"aaaa" - talking through a holocomunicator or comlink. aaaa - inner thoughts and Force Visions. 'aaaa' - talking through a bond. 'aaaa' - regular dreams

AN: Hi everyone! Happy Tales of the Jedi day!

I'm really sorry for the late upload! This interlude took me a lot longer than I had hoped to finish. I had a massive case of writer's block halfway through and had to take a step back until I thought of how I wanted this to go.

I hope you all enjoy this as it starts with how I thought Hostage Crisis should have ended before transitioning to what Anakin and Rosella were doing while Obi-Wan was on Nal Hutta with Quinlan Vos.

Thank you princesselsaamidala22 for your review of the last chapter. I'm glad you liked the idea of Rex giving her some pointers on how to use the weapons that he and his brothers use out in the field and also how she got to help out with that saber class.

On with the story!

Interlude: Journey to Illum

As soon as Senator Amidala, the Chancellor and everyone else who was involved in the hostage attempt were safely escorted out of the building, Anakin stepped away from the group, raised his wrist and contacted Obi-Wan.

"Anakin, I'm in the middle of a meeting. What is it?"

"Hello to you too," he said dryly. "Listen, I need you to tell the rest of the Council that Ziro is free. He was broken out of the Detention Center not too long ago. If you and the others hurry, there may be a chance to recapture him before he flees the planet." As soon as he heard a flurry of voices speaking all at once, Anakin knew that the Council must have heard him and were now discussing what they were going to do. Then he looked up and saw that Padmè and Palpatine were waiting for him. Glancing down at his wrist com, he murmured, "I promise to explain how this happened when I get back to the Temple."

"We'll be waiting for you, Anakin."

Disconnecting the call, he lowered his arm and walked back over to them.

Padmè told him that Palpatine was giving them the rest of the day off and then asked if he could escort her back to her flat since everyone else had already left to go home. He quickly agreed. After speaking to the Chancellor one last time and making sure that he was alright, the secret couple left. Once they made it to the landing area where Anakin had parked the yellow speeder that he had used to take them to the building, they got in and departed for the Senator's building.

Knowing that she was safe in her apartment since Bane and his accomplices were unlikely to return, Anakin watched as his wife disappeared from his field of view. Then he pulled away from the veranda and headed to the Temple. When he arrived, he headed straight to the Council and gave them his report after learning that Luminara and a few other Jedi had been sent after Ziro.

After being asked a few more questions to see if there was a connection between Bane and the Hutt family, he was dismissed. As he left the room and walked towards the lift, he figured now would be a good time to give Rosella another lesson on how to wield two lightsabers. Stepping inside, he reached out and pressed the button for the main floor. As it began to move, he raised his wrist, contacted his daughter and after reassuring her that he was fine, asked her to meet him in one of the training rooms.

Two hours later, the duo finished training. Once Rosella had gotten a nice, hot shower and changed into a clean tunic, she and Anakin headed to the cafeteria for dinner. After getting their food, the duo sat at one of the tables and began eating. A few minutes later, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka joined them.

While the adults quietly spoke about the war effort and what was being done to find out who Sidious really was, Rosella ended up telling Ahsoka about her mission to Alderaan.

Once dinner was over and the four had left the cafeteria, they all headed back to the Skywalker's apartment for a movie night.

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Early the next morning, Anakin woke up, ate a quick breakfast and left the apartment while Rosella was still sleeping. Heading up to the chamber again, he was glad to see that most of the Council was there. When it was time for him to speak, he walked to the center of the room. "I've come before you this morning to ask for permission to take Rosella to Illum," he said.

"Why do you want to take her there?" Mace asked.

"I've started to train her in the art of dual wielding and she's beginning to show a natural affinity for the form," he told them. "I feel that she would do better if she used an actual shoto lightsaber instead of a training one."

Obi-Wan, who was sitting in his seat, looked around at the other members. Seeing that they weren't convinced, he spoke up. "I think we should grant his request," he said. "I had an opportunity to help Padawan Ngaire get a feel for handling two sabers a few days ago and while she does have a lot to learn, I have a feeling that she will do a lot better with a real saber."

The others thought about the request. After a few minutes, they granted Anakin permission to take her.

