Walking The Thin Line

by fadedaura

Perseus Jackson banished from his world by Gaea ends up in a brand new world thanks to his father. Out of the clutch of the Fates, he thrives under the loving care of his new family. As he grows, he realizes that this world not only the wonderful magics, but a dark hidden dark side as well that make Kronos look a bit tame. -PJ in HP world set in Star Wars Universe- (Complete AU)

2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Approx. five standard galactic years ago.

Fay guided her XS stock light freighter forwards inputting the coordinates the force showed her in the last vision she had.

Recently the force was becoming more and more clouded. She could sense its slow change since she had been connected with it for over three centuries. And unlike the Jedi at Coruscant who in her mind was becoming more and more complacent, she knew a shatterpoint was just around the corner.

For the force which always whispered in her ear to go silent… she knew that something major was wrong. It was eager to get to the destination the force vision showed her after months of silence.

She was among the few people who could say that saw the will of the force. She saw the force akin to an older sibling to her. It guided her, prevented harm from befalling to her person and provided much needed wisdom when she was lost.

It was this close relationship that enabled her to rise through the Jedi ranks in record time.

She doubted that there was another with the same versatility as her in their understanding of the force within the entire Jedi Order. She knew her own master; Master Yaddle and Grandmaster Yoda were extremely accomplished with Yoda even having delved into the dark side to understand it better. Some of the more accomplished masters were able to relearn techniques that were thought to be lost over the years. Yet none of them couldn't communicate with the force like she did.

Master Yaddle wanted her to take her seat in the council because she thought herself to be inferior to her apprentice. Fay didn't accept the position since she felt her calling laid elsewhere. She also didn't have the patience to deal with the muddy politics with all the bootlicking and corruption.

In the past few years, the force seemed to guide her completely away from the galactic core and inner territories. She couldn't understand the reason why but she felt apprehension each time she neared those regions. It didn't matter for she loathed those regions anyway. She believed her talents was much more useful in the untamed regions on the galaxy to solve disputes than warm seats playing politician back at Coruscant.

There was another reason why she abhorred going back to Coruscant. And that reason were the Sith. Majority of the council believed them gone though there were proof that they survived after the war a thousand years ago. However she had seen and felt the brutality of the dark side user known as Darth Vectivus when she was young. Her claims were dismissed so casually that her anger on that matter knew no bounds.

She knew anger was an emotion that was forbidden by the Jedi Code. They were all taught to repress their emotions so that they wouldn't fall victim to the lure of the dark side. Yet the matter regarding her family was not something she could forgive and forget no matter how they tried to dull those feelings.

Fay remembered her childhood. She was born in the Outer Rim to two young merchants of the race Elvenari; a rare offshoot of the Sephi. Her childhood was mostly spent travelling between systems because of the nomadic life they lived.

She was the second child they had. However she was a force sensitive and she displayed her abilities from the day she was born. Her parents out of the unbound love they had for her promised to hide her since they knew the Jedi would take her away once they found out about her, especially since she was extremely strong in the force.

Fay had a wonderful childhood growing up with her family for five years. However it all changed the day Darth Vectivus came knocking down their door in search of the ultimate disciple.

She remembered distinctly the details of that fateful day.

FLASHBACK

"Mother, big brother is teasing me again," Fay cried trying to swat away her brother from tousling up her hair again. She just combed it so that her mother could braid it like she usually did right before bed.

"I like you hair like this," her brother teased. He hugged her from behind and picked her off the ground tickling her as he did so despite her protests in the form of peals of laughter.

"Ren… stop teasing your sister," their mother said without looking back. She was busy at the stove preparing dinner for the family of four. Their father was taking a sonic shower after returning hime from repairing their freighter.

"When are we leaving this planet?" Ren questioned ignoring his sister's protests.

"Tomorrow," the voice of their father came as he entered the small living room.

"So soon?" Her mother questioned in surprise. Usually the spent about a month trading their wares before taking off for another location. They haven't even been in this port for a week.

"The situation is deteriorating fast with the turf war between the Hutts. We better leave before it becomes an all out war. I don't want us to become casualties of chance."

"I'll start packing then. Fay, you help me with the stuff after dinner."

"Yes, mother," she promised shooting her brother a glare for which he stuck out his tongue teasingly.

The four soon were enjoying the food her mother prepared. The food wasn't the best. But it had the homey feeling that Fay loved. Nothing tasted better than the food her mother made for them.

They talked of various things from the things they had seen in this planet to more technical things regarding ships and weapons, subject in which both she and her brother were extremely interested in despite their mother's protests.

Their pleasant evening was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Her mother questioned her father. "We don't know anyone in this building. Who could it be?"

Things were tense around the planet with the turf war at a boiling stage. No one was at ease. A knock on the door like this after hours was usually not good news. There were entire families massacred every night due to some reason. Nobody wanted to ne next on that long list.

"I'll go see," her father stood walking to the door. Her unclipped his blaster pistol keeping it behind his back just in case. Fay noticed her mother taking out a blaster pistol out as well. She covered herself partially so that the weapon couldn't be seen.

Her brother drew her back to the opposite end of the room hiding themselves behind a corner when their mother indicated them to leave.

"What is happening?" She asked him in fright.

"Shh," he said to silence her. "Everything will be ok. I will protect you no matter what."

Fay saw her father open the door through the small gap that was available to her.

The door opened to reveal a cloaked man. He was of average build and she could say that he was a human. She only saw the bottom half of his face long with yellow eyes that sent chills down her spine. The she got a foreboding feeling through the force. It screamed to her to get away as far as possible. Her instincts wanted her to run and slam the door in the man's face.

"Sorry to interrupt you lovely meal," the man said smoothly. "My name is Darth Vectivus… I sensed a strong force sensitive in this apartment. So I came to collect him or her to be my apprentice."

The man didn't squander a moment as he went straight to the point. He looked past her parents to pinpoint the source he felt moments ago.

"I must say, I was rather surprised to feel such a strong force presence. Your midi-chlordan must be off the charts to have an aura that is almost twice mine. You will be the perfect apprentice… the one to hold on to the mantle of the Sith after me…"

She felt something was over her. But something within her reacted shielding her form the probe. However the foreboding feeling only increased with every passing second.

Fay knew of the Sith. They were considered evil men and women who were the sole cause for many of the troubles of the galaxy. They didn't mind spending chaos and destruction at their wake in their quest to obtain power. This of course was what she was able to find through the holonet.

She also knew that the Sith were made extinct by the Jedi. So what was one of the abhorred people doing here?

"There is no such individual here," she heard her father say with a steely voice taking her attention back to the entrance of their apartment.

"Oh, there is. You don't have to lie about it. I can hear your fear screaming from right here, you know? She is rather talented for someone who is untrained to hide herself from me. Thank you for revealing that it is your daughter I'm looking for," Vectivus laughed sinisterly.

"No," her mother screamed unleashing a shower of blaster rounds at the man. Her father was quick to follow.

Fay was frozen as she looked on as the man leapt back to dodged the first few rounds almost casually before activating a blood red lightsaber, the weapon of choice of the Jedi.

The weapon hummed once or twice before her parents stopped firing at the man.

She didn't have the time to blink before her parents were down on the floor defeated. The Sith Lord had skillful returned the blaster fire to her parents and rendered them incapacitated. She could see blood seeping from her parents from the places the blaster rounds hit them after they were deflected.

Though they were down, her father didn't back down. Ignoring the gaping wound on his right thigh, he left forward to tackle the man who broke into their home. Vectivis didn't even look as he twirled his sabre once and bisected her father from the waist.

Fay felt her breath stall as she saw the caring smiling man fell down in two different places blood pooling in the ground.

She wanted to scream, but she was completely frozen.

To her the next few seconds were a blur. She felt her brother catch her from the scruff of her clothes and push her down the garbage chute which was close by. "I said I will always protect you… now run," she remembered him cry before showing her to slide down the chute.

Just as her head disappeared, she saw her mother fall down with a large wound in her chest from which Fay could see the bad man smiling sinisterly in her direction.

While she was hurtling down through the chute, she felt the connection she had with her brother disappear as well.

It was then her tears started to stream. She screamed in agony. The pain from losing her entire family which she held dear was excruciating. The pain was further amplified because she had a connection with them through the force.

She didn't notice herself being thrown into a heap of garbage deep underground. She didn't register the pain when her body was violently scratched by the various pieces of junk she can into contact with. All she did was try to find any sign of her family through the bond they had between them.

Nothing… she felt nothing. Her anguish renewed as her utmost hate for the man grew. She wanted nothing but to break his entire body to pieces while he was alive enjoying his screams of pain.

"Why screaming, you are young one," she heard a soft voice.

She napped her head towards the speaker with her features still contorted to see a tiny being that radiated light and warmth that seemed to soothe her anger to some extent.

This was the moment she met her master.

FLASHBACK END

After she was calmed down, Yaddle coaxed the entire situation out of her. She was led into their apartment to confirm her wild story. But the Sith apparently ran away when he sensed the approaching Jedi. He had made sure to cover his tracks extremely well for the scene at her home was like that of a family murdered by mercenaries.

Her loathing towards the man only grew because he had the audacity to desecrate the dead bodies of her family so that he could save his hind quarters.

