See disclaimer in prologue.

Well, here's the next chapter. Finally! I am so sorry that it took me so long, you would not believe how busy you get when you are about to graduate. LOL. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Please review and let me know how it is. Thanx.

CHAPTER 7

Maya didn't trust these people she was with. She hardly touched the food the two little slaves put in front of her. She knew she wasn't supposed to even look at the slaves, but she couldn't help noticing that they were both little girls, even younger than she was.

As she moved, Maya felt the weight of Jaina's diary and lightsaber in her pocket. They were pretending nothing was wrong, but Maya knew something bad must have happened. How else could a Hutt have gotten Jaina's stuff?

Maya risked another look at the slave girls, who kept their heads down and their eyes on the floor. Their faces were veiled, but one of them looked familiar even so. Maya couldn't think of where she'd seen her before.

Miri struggled to hold on to consciousness. She couldn't quit now. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her eyes. Tenel Ka still fought to keep Kanyen held back. He was strong, but Tenel Ka fought with new determination.

Miri crawled slowly toward Jacen and Anakin. She didn't know if she could help them, but she had to try. She reached Anakin first and collapsed against him, her energy draining. She reached her hand up and felt for his pulse. There was none.

Miri sat straight up, her heart lurching. She felt for the pulse again. There. It was there, but it was fading quickly. He was dying.

"Anakin," she pleaded. "Anakin, please." She could feel him slipping slowly away from her. "No!" Her voice broke and she lowered her head onto his chest.

No…This is not happening. No! Not now. I can't lose him. I won't survive it. Her whole body began to shake violently. It felt as if the whole world was coming alive around her. I love you, Anakin. Please don't leave me! Suddenly, Miri felt as if something was unlocked inside her. She could feel everything around her. She began to almost glow with power.

The faintly blue-tinged core that was her seemed to flicker and then burned brightly. Tenel Ka's turquoise dropped alarmingly as she kept up a seemingly impossible fight. Then she dove for her lightsaber, and Miri knew she would be all right for the moment. Jacen's emerald flickered weakly, and Anakin's—

Anakin had no power.

Forgetting her newfound ability, Miri turned all her attention to her husband. She couldn't feel him. There was no pulse.

"No!" she screamed. "Don't leave me! You can't leave me!" She pounded on his chest. "Anakin!" she cried. "Please!" She clung to him, sobbing.

Suddenly, Miri felt dizzy. She was in a different place. She couldn't see anything, but she felt—Anakin!

"You're okay!" she exclaimed, and the words echoed back to her. She heard someone calling her name, but it was too far away to matter.

"You don't belong here. Go back." It was Anakin's voice.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," Miri protested. "Where are we? Where are you?"

"It is not your time. It is my destiny to go now."

"What are you talking about? Why can't I see you?" Miri cried.

"I am not leaving you. I am one with the Force, and the Force is life—so as long as you live, I will be with you." Realization dawned on her.

"But you can't die! You can't!" she cried. "I won't let you!"

"It has already happened. There is no going back."

"No!" Miri wailed. "I won't leave. I'm staying here with you!" A scene unfolded before her. Their bodies lying on the floor, lifeless. Jacen was lying near them, near death and semi-conscious. Kanyen and Tenel Ka were battling furiously, but it was obvious that Kanyen was winning.

"If you stay here, you will die. Go back."

"I don't care if I die!" Miri was nearly hysterical. "I won't leave you!"

"You must go back." Anakin's voice was sad. "If you die, everything will be lost."

"Why?" Miri asked hesitantly.

"Without your help, Tenel Ka will be defeated and killed. Kanyen will win, Miri. Unless you kill him now."

"But…I can't…"

"You can. You're not alone in this."

"W-will I ever see you again?" Miri asked tearfully.

"The Force is with you. I'll see you soon."

"What does that mean?" she whispered.

"I love you, Miri." Gentle hands pushed her toward her body. "May the Force be with you. Always."

Suddenly, Miri knew that she couldn't do it. She just couldn't let Anakin go. She grabbed at those invisible hands, desperate to bring him back with her, knowing that if only she could bring him back to his body, he might come back to life.

