"Qui-Gon Jinn," the child said. Tiv blinked. She hadn't expected an answer like this when she had asked the little boy his name.

"That's my…" began Qui-Gon, but Dooku cut him off.

"It is you! Look at him, he looks exactly like you did at that age," the elderly master exclaimed excitedly. Looking closer, Qui-Gon realized that it was, indeed, his younger self.

"Well, Master, we all got tiny demonic versions of ourselves, now you have yours," Anakin gibed, elbowing Ani and extracting a glare and a stifled smile from the teenager.

Qui-Gon glowered at his former apprentice, but then relaxed into a smile, realizing that Anakin was right. He turned to Tiv, preparing to ask her something, but was stopped by the look on her face.

"What is it?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder like a concerned master does. To his surprise, Tiv flinched away. It was a habit that they thought they had broken their newest member of. It seemed that it wasn't.

"Did… do you… never mind."

"Now don't do that, Tiv," Obi-Wan chided, coming over to stand besides his master. "Either tell us what you were going to say, or don't start saying it."

"And as it's a little late for the latter, just go with the former," Anakin added, joining the other two.

Tiv hesitated a moment, so another member of their group decided to put in his two credits.

"Tell us, you must," Yoda ordered. "Important, it may be."

The girl grinned at her friends. "I was just looking for the right way to phrase it," she lied. "Did you figure out anything while I was gone?"

"About who…what… you are? Yes."

"I… well, I mean…. I'm not sure how… No…. I know I have to…."

"Leave?" asked Qui-Gon quietly. Tiv dipped her head, but quickly turned the gesture into a nod.

"From the little I can tell," Dooku interrupted suddenly. "If anyone can get you out of this universe, you can."

Tiv nodded again. She wondered briefly if she should suggest the idea she had had… but it would be cruel to take Luke and Ani with her. Even if, as outsiders from another world, they were endangering the entire universe with their mere presence… She couldn't take them away. This was where they belonged, no matter where they were born.

"Tiv," a soft voice said. She looked up and, to her surprise, saw Anakin giving her a look, with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon standing nervously behind him. Well, maybe nervous wasn't the word, but there was something decidedly uneasy about their stance.

"Tiv, we were talking, and we wondered… Is there anyway for you to know if Palpatine is really destroyed by all this? We saw it through your eyes, Tivania managed to give that to us, but… Will he come back?"

The young Jedi closed her eyes for a moment. Was he gone? Palpatine, Sidious, her master, her creator, was he dead?

No, the answer came back. No, he's not. And all of this place was endangered. Everywhere… he hadn't created these universes to lose them to the Jedi. We can't defeat him, because everywhere we go, that's his home territory. We can't hope to win. Ever.

"No," she replied, trying to keep her voice level. "He's not gone, he'll come back. Again and again… we can't fight him. Master, what do we do?" she begged Qui-Gon, turning to him.

Qui-Gon hesitated. He looked around at his friends, his family… Anakin, brave, cocky Anakin, the turning point of this universe. Sarcastic, reliable Obi-Wan, stubbornly determined to win this war. Imposing, mysterious Dooku, his old master, the one he turned to for help… why did he look so helpless? Old, wise Yoda, with the same look on his face. Good, brave Mace, his old friend… even he didn't know what to do.

Taun We, the intelligent, empathetic one… Padmé, the kind, motherly one… Jar Jar, the cheerful one… Luke, the sensitive, confused one… oh, he looked too confused! Ani, the prankster… Boba, the big brother… Leia… curious enough to get into trouble, sensible enough to stay out… Colac, the playful one… Obi, the quiet, suspicious Knight thrown into more responsibility than he was ready for… And Tiv, the mystery, the Sith-child… why her?

Why any of them? Yes, they were Jedi… some of them. Some of them had chosen this path. Some of them had known what they were in for. But even then… The fate of the universe, of so many different universes… It should be left to storybook heroes, if anyone at all. Not to them.

Some too old, some too young, nobody ready, nobody ever ready. They weren't.

"Rain? River?"

"Cats don't like water."

"How do you know?"

"What kind of name is that?"

