Star Wars: Will of the Force: Fate of the Force (3rd part of trilogy)

by Ahsoka Tano the real one

Darth Krayt, Dark Lord of the Sith, knows the time has come: the time to bring a true lasting peace to the galaxy. However, the Jedi Order stands in his way and he, along with his apprentices, will do what they must to bring a lasting peace.

Star Wars: Will of the Force: Fate of the Force

Prologue

He woke. He woke to the war ravaging his homeworld. A'Sharad Hett, a human male in his early teens, heard the sounds of blasterfire outside his home. It was just him and his mother. His father had died a few years back fighting the Insurgents, a faction of his people who sought to destroy half of all life on their world. They claimed that they wanted only what was best for their world. They, like all of the inhabitants of Provic Minor, knew that their world was one in poverty and famine. Their solution? Kill half of life, more food to go around. They had fallen under the influence of what some called the Essence of Life, the Tide, or the Force. This Force, Hett learned, had two sides: a light and a dark. Apparently the Insurgents were seduced by the dark half. His father fought valiantly, but he was no match for the Insurgents.

"A'Sharad, they are coming," his mother said.

"I know."

The door to their small house began to shake violently. His mother picked up a blaster rifle and trained it on the door.

"If I say so, run," his mother said.

A'Sharad nodded. He heard them coming. The door began to creak as it was being kicked by an insurgent. His mother tightened her grip on her blaster. The door flung open as the Insurgents stormed his house. Their leader, a human in his forties, walked in behind his men. A'Sharad looked at the man in fear, terrified but also mesmerized by the man's strange helmet. It had several horn-like protrusions.

"A'Sharad, run!" his mother yelled.

He tried, but his legs wouldn't move. He was frozen in fear.

"A'Sharad! Run!"

"There is no need to fear," the man said. "We will grant her a quick death."

"Run!"

The man pulled out a blaster and shot his mother straight in the heart.

"Mom!" A'Sharad yelled.

He ran over to his mother, cradling her in his arms.

"Why?" he asked.

"We don't do this because we enjoy it," the man said as he put a comforting hand on A'Sharad's shoulder. "We do it so our world can have peace."

"Peace?"

A'Sharad clenched his fist in anger. He swung it at the man, knocking him back a few steps.

"LIER!" A'Sharad yelled. "WHY DID YOU SPARE ME? WHY?"

"The sacrificed ones are chosen at random, my boy."

"Sacrifice? Is that what my mother was to you?"

"We…"

He was cut off by A'Sharad clenching his fist in hate as he crushed the man's throat. He lifted him with his mind and slammed him into the ground, causing the soldiers to step a few steps backwards. A'Sharad lifted them with his mind and crushed them like the insects they were. He fell to his knees, horrified by what he had just done.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he said through tears.

He slowly got to his feet. He would need to leave his world. The Insurgents would be looking for him. Where would he go? Where would no one look for him? Coruscant, the headquarters of the mystical Jedi Knights, warriors who used the light half of the mystical Force. He would need a ship. He looked down at his victims, searching for valuables. His eyes were once again drawn to the leader's helmet. He pulled it off the dead man's body. He found a blaster. This would do.

He hopped on his speeder bike and set off for the spaceport. Once he reached it, he hopped his speeder to find a ship. He saw an elderly man leaving his ship. Perfect. He would get a ship and no one had to get hurt. A'Sharad sprinted into the ship. Fortunately his father had taught him how to fly at a young age. He prepped the ship's engines. Once they were ready, he set off for Coruscant.

The Insurgents, he realized, made a valid point. Life could not go on if resources were used faster than they could be produced and harvested. He himself saw what overpopulation could do to a world. Only after losing his mother, did he see the bigger picture. The needs of the few outweighed the needs of the many.

His ship dropped out of hyperspace to the planet of Coruscant. It was even more beautiful than people said. The complexity of its artificial atmosphere was mesmerizing to A'Sharad. As soon as his ship dropped out of hyperspace, he saw the legendary Jedi temple and he somehow, he felt the power radiating from it. He didn't know much about the Jedi, but he knew that they used their incredible powers with the Force to help those in need. He wondered why they had not come to his world. He chalked it up to the fact that the Jedi protected the entire galaxy every single day. They did the best they could.

He landed his ship by the magnificent temple. The second he lowered the ship's ramp, two Jedi sprinted out to great him. One of them was a human male in his late fifties, possibly early sixties, with a short beard and long brown hair, and the other, a Kel Dor. Both were holding the legendary weapon of a Jedi: the lightsaber.

"Jedi," he whispered.

"Who are you?" the human asked.

"I'm A'Sharad Hett."

"Hett?"

"Yes."

"There was once a Jedi Master named Hett. Are you related to him?"

"What was his first name?"

"Salrar Hett."

"Yes. He was my great, great grandfather."

"We will grant you an audience with Grand Master Yoda."

"Who?"

"He is the Master of the entire Jedi Order. He keeps the peace within the Order. His wisdom is great, as is his power. He is more powerful than any Jedi," the Kel Dor said.

"I look forward to meeting him."

"Come inside."

A'Sharad followed the two Jedi up the golden temple steps, marveling at the beauty of the temple. The two Jedi and A'Sharad boarded a turbolift.

"What's your name?" A'Sharad asked the human.

"I am Qui-Gon Jinn and this is my colleague Plo Koon."

The turbolift came to a stop, its doors opening to reveal a chamber of some kind with twelve chairs, the center one occupied by a small green alien.

"Master Qui-Gon, Master Plo. Something to report have you? Hmm?" the little creature asked.

"Yes," Qui-Gon said. "This boy, he landed his ship here and he claims to be a descendant of Salrar Hett."

"Hmm. Why come here have you?"

"I came to become a Jedi, to help people, to bring prosperity to the galaxy."

"Prosperity," Yoda said. "I sense a desire to do good in you, but also a great anger and darkness."

"Sometimes anger allows you to accomplish your goals when nothing else will," Hett said.

"Hmm. Know that look in your eyes, I do. Forged by war and death you have been."

"Does that matter if I want to help others?"

"Sometimes the desire to do good can lead one down a path of darkness," Plo said. "Tell me young Hett, if we accepted you into the Order, what would you use your power for."

"I would, along with the rest of the Jedi, would use our power to kill half of all life in the galaxy."

"You call that making peace?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Back on my homeworld there was a group known as the Insurgents. My world was overpopulated and the Insurgents proposed a solution: kill half of all life, freeing up resources."

"And you were one of these Insurgents?" Qui-Gon asked.

"No. They stormed my house and killed my mother in front of me. Only after I lost her did I see the bigger picture."

"Did the Insurgents just let you walk free?" Plo asked.

"No. I killed them."

"How?"

"I can't explain. I somehow killed them by using my anger for them to crush them."

"Hmm. Touched the dark side you did."

"I know of the Force and of its two sides."

"Hmm. Be controlled by their emotions a Jedi cannot be. Ask you to leave we do."

"You would let the galaxy suffer and die because you are unwilling to make the necessary sacrifice."

"Judge, jury, and executioner we are not."

Hett tightened his hand in anger at the Jedi's ignorance.

"You will pay for your unwillingness to do what must be done."

"And I assume you will be the one to make us pay," Plo said.

"Not now, maybe not for fifty years, but I will make you pay."

"Escort him out," Qui-Gon said.

A masked temple guard grabbed Hett's shoulder, but Hett sent him back with a blast of anger, causing all the Jedi to activate their lightsabers and hold them to Hett's throat.

"I SAID LEAVE!" Qui-Gon yelled.

Hett turned around and boarded the turbolift, leaving the Jedi alone. Qui-Gon helped the guard to his feet.

"Are you all right, Magnus?" Qui-Gon asked.

"I'm fine," the guard said. "That kid had a lot of power."

"Hmm. Indeed he does," Yoda said. "Sense great darkness and anger in him I do."

"I think we all did," Plo said.

"I wonder why destroying half of all life is the only way to bring peace to the galaxy," Qui-Gon mused.

"I would assume his beliefs were formed by his experienced on his homeworld," Plo said.

"Agree with Master Plo, I do," Yoda said.

"What do you think will happen to him now?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Find a new life here on Coruscant, I think he will. Go back to his homeworld he will not."

"Do you think he needs a place to stay?" Plo asked.

"No. Resourceful he is. Find his way he will."

A'Sharad slammed his fist on the side of his ship in anger. How dare the Jedi deny him? All the legends he had heard about the selfless, compassionate Jedi had been lies. They were unwilling to make the necessary sacrifice to bring peace to the galaxy. Peacekeepers? No. They were selfish fools who ignored worlds like his while they rested in their cradle of power. He would do what the Jedi lacked the strength to do.

There was, however, an alternate path to his goal, but he doubted that would be possible. He had heard legends of an ancient order of dark warriors known as the Sith. In fact, when he was younger, he had read a few ancient books telling of the Sith and their power. Much to A'Sharad's dismay, the Jedi had killed the Sith long ago, so learning from a Dark Lord would not be an option. A few of A'Sharad's friends back on Provic Minor had also heard of the ancient Sith. They viewed the Sith as evil, power hungry monsters. As of a few days ago, A'Sharad would have agreed, but he saw things differently now. Yes, some Sith probably used their powers for selfish gain, but not all of them. He had heard tales of Sith Lords who would use their great power to become kings of entire worlds and use that power to bring peace and prosperity to the worlds they ruled.

"A'Sharad," a voice whispered.

A'Sharad turned around, looking for the source of the voice.

"A'Sharad."

"Who are you?"

"I can help you. I can help you become what you were always meant to be."

"That being?"

"A Dark Lord of the Sith capable of bringing a lasting peace to this galaxy."

"Where are you?"

"Underneath this temple."

"How am I supposed to get there? I just go kicked out of the temple. There's no way they're going to let me back in."

"No, but there is another way inside."

"Do enlighten me."

"Do you see that lock?"

A'Sharad looked around the temple steps, searching for some kind of locking mechanism.

"Found it."

"Good. Now focus on it. See the gears turning in your mind's eye."

A'Sharad did so and saw a small section of the steps open to reveal a hidden tunnel.

"Go inside."

"What? No. I'm not going in there."

"Do you want to bring peace to this galaxy?"

A'Sharad nodded.

"As I thought."

A'Sharad walked into the steps. The second he was inside, he saw the entrance shut, sealing him inside the steps.

"Good. Do you feel something up ahead? Something cold?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now follow it."

A'Sharad nodded. As he was walking, he began to notice a gradual descent. He was going underground. He tried to focus on that cold, dark thing the voice told him about. He slowed down as to not fall. A'Sharad bumped into a wall.

"There's a wall there," the voice said.

"You think?"

"Turn right."

A'Sharad did so, following he looping tunnel. He exited the tunnel, ending up in a dimly lit room with several sets of armor and masks. He set his eyes on a display stand of some kind and atop it was a triangular object of some kind.

"The object, come to it."

A'Sharad did so, taking off a protective clear case and grabbing the object."

"Good. Now open it."

"How?"

"The same way opened the lock. Use your anger to will it to open."

A'Sharad did so. The object shifted into a projector of some kind.

"Congratulations on opening my holocron," a hologram of a figure wearing light combat armor and a mask or some kind said. "Now tell me, do you know who I am?"

"No."

"I am Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith and creator of the Rule of Two."

"Why did you call me here?"

"I know of your ambitions to bring peace to this galaxy."

"How are you speaking to me? Are you a recording of some kind?"

"Yes and no."

"Explain."

"I am a unique interfacing technology. I contain all the memories of Darth Bane and I can pull from those memories to answer any question you ask."

"I see."

"Are you the only remaining Sith, or soon to be Sith?"

"I am."

"I see. In order to become a Dark Lord, you must cast off your old name."

"Cast it off?"

"Yes. My name before I came to know the dark side was Dessel, but that is not my true name. Dessel died when Bane was born."

"I understand."

"You must take up the title of Darth. All Sith under my Rule of Two are required to."

"How do I decide my second name?"

"I discovered my true name long after I first heard it. When I was a child, my father would call me the bane of his existence. After I killed him and joined the Sith Order, I took the name meant as an insult and made into a name that induced fear and terror into the hearts of my enemies. Tell me, what would strike fear into yours?"

A'Sharad was silent, clearly deep in thought. It came to him.

"Krayt."

"Krayt?"

"Yes. I've heard many a tale of the Krayt dragon, a massive reptilian creature from the desert world of Tatooine. They devour anything or anyone that intrudes on their territory."

"A wise choice."

"The Jedi all but rule the galaxy. I will go into hiding until the time is right. When my power is great enough, I will destroy the Jedi."

"A wise choice, Darth Krayt, Dark Lord of the Sith. Take my holocron. You will learn much from it."

"I will."

"Tell me, Darth Krayt, to which world will you go?"

"What is a world strong with the dark side?"

"The galaxy is full of many such worlds."

"I need one with the strongest connection."

"Moraban is the world you're looking for. It is the birthplace of the Sith. You will find much wisdom there. The coordinates are inside my holocron."

"Thank you for your help."

"The Sith Order must survive, no matter the cost. I have faith in you, faith that one day you will accomplish your goal of galactic peace and balance. Once you reach your potential, the Jedi will crumble before you. However, I do have a warning."

"What is it?"

"There are two ancient Jedi prophecies, that of the Sword and that of the Chosen One. The Sword is to draw out the dark side while the Chosen One is to destroy it once and for all. If and when you come across these two beings, kill them."

"I will."

"Good. Go, Darth Krayt. Go and rebuild the Order of the Sith Lords."

"It shall be done."

1

Apprentices and Visions

How very, very ignorant Krayt had been thirty-three years ago. What was he thinking when he blindly assumed he was the only Sith Lord in the galaxy? It turns out that not one, not two, not even three, but five Sith Lords existed since the time he first became a Dark Lord. The galaxy had been under the control of a Dark Lord named Sidious and his two apprentices Siege and Nexus. Sidious, however, was defeated by a small strike team of Jedi and Siege and Nexus turned to the light side. According to rumors, Sidious was killed by a Jedi named Ahsoka Tano. That was seventeen years ago.

Around five years ago, another Dark Lord by the name of Plagueis, along with his apprentice Mara Jade begun plans to finish what Sidious started: galactic domination. They, like Sidious, had failed. Jade turned to the light and Plagueis was killed by a Jedi Master named Anakin Skywalker.

These Dark Lords had failed. He would not. He had learned much from the holocron of Darth Bane and even more from the spirits of long dead Sith Lords on the Sith world of Moraban. He had made Moraban his home, growing stronger each and every day. Krayt had also forged a set of cortosis armor, capable of withstanding blasters and even lightsabers. In addition, the armor had several spike like protrusions on the knees and elbows, capable of being used as weapons. Krayt also wore the helmet of the man he had killed all those years ago. He had always admired the helmet and decided it would strike terror into his Jedi enemies.

Like all Sith, Krayt had created a lightsaber. Its hilt was silver, like most lightsabers. That, however was where all similarities ended. As a kind of rite of passage to becoming a Dark Lord, Krayt had ventured to the desert world of Tatooine and killed the animal for which he named himself after: the Krayt dragon. After he killed the beast, he removed on of its teeth and put it on the pommel of his lightsaber, creating a unique aesthetic appeal as well as a weapon. The Dark Lord had found his kyber crystal, or more accurately, relived the crystal a from a Jedi Master named Kirak Infil'a when he killed the Jedi and used the dark side to 'bleed' Infil'a's crystal, giving it its crimson color.

It could have all been much, much different. He'd seen an alternate future in which Sidious managed to maintain control of the galaxy and Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side and became Sidious' apprentice known as Darth Vader. Apparently, Vader had a son who managed to dethrone the Emperor and redeem Vader. This peace, however, did not last. Thirty years later, the galaxy came under control of a mysterious master of the dark side and his apprentice, a descendent of Vader. Much like his ancestor, this warrior wore a black mask and wielded a crimson lightsaber, but his was of ancient design. How truly amazing it was, Krayt thought, that changing a singular event could have such drastic altercations for the entire galaxy.

He didn't know the exact turn of events, merely saw important events. Ahsoka slashing Vader's mask, only to discover that he was in fact Anakin Skywalker, her former master and friend was in fact the loyal Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious. He saw a pilot strong with the Force destroying an Imperial battle station, Vader butchering rebels with stolen battle plans and striking down Obi-Wan Kenobi. That same pilot becoming one with the Force after projecting himself across the galaxy. The descendant of Vader staring at the Dark Lord's melted mask. Ahsoka in a white robe going on a journey to find a long lost friend.

But that alternate turn of events did not concern Krayt, merely intrigued him. All that did concern him was bringing peace. However, he could not bring galactic balance to the galaxy without help. He would need apprentices. Only his would succeed when Plagueis's and Sidious's had failed. Where would he find these apprentices? They needed to be strong in the Force and quick to embrace their anger. They needed to deny the light, unlike the apprentices of Plagueis and Sidious. He would train them that the dark was the only way, but he would also teach them why he was doing this. He did not seek power for power's sake. He needed to bring peace to the galaxy and he could only do that with the power of the dark side. The Jedi claimed to be peacekeepers, but they lacked the courage to do what was required in order to obtain peace.

Ah, yes. He felt them. Two beings on the world of… No. They could not be from his homeworld. But they were. Krayt would help them escape the same fate he had. They were desperate for freedom and Krayt would be the one to deliver it. But he would first need to grow his own power. He already had a plan as for how to increase his power enough to destroy half of all life, but that would need to wait. For now, he knew he needed something faster. He could attempt to reopen the holocron of Darth Bane, but he'd learned all he possibly could from Bane's holocron. He would need more than a mere holocron. Was it time? He feared this day for a long, long time. He had come into possession of the mask of the Dark Lord Darth Nihilus several years ago. Once he had put the mask on, hoping to gain knowledge from the Dark Lord, but Nihilus attempted to take possession of Krayt's spirit.

No. He was stronger now. His strength of will had tripled since the last time he put Nihilus' mask on. But was he strong enough to hold off the spirit of Nihilus, yet still learn from it? Only one way to find out. Krayt took off his horned helmet and slipped on the white mask of Darth Nihilus.

"Darth Krayt, do you think yourself strong enough to resist me this time?" Nihilus asked.

Krayt fell to his knees as he clutched his head in pain. Nihilus was taking over. No. He would not let him. He was Darth Krayt, Dark Lord of the Sith and he would not be ruled by anyone or anything.

"Silence," Krayt commanded.

The spirit of Nihilus silenced itself.

"Your willpower has now exceeded mine. What brings you to me?"

"I need, well, I'm not entirely sure. I just need more power."

"Be more specific."

"I've learned all the Force abilities of the Sith and mastered them, but I need a power greater than that. I need the power to defeat a dozen Jedi."

"I know of your plan to drain dark side Force nexuses to complete your plan. What more could you possibly need?"

"I will go through with that, but I need to grow in power quicker than that. The Jedi I must eventually confront are more powerful than any Jedi in history."

"You must be over exaggerating. During my lifetime, I faced some of the most powerful Jedi. I'm sure you've heard of the Jedi Meetra Surik."

"The Exile," Krayt said. "Yes, I've heard of her."

"Then you know that she was a wound in the Force and she defeated three Sith Lords in her lifetime. How many have your Jedi defeated?"

"Two, but I know that Meetra only killed two Sith. Darth Sion was killed four times by Surrik, but he rose back each time. Meetra convinced him to let go of his hate. We both know Sion did so. If he did not, he would have killed Meetra. Had Sion wished it, he could have stayed alive and killed Surrik."

"Tell me of these Jedi so I might know how to help you defeat them."

"Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano are the Jedi I speak of."

"Skywalker? I know I've heard that name."

"He is the Chosen One."

"The Chosen One is a myth."

"So is the Sith'ari."

"No! The Sith'ari is a reality!"

"Now tell me this. How is the Sith'ari prophecy any different from the Chosen One? Both are foretold saviors of their orders. The Sith'ari will bring total darkness and the Chosen One will bring balance. There is no difference. Both are true."

"And Tano? Tell me of her."

"I've come to the conclusion that she is the Sword of the Jedi."

"Impossible. The Sword is even more of a myth than the Chosen One."

"Have you ever heard of the Sith demon Darth Andrealphus?"

"I have."

"Tano killed him."

"I'm listening."

"My point is that these two Jedi aren't to be underestimated. In addition, they've begun to rebuild the Jedi Order. The Order is small as of now, but it consists of around ten Jedi. I need the power to defeat them."

"I see. You need apprentices."

"I know that, you fool!"

"Do not speak to me like that."

"You are a mask. You have no power to command me. Surely you can tell me something I don't know."

"I can give you nothing."

"Sure you can. It might just take some, shall we say, convincing."

Krayt forced his will on Nihilus, causing the spirit to cry out in pain.

"Sever Force!"

"Go on."

"Sever Force allows its user to drain or disrupt its target's connection to the Force."

"Why did you hesitate to tell me this?" Krayt asked.

"It is a light side power not fitting of a Sith."

"The light has its uses."

"You are not a Sith if you believe that."

"If I wasn't a Sith, could I have bled a kyber crystal? Could I have opened a Sith holocron? Could I have overpowered your spirit? Could I have killed my mother's murderer in cold blood? No. I am a Sith. I assure you."

"Very well. The Jedi use Force sever to disrupt an individual's connection to the Force, but the Jedi always spare their target. If the Sith use this ability, the Sith will kill their helpless target. But I warn you, if the Jedi's connection to the Force and willpower is strong enough, the sever will have little to no effect on them. I would use this ability sparingly. It will backfire if the Jedi can resist it. Use this only on weaker Jedi."

"I see. Now teach me."

"It is quite simple. Focus on the Jedi's midi-chlorians and use the Force to attack them. But use this only as a last resort. It takes great concentration to perform this ability and if that concentration is severed, you will be left vulnerable."

"I see. Is there anything else you have to tell me?"

"No."

"You've been most helpful," Krayt said as he took off Nihilus' mask.

"You will pay a price for…"

"But I no longer have use of you," Krayt said as he crushed the mask and killed the spirit of Nihilus.

Krayt put his own helmet back on and walked outside the Sith cave. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the light outside. He had not left the cave, nor had he ate or drank for several years. His connection the dark side kept him alive, but he would need food eventually. He walked to his ship and began to prep the engines. Surely he had something to eat on his ship. Nothing.

"Fantastic," Krayt growled to himself.

The engines were ready and Krayt took off for Provic Minor to find his new apprentices.

Terra Korrin and her sister Jyn saw, no, felt someone coming for them.

"I feel it too," Jyn said as she brushed her long, purple hair out of her face. "The cold."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure."

The two sisters lived in a small home together near to the former base of the Insurgents. The Insurgents had completed their mission nearly twenty years ago. Half of all life on their world had been erased, including their mother's. Their father could not live with the grief of their mother's death. He killed himself when Jyn was only nine and Terra was only two. Jyn had taken several odd jobs over the years. She had done the best she could to provide for herself and her sister.

Jyn had been bitter at her father for longer than she could remember, bitter at his weakness and unwillingness to carry on. But he made the choice to be selfish and leave Jyn and her sister alone to die. Jyn, however, was a survivor. At first, she told her sister that their father had been killed by Insurgents, but when she was old enough, Jyn told her the truth. It devastated Terra, but she, much like her sister, was a fighter and would do whatever it took to survive.

A few years back, Jyn and Terra had attracted the attention of a bounty hunter named Boba Fett. Fett had taken the sisters under his wing, training them to be experts with the blaster as well as the sword. Fett, Jyn, and Terra had collected several bounties together, the most notable one being an ancient artifact known as a holocron. Fett, as a token of appreciation, gifted the holocron to the sisters. They accepted and once Fett had hired a few more team members, he offered them a permanent place on his crew. The sisters, however, denied, requesting they be brought back to their homeworld.

When Fett asked why, they told him that their place was here. Fett, out of respect and almost love said nothing more, dropping them off on their world as he set out among the stars. Fett, however, did gift the sisters two ancient weapons known as lightsabers. He told them they would know how to use it. After all, it was very similar to a sword, a weapon that both sisters were proficient at using.

"The shadow," Jyn said. "He's here."

"I know."

Darth Krayt, Dark Lord of the Sith landed on his homeworld of Provic Minor. They were close, very close. The Dark Lord leaped out of his recently acquired ship, a streamlined Raider-class corvette named the Seeker, to a small home. His apprentices were waiting. Krayt kicked the door down and came inside to see two women. One woman had long black hair, light tan skin, and appeared to be in her early twenties. While the other had pail skin, long purple hair, and also appeared to be in her early twenties, although she might have been a few years older than the other one.

"Who are you?" the purple haired one asked.

"I am Darth Krayt, Dark Lord of the Sith, and bringer of balance across the stars."

"Balance?" the black haired one asked. "You're an insurgent, aren't you?"

Much to Krayt's surprise, the both women activated lightsabers, one green, and the other blue.

"Where did you get those? You aren't Jedi, are you?"

"We aren't, but we know how to use a sword."

Krayt sighed and used the Force to yank the sabers from the women's grasp.

"You are clearly not Jedi."

"What do you want with us, insurgent scum?" the younger asked.

"No. It is what you want from me."

"Explain."

"I am no friend of the Insurgents. In fact, my mother was killed by them."

"I assume they left you alive as part of their grand plan."

"Yes. They did. And that was a mistake, mistake they later regretted. I assume both of you know what the Force is."

"We do."

"I used my anger for them to kill them, crushing them with my rage."

"You killed their leader. That's why they never resurfaced."

"You are correct."

"You still haven't told us what you want with us," the older said.

"Tell me your names."

"My name's Jyn," the older said. "This is my sister Terra."

"Ah. Tell me Jyn and Terra, what do you want?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"What? Do? Want? What is that one thing you have been seeking your entire life, yet have never been able to grasp?"

"Peace," Terra said.

"Peace. I seek the same thing, you know. I use my powers in the Force to bring peace to entire worlds, but I lack the power to do the same for the entire galaxy. I need apprentices with the same mindset as mine."

"Why should we believe you?"

"In the few minutes I've known you, I know everything about you. I know your mother was killed by the Insurgents. I know your father committed suicide shortly afterwards. I know the bounty hunter Boba Fett trained you in the ways of combat, both with a blaster and a sword. I know Jyn has a secret passion: to sing, to use her voice to inspire hope in those with none. I know that Terra places far, far too much confidence in the way she looks. If she is not up to her own ridiculously high standards, she loses confidence in herself. Oh, I forgot to add that your last name is Korrin. Did I miss anything?"

The sisters remained silent for a few moments.

"No."

"I thought not. Now listen to me. We are the saviors of the galaxy and we will not be ruled. We are Dark Lords of the Sith and we won't bow to the Jedi! They will not control us anymore. We will not conform to the ways of this galaxy anymore. The Jedi want to bring war upon the galaxy! We must kill them."

"We have no quarrel with the Jedi."

"Not personally, no. But they are the ones who stand in the way of peace. Do you want that?"

"No," Jyn said. "But how do we know you won't kill us?"

"You don't. But you don't have many options. I could kill you if you refuse, or you could come with me and live."

"We will come."

"A wise choice."

"Better than death," Terra said.

"That it is," Krayt said. "Now come. We have a galaxy to bring peace to."