For a second, she thought she had them, but she couldn't see, she couldn't tell. Moving as if time had slowed, Kanyen began a motion that she knew without a doubt would be Tenel Ka's deathblow, and suddenly Miri was on her feet. She had lost her true love to this monster. She would not lose anyone else.

Jaina took a sip of water from her glass, which was immediately refilled by one of the slaves from dinner. Jaina wished she could get a good look at them, but she knew that would be a major break of etiquette. They had most of their faces covered, anyway.

Jaina was partly tuning out the negotiations. Zekk was better at it, and Jaina knew that she would only do something stupid like make Lando pay some kind of extra tax. Zekk was handling it.

Instead, Jaina reached out with the Force. She could feel her daughter somewhere in the system, close by. The urge to go to her was almost irresistible, but she couldn't do anything—yet.

Suddenly, Jaina felt a terrible yawning emptiness inside her. She jumped, knocking over her water and startling the slaves. She had felt it before. She knew what it meant.

Someone was dead.

Tahiri, Anja, and the children were outside, playing a very disorderly game of Force tag. Although Tahiri was always friendly with the children, Anja was the one that most of them, especially the boys, seemed to like best. Luc and Corrie were ganging up on her when Tahiri suddenly froze and then sank to her knees.

"Tahiri!" They all ran over, abandoning the game. "What happened?" Anja asked, peering into her friend's sea green eyes, looking for a clue.

"I felt—a disturbance in the Force," Tahiri said shakily. Were those tears in her eyes? "Something's happened to Anakin." Jad and Corrie looked to the sky as if searching for their father there.

"My dad's okay, isn't he?" Corrie asked worriedly. Tahiri simply stared at him in distress. She wanted to reassure him, tell him yes, of course his dad was all right, but she just couldn't bring herself to lie to him.

Zekk turned quickly when Jaina jumped, meeting her eyes with a questioning look. The Hutt, the slaves, Maya, and the droid all stared.

"Lady Misery?" Jaina jumped again at the sound of the little girl's voice. One of the slaves was staring at her with such joy in her pale blue eyes that they both knew who she must be. Jaina pulled off the cloth that covered most of the girl's face. Yes. It was Nova.

"Lady Misery!" she repeated, flinging herself into Jaina's arms. Jaina held the child close, standing up to face the Hutt.

"What is the meaning of this?" Varuna bellowed.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Jaina retorted. "What are you doing with my daughter?" This drew a gasp from Nova, who tightened her hold around Jaina's neck.

"That human is my slave! I've had it for years!" The poor translator droid was having trouble keeping up. Jaina handed Nova over to Zekk.

"Maya, saber," she said urgently. "Get ready to run." Maya pulled a small cylinder out of her pocket and passed it to her cousin.

"Oh, I see how it is. Filthy humans steal my personal belongings, and now you steal my slaves as well? I will not stand for this. Guards!"

"Okay, run!" The cylinder in Jaina's hands came to life as a violet energy blade shot out form one end. Drawing his own lightsaber, Zekk shifted Nova to a more protected position and started edging toward the doors just as armed guards started pouring in from the other side of the room. Maya and the other little girl were close by his side.

"Zekk, take the girls and get to the ship," Jaina said. "I'll hold them here."

"I don't think so," Zekk replied.

"Zekk, the children," Jaina stressed. Maya looked out the door.

"It's clear," she said, "But we'd better hurry." Zekk put Nova down.

"Follow me, and stay close. If anything happens, girls, get to the ship no matter what."

"No!"

In mid-swing of his weapon, Kanyen jerked his head in Miri's direction when she screamed. The lightsaber sliced through the air an inch from Tenel Ka's scaly armor. She dropped to the ground, rolled, and came up, lightsaber in hand. If Miri had allowed herself to feel anything, she would have been glad that she had distracted Kanyen enough to save Tenel Ka, at least for the time being. But she didn't feel anything because if she did…she would think of Anakin.

There was a coldness inside her, numbing everything. She would do whatever she had to. She no longer cared for her own life, and nothing else seemed to matter much more. She only knew that she would win at any cost. All her thoughts were focused into one crystallized point: Kanyen.

"So, it looks as if you're stronger than I thought," he said, smiling maliciously. "I'll just have to try harder." He made a shooing motion. Nothing happened. Miri felt a slight pressure, small enough to ignore. He tried again. Miri was pushed back a few feet, but obviously not as hard or as far as he had intended.

