PRINCE
By Sapadu
A/N: Wow... This really IS annoying, isn't it? Honestly, I'm still having Internet troubles. But I will show slightly more commitment to this than I have before- I'll get a chapter done each month, posted at least 24-hours after completion. If any of this is untrue... may I be hit by a giant log.
*smashes into a tree* ...Don't... say... anything.
Chapter 4: Turn Over
If it could have been surgically possible, Ken would have had a second heart implanted- one to pump all his blood to where he needed it, and the other to thump away like a rabbit having a seizure, as his only heart was currently doing.
Meeting Luke Skywalker once, on his first trip to Topworld- that was one thing. It could have been chance, or coincidence, or that once in a lifetime miracle that every kid dreamed of. But... a second time, on his second trip to Topworld, even when Ken had just been here to find a lost datapad... That COULDN'T be coincidence. In fact, it couldn't be chance, or a miracle, or a joke. There was only one word that was running through Ken's head at the moment.
Fate. That's all this COULD be.
This wouldn't have been nearly as comical as it was, if it weren't for the fact that Ken was still being half-dragged by the back of his neck by Dee-Jay. Apparently, someone had tipped the old droid off about Ken disappearing a second time to find the datapad he'd dropped- and how Dee-Jay had known that it was a datapad that Ken was looking for, Ken would never know, since he'd lost them before and Dee-Jay and HC hadn't bothered, then.
"So... he's from WHERE, again?" Not only had he met Luke Skywalker again, he'd also met THE Han Solo AND Chewbacca. That was beyond fate, that had to be... like, a sign or something. Currently, Han Solo was demanding some answers out of Dee-Jay and apparently not receiving satisfactory ones, as he kept repeating his questions.
"The place I am taking this boy back to is the Lost City of the Jedi- as I said before, you are welcome if you come in peace- but for the moment, time is of the essence." Dee-Jay crashed through the foliage without a care for any of the branches that smacked Ken in the face or the unbearable heat coming from the fires that burned in every which direction.
"Do not worry- I can show them around and explain everything since..." Ken was abruptly cut off as Dee-Jay let a particularly prickly branch snap right into Ken's forehead.
"You are in enough trouble as it is, young man." Was his response. Ken didn't say anything to that- he was busy trying to get the prickles out of his eyebrows.
Still, he mused as Dee-Jay dragged him back inside the elevator and Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca crammed in after them, things could have been a lot worse for one day.
'There is NO WAY this could get any worse.' Mehgan Retaw thought to herself as she watched the forest smolder. Already, she'd packed her few things and gotten out of her cave, but it still wasn't going to be any easier finding a new one. Then, there was the fact that she didn't know what this fire was for- if it was a bounty hunter or some other scum who'd heard about the price on ex-Jedi's heads trying to smoke her out, or if it was some new ploy by Dalhouise and his creepy employers to find Kendal.
If it was her, she could just run off, find a new hideout, and that was that. But if someone was trying to find Kendal...
"We can ressurrect that student of yours. With the technique the Emperor has developed."
To be honest, she wasn't sure if she WANTED to keep him hidden, anymore. On one hand, Kendalina's son. On the other, Kendalina herself. On the other hand, Kendalina had Triclops if she came back. On the other hand, Mehgan would have both Kendalina and the old Triclops back. On the other hand...
Mehgan was up to her fifth hand by now and it was just giving her a headache. This really couldn't get any worse.
"It's been too long, Master Retaw." Ah, and here, she stood corrected.
Mehgan spun to see, emerging out of the smoke were seven figures that Mehgan hadn't seen in two whole years.
"From a certain point of view." She retorted, "And I am SO not in the mood to deal with you today."
Kadann smirked at her, ignoring the disdain in her glare and the smoldering heat of the fires around them. Instead, he lifted a hand out, as though to offer her help stepping over a puddle.
"Aw, and here we'd come all this way because we were worried about you!" Mocked Asmod on Kadann's far left. Mehgnan's hand went down to saber-ready position. Kadann held up his other hand.
"Now, now- there's no need for that. We can make this visit brief." Kadann was smiling, creepy as ever, but knowing he had the upper hand. Mehgan refrained from saying that she had another way to, pardon the pun, cut the visit short- she still wasn't sure what these men could do, but they obviously knew a great deal about her abilities.
"The offer we made you last time." Put in Jedgar, immediately on Kadann's right, "Have you given it much consideration?" Mehgan kept scowling.
"Consideration? Plenty. Decided? Not nearly enough." She snarled.
Kadann continued to smile.
"None of us thought so." He agreed, "That's precisely why we came down to discuss it with you." Even if his tone was light and friendly, Mehgan could hear the menace behind the word 'discuss'.
"I do not need persuading, thank you." Her voice felt icy as it came out of her mouth, but she knew it wouldn't keep them at bay- she knew what they were after. They were here for Kendal, and they weren't going to stop until they walked away at least with some of the information they wanted. And after they'd gotten it out of her, it was more than likely they'd kill her.
But still...
"I didn't say 'persuade'. I said 'discuss'." Kadann repeated, his sneer growing, "But... if you would rather have one of us 'persuade' you- forcibly, that is- that is what we brought Jedgar along for."
"And you call yourselves men." Mehgan retorted, "You're not even worthy of being scum."
Kadann heaved a sigh that Mehgan knew was at least sixty percent insincere.
"So, I suppose this may take a little longer than we anticipated."
The next moment, Mehgan saw a lightsaber drop into Jedgar's hand. Her's did the same and not a second later, both were snapped on as Jedgar came flying through the air towards her. Mehgan raised her lightsaber, just barely in time to block the blow- Jedgar's slice came down hard against her saber, almost forcefully enough to cause Mehgan to cut herself with her own blade. It also didn't help that this fiend was at least eight centimeters taller than her.
