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Chapter Text

The tan-white orb of Zonju V hung large in the viewport. From the bridge of the Jori Lekauf, Darth Paxis stood motionless, his featureless black helmet giving no Indication as to the tumultuous struggle going on within his heart. He could feel it in the Force and his bones. This arid dustball would be where it all ended. One way or another, everything was going to change after today. His gloved fingers brushed the hilt of his lightsaber. He had no doubt it would be tasting blood very soon.

“Apprentice!”

Paxis jerked out of his reverie and glanced around the bridge. The sound was coming from the overhead speakers. Caedus must have ordered the crew to patch him directly into the command deck speakers. Yet another sign that the self-declared Emperor was now utterly devoid of patience. If this turned out to be a false lead or trick, Paxis knew that everyone near Caedus would suffer for it.

“Join me on the Vergere!”

Wincing at the way his Master’s voice screeched from the bridge comm, Paxis glanced at the Lekauf’s captain. “Keep the ship on combat alert, Captain Sorzo,” he said evenly. Directing one finger at the star-speckled void outside, he continued. “I have no doubt there are Jedi StealthX’s waiting for us on the planet.”

The black-skinned Twi’lek snapped a smart salute. “Yes, sir.”

Paxis paused and then sent the next command directly into the captain’s mind. Normally it wasn’t possible to speak mind-to-mind with non-Force users, but Ben Skywalker had known Sorzo since his first space mission with the GAG and they’d forged a unique bond in the years since.

“Once the drop ships reach the surface, jam all communications in-system. Full spectrum. Don’t lift it until you hear otherwise from me.”

He felt Sorzo’s assent in the Force and then Darth Paxis left the bridge without another word, his black cape swirling behind him.

An hour later, Paxis was sitting next to his Master in the unique shuttle that was assigned to the GA Chief of State. With a beskar hull, triple-strength shield generators, StealthX cloaking, two full-grade turbolasers and an auto-tracking tail gun, the ship was the fastest shuttle in the galaxy and any pursuers it couldn’t lose, it could pulverize.

The Emperor’s Hand sat on Caedus’s other side, her long lustrous blonde hair tied up in a neat military-style bun. Like the two Sith Lords, she wore a black molytex combat suit, her silver lightsaber hanging in plain view from her narrow waist.

Paxis extended his senses carefully in the Force. He could sense the elite assault gunship hovering on their tail and the escort of six Mark IV StealthX’s. All the escorts were piloted by Jensaarai adepts and the former carried every combat-worthy Force-user that could be found on Susevfi. Of all the Force-using groups that Jacen Solo had studied with, the Jensaarai had been the only ones who had answered his call to arms at the end of the Second Civil War. Ever since, their stronghold in the Suarbi system had become a Sith stronghold where any captured or surrendering Force-sensitives were sent and trained or tortured into submission as needed.

Paxis could sense nearly two score of the masked warriors accompanying them, including Caedus’s four elite protectors, who were riding in the rear compartment of the shuttle. The presence of so many elite warriors, many of whom he had trained himself, gave Paxis a measure of comfort. Still, he couldn’t help but stroke the hilt of his saber again.

Caedus caught his concern, as always, and threw a yellow-eyed stare his way.

“Nervous, apprentice?”

Unable to hide his anxiety from his Master, Darth Paxis nodded, grateful his feature were still hidden behind his mask.

“No Jedi is a match for us, Lord Paxis. Surely you must know that by now.”

“You said Jaina is still too strong for me.”

“For you alone, perhaps,” Caedus replied. “But we are two with the best assassin in the galaxy.” He threw his Hand a fond, almost lecherous look and Paxis resisted the urge to vomit in his his mask. “And forty of the best swordsmen and women in our ranks.”

When Paxis made no reply to this, his Master shifted to look directly at him. “Remove your mask.” His tone made it clear that it was an order. Hesitating for a moment, Paxis complied. The black helmet came off his head and Paxis brushed a sweaty lock of red-gold hair out of his eyes. Caedus looked at him with the kind, gentle look that Ben remembered from his childhood.

“Don’t be afraid, Ben,” he said and for a moment the past ten years melted away and Ben was looking at his cousin who he’d idolized above anyone else. “I know Jaina is strong, but even she can’t stand against us both.”

Ben nodded once but his anxiousness must have still shown on his face because Jacen-he couldn’t think of him as Caedus in that moment-reached out and brushed one soft hand against his cheek. The gesture reminded Ben uncomfortably of his father’s ghostly palm on his face and he shoved the memory as deep as it could go.

