A/N: I disclaim all ownership of Star Wars, the LotF books, the Legacy comics, and all characters within such. In other words, I OWN NOTHING! Also, this chapter is terrible. I'd turn back now if I were you.
Thirty seconds after the Glow of Doom(TM) filled Jacen's bedroom, he and his deceased escort through the screaming netherworlds, which sounds so much cooler than "Cosmic Tour Guide," were still standing there, alone. After another minute, Jacen spoke up curiously.
"Uh, not to question how these things work, but shouldn't the other guy be here by now?"
Fey'lya gave a deep sigh. "Oh, he'll be here. In about five seconds, as a matter of fact. You might want to step away from the window, he's not too good at this." Jacen opened his mouth to ask why he'd need to set p away from the window, and got his answer about one second later as the sound of a crash filled the room, and he suddenly found himself sprawled on the ground, with something very heavy on top of him.
The new arrival quickly got off the young Sith, who hoped he didn't have a concussion from all the hits he'd been taking tonight. The stranger was busy dusting off his robes and turning around to face Jacen. The man was fairly young, maybe thirty-five years old, with reddish-blond hair and the beginnings of a beard. What really shocked Jacen was that he recognized him.
The holos he's seen had been of an older man, but looking into that face, it was unmistakably Obi-Wan Kenobi.
After a few moments of gaping on the part of Jacen, the ghost turned to Fey'lya.
"Is he OK?" Fey'lya snorted.
"No. But if you mean "Is this normal?" then yes. He's just surprised to see you."
"I...wha...you..."
Kenobi rolled his transparent eyes. "Yes, yes, out with it. C'mon, use your words like a big boy." Fey'lya chuckled, ignoring the pointed glare that Jacen sent his way. Finally, the Sith was able to collect himself enough to ask a coherent question.
"Why are you here? And why do you look so weird?"
"What?" Kenobi asked, "Did you really think I'd choose to look old and wrinkly? Kark that! As for why I'm here, well..." He shifted uncomfortably, looking at the wall, "I may have... done something bad."
Jacen raised his eyebrow. "Something bad?" Fey'lya started chuckling.
"That's right, Kenobi. And you ought to be very ashamed of yourself."
Obi-Wan growled at the Bothan. "Oh, up yours, you windbag." His scowl deepened as the other ghost began laughing even harder. "It's not funny, Bothan!"
"Yes," Fey'lya persisted, "Yes it is." He straightened, "Anyway, Kenobi, this one's your problem now. I'd wish you good luck, but this is him we're talking about, so..." The dead Bothan shrugged, before snapping his fingers and departing. Kenobi growled at the space he'd previously occupied before turning to his living charge,
"So, I guess we should get started. I'm the Ghost of Life Day Future. I'm here to explain to you the consequences of persisting in this folly." Jacen opened his mouth to question Obi-Wan on what he of all people could have done to get stuck with a post-mortem job like this, but thought better of it, remembering how sensitive and, more importantly, downright scary Githany had gotten after his questioning. For once, he decided discretion was the better part of valor, and kept his mouth shut. "We'd best be getting off, then. I warn you, I'm not very good at this." And so, Kenobi made a complicated looking gesture with his hands, and the now achingly familiar flash of light engulfed the two, sending them into a dizzying spin.
When they came out of it, they both slammed hard into the floor. After a few seconds of checking themselves over for injuries, Jacen and his guide looked around.
Jacen recognized the area. It was a courtyard on Coruscant. He did not, however, recognize the Jedi, currently engaged in battle with a man that was clearly deep in the thrall of the Dark Side. He was a Nagai, heavily tattooed, and he seemed to relish the chance to remove limbs with impunity. Obi-Wan smacked himself in the forehead.
"Oh, hell, too far! We gotta go before we screw things up." Another particularly agonizing flash caused the carnage around them to disappear in an instant. Once Jacen got his bearings, he noticed a corpse in the middle of the courtyard. The hole in his chest had clearly been made by a lightsaber. Obi-Wan nodded solemnly. "You see, don't you? See where all your dark side power got you?"
Jacen slowly approached the body, gazing into the dead man's face.
"...Who the hell is this?"
"What? What do you...?" Obi-Wan ran over, getting a good look at the body. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." He whined. "This isn't right." He looked into the say, fist raised. "This is not funny! I'm serious, this is the last time I'm doing this!" Before Jacen could work up the futile protest, Kenobi had once again flashed them to another point in time.
This time, if the triumphant noises Kenobi made were any indication, it had worked. And Jacen could quickly see why.
There, a smoking hole in his chest, eyes forever closed, was... him. Jacen stared in shock for a moment at his own corpse, taking in the sight. But he realized he wasn't alone.
Jaina Solo looked down at the body of her brother, her lightsaber extinguished and hanging loosely in her grip. Her eyes were cold, staring at the remains of her brother with no emotion whatsoever. It was like that for a while, before she turned and, without looking back, left, leaving the body behind.
Jacen stood there for a moment, unable to process what he was seeing. Obi-Wan laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, but to little effect.
The moment of contemplation was broken, though, when a deafening blast shook the courtyard, and the far wall exploded with a cry of "Freeze, scumbag!" As the dust cleared, three figures strolled through the gaping hole in the wall, and Jacen felt himself take a step back from a "face" he would recognize anywhere.
After all, even when you knew he couldn't see you, only an idiot wouldn't be afraid of Boba Fett.
Fett and his companions, a Kiffar female and a figure wrapped entirely in Mandalorian Assault Armor, marched into the room, blasters raised, only to lower them in confusion at the sight of the room's sole inhabitant, the cooling corpse.
The Kiffar strolled over to the body, and after a quick look at the face accompanied by a rather loud "Oh damn it!" she turned to Fett. "Well, just our luck, he's already dead."
The smaller Mandalorian ripped off the helmet, revealing a young woman. "Tell me you're kidding?" She asked incredulously. When the older woman shook her head, the girl scowled and said some very unladylike things.
Fett, for his part, just stood there. Finally, after a minute or two, he spoke up.
"I'm...I'm not sure what to do. This has never happened before. It's a little embarrassing." The Kiffar put an arm around him.
"Don't sweat it," she said cheerily, "dead is dead. Now c'mon, I've been on ice for way too long. Let's get some food." That seemed to brighten Fett up a bit, although he was still wearing his helmet so it was difficult to tell. After stopping to give the corpse a few vicious kicks, at which the Kiffar declared, "It's going to be a good day!" the trio departed the same way they entered, namely, by blasting another hole in the wall.
All was quiet for a moment.
"What..." Jacen began slowly, "did we just see?"
Obi-Wan observed the twin holes in the wall before answering. "I'm not really sure. Have you learned anything yet?"
"Not a damn thing."
"I thought not," Obi-Wan sighed, "Oh well. Time's up anyway. We'd better go." He raised his hand, looked at it, and then looked into the sky. "A little help here would be nice," he said.
That, it seemed, was enough, as a far less frantic spinning sensation overtook them, depositing the two lightly into bedroom once again.
"Well Jacen, it's been educational." Obi-Wan paused, "For me, at least. See you later." The ghost waved a little before being sucked back out the window, leaving Jacen blissfully alone once again.
"I... have never been more confused than I am right now."
A/N: That be all. Next up: The finale.
