If this reminds you of Beldandi from Oh My Goddess (anime series), that's because this post is based slightly on that.
Part 22: Counting Nerfs in Lala land
Jysella Horn floated around in impossibly bright and reflective waters for an indefinite amount of time. She stood in the apparent lake and seemed to wander around aimlessly. The woman glanced down and noticed two arms covered in human skin that was flawless save a scar that she received as a child. It was as if her starfighter never exploded on her and the implants that the shapers used to treat the burns and beautify her damaged skin never existed.
The woman submerged one hand under the warm, soothing water and felt for the hip implant that replaced the bone she shattered when she 'died' and as she had expected, there was only her original, human flesh. She looked into the liquid surface, which was a few centimeters beneath her shoulders, and saw her body in its current state instead of the expected reflection. The battered body was slumped against a living wall of coral and another girl, whose mess of light brown hair clouded her identity, laid at Jysella's feet. A third occupant shared the cell and was trying to awaken the other two through shouting and shaking shoulders.
"I must be dreaming." The Jedi Knight muttered. The soft, comforting music that bathed the Jedi's ears suddenly changed its tune to match Jysella's thoughts rather than the infinitely beautiful landscape.
"That's three hundred. Three hundred and one. Three hundred and two. You're number… uhhh… I think I lost count. Oh well, I'll start over. One. Two. Three. Four." Jysella heard someone count and turned her head in the direction of the voice. She felt a slight amount of resistance as her hair met with water.
Whatever body of water was, there was a bank, and on that bank was a girl with flowing, orange-streaked, light brown hair that stopped at her waist. The girl sat on a lush, green meadow without taking even the basic precaution of putting clothes between her skin and the earth. The teen's pale face blushed slightly and held a carefree expression that seemed totally unnatural for the person. A group of randomly bouncing, gravity-defying nerfs surrounded the girl and they each held a carefree and yet possessed expression in their faces.
The Jedi Knight squinted and noticed a blue glow around the younger human and then saw the same light around herself. She remembered the scanner that tested for Jedi potential and guessed that the other person was a Force-sensitive. We're saved! She can move the foundation beneath the corral floor and dig us all out of this slime pit!
Jysella inhaled deeply, submerged her head underwater, and swam toward the shore. Uh-oh. She thought as she emerged from the water and recognized the other person. If that was the Hapan princess from those Holos, then Jysella would be executed for swaggering shamelessly out of the water and toward the princess and the sentence would be doubled because the only thing obscuring Sil were her tresses. What kind of world is this? A spirit world where we can bring nothing but our bodies?
The older Jedi blushed and dove into the water without bothering to close her eyes. Instead of descending toward any sort of lake bottom, Jysella found her apparent spirit form approaching her unconscious, physical body. The Jedi moved closer, hoping to return to her body and her world, but when her hand came within a centimeter of her physical head, a barrier stopped the woman.
"Do not interrupt the healing process of a living thing. Go back to the Force." Warned a voice that Jysella did not recognize.
"Well, excuse me, but I've never been one with the Force and I'm trying to go back to my own body!" The Jedi protested.
"Well, in this case, you must find the healer and stop her. She has gone to the Nether World to heal your broken jaw as well as her own wounds." The mysterious speaker, who refused to appear, replied. Somehow, Jysella's eyes were guided toward Sil and the Jedi gave as much of a gasp as she could while underwater. Through the Force, Jysella could see a lightsaber buried underneath Sil's hair. With a saber around, there was no need to dig.
"The Nether World?" Much to Jysella's surprise, the question in itself had brought her answers. No wonder nerfs bounced however they wished to and people spoke while they were underwater. It was no wonder that Jysella did not feel a ton of pressure threatening to crush her bones despite her distance from the surface. She and Sil were out of their galaxy, in a sense.
"It is the realm sandwiched between the living Force and the teaching Force. Sometimes, this world is referred to as the conducting Force." The explanation sounded and resounded all around Jysella's ears.
"How can a kid like her heal me without staying awake? It's not like I made any appointments with any of Cilgal's apprentices." Jysella was confounded.
Instead of answering, the entity who spoke to Jysella merely displayed an aura around Sil's body. A second later, the aura expanded to include Jysella. The Jedi then understood. The Hapan kid was healing herself when she was brought into the other Jedi's cell and obviously powerful enough to extend a helping hand to the seriously injured Jysella. Since Jysella had hit her head on the wall and sent her soul flying before Sil came, the mysterious guardians saw the Jedi Knight as an intruder.
