Author's Note: I got this idea around the time Legacy of the Force: Revelation was about a month away from being released ( hey look, my prologue matches the series : ). I had pretty much accepted the idea that the series would end how it did (total cop out on what they did with Jacen at the end -- and the Solos seem like a big family full of absolute fail now – all of them) and I debated on something happening between Zekk and Tenel Ka (who both have done so much for said family of fail and got pretty much nothing for it). I've done this before (see Past Fading) – but this, plus the fun addition of a vengeful Caedus… I just had to write this story. So yeah, expect more chapters on this one in the near future!

PROLOGUE --

It was the first time she had seen him this lost.

The ship was silent except for the low hum of the generators. There were usually crew members and officers crawling all over the bridge. But not at this moment. Not anymore.

She stood staring into his eyes, the eyes that used to match hers in their intensity and their wisdom. His had flared from a brown to a red, orange flecks permeating the sea of crimson that made up his iris. She twitched, almost springing forward for a thrust or a slash.

Darth Caedus didn't move at all, except his lips, which formed a question.

"What is it you want?"

"I want you dead."

He seemed to smile, although his lips upturned into a thin crescent that formed a sarcastic sneer. It was so far from the grin she used to see on her twin brother. She suppressed a shudder, her sweaty fingers tightening around the handle of her lightsaber.

"Oh, dear sister," he said. His lightsaber, the blade matching his eyes, was being twirled stylishly -- almost lazily -- around in his grasp, from one gloved hand to the other. Back and forth. His gaze never left hers. "You're not even going to try to save Jacen?" The name came from his lips in a hiss, like it burned his tongue to say it.

"Jacen's dead."

A whoop of amusement surfaced from Darth Caedus as he let the lightsaber fall into his right hand where he brought the blade down beside him. "You're a smart little mynock, aren't you?"

Jaina Solo could only smirk back at him, her mind debating on the perfect time to strike. What he did next though caught her off guard. And she wasn't a big fan of being caught off guard.

Caedus dropped the handle of his lightsaber to the ground, the weapon rolling across the dull durasteel of the ships main cabin, casting a red halo around it as it moved. He began to circle her like a nexu circling it's prey, his hands clasped behind his back and his boots echoing loudly on the bridge of the deserted Star Destroyer.

"Did you want to achieve something, sis? Live up to the Solo name finally? Hold your own for once?" He nodded, tilting his head to the side, his eyes locked on her visage. He looked completely relaxed as he paced around her, except for his face. His lips were pursed, fading from a sneer to a frown and back, while his eyes were sharp and calculating. "That's understandable. I guess it's your turn to finally do something."

Stopping in front of the Anakin Solo's oversized viewport, Caedus turned to her and held his hands out to his sides. "I'm giving you this fight."

"Pick up your weapon. I'm not letting it end this way."

"Either I continue to live and continue with what you're trying to stop, or you kill me now, Jaina."

"Pick up the damn lightsaber."

He shook his head, along with his right pointer finger. Back and forth. He could sense the rage bubbling up inside of her and he embraced it, that shadow of a smile crossing his face yet again. He could feel her growing more and more ready to slash him down with no second thought. That was what he wanted. Approaching her slowly, he held his hands out to her, to show that he wasn't going to do anything drastic. She tensed, but stayed still, letting him shift up to her, letting him put his gloved hands on her cheeks. She was ready to throw him off, ready to twist the lightsaber into his neck -- she had the perfect opportunity at this exact moment in time. But she had to admit a small part of her was curious about just what the kriff he was doing.

Darth Caedus seemed to pull Jaina closer to him, in one last unsettling embrace, his lips shifting over her left ear.

"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."

He lingered for a moment before pulling back from her and holding his arms out to the side once more. "Go on. I know this is what you want." He provoked her with his eyes, with his hands, with his mind. "I know this is what you need. Save the galaxy from me, be a hero."

She hadn't believed his words, the ones about him becoming powerful after death. In fact, she laughed inwardly at them. And they rang in her ears as she drew her lightsaber back and let the blue-violet blade drive itself into the man that was once her twin brother.