TATOOINE
"Han, shouldn't you just forget about it?" Lando asked, "We're going to be in real trouble soon."
"I know we are," Han replied, "But I'm not leaving the Falcon behind. Not after everything we've gone through together."
The DUM-series droid pit crew that had arrived in a Republic cruiser was still working on repairing the wrecked Millennium Falcon's exterior. Meanwhile, Han was standing in the cockpit of a Dug Debris Loader, operating the vehicle's efforts to lift pieces onto the hull.
Chewbacca was hard at work attempting to replace broken circuits with spare parts that had been hidden under the floorboards of the Falcon, positioned on his long, hairy back underneath the rooftop of the old Corellian freighter.
Along with the Jedi who had remained behind in Bestine, a Republic Brigadier unit was positioned in a perimeter around the wreckage, with ten AT-GTs deploying from the drop ship that had flown down from Lando's command cruiser.
"The Sith are fast approaching," Master Kahn declared, "The longer we stay here, more vulnerable we are to their surprise attack."
"The Coalition will be back with reinforcements too, if Omas doesn't get here first," Lando remarked, looking up at the sky, where the sight of Republic crusiers and Black Sun skyhooks exchanging heavy laserfire could still be seen in the distance, above the late afternoon clouds. "Either way, we'll be at a disadvantage unless we get up in the air."
Han sighed, knowing he was being selfish. "Look, why don't you all get out of here, and I'll take my chances with the Falcon?"
"We're not leaving you behind, General Solo," Lando affirmed.
"Jedi, advance!" Master Kahn ordered. The roughly twenty Jedi present kept their lightsabers at the ready as the unit of Sith led by Bane drew closer.
The Sith Lords marched in a military formation, lightsabers drawn and ready for combat.
"Let's get out!" one of Lando's officers shouted.
"We'll have a better chance of taking them from the air," Lando added.
The Brigadiers hurried towards their crafts as the Jedi advanced on their Sith counterparts, lightsabers ready to do battle.
Just then, the loud clanking of metal bounced against the sandy ground, and the Sith were reckoned with a volley of laserfire from a battalion of IG assassin droids, deployed by a Hutt Cartel gunship that had landed a short distance away.
"Hurry!" Lando shouted, racing towards Lady Luck as the battle between the Sith and the Coalition droids
"I do believe it would be best if we went with Master Calrissian!" Threepio exclaimed, "Come along, Artoo!"
Artoo whistled a negative and slid closer to the repair job on the Falcon.
"It doesn't matter if you can fix the internal engine, we have to get out of this mess!" Threepio replied, hobbling after his domed friend as Artoo slipped onto the ramp leading into the Falcon.
Chewbacca have a command to the little astromech as a missile from a Coalition aircraft struck the ground about fifty meters away.
The Jedi were now contending with a droid battalion of their own, approaching from the other side.
Coalition guerrillas opened fire from a gunship above, led by a team of bounty hunters.
Lando finally slipped onto the ramp of the Lady Luck and slammed the panel to close it. The old Admiral wasted no time in lifting off as soon as he reached the cockpit, joining the herd of gunships firing on their Coalition counterparts as well as the Sith.
Just then, the yellow tattooed Zabrak named Savage snapped out of his alchemical trance, as on a distant and remote world, Darth Plagueis ceased to employ it. Savage plunged his long Sith lightsaber into the back of Darth Malten, who was busy deflecting fire from the IG droids targeting him.
Malten howled in surprise and pain and dropped his weapon onto the sand.
"No more of this!" Savage snarled.
All of the Sith had paused in hesitation now, feeling the effects of Plagueis's spell come undone once again.
Most were quick on the uptake, resuming the battle with full autonomy.
"That's enough out of you!" hissed Darth Bane, sending a weak jolt of weak disciplinary lightning into the body of Savage, who toppled over in convulsions.
As he used the Force to electrocute the dissident, Bane used his free hand to swat aside three rapid volleys of lightning. The ground surrounding the Dark Lords began to explode as Republic and Coalition craft rained on them with missiles.
Meanwhile, the Jedi that had remained in Bestine kept a protective barrier around the Falcon's construction crew, deflecting fire from Coalition droids and guerrilla gunships.
Artoo slid towards the back of the passenger hold as Threepio followed, passing Chewie as he continued to make interior repairs.
Han's Loader took a blast from one of the Coalition ships, causing it to burst into flames and scrap metal.
Han jumped off of the construction vehicle as it exploded, barely clearing the line of fire. He hit the ground with a hard thud, stomach first.
Groaning, Han struggled to get up as the Loader's pieces collapsed on the sand around him. His aging body definitely had acquired at least a few cracked ribs, and he was struggling against a sprained leg as well.
"Han!" Lando shouted from the cockpit of the Lady Luck, still firing on all Coalition ships that he could.
"Looks like we're going to have more trouble!" one of the Brigadier captains shouted as a squad of Syck fighters soared into sight.
