ALIVE

By Serena

A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter. I already have the next few chapters written, so they'll be updated quicker than usual. Thanks for the comments, everyone! Most appreciated.

"What do you mean, she's missing?"

"Captain, Princess Leia left to help with your rescue but never arrived."

"Yeah," a recently freed Han Solo said irritably, "We know that. We thought she might've stayed for some reason on the ship."

Luke shook his head. "No, she was on her way. You know Leia would be there to rescue you. She was a strategic part of the plan."

Han sighed. "Go on, General," he said to the hologram in front of him.

"Very well, sir. We got a distress signal from Her Highness's ship, but by the time our ships reached the coordinates, the ship was gone."

Han and Luke exchanged deeply concerned glances; and Han rose to his feet from the late Obi-Wan Kenobi's table and began to pace the hut of the deceased Jedi in an agitated manner. "Leia can take care of herself," the former smuggler said, though Luke knew it was a futile attempt to reassure both himself and Luke.

For himself, Luke was extremely worried. She was one of his closest friends, and for some inexplicable reason, he felt a deeper bond with her than Han. It wasn't romantic by far any longer – he knew how Han and Leia felt about each other and couldn't be more pleased with their relationship – whatever that was. But now that Leia was missing…

"Sirs, a ship came more recently came to the vicinity of the Princess's vessel, and I think it's safe to say that the Princess was captured."

"Track the ship's ion trail," Han barked.

"Already on it, General. But the ship went to lightspeed shortly after, so we'll start looking at nearby planets." The hologram died away.

Han turned to Luke. "You think it's the Empire?"

Luke sighed. "I don't know. I hope not." He glanced out the window. "I just hope she's all right."

Han nodded grimly. "Yeah, me too."

Young one… wake up.

I couldn't open my eyes… it was too painful. A warm hand passed over my head, and I inhaled deeply. The scent of roses was in the air, and a warm breeze blew past me. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Kneeling over me was an older man with the kindest face I'd ever seen. He had long blonde hair and a short beard and was draped in a dark brown cloak. His eyes were a warm blue.

"Good morning, young one."

"What? Where am I?" I murmured.

"In a dream… this is Naboo." He swept a hand across to show me the gorgeous landscape, then held it out to help me to my feet. To my surprise, my legs were perfectly fine.

"Who are you? What's going on?" I asked, slightly disturbed. He merely smiled a warm smile.

"You may call me… Gon."

"Gon?"

"Yes. I've been watching you for a long time, young one. I've come to help you. I know you're alone and confused, and I've come to guide your through your new journey."

"Journey? I don't understand," I said blankly. Frowning, I asked, "Do you know who I am? Who I was?"

He slowly shook his head. "No. But I will help you rediscover your past… and help you for your future. There are many things you must know, young one. I will be watching you and guiding you in your dreams." Everything became muddled, and the last thing I heard was his whisper, "I will be watching over you…"

I blinked, an in an abrupt flash, I found myself standing on a molten rock, looking down into a fiery river of lava. To my horror, a young man was lying stomach down on the hill near the river. I felt ashy smoke filling my lungs, and I found that I couldn't breathe. But my gaze was locked onto the young man. Transfixed, his eyes rose to meet mine…

I had seen the young man before! I found myself remembering their azure intensity before… But as our gazes met, my heart jumped in horror.

They were not human eyes. A mix of yellow, red, and orange, and filled with a lusty rage and a darker fury than I had ever seen before. I felt that I was being smoldered by his hate-filled vision that locked onto me. His lips parted into a snarl, and his eyes lit with a deadly fire.

My lungs found their breath, and I screamed.

"Aisha!"

My eyes flew open, and choking, I tried to breathe. But it was an excruciatingly painful process, one that had me coughing the next moment as my hand flew up to my bruised and sore throat. My eyes welled up with tears, and two slipped down my face. Blinking rapidly, I saw Vader hovering over me. I couldn't tell if he was concerned or not – his mask was unreadable.

"Vader?" I whispered hoarsely.

"You were having a nightmare," he stated.

I nodded slowly. "What… happened?"

"A… gravely mistaken officer who believed you to be someone else. He has been corrected." I shivered at his dark tone, wondering distantly exactly how the man had been "corrected." But Vader wouldn't hurt anyone, would he?

