I wasn't too happy with the last chapter *sighs* maybe this one will be better. I hope you enjoy it!

A man was laughing with him as they watched some younglings running around, annoying the Jedi Masters.

He felt the man wrap him in a hug. "Come, Padawan; I think we've done enough damage today."

All he wanted was just to stay this way, being held in the fatherly embrace, but as quickly as it came, the hug was over. The older man was still uncomfortable with such shows of affection.

He sighed. Oh, well.

The two turned and walked away out of the Temple gardens back towards their quarters to prepare for training the next day.

Suddenly, everything changed. The scenery went from gardens and waterfalls to burning lava. Everything was painted red, orange, and black.

His legs and left arm throbbed horribly. Everything smelled of burnt flesh…

"Obi-Wan…?"

"You were the chosen one! It was said you would destroy the Sith, not join them. It was said you would bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness. You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you, but I could not save you."

"I hate you!" he screamed at the man above him.

Pain engulfed him, ripping through his body. It felt like every nerve in his body was being pierced by a needle, everything was on fire.

Oh, how it hurt!

He screamed, tears leaking out of his eyes. Not all the tears were from the pain…

The boy woke up, sweating and screaming. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed uncontrollably.

The room was dark. He had been led to the small room he was in by a bunch of people who were all dressed similarly. They seemed nice. Still, he could feel that they were afraid of him, and he didn't like it.

His body started trembling just as the door to his room hissed open. A woman ran in with a man right behind her.

"What's wrong, little one?" she asked him, worried.

The boy looked up, tear streaks on his face. Suddenly, he didn't want them to be there. He didn't know why, but he didn't like showing any sort of emotions in front of them.

Go away, he wanted to say, but he didn't remember how.

Instead, he shrank away from her, leaning against the wall.

"Carh'la, I don't think we can do much here," the man said.

"If we're going to show him that we're here to help, we've got to help," the woman replied. "There must be some way we can tell him."

Those accents in their voices…

You were the chosen one!

The boy examined the man, but he looked nothing like the one from his nightmare. He didn't have blue-grey eyes or reddish-blonde hair, nor did he have olive skin. His eyes were a bright blue and he had short blonde hair that looked unruly (probably because he had just hopped out of bed). He also had a fairer complexion than the other.

"It's okay, little one," she said soothingly.

The boy looked into her emerald green eyes, searching into her soul. He could tell she was still a little tense around him but she was genuinely trying to help. The boy relaxed, lying his head back down on the pillow.

The man walked closer and whispered something to the woman and the two left the room.

"What was that all about?" Kerrick asked Carh'la as the door to Vader's room closed.

"It must have been a nightmare of some sort," Carh'la replied, yawning while she did so.

"Really?" Kerrick's sarcastic town was drowned out by his own yawn. "I wouldn't have guessed that."

"I don't know what else to tell you," Carh'la shrugged. "I have three daughters and four sons, but none of them are Force-sensitive and they all have their memories planted quite firmly in their heads. I haven't a clue how to handle this, besides how a parent would handle a troubled child."

Kerrick sighed. "You're probably right. I wonder what would scare him though."

"With the way he's been reacting to us, I'd say anything could scare him," Carh'la commented before reaching her room and bidding Kerrick good night.

Kerrick continued towards his room before stopping when he heard a door open behind him. Turning around, Kerrick saw Vader peeking out of his quarters before walking out into the hallway.

"Oh, no…" Kerrick moaned.

Vader started to head towards the turbolift just as Kerrick ran his legs off to catch up.

"Wait!" Kerrick whispered loudly, panting for air.

Vader paused, watching Kerrick as he rushed towards him.

"Please, can't you just go to bed now?" Kerrick pleaded. "Goodness, I wish you could understand me!"

Vader blinked, rings under his eyes. He looked exhausted.

"Why are you even getting out of bed if you look like that?" Kerrick asked. "Oh, what are we going to do with you for these next few months? Calling you Little One and… oh, this is going to be insane. How are we going to keep this a secret?"

Vader watched him for a few moments before saying, very slowly and carefully, "Food,"

Kerrick stared at his superior in utter bewilderment. "You… you can speak?"

"Food," Vader repeated, his blue eyes pleading with the lieutenant commander.

"You're hungry?" Kerrick asked. "Oh… well, uh, I'll take you to the mess hall for a snack. Come along."

