"I wish I could take it all with me..."
May leaned her head against Dan's shoulder, relaxed in the strange twilight of the caves.
"You can visit here as often as you like," Dan kissed the top of her head. "And, one day, we'll build a garden big enough to fit this whole world."
The landscape around them was a paradise. Small hills rolled under the rocky ceiling miles above. All the living things here were sized to fit a limited space.
Trees shorter than Dan sprouted in sleepy forests, while hamster-like creatures grazed from their leaves. Elephantine snouts snatched at the branches as tiny bat analogs darted to and fro. They stuffed little, winged insects into their mouths, relish on their little faces.
"I think it's finally sinking in," May's eyes held a shadow. "The fact that everyone else is gone..."
"Don't worry," Dan squeezed her against him. "This new life is different, we can become strong." Dan looked at the ceiling, crystal stars reflected in his eyes. "Strong enough that nothing like that can happen again."
May looked at her hand and flexed a tiny fist. This new body WAS strong, so much so that it scared her. It was already hard to move around, each day she had to relearn how to walk and write.
"How powerful are we going to get?"
"I'm not really sure..." Dan scratched his head. "But some supermen go well beyond universal, and our bloodline includes them all."
May sighed as she settled back to enjoy the scenery. Dan had become obsessed with becoming strong. Fear of repeated loss drove him to plan out a future where they were always safe.
"I just hope we can control ourselves, and I don't mean just keeping our strength in check."
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“Where are we?"
Anakin rubbed at the lump on his head. It had formed when Merlyen had tossed him to the ground, tender to the touch.
"A place that has a lesson to teach," Merlyn waved his staff at the soot-covered flagstone. "This land cries out, remorseful and filled with pain... can you feel it?"
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Anakin frowned. Eyes closed, he tilted his ears to the sky. Behind the wind's howls, another voice touched his heart.
"I can hear someone, a woman..."
The voice shed wordless tears, a muted backdrop that waxed and waned. She wasn't alone. Other voices cursed or screamed, some begged for help or promised him great rewards.
"They're the ghosts of other practitioners," Merlyen dusted his cloak, face solemn. "Magic users that died and refused to move on."
"They're so sad," Anakin placed his hands over his ears. "And loud!"
"Yes, but they'll be quiet soon enough," Maerlyn rolled up his sleeves, staff raised as he began a spell. "Come out and fight, you unwashed bedpan! Behold the mediocre demon, Etrigan!"
"Vengeance will come, just wait and see," The demon walked from the shadows and sniffed the air. "Dark days for you, I can foresee..."
Etrigan took a deep breath of the air, satisfaction on his hellish face. He rose in an expressive stretch, arms pointed to the heavens. Anakin shifted away, his movement a draw for the demon's gaze
"A wonderful place, to meet face to face," The shark-toothed devil smiled as he pointed to himself. "Etrigan's my name, an unwilling servant. A burden we share, if you don't mind my observance!"
"Get to work and round up the evil spirits on this planet," Merlyn shook his staff at the talkative demon. "The boy doesn't need your whispers!"
Etrigan laughed as he faded into the darkness. His disappearance brought a swift silence to the voices, as if their owners hid from the demon's presence.
"What is that thing," Anakin released a breath he didn't know he held. "He's like a black hole, a deep, cold pit..."
"A Greater Demon, a creature born of evil," Merlyn loomed over Anakin. "Something created by the dark side of the so-called force."
"The force... like what the Jedi use?"
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The Scimitar cruised through space, adrift in the depths of the outer rim. A fist, wrapped in black leather, tightened into a vice.
"Lady Kycina..."
Darth Maul stood, yellowed eyes filled with wrath. Someone had killed the clan of his birth. His mother had rejoined the force.
"Dathomir..."
Hands on the Scimitar's controls, Maul plotted his course. A trip home, the first he'd taken since Sidious brought him away. He would visit the Witches and learn who stole his revenge.
Eyes locked on sights from his past, the Sith pressed the hyperspace lever forward. Stars stretched to infinity, and Maul closed his eyes.
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"The air is so fresh and clean!" May charged down the ramp into deep forest loam. "These trees are way bigger than anything on Earth!"
"The gravity here is a bit less," Dan laughed as he followed down the ramp. "So it's easier on the plants when they want to grow big."
"They must be the biggest in the galaxy," May flopped, back first into the thick layer of leaves. "They're taller than most buildings I can remember..."
"Arf-arf!"
Bear belly-flopped onto his mother's face, a ball of energized fur. He snuffled at her eyes, concerned by her intentional collapse.
"Bear..." May pried the pup from her head, cheeks coated in slobber. "Go bug your brother, silly dog!"
"ARF!"
The dog pranced away, his new mission to find and catch his elusive sibling. May wiped her face as Dan joined her on the forest floor.
"With this forest world, we should be at nine planets visited," Dan lay back and gazed at the canopy above. "I would go to Tython itself, but I'd rather not mess around with a force nexus just yet."
"Well then," May poked his side with a finger. "Where to next?"
Dan closed his eyes against the spots of sun between the branches. He wasn't sure. Most of the worlds he wanted to visit were best saved for later, as they held strong masters of the force. Dathomir was an exception, a place filled with force users that Dan did not fear.
"I think I know," A memory surfaced in his mind that hooked his lips into a grin. "Someplace that I want to take Merlyn, It's time to see how closely related his magic is to the force!"