"There is no hatred, there is love.

There is no ignorance, there is wisdom.

There is no fear, there is courage.

There is no prejudice, there is acceptance.

There is no violence, there are Hula hoops.

The Force will show me the way."

- The Code of Mikey

Mikey was curled up in bed, ready to fall asleep, when he heard a strange rustling noise. His eyes snapped open, and he immediately reached for his glasses. As he put them on, he spotted a blue glow out of the corner of his eye. At first, he backed away, unsure what was happening, but when he looked closer, he saw that there was no reason to be afraid.

There was a figure standing in the doorway. He was wearing glasses and a black fedora, and there was a faint blue glow around him. "Patrick?" Mikey said.

"Hi Mikey," Patrick said with a smile. "How are you doing?"

"What are you doing here?" Mikey asked.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Go talk to Pete. He needs it more."

There was a profoundly sad expression on Patrick's face as he said, "I wish I could."

"Why can't you?"

Patrick sighed. "I'm a Force Ghost now. I can only appear to those who have a strong connection with the Force, and Pete...I don't know if I should tell you this, but..."

"What is it?"

There was a long pause, and then Patrick said, "Pete's not Force-sensitive."

"He's not?" Mikey said, confused. "I thought he was a Jedi."

"It's a long story, but my point is that Pete can't see or hear me," Patrick said. "Believe me, Mikey, I'd talk to him if I could. I've been watching him over the last few days, and it breaks my heart to see Pete like this. I miss him like crazy, and I'd do anything if it meant he could be happy again."

Patrick started to tear up, and Mikey wished that he could help him. However, there wasn't much that he could do.

As Patrick wiped away his tears, Mikey thought of Pete. All this time, he'd never suspected that Pete wasn't Force-sensitive. Perhaps he should have seen the signs - had he ever seen Pete use the Force? - but more than anything, he wished that Pete had trusted him enough to tell him. They were friends, after all. Friends weren't supposed to keep secrets from each other.

"I can't talk to Pete, but you can," Patrick said. "And there's a lot I want you to tell him."

Patrick started telling him everything he wanted to say to Pete, and Mikey listened carefully. It was the least he could do, for both Patrick and Pete.

When Patrick was finished, he said, "Could you tell Pete all of that?"

"Of course," Mikey said.

"Thank you," Patrick said. "May the Force be with you, Mikey."

"May the Force be with you," Mikey said, but Patrick had already disappeared.

Mikey crawled back into bed, and when he stared at the space where Patrick was, he wondered if it was all a dream. Whether it was real or not, he decided that he'd talk to Pete about it. Maybe it would make Pete feel better, knowing that Patrick was a ghost now, or maybe it would only make things worse, knowing that he could never talk to him. Either way, Pete deserved to hear what Patrick had to say.

He closed his eyes, and he let his thoughts drift away as he fell asleep.

As soon as he woke up the next day, Mikey went to Pete's house. He knocked on the door, eager to see his best friend again, and a few minutes later, Pete opened it.

"Leave me alone," Pete said as he slammed the door in Mikey's face.

"Wait!" Mikey shouted. "I just want to talk."

"I don't want to hear it."

"I talked to Patrick last night."

"Patrick's dead," Pete said, but he did open the door a crack.

"He's a Force ghost now," Mikey said. "He wishes he could talk to you. There's a lot he has to say, and I'll tell you everything, if you're willing to listen."

Pete opened the door all the way, and as he wiped away his tears, he asked Mikey, "What...what did Patrick say?"

"He wants you to keep fighting," Mikey said. "He knows you're hurting, but you can't give up yet."

"But it's my fault that he's dead," Pete argued. "I destroy everything I touch, and I did everything I could to keep Patrick from getting hurt, but now he's gone, and..."

"Patrick said it's not your fault," Mikey said. "You can't throw your life away because of him. The Rebellion still needs you."

"The Rebellion's a lost cause. If Patrick can't defeat the Empire, nobody can."

"Actually, Patrick talked about that too. He said we'll win someday, but it's going to be a long time. We have to keep fighting for what's right though. All of us. If we do, we might finally overthrow the Empire."

"How does he know that?"

"Yoda told him, apparently," Mikey said. There was a brief pause and then Mikey said, "There's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Patrick thinks that I should have his lightsaber."

"You know, I was thinking the same thing," Pete said. "I already have my own, and honestly, I don't think I'd trust anyone else with it. I mean, imagine Frank with a lightsaber!" He laughed, but it sounded quite forced.

Pete started walking into another room, and Mikey followed him. Eventually, he opened up one of his dresser drawers, where there was Pete's copy of Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters, a black fedora, and a lightsaber.

"They're burning everything else that was left of him tomorrow," Pete said. "It's a Jedi tradition, apparently, but I wanted to keep the hat. I...I just felt like I needed something to remember him by. I miss him so much..."

As Pete's eyeliner started to run again, Mikey gave him a hug. "I think we all do," he said. "He seemed like a really nice guy."

"That's because he was," Pete said as he let go of Mikey. "He was the sweetest boy in the galaxy. Even when Patrick was just done with me and my antics, he would save my life in a heartbeat if he had to. He did that for everyone, really. He was kind and loyal to a fault, he would stand by your side when everyone else would turn their backs, and I never had anyone who treated me like that before. I think that's what I loved most about him."

"He loves you a lot," Mikey said.

"I love him too," Pete said. "Make sure you tell him that next time you see him, okay?"

"I will, but I think he already knows."

Pete reached into the drawer, pulled out his copy of Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters and Patrick's lightsaber, and handed both the book and the weapon to Mikey. "I think you deserve to have these," he said.

"Thank you, Pete," Mikey said. He ignited the lightsaber, and he admired the blue-green blade, the same color as Patrick's eyes. With a lightsaber in his hands, he felt strong, powerful, like he could do anything.

"You're welcome," Pete said. "It's just crazy that you're a real Jedi now."

"Actually, I'm not sure if I want to be a Jedi."

"Wait, really?"

"Really," Mikey said. "I don't want to live by their codes anymore. I'd rather live by the Code of Mikey."

"But who's going to keep the Jedi Order going?"

"You could."

"But Mikey...I...I'm not..."

"I know," Mikey said. "But you're smart, and you're strong, and you know all the lore, and as Yoda put it, you're everything a Jedi should be. If you want to be a Jedi Knight, I don't see why you can't be one."

"I guess so," Pete said. "I just don't think I can be like Patrick. I can't live up to that."

"I don't think either of us will ever be like Patrick, but we can still beat the Empire," Mikey said. "As long as we stick together, we can smash the sadness."

For the first time in a long time, Pete smiled, and it seemed like there was hope for the galaxy at last.