Ahsoka Tano swung her lightsaber at Anakin Skywalker, hammering away at his defenses. Anakin swung at Ahsoka, but she back flipped away from his blade. Ahsoka broke Anakin's Force wall with a Force push, sending him back. Anakin quickly recovered, launching himself at Ahsoka, but she intercepted his blade with hers, guiding Anakin's down. Ahsoka backhanded Anakin, sending him staggering back a few paces, but he quickly regained his ground, using his superior height and strength to smash his blade on hers. Ahsoka intercepted it, but Anakin could tell it was straining her. Ahsoka used the Force to boost her strength, shoving Anakin's blade upwards and sent him back with a blast of Force energy.

"Ouch," Anakin said.

Ahsoka grinned and brought her blades down on Anakin's, but he was ready. He caught her with the Force, shoving her backwards. Anakin slashed left, right, down, down, up, but Ahsoka expertly sidestepped or blocked each and every attack. Ahsoka flipped over Anakin, slashing him across the back with her saber. Fortunately for Anakin, his armor-weave cape prevented and otherwise lethal blow.

"Hey, that cape's expensive," Anakin said.

"A new back would be even more so."

Anakin slashed at Ahsoka, but she caught his blade with hers, guiding it upwards and kicking Anakin's stomach, slashing him across his helmet face, and sending him to the ground. Anakin flipped over a strike from Ahsoka, but he was unprepared for a blast of Force fire.

"Hey! I thought we were playing nice!"

"The Sith won't play nice, Anakin."

"The Sith are dead."

"That's what we thought after we killed Sidious. We were obviously wrong."

"Fair point."

The two Jedi deactivated their lightsabers.

"But do you still think they'll come back?" Anakin asked. "The Sith?"

"I'm not sure, but we must always be ready for their return. And their revenge."

A few years back, the New Jedi Order, consisting of Anakin, Ahsoka, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Darrgan Phecotr, Riveced Shargel, and Hedala Fardi, had found the lost homeworld of the Jedi: Ahch-To, a world primarily covered by oceans, although it did have several islands. The Jedi made themselves at home on the world, taking in the ancient knowledge of the Force from ancient manuscripts. From what Anakin and Ahsoka were able to determine, the very first Jedi could use Force abilities that even powerful Masters like Yoda could only ever dream of wielding. These ancient Jedi were able to do this because of their stance in the Force. They were fully in the light, but they did not disregard positive emotions. Emotions, if used properly, could be used to fuel a Jedi in a time when nothing else would.

Ahsoka and Anakin, as well as most of the other Jedi, first learned the ways of balance on the world of Tython. Ahsoka and Anakin's power had increased exponentially after they learned the ways of balance. Due to their stance in the Force, the Jedi were able to use abilities such as Force lightning. They embraced their emotions, but didn't give into them.

"I just don't know if we're doing enough to prepare," Ahsoka said.

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked as he removed his helmet.

"Our power is growing, but I feel like something else is growing in power."

"Another Sith?"

"I'm not sure."

"Hey guys, what's up?" Riveced asked as he walked inside the temple training room.

"Hello, Riveced," Ahsoka said. "Anakin and I were just discussing the possible return of the Sith."

"Oh, no."

"Tell me about it," Anakin said. "If you ask me, I think Ahsoka's a little paranoid."

"Not paranoid, just prepared."

"I see."

"Did you need something?" Ahsoka asked.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

Ahsoka nodded as Riveced left the room.

"Something's bothering him," Ahsoka said.

"How can you tell?"

"I've always been able to read emotions pretty easily, even the emotions of Force-sensitives. I can sense his unrest, although I could tell he was trying to hide it."

"Do you have an idea what he could be concerned about?"

"No, but it can't be good."

"I'll talk to Darrgan," Ahsoka said. "He's one of Riveced's best friends. I think he'll be able to find out more than you or me."

"I agree. I can talk to him later."

Darrgan sensed Riveced's anxiety as he walked out of the training room.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Alright."

"I'm off to the combat simulator. Want to come?"

"I'll catch up," Darrgan said.

Riveced nodded. The second he turned around, Anakin and Ahsoka walked out of the sparing room.

"Grand Master Skywalker, Master Tano, I didn't know you were in there."

"Hello Darrgan," Ahsoka said. "Have you seen Riveced recently?"

"Yeah. I just finished talking to him. Why do you ask?"

"He just felt…off, not his normal self."

"I noticed that too."

"Did he tell you anything?" Anakin asked.

"No. Do you think something's wrong?"

"We aren't sure, but we think because of your friendship with him, you might be able to determine what the trouble is."

"Where is he now?" Anakin asked.

"He just went off to the combat simulator. Do you want me to go after him?"

"Yes."

"I'm on it."

Darrgan began walking to the simulator when Ahsoka called out to him.

"Darrgan, make sure he tells you everything."

"I will."

Riveced activated the Jedi training droid

"Simulation 1528: Anakin Skywalker."

The droid morphed into Anakin as he activated a blue lightsaber. Riveced grinned and rushed Anakin, but he quickly redirected Riveced's blade and sent him back with a kick to the stomach. Anakin swung at Riveced, but he managed to catch the blade with his own and blast Anakin with a Force push, sending him back a few paces, but he quickly recovered and blasted Riveced with a simulated Force push. The droid had unique repulse technology to represent to use of the Force. It also had a modified shock gauntlet and flamethrower capable of replicating Force lightning and Force fire. However, those features were deactivated, due to the fact that, because of his mechanical limbs, Anakin could not use those abilities.

Riveced slashed Anakin's chest, but he blocked it and redirected it upwards, sending Riveced back with a blast. Anakin backhanded Riveced, kicked him to the ground, and held a lightsaber to his throat.

"You are beaten!"

"I noticed."

The door to the combat room opened to reveal Darrgan.

"End simulation," Riveced said.

The droid deactivated, allowing Riveced to get to his feet.

"Hey," Darrgan said.

"Hey. What's up?"

"I could ask you the same question. Anakin and Ahsoka are worried about you and I am too, at least somewhat."

"Thanks, I guess."

"No problem."

"Something has been bothering me. Remember the visions we had when we were Sith?"

"How could I forget?"

"I'm seeing that woman, the one with purple hair, in my dreams. In some I kill her. In others she kills me, but the one I was truly and utterly shocked by was the final one."

"Care to tell me what that final one is?"

"The two of us…we fall in love."

"Ah. I must ask a very, very serious question."

"What is it?"

"How attractive is she?"

"Oh. Uh, very. Why do you ask? But your definition of attractive and mine might differ. Besides, attractions are forbidden."

"Not for Anakin and Ahsoka," Darrgan said.

"But they have such great control of their emotions. Somehow I don't feel we do. We will always have that small bit of Sith in us that we can never fully vanquish. My loyalty is to the Jedi and the Jedi alone, but I am, to some extent at least, a Sith and always will be. You understand, right?"

"I do indeed," Darragn said. "Once you become a Sith, you can never truly forget what you have learned."

"I'm still a little jarred by our question."

"Which one?" Darrgan asked.

"The one about how attractive she is, you idiot."

"Oh, yeah."

Riveced shook his head.

"I've had a vision too," Darrgan said.

"And you didn't care to tell Anakin and Ahsoka?"

"Really I would just need to tell Anakin. He is the Grand Master, after all."

"I still think Ahsoka would be a better Grand Master," Riveced said.

"A debate for another time. The point is my vision was of a woman with long black hair and, oh, my, words can't be used to describe her."

"Oh, my."

"Oh my indeed. I had similar visions to yours. In one she killed me. In one I killed her and in the final one we fell in love."

"Have you discovered her name?"

"No. What about you?"

"No."

"Should we keep this under wraps for now?" Darrgan asked.

"For now I think we should, but we tell Anakin and Ahsoka the second we discover the visions' meanings."

"I agree. On a side note, I do have something to take our minds off this whole vision thing for a little while."

"That being?"

"My kyber crystal has been speaking to me. Has yours?"

"No. Why do you think that is?"

"Our blades are white because we cleansed them of the dark side, so I don't know why the kyber wants me to reconnect with it."

"I wonder why."

"Beats me," Darrgan said as he took his saber apart and wrapped his hand around the crystal.

"What's it saying?" Riveced asked.

"You know as I that kybers don't speak as we do."

"Yeah, I do. You know what I mean."

"It feels a lack of connection with me."

"You can be kind of hard to get along with, sometimes."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Darrgan felt the energies of the light side and the kyber crystal flow through him. He let its connection to him increase, imbued his personality to it. It turned from a pure white to an incredibly light green."

"That's different. I've never seen that light a green in a lightsaber." Riveced said.

"What do you think it means?"

"Well, green means you're strong in the Force and white means you've cleansed the darkness from a crystal. I assume this is a combination of the two, but I could be entirely wrong."

"I'm just curious why your crystal didn't want you to connect with it," Darrgan mused.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Terra, I name you Darth…Mesmerious. Rise."

Terra did so.

"Jyn, I name you Darth…Magmus. Rise."

Jyn did so, her purple hair flowing in the winds of Moraban.

"We begin your training now," Krayt said as he activated his crimson lightsaber. "Attack."

The sisters did so, Mesmerious going high and Magmus low, but Krayt easily dodged both attacks. The sisters swung in tandem, but Krayt blocked with his own blade and used his far superior strength to shove the sisters to the ground.

"No! You are relying on your strength! That might have worked on bounty hunters, but it will not work on me. Do not try to beat one at one's own game. Don't fight with your lightsaber like a sword. It is not. It is far, far different."

"Doesn't look that different to me," Mesmerious said.

"Looks, as you well know, can be deceiving. The lightsaber is powered by a crystal known as a kyber crystal. The crystal is, to some extent, alive. Feel the energy of the crystal. Work with it not against it. Feel it through the Force. If you silence your mind, you will hear the crystal. Now attack."

The sisters did, only this time Mesmerious leaped over Krayt while Magmus stabbed at his stomach. Krayt grinned at his apprentices' cunning. He spun around to block Mesmerious and shoved Magmus back with a Force push. Mesmerious growled in anger, swinging wildly at Krayt.

"Yes! Use your anger! It makes you strong!"

Magmus leaped at Krayt, but he blocked her saber, guiding it upward and kicking her face. Mesmerious used the Dark Lord's distraction to her advantage, slashing at Krayt's arm, but he thrust his saber at her, forcing her on the defensive. Krayt quickly overwhelmed her, knocking her to the ground. The second before he impaled Mesmerious, Magmus' blade blocked his. Somehow, Magmus forced Krayt's blade upwards, sending him back with a kick to the face.

"Impressive."

Magmus growled and set Krayt back a few centimeters with a Force push. Krayt smiled as his apprentice swung at his helmeted face. He flipped out of the blades way with grace not fitting of a man of his size. Magmus thrust her saber at him, but he intercepted it and disarmed her.

"There is much for you to learn, but powerful Sith you will become, especially you, Magmus. Your anger has made you strong."

Krayt helped Magmus to her feet.

"I have a task for you."

"What is it, Master?" Mesmerious asked.

"Your lightsabers. Give them to me."

The sisters did so, only for Krayt to crush them.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"These are not your lightsabers."

"They were until you destroyed them!"

"No. Those were Jedi lightsabers. Your saber must be unique to you and you alone. No two lightsabers are the same."

Krayt pulled two crystals from each saber, one green, the other blue.

"Look at my lightsaber. Admire its beauty, its craftsman ship."

"Way to brag," Magmus remarked.

"Not all sabers are beautiful. Some are made for functionality, for wartime. What shall your look like?"

"How do we build them?" Magmus asked.

Krayt pulled a small triangular object from seemingly know where.

"What is that?" Mesmerious questioned.

"This is a holocron, a device used to store knowledge and secrets of the Force. This holocron was made by the first Dark Lord in the lineage of the Rule of Two: Darth Bane. You will learn how to construct a lightsaber from him the way I did."

"How do we open it?" Mesmerious asked.

"Anger, my apprentice. Anger is the key. But not just anger, focused anger. Anger by itself is nothing, only when channeled can anger be the key. Anger and focus are the path to power. Now open it. Discover the best kept secrets of my generation, the best kept secrets of all time."

The two apprentice focused on their anger for Krayt, for their father, for the Insurgents and the holocron began to open, projecting an image of a man wearing light body armor and a helmet of some kind.

"I'll leave you to it. I recommend constructing your sabers in the cave. It is strong with the dark side."

The apprentices nodded and sent into the cave, letting its darkness overwhelm them. Krayt looked on as his students walked into the cave. They would succeed. He knew it. They would become powerful, far more powerful than Sith apprentices of the past. Would their power surpass his? Most likely, but it did not matter if balance was brought to the galaxy.

The sisters felt the darkness surround them, although they could still somewhat see due to the light given off by Bane's holocron. The two young Sith sat down.

"Tell me you Sith, what do you want to learn?"

"We wish to know how to make a lightsaber."

"Ah. I will project a list of components."

The two looked the list over.

"I wonder if Krayt has any of these parts." Mesmerious mused.

"Probably."

"Should we ask him?"

"I don't see why not."

The two Sith got back up and walked up to The Seeker, knocking on the door when they reached it.

"What is it?"

Terra held up Bane's holocron, displaying the list of components.

"Do you have these?" Magmus asked.

"I do," Krayt said as he retrieved a small sack. "This has all the necessary parts. Now go and make your weapons."

The apprentices nodded and walked back into the cave.

"We have the parts," Jyn said. "What do we do next?"

"Ah," Bane said. "Assemble the sabers as my holocron demonstrates."

They watched Bane, following his every command and constructing their hilts. Magmus noticed a small vibroknife in the bag.

"Hmm."

"What is it?" Mesmerious asked.

"This knife," Magmus said as she held it up. "I'm going to attach it to the bottom of my saber."

"That sounds dangerous."

"It will be for the Jedi."

Magmus removed the saber's pommel, trying to decide the best way to put the knife on.

"Why don't you try to make the pommel around the knife?"

"That's a good idea."

Jyn split the pommel in two, slid the knife hilt in, used the Force to push the pommel pieces tighter together, and reattached it to the lightsaber. She wiggled the pommel, making sure it would still hold up. It would.

"I like it," Mesmerious said.

"Thanks."

Magmus' saber was unique to say the least. It had a slightly curved hilt, a knife blade on the end, and a metallic purple grip. Mesmerious' saber was much more traditional, having a straight silver hilt and no fancy accessories, but it suited her, just like Magmus' colorful saber suited her. However, both lightsabers still needed crystals, red crystals.

"Bane, how do we turn the kybers red?" Magmus asked.

"I was hoping you'd ask. Tell me, what do you think is the source of the Sith's power?"

"Anger," Mesmerious said.

"Be more specific."

"Channeled anger," Magmus said.

"Correct. Do you know why a lightsaber has the color it does?"

"No."

"All kyber crystals are originally clear. They gain their color when the form a bond with a Force-user. A green blade, for example, means one has a great natural connection to the Force. Blue means that the user is a warrior and a master of combat."

"What does red mean?" Magmus asked.

"Ah, red. A crimson saber is unique. Unlike all other colors, crimson requires a certain…passion. To make a crystal red, one must take a Jedi's crystal and pour their hate and suffering into it. I'm sure you know that the kybers are in fact living beings."

"We do."

"They, like all living things, can be made to feel pain, to suffer. Your hate will "bleed" the crystal, giving it its crimson glow. Now, take your crystals and do as I instructed."

The sisters grabbed their crystals, doing as Bane instructed. The crystals, however, had a mind of their own. The hurled Mesmerious and Magmus into the cave wall.

"You didn't tell us they'd do that!" Magmus yelled.

"They are living beings. Now tell me, would a living being let something harm it without putting up a fight?"

"No."

"And neither will the crystal. Your will must overpower its. Show it who commands real power."

The sisters grabbed their crystals, using their hate and imposing their will onto them. Through the Force, Magmus heard her crystal scream, heard its cries of pain. She used her hate for Krayt and her father to silence the crystal's will and replace it with her own, turning the crystal a deep crimson. Mesmerious looked down in her hand at the crimson crystal she now held.

"We did it," Mesmerious said.

"Yes. Yes we did."

Magmus put her crystal back inside her saber and activated its crimson blade. She noticed that her saber's hum was now a deep growl as opposed to the higher pitched one of her un-bled one, most likely due to the crystal's pain and suffering. Mesmerious did likewise, activating her saber and gently swinging it back and forth.

"You notice that deeper growl?" Magmus asked.

"I actually did. I think it's because of all the pain the crystals endured."

"Probably."

"Come on," Mesmerious said. "Let's go show Krayt."

Krayt was growing impatient with his young apprentices. Surely they were about done. Krayt bled his crystal within a few minutes, whereas it had been a day since he'd last seen his apprentices. The Dark Lord heard a knock on door of his ship.

"Enter."

The door opened to reveal his apprentices, each one holding their new hilts.

"Show me your sabers."

Magmus handed hers to Krayt, allowing the Dark Lord to look her saber over.

"I like the knife on the hilt's bottom," Krayt complimented. "As do I like the hilt's noticeable yet subtle curve."

"Thank you Master."

Krayt activated Magmus' saber, admiring its red blade.

"You have done well," Krayt said as he deactivated the saber and handed it back to Magmus.

"Thank you."

"Let me see yours, Mesmerious."

Mesmerious handed her saber over, letting Krayt examine it.

"Simple, yet effective."

"I designed it to suit my needs, Master."

"That is why it is perfect. The most elegantly crafted lightsaber is worthless if the user is not comfortable using it."

The Dark Lord activated the saber's red blade, deactivated it, and tossed the saber back to Mesmerious.

"Well done."

"Thank you Master."

"You have taken your first step into a larger world," Krayt said. "I look forward to continuing your training. You've done well. Now rest."

"Thank you," Mesmerious said.

2

Sith'ari

The Tantive IV dropped out of hyperspace to the Sith world of Dromund Kaas a world plunged in eternal night. Anakin felt the darkness, both physical and spiritual. Fortunately for him, his suit had night vision, one of the many benefits of his helmet, the others being intimation and keeping pesky sand out of his face.

"What exactly did we come here to find?" Ahsoka asked as she and Anakin walked down the ship's ramp.

"To defeat an enemy you must know them. We are searching for a Sith holocron. You know as well as I that despite all their flaws, the Sith teachings hold great value."

"I do indeed."

"The Force sent us here for knowledge. I cannot think of what else we would find on a Sith world other than a Sith holocron."

"What do you think we'll learn from this holocron? Assuming we even find one."

"This is an ancient world and its secrets are great."

The two Jedi walked up to what appeared to be an ancient Sith temple which Anakin assumed, due to the rust plaguing the entire building and the several broken windows, hadn't been visited in several years. Anakin activated his lightsaber and began to carve a hole in the door, kicking it down once the circle was complete. Ahsoka ducked inside the circle and Anakin followed.

"The darkness of this world is…disturbing," Ahsoka said.

"I agree. It's unnatural for a world to be in eternal night."

"I meant the dark side, smart guy."

"Oh, that too."

"I guess literal darkness really doesn't affect you and our night vision."

"Hey, I didn't design the helmet. I just wear it."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. The two Jedi continued on, scanning the temple for holocrons or anything of value.

"He's coming," a voice said.

Ahsoka looked at Anakin and he at her.

"It wasn't me," Anakin said.

"It wasn't me either."

"He's coming," the voice repeated.

"Show yourself!" Anakin shouted in his mechanical voice.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm a prisoner. Follow my voice and I will tell you all you wish to know."

"Anakin, this could just be a trick of the planet."

"No. I can feel him and I know he has something to tell us more valuable than any holocron."

Ahsoka nodded and followed Anakin. Anakin felt the man in the Force and saw through the walls with his helmet's infrared vision. He came to dead end, but he kicked the wall down with his cybernetic might. The second the wall fell down a man appeared before him. The man looked horrible to say the least. He was covered in blood, missing one eye, and both his arms.

"Who are you?" Anakin asked.

"You're Jedi, right?"

Ahsoka nodded.

"He is coming."

"Who is he?" Ahsoka asked. "A Sith?"

The man erupted in a burst of insanity induced laughter.

"He is so much more than any Sith," the man said once he finally stopped laughing.

"Tell us who he is," Anakin demanded, the threat in his voice further amplified by his helmet.

"Is name is Krayt and he will destroy half of the galaxy to get what he wants."

"What does he want?"

"Nobody knows. Some say power. Others say peace. It is impossible to know."

"How do you know about him?" Ahsoka asked.

"He is the prophesied Sith'ari, the one who will take the galaxy for the Sith."

"How powerful is he?"

"Far too powerful for you."

"We've faced countless enemies who've said the same thing," Ahsoka said. "And we beat every last one of them."

"He is different. Krayt is the most powerful Sith in history."

"Once again, we've heard that before."

"No! Krayt will kill you!"

"As long as we have breath in our lungs we will fight the darkness," Ahsoka said.

"Your lungs won't have breath for much longer if you dare to oppose Lord Krayt. His darkness in unknowable."

"We aren't afraid of the dark side. We embrace it, but we don't let it control us," Anakin said. "That is the difference between Sith and Jedi. It'll take more than Krayt can bring to make us back down."

"If you bow to him, he will spare you."

"We never give up. We never back down. We will die before we bow," Ahsoka said.

"Csilla."

"What?"

"If you do dare to oppose him, the key is on Csilla."

"Thrawn's world," Ahsoka said.

"You have been warned."

The man's neck suddenly snapped.

"Anakin?" Ahsoka asked.

"Why did you assume it was me?"

"Well, do you blame me?"

"Not really."

"We need to get back to Ahch-To."

"I agree."

"Good," Darrgan said as his Hedala redirected his light green blade. "Now press the advance."

Hedala did just that, faking a right thrust, but in reality executing a would be kill shot to Darrgan's stomach. Darrgan, however, sidestepped the blade and slammed his saber at Hedala's, forcing her back on the defensive. She away from an overhanded strike from Darrgan and sent him back with a Force push.

"Not bad, for an apprentice," Darrgan said.

Hedala growled and sprinted at Darrgan, her long black hair flowing in the wind. She swung her saber at her master, but he blasted at her with Force fire, forcing her to angle her blade to catch the fire

"Hey! I thought you weren't going to use Force fire!"

"If we come across a Sith, will he refrain from using Force fire?"

"The Sith are dead, Master."

"We don't know that for sure. Ahsoka thinks the Sith might return and we need to be ready for what she views as their inevitable return."

"What if she's just being paranoid?"

"Ahsoka is not one to get easily paranoid."

"She's got a lot on her shoulders. Jedi Master or not, she's still human."

"She's actually a Togruta."

"You know what I mean."

"I do. I just enjoy giving you a hard time."

"I've picked up on that."

The master and apprentice deactivated their lightsabers.

"The lesson in all this, my young apprentice, is that one must always be ready for evil to return."

"I know, Master. It's just that it's been five years since we fought Plagueis and I'd like to think that the Sith are gone, but we rarely get what we want in this line of work. And believe it or not, I do try and listen to you. Sometimes."

"Gee. The fact that you sometimes listen to me is very reassuring."

"You're welcome."

"Hey," Kanan said as he walked outside the temple. "Nice day isn't it?"

"That it is," Darrgan said as he looked around at the mountains, trees, and ocean. "This really is a beautiful world. It's no wonder the first Jedi settled here."

"No wonder indeed."

"Did you need something, Kanan?" Darrgan asked.

"Well maybe I just wanted to talk to a fellow Jedi."

"Uh."

"I'm just kidding. I just needed some sunlight and a little fresh air."

"I know the feeling. It feels like we're always training for something or another. Even though the Sith are, to our knowledge, dead, it feels like we're still fighting some kind of war with them."

"Oh, I actually did have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Masters Skywalker and Tano, the rest of us are going on a mission."

"What mission?" Hedala asked.

"They went to the Sith world of Dromund Kaas to seek out knowledge of the ancient Sith. The best way to defeat one's enemy is to know them."

"When will they be back?'

"They got back a few minutes ago."

"Where are you guys going?"

"We're going to Csilla. Anakin wants to have a little chat with Ar'alani."

"About what?" Hedala asked.

"He says that on he and Ahsoka discovered there is some key to defeating a possible Sith return on Csilla."

"I see."

"You guys are welcome to come."

"I'll probably stay here," Darrgan said.

"Ah, why not?" Hedala asked. "I guess I'll tag along."

"Good to hear it. Darrgan, will you and Riveced be able to hold down the fort?"

"Kanan, you know that this planet is basically unknown to the galaxy, right?"

"You can never be too safe."

"Indeed."

Ahsoka looked behind her to see Kanan, Ezra, and Hedala.

"Hey guys. Are you ready to visit Csilla?"

"What's Csilla like?" Kanan asked.

"From what I've heard it's very cold and it snows almost year round."

"That sounds fun."

"Tell me about it."

"Are you all ready?" Anakin asked as he walked down the Tantive IV's ramp, helmet shined and cape flowing in the wind.

"We are indeed, Master Skywalker," Ezra said.

"Well then, off to Csilla."

Darrgan knocked on Riveced's door. It opened instantly to reveal Riveced, his eyes baggy and his hair and uncombed mess.

"What happened to you?" Darrgan asked. "More visions?"

"Yep."

"I see you've lost quite a bit of sleep because of them."

"How can I sleep when I have these visions every few minutes?"

"Every few minutes?"

"Yes."

"Wow. I'd lose quite a bit of sleep to if I had visions that often."

"Have you had any visions recently?"

"No. What was yours about? The most recent one, I mean."

"This one was much clearer than any of the others. I saw a man, presumably a Sith, fighting Anakin and Ahsoka and by his side are the women we saw in our visions."

"Who wins the fight?"

"I don't know, but now I know that these women are most likely Sith, or at the very least dark Jedi."

"How powerful were they?"

"Powerful enough to contend with Anakin for a brief time. Although Anakin eventually overwhelmed them."

"How powerful was the master?"

"His power was far, far greater than Anakin's and even Ahsoka's."

"More powerful than Sidious? You trained under him, as did I. You know how powerful he was."

"He could crush Sidious."

"What about demon possessed Sidious? Surly he's not that powerful."

"My answer remains the same."

"Wow. This isn't good."

"You think?"

"Well what exactly are we going to do about this?" Darrgan asked. "I think we should tell Anakin and Ahsoka."

"No. Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because they won't be able to help. Only we can solve this because we are the only two who's seen these women. The Force tried to warn us about this decades ago. I think we should listen to it. Anakin and Ahsoka have enough on their minds right now. We just need a little more time."

"How much time is a little? A week? A month? A year? A decade? Where does it end, exactly?"

"I know one sure way we can improve our chances."

"What is that?" Darrgan asked.

"We could work on our dueling skills."

"We're the best swordsmen in the Jedi Order."

"Tell that to Anakin and Ahsoka."

"Fair point."

"If we want to defeat this Dark Lord, we must be as powerful as Anakin and Ahsoka, possibly more so."

"More powerful than Anakin and Ahsoka? Is that even possible?" Darrgan asked.

"I don't know, but one thing's clear: we need to become more powerful."

"I agree. Where should we start?"

"We can't ask for Ahsoka's help, so we do the next best thing," Riveced said.

"Do enlighten me as to what that is."

"We learn from her holocron."

"You're joking. Do you know how heavily guarded that holocron is? It's probably the most sacred artifact in the entire temple. I doubt we can just waltz into the vault and steal it. Can we?"

"We couldn't if Ahsoka and Anakin were here, but they aren't."

"I hate it when you're right."

"I know," Riveced said, his mouth in a smug grin. "Come on. We have a holocron to steal."