Still, Mehgan ducked and parried, pushing herself around in a circle before she heard another snap-hiss. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Noma charging at her with a lightsaber of his own. Mehgan didn't have a chance to think- she disengaged and jumped, landing on a tree branch just in time to see the two Sith collide, lightsabers just barely catching each other. It was brief, though, as Mehgan saw Noma retaliate by pressing his hand to the ground. Mehgan watched with a frown as she saw his arm sink into the soil, all the way up to his elbow, before the smell of smoke reached her nostrils. The tree she had perched in was starting to burn- not from the other forest fires, but as though something had set fire to it's roots and it was being burned from below.
Mehgan made her leap, just as the branch she'd been on fell off as the flames reached the foliage. As she descended to the ground, Mehgan heard a third snap-hiss. This time, she could feel it coming at her from behind and she blocked Asmod's saber with ease. It was short-lived- as their sabers remained locked, Mehgan saw that his grip and force were deliberately loose as Asmod actually took a hand off his saber and reached for her, fingers running over her face. Mehgan's leg came up to squarely kick Asmod in his solar plexus, sending him flying. Still, her kick must not have had enough force, as Asmod came down just a few meters away. Mehgan wasn't surprised- she felt dizzy and drained for some reason, but regained her bearings just in time to spin and bat away the sabers of Jedgar and Noma at the same time.
Even as she remained in fighting stance, Mehgan could feel the other four, circling and gathering around. Even if she did fight these three off, she wouldn't be able to run- they had her surrounded. Jedgar came at her again, this time with a series of attacks that swooped so broadly and messily that Mehgan simply needed to dodge. One attack, she had to let herself fall to the ground just to get back up, and that was when she noticed a thin line of shadow sneaking towards her, despite the fact that there was nothing making it.
Mehgan glanced towards Barnaby, whom, instead of a lightsaber, was simply crouched on the ground with his hands folded together. Mehgan jumped out of the way, dodging Jedgar and going straight into Noma's attack. Her saber went up and blocked his hand, but all that did was set her lightsaber on fire. She dropped it and jumped back.
"Hey, girlie- quit movin' around!" Mehgan heard Barnaby call, "This doesn't have to be that difficult."
One of the trees fell over with a crash as the fires started to reach the clearing. Mehgan threw off her cloak and beat out as much as she could before she picked the fallen tree up and swiped away the charging Asmod and Jedgar. The second she moved to drop the tree, however, Mehgan felt her entire body freeze. The only thing she could move were her eyes, and just enough to see that the streak of shadow on the ground had connected with the shadow of the tree she was still holding.
"Thank you." Barnaby called, again. Meghan felt her jaw move to match the words, but no sound came out. Not a second later, a large arm crossed over her neck, a second one taking both her wrists hostage as Gornash's voice spoke into her ear.
"Nothing personal, but this is our job." He apologized, before Mehgan felt the paralysis on her drop. It wasn't needed, anyway- she almost felt like all of her strength was being sucked out of her through a straw.
"Well, now that you seem more willing to cooperate, Master Retaw, perhaps we can have our discussion, now." Kadann spoke lightly, almost friendly, but it made Mehgan even sicker.
And even moreso because she knew there was no way out of this.
Luke had never thought he'd see something like this before- an entire city that was, from top to bottom, made of droids. Tall droids, short droids, droids shaped like humans, droids with almost no resemblance to living creatures at all, even several buildings looked like droids. The entire city was bathed in an off-green tinted light that made himself, Han, Chewie, and Ken look like they glowed from the tint their skin gave off.
And Luke could certainly see why this city was a wealth of information. Even inside buildings that held no obvious information about Jedi Lore, Luke could feel a kind of familiarity ebbing off of the walls- something that felt like he could have called them home in a different place or time. It almost gave the impression of being a museum, except it was obviously anything but that.
It also made Luke's stomach lurch to think that, if the Death Star hadn't been destroyed in the Battle of Yavin, all of this would have been obliterated, along with the Alliance. It was kind of humbling to think that he'd saved more than he'd even realized at the time.
"I never would have guessed this was all just beneath the surface of the moon- it seems like something you just can't fit down here." Luke couldn't help but be amazed- it was far too spectacular.
"Not even a majority of the Jedi Order was aware of the Lost City of the Jedi's existance- it is said that only select members of the High Jedi Council were ever told of the Lost City's location, for only the greatest of Masters could utilize the knowledge contained in the records preserved in the libraries over the centuries." Luke looked over his shoulder at Ken, all his amazement disappating as he saw the boy reading off of a datapad, "...At least, that is what this file reads."
"Ain't there a word for when you write a report on yourself and how many people know about you? Some reason, I'm getting the picture of a giant mirror." Han muttered to Luke. Luke kept his mouth shut, but couldn't help but think the same thing. Whether Ken had been affected by Han's words or not, Luke couldn't tell, because the kid just kept talking.
"Technically, there are multiple libraries- that one over there is a building that keeps strict history records from at least three-hundred different civilizations, so that is why it takes up so much space compared to the others. Then, this building over here is the natural sciences place- you know, physics, chemistry, and biology- so records of species and evolution would be fouund in there. Right next to my dome house, there is a library devoted to techincal sciences, and on the other side, that building is the metal shop where broken droids and equipment go when they need repair." Ken paused for breath, "Then, there is a mathematics library, and a culture library, and a philosophy library, and a library for the arts, and of course the Jedi library- that one is the biggest out of all of the libraries, but it is also the one with the coolest information. You could seriously spend years in there and still only just scratch the surface of every thing inside there."
If Ken had had Luke's attention before, it was nothing to now.
