A/N: Here's the first chapter of Part 2! There is a POV switch in this one. Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks to everyone who followed/favorited and a BIG thanks to Darth Cody, HuffleHecate, IthilwenofIthilien, Flamewind, flamewind123456, and david davies 5851 for reviewing! Ahhh, so many people! You guys make me really happy! :D
To the people I could not reply to:
HuffleHecate: They are... but there's also an extra surprise... ;) And yay clone wars!
Flamewind: Don't worry, I have no intentions to stop writing any time soon! ;)
flamewind123456: Yes, she will! And she will have unique-ish crystal color!
I think that's it so, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, only this fic and the weird things that happen in it!
*Elytra's POV*
My eyes fluttered open and I looked upon unfamiliar surroundings. I closed them almost immediately, a headache forming in the center of my forehead. Something hard and cold was beneath me. I realized it was a metal floor. Why am I here? The memories came flooding back to me. I remembered it now. The dream. The portal. I heard voices in the distance, though I wasn't sure how far away they were with the way my head was pounding. Everything was muffled, yet... it wasn't? I saw everything around me as if I were looking at it with my own two eyes. But I couldn't be. My eyes were closed.
A new wave of pain hit me. I groaned as I pressed my face into the coolness of the floor, hoping it would relieve some pain. I was wrong. It felt like someone was taking a jackhammer to my head. I curled up into a ball. Someone moved towards me. I saw them crouch down to help me in my not-seeing way. They reached out to help or comfort me or something. I really didn't know. All I knew was that as soon as their hand met mine, the world exploded.
Flashes of color and images burned through my brain. I thrashed away from the touch, but it didn't stop. The world felt like it was spinning beneath me as pictures and memories that were not mine pushed themselves to the forefront of my mind. Pain racked every inch of my body as I saw countless horrors. Torture, sadness, pain, destruction, death. At some point I had started screaming. I recoiled from everything I saw, wanting it to be over, for the images to be gone from my mind. Please make it stop! I begged anyone who could hear me. Please!
My pleas must have been heard, for just as suddenly as it came on, it stopped. My head still hurt like hell, but it was nothing compared to the ravaging I went through moments ago. I laid there in someone's arms, their presence a steady rock slowly helping bring me back to reality. Someone was calling my name, worry evident in their voice.
"Elytra! Elytra, can you hear me? Elytra!"
As much as I wanted to, I couldn't make my mouth open. Instead, it stayed clenched shut, my teeth grinding together. Other voices were speaking, but I couldn't make them out over the ringing in my head.
I'm sorry, my friend.
The voice was in my head, soothing the pain as it resonated pleasantly.
I should have expected this
Expected what? What was it talking about?
Sleep for now. It will be fixed soon.
Fix what? What was happening?
Sleep.
My mind slowed to a stop as voice's suggestion rang through my head, the questions fading into nothingness. Sleep did sound good. I heeded its words and found myself drifting into the awaiting blackness.
*Obi-wan's POV*
Everything was going fine until the screaming started. We had all made it through the portal fine, appearing in the cargo bay of the Twilight. Boxes that I did not remember being there were piled in the corner, though that could be figured out at a later time.
Right now, the part of me that had been sealed for so long leaped into the warm embrace of the Force. It was like stretching a muscle that not been used in a while, a very pleasant feeling. It was good to be back. I reached out with my senses to find the others thought so as well. A glance around told me we were back to our normally-aged selves. I smiled. It worked! The Force pushed up against me, swirling with delight. I opened myself up to its currents completely. That's when I discovered the new presence in our group.
It was Elytra. I had never felt her Force-signature before, with the Force being closed off in her world. It was a warm, bright light with hints of grey around the edges. Strange. It was stronger than I thought I would have been. More so, the grey tint was different than of any other Force-sensitive individual I had encountered, for that was what she had to be. No normal Force-signature was that powerful. In fact, she could almost rival Anakin's. Yet something was… wrong… She was in pain!
I opened eyes I did not know I had closed and searched the area for her. She was lying on the floor of the hold, curled up in a tight ball. I rushed to her side.
"Elytra?" I called. I reached out to jostle her shoulder. Suddenly, she jerked back. That's when all hell broke loose.
Her screams captured the attention of everyone and they rushed beside me.
"Elytra!" Ahsoka shouted, reaching out to her friend. I swatted her hand away.
"Don't touch her! It… it must cause her pain or something," I looked down at her convulsing on the floor. "She started screaming after I touched her shoulder." The Force was a raging storm now, currents twisted in knots and in the center of it all, Elytra.
"Was she injured?" Padme asked. She cut me off before I could answer. "I'll get some medical supplies." She rushed off before anyone could tell her otherwise.
Another wave of agony rolled off of her. Unable to physically touch her, I tried to reach out mentally to her mind. I had just stepped of the threshold of her mind when shields as thick as duracrete slammed down. I recoiled from the mental blow and retreated back into my mind.
