Chapter 19 – Overlords

Author's Note: In which Mortis begins! All I'll say is: expect the unexpected. :)

~ Amina Gila

What Theseus would really like to know right now is why someone from far beyond the Outer Rim is contacting them with a Jedi signal that hasn't been used in over 2,000 years. Maybe some ancient unknown Jedi has discovered a bunch of Sith hiding out beyond the Outer Rim, just like what happened in the days of the Old Republic. That – Never mind. He's pretty his visions of Revan are starting to get to his head and make him go insane. Scratch that train of thought.

He'd also really like to know how in the world Rex can be at the rendezvous point when they are too, and neither of them see each other anywhere. Just then, all of the power to the ship promptly flickers and dies.

"You know, I think we just hit a dead end," Theseus announces.

"Everything's dead!" Anakin exclaims.

Ahsoka checks the controls next to her, "Even the life support."

"This is really strange," Obi-Wan murmurs.

Right on cue, the lights all flicker back on again. "There. See? Nothing to be concerned about after all," Anakin offers hopefully.

"Then what's that?" Ahsoka demands, pointing out the front window. Theseus turns, following her gaze. In the darkness of space beyond, a huge sort of pyramid shaped something looms in front of them.

"Looks a little like a way oversized holocron if you ask me," Theseus mutters.

"It's pulling us towards it!" Ahsoka exclaims, as the ship continues to move forwards, no matter what Anakin does to try and change course. The Force is humming strangely around them, unlike anything he's ever felt before. The center of the dark pyramid seems to almost open, a blinding white light shining out of it. What in the universe is that?

The ship is pulled straight forwards into the light. It's so blindingly bright that Theseus raises a hand to shield his eyes from it. "Everyone, strap yourselves in. Looks as though we're going for a ride," Obi-Wan warns.

The next thing Theseus knows, he's slowly returning to consciousness. The first thing that hits him as he opens his eyes – aside from the fact that everyone else mysteriously drifted off as well – is the strangeness of the Force around him. It's so blindingly strong and bright; he's never felt anything even remotely comparable to it. Almost as though his connection to the Force has increased a thousand times, and he also almost instantly notices how much deeper his emotions seem to run. It's a very strange feeling to suddenly be able to feel his confusion with every part of his body. For a brief moment he has to wonder: is this how Anakin feels all the time, with his connection to the Force? He forces the thought away as soon as it comes. It's much too unnerving to think of someone having to live like this all the time, because he already wants to leave. It's far too much to handle.

"I must have blacked out." Anakin is the first to speak as he slowly sits up from where he must've... fallen asleep on the control.

"Then who landed the shuttle?" Obi-Wan asks skeptically.

"Not me," offers Ahsoka.

"Seems like it landed itself," Theseus remarks, turning his gaze out the window. They're in the middle of a field of bright green grass, trees scattered all around. Mountain and hills rise in the distance.

"Where are we?" Anakin wonders.

"Some kind of organic mass," Ahsoka pipes up, pushing a few buttons on the controls next to her, "All of our readings indicate that it's bigger than an asteroid. But at least the atmosphere is breathable."

"Yeah, because suffocating to death isn't very high on my priority list," Theseus remarks.

"Why's it on your list at all?" Anakin shoots back.

"Because a natural part of life, death is," Theseus informs him much too lightly.

"Well, this is getting more unusual by the minute," Obi-Wan says as he studies the scanners, "I can't even lock down where in the galaxy we are, or if we are even in our own galaxy." That's a concerning thought.

"The ship's systems seem fine, but for whatever reason, nothing's working," Anakin sighs. Ahsoka stands up, heading for the back of the shuttle.

"We won't get any answers if we stay in here staring at the control panels," Theseus reminds, rising to follow her. With his heightened sense of awareness, it's almost as though he can feel the lives of all the plants around him. Far more strongly than a continual buzz of life in the back of his mind like it usually is. For the first time, it feels as if the Force itself is reaching for him, urging him to follow. Obi-Wan pulls out a pair of macrobinoculars, scanning the horizon.

"Hey!" Ahsoka exclaims suddenly, pointing, "I saw something. A reflection, up on the hill."

Obi-Wan immediately follows her gaze. "I don't see anything."

Theseus shrugs, turning his gaze to the horizon. Large rock structures are floating mid-air in the distance, standing out against the cloud-streaked blue sky. He's seen a lot of strange things on the planets he's gone too, but nothing quite like this.

Anakin suddenly frowns, looking around uncertainly. "What the – what? Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Theseus asks.