"Which building is that?" He asked, but even as Ken opened his mouth, Dee-Jay clamped a hand down on Ken's shoulder, dragging him off in the proper direction.
"As I recall, there was something of a pressing urgency for the two of you regarding the fires above ground. If you will follow me, our resources will be open for your use."
'What resources would put out an entire forest fire?' Was Luke's first thought- on just knee-jerk response, it seemed reasonable, but after he thought about it for a moment, he remembered thinking the same thing when his X-Wing was stuck in the Dagobah swamp.
So THIS was the wealth of information Obi-Wan had been referring to.
"Hey, Yoda, you old geezer, come out and say hi!" Kao-Lin glared at the blatant disrespect her master was showing for Master Yoda at the moment, but could do nothing- Master Orewahime had sealed her vocal chords off, and Kao-Lin's ears were still sore from being boxed a few days ago. So what? It wasn't her fault- Master Orewahime should know better than to try and run from the Chancellor, than to defy the government like that.
Master Yoda's hut was silent.
"I KNOW you're in there!" Master Orewahime called, "I can hear you caring."
A light came on in the window. The next moment, Master Yoda came hobbling out the door on his cane, looking thoroughly displeased at being woken up.
"A time for rest this is, Padawan Orewahime." He scolded. Master Orewahime scoffed as she grabbed Kao-Lin by the back of her neck and dragged her out of the ship and towards Master Yoda's hut.
"You'll get plenty of rest when you're dead. Life is for doin' shit." Without being invited, Master Orewahime pulled Kao-Lin through the door and made herself at home, "No need to get up- I know my way around."
Kao-Lin saw Master Yoda cast her a curious glance before he looked back at Master Orewahime with a raised eyebrow. Master Orewahime followed his gaze from Kao-Lin to herself.
"The little baby isn't happy that Mommy won the custody battle- I'm grounding her from phone privledges until I can trust her not to try and call Daddy to come and take her away." Master Orewahime explained, even as she stretched her legs out and relaxed as best she could inside Master Yoda's cramped house.
Master Yoda merely shook his head, as though resigned to Master Orewahime's ways of handling matters.
"Here for a reason, you are." He finally mentioned. Master Orewahime folded her legs up again and leaned back, taking in a breath as though to say 'Glad you asked'.
"About Skywalker." Kao-Lin glared at her Master's lack of manners, though she couldn't decide if it was more for barging into Master Yoda's house and just demanding favors or how she was referring to Master Skywalker, "I'm going to assume there was a reason for him to suddenly flip out and decide that the entire Jedi Order, from the High Council to little younglings, deserving to die, right?"
Master Yoda's ears lowered and his grim expression grew grimmer. But that could have also been attributed to a lack of sleep.
"That means, there was another variable in his life that almost nobody knew about- except for you, Master Kenobi, and a few select others who I can't think of at the moment. It's also curious to know that, for about a year before Skywalker went psycho, a pretty young lady with high standing in the Senate started wearing really loose, flared-out dresses with really high waists and a lot of padding, making her look roughly equivalent to the weight of an obese ronto. The only things that a woman wants to hide when she dresses like that are her fat ass and sagging tits- unlikely, since she was still young enough to be really, really pretty- or the fact that she's pregnant."
Master Yoda let out a sigh through his nose. Master Orewahime started to smile, though there was no real happiness it it.
"It's not a coincidence." She finally declared, triumphantly, "Which means there's a little Skywalker brat running around out there. Somewhere."
Master Yoda went puttering around his kitchen, apparently deciding that if he was going to have company, he should be awake for it.
"A point to this, there was." He finally reminded her, somewhat snappishly for Master Yoda. Master Orewahime took in a deep breath before she launched into her demands.
"Since we can assume that any Skywalker spawn would be... of the Jedi persuasion... we can also assume that he'll become interested in the same field of study- since, y'know, all little boys wanna grow up and be their dads someday. So... when that happens and this little hell child comes banging on your door, maybe it would be smart to... NOT mention some things about Jedi secrets?"
Kao-Lin knew it- Master Orewahime had something in mind that she wanted Master Yoda to keep secret. Question was, what?
"A specific secret, you mean." Master Yoda confirmed, hobbling around with his tea. Master Orewahime shrugged, apparently not caring that Master Yoda wasn't offering her any.
"Well... I did find an interesting little treasure buried on Yavin Four... unless, of course, a whole damn underground city of droids and lore about the entire universe as we know it is, like, really a pirates treasure, in which case I probably get to keep it all to myself and rename this old hunk of junk the 'Jolly Roger'..." Master Orewahime trailed off as Master Yoda glared at her over his mug.
"A reason." It was a demand. Kao-Lin knew it and she knew that Master Orewahime knew it. Master Orewahime blew air out of the corners of her mouth, eyes raised to the ceiling as she contemplated an answer.
"Because I asked you nicely?" She finally guessed. Master Yoda turned his back on her.
"How about because, if you told anybody about that place and that person you told one day went really, really bad, it would pretty much guarantee the complete and total extinction of the Jedi?" Master Yoda huffed. Kao-Lin blinked- she'd kind of guessed Master Orewahime's first idea probably wouldn't win him over, but the second one had seemed reasonable.
"Not like you, to think that way." Master Yoda scolded.
Kao-Lin blinked. Master Orewahime did the same.
"So, my reasons aren't good enough." She concluded. Master Yoda gave her a Look. Master Orewahime lowered her chin to her breastbone, folding her arms over her chest as she thought for a moment.
"Well, okay- There's something very specific I want to protect and be kept safe... Something that I'd prefer had a chance to be kept out of reach of any grubby little mitts of any Skywalker spawn that might, potentially, bring... this thing... harm..."
"Why." Master Yoda hadn't asked a question through the whole conversation. This was no different, and an equally powerful reminder of Master Orewahime's place. Kao-Lin watched her master's face, just waiting for the look of realization.
Master Orewahime locked her gaze with Master Yoda's for a long moment before she smiled- actually goddamned smiled.
"Because that's my way of the Jedi."
Apparently, Luke had been right to second guess himself- there were records of Force-techniques that could have done, quite literally, anything imaginable. While none of them were quite what he or Han needed- that is, none of them said anything about extinguishing acres of flaming rainforest or, if that could not be done, restoring whatever damage was done to the ecosystem- it was still rather humbling to look at all this information and realize he was nowhere near being as great a Jedi as any of his teachers. Han, Luke suspected, was searching more out of interest to save his own ship above all else, but Luke was a little swept up by the sheer mass of information to care about motives anymore. Frankly, Luke couldn't talk- he was looking for information that could save any of the Rogue Squadron from going down in flames.
"Luke, it has a record of some power that makes your sneezes freeze in midair- who comes up with something like THAT?" Han muttered as he put the file back in its place. Luke didn't respond as he put back his file- while it had been incredible that a former Jedi Master had once stopped an earthquake from destroying an entire city, it wasn't quite relevant to their search.
"I think it would be cool." Ken piped up, looking away from whatever file he'd been scanning- the old droid called Dee-Jay had set the boy on the task of helping Han and Luke search for a useful technique or other such information. Whether it had been meant as a punishment or not was dubious, since Ken seemed to be rather enjoying his job.
"Are you finding anything about Force-conjuring up a giant hose, kid?" Han asked. Ken blinked, rather owlishly.
"No. I would remember reading about a Force power like that- I am pretty sure it does not exist..." Ken started, but Han turned his back.
"Then, stop bumpin' yer gums." Han plucked another file off the shelf, briefly scanning the contents on it's display screen before putting it back and choosing another. In undeflated response, Ken prodded Luke's arm with another file.
"I think that is the one- when I was little, I read about a Force power that controls the weather, and since you said water, I thought..." Luke had to force himself not to snatch it out of Ken's hands and flip on the display screen. Indeed, the last time anyone had picked this file up, they had left the print in large, easy to read, boldface type. This only made it easier for Luke to find exactly which section he needed and flip to it, under a chapter title headed 'Alter Environment'.
Alter Environment was a Force-power that involved various techniques that allowed the user to manipulate nature, enabling the creation of phenomena such as Force whirlwinds or fog that could be used to attack or to shield the user from opponents.
Alter Environment could also be used to manipulate temperatures, creating freezing sub-zero temperatures in seconds, or blistering heat that could burn. Alter Environment could also be used to create electrical discharges over broad expanses of ground, vacate areas of air, or increase the pressure of the air to burst eardrums. It could even be used to create mini earth quakes and form holes, or even to gather the moisture in the air and create floods. Alter Environment could also easily influence already existing natural occurrences, for example, a thunderstorm could be manipulated to strike an object with lightning, or rain clouds to start up torrential rains, or even to hail, windswept seas could be coaxed to rear up in massive waves, and Whirlpools.
Luke had to admit- given that the boy had lived down here for twelve years and most likely already read most of these files was proving to be a huge asset. This was exactly what he was looking for- something along the lines of a monsoon or typhoon would probably be the most effective in extinguishing the fires, and if the winds could be kept under control, the pilots who were still out there would still be able to keep control of their ships enough to land until visibility cleared up.
Luke kept reading.
This power utilized the innate Force power, or Life force in the object being manipulated, instead of the Force powers of the manipulator. In other words, when a Jedi used this power, he would use a small amount of his own power, to manipulate the innate power already inside, say, lightning or water for example. This leads to large effects like killer waves and lightning storms being started with hardly little effort and little fatigue, and depending on the amount of energy expended, little concentration.
That was good- Luke didn't have that much energy left to expend after the dogfight above ground and the subsequent running after Dee-Jay hoping to find safety had been draining, to say the least.
The greater a beings knowledge in physics would result in more control, and a larger range of ways Alter Environment could be used, as well as improve the time it took to enact. However, a being would need to monitor the effects, to keep them from spreading to disastrous consequences.
That was not so good- Luke understood physics well enough to pilot, but not nearly enough that he would be able to control a windstorm. The fact that he was underground, where it was essentially impossible to monitor the effects of the weather on the surface, also complicated things.
As if reading Luke's thoughts, Ken tugged on Luke's sleeve.
"There are security holocams on the surface and a whole room of projectors so the droids can monitor and be sure nothing is coming close to the entrance- You could use those, if you needed." Luke had to blink for a moment to realize what Ken was referring to, but wasn't about to turn his nose up at the offer.
'He really has read all of these files, hasn't he?'
"I'm still a little curious why you can't just answer us, Master Retaw. It would be so much easier on everyone." The way he spoke, Kadann didn't really give the impression that he wanted Mehgan to answer his questions, in fact, he seemed to be rather enjoying watching Mehgan get the ever-loving shit beat out of her for refusing to answer.
"Is... that... the best... you've got?" She panted, all pretenses of being tough utterly shattered at this point but Mehgan could still be stubborn and she could still bluff. Kadann heaved a faked sigh.
"Master Retaw, if you have breath to snarl at us like that, why can't you use it for more useful purposes, especially when your lungs can only take in so much air at once, now? Come, be more economical."
'Economical.' Mehgan thought. Already, Noma had stabbed her with poison coated needles all over her shoulders, arms, back, neck, and head, then forced her to swallow bitter, chalky antidote pills. If that hadn't been enough, their next move had been to have Tilus jab at her muscles with his fingers and pry them apart through her skin, and when that had failed as a persuasion method, Jedgar had just been given free reign to throw punches and kicks. All the while, Barnaby had kept her completely at bay with his bizarre shadow- however he was doing it.