As the Republic reinforcements sped through the desert, an officer said into the radio of Cal Omas's AT-GT tank, "Supreme Commander, the city of Bestine has been overwhelmed with Coalition forces, fighting with Solo's faction. We've also got an army of what look like Dark Jedi."
"Focus on Mos Eisley," Omas replied, "We can let them pick each other off, then take the leftovers."
"Sir," Major Bracker said, "We've picked up on General Praxium traveling with Major Praxium and his Jedi companion. They are approaching an army of Tusken Raiders and Tatooinian residents. They are all along our trajectory towards Hutt controlled Mos Eisley."
"We'll take care of them along the way," Omas declared, "Send the drone bombers on ahead."
Sam determinedly piloted the landspeeder across the Dune Sea, focusing on the distant dogfight beteeen Republic and Coalition ships over the city of Bestine.
Far above them, just in the orbit of Tatooine's surface, a battle raged on between the Republic cruisers and Coalition's Hutt Cartel Dor'bullas and Black Sun skyhooks.
A part of Sam wished he could be piloting a command shuttle or even an Interceptor and joining in the space battle, just like old times. But there was little heroic about what the Republic military had become, even though the Coalition's pretense of liberation had been false from the beginning.
He saw nothing wrong with repelling the destructive influence of the crime syndicates, but Sam disliked being part of a campaign to expand Republic occupation of Outer Rim planets, and even Core Worlds that dissented.
His thoughts were interrupted by Tahiri rapping him on the shoulder.
"We've got trouble ahead," she warned.
Sam jerked his head to spot a host of Republic AT-GTs rolling their way, forming a circular boundary meant to entrap them.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," he grumbled.
General Hoff Praxium had been silent for almost the entire time, even during the skirmish against the Sith Lords. Yet, now he decided to speak up.
"Omas will not be easy on you, son. Treason against the Republic is a serious crime."
Tahiri was the one who rounded angrily on the old general.
"Now you can return to your circle of military elites, after what we did for you. After what your son did for you."
Praxium did not display a strong reaction to this. Rather, he turned hollowly to Sam and asked, "When your other Jedi friend killed me, why did she bring me back to life? She killed me in an instant, but then I came back moments later." He seemed to be weighing his options in a decision.
"I couldn't let you die, not even after everything you've done to me, and the galaxy," Sam replied, "You're my father, and I couldn't have lived with myself if I did nothing. Neither would Kira, if she hadn't undone what she did."
The lead AT-GT drew slightly closer to the surrounded speeder, and the cockpit opened on top to reveal Supreme Commander and Vizier Cal Omas, along with two masked Brigadiers specialized to serve as bodyguards.
The cockpit lift guided Omas and the guards to the sandy ground, and the military leader slowly approached the speeder.
Tahiri weakly grabbed hold of her lightsaber hilt as she scanned the surrounding vehicles, all armed with heavy laser cannons pointed at them.
"General Praxium, I am glad to see you are alive and well," Omas said, "I am dreadfully sorry that you were forced to confront the wrath of the savage Tuskens along with the traitorous Rebels. Now you are safe in the hands of your comrades in arms. So let us finish our objective and take care of these enemies of the state the way they deserve."
"It is thanks to the mercy of my son and the Jedi that I stand before you, Grand Vizier," Praxium replied, causing both Sam and Tahiri to gape at him in astonishment, "It is my recommendation that they receive a full pardon, along with General Solo and his faction."
Omas reacted with just as much surprise as Hoff's young companions.
"With due respect, General, think about what you are suggesting! These are supporters of the Jedi, who refused to serve in our fight against the Coalition terrorists. They are no better than the crime lords themselves. Do you really want to throw your lot into sympathizing with them, even if one is your own flesh?"
"This Republic, under your command, has become no better than the Empire!" Sam shouted, standing up in his seat and drawing his blaster, "Forceful military occupations! Drone bombing enemies with innocents in the line of fire! All in the name of political power!"
"This Republic is the galaxy's sole beacon of freedom!" Omas fired back, "And I am the defender of that beacon. These backwater planets owe us everything for keeping them safe from those barbaric gangsters! Our Republic army is the only thing preventing anarchy and lawlessness, and anyone who stands in the way of our mission is a traitor as far as I'm concerned. And that includes you, Major Praxium!"
"The Republic I signed up to fight for wanted none of that!" Sam replied furiously, "We fought for the right to self-determination of all planets! When they didn't want to remain under our military influence, we let them go in peace! You've become a corrupt warlord who has half the Senate under your thumb. The rest of the Senators follow you out of fear of being branded a traitor! But more people are waking up. They see you and your campaign for what it is!"
"I think that is enough talk," Omas sneered, turning to walk back to the lift that had brought him down from his cockpit. His two bodyguards silent followed.
"We have a war to win, if you don't mind. General Praxium, are you with us?"
Hoff draped an arm around his grown son and said, "Not anymore, Commander."