Yaddle on her insistence tried to find the Sith. She failed. In the end Yaddle soothed her saying that it was her mind playing tricks on her. She brought it at that time for she didn't know any better.

Since she was rather old for a youngling, Yaddle directly took her in as her apprentice after informing the council. The council didn't seem to care because of her astounding connection with the force.

Yaddle trained her in all the disciplines of a Jedi. As time went the entire council was rather taken aback at her sometimes vicious reactions to the darker aspects of the galaxy. On their order, Yaddle held back from teaching her everything she knew which included several of the forbidden techniques her master had mastered much to Fay's dismay. She needed those advanced techniques to hunt the Sith for what they did to her.

However she rose rapidly through the ranks. After gaining the title of Master she left Coruscant to become a wandering Jedi due to her dissatisfaction with the Jedi Council's lackadaisical view towards the problems plaguing the galaxy. The force guided her to wherever she was needed.

That was more than two centuries ago. During this time she had not stepped on Coruscant again.

Beep… beep… whee… beep

Fay turned to her little astromech, an R2 model which she had aptly named Beep who was pointing at the screens through its retractable arm. It was her only companion during her voyages through the inky void, a partner she had met by chance.

She saw what was bothering it and grinned awkwardly.

"I know, it is closer to the Unknown Sector than usual," she placated the little droid. "But we need to go there."

Beep hummed and whirred, apparently a little upset. She smiled at the robot reassuring it. "I promise we wont run into any gravity wells or warp storms."

Beeeeep!

"It wont happen this time. Pinky promise?" She said holding her pinky ip to the droid. The droid whirred and hummed making its displeasure known.

"How do I know this? I saw it in a vision."

Beep signalled ints indignation. She couldn't help but grin. Beep was quite skeptical of her claims since they had run into trouble in many occasions for trusting the force's guidance. This false guidances were w=mostly due to the shroud that seemed to blanked the entire force silencing it.

"Yes… yes… you don't trust force visions. But have I led us into trouble following them? You know what… don't answer that."

Fay set the course and stood up from her seat. It was a long way from her current location to the coordinates she just entered. It wasn't just a point and go journey where one could enter the stellar coordinates to enter hyperspace travel. This journey had several jumps correcting the spacecraft by exiting hyperspace each time.

Without sitting on the pilots chair and staring at the screens for who knew how long she thought to go and meditate a bit even if the force wouldn't respond back. At least she would be able to ponder the things she had already glimpsed from the vision she got earlier.

"Tell me if anything unexpected happens," he called out to Beep walking towards her quarters of the freighter. She didn't expect anything to pop up unexpectedly since the location she wanted to explore was an isolated system out of all known hyperspace routes.

There were records of several planetary system in the area. However even the bravest of the smugglers or mercenaries were reluctant to travel to this location due to the unusual gravity field that surrounded the area.

'I need to have this patched and painted,' she thought noticing a patch of rust on a bulkhead.

The XS stock freighter she owned was taken off the hands of a Hutt who was abducting people in the Republic's domain of power to increase his crime empire. She crossed paths with him by chance when she was helping to resolve a war between two factions on the planet Devaron and one thing led to another.

Lets just say that the slug and his goons made a satisfying meal to some of the carnivorous species which called Devon home.

The ship was a great upgrade from her usual YT-450a which was clunky, slow and hard to maneuver. The XS was extremely fast and had more than enough space for dozens of people to travel comfortably. Most importantly, it only needed one person to operate. It was one of the more expensive crafts belonging to the class of light freighters.

She opened the door to her quarters and sat down in her bed to meditate. The quarters were spartan. But when comparing to her old accommodations, it was a huge upgrade.

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and opened her mind to the force.

Three months went by slowly.

The closer Fay got to her destination, the more snippets of visions she obtained. She couldn't make heads or tails regarding any of it since it was all jumbled up like an abstract painting. Yet for some reason she felt a primal sense of content whenever she saw some of the scenes. It brought up feelings she had long neglected. However for the life of her she could understand what these visions meant. She wouldn't be able to do so until she piece the visions together into one whole.

Beep... beep

The sound of an alarm woke Fay out of her meditation.

Looking into the screen in front she noticed that they were nearing their destination. Beep was warning that they were about to exit hyperspace.

'Finally,' she thought. She pressed a button in the intercom to tell Beep that she had gotten his message since the droid kept making noises.

It took her three months to het to the destination the vision showed. She didn't bother with the controls leaving it all in Beeps capable hats focussing all her energies into her meditation.

'Thank god for force trance,' she thought stretching herself to get feeling back to her extremities. Using this technique she could stay in meditation longer as it slowed down her metabolism by a large fraction.

One glance at her communicator was enough to conclude that she didn't have any unexpected calls during the last session of meditation. In fact she got none during the last three months. It wasn't surprising since she was rather detached from the Order doing what she liked following the force where it led her.

Just as she entered the cockpit, the ship exited hyperspace.

"Isn't this the Atollon System?" she questioned Beep. The droid sounded his affirmation.

She had read about this system from the holonet. It had one viable planet and moon that was capable of hosting life. The only planet of the system, Atollon was famous for its ruins of a long forgotten era. The planet had many artwork from an extinct species that was thought to have died out before the formation of the Galactic Republic. These pieces of art was in high demand by certain collectors as well as the Jedi council for some of them were of secrets of the force.

However the system was rarely traversed due to the warp storms that popped out of nowhere without warning. Visiting the planet was a matter of life and death.

She guided her freighter down into the atmosphere. She had no idea where she was meant to go except the knowledge that she should land on Atallon. Anyway, the entire planet looked the same with endless sandy deserts and rock formations. Even if she knew of a heading, finding it would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

The reentry was smooth. Giving the command of the ship over to Beep she walked towards the airlock during the final stages of the landing procedure. Beep was more than capable of handling the process for he was something she had modified extensively to match her needs as she was mostly alone when travelling the galaxy.

She picked up the pack she had readied for this journey two days ago. It was filled with food, water and other necessities to survive for fort nite before having to return to resupply.

As soon as the hatch opened, warm air scorched her body which was in vast contrast to the comfortable temperature inside the ship. A warm climate was expected from a desert planet like this.

The environment was exactly like she had read about in the holonet. As far as she could see the sad, coral trees and rock formations filled her vision.

She saw several dokma, a small snail like creature that was active to the planet coming out of their crevices to investigate the disturbance they felt. Other than these creatures, she saw no other life signs. Even the trees looked and felt like if they were made of rock.

She hesitantly walked down the ramp.

"Now what?" she asked herself.

She was at the planet the vision showed her. Yet she had no idea what to do next. Regarding the rest of her quest, the vision gave her no hint at all. Sighing to herself she stepped off the ramp making up her mind to push on. It was the only option left to her. Even if it would take her months or may be years, she was determined to get to the bottom of the vision.

Shouldering her pack, Fay started to walk away from her craft through the maze of plated tree corals.

The sun beat down on her making her journey extra difficult. She tried to keep to the shade so that she could preserve her water more. At the rate she was going, she was certain that she would run out of water within four days instead of the fort nite for which she prepared.

As she made her way through the maze of rocks and trees the sun began to go down. She didn't know the exact time which had elapsed since she was keeping her senses open for any sign.

As dark slowly descended a sound made her way into her force augmented ears.

Chitter... chitter

The sound immediately paused her movement.

She tied to feel where the noise had come out of since she was certain that it wasn't made by a dokma.

This was one of the times she felt her decision to renounce using a lightsaber for combat. In an uncertain situation like this, having a weapon in hand would undoubtably boost your courage.

She slowly spread her control and levitated several loose stones out of the ground. With just a thought, they would become more devastating than bolster bolts.

No matter how much she tried she couldn't find the aura of the creatures making the racket. Yet the noise seemed to come closer every second.

A loose rock falling down dew her attention at once. She turned around to see a massive white spider like creature that was looking at her from a ledge above. It had three pairs of legs, a bulbous body that was raised into the air and large jaws which she felt could bite her arm right off. The creature stared at her with an eerie hunger in its eyes.

It was soon joined by another... then another, until she was completely surrounded with no way out except through the horde of these spiders. Yet they didn't attack despite their aggressive behaviour.

She tried to use the force to try to communicate with them as the Jedi usually did when they faced an aggressive creature. It usually helped them to understand the creatures motives and turn them away of they views the said Jedi as food.

However the mind of this spider was resistant to such procedure. Its mind was completely shielded from her with a cocoon of rolling ill intent. It was as if she was water and its mind was covered in a layer of oil. Fay tired to forcefully connect with its mind. She was successful for a second before she was thrown out of its mind. That brief connection was enough for her to understand one particular detail.

These creatures... they were made of negative emotions. They were drawn to the sources of these emotions like moths to a flame. The moment they saw an opening, they would attack en horde.

A tinge of fear rose in her heart despite her efforts to stay calm and collected. She couldn't help it. She had yet to reach her objective on this planet. And worst of all she still had no idea what the vision meant. She didn't want to die with so many unanswered questions.

The moment the fear rose, one of the spiders leapt forwards, it's jaws wide open to sever her in half.

Using the force, she reinforced her legs and leapt away just in time. However the other spiders started to move as well. She was surrounded with no escape in sight with no help form anyone either. The apprehension she felt slowly increased despite her efforts to calm her heart. With her growing fear, the spiders became more and more aggressive.