All of this lead to Mehgan being crumpled against the roots of a tree, barely getting enough oxygen as the smoke grew thicker in the air and ribs started to grow weary of breathing. She could feel bruises growing virtually everywhere on her body and she was fairly certain she would be coughing up blood if she tried to stand.
Kadann raised an eyebrow at her, finally starting to smirk again.
"Did you need to be reminded? This isn't a one-way trade. There really is a way to bring back that apprentice of yours." Mehgan's arms were sore and aching- if she could have moved them, she would have covered her ears, "Just remember- it's for HER."
Mehgan squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as possible. This was a mistake- Kadann's voice became almost gleeful. He knew he'd gotten to her.
"Just think- you would have your beloved apprentice back. She could continue on her path to her dreams... wasn't she the one who bragged about becoming the Greatest Jedi who Ever Lived? She could actually reach it, now. And the other one- that boy, his Excellency's Royal Son... they could start their lives all over again, somwhere far away, and you could even go with them."
She knew. She knew that. Give them Kendal, they give her Kendalina. It was too good to be true, but even worse was how true it was, and how much they knew that she knew. How much she wanted it. Just their child- just their one child, and who knew? Maybe Kendalina and Triclops could have even more children, if this one little, insignificant boy was sacrificed and Kendalina was brought back.
"We would even be willing to surrender him- we take the boy, give you those two back, you three go far away and never hear from any of us again. Or what if she came back and couldn't care less for her old mate- what if it was YOU she only had eyes for? It could be just like long ago, when you first found her- just the two of you, Master and Apprentice, Mother and Daughter, if you wanted... or possibly even more."
Thinking about it, that might not have been quite so much wishful thinking- Mehgan was fairly certain that, if Triclops hadn't been around, Kendalina wouldn't have had an eye for the male species, at all. Even with Triclops, it didn't really count, since he'd been even more feminine than either herself or Kendalina. The possibility was very real, and Mehgan wouldn't deny it, nor would she deny that she was so very, very tempted to give in.
"See reason- why don't you just give us the coordinates we're looking for?" Kadann pressed. Mehgan felt her face screw itself up into a grimace.
"I don't KNOW!" And she didn't. With everything that was spread out like that in front of her, she didn't know why she couldn't. It was like she wanted to say, but the mechanism inside her that would have given out the location just wouldn't work. She wanted Kendalina back, Triclops would want Kendalina back, these people wanted Kendal and would be more than willing to put everything right again... what was stopping her?
"I don't know why..." Mehgan repeated. She couldn't think, her ribs hurt, her bones ached, everything was spinning around in her head and just wouldn't sort out, no matter how she tried to make sense of it all.
"I just want... my two little younglings back." And why was she even talking anymore? It wasn't going to help her, in fact, it would just give them ammunition to use against her. But it was true enough, "I just want to hold them again, see their smiles, hear them laughing..." She didn't think she was crying, but what did she know- she couldn't even think straight, "...I just wanted a chance to say goodbye."
There was silence. Mehgan could hear the crash of trees falling over as they burned in the distance and could almost feel their pain.
"There don't have to be goodbyes." Came Kadann's insidious voice through her ears.
Mehgan didn't have a reply to that. There was something hollow inside her that was waiting for something to fill it- that little doubt why she couldn't.
A light breeze wafted between the trees. Mehgan felt it tug on her hair, almost like little fingers going through it but not quite pulling. There was the sound of flames flaring higher and blades of grass rustling as the wind grew stronger.
Mehgan's eyes opened. Her head was tilted back so that all she could see was the canopy of the forest and a tiny shred of blue sky between the branches. And suddenly, she knew why she couldn't do it.
'You're angry with me, aren't you?' She thought, a small smile creeping onto her face, '...Kendalina...'
As though in response, the wind picked up, then died down again. Mehgan could have sworn she'd heard a huff in the wind, like Kendalina had always done when she had been agitated by something.
Apparently, Kadann took her smile as a good sign. Which, she supposed, it was, technically.
"So... you've come to your decision, I see." He said, slowly. Mehgan's gaze fell down to meet Kadann's. A second later, she swung her arm up and punched him squarely in the nose, sending him flying.
"GET OUTTA MY FACE!" She shouted. If only for the look on all the other Prophet's faces, it was worth it. They all were obviously terrified of her, something she could tell only increased as she stood up, ignoring how much her muscles hurt or the taste of blood in her mouth when she coughed.
"I told you guys this was gonna be a pain." Barnaby called. Mehgan smirked a little, herself.
"Damn right about that." She put in, steadying herself against the tree, "I'm going to learn you little brats what it means to mess with the teacher of the Greatest Jedi who Ever Lived."
"Luke... think you might wanna change what you're doing." Han called. Luke had his eyes closed as he meditated, trying to concentrate, so the task of watching the monitors had fallen to Han, "You're just making the wind howl. Needs more water."
Not what Luke really needed to hear when he was trying to make it rain, but he was trying his hardest. Part of the problem was that he couldn't really imagine a torrential downpour- he'd seen rain before, but the image of a storm just didn't come to his mind anywhere near as easily as a blustery sandstorm.
"I remember reading once that some kinds of Force powers depend on what kind of element bias you naturally have- like a fiery personality would be better for offensive powers, or something like that. Maybe that is what this is." Ken put in, yet again ruining Luke's concentration.
"Kid, you think you could put a sock in it?" Han asked. Luke tried to ignore them, but his concentration was now very disturbed by a new doubt. It might not have been strict Jedi lore, but it was something of a challenge to imagine himself as a watery kind of person- closer to rocks and wind was the image he got when he thought about himself.
So, if he couldn't summon a rainstorm... what COULD he do?