"So be it, then," Omas said as he got onto the lift and rose back up to the top of his AT-GT, "All of you will meet your punishment, and we can get back to the battle."
Omas signaled for the surrounding tanks to open fire just before disappearing into the cockpit.
Tahiri stood up and activated her lightsaber, limping on one leg still. She was prepared to go down defending herself, Sam and his father, even if they had no chance of escape.
But just then, the AT-GTs were blinded by a sandstorm blasted their way, the ground beginning to tremble under the might of four dozen giant feet.
"Take cover!" Sam yelled, diving behind the landspeeder as the tanks fired their heavy ammunition in all directions.
Leia Solo charged forward with her lightsaber ignited, leading an army of armed Tuskens and moisture farmer guerrillas, mounting a stampede of running bantha. The Brigadier vehicles quickly turned their attention to the new arrivals and opened fire.
"Let's get out of here, son!" Praxium yelled, scrambling to the front seat of the landspeeder.
"Not without a fight!" Sam shouted as he fired at the cockpit of Omas's vehicle, which was now firing on a new wave of Tuskens riding a herd of charging Banthas.
Tahiri jumped in front of a missile headed their way, shouting with vigor as she swatted the entire laser volley aside, into the rear of an AT-GT.
Then, she dropped to her knees, breathing heavily.
"Tahiri!" Sam shouted, running to her side, "What happened?"
Leia reached them at the same time, still fighting off Republic ammunition as she ran through the battlefield.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Master..." Tahiri gasped.
Tionne gasped in exhaustion as the blade of Darth Millennial plunged through her, having been worn down by the seemingly endless strength of the Sith.
"No!" Master Hamner shouted as his fellow Master staggered and fell.
He barely dodged a fatal stroke from Tenebrous as he rushed to the mortally wounded Tionne.
"Take the Knights and flee..." Tionne gasped, "Save yourselves and the Jedi legacy."
Kenth Hamner closed his eyes as he resumed his duel with Tenebrous, communicating an order with the Force to his brother and sister Jedi.
As Tionne expired and became one with the Force, the Jedi began to disengage from the battle and flee towards their transports.
As the Sith pursued and tried to stop them from fleeing, many of them began to freeze and drift in and out of self-autonomy.
"I still feel...possessed!" Millennial complained.
"Forget it and stop them from escaping!" Zannah shouted as the surviving Jedi began to take off in their landspeeders.
The bodies of roughly ten Jedi were scattered through the Tusken camp battleground.
Tahiri rose to her feet independently, and took a deep breath. "The time to mourn is later," she declared, "We have to get out of this first!"
"We have to take care of Omas first!" Sam shouted, "If we get rid of him, the Republic military will have no command and fall into confusion. They'll have to turn to our side."
Tahiri marveled in a mixture of awe and unsettlement.
"Sam, are you talking about assassination in the middle of a battle?" she asked.
"It's the only way!" Sam insisted, his eyed blaring with the cold fury of a soldier, "Now, it's just matter of getting to him!"
WELLSPRING OF LIFE
Kira's natural impulse was to rush at Ultor with a blur of her lightsaber, crying out as her blue blade met his red one.
Ultor bared his teeth through the glow created by both their sabers.
"Just as expected," he snarled.
Kira pulled back and struck at him again, moving her feet in any direction she could as she tried to land a bit.
Ultor's strategy was defensive at first, content to allow her to continually strike at him while he blocked each attack with his footwork matching hers.
While Kira pressed her offensive against her mortal enemy, Damask slipped away through a row of shelves, passing the glowing holocrons as he fled the battle.
Ultor soon decided that he had had enough toying with Kira. He aimed a swift blow towards her leg and sliced into her thigh.
Kira cried out as she stumbled off balance, striking a row of Holocrons sitting on the shelf.
The glowing artifacts collapsed to the marble floor and struck the ground with a series of cracks and bangs.
Around the two combatants, several columns of colored mist and smoke emerged through the shelves, filling the library's atmosphere.
Ultor lunged and swiped his blade at Kira again, aiming to vivisect her through the hip.
Kira was able to block the attack by holding her lightsaber diagonally in front of her left side, but the might of Ultor's blow knocked her clear onto her back.
Kira scooted backwards desperately as Ultor raised his lightsaber in an executioner's position, realizing she had one chance to defend herself.
Kira once again held up her lightsaber in a defensive measure, this time horizontally in front of her face. She kept her arms extended as Ultor struck downwards, pushing her own lightsaber closer and closer to her face.
Meanwhile, the Muun rushed through the library corridors until he reached a new part of the temple, a chamber that was covered in glowing black walls and incandescent orange-colored patterns of shapes and designs.
"This is urgent!" Damask said desperately, "This needs to end for good. If the Jedi girl or the Dark Master strike me down, then my midichlorians bring me back as they did before. My death is the only way that the midichlorians can be free, before they come to serve a new master."
The five Force priestesses appeared into being before Damask, all towering over his already tall frame.
