This is an emotionally taxing chapter, y'all better have tissues on hand.

AND I BETTER GET REVIEWS! Please? This is one of the parts I've been waiting to see reactions to...

ENJOYYYYYY!

Darkness was becoming a constant companion in her life. An entity that was always there, surrounding or looming over her. Now was no different. In fact, now it was stronger than ever. Darkness seeped into the universe, blanketing every living thing like a plague now that the Jedi had fallen and the Sith had seized control.

Even now Zelina found herself surrounded by darkness, unable to see any path or obstacles. There was just her…and darkness. Not even sound seemed to pierce its veil, aside from her own shallow breaths. And of course, where there was darkness, there was the cold…

Zelina's arms wrapped around herself as she looked futilely around, unsure where she was supposed to go. Was this dream…or vision? Did she even have a destination, or would whatever she was here for come to her?

Something pulled sharply on a part of her soul that had been integral to what shaped her into who she was today, a part of her that had been there for as long as she could remember—longer, even. And this pull was not a tug in the right direction—it was as if someone was trying to carve this piece of her soul away with a blunt instrument, brutally hacking at the root of her being.

With the pull came a vague purpose, as she stumbled in the direction it came as if to hold onto what some unseen force seemed determined to take. Her breath caught in her throat, hands clutching at her heart as if to preserve this integral part of her.

The sensation came again, stronger this time, sending her stumbling forward and onto her knees from the sudden pain that ripped through her entire being to the core of her soul. She cried out, tears springing free from lids squeezed shut, down her face as her fingers clutched tighter, digging into fabric and her chest.

"Zelina?"

She knew that voice. Force, that voice, it was a balm to her soul even now, after all that had happened. It stirred within her peace, love, comfort, happiness—it was the person who taught her those things and embodied them even in a cruel and war-torn universe. That voice resonated to the core of who she was, it brought a sense of stability, and for a moment, soothed the agony of soul and body to a whisper in the back of her mind.

Zelina opened her eyes once more, finding light had blossomed between her and the voice, enough for them to see and find one another despite the darkness.

"Anakin?" she murmured before another jagged edge raked at her soul once again. She whimpered at the feeling, palm slapping against the coarse surface below her as she pitched forward from the force of the violent attempt to tear a part of her out by the roots.

From the sound that came out of Anakin, her pain was only a shadow of his own.

She could barely see him just out of her reach, curled up on his side with convulsions of what had to be pain violently shuddering through his entire being. His arms were curled inwards, clutching at nothing for support, hands releasing and gripping against empty air with every wave. His head was ducked in at the fresh bought of pain, hiding his face from view, but his cry of agony cut her deeper than any weapon the galaxy could manufacture. If he did look at her, what she saw would no doubt be a fatal blow.

But she could not sit by when his pain ran so deep.

"Anakin," Zelina repeated, dragging herself forward as Anakin convulsed again, the knife in her own soul slicing deeper in sync with his agony.

She felt his hand first, fingers slipping across his palm and tightening around his hand in a grip that turned fingertips white, a force returned by Anakin's own crushing grip. A relieved sob seemed to bubble past Anakin's lips at the contact, at a comfort Zelina could feel his soul craving for as lungs craved oxygen and a heart, blood.

"I'm here, Ani…I'm right here…" Zelina whispered as Anakin clung desperately to her. She used the connection to pull herself towards him, an action that grew harder with every moment, as if gravity was pulling them in opposite directions, like they were fighting the operations of the galaxy for this craved contact with one another.

A violent pain ripped through Anakin and he screamed, twisting as Zelina pulled him towards her, managing to use his violent momentum to pull him partially into her lap. Her other arm wrapped around his chest to hold him down and to hold him close to her heart, the other hand remaining in a vice grip with his own. Anakin's other hand clutched at the arm wrapped around his chest as the shudder tore through him, and Zelina had to hold back a cry of her own as she felt something inside her ripping.

With his back pressed against her chest, Zelina could feel Anakin's labored breaths as he collapsed into himself. His head tilted back so he could look up at her, and Zelina felt her heart sever itself from her chest and beg to be used to fix his own, an irreversible damage reflected in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, the words echoing in their dark solitude.

"Don't…don't, it doesn't matter now," Zelina found herself saying, tears pricking at her eyes. She squeezed his hand tighter as the words rang hollow in her throat. It did matter. Everything that had happened, what he'd done, had shaken the galaxy to its core, and left Zelina floating without purpose in a suddenly darkness drenched galaxy.

But she didn't want it to matter. She wanted to be able to escape it all, to disappear somewhere with Anakin and Padme, find a new purpose away from the Jedi and the war and all this death…

"Yes…yes, it does," Anakin countered firmly. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."

"I don't want to talk about it, Anakin, I…I don't even want to think about it, I just want…I want…"

She didn't have words for what she wanted. She knew there was something resonating in her being, something she craved with every fiber of her existence, something that included Anakin…but she couldn't figure out what it was.

Anakin twisted under her grip as another scream ripped out of him, tears of pain slipping down his cheeks and disappearing into the darkness. Zelina tightened her hold on him, returning the bone-crushing pressure he clutched at her with as she felt tendrils snap inside her soul.

She knew what was happening. She knew it, but she didn't want to say it. Saying it would make it real, and this couldn't be real. She wouldn't let it be real.

"We should have never left Varykino," Zelina whispered, turning her face into his hair as Anakin's rattled breaths momentarily filled the space between them, body shaking with what seemed to be continuous pain that never released him. "We should have just stayed on Naboo and never got involved in any of this, we should have just…just left it all behind while we had the chance-"

"You were both so beautiful…" Anakin murmured, interrupting Zelina's ramblings. "Padme always wore something stunning but you…I'd never seen you in…in anything other than rags or Jedi clothes and you just…shimmered, that night."

A startled, broken laugh slipped past her control. "It was just one silly night…one simple dress…"

"I never forgot it," Anakin admitted. "Never forgot that I almost—"

Something closer to a scream ripped through him as he pitched forward, held down by Zelina's arm. A strangled sob punched out of her lungs at his pain, followed by the sharp breath as her soul continued to fracture within.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay," she whispered, raising their clasped hands so she could wipe the pained tears from his face. "You…you're going to be…"

"Zelina, I need…I need to hear you say you…you forgive me," Anakin murmured once the intense wave had subsided some and Zelina's words had rambled into nothing.

"There's nothing to forgive."

Anakin convulsed with another intense wave of agony, but he forced the words out, nonetheless. "No, no, there's everything to forgive, I've done so much wrong, I've hurt you, I've—"

"I forgive you," Zelina interrupted. Anakin shook his head in disbelief, another cry interrupting whatever he needed to say. She turned to make sure she could lock eyes with him—even if doing so only broke her heart a little more. "Hey…I forgive you. For all of it, okay?"

Anakin nodded stiffly before he curled against her embrace again, a longer, agonized sound breaking out of him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I…I'm so sorry…"

Zelina's breath hitched as she tried to pull Anakin closer. It was getting harder to hold him, like he was slipping out of her grasp. "Stop that, okay? Stop…stop talking like this, you're going to be okay. We're…we're both going to be okay, we're all going to be okay. And we'll go somewhere nice, and green, with water and birds and quiet, there'll be no one else around, and…and Luke can grow up in a field w-with his family…we'll all stay together, a-and we'll be somewhere w-where there's no—no war or, or pain, and…and this will all be a dis—a distant m-memory."

She wasn't convincing. She kept choking on sobs as Anakin writhed in her grasp from a pain she could not protect him from, brought on by a force she could not fight. Both of them knew that the picture she painted was one they could never have. The truth of it resonated in their crumbling souls.

"Maybe…maybe you can, but I…I can't go with you this time."

The pull on that integral part of her soul returned, so forceful that she pitched forward despite Anakin in her grip, and she felt him slide forward as she lost some of her grip on him.

She knew what part of her soul was being carved away with no means for her to stop it, she knew what part of her was being ripped out by the roots. This section of her soul as much of a necessity to her as oxygen and blood, that had been a part of her since before she could remember, had shaped her into who she was…

Anakin was dying.

She was losing him.

The part of her he'd always resided in…she was losing it.

As he died, she lost a part of her very core, and it hurt.

Zelina curled around Anakin as if it could help her hold him a few moments longer, tears flowing unrestrained as she finally faced the reality of what was happening. She didn't know who was clutching tighter to the other—the dying man or the woman who couldn't let go of him.

"Anakin, don't leave me, please…" she whimpered. He didn't answer her, and it was because he knew there was nothing either of them could do. He couldn't make that promise. He couldn't stay…but she wanted…she needed him to stay. "I can't do this without you, not without you, please…"

"Stay with me…please," Anakin suddenly whispered. "Until…Until…"

Zelina rested her forehead against his head, desperately clutching to his hand as her core being cried out for her to hold him there by her own sheer willpower. "I won't ever leave you, Anakin. Never. To the very end…no matter what."

She'd barely spoken their promise when that part of her being ripped violently as they both screamed, Anakin from a force she couldn't protect him from and a fear she could not fight off, Zelina from the sensation of having Anakin ripped away from her. A primal part of her being clung desperately to the part of him that was still miraculously attached to her by fragile threads, while she physically clung to him even as she felt him slipping free. Panic welled in her throat and her fingernails probably broke skin as she clutched tighter to his hand.

She couldn't lose him! Not him, not Anakin, never Anakin! He was the one thing she could not lose!

"Anakin, I'm scared, please, I need you—" Zelina sobbed. He was clinging to her just as desperately, but they were still being pulled apart, little by little she could feel him sliding out from her grip, even as his body shook with agony.

The pull became that much more insistent, and Anakin's fingers bruised skin as he tried to hold on just a few more moments, just a little longer, even as the pain became too much to bear, a crescendo that caused him to seize and tears to spill hot and unforgiving down his cheeks.

"Zee, promise…promise me…"

The finality of this plea, a final promise he asked of her, caused a hysteria to overtake her in her desperation. "No! No, Anakin, please…please, don't do this to me, don't…"

Anakin's grip on her arm pulled painfully, demanding her attention. She needed him…but he needed this. "Take care of them. Promise me. Promise me you'll take care of them…take care of my family."

Zelina sucked in a breath, her tears blurring her vision enough she couldn't even make out his features anymore, hand wavering in the vice grip they shared. "I promise. Like my own."

She tried furiously to blink away the tears as a content sigh managed to slip past Anakin's lips—happiness, a sliver of peace in the wake of all of this, even if it was for a flickering moment that was lost just as quickly to the darkness.

"Anakin…" she whispered, the sound a broken plea filled with the unsaid, the missed opportunities, the need, the dreams for a future neither of them knew they needed or wanted, of love and pain and raw loss and need.

"Y'know…all this time…a part of me knew that…that I did too," Anakin suddenly murmured, the last part barely audible, barely escaping his being to resonate between them. The statement came from nowhere, throwing Zelina so far off balance that her tears momentarily halted out of confusion.

"What?"

For a split second, she could see him clearly, see his gaze lock on hers, and for the briefest moment, a smile graced his features, warm and caring, full of light as he'd once been, and…and…

Neither of them were prepared when the next pull came. Or perhaps…perhaps he had been prepared, and he'd only wanted Zelina to have this brief moment of peace before it all shattered. Anakin turned away as a particularly violent spasm ripped through him, a full scream bursting out of him as he thrashed, the motion breaking the momentarily lax grip Zelina had on his chest from the shock. She was yanked forward as something pulled Anakin from her with all the force of the universe, yet they desperately clung to each other's hands, the only part that still connected them besides the thin tendril fraying in Zelina's soul.

The light was gone, she couldn't see him, but she could hear his screams, could feel the yawning void where he'd once held a special residency in her soul, and she could feel his hand clinging desperately to hers.

"No! No, Anakin, hold on—"

He was slipping, she could feel it, feel his palm sliding under her own—

"Hold on…just a little longer, please—"

Fingers. She could only feel his fingers, trying to curl around hers, fingernails digging just under each other's fingertips desperately.

"Anakin, no, just hold on, hold…"

The thread snapped, his fingers slipped…and he was gone.

"Please!"