The Tantive IV dropped out of hyperspace to the icy world of Csilla.

"So this was Thrawn's homeworld?" Ahsoka asked. "It's beautiful in some strange way."

"I see it as cold and lifeless," Anakin said, the darkness in his voice only furthered by the helmet's vocabulator. "Just like Thrawn."

Anakin landed the ship by a Chiss base of some kind.

"Prepare for a fight," Anakin said as he lowered the ramp.

The Jedi walked outside, as did several hundred Chiss. One brave or foolish Chiss fired a blaster bolt at Anakin, but he raised his gloved hand, catching it. All the Jedi activated their lightsabers at once as the Chiss opened fire. Ahsoka deflected several shots before she lifted ten Chiss with the Force and slammed them into the snowy ground. Anakin put his hand out as he walked toward the Chiss, absorbing their shots. He reached them, sending a Chiss flying back with his cybernetics, another two with kick, another with an uppercut, another with a Force push, another five with a punch, another ten with a kick, and the last six with a Force repulse.

"Wow," Ezra said. "I need to learn how to do that."

"Cybernetics, kid," Anakin said.

The base door reopened to reveal Ar'alani and a few other Chiss.

"Lower you weapons," Ar'alani commanded.

"Ar'alani,"Anakin said. "We need your help."

"You nearly killed all my men."

"To be fair they shot first and I didn't kill any of them. I just nearly killed all of them. There is a difference."

"What do you need anyway?"

"Krayt."

"Who?"

"Darth Krayt. Have you heard of him?"

"No. Why? I would think you Jedi know more about the Sith than we Chiss do. They are your enemy, after all."

"He is the foretold chosen one of the dark side, destined to bring the Jedi down and rule the galaxy for eternity."

"And you need my help with this because?"

"Because we were told Csilla was the key to beating him," Ahsoka said.

"Hmm. We have no Sith temples on Csilla."

"That obviously isn't true," Kanan said.

"I swear to you, we don't. Not anymore."

"What do mean anymore?" Anakin asked.

"Some Sith settled on this world thousands of years ago. They built a temple here, but the Jedi invaded our world, killing most of the Sith and destroying their temple, as well as thousands of Chiss."

"Don't try to villainize the Jedi in your little story," Anakin growled. "If you want us to feel sorry for you, we don't."

"The point is that the temple is gone, destroyed."

"Where was it built?" Ahsoka asked.

"Not far from here. I'll give you the coordinates."

The coordinates popped up on Anakin's holopad.

"See, that wasn't hard was it?"

"Just leave. You've caused enough grief to me."

"Thrawn chose Plagueis," Ahsoka said. "We didn't force him to. He had his choice and you have to live with that choice."

Ar'alani nodded as the Jedi boarded the Tantive IV and set off for the ruins of the Sith temple.

Seela Jela, princess of the Twi'lek colony world of Rashada, awoke to her world's bright sun. She slowly and gracefully got out of her bed, slipping her purple robes over her body. Seela opened her door, walking down the palace halls. She'd lived here all her life, yet she noticed new details in the expensive red carpets and priceless works of art, both paintings a sculptures. Today, for example, she noticed that the red carpets had a slight hue of purple to them. She made her way into the throne room to meet with her father, Dinek the planet's king, and her mother, Daesha the world's queen, both red-skinned as was Seela.

"You wanted to speak with me, Father?"

"I did. Sit."

Seela did so.

"I have urgent news for you, my daughter."

"What is it?"

"The Council has voted. I am to be exiled immediately."

"Why?" Seela asked, her voice quivering with worry.

"They have charged me with treason, my daughter."

"What basis do they have?"

"None. But one of the Councilors has some sort of personal vendetta towards me. He planted evidence that I was attempting to destroy the council and kill all who were not loyal to me."

"Is any of that true?" Seela asked.

"Of course not. But for the sake of my people I must leave."

"I'm coming with you," Seela said.

"No, my daughter. You must remain here. Your mother will continue to train you in the ways of politics."

Seela got up from her chair and embraced her father.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Seela."

The two broke off their embrace and Dinek walked into the palace hangar, leaving Seela and her mother alone in the palace.

"Why didn't you do more to stop this?" Seela asked.

"I did all I could. Besides, your father made it very clear that he would go into exile willingly to try and gain back the people's trust."

"How long have you known about this?"

"A few weeks at most."

"And you didn't feel obligated to tell me until just now?" Seela all but growled.

"I myself did not know of his plan to go willingly until a few days ago."

"I see."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you until now. I should have let you know."

"It isn't your fault."

3

Assassin

"I have a task for you," Alask, member of the Royal Council of Rashada said over hologram. "The king has been exiled, but our task is not yet complete. The queen, she needs to die."

"What's in it for me?" Starbird, a Mandalorian bounty hunter, asked.

"100,000 credits."

"I need more than that."

"150,000."

"175,000."

"Deal."

Daesha woke

"Dinek," she whispered.

Only after she said his name did she remember that her husband was gone. She sighed as she threw off her covers, only to see a man in full body armor standing over her.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who's been paid a lot of money to kill you."

"How did you get in here?"

"I've busted into places with way better security than this, sweetheart."

Daesha slowly opened a drawer by her bed, pulled out a blaster, and shot at the man, but the blaster bolt bounced off his armor.

"Did you know that you can tell a lot about a being just by looking at their eyes?" the man asked.

"Why should I care?"

"You shouldn't, but I can tell one thing about you: you do not fear death. You welcome it."

"So?"

"I respect you for your bravery and for that, I will grant you a quick death."

Starbird pulled out a blaster and shot Daesha square in the heart.

"It's done," Starbird said to the hologram of Alask. "Now transfer the credits."

"Done."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Starbird turned toward the door to leave and saw, much to his shock, a young Twi'lek, possibly the target's daughter, standing there, her mouth in a snarl and her eyes wide with rage.

"You! You killed her!"

"A job's a job, sweetie."

The girl fell to her knees in sorrow.

"Now it looks like you've got to go, too," Starbird said.

Seela tightened her fist in rage, crushing Starbird's hand as he pulled out a blaster, causing him to scream out in pain

"Are you…are you a Jedi?" Starbird asked as he pulled out a knife that appeared to be made of the talon of some avian creature.

Seela answered by launching herself at Starbird, knocking him to the ground. Starbird swung his blade at Seela, but she dodged it. She flipped over Starbird, kicking him in the back.

"How'd you learn to fight so well?" Starbird asked.

"Royal Academy of Martial Arts."

Starbird threw a punch at Seela, but she caught his forearm, bent it behind his back, and kneed his helmeted face, causing Starbird to stagger back a few steps and drop his knife. Seela dropped to the ground, grabbed the knife, and stabbed Starbird in between his armor plates.

"Wow. I must admit, I didn't expect to get killed by a little princess."

"I didn't expect to see my mother's lifeless corpse today."

She let Starbird fall to the ground.

Krayt felt an awakening in the Force, a dark awaking.

"My apprentices, I have felt an awakening in the Force. I will return shortly."

Without another word, Krayt boarded his ship and took off, leaving Mesmerious and Magmus alone on Moraban.

Seela watched as two royal bodyguards came into her room carrying a tray of roasted Porg.

"I'm not hungry."

The guards turned around and walked out the door, leaving Seela alone. Even though she had murdered the bounty hunter known as Starbird a few days ago, the act was still dominating her every thought. She had never experienced more power than when she plunged the talon into Starbird's stomach. Regardless if she admitted it or not, she could not deny the fact that she enjoyed it.

"My lady," a Royal advisor said as he walked into Seela's bedroom. "The Council has called a meeting."

"Tell them I'm not interested."

"The Council demands it."

"Fine," Seela growled.

The Seeker dropped out of hyperspace to the Twi'lek colony world of Rashada. Krayt had never been to the small, yet wealthy world before. He had had no reason to until now. From what Krayt had heard, the planet was a monarchy, although the monarch wielded great power, much more than, say, a president. However, the monarch did not wield complete power over the planet. Rashada had a Council of twelve members that, in times of emergency, overruled the monarch's power.

Krayt landed his ship at the source of the disturbance: the royal palace. The Dark Lord pressed a button, dropping the ship's ramp. The second he exited the ship, a dozen guards wielding heavy blasters came sprinting at him.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Step aside."

The guards opened fire with their blasters, but Krayt activated his lightsaber and deflected several bolts back at the guards, killing three of them and wounding two more. Krayt lifted another three guards with the Force and slammed them into the ground.

"Jedi!" a guard yelled.

"I am no Jedi," Krayt said as he sent a guard flying back with a Force-enhanced kick.

He blasted the final few guards with a blast of Force lightning, killing them instantly. The Dark Lord plunged his saber into the palace's door, cut a circle in it and walked inside.

"Princess Seela, you have been charged with murder and treason," Alask said as soon as she entered the royal court, a large room with twelve chairs for the twelve councilors. "Care to comment on these charges?"

"You've all lost your minds if you think I've betrayed my world. I am loyal to the throne, or I was until my mother was murdered."

"Might I remind you that you murdered the bounty hunter known as Starbird?"

"You might. I saw him standing over my mother. What would you do if put in my situation?"

"For one thing I…"

He was cut off when the court door was sent flying from its hinges. A human wearing some kind of battle armor strode in wielding a crimson lightsaber.

"Your Highness, run!" her bodyguard yelled.

For some strange reason, Seela felt no fear for this mysterious lightsaber wielding man. She felt almost as if he was here for her. The councilors were lifted high into the air by some invisible Force and not a second later were their throats crushed by some invisible hand. Seela looked over to see the man lower his hand, dropping the councilors.

"Who are you?" Seela asked.

"I am Darth Kryat, Dark Lord of the Sith. But who I am is not important. What is important is who you are."

"I'm Seela Jela. What do you want with me?"

"My mission is to bring peace to this galaxy, but I lack the power to do so. I need the help of someone with a will as strong as mine. You fit that bill, my dear. That, and you have a strong connection to the Force, the dark side in particular. I know you've touched the darkness before and I know you enjoyed the power it gave you. That was just a taste of the dark side's power. If you wish to join me, you will bow."

Seela did so as Krayt put his hand on her shoulder.

"I deem you Darth…Talon," Krayt said as he conjured Force lightning and surrounded Talon in it, being careful not to damage her, but to see if she would flinch or if she would remain unafraid. "I am your life. I am your death. You have past your first test without flinching. You will be one of my Hands, my own personal assassin. Henceforth, you will take orders only from me, report only to me. On this day, Seela Jela dies. Only Darth Talon remains. Rise Darth Talon, rise so we can bring peace to this hopeless galaxy."

The Tantive IV landed by the ruins of a Sith temple on the snowy world of Csilla.

"Not much left to this place, is there?" Kanan asked.

"Nope. But hopefully it's enough for us to find whatever we need to defeat Krayt," Anakin said as he opened the ship's ramp. "Ahsoka and I will search underground while the rest of you search within the temple."

"Underground?" Hedala asked.

"Yes. This temple, much like the old Jedi temple on Coruscant, has an underground level."

"I see."

The Jedi exited the Tantive IV. Anakin outstretched his hand to unlock the temple doors with the Force, tapping into the dark side to do so. The snow covered doors opened and the Jedi walked inside, activating their lightsabers to guide them in the dark temple. Ahsoka felt the temple's energy in the Force. Some truly powerful Sith had been trained in this temple. She found the door.

"Here it is," Ahsoka said. "The door to the underground level."

"Alright. This is where we split up," Anakin said. "The rest of you try to find anything of value. Holocrons, scrolls, armor, anything."

"Got it," Kanan said.

Ahsoka unlocked the door with the Force and walked in after Anakin.

"What, if anything, do you think we'll find here?" Anakin asked.

"I'm guessing a holocron or something. Possibly even some kind of weapon."

"What weapon could be better for fighting a Sith than a lightsaber."

"Oh, I'm sure there's something."

Ahsoka stopped in her tracks as she saw a small triangular object attached to what appeared to be an ancient Sith war droid. She walked up to the droid and yanked the object out of its chest.

"What is that?" Anakin asked.

"I don't know for sure, but it looks to be a power source of some kind."

"Species: Togruta. Gender: female," a droid like voice said.

"It wasn't me," Anakin said as Ahsoka turned her head his way.

"Commence bonding process?" the voice asked.

"What bonding process?" Ahsoka asked.

"The device you hold is a prototype nanotech armor device. It was created by ancient Sith weapons experts to bond with its user, allowing an entire suit of armor to be stored in a small device."

"What does this bonding process consist of?"

"The one who bonds with it must be Force-sensitive, for it requires the user to create a bond with it. It is a process similar to bonding with a kyber crystal."

"So I just connect with it? Will it attach to me?"

"It will, but the connection can be severed if you want to remove the armor."

"How does it bond to me? And why is this better than other much newer nanotech armor?"

"Oh, this armor is special. It is lightsaber resistant, has a regenerative healing factor, enhanced strength and durability, and is resistant to several powerful Force powers such as Force lightning and Force fire, but I must warn you that its durability is less so than when it was brand new over 4000 years ago."

"Anakin, what do you think about this armor?" Ahsoka asked.

"I really see no reason not to."

"Alright. Commence bonding process."

"Very well."

The object leaped from Ahsoka's hand and attached itself to her chest.

"What do I do now?" Ahsoka asked.

"Reach out to it. Form a bond with it."

Ahsoka felt the nanites' strange connection to the Force, almost as if a powerful Force-user had poured the Force into them. On the other hand, the nanites could in fact be living creatures. That would explain their connection to the Force because, as far as Ahsoka knew, machines of any kind could not be connected to the Force. Ahsoka suddenly cried out in pain as the nanites burrowed their way into her nervous system.

"Ahsoka!"

"I'm alright. I really wish you'd mentioned that part, droid."

"Oops. Forgive me. The bonding process is complete. To summon the armor, quite your mind and see the armor forming around you. Command it to take shape."

Ahsoka did so and her body was covered by hundreds of millions of living nanites, forming a black and silver armored suit similar to Anakin's.

"Wow," Anakin said.

"I know, right," Ahsoka said, her voice given a slightly mechanical sound. Although it was nowhere to the extent of Anakin's.

"To summon weapons, shields, or any number of other things, merely focus on them and command them to take shape," the droid said.

"Thanks."

The droid nodded.

"As awesome as your new armor is, I highly doubt that's the reason we were sent here."

"I agree. I wonder what we were sent here to find."

"I have no idea. I do have one question though. Can you take that power source out? Or is it lodged in your chest forever?"

Ahsoka's mask collapsed itself, revealing her face.

"Wow. I wish mine did that," Anakin said.

"Sorry. And as for this thing being stuck in my chest, I think it is."

"Oh, alright."

"Why does it matter if it gives us a better chance of fighting Krayt? Am I not as attractive to you with this metal contraption in my chest?"

"What? Of course you're still attractive to me. You're the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, Ahsoka."

"Thanks. But as for what we came here for, I…"

"What is it?"

"I sense something."

Ahsoka walked over to a small wooden box.

"What's in there?"

Ahsoka pulled out a small datachip.

"Whatever's on this datachip."

"I'll analyze it the second we get back to the ship."

Kanan, Ezra, and Hedala walked down one of many long, dark hallways in the temple. Kanan spotted a small door.

"Ezra, you and Hedala go in there. I'll check up ahead."

"On it."

The two young Jedi walked inside the small room while Kanan stayed in the hall, reaching out with the Force to try and locate anything of value. He felt something. Kanan followed the beacon in the Force into what he assumed was an archive of Sith texts and holocrons. He felt the Force calling him to one holocron in particular. He walked up to the holocron, grabbed it, and noticed that, despite this being a Sith temple, the holocon was Jedi in origin. Kanan put it in his robe's pocket.

"You find anything, Kanan?" Hedala asked.

"I did," he said as he held up the holocron.

"Nice. Sadly we didn't have as much luck."

"That's fine. I'm sure Ahsoka and Anakin found something."

Ahsoka and Anakin exited the Sith temple and boarded the Tantive IV and Anakin inserted the datachip into the ship's control terminal.

"I should have this analyzed in a few minutes," Anakin said.

"Alright."

The ship's ramp suddenly lowered to reveal Kanan, Ezra, and Hedala.

"Hey guys. Find anything?"

"I see you did. I like the armor," Ezra said.

"Thanks."

"I found this holocron," Kanan said.

"Nice. Anakin and I found a datachip and this armor."

"What was on the datachip?"

"I'm not sure, but Anakin should have it analyzed in a few minutes."

"Got it," Anakin said as he walked to the back of the ship.

"And?"

"It says that the only way to defeat Krayt is to embrace the dark side completely."

"That doesn't make any since. We are firmly cemented in the light side. We'd be killing a dark side user just to become the very thing we swore to destroy."

"We'll figure it out once we get back to Ahch-To, but what matters is that we got what we came for," Anakin said.

"Let's get back," Kanan said.

4

Secrets of Andeddu

"He should be back by now," Magmus said.

"I agree. He's been gone far too long," Mesmerious commented.

"You don't think this is one of his 'tests' do you?"

"No. He always lets us know in advance."

Just on que, the Seeker dropped out of hyperspace and landed by the dark side cave. The ship's ramp lowered, revealing Krayt and a young Twi'lek woman wearing a skintight black body suit.

"What is she supposed to be? His little plaything?" Mesmerious asked.

"My thoughts exactly."

The two walked inside the cave.

"Who is this?" Magmus asked.

"This is my new apprentice Darth Talon. She is to be my Hand."

"Your Hand?"

"Yes. She is my own personal assassin. She will report only to me, take orders only from me."

"Why weren't we informed about this? And why does she get more authority than us?" Mesmerious asked.

"It is not your place to question me. Now the two of you continue to learn from the holocron of Bane while I train Talon in the ways of the Sith. Come, Lady Talon. We have work to do."

"As you wish Master," she purred in that seductive voice Magmus was hating more every second.

"In the few minutes I've known her, I already hate her more anyone else," Mesmerious growled.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. Why didn't he tell us about her? Is she even a Sith apprentice? Or is she just there for the Dark Lord's, shall we say, physical pleasures?"

"Probably the latter," Mesmerious said.

"It could be, but I find that unlikely."

"Then why is she walking around in that outfit?"

In reality, Mesmerious did not hate Talon for what she wore. In fact, Talon's attire would be considered modest in some of the galaxy's seedier places, such as Tatooine. No, she was merely upset, no, not upset, enraged that Krayt had her and her sister in black concealing robes which hid many of their features.

"I think Krayt was telling the truth when he said Talon wore that on her own accord. We've known Krayt for how long? A few months? He is many things, but one who succumbs easily to physical desire is not one of them."

"Regardless of what she wears, I hate her nonetheless," Mesmerious said.

"Is it her you hate? Or is it Krayt?"

"I guess it's really Krayt. He brought her here. I highly doubt she sought him out. Does he not think us powerful enough to defeat the Jedi on our own?"

"To be fair, there are seven or eight Jedi, one of which is one of, if not the most powerful Force-user in galactic history. And it makes sense from a logistical standpoint. If he fully trains Talon in, say a few years, we might stand a chance against the Jedi. I don't think he's training her just to spite us. I think he legitimately needs her, as well as us, to take on the Jedi and not die."

"Possibly."

"He won't dare replace us with her."

"I hope so."

Darrgan and Riveced activated their lightsabers and plunged them into the holocron vault.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Darrgan asked.

"Just relax," Riveced said as he Force pushed the circle they'd cut in the vault.

"Whatever you say."

The two Jedi walked inside the vault and searched through the many holocrons. They knew Ahsoka's was a distinct white color.

"Bingo," Riveced said as he grabbed Ahsoka's holocron.

"Alright. Now let's get the vault sealed back up."

The two Jedi exited the vault, holocron in tow.

"Alright. We got it. But how are we going to seal up the vault?"

"Um, I'm not really sure," Riveced said.

"Well that's just great."

"Relax, I'll think of something. I've got an idea."

"Wait," Darrgan said. "They're back. We need to hurry."

"Um, we could try to use Force fire to weld the piece back in place."

"Not a great idea, but it's the best we've got."

Riveced lifted the piece with the Force, held it in place, and began to weld it back to the door with a highly concentrated blast of Force fire, being careful not to damage or burn the metal more than absolutely necessary.

"Alright! I've got it! Let's get back to our rooms!"

"I agree," Darrgan said.

Anakin landed the Tantive IV by the ancient Jedi temple on Ahch-To. Ahsoka lowered the ship's ramp, allowing all the Jedi to walk down the ramp and into the temple.

"I sense something's off," Anakin said.

"As do I," Ahsoka said.

"Any idea what it is?"

"No."

"I feel like someone is trying to deceive us."

"I agree. Riveced and Darrgan were the only two left, right?"

"I see where you're going with this," Anakin said. "Do you think they're turning completely to the dark side? They were Sith, after all."

"No. they are firmly cemented in the light. I think we'll get more results if we let them think we're oblivious."

"I agree. I just wonder what they're up to."

"Nothing nefarious. I know that for a fact."

"I hope you're right, for all our sakes."

Darrgan and Riveced sprinted back to the sparing room. If they were in there, no one would suspect them of anything. They'd successfully covered their tracks. They edited the footage to show no disturbance to the holocron vault, they welded the door back together, they'd concealed their thoughts with the Force. They'd done everything. Once they reached they reached the sparring room, they activated their lightsabers and began dueling each other.

"Darrgan? Riveced?" Ahsoka asked, her voice slightly mechanical.

"Wow. I like the new suit," Riveced said.

"Thanks. So what have you guys been up to?"

"Oh, not much."

"Nothing very interesting, huh?"

"Not really."

Ahsoka nodded her helmeted head.

"By the way, I like your suit a lot better than Anakin's, but don't tell him I said that," Darrgan said.

"I won't, but he already knows I like it better."

Ahsoka nodded and left the two Jedi alone.

"That was close."

"Relax, won't you? She didn't suspect anything, Darrgan. You're too cautious."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not."

"Well now that she's back, when should we try to learn from her holocron?"

"To be honest, I thought she'd be gone longer. However, I think we'll still have time to learn from the holocron. It's pretty simple, really. We'll just open it when everybody else is asleep."

"It can't be that easy," Darrgan said. "Can it?"

"As powerful as Ahsoka and Anakin are, they still need sleep."

"True."

"So we try tonight?"

"Tonight."

"Good! Tap into this world's darkness!" Krayt said.

Talon had been progressing quickly, even quicker than Mesmerious and Magmus had. She had constructed a lightsaber within a few minutes, as opposed to the day and a half it took Mesmerious and Magmus. Her saber was unique in the fact that it had a wooden handle, an uncommon trait. Within only a few months, she'd already learned the basics of Force lightning. Magmus and Mesmerous were still struggling with the power.

"Do you feel it, my Hand? Do you feel the strength of the darkness?"

"I do."

"Tell me, my apprentice. What do you want?"

"I want to be like you, Master. After I lost my mother and father, I nearly killed myself. Fortunately, you found me before I could."

Krayt, much to Talon's surprise, swung his lightsaber at her, but she leaped to her feet, blocking the Dark Lord's blade with her own.

"Ah, yes! I feel your anger, Talon! Use it!"

Talon growled and blasted Krayt with lightning, but he absorbed the blast with ease, diverting it back at Talon and knocking her to the ground. Krayt thrust his saber at the downed Talon, but she back flipped away from it.

"Impressive. Most impressive, my Hand."

Talon slammed her saber at Krayt with the ferocity of a true Sith, but Krayt blocked her attacks and sent her back several paces with a kick to the stomach. Krayt swung his saber at Talon, but she blasted him with lightning, forcing him to angle his blade and catch the lightning. The Dark Lord angled his blade to Talon, redirecting her own lightning back at her.

"Yield, weakling!"

Talon stopped the lightning. Her breaths came in ragged gasps.

"You've grown powerful, but you are not a Dark Lord yet. You are a worthless apprentice. I should have just left you on your world."

"I wish I could be somewhere else. You're always taking your anger out on me. I would rather rot alone then spend another minute with you."

"Your weakness is your fault. You are like a malfunctioning droid, always falling apart. You should have killed yourself back on your world!"

"You can't stop me from falling apart because my self-destruction is all your fault! How could you, how could you, how could you hate me? When all I ever wanted to be was you? How could you, how could you, how could you love me? When all you ever gave me were open wounds?"

Talon fell to her face, bowing before Krayt.

"Please, Master. Please teach me," Talon said as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I see tears falling down again. You fall to your knees! You beg, you plead! You want to be somebody else for all the times you hate yourself. Your failures devour your heart in every hour. You're drowning in your imperfection."

"Teach me, Master."

"In due time, Lady Talon. In due time."

Krayt extended his hand and helped Talon to her feet.

"Master," Mesmerious said as she and Magmus walked into the cave.

"What?"

"We felt a disturbance in the Force, my lord. I thought you would want to know."

"What is this disturbance?"

"I feel as if our plot has been uncovered by the Jedi."

Krayt's yellow eyes widened.

"How?" he growled.

"I don't know. Although I do have one question. What exactly is your plan? You've never told us entirely."

"I agree. It is time I told you. You know what a dark side nexus is do you not?"

"We do," Magmus said.

"We will travel to the most powerful dark side nexuses in the galaxy. I will use a variation of Force drain to take the nexus's power, thus greatly increasing my own."

"Then what do you need us for?" Mesmerious asked.

"Even with all that power, I alone am not enough to defeat the Jedi."

"What is our first destination?" Talon asked.

"We're already here."

"I beg your pardon?" Talon asked.

"Here. Moraban. The homeworld of the Sith. This is one of the most powerful dark side nexuses in the entire galaxy."

"I see."

"Now silence. I must concentrate."

Krayt stretched his hand out, focusing on the dark side energies of this world. He pulled it from the planet's Sith artifacts, coffins of ancient Dark Lords, and the very cave in which they stood in. Krayt cried out in pain as he felt the planet's power rush through his veins. He held his hand up to discover that his body had a slight red glow to it.

"Come my apprentices. We shall take this galaxy for the Sith and crush the Jedi."

Darrgan and Riveced met in the sparring room. All the other Jedi were asleep.

"Alright then. Let's open this thing," Darrgan said.

The two Jedi outstretched their hands and opened the holocron.

"Greetings, young Jedi," a holocron of Ahsoka said. "What do you wish to learn from me?"

"Uh, what did we want to learn again?" Darrgan asked.

"Um, I guess understanding Force visions," Riveced said.

"Very well," the holo Ahsoka said. "To understand a vision, you must clear your mind. Focus on what you saw. Go back to that vision and search for what you did not see."

"Sounds simple enough," Darrgan said.

The two Jedi went back to their vision. It was clearer this time. The man in the armor was fighting side by side with the two women, only this time a red Twi'lek was with them.

"Oh, great. Another Sith to deal with."

The Twi'lek blocked two strikes from what looked to be Kanan. She lifted him with the Force and tossed him back. The man outstretched his hand, apparently using Force drain on something or someone. The battle appeared to be taking place on a world of fire. The armored man slashed Anakin's chest, but Skywalker kept fighting, managing to glance the Dark Lord's shoulder.

"So, you guys were after a holocron?" a very familiar mechanical voice asked.

Riveced and Darrgan's eyes shot open.

"Oh, great."

"This isn't what it looks like," Riveced reassured.

"Then tell me what it is," Anakin demanded.

"We had a vision, a vision of a man in armor, presumably a Sith."