The Knight smiled and said, "Thank you for granting my request, Masters." Then he bowed and left the room.

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When Anakin got back to the apartment, he heard the shower running in the refresher and knew that Rosella had just woken up. Heading over to the small closet, he opened the door. Quickly grabbing their warm, fur-lined parkas, he shut the door and left the room. After storing them in the closet that he had built on the Twilight, he checked the ship over and then headed back to find his daughter eating some eggs and bacon.

"Are you almost finished?" He asked.

The teenager nodded as she swallowed one last spoonful of the egg that was on her plate. After picking up her plate and fork, she got off the stool, walked into the kitchen and washed them in the sink before placing the plate and fork into the drying rack. Turning around, she asked, "Why? Do you have somewhere to go?"

"We have somewhere to go, Ella," he told her. Then he turned around and headed for the door. "Come on. Our ship has already been prepped."

She grinned and ran after him.

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After heading down to one of the hanger bays, the pair walked towards the rugged G9 freighter that was waiting for them in the middle of the room.

Rosella wondered why they were using it instead of one of the many ships and speeders that all Jedi had access to. "Dad?" She asked as they got closer to the ship. "Why are we using the Twilight?"

"Well, for one, this mission that we're going on has nothing to do with the war," Anakin said, knowing that she had been waiting for this ever since he started her training. "Two, I don't think any of those diplomatic ships will be able to withstand the harsh temperatures of the planet that we're going to."

"You still haven't told me where we're going," she said, a small hint of annoyance in her voice.

"And I plan to keep it that way," he responded.

Once they boarded the ship and were ready to go, Anakin nodded at one of the techs that was stationed near the doors at the other end of the hanger. Then he watched as the man pressed two buttons. One that opened the doors and let in the bright, warm Coruscant sunlight and another that moved the landing platform out into the air. As soon as Anakin knew that it was safe, he started the engines and took off. As soon as the Twilight was safely past Coruscant's gravitational pull, he put in some coordinates into the nav computer and then reached forward. Pulling on one of the levers, he sent them into hyperspace.

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Rosella shifted from side to side in her seat as the swirling blue, silver, and black lines that surrounded the freighter suddenly dropped away to reveal a planet that was covered in ice and snow. One that was smack dab in the middle of nowhere.

Illum.

Where gatherings happened and kyber crystals waited.

The teenager glanced over at her father and then back at the planet. She was a little confused as to why they were there. Then she remembered what Anakin had told her in the hanger bay and her eyes widened. Turning to face him, she curiously asked, "Does this mean you're finally going to let me build my second saber?"

"Yup," he said, smiling as he knew she was going to be pleased with the news.

Rosella practically bounced up and down in her seat as a huge smile spread across her face. Ever since she had started learning how to dual-wield, she couldn't wait for this day to come. Now that it was here, she couldn't help but feel excited. "Thank you, Master!" She said.

"You should really be thanking Obi-Wan," Anakin told her. "He's the one who convinced the Council to let me take you on this trip." Then he nodded to the controls in front of her. "Now flip on the illuminator."

Rosella did as Anakin had asked before sitting back in her seat and thinking about why she was there. After all, it wasn't that rare for a Jedi to use more than one blade or weapon. In fact, she had heard of a Jedi Master who used two double-bladed lightsabers, but he was a Basilisk, so he had the arms to do so.

"We're coming up on the landing zone," Anakin announced as he deftly guided the ship through the howling wind and blowing storm.

Rosella sat up and peered out the viewport into nothing but darkness. All she could see was the snow that was being illuminated by the bright circle of light in front of them. She knew that the Temple was out there and thought that the trip would have been a lot better if Obi-Wan had joined them. But he was busy chasing down Ziro the Hutt with the help of Master Quinlan Vos.

"So, are you ready to find your second crystal?" Anakin asked as he prepared the ship's landing cycle.

Rosella eagerly nodded.

The Knight smiled as he landed the ship. "Make sure you leave your lightsaber here as you won't be needing it for the rest of the trip," he said. Now, go put on your winter gear. We've still got quite a long distance to travel if we want to make it to the Temple before sunrise."

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Illum was cold and icy.

