Avengers: Infinite Wars

by free man writer

The Clone Wars are in full swing with the galaxy divided. The Jedi lead the clone army against the infinite droid army of the Separatists. Yet a wild card enters the fray. The Avengers. From there, newer, more sinister and deadlier threats emerge and The Galaxy, no, the universe, shall never be the same again. Co-written by Jebest4781 and BulletStormX. Now in Season 4.

71. To Gain you must Lose

Oooooo I have been waiting to get to this chapter for AGES NOW!

Finally, a chapter I have long wanted to get to is here and by the length in which you all see it to be, hope you're ready for a rollercoaster.

Finally been seeing people in the reviews at long last picking up on what I had set up nearly 50 chapters ago.

So glad the time in setting it up is gonna pay off.

Get ready for it folks.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 71: To Gain you must Lose

The Dark Lord of the Sith.

That's who he was.

The current figurehead of the Sith, the ancient enemy of the Jedi.

The Order of the Sith Lords that had been reorganized and implemented by its founder, Darth Bane.

He was the culmination of a thousand years of planning to bring down the Republic and the Jedi Order. The final result of Darth Bane's Rule of Two, one which the present Sith Master sought to honor into its fruition.

Sheev Palpatine was his mask.

Darth Sidious was his true name.

This all began years ago back when he was merely a curious child back at his Nabooian estate.

Him using what funds he had access to in procuring a litany of Sith artifacts and studying over them for years. All this soon affected his life more than he could ever imagine when he soon met one Hego Damask II when he visited his family home to conduct business with his father as a financier.

After a "simple" conversation, Sheev soon realized he was in the presence of his soon to be master of the Dark Side, Darth Plagueis the Wise.

Since that fateful encounter and for the years after learning under his tutelage, Sheev became a Lord of the Sith by discarding his birth name to take on Sidious. He learned just about everything he could from Plagueis and worked through the Grand Sith Plan in the present time.

Things may have stretched out further like many of their predecessors, yet opportunities arose. The Master and Apprentice soon realized the time to finally finish off their forefathers' desired goal would be done in their present lives through a handful of great circumstances that were too good to be true.

For years, decades of climbing the political ladder before at last gaining the ultimate seat of power as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

The Sith now ran the very institution that had beaten them back so many times before.

Oh, the irony and the vindication was like sweet nectar for the secret Sith Lord.

And with his present apprentice -Darth Tyranus- working over the Separatist Alliance, Sidious essentially has control of both sides of the board.

All this time of meticulous planning was at long last paying off in dividends. The Clones which were meant to serve the Jedi now served the Republic and without them knowing, the Chancellor directly should he ever give the word.

The Jedi were nothing more than fools, blinded by their past glories and were all too willing to pounce upon a war where they assumed they would be fighting the Sith themselves.

It was almost too good for the Chancellor, having regularly scheduled meetings with his order's ancient enemies and actually having sway over them.

On top of all that, there was Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One.

He recalled the day he and his Master tipped the scales of the Force firmly to the Dark Side and how it responded in kind to their actions. The creation of the fabled Chosen One that would eventually grow to at long last bring the Sith down.

Wherein Plagueis feared the arrival of the Chosen One, Sidious relished in the idea of corrupting this being and swaying him or her to their side.

After all, if they could bend the Force to their will, who's to say the same can't be said for the Chosen One.

And as if by divine Force intervention, the Chosen One wound up right on his doorstep on Coruscant. Of course this all happened after a series of events with the Trade Federation blockade of Naboo, having a pair of Jedi saving the former Queen Amidala and taking them to Tatooine; all before returning to Coruscant and then Naboo to take it back.

Who would've thought the Chosen One was on that backwater desert Hutt owned planet.

He made sure to befriend the young boy, always working to be the man Skywalker could always go to no matter the circumstances. To have his absolute trust over the Jedi Order.

And it worked.

For eleven years now, Sidious cultivated a personal relationship with Anakin, hoping that he would be viewed as a father figure to the boy.

Everything was going according to plan.

…was being the keyword now.

Everything was going according to plan until they showed up.

He honestly didn't know who threw the giant rock in the metaphysical pool of destiny, but it clearly quaked up everything.

The Avengers.

Just the thought of them nearly made Palpatine drop all pretenses and fully embrace his role as the Dark Lord of the Sith.

They had come in at a pivotal time, nearly half a year after the start of the Clone Wars and the group had made their debut out of nowhere. Over a short span of time, they quickly made a name for themselves with their extraordinary abilities and lack of connection to the Force.

At first, they only held Sidious' intrigue as they had been an unforeseen arrival in the galaxy, one the Force didn't even foresee in appearing.

He was very interested in them from the get-go as the abilities, powers and skills that they possessed would undoubtedly be useful to just about anybody who had it.

Especially after seeing the display of the one called "Ant-Man" grow to the size of a building.

Yes, Palpatine was very interested in these Avengers in the beginning.

But then…

Then they started to annoy him.

Little things here and there like their constant participation in battles and them saving many Jedi, Clones and especially innocent civilians.

But then they began aggravating him.

The Jedi started to speak more with them then him and whenever he did meet with them, the Jedi had brought up suggestions and opinions from these backwater mules.

Most of all, they had started to ruin his plans with his destined Apprentice, Anakin Skywalker.

They had befriended the boy and he now spent more time with them then neither the Jedi nor him.

That right there plainly infuriated the Dark Lord.

They were now an active thorn in his side and had only continued to grow in irritation and rage, especially with their numbers seemingly always rising.

Looking out his window behind his desk, Palpatine glared in utter hatred and fury at the Jedi temple far in the distance.

Yet surrounding the structure was most of the cityscape as he could barely see signs of construction.

The scenery now held a big reminder for him of a threat which may ruin the Grand Plan in its entirety.

Ultron.

Sidious performed herculean restraint yet several strings of lightning danced in between his fingers.

He was honestly glad the Veil of the Dark Side was still held up. He and his late Master had spent much time setting it up to help cloud both their actions and Force signatures from the Jedi so neither of them would be exposed until the time was right.

Not to mention the private places where he was allowed to drop his guard and channel more of the Force. Locations which were more shielded from other Force adepts and be his true self for a short time before returning to his duties as Chancellor.

For it was with these two alone which helped cover Sidious' great frustrations on the recent events which spanned all these past months.

Yet the mad AI threw a wrench in all those plans.

Ultron nearly knew all their secrets and was keeping the bigger ones quiet just for the hell of it. He already had revealed a good chunk of them to the overall populace, which was greatly chipping away Sidious' plans.

He wanted both sides to kill each other in a manner similar to the Sith plan only on a more extreme degree.

Total extinction of all organic sentient life.

It was now an outright chore trying to maintain a balance with all these issues happening all at once.

At least Ultron hasn't found the only copy of the "battle station" -presently held on a physical storage device- one which will begin construction once the Grand Plan has reached its fruition.

Though now it may end up being a pipe dream.

He was dealing with not one but two wildcard elements in the plan with both being enough of a threat to have it completely ruined in one fell swoop.

And that was just these two factions.

The recent summit of the Mandalorians made the Sith Lord be wary towards that system as he would be a fool to disregard a warrior culture famed for its abilities to match and kill Jedi and Sith alike. History has shown them to be more than capable of standing with the best of the best Force users had to offer.

The Republic occupation on Mandalore was starting to wane as things were being more "cooperative". All but one of the Mandalorian factions were now banded together and working with Duchess Satine to combat Ultron. This made the Republic Senate have the audacity to rescind the occupation to earn more trust with the people of Mandalore.

Then there were the strange rumblings going on in Outer Rim. Something about a new group of bounty hunters with far more morality then they're worth spreading their influence and growing in strength and numbers.

All of these variables, these unforeseen circumstances and players…

This was not supposed to happen.

Bumps along the roads are one thing with some surprises here and there but what's transpired in this past year was nothing short of derailment.

The Avengers have drastically changed things and Ultron only added more fuel to the fire.

And Sidious could not see any of this coming.

And that frustrated to downright infuriated him down to his very core.

His eyes briefly flickered into the sickly yellow they usually are as they glared in pure, unadulterated hatred towards the Jedi Temple.

Reaching out on his senses, he looked towards a certain part of the temple as he saw a peculiar individual meditating. In front of him was a holocron, which he activated to learn more from what was stored inside.

Now this person was something of both great interest and worry for Sidious.

Not only was this a wayward Avenger, who had returned with his colleagues not so long ago, but this person oddly had a very strong connection to the Force. One which rivals Yoda, perhaps more.

He had known of this Vision from what the Avengers told him when he first met them to learn who was missing out in the vast galaxy. A synthetic bio-android which is clearly extraordinary with how it was created.

Yet he just never knew the power he bore until he came to Coruscant, which immediately put him on edge.

That gem in his forehead in particular… It was like a beacon in the Force. It was unlike anything Palpatine had ever sensed. It was beyond the Force.

Where all the Avengers save for several had absolutely no connection or even a hint of the Force in their being, Vision was somethin else.

That stone in his forehead was something else.

The power that it possessed was infinite.

It was glorious, powerful, beautiful even…

And it was in the possession of those monk-like fools and blind sheep, the Jedi.

If he could acquire that object…

Palpatine exhaled a sigh and swiftly cut off the Force sight at the Jedi Temple. He had to be extra precautious with the synthetic Avenger as he may possibly see through the Veil of the Dark Side given his extraordinary power and expose him right away unlike Ultron.

His eyes drifted down and a level of concern began to build up for the Sith Lord.

Perhaps if he kept his distance and the Veil up all times, this recently returned Avenger would be none the wiser to his presence.

However, the same could not be said for what lay beneath the Jedi temple.

Sidious went back to his desk to sit and ponder on his next course of action.

Specifically, how to address that which lay hidden underneath the very feet of the Jedi.

And speaking of the Jedi…

Sitting at his console, Barel Ovair was cross referencing a number of recent occurrences.

"Nothing." The Jedi Scholar groused to himself.

He looked through several more signals and messages and once again was unsatisfied with what he saw.

"Dammit!" He said aloud in aggravation, slamming his hand down on the table he was seated at. The scholar groaned as he soon began typing something into another device.

"Whoa now, there's a reaction I'd never thought I'd hear from the scholarly sort." Spoke a laid back male voice that Ovair was all too familiar with.

"Not now, Vos." Barel said, teeth clenched. "I'm busy."

"We're all busy these days, Ovair." Quinlan Vos said, standing next to the Jedi scholar. "Case you forgot about the war."

"I am very much aware of the war, Quinlan." Barel said with a roll of his eyes. "Fairly certain everyone is by this point."

The Kiffar Jedi Master gave the scholar a strange look, crossing his arms with a scrutinizing gaze present.

"Alright, spill. What's got you so worked up?"

Rather than denying such a question, Ovair huffed and continued sifting through the data he had been reviewing for the past hour now. "A number of things. Multitasking used to work well for me, but now it's a struggle."

"So just focus on one thing at a time." Vos suggested. "You do know that multitasking takes practice."

"I know Vos I just…" Ovair couldn't even finish as he leaned into his hand and groaned. "I was just there. I visited not too long ago. Everything was in working order."

Quinlan gave the Jedi a hard gaze, one which Barel picked up on and sighed.

"Apologies, Vos." The Scholar earnestly said. "I didn't mean to get so snappy with you. I just…"

"Have a lot to deal with, I know, trust me." The Kiffar Jedi said in understanding. "This war has taken its toll on all of us."

Taking a deep breath and calming himself down, the scholar collected his thoughts. Soon enough he focused his attention again to the man beside him.

"Vos, I need you to do something for me." He said, turning to the black haired Jedi with total seriousness in his eyes.

"What is it, Barel?"

The scholar handed over Vos a device he was using not long ago. "This holds a number of Republic outposts I need you and your squad to check out."

Quinlan inspected some of these outposts for a moment. "Any problems?"

"Yes, they are no longer sending out an all clear signal."

Vos' expression hardened. "You don't think-"

"By this point, I hate to say but we must assume the worst these days." Barel grimly said.

"That's so encouraging." Vos said. "All of these aren't transmitting anything?"

"It's not just that, but something with how this was done in a short amount of time is making me worried. I don't know if there's a legitimate pattern or a common, unique variable but-"

"I get ya, Barel. I'll check 'em out right away."

"Thank you."

"And I gotta ask, but what else have you been-"

"Just some more… personal projects. Ones I hope won't be ruined with the present war."

-Scene Cut-

Asajj sat alone, legs crossed and hands on her knees in deep meditation.

It had been a number of days since Savage Opress had been sent off to be Dooku's temporary apprentice to keep up appearances of her supposed demise.

She had done her part with the present plans against Sidious by supplying Dooku her "replacement". All she had to do now was to get stronger for the eventual clash against the Master of the Sith.

Yet… she's struggling.

Her hand-to-hand was on top form, so no worries there. Her weapons proficiency had struggled a little as she wasn't used to using anything else other than a lightsaber, but she's been improving quite well.

No, what has been giving her issues lately was a personal problem of hers with the Force.

She thought back to her training session with Lord Dooku when she first realized she had this hidden power within her.

And in a way, she found out that was true.

It only surfaced a few times in her life and never came out since.

The first time was shortly after her Jedi Master Ky Narec had died and she was overwhelmed by the combined forces of the Rattatak warlords. She almost died and in her desperate time, she suddenly got a large flush of power coursing through her which she used to wipe out the army single handedly.

Back then, she had thought it was merely a fluke, a onetime occurrence of her being one with the Force to turn the tide to avenge both Ky Narec and those oppressed on Rattatak.

The next time, however, occurred when she first clashed against Anakin Skywalker on the jungle moon of Yavin 4.

She was superior to the former padawan, given she had more experience and power over him; on top of not being restrained by the virtues of being a Jedi. Unfortunately, the tables were turned when she had pushed Skywalker too far for his fight for survival. Him using an enhanced Force Scream to overwhelm her on top of some temple ruins hanging over a massive canyon.

In the end, she lost and fell to her doom…

Or so she thought as she felt a familiar power course through her to save from her death defining fall. It brought on a sense of remembrance, yet she was delusional from the massive drop; she thanked the Force for saving her life from such a drop.

She failed in taking out Skywalker back then as her initial test. Yet to her surprise, Dooku accepted her as his Apprentice regardless of her failure; unless she had actually died.

The third and last time was what really confirmed things.

In an effort to strengthen her tolerance to pain, she willingly submitted herself to allow her Master to shock her continuously with his Sith Lightning.

What neither had expected was the momentary explosion of energy that came out from her body once her threshold had been hit.

A bluish white aura radiating off of her, concentrated in and around her hands.

She stared at this sudden ability in absolute awe and wonder, feeling herself heal from all the damage dealt to her by her Master and power surging from within. Memories of the past two occurrences coming back, making her realize she wasn't hallucinating at all for a firm confirmation.

Yet just as quickly had she realized these powers, they just as easily subsided and all but vanished.

That had been the only time she had ever been able to visibly see the latent power that Tyranus and Sidious had so often spoken of that she possessed.

Since then, they had been trying to figure out just how to draw it out again. To see and feel eternity again.

It was as if something was blocking her from accessing this latent power of hers, but she couldn't figure out why; no matter how much she meditated and researched everything she got her hands on. Even battling with everything she could muster; nothing surfaced.

What was it that prevented her from tapping into that power?

Was she missing something?

Or did she need to undergo another blasted near death experience -like the last three experiences- to get a semblance of the ability?

Her eyes snapped open with a scowl marring her face.

Being tired from her meditations, Asajj needed a walk. It'll do her some good.

Or perhaps find Maximoff and do a proper spar for once. She hadn't seen her for a while anyways.

Either way, she needed to preoccupy herself with her own tasks.

Strolling towards the nearby woods, she soon picked up on the familiar signature of the Avenger and made her way towards her mother's friend.

Soon enough, she eventually found her as she was coming in on a speeder with Merrin and Ilyana situated on the attached side-pod.

The vehicle slowly came to a stop with the two women looking at each other.

"Maximoff." Ventress coolly said.

"Ventress." Wanda shot back, both women entering into a heated staring contest.