"I didn't hear anything," Obi-Wan objects.

"Well, I'm not seeing or hearing anything," Theseus informs the others. "But I –"

"Are you the One?" The voice practically echoes – which doesn't even make sense. They're outside; it shouldn't be doing that.

Theseus spins around immediately, eyes falling on the woman standing behind them. Light seems to be practically radiating from her, and he's never felt anyone who feels so strongly in the Force before, except Anakin. She's clothed in white and gold, and long green hair flows down her back.

"... Hello. Who are you?" Anakin asks slowly.

"I am Daughter," she replies, her voice echoing strangely again. What kind of name is that? "Are you the One?"

"Uh... the One what?" inquires Anakin dubiously.

"I will take you to him."

"Him who?" demands Ahsoka.

"Did you bring us here?" demands Obi-Wan.

"Only he can help you," she replies unhelpfully.

"We don't need help," Theseus objects. Well, actually, they kind of do, but not like that. "We just need answers."

"There is little time," she says, turning away, "Follow me. We must have shelter by nightfall."

"And we thought the planet was strange. How about this one?" Anakin mutters.

"Doesn't begin to cover it," Theseus replies lightly.

"We'll be fine, as long as we stay together," Obi-Wan reassures before they hurry to catch up with the Daughter. Theseus is very glad that he doesn't have a fear of heights as they keep on walking, along the edges of high cliffs and in between tall trees, and they have to go single file since the walkway is so narrow.

"Have you noticed the seasons seem to change with the time of day?" Obi-Wan asks.

"Yeah," Anakin replies. Up ahead of them, the plants are slowly changing from green to orange and red.

"And there are no animals," Ahsoka observes.

"And you sense it?" Obi-Wan queries. There's only one thing he could be talking about, so no one has to ask.

"Since we arrived," Anakin agrees, "The Force is very strong."

"An intersection unlike anything I've ever felt before. Be wary."

"You know what I'd like to know? Where in the world we're going. We're literally a few hours walk away from the ship now," Theseus grumbles.

"Well, we could try asking, but..." Ahsoka trails off.

"I know, she hasn't been very helpful as a tourist guide," he agrees, "But maybe we should try anyway."

Anakin takes a few steps closer to the daughter. "Excuse me. Who are you taking us to?"

"The Father, of course," she states it like it's some obvious fact.

"Of course?" echoes Ahsoka in confusion.

"I can't tell if she thinks everything about this place is already obvious, or if she's trying to confuse us," Theseus mutters.

"Maybe both," Anakin offers.

"And what exactly are you?" Obi-Wan inquires.

"We are the ones who guard the power. We are the middle, the beginning, and the end." Um... is that supposed to have some sort of meaning to him?

"Glad she cleared that up for us," Anakin states dryly.

Theseus steps around Obi-Wan, moving up to walk beside his padawan-brother. "You know, it'd be much more helpful for you to answer our questions in –"

"Hey! Look out!" Anakin yells in warning. The Force screams of danger, and the next thing Theseus knows, Anakin is throwing him out of the way. He hits the ground on a ledge below and looks up at the large crash that rings out. Anakin and the Daughter have landed nearby. An enormous rock took out the ledge they were walking across, and he has no doubt it would have killed all three of them if not for Anakin's fast reflexes.

Anakin steps over to the Daughter, who's still sitting on the ground, reaching out to help her up. She jerks away as if touched by fire, standing up on her own. "It is forbidden for you to touch me."

"Now that was rude," Theseus chides, raising an eyebrow. "It's generally a 'thank you' that's said about now."

"Sorry, I was just saving your life," Anakin says, giving her an odd look.

"Are you up to giving us a crash-course on how the rules of this planet operate?" Theseus asks dryly.

"That was my brother's work," the Daughter declares, continuing her frustrating habit of ignoring everything they ask. "You are in great danger. Wait for me. Do not leave this place."

She turns and promptly starts walking away. "Hey!" Anakin calls, "Wait!"

She ignores him. Theseus groans. "Should we follow her or what?"

"I –" Anakin begins but is cut off when his comm beeps. "Anakin, are you there?"

"We're here," Theseus answers immediately.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Anakin replies, "But our friend here has run off!"

"Are you two alright?" demands Theseus. They sound fine, but his master has a bad habit of getting in trouble when no one else is around to watch his back. Ahsoka admittedly isn't much better, but Theseus knows she can take care of herself even if he'd much rather be with her.

"Yes, we are," Obi-Wan confirms, "But we need to find a way around."

"No," Anakin objects, "Go back to the ship and try sending another distress call. We'll follow her and find out how to get off this rock."

