Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

"So, how did you end up in the pit?" Rouge asked.

"I went out and found the Emerald, just like the Doctor said. But when I went to leave the planet, I was shot down. And when I got out of the ship, Sidious was waiting for me outside. He said that he knew it was only a matter of time until Eggman convinced someone to go get the Emerald. He told me to hand it over."

"But you didn't, did you?"

"Of course not. I was hired to do a job and I always get the job done. I saw that I was right next to the pit, so I threw the Emerald in. That made him veerrry angry. I tried to use my jetpack to escape, but he hit it with some type of energy blast. Then he dragged me over to the pit and threw me in."

"He didn't come into the pit looking for the Emerald?" Petro questioned.

"Nope. The only people that came into the pit after that were Jabba's sacrifices."

"But Sidious has the ability to teleport now. It wouldn't have been that hard for him to get back out." Rouge mused.

"My guess is, he was waiting for someone else to do it for him." Boba said. "And now that it's out of the pit, somebody's going to come get it. We'd better get moving."

Tails and Chiurrt continued through the dense forest. So far, all they had found were traps.

"Another trap on your right."

Tails side-stepped to the left and avoided the leaf-covered pit. "Who do you think set all these traps? This place is as bad as Angel Island."

"The natives. They've been following us for the past two hours."

Tails looked around. "Where? I don't see them!"

"They're keeping their distance. They appear to be afraid of you. Another trap on your left."

"Okay, how are you doing that?" Tails demanded. "How are you seeing all these things? Are you even blind?"

"I'm not seeing these things. I'm feeling them through the Force."

"I thought you weren't a Jedi."

"I am not."

"Then what are you?" Tails yelled in frustration.

"A blind man with a stick."

"Then how are you using the Force!? Rouge said that it was something that only the Jedi could use."

"Then your friend was very misinformed. The Force exists in all living things. Everything and everyone is connected to it. My connection to the Force is weaker than a Jedi's but is still there. I listen to it and it guides me."

Tails turned contemplative. "So, you're saying everyone in this universe can do what you do?"

"If they're willing to trust the Force, then yes."

"Huh. That's amazing." It was then that Tails glimpsed movement in the trees and acted on instinct. "Get down!"

He pulled Chiurrt down as arrows began flying. Ewoks jumped out of the trees waving crude wooden spears. Chiurrt fended them off with his staff and Tails lashed out with his tails and fists.

Another wave of arrows drove them away from each other. Tails twirled his tails and flew to gain some distance while a net landed on Chuirrt and trapped him. Tails was forced to flee as more arrows came for him and Chuirrt was dragged away.

Tails flew until he was very lost. He pulled out the tracker to reorient himself only to find an arrow jammed in it. He was alone with no tools to help him. Tails's mind was buzzing. What was he going to do? He could try to find his way back to the ship and call for help, but he didn't know which way to go. And there were probably still more traps out there.

Tails kept to air. He flew for hours without finding anything, until it was too dark to see. He huddled in the branches of a tree.

As Tails sat there, he thought about what Chiurrt had said, how every living thing was connected to the Force. Tails was a living thing. Could he use it? Tails closed his eyes and focused, trying to sense the world around him.

But he felt nothing.

"Well, I suppose it was worth a try." But it made sense that it didn't work. He wasn't even from this universe. How would he be connected to its energy?

But then Tails had another idea. Perhaps he was connected to the energy from his universe. Perhaps his connection to Chaos energy was stronger than he realized. A bit of a long shot, but what were his options?

Tails closed his eyes again. He mentally reached out, searching for… something. This time, he did get a strange feeling. Something was out there, and it was close. Tails moved closer to it…

And fell out of the tree.

He painfully got up and continued moving. He was led to a large bush. But as Tails got closer, he saw that it wasn't a bush. I was a pile of sticks and leaves. He stared pulling them away and a net dropped on him.

As Tails struggled to get out of the net, he saw a figure emerge from behind a tree. He flailed in a wild panic. The figure loomed closer.

"Tails?"

Tails froze. "Knuckles?"

"Oh, thank Chaos! I thought I'd be stuck with these annoying furballs forever!" Knuckles ripped open the net and hugged Tails.

"Knuckles! I'm so glad to see you!" Tails cried.

"I'm so glad to see anybody! I've been stranded here for weeks."

"There's supposed to be an Emerald here. Did you ever find it?" Tails asked.

"Of course, I did!" Knuckles ripped the remaining leaves and sticks away to reveal the Master Emerald. "I always know where the Master Emerald is. Now please tell me you have a way to get us out of here."

"There's a ship, but I don't know where it is. I also came here with a friend, but I don't know where he is either."

"Where did you last see him?'

"We were separated when these guys with spears attacked us."

Knuckles sighed. "Oh. Them. Come on, I know where he is." He picked up the Master Emerald and trudged through the trees.

They came upon a little village. Chiurrt was there, tied to a tree while the little creatures piled wood under him.

Then Knuckles shouted, "HEY!"

The Ewoks stopped what they were doing and backed away. Knuckes went over to Chiurrt and untied him.

"You Tails's friend?"

"I am. And I assume you are as well?"

"Do you know where Tails's ship is?" Knuckles asked bluntly.

"Of course." Chiurrt led the way back to the ship. "Here it is, but we can't leave until we locate the Chaos Emerald."

Knuckles stared at him. "You don't see the giant emerald I'm carrying?"

"Um, Knuckles, he's blind." Tails explained.

"Wait, you're telling me the guy who can navigate a dense forest full of traps can't see a giant glowing emerald!?"

Tails thought for a moment. "…Because it isn't connected to the Force."

Knuckles shook his head. "Whatever, just get us out of here."

Luke and Rex were still sitting in silence.

Eventually, Luke could not stand the awkwardness any longer and asked, "What do you know about the Jedi?"

"They were incredibly skilled, often reckless, and just one of them could change the course of an entire battle. They were the Republic's greatest defense. At least, most of them were."

"Most of them?" Luke questioned.

"Well, as it turns out, not all of them were as loyal to the Republic as we thought. Some even became full-blown traitors."

"Like my father?" Luke asked sadly.

"No! Like… well… yeah."

The awkward silence returned, now tinged with melancholy. It was broken when the Chaos tracker began beeping.

Luke eagerly grabbed the device, happy for a distraction. "It looks like it's on… that planet right there!"

Rex looked and went pale. "Oh no…"

"What?"

"Why did it have to be here?"

Luke looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about? What's wrong with Umbara?"