I know last chapter was a little shorter than anyone would have liked, but this one will be longer than last chapter. I hope you all like it. I wasn't sure if this would come out right with how I wanted to write it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to leave a review when you're done reading. Reviews are the lifeblood of all stories on this site.

*I still don't own Ben 10 or Star Wars: The Clone Wars!*


A Visit From Healers And Introductions!


At the Jedi Temple on the planet coruscant, the Jedi Council was gathered to discuss what to do about this new Force Sensitive child that was recently discovered. They already know that he's well past the age at which younglings are brought into the order and begin their training, so why are they bothering to discuss this at all?

Many of the council members believe that they should just leave the child with his family on his home planet. But there were some who believed that they should bring the youngling to the temple for training in the Jedi arts, having a feeling from the Force itself that all is not okay with this child.

"Is it really right that we leave this child to possibly fall into the clutches of the Sith? Even if they are above our traditional age limit, it isn't right to deny a light in the Force the chance to be nourished into something great." argued Kit Fisto. "I mean, we did the same thing for Skywalker."

"Anakin Skywalker is a special case, Master Fisto, and you know this. We can not accept this new youngling into the order, just because of once instance where we strayed from tradition." Ki-Adi-Mundi fired back.

"Perhaps we should all just calm down and meditate on this matter. I feel as though all we're doing is arguing in circles. Do we allow the newly discovered youngling to join the order, or don't we? We will never reach an agreement if we are not calm and just keep arguing about this issue while we are split evenly down the middle." suggested Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Jedi Master Mace Windu sighed and shook his head. He'd thought that this would have been a unanimous decision among the members of the council, but apparently, he was wrong. And now, because of all this bickering, he's got nothing more than a migraine bigger than the deserts of Tatooine.

"Master Kenobi is right. All we're doing is repeating ourselves. Perhaps it would benefit if we took a small recess from this meeting and come back to the subject at a later time." Mace said.

He would have said more, but the central comm-link for the Council Chambers began beeping, signaling an incoming transmission. Pressing a button on the device, the council was actually quite relieved for the slight change in topic as a holo image of Shaak Ti appeared on the monitor.

"Master Shaak. Good to hear from you, it is." Yoda greeted. "News on the youngling, you have, I sense."

"Greetings, honored Council. Yes, I do have news about the child. The youngling is an Imperial Space member of the Zabrak species, no older than eleven. However, when we found him, he was in terrible condition." Shaak reported, worry clear in her eyes, even though her voice was level.

This actually disturbed many of the council members. Shaak Ti is known for being the most serene and level headed out of all the Jedi currently in the order, so for her to show even the SLIGHTEST bit of worry was cause for concern. Not because she might be falling to the Dark Side, but because this is something gravely important.

Knowing that the situation must be quite grave, Obi-Wan inquired as to what the problem was.

"What do you mean by 'terrible condition', Shaak? Is the youngling okay?" he asked.

Contrary to popular belief, Obi-Wan doesn't hate the Imperial Space Zabraks as a whole. Just because Darth Maul killed his old master, Qui-Gon Jinn, he knows that Maul was the one at fault. As the proverb goes, you don't burn the whole field because half the crops spoil.

Shaak took a shaky breath before explaining things to her fellow Jedi.

"Honored council, when I found the youngling, he was underneath a cardboard box in a filthy alleyway. He is badly malnourished, his legs are almost completely destroyed, and he suffers from signs of physical abuse. It is currently unknown as to whether or not he was emotionally abused and neglected, but the chances are high. I need some of the Jedi Order's best healers as well as a pair of Droid prosthetic legs to both heal his injuries, and possibly… amputate his legs."

Shaak looked as though she was going to break down crying, hating that someone could do such cruel things to an innocent child. She quickly wiped her tears away as much as she could and tried to compose herself.

"I apologize, masters, but I just can't stand the thought of a child being abused by anyone in such barbaric ways!" Shaak said apologetically.

"There is no need to apologize, Shaak. What you have described is disturbing, to say the least." Mace Windu, shockingly, said without a hint of stoicism.

He too despised child abuse and neglect and always had a hard time keeping his emotions in check when it came to that particular subject. If it weren't for the fact that he was more of a warrior than a healer, he'd go down and help her himself. But as it stands, it seems like Luminara is their best option to send.

And from the look on the Mirialan woman's face, it seems like she's thinking the same thing.

"Send you the healers and the prosthetics, we will. Abandon this youngling, we will not." Yoda said.

"Thank you, Master Yoda. We will be waiting and shall send you the coordinates to our location immediately." Shaak replied, grateful that the council had not turned their backs on the child.

The hologram fizzled out and the council began to discuss the details of how this mission would need to go. They'll also need to learn just how strong in the Force he really is. After all, if he's as powerful as they think he is, then it's imperative that he not fall into the hands of the Sith. Especially with the Clone Wars having only just begun.

