Axel pulled a lightsaber from his belt, igniting the blade the plasma beam was an unusual color of Amber. I blocked with my own weapon, jumping backwards to dodge his blade. "Come on, Dear. Your little sister did better!"
"Don't you dare speak of her."
"She was so brave! It's a shame I had to kill her"
Him. He killed my sister.
"What's wrong with you? A LOT obviously! You're a monster."
He let out a roaring laugh, slashing his blade at my torso. The hot blade sliced clean through one side of my robe, leaving it charred. I set my saber to form VI and waited for him to strike again, he powered his weapon down and started to walk away. What the…? I thought.
The Sith stopped, looked over his shoulder, and said, "Two days time." And disappeared into the crowds.

Cody came running back a few moments later, he couldn't have picked a worse person to bring outside.
Sparrow Lankan, Master Jin'lin's twenty-year-old Padawan, had always been my rival. He had jet black hair, and dark green eyes. The color of the forests of Endor. He carried two double bladed lightsabers, each with a blue and green blade on either side of both weapons. To sum it up easily he was a menace. He was the kind of person that you weren't really sure if you liked or not. He could be decent at times, but he could be a complete and utter Sarlaac at others.
Growing up we were always competing in some way, shape, or form. We had known each other since I was nine, and he was ten. We almost never got along and were always arguing. He saw things differently then I did. Much too traditionally. I act in spur of the moment, he felt the need to plan things out. Once again, to sum it up, he drove me absolutely nuts.

"Master! Where'd he go?" Cody called, running up to me.

"I took care of it, don't worry."
Sparrow leaned on his shoulder against a wall, "Why exactly was I drug out here again?"

Cody waved his arms up and down, "I already told you! There was a Sith!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"I told Cody to go get someone. I had hoped he'd at least run into someone competent."
Sparrow narrowed his eyes, "Two words. Lightsaber training."

"One word. Soresu."
Cody jumped up and down "I like Soresu!"

"I don't."

"Yeah you shut up Lankan." I retorted, he got on my nerves.
He raised his eyebrows, "Have I ever?"

"My line."

"Shut up."

"Have I ever?" I smirked. "Cody, let's go leave Parakeet to his pitiful existence he calls life."

Sparrow coughed, "Parakeet?"

I was already walking away, I glanced over my shoulder and mouthed, "Oh yes."

"Now Cody, let's get back to work on Lightsaber training."

* * *

Don't you hate it when you're having a decent day and then some idiot screws it up? Yep! Meet Sparrow Lankan, Resident Dunce. The day was going okay, nothing new. I had just finished working with Cody on form four. I began making my way towards my room, but stopped. Something wasn't right. It felt as if the very state of the force was crying out in a huge "DUDE WHY?"
"Oh force, somebody's done something incredibly stupid. Let's observe shall we?" I sighed and followed the feeling through the temple and out into the crowded streets. I scanned the streets, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the busy road way was packed with people, speeders raced through the city, a young couple stood together off to the side, their lips set gently together in a kiss. Wait. I knew that guy. I would've passed them by if not for that familiar stupid piece of hair that would never stay down no matter how hard he'd try to slick it back. What blew my mind more was the woman, she'd looked ordinary, plainly pretty. But something caught my eye. A tattoo that circled her wrist and traced the outlines of her nimble hand. Darth Anuba.
I leaned against the temple wall and cleared my throat, making him jump.
"Got something to share with the class Lankan? 'Cause it seems you've made a new… friend"
Sparrow whipped around to face me, "Nala? What are you doing here?"
"Well, the force told me that there was stupidity afoot! So I went to investigate! Good thing too." I glared at Anuba, who gave me a sweet smile.
"What is she talking about, Sparrow?" She said in a soft voice. This was what she was supposed to sound like, what she was supposed to look like. Her eyes were a soft blue green, that were the same color as the oceans of my home planet, Naboo.
"I don't know. She's being stupid. As always." Sparrow sneered, his eyes raged.
"Do you not see who she is? I mean, I know you're pretty dumb but this is out right idiotic!"
"Yes I see who she is! Her name is Thalia."
I let out a frustrated groan, "Are you brainless? No don't answer that I already know you are. She's Darth Anuba. She set fire to the Temple, killed all the Jedi, COME ON."
Sparrow rolled his eyes, "You're mental"
"And you're an idiot!"
"And you two… should never turn your back on the enemy." Spoke a dark voice from beside us. My gaze shot to Anuba, who was staring at us with glinting crimson eyes. She gave Sparrow a wink and set off running into the crowded streets. "What did I JUST say?" I yelled at him, before turning and chasing after her. Leaving Sparrow in shock behind me. I shouldered through the dense crowd, my eyes locked on the Sith's black hair. In a flash, she was gone. Disappeared from existence. "Well that's just fantastic." I sighed in irritation, and trudged back to Sparrow, who was still practically overflowing with anger.
"Thanks Nala. It was all fine until you showed up" He said, un-amused.
I rolled my eyes, "Come on, Tweety. Let's get you some psychiatric help."
"Tweety? Seriously?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, would you prefer hummingbird? Or Chickadee?"
He gave a frustrated sigh, "You have problems, Robain"
"Thanks, Lankan, so do you." I grabbed his sleeve and drug him inside the temple. "I swear, Cody's got more sense then you."
He narrowed his eyes, "You mean your psychotic Padawan who can't seem to stop kicking me? He's got about as much sense in him Anakin did."
"Which is still ten times more then you have."
"I resent that"
"I don't care"
"I swear-"
"Parakeet, do yourself a favor, and shut up."
"I most certainly will not!" He contradicted, his voice deeply annoyed.
"I, am a Jedi. You, are not. Your argument has become invalid. Shut up."
He simply glared at me.

