Good evening everybody, your Nutty Buddy has been working his ass off throughout this semester. I tried to have this done by May the Fourth, but alas, school had other plans. I wanted to make sure this chapter felt right in terms of it having that Star Wars feel, instead of rushing it. So, instead of getting it done by Star Wars Day, or Revenge of the Fifth, or Return of the Sixth, or even the Seventh Awakens (yes, I'm making it up now), I have it done on the last possible day of celebrating Star Wars, The Last Eighth.

...

Yeah, that's bad. Sorry for the delay. Here's the next chapter.

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Chapter 14: The Last Jedi

"Where did you get that?" His voice was coarse, as raspy as one who hadn't spoken to another sentient being in years. Luke Skywalker sounded older than he appeared, and he appeared pretty old. His weathered piercing blue eyes met her brown ones, a haunted countenance upon his features.

Rey blinked first as she looked up at this living legend. It was only a few days ago that she had thought him a mere myth, now here he was, along with her mother standing behind her, and yet something felt off. He had glanced over her shoulder at Mara, and instead of smiling like she'd expected him to, as she expected anyone who met their wife after Force knows how many years, he'd flinched instead. That was the first warning flag. The second was his tone. He didn't sound happy that she was here. Skywalker didn't sound angry either. He sounded… broken. Tired. Finished. Deciding to take charge, she answered the question as best she could. "Maz Kanata had it in her castle." She continued to hold the lightsaber up, offering it to Luke Skywalker, her father. "It called to me."

"You didn't have to listen to it," Luke said bitterly, turning away. He glanced back. "Can you see her?"

Rey blinked. "What?"

"Can you see that woman standing behind you?" Luke asked, convinced that the Force was taunting him now as the older Mara vision remained, looking increasingly agitated.

"Of course I can see her!" Rey said indignantly. "Why wouldn't I be able to see Mother?"

"She's dead," Luke answered, another tear slipping from his eye. It obviously pained him to say that. "Been dead for years."

Mara finally decided to speak. "I'm not dead Farmboy." She stepped forward, drawing level with Rey. "But a lot has happened since you've disappeared. Come with us back to the Ileenium system. Come back to the New Republic Luke. We need you."

Luke's face was impassive. Through the Force, Mara could sense him reach out, gently touching her mind. She didn't resist, allowing him to prod her memories. She didn't want her husband, even an alternate dimensional version of her husband, to suffer any longer. She thought back to when she first met Luke in person. Oh sure, she'd seen the holos as the Emperor's Hand, from the Empire's wanted posters to Alliance propaganda vids, but because Jabba had barred her from the Sail Barge on that fateful day, Mara hadn't met him until years later. She recalled Thrawn and Karrde and Lando and the Dark Force battle and everything that had brought her to the side of the New Republic. Curious, Luke pressed onwards through the memories, which Mara allowed. At the sight of the twins, Mara could feel Luke recoil mentally, stunned at the mere concept. Unbidden, Mara's thoughts turned to Ben, her Ben, and Luke sensed it. He got a glimpse of his son, of the Jedi that he was on his path to becoming and pulled out. Mara blinked as she found an ignited green lightsaber at her throat.

"Who are you?!" Luke Skywalker demanded, glaring at her. It hurt Mara to see her husband look at her with such distrust. The Luke she had known would've been willing to listen without bringing out his saber. Then again, she had never seen him this…hurt before. Even during the height of the Vong war, Luke had managed to maintain a bright outlook on the world. This Luke didn't seem quite so optimistic. He seemed to be in agony at the thought of having a son. Or maybe it was that it wasn't his Mara he was probing, despite the near-identical nature of their Force signatures. "What are you?!"

"What do you mean 'who are you?'" Rey interjected, moving to step between Luke and Mara. "That's Mother!"

"No it's not," Luke snapped, using his mechanical hand to hold Rey back. He glanced at her sadly as he closed down his lightsaber, replaced it on his hip, and placed his left hand on her shoulder. "Rey, I'm sorry I have to do this, but you won't see otherwise."

