Author's Note: Here is part two of my big thank you. Thank you all for supporting this story with your views, reviews, favorites, and follows! You're the best!
Disclaimer: Star Wars is owned by Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd. The following work is not intended to add to, promote or distort this series. This is a work of fanfiction, and the author does not profit in posting. This is simply a writing exercise written for fun.
It was a cosmic event unlike any before it.
One moment the Force was at unrest, teeming with a darkness that Jedi Grand Master Yoda felt brewing for decades, waiting to be unleashed. All around him were shadows of a nefarious nature, poisoning the souls of his devoted trainees. His proverbial children, as it were. But, without cause, a strange slimy feeling pulsed in the Force, making Yoda feel sixty times his actual age- which was saying something. Even sitting in his chair felt like too much work.
And then, out of nowhere, a blinding light burst through the Force! It scrambled all his senses and nearly knocked him out of his chair. Around him, other masters were shaken by it. Masters Unduli and Windu being the nearest. They glanced about the high chamber in astonishment, practically drinking in the light resonating from the depths of the temple. A potent, unhindered light. It was like fresh water in the midst of a dark desert.
"Such power!" Master Unduli noted, her eyes still glossed over from the amount of energy that startled her senses, "What could it mean?"
Yoda continued to drink in the goodness he felt, finding that the shadows that aged him were slowly melting away. "Know this, we cannot." He decided with a smile, "But a good omen, this is. Of this, I am certain." He nodded, making his words final in his own mind and those around him. He wasn't pompous, he just wanted to believe them to be true so much.
"It seems..." Windu struggled, his mind's eye trying to track the source of such great power, "That this presence is coming from inside the temple... one of the Younglings perhaps?" Yoda shook his head, already certain he knew who was behind such amazing powers.
"No... A Youngling, this is not." Yoda decided aloud, "There is with such power, only one:..."
"Master Jedi!" The tall, lean Muun ambassador greeted him with a curt nod, "We are glad to see you. It is with great regret that you are here on such... unfortunate terms." The Jedi merely nodded a moment, a coy smile on his face as he gathered as many different things to say in his mind as possible. What he could do to tease her? Hmmm...he deliberated with a grin, so many wonderful options.
Together they strode across the landing platform, the snowy mountains of the planet Scipio in the background. For many they would be a lovely sight, one of passion and solace. But for this particular warrior, they were merely another form of waste. This one was of snow, but it was simply a reverse-Tatooine for him. He held no interest in such snowy peaks.
The lean Muun ambassador passed the Jedi off to another official as he entered the foreboding complex that was the Vault City of Scipio. The heart of the Banking Clan, as it were. This Muun was none other than Mak Plain, the representative of the Banking Clan for the Senate. He was a thin creature, with eyes that seemed more shifty than honest, but almost every Jedi had learned to accept that about most senators a long time ago.
Plain nodded cordially towards the esteemed Jedi Knight with hardly an expression on his long face, "Greetings General Skywalker." He acknowledged, "Perhaps it would be best to get this over with. The Core Five are most upset about this... travesty." Anakin waited, measuring the words of the Muun. His ocean colored eyes closed slightly, alarming the representative a bit. Or perhaps it was the sight of his wild blond hair. He never appeared the way most expected a Jedi to look.
"Agreed." He finally replied as they walked past the many different holding cells on the Banking Clans core complex. In it were several different compartments for fools who believed they could pick the lock on the vault of the galaxy. They walked in silence for the most part, Anakin still attempting to sort out what he would say next. But, as he did, a strange field emitted itself in the Force, one that almost felt like a syrup-like substance was coating his very limbs. He felt slow and lethargic. Cranky even. The fun was lost.
As the Muun guard opened the cell door to reveal a lovely young woman, Anakin attempted to smile. He really tried. This was his moment to tease her. To remind her of just how much trouble she could be. And then she'd get him back with a few memories of her own. But no.
He just couldn't find the stamina to.
She must have been napping, as she was splayed across the small sofa inside the cell. Despite this, her hair was entirely in place, something he found most surprising about her many intricate hairstyles. She glanced up at him at first with a look of happiness, then a look of stubbornness. It must have been the fatigued look upon his face. Perhaps she was misinterpreting it.
