I thought I'd go ahead and put up the next chapter. Thank you so very much to all of you who are reviewing this story! It's so exciting to get reviews, especially when this story is about five years old! Wow! Thank you so much! Please continue to let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Chapter Fourteen: Too Close
An irritating buzzing interrupted Nicholas' subconscious, and he opened his eyes drowsily to find himself in a dark room without any lighting except for one red light bar above what appeared to be a door. He was lying on a cold floor, still in his Vanisher outfit with the mask. He shook his head as he leaned up on one elbow. He blinked and then tried to stretch out with the force.
Crystal?
To his horror, he could not reach her, nor remember what had happened that had caused him to be where he was.
"Crystal!" he shouted, leaping to his feet and beginning to bang on the door.
He continued to bang, shouting and panicking as he realized that his force abilities were completely gone. He glanced at his wrists, but he didn't have any glowing shackles on, which caused him to fret even more.
"What's going on?" he finally shouted, and when he wasn't answered, he sat back down on the floor, sweat dripping down his forehead. He wasn't terrified, to his surprise, but was extremely concerned for Crystal and Padme, wherever they were, if they were still alive.
Three hours of darkness passed, and Nicholas had the sense of mind to remain seated on the floor, knowing fully well that his shouting and panic would not accomplish much. As the minutes passed, his memory came back, and he marveled that he wasn't dead. He was sure that Count Dooku was his captor, and he could only hope that he was not being held prisoner just to be killed.
When the hours were past, the cell door opened and a frightening-looking guard, dressed from head to foot in a deep red cloak, came into view.
"Stand up!" he ordered, and Nicholas did as he was told, catching sight of the large dog-like creatures that scurried about the guard's feet.
"Nice stick," Nicholas commented, glancing at the guard's large stick-shaped weapon as he stepped out of the cell and began to follow the guard down a dimly lit corridor.
"Don't tangle with me. The blasts from this stick can rip a full-sized spacecraft in half," the guard snapped and then became quiet as another guard stepped into place behind Nicholas.
"Where am I being taken?" Nicholas asked, and the guard from the rear shoved him in the back with his stick.
"No questions."
"Okay," Nicholas gulped and then squinted as a bright light became visible when the lead guard opened a door.
Nicholas stepped into the brightly lit room and gazed at the inhabitants in silent amazement. Hundreds of black-armored guards stood at attention, making a small path for him to go through.
"If you're going to kill me, just do it quickly," Nicholas whispered as he walked through the heavily guarded room and was led through another corridor.
He went through three more doors, then up a flight of black stairs, and finally came to a stop in a large, dark room. His eyes hardened as a throne, facing a large window revealing hundreds of stars and miles of outer space, turned about slowly, and Lord Sidious glared at him.
"Welcome, Nicholas Jade. Guards, take that ridiculous mask off him," Lord Sidious ordered, and one of the red guards reached out a gloved hand and ripped the mask off Nicholas' face, causing him to turn his head in pain and then look forward again, his green eyes glowing menacingly.
Lord Sidious was opening his mouth to speak, but Nicholas didn't give him a chance. He suddenly sprang at the man, running full speed towards him, prepared to grab his lightsaber from off the Emperor's lap, ignite it, and cut the evil man down. The red guards panicked, and they raised their sticks, but Lord Sidious gestured for them to remain calm and then raised his hands towards Nicholas. Nicholas had learned quickly what those upraised hands meant, and he cringed as he raised his own hands, futilely hoping his own drained strength would be able to save him. Lord Sidious' energy bolts were almost within reaching distance, when suddenly, a green, clear wall encircled Nicholas, and the energy bolts dissipated harmlessly into the shield. Nicholas' breathing quickened, or he was shocked by his own strength. He didn't hear the Emperor shouting, and he didn't see the strange dog creatures running towards him. He was amazed, and yet horrified, by his shield.
The shield disappeared when the Vornsk got closer, and glowing shackles were placed rapidly on his wrists.
"That was a clever move, young Jedi," Lord Sidious hissed, putting his hands down slowly.
"Thank you," Nicholas found himself saying, sweat glistening on his neck and face. He cleared his thoughts a second later and glared up at Lord Sidious. "Where are Queen Crystal and Senator Amidala?"
"In good hands. Queen Crystal will be joining us momentarily," Lord Sidious smiled.
