Chapter 6
A/N: I do not own any of the characters of Kim Possible or Star Wars. Those are Disney's property.
I.
Not this again. Why am I back here? Kim looked around a white endless void. She looked around and couldn't find the blond girl that she had seen in her previous dreams. There was no one, just an endless white void everywhere Kim turned. Kim looked around confused at why when she slept she kept having these strange dreams. She snapped to her right at a strange sound that resounded throughout the void. She recognized it, but from where?
She snapped to her left. She heard it again, closer this time. It was a high-pitched mechanical sound. Like steps but with tiny gears that hadn't been oiled. They became more consistent as if they were approaching footsteps. Looking around she still saw nothing. Just an empty white void. Her heart raced as fear welled up within her. This new feeling brought dread which she rarely felt. But why? The footsteps were becoming more pronounced, steel hitting steel.
It stopped. She glanced from side to side becoming even warier of the sounds. The void itself instilled fear and the noises just made it worse. It was quiet now, the mood quickly changing. Kim noticed as the mood changed, so did the color of the void. It turned a crimson red before turning pitch black. The noises grew louder horrifying her. Metal grinding, screams in the dark. Kim took a combative stance raising her arms ready to fight off whatever came. Nothing did. The noises stopped again and the void turned back to pure white.
Kim relaxed her shoulders, a look of disappointment stretched across her face. "I was so ready to kick some butt." Kim groaned. Her ears perked up. Her pupils contracted at the growl behind her. That growl shut down her body as she recognized it. It sent chills down her spine. The fear was back, her feet frozen in place. She wanted to turn around but it was so hard. Kim didn't want to turn her head to face what she knew was behind her. This would be her third encounter. Finally, her will to confront the nightmare overtook her fear.
The cyborg. His yellow eyes bore into hers. His eerie faceplate and growl. He towered over her his hand already raised in the air. He brought it down upon her head, connecting with her skull. All she could see was white now.
Kim groaned. She tried opening her eyes but the bright light was unbearable. Her head felt like she had been hit with a baseball bat, only worse. I hope that cyborg didn't really hit me. I don't know if I can get up. Wasn't it all a dream? Her eyes were still squinted shut, the pain and light almost too much for her. She parted her eyelids slowly, letting her eyes adjust. Why is it so bright?
Everything was a blur blending together, but objects soon became clear. She was lying on some sort of firm bed guessing it had to be military. To her right was a small bland light gray dresser, the door just to the right of it. The ceiling was the source of the bright light and it burned. The room was a white brighter than snow, cold, and empty.
She propped herself up and rolled onto her side, wincing at the pain. The cyborg had hit her hard. She stared at the floor, emotionless. She remembered that she had been attacked by the cyborg, then an explosion, then being rescued. Everything after that was a blank. She remembered her arm, the cyborg's talon had pierced it. She glanced and noticed it was wrapped in bandages. She continued to survey the damage the cyborg had done. Her super suit had been taken off and been replaced by a thin medical garb. She lifted the robe up. Jeez Her entire midsection bruised and purple, bandages wrapping around her waist and belly where the cyborg had kicked her.
It was all coming back. The fight, no, the beating. Now Kim understood. Even with all her skill and Yori as back up, they never stood a chance at attempting to defend themselves from the brutish cyborg. His cruelty knew no bounds and he freely got away with beating them senseless because he knew he could. Even when the soldiers and monks with their own photon swords arrived, it was no challenge. The cyborg stood its ground and then advanced, injuring the young girl before killing the older monk in front of the gunship. Kim knew she ran on a long streak of luck to get here.
The metallic door slid open. She quickly lowered her robes accidentally grazing her shin. She hid the intense pain as she shifted her gaze to find Wade and Yori. They were both smiling and at least Wade was in good health. Yori on the other hand looked disastrous. Adorned in a medical robe and with the limp to boot, Kim could guess there was a good amount of cloth wrapped around her midsection where the cyborg had caught her with his hawk-like foot. But Kim smiled knowing they were safe.