Padme Amidala, in all her regal pride, switched from her stubborn mask to one of concern upon observing him. "Anakin?" she inquired, attempting to burst forth from her cell, but being held back by a guard. "What's the matter?"
He just shook his head, trying to shake away the syrupy feeling. It didn't work; it only made him more exhausted.
"I'm just jetlagged." He told her with another attempt at a forced grin. Of course, her head shake and stern brown eyes didn't buy that for a second. "You've been released into my custody, Senator Amidala. I suggest we get going back to Coruscant where this matter will be addressed and investigated." In hearing that, the Muun guard stationed at her cell let her go. She practically ran to the towering man's side. It was hard not to.
Fighting the urge to take his arm, and thus expose her true feelings for him, she attempted instead to keep pace with him as he strolled back towards his ship. The two hadn't even bothered to thank the Muun representative for his hospitality. "What were you thinking?" He suddenly jabbed at her, crankier than normal, "Robbing THE bank! Not just A bank, it had to be THE bank?" Padme sighed.
"I wasn't robbing it." She informed him frankly, "I was gathering intel. And it is imperative that we get back to the senate with it." Anakin's ocean colored eyes turned towards her with raised brows.
"And why is that, Senator?"
She glanced at him again with a frown, not liking when he got all condescending with her, "Because I discovered something pivotal: the vault is empty." That bit of news stopped Anakin dead in his tracks. He crossed his flesh arm over his mechanical one and stared at her through his dishwater locks. They always fell into his face for some reason, this time because of the cold mountain wind flowing through him from behind.
"And why, might I ask, would you know this?" he wanted to know. Again with that voice! Padme felt her inner voice grumble, It's like he thinks he's the older one!
"Well..." She attempted to start carefully, "Rush said-"
"-Rush?" Anakin cut her off as he leaned in most angrily towards her, "As in Rush Clovis, the traitor? You trusted Rush Clovis?" Though not a Jedi, she could sense his suspicions, see them in his deep blue eyes even. Anakin never liked that Padme had been in a relationship with Rush.
But still, despite his jealousy and how much that clouded his mind, Padme held her ground. "For your information, ANAKIN," she got toe to toe with him, not caring if one of the guards saw her- not that they did, "I checked his story out first. I'm not some stupid little girl who-"
"-I never said that!" He informed her, but then suddenly doubled over in what seemed like pain.
"Ani?" Padme cried as she rushed to his side, "Ani? What's wrong?" He didn't respond right away, he only winced. With his eyes welded shut, the young man jumped at the slightest touch, something strange for him since he always sensed with the Force long before someone approached him.
"The light!" Anakin suddenly hissed, "It's so bright. It almost hurts in some places." He put his hand over his heart, as though protecting it.
"What light?" Padme inquired as she wrapped an arm around the broad shoulders of the knight, "Ani? What light are you talking about?"
He finally opened his eyes, and turned to look at her with eyes that were glowing like some variant of Lightsaber Crystal. "In the Force, there is a bright light in the Force!" He staggered backwards a moment before resting himself on the hull of his ship. "God! Padme, it's so bright I can hardly see at all!" Padme walked towards him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Why is it burning me? I don't... I don't understand..." Sure enough, his face was red from pain, and in some places, his flesh was starting to sear.
Luke liked to traverse the spiritual realm, but he'd never been here before. It was a strange place, a place filled with more colors than he'd ever seen in his life. To his left, he saw large masses of burning light flow by. To his right, he found more. Everything seemed to swirl around him in bright, positive radiance. He wasn't sure if he'd go blind by the sight of it.
"Hello?" he called out, hoping to find some guide here, "Is anyone there?"
As soon as his voice echoed out some, Luke turned to find a faceless shape, near transparent in appearance, facing him. It was clearly a man, as far as the broad shoulders could tell him, and at some point, he surmised it to be human. But his face was missing... hiding in the shadows.
"Who are you?" Luke inquired carefully, "Where is this place?"
He heard a rumble of a laugh from the faceless man, "Where do you think this place is?" The man then disappeared and reappeared behind Luke again, forcing the man to turn once more, "This is the realm of halves... the place where beings drained of their life force go to. A graveyard of Shaetin victims. We are the Shades of former souls."