Suddenly, I felt a wave of concern, but it wasn't mine. I frowned, and somehow reached out to the feeling. I felt a touch of incredulity, then coldness. I pulled back and stared at Vader. What's going on? I mentally wondered.

You are strong indeed, young one.

My eyes widened. Someone else had called me that, but this voice sounded like… Vader! Is that you, Lord Vader? I asked cautiously.

Yes.

How am I doing this?

There was a pause, then, It is the Force, L- Aisha.

Now I paused. I had caught a hint of something else, before he said my name. But I dismissed it quickly and continued, What's the Force?

Not now, young one. Now you need to rest. We have much to discuss when you are better. Sleep.

My eyes drifted shut, but the last thing I remembered seeing hovering over me before the darkness closed in on me again was not Lord Vader.

A darkly cloaked young man with intense blue eyes was gazing warmly down at me.

The next morning I awoke to perfect silence. Vader was gone, and I was alone. Rubbing my still sore neck, I slid my legs off the bed, intending to feel the instant pain as I put pressure on them, but as soon as my feet touched the ground, I gasped. I felt hardly any pain at all. Timidly, I put more and more pressure on my shaking legs until I was standing fully upright. Though able to feel a tinge of pain, I could actually stand without falling to the ground.

What happened? I thought. Vader said I wouldn't heal for two weeks, and it's been less than a week. Maybe he did something? I wasn't sure.

Hesitantly, still uncertain how long my legs would hold, I began to limp slowly to the doorway. I still felt some aching pain, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before – I could walk. It was a liberating feeling, and I felt a wave of triumph and hope overcome me as I touched the doorjamb and entered the living area of my quarters. Sitting down on the sofa, I inhaled and exhaled, both weary and, for the first time in my new existence, happy.

Maybe, just maybe, I could restart my life. Maybe I could begin a new course, travel down a new path. I wanted to learn as much as I could about everything – the galaxy, the status of the government, Vader. If he hadn't been around to help me, I probably would've died.

But for some reason, a slightly nagging feeling lingered in my mind, and I began to wonder if Vader was holding something back still. I wasn't sure, but something was telling me that everything wasn't all right. Shaking it off as just nerves, I decided to firmly put my trust in Vader and hope that he had the best intentions towards me.

A small part of my mind, however, told me that I wasn't one to easily trust.

After a half hour of restlessly searching the quarters for anything to read or do, I finally managed to find a holoproj. Flipping it on, I realized that it'd been already programmed to some news station. A finely dressed human woman was talking about something… someone, rather.

"And it appears that Jabba the Hutt has been murdered by the Rebellion insurgents. The planet of Tatooine will be devastated by this loss."

I frowned. Who was Jabba the Hutt? Why was he murdered? Well, fine, he was hideous, as the picture on the screen showed clearly, but why? And who were Rebellion insurgents? Some kind of terrorist group?

"Aisha!"

I looked up, startled, to see Lord Vader standing in the doorway. Without any explanation, he moved forward and suddenly shut off the holoproj. I grew instantly alarmed as I somehow felt his irritation and… was that worry? "Vader?" I said hesitantly. "What's the matter?"

"Where did you get this?" He thundered, causing me to curl deeper and father back into the couch to escape his wrath.

"I… I found it." My eyes slowly narrowed. What is he so angry for? What did I do wrong?

"Where?" he demanded.

Finding myself growing slightly irritated myself at his fury, I said in a more bold voice, "In here. I was bored and tired and had nothing else to do. Is there a problem?"

He was silent for a moment, almost as if he was unsure of what to say next, but he finally said tersely, "You should not have done that. Your condition is… delicate. I will not have you putting more stress on yourself."

"How is watching the news stressing?" I asked. "I need to know what's going on out there. Whatever my condition is, I'm going to find out eventually. You don't intend to keep me here, on this ship forever, do you?" I stared at him with wide eyes.

His fists clenched. "Aisha… there are people out there. People who could hurt you. I'm trying to protect you."

His last words, for some odd reason, brought an unpleasant taste in my mouth – it was almost as if I had heard those words from him before… Shaking my head, I said, "Protect me from what? People like the officer who attacked me?" I swallowed painfully, not wishing to remember that unpleasant episode.

"Yes," he affirmed. "You are a vulnerable young woman, Aisha. And that is why you must stay here while I show you how to protect yourself."