Kerrick hesitated for a moment. How was he going to lead Vader around the Executor in such a state? He had panicked so horribly earlier that he almost killed everyone aboard. He remembered vaguely what the others had said: Vader was a troubled boy. How would Kerrick treat his own children if they were scared about a situation that was foreign to them?

For one thing, the only boy he had was five, not twenty-two. Still… Vader pretty much had the mentality of a five-year-old; he couldn't remember anything…

Kerrick sighed and slowly slipped a gentle hand into Vader's own hand. "Come with me."

At first, Vader didn't understand Kerrick's meaning. His hand slipped numbly out of Kerrick's grip as Kerrick walked towards the turbolift while Vader remained motionless. After a few minutes of trying to explain, Vader followed him hesitantly, gripping Kerrick's hand when he tried once again to lead him.

The turbolift arrived on the deck that had the mess hall. The moment the turbolift doors opened, Vader walked forward and, for a fleeting moment, he looked like his old self again. He carried himself in a commanding way, expecting everyone to bend to his will. Kerrick almost saluted him when he turned around to face him.

This only lasted for about five seconds however; the moment Vader paused, his uncertainty and confusion immediately made itself clear. Kerrick quickly walked forward and led him to the mess hall, and then to the kitchens.

That was interesting, Kerrick thought to himself as he made a snack for the boy to eat. Vader had shown his commanding presence that every Imperial on the Executor knew to be his. That meant those memories were in there somewhere… just very deep down. Would Vader kill them if he ever did get his memories back?

Suddenly Kerrick found himself wishing that Vader didn't remember. As much of a hassle as Vader was as a boy, he was a lot easier to handle than when he was in the suit and respirator. At least he didn't try to kill people when he was like this!

"So, Little One," Kerrick said conversationally as he made the snack. "Do you want to tell me what that nightmare was?"

Vader blinked at him. He obviously didn't understand him.

Kerrick sighed. "This is going to be a long few months, isn't it?"

Kerrick was hit with such a horrible wave of homesickness that he paused from his work. He ached for his family so badly…

Suddenly, Kerrick felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He jumped and spun around to see Vader watching him intensely. His blue eyes narrowed slightly and he tilted his head to the side.

Timidly, Vader moved his hand up to Kerrick's forehead. He placed it gently and closed his eyes, leaning forward slightly.

Baffled, Kerrick merely stood still, not knowing what to do. He was afraid that he would scare Vader if he moved, so he remained in place. Moments later, Kerrick had the strangest feeling that a wave of water was swirling and swishing in his head, which was impossible… but the feeling was there nonetheless.

"What the…?" Kerrick muttered as Vader slowly lowered his hand.

Vader swayed dangerously back and forth for a moment before finally collapsing into a startled Kerrick's arms.

"Lord V—uh, I mean, Little One?" Kerrick asked as he held Vader, trying to sit him down on a chair.

Vader's eyes opened slowly, but, inexplicably, he looked even more exhausted than he did just before.

Slowly, methodically, perhaps even painfully, Vader said, "Sorry,"

Kerrick nearly dropped the boy. "You do speak!"

Vader paused, trying to register what Kerrick just said, and then he nodded.

Kerrick sat him down and then finished his snack, getting a glass of water to wash it down while Vader munched away quickly.

While Vader drank, Kerrick leaned against the counter. "You do realize that with the lateness of the hour, you won't get up on time… I probably won't either."

Vader gave him a blank look. "On time?"

Kerrick paused, taking a miniscule but timid step back. Vader was starting to scare him a little; the moment he had that nightmare, he started talking. First it was just one word and he didn't understand anything else… then he did understand Kerrick, and now he was questioning him! Either Vader was an extremely fast learner or those memories were coming back quickly.

"What's 'on time'?" Vader asked.

"Uh…" Kerrick paused once again. "I—it's… how could you not know what that is?"

His reaction startled Vader and the boy took a step back.

"Wait…" Kerrick held up his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm just… a little unnerved. How did you suddenly learn to speak and understand so quickly?"

Vader mulled over his words before answering. "You told me."

"I… I what?"

"You told me," Vader repeated, obviously thinking that it made perfect sense to answer like that.

Kerrick shook his head. "All right, I think that's enough excitement for one night. Maybe you can tell me tomorrow. Come on, let's get back to bed."

Vader hesitated, so Kerrick took him by the hand once more and led him back to the turbolift.

