(Arthur bursts into the room, blowing the door down with the force)
Arthur: Finally, alright Echo, who is this chick at this council meeting?
Echo: Haha, well she's a leading member of the Jedi Council at the young age of 24. She was Master Yoda's most recent Padawan, so she is heavily influenced by a tranquil point of view. BUT, I'm not telling you her name yet.
Resist: Yeah Arthur, she is suppose to calm you down. I have to replace the door now!
Arthur: Oops
Echo: Not very smooth, Arthur.
Arthur: Whatever. Here is the story…..
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
A New Path
"The ice is coming!" - Mr. Freeze
Narrator's POV
The women looked the young Padawan up and down, speculating how to formulate her words. He stands at around 5'11". He has his fair share of muscle for his age, but is only slightly toned. Has green eyes, and has slightly tanned skin: quite the opposite of the woman, who had fair skin and golden brown eyes. His hair is short and is jet black, unlike her long, brown hair. The padawan just wore a lightweight undertunic, which was tightly tucked in under his kama, where he straps his lightsaber, so that he was not constricted in his movements. He was also following in the steps somewhat of Obi-Wan and wears clone armor over his arms and knees.
It was then that the female Jedi noticed the boy no longer had a lightsaber. "Did your master confiscate your weapon?" she asked, looking from Arthur to Kenobi.
Arthur's face turned a slight shade of red, from embarrassment. He gave a quick look to Obi-Wan, who gave a slight nod to Arthur. "No he didn't master" replied Arthur, who started to worry about the others reaction to what he was about to say. "D-D-During the fight I had with Grievous, a-a-after I realized I was using the dark side, I deactivated and dropped my lightsaber. Grievous then took it and was about to kill me when the clones showed up. Grievous used my lightsaber to defend himself and to make his escape, s-s-so um, Grievous has m-m-my lightsaber" Arthur managed to say, hanging his head in shame.
"That's unfortunate," the woman said with scold and empathy as before, "We will arrange for you to go along with the next Gathering so you may construct a new blade."
"Thank you master" replied Arthur, who was still ashamed that he allowed for his lightsaber to be taken from him. Kenobi always told him that his weapon was his life, and he allowed Grievous to take it from him.
"Perhaps, together you two should go," suggested Yoda to Arthur and the female jedi master.
"Wait what," replied Arthur and the female jedi together. The woman raised a brow and her usual calm drained from her face.
"I don't even know her!" shouted Arthur, with surprise in his voice. "Why would she even come with me anyway?" question Arthur giving a glance to the woman. She replied with narrowed, blazing eyes, scrutinizing him. "I would watch your words if I were you, young one."
"Your new master, making her I am," replied Yoda. The woman stared wide-eyed at the old Jedi. "Master, you can't be serious. I have not applied for a Padawan yet. Besides, Arthur is Obi-Wan's Padawan."
"Discussed this already we have, my former apprentice. Ready you are for such a responsibility" replied Yoda. The woman found no reassurance in her old master's voice.
"I also already said that if Yoda feels that Arthur needs a new master to teach him, then I am willing to step aside" replied Obi-Wan, who has been sitting quietly taking in the situation.
"So you gave me to her!" replied Arthur pointing a finger at the female master, while directing his attention to Kenobi. "After all we've been through, you just up and gave me away!" shouted Arthur at Kenobi.
"I am not ready," the woman mumbled, sitting back in her chair.
"Enough," came Master Yoda's voice. Though the voice sounded old, Yoda still had a presence that automatically gave him authority. The outburst was unexpected, even for Obi-Wan.
"About each other, much to learn you two have," replied Yoda shifting his gaze between both Arthur and his former apprentice. "This mission, help you it will" finished Yoda.
"Well Master, best be on our way" replied Arthur in a deep, angered tone, which did not go unnoticed by the female jedi. As he turned and started to walk toward the doors to exit the jedi council room. The woman only glared at him as he walked away, seething with anger.
"Arthur," replied Obi-Wan getting his former padawan's attention. "You must first be introduced to your new master" continued Obi-Wan in his usual calming voice.
"Sorry Master Kenobi. My mistake" replied Arthur in a more respectable tone, before switching his sight to the female jedi, who only received a bitter glare from Arthur. She returned the favor and stood up. Taking a few steps towards the boy, she looked down at his eyes, being just an inch higher. "Oni Kao," she said calmly, waiting for the lad to introduce himself.
"Arthur Perry" he replied under his breath, still not happy about his current arrangement, but bowing before Oni Kao nonetheless.
