Disclaimer: I am not George Lucas, I am not making any money from this, and I do not own Star Wars, or any of these characters, although if he lets me use them I will return them in good condition, I promise! Or, well, as good a condition as his writers left them in, anyway!

If you're still checking this story, you're a far better reader than I deserve. I hope you all aren't too mad at me. (cheeky grin)

Warning: parts of this chapter will be pretty nasty. Tahiri's dreams are going to be...unpleasant.

Star Wars -­ Anakin Solo's Legacy

Chapter 8 - Dreams

"How is Tahiri?"

"Sleeping. The broken bone in her arm is set, her wounds patched as best I can. But I do not envy her dreams."

"Anakin!" Her voice echoed through the cramped and reeking tunnels. No answer came. "Anakin!" she tried again, ignoring the tears running slowly down her face. She listened, but could hear no sound except her own quiet sobs. She started wearily forward. He had to be out here, and maybe if she could find him, this nightmare would end. She rounded a corner and froze. She had found him, but the nightmare was only beginning.

He hung there, impaled on at least a dozen meter-long spikes that protruded from the wall behind him. Blood was everywhere, gallons of it, covering his body, the wall, and the floor. Even as she watched, it continued to drip from his feet to the floor with a kind of obscene slowness. His eyes were open, staring at nothing, and his mouth was frozen in a wordless scream. "No..." she breathed, backing away in a daze, her mind reeling. "No no no no..."

Suddenly, the blank eyes moved. They looked at her, and although they did not focus at all, they seemed to stare accusingly. His pale arms moved, grabbing the spikes and levering his body off of them. They made a horrible sucking sound as they pulled out of his flesh. He fell to the ground with a thud, splashing blood everywhere. He levered himself up, his blank stare fixed on her, mouthing silent words. No air came out, but she could hear him anyway.

whydidyouleavemewhydidyouleavemewhydidyouleavemewhydidyouleaveme...?

She stumbled backwards, her thoughts in tatters. "No! I never... You know I wouldn't..."

He fixed her with an accusing glare.

yesyoudidyesyoudidwherewereyouwherewereyouwhenidied...? whydidyouleavemewhydidyouleaveme...

"NO!" She turned and ran, sobbing helplessly. She dodged blindly through the dark corridors, and cold tears ran down her cheeks and blew over her shoulders with the wind of her speed. no no no no... Her feet stumbled slowly to a stop, far away from him, and she stood and cried.

Eventually her sobs trailed off, and she sagged against a wall and sank to the floor, exhausted beyond the point of tears. All she wanted was to wake up and find that this was all a dream, that Anakin was alive, that there was no cause for pain or grief. Why did-­ She opened her eyes, and her thoughts chopped off in a gasp of surprise.

The hall was filled with tears. Her tears. Instead of falling to the floor, they'd drifted off through the air, and catching light from some unseen source they filled the passageway with a galaxy of glinting stars.

As in a dream she rose and walked among them, bathing in the soft glow they cast. Capturing one in the palm of her hand, she looked at it closely. The tear had hardened into a tiny, perfect sphere of crystal, many-faceted and gleaming with light. A tiny image of Anakin was reflected in every facet, smiling at her. Two tears coursed their way down her cheeks to join the drifting cloud, but a fragile smile lit her face, for along with the soft glow that enveloped her, she thought she could feel a ghost of Anakin's presence. A voice seemed to whisper: i'm here i will always be here with you don't cry don't cry... It offered comfort, and she clutched at it as a cold, shivering child to a warm blanket. It was all of the things she thought to never feel again: love, and happiness, and warmth; the knowledge that that there was someone who loved her and would always be there for her. That made it all the worse when it was suddenly snatched away.

"So, it is true. The mighty Jeedi warrior who Anakin Solo honored with his love weeps like a whipped brenzlit." Dripping with contempt, a gutteral voice in a language she hated shattered the illusion. The glow winked out, the whisper and presence vanished, and the tears fell to the floor, so much salt water. #Somewhere, blue eyes squeeze shut in pain, and ethereal lungs fill with air and release it in a sigh.#

She whirled to face the owner of the voice, her eyes wide. There stood a Yuuzhan Vong warrior, tall imposing, looking on her with a mixture of amusement and disgust. "Look at you. You are weak. A warrior does not run from death, but embraces it." Steadily advancing, he continued his tirade. "You are a dishonor to his memory and to whatever false ideals he died for. And if he died for you, then it was wasted. I would put you out of your misery if it would not disgust me to even touch you."

His words ripped the gaping wounds in her spirit even wider. It was true. She was weak. If she were stronger, she could have saved him. He had died for nothing. She retreated under his verbal onslaught, tears pouring down her face, but his next words froze her in her tracks.

"You are pathetic. He must not have been a great warrior after all, to have chosen you. A weak mate, for a weak Jeedi."

He went on, but she no longer heard him. His words had twisted down through her grief and broke through to a vast, underlying sea she never knew was there. A slow, lava-like burn of anger begun. She stopped retreating. She felt rage spreading through her like ice crystallizing on the surface of water. His words lashed at her, but instead of wounding her they fed her anger. What right did he have to accuse her and Anakin of weakness? What did he know of what they had been through? Her green eyes were burning chips of ice, and suddenly there was a lightsaber in her hand. He had just made his last mistake.

With a screaming cry of rage, she leapt at him and plunged her lightsaber through his chest. He barely even grunted at the impact, but she saw the shocked pain in his eyes and reveled in it. Suddenly it no longer mattered to her what she felt. Anything at all was better than that endless, empty grief. She pulled her saber free before he could even fall, and took immense pleasure in cutting him into very tiny pieces.

-####

Ganner stood in the doorway to the small chamber where Tahiri was sleeping, hesitating. To all appearances, she was sleeping peacefully, but through the Force he could sense the shroud of grief and pain that surrounded her even then. He entered, crouching at her bedside and examining her closely. Her broken arm was immobilized in a cast, and cuts, bruises and bandages covered her body. Her faced was deeply furrowed with grief. Tekli had said that her body needed sleep, but it didn't seem to be doing her much good. Yet even as he watched, something changed. The lines eased, and the grief and pain he sensed faded. A sudden, unexpected sense of contentment flowed from her, and he realized that she was dreaming of Anakin.

He cracked a sad smile. Perhaps it would be best to let her sleep. At least she could see Anakin in her dreams. He rose and began to walk from the room, when a blast of anger slammed into him. He whirled, astonished at the rage and fury that suddenly poured from Tahiri. The air seemed to darken, so palpable was her anger.

"Tahiri!" He leaped back to her side, and stretched out his hand to wake her.

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I am very sorry for not updating this story. The only excuse I can offer is that life has a way of biting you on the butt at the most annoying times. Schoolwork has kept me very busy recently, and I just haven't had the energy to write.