“This is the last battle of our time,” Jacen said, a soft smile on his face. “After today, the last of the Jedi rabble will be crushed. We’ll take Allana back and then the four of us will go on a long holiday.”

“I was thinking Alakatha,” Tahiri said from Jacen’s other side.

“Alakatha is nice,” Jacen allowed. “But Rathalay has the best beaches.”

“Naboo is nice too,” Ben couldn’t help but say. For a second he let himself dream of a real vacation. Him, his cousin, the closest thing he had to an older sister and his niece. All of them lying in the sun, enjoying the sand and sunshine. No wars, no Jedi or Sith. Just his family, all of them living in peace together. Jacen smiled back and was about to say something, when the Force rippled. Then a familiar presence brushed against them and Ben saw Jacen’s eyes turned an incandescent orange.

“Jaina…” the older man’s voice sounded nearly feral and Ben saw the remnant of Jacen Solo be subsumed by the all-consuming fury of Darth Caedus. His Master didn’t look away, but he was the Dark Lord of the Sith again and Darth Paxis felt his blood chill as he felt the dark side gather around them in an arctic squall.

Caedus’s hand fell away from Paxis’s cheek and the Dark Lord flashed a ferocious grin. “Don your mask, Lord Paxis. The prey has sensed us and the hunt has begun.” He looked away and began snapping orders into the comm to the Jensaarai. Paxis took the opportunity to slide his helmet back on, grateful for the plasteel cover. As the shuttle was rattled by sudden turbulence, Darth Paxis felt something wet slide down his cheek. Burying his emotions as deep as he could, the Sith Lord reinforced his mental shields and tried to sit in silence as the ship descended rapidly.

The Jungle of Spires was a wide valley that stretched ten kilometres in length. The entire barren expanse was dotted my massive rock plinths. Darth Paxis couldn’t begin to imagine what sort of geologic activity in the distant past could have produced such a phenomenon.

Even as the small squadron dropped into the valley proper, a thick mist swept across their immediate vicinity, robbing the pilots of visuals. Surveying the sudden meteorological change from the passenger lounge viewscreen, Darth Caedus snorted contemptuously.

“I see Streen is still alive and wheezing,” the Dark Lord remarked acidly. “Tawdry Jedi tricks.”

The shuttle and its escorts wove around the unseen obstacles with ease. Any Force-user worth their lightsaber could navigate obstructions blindfolded. It was one of the first lessons taught to initiates.

“Not for much longer,” Paxis said from beneath his mask.

“Indeed,” Caedus said malevolently. The shuttle and its escorts soared on.

The mists didn’t delay them and soon the ships were setting down at the narrow mouth of a cavern. The StealthX’s would have been able to squeeze their way into the tight opening but the two larger craft couldn’t hope to. The entire formation set down on the rubble-littered stone outside the cave and the elite warriors filed out, forming ranks and readying weapons.

Darth Paxis surveyed the dozens of armored warriors readying their lightsabers and heavy blaster carbines. A few of the Jensaarai had received specialized training in the use of longblasters, flamethrowers and other ranged weapons. Caedus had brought almost all the warriors of that Order to Zonju V and Paxis could feel their anticipation boiling in the Force like molten lava. One way or another, Paxis thought to himself, today would mark the end of many things.

The Sith contingent had made it nearly halfway through the darkened cavern when Paxis’s danger sense flared in warning. The others all sensed the danger as well and over forty lightsabers snapped to life with a chorus of snap-hisses. Paxis didn’t need his helmet’s enhanced optical sensors to detect the dozens of robed figures emerging from the cavern shadows.

“Such a warm welcome,” Caedus proclaimed, his sonorous voice booming off the cavern walls.

A tall Wookiee and a slightly shorter Barabel appeared at the forefront  of the Jedi ranks. Both held blazing lightsabers and were glaring at Caedus with a barely-restrained anger that warmed the Force like fire.

“Hello, Lowie,” Caedus said, his lightsaber remaining unlit and clipped to his belt. Of all the Force-users in the cavern, he was the only one without a weapon in hand.

“Leave this place at once, Sith!” Tesar Sebatyne’s voice was a low rasp that was filled with anger and warning.

“As soon as you return my daughter to me,” Caedus replied smoothly. He spread his hands widely in magnanimity. “Nobody needs to get hurt here. The galaxy is at peace, Tesar.”

“Peace built on the blood of millions of innocents,” Seha Dorvald spat, her azure blade burning bright and lighting her tanned face. She looked less angry than she had on Parochi, nine months ago, but Paxis sensed her resolve had not weakened a bit.