The teenager had nearly forgotten about the chilling temperature and blowing snow that surrounded her as she and Anakin continued their trek across the frozen ground. Even though she was wearing her winter coat, she could still feel the wind as it blew through the gaps.

Thirty minutes later, they came up to the wall of ice that stretched on for miles in both directions. Anakin knelt down and began to brush away some snow on the ground.

Making sure that her hood was still up over her head, the blond-haired teenager stared at the frozen sheet of ice. The wind had picked up ever so slightly and while that was making it hard to see the wall that was in front of her, it did nothing to help calm her down as she was beginning to feel nervous.

It wasn't the next part that had her feeling that way. Bringing down the wall? That was a little tough, but she knew she could do it with her father's help. The reason that she was feeling nervous was because she didn't know what she would be facing in the cave that lay beyond it.

As soon as Anakin saw the symbol that belonged to the Jedi Order, he knew that they had come to the right spot. Looking up, he saw that his daughter seemed to be thinking about something. Standing up, he placed his right hand on her shoulder. "Rosella?" He asked.

"Hmm?" The teen responded.

"Are you ok?" He gently asked, voicing the thought that was in his head.

"I'm fine," she replied.

Anakin nodded in response before gesturing to the wall. "The sun has almost risen," he said. "Let's bring down this wall and head inside."

Rosella nodded.

Raising their hands, both Knight and Padawan closed their eyes and focused on the Temple beyond the wall. Feeling the Force flow around them, they directed the mystical energy towards the wall as the ground beneath them began to shake.

The giant shards of ice that guarded the entrance slid down to reveal the other wall behind it with the open entryway. Once the dust settled, both Jedi lowered their hands and opened their eyes. As soon as they saw the hexagon shaped tunnel that led to the inner chamber, Rosella headed towards it with her father walking right behind her.

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The duo entered the chamber and Rosella came to a halt as she stared in awe at the glittering walls of the temple. Even though she had been here before, she hadn't had the time to take in the beauty of the place. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

In front of her was the entrance to the crystal cave which was iced over. The temple, which had been carved out of stone and ice, was a tall chamber that had carvings etched into each stone block that separated the different lines that headed up towards the top of the room. Four massive columns were holding up the ceiling. In front of each one was a statue of a hooded Jedi. Two of them were holding their lightsabers up high over their heads and the other two had their sabers held in front of their faces. In front of the steps that led up to the iced entrance was a small area that had a cluster of triangles surrounding it and five columns. Each of them had a different shape on top.

Anakin smiled at her and then looked up as he used the Force to open a window at the top of the room. The sun had already risen and a beam of yellow light shone onto a giant crystal that was suspended in the middle of a device that was hanging from the ceiling. Then he spun the mechanism around until light shot out from it in refined lines and illuminated the top half of the area. As the device stopped spinning, another smaller beam of light appeared and was reflected through a smaller crystal as it struck the top of the ice door, causing it to melt.

After the water had flowed down the steps and drained away, Rosella, who had watched the entire thing, turned to face him.

"I want you to know that I believe in you sweetheart," Anakin said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "While you're in there, I'll be waiting out here for you to return with your crystal. Trust yourself, trust in the Force and let it guide you." Then he removed his hand and pushed her towards the entrance. "I know you've heard this before, but I still want you to remember that the door will slowly freeze over as the sunlight fades. Once it's fully frozen, there won't be anything that I can do to help you get out. Now go."

Rosella shivered as she hurried up the steps. Now that she was a Padawan, the idea of being trapped in the cave slightly terrified her. When she had been here during her first trip with the members of Phoenix Clan, that thought had given her and a couple of the others full blown nightmares for a few nights after they had returned to the Jedi Temple.

Hesitating briefly in front of the entrance, she glanced over her shoulder at her father. Anakin stood there with a small, but encouraging smile on his face. Turning around, she squared her shoulders and headed inside.

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"The crystal is the heart of the blade. The heart is the crystal of the Jedi. The Jedi is the crystal of the Force. The Force is the blade of the heart," Rosella said, her breath leaving small white clouds of condensation in the frigid air as she quietly repeated the mantra to herself.

