Episode 3 Chapter 15
Sanctuary
"We'll reach Polis Massa in about two hours," Buffy announced, setting the auto pilot. "Once we get there, we'll get the injured to the medical facilities and Willow to a secure room. I really think you'll be the one to break through to her..." She said the last part as though she were thinking aloud.
"Buffy, what the hell is going on!" Xander finally exclaimed. "We spent the past three years trying to find you and when we do you're flying the freakin' Enterprise, killing people with lethal glowsticks…"
Buffy tuned out his tirade as she looked over her friend. He seemed older beyond his years - stress lines adorned his face, barely covered up by a five o'clock shadow. He had only one eye, the other was hidden behind a black eye patch. Other than that he looked well physically; even more fit and filled out than he had been the last time she saw him.
"…And now Willow's missing a hand and we're traveling to some Polar Mesa at ludicrous speed!" he finished, taking a deep breath. Buffy looked at her friend, sadness evident in her eyes.
"How'd you lose the eye?"
"In a fight," Xander replied, echoing Buffy's words from minutes before. "And don't dodge the question. What's going on?"
Buffy sighed. "Xander, you say you've been looking for us for three years? Well we've been looking for a way home for fifteen. Neither of us is anywhere near the same; not by a long shot. You have no idea what we've gone through."
"Then tell me!" Xander exclaimed.
"I will," the Jedi replied calmly, "but not until everyone is present. There are a lot of things to tell and I really don't want to do it more than once. Please, Xander."
Xander stared at his friend for a moment and then nodded. "All right, fine." Xander exhaled slowly and then stood. "I'm going to go sit with Willow."
Buffy nodded and then turned back to her controls. Xander moved to the doorway. A moment later he turned to her, confusion evident in his face.
"Uh, Buffy? Where do I go?"
Buffy chuckled. "Take over, Threepio. Come on, Xander," she said, rising and moving to her friend's side. "Let's go see our family."
An hour later, the Millennium Falcon reverted to real space just outside the asteroid field that housed Polis Massa. Situated in the Subterrel sector in the Outer Rim, Polis Massa was a collection of small cities buried in the shattered remains of a long dead world; and had seemed to be the perfect place for a temporary Jedi Sanctuary. The Polis Massans, though isolationists by nature, had welcomed Buffy when she had approached them shortly before her mission to Corellia, whose only guidance were several disturbing visions. She had been pleased to discover that several of her fellow Jedi that she had confided in had continued to prepare the sanctuary during her absence. And as she brought he Falcon to rest in the main hanger of the largest city know as the Local Dig, she was pleased to see the chief among those Jedi standing next to Master Yoda and Bail Organa waiting as the ramp lowered.
"Master Skywalker."
"Padawan Olee." Buffy nodded in greeting. "How much did you get?"
"Only about two-thirds, Master," Olee Starstone replied. Once an apprentice to Jocasta Nu, the young Padawan had asked to be reassigned to gain experience in the field and had been taken on by Master Bol ChatakShe had been with her Master and several other Jedi on Murkhana when Order 66 had been initiated and had only narrowly managed to escape. Master Chatak had not been as lucky - cut down by Clone Troopers while giving time for Olee and fellow Master Roan Shryne a chance to sneak onto a departing transport headed for the Outer Rim. From there, it had only been a matter of acquiring a small craft to bring them to the Sanctuary.
While Master Shryne had never been there, Starstone was very familiar with the complex - she had been chosen by Buffy specifically for the task of backing up the Archives. "Unfortunately, it seems as if someone noticed the download and attempted to trace the connection. I immediately initiated the countermeasures and disconnected. By now, the virus should have thoroughly destroyed the data in the Archives."
"Better destroyed than in the hands of a Sith. Good work, Starstone." The young Padawan nodded and then took her leave to continue her work. Buffy turned to Yoda as the rest of the group came down the ramp. "Master Yoda," she said, bowing in respect. "I am pleased to report that Anakin has been freed and we have captured Darth Traya. And, well…I brought some friends along."
"More Jedi?" Organa asked. Buffy shook her head.
"Not exactly," she replied. The two men looked on in confusion as two strangely dressed men proceeded down the ramp - one with the dreaded Darth Traya unconscious in his arms - and one strangely dressed woman, carrying yet another unconscious female. Bail looked at the Jedi, who smiled sheepishly. "My family came for a visit."
