The Gathering Begins

Hiccup, Elsa, and Rapunzel stood side by side as they stared out a viewport of Prime and down onto the planet of Punjam Hy Loo. They were in silent contemplation, watching the sun rising over the distant curve of the planet. And though they didn't speak, they were all of like mind.

"It's time," Hiccup said.

Elsa nodded in agreement. "Yes. It is," she said.

The two Knights looked to the Padawan. She smiled before looking to them. "I'm on it," she said. She turned and walked off.

Elsa and Hiccup turned their attention back outside the viewport. They smiled. Today was a very important day for the fledgling order and its younglings. They just hoped the children were ready.


The younglings were buzzing with energy. Excited beyond words as they were transported on a Kinnaran vessel of the planet's ocean and toward a distant island in its center. Today was a special day. A day that would test all that they'd learned, their skills, their mind, and their faith in the Force.

Today they would be getting their lightsaber crystals.

Hopefully.

They waited in silence as the vessel was flown to the island and landed at the base of a mountain. They filed out of the ship, coming to stare at the pitch black cave before them, so dark that no light seemed able to penetrate it.

"Padawan Rapunzel?" Emma chimed in.

Rapunzel glanced back. "Yes?"

"Where are Hiccup and Elsa?" she asked.

"Busy. Just me today," she told them. "C'mon," she said as she motioned them forward. They followed after her, walking into the cave. They were momentarily surrounded by darkness before coming into a dimly lit circular chamber. There were several Kinnarans armed with spears in the room. They tensed, but relaxed when they saw it was only Rapunzel.

She came to stand before them and waited. The Kinnarans nodded before two of them armed with tier spear turned and plunged them into two slots in the wall. There was a loud click and then a rumble as the stone wall before them suddenly split apart, revealing two heavy stone doors that slid apart.

When they were opened Rapunzel turned around to face the younglings.

"Ok Younglings. It's time, the Gathering has officially begun," she stated.

"Gathering?" Havolian asked.

"Its what we used to call the test in which a group of younglings, much like you, were taken to Ilum to get their Kyber crystals," she explained. She drew one of her lightsabers and activated it. The blade ignited with a hiss and the yellow blade bathed them all in its light.

"In every lightsaber resides a crystal. The crystal is by far the most integral part of the lightsaber. The very heart of the blade," she explained as she stared at yellow beam of plasma. She could feel the crystal inside, like a little heart, like a piece of herself in the palm of her hand.

She deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt before looking to them. "The crystal from Ilum were Kyber crystals. What we have here in the caves are called Adegan crystals. They're close in structure to Kyber crystals and have a natural attunement to the Force. Making them perfect for lightsabers," she explained.

"So what do we have to do?" Wrath asked.

"Simple. Go in there, find your crystal, and come back," she said with a shrug.

"So just find a crystal and that's it. Done?" Wally asked.

"No," Rapunzel said with a shake of her head. The younglings were confused. "Not 'a' crystal. Your crystal," Rapunzel explained. "The crystal chooses the Jedi, not the other way around. The Force will lead you to it, and it will call to you, if you can listen hard enough," she said with a small smile.

With that she stepped aside. She extended a hand, beckoning them to enter. The younglings paused, staring at the gaping hole before them nervously. But one by one they all stepped forward and entered. Suddenly they heard the scraping sound of the door closing behind them. They whirled around to see the doors closing.

"Two hours," Rapunzel called out. "That's how much time you have to get your crystal and return. Don't be late," she added before the door shut completely.

For a second they were completely enshrouded in darkness. But then the walls lit up. The wall glowed and glittered, bathing the cave in dazzling light. They all gasped in wonder as they made their way further inside. They looked around at the walls as they walked before eventually reaching a series of splitting paths.

They all looked around in silence, contemplating their next move.

"I'm going this way," Havolian said as he motioned toward a tunnel.

"What?" Emma asked, blinking in startelement. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"We should stick together," Emma said.

"We'd move faster in smaller groups. We're on a time limit, don't forget," he reminded everyone.

"I agree with Havo," Wrath spoke up. He took a step toward his best friend. "I'm going with him," he said.

"Ugh. Guys," Emma said with a frown.

But it was too late. They'd already started walking off. "Stay safe everyone," Havo called back as he and Wrath disappeared down a tunnel.

Emma frowned as they disappeared. She looked to the other. "Well. What do you guys think?" she asked.

Nemo suddenly raised a hand. "I'm feeling this tunnel," he stated as he pointed down one.

"Mesa too," Lan Wu said.

Emma turned her head, eyes landing on a tunnel and remaining there. "I think I'll go down this one."

"I'll go with you," Claire said as she raised a hand. Emma smiled at her bestie in appreciation.

Wally's nose began to twitch as he caught of whiff of something. He put his nose to the ground and began following the scent. "I smell something," he said as he came to the entrance of a tunnel. "I think I'm going to follow it," he said. He put his nose back to the ground and disappeared down it, hot on the trail of something.

