Disclaimer and summary found with prologue.

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Chapter Nine:

Trials

Of all the places she had been since coming to this universe, Buffy would say that the Jedi Temple was the place she was most impressed with. One of the largest building on Coruscant. Just to stand outside of its walls was awe inspiring to her. Ani, who had been overwhelmed with everything on the planet since they arrived, stared at the building slack-jawed.

"Wow," he said, his head tilted all the way back as he tried to see the top of the building.

"I see your 'wow' and raise you a 'whoa,'" Buffy said.

The Padawan who had been sent to retrieve them did a poor job of hiding her annoyance at them.

Shortly after the Queen's meeting with Palpatine, the Padawan girl - who reminded Buffy of a female version of Ben - had shown up to inform them that they were to report to the Temple. The Council wanted to meet them. Upon their arrival, Anakin was to report to the Council so they could administer their test. While he was doing that, Buffy was going to meet with Qui-Gon and Ben in one of the training rooms. She had a good guess what was going to happen there.

"Well, come along," the Padawan said, before turning and heading inside the Temple.

If Buffy and Ani had been impressed by the outside, they were blown away by the inside. The hall was grand and wide, with columns on both sides of the room. The room itself was several stories high, and walkways that looked over the main lobby were placed on every floor. Painted white and lit with soft lights, the place had an almost heavenly glow to it - nothing like the sharp reds and glass of the Senator's office or the Queen's apartment.

Several stories up, Buffy watched as a group of children ran along a hallway and disappeared into one of the connecting rooms. One of them stopped and peered over the railing at her. The child was an odd looking creature, with patchy red and white skin and large, oval shaped black eyes. Like the others, it wore the same karate uniform inspired outfit that the Padawan leading them, Ben, and Qui-Gon wore. Rasing its four-fingered hand, it waved to Buffy. With a smile, Buffy waved back. The child smiled - showing off its shark-like teeth - then disappeared into the room the other children had already entered.

The Padawan kept up her brisk pace, causing Buffy to nearly run and making it quite difficult for Ani to keep up.

At the end of the hall, Buffy could see Qui-Gon and Ben waiting for them. However, they were not alone. Beside Qui-Gon stood a tall, dark skinned man whose bald head was reflecting the light in the room nicely. Next to him, stood a three foot tall gremlin with gray hair and a wooden walking stick.

The Padawan stopped several feet in front of the group and bowed. Anakin followed her led, but Buffy once again just nodded. If she didn't bow to the head of the government or to a Senator or to the Queen even, what chance was there that she was going to bow to a man whose forehead was blinding her and a creature that should be guarding a bridge somewhere?

The group bowed to the Padawan, who then stepped aside, leaving Anakin and Buffy to face them. The tall man and gremlin studied them for a moment, giving her much the same look that Qui-Gon had the first night she meet him and that Ben have given her that morning in the cockpit. It didn't bother her much. A year of receiving harder, more accusing looks from Snyder everyday for just passing him in the hallway had harden her against them. Ani, however, shifted under the intensity of their stares.

The gremlin reached up and held his chin. "The children, these are?" he asked with a Fozzy Bear-like voice.

Qui-Gon nodded. "Yes, Master Yoda."

That was Yoga? Funny, she pictured someone taller. And less green. And more...manish.

Yogi raised one of his eyebrows at her, as if he heard her thoughts. "Surprised, you are, at my size," he said. "Different, you imagined I would be."

"Well, yeah," she said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I know powerfully things can come in small packages but..."

"Bridge guarding, you believe, I should be," he said.

Buffy paled. "Did I say that out loud?"

Bald Guy looked more annoyed than Yoyo, but less annoyed than Ben. At the same time, Qui-Gon reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. Funny. Giles used to get that look on his face all the time.

With a small sneer, Bald Guy turned to Qui-Gon. "Let's get this over with," he said, before walking towards an open door. As he passed Ben and the Padawan, they fell into step behind him, leaving Qui-Gon, the children, and Yogurt behind.

Qui-Gon watched them for a moment, then turned back to Buffy and Anakin. "Ani, go with Master Yoda. He'll take you to the rest Council for your test. Buffy, you'll come with me."

Apprehensively, Ani looked up to Buffy. She smiled at him. She might not like the idea of them wanting to train Ani, but, at the same time, she didn't want them to say that he wasn't good enough to train.