"You're not trying," she observed. He hadn't used a fraction of his true strength on her.

"Very well, since you're so lonely for your precious Anakin, I'll do you a favor and reunite you. Or is it your Kryz that you want?" He waved as if backhanding her from so far away, and Miri went flying.

She managed to turn so that her feet hit the wall and not her head. It left an awful dent, and it felt like her ankle was almost broken. Ignoring the pain, Miri pushed off as soon as she hit, surprised at how easy it was to flip over and actually land gracefully in front of him.

"Enough of this child's play," Kanyen snarled, bringing his lightsaber down on her head in a blow meant to cleave her in two. Thanking her old teacher for drilling quick reflexes into her, Miri grabbed his hand just in time to stop the blade. But she knew she wouldn't last long against him unarmed.

As if reading her thoughts, Tenel Ka shouted her name and threw something to her. Doing the only thing she could think of, Miri kicked Kanyen between the legs, then pushed him away and grabbed the thing out of the air.

It was a lightsaber. Anakin's.

"Wait, I have to get something."

"Nova, come back," Zekk shouted as his daughter ran into one of the many rooms. It was one of Varuna the Hutt's receiving rooms, the one they had been in when they first arrived. Nova rushed in to the table and grabbed something. It was her lightsaber, and she would need it to help them escape. She turned to leave and saw Ty standing there. He had been in there cleaning, and was now staring at her in apparent shock.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"We're running away. Want to come?"

"Sure," he said agreeably. "What did you take off the table?"

"My lightsaber," she said, activating her little white blade. "I'm a Jedi, you know. Come on!" They ran back into the hall.

"Ready?" Maya asked with a hint of sarcasm. They continued down the hall toward the Lightning Rod. Then they met the first wave of guards.

Miri stared dumbly at the lightsaber in her hands. What was she supposed to do with it? Why not use it? She thumbed the switch, watching the navy blue blade shoot up. Suddenly, she felt Anakin's comforting presence and nearly cried. He had put his heart and soul into his lightsaber, but she had never known that was meant literally as well as figuratively. With her husband seemingly standing right behind her, Miri felt that she could take on anyone.

Kanyen struggled to regain his strength after Miri's last blow. He struck out at her and Miri, somehow knowing what to do, spun around and struck him behind the head. The stench of flesh burning filled the air. He screamed in pain.

"You'll pay for that, you little fool!" he swore. He bore down on Miri with an attack even her newfound power could not withstand. Although he was severely weakened, he was still too powerful for her.

Driven back, Miri desperately blocked his furious blows. She had no chance to fight back. Just as she thought Kanyen might have a chance to win after all, his blood-red blade was stopped by—the turquoise of Tenel Ka's.

With a fierce grin, Miri shoved Kanyen away from her. Alone, she would fail, but together, they could beat him.

Maya stood in front of the two young children, shielding them as best she could with her own small power. Nova stood with her father, their lightsabers raised in nearly identical positions. It looked almost funny, in a way.

A dozen guards stood, blasters raised. One laughed, then fired his blaster at Nova. She easily deflected it back at him. It hit him just below the chin, and he fell.

"One down," Maya whispered. She could see the Lightning Rod through the open door behind the guards. If only she could get to it! She felt a tug on her sleeve.

"Is that your ship?" the boy asked.

"Yeah. Do you know a way to get to it?"

"Sure. My job is cleaning the air vents," he said. "I know how to get anywhere from here." Maya looked around until she found an air vent.

"Okay, let's go." Just then, the other guards started firing.

"Follow me," the boy said, crawling into the vent. The little girl went next, with Maya right behind her. It was a tight fit. For once, Maya was glad she was still small. She could hear blaster bolts ricocheting off the walls behind her, and hoped one didn't manage to make it into the vent. She wished she could have brought Nova, but she couldn't leave Zekk alone and that would have drawn the guards' attention. Besides, the kid had seemed to be doing pretty well.

The three children crawled down the tunnel for what seemed like forever. Finally, Maya saw a light up ahead. They picked up their pace, and all three of them seemed to tumble out into the sunshine at the same time. Her eyes watering slightly from the polluted air, Maya ran with the others toward the Lightning Rod.