"What?"

"No, I am not naming a kitten 'what'?"

"Master!… Master Jinn, it's good to see you!"

"No need to be that formal with your old master, Obi-Wan."

"If you did… die…"

"I certainly feel like I fell off a balcony. And into a bantha stampede."

"I followed the rules, unlike some people."

"Oh, Anakin's not so bad…"

"I wasn't talking about Anakin."

"Five other Bens? Your name is Obi-Wan, how could there be five other Bens?"

"OH, MY FORCE, THEY'RE EVIL TRIPLETS!"

"Yeah!"

"Or the mostest, worstest place on the mostest, worstest planet!"

"Nothing of importance, I'm sure. Nothing like defeating Sith or helping people or protecting the peace. None of those boring, useless things people think Jedi do."

"Like be sane?"

"Well, if you poke a wasp's nest, the wasps come out and sting you. But how do they know? Is it some sort of wasp thing, or is it something else? So I went around poking all sorts of nests."

"Bye, Tic."

"He always cared. About anyone. Whether he knew them or not. I guess that was his real defining trait. It's what everyone loved about him."

So many years. So many memories. These people, his friends… what right did any one person have to decide the fate of many?

But it had to fall on someone's shoulders. There were no storybook heroes to come and take the responsibility and never have trouble with any of them. That just never happened.

It would have to. Today, tomorrow, no matter when, these hard decisions had to be made eventually. And, as clichéd as it was,someone had to do it.

Just because we're Jedi, does that mean we always have to be right? Just because we're seen as heroes, does that mean that we have to have so many people looking up to us and depending on us? Why? Who decided this? I want to help people, but I know I'm not perfect. That's what these people need. A hero who never fails... Why are we the ones who have to try?

Obi-Wan had asked him that once. How old had he been? No older than Tiv was now, certainly. What had he said? Had he answered it correctly?

We aren't always right, and we will fail, or die, or lose sight of our goals, sometimes when it seems to be the most important time. I can't tell you why, or who decided it, just that people say it's the will of the Force. Whether that's true or not, it's certainly easier to have someone or something to look up to and to depend on. That can't last forever, but it's easier. But so many people refuse to learn… I don't know, Obi-Wan. All I know is that we have to try. And if you admit that you're not perfect, you're much more what these people need than the distant hero that they envision.

And he had been right. None of them were perfect, but all of them were definitely better than nothing.

"What happens, happens, and we'll have to live with it whether we did it in another universe or not."

"We'll never win," Qui-Gon whispered, the realization suddenly hitting him. Looking around at his friends, he realized that, while some of them had obviously just realized it, some had known it from the beginning.

So different… We're all so different! If it weren't for the circumstances, I don't think we'd ever have become friends. Silver lining, I guess, but I still know that it's wrong. Very, very wrong.

"Stop Sidious, we must," Yoda agreed.

"Master?" It was Tiv.

"Master, are… should…" the girl took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. "Are we supposed to be here?"

Good girl! I never would have thought of that at her age… I was never a Sith construct, either. Tiv's had it rough, but she pulled through for us. Good girl.

Qui-Gon looked around at his friends and saw the answer written on their faces.

"No, Tiv, we're not," he answered softly. "We're not."

"Then we have to leave," Ani asserted.

Oh, Ani. Everything's so simple for you… But you always know where to look for the answers. I'll miss you, Ani.

"Tiv?" asked Luke. "Can you get us out of here?"

Luke, the quiet one, the prankster with a heart…So many people thought that you'd crumble under any sort of pressure. Thank you, Luke, for proving them wrong.

Tiv took another deep, steadying breath, and nodded.

"It won't be enough," whispered Leia.

Ah, Leia. I wish I'd have time to know you better. You would have grown up to be so good… so good…

"We'll all have to leave," Obi said, keeping his voice calm with an obvious effort.

I'm sorry I had to leave you in your universe, Obi. You meant so much to me… you'll never know. You'll never know anything, ever again.

Tiv looked around, expecting to see stunned, angry faces. But instead, she saw calmness everywhere.