Xander, Faith and Giles looked back at Master Yoda and Senator Organa for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. Finally Faith lifted her chin in greeting.
" 'Sup?" she asked calmly. "Whose the muppet?"
Yoda's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Impossible, I thought it was for you to return home," he stated. "Also impossible, it would then be, for your friends to come here."
"Nothing is impossible against the will of a Summers woman," Xander said proudly, glancing fondly at Dawn's figure in Faith's arms. Giles nodded in agreement, as did Yoda.
"Found that out, I have. Welcome you, the Jedi do, to our Sanctuary."
"We need a secure room for Willow," Buffy interjected. "And a quiet room for Dawn."
"What is wrong with her?" Bail asked, looking at the dark haired girl held by the other Slayer. Faith shrugged.
"No idea. She just collapsed after we got…to wherever the hell we got to."
"Mustafar."
"Yeah, that too."
"Sense the Force in her, I do," Yoda said, concentrating on the girl. "Suddenly upon her did it come. Rest is what she needs."
"Uh, we have a situation here!" a slightly panicked voice shouted from inside the ship Soon Obi-Wan emerged, gesturing behind himself. "It's Padmé!"
"What's wrong? Is she okay?" Bail asked, worried for his friend. Buffy, who had just remembered that her sister-in-law was with them, looked on in concern.
"It's the baby - it's coming," Anakin remarked as he carried Padmé down the ramp. "We need to get to the doctors now."
Bail nodded. "Follow me." Obi-Wan and Anakin, still carrying Padmé, followed the Senator, leaving Buffy and the Scoobies with Yoda
"To your rooms, I will show you," the diminutive Jedi said. "Much to tell you on the way, I have."
The group proceeded through the complex nodding in greeting to both fellow Jedi and Polis Massans. They moved through a rather large courtyard to the far corner of the complex, where a set of doors opened as they neared.
"Do all of you do that telekinetic trick?" Xander asked in wonder.
"Most of us," Buffy smirked. "But the doors are on sensors."
"Right."
They moved to the first room on the left and Yoda led them in. It was fairly bare - just a bed and a small set of vital monitors for the doctors. But off to the right was a large bay window that stared out into the empty expanse of space. "In here, your sister can rest," he told Buffy, who nodded in reply. Faith moved to the bed and gently laid the girl down, covering with the sheets. The monitors flared to life, instantly showing Dawn's rather stable vitals.
"Bet she'll love the view," Faith remarked. "She's had a thing about star watching, since you…yeah," she finished lamely. Buffy smiled.
"I know."
"Where do we put Willow?" Xander asked. Yoda's eyes narrowed.
"This way," he said, his voice surprisingly gruff to the non-Jedi following behind him.
They followed the tiny Jedi out of Dawn's room with Buffy giving her sister once last look before moving out into the hallway. They moved down to the last room on the left and Yoda gestured to Xander to put the witch in the room. Xander entered to find a room similar to Dawns, only sans the window. Instead all four walls appeared to be heavily fortified and the only exit was the door behind him. Grimly he placed his friend on the bed and headed back out.
"It's a cell," Xander stated plainly, anger evident in his voice.
"As Darth Traya, she's responsible for ordering the deaths of millions of people. Giles, I need to know - can you bind her magic?"
Giles, who was startled at hearing what Willow had done, shook off the confusion and nodded his head. "Yes, temporarily."
"Then do it," Buffy continued. "Right now, she's too dangerous to talk down. But deny her of her powers and it may be possible to break through to Willow." Giles nodded and proceeded into the room to perform the necessary spells.
Buffy turned to Xander. "Xander… that will be up to you. Before you go in, though, I'll need to tell you a few things. We'll do that in a few minutes, okay?"
"All of us?" Faith asked. Buffy sighed.
"Yeah, all of you." Before Buffy could continue, Giles emerged.
"The spells are completed." Buffy nodded as her former Watcher paused, looking rather uncomfortable. "I never thought I would have to do that."
"Then I guess it's time we had a talk," she said slowly, "about what happened to Willow and I and about what I think happened to Dawn."
The small group made their way into a small conference room near the hospital. Obi-Wan joined them at Anakin's insistence. "In case there are any questions I could answer," he explained. "Bail's watching over them now."
"How's Padmé?" Buffy asked.
"In labor, but her vitals are stable," Obi-Wan replied. "We should know in an hour or so how the children are."
"More than one, there is?" Yoda asked, surprised. Obi-Wan nodded.
"Twins."
Buffy sighed. "Well, then. I guess it's time. I had wanted to wait for Dawn but if Willow wakes up before her…" she looked to Xander. "Like I said, there are things you need to know."
"Take your time, Buff," Xander replied. "Take your time."
"The portal dropped us on Mustafar and I mean dropped us. About fifteen feet onto the hard, rocky ground where we were found by a rogue group of slavers. That was fifteen years ago."
The Scoobies stared in horror, but Buffy knew the fun was just getting started. So she took a breath to steady herself and continued.
"They broke us. I won't go into details - quite frankly, I don't like to remember. It took me years to finally work through it all. And the truly scary thing is that Willow went through worse. She never told me all of the details - only that she was sold to a pleasure boat as a whore. For a while she was able to use her magic to fool the 'clients'. But when they found out what she could do, she was given to a guy named Xiazan - head of the Black Sun group, which owned the ship. He took her with him to use her powers to influence decisions in his favor. And though she never talked about it, I'm pretty sure he made her do…other things… as well.
"And she went along with it. She had to - she was too noble. If she refused, the other slaves would be killed and she couldn't live with that. So she lived like that - but not for long. Pirates ended up attacking her ship and she managed to escape, while making everyone else think she had been killed. She ended up on the planet Naboo and was taken in by the Naberrie family - and became something like another sister to Padmé. Padmé was already in public service at the time and within a year she would be voted Queen of Naboo and Willow would follow her as one of her handmaidens, under the name Rose Naberrie.
"My story is a bit different. It was nearly a year before I was sold and when I was it was to the Hutts. They're gangsters, slave traders, smugglers… they run most of the criminal empire in the galaxy. I ended up on Tatooine and was won by a Toydarian named Watto in a bet. The first thing he did was fit me with a Control Collar - anytime I got out of hand, he'd activate it and it would shock the hell out of me. The next thing he did was to put me with the other slaves he owned - the Skywalkers. I was truly a broken girl when I came to them, lost and frightened. Shmi became like a second mother to me and with Ani they were able to, well, fix me. Well, mostly - I was still afraid of Watto, thanks to the damn collar. I was on Tatooine for nearly a year when I met two Jedi - Obi-Wan, and his Master, Qui-Gon.
"They came into Watto's junk shop, looking for parts for their ship. I remember thinking he looked a lot like Clint Eastwood, actually. He was a good man - he actually set things up to win Ani and I from Watto and got us our freedom. When we got back to his ship, that's when I found Willow. We ended up traveling to Coruscant, then back to Naboo, where we helped Padmé free her planet from a droid army commanded by the Trade Federation. Willow and I stayed on the planet, fighting though the palace to get the Viceroy, while Anakin got the brilliant idea to fly a starfighter up into space and single-handedly take out the droid control ship. I never let him live that one down for years."
"You still haven't." Obi-Wan pointed out. Buffy paused to think for a moment and then nodded.
"Oh yeah. Anyway, While Ani was flying like a maniac and Willow was with Padmé fighting the droids. I stayed with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, and got taken down rather quickly by a Sith warrior named Darth Maul."
"What's a Sith?" Faith asked. "Anything like…what you are now?" she added hesitantly.
"Yes and no," Obi-Wan replied, taking over with the explanation. "The Jedi and the Sith have both existed for millennia, but our ideology is very dissimilar. While the Jedi believe in preserving justice and defending the peace, the Sith believe only in gaining power, by whatever means necessary. And while there are-" He closed his eyes for a moment, "were - thousands of Jedi in the galaxy at one time, there will only ever be two Sith."
"Why is that?" Giles asked, his curiosity piqued.
"It was a rule enacted by an ancient Sith Lord named Exar Kun - only two Sith could be allowed at any one time: a Master and an Apprentice. When the Apprentice is ready, they kill the Master and the process starts over again. But both Sith and Jedi draw their power from the Force."
"And what's that?" Xander asked.