"Give up, Elbakni!" Miri shouted. In reply, Kanyen charged her. Miri trapped his lightsaber, leaving an opening for Tenel Ka. She took it.

"Now you die," she said coldly.

Her lightsaber never reached its mark.

"Oh, God!" Miri moaned. "What kind of weirdo carries two lightsabers?"

Kanyen had, indeed, pulled a second lightsaber from his belt. It was identical to the other one; they were probably made by some droid.

"No one can fight with two," Tenel Ka said, backing off. Miri backed off also, following her lead. She had a feeling they were about to be proved wrong.

She was right.

Kanyen attacked. He was as good with two lightsabers as he was with one. He fought Miri with his right hand, his weaker one, a fact that angered her. Even in a life-or-death situation, her stubbornness insisted that no one could go easy on her. She fought back furiously, trading blow for blow, connecting once or twice but doing no serious damage, drawing strength from her emotions. Her anger was—

"The dark side!" Miri faltered. Had she really heard that whispering voice, or was it her imagination? She returned her attention to Kanyen, and realized what it meant. If she killed him in anger, she would be turning to the dark side of the Force. It was a lesson she had taught the children many times herself.

She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. When she opened them, her fury was gone.

"You lose," she said.

Miri felt the Force flowing through her. She knew exactly what she had to do. She knew instinctively that to spin and slash upward would finish it. She did, just as Tenel Ka made a cut toward Kanyen's ribcage.

Miri's lightsaber connected, just as she knew it would. She took his right arm, and a good portion of his shoulder and chest. Tenel Ka's lightsaber hit him just below the ribs, protruding from his back, and stuck for a moment.

Kanyen fell. Tenel Ka's blade sliced through his side as he pulled away, cutting through flesh and bone. He looked very surprised.

His two lightsabers, extinguished in mid-air, clattered to the floor.

The instant Kanyen was down, Miri's connection to the Force disappeared. She felt as if she had suddenly gone blind and deaf. She pressed the button to turn off her lightsaber, and followed Tenel Ka to where Jacen and Anakin were lying on the floor.

Jacen's bleeding had slowed. Miri ran onto the Rock Dragon to get some bandages, and helped Tenel Ka wrap them around him. He would pull through—she hoped. They carefully picked him up and carried him onto the ship, laying him down gently on one of the bunks.

Miri took a deep, shuddering breath. Now she would have to get Anakin…She slowly walked outside and knelt beside her husband. She saw him through a haze of tears, which she tried to blink away. He was still dead. He wasn't coming back. He was gone.

She collapsed on top of him, fighting the sobs that tore through her. She ignored the blood that stained her skin and clothes. She ignored everything, trying only to find some spark of life in him. There was nothing.

Why did you leave me? She wanted to scream the words, but no sound came out except for the harsh, ragged sound of her breath. How could you leave me alone?

Movement.

Miri jerked as if she had been electrocuted, sitting straight up with a gasp. She wiped furiously at her eyes, removing all traces of her tears, and stared at her husband. Had he moved?

No. As she watched, his body slowly melted away. His clothes deflated, now empty. Trembling, Miri picked them up and held them close to her face. The smell of him lingered, bringing the tears back to her eyes. She stood, clutching the pants and tunic, afraid they too might dissipate.

"You did well." Miri whirled at the sound of the voice, now shaking violently. She stared at the man standing before her, trying to think of something to say. The connection between her brain and her mouth seemed to have failed.

"Anakin?" she whispered finally. It was him. He was standing there in front of her, wearing his Jedi robes that as far as she knew he had worn only once before, when he was knighted. He was faintly blue-tinged and transparent. His edges glowed.

"Please don't cry for me," he said. "I told you I wouldn't leave you. Not forever."

"I can't let you go, Anakin," she said, her tears spilling over. "I love you too much! I never knew I could love anyone like I love you!" Anakin reached up as if to brush a tear off her cheek, but it passed through his finger to continue its course down her face.

"I know," he said simply. Miri tried to grab his arm, but her hands passed right through him.

"Till death do us part," she whispered. "Please don't go away. Don't leave me all alone."

"But you're not alone." His lips met hers in a kiss they couldn't feel, and she blinked as a new set of tears spilled out of her eyes. When she opened them again, he was gone.