Hello, hello! Left a little cliffhanger there, didn't I? I'm really excited about this new fic. Hope everyone likes it! It seems to be going well so far.
AaylaKit: I see you have found my new fanfic! *ducks* Wow, that was close. Looks like I'd better update more often or I'll be pummeled with dates! Anyways, I'm glad you like Anakin. He truly is awesomer than Yoda, though Yoda is pretty awesome.
Ayy Kaim: Feel free to squeal. Kit IS awesome. I wasn't originally going to have him in this story very much, but now I can't resist after your excited squeal. Keep an eye out for him. :D
Many images flashed across Anakin's field of vision during the time of darkness. He saw himself as a boy in a podracer, getting slammed by the Dug Sebulba. He saw Padmé smiling at him. Her face was a bit blurry, but Anakin could not mistake her pretty eyes and warm smile. His heart twisted when the image of Padmé was replaced by his mother. He reached out to touch her, but the picture disappeared quickly. Anakin wondered distantly if he was dreaming.
Obi-Wan was having a similar experience, though his images were very different. They mostly consisted of Qui-Gon Jinn, his former Master. Jar Jar appeared as well, seeming to trip over everything. The clumsy Gungan brought a smile to Kenobi's face—a smile that instantly diminished at the sight of the next image. Darth Maul. Obi-Wan wasn't dreaming. He was having a nightmare!
Suddenly, the images disappeared. Both Jedi were once again surrounded by darkness. Anakin wasn't sure how much time had passed before he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a pink furry face two inches from his own. "Hi!" it said.
Anakin used the Force to push it away in one fluid motion. He sprang to his feet and reached to ignite his lightsaber. It was gone. Anakin slid into a battle stance and stared down the pink thing that had surprised him. He hadn't intended to hurt it. Anyone who knows anything understands that one must never startle a Jedi if they want to keep their heads on their bodies. Usually, Jedi are very attentive to their surroundings and can therefore predict things before they happen. It is very difficult to startle a Jedi. When it happens, though—especially to Anakin—bad things result.
The little pink creature pulled itself to its feet. It looked a bit like a mixture of a Teddy Bear and an Ewok. Except, of course, its color was unusual for both. Its eyes were wide with surprise, but it did not seem to mind in the slightest that Anakin had knocked it to the ground. "Violence is forbidden here," it scolded in a high, sweet voice that made Anakin want to puke. It sounded distinctly female, but you can never tell with unfamiliar species.
"Did you take my lightsaber?" Anakin demanded.
"This?" She took out the weapon and turned it over in her hands. "After much study, we have confirmed that it is very dangerous. It must be destroyed."
"You'd better not!" Anakin shouted. He lunged for his lightsaber, but something grabbed his leg, tripping him. He faceplanted, initiating snorts from creatures around him. When he lifted his head, he saw that he was surrounded by beings very similar to the one who had stolen his weapon. They were a variety of colors: pink, purple, red, orange, yellow, blue…any bright color you could think of. "Listen to me," Anakin said quietly, addressing the pink thing standing in front of him. "You'd better give me my lightsaber right this second or I'll choke the life out of you. Understand? I've got the capability to destroy you all and I'm not afraid to use it."
The pink thing took a step back. "He's a baddie!" she shrieked.
Anakin got to his feet and held out his hand, focusing on choking the pink thing. It dropped the lightsaber and put its hands to its throat, making a weird whistling sound. He let go of her and held out his hand to pull his lightsaber to him. Before he had the chance, though, he felt a stabbing pain in his neck. One of the things had shot a dart at him. His vision clouded and his head spun. Everything started spinning. The last thing he remembered was a bunch of weird-shaped colorful things rushing toward him.
Obi-Wan's head hurt when he woke up. He pulled himself into a sitting position and looked around. He was lying on a soft substance that felt like a cushion. It had the comfort of a pillow, yet the solidness of your everyday household floor. He realized that the entire surface of the planet he was on seemed to consist of this soft-hard material. He was surrounded by flowers of all different colors and butterfly-type things flew around him, seemingly happy to see him.
"Where am I?" the Jedi Master asked. He realized with a jolt that his lightsaber was missing. Anakin will never let me hear the end of this one, he thought. Anakin. Where was he? Obi-Wan looked around quickly, but there was no sign of his friend. There were, however, many signs of life. The creatures seemed to have appeared out of thin air. They looked very cuddly and friendly. Obi-Wan noted that though they were different colors, they all looked identical. Their expressions were wary.
"Welcome to Floracand," one of them said in Basic. "I am Frina." Frina was fluffy, pink, and quite adorable. "I believe these are yours?" She held up a pair of lightsabers.
"Why, yes. They must of fallen out of my belt. Thank you, my friend." He held out his hand to take the weapons from the creature, hoping she wouldn't ignite them and hurt herself.
The creature pulled away and took several steps back. "You cannot have these. They are too dangerous. They must be thrown into the Volcano."
"Excuse me?" Obi-Wan took a breath, deciding to handle this with as much tact as possible. They might know where Anakin was, so he certainly didn't want to offend them. "I need my lightsaber," he said calmly. "It is a Jedi's weapon. I use it to defend myself."
"You need no defense here," Frina said. "This is a peaceful planet. Violence and weapons are forbidden." She frowned and surveyed him. "You are not violent, are you?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Of course not. I am a Jedi—a keeper of the peace. We do not harm innocent beings like yourselves."
Frina nodded. "Come with me, then." Her sweet voice had lost all traces of uncertainty. "Come with us to the Valley of Beauty!"
Obi-Wan followed. There were flowers and butterflies everywhere. Anakin would hate this place. He hoped his friend was okay. He sensed Anakin's presence, but he had no way of telling if his former padawan was safe.
"Welcome to the Valley," Frina said. "We have no rules here except for one: No violence. Our Chief would like to meet with you."
"I would be honored to meet with him," Obi-Wan said.
Frina raised an eyebrow. "You are nothing like your friend." Before Obi-Wan could ask her about Anakin, she disappeared into a cave. It was made entirely out of candy and pretty plants. A larger version of Frina emerged. It was made up of all the colors of the rainbow.
"Hello there," Obi-Wan said, bowing. "I am Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Greetings," the creature said. "I am Manieu, the Guardian of this place. We have never had visitors before, but we are very welcoming."
"I am grateful for your hospitality," Obi-Wan began, "but I need to ask two things of you." The Chief nodded for him to continue. "First, you have my lightsaber. I would like it back."
"I cannot grant you that," Manieu said. "Weapons are forbidden here. We embrace all that is cute and only the ways of cuteness."
Obi-Wan tried to keep a straight face. The ways of cuteness? Anakin would definitely vomit if he was here. "You must give them back to me," he said. "That weapon is my life. It is the weapon of a Jedi. I promise I will keep it in my belt while I am here."
"I am sorry. The weapons are scheduled for destruction in a few hours."
"But you said you are against violence!" Obi-Wan objected. "Isn't destruction forbidden here?"
"We must throw violent things into the Volcano." Manieu turned away. "Please enjoy yourself. You can talk to anything here. Listen to the music of the winds and the chatter of my children. They love you as they love each other."
Obi-Wan had noticed the music echoing around the planet ever since he had woken up. It was high and sweet and extremely annoying. It had a cheerful tone that would annoy Anakin to no end. Oh—he had forgotten about Anakin. "Chief Manieu?" Obi-Wan followed the Chief, intercepting him at the cave entrance. "Do you have my companion? We got separated."
"Frina will take you to your friend." The little pink thing nodded in affirmation. "Enjoy your stay, Obi-Wan." He retreated into the cave.
"Come with me, Obi!" she said. They walked to another cave. This one was pink and purple. When Obi-Wan touched it, he noted that it was very soft. When they went inside, Frina said, "Mister baddie-pants! You have a visitor."
Anakin was sitting against the wall. Obi-Wan gasped, noticing that his friend was tied up. "Hey, Master. What's up?"
"Anakin! What happened?"
"I, erm…tried aggressive negotiations with the folk here. Didn't work out as I hoped." He shut his eyes tightly. "Obi-Wan, we've got to get out of here. That cheerful music is about to make my head explode!"
"We came to him with love, and he came with violence," Frina explained.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Will you ever learn? I suppose I have to bail you out of this one." He turned to Frina. "Are you going to let him go?"
She shook her head. "No. He is to go with the weapons. Into the Volcano."
Anakin's eyes widened. "The kriff I am! If I had my lightsaber…"
"Anakin, we will not attack these people. Frina, you must let him go. Killing him is not the answer."
