A day later, their plan was set into motion. Ania boarded the Redemption while Sabine, Zeb, and Tolsa flew the Phantom 2. Ania quickly switched her comms on and lifted off. The blockade of Lothal was still in effect. She switched on the cloaking device and passed beyond the Star Destroyers. By the time she deactivated the cloak, her navicomputer was already prepped and she rocketed into hyperspace.

Ania glanced at the comms but all she heard was muffled static. Phantom 2 was supposed to check in as soon as they made the jump. She hoped they made it past the blockade all right. The comms cleared and began beeping. Ania accepted the transmission and a hologram of Sabine appeared.

"Are you all cleared on the plan?" Ania asked.

Sabine nodded. "We get to Coruscant, find Ezra, and get out."

"Wait a second." Zeb appeared. "How do you know he's on Coruscant?"

Ania narrowed her eyes. "Vader has been making sure I know."

"Well, that's reassuring," Zeb growled.

"Where do you think they'll have him?" Sabine asked.

"My guess is a prison or the Emperor's Palace. I won't know for sure until we get there."

"All right. We'll check in before we drop out of hyperspace," she replied. The hologram froze as the transmission ended. Ania switched it off and leaned back in her seat. She bit her lip and sighed, closing her eyes.

It took only a few minutes for her senses to detach and carry her through the void of space. She could feel a vision tugging at the edge of her mind, but she pushed it away. It came back, pulling harder. Look, two voices prompted. Ania turned her head and looked.

Crimson carpets, alabaster pillars. A wicked laugh and a dark cape. Images from her nightmares. A hand stretched towards her face, probing the very depths of her mind. Ania turned away, face contorted in agony. A red lightsaber burst through Ezra's chest. She screamed and the stormtroopers around her exploded into nothing but charred armor.

A beeping broke through her thoughts. Ania activated her comms again. "We're here," Sabine said. "Can you find him?"

Ania checked her coordinates and deactivated the hyperdrive, landing beside the Phantom 2. Coruscant was swiftly approaching. Ania turned her face away from Centax 1 as the moon orbited into view. She cast her senses out, searching for Ezra's presence.

"I can feel him. I'll guide us there," Ania replied. She urged the Redemption forward. They passed through the atmosphere and joined the bustling airways. Speeders zoomed past them. Ania drew her senses back in, realizing where Ezra was. She headed towards the Senate building, then turned.

The Emperor's Palace came into sight. A cold darkness swept into her very bones. Ania steeled herself and landed. She dropped her lightsabers and blasters on the co-pilot seat. The Phantom 2 landed next to her and the four of them disembarked.

"Where is he?" Tolsa asked as Ania approached.

"The lowest level, down where the Temple Ruins are," Ania explained quickly. "You'll have to grab a lift and take it all the way down. From there, I don't know where he is. Grab him and get to the ships as fast as you can." Ania tapped a few things into her wrist cuff, locking the Redemption down. "If the ships are locked down, they should be safe until we get back."

"Hold on. Where will you be?" Sabine gestured towards her.

"I'm the distraction." Sabine and Tolsa opened their mouths in objection. "No. I'm doing this. Go find Ezra," she ordered. Ania turned and ran towards the Palace doors before they could object further.

There were no guards standing at the door. Ania stretched a hand towards it, blowing it off its hinges and onto the red carpet within. She stepped through and continued on. A terrible darkness emanated from the Palace. "He's here," she whispered to herself.

There were still no guards. Ania stepped into a lift and selected a level. She lifted her hands to her face as the lift headed up. "It's official. I'm an idiot. I've lost it." She paced around the small lift until it stopped.

The door to the throne room was just down the corridor. Ania headed towards it, resolving herself. Alabaster pillars lined the walls of the hallway and the crimson carpeting looked similar to blood. Two of the Emperor's red guards stood beside the doorway. They opened it quietly as she approached.

Ania slowed down, warily. The doors swung open and a black robed figure appeared. He was sitting on the throne, staring at her with beady yellow eyes. "Come closer, my child. Don't be afraid," he cooed.

Ania narrowed her eyes but obeyed. "So, you're the Emperor."

"And you are the infamous Ania Tano."

"It's Bonteri, actually," Ania hissed.

"So you do remember. Impressive." The Emperor stroked his chin. She assumed it was his chin anyway. She couldn't see much of his face beneath the black hood. "Despite our efforts, it seems you are quite resilient. However,there is one weakness that all Rebels possess."

"And what would that be?" Ania crossed her arms, casting her senses around the chambers. Red Guards waited outside of all the doors.

"Friendship. Love," the Emperor seethed. "All tools that can be used to my advantage."

"I think you're wrong. Those aren't weaknesses." Ania lifted her chin.

"We shall see." The Emperor raised a hand and a familiar dark presence entered the room. The doors slammed shut and Darth Vader's breathing pounded through her temples.

"Welcome home, my apprentice," Vader growled.

Ania turned and faced him. "I am not your apprentice. I will never be your apprentice again." She glanced past the foreboding figure and spotted Kein Rei. "I hope you know what the Empire will do to you, should you ever disappoint them."

The Emperor cackled. "Perhaps he should stay so that he may witness it first hand!" He stretched a hand towards Ania and she cried out as she went flying back into a pillar.

