WELLSPRING OF LIFE
Quickly, Ultor climbed to his feet, glowering at the distant figure of Anakin Skywalker.
The exiled Coalition leader used the Force to summon his lightsaber before returning to the fray, his face etched with pure madness.
Anakin's attention had returned to the distant landscape of Tatooine and the battle commencing between the Jedi and Sith, whose power had grown now that they were no longer under the spell that Plagueis has enchanted their deceased remains with.
Ultor charged across the long stretch of passage towards the chamber where Anakin had entered a state of meditation, concentrating on the infinite systems of midichlorians inside the Dark Lords.
The Dark Master's crimson lightsaber trailed behind him as he sped towards his foe, leaving a stream of cinders and embers behind him.
Anakin's senses snapped him to attention as Ultor leapt towards him, slashing downward with his blade.
Anakin rolled out of the way as Ultor stuck, barely dodging a blow from his saber.
The Chosen One raised a hand to Force-push Ultor, but the young Sith was too fast, slashing at Anakin's arm that had been severed once before.
Anakin again ducked out of the way, but cried out in pain as Ultor's weapon slashed against the side of his forearm, leaving a burning wound.
Anakin flipped backwards and landed closer to the flames that had spread throughout the temple, reaching to summon Hego Damask's forgotten lightsaber.
Ultor sprang at him with a yell, thrusting his blade forward.
Anakin caught hold of Damask's lightsaber hilt and switched on the blade of sun yellow, meeting Ultor's rod of plasma with it.
Standing behind the cross of yellow and red blades, Ultor's face had begun to shine the same color of his dark-side affected eyes.
Looking into his glare with alarm, Anakin realized that he was running out of time.
Leia and the other surviving Jedi were doomed to fail fighting against the Sith Masters and their combined power with such low numbers, unless Anakin put their midichlorians to sleep very soon.
But Ultor was keeping Anakin from his crucial task.
Anakin pushed with his body weight against Ultor's saber, causing the younger warrior to stumble and lose his balance.
Anakin then raised his right foot and planted a hard kick in Ultor's midsection, sending him tumbling.
Anakin then advanced with Damask's lightsaber, raising it above his head before moving in a downward motion.
Rather than cutting through the subdued Ultor, Anakin kept the blade dangling over his chest.
"You've been driven beyond insanity," he said to the young Sith warrior, "you cannot win by embracing the dark side. The midichlorians will never fully pledge allegiance to you."
Ultor glared up at his counterpart with a furious snarl and lifted his hands to send a streak of Sith lightning at Anakin. The Chosen One automatically caught the crackling energy on his weapon.
Ultor shouted in rage and increased the intensity of the lightning, forcing Anakin to back away and bend his knees from the magnitude of the energy.
As Ultor continued to fire bolts of lightning in vain, his face began to twist into deformity. His cheeks sank lower and lower to the point of nearly melting, and his wavy red hair sprang upward.
Anakin advanced closer to his foe as he returned the agonizing strands of lightning towards their source, pushing against them with Damask's lightsaber.
The lightning tore across Ultor's body as he howled in pain and hatred, tearing seams into his face and flesh until he no longer resembled the handsome Skyler who had once been Luke Skywalker's Padawan.
Just like his great-grandfather Sidious before him, Ultor had been permanently turned into a monster whose features betrayed his internal ugliness.
Anakin raised a hand, grabbing onto Ultor's body with the Force. Jets of lightning still were running through the Dark Master's limp body as Anakin lifted him into the air.
Anakin pulled his arm back, then thrusted it forward in a motion to send Ultor into the awaiting flames.
Anakin threw the helpless Sith forward until his face was held just over the fire, then paused.
If Anakin was to triumph over the Sith and their count of midichlorians, then he could not be consumed by darkness. If he killed the defenseless Ultor now, just has he had cut down Dooku, then he would risk sending himself back into the depths of darkness.
With the dark side shrouding his intentions, Anakin would have no hope of aiding Kira or Leia or their allies on Tatooine.
Unfortunately for Ultor, Anakin had let him hang only centimeters from the flames, which had now traveled onto his already-scarred face.
Ultor screamed hoarsely as Anakin's telekinetic hold briefly kept his head buried in the cruel flames. In the few seconds before Anakin pulled him back from the inferno, Ultor's hair had been burned off to reveal his scar-covered scalp, and his cheeks had been torched with fire.
Anakin yanked Ultor back with his Force-grip, letting him fall to the floor of the temple a safe distance away from the fire.
As Ultor weakly rolled over to extinguish the fire that had burned his face and scalp, Anakin turned away and closed his eyes, bringing his mind and soul back to the battlefield on Tatooine.
He could see Leia leading the Jedi in retreat into the battle-stricken Mos Eisley, where Republic and Coalition soldiers and ships did battle.
As the Coalition fighters and artillery cannons fired on the Jedi combatants, they were forced to deflect fire with their lightsabers, scrambling to avoid the blasts coming from heavy artillery cannons.
