Hello there! Come here my dear readers… don't be afraid. I have a new chapter, a long and good one I believe. There is much to tell about my journeys since chapter 30.

I'm settled in nicely in my new dorm room at the University of York. I'm halfway through my mandatory two-week quarantine and I've thankfully been able to avoid going stir crazy (writing certainly helped ;). As I'll be having freshman's week soon and my classes will start after that I cannot yet give a definite upload schedule. I'll need to see what the workload is like etc…

But anyways, we're reaching a part in the fanfiction that I'm really looking forward to. I hope you're as excited as I am.

Let us now answer some reviews:

-Knowledgeispower.23: Ah, if only she knew… she's in for quite a bit of a surprise there ;)

-RKF22: thanks a lot.

-Jeda31: Wow. Just… wow. Thank you so much for that beautiful and well put analysis. I hope you will like how Luke and Mara's bond continues to evolve in this chapter, it is certainly something I am trying to build piece by piece and do so in a careful and deliberate way that feels true to the characters. I believe their dynamic has a lot of room to grow and evolve, and I really like the idea of them each being a counterweight to the other, united in part by their shared trauma. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter ;)

-gdvp111: thank you so so much for your detailed critique. You raise a lot of very interesting points which I hope will come to be addressed in a satisfying way. The issue I have with spending too much time focusing on the character's state of mind and how they tick is that I risk bogging down the story even more so than a bunch of action where nothing is achieved like the Citadel Arc. I prefer to mesh character exposition alongside action and events that further the plot rather than endless paragraphs about the character's train of thought. Part of the reason is just that I hope people will fill in the parts I don't talk about and draw their own conclusions about some of the character's actions. Don't get me wrong, there will some internal stuff for sure, just perhaps not in the amount you would like to see. Thank you for all the valuable feedback, I seriously appreciate it.

-hunter81095: Well said! Could not have put it better myself. I was aware it was a controversial decision to have Obi-Wan go in that direction but in my eyes, it just solidified and reinforced what his character is all about: an unwavering commitment to the Light, no matter what. He will struggle and stumble, and perhaps fail at times, but he will always hold true to his ideals and beliefs. Hope you enjoyed what happened after that ;)

-Pink ranger 13: So let it be written, so let it be done. Here you go!

Alright everyone, on to chapter 31! Please favorite, comment, and leave a review!

Obi-Wan was now several hours into his daily meditation. Being able to feel the Force around him again, no matter how limited, had brought him immense relief. The cell he was in appeared to have been constructed out of a material that dampened the living Force inside it. While Obi-Wan was able to perform a basic meditation and even levitate small objects if he desired, there was no way for him to contact Luke or Yoda through the Force, or blow the cell door straight off its hinges.

Within the cell, a transparent partition separated him from his rare visitors. Obi-Wan had tried to perform a mind trick on the Imperial officer that delivered his food, but he had just stared back at him with an amused smirk and left his cell unaffected. It seemed that whoever was giving the orders had the good sense to send strong-minded individuals to deal with Obi-Wan.

Ever since seeing Padmé, he was driven to hone and improve his abilities. He was no longer trapped by the oppressive power of the Force Hood, and had been reminded of his commitment to saving Anakin: he had no excuse to not push his body and mind to the limit.

Obi-Wan combined cardio and muscular workouts with intense image training to practice his lightsaber skills. Afterward, he would spend several hours meditating, trying to somehow break through the veil of his cell and reach the outside world. He was not making much progress but Obi-Wan labored on, undeterred.

It was during such a meditation that he received a visit from a most unlikely guest. Obi-Wan heard the door to his cell open, followed by the intoxicating stench of the Dark Side. It was as if a foul smell had wafted into the room, overpowering everything else.

Obi-Wan slowly opened his eyes to gaze upon the man he despised the most in the entire galaxy: Darth Sidious. The Sith Lord did not spare a glance in his direction as he carefully moved towards a chair on the other side of the partition. His mouth was crooked into a ghost of a smile as if he was scheming and plotting how to torment Obi-Wan even more. It was the smile of a man who knew he was always several steps ahead of everyone and eagerly waited for them to figure it out and fall into despair.

Thankfully, Sidious's dark presence was mitigated by the room he had just entered. The Sith Lord did not appear interested in a battle of spirits anyway, he just stared cryptically at Obi-Wan, still smiling, silently reading his expression.