"Are you alright Kim?" Wade stepped to her side.
"Other than my whole body in pain," her distressed expression showed as she shifted in bed, "Yea, I guess I am," she responded sarcastically.
"You are sure Possible-san?" Yori actually seemed concerned.
"Yes, I'm positive." Kim pursed her lips. She hadn't expected an ordeal like this. At most, she thought she would have to face Dementor. But a robot army and a cyborg intent on killing everything it met? This was not the sitch she was expecting.
"Where the heck are we?" Kim looked around again. She thought that since Wade and Yori had come in, they might have an idea.
"After we got aboard the shuttle, the pilot flew to this cruiser and landed here. It was the only place for refuge. After that they rushed you in this room and so now here we are," Wade explained.
Kim still wasn't satisfied with his answer, "What to do you mean by here?"
Wade smiled sheepishly, "Well for me it's a dream come true…" he walked over to the opposite side of the room and opened a metal panel, "We're in space!"
Kim rolled her eyes thinking it was Wade's way of lighting up the mood. She turned her head to where he had walked over. She was shocked at what she saw, "We're really..?"
"Yes Kim, we're really in space. To be more precise, we left the planet we were on previously about an hour ago. It was fascinating really, I don't..." Wade stopped seeing Kim's mood droop. "Kim, I'm sorry, I forgot."
"It's okay Wade," she sighed clasping her left arm squeezing above the injury.
Kim felt a hand softly grasp her shoulder. She turned to see Yori who had a reassuring smile. "Do not worry Possible-san, we will find Stoppable-san. No matter what it takes. Besides, a wise young warrior once told me that anything is possible for a Possible." Kim found it hard not to smile, knowing that Ron must have told her at some point.
Wade stepped forward, "We'll do whatever it takes Kim."
Kim rubbed her eyes so as to stop any tears from leaking out, "Thanks, guys."
"Kim! I don't think I ever told you but my computer managed to finish the scan of the planet we were on," Wade said.
Kim's ears perked up as she knew what he was talking about. Wade's computer was searching for a signature on Ron's chip implant. "So! What turned up?"
Wade frowned, "The planet's name was Ord Canfre. And he wasn't anywhere on that world."
"World?" Kim furrowed. What is Wade talking about? Kim assumed that by space, Wade meant they were in high orbit, safe from the clutches of the cyborg. Now he had mentioned the planets name and implied there was more than just Ord Canfre.
"Mm-hmm. World. Apparently, we're heading to another planet called Coruscant," Wade explained.
"Okay. This sitch just went from complicated to Captain Constellation annoying," Kim muttered furrowing her brow.
Kim glowered, jotting through her thoughts. The portal had been checked at least five times, hadn't it? They landed on the same planet Ron had almost two days earlier. Then what could have happened to him? The droid army couldn't have taken him, his chip would have shown up on the scan. Unless the droids somehow found a way to disable it.
"Wade, is there any possible way that the robots or cyborg could have caught Ron and disabled your chip?"
"What!? Are you kidding, it would take them years," Wade scoffed. He frowned, "Unless they want to cut him open."
Kim looked down at the floor, "Without thinking about the latter, we can rule them out of the equation. What else-"
"Actually, the battle robots could have captured Stoppable-san and taken him off-world," Yori suggested.
"Actually, they could have done just that," Wade agreed.
"And how did they do that?" Kim asked.
"Well the Separatists, as the guys who rescued us call them, have a space navy too," Wade answered.
Kim looked at Wade with a puzzled face. Wade remembered that Kim had been out after being rescued and never saw the massive space battle. "Okay? What do you mean by space navy, Wade?" Kim scrutinized, feeling like she had been dumped into Wade's science fiction universe.
"I already explained we're in space on a ship…" Wade sighed shaking his head. He went on to explain to Kim the escape from Ord Canfre and the massive space battle they had entered and survived. He explained that the original cruiser they were supposed to dock with was destroyed by a talented Separatist fighter pilot. Most of the crew and themselves had to board another cruiser to get away.