"Wait here." I ordered.

"Where are you going, Robain?"

"To get Master Duran."

His eyes widened, "You wouldn't."

"Oh I would."
I pulled my comlink from my pocket, "Master Duran?"
A muffled voice sounded from the speaker, "Nala?"

"Master I need you down at the west entrance, we're having…" I glanced at Sparrow, "issues."
I heard the Togruta sigh, "On my way."

I laughed and turned back to Tweety, "You're dead meat."

A few minutes later Master Ataru Duran emerged from one of the hallways, "What's the problem?"

"Guess who I caught outside, with Darth Anuba, sucking face with her?"
He gazed around the space, his eyes falling on Sparrow, "LANKAN YOU IDIOT."
Sparrow flinched, "F-For the record I had no idea…?"
I stepped back, feeling a bit remorseful. These kinds of conflicts are what Shay lived for. Heated disputes, usually involving Master, usually involving Sparrow getting in trouble, always resulted in an extremely joyful Shayla. She loved to see Lankan in trouble, quite frankly she loved to see anyone in trouble. As long as it wasn't her. I watched the Togruta talk to the younger Jedi, "What's wrong with you, Lankan? Your kid sister has more sense than you."
Seren Lankan, unlike her brother she was a person you couldn't help but like. She had a certain air of whimsy, a humor for life. The girl was tough, growing up with Sparrow you'd have to be, the boy's an imp.
I sighed, all this nostalgia made me feel twice my own age. I left them arguing alone, went to my room, and went to bed.

* * *

Three knocks on my door woke me up. I hauled myself into a sitting position, groggy, "Who is it?"
An edged voice sounded from the other side of the door, "Master Celestia you dumb twit, open the door." I let out a sigh, Master Celestia. Joy. The woman was five-foot-seven-inches of bottled up anger. She was a little raven-haired terror. I got up and let her in anyways, and sat back down on my bed waiting for her to speak. "Master Duran asked me to come get you, he says there's something you need to see"
Huh.
"That's it? I have a comlink."
"We don't have time for this Natalia just follow me."
"HEY-"
"I don't care if you don't like being called that. Come on. Get dressed." She cut me off.

I braided my hair in a single braid, and changed into my day clothes. "Satisfied?"
"Very" Celestia smirked, and led the way down towards the medical wing.
"Where are we going, Ceilin?" that ticked her off, she despised being called anything but "Master" She refused to answer and continued down to the last door at the end of the hallway. She motioned for me to go ahead, and unlocked the door for me.