"What are you doing out here?" The Sith assassin inquired with suspicion.

"I'm returning from a meeting with Ros Lai's coven." The Scarlet Witch answered. "Not that it should be of concern to you."

Asajj merely scowled. "Right."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to chat with Talzin." The Sokovian was slowly moving the speeder forward to properly park it with the others as Asajj walked beside it.

"And why do you need to do that?"

"Do you have to question everything I do?" Wanda shot back with an irritated growl.

"Yes."

The Sokovian looked at her for a brief moment until she threw up her hand and ensnared Ventress in her psionic powers.

Asajj was thrown off by this, eyes wide with panic, fear and rage.

"Hey!" She struggled a futile effort against her telekinetic bonds.

"Wanda, can you please stop antagonizing my cousin?"

"One moment, Ilyana." Wanda said with a tone that brokered no argument. "Your cousin needs to learn a lesson in humility that she's clearly lacking."

"Not one from you, witch." Ventress spat out.

Wanda's eyes glowed red as she approached the struggling Dark Side user until she was mere inches from her face.

The two women glared in open hostility and hatred towards one another with Asajj still suspended in the air.

Maximoff leaned in close to her.

"I could kill you in an instant." Wanda whispered, making sure the girls didn't hear her. "After everything I've seen you do to my friends, the side you're on repeatedly trying to kill my team, I should've just ripped you apart skin to bone the minute I saw what was in your head."

"Then why haven't you?" Ventress challenged, despite the shudder of fear she felt down her spine. "You can do so easily without a moment's notice. What's holding you back, huh?"

Rather than the Avenger having the answer, it instead came from behind her.

"Wanda, please." Asked a quiet voice.

Hearing Ilyana's plea caused Wanda to relent and cancel out the scarlet ensnare on the Dark Jedi.

"You know damn well why." She snarled quietly.

Asajj's spiteful gaze lessened but remained all the same.

She turned in a rather dramatic fashion, intentionally kicking up some dirt that got in Ventress' face as she walked back over to Merrin and Ilyana, taking both their hands as they left the downed Dathomirian.

Asajj saw Ilyana give her a halfhearted wave that she didn't have the courage to return, just 'tsking' and turning away.

She had been told by both Dooku and Talzin to try and work with Wanda. It would greatly help her in the long run. And yet they were quick to clash at nearly every opportunity.

It was tiresome and outright frustrating.

Dooku of all people telling her to work with an Avenger? And with Talzin encouraging her to boot. She'd rather kill herself than actually work with that bitch.

Now she needed to take a far longer walk to clear her head. Or at the very least vent out her frustrations with destroying part of a nearby dilapidated forest.

As this happened, Wanda was escorting Merrin and Ilyana back to their hut. The pair needed to rest after the trip and perhaps do anything else for the time being until further notice.

It wouldn't be shortly after this when the Avenger was soon approached by the local clan leader.

"Ah, Wanda." Talzin greeted cordially, a welcoming smile in place. "It is good to see you have returned. I take it the meeting went swimmingly."

"Uh… More or less."

"Oh?"

"I gotta ask, but what do you know of someone named Gethzerion?"

The reaction was almost immediate, the clan mother flinching violently.

"Wh-"

For the first time since her arrival on Dathomir, Wanda saw genuine shock and horror on Talzin's face.

"Where did you hear that name?" Talzin's disembodied voice demanded.

"Oh, the other clan leaders I met at Ros Lai's territory told me along with the fact of her "apparent" return."

A mix of seriousness and worry marred the Nightsisters' features. "Are you certain?"

"Yeup. Most of the other clans are banding together for a coalition to hopefully take her out; hoping another Zalem incident wouldn't happen ever again."

"...I see."

"You should get in touch with them when possible for more information. I was only acting as your representative for the impromptu meeting."

Talzin merely nodded in response.

"I take it you know her?"

"Of course I do." Talzin scoffed. "We are her descendants, who follow in her footsteps… but she is no friend of the Nightsisters. She went against clan and coven and every practice we adhered to. We may be practitioners of the Dark arts but our virtues of unity and loyalty to clan and coven is a sacred law shared by all Dathomiri witches. Gethzerion is the antithesis to our way of life. As was Zalem."

"So if she rears her head?" Wanda left the question unfinished though the message was clear.

"Our coven shall assist the others should this come to pass." Talzin assured. "We shall not allow an untamed and virulent evil to rampage upon our home world."

Wanda silently nodded, a small feeling of gratitude that the normally enigmatic and frankly terrifying Night Witch would be so willing to assist her and the others in this threat.

"And where is Ventress?" Talzin suddenly asked, catching Wanda flat footed.

"We… had another spat."

Talzin bore a frown when hearing this.

"Must you-"

"How many more times do I have to repeat why I hate her?"

Talzin appeared undeterred. "Despite your differences, you will need to-"

"I know what you're trying to say but it's not going to work all that easily." Wanda cut her off. "Do I need to remind you that she's my enemy? This whole Republic and Separatist crap doesn't matter to me. What matters is that your "sister" has repeatedly tried killing my friends and team, including my twin brother and she's on the side that they're against."

"I thought the Republic and Separatists didn't matter."

"You know what I meant." Maximoff irritably said. "I trust her as far as I can throw her. And I can make her go pretty far out."

Talzin shook her head.

"With what's happening now with Gethzerion, we will need everyone to work together. That means you two will need to cooperate."

"I won't make any promises."

"Then you shall do it for Merrin and Ilyana and their mother and aunt who entrusted them in your care." Talzin bluntly stated, making Maximoff visibly wince.

Using the girls like that against her?

That wasn't fair in the slightest.

Yet she made the point simple and clear with a clear weight behind it.

Needing to process and figure out the next course of actions, Wanda needed to take a walk to her "usual" spot and think things through.

It wouldn't be until reaching it will things get a bit more complicated.

Why you ask…

Simple…

Having destroyed a small grove of dead trees and clearing it out with both her lightsabers and Force abilities, Ventress felt as if she got her anger in check for the time being.

Hopefully if she didn't have to run into Maximoff again or at the very least not talk to her for the rest of the day then she'll be relatively fine.

Making her way back to the mountain her clan resides, she soon came across something she hadn't noticed before.

It was a large derelict ship which had crashed here a long time ago. She was genuinely curious about it and wondered if the rest of her coven knew about this.

The assassin made her way towards the crashed ship until she heard voices in the distance coming from the vehicle.

In an instant, almost instinctively, Asajj crouched down to keep herself hidden.

There wasn't anything around her but she wasn't going to be taking any chances.

She heard a small commotion up ahead followed by what sounded like an admonishing voice.

Straining her hearing, Asajj blinked slightly as she heard familiar voices coming from the derelict ship.

Greatly intrigued now, Ventress slowly made her way towards the banged up vehicle whilst the voices in the distance grew louder and more clearer.

"-ember you two, focus." Spoke an aged, wizened voice. "The Force is to be used in tandem with your own physicality when practicing these techniques. Overexert yourself and you become vulnerable."

Asajj blinked in confusion. 'What's going on?' Came the thought. She walked closer to the source when she heard a conversation continuing.

"You must allow your emotions to fuel your power." Said another female voice, this one sounding younger and a tad more aggressive.

"But remember." Said the older woman from earlier. "Do not let it control you lest you fall sway to them."

"We're trying, Master Kreia, but this is really hard."

"Yeah, can't we do this another time?"

"It is when you feel you are at your limits-"

"That when you get a breakthrough, we know Master."

"Good. it shows you both have been listening." The sagely voice sounded satisfied. "Now, again."

Two groans followed suit with the shifting of dirt on the ground being heard in small patters.

The Dark Jedi recognized Merrin and Ilyana's voices, but who were the other two?

And… who was this… Master Kreia?

That name…

It sounded too familiar to the assassin.

Where had she heard that name before?

Reaching her destination, Asajj came upon a surprising sight.

Before the two Nightsister younglings were a pair of Holocrons with projections hovering over them. One was red while the other was white. But the most common trait about them were their pyramid designs.

It wasn't just that, but the sheer presence of them was rather overwhelming to her.

They were steeped in the Dark Side of the Force.

Practically drenched in it.

Just what or rather who were these two?

It didn't take long for the elderly looking spirits of the two to notice her presence.

Translucent eyes trailed up to where she kept herself hidden Ventress knew that this spirit had found her. She just knew it.

"It appears that we are not alone."

And there's the confirmation of it.

Ilyana, Merrin and the other spirit had stopped what they were doing, looking over to seeing the Dathomirian Sith reveal herself to them.

Ilyana instantly brightened upon seeing here.

"Ventress!" She happily said. "Masters, this is my cousin, Asajj."

"Oh, so this is her." Said the tattooed spirit.

"We have heard much about you, Asajj Ventress."

Asajj appeared hesitant to speak, eyeing the two ethereal women from the Holocrons with a great deal of trepidation.

The power behind them both was far different from the Holocron of Heresies she had worked with back on Serenno. While that holocron felt both hot and cold, making her often feel nauseous for a time, the two here were particularly unique as she felt more comfortable with them.

Not to mention the projections seemed to be far different from what a typical holocron would give out.

"You… You're no simple Gatekeepers." Asajj managed to gasp out.

What Ventress was talking about were security measures one places onto a Holocron upon their creation. Their projections were primarily based on their creator; although it was primarily based on how the gatekeeper is fashioned. And the Gatekeeper itself had access to whatever information held inside the device and chose whether or not the one accessing it was worthy of obtaining the holocrons knowledge.

"We are not. Our spirits are contained within our Holocrons instead of the ones typically made out in the galaxy." Spoke the hooded one.

"A difficult technique that few in the many millennia's have managed to master." Said the tattooed spirit.

"I often wonder if the Force decided to spite me and force me into my holocron as punishment for defying it. I never intended for me to continue on as such, only designing my gatekeeper as any normal one; yet here I am instead."

"Hah! That would actually explain it if it were true."

Asajj swallowed a small lump as she voiced an inquiry. "Who… Who might you two be?"

"I am XoXaan." The tattooed one proclaimed with unrepentant pride. "I am among the first of the dark lords of the Sith as one of its illustrious founders. One of those who abandoned the Jedi to seek the darker path to the truth. For my brethren and I invented what it means to be Sith."

"And I am Darth Kreia." Simply said the hooded woman. "Was once Traya before my fall. But I have been more known as the master to Revan, Nihilus, Sion and finally the Jedi Exile Meetra Surik."

Hearing these two names had Ventress frozen in place. Eyes widening in shock as she felt more of the Force behind these two ancient Sith spirits. Especially when she knew exactly who these two were.

In an instant, Asajj knelt down in reverence.

"It is an honor to be in your presence." Asajj practically whispered. "Dark Founder of the Sith and the Lord of Betrayal."

A short laugh emanated from XoXaan's lips. "Finally, some much needed respect."

"You would get some if you just weren't so mean to Wanda all the time." Merrin said with her cheeks puffed out.

XoXaan's brow twitched, a barely restrained cringe on her face at the mere mention of the Avenger.

"Maximoff." Asajj derisively said. "That harlot knows of you two?"

"It was she who discovered and awakened us, Asajj Ventress." The former Dark Lady of the Sith stated. "Our awakening from her power has given much needed energy to be able to withstand another thousand years of inactivity without breaking down."

"One good thing she was able to do." XoXaan murmured, a sign of clear dismissal on her part.

It appeared that the first Dark Lady of the Sith didn't like Maximoff much. Ventress likes XoXaan very much right about now.

In her internal musings, Asajj had failed to notice that the master of Revan was staring intently at her.

Kreia focused more on Asajj, her eyes and then the rest of her body as she began analyzing her. "You feel... different in the Force. Similar to what I felt in Wanda, yet completely different."

The Dathomirian blinked upon hearing this from Kreia. "Excuse me?"

"There's a power within you... something foreign yet something similar. I don't know how to properly describe it. This is strange. Very strange."

"You… You could feel it too?" She asked in astonishment.

"It's rather strong." Came the Dark Founder's comment as she too inspected the Dark Jedi. "It's like a flicker of flame trying so hard not to be snuffed out. Very peculiar."

"Can… Can you help me?" Asajj was about to fully fall on her knees in desperation. "Can you help me tap into this power? I've tried so hard to-"

"Not in the way that you know, Ventress." Kreia interrupted her. "What you possess, this power, is not one that either of us are entirely familiar with."

Asajj's hopes plummeted. "Is there truly nothing that you could do?"

"I just told you, not in the way that you know." The hooded Sith lady reiterated. "We are talking about a power beyond the scope of the Force, what we are familiar with. Distinctions need to be made."

"What?" Ventress was considerably confused now. "What do you mean? What is this power within me?"

XoXaan hummed to herself, arms crossed in deep thought. "The best I could describe is the ancient means of tapping into the Force by your predecessors'. A lost art form that even by my time had been forgotten or fell into myth and legend."

"What is it?" Ventress quietly asked. "Does it have a name?"

XoXaan shook her head. "Not one I know of. Only that it has to do with… a relation with the Cosmic Force. Other than that, I am unclear. By my time, it had been nearly 10,000 years."

"10,000 years?"

"Close to around 17,000 by this point." Kreia tacked on.

Ventress puffed out her cheeks as she exhaled at the prospect of trying to regain knowledge from 17,000 years ago.

Anything is possible through the Force, as the saying goes.

But was it really after all that Asajj had experienced in these past months?

The Avengers, Ultron and now this "untapped" power that resided within her showed alternatives in terms of power and knowledge.

Maybe thinking outside the box was what-

"What's going on here?"

Moods were shifted as Asajj didn't have to turn around to see Maximoff making her appearance.

"Wanda." Kreia greeted her pleasantly enough. "Good to see you're back."

"Kreia." Wanda politely said, not taking her eyes off Ventress.

"Don't I get a greeting, Maximoff?" XoXaan snidely asked, getting the Sokovian to flip her off. "Classy."

"Uh-huh." Maximoff dismissively said, staring intently at Ventress. "Mind explaining what you're doing here?"

"Do I need to tell you everything I do, Avenger?" Asajj shot back. "You don't own this land."

"But I do consider this place to be important for myself and my girls." Wanda said, taking a step towards the Dathomirian hybrid. "So, I'm asking you again, what are you doing here?"

The Avenger hoped the Dark Jedi wouldn't come across the Holocrons at any point in time. In her perspective, she didn't want her enemy to get stronger through them and cause a number of issues later down the road.

She had been relatively successful with Talzin not knowing, even if that was up for debate with how mysterious the clan leader was. Unfortunately this wasn't the case with Asajj stumbling into seeing the activated Holocrons.

Asajj only gave out a snort. "If you all so want to know, I was taking a simple stroll after our last chat when I found this occurring."

Before Wanda could respond back with some witty comment, Merrin spoke up.

"Asajj needs help, Wanda."

"Yeah, all the help she needs is-"

"You getting off my home planet." Asajj remarked, a venomous glare directed at the Sokovian who returned it in full.

"-A serious attitude adjustment right about now." Wanda darkly finished her sentence, red spheres levitating from the palms of her hands.

Seeing the stare off occurring, Asajj's cousin spoke out.

"Wanda, why are you and Asajj always fighting!" Ilyana said to her guardian with clear annoyance. "Can't you two not fight, please!?"

"Maybe your cousin needs to learn some respect." Wanda retorted.

"You don't have to read her mind." She argued.

Wanda scoffed at that. "Hard not to when she just blares her thoughts of killing me every time she looks at me."

"Maybe you could forget or move past like you always-"

"Move past?!" Wanda nearly yelled now. "Ilyana, how would you feel if someone who tried to kill Merrin was in front of you every day and you had to hold yourself back? How would you feel if you saw Zalem again after what she did to your Aunt and Tina? Your cousin here has killed a lot of people who never deserved to die the way they did. Tell me…"

Ilyana gaped at a loss for words until tears peaked out of the corner of her eyes and began streaming down her cheeks.

In an instant, whatever animosity and anger Wanda had evaporated as she immediately pulled Ilyana into a tight hug, whispering quiet apologies in her ear whilst rubbing her back.

The two Sith spirits watched on in silence, neutral from the expressions they held.