Kim was plagued by confusion but decided to go along with what Wade said. "So just how big is this thing?"
Wade thought of something to compare it to, "About the size of a small city." Kim's doubt started to thaw away. The more Wade spoke, the more he sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and that made everything conceivable.
"Do you have any idea where they might have taken Ron?" Kim changed the topic back to the main focus.
"Come on Kim. Not even I'm that good. They could have taken him anywhere. I'm sure they have a limited extent to where they can go. From what I've been told, this war is galactic."
"Galactic?" Kim asked incredulously. First, he says limited then follows on with galactic. Which is it Wade?
"Galactic. The war spans the entire Galaxy, which is roughly the size of the Milky Way," Wade answered.
Kim's eyes look dumbfounded. If the droids had taken Ron away from the world they had been on, he could be traversing an unknown galaxy as a slave, being tormented. He could be anywhere from ten light-years away to a thousand, she just didn't know. The situation had gone from bad to worse in a minute.
"Wherever Ron is, we have to find him fast," Kim scowled balling her hand into a fist.
"I agree. The droid army has just made our mission more challenging," Yori nodded.
The door behind them opened and three troopers without their helmets walked into the room. Kim was startled to see that the armored men looked exactly alike.
"Triplets?" Kim couldn't help but try and take a guess.
"No," Wade sighed shaking his head, "Clones. That fight really did take a lot out of you."
"Of Course, I should have guessed that," she mumbled. This place was full of surprises: Robot armies, Clone armies, huge interstellar ships, monks and cyborgs that fought with weird energy swords. She didn't know what else to expect, all she wanted to do was find Ron.
The clone commander put forth his hand, "I'm Commander Cody, and you are…?"
Kim accepted it hesitantly, "Kim. Kim Possible."
"I'm glad to see you awake Miss Possible. So I'm guessing you're from these parts?" Commander Cody asked referring to the planet they were formerly on.
"We're from Earth," Kim answered. Cody looked confused. He looked to his comrades who just shrugged their shoulders in response.
He turned back to Kim, "Well, I'm not familiar with the system, but I'm sure the navigators can find it." They all nodded their head. There was a long pause of silence among them. Commander Cody cleared his throat. "Well, I didn't come down here to make meaningless chatter. General Kenobi and General Skywalker wish to see you."
II.
The Battle of Ord Canfre was over. Ron and Dementor crashed in their quarters deep within the facility, catching up on much-needed rest. Traveling throughout the galaxy and fighting in a battle had been too much for them.
Ron awoke from his deep slumber. The room was bleak and cramped. The stores of weapons in the corner of the room didn't help. He felt like he had joined the military but he was the only organic soldier in a droid army. He sat himself up throwing his legs over the side of the uncomfortable cot.
Opposite of him against the far wall was a metal dresser. A folded paper atop it caught his eye. Ron slowly put his feet on the ground drudging over to the dresser. He unfolded the yellow piece of paper and began to read the sloppy writing.
If you are reading this sidekick, then you have overslept. Beta instructed us to be up at 0600 hours and meet him at 0700 hours. There are some new clothes for you in the top drawer. Lunch will be served at noon somewhere on level one. I don't know where exactly, ask a droid. Hope you had a good sleep. NOT! Muahahaha.
Professor Dementor.
Ron snorted. Typical Dementor, even in a note he would find a way to belittle him. He opened the top drawer to find a gray shirt and pants. He changed out of the old baggy blue clothes replacing them in the drawer and fitted into the new ones. They had a tighter fit. Once changed, Ron walked out of the room and into the lonely halls. Wouldn't a droid army have a surplus of clothing? Don't they have anything a little looser Ron thought annoyed by the tighter clothing. The quarters were so deep underground that even most battle droids didn't patrol down here. He had remembered the walk to their room was long and now began the boring trek back to the upper levels of the base.
