Emotions

Chapter 9: Jedi Training

Disclaimer: Starwars: KOTOR II: TSL belongs to Lucas Arts, Bio-ware, and Obsidian.

JEDI TRAINING- DAY 1

Atton's POV

"Argh!" I was knocked flat on my back with a silver light saber pointed at my throat. 'Well, this looks familiar.'

Alanah stood over me, frowning, "Your form is sloppy and you're still holding your light saber incorrectly." She switched off her light saber and rubbed her temples frustratingly with her free hand.

I sat up, rubbing the back of my head, "Hey, I'm trying my best, 'Master'." I said defensively, scoffing at the word Master. After I was 'awakened' to the Force, Alanah immediately wanted to train me. She gave me my own Jedi robes and a yellow double bladed light saber. We spent three hours working on my force powers, took a short break, meditated for two hours, and now we have been working on my light saber combat skills for the past about two hours now. She told me as a Jedi Sentinel, I would have to work on both of my light saber skills and my Force powers.

"I told you this was going to be hard. Now, get up." She ordered.

"Can't we take a break?" I whined. I was extremely exhausted.

"A break? Atton, we've only been sparring for two hours?" She scowled down at me, crossing her arms. She didn't look the least bit tired.

"Exactly, TWO hours. You're tiring me out, Babe..."

"Atton, when I was just an apprentice back at the Jedi Enclave, I used to train ten hours a day with only one break. You think I'm tiring you out? Compared to the Masters, I'm going very easy on you." She chided, "Now, get up."

I stumbling up and took a defensive form. I heard her sigh irritably again, "What!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air.

She shook her head; "You were holding your light saber too tightly." I loosened my grip, "Now you're holding it too loosely... and you're too tense! Relax your shoulders." She nagged.

'I feel ridiculous.' I said mentally to myself as I tried adjusting how I held my light saber and loosening up.

"You're holding you're light saber wrong again and you messed up your stance." She sighed, "Here let me help." She walked over to me and moved my hands to the appropriate places on the light saber. She then used her feet to shift my feet to the right positions and moved my arms a little. "Relax your shoulders," she instructed as she walked behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. I tensed up from her touch. "I said relax! Stop getting so tense, Atton."

"You're not exactly helping much, Babe." I heard her scoff and she removed her hands.

She walked in front of my, observing me for a few seconds, "Perfect." I grinned victoriously, but my grin quickly faded as Alanah ignited her light saber, "Now you need to learn how to keep your form perfect while in the heat of battle." She said, positioning herself in an offensive stance.

'... Frack...' I cussed mentally.

Alanah's POV

Hours later...

I entered the lounge and walked straight to beverage dispenser, ordering two cups of water for Atton, who was in the cargo hold, and I. I heard somebody enter the room behind me, I glanced back and saw it was only Mira.

"Hey, wow, you look tired." She greeted, walking over beside me and stopping in front of the food dispenser.

I sighed tiredly, "I am... I just spent couple hours training Atton." I took a sip from my cup and leaned against the counter top behind me as I waited for the dispenser to fill up the second cup of water for Atton.

She raised an eyebrow, "Oh..."

"Oh- what?" I looked up from my drink.

"Oh nothing..." she said innocently. She turned her attention back to the food dispenser, looking for something appetizing. "You know... you have this glow around you. I noticed it when I first met you, but I thought you were just hyped up on spice."

"Mira, Jedi do not use spice... or any type of drugs for that matter." I corrected.

She shrugged, "Well, anyways, I just noticed that your glow... it seems to be getting stronger."

"Stronger? I guess I'm just more in tune with the Force."

"Is that so? Oh... I thought for a minute there... well- never mind." She coughed.

I raised an eyebrow curiously, "You thought what?"

She looked over a me, "Well... I thought you and Atton... you know..."

"Atton and I- what?" What was she getting at?

"You know... 'hooked up a power coupling'?" she grinned teasingly.

I stared blankly at her, "Hooked up a power coupling? I don't understand." I took another sip from my drink.

"You don't go out much do you- I mean you and Atton... together. Physically." She smirked slyly at me.

I choked on my water and coughed. Once I regained myself, I placed my cup on the counter top behind me. "NO! How could you think- me and Atton? NO!" I stammered, blushing heavily.

"It was just a thought- I mean, it's not like you have any feelings for him." She bent down to retrieve whatever she ordered from the dispenser. She glanced up at me, "You don't, do you?"

I sighed, crossed my arms, and stared at the other side of the room, "... I-it's complicated, Mira."

She stood up and took a bite from her snack, "Complicated? How?"

I stared at the ground, "I do care for him... it's just..." I shook my head, "Never mind, I don't think you would understand." I grabbed the two drinks and headed out the room.

"Hey! What do you mean I wouldn't understand!" She asked defensively, her voice muffled from the food still in her mouth.

I stopped and looked back at her, "I didn't mean you were slow, Mira. I just meant- how could I expect you to understand; when I don't even understand it myself." I looked down for a second and left the room, leaving Mira confused.

Atton's POV

I slumped to the floor and leaned back against a wall, exhausted like hell. 'Jeeze, this is what Bao-Dur, Mira, and Mical had to endure? I never felt so exhausted in my whole life!' My muscles ache so badly; I don't even have the strength to stand up. I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes.

"I'm back." I heard Alanah announce from the entrance.

I opened my eyes halfway and looked tiredly over to her. I watched her as she walked over to me and offered me a drink. She smiled softly down at me, "Thirsty?"

"Very- thanks." I graciously accepted. I gulped down the water in one setting and let out a sigh of relief. I turned my attention over to Alanah, who was now sitting down beside me drinking her water in silence, "So, how is my progress, Master Alanah?"

She looked up from her now empty cup and set it down beside her, "You don't have to call me Master Alanah or Master, you know?"

"I know- I just felt like teasing you." I grinned playfully.

She rolled her eyes, "To answer your question, your doing quite well considering you haven't had any previous training with the Force."

"Is that so?" I smiled to myself. 'Heh, I'm impressing her!'

She nodded, "Your light saber combat skills are vastly improving very step of the way and your adaption to using the Force is remarkable. I'm very impressed that you learned so much in one day's worth of training."

I grinned down at her, "Well, I have a great master."

She blushed slightly, "You flatter me."

"It's not flattery, it's the honest truth."

She smiled softly, "Thanks, Atton. To be very honest, I quite jealous of you."

I raised an eyebrow, "You jealous of me?"

"Well, yes. You learned everything so quickly. It's not only you, but it's Mical, Mira, and Bao-Dur. You all learned everything in such a short amount of time with little or no previous training. I had to train all my life to excel in areas you all are advancing so quickly in. If you all have been taken in for training like I had to earlier, you all would've been very renowned and skillful Jedi by now." she said, amazement in her voice.

I thought for a minute, "Well, we all have one thing in common." I looked down at her, "We all have you as a Master. We wouldn't have learned so much if we did have you training us."

She smiled, "I appreciate that." She stood up and looked down at me, "I think you've had enough training for today. We'll continue tomorrow."

I staggered up to my feet, but groaned painfully and slumped down. I heard Alanah gasp and I tried supporting myself on one knee and hand as I looked up sheepishly at her, "I guess I'm more exhausted than I thought."

She kneeled down to my side and slung my free arm around her shoulder, "Let me help." she offered. With her support, I successfully got onto my feet and we staggered out the cargo hold and we were on our way to the starboard dormitory. It felt odd having Alanah try to support me as we walked- her being so short and me being so tall. It earned us a couple of looks from Mira and Bao-Dur as we passed them.

"Damn you're so short." I joked, making light out of our situation.

"And you're so damn tall and heavy." she grunted. I laughed in response.

We finally reached the star board dormitory, finding it empty, much to our surprise. Usually Visas was here meditating, but I guess she retired to the port dormitory for some rest. I didn't even know she slept at all. As we reached my bed, Alanah gently set me down and I removed my arm from her shoulder.

"Thanks." I said as I carefully removing my outer Jedi robe and setting it aside.

"No problem." she turned her back to leave, but paused and looked back at me, "Get a good night's rest, you'll need it for tomorrow." she said and finally left.

'Great.' I sighed. I laid down on the bed, finding comfort from the soft mattress for my aching muscles. 'I'm going to be sore in the morning...' I thought to myself as felt unconsciousness engulf me.

JEDI TRAINING- DAY 2

Alanah's POV

I slowly tiptoed into the star board dormitory, otherwise known as the males' dormitory. The room was dim and filled with the sounds of loud snoring. I looked around and spotted Atton in his bunk, sleeping like a bantha... snoring like one too. I wanted to laugh at the sight him, spread out all over the bed, limbs hanging all over the place, tangled in the bed sheet, mouth wide open, and a trail of drool in the corner of his mouth.

I silently tiptoed to his bunk; making sure not to wake up Mandalore, Bao-Dur, or Mical from their slumber. Though, it did occur strange to me how Bao-Dur and Mical were able to sleep with Mandalore and Atton's loud snoring. 'He didn't even change out of his robes. Oh well, I can't blame him.' I bent down and started poking him on his forehead. I frowned when he didn't even stir from his sleep, so I started poking him harder. "Wake up, sleepy-head." I whispered playfully.

