~AUTHOR'S NOTE~ Again, I'm so sorry that I've waited so long to update! I can't tell you how long it will be till the next chapter, but I'm trying to be semi-regular with posting! Thanks for you patience :)
~DISCLAIMER~ I just recently acquired a stuffed Wish Bear, along with the first Care Bears movie on DVD, but other than that, I sadly own nothing :(
Leia lay in her bunk in the Millennium Falcon, wide-awake and staring into the darkness. After worrying herself sick by worrying about Luke, she had reluctantly fallen asleep only to be woken up again.
She sat up in the bunk and put her head in her hands desperately. She had no doubts that somehow, Luke's presence had woken her up. That meant that wherever he was, he was alive and had somehow found a way to connect to home.
'I can't stand this any longer!' she thought. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Han and Chewbacca fast asleep between her and the exit hatch. They had done that on purpose to prevent her from leaving the ship. Leia knew that the Wookiee's sensitive hearing would pick up any attempt to pass him. But she also knew that she had to rescue her brother.
She remembered the first time she and Chewbacca had rescued Luke. Han had been frozen in a carbonite block and she, Chewie, and Lando Calrissian had caught Luke as he hung from below Cloud City. Lando had pulled him in through…
"The top hatch!" Leia said aloud, then clapped a hand over her mouth. A quick glance behind told her that the man and Wookiee still slept. 'No more stupid outbursts!' she thought sternly.
She moved silently through the ship, pulling an old flight suit on over her nightclothes as she headed towards the top hatch. The hatch itself opened silently and Leia pulled herself onto the outside hull of the ship. One look over the edge, however, brought her a whole new set of problems.
"How am I ever going to get down?" she asked herself aloud. The ground was easily two if not three times her height below her and the ground terrain did not promote the idea of jumping. Leia clenched her fists in anger, on the verge of tears that something so stupid was barring her from rescuing Luke.
But then she remembered that this was no ordinary starship. Han had often said that the Millennium Falcon had only one flaw – its hull was too irregular to detect tracking devices. But an irregular hull meant that Leia might be able to climb down the side. A grin spread across her face as she found her first foothold and started her descent.
Han awoke to Chewbacca's low growling. "What is it, pal?" Chewie said nothing, continuing to stare at the ceiling.
There came a thud outside the ship. Han's heart grew heavy as he slowly turned his eyes toward Leia's empty bunk. "Damn!" he shouted, leaping out of bed. He didn't even bother putting anything on over his pajama pants as he tore down the exit ramp and toward the cave.
Leia knew Han was behind her. She didn't care, for she was only a few steps away from the crystal now. She head Han calling her name behind her but didn't look back. The cave was strangely lit by the bluish glow of the crystal.
It was within her reach now. Squeezing her eyes shut, Leia took a deep breath and reached for the crystal, feeling its light on her hand.
"Leia, stop!" Hand was almost to her, but too late. As the Princess's hand came in contact with the crystal, the cave exploded with light. Han threw a hand over his eyes and Chewbacca roared in agony as the light accosted his Wookiee vision.
Then all was as it was. Han blinked and glanced panicked around the cave. Leia was gone.
"NOOO!"
~~~~~
Luke walked alone through Care-a-Lot. It was night in the Cloud Kingdom and on Earth as well, but Luke was used to the long days and nights of various planets on which he had lived.
Earth reminded him of the Jungle Moon of Endor. But, then again, most everything in this strange world reminded him of somewhere he had visited.
The not-complete darkness was soothing. Care-a-Lot seemed bathed in its own soft glow. The Care Bears all slept and the Cloud Kingdom was peaceful.
Once again, Luke was left alone to contemplate his situation. The results of the test played heavily on his mind. There was no doubt whatsoever that he had touched the Force. He had felt home. Had seen his friends. But there seemed to be such a barrier that he wondered if even the Force was powerful enough to get him home.
The night sky stretched wide above the sleeping world of caring. Luke gazed at the stars, memories swirling through his mind of watching the stars from his silent homestead on Tatooine. He knew every constellation visible from his patch of desert by heart.
And as he studied the sky above him, Luke saw none of those familiar constellations. Nor any he'd seen from any other world.
Luke knew he was very far from home.