"You're not going to stick me in a room, are you?" Vader asked timidly.

Caught off guard and not having a clue where that comment came from, Kerrick just blinked stupidly. "I beg your pardon?"

"One of those rooms," Vader went on earnestly. "I won't… I won't do anything, I promise! I won't hurt anyone… don't stick me in there…"

"What in the blazes are you talking about?"

"The rooms!" Vader pleaded, getting panicked. The lights in the turbolift began to flicker.

"Uh, of course I'm not going to," Kerrick hastily agreed, eager to make sure that Vader calmed down.

It worked; the boy immediately relaxed, leaning against the wall of the lift until they reached their deck.

"Now, what rooms were you talking about?" Kerrick asked gently as they exited the lift.

"The rooms," Vader stressed as if it were the most obvious thing in the galaxy.

Getting a little frustrated, Kerrick stopped walking and faced him fully. "What's in those rooms? What are you talking about?!"

"There are needles there…" Vader muttered with fear leaking into his voice as the lights began to flicker once more. "They poke you and prod you… and they stick them in you… and there are a lot of noises… the room stinks horribly of… of… fear…"

Now Kerrick was completely bewildered. How could a room "stink" of fear? One can't smell fear… well, technically, a person releases certain pheromones when their emotions are high… but a normal Human couldn't smell that! What was Vader babbling about?

Kerrick sighed. "Let's just go to bed, okay? I'll walk you to your room."

After doing so, Kerrick returned to his own quarters and turned in for the night, wondering what in the blazes the boy could've meant.

"He can talk?"

"Yes," Kerrick nodded. "And on top of that, he's beginning to develop quite a personality,"

Carh'la blew out a breath and leaned against the wall. "I didn't expect it to happen that fast. Did you ask him what his nightmare was about?"

"No, I was a little too panicked," Kerrick replied. "Besides, if you say something wrong, he'll panic. He's afraid of some sort of room, too."

"What room?" Kobayashi asked.

"I don't know," Kerrick shrugged hopelessly. "I tried asking him but it only made him panic even more. He described it as stinking horribly of fear; tell me where that makes sense. He said there are needles and lots of noises in the room."

"Needles and noises," Jifo repeated. "Wait, guys, maybe he was being figurative."

"How could he be figurative? The boy just learned how to speak!"

"I don't know, but it's the only thing that makes sense. If you say a room is thick with tension you don't literally mean that, it's a figure of speech saying that the mood in the room was apprehensive. Perhaps Lord Vader was saying that the atmosphere in the room he described was fear."

"So he described a room that had needles, lots of noise, and terrified people," Mormi Leeel summed up. "I think I know what he's talking about,"

"You do?" Kobayashi asked.

"Yes," Mormi replied before sipping some water. They were all sitting in the mess hall. "My niece, Lora, is petrified of the ped-medcenter. Any mention of her needing an appointment and she runs and hides in the most inconspicuous places of the house. Perhaps it is the same thing with Little One. Many younglings are unsettled by medcenters."

"Needles," Kobayashi muttered. "Of course; you're right, Mormi. Remember how he reacted in the med-bay, Ryatsi? He panicked,"

Ryatsi nodded. "Yes, I do remember that. They're still trying to fix everything he broke."

Kerrick seemed to notice something was wrong with Ryatsi. "Are you alright?"

"Not really, no," Ryatsi replied. "Capt. Mentzer just gave me and three other doctors some orders that I don't really approve of."

"Like what?"

"He wants us to run some tests on Little One to see what happened to him. Under the circumstances, I can see why he would issue such orders, but he just doesn't understand that we need to gain the boy's trust before we do anything with him,"

Shiine sighed. "I still don't know how we're going to do this. We are talking about Lord Vader."

Suddenly, Carh'la's comlink chimed. "Yes?"

"Lieutenant Commander Tade, get up to the bridge immediately!" Capt. Mentzer said.

"I'm on my way, sir,"

"If you're near any of your acquaintances from the other day, bring them too!"

Carh'la exchanged a bewildered glance with everyone else before nodding. "Yes, sir,"

Everyone stood up and rushed to the bridge, Jifo leading the way. The moment Jifo entered, he froze. Kobayashi squeezed by him with the others to see Vader standing on the bridge looking out of the view port, hands clasped behind his back, feet shoulder-width apart.

Yes! A cliffie, that'll bring some life back to the story! :-D As always, please please review.