MistiWhitesun: Sort of. They see Anakin using the Force as a tool, but not realizing it. Ladora is going to correct that idea of his.

Sorry for the late chapter. I went on vacation and my computer wasn't working right for the past couple of days. I can't use Word at all now; I'm using WordPad right now. Problems, problems, problems.

Anyway, here's what you've been waiting for. Hope you like it! :)


Chapter Seven

"The Legend of the Angel and Chaos"

Ladora had brought Anakin to a speeder, told him to get in and drove out of Theed. She had not spoken since then and that made Anakin even more nervous. She had not done anything drastic to anyone in front of him, but Rene and Talon had told him of exploits where she had broken every bone in Lenny's body. What had he done that made her angry? Was it what he had said? He had had arguments with Jacen over the Force and Aunt Mara had said that he was using the Force too much, but was it wrong to have such a viewpoint?

Now they were going through parts of Naboo's swamp. He looked back; Theed was a speck in the distance. "Ladora...uh...where are we going?" he asked.

She did not answer. Anakin looked back again; Theed disappeared. He settled back in his seat. Wonder what she'll do to me? he thought. He looked forward and saw a tree up head. Great, she's going to drop me out of a tree. Wait, that might not be so bad. I'll use the Force to slow my fall. He started to wonder whether or not she would block his use of the Force when he saw the tree come into clearer focus. He blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not seeing things. He brought his hands down and found out he was not seeing things: the tree looked like a woman!

In the middle of a vast of amount of roots, the trunk spread out like a dress. As it went up, the trunk thinned, making up the body, until it came to the top and made what remarkablely looked like a face. Two branches were arched backed looking like arms and long willow-like leaves flowed in the back, giving the illusion of hair. Anakin had never seen anything like it before. He stared at it in wonder, forgetting to wonder why he was being taken here.

The speeder stopped at the bottom of the roots and Ladora got out, went around, dragged him out and, together, climbed the roots to the base. They sat down on some of the roots while Anakin still stared in wonder. He was brought out of it when Ladora started to speak, "I'm going to tell you an ancient Naboo legend...

"At the beginning of time, this land was peaceful, war was not known. Villages dotted the continents; people knew and traded with one another so weapons were not needed. But then a dark cloud came from the north. An army of evil descended upon the villages.

"The army was lead by a girl known as Chaos. Her army destroyed everything and everyone that crossed their path. A great suffering had begun. Chaos continued her reign of terror for many, many days. The people began to lose hope. As Chaos was set to rule their lives, another being came from the north, one with hope. A being of great light, a soldier, an Angel Warrior came to defeat Chaos. A great battle was fought between the Angel and Chaos. For days, it went on. Finally, the Angel won. Chaos' power was broken. The Angel used his power and sealed Chaos in a tree. But before she was sealed, she shouted out:

"An extension of myself, I shall cast,

'A thousand years after a prophesy has been dispatched,

'I shall be released from this tomb,

'And Chaos will lead a galaxy to its doom.

"After her words, the seal was completed. The Angel set up six impenetrable gates around the tree to prevent Chaos from ever escaping." concluded Ladora

Anakin realized something, "This is where Chaos is sealed, isn't it?"

"Smart boy," said Ladora, smirking. "Now do you realize that, if the Angel used the Force the way you do, Chaos would have succeeded."

"What? How is that?"

"Anakin, you use the Force as a tool. A tool is an instrument. An instrument has limits. A tool can only do so many things. The Force, however, is different. It has no limits except to the individual."

"Wait, wouldn't that mean we're tools as well since we have limits?"

Ladora smiled an insane-like smile, like she was toying with him. "It would if it weren't for one thing. What is it?"

Anakin thought about that, Ok, what do we have that tools don't? Lets' see...there's arms, legs and voice? No, droids have those. Bones? No, too easy. Besides, there are some species that don't have bones. Blood? No, same reasons as the bones.

He thought harder. He was sure he knew the answer; he just had of think of it. Then the pieces fell together. Wait just...what am I out here for in the first place? Why didn't I think of that before? "The Force," he said firmly.

Ladora's grin grew. "Right, and what creates the Force?"

"Life creates it," said Anakin, automatically repeating Uncle Luke's lessons.

"So therefore the Force is...."

"Life because we have life and we are created by the Force."

Ladora nodded. "If the Force was a tool, we would be tools. Animals would be tools. Life itself would be a tool, but it's not."

"The Force creates life and life creates the Force. It's a symbiotic circle. Only life can have the Force," Anakin blinked and then realized what the point was, "and therefore it should be treated with care."

Ladora threw her head back, "He gets it. I don't have to send him into orbit." She looked back at Anakin, "Ready to go back?"

Anakin nodded and the two got up and started to slid off the tree using the roots. "Ladora," he asked as they were sliding, "is that prophecy Chaos shouted out really true?"

"You know of a prophecy a thousand years old?"

"No."

"Well, I don't know of one either so maybe it's not true, but that's not stopping some people."

Anakin was perplexed again. "What do you mean?"

Ladora froze and, next to her, Anakin did too. "Do you what the Naboo word for Chaos is?"

Anakin shook his head, wondering why she asked. He had not studied Naboo.

Ladora looked at the unseen capital city in the distance. "It's Ladora."

Anakin's eyes widened as he realized what that might mean. That it might mean the girl next to him might be the extension of an ancient evil. "But why would..."

"Dad didn't know. When I was born, I cried all the time and they couldn't get me to respond to any name. Dad used this one and I stopped. But Mom said I couldn't have this name, so they kept trying. But it was no use; I wouldn't respond to another. I chose my own name," she sighed. "People think it's a sign that I'm Chaos. Other than Palpatine and Vader, I'm the most hated person on the planet."

At first, Anakin did not speak, thinking how awful life would be like being hated just because of your name. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be; I'm used to people hating me." She turned and gave him a smile. "Ready to go back through the six gates of Chaos?"

"Huh?" She pointed down and he saw six gates surrounding the tree. Anakin guessed that they symbolized the impenetrable gates in the legend. He nodded and they left, got in the speeder and headed back to Theed.


Like I said, boring stuff, but the next chapter is a little more interesting. We're getting to the end of part one!