"You will have to partake of these waters eventually." Abeloth warned.
The monstrous entity momentarily startled Vestara, and she noticed that Ben wasn't with her captor. He must still be at the Pool. She thought.
Vestara did her best to remain calm. She needed to drag this out. She wanted so badly to believe that Ben was right about help arriving. "The Force gives me all the nourishment I need." She continued using the Force to dull her thirst and hunger. She knew she couldn't keep this up forever, but hoped it would be for long enough. While Abeloth was with Ben at the Pool of Knowledge, Vestara saw what seemed like bright flashing lights and what looked like explosions in the sky. After they ended, she felt the death of Ship through the Force. This helped to reinforce that hope. Abeloth snapped her out of her thoughts.
"I can tell you're lying. And you can't keep using the Force to nullify your body for long. Soon, you will have to drink."
Vestara put on a stern look. "You can't define my limits. Me and Ben can beat those odds."
Abeloth chuckled. She looked at her captive with a smile that seemed to boar straight into Vestara's soul. "All who've faced me have thought that. Guess where they are now, child."
Vestara refused to let Abeloth's words invade her mind. She redirected her thoughts to Ben. His ridiculous grin that he thought was attractive, but she actually wanted to smack clean off his face-but at the same time, she also thought that it was adorable. How he cared so much for her. His warm, comforting embrace. The fact that every time he'd call her, Ves, it seemed like he was purring her name.
Abeloth quickly used Vestara's thoughts as ammunition. "You love the Skywalker boy. Well what if I told you that he gave in quickly?"
Vestara's eyes widened. Ben couldn't have! She thought.
It was then that she realized that this was exactly the distraction Abeloth wanted! Her dristraction had caused her to begin feeling her painful hunger and thirst again. "Give in to your bodily needs." Abeloth chided. Vestara looked at the Font. Her mouth was very dry. Her lips slightly parted.
Just then, a millennia old ruin collapsed by what seemed like an act of the Force, and fell onto Abeloth! Vestara looked over, and saw Ben in the settling dust. "Come on!" He yelled. Vestara didn't think twice. She bolted after him. She reached out for his hand once she was closer, but her hunger and thirst quickly overpowered her. She tripped and fell to the ground! "Ben!" She cried. He didn't waste time at all, and quickly hoisted her up.
"You will pay with your lives!" Abeloth screamed. She burst from the ruins.
Ben swept Vestara off her feet, and took off. He called on the Force to give him strength and to expand his field of vision.
Luke was thrown to the edge of the Lake of Apparitions! He clawed at the ground, trying to not fall in. He saw the Sith jump onto Abeloth's back, and claw at her face! Abeloth screeched in pain. Just then, some of her life force seemed to drain. As though avatars in the real world were either heavily maimed or destroyed. Luke managed to get back onto his feet. "She's weakening!" He yelled.
"I felt it!" The Sith replied.
"No! This can't be happening!" Abeloth wailed.
The Sith unleashed another storm of lightning upon the monster. Luke waited for the flurry to end. Once the unknown Sith ended his barrage, Luke charged at Abeloth, knocking her to the ground! He straddled her, and began punching her in the face!
Dark, black, viscous blood sprayed as Luke continued the blows!
The Sith hoisted a large boulder to him with the Force, and held it over his head. Luke quickly took notice. He gave his adversary a stomp to the groin, then leapt off of her. Before she could get back up, the Sith chucked the boulder at her!
Abeloth roared out in anguish. She snarled at the mortals, anger billowing out of her through the Force. Electricity began crackling from her tentacles, then she unleashed a barrage of lightning upon the Sith and Luke! Luke's chest burned agonizingly! The Sith groaned as the jagged bolts of lightning hit him.
Abeloth turned to Luke. "You've caused all of this!" She screamed.
She charged him. Luke was still recovering from the lightning, and couldn't react in time! She knocked Luke to the edge of the lake. "Apologize with your life! Succumb to your fate!" Abeloth cried.
"I will not go down with you!" Luke yelled. He barreled out of the way, and kicked Abeloth into the lake! As she began quickly thrasing, her tentacles grappled onto Luke's body, dragging him beneath the water's surface, into the Depths of Eternity!
Under the water, he attempted to free himself from her grasp! He fought and kicked beneath the waves, trying to make her lose grip of him! You better not die by her hand, Skywalker. If you are to die, I'd rather it be because you died in these depths and not from Abeloth. That voice seemed to match that of the Sith. Luke began feeling an increase of strength, and felt revitalized. Luke sent a kick to his adversary, and it immediately sent her off of him.
Abeloth's tentacles rapped in the water, searching for Luke's body to grasp back onto. If he had his lightsaber, he'd have cut them off. Luke Force Pushed Abeloth further deeper into the water. He felt a pull on him by her. As she pulled him closer to her, he socked her in the face with his fist! Her black, oily blood spilled out, and into the water.