Oni sighed silently and continued to look calmly upon her new apprentice. The tension could be cut with a knife, however, as all four remained silent and expectant. Arthur rose back to his feet, and turned his body so that his side was facing his new master, and gestured with his hand that they should leave. "Shall we" he said.
His anger was still noticeable, but he was trying his best to become more calm toward his new master. He was sure this was his last chance to become a jedi, and new the arrangement he was in was permanent.
"When this mission is complete," Oni was hesitant to move, but still walked a few paces behind Arthur, "You and I will be having a discussion on manners and being proper." Giving the boy a hard glance, she quickened her pace so that she was walking in front of him.
"Yes Master" Arthur said, quiet enough for only Oni to hear and no one else, he then slowed his pace down and put more distance between the two.
"The Younglings will meet you in the hanger" came Obi-Wan's voice out from the council room, as Arthur and Oni left.
As the new master and apprentice walked down the halls, fellow Jedi looked at them with curious and confused looks. Some gave sympathetic glances: others scoffed in amusement. They could feel the tension between the pair.
Oni never looked back at Arthur for the duration of the trip. She only kept her pace and a calm look. Even as they came into the hangar, the same look was plastered onto the fair-skinned face. However, once they reached the shuttle, she managed a smile to greet their escort.
"Commander," she gave the clone with olive-colored armor and respectful nod. "I presume you will be accompanying us to rendezvous with the Younglings?" Oni completely ignored Arthur, who stood beside her, as she engaged with the clone officer.
"Of course," the man gave a stoic smile, "Though the men won't be too excited about it." Master Kao nodded to his comment, "Well, they'll have to make peace with it, then." The corners of the commander's lip twitched into a smile. But when his amber gaze settled upon Arthur, he raised a brow. Turning to Oni, he opened his mouth to speak, though frozen there for a moment. "Sir, I thought you said you didn't want a Padawan." The woman took in a sharp breath and turned to look at Arthur. "He's-"
"It wasn't by choice," replied Arthur "She doesn't want me by her side" said Arthur meeting Oni's gaze.
She narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to her commander. "Commander Green, this is Arthur Perry," she gestured between the two, "Arthur, this Marshal Commander Green. He's the man in charge of the Tenth Star Corps. When I'm not around, you do what he says and when he says it. Understand?"
"Yes Master," replied Arthur, turning his gaze to Commander Green and lightening his mood, "Pleasure sir" replied Arthur.
Green's eyes widened for a split second, but he pushed his surprise to the side and gave the kid a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I don't bite," he said with a chuckle.
Master Fisto appeared at the other end of the hanger, looking like he was scanning for something, then his eyes met Arthur's and he started his walk toward them. Accompanying Master Fisto was four Younglings that were going to travel with the master and padawan to Ilum to find kyber crystals for the construction of their lightsabers.
Oni gave the Jedi Master a warm smile. She turned to the Younglings and looked happy to see them. "You all look ready to go," she said as she knelt down to greet them.
"These are the Younglings that will be traveling with you to Ilum" replied Fisto giving Master Kao a bow.
Oni returned the gesture of respect, "Will you be accompanying us, Master?"
"Sadly no, I will not be. Master Yoda wishes that you take charge of this gathering," replied Fisto. Fisto then leaned closer to Kao to whisper something to her. "He feels it will help you with Arthur." The woman rolled her eyes and gave a slight nod, "Of course he did. Thanks, Kit."
"Not a problem" he replied and gave a bow and took his leave. After watching him leave, Oni turned to the four Younglings. There was a green Twi'lek male, a gray Togruta female, and two human boys that looked to be at least fraternal twins. "I bet you four can't wait," the woman smiled as the four began chattering in joy.
Arthur couldn't help but see how his new master showed great kindness to the younglings, and in his arrogance, thought that she would want one of them rather than himself as her padawan. Arthur then realized he and Green were standing in the middle of the boarding ramp and immediately they both backed away so the Younglings could get aboard, who were then followed by Kao, Arthur and Green. As they entered their seats, Arthur plugged in the coordinates for the navacomputer and prepared for the jump to hyperspace, neither of them exchanging words while Oni took the controls of the ship to get them out of Coruscant's atmosphere. Once free, Oni then pulled a lever, which allowed them to enter hyperspace.
Oni turned to look at Arthur and then the commander. She glanced over her shoulder at the door of the cockpit. "Arthur, I need you to go watch the Younglings," she said coldly, whilst checking the navacomputer.
"You want rid of me that badly master?" asked Arthur. "Green could easily watch over the four Younglings with no problem."