She ducked as a spider swiped at her head. Using the force to augment herself she punched the spider's underbelly with all the might she could muster. The creature went soaring over its brethren with a snap. However it did not die. Fay was able to glimpse it jumping back onto its feet with nothing but a light dent to its chitinous armour.

Her attention had to be focussed on the fight as another spider leapt to ty its luck at her in the millisecond she was distracted.

Fay leapt up and stamped on its back sending the spider crashing into another. She used the hand to hand combat techniques she had honed over the years to punch and kick the spiders out of her comfort zone.

Fay had to constantly keep moving in order to not to be caught off guard. The loose stones she had chosen earlier were sent into the group of spiders like rockets. She heard dull thuds as the rocks shattered upon impact. It didn't harm them from what she could see, but it did carry a stupendous amount of blunt force trauma.

When a spider tried to pierce her with its front legs, she caught hold on to them and used it to clear her surrounding by spinning on her heels using the spider to smash into its brethren. Without slowing the momentum she let it fly towards one of the rock formations which crumbled on top of it trapping it. She didn't know whether it was alive or dead'

'At least one is out of the fight,' she thought as exhaustion slowly set in.

Thus Fay began to dance with the force leaping and twirling while keeping the creatures at bay. She was like a whirlwind though the hoard of spiders sending them flying one by one. None of them were permanently harmed. She didn't have any respite as no matter how many creatures she threw away, two more was ready to take its place.

It was like she had aroused an ant hill. The 'ants' kept coming no matter how many she 'killed'.

She was panting hard. This was the most action she had seen in about a century. It wasn't hard to defeat or maybe even kill a couple of dozen of these spiders. But dealing with hundreds of them was taking a strain in both her mind and body.

Grunting in exertion, she slammed her hands on to the ground sending a shockwave that threw the spiders encircling her back like leaves. Without caring about the state of her body she repeated the action creating a small no mans land between her and the spiders.

It was then she noticed. The creatures which had acquired more damage stayed at the back allowing their fresh brethren at her. She was more than are that during the fight she had managed to kill off about a dozen of spiders as well.

Fay knew that she wouldn't be able to go on like this forever. However there was no alternative. She was trapped in a forest of coral trees and rocky monoliths. The only way out was through the spiders themselves.

The little time she brought to breath was ended when the spiders rushed towards her like a wave. Clamping down on her despair she readied herself for the fight of her life wishing for her old lightsaber which she gave up when she left the temple.

The more she fought with the help of the force to protect her back, the more a she fell into a trance with her actions being instinctive rather than voluntary. She was using less and less movements to survive in the storm of legs and jaws. In this trance she knew where the next creature would attack, the angle it would attack and also she instinctively knew the ideal method to block, dodge or evade the upcoming actions. The deeper she went into the trance the more insight she got of the creatures' thought process. She completely bypassed their shields.

Suddenly she understood. It was her fear of dying in this isolated place that was drawing them in. The more her fear took hold of her, the more aggressive they became. To these creatures the current her was the sweetest thing they could sink their jaws into.

She breathed out slowly emptying her mind again. With the help of the trance she was in, it was extremely easy. The fear that was eluding her slowly ebbed away.

As soon as she cleared her mind, the spiders stopped in their tracks abruptly. The force indicated no more attacks. They were still there, too close for her comfort… yet they stood still like statues observing her every move.

Coming out of the trance she released the breath she was holding and relaxed her aching muscles which were screaming in agony over the exertion. Fay knew that she could let her guard down for these creatures wouldn't attack her anymore... unless her fear took hold of her again.

Gently she walked in between the spiders to escape the encirclement. The receded the moment she came close to their bodies. One by one they started to head back towards their caves they had crawled out of.

Once the field empties, she saw few spider corpses that were left behind. These creatures had their chitinous armour ripped out of their bodies in places exposing the greenish flesh inside. By close inspection Fay could see that almost all of them had sustained heavy injuries on their tiny heads. Most likely they were caused by her barrages of stones she hurled at them.

Fay opted to continue on until she find a place to rest for the night. Her body felt dead tired after the gruelling trial it had been put through.

Fay followed the winding paths until she came into a large clearing.

There was only one entrance to it and it was the one she used to enter. It was a natural hollow formed out of the rock monoliths. Coral trees grew towards the walls of the hollow while a large rock formation sat right in the middle.

She looked around and outdent see anyone in the vicinity. The place was the ideal location to spend the night as it was sheltered from the wind and the ground was solid unlike in the other places where it was just loose sand.

Fay leaned against the wall taking a huge gulp of water. She slowly massaged her arms since they left like they were made of lead. She didn't know exactly how long she had been fighting the spiders, but she could bet that it exceeded four hours. The mystical trance she found herself in had dulled her awareness of the passing time.

'What it was,' she thought thinking of the trance. In that moment she felt closer to the force like never before. It flowed and guided her making her see her opponent's movements before they had even thought of committing them. At that moment she was omnipotent about the battlefield.

Jedi had the ability to predict an attack on their person. This only worked when they were surprised. However the trance showed her the optimum way to attack and evade the enemy.

She tried to enter the state agin by emptying her mind. If the trance could point her in the right direction it would save so much hassle.

Fay suddenly jerked standing up abruptly staring at a heap of stone pillars which was located in the centre of the clearing. Her mouth opened involuntarily as she sensed the largest force presence she had ever sensed in her life. It was like ten Yodas standing together... like a beacon of light had gone off in a dark room blinding everyone within it.

Yet the presence was not of the light side of the force. Neither was it of the dark side as well. Instead it was in harmony with the both sides. The force flowed in and out it the being like he or she was one with the force. She had never seen such an occurrence in her centuries long life experiences.

The being seemed to have sensed her as well for the pile of rock shook rising up from the ground shaking the dust that had gathered on it. Fay watched on with trepidation as the being stood up stretching itself slowly seemingly after multiple years of inaction if the creaking and groaning of bones were any indication.

It turned around and Fay saw a creature she had never encountered before. It had large antlers... four of them to be precise that spread out increasing its stature. It had the face of a grizzled ox with brownish hair and beard flowing down midways into his chest. His entire body which looked like that of a pangolin was armoured like a rhinoceros. It was these plates that she mistook as rocks.

The creature had massive arms which fanned out to the both sides. Though it looked like it could stand and perform on two feet, it used its massive arms to support its body on the ground.

The being was a mix mash of several species put together.

"Hmmm... who is it that broke my slumber?" he asked. Fay noted that it was definitely a he from its facial hair and the tone of voice.

"I did," she replied softly feeling small at its presence. It was understandable for the being towered over her. It could crush her within its palm like a fruit. Every time it moved, the ground shook a little.

"You are you, hmmm?" he questioned.

"I'm Aurora Fay, Master of the Order of Jedi," she replied feeling her courage return.

'It's him,' she realized seeing how the force resonated with the being. The force showed her the way to Atollon for a purpose. And that was to meet this being in front of her. She could bet everything she owned on this.

"Aurora FayFay, Master of the Jedi, why did you come here, hmmm?"

"The force," she replied shortly.

"Ahh... is that so?" the being asked looking thoughtful as he bend closer to her level. Fay stared at him without showing any fear. His face was larger than her stature. Heck, his eyes were bigger than her head. Added with the silent pressure he extruded, it wasn't surprising to have a little apprehension in one's heart.

Fay could feel her entire entity being scanned. She felt her aura being dismantled bit by bit until the being was happy with the results he found. He stood up after the scan was done giving her an apologetic smile.

"You are a force wielder... yet you are neither Jedi nor Sith. Who are you?" she asked after the being got up.

For the first time in her life she felt completely powerless. This force wielder could vanquish her with nothing but a thought should he require. She would be powerless against any action he took. The bright side was that he didn't seem hostile at all. He seemed… pleased with her presence.

"Jedi? Sith? The light and the dark... Ashla and Bogan, two sides of the same coin. I'm the one in the middle... the Bendu. I'm neither, yet I am both. You may call me as Bendu," he chuckled deeply sitting down making himself comfortable.

"I see a deep contradiction within you. You are a firm follower of Ashla. You abhor Bogan. I see you destroying its many iterations whenever you come across it… yet you have a darkness buried deep within. A darkness shrouded within a pure light… such is your contradiction. It woke me up, hmm. So Aurora Fay; Jedi Master…why do you live in such a contradiction?"

Fay felt herself inhale deeply. She shuddered because what Bendu said resonated with her core. She was taken aback at how he was able to see her true self with one look at her.

Fay knelt in front of Bendu. She felt a soothing aura from him that told her that all her troubles would soon unravel and solve on their own. She felt like if she could trust him with all her secrets… it felt like she was in the presence of a great learned man who could guide her in her path from a few casual words.

"Ahh… I see I was right. Tell me the reason for the darkness within you, hmmm? We'll resolve the issue before anything else," Bendu spoke when she was struggling to find words on where she had to start. She knew that the Bendu would be the source of answers to all the questions she had.

"It was because of a Sith," she replied.

"A follower of Bogan, hmmm? Go on."

