~~Flashback~~

Life was good for a time. After my mother had been named Regent of Mandalore by the Jedi, we'd moved into the Sundari Palace, where my Aunt Satine lived before… before she was killed by Maul… Anyway, for a few short months, Mom and I were happy. Mandalore was prospering as a planet of honorable and powerful warriors, not the ruthless monsters Death Watch originally aimed for, but not the pacifists Aunt Satine desired either. Mother was teaching me all she knew about our history, culture, and way of life.

Like I said, life was good.

However, it wasn't long before he came along. When the Saxon Clan betrayed Mom, after the Empire took over, they sent reports to the Emperor and Vader about a 'child of interest,' as they they referred to me. After so much fighting, retreating, settling, and repeat, the Emperor sent him to find me.

The Mandalorian Resistance had settled yet another camp in the wilderness of Mandalore. Death Watch loyalists, Mandalorian Rebels, and all manner of Mandalore Warriors had banded together to fight against the Imperial Occupation and Saxon Clan. For years I sat by, a child, as my own people fought against each other and the Empire. I was always guarded whenever our camp was attacked, and when attacks were planned, I was left behind. Understandable, I am just a child, but it was unsettling not knowing where my mother went off to, or what she was doing.

One day, a large squad of Stormtroopers and Saxon warriors attacked our base camp. Leading them was a man of the Empire. He wore a pitch black suit, a cape draped over his shoulders. His arms and legs were easily identifiable as machine, and the skull-like mask he wore with the helmet were menacing in their own right. What really solidified who and what this man was, was his breathing through his mask. Heavy, and slow; emphasised by the technology that keeps him breathing. And when he pulled out a red lightsaber, everyone knew who he was.

Darth Vader.

Darth fucking Vader is attacking the camp. And he's devastating the Resistance. Warriors are shooting at him with their blasters, he just deflects the shots. Rockets that are sent in his direction are telekinetically reversed back at their owners. Anyone who tried to hit him up close and personal, got stabbed through the chest with his lightsaber. No way is the Emperor going to send his right hand just to deal with some Resistance on Mandalore. Vader is here for a reason, and I think I know what it is.

Me.

I think Mom realised this as well. She seemed to be the only one who was capable of attacking Vader without being stabbed through in an instant. She was ruthless in her attacks against the cyborg sith, and it looked like he wouldn't get out of the situation for a moment. However, it wasn't long before he caught her by her wrist, and threw her to the ground. Fear struck me as my mother's head collided with the ground. She didn't pass out, but she was disorientated. If what happened next hadn't happened, she might have died.

Vader had his saber up, just seconds away from cutting my mother down where she stood. I'd never managed to do anything with the gifts I'd been given in this universe, but if I wanted to save my mother, I had to find it, now. All of the fear I felt as Vader swung his blade exploded, and I acted on instinct. I thrust my arms out, screaming.

"MOM!" My voice caught Vader's attention before he was thrown several yards away by an invisible force; my invisible Force. Several of the Mandalorians surrounding us saw this, and were shocked. As were the Imperials as they noticed their Lord on the ground, caught off guard by a child.

~~Flashback End~~

I let out a groan as my eyes flickered open. My eyes hurt as the sun hit them unexpectedly, and I felt a sharp pain in my side as I tried to get up. Letting out a pained hiss, I gripped my side, feeling bandages wrapping around my stomach. Taking a good look at myself, I saw that my upper body armour had been removed. From the waist down, my clothing was untouched. I was completely topless, aside from the bandages around my stomach.

Taking in my surroundings, I found myself in a small hut, with a window, from which the sun was shining in through. There wasn't much to say about the hut, to be honest. A few chairs, a table, a small kitchen, and two doors that I would assume lead to a refresher and a bedroom. Aside from a plant or two, there was little to nothing to decorate the place. Strange thing though, I felt a familiar presence nearby, though I couldn't make out who or what it was, or where.

The Fatigue was strong in me… Heh.