Once on the first level, Ron looked for any hints of where a mess hall would be. There weren't any placards on the walls giving directions. He didn't even know what time it was. Ron caught the attention of two battle droids and they walked in his direction.
"You there. What is your business on level one?" one of the battle droids asked.
Ron remembered Dementor's advice, "I'm looking for the cafeteria, err… mess hall? Would you know where that's at?"
The droids looked at each other and then back, "Follow us?" Ron followed the droids while mulling over the events that had altered his life in the last few days. He had been thrown into a new universe. He hadn't expected anything like this when he came here. Fighting for his own survival and now to following two stupid B-1 battle droids. Do they even know what a mess hall is? Ron wondered remembering the B-1's weren't the brightest.
He wandered through the reasons he had left Kim for this. Was it Fate? Was it destiny? Or maybe simply out of spite. As he kept rummaging through thoughts with his head down, he collided with a massive metal body and fell to the floor.
Ron groaned, immediately thinking one of the B-1's had stopped for no reason in front of him. "Man! Watch where you're goin—" Ron quickly found his neck ensnared in a huge metal claw, his body thrown against the wall.
"What did you say?" A mechanical, low growling voice replied. Ron found himself face to face with a cyborg he had never encountered before in his life. His eyes sent shivers down Ron's spine as he struggled to wring himself free. Ron wanted to shriek in horror but his neck was being squeezed so tight nothing could escape his mouth.
"General Grievous, he's one of us," Ron looked over relieved to see Beta and Dementor who happened to be walking in their direction.
"Is he one of yours General Beta?" General Grievous asked never taking his eyes off Ron.
Beta nodded, his emotions hidden behind the Mandalorian helmet. "Yes."
Grievous released Ron's neck and grabbed Ron by the scruff of his collar and tossed him at Beta's feet. "That's two of your subordinates I've spared. I suggest you keep them in line, general. Next time I will show no mercy." Grievous turned and strode down the hall.
After he rounded the corner, Beta offered Ron his hand, "I'm supposed to scorn you, perhaps even throw you against the wall. But we'll let it slide." Beta told Ron.
"Who was that guy?" Ron asked.
Beta laughed, "Dementor is right. I don't know how you managed to stay alive your whole life."
"What's that's supposed to mean?" Ron glared.
Beta shook off Ron's retort, "Nothing. That's General Grievous, he's had a bad temper lately."
"Why?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Beta answered shrugging his shoulders.
"Good Afternoon!" Ron looked behind Beta to see a beautiful, young dark-haired woman step up beside Beta. Her hair was blue-black and was wrapped into a high pony-tail reaching down to her shoulder blades. Her eyes were a clear, oceanic blue. She stood at Beta's height and had a slender, athletic physique like Kim.
She wore a black battle robe. Her knees, shins, and elbows protected by the same beskar that Beta wore, but wasn't armored from head to toe like Beta. Her tunic was fastened by a black belt which sported a lightsaber. The hilt wasn't silver like Beta's, but a mixture of tan and black with arcane etchings. It was much more personalized. A holstered blaster pistol straddled her other leg.
"Good Afternoon Aella!" Beta greeted her back. He looked back to Ron. "Now understand I will not punish you for running into my superior Grievous and embarrassing me, however…"
"Oh no…" Ron frowned. "Please tell me that lunch is still being served?" Ron asked feeling his stomach growl.
Beta shook his head, "You were late. I instructed that you report to me at zero seven-hundred hundred hours. You were to begin training today. Do you know what time it is?"
Ron gave it thought, "Twelve o'clock." Maybe it is early afternoon? Dementor shook his head at Ron's poor attempt to guess the time.
"No. It's sixteen hundred hours," Beta answered. "And since I have other business to attend to, I leave your training to Master Aella Xzelas. You held her up all day. So she will decide your punishment."
"I thought you would train me?" Ron asked.
"You will have two teachers Ron and we will all oversee your training. However due to my position, my comrade Aella will be your primary mentor," Beta replied.
He turned back to Aella. "He's all yours," Beta walked away with Dementor in tow.