"The simplified answer is that the Force is an energy field," Buffy continued in a tired voice. "It surrounds everything and is present in everyone. There are two sides - Light and Dark. The Sith draw from the Dark Side. The Sith I fought was fairly well skilled in the Dark Side and he took me out with no real effort."
FLASH
The Slayer charged forward. Ignoring Qui-Gon's shouts for her to stop, she swung her makeshift staff over her head and brought it down with all of her strength at the demon's head-
And the Sith warrior sliced it cleanly in two with his dual-bladed lightsaber. Then taking advantage of her shock, he thrust out his palm, sending a powerful Force wave hurtling at the Slayer. The blast sent Buffy sailing clear across the hanger, where she impacted against the far wall. Her head cracked against the wall and she slid down to the floor, unconscious.
FLASH
"That was also when I started to realize what the Powers had done to me when I got dropped in this universe."
FLASH
Qui-Gon and the Sith were fighting in a round room - a large, endless shaft in the middle and blocked off from the power distribution plant by a long corridor with five glowing containment fields. Obi-Wan was stuck behind the final field, waiting for it to drop as his Master valiantly fought the Sith. But Qui-Gon was desperately over matched; his years of experience nothing against the raw fury of the demon warrior. Their blades crashed against each other, until finally the Sith, Darth Maul, Buffy knew instinctively, pushed the Jedi's blade up and away, butted him in the face with the handle of his lightsaber and then spun around and buried the bottom blade of the lightsaber deep into the Jedi Masters gut as his Padawan screamed…
NOOOOOOOO!
FLASH
"Slayer visions?" Giles asked, but Buffy shook her head.
"No, these are more than that. These aren't the cryptic messages the Powers used to send me - these are entire events, played out in living color in my mind. Sometimes its a few minutes in the future, sometimes its a few years. And that's not the only thing. For months before Naboo, things had started happening. Tools that were out of reach suddenly would leap into my hands; my strength and speed seemed to be increased even further. And when I fought the Sith on Naboo, it went even further.
FLASH
"Time for you to die, little girl," he growled, as he brought the lightsaber down on Buffy.
With a snarl, Darth Maul brought his remaining red blade down at Buffy's head with all of his might. Buffy reached out towards Obi-Wan-
And his lightsaber leapt into her hand.
In an instant, she activated the blue blade and brought it across her face, blocking the Sith's blade and causing him to gape in surprise. Taking advantage of his confusion, she kicked her leg up into the Sith's back, sending him sprawling over her head. The Sith rolled and came up to his feet in an instant, spinning around to face Buffy as she kicked up. She turned to face him and brought the lightsaber up to a mid guard position, eyeing the Sith critically.
"Your first words and that was it! Lame!"
"Jedi!" Maul hissed angrily. Buffy shook her head.
"No. I'm the Slayer, you're the slayee." She held out her left hand, palm up, and motioned with her fingers. "You want some? Come get some."
Maul rushed the Slayer then, his single blade slicing through the air before impacting on Buffy's blue blade. They treaded blows, back and forth, as fast as he and Obi-Wan had - faster, even. Maul brought the blade around at her head and Buffy blocked it, pushing his blade down before bringing hers back up, nearly slicing his chin. Maul quickly backed up and spun away, but Buffy managed to bring her blade swiftly down, scorching his back. Maul hissed in pain and spun around again, bringing his lightsaber back up. Buffy smirked.
"Payback's a bitch, ain't it?"
Obi-Wan heard the fight going on above him and he desperately fought to get out of the pit.
Calm yourself, Obi-Wan, he thought to himself. You must not give in to your fear.
Letting his emotions drain out of him, Obi-Wan concentrated on the moment, letting the Force fill him. Gripping the sensor node tightly, bracing his feet against the slick walls of the exhaust tube, Obi-Wan pushed and pulled at the same time-
And leapt out of the pit, landing just a few feet from his fallen master and just across the way from the two combatants. And what he saw astounded him.
He had witnessed the ending to Buffy's fight against Maul and her accidental use of the Force. At that time, he had realized that perhaps she had some potential, but at this moment, he SAW her potential. It was in the way she moved, effortlessly blocking and parrying Darth Mauls swings and thrusts. He saw fluidity in her motions that could only be brought about by the Force, and he saw that, at least on a subconscious level, she had some mastery over it.