"What are you-" Rey began before Luke placed two mechanical fingers on Rey's forehead. Rey gasped as a barrier within her mind was removed and a flood of memories came rushing in.

Rey was a mere six years old, on a planet as green as the one as her current self was standing, but that was irrelevant. She was running, as it was chaos. The building she had fled, a temple of old, was burning. It was under attack by bad guys, that was all she knew, and her father had told her to find her mother. He was right behind her, fending off attacks from bad guys in white armor. This First Order, something Aunt Leia had been warning about for a few years now, was attacking Luke and his Jedi Order. She was sure that they were going to beat those bad guys, but her father was serious, so she had to be serious too.

"Momma!" Rey shouted, running towards the clearing where they would usually train. She wasn't working on a lightsaber yet, but she would go through the motions with Luke, imitating the training katas. She could see the black clothes of her mother in the clearing, and she was talking with cousin Ben, who was dressed in similarly dark clothing, albeit more suitable for combat than what he normally wore. Mara turned at the sound of Rey's cry, smiling reassuringly at her daughter. Ben put on a mask, much to Rey's curiosity. There was the sound of blaster fire and Rey ducked on instinct, hearing the booted footsteps of the bad guys as they approached. Several black robed figures stepped out of the trees, holding weaponry of various kinds. Rey looked up and met her mother's gaze, getting another reassuring smile before there was a snap-crackle-hiss of a lightsaber and the red blade was protruding from her mother's chest.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Rey heard the anguished scream of her father and heard another scream, the scream of a little girl. A few seconds passed before she realized it was her when she had to take a breath. Mara sank to her knees, a mixture of sadness and anger on her face, thought more regret than anything else, as the light dimmed in her green eyes. Rey tried to catch her mother as she fell forward, but couldn't support Mara's weight until Luke came. Luke held the two of them for a moment, and Rey could feel the Force pulsing with grief.

"Rey, I want you to run to the transport," her father said, his voice deadly calm. Rey had never heard him speak like that before.

"What about mother?" Rey didn't want to say the bad words.

"I'll take care of her," Luke said. "Just go. Don't look back. I'll be there as soon as I can." There was the snap-hiss of his green lightsaber as he stood up. Rey was scared, but she did as her father commanded, running, running, running, until darkness overtook her vision and she was back on the cliffside, held up by her father, who was holding the green lightsaber that was now familiar to her memory.

"Now, who are you?" Luke demanded, meeting Mara's gaze. "You look like her, you even feel like her, but you're not my Mara! Are you a clone? Some First Order experiment to seek me out?"

Mara was stung. To hear her husband throw that at her hurt. The wife part of her wanted to give Luke what for, but the Jedi Master part knew better. She had to defuse the situation quickly. Confusion permeated through the Force, from both Luke and Rey, though Rey was rapidly approaching anger. Anger at the deception, anger at being 'lied' to, but mostly anger at having thought she could be a part of a family again. "I'm not a clone, and I certainly don't have any affiliation with the First Order. I promise I'll explain everything, just put the lightsaber away."

Luke met her gaze, icy blue eyes boring into fierce green. For a moment, everyone was frozen. The three humans on top of the mountain, the only sounds being the crash of the waves down below and the caw of the white feathered birds floating lazily on the thermals above, blissfully unaware of the significance of the meeting.

"Start talking," Luke said finally, extinguishing his lightsaber. There was an edge to his voice, an edge caused by emotional pain.

Mara could practically taste it, even without using the Force. And so she began, way back at the beginning. "It all started back in the time of the Empire…"

Ileenium System, Planet D'Qar

General Leia Organa was a busy woman. With the destruction of the Hosnian system and the subsequent destruction of Starkiller Base, she had been talking almost non-stop to Senators who had been away from the Hosnian system at the time of its destruction and planetary leaders who were asking what had happened to their Senators. Populists and Centralists alike, although there were far fewer Centralists calling than Populists, probably since most of the Centralist planets were seceding from the New Republic and joining the First Order. It was the Galactic Civil War all over again, except there was no clone army from Kamino or Arkania forthcoming. Not that Leia would ever commission a clone army. War was too personal to just send clones or droids to do your own dirty work. However, these were desperate times, as the divide between the New Republic's remnants and the rising First Order meant Leia's standards were probably going to be put to the test. At least, if what a General from the Rebellion days said was true. That was where she was going to send her and one of the new Jedi Mara had brought with her, in the hopes of fostering an alliance. They were going to need all the help they could get.

