A/N: Sorry about the wait, people! IRL caught up to me, then I started streaming (my twitch channel is CoGDork, and I stream Thursdays and Saturdays; go check it out if you have the time), and then Smash Bros took up the rest of the time.

Disney owns Star Wars. Bow down to their imperial might while you still can.

Anakin dropped to his knees, looking out the window of the former Chancellor's office with an unreadable expression; Obi-Wan, sensing the inner turmoil from his former padawan, knelt beside him with a sorrowful face.

"Anakin... I'm so sorry. I know you respected him..."

The chosen one shook his head. "I still can't believe how blind I was, Obi-Wan. Some part of me still wants to believe that it wasn't really him, that it was an impostor, that the man I saw as a father—the only father I ever really had—wasn't just a lie; Force, I can't bring myself to toss the good memories of him away, even now."

A long silence passed between the two; after a while, Anakin sighed deeply and continued speaking.

"But the worst thing is that some part of me is still mourning him. Even after everything that he did, everything he would have done... everything that I would have done..."

A look of surprise crossed Kenobi's face as Anakin gave a wry chuckle. "It happened not long after he revealed himself to me, when he said he could feel my anger; the Force showed me everything. Everything that would have happened, everything that Kevin knows would have happened: my fall, the rebellion, Luke and Leia, your death, Yoda... and my end. It all rushed by so quickly, but at the same time it didn't leave anything out. The thought that I would turn into... that... I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust myself again, not completely. If I had that much darkness inside me all along that I could do those things—"

Obi-Wan placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder, cutting him off. "Don't. That was another you entirely; those crimes were not committed in this world, nor will they ever be. You won't fall to the Dark Side, Anakin; we won't let you. Kevin, Ahsoka, Padme... and myself. We will never abandon you, nor let the darkness take you."

"Thank you. That... that means a lot to me. More than you realize," he replied. "And now that I know that for sure... I think I'll be okay; even if the Order excommunicates me, I think I'll be okay from now on. To be honest, I'm more worried about whether or not I can grow up enough to be a decent father by the time the twins are born than I am about what the council might do."

Kenobi looked over the city towards the Jedi Temple. "I wouldn't worry about the Council anyway, Anakin; something tells me that things will be different in the Order, and for the better—"

A sudden silence came over the elder Jedi; Anakin didn't need to ask what the source of it was, instead giving a friendly smile. "Let's get out of here already, Obi-Wan; our padawans are probably having fits worrying over us."

I had a lot to explain to the Council very quickly, but them already knowing about most of it made it a lot easier. As Ahsoka and I rushed toward the shuttle to the Negotiator to face the final battle, a speeder arrived with two familiar faces; one in particular caused a welling up of emotion that I didn't expect, and I'm not entirely sure it wasn't mutual.

"Kevin!"

"Master Obi-Wan!"

And no, I am absolutely not too proud to admit that I sort of tackle-glomped him; thankfully, the hug was returned, though Master Skywalker ruffling my hair felt a little bit awkward, as did Ahsoka's natural teasing reaction.

"Well, now I wish I had my datapad—this would have been a perfect moment for a holo!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," I said, before remembering the whole 'crisis' thing. "Master Obi-Wan, the reunion will have to wait. We need to assemble a fleet and head straight for Serenno, now!"

"Wait, why Seren—Of course. Dooku," Master Obi-Wan said, the puzzled expression quickly disappearing. "But why now? What have you discovered?"

"He knows, Master. He knows about my world, he's got tech that can open a portal there, and he's getting ready to take a fleet to invade! Master, Earth doesn't have anywhere near the tech level the Galaxy has; we have to move now!"

Anakin took in the constant movement around us. "Judging from all this activity, I'd say the sentiment is shared by the rest of the Order. But something tells me we're going to need a fleet of our own, and getting one together on short notice is going to be a problem—"

"Not necessarily, Anakin," Master Obi-Wan said, giving his patented 'I have a plan' smirk. "I put a bit of a contingency plan into motion in the event we failed to stop Palpatine; I contacted Satine and a number of other trustworthy figures last night and told them about his plot. Considering that the Neutral Systems already had a fleet prepared in the event that they had to defend their neutrality by force, they should have had plenty of time to muster it by now—and the plan called for them to help escort the Negotiator safely to the Outer Rim. Once we join up with them—as we were planning to anyway—we can simply inform them of the new target."

Remembering something else, I spoke up again. "Master Obi-Wan, there's one more thing I learned... it has to do with why the Force brought me here. It's about what I have to do once we get to Serenno."

