"Mom, Dad!" Anakin cried, getting to his feet immediately. He could almost feel them hugging him again, as rays of pure light. He'd missed them so much. And he'd forgotten about Force Ghosts after so many Jedi failed to come back after their deaths.

"Listen, Anakin," Han began. "I'm sorry. I wanted to say that I was sorry for leaving you all alone after your brother- well, you know."

"Dad, I thought only Jedi could should up in the Force," Anakin protested.

"Why wouldn't all be able to?"

Anakin did not recognize that voice, and looked around wildly. Then, he saw a dark-haired woman in rags with a weary but gentle face appear. This face was one he'd seen whenever he was in real trouble on a mission, or even during a particularly bad nightmare.

"I was no Jedi in my lifetime, but we are all a part of the Force," Shmi Skywalker said, stepping forwards. "The Unifying Force brings us all together. As it should be."

Trembling, Anakin nodded. It made sense to him.

"The point is, I can't go back," Han said. "But we can try to make things right."

"Already working on that," Anakin said, and he winced in surprise at how cold his voice sounded. "I will make sure the galaxy doesn't have to worry about the Sith, Knights of Ren, or whoever they call themselves, again."

"Let us help," Leia said. "We want to help you."

"Well, why didn't you when you were alive?" Anakin snapped.

The ghosts were silent for a moment, and Leia in particular looked as if she'd been slapped.

"Don't you speak to your mother this way-"

"Anakin has a point," Shmi said, and Han and Leia fell silent. "You have been far away for so long, I think he has a right to be angry. As do you. You both were trying the best you could. I understand that, as a mother-believe me. But we agreed to come help Anakin."

"And my son," Mara reminded them.

"Finn should be on Hapes right now," Anakin said with a slight frown.

"He is," Mara assured him. "With Poe Dameron. I'm not worried just yet-my son's just as capable as I am-well, was."

"Good," Anakin said, not knowing what else to say. "But it's alright, I'm fine. I can handle this. I'll do exactly what you asked of me."

Leia's eyes widened.

"Son, wait-"

Suddenly, they were gone. The sky was dark with the gathering storm clouds overhead. Anakin turned around. There was no seeming source of the darkness looming overhead. Well, none except for the twisted face Anakin could make out being in the clouds. It reminded him of a monster he'd seen in his nightmares as a child.

He raised his DL-44 and his hand was clasped around his lightsaber when he heard the cry.

"Anakin!"

He whirled around again to see Tahiri running up the Jedi Steps, clearly looking afraid. Her eyes grew big as plates upon seeing the face in the storm, especially as it was gaining a spectral body.

"What did you do?" she shouted over the howling wind.

"I didn't do anything!" he shouted back, stepping back and so his body would shield hers.

Anakin then felt all the hair on the back of his neck and sensed the incoming electricity. He grabbed Tahiri's arm and pulled her close before diving with both of them to the ground. He held her close, trying to shield her from the storm.

Lightning struck again, just inches from the two Jedi crouching on the ground. Anakin and Tahiri both went flying, and the next thing he knew, he was on the grass on the other side of the island. He looked to the right to see his pistol had landed only a few feet away from him. He put it in his gunsling, and his violet blade sprang into existence.

He tapped into the Force, using it to race up the mountain at speeds beyond what he could normally do. When he reached the mountain top again, he saw Tahiri raise her lightsaber against the Force specter. With a blinding light, her aquamarine blade vanquished the malevolent Force Ghost.

The clouds repelled quickly away from the spot where Tahiri stood, as if the planet itself feared her. She was breathing heavily, just standing there and trying to catch her breath. Anakin dashed over to her, his blood pumped full of adrenaline. He placed a reassuring hand on her arm, and their eyes met.

You okay?

She nodded, clearly understanding.

"What the hells was that?" Tahiri gasped.

"Some sort of Force ghost-but it wasn't a light-side one," Anakin said, trying to check his own breathing. "You got rid of it."

"I did." She sounded a little proud of herself, and Anakin smiled. "Don't run off again, okay? Or else you'll probably raise Palpatine's Force Ghost, Force knows."

Anakin nodded, then shuddered.

"Must've been pretty powerful too, to drive light-side ghosts away."

"Light Ghosts?" Tahiri asked.

"Mom, Dad, Aunt Mara, Great-Grandmother Shmi," Anakin explained.

Tahiri nodded. "A family reunion." Her voice was sad.

Before Anakin could say anything else, he sensed an awakening in the Force, unlike anything he'd ever sensed before. Great power, both light and dark, tearing at each other in the same being.

He and Tahiri turned to see Rey come up the hill.