People could find many things scary.
One could find themselves afraid of heights or disease.
But when the students and faculty watched as several white armored soldiers marched down the halls with a purpose towards Bump's office. More than a few were quick to get out of their way, not wanting to interfere with people who looked ready to take on a flock of feral griffons.
Captain Vultan led his men through the school and examined the school's interior. Trying to get a better feel of the place. Of all places in the galaxy he and his man traveled, the Boiling Isles ranks up to the weirdest. From the citizens to the culture, and don't even get him started on the natural climate. It was on par with Felucia regarding how the environment can change on a whim if not careful. With its lethal plants and dangerous wildlife.
"May I help you, gentlemen?"
Vultan looks to see an older gentleman in black teacher robes. He is of the more humanoid species that inhabit the Isles, with a unique feature of some devil-looking creature engulfing half his head.
'Yep, definitely in the weird category.' "I'm Captain Vultan. I'm looking for whoever runs this school. A Principal Bump?"
"You've found him," Bump answers the clone. "What can I do for you, Captain. I presume this involves Miss Noceda given your show of force earlier today?"
"Correct. May we discuss things in your office?"
"Certainly." Leads them to his workspace. With only Vultan entering after him. Leaving the rest to guard the door and barring others from entering.
{Play Music: Escape (Beat Saber soundtrack trailer)}
The camera zooms in to see a dirty deadeye Luz walking in the rain, passing many dirt mounds with sticks planted in them with brown cloaks of Jedi robes wrapped around them or blaster rifles with clone trooper helmets hanging on them. The smoking aftermath of a battlefield in the background. Photos of Luz with several clones hanging out in a barracks. Luz on a ship's Bridge. The backsides of a younger Padawan Luz and a human male with short black hair in a Knights robe with thick sideburns and a confident smile. An armored Luz riding on her BARC speeder bike with her lightsaber out with several other clones on speeders following her into a battle.
Luz unknowingly walks through the portal door and falls on her knees. She looks up to see a hand in front of her to take. She looks up to see a hand in front of her to take. Looking at the hand's owner, Luz sees a smiling Eda with a happy King on her shoulder. Life is brought back in Luz's eyes, and she smiles back before taking the offered hand.
The door where Hooty was opened as Luz steps outside in her sleeveless yellow vest, with Luz twirling and posing with Eda's staff with one hand and her lightsaber in the other in a low guard. But then Eda took her staff back with an amused grin while Luz gave a sheepish smile. King popped in front with his own pose.
A Boiling Isle mural was seen as Gus, Willow, and Amity are seen briefly before it burns away to show King commanding an army of stuffed toys, which all fall on him. The scene burns away to reveal Luz in front of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, looking at it in sadness. The silhouettes of the Jedi Council, along with other Jedi, stood before disappearing, leaving only their burnt robes and lightsabers on the ground.
Emperor Belos raises his staff as he foreshadows behind his castle as red lighting thunder from the sky. His army of Coven guards, numbering by many at his call, standing ready for a fight.
Now Luz was on her BARC speeder, racing past across the landscape. She zooms down the Boiling Isles passing, Gus waves at her, Willow smiling, and Amity looking surprised before she smiles softly. Passing by several Coven guards as they try to chase her. Then Eda, with King on her shoulder, hops on behind the Jedi. Then they hang on for dear life as a massive, monstrous worm-like monster, mouth wide open, lunges at them. Everyone screamed in horror as Luz turns the throttle up and guns it.
Then the scene changes back to the Owl House, where it's nighttime with stars twinkle in the sky as the three are on the roof and looking up into the sky. Luz opens her hands to reveal a ball of magic light and let it float to the sky.
Several lights flashed of fire and ice before the title appeared.
Jedi of the Isles
Troubled Thoughts
A feeling of forbearing seemingly blew over Amity like a cold wind. Looking at this new Luz, she could see her friend's face, but it wasn't. Her skin was a lighter tan than the usual caramel known for the Jedi, and her eyes glowed in a mischievous yellow rather than the warm hazel.
"Luz...?"
The dark Luz playfully giggled at the dumbstruck girl. She stood up straight with her arms opened up with a happy smile.
"Hello, Amity. So wonderful to see you. Here, in my head of all places."
"This is not your head!" The Jedi robe-wearing Luz stated as she readied her double-blade saber.
Dark Luz's face changed to one of annoyance. "Oh, lay off tight britches. Can't you see I'm trying to start a conversation with our guests? Shesh, is it so hard to believe I just want to talk, maybe even have fun?"
Amity looked at the darker side of her friend with an unsure smile. "Well, I have no problem talking civilly. And we are sorry for coming here unannounced, we just want help Luz."
Dark Luz's smile came back. "Oh you're forgiven! This place could use a helping hand… Unlike some people." She scowled at her counterpart.
The light Luz tisked back. "How about you crawl back to whatever hole you came out of you parasite!"
"That's it!" An animalistic roar bellowed out from the pale Dark Jedi as she ignited her lightsabers, their violet color met with blue.
"You're nothing more than a nuisance." The Jedi Luz stated as she pushed her dark counterpart away. Then delivered a fury of slashes that was expertly blocked by the other. Which was returned with a vengeance with several hard slashes against the blue blade.
"And you're a tool." Dark Luz taunted before bringing the blades up for her to kick her lighter half away. "Thinking yourself superior to everyone."
"I never!" Absorbing the kick, Light backflipped and landed protectively between the two witches and her enemy, "I only do what's best for Luz! And that's to keep you locked away, Sith!"
Dark's golden eyes never shone brighter, and Amity swore they looked hurt with tears threatening to shed, "I. AM NOT. SITH~!" Using the force to let her left-hand lightsaber fall back to its clip on her belt before Force grabbing the other Luz and tossing her down the hall. Amity and Willow yelped as they ducked under the thrown Luz before taking several steps back. Light Luz struggled under the immense power, using her lightsaber to try and slow her speed as it clashed against the wall, but in doing so, damaged more memories and Luz's mind was now beginning to take a toll on Light inner Luz, forcing her down on one knee.
Looking left and right, Light reaches out with her right hand, crushing the legs of a nearby Jedi statue to have it collapse near Dark. Both of them disengaged from fighting and leaped backwards.
Light Luz huffed in annoyance "I can't fight her and protect you at the same time! You need to leave, now! Tell Eda to send you back!"
"Luz…" Amity muttered out.
"B-But we're here to help! We aren't just going to leave you!" pleaded Willow, "Luz is suffering, and we can fix it!"
Light heard two lightsabers ignite behind her as Dark mounted the fallen statue, "Aargh! Fine, but for now, you need to hide!" Through strain and struggle, Light lifted the young witches into the air before flinging them into the nearest memory she could see. Dark just laughed behind her.
"Oh some friend you are! You just threw them into one of our most brutal campaigns from the war!" Light took a double take and saw a floating hologram of two LