Finale

[o-o-[I]-o-o]

"And that is how the Yuuzhan Vong War ended," a gentle voice explained, smiling at the enraptured looks she was receiving. "Okay, now go wash up."

"But what happened after that!" one of the younglings called out. It was the same question the storyteller had received for the past month.

She laughed, her voice like light chimes in the wind. "That is another long story."

"Are you going to tell us?"

"You have to tell us!"

"Please, pretty please."

"Okay, okay," the silver-haired young woman beamed, her stomach almost aching from the laughter she was holding in. "But that's a story for another time. Besides, if you've been paying attention to Master T'ra Saa's history lessons, you should know."

"Oh, right!" Another youngling exclaimed. "The Killiks!"

"And then the One Sith!"

"And Abeloth!"

"If you all know what's going to happen already, do I really have to tell the story?"

"Yes!" A chorus of children shouted in Force-assisted unison.

The silver-haired woman looked to the astromech next to her. "What do you think, Artoo? You up for another story tomorrow?"

The blue and silver astromech chirped a positive, emitting a series of happy notes in response.

"Well," the woman looked back to the younglings. "Since Artoo says so, I guess I'll start the next story tomorrow."

"Yay!"

"Go on, now," she stood and gestured towards the door. "The dinner bell's already rung thrice. If you all are late again, Master Skywalker will have my head."

The younglings all giggled as they streamed out of the room. The story-teller was about down to sit down to meditate when she heard another voice.

"Jedi Knight Solusar," a gold-colored protocol droid was just about to open the door when it slid open and unleashed the hungry horde of little kids. "Oh dear, wait, Younglings, I must get through."

"Hey Threepio!"

"Jedi Knight Solusar, Master Skywalker is on the comm looking for you."

"Master Skywalker? Which one?"

"Cade Skywalker. He says the matter is most urgent."

"Okay," the silver-haired historian popped back up on her feet. "By the way, has there been any word from Korriban? The final battle should have ended by now if the lack of ripples in the Force is anything to go by."

"From what I understand, the forces of the Free Alliances were successful in taking down Sith Emperor Snoke and his followers," C3P0 responded. "But they discovered something incredibly disturbing in the process."

"Disturbing?"

"I do not know the details, only that Grandmaster Kol Skywalker has announced that the Jedi Masters from all of the factions are to convene in a top-secret meeting."

"All the factions?" the historian froze in surprise.

"Yes," C3P0 replied matter-of-factly. "Before leaving the room I saw representatives of the Order of Rhysode, the Order of Caedus, the Order of Solusar, the Order of Paxis, the Order of E'ron, the Army of Light, and even members of the Death knights, Jensaarai, and Inquisitorious. I was quite surprised to also see the Fel Imperium's Aidan Fel, and the Hapan Territories' Anala Djo represented."

"That…." The Force-user didn't even know how to respond to that. Sure her last name was Solusar, but the Order of Solusar tended to be more combat oriented and took after her great grandfather. She followed in her great grandmother's footsteps and was one of the younger members of the more diplomatically-aligned Order of Paxis.

"Here is the room," C3P0 motioned. "If you have need of anything else, please let me know how I can be of service."

"Thanks, Threepio."

Entering the room, the silver-haired young woman activated the relay and a holographic image shimmered into view. "Cade. It's been a while."

"Hey Jenvik," Deliah smiled from over Cade's shoulder. "You're looking the same as ever. Do you really have no other clothing option in your closet?"

"It's 'Jen,'" Jenvik Solusar said through gritted teeth. Though she loved her parents, the fact that they were history buffs meant that they had named her after an ancient Jedi site. And they didn't use the Basic name for said site, but the ancient, long dead language name that literally meant 'Protector of the Past'. "'Jen,' you pink schutta. And unlike some people, I don't need to flaunt my body to get respect."

"That's because if you flaunted what you have, you'd lose all respect."

"Deliah, play nice," Cade groaned. "We're calling to ask her for a favor."

"Not my fault she's so touchy."

"Cade, what do you want?" Jen grumbled, the happy mood the younglings had left her in now gone. Sometimes, when meeting someone, you automatically disliked them. That was the case between her and Deliah. One was a bookish, introverted self-admitted nerd. The other was a flashy, extroverted, party-girl. None of their interactions ever ended civilly.

"You heard that the battle on Korriban was over?"

"Just asked Threepio about it. He said that our side found out something big and that everyone with power is currently meeting over it."

"Abeloth's free again."

Jen's jaw dropped, her stomach twisting as all color left her face. "Please tell me that's a horrible joke."

"I wish it was. According to my cousin, Snoke said something that revealed that he was just one of Abeloth's pawns. The whole war was started so that all the deaths would fuel her strength. A team was sent to Mortis to check on the situation there. The prison is empty and all the guards are dead."

"Then you guys are looking for the Dagger of Mortis? I can transmit all the records we have on Abeloth and the dagger."

"She might be free but she's still building up her strength. Send us everything you have on when she first revealed herself nearly a hundred years ago."

"Got it. I can give you the brief overview now as well. The first time the greater galaxy learned about Abeloth was five years after the Sith-Jedi war started by Krayt. A powerful tremor in the Force temporarily incapacitated many of the stronger Jedi and Sith, and later investigations revealed that all life on three border worlds had been extinguished. They were all Galactic Alliance worlds and everyone thought that Caedus had launched a sneak-attack. Shots were fired, and then several Sith Empire worlds were likewise destroyed. Fortunately Director Solo of the Imperial Knights acted as a mediator, preventing a full-scale war. But after she intervened, Abeloth wiped out several Fel Imperium worlds. Because Centerpoint and the Sinkhole Station was destroyed in the Sith-Jedi War, Abeloth was able to use her will to destroy those worlds and absorb the life-essence to strengthen herself and escape in full. Because everyone was so focused on blaming each other, she was able to stealthily take over many of the galaxy's politicians and leadership to further fan the flames. When Anakin Solo returned from his self-imposed exile for the crimes he committed during the Jedi-Sith War, he realized what was happening."

"You just have to send us the records," Cade said, holding up a hand to halt her. He knew that once Jenvik entered her 'zone,' it was hard to stop her.

"Even if I do send you the records, there isn't anything new in them. Anakin Solo only learned of the dagger's existence and what it could do. There was no clue as to where it had disappeared to. He and the others of his time couldn't find any trace of it during the war. A century later and we're no closer to locating it than they were."

"You also have a small vault that holds all the information about the Ones, right?"

"We do. It holds murals, texts, artifacts with their insignia. But like I said, Jedi Master Skywalker and countless others have poured over them for decades."

"We'll be swinging by in another day or so. Can you get us permission to visit the vault?"

"Sure. But don't the Fel Imperium and Sith Empire also have their own archives related to the Ones?"

"If things don't pan out at Ossus, we'll visit them next. Thanks in advance."

"When we get there, I'll even loan you some of my clothes. They'll make you look loads better, trust me."

Jen glared at the Zeltron. "Go die, Blue."

Cade could only groan in the background and hastily end the line before the two could kill each other over the transmission. Jen let out an aggravated breath of her own, but as she remembered why Cade called in the first place, she couldn't help but shiver in fear.

Abeloth's short but terrifying reign over the galaxy was the reason why the galaxy was still united to this very day. The Fel Imperium, the Galactic Alliance, the Mandalorian Empire, the Bakuran Confederation, the Sith Empire, all remained in lockstep due to how close the galaxy had come to complete annihilation. During the height of Abeloth's power, she and her World Razers minions had devoured countless lives on planet after planet. Her Nihilistic Guard, masters of the darkest Force abilities ever to exist, had turned entire worlds into hellish nightmares. Her Force Fiends had hunted down Jedi and Sith alike, devouring their Force-essence and essentially leaving their victims little more than mindless husks; alive but in a vegetative state. And worst yet was her Force-plague that sent countless people insane and caused family and friends to turn on one and other. The Jedi were defenseless, the Sith were defenseless, even the Imperial Knights were slaughtered like herds of bantha. The damage was so great that there were still some sections of the galaxy, nearly a hundred years later, that remained a ruinous mess.