Well, it seemed whatever was going to happen, was going to happen soon. Never one to wait, Buffy figured they might as well get it over with.

Drawing a deep breath, she patted the back of his head like she always had before a race, then turned and followed Qui-Gon.

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The day had been crazy and rushed since Qui-Gon stepped foot off the Queen's ship. After leaving the children to her care, he and Obi-Wan went straight to the Council to report all that had happened since their departure the week before. After the formal report on the activity with the Queen, the Trade Federation negotiations, and the warrior they had encountered on Tatooine, Qui-Gon approached the Council of the matter of the children. The matter was...discussed loudly for some time before the Council agreed to test Anakin, and further discussion was made before they agreed to look at Buffy.

Qui-Gon quickly pointed out that he did not believe that Buffy should be trained as a Jedi. But the girl had skills that could not and should not be ignored. Though not one of them, she could be valuable if she allied with them.

It was decided that Mace Windu would administer and observe Buffy's test while the rest of the Council looked at Anakin. Qui-Gon wasn't completely sure what he had in mind in how to test her. Unlike Anakin, she showed no signs of being able to read things telepathically, which was the usual test administered when children were old enough to speak. But, since Mace had asked them to meet in one of the training rooms, Qui-Gon had an idea of what was about to be done. Mace wanted to see if he had been lying about the girl's fighting skills.

Buffy followed him into the training room where the others were waiting. It was one of the plainer ones, white walls except for one. It was a large window that looked into the city, which had now became bathed in late afternoon light.

Obi-Wan and Tinkah - Master Gashoo's Padawan - stood off to the side and out of the way, ready to observe whatever was about to happen. Mace stood in the middle of the room, his hands hidden in the sleeves of his robes. His face was even and calm as it always was, though he was watching Buffy carefully. Qui-Gon could tell he felt there was something different - powerful - about her.

When he reached the Council member, Qui-Gon bowed, then quickly stepped to the side with Obi-Wan and Padawan Tinkah, leaving Buffy alone.

She stood there for a moment, her mouth pressed as she waited. When Mace said nothing, she asked, "Okay, so, what's the stitch? I'm just suppose to stand here while you look at me?"

"I am gong to test you," Mace said. "To see how skilled you are."

Buffy shrugged. "As long as there's not like a written portion to this test, I'm good."

"I wish to observe your fighting skills, Miss Summers," he said as if he had not heard her. "To determine if you really are as skilled as Master Qui-Gon believes you to be."

Buffy turned to Qui-Gon, but, before she could say anything, Mace tossed an object at her. Reacting quickly, Buffy caught it with one hand. Mace had given her a lightsaber. Qui-Gon could tell it was one of the training sabers that the younglings used, so - at full power - the best it could do was burn someone. Or, at least, the best a normal person could do with it was burn someone.

The weapon came alive with hiss. Sleek and deadly, the teal color blade hummed as she tested its weight. From the wonder on her face, one could easily tell she had never handled a weapon like it before. However, from the way she handled the weapon, it appeared as if she had since she was a small child.

"Cool," Buffy said, watching the blade with awe. "Hey, does these things come in other colors? Because blue really doesn't do anything for me."

Once again ignoring her, Mace held up a small training droid. Pinching the small black circle between his fingers, he made sure that Buffy was no longer solely concentrating on the training lightsaber and was once again listening to what he had to say.

"You are to block the attacks from this droid," he said, releasing it. "Once you touch it with your blade, its attack will cease. Do you understand?"

Buffy appeared as if she wished to say something, but wisely kept her mouth shut. Instead, she nodded her head.

"Good," Mace said.

The training droid slowly moved through the air and around Buffy, forcing her to turn her back on the Jedi. Holding the semi-small saber handle the best she could, Buffy fell into fighting stance and stared intently at the droid. Her face was no longer joking or calm. It was hard and determined. It was the same look she had back in Mos Espa when she rescued the girl. It was the same look she had when the Sith went after her. She wasn't going to lose.

"One last thing, Miss Summers." Before Buffy could turn, Mace was standing behind her, wrapping a blind fold around her head.

"Hey!"

"Now, block the attacks," Mace said, stepping back to where the others were.

Buffy stood there for a moment before raising the blade again. The droid hovered in front of her for a second, then zoomed to her side. Buffy continued to face the direction it had been in when the blindfold was placed over her eyes.