Ventress was tense, arms crossed and unable to muster up a glare as someone who is from her direct family is being consoled by a woman who is her enemy.

Merrin soon spoke up. "Wanda… I know you and Asajj hate each other but you don't always have to fight about it. It's… it hurts," she gestured to her chest. "Right here when I see you get so mad at her. And then Ilyana's sad and then I'm sad and… we don't wanna see you mad all the time, Wanda. Please? Can't you just… pretend to get along?"

The Avenger looked upon her young charge and a weak smile made its way onto her face, a silent statement of "I'll try".

"And you need to stop being so mean to Wanda!" Merrin rounded on Asajj, actually startling her. "She's been taking care of us for months now. Stop ant-anto-antago-stop being so mean to Wanda! So bitchy!"

"Whoa!" Wanda snapped out of her nurturing and soothing motherly mode and went into her stern motherly mode. "What did you just say young lady?"

Merrin let out an eep and before she could make a run for it, psionic energy surrounded her and she was pulled right into the grasp of the Scarlet Witch.

Maximoff began pulling on her cheeks with Merrin moaning comedically in pain, pleading for mercy.

"What did I tell you about using such language, young lady?"

"Wammmdaaaa!" Merrin had comically oversized tears streaming down her cheeks.

Ilyana, though still down from what was said earlier, couldn't help but tearfully laugh at her friend's plight.

Ventress, meanwhile, was neutral as she soon heard the two Sith spirits converse.

"Such are the ways with children to worm their way into their elders." Spoke Kreia for the first time in a while.

"Though the management of their emotions needs some serious work." Came XoXaan's comment. "Such things are unbefitting for my-"

"At least let them express their emotions while they're young. Don't want to have them emotionally stunted by the time they're young adults, which greatly compromises them."

"You say that now…"

"We can do comparisons on such views of emotions later." Ventress could soon feel Kreia's gaze placed towards her. "Now we must discuss what to do with Asajj."

This got Wanda to stop "punishing" Merrin before her and the younglings to look at the Sith spirit with Ventress soon following.

-Scene Cut-

"Fascinating."

Vision was in open wonder and awe at the near endless rows of archived knowledge that had been accumulated within the Jedi temple. Much which is stored here are kept on data pads, which replaced typical books, while there were consoles spread out. And yes there were apparently books, scrolls and other parchment items the Avenger saw earlier, but they were kept in another wing of the library due to how old they were.

"Yes." Jocasta Nu said with a serene smile. "Countless millennia of multiple Jedi adding their knowledge and experience to our order. Most were culminated from former temples throughout the galaxy while the rest had been added on over the years."

"I can say I'm rather impressed."

Vision could perhaps compare a good number of libraries back on Earth on how grand they were to the one he's presently in. Of course they'd all pale due to the amount of content the Coruscant Archives possess.

Placed on pedestals in two separate rows were bronze busts of former Masters of the Jedi Order. What was more significant about "The Lost Twenty" were how they left the presumed Order in the first place with them falling to the Dark Side or leaving due to ideological differences.

Aside from this, there were a number of Force adepts sprawled about in conducting their own business. Yet they occasionally broke their concentration to eye the synthetic Avenger as Jocasta Nu was giving him the tour.

"I have to at least ask, but is there at least a restrictive section?"

Jocasta's smile faltered slightly as she gave out a simple "yes".

"Thought as much, just wanted to know. Is it due to sensitive information, rankings, permission…?"

"Yes to all."

The Avenger gave out a nod.

"May I ask, why do you wish to know about the restricted sections of the archives?"

"Curiosity sakes." Vision admitted. "That and… well, I would rather not be one to be rude to our hosts."

Nu raised a brow, now finding herself curious.

"What do you mean?" She inquired, not hostile but calm and intrigued. "Does the idea of a restricted section bother you?"

"Truthfully?" Viz looked away, glancing at the many shelves around him. "Yes, it does. Knowledge… knowledge is something that all people should have access to. Where I'm from, while it is not the best, it's still a place where all forms of knowledge is freely accessible by all, no matter who you are or where you come from. There are caveats, that's to be understood but restrictions are frowned upon. And yes there are various forms of knowledge kept "under wraps" for the sake of safety and greater good of the public. But knowledge is only bad if it's used for harmful intentions. It's like a tool. The intent behind it is what matters."

Jocasta hummed in thought.

"I can understand that, but much restrictive knowledge is kept under lock and key for actual safety for everyone here and beyond. I believe you are aware that the Force-"

"Can influence others, of that I am aware." Vision said.

"Then you should realize there are artifacts and content we have locked away should be kept as such so no one would be harmed."

The Avenger gave a nod. "Yes, I heard from my colleagues that when Ultron attacked, a number of Sith Artifacts were stolen."

"Of course such occurrences have happened before, making the Order try to learn from these mistakes so they wouldn't happen again." The librarian sternly said. "And if they were used-"

"Say no more. I get the gist of it, as it were."

Nu smiled slightly at the Avenger, the two passing by multiple shelves until they walked into a circular clearing.

"Ah, our recent scholars to be." Jocasta fondly said, voice quiet now.

The vibranium-made Avenger paused, looking over to what caught the librarian's attention and saw Peter Parker alongside the two Padawans he recalled being Ashoka Tano and Barriss Offee.

"Why would you say that, Miss Nu?"

"They've been periodically spotted being here far more often than they've normally been, as I've been told. Whatever free time they've had, they'd immediately come here and spend hours looking through the archives."

A small nod was given as Vision could understand.

Back on Earth, there were individuals known as "bookworms" who'd spend much time in libraries for their schoolwork. This would be further applied during university to work on papers, studying, etc. And this would further extend after graduating from their educational years for their present jobs to other miscellaneous endeavors.

After getting to know a bit of Mr. Parker, he was able to sense he was such a "bookworm" but not of these two Padawans.

"Did they ask you why?" Vision asked.

"Something about learning of our Order from the very beginning." Jocasta sighed. "A rather daunting undertaking."

Vision gazed over at the three teens with clear intrigue in his eyes.

"Fascinating." He murmured. "If you will excuse me, madam, I would like to speak with my teammate."

"Of course. You can find me wandering about here."

Parting ways from the Jedi librarian, Vision made his way to the teen trio. Getting closer he heard them going through some in depth discussion.

"-ter the Mandalorian Wars, we're basically dealing with another schism." Ahsoka Tano stated, pointing at a datapad that she was reading.

"Seems to be a lot of them the further we go back." Peter murmured.

"Usually following times of great strife." Barriss noted. "A repeating pattern."

"Like poetry." Vision spoke up, announcing himself to the trio. "They repeat themselves. They rhyme."

"Vision." Peter perked up.

"Mr. Parker." Viz said kindly. "How are you?"

"I'm alright." The spider-themed Avenger said friendly. "How bout you?"

"Well enough."

"I hope things have been accommodating for you, Vision." Barriss said politely.

"They have been, thank you."

"Do you need something?" Asked Ahsoka.

"Nothing at all. I was merely checking up on you and was curious."

"About what?"

"Jocasta Nu gave me a small sample of what you three have been looking into and wondered what else was being looked into." He looked towards the empty seat before looking back at them. "May I?"

"Go right ahead."

Vision took a datapad delicately in hand once sitting down, looking it over for a moment until raising a single finger with yellow lines glowing around it. His eyes flickered into the same color as the Mind Stone as he phased his finger into the datapad and a litany of images were seen in his eyes from what the teens could depict.

"Whoa~" Peter said in astonishment.

Ahsoka and Barriss were equally as intrigued and startled, unsure as to what the Avenger just did.

"The Mandalorian Wars." Vision abruptly spoke up. "A tumultuous time, to say the least, in this galaxy."

Both Jedis' jaws dropped slightly.

"You… you downloaded everything on there in an instant." The Mirialan Padawan whispered in disbelief.

"Well," Vision playfully smirked, the Mind Stone blinking momentarily. "I had help."

"What is that exactly on your head?" Ahsoka blurted out.

"Ahsoka." Offee lightly admonished.

"It's quite alright to be curious. From what you should know," Vision tapped the stone slightly as he continued, "is known as the Mind Stone; one of the six Singularities in its physical, representative form of the concept."

"Do you mean it literally or figuratively?" Tano queried.

"I'll tell you more about it later, or rather show you as Bendu gave a far better explanation with him knowing more than I do."

The Togruta nodded as she was rather interested in learning about it now.

Vision became contemplative, leaning back into his chair, hand trailing over his forehead. "All I truly understand it to be is something that is tied with the very fabric of this universe as it was there at the dawn and perhaps will remain until its end."

"A singularity from the dawn of the universe…" Barriss muttered in wonder.

"Sitting right in front of us." Ahsoka added on with a small laugh.

"Welcome to our world." Peter couldn't help but quip, laughing at the deadpan duo with Vision smirking in amusement.

Ahsoka turned back to Vision. "Gotta ask, but do you have Meetra Suriks Holocron-?"

"Not at this time." Came Vision's quick response. "The Jedi Masters are presently looking over and learning what they can from it. I have been borrowing it on occasions when they haven't been using it." He gazed over to the Padawans and gave out a statement. "You wish to see it."

"Rather easy to figure out, huh." Tano said with no shame.

"Quite. You seemed rather eager." He noted.

"We never really had the chance to use a holocron before during our years when we were younglings, just to know what they were and how to work with them." Ahsoka murmured, leaning her chin on her arms.

"Initiate years?"

"Years learning about the Force once inducted into the order before we graduate and become padawans." Came Barriss' answer.

Vision gave a small "ah" in response. "And why haven't you had access to a holocron since?"

"The majority are only accessed above our rankings." Ahsoka answered.

"Or permission." Offee stated.

"That too." Tano let out a small sigh. "Last time we had to deal with holocrons was through this incident a while back involving a bounty hunter and Force adept infants."

"Ah yes, that correlates with how Mara Jade and Grogu are living with us in our current residence." Vision said, having been told the story of how the two infants came into the care of the Avengers.

To the synthetic android, it was still a rather surreal sight for him to see Natasha being so outwardly affectionate in such a, well, maternal fashion.

It was also what could only be described as either the Force at play, the Power Cosmic as it's really called or some universal coincidence that Mara actually had red hair and even subtly looks similar to Natasha.

Maybe she was meant to be found by the Avengers and get taken in by the team's deadliest assassin.

The little one sure as hell seemed to think so and Natasha…

Well, Vision had never seen the woman so at peace then when she held Mara Jade in her arms.

"Hey Vision."

"Hmmm?" He had been so engrossed in his thoughts he had fallen silent for a few seconds without realizing it. "Ah, apologies, Mr. Parker, did you ask me something?"

"Yeah." Peter shifted about, slightly uncomfortably. "You… you were the one who locked out Ultron and finished him off last time, right?"

Vision became more solemn now. "Yes, I did."

"You did?" Ahsoka said in surprise. "Wait then… How did he survive?"

"He's an AI." Vis plainly said. "An AI that was enhanced… from this."

He nodded his head forward with the Mind Stone flashing for a second.

"He is more resilient than we anticipated." The Avengers' mood was more somber now. "And had we been, had I been more thorough, you would never have needed to face such a nightmare."

Vision looked at the three teens with a look of pure guilt and remorse. "I'm sorry. I failed as an Avenger. In that failure, a galaxy is now at risk."

"Hey, hey, it's alright." Ahsoka spoke up, a sympathetic look in her eyes. "How could you have seen this coming?"

"Because he and I are the same, just opposites." Vision bitterly said. "Had I figured that someone like him could have even the smallest inkling of surviving-"

"We are here because we are learning from the past." Barriss abruptly cut him off, her tone soft and understanding. "We are all seated here right now because we understand that it's in the past that we can learn how to make a better future. If we are to make things better, we need to break the rhyme. Break the cycle as it were to the best of our ability so that fewer people can suffer. That's our responsibility as Jedi."

The others stared at her in wide eyed silence for a few seconds with Peter having a glossy look in his eyes.

"With Great Power comes Great Responsibility." He said in a quiet voice.

They all looked at him now.

"What was that?" Ahsoka asked for clarification.

"It's something my Uncle used to tell me before he died." Parker answered, far more subdued now. "I don't think I ever told you why I became Spider-man, did I? Never got around to it."

Barriss and Ahsoka shared a look with each other, Vision silently observing the Queens native as he released a haggard sigh.

"It was my fault, you know." His voice was low and mood even lower. "I saw the guy who shot him down run right by me. I could have stopped him, could have easily tripped him up or held him back with a pinky. But… I was petty. Stupid. Just cause I didn't get paid by the guy who owed some throwaway cash."

They saw his fists clench up tightly, trembling for the briefest of seconds.

"He died cause I didn't act, cause I didn't understand it then but I do now." Parker became resolute, his mood doing a complete one eighty shift. "He told me that with Great Power there must also come Great Responsibility. We all have a power, be it by accident or given to us by some omnipresent energy force, we have it and there are people out there who don't. People who are scared. Terrified and powerless to act. It's up to us to make sure that we fight for those who can't. So we will beat Ultron, we will win this war and we will find that dark overlord Sauron knock off and bring him down."

Peter leaned back, face filled with extreme determination until it fell, becoming slightly embarrassed.

"Uh… ahem." He coughed into his hand. "Er, sorry about that, didn't mean to get all preachy there-"

"No, no, no." Ahsoka interrupted, a wide, beaming smile directed at him. "I think… I think we needed to hear that. To remind us why we're doing this."

"I couldn't agree more." Added in Barriss, a more tender smile with her looking down at her hand for a moment. "Responsibility… Yes, our responsibility to the Force and above all else, the people of this galaxy. We will not fail them."

Vision hummed approvingly. "That will be quite the feat to witness."

"What do you mean witness? You're gonna be there too, Vision." Peter emphatically stated.

"Oh? I didn't realize I got an invitation to do so."

"Must have gotten lost in the delivery." Ahsoka quipped. "Sorry 'bout that, Vision. Was kinda hard locking you down."

"My apologies for being with a cosmic manifestation learning about the greater mysteries of the universe." Viz sincerely said.

The group devolved into a fit of laughter, resuming their idle, more lighter conversation.

All the while remaining blissfully unaware of a small green Jedi Grandmaster who had inadvertently walked in on their conversation, having heard virtually everything.

A content look came over the age old Jedi, nodding his head to himself as he turned to walk away and leave them to their devices.

Yoda would speak with Vision at a later time.

Right now, there was no need to disturb them.

'Power and Responsibility.' The Jedi Master thought to himself. 'In the ways of the Force, one often forgets such things.'

He felt a sense of relief now flooding into his old bones, a feeling of contentment of knowing the future of the Jedi is in good hands once his time comes.

Whilst the inside of the temple within its library had an air of warmth, comfort and faith, outside was a scenic opposite as lightning boomed in the skies above.

It was raining for hours now and it fit the current mood for many presently standing on the landing platform where a Republic shuttle had just landed.

From a transport, Quinlan Vos and Delta Squad came walking out with a number of coffins containing deceased Jedi adepts.

Such a sight was saddening as they've lost many of their number since the start of the Clone Wars.

Yet this time was rather a lot as they were all gathered, due to a mission Vos was asked to undertake Barel Ovair's insistence.

Obi-wan, Plo Koon, Saesee Tinn, Adi Gallia and Barel Ovair looked on with varying expressions upon seeing the coffins being brought into the temple for proper funeral rights. With the Jedi were Matt Murdock, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson and Natasha Romanoff.

Ovair walked forward, a distraught look upon his face as he laid a hand over one of the coffins. His hand formed into a tight fist, the scholar mentally scolding himself as he stepped away from the coffin.

Kenobi drowned sympathetically at the Jedi before turning to his old friend.

"Vos?"

The Kiffar Jedi shook his head.

"No survivors." He dejectedly revealed.

"All we were able to recover were the bodies of the fallen." Boss solemnly stated. "Halsey's and… what was left of his Padawan from Devaron."

"What was left?" Sam repeated with a disturbed look.

"That was just one of the pairs, Lieutenant." Scorch spoke up, unnaturally grim.