"What… happened?" I asked, more myself than anyone else. I vaguely recall the whole ordeal with the Imperial Camp, and the Holocron. Having gotten the Holocron, I knocked a trooper off of his speeder and used said speeder to, well, speed off into the distance, towards the town where I had my ship docked. I didn't want to dock in the same town, so as to not draw suspicion to it, and I didn't want to land in the desert because that risks someone seeing it where it shouldn't be.

After a short while of riding on the speeder, taking a detour towards the actual direction of the town, having gone the wrong way to through the Empire off, the speeder engine exploded, maybe due to Tatooine's heat, or a faulty circuit somewhere, I don't know, but I ended having to walk the rest of the journey. I didn't want to call T7 to bring the ship to me, because that would attract TIEs and more Stormtroopers, so I just soldiered through it. Then, when I entered a formation of rocks, I was ambushed by a group of Tusken Raiders, or 'Sand Monsters' as T7 would call them.

It started out with just four of them, but I should have known better. Those first four were just the first line of attack. There were several more hidden around me, sniping or waiting for their opportunity to attack. Once I'd taken down those first four guys, which was a bit tiring in itself, given my lack of sustenance or hydration in hours prior, the battle got real. More of them showed up and attacked me all at once, some shooting at a distance, some attacking me head on. I took the up close ones down easy enough, despite the growing exhaustion and hunger, with the hidden blades in my Mandalorian Vambraces. Yes, an Assassin's Creed style Hidden Blade. I've worked as an assassin before, thought it would be a good fit, so I modified the Vambraces.

Anyway, the melee fighters fell to my Hidden Blades one by one, and I was able to deflect the shooters' and snipers' blasts with the shield in my Vambraces. Then I shot back at them. It was a tough fight, and I didn't go unscathed the whole time, but the only real bad injury I got was when the battle was ending. With the last breath it took, one of the Tusken Raiders was able to catch me by surprise and jab me in the side, right in a spot where my armour did NOT protect me. I mean, why would someone aim a blaster to the said of your stomach? It's not a good place to aim, and even if you hit, you probably won't do any impeding damage. However, the Tusken Raiders use these club-like weapons called Gaderrffi Sticks, which have small blades on either end. A blaster shot won't do terrible damage to the side of your stomach, but blade as long as your hand will, regardless of my armour-weave coat. Before I stabbed that bastard in the neck, he managed to get a hard jab in my side. And then I blacked out.

"Then I end up over here…" I thought to myself, shaking the clouds from my head. "Only question is: how?" I asked myself.

"Ah, you're awake. Good." I heard a voice say as one of the aforementioned doors opened. I know that voice…

Coming out of the door was an old man, probably in his late 50s, maybe early 60s. His hair was short and grey, as was his beard. He wore a beige tunic with a brown sash, and a brown undershirt. His pants were also a simple shade of brown, and there wasn't anything much to say about his boots. Over all of these clothes, the was a familiar, large brown robe that looked eerily familiar, and with the hood up, I just barely saw his blue-gray. And his presence… I could tell that this man was strong in the Force.

He removed his hood, and my blood ran cold. It can't be…

"Master Kenobi…" I whispered. I felt his surprise and shock that I knew who he was, but he didn't allow it to show.

"I am." he confirmed with a single nod. "Though I must ask how you know me, young one." He said, bringing a chair over to the cot I lay on as I sat up. He sat on said chair.

"My parents spoke highly of you." I told him, grunting in slight pain as I managed to balance myself.

"Parents?" he asked in interest. I nodded.

"Relia Shan and Bo-Katan Kryze." I told him, prompting wide eyes. Heh, I managed to shock a wise old Jedi Master. I think I deserve a pat on the back for that.

"It was no secret amongst the Jedi that Master Shan prefered the company of her fellow women." He said thoughtfully, his hand on his chin with his infamous thinking face on. "But, Bo-Katan?" He asked, confused.

