Chapter 3

Bring, bring.

Leo turned his head sideways, pressing his nose into the hard table and trying to ignore the noise. He wasn't used to being woken up by it. The sound blurted in oddly into a dream he was having. It didn't fit, but he couldn't figure out what it was

Bring, bring.

Suddenly he snapped out of his sleep, it was the phone. It had rung another time by the time he had flung himself across the room and snapped it up in his hand, having to bounce it in his palm as he almost dropped it.

"Yes?" He said quickly.

An irritated voice was on the other end of the phone; a female voice.

"Where were you last night? You didn't turn up!"

Leo, flummoxed, tried to figure out who it was and then he realised - it was Michaela. She sounded so surreal to him now, after what had just happened to him.

Leo knew that he'd have to tell her what had happened. He'd have to tell them all.

"I couldn't. I…"

She didn't let him explain, instead she barked in. "I don't care for your excuses!"

"But you have to listen," Leo croaked, "It's…"

"Don't. Care." Michaela interrupted, and then the line went dead. She'd slammed it down without hearing him out.

Stunned, he sank back down on the chair, looking at the mess where last night's dinner had been thrown over the floor. It was a horrid reminder of what had happened.

After a few moments of silence, Leo began the arduous task of clearing away the mess. He picked up what was intact to be washed, then took up the dustpan and brush to begin clearing the rest from the floor.

Leo was still worried about what was happening to him. Last night he had been furious…he'd wanted to turn over the table and throw a fit worthy of someone his age. He'd wanted it…and it had happened.

At the hospital, he had been face to face with the irritating nurse, who couldn't care less, but was sent to give him the bad news, like she'd drawn the short straw. He'd felt used. He wanted her to know how bad it felt for something so sudden and catastrophic to be thrown in your face. Her glasses had shattered.

They could easily just be accidents. Something had been wrong with her glasses after all. And maybe the table…maybe he had just brushed against it, and was too angry to notice…

…Then again, maybe not.

His reverie was broken by the intense claxon of the doorbell, and he set his dustpan aside before making his way to answer the door.

Zack was standing there, glaring in at him.

Feeling defeated, but still angry, Leo refused to break his gaze with his friend.

"What kind of thing are you pulling, snubbing one of the most popular girls in school? Are you trying to make people join up against you; against me?"

Leo didn't answer. Instead, he turned away from the door and walked back inside, going to continue tidying up.

"Don't walk away from me!" Zack barked, following him into the house. He stopped in the doorway and stared at what was left of the mess on the floor. Leo hadn't quite got far enough as to have mopped up the last of the gravy, and his mother's chair was still on its back.

"What happened here?" Zack said dumbly, looking at Leo on his knees, brushing up the last few of his well cooked carrots.

Leo gave him a hurt look and stood slowly, balancing the mess inside the dustpan and making his way to the bin. He tipped it in, and then, keeping his back to Zack said softly:

"I spent last night in the hospital."

Zack chose not to say anything; he just stared at his friend wildly. Leo turned towards him, studying him over the top of the wreckage.

Leo went on, his throat hurting. "My mother is in a coma."

Complete silence permeated the room. Leo felt the reality of what he'd just said crush in around him, affirmation of what he'd spent the last sixteen hours trying to deny.

"I…" Zack said after a moment, knowing he should probably say something. "How bad?"

Leo looked at the floor. "They don't expect her to wake up," he replied stiffly.

"I'm sorry," condoled his friend, instantly.

"Sure you are," Leo snapped bitterly, grabbing up the mop bucket from the corner and shoving it down into the sink. He slammed the tap up roughly with the back of his fist.

"I am…if I'd known I…"

Leo thrust the handle down again and wheeled on his friend. "If you'd known you'd have what?"

Zack took a cautious step away. Something in Leo's eyes was terrifying him; a feeling that had intensified in the air between them.

"Hey man. Relax!" Zack stepped back, and an arm fell on his shoulder.