Anakin could see the Sith army in pursuit, cutting down all beings in their path, combatant or civilian.
Darth Bane recognized Leia as the leader and targeted her as she drew fire from a unit of Trandoshan, Rodian, and Whiphid mercenaries. Bane cut down the thugs in his path with a single swoop of his lightsaber and struck at Leia.
Anakin concentrated on Bane first, commanding his midichlorians to go to sleep.
As he reached out with a considerable strain, Ultor weakly climbed to his feet, badly injured but determined nonetheless.
Using the Force, Ultor pulled his lightsaber back into his grip, igniting it once again.
Anakin, however, was too deeply entrenched in his meditative state to pay attention.
Bane had engaged Leia in combat, cutting down a Jedi companion near her. Anakin concentrated on the Rule of Two's founder first, concentrating on Bane's midichlorians as he struck viciously at Leia with his lightsaber.
Leia was holding her own, but she was clearly at a disadvantage.
Ultor let out an animal cry before jumping in Anakin's direction with his lightsaber poised to make a deadly strike.
Anakin snapped out of his meditation just as Ultor's blade was an inch from his neck, but a flash of blue light appeared at that moment and aggressively struck Ultor's crimson saber out out the way.
Kira slammed her body into the airborne Ultor, knocking him sideways. Ultor barely landed on his feet, striking in Kira's direction as she pulled back her lightsaber to deliver an even harder blow. She advanced with all of her might, forcibly backing him away from Anakin with her attacks.
Still in terrible pain and weakened from his efforts, Ultor was barely able to keep up with Kira's blows as she continually struck at him in any direction she could manage.
Kira finally stopped to look at Ultor, inwardly jumping in shock at his horrific appearance. Through the light emitted by the flames and mist and both their sabers, Kira saw the burns and scars etched everywhere. Ultor was no longer humanly recognizable.
"What happened to you, Skyler?" Kira asked, more in pity than disgust. For the first time, she genuinely felt sorry for her hated enemy. It was not vengeance or anger that motivated her now. Rather, it was determination to protect Anakin just as he had protected her from the Jedi Hunter in the cave on Ilum all those years before.
Ultor did not reply, but let out a growl as he circled menacingly around Kira. Kira moved her feet to match his steps, keeping her lightsaber at the ready.
"Everything you pursued, it was all for nothing," Kira went on, "You hurt and killed many people, but you inflicted the most pain on yourself. I'm sorry that you couldn't make the right choices before it was too late. I'm sorry that nobody could help you."
Kira's words of sympathy snapped Ultor out of his daze. He responded to her with a low snarl.
"My pain and suffering will be nothing compared to yours, Solo."
Ultor raised a fist, reaching for Kira's throat with the Force. As he lifted her to choke the life out of her, Ultor lifted his lightsaber to throw in Anakin's direction.
Kira raised a hand as her throat began to close, using the Force to push Ultor back.
Ultor slid backwards as he lost his Force-grip, still clutching his lightsaber with his other hand.
Kira landed on the floor and crouched low, spreading her feet wide in an Ataru stance poised to make a leap.
Ultor focused his glare on Anakin and jumped towards him once again, making a slashing motion with his blade.
Kira jumped up to meet him at the same moment, managing to kick Ultor in the ribs with her foot planting hard into his tattered robe.
Ultor automatically sprang up onto his feet from the floor, his blade immediately clashing against Kira's as she rushed him.
Kira stood facing Ultor with their sabers locked against one another, the stench of burning plasma covering her senses as the glow of their weapons illuminated the burning room.
Staying in gridlock with Kira, Ultor's demented eyes moved towards a nearby column of fire.
Ultor used his unraveled mind to move the flames towards Anakin, who was still concentrating on the battle raging on Tatooine between the Jedi and Sith.
Darth Bane's powerful blow managed to knock Leia's saber out of her hand.
The Jedi Master and Senator stumbled down the stairway of the hangar entrance where she had been fighting Bane, landing on her back.
Bane raised his saber and prepared to jump down to finish her off, but suddenly began to slow in his breathing as Anakin called upon his own midichlorians to influence Bane's.
Leia took advantage of Bane's distraction to recover her lightsaber and charge up the staircase back to ground level, but Anakin's determination was slowly turning to anger as he saw his daughter's peril.
When Anakin's eyes snapped open, he did not see the Force Priestesses's chamber, or the duel commencing between his granddaughter and Darth Ultor.
Instead, he saw countless midichlorians inside their microbiotic world, bridged by the Stream of Life into the Wellspring.
Then, out of the bright sea of light and shimmering micro-beings, Anakin saw a black-cloaked figure emerge, a shrunken man with a cowl around his deformed and aged face.
Anakin glowered at the visage of Darth Sidious, Ultor's great-grandfather and Anakin's lifelong tormentor. Emperor Palpatine had engineered the destruction of the Jedi and Republic as well as Anakin's internal suffering and fall to the dark side.
"You weak fool," Palpatine taunted, "You will never let go of the anger inside you. The dark side will consume you as it did before."