She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had ventured forth into the shadows to search for her crystal. Pushing that thought out of her mind, she instead chose to focus on her task.

Heading further into the cave, she emerged from the dark, shadowy tunnel that she had been walking through and found herself in a small chamber that split into two paths. Since she didn't know where her crystal was or even which way she was supposed to go, the teenager sank to her knees and closed her eyes. Quieting her mind, she opened herself up to the Force, asking it to guide her.

After spending more than a few minutes in silent meditation, she began to feel a slight nudge that was telling her to go through the door on the right. Withdrawing from the Force, she opened her eyes, got to her feet, and headed down her chosen path.

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As the young girl continued to follow the direction that the Force was guiding her in, she noticed that it was leading her down a narrow side path that she had never seen before. The entire thing was very slick, which caused the young padawan to slip several times.

Upon reaching the end, she walked into a large round chamber with a really high ceiling. I hope my crystal is in here, she thought to herself as she looked around.

There were a few cliffs on either side of the cavern, with a small lake in-between that flowed into a much larger one that went on for miles until it touched the curved wall on the other side. Looking up into the air, she saw dozens and dozens of stalactites, many of them different shapes and sizes, all hanging from the ceiling. Each one was decorated with kyber crystals. From where she was standing, they all looked like tiny stars that would glint here and there.

Scanning the area with the Force, Rosella quickly determined that none of them were meant for her. Sensing that what she had come for was underneath the water, she made her way over to the small shore. Taking off her coat, she dropped it on the ground before pulling her rebreather out of one of her belt pouches. Placing the item in her mouth, she moved forward and stepped into the cold water.

Trusting the Force, she waded out into the lake before diving beneath the surface. As she began to swim towards the wall, a bright twinkle caught her eye. Seeing that it had come from her left, she changed course and headed in that direction.

Upon approaching the wall, she saw something laying on a shelf behind a frosted pane of ice. That has to be my crystal, she thought to herself. Calling on the Force, she held out her right hand and with a subtle motion, shattered the entire pane of ice.

Once the dust had settled, Rosella swam forward.

Sitting on the shelf were two kyber crystals.

Her eyes widened at the sight. Two? Why are there two? Sensing that she was meant to have both of them, she reached out and scooped them up. Holding them tightly in her left hand, she kicked away from the wall and swam back to the surface.

As soon as she reached the shore, Rosella took the rebreather out of her mouth and placed it back into the pouch that she had taken it from. Before she could place her crystals in another pouch, she was brought down to her knees as the Force sang and all at once, multiple images came to her mind.

She could see herself running away from a place that she didn't recognize as the clones ran after her. Then she saw herself standing on a pedestal in front of a few members of the Council who were high above her, each one standing on their own pedestals. As Master Windu declared that she was no longer a member of the Jedi Order, the scene changed. She saw herself fighting a red skinned man who had black patterns all over his body and two horns sticking out of the top of his head. He had a double-bladed lightsaber in his hands while she was using two sabers that had a different hilt design than the one that she was using now. Before she could see how the duel turned out, the scene vanished. The last thing that she heard was a sinister laugh, followed by a baby's cry.

The vision faded away, leaving the padawan gasping for air as she opened her eyes. Raising her head, she looked around and saw that she was still in the crystal caves on Ilum. Realizing that she had been shown a vision of her future, she wondered what it all meant as she slowly stood and placed her crystals in an empty pouch before sealing it shut. Picking up her coat, she knew she had no other choice but to slip it on over her wet clothes. Quickly doing so, she zipped it up and made her way back to the entrance of the cave.

She had headed in looking for one crystal, but now, she was leaving with two.

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I'm not nervous, Anakin thought to himself as he leaned against the round, flat stone that was sitting in the center of the outer chamber with his arms crossed over his chest. It had been a few hours since Rosella had entered the crystal cave and now the sun had almost set.

His eyes remained fixed on the doorway and the rapidly forming ice that had almost reached the bottom.

Suddenly, he stood up and took a few steps towards the stairs as a smaller figure quickly made her way towards the door and slid out beneath the small gap between the ice and the ground.

Rosella felt her teeth chatter as she shivered in the cold air. As she tried to get to her feet, she felt a pair of warm arms lifting her off the ground. Looking up, she slowly smiled as she saw Anakin's face looking at her in concern. Shifting her body so she was curled up against his chest, she shut her eyes as his heartbeat lulled her to sleep.

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It was evening when Rosella woke up. She found herself in bed, dressed in the warmest pair of pyjamas that she owned. Figuring that her father must have been ordered to let her rest and recover from her near brush with hypothermia, she sat up. Seeing that her belt was sitting on her desk, along with everything that she was going to need for a new pair of sabers, she figured that he must have sensed the ones that she found and gathered the items while she was sleeping.

Getting out of bed, she stretched out her muscles before moving towards her desk. Sitting in her chair, she reached forward, removed both crystals from her belt pouch and placed them on her desk. Then she picked up one of them and held it in her hand.

Even though no one else could hear it, their song was one of hope, love and family. It reminded her of a song that her late biological mother would sing to help her fall asleep at night.

Holding it up to the light, she could sense that it and the smaller one were a different colour. She could tell that they weren't blue or green, which were the common colours of most lightsabers that the Jedi carried.

Now Mace wasn't the only Jedi whose lightsaber colour was different. There were also the double-bladed sabers that the Temple guards carried with them. But theirs were yellow and his was amethyst.

Her crystals weren't those colours either.

Placing it back on the table, she looked over all the parts that Anakin had gathered for her. After separating them into two piles, she moved the one that was for her shoto out of the way. Selecting the bigger crystal, which was roughly the same size as her old one, she placed it in front of the pile that would become her new main saber.

Closing her eyes, the teenager slipped into a meditative state. It was light enough so that she was aware of her surroundings, but also deep enough so that she would be able to concentrate and focus on building her lightsaber.

She, like many of the other Padawans and Initiates who had completed their expeditions, found it much easier to meditate when it came to building a lightsaber. The Masters were confused as to why the students would protest meditation under any circumstance, but be so willing to sit still and focus when their lightsabers were involved.

Qui-Gon had simply voiced his belief, saying that it was because lightsabers were real weapons and that was exciting for them, so of course the young Jedi would want to make sure that it was assembled properly.

With a wave of her hand, her main crystal floated into the center of the air even though her eyes were shut. While she had been sleeping, the teen kept seeing the design of the lightsaber hilt that she had seen in her vision in the cave. Concentrating on that, she lifted her left hand slightly and the components for the new one rose up off the table and assembled around it. Once everything was in place, the teen waved her hands slightly and the various bolts and screws that were still in the air came together and locked the entire assembly together.

After the saber was finished, it slowly drifted back down onto her desk. Moving it out of the way, she repeated the same process for her shoto.

When she was finished, Rosella opened her eyes and stared at the hilts in front of her.

Both of them were circular, just like her old one. The two differences that made them unique were the colour - they were rose gold, with silver in a few spots that acted as trim - and the narrow neck and ringed emitter on top. On the bottom of each was a flat pommel cap with a smaller circle on top that held the rings that would be used to clip them to her belt.

The main one had the same design that she had used on her old one in the middle. Two longer lines on either side of a medium-sized line that had a diamond on either end.

She had also added in the same pressure grip so just in case she lost either of them in battle, they would automatically shut off. Up near the top on the left side sat a metal box that contained a silver and gold-hued ring with the activation button sitting in the center. The adjustment knob, as well as the one for controlling the intensity were located on the other side.

The smaller one basically had the same design.

Feeling satisfied with her new sabers, Rosella got out of her chair, picked up her new hilts and left her room.

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As soon as Rosella spotted her father, who was sitting on the right side of the sectional in the living area, she walked over to him. "Dad," she said, watching as he looked up at her, "I've finished building my lightsabers."

Anakin, who had a smile on his face as he saw that his daughter was doing much better, took the hilts from her and raised his eyebrows as he saw the design. Reaching out with the Force, he found no flaws in either hilt. Handing them back to his daughter, he nodded in approval. "Go on," he said.

Rosella smiled as she took the hilts from him. Holding them out in front of her, she pressed the ignition buttons.

The new blades were the only thing that made noise in the Skywalker's apartment.

Both members were quiet as they stared in awe at the starlight colour.