"You ought to go," said a calm, seasoned voice.

"I ought to go," Zack said.

"You'll catch the bus straight home."

"I'll catch the bus straight home."

Zack was gone in seconds, and the stranger looked up at redhead that faced him, fury burning in his green eyes. He knew then that he had a difficult challenge to face.

Leo glared up at the interloper, his hands balled into fists at his side. "Who do you think you are, just walking into my house?"

The stranger was tall, and well groomed. His light brown hair was in curls that fell around his head, and a single plait fell from underneath his mop, over the front of his shoulder. Matching hazel eyes remained diligent despite Leo's obvious irritation.

He appeared unflustered as he stepped into the room, closing the door firmly behind him. "My name is Ranzel D'Kar. You really shouldn't leave the door open, if you don't expect people to come in."

Leo stared speechless at the man across from him. Despite the way the words were struggling to form in more than just an incoherent wail at the impossibility of the last twenty four hours getting any worse, he managed to spit out: "What the hell kind of name is Ranzel D'Kar?"

"It's a Barridian name, but I shall explain in time."

Leo shook his head. "No, no. There'll be no explaining. I have had a very, very bad day, and I am not in any mood to have a complete psycho in my house."

Ranzel turned his eyes on Leo, a glint of humour dancing there. "Of course not, and that is why you're going to sit down and listen to what I have to say."

"Why should I want to do that?"

Tapping his nose, Ranzel said, simply, "Perhaps you should simply wait, and find out."

Reluctantly, Leo sat down, a little of his fury gone. The calmness of this man seemed to surround him, leaving him with a strange feeling in his throat.

"I will tell you what I can do for you when you have heard me out. It will be worth your while, I assure you. It's a long story, but I'll shorten it a little for your convenience."

Leo looked as though he wished to interrupt. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to a long, boring story, but Ranzel cut in before he could say anything.

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a great Galactic Empire, run by evil men known as the Sith. The only people to oppose them were the Jedi, who had been so drastically reduced in numbers that it was down to very few to hold them off.

"They fought like this until the Empire seemed to diminish. And indeed it did. The Jedi began to increase in numbers, but there is an eternal balance between good and evil. The more Jedi there were, the more Sith formed, in secret.

"The Skywalker clan reformed the Jedi Council, which had been dissolved for a century. The Empire reformed too, they spread into the far reaches of the galaxy, then beyond its boundaries. Working better for what they had learnt. They took no chances. Neither did the Jedi. They sent out feelers into the far reaches of the Universe to seek more Jedi, to extend the reach of the Council. They were…"

Leo interrupted. He had been stunned when Ranzel had began speaking about a different galaxy, now Leo was sure he was trapped in a room with a diehard sci-fi nut, and he was determined not to listen any more.

"And you expect me to believe this rubbish?"

"Yes, I do." Ranzel turned his eyes up to Leo, studying him intently. "This is real, and it is not for you to believe it. It is for you to fight for."

"Hah!" Leo stood up, shaking his head. "Fight for what? This is ridiculous…"

"If you do not fight, your planet will be destroyed."

Leo burst out laughing. "Prove it."

"I shouldn't have to. You should be able to feel the truth in your heart." Ranzel looked at the redhead sternly. For a moment, Leo felt like a school boy having been told to stand in the corner.

He got over it quickly. Pointing at the door, a little of his fury ebbed back. "Get out. I'm not listening to any more of your ridiculous stories."

"I know what it is that troubles you. You fear for…"

"Shut up and get out." Leo snapped, losing his patience swiftly.

"Fine..." Ranzel surrendered, stepping away. "I shall bide my time." He was gone in seconds – Leo wasn't even sure he'd seen him leave.

Leo stood shaking for a long time, calming himself. When he was adequately relaxed, he phoned for a taxi, and then stepped outside, seizing his coat on the way. He was going to the hospital to see his mother. At least no one could bother him there.