“Some sacrifices must be made for the greater good,” Caedus said smoothly, still projecting an aura of peace into the Force. “Come, Seha, there’s no need for this. Don’t you remember how I saved you from the undercity all those years ago? I am not the villain the Jedi paint me to be.”

“Tell that to the hundreds of people your soldiers killed on Ossus,” Ohali Soroc hissed, her own blue blade humming in her pale hands.

“Major Serpa was under orders not to kill anyone,” Caedus replied, keeping his tone even. “His lamentable lapse of control is something I regret to this day.”

Lowbacca yowled something about a yuugrr’s words and how they could never be trusted.

“Enough talk,” Jaden Korr said, stepping from the shadows and igniting his yellow lightsaber. The pale light of the weapon illuminated the human male’s bearded face, his scars faintly visible.

“Surrender, Caedus.”

“I offer you the same choice, Master Korr. All of you, lay down your weapons and we may reach an accord.”

“Sith lies,” Yaqeel Saav’etu snarled and leapt from her position atop a half-broken pillar, her emerald blade blazing brightly. Lowbacca barked a warning, but it was too late. Caedus shook his head mournfully and then snarled in sudden, vicious fury. Violet arcs of Force lightning sprang from his fingertips and crashed into the Bothan Jedi. The purple tendrils of lethal power actually wrapped around the Jedi’s raised lightsaber and sank their forked tongues into her fur and flesh. A sickening stench of burned hair and meat filled the cave and the Bothan’s charred body fell to the rocky ground, dead before she even struck stone.

All of the assembled Jedi froze, stunned by the incredible display of deadly power.

“Kill them,” Darth Caedus said sadly. “Kill them all.”

With a collective roar, the Jensaarai charged at their enemies, their weapons drawn and spitting plasma, laser bolts and scorching flame.

Carnage filled the vast subterranean hall. Battle cries, screams of the wounded and death shrieks echoed off the high walls. Jedi and Jensaarai were locked in dozens of deadly duels, lightsabers flashing, vibrodaggers humming, flamethrowers spitting fire in all directions.

Standing a good distance from the fray, Caedus, Paxis and the Emperor’s Hand all watched the melee dispassionately.

“I should go help,” Paxis said, feeling guilty as he saw one of the Jensaarai, a lithe woman wearing a verdant acklay mask fall to Lowbacca’s bronze blade.

“By all means, apprentice,” Caedus said, still sounding as calm as if he was taking a stroll through Peace Park on Coruscant. Paxis resisted the urge to throw his Master a wary look and charged ahead to the battle. Snatching his chrome lightsaber hilt off his waist, he raced ahead, the scarlet blade snapping to life in his hands. Moving with preternatural speed, Paxis swept his blade up in a strong block that halted Tesar Sebatyne’s viridian blade from colliding with a Jensaarai who’d already lost one arm and wore a white nexu mask.

“Ben,” Tesar snarled, “Why do you serve Jacen?”

“My name isn’t Ben,” Paxis snarled back and knocked Tesar’s saber backwards before launching a series of blindingly fast attacks. The Barabel Jedi Master managed to parry every one, fighting with the same speed and skill that Ben Skywalker had once see the late Saba Sebatyne display.

They spun and slashed at each other, lightsabers sparking off armored pauldrons and thick reptilian scales. Whirling away, Paxis called on the Force with his anger and sent a sizeable boulder flying off the cavern floor directly at Tesar’s head. The Barabel ducked the projectile only to face a hail of similar rocks as Paxis let his rage crest in the Force, a storm of dark waters rising up in his heart.

One of the boulders broke through Tesar’s defenses and struck him hard on the side of his scaly head. Springing nimbly forward, Paxis arced his blade for that vulnerable spot only to be swept off his feet by a huge scaly tail. Catching himself in the Force, the Sith Lord somersaulted in mid-air and landed lightly on his feet before launching a fresh attack.

Tesar met him halfway, their lightsabers pressing hard against each other.

“Jacen is doomed,” Tesar hissed. “He will never survive today.”

“Maybe,” Paxis said, stentorian beneath his mask. “But you won’t live to see it!” With Force-enhanced strength he shoved his opponent’s blade backwards before sending another volley of boulders flying at the Barabel. The huge reptiloid stumbled and in that moment, Darth Paxis struck with all his anger and hatred. A crackling storm of deep blue lighting sprang from his hands and slammed into the off-balance Jedi Master. The lethal arcs of energy dug into the Barabel’s skin, their deadly tendrils burrowing beneath scales and searing the meat beneath. Tesar Sebatyne howled in pain, much as his mother had a decade earlier when she’d faced Darth Caedus. Paxis ramped up the power and Tesar’s final howl echoed off the high ceiling before his charred corpse hit the floor.

