So, forgive me for taking so long, I have to get back into my routine after that long break over the holidays. Still, I should tell you I believe that this book is going to end up decently long. Possibly longer than anything I've ever done before.

If I pace it right anyway.

Anyway! Back to business. I'm ecstatic that you guys are so enthusiastic about this story! Once more, I didn't expect it to get so much attention. And to those of you who asked, our Star Wars trio might be on Earth a little longer than they would like to be.

But not ridiculously long, I swear, I'm not going to be that kind of writer haha. I will not overkill/over-exaggerate/whatever-word-fits-the-bill being stuck on Earth, I promise.

So, never forget to review, I love all this feedback!

Enjoyyyyy!


By the time that the three Star Wars characters returned Aria was lying on her bed, pouring over one of her Star Wars books. It was a rather intense scene in Inferno, with Luke and his niece Jaina flying in the air in an attempt to stop his nephew Jacen from doing more harm. It had her riveted in place, especially since, while reading this, she knew that the Star Wars universe was real.

Anakin sat down in the papasan chair across from her bed, reclining in the chair while he watched her closely for several moments. "Whatcha reading?"

"Hmm?" Aria asked before his question registered in her mind. "Oh, uh, Legacy of the Force: Inferno. Sorry, it's a really intense air battle right now…" she mumbled, sitting up but still reading.

"Who's winning?" Anakin asked.

"I'm not sure right now…I'd love to say Luke and his niece Jaina, but his nephew Jacen keeps evading them just barely."

"His nephew? Why's he battling his nephew?" Padme asked incredulously.

"Because his wonderful nephew has joined the dark side and is currently attempting to burn Kashyyyk to the ground," Aria muttered, her brow furrowing further and further in worry.

Obi-Wan, who had been standing with his arms folded over his chest, straightened, hands dropping to rest on his hips with a frown. Anakin's eyebrow raised in evident surprise, but Aria kept on reading. Something serious was about to happen, she could tell by the way this specific part was written. It was building up to something, she just didn't know…

Suddenly she bolted straight up, shock rushing through her. "No! No, no, no, no, no!"

"What?" the other three all asked, startled by her outburst.

"That did not just happen! I don't believe it! Who the kriff wrote this karking book? What the—Blast it! No!" Aria continued to cry out, flipping over the book to see who she needed to put at the top of her 'I hate you' list.

"What just happened?" Anakin asked sharply, losing his patience. Aria had forgotten in the moment he hated not knowing what was going on.

"Um…Jaina just…fired at Jacen but Jacen pulled up at the last minute and she hit Luke dead on and his ship went up in flames…oh my Force Jaina just killed Luke Skywalker…oh my Force, why do these authors do this to me?"

"Wait, what? You just read Luke's death?" Anakin asked, obviously unnerved.

"Yes I did. Unless I'm lucky and it's all just a trick…though I can't see how…but if anyone can find a way out of that surely Luke can," Aria muttered, more to herself than the others as she devoured the words on the pages, rapidly flipping pages. "Maybe he got out somehow, I don't know…I need to read more," she muttered.

"Well then by all means, read on. Tell us what happens when you figure it out," Obi-Wan said instantly, giving Anakin a pointed look before he could interrupt.

"Of course, this is…wow," Aria breathed out, before uttering a groan, stretching out on her stomach and starting to chew on one of her fingernails nervousness as she continued to read.

"Now what?" Anakin asked, leaning forward.

"Jacen is holding Luke's son Ben captive and torturing him right now trying to turn him to the dark side. Why is it always Luke and his family that ends up in the middle of the worst stuff?" she groaned, shifting uncomfortably. The fact that she was telling Anakin what (at the moment) would happen to his descendants was not lost on her, nor anyone else in the room it seemed, as they all took a deep breath and leaned forward.

"Jedi aren't allowed to have attachments, what do you mean family?" Obi-Wan finally asked warily, apparently deciding to try and get answers out of Aria while she wasn't paying full attention.