"Krayt," Anakin said.

"Who?"

"That's who the armored Dark Lord is."

"How do you know?"

"Our adventure was quite profitable in terms of gathering information."

"Krayt was the name I heard in my vison several years back," Riveced whispered. "Anakin, I mean Master Skywalker. Do you remember when I came to you about about five years ago warning of the name Krayt?"

"I do."

"We need to kill him as soon as possible."

"Magmus and Mesmerious," Darrgan whispered. "Wait. That's it! Those are the women in our visions!"

"What women?" Anakin asked.

"To make a long story short, Riveced and I have been having visions of these two woman, but we had our first visions of these woman back when we were Sith."

"And you never felt compelled to tell me this?" Anakin growled.

"At first, we didn't think it meant much. However, we've been having similar visions more and more frequently. The only reason we kept it from you is because we know you and Ahsoka have a lot riding on your shoulders," Riveced said.

"I see. You're right about the fact that I wouldn't be able to help. Back when I was a young Jedi, I had several visions of…well, let's just say unpleasant events. I failed to prevent both of these visions from coming true. Truthfully, I don't understand visions much better now than I did back then. All I know is that if we actively try to prevent the visions we see, the more set in stone they become."

"So we don't even try to fight the Sith?"

"That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that we can only bring balance if we follow the will of the Force and not our own will. The reason we fail to prevent visions is because we try to do it our way, not the Force's. I understand your reluctance to come to me about the visions. I would have done the same had I been in your position."

"Thanks, Master Skywalker."

"We will defeat the Sith," Anakin reassured.

"I know."

Krayt, Talon, Magmus, and Mesmerious boarded the Seeker.

"What's our next stop?" Talon asked.

"Tell me, have you ever hear of the ancient Sith Darth Andeddu?"

"No."

"According to legend, Andeddu was the first Sith to take on the title of Darth. He ruled the world Prakith with an iron fist for several hundred years. Andeddu mastered the power of essence transfer, a power that allowed its user to transfer their consciousness into a new host body."

"What happened to him?"

"He became so powerful and so wise that he could achieve immortality, or at least a form of it. However, Andeddu had one weakness: pride. Rather than face his enemies like a true warrior, Andeddu killed himself, taking his knowledge to the grave with him. A pity, really. The four of us could benefit from his knowledge. That is the key, apprentices. Always put the goals of the Sith Order above your own goals. If I become more invested in my own future than that of the Sith Order, it is your duty to challenge me to a duel and kill me. It is also your duty to kill your fellow apprentices if they place their goals above the Order's goals. All that being said, Prakith is our next destination."

5

Warnings of Revan

"So what all did you guys find?" Darrgan asked.

"We found a holocron, a datachip, and my new armor," Ahsoka said.

"What's on the datachip?"

"It basically said in order to defeat Krayt, we need to embrace the dark side completely."

"That doesn't make any since. I thought we were at our most powerful when we embraced the light," Hedala said.

"As did I. However, it seems that isn't the case," Anakin said.

"I agree with Anakin. The will of the Force is clear. We're doing exactly what we need to do by staying in the light," Ahsoka said.

"Then why would the datachip tell us otherwise? And who even made that datachip?" Ezra asked.

"I looked over the chip a few more times since I first read it and it was composed by a Sith Lord prophet named Darth Alzar," Anakin said.

"Why should we trust the word of some long dead Sith prophet?" Kanan asked.

"I would ask the same question. However, the man Ahsoka and I talked to on Dromund Kaas and this datachip are too great to ignore."

"Wait," Riveced said. "You guys never really told us what you discovered on Dromund Kaas."

"We basically met this man who claimed to be some dark side prophet. He told us that the key to beating Krayt was on Csilla," Anakin said.

"I see. So what exactly is Krayt's endgame?" Darrgan asked.

"He wants to destroy half of life in the galaxy, but no one, not even the prophets, know why. Some say he wants peace. Others say he wants conquest and death," Ahsoka said.

"Considering he's a Sith, I'd say the latter," Hedala said.

"But how would he destroy half of all life the galaxy? One man, even if he's by far the most powerful Sith in history, couldn't even hope to cause that much death without the use of some kind of superweapon," Kanan pointed out. "Could he?"

"I must admit, we aren't really sure," Ahsoka admitted. "But the man we talked to said Krayt was the Sith'ari, basically the dark side version of the Chosen One. That could be why he's so powerful."

"Possibly, but I still find that unlikely," Anakin said.

"I agree with Anakin," Darrgan said. "In one of my visions, I saw Krayt using what looked to be Force drain, or a variation of it. It's possible he will drain Force-sensitives to try and boost his own power."

"That's very possible. But even when he gets that power, how will he kill half of all life? Will he just use his newfound powers to make them dissolve into the Force?" Ahsoka asked.

"I'm not sure," Anakin said. "So what exactly is our plan?"

"As horrible as it sounds, we cannot focus our efforts on defending the Force-sensitive individuals across the galaxy. It is the will of the Force that we stop Krayt and we cannot do that if we are spread thin across the galaxy." Ahsoka said.

"I agree with Ahsoka," Anakin said.

"What a surprise," Kanan remarked.

"Watch it," Anakin snapped.

"So what do we do?" Ezra asked.

"First things first, I need you and Kanan to get in contact with the Ghost crew. We'll need their help if we want to beat Krayt," Anakin said.

"Alright," Ezra said.

"We need to train harder, grow stronger. Ahsoka and I have reached our potential, Ahsoka's being that of the most powerful Jedi in history, but you guys can still reach your potential."

"Wait, wait, you're saying Ahsoka is the most powerful Jedi ever?" Kanan asked. "Wow."

"Well, I still haven't reached my potential just yet, but I'm pretty close. And not to brag, as of right now, I am the most powerful Jedi ever."

"So let's go over this one more time. Ezra and I contact the Ghost crew, the rest of us Jedi continue training, and, oh, yeah, I forgot something."

"What is it?" Anakin asked.

"I felt the Force calling me to a Jedi holocron inside the temple back on Csilla," Kanan said.

"Have you opened it yet?" Ahsoka asked.

"No."

"Well, no time like the present," Anakin said. "Do you have it with you?"

Kanan pulled the holocron out of his robe.

"Here it is."

"Alright then. Let's get this thing opened."

Anakin stretched out with his feelings and opened the holocron.

"Greetings young Sith," a hologram of a Sith said. "I am Revan, Jedi Master. How may I help you?"

"Why did the Force call you to this one in particular?" Ahsoka asked. "Why just one when there were hundreds of holocrons?"

"I'm not sure."

"How can I help you?" Revan repeated.

"Wait," Anakin commanded.

"Revan was an incredibly Jedi?" Hedala asked. "I thought he was a Sith."

"I was both in my long lifetime," Revan affirmed.

"Did Revan discover some previously unknown Force power that could help us kill Krayt?" Ezra asked.

"Revan, did you invent or discover any unique Force powers?" Anakin asked.

"I did indeed.

"Mind tell us what that power is?"

"Oh, it's very complex, far too complex for you to learn."

"Try me," Anakin taunted.

"Very well. I assume you've heard of the Force power known as shatterpoint."

"I have," Anakin said. "You're going to have to do better than that because I already know how to use shatterpoint."

"What's a shatterpoint?" Ezra asked.

"It's basically an ability that allows its user to perceive weakness in objects through the Force," Ahsoka informed."

"I wasn't finished," Revan sighed. "Shatterpoint by itself is incredibly powerful. However, its power can be increased tenfold if the user was to use another Force power in tandem with the shatterpoint. Take Force push for example. By itself, Force push can be incredibly powerful, but if coupled with a shatterpoint, it could disintegrate its target. Now tell me, Master Skywalker, how does one destroy Mandalorian iron?"

"It is indestructible."

"Wrong! Shatterpoint coupled with Force crush! On its own a Force crush, unless its user is unnaturally powerful in the Force, cannot, under any circumstances crush Mandalorian iron. The crush can only be effective if the user perceives its weaknesses with shatterpoint."

"So you're basically telling us shatterpoint is the key?" Kanan asked.

"I am indeed. I assume you would like to learn."

"We'll wait on that. This holocron may tell us you're a Jedi, but I know you've made at least one Sith holocron in your lifetime. Tell us what you know of the Sith'ari," Ahsoka demanded.

"The Sith'ari will be free of limits. The Sith'ari will lead the Sith and destroy them. The Sith'ari will raise the Sith from the dead and make them stronger than before."

"Spare us the riddles, Revan. Just tell us everything you know of the Sith'ari," Anakin growled.

"I have heard you speaking of a being known as Darth Krayt and that you believe he is the Sith'ari. Tell me what you know of Krayt."

"Not much," Anakin admitted. "But we have a few theories as to his origin."

"Do tell."

"A few decades ago the galaxy was under the control of a Dark Lord named Darth Sidious. We don't think Krayt was trained by Sidious. If he was, Sidious kept his existence a secret. But we don't think that's the case. My theory is that he was a Jedi, or wanted to be one, but when the Jedi Order did something that angered him, he turned to the dark side, possibly learning from a Sith holocron. If the visions Riveced and Darrgan are having are to be believed, Krayt is not following the Rule of Two, meaning he isn't a Banite Sith."

"A Banite Sith?"

"One who follows the Rule of Two established by Darth Bane."

"Darth Bane?"

"Oh, I forgot that Bane was born after you," Anakin said. "Long story short, he created a Rule where only one master and one apprentice can exist at any given time. At first, Sidious followed the Rule of Two, but he eventually left it behind. Darrgan and Riveced were Sidious's apprentices, his weapons to be used against us. I highly doubt if Krayt was indeed a student of Sidious, that Sidious wouldn't use every tool in his arsenal. My theory is that while we were busy destroying the Sith, he was learning their ways in the far reaches of space, far away from Jedi and Sith alike."

"I see."

"So you have no advice for defeating the Sith'ari?" Ahsoka asked.

"I do not."

"That makes no sense," Kanan said. "Why would the Force call me to this holocron if it had nothing of value?"

"Surely there is something you can tell us that will help us defeat Krayt," Hedala pleaded.

"How long ago did you discover Krayt was the Sith'ari?"

"A few days ago. Why?"

"Mustafar. The prophecy tells of a final showdown on Mustafar between the Jedi and the Sith'ari."

"When will this happen?" Darrgan asked.

"In one month's time."

"So we have a month to prepare for the inevitable battle with Krayt," Anakin said. "We've had worse odds."

"This changes nothing. The Sith'ari will fulfill his destiny," Revan said.

"We'll see," Ahsoka said.

"Yes. Yes we shall."

"Anakin."

Anakin quickly woke and got out of bed.

"Who's there?"

"Anakin, it is I, Qui-Gon Jinn."

"Master? We spoke awhile back on Mortis. Why do you come to me again?"

"Anakin, I've never told you all there is about the Chosen One prophecy."

"What more do I need to know?"

"You know that the Chosen One is meant to bring the Force into balance."

"I do."

"I've never told you how."

"I need to destroy the Sith."

"Yes, but there is more. Tell me, Anakin, do you know how Force-sensitives came to be?"

"No."

"The Force is eternal, but the possibility for beings to use it is not. Have you ever heard of the Whills?"

"No."

"The Whills were the first beings to come into existence. Their origin is unknown. All that is known is that the Force itself told the Whills that they were to let the future beings of the galaxy were to never know of the Force, but one Whill named Snoke decided that he would give certain beings the ability to use the Force. The Force was never meant to be used by mortal beings, Anakin. A war was waged between Snoke and the Force-sensitive beings and the Whills. Eventually, the Whills defeated Snoke and his forces, but the damage had already been done. The Force could not be taken away from mortal beings with a strong connection to it. You remember the Father from Mortis, do you not?"

"I do."

"The Father proposed an idea: he would go to the physical world with his son, who was partly responsible for the creation of the dark side, and daughter, who was the cause of the light. When the time was right, he would create a Chosen One to bring the Force into eternal balance by withdrawing the Force from all life."

"But that doesn't make any since. The Force is in every living thing. Taking it away would kill everything."

"That isn't what I'm saying. The Chosen One is not to remove the Force from life, merely to take away the ability for mortal beings to use it."

"So I'm to make sure no being can never again use the Force? How do I do that?"

"You are to draw the energies of light and dark to yourself. You are to be the vessel for the Force itself for the rest of eternity."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you say for all eternity? What about the Jedi? What about Ahsoka?"

"Anakin, I cannot see everything."

"So my destiny is to be alone for eternity. Ahsoka will one day grow old and fade into the Force while I remain for all of time."

"Anakin, I told you the day we met that the life of a Jedi is a hard life and that you would need to make difficult choices."

"Will I suffer?"

"No, Anakin. I know this is a lot to take in, but this is a burden only you can bear. I will be with you."

"How am I to draw the Force into me?"

"You'll quite your mind and focus on the energies that bind this galaxy together. Don't try to remove it, just remove beings' ability to use it."

"So I'm to draw into me the power of all Force-sensitives and future Force-sensitives?"

"Yes."

"But not the Fore itself? Just beings' ability to use it?"

"Correct. I know I am asking a lot of you, but you were destined for this."

"What of Ahsoka? Will she be there with me?"

"I do not know."

"You don't know? Or you don't want me to know?"

"Anakin, I have never lied to you."

"You sure took your time telling me this additional part of the prophecy."

"Anakin, time works much differently in the cosmic Force."

"I see."

"Anakin?" Ahsoka asked as she rubbed her eyes. "Who were you talking to?"

Anakin turned around to see Ahsoka waking up.

"It was no one, Ahsoka."

"Anakin, I can tell when something's bothering you."

"It's nothing, Ahsoka."

"Anakin," Ahsoka said as she sat up. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Come back to bed, Anakin."

Anakin did so and took comfort in Ahsoka's embrace. The two shared a passionate kiss, but Ahsoka soon fell asleep. Anakin, however, remained awake for the rest of the night. What did Qui-Gon mean?

"I love you, Anakin," Ahsoka whispered as she put her hand on his chest.

Anakin kissed Ahsoka once more.

"I love you too."

The Seeker dropped out of hyperspace to the world of Prakith, the home of the ancient Sith Lord Darth Andeddu.

"Here we are, my apprentices," Krayt said as he landed the ship on the landing pad of a castle or fortress of some kind.

"Is this Andeddu's fortress?" Talon asked.

"It is."

The four Sith disembarked their ship and walked inside the castle, activating their crimson sabers to light up the dark interior.

"I feel the darkness here," Talon said. "It feels almost like a…spirit of some kind."

"Before he died, Andeddu bound his spirit to this castle so that he might one day return once his enemies died."

"You know nothing, Krayt," a raspy voice said.

"Hello Andeddu," Krayt said.

"Why do you come and disturb me? I will not give you my knowledge. That knowledge is mine and mine alone."

"Oh, I don't need you to tell me. I'll just extract it from the depths of your memory when I take your power for myself."

"I know of your mission to bring peace. You are a mere pretender! No true Sith seeks peace! You might as well be a Jedi!"

"No. I am Darth Krayt, Dark Lord of the Sith! I am not some coward who commits suicide because I am afraid to face my enemies like a true warrior! Scheming and manipulation can only get you so far! You are the real pretender! You hide your knowledge the way a child hides his favorite toy. You run from a fight like a frightened dog. You relied on the strength of others instead of your own strength. However, you are not entirely worthless."

Andeddu cried out in pain as Krayt began to drain the dark side energies from his spirit.

"You will…you will pay for your treachery!"

"Oh, I'm sure I will."

Andeddu cried out again as Krayt pulled even more energy from him. It was done.

"Thank you Andeddu. You have been most useful."

"My lord, you're glowing, even more so this time," Talon pointed out.

Krayt looked at his hand. Indeed, he was. It seemed the more dark side nexuses he took in, the more he glowed.

"I see that. Now let's get to our next stop."

"That being?"

"Dagobah."

6

The Son's plan

"These mortal beings, the need the Force to live, right?" the Daughter asked.

"They do, my daughter," the Father answered.

"But they cannot use it as we can?"

"No, my child. The universe would be plunged into utter chaos if mortal beings had the ability to wield the Force."

"Oh, Father, surely you don't believe that. Do you?"

"I do, my son."

"But Father, it is their purpose to serve us and they cannot do that unless they can wield the Force as we do."

"They are not meant to serve us. We are not to interfere in their world. We are to observe and record what we see. Nothing more, nothing less."

"How can you be content to just sit here and do nothing for the rest of time? Do you not want to see and to experience things as they do?"

"I told you, my son, it is not our place to interfere."

"Why do we even record what we see? What purpose does that serve?"

"So that one day, these mortal beings might discover the history of the galaxy."

The Son shook his head in frustration at the Father's stupidity. The Daughter, appearing to read his thoughts, placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Brother, you must know that our father knows best."

"Of course he does. Are you so blind that you cannot see he is trying to control you? You could be so much more, sister! You know as well as I."

"No. I am doing what I was meant to do."

"Leave us, my son."

The Son growled at being dismissed by the Father, but he vanished, leaving the Father and Daughter alone.

The Son growled in anger at the Father's reluctance to visit the physical realm and his unwillingness to give mortal beings the ability to wield the Force.

"I agree with you," Snoke, a well-respected member of the Council of the Whills and master Force wielder, said. "Your father is a coward and he should be show the error in his ways."

"I lack the strength to challenge him."

"You do, but I will help you."

"What about the will of the Council?"

"I am a member of the Council. I will discuss giving mortal beings the ability to use the Force, but if they do not allow us to instill mortals with the gift of the Force, we will kill them."

"We cannot hope to kill the entire Council by ourselves."

"No, but we won't have to. We aren't strong enough to kill the Council, not even close, but we are strong enough to escape this place, visit the physical realm, and return with an army of loyal mortals that we will give the gift of the Force to. The Council cannot hope to challenge us then."

Ren swung his sword at the marauders. They thought they could take his village. They were wrong. Ren yelled in rage as he plunged his sword into a marauder's chest. He quickly pulled his blade out and spun around to remove another's arm and kick him to the round.

"Please! Spare me!" the man pleaded.

"You come to my village. You murder my warriors. You deserve no mercy."

"Please!"

Ren plunged his sword into the man's face, the blood bouncing back and covering Ren's black and silver helmet. Ren cried out in pain as he felt a blade enter his back. He quickly pulled the knife out and tossed it to the side.

"That was a mistake," Ren growled, his voice deepened by the mask.

Ren slammed his fist into the marauder's chest, knocking him to the ground.

"I must admit, you're proving to be a greater challenge than I first thought," Theron, the Togruta leader of the marauders, said.

"I am a greater warrior than you'll ever be. I've slaughter your men. Give up."

"I cannot do that," Theron said as he drew his sword.

Ren sprinted at Theron, yelling in anger as he did. Theron stabbed at Ren, but he moved his blade to block each one of Theron's attacks. The two locked blades, but Theron pulled out a second sword and attempted to stab Ren in the stomach with it. Ren, however, quickly broke the lock and moved his sword to intercept Theron's second blade. Theron leaped back and thrust his second blade at Ren, but Ren parried the blade and sent Theron to the ground with an uppercut.

"Not bad," Theron said as he leaped back to his feet.

Ren blocked two quick thrusts from Theron and quickly spun his hand, causing Theron to drop his second blade and allowing Ren to quickly drive his sword into Theron's heart. Theron coughed up a small amount of blood onto Ren's already bloodied blade. Ren quickly removed his sword and relieved Theron of his head.

"Wonderful," a voice Ren did not recognize said.

"Who's there?"

"Tell me something, Ren, do you want a power greater than that of any sword or mortal weapon?"

"Who are you?" Ren repeated.

A humanoid figure with pure white skin and a black combat suit with a black armored skirt-like accessory appeared before Ren.

"I am the Son."

"What kind of a name is that?"

"It is the only name I've ever known."

"I don't care. I just want to know about this weapon you speak of. Is it some kind of sword?"

"Oh, no. It is far more powerful than any manmade weapon."

"Give it to me."

"Oh, it isn't that simple. I need you to do something for me first."

"No deal."

The Son sighed and sent Ren hurling back with a Force push.

"What? What was that? How did you do that?"

"I can give you this power, but I need something from you."

"What?"

"I need you and your followers to pledge your loyalty to me."

Ren lowered himself to one knee and removed his helmet, revealing his long black hair and scarred face.

"You are human. It is impressive you've survived on Shili for as long as you have. The Togruta are not fond of outsiders."

"They've tried to raid my village several times. I've made sure that never happens. With the power you promise, the Togruta will worship me."

"No. They will serve me and me alone. You will grow to be powerful, but you will always be my inferior."

"Then why should I come with you?"

"You will be the most powerful man in history, second only to me. The galaxy will be yours.

"I am loyal to you alone."

"Rise and I will give you the gift of the Force."

"The Force?" Ren asked as he put his helmet back on.

"Yes. The Force is what connects the galaxy together. Without the Force, life cannot exist. You will be the first human to touch the Force."

"Give it to me."

The Son focused on the midi-chlorians in Ren's blood. The midi-chlorians were what connected a being to the Force. These life forms were born in a strange place known as the Wellspring of Life. They spread across the galaxy. However, all mortal beings only had enough midi-chlorians to remain alive, but not enough to tap into and use the Force. The Son strengthened Ren's connection to the Force as he multiplied his midi-chlorians.

"It is done."

"Teach me how to use this power."

"I will, but I need an army of beings who will be loyal to me. Do you have an army?"

"No. They were killed by the marauders."

"Not to worry. Where is the closest village?"

"A day's journey."

"What direction?"

Ren pointed east. The Son focused on the concentration of living beings in that direction.

"Are these people warriors?"

"Yes. We need to go now if we…"

The Son teleported them to the village in an instant.

"How did you?"

"The Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be…unnatural."

"And you will teach me this power?"

"Yes."

"Do you know any of the people in this village?"

"No. I just know of their reputation as fierce warriors."

"They must be quite powerful if they have your respect. I saw you dispatch Theron."

"I've never met them in person. Their power could be over exaggerated."

"We shall find out soon enough."

"How will we find our army?"

"I can feel people in the Force. I can discover everything about them by probing their mind for secrets. Ah, I sense our army, or at least the beginning of one."

"Where are they?"

"In that building," the Son said as he pointed to what appeared to be a castle of some kind.

"That is the castle of the Tanos."

"Who?"

"The Tanos are the rulers of Shili. They are the greatest warriors on the planet. Even I could not defeat a Tano in combat. Will you be able to convince them to help us? I fear if they disagree, they will kill us."

"They do not know it yet, but one day their bloodline will produce one of the most powerful beings to ever exist. Their connection to the Force will culminate in one being, one Sword."

"What does that mean?"

"It is of no concern to you. All that matters is convincing them to help us."

Ren nodded as the Son ripped the massive stone doors from the castle.

"After you," the Son said.

Ren walked inside as did the Son.

"I sense them. They are…"

"We are right here, stranger," said a Togruta male that the Son assumed was the king of Shili.

"Hello, Ren," a Togruta female, most likely the queen, said.

"Hear me out," Ren said, his mask muffling his voice.

"Oh, we'll hear you out, alright," the queen said as she pulled out a sword. "Leave now or die."

Ren looked over at the Son.

"I won't repeat myself. Leave."

The Son lifted both Tanos with the Force and blasted them with Force lightning, causing Ren to jump back in utter shock. The Son used the Force to yank the Tanos his way and slam them into the ground.

"Now, you're going to listen to what I have to say and you're going to do exactly as I command."

"How? How did you do that?" the king asked.

"If you do as I command, you can learn to wield this power as I do."

"What is it you require?"

"An army."

"My armies are now at your disposal. Where must I send them to strike?"

"Leave that to me."

7

Trials

The Seeker dropped out of hyperspace to the swampy world of Dagobah.

"Welcome to Dagobah, home of an ancient dark side cave. It is a domain of power, but be warned. This cave will show you that you do not wish to see."

"Will we need weapons?" Talon asked.

"No weapons do you require."

"What's in there?" Mesmerious asked.

"Only what you take with you."

Krayt landed the Seeker by an ancient Force nexus.

"Are you going to drain this one too?" Magmus asked.

"I am, but not before you enter the cave."

"Why?"

"Do not question me."

The apprentices exited the ship and journeyed into the cave, leaving Krayt alone in the Seeker.

"Good luck my apprentices," Krayt whispered.

"What is this place?" Talon asked as the three Sith walked up the cave.

"I'm not really sure," Magmus admitted.

The three Sith walked inside the cave.

Talon woke up in her bed back on Rashada. Wait. That wasn't right. She had left that life behind for good. Talon threw off her covers and looked around. This was not right.

"Talon," Krayt growled.

"My master?"

"You are an unworthy apprentice."

"I've done everything you've asked, my master."

"You think I care for you, don't you?"

"How you feel about me is unimportant. All that matters in serving you with unquestioning loyalty."

"You aren't loyal to me because you truly wish to learn the ways of the dark side. You are only loyal to me because you seek one thing: approval. After your father was exiled and your mother killed, you have been seeking someone to look out for you. You are not Darth Talon, Dark Lady of the Sith. You are Seela Daesha."

"I killed Seela Daesha back on Rashada when I pledged myself to you."

"Oh, please. You are the same frightened little girl you were when we met."

"No! I killed her, you fool!"

"Have you? Prove it."

"How? I have done everything you've asked of me."

"You are weak and I will toss you aside," Krayt said.

"You don't know how it feels to be forgotten because you just try and keep me down. You think you can get rid of me? But you'll never forget me now!"

Krayt smiled as Talon launched herself at him. The Dark Lord activated his lightsaber and blocked Talon's incoming blade. Krayt lifted Talon with the Force and blasted her with lightning, causing her to cry out in pain. Talon used that pain to fuel her anger and used that anger to shove Krayt backwards.

"Perhaps you did kill Seela Daesha."

"We both know that she was weak and that I killed her."

Talon slashed Krayt's helmet, causing him to fall to his knees. Talon grinned. She eliminated the one who held her back. Talon bent down to look at Krayt's corpse, only it wasn't Krayt. It was her. She shook her head in disbelief. No. It wasn't her. Was it?

Magmus' eyes shot open. She was back on her homeworld. This wasn't right. She left this life behind long ago. Magmus turned around to see…her father.

"Father?"

"You," her father growled.

Magmus' eyes squinted as she realized she was staring at the man who left her and her sister to fend for themselves when they were only children.

"I thought you died," Magmus growled.

"You think I killed myself because of your mother's death? No, no. You and your sister. I felt the darkness in you and I knew that you would kill me eventually."

"No. That's not true. You weren't Force-sensitive."

"There are a great many things you do not know about me, my child."

Magmus shook her head in disbelief. No. This was not her father. It was an illusion of the cave.

"You are not my father," she growled.

"Then what am I?"

"An illusion."

Magmus clenched her fist and crushed the illusion's windpipe.

Mesmerious awoke back on Moraban. Had they returned already? No. She was still on Dagobah.

"Sister?" Magmus asked.

"What are you doing here?" Masmerious asked.

"You have failed me."

"What do you mean?"

"I practically raised you. And what do I get for it? Nothing. Nothing other tha an ungrateful excuse of a sister and a fellow Sith."

"I have done as Lord Krayt has asked."

"You have, but we both know he favors me."

"We are equals."

"No. We are not."

Mesmerious growled and launched herself at her traitorous sister. Magmus blocked her sister's blade and blasted her back with lightning.

"Don't make me kill you, Terra."