“Well done, apprentice.” Darth Caedus remarked from a dozen feet away. Paxis turned to see his Master raising both hands. For a moment he though his Master was actually going to applaud him. But then the Force turned arctic with fury and Paxis, having a sudden intuition, raised his crimson blade in a hasty guard.

A veritable storm of violet lightning sparked from Caedus’s fingertips, more potent than Paxis had ever seen before. The crackling maelstrom swept across the battlefield in a deadly tempest that scorched everything it touched. The raging torrent of power arced into the nearest of the Jedi. Ohali Soroc screamed in short-lived agony as the power of the dark side turned her blue skin a pitch black. Dozens of other Jedi wailed and howled as the dark storm passed over them, searing their skin and electrifying their skeletons.

Miraculously, the Force storm seemed to avoid the remaining Jensaarai, the crooked purple bolts weaving around them with impossible precision. One by one, the Jedi Knights fell, their death cries cutting off as their burned bodies hit the floor. Despite their deaths, the storm raged, forking around Paxis and circling in on the few surviving Jedi Masters. Of the three dozen Jedi who had attacked, only Jaden Korr and Lowbacca remained standing, their lightsabers held tightly as they deflected Darth Caedus’s fury.

Abruptly the storm ceased and Caedus spoke again, not a hint of strain audible in his voice.

“You started with thirty and now only two remain. Surrender, Master Korr. You have no chance of success.”

“Jedi don’t surrender,” Kyle Katarn’s old Padawan declared, his voice low and cold.

“So be it,” Caedus said, shrugging. He looked at Darth Paxis. “Finish him, apprentice.”

Spinning on the haggard Jedi Master, Paxis dashed at him. At the edges of his awareness, he could sense his Master charging ahead as well. Even as Paxis’s crimson blade smashed into Korr’s yellow sword, he saw Darth Caedus attacking Lowbacca, his own lightsaber finally ignited.

Paxis only caught glimpses of their fight, preoccupied by his own adversary. Korr slashed and spun with impressive skill, but Paxis could feel the other man’s exhaustion. The remaining Jensaarai and the Emperor’s Hand formed a circle around the two Sith Lords and their opponents. Korr whirled and slashed at Paxis’s legs, which the Sith Lord avoided with an easy Force leap. Twisting in mid-air, Paxis kicked out with both legs, the Force lending his feet strength. Jaden Korr was caught in the chest by the blow and flew across the circle, crashing into the floor before the standing sentinels.

Not giving the Jedi a chance to recover, and recalling Korr’s skill from their duel on Coruscant, Darth Paxis sent a crackling torrent of blue lightning surging towards the man. The corrupt energy surged into the fallen Jedi, wrapping him in a web of cobalt light. Korr’s screams reverberated throughout the cavern but Paxis didn’t stop the barrage until the Jedi Master lay unconscious, his charred skin and robes smoking.

His own opponent beaten, Paxis turned to see Lowbacca down on his knees, one furry arm clutching the glowing stump protruding from his other shoulder. The severed limb was laying a few feet away, the Jedi Master’s lightsaber clutched in it’s furry hand.

Caedus looked over his defeated foe like a malevolent deity surveying a supplicant.

“It’s over, Lowie. Don’t make me kill you.”

Lowbacca roared defiantly, his pain leaking into the Force. The bowed Jedi Master extended his remaining hand towards his lightsaber, only for Caedus’s blade to come down in a scarlet blur, severing his paw at the wrist. The Wookiee let out a fresh howl of pain which was mercifully cut off when a blast of violet lightning sent him into unconsciousness.

Caedus looked over the fallen form of his oldest friend and shook his head in disappointment. Then he turned his molten gaze to Paxis and the Sith Lord resisted the urge to shiver.

“Come, apprentice,” the Emperor said. “Allana awaits.”

The Sith Lords and their escorts navigated a long stretch of barren tunnel before coming before what appeared to be a vast underground temple.

“Scout ahead,” Paxis ordered and all of the surviving Jensaarai fanned out into the wide reaches of the chamber along with the Emperor’s Hand. They had left half a dozen of the masked warriors behind in the cavern to take the few surviving Jedi prisoner and a half score had fallen to their Jedi opponents.

“Where do you think they’re keeping her?” Paxis asked his Master cautiously.

“Somewhere in the depths, I expect,” Caedus said, his thumbs hooked easily into his belt. “The Jensaarai will find her soon enough. The Dark Lord began to walk among the ruined reliefs and shattered pillars that littered the vast chamber.