"There is but one more way," Confusion said, "Recall how the highest concentration of midichlorians can overcome the most resistance."
"What do you mean?" Damask asked in confusion.
"Very few beings in the universe have the midichlorian count to stop the Sith army you created without failing or falling forever into darkness," Serenity explained, "You must have exceptional training in the way of midichlorians, or enough of them inside you to overrule the rest."
"But I cannot!" Damask protested hopelessly, "Even now, I cannot fight my own power. If I draw on more of it, it will draw me back into the dark side!"
"That is why it must be another," Joy replied calmly, looking to her fellow priestesses and exchanging knowing looks, "One who can learn from you and overcome the immense task that becomes more and more necessary."
"That leaves Kira Solo," Damask fretted, "But she is still at great risk. Completing this mission will destroy her, either through her soul or her life!"
"She cannot do it, then," said a voice from the air of the secluded room, "l will complete the mission in her place."
Damask gaped as the shimmering spirit of Anakin Skywalker appeared before him and the Force Priestesses, staring with cold determination at the old Muun.
"You, Master Skywalker? Can you control crude matter in the physical world from your position?"
"Not yet," Anakin replied, "That is why I need you to help me. For Kira's sake, and the sake of the Force itself."
TATOOINE
Darth Bane's unit of Sith had turned the IG droids into a series of scrap piles, advancing quickly on the Jedi.
"General Solo!" shouted Master Kahn urgently as he backed up towards the Falcon, desperately fending off the lightsaber of Darth Bane as the bald, serpent-faced human Sith advanced furiously.
"That's it, we're going back for Han!" Lando shouted, steering Lady Luck towards the ground.
Suddenly, Bane closed his eyes and began flickering them open and shut, the alchemical spell coming and going for seconds at a time.
In fact, all the Sith were going through this process, stumbling in battle against their Jedi opponents.
However, Kahn took advantage of this distraction and sliced his green blade through Bane's lightsaber arm, effectively disarming him before shoving him back.
Then the Jedi Master sent a powerful wave of Force energy at the three Sith Lords who had surrounded the Falcon, causing them to fly backwards and disappear behind the adobe buildings surrounding them.
Chewbacca had arrived at the side of his captain and best friend, lifting Han off of the sandy ground and carrying him to the docking Lady Luck.
"Looks like we will have to say goodbye to her after all, old pal," Han lamented sadly as Lando's ship docked.
The remaining Republic gunships were still struggling to hold off the Coalition Syck fighters, although now a string of Interceptors now joined them.
From the command bridge of the lead Republic cruiser, Admiral Ackbar said, "May the Force be with us all once more."
"Looks like we got some help!" Lando shouted as he guided Han and Chewie into the Lady Luck.
"What about the droids?" Han asked, looking on in concern at the Falcon, where Threepio and Artoo remained inside.
"Hurry up, Artoo, before we become dust and melt into the sand!" Threepio whined as Artoo nearly finished the engine repairs.
"There isn't time!" Lando replied as the ramp slid shut behind them.
Just then, the Falcon lifted off the ground, rising high above the heads of the lightsaber combatants on the ground and rapidly reached the levels of the aircraft doing battle.
"I don't believe it," Han marveled, "I just don't believe it."
Chewbacca roared with joy as he watched.
"Oh, Artoo, are you sure this was a good idea?" Threepio asked as he pulled the lever to jerk the Falcon straight backwards.
Artoo whistled an affirmative as his built-in machinery sliced into the Falcon's ammunition, activating all laser cannons as the ship flew into the heat of battle.
"They did it!" Han crowed.
"I can't believe we are doing this, Artoo," Threepio scolded, "You've got us into it this time."
Artoo gave his golden friend a command though a series of beeps.
"Get out of here? I heartily agree with that," Threepio replied, "For once you are talking sense."
Artoo gave another suggestion, one Threepio found far less agreeable.
"Take us where, did you say?" the protocol droid asked incredulously.
WELLSPRING OF LIFE
As Damask sat down and reached out with the Force, he concentrated on a set of burnt remains on the forest moon of Endor, remains that were mingled with the melted and burnt suit of Sith armor that remained on the long-forgotten pyre.
The midichlorians that had once manifested inside the organic compounds of those remains were called to action at once, over twenty thousand of them.
A cluster of gathered Ewoks pointed in amazement at the historic landmark of their forest as they sensed something unusual occurring inside the ruins of Darth Vader's armor, although they could not visualize the phenomenon.
The Ewoks chattered excitedly amongst themselves as they gathered around the pile of wood where the burnt suit still rested.
If this plan succeeded, Damask realized, then he could peacefully die, without needing to destroy his Sith creations with the same dark powers he had used to create them. However, as Damask called upon the midichlorians of Anakin Skywalker to bring him back to life, he could feel himself calling on countless other midichlorians as well, the midichlorians of the Sith Lords whose remains he had collected to bring back from the dead.
He could feel the dark side running through his veins, all while trying to shout it down.