Aella stepped up to Ron. "Look, I'm sorry about being late. I was just really tired and…" Ron rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Aella's stare was intimidating, expressionless.
"As punishment for making me wait, you will train until tomorrow's nightfall," she heard Ron's stomach growl. "I can't train you if you're hungry."
Ron's eyes sparkled, "Does that mean I can eat!?"
"I guess after you run from here to the mess hall and back… two-hundred times," Aella instructed.
"Whaaat!?" Ron protested. "How far is the mess hall?"
"One-hundred meters down the hall to the right. If you want to eat, I suggest you start now," Aella smirked.
"Oh man!" Ron groaned as he began his run.
"No complaining either!" Aella shouted. Ron's training had begun.
III.
Being pushed down the corridors of the massive ship wasn't much of a tour, more of a chore with the clones having to wheel Kim around. Calling getting out of bed a hassle was an understatement. The injuries and bruises she had sustained from Grievous were almost too much to bear. Even when the medical droid boosted her tolerance with some drug she had never heard of, the pain still lingered like a bad sunburn, just deeper.
The interior of the Venator attack cruiser, as Wade had come to learn of the class of the ship they were on, was boring. Just more clones in armor patrolling the light gray halls of the massive ship. They showed no emotion, their helmets adding to that void, just a devout loyalty to their duty. Uniformed zombies came to mind, something Ron would say if he saw them, Kim thought without a doubt. Occasionally she saw a droid or two, which made her angry, especially after going through the experience on Ord Canfre. But these droids were different in size and appearance, and they weren't aggressive. Just simple machines helping the clones with menial tasks. Nothing like the battle droids on Ord Canfre or the hordes of Diablos that Drakken tried to take over the world with.
The hall gave way to a bright room full of clones and officers in gray uniforms. The monks with laser swords, who Kim had come to learn were Jedi, were there too. They stood around a large white island projecting a hologram of what Kim assumed was the galaxy in the middle of the room. Kim recognized the older dirty blond with his charming facial hair. He was the first to see her enter.
"Miss Possible! I'm glad to see you awake and well. I don't believe I ever properly introduced myself." He held out his hand to her, "I'm Master Obi-wan Kenobi and this is my partner Anakin Skywalker."
Anakin held out his hand which Kim shook as well, "A pleasure to meet you."
Kim took her hand back, unsure of what to think of the two. "Thanks for saving our necks back there. We never meant to get caught in that trap, war… whatever you want to call it," Kim stumbled with what to call her beat down.
"No problem," Anakin smirked crossing his arms. "All in a day's work for a Jedi," Anakin said haughtily looking back at his master.
Kim looked around not able to find the young alien girl who had been the first to save her and her friends. "Where is she?" Kim asked.
Anakin looked around briefly too and then back to Kim. "You must mean Ahsoka," Anakin replied with a frown. "She's in her quarters resting for now. Grievous's kick took a lot out of her just like he did to you?"
"So that's the cyborg's name I take it?" Kim winced remembering the tall menacing cyborg and how it ravaged their small team. Anakin and Obi-wan nodded, "I see. Grievous. An uncannily fitting name for a monster. Have any clue why he's so demented, he never said a word to me."
"General Grievous is nothing but a coward. Constantly on the run," Anakin Skywalker crossed his arms.
"Maybe a coward for attacking teens and a kid. But he didn't seem like a coward when he cut down one of your friends," Kim said pointedly.
"Master Zalin. He was more of a philosopher than a fighter. But ever since Grievous was introduced into the war, we have lost many fellow knights, peacemakers, and friends. He voluntarily assigned himself to this mission. I don't think he expected to find Grievous, and frankly neither did we."
"And why didn't you expect him? He sounds like the main villain in this conflict, shouldn't you expect him at every turn?" Kim asked, curious as to why if this Grievous was such a threat, why they didn't anticipate him being there.
"It's not that we don't expect him. But given that this war is all over the galaxy and the intel we had on Ord Canfre at the time, we had no idea Grievous would be here," Anakin explained to Kim. "And we're lucky that we arrived when we did, otherwise you wouldn't be standing here asking these questions and we would be somewhere else in the galaxy looking for that degenerate."
"Aside from your unfortunate meet with General Grievous. How are you? How's your arm?" Obi-wan asked Kim concerned more for her own welfare.
Kim rubbed her bandaged arm then looked back at the Jedi. "My arm is fine. Grievous didn't break it, so it should heal up nicely. My shins and waist might be another issue, they still hurt… pretty bad as you can tell."
"Hmm. From what the medical officer and droid concluded, your internal structure wasn't harmed, so you should make a full recovery rather quickly with some advanced therapy," Obi-wan commented on Kim's injuries. He turned to Yori and Wade, "You, my young dear should be healed up in the same time. The Force was with both of you seeing you didn't attain a single broken bone in your bodies."
"We were most fortunate for your help, Sensei," Yori bowed to the Jedi Master.
Obi-wan and Anakin looked at each other confused at the Japanese word for master but understood what she meant by it. "So? Is Ord Canfre your home planet?" Anakin asked them all.
Commander Cody answered for the group, "She's not from around those parts. She's from some system called Earth. I've never heard of it."
"It's a planet," Kim corrected crossing her arms.
"I don't know if you would even know. Since I don't know if we're even on the same plane if you know what I mean?" Wade added.
"That's strange, I don't know of any planet named Earth. There are still large swaths of the galaxy that are still uncharted, but that still doesn't explain why you were on Ord Canfre. How did you get to that system?" Obi-wan rubbed his beard.
Kim shook her head. She was a little frustrated and the pain from fighting Grievous was giving her a headache. "I don't think that's it. I think it's better if Wade explains it, but the way I understand it and how we came here, we're from a different dimension." Kim's answer seemed to unsettle both Anakin and Obi-wan as both looked at each other puzzled but worried.
Obi-wan looked at the surrounding clones and then to Commander Cody, "Cody, could you and the troops leave us alone for a moment." Cody saluted the Jedi General and left with the other clones leaving Kim, Rufus, Wade, and Yori alone with the two Jedi. "Did you say from another dimension?"
Kim nodded her head looking to Wade to make sure she was on the right trek. He nodded in approval as if he trusted the Jedi. The only reason Kim trusted them now is they hadn't attacked her like the battle droids and Grievous did. "We came here through a portal… a gate you might say from our planet, in our universe, and found ourselves on that world you call Ord Canfre. When we first arrived, the only strange thing we noticed was that Wade's computer was able to connect to a network."
"A network?" Anakin seemed surprised. "You were able to connect to the Separatist's network?"
"If you're trying to ask if I got into any secrets, I don't think I did. It seemed like a public domain that gave me an atlas of the planet," Wade clarified before the Jedi could go further with the idea that they had.
"I see," Obi-wan mulled over their story. "So why did you end up coming here? You must have a reason," he asked.
Kim's fears came to a head. She didn't necessarily want them to know that they had followed in the footsteps of her childhood best friend and a deranged scientist. Kim still wasn't sure who was friend or foe. The attack from the battle droids and General Grievous had only compounded this fear. What ifs raced through her mind. What if the battle droids were the good guys and there was just a major miscommunication? What if these Jedi were the real bad guys and were just cunning and elusive in their methods to flush them out? What if Ron was on this ship right now waiting for help? Or were the battle droids still the main culprits.
"I… we're here… we're here t—"
"Here to find a friend you are, hmm," the doors behind them whooshed open and closed. Kim turned stunned at the sight of a small elderly green alien slowly pacing into the room. He rounded her chair and to her front where he met her stunned gaze. "Troubled you are that I know this fact. Fear not child. A friend I am, an enemy I am not. Your friend and his attacker you seek with your friends, do you not?"