"No!" Anakin shouted, trying to flee from the illusion.
When he turned to run, he saw the lava banks of Mustafar, very closely resembling the burning temple where his body was in the physical realm.
Anakin turned away from the scene of Mustafar to see the Force-ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn shimmering before him.
"The midichlorians are testing you, they are trying to punish all who tried to use them for your own ends. You must prove that your intentions are pure and release them to their own will, that is, the will of the Force."
"I can't do it," Anakin gasped in exhaustion, "I'm not strong enough. My soul is still wrapped in darkness."
"You are the Chosen One," Qui-Gon reminded him, "You were always destined to bring balance."
Anakin, my son, rang the voice of Shmi Skywalker.
In response to this, the image of Darth Sidious changed into that of Shmi, reaching towards her son while floating in midair.
"Why didn't you save me, Ani?"
Because you were too weak, the voice of Palpatine hissed.
"NO!" Anakin shouted. "PLEASE!"
Kira reached with her free hand to wave the fire away from her grandfather, striking harder against Ultor with her lightsaber.
Ultor's raw strength had been diminished by his physical and mental tribulations, and he was no longer able to overpower the young Jedi as easily.
Kira realized that she had to get him away from Anakin, and fast. They may have been near evenly matched, but Anakin was still vulnerable as long as his concentration remained in the world of the midichlorians. Time was running out, and they both needed to do their part.
Kira fixed her eyes on the exit to the burning chamber, which was shrouded in mist coming from the fractured Holocrons.
With a yell of feeling and energy, Kira bent her knees and sprang towards Ultor, wrapping an arm around his neck and propelling him quickly past the exit and flying down the corridor.
Kira pushed him hard as they flew away from Anakin, landing hard on the floor near the library.
Ultor's body spiraled further, sliding to a halt on the floor, surrounded by Force-mist.
Inside the microbiotic world of the midichlorians, where Anakin's meditation had led him, the Chosen One confronted the Force ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn.
"Why am I being tested this way?" he asked, "Why are they showing me these visions of my past?"
"You must live with the feelings that these images bring," Qui-Gon replied, "Only by accepting your worst memories can you overcome them."
"I won't be able to take it," Anakin replied desperately, feeling as lost as he had as a young Padawan, "The pain, all the memories. They'll destroy me before I am able to complete my mission."
Qui-Gon stared gravely back at his former protege.
"Anakin, listen. Soon I will be blocked out of the microworld by its inhabitants, and you must face this difficult task alone."
His blue, shimmering Force-spirit began to flicker out. Anakin reached desperately for his former mentor, the first Jedi to believe in him.
Qui-Gon's spirit appeared for one last moment of clarity, placing a transparent hand on Anakin's shoulder.
"Bring balance, as you were meant to."
Then, Qui-Gon flickered out of sight, banished by the midichlorians, leaving Anakin to confront his visions of hell.
Kira slowly climbed to her feet, coughing as the smoke entered her nostrils. She gripped her lightsaber tightly as she struggled for vision, dipping it upwards in anticipation of Ultor's attack.
Ultor rose to his feet in time with Kira, widening his stance to prepare a rush.
Kira gripped her saber with both hands and held it out defensively as Ultor charged her with a scream. She lunged forward to meet his blade with all the stamina she had, this time retreating backwards as he pushed his attack.
TATOOINE
In orbit of the battle-stricken desert planet, the Millennium Falcon led a unit of fifteen Interceptors towards the circling Dor'bulla command ship.
"All we've got to do is get the Hutt command ship on our tail," Han Solo explained to the unit via radio, "We'll draw them towards the Black Sun skyhook.
"There's no way we're going to pull this off, General," replied one of the pilots, "Our fighters won't be able to withstand it."
"All you've got to do is keep their gunners busy," Han replied, "The Falcon will take care of the rest."
Sam fired intently on the waves of Sycks and Viper fighters flying at the Falcon.
"Get ready, Commander!" Han shouted down the cockpit towards the turret where Sam was seated, "while our fighters have them occupied, it'll be up to you to take out their main cannon."
"I'll be on it once I take care of the problem here, General!" Sam replied, "I can't get rid of them all so fast!"
"We've only got a small window of time," Han replied as he and Chewie steered the freighter underneath the Dor'bulla.
The cannon was too large to accurately aim at the Falcon when it was in such close range, even though its ammunition was heavy enough to disable a Republic Dreadnought.
"Hurry, Sam!" Han yelled as he steered the Falcon in circles around the cannon, the Coalition ships beginning to overwhelm and surround them.
Sam shifted his attention away from the attacking fighters and fired at the cannon, aiming directly at the arm attaching it to the rest of the command ship.
He didn't even pause to revel at the sight of it busting into flames and a heap of ashen debris as the Coalition ships kept firing, finally striking the Falcon in the back quarter.
"We're hit!" Sam shouted as the Falcon trembled.