"Master Luminara, go to Earth to help Shaak, you will. Heal the youngling, you will. Be ready to amputate, if you must, you will. Provided with prosthetic legs, you will be." Yoda instructed. "If possible, a midichlorian count, you shall determine."

"Yes, Master Yoda. I shall gather a small team of healers to aid me in my mission. I will not fail the youngling!" Luminara replied, saying that last part to herself.

As she left to gather a few healers and get the prosthetics, the council remained gathered to discuss their personal thoughts about the boy's condition.

"What kind of parents could possibly treat their child with such hate?" questioned Master Eeth Koth, a Republic Space Zabrak.

"I don't know, but it does make one question just what may have been going through their heads at the time." replied Oppo Ranthesis.

The Thispisiasian was certainly perplexed by why any family would subject their child to such horrors like that. And he never even THOUGHT about having hatchlings when he was in his prime. But Master Yoda didn't seem quite convinced about the abuse and neglect being caused by something so simple as hatred for the child.

"Hate? Perhaps… But fear. Make one turn against those they love, it can. Fearful of this child, the parents could have been. But know this for sure, I do not yet."

He picked up his walking stick and began to move for the door of the council chambers, feeling the need to meditate on this whole situation.

"Meditate on these new developments, this council must. Adjourned for now, this meeting is." Yoda said.


*Back On Earth…*


Back at her hotel room, Shaak Ti was rubbing her temples in irritation as she tried to stave off the massive headache she was developing. She just had to deal with at least three teams of Plumber agents coming to her hotel to try and bring her in for study about her species, and each team seemed to be getting more forceful than the last.

The first team, one with a Revonnahgander trainee on it, was tolerable enough and didn't try to force her, but the most recent one with a bull-headed Tetramand on it made her nearly pull out her Lightsaber on them! It didn't help when they saw the Zabrak child lying asleep on her bed in the hotel room.

She swore to herself that if she had to deal with any more of these guys she was going to kill them in cold blood! Jedi Code be damned! A frantic knock on her door made Shaak growl as she got up from her chair, her anger starting to boil over.

"Oh, why can you idiots not just take a hint?!" Shaak asked herself as she made her way to the door.

Once there, she yanked open the door and started yelling like any member of her kind would. Her species is known for being easily angered, and while she may be the exception to that rule, even HER patience has a breaking point.

"ALRIGHT, RED SPOTS, I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOU! I am not going to be put in a zoo for you to run test on, and you are NOT taking this child to be locked away like some common animal!"

"Well then, it's a good thing that I'm here to help the youngling instead of lock him away." quipped a woman's voice.

Shaak was snapped out of her anger as she recognized who the voice belonged to. To her great happiness, it was Master Luminara Unduli standing at the door with two other members of the temple's Circle of Healers. Held in the hands of one of the healers, a Rodian male, were two prosthetic droid legs that looked to be quite different from the ones she was expecting.

Luminara and the other healer, a female Nautolan, both had various medical tools that could be used to help the poor child with his overall health. Shaak sighed and ushered the healers into the room.

"Master Luminara! I'm terribly sorry for blowing up at you like that, but I've been having a very difficult time with some rather persistent galactic policemen who really don't know when to butt out of a Jedi's business." Shaak apologized.

The Mirialan woman merely waved her off, showing no signs of irritation.

"It's no trouble at all, Shaak. We were having some similar issues from them as well." she said.

She set her medical supplies down on a nearby desk and walked over to the bed where she found the sleeping youngling. Seeing the poor state he was in made her heart go out to the little boy.

"Is this him?" Luminara asked.

At Shaak's nod, Luminara knelt down to get a better look at the child. She could clearly see his bones underneath his skin due to how little he must've been getting to eat and knew that bringing his weight back up to safe parameters was the first thing they'd need to do. But it was his legs that were going to be the biggest concern to her.

They looked destroyed! It was like something heavy crushed the bones within them and they didn't heal properly. That, or his parents never bothered to take him to a hospital for decent medical treatment.

Luminara placed a hand on the child's bony cheek and felt her heart hurt for the little Zabrak boy.

'He's so tiny…' she thought to herself. 'He looks no younger than eleven years old, and yet he's smaller than most nine year olds of his species. I'm certain that we can fix that with good food and exercise, but his legs… those are going to be the tricky part.'

The Rodian male took out a medical scanner and began to run a few scans of the youngling and his legs. Hopefully, the damage was less severe than it really looked, but he wasn't about to get his hopes up.

He pressed a few buttons on the device once the scans were complete, and was appalled by the results of the scan.

"Well, I have some good news, bad news and horrible news about the child's condition. The good news is that his condition is easily treatable. We can get him back up to a normal weight and height through the use of nutrients and physical activities and heal most of the external and internal injuries right away. The bad news is that Shaak Ti was right about the child being abused and quite possibly neglected." he reported.

"What's the horrible news?" asked Splint.

The male healer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He hated it when his patients had problems such as these and others, because it was so hard to break the bad news to them.