"I was conceived through the Force." I explained. I normally would tell anyone this, but I'm talking to Obi-wan fucking Kenobi. I think I can trust him. "In the throes of passion, it is possible for two women to have a child through the Force, if the love between them is strong and real enough." I continued.

"I'd heard of such happenings, but I'd never seen it before." He responded. I could only shrug in response. "But, that is not the issue here." He decided, looking me in the eyes. "What do you call yourself?" He asked.

"Michael Shan." I introduced myself. "Dante Kryze at birth." I added with a respectful bow of the head, which he returned.

"You took both names?" He asked.

"The Empire has 'Dante Kryze' on their wanted list." I explained with a shrug. "I usually use Shan unless I'm speaking with another Mandalorian. Even then, I'm careful about it." I added. Nodding, Obi-wan reached into his robe.

"On to another matter." He said, pulling out two familiar devices; lightsabers. One was perfectly cylindrical and black, with three rings of golden filigree along the length, and an emitter in the shape of a Krayt Dragon head. Red gems were embedded in the place of the creature's eyes. The other was of a completely different design, more traditional, but of a much older design than one would find today, or even back in the Clone Wars.

It was an exact replica of Revan's lightsaber, the one he constructed during his retraining. Legend has it that it started out blue, but then Revan switched it out for a green crystal after defeating Malak. After Meetra Surik rescued him from imprisonment, he put the blue crystal back in, finding it to be a deep shade of violet this time around. I can only assume that this happened because he embraced both the Dark and the Light, and his crystal, which was intimately bonded with him, changed in tow, becoming a bright violet.

"Why do you have these?" The Jedi Master asked of me calmly.

"Take a wild guess." I said dully, reaching out with my hands. The two sabers flew into my hands effortlessly, the Krayt Dragon saber in my right hand, and the Revan saber in my left, and I activated them. The Krayt Dragon saber had a deep red blade, not the same colour as Vader's or an Inquisitor's; a much darker and brighter shade, like the colour of blood. It was powered by a red Krayt Dragon Pearl, one that my mother gave me as a pendant when I was a child. The Revan saber had a Hurrikaine Crystal as it's power source, creating a dark amethyst blade that went well with the other. "I made them." I said simply, deactivating them.

"You're not a Jedi, are you?" Obi-wan asked redundantly.

"I am not, nor am I Lightsider." I told him. I doubt he's surprised; he probably already felt the taint of the Dark Side on me. I'm not a Sith, well, not really, and I'm certain he knows that, otherwise he wouldn't have helped me. "But I have no love for the Empire. I'm something of a Rebel cell on my own." I assured him.

"I assume that's why you stole this from the Empire." He said, pulling the spherical Holocron from his robe sleeve.

"Yes." I confirmed, holding my hand out expectantly. He stared at me for a moment, and I almost thought he wasn't going to give it back. But then, after a short moment of silence, he sighed and surrendered it. "Thank you." I said brightly, clipping the device to my belt, which is still on for some reason. "And also, thank you for helping me. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't found me." I said gratefully.

"Think nothing of it." He said. "I wasn't about to let a young man die of blood loss in the desert." He told me, getting up. "I suggest you rest up a while longer." He advised. "I suspect you have places to be?" He asked. I nodded in response. "Then I will accompany you to the spaceport when you leave. I'd hate to see Bo-Katan's son in peril." He smiled warmly, in that 'grandfather' sort of fashion.

"I appreciate it Master Kenobi, but I am more than capable of making it, even now." I said with a faint grunt as I got up. The old man just sighed in response.

"What is with young people and their impatience?" He asked rhetorically, pinching the bridge of their nose.

"We are what we are." I grinned in his direction as I walked over to a corner, where my armour was stored neatly on a small table. I grabbed the long-sleeved undershirt and slipped it on, ignoring the small burst of pain shooting through my side as I did so. "Besides, I don't want to spend anymore time on this planet than I have to." I told him, clicking my neck. "The Empire may very well be after me already." I added.