"It was a bloodbath." Sev darkly stated. "Every outpost we went by, our forces were annihilated, slaughtered or both. No survivors from any of the bases that had either been destroyed or taken."

"Was it Ultron?" Steve asked.

"No." Boss shook his head. "Many of these kills were done by a lightsaber."

"Ultron has been stealing Kyber crystals." Plo Koon pointed out.

"We would assume it was him, but it ain't." Vos firmly said. "For starters, we saw Umbarans and other Seppies there."

"Then it is the Separatists." Natasha surmised.

Quinlan nodded at her. "We were able to procure security footage and data from some discarded droids from the sites. They had the same commonality with who caused their deaths. And it seems we have a new threat on our hands."

"Lacerations, stabbings, multiple contusions and broken bones." Matt listed off, hand over another coffin, moving his head in a circular manner as he utilized his senses.

Looking at one of the bodies, Obi-wan voiced his thoughts. "Whoever this threat is, this was done by a reckless, impulsive animal."

"An efficient one at that." Sam muttered. "The hell are we dealing with?"

"That's what we're about to find out." Quinlan promised. "Come on."

Once getting out of the rain and getting to essentially the war room, Vos was pulling up the data he had procured from the sites he and his team visited.

"Alright, he's the guy behind the killings."

When the footage was being played out, they all saw a monstrous looking Zabrak male with yellow skin and black tattoos. He wore large body armor as he was quickly taking out a number of his enemies.

While this went out, a reaction went out from Kenobi in an unusual way.

"Darth Maul, alive?" Obi-wan practically exclaimed in utter shock.

This earned several looks from those present.

"Uh, Obi-wan, you okay?" Wilson asked on behalf of the group.

Blinking, the one Jedi Master shook his head in clearing up some cobwebs.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that." Came Kenobi's apology. "The last time I saw a Dark Side Zabrak adept was years ago on Naboo. Just… old memories."

"You sure you're alright?" Steve asked. "You seem… rattled."

"Your heart rate is elevated." Matt pointed out, head inclined forward.

"Apologies. I didn't mean to make you worry. It won't happen again." Kenobi looked back at the footage with a frown. "Maul left a significant scar on my life as he killed my master before my very eyes. But I killed the assassin myself shortly afterwards."

He can still recall every detail of the battle. Every move, every action. Even how Maul looked as he seemed triumphant before the former Jedi padawan cleaved him two and saw him fall down the shaft.

"So… who is he then?" Nat asked, getting back to the task at hand.

"No clue."

"Brother? Cousin?" Sam suggested.

"Who knows, but we do know one thing though." Vos sped up one of the footage to reveal someone rather familiar to the Jedi Order soon conversing with the Zabrak. "He's working with Sora Bulq."

"It appears that Dooku has found himself a new pawn." Plo surmised.

"A dangerous one at that." Saesee Tinn said with a frown. "The Force… a shift has occurred. The Dark Side is at work."

"And where the Dark Side operates, death and chaos are to follow." Ovair grimly said.

"Thank you Barel, not like we needed any more of a downer." Wilson wryly said.

Barel gave him a half-hearted apologetic smile.

"Do we perhaps know where he may strike next? I don't wanna see another base or facility slaughtered by this guy." Sam asked the group.

"If there was a pattern, we could predict a location. But the places they've hit were too random, like Dooku just pulling places out of a helmet." Vos said with a frown.

"Random maybe but… concentrated." Barel noted, brows furrowed in thought.

"Do you have an idea, Ovair?" Steve asked, the Jedi Scholar slowly nodding.

"From what I was able to deduce about these outposts and bases… They are locations wherein forces had to be pulled due to Ultron's entrance into the war. They were bases that were not hit by any of Ultron's campaigns, thus had numbers to spare."

"Leaving them vulnerable to attack." Boss finished the thought process, the group going silent.

"Delta." Quinlan spoke up. "Head back and start sending out messages to any base that hasn't been hit but has had their numbers depleted from being called back to the inner core. Make sure they are ready for an imminent attack. Code hawk bat."

"Yes sir." The leader of Delta squad said, the four Clone Commandos quickly exited the room, leaving just the Avengers and Jedi.

"Ok, so we know what this psycho bastard looks like." Wilson commented. "How do we find him?"

"Following his trail of destruction is a start." Tinn noted. "But it may lead us in circles."

"We are to spread thin as is." Adi Gallia stated.

"Maybe you guys could use some Force sight or something." The suggestion from Romanoff earned some varying looks from the Jedi. "Like what happened with those kids a while back Cad Bane abducted."

A hum emanated from Plo. "That could work."

"Should we do it now or-"

"Now." Obi-wan declared. "This beast will only continue his rampage unless we are able to find him sooner than later."

Natasha nodded at their initiative. "While some people find where this monster's gonna strike next, we should also figure out where this guy came from."

"Does that matter?"

"It often does. Makes us figure out where Dooku is finding all these people for his side. I mean, I don't know about you but this guy doesn't seem to be like one of his usual recruits who were trained like a Jedi before turning."

"Miss Romanoff is correct." Said Barel before adopting a pondering posture. "There are only two places that come to mind with where this monster could've come from: Irdonia and Dathomir."

"Dathomir? The planet of the witches?" Asked Kenobi.

"Wait, a planet of witches? Are you being serious right now or are you pulling our legs?"

"Oh it's real alright." Said Vos. "Planet is crawling with them. Quite the interesting history, believe it or not."

"I was under the impression Maul came from Irdonia." Was Obi-wan's comment.

"A little oversight. Irdonia is where the male Zabraks primarily dwell. However, on Dathomir, they're more known as Nightbrothers, given how they were raised there. Being more warrior in nature." Ovair elaborated. "The Witches of Dathomir are the dominant faction that rules the planet."

"So it's matriarchal then." Nat mused. "Sounds like an interesting travel spot."

"Don't sound too happy, Natasha." Matt remarked jokingly.

"What?" She innocently said. "It's just an observation."

"It is best we begin our search now." Kenobi announced. "While some of you prepare to find where this monster's gonna hit next, some of us will go to Dathomir to investigate further."

"We shall begin meditating and let you know what we will find." Plo said.

"Matt, go with Obi-wan." Steve instructed.

"Why just him?"

"He won't go alone." Nat added. "Pietro will come with you guys. Speed is the name of the game here and with Matt, we'll be able to figure out any lies these witches may throw our way."

"I'll be sure to give him the call to come on over." Murdock said.

"We'll have the rest of the team on standby." Wilson tacked on as the group readied to disperse. "You have your assignments, let's move out."

The Avengers and Jedi all dispersed, unaware of their newest target being stationary at this present time.

-Scene Cut-

The newly anointed Sith apprentice of Dathomir was back on Serenno within Dooku's estate.

Inside the building was its owner, his lightsaber drawn and ignited, held in the direction of Savage Opress.

After being sent out on a number of missions, under the watchful eye of Sora Bulq, Dooku had him and Savage to return to begin the Nightbrother's training with both the Force and lightsaber combat.

This has gone on for several days now and Savage has been progressing rather quickly. Either it was from natural talent, his upbringing or additional enhancements from Talzin's spells. Whatever the case may be, the training regime had to be adjusted further in order to catch up with the swift advancements.

Currently, the Nightbrother was wielding his newly constructed double-bladed lightsaber with one end being turned on.

He faced his master, the pair circling one another with Sora watching on the sidelines.

Others of the Acolytes were presently out on the field on assignments or training elsewhere on the Dooku estate as this was more of a private training session today.

The Force training had been difficult for a while as Savage had to further work with his anger so it may be kept in check. He was a monster kept on a leash and Dooku didn't want his new addition to run wild when he would eventually undergo solo-missions. Weapons training, however, was far better than the two former Jedi expected.

Dooku observed the stance Savage held, recognizing it as a form of Shii-Cho with hints of Djem-So.

He was still learning the fundamentals but a power based form such as Djem-so was more than appropriate for a secondary starting form for one such as Opress.

Opress had been able to get a good grasp on utilizing a lightsaber, the double bladed variant being the best suited for a man of his size. Yet there were some occasional stumbles.

Wherein his brother was a flowing, rapid stream of attacks, Opress would use brute strength. The grasp of a more elongated saber hilt would serve him well as he would be able to deliver far more powerful strikes with the lightsaber being suited to his frame.

Dooku's observational thought process ended when Savage lunged for his first attack.

It was easily sidestepped though Dooku made for a quick parry with the retaliatory horizontal swing.

Opress tried for an overhead strike that the Count deflected whilst also side stepping as there was a great deal of physical power behind the swing.

The Sith Lord twirled his blade slightly, flicking it forward with Opress hastily deflecting the attack.

He snarled, more to himself than at Dooku as he rapidly swung his blade left and right with Dooku casually guiding each attack out of harm's way.

"Control yourself, my Apprentice." The Count chided, stepping back from another missed attack and unleashing a quick stream of Sith Lightning that staggered Opress.

"You have your strength, your raw power but it is unfocused and like a raging storm with no focus. Compose your anger and guide it yourself. Do not allow it to guide you."

Savage growled, shaking his head and recomposing himself.

Igniting the other part of the saber, Savage spun it about with Tyranus smirking now.

The Zabrak went for a series of rapid strikes that Dooku had parried all until one nearly singed the tips of his beard.

In an instant, Dooku twirled his saber and successfully disarmed the oversized opponent.

Using the Force, he called the blade into his hand and turned one side of the blade on and held up both sabers in an X-shape right at Savage's neck.

The Nightbrother visibly recoiled, hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"You have a natural ability, but it must be tempered." Said the Count, deactivating the lightsabers. "Are you up for the challenge of putting your hate to better use?"

Knowing the Dark Lord was referring to another field mission, Savage voiced his compliance. "Yes, my master."

Dooku held out his saber, the larger apprentice gingerly taking it out of his hand and going down to kneel before him.

"What is thy bidding, my Master?"

"I am sending you to Toydaria. You will bring me King Katuunko, alive." Dooku said very sternly. "Kill all who might interfere. And Master Bulq will once again oversee it."

"Of course, my master. It will be done."

-Scene Cut-

"Are you sure about this?"

"She has asked for the rite and it shall be done. She is a member of this coven, regardless of time away from the tribe. This is an undertaking all must undergo."

"I get that but I have to ask why I have to go with her." Wanda Maximoff asked with clear irritation.

"Did you not promise your charges that you would make an effort to make amends with Ventress?" Mother Talzin rhetorically asked.

"...Yes." She gritted out. "But this has nothing to do with me. And I don't wanna leave the two by themselves."

"Do not worry, Merrin and Ilyana will be taken care of while you are gone."

Wanda gave the elderly witch a hard gaze. "They better. And while I'm gone, you figure out more on what to do with the coalition."

"I most certainly will." Talzin assured. "I am a woman of my word."

Maximoff rolled her eyes, opting to walk away as she knew she had a journey ahead of her now.

Once reaching her hut, Wanda began gathering what items she could bring with her for the trip. And when arriving there, she saw Ventress in her little living room with the two Holocrons activated.

"HEY!" She nearly shouted, jolting the Dark Jedi out of her stupor. "Haven't you ever heard of something called privacy? This is my hut you bald asshole."

Asajj gazed at the Sokovian with disinterest. "The door was open."

"It's still called common courtesy." Wanda said, shoving Ventress away from the Holocrons that were both active at this time.

"You don't need to be rude to her, Maximoff." Chimed XoXaan. "We were having a pleasant conversation… without you."

"Yes, I most certainly do." Wanda said, not even looking at XoXaan as she forcibly returned her into her Holocron.

"YOU BIII~" Was all she managed out before her Holocron sealed her shut.

"That wasn't necessary." Kreia dryly said.

"Yes, it most certainly was." Wanda refuted. "I can only handle one bitchy attitude at a time, thank you very much."

Though she kept a stony visage, Asajj couldn't help but mentally find herself developing another inkling of fear with the ease in which Maximoff had so effortlessly sealed XoXaan away.

Wanda was paying her no mind as she was speaking with Kreia. "I take it you two want to come with us."

"Of course. We wish to witness this Nightsister ritual. Hearing it is one thing, witnessing is another." Spoke Kreia. "Besides, once Ventress here completes it, all three of us will be needed to help unlock her hidden potential."

"You do remember the rest of the ritual would have to be done in front of the clan leader."

"With the body part of the aquatic creature native to this planet without killing it, yes I do remember."

"And we're talking about Asajj Ventress."

"Who is standing right here, in case you forgot." Said Dark Side user retorted.

"Who is still an intruder I should kick out on principle."

"Don't make me bring Ilyana into this."

"Don't hide behind your cousin."

"ENOUGH!" Kreia's voice boomed, the hut shaking slightly. "Ilyana and Merrin are children and are supposed to be. You two are adults and should act as such. And yet the younglings appear to be more mature than you two."

Wanda huffed, arms crossed and looking away from them both.

"She started it."

"Are you five?" Asajj snidely asked.

"Are you four?"

"Are you both finished?" Kreia said in a tone that brokered no further arguments. "With the present issue with this Gethzerion, Ventress' clan will need every bit of help it can get. She wants to honor her mother's memory by saving it. There is more at stake than your petty squabbles."

Ventress looked thoroughly scolded at the mention of her mother, the Sith assassin huffing and looking away whilst Wanda gave Kreia a hard stare.

"You called yourself a superhero, no?" Kreia rhetorically asked. "That means you are to do what others refuse to do."

"You don't have to say it like it's a bad thing, you know." Maximoff rebuked.

"Your words and morality, Avenger."Stressed out the Sith spirit. "Would you stand aside, let this threat commence and spread or will you do what's needed?"

Wanda really hated having her own words used against her in this context. She was being a hero by helping someone she hates.

Stupid morality.

She was not only an Avenger, but also a Guardian. A title she basically received from the Kwi, who were the descendants of the Kwa.

Looking at the glowering Ventress, Wanda momentarily thought back to the woman's mother and how she looked quite like her, just more angrier.

If Ilsijj was still alive, she would want to support her daughter.

"This is your journey." Wanda slowly said. "I'll "follow" your lead but anything you do-"

"You'll be watching my every step?" Asajj asked in a sarcastic drawl.

Wanda's eyes glowed red. "Don't test me."

Ventress stared at the scarlet irises, letting out a 'tsk', turning away from the rather intimidating sight. Loathe as she was to admit it, Maximoff was stronger than her by leaps and bounds.

"Oh." Wanda had a cocky smirk now. "How good of you to notice. Please keep that as a reminder, please and thank you."

Asajj flinched, a hateful gaze being sent towards the Sokovian.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that?" She hiss viciously.

"What're you gonna do about it, huh?" Wanda taunted her now. "You already know the outcome if you do. How 'bout you stop being a murder happy bitch who keeps thinking of ways to kill me and my team for five minutes and maybe, just maybe, I'll stop reading your mind. How does that sound?"

"I present to you all, the Scarlet Witch." Kreia spoke up, clearly unamused by their still ongoing bickering. "One of the strongest beings to have ever existed being in the form of a child."

"Can we just go already?" Ventress impatiently asked, though demanded is more like it.

Wanda held a smarmy look of victory which only intensified at the deadpan she received from Kreia.

The former Darth rolled her blind eyes, receding into her Holocron which Wanda quickly levitated into her hand, XoXaan's Holocron as well.

"This is your journey, Baldy." Wanda said. "You lead."

Ventress really hated this woman. She knows that she could read it from her mind but she just wanted to make sure that it was clear to her again..

All she just needed to deal with the Avenger for a little while longer. That's all she needed.

And maybe, just maybe, whatever happens in this journey of self-actualization, she can get some semblance of power to at least knock this annoyance on her ass.

"Not likely." Maximoff dryly said, casually checking her nails.

A groan escaped the Dark Jedi's lips as they got to the speeders and took off.

The trip was relatively silent between the pair. The only time they had to chat was brief when needing to coordinate their driving to certain locations for the route they must take.

Of course there were some issues with the local wildlife trying to attack them.

They were either swiftly killed by lightsabers or the two women used their powers to knock out or manipulate them to go elsewhere.

After feeling tired of the tense atmosphere around them, the Avenger tried to strike up a little conversation.