The old Jedi had been in these situations before. He had sometimes heard it referred to as "intimidation by silence", trying to make the other person lose their nerve with a simple look. Obi-Wan may have been weakened by weeks of imprisonment, but not cracking under Sidious's gaze was not something he needed the Force to help him with. Darth Sidious had been someone he had feared during the Clone Wars when his identity was a mystery to everyone, but now, decades later, there was nothing to fear: evil had a face.

"I came to inform you that your execution has been set to a week from today," Sidious's voice was low and raspy with an attempted casualness that only made him sound more maniacal. "That should give you enough time to make peace with your failures."

Sidious tilted his head up slightly, allowing his hollow, yellowish eyes to appear beneath the rim of his hood. Obi-Wan returned his gaze steadily and unflinchingly, his blue irises somehow becoming even more brilliant as he gazed back at the Sith Lord.

This battle lasted for several seconds until Sidious averted his gaze, letting out a cynical chuckle, his eyes receding into darkness. His voice was even more viper-like than before:

"Oh, how I will enjoy watching the life drain out of those arrogant eyes of yours…"

Obi-Wan thought about remaining silent but he could not resist the urge to prove to Sidious how empty his threats were to him.

"There is nothing you can say to frighten me," Obi-Wan replied, his voice unwaveringly serene. "Strike me down and I shall—"

"Become more powerful than I can possibly imagine," Sidious completed the sentence with a sardonic chuckle, revealing his horrendously yellow teeth. "How predictable you Jedi are. I know all about your supposed power over death. And while you will certainly live on after I kill you, the effect your death will have on the galaxy far outweighs it. Your execution will be a public event that every citizen of my Empire will be mandated to watch. Children will have a day off from school to witness it, workers from all backgrounds, from bankers to fry cooks will see your severed head role down the steps of the Jedi Temple. All these citizens of MY Empire who were no doubt inspired by your heroics, perhaps there are even those who remembered you from back during the Clone Wars and furiously recounted to the next generation how brave and selfless you were..."

Obi-Wan had to catch himself to not get caught up in Sidious's speech. His words were as empty as the soul behind his eyes…

The Sith Lord leaned closer to the glass, bringing his craggy teeth closer to the light, his voice was barely above a whisper:

"But when they see your old, withered, famished, mutilated body be dragged up the steps of the Jedi Temple; when they see what their hero has become, when they see the man behind the myth: then you will have failed. Perhaps you will put on a brave face, a final glint of defiance in your oh so inspiring eyes, or perhaps your Rebel friends will mount a last-minute rescue to salvage your life… I do hope that happens. I truly wish they come, so that when I annihilate them and remove your head from your body, letting the pathetic life drain out of your eyes: everyone will know exactly how powerful MY Empire is. That no matter what fantasies people imagine about the Jedi coming to save them or the Rebellion beating all the odds: all of that is just a fantasy; inconceivable in the face of the true, unstoppable power of the Dark Side."

Obi-Wan remained silent for several seconds. Try as he might, Sidious's words had had an impact on him. He was not used to hearing him speak so long and so passionately. His voice was low and even:

"So you'll finally reveal yourself to the galaxy as a Sith Lord?"

Palpatine contemplated Obi-Wan with a cruel smile, his bony fingers drumming rhythmically on his knee. His reply was calm and unaffected, a strange combination for such a terrifying man:

"I do not know… I suppose it will all depend on what transpires on the day of your execution. If your friends show up, perhaps I will decide to wipe them out myself and reveal to the galaxy the overwhelming power of the Dark Side. Or perhaps Lord Vader will deal with them himself and I will not even have to lift a finger. Or perhaps no one will come to save you and I will be able to lift your severed head up to the cheering crowds without interruption… I do not know. We will have to see what your Rebel friends have planned…"

Obi-Wan mulled over this information slowly. Not that there was much he could do in terms of creating a plan to stop Sidious. He would need to be ready for when Luke and the others made their move, assuming anyone was coming.

Obi-Wan banished those thoughts. I would do him no good to worry about things he could not control. In the end, all he had to worry about was getting stronger so that he was not a burden to anyone who did come to rescue him.

With that in mind, he purposefully turned away from Sidious, closed his eyes, and resumed his mediation, letting Sidious's dark presence slowly fade away. The Sith Lord observed him keenly for a few more seconds before standing up and slowly making his way to the exit.