"Shaetin?" Luke inquired, attempting to approach the man, "What are Shaetin?"
The man disappeared again, this time forming himself next to one of the large stars, "Here, we can rebuild our lost potency... I have been here more than fifty years." He placed his hands on one of the stars, his appearance suddenly becoming more opaque. But still... his face remained invisible. "The Shaetin are what take our life away... they are monsters... ghosts really."
"Ghosts?" Luke wondered as he floated nearby, hesitant to put his hand on that same star. "You mean like what Obi-Wan is when he visits me?" The figure nodded, grabbing Luke's hand and pressing it onto the star. Instantly, Luke felt a swirling sensation through his veins, and found himself light headed.
"Your body is being drained by this Gamragist, young Skywalker." he informed him, his form suddenly fading away into the light again, his voice echoing around Luke, "Take this light of the Force, keep both your sister and yourself from becoming drained as well; she will take this energy through your bond..." Luke nodded, feeling elated at the power he was receiving. But, after some time, the figure added, "You will be tested in this time by many foes, your own father included." The man appeared once more by another star, "I will teach you a technique that will help you keep your light and ensure that, despite the difficulties of reaching Advorosia, you will find Gerali." Luke nodded, suddenly determined.
Again, the man faded away, appearing near a new star that he touched. It was around then that Luke noticed the many figures, all shadows, disappearing and reappearing near these stars. The whole region was filled with them. All victims, Luke realized.
Dashing across the space, Luke appeared near his new instructor. "I'm ready."
He sensed the man must have been smiling, "I know you are... Now listen well, young Skywalker. For you cannot return to this space unless you are between times-"
"-Who are you?" Luke first inquired, wanting to know who to thank.
He heard a chuckle from the man, like a slow rumbling, "You are impatient like your kin. My name is..."
Pestilis smirked as the winds subsided, revealing a well lit passage as the motion sensor lights once again became workable. Across from her was a pleasant sight: Skywalker and Organa-Solo still held in place by the temporary shackles, completely unconscious. Anhilis and Devaro were eyeing them in a way that spelled out their thoughts. They wanted to kill the blasted Jedi, and, under normal circumstances, Pestilis would have let them.
"Leave them." Pestilis ordered of her apprentices, "We still need them alive."
Both Devaro and Anhilis glanced at her incredulously, not seeing the fluttering of blond lashes across the room. "Why is that, my master?" Anhilis inquired with her typical, childlike voice. Pestilis stepped forward and retrieved the Gamragist from the floor where it landed. She was relieved to see that its locking mechanism was still open. The one that held the pendulum in place.
"Have you already forgotten, dimwit! Because we need their power to return us to our own time," she told them as she found a small, dust covered box on a nearby shelf. Carefully, she placed the orb-like Gamragist inside. "In using the Gamragist, we've created a time-paradox, and so we will need to travel forward before closing it."
"A time-paradox?" Devaro asked as he approached the old hag he called master.
Pestilis nodded, closing the box and passing it to Devaro to carry until they could hide it, "Yes. You see, time travel is very tricky. One small change here could constitute a chain of events that would create a situation in which we didn't use the Gamragist. To make it so users could see their purpose through to the end, the lost Sith found a way to block the currents of time into a temporary paradox. By closing the locking mechanism on the end of the pendulum, we close the paradox and allow all our workings to effect the passage of time at once."
Devaro nodded, hoping he understood her correctly, "And if we locked the mechanism here?"
"We would be stuck here." Pestilis finished for him, "Without a clue as to who we were or why we came to exist in this time... Which is why we still need them." She gestured over towards the still forms of the Jedi Master and his Padawan-sister. After a moment to regard them, Pestilis turned towards a small corridor by the stairs, the one that Anhilis had hidden behind to strike Skywalker from. "Come." She ordered as she moved, "We have much to do. We have only three candidates to investigate, and it could take some time until we know for certain who the lover is."