"Different Order, different rules. The Jedi have evolved in the many years that have passed. In Luke's Order, families are allowed."

"Luke's Order?" Anakin asked, seeming a little thrown off.

"Yeah, Luke's the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order; has been for quite a while by now…hopefully he's still alive," she muttered.

Anakin was dazed and offered no more questions, trying to register what she had told him.

After a few more moments of silence, a grin suddenly erupted across her face and she sat up straight, startling everyone. "I knew it!" she shouted triumphantly.

"What, what did you know?" Anakin asked, eager to hear what had her change in mood.

"Luke is alive. Sneaky little bugger masked his presence from everyone but Ben, and when Jacen wasn't cutting Ben off from the Force anywhere, Ben could sense Luke as he infiltrated the ship all the way to when he entered the room. Cue smackdown between Uncle and Nephew," she said with a smirk. She glanced up at them and hesitated. "But…it can wait till later…I'm getting ahead of myself with this," she muttered, placing her bookmark back into the book and setting the book aside. Anakin seemed to actually pout, almost getting a chuckle out of her.

"Come on, it was just getting to the good part," he complained.

"I'm sure, considering there's a few more books in this series, that Luke will win…but Jacen will escape. I'll read it another time and tell you," she assured him.

Anakin scowled but nodded. "All right…so what now? Are you going to show us those clips of Luke you promised?"

Aria smiled a little. "I didn't promise, but I will show you…" she trailed off, staring out her window before her smile grew into a grin. "…show you after dinner. First: you get to meet my father."

Anakin cocked an eyebrow, and she could imagine what he was thinking. After he met her mother, of course he would assume her father wouldn't be much better. But he was; he was much different, the exact opposite even. She chuckled.

"Come on, he just pulled in the driveway," she said cheerily, already maneuvering her way out of the room.

"From one place to the next it seems, though at least we're getting some answers," Obi-Wan murmured, causing Aria to chuckle as she raced down the stairs.


Anakin heard the front door open just moments before Aria entered the kitchen, and she was quick to close the rest of the distance between them. "Daddy!"

The man laughed, his deep voice rumbling in his chest as he picked her up and effortlessly slung the sixteen year old over his shoulder, causing her to squeal. "What are you doing trying to sneak up on me?" he chuckled.

"Dad, put me down!" she shrieked, laughing.

The man's hazel eyes sparkled as he put down the duffle bag in his hand instead of his daughter, flashing a wide smile and running a slightly dirty hand over his short blonde hair before he grabbed her with the free hand to steady her. "I don't know, maybe I want to carry you around all day."

"Daddy! We have company, put me down!" she laughed, kicking. The man avoided her feet easily, laughing again.

"I guess I'll have to go see them then; come on!" he chuckled, walking forward as she tried unsuccessfully to wiggle away. Anakin backed up to get out of his way and retreat back into the living room with Obi-Wan and Padme. The man's footsteps came to a halt in the doorway as he took in the three, finally setting Aria down as he studied the trio with a surprised expression on his face.

Anakin didn't miss the fact that his gaze lingered on Anakin several moments longer than the other two, and even with a much more warily edge than when he'd looked at Obi-Wan. It made him uncomfortable, seeing as it was the second time that had happened. So, Anakin focused on studying the man instead to draw his mind away from the scrutiny he was currently under.

There was a military feel about the man who stood only a head taller than Aria, a war-weary look in his eyes. His boots were polished, and he held himself like a soldier, a warrior. His muscular build helped lean Anakin further to the assumption that Aria's father was a soldier; his very stance and manner suggested it.

The man finally spoke. "I believe there's some explaining to do here Aria," the man said softly; much differently than Selina had spoken.

"Dad…this is—and I'm not joking, I swear—Padme Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and…Anakin Skywalker," Aria said, hesitating before introducing Anakin just slightly. "Guys…this is my father, Alaric Neads."