Fay felt herself opening up to him even though they had just met. She told him of her childhood and the story of how her family was brutally cut down but the Sith lord who wanted her for a disciple. She told how she felt when she felt their lives fade away in the force, the angst and the anger she harboured against the individual known as Darth Vectivus and the entire Sith order that followed that detestable man. All of the hurts that she had kept bottled up over the years came out one by one.

The Jedi code did wonders to suppress these feelings. They believed that feelings and emotions led one to the dark side and did it best to suppress them. The Jedi Order looked down on individuals who were seen as emotional keeping tight watch over them so that they wouldn't fall to the temptation of the dark side.

Her master had helped her in her formative days to overcome the grief. Yet those methods were only patching the hole instead of fixing it. She was seen as one of these emotional members within the order who was most likely to be swayed to the other side. The council prohibited her master from teaching her more advanced techniques eventually going as far as to use an old method to seal portions of her memories.

The technique had failed because of her abnormal connection with the force. She didn't tell any one of this fact because she was afraid that she would be kicked out from the only place she could call home after her family's death. Not to say some of the extreme methods the Jedi used to prevent the dark side from grasping into an individual was downright bone chilling. These techniques were brutal and often the receivers of them would become completely new individuals since their consciousness was wiped clean to a preferred state. Such was the case of the legendary Revan.

Instead she grew to live with her memories, harnessing the power they gave her when necessary.

They say she was powerful because of her age and her connection to the force. The part about her connection to the force was true. What they didn't know was that she could harness the power of the dark through her memories when necessary to give her an extra boost. Every time she did this, she had to hide from the public to recover back to her usual self. She detested using it with every bone in her body.

She told Bendu of her childhood at the Temple and how she rose in the ranks after the failed ceremony to seal her memories. She of course didn't bore him of the details of her little adventures throughout the galaxy. Instead she summarized them leading to the vision she got four months ago right unto the moment she met him. When she was done she finally realized that she had regained her entire life story without even thinking about it.

"Ahh... I see now," said Bendu. "There is a part of you who wish that you lived the life your parents promised you. The only reason you joined the Order was because of the man who ended their lives. I see you holding on to your parent's promise quite strongly even after all these years."

Fay felt herself nod unconsciously. She also remembered how her father promised to shelter her from the Jedi so that they wouldn't take his little angel away from him. She grew up enjoying the earth her parents gave her and her brother unconditionally. They may not have been well off, but what ever cent they made was for their children.

Fay watched the loved her parents had to one another and thrice children. She had often dreamt that her prince be just like her father for her had set the most profound image in her young mind.

"I see you angry at the Jedi Order as well. You blame them partially for their incompetency in finding about the Sith. I believe that is why you travel like a nomad punishing the evil you come across. You want to punish the man named Darth Vectivus… you want to relish in his agony, hmmm?"

Fay felt truth in his words. She had tried on many occasions to convince that the Sith were still alive operating from the shadows instead of in the open like they usually did. There were often clues left behind by their activities if one knew how to spot them.

Some of the Council believed her. She wasn't the first person to claim the continued existence to the Sith. The council knew that the Sith survived the war at the end of the Dark Age a thousand years ago and reformed their order under an individual named Darth Bane.

However the Sith were extremely good at hiding themselves thus making the Jedi believe that they didn't survive long after the fall of their empire.

She remembered being furious on how they denied her the rightful advancement for years because they believed that she would run off on a wild goose chase.

"Yes… until you learn to come to terms with it, the darkness within you will continue to fester. And this darkness makes it unable for you to reach your full potential. From how I see, you need to let your feelings out and come to terms with them. Once you do, you will emerge stronger than before with much more clarity on life and the force."

"But their lives were cut short due to a whim of one man," she argued.

"Life is nothing but chaos. Only those who rise above the strife leads fulfilled lives. The strife one faces life is what makes you...you. How you deal with it will colour your perception on life," Bendu replied. "You must find strength in the chaos. Instead of letting the anger cloud the judgement, you must conquer it so that you wouldn't feel the frailty again in a similar situation, hmmm?"

Bendu gestured with his hand several dokma were levitated into his open palm. "The force is mysterious. No matter how hard we try, we are unable to truly understand its will. The events that transpired that day led you to become the current version of yourself. Would you have rather died and your parents survive? Make use of your parent's sacrifice and live your life to the fullest."

He slowly placed the dock on the ground and the creatures left them in a sedated pace.

"Are you telling me to embrace the anger? Wouldn't that be the first step to fall into the dark?" she asked in surprise.

"Ahh... I see. You are afraid to face your emotions because you are afraid that you will be tempted by Bogan. There cannot be light without dark nor can dark exist without light. Fearing something natural is… foolish."

"What are you implying? Should I give myself to the dark to deal with my loss?"

"I mean no such thing, Aurora Fay; Jedi Master. To find true balance in the force, you have to be at balance as well. You will need to face the things you had been running from. Once you come to terms with them… then you can emerge stronger than before. To do that you will need to let go of all your preconceptions. I can help… but only if you want help."

"How do I do that?" she asked.

She knew that the darkness within her growing as time passed by. Despite the little boost it gave to her when she needed, it was a heavy burden to carry. She would never find true peace until it was dealt with. The inner peace was a necessary requirement to learn the technique to become one with the force by transferring her being into the force at the end of her life. No matter how har she tried, it eluded her since she wasn't a practitioner who was free of any regrets.

When Bendu said that she could achieve this realm she was more than interested.

"Didn't you just do it a moment ago?" Bendu laughed loudly startling her.

"What?" she questioned the laughing being, his explanation lost on her.

"The spiders you fought... the kyrkna... they sense the negative emotions you extrude."

"I know. It is how they found me. It is why they attacked me," she agreed for she had made this observation during her fight.

"But in the end they left you, hmmm? Why?" Bendu questioned with a knowing smile.

Fay though hard. "... because I conquered my fear of dying alone in this planet," she finally realized.

"Haha... now you see. You faced the fear on your own and overcame it. The krykna sense the unease, the anger and the fear of their prey. The moment they feel these emotions they would attack. They lost their sight of you the moment you overcame your fears. To their eyes, one who has no fear is one of their own… so they left you alone. The same is true for your inner feelings as well. You will be able to let them go once you face them."

"This is against the Jedi code," Fay observed. "We are taught to believe that fear doesn't exist. The code doesn't talk of overcoming fear by facing it."

"The Jedi and the Sith represent the two extremes of the force. I know of your philosophies. They are too confining… by dwelling in one corner, one cannot truly understand the force. Both Jedi and Sith forget… force is one whole entity. The beliefs of your Orders are only a tiny corner of a larger whole," Bendu explained to her slowly. "One must have a flexible mind capable of accepting new information to explore the true meaning of the force… and life for that matter, hmmm?"

"I'm open to new things," Fay immediately replied.

"Haha… I believe you. Otherwise the force would not have sent you to this place."

'Confirmation at last,' Fay thought to herself. She knew it was Bendu the force wanted her to meet. However it was comforting to hear the confirmation right out of the moth of this powerful force wielder.

"Can you tell me about the trance I was in while fighting the spiders?" she questioned eager to find the answer for it.

"Ahh... Battle Meditation. An ancient technique... a powerful one. One that lets you dictate the life and death over a conflict."

"Battle Meditation?" she asked in surprise. She knew of this extremely rare force ability which was the subject of jealousy by many strategists. Of the Jedi Order which had over ten thousand force sensitive individuals within it's ranks, only three had this ability.

One was Grandmaster Yoda which wasn't surprising. Yoda was known for mastering many techniques belonging to the light side while being naturally gifted with some of the rarer ones. Another was Master Yarael Poof, a Jedi Master known for his uncanny ability for techniques of the mind. Master poof was another who had foregone a lightsaber because he could win his conflicts without having to move a muscle.

The last was Master T'ra Saa, a Neti who were known for their abnormally long lifespans. She was a protector of the Jedi Library who had access to many holocrons that were stored within. Much like herself, Master Saa was seen as a loose canon by the council, yet they were in no position to go against her since she had served the Order longer than their lifespans.

"You know of it, hmmm? Even in the old days, it was considered rare. Unlike the other force abilities, it is not something that one can train by listening to a teacher. It is gained through personal understanding of the world around you. But I could also name a few individuals who were born with it. They were rarer than pontite crystals... yet they all changed history... all of them... some for the good... some for the bad."

"It is getting dark," Bendu said looking at the sky. "Come, we'll go inside and talk. It is rude to entertain a guest without inviting them to you home now would it, hmmm?"

Bendu turned around and started to walk on all fours towards the walls around the enclosure. With one wave of his hand, the stone trees parted as if they were alive revealing a massive cave that seemed to go on forever.

Fay was astounded when the force washed over her as Bendu manipulated the force. She had seen some skilled masters use their abilities to change the environment. Usually they could only create storms out of the force. But the act Bendu did was beyond anything she had ever seen. The cave was covered in many layers of force. The first and foremost was an illusion that was so real that no one would think otherwise. Then the stone tress guarded the rock face. Bendu seemed to be able to control them like an advanced version of a Plant Surge. She doubted that she or any other Jedi could do it because the coral trees were... corals. They were just rock.

She wondered if Bendu was willing to teach her how he did it. However she was too afraid to ask since she didn't know if he would take offence and throw her out before she could reach her goal.