She threw herself forward in a sudden frenzy, doubled over as a scream ripped from the center of her being out into the universe. Shouts rang out all around her, the very room shook, lights flared, glass shattered, sparks rained down. As electricity surged and metal caved in on itself, her scream continued, resonating through the pristine space. It carried with it the weight of loss, a loss so raw and soaked in agony that it could crush anything in its path. Her soul was broken, a gaping hole that was little less than half of who she'd been glared out from what had once been a whole presence of light. A foundation had been ripped free, a segment of who she was erased, struck from the galaxy.

Her scream reached out into the galaxy, propelling her deep into herself at the same time in search of what was missing, desperately seeking it so she could make the universe return it to her, so she could forcibly repair this inconsistency, this wrongness, this emptiness that spread out of the hole and doused the rest of her soul.

But she found nothing. There was nothing, no trail to follow, because there was nothing on the other end. It was gone. For the first time in her life, in all her twenty years, there was nothing there. She was alone. He was gone, and she was empty.

There was a ringing in her ears as her scream carried. If she ran out of breath she only started anew. Tears streamed down her face as her wordless cry drowned out the sound of shouting and footsteps, of electric surges that caused lights to burn to bright before popping out, extinguished as quickly as he had.

Hands tried to restrain her, to force her back, but she would not be moved. She couldn't hear the voices around her, couldn't feel anything other than the empty that was swallowing her whole, suffocating her even as she screamed, cutting into what remained and bleeding her of what little she had left—but she had nothing left to give. She'd lost everything. As long as she had him, she could have survived, but she'd lost him too, and he…he was the most important thing. He was what she needed. She might have survived if he had, but he…he…

The invasive hands disappeared. The shouting ceased, but she still screamed. Metal still twisted and collapsed, lights exploded, sparks rained, glass shattered.

Something reached out to her. Something reached for her suffering and took it upon itself. Something sought to fill the gap with light, but…but it had its own space it had already filled. It could not fill the hole, as much as it wanted to. It could only burn brighter in its designated spot, could try to radiate peace and comfort, could try to sooth from its own place in her core.

A gentle hand…a fatherly hand. One that had bandaged a whipped child newly free, kind grey-blue eyes that listened and advised, firm but lenient, understanding, someone who had cared for him, too. Someone who now grieved as the loss that caused her scream registered with them, as well.

A father figure. Peace and kindness, guidance and tranquility. Warrior and peacekeeper, negotiator and general. Father, yet brother.

Obi-Wan.

Her scream was choked off by a sob, quickly followed by a wail, carrying her loss out of the room and seeping her grief into the entire facility. She was collapsing in on herself when the gentle hand returned, resting on her shoulder as a warm body appeared next to her. An arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, another gentle hand guiding her head towards his chest as he pulled her tightly towards him in a vain attempt to comfort her.

There was nothing he could do.

Anakin was gone.

She was trapped in a nightmare she could not escape, and Anakin was gone!

Still, she turned into the comfort he tried to offer as a balm, though it did little for her. She turned into him, clutched at his scorched tunic and continued to wail, broken screams and sobs causing her body to shudder in his embrace.

A sharp prick invaded her neck, but she didn't care. She had nothing left to care with, nothing left to give.

So when an artificial darkness came to claim her, she didn't fight it. She surrendered.

There was nothing to fight with, and nothing to fight for, anymore.

When she came to again, it was just as sudden as before, but not nearly as violent. The emptiness still resonated inside her, but now…now it swallowed her whole, made her numb to the world around her…

…what was the world around her? Where was she?

All around her was sterile white, with brightly burning, fresh lights, brand new furniture, and the trappings of a medical center. What should have been comfortable sheets trapped her in place, made her feel constricted. She was already trapped and drowning in her own body, she didn't need to feel confined to a bed, either.

Feeling detached from her movements as if they were simply a dream, Zelina found herself getting out of bed, bare feet touching a cold floor without really feeling the temperature. A hand stretched out in front of her to open the door she suddenly found herself in front of, and with no real direction, Zelina simply started walking down the hall.

No direction…she didn't have a direction. She had no purpose, no reason, she just…just existed in this moment. What else was she supposed to do, besides exist?

