her head. "This is going to take some getting used to."
"Can you hear both of them?" Ezra opened the Redemption's ramp and they climbed on board.
"No, my mind feels quiet. It's strange. I've always been hearing someone or something and now I feel like I'm deaf."
"Maybe that will be a good thing. If they're reunited, maybe you won't have to worry about losing control so much."
"Yeah, maybe. Can you fly? I need to lay down."
Ezra nodded and slid into the pilot's seat. He cast a concerned glance towards her as she headed back to her cabin. Ania stumbled in and fell onto her bunk. She felt the planet calling her back as they flew through the atmosphere. A blinding light filled the ship and in a moment, they had left Mortis far behind.
Minutes later, Ezra stepped into her cabin. "We're headed back to Lothal," he said. "What is going to happen to Mortis?"
"We reawakened it. It will start moving again so if we ever have to find it, it could take a while." Ania rolled over, facing him. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, but I just..." he paused. "I can't remember what the Son and Daughter looked like."
"Maybe it's something from when the Son possessed you. He might have shown you things that the Force is now making you forget. Ben said the Father made Anakin forget some of what he had learned while he was there and Darth Vader used that same trick on me, to make me forget my past," Ania reasoned. "Don't worry about it, though."
Ezra climbed up to the bunk above hers. It was silent for a few minutes, before he spoke again. "Ania?"
"Hm?"
"Do you still think Ahsoka is alive?"
"I'm not sure. Logic tells me no, but my heart tells me yes. I've tried searching out her presence but I can't feel it. She know's how to hide it too and it doesn't feel like it's gone. It's just not there. Besides, I felt it when Kanan died so why didn't I feel Ahsoka?"
"I've been asking myself the same thing."
"You're thinking too much. I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we get to Lothal," Ania said jokingly.
"All right."
She grinned briefly before closing her eyes. Sleep found her soon and for once, there were no visions or memories or nightmares to wake her.
She woke some time later. Ezra let go of her shoulder. "Come on. We're nearly to Lothal." He stepped out of the cabin and headed back to the cockpit.
Ania stretched and followed him. She slid into her seat and prepared to drop out of hyperspace. The stars blurred again and they fell out before the Imperial Blockade. Ania quickly activated the Redemption's cloaking device and flew beneath the belly of a Star Destroyer.
"Do you think their scanners caught us?" Ezra leaned forward, peering into the Star Destroyer.
"I don't know. Hopefully not. They haven't been picking up our signals other times." They entered the planet's atmosphere and headed towards the Rebel camp.
She deactivated the cloaking device and landed just beyond the camp. The life support system hissed as the air ducts were purged. Ania and Ezra stepped off the ship and headed towards the base. Sabine and Tolsa were already headed towards them.
"You're back already? That was fast!" Tolsa wrapped Ania in a hug once they crossed the perimeter fence. "I'm so glad you're safe. Did everything go all right?"
"Yeah. I think things will start to calm down now," Ania replied with a grin.
Sabine stepped in between Ania and Ezra and put a hand on their shoulders. "It's good to see you guys back in one piece. I thought it would take you longer though."
Ezra glanced at Ania, confused. "How long have we been gone?"
"Only about a day or so," Tolsa replied.
Ezra shook his head. "But that's impossible. We were on Mortis for almost four days."
"Time moves differently there. Ben said that when they left the planet, they had been there almost as long as us and Rex thought they'd only been gone for a few moments," Ania pointed out.
"Well, either way, I'm glad you guys are back. Something's come up." Sabine waved a hand for them to follow.
She led them into a makeshift hut where Hera was. Hera grinned and hugged Ezra. "I'm glad you're back safe; both of you."
"Sabine said something had come up," Ania replied. "What happened?"
Hera sighed. "Jax escaped from his cell on Yavin 4. He killed Razzi and Cryl and stole a ship."
Ania raised a hand to her chin. "Why, though? Razzi and Cryl were his friends."
"They tried to stop his escape, or that's what the report said. Yavin contacted us as soon as Jax was beyond their reach. They think he's coming here for you, Ania."
Ezra placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well, he won't get far."
"Not alone, he won't. Jax knows that. He'll be bringing help, I'm sure," Ania reasoned. "We can expect a visit from Kein Rei soon."
"We thought so too. I've had scouts stationed all over the planet looking for him," Hera replied. "We'll find them as soon as they arrive. You two should go rest. There will be plenty to do tomorrow."
Ania dipped her head and stepped out of the hut, with the others close behind. Ezra tipped two fingers towards them before heading off to find Zeb. "I'll catch up with you later," Sabine called over her shoulder, running off.
"So did you restore balance? Bring peace to the Force?" Tolsa asked jokingly.
Ania laughed. "You know only the Chosen One can do that. We restored Mortis and united the Son and Daughter. We also destroyed the weapon that can kill them and cut their bonds."
"So now what?"
Ania shrugged. "I'm not sure. We wait and see what Kein Rei and Jax do. I haven't had any visions since Mortis so far, but I'm still uncertain. I feel like things are calm now but it's not going to last."
"You need to relax. You're always running off into battle, one adventure after the other. I'm honestly amazed you're still alive," Tolsa said. "Did...anything else happen on Mortis?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively.
Ania rolled her eyes and blushed slightly. "Yes and no."
Tolsa grinned broadly. "I knew it! Spill!"
"Come on." They ran out of the base and back into the mountains where the Redemption was hidden. Tolsa sat down on a rock and crossed her arms expectantly.
"Well, come on!" She urged.
"All right." Ania sat down across from her. "First of all, Ezra made this for me." She motioned to her new headpiece.
Tolsa smiled knowingly. "I know. He asked for my help."
"Of course he did. At first, Ezra was possessed by the Son but I managed to get him free. The Son then split my bond with the Daughter and possessed me. He tried to make me kill Ezra but Ezra managed to pull me back so that I had control of my body. The Daughter was rejoined with me but then they began ago fight for control of my body. Ezra had to kill me so that the Son and Daughter would unite and resurrect me."
"Wait, you died?" Tolsa's eyes widened.
"For a little while, yes. It's still not something I can get used to. I've almost died before but this time I was actually...gone."
"So then what?"
"Well, the Son and Daughter were combined and lost some of their individuality to save me."
"And?" Tolsa waved her hand. "I know there's more. You're dying to tell me something."
"I kissed Ezra."
Tolsa squealed. "I knew it! You sure took your time about it."
"Relax. It's not that big of a deal," Ania looked away, hoping Tolsa wouldn't noticed the furious blush creeping into her cheeks.
"Sure it is! Next stop is telling him you love him."
"Come on, Tolsa. I don't think we're there yet."
"You will be. I'm sure." Tolsa stood and pulled Ania to her feet. "I have a lot of teasing to do so can we please go back to base?"
Ania laughed. "All right but when I say stop, you have to."
"Fine, fine. Whatever you say." Tolsa grabbed her hand and ran towards the base.