As soon as the rain stopped and Grievous got the news that Rani was going to be okay, he walked right towards his starfighter. Just then, he saw a Naboo starship descending from the sky. He recognized it as Rhea's and waited until it landed before he continued toward the Soulless One.

Another finger to point at me, no doubt.

Rhea was genuinely surprised to see Grievous when she got out of her vehicle. Choosing her words carefully, she said, "Grievous! I didn't know you were still here."

"Actually, I was just leaving."

"Leaving? Why?"

"Let's just say that I'm not wanted here anymore."

"But what about Rani? She'd want to see you."

Grievous scoffed, "Why should she? I told her we could never be together the last time we met."

"She told me about that."

Grievous was surprised to hear this and asked, "You know?"

Rhea nodded, "Mm-hmm. She called from the hospital on Polis Massa Base after she got stung by a kouhun. She was so heartbroken, Grievous. You should've heard her when she told me about your…outburst and what you told her. You're practically her first love."

Grievous shook his head, "She needs to find someone else."

Rhea was hesitant to say it, but she knew it was the right thing to do. She told Grievous, "No, she won't. She won't be happy with anyone else but you. Her heartstone led her straight to you. You two were obviously meant for each other. If she doesn't care what others say about you two, then neither should you." She found it difficult to say the next sentence, but continued, "And if…you both die for your love, then it's better than spending the rest of your lives apart."

Grievous asked, "Then why would she involve herself with me? I'm putting her in danger."

Rhea shrugged, "Maybe you should just ask her yourself. She might be up."

Grievous felt conflicted at that moment. He felt the urge to see Rani, but at the same time, why should this even continue? What point is there in all of this? True, there were some questions that needed answering, and if he was never going to see her again, he might as well ask now.

He sighed, "All right. I'll see her, but this will be the last time."

Rhea felt saddened that Rani was going to be heartbroken for the rest of her life, but she felt content that her sister was going to see her beloved again, if for the last time.

Grievous walked up the stairs and went to Rani's bedroom. He remembered that he stayed there when he was recovering from the Blue Shadow Virus. He mustered every bit of strength to overcome his fear and doubt and enter Rani's room. When he saw his beloved, she was still a little bit pale, but it was significantly less than when she was in critical condition. He saw that despite this, life had returned to her small body.

Rani asked in surprise, "Grievous?"

Grievous stepped into the room as he said, "Yes, Rani. It is I."

"Mom told me that you brought me here when you found out I got poisoned…again."

"Does she know about what happened on Kipla's moon?"

"Well, only part of it. She doesn't know I got stung and nearly died upon arriving at the hospital."

"You nearly died?"

"Yeah, but luckily, they were able to save my life. They told me about how I called them before I fainted. I assume that you did that."

Grievous nodded as he kneeled by her bedside, "Yes, that was me. I used a vocal emulator to sound like you when I called the hospital. I also tended to your sting mark and gave you more time." Grievous sighed as he shook his head as he remembered what happened afterwards, "Oh, Rani…I thought you were going to die."

Rani put her hand on his and said, "But I survived, didn't I?"

Grievous chuckled and put his hand on hers, "Yes, you did. Rani, Rashi told me you were helping my people by giving them food and supplies. I cannot be more enthused to hear of your precious deeds for them. What you did for them…means so much to me. Thank you."

Rani smiled, "You're welcome."

"I was also wondering something. You said you visited the Nightsisters. Rashi said the shamans sensed a new darkness in you. Is there an explanation for it?"

Rani nodded sadly and said, "Yeah…I visited the Nightsisters because I couldn't understand why you were carrying out acts of vengeance. I get your reasoning, but I didn't understand why you act the way you do towards the Jedi. I mean, what emotions could possibly motivate you to do such terrible things? I knew that the dark side was fueled by emotions like yours, so I had some darkness imbued in me to truly understand your actions. Now it seems like I got more than I bargained for.

"My wings are now a dull gray and I can't get rid of the darkness. The best advice I'd been given was to live with it, but not let it control me. So, you see? What I did at that moment was for you. I wanted to understand the kind of person you really were."

Grievous then stood up and said, "Don't you see, Rani? This is who I really am. I had been wronged by the Jedi and I am better than they could ever hope to be. I can't believe I've been foolish to even think that you could ever love me, even after what I did to you."