Chewbacca let out a roar of alarm while Threepio cried out, "Oh, we're done for this time! This is the end, Artoo!"
"Relax, Chewie, I'm gonna get us out of here," Han said, doubting his own abilities more and more by the second.
What if I don't? He thought to himself.
Artoo quickly sped towards the engine room of the Falcon, eager to do what he could to repair the damage.
"Don't leave me, Artoo! Wait for me!" Threepio protested as he stumbled after his longtime companion.
The Falcon was still overwhelmed by enemy fire as Han and Chewie tried to steer it out from under the now damaged Hutt command ship.
The freighter trembled again as another blast struck the satellite dish on the hull, causing the roof to burst into flames.
Sam, Han and Chewie coughed as the smoke emitted into the ship's interior.
"I don't think we're going to be able to do this, Chewie," Han said gravely to his oldest friend, "I don't know if we'll make it out alive."
Chewie brayed a solemn, resolute response.
"You've got it, pal," Han replied, "side by side to the end."
Sam suddenly remembered a crucial feature of his commanding officer's ship.
He sprang up from the gunner's chair and ran around the corridor toward the cockpit.
"General, does the Falcon still have its escape pod?"
"I don't know what good it'll do us now!" Han replied.
"I have an idea!" Sam replied, "but we have to be quick!"
Down on Tatooine's surface, Tahiri ran quickly through the Mos Eisley passageway, in an effort to hide from the direct attacks coming from the Sith.
Darth Tenebrous appeared at the end of the passageway behind her, standing dramatically with his lightsaber pointed straight ahead.
Tahiri turned around to face the Bith warrior and assumed a defensive combat stance.
She sensed that the battle above was not going well, nor was the Jedi's battle against the Sith army but she also knew that their fortune was interconnected, and there was still hope of it changing. For now, there was nothing to do but stand her ground.
Tahiri held her violet blade horizontally in front of her body and stepped forward as Tenebrous rushed at her, meeting his weapon with her own.
The ferocity of Tenebrous's attack nearly knocked Tahiri off her feet, forcing her to scoot backwards in retreat.
Three other Jedi backed up into the adobe alley to join Tahiri, pursued by Darths Millennial and Acherin, who were furiously attacking with both their lightsabers as well as Sith lightning.
Tenebrous backed Tahiri up closer to the simultaneous duel, quickly causing her to lose stamina. Finally, the mighty Dark Lord forced her to the ground, knocking her onto her back with a powerful strike against her lightsaber.
WELLSPRING OF LIFE
Bright, radiating colors contrasted against one another across the temple as Kira and Ultor dueled through the ruined library, on top of the rows of shelves and staircases.
Kira focused with all of her intensity on the motion of Ultor's lightsaber, using her own weapon as a shield as he struck at her from all directions.
It was her newfound compassion for him that kept her on the defensive, Kira realized, rather than urging her to press an attack. Ultor had effectively lost, whether or not she managed to defeat him now. He had no hope of gaining full mastery over the midichlorians, he had neither the sanity nor the control of the Force in order to command them.
Now that his focus was entirely on her rather than Anakin, Kira had succeeded. Now she just had to stay alive, at least until her friends and family were safe on Tatooine.
As the two of them battled down the stairs onto another floor filled with Holocrons, the mist followed them and trickled into the glowing artifacts.
A Sith Holocron resting alone high atop a shelf illuminated with the energy of one of its brethren activating it.
The dark energy filled the room as Kira maintained a stalemate against Ultor, causing a feeling of raw aggression to enter her.
As Kira glared into the sunken, hollow eyes of her longtime foe, her concentration began to shift into rage and hatred, just has she had long directed at him for all the wrong he had done her and countless others.
Unknown to Kira, her eyes began to change, her pupils turning yellow, giving her face a horrifying glare. She would embrace Ultor's strongest weapon, the dark side of the Force, in order to bring him down
Kira struck low as Ultor aimed his weapon at her, aiming to slice off his legs.
Ultor slashed his lightsaber lightly across Kira's stomach, managing to open a flesh wound. Unfortunately for him, he was not focused enough to deal a precisely lethal strike.
Kira howled in pain as the burn seared across her body, staggering backwards in agony.
Ultor advanced on the wounded Kira, flashing a toothy grin with his monstrous face as he raised his lightsaber to finish her off.
Kira recovered herself and lunged to match Ultor's attack, holding up her blade diagonally to push back against her enemy. Her eyes changed back to their natural brown while Ultor's remained yellow and black to complement the scars and burns all over his cheeks, forehead, and scalp.
Kira pulled back and retreated and waited for Ultor to press his offensive once again. The light side and defense were her tools, just as Ultor's tools were his hatred and darkness. The Jedi way would be Kira's victory, now that she was finally ready to embrace it.
Ultor ran and struck at Kira again, the direction of his blade allowing her to parry with her own.
Ultor advanced harder, blindly lashing out in all directions with his blade, slashing from one direction and then another.
Kira's arms, legs, and lungs were tiring out, but she maintained her defense, meeting Ultor's every strike with a counter-blow.