"General Organa?" the voice of Dannard Noslen said as he entered the command center. The other Jedi, Katerina, was visiting Dr Cham'ra and testing her new mechanical limb. "You wanted to see me?" He looked eager to prove himself in Leia's eyes, much like Luke had been back on Hoth, when he was still idealistic about most things in the galaxy. She also noted Lieutenant Connix give him a curious glance.

"The General will brief you on your mission when the other General arrives," she told him bluntly.

"We will need allies," Leia said gently, passing a curious thought as to Connix's demeanor. Dismissing it as the stress of running the Resistance, she focused on the task at hand. "And there are plenty of people in the galaxy ready to help, provided we ask. So that is why I'm sending you to Agamar, in part to keep our envoy safe and to help get you better known within our forces."

"So who's this envoy slash general?" Dannard asked.

"That would be me," came the smooth female voice. He glanced over to see a green-skinned Twi'lek female who appeared to be approaching her sixties. Dan knew Twi'leks aged relatively well (at least the females did, better than most species), but this one gave off an aura of one who looked her age. She wore a tight orange jumpsuit and a pair of flight goggles sat on her forehead. A C1-series astromech droid rolled along behind her, purring as it took in the base. The Twi'lek extended a brown gloved hand. "Hera Syndulla." Dan took her hand and shook it as she glanced at Leia. "So this is the Jedi you told me about?"

Leia nodded. "One of them. He's going to accompany you and your crew aboard the Ghost to Agamar and hopefully you can convince them to join."

Hera nodded. "I know Kalani is going to take some convincing, but I'm sure we'll bring him in." Her green eyes moistened a little at a memory. "It'll be nice to have a Jedi on the Ghost again."

Dan's curiosity was aroused. "Again? Who was on it before?"

"I'll tell you on the way to Agamar. Chopper, you go on ahead and prep the Ghost for takeoff," Hera ordered. Leia watched them leave, glad that one more task was scratched off the ever growing list of things to do to save the galaxy.

"Was it really necessary to send the Jedi?" Connix asked. "He'd be better used on the front."

"Trust me Lieutenant," Leia said, giving her a knowing look. "As Han would tell me often, sometimes you just have to go with your gut. I honestly don't know if it's my gut or the Force, but I just know he needs to go on this mission."

"By your leave," the young Lieutenant said, leaving Leia's side to continue her duties. Leia watched her go, her mind already focusing on evacuation plans. The First Order had found their base, and if it hadn't been for the timely intervention of Han, Mara, and their brave pilots, the Ileenium System wouldn't be around any more. It was time to find a new base. With nearly half the Core Worlds going over to the First Order, it seemed unlikely they would safely reestablish Coruscant as the new capital. It would probably have to be another planet in the Outer Rim, just like in the Rebellion days. Maybe Hirara in the Five Points system, or Christophsis. Nobody went to Christophsis, not since the Clone Wars. She could remember a relief effort she'd led to that planet during the early days of the New Republic to try and help the system recover from the impossible to meet quotas the Empire had placed on ore mining that was the primary export of that system. Perhaps Murkhana would work too. Leia resolved to sit down with Admiral Ackbar and plot out that course of action soon, as they only had so much time before the First Order retaliated, much like the Empire had when they were based on Yavin IV. With a semi-weary sigh, she got back to work, as there was much to do and so little time.

Ahch-to

"And maybe I'm not the Mara you knew, but the Resistance really needs you Luke," Mara finished. "That's why Rey and I came here. To bring you home."