Just as he was about to leave, Sidious turned back towards Obi-Wan, his sadistic grin returning to his lips. His words were like a snake's hiss before he strikes his prey:

"I did have one more thing to show you…"

Against his better judgment, Obi-Wan turned his head towards Sidious who came up to the revolving tray through which his meals were normally passed.

Out of the folds of his robes, Sidious produced a severed hand. Its fingers were unmoving from having been preserved in the cold, but it was still spattered with dried blood; the stump was singed off perfectly, characteristic of lightsaber mutilation.

Sidious passed the dismembered body part through the opening, letting it fall to the ground with a dull thud. Obi-Wan kept his eyes fixed on that hand, knowing that looking up at Sidious now would make him lose control. It took every fiber of his being to keep his emotions in check.

"There is still so much of her to cut off," Sidious whispered savagely. "Why is it always others who must pay the price for your arrogance?"

And with those final words, Sidious exited the cell, taking the oppressive dark presence with him. Obi-Wan tried his best, but in the end, he could not keep a tear from sliding down his cheek.

"Mara!"

The young woman turned towards Luke who was waving to her from across the other end of the swamp. She had insisted on making sure the ground they had landed on was stable, despite Luke's constant reassurance that it was all right.

Mara had been immediately struck by the strength of the Force on Dagobah. The entire planet felt like a conduit that the Living Force flowed through. Every plant and animal possessed more Force energy than what should normally be possible. It all felt strangely surreal and mystical.

"Over here!"

She tried to resist the urge to tell Luke to stop yelling, but since the only way to do that would have been to yell, she bit her cheek and made her way to the edge of the swamp. Mara concentrated on the Force, which came to her much more easily, and in one graceful leap hopped over the water and landed a couple of meters away from Luke.

"What?" she sighed in exasperation. "Haven't you heard of stealth? Especially on a foreign planet like this."

"This isn't my first time here," Luke revealed with a sly grin, leading the way through the thick brush. "Before coming to Bespin I trained here under a great Jedi Master. It was here that I had a vision about Cloud City, and you being an ally I could count on. Thank goodness you hadn't decided to change your hair."

Mara was not exactly sure how to respond to his joke since she had no idea what to laugh at. It still bugged her how unaffected he seemed to be by everything around them, especially considering they had no lightsabers to protect themselves.

"So this great Jedi Master, he'll be able to help us?"

"I think so," Luke replied offhandedly. "He's the most powerful and dedicated Jedi I've met, aside maybe from Obi-Wan. He's taught me a lot, but ultimately I will need to find my own way."

"This new way you're describing has made you strangely confident," Mara muttered, trying not to make it sound like a complaint. "I almost miss the brash and impulsive you."

"Oh, he's still here," Luke said, chuckling good-naturedly. "It's just that I feel I have a goal now, an objective, and it's up to me to figure out how to get there. For the first time in so long… I know my purpose. Maybe that's why you think I look confident, even though I still have no idea how to get there."

It was oddly endearing how openly Luke talked about his feelings. Mara could not help but smile at it. She was not entirely sure how to reciprocate such genuineness after being trained all her life to always keep her emotions suppressed, always assume the worst of people, and look for a way to gain the upper hand in any exchange. Luke made her feel completely different… in a good way. Mara was not entirely sure how to describe it… it was strange.

"What's on your mind?"

She wanted to kick herself for her carelessness. Mara did not even want to imagine what she must have been projecting for Luke to pick up on her insecurities so easily.

But hey, he can be open with me. How hard could it be to do the same?

"I was just thinking how…" Mara paused as she tried to formulate what was on her mind. "You're the most real person I've ever met… Everyone else I've known until now we're just fronts, there wasn't a single genuine thing about anyone I knew in the Empire. It was like an army of clones, all programmed to behave and act and react in a very specific way. But you, you're just so… unapologetically genuine and…"

Mara's words slowly died in her throat and she realized tears were brimming in her eyes. A wave of bittersweet sadness had just surged out of her without warning. She furiously wiped the tears away, trying to push down this strange feeling, but her senses were immediately heightened when Luke grasped her hand in his and held on to her mutilated wrist.

She wanted to pull away, the tears kept flowing, she tried to tamp down on the tightness in her chest, but nothing was going the way she wanted, her own emotions were escaping her.

And suddenly, she felt a warm contact on her forehead. Luke had laid his head against hers. That simple contact seemed to make everything right. The tension in her heart and her tears disappeared; all the anxiety and sadness were brushed away, all with a simple touch.