"The same rules for Green apply to me as well," Oni said as she turned to glare at her new apprentice, "You do what I say and when I say it." Green sat uncomfortably in his seat and continued to look between the bickering duo. "I could look after the kids," he said, "But leaving the two of you alone to slice each others throats doesn't seem like a good idea." His words appeared to go unnoticed as the Jedi scowled at each other.
However, Oni turned to him, "No, commander. I asked Arthur to go and he will follow that order." Green shook his head and sat back in his chair, looking out the viewport. "This is going to be a long trip," he mumbled underneath his breath.
Arthur kept their glaring contest going for a while, till he accepted his master's wishes and got up to check on the Younglings. He advanced down the hall to see all four of them huddled together talking about what color they hope their crystals are. Arthur would never join in on their conversation, but thinking to himself, wanted his new crystal to be blue like his old one.
Arthur's POV
"No," the Togruta female said in an over confident tone, "Mine is going to be gold." One of the human boys-the one with more brown than blonde, unlike his brother-scoffed at her. "Are you kidding me?" he stared at her in disbelief, "I want a green lightsaber like Master Fisto or Master Kao."
I chuckled at the comment made by the Togruta girl's, but quickly stopped when the boy mentioned Master Kao. I must have chuckled too loud because all four of the Younglings turned in my direction. "What color do you want?" the Twi'lek asked, raising a brow.
"My old lightsaber was blue, so I'm hoping my crystal I find today will also be blue," I replied, earning a smile from the Twi'lek boy, but earning curious faces from the others."What happened to your old one?" the blonde twin asked.
"Taken by General Grievous" I answered with grit in my voice. I was still not happy about losing my weapon, my life, over to Grievous. "During a fight with Grievous, he was able to take my lightsaber and escape from me and Master Kenobi" I answered. "Any more questions" I ask in a humorous tone. All the kids hands shot up at once, and I laughed at this.
"What's it like working with a Council member?" "How many battles have you fought in?" "How awesome is it to fight alongside a marshal commander?" "Is being a Padawan as great as they say?"
"Woah, woah, woah. One at a time" I said, still chuckling. I pointed to the Togruta girl, so that she may ask her question first. "Okay," she smiled in joy, "How many battles have you fought in?"
"Too many" I replied. "This war has been going on for a long time, long before I even became a Padawan, and has no end in sight." I answered. The young girl nodded, though seemed slightly disappointed. Perhaps that I was not as enthusiastic to fight as she was?
"Can I go next?" the Twi'lek boy asked, jumping up and down slightly.
I nod my head, signaling for him to ask his question, which brought a gigantic smile across his face. "What's it like fighting alongside Green and Master Kao?" he paused for a moment to express his excitement, "They're, like, the best team out there: even better than Master Skywalker and Captain Rex."
"I honestly do not know the answer to that question. I have just been assigned as Master Kao's padawan recently, against my wishes. I started as Master Kenobi's padawan, but there was a mission that went wrong because of me, and Master Yoda assigned Master Kao to now supervise my Jedi training" I answered, trying not to tell them why exactly I was transferred to Master Kao.
"I don't know what you did to make her so mad," came Green's voice.
I jumped at the voice and spun on my heels, to come face to face with Marshal Commander Green. "L-L-Like I told the Youngling. I was assigned to her against my wishes, and hers," I said "The Council, namely Master Yoda, arranged this, plus I kinda spoke when I shouldn't have about this arrangement after Master Yoda announced it"
"Uh-huh," Green narrowed his eyes at me from underneath his helmet. The Younglings couldn't see, but I could feel the tension radiating off of the man. "Well then maybe the two of you should take a break and cool off for a bit," he said in a calm tone. After he gave me one last glare, he turned to the Younglings.
Kneeling down, he took of his helmet and smiled at them. "Are we playing truth or dare?" he chuckled, "I'm kind of confused on what's going on."
"We were asking him questions on what it's like to be a padawan" came the Togruta's voice, while pointing a finger at me. I smiled back politely at her.
"I am curious," Green turned to me expectantly. He raised a brow at me and gestured that he was waiting for an answer. But in his eyes I could see that he was not asking a straight question. A glint of ominous hung in his gaze.
"Being a padawan is tough, and it doesn't get any easier as you move up the ranks. Just ask Master Kao, she is a leading member of the jedi council," I replied, looking at Green. He gave an approving nod, "That sounds a lot like flash training back on Kamino."
The man turned and looked at the Younglings for moment. "Sorry, kiddos, but Arthur and I need to head back to the bridge," he sighed. Immediately, the four began whining and begging them to stay, which only made the commander laugh. "General's orders," Green said as he put on his helmet. Looking at me, he gave a gesture for me to follow him down the hall.