Rani was astonished to hear this and said, "I could care less about your actions. It's your words, your feelings that matter most to me. I love you regardless of who you are. Under any other circumstances, there'd be no other being I would rather marry other than you."

Grievous was surprised to hear the word "marry".

Would she? Would she really marry me if I wasn't one of the galaxy's most notorious killers? I found this hard to believe, but I had to trust that Rani's words were true.

He then said, "But I am a war criminal. Surely you wouldn't want to marry someone like me."

"If you die in the war, I'll never marry. I will be in love with no one else but you. I will never forget you or every cherished moment we spent together. It will forever be my most precious secret. I've been foolish to even go the Nightsisters in the first place.

"I should've known that your anger and resentment didn't make up your entire identity. I just wanted to understand you better. You may have your faults, but you are not really the bad guy everyone sees you as. I know the real you, and I love you for that."

"But would you…marry me? Especially in a time of war?"

"Yes, if you would have me."

Grievous shook his head and said, "No. No, it cannot happen. I won't let you jeopardize your well-being for me. Our love cannot be worth it."

Rani nodded sadly and said, "I understand." She then began to weep and said, "Just know that I will never hate you, for this or your war crimes. Others can't make me hate you. I won't let my darkness make me hate you. Even you can't make me hate you."

Grievous hated to see her cry, so he put his hand on hers again and said, "I don't want you to hate me. Besides my family, you're the only one who truly cares about me. I thought my people hated me when I brought the massacre to Kalee. I must confess that I accept partial responsibility for what happened to them. I was just so resentful at the Jedi for denying me everything I wanted: love, honor…worth. I'd do anything to make them pay…" He then balled his hand into a fist. "…but to be honest, the Jedi are worthless compared to you."

He relaxed his hand and continued, "I may want a future without them, but I can never imagine a future without you. Ever since you got stung, I fretted over whether you survived or not. I didn't know for sure until now. Seeing you here alive and well right now…" He sighed, "It fills my heart with joy."

Rani calmed down and asked, "Does this mean you love me still? Because ever since we stopped contacting each other, I was worried that you stopped loving me. That I became just another girl in the galaxy."

"But you're not just another girl. You're one-of-a-kind, Rani. You are an angel. Well, a half-angel, technically. What I'm trying to say is that I never stopped loving you. You mean too much to me."

"I'm relieved to hear that. I thought that you hated me now."

Grievous leaned over Rani's bedside and put his arm across her bed. He said, "Don't say that. I could never hate you. I was just angry because you went to Coruscant and met the Jedi."

"I know. It was insensitive of me. Though the Jedi have some flaws and their history with you is not so good, they fight for the light side. I just wanted their opinion."

"Well, what did they tell you?"

"I only met one Jedi and he said that I couldn't purge the darkness within me."

"Probably because the Jedi have darkness within themselves and they cannot see it."

"That may be true, but this Jedi told me that the Force was split into clean absolutes, the light and the dark. He also told me that everyone had a bit of both inside them. It was only by choice that one could follow either side."

"Could someone be both?"

"I don't think so. I think it's one or the other. Your opinion about the Jedi may not be wrong, but…do you really need to follow the path of war to satisfy your desires?"

Grievous shot back, "Of course I do! It's the only way I can annihilate the Jedi!"

"Look, what I'm trying to say is that both the Republic and Separatists are guilty for even participating in the war. Both sides think evil of their opponents. That's one reason why I'm neutral to the war."

"What about your sister? She lives on a Republic-affiliated world. What does she think of the war?"

"I think I could answer that," a voice said.

The couple then saw Rhea emerge from the doorway and enter the room.

Grievous asked, "How long were you listening in?"

Rhea answered, "Not long, and I wasn't spying for the Republic. Now, to answer your question, I do not consider myself a part of the war. I may live on Naboo, but I don't have to agree with what the Republic says about the Separatists. The Separatists have good reasons for seceding, so they can't be all that bad. Besides, if Rani says she see some good in you, I'm inclined to believe her…in a way.

"Look, it's obvious you two have a thing for each other. The Force and Rani's heartstone are bringing you together for a reason. Rani, do you love Grievous?"