It wasn't until the three separate orders of Force-users finally cast aside their differences and truly allied with one and other that they were finally able to push back. Faced with extermination, the Jedi stopped caring that the Sith were all dark and scary and the Sith stopped caring about the Jedi actually caring. The Imperial Knights helped to bridge the gap between the two and when the counter-attack began, Abeloth's forces were finally pushed to the brink.

The final battle occurred on Mortis itself. Knowing that Abeloth couldn't be killed, the heroes of that era had learned that Mortis actually had the power to imprison her. A trap was devised. To avoid death, Abeloth had split up her essence into many people across the galaxy, even had several of her avatars in the team designated to kill her. Little did she expect that all those other people across the galaxy would be taken down in one concerted effort. The shuttle her people were on was diverted to Mortis before she even realized it. When she did understand what was happening, however, she fought to the bitter end. Countless famed Jedi Masters and Sith Lords gave their lives to buy the heroes of the Jedi Order enough time to perform the ritual to seal away the dark-side personified being.

And in the end, legends were created and a great evil was sealed away.

Sealed away but not destroyed.

And now she was back.

[o-o-[II]-o-o]

The Mynock coasted through the skies of Ossus and landed on the pad reserved for the Order of Paxis' vessels. The facility had been built over the ruins of the ancient Ossus library and was the Order of Paxis' headquarters on the Jedi-owned world. Greeting the six who emerged from the ship was Jenvik Solusar. She smiled brightly at five of the six and completely ignored the scantily-clad sixth member.

"Welcome back to Ossus. Or, in your case Tyree, welcome to Ossus."

The former member of the Order of Ren simply inclined her head in polite acknowledgment. Only her facial tattoos signified that she had once been a part of the Sith Empire's elite unit of Force-users. Had been until she nearly lost the one she loved and realized that power was nothing if she didn't have someone to share it with.

Said object of her affection was Luke Solo, distant descendant of Anakin and Tahiri. His messy brown hair and blue-gray eyes were offset by the lopsided 'Solo-smile' that every member of his family seemed to have inherited. "Jen. How's it going?"

"Another day, another story," Jenvik Solusar greeted him with a hug. They had been friends back in their academies days and with how violent a place the galaxy could be, it was always nice to reconnect. She did, however, end the hug quickly when she felt the piercing gaze of a former-dark Jedi digging into her. She turned to the last duo in hopes of getting out of the crosshairs of a former Knight of Ren. "Ahnah, Jariah."

"Loremaster Solusar," Ahnah said with a polite bow.

"Not a loremaster yet, that title still belongs to dad." Jenvik deliberately bypassed Deliah to welcome Cade. "And it looks like you've finally embraced the Force."

"Don't put it like that. It's useful only when it wants to be." Cade motioned to the building they had landed in front of. "Were you able to get us permission?"

"Your dad said to give you full access," Jenvik confirmed, leading them into the ancient, now-refurbished library. "We have artifacts from several dozen places across the galaxy, all relating to the Ones. I don't know what you hope to find though. Generations of Jedi Masters have studied them with no luck."

"Ahnah has a theory about that."

"A theory?"

The stoic member of the Skywalker line nodded once. "I'll only be able to confirm it once we see the relics though."

"Are you going to make me ask what your theory is?" Jenvik said lightly.

"The reason why none of the dark Jedi or Jedi examining the artifacts of the Ones were ever able to make sense of things is because they weren't in balance," Ahnah elaborated. "The Ones are all about balance."

Jenvik led the group off the turbolift and towards a heavily sealed vault. She held up an artifact of her own, and the ancient doors creaked open. "The Grandmaster said that you can take as long as you need, but that you have to try and be quick. With Abeloth's existence known, planets are going to start dying."

"Understood."

"Are you coming in with us?" Luke Solo asked.

Jenvik bit her lower lip and shook her head. "I'm an archivist and storyteller. Saving the galaxy isn't really my thing."

"Does it look like any of us would actually sign up for that either?" Jariah said dryly. "Come on, an extra pair of eyes can't hurt."

"Okay," Jenvik said reluctantly.

"Besides, it's just a bunch of dusty scrolls and mosaics," Deliah drawled. "It's not like your life is going to be in danger or anything."

Multiple eyes glanced towards her with eyebrows arched.

"What?" Deliah said defensively.

"I can't believe you just said that," Ahnah Rawk sighed.

"Right, you remember how you said that 'nothing could go wrong,' in that dusty, abandoned temple we visited?" Luke added.

"Hey, we all came back with our souls intact. How was I supposed to know that the pressure switch would start that Sith ritual?"

The group entered the room, their banter remaining light. Jenvik placed a torch down into the oil-well by the door, and soon the room was illuminated by crackling warm flames. The room itself was, a few starfighter-lengths in width and length, but stretched skyward in height, with fragmented mosaics propped up against the wall and on the ground. Tables containing withered looking scrolls and clay tablets sat in the center.

"That one is the most complete mural that we know of," Jenvik pointed to the far wall. "It was found in one of Sith Lord Palpatine's treasuries alongside a brazier with Sith markings on it. We can only guess that he was trying to use the brazier to unlock the mural's secrets."

The mural in question was towering, the representations of the Father, Daughter, and Son gazing domineeringly down at the small-in-comparison onlookers. Lining the mosaic's frame were depictions of sleeping wolves that were as large as an average adult human.

"Ahnah, the floor is yours," Cade directed his cousin.

"Okay. Tyree, you remember what we discussed on the Mynock."

"Naturally."

"Stand by the Son."

"Understood."

"Luke, the Daughter."

"Gotcha."

"Cade, you got the Father. All of you, when I give the order, form a meld with me."

"What do you want us to do?" Jariah asked.

"This is hand-wavy territory, you really want to get involved?" Ahnah arched an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

"Good point."

"What are you going to do?" Jenvik asked.

"All the powers in the galaxy seem to forget that the only reason why Abeloth was defeated in the first place was because they united their abilities. But afterwards, with the threat gone, everyone lost a bit of that unity. Every faction has a group searching for the Dagger of Mortis. But that's the problem. It's a faction of Jedi, a faction of dark Jedi, of Imperial Knights, of Independent Force-users. Each faction wanting to find the dagger to be the one that can claim victory over Abeloth. We would have lost if we kept that mentality," Ahnah explained. "We aren't Jedi Knights, or Imperial Knights, Sith Sabers, and whatever. We're all Knights of the Force. Only by accepting that are we ever going to really be able to beat Abeloth for good."

"So the reason why no one has ever made any breakthroughs with the relics of the Ones is because…"

"Like I said earlier, they weren't in balance," Ahnah confirmed. She then looked back to the others. "Okay, I have no idea what's going to happen when we do this, so get ready for anything. Form the meld."

The Force surged in the room, motes of dust whipped up all around the group, fluttering their garments. The mural seemed completely unaffected by the change, however. But that didn't dishearten the group of adventurers.

"Tyree, dark shift. Luke, full light. Cade, bendu." Ahnah said both aloud and through the meld.

A pillar of violent red Force energy shot out from Tyree, her Sith tattoos darkening and her eyes yellow. In contrast, a calming blue nimbus of Force energy flared out from Ben, his features becoming especially heroic in the invisible breeze. Both auras flooded towards one and other, diametrically opposed and seeking conflict. But between the both of them was Cade. The moment the auras met around him, a pulsating golden whirlwind erupted as he let loose the same energies that he used to heal the most grievous of wounds.

"Activate the mural," Ahnah called out.

Tyree rose from her seated position and approached the figure of the Son. Luke did the same, but his target was the Daughter. Cade was the last to rise, the golden Force energies cracking the ancient tiles in the floor with his every step. It looked as if the three were fighting against some unseen barrier, their every step towards the mural taking herculean effort.

Seconds ticked by before the few meters' distance was crossed. But as they stood in front of the mural, their auras started to be absorbed.

To the shock of everyone, the heads of the Father, Daughter, and Son all moved. Rather than looking down at all of them, the Father's head rose in a patrician manner, his eyes closing. The Son turned his head to the side in disdain, his eyes likewise falling shut. The Daughter's expression became peaceful as she bowed her head, eyes closed.

"The mural…it just changed…how is that possible…isn't it just paint and rock?" Deliah babbled, stumbling backwards.

"You're asking me?" Jariah managed, his mouth equally dry. "Your boyfriend's the all-powerful hand-waver."

When the hands of the three Force-users made contact with the cold stone, the scene changed again as the Force flooded outwards. The hands of the Father closed together as if in prayer. The arms of the Daughter stretched out in supplication, hands open. The arms of the Son pointed downwards, as if demanding submission. The tables, scrolls and tablets in the background were all sent flying. Even Jariah and Deliah were knocked to the ground by the surging waves of energy.

A distant howl rose up above the swirling Force eddies, the sleeping wolves opening their eyes and rushing towards an empty spot on the mural. Their movements were fluid, the wolves forming a circle in the blank area as they sprinted ever faster. And then a bright light flashed into existence in the circle they had formed, a portal to another world. The swirling tides of Force energy receded, and other than the shimmering portal, the rest of the mural appeared to have returned to its pre-Force-addled state with the trio of Ones emotionlessly staring down at the group of adventurers.

"Okay, I did not expect that," Ahnah breathed out, her eyes bulging.

"Who votes to enter the shimmering portal to who-knows-where?" Jariah laughed to cover up his nerves. "Because I certainly am against it."

"Hand-wavy stuff too many pay-grades above me," Deliah agreed. "Not that Cade pays us anyways."

"Jen, you recognize this?" Luke Solo asked. He took a step closer to the portal, but stopped when Tyree reached out to grab his arm and halt his progress.

"I…no," Jenvik shook her head. "Maybe one of the other Scribes of Paxis might know something. Or we can try the Order of Rhysode or Order of Caedus. The Order of Rhysode is better traveled and the Order of Caedus handles all sorts of mystical Force stuff like this."

"No time," Cade slowly shook his head. "There's no telling how long this portal will remain open. I mean, look, the number of wolves running around it seems to be decreasing even as we speak."

Sure enough, as Cade said those words, one of the giant wolves running in the circle seemed to slowly fade away before their very eyes.

"Are we even going to be able to come back if the portal closes?"

"Do we have a choice?" Ahnah said. "This is might be our only chance to find out what's happened to the Dagger of Mortis. Abeloth definitely isn't going to be relaxing while we debate over this."

With the reminder of the terrifying entity, the groups forcefully beat back their fears.

"Okay, let's go in," Cade said.

"I'm definitely not letting you go in there by yourself," Deliah immediately hissed, stepping forward and gripping his hand. Though her fear was still felt by the Force-users, her devotion to Cade radiated out in equal measures.

"I thought this was above your pay-grade," Cade said in bemusement.

"You'll take care of the hand-wavy stuff. I'll just blast whatever's left," Deliah brandished her blaster.

Cade tugged her to him so that he could wrap and arm around her while he looked at the others. "I'm going in. I'm not going to ask any of you to follow, so if you…"

"Cade, shut up," Jariah interrupted, looking resigned as he too stepped forward. "Ahnah, mind acting as my Force-shield?"

"If I have to," Ahnah rolled her eyes in turn, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Tyree, Luke?"

"You see any other Force-user capable of dark-shifting?" Tyree countered, likewise stepping up. "Ahnah said it best. All other groups failed because they weren't balanced in the Force."

"And you know how bad it'll make me look if all you go through that portal and I wait out here?" Luke added.

"Jen, you want to catalog what's on the other side of this portal?"

The historian swallowed heavily. "Okay, but if I die on the other side, I am so definitely haunting you all."

"Let's trust in the Force," Ahnah said with a reassuring smile. "After all, we are one with the Force and the Force is with us."

With one last nod to each other, the group stepped through the portal.

[o-o-[III]-o-o]

Space warped and twisted before ejecting the group of seven out onto a translucent walkway that seemed to stretch across the stars. The entire group stirred with a groan, none of their heroic auras present as their minds tried to make sense of what just happened. But as their eyes open and they took in the sights all around them, they were rendered completely speechless. The walkway they were on was just one of what looked like an infinite number that hung in the void of space. The walkways didn't seem to obey any sort of conventional sense, with some being complete vertical, some spiral, others even appeared to end in the starry void without any destination. Most of the walkways were connected to inert portals surrounded by glowing white rings. It made one dizzy just trying to make sense of it all.

"Where…are we?" Deliah voiced what was on everyone's minds.

"I have no idea," Cade shook his head.

The group slowly got to their feet, their heads spinning.

"If there's a clue to the Dagger of Mortis in here….this might take a while," Jariah managed, trying to trace the countless passageways only to shake his head to clear it.

Before they started to despair over the monumental task before them, a distant portal suddenly lit up, faint voices echoing through it.

"I guess we head there?" Luke blinked.

"I guess so," Cade agreed.

As the group grew closer to the activated portal, the voices coming through it became more coherent.

"It is in my nature to do what is selfless. My brothers' will always be able to do what is selfish."

"Know yourself! Know what you'll become!"

"The choice must be yours. But leave and your selfishness shall haunt you and the galaxy."

"Your destiny can change as quick as the love in one's heart can fade. Nothing is set in stone."

But just as they reached the portal, it went dark and a pair of silvery eyes replaced whatever it was that had been showing.

"Seven times will I call. It begins and ends at Centerpoint. The timeline is no longer sacrosanct!"

"Abeloth!" Both Cade and Ahnah immediately took point, stepping in front of the others.

The silvery eyes regarded them without emotion and then disappeared. Before the chill of her gaze set in, the portal then shimmered to life once more. This time it was Jenvik's turn to push her way to the front.

"This is…this is the final battle between Abeloth and the combined forces of the galaxy."

The group watched in equal parts horror and reverence as tides of Force-users assailed the avatars that contained the last of Abeloth's essence. With all other avatars in the galaxy destroyed, if these should fall, her existence would become nebulous once more.

Jenvik couldn't stop watching as she recognized the sight of Kam Solusar, her great grandfather, fearlessly fight against an endless wave of dark side manifestations. Force-users all around him were cut down, but he remained, surging towards one of Abeloth's final avatars. The avatar turned its attention to Kam and activated two lightsabers, before blurring forward to meet him. It was pretty clear that despite Kam's strength, he was no match for the dark-side personified being. However, he bravely fought on until both red sabers cut into him. When he fell, his expression was peaceful, a smile on his face. The avatar's victory was short-lived as Kyp Durron's own saber used the brief moment caused by Kam's sacrifice to behead it. The powerful backlash of Force-energy leveled the surrounding battlefield, those weak or badly wounded incapable of enduring such a brutal tidal wave and perishing in an instant.

There were only two avatars left, and they seemed to grow ever stronger with the death of that third. Two Sith Lords from Darth Caedus' Sith Empire fell to one of the avatars, their life-forces forcefully drained. The Jedi and Imperial Knights that tried to rescue the Sith Lords were similarly defeated. In the blink of an eye, that one avatar slaughtered its way through over a dozen powerful Force-users. And then a flash of light occurred as it was impaled by the sword of Jedi Master Corran Horn. The avatar convulsed, its lips twisting into as sneer that abruptly changed into one of shock. It was finding its own life energies being drained. With a yell, it impaled Corran with a lightsaber of its own. The grim-faced Jedi Master refused to relent, however, and the two collapsed to the ground in mutual destruction. Only, when Corran hit the blood-soaked floor, his body disappeared as it returned to the Force.

The last of the avatars took on a particularly brutal expression, its strength skyrocketing exponentially. Three of the highest ranking members of the Imperial Knights fell in quick succession. Two Dark Council members of Darth Caedus' Sith Empire joining them. In the background, the last of Abeloth's Nihilistic Guard and World Razers engaged the Jedi Knights, Sith Sabers, and Imperial Knights of lesser rank in a bloody melee that had bodies hit the ground almost every second.

The view shifted to a cavern underground, an empty alter crackled with green flames was surrounded by members of the Solo and Skywalker family.

"They're not going to last much longer." A solemn Mara Jade Skywalker said, her expression hiding the grief she was feeling. Only minutes earlier those in the room had felt Mara and Luke's youngest son, Janek Skywalker join countless others in death.

"I've almost got the ritual translated," Anakin Solo exhaled. "If we don't do this right, all of this will be for nothing."

"And you're certain this is going to work?"

"As long as the last avatar falls, it will. Abeloth will be unable to leave this world for a short period after, and only then will she be vulnerable enough," Darth Caedus answered his sister's concerns.

"The only problem will be the level of power needed," Anakin said. "The Ones were a race far beyond our abilities, their Force-potential so powerful that they would have accidentally destroyed worlds if they left this place. As strong as we are, we're not even close to being their equals."

"We just lost Saba Sebatyne," Luke Skywalker breathed out, his face pale as countless Jedi deaths continued to wash over them.

"And the Grand Lord of the Lost Tribes," Mara confirmed.

"Tahiri, Tenel Ka, Zekk, that avatar is still too strong," Caedus spoke up suddenly, sensing a thought from his younger brother. "Go and reinforce the others. Even if we do get this ritual worked out, it'll mean nothing if Abeloth's avatar escapes this place."

"Understood," Tenel Ka said, her gray-eyed gaze trying to see through the mask worn by the man she loved.

"Anakin," Tahiri looked reluctant.

Anakin looked up from the writings on the wall and smiled gently at his childhood friend and wife. "Tahiri, take the others and go. Once the avatar is defeated, you need to get the others as far from Mortis as you can."

"'You'?" Tahiri looked haunted. "Anakin, I'm not…"

"You need to help the others. Once we've sealed Abeloth…I'll be along."

Tahiri seemed froze in place, before her expression fell. She stepped up, tugged on Anakin's tunic and gave him a searing kiss. She then stepped back, a single tear escaping. "See you soon then, dummy."

"Soon then. May the Force be with you."

Tahiri left with the others. The only ones still in the room were Darth Caedus, Jaina, Anakin, Luke, Leia, and Mara.

"What did you find out?" Luke Skywalker said softly.

"We don't have the power to imprison her indefinitely." Anakin murmured. "Even if all the Jedi and Sith loaned us their power, it wouldn't be enough."

"What then?" Jaina whispered, a note of despair in her voice.

"Sacrifice," Darth Caedus murmured in turn. "The Ones were here, sacrificing their freedom to save the galaxy. This entire realm is based on that principle. No matter what, we can't let Abeloth win, we have to bring balance to the Force."

"You've come up with a way?" Leia asked.

"Based on the principle of balance, if we embody the Ones and sacrifice ourselves to this ritual, we should be able to provide enough time for the galaxy to find the Dagger of Mortis," Anakin answered.

"And by sacrifice, you mean…"

"Exactly. We won't be able to permanently seal Abeloth, but what the galaxy needs right now is more time."

"Let's do it then," Jaina said without any hesitation. "The longer we drag this out, the more people are dying out there."

"What do we do?" Mara asked, agreeing with her niece.

"The symbols on the ground represent aspects of the Force. The Father, Son, and Daughter. Jace and I will fulfill the role of the son. Jaya, you and Aunt Mara take on the role of the Father. Mom, Uncle Luke, the Daughter."

The group split up, taking the appropriate spots in the underground room. As they did, the symbols lit up and the cavern began to shake.

"Give yourselves up to the Force and speak the words of the ritual," Anakin Solo murmured, closing his eyes. Only one could guess what he was thinking. "In all things, Balance. Our lives for those we love."

"Our lives for order," Darth Caedus removed his mask and threw it to the side, a wry, Solo smile flickering across his face.

"Our lives peace," Jaina breathed out, her Force energies flaring outwards.

"Our lives for passion," Mara intoned.

"Our lives for time," Luke said in turn.

"Our lives for hope," Leia whispered.

As the last words were said, the bodies of the six Force-users began to deconstruct themselves and rejoin the Force, the Force energies within them flaring out and obliterating cell after cell. Still they held the course, all remaining resolute as their bodies faded away. The altar in the center of the room glowed with a green light, and above an earthly shriek of terror sounded out.

The last avatar of Abeloth removed its lightsabers from Tahiri and Tenel Ka and tried to flee, but both women used the last of their strength to hold it in place.

"You're not going anywhere," Tahiri gritted out, blood coming out of her mouth.

"You will meet your fate here," Tenel Ka said resolutely, even though the lower half of her body had been separated from the upper half.

"You miserable bugs, let go!" the avatar let loose a blast of Force energy, but Tenel Ka and Tahiri refused to yield.

"Get clear!" The battered form of Ben Skywalker raced through the battlefield like a meteor.

"It's over for you," from the opposite direction Vestara Khai barreled forward in a blue streak.

The two slammed into the last avatar, their sabers piercing head and heart at the exact same time. An otherworldly wail echoed forth, throwing everyone in the area backwards as the avatar erupted and a torrent of dark side energy rushed out. This massive cloud of dark side energy gathered in the air, silvery eyes wild, almost feral as it tried to leave. A streak of green shot out from the ground and the panic in the silvery eyes became even more pronounced.

"No! No! No! I will not be trapped again!"

The green energy surrounded the cloud that was Abeloth and began to pull it back towards the center of the world. All the while, the survivors of the bloody battle could hear her screams of protest, see her futile attempts to break free. The most fearsome creature in the entire galaxy was completely helpless against this energy. And just like that, she was sucked into the ground and all was quiet.

The question on everyone's minds rang clear. After all the death and destruction, had they truly won?

"Mom, dad!" the powerful aura of Cassa Solo hurried across the battlefield as best as her battered body would allow. Next to her was her younger brother, who was half supporting her and half being supported by her in turn.

"It's alright you two," Tahiri murmured as they dropped down to her side.

"No, it's not alright. We'll get you to Zonama. Nen Yim will be able to…"

"I'll be joining your dad, Cassa, there's nothing to be afraid of. I can't let him go off and make a mess of the Force all by himself, right? My two children, I'm so proud of you. Thank you for making it through this."

"Mom," Jayce Solo swallowed back a sob.

Tahiri gently caressed both their faces, before her eyes fluttered shut. As they did, her body disappeared and her voice echoed in their ears. Remember, the Force will be with you, always.

In the background, the two children of Tenel Ka and Jacen Solo were likewise kneeling by the side of their mother. Tenel Ka's wounds were every bit as fatal as Tahiri's were, and she too whispered her goodbyes before her spirit rejoined the Force.

A bloodied Zekk Zel, an arm missing, was lying on the ground next to a pale-faced Taryn. Though both would survive their injuries, at the moment they looked every bit as dead as the mass of corpses all around them.

The image in the portal zoomed out to reveal a desolate scene. Whole armies lay broken on the ground, fleets shattered all around the entrance to Mortis. The 'victory' had been hard fought and won, but the price had left the major powers in the galaxy a pale shadow of what they had once been. It was only then that the myriad of factions in the galaxy realized just how petty their disputes had been, how pathetic they actually were in the face of a truly horrific power. After the war, a true peace of nearly a hundred years had followed as the galaxy finally united in preparation for one final showdown.

[o-o-[IV]-o-o]

The image in the portal faded away, those looking on still unable to fully process everything they had seen. Unfortunately for the group, while they were still stunned by the sight, a pair of silvery eyes reappeared in the portal opposite of the one they had been staring at.

I see you.

The portal rippled.

"Get back!" Ahnah yelled out. She summoned her lightsaber into her hand and the saberstaff hummed to life.

Tyree activated her own two sabers and stood next to Ahnah, the purple blades complimenting the simmering yellow. Caedus' single green blade hummed to life, followed by Luke's blue blade. Deliah and Jariah both held up their blasters, while lightshotos fell into Jenvik's hands but remained inactive.

The rippling portal convulsed and several heavy-armored individuals walked through.

"Nihilistic Guard, don't let them touch you!" Jenvik yelled in warning. "Their armor is weak at the joints, or you can use Force-attacks, but they're trained to resist them!"

Their heavy armor was pitch black and completely lightsaber resistant. They were the leading cause of death among Force-users when Abeloth had first made her presence known. The scariest thing about them was that the helmets, designed to look like faces screaming in terror, had no openings at all, as if they were seeing their surroundings only through the Force. A thrumping hum issued from the eight individuals who walked through the portal, black lightsaber blades crackling with unstable energy flaring to life.

"Deliah, Jariah, Jenvik, get back to the portal we came from. We'll hold them off," Cade directed.

"You better be right behind us," Deliah scowled, before holstering her blaster and sprinting.

The trio fled, but the Nihilistic Guard didn't seem to care. In fact, the portal they had come from rippled again and this time a behemoth creature that towered over the guards began to crawl through. Rather, only its head was passing through, and it was already larger than any of the others.

"That's…a World Razer!" Jenvik gasped, running, but looking over her shoulder at the same time. "Don't let it through the portal!"

"How?" Cade yelled back, the Jedi taking one step back for every one step forward taken by the Nihilistic Guard.

"Give me a sec!" Jenvik raced back through the portal that had brought them to this strange world. In the meantime, the World Razer continued to slowly claw its way through the tiny portal opening. The guard continued to advance, their auras radiating pure death.

More portals shimmered into their active state, silvery eyes staring out from each and every one. From each of these portals came eight more Nihilistic Guardsmen, though there were subtle differences in each group.

"That…that's…." Luke whispered, his mouth dry.

"Ideas?" Cade offered as their route back to their home portal was cut off by an emerging group of Nihilistic Guardsmen. Fortunately Deliah, Jariah, and Jenvik had already escaped. Unfortunately, the other Force-users were now completely surrounded.

"Death." The Nihilistic Guards all chanted in unison. "Death. Death. Death."

Each word was laced with the Force, the might threatening to stop the hearts of the adventurers caught in the middle.

"Frack off!" Ahnah yelled back, thrusting a hand out and sending a blast of Force-energy barreling down one of the walkways. The first few guardsmen in front were knocked off the walkway and disintegrated into motes of dust. But despite the amount of strength Ahnah had put into the attack, the ones immediately behind the first few were unscathed.

Cade lowered his own saber and reached out with the Force. His powers over life and death were definitely bendu-related and enabled him to bypass the Force-defenses of the group immediately in front of him. Eight guardsmen immediately collapsed, their lives ended at his will. The backlash through the Force, however, had Cade pale considerably.

"How many more times can you do that?" Tyree muttered, seeing the results.

"If you want me to pass out, one more time," Cade returned. "These guys are just too tough."

"The monster is mostly through the portal," Tyree gestured. "Can your ability work on it?"

"Its will is too strong," Cade shook his head.

"We are definitely in trouble," Luke said as the guardsmen closed in.

Suddenly a nearby portal activated, and for a moment the trapped Force-users felt their hearts sink. What they didn't expect, however, was the sight of the red-armored Imperial Knights of the Fel Imperium to step through.

"Someone call for reinforcements?" the Crown Prince of the Fel Empire, Aidan Fel said conversationally. The group of over a dozen Imperial Knights promptly steamrolled the group of Nihilistic Guardsmen in front of them with combined, multiple Force-blast that sent their opponent flying into the void and disintegrating into dust.

Another portal activated and dark side-aligned Force-users stepped through. They reached out with their own abilities and promptly crushed the internal organs of the Nihilistic Guards in their way.

"Hey little brother, you having a party without me?" Alema Solo said lightly, kicking the corpse of one of the guardsmen off the pathway. Currently the youngest leader ever of the Sith Empire's Knights of Ren, thanks to the war decimating the knights until they numbered only a dozen or so, Alema Solo radiated dark side in a manner that gave her an odd vitality. Where most adherents to the dark side looked like shriveled up fruit, Alema looked like a shining, dark star.

"Aren't you supposed to be recovering?" Luke asked his older sister, the tension leaving him.

"I am," Alema snorted, gesturing with her still growing Yuuzhan Vong limb replacements. "But then Solusar put out a desperate call for help and I learned that my little brother was about to have his soul destroyed by an organization that isn't supposed to exist anymore."

"Sorry," Luke winced.

"Does he always give you this much trouble, Tyree?" Alema asked her lone friend in the galaxy.

"It seems to run in your family, Solo," Tyree replied tonelessly.

A third portal activated and two imposing figures emerged, their strength in the Force undeniable.

"Battle Master Durron!"

"Princess Anala Djo!"

The two women were legends in their own right. One was the sister of the current Queen Mother of Hapes and was renown across the galaxy for her combat prowess. The other was Jedi Master Ryva Durron, her own combat abilities at the highest of levels. The two emerged from the portal and took note of the situation before promptly putting on a burst of speed and racing towards the threat. Their saber strikes so accurate that even the tiniest gaps in the armors worn by the guardsmen were pierced. The guardsmen all tried to fight back, but the duo worked with frightening speed and over a dozen were taken down in the blink of an eye. The last four managed to last a few exchanges before they were dispatched without mercy. The dangers of the Nihilistic Guard, however, became apparent shortly after. One of them had grabbed the Jedi Battlemaster on her shoulder during the fight, and she had promptly severed the entire limb without hesitation. Said limb was still on the walkway, but her entire arm was now black and ashen in nature.

"Ryva," Anala said worriedly.

"I'll return first," the Jedi Battlemaster said through gritted teeth. Despite having removed the limb, the others could see black lines running through her entire shoulder and spreading out across her chest.

"I've got the young ones," Anala said with a nod.

Ryva Durron disappeared back into the portal while Anala took up a protective position in front of Cade's group. "Good job all of you for unlocking the secret to the murals."

"It's not much of a secret. We just had to remember to work together," Ahnah said with a shake of her head.

The silvery eyes in the other active portals crinkled in rage.

You will die.

"Oh shut up," Anala Djo held up a chalice and began to chant something in an obscure tongue as she channeled her Force energy into it. Blue flame immediately appeared atop the chalice and then raced down the walkway towards the remaining Nihilistic Guardsmen. To the shock of Cade's group, the flame vaporized everything in its path, walkway included. The World Razer, on the verge of completely emerging, let out a guttural roar as the flame engulfed it. The roar was echoed by Abeloth, her rage undeniable. The flames branched out, crashing into every single portal that had a pair of silvery eyes in it. The portals burst apart like broken glass, the frames collapsing leaving little more than empty space in its wake. All this happened within a few breaths, barely giving the rest of the people time to react to what was happening.

The chalice itself melted away, but the damage had been done.

"So that's what it does? Palpatine really had a nice collection of Dathomiri toys," Anala sighed, throwing the ruined chalice away.

"And that's why you don't mess with Hapes," Aidan murmured in a low voice to the Imperial Knights behind him.

Jenvik popped back out of the portal with Deliah and Jariah. "Guys, there are only a dozen wolves left on this side! I did some calculations, there's about two hours left."

"Wait for us on Ossus," Cade directed. "I get the feeling we're going to have to get involved with more hand-wavy stuff."

"Cade!" Deliah said worriedly.

"I'll be fine, Blue," Cade smiled reassuringly. "I'll be back. Promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that." She, Jenvik and Jariah all stepped back through their end.

"Two hours, huh? Fortunately, we shouldn't need that long," Alema Solo produced a figurine. It was in the likeness of the Son. "Got this from Snoke's vault."

Anala produced a figurine of the Daughter. "Look, they go together."

"A complete set," Aidan Fel added his figurine of the Father. "Do you really think they'll work in this place?"

"They didn't outside. There has to be a reason why they have wolves on the base," Alema held the figurine upside down to show off the circle of wolves beneath the Son's feet.

"Let's follow Ahnah's advice," Anala said, tilting her head at her distant cousin. She channeled Force-energy into the figurine. "In darkness, light."

"In light, darkness," Alema matched her actions.

"And in the middle, balance," Aidan finished.

The three figurines glowed brightly and became streaks of light that shot off towards a distant portal. The portal activated and the steaks of light disappeared into it.

"Follow the glowy lights?" Alema asked her two older relatives.

"Follow the glowy lights," Aidan agreed with a smile.

"I didn't waste Palpatine's toy for the fun of it," Anala said regally.

"Cade, you and your buddies want to come with us?" Alema turned to the group of adventurers. "You are the reason why we're here in the first place."

"Might as well see this through."

"Don't you love how all our family get-togethers involve saving the galaxy?" Aidan said with a laugh.

Cade shook his head wryly as they stepped through the portal. "Now you know why I avoid them,"

[o-o-[V]-o-o]

The sky was filled with countless stars, and a muggy, oppressive heat assailed the group when they emerged. One thing they all registered, however, was the powerful Force energies that surrounded them. It was as if they had just stepped into a Force nexus of unbelievable size. The world gave off a primordial aura, thick foliage as far as the eyes could see.

"Whoa," Luke staggered from the sheer intensity.

"Where are we now?" Ahnah muttered, gazing at the dense foliage all around them. Looking back the way they had come, she could see multiple rows of wolves surrounding a shimmering portal embedded in a partially buried boulder the size of a small building.

"I think we're in the Deep Core. The better question is, when are we?" Aidan Fel pointed to the stars.

They looked up. All of them were somewhat familiar with the galaxy and its constellations. There were several stars one even relied upon to orientate themselves depending on where one was in the galaxy. Looking up, they could see familiar stars, but they were all in the wrong places.

"Welcome, esteemed travelers," a young woman's voice startled everyone. They hadn't even sensed her at all. A young woman, looking barely older than twenty, bowed low at their gazes. "I am Servant. You must be exhausted from your travel through the Netherworld of Unbeing. From when have you come?"

"From the where?" Alema Solo blinked.

"The Netherworld of Unbeing," the young woman motioned to the giant boulder. "You came through the doorway, yes?"

"We did," Anala said carefully. "Can I ask what this planet is called?"

"Oh, it has no name, esteemed guest," the woman said almost apologetically. "Those I serve found it pointless to name something they can deconstruct at will."

"'Deconstruct at will'," the words sent shivers down everyone's spine.

"No worries," the silver-haired Servant smiled lightly. "They have grown fond of this world for now. Come, I will take you to them."

"Thank you."

During the walk, Servant glanced at them once more with a slight frown on her forehead. "Might I ask which slave-race my esteemed guests have come from?"

Everyone stopped, a bad feeling passing through them.

"Excuse me?"

"You are definitely not Killiks or Gree. And are not Kwa or Rakata either."

"We're human, well, most of us are," Aidan answered.

"Humans, humans…you come from another Architect then? Those I serve haven't yet found a use for your species."

"We're just visiting."

"No worries. Like I said, you are my most esteemed guests. If you have any needs, please let Servant know. If she is not taking care of Father and his children, then I will do my best to fulfill those needs."

"Father?" Anala said sharply.

"Yes, this is his world. Servant was simply fortunate enough that the Force created me to serve him."

"The Force created you? You have no parents?"

"I was born from the Force onto this world twenty revolutions ago," Servant answered. "Father found me and took me in."

"His children," Cade interrupted. "They would be Son and Daughter?"

Servant's face lit up brightly. "Oh yes. They are such mischievous children. Always getting into fights and threatening to destroy the balance. They always give Father such headaches."

"And I am fortunate Servant is here to help the family," a benevolent voice rang out.

"Father!" Servant lowered her head respectfully. "Guests have arrived through the doorway of the Netherworld of Unbeing."

"That explains their confusion," a dark-haired man chuckled mirthfully, seemingly coalescing into being from the very Force all around them. "Welcome, travelers."

"Father," Anala bent her knee in polite deference. The others did as well. It went without saying that the individual who had formed looked like a much younger version of the Father they had seen in the murals. The Force energy he was radiating was at absurd levels that even Kol Skywalker, let alone the entire Jedi Council combined, couldn't hope to match.

"That is not needed," the father gestured. He held out a hand and in them were the three figurines. "You have my Tokens of Vergence. That must mean you are searching for something lost in time. You should not stay here though, lest you become lost in time as well."

"Father, I'm not sure if it exists yet, but we seek something called the Dagger of Mortis," Aidan said respectfully.

"A weapon, no doubt to slay an enemy of great power," the Father sighed wearily, shaking his head. "I cannot help you."

"Father, Aidan was not entirely accurate," Cade said, a complex expression on his face. "Though we do seek the Dagger of Mortis, we only do so because we believe that it is the only way to defeat our enemy."

"You seek a means, then?"

"Yes?" Cade half answered. "We were hoping the tokens would lead us to those means."

"An enemy only has great power if they are feared and unknown," the Father said patiently. "To know the enemy is half the battle. The other half depends on what you do with that knowledge."

A distant explosion echoed in the background, and suddenly if felt as if the entire planet was about to break apart beneath their feet. The Father looked over his shoulder with a fond expression on his face, not at all concerned by the titanic blast.

"Servant, can you go attend to my children? It appears they are arguing again."

"I would be delighted to, Father," the Servant's argent eyes were bright with excitement.

Father smiled warmly. "I am thankful you are here. You are like a mother to them."

"It would my greatest honor to be Mother," Servant answered, eyes bright, before stepping into a current of Force energy and disappearing. The last part of her to vanish was her pair of happy silver eyes.

At that, the entire group of Jedi and Force-users nearly fainted from terror.

The Father didn't seem to notice, or if he did, didn't seem to care. Instead, he too looked in the direction she had gone. "It is a pity she is merely a mortal. She does well to keep the family in balance."

"She's mortal?" Alema asked in surprise, being the first to recover.

"Yes," Father nodded. "She will live at most a century or so. But she is still young yet, so it has never occurred to her that eventually time will claim her as my children and I move on. There will always be other Servants, though, so it does not bother my children or myself."

"Is there any way she could actually live for longer than that?"

"Where there is the Force, there is always a way," the Father confirmed. "But such ways are forbidden and Servant knows this."

"Father…" Anala hesitated, not sure if she should tell him about Abeloth or not.

The powerful being held up a hand, however. "You should return to the Netherworld of Unbeing. This is not your time. What will happen, will happen. What will be, will be. The Force is always in motion. Past, present, future. When you leave, I will remember nothing of this meeting. Neither will Servant."

"Thank you for your time, then," Anala finished.

The group blinked as they suddenly found themselves in front of the mountainous boulder they had arrived from. The Father was still with them, his expression solemn. "Everything happens for a reason. Our meeting. Your search. You have discovered the Netherworld of Unbeing. Know that it contains the power to alter destinies. But do not forget that some destinies can be darker than others. In your search for hope, do not let your desperation darken the destinies of others. So long as you trust in the Force, you will find what you seek."

The doorway behind them shimmered open and the Father gestured for them to enter. With one last look at the strange, primordial world, the group stepped back through it.

[o-o-[VI]-o-o]

The group was not necessarily disheartened. But at the same time, they were no closer to finding the Dagger of Mortis than before. With the clock ticking down until Abeloth's return, it was more imperative than ever that they find some way to counter her. This was especially felt by Cade's original group, who had witnessed first-hand the cost it had taken to seal her away in the first place. Only, when they arrived back in the crossroads of the strange dimension, they noticed another doorway had lit up.

Cautiously, the group approached it. Within was a scene playing out. The recognizable figures of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, accompanied a young Togruta teen on Mortis. They watched as the Son's abilities resonated with Anakin, as the Daughter fell to her brother. As the Father sacrificed himself to weaken the Son and then entreat Anakin to stay in Mortis. All the while, they kept their eyes on the dagger the Son and Father had used.

Long after the Jedi left, as Mortis continued to crumble, the dagger itself suddenly shot up into the sky. It flared into a blinding existence, for an instant, seemingly superimposing itself over the monolith that contained Mortis. The crumbling stopped, the world within the monolith repairing itself. All the while the dagger remained plunged into the very top of the monolith, as if it was a keystone that held the very world in place. The glow from the dagger faded and it soon appeared little more than a tiny piece of metal sticking out of a structure that was five-kilometres cubed.

"It can't have been that easy." Jaws were dropped.

"It was right under our noses the entire time?" Another voice said in disbelief.

"It was the will of the Force," one of the Knights of Ren intoned religiously.

"We need to get back and tell the other right away."

"Wait," Cade's voice sounded loud in the vastness of the strange world.

"Cade?"

"The Father said this place can alter destinies."

"What are you thinking about?"

"The whole reason why the galaxy is in such poor shape today is because Abeloth decimated everyone back then."

"What, are you saying we take that knife and go back to that planet and kill her before she becomes Abeloth?"

"No," Cade shook his head. He gestured to the doorway his group had been looking into, mentally sharing what he had seen in it. "We take the knife and alter a destiny or two."

"We do that, our timeline might not exist anymore," Aidan said solemnly. "Who are we to decide the fates of everyone in our galaxy?"

"Trillions of lives lost, whole systems rendered uninhabitable. Countless heroes dead. Even today, it took nearly all our governments' power to suppress a single insurrection by a deranged Sith Lord and his followers. The Mandalorians are in a state of civil war, the Galactic Alliance is mired in corruption because crime groups are stronger than the central government. The Jedi Order has been militarized almost in its entirety. The Hapans have thrice the territory and ten times the problems. The Sith Empire, do I even need to talk about that? We don't even know if we have the ability to actually kill Abeloth."

"But the galaxy is united," Anala said softly. "The threat of Abeloth's return put an end to nearly a hundred years of warfare and led to a hundred years of peace. Without that threat, if Abeloth is instantly killed, who's to say the fate of this galaxy won't be as dark or even darker?"

"Not to mention, we might not even exist in this new timeline," Alema Solo spoke up. "I don't know about you, but for me, the past is in the past. I like living."

"Abeloth's returned," Cade pressed. "Despite everything, our military is actually in worse shape than it was almost a hundred years ago. We had a hundred years of peace. Barely anyone in our military has fought in an actual war. Our casualties in the final fight against Emperor Snoke is proof of that. Heck, even the Mandalorians took heavy casualties and they're supposed to be the professional soldiers. Back then, the military leaders had been fighting for all their lives, and they were still pushed to the brink. Can you honestly say our military leaders will be able to do any better?"

"Cade is right," Tyree said in an uncharacteristic soft voice. "The Sith Empire is currently far weaker now than it was under Caedus. From what I know, Abeloth had many puppet-leaders and I doubt that Snoke was her only pawn in the Empire."

"The Imperial Knights are definitely stronger than they were back then," Aidan said pensively. "But we're also less…flexible. My great-grandmother had only a few hundred Knights at the time compare to the thousands today, but their training was not as uniformed as it is today. If Abeloth is controlling any of the instructors or high-ranking members of the Imperial Knights, then she'll know every single one of our tactics and how we'll respond."

Anala was silent for what seemed like a long while. "I know that Zekk Zel never truly recovered from being the only one of his group of friends to survive that war. The war destroyed many major worlds in the Consortium as well, destabilizing it for decades afterwards. Chume Allana's reign was marred by economic collapse, riots, and food shortages due to situations far beyond her control. One of the reasons why Hapes expanded its reach and campaigned against the lawless Hutt worlds was because it needed the resources to sustain itself."

Silence fell again.

"We need to talk it over with Emperor Fel, Grandmaster Kol Skywalker and the other leaders," Aidan summed up, exhaling and shaking his head. "It's too big a decision to make right now."

"You're right," Anala breathed. "I don't envy my sister now."

"Hopefully a decision will be made before Abeloth makes her move," Luke Solo pointed out. "Otherwise we're all forked."

[o-o-[VII]-o-o]

The proposal to meddle with time went over about as well as one could it expect it would. In essence, every single major power was opposed to it. When faced with the potential of non-existence, even the most stalwart of people would blanch. Not that they could have used the murals again anyways. The wolf images had disappeared in all the murals the Free Alliances possessed, sealing off the strange crossroads. This meant that the decision to face Abeloth's forces in battle was going ahead full-steam. With the dagger now in possession of the Free Alliance, people were fully confident in their chances of putting an end to the terrifying threat once and for all.

Until they learned that the Mandalorian civil war had actually been instigated by one of Abeloth's avatars and said avatar came out on top and in control of all of Mandalore.

Until several heavily populated planets were completely wiped out resulting in several tens of billions of lives lost.

Until the remains of the Sith Empire fell fully under Abeloth's control as Alema Solo's prediction of there being more than one avatar came true.

Until Emperor Roan Fel was assassinated by his own bodyguard, who ended up being another avatar.

Before the rest of the galaxy realized it, Abeloth had returned in full force. Before that, no one knew just how horrific an entity she was.

Now they knew.

Barely a year later and the situation had become desperate. Kol Skywalker had fallen in battle. As had Ryva Durron and Aidan Fel. Marasiah Fel had taken what survived of the Imperial Knights and was waging a guerrilla war against Abeloth's forces. Forget using the Dagger of Mortis, no one even stood a chance of reaching Abeloth.

An explosion echoed in the background and debris fell from the bunker ceiling.

"They're persistent," a tired Cade Skywalker muttered, having finished healing several younger Force-users.

"They know you're here," a bruised and battered Deliah Blue laughed weakly. She had been caught in the concussive force of a blast a day earlier and had barely survived. "What can I say, my man is popular."

Another blast.

A dirty and disheveled figure came hurrying through one of the tunnels.

"Ania?" Cade said in disbelief.

"Cade, I've found something you really need to see."

"Something?" Cade repeated dumbly. "What are you doing here?"

"You think I ran three blockades and a minefield just to say hi?" Ania said in exasperation. She tugged on his hand to get him to stand and then thrust a datapad into his hands. "I found another mural of the Ones."

"The murals don't work anymore."

"This one has wolves on the border. Look!"

His fatigue temporarily forgotten, Cade focused on the datapad. There was indeed a faded mural depicted with wolves around the border. "Where?"

"A planet in the Maw Cluster."

"That's Abeloth-controlled territory! Are you crazy!"

"I couldn't help it! Several of my friends were taken prisoner and were going to be converted into her Nihilistic Guard. I wasn't about to let that happen. Besides, Alema was with me."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel any better. Where is she?"

At that, Ania's face fell and Cade immediately understood. Though he should have felt her death in the Force, the fact that most of his very large family was dying left and right meant that he had become numb to it all.