We were walking down the hall to go to the bridge, when I was suddenly pushed and went into the room to our left. I took a second or two to balance myself, and then realized we were in the mess hall. I turned and faced Green with anger all over my face. "What the heck was that for?" I yelled at him.
"Well, what happened on the bridge and back at the temple," he threw back at me. Taking his helmet off, I could now see the glare in his amber eyes.
"It's not hard. Master Kao doesn't want me as a padawan, and I wish I was still at Master Kenobi's side. Master Kao made it pretty clear that she doesn't want me around back at the council" I snapped back.
Green frowned at my words and thought for a moment. He gazed around at the lunch tables as if a reply were written on them. "Are you sure about that?" he asked with a sigh.
"Yes," I answered very sternly, then came one of my own questions. "Why would you even care?" I answered with anger in my voice.
The man looked lost in thought once again as he processed an answer. "It's complicated, kid," Green said as he sat down on the nearest bench. With a hand, he signaled for me to sit down on the one opposite him.
I sat, slightly chuckling to myself about having to follow Green's orders when he gave them to me. "How so?" I asked, curious to how my situation with Master Kao was complicated.
"Like the Youngling said," Green started, "General Kao and I are a team. And when members of that team start to bite at each other, the system falls apart. I need you to promise me that you won't provoke anything. Understood?"
"I don't know about that, I kinda dug a pretty deep hole. It will take time to climb back out of it," I answered to him, giving him my honest opinion on the matter.
"I guess that's the best answer I can get," Green said with a slight chuckle, "Though I kinda agree with you on that. She was pretty ticked off when she kicked me out of the cockpit."
"She kicked you out too?" I replied shocked at what I heard. I understood why she kicked me out, basically because of us being at odds with each other, but I never thought that Green would get kicked out, seeing how close these two were.
"Like I said," Green gave a smirk and a hearty chuckle, "You did a nice job of ticking her off."
Narrator POV
As they dropped out of hyperspace and arrived at their destination, Oni took control of the ship and piloted it down to the extremely cold surface of Ilum. Once they had safely landed, the 3 clones, including Green, exited first in snow trooper gear, followed by Oni and Arthur, who walked in silence. The Younglings walked about, gazing through the storm.
"Arthur," Oni began, in her usual calm voice, "This is Ilum, where you will be joining the Younglings on a quest for a kyber crystal, so that you may build your new lightsaber"
"Yes Master" replied Arthur in a short, disrespecting tone back to Oni. He already knew about this place and the temple, and just wanted to get this over with.
"Didn't your parents ever teach you manners and respect?" asked Oni. She never would show it, but she was getting tired of Arthur always being disrespectful and always having anger toward her. After all, Oni was a Jedi Master, and even though she wasn't the most powerful, she did earn the respect for getting there.
Arthur stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of his parents. The Younglings were now making their way toward Oni. Arthur turned his head to the right, so that it was just above his right shoulder, then with his eyes made contact with Oni's. "My parents are dead" Arthur replied just loud enough for his master to hear, then ran off ahead to join Green in scouting, leaving his master standing in her tracks, so that she did not see a few tears trickle down his face.
Oni glanced around at the white here and the white everywhere. Guilt plastered her face and she watched as the young man began walking with her commander. "I'm going to have a long conversation with Master Yoda when this is over," she said as she rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration.
Arthur's POV
I quickened my pace so that I was walking stride for stride with Green. "Can I join you?" I asked him, wiping away the last of my tears.
Having been talking with his men via helmet comm., Green turned to me and gave a crisp nod. "I guess your first attempt went well?" he said sarcastically, but with humor. Either he didn't notice the red, puffiness of my eyes or he didn't want to bring it up.
His reply brought a small smile to my face. "No, no it didn't" I said with a hint of sorrow that I let Green down. He was trying his best to get me and Master Kao to patch up our relationship, and he trusted me to do it, but I failed him again.
"Healing takes time, kid," he reassured me, "Especially with women; they're not as simple-minded as we are sometimes." I gave him a questioning glance with a bit of a humored smile, to which he returned. "I'm kidding," Green laughed, "But don't tell the general I said that."
"Understood" I answered him, giving him a humorous salute. We came upon the temple and waited for Master Kao to arrive so that the Younglings and I could begin our quest for kyber crystals. To tell the truth, I was nervous. With everything that was going on lately, between Grievous, and my not so great relationship with my master, I could tell it was going to be a long day.
Oni's POV
I watched as Arthur returned from his walk with Green. To be honest, I was curious as to what the two boys had talked about, but soon pushed away my curiosity. Turning to the Younglings beside me, I gestured out in front of me. "Younglings," I shouted over the blizzard, "Look at that glacier."