When Luke spoke, his voice was a bare whisper, soothing and reassuring:

"I'm only like this because of you… When I'm with you, I feel… at home? I don't know how to describe it. I've only felt this comfortable with one other person in my life. Even with Obi-Wan, there were certain things I felt afraid to share or discuss because I thought it would make me look weak. But with you… I don't feel the need to put up a facade."

"I feel the same way," Mara murmured back.

She loosened her grip on Luke's hand and slowly snaked her arms around his back to hold him closer, and he did the same. All the fauna around them seemed to have mysteriously gone silent as if to watch over and protect this treasured moment.

"All your pain, all your sadness… your fears, doubts, anger… share them with me," Luke asked as he nestled his cheek into Mara's flowing red hair. "Together, we'll make them disappear."

"And whenever you need someone to protect you," Mara replied slowly, tightening her grip on the back of Luke's jacket, the same one he had worn on Cloud City, all teared up, burnt and bloodied. "I'll always have your back. Together."

"Together."

"Together?"

Mara nearly headbutted Luke as she jumped back in surprise at the sudden voice. She quickly glanced around but could not see anyone else, she could not sense a Force presence either.

"Did you hear that?" Mara asked Luke who was looking at his surroundings with a strange expression.

"Hear what?" Luke's response was so serious Mara almost wanted to doubt her own sanity. But that had felt too real, she had definitely heard someone.

"I heard this… old sounding voice," Mara tried to describe it, as Luke placed a hand over his mouth to think. "Sort of raspy, almost leathery… not exactly human. Maybe from some sort of part-sentient creature."

"Part-sentient?! Me? How rude."

"I heard it again!" Mara cried out in frustration, unable to figure out where it was coming from.

As she turned back towards Luke, she noticed that the hand over his mouth seemed to be concealing a growing smile. When she locked eyes with him he guiltily turned away, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Alright, what is this about?" Mara's tone was playfully warning as she got up closer to Luke for some answers.

"Maybe it's the spirit of the forest?" Luke managed to mutter, doing his best not to crack up.

"Mock me do you?"

Mara was embarrassed by the shriek that escaped her mouth. It was like the voice was right behind her! She whirled around: nothing. But slowly her gaze moved downward and she did she something, or perhaps… someone?

The small green creature held a wooden walking stick and stared at Mara with wide green eyes. He was clothed in a tattered, handwoven cloak and had two long ears atop a ridged and bony forehead.

"When lived eight-hundred years you have, sound like me, you will not."

Mara was almost afraid to say anything. Did this creature just say it was eight-hundred years old? It did not appear hostile, but the way it had managed to sneak up on her and Luke was concerning. Just who was this person?

"Apologies, Master Yoda," Luke spoke up from behind her. "We just weren't expecting you to sneak up on us like this."

"Hmmm, followed you since you arrived I have," Yoda muttered, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "Not very discreet you were."

"All right! Hold on a minute!" Mara suddenly interrupted their discussion, placing herself between Luke and Yoda. "You're the Jedi Master? Yoda?"

"Surprised? Hmmm?"

"You mean THE master Yoda?" Mara suddenly recalled an old story she had overheard years ago. "The one who fought and nearly defeated Sidious on Coruscant? THAT master Yoda?"

"Hmmm… my greatest failure…" Yoda muttered warily. "But yes, that same person I am."

Mara tried to disguise her embarrassment, but Yoda did not seem overly bothered by it. He simply chuckled and gestured for them to follow him as he walked away.

"Come. Eat we must."

Mara looked at the retreating figure of the old Jedi, not quite sure what she was getting herself into. Luke gave her a firm pat on the back, his voice no longer soothing like before:

"Told you I was still the old me," he said playfully. "And don't worry, his food is delicious."

"I'm no longer believing a word that comes out of your mouth," Mara grumbled as she followed Yoda and Luke into the thick vegetation of Dagobah.

It took them several hours to reach Yoda's hut. By that time, Luke and Mara were completely exhausted. After an interesting meal inside Yoda's small and cramped lodgings, a heavy rain shower had made it impossible for Luke and Mara to leave without getting soaked to the bone and risking to catch a cold. While it was not the ideal setup, they had had no choice but to sleep inside the old Jedi master's home, which was not built to house more than one person (of Yoda's size!).