He still didn't stir and continued to snore even louder, 'He sleeps like a hung over bantha. How am I going to get his lazy ass up without waking up the others?' I thought to myself, glancing at the other sleeping occupants in the room. I decided it was best to try and shake him awake. I shook his shoulders and he stirred slightly, but fell back to sleep. I gave out an irritated grunt. I sat beside his sleeping figure on the edge of his bed, observing him, 'For hung over bantha; he does look kinda cute when he sleeps.' I giggled slightly, as I moved a lone strand of hair from his face. I was caught completely off guard when his right hand grasped my wrist. I looked at his hand and then to his face when I discover his eyes were half open and looking straight at me, lazily.

"Alanah-" I interrupted him by placing a finger on his lips with my free hand.

"Shhh… you'll wake the others." I whispered, removing my finger as he let go of my wrist.

"What are you doing here anyways?" he whispered groggily, rubbing his tired eyes.

"I came to wake you up for Jedi training." I whispered, smiling cheerfully.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked in disbelief. He tried to sit up but groaned in pain and laid straight back down on the bed.

I looked worriedly at him, "Are you ok?"

He grinned sheepishly, "Still kinda sore from Yesterday."

I smiled sympathetically at him, "Let me help." I closed my eyes and concentrated on the Force to use Force heal on Atton. I opened my eyes and looked at him, "Feel better?"

He sat up without groaning in pain, "A bit, I still feel kinda sore."

"You know what relieves aching muscles?" I smiled mischievously at him.

He blinked, but caught the mischievous glint in my eye. He grinned, "And what is that?"

I leaned forward to his ear and whispered, "A nice… hot…" I felt him grow tense with anticipation, I giggled mentally, "… shower…" I finished. I leaned back and changed my expression from mischievous to serious. I stood up and looked down at him, "Seriously, you stink with manly odor. Take a shower and then meet me in the cargo hold." I instructed while silently walking out of the room, leaving a dumb struck Atton to ponder on what just happened.

Minutes later...

I paced around the cargo hold impatiently, 'He better not have fallen back asleep after I left the room.' I plopped myself on one of the metal crates and started to fiddle with one of my braids.

"Will you stop fiddling with your hair! It's fine, now hurry up or Master Vrook will punish us for being late again!"

I smiled at the memory.

Flashback...

I looked over at my friend through the reflection of the mirror as I quickly put in the finishing touches to my latest new, and unique, hair style, "Since when did you care about getting on time to one of Master Vrook's lectures?"

She placed her hands on her hips defiantly, "Do you want to scrub the halls again?"

I smiled back cheesily at her, "Fine- fine. I'm done, you happy now?"

"Finally!" she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the girls' bathroom.

We hurried down the hall and into the opening where another friend of ours was waiting for us, patiently. "Finally, what took you two so long?" he asked.

"Miss Vanity here took forever with her hair." She rolled her dark brown eyes.

Our friend turned his attention to me and grinned, "Another new hairstyle, Alanah?"

I laughed and flipped my hair, "You like?"

He smiled, "It's unique like always."

"Enough- can we please go now?" She huffed impatiently, tapping her right foot against the stone flooring.

I smiled cheerfully at her, "Yes- yes... we wouldn't want to be late for Master Vrooks lecture, do we now?" I said sarcastically, earning a hard look from my female friend and a snicker from my male friend.

We hurried down another hallway until we reached an entrance our destination. Upon reaching it, we were greeted with the frown of Master Vrook, "Well, if it isn't Alanah, Revan, and Malak? Actually early for a class, I see."

The three of us bowed slightly, greeting our instructor, "Good morning, Master Vrook." we greeted in unison.

Master Vrook stepped aside, allowing us to pass. We hurried in and took our usual seats in the third row.

End Flash back...

I smiled sadly and stopped toying with my braid. 'To think, that was us when we were younger. Three of the closest friends you could ever imagine.' I sighed and started playing with one of my braids again, 'We were so close- Revan, Malak, and I. We grew up together so it almost felt like we were family. Then, the Mandlorian Wars happened and look at us now... one former Sith Lord, a dead Sith Lord, and an Exile.' I glanced over at the entrance of the cargo hold and noticed Atton there, leaning against the entrance frame with his arms crossed, staring at me. I stood up and walked over to him, "Finally, what took you so long?" I asked.

"Hey, I was getting rid of the 'manly odor' you despise so much." He replied.