Just a couple dozen meters away from our position, an ice boulder was lodged inside the face of a glacier.
"Master, what's so important about that glacier?" asked the twin that had more blonde hair.
"Focus on moving it together," I replied and held out my hand. I could feel their confusion through the Force, but ignored it. Once I had begun to remove the boulder, the Younglings followed suit. I could feel another presence in the force as Arthur began to help as well.
Trying not to think about what Arthur had said before, I continued to contribute in lifting the rock. Truth be told, I was very proud of these Younglings and my Padawan. Most groups did not remove the boulder with such ease.
Once the boulder was fully lifted, the temple doors began to fall back. "I can see the temple!" shouted the Togruta youngling, starting to get really excited as the doors continued opening slowly.
The other Younglings began to cheer as well, as they all opened their eyes to see the temple. They all began to run to the doors, eager to start their journey, except for Arthur, who actually stood back by me, and waited for me to give the ok to go to the temple.
"Be careful," I shouted out to the Younglings in fear they would slip and fall. Slowly, I made my way over towards the temple, gesturing for Arthur to follow me. Arthur continued to follow me at a distance, I guess he was still trying to keep his distance from me.
"Master, are you coming with us inside the temple?" I heard Arthur ask.
"Of course," I huffed out, not too fond of the blizzard, "In due time, apprentice, in due time. Like Master Sinube says, rushing leads to disaster. You should take some notes from him sometime."
"What's that got to do with the temple, it's not exactly dangerous?" Arthur supplied back at me, with his usual short tempered voice.
"Obviously you have never ventured to the temple," I sighed and refused to roll my eyes. "Younglings have frozen to death in those caves, so yes, it is dangerous."
"You probably wish that will happen to me, seeing how you didn't want me as your padawan in the first place, and that you would probably want one of those Younglings instead anyway" he snapped back at me, before rushing inside the temple ahead of me.
I stopped and stood with my mouth ajar. Not only was his attitude deeply upsetting me, but his accusations were starting to strike a nerve. I do not know how to respond to his outburst, but I know it will not go unpunished.
Arthur's POV
I ran ahead after my short tempered comment to my master, and caught up with the Younglings inside the temple and began to look over the place, as we waited for Master Kao to come in and give us the ok to start our quest for kyber crystals. As I continued to wait, I was lost in the beauty of the cave. The cave was covered in drawings and paintings and I stared aimlessly at each one. As I was staring at one of the pictures, I was brought back to reality when I heard the voice of Master Kao when she stepped into the temple.
"This temple is sacred to the Jedi," she said, "But it does have its dangers, Younglings." I watched as she looked up to the top of the ceiling and raised her hand. A dial began to turn as she used the Force. A mechanism opened a port to the outside sunlight of Illum. We all turned to watch as the sunlight shone onto the crystal wall. Quickly, it began to melt away and run off as water.
"This cave," Master Kao turned to look at the opening, "Holds the dangers and trials you must face. To become a Jedi, you must earn your crystal, but not without obstacles. If you do not return before the door freezes shut, you will be trapped inside; and no one will be able to help you." She looked at all our faces before giving us a smile.
"Go now, Younglings," she said, "Your time is running short."
We began our journey deeper into the temple. I lead the way for the Younglings down some tight pathways with ice on either side. We finally made it to a small clearing, and before us lay several different pathways, I scanned the room thinking an answer existed on one of the walls.
"What path do we take?" asked one of the twins.
"Not exactly sure." I answered. I continued to scan the paths looking for some kind of answer to the younglings question, and my question as well. I looked at the path to the far right, and saw a figure in the distance. I began to analyze the person who stood there locking eyes with me, and gave me a slight smile. The person looked very familiar to me, as I continued to gaze upon the figure, which was obviously a woman. She wore a skin tight black sleeveless shirt with black skin tight pants as well with a pistol strapped around her thigh, and an arm sleeve on her right arm, while having an ink design on her left arm. I slowly turned my gaze up to her face, as I began to realize who it was, as I went back over my memories. She had the same red hair to her shoulders, and the same electric blue eyes, that when they made contact with my sea green eyes, always felt like they were looking into my soul.
"Mia?" I whispered, earning questionable looks from the Younglings. As I said this, Mia gave me a wink and started to walk through the path on the far right. I turned to the Younglings, who still had their questionable looks on their faces.
"I think we are suppose to choose our own path, and make our own way to our crystals" I answered them then immediately darted toward the tunnel that Mia disappeared down, leaving the Younglings to make their own choices.