There was a pause, and I decided to continue. "I found out that I wasn't the only one from my world that was awakened to the Force; someone I knew there has it too, and somehow Dooku got his claws into him. I saw a vision, and... well, according to that vision, I'm the one who has to face this guy personally. Alone."

"Kevin, visions can be misleading," Master Skywalker said nervously. "I know that now more than ever."

"I know, but this is the way it's supposed to happen—I can feel it. The Force intended for this to happen from the start; I don't know exactly how it will unfold, and I don't know precisely how to bring it about. All I can do is trust that the Force will tell me how to act when the time comes."

Another pause occurred; this one lasted a little longer, broken by a smile from Master Obi-Wan. "Well then, let's not keep the Force waiting; we have a battle to attend, and one final Sith to defeat."

The Sith Lord in question was feeling more pressured than he had been in years; he was already aware of Sidious' defeat, having felt it all the way across the Galaxy. The Republic would almost certainly be coming for him soon, and every minute he could use to gather more ships to his fleet was vital, even now that the portal device on his flagship had been installed. Frowning, he ran the scenario through his head one more time:

At the current rate of arrival of our ships to this mustering point, taking into account the distance from here to the Core, as well as the likely size of the Republic fleet... by the time the Republic fleet arrives, we should have the greater number of ships—but only just so. It wouldn't translate to any sort of numerical advantage, he mused. In spite of that analysis, however, Dooku smiled. But by then, I will already have plenty of ships with which to conquer Earth, and the rest can simply play the role of sacrificial nerf while the portal drive charges up—and that shouldn't take more than a few minutes itself, which is more than enough time to hold the Republic fleet off; their only chance to stop me would be for a team to board this ship, and even if they were to do that, I've taken measures to ensure that any attempt to shut down the portal drive or disable my ship's defenses would be doomed to failure.

His smile grew wider. The Jedi were too late; he had already won. The game of dejariik was over, and now all that was left was to demonstrate that fact to the Galaxy at large.

A few hours later, the Republic fleet arrived, just as Dooku predicted; immediately ordering the bulk of his fleet into defensive formations around his invasion force, he transmitted orders to the Portal Drive deck to begin charging the device. His cool was undisturbed, even when the ship's systems alerted him to a small assault transport boarding; instead, he simply turned to his apprentice. "Darth Iudex... dispose of them."

"As you wish, Master."

Ahsoka and I directed the clone troopers to hold the docking bay as we fought through several weak battle droid units toward the elevators.

"Kevin, are you sure about this? R2 here can handle the technical stuff just fine," Ahsoka said, gesturing to the iconic blue astromech droid, who whistled worriedly. "And besides, this guy you know... he's fallen to the Dark Side. All the masters have said that once that happens, it's over..."

I shook my head. "We stick to the plan, Ahsoka. As for Marsh... you're wrong. The Dark Side isn't forever; I know I can reach him somehow. Trust me."

She nodded with a serious expression as she and R2 ran off to one of the elevators do their part. "Alright then. Just do me a favor and don't die, okay?"

I responded with a simple wave as I got on a different elevator, headed for the bridge deck; closing my eyes and reaching out with the Force, I noticed that the ship only had a few battle droids on it, the only real threat on the bridge deck standing between me and Dooku being Marsh himself. I could sense the darkness in him already... but I could also sense light, just barely flickering in the shadow. I sucked in a deep breath as the elevator slowed to a stop, stepping off the elevator as soon as the doors opened.

"Caller... somehow, I knew it would be you."

Staring down the corridor at me was none other than Marshall Dalton himself, dressed in black robes with a black hood and wielding a red lightsaber; the most striking thing about him, though, was the sight of the signature orange-red eyes of a Dark Side user. The bitterness in his voice only added to the effect.

"Marsh—"

"DON'T. Use that name; I am Darth Iudex. Dalton," he said with a disgusted sneer, "Was the name of that fucker who Marshall was stupid enough to call a father. I refuse to acknowledge that man in any way—and as for Marsh, he was a weakling who didn't have the guts to make the bastard pay for all the shit he did!"

I looked at him for a while before responding. "You're wrong. I don't know exactly what happened with your dad, but this isn't going to solve anything... Marsh."

"I SAID DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

The sudden assault came so quickly that I barely had time to turn on my lightsaber before he took my head off; in less than a second, he had launched himself across the corridor and was in my face, a snarl on his features as he unleashed his rage on me. It was clear right off the bat that he was nothing short of a natural with a lightsaber, and having been personally trained by one of the greatest masters of Form II who ever lived didn't hurt; thankfully, I had been trained by one of the finest duelists ever as well, and was able to fend off the assault as I considered how best to reach him.

