Chapter 5: The Ninja's New Skill
Yuffie woke up and looked around. At first she was unsure of were she was, but then she remembered what had happened the day before. She sat up and walked out of the room.
In the next room of this extremely small dwelling sat Ben, at a table, eating. "Good morning Yuffie." Ben said as he looked up from his food.
"Hey Gramps," said Yuffie in her usual loud manner. "What's for breakfast?"
"Apples." Replied Ben.
"Apples?" Yuffie was really creeped out by some of this guy's habits. Yuffie liked her breakfast deep fat fried. This guy must be one of those health nuts.
Yuffie grabbed a bowl of sliced apples and joined Ben at the table. Ben ate slowly, but Yuffie was hungry, she had not eaten in almost over twenty-four hours. She began to shove the apple slices down her throat. She finished her apple slices in about 30 seconds. They tasted differently then the ones on Gaia, but that was to be expected after her strange experiences. She went and grabbed a whole apple and began to devour it.
She looked over at Ben. "So explain things to me, Ben, what the heck is going on and where'd you learn to fight like that and where am I?"
Ben set a half eaten apple slice down. "Well young one, you are on the planet Tatooine, on the outer rim of the galactic empire."
That didn't help Yuffie at all. "Umm Galactic Empire?"
Ben realized that he was dealing with someone from an entirely different place, or had amnesia. He didn't understand why she didn't know what the Galactic Empire was. He gave Yuffie a calm, gentle smile and began to tell her about the rise of the empire, "A while ago, when I was just slightly older than you, a great war was fought between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems…"
Ben continued his story and Yuffie listened, at least enough to catch the gist of what he was saying. There was a war between droids and clones fought in space and on different planets, and some politician, with an illegal rise to power, declared himself emperor. The one thing that Yuffie did pay attention to in detail was the Jedi: guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy. Yuffie simply had to know more.
"So you were one of these Jedi once?" Yuffie inquired.
Ben nodded, "Yes, I was a Jedi master, but an apprentice of mine named Darth Vader joined the Emperor and together they wiped out almost all the Jedi," Ben's face grew mournful "I have been in hiding."
"And you, um, have strange powers?" asked Yuffie as if asking him to prove it.
Ben did in fact prove it. He reached for one of the apples with his hand, which quickly shot through the air into his palm. Yuffie was awestruck. Materia was some pretty cool stuff but it couldn't do that.
"That's just one of many abilities the Force grants us." Ben added.
"Hey, uh, is there any chance I could learn some of that?" Yuffie asked hopefully.
"Perhaps a bit later. You still haven't told me about what you're doing here. I wish to know where you come from, friend."
Yuffie sighed, she had gotten so worked up about this "Force" that she didn't want to tell a story. Yuffie began, "I come from a planet called Gaia..."
Yuffie explained about Shinra, her friends, Avalanche, and Sephiroth. She also told him about Materia. To demonstrate she grabbed an apple and baked it light brown using her fire materia. "...And so the life stream sucked me up and now I'm here." She ended.
Ben took in the story and then looked at Yuffie. "Well, you're welcome here as long as you would like, my young friend."
Yuffie had nothing better she could do, after all she didn't know where everyone else was or if they were even alive and she didn't know how to get home. She might as well just pull her weight and stay here. She nodded her head in agreement.
"So now can I learn the Force?" She folded her hands and took on a begging look.
"I suppose so," said Ben looking slightly more serious than he ever looked. "You possess a great deal of strong emotion, which can lead you down a dark path, but as long as you're dwelling in my home, I suppose it wont hurt."
Emotional, huh? Yuffie restrained a "Whoo hoo" just to demonstrate some discipline, though she could hardly wait for her training to begin. "So, um, when do we start?" Yuffie grinned.
Outside of Ben's home was a large rock. Standing next to it was Ben and a very ecstatic Yuffie. She could barely contain herself. She had to grip her chair to keep herself from jumping up while he was explaining the nature of the force and now, at last, she was going to learn to use it.
"Now remember, Yuffie, what we talked about. Clear you mind and let the Force guide your feelings. Reach out with it and levitate the rock," instructed Ben.
Yuffie closed her eyes and cleared her mind. She reached out with what she felt as the force. She didn't feel anything. She strained. Her face contorted and creased and she grunted. She felt the rock levitating and opened her eyes... NOTHING!
Yuffie tried again. Still nothing. She tried again. Yet again nothing. Yuffie began to feel angry, she opened her eyes. "Grrr...Stupid rock!" It levitated three feet off the ground!
"Ben! Ben! Look what I'm doing!" Yuffie exclaimed.
Ben shook his head, "No, young one, that is the Dark Side. You must avoid your anger! Anger is the wrong path through which to access the force. Try again, this time trust the Force and not your own emotion."
Yuffie looked at the stone. "Don't get angry. Anger is the path to the Dark Side. Anger is the path to the Dark Side." She chanted.
Yuffie cleared her mind and reached out. She felt a sensation she had never felt before. It was like summoning a creature but more extreme, and yet, more calming. She envisioned the rock levitating and opened her eyes. It was floating! Yuffie began to feel excited and the stone dropped.
Ben nodded and smiled. "Excellent job, young one. That's enough for today."