But, as I kept running, I couldn't see her. Perhaps I had just imagined her? No, that was Mia and I know she's here somewhere. I can feel her presence as if she were standing right in front of me. I continued to grow impatient as I searched for her, almost forgetting why I was in this frigid cave in the first place. I was walking through a tight spaced path, scanning near the ceiling, where other paths loomed above me, obviously the temple was bigger than it appeared to be. I stopped in my tracks, trying to focus back on what I was suppose to be looking for, my kyber crystal. I then sat down in a meditative position, with my legs crossed, and tried to focus on the crystal with the force.
"Arthur" I heard a familiar voice call out to me. I opened my eyes and looked in the direction I heard the sound, and saw Mia standing out in the distance again on one of the above paths, curse her ability to disappear and reappear in the blink of an eye without giving herself up, unless she wanted to.
I used the force and lept from the ground into the air to reach the same path Mia was standing on, watching me intently. I landed quietly and looked in her direction, and she gave me another smile, and started running again, so I followed her again, running faster than I did before not wanting to lose sight of her again.
Oni's POV
I paced back and forth, trying to ignore the advancing ice. Arthur and the Younglings don't have much time left and none of them have returned yet. Feeling the need to remove the worry from my mind, I brought my wrist up. "Commander? How's the perimeter looking?"
"Good, general. We'll start making our way back to the ship momentarily," he paused for a moment and I could no longer hear the background sound of snow crunching beneath his step. "Sir, it's getting dark out here." At his words, I sighed deeply and rolled my eyes, contrary to how I normally deal with situations. Perhaps becoming a master would change me.
"I know, commander," I said calmly, "Just get back here. We should be done within the hour. Let me know when the ship is ready to go."
"Yes, sir."
I felt a smile form on my face as the sound of small feet echoed in the distance. Looking over at the doorway, which was already halfway shut, I noticed a familiar gray face approaching. "Well done, young one," I greeted as the little girl came running up to me.
She laughed and held up an impressive kyber crystal. Hesitantly, she lowered her hand and began looking at the door. "Did Arthur or the others come back?" she asked. Silently inhaling, I looked from the young girl to the door. "No," I said calmly. However, on the inside, I was secretly worrying for my Padawan's safety.
He should be back by now.
Arthur's POV
As I chased Mia through the temple, for what seemed like hours when we came to this major major clearing, bigger than the one at the beginning where I last saw the Younglings. I lost sight of Mia again, but continued to scan the room, as I slowly walked around. In the middle of the room was a gigantic opening, which small ice formations at the bottom surrounding a huge, thick ice formation in the middle. I began to scan the formation all the way to the top, where there was a blue glow shining. I immediately thought it was the kyber crystal and backed up from the edge to get a running start.
Once I got to what I thought was a good distance, I began to run toward the edge, and with all my might, plus some force usage, I jumped for the top of the ice formation. I made contact with the formation, earning a crackle of the ice, which made me close my eyes and hold on for dear life as I started to slide down the formation. Digging my hands as hard as I could, gained some grip and slowed my descent down, and then started to climb up the formation to the top, where I found my blue kyber crystal, and allowed a triumphant smile to appear on my face. I grabbed the blue crystal and using the force jumped back to safety, when I landed and got up to my feet, I found Mia standing in front of me.
"Congratulations Arthur, I've never lost faith in you since leaving you on Delphon," she said to me, her electric blue eyes still locking eye contact with my green ones.
"I miss you Mia" I said. I haven't seen her since the day I left Delphon and joined the Jedi Order. I went to reach out to her with my hand, but she held up her hand to stop me.
"I must get going Arthur, I wish you the best of luck, and I will always continue to have faith in you," she said to me while backing away from me.
She turned and started to run off, but I wanted to still talk to her, and so I ran after her. We went down several pathways and ended up at a dead end. She was still facing away from me, when I reached out to her and put my hand out to grab her shoulder and spin her around so I could talk to her more, but as my hand made contact with her shoulder, she began to fade and become transparent before disappearing altogether. I should have known it was the force playing tricks on me, but I didn't have time to think on that, as the cave began to shake violently and the tunnel I was in began cracking above me, before falling in on me, just wonderful, I thought.
Oni's POV
Ever since the young Togruta had come back, shortly followed by the others, my heart had started to pound faster in my chest. I could feel a strange wave of anxiety from the cave and hoped it did not belong to Arthur.
"Master Kao!"
Looking up, I noticed the young Twi'lek boy running from the doorway. "I found my crystal," he said with a pant, holding up the bright blue gem. Giving him an encouraging smile, I bowed my head and patted his shoulder. "Good job, young one. Join the others as we wait for Padawan Arthur."