Pausing, she turned towards them and asked, "You guys aren't going to like start throwing rubber balls at me, are you?"

As she spoke, the droid fired at her. The laser struck her in the hip, causing her to jump and yelp. "What the...?" she asked, twisting towards where she was struck.

The droid was gone, however. Instead, it hung above her head, then fired again, this time striking her twice. One in the shoulder than again in the arm.

Silently, Mace turned towards Qui-Gon. The Jedi Master didn't need the Force to know the Council member was throughly unimpressed. Obi-Wan appeared to be of the same opinion as Mace.

Qui-Gon didn't understand. This was a simple children's exercise. Why was Buffy having such a hard time with it? True she had a low midi-chlorian count, but he had seen her fight. No human could fight like that without help of some kind.

The droid fired again. This time, it hit her on the leg.

"Concentrate, Buffy," Qui-Gon said.

Mace glared at him, warning him to stay quiet. This was her trial and she should need no help.

"Concentrate, yeah, I hadn't thought of that," Buffy said more to herself than the others. "Alright you little horsefly from hell, where are you?"

The droid zoomed in front of her, bobbing in mid-air. Lowering herself slightly towards the ground, Buffy turned her head from left to right, as if searching for the droid. The room was silent except for the hum of the lightsaber. The droid twisted, then fired.

With surprising quickness, Buffy leapt into the air, avoiding being hit again. Somersaulting over the droid, she swung the sword. The blade hit the droid hard, knocking it straight at Mace at high-speed. The Jedi Master reacted quickly, stopping the training device with the Force mere centimeter away from his head.

Buffy frowned, the blindfold still tightly tied around her head. "Hey, why didn't my beam-sword thingy not do that whole slice and dice thing?"

Turning his head slightly, Mace nodded. Padawan Tinkah returned it. Then, igniting her lightsaber, she lunged at Buffy.

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When Master Windu nodded, Obi-Wan had not been sure what was about to happen. Then Tinkah attacked.

Tinkah was one of the best fighters of the Padawan learners. Not only was she strong with the Force, but the race of humanoid she came from are warriors. They were the people often chosen to be the Chancellors Royal Guard or to become Jedi. Tinkah, though young - she was only slightly older than Buffy - was talented. How Master Windu expected some such as Buffy to keep up, Obi-Wan didn't know.

Buffy spun and dropped as Tinkah attacked, the Padawan's lightsaber slicing through the air just a centimeter or two above Buffy's head. Their lightsabers crashed and hissed angrily against one another as Tinkah brought her blade around for another attack. Then another. Buffy blocked each with expert precision.

Taking the led of the fight, Tinkah pushed Buffy across the training room. However, each swing of Tinkah's saber was blocked by Buffy. When they neared the edge of the room, Tinkah swung low, causing Buffy to leap into the air. By the time she landed, Tinkah had brought the saber over her head and swung down at Buffy. She barely got hers up in time to block it. Tinkah pushed downward as hard as she could, but Buffy was able to hold her blade at bay.

"Didn't your mother teach you it's not polite to attack people who can't see?" Buffy asked.

She then pushed upward, knocking Tinkah's saber to the side. Before the Padawan could react, Buffy's fist shot and struck her in the face. Tinkah's head popped back with sickening force and it was clear she had been stunned. Spinning, Buffy kicked her in the head, causing the Padawan to flip. Using the Force, Tinkah turned the flip into a hand spring and landed on her feet.

Once surefooted again, Tinkah raised her hand and sent a blast of the Force at Buffy. It wasn't as powerful as a blast that a Master could conjure, but it was enough to knock Buffy flat on her back. Using enhanced speed, Tinkah charged Buffy, saber at the ready. Obi-Wan could tell she wanted to end this fight.

When she reached Buffy, the blonde's feet struck upwards, knocking Tinkah in the stomach and throwing her halfway across the room. This time, the Padawan couldn't concentrate enough of the Force and fell onto her back with a grunt.

Rolling back onto her shoulders, Buffy leapt to her feet as Tinkah got to hers. They began to circle one another; Tinkah on the far side of the room while Buffy moved closer towards Obi-Wan and the Masters.

"Okay, that whole 'throwing Buffy across the room without touching her' that was cheating," Buffy said, moving slowly and with deliberate steps.