"Valid." he conceded. Smirking, I focussed my attention towards my armour, taking a deep breath.

I allowed the Force to flow through me, and then around me, into the armour and equipment I wore. All of the equipment started levitating, floating towards and around me. I could sense Master Kenobi's intrigue at the sight as all of the armour paddings clicked into place on my body. Following the pads, my gloves floated over and onto my hands, and I clenched my fists to ensure they fit properly. Then, my vambraces slipped onto my arms, lighting up, signalling their activation. Finally, my mask covered my face, and I watched as they HUD activated. Smiling, I retracted the mask, looking myself over. I'm glad my armour didn't take any serious damage last night. Kenobi also mended the hole in my undershirt and coat.

"Thank you for the assistance, Master Kenobi." I said as I threw my armorweave coat on over my armour.

"Please." He held up a hand. "Just call me old Ben." He said with a grandfatherly smile. I nodded in response, storing my lightsabers in the inner pockets of my coat. "Shall we leave now then?" He asked. "It is round about noon." He told me. "And by land speeder, it will take around an hour to get to the nearest town." He informed.

"You don't need to do anything for me." I told him.

"Nonsense." He waved me off. "I'm headed towards town anyways, and I could use the company." he said, turning and walking off. Sighing in resignation, I surrendered and went with him. Parked just outside of his hut was a simple landspeeder. Without another word, we jumped into the vehicle and sped off. We shared some small stories and conversation along the way.

After arriving at Mos Espa, the spaceport in which I'd parked my ship, Kenobi and I set off towards the Bay where my ship was docked. We continued chatting for a while as we walked. He'd already made it clear that I was not to to tell anyone of my encounter with him. Coincidentally, Mos Espa is where Obi-wan and Qui-gon Jinn found 9 year old Anakin Skywalker in the first place. I wonder if this brings any bad memories for him?

"What do you intend to do when you leave this planet?" Kenobi asked of me as we walked through the town towards the docking bay.

"Lay low for a while, probably on Nar Shadaa or Ord Mantell, until this whole thing calms down." I said with a shrug. "Not much else to do until I find something else to steal or liberate from the Empire." I said thoughtfully. "Or maybe I'll take a bounty or Mercenary work." I added. Obi-wan shook his head in amusement.

"Going wherever the proverbial wind takes you then?" He asked with an amused smile.

"I suppose so." I smirked in response. As we continued walking, two Stormtroopers stopped us.

"Halt." They said in unison.

"Is there a problem here Troopers?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Identification please." One of them said, holding out his hand expectantly.

"As well as any weapons you have on you." The other one said, mimicking the first one's actions. "The Empire has ordered all individuals wearing Mandalorian armour be detained for questioning." He explained.

"Ah, I see." I said, trailing off with a smirk. Oh, I just have to. "You don't need to see my identification." I said with a wave of my hand, taking a light grip on both Troopers' minds.

"We don't need to see your identification." Trooper one said in a slight daze.

"I'm not the Mandalorian you're looking for." I aid, waving my hand again.

"You're not the Mandalorian we're looking for." Trooper two said, also in a daze. They both retracted their hands, no longer expecting anything from me.

"We can go about our business." Que the hand wave.

"You can go about your business." The two troopers stepped aside for Kenobi and myself.

"Move along." I waved my hand once more as Obi-wan and I continued on our way,

"Move along, move along." The troopers told us, waving their hands as if shooing flies away.

"Impressive." Kenobi told me as we walked.

"Thank you." I smirked proudly. "I've been practicing ever since I first saw Mother mind trick a shop owner to give her discount on a hyperdrive for her damaged ship." I smiled fondly at the memory. My Jedi mother, Relia Shan, was a great warrior, and a brilliant Force Wielder. I'll speak more of her at a later date.

"Master Shan was indeed a great Jedi." Obi-wan said with a sigh as we approached the docking bay. "Is she still…" He trailed off, not wanting to quite say it, I would assume.