After rearranging the central living area and through a little trial and error, Luke and Mara were able to find a relatively comfortable sleeping position. Although, to avoid having their feet in each other's faces they had to sleep with their heads way too close together. The closeness had not particularly bothered either of them, but it just seemed to make it so much harder for both of them to find sleep when they could hear the breathing and heartbeat of the person next to them.

The next morning, as Mara shook away the grogginess and the stiffness in her joints, she realized Luke was no longer next to her. A wave of panic fell over her, but it was immediately cut off when Yoda came into her field of view, sending a cup of tea towards her with the Force.

"Gone off to learn Skywalker has," Yoda spoke evenly, slowly returning his upset living-room back to the way it was. "Not willing to wake you he was."

"I see."

Mara's reply was not entirely focused on Yoda. Her mind was somewhere else as she stared at the oddly colored liquid in her cup. Its smell was also not very reassuring but she did not want to be on bad terms with the person she had come here to learn from so she forced herself to choke down the odd beverage.

After the fact she wished she hadn't since it was actually quite tasty and seemed to boost her awareness significantly. Yoda nodded confidently, letting out a low rumble in his throat when he glimpsed her reaction.

"Great gifts and strange properties this planet has," he spoke knowingly as he moved closer to Mara. "But its ability to teach us is greater still."

She really wished he would offer her to move outside. Mara could not get over the strangeness of being in front of one of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy and still being taller than him when sitting down.

"With all due respect, I think you have much more to teach me than this planet," Mara tried not to sound cynical but she could not conceal how she felt. "I just don't understand why you chose to hide out here instead of remaining in the fight against the Empire."

"Hmmm, not the first to ask me this question you are… Thought by many to be selfish I was. But that is from those who have not seen the galaxy as long as I have. As Jedi there come moments when prove ourselves we must. Moments that determine our worth. Fighting Sidious was mine. Eight-hundred years of training came down to that moment. All that I helped to build over those centuries destroyed it would be if I failed… A fitting lesson for my defeat death would have been, but survive I did. So instead, learn from this failure I would, in exile."

"And? Did you learn anything?" Mara tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

"Yes. Learn much I did," Yoda replied with dead seriousness. "Learnt from my failure I have. And you? Learned from your failures have you?"

Mara did not really know what to answer. At this point, it felt like her life had just been a never-ending succession of failures, each one pushing her further and further towards oblivion.

"I… don't think I have yet," Mara admitted. "I'm still trying to understand what this new path means to me, how I am to walk it. I came here because Luke believed you could help me. Help show me my place in all of this."

Yoda's eyes sharpened as he stared intently at Mara. It felt like he was somehow seeing the map to her soul. There was this surreal clarity in his gaze that almost gave Mara goosebumps. It was the polar opposite of Sidious' eyes.

"Determine your own place you must," Yoda replied bluntly. "Many teachings you have received, much knowledge you have gained. But now, an internal lesson you must learn."

"Wait, hold on a second, my teaching and my knowledge are all wrong. I learned them from Sidious. They are the Dark Side's teachings!"

Mara surprised by how loud her voice had gotten all of a sudden. Yoda did not seem phased by her outburst and simply beckoned for her to follow him outside. They both emerged into the fresh and humid exterior where Mara was most grateful to be able to stand up again.

"The Dark Side and the Light, two halves of the same whole they are," Yoda said as he gazed at the still nature around them. "Know the Sith's teachings you do, know their code you do, so in order to follow your path, the opposite of this you must go towards. Go against all that you know, all that you have been taught, and the path of the Jedi you will find."

Mara was someone underwhelmed by Yoda's answer.

"So you're not going to train me?"

"For there to be training, one must understand the path they have chosen. Understand this path and train you I will."

Suddenly, Mara heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. Her reflexes and survival instinct kicked in but quickly calmed down when she saw Luke approaching the clearing she and Yoda were in. He had left his tattered jacket behind and was now wearing a grimy, sweat covered shirt.

The old Jedi nodded at Luke solemnly, as if seeing something she could not.

"Found some answers have you?"

"I think so," Luke replied cautiously.

"Where were you?" Mara asked pointedly, still frustrated by how he had just left without saying anything.

"Where you must go," Yoda answered, forcing Mara to look back towards him. "To confront your fears."

Mara did not like the sound of that.

And she hated that her foreshadowing had been so accurate. Yoda and Luke had led her deep into the unkempt wilderness of Dagobah, straying further and further away from their ship and Yoda's hut, until they reached an imposing gnarltree with an opening amongst its craggy branches, just large enough for a person to fit through.