"Leave her out of this!" Nicholas said, his voice cold.
"Why should you care what happens to her?"
"I would be responsible for whatever happens to her."
"Tell me, Nicholas, have you a weakness of any sort?"
Nicholas was about to shake his head when he heard shouting coming from the entranceway to the room.
"Let me go! Release me!"
He turned quickly to see Crystal being dragged by two guards into the room. Her long hair was loose and wild as she struggled to free herself, but the guards were cruel to her and held her tightly.
"Your weakness," Lord Sidious said again, but Nicholas ignored him and kept his eyes on Crystal. "Guards, release her," Lord Sidious ordered, and the men threw Crystal at Nicholas. He would have reached out and grabbed her, but he didn't know what his shackles could do if they touched her, so he stepped back and allowed her to right herself.
"I am not very patient, Nicholas Jade. Have you any weakness at all?" Lord Sidious demanded.
"No!" Nicholas growled.
"No need to get temperamental," Lord Sidious chuckled. "The queen does have a weakness, but even our tools could not get the information out of her," Lord Sidious scowled. "And so, there is only one way to deal with this situation. Count Dooku, come here."
Count Dooku stepped out of the shadows behind Lord Sidious' throne, his red double lightsaber in hand.
"We will have a duel," the dark lord continued, glaring maliciously at the two Jedi knights. "One of you is the Undefeatable Jedi. You will both duel against each other. Whichever of you survives will be permitted to live and will fall under my training. Of course, there will only be one survivor. If one of you isn't killed, Count Dooku or myself will finish you off."
"Fight each other?" Nicholas gasped and looked at Crystal.
Her eyes were bloodshot from the treatment she had been given, and her shoulders were drooped wearily. Nicholas was afraid for her, afraid that she would be the one killed.
"We will not fight each other," Crystal said, looking up at the Emperor, a spark in her eyes. "You cannot make us."
"Oh yes, I can. If you two fight each other, one of you will be able to survive. If you don't, you both will be killed, and the galaxy will be empty of its only Undefeatable Jedi, and I will rule it," Lord Sidious threatened.
"You cannot win by doing this, Palpatine," Nicholas warned.
"I don't believe that, young Jedi. Dooku, their lightsabers."
Crystal grabbed her lightsaber from Dooku as he handed it to her, her fingers wrapping weakly around the weapon. She was trembling viciously, and Lord Sidious watched her with dark eyes.
"I cannot do this," she whispered to herself as her shackles were taken off. She looked up at Nicholas to see that he was gazing at her, and their eyes met. "I cannot do this," Crystal said quietly, and Nicholas nodded.
"Neither can I. We will fight each other, but we will not fight hard. Perhaps Lord Sidious will get exasperated with our play and will stop the whole thing."
"Nicholas, this is supposed to be a fight to the death," Crystal frowned.
"We will pretend to be fighting viciously, and then, when the time is right, we will get close enough to kill Palpatine and Dooku. Together, we have greater strength than either of them has. It's just a matter of acting and timing," Nicholas said, stepping close to her.
"What if this doesn't work? Nicholas, I am frightened!" Crystal said, allowing him to stand very close to her, his breath warm against her forehead.
"It has to work. We can make it work. Let's get started," Nicholas said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it quickly before he drew away from her and ignited his lightsaber, its green glow shining eerily off his face. "Farewell, Queen Crystal of Yavin," he said loudly enough for Palpatine and Dooku to hear it.
"Farewell," Crystal said, trying to sound composed as her own teal blade ignited.
Lord Sidious' eyes glowed as the lightsabers suddenly clashed against each other, humming loudly as they were spun about wildly.
"They will not kill each other," Dooku said from the dark lord's side.
"That is why I have called you here. It is time you saw more of the power of the dark side," Sidious nodded and then watched as Crystal and Nicholas continued fighting.
Crystal swung low to avoid Nicholas' blade and then came back up again, swinging her lightsaber at him quickly. Both were wet with sweat, but they continued on, swinging at each other and leaping back and forth. Nicholas swung at Crystal again, and she flipped backwards and up, coming to land on an overhead platform. Nicholas leaped up after her, and they fought directly below the ceiling, twisting and spinning easily.
"This cannot last forever!" Crystal gasped as she nearly fell, quickly scrambling to her feet to save herself.