White light flooded my senses, blinding me in it's harsh rays. This facility had been untouched by the Sith's attack. Unlike the rest of the temple, everything was in working order. In other words, it was really dim everywhere else but here. My vision cleared to Master Duran, standing next to an examination table. On it was a small form, dressed in a simple garment for a patient. Monitors behind her read that her vitals were low, she was barely alive, sustaining herself somehow in the force. Seeing her there, even if she was simply clinging to life, brought tears to my eyes, "Shay…"
Master Ataru looked up, "They discovered a heartbeat yesterday. We wanted to see if there was any chance of her living before we told you."
I stared at Shayla, it really was her, her familiar light blonde hair fell to the middle of her back, the locks streaked with heather colored highlights. Shay had always had a thing with any type of purple. It was in her hair, the ties that held her two Padawan braids that hung on either side of her face, when she was little people would go out of their way to humor her. "How is she?"
The Togruta nodded, half smiling, "She'll live. We just need to wake her up without shocking her system. We were hoping you'd have an idea."
I stepped closer towards her Shayla's small body, her entire torso was wrapped up in thick white bandages. Her prior treatment had roused her slightly; you could distinguish her breathing with a shallow rise and fall of her chest. I let out a shaky breath; I'd gone a week thinking she was dead. Not fun. Ataru grazed at her tiny form, she looked so small here. On her feet she was a little blond terror with an attitude three times her size. She had been fondly nicknamed, Shayla Maul. Ataru looked on her with kind eyes, if he liked anyone. It was Shayla. She was practically his daughter, he raised her from infancy. He loved her. I took a seat beside him, I almost took her hand but stopped. Her right hand was wrapped in gauze, the white fabric almost stained through with crimson red.
"I'll leave you alone for a moment." Master Duran said, walking outside of the room.
Sitting by myself at Shay's bedside was unnerving, I was always the one hurting myself, the one that was in bed for the day because they thought it'd be fun to jump down a flight of stairs, (Hey I was 8 and bored. Don't comment). Shay should be the one feeling fine, looking at me. I'd switch places with her in a heartbeat. Less then a heartbeat. Faster then you could blink your eye. I bowed my head, and prayed that all of this was a dream. Praying that I would wake up, and none of this would have happened. The thought brought tears to my eyes, I fought hard against them. To no success.
"Why are you crying Nala?"
I looked up into a pair of the most vibrant green eyes in the galaxy, staring at me with confused concern.
"Shayla!"
She rubbed her eyes with her good hand, "What's all the racket? I had a really crappy dream and" She tried to sit up, but the bandages on her abdomen refused "OKAY THAT HURTS."
"Woah woah woah." I said, gently pushing her back down. "You've got some serious injuries. Keep still."
Knowing spread over her face in a millisecond. "It wasn't a dream was it…?"
"Cody!"
My Padawan's name made me snap into concentration. "What about him?"
"Is he okay?"
"He's fine… The other Younglings… not so much."
She nodded sadly, closed her eyes.
"Don't you dare go back to sleep on me."
"I'm not," she whispered. "My friends need to tell me something"
"What…?"
She held up a hand to tell me to be quiet, so I waited.
Her eyes blinked open, her manner much more calm.
"Master Kenobi says hello."
"Shay, I'll be right back, okay? Stay awake."
Shayla nodded, and I got up and left the room. I found Master Duran out in the hallway, pacing uneasily.
"Master, you should probably come back in. There's something you need to see."
His face looked grim, he nodded and followed me back into the room.
Shayla had propped herself up on her shoulders, her eyes glinted with happiness seeing Master Ataru.
"Hi Master!"
"You're awake…" He breathed, "Are you alright, Child?"

Shay nodded, "My stomach hurts like a Sarlaac but other then that I'm okay."
She tried to haul herself to sit up but failed, she sighed in irritation, "Can one of you help me up? I wanna go to my room."
"I'm not so sure-" Ataru said.
"Sure, Shay." I cut him off and helped her up. Her young face cringed, and she squeezed her eyes shut against the pain. She let out a deep breath, "I'm fine."
"Shay, you sure? Can you stand?" I questioned, concerned.
"I said I'm fine." She almost barked. Her ambiance had changed, she seemed suddenly much older then she was. She slid off the table, and smoothed down her white cloth dress. "What am I wearing?" She rolled her eyes in disgust.
I suppressed a laugh, "It's not that bad. It's just not… you."
"Oh shut up." She chided, that's the Shayla I knew. She had a massive attitude an if you didn't like it you could hit the road 'cause she wasn't gonna change.
She looked down at her hand, the bloodied gauze startling her.
"Oh force! I knew it would be bad but not this bad!" She exclaimed, her face shocked.
"It's alright Shay. Is there anything you'd like to do? You must be bored"
"Did Lankan survive?"
"Yeah, why?"

"And everyone thinks I'm dead…"
"Your point?"
"Let's go scare an idiot."