"Terra is dead. Only Mesmerious remains."

"Then show me."

Mesmerious lifted Magmus with the Force and slammed her into the ground. Magmus leaped to her feet, but Mesmerious sent her to the ground with a Force-enhanced kick.

"I killed Terra."

Mesmerious blasted her sister with red lightning, causing her to cry out in pain. Magmus put up her hand to deflect the energy, but it was no use. Mesmerious overwhelmed her and impaled her with her lightsaber.

Magmus, Mesmerious, and Talon all awoke back on the Seeker.

"What…what happened?" Talon asked.

"You know what you saw," Krayt stated in a mater-of-fact manner. "I don't, nor do your fellow apprentices. You and you alone know what you saw. Use that experience to fuel your anger and use that anger to fuel your power in the dark side. I have visited this cave once before and I learned a great deal. I hope that is true for the three of you."

"It is, my master," Talon said.

"Good. Now that you've seen what you needed to see, I will drain this nexus of its power."

"Drain away."

Krayt focused his anger on the nexus. This nexus' power was proving more difficult to drain than the others. But it would succumb to his will, just lie the rest. Krayt showed it who wielded the true power as he begun to drain its power. The nexus, however, had other ideas. It sent Krayt to his knees in pain.

"Master, what happen?" Magmus asked as she bent down to help Krayt up.

"The nexus is resisting my efforts to drain it. I've been weakened severely by the nexus' counterattack. I will regain my strength in time, but for now I am too weak."

"What should we do?" Talon asked.

"I think now would be a good time to fill you in on who exactly we're facing."

"The Jedi, of course," Magmus remarked

"Yes, but there are two Jedi in particular that pose a great threat to my plans. For now, I need your help."

"Why is it you require?" Talon asked.

"I can drain the nexus, but only if I have more power. This will hurt, but it won't kill you."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to drain some of your powers. That way I'll have the power to drain the nexus. This will hurt."

Krayt outstretched his hand, draining the Force from his apprentices, causing them to scream in pain. The Dark Lord used his apprentices' power as well as his own to drain the nexus.

"It is done," Krayt said.

"Will we regain our power?" Magmus asked.

"Yes, but it will take time. For now we will go to the Sith world of Malachor. It is the home of a Sith temple that also doubles as a superweapon."

"How can a temple be a superweapon?" Talon asked.

"It is built in a pyramidal shape and the top of the pyramid, when fully charged can be used to destroy fleets of ships or crack the surface of a planet."

"How is it powered?" Magmus asked.

"Its power source is a massive kyber crystal. In addition to the temple, Malachor was also the sight of a battle between the Jedi and Sith. Many on both sides dies. Due to the bloodshed, the world became a wound in the Force itself."

"A wound in the Force?"

"Yes. The suffering and death of that battle tore the fabric of the Force on that world. The Force cannot handle massive amounts of death at once, thus a wound is formed."

"Won't that happen once you kill half of all life?" Mesmerious asked.

"It will."

"What will happen to the Force? Will that much death destroy it?"

"Most likely."

"But, but that means we can never use the Force again," Magmus said with a hint of dread in her usual smooth and soothing voice. "What will we do after that?"

"We rest. Once peace is obtained, our work is done. We will no longer need the Force. For now, I have a mission for you."

"What is it?" Magmus asked.

"I have felt the presence of the Jedi. They are on the world Ahch-To. Go there and kill them, no survivors. Here are the coordinates."

Talon took the datachip from Krayt.

"We will wipe them out, Master."

"Please do so. We cannot allow them to stand in the way of peace."

"Your wish is my command," Mesmerious said.

"Take the Seeker to Ahch-To. I have a small fighter in its hangar that I can use to reach Malachor."

"As you wish."

Ahsoka felt a great disturbance in the Force. Krayt was rapidly growing in power. How, Ahsoka did not know. She saw pyramidal Sith temple on the world of Malachor. She knew that Malachor was a powerful dark side nexus. Nexuses. That was how Krayt was growing so powerful so quickly. He was targeting dark side nexuses across the galaxy and taking their power for his own.

"Anakin, I know how Krayt is growing so powerful."

"How?"

"He is using a variant of Force drain to drain the power of dark side nexuses across the galaxy."

"How is that even possible?" Darrgan asked.

"I have no idea. All I know is that Krayt has discovered how to drain a nexus and that is the key to his growing power. The only way he can achieve his goal is with the power of the nexuses."

"Mustafar," Anakin said. "Mustafar is one of his targets. That's why Revan told us about Mustafar."

"I just had a vison of the Sith temple on Malachor. That's his next target," Ahsoka said.

"Is he alone or are his apprentices with him?" Anakin asked.

"His apprentices are, wait, now they've separated. The apprentices are coming here. Krayt knows where we are."

"Oh, no. Alright, I have plan. If Krayt can divide and conquer, so can we. Ahsoka and I will go to Malachor to protect the nexus, and the rest of you will stay here and protect the temple. We cannot allow the secrets of the Force in this temple fall into Krayt's hands. Understood?"

"Understood Master Skywalker," Kanan said.

"Kanan, use this time to contact the Ghost crew. We'll need their help in the coming battle," Ahsoka said.

"Do you need them on Malachor?"

"No, but you will need them to help protect the temple."

"Got it."

Anakin and Ahsoka left the briefing room.

"Do you think we can take Krayt?" Anakin asked.

"I'm not sure. He's more powerful than Plagueis or even demon-possessed Sidious. However, we've also grown more powerful since then. I think we'll defeat him."

Anakin nodded.

"It's settled then. We leave tomorrow."

"Ahsoka."

"Who's there?" Ahsoka asked.

"I am Qui-Gon Jinn."

"Qui-Gon Jinn," Ahsoka repeated. "You were Anakin's first master, right?"

"Yes. Before you and the rest of the Jedi Order face Krayt, I need to teach you something."

"What is it?"

"I am able to speak to you now because I underwent training to retain my individuality after my physical death."

"How do I do that?"

"First you must completely embrace the light side. Let go of the darkness inside of yourself."

"But how? I've tried to keep my emotions in check, but it's difficult."

"I know it is."

"So I need to let go of the darkness completely. But in our battle with Krayt, the datachip says we'll need to embrace the dark side completely.

"Tell me something, Ahsoka, why do you want power?"

"I do not want power for power's sake. I seek power so that I may serve the will of the Force and protect those who cannot protect themselves."

"Do you come to me with only good intentions and light in your heart?"

"I do, but how are we going to defeat Krayt? He's draining nexuses. He's more or less immortal."

"Eternal life is the Sith's ultimate goal, but they could never grasp it it comes only through the releasing oneself, not by exulting oneself. It comes through compassion. Love is how you defeat the darkness."

"I'm just so confused. I've learned to keep my emotions in check, but you're saying love is the key."

"I know this is confusing to you. I still do not understand it completely. Love and selflessness are the key to immortality. Possessive love is greed. Self-sacrificing love is selflessness. I will teach you how to maintain your individuality after death, but not right now. I will return to you shortly."

"Thank you, Master Qui-Gon."

"I never knew you in the realm of the living, but I can tell Anakin did well training you. He should be proud of all you are and all you've achieved. You must travel to the Wellspring of Life."

"I will, Master Qui-Gon."

Qui-Gon's ghost disappeared, leaving Ahsoka alone to ponder Qui-Gon's words. What did he mean? Only time would tell.

"Are you alright, Ahsoka?" Anakin asked as he put his arm around Ahsoka.

"I'm alright, Anakin."

Ahsoka pulled Anakin into a deep kiss, a kiss that Anakin held for a long while.

"We have a big day tomorrow, Ahsoka. Tomorrow we destroy Krayt and the Sith for good.

Ahsoka placed her hand on Anakin's chest.

"I know."

Krayt's personal starfighter, a modified Imperial model TIE known as the Predator dropped out of hyperspace to Malachor. He felt the wound of this world and… No! The Jedi had discovered his plans! Anakin Skywalker and his lover Ahsoka Tano were on the world, waiting to kill him! No! He had come this far and he would not be denied! His ship breached the atmosphere.

"Skywalker and Tano!" the Dark Lord growled as he leaped out of his ship.

"Hello there," Anakin said. "I take it you're Krayt."

"I am and I will not be denied my power!"

Ahsoka and Anakin activated their sabers and charged the Dark Lord, driving him back a few steps, but he lifted them with the Force and flung them back.

"You will not stand in my way!"

Ahsoka sent the Dark Lord back with a Force push powerful enough to level armies. Krayt, however leaped to his feet and sent the Jedi back with a Force repulse. Ahsoka stood and absorbed another blast of lightning, but Krayt could tell it drained her. Anakin got to his feet and sent Krayt back with a Force-enhanced kick to the face. Anakin's anger was palpable to Krayt. The Jedi gripped Krayt's throat with the Force and squeezed. Hard. Anakin slammed Krayt into the ground, but the Dark Lord sent him back with a blast of lightning. Krayt blocked two strikes from Ahsoka and used his superior strength to force her on the defensive. The Dark Lord slashed Tano's back, sending her to the ground.

"That was a mistake," Anakin growled.

Krayt smiled at Anakin's rage. Anakin yelled and launched himself at the Dark Lord. Anakin gripped Krayt's throat once again. Krayt felt Anakin's emotions. He had a tight hold over them, but that hold was slipping. Krayt knocked Anakin back with a Force repulse as Ahsoka's armor began to repair itself and her damaged tissue.

"Surly the Chosen One and the Sword of the Jedi can do better!"

"Surely the Sith'ari can put up more of a fight," Ahsoka shot back.

Krayt smiled and swung high at Ahsoka, but Anakin's blade intercepted his. With the power and speed of a machine, Skywalker slammed at Krayt's blade with several overhead strikes. Krayt parried each and every one, but left himself exposed to a Force blast from Ahsoka.

"Enough games," Krayt said.

The Dark Lord lifted the Jedi up and tossed them back, but Ahsoka launched herself at him and kicked him in the face, drawing a small amount of blood. Krayt blocked two quick thrusts from the Togruta, lifted her with the Force, and blasted her with Force lightning.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin yelled as he sent Krayt back.

"Your attachment weakens you, Skywalker! It will be used against you!" Krayt taunted.

Krayt sent the Jedi back with a Force push powerful enough to level armies. He began to drain the temple when Ahsoka slashed at his back, causing him to spin around and intercept her blade. Krayt diverted her blades down, causing her to drop them and allowing Krayt to crush them with the Force. Krayt sent Ahsoka back with Force lightning.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin yelled as he leaped at Krayt.

Krayt blocked Anakin's blade, but the Jedi sent Krayt back a few paces with a Force blast. Anakin's anger gave him power, power that even Krayt was beginning to fear, but what truly terrified Krayt was the fact that Anakin, for the most part, was holding his anger at bay. Anakin would truly make a fine Sith Lord, Krayt thought to himself. The Dark Lord lifted Anakin with the Force and tossed him back. The Dark Lord resumed his draining, but Anakin plunged his saber into Krayt's back, causing him to cry out in pain. To make the pain even worse, Anakin dragged the saber down Krayt's back. Krayt used that pain to throw Anakin back. Once the power of the temple was his, he limped back to his TIE and took off, leaving Malachor and the Jedi behind.

"Ahsoka! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine but my lightsabers are trashed," she said as her helmet collapsed.

"Well I say we need to get you some more."

"You think?"

"I do. This temple was the sight of a major battle between the Jedi and Sith. We can mind some more kybers from the sabers left behind."

"Wow. That's actually a good idea."

"You sound surprised."

"No. Well maybe a little."

Anakin helped Ahsoka to her feet and the two Jedi walked inside the temple.

"What do you think happened here?" Ahsoka asked as she looked at the bodies of Jedi and Sith alike.

"I'm not really sure, but I know that we'll find a kyber here."

Anakin saw two lightsabers in the grasp of a long dead Sith Lord wearing a black mask with silver accents. He grabbed the sabers and activated their red blades. One blade appeared to be shorter than the other, similar to Ahsoka's shoto blade.

"I assume you don't want red blades."

"You assume correctly, but I know of a technique that allows a Jedi to reverse the effects of bleeding."

"I know the technique you're referring to. You and I taught it to Riveced and Darrgan when they became Jedi."

Ahsoka took the sabers apart and grasped the crystals. She felt the death of every Jedi this Sith Lord had killed. Ahsoka sent reassuring waves of peace into crystals. Kybers couldn't speak, of course, but they could feel emotion. The crystals began to fade from red, to light red, to pink, to light pink, and finally to pure white. She put them back in their hilts and activated them. Two white blades, one slightly shorter than the other, sprung to life. Ahsoka swung the blades back and forth, deactivated them, and put them on her saber clips.

"Anakin. I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Last night, the ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn came to me. He said I needed to go to a place called the Wellspring of Life to learn some deep secret of the Force. Have you ever heard of this Wellspring?"

"No."

"I must go. I'll need to take the Phantom.

"I understand. Be safe."

"I will," Ahsoka said as she leaped in the Phantom.

Krayt nearly lost his life to Anakin and Ahsoka. How could he stand a chance against the whole Jedi Order if he nearly lost his life to only two of them? He still had a few nexuses left to drain, but he did not know if that was enough. It would have to be if he hoped to wipe out the Order and bring peace.

8

The first War

"Father? Do you feel that?" the Daughter asked.

"I feel a darkness growing in the Force. I fear your brother is involved."

"As do I. He has not returned since you dismissed him."

"I…no. No. He has gone to the mortal world. He is about to give mortals the ability to wield the Force."

"Should we go to the physical realm to confront him?"

"No. He will come to us."

"What about Snoke? He always has words of wisdom to offer."

"I feel we cannot trust anyone, my daughter. Even someone as revered as Snoke. We will destroy your brother's army when he returns."

"I see."

"This was not the way it was meant to go," the Father said as he stroked his beard. "The Force was never meant to be used by mortals. Now I fear my son has ruined that. I fear the damage has already been done."

"Can you not cleanse the Force?"

"I could not, even if I wanted to."

"If you cannot, then who can?"

"I'm not sure, but I know that it is not my destiny. That task belongs to another."

"Prepare your men," the Son said.

"They are ready, my lord," Asaak Tano said.

"Good. Now I will fulfill my end of the bargain."

"You will give me this power?"

"Yes. It will take years to learn to use it as I have, but you will achieve this power."

The Son focused on Asaak's midi-chlorians and multiplied them tenfold. Asaak now had the potential to grow far beyond what Ren could ever hope to, but the Son didn't tell Ren that. He'd find out that Asaak was his superior soon enough.

"It is done. I will take this time to teach you and Ren the basics of using the Force. You will be the first mortals to wield the Force. Now quite your minds and try to focus on the energies that bind the universe. Feel those energies flow through you veins. Fell the rush of power brought by the Force."

"I feel it," Ren said.

"As do I," Asaak said. "But how does feeling this energy let us summon lightning from our fingertips?"

"The energy of the Force allows for such power, but lightning is incredibly complex. I will teach you something simpler: the Force push."

"Teach us."

"Imagine something you hate, something you want to see suffer. In your mind's eye, see that something being hurled back by waves of anger and hate."

Ren saw Theron and his marauders murdering his warriors and friends. He saw Theron being crushed by anger and hate. The Son's eyes widened as Ren crushed a nearby suit of armor.

"Most impressive. You've used Force crush for the first time. Perhaps you should stick with that as opposed to Force push. I think I know another power you'd like: Force stasis."

"What is that?"

"It allows its user to freeze the target in place, leaving them utterly helpless and at your mercy, but I doubt you'd show mercy."

"Mercy is for the weak."

"I agree. I need a man of your ruthlessness leading my knights. Leave Asaak and I and practice your abilities. I know that you favor the sword. Let me make it more powerful."

Ren handed his sword over and the Son poured the dark side into it, strengthening it and allowing it to cut through Whill flesh and bone, something a normal sword could not do. The sword possessed a slightly red tint as the Son handed it back to Ren.

"Leave us."

Ren did so.

"Once Ren has served his purpose, we will cast him aside."

"What do you mean?" Asaak asked.

"I made your connection to the Force far, far greater than Ren's. I will not tell Ren this, of course. We do need his help, but know once we are finished, that I will kill him. I made your connection so strong that your descendants will grow stronger and stronger throughout the generations. This power will eventually culminate in one Tano. This Tano will grow to be the most powerful user of the Force in history."

"How strong will this being be?"

"Powerful enough to slaughter armies in the blink of an eye."

"Incredible," Tano said as Ren walked back into the king's throne room.

"What's incredible?" Ren asked.

"Asaak and I were just discussing your new name."

"My new name?"

"Yes. I bestow upon you the title of Skywalker. You will be the commander of my armies."

"Thank you," Ren said as he lowered himself to one knee.

"Rise Ren Skywalker. Rise and fulfill your destiny. Asaak, gather your men so that I can give them the Force."

"I will."

"Father, I fear my brother's plans have been set in motion. I feel that two mortals have been given the Force."

"I know. I cannot undo this. My Son has made the Force part of them."

"I see. I just think you powerful enough to take the Force from them."

"No. That will not change the fact that he has brought darkness to the Force itself. I cannot undo that."

"I understand. But why didn't you just kill him? We both knew something like this would happen eventually."

"It is not the will of the Force, my daughter."

"I'm confused, Father. Why would the Force want to have darkness in it? The Force is needed for life and that darkness will stain the Force."

"I do not yet know, but I know I must let my son's plans unfold."

The Daughter nodded.

They were ready. Ren, Tano, and Tano's army were ready to destroy the Whills so that the Son might rule the galaxy.

"Come and let us destroy our enemies," the Son said as he summoned a portal that lead back to the Netherworld.

The Son leaped in the portal, as did Ren, Tano, and Tano's army.

"Ah, I see you've assembled an army," Snoke said as the Son and his followers stepped through the portal.

"I have. They are ready to bring war."

"Well then, let's get to it."

"He's returned and he has an army," the Daughter said.

"I know."

The Son and an army of mortals now instilled with the Force marched the Father's way. The mortals drew their swords.

"Hello, Father. Did you miss me?"

"You have doomed yourself my son. You cannot hope to stop me."

"Ah, but he can with my help."

"Snoke? You've joined him?"

"Your son is a wise man, far wiser than you are. You can still join us."

"Never."

"Attack!"

The Father lifted a few dozen mortals and hurled them back, but he left himself open to a blast of Force lightning from the Son. The Son slammed his fist at the Father, but the Daughter caught him with the Force and hurled him backwards.

"Please, sister. Do not make me kill you."

The Son blasted at his sister with lightning, but the Father brought up a Force shield to protect his daughter. The Son growled at attempted to break the Father's Force wall, but it was far too strong. The Father sent the Son flying backwards, only for Snoke to catch him with the Force. Snoke and the Son sent the Father and Daughter flying back with a blast of Force lightning.

"Father! I'll take the mortals while you handle these two!"

"Go!" the Father commanded.

The Daughter sprinted off.

"That was a mistake, father. You cannot hope to defeat Snoke and me."

"You overestimate your power."

The Son and Snoke sent the Father hurling back with a combined Force push.

"What were you saying, Father?"

The Father gripped the Son and Snoke's throat and blasted both of them with lightning. The Father looked over at his daughter. She was doing just fine. Although the Father could tell there were two particularly powerful mortals. One was a human male wearing a black robe, cape, and mask. The other was a Togruta male wearing heavy battle armor.

Ren slammed his Force-enhanced sword at the being known only as the Daughter, but she absorbed his blade each time with her hand. She sent him back with a Force push, angering Ren even further. Anger. Hate. Those emotions fueled the Force. Ren focused on that and sent the Daughter back a few centimeters with a Force push. Considering the Daughter was more or less a goddess, the fact that Ren was able to move her at all was a tribute to his power.

"Who are you? The Daughter asked.

"I am Ren and I am your death."

The Daughter slammed her fist into Ren's chest and knocked him several hundred meters, but Asaak used her distraction to stab his Force-enhanced blade into her chest, causing her to cry out in agony.

"Attack!" Asaak yelled.

Asaak's army stabbed their swords into the Daughter and began to crush her throat.

"Daughter!" the Father yelled. "No!"

The Father quickly overpowered Snoke and the Son and sprinted over to the Daughter. He lifted the army of 5000 and crushed their throats, all except for two: the Togruta and the masked human. Their connection to the Force far surpassed that of their fellow mortals and allowed them to survive the Father's wrath. The Father used the Force to quickly pull the swords out of the Daughter's chest.

"Father."

"Daughter! You're going to be alright," the Father said as he quickly healed her wounds with the Force.

The Son and Snoke used the Father's distraction to their advantage by lifting the Father with the Force and blasting him with lightning. Ren and Tano quickly caught on as they plunged their swords into the Father's back.

"Father!" the Daughter cried out.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ren yelled as he gripped her throat with the Force. "Tano! Kill her!"

Asaak swung his sword at the Daughter's neck, but his sword stopped a centimeter short.

"Kill her!"

"I'm trying, but my sword won't move."

They turned to see the Father still being blasted by lightning, holding his hand up to stop the blade. He sent Ren, the Son, and Tano flying back with a Force repulse. The Father quickly summoned a wall of light to entrap his enemies.

"You are defeated, my son."

"Am I?"

"Why? Why did you do this?"

"You would not understand."

The Father sighed and lowered the wall of light, only for Snoke to attempt to blast him with lightning, but the Father casually created a dagger and sent it hurling into Snoke's head, killing him instantly.

"Is that supposed to scare me, Father? You know as well as I that you will not kill me. You love me too much."

"Sleep," the Father commanded. The Son collapsed to his face.

"Kill us," Ren pleaded. "We are nothing compared to your might."

"No. This is not your fault. It is my son's. He has forced me to change my plans. I give you two the power of the light side."

"The light side?" Tano asked.

"Yes. My son gave you the dark side, which relies on anger and hate. The light relies on love and compassion. I will give this gift to thousands more, but you will be the first and last to wield the light." The Father summoned a portal. "Now go back to your own world. Teach those with the Force how to wield it for good."

"We will," Tano said as he and Skywalker walked into the portal.

"Father, you must kill my brother if you wish to bring balance."

"I know what I am doing, my daughter." He summoned another portal. "Come with me and wake your brother."

The daughter did so and the family walked inside the portal. They exited to a strange world, vibrant and full of life.

"Where are we?"

"This world is called Mortis. It has a strong connection to the Force. We will wait here until the Chosen One and the Sword find their way here."

"Will we now?" the Son asked.

"We will," the Father said as he summoned the dagger. "This dagger has the ability to kill you and your sister, should either of you step out of line."

"Oh, I'm sure you will," the Son said.

The Father spun around and held the dagger to his son's throat.

"Yes. I. Will."

"Alright, then."

The Father lowered the dagger.

"How long must we wait until the Chosen One arrives?" the Daughter asked.

"A long, long time."

9

Immortality

"Let the Force guide your ship," Qui-Gon instructed.

The coordinates appeared on the Phantom's navicomputer. Ahsoka pulled the hyperdrive lever and jumped to hyperspace.

Several hours later the Phantom dropped out of hyperspace to a cracked planet engulfed in a nebula. Her ship's instrument panel suddenly shut down and the ship began to veer towards the Wellspring.

"Let the Force guide my ship," Ahsoka said.

The ship landed in a strange jungle of some kind. Ahsoka leaped out of her ship.

"What is this place?" she asked herself.

"This is the Wellspring of Life, birthplace of the midi-chlorians and life itself," a female voice said.

Ahsoka reached for her lightsabers and not a moment later, did a female being wearing a long black cloak and white mask appeared before Ahsoka.

"Who are you?"

"I am Serenity," the being said as four more similar figures suddenly appeared behind her.

"Who are you?" Ahsoka repeated.

"We are five, yet we are one we are Sadness, Confusion, Anger, Joy, and Serenity."

"Why is she here?" Confusion asked.

"I was sent here to learn of the great gift: the gift of immortality."

"Ah. You are a Jedi, aren't you?"

Ahsoka nodded.

"Come. You must complete three tests in order to achieve the great gift."

"What are they?"

"You shall see soon enough."

The beings suddenly linked hands and began spinning in a circle around Ahsoka. Ahsoka began to dizzy. The beings masks were so similar, but different as well. Each mask represented the emotion of its wearer. The circle stopped moving, leaving only Serenity.

"We shall begin your first test," she said as she pointed to a dark cave that was not there a moment ago.

"What's in there?" Ahsoka asked.

"Only what you take with you."

Ahsoka nodded and walked inside the cave. She instinctively reached for her lightsabers, but she resisted the urge. Ahsoka heard an evil, maniacal laughter. Suddenly, a shadowy visage of Ahsoka appeared.

"Who are you?" Ahsoka asked.

"Ah! I am you! I am what you could be!"

"No. I am not whatever evil you are. I vanquished my darkness a long time ago."

"Did you? Did you really?" Dark Ahsoka yelled as she sent Ahsoka flying back with a kick to the face.

Ahsoka quickly got to her feet only for Dark Ahsoka to grab her throat.

"Why? Why? Ahsoka doesn't think me fun anymore!" Dark Ahsoka said as she slammed Ahsoka's head into a rock and threw her to the ground. "You think yourself so pure! No! No! Ahsoka is not pure."

Dark Ahsoka slammed her fists into Ahsoka's stomach, causing her to stumble back and leaving her open to an uppercut from Dark Ahsoka.

"Wait," Ahsoka said as she held up her hand. "I do not deny your existence. My fear of you gives you power. You are real, but you are powerless if I do not fear you. I will listen to this no longer."

"No!" Dark Ahsoka screeched as she disappeared.

The cave seemed to vanish. Ahsoka turned around to find Serenity.

"You have past your first test."

"I know. I'm just so suppressed I still have darkness in me. I thought I got rid of my darkness years ago."

"The monster is you and you are the monster. Now be warned: do not trust your emotions for the next test. They will deceive you and if you listen to them, you will fail. Do you understand, Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Master?"

"I do."

"Very well. Journey to the Valley of Extinction. It is not far."

Ahsoka nodded as she began the short journey to the Valley. Once she reached it, she was instantly transported to the Jedi temple back on Ahch-To. She set her eyes on…oh no.

"Anakin!" she yelled as she ran to him.

"Ahsoka…why…why did you leave?"

Ahsoka looked down at Anakin's stomach. He'd been severely wounded by a lightsaber.

"Anakin, we're going to get through this, just hold on!"

Anakin's eyes closed.

"Anakin! Anakin! No!"

Ahsoka wiped a tear from her eye as she was transported back to the Jedi temple on Coruscant.

"Hello, Master Tano. How be you today?"

"Master Yoda?"

"Surprised are you? Hmm? Dead yet I am not. Come, come."

Ahsoka followed after Yoda as he walked outside the temple to meet with all the other Jedi. Obi-Wan turned around and walked up to Ahsoka.

"Master Kenobi?"

"You sound surprised. Are you alright?"

Ahsoka nodded. She turned around to see her best friend, Barriss Offee.

"Hello, Ahsoka. What's wrong? You look troubled."

"I'm fine, Barriss."

Anakin strode over to her, only he had no mechanical limbs or helmet. He pulled her into a deep kiss.

"What's wrong?" Anakin asked.

"No. None of this is real."

"What do you mean?"

"You," Ahsoka said as she pointed to Obi-Wan and Yoda. "You two died. Barriss, I watched as you were led away in handcuffs."

"Ahsoka, I think you need some rest," Barriss said.