First priority was to at least slow the internal bleeding. Mehgan knew she could do that. The trouble was that she'd never done it while under fire, particularly not while she was outnumbered. She needed something to keep them at bay, especially since Jedgar had already regained his bearings and was charging her down.
On instinct, Mehgan threw a punch to the ground. With a crash and a rumble like an earthquake, the entire forest floor shattered, leaving a giant, rocky crater with Mehgan at the epicenter. It would stop any chance of a direct attack, so that would do for a few seconds. Mehgan began focusing on her injuries, bringing the more serious ones to a stop. The pain faded, but Mehgan kept focusing- for all she knew, it was just the endorphins kicking in.
"You have to do better than that to keep us away!" Taunted Noma as he came over one of the boulders the same time as Jedgar closed in from behind. Mehgan remained still, smirking as they drew closer. Just as both came within striking range, Meghan arms shot out as she spun, her elbow going into Noma's face and her fist catching Jedgar in the midsection, both blows sending them into the air.
"Don't be hard on a girl just for playing hard-to-get." She sneered back, taking a leap into the air, herself.
Injuries were healed. Next priority was the fire. This, Mehgan knew she could do without breaking her concentration on these seven. Mehgan folded her hands and concentrated, and not a second later, she heard the rumbling of thunder as the clouds overhead darkened and became heavy with rain.
The first few drops started to fall as Mehgan felt movement drawing closer to her side. Without even opening her eyes, she sent a kick out perfectly aimed to knock Asmod's saber from his hands and send him tumbling down into the crater. Noma came back from wherever Mehgan had sent him flying off to, just for her to pick up one of the shattered boulders she'd created with her punch and send it hurling towards him like a discus. It connected with perfect accuracy, causing Noma to go flipping over through the air.
The rain started to become heavier, turning from a drizzle into a downpour and turning the dirt into mud.
'Perfect.' Mehgan grinned, picking up another rock and this time rolling it along the ground with all the momentum of an out-of-control speeder. It outright flattened Jedgar into the mud before being smashed by another rolling object. As the spinning stopped, Mehgan saw Tilus stagger to his feet again, looking significantly dizzy.
"...Swear ta ass... 'M gonna kick yer God..." He slurred before falling over. Mehgan almost felt sorry for him, but she didn't have time for that- she had an offensive to push. She could smell the heavy scent of smoke that only came from extinguished fires, and the earthy smell of mud and grass mixing together.
"Hey, since there's no shadows for me to really work with here, can I just go home?" She could hear Barnaby call over the thunder of rain. She ignored it in favor of pushing the attack. Her energy focused, she pulled water from the puddles it formed, pulling it towards her like a magnet attracted paper clips. She could feel the presences of the three offensive Prophets moving, circling around her and regrouping for a new attack. Kadann hadn't yet used any offensive measures- Mehgan assumed it was either he didn't want to dirty his hands or that he didn't have any real skills that were useful in battle- and the other three had settled before her, none making any sort of move to attack.
Their teamwork, which had brought her to her knees not just a few minutes ago, was now scattered.
It didn't matter- Mehgan could feel the other three closing in, but she waited until just the right moment, before she unleashed the utter tidal wave she had literally been sitting on. All seven were swept away, as though Mehgan had just broken the wall of a dam and let out an entire reservoir. Without wasting a second, Mehgan lept right into the flood she'd let loose, running through it as though it were solid ground and air and prepared to take them apart, one at a time.
The first was Asmod. If she could use their last encounter as a measure, he had the ability to drain a person's energy by touch. It was either that, or make them feel nauseous enough to break concentration, but either way, direct contact was out. Mehgan dealt with it by using one of the fallen trees her tide had swept away and bringing it down over Asmod's head with a crunch.
Next was Jedgar, who apparently had unlimited strength. It was good for Mehgan, therefore, that she had the same kind of strength without needing to draw on the Force. Jedgar had his hands up and caught Mehgan's punches, but wasn't prepared for the kick Mehgan planted into his stomach and groin with both her feet. Jedgar's body jackknifed in a way that was telltale of vital organs being hit and injured. The force of Mehgan's blow threw him clear out of the water altogether and into a boulder, before Mehgan realized that the water level was going down.
In a panic, she pushed herself out and onto solid ground again as the entire flood she'd conjured was sucked up by Tilus through a second mouth he had hidden under the flab of his chin. Mehgan moved back into attack formation as Noma spat out a mouthful of water and started to shout at her.
"YOU FUCKING, GODAMNED JEDI BITCH! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU FUCKING THINK YOU WERE DOING- THAT SHIT WAS FUCKING COLD! I'M FUCKING GONNA PULL YOUR FUCKING ARMS THE FUCK OFF, AND THEN FUCKING KICK YOUR ASS ALL THE FUCK THE WAY TO HELL!" Mehgan readied herself for whatever he was planning- his lightsaber was out but not yet ignited, and Noma apparently still had breath to scream at her.
"You're not gonna set her on fire, dude- she's even more soaked than we are." Barnaby called. Mehgan could see him flopping down on his backside, stretching, and for the most part, relaxing as best he could with rain still pelting down on him. Noma ignored Barnaby, igniting his lightsaber and charging at Mehgan, still throwing out the occasional 'Fuck you'.
Mehgan lifted her arms in attack position. Noma took a leap and brought his saber down, just in time for Mehgan to start her maneuver. She started to spin and weave her arms around, knocking his lightsaber away with the first blow and then moving on to push the offensive, slicing through Noma with her hands. Strikes two, three, and four broke Noma's arms and legs, before the fifth blow sliced through his neck and disconnected his flesh altogether, decapitating the foul-mouthed little menace and sending his head flying.
Mehgan landed on her feet, only to hear Kadann snickering.