* * *
Shayla's POV

That moment when everything hurts, and you're too proud to tell anyone because you don't want to be belittled. I hate those moments. I walked unsteadily, the pain in my torso was dull and throbbing. It was late, almost midnight. I was bored, so I decided. "Hey! You're bored, come on me. Let's go freak the living force out of Lankan!"
The thought of having to sneak around my own home? Strange. Definitely out of the ordinary. But I walked with silent steps, no one was around, the deserted hallways seemed bizarre. I was used to crowded halls, having to shoulder past fellow Jedi at times just to get where you were going. I made my way deadly silent through the halls, heading towards the chambers and stopped by his door. Sparrow Lankan, my sister's friend and rival, and my own entertainment tool for when I was really bored, such as right now. I opened the door slowly, making as little noise as possible. Sparrow's sleeping form huddled under his bed covers, looking at him now it was hard to believe he was actually twenty years old. I focused intently on the lamp beside his bed, using the force to click the switch. The electric light flicked on, filling the room with a pale yellow glow. He rolled over, his eyes blinked open sleepily, the familiar green tint seemed confused.
"What…?"
I suppressed a smile, "Why didn't you save me, Sparrow?"
His eyes snapped open, fully awake now he jumped at the sound of my voice. His eyes widened with a mixture of shock and fear, "Sh-Shayla?"
I did my best to look sad, "Why didn't you help me?"
"I-I-I Didn't Kn-Know! I'm Sorry!"
"Sorry isn't good enough, Sparrow. You must pay for your insolence."
I centered myself deep in the force, I pushed him back against the wall, holding him there with the Force.
"Shayla! Please! I'm sorry!" He pleaded.
I couldn't hold it in anymore, I burst into hysterical laughter. It even hurt to laugh. Crap.
His face grew more confused then it had, "Why are you laughing!" He asked with wide eyes.
I could barely break my laughter to speak, "I can't believe you thought I was a ghost!" I said, breaking into uncontrollable laughter once more. I released him from his hold, he sat up and rubbed his neck. "You're not dead?"
"Does it look like I'm dead? I know I don't look like myself, but that's insulting!"
He narrowed his eyes, "Yep. You're definitely Shayla."
I flashed a smile, "The one and only!"
"Now, Kid, explain to me how you're not deceased?" He questioned, still confused.
"It's called, "I'm the force's favorite so it liked me and let me live!"
Sparrow rolled his eyes, "Do you enjoy tormenting me?"
"It brings me intense joy."
"Of course it does." He sighed.
"What? I've got to do something in my impending boredom!"
"I'm glad you're okay, Kid. Even if you do drive me up the wall."
"I'm glad I could provide you with a memorable experience."

"You're hopeless." He announced
"And you're stupid so we both lose." I said, suddenly feeling lightheaded. "Woah…"
"What's wrong?"
My head was spinning, my vision blurred. "I don't feel so good…"
"Shay, this better not be a joke."
I shakily sat down, I felt extremely dizzy, dark circles lined my eyesight.
Sparrow got up and knelt down in front of me, he put his hand on my shoulder. "Talk to me, what's wrong."
"I'm dizzy… Tired…"
He gazed into my eyes, "look at me, you shouldn't be out of the Medical wing. I'm going to take you there and you're going to stay, understand?"
"That's not…"
"Necessary? Yes it is. Shayla you're a mess. This isn't time for you to be prideful. Let me help you."
Darkness lined the outer rims of my vision, threatening to swallow me whole.
"Sparrow…" My voice trailed away, and everything went back.

* * *
"What part of sit tight and get well did you not understand?" A familiar voice asked, I gazed upwards into a pair of crystalline blue eyes. I knew I was dreaming when I saw him. He held out his hand to help me up, "Apparently none of it" He sighed, "Will you ever learn?"
"Nope, will you?"
"Touché."

"Anakin, you're an idiot."
He smiled slightly, "And you're not? You're supposed to be getting well. Not pulling stupid things like this."
"Anakin…"
"No. Mr. Lankan is currently carrying you back to the Medical Wing, once you get there you're going to stay there. And you're going to like it."
"You're the same age as I am. You can't tell me what to do!"
"I'm a person who knows what's best for you. Just please listen to me for once in your life."
"Have I ever?"
Anakin sighed, "No. But I'm asking you to."
"How much do you want me to listen?"
"A lot."
I rolled my eyes, "Okay. But only for you."
Anakin smiled, "Thanks, I don't want you getting yourself killed. You're one of the few people who will actually talk to me."
"I don't see why! You're awesome."
He gave an embarrassed smile, that quickly faded to a look of guilt and remorse. "I did some really bad things. You know that."

"No, Darth Vader did some bad things. People should learn to forgive for once in their life."

"There need to be more Jedi like you, Shayla. Thank you."

"That's what friends are for."
He nodded, smiling once more. His head shot up, like something had exploded that only he heard. "You need to wake up, Shay. Your sister and Mr. Lankan are fighting about something. You should probably intervene."

"But you're less irritating!"
He laughed, his form already fading away. "See you next time, Shayla."