As soon as the boy walked over towards his friends, I could feel the wave of anxiety hit me again. But this time, it was more forceful and...deadly. For the sake of our traditions, I did not try to call out to him, but my instinct spoke against it.
Arthur? Are you alright?
I looked up at the door and almost gasped. He only had about ten minutes at the most.
Padawan, the door is almost shut!
Arthur's POV
Arthur lost track of how long he was down in this temple, and judging by how cold he was, it has been a while. Arthur tried to move the fallen ice in front of my exit, but the cold was taking its effect, and he had little to no energy left. He slumped down on to the cold floor and sat there, waiting to die. Arthur was fighting to stay awake, but it was difficult, then he heard his master's voice in my head.
Arthur? Are you alright?
He didn't respond at first, because he was weak, but hearing his master's voice in his head got him thinking about how rude and how disrespectful he was to her. Arthur knew she didn't want him to be her padawan at first, but now looking back, she was doing her best to accept him, but all he did was make it harder for her and he felt bad about how he had treated her.
Padawan, the door is almost shut!
When she said those words to him, about almost being out of time, Arthur realized there was practically no hope for him to escape, even though he got what he came here for, his second bright blue crystal. Arthur decided that for the sake of his master, to ease her before he froze to death, which was the last way he thought he would go. Arhur thought it best to apologize and wish her well before it was too late.
M-M-Master, he got out, the shivering was obviously present in his answer to her, and he began to breath faster, but he kept himself going, so that he could tell her how sorry and how wrong he was.
Arthur, you must leave, now! Oni's voice came out hoarse and distressed, almost as if she were trapped herself. She sent waves of energy through the Force to Arthur in order to keep him alive. Arthur, what's wrong? Talk to me.
Master, I-I can't leave. Please know that I'm so s-s-sorry for how I acted and that I-I wish you the b-b-best. Arthur's voice was weak and shivering from the cold, but felt a wave of energy hit him, that would keep him alive a little longer. I'm t-t-trapped in a cave in with no way out.
What? I'm on my way! With lightning speed thanks to the Force, Oni sprinted up the steps and through the doorway in a mere second. Using her heightened senses to find her apprentice, the young woman began running through the maze Arthur had caught himself into.
Arthur felt the presence of his master growing stronger, which meant she was getting closer to him. Master, w-w-what are you doing? There is no time to r-r-rescue me, came Arthur's shivering voice in her head.
No, I will not let you freeze to death. Oni shook her head at the thought of leaving her student behind. Sure, they had their differences, but Arthur was a minor and under no circumstances would she ever leave a minor to die. However, she was getting frustrated. Her senses were tuned in and she could feel his Force signature as if he were standing right in front of her, but she could not see him.
Arthur could feel his master right outside the ice that was blocking him from being set free from this prison, and gave one last shout with his dying voice.
"Master!" screamed Arthur as loud as he could, causing him to cough uncontrollably, and fall to the ground in pain.
"Arthur!" Oni exclaimed as her golden eyes widened. In no time, she placed her hand on the ice wall and focused in. As her eyes closed, the frozen prison began to crack and crumble. Stand back!
Arthur heard his master in his head, and did as she said. He slowly stood up and staggered his way to the very back of the cave, and waited for what his master planned on doing.
Suddenly, the ice exploded in a last crack from the Force. Oni waited for the debris to fall before opening her eyes. Once her sharp, golden gaze fell upon Arthur, she stood up. "Come on, young one," Kao said, offering her hand to help the weakened Padawan over the layer of shards. "We have to go, now."
Arthur stood and took his master's hand with what grip he had. Oni allowed him to put weight on her shoulder as she helped balance him as they back tracked their way to the temple doors, which were almost frozen shut.
At the most, there was two feet of space left. As the two got up to the doorway, Oni began pushing Arthur down. "Go on then," she encouraged, "Padawan first." Her pushing increased as the two feet became a foot and a half.
Arthur with all his might, crawled below the ice as quick as he could, trying to give his master enough time to also make it through, or her decision to risk her life for both of them to make it out of here alive, would be in vain.
As soon as Arthur was on the other side, Oni dropped down and began sliding out on her back. She winced as she could feel the ice starting to crush her. It burned like a fire grazing her skin. When only her right leg was left, the ice had caught up with her. Holding back a cry of pain, the Jedi Master pulled out her leg. The action caused the ice to dig into her skin.