"So what are you gonna do?" Wanda asked, breaking the tense and awkward silence between the two.

"Haven't you been here longer than I have?" Ventress snipped. "I would think you would know by now."

"These are all personal journeys." Wanda shot back. "I never went on one cause it wasn't my business nor right."

"And yet-"

"Mother Talzin asked me cause she believes this is outside the realm of the Force, like me." Maximoff quickly cut her off.

"Why didn't you just be intrusive like you usually are?" The Sith assassin snidely said.

"I haven't read her mind as I didn't want to draw more attention to myself from her. But I do know she often knows more than she lets on." The Avenger replied. "That and she hasn't given me a reason to hate her. Hint hint."

"And here I thought we were getting along."

"You would rather kill yourself then get friendly with me."

Wanda received a small sideways glare as a response as they traversed onwards.

They flew in between a valley between a number of mountains, several ruins and abandoned villages passing by from their line of sight. The latter one would have happened over the years when clans had to move about for a better local, or forcibly like being taken by Zalem's people for over the past year or so.

Neither said a word until at long last, they reached their destination.

The two arrived at a large, bluish lake that was a startling contrast to the red themed planet. It was rather boggy with the mist swirling about. And by just reaching out with their powers, the two women could feel a strong power radiating from this body of water.

"Is this it?"

Asajj's eyes narrowed. "Yes… this is the place."

…

…

…

"Alright… now what?"

"Must you question everything?" Ventress asked, getting off her speeder.

"I'm curious." Wanda countered as she followed suit yet hanged back. "We come here and what, are we just gonna stand in front of the lake and just stare at it?"

Asajj rubbed the bridge of her nose. "That's not how it works and you know it. Are you just saying all this to annoy me?"

"No, baldy, I'm actually curious."

"Stop calling me Bald." Asajj almost childishly retorted. "It's a personal choice. It gets in the way!"

"Uh huh."

Shaking her head, Ventress squared her shoulders as she walked towards the lake. "At this point I must take my trial alone."

"Ok… so why am I here-"

"SHUT UP!" Asajj shouted. "Do you honestly have to nitpick about everything?!"

"If it annoys you? Yes. Absolutely."

"And here I thought the younglings would have you be more complacent with me."

"They're not here right now, are they?" Wanda said, sitting down on the shore with her cheek resting on her hand.

The hybrid Dathomirian scoffed, looking away from her.

Walking into the water, Asajj soon dived in. She went deeper and deeper as she went. Soon activating her lightsaber to light her way with how dark the waters were all around.

Looking around, she was trying to find her target, that which Mother Talzin told her to find.

A blue, aquatic creature that was meant to help master or at least take the steps to mastering the Dark Side.

She reminded herself she cannot kill the creature, only taking part of it whilst keeping it alive.

But with this mission came a caveat. She needed to do this by using both the Force and her untapped power.

Easier said than done but that was her objective.

Back on the surface, Wanda waited at the shoreline.

Getting bored of sitting by herself, she had sought to alleviate her boredom. She could meditate to pass the time, yet that changed when she felt the familiar pulse coming from the holocrons.

The spirits of Kreia and XoXaan floated beside her, the pair staring at the lake with slight interest though a degree of anticipation.

However… nothing was happening.

"Would've thought this could've been more interesting." Said the Dark Founder.

"You should know this is a self-trial, no one else is supposed to participate." Came Kreia's comment.

"I know. It's always different for each person. I would've expected to be brought along to see it all the way through."

Wanda soon voiced out a number of questions to the tattooed spirit. "And would your holocron work underwater? Or could you even leave it? If you could, how far are your limitations? Have you even tested any of this before?"

"We've survived for thousands of years." XoXaan flatly stated. "You think getting our Holocrons wet is just gonna destroy us so easily? It's clear you're not as intelligent as we gave you credit for."

"Or have you considered the option of reaching out with the Force to view her down below?" The hooded woman suggested it to her grand predecessor.

Wanda frankly didn't even bother to warrant a response to the goading XoXaan threw at her, instead looking to the wiser of the two.

"Any ideas on what she's gonna encounter?"

"I can only guess." Kreia admitted. "The Dathomiri Witches are thousands of years after my time. I can only guess as to what their trials will entail."

"It is one of conquering or balancing the Dark Side in oneself." Wanda mused aloud, rubbing her chin in thought.

"Something that was once practiced by all Force users." XoXaan admitted.

"And yet…" Maximoff left the underlying comment and jab unfinished.

The Sith founder scowled, looking away from the Avenger whilst Wanda smirked at her.

"Why do you continually choose to antagonize?"

"Huh?"

"You've been unusually aggressive, needlessly so." Kreia said, a frown present on her face.

"What, with XoXaan? She's an arrogant asshole."

"And you are seven thousand years too young to be talking back to your elders."

Kreia ignored the comments and gave the Sokovian a hard glare. "You know to whom and what I'm referring to."

Wanda rolled her eyes, 'tsking' in annoyance.

"You know why."

"If you simply judge someone of their past, despite them wanting to change, it makes things difficult to work alongside them. Even if it's for a brief time out of necessity and convenience. You'd never give them a chance to prove otherwise if they wish to choose for the present. All you're doing is refusing to perhaps listen and understand, which may lead to no victory and stagnation."

"You do realize that she's tried to kill my friends repeatedly."

"Were you and your brother not enemies with the team you were once a part of?"

"Pietro and I were tricked and made stupid decisions, due to us still being angry and wanted to change the world. We essentially repeated what you and your two apprentices did, uniting with Ultron who sought to use us as tools for his grand scheme." Wanda rebuked. "But she has willingly gone along with the idea of killing my friends. Half of the reasons I picked up being that she hated the humiliation she felt when being beaten by those without the Force. Arrogant and a prude."

"Still, are you not willing to give her the chance you were given?"

"How about she earns it first?" Wanda rhetorically asked.

"And what would you think will be the price to earn such a thing?"

Anything else for the conversation came to an end when they heard the nearby water break. Momentary splashes were heard as Ventress reached the surface. She swam towards the edge before walking on solid ground.

"How'd it go?"

Asajj merely held up the animal part with one hand before walking past her to the speeder bike.

"I got what I came for and the beast lives, even if barely." Asajj said in an almost uncaring manner.

Wanda and the Sith spirits could see a number of scrapes and cuts on Ventress, proof of her fight with whatever aquatic creature there was down below.

Despite her body looking like it went through the ringer, the frustration emanating off the Sith was palpable.

"How do you feel?" Kreia asked patiently. "Has there been a change in how you are?"

The Dark Jedi pondered for several moments before giving the best answer she could give.

"I feel… I'm not sure." Asajj murmured, looking at her hands. "The Dark Side has changed. It feels more natural now but the power my Master always spoke of. I just don't know how to unlock it. I don't even understand what it is."

"So you couldn't think of anything?" Wanda inquired, arms crossed and expression neutral.

"I just don't understand this power." Asajj said aloud, more to herself at her failure than Maximoffs question. "How can I use something I don't even comprehend?"

"Power is often tied to one's past, even unknowing with how it's obtained to begin with." Said XoXaan. "You'd just need to root it out and solve your little mystery to get the bigger picture."

Ventress nodded and considered these words to heart. She'd only go in circles if she didn't get a lead or any better details to work off of.

Kreia, meanwhile, was in silent thought for a few seconds, regarding the Dathomirian hybrid before she looked at Wanda.

"What if… what if you are looking at this through the wrong lens?"

"Huh?"

"From what I see and understand, you are looking at this power, this untapped potential through the eyes of familiarity. Your teachings in the Force. The Light, the Dark, Jedi and Sith." Kreia elaborated. "But this ability may require… a different approach. What of the middle ground? The in between? Or maybe… not using the Force at all? Finding harmony within yourself with what you do and don't know. Letting go of the control you cling onto and allowing yourself to submerge your body and soul into the unknown to find what you're looking for."

The Sith formerly known as Traya gestured to the scarlet garbed Avenger.

"Look at Maximoff." She instructed. "Tied to the Force as she is, Wanda is a being outside the Force who stands on her own abilities and powers that are beyond the understanding that we all have of the Force. These Avengers whom you have fought against have powers, abilities, technology and knowledge not tied to the Force, giving them many advantages over individuals such as ourselves."

Ventress looked at the Sokovian with an intense, analytical gaze, mulling over her predecessor's words.

"Balance?" She quietly said to herself. "Letting go of what I've been taught?"

In her mind, something reached out and flowed out of Wanda's mouth. Something she recalled hearing or perhaps hallucinating from her fight against Zalem.

"There is no dark side, or a light side. There is only the Force. I will do what I must to keep the balance. There is no good without evil, but evil must not be allowed to flourish. There is passion, yet peace. There is serenity, yet emotion. There is chaos, yet order. I am the wielder of the flame, protector of balance. I am the holder of the torch, lighting the way. I am the keeper of the flame, soldier of balance. I am the guardian of balance."

XoXaan blinked in confusion while the Lord of Betrayal hummed.

"The mantra of the Gray Jedi." Kreia said. "But be warned. Apathy is death."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Wanda asked in confusion.

"A lesson for another time." She brushed off. "We have a more important matter to concentrate on."

"Yes, Asajj surfacing her latent potential." The Dark Founder of the Sith pondered for a moment before voicing an option. "Why not deafen her to the Force? Maybe cut her off from it. See if it'll come out then."

Asajj recoiled with anger and clear fear.

"You can't!" Ventress backed away, reaching for her lightsabers. "The Force is what gives life to all-"

"We don't… Well, my team doesn't." Wanda looked to Kreia. "Do I have the Force?"

Kreia and XoXaan shared a look with the tattooed Sith spirit being the one to give a response. "Not in the way that we're familiar with but… not exactly."

"That doesn't help." Asajj argued. "The Force is what gives life to all in this galaxy. If you cut me off from it, it could kill me."

"That's not what happened to me." Said the hooded Sith Spirit.

This earned confusion from the three women around her, all looking at the spirit.

"How so?" Asked XoXaan.

"I was humiliatingly beaten by Nihilus and Sion, who soon stripped me of my connection to the Force before having me exiled, leaving me for dead. Yet I persevered and regained what I had lost over time." Kreia said. "But in the time that I had lost my connection to the Force, I gained a newfound perspective. To see the galaxy without the Force constantly blabbering on in your ear and influencing your every move. I experienced freedom. Freedom from the Force, its will, it's desires and I had a choiceall unto myself… A choice I squandered."

The hooded spirit looked Asajj right in the eye.

"Perhaps, with you, empty yourself of the Force, deafen your ears and you may find clarity."

It was clear for them to see the fear of such a proposal and action present in Ventress.

Cutting oneself off from the Force was terrifying to say the least.

"You must let go if you are to find that which you seek. Yes you may become weak, yet through that weakness will you at last realize the power of your will. Your hidden, untapped potential may pale in comparison to that."

"Easier said than done." Ventress said, voice shaking.

Reflecting on what memories she saw in Asajj's mind to the present conversation, Wanda came to a conclusion.

"You are afraid of being weak. It's something which drove you to who you are in the present."

This earned a sharp glare from the Dark Jedi.

"How would you know what it was like? To be powerless, to be nothing."

"That's my whole life up until recently." Wanda abruptly said. "You think I always had this?"

The psionic red energy vibrated around her hand.

"I have only had this power for a year, two tops by now." Maximoff explained. "But before that, I remember my entire life when I was nothing. A nobody in an abandoned part of my world, doomed to fall into obscurity. I got these powers cause I was ready and willing to die for something greater than myself. And I ascended into becoming something more, all because of what I fought for. Something my brother and I believed in. And… here we are now."

Asajj was silent, soaking in what she had just heard from all of them and being unable to come up with some form of an answer.

"After you take your Nightsister ritual at the village, you may have the choice to let us do what's necessary to help you gain your sought power. After all, with the Force comes sacrifice. Seeking the power you desire within you, what will be your price and how will you pay for achieving it?" Kreia's words felt like hammer blows to her psyche as the concept of not being connected to the Force was something that she never had even considered in her life.

Wordlessly, she went to her speeder, ignoring the others with Wanda looking at the Spirits momentarily before they returned into the confines of their Holocrons, were telekinetically lifted and floated over into Maximoffs hand.

Going over to her own speeder, the pair zoomed off, going through the valley they used in getting to the lake.

The duo returned to the village, most of the coven being there to greet their sister, Mother Talzin at the head of the group with a proud smile on her face.

"We welcome you, sister, as a true Nightsister." She announced in a grandiose manner. "Asajj Ventress."

Rather than any snarky remark or any comment, Ventress simply smiled in pride, Talzin placing welcoming hands upon her shoulders before she was guided to the rest of the coven.

"Do you have it, Sister?" Talzin asked, hands held out to her.

Handing over the piece of the aquatic creature, Asajj awaited for the coven leader to finish the concoction for the ritual she will undergo.

Before heading off, Talzin turned to Wanda and spoke an inquiry. "I hope the trip was enlightening."

"In a manner." Was all Wanda said.

It wouldn't be until later when the ceremony of Asajj's baptism commenced.

Congregated at one of the pools within the village, an assembly of members surrounded it while others watched on from various areas.

Amongst them were Wanda and her two young charges who stood beside her.

In the far end of the pool, Talzin stood with a number of Nightsister mystics lined up.

Walking into the water, Asajj trekked forward before facing the clan mother directly.

"Kneel." Talzin said calmly. Seeing Ventress comply, the Nightsister leader continued. "Do you pledge yourself to the sisterhood, to the magicks and the old ways?"

"I do." Came Asajj's response.

"Do you abandon your old life to this new one?"

"I do."

"Your loyalty, your life. Everything for your people."

"...Yes."

After returning from the trial, Asajj began to think of many things about her life. Many details that she had listened to and discussed in a short span of time.

There will be conflictions with goals she sought for may or may not change or be abandoned. She still wants revenge on Sidious. She still desires her sought after power. And she hopes that one day she will become a Sith Lord like many before her.

Who knows for sure what will happen after today with both this baptism and later on.

Swirling green mist was conjured up by the mystics as they chanted an inaudible spell. It began to be denser by each passing moment.

Talzin knelt down as she levitated a cup into her hand. The glowing green liquid was made with a litany of ingredients, but the most important one was what Asajj had brought back earlier.

Once handed over the potion, Asajj drank it all with several gulps. After the cup was empty, it was handed back before the clan leader slowly leaned back the Dark Jedi into the pool.

Submerged, Asajj began to feel changes occurring within her.

The swirling mist seeped into the water moments later and ensnared the Dark Jedi, hoisting her up into the air. The ethereal energies began to seep into her body. Eyes were shot wide open and rolled back as she gave out a silent scream for what felt like forever. Once the last of it was no longer in sight, Ventress was gently brought back down as she was back on her feet.

Eyes rolled back down, revealing her icy blue eyes became more sharper and predominant. Their owner felt renewed in a litany of ways.

"You are now reborn, a sister of the night." Talzin said happily. "Welcome."

Asajj gave a soft nod as spoke in reverence. "Thank you, mother."

The clan leader looked around as she addressed the fellow clan members. "Tonight we feast and celebrate the baptism of our new sister."

Cheers were made all around.

One by one, members of the clan approached Ventress and gave her their respective "congratulations".

When things slowly disbursed, the last ones to greet her were Merrin, Ilyana and their guardian.

"Congrats Asajj." Said Ilyana with her giving her a hug.

Still trying to get used to such actions, Ventress returned one back… in an awkward manner.

Merrin merely gave the freshly baptized Dathomirian a happy nod.

Wanda merely gave Asajj a neutral look yet nodded silently all the same.

She didn't say anything in return, simply accepting the nod as she'd rather not clash with her at this time.

Ventress wished to simply soak in the moment for the time being.

She understood how fleeting these are in her life.

Before parting ways, Wanda did say one thing to her.

"From what I know of your mother, she would be really happy yet sad about your baptism."

"Why's that?"

"Happy you went through this, yet sad that she wasn't present to witness it."

Icy blue eyes were down casted when hearing this.

After everything she had undergone, the trial coupled with a celebration of her success, she eventually found herself at the crashed ship not far from her coven.

