"So now what?" asked Tiv. She and Tivania had spent several hours trying to figure out what exactly was going on. They had come to the conclusion that they really were from different universes, and had finally agreed on what had been changed in each of theirs. By now, they were completely at a loss for what to do.

"Well… we should try to send you back…" began Tivania.

"Oh, and I'm sure you have the exact way of doing that, don't you?" retorted Tiv.

Tivania frowned. "Now, I'm sure I wasn't that sarcastic. How did you get to be?"

Tiv shrugged. "I dunno. Must've picked it up somewhere that you weren't."

"Well, where were you that I wasn't?" demanded Tivania.

"I guess nowhere. Maybe you just don't remember it well enough."

"Yeah, it's all my fault, isn't it?"

Tiv grinned happily. "See? You can be sarcastic, too! I bet you just lost it when you joined the Dark Side!"

"Is that really something to be happy about?" asked Tivania.

"Yes!" exclaimed Tiv. "It shows that you're really the same person that I am, just… older."

"And that's a good thing… why?"

"Because it means that you can still turn back to the good side." Tiv shifted in her perch on the arm of a chair. Tivania was on the bed, and right now, Tiv envied her, if only for the fact that she was substantial enough to actually sit down. She wondered if that meant that this was all just a dream. But it seemed so real… like most dreams do… oh, shut up, she ordered the stubborn part of her brain that still refused to believe that this was real. After all, whether it was real or not, there wasn't really all that much that she could do about it. She wasn't at all sure how to get back home.

Tivania frowned invisibly. She wasn't quite sure that she really did want to go back to the 'good side', as Tiv put it. Although, she wasn't even sure that Tiv was real, instead of just some projection. Maybe Tiv was an illusion made by the Jedi. Could they have noticed that she was lying to them? Impossible! Her master would never have made a mistake such as that… would he? Never! Oh, shut up, she ordered the stubborn part of her brain that still refused to believe that Tiv was real. After all, whether she was real or not, there wasn't really all that much Tivania could do about it. She wasn't at all sure how to send her back home.

"Wait… when did you go over to the Dark Side?" demanded Tiv suddenly.

"We went over when we were fifteen, why?" responded Tivania.

Tiv frowned. "There should be an age limit," she muttered.

Tivania uttered a barking laugh. "What? Must be eighteen or older to turn traitor?" she asked.

"Something like that," admitted Tiv with a small grin. Her smile faded as she added, "But there's one thing I don't understand."

"Only one?"

"Well, only one that I'm going to bother you with right now. If the variable in my universe caused Master Qui-Gon to survive, what was it in yours that made him stay alive?"

Tivania shrugged. "Hard to say. In your universe, an asteroid destroyed the planet that would have occupied the attention of the Federation for another year before they blocked trade to Naboo, and also would have been the vacation spot for the only man in Mon Espa willing to teach blaster fighting to an eight year old Anakin, who ended up saving Qui-Gon's life. At least, that's what my master tells me."

Tiv decided not to make any rude comments about Tivania referring to Sidious as her master, as opposed to Qui-Gon, who, besides being a much better master, had died to save her.

"So, how does…" before she could ask any question, a loud blaring noise coming from somewhere interrupted her, followed by a flashing red light.

"What's going on?" she asked, irrationally frightened. She was insubstantial, how could she be hurt?

Tivania was staring at the door with a shocked expression on her face. "It's starting," she whispered.

"What is?" demanded Tiv. Snapping out of it, her older self was suddenly businesslike.

"This universe is unstable. It's holding together all of the others, controlling all of the transfers between worlds… Sidious thought that he could keep it together until he didn't need it anymore, and then let it go, but he was wrong."

"Just like that?" Tiv asked. "Just, let it go? What about all the innocent people here?"

Tivania wondered for a split second whether she had ever been so naïve, and what had changed. But that was a foolish question. What had changed was that she was now a Sith, and Sith didn't care about innocent bystanders. Jedi did.

"Tiv, I'd be happy to explain to you the inner workings of a Sith Master's mind as well as I understand them, but right now, you have to leave."

"Why?" she asked. "I'm insubstantial, remember? I can't be hurt."

"But, if the universe blows up, then you'll be destroyed as well as the rest of us," Tivania retorted. "Now get going!"

"Where?"

"There's a portal that Sidious has been using to transport people in and out of other worlds recently. Down the hall to the right as far as you can go, then out the door, and you can't miss it." In some, Sithy part of her mind, Tivania wondered why she was giving directions to her master's most sacred place to a Jedi.

But then, her master… her new master, had never been kind to her, never cared, not like Qui-Gon had, before he had died. Died protecting her.

"So fitting. So fitting that the greatest and most loyal Jedi of all time died to protect the daughter of a Sith." Wasn't that what Sidious had said? Was that the way she was, trusting the man who had sent her master to his death, and hadn't even had the decency to feign sadness? Tiv needed help, and if Sidious didn't want her to have any, well, he could just go swimming on Kamino!

"Thank you," Tiv said, giving her future self a hug as well as she could manage.

"Yeah, just don't turn out like me," Tivania told her gruffly.

Tiv smiled warmly. "Not much chance of that," she teased.

"Nice, Tiv. Now get out of here, before the place comes down around our ears!"

Tiv got.

Okay, everyone, I am very, very sorry that I couldn't update sooner. My dad installed a new pellet stove that stunk up the den so I couldn't type, then I had writer's block, then the computer was down, then I got sick and had to have surgery, then my aunt died. And now I've got a short chapter. I just can't think of any way to connect the things I want to happen in the same chapter, so sorry. Please review, all that stuff, hope you like it.