When she was out, Oni lay sprawled on the concrete steps, gasping for breath. With the Force, she could feel that something was off. Looking down, she saw a crimson tint around the fresh cut in her leggings. "Sith spit," she muttered underneath her breath. Sitting up, she began to inspect the wound. But, as soon as she touched the cut, she exclaimed in pain.
Arthur also noticed the cut, and ordered the Twi'lek to get a medic quickly. Arthur stood and slowly made his way over to his master and knelt down beside her. He saw her make eye contact with him, and all he could manage was a half smile, due to the worryness that was plastered on his face.
"Master….." he struggled to get out, not even trying to hide his emotions.
"You don't need to say it, Arthur," Oni said with ease. Bringing her wrist up, she sighed. "Commander, I'm going to need a bit of help getting back to the ship."
"On my way, general. Are the kids okay?"
"They're fine, but I just had a little accident, that's all," she said as turned and gave Arthur a reassuring smile. "Good job, sir," the man said with humor. "Just get back here, Green," Oni held down the laugh that creeped up her throat. "Yes, sir."
"Master, I'm sorry for everything and thanks for saving me" came Arthur, with sincerity in his voice. He felt like an idiot for not giving Master Kao the respect she deserved, and he really wanted to apologize for the comment he made about her wanting him to freeze to death, which was obviously not true.
"It's all in the past, Arthur," Oni said, giving him an appreciative nod. "Now," she managed a laugh, "I believe I could use some help getting out of the temple to Commander Green."
Arthur still worried, manages a smile and gives his master a hand and allows her to put some weight on him, and they make their way to Commander Green, with the Younglings in tow.
"Master, I don't know how you can be so forgiving of me, I messed up majorly." replied Arthur, still with sadness in his eyes, as he made eye contact with his master. He searched for hatred or anger, which he thought would be there.
"Hatred and anger leads to the Dark Side, Arthur," Master Kao said calmly, though obviously in pain, "There's a saying called "Forgive and Forget"; it works wonders."
"Yes master," replied Arthur, who decided to drop the subject, and focus on getting his master proper treatment for her wound, which she received saving him from a bitter cold end. He supported her all the way, till they got to Green, who then took the other side of Master Kao and helped Arthur walk her aboard.
"May I ask how this happened, sir?" Green snickered slightly. Turning to Arthur, he gave him an approving nod. "I can take it from here, kid," he said politely, "Good job earning that crystal."
"Well done indeed," Oni smiled. It turned into a grimace as she shifted her weight onto Green, who looked less than pleased by her efforts. "I may have cut myself on a shard of ice," the woman said once she was comfortable again. "A shard?" Green scoffed and looked to Arthur, asking for his side of the story.
"Yeah, well. I kinda ended up in a dead end and almost froze to death, if it wasn't for Master Kao, who came and rescued me, but the during her rescue of me, the door guarding the temple came down on her leg" Arthur said, gesturing to Oni's torn up leg.
The tension could easily be cut with a knife as Green stared Arthur down. Turning away from the young Jedi, he focused his attention on Oni. "Too bad we don't have a medic on board today," Green said, "I'll try and patch you up, general."
Slightly raising a brow at the exchange between the two men, Kao gave a slow nod, "My thanks, commander."
"So what should I do master?" asked Arthur, who was still trying to make up for his past behavior toward Master Kao.
"I was thinking you could help the Younglings construct their lightsabers," Oni looked expectantly towards Arthur, hoping he would like the idea. Just in case, she added: "But, of course, if you don't want to, as soon as I'm patched up, I'll take over." Green looked at her and seemed to be ready to object, but Oni stopped him with a serious, stern glare.
"Yes master, I can do that. I have to construct mine once again anyway, so I shall assist the Younglings with theirs as well." Arthur was a little shocked that his master added that last part about giving him a choice, usually it was do what she said and when she said it.
Arthur bowed to his master, and started to go find the Younglings on the ship so he could teach them how to build a lightsaber, since this is his second time doing so. He still hoped that someday he would get his chance to reclaim his original from Grievous next time they meet.
Resist: Well, that's all for chapter 4 ladies and gents.
Echo: Thanks again for reading our chapter!
Resist: Don't forget to use the force and send us some reviews.
(Arthur lifts his hands up trying to use the force)
Resist: Not you Arthur.
Echo: Remember what Oni told you about using the Force!
Arthur: Ah yes, well I'm not the one's that gave me false hope when Mia showed up
Resist: Whatever loverboy.
Echo: (stops laughing) Well thank you folks for stopping by! Don't forget to check in often to see when Chapter 5 is up and running!
Resist: Just a warning to readers. Before going to Chapter 5, please read Echo and I's short story, The Bond Between Master and Padawan, on my profile. It takes place between these chapters.