When she entered, Bendu returned the cave entrance to what it was before blocking it from the outside world.

"I welcome you to my humble abode," said Bendu.

Despite the darkness that was descending on the outside world the cave was brightly lit. It was achieved through some fort of local plant life which emitted light through its leaves. "Make yourself comfortable, hmmm," he said pointing at several rocky structures which was hewn in the shape of chairs.

Fay sat down looking around the cave. They were in a large cavern with multiple dark tunnels leading out in every direction. Though there were no modern conveniences, it looked quite homey.

"It's been many moons I invited a visitor inside my humble abode. It may not have the luxuries the rest of the galaxy takes for granted, by it does provide a roof over my head. I like it this way," Bendu said sitting down close by. Making himself comfortable he turned back to her.

"You are the second person to see inside my home. I tend to keep outsiders from reaching the planet since I do not wish to engage myself in the daily conflicts of the galaxy. I doubt you could have reached here without the guidance from the force."

"How do you do it?" She blurted involuntarily because of his statement. From what she knew, only the location and the hazardous journey prevented mercenaries and pirates from reaching the planet and pillaging this place for all its worth.

"The warp storm... you don't believe they are natural do you?" Bendu chuckled.

Fay felt her blood freeze when Bendu replied. 'Creating warp storms in the hyperspace? How powerful is he?' she questioned herself. Bendu seemed to defy all logic.

"Ahh... I feel your fear. You don't have a reason to worry. I mean you no harm. I enjoy meditating alone on the mysteries of the force rather. Involving myself in galactic politics would only bring harm for myself and innocent people. The people in power wouldn't want someone like me upturning their systems."

"How do you do it?" she asked again hesitantly. Her mind was still on the fact that Bendu could somehow create warp storms.

"Aurora Fay; Jedi Master, you don't have to fear me. Ask the questions you have. I will answer them if I know of the matter and deem you are worthy of the knowledge," he chuckled deeply. He had sensed the trepidation in her voice when she questioned him. "As for the warp storm... it was created long ago by the Celestials to protect this planet. In their time, this was one of their many strongholds. They left behind an artifact to control the storm. Haha... no mortal being is powerful enough to create such a phenomenon on their own."

"Mortal?" she questioned surprised on how he termed his answer.

"There are beings beyond our comprehension," Bendu said shortly. Fay got the indication that he didn't wish to answer her queries regarding this matter.

"And before you question... only the true Bendu can use the artifacts left behind by the Celestials."

"Bendu? I thought it was your name," she said in astonishment.

"Ahh... I knew you would ask that. Bendu is a state of being. The light side is Ashla, the dark; Bogan... and in the middle is Bendu. It is the state of perfect balance... not light... not dark... not grey either. You are both… yet you are neither. You have to comprehend it. It cannot be taught," Bendu explained. "I chose that name because there are only a few of us left in the galaxy. They like myself distance themselves from the rest of the galaxy. Nothing good will come if we were to interfere. Only another Bendu would have the honour of knowing out true names."

"Why? Why would you say that nothing good will happen if you interfere?"

"We did... long ago. It did make things better for a time. But eventually everything descended into chaos. The war raged for half a millennium. After that the remainder of us chose to hide away and let events progress naturally."

"What are you talking about? A war that lasted five hundred years? Why isn't it recorded?"

"I don't think there are complete records from that time, hmmm. I'm talking of a war that happened more than twenty-five thousand years. We were called the Je'daii. The original force wielders. It was our order that split into the Jedi and the Sith due to extremists."

"You are twenty-five thousand years old?" Fay's eyebrows had completely disappeared into her hairline. Her mouth was slightly open as she started at Bendu. Bendu was the closest thing to a god… an immortal with immense power. And here she was, in the presence of such a being.

"Haha... that I am... give or take a couple of centuries."

"How..."

"How am I still alive, hmmm? I don't know. Maybe it is due to my kind? There were not a lot of us from the start. Maybe it is due to the will of the force? Who knows? I sill haven't found an answer for that query myself. I only feel that there are certain things that I must accomplish before my time is up. Hopefully I will join the force when I have completed the duty it bestowed upon me."

'Is this the power of the Bendu? Can true balance be the correct path?' she questioned herself. 'What is my purpose?'

"Cant you sense the other Bendu?"

"Each Bendu have different strengths in their connection to the force. Some extremely strong.. some weak. But none of us are omniscient. We only know what the force wants us to know. Though I know that some still live, I cannot see who they are or where they reside. If you want to meet them, it is up to you and the will of the force."

"What happened to the Je'daii?" She asked changing the subject. She was more than a little interested in knowing how the Jedi Order came to exist. She had heard of the ancient Je'daii order, of course. It was one the first thing they taught you as a youngling about the history of their Order. Yet the details of this organization was extremely vague. The war that formed the Jedi and the course of time through the ages had erased many details of that era of the Je'daii.

Bendu stared into the space as if he was reminiscing the past.

"The Celestials gathered all of the force sensitives using the eight Tor Yor. We were taken to Tython and taught the ways of the force," Bendu started to tell his story. "We were taught to find the balance between the two sides of the force. It was necessary for when there was an imbalance in the force, Force Storms would erupt all over Tython in order to balance it. So we colonized the two moons orbiting the planet; Ashla and Bogan... named after the two sides of the force. When one strayed too far into the dark, he was sent to Bogan so he could contemplate about Ashla. The same went when one strayed too far into the light... he was send to Ashala to contemplate on Bogan."

Bendu sighed. "Over the course of next few millennia we read out throughout the galaxy gathering mainlining the peace. I wont fill you much of what happened. But eventually the number of force users started to dwindle and extremists began to gather. There were several wars and finally the Rakata invaded Tython to find our secrets regarding the force. We barely won the war thwarting the invasion but soon we started to fight amongst ourselves again. Tython was lost during the war. In the end the Je'daii Order was finally disbanded as most of its members joined either the Jedi or the Sith. The remainder of us escaped to the far fringes of the galaxy to ponder the force in silence."

Fay knew there were more to the story than the abridged version that Bendu told her. But this version was enough to fill some of the major gaps in the history. She wanted to know the location of Tython, the place where everything began. However she knew instinctively that neither Bendu nor the others who survived to this date would be willing to divulge that information.

Then again she wasn't here to learn of the Je'daii nor was she here to rediscover Tython. From what she could glean her purpose was entirely different.

"What now?" she asked Bendu since she still had no clue on how to proceed from here.

"It depends on you Aurora Fay; Jedi Master. What do you wish to do? Do you wish to cleanse yourself completely of your darkness? Do you wish to give into your inner darkness to obtain the revenge you crave? Or do you wish to walk the path of Bendu? One decision... infinite choices. Like the universe itself, hmm?

"Is it why the force guided me here?" she questioned Bendu.

Bendu chuckled in an amused manner. "The force is mysterious. After all these years divining it, I'm still no closer to understand it than when I started. The force will always have what it want. Nothing and no one can change its will. I believe it is the closest to a god we can find... unstoppable... always working in mysterious ways. But if you are skilled enough, you can always finds hints showing you the way. You Jedi are quite skilled at that, hmm?

"But it has been difficult to glimpse the future," she said thinking go the unusual silence within the force.

"Ahh… the shroud of darkness. I sense it. Works of followers of Bogan, it is. It clouds the inner eye of you force sensitives. Makes you vulnerable. But not Bendu. You saw something, yes?"

"I saw myself arriving at this planet," Fay replied with a frown. "But the visions never showed me more."

"But they did show you something else, hmm?" Bendu asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"How do you know?" she questioned looking suspiciously at Bendu. A frown marred her features as she waited for his reply.

If he had come to know of her visions when he was scanning her the moment they met, it was a grave breech of privacy. It was not something she could overlook easily. Some Jedi may not care of it, but she was a quiet person who valued her privacy a lot. Her thoughts and dreams were her own. No one was to desecrate the sanctity of her mind.

"You believe I looked into your memories," Bendu said with a chuckle. He held his hand in surrender indicating he did no such thing. "It is possible for a skilled force wielder to read another's mind and access their memories. Most of the techniques that survived the fall of Tython are embedded in the dark… unless some talented individual rediscovered them. In my time I have seen powerful individuals casually accessing another's mind even without them knowing it. However I did nor use such a technique on you. I merely stated what the force showed me the moment you arrived at my doorstep."

"Alright... I believe you," she said finally after looking hard at Bendu for a while. "What did you see?" she all but demanded him. The more she spoke with Bendu, the more at ease she felt.

"Things... haha," the creature chuckled.

"What things?" she asked hotly. Her composure fell for a second as she couldn't stop herself from demanding what Bendu saw. She needed to find what all those jumbled visions meant. She knew it was something personal to her… something she would love and cherish with her entire being. But not knowing what it was, was driving her crazy.

"Many things... many different paths... all depend on your choices. One will leave you as you are... one will make you fall to the dark side... another will make you find the path to true balance," Bendu explained with a smile.

"What path should I take?" she asked.

"I cannot say. It is your choice. You are at a crossroads... a shatterpoint. Only one path leads you to your happiness. The others lead to death and chaos."

Fay was silenced by the revelation. She thought hard on her path. Since it was a shatterpoint, only one true path would guide her forward.