Luke began hearing cries and screams of anger and vengeance. He looked around in the water, and saw the spirits of what seemed like victims of Abeloth charging towards her! Abeloth attempted to fight off these new foes, but was quickly overpowered, and they dragged her deeper into the lake! Luke knew that he was done for. Abeloth was trapped in the lake by the very people she had once consumed over the period of her intervals of chaotic reigns. Satisfied, Luke stopped trying to tread the water. He panted, and held his chest. He finally felt satisfied. He wouldn't live to see Jaina and Jag's wedding, and later his son and Vestara's wedding. He wouldn't see the next generations of Skywalkers and Solos. But he was content and satisfied because Abeloth was now defeated, most likely for the time being, but a long time. There's no escape for me. In the distance, he thought that he saw what looked like honey colored hair. "Mara..." he said, reaching out to join his wife.
Ben kept running with his girlfriend in his arms. The Force allowed him to easily dodge incoming projectiles from Abeloth, and stationary objects. The Force fueled his body, but he couldn't rely on it for too long. Eventually, he knew he'd get tired, and he and Vestara would get killed.
Just then, an explosion was heard behind them! Another one occurred much closer, and sent Ben and Vestara soaring through the air! Vestara landed in a roll. She looked up, and saw the Rude Awakening bombarding Abeloth. She also felt Abeloth's presence slowly weaken and fade. Then she realized that she hadn't landed near Ben. "Ben?" She said.
"Ben!" She yelled.
"Ben, where are you?!"
Vestara looked around, panicking! She weakly stood up. No, no! Please still be alive! She thought.
"Ves!" Ben called.
Vestara's heart fluttered. She tried to make her way to her boyfriend, but stumbled. She took a small break for a few seconds, then regained her footing. Her ears were ringing, and she could feel the vibrations of the explosions which sounded so distant. It all made it hard to hear Ben, but she knew she heard him. She looked in the tree canopies, and saw Ben hanging by many vines! "Ben!" She screamed.
"Help me!" Ben called. His voice sounded muffled to her, but she sensed his desperation.
Vestara didn't have her lightsaber, and she was certain that Ben lost his in the explosion. "Do you see my lightsaber!" Ben called, his voice seeming to sound a little clearer.
Another explosion followed by more laserfire deafened Vestara's response. She reached out through the Force. She felt Abeloth's pained cries and her ever-fading presence. Then, she felt Ben's lightsaber calling out. Despite her hunger and thirst, she continued reaching out for it. She gestured, and it flew into her hand after a few seconds. She rushed to Ben's aid, and cut down the tree that had ensnared him.
Through the Force, Abeloth's presence fully faded. Vestara rushed-it was more of a stumble-to Ben, and pulled off the vines that had remained on him. They began hugging, and many tears were shed. Vibrations of the Awakening landing were felt. Vestara helped Ben to his feet, and they saw Jaina exiting the ship. Her facial expression gave off despair. "I'm sorry to interrupt this, but I have some unfortunate news."
On the Rude Awakening, the trio watched as Luke's brain activity continue, but his heart had stopped beating. Ben was leaning his forehead against the hovergurney, quietly sobbing. Jaina held Luke's hand to her. Vestara had her hand on Ben's back, comforting him. She knew what it was like to lose parents. But unlike her parents, Luke seemed to have a lot of genuine care and love towards his son. Vestara realized that she wouldn't get to experience that from him, and that had her feeling sad to.
"Please wake up." Ben whimpered. He somehow hoped that with enough begging, that fate could be undone, and his father could be brought back. "You can't leave us like this!" Ben cried. Tears fell down Vestara's eyes. She hugged Ben tightly. His tears made her neck and right shoulder all soggy, but she continued holding him there.
"How is his brain active, but not his heart?" Jaina asked. Tears trickled down her eyes too.
Ben sniffled. "The Mind Walkers… predicted this… he must've fallen… into the Depths… the Depths of Eternity…"
Vestara hugged him tightly, allowing him to cry into her shoulder. Jaina decided not to ask if it would be possible to rescue Luke. None of it makes sense! If his heart isn't beating, his brain shouldn't be operating! She thought. Nevertheless, it was happening. Thoughts began overwhelming her mind. She didn't know what the Mind Walkers were exactly, but they couldn't know everything. At least that's what she was hoping for. Maybe... She thought.
"I think I know how we can save him." She said.
Ben looked up from Vestara. "How? He's gone! You can't save someone from the... from the..." Ben couldn't finish his sentence, and just sent his face back into Vestara.
Jaina remained adament. "Not if we're fast enough. The spirit and body are one, held together through the Force! We might be able to keep his blood circulating! If his physical body is still alive, it might cause the Force to draw his spirit back into it!" Jaina explained.
It was a massively and stupidly far-fetched hypothesis, but Ben wasn't ready to accept that his father was gone. He took a deep breath, and nodded. He hoped that there could be even just a fraction of a 1 percent chance to save his father, and he wanted to take it desperately. The trio worked fast. Ben and Vestara rotated out on doing chest compressions to keep Luke's blood pumping, while Jaina plotted a course for Shedu Maad. Once there, they would hook him up to a machine to circulate his bodily fluids for them.
