Oh, look I've reached the 10 chapter milestone. Hooray! In honor of this special occasion, I'll give you a gift.

Dedication: To all my faithful readers who stuck with me through all of A Choice and the 10 chapters of this story.

Did you like your gift? :)

Luke remained absoloutely frozen, his eyes shut and his mind numb. This could not be happening. He was dreaming. Yes, dreaming. Soon he'd wake up and his father would be waiting for him with a smile and an encouraging word.

But the truth gnawed at him, he knew he wasn't dreaming. He knew he'd never see another glowing, crooked smile again. He knew he'd never hear another wise, yet crazy view of the world. He knew Anakin Skywalker was dead.

He refused to look at Leia. If he saw his tough, determined sister weeping as hardly as she was, he'd break down too and he couldn't afford to do that. It was basically a Skywalker motto: one of them always had to stay strong to keep the rest of them hopeful. Usually Anakin took care of that role. Luke figured it was his inheritance.

The role of the guardian.

HHHHHH

"You ready, boss?" Galen cried over the wind.

"Right now, yes. Ask me in a few minutes, when I actually realize what we're about to do, and I'll say no."

"Then, let's go," Galen pulled himself over the jagged, broken pieces of floor and rose on shaking legs at the top of the East Tower.

The first thing he noticed was the Sith, the tall, thin Zabrak with the lightsaber in his arm standing by the destroyed ship. He wasn't facing Galen, but the presence of this evil being made Galen shake. Luke and Leia were sitting against the wall in one of the bleachers. He was pretty sure Leia was crying, but the former Sith was pretty sure no child of Skywalker ever cried. The computers and holo-tables were completely destroyed, with wires sending sparks into the air.

He reached down and felt Ahsoka grab his hand. He hoisted her up and together, they faced the ruined room.

"Ah, it seems we have company, children," the Sith boomed, turning and facing the two with an evil, maniacal smile on his tattooed face.

"The last you'll ever see," Galen taunted.

The Fireshadow chuckled, "You're very arrogant, Starkiller. I hope that won't cost you."

"I am not Starkiller," Galen growled fiercely. "I've been Jedi Knight Galen…."

"What? No ties? A man's nothing without his name, you know," the Sith scolded. "I wouldn't send fear through the hearts of every living thing if I wasn't Darth Aegrum."

"I'm pretty sure that face would do the trick," Ahsoka put in.

"I'm in no mood to listen to you Jedi. Let's finish this!"

Aegrum ignited his lightsaber and crouched, ready to fight. The two Jedi removed their lightsabers from their belts and clutched them tightly.

Aegrum leaped into the air, barreling himself towards Galen. He dodged the stab and Aegrum crashed into the twisted metal of his starfighter. Leaping to his feet, he quickly blocked a stab from Ahsoka's green blade. He slashed for her feet and she jumped, caught off guard. Aegrum used the Force and sent Galen crashing into the bleachers near Luke and Leia.

"Get up, Galen!" Luke begged. "Get up!"

Ahsoka's and Aegrum's blades were locked, sending flashes of white all around the destroyed room. The Fireshadow flashed a cocky grin; he was beginning to overpower Ahsoka. The green blade was descending lower and lower, leaving a wide open area for an attack.

Galen's vision blurred, the light flashes blinding him more than they usually would. His distorted vision barely told him what was happening. He rose slowly onto his weakening legs and hurled himself into the air. He stuck out his heavy, black combat boot and prepared for impact. His foot struck the Fireshadow and sent him crashing into the angrily sizzling wires of the broken computers.

Galen faltered in his step and collapsed into a sharp, warped piece of metal of Aegrum's destroyed ship. He leaped up, crying out in pain. Blood was trickling down his side onto his leg.

Calling upon the Force, Ahsoka sent Luke's lightsaber hurdling into her hand. Aegrum, weakened from his fall into the mess of wires and sparks, tried to stand but fell again. Ahsoka was slowly nearing him, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"You see, Aegrum?" she taunted. "We always win in the end."

"I thought the Jedi were merciful," Aegrum sneered, in a voice less than a whisper.

"Not to those who hurt my family," Ahsoka muttered, raising her lightsaber for the end.

"It's too bad I won't be around for the final show. Better get some eyes in the sky."

Ahsoka grit her teeth in frustration, "I don't believe you. Have fun in Chaos."

She swung her lightsaber high above her head and then let it fall onto Aegrum's dark, scarred skin. A strong wind rushed around her and she shut her eyes to keep debris out of her vision. When she opened them, Aegrum's body was nothing but a pile of ash in the shape of an X.

She sucked in her breath and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly before turning around to face the others.

Luke stood slowly, like an old man who's seen too much violence all his life. Leia didn't bother to stand, just kept her head buried in her hands and her knees up.

"Hey, kid," Galen asked, hobbling over to Leia with his hand on his side. "What's the matter?"

"What do you mean? How can you act like everything's okay?" Luke cried as he collected his lightsaber from Ahsoka.

"Kid, I don't know what's going on in there, but we're all fine. Everyone's fine and everything's okay now," Galen assured him.

"Except for the fact that the Council thinks the Fireshadows are going to attack soon," Ahsoka muttered.

"So you mean….Dad's not dead?" Leia spoke up, her watery eyes rising for just a moment.

Ahsoka choked out an awkward, hollow laugh, "Skyguy? Dead? Yeah, right. Where'd you get a crazy idea like that?"

"Him," Luke said hollowly, pointing at the quickly disintegrating pile of ashes.

"Oh. Well, we're all fine and your parents are just shaken by the fact that you two were gone," Galen said.

He hobbled over to the elevator and unlocked the blast doors. The elevator's circular, silver door slid open elegantly and he motioned for everyone to get inside. The four entered the elevator together and left the ruined briefing room in their wake.

As much as Luke hated to admit it, he wasn't as strong as his father. But since Anakin was still around, he wouldn't have to be for a while.

HHHHHH

Anakin's whole body was sore. He sat up, reaching for another glass of Correllian thunder. His back ached and he collapsed back into the soft mountain of pillows Padme` had set up for him.

"You don't need that drink anyway," the healer grumbled as he pushed aside the curtains. "No drinking for people on meds. Anyway, you've got some visitors."

The healer pushed the curtain aside even farther and revealed the people who Anakin wanted to see most. His family.

"Hey, Skyguy! Look who we dug up!" Ahsoka cried happily. Luke and Leia dove onto the bed.

Anakin collected his children in his arms and closed his eyes to keep the tears of relief from pouring out.

"Thank the Force you're all right," Anakin breathed, laughing quietly to keep his emotions under control.

"Same with you, Dad. That son of a Hutt told us you were dead!" Leia cried, obviously having regained her tough aura.

Anakin chortled with laughter, "No way, kids. I'd never leave a family behind."

And though his children were sitting in his lap, embracing him in a tight, breath-stopping hug, he no longer felt the aches he'd felt before.