The obvious answer was to learn from Bendu about the way of the ancient Je'daii. In doing so she would be able to resolve all the issues she had and emerge stronger than ever with her connection to the force further strengthened. She felt the force urge her to do so. However to follow this path she would have to renounce her connection to the Jedi. Though she disagreed with many of their stances, the Jedi Temple was the only place she could call as her home. The Jedi Code was what moulded her to her current self.

Fay took in a deep breath. She had already made up her mind. She slowly kneeled in front of Bendu. "Teach me, master."

"Haha... you are not the first to tell me that. I seem to be hearing that more frequently ever since I woke up from my slumber," Bendu chuckled. "I will tell you the same thing I told him. I will guide you to the path. However I will not be your master. The rest is up to you."

"Another person?" she asked cautiously looking around.

"Ahh...Ood Bnar; Jedi Master... why don't you come out and greet your fellow Jedi?" Bendu chuckled as he turned to one particular dark tunnel.

'Whose there?' Fay questioned herself expanding her senses to sense the other Jedi Bendu said was hiding. She could only look for his aura for the tunnel was so dark that she couldn't see more than two feet into it.

It was faint, but she felt it. This Jedi who Bendu named Ood Bnar was actively hiding his presence through force concealment. The individual was yet to master the technique. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to sense him at all. If Bendu hadn't said that this person was a Jedi, she would have come to the conclusion that he was a Sith for it was a technique the dark side wielders seemed to prefer in order to hide their presence.

Fay was quite relieved that it was a fellow Jedi who she was going to meet. A meeting with a Sith or a follower of the dark path would not go smoothly at all. For one she would attack the Sith even if Bendu was here to dissipate the tension.

The person slowly walked out of the tunnel. Fay was mildly startled when she saw a Neti, whose skin was light brown with age emerge.

Neti was a race of plants which gained sentience. They lived for a ridiculously long time, one of the longest recorded lifespans which was probably because they were plants. Usually they tended to keep to their planet without venturing into the galaxy at all. The only Neti outside their planet was within the Jedi Order since they were strong force sensitives.

Fay knew of another Neti Jedi; T'ra Saa, the Guardian of the Jedi Library. Saa was legendary among the Order for she had served it for a long time and taught some of the most influential figures within the Order. She was also one of the three individuals who had the ability of battle meditation before Fay gained it.

Just like Master Saa, this Neti had transformed itself to look more humanoid. The appearance it took was of a middle aged man with a gentle smile. If one wasn't looking for specific signs, you wouldn't be able to tell he was a Neti.

"Hello, Master Fay. Its good to finally meet you. I'm called Ood Bnar," he introduced himself in a deep slow monotonous voice.

"Ood Bnar? I don't think I have heard of you in the Order," she said to him after exchanging pleasantries.

"I would have been surprised if you have," he said shaking his head slightly. His thick branch like hair which he had transformed to look like dreadlocks shook.

"Why is that?" she questioned. She knew of several Jedi who had left the order to form conclaves on their own because of their disagreements with some of the tenants of the Order. Though they were separated, their leaders still kept in touch with the High Council for they were all allied to the same cause. The most famous of them were the Altisian Jedi led by Master Djinn Altis.

She knew of the leaders and the prominent figures of these factions because she would often run into them during her journeys. However the name Ood Bnar was not on that list.

"I was asleep for more that three thousand five hundred years at Ossus. I was the last Head Librarian of the Great Jedi Library," he replied making himself comfortable in one of the seats close to her's.

"The lost planet," she breathed in deeply. First Tython and now Ossus. She was rediscovering key locations of the Jedi Order without even trying.

"You know of it?" Ood smiled.

"Don't I. It is one of the things taught while you are a youngling at the temple. It is written that the Jedi weren't even able to recover ten percent of the materials they had gathered in the Great Library before the Cron supernova set off. Many master have tried their best to find its location. But none have been successful."

Ood sighed as he reminisced the past, the glory days of the Jedi Order. Ossus was the centre of all their operations. All the artifact they managed to salvage from Tython to all the knowledge they gathered over the years was stored in this peaceful world for the use of Jedi. But it all changed with the fiend know as Exar Kun.

Driven by his own hubris that he could control the dark side of the force with his sheer power, he fell rapidly to the temptation and corrupted several of his friends and colleagues while he was at it.

This newly created faction of dark siders gathered under Exar Kun who rose to the position of a Sith Lord and waged a war against the Jedi. The Jedi was able to defeat them. However it came at a cost since the Sith didn't want the Jedi to win without sustaining a heavy loss. The supernova they set off had been their way of saying 'fuck you.'

"You were asleep?" she asked him remembering what he said.

"To stop Exar Kun from accessing the vaults I rooted myself in the temple. It also meant that I would enter a deep slumber without knowing when I would awaken. In my sleep I dreamt. I dreamt of many things of the past… the present… and future. I saw the converging of paths… the futures which could be… But then I was awoken. I saw my purpose."

Ood turned to her from his memory. "With the help of some Yassana, I managed to repair a ship that had crashed on the planet some time ago. And before you ask… the Yassana are the descendants of the people who survived the supernova. They are all below average force sensitives. They guard all the great sites on Ossus as decreed by their ancestors."

"The force led me here… to meet Bendu."

"Did you...?" she asked in anticipation.

"...Bring the items from the temple? I did," Ood said with a slow chuckle. "I was lucky enough to have the Yassana to help me. Otherwise I would have had to leave the majority of the items behind."

"Did they come with you?" she asked looking around again.

"No... the Great Library is far from being the most valuable structure on Ossus. There are several others that date back to the ancient Je'daii Order. Most of them were yet to be understood by us during the time of the fall. The Yassana have a duty to protect them. So they opted to behind."

"When did you arrive here?"

"He arrived about fifteen cycles ago, hmmm," Bendu replied for Ood.

"So he's the other one you meant who asked you to be his master," Fay noted.

"Yes," Bendu agreed. "As I said, I just showed him the path. The rest was up to him... much like you. The force is only a guide... whether or not follow its guidance is up to the individual. Followers of Ashla follow the force passively in blind fascination... followers of Bogan overpower the force to bend it to their will. Only the Bendu can find the true meaning in the force... neither following blindly nor going against to create your own fate."

"Moderation is the key," Ood added so that Fay could comprehend Bendu's meaning easier.

"It is getting late. Meditate on what you have learnt for now. I will guide you starting tomorrow," Bendu said getting up.

Fay nodded her consent. She had a lot of information to process. For force's sake, she was in the presence of two of the oldest individuals in the galaxy. That itself was enough to overwhelm her mind. She had stars in her eyes when she thought of all the things they could teach her. First and foremost, she was going to deal with the memories she had suppressed for so long and begin healing her mind.

"You can park your ship on the other side of this valley. There is a crater there that will hide your vessel. I parked mine there as well," Ood said to her.

"Thank you, Master," she replied in reverence.

"I'm no Master. I gave up that title the moment the Bendu showed me the way. I'm merely a scholar in the force," Ood rebutted with a gentle smile.

"But you are more knowledgable than me. So to me you are a Master," she said firmly.

"Haha... I can now see why the force put you in this path. Your attitude will be of great help in the journey you are about to embark," he said mysteriously.

Fay wanted to question him. However she knew that everything would come into place when the time was ready. She noticed how Bendu and Ood spoke with her. They knew something she didn't and she could bet anything that it was to do with her future and the two children he saw. Furthermore she believed that those visions would become clearer when her connection with the force was further enhanced with the teachings of Bendu.

Instead Fay bowed in respect before retreating to a corner of the room to meditate.

She didn't see Ood smile mysteriously.

"She is the one, Isn'r she?" he asked telepathically from Bendu who had long retreated into a dark tunnel.

He felt Bendu hum his agreement. "Her connection to the force is abnormal for one who is tightly entrenched in Ashla. Her destiny is clouded... even I cannot see it in its entirety. But yes, I believe she is the one of the candidates the force chose to bring balance."

"You think she will reach inner peace?" he asked Bendu walking to his own corner in which he had created a nest for himself.

"I believe... yes. Not only that but she will be the one leading the ones who will bring true balance. That much I can be certain. However… I cannot say how successful they would be in their endeavour."

"I still don't get why you can't do this on your own," Ood said in disproval. Bendu had more than enough power to carve a power block all to himself. No force wielder would be able to defy him should he come out. He had the power to break the darkness which seemed to have shrouded the force given enough time.

Ood was certain that more than a few Jedi would join him as well when he reveals his ideologies. Though untied to the public, the Jedi Order was one that had various viewpoints and factions. It was true during his time and he was most certainly sure that it was true now.

Yet this being who had all the power at his grasp chose to stay in obscurity letting the events pass without interfering at all. He didn't understand why Bendu would do so when he had the ability to change the future.

"I'm old... I have been in seclusion for too long. And it is not my destiny to bring balance. Mine is to show her the way. And yours..."

"...is to stay by her side and provide her with advice and help... I know. The force showed me that as well. I'm more than ready for my part in this new story. And we will succeed. Do not have any doubts about that," Ood replied with conviction.

"Haha… This is why I leave they duty to you. You have the fire which I lack," Bendu laughed "I too believe the two of you will succeed."