"How?" I asked curiously.

He held out a hand. "Come with me."

Vader led me through various passageways until we entered a dark room. At a wave of his hand, dim lights flickered on, and he brought me to the middle of the room. It was mostly bare except for a few droids powered down by the wall and gleaming rounded stick-looking things hanging above them. I glanced at Vader's belt. "Is that some kind of weapon?" I asked.

He took the thing off his belt and handed it to me. I didn't know why, but a sudden rush came over me, and I nearly gasped. I felt so… powerful! It was amazing. "This is more than a weapon," he said calmly. "It is the heart of the Force."

"The Force… you mentioned that earlier," I murmured as I turned the weapon over in my hands.

"Indeed," he rumbled. "And starting today, we will begin your training."

Vader had me sit in the middle of the room with my eyes closed. He then shut off the lights and said, "Now, Aisha, I want you tell me what you are feeling."

I stiffened. The dark I did not like – it brought back painful memories of my rebirth on the crash of the ship. I guessed that I had been scared of the dark from a young age, and it didn't seem to be going away now. "Annoyed," I said, not wanting to show weakness.

After a pause, he said, "Not what you're thinking. What you are feeling."

I sighed. "Frightened. Anxious."

"Why?"

"I don't like the dark," I admitted. "I don't think I ever did."

He seemed to digest this information before saying, "If you are to become one with the Force, to control it, you must conquer your fear. It is the only way."

"What is the Force?"

"It is an energy field that is in all living things. It binds the galaxy together. It is the power of the Sith and the…" he halted. "It is the power of the Sith."

"Who are the Sith?"

I heard an odd sound from him – maybe it was laughter. "You ask too many questions, young one. One thing at a time. Right now, I want you to focus. Focus on your emotions. Let other emotions dominate your fear. You must conquer it."

I sighed – this would be harder than I thought. But I kept my eyes closed and immersed myself into my emotions. I felt suddenly dizzy and disoriented, but I could sense in great detail everything in and around the room. Almost as if in a dream, I searched out my emotions and concentrated on my fear. It suddenly came rushing up on me, and I could once again hear the screams of terror and agony on the ship – I could feel the blood running down my face and the excruciating pain in my lifeless legs as I crawled down the corridor of the ruined, battered ship. All at once I felt anxiety and panic pour into my senses, and I began breathing faster –

"Control your fear."

It was Vader.

I tried to slow my racing heart, but I couldn't. I could feel the darkness and despair welling up in me… I can't do this! I screamed inwardly. Vader!

Conquer your fear! You must do this! Vader's cold command was of no comfort or support to me, and I began to hyperventilate as the chilling darkness slithered toward me – But without warning, a golden light entered my confused, frightened mind, and I could see something – or someone – entering my mind's vision. The darkness cowered and shuddered as the light shone upon it, and a golden sword flashed in the darkness. The dark shrieked and withered away until it was fully gone from me. I felt my heartbeat slowing down already as I looked at the light in wonder.

Calm yourself, young one.

That voice! That warm, kind, comforting voice! I knew that voice! As I focused on the light, it bent and shaped into a familiar figure, one I had seen in my dreams…

Let go of your fear, young one. Come into the light. Become one with the Force.

I – I don't know how, I said hesitantly.

A larger hand reached out to me. Take my hand, young one. There is nothing to fear. I am here. I am watching over you.

There was nothing else I could do. I took the warm, gentle hand with my pale, much smaller one. Immediately I felt a rush of peace and calmness as the golden light enveloped my whole body. I could breathe easier again.

Remember, young one, he said, smiling kindly down on me. The Force will be with you. Always.

My brow furrowed. But what about you?

But his hand drifted into nothingness, and the light flickered. I shivered instinctively as I was left in my mind alone once more, but I wasn't as afraid as before. He had given me comfort. I wasn't alone anymore.

I was jolted out of my concentration by two strong hands gripping my shoulders, and my eyes snapped open. Instantly I felt a wave, a furious rush of emotions - anger, betrayal, rage – I stared up at Vader, who I knew was angrier than I'd seen him before.

"How," he snarled viciously, "Did you do that?"

So, Vadey doesn't seem to be very happy right now. Eh, he'll get over it. Maybe..

Reviews are appreciated as always! Thanks for reading!

- Serena