I rolled my eyes, "Just let me get HK and we'll start." I said, heading out the room to find the assassin droid.

"WHAT!" he exclaimed, blocking my way, "Hold on there, sister. Why do we need the homicidal droid?"

I frowned up at him, "We need HK for your training. Today, you will be learning how to deflect blaster shots with your light saber."

"Are you crazy-"

"Query: Are you of need of my assistance, Master?" Hk interjected as he appeared suddenly from the main hold, causing Atton to jump in surprise.

I pushed past Atton and walked over to the droid, "As a matter of fact, HK, I do. Will you assist me with Atton's training?" I asked.

The droid looked from me to Atton and then back at me, "Query: What is it exactly that you want me to do, Master- if you don't mind me asking."

"I just need you to shoot him while-"

HK equipped his blaster rifle and pointed it a Atton, who instantly jumped into a defensive stance and ignited his double bladed light saber, "Interjection: Master, if you wanted me to 'do away' with the shaggy meatbag, why didn't you say do earlier?"

Atton glare at the droid and glanced at me, "See! I knew this crazy droid wanted to kill me from the beginning! I should've asked Bao-Dur to stick a grenade in him during his maintenance." he growled.

"Amused Query: Is that a threat, shaggy meatbag?"

I stepped in between them, "Disengage your weapons, both of you." I ordered. HK put his rifle down followed by Atton, who shut off his light saber, but continued to glare at the droid. I turned to HK, "HK, I meant that I wanted you to shoot at Atton while he tries to deflect them for his training. You see- Atton is going to learn how to deflect blaster fire."

"Apology: I apologize, Master. I thought you were ordering the extermination of the meatbag." he apologized.

"Just, both of you, get in the cargo hold and we'll start the training." I ordered while entering the cargo hold. HK followed obediently followed by the hesitant Atton. Once Atton entered, I closed the door by using the Force and looked over at him, "Stand over at the far end and get ready." I instructed. I turned to HK, who was right beside me, "HK, equip your weapon and shields." HK-47 complied with my orders obediently and waited for further instructions. I waited til I saw Atton was ready, "Ok, HK, shoot at him slowly at first and then quicken the pace."

"Statement: Yes, Master. Engaging training protocols immediately." HK shot a single blaster towards Atton, who clumsily deflected the shot. The shot was deflect at the floor and left a mark.

"Your form, Atton, is sloppy and clumsy. Focus!" I shouted over to him. HK continued to shoot slowly as Atton clumsily deflected them. I crossed my arms, "Focus on deflecting the shots back at the shooter." I instructed.

Atton's POV

Hours Later...

I sat in the pilot's seat, bored. I had been training for about six standard hours until Alanah said I had enough for today. With nothing else for me to do, I went to the cockpit and dismissed T3 from his earlier piloting duties. Actually, he wasn't really doing anything, but watching over the controls and sneak into the security room for extra repairs. Not that I could blame him, it is very boring in here once you out the controls in autopilot. I had been here for about two and a half hours now, just listing hyper space routes and playing a mental game of pazaak to entertain myself. I took out my light saber and examined it. I couldn't help but find it ironic that the once Jedi Assassin was now a Jedi himself. I sighed and placed the light saber down beside me.

"So you are her padawan now?"

I jumped and turned around only to see Kreia, "Will you stop sneaking up on me!" I yelled angrily at her.

She ignored my outburst, "I find it most curious that she would choose a fool like you to train as a Jedi."

"And what is that suppose to mean, old hag?" I glared at her.

"I have noticed the relationship growing between you and the Exile. I do not like it." she said, clearly displeased. "Stay away from her, 'Atton'. You cause her too much distractions."

I scoffed, "Is that suppose to be threat, old woman? Listen, I told her everything. And you know what? She's forgiven me for it. She accepts what I did in my past."

"Oh? And so you think you are free?"

"Yeah, so you have nothing to blackmail me with, Kreia. So no more threats... no more of your requests." I sneered at her.

"Did you think truly held you? You are more of I fool than I thought. What truly held you was you- and let me show you." She spat.

I crouched down and held my head painfully. I growled in pain, 'That damn old witch... what is she trying to do?'

She continued, "I once held the galaxy by the throat... as you once held her by the throat and let her die slowly."

"Damn you, you damn witch." I hissed at her as she forced an image in my head. The image was of the old me... Jaq...

"And your emotions at that point is what you fear. I can unlock that part of you anytime I wish. It is a simple thing, the human mind, once it feels something strongly, it becomes etched in the memory, the subconscious. Shall I show you? That part of you that hungered to kill Jedi, that took pleasure from it?" she sneered, "Or perhaps you will continue to listen to my counsel and I shall ignore your pathetic attempts at freedom?"