Her two henchmen chuckled as they followed her down the passageway. Luke watched them carefully as he slowly brought himself to stand. He had a headache like no other, but that wasn't what concerned him. Leia was. Gently, he reached out with the Force to check on her presence. He did not feel that she was in pain, but he could tell she was as drained as he. Drained despite all he'd absorbed from that star in the realm of halves.
He had no doubt that that vision had occurred.
"Sis?" he tried as he shook her with his free, flesh hand, "Leia? Are you all right?" She didn't move right away, but slowly, she stirred.
"Luke?" She mumbled as she got her bearings, breathing deeply as she became more conscious, "What in the hell happened?" she grumbled as she tried to stand. It didn't take long for her to realize she wasn't going to be able too.
Luke sighed as he too struggled to gain footing. It took a while, but he managed somehow. Next was the trickier part, getting out of the shackles so he could help his sister. They were latched with a digital lock, and so their was little Luke could do to work them free with his still weakened Force-presence. All that was left was to jostle them and hope their journey did enough to free him the rest of the way.
To his good fortune, it had.
With one fierce cry and a jerk with all his strength, Luke pulled his right arm free of the wall and stumbled into the table. Catching his breath there, he slowly stood up and proceeded to yank Leia's bindings free as well. That one, fortunately, took less strength.
As he yanked her into his arms, Leia glanced about the space, noting that it seemed much younger than the hovel they'd originally entered. While Luke caught his breath against her, she attempted to reach out with the Force towards those around them, hoping to find Han and Mara. Instead, she felt the faint presences of strangers, one of which seemed eager to connect with her.
Where am I? She asked this fierce being she'd found.
It seemed surprised by her question, and she could feel that it was also distrusting, The Jedi Temple...How- how did you get here Skywalker? Leia furrowed her brow at the question. No one had called her Skywalker in many years, the last one likely being her mother when she was born. How did this person know who she really was?
I walked. She replied before her brother stepped away from her and shook his head.
"You must not talk to them until we understand our situation." Luke warned her, "We don't know what will happen if you do." Confused, Leia nodded and watched as her brother surveyed the room for himself. He was relieved to feel Leia withdraw her presence from the stranger's.
The passageway that the others had taken was still wide open, though where it led, he couldn't be sure. He wanted to wait a while before embarking down them, simply to avoid finding their enemies before they were ready to face them. He knew they would eventually be back, but that would be when they were ready to "use" him and Leia again. Luke frowned: it was one thing to target him, but his sister was another. He felt that familiar darkness well up in him once more. But, following the shade's instructions, Luke pushed that energy outwards.
And somehow he felt his energy grow.
"What's going on Luke?" Leia asked from over by the table. He turned to survey her again. She was still unbelievably pale, and he'd be a bad brother not to get her to a hospital soon. Who knows what that Gamragist did to either of them.
Luke shrugged, his eyes turning towards the flight of stairs where what was likely a group of Jedi Masters were waiting. How will we explain this to them? Luke wondered, knowing full well that none of them would believe he was Anakin Skywalker's son. Even if he did apparently resemble him... a lot. Then there was that issue with Coruscanti Jedi and having families...
"That old hag really wants us dead." Luke seethed as he returned towards by his sister, still panting as he did. He could feel his energies growing, impressed by the speed of their return, but his body was exhausted none-the-less. "She grabbed this thing called the Gam... Gammageist? Gamragist!" He breathed, and rubbed his eyes, "Sorry, sis, I'm as out of it as you are. The Gamragist, an old Sith weapon or something. I guess she used us to power it and send us back in time." He chanced a glance at Leia, who just stared at him with her brow furrowed and her mouth agape.
"Did you hit your head?" She inquired, bringing a laugh to Luke as he noted the increase in shuffling above. It seemed that the Jedi Masters were trying to get down there.
"Not hard enough." Luke replied, "I guess she's trying to kill us before we were born... It sounds as though she is only investigating Jedi, so if our mother is not one of them, we might have an edge." Leia continued to stare at him like a mad-man.
"An edge?" She pressed as a particularly loud slam from above startled them both. Those Jedi were certainly getting determined. Even the dust on the shelves were starting to rustle. Somehow they'd stayed put despite the winds that had ushered them into this time.