So much was at stake, and so much of it depended on Darth Plagueis's own ability to resist his darker nature.
"This had better work," Damask whispered to himself as he used the Force to resurrect the Chosen One, "Everything depends on the success of this plan."
TATOOINE
Darth Bane gasped in shock as his severed arm returned to his socket, powered by the control of Darth Plagueis.
Meanwhile, the Sith across Tatooine felt their powers growing stronger as Hego Damask fired up their midichlorians, using his ability to command them to the maximum.
"Can you feel it?" Darth Zannah asked her fellow Sith, "Our connection to the dark side growing?"
"Yes," Millennial nodded, "The source of our abilities is growing more powerful as our strength rejuvenates."
"Then this is the time to crush the Jedi and all of their allies," Zannah declared, "Let us go forth and restore the Sith to their golden age."
Even the dissident Zabrak, Savage, was reveling in the dark side. His already bulky figure had grown even more muscular, surrounded with the green mist of Nightsister magic. With a roar, he sliced his lightsaber through Master Kahn, cutting him down.
"Master!" shouted Jedi Knight Althea Cruthers as she was taken by surprise by the resurrected Malten, retreating backwards to dodge the green-skinned Twilek's attacks.
WELLSPRING OF LIFE
"No!" Damask shouted as he continued to concentrate on his singular task, "Enough!"
"You must focus only on the being you are trying to bring back," Serenity said, "Let go of your lust for power and think only of the purpose of your manipulation of the midichlorians."
"I am trying to stop it," Damask grunted painstakingly, "All of it. But I just can't!"
Finally, he concentrated on the microscopic beings that had brought Anakin Skywalker into being, using his manipulation powers to summon them into existence before him, rather than at the place where Anakin's ashes had been left on Endor's moon.
"This is your chance to atone," the voice of Anakin's ghost reminded him, "as well as my chance. We will defeat them together, but you must do your part, Magister Damask. My midichlorian count can be of use."
"I will!" Damask vowed passionately, but a moment later, his eyes began to glow scarlet as he continued his pull on the midichlorians.
Finally, a collection of smoke and ashes materialized in the temple, flashing together with a series of miniature explosions, as the midichlorians reassembled the corporeal body of Anakin Skywalker.
Deep inside the heart of the Force library, Ultor nearly had Kira beaten, with the young woman barely maintaining a defense.
Kira was still sprawled on the ground, trying to keep Ultor's lightsaber blade away with her own, but she could nearly taste the plasma of her weapon as Ultor pushed it towards her face.
At that vital moment, Ultor sensed something, a cosmic shift in the laws of the Force. One that would change everything, and potentially undo his plans.
"The Chosen One!" he gasped.
Kira took advantage of her foe's distraction, raising a palm in his direction and using the Force to push him away from her.
Ultor landed against the side of another shelf, causing a few more holocrons to crack or shatter.
Kira quickly climbed to her feet and ducked behind another shelf, using her powers to throw a dozen holocrons at once at Ultor.
The devices flew across the room and crashed into the neighboring shelf, causing a large explosion of light and Force energy.
Kira backed away from the concoction she had inadvertently created, listening to the sound of several voices of the past whispering to her, shouting various secrets and curses in her direction.
"No!" Kira shouted, running in the opposite direction from the influence of the holocrons.
She looked around wildly and realized that Ultor had vanished, nowhere to be seen or felt through her Force connection.
Kira decided that at the moment, he wasn't important. What really mattered was getting away from all of the Force spirits screaming at her.
Keeping a firm grip on her saber hilt, Kira ran as fast as she could in the direction which she had come into the library. Her leg was still searing from the pain of Ultor's lightsaber wound, causing her to limp as she ran.
The mist was following her, Kira instantly realized, propelled by the fury of the midichlorians whose home Kira had encroached on, along with both Ultor and Hego Damask.
I sense great fear in you, a Sith from the past taunted.
Do not underestimate the allure of the darkness, warned the recognizable voice of Darth Talon.
Fear, anger, hate, Master Yoda rasped from beyond the grave, Suffering. Beware the power of the dark side.
The midichlorians are free, not meant to serve a master, Qui-Gon Jinn said.
The strong were meant to rule over the weak, Darth Bane expressed.
Still slowed down by her wounded leg, Kira stumbled into a corridor where she hoped the mist and the voices would not follow.
She kept running through the narrow, metallic walls until she reached an opening, looking back to where she could no longer see the Holocron mist.
"Anakin, where are you?" Kira asked, hoping that the Force ghost presence would shimmer into being before her.
Then, the walls began to shine with crystalized lights, with the flow of molten commencing under a thin layer of ground below Kira. She could see the stream of molten below her feet.
Kira kept her lightsaber on guard as she turned back to return into the library.
Out of the Holocron mist, a new figure emerged, one with a strange, unfamiliar presence.
"Anakin, is that you?" Kira asked cautiously.