Asajj stood in front of the two Sith Spirits, head down and fists clenched tightly. Wanda stood to the side, arms crossed with her expression blank.

"Tell us." Kreia spoke calmly. "Have you made your decision?"

Shakily and with a clear look of hesitation, Ventress nodded.

"How do we do this?" She asked, voice trembling.

"Sit down." Kreia instructed. "And focus on the Force around you for your second baptism."

Ending up in a meditative position, Asajj soon awaited further instruction.

"Open yourself to the Force. Do not resist with what will happen next."

The Dark Jedi did as such, focusing on the Force and opening herself up to it. As this occurred, Kreia reached out as well to connect with the Dathomirian to make sure things may proceed further.

"Now… let it flow out of you. Empty yourself, let the Force no longer guide your actions. Take hold of your own self."

Asajj gasped upon the expulsion of the Force from within her.

It felt so… alien.

Unnatural.

Disturbing.

Unfamiliar.

Wrong.

Darth Kreia sensed these emotions but paid no mind.

"Now XoXaan, Wanda, help me with what needs to be done as previously discussed."

If she was being honest with herself, Wanda felt some catharsis with what she's about to do.

The eyes of the Scarlet Witch began to glow as she reached out to both the holocrons and to Asajj. The Sith devices began to glow brightly as the Spirits began to feel empowered with the essence flowing through them. In mere moments, the three surrounding Asajj shot forth their power to the Dathomirian. Wanda with her scarlet psionic energies while enhanced Force lightning was produced from the Sith spirits.

The combined works impacted the Dathomirian, having her accepting the pain and not resisting at all.

The form surrounding the Dark Jedi glowed, but instead of enhancing her, something else occurred.

Asajj gasped, almost choking on her own breath, hands reaching up to her throat to almost claw at her neck.

And in an instant, Ventress's life flashed before her eyes again.

Everything she had experienced up to this very point.

The turmoil, the struggle, her suffering and loss.

But then… it all changed.

Her perspective transformed into that of a being of pure energy flying through the endless expanse of the cosmos.

In an instant, she saw worlds and other galaxies, flying through, around, in between, all of it.

She had never experienced anything like this in her life.

Asajj let out a choking gasp, her eyes shaking until a darkness began to envelop them. A moment later, small light dots were added into the darkness followed by swirls and other cosmic bodies.

When Wanda looked into Asajj's eyes, the white and clear icy blue's she had seen all too often were replaced with black with what appeared like countless stars entrapped within them.

It was like she was looking upon the night sky.

"I see it." Asajj whispered reverently, tears peeking out of the corners of her eyes. "By the Force, I see it. Eternity! The Force, Life, death, destruction and rebirth. We're all connected. We don't exist in the universe. We are the Universe! It's… it's Beautiful."

Wanda could only watch in wide eyed wonder at seeing Asajj go through such an experience.

Strangely, her mind couldn't be read or discerned, only her feelings of pure wonder and astonishment.

During this encounter, a great number of people within the area felt the drastic change.

Many looked around, some gazing in the direction where it was all coming from.

And it wasn't just the Nightsisters Coven.

Elsewhere in the galaxy…

"Peter?"

The Guardians of the Galaxy looked at their leader, the man standing stock still.

He was looking down at his hands, eyes widening at his Celestial powers briefly flashing in his palm before it subsided.

Mantis gasped slightly. "That was-"

"What's happening, Peter?" Gamora questioned, now concerned, stepping close to her leader and lover with the man looking deeply rattled and conflicted.

And yet…

He smiled slightly.

"They're here." He whispered, clenching his hand into a fist of conviction. "I know it now. No doubt about it. They Are Here! My sibling, brother, sister, who cares. They're here. I know it without a shadow of a doubt."

Back on Dathomir, the Witches on the planet continued experiencing this change firsthand with astonishment and trepidation.

Talzin, however, felt a mixture of feelings.

While elated to feel Ilsijj's daughter obtaining the power she all so desired, which would benefit their people as a whole; she was worried about the repercussions.

'So it has come to this, young Asajj.' She frowned as she looked towards the general direction where the unveiled power originated. 'Are you ready for the path it may lead you on? Are you willing to let go of what you have known your whole life for what's to come?'

With the young Dathomirian hybrid, the "ritual" she had undergone had subsided.

She was still on the floor sitting cross legged yet her form was slumped over, head hung low.

The Avenger who stood off to the side gazed upon her warily.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Wanda inquired, clearly unsure as to all this.

"We shall wait and see." Kreia said, the unspoken instruction of "patience" being heard in her tone.

The trio of the lone human and two Sith Spirits watched on in silence at Ventress who had yet to move from her spot or even show an indication that she was even alive.

Whatever Wanda was feeling came to an abrupt end when Asajj gasped aloud to such an extreme that Maximoff actually let out a frightened yelp, jumping back slightly.

The Dathomiri hybrid was breathing heavily, repositioning herself to be on her knees.

A visible sheen of sweat was seen on her forehead, the Sith assassin forcing herself to stand back up.

"D-Did it *COUGH* did it work?"

"You tell me." Maximoff commented.

Asajj raised her shaking hands, looking down as if she were expecting something.

"Look inward." Kreia advised.

Silently nodding her head, Ventress closed her eyes and concentrated.

She brought her mind back to the literal outer body experience she just had and focused on the overwhelming sensation that went all across her being, both physically, mentally and spiritually.

"Whoa." Asajj heard Wanda's little outburst and opened her eyes to a startling sight.

Ventress stared at a whitish-blue energy flowing in between her hands.

She couldn't believe what she was looking at.

"What is this?" Asajj asked in a quiet whisper.

"Unbelievable." XoXaan said in a low, disbelieving voice. "Is that… What I think it is?"

"You know what it is, founder?" Kreia asked, admittedly astonished by what she was looking at herself.

"It is something we had once attempted to study." XoXaan whispered. "What Ajunta, Muur and the others tried to emulate in shaping the Force to create what we had. Of tapping into a lost form of the Force, its original inception. To weave and create anything, manipulating matter to its molecular level."

"Hmm, interesting. Such a rare entity." Kreia focused more on the Dathomirian and felt how deep the power went. "Someone who could be more than Sith, more than Jedi. Perhaps one who could properly travel along the middle if trained correctly."

Hearing all this, Asajj felt a strange nudge in the back of her head.

Gritting her teeth slightly, she began pushing her hands together, the light in between them actually feeling malleable. Like they were changing shape and feeling to Asajj's will until she clasped her hands together and in them, a glowing blue and white ball.

"Wow." She murmured the only word that came to mind, in a state of disbelief at what she held in her hand.

She did it…

Asajj laughed.

She actually did it!

After all this time, the power that had been always there, always out of reach was now in the palm of her hands!

"Quite the spectacle, I do admit." Said a disembodied, layered and echo-like voice.

Both Asajj and Wanda snapped to attention, spinning about with their arms raised.

Wanda's hands glowed with her powers whilst Asajj had one hand alight with her newfound abilities and the other clasping one of her ignited Lightsabers.

The one who swiftly drew their attention was a decrepit old woman. Yet her appearance was deceiving as she wasn't weak at all but quite the opposite.

She was garbed in crimson red robes with a number of bone-like accessories with carvings all over them. Her eyes appeared milkish for one being blind, yet she wasn't so.

Wanda's eyes narrowed on the carvings that this woman had, a sense of familiarity beginning to creep up on the Avenger until-

"Gethzerion." She said in a low voice, her psionic energy intensifying.

"In the flesh." Gethzerion, founder of the Nightsisters and practitioner of the Dark Side said, voice conveying amused malice. "My reputation precedes me to be known right away. The Scarlet Witch and a child of the stars."

She chortled in a snide manner.

"With all your power, you are still a novice as neither of you detected me."

Gethzerion turned to the Sith Spirits who looked upon her with blank looks.

"Ah, Sith." The Nightsister founder sneered. "Power-hungry, jealous fools who cannot stand those who have power that threatens their own."

Kreia appeared nonplussed by the insult.

"What was that phrase you once said, Maximoff? The one from your planet? A pot calling the kettle black, yes?"

"That would be it."

"Rather appropriate."

"What do you want?" XoXaan asked, rather sounding bored in her question.

"I bear no ill will, I assure you." The old woman said sweetly. "I'm merely curious and wanted to satiate it." The smile she bore broadened more. "And I'm so glad I came…"

"You sound disgusting." Wanda verbally jabbed, Asajj finding herself silently agreeing with the Avenger.

The old Dathomirian ignored the Scarlet Witch's comment, either being unmoved or it not feeling demeaning at all.

"Child of the stars." Gethzerion stated, gazing upon Asajj. "You know not what you have. Join me, sister and I shall help you attain true greatness with your gifts."

"Tempting offer but sorry, I'll have to decline." Ventress sneered at the ancient Dathomirian. "I already pledged for my clan. I'm not going to betray them now."

"Hmm, pity." Exhaling a sigh, Gethzerion soon let out a chuckle.

From her robes, the Nightsister pulled out something that neither the living nor the spiritual could discern.

It looked like a root, or glowing plant of some kind with a withered blue bulb with a copper hexagonal net-like cage surrounding it.

When focusing on the object, Wanda soon widened her eyes when feeling the faint, familiar power residing within it.

Ventress had a similar reaction, looking upon the strange item and briefly looked down at her glowing hand. In a split second, the blue object started to glow in response.

"Yes~~" Gethzerion's voice echoed around them. "It is exactly what you think, children. A parting gift from the stars, from the builders of the cosmos. And now, it is mine, courtesy of Zalem." She smiled more towards Wanda. "Thank you for that, deary."

Wanda weaved her hands together, conjuring a sphere of red energy. Her lightsaber soon comes out, hovering and ignites a harsh carmine/scarlet red, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"You won't have it for long." She said aloud, unleashing the sphere right at the Nightsister.

Gethzerion lets out a yawn, throwing up a hand that stopped the sphere and caused it to disperse.

All the while, the object in her hand glowed, the energy radiating off of it also seeping into her hands.

"Cute and adorable." She snidely taunted. "But the power is there. You've only just begun tapping into it." Her hand soon stretched out. "Here's a sample."

Sickly green lightning shot out of her palm, going directly at the Scarlet Witch. Her double bladed lightsaber was able to absorb the blast, yet the earth beneath her heavily cracked from the force behind it all. And the Sokovian started to strain from it all.

"Oh~ so you can hold your own." She mused in mild interest. "Let's see what you can do."

Instead of attacking further on Wanda, Gethzerion went towards Ventress.

The enhanced Dark Jedi swiftly crossed her lightsabers just as another Force lightning strike came into contact. Her weapons were able to absorb the energies. Yet unlike Wanda, who was holding on her own, she was severely being pushed back with each passing second.

Without even realizing it, Asajj subconsciously used her new powers to boost herself in defense yet she soon realized what she had done.

Her powers faltered and she was thoroughly blasted with lightning, sending her flying back and impacting the nearby derelict ship.

"Shouldn't have expected more. You're too fresh on your inherited power."

"You got lucky." Wanda said, hovering above the ground slightly with her power flowing around her. Her double bladed lightsaber flared as the plasma blades started to crackle as if reacting to its owner's emotions.

Gethzerion smiled sinisterly at the Scarlet Witch.

"Oh~ I want this challenge, I want this fight." She said manically. Yet she soon gave out an exaggerated, disappointed sigh. "Alas, I am needed elsewhere."

Sickly green energies shot out and swirled around the ancient woman.

"Until we meet again."

The mist-like flames swirled faster and faster, making Gethzerion fade into the ethereal properties as it shot into the sky like a rocket.

Wanda, Asajj, Kreia and XoXaan only looked on as the Nightsister just up and disappeared from their sight.

"She… she left." Wanda murmured, staring up at the skies above, wondering if what she had seen wasn't some kind of illusion.

Asajj was equally as confused, the strange power that she had long sought after subsiding as both women only stood there, eyes directed at the skies of Dathomir.

"Why would she leave?" XoXaan curiously asked aloud. "I thought she wanted to take over Dathomir."

"She had that… thing." Asajj muttered, a strange pit forming in her stomach when referencing the seed. "Where'd it come from anyways?"

"Zalem's territory." Wanda soon gave a brief explained summary. "There was this weird blue blob that radiated that power. I had to destroy it before facing Zalem. And I think all of it came from that seed." She began to feel a foreboding dread creeping up on her. "Why did she even take it? And for what purpose?"

"So much for that alliance." Asajj wryly said, Maximoff was hard pressed to disagree with her.

She had just had a meeting with other Dathomiri tribe leaders on forging a coalition against Gethzerion.

How was she supposed to explain this one? Whatever efforts they were planning was now wasted.

-Scene Cut-

"Gethzerion was with you?" Talzin questioned, clearly troubled by this development.

"Yeah and she packs a punch." Wanda stated. "She has something, an object and it granted her similar powers to what Zalem had."

"Her power," Ventress muttered. "It was unlike anything I… Well, not exactly."

"Hmmm?" The Coven leader looked at Asajj for further clarity.

The Dathomiri hybrid held her hand up and she grunted slightly, forcefully manifesting her new power.

"It was just like this." She quietly said. "No, exactly like this."

Talzin was silent, arms crossed together with her hand in front of her lips as she went over the encounter the duo just told her of.

This was rather worrying.

She had just agreed to be a part of the coalition of Dathomiri Witches in combating Gethzerion's return and yet the target of their alliance just up and left.

The coven leader doesn't know why but this was troubling.

"We must notify the others of this development." Talzin announced. "Maximoff. Send word to Ros and the other clan leaders. They must know of this."

Wanda simply nodded and turned to walk away.

Asajj hesitated but moved to follow after her when-

"Asajj, a moment if you would please."

Ventress froze, looking back at Talzin.

The Nightsister clan leader was gazing at her with an expectant gaze as she stood there with her hands folded into her sleeves.

"Mother?"

"Come here, child." Talzin quietly said, taking her hands out from her sleeves a doing a flowing motion to conjure an orange, glass sphere in between them

"You have tapped into the latent power that has long since been dormant within you." The Nightsister clan leader spoke with admiration and approval. "For many years it has eluded you but at long last, it is now within your grasp."

Asajj's chest puffed out slightly upon hearing this yet remained silent.

"However, this power is still new. It is unrefined, unknown and untested. Because of this, you would be heavily outmatched by others."

Ventress slowly nodded, knowing this to be true.

"You must find a means of learning how to fully comprehend and control the power that you have. And you can't accomplish such a thing whilst staying here."

Asajj blinked, head shaking slightly as it jolted a bit back when she heard this.

"What do you mean I can't stay here?"

Talzin waved her hand in a placating manner. "It is not a matter of whether or not you are allowed to stay here. It is a matter of this place being unable to provide you with the means that can assist you in getting a grasp of your newfound strength. You must travel outwards to attain the control needed. For your sake, for our sisters, our Coven and our plans for not just combating Lord Sidious but also Gethzerion."

Much as she wanted to argue against all this, Asajj knew that Mother Talzin was right. This was something that she must discover by herself.

"Where would I go, Mother Talzin?" She asked. "This power, these abilities, I fear it is not something that can just be taught to anyone. Does anyone else in this galaxy even know what it is?"

"There are some perhaps though they may be exceptionally rare to the point that they are counted on one hand." Talzin admitted. "However, with Maximoff and yourself, I have begun to realize that there are other means of using the Force, using our Magicks in ways those that have come before may not have considered and in that, I have made a discovery that may help you on your journey."

Talzin's orange crystal ball glowed and it showed a litany of planets that Asajj recognized.

"Your power, as you have witnessed, is not one exclusive to yourself." Talzin revealed. "There is another. Somewhere in this galaxy. You have kin, sister. Kin outside of Dathomir. Kin who shares your blood and your power."

The Dathomiri hybrid almost couldn't believe what she had just heard. "...What?"

"Yes, my dear. It is as I have said. You are not alone with what you have. You must go and find your kin. Only then will you know further on what to do with your shared power."

"B-but, Mother, what of-"

"You can speak with Count Dooku yourself, Sister. Inform him of your discovery and your journey. The Count is a patient man and will not be making any drastic moves without his prized pupil."