"She told me to make sure I get this datapad to you. Told me to tell you that 'you were right'." Ania then reached into the pack she had slung around her shoulder and produced the last thing Cade expected to see. "She said you'd know what to do with this."

"The Dagger of Mortis," Cade was now absolutely nonplussed. The dagger had been on his father when the most powerful fighters of the Free Alliance went out in their attempt to slay Abeloth. The attempt resulted in disaster for the Free Alliance and the dagger being lost. How his cousin ended up with it completely astounded him. "How'd you get this?"

"Alema," Ania said expressionlessly. "She, Ben, Luke, Tyree, and Brynn launched a desperation attack to retrieve the dagger from Abeloth's vault. She was the only one to make it out. We were nearly shot down in the escape."

"You were a part of it?"

"I was the getaway driver," Ania quipped tonelessly. "So what's the deal with the mural?"

"We need to get to the planet this was on," Cade said. "Can you describe where you found it?"

"It was by accident. After freeing the others, we were chased by Abeloth's forces and crash-landed on the planet. We took shelter by this weird stone hill and Alema suddenly got this look on her face. The hill was at least a kilometre in height but was basically one giant rock. Anyways, she started circling the thing and then decided to climb it. When she saw the mural she immediately used the datapad to take a picture of it."

"Can you take me there?"

"Of course."

"We're going to need to pick up two others."

"Who?"

"Azlyn Rae."

"The head of the Imperial Knights Azlyn Rae?" Ania blinked.

"Yeah. And we need to get Ahnah Syn. She's part of the Fifth Fleet."

"I heard over the HoloNet that Fifth Fleet was wiped out yesterday," Ania said hesitantly.

"Ahnah's still alive. Jariah contacted me this morning and said that the survivors were regrouping with the Third Fleet."

"Why those two?"

"To activate the mural, three people are needed. One representing the Son, one the Daughter, and one the Father. Azlyn can dark-shift, Ahnah can light-shift. I'm the Middle Way."

"You could have just said hand-wavy stuff," Ania made a face.

"Fine, hand-wavy stuff."

"You do know that I just barely got out of that place?" Ania said. "Abeloth's people are all over that world. Just the four of us isn't going to do anything."

"Bringing fleets is only going to draw Abeloth's attention."

"I'm coming with you," Deliah said resolutely, forcing herself into a seated position. "Ania can use a gunner."

"Deliah…"

"That isn't up for discussion," Deliah said sternly. "And Jariah will probably want to come with Ahnah too. It'll be like having the old gang back together for one last adventure."

Cade stepped forward and embraced the Zeltron. "Thank you."

"Don't be stupid. You can't get rid of me that easily," Deliah muttered into his chest, gripping him tightly.

Ania watched the two, and then sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Cade closed his eyes. "Me too."

[o-o-[VIII]-o-o]

"Go!" Azlyn Rae yelled out the moment the doorway opened within the rings of wolves. "We don't know if Abeloth can force the doorway open on this side again even if we destroy it."

"We'll cover you," Ahnah Rawk agreed. "Buy you as much time as we can."

Cade cast a glance back over his shoulder. A horde of Abeloth's minions were fast closing on their position. A fiery meteor-like object streaked through the sky, the remains of the ship they had come on burning up as it hit the atmosphere. As skilled as Azlyn and Ahnah were, no one was capable of surviving the incoming onslaught.

"Don't worry," Ahnah smiled faintly. "If this works, we won't have existed in the first place."

Cade exhaled, sending the two of them every ounce of strength he could spare. "Alright."

"Good luck."

"May the Force be with you," both women said in turn.

Cade stepped through the portal and once again found himself in the Netherworld of Unbeing. But the location he emerged from was different than he had expected. With the countless doorways spanning a seemingly infinite void, finding the right one was impossible.

"Come on, Force. Come on," Cade said through gritted teeth. "Where do I go? Which doorway do I pick?"

Behind him the doorway he had come from shattered. As it did, however, Cade heard distant whispers echo through the void. He looked around wildly for the source. And then he saw it, a single glowing doorway in the distance. His heart pounded loudly as he mentally prayed that that particular doorway would lead to some time better than the one he was coming from.

He started towards it.

And then multiple doorways all around shimmered.

"No," Cade whispered, and he began to run.

Multiple sets of silvery eyes blinked open in the darkness, all of them narrowing their focus on to him. The malevolence radiating from these activate portals chilled him to the core.

The timeline is broken. The timeline is broken. The ethereal voice of Abeloth flooded the crossroads like a warning alarm. Each doorway under Abeloth's control rippled as individuals began to rush through. Nihilistic Guard, Force Fiends, Sith spawn. Different timelines under Abeloth's domains unleashing threat after threat.

Cade ran. And ran. The Force exploded out from him like a super-nova, a golden aura that repelled the darkness threatening to consume him. Abeloth's legions seem to realize his goal and they began to send Force energy into the walkway connecting Cade's path to the doorway in question. The pathway began to disintegrate. With a yell, Cade vaulted through the void, sending out a blast of Force energy at the same time that scattered Abeloth's minions like a bowling ball into pins. He landed on the other side in a body-jarring roll and hurriedly got back to his feet. Hands and claws reached out and grabbed at him, but he used his lightsaber to cut his way through.

He was only a few dozen steps away from the activate doorway now, but one of his legs had turned completely black and he toppled onto the walkway. Seeing Abeloth's people in pursuit, Cade sent his own Force energy into the walkway, disintegrating most of its length until only the portion where he was, and the tiny bit left to the doorway remained.

No! An angry roar echoed through the realm. Abeloth's minions were on all the surrounding walkways, staring down at the rapidly decaying Jedi.

Cade gritted his teeth and crawled the rest of the way even as his blackened leg dissolved into dust and the Nihilistic Force poison slowly spread through the rest of his body. He looked through the portal and saw Anakin and Tahiri Solo stepping out of the Veila as they arrived on Denon. Tahiri held a baby in her arms, while a six-year old Cassa Solo blinked owlishly at the rest of her family. Knowing that the scene was well before Abeloth's return, given Cassa Solo's age, he glanced back at the nearest pair of Abeloth's eyes Before he pushed himself into the doorway, he took out the Dagger of Mortis and smiled faintly at the enraged silvery gaze. "You lose."

All went white.

[o-o-[IX]-o-o]

"Myrkr." A female voice almost as rough as sandpaper murmured through parched lips.

"Hmm?"

"That was the time I first realized I truly loved you."

"You mean the time I decided to kiss you and then stupidly run off to my death?"

"Yup."

Two figures were seated atop a sandstone cliff watching two suns slowly sink towards the horizon. Both were slender, hair gray, skin sun-kissed and wrinkled. The female's green eyes followed the setting suns whimsically, the male's closed in fatigue. Nevertheless, the male smiled a faint, lopsided grin.

"It definitely changed my life. Who knew that a kiss could make such a difference?"

"Dummy."

"Yeah."

The two lapsed into silence, their emotions coursing through the Force bond that was as strong as ever. Having been together for nearly a century and a quarter, no words were needed. They had seen their children grow and have children of their own. Had seen the galaxy finally settle into a pattern of relative peace. Both had spent the past few decades living out the remainder of their life on a simple moisture farm. The galaxy-saving had been left to the younger generation. Their friends and the family of their generation had already passed on.

And like all stories, both knew that their own was coming to an end.

"If it hadn't been for that single kiss…"

"I love you, Anakin Solo."

"And I love you, Tahiri Solo."

As the last of the two suns finally dipped below the horizon, the figures of the man and woman on the cliff-side vanished into the air. Their destinies altered.

[o-o-[Story End]-o-o]

A\N: So concludes my little corner of the SW fandom. Thanks again to all who've followed me over the years. If anyone is still interested in my Ultimate quasi-parody trilogy that features the future generation of Solos and Skywalkers a little more, pm me and I can docx them over to you.