"Chief Manieu ordered that the violence be vanquished immediately. I'm sorry, Obi. Why don't you come and have some floral juice? It is very delicious."
Obi-Wan sighed and waved his hand. "You will let Anakin go."
She blinked. "I will let Anakin go." She delicately untied the Jedi Knight, then faced Obi-Wan again.
Anakin stood up and stretched. "Thank you. You're finally starting to pay me back for all the times I saved your life."
"Don't remind me. I suppose I'd better go convince the Chief to give us our lightsabers back."
"Where will we go from there?" Anakin asked.
"We'll figure that out when we've gotten our weapons." They walked out of the cave, instantly surrounded by the little cuddly things.
"We love you!" one of them said.
"Hug me!" another piped up.
"I puke," Anakin mumbled.
"Be nice," Obi-Wan murmured back.
"You two have come on the day of the Hugging Festival! You must help us prepare," a blue one said. He turned to the one who had asked Anakin to hug him. "Wait until the festival begins. Then we will begin the Day of Hugging."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and mentally counted to ten. Anakin, who knew Obi-Wan better than anyone, was the only one who felt that the Jedi Master was this close to totally losing it. The cheerful music, the Hugging Festival, the high-pitched voices…wow, no wonder Obi-Wan was about to blow his top. Anakin had reached his breaking point a long time ago.
"Let's get our lightsabers," Anakin said. This time, he was the one who was calm and collected. For the most part. He'd already exploded and picked up the pieces, so he was a bit more composed than his counterpart. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, was holding it in to prevent disaster. The longer he held it in, the worse the damage will be when Obi-Wan brings the thunder.
"Chief Manieu," Anakin said, standing outside the cave. "We'd like our lightsabers back."
The Chief stepped outside. "First of all, you are supposed to be in the cave, preparing for your imminent doom. Second of all, the Hugging Festival is about to begin. We cannot afford you two violence-magnets to ruin it."
Obi-Wan took a deep breath and focused on probing the chief's mind. "You will hand us our lightsabers back and we'll be on our way."
Manieu's eyes glazed over. "Here are your lightsabers," he said. "Now, be on your way."
"Thank you, my friend. Let's go, Anakin."
"Where? This planet is entirely made up of these hug-me-bears. We have nowhere to go! The music is in the wind, so it'll follow us no matter what!"
"We'll figure that out. I'm sure a solution will present itself."
Before Anakin could respond, one of the creatures jumped onto his back and clung to his neck from behind. He wasn't choking the Jedi Knight, of course. He wasn't strong enough to. But the hug was enough to get on Anakin's nerves.
"They're attacking us with hugs now, Master," Anakin whispered. "I want to choke them." He held up his hand.
"No." Obi-Wan put his hand on Anakin's. "Patience. The Force will guide us. Just calm yourself and listen."
"You know, a lecture is the last thing I need right now."
"Hey, guys. How's it hanging?" The Jedi turned to see, out of all people, Kit Fisto. The Nautolan was making his way toward them with a calm demeanor and a grin on his face. "Getting sick of the Planet of Hugging yet?"
"Is that what it's called?" Anakin asked.
"Nope. It's called Floracand. Let's get out of here, shall we?"
"How do you expect us to do that?" Obi-Wan and Anakin said in unison.
"Through the Portal of Destiny, of course. You don't know how to use it?"
"So that's what it was. Do you think you can get us back to Coruscant with it?" Obi-Wan asked hopefully.
Kit shook his head. "Nope. I haven't quite figured it out yet. I just know how to step through and get to random planets. This is my second one. I kind of…followed you guys on accident."
"What was your first one? And how'd you get off?" Anakin asked him.
"To your first question: don't worry about it." He winked. "I'm sure you'll get a chance to see it. And your second question…well…the portal just appeared again and I stepped through, hoping to get back home. It took me here instead. I stumbled upon a tribe of these lovey-dovey things and almost went nuts. Then the Force told me that you guys were here, too. So I came to find you and, lo and behold, you two were here with the exact same get-me-out-of-here expression that I had earlier." He glanced backward. "It looks like the Portal is here for us. Let's get going, shall we?"
"Gladly," Obi-Wan said. "It is very good to see you, Master Fisto."