Finally, Ultor had forced her against the balcony that stood over an abyss, leading into the depths of the molten caves below the layers of walkways and archive shelves.
For a long minute, Kira and Ultor's lightsabers locked against each other as they stood against the balcony of doom, blue against red, light against dark.
Meanwhile, Anakin was still locked in his meditative state, alternatingly viewing his reality inside the microbiotic world of the midichlorians and the battle on Tatooine between the Jedi and Sith.
"Your sacrifice meant nothing in the end," taunted the vision of Emperor Palpatine, "The Sith reign supreme as they were always destined. You, your son, and all the Jedi fought for nothing, as will this last remnant of your Order."
Behind Palpatine, Anakin once again saw the face of Padme appear in a column of red mist. He froze in horror where he stood as Padme fully materialized, dressed in a simple white flight suit
Padme silently opened her mouth in terror, her hands drifting to her neck as she lifted off the ground.
"Padme!" Anakin cried out, his heart pounding with desperation.
He ran in the direction of the illusion of his wife, reaching his hand towards her. Padme tried to reach for him back, but Anakin could not manage to grab ahold of her hand in spite of his desperate reach.
In a flash, Padme's visage evaporated before him, and he only heard her soft, melodic voice.
You could not let go of your hatred and your lust for power. You let them take me from you.
"Stop this!" Anakin shouted into the void, directing his powerful emotion at the midichlorians testing him, punishing him for attempting to hijack their will, even briefly for the pursuit of good.
Anakin turned to run the other way, then stopped in his tracks when he saw the decapitated head of Count Dooku manifest before him.
You have anger, you have hate. Feelings of pain, loss, rang the invisible voice of Anakin's fallen nemesis.
Anakin stepped over Dooku's head to find the visage of Mace Windu, whose robes were badly torn by lightning and whose skin was badly scarred.
"You made the wrong choice, and you cost the entire galaxy," the false Windu said furiously, activating his violet-bladed lightsaber.
Anakin pivoted to the side to sprint as far away from this illusion as he could, only to stop at the brief sight of Old Ben Kenobi.
The white-bearded Obi-Wan paused to smile knowingly at Vader before an invisible hand struck him down with a red blade, just as Vader had.
Once again, Obi-Wan's body disappeared as soon as the lightsaber made contact, leaving an empty robe to crumple to the ground.
Anakin turned to run from the midichlorians's enactment of Obi-Wan's death, but was confronted by three figures this time.
Anakin silently and painstakingly beheld the sight of Owen and Beru Lars, accompanied by Senator Bail Organa, Leia's adoptive father who had perished along with the billions of inhabitants of Alderaan via the Death Star.
"You caused the deaths of countless innocents, deaths that cannot be repaid," Bail said.
Behind Bail Organa, Anakin saw the planet Alderaan in the sky, lush with green and blue. He saw the terminal laser blast the entire world apart, rescuing everything on it to atoms.
Anakin's resolve weakened, as did his breathing capacity. He turned away from Bail, Owen and Beru, tears streaming down his cheeks. He choked aloud to find a small, blond-haired Youngling, gazing blankly at him.
"Master Skywalker," the small boy said, just as the faint sound of an igniting lightsaber rang in Anakin's ears. A blue glow appeared over the Youngling's face from an invisible weapon.
"NO!" Anakin howled in agony, rushing past the boy, who evaporated into the microworld's colored air.
Past the Youngling, Anakin saw a Tusken Raider woman and child, cowering helplessly. He ignored them and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the reality of the battle he was trying to intervene in. It was all so remote compared to his existence in the microworld, where every mistake, every crime, and every regret was being thrown back at him.
Finally, the black-cloaked, twisted visage of Darth Sidious materialized before Anakin, drifting towards him as his piercing eyes drilled into Anakin's tormented heart.
"Everything you did, through your own will or my own, was for nothing in the end," Palpatine rasped, "You could not save her even when you fell to temptation, and your mistake dominated your destiny forever."
"I turned away from your influence," Anakin snarled at the Sith Lord, "Your rule of hatred and fear is over, and you are nothing but a shadow of history. You cannot hurt me anymore."
"The dark side runs strong through your blood," Darth Sidious replied with a sneer, "Your destiny belongs to me, and always will."
The Emperor flashed his yellow Sith eyes and an evil sneer as he stared into Anakin's soul.
Anakin suddenly felt a reflex, his face turning towards a lightsaber hilt that had mysteriously appeared in the void. He knew the hilt's design like his own flesh, it was the lightsaber he had constructed after losing his first one as a Jedi. The midichlorians had brought it to him now, using the weapon to test his spirit.
Anakin's grief and horror began to convert into rage and hatred, more intense than he had ever felt while alive. He was not aware of his eyes turning back to their old yellow and black as he glowered at his former Sith Master, but he made the decision to reach his hand towards his former lightsaber and summon it to him.