Kim was blown away by the fact this old short green alien had hit the hammer on the nail dead on. Was he a Jedi or something more? Kim was stumped on another word he had referred to her as though. "You're right, but we're—" she looked at Wade, then back at the strange old alien, "Yori and I aren't children," he elicited a small annoyed laugh from her.
"Hmm. From where you stand maybe. From where I stand, still young you are. Do not fear us, no harm do we mean," the elder alien replied.
Kim was starting to get weirded out by the way he talked. Maybe… Kim looked down at her feet dejectedly. It was no use trying to keep a poker face anymore. If this alien could read her mind, what was the point in trying to hide her mission? "Look, we just want to find our friend and go home?" she pleaded.
"Hmm. Your friend we do not have. With the Separatists, most likely he is," Yoda answered.
Kim had heard a lot of these Separatists. She had come to the conclusion that this was the government associated with the battle droids and General Grievous. "Why do you think my friend might be with the Separatists? Who are they?"
Obi-wan answered, "Separatists are the droid forces that ambushed you back on Ord Canfre."
Kim's look changed to one of annoyance. She already figured the battle droids and the cyborg were related. She wanted to know who exactly they were. Before she could ask her question, the small elder was on it or reading her mind at least.
"Complicated that answer is. On the surface, battle droids and General Grievous, the Separatist's face is. But deeper in, the dark side clouds our vision of what is behind this war."
Kim understood what the elder was trying to say, but she didn't expect a question to be turned into some stranger riddle. What was this dark side he was talking about? What did that have anything to do with the battle droids or Separatists?
"Sorry, you might not be familiar with how Master Yoda speaks. To put it bluntly, he's saying the war is complicated because many of the Separatists have entirely different goals. The only common denominator between them is that they are displeased with the Republic. There are a number of infinite possibilities of what happened to your friend," Obi-wan explained Master Yoda's answer to Kim.
"And if Grievous was on Ord Canfre, then I don't see anything good coming from being captured there," Anakin tacked on to Obi-wan's statement.
"Anakin!" Obi-wan shot his former apprentice a glare who just shrugged his shoulders.
"She needs to know the truth, especially if it's for the worst," Anakin shrugged his shoulders.
"Try to have a little more couth in your approach," Obi-wan grumbled.
"It's okay," Kim held one of her shoulders to comfort herself. "Because Wade was able to connect with the Separatist network, he was able to search the entire planet for our friends tracking chip. There was no trace of it."
"Are you sure the Separatists didn't find it?" Anakin queried.
"No way! I put it in a—" Wade stopped himself from answering that question as everyone's eyes were now on him as if asking where did he put that chip. "You know, on second thought. Let's just say it would take them a miracle to find."
Kim shook her head. She didn't want to know where Wade had put the chip or how he had managed to do it in the first place. "The point is. He was nowhere on Ord Canfre. At first, I thought I'd be looking on an entire planet. No big right? I do that on Earth, why not some other planet. Then you and the droids make me realize that Ron can be anywhere in the galaxy at this point! Insane sitch right? Where do we even begin to look for Ron if we have an entire galaxy to search and there are even more madmen here than there are back on Earth!" Kim freaked. The fight, the excruciating bruises all over her body, and the stress of losing her best friend. The turmoil in their relationship was starting to eat away at her own mental state.
Kim took in a deep breath and exhaled dishearteningly casting her sight to the floor embarrassed by her own small breakdown. "I'm sorry. I just… I don't know. I'm so caught up in finding Ron and I'll do anything to find him."
"Yes, you will. Important to you he is. In one way and more, he is," Kim lifted her gaze to the Jedi Master called Yoda who seemed to be able to read her heart to a tee. "Conflicted you are, betray you your heart does."
"Miss Possible, you should also thank Master Yoda, he is the one that brought us here to your rescue," Obi-wan added. Kim had no doubts about this. "He felt your presence in the Force and rallied together a rescue party. If it wasn't for him, we would have never even known you existed."
Kim believed it, she had no doubts. The little green elder could read her thoughts and heart. She had no problem believing that he could feel her enter their universe across the vast distances of space. Kim greeted Yoda in the only way she was capable of, by extending her hand.