Ania coughed and glanced at her empty holsters. "Curse my thorough planning," she gasped. I just have to distract them long enough for the others to find Ezra. She stood shakily and faced the Emperor. "It'll take more than that to keep me down."

The Emperor rose slowly and descended towards her. "Perhaps you think you have a chance of saving your friend. Is that why you came alone and unarmed?" Ania swallowed hard but didn't reply. "Unfortunately, we have already caught your little rescue party and disposed of them. You are the only one left."

Ania cast out her senses, reaching for Tolsa's presence. She felt it miles beneath the Palace. The Emperor was lying. They hadn't been caught yet. "It doesn't matter. I can find him on my own."

"Oh, I'm sure you could. You won't have the chance to, sadly." The Emperor raised a hand towards her again and blue lightning shot out of his fingertips. Ania screamed as it hit her and coursed through her body. She convulsed and fell, writhing in agony. Kein's expression had twisted to one of revulsion.

The Emperor drew back his lightning and Ania gasped for breath. Smoke drifted from her body and her limbs seemed to be made of lead. "You have information that we need," Vader said. "If you give it to us, we will let the boy leave here alive."

"I don't believe you," she panted, working her way up to her hands and knees.

Vader looked to the Emperor, who nodded in reply. "We will have our answers, one way or another." Vader stalked towards her and grabbed her by the face. She felt her legs dangle as he hauled her off the ground. "You know that Ahsoka Tano is alive. Where is she?"

"I don't know...what you're talking about," she gasped. She groaned as something began to thud within her head. Vader's free hand angled towards her face. Ania turned away, eyes rolling as she attempted to fight his influence. She could feel an abyss open within her, but she quickly stifled it. Vader couldn't know about the Son.

"Patience, my friend. There are other ways of finding your former apprentice," the Emperor rasped, drawing closer.

Vader dropped Ania to the floor. She glanced at Kein Rei. The Nautolan had moved farther away, horror written across his face. The Emperor's black robes tickled her nose, but she didn't have the strength to move. "Together, we can influence her mind to reveal the whereabouts of Ahsoka Tano," the Emperor directed.

The two of them stretched a hand towards Ania. She felt the terrible pull of the Dark Side awaken, writhing and pulling. She tried to turn away as the Force began to push at her mind. I resisted the Sister. I can resist them, Ania told herself. If I can withstand the Son, I can withstand them. She let the Force flow through her and down into the Palace. Ezra's presence radiated from the old Temple Ruin's.

"Where is she?" Vader demanded. The darkness probed at her mind further. There was another, even darker presence pushing its way into her mind. With a shudder of realization, Ania tried to draw herself back in. It was too late. The dark presence wrapped around her and she was lost.

Ania opened her eyes in a dark chamber. Chains were strapped to her arms and legs and she wore a black outfit. Ania struggled against the chains, to no avail. She turned her head, flipping one lek from her face.

Dark robed people walked all around. Bowls lined the stone platform that she was on, blue fire erupting from them. Ania shuddered, taking in the statues that lined the black chamber. The symbol of the Sith was carved everywhere. She drew her attention back to the robed figures as they neared her.

Their voices were unearthly. Several people spoke at the same time in incoherent words. Ania tried to turn her head as one of their gnarled black hands grabbed her face. She tried to scream but found that she could make no sound. The figure raised a hand to the dark abyss of its hood, signaling she shouldn't try to speak.

It dipped its finger in some black paint and began to draw on her face. Ania tried to struggle but several hands reached towards her and the Force rendered her immobile. The person covered her white markings with black and painted a few other symbols over them. She couldn't tell what they were.

At last, the Force released her face and she could move again. Ania glanced at her side and screamed; this time it was audible. A body lay on the wide stone table beside her. The gray man with bleeding tattoos. The Son.

Ania turned and pulled at the chains binding her wrists, panic welling up inside her. Another dark figure strode towards her. The room became filled with an echoing chant as the figure took a dagger. Ania looked closer. No, it wasn't a dagger. It was a shard, one of the broken pieces of the Dagger of Mortis!

The figure moved closer. She could see the Emperor's yellow eyes staring at her hungrily. "At last, it is time," he rasped, tracing a finger along her cheek. "The Sith will rise once more!" He held the dagger aloft and the other figures cried out in excitement. "With the death of Ania Bonteri, our fallen Prince of Darkness is reborn!"

The dagger fell and Ania screamed. It tore through her in a rage of pain. She could feel the bonds with the Son and Daughter snapping. Ania gasped and looked towards the Son's body. A red aura surrounded him and his eyes snapped open, black with glowing red irises. Ania felt herself weaken further, and then...darkness.

Kein drew back further as the girl screamed again and again. He grimaced as she vomited suddenly and then began to claw at her neck. Blood dribbled from her nose. The two dark lords still had hands stretched towards her. Whatever they were doing was having a powerful effect on her mind.

At last, they dropped their hands. Ania collapsed limply, her eyes wide but unseeing. Kein wondered for a minute if she was dead, before he saw the rise and fall of her chest. "She is powerful," the Emperor said. "We will not get information from her this way. You know what to do, Lord Vader."

"Yes, my master."

Kein watched as they had Ania dragged off to a cell. He waited until he was sure they wouldn't miss him, before running.