Rani answered, "Yes."

Rhea then asked Grievous, "And Grievous, do you love my sister?"

Grievous nodded, "I do. We confessed our love for each other just before Jharona was invaded."

Rhea said, "Oh." She suddenly felt awkward prompting responses about something that was confessed a long time ago.

The general continued, "But I suppose I could see Rani's heartstone just to make sure."

"Well, I could go get it for Rani, since she needs time to recover." She then turned to her sister and asked, "Is that okay, Rani?"

Rani nodded, "Mm-hmm. It's in my downstairs workshop, under the rug."

Rhea said as she left, "Okay."

When it was just the two of them again, Grievous asked, "You have another workshop?"

Rani nodded, "Mm-hmm. That workshop is for my potions and practicing spells and my Force skills."

Grievous said, "Well, I suppose I could wait here for a while until your sister returns with the heartstone."

Rani leaned over to embrace him and said, "I'd like that very much." She pulled back and added, "By the way, thank you for saving my life. Twice now."

"I just thought it'd be a good way to repay you for all the times you saved me."

They both chuckled before Rani said, "I'm sorry I provoked you on Kipla's moon. I guess what I was really trying to say is that if the war was over, we'd be free to be together without keeping it a secret."

Grievous sighed as he slid his hand over his faceplate, "I am conflicted, Rani. I want to see an end to the Jedi Order, but I also want to be with you at the same time. There's also Count Dooku. I cannot disobey his orders and quit the war just like that. He'll have me hunted down if I do."

Rani nodded sadly, "I understand. I'm just worried I'll never see you again if you-"

"I know, I know." Grievous did not like to think of the possibility of dying in battle, but he knew it was a risk one had to take in war.

Rani then asked, "What will your people do without you then?"

"I'm sure they'll find someone else to take my place."

"And if they don't, I'll do it."

Grievous was surprised to hear this. He asked, "What?"

Rani asserted, "I'll protect the people of Kalee, even if I have to give up my neutrality for them."

"They are not helpless, you know. They can take care of themselves."

"True, but I'll be on call whenever they need me."

Grievous could hardly believe what Rani was saying. He asked, "Do you really mean that? Truly?"

"Angels are supposed to help, even half-angels like me."

Grievous joked as he touched Rani's arm, "You know your compassion is going to get you in trouble someday."

Rani joked back, "Well, I'll let you know if I find one of your battle droids floating on water."

Grievous chuckled, "Don't you dare."

They then locked lips. This comforted Rani a lot since it was their first kiss since the invasion of Jharona. She was glad that Grievous didn't hate her for angering him during their last meeting. For Grievous, he was grateful that Rani was all right. He wanted to relish this moment now that all of his worrying was finally over. For the first time in months, he could get a good night's rest.

Fortunately, Grievous didn't have to wait too long. Within hours, Rhea came back to Millius Prime with a crystal in hand.

Rhea entered the room and said, "Here's your heartstone, Rani."

Just then, the crystal glowed at its brightest. All three of them had to shield their eyes from the bright light.

Grievous said, "Is it supposed to do that?"

Rani said as she reached for the crystal, "Yes. I told it to glow brightest when I'm near my true love."

"And that would happen to be me?"

"Well, yes."

"All right, I believe you. Now, put away that crystal before it blinds us all."

At that moment, he put his hand on the crystal and a softer wave of yellow light coursed through his and Rani's hands before the light died down. To them, it was a sign that their bond was consolidated.

Rhea said, "Well, I guess it's official now."

Grievous looked at Rani with blissful eyes and said, "Yes. I suppose it is."

Rani returned the expression and smiled back.

Before I left, we both agreed to resume contact, though it should be limited now. Afterwards, we spoke via hologram whenever Rani was on Kalee and our meetings became few. It didn't really matter now if we were worlds apart. Our love mattered, no matter where we were or what we did. Though she knew the risks of loving a Separatist general, Rani was determined to look out for me and help me whenever I asked for it. We would probably never get married, but this was the best we made of our situation.

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I just thought I'd tell you that it's my birthday today. If you wish to review this chapter or simply wish me a happy birthday, feel free to do so. Thank you so much for reading this! It means so much to me!