"Do you think the one in that planet would find himself attracted to her? All of this balances his and her children," he asked hesitantly thinking of the first major barrier to their success.

Ood only sensed that person once. That was with the help of Bendu when Bendu was guiding him to the balance. It had only been for one instance… but he was overwhelmed at the aura of that individual many million miles away from him. Even Bendu looked like a candle held next to an industrial lamp when compared to him.

Despite his attempts he could not sense that person again. Bendu told him that he was hiding his presence which was affecting their ability to sense him through the force.

"I don't know. He is far beyond anyone I have ever encountered. That includes Celestials as well. I cannot presume to know what goes inside a mind of such a person nor his origins. All we know is his and her destiny are bound together tightly. But we need to be quick. His time on this plane is coming to a close soon."

"I know," Ood replied. "But we have to take it step by step. Nothing must be left to chance."

"You are right," Bendu agreed. "I'm just eager to join the force. It's the next great adventure for me. I cant wait for it after all these years biding my time. Haha... get some sleep Ood Bnar; Warden of Balance. We have a lot to do starting tomorrow."

"As you wish... master," he said a little playfully knowing that Bendu would get irritated every time he called him master.

'Warden of Balance... we gotcome up with a better name,' he thought to himself settling down looking forward for the next day.

XooxoXoxooX

From the next day Fay spent all her time under the guidance of Bendu and Master Ood.

The first thing Bendu taught her was to access her memories and let confront the darkness within.

It was hard for her to give into the resentment and anguish she had suppressed all these years. Once it was accessed, it erupted like a volcano that had been building pressure for many years.

She felt the need to lash out... to destroy everything in her path. She felt the need to kill the people who had wronged her over the years slowly letting the life drain out of them slowly while she relished on their despair. She wanted to head to Coruscant and destroy the people who had denied her knowledge she rightfully earned.

The darkness encouraged these wrathful thoughts giving more temptation to follow it. With every step into the dark, Fay felt her power grow. She had never felt so powerful in her life. It was as if she could conquer the galaxy with little effort making all life bow down to her in deference.

One by one the memories brought out the negative feelings that accompanied them. Luckily Bendu had sealed the cave. Otherwise it would have been sawing with krykna spiders from all the negativity emanating from Fay's body.

As she slowly descended in the madness Bendu reached out to her.

In a world that knew nothing but darkness, he stood up like a lighthouse guiding all the souls who were lost in a stormy sea. His warmth embraced the coldness in her heart soothing it.

Under his guidance she slowly reviewed all the memories that she had repressed over the years. The memories of the love she received from her family, the anguish at their abrupt deaths, all the wrongs in the galaxy she was unable to do anything about... the misery and the helplessness of the little people... the corruption she had seen yet couldn't do anything to mitigate... The list went on.

Bendu showed her the way by stopping the darkness from claiming her. The rest was up to her.

She finally understood that she was in no position to change anything. She could go after criminals, rapists, smugglers and all the other degenerates her entire life. But all her efforts would be in vain for more would fill the places of the people she eliminated.

Even her own experiences could be categorized into good and bad. She felt happiness when she was praised by her peers… when she accomplished something worthwhile… when she was with her loved ones.

At the same time she was angered and dissatisfied whenever she saw death… anguish… pain… corruption.

All these emotions were part of life. One would have not spent a meaningful life if they only had experienced one side of this spectrum of emotions.

The Jedi saw all these emotions as mirages. The Sith on the other hand revelled in them. The true peace was where one could face all these emotions and balance himself without being too attached to the feelings at the same time without ignoring them as well.

This was the Bendu. The path in the middle. The path in which one could face the eight worldly conditions and be unmoved by it. This was the creed of the Je'daii order.

When she finally gained closure regarding her family she felt like if her parents and brother was sighing in relief at last. She knew that they weren't force sensitives. If they were, she was sure they would come before her as force ghosts to congratulate her and offer their gratitude. She could swear that she felt them embrace her from the beyond.

The force surged in happiness infusing her quintessence in jubilation. For the first time in her life she felt… free.

Sighing in content she continued to meditate. The broken visions she had seen prior became coherent by the minute.

Then it began. Visions which were blocked to her sight came crashing upon her mind one by one. Each showed her an alternate future since the future was not yet set in stone.

Fay saw the darkness in the force growing stronger by each passing year. The delicate balance was broken due to the actions of some dark side users. The galaxy hurtled towards a dark era. She was shaken as she saw countless cut down in betrayal in the hands their allies. She felt their agony and surprise as they passed on. She saw the Sith rule supreme through their lies, deceit and treachery. She was appalled to see the Jedi order become a shadow of itself.

Then she saw a bacon of light smashing all the darkness away to bring peace. The beacon guided the galaxy into the next great era of peace and prosperity.

However it wasn't for long since war loomed again.

The visions continued. Each showing a different future. Sometimes the Jedi won against the scheming Sith overwhelmingly. Sometimes they won due to the heroic actions of a few individuals. In another future those individuals would be expelled from the order for not being conservative. In another those expelled individuals would form a faction of their own feuding with the Jedi Order resuming the war they had just prevented.

The visions showed a perpetual war between the light and the dark. It kept repeating. No matter how hard the Jedi put down the Sith, another follower of Bogan would rise to destroy everything the Jedi worked hard for. Eventually a son of Ashla would rise from the dirt to undo all the damage the Sith had done by ousting them.

But then she saw an alternate future in which a third faction of force users emerged destroying the status quo. They were neither Jedi nor Sith. They were a faction dedicated to help maintain the balance within the force. They intervened when necessary to guide the galaxy back on track.

To her utmost surprise Fay saw herself leading this faction with two teenager with raven hair and brilliant green eyes.

She had seen glimpses of them before. Their identity was one of the main questions she wanted answered in Atollon. However this time she knew exactly who they were. The moment she saw them, an indescribable feeling rose within her. The way she and the two interacted in the visions brought her unbound joy.

'...My children,' she finally realized. The visions were showing her having two children... something she hadn't thought of in a long time.

This was her destiny. She was to pioneer this faction which helped maintain the balance. The war between the light and the dark did nothing but harm the force in a fundamental level. The constant clashing was slowly eroding the will of the force. The way the things were now, the balance would never be achieved in the lifetime of this galaxy.

With a sigh she opened her eyes. She never felt so alive in her life. The colours seemed brighter. She could feel the emotions of nature like it was her own. She felt like she was closer to the force than ever before.

"How does it feel, hmmm?" a deep voice broke her out of her little reverie.

She turned to face Bendu and Ood who were waiting for her to speak. Both of them had small smiles on their faces.

"At peace," she replied thinking hard on the feeling in her.

"Ahh... achieved the Bendu, you have. Congratulations," Bendu said with a mighty laugh.

"Congratulations," Ood felicitated as well.

Fay stood up and bowed to Bendu. "I would not have been able to do it without the help of you, master. For that... I am eternally grateful."

All this was achieved because Bendu stopped the darkness from taking hold. It enabled her to reach the balance on her own. She knew she could have achieved it on her own as well. But it would have taken her ten times the time compared to this. In a way Bendu showed and helped her through a shortcut.

She was blessed to have received such a gift as she knew that it was something only a true Bendu could do.

"Get up," Bendu said a little roughly while Ood chuckled in mirth silently. "I told you that I am not your master. I merely guided you to the correct path. Your achievements in it and the distance you travel belong to you."

"Nevertheless, I will always regard you as one of my teachers," Fay said stubbornly.

"You'd better give up arguing about it," Ood said to Bendu. "She is more stubborn than you think."

Bendu huffed in annoyance. Fay only shot him a grin because she understood that he was merely acting. She felt the pride he had towards her when she successfully achieved balance in the force.

"There are some fruits for you in that platter," Bendu said pointing a huge pile of fruit. "Eat up... your body didn't have any sustenance for over three years."

"Over... three... three years?" she tried to comprehend what he had just said.

"You've been in meditation for over three years," Ood clarified. "I'm impressed, I must say. I didn't think you would find the path in your first try. It took me several tries over the course of a decade to achieve what you just did in a single sitting. I'm even more impressed that you learnt morichro on your own without you even being aware of it."

"I learnt morichro?" Fay was stupefied.

Morichro was a force technique that was similar to Force Trance. It enabled the user to survive without food, water or air for periods of long time by slowing down the bodily functions to a nil. While they were in this trance, the user would be fully connected with the force. And unlike a force trance, morichro could be used to put others into a similar trance. It had the ability to make another completely vulnerable to your will. It was why it was considered a forbidden technique. She was aware that of the entire Jedi order, her master Yaddle was the only person to wield this ability.

Ood huffed slightly. "I must say I'm a bit envious of your talent."

"Isn't envy a forbidden feeling for Jedi?" she asked smilingly at the ages old Jedi librarian.

"I'm no longer Jedi. I travel the same path as you," he grinned.

"You learnt to advanced techniques from the day you arrived at Atollon, hmmm? Your talent is among the best I have seen," Bendu chuckled. "I sense the growing hunger in you. Eat before we speak of further matters."

Fay felt the biting pain of hunger rise up slowly. She immediately excised herself and devoured as many of the native fruits to appease her growling stomach.

"Is everything ready for your departure?" Bendu asked him in a low voice.

"Yes. Everything is stacked in the formation. We can leave whenever we want," Ood replied.

"Are you ready for to face the challenges in your path?"

"I am. It is my story just as it is hers. I will do whatever necessary to bring about the balance the will of the force demands. Though I'm quite sad that we cannot take any electrical equipment with us."

Bendu chuckled. "You cannot have everything you want in life. It is up to you to provide for yourself on your journey to your goals."

"I know," Ood sighed.

Fay went to the Bendu and Ood as soon as she was done eager to discuss the path that laid ahead. As soon as she arrived Ood and Bendu stopped their conversation.

"What next?" Ood questioned her.

"Why are you asking me?" Fay shot back at him. He was older, wiser and knew more about the force than her. So why would he question her?

"Because from now on, it is your story to write. I will always be behind you to help you whenever you need," he replied. Ood had many expectations from Fay. From his meditations he knew that she was one of the candidates the force had chosen to bring balance to the galaxy. He couldn't see the other individuals for they were always blurred from him. However, his destiny lied tied with hers. He was to help her reach her goals.

"I saw the creation of another order that fights for the balance of the force," she said looking thoughtful.

"Hmm, I imagined something like that," Bendu commented. "Build the faction based on the old Je'daii, hmm?"

"Yes," she affirmed. "But I don't know how to proceed."

"Let's leave it to the force now, shall we? You will discover it on your own once you reach your true destination" Bendu said mysteriously.

The force wasn't a person which would help every time you asked it. It had already went out of its way to guide her here and show her what she knew. She doubted that it would help her actively anymore. The force had basically said, 'I showed you what will happen, the rest is up to you.'

"True destination?"

"Come with me. Its time for you to depart on your quest."

With that Bendu started to walk towards a tunnel. Ood gestured to her and started to follow the ancient being. Fay had many questions that plagued her. Yet she kept her silence and followed the duo to their destination.

The tunnel was long and dark. She could only use her other senses augmented with the force to traverse safely. On several occasions she felt those blasted spiders brush past them. However they didn't attack since they were rid of all their negative emotions through Bendu's training.

Finally they reached an enormous cavern. It was lit with some sort of natural phosphorous substance which gave off an eerie white light.

However it was the content of the cavern that blew her mind. Resting in the centre underneath the huge stalagmites was a pyramid of enormous proportions. It was built of blue coloured stone... a single slate of stone per side. There was one entrance to the structure visible to her which led steeply into the earth underneath the pyramid.

It wasn't the massive blue structure that drew her eye. It was decorated with gold patters all over its four faces. She estimated that there were more than ten tons of gold used for this purpose. If a pirate or a smuggler was to see this, this place would be stripped for all its worth instead of trying to find pieces of art scattered around the surface. It was literally a gold mine.

Through the force Fay could see several restrictions within the area. She had no idea what they were and how they operated. With a wave of his hand, Bendu took down all of them simultaneously.

She wondered who or what created such a thing. It was beyond the current technological means to create such a large slate of stone to specifications. And to transport them without damaging it? She couldn't see of any sign on how it was transported here. All around them was a cavern. As far as she could see, the only way in here was the tunnel they came from.

Then there were the advanced protections around the place using the force.

"Its magnificent isn't it?" Ood asked watching Fay. "I was just as amazed when I saw it for the first time too."

"This is an infinity gate," Ood explained when Fay stayed astounded staring at the blue pyramid. "We believe it was built by the Kwa using the plans left behind by the Celestials. In the past there were many of these around. But the Rakata destroyed many of them during their expansion. Only a handful survives to date. You may know of the one at Dathomir."

Even during his time, the Infinity Gates were a subject of debate before the fall of Ossus. It was a piece of technology from the ancient past that no one knew how to operate successfully. They knew that it could be used to travel to any location in the galaxy instantaneously. They also knew that it could be used as a weapon of mass destruction. Other than these two features, which they didn't exactly know how to operate, the functions of the Infinity Gates were up to debate.

The old texts say that the Kwa used something called the 'Power of Cosmos.' Most Jedi argued that it meant the force yet there were counter claiming that it was a different phenomenon.

Some theorized that they could be used as a force anchor making the surrounding rich in the force. Some argued that they could be used for inter dimensional travel as well. Yet no answers were found after centuries of poking about it. Even the Kwa, the original builders of these structures were no longer aware of how to operate them. They had regressed technologically to become little more than primitives who were extremely reluctant to let another near the Gates that they were guarding.

"What does it do?" Fay questioned in a trance.

"Travel to anywhere you want instantaneously," Ood replied.

"This is where we part, Aurora Fay, Ood Bnar; former Jedi Masters. The will of the force will direct where you need to be. It will be up to you to create your destiny from there on," Bendu interrupted.

"We are going to use that to travel? Is it safe?" The abrupt send off of Bendu caught her off guard. She thought that Bendu had invited her here to see something else entirely. Even if she had million guesses she would have thought that he was going to send her away through an ancient artifact which no one knew how to operate.

"It is safe," Bendu reassured with a laugh.

"Hey what about Beep? She suddenly remembered.

"Beep?" Both Ood and Bendu questioned at the same time.

"Beep, you know… my astromech?" She asked.

"Ah.. the little robot. I'm afraid that you will have to leave him behind. The gate cannot take any live electrical items with it once it activates," Bendu said sorrowfully.

Fay didn't know what to say. Beep had been her constant companion for many years. It had been her confidant. There were times it had saved her ass from fire. She was extremely reluctant to leave it behind.

"I will take care of your little robot," Bendu placated.

"Yes… one day you will able to return to Atollon and retrieve it from Bendu's care," Ood agreed.

"I concur. I will hold onto Beep until you retrieve him," Bendu finalized.

"Ok," she finally relented. Then she noticed something she had missed previously.

"Aren't you coming with us?" say questioned turning to him in surprise.

"No... Your story is yours to write. I am but an old man from a time long forgotten. My presence will not help your journey at all, hmm."

"What will you do?" she questioned him.

A forlorn look crossed Bendu's face. He smiled looking at the ceiling of the cavern. "I have yet to fulfill some tasks the force wants me to do."

"And... after that?" she asked with a lttle trepidation.

"I join the force like I should have... a long time ago."

"Haha... I know what you are going to say. But no... The fate of the balanced path will depend on the two of you from now on. I trust one of you will be the mantle of the next Bendu," Bendu reached out and placed his giant arms over the heads of Fay and Ood like he was blessing them.

"I wish you the best in your journey from here on. Learn all you can of the force. There are no dark techniques as there are no light techniques. Only the intent behind your action will determine whether it is light or dark."

"Aurora Fay, I wish you happiness in the years to come. I hope you find the life you desire within the balance," he said focussing on Fay.

Then he turned to Ood. "Ood Bnar… may you find happiness as well. May all your dreams come to fruition."

"Trust one another. I sense the two of you will go far, together…side by side. Go now… I must return to stone until it is time for me to awaken again."

Both Fay and Ood felt sad for the ancient being, who was alone all these years trying to maintain the balance. Though they wished they could abduct him and take him with them, he didn't want to go. His destiny was somewhere else.

Fay felt the need to give Bendu a hug. She didn't know how he would react to it and before she could act on her impulse, Ood pulled her sleeve gesturing to follow him. She sighed reluctantly. Giving Bendu another glance, she followed Ood inside the pyramid.

Unlike on the outside, the inside of the structure was surprisingly bare. They were underneath the pyramid. The only entrance led to a large chamber with a massive runic circle drawn on the floor. The room was lit with several torches that were attached in brackets to the wall. Looking up Fay was surprised to see that most of the pyramid was hollow.

"What are in these crates?" she asked Ood noting the stacks and stacks upon crates which were placed on the runic circle without much organization.

Ood smiled mischievously. "You didn't think I'm going to leave behind all the things I recovered from the Jedi Library after so much effort now would you?"

Fay was taken aback. Her eyes shined when she though of how much fun she would have going through the countless holocrons that were lying all around her. The techniques that she could learn that was considered forbidden or lost... and even the Sith holocrons she knew were within this pile somewhere. Her studious side wanted to start right now.

Furthermore she could chose one of the lightsabers from this hoard until she find a cyber crystal to create her own weapon. She had seen her folly of refusing a lightsaber during her fight with the krykna spiders. The only reason she got out of that situation which would have claimed her life was because of battle meditation. It was her luck that made her see another day. She wasn't going to bank on luck if she could help it.

"Sit down," Ood commanded taking a seat in one of the free spaces. "Bendu will start the transportation sequence. You don't want to be standing when it happens."

Fay quickly sat suppressing all the questions she had for Ood about the items in these crates. She felt the force humming all around her, flowing through her body giving an indescribable feeling.

"What is got hap-" was all she could finish before she felt like if she was being yanked into a long thin tunnel by her head hard. Her eyes lost focus of her surroundings. The only thing she could see was streaks of light in front of her eyes that travelled at unbelievable speeds while trying her best to not throw up.

XooxoXoxooX

Outside the temple Bendu smiled a full smile after the pyramid stopped glowing. He could no longer sense neither Fay nor Ood.

"May the force be with you," he whispered to the wind.

---

A/N: What do you think?

Don't forget to leave your ideas in a review. PMs are welcome.

See ya soon.

fadedaura