"We are both too strong," Nicholas nodded as the two lightsabers suddenly came together and spun in unison, a great whirling of light.
"You are stronger than I," Crystal said, and then the lightsabers came apart and they were back to fighting.
Nicholas glanced down at Lord Sidious to see a smug smile on his face from beneath the hood, and then he turned again and whispered to Crystal.
"We must get closer to them now!" he said, and she nodded. "I will attack Palpatine. You get Count Dooku. On my signal, we'll both jump off and attack." Nicholas glanced over his shoulder. "Ready! Let's…"
Nicholas stopped speaking violently as he turned back to face Crystal. A chill, colder than any chill he had ever felt, swept over his body as a scene more terrifying than any he had yet witnessed came to play before his eyes. A robed figure stepped out from the darkness before him, and directly beside the figure was Crystal, her hands moving rapidly to her chest and her eyes glazing over. Nicholas watched in terror as Crystal crumpled to the floor, her murderer's glowing red lightsaber casting an eerie shade of red over her body as she let out one last cry.
"Crystal! No!" Nicholas screamed, his voice coming out slowly as he tried to understand what had happened.
The dark knight must have come up behind Crystal while they were fighting and cut her down. She was completely out of his sight now, and Nicholas panicked, his heart beating in an irregular rhythm as he looked at the dark figure and screamed again.
"No! You killed her!"
The figure raised his lightsaber and charged Nicholas. Nicholas lost all sense of calm and peace and allowed his anger to flow through him. He knew it was wrong, against everything he had ever been taught, but with Crystal's death part of him had also been killed, and he could not bear it.
Blindly, Nicholas swung his lightsaber at his enemy, ignoring the immense buzzing sensation that hurt his head. He didn't take the time to think, didn't take the time to consider what had just happened. If he had stopped only for a few seconds and had cleared his mind, he would have realized that the entire scene of terror was only an illusion. It was a mind trick, performed expertly by Lord Sidious, and now, completely blind, Nicholas, thinking he was attacking Crystal's murderer, screamed and began to rain blow after blow against Crystal.
Crystal did not understand what happened to Nicholas as he screamed and then looked at her with the most deadly expression in his eyes that she had ever seen.
"Nicholas! What is wrong?" she shouted, but he didn't seem to hear her, and his eyebrows narrowed even more as a faint glimmer of fear rose in his eyes and then fell.
He swung his lightsaber at her, the strength from his anger nearly catching her off guard.
"Nicholas, stop it!" Crystal pleaded as he charged her, swinging his lightsaber over and over again, beating down on hers and weakening her arms.
Crystal was terrified as he continued to glare at her, continued to be angry and continued to weaken her. Something had gone terribly wrong and she could not understand what it was. She tried to see his thoughts, but a wall of anger and passion blocked them. She tried to convince him to stop, but he would not hear her.
A sudden thrust on Nicholas' part sent Crystal falling off the platform. She landed on her side, too shocked and afraid to protect herself appropriately from the fall. She groaned as she tried to get back up, and she looked up to see Nicholas swooping down towards her, his lightsaber raised. She scrambled away from him as he landed, and then leaped back to her feet.
"Stop it, Nicholas! I am warning you to stop!" she said, her heart aching as Nicholas once again swung low.
The heartache turned to physical pain as his lightsaber cut into her leg. She cried out and fell to the ground, grasping her leg in agony.
"Why are you doing this?" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks as she held her lightsaber above her, trying to protect herself.
Nicholas didn't answer, but pressed against the force wall she was holding against him. There was no way to stop him, Crystal realized, and with great pain, she swung her lightsaber, catching him in the thigh. He shouted in agony and then dropped to the ground beside her.
Lord Sidious looked at the two writhing Jedi with disgust, and then raised his hands.
"So ends both of the Jedi," he snarled and then let loose his energy blasts, allowing them to slam into Crystal.
Her cries lasted for only a few seconds before she became unconscious from the energy bolts, her fresh wound, and her broken heart.
The buzzing sensation ringing in Nicholas' ears stopped as her screams pierced through his deafness. He sat up quickly, his thoughts suddenly clear again, and glanced to the side to see Crystal, lying unconscious next to him.
"Crystal!" he shouted, and then flung himself towards her, putting his arms over her to try and protect her.