There was a heartbeat of awkward silence before Anakin stepped forward, reaching out to shake the man's hand and break the uncomfortable tension that was thick in the air. "Pleased to meet you," Anakin said, his voice firm and polite to his pride.

Alaric had a strong grip, and met Anakin's piercing blue eyes with a sharp gaze of his own. "Same to you," he said, his voice equally as firm and polite. "Though I believe…Aria, are they wearing your clothes?"

Aria blushed. "Well…they sort of appeared in my room last night, and I couldn't have them running around in tunics and tabards and such, and I had to work with what I had…"

Alaric chuckled. "I'll fix you two up with something other than my teenage daughter's clothes."

Selina, who had apparently been listening from the other room, suddenly appeared, looking as if she was on the war path. "You don't seriously mean what I think you do Alaric? We hardly have enough for ourselves—"

"Well we can't just necessarily throw them out to the world. We can't even give them enough to send them on their way; they'd get eaten alive by people who thought they were the actors, and then the actors would be proclaiming they're the real people, and the entire thing would be one huge mess. Besides, I'm not about to turn away someone in need when I can help them," Alaric told her softly before turning back to the three. "We can set up the air mattresses for two of you, though I don't know what we'll do for the third—"

"I already took care of it Daddy," Aria said quickly. "They showed up last night and slept on the floor, though Padme slept on one of my mattresses. We just need to set up the two air mattresses and they'll be set because I already gave them the pillows and blankets."

Obi-Wan nodded. "We're grateful for your family's generosity Mr. Neads, truly."

Alaric smiled, shaking his head. "Just call me Alaric. And it's just something any decent person would do. Though Aria, I do expect a full explanation," he added, glancing at her.

"Of course," Aria said with a smile.

"So…" Alaric started, turning back to them again. "How much has she told you three?"

"We're aware that our lives are movies, though she's only showed us the first one and nothing else," Obi-Wan started. Anakin cut in.

"And she's been telling us about a Luke Skywalker. She was before you arrived."

"Has she?" Alaric said, cocking an eyebrow as he turned to her. Aria blushed.

"Minus a few key points," she muttered. "I was going to show them some clips from The Empire Strikes Back of Luke on Dagobah."

"I see," Alaric said, seeming satisfied. Anakin, however, felt a pang of annoyance. He should have known she was giving them an edited story.

Then again, at this rate, he was coming to expect only half truths from her.

"Well, you go get your laptop. All the technical stuff we can discuss over dinner with the entire family."

"All right," Aria said, already headed for the stairs. She seemed to be an entirely different person whenever her father was around. It was kind of refreshing instead of all the lingering doom and gloom that could surround her at times.

Alaric sat down in one of the chairs, gesturing for the other three to take a seat on the couch. "So tell me; what was happening before you came here?"

Once more, the three of them told their brief story, and Alaric listened patiently and without interruption. Hoping that perhaps he would get some different results with him, Anakin decided to voice some of his questions.

"Do you know why Aria won't let us near this book that I stumbled across? It's something about a Darth Vader…" he asked curiously, watching Alaric's reaction.

Like a true soldier, Alaric didn't seem fazed, giving nothing away. "Probably because it brushes over some rather important moments in your lives and it would be wise to keep your futures a secret. Knowledge can be a dangerous thing."

Anakin scowled, though—of course—Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. The questions ended there though when Aria bounded down the stairs, laptop in hand.

"I can't wait to show you these; Luke was only twenty-two here, it'd been three years since he'd found out his heritage," she chattered.

Even though he still wanted answers for his own future, Anakin couldn't help but be curious to learn more about this Luke Skywalker; the Force even egged it on, seeming to encourage him to give to his curiosity. And so, instead of trying to coax more answers out of her about his own future, he sat back to learn more about his descendant, scooting over on the couch so that she could sit next to him.

At least it was still answers.

Even if they weren't to the questions he was asking.