"Ahsoka, you've had a long day," Anakin said.

"No. This is a lie. This is a fantasy. None of this is real."

The temple instantly dissolved around her and turned around to see the priestesses.

"You have done well, but your emotions nearly got the better of you," Serenity said. "We have one final test for you."

"What is it?"

"You must travel to the Sith homeworld of Moraban. You will face the darkness there."

Ahsoka nodded.

"What kind of darkness?"

"I cannot say."

"I understand."

Ahsoka boarded her ship and set off for Moraban, homeworld of the Sith.

Several hours later the Phantom dropped out of hyperspace to the desert world of Moraban. She felt the strong dark side nexus of this world, but it seemed…weakened. Was it possible Krayt had drained Moraban of its power? He was a Sith, so it was reasonable to assume he knew the location of the Sith homeworld. Ahsoka landed her ship by a cave of some kind and walked inside. It took her eyes a moment to readjust to the darkness of the cave. She heard sinister laughter that seemed to be coming from a tomb.

"Why do you disturb me in my sleep?" a voice asked.

"I was sent here."

A shadowy figure appeared before Ahsoka. The figure wore a helmet, light combat armor, and robes.

"Do you know who I am?"

"You are Darth Bane, creator of the Rule of Two."

"Why do you come to me, Jedi?"

"To learn."

"Hmm. If you wish to become a Sith, you must embrace the anger that flows with inside you. Kill me!"

"No. You are already dead."

"Am I? That what is right in front of you?"

"An illusion. I will not listen to you anymore."

"No!" Ban screamed as he was sucked back inside of his tomb.

Ahsoka boarded the Phantom and set off back to the Wellspring.

"Do you truly think she is worthy to possess the great gift?" Confusion asked.

"I do," Serenity said. "Her strength in the Force and her devotion to the light side make her worthy."

"Yes, of course they do!" Joy exclaimed

"She has returned," Anger stated.

Ahsoka's ship landed next to the Priestesses. The Togruta leaped out.

"You have passed your final test. Master Qui-Gon shall complete your training."

"Thank you."

"You are one of the few to receive the great gift."

The priestesses vanished, leaving Ahsoka in a state of confusion.

The Seeker dropped out of hyperspace to the world of Ahch-To: homeworld of the Jedi Order. Talon felt the light side nexus of the world, but also a dark side nexus.

"What's our gameplan?" Magmus asked.

"It's simple. We kill the Jedi," Mesmerious said. "Anakin and Ahsoka are on Malachor. We only have to fight the weak ones."

"Weak they may be, but they have the numbers advantage," Talon said.

"We are strong enough with the dark side to kill them. One of us is three of them," Magmus said.

The Seeker landed by an ancient temple, possibly the first Jedi temple. The Sith leaped out. Talon drove her saber into the massive stone door and began cutting a circle.

"They're here," Kanan said.

"Indeed they are," Riveced said. "Let's teach them a lesson."

A circle cut by one of the Sith fell through the door and in walked two human women, one with black hair and one with purple. The third figure was a red Twi'lek female.

"Hello, what have we here?" Kanan asked.

"I am Darth Talon of the Sith," the Twi'lek said. "And these are my fellow Sith, Darth Magmus and Mesmerious. On behalf of Darth Krayt, one true Dark Lord and master of darkness, we grant you a merciful death. You cannot be allowed to stand in the way of our master's grand plan."

"Uh, alright," Kanan said. "I must say that, for an evil homicidal maniac, you are absolutely gorgeous. How about we talk terms of surrender? I'd hate to see that pretty face destroyed by a lightsaber."

"You fool! I am no mere beauty! My beauty is nothing compared to the power in the dark side I wield!"

"If that were true, you'd be the most powerful Force-user in history."

"Shut up! Magmus, Mesmerious, let us kill this fool and his little Jedi comrades! Attack!"

Kanan sighed and activated his lightsaber, prompting his fellow Jedi to do the same. The three Sith let loose a barrage of red lightning, but Riveced and Darrgan put up a Force shield diverted the lightning back at the Sith. They staggered back a few paces, but they soon recovered and sprinted at the Jedi. They sent Kanan, Ezra, and Hedala flying back with a Force push, but Riveced and Darrgan's Force shields held strong.

"Kill the others, Talon. We'll deal with these two," Magmus said.

Talon nodded as Magmus swung her saber at Riveced and Mesmerious swung hers at Darrgan. The two Jedi intercepted the Sith's blades, but the Sith were ready. Magmus blasted Riveced with red Force lightning, forcing him to put his lightsaber up to defend himself. Darrgan thrust his saber at Mesmerious, but she batted it aside and blasted him with Force lightning. Riveced slammed at Magmus with two overhead strikes, but she intercepted both of them. Magmus flipped over Riveced and attempted to slash his back, but the Jedi was faster. He spun around in time to block her blade and knock her back a few paces with a well-aimed kick to the face.

"I didn't expect you to much of a challenge," Magmus growled.

"Ahsoka and Anakin trained us well."

Riveced sent Magmus back with a Force push while Darrgan did likewise to Mesmerious.

"Wait!" Darrgan yelled as Riveced's saber swung down at Magmus' neck. "We need them alive, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Kind of forgot about that."

"What are you talking about?" Magmus asked.

"Uh, it's a long, complicated story," Darrgan said.

"Well simplify it," Mesmerious growled.

"Basically Darrgan and I had visions of you almost two decades ago. We were warned that we would meet you one day and that, brace for it, we needed to love you."

"What?" Magmus yelled.

"Hey, I don't like it any more than you do," Riveced said. "The last thing I want is to fall in love with some Sith scum who wants to destroy the galaxy. Apparently, the Force couldn't care less what I want."

"So I assume you're going to try and redeem us?" Magmus asked.

"I'm really not sure what we're going to do with you. For now, I'm going to check on your Twi'lek friend. Darrgan, keep an eye on these two. Oh, it looks like Talon's out cold. Nice work Kanan!"

"My pleasure."

While no one was watching, Talon clicked a small button on her gauntlet. Krayt would be here soon enough to rescue them.

Krayt's comlink buzzed. Blast! His apprentices had been captured. He should have known they'd fail him. They weren't ready to face the Jedi head on. His ship dropped out of hyperspace to Ahch-To. He landed the Predator by the temple and leaped out.

"You have two choices," Kanan said.

"Let me guess. Surrender or die," Talon said.

"No."

Talon's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe."

"It matters not. Soon Lord Krayt will be here and crush you like the insignificant insects you are!"

Just on que, a massive armored figure stepped through the room.

"Darth Krayt," Kanan said.

Krayt lifted the Jedi with the Force and slammed them into the roof.

"Come on!" Krayt yelled.

The apprentices sprinted out the hole they'd cut earlier. Krayt would have stayed to finish the Jedi off, but he'd been severely wounded in his duel with Anakin and Ahsoka. He risked death if he tried to take on the rest of the Jedi by himself. The four Sith boarded the Seeker and left Ahch-To behind.

"Master, what happened?" Talon asked, obviously referring to the massive gash in Krayt's back.

"Skywalker and Tano proved more powerful than I expected."

"Are they dead?"

"No. I could have stayed and attempted to finish them off, but that would have most likely resulted in my death."

"Did you drain the temple?"

"I did. I see you failed in your mission."

"So did you, my master," Magmus said.

"My mission wasn't a complete failure. The power of the temple is now mine. Besides, I did not have to be rescued. My power proved sufficient to complete my mission and not die. Might I remind you that my mission was to drain the temple, not to kill Skywalker and Tano. You, however, have nothing to show for yourselves."

"We are sorry Master. It will not happen again."

"The blame is partially on me. I should have known you were not ready to confront the Jedi. However, this does not mean this failure will go unpunished."

Krayt lifted his three apprentices with the Force and blasted them with Sith lightning, causing them to scream and writhe in pain. The Dark Lord kept up his barrage for several minutes.

"Do not fail me again."

"We…we won't…Master," Talon said, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.

"I know you won't."

Anakin landed the Tantive IV by the ancient Jedi temple on Ahch-To the moment Ahsoka arrived in the Phantom.

"Uh, that wasn't there when we left, right?" Anakin asked as he pointed to a hole in the door.

"No. It wasn't."

The two Jedi retrieved, but did not activate their lightsabers. Anakin walked in first, followed by Ahsoka.

"It's alright guys," Darrgan said as he and Riveced walked down the hall to meet Anakin and Ahsoka.

"What happened here?" Ahsoka asked.

"Krayt sent his apprentices here to kill us."

"Did you kill them?" Anakin questioned.

"No. Krayt rescued them before we could question them. How Krayt knew to send them here, I have no idea."

"I assume it has something to do with the nexuses he's been draining," Anakin said under his breath.

"Most likely."

"But you did defeat them, right?" Ahsoka asked.

"Oh, yes. They weren't a challenge. However, I'm still a little concerned about the visions Darrgan and I have been having. The Force itself told us we need to let them live. It said we needed to rescue them from a prison created by the Jedi. At first, I thought it meant a literal prison, but I'm not so sure now."

"The Force isn't really big on specifics," Anakin remarked.

"No kidding."

"About how long has it been since we asked Revan about Mustafar?" Ahsoka asked.

"About a week. Are you thinking Mustafar is his next target?"

"It isn't his next, but it is one of them," Ahsoka said.

"Do you know what his next one is?"

"I don't."

"Would he consider going for Mortis?" Anakin asked.

"It's possible, but I don't know if Mortis would even allow Krayt to enter. Mortis draws in those who visit it. It's possible that it could reject Krayt. However, it is also possible that it will accept him," Ahsoka said.

"I agree," Anakin said.

"So our game plan is to what? Just keep training?" Darrgan asked.

"I don't see a better option," Anakin said.

"And you're sure Krayt can't get to Mortis?" Darrgan asked.

"No. Not at all. Anakin, Kanan, and I will go to Mortis and prevent Krayt from draining it."

"Do you want our help?" Riveced asked.

"No. We need you to make sure nothing else happens to the temple."

"Got it."

Ahsoka nodded and along with Anakin walked to Kanan's room and knocked on the door.

"Hey guys. What's up?"

"Ahsoka and I are going to Mortis to make sure Krayt doesn't drain it and we need your help."

"I'm in."

"Good."

The Seeker dropped out hyperspace to an octahedron monolith that Krayt assumed was Mortis. He had never been to this world before, but he'd heard many stories about the realm that existed outside of time and space.

"Here we are."

The Seeker began shaking violently as the monolith drew it in.

"Engage the reverse thrusters!" Krayt demanded.

"I'm trying!" Talon yelled.

"The reverse thrusters are shot," Magmus reported.

"Wonderful," Krayt sighed. "Turn the ship around."

"I can't. We're being sucked inside the monolith!"

"Brace for impact!"

Krayt rubbed his eyes. Where was he? How long had he been out? The Dark Lord got to his feet and looked around. That's right, he and his apprentices were on Mortis. The power of this world was like nothing he'd ever felt before. His eyes quickly readjusted to the bright lights of Mortis. The plentiful vegetation and wildlife was a new sight to the Dark Lord, for he grew up on a war-ravaged world and spent the past several decades of his life on a barren wasteland. Granted, that was Krayt's choice. Moraban, hospitable as it was, gave Krayt great knowledge that made him the Dark Lord he was today.

"Talon? Magmus? Mesmerious?"

"We're over here, Master!" Talon yelled.

Krayt saw his apprentices off in the distance. However, what disturbed Krayt was what he could not see.

"Where is the ship?" Krayt asked.

"We don't know."

"Wasn't it here when we first got here?"

"We don't know where it is," Magmus admitted.

"We'll find it later. For now, we must focus on draining the nexus and there are a great many of them on this world."

"How many?" Talon asked.

"Five. Now let us begin the process."

"Do you know where they all are?"

"I don't need to know their exact location. All I need to know is their general vicinity. And…"

"What is it?" Mesmerious asked.

"Skywalker, Tano and another Jedi are here. Defend me while I drain the nexuses."

The apprentices activated their sabers as Anakin, Ahsoka and Kanan disembarked their ship known as the Tantive IV.

"I don't believe we've met. I'm Anakin and this is Ahsoka. I assume the three of you are Krayt's lackeys."

"I am Darth Talon of the Sith and I, along with my fellow Sith, Magmus and Mesmerious are not lackeys! We will bear witness to the single greatest event in the history of the galaxy. We…"

"Yeah, yeah, so we've heard," Kanan interrupted.

"Kill them," Krayt said as he outstretched his hands to begin the draining process.

The three Sith leaped at the Jedi, but Anakin lifted all three of them with the Force and slammed them into the ground. Ahsoka and Kanan activated their lightsabers as the Sith got to their feet.

"Ahsoka! We can keep these Sith busy! Go after Krayt!" Anakin yelled.

Ahsoka nodded and sprinted after Krayt.

"No!" Talon yelled. "Bring her back here!"

The three Sith combined their powers to pull Ahsoka back a few meters with a Force pull, but it only slowed the Togruta down for a few moments.

"We can't let her get to Krayt," Talon yelled as she redirected an attack from Anakin.

Magmus and Mesmerious combined their powers to send Kanan tumbling backwards, but Anakin's Force shield held strong. The Jedi kicked Magmus in the stomach and slashed at Mesmerious, but Talon had already escaped and was sprinting after Ahsoka.

"Talon! Hurry!" Magmus yelled.

Krayt felt the power of Mortis flow through him. He had never known true power before this moment. It was done. The power of Mortis was now his to command. The world itself seemed to respond as the once bright sky turned black and the plant and animal life died. Ahsoka yelled in fury as she launched herself at Krayt, but he felt no fear. He sent Ahsoka flying several hundred meters into the air.

"Our mission here is done," Krayt said.

"Master, I don't believe it, but our ship is back," Talon said.

"Well then. Let's go."

The three Sith leaped back onto the Seeker and left Mortis behind as Ahsoka used the Force to slow her fall.

"Blast!" Anakin yelled. "He got away!"

"His power has drastically increased since the last time we fought him," Ahsoka said. "We're no match for him."

"How do we stop him?" Kanan asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that Mustafar is his next target."

"Well let's get to Mustafar."

"Before we do that, we need to go back to Ahch-To and get all the other Jedi. We'll need all of them if we want to defeat Krayt," Anakin said. "Kanan, have you contacted the Ghost crew yet?"

"I will on the way to Mustafar."

Anakin nodded and boarded the ship.

"Are we going to Mustafar now?" Talon asked.

"No. We still need time to train."

"We're ready Master," Magmus said.

"Your defeat at the hands of the Jedi on Ahch-To prove otherwise. Your dueling skills need some work as do your Force powers."

The Seeker dropped out of hyperspace to a planet unknown to the apprentices.

"Where are we?" Mesmerious asked.

"Dromund Kaas, a world in eternal darkness."

"Why are we here?"

"This world once the capitol of the old Sith Empire thousands of years ago. The dark side nexus on this world will give me even more power. However, before I drain the nexus, I will continue to train you on this world. The dark side nexus will help your skills improve much faster."

Krayt landed the Seeker by what looked to be a temple of some kind.

"This is the Dark Temple. You will learn much from it."

The four Sith disembarked the Seeker and walked inside the temple. Krayt activated his lightsaber to light up the dark temple hallways.

"Now tell me this my apprentices. What do you hate? Who do you hate?"

"I hate the Jedi," Talon said.

"I hate my father for his weakness and unwillingness to carry on after my mother's death," Magmus said.

"Magmus speaks for me as well," Mesmerious said.

"Kill your fellow apprentices. Only the strongest shall live."

Mesmerious and Magmus stared at each other in shock, but Talon sprung at Magmus, saber held high. Magmus reacted in time to block Talon's blade. Mesmerious flipped over Talon and tried to stab her in the back, but Talon shot Mesmerious with red Force lightning. Magmus swung at Talon with several overhand strikes, but Talon blocked them with ease. Mesmerious sprung to her feet and rushed at Talon, but Talon pushed her back with the Force.

"Only the strongest shall live," Talon said.

"That's why you'll be dead," Magmus shot back.

Magmus kicked Talon's face and sent her back a few paces, but it was not enough. Talon lifted Magmus with the Force and slammed her into the ground. Talon thrust her saber towards the down Magmus' chest, but her saber was blocked by Krayt's.

"I've seen all I need to see," the Dark Lord said.

"But Master, let me kill them! They are weak and cannot serve you!" Talon yelled.

"Stand down."

Talon deactivated her lightsaber as Magmus and Mesmerious got back to their feet.

"Talon, you believe yourself strong. But you are not!" Krayt yelled as he slammed her into the ground with the Force. "You are all unworthy of being my apprentices! I will kill all of you and take on a new apprentice! In fact, I've been training a secret apprentice without your knowledge and he is more powerful than the three of you combined!"

"No! I've done your every command without question and I will not be replaced!" Mesmerious yelled as she sprinted at Krayt, lightsaber held high over her head.

Krayt blocked both of her attacks and quickly disarmed her, but Mesmerious did not stop her assault. She yelled out in anger and sent Krayt back a few steps with a Force-enhanced kick to the stomach. The Dark Lord sent her back with a Force push, but Mesmerious wouldn't give up without a fight. She blasted Krayt with Force lightning, but he absorbed it and redirected it at her. The blast knocked her to the ground, but like a machine, she got up and ran at Krayt. The Dark Lord once again blasted her with lightning, this time for several minutes. Once he ceased his barrage, Mesmerious slowly got to her feet and threw a sloppy punch at Krayt. Krayt easily dodged the attack and kicked Mesmerious in the back, knocking her to the ground. She tried to get up, but even the Force could not help her. Her exhaustion was too great.

"Kill me," Mesmerious said.

"You have passed."

"What?"

"This was a test. There is no secret apprentice, but I needed to see how the three of you reacted. You, Darth Mesmerious, are the only one who passed. You wanted to kill me, but Talon and Magmus did not. Your rage allowed you to do that which is not supposed to be possible. However, you now need to learn to focus that rage. Rage is nothing at all if it cannot be channeled."

"I will not let you down again," Mesmerious said as she lowered herself to one knee.

"Rise Darth Mesmerious. I am your life. I am your death. You have passed this test without flinching. I deem you my Hand, my own personal assassin. Henceforth, you will take orders only from me, report only to me. Magmus and Talon are now yours to command. I will train you personally and you will take my lessons to my, your underlings."

"But, I am your Hand!" Talon yelled.

"Correction. You were my Hand and you have been replaced. Mesmerious is no longer your fellow apprentice. She is now your master. A command from her is a command from me. Disobedience will be punished. Severally. Come with me, my Hand. I have much to teach you in the ways of the dark side."

Mesmerious nodded and walked down the long hallway with Krayt. Talon and Magmus stared at each other in utter shock.

"Your sister just cost me my position as Krayt's Hand," Talon growled.

"No. You failed Krayt's test, as did I. Mesmerious was the only one who passed. It makes since for her to be his Hand."

"No. You wish this for her merely because you are her sister."

"You know that's not true. In reality, I'm enraged at her, but she earned her position. We are now loyal to her. Besides, this isn't the last time Krayt will do a test like this. We'll have our chances."

"I suppose you are right."

"Of course I am."

Talon sighed as she and Magmus followed after Krayt and Mesmerious.

"My apprentices," Krayt said as Magmus and Talon walked inside his throne room. "I have a mission for you."

"What is it, Master?" Talon asked.

"I have an idea to lure the Jedi, or at least some of them to their deaths. I know of an ancient Jedi code that means a Jedi Knight thought dead is in fact still alive."

The Dark Lord retrieved a comlink as he typed in a code.

"The Jedi shall receive this signal and be sent to the planet of Dagobah. Their connection to light will be weakened. Use that to your advantage. Talon, remain here with me."

"Why?"

"Because it is what I wish."

"Yes, Master."

"Magmus, Mesmerious, I am counting on you to kill whatever Jedi come. I know for a fact that Anakin and Ahsoka will not fall for it. They will send weaker Jedi to investigate. Kill them."

"We will break them, Master," Magmus said.

"You have failed me once. The consequences will be severe if you fail me again."

"We will do as you wish."

Ahsoka picked up her comlink. Impossible.

"Anakin, check this out."

"Code 1098. This means a Jedi Master thought dead has survived."

"It's most likely a trap."

"What's our plan?"

"We spring the trap," Ahsoka said, a smirk on her face.

"Are we going?"

"No. We'll send Darrgan and Riveced. I feel that this is connected to their visions."

"I'll go get them."

Darrgan slammed his saber at Riveced's, but he diverted every blow. Riveced slashed upwards, causing Darrgan to lower his saber and giving Riveced the opportunity to backhand his former apprentice. Darrgan used the energy from Riveced's backhand to back flip and land on his feet.

"You've improved."

"I would say it was because of your teaching, but that'd be a lie."

"Prove it."

Darrgan, using the speed and agility of Form IV to leap around Riveced, keeping him on the defensive, blocking, dodging, and redirecting. Riveced went for a Force push, but Darrgan expected that and kicked his former master to the ground. Riveced leaped to his feet and slammed his fist in an uppercut, knocking Darrgan down.

"Yield."

Darrgan responded by leaping to his feet and smashing his saber against Riveced's. He blocked an upward slash, sidestepped a right thrust, leaped over a low sweeping swing. Time to press the advance. Riveced intercepted Darrgan's blade as it came down upon him. He slammed his foot into Darrgan's stomach, grabbed him by the wrist, and slammed him to the ground.

"You are beaten."

"Again."

The door opened to reveal Anakin holding a comlink of some kind. Strangely, he was not wearing his helmet.

"Master Skywalker."

"Riveced, Darrgan, Ahsoka and I have a mission for you. We've received a transmission that says a Jedi Master thought dead has in fact survived."

"Is it true?"

"Probably not, but I think it is a good opportunity to destroy Krayt's apprentices if they are indeed behind it. The two of you are more than a match for them. I know that your visions have been troubling you. I think this might help."

"Where is the signal sending us to?" Darrgan asked.

"Dagobah."

"We're on our way."

"They've taken the bait," Magmus said as the Predator dropped out of hyperspace to the swampy planet of Dagobah.

"Do think we'll succeed? We failed once."

"This is different. This time they'll be forced to play by our rules," Magmus said as she landed the ship.

"They're already here."

Two Jedi clad in black armor stepped out of the dark side cave. One activated a pure white saber and the other a very light green. They walked out of the cave and the twins recognized them as Darrgan and Riveced, the Jedi who wanted them alive because of some stupid vision.

"Ah, I see Krayt is sending the two of you to do his dirty work," Darrgan said.

"No! We are apprentices of the most powerful Dark Lord in history! We will watch as Lord Krayt drains the life from the Jedi Order! The light is for the weak, but the dark is for the powerful!" Magmus yelled.

"Are you finished?" Riveced asked, his mask giving a menacing hint to his voice.

"Let us kill these fools, sister," Mesmerous said.

The twin Sith sprinted to the Jedi and the Jedi to the twins, both sides holding sabers high. Darrgan's saber clashed down on Mesmerious while Magmus slammed hers at Riveced. Mesmerious flipped over two sweeping swings from Darrgan. Darrgan thrust at her, poked at her defenses, but she quickly moved her lightsaber to intercept each attack. Memserious pressed the advance, stabbing her saber with the grace of Form II. Darrgan threw his saber in the air, knocked Mesmerious back with a few well-placed punches and kicks, and caught the lightsaber.

Riveced felt Magmus' rage as she slammed at his defenses. She yelled out in anger as he redirected her every attack. No. She was going about this wrong. Let the Jedi attack. Riveced did just that as he came at her with quick and powerful one-handed strikes. The mark of Form II, Magmus thought. Magmus redirected his thrusts and jabs with speed and grace. She had him now. Magmus sent him flying with a blast of lightning, but he quickly got to his feet and knocked her to the ground with a Force push.

Darrgan sidestepped two quick swings from Mesmerious and sent her flying with a Force push. Mesmerious, however, leaped back to her feet and blasted Darrgan with lighting, but he quickly put up his lightsaber to absorb the electricity and send it back at Mesmerious and causing her to break off the attack. Darrgan held his saber to her throat and almost removed her head, but the Force stayed his hand. She needed to live. Darrgan deactivated his lightsaber.

"What are you doing?" Mesmerious asked.

"I need you alive."

"Oh, yes. I forgot about your vision."

Darrgan used the Force to draw Mesmerious' saber to himself. He looked it over and dropped it at his feet.

"You're beaten. Come with us."

"No."

"Sorry about this," Darrgan sighed as he reared back and slammed his fist into Mesmerious' skull, knocking her out cold.

"Your sister's already been defeated," Riveced said as Magmus got to her feet. "It would be wise to surrender."

"I never surrender."

Riveced lifted Magmus with the Force and slammed her into the ground once, knocking her out. He deactivated his saber and walked over to Darrgan.

"I assume we should let them live," Darrgan said.

"I was thinking the same thing."

"What should we tell Anakin?"

"Uh, I guess that we ran into Magmus and Mesmerious and that we spared them because of our vision. He said that we might find answers to our visions. This only affirms that we need to let them live."

"I agree."

10

The Trap

Darrgan felt Anakin, Ahsoka and Kanan return and he could sense their frustration at failing to defeat Krayt. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Kanan disembarked the Tantive IV as Darrgan went outside to meet them.

"I assume things didn't go as planned," Darrgan remarked.

"You assume correctly," Kanan said sighed.

"So what now?"

"Krayt now wields the power of Mortis and is next to invincible. We know for a fact that the power of Mustafar's dark side nexus is all Krayt needs before he can achieve his goal. We need to get to Mustafar before he can drain the nexus. Right now, he is the most powerful Force-user in history. If he drains Mustafar he will be able to shape the galaxy and possibly reality itself any way he pleases," Ahsoka reported.

"So Mustafar's our next stop?"

"Yes. Gather the others and tell them of our plan to defeat Krayt," Anakin said.

Darrgan nodded and walked back inside the temple, leaving Anakin and Ahsoka alone on the Tantive IV.

"Do you think we'll be able to defeat Krayt?"

"I do, Ahsoka. I really do."

"Let's hope you're right."

"I know I am."

"All Jedi report to the briefing room," Darrgan's voice blared across the intercom system.

"Why can't they turn that basted intercom down?" Anakin asked. "I should not be able to hear it through the walls of the ship and the temple and my helmet."

"I thought your helmet enhanced your hearing," Ahsoka said.

"That's only when I command it to enhance my hearing and that feature is currently turned off. I need to make a feature that mutes everything. It would make dealing with Kanan somewhat bearable."

"I don't know why they keep the intercom on that loud. I think Riveced just like to use it to yell at people."

"Sometimes I feel like doing the same," Anakin said.

"I know. I do too."

"Next time you call all of us in here, don't try to rupture our eardrums with that blasted intercom system," Kanan murmured.

"Sorry about that," Riveced said.

"Let's get right to the point," Darrgan said. "Darth Krayt and his apprentices' next target is the planet Mustafar. We're going there to make sure he does not drain the nexus. Understood?"

The Jedi nodded their heads.

Anakin and Ahsoka saw Kanan, Ezra, Hedala, Riveced, and Darrgan walking out to the Tantive IV.

"Are you guys ready?" Ahsoka asked.

"Let's go kill some Sith," Kanan said.

"The Jedi know of our plan to drain the nexus on Mustafar," Krayt said.

"Shall I tell Talon and Magmus?" Mesmerious asked.