"And if this is a trap?" Obi-Wan argues.

"Then I'm not gonna wait around to find out."

"Anakin, stop!" Obi-Wan calls, "Wait for us –"

Anakin breaks the connection without even letting him finish. "Come on, we should hurry."

"Let's hope we don't get lost," Theseus calls as they talk off running.

"We're following the Force. We can't get lost," Anakin shoots back as they run.

They haven't gotten far when the sky begins to cloud over. The planets all around him are starting to die, like it's late enough in the day for 'winter' to be coming, or whatever. And seriously, this terrain is ridiculous. He'd be worn out by now if he wasn't so used to being constantly on the move, thanks to the war. Staying up for a few days fighting nonstop before finally crashing for almost twenty-four hours isn't exactly uncommon for any of them.

Lightning suddenly lights up the sky, followed by a nearly deafening crash of thunder. It looks like nighttime, even if it's not. The main light around them now are the glowing plants. "I thought plants only did that on Felucia," Theseus calls over the sound, if only to talk. It gives him something else to focus on, and he has the feeling that on a planet this strong with the Force, freaking out over the storm would only serve to worsen it.

Anakin's reply is cut off as lightning strikes the ground only several yards away from them. At this rate, Theseus is beginning to think they're going to end up fried. They climb over another ledge and Anakin stops, looking up. "Whoever we're looking for is in that monastery." Theseus instantly follows his gaze to see a tall building lumining in the distance. The only reason he can really see it at all is because of the bright light at the top of the structure.

"I'm beginning to think this is a world of giants," he remarks lightly as they start making their way up a ridiculously gigantic staircase.

"I'm beginning to agree," Anakin replies dryly.

They hurry up the steps, entering the enormous main room of the building. A giant throne is in the center of the room, right opposite the long walkway. Two huge statues that vaguely resemble birds but at the same time not exactly are on either side of the throne. On it sits a man with a long white beard. He feels even stronger in the Force than the Daughter did, except he doesn't feel of the same pure light as her.

"I can't tell if he's ignoring us or sleeping," Theseus mumbles under his breath as he and Anakin stop in front of the man, who continues to sit there with his eyes closed.

"I think Obi-Wan would call it meditating," Anakin informs, taking a seat on the floor opposite him.

"I can't tell if I'm dreaming or not," Theseus asserts, "Because this has got to be the first time you ever willingly agreed to meditate." He settles down next to Anakin, unable to help feeling minorly annoyed that the man in front of them seems otherwise occupied. They'll have to wait. "Let's hope he doesn't mind we're getting the floor all wet," he grumbles after a moment.

"We already got it all wet by parading in here. Sitting here isn't gonna change much," points out Anakin, looking faintly amused.

After a long moment, the man finally opens his eyes. "Welcome, my friends." His voice echoes strangely, the same way the Daughter's did. He seems to radiate with a sensation of sheer power in a way Theseus has never seen before. Everything about the planet is growing strange and stranger.

"What is it that you want from me?" Anakin demands, standing up.

"To learn the truth about who you really are. One that maybe you have known all along." He rises gracefully, which Theseus takes as a cue to stand himself. "One you must believe in order to fulfill your destiny." He steps towards Anakin, standing only a foot away.

"Enough with the riddles, old man. Tell me what's going on here," Anakin replies sharply in a tone that implies he has no time for games. Theseus wonders what the cause of his sudden frustration was this time. He doesn't usually get like that unless someone is trying to talk about something touchy for him. Is he talking about Anakin's role as the Chosen One? And why would Anakin be upset about that? He suddenly wonders if this means they might be able to find more answers about the prophecy, the one that foretold Anakin millennia ago.

"As you can see, there is nowhere else to go. It is late. You will be my guests tonight," the man says.

"Did you ever consider maybe introducing yourself?" Theseus asks. Okay, that was rather rude, but he's really annoyed right now. And maybe part of the problem is that his ability to feel annoyance is being amplified so much, so it's a lot harder to handle.

"I am the Father," he replies, leading them down one of the walkways to a hall where the bedrooms are. With that, he leaves them alone.

"And here I though they didn't believe in answering questions around here," Theseus quips.

"Apparently this one is a first," Anakin replies with equally forced humor as he glances around.

Theseus follows his gaze, shifting anxiously. "I don't like this place," he admits finally.

"Me neither, but we'll get answers in the morning," Anakin reminds.

**w**

Theseus stares up at the ceiling several dozen feet above his head. He doesn't like being alone in here, something about the room is plainly unsettling. His concerns feel ridiculous considering the many droids he's faced all alone with only a few clones to back him up, but he still can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. With a sigh, he finally rolls over and closes his eyes. There's no use staying awake and waiting for morning to come, as much as he doesn't want to let his guard down in here, either. Anakin is right in the next room if anything happens. He doesn't need to be so worried. Besides, he can defend himself.

He isn't sure what awoke him at first, but the sudden knowledge that someone else is in here makes him jolt awake. He sits up, hand automatically reaching for his lightsaber as he looks around the room, and promptly freezes at the sight of the figure standing at the head of his bed. Revan.

But this isn't a vision. It's reality. What? If this planet isn't strange enough, it is reviving the dead too now? Or is he going completely insane?

"What do you want?" ventures Theseus after a disconcerting moment of looking at the mask of his dead ancestor staring back at him.

"I am here because of Skywalker," he replies. What? He's here because of Anakin? Why? "He will bring balance to the Force, one way or another. You must ensure he does not have to do so alone."

Um... "What am I supposed to do?" he asks carefully. He knows much about Revan's past, and he knows better than to trust someone who was a Sith, even if he wasn't always, but he can't ignore the warning. Besides, he has a point. For a moment he remembers how upset Anakin was when the Father was talking about the Chosen One prophecy. He does seem to be dealing with it alone. Theseus hasn't looked hard enough – he didn't know it was a problem – and he doubts anyone else ever has, either.

"Help him the way the Jedi aren't," Revan answers cryptically.

"You know, that's not very descriptive when we're dealing with the fate of the universe?"

"I can guide you, but the choice is yours to make."

Well, he supposes that makes sense. Maybe he can get some answers about other things? Except as he's about to speak, Revan... vanishes. As though he were never here from the start. Well, thanks a lot.

He can feel the Dark Side suddenly surge in the room, and the Force is suddenly humming with danger. He spins around, eyes falling on a tall figure standing right behind him. He has grey skin, that practically sucks the light of even the storm outside into himself, and glowing red eyes.

What?! Who is this person? And where did he even appear from in the first place?! "You should have listened to my sister."

"... Pardon?"

"She told you to wait."

"Well, following orders isn't really my style." He doesn't even have a warning. The person suddenly transforms into an enormous bird-like creature, grabbing ahold of him with one of its clawed hands and sailing straight out the window.

**w**

"Too much dark or light would be the undoing of life as you understand it," the Father explains. Anakin is listening to him, to a point, but something is alerting his senses. Something is... wrong. "When news reached me that the Chosen One had been found, I needed to see for myself."

"The Chosen One is a myth," Anakin objects sharply. Or he wants it to be. He doesn't want to be some supernatural freak of nature.

"Is it?" the Father counters, "I should very much like to know. Why don't we find out together? Pass one test and I shall know the truth. Then, you and your friends may leave." Something tells him he's not going to like this 'test' very much, but before he has a chance to comment about it, he suddenly senses danger from down the hall.

He whirls and sprints towards Theseus's room. Shoving the door open, he runs inside in time to see an enormous, black bird-like creature flying away from the tower. Although it's dark, he's certain he can make out a certain very familiar figure in its claws. That thing, whatever it is, flew off with Theseus. Right into the storm outside. And since Obi-Wan's not here, Anakin was supposed to be protecting the boy.

The creature is already too far away for him to get to from here, so he runs back into the main room. He has to go after them. Now. The Father is standing there calmly waiting for him as though nothing in the world is wrong.

"That creature flew off with Theseus!"

"It must have been my son," the Father declares.

"Where can I find him?" he demands.

"There is nothing you can do until morning when the storm is over. After you pass my test, you can go look for him," says the Father.

"I'm not going to leave him!" Anakin snaps.

"My son cannot take him off the planet." As if that somehow helps.

Anakin spins around, ready to leave. If the Father is going to keep refusing, he'll have to go without his permission. He's not going to leave Theseus with some sort of shape-shifting freak that literally tried to murder his own sister. "You must remain here for the night," the Father objects. "Force storms are extremely deadly."

"I made it here fine." And the storm was as bad then as it is now.

"Your emotions will intensify the storm," he warns. "It would be far too dangerous. You must wait until the morning," he insists. Anakin really doesn't want to listen to him, but he knows that the Father has a point. Running around outside and getting struck by lightning or something equally ridiculous is the last thing he needs to deal with right now. He definitely won't be finding his padawan brother then.

"Fine," he concedes finally. He can wait until the morning, but the moment it comes, he's leaving.

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