But as the figure drew closer, Kira could see that it was someone else, somebody she had loved dearly.
"Ben!"
Kira's late brother had an accusatory expression on his face that Kira had never seen.
"You could have prevented my death, if you hadn't been in the way!" Ben's illusion snapped at her, drawing a lightsaber from his brown Jedi cloak.
"No, Ben, please!" Kira begged, on the verge of tears as her brother activated a red-bladed weapon.
"You're no Jedi," Ben fired at her, "You will never be a true Jedi."
Then she had a realization, one that converted her grief into rage.
"You're not my brother!" Kira snapped, charging at the illusion with her lightsaber thrust forward.
Kira's weapon poked into the Ben illusion's chest, and the young Jedi threw his lightsaber aside and fell to the floor.
Despite herself, Kira could not help but kneel at the side of her fallen brother, remembering the real Ben's tortuous last moments.
"Kira, please..." vision-Ben gasped as he finally faded from being.
Kira then lost control, falling beside the place where her brother had disappeared and started to burst into sobs. Through the crystalized cave wall, she could envision the burning Jedi Academy on Ossus, and the sight of Ben falling from the bridge on which Ultor had fatally struck him down.
He had been distracted by Kira's presence and efforts to help him, when he otherwise might have won and stayed alive...
No, Kira couldn't let her weakness reveal itself, not here. She needed to toughen up and let go of everything that tied her to grief and sorrow. She needed to focus on her anger, not her sadness.
She quickly dried her tears and stood up, gripping her saber hilt tightly.
Igniting her blue lightsaber, Kira trodden through the cave back towards the library entrance. She could still see the mist that had emitted from the holocrons, a multitude of voices screaming from the spirit realm at her.
"Kira," said another voice, one that sounded more real than Ben's.
Kira turned to regard the Force-ghost of Master Jinn once again. He was accompanied by the giant, black-clothed Force Priestess Serenity, her expressionless face gazing down at Kira in judgement.
"Where is he?" Kira asked, "I need to finish him off so that he doesn't gain total control over the midichlorians. Everybody is depending on me!"
"Kira, listen," Master Jinn said, "The job of stopping the midichlorians inside the Sith Lords will fall on Anakin. He has been brought back into the physical realm."
"You mean he's come back from the dead?" Kira asked in bewilderment, "Then he can come and help us win the war on Tatooine! He can defeat the Coalition and Omas's army!"
"Kira," Master Jinn admonished, "Anakin has a very distinct purpose here. With his concentration of midichlorians, he has the best chance of being able to shut down the life forms inside the Sith Lords that have been brought back against the will of the Force. Then, balance can be restored once the Force's will and natural laws are restored."
"But a danger remains," the Force Priestess Serenity added, "Ultor has already partially won the allegiance of the midichlorians when he challenged Plagueis on Tatooine and in this Wellspring. They still respond to Magister Damask for now, but they are eager to break away from him at all costs. If the Chosen One is not able to learn the secrets, then they may yet fall into the hands of the dark side."
"Then I must stop Ultor before he gets to Anakin," Kira determined, "That's why he ran away from me during our fight. I won't let him win."
She began to hurry towards the library entrance, leaving Qui-Gon and Serenity behind.
"Remember to be one with the living Force!" Qui-Gon called after her, "not to seek power over it!"
"Let go of your hate, and your attachments," Luke's voice urged again as Kira drew closer to the storm of mist that had emerged from the broken holocrons.
Kira breathed inward deeply and plunged herself back into the swirl of energy that had consumed the temple library.
Anakin Skywalker blinked several times, tapping his feet against the floor of the black and sparkled orange floor. It felt unreal, having returned to physical matter after so much time existing outside of it.
He felt a rush of emotions and thoughts that had not come so easily to him as a spirit- feelings that had been easier to let go of in death.
But he was a Jedi, and he would lay his attachments to rest.
"We'll have to do this quickly," he said to Hego Damask, "if we are to help Kira and the others."
But Damask was looking at Anakin with a hungry, greedy expression, beholding the fruits of his manipulation of the Force.
"This is what my abilities have reaped," Plagueis marveled, "The Chosen One, back from the dead. I am truly the conqueror of death, Darth Plagueis the Wise."
Anakin immediately sensed danger coming from the being who was circling predatorily around him.
"You brought me back so that we could both stop the horrors of the Sith," he reminded the Dark Lord, "The horrors that you made possible through your experiments."
"And look what my years of study have brought me now," Plagueis replied, his voice changing into a demonic, deep-throated pitch, "I will no longer have use for them when I have the Chosen One."
"I did not come back to be your puppet, Damask," Anakin said, feeling himself bubbling up with frustration, "I came back to defeat the Sith. Do you intend to teach me your secrets?"
Plagueis laughed in scorn, drawing his lightsaber from his robes.
"You wanted to learn my secrets, didn't you, boy?" he derided, "Does it hurt you now, that I had the power all along, while if it wasn't for me, you would be nothing but a ghost. It served me well to keep my secret from my apprentice, as you know."