The lightsaber's blade activated with a resonant hum, its blue glow flashing across the space between the ground and Anakin's hand as he caught the metallic hilt.
Anakin brought the blade backwards with an upward twist of his arm, glaring hatefully at his worst manipulator and torturer. He strongly remembered every act of evil that Palpatine had inflicted on him and the ones he loved, whether directly or through elaborate manipulation.
Then, without another moment of hesitation, Anakin snapped off the lightsaber and tossed it into the void, his eyes transforming instantly to their natural blue. At that moment, Palpatine disappeared unceremoniously into nothing, and Padme reappeared in front on Anakin, dressed in the same pure white suit.
For a brief moment, Padme smiled and reached her hand towards Anakin once again, pausing as she waited for Anakin to take it.
Anakin paused, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes.
Padme's mouth did not move, but Anakin could hear her say the words I am with you forever, Ani.
Returning from his mediation, Anakin looked around, surrounded by fire and mist. The Force priestesses were silently watching him, knowing that this was his most pivotal moment, in a lifetime of struggling with his destiny.
I'm always here, Anakin. I truly, deeply love you
Anakin closed his eyes and returned to his meditation; this time only seeing the Tatooine battle.
He saw Bane silently commanding his fellow Sith to unleash a massive torrent of lightning, raising his hands to summon the bursts of dark energy.
The Sith Lords fired the deadly bolts of lightning at the army of Jedi, who deflected the crackling energy with their lightsabers. However, their numbers were not enough to stave off this extreme display of dark power, thirty different streams of Sith lightning coming together and unleashing on the Jedi, who began to succumb.
Anakin focused on the midichlorians inside of him, silently connecting their consciousness with those inside Bane, Tenebrous, and all of the Sith on Tatooine.
The jets of lightning started to flicker out as the Sith collectively began to weaken.
Every blood vessel in Anakin's body was ready to burst as he fought against every midichlorian inside each of the Sith Lords on Tatooine. They were resisting, fighting back as the Jedi charged them and threatening to undo Anakin's efforts.
The ancient, long-ago words of his mother Shmi repeated back to him now; Be brave, and don't look back.
As he concentrated on the scene before him, Anakin heard yet another voice speaking from the cosmos; this time, Anakin heard himself.
Obi-Wan? Master, I'm so sorry, so very sorry.
And the voice of Obi-Wan spoke back at him.
I still have one thing left to teach you. A way to become one with the Force.
He spoke not as the older man he had been when Vader had fought him for the last time, but as the wise Master he had been when their bond had been strongest, during Anakin's days as a knight when their relationship had become a brotherhood.
But Master, why me?
Because you ended the horror. Because you fulfilled the Prophecy. Because you were and are the Chosen One.
This was not an illusion or test from the Force as Palpatine and the other visions had been. This came from Anakin's memories, his first as a spirit beyond the physical realm just after he had saved his son Luke and turned away from the dark side forever.
For a moment, Anakin saw both himself and Obi-Wan as they had appeared in the bridge between the Netherworld and the Wellspring of Life, when Obi-Wan had greeted Anakin after his first death. They had embraced like brothers long lost, and now, Anakin could feel Obi-Wan's warmth as if he was right there.
Anakin envisioned the battles and skirmishes raging throughout Tatooine's surface and orbit. He engaged in battle meditation, concentrating on the soul of each and every fighter for the side of light; Leia, Tahiri, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Sam, the Jedi, the Republic, and the Tatooinian fighters including the Tusken Raiders.
Anakin could feel the sweat pouring down his face and the cracking of his bones, but he remained determined.
TATOOINE
Badly injured from the lightning directed at her from Tenebrous, Tahiri hobbled to her feet as the Bith began to gasp for air, weakened from Anakin's command of his midichlorians to shut down.
Tahiri quickly made up the distance, striking her lightsaber through Tenebrous's legs as he toppled to the ground in defeat.
Leia led the rest of the Jedi towards their Sith attackers, slowly using the Force to heal their injuries as Bane, Millennial, Zannah, Malten, and the others tried to resume their onslaught and failed.
From the bottom wing of the Millennium Falcon, the escape pod launched quickly out of the line of fire as Han continued to draw fire from the enemy ships. The Falcon was quickly tiring out as the flames burned its rooftop, and Artoo quickly got to work on the internal damage.
Sam flew the pod directly towards the Dor'bulla's main command center, where two Hutt council leaders frantically directed their craft after him.
Sam was defenseless against any fighters or gunships attacking him, but relied entirely on speed.
He flew the pod directly towards the Black Sun skyhook, which was engaged with two Republic cruisers and a Coalition Dreadnought.
Admiral Ackbar directed fighters and ships from the command bridge of his cruiser as well while Lando's Lady Luck swooped underneath the Dor'bulla to assist the Falcon.
The Dor'bulla sped after Sam's pod as he reached the lowest arm of the skyhook, flying straight under it as the Dor'bulla slowly began to collide, and the Hutts inside frantically yelled for their crew to change course, far too late.