Luke looked back at Mara Jade. His eyes appeared to be on her, but Mara knew that he was looking with his mind into the Force. What he was looking for, probably clarity if Mara had to guess, he hadn't found, but the silence was deafening. Mara closed her eyes, allowing herself to sink into the Force. It was a lot more tumultuous in this dimension, as the dark side was much more disruptive here. Despite that, Mara found it as easy to sink into as always. She hadn't studied as many techniques as Luke had, such as future sight, but it was soothing nonetheless. Luke's next words were quiet, his voice the product of years in solitude.

"I can't help you."

Mara took a second to digest that, taking a deep breath. So Luke had placed the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders again. Wonderful. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not the man you think I am."

"You're Luke Skywalker!" Rey pointed out. "My father!"

"And I'm sorry you had to be so disappointed," he replied bitterly.

Rey persisted. "You're a war hero!"

The last Jedi of this dimension's eyes glazed over as he replied automatically "Wars do not make one great." He blinked and turned his gaze towards both women. "I fought for years and tried to rebuild an entire Order. What do I have to show for it? Nothing!"

"The galaxy needs you Farmboy," Mara pointed out.

"The galaxy is getting along fine without me."

"Luke Skywalker," Mara began, allowing a hint of anger to creep into her tone. What was it about Solos and Skywalkers that made them so damn stubborn?! "I married you for several reasons, one of them being your farmboy insistence that everything was going to end up good in the end, no matter how bleak. Now you're telling me that you're just giving up because you were betrayed?"

"Betrayed by my own nephew," Luke murmured. "Do you know what I did after Ben killed your counterpart?"

Mara shook her head. "All I know is that the Knights of Ren are responsible for the destruction of your new Jedi Order."

"Yes, well, there aren't many Knights of Ren left," Luke said bitterly. "I killed those I could, I crippled those I couldn't, and I fought my nephew. I didn't know it was Ben at the time, but I fought him. I had disarmed him and had him ready for the killing blow." His voice cracked as he reached the next part of his tale. "I ripped off his mask, intent on savoring the look of fear on his face, and I saw my nephew! I wanted him to suffer, and yet I couldn't! He'd killed my wife, and I couldn't strike the final blow." Tears were flowing freely from Luke now and he shuddered with sobs as he recalled that fateful day. "I had just killed several of my students, and all because they felt I was going too soft with my teachings. Because I wanted to practice love and patience, creating a new Jedi Order that would eventually surpass the old Order! I wanted to make the galaxy a better place, and instead I've made it worse!"

Mara met Rey's gaze. This was worse than she'd feared. Luke continued, letting it out for the first time in over a decade. "It's my fault that the galaxy is as it is. If I'd been a better teacher, they wouldn't be dead! YOU wouldn't be dead! Every night I can see your eyes stare at me in my dreams, haunting me, begging me, pleading with me to save you, but I couldn't! I hear your cry in the wind! Nothing can ever make up for my failure. So I came here." Luke Skywalker looked up, eyes a little red from crying. "I came here to die."

"You and I both know that's not true," Mara said quickly, alarmed. And yet, there was a sliver of hope. "You wouldn't be alive, waiting for us if you truly wanted to die."

"I'm too much of a coward to kill myself," Luke retorted.

"That's not it," Mara began, stepping towards Luke. "You didn't give up hope. Sure, you dumped your daughter on a backwater desert world with no guarantee of her survival, wiping her memories and abandoned the rest of your family to come here." She indicated the mountain they were standing on. "What's so special about this place anyway?"

Luke looked at her. He had so many regrets, and yet somehow the Force was giving him a chance. Or maybe it was simply tormenting him, bringing this Mara that wasn't Mara into his life, teasing him with what he could have had had events played out differently. His faith in the Force had been all but shattered. Still, perhaps… "We're standing on the remains of the first Jedi Temple."