Luke nodded as he tried to stand on his own again, only to feel light headed. He's gone mad. She decided in her mind, which Luke heard and frowned.
"Am not!" He retorted aloud, "I know what I heard Leia, and those many unfamiliar Jedi Force-presences seem to count as evidence." Leia shrugged, looking down at her toes. She waited a while before replying, weighing all that Luke had told her.
"So... it seems we have a mission then." Leia decided, her dark brown eyes turning towards her brother. He nodded, turning back towards the stairs when an even louder crash sounded. Leia gathered the will to stand on her own, "Was that a shelving unit?" She asked in awe. The several other crashes seemed to indicate that much.
"They are determined." Luke grumbled as his eyes fixed on the small passageway, "I think it's time to go. We need to get you to a doctor at least."
Leia stared at him incredulously, "Why? I'm fine."
It was a challenge and Luke knew it. Usually he avoided upsetting his sister, but he didn't have the energy to side-step her comment, "You're pale as a ghost and we don't entirely understand what just happened to us. Good enough reason for you?" He challenged sternly, his icy blue eyes falling on his sister in determination. When she swallowed and backed off, he let out a relieved exhale. No one in the galaxy could argue as good as his sister, save for maybe his brother-in-law.
"Only if you get checked out as well." She told him, "You haven't looked this worn since..." she motioned down to Luke's right hand with her eyes. When he saw the pain she had in them, being the rock that kept him alive and sane through the entire Bespin incident, he nodded gently. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his sister. That had been the case since they'd met. And she relied on him just as much.
As another slam echoed down the stairs, the twins glanced at one another and ventured down into the small alcove that led into the hidden catacombs under the Jedi Temple. As they stepped into it, however, Luke noted something; his sister was shivering.
Covered in only a thin white shall, Leia's bare arms were coated in goose-pimples. Rather than force his sister to endure it, Luke shook his head and took off his favorite leather, yellow jacket. He set it on her shoulders before continuing onwards, with Leia crossing her arms over her chest to keep it in place for the time being. She smiled at her brother, thanking the stars that he was the one to make this journey with her.
Using the walls to support them, the Skywalker twins took their first steps into a lost world. One they knew only so much about, and one they would have to conquer to survive.
It had taken nearly a half an hour to calm Anakin Skywalker down after the strange light in the Force erupted. He'd been so shaken by the affect that power had on him, that he'd refused to take off until he'd gotten checked out by a Medidriod. The findings were... inconclusive.
Where Anakin's flesh had been seared was now absolutely normal. Practically new even. But that didn't eliminate the pain he felt when pressure was applied in those spots. It took all Padme had not to react as she would have liked towards his injuries; concerned, loving... normal. However, to be so doting before the audience of the core five and the representative of the Banking Clan would have been career ending. Especially for Anakin.
"What did you say attacked him?" Mak Plain inquired suspiciously. His brow was raised at quite the angle, at least to Padme it was. You couldn't always tell with a Muun.
Anakin, however, was the one to answer him, "A Force-presence attacked me. It wouldn't be something your men could do anything about." Plain continued to eye him wearily, even as Anakin stood up and pulled himself free of the medical odds and ends wired into him.
Padme stood beside him, trying her best to look as much like a concerned friend as she could, "Are you sure you should be up and walking around?" He didn't even flinch at her concern. Rather, he stomped off towards the door without a second glance.
Padme was left stumped before the Muuns, unsure of what to do until she heard Anakin's harsh voice, "Senator Amidala!" That jarred her into following him, though why she was feeling so small at the moment was beyond her.
As she caught up with Anakin, the Muuns departing in the other direction, she inquired, "Are you really all right?" Her voice was low, but laced with all the worry she'd been trying to hide. Anakin nodded.
"I'm just confused." He admitted wearily, "That was the most beautiful light I'd ever seen. So much color. So much... life. And yet, it burned me." Anakin turned towards Padme, "And I don't understand why. I doubt Obi-Wan or Master Windu were scathed by it. So why was I?" Padme chanced a glance up at him with a worried face. His was just as lined with concern.
"So what are we going to do?" She asked, suddenly seeing his problems as being her number one concern. Something she wasn't very proud of but knew better than to resist. Anakin glanced down at her with his unscathed eye.