A droid passed her in the hall and seemed to recognize her, trying to convince her to go back to the room she'd started in. She ignored him, walking forward as if she hadn't even heard him. She hadn't heard him, though, not really.

She didn't know how long she walked without a purpose before she saw someone familiar. Or rather…someones.

Just a little ways down a hall were Satine, Bail Organa, and Master Yoda. The three of them were grouped together, watching in various degrees of distress and worry what was happening inside a room that had had glass walls facing the hall.

A part of her whispered that she didn't want to see what was on the other side of the glass, but a stronger part took control and kept her walking towards them.

When she came close enough to peer inside the room, Zelina finally saw what had them so concerned, and a spark of purpose tried to crackle to life inside her.

Padme was the center of attention, with the three out in the hall staring directly at her, two or three medical droids within hovering around her, and a still wounded but much healthier looking Obi-Wan Kenobi at her side. There were monitors keeping track of her heartbeat, blood pressure, all of the essentials, and it looked like there were also monitors for the…for the baby.

Zelina moved around the other three, finally garnering their attention as she approached the door to Padme with relative speed. She could feel Master Yoda's mysterious gaze on her, but he didn't say anything. Satine and Bail were the ones who protested.

"You shouldn't go in there—" Bail was saying.

"Zelina, you should be in bed, recovering—" Satine tried, reaching out to stop Zelina. Zelina was too quick for them, however, and she was stepping inside before either of them could make a physical attempt to stop her from entering.

As the door opened and shut behind her, Obi-Wan tore his gaze from Padme long enough to see who was intruding, surprise flashing across his face to see Zelina entering the room. "Zelina, what are you doing in here?" he asked, but just as she had with everyone else, she ignored him, instead making her way to Padme's side.

"Padme," she said softly, coming to stand at the woman's other side, across from Obi-Wan. She took Padme's soft hand in her own, feeling fear seep into her bones as she saw the state the woman was in. Pale and shaking, sweat beading across her forehead, breathing shallow, an uncharacteristic aura of weakness hovering over the woman. The injuries she'd sustained seemed like they'd been stitched together in a hasty, temporary fix, like there hadn't been time to do what they needed to save her life, or like there…like there hadn't been any point in trying.

Padme gave Zelina a bittersweet smile, her hand squeezing Zelina's faintly. "They have to deliver the baby now, or they won't make it. It was either them, or me. I made my choice," the woman said faintly.

No, no, no, no, no…

"There's…there's still a way to fix this, isn't there?" Zelina asked shakily, glancing between a hopeless looking Obi-Wan and the frustratingly peaceful Padme. Neither of them seemed like they were going to give her the answer she wanted to hear, and looking out at the spectators on the other side of the glass, it seemed they were of the same opinion as Obi-Wan.

There has to be something I can do, anything! Don't make me powerless to do anything again!

Zelina's other hand reached out to gently smooth back Padme's hair as she reached out in the Force in a desperate attempt to feel for what was wrong and try to heal it. Her efforts, however, came out as clumsy and lethargic, as if she was touching the Force for the first time instead of with the usual natural reflex she reached with. And it took far more effort for her to concentrate than she should have needed…

"Zelina, you don't have the strength," Obi-Wan said softly from Padme's other side. "Besides…there's nothing anyone can do. We've already tried."

Again, Padme squeezed her hand to reassure her. "It's all right…this is my choice. If it means my baby will live…it's worth it."

"But you're…you'll…die," Zelina forced herself to say. Padme gave Zelina a bitter smile.

"Better me then my baby," she said softly.

Zelina felt her knees go weak, legs shaking as tears burned in her eyes. She would have answered the woman, argued that they had to at least try to do something to save Padme's life, but at that moment the woman let out a sharp cry of pain, the grip on Zelina's hand tightening substantially. Zelina glanced down at the medical droid who was down by Padme's covered legs, cooing soothing words in another language.

Padme let out another shout, skin reddening from the exertion, tears pricking in her eyes. Zelina held tightly to Padme's hand, refusing to let go even as Padme's fingernails cut and drew blood.