"Your healer's knowledge of Force-healing was incomplete, and she relaxed herself too much." The voice said and echoes vibrated through the water around Jysella. "Retrieve her, and you will both return to your bodies."
Jysella nodded and swam the long distance between her and Sil. As the movements were reduced the mere rhythm, the Jedi Knight could not help but sing an old, Corellian folksong that reflected her need to borrow from the other Jedi.
"Hey, your highness, let's go back to our bodies! I can take you." The older Jedi shouted her offer as soon as her head broke the water's surface. Sil absent-mindedly ignored Jysella and continued to count nerfs. Sil's eyelids dropped in slow-motion, as if she was ready to fall asleep at any moment. When Jysella grew impatient, she screamed at the younger Jedi again. "Counting nerfs won't help either of us! Now follow me back to our bodies and get the sith out of your stupid trance!"
Jysella's words sounded distant to Sil, who felt as if her consciousness was stretched beyond her capacity and totally stripped of the covers she used to hide her intentions. Glowing ghosts lit the blindingly bright skies above and the princess hoped desperately that she was not joining the Force so soon. The Jedi princess shuddered as she was forced to recognize the people whom she knew to be dead.
"You girls don't belong here; go back!" The ghosts begged collectively. Jysella screamed as a multitude of spirits, in their purest form and without any of their physical belongings, rose out of the water and disappeared into the sky. She looked into the water and saw people venting out of a ship and bursting from the lack of air pressure.
"Do you want the Consortium to fall into someone else's hands? If your mother keeps the throne for one more day or if she gives it your sister, you won't have your worlds anymore!" The acrid voice matched the sharp-featured face of the speaker. The mention of the consortium brought the princess to the spot where her spirit sat and as a result, she had lifted all restraints that she had previously set. The rival heirs mentioned could take those sixty-three worlds over Sil's dead body, and Sil was still alive.
"If you are who I think you are, then why are you helping a Jedi like me? I thought only the Ni'Korish hated Jedi more than you." Sil's years in Fountain Palace restrained her tongue.
"Your goals are close to mine, unlike your mother's and your sister's." The aureating, stately ghost replied.
Close but not exactly the same. Remind me to betray this old lady when our paths diverge. Oh well, ghosts can't stop princesses and they won't stand a chance against queens. The great Guardian of the Grave makes sure of that. Sil thought as she turned away from the veiled woman. "What've I been doing all this time?" The princess gasped incredulously and stared at the hands with which she pointed at nerfs.
"You were counting nerfs, your highness." Jysella scoffed, her arms folded across her chest.
"I am just a princess, lady. When I become queen, I…, but for now, I'm just a lowly princess. Let's go back to the world of the living." Sil sighed in response. First, she was caught counting nerfs, even though she considered it a waste of time and never bothered with the task before, and then, that lady just had to remind her of the goal that would be impossible as long as her mother refused to budge from the throne. Oh well. One day, Sil would see to it that she would be the 'one without equal' ruling the sixty-three. That bragging gossip queen that I have for a cousin must be rubbing off on me. Sil thought as she realized that she almost blurted out her secrets. Sil glanced down at her fingernails and reddened slightly in anger. Even though she said nothing, her subtly conniving nature was revealed in the form of the dagger-like, crimson fingernails that grew from her fingers.
"Come on, princess. Let's get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps." Jysella did not wait for Sil's response; she merely dove into the water and swam toward the bottom of the lake.
"How can you get the creeps from here? Especially with that tune playing from the water and the ground?" Sil wondered and then waded into the water. When she was finally chest-deep, she grabbed her long, silky hair in one hand and dove underwater. Much to her surprise, her gray eyes neither closed nor felt pain upon contact with liquid. A second surprise came when the princess found herself breathing like she would on land. Encouraged by the discoveries, Sil asked. "Lady, was that you asking me to lend you a feather? You have a good voice."
"Yes and no." Jysella replied. When Sil gave nothing but a curious glance, the older Jedi continued. "The feather's just a part of an old folksong. I mean to ask you…" Jysella trailed off.
"Ask me what?" The princess asked gently, her curiosity piqued. The older Jedi then explained her idea of an escape from the prison damutek. When Jysella finished, Sil said. "Sure. You'll have to cut down any warriors we meet, though; my leg is still weak."