A/N: Hi all. I wrote this Rebels oneshot not long after Siege of Lothal premiered but never finished. I loved how Ahsoka looked admiringly at Ezra whenever he spoke and I thought I'd come up with another idea. Ahsoka's discovery that Vader is in fact Anakin was truly devastating seeing as she had such a close bond with him when she was young. It is so obvious that Ezra is the Ahsoka of Rebels while he does have a bit of Anakin in him too which is seen quite a bit as the series has gone on. I honestly think that Ahsoka sees a lot of herself in Ezra and how she was always looking for new angles on situations. While Ezra is not your typical Jedi with the robes and the wisdom, I think Ahsoka sees that Kanan is teaching Ezra in a way that is not seen as traditional, a lot like the way Anakin taught her. So, without further ado, here's Question Yet, No Answers
Questions Yet, No Answers
Since Vader's siege on Lothal, the Lothal Rebels had been kept busy with other missions and assignments given to them by Commander Sato, Ahsoka or Bail Organa. They hadn't had time to miss Lothal. They were now wanted criminals but when hadn't they been?
After a month of countless missions, the rebels needed a rest, especially young Ezra.
Ezra had taken to wandering the halls of the Rebels Headquarters as a ways to getting to know the newest place the Ghost crew called home. He had gotten to know much of what remained of Phoenix Squadron yet he craved more adventures. The one thing he didn't expect was to have one-on-one time with Ahsoka.
The Togruta was a strange woman but she was kind to Ezra and his fellow crewmembers. She was fair and knew exactly when help was a lost cause.
On one of his daily adventures, Ezra found Ahsoka sitting on the ramp of the Ghost while the ship was sitting in the repair shop where Hera was overlooking repairs.
"Ahsoka?" Ezra asked as he hesitantly approached her.
Hera, who had been standing nearby inwardly grinned before returning to her repairs.
"Ezra." Ahsoka said, issuing the boy with a small smile. "What can I do for you?"
"Ah, may I join you?" Ezra asked.
"Of course, sit." Ahsoka gestured to the space next to her.
Ezra walked over and sat down. He hadn't failed to notice the sad tone to Ahsoka's voice when she spoke.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine. Why do you ask?" Ahsoka pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"You seem sad," Ezra said outright. "I just thought I would ask." he shrugged.
"I was just thinking."
"About?" Ezra prompted.
"When I was a Jedi." Ahsoka turned to look at the boy sitting beside her. His eyes were bright with questions and wonderment.
"What was it like? During the Clone Wars I mean."
"It was an interesting time for me. Not long after the first battle of Geonosis, I was granted the rank of Padawan and was assigned a master who didn't exactly like me very much at first."
Ezra looked her. "What was your Master like?"
"He was," Ahsoka chuckled. "One of a kind. Like I said before, he didn't exactly like me very much to begin with."
"Why?"
"He said he would never take on a Padawan but the Jedi Council thought otherwise. You see he had what was called at the time, attachment issues. The Jedi Council thought assigning me to him would snap him out of it." Ahsoka shook her head, attempting to dispel the memories that she had wanted to forget.
"Did it work?"
Ahsoka couldn't bring herself to answer.
Ezra didn't push her to answer the question.
"Was your relationship with your master like mine and Kanan's?"
"In a way. We spent half the time arguing the right way to do things."
Ezra thought about this. "What happened to him? Did he die like the other Jedi?"
"Yes," Ahsoka answered. "He did."
Ezra bit his lip. "You must have been close to him."
Ahsoka nodded slowly. "We were very close. He was like the brother I never had and I his sister. Thinking back on it now, I realise that I thought I knew everything about him but I hardly knew him at all."
"If he was here now, what do you think you would say to him?"
Ahsoka thought about this for a moment. What would she say to Anakin? Would she pound on his chest and apologize and break down into tears? Would she scold him for all the stupid things he'd done? She wasn't sure but she answered Ezra anyway.
"I would apologize for all the stupid things I did. I think he'd do the same."
Something tugged at Ezra's heartstrings. He could sense her emotions were jumbled and confused but he could also detect that she was devastated. Why, he didn't know.
"Ezra, you there?" came Kanan's voice over the comm at the boy's belt.
"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" Ezra asked.
"Can you come to the bridge for a moment? I want to talk to ya."
"I'm on my way." Ezra rose to his feet but hesitated.