A different cry rent the air, immediately drawing Zelina's attention. Something stirred deep inside her at the sound, and she watched, captivated, as the medical droid revealed a healthy screaming baby boy to the universe, gently placed in a white blanket. To Zelina's numb surprise, the medical droid approached her, gently depositing the baby into Zelina's arms before she even realized what was happening.

"Luke…" Padme sighed beside Zelina, who was shaken from her stupor long enough to turn to Padme and show the baby boy to the exhausted woman. "Oh, Luke…" Padme whispered, a gentle finger running along his cheek before another contraction hit, and Zelina pulled the squirming baby away just before Padme let out another scream.

He was a wiggly one, the weight in her arms strange to her even now, knowing there was a baby, that it was Luke in her arms…but she was still numb to it all, the entire thing still felt like a dream, even as Padme, much to Zelina's surprise, continued to push, the medical droid riveted to something Zelina could not see…

Another scream pierced the air, causing Zelina to look down at Luke for a split second in the expectation that it was him crying. No, the baby was squinting up at her and squirming, but he wasn't screaming at the moment.

The droid moved over to Obi-Wan, depositing a second screaming baby into his arms. Zelina stared in shock at the unexpected—well, unexpected for her—arrival as Obi-Wan presented the screaming babe to Padme. "It's a girl."

"Leia!" Padme exclaimed, no longer possessing the energy to do much in greetings for her child. Her hand wandered towards her neck, and Zelina watched as she pulled the japor snippet necklace Padme had worn as much as Zelina wore her mother's necklace from around her neck, hand limply swinging towards Zelina.

Still keeping a hold of Luke, Zelina barely managed to catch Padme's hand with a quickly freed hand of her own before she could drop the necklace. "It's yours now," Padme whispered.

Instantly, Zelina's throat closed and she shook her head in denial. "Padme, no, I can't take this, he—"

"You need it…more than me," Padme insisted, using what little strength she had to push the necklace forcefully into Zelina's palm. Zelina didn't dare resist, tears already starting to slip down her cheeks.

Padme's eyes fluttered, breaths shallow and slight. "There's good in him," she whispered, and neither Zelina nor Obi-Wan had to ask who she meant by him. Nor did either of them have the heart to tell her in this moment what had happened to him. "I know. I know there is…still…good…"

Zelina hardly picked up on the last word, since it was delivered with Padme's last breath, the woman going still as the heart monitor registered her heart had stopped. Both babies instantly began to scream again the moment that Zelina felt Padme's light wink out, but she hardly heard them. Water seemed to be rushing in her ears as she stared at Padme's now lifeless form, the japor snippet Anakin had once made for Padme biting into her palm as Zelina's hand clenched into a fist, as she backed away. She didn't stop until her back hit the wall, the jarring physical motion causing her knees to buckle as Zelina slid to the floor, vision blurring as the tears took over, a choked sound escaping her as the reality started to close in from all around.

She failed. She failed all of them, and now she'd lost everything. The temple had been destroyed, the Jedi wiped out, Anakin killed, Padme had died in childbirth despite all of Zelina's reassurances that she would be all right and Zelina would take care of his family, the Republic had fallen and Palpatine had taken power…

She had nothing left. Nothing. Just this empty hole that was devouring her from the inside, and darkness that was closing in from all sides. She'd lost the brightest light in her life, and as much as Obi-Wan had tried to sooth her, to try and fill that hole already, he couldn't. She had lost her own light, as well as the light Anakin had given her, and that was far more than Obi-Wan could provide.

What was even the point? What did she have to care about anymore? Where was she even supposed to go from here? Did she even go on? Or should she just…refuse to move from this spot. Give up and wait for death or some other fate to take her. She had no home to go to, no purpose, no light, no will, no faith, nothing to fight for, nothing at all. Just the shell of herself and the tattered remains of her soul. Death would be preferable to the empty existence that suddenly seemed to be stretched out before her.

I don't care what happens to me anymore…I just want this to be over, I just want this nightmare to be over…

Something smacked against her cheek, and Zelina blinked, temporarily startled out of her well of sorrow to look down at the screaming babe she'd forgotten was lying in her arms.