I shook my head. "She was killed by Vader several years ago." I said with a sigh. Obi-wan's expression went even more downcast by that. Makes sense I suppose; his apprentice is responsible for the death of my mother; he may feel a tad guilty for that.

"I am sorry to hear that." he said, crestfallen.

"It was hard, but I moved on." I told him honestly. He didn't respond as we stopped just outside of the docking bay.

"It seems this is where we part ways." He said. I nodded in response.

"Before I go, I think there's something I should tell you." I said, catching his interest. "Some time ago, I had a vision, one pertaining to Vader." That seemed to make him more interested. "I don't know the details, but I saw Palpatine dying at his apprentice's hand." Kenobi's eyes widened. "And, on the ground, was a young man whom Palpatine was torturing." Comprehension dawned on Obi's face. "I know visions can be misinterpreted, but I have confidence in what I saw." I told him. "Anakin Skywalker will rise again." I promised.

The only reason I'm telling him this is because I can sense his sadness and pain. For all the wisdom and protection he granted to Luke, he still takes Anakin's fall hardly. He feels as if he failed both Anakin and the Jedi Order, and he's been carrying that weight with him all this time. I just wanted to give him a little more hope than what he has. A 'new hope' as it were. And, it seemed to work. With his eyes wide, and a hand over his mouth, I could feel his emotions flaring. He's a very old and wise Jedi Master, so he won't take what I've told him at face value, but maybe he'll at least find some spark of hope now. Perhaps he'll be motivated to make sure Luke is a bit more prepared for his father.

"I…" He whispered, shaking his head. Steeling himself, he looked at me. "Thank you, for sharing this with me, Michael." He said gratefully. "I hope that you are right." He said with a Jedi bow, one that I returned.

"As do I." I told him. "Goodbye, Master Jedi." I bade him farewell.

"To you as well, young Kryze." He followed suit. With that, he turned and went on his way, leaving me to my devices. Smiling at his retreating form, I turned to the docking bay and opened. As the bay doors slid up, I marvelled at the beauty on the other side.

The ship that waited for me was an amazing work of art. Imagine it as the Millennium Falcon having a baby with a TIE Interceptor. The end result; the Fury-Class Interceptor, the last of its kind, named the Huntress by moi, and boy was it an amazing ship. It sported four high-powered laser cannons, two on either side, and a grand total of 80 missiles. It was also equipped with military grade shieldings, a cloaking device, and pitch black paint job with some crimson accents.

Now, I'm not the kind of guy who could be more in love with his ship than he would a real woman, but I definitely have a great love for the Huntress. She was a gift from my mother, Relia, before she died, so you can understand why'd be rather attached to it. Adding in the fact that everything I own is on that ship. It's essentially my own mobile home, as is the case with most people who travel the Galaxy.

Releasing a small breath, I paid the vendor droid the necessary docking fee, and walked towards the ramp, which had opened for me.

As I walked towards the cockpit of my ship, I was introduced to the sight of my little Astromech droid friend, T7-O1, rolling towards me with a serious of cheerful bleeps escaping him as a greeting. Most of his plating was silver, a few blue bits painted here and there, and his optic shone a dark blue. He was 1.15 meters tall, rolling with two legs in front of him, and a wheel at the back. One of his 'arms' extruded from his 'neck,' giving me a happy salute.

"Nice to see you too T7." I smiled, brushing my fingers on his saucer-like head as I walked past him, earning a small mechanical purr. Having been passed out for who knows how many hours, I found myself rather exhausted. With that in mind, I made my way towards the captain's quarters on the ship. "You mind setting a course for Nar Shadaa?" I asked of him. He responded with an affirmative, cheery whistle. "Thanks little buddy." I smiled at him, yawning. "I am going to take a nap." I told him. With that, we headed towards the rooms we desired.