Darth Paxis fingered his dormant lightsaber again, feeling extremely uneasy. This had been too easy. He was just starting to consider calling some of their guard back when the Force rippled with surprise. The Sith Lord whirled to see a single brown-robed figure spring out from behind a broken column, a purple lightsaber humming to life in her hands.

Jaina Solo leapt at Darth Caedus in silence, moving so fast that a normal person would have seen nothing more than a blur. Caedus evaded the strike with ease, however and stepped back a few feet, keeping his hands at his side.

“Hello, Jaina,” he said, a half-smile crossing his face. His sister said nothing, attacking with renewed speed and strength. But again, Caedus was too quick for her. Her saber slashed, stabbed and thrust, striking nothing but empty air. Finally, she grunted in frustration and threw up a hand in a Force push. Caedus spread his palms, deflecting the invisible attack with ease.

“Where is my daughter, Jaina?”

“Out of your reach,” Jaina hissed, spinning into a fresh attack. Paxis could feel the smooth currents of the light side flowing through her, granting her increased strength and agility. Her motions grew even faster and more unpredictable and after a slash that nearly took his legs off at the knees, Caedus unsheathed his own blade with a growl.

“I won’t ask again,” he snarled, batting away Jaina’s next attack with a heavy blow that sent her staggering backwards.

“Good,” Jaina said and launched into an acrobatic series of slashes and stabs. Paxis could feel Caedus’s simmering rage begin to boil and his Master rejoined the fight, heavy chops and lateral swings missing Jaina by a hairsbreadth.

The Jedi Master’s violet blade sheared off a lock of the Dark Lord’s hair, nearly scorching his scalp. The Force erupted with a tidal wave of fury and Jaina was nearly bowled off her feet by a Force shockwave that staggered Paxis.

“Enough!” The Dark Lord of the Sith bellowed, the ceiling shaking with his rage. “I did my best to spare your comrades above, but my patience has been exhausted.” A handful of sizeable stone fragments leapt off the floor and began to fly at Jaina. She dodged each impromptu missile with ease but when she landed, Paxis could see her breathing heavily.

“Allana’s better off without you!”

Paxis made a move to reach for his own saber but felt the invisible hand of the Force arrest his motion.

“No, apprentice,” Caedus said coldly. “This fight is mine.” Then he sprang, scarlet blade reigniting, striking with such fury and speed that it looked like there were twenty blades instead of one. Jaina met the attack with impressive skill and the two combatants struck so swiftly that even Paxis could only see a blur of red and purple.

“She’s my daughter!”

“You don’t deserve her!”

“That’s not yours to decide!”

“She’s better off without you. The whole galaxy is! You’re a monster!”

The crimson fire abruptly vanished as Caedus stepped back and unleashed a devastating storm of Force lighting. The corrupt energy surged from his fingertips and crashed into Jaina’s lightsaber which was, ironically, the same color. Violet met violet and both siblings growled in exertion. Jaina’s fair features looked pained and weary but Caedus’s smooth face was twisted into an inhuman mask of hatred. His eyes were a fiery orange-red and his mouth was bared in a ferocious snarl.

“Tell me where my daughter is,” Caedus hissed, the lightning ramping up even higher, the violet tendrils glowing so bright they nearly blinded Paxis even through his mask’s protective filters. “Tell me now or I’ll break your mind and your body and tear the answers from the shattered remains!”

“Never!” The word was shouted over the hiss of the lightning. Caedus growled and continued to press the attack, slowly advancing on Jaina, his manic gaze focused single-mindedly on his sister’s flagging form. Paxis stared at his Master’s back and then, slowly, cautiously, took a step forward. Caedus didn’t seem to even notice him and the younger man began to stalk closer to the battle.

Wrapped in a cage of violet lightning, Jaina was almost on her knees, the relentless storm of power bearing down on her. Only her upraised lightsaber and her mighty will kept the lightning flowing into her blade instead of dancing across her skin and burning her life away as it had so many others already.

Paxis was nearly at Caedus’s shoulder when he heard Jaina croak a final taunt over the crackle of the lightning. “You’ll never win, Caedus!”

“I already have, dear sister.”

“No.” Darth Paxis said and he pressed the emitter of his lightsaber against Darth Caedus’s back and squeezed the activation plate. The elder Sith twisted a moment before the scarlet beam of energy speared through him, just missing his spine and burning a smoking hole into his guts.