I gasped and hatefully glared at Kreia once she stopped forcing images in my head. Kreia ignored my glare and waited. She seemed to be listening for something. "Hey, Attton, I was wondering if you were-" Alanah soon entered the cockpit carrying two drinks in her hand, but stopped when she noticed Kreia, "Oh... am I interrupting something?"

Kreia looked over at her, "No, I was simply asking the fool, if our arrival to Korriban will be taking any longer."

"We won't be nearing Korriban for a few more days if I'm correct." Alanah answered, glancing worriedly at me.

Kreia simply exited the cockpit without a word. I glared hatefully at her, while I still rubbed the side of my head.

Alanah looked over at me, "Did something happen before I arrived."

"No, just Kreia and I having a 'pleasant' conversation." I grunted.

She looked at the direction Kreia left and then at me, "You two need to put your differences behind. Especially at this point of our journey."

I sneered, "That old witch can kiss my ass." I sat back down in my chair angrily.

I heard Alanah sigh and heard her footsteps getting closer, "Here, I got you a cup of Caffa." she offered me a drink.

"Thanks." I said, accepting the cup from her hand. I took a quick sip and looked over at her as she took a seat in the co-pilot's chair. "So... I thought you would be meditating or something."

She looked at me from her drink, "I was. I just came from meditating with Bao-Dur, Mira, and Mical. I thought you'd be lonely and bored here- all alone in the cockpit, so I thought I'd keep you company."

"You didn't have to; I'm kinda used to being cooped up in here alone." Though, I had to admit. I really liked her company.

"I know I didn't have to. I probably should be meditating and getting ready for Korriban, but I just felt like spending time with you." I noticed her stare down at her drink and smile a little.

I couldn't help but smile a little too. She always had that affect on me.

Author's Notes: ELEVEN PAGES! ELEVEN! My hands hurt now:sigh: I really am sorry this chapter took so very long. But, like I mention in the last chapter, I didn't know what to write. It took two days to plan out what I wanted to write and finally deciding to write about Atton's Jedi training, a few fluff worthy moments, and Kreia being her bitchy self. I wanted to add more stuff in this chapter, but I noticed from a certain review, that I was taking way too long. It made me feel guilty, so I decided to get my ass into writing gear and save the other stuff I had in mind for a future chapter. I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, but whatever... And contrary to belief, I do have an outside life and I don't always have the time to work on this fanfic, though I am trying to. My friends are kinda mad at me 'cause I've been neglecting them to work on this, so now I have some to do some damage control, heh... I hoped you like this chapter, even if it's not great in my standards. I'm sorry if I sound kinda pissed off- I'm not and I don't want to give off that impression. :twitches: Thanks to my reviewers and readers!
Reviewer Responses:

Nina Rand- You should check out Jade Empire; it's a very great game. The makers of Jade Empire are also the makers of KOTOR 1; Bio-Ware. Hopefully they are the ones making KOTOR 3. Thanks for reviewing!

Nini N.Snicket's Sis- :lol: Sounds like a very interesting dream. I can't imagine KOTOR people with Juniper Lee(love that show, BTW:lol:), but your dream sounds very funny. Kinda creepy in the end, though. A relationship bar? That would be a very interesting concept. At least you could check the relationship between your Exile&Atton, that would be neat. Thanks for reviewing!

Drew Ainsley- Heh, thanks for the complements! I'm glad I'm getting their personalties right. I'm happy with the Exile's personality; her personalty is kinda based off mines a bit. The first person POV was a little tricky to pull off at first, but I'm glad it didn't bother anyone. Thanks for reviewing!

Eris, Queen of the Shadows- Yes, the ending was a real 'WTF!' moment for me. But most of the ending was cut from the final game. There were a lot of things missing and individual stories(like Atton's) were left unfinished. Such a disappointment, but that's what we fanfic authors are for. Thanks for reviewing!

Kuramas Girl Angel- :lol: Yeah, the review system is kinda nutty. It cuts off some of my reviews too. To answer your question, there were a lot of scenes cut from the final game. Such scenes were DS!Atton vs. Disciple or Atton's Death or Atton leaving with the LSFExile to, I guess, the outer rims at the end of the game. I know two websites that have more info on the missing content. If you want to know more about them, just e-mail me and I'll give you the website addresses. Thanks for reviewing!

Obsidian Thirteen- :cowers in fear: ... err... thanks for reviewing... :runs: