Chapter 3

The first day of training had just began as soon as I was excepted at Barriss Offee's Padawan. After a few minutes of walking around in one of the towers, I found myself in the room where they make the lightsabers. I was so excited, that when I entered the room filled with Jedi making their own lightsabers, I thought I was in a candy factory. However, there was one problem with the setting. The Jedi were mostly using the Force to put together their lightsabers. If any of you forgot (which I doubt), I can't use the Force. "Crap…" was the first thing I thought. "Um… Master?" I asked.

"Something wrong, Shado?" Barriss asked.

"Well… Let's just say movin' stuff with my brain ain't my forte. Word?"

"Really?"

"Yeah… It's kinda unheard of…"

"Are you just saying this to avoid work."

I shook my head in a 'no'. "Mmm-Mmm. I'm bein' real, Master. We be Force retarded." Barriss stared at me as if I really was retard. "Let me rephrase that. My planet does not have the Force. We don't have no clori-midians…"

"Midi-chlorians."

"That too. Compared to you guys, we're a bunch of blind cave men stuck in the Stone Age."

"Alright. You don't seem to be lying… at the moment."

"Oh, thanks for the added input," I said sarcastically.

"I'll make you a lightsaber. But if it breaks, you're fixing it yourself."

"Gee, you're too kind." We walked over to an area which wasn't in use. There were many items, including the crystals and grips. "Oh… pretty," I said.

"These are the crystals we use in making our lightsabers. The color of the crystal depends on the color perceived on the blade. What color do you want your lightsaber to be?"

"How about red?" Barriss turned to with a cock-eyed stare. "What?"

"Normally, red is the color associated with Sith. We usually tend to stray away from any color even close to it."

"Yeah, well… I like to stick out from the crowd, knaw mean?"

"Fine, red it is." Barriss replied as she went straight to work.

"Oh, Master?"

"Yes?"

"If it isn't too much trouble, can I have two? I'm into the dual wielded style."

"Do you want a lightsaber, period?"

With that statement said, I turned to my Master who's face was plastered with a 'don't piss me off' look. That was when I changed my mind. "Then again, one weapon's better than none, right?"

"Right."

I waited as Barriss made my lightsaber. As she was, I listened to "Poppin' My Collar" from Three-6 Mafia while lip-synching to the lyrics. After a few minutes, I was presented with my brand new lightsaber. "Wow…" I turned the weapon on and a long red blade shot out of the handle. I smiled, trying to hold the urge to laugh. "This is the bomb," I said word per word.

"Now that you hold a lightsaber, it is your duty to uphold the Jedi Code. It is your respons- Shado!"

"Huh?" I pried myself away from my tight red blade.

"Were you listening?"

"Um…" I was so focused on my blade, I didn't hear what Barriss said. "What were we talking about?"

Barriss shook her head and gave me a stern look. "Turn the blade off and listen," she said in a serious tone.

"Okay, don't have a hizzle," I replied. I turned off the blade of the lightsaber and stuck it around my belt.

"As I was saying, it is your responsibility to use your blade in insuring peace and justice across the galaxy. If not, then all of your training would be useless. You must vow to never succumb to the dark side of the Force."

"Yes, ma'am. I promise to train by your side and use this blade to kick the asses of the CIS and Sith. That's fo' sho'."

"Okay…" I think Barriss was unsure about what I just said. "It's time to train you in lightsaber combat."

"About time!"

We left the room and were about to walk the halls, when we were stopped by a woman with blue skin wearing heavy pants and a bra shirt. On the sides of her head were two long tendrils. "Hello, Barriss," she said.

"Master Aayla Secura, a pleasure to meet you again," Barriss said.

"Yes, you too." Aayla then turned her attention toward me and asked "Are you a new student here?"

I shook my head up and down slowly. "Yes," I said. "Good god," I thought to myself, "This bird's a dime, yo!"

"That's Shado, my new Padawan."

"Really? Where did you come from?"

"Earth." I said, still mesmerized by her beauty. Well, at least trying not to look too low, if you know what I'm sayin'.

Aayla looked at me like I was sick. "Is he okay?"

"I'm still figuring that out myself," Barriss replied.

With that, I shot Barriss a stare. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She turned to me and said, "You normally start talking rubbish and what not."

"For the last time it's ebonics!"

The Mirialan shook her head. "Anyway, how did the mission on Bespin go?"

"Pretty well," replied the Twi'lek. "We were able to stop the weapon smuggling operation. If those blasters fell into the hands of the Confederacy, it would have spelled disaster. Well, I have to go report to the council about the mission. It was nice to see you. And you, Shado."

"Yeah, bye, bye" I replied. As she walked past I quickly snapped out of my trance. "Good god, she's a dime!"

"Back to normal, I see?" Barriss asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Are you okay, Master?"

"Let's just get to the sparring room." We continued our walk to the chosen place. As we did, I saw many kinds of alien Jedi that also shared these halls. It was rather amazing to see so many kinds of people in one place. After a few minutes of wandering around the temple, we arrived near a door on the next floor. "This is one of the many sparring rooms in the Jedi temple. Here is where we practice our skills in the Force and lightsaber combat forms. You do know how many forms there are, right?"

"There are seven. Each with their own attack and defense."

"Correct. Most Jedi learn one certain form at the beginning and use it as their key style and a second for later use. Learning all seven takes years of dedication and very few learn them all. Speaking of which, what style do you prefer?"

"Form V: Djem So," I said. "It's all hardcore, knaw mean? A style like that fits for a brother like me cause I keep it real."

"Please, speak Basic." I cocked my head and folded my arms when she said that.

"Well, if it isn't Barriss," a voice said. We turned around and saw a man no older than twenty years approach us. I couldn't believe it. In his dark brown and black robes, and brown hair, it was none other than Anakin Skywalker. "I heard you finally have a Padawan."

"Yes," Barriss said. "This is Shado, the newest student in the Jedi Order. Shado, this is Anakin Skywalker, a powerful Jedi Knight."

I knew who it was, but I was too stunned to react. The only thing going through my head was, "Oh shit, it's Darth Vader!" (Aside from that, the Darth Vader theme was also being played.)

"Shado," Barriss called once again.

This time, I snapped out of my daze. Unfortunately, my brain was disconnected from my mouth at that second. "Oh shizz, it's Darth Vader!" As soon as I said that, I slapped my hands on my mouth.

"Who?" Anakin asked in confusion.

"I mean- Hey, home boy. What's up. What's crackin', yo."

"Oh, I thought you said… Nevermind."

"Don't mind Shado," Barriss said. "Over half the things he says is jibberish."

"Is not!" I replied. "It's ebonics! You best recognize!" Barriss looked at me with another one of her stares. "… Master."

"I see you've learned how cold Barriss can be," Anakin said in a joking voice.

"I think that's just a nice way of saying it. Well, are we goin' inside, or what?"

"You're going to practice with your lightsaber?"

"That's correct," Barriss said. Then we both saw a grin form on his face. "I know that grin, Anakin. He just got here."

"Oh, come on, Barriss."

"For all we know, he has no experience at all!" Barriss argued.

"Wait, a minute," I said. I knew exactly what was going on. "Do I sense a challenge?"

"Well, since we're here, I wanted to spar a little," Anakin said. "You know, as practice incase either of us go on the battlefield."

"Oh, so you want some O.G. Shado?" I said in a poor imitation of an old Asian master you usually see in those old kung fu movies. "Come, young Grasshopper. I show you true power of gangsta!"

"Oh, no…" Barriss said with a hand on her forehead.

"This should be fun," Anakin said. The three of us went inside. The room was quite large and empty. When the door closed, a dark blue light turned on to show a large circle which would be the area Anakin and I would battle on.

As Anakin went over to the area, I got ready myself with a few exercises. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Barriss asked. "Anakin is one of the strongest Jedi in the Temple. He is also able to use the Force, and quite well might I add."

"Look, Barriss," I said. "I can do this. If I'm going to be a Jedi, or at least one that can't use the Force, I need to have some experience with an opponent like him. 'Sides, Anakin may be good, but I'm the most hardcore mo' fo' to hit the streets since Tupac." I gave Barriss a thumbs up and a smile.

"Good luck," Barriss said reluctantly. "Don't do anything dumb." The Mirialan stood against the wall to observe the duel.

With that word of advice, I walked to the battlefield. "You're sure you want to do this?" Anakin asked.

"Shizznit, man!" I said. "Why don't everyone chill. I'm from the streets of Frisco, son! I can take care of myself!"

"That's good. Confidence is something that makes a Jedi. It's also strength, intellect, and the will of the Force."

"Sounds good. Before we start let me warn you that I've been taught in self-defense. So it isn't the lightsaber you need to worry about."

"Then this will be fun." The two of us pulled out our lightsabers. Anakin pulled out his blue-bladed lightsaber and held it in front of him. I pulled out my red-bladed weapon and held it like a samurai. "A red blade. Interesting choice. The only Jedi I've seen with that is Master Galla. Other than that, everyone else was a Sith."

"Haven't you heard? Red's become the new green." I turned my MP3 Player to "Rollout" by Ludicris before the battle started. The both of us rushed toward one another. As soon as we met at the center of the ring, our weapons clashed and we were locked. We shoved against eachother to test our strength, but my opponent proved to be a little stronger as I found myself sliding forward. I was pushed back and was about to slash, but I quickly blocked with the blade. I knew that if our blades connected again, a counterattack would be nearly impossible. I used a reversal by sliding to the right side of Anakin and slashed, but he was able to block my blade. However, because The Jedi didn't turn all the way around, I was able to land a few kicks in the abdomen. He stumbled back from the attacks and looked at me while holding his gut.

"What?" I said as I spun the crimson blade at my side. "I warned you, didn't I?"

"You did," Anakin said as he regained his composure. "I'm just surprised that a Padawan actually landed a hit."

"I have a few more tricks up my sleeve." I charged at Anakin with my lightsaber and slashed downward. My opponent was able to block the hit, and we began to parry attacks. The only sounds heard were the clashing of our lightsabers. I was able to move Anakin forward with the strikes of my lightsaber. However, the Jedi pushed away my blade and attacked. I quickly, blocked his underhand attack, and started moving back as I tried to defend against his combos. Suddenly, Anakin opened his hand moved it forward. As soon as he did, I found my self thrown forward a few feet away. "Okay," I said. "Force Push, gotta watch out for that." I kicked back up and returned to the fight. I ran toward Anakin and high jump kicked. The Jedi dodged the hit and we began to parry one another's attacks. Before another Force attack would hit, I jumped to the side. That was where I spun my lightsaber in front of me to back him away. Anakin stopped my shield by a powerful horizontal strike. I stopped his attack just a few inches above my head. "Finally, a good fight!". Once again, I was locked up and the Jedi began using his physical power on me. Instead of repeating what happened the last time, I use his power against him by moving over to the side. The Jedi staggered forward, and I was able to deliver some punches to the ribs. As he moved to the side from the attacks, he fired a powerful blast of the Force straight at me. I went into a defensive stance and slid backward. Now, we were both tired and started to pant. We stood in our spots parallel to one another in our normal battle stances. After a short stand off, the two of us charged and leapt into the air. As soon as he was in range, I delivered a powerful slash with my blade. At the same time, I felt the hit that Anakin made as well. When we landed back on the floor, it was now our determination that kept us standing. I was the first one to flinch, but I didn't fall, even though I could feel my legs giving out from under me. I then heard my opponent also flinch and standing on his knee. "I did it…" I said to myself. "I beat Ani…" But before I could finish the sentence, I collapsed to the ground. Even though I couldn't move, I chuckled. "I was close." Suddenly, I felt a warm feeling all over my body. I looked up and saw Barriss who was using her powers to heal me.

"That was… impressive," my Master said. "I can't believe you held your own against a Jedi Knight, especially Anakin."

"Yeah... I do admit… I got game."

"For a Padawan, you're pretty good," Anakin said as he knelt over me. "Who knows, maybe you'll be on the battlefield someday."

"I can't wait."

"Well, I got to go. My Master is going to know why I'm late."

"Just say a group of Younglings attacked you and took some credits."

"I already used that excuse. It didn't work."

"Well, I'm sure you'll think of another one," Barriss said.

"I sure hope so. Well, take care, you two."

"Later, dog." I replied.

"Dog?"

"It means friend or homie."

"I see. Well, good bye, dog." With that said, Anakin left the room.

Barriss was able to fully heal me. "What's the next thing you want to do?" I asked as I sat up.

"Let's go to our room and start meditating," she said.

"Okay, let's go." We left the sparring room and went to Barriss' quarters. The place was about the same way as I retreated from it. Most of the room was in one piece. Well, except for her bedroom down the hall. It still looked messed up, courtesy of me coming here "Wow. Who would've known I'd be back here so soon," I said with a false sense of security. "This is where it all began. Ah, good times."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Barriss replied. I took a step, but found myself crashed into the floor. I looked back on what I tripped on and found the same boot from last night that hit me in the side (Who would've thought it.). "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "Just didn't expect to get hurt by the same shoe." I got up and we sat on a blanket with candles on the sides. Barriss sat with her legs folded and hands on her lap. I also sat in the same position. I turned my MP3 Player to "Who Got the Props" by Black Moon. I closed my eyes and began meditating (Or at least tried). The beats of the song made me swing my head from one side to the other. I did this for the entire session, when it was over Barriss nudged me. By that time, I was still moving with the rhythm to notice it. She then shook me violently. When I turned to her, I saw that she was hovering a few inches off the ground. "Master, I didn't know you could fly."

"I'm levitating," Barriss said. She then lowered to the floor and stood up. "And you were…?"

"I was meditating, through gangsta," I said slyly. "Keepin' it real with body, mind, and rhythm."

"I doubt that I'll understand you."

"Oh, you will. It'll just take a little time."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"So, what next? Do we go on a mission?" I was riled up now. With that battle with Anakin earlier, I was still itching for a fight.

"Now that you brought that up, I've been wondering why they haven't sent me out. It's been a while since I've been on a mission. In fact, it's been a while since I've seen Master Unduli."

"Who?" I asked. I knew that it would sound strange that I knew who she was. If I was to avoid suspicion, I had to play dumb for a while.

"Master Luminara Unduli is a Mirialan Jedi and my mentor. She taught me everything I know about lightsaber combat, the Force, and how to heal. I haven't seen her since she left."

"Maybe it's taking longer than you thought."

"Perhaps it is. But still, I have a feeling it's something else."

"You shouldn't worry. If what you said is for real, I'm sure Master Unduli is kickin' some serious ass over there. Hell, I bet tomorrow, she'll be back here."

A smile formed on Barriss' face. "Good point. After all, she is one of the most experienced Jedi. Well, not as experienced as Yoda…"

"But right up there."

"So, do you want a bite to eat?"

"Yeah, I'm starving." We went to the cafeteria on the first floor. I was thinking to myself "What is it that Jedi eat, anyway?" I was about to find out. Barriss and I got a few plates and I examined the food on mine. They looked like types of fruit. To tell you the truth, I'm not a guy you'd normally see eating stuff like this. In fact, you might see me hanging around a KFC or any other fast food restaurant eating chicken (the good barnyard shit). The only stuff from fruit I'll eat is fruit drink (Chappelle might like his green and purple, but red kicks ass). I stared at the food for a few seconds and then looked back at my Master, who was already indulging in her food. I still wasn't swayed. I then turned to another Jedi who was eating a different variety of greens. Everywhere I looked, it was fruits and veggies. Now I see why Anakin would start eating worms and bugs. Well, Bon Appetite. I ate some of the green fruit. It was tarty, and crunchy (how you can have crunchy fruit, I have no idea). I tried the yellow fruit. The fruit tasted tangy and sour. After a second, I could feel my lips sucking into my mouth. Luckily, it was only a taste and that sensation wore off. Now it was time for my favorite color, the red fruit. I had a taste of it, and I was in for a surprise. This fruit was delicious and sweet. Sorta like candy, but with the taste of syrup in it (Yes, I said it).

After about an hour, I decided to go outside and take another look at the giant city. The sun was starting to set beyond the horizon of Coruscant. Just comparing Capital City to all the other cities on Earth combined made them look like just another small block. Most of the Jedi were beginning to return to their dorms. Some that came from the city while others just returned from the mission. I knew it was time to return to my own dorm as well (or shall I say, my Master's dorm). "Yo, Master," I said as I entered the room. "So, where am I goin' to sleep?"

"Since we're going to share this room I have already took the liberty of making up your rest area," Barriss replied.

"Rest area, huh?" I said in a rather interested tone. "Sounds great. Where's I gonna crash."

"Over there." She pointed to the 'rest area' and I had a smile on my face. Was it a guest room? Was it a bed? Was it even one of those air mattresses? Hell no! It was my brand new couch! It had two small pillows and a blanket on it.

"Wow!" I said with false enthusiasm. "That's the cheapest rest area I had to sleep on."

"If you don't like it, you're welcome to sleep on the floor."

"Can I have at least one more pillow, occifer? I have a habit of falling off a couch and it would be great to cushion the fall."

"Fine, I'll be right back."

"Thanks, Master." Barriss went back to her room to get more pillows. As she did, I unwrapped my bandanna and placed it on the lamp table, showing my corn rolls braided on my hair. I laid my lightsaber down beside it.

"Here's your pillows," she called as the accessories flew out of her room. When I turned my attention to them, the pillows already landed at my face. I don't know if she was using the Force or if she just threw them at me.

"Thanks for the air mail!" I replied sarcastically. I laid them in front of the couch before I laid my body on the furniture. After covering myself with the blanket, I turned my MP3 Player to "The Return of Tres" from Delinquent Habits which lulled me to sleep. Little did I know that tomorrow was going to be a little quick.