He knew that his futile attempts would not last long in saving the both of them from Lord Sidious' onslaught of energy blasts. He closed his eyes tightly, concentrating only on cradling Crystal in his arms, on shielding her, and in doing so became deaf to the warning alarms that suddenly cried throughout the great Star Destroyer. As the alarms pierced through the air, Nicholas faded into unconsciousness.
Lord Sidious stopped his barrage upon the Jedi and looked at Dooku with concern.
"What is that?"
"I don't know. I believe it would be best for us to leave," Dooku frowned and Lord Sidious nodded.
"Yes. Let us leave quickly."
The two ran out of the room, and as they did so, two other men ran in from another entrance, a young woman directly behind them.
"Crystal! Nicholas!" Obi Wan cried out, catching sight of the two Jedi lying unconscious on the floor.
"What happened?" Mike Solo gasped as they neared the two, glimpsing the bloodstains on both of them.
"It looks horrible!" Padme gasped, dropping next to Crystal and moving Nicholas' arms gently off of her.
"Looks like they struck each other," Mike said quietly as he stooped low next to Nicholas and looked at the gash in his leg.
"Why would they do that?" Obi Wan asked, beginning to lift Nicholas up into the air with a force grip. Nicholas' eyes began to flutter, and then he opened them and glanced at Obi Wan.
"Crystal!" he panicked.
"Rest easy, Nicholas. She is still alive," Obi Wan said, moving Nicholas into his arms.
"Put me down! I need to help Crystal!" Nicholas gasped, trying to move but then emitting a gasp of pain and grabbing his leg.
"You won't be helping her right now. Mike will take care of her," Obi Wan said calmly.
"Mike?" Nicholas asked, glancing over Obi Wan's shoulder to see Mike Solo lifting Crystal carefully into his arms. "What happened?" Nicholas asked as Mike and Obi Wan began to run towards the hangar, sirens screaming and ringing terribly in the young Jedi's ears.
"I'm not sure. Apparently you both got into a fight," Obi Wan said worriedly, and then he ran through a doorway and into the hangar.
"What happened to my leg?" Nicholas asked, but Obi Wan put his hand protectively over the young man's mouth.
"Shh. Don't worry about that now. I'm going to put you in the back of the ship and then Mike will see to your wounds as well as Crystal's."
"Where is Padme?"
"I am right here, Nicholas!" Padme's voice said from next to Obi Wan.
"Good," Nicholas sighed and then closed his eyes.
Obi Wan, Mike and Padme rushed into their ship with the wounded Jedi, and then quickly made preparations for a quick departure.
Obi Wan placed Nicholas on a bed, strapped him down, and then hurried to the cockpit. Mike did the same with Crystal, and Nicholas glanced over, once the man had left, to see Crystal lying limply on her bed, her head turned away from him and her long hair damp and matted.
Obi Wan came into the room once the ship was safely away from the Star Destroyer, an extremely serious expression on his face.
"We're being chased, so Mike thought it best to man the ship. Nicholas, what happened?" Obi Wan asked, coming to Nicholas' side and looking at his leg.
"I don't know. I was fighting Crystal, trying to deceive Palpatine, when she was suddenly cut down by a large man in a black cloak, and I couldn't see her or feel her presence any longer. I thought she had been killed, so I became angry and attacked her assassin. The next thing I knew, I was in agony, and I was falling to the floor, Crystal right next to me. Lord Sidious unleashed his energy beams on us after that, but that is all I can remember of the incident."
"When you were hurt, where was the mysterious dark lord?" Obi Wan asked, ripping the fabric that surrounded Nicholas' wound.
"He disappeared."
Obi Wan looked up suddenly, his face twisted in worry.
"What if you were fighting Crystal the whole time?"
"What do you mean?" Nicholas asked, confused.
"Is it possible that Lord Sidious was able to deceive your mind into believing that you were fighting a dark lord, when the whole time, it was Crystal? Nicholas, what happened when you thought Crystal had been killed?" Obi Wan asked, completely concerned.
"I let my…feelings get the better of me," Nicholas said with shock. "I had to protect her at all costs, even if she was dead! Obi Wan, what have a done?" he gasped, all color drained out of his face as he put his hands to his eyes in misery. "The only person I've ever loved, and I nearly killed her!"