Yoda had simply pointed towards it with his gimmer stick and said:

"Through there you must go."

When Mara turned towards Luke to get some answers he would not meet her eye and kept his distance from the mysterious tree. Mara could understand his impulse. Standing just a couple meters away she could sense a cold, creeping presence reach out from within the roots of that tree. She swore she could hear faint whispers emanating from the opening, but did not want to say anything to Luke or Yoda, the latter of which simply sat on a log next to the tree, seemingly unperturbed by its ominous aura.

Mara had been around this sort of presence often enough to recognize it on instinct: it was the Dark Side. This tree and whatever lay inside it was corrupted by the Darkness. So strange to see such a thing on a planet that was so full of life. It reminded Mara of one of her lessons where she had learned about places or people that could serve as nexus for the Force, or vergence, where the concentration of Force energy was far above normal.

No doubt this was such a place. And no doubt Luke and Yoda had both experienced whatever lied inside that cave. Mara knew what she needed to do, there was no turning back from this.

She turned to face Yoda, kneeling in front of him so that they were eye to eye.

"Once I've faced whatever is in there," she spoke resolutely, without a shadow of a doubt. "You promise to train me?"

"Begun, your training has."

Mara smiled slightly and nodded before cautiously approaching the base of the gnarltree. As the dark feeling intensified, Mara cursed the absence of a lightsaber on her belt but decided to worry about that issue when it came up.

As she stepped through the roots and into the cave, Mara completely missed the warning that Luke was about to give her before Yoda silenced him with a solemn shake of his head.

Mara was surprised by how much space there was underneath the gnarltree. It's large roots framed a narrow path that stretched forward for several meters and disappeared into the dark. Predictably, the cold had grown stronger and more palpable as she pushed further into the bowels of the tree. With every step she took the air seemed to get thicker to breathe and harder to move through, as if the Dark Side was physically encroaching around Mara.

"So… you have come to face me? How brave of you…"

Mara immediately recognized that snake-like tone. She had heard it enough times for it to still haunt her nightmares. It was Darth Sidious' voice.

Calm down. He isn't here. He's several light-years away. This is just a voice in your head.

"How confident you are… such wasted potential… perhaps I will capture you and bring you back to serve by my side…"

Mara resisted the urge to shout back at the cavernous voice. It would not do her any good to lose her focus now. She did her best to keep her breathing steady as she walked faster down the narrowing pathway.

As she reached a bend, Mara could hear faint voices up ahead. With excessive caution, she looked around the corner and saw two people, man and woman, crawling towards her. Their humble clothes were mangled and covered in growing bloodstains. When they laid eyes on her, their eyes shone with the briefest glimmer of hope. They reached their bloodied hands out towards her, pleading silently for Mara to hold them.

It took every ounce of willpower she had to keep herself from reaching out to them. They seemed so real, even as they groped at her feet and weakly grasped her ankles, their touch felt so uncannily real, but Mara forced herself to see them as nothing but apparitions.

Their eyes slowly shifted from hopeful to resentful as their begging hands clenched into fists. They spat on Mara's feet, and in a single, lugubrious voice spoke:

"Daughter… why do you forsake us?"

Despite her best efforts, Mara could not prevent a single, solitary tear from running down her cheek. It dripped off the end of her chin and fell on the blood-covered ground below. Just as that moment, the man and woman began getting pulled away from Mara. Invisible hands were dragging them towards the darkness as they reached for her and pleaded for her mercy.

Mara took a single step forward before she was able to stop herself. They aren't real! Why can't you accept that!

"Oh child, you believe knowing this isn't real will somehow protect you?"

As she looked towards where the voice had echoed from, a hooded figure suddenly emerged from the darkness. His face was shrouded in shadows; he extended a solitary hand from the folds of his cape, blistered and riddled with maggots, like the arm of a corpse.

The two figures were being pulled closer and closer to him, their eyes burning with fear. Mara held firm, gripping her shoulder in anguish she forced herself to stay put.

The cloaked apparition revealed a lightsaber which detached itself from his belt and ignited to reveal a brilliant crimson blade, floating in front of him. With savage, beast-like strokes, the two pleading figures were hacked to shreds, beaten like dogs with indescribable cruelty. Their corpses could not even be called so and were scarcely recognizable, but the hooded man only laughed as his boots and cape scraped through the puddle of blood at his feet.

"Such darkness you conceal in your heart…" the man giggled madly. "Such cold indifference to such brutal and inhuman actions…"

He was now just a meter away from Mara, his red lightsaber hovering inches away from her face. She could see his beard, coated in dried blood and swarming with worms; when he smiled, there were scarcely any teeth left for him to show, his mouth was a putrid haunt of decay. When he reached his hand out to touch her shoulder, Mara had to resist the urge not to vomit from the morbid stench he carried with him.

"Why do you fear me…? The boy also feared me but in the end, he embraced me all the same… Why do you run from that which is your destiny?"

"You aren't my destiny," Mara managed to choke out. Her legs were shaking terribly but she stayed on her feet, staring into the darkness where his eyes should have been. "You've nothing to offer me anymore. Nothing to threaten me with. I've found my path."

"Have you…?"

The figure removed its hand from Mara's shoulder and reached up to pull off its hood. Obi-Wan's aged, rotting face stared back at her, eyes stained with yellow decay and devoid of all empathy, face pale and grey with parts of his flesh rotting and revealing the bones and tissue underneath.

When Mara saw that, everything suddenly became lucid to her. At that moment, she realized she had nothing to fear: she knew who the real Obi-Wan was…

Yoda and Luke waited together in awkward silence outside the cave. At least it felt awkward for Luke. Yoda simply has his eyes closed as he listened to the various sounds of Dagobah's richly populated ecosystems.

After several deafening minutes of silence, Luke could not help but speak up:

"She's stronger in the light side than I ever could have been… She'll make you proud, master."

"Pride in my students I do not have," Yoda replied simply, not opening his eyes. "Hold the keys to success in their own hands they do. Take them some students do, others…"

Yoda did not need to finish that thought, Luke could imagine the rest on his own. While he knew it was not meant to be directed at him, he could not shake the feeling that he was letting down a lot of people by choosing to walk a path that he himself was not even certain what it consisted of.

"Master Yoda… We're going to rescue Obi-Wan," Luke finally revealed the second reason he had returned to Dagobah. "Then we're going to save Han and Leia, and put an end to Sidious's tyranny and save my father."

Yoda did not say anything for several seconds. Eventually, his eyes reopened and he looked at Luke with strange, newfound clarity.

"And wish for my help, you do."

Luke realized he should not have been surprised that Yoda knew. One did not keep secrets from him very easily.

"You managed to battle Sidious once and nearly defeat him," Luke argued. "You could be the one to force him out into the open and show his true nature to the entire galaxy. No one else is powerful enough to go against him right now."

Luke stared hard into Yoda's large green eyes, trying to communicate to him his sincerity, but was incapable of detecting any of Yoda's feelings on the matter. Eventually, the old Jedi Master averted his gaze to look back towards the gnarltree.

His voice was sad but resolute:

"Help you both to reach your full potential I will, but help you to defeat Sidious, I will not. A chance I was given, failed I have."

"This is your second chance, master!" Luke insisted, trying to get Yoda to understand. "After all these years of exile if anybody deserves a chance at redemption it's you. You can write the wrongs of the past by choosing to fight with us."

Yoda looked back at Luke, a faint smile gracing his wrinkled lips. His voice was oddly kind and understanding:

"Persistent you are, young Skywalker. Your greatness strength it is, but I must also choose my own path."

Luke held his head low in defeat but did not have time to wallow in disappointment as they saw Mara emerge from between the gnarltree's roots. He had to resist the urge to hug her right in front of Yoda.

As she made their way to them, the old master whispered covertly to Luke:

"Perhaps pride I sometimes feel."

Mara reached the two men and simply crumpled in a heap at their feet, completely exhausted but with a satisfied gleam in her eyes.

"Now that you have both found your paths, help you to walk them I must," Yoda said.

"Where do we start?" Mara asked slowly, gazing up at the leafy canopy above them.

"New students you both are. Therefore, new weapons you will need," Yoda spoke carefully. "And for that, to Ilum we must go."

"Let's hope it's at least a little more hospitable than this place," Mara sighed tiredly.

I just realized there are a lot of tears being shed in this chapter... why is that? I hope I'm not going soft on you...

What did you think? Weird? Sucks? Loved it? Hated it? I look forward to your respectful thoughts and feedback, please leave to me as a review, I read them all.

Until next time, may the Force be with you.