"Marvelous." And clapping. She shot him a look through her peripherals, "Spectacular. Truly a performance worthy of the last living apprentice of the renowned Master Mace Windu. And such an honor for us to be able to see this rendition of his famous technique- the Vaapad- in person." Mehgan scowled, knowing that he was mocking her- a thought that was confirmed as Kadann sneered.
"But..." He lifted a finger as though to scold her, "Even if he were alive today, not even your master could defeat any of us."
Mehgan heard a crash and her head swiveled to see Jedgar pulling himself out of the boulder she'd sent him crashing into. Little stones crumbled off of the dent he'd made in it and the cracks grew larger as he dug his way out of it. There wasn't even a scratch on him.
"OW! FUCK YOU- THAT FUCKING HURT, YOU STUPID, FUCKING BITCH!" Mehgan jumped and stepped away from the head of Noma that was screaming at her from the ground. Her legs moved completely on their own as she backed away from the pieces of his body that were still moving, hands and feet crawling as they tried to reconnect with their head.
"Now, now, calm down, Prophet Eris." Kadann scolded, raising a hand and pulling Noma's head towards him without even a twitch of his fingers. He caught it by Noma's hair.
"HEY, FUCKIN' ASSWIPE- QUIT FUCKIN' PULLING MY GODDAMN HAIR!" Noma's head shouted at Kadann as he started walking towards the body on the ground.
"You hair? One would think your neck would have a higher priority." Kadann commented, mildly, before he glanced up at the retreating Mehgan, "And if you wouldn't mind, please watch where you step- you're about to trod over our dear Prophet Mammar, there." Mehgan swiveled again, just enough to see that she was almost standing on Asmod. For a second, she was tempted to just step on him before she noticed the grass around him, instead of turning green from all the rain, was turning brown and dying off.
Asmod's eyes opened, bloodshot and angry. Mehgan realized, with a shiver, that he was sucking energy out of the ground itself.
A man who couldn't be injured, a man who couldn't die, and a man who could suck up energy from anywhere... What WERE these men?
Ken had always known that Luke Skywalker was incredible, he'd known he was cool, he'd known he was everything that defined a hero and a Jedi. But he hadn't known that anybody could pull of a storm like this. It was pouring so hard that some of the cameras that fed down to these display screens were fogged up or so waterlogged that they couldn't feed clear pictures down to the screens, and all the sound receivers were deafened by the thunderous pounding of the pouring rain.
Really, Ken didn't know which one he wanted to watch and admire more- the screen, or the man who had conjured it up. Captain Solo and Chewbacca had disappeared to find a spot where they could get a clear signal on the comlink to contact someone on the surface to see if the coast was clear and meanwhile, Dee-Jay was modifying Chip's behavior program for some, unexplained reason. This left Ken alone with Commander Skywalker. Not that Ken was terribly displeased with this...
"You've never seen a rainstorm before?" Commander Skywalker finally asked. Ken jumped and looked over at him, beaming as the words registered.
"Never." He confirmed. Commander Skywalker smiled back, just a little.
"I hadn't, either. It kind of makes you wonder what else we take for granted." He mused. Ken cocked his head a little, which Commander Skyalker took as invitation to continue, "On Tatoonine, it never rained, it was never even cool enough for the moisture in the air to form a mist or a fog. The first time I set foot on a tropical planet, I was so astounded by all the moisture- in just a few minutes, my clothes were soaked through, just from all the humidity. I'd never been able to imagine so much water all in one place, but Leia, Han, even Artoo and Threepio acted like it was no big deal, because they were so used to it."
Like sunlight, Ken mused. And air that smelled like life instead of machines, and living creatures on every side of you, and all sorts of other things that Ken couldn't even imagine right now. But the words were so true and it was even cooler how wise and grown-up it made Commander Skywalker look as he said them.
"So, when you realized that they took water for granted like that, it made you think about things you did not really appreciate that you had?" Ken confirmed. Commander Skywalker's smile grew, just a little.
"Something like that, yes." Ken could feel his own smile growing, almost going off of his face as he scooted himself forward so he and Commander Skywalker were sitting exactly next to each other. It didn't last long before Commander Skywalker heaved himself to his feet, Ken scrambling to do the same, his lack of height being the only thing that stopped him from mimicking Luke's movements perfectly. A few moments later, Captain Solo came around the corner.
"Everything's under control up there- fires are out and they've dispatched medical teams for any fighters who went down. No casualties reported yet, but we might wanna get back up there before we're declared MIA." He reported. Commander Skywalker brushed himself off- why, Ken didn't understand, since there wasn't a spec of dust anywhere on him- before it occurred to Ken exactly what this meant.
"So... you are leaving, then?" Ken asked, quietly. Both Commander Skywalker and Captain Solo stared at him for a moment before Ken regained his bearings enough to speak calmly, "No, it is okay- you two have a home and people waiting for you and you need to go back. I understand. It was an honor to meet you two, even if it was just once."
Ken actually managed the words without his voice cracking or any flinch of emotion on his face, before...
"This is very peculiar, to see you being so calm and mature about this, Master Ken. Just the other day, you were boasting to HC and myself how you would one day fly around he galaxy WITH Commander Skywalker as another head of the Alliance- I cannot believe you have changed your mind in such a short time." Of course, Chip would butt in just as Ken was trying to be cool and ruin it, completely.
"Shut up, Chip!" Ken snapped, blushing again. He didn't see Commander Skywalker put a hand over his mouth and start to snicker.
"With all things considered, Ken, Chip does make a point." Dee-Jay chimed in as he appeared behind Chip, supposedly done with the reprogramming, "Being fickle is not a trait that will ensure any amount of survival on the surface." Ken hung his head, but he heard nothing more from Dee-Jay except, "Commander Skywalker, a word with you, if I may."
Mehgan hadn't moved to defend herself when Asmod pulled himself up from the ground and made a swipe at her. She was therefore surprised that he didn't complete his reach- a rock barely larger than an average chance cube had smacked Asmod directly on his eyebrow, which served as plenty distraction from attacking Mehgan.
"OW!" Asmod shouted, reaching up to massage the spot, before sarcastically adding, "That barely hurt."
"Then why did you say 'Ow'? Imbecile." Came a new voice from a tree high over their heads. Mehgan immediately looked up to meet the face of the owner of the voice.
"Oh, for the fucking love of god, where the hell do all these fucking maggots keep crawling out of?" Demanded Noma, head still clutched in Kadann's fingers. There was no reply from the others, as all seven of the prophets and Mehgan recognized the figure of Dalhouise Zuka as he stood up in the tree, his heavy black cloak concealing everything from eyeballs down on his body.
"Well, it certainly has been awhile, Lord Zuka. How have you been- I can't imagine it's been hard for you to find work since Madame Director Isard took over?" Kadann spoke with all the calmness of pleasantries, but Mehgan could hear a note of strain, as though he were only speaking politely out of a severe need to earn Dalhouise's good favor.
"That is precisely why I am here." He said, sternly. Immediately, Mehgan saw Asmod shift- not into a defensive or offensive stance, but in a readiness to flee, "I have a message from Director Isard for you seven- and the way you were fighting, seven-against-one, just a moment ago was such a revolting eyesore, I didn't want to see it continue a second longer."
Mehgan almost bristled, but she couldn't deny she was happy the fight was over.
"Your message?" Asked Jedgar, coolly.
"Now, Ken- tell me what you know about the Jedi Order and the selection of Knights and their Apprentices." Dee-Jay instructed. Ken blinked a little, but was used to pop quizzes like this.
"When Force-sensitive children were brought to the Jedi Temple, they would be brought as infants, sometimes very young children, and integrated as younglings in the Temple, training in clans with their peers under the various Masters of the Temple until it came time for the various Knights to select apprentices. By the age of thirteen, a Jedi youngling would have been picked by a Knight to train as his apprentice- if not, the Initiate was placed in one of the various Corps under the Jedi Temple's instruction- and the Master would train his apprentice until he decided his apprentice was ready for the trials to become a Jedi Knight and nominate his apprentice to take the trials." Ken rambled off. Dee-Jay nodded- whether this was an invitation for Ken to continue or if it was just acknowledgement that Ken had gotten it right, Ken didn't know, so he remained silent until Dee-Jay spoke.
"Ken, how old are you, again?" Dee-Jay asked. Ken blinked again, but answered.
"Twelve." Dee-Jay nodded, again.
"So, in terms of your Jedi Training, you would be running out of time to be picked by a Master as an Apprentice- very little, in fact, and almost enough that you would be very close to not being picked." Dee-Jay said the words with a hint of accusation, as though telling Ken he was a failure as a Jedi. Ken hung his head, ashamed.
"Yes, Dee-Jay." He agreed. Dee-Jay continued.
"Go and pack a few pairs of clothes, your oral hygeine kit, and your hairbrush." Ken looked up again, but this time, saw Commander Skywalker standing just behind Dee-Jay with a grin on his face, "And I expect that you treat Master Skywalker with appropriate respect and gratitude for this opportunity."
Ken's jaw dropped. He looked from Dee-Jay to Commander Skywalker in awe.
"You mean..." He stammered, "I... I am going WITH you?" It was Commander Skywalker's turn to nod, "As an apprentice?" Commander Skywalker nodded again. Ken's jaw went further down, like it was being drawn to the floor by a magnet.
"I shall get my stuff." He said, before running off to do just that, hoping with every step of the way that this wasn't a dream and if it was, that he never woke up.
"'Give it a rest, you seven. The race is over and you lost.' The Skywalker brat beat you all to him, so feel free to keep scouring the woods- even if you do find him, you'll have to face down Vader-spawn to get him to come with you." Dalhouise's voice was sharp and his eyes flashed, dangerously, as he delivered the ultimatum.
Mehgan felt her heart leap- Kendal was safe. Sure, the Skywalker brat wasn't the one she would have chosen for the job, but she also knew from the boy's track record that nobody and nothing short of a God in human form would be able to harm Kendal while he was under Skywalker's wing.
"I sense some agitation from you, Lord Zuka. Is this something... personal, for you?" Kadann spoke lightly, but mockingly.
"Personal? I should say so- I was rather looking forward to seeing my cute little nephew again." He said, softly, "And you seven..." Mehgan saw Dalhouise's eyes flash again, this time with the rings of black and red she'd seen him use once on her, "Have deprived me of that chance."
For some reason, Mehgan felt a chill go down the back of her neck before she realized that the rain was starting to freeze. Just within the clearing, the rain had turned to sleet, icy drops pelting not only her, but undoubtably the seven Prophets of the Dark Side as well.
She heard Kadann utter a 'tch' of disgust before they all turned and, amazingly, withdrew without another word. Even Noma's screaming as Kadann dragged his head around by the hair was silent.
Mehgan was left alone, staring up at the face of doom as Dalhouise watched her, before he held a hand up to his chin and disappeared, once more.
The icy sleet melted back into rain.
A/N: I think I'll end this one here. It's long enough, as it is.
The title song is from the Naruto soundtrack by Toshiro Masuda. I was actually listening to all three soundtracks while I wrote this- Sneaking Nightmare from the third inspired the menace of the Prophets, while The 5ths Fight helps me visualize Master Retaw kicking ass like she did in this chapter. Go find them- Amazon will give you a good deal, and they are so worth it.