"You said you had proof to show the senate?" He inquired carefully. Padme nodded, but braced herself for what comes next.
"I gave it to Clovis when I was arrested." Through the corner of her eye, she could see him tense up, shoulders, gait and all.
"Clovis." He muttered under his breath, "Fine. Where do we find that Sleemo?" Padme gulped as they exited the medicare unit of Scipio's Vault City. Around them, the mountains came into full view, along with the snow-capped peaks that hid Clovis's private residence.
"Well..." Padme breathed in, "We could try his house."
Luke and Leia had been meandering below the Jedi temple for nearly an hour by the time they felt a breeze of fresh air trickle by them. They weren't quite sure where they were, but they knew that they had at least come near where they could escape. Being unable to use their Force-senses, or risk being detected, was a frustrating factor of this adventure. Usually Luke could just fool whoever was nearby with a Force-illusion or trick, but an entire temple would have been too much. He'd never fooled more than ten Force-sensitives at one time.
As they continued to walk down the narrow hall, Luke brushed a little more dust off of his arms. Without his jacket, he was being covered in various cobwebs and soot from old battles. Many old murals and reliefs were hidden behind such dust, making Luke wonder just exactly how old the Jedi Temple really was. He'd heard it had been erected in the days of the Old-Old Republic, but that almost seemed too young.
Finally spotting a truer source of light than the small pen-lamp he and Leia had been using, they scooted out of the path into a small anti-chamber.
They were surprised by what they'd found. The room was lit by the storm-drains of the Temple Courtyard above, that had small mirrors enlayed into the stone to bring the light back into the grand room. The rest of the room was lit by fluorescent fungi that lined the floors and walls. Though the room itself was as old as the temple, it was clear to the twins that the stone and decorations were far, far older. And likely from far, far away.
They stepped into the peculiar crab-grass, hearing slight crunches as they moved through various weeds of what was once a well tended midnight garden. Accidentally nudging a few stones to the side, Luke turned to find a small key on the ground of the temple. It was a peculiar key all its own, completely carved of bone and no bigger than an inch. The figure carved into the small key appeared to be some sort of serpent or Krayt dragon, and the artwork was remarkable.
"What did you find?" Leia inquired as she approached. Luke showed her the small ivory art-piece, passing it to her as he continued onwards in search of more important items.
He stood before a wall, one decorated with a strange, lion-headed man with two faces. One was of a courageous young warrior and the other... "Lay?" Luke called, uncertain if he was putting pictures where they didn't belong, "Do you see what I see?"
Leia pocketed the key and moved forwards towards Luke. She too admired the large relief, but did not see what Luke did right away. The lion-headed man had a fierce face to her right, but to her left, his face was almost metallic, with a mouth made in the shape of a triangle. The way his main fell, it almost looked like a helmet. "You don't suppose this is?" She inquired.
"About our father?" Luke wondered as he stepped back to look at it again. He thought carefully about it, "I don't think so, but the resemblance to Vader's helmet and mask is uncanny. I wish we had Threepio here to read the transcriptions." Leia rolled her eyes at the thought. She could just picture the fun she would have had traveling with that particular companion.
She then proceeded to distract herself with the rest of the mural. From the center figure, the lion-headed man, came two dragons. They were most peculiar in their shape and they weren't the only ones on the artpiece, but they were so prominent Leia couldn't help but stare at them.
One had wide set horns and seemed to be on fire. The other had more gentle winds about it and the horns were more vertically set. They almost seemed like what one would get if they merged a Krayt Dragon with a Togruta male and female respectively.
"What a strange piece of art." Leia commented before she heard something slam from down the tunnels. She practically jumped as she turned about to observe the alcove they'd skulked into the antechamber through. Luke had also jumped and they both glanced at each other wordlessly. They relied on their twin powers over the Force, just in case there were Jedi headed their way.
Their eyes scanned the room for a way out, and spotted one ledge under the storm-drains that seemed more open than the others. Luke boosted Leia up into it first, allowing her to test the resistance of the drain before he jumped up there as well. She lifted the grate up easily and pulled herself into the middle of the Jedi-Temple Courtyard. Strangely enough, it was empty.