Ventress bit her lip, hating how she now had considered leaving her homeworld in such a way.

Asajj wanted to stay on Dathomir. Not just because of her clan but also on Dooku's instruction. Yet she had to remember him saying unto her to become stronger for their end goal.

With what's happening now, she won't be stronger staying on her birth planet.

She needed to go.

And Asajj loathed just admitting such a thing.

"You will always have a place here, Asajj." Talzin assured, dispelling her crystal orb and placing her hands on the young Force user's shoulders. "Do not forget. Even with your longer than anticipated journey, you returned to your people eventually. So do not fret for the same shall come to pass as it did before. You will come back to us, my dear."

Ventress' face scrunched up into determination and conviction when she heard these words.

"I will not fail you, Mother Talzin. I will return."

"I am counting on it."

After this conversation, it didn't take long for Asajj to gather what she needed and departed the planet of Dathomir with the smuggler ship she arrived in to begin with.

She had said her goodbyes to her coven, even managing another awkward hug with Ilyana and after speaking and receiving the blessings from Lord Tyranus, Asajj Ventress was gone.

Wanda had seen the ship take off, standing at the front entrance to the village of the Nightsisters with Ilyana, Merrin and her friend Junn by her side.

"Did she really have to go?" Ilyana asked, clearly upset at seeing her cousin depart so suddenly.

"She has her own journey, little one." Junn remarked, patting the younger Nightsister on her shoulder. "But all eventually lead back here."

"But how long will that be?" Merrin questioned, curious about taking a journey herself.

Junn shrugged. "As long as it's needed to discover one's full potential."

"She'll be back." Wanda assured, particularly Asajj's young cousin. "This is her home in the end."

The young child was depressed. She was working hard in connecting with her long lost cousin. After what happened, Ilyana thought after Asajj's baptism, the older Dathomirian wouldn't leave the planet for a long time.

Seeing her charge in such a state, Wanda thought back of something from Earth. Something which could maybe lift up Ilyana's mood.

Soon enough, she remembered a song by Vera Lynn, making her sing it softly.

"We'll meet again

Don't know where

Don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day

Keep smiling through

Just like you always do

'Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away…"

Hearing some of the verses, the small group had their little reactions. Merrin and Ilyana liked it and got the message. Junn only hummed in agreement, bidding goodbye for the time being as she had duties to attend to.

"Come on you two." Wanda said, taking both their hands. "I figure it's long past that we grab something to eat. Bet you two are hungry."

Ilyana and Merrin both happily nodded at their guardian, swinging their hands back and forth as the trio walked into the mountain village when-

*VVVVVRRRRRRRR*

Wanda froze at the sound of a loud swooping of ship engines coming from above.

She turned back to the outskirts of the village to see a large, curved ship landing in front of the mountain village.

The Avenger eyed the ship with suspicion, gently pulling Merrin and Ilyana closer to her.

Her eyes picked up on four figures coming out of the ship but the hazy air the planet possessed made it slightly hard to make out just who it was that arrived.

Two had robes and some armor on their wrists and shoulder pads.

Another wore… wait, that was a suit that was from Earth! A business suit with a white button-up shirt, black tie and matching gray jacket and pants. He had a walking stick with him and wore a shade of crimson sunglasses.

'Wait a second…' Thought Wanda. 'I know them.'

Some she had gained one sided knowledge of from Ventress.

She did spot other Nightsisters coming down and around to surround the four and it appeared they were about to disarm then when-

*FWOOSH*

Wanda's eyes widened, something emulated by her two charges at the sight of a silvery blue blur. One which originated from someone she had known far better than anyone else.

Her jaw dropped when she heard a distinct, annoyed accent.

"We already had to deal with warrior-men, we're not here for a-"

"PIETRO!" Wanda exclaimed instantly, letting go of Merrin and Ilyana and sprinting at full speeds towards the large assembly of people outside the village entrance.

The speedy figure froze on the spot, spinning around with a near bug-eyed look until they nearly grew to the size of saucer plates at the sight of-

"WANDA!" The twin brother shouted with pure relief, jubilation and love, rushing right at her with his super speed.

The younger twin of twelve seconds jumped into the air and was caught by her brother, the duo hugging one another tightly with tears threatening to spill from their eyes.

"It really is you!" Her brother yelled, clutching onto her as if she were to disappear. "We've been looking for you! All over the galaxy!"

Wanda could only tearfully laugh, arms wrapped firmly around her brother.

"I'm sorry I made you worry like that." The younger twin happily laughed, pulling back to wipe some joyful tears away. "I know how worried you can get."

"I should be saying the same to you." Pietro said, eyes glistening, sniffling slightly. "We're two peas in a pod. Together to the end."

"Always." Wanda remarked, wiping her eyes dry.

"Ahem."

The twins looked to see the Nightsisters with three other men, one's who Wanda recognized, looking at the two of them expectantly.

"So, guess you found your lost sister, Pietro." Said the younger of the pair who wore robes.

"At long last." The bearded one mused with a small smile.

"Captain Rogers and the rest are certainly going to be glad to know you're coming back to them." Said the one with the ruby shades.

Wanda took a moment to look over each of them to give them a quick look over.

The two in the robes were easy to recognize.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

The two Jedi that Asajj had constantly encountered and held a deep seated grudge and hatred against them.

The other was… well, he looked familiar but she couldn't quite place his name.

Pietro soon saw her curious look and decided to make the proper introductions.

"Wanda, here are some friends of mine. This is Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Matt Murdock." Pietro said. "Matty here is a new Avenger from Earth!"

"Really?" She said in surprise.

While Wanda had seen memories of a number of Avengers, the Dathomirian Dark Jedi never interacted with all of them. Some passing knowledge on the rest, yes, but nothing beyond that.

"It's a pleasure to meet you at long last, Ms. Maximoff." Kenobi pleasantly greeted her with a kind smile. "Your brother and friends have been looking for you for some time and have spoken a great deal of you."

"Yeah, Pietro wouldn't give up till you were found." Anakin japed, shooting her a friendly smile. "But it'll be good to know now that when we leave, we can reunite you with the rest of your team."

"Rest of my team?" Wanda looked at her brother and then at Murdock. "Has everyone else been found?"

"Vision was our latest find." Pietro revealed. "You are the final one."

"And with that, the team is whole." Matt stated, walking towards her with his hand offered to her. "A pleasure, Ms. Maximoff. I'd like to personally thank you for stopping the world from ending at Sokovia."

Wanda gave him a bemused smile, daintily shaking the man's hand.

"Think nothing of it." She warmly greeted him. "I'm just glad to know that there are other heroes on Earth."

"Only following the example your team has set."

"The team you're now a part of."

"Great, you two get along, moving on." Pietro dryly commented.

The rest of the Nightsisters, having been forgotten, looked at one another until one simply gestured her head for them to leave the group be.

Anakin, Obi-wan and Matt noticed this but said nothing as Pietro and Wanda were talking animatedly, the joy in being reunited palpable in the air.

Suddenly, Wanda's sweet and happy smile soured deeply before she abruptly slapped her brother against the side of the head.

"Hey, OW! What was that for?" He recoiled from the blow with several others following. Trying his best to block the repeated hits on him. "Stop that!"

"Once you apologize!"

"For what?!"

"Starting trouble as soon as you get here!" She admonished him.

"Hey, they're the ones pointing weapons at us." Pietro countered.

"Coming in, unannounced and while we have been on edge for a while now. What do you think?!"

"Hey, I didn't know and-OW! Don't pull on my ear!" Getting fed up with this treatment, the brother reached for her head.

"WAA- What did I tell you about pulling my hair?!"

The twins devolved into a "fight" with hair pulling, forehead slapping and cheek pinching. Their clothes were soon being intentionally messed with and now both were trying to trip each other up with their powers.

"Hearing about this is one thing, but seeing it is something else." Anakin remarked with a laugh.

"Do you think we should intervene?" Kenobi inquired, unable to hide his smirk at the sight of the two bickering with each other.

Whilst some might see it as odd, for them, they could see the happiness at being reunited with each other. This was just a form of displaying their sibling affection.

"No, let them hash it out." Murdock patiently advised. "I can only imagine how long they've had this game."

The blind lawyer tilted his head slightly at the soft sound of two sets of footsteps walking towards them.

The two Jedi noticed his movement and looked towards a pair of young Nightsisters, likely nine or ten in age, walking towards Wanda and Pietro who were still squabbling childishly.

"Who do you think they're supposed to be?" Skywalker asked with obvious curiosity.

"Let's just watch and find out." Kenobi suggested, the trio watching the scene play out.

Wanda was pinching Pietro's nose and grinding her knuckle into the side of his head whilst Pietro had both her cheeks pinched and was pulling them apart.

Neither noticed the two kid Nightsisters looking up at them curiously.

"Wanda."

Both twins paused in their "fight", looking down at the two who were staring back at them.

"Oh!" Wanda said through her pinched cheeks. "Girls. Sorry for running off like that."

She shook her brothers' hands off her face, letting go of him and stepping towards them. She placed her hand on their backs and gently nudged them forward.

"Come on you two, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

Pietro looked back and forth between the two young Nightsisters and then at Wanda then back at them and then back at his sister.

"Wait… you… you've adopted?" Pietro surmised somewhat incredulously.

"Not officially, but I am their guardian." Wanda said warmly.

"Huh." Pietro crossed his arms in amusement. "So while we're out saving the galaxy, you went and became a mother. That's so you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's nothing to be overly surprised about considering our two charges." Matt stated, making his presence known again along with the pair of present Jedi.

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Mara is Natasha's and Grogu is really the collective Avengers baby."

"Collective Avengers Baby?" Anakin, Obi-wan and Wanda said in complete bewilderment.

"What have you been doing?" The Scarlet Witch asked, looking at her brother, clearly as baffled as the rest were by what he just said. "Actually, hold off on that. Why are you here to begin with?"

Obi-wan's expression became far more serious now. "There is a Dathomiri male, a Nightbrother who has been running rampant across the galaxy killing Jedi. We know he comes from this planet so we are here hoping to get some answers as to how, where and why he is doing all this."

Wanda frowned upon hearing that.

"Huh, first I heard of it." Muttered Pietro's sister. "In any case, you should talk to Mother Talzin or any of the clan leaders. Either of them would give a better clue than I could."

Anakin bowed his head slightly. "Thanks, Wanda. Pietro, you stay here and catch up. We'll speak with Mother Talzin."

The Speedster nodded, watching as the two Jedi and blind lawyer walk towards the coven. Other members of the locals escorted them inside as per… custom with unannounced "guests".

"Just wait in the center of the village." Wanda called out to her. "She'll come to you."

"Thank you." Anakin said back.

While the Jedi and Avenger went to chat with Mother Talzin, Wanda decided to make a proper introduction with her charges with her brother.

"Pietro, here are Merrin and Ilyana. Girls, this is my childish younger brother, Pietro."

"Like you're one to tal-Hey, Ow, grrr!"

"HEY! What did I just say?!"

The silver-haired man got away from her "abuse" to speak to the younglings.

"Don't listen to a word she says you two, I am the cool, twelve second older twin."

"Can you really move fast as she told us?" Merrin excitedly asked.

Pietro only smirked, vanishing into a blur before reappearing to a small knife that was spinning from the tip of his finger.

"You tell me, kiddo."

"Whoa~~~" Merrin and Ilyana said in unison, eyes going wide with stars sparkling around them.

"Showoff." Wanda commented.

"Oh please." Pietro scoffed good naturedly. "Like you haven't used your powers to entertain them."

"She really has." Ilyana said happily before Wanda could get a chance to counter such an "accusation".

"Every day." Merrin added cheerfully. "And more than you could know."

Inside of the village, the others who arrived with Pietro had finally made the audience with the local clan leader.

The other clan members had their hands on their weapons in case the Jedi and Avenger were to do anything. They would've been drawn, yet Wanda has a connection to them and would act out if this was known.

True to Wanda's word, Talzin made her arrival as she greeted the Jedi Master of the group when they were escorted into her hut.

"Master Kenobi." Talzin greeted.

"Mother Talzin, thank you for the hospitality." Obi-wan said diplomatically.

"I believe you have a question for me." She stated more than asked.

"Several actually." Matt stated, drawing Talzin's attention.

"And who is this?" She inquired with clear fascination directed towards the blind Avenger.

"Matthew Murdock." The Devil of Hell's Kitchen said professionally. "A friend of theirs accompanying them on this investigation. We've had reports of a Dathomiri male on the loose."

"He's already killed a number of Jedi. Perhaps you know who he is?" Said Obi-wan.

"Master Jedi, we have no control over the males." Talzin casually deflected.

"Don't play innocent with me, Mother." Obi-wan pressured. "Everyone in the galaxy knows females are dominant on this planet. I do not believe anything happens here without any of the other clans knowing about it."

Talzin ended up laughing upon hearing this. "Oh how naive you are on such a factor. To think that the Jedi collect their facts from mere rumors."

"Rumors…" Began Anakin, stepping out of line by standing up from his seat. "You call several dead Jedi rumors?"

Obi-wan pulled Anakin back and gave him a brief look before focusing back at Talzin.

"This thing… This animal is extremely dangerous. If you have any information about his whereabouts, you must tell us." Kenobi said with a greater degree of stress.

"I wish I could help, but we've had our own troubles as of late. Much discord happening, in which many things could slip right under our attention."

"Is there anything you could do to help?" Matt inquired.

Talzin eyed the man with a neutral expression, trying to find a means of discerning his intentions yet found his stoic face giving away nothing.

"There is… a Nightsister from this planet." Talzin slowly said. "One who poses a direct danger to not just my clan but all on this planet. If you see her, eliminate her. Wanda Maximoff will inform you of the details."

After being told of Gethzerion's sudden appearance, the clan leader focused much of her power to find her whereabouts on Dathomir. Turns out she had warped away elsewhere and is out there in the galaxy.

With the ancient Witch roaming about, she'll pose a danger to everyone. So having this threat brought to the Jedi will place a target on Gethzerion's back and making things much more easier to deal with in the long run.

The three men shared a look, making them wonder what exactly was going on.

"Apprehending is more my MO but we shall do what we must." Matt said in place of the Jedi. "Now, we promise a "favor" in helping you. Tell us what we need to know as lives are at stake at this immediate point in time."

Talzin nodded, going over to seat herself at the head of the table where her crystal ball lay and she began a brief incantation.

Moments later, an image of a tall, imposing Zabrak wielding a double-sided red lightsaber was shown to the two Jedi.

"The beast that you seek is headed for Toydaria." Talzin's disembodied voice stated. "That is all I can help you with."

"Thank you, Mother Talzin." Obi-wan said, bowing his head slightly. "Let's-"

"Before you leave, Master Jedi." The Night witch spoke up, making the three men pause in their movement. "A question I have for you. I detected another was with you, one who's speed outmatches anything we know. One who holds the same blood as Wanda Maximoff."

"That's her twin brother, Pietro." Anakin revealed a frown now marring Talzin's face.

"And I take it…"

"Yes." Matt said with a firm edge to his tone. "We fully intend on taking Wanda with us. She's a friend and an Avenger. The rest of the team has been looking for her throughout this entire galaxy."

It was clear for them to see that the Nightsister clan leader didn't like this idea.

"I can understand that you may have grown attached to her presence and she has become a friend to your clan." Matt spoke in a calm but serious tone. "However, Wanda is well aware that her friends have been looking for her and she herself wants to come back with us."

"What makes you so sure of such a thing?"

"Intuition." Murdock answered. "That and once we tell her of the threat we currently face, Wanda will be all too willing to leave with us."

"And the two children with whom she has taken in?"

"What's another two kids for the Avengers to adopt?" Anakin sarcastically asked. "It's a habit of theirs by now."

Talzin pondered for some moments.

"Much as I would have liked to claim her as one of ours, she is free to do as she wishes." Talzin said after a few moments of silence.

"And her two charges?"

Talzin's fingers folded together. "They are a part of this clan. Their place is here… however… their mothers entrusted their safety and wellbeing to Maximoff. It would be cruel to separate them from someone they clearly love and look to for comfort and warmth. They can go with her to honor Wanda's promise to their mothers."