Yerrin Serri and his fellow Vigos scrambled for any transport they could find as one arm, then another was blasted off of the skyhook.
Han, Chewie and Lando silently flew their respective command ships in line with the Republic Interceptors as they beat back against the Coalition fighter. Both the Dor'bulla and skyhook fragmented into hundreds of thousands of pieces and flew into all directions of space as they burnt up into nothing.
Sam tried as best as he could to steer his pod in the direction of Mos Eisley as it plummeted towards the surface of Tatooine, but he wasn't sure if the pod would survive the impact. Something, however, was controlling the speed of his pod, Sam realized. It was as if as if an energy from a distant source was protecting him
"Look!" Han shouted as he saw the pod descending rapidly beyond the crumbling wreckage of the Coalition flagships, disappearing from sight. " He made it, Chewie, he made it!"
Chewie pulled the throttle to carry them as far away as possible from the wreckage so that they could safely return to the surface.
"We're going to make it too, old pal!"
"Thank the maker, Artoo, thank the maker!" Threepio exhumed as the damaged Falcon triumphantly led the fleet along the aerial battlefield.
At last, it was over. The Sith had been defeated, and the Jedi could win victoriously against the forces of evil who still threatened the galaxy.
As Gorga the Hutt attempted to flee with his entourage, a unit of AT-GT tanks stopped them in their tracks before they could reach the awaiting shuttle.
As guerrillas, mercenaries, and assassin droids began to flood the cities, Tusken Raiders and Tatooinians alike returned and fired upon them, slowly overpowering the Coalition armies.
WELLSPRING OF LIFE
Kira paced around the library floor in front of the fallen Ultor, gazing down at him as he glared back at her.
"I can take you with me off this planet," Kira offered, "You can have a fair trial and find peace with yourself. You don't have to die here, consumed by the darkness in your soul."
Ultor was only able to grunt for a long moment before he finally summoned words.
"Is this mercy you are giving me?" he asked weakly, "After everything you have suffered, you are giving me mercy?"
"I won't let your actions dominate my emotions," Kira replied, "No matter what you have done, I will not bring myself any closer to being like you. I am giving you the chance to live, and escape from the torment inside you."
"I have no torment inside," Ultor rasped, his breathing faint and his body giving in to pain, "The dark side is my weapon. All of my anger and rage give me strength, and strength has been my tool for power and dominance. I will not give it up now."
"Through my journey, I found a path stronger than power," Kira replied, "I see it through the light and through my loved ones. The path is still there, for anybody to walk it. Even you, Skyler."
Clipping her sheathed lightsaber to her belt, Kira gazed directly into the eyes of her longtime enemy and extended a hand towards him.
Ultor turned his burned head towards her and stared in disbelief.
"Even after all I have done, you offer me compassion. Kira Solo, a true Jedi Knight."
Kira nodded solemnly, not saying anything in response but keeping her hand extended towards Ultor.
"And that is why you are destined to fail," Ultor added, staring at an object beyond Kira's shoulder; a Sith Holocron sitting neatly on the balcony floor, having fallen off the library shelf, "Love and compassion are nothing next to power and might."
Behind Kira, the object began to glow bright red as Force-mist trickled onto the balcony beside them.
"What are you doing?" Kira asked in a sudden panic.
Kira turned her head wildly as she felt the same dark, cold chill that had haunted her during their duel, when the power radiating from the dark artifacts had threatened to corrupt her soul.
Ultor used the Force to activate the power inside the Sith Holocron as he let out an unnaturally low, demonic yell.
"THE DARK SIDE CONSUMES US TOGETHER!"
Kira retrieved her lightsaber from her belt and switched on its blue blade as the Holocron mist flickered through the device that Ultor was now controlling with the Force. The mist drifted across the floor and into the sitting Holocrons along the rows of shelves. Soon, each and every Sith Holocron was glowing red, activating the dark power and secrets inside.
Kira's mouth opened in horror as red lightning began to radiate from the Holocrons, rapidly engulfing the shelves and library walls and floor.
The ground below Kira and Ultor began to shake with dread, along with the entire structure of the temple.
Kira looked towards the crackling crimson energy circling through the walls and floors around them, realizing that Ultor had cast doom upon them both. She gazed back at the Dark Master, who was directing a suicidal level of concentration at all of the dark side artifacts in the hall.
Kira raised her lightsaber to cut Ultor down, pausing in mid-motion. By this time, the walkway was trembling with great intensity, threatening to plummet off of the library floor into the multi-colored cavern of molten below.
Kira did not strike, but instead deactivated and clipped her lightsaber once again. Kira sat down on the trembling floor as red Holocron-produced lightning ripples across it towards the two of them.
Finally, the ceiling above them began to crumble, with piece after piece falling down. The might of Ultor's Force power display caused the shelves, staircases and gantries above them to start collapsing inwards, but Kira remained calm and meditative as the temple of the Force priestesses slowly crumbled.
