"No matter where you go, the Force will always be with you." - Kit Storm, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

As soon as he was done talking to Pete, Joe headed toward the center of the base, where Gerard, Ray, Frank, and Mikey were busy chatting. "Can you believe the Empire banned the new issue of Apocalypse Guard? It feels like the whole galaxy's gone mad," Gerard said.

"They're the Empire, Gee," Frank said. "They'll do whatever it takes to stay in power."

"Yeah, but forbidding art seems a little excessive, even for them." Gerard sighed and then said, "At least the issue arrived here before the ban went into effect. I haven't read it yet, but hopefully it doesn't end in a cliffhanger..."

As Frank and Gerard kept on talking about comics, Ray turned to Joe and said, "Hi Joe. How's it going?"

Joe sighed. "I'm really worried about Pete. It doesn't seem like he's doing too well."

"He lost his boyfriend," Frank said. "What did you expect?"

"Yeah, that must be really hard for him," Gerard said. "I don't know what I'd do if Frank died. I'm sure I'd miss him a lot."

"I know, but it's worse than that," Joe said. "Something's changed. It's like...it's like he's lost all hope."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too," Mikey said. "I don't think he's left his house at all since Patrick died."

Joe nodded and then said, "I want to help him, but I don't know how."

There was a long pause, and then Gerard chimed in. "Frank and I were going to visit him later this afternoon. Maybe everyone could come along. He's probably lonely now that Patrick's gone, and I think it would help if he knows that we're here for him."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Ray said.

"I can come too," Mikey said. "Is there any way we could get him some blue milk pizza? That might cheer him up."

"The nearest pizza place is light years away. We'd probably have to make it ourselves," Frank said.

"I can't cook to save my life," Ray said.

"Don't worry, we'll help you," Gerard said. "Alright, who's ready to make some pizza?"

Everyone cheered, but Joe wasn't so sure that a pizza would solve Pete's problems. In all his life, he'd never seen someone so depressed. He felt like there had to be more they could do to help him.

Pete's words echoed in his head. If Patrick can't overthrow the Empire, then what hope do the rest of us have? He still knew the Truwel Rebellion could win - they'd already done a lot to protect the Outer Rim, after all - but Pete had a point. Patrick was an insanely powerful Jedi, and even he couldn't defeat Darth Vader. None of the rest of them stood a chance against him.

The war wouldn't be over any time soon. They'd beat the Empire, even if it would be a death of a thousand cuts. It would be years, decades even, but Joe was sure that the galaxy would be free someday. He only had to convince Pete that he couldn't give up quite yet. The Truwel Rebellion still had a chance, and more than that, there were still a million reasons to have hope, to smile, to keep on living.

As the others headed into Frank and Gerard's kitchen and started making pizza, Mikey watched them from a corner, unsure where he would go from here. He hadn't known Patrick well, not like Pete had, but he'd always seen him as a polite, patient, and caring person. He only wished that he'd gotten to know him better.

He was worried about Pete though. He'd only seen him a handful of times since Patrick's death, but even from that, it was clear that Pete was hurting. He hadn't smiled or cracked a joke in days. Even stealing his glasses would have been an improvement - at least Mikey would have known that Pete still felt alive, that there was a spark of joy in there somewhere. Mikey hated to see his best friend in so much pain. He hated watching him come apart at the seams. A pizza wouldn't bring Patrick back, but maybe it would help Pete move on.

"Hey Mikey, could you help us out here?" Gerard asked, and Mikey nodded.

As he slathered some sauce onto a pizza crust, Mikey said, "I just hope Pete's okay."

"He's not, but he will be," Frank said.

Gerard nodded. "It's sad that Patrick didn't make it though. He deserved better."

"Definitely, but I'm worried about the Rebellion too," Frank said. "What are we going to do without Patrick? He was one of our greatest allies. It's going to be really hard to fight without him."

"I don't know, but I'm sure you'll come up with something," Gerard said. "I mean, you're Fun Ghoul!"

"Not anymore," Frank said. When Mikey raised an eyebrow, Frank explained, "I don't think I would have had the guts to say this three months ago, but I'm way happier fighting for the Rebellion and living on this godforsaken wheat planet with the cutest boy I've ever met than I ever was when I was the Most Dangerous Man In The Galaxy. I'm ready to leave those days behind."

Frank kissed Gerard, to which Mikey immediately said, "Get a room, you two."

When they finally separated, Gerard asked, "Mikey, could you do me a favor and use your Force powers to get us some cheese?"

Mikey sighed, but he did as he was asked. He let the Force flow through him, and soon, the bag of the cheese came zooming across the room and landed on the table.

"That was awesome," Gerard said with a smile.

"Yeah, could you do it again?" Frank asked.

Mikey didn't bother to answer. Instead, he stayed silent as Gerard opened up the bag of blue milk cheese and sprinkled some onto the pizza crust.

"It's so cool that you're a Jedi now, Mikey," Gerard said. "You're just like all those characters in True Clone Wars Adventures! Like Obi-Wan, Anakin, Yoda, Patrick..."

"I wish I'd gotten to know Patrick better," Mikey said.

"He was a nice guy," Ray chimed in. "There's just so much that I never got the chance to tell him..."

Gerard gave Ray a quick hug and then said, "You know, the Jedi believe that when we die, we rejoin the Force. I don't know if that's true, but if it is...maybe we'll all meet again someday."

"I hope they're right," Ray said.

As Frank slid the pizza into the oven, Mikey thought about Patrick once again. Now that Patrick was gone, he and Pete were the last Jedi left. Sure, Yoda and Obi-Wan were still around, but they weren't a part of the Rebellion. In Yoda's words, Mikey had to carry on their traditions. It was up to him to protect the legacy of the Jedi.

Yet, Mikey didn't feel like a Jedi. He hadn't been raised in the temple, he hadn't fought in the Clone Wars, he hadn't met any Jedi other than Pete, Patrick, and Yoda. He could use the Force, but he had no real ties to the Jedi Order. He didn't feel like one of them.

Maybe Yoda was wrong. Maybe Mikey wasn't a Jedi at all. Maybe he was never cut out for ancient texts and monastic codes. Maybe he had to find his own way in the galaxy.

None of that was important now though, not when his best friend was grieving. There were some things his Force powers couldn't do, and one of them was healing the hole in Pete's heart. He had to find another way to help Pete. All he wanted was for him to be happy again. Was that too much to ask?

As soon as the pizza was done, Gerard, Frank, Ray, Mikey, and Joe went over to Pete's house. Mikey knocked on the door, and he waited, but Pete didn't answer.

"I wonder where he is," Joe said to the others.

"He's in there," Mikey said. "He hasn't left the house since Patrick died, remember?"

"Should we try knocking again?" Ray suggested.

"PETE!" Frank screamed at the top of his lungs. "WE HAVE PIZZA!"

There was a long silence, and then Pete finally opened the door. His jet black hair was a tangled mess, his eyeliner was running, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. "What is it?" he asked.

"We brought you some pizza!" Frank exclaimed as he handed Pete the pizza.

"Thanks," Pete said apathetically.

"You're welcome," Gerard said. "Let us know if you need anything else."

"I need personal pan pizzas to come in the form of human beings," Pete said, much to everyone else's confusion. "If they did, I'd make mine a Patrick Stump every time."

As his eyeliner started to stream down his face again, Pete took his pizza, headed into his bedroom, and slammed the door. Meanwhile, Mikey stood in the doorway, feeling more helpless than ever. After all, if pizza couldn't make Pete happy, then what could?