Yoda seemed to understand and gladly accepted smiling in his own quirky way. "A pleasure to finally meet you it is."
As Kim took back her hand, a question in her mind was itching at her curiosity. She had heard these Jedi often mention the Force but not once explain it. It was second nature to them and she didn't understand why. "I'm sorry if I don't know any of this but what in the world is the Force?" Kim asked.
"The Force is something that resides in all of us, inside of you," Obi-wan explained it in the simplest terms. "It's the reason we're Jedi, we have, well, a higher sensitivity to it than others."
"Like a sixth sense?" Wade guessed.
"Almost. The Force grants us that ability. We call it precognition." Obi-wan replied.
"So are we Force-sensitive? You said you felt our presence in this 'Force'," Kim asked.
Yori stepped forward, "Excuse me, Master," she said bowing down in respect. "My name is Yori, we… I am from a group of secret warriors descended from a long lost order on our homeworld, and we are the first generation in millennia to have been told of your ancient order. I know who you and your order are and we'd be honored if you would train myself and Possible-san."
What in the world is Yori talking about? Did Sensei put her up to this? We have our own mission and that's to find Ron! Kim looked back to the Jedi trying to come up with the nicest way to back away and get back to finding Ron. To her, this was all just a distraction and Yori was going down the wrong path. "I'm sorry to do this but I'm still looking," she said backing away in her chair, slowly to the door. "It's really important."
"But Possible-san. This is who I was hoping we would meet. They can help us find Stoppable-san!" Yori pleaded with Kim who was now starting to panic remembering that Ron was somewhere out there.
"No, we need to be out there looking for Ron. If we don't find him, I don't—" Kim stopped at the touch of a hand gently grasping her knee.
Yoda closed his eyes dwelling deeply on Kim's thoughts. He shook his head slowly, backing away from her once again. He took a deep breath, "Hmm. A deep pain inside there is. Takes root in your heart it does." Yoda reached out with his hand and gently touched Kim's. Kim froze, nothing could move her. "Scared by guilt and fear, you are. Blame resides where joy once was, hmm."
Yoda looked up, "More than someone! A loved one has been lost. Irreplaceable is he?"
Kim's cheeks flushed, she turned away from Yoda, bringing her arms in close to her for comfort. "Maybe." She said disheartened, her eyes now cast on the dull floor.
Yoda shook his head, astounded by her answer of denial. "Maybe!? There is, or there isn't. There is no maybe."
"It was my fault. If I…" tears welled up in her eyes.
Yoda stopped her before she continued any further, "Lost in more than one way you are. The Force is strong in you, but separated, you suffer." Kim felt her heart sink. "Find him you will, in your heart he is. Let go of the past you must." Yoda sighed. "If you train, then easier to find him it will be."
Kim looked over at Yori who was listening to Yoda's advice. She didn't know this 'Force'. She didn't know how to use it or how it was used. All she had seen the Jedi use were their lightsabers. Kim sighed. She recognized with all the injuries she had sustained, she needed all the help she could get if Ron was captured by the droid armies and Grievous. She couldn't face them alone.
"Master Yoda," she began, her lip trembling, "I'm sorry for my abrasiveness. I want to find my friend. So… teach me, please. If you say it will help us, then teach us so we can find my friend before it's too late."
Yoda nodded, "And you will be." Yoda turned to Anakin. "Take the young ones back to their quarters. Rest they will need to recover from their injuries," Yoda instructed.
"Yes Master," Anakin obeyed. Kim and the others followed Anakin off the bridge and back down the hall where they had come from.
Obi-wan chewed on the idea for a moment but turned his focus to Kim and the others. "How are we going to train them, Master? The council will never agree, even if this comes from you."
"Master Kenobi?" Yoda turned to Obi-wan who was watching the others leave.
"Yes, Master?" Obi-wan replied.
"You will take the young lost one, Kim Possible, as your new apprentice. Train her you will. Let me worry about the council."