"The horrible news is that Shaak Ti was right about something else. I'm sorry, but… it looks like we really WILL need to amputate his legs. The scans have shown my that the bones in his legs from above the knees down are completely shattered with numerous bone fragments lodged in his muscles and tendons. It's a miracle that there isn't already infection in them! I'm afraid that surgery is completely out of the question, as with the severe damage done to his legs and the bones and tendons within them, he'd lose his ability to walk regardless!"

Everyone in the room, clone and Jedi alike, were shocked into a stunned silence. The only thing that kept the Jedi and their Clone Troopers from weeping for the Zabrak youngling was their intense training in their respective fields. But that didn't stop them from feeling bad for the little guy.

He has his whole life ahead of him and now he has to worry about getting around on robot legs? This was all almost too much for anyone in the room to tolerate.

A weak, sarcastic laugh from the youngling snapped them out of it, and they turned their attention to the little Imperial Space Zabrak.

"So, they actually did it, huh? Those people really took away my only means of carving my way towards a great future for myself." he said, laughing sarcastically. "They really were right. I'm nothing but a weak, pathetic freak and a failure!"

"What are you saying, little one?! Who's put these thoughts in your head?!" the female Nautolan healer asked incredulously.

The child opened his eyes, revealing them to be a stunning silver that really stood out among his bloodshot sclera. His eyes were no doubt bloodshot from dehydration, but they didn't shine with the usual happiness and innocence that most children his age have. No, these eyes were dull and dead looking, as though the youth had been drained from this child by the very people around him.

"It all started a year and a half ago on a cross-country roadtrip with my grandpa and cousin. It was turning out to be the worst summer ever, and only got worse after my cousin found a device called the Omnitrix that crashed near our campsite. With its power, she became a shapeshifting alien superhero, relishing in the fame that came with her job. When it was all over, I went to my room back at the place I once called home. I felt something… something that I can't explain." he began.

Shaak gasped as she immediately knew what it was he sensed.

"The living Force…!"

"Is that really what it's called…?" the boy asked. "I have since begun to think of it as a curse, because it did this to me. I was so excited by what I had been feeling that I just followed my gut and raised my hand toward a stack of my old trading cards. To my surprise and amusement, they began to float in the air… circling around me like electrons do with a Neutron. I ran down to the living room where my parents were and showed them what I was doing."

The little boy began to tear up, closing his eyes as he chuckled bitterly. To the Jedi around him, his sadness was like a beacon in the Force, showing just how much his young heart was aching and how much emotional damage he has suffered in his young life.

Emotional damage he should not have even begun to suffer! His voice cracked as he started to cry while continuing on with his life story.

"I looked right at my parents… 'Look, mom! Dad! I can make things fly!', I said to them. But instead of liking my powers, like they seemed to like Gwen's, they hated me for it. My mom screamed and started calling me a freak while my dad started beating me as hard as he could. Hard enough to break bones. In self defense, I threw the couch at them with the Force, sending them both into the wall and knocking them out. But not before my former father used a sledgehammer to smash my legs into pieces! I didn't want to suffer any more pain, so I crawled out of there as fast as I could and have been forced to live on the streets for all this time!"

The child clenched his fists as he recalled just what it was that had kept him alive during that full year and a half of living on the streets.

"My sadness… my hatred… they kept me alive as I tried to survive by doing certain odd jobs around the town. But it wasn't enough. And not many places will hire a legless street rat like myself for longer than at least a week. Maybe a month, if I was lucky. It's like Gwen always said… I'm just a stupid, unwanted, spike-headed freak of nature! That's all I am! Ben tennyson, the spike-headed, Force using FREAK!"

By this point, the youngling, Ben, started to break down crying. After a full year and a half, his pent up frustration and loneliness began to boil over as tears of anguish began to run down his face.

Shaak Ti could take it no more! Regardless of what the Jedi Code says about attachment, this child needs her help more than anyone in the galaxy at the moment! She knelt down, gathered the child in her arms and brought him into a motherly hug. The first he's gotten in so long.

Ben didn't care. He just hugged Shaak back with all he had and clung to her as he cried into her shoulder. Luminara and the other healers seemed to grow relieved. When they heard that Ben had been using sadness and hatred to keep himself alive, they knew that he had been using the power of the Dark Side to keep himself alive.

But now, that darkness was leaving him. It appears as though he's defeated his darkness and driven it out of him permanently. It looks as though now he's on the Light Side spectrum of the Force, and he's not falling to the Dark Side anytime soon, if at all.


*To Be Continued…*


Well, it took awhile, but the new chapter of this story is finally out! I hope you guys like this one, because I now have a few questions that I need you to answer.

1.) What do you think of Ben's parents' reaction towards his abilities in the Force?

2.) Do you think Ben should use a single Lightsaber, two Lightsabers or a Saberstaff? Please include the color of the crystal you think Ben should have. (Please say if it's a stable or unstable crystal.)

3.)Who do you think I should pair Ben with later on?

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please don't forget to leave a review and answer my questions listed above. Farewell for now, and may the Force be with you!