"Please do so."

"Your wish is my command."

Mesmerious left Krayt alone in his throne room. The throne had a banner with the symbol of the old Sith Empire behind it. In addition, several pillars, a few small structures that Krayt assumed were either power sources or some device capable channeling the dark side, and dozens of icicle like structures that hung from the ceiling surrounded the throne. Kryat was concerned about the state of his apprentices. Despite her status as Krayt's Hand, Mesmerious was hardly a match for a Jedi Master like Kanan or even a Jedi Knight like Ezra. Krayt needed his apprentices to fight the weaker Jedi while he focused his efforts on killing Anakin and Ahsoka, his only true threats.

The throne room door opened to reveal his three apprentices. The young Sith walked up the stairs to kneel before Krayt.

"Rise, my apprentices," Krayt commanded as he got out of his throne. "We still have much to do if we wish to defeat the Jedi."

"What must we do?" Mesmerious asked.

"Talon, Magmus, leave us."

The two apprentices walked out the door, leaving Krayt and Mesmerious alone.

"My Hand, I have a few things I need to teach you before we go to Mustafar."

"What is it?"

"You have great potential and could grow to be something truly special if you were to reach your potential. However, things rarely go our way, but there is a way around this. I have two abilities I shall teach you and you in turn will teach them to Magmus and Talon. The first ability is Force rage. It is exactly what it sounds like. A user of Force rage channels their darkest emotions and memories and uses that to enhance their physical attributes. You may not know it, but you have already demonstrated skill with Force rage once before."

"Do you mean when I lashed out at you when you said you'd replace me with another secret apprentice?"

"You are correct. To master Force rage requires a raw fury not easily tamed. I cannot use Force rage to its fullest extent. I have dark emotions, for I would not be a Sith if I didn't, but I, much like my mentor Darth Bane, keep my emotions largely in check. Some Sith are simply more naturally talented in certain areas than others. Malgus was a warrior who used rage to give himself strength. Momin was an artist who used his works to bring glory to darkness. Valkorion was a leader who ruled the galaxy for 1000 years. Bane was a pioneer who reinvented what it meant to be a Sith. Revan was a student who learned everything he could. Nihilus was a conqueror who brought entire worlds to their knees. Sion was an unbeatable monster who terrified even the most powerful Jedi Knights of his time. Dooku was a duelist who tore his opponents apart with his skill with the saber. Maul was a savage animal meant for killing Jedi. Plagueis was a scholar and a scientist who nearly discovered the secret to eternal life. You can master Force rage to an extent I could only dream of, but by the same token you can never hope to rival my Force lightning."

"I understand."

"Good, but I must warn you that Force rage is not be used for extended periods of time. The power it grants can be just as dangerous for the wielder as it is for the target. Use it as a last resort, not as an opening attack. The second ability, however, can be used much more frequently."

"What is this power?"

"It is a variation of Force lightning known as Sith barrage. A user of Force barrage creates a bolt of lightning up from the ground. The electricity will shock anything in its path and, due to its ability to come from the ground, it is much harder for a Jedi to block or dodge. It is quite similar to Force lightning. You need only conjure it from the ground instead of from your hands. Try it."

Mesmerious bent down and clenched both of her hands and lightning sprung from the ground.

"Good. This power will prove quite powerful, but if it and your prowess with the saber fails, you must fall back on Force rage. Now tell Magmus and Talon of these powers. They will need to know them if they wish to defeat the Jedi."

"As you wish."

Mesmerious walked out of the throne room, leaving Krayt alone.

Talon and Magmus stepped back as Mesmerious opened the throne room doors.

"I have some news from Lord Krayt," Mesmerious said.

"And?"

"Before we depart to Mustafar, I am to teach you two Force abilities: Force rage and Sith barrage. Force rage is exactly what it sounds like. The user channels their deepest and darkest memories to enhance their physical durability and reflexes to superhuman levels, but this power is to be used only as a last resort. That level of power takes a toll on the human body."

"And how exactly are we supposed to learn this power?" Magmus asked,

"You already learned the basics when we learned to augment our physical abilities with the Force. This is more or less the same. Only this time you use your anger to further amplify them even further."

"I see. Now tell us of this second ability," Talon said.

"Sith barrage is more or less Force lightning channeled from the ground. It's quite simple to learn."

"So Krayt thinks us ready?" Magmus asked.

"He does. The two of you will remain here while I tell him."

Mesmerious opened the doors with the Force and walked inside the throne room.

"We are ready, Master."

Krayt got out of his throne and put his lightsaber on his belt.

"Good. Now let us destroy the Jedi Order and bring peace to this galaxy."

11

Fate of the Force

Anakin knew the darkness of Mustafar almost by heart. About five years ago, the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis had constructed a castle designed to channel the dark side nexus on the planet to open the veil between life and death. Ahsoka had been captured and imprisoned in the castle's prison and Anakin decimated the guards and escaped with Ahsoka. Plagueis nearly killed Ahsoka, but Anakin nearly did the same for Plagueis, ripping his eyes out and breaking countless bones.

The Tantive IV dropped out of hyperspace.

"Our mission is simple," Ahsoka said. "We need to protect the nexus under Plagueis's castle from Krayt and his apprentices. We fight to kill. Krayt has shown that he will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. We must do the same if we wish to bring a lasting balance to the Force and peace to the galaxy."

"There's the castle," Darrgan said.

"Indeed," Anakin said as he landed the Tantive IV on the ground next to the castle. "Kanan, have you contacted the Ghost crew yet?"

"They should be here in a few minutes."

"Krayt and his apprentices should be here within a few minutes and we'll be ready for them. We wait for them to find their way to the castle and when they get here, we'll pounce. Any questions?"

The Jedi remained silent.

"Good."

A very familiar looking ship dropped out of hyperspace and landed next to the Tantive IV. The Ghost had arrived. The ship lowered its ramp and out walked out Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Captain Rex, and Zeb Orrelios.

"Hey guys!" Kanan exclaimed. "It's been a while!"

"Ezra!" Sabine exclaimed as she ran up to him and embraced him.

"Hey, Sabine. How've you been?"

"I've been fine. I've just missed you."

"I know. I've missed you too."

"So what exactly are we up against?" Rex asked.

"His name is Darth Krayt and he wants to destroy half of all life in the galaxy," Ahsoka explained. "He also has three apprentices."

"I have a few weapons designed for fighting Jedi," Sabine said.

"You'll need every one of them," Anakin said. "Krayt is more powerful than army Force-user in history."

"He's here," Ahsoka said.

"Prepare for battle," Anakin commanded.

"The Jedi have arrived," Krayt said as the Seeker dropped out of hyperspace. "They're waiting for us."

"And you're sure we're strong enough to defeat them?" Talon asked.

"They will die."

Krayt landed the Seeker by a castle or fortress of some kind. Judging by its design, it was most likely built to channel the dark side nexus, but what it was supposed to channel, Krayt had no idea.

"I'm sure I do not need to tell you this, my apprentices, but we fight to kill. Kill, not butcher. These Jedi are brave and loyal to their cause. They deserve a quick, painless death. Understood?"

The apprentices nodded their heads.

"Let's go," Krayt said as he lowered the ship's ramp and walked outside to the fiery hellscape of Mustafar.

"Guys, can I have a minute alone with Ahsoka?"

The other Jedi left Anakin and Ahsoka in the ship.

"Ahsoka, I know I said this before we fought Sidious, but I'm afraid I'm going to lose you. I hear the clock countdown. So much to do and so much I need to say. Of all the regrets I have, I wish I'd spent more time with you. Your time is running out and you're never going to get it back. So make the most of every moment. What I'm trying to say is that tomorrow could be one day too late."

"Anakin, I know how you feel. I know exactly how you feel. You are the one, you are the one I need. You are the one who loves me completely. I don't have to hide when you're with me. The best, the worst, I know you'll never leave. It steals my breath away when you lift my face and say who I was, who I am, who I'll be. I am yours eternally. In a galaxy full of mysteries, one thing is simple as can be: that you'll always be there for me. Faithful even though I give enough. You take the chaos that's in me and you create a symphony from who I was, who I am, who I'll be. I am changed, I am yours eternally. All I am is forever yours. You have my heart, my soul, Anakin."

Ahsoka pulled Anakin into a kiss.

"Even if I die tonight, just know that I'll always be with you."

Anakin kissed Ahsoka again before putting his helmet back on.

"He's here," Anakin said.

"Anakin, we've been preparing for something like this for years. We will defeat Krayt and his apprentices," Ahsoka said.

Krayt's ship laded a few hundred meters from the Jedi. The Dark Lord and his apprentices disembarked and activated their lightsabers.

"Darth Krayt, in the name of the Jedi Order, I order you to surrender," Ahsoka said as she and Anakin walked back outside to rejoin the others.

"You know as well as I that will not happen."

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"One cannot understand my reasoning unless one's homeworld was plunged in war for hundreds of years. When I was a child, my world was one in poverty, but a terrorists group known as the Insurgents proposed a solution: destroy half of all life on the planet. They were labeled as madmen for their views. I thought they were too, until they killed my mother in front of me. Only after I lost her did I see how right the Insurgents were. I fled from my world and went to the Jedi. I knew of their power and told them they could help bring peace if they used that power to destroy half of all galactic life. Needless to say, they didn't go for it, for if they did I would not be doing it myself. I am doing what they lacked the courage and strength of will to do. I will only say this once: join me or die."

"You know as well as I that will not happen."

"Kill them," Krayt commanded.

The apprentices leaped at the Jedi.

"Ahsoka and I will take Krayt! The rest of you focus on the apprentices!" Anakin yelled.

Anakin slammed at Krayt with two overhand strikes while Ahsoka went for his legs, but Krayt dodged Anakin's blade and diverted Ahsoka's to the ground and used her distraction to push her back with the Force. Krayt blasted Anakin with Force lightning, but he put up a Force shield in time to stop it. Ahsoka leaped over Krayt and attempted to slash him across the back, but he spun around and knocked her back with a Force-enhanced kick. Krayt brought his blade down on Ahsoka, but Anakin's intercepted it, allowing Ahsoka to leap to her feet. Anakin slammed his helmeted head into Krayt, causing him to stumble backwards and leaving him open to a Force push from Ahsoka.

Kanan blocked two lightning fast strikes from Talon, but Talon could tell it was straining him. Talon knocked him to the ground and thrust her saber down at her, only to have it intercepted by Ezra.

"Foolish boy! You cannot hope to stop my master!"

"Shall we test that?"

Ezra blocked two quick thrusts from Talon, giving Kanan time to send her flying with a Force push. Magmus activated her saber's duel phase feature, extending the blade to twice its original length.

"I like that little feature," Riveced said. "But it won't be enough to defeat me."

"Let's see about that."

Magmus yelled and launched herself at Riveced, but he sidestepped her saber. She swung high, as did he, causing their blades to meet. Riveced used his superior strength to break the blade lock and force Magmus back a few paces. As Riveced was about to impale Magmus, Mesmerious grabbed him with the Force and hurled him away from her sister.

"You're welcome."

"Thanks."

Things were not going well for Talon. She was surrounded by Kanan, Ezra, Hedala, and Darrgan. Time to use Force rage. She focused on her murder of Starbird, the death of her mother, the exile of her father, her distain for Mesmerious, and the demandingness of Krayt. Talon cried out in pain as the rage took over. She sent the four Jedi flying back with a Force repulse. Kanan unleashed a Force push, but Talon shrugged it off. She sprinted at Kanan, lifted him with the Force, and blasted him with lighting.

"Kanan!" Sabine yelled as she blasted at Talon with her pistols.

Talon effortlessly deflected the blaster bolts and used the Force to yank Sabine's blasters from her hands.

"Put that lightsaber down and we'll settle this like real warriors!"

"As you wish," Talon said as she tossed her saber aside. "Your move."

Sabine sprinted at Talon and Talon at Sabine. Sabine flipped over Talon's fist and kicked her in the back, but Talon quickly rolled away from a kick from Sabine. Talon guided two quick jabs from Sabine off to the side and sent the Mandalorian back a few steps with a kick to her helmeted head. Sabine flipped over Talon once again and slammed her fist into the Twi'lek's head.

"Not bad. For a non-Force-sensitive."

Sabine said nothing, merely yelled as she aimed a kick at Talon's head, but the Twi'lek caught her leg and moved it off to the side. Talon jabbed at Sabine, but she dodged both attacks and came back with a swift kick to Talon's face. Sabine used Talon's distraction to her advantage, dropping to the ground and swinging her legs under the Twi'lek and knocking her to the ground. Talon felt the blood drip from her face. This Mandalorian was proving to be a real challenge.

"Had enough?" Sabine asked.

"Not even close."

Talon leaped to her feet and aimed kick at Sabine's stomach. The Mandalorian predicted that attack, just as Talon knew she would. Talon used Sabine's distraction to her advantage, leaping over her, grabbing her neck, and snapping it. Sabine died instantly.

Hera blasted at Magmus with the Force.

"I don't think we've met," Magmus said.

"We haven't," Hera growled.

Magmus deflected two blaster bolts from Hera, sending them back at the Twi'lek and hitting her in the chest and knocking her to the ground. Hera looked up at Magmus and nodded once and, much to Magmus surprise, Zeb and Ezra came at her from behind. Zeb wielded an electrostaff, similar to the ones used by the MagnaGuard droids from the Clone Wars. Ezra thrust his saber at Magmus in quick, precise jabs while Zeb used his strength and height to his advantage, swinging at Magmus with the strength of a B2 battle droid. Magmus sent Zeb back with a Force push and gripped Ezra in a Force choke.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kanan said.

Magmus let Ezra drop.

"Finally, a challenge."

Kanan sprinted at Magmus and used the Force to push her back. Magmus quickly got to her feet, but Hera began firing at her again. Magmus sent Hera back with a Force push so she could focus on Kanan. Kanan redirected Magmus' onslaught with a complete mastery of Form III. Magmus leaped back and unleashed a blast of Sith barrage. Kanan's eyes were drawn to the lightning running through the ground. He tried to sidestep it, but the lightning electrocuted him and sent him to the ground. Kanan tried to get to his feet, but Magmus blasted him again.

"That was a neat trick," Kanan said.

Magmus said nothing, but she deactivated her saber and plunged the knife blade on her pommel into Kanan's chest.

"No!" Ezra yelled as he knocked Magmus to the ground with a Force push.

Hera, Rex, and Zeb began firing at her with a fury she had not seen from them until now. She blocked a few blaster bolts, but one grazed her shoulder, causing her to drop her lightsaber.

"Talon! Get over here!"

Talon lifted Zeb and Hera with the Force, providing Magmus a chance to get to her feet and retrieve her lightsaber. But Ezra did not relent, slamming at Magmus with rage and fury as Rex shot at her with his blasters.

"Your anger makes you powerful! Use it!"

Ezra took a few steps back and composed himself. Magmus put one hand behind her back, signaling she had entered Form II. Ezra switched to Form V, the perfect counter to Form II. He slammed at Magmus' defenses. She took several steps back and jabbed at Ezra, but she blocked and instantly counterattacked. The moment before Ezra brought his saber down on Magmus', a crimson saber plunged itself into his chest. When his lifeless body dropped to the ground, Magmus could tell that her sister had struck the killing blow.

"Thanks."

"Get up."

Krayt evaded two lightning fast swings from Anakin. Anakin nodded once, causing Ahsoka to deactivate her lightsabers and lowered herself to the ground. Krayt wasted no time, leaping at Ahsoka and attempting to drive his saber into her chest. The second before the saber pierced her chest, Ahsoka grabbed Krayt's hilt and used the Force to turn off the blade. Anakin and Ahsoka unleashed a combined Force blast that sent Krayt flying backwards. The Dark Lord quickly got to his feet in time to block an overhead strike from Anakin and a quick thrust from Ahsoka. Krayt kicked Anakin's chest and blasted him with lightning. Ahsoka used Krayt's distraction to her advantage, slashing at Krayt's back, but the Dark Lord leaped over Ahsoka, avoiding the would-be death blow.

"Ezra!" Zeb yelled as he sprinted at Magmus.

Talon lifted the Lasat and slammed him into the ground with the Force.

"Zeb!" Rex yelled as he fired at the Twi'lek.

Talon deflected his bolts to the ground, but several grazed her, causing her to stumble back a few paces. The Twi'lek gripped the clone's neck with the Force, but Rex managed to shoot her leg, causing her to release him. Talon growled and blasted Rex with Force lightning, but somehow the clone got to his feet and began to blast at her again.

"Enough!" Talon yelled the second before she snapped Rex's neck.

Talon turned around to see Hera.

"Wait!" Hera yelled. "How could you turn against the Jedi? They liberated your homeworld."

"I am not from Ryloth," Talon said. "I have no loyalties to the Jedi."

"You're from Rashada, aren't you?"

"I am, but I would still be loyal to Krayt if I was from Ryloth. I know you mean well, so I will grant you a quick death."

Talon used the Force to guide her saber into Hera's heart, killing her instantly. Zeb fired at Talon, but she redirected his own shots back at him, knocking him to the ground and giving Talon the chance to plunge her saber into Zeb's chest.

"You'll regret that," Darrgan said.

Magmus smiled at the Jedi's anger. Darrgan launched himself at Mesmerious, leaving Riveced to duel Magmus and Talon alone. Riveced quickly moved his blade to block two lightning fast strikes from Talon, but left himself open to a blast of Force lightning from Magmus.

"Lord Krayt will spare you if you surrender," Magmus offered.

"Yeah, right."

"Krayt is a man of his word."

"Sure he is."

Riveced violently pushed Talon back with the Force, leaving only Magmus. Magmus attempted to take Riveced down with a Sith barrage, but he leaped over the lightning just in time. Riveced thrust his saber at Magmus' face, but she ducked under it and swept her legs under Riveced, knocking him to the ground. She brought her saber high above her head, but RIveced back flipped away just in time. Magmus growled in frustration.

"Your anger unbalances you, makes you sloppy."

"We shall see about that."

Magmus blasted Riveced with lightning, but his blade moved to intercept it. He quickly diverted the lightning and it knocked Magmus to the ground. Magmus, however leaped away from him and plunged the knife on the end of her saber into Riveced's chest. She smiled at the Jedi's pain. Magmus twisted the knife, causing Riveced to yell out in pain. He quickly pushed her away with the Force and began to mend his damaged cells with the Force. He had to admit that he was holding back, but he knew he needed to spare her, although he still had no real idea as to why.

Talon quickly leaped back to her feet and sprinted at Riveced. The duel would have been a quick one if not for Riveced's wound. He's healed it somewhat, but he wasn't in any condition to fight. He blocked two strikes from Talon, but the third found its mark, grazing his leg. Talon wasted no time as she swung her saber at Riveced's head, but at the last possible second, Riveced's saber sprang up to block Talon's. He quickly got to his feet and pushed Talon back. Talon swung her saber at Riveced, but he dodged, spun around, and plunged his saber into Talon's chest, killing her instantly.

Darrgan dodged two precise thrusts from Mesmerious and parried a third. Using Form V, he instantly counterattacked, driving Mesmerious back as she brought her blade up to intercept his. Mesmerious knew she could not defeat the Jedi without falling back on Force rage. She focused on her hate for her father for leaving her and her sister to die, her hate for the Jedi for thinking they were strong enough to defeat Krayt, and her hate for Krayt and his stupid goal of galactic peace. She let out an inhuman shriek as her rage took over. She crushed Darrgan's Force shield with her anger and overwhelmed his defenses with several rage-fueled strikes. Mesmerious batted Darrgan's saber aside and kicked him to the ground.

"It looks like your friend isn't doing so well against my sister," Magmus taunted.

Riveced sighed, placed his hand on Magmus' head, and used the Force to calm her mind and put her into a deep sleep. He would have killed her if not for the visions he'd received from the Force. Riveced sprinted over to Mesmerious and yanked her away with the Force.

"You're welcome."

"Thanks."

"We should probably go help Anakin and Ahsoka deal with Krayt," Riveced said.

"You think?"

Ahsoka and Anakin smashed their lightsabers against Krayt's, causing the Dark Lord to go on the defensive. Krayt kicked Ahsoka back, but left himself open to an attack from Anakin. Somehow, the Dark Lord moved his blade in time to intercept Anakin's, shoving the Jedi backwards. Darrgan used the Dark Lord's distraction to knock him to the ground with the Force. Krayt leaped to his feet, but he was tiring. Krayt swung his saber, but Darrgan blocked it and grabbed Krayt's horned helmet and slammed it into his knee, causing Krayt to stumble backwards and leaving himself open to a Force blast from Riveced. Riveced nodded, signaling Darrgan to summon a wall of light.

Seeming to read their thoughts, Krayt stretched his hand out and used sever Force to remove Riveced and Darrgan's connection to the Force, but Anakin and Ahsoka Force pushed him back.

"Are you guys alright?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yeah, but we won't be able to help. Krayt drained the Force from us. We'll be no use," Darrgan said.

"I'm sorry," Riveced said.

"It isn't your fault. Just get yourselves and Krayt's apprentices back to the Tantive IV," Anakin commanded.

The two Jedi ran off to help Krayt's apprentices, leaving Anakin and Ahsoka to face Krayt alone.

"It seems it's just us now," Krayt said. "Although I do have one question for you. Why did your Jedi kill Talon, but left Magmus and Mesmerious alive?"

"They say they've had visions that they needed to spare them. Although the reason is unclear to me," Ahsoka said.

"Very well."

"I know you seek peace, but this isn't the way to do it. Come with us. Become a Jedi," Anakin pleaded.

"Yes," Ahsoka said. "I feel the good in you. Join us in the Order. Let the light invade your mind!"

"You know I cannot do that."

"Then we will do what we must," Ahsoka said.

Krayt blasted the two Jedi with Force lightning, but their blades sprang up to intercept the bolts. Ahsoka swept her sabers at Krayt's legs while Anakin thrust his at Krayt's head. Krayt flipped away from Ahsoka's blades and parried Anakin's, causing the Jedi to take a few steps back. Krayt swept his saber upwards, but Ahsoka's blades intercepted it. Krayt used his superior strength to force Ahsoka's blades up and send her careening backwards with a kick. Anakin quickly pressed a button on his gauntlet, activating the clamping feature in his boots.

"I like the suit, Master Skywalker. What else can it do?"

"You're about to find out."

Anakin unclamped his boots and leaped over Krayt, but Krayt quickly sidestepped Anakin's saber and sashed at his helmeted face, exposing some of Anakin's face. Krayt turned around and sent Anakin backwards with a Force enhanced kick to the stomach, but he leaped back at the Dark Lord. Anakin slashed upwards, but Krayt back stepped and thrust his saber at the Jedi. Anakin blocked the strikes, spun around and smashed his saber at Krayt. Ahsoka leaped at Krayt from behind and slashed him across one of the few unarmored sections of his body. Krayt fell to his knees as Ahsoka swung her saber at his neck, but he sprang to his feet and blasted her with lightning. Ahsoka absorbed the lightning and sent it back at Krayt. The Dark Lord's hand shot up to catch the lightning and send it at Anakin. Anakin raised his saber to intercept the lightning, but Krayt increased the intensity, causing to drop his lightsaber and allowing Krayt to blast his cybernetics. Anakin fell to the ground, unable to move his short-circuited limbs.

"You are the last remaining Jedi, Ahsoka Tano. It is hopeless to resist."

Krayt blasted Ahsoka with Force lightning and knocked her to the ground. After a few minutes, Krayt let up.

"I'm not dead yet. I may be broken, but I'm not done. I'll go on fighting while there's breath in my lungs. I'm going to stand my ground even if they back down, because I don't care what you say anymore. So what? You raise your voice. I'm screaming back my choice because I'm sure not scared of you anymore. It might be today, tomorrow, ten years from now, but the time will come when this war is won and when your power's gone. Yeah I might die today, but I'm going to die anyway," Ahsoka declared as she got to her feet.

"You are a fool to think you can win."

"You may call me a fool, but I'll do what I have to do."

Krayt slammed his saber at Ahsoka, but she flipped away from it. Ahsoka swung her sabers at Krayt with inhuman speed, but the Dark Lord countered each one. Krayt used his towering height to bring his saber down on Ahsoka, but she brought her sabers up in an x to catch his blade. Krayt sent Ahsoka back with a Force push, but the Jedi plunged her sabers into the ground to slow herself down. Ahsoka blasted Krayt with Force fire, causing Krayt to unleash a bolt of Force lightning. The two collided, neither one overpowering the other, flame not surpassing electricity. However, Krayt's lightning eventually overpowered Ahsoka's fire, knocking the Togruta backwards, although her armor did lessen the damage to a certain extent.

Ahsoka blasted Krayt with a blast of Force fire, hoping to melt his armor. Krayt's armor began to liquefy, but he quickly used the Force to extinguish the flame. Krayt slammed his saber at Ahsoka, driving her backwards and putting her on the defensive. Ahsoka pushed Krayt backwards and slammed her fist into the Dark Lord's chin, knocking him backwards and allowing Ahsoka to glance his leg with her lightsaber. Krayt clutched his wound, giving Ahsoka the chance to blast him back. Ahsoka stabbed her saber into Krayt's chest, but he threw her back with the Force and yanked the saber from his chest. He turned his head to see Anakin slowly getting to his feet. Krayt blasted him again, but Anakin put up his hand to absorb the lightning and send it back at Krayt. The lightning hit him square in the chest and knocked him to his knees.

"You'll need to do better than that," Krayt taunted.

Ahsoka nodded twice, causing Anakin to focus all his efforts on pinning Krayt to the ground with the Force while Ahsoka blasted him with fire. Krayt yelled out in pain as the flames coursed through his veins. Krayt used his rage to fuel his power as he sent the two Jedi back with a Force repulse. Anakin got to his feet and attempted to kick Krayt's face, but Krayt caught his leg, crushed it with Force-enhanced strength, and slammed Anakin into the ground.

"Anakin!" Ahsoka yelled as she knocked Krayt to the ground with a blast of Force fire.

Much to Krayt's surprise, the ship known as the Tantive IV began to fire upon him.

"Is that Darragn and Riveced?" Ahsoka asked herself.

Krayt yelled in fury as the ship's cannons blasted his armor. The bolts drove him backwards.

"Anakin! Hold him down!"

Anakin and Ahsoka held Krayt in place as the Tantive IV fired upon him, but Krayt sent Anakin and Ahsoka back with a repulse. He grabbed the ship with the Force and slammed it into the ground.

"Nice try," Krayt said.

"Hey, I didn't know they were going to do that," Ahsoka said. "What can you do?"

"You cannot oppose me. You will die."

"No. You can take my heart, you can take my breath when you pry it from my cold, dead chest! This is our galaxy and you can never have it! We're a resistance! You can't resist us because we are the saviors of the galaxy and we will not be ruled by the likes of you! You will fail, Krayt. The Sith always do."