As I entered, I let out a sigh, hearing the door close behind me. Stretching, I reached out with the Force, focusing my attention on my armour. One by one, the pieces clipped off of me and floated towards the small chest I had to store it all in. My boots, the pads, my mask, and vambraces all went in there, and I manually unclipped my utility belt and placed on the small stand next to my bed, before falling into it. It wasn't long before I felt the sweet bliss of sleep take me, drifting along with the sofy, subtle sound of the Hyperdrive engine.

~~Dream Start~~

I sat in a ship, of what make, I don't know, but I do know that I sat in the cockpit, in the seat right next to the pilot. Said seat was occupied by a light green skinned Twi-lek female, who wore a simple pilot's suit, and a pair of goggles on her head. Through the viewing screen of the ship, I could what looked like a battle going on, though the only enemy ship was a single TIE fighter, and the Twi'lek pilot, along with several other ships, were firing on this fighter, to no avail.

Somehow, I could tell that the eyes I looked through were not my own.

"The Force is strong with him." I said. Well, not really me, but the person who's eyes I'm looking through, a woman no doubt, said. I know this woman though. I feel like I've met her. "Kanan, let's find out how strong." She/I told someone who was sitting behind me.

"How can I help?" The voice of a man asked.

"Just remember your training." The woman/I responded, holding out a hand and closing her/my eyes. After a moment of what I could only assume was hesitation or uncertainty, I felt a hand on my/the woman's shoulder, and we reached out with the Force.

A moment passed before anyone else spoke. "There's something familiar… I feel… cold…" The voice of a young kid spoke up. I think he was speaking through a comm. "I think I know who it is!" He suddenly said. "Back on Lothal, I felt something. Kanan did too." he went on. "The fear, the anger, the hate…" He listed. "It's the Sith Lord we faced!" Wait, Sith Lord?

Suddenly, I felt a cold, dark presence hit me like speeder. It was familiar… a presence I have not wanted to feel for a long time coming.

"The apprentices live." A chilling, monotone voice, one I'd hoped to never hear again, spoke. Out of nowhere, the woman screamed. It wasn't just her, I screamed too, and everything went black.

~~Dream End~~

I shot up from my bed, cold sweat dripping down my forehead. That voice… It's him… I remember, the scene in the Star Wars Rebels show, when the Ghost crew had escaped from Lothal in the beginning of Season 2. The eyes I was looking through, I think they were Ahsoka's. I haven't seen her a little while… Why would I be seeing through her eyes in a dream? Sure, she taught me a few things here and there over the years, but I don't see why I'd be able to look through her eyes.

Then there was that voice. I really hoped to never hear it again, but I knew I'd have to face him one day. In all the lives I've lived, few things have scared me as much Darth Vader. Sure, on a screen he's awesome villain and a great character, but live and in person? He's downright terrifying. I mean, how many Star Wars fans have made fun of his heavy breathing? Many. And yet, when you hear it up close, it haunts your nightmares.

There's also one more thing that bothers me about the dream…

He said 'The apprentices live.'

"Plural…" I realised, my blood running cold.

And there we have chapter number two. Not gonna lie, I kinda struggled with this one. I wasn't sure how to go about Michael's interaction with Obi-wan. Part of me says their encounter was a little too simple, truth be told. I mean, Obi found him, helped him, gave him his stuff back, and took him to the space port. SUre, they had some conversation on along the way, some of it 'off-screen' as it were, but it still happened. What do you guys think? Could I have done better here?

Concerning the lightsabers, I don't think I'll be giving Michael a Darksaber this time. Something about it just rubs me the wrong way, for whatever reason, so I just made the Krayt Dragon saber res this time. And I gave him a replica of Revan's purple lightsaber. I thought that would be cool. He'll still get Satele's lightsabers, rest assured. I plan on doing that part in the next chapter, though it will go differently.

Also, I got a bit of foreshadowing and hinting done at the end there. I think it's painfully obvious what it means, but I'll keep it to myself for those who can't figure it out.

And again:

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL! HO HO HO! I mean... HAPPY LIFE DAY ALL! RAAAAH!

Consider these two chapters my present to all my lovely followers. Thanks everybody!