Luke soon followed and they replaced the grate. Glancing about at the former temple in awe, Leia took Luke's hand and they proceeded in the direction of the front gates. If they were lucky, they could stroll right through them like tourists. Not that they were counting on it.
Suddenly remembering that they were in their civilian clothes, Luke turned to Leia and passed her his lightsaber. She hid it carefully in his inner-coat pocket, along with her own.
"This place..." Leia remarked in awe as they continued down the lane, hand-in-hand, "Is astounding. Not that your temporary-temple isn't, it's just..."
"No..." Luke told his sister flatly, "You are right. This is remarkable." They continued through the courtyard towards some of the training halls that were near the front. All around them were various statues honoring fallen Jedi, lore carved into the walls and columns so high, the normally petite Leia felt dwarfed. With every step she took, she became more overwhelmed by the reality and beauty of what she passed. And more afraid.
Their father could be around any corner.
But as they continued to stroll down the main hallway, lined on each side by vast columns of untold value, Luke spotted someone he'd long missed. Master Yoda was floating in their direction on his small chair, talking with a tall, dark warrior with no hair. Realizing his cover would be blown if they made eye contact, as master Yoda was perhaps the most perceptive creature he'd ever met, Luke turned Leia towards the railing and they stared out at the Coruscanti sky while the other two passed.
"Still baffled, I am," Yoda confided to the other Jedi master, "By that tremendous light. So powerful and so familiar, it was."
His companion added, "We have almost searched the entire temple complex. Skywalker is confirmed to still be on Scipio with Senator Amidala, so it was not him, as we had suspected." Luke heard Yoda grumble from directly behind him, likely lost in deliberation.
"Felt just like Skywalker, this light did." Yoda admitted, "Surprised by this, I am. Perhaps, this is, the other..." Yoda's voice trailed off as he fell deeper into thought.
"Other, Master Yoda?" Leia heard the deep voice of the dark-skinned Jedi inquire, "Other what? Other Skywalker?" Yoda did not answer.
Not right away, anyways. Luke guessed he was likely suspicious of the two unfamiliar silhouettes standing next to him, so he pretended not to be interested. "I can't believe this view." Luke admitted to his sister, "I always seem to forget how the smog of Coruscant can be as beautiful as it is ugly." Leia chuckled and took Luke's arm tenderly, hoping to seem lost enough in their own world.
"How did you two get into the temple?" The dark-skinned Jedi inquired, forcing them both to turn and face him. He stared down at them both sternly.
Luke gulped while Leia jumped right in. She was always the best at snap stories. "We're informants. Helping with a case at the moment." She told him, "Master... what was his name?" She mumbled to herself, goading her brother to search for some presence he knew well. Carefully, Luke closed his eyes and reached out behind him, hoping Yoda could not sense his activities if they were subtle enough.
"Master Kenobi." Luke informed them carefully. "He asked for us here. Something about..." Luke tried to think about something his old master had confided in him, some old interest, "Mandalore." He hoped he was right.
Though the tall Jedi Master didn't seem to buy it, Master Yoda merely smiled and nodded. "Then off to him, you must go. Unescorted through the temple, you cannot be. Know this, Master Kenobi does." Both nodded to him and scurried down the hall, amazed at their luck.
But while Leia celebrated their success, Luke knew better. There was no way to truly fool Master Yoda entirely. Not unless you were Palpatine.
Master Yoda watched them walk away with a wry grin on his face. He had a feeling those two were important for some reason. Something told him not to let them walk away from him. But deep down, it felt right to let them go.
There was something of the Light Side of the Force about them.
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed that! I did my best not to jump around so much, but there was so much to stage this round... Anyways, I invented the Realm of Halves, the Shades (though the Greeks had that name first), the Shaetin, Demantis, Gerali, Pestilis, Anhilis, Devaro/Zion Tano, Advorosia, and the Gamragist. I told you the list would get smaller :) I hope you all like the idea of their enemy being an evil Force ghost. I thought that, after Palpatine, their next enemy should pose a bigger threat.
I also wanted to thank Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay for commenting on each chapter. I loved all your posts!
Please don't forget to review!