Luke.

Luke.

He was an orphan now. Both his mother and his father had died, and he was all alone, besides his sister. He was just as lost as she was, except he was too small, too new to this galaxy to have a choice. He really did need someone, he depended on someone being there for him. Especially now that the universe had been bathed in dangers and darkness with Palpatine's rise. If Palpatine were to get wind that Anakin had a son and daughter, these two children would be hunted. Not only did they depend on someone to take care of them, they depended on someone to protect them.

As Zelina focused on Luke, the newborn seemed to calm down a little, and Zelina suddenly realized that she was holding a sun in her arms. She could feel his light burning bright and untampered in the Force, reaching out to her, the closest other Force sensitive, on a primal instinct, warming her grief and pain soaked soul in the process.

Oh, Luke…

That same something from earlier stirred, prompted into action by the tiny being squirming in her arms. Anakin was dead. Padme was dead…but Luke was alive. Luke and Leia. They were alive, they had made it into this universe.

Luke was here.

Luke.

Zelina closed her eyes. How long had she had visions of this very child she now held in her arms? How long had he been appearing to her? How long had she waited for him?

A memory of a vision from years ago came back to her, a memory that was a lance to the heart considering the recent events, and yet...

"Go with Luke; he'll lead you back," Anakin said gently, standing up.

His hand was clasped in hers, but he was slipping out of her grasp. She clung to his fingertips, staring at him pleadingly. "Don't go, please! Stay with me!"

"I haven't left," he said with a small smile before his fingers slipped out of her grasp. The moment he was no longer in contact with her, he vanished. Zelina sat up with a cry and the young man—Luke—crouched down beside her.

Luke offered her his hand with a small smile. "I'll take you back," he said gently, his voice compassionate and calm by nature it seemed. Hesitantly, Zelina took his proffered hand and Luke pulled her to her feet. She was unsteady, so he let her brace herself against him.

Had there been more to that vision? At the time, she'd simply thought Luke was leading her back to consciousness, back to the land of the living. Now…now she wondered at the layers of the vision. Anakin had left her, but Luke was still there. Luke led her back—back to herself.

Now Anakin really was gone…she wouldn't see him again…and yet…in a way…he was still with her.

The thought crossed her mind, and suddenly the weight of his lightsaber on her belt felt heavier, as did the japor snippet in her hand, and the child in her arms.

Zelina stared down at the babe in her arms with a fresh wave of tears sliding down her cheeks, clutching Luke closer to her chest, closer to her heart.

He needed someone to protect him from this dark new galaxy.

You could be my protector…

He needed someone to take care of him.

…my guardian…

And she had promised Anakin long before this…this mess that she would train him.

…my teacher…

Anakin…Her last promise to Anakin…

Take care of my family.

Zelina took a shaking breath, closing her eyes once more. Anakin wanted me to help his family, he had me promise. And now Luke needs me. After all he's done for me, even if it was only visions, now it's my turn to help him. Now I need to be there for him.

Don't give up on me now! I'm here, I'm staying, and I need you to stay too—please, you promised!

He was right, even back then, he was right about now. She had promised. She'd promised. She couldn't give up now—it wasn't her time. She'd lost so much, but there was still something to live for.

Live, for the living Jedi, we must. Live through us, forever they will.

If she was to give up now, it would be a dishonor to Anakin, to his legacy, to what he'd tried to protect, what he'd lived for, what he'd died for. She needed to live for Luke, and as a way to respect Anakin, to breathe life into his dying wish. Not everything was lost. She still had people in her life, people she cared about, people who needed her. She had a purpose.

On your feet, soldier. You're not dying on me now.

Zelina opened her aching soul up to the small child in her arms, feeling Luke's light slowly fill the space in her soul that Anakin had been such an integral part of. It wasn't the same—Anakin she had loved as her other half. Luke…well, they would see what would happen between her and Luke. She just knew it was different, and already, even with the fragile beginnings of a bond, it was enough to sooth the recent loss at least a little, and to fill some of the void that Anakin's death had left.

She couldn't lose herself now. She couldn't lose her courage, or her strength.

She still had something to fight for.