This is the last chapter to this story. It's a bit odd, but I decided to end it while I could. Sorry 'bout that. Check my profile if you want to know more.

Declaimer: I do not own Star Wars and am not making any money off of this fanfiction.

NINE

A cloaked figure made its way warily around the rocky entrance of the un-named cave, keeping its senses on high alert; one never knew what to expect. The being hesitated and glanced at the scenery: the small sun of the planet was sinking slowly below the horizon, its eerie, bloodless lighting casting infirm shadows across the diseased landscape in morbid pools of darkness. After a last look at the surrounding land, the being disappeared inside of the cavern.

The cave had very little dissimilarity from the planet's skin, being cadaverous and pallid. The air was stale and thick like the breath of a beast, and the rock was as slimy as a Hut's tongue.

The figure crept silently through the winding halls and chambers, carefully to keep to the wall and avoid anything that looked even remotely alive. Eventually the being arrived at its destination: a small room in the heart of the cave that had belonged to someone it had known. The door to the room was old, battered, and had to be opened with a handle instead of a button. It creaked with age, but not use, when the figure opened it.

Inside was humble and small, containing only a small bedroll, an empty sack, a few pieces of junk, and a datapad. Closing the door behind it, the figure quickly stepped over to the datapad and lifted it from the dust. It was locked. It didn't matter. Within seconds the code was sliced and the contents of the machine were in front of the being.

Last Record of Emlyn Devender.

Date: Unknown.

Time: Unknown.

Whereabouts: Presumably western area of the Unknown Regions, though unconfirmed.

As you can see from the stats above, there is little I can say about how things are now, even how long they took to end the way they did. I don't know exactly how they got to be the way they are, but certain events didn't turn out the way I wanted or expected them to, my life being the main one.

I remember when I was very small how my mother would tell me stories of heroes and their adventures. I wanted to be one of them, to have my name told in epic tales that capture the interest of children and adults alike. It was my childhood fantasy, and when I grew, it was my secret dream. I was foolish, and did not realize that acts of heroism cost so much. I am not a hero, but even acts that come close to being heroic take their toll. Many small things over a great deal of time build up until it counts as a large one as far as cost. I do not recall everything I have done, courtesy of my fading memory. At my age and in my situation, that's a bad thing to have. I don 't remember much of anything, but there are a few things that even the Sith can't make me forget.

I remember the day I was captured by Jobba, and how my friends and I escaped. I remember that we found Revan, and that she saved us. She had given birth to a baby girl just a week or so before getting captured. I even know how we escaped: through the ventilation and then on a smuggler's ship. That was an interesting ride, what with all the carnivorous beasts being shipped; cages have their good uses as well as their bad, if you catch my drift. They didn't do much for the smell, though.

After we escaped with Revan, she told us that she had to leave again, that there were things she had had to leave undone when she left the Unkown Regions. She had to stop them at once, or the galaxy would once again be in immediate mortal peril. I told her about the Valley of the Jedi. She knew about already and told me that it was not the right time to tell the Council: they weren't ready.

We warned the Republic about the impending Sith attack from the Unknown Regions. Revan advised me not to tell them everything about the attack: there are some things people just won't understand. Even I didn't understand it fully, and it has been done to me. How do you tell someone that there are ways of having your very being linked with something evil in a way that will vitiate your very self? And that after it is done, you will not mind? That there isn't a way back from it, or to prevent it, but that those thought will no longer concern you? I cannot put into words how it is done; I have lost that ability, and many more. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Carth Onasi couldn't remove the warrant for Mackenzie, Cole, or my arrest, nor could he erase the bounties on our heads, leaving us with very limited options. The Republic was willing to clear Dustil provided Carth be responsible if it turned out his son was really against the Republic. Carth didn't know the rest of us well enough to vouch for us, and Dustil, who did know us, wasn't trusted. Even Revan didn't have much of an effect on the Senate's verdict.

We couldn't get enough evidence against Sholdan. We didn't stop him, and I don't know why. Were we unable? I don't remember anymore… But he won. The Republic is in danger, and we couldn't stop it. That does things to a person that nothing else can do. We did the only thing we could: we left Republic space. We're banished now, but that doesn't matter anymore. It didn't then either, since we were gone before our banishment was official. We just can't go back.

Cole and Mackenzie married and are living on Nar Shadaa, appropriately called the Smuggler's Moon. I don't think I'll ever know what charm they see in the planet, but they love living there. I believe they're expecting a child soon. Or maybe that was last year… It's hard to tell anymore; time isn't as important out here.

Revan left soon after our trials. I think her heart was shattered the day she returned to the Regions, and sadly there won't be a time she can recover. She knew that she would not come back again, as did her husband. It was… heart wrenching to see, but such things are even worse to experience. I would know.

I wish I could have the chance to have children, watch them grow, and age until I am wrinkled, my husband by my side. I won't have that, will I? There are so many things that I cannot have, such as the rest of my life.

Dustil. I don't know where he is now. I love him, and I always will. I wish I could tell him. He found me two years after I quitted Republic space and asked me to marry him. I shouldn't have, but I did; I said yes and walked down the aisle. If I could go back, I would refuse him for his sake. He married me, he wouldn't leave me, and so he could not return to his home or his father. That's two loses for Carth Onasi. I hope his daughter is alright; she's the last thing he has outside of the Republic.

I had known subconsciously that I would have to leave, but I fought the knowledge; I loved Dustil, he loved me, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. One day the Sith came for me. I knew they would: I had broken our bargain. I had promised to keep their secret in return for Lea's life, and they promised to let me live along with her. Lea is gone, and they wanted to kill me as well. So I left again. I did it to protect Dustil, but sometime I wonder… was it the best thing to do? It doesn't matter; it is done.

The Sith caught me, hurt me, and I escaped. They changed me into something. I don't know what I am anymore, but it's not who I was. I suppose it's who I am. I don't want to be this way, but I can't change it. I can't even make myself want to change it, even if I don't like the way I am now. That's another thing that no longer matters.

I did what I could to save my galaxy, and I hope it helped. Revan – or perhaps the Exiled Jedi – will be the one to deliver us all, but it won't be me. It's odd, being on the sidelines. I always expected to be the hero, but I'm not. Almost no one will remember me, almost no one knew me, and I will not be missed. How can a shadow be missed? That's what I am, after all. Perhaps who I was will have made a ripple or two in history.

Now there is one last thing I must do before I no longer remember why it has to be done. I'm not coming back this time, but that's okay. I don't want things to stay the way they are. I hope I can do what is required of me, for everyone's sakes.

I know you'll read this sometime, and after you've finished, please send word to Dustil Onasi, son of Morgana and Carth Onasi, and tell him that no matter what I forget, he will be remembered. And you, if you are not a Jedi yet, you will be, and you need to think about the consequences of saving the galaxy. In the end, though, it won't matter what the cost is to you. As a Jedi, you'll help whether you want to or not.

That is what it means… To be a Jedi.

And that's it! I wrote this chapter in like… I don't know, but it was definitely under an hour. Sorry if it's confusing, but that's the way it's staying.

A last thank you to my readers, especially Lady Drachir and Amme for sticking with me on this story by giving me helpful reviews.

And to my sister: Interesting feedback in the review, sis. And you are not to use my computer without my knowledge… again!

Goodbye, everyone. 