Ella didn't say anything, simply looking around in silence. Nuna also didn't say anything.

"Alright then. Let's go guys. Good luck you two," she said to Nemo and Lan Wu. They nodded at her before disappearing down a tunnel.

With that, the four girls began walking down Emma's chosen tunnel. The girls were silent, trying to feel something, anything to indicate they were on the right track.

"How will we know when we've found our crystal?" Claire asked aloud.

Emma hummed. "I don't know. I guess we just will," she said with a shrug.

Nuna pursed her lips in thought, walking with the older girls and occasionally glancing around.

"Nuna," came a small whisper.

Nuna froze on the spot, coming to a stop as the other girls kept going. Her eyes were wide in surprise and she turned her head, finding a small crevice in the wall.

"Nuna," came another whisper. She sucked in a breath, the whisper sounding familiar. She crept toward the crevice and listened.

"Nuna," came another whisper, this one a different voice, but still very familiar to her. She stepped toward the crevice and squeezed herself through. It was so small that she, as the youngest and small youngling, was probably the only one capable to getting through it.

"Nuna," came the voice again as she came out the other side into a another tunnel. She began walking faster and faster, trying to catch up to the voices calling out to her, staying just out of reach ahead.

The voices, they couldn't have been, but there was no way she couldn't have mistaken the voices.

They were the voices of her parents. She didn't understand, how could this be possible?

She rounded a corner, coming into a small circular chamber with polished walls. She turned, finding reflections of herself staring back at her, but the chamber empty.

"Nuna."

Nuna turned toward the sound and froze up in shock. Standing before her, in the reflection of the cave were her parents. They were exactly the same as the day they'd died. They smiled at her, extending their hands toward her.

"Nuna. Our good girl," her mother said lovingly.

Nuna took a step forward, confused, baffled, and entranced by the sight.

"We missed you Nuna," her father said. She reached the cave wall and extended a hand, placing her palms against the cool mirror like surface and staring up at the image of her parents looking down at her with matching smile.

She sank to her knees as a tear rolled down her cheek. She suddenly became aware of how much she missed them. Her mother began to hum her lullaby. Nuna slumped forward, placing her forehead against the surface.

"Stay here with us Nuna," her father said as her mother continued to hum. "Stay here with your family."

Nuna wanted to stay. In this place where she could see her parents, hear her mother's lullaby, her father's voice, and just be with them like she used too when they were alive.

"Nuna!" a voice called out. Nuna gasped as she picked her head up and glanced back. Emma's voice echoed off the walls, coupled with Caire's, and Ella's.

"Nuna," her mother said. She looked back up at her. "Stay here Nuna. With us," she said.

"We love you Nuna. Our good little girl," her father said with a smile.

"Nuna! Where are you?" came Emma's voice, fraught with worry.

Nuna glanced back once again before looking up to her parents. She blinked up at them, taking in their smiles, the look of love in their eyes as they looked at her.

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes before standing up. She took a step back, away from them. For deep down, she knew they weren't real. Her parents gave their lives for hers. They made the ultimate sacrifice. The ultimate act of love so she could live, have friends, learn, grow, and have a life of her own.

And that life, full of her classmates, of her new friends, her masters...that was real.

She took one last look, memorizing every detail before turning away. Then she took a step forward, then another, and another. Away from the past and back to her life that was now.

And then suddenly a white light began to shine behind her, filling up the hole room and nearly blinding her. She turned around to see a white light shining from the spot where her parents had been.

She felt something. A pull. She raised a hand without thought and tapped into the Force. The wall began to crack as something behind it began to push its way out. She helped it, using her power to give it the strength it need to punch through.

Then the small white light began to flat through the air and to her. It glided into her palm and she closed her hands around it. Then she turned it over and opened it, finding a small white crystal in the palm of her hand.

It glowed and pulsed in her hand as if it were saying hello.

Nuna stared down at it, its light shining in her eyes.

And she smiled.

Emma, Claire, and Ella were running up and down the tunnel in search of Nuna. They gathered where they last saw her. They looked to each other in worry for their friend, when they suddenly heard shuffling.

They looked to the wall as Nuna appeared, squeezing out of the nearly unnoticeable crevice.

"Nuna," Emma said in relief.

"Where were you, we were so scared!" Claire told her.

Nuna remained silent before she simply raised a hand. The others gasped as she showed them a white crystal gleaming between her fingers.

"You found your crystal," Emma said in amazement.

Nuna nodded, face blank, but eyes radiating joy and pride.

"You did it," Claire said.

"Wow," Ella whispered.

"I guess that means you're done," Emma said. "You should head back to the doors. We'll meet you when we're done."

Nuna nodded, she gave them all a wave and wished them luck before she turned and made her way to the entrance. The girls exchanged a glance.

"Let's keep going. We are on a time limit after all," she reminded them. The others nodded before they set out as a group in search of their own crystals.


back at it, really want to finish this story.