"Tell me, then, Darth Iudex, why'd you sign up with Dooku? Don't you realize that he's just using you for his own ends?"

"Spoken like a Jedi. Stupid and naive, just like he said!"

Marsh didn't let up for even a second with his offense, sending out a telekinetic wave that nearly knocked me flat before I recovered. He continued his rant as he drove me back further: "Earth is broken. People like Gregory Dalton are everywhere, doing whatever they want to whoever they want, and worst of all, even when people KNOW something is wrong, they don't fucking do anything about it! They'd rather pretend everything is fine than lift a finger to fix the problem! You honestly think a world like that is going to change on its own?!"

He finally managed to hit me with a sudden punch to the gut, forcing me to leap back and put distance between us again to avoid instant death. "Oof... Marsh, nothing changes on its own. But trying to shove that change down peoples' throats isn't going to work!"

"See?! You're the same as everyone else! It's all about 'protecting free will' or 'freedom of speech' or some shit like that that people use to justify doing NOTHING! They'll never learn unless someone beats them over the head with the point again and again, until they learn... or they're DEAD!"

Another rapid assault, the tip of his lightsaber missing me by a fraction of an inch at times; the only thing keeping me alive was my calm, passive defense, allowing the Force to flow through me and guide my actions. "That's not how it works, Marsh—and you're wrong about that first part! It's got nothing to do with protecting free will or free speech; you force it down their throats, they'll only learn to hide it better! Once the fear of punishment is gone—and eventually, they'll hate you more than they fear punishment—they'll snap right back to that behavior, and nothing will be any different than before except innocent people will suffer right along with the guilty! You have to make the world want to change, but more than that, they need to believe it can change!"

A flicker of light grew stronger inside him for a brief moment before his range shoved it down again; somehow, I was reaching him, but he still didn't want to hear it.

"Shut up! What do you know about any of this? They'll never 'believe' it can change, because they know it's impossible!"

"LOOK WHERE WE ARE, MARSH!"

There was a pause in his offense, just long enough for me to back away; to my surprise, he didn't immediately pursue, instead standing in shock as I continued.

"We're in another universe, fighting with lightsabers, USING THE FORCE. How the hell does 'impossible' exist anymore? The Force exists on Earth now, too; there are going to be more and more people sensitive to it, and as that happens it'll become harder and harder to ignore that everything has already changed. We just have to show them how to use that change to fix things!"

He shook his head, pointing his lightsaber at me threateningly. "Wh-what's with this 'we' shit? You're wrong! You're trying to trick me! You're trying to distract me so you can kill me and stop me from doing what has to be done!"

I sighed deeply. So that's how it's going to be... "Fine. You want me to prove otherwise?" I turned off my lightsaber and tossed it aside, leaving myself defenseless. "We weren't awakened to the Force by accident, Marsh; we were both meant to do something greater. We can fix Earth together, but by teaching and inspiring, not with death and destruction. If you still believe that's impossible, then you should just kill me right now; I won't even lift a finger to stop you. But if there's even one small part of you... even a fraction of you, that still thinks there's hope... then help me."

The resulting silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity; finally, with an angry roar, he charged me.

Marsh...

He closed the distance.

I know some part of you heard me.

His lightsaber swung back in preparation for a killing blow.

Please, just listen...

I closed my eyes at the last second, only to experience a strong punch connecting with my jaw and sending me to the floor; rubbing the injury, I looked up to see that Marsh had turned off his lightsaber at the last second... and was crying.

"Dammit... damn you... damn it all."

Smiling, I stood back up and called my lightsaber back into my hand.

"How... how did you know I wouldn't do it?"

"I didn't. I just trusted you."

A dry chuckle escaped his lips as the tears continued. "Heh... trust... I beat the hell out of you daily. Why would you trust me?"

"Like I said before, we're meant for something greater. Marsh... I saw a vision. Remember how I said the Force exists on Earth now, and that some people are going to awaken to it over time? Well, as that happens, there's going to be a need for some group to help guide those people... and to serve as an example for the rest of the planet."

He looked up to me in shock; I smiled back. "That's right, Marsh; a new Jedi Order, on Earth. We're supposed to help start it up. With the Force, we'll be able to do the impossible right in front of people; we'll be able to protect the innocent in ways no one else could before, and through that we'll show them that nothing is impossible. Once they see that, they won't be afraid anymore; they'll believe the world can change, and we can show them how."