Anakin paused, trying to fight down the rage that threatened him now. It was true, that although Palpatine had said that only Plagueis had managed to cheat death, he could have learned the secret to preventing Padme's death all along.
But he had seen what that kind of power had done to Plagueis, and what it was threatening to do to Kira. Had he not turned to the dark side, consumed by his lust to become more powerful, he might have saved Padme and himself.
"I learned a far greater power than you could have," Anakin replied, maintaining his calm and collected state, "in spirit, I have remained behind to guide the future of the light side. It was only through letting go of my hatred that I was able to learn such an ability, in cooperation with the midichlorians instead of in control of them."
"You seem confident in your answer," Plagueis observed, "A pity it is, that you never learned to cheat death. But if you submit yourself to me, I can make everything the way you always wanted."
As the mist that had escaped from the shattered holocrons travelled into the chamber where Anakin and Plagueis faced off, a trail of spiking flames spread along with it, rising high to the cosmic ceiling. Anakin looked around the room as the fire grew higher.
He could hear voices speaking from beyond the flames, voices from long ago...
I am more powerful than the Chancellor; I... I can overthrow him. And together, you and I can rule the galaxy... make things the way we want them to be!
Anakin, stop! Come back, I love you!
He could see Padme running to him from inside the towering flames, trying to escape the fire that was threatening to consume them both...
Anakin!
Anakin turned away from Damask and reached his hand towards the holocron-enhanced fire, trying to reach over to the other side...
Anakin, how could you! Padme's voice said as she slowly started to disappear, You were supposed to save me!
Then, the face of Mace Windu appeared behind the fire, replacing Padme.
You failed the Jedi Order. You will never make amends for what you've done.
Master was replaced by the younglings, screaming for help as Anakin's lightsaber moved across the floor.
"Enough!" Anakin screamed, reaching out with his hand towards Damask.
The Muun's yellow-blades lightsaber ignited whole simultaneously flying out of his hand and landing in Anakin's.
Then, the old Dark Lord raised his white, powdery hands and unleashed a torrent of Sith lightning at Anakin.
The Chosen One caught the crackling bolts on the stolen lightsaber blade, buckling under the weight of the onslaught but nonetheless standing his ground.
Then, Anakin leapt forward with Force-enchanted speed and kicked Plagueis square in the chest, nearly raising his foot above his head to do so, while simultaneously jabbing the yellow plasma blade into the Muun's side.
Damask toppled down, hitting his back and cylinder-shaped head against the tiled floor. He was moaning in pain from the lightsaber wound, with Anakin standing over him with the blade at his chin.
For a moment, Anakin saw not the weakened Hego Damask, but his wife Padme below the blade, just as Kira had seen Ben wounded on the ground.
"Anakin..."
This illusion of Padme looked scared, but then reached her hand towards him, past the blade of the yellow bar of plasma, her fear replaced by love and warmth directed at him.
Anakin closed his eyes and deactivated his lightsaber, allowing the vision to pass along with his rage and regret.
"I won't be consumed by greed, not again. Will you help me, or will you let your Sith concoctions bring ruin to the galaxy?"
Damask panted, gasping for breath as the flames continued to surround them both, reaching the ceiling.
"You were motivated by love," he whispered, "You turned to the dark side to save the one you loved and prevent death."
"Yes, I wanted to learn your secrets to stop Padme from dying, I didn't want anyone I loved to suffer again. But now I know the truth. I need to restore balance to the Force once more."
Damask placed his aged hand over his lightsaber wound, concentrating on keeping himself alive, willing his midichlorians to maintain his bodily functions.
"I knew love once, and loss," he said, "I too wanted to prevent unnecessary sorrow. But now I see that grief cannot be avoided, but it does not need to consume the soul."
Anakin looked down at the wound he had inflicted, boring deep into the flesh of the former Sith Master.
"We'll have to work together if we are to win," he said, "Are you ready to teach me what you know?"
"We'll have to do it fast," Damask replied weakly, struggling to his feet, "The midichlorians are losing patience."
Behind the flames, Darth Ultor had witnessed the entire scene unfold. He had seen Plagueis's corruption upon summoning the Chosen One back from the dead, his lust as he exercised the powers that he had long sought to keep to himself. He had seen Anakin's struggle to maintain his sanity through the dark visions, but as he stared down his two adversaries, Ultor saw another figure in the flames, reaching to him from beyond death.
"Skyler," Luke Skywalker was whispering "it's never too late."
Luke's face was replaced by Darth Talon's, looking as alive and earnest as she had in the dark cave.
Finally, Talon disappeared and none other than Ben Solo had taken her place, before he too disappeared into the inferno without a word.
Ultor watched as Damask extended a hand towards Anakin Skywalker's forehead, tapping into the countless thousands of midichlorians inside the revived Jedi Knight.