Chapter Text

Ben had the pleasure of hearing Caedus gasp in pain and he pressed himself against the older man’s body and whispered low into his ear. “That’s for my father.” He grinned beneath his mask as he heard Caedus grunt and the sound was like sweet music to his ears. He’d waited a decade for this moment. Caedus slowly turned his head to face Ben but when he did, Ben’s breath froze in his lungs. There was a terrible look of triumph and naked satisfaction on Jacen’s face. A look Ben Skywalker had only seen once before, on the Anakin Solo ten years ago. The day he’d seen his father become one with the Force.

Years of Sith training prompted him to rip the blade free of Jacen’s body to ensure the kill, but as the Sith Lord’s glowing orange eyes focused on him, Ben found he couldn’t move a muscle. He felt Jacen’s hands close on his own, holding him fast in place, tiny bolts of lightning trickling from the manicured hands into Ben’s flesh.

“Finally,” Jacen said and in that moment he didn’t look remotely human. His eyes were sunken fiery orbs, his flesh pale and clammy, his mouth a rictus of absolute delight. His grip tightened on Ben and the lightning coursing into him began to intensify.

“Ten years, Ben. I waited for you to do this for ten years.” The brutal grip tightened even more and Ben could hear his bones beginning to crack under the pressure. Desperate, fear clawing up his throat, Ben called on all the strength he had, both physical and the Force, trying to tear the blade free. Instead, Jacen’s grip tightened to bone-crushing and with an agonized moan, Ben’s fingers involuntarily let go of his lightsaber hilt.

The crimson blade died away and the shaft clattered to the floor. Now free of the deadly beam, Jacen turned to face Ben fully, still smiling. “I’m impressed with your level of cunning. Orchestrating Allana’s kidnapping? Collaborating with the Jedi? Pretending to search fruitlessly for months? Very impressive indeed.” Now he actually shook his head in disappointment. “But if you’re going to swing for the king, Ben, you’d better not miss.”

The lightning became an agonizing torrent that sent Ben flying across the temple floor, violet tendrils wrapping around him, searing his flesh and frying his bones. He crashed into something solid, he wasn’t sure what. His entire body was awash with pain, the agony battling with the unreasoning fear that he’d failed. He’d tried to kill his master and he’d failed and now he was going to be punished like he’d never been punished before.

Lying half-prone on the floor, Ben managed to look up only to see nothing but static. The lightning barrage had overloaded the shielded circuits of his mask and now he could see nothing.  A flick of the Force threw the helmet off just in time for him to see Jacen approaching, a sorrowful look on his face now. The hole in Jacen’s guts was still smoking, a glowing empty circle the size of a thumbnail through which Ben could actually see the stone temple beyond. Behind Jacen, Ben could sense Jaina stirring feebly, the final lightning onslaught having broken through her defenses. No help would be coming from that quarter.

He didn’t know what was scarier, the prospect of being punished for his monumental betrayal or the fact that his master was actually standing after getting stabbed in the kriffing stomach.

“Ben, Ben, Ben,” Jacen said, coming to a stop just three feet away. “What am I going to do with you?”

The words were the exact same one Jacen had said on the worst day of Ben’s life. The day he’d watched his father be struck down while he’d lain helpless in a Yuuzhan Vong torture rack.

“Please…” Ben said, feeling tears forming at the corners of his eyes. “Master, please…”

“What have I always told you, Ben?”

“Mercy, please…” Ben managed to gasp through his fear and pain. Violet lightning enveloped him and his words vanished in an animal howl.

“Mercy.”

Another flash of lighting.

“Is.”

The energy ramped up and Ben howled again.

“A.”

A thousand wicked fingers sank their sharp claws into Ben Skywalker’s skin.

“Lie.”

Ben felt agony like he’d never felt before. His entire world was blue fire, the lightning eating away at his flesh and his soul with the all-consuming cold of the dark side.

“Please…” he sobbed. “Mom…dad…, please. Help me!” The refrain was a familiar one, having been uttered dozens of times during his months of torture at Jacen’s hands.

“Your parents are gone,” Jacen said, his sorrow actually sounding genuine. “Gone because of your mistakes. All you have left is me, Ben. And I love you. I’m doing this for your own good.”

Words failed Ben now but the pain only ramped up more.

“Pain is a teacher,” Jacen said quietly, barely audible over the crackling. “Pain will make you strong, my boy.”

“No.”

A voice Ben knew as well as his own boomed throughout the ruined hall. He managed to open his eyes to see the familiar ghostly figure of his father standing before him. The lightning had stopped and through the translucent spectral form, he could see Jacen’s mouth falling open in genuine shock.

“This ends today, Jacen.”