Ahsoka blasted Krayt with another blast of fire. Krayt's flaming armor began to melt once again. The metal began to become one with the Dark Lord's skin. Krayt used that pain to fuel his power. His injuries were a necessary sacrifice to bring peace to the galaxy. Ahsoka shoved Krayt back with a Force push powerful enough to crack the Dark Lord's armor. Ahsoka attempted to ignite Krayt again, but he anticipated this and leaped over Ahsoka before she could ignite him. Krayt swung with strength greater than that of an enraged Wookie, but Ahsoka's blades blocked each frantic attack. Ahsoka back flipped away from two sweeping swings of the Dark Lord and sent hism hurtling back with a push. She lifted him, slammed him into the ground, flung him in the air, and sent him into the ground. Krayt got to his feet, summoned a black hole sent it flying at Ahsoka. She raised her hands, spun around, and sent it back at Krayt, but the Dark Lord destroyed it with lightning. He ignited Ahsoka with fire, but her suit protected her. The flaming Ahsoka rushed Krayt, slashing up with one blade and down with the other. Krayt blocked both, but Ahsoka sent him back with a kick to the face. Krayt shook his head as Ahsoka blasted him back again.

The Dark Lord looked in her mind, attempting to use memory walk on her, but the Jedi had no fear. Ahsoka had only a focused determination to end the Dark Lord's life. Krayt thrust his saber at her, but she twirled away with the grace of a Twi'lek dancer. Ahsoka's masked face betrayed no emotion as she grabbed Krayt's horned helmet and slammed it into her knee. Krayt quickly recovered and saw an opening as Ahsoka reared her sabers back. He quickly blocked both her blades, used his greater strength to guide her blades up, disarm her, and guide his saber into her stomach.

Krayt quickly deactivated his lightsaber and lowered Ahsoka to the ground. Ahsoka's helmet collapsed around her, revealing blue her eyes, wide in surprise. Ahsoka's hands went to her stomach as she attempted to heal her wound with the Force. She'd done the same several decades ago when she was impaled by Darth Sidious. But this was different. Her Force reserves had been too depleted in her battle with Krayt. She commanded her armor to repair her damaged cells, but it was too damaged by Krayt's lightning.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin yelled as he got to his feet.

Anakin limped over to Ahsoka and knelt down beside her. Krayt could have killed Anakin. But he wouldn't. He felt Anakin's pain. He knew of Anakin's love for Ahsoka. Anakin was his enemy, but he deserved a chance to mourn the death of his loved one.

"Ahsoka, stay with me!" he yelled, his voice a mix of his mechanical voice and his natural one.

"Anakin, I…I love you."

"Ahsoka!"

"Anakin, fulfill your destiny. Bring balance."

"Hey, none of that stuff matters. You're going to make it, Ahsoka! Ahsoka! No! You're not going to die tonight! Ahsoka! Please! Stay with me here, now! Please, don't close your eyes. Please, take a look into my eyes one last time, so we never forget the way we were before, when we came alive at the moment we met!"

Anakin. I love you."

"I love you too, Ahsoka."

Anakin kissed Ahsoka's lips one last time.

"Goodbye, Anakin."

"Ahsoka!" Qui-Gon yelled. "Ahsoka can you hear me?"

"I…where am I?"

"You are in the realm of the cosmic Force. We must complete the training, quickly."

"What must I do?"

"Let go, Ahsoka! Feel your spirit become one with the Force. Focus on what makes you who you are. Focus on the loved ones you've blessed. Focus on the lives you touched. Allow yourself to revisit all the major events in your life. See Anakin. His love for you will give you the strength you need."

Ahsoka let go, but she held on. She had to let her spirit become one with the Force. She knew she'd see Anakin again and that gave her peace, peace she hadn't known in, well, ever. Her entire life had been one long war. She fought the Separatist forces in the Clone Wars and she'd been fighting the Sith for, more or less her whole life. She embraced the opportunity of peace as she faded into the Force.

"Anakin, you can defeat him. I know it."

"Ahsoka!" Anakin yelled as she collapsed. "Ahsoka! Ahsoka!"

Anakin gently lowered her body.

"Why?" Anakin growled.

"You think I wanted this?" Krayt asked.

"You're a Sith. Death is your peace."

"No. I take no pleasure in doing this, but it is a necessary price to pay for peace."

"You call galactic genocide peace?"

"You cannot see, Anakin. Attachment. It is your one weakness. It always has been. I know of your failure to save your mother."

"You're not worthy to even speak her name."

"I had to watch as my mother was murdered by terrorists. I know the pain you must have gone through. I am sorry I had to kill your love, but the needs of the galaxy outweigh the needs of the individual. She fought with bravery and valor. She died a warrior's death. I'm just sorry I had to be the one to give it to her."

Anakin sensed the sincerity in Krayt's words and that somehow made them all the more painful. Who did he think he was talking about Ahsoka like he knew her? He was a Sith and he could not feel love.

"We can end it now, Anakin. I am the last Sith. You are the last Jedi. Lay down your weapon and walk away."

"And let you drain this place and destroy half of the galaxy? Never."

Anakin activated his lightsaber.

"You will fail if you try to fight me," Krayt warned.

Anakin's exposed eye turned from blue to yellow. Yellow eyes. The first sign of the dark side's corrupting nature,

"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S LOST! YOU'RE GOING TO FAIL! YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY MY STRENGTH! FIX THESE BROKEN THINGS! YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY MY PRIDE! I WON'T BE DENIED! THERE'S NOTHING LEFT FIGHT! I AM BREAKING FREE! LOOK OUT, KRAYT! I'M BREAKING FREE! I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE! YOU MADE ME WEAK! AHSOKA BROKE ME FREE! I FEEL IT DEEP WITHIN! IT'S JUST BENEATH THE SKIN! I MUST CONFESS THAT I FEEL LIKE A MONSTER! I HATE WHAT I'VE BECOME!"

Anakin yelled as his anger broke free and swung at Krayt, slamming at the Sith's blade and driving him back with his passion and love for Ahsoka. He would put Krayt through hell for what he did to Ahsoka. Anakin lifted him with the Force, slamming him into the ground and flinging him back. Krayt sent Anakin back, but he laughed at Krayt's futile efforts. Anakin strode toward the Sith, letting Krayt plunge his saber into his chest. Anakin laughed with sadistic glee at Krayt. Krayt felt the fire that burned in Anakin's soul. Anakin yelled in fury as he kicked Krayt's helmeted face.

"YOU CANNOT STOP ME NOW! MY RAGE, IT GIVES ME STRENGTH. I WILL WATCH AS YOU SUFFER AND DIE FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER! JUST WHEN I THINK I'VE SUFFERED LONG ENOUGH, YOU STAB AND TWIST THE KNIFE! THIS IS WHO I AM, WHAT I AM! I WILL BREAK! YOU TOOK MY LIFE. I WILL CRUSH YOU AND MAKE YOU BLEED! I WANT YOU TO HURT! LIKE THE WAY I HURT! I KNOW IT'S SICK, BUT IT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER!"

Anakin pulled Krayt's blade out of his chest and tossed it back to the Sith.

"I expect a challenge!"

Krayt smiled and blasted Anakin with Force lightning, but Anakin put his hand up, absorbing the electricity and sending it back at Krayt. Anakin began to glow a dark red as he slammed Krayt into the ground. Krayt attempted to regain his footing, but Anakin kicked his face and threw his saber to the ground. Krayt listed Anakin ablaze with Force fire. Anakin let the flames surround him, felt it consume him. He embraced the flames as they coursed through his body. His soul was a war. Krayt felt Anakin's all-consuming hatred for him, but also his all-consuming love for Ahsoka. He was indeed breaking free. As a Jedi, Anakin had held his emotions back for his entire life. Nearly forty years of stored up anger, hate, and rage were unleashed.

"Yes! I feel the hate in you, Anakin! Let the dark control your mind!"

"THIS WHO I AM! BUT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! AHSOKA WAS MY LIFE, MY REASON TO EXIST! I WILL BREAK! I'M COMING ALIVE! BREAK! BREAKING FREE, ONE LAST TIME! MY HATE HAS BEEN UNLEASHED! I'M SO SICK! INFECTED WITH THE DARKNESS! LET ME LIVE WITHOUT THIS!"

"I…I will kill you!" Krayt yelled.

"FOOL! YOU CAN'T KILL A MAN IF HE'S DEAD! AHSOKA WAS MY REASON FOR LIFE! YOU CANNOT STOP THE ANGER AND THE HATRED TO COME! YOU'VE BROUGHT DEATH TO YOURSELF!"

His soul was an abyss, an abyss of hate for the Dark Lord. His anger kept him alive, the agony of his soul moved his robotic limbs. Anakin's heart burned for Ahsoka. His rage gave him the powers of a god. Krayt impaled Anakin, but he didn't react as he slammed his fist into Krayt's skull, cracking his helmet and sending him back a few paces. Anakin's all-consuming hate sent Krayt back. The Dark Lord felt a hate and rage more powerful than anything he'd ever sensed. Krayt could tell Anakin was holding back, not out of mercy, but out of uncontrollable, raw, all-consuming hatred for him. This was not Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Grand Master, this was the Sith Lord Darth Vader that Krayt had seen in his visions. The raw anger that made Vader what he was, was consuming Anakin. Anakin lifted Krayt and tossed him back. Vader was breaking free, coming alive, and breaking the chains of Anakin Skywalker. Anakin was dying by the second. Anakin was always meant to become Vader. Vader wanted Anakin's soul, wanted his heart. His hate was his power. Anakin was so infatuated by the darkness, yet so surrounded by the light. He was in between worlds. His soul was tearing itself apart. Krayt could not even hope to win. Anakin could have killed him minutes ago, but he didn't. He wanted Krayt to suffer before he took his final breath.

"TOO LATE, THIS IS NOT THE ANSWER! I NEED TO PACK IT IN! YOU CUT THE PEACE OUT OF ME! AND YOU RIPPED IT ALL APART AND AS MY LIGHT HAS TURNED TO DARK!"

Krayt swung at Anakin, but he dodged, his suit trailing flames. Anakin slammed his fist into Krayt's stomach, cracking a few of his ribs. Krayt, more so out of desperation that strategy, put his hands up to surrender.

"Wait! Please! Spare me!"

"DID YOU SPARE AHSOKA? DID YOU?"

"No."

"I WILL RETURN THE FAVOR! YOU SHOULD HAVE KILLED ME WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE! YOU'RE TIME'S UP KRAYT!"

Krayt blasted Anakin back with lightning.

"FOOL! I AM INDESTRUCTIBLE!" Anakin yelled as he kicked Krayt to the ground. Krayt blasted Anakin with lightning, but Anakin absorbed it and sent it back at Krayt. Krayt leaped to his feet and slammed his saber at Anakin, but the Jedi redrew his lightsaber. He slammed at Krayt's defenses. Each blow seemed to age Krayt a decade. He was wearing down, fast. Despite his robotic limbs, Anakin conjured a blast of pure black Force lightning. He dug deep into his hate. Anakin had once been on the receiving end of memory walk, an ability that forced its target to relive their most painful moments. He unleashed memory walk on the Dark Lord.

Krayt was back on his homeworld. The insurgent stabbed his mother, stabbed and twisted the knife. Krayt cried in agony, hands squeezing his helmeted head.

"Make it stop!"

"No."

Anakin pushed harder, causing Krayt to scream a blood curdling scream of agony.

"No!" Krayt yelled.

He overpowered Anakin's memory walk.

"No! My past made me what I am! I do not fear it!" Krayt said as he sent Anakin flying with a blast of lightning.

Anakin's limbs began to short circuit as Krayt increased the intensity. Anakin cried out in pain. Somehow, his limbs slowly began to move as he shot back a blast of black lightning, knocking Krayt back. Anakin increased the intensity as he got to his feet. Krayt lifted Anakin with the Force and blasted him with lightning, but Anakin broke free and sent a torrent of black lightning towards Krayt's red lightning. The bolts collided, neither one gaining any ground, but Anakin's eventually overpowered Krayt's, knocking Krayt to the ground. Anakin lifted Krayt by the throat and blasted him with lightning and fire. The Dark Lord cried out in pain. Krayt sent Anakin back with a push. He noticed sparks flying from Anakin's metal limbs. Anakin's lightning had done as much damage to him as it did to Krayt, but Anakin didn't care. He wanted Krayt to suffer.

The Jedi lifted Krayt, squeezing his windpipe. Krayt could see the sadistic smile on Anakin burned face. His yellow eye was wide in anger. Anakin slammed Krayt to the ground. He grabbed the Dark Lord's arm, ripping it off with his rage-induced strength, causing Krayt to scream out in agony. Anakin grabbed Krayt's throat and squeezed. Hard.

"Anakin!" Ahsoka's voice yelled.

Anakin let Krayt drop to the ground.

"Anakin, you're better than this! Don't become the very thing you swore to destroy! I know you're doing this because you love me, but I am not worth you turning to the dark side! Rise above your anger! Let go of your hate! This is not you! You are a Jedi! Fight the hate! Remember who you are! Fight the hate with compassion! Reach for the light! Live!"

"Ahsoka," he whispered.

"What?" Krayt asked.

"Sometimes I can't be put back together. Sometimes I can't hide the demons that I face. Sometimes I don't mind how hateful that I can be. Sometimes I don't want to be better. I hide myself in the dark, in the dark, in the dark. I've felt inspired in the dark, in the dark, in the dark. I used to be afraid of the dark side, but it feels natural to me now. What makes me better than Krayt?"

"Anakin, you aren't like him. You're a Jedi. You're the one I love."

"Ahsoka, save me from my rage and my humanity! I'm more nothing than being! Is this my legacy? One of death and destruction?"

"Anakin, you know I love you, but I need you to let go of me."

Krayt looked up at Anakin in fear and confusion.

"Who are you talking to?" Krayt yelled. "Ahsoka is dead!"

"No. She lives inside of me, burning, burning, burning." Anakin said as his exposed eye faded from yellow to blue. "I am a Jedi and I will not be slave to my emotions. No. I'm breaking free. I broke the chains of my emotion. No fear can hold me down. The dark has no hold on me. I am raised up.

"Kill me in anger! Finish me for what I did to her! Kill me, Skywalker! Embrace your inner rage! I deserve to die for what I did to her! Kill me!"

"No. No I can rise above my anger. I'm more than that. I am not like you, Krayt. I broke my chains. Will you break yours?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's over. You've lost and it is my place as the Chosen One to take all the Force in. No one will ever use it again. Live your life Krayt. Go."

"You're…you're sparing me?"

"If that is what you wish."

"Who are you, Anakin Skywalker?"

"I am many things. I am undefeated, not because of my battles, but because of who I am and who I love. I am never alone. I always fight for peace. I know I can beat my hate. I let compassion overpower hate. Yes, I nearly killed you, and I touched the darkness, but Ahsoka kept me in the light. That's why I am undefeated. Power is nothing if that power controls you. Love is the counter to the darkness. Why do you think you're still alive, Krayt? Compassion. My love for Ahsoka made me a better person."

"How? How can you not be consumed by the darkness that I know is inside you? Those in the light know that we die in the dark."

"We are defined by our demons. But it is our choice to overcome them. We can be saviors or killers. Had you been brought in by the Jedi Order, perhaps you could have become a great Jedi."

Anakin turned around.

"You're just going to let me live?"

"The choice to live is yours and yours alone."

"So I can leave it all behind?"

"The choice is yours," Anakin repeated.

"I will die a warrior's death. As did Ahsoka."

Anakin activated his saber, but Krayt saw no rage on his face, just a peaceful acceptance of what had happened. Skywalker stabbed it in Krayt's chest, granting him a quick death. He deactivated it and ran over to Ahsoka, only Ahsoka wasn't here, only her damaged armor and her lightsabers. Anakin looked back at the ship.

"Ahsoka? No."

She was his purpose. His reason why. He burned for her with fire and fury. But she was gone. His heart groaned for Ahsoka, for her love, for her gentle reassurance in his time of need. Destiny had a hold on him. He never knew love like love knew him. How many had he failed? His mother. Obi-Wan. Padme. And now Ahsoka. Anakin cried out in anguish. He had fulfilled his destiny. Krayt was dead. The Force was in balance. But his soul was not.

"Anakin," Darragn said as he walked out of the badly damaged Tantive IV. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more. I know how much she meant to you."

"It isn't your fault. I failed her, just as I failed my mother, Padme' and Obi-Wan. This falls on me."

"Ah, did your poor lover die?" Magmus asked sarcastically. "I'm so...not sorry."

Anakin though about squeezing her throat with the Force, but he was better than that. He was no longer a slave to his anger and fear.

"You did it," Riveced said. "You brought balance."

"Yeah, but I beat Krayt like a crazed animal for what he did to Ahsoka."

"Hey, you're human, too. I'd have done exactly what you did and so would Riveced. We understand. In the end you let go of your hate and gave him a quick death."

"Thank you."

"I wish you well, Anakin."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not coming back. I can even use the Force after Krayt drained me. He would have killed me if not for…if not for Ahsoka's intervention."

"It's been an honor being your master and teaching you the ways of the Jedi."

"So I have your permission to leave the Order?"

"You do and I don't blame you. The war is over. What about Riveced? Is he staying?"

"I'm sorry Master Skywalker, but I am leaving," Riveced said as he walked out of the Tantive IV. "Thank you for being my mentor and seeing potential in me. You've been almost like a father to me."

"I'm going to miss you as well, Riveced. What is to become of the Sith apprentices?"

"Darrgan and I are going to try and show them that they can leave their past lives behind. I know that better than most."

"Do you think they'll leave their Sith lives behind?"

"We won't," Magmus said.

"We'll see."

"What about you, Anakin? What are you going to do?" Riveced asked.

"I am the last of the Jedi, but I need time to mourn Ahsoka's passing."

"I understand."

"I have one final task I must complete."

"What is it?" Darrgan asked.

"I am the Chosen One and I need to bring balance to the Force."

"But you already have. Krayt is dead."

"I know, but there is more I must do. The Force was never meant to be used by mortal beings. It is my destiny to take the energies of light and dark, to become the embodiment of the Force itself."

"But won't that kill everything?"

"No. I will only take away their ability to use the Force. The Sith will not be able to arise and claim their revenge and the Jedi will no longer be needed."

"So no one will ever be able to use the Force again?" RIveced asked.

"No."

Anakin stretched out with the Force, felt the energies that held the very galaxy together flow through him. Anakin cried out in pain. He'd never felt such power before. Magmus and Mesmerious screamed and writhed in agony as their connection and ability to use the Force was stripped from them.

"Anakin, you're…you're glowing," Darrgan said.

"I now wield the power of every Force-sensitive being in the galaxy, both present and future."

"Not that I don't trust you, but won't that much power corrupt you?" Darrgan asked.

"It has that possibility and that is why I'm going to Mortis. Mortis was meant to be a sanctuary, but also a prison. If that much power ever corrupts me, I will not be able to escape Mortis."

"Then this is goodbye. Forever," Darrgan said.

"Yes."

Anakin vanished instantly, leaving Darrgan, Riveced, Magmus, and Mesmerious alone to ponder Anakin's future.

Jyn felt Riveced's arm around her. She rested in his embrace. Riveced leaned over and gave Jyn a long, passionate kiss. About a year ago, Riveced had, through great patience, had convinced her to abandon her life as a Sith. Soon afterwards, the two fell in love. It wasn't just physical attraction that drew the two of them together, although that certainly had something to do with it. Riveced had grown to love Jyn's surprisingly compassionate personality. In addition, he had grown to adore the soothing, reassuring sound of Jyn's voice. It was ironic and beautiful how Jyn started out as an agent of chaos, but she now used her talents to inspire.

The two had bought a small house on Glee Anselm. Riveced still talked to Darrgan occasionally, but he spent most of his days with Jyn.

"What do you think Anakin's up to?" Jyn asked.

"I don't know. He needs time to heal. Ahsoka meant everything to him. I don't know if he'll ever fully recover. Not to mention he's bound to Mortis for the rest of eternity."

"I didn't know Ahsoka that well, but I could tell she was a good woman who cared about her fellow Jedi. How long had she been with Anakin?"

"About fifteen years."

"I wonder if he'll be alright."

"I'm not sure. It's been a year since I've been in contact with him and I'll probably never speak to him again."

"Do you want to call him?"

"I know Anakin and I know how attached to Ahsoka. He still hasn't recovered. He probably won't be able to contact us ever again. I spoke to him one last time after he teleported to Mortis. He said that it is taking all he has to keep the power from corrupting him."

"Do you think he'll ever contact us again?"

"No."

Darrgan and Terra walked outside of their small house on the world of Kashyyyk. The two had moved to the Wookie homeworld a few months ago and built a house by Kachiro beach. All Terra had ever known was suffering and Darrgan wanted to give her a life of peace. He didn't blame her for falling to the dark side. He knew all too well what it was like to fall to the dark side. Fortunately for her, Darrgan had shown her something she had never truly known: love and compassion.

"I wonder what Anakin's been up to?" Terra mused.

"I don't know. I haven't been in contact with him since Krayt's death. He's now bound for Mortis for the rest of time."

"How will he stay sane? That much power and that much loneliness will break him."

"Anakin's will is strong."

"But Ahsoka. Ahsoka was his true love, right?"

"She was."

"He'll break without her."

"No. She'll always be him, to some extent at least."

12

Anakin's Grief

Anakin could not stay here for long. He couldn't if he valued the fate of the galaxy. But he had to, at least for a moment. Ahsoka had been buried on her homeworld Shili around a year ago. Anakin needed to speak to her one last time before he returned to Mortis for the rest of eternity.

"Ahsoka, I just came to talk for a while. I got some things I need to say. Now that it's over I just want to hold you. It's so hard to let go and I still hear the sound of your voice singing in my head. I'd give up all the galaxy just to see you staring back at me. I've got to live with the choices I made and I can't live with myself today. They said it'd bring some closure to say your name. I know I know I'd do it all different if I had the chance, but all I got are these flowers to give and they can't help me make amends. Just another moment in your eyes! I'll see you in another life, in the Force, where we never say goodbye.

"You told me to never be afraid to live my life, but I can't take anymore. Just there for a minute. Please don't move any closer. Move closer. I just don't know if I can take it. Brick by brick and scar by scar, it's taken me years to put up these bars. I don't want to get hurt again. Once again I'm broken, I've crumbled. I'm pieces on floor. I just don't know what I'm doing. You have left me in ruins. Won't you ruin me again? You've become that one thing I don't want to get over. It isn't the same since I'm living without you. All the memories are getting colder, all the things that I want to do over. I want to talk and laugh like we used to. When I see you in my dreams at night it's so real but it's in my mind.

"I think of all the words that I said that I wouldn't say, all the promises I made that I wouldn't break. I know I can't get you back I can't get a second chance. I know I've got to let you go, but I don't want to be alone. I rest in the shelter of your love. I rest in the wonder of you, embraced by the promise of you. Your still, soft voice calling my name, easing my soul. You're the hope that pulled me through, gave me strength. You're the one that I love, the one that never gives up. You made it easier for my heart to believe. When I was drowning, you always rescued me. You're the one who makes me complete, the one who made me strong when I was weak. And I just want to wrap you in my arms, but I'll let you go, if that's what you want. But I hope you know my love won't stop.

"Don't say goodbye. Because I don't want to hear those words tonight. Do you remember how we swore we'd never change? I wish we could be laughing instead of standing here asking. You took my world as I knew it. Is it disaster or destiny? How can I breathe with this burring in my chest? You were gone so fast and I want you back. You were a comet and I lost it. Watching for comets. Will I see you again? I won't dare close my eyes, because a love like this only happens once in a lifetime. Something's missing in me. I felt it deep within me. It killed me to lose you. Your love left me in ruins. Won't you ruin me again?"

Anakin took his helmet and lightsaber, placing them by the grave of Ahsoka Tano, his world, his legend, his star, his purpose and teleported back to Mortis, the place he'd spend the rest of eternity. He took his cape off and lied down on the Father's bed.

"Anakin," Ahsoka whispered.

Anakin looked over to Ahsoka.

"Ahsoka?"

"Anakin. I love you."

Ahsoka gave him a kiss. Ahsoka then morphed into Krayt and stabbed his saber in Anakin's stomach.

"No!" Anakin yelled as he woke up. "Don't wake me! I don't want to leave this dream! Please! I need to see her again!"

He was so…so empty without her. Everything he loved had turned to ash and dust.

"Anakin."

Anakin looked up.

"Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka used the Force to wrap skin around bone, lekku and montals over her head, and clothes over body. It was painful separating from the cosmic Force to come back to the realm of the living. In the cosmic Force, peace was all that existed. Each time she came back the physical realm, that peace was shattered. Anakin appeared to her. He was equal parts young boy full of hope on Tatooine, confident Padawan on Geonosis, headstrong General in the Clone Wars, Grand Master of the New Jedi Order, and Chosen One. Each one was equal parts Anakin Skywalker.

Ahsoka appeared before Anakin, but something was different about her. Ahsoka's body glowed a bright blue and she wore not the black armor she'd acquired at the Sith temple, or the grey and black attire she wore a few years ago, but the attire she wore as a Padawan. Anakin could tell by the length of her lekku that she appeared to be around fifteen years younger, when Anakin first professed his love for her and her for him.

"Ahsoka, how are you here?"

"I learned the secret of immortality. I can see you again, Anakin."

"Can you stay?"

"I'm sorry, Anakin, but I can't. I'm only able to remain in the physical world for a few minutes. I'm sorry."

Anakin wiped a tear from his now badly burned face.

"I can't lose you again, Ahsoka."

"Anakin, I will visit you as much as I can. I will always find my way back to you. I always have."

"I'm here for eternity, Ahsoka. I'll lose my sanity if I'm alone forever. Whenever you've gone away, the darkness hides the day. Whenever you're gone, the bleeding won't stop. I've never been so alone. I may explode, but you feel like forever. Everything goes black. I love you, but if you can't be here with me, then what am I supposed to do? I'm falling over the edge into you. I am consumed, but I miss you."

"Anakin, will you always chase me like this?"

"Ahsoka, I…I just miss you. I wish I could've done something to save you. I'm here in the dark, in the dark, in the dark."

"No. You'll never be alone. When darkness comes, I'll light the night with stars. You'll hear my whispers in the dark. When darkness comes, you'll know I'm never far. In the times I cannot be with you, focus on all the fun times we had together, all the battles we fought, all the times when it was just us against the galaxy. You're not alone. Beyond the universe, echoes of a promise to us. Where the darkness meets the day, you're not alone. Close as the two of us. Stronger than the pain that runs through us. You can hear me sing. You're not alone. I know you, I know your eyes so well. And I know you're not sure of yourself. When the memories haunt you, you'll fell my presence. But something made you restless years ago. Just don't forget that I'm part of your soul. I'll never leave you, Anakin. Remember me, Anakin Skywalker. I know I will always remember you. I love you."

For but a moment, Ahsoka rematerialized and gave Anakin a kiss. Anakin returned the kiss in a heartbeat as he wrapped his arms around her waist. For but an instant, time and space seemed to leave, letting the two Jedi share a moment of intimacy.

"I cannot stay, but I will be back," Ahsoka said as she pulled back. "I promise. I won't let you go. You call out my name, and I'll come to you."

Anakin smiled a sad smile.

"I know, Ahsoka."

"Goodbye," Ahsoka said as she faded into the Force.

Anakin closed his eyes. The galaxy was now in peace, but that brought him little comfort. He would remain here for eternity, but he would not face this task alone. He knew that Ahsoka would not forsake him. And in the times when she could not visit him, he would remember the day they first met, they day when they professed their love for one another, their first kiss, the day they rebuilt the Jedi Order, the day they brought Riveced and Darrgan to the light. Whether she visited him in the physical realm or whether he looked back on his memories of her, he would never be truly alone. Ahsoka would be with him, always.

The end...

145