Mara paused, realizing the sheer significance of that statement. Much of the old Jedi Order's history had been lost during the Jedi purge, due to Palpatine's attempted eradication of the Order. Tried as they had, they had been unable to locate the beginning of the Order's history, so this was a monumental revelation. Still, that only partially explained why he had come here. "So you came to the first Jedi Temple to die. Out of all the places to go out in the galaxy, why here?"

"Because I don't want to become one with the Force," Luke replied bitterly. "I hoped to find a way to die and never have to feel again, to escape into the black nothingness of death. I don't want that pain of eternal life."

"Then why leave a map," Rey interrupted, "If this was supposed to be a one-way trip?"

The last Jedi shrugged. "I haven't found the solution yet."

"That's a load of Sithspit and you know it," Mara snapped. Obviously, sympathy wasn't going to work. Time for some tough love. "Luke Skywalker, you are the galaxy's hero! You've saved countless lives, saved planets from complete annihilation, helped establish a government that promoted freedom and justice! Rey was wrong when she said you were a war hero. You're so much more than a war hero! You are a symbol, a symbol of the New Republic! People will rally to you! You are the last Jedi and you want to let the Order die?" Luke simply turned away, so Mara decided to throw one more dagger. "If I had known you were going to end up like this without me, I might not have married you in the first place!"

His head turned so fast Mara feared he'd get whiplash. The stunned look of horror on his face said it all. She'd touched the nerve she didn't want to touch. "You're not my Mara!"

"And you're not my Luke," Mara shot back, "That doesn't mean a karking thing! Do you think your Mara would want you here, moping about like a youngling who spilled his blue milk?!"

"That's not-" Luke began, but Mara cut him off.

"You are the last of the Jedi here," Mara continued. "There is a tyrannical new regime on the rise, looking to enslave the galaxy to the dark side once again. Are you really going to let the galaxy burn just because you can't get over the fact that you couldn't save me?"

Luke turned away. "I've already lost everything. I know there's only more pain, more regret, more agony ahead if I were to leave."

Mara was running through several mental techniques to keep herself from losing her cool. He was hurt, and her barbed words weren't helping in that regard. He just needed time. She could sense it. Patience, the Force was telling her. It was Rey who broke the silence. "Father, please, you're only going to feel more pain staying here than coming home. The galaxy needs you. Aunt Leia needs you! I need you! Please, Father!"

Luke said nothing, instead trudging off towards a cave. He paused, deciding to get one last line in. "The legend that is Luke Skywalker is dead. You can carry on without me." He continued into the cave, disappearing into the darkness. The two women shared a glance.

"That could've gone better," Rey said flatly.

"We're getting through to him," Mara noted. "He just needs a little time to take this all in."

Rey narrowed her eyes. "So do I. Why did you lie to me?"

Mara sighed as she pinched the brow of her nose. "This dimensional travel is complicated. Just imagine yourself in a universe where you can feel people who are nearly identical in every way to the one you knew, but at the same time, they aren't. Rey, you are like my son in many regards. Yet I know you're your own person. When Kylo Ren attacked you, it felt like my son was being attacked. I may not be your actual mother Rey, but I hope that I can do as well as this dimension's Mara did for you."

Rey seemed to consider that. As a scavenger, she had little time for trusting others. Trust the wrong person, especially one who had deceived you before, and you'd end up spending the night hungry, or worse. She'd seen it happen to others in the deserts of Jakku. Deciding to change the subject, she held up the lightsaber she had offered to Luke. "Do you want this?"

"It's yours now Rey," Mara said simply. "I have a feeling you're going to need it."

The Jakku scavenger nodded and return it to her pouch. "Luke said this was the first Jedi Temple. Do you think there's something we could find here?"

Mara nodded in approval of the idea, even if it was obvious Rey was using it as an opportunity to get some space. "Perhaps we'll make more sense of it than Luke did. Later I can begin instructing you on how to harness the Force and what it can offer you."

"Later," Rey repeated. She strode off, leaving Mara alone on the mountaintop. Mara watched her go, mind ablaze with how she was going to navigate this asteroid field of emotions. Luke's spirit had been broken, and it looked like it would be up to Rey to put it back together again. Then there was the matter of helping Rey to master her growing Force abilities. It looked like this trip was going to take a few days longer than expected.