As my words sank in, he lowered his head for a few moments before speaking calmly. "Dooku... you won't be able to shut off the portal drive. He set up the bridge so that he can run the ship all on his own, all on one control panel; the controls have a genetic lock on them that only he can override, and there are a billion and one anti-hacking defenses. He didn't trust anyone but himself to run his ship... not even me."

"I figured as much," I replied. "Fortunately, there are other ways of dealing with that problem, but right now I still need to keep Dooku's attention for it to work."

His eyes widened in shock as he realized what it was I was about to suggest. "You'll never survive him alone, Kevin—he'd kill you in a heartbeat."

"Who said anything about facing him alone, Marsh? Come on—if we're going to team up eventually, we might as well start now!"

"Hmph. Pitiful," Dooku said, turning to see Caller and his own apprentice standing side-by-side behind him on the bridge. "You hold such promise, Darth Iudex, and yet you abandon our cause—your cause—because of foolish sentiment? I thought you stronger than that."

The apprentice in question glared at him. "You found me at my lowest point, and you used that to control me. You used me."

"Of course I did. But tell me, did I deceive you? Did I ever say that such was not the case? You were a tool, Iudex, but a tool for a greater purpose. You can still be a part of it..."

"That's where you're wrong, Dooku," Kenobi's damnable padawan interjected. "Your 'greater purpose' is a lie, whether you realize it or not. And we're not going to let you spread it!"

Caller reached out his hands and pulled several viewscreens above and behind the Sith Lord off their mountings, sending them crashing towards him; Dooku dodged them with ease, landing gracefully a few feet away. Amateur. As if I couldn't see through a simple trick like that one...

"Come at me, then, if you seek to join the Force. But do not think that I have any issue with killing children."

Iudex still holds on to some of his anger, and his heart is still torn; he may yet be salvageable, but I will have to play it carefully.

The pair charged him, their inexperience showing as he easily deflected their attacks, responding with quick light cuts just deep enough to cause pain and drive home their impotence relative to him; to their credit, they did not give up, and even began to show creativity—Iudex in particular showed clever initiative with an attempted lightsaber throw that missed its target completely. It soon became tedious, however, and Dooku decided to end things quickly, downing Kevin with a light cut to the thigh and shoving Iudex back against the wall.

"Amusing. Did you truly think you could deceive me? I know perfectly well that togruta girl is on this ship, and that she ran toward the hyperdrive reactor immediately upon landing with you, clearly trying in vain to find some method of sabotage; a useless gesture. The only controls are right here in this room, and the core is protected with several layers of ray shielding against any physical destruction she could hope to unleash upon it. Your so-called 'plan' to stop this ship was doomed to failure from the start, young Caller. As for you, Darth Iudex," He said, turning towards his wayward apprentice, "I know you still have yet to abandon my teachings; this is your opportunity to prove your resolve, to demonstrate that you are willing to do what must be done for the greater good. Caller attempted to deceive you, to grant you false hope, and now he seeks to stop you from your destiny; kill him now, and remove the last obstacle towards our victory!"

To his mild surprise, the response was a clear refusal. "No. I won't. I'm not your pawn anymore, master."

"Oh, and by the way," Caller said with a smirk, "You were wrong about our plan; she's not the only one who came with us. And who said anything about stopping the ship?"

Dooku's eyes widened as he whipped around to see the control panels and viewscreens destroyed; in a moment, it dawned on him. That opening move wasn't an attack. It was meant to destroy the viewscreens and keep me from seeing the readouts, to keep me from seeing what the real sabotage was—

His surprise turned to shock as he realized the true target. The Portal Drive! It isn't protected like the reactor core... because I rushed its construction!

Before he could completely process or question who it was that must have hidden from him long enough to sabotage the portal drive, the answer swooped by the viewport in a transport; as it zoomed around to connect to the emergency docking hatch, he caught a glimpse of a familiar blue droid that he had seen at the side of Anakin Skywalker many times before. The airlock opened to reveal Ahsoka Tano, with Iudex grabbing Caller and leaping into it before boarding the transport... which immediately fired upon the hatch, rendering it useless.

Without a moment to spare, Dooku attempted to call up the status of the portal drive on one of the smaller screens on the main control panel... only to see that the stabilization matrix had been short-circuited; in mere moments, the ship would spawn an unstable portal that would tear it apart.

To his credit, Dooku did not react with fear, or rage, or denial; seeing his impending death, he chuckled quietly to himself, recalling every event that had led him to this point.

"Perhaps I was wrong, after all."

The blinding light and heat ended all subsequent thought; as he passed from the mortal coil, he could have sworn he saw Qui-Gon waiting for him...

Next up, the epilogue. Read and review!