"First, you must call on the power of the life forms inside of you," Damask said as he peered into Anakin's inner living Force, "The midichlorians inside you make up your living Force. Do you feel them?"
As Anakin concentrated on the living Force within himself, and its connection to the luminous energy that made up every other being, Ultor sensed his own power, and the midichlorians that craved to expand their influence.
He truly saw himself for what he had become, rather than what he had aspired to be. For many years, Ultor's one goal had been supreme power, with no need to recognize harmony with any other beings, or with the living Force. But Anakin and Hego Damask had found an internal peace in a way that he never could have, through their connection to the bonds that drove other beings to love and protect one another.
It was not immortality that had brought them to this peace, but recognition that true power transcended the need to cheat death.
Ultor could not stand to ponder this anymore. He could feel his internal weakness growing, and he knew that he had to make a fast decision. Either he continued his rampage of power, and justified everything that he had fought for, or he surrendered to the light and allowed himself to face the justice that was coming to him.
Luke had said to the end that there was a way to return from the darkness, as he had seen in his father Anakin. Luke had died trying to turn Skyler away from the dark side, while sacrificing his life to continue the way of the Jedi Order.
Skyler did not notice his pupils changing color as he blinked rapidly, from yellow to their natural blue.
He quickly turned away from the alluring flames to leave, but then stopped at the sight of Kira Solo standing before him, glowering with every inch of raw fury.
She was determined to stop his warpath, to prevent further tragedies from occurring at his hands just as so many had.
Kira dipped her lightsaber upwards, gripping it with both hands as she prepared to engage in battle.
Without giving his choice another thought, Skyler hoisted up his deactivated lightsaber and tossed it in Kira's direction, while holding up both hands in surrender.
Kira watched Skyler throw his lightsaber, her determined rage turning into confusion. She caught the metallic hilt and gazed momentarily at her most hated foe. Kira, for a moment, tried to weigh her anger and hatred with their opposites, the same compassion that had stopped her from striking down an unarmed Damask.
She wasn't here to kill in cold blood, she was here to help the Jedi win against the Sith that had come to lay waste to them. She was there to prevent the Force from shifting out of balance with the unethical manipulation of its living energy, to help fulfill the legacy her grandfather and uncle had begun, to avenge the losses she and the Jedi had suffered...
The losses that Ultor was responsible, the pain he would inflict on more beings if he could...her parents, Tahiri, Sam, and more. And here he stood, unarmed before Kira, his face etched with remorse and humility.
Kira activated Ultor's lightsaber blade, gripped in the metallic hand that replaced the one Ultor had cut off.
Both the red and blue light emitted from the sabers shined against Kira's face, with each color reflecting on one half of her face. Kira dipped her blue blade forward towards the stationary Skyler while pointing the red blade horizontally so that her face glowed bright crimson.
Then, Kira crossed both lightsabers in an X and charged with a yell, preparing to decapitate her enemy with both weapons.
In that moment, as Kira rushed at him ready to cut him down, Ultor realized how much his weakness had cost him, how much it had nearly ruined him once again! This was his reward for letting himself to surrender to the emotions felt by lesser beings like Luke Skywalker and his ilk.
He was far above them, and he would never let himself fail again.
Just as Kira reached Ultor, lightsabers crossed with his neck caught in between, both of them reached a vital and sudden realization. Kira realized that she was allowing her attachments to consume her soul, to bring her further down the dark path she had dragged herself on. She could end the cycle now, and allow her compassion and inner peace overcome the boiling rage. She didn't need to kill in cold blood, even if Ultor was at the other end of the lightsaber.
But at that instant, a torrent of dark crackling energy struck Kira in the chest, sending a jolt of agonizing pain throughout her entire bone structure.
Kira screamed as the lightning tore through her, flying backwards onto the temple floor. She let both ligthsabers slip through her grasp as her hands weakly twitched in response to the jets of dark energy hitting them.
His eyes shining bright yellow, Ultor sneered at his Jedi prey. He was tired from his intense usage of the dark side, but it had paid off and stopped him from falling to his own weakness.
"You will never be stronger than me," he snarled, "The light side will always be weaker, bound by the Jedi's rules of compassion and morality. The dark side has given me all the power that the Force has to offer, and I will now use it to destroy you and the Skywalker bloodline."
Internally, Kira cursed herself for her momentary thoughts of mercy. She choked on the flames rising around her as well as from the damage done to her organs. Her hesitation had cost her everything, while Ultor's hate had served him. Ultor panted with exhaustion as sweat from the towering flames poured through his wavy red hair.
"You will die here in this temple, alone and isolated from the ones you love. When I have killed you, I will finish off Plagueis and your old Jedi ghost. The midichlorians are mine to control, forever. As is your destiny."
Extending a hand towards Kira, Ultor concentrated on the midichlorians egging on his power, bridging the gap between them and the life forms inside Kira. With deep concentration and an intense expenditure of his internal strength, Ultor willed the vital functions inside Kira Solo to shut down.