And then he saw it. Buffy's eyes flickered to his for just a moment, but that was all it took to convey her intentions. As she pressed her attack against him, Obi-Wan summoned his Master's lightsaber to his hand.
Buffy pressed her attack, backing Maul towards a waiting Obi-Wan. Fast and furious were her strokes now and it was everything Maul could do to keep deflecting them. Down, up, across - she varied the pattern to her strikes, never giving him a clue as to where she would strike next. Another swing brought the red blade up to defend Maul's head and put the lightsaber in the exact position Buffy wanted it.
And then, for the second time that week, Buffy brought her blue blade down, using every ounce of her Slayer strength and even pouring some of the Force into it. Her blue blade crashed against the red so violently, that it would have driven both blades deep into the Zabrak's skull, had not the same results occurred that had happened in her duel with Master Windu. The backlash of energy into the crystal was so great, this time it didn't short the saber's power generator out-
It destroyed them.
Both of them.
Violently.
The blades snapped out of existence at the same instance the hilts of the sabers exploded. Buffy yelled in pain as the energy released in the explosion burned her hands and the exploding metal of the hilt was driven into them. Maul cried out in similar pain, and turned away from the Slayer, in order to gain some distance and try to recover-
And at that moment, Obi-Wan activated Qui-Gon's lightsaber and swung around, sweeping the green blade out in a wide arc that caught the Sith Lord across the waist. Surprise flickered across the Sith's face - wasn't he supposed to be dead? – but it only lasted a moment as both halves of the Sith Warrior fell into the exhaust pit, falling silently down into the darkness below.
"Goodnight, Irene," Buffy muttered.
FLASH
"The fight took everything out of me and I collapsed. That's when I met Doyle…"
FLASH
"Where the hell…"
"Not quite, Blondie."
Buffy whirled around, instantly slipping into a fighting stance as a man appeared out of the fog. The man raised his hands, showing that he was unarmed.
"Easy there, Blondie. I'm not here to hurt yea."
Buffy stared at the man, a memory trying to break through in her mind. She recognized the man - a chiseled face, short, dark hair, and piercing blue eyes, dressed in the gaudiest clothes she had ever seen…
"I know you… you're…" she started and then she trailed off, desperately searching for his name. The man smiled a rather roguish smile at her.
"Doyle," he supplied. "We met briefly when you came to visit Angel in L.A. I also saw you in a vision, but that's another story."
"But, you died!" Buffy exclaimed, then realizing what she had just said, and what it implied, her breath hitched. "Am I dead?"
"You?" Doyle said incredulously, then shook his head. "No, nae yet. And nae for a long time. I'm just here to give you a message, from the Powers that Be."
Buffy narrowed her eyes at the Irishman. "Why you?"
"Because they wanted to explain some thing to yea, but they wanted to do it in private. Plus, the guy they were gonna send wouldn't do it - something about not wanting to wear his ribcage for a hat."
"Guess Whistler was smarter than he dressed," Buffy quipped, her face turning serious. "So, what did they want to tell me?"
"All right kid, here's the story. The Powers that Be can't send you home. They have very little real power in this universe and even though they want to send you back, if only ta reward yea for everything yea've done, they cannae do it. The only thing they can do is give you a fighting chance in this universe- you see where I'm going with this?"
Buffy thought back to the last few days, and all of the strange things she had done - fighting against Windu, Maul, using the Force, the vision of Qui-Gon…
"They made me a Jedi?" she ventured, more certain of that fact then her voice carried. Doyle nodded. "Can they really do that?" she asked. The Irishman just chuckled.
"Actually, midi-chlorians are in every living being, in every universe and dimension, just usually in such small numbers that it doesn't make a difference. There rare people on Earth who have moderately high counts and can do wondrous things…"
"Like witches?" Buffy asked hopefully. But the hopefulness disappeared into a frown when Doyle shook his head.
"Nae, witches rely on magic. Anyhoo, the Powers were able to jump start your midi-chlorian thingies and the next thing you know, you're powered up faster than if you'd had a pint of Guinness."
"And the vision?"
"Consider it an extension of your Slayer powers," Doyle responded carefully. "You're still a Slayer - there's no changing that. But you're recent-changes- have affected your powers in certain ways. Visions are a part of the Slayer package. They also come with studying the Force. You'll learn how to use them to your advantage. Buffy…" he started, trailing off for a moment.