Obi Wan looked at Nicholas with great compassion, trying to understand what the young man was going through. His love for the Queen of Yavin had always been evident, and it had made him powerful enough to nearly kill her. Yet how could Nicholas, a Jade and the infamous Vanisher, nearly kill the Undefeatable Jedi?
A low sob from the other end of the room sent Nicholas leaping to his feet, breaking through the straps that had been on him. He ignored the excruciating pain in his leg as he hobbled over to Crystal, collapsing on his knees next to her.
"Crystal, hear me, I beg you!" he cried, and she opened her eyes slowly.
"Nicholas?" she whispered, tear streaks on her face and tears still dancing in her eyes.
"Yes," he said, reaching out to put his hand on hers. "I am here."
"Nicholas!" she exclaimed, and this time she sat up and tried to move away from him, pushing the straps off as she did so.
"Please hear me, Crystal! The whole thing was an accident! I beg you to hear me!" Nicholas cried, emitting a wretched moan as he put his head on the bed in front of her and cried.
Neither Jedi noticed as Obi Wan slipped quietly towards the doorway, wisely deciding that he would have to tend to the physical wounds later and stay a short distance away.
"You tried to kill me," Crystal whispered hoarsely, gazing at the man who knelt in anguish before her.
"It was all a mistake," Nicholas moaned, looking up into her eyes.
She was shocked to see that the brilliance was gone from his eyes and that they were bloodshot and cloudy. She wanted to despise him, wanted to have the inward strength to throw him against the other wall, but she was unable to feel such anger towards him.
"What happened then?" she asked quietly.
"Palpatine tricked me into believing that you were killed by a dark lord. I became angry and tried to kill him, never knowing that the dark lord was actually you. Palpatine changed you into a dark lord, and I wanted to kill him."
"Surely you would have known it was I. You are stronger than Palpatine, Nicholas," Crystal said slowly.
"Crystal, believe me! I thought it was you! I was blinded. Don't you know, Crystal, that I would do anything for you? I would die for you!"
Crystal gulped back her emotions as Nicholas continued to gaze into her eyes, pleading for her forgiveness and love.
"Perhaps it wasn't all your fault, then, Nicholas, but another point was proven. We are too powerful to be together, and your feelings for me are too strong. We must be separated, now and always," she said, tears streaming from her eyes as she spoke.
"Crystal…"
"There is no other way! Our feelings are getting in the way of our senses!"
Nicholas stood up slowly and allowed his hand to rise and brush Crystal's cheek. He had regained his composure, somehow finding his inner strength, and knew that what she said was true, at least for the time being.
"Very well then, Queen Crystal of Yavin. Farewell," he said and then bowed politely before turning to face Obi Wan. "I am ready to be fixed up now."
Obi Wan nodded and then helped Nicholas out of the cabin.
"I will be back in a moment to assist you, Crystal," he said as the room's door slid shut behind him and Nicholas. Neither man saw Crystal bury her face in her hands and sob miserably.
The door opened a few seconds later, and Padme walked quickly into the room. She caught sight of Crystal and did not say anything as she sat next to the wounded Jedi. She wrapped her arms tightly around Crystal and moved the queen's head gently onto her shoulder. Crystal willingly sobbed into Padme's shirt, and after a few minutes, she quieted down.
"Are you all right?" Padme asked quietly and Crystal nodded.
"Yes. I don't know what to do about my leg, however."
Padme nodded and moved away from Crystal. She pulled Crystal's pant leg up a bit and glanced worriedly at the deep cut that was embedded in her lower leg.
"I must take care of this quickly, before it gets infected! It will certainly have to be sewn up!" Padme said, squeezing Crystal's hand gently.
"I know. You may as well get it over with," Crystal nodded and then put her hand on her leg. "That is the least of the pain," she whispered as Padme turned to a medical tray next to her.
"I know," Padme said, gently pushing a strand of hair out of Crystal's face and looking the Jedi in the eyes. "But you and Nicholas are making the right decision."
Crystal sighed and turned her face away. "Sometimes I don't think that's true," she sighed quietly.
Chancellor Arin personally escorted Crystal out of Obi Wan's ship when it landed on Yavin two days later. He thanked the Jedi and Padme for their assistance and then turned and led Crystal into the palace. Crystal would not allow herself to look back at the ship, for she knew Nicholas was watching her, and they both were heartbroken.