These people were goodness solidified, she decided. They had been told that they had to watch their universe be destroyed to keep it out of the Sith's hands, and they pulled through, always doing what was right, no matter how hard it was.

Storybook heroes never had to do this sort of things.

But we do, Tiv realized suddenly. We do, and we did. These people… her friends, might be strange, and so different that nobody would ever expect friendship out of them, they might each have their weaknesses, but put them together…

A few days after her arrival, Luke and Ani had dragged her over to Anakin's apartments when they realized that she didn't know any of the music they listened to. The lyrics to one of the songs kept running though her head.

"Nobody said it was easy

Oh, it's such a shame for us to part.

Nobody said it was easy.

No one ever said it would be so hard."

Well, whether anyone had said so or not, it was this hard, and they'd just have to deal with it.

What's wrong with me? Tiv wondered. I'm a Sith construct. I was created to kill these people! Why don't I want to leave them?

Because they're good. Gooder… Better than me, certainly. But I have to. If I really care about them, I have to leave them, because that's the only way that they'll win. We'll win. Because I care about this war, too. I shouldn't, or at least, shouldn't care about their point of view, but I do. And so I have to.

"The end of the universe," whispered Anakin dramatically. The joke that would have once sparked laughter and more jokes sounded hollow in the silent room.

Obi-Wan looked at his friends. Nobody looked ready to step up and be the hero. Nobody looked ready to do anything but accept the inevitable.

They would never win. Never. And if they wanted to keep the universes out of Sidious' hands, they would have to destroy them.

Drastic? Yes. Desperate? Definitely. Right? Maybe. Time would tell, but so far, all they knew was that they couldn't let Sidious win. Ever.

I want to believe that one day, we'll look back on all this and laugh. Master Qui-Gon will pat Tiv on the arm and say that it's a good thing that she was willing to destroy the universe for us. And Anakin will laugh and ask if that's really such a good thing. And then we'll be off on another one of our rambling, joking conversations that have so little meaning to a casual listener, and so much meaning to us.

But we won't. Because you can't look back on the destruction of the universe and laugh. Not even smile slightly. Because this will be the end.

I never thought that it would end this way. I had mulled over so many possibilities, just so that I would never have to say that. But I had never, never even considered that my death would be when the universe was destroyed, and I had wanted it that way. I had helped. I never thought… I never thought it would be right.

"This wasn't they way that it was supposed to be," whispered Taun We. No matter what angle they looked at it, that was the only way to say it. Their entire existence was just plain wrong.

"Then we do it," Padmé said determinedly. She had been keeping quiet, out of the conversation that was so far over her head, only to realize that it was so simple after all. So simple… so right.

"Oh, oh!" cried Jar Jar. "So, so terrible! Mesa tremblin' in my booties! But what's so, so terrible is good! And what's so, so happyful is bad! Big, baddy Sith want it, and wesa can't give it to 'em!"

Never have I thought that Jar Jar would be ever to paraphrase one of our long, ethical discussions so efficiently. I guess you ever really know anyone as well as you think you do. I wish I had more time.

"Tiv?" asked Boba in a softer voice than Obi-Wan had ever heard him use. "Can you do it?"

Tiv closed her eyes. She didn't want to be able to do it… but she had to at least try, for these people. For her friends.

"No," she whispered. "Not yet. I can get us out of here, and I can… destroy this universe, but not from here."

"Not just this universe," Qui-Gon reminded her. "All of them."

"Every last one," Colac agreed solemnly.

Qui tugged on Dooku's sleeve. "Master?" he whimpered. "What's going on?"

Dooku smiled down at the child. "We're discussing the future, Qui-Gon," he said. "We have to destroy the universe, and the one you came from, and hundreds of others just to keep it from the Sith."

It was obvious from his tone of voice that he didn't like it. But he knew that this was the way things had to be, and he would do it.

The tiny version of Qui-Gon considered this for a moment. "Will there be anything left?" he asked finally in a small voice. "'Cause if there isn't, it won't be worth it."

"Yes," Windu interrupted before Dooku could say anything. "There'll be the original universe, the only one that wasn't created by the Sith Lord. And in that universe, we've already won."