Nods were given out as they were escorted out of the hut, leaving Talzin by herself.

She looked down with a troubled expression, shaking her head at her choices, praying that events will play out with her clan coming out of this unscathed and alive. With how the galaxy is at this current time, that's all one can hope for sometimes.

In the end, they will need all the help they could get and hope the plans they've made will turn out right in the end.

When making their way to reunite with the twins, a few things occurred with the group.

Obi-wan planned that once back on the ship, he'll need to inform the others of their present lead if they haven't found him first. Anakin, however, spoke to the Daredevil with an inquiry.

"Were you able to get more out of her, Matt?"

"I would've if you asked the right questions. Aside from that, it would've been too hard to tell. Her patterns were eerily calm, making it hard for me to detect anything out of the ordinary." Matt murmured. "The way her voice is doesn't help."

-Scene Cut-

Arriving at the Toydaria system, located in Hutt Space of the Mid Rim, Sora Bulq and Savage Opress made their arrival to Toydaria.

It was a temperate world of forests and swamps, with mats of algae covering large portions of the planet's surface. The atmosphere was typically foggy and carried a greenish hue with varying unique plant life being grown here.

Their transport soon landed on the platform connected to the royal palace where their target resides.

Of course, they were quickly met with resistance on their arrival.

Savage swiftly killed a number of the Toydarian royal guard before he made his way through the area.

Master Bulq, however, walked at a decent pace to observe Savage's actions as he was beginning to deal with the security force.

He smirked in approval at the savage ease Savage was displaying in taking out the guards, killing them swiftly and efficiently.

"Most impressive." Sora praised under his breath, witnessing the Nightbrother Force choke a guard to death in an instant.

Within the palace, alarms were flaring to life with everyone mobilized for the worst case scenario.

Sitting on his throne, the King of Toydaria was approached by one of his honor guard.

"Your Highness, there are intruders."

"Is it Ultron?" He asked in alarm.

"No. But one of them wields a red lightsaber."

Katuunko scowled. "One of Dooku's followers. Stop them!"

Moments later, the intruders had arrived.

The assassin and Dark Acolyte were able to make it to the chamber door leading to the throne room. With their combined efforts, they were able to plow through the doorway with both their Force techniques and lightsabers.

Through a bit of discord, Savage cleaved through many guards before approaching a hover platform.

Seeing the assassin rise up towards him, Katuunko unsheathed his sword and aimed it towards the intruder.

"I will not be intimidated." The King stated, showing no signs of fear.

At this time, a Republic ship arrived moments later and out from it came Jedi Master Plo Koon, Adi Gallia and the Avengers Captain America and the Falcon.

"This is the place right?" Sam asked. "Obi-wan told us we'd find the bastard here."

"Follow the bodies." Plo grimly said, the quartet spotting the litany of dead Toydarians littering the area.

All four rushed in, hoping they could prevent any more bloodshed.

The Falcon was the first to arrive, flying into the throne room. He swiftly flew over Sora Bulq and went straight towards Savage, who held the unconscious and defeated king over his shoulder. The airborne Avenger opened fire at the Nightbrother, who dropped Katuunko like a sack of potatoes.

Blaster fire was deflected with the double bladed lightsaber. The beast sought to cleave the Falcon's wings and cripple him for a swift end. Yet the Avenger was a pest.

He kept weaving and flying around him, always keeping himself at enough of a distance that his lightsaber wouldn't clip his wings.

Seeing the assassin having trouble, Sora was about to jump in to assist when he realized Sam Wilson wasn't alone.

Igniting his lightsabers, he spun around and barely deflected the incoming Vibranium shield before having to block a pair of lightsabers owned by his former comrades.

"Masters Plo and Adi." Sora greeted the two Jedi with a sneer. "I should feel so honored that two Council members would go this far for me."

"Hard not to with one such as you." Plo idly said, pushing Sora back and going in for a sweeping slash at his waist.

Bulq backtracked, parrying the saber as Adi and Koon moved in on the fallen Jedi.

Steve, all the while, rushed past the Force Adepts to help Sam as he had seen his friend nearly get sliced in two just a second ago.

He ran at full speed, flinging his shield at the large Zabrak, the Vibranium frisbee stunning the dark side user.

Savage turned to face his new enemy and snarled.

Shield flying back into his hand, Steve engaged the monstrous foe in close quarters, matching Opress' power blow for blow.

He ducked from a wild lightsaber swing and bashed his shield upwards into Savage's chin.

The Nightbrother was stunned by this attack, feeling himself rattled but he shook his head, forcing the pain and ringing out of his ears.

During this bout, Katuunko began to regain consciousness.

Realizing he needed to flee, he began flying to an emergency bunker.

Unfortunately for him, Savage saw this occur.

When he felt himself get kicked in the gut, Savage reacted in time by grabbing Steve's ankle and proceeded to throw him right into Falcon, the duo tumbling towards the ground. The Zabrak then used the Force to choke the retreating king. The Toydarian royal tried his best to flee but nothing was working.

Especially when his neck was snapped, leaving him lifeless.

"NO!" Sam shouted, catching sight of this even as he fell.

Managing to reposition their fall, Wilson grabbed Steve's wrist and the two managed to land on the ground safely.

They then saw Savage have the audacity of dragging the fresh corpse out of the throne room.

They moved to pursue only for an invisible force from their side to push them off course.

Sora was covering their escape, making things difficult for their pursuers to follow. Cleaving through some support beams nearby to using the Force to topple down anything to block their path.

As an added measure, upon getting back into their ship, Savage quickly piloted his vehicle to target the ships on the landing platforms and promptly blew them all away.

Sora then took control and immediately had their ship take off and make an emergency hyperspace jump to escape the Jedi and Avengers.

Once everything was in the clear, Sora checked on Katuunko and finally noticed something in particular.

"You… killed him…" He whispered.

"I did." Opress said uncaringly.

Bulq seethed at this. "Dooku instructed you to have him brought to him alive!"

"He was escaping."

"So you killed him?!" The Weequay acolyte bellowed. "You brutish fool. You will be punished for this failure severely. I'd be shocked if Lord Dooku doesn't kill you after this."

Savage only looked on blankly yet there was a sense of trepidation in the eyes of the Zabrak.

He was well aware of the power his Master held over him despite his age and he was the leader of the Acolytes for a reason.

Whatever dismissiveness he held gave way to fear and anxiousness as he began to understand his failure and the punishment he would undoubtedly receive.

-Scene Cut-

Sora's statement of punishment proved to be true as Savage was severely dealt with.

While a number of Acolytes assisted in holding the Zabrak down with the Force, Dooku unleashed a powerful stream of Force Lightning on him.

The Zabrak received a noticeable scar on his chest as the lightning was so intense, it partially burnt through his armor and clothing.

This would serve as a reminder for those following Dooku on what may happen if they go against his intended orders. One which all of the acolytes understood.

It was from there that Dooku took Savage away from Sereno and back to Dathomir, seemingly returning him like a bad product from a shopping center.

Upon arriving on the planet, Dooku practically stormed into the village and dragged Savage along with him with the Force. Before long, he met with Talzin and vented his frustrations.

"He is too wild, reckless and barbaric." Dooku rattled off, positively furious as he paced back and forth in front of an ever calm and patient Mother Talzin. "His power is unrestrained, feral and uncivilized."

Talzin simply listened on, awaiting for the Count to finish his furious tirade while she glanced down at Savage who was on his hands and knees.

He was breathing heavily in pain and anguish as he tried to raise himself to his knees only for Dooku to forcibly push him back down with the Force.

"Perhaps this was too rushed." Talzin acquiesced to Dooku's complaints. "In our haste to find power, we did not consider the type of Apprentice in which you sought. Asajj was a better suited student as her temperament and abilities were more in line with your own."

"Where is Ventress now?" He demanded.

"She had left not too long ago My Lord." Talzin answered. "To the Outer Rim as she told you."

"To find her kin, I remember." The Dark Lord murmured, frowning at this.

It was quite the surprise for Dooku to learn of this among some other details.

Beginning with the fact he felt his connection with his Apprentice momentarily shatter before mending back up in a unique way. He feared she perished under some action, causing a number of hopes and plans to be reworked.

Fortunately for him, that wasn't the case.

Dooku was not only surprised but also glad to learn Asajj had finally accessed her dormant power, one which the two of them had tried to surface for so long.

Yet it came at the cost of her connection to the Force being severely weakened. But the price was worth it. Asajj will get it back and then some, building up her power to heights unimaginable.

It was after this did Dooku learn the discovery of two particular details.

For one, Talzin's reveal that Asajj has a brother or sister out there with the same powers as her.

This can serve as an opportunity to actually recruit another with such power to their cause and bring down not only Sidious, but even Ultron and the rest of the Republic if the Force is willing.

The other, however, was something rather troubling.

"Have you found any leads to this Gethzerion?"

"The other clans had raided her last known territory. We have found it entirely deserted. Even the ancient Sith Academy which served as her base is stripped of everything and cleaned out. As far as we all know, she and her people have vacated Dathomir and moved elsewhere."

This certainly didn't assuage his concerns.

Gethzerion was a Nightsister that even his Master held with great trepidation and a hint of fear, her powers in the Dark Side being able to rival his own.

For one such as he being free from Dathomir was disconcerting to say the least.

"If you wish to obtain further backing with not just my clan, but the rest of Dathomir, you will assist in taking out Gethzerion for good." Talzin's words served to break Dooku out from his thought process.

This may pose a problem for him. Another enemy on the board will complicate matters.

It was hard enough dealing with two open hostilities with a third more secretive one but another? And one that his Master apparently has history with for that matter.

He doesn't know if he should bring this attention to Sidious and see his take on it.

"She is not a threat solely to us, Dooku, one you are well aware of." Talzin said in complete seriousness. "I am aware of what else you must contend with but she is also someone who can't be ignored."

Well he couldn't really argue that.

He just wished that he didn't have to. There was already too much at stake.

"This may prove to be of a greater difficulty than anticipated." The Count of Serenno remarked after a period of silence. "But for now, what of Savage? I do not intend on dealing with his brutishness if chaos is all that follows in his wake."

The Coven leader nodded.

"Dooku, while it was not what you had hoped, we delivered on Savage as we promised." Talzin stated. "Leave him to us and we shall mold him into the powerful being that he can be for when the time comes to kill Darth Sidious."

"You had better. We need everything we can acquire to deal with a growing list of adversaries." Dooku sternly said. "I leave him to you."

Without another word, the Dark Lord turned and walked away, not even taking a glance at his failed apprentice.

Left alone now, Talzin approached the defeated Zabrak Nightbrother.

"I have failed, Mother." Opress bemoaned, grunting in pain as he was at last able to stand.

"Calm yourself. All will be well." Talzin softly said.

"What do you mean? Dooku has abandoned me. Who will teach me?" He questioned.

"I may know of someone who will be best suited for you. He will teach you everything you need to learn to become even more powerful."

"Where?" He was confused but hopeful.

"Located in the Outer Rim living in a self-imposed exile. You will find him there."

"But how? The Outer Rim is vast."

With a flick of her wrist, green mist appeared above her hand. From it, a talisman was produced.

"This has been imbued with my magicks. It will be your compass." Slipping the talisman around Savage's neck, Talzin continued. "You have an important destiny to fulfill, Savage Opress… both you and him."

"But how will I know what he-"

"You will know where to find him and what he is."

"Of course, Mother."

Seeing Savage leave and making his way to an available transport nearby, Talzin focused back to the crystal orb within her hut. With a wave of her hand, she saw the swirl of energies radiate from it as an image began to form from within.

"Soon, my son, we shall be reunited and have our vengeance…"

From this image, it began to become clearer to play out a scene within a darkened chamber.

Seated alone was a lone male humanoid seated on his knees with his hands resting upon them.

His eyes were closed as he breathed in slow and controlled breaths, chest rising and lowering in a rhythmic manner.

In front of him floated a lightsaber with it being split into multiple pieces that were methodically being put back together again. It slowly swirled about before it ignited from both ends to bring out the red plasma blades. After some moments, they receded back as the weapon kept orbiting about its owner.

The saber floated back down to the ground after several rotations around the sole occupant of the room until the door behind the man opened.

In walked an elderly human with dark black robes and silver hair and beard, arms tucked inside his sleeves.

"Lord Maul."

Sickly yellow eyes with blood red exteriors around the yellow opened up.

He turned his head to glance at the man who had just entered his personal chambers.

"Jorus." The Sith Lord known as Darth Maul spoke quietly, a smooth gruffness in his tone. "I take it you have news for me since you disturbed my meditation."

"Forgive me, my Lord, but I needed to inform you of something." Jorus said with respect.

"And what would that be?"

"We have arrived."

Maul's scowl morphed into that of a sinister smile. "At long last. Have preparations been made?"

"Of course. We have triple checked everything along the way."

"Excellent. Inform the others to be ready on my command."

"At once, My Lord."

Maul was left alone again as he turned back to the dark cosmos before them.

"Welcome home." He said to himself. "I have returned."

AN

At long last, we've finally arrived at the chapter we have long set up for way back in Chapter 24 when we brought in the Guardians of the Galaxy.

If we didn't spell it out for ya, it should be obvious by now.

Asajj Ventress is indeed Ego's daughter and Quill's sister.

And while in recent reviews some had come to that conclusion, these were only recent.

Jebest4781: A while back, only one person -ONE PERSON- had guessed it right away. Others thought of Anakin or someone else significant being Ego's other child, but such people wouldn't have worked. Anakin was staying as he was with how he was conceived as a weird Jesus baby made by the Force. Others were hard to figure out on details.

FMW: Yeah, and while that was a cool choice, as Jeb said, it wouldn't really have worked. And on the topic of Asajj, her being Quill's sister was Jebest's idea. When we were restructuring and remaking this story from scratch, in our many idea dumps, this idea just popped into mind and man, that made me all giddy with excitement. An idea we've been wanting to get to for over SEVENTY CHAPTERS NOW. And we're only just getting started.

Jeb: Now with this chapter, we finally have Wanda return with the Avengers while Asajj will be hunting down and finding her long lost brother. How that encounter will go, you'll have to find out. And Wanda's struggles with the new setting will become difficult for her given a number of factors.

FMW: Yeah, things won't be as friendly, so to speak with Wanda meeting the Jedi. Sure she'll be polite and all but when your mentors are Sith and Nightsisters, even if you're a good person, some of those tendencies can rub off on a person.

Jeb: With what we saw with Wandavision and the recent stuff with Doctor Strange, this will reflect that to a certain degree as Wanda hasn't gone through the big trauma and causing problems with her uncontrolled powers while badly coping with grief. This time, however, will at least be on a brighter side as she has people being there for her instead of Wanda just walking away and doing things on her own as depicted in Wandavision.

FMW: Having her brother around and two kids now who look up to her can do that to ya. But speaking of trauma, that Obi-wan trailer was sick as fuck. Duel of the Fates mixed with Battle of the Heroes. Man oh MAN, that's a story so many of us have long wanted to see. It's like the most ironically neglected part of Star Wars, the story of Obi-wan's twenty years in watching over Luke.

Jeb: The theme song is too damn catchy, just like The Batman 2022 one. Listened it way too much as I'm just so pumped. And yes the upcoming Obi-wan show is a limited series as we'll only get one season, but it'll be worth it.

FMW: Hoping to get a Clone Wars flashback with Obi and Ani. Maybe even a live action teen Ahsoka though that's highly unlikely.

But other than that, we have our conclusion to this arc.

We finally revealed Asajj's lineage.

Wanda reunited with her brother and we'll have her reunion in the next arc.

Savage is sent on his own journey whilst Maul has made his return with a character I know you Legends fans are very familiar with.

Thanks for being on this crazy ride that's only gonna get more insane.

Spoilers, MORTIS IS NEXT.

Also, if you wanna know how Maul looks, be sure to go onto my DeviantArt account to see his new look.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

And Jebests idea, it was all his with Asajj, make sure to leave extra praise in the reviews on that one.