"You should go. Kanan will be waiting for you." Ahsoka encouraged.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Ahsoka nodded.
Still unsure, Ezra did as he was told.
"She was lying to us when I asked about Vader." Ezra said to Kanan as they stood on the bridge of the new rebel command ship.
"I know she was," Kanan said. "We can't interfere. Ahsoka has been through a lot in her life."
"Who was her Master?" Ezra asked suddenly.
Kanan stared at him. "If I tell you, promise me you won't tell Ahsoka that I told you."
Ezra nodded.
"Ahsoka's Master was Anakin Skywalker."
"Never heard of him."
"You wouldn't have," Kanan said. "After the Jedi Purge, majority of the Jedi Archives around the galaxy were destroyed along with any records of the Jedi. Even many of the Holonet recordings were destroyed but not all of them."
"Did you know him?"
"No, I never had the chance to meet him. Ahsoka was a few years older then I was. I had only been a Padawan a few months when Order 66 occurred."
"So you didn't know Ahsoka during that time?"
"No," Kanan shook his head. "I knew who she was. Every youngling did. She often served as a mentor to us younger ones but I'd never actually met her until she revealed herself as Fulcrum."
That explained a lot, Ezra thought. "What happened to this Skywalker?"
"I don't know kid but I have to admit, there was something… familiar about Vader's force presence."
"What was it?" Ezra wondered.
"I don't know." Kanan admitted. He stood up and Ezra did the same. "If Ahsoka wants to talk to us about her experiences she will but in the meantime, let her work it out herself, okay?"
Ezra nodded and followed him towards the cafeteria.
Ahsoka remained on the ramp of the Ghost, pondering over her conversation with Ezra. He had given her a lot to think about. She knew exactly who Vader was, or had been. It frightened her to draw the comparisons between Vader and Anakin.
Both were excellent pilots. Both were extremely powerful with the Force. Both were exceptional in combat. Why hadn't she pieced it together earlier? Why hadn't she detected that he had a dark side? She knew those feelings of fear, anger and hate had radiated through him on a daily basis but she had never thought he would turn. She thought she had known him. Clearly, she hadn't.
There was a lot about her former master she hadn't known until later. The last time she had seen Anakin in the flesh, she had hinted that she had known about his relationship with Padmé but she hadn't seen his response. She had walked away before she could bring herself to do so. It had hurt her to do it but she had had to figure out who she was and she had had to do it without him in her life.
For the first couple of weeks, it had been difficult. She had been so use to being at Anakin's side but she had forgotten what it was like to be on her own. Despite her travels, shehadn't quite found who she was until Order 66 had been executed.
She had seen the terrors that the Empire had unleashed upon the galaxy. She had seen people imprisoned for supporting the rebel cause. They had been imprisoned for simply fighting for their freedom. In a lot of ways, the war had never really ended. If anything, the war had only intensified.
Sure, there were no Clone Troopers milling around and taking orders from their Jedi generals or commanders but the operation was still the same or at least to Ahsoka it was. The Stormtroopers were under the control of the Empire the same way the Clones had been under the control of the Jedi and the Republic.
The Republic.
That was something she had not thought about in a long time. Sure, the subject was breached within conversation with Bail from time to time but she hadn't actually dwelled on it. It was a funny thing though. Just thinking back on one memory of the Coruscant of old and memories came flooding back.
If Ahsoka closed her eyes she could see the Jedi Temple. If she concentrated really hard, she could see the balcony of Padmé's apartment. If she blocked out all the visuals, she could hear voices. Laughter. Footsteps.
"Watch it Snips! You'll kill somebody with that thing."
"Someone like you my Master?"
Ahsoka found herself smiling at the memory of that 'near fatal' training session. It took her a moment to realise that she was crying. Opening her eyes, she wiped away the tears. She looked around and couldn't see Hera. She must have gone to brief the crew on their next mission.
As much as she wished things were different, Ahsoka knew that wishing wasn't going to get her anywhere. Anakin had taught her that. As much as she wanted to be sitting on the grease-covered floor of the Jedi Temple Hangar watching Anakin tinker around with his prized starfighter, she knew she couldn't go back and change fate. Instead, she knew that if Anakin were still with her, he would want her to fight for the galaxy's freedom.
There you have it. I hope you liked it. This is a ONE-SHOT and will NOT be updated.