It was unclear whether or not Windu remembered that there was no 'we' anymore, and the Jedi had all been killed by the Chosen One. Either way, he didn't say anything; and nobody reminded him.

"Than that's what we should do," Qui announced determinedly. He paused and squinted at Windu. "You know, you look a lot like my friend. His name's Mace Windu. Do you know him?"

Before the poor Councilor had to answer that, Tiv interrupted.

"If we're going to leave, we should do it now. I can feel the Sith gaining power in other universes. They can sense what happened to their leader, and they might realize who was responsible."

"Tiv, let me come with you!" begged Colac. He grabbed onto his sister's arm and glared at the gathering adults, as if expecting one of them to try to pry him away.

Tiv stroked his hair, considering. Before she had to explain to him that he couldn't come with her, Obi broke in.

"You know, none of you, or your ancestors, or anything existed in my universe," he commented. Tiv looked up at him, her eyes begging for a solution. "Maybe… maybe you aren't supposed to exist at all."

Nobody should ever have to take that as good news. But Colac did.

"See, Tiv?" he pleaded. "I'm not supposed to be here! Let me come with you, please."

His sister laughed quietly. "Alright, Colac," she agreed. "Alright."

"It's time to go, isn't it?" asked Luke softly. Tiv nodded.

"It is."

The boys hugged their masters and exchanged a few half-hearted jokes with Boba, who clapped them each on the shoulder in farewell. They shared similar goodbyes with Padmé, Jar Jar, Qui-Gon, and Taun We. Bowing to the others, they went and stood by the couch, waiting.

Obi and Qui both hugged their respective 'masters', and Leia gave her own goodbyes to her new friends.

Tiv was surprised to find that when she went to say goodbye to Padmé, Jar Jar, and Taun We, they each had a hug for her.

Boba gave her a clap on the back and muttered 'Bye, Tic," in a quiet, depressed voice. Trying to smile, Tiv corrected him with her customary "It's Tiv!" Nobody was surprised to hear less annoyance in her voice than any of the other times.

Anakin patter her shoulder and muttered some uncharacteristic goodbye. Obi-Wan ruffled her hair and said something that nobody really paid any attention to, probably including Obi-Wan himself.

Tiv bowed to Dooku, Windu, and Yoda, who each had something kind to say.

Qui-Gon hugged his apprentice affectionately. "Goodbye, Tiv," he said, sounding older than Tiv had ever heard him.

Tiv forced herself to smile for her master. "Trust in the Force, Master," she told him. "We'll see each other again."

Hoping that she was right and trying desperately to believe her, Qui-Gon let his apprentice go.

Luke, Ani, Obi, Qui, Leia and Colac gathered in a tight circle around Tiv, blocking her from the onlookers' view.

There was no noise, no bright flashes of light, no smoke. With no fanfare, they disappeared from their friends' lives forever.

Later that day, reports came in from all over the Temple that everything that had ever belonged to those who left had disappeared without a trace.

But, as Qui-Gon would point out, they still had their memories.

Besides, Tassel and Berry, Tiv's two kittens, had stayed.

Luke and Ani were commemorated by the fact that Mace Windu's speeder never really worked properly again.

Padmé found some hidden candy in Colac and Leia's rooms.

And although nobody was sure whose voice it was whispering after their friends' departure, everyone agreed on what they said.

"Goodbye."

And so it ends. Boy, that was sappy. Anyone up for a third? And, to anyone who reviewed and commented on the slight… abundance of my characters, I had actually planned this end before reading your reviews, so if you don't like it, it wasn't your fault.

Wow. 103 pages. Anyway, if I do a third in the series, I plan to finish it before starting to post. And maybe see the movies again, since I haven't seen them in ages. That probably did not help my updating speed… sorry if I was a little slow a couple of times.

By the way, the lyrics that Tiv remembers belong to Coldplay, I do not own any of their songs. Not even a measly CD. But they're good. I just so happened to be listening to their song The Scientist while writing this, and it suddenly seemed to fit very well.

Hope you liked it. Please review this final chapter.

The End.