Then, taking a deep breath, he continued. "Magic doesn't exist in this dimension and the Power's that Be cannae send yea home, but that doesn't mean that you won't be able to find a way yourself. Don't give up hope, Buffy. And in the mean time," he finished, gesturing to the end of the street, where the fog had started to lift, "the Powers wanted to grant you one last favor. A real chance to say goodbye."
FLASH
"So there you have it," Buffy concluded. "The Power's couldn't send us home, so they altered my body so that I could access the Force on a level that few Jedi could."
"She's not being modest, either," Obi-Wan piped in. "Buffy is one of the most powerful Jedi in the Order, next to Yoda. And Anakin..." he added as if it were an afterthought.
"So, the Powers turned you into a Jedi," Xander interjected. "But what does that have to do with Dawn?"
"Dawn was made from Buffy," Faith realized, "so when she set foot in this dimension-"
"Whatever the Powers did to change me happened to her. Only, instead of it happening gradually, it happened all at once and overwhelmed her. That's why she's unconscious - her body is adjusting to its new condition. Once it does, she'll be fine."
"Well, that's good news," Xander remarked, looking to his friend. "So, after the whole Naboo thing, you joined the Jedi?"
"Much to their chagrin, yeah," Buffy replied. "Both Ani and I were much older than normal for Jedi recruits."
"Children are taken in by the order before their second birthday at the latest," Obi-Wan explained. "The less emotional connection a Jedi has to anybody, the less chance they will fall into darkness..."
"That's barbaric!" Giles exclaimed.
"That's exactly what the Watcher's Council does," Buffy pointed out calmly. "Remember Kendra?"
"The Council has changed, Buffy. But I think we should discuss that later," Giles conceded. "Still…"
"Still nothing," Buffy interrupted. "They thought Anakin was a Prophecy boy, meant to bring balance to the Force. And we had an attachment, but since I was Force-sensitive and trained as a Slayer to boot they decided to take me in as well. Figured I could keep him on track. Plus… I kinda figured I owed it to Qui-Gon. I mean, I had the vision, but I still couldn't save him…"
"Alive, he is," Yoda suddenly spoke quietly, but loud enough to be heard by the Slayer.
"What?"
"At the Senate, he was," Yoda explained. "Saved me from Darth Sidious, he did. Darth Sidious called him a clone…"
Obi-Wan was beyond stunned. "But why? Why clone a Jedi Knight who died thirteen years ago?"
Several hours later, an exhausted Padmé lay in the infirmary, a happy smile on her face as she held her new daughter Leia even as Anakin leaned back in his chair holding his son, Luke. Anakin looked down on his son in wonder.
"He's so small," he remarked. Padmé just watched, tears in her eyes. In that moment, she was the happiest woman in the whole galaxy. Her happiness was tinged by sadness as she saw his haunted eyes look up at her.
"You're leaving again, aren't you?" she asked. Anakin nodded. "For how long?"
"Not as long as you're fearing, Padmé," Anakin replied gently. "I need to go back to Coruscant one last time."
"Master Yoda faced Palpatine and even he-"
"Not for Palpatine. For the Jedi I left behind. I broke free, Padmé," he said urgently, "I allowed several to escape. And now I have to go back for them. I won't let them be hunted down by Palpatine's clones. Not if I can help it."
Padmé nodded in understanding. "You'll need a fast ship."
Anakin smirked, showing a hint of his old cocky self. "I got the fastest ship in the galaxy."
TBC…
Sorry this took so long to get up- I've been busy spoiling myself for X3. As for future chapters- Chapter 16 is being beta'd, 17 is in the pipeline, and the final three chapters just need to be written. Hopefully I can keep to my once a week posting, but there may be some gaps now.
After this is over, I am going to take a break from posting for a bit. During the break, I'll continue to work on Light Brigade, I'll start on Episode 4, and I'll also be starting work on 'Finding Avalon' and my much-delayed series 'Chronicles of the Red Witch', a Buffy/X-Men crossover that I've had in mind for a while.
Next chapter will be the reunion, and Anakin heads back to Coruscant to bring back the last of the Jedi (and Faith tags along!)