Jacen actually took a step backwards and for the first time he could recall, Ben saw actual fear on his master’s face.

“I….I…” Jacen seemed to swallow before continuing. “You’re dead. You can’t stop me.”

Luke said nothing, he didn’t shift a muscle. But a massive column flew off the ground and sailed right at Jacen’s torso. The Sith Lord gestured to stop the missile in mid-air but the gesture seemed to do nothing. Eyes widening, Ben saw his cousin backflip out of the way and land shakily on his feet.

“Nice trick,” Jacen said carefully. Two huge boulders leapt off the ground and flew from opposite directions towards him. Jacen rocketed upwards, barely missing being pulverized as the twin stones smashed into each other.

“Okay, fine,” Jacen said, hissing in pain. The hole in his guts had stopped smoking but it clearly still debilitated him. “What do you want from me, Uncle Luke?”

Ben could see a bit of his father’s face from where he lay supine. He shivered at the cold look Luke Skywalker directed at his nephew. “I want you to die, Jacen.”

Jacen scowled now and he raised his trembling hands towards the ghost. “You first.” Violet lighting reignited and shot towards Ben’s father. The blue ghost gestured with both hands and the deadly stream halted, caught in his spectral palms. Jacen gasped but continued the onslaught, pouring his anger and hatred into his attack. Lightning bolts as thick as cables surged into Luke Skywalker. The only seeming effect they had was to make him glow even brighter.

“I am the Emperor,” Jacen screamed, his eyes now glowing a molten orange again. He ramped up his attack, somehow still standing and attacking despite the lightsaber hole in his torso. “I am Darth Caedus! Dark Lord of the Sith!”

But the renewed assault had no visible effect. If anything, Ben’s father was looking more and more solid. “You’re still Jacen,” Luke said, not moving from his guard stance over Ben. “And you can come back from this. There are still people who love you.”

Jacen actually laughed, a shrill shriek of disbelief. “I’ve burned planets! I’ve killed innocents. I tortured your own son, Luke! And after all that you expect me to believe you still love me?”

“No,” Luke Skwalker said, his voice even. “But she does.” One ghostly finger pointed to the red-haired teenage girl that now stood a few meters away, her brandy-brown eyes wide in horror.

“Allana,” Jacen gasped, the lightning barrage dying out instantly. Ben could feel Jacen’s emotions, naked and tender as he stared at the one person in the galaxy he loved unconditionally. The same person he’d turned to the dark side for. The child he would do anything for.

“Father,” Allana said quietly. Jacen moved towards her but the young woman held up a flat palm and he stopped three meters away.

“I know what you’ve done,” Allana said, her voice quiet and subdued. “I know about the murders, the massacres, the mass executions. Everything you sought to conceal from me. I know them all now.”

“I…” Jacen’s voice trailed off.

“My mother. Your aunt. Kashyyyk. Ossus. Fondor.”

Jacen’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly. Finding a reserve of strength inside he didn’t know he had, Ben managed to stand up, his legs quivering like Sullustan jelly. Jacen had been very careful to hide any mention of his numerous atrocities from his daughter over the years.

“How many innocent people have you killed, Father? How many mothers and father and sons and daughters died so you could have a throne?”

“Millions,” Jacen said, the words coming out like gravel in his throat. “But I did it all for you, Allana.”

“No,” Allana said calmly. “I never asked you for that. I want no part of a throne built on the bones of the innocent. I do not want a mad butcher for a father.”

“What…” Jacen’s voice failed him for a moment before he continued, tears shining in his dark eyes. Ben supposed that, for Jacen, this had to be his absolute worst nightmare. His precious child, his darling daughter, now aware of just how horrific a monster her father was. “What do you want, sweetheart?”

“I want you to restore democracy,” Allana said firmly, her voice that of a Hapan royal. “I want you to step down from your office and allow the Jedi to resume their role in the galaxy.”

Ben could tell Jacen wanted to scoff in disgust but he somehow held his tongue.

“I want us to be a family,” Allana said, now taking a step towards Jacen. “I want you to be my real father. Not a mad tyrant soaked in the blood of countless victims.”

Jacen looked incredulously at Allana before looking back to Luke and Ben. Then he seemed to come back to himself and shook his head decisively. “I’ve gone too far down the dark path to ever turn back.”

“That’s not true,” a new voice said. Leia Organa Solo stepped out from behind a pillar, her hands empty and her eyes directed to her only living son. “My father came back from an even darker path. You can come back too, Jacen.”

“Mom…” Jacen whispered, staring at his mother with misty eyes.