"How can she have such strong shields?" Anakin asked. He must have attempted the same thing.
"I don't know. She can't have been trained. There were no Jedi and there was no Force," I answered. "By all means, it shouldn't be possible."
"Well how are we going to help her?!" Ahsoka asked frantically. Honestly, I didn't know. Her screams sounded again and tore at my heart. I wanted more than anything to be able to quell her pain. I attempted to reach her through the Force again. I had made it to the edges of her mind when I heard her plea.
Please, make it stop! Please!
I threw my consciousness up against hers, breaking away at her shields bit by bit. I had to get to her, to help her. I banged on the walls of her mind again and again. Suddenly, they disappeared. Completely. My mind registered that her cries had subsided as well.
Reluctantly, I left her mind's side, not wanting to intrude on her privacy now that her shields were non-existent. At some point during my time in Elytra's mind, Padme had returned with the medical supplies and now they lay forgotten by her feet as she crouched by Elytra.
"Is she alright?" Padme asked. I moved to check her pulse, but hesitated, remembering what happened last time. A wave of reassurance from the Force was all I needed before I swept her into my arms and cradled her. I brushed up against her mind again as I called out to her.
"Elytra! Elytra, can you hear me? Elytra!" She made no move to answer me, lost somewhere inside her head.
"I don't understand," Padme said, shaking her head, "What happened to her?"
Anakin tried to give her an answer, but failed. No one could give any explanation as to what occurred. Only Elytra would be able to answer our questions, and she wasn't in any state to do so. Suddenly, her body lost all its tension and she fell limp in my arms. Ahsoka let out a panicked scream as Padme and I swiftly checked her vitals. Everything seemed fine with her. I brushed up against her mind, surprised to find shields there once again.
They were nowhere near as strong as the ones from before. These shields almost seemed like… a protection of sorts. Nevertheless, I was able to see into her mind just enough to tell she was sleeping. I let out a sigh of relief.
"It's fine," I told everyone. "She's just sleeping. She'll be okay for now."
Padme packed up the medical supplies now that they were no longer needed. "So…" she began, "What do we do now?"
"Well, we need to first take care of Elytra," Anakin said, standing up and pacing as he marked things off on his fingers. "Then, we should figure out much time has passed since we left. While I do trust R2's piloting skills, we could be anywhere in the galaxy if that Force magic disabled him. On that note, we should be on the lookout for him, I don't remember where he was on the ship when it happened. After that, I suggest heading back to Coruscant. I don't think heading to Naboo is going to work at this point."
Ahsoka nodded in agreement. "And we should contact the Council. It'd look pretty weird if we showed up with this big, crazy story without a little warning beforehand."
"I'll contact them as soon as we figure out where we are," I volunteered. I was immediately shot down.
"No, you need to take care of Elytra," Anakin said, a smirk playing on his lips. "Ahsoka and Padme can get the ship in order and I'll speak with the Council." My skepticism must showed as Anakin rolled his eyes at me. "I am perfectly capable of having a nice conversation with the Council, Obi-wan, thank you very much."
"Oh, I'm sure. Your history with them in war meeting is a perfect example," I retorted. Anakin shook his head and guided the others out of the cargo bay.
"Whatever you say, Obi-wan. Now go take care of your girlfriend!" They were gone before I could say anything else. With a sigh, I stood up slowly, making sure Elytra was situated before moving her to another part of the ship. I set her down on one the beds in the crew quarters, tucking her in and making sure it was as comfortable as possible. Now that she was laying here peacefully, I turned on the Med-droid and had it check her over.
"Everything seems fine with the patient," the droid said in its monotone voice. "She is a perfectly healthy 22 year old."
I nodded in acknowledgement until I realized what the droid had said. "Did you say 22?"
"Correct."
I shook my head, "That's impossible. She's only 18."
"My scan showed her body is at the stage of maturity of a young adult. When cross-referenced with other human females, her age was determined to be around 22, though I cannot confirm that without a birth date."
The rest of its words were lost on me and I dismissed it shortly after. I looked down at Elytra. She did seem older. It made sense I supposed. We were all back to normal after the strange time difference in her world, why would she not age along with the rest of us? But still, she was four years older. Those were four years she would never get back. My heart wrenched.
How would she feel about that? Would she have a hard time adjusting? I sat down in the chair by the bed, anxious for the future. It would be okay, I told myself. Elytra was one of the strongest people I had ever met. She would pull through. She always did. If not, I would be there to help her every step of the way. She was the love of my life, and I would always be there for her.
I smiled at how wonderful it felt to be able to admit that, even if it was just to myself. The Jedi didn't understand how attachments could be a good thing. Something that would always keep me rooted firmly in the light. Though, I supposed that problem could wait. There were many other things to worry about. I grabbed her hand and held it lovingly. Whatever happened, we'd face it together. I reached over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Elytra."
A/N: ...I really hope that ending wasn't cringy. Oh well. See you sometime later this week hopefully!