Her commlink beeped and Mara picked it up, getting the inquisitive whistles of R2-D2. "We found Luke, but he's had it rough." Another whistle. "There's no room to bring the Jade Shadow up here, and you can't get up those steps alone. Just stay with the ship, I'll try to bring Luke to you soon." More beeps and whistles. "Yes, I'm sure your message is important to getting him out of this funk, but it's pretty delicate up here. We can do this, we just need a bit of patience. Mara out." She closed off the commlink, looking towards the cave Luke had disappeared into. No time like the present.

First Order Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Finalizer

Kylo Ren knelt before the hologram of Supreme Leader Snoke, unconsciously clenching his new left hand. The surgery had been swift and painful, and his face still hadn't stopped stinging from Mara's blow. But he had never felt better, as that pain fueled him, allowing the dark side to grow. Snoke had already given him instruction on how to strengthen himself through his pain. Now it was time for his next lesson.

"Gooooood," Snoke breathed as he felt Kylo Ren's Force presence through the many light-years of space. "You have made your pain your ally. But there is still work to be done. I am sending you another Knight. You are to instruct her as I am instructing you."

"Yes, Supreme Leader," Ren said. "Who is she?"

"Tave Ren," Snoke replied. "A student who shows potential, provided she gets the right instruction. Do not fail me Kylo, or I shall revoke your title as Master of the Knights of Ren."

"Understood, Supreme Leader." Kylo said.

"I will also be sending Khai Ren to the Agamar system," Snoke informed his apprentice. "We will need to cut off any possible allies of the Resistance before they can be united against us. See to it that you crush any Resistance stronghold you can find, starting with the Ileenium system. We may have lost Starkiller base, but the fleet will be more than sufficient to wipe them out."

"As you command," Kylo Ren acquiesced. He opened his eyes, flecks of yellow in his eyes as he let the dark side flow through him. "Shall we begin the training?"

Snoke nodded. "We shall."

So, I'm branching off from the main canon. I've seen the Last Jedi trailer, I've seen the supposed leaks, I'm going to do my best to capture the Star Wars story while staying as loyal to the canon materials that I have access to now. As you probably noticed, I took elements from Bloodlines, the Leia novel released recently, as well as other new materials. Points to those who can guess who the two new Knights of Ren are. The hints are in the names. And yes, I brought Hera into this. I don't know about the rest of the Rebels cast, but that's dependent on the events of Season Four. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

Response to Guest Reviews (in order with which they reviewed):

CG: There's so much Old Republic materials that could be used, as it doesn't contradict the movies in any way, so there's hope. I'm hearing about petitions to put an Old Republic series on Netflix, so if there's that, go sign it people!

Revan Knight: Glad you enjoyed it, I'm going to do my best with how I feel the story should continue. I'll welcome ideas from other people, so if you have any ideas floating around, I'll listen. I'll use canon material where I can, as well as events from XIII when it comes out, but in the meantime, I'll do my best to keep the story on course.

Guest: Hope you enjoy this chapter

Denz-El: Well, we all had to start somewhere as a writer, so don't be afraid to give the proper story writing a try. If you have some awesome ideas (like an earlier review you mentioned Rey possibly going to the EU), why not give them a shot? As for Anakin's Force ghost, I toyed with the idea of bringing it here, but it needs to be done right. It needs to have that weight behind it. As for Mara being Phasma…I'll have to get back to you on that one.

CG (again): Kenobi vs Maul Final Round was perfect. It was like the samurai fights of old, as well as rich with symbolism. It showed what Obi-Wan had risen above, as well as how far Maul had fallen, but I doubt we'll see Kenobi again in Rebels. His task of protecting Luke is too important for anything else.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Please leave a review as I welcome any and all constructive criticism. As an author, I'm always looking to improve. Until the next chapter my friends!

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From your Nutty Buddy,

The Eagle Nut