“You can turn back, Jacen,” Luke said calmly. “Anakin Skywalker did it. And so can you.”

“You can start right here,” Leia said, extending a hand to her son. “We can make everything right starting today.”

To Ben’s utter disbelief, Jacen was wavering before his eyes, tears welling up in his cousin’s dark brown eyes.

“I…I don’t know how,” Jacen admitted, his voice almost a whisper.

“We’ll figure it out together,” Allana said, closing the distance between them and taking Jacen’s hand in her own. “The Jedi have opened my eyes, father. But I still love you. Let us restore freedom to the galaxy. Together.”

Jacen took his daughter’s hand and stared at her, stunned. The Force itself seemed to hold it’s breath for a long, paralyzing moment.

“All right,” Jacen breathed. “All right.”

That was too much for Ben and he let out a pain-maddened howl of fury and charged at his former master. Grabbing the entranced Emperor, Ben ejected the secret  vibroblade from his wrist gauntlet and stabbed Jacen right through the heart.

“That’s for my mother,” he spat angrily but Jacen didn’t seem to even hear him. His eyes had gone slack and his mouth was hanging open. The complete lack of satisfaction only enraged Ben further and he drew out the dagger only to thrust it back in again and again.

“I hate you!” He screamed, plunging the sharp blade through flesh, blood and bone. Blood, bright arterial red, sprayed everywhere, splattering Ben’s face, hands and mouth. He tasted it on his tongue and he cried out in exultation.

“You took everything from me,” he howled, a decade of hidden hostilities flowing out of him. Jacen’s shuddering body began to grow limp in his grasp, the vibroblade clattering to the stone. “You killed my mom. You killed my dad. You made me into a killer just like you! I hate you!”

Jacen gasped, breath leaving his lungs as his heart ceased beating. A single hand reached up weakly to stroke Ben’s cheek.

“I…I…”

Ben bent down instinctively to hear his cousin’s last words.

“I’m sorry,” Jacen whispered, breath rattling in his lungs.

In an instant all the anger and hatred flowed out of Ben, leaving him feeling hollow and empty inside. He barely heard Allana’s shriek, barely felt his father’s ghostly hands dragging him away. He didn’t hear what Leia and Allana were saying, could barely sense the outpouring of Force energy from the two of them.

He managed to look up to see his father’s face, no longer spectral but solid and flesh-toned. A hand of flesh and blood stroked his cheek gently.

“You did well, Ben.”

“No I didn’t,” Ben sobbed. “I failed mom. I got her killed. I got you both killed.”

“It’s alright,” Luke whispered soothingly.

“No it’s not,” Ben sobbed harder, a decade of repressed regrets finally pouring out. “I turned to the dark side! I became a Sith Lord!”

“You’ve turned away now,” Luke said. “The darkness has passed.” Ben felt his father’s hands lifting him to his feet and he blinked away tears to see Allana and Leia crouched over Jacen who was, miraculously, sitting up, the wounds on his torso somehow healed.

“It’s passed over all of us now.”

Jacen was staring down at his unmarked chest with a look of wonder. Ben noted absently that his eyes were their normal brandy-brown again. His cousin stared up at him as he approached and then, carefully, handed him a lightsaber. Ben took it shakily, recognizing it as Caedus’s saber. He knew it well from their countless sparring sessions over the years.

“I’m sorry, Ben,” Jacen said quietly. “I know there’s no forgiveness for what I’ve done. So you can have this.” The older man looked up at Ben with genuine repentance in his eyes. “That’s my life, Ben. You can take it right now if you want.”

Ben, to his own amazement, shook his head. He dropped to his knees and took the saber. “I don’t want you to die, Jacen. Even after everything you did, after all the pain and torture, I…” His voice trailed off and for a second he couldn’t speak.

“I don’t hate you anymore. I think…I still love you. Despite all of it. I don’t want to. But I still do.” Tears flowed freely down his cheeks and the only thing that kept him from sinking into catalepsy was his father’s strong hand on his shoulder, as warm and solid as if he were still alive.

“It’s over now, Ben,” Luke said, holding Ben like he was a child again. “You did well. It’s done.”

And then a new voice reached his ears, one he’d longed to hear for so very long.

“I’m here, Ben.”

Ben opened his teary eyes to see the glowing blue spectre of his mother. She looked as beautiful as she had in life. Red flowing down her shoulders, emerald eyes as bright as stars.

“Mom,” Ben sobbed and Mara enveloped him in an embrace. On the cold temple floor, Ben sat on the cracked stone, both his parents’ arms wrapped around him and he knew that despite all the pain and suffering, everything was going to somehow be alright.