The foundation below them finally cracked, and the surface carrying Kira, Ultor, and their occupied section of the archive library began to plummet towards the upwards cavern entrance below
Ultor remained concentrated on the surrounding Holocrons and Force energy filling the air, finally gaining control of the red, crackling lightning. With a flattened, extended hand, Ultor summoned the bursts of energy towards him, and with his other handless limb, he pointed towards the meditating Kira, intending to channel it into her as well.
Kira remained concentrated on her own soul, warding off the dark energy surrounding its perimeter. She could feel the midichlorians inside herself, supporting her defense every step of the way. She could sense the wave of hope over Tatooine and the Jedi, light having triumphed over darkness.
Her mother and Tahiri and all the rest of the Jedi had won; Anakin had successfully assisted them in defeating the Sith army. Her father and Sam had helped unify Republic forces under righteous leadership, and they had stood united against the Coalition leadership. Anakin had won his internal battle just as Kira was winning hers, allowing him to use the midichlorians for good before relinquishing his ability to control their will.
And now Kira had found her purpose, not only as a Jedi, a daughter, or a friend, but as a servant of the light and of hope, both of which would always be there to counter the inevitable spread of darkness.
Kira's meditation and reflection shielded her from the red streams of crackling energy as they consumed the falling floor and the shelves around her, and as she plummeted into the abyss below.
The crimson lightning and mist were swallowing up everything in sight, causing the falling pieces of surface and structure to evaporate in its mist.
Ultor still remained solid, unknowingly entranced by his own attempt to envelop Kira in a web of Sith energy. But Kira's defenses remained intact, just as they had when Ultor had attempted to shut down her midichlorians, as she had learned from her Uncle Luke's final lesson.
Finally, the crackling lightning began to ripple through Ultor's own body, the colored smoke following and blowing around him in a column of obscurity. Enshrouded in the Holocron's mystic energy, Ultor remained in his daze until he was nearly invisible, the red lightning tearing through his bones and his already-deformed head.
Only at the last second did the former Skyler break out of his self-inflicted spell. He looked towards the mediating Kira with his glowing yellow eyes, reaching a pale hand towards her. Whether he was attempting to pull her into the column of energy tearing into him or to pull himself out, it made no difference. He could not reach her as his hand and arm were wrapped into the dark spiritual power he had summoned.
Soon, Kira was sitting on nothing, surrounded by nothing but the wreckage and the columns of Holocron energy, until she landed with a jolt on the hard rocks of the cavern, surrounded by molten and temple rubble.
Kira weakly lied down on the hot surface of the cave where she previously had been lost, losing her will to continue. She remained motionless until a lone figure emerged from the mist, just as the red columns of smoke began to fade away into the green lava.
Kira's sense of purpose renewed as she saw the figure of her brother Ben come through the shadows and the blinding light.
She sat up against the cavern walls and choked with emotion.
"It's really you this time," she gasped.
"I have always been a part of you, and that will never change," Ben replied, coming into Kira's full view, "You've done well, Kira."
"I'm sorry, Ben," Kira choked, her throat becoming very heavy as she remained slumped against the cavern wall, "I'm sorry I let you down. I failed you, and Mom, and Dad, and Uncle Luke."
"Your mistakes gave you the room to grow and realize what was right," Ben said with a warm, brotherly smile, "They wanted nothing less, and you made them proud. Now, you must go on and honor them by continuing what they- what we- fought for."
"I miss you, Ben. Every day," Kira said with a short gasp of emotion, "I wanted you by my side so often. I never stopped mourning for you, and wishing everything could have been different. I've gone against the Jedi Code. I'll never be able to fully let go."
Ben reached a hand towards his little sister to pull her up to her feet. Weakly, Kira took his hand and enjoyed the feeling of his flesh, as though he were really alive and not appearing from the Netherworld.
"You can't escape from attachment, nobody can. Even the Jedi. I felt strongly attached to you, just as I did to Mom and Dad and Master Skywalker, and even to Skyler. Your attachments towards the ones you love give you a beacon towards goodness and light. Being a Jedi means that you cannot let them take your consciousness over. It is a continuing battle that will never be fully through. Attachment is not something to erase, but something to be understood and reconciled with your reality."
Kira marveled at her brother's wisdom, knowing that he had in death fully mastered the secrets of the Jedi, understanding their inner nature and ability to resist the pull of the dark. Kira hoped that one day, she would achieve that level of wisdom and ability to guide others down the same path.
Finally, Kira wrapped her arms tightly around Ben as if she was a young child again and allowed the tears to flow. She felt her older brother hug her back until Kira's emotions had run their course.
"I love you," Kira said.
"I know," Ben replied simply.
Kira closed her eyes as she refused to let go of him, holding on tighter to her brother. Finally, Kira released hold of Ben, keeping her eyes closed until she finally dared to open them.
Then, Kira stood alone in the caves deep below the surface of the Force planet. Her eyes scanned the beds of green lava, searching for a path towards the temple again. She knew that if she trusted her feelings and her ability to keep down her fear and despair, she would find the way.