"That was using the Force," Tinkah said, mimicking Buffy's steps.

Obi-Wan felt a rush of disappointment from Buffy. It was gone nearly as soon as it came. Glancing over at the Masters, he wondered if they had picked up on it too. He also wondered if they were having as much trouble feeling what Buffy was going to next as he was.

"So, that's the Force I've been hearing so much about," Buffy said, almost in front of Master Windu. The training droid had drifted about a meter in front of him and was directly in Buffy's path. When she stopped, was close enough to grab it if she wished. "Got to say, not all that impressed."

Tinkah frowned. "You wouldn't be, considering you don't have it like I do."

Buffy smiled. "Maybe. But you know what I do have?" Tinkah tilted her head. "A great Babe Ruth impression."

Buffy swung her lightsaber, hitting the droid with more force than she had before. Barreling through the air, the droid was heading directly at Tinkah's head. Her blade shot up to block it, causing the droid to smash into the blade. The impact was very much the same had Buffy thrown it against the wall with all her might; it broke into million of pieces on the floor.

It was only then that Obi-Wan realized that Tinkah had turned her lightsaber down to a training level. That made sense, since the blade probably would have cut through Buffy's if it had been at regular levels.

Buffy charged her, running at a speed that he could only achieve with the Force. Tinkah barely had her saber blade up in time to block the attack Buffy launched against her. The blue blades crashed against one another. Buffy's blade held Tinkah's and pushed it downward to the floor, causing her to look up at the blonde. As she did so, Buffy kneed her under the chin, knocking the Padawan upward in a daze.

Twisting so her back was to Tinkah, Buffy's elbow shot out and hit her in the face, making her fall to the ground. As she fell, Buffy plucked her lightsaber from her hand. The moment Tinkah hit, Buffy was on top of her, her legs locking Tinkah's arms to the ground while the lightsaber blades crisscrossed just above the Padawan's neck.

Tinkah tried to struggle, but there was little she could do. Unused to long battles, the fight had drained her considerably, and - though Buffy was smaller than her - she was much stronger physically.

"Now would be a good time to say uncle," Buffy said.

"That's enough," Master Windu said.

For a moment, Buffy didn't move, just kept Tinkah pinned to the floor. It reminded Obi-Wan of what some animals did when they proved themselves stronger than another. She was making sure that Tinkah knew that she was not to challenge her again.

After a short time, Buffy stood up, allowing the Padawan to get up as well. She turned off the lightsabers, then tossed Tinkah hers. Buffy then reached up and pulled off her blindfold.

Tinkah was frowning, not having liked being beaten, but also being beaten by a woman who wasn't overly strong with the Force. At least, not that they had been able to sense.

But she must have something. No one could fight like that without help. Maybe the Force was much stronger with her than they had been able to tell, but not with the Light Side. Master Yoda did always warn them that the Dark Side is much harder to sense than the Light. Maybe that was where her power from.

Obi-Wan dismissed the thought almost as quickly as he thought it. It was true, he did not particularly like his Master's newest collectable; she was brash, hardheaded, ignorant of the ways of the universe, stubborn, odd, and pig-headed, but evil...He did think so. He sensed the good in her, the love...

Though, at this moment, she felt a bit ready to murder someone.

Obi-Wan glanced over at Master Windu. He seemed to be having the same conflicting thoughts.

Still frowning, Buffy turned away from Tinkah and walked to Master Windu. Her face was hard as she shifted her weight to one foot.

"I didn't appreciate that sneak attack. If you wanted me to kick the Jedi-In-Training butt all over the matt, I would have gladly done it," she said coolly. "Do it again, and you'll find out why the Gythons made me wear those cuffs and collar."

Before anyone could respond, Buffy took the training saber in both hands and snapped it in two. Obi-Wan was unable to hide his surprise. Lightsabers were made to be durable. Yes, they could be destroyed - cut in half by another saber or crushed somehow - but he had never seen anyone - let alone a human! - able to break one in half with just their hands.

Obi-Wan could feel the surprise from the others as well. Masters Qui-Gon and Windu were able to hide it from their faces, but Tinkah just stared slack-jawed.

Buffy dropped the two halves onto the floor. The metal clicking as it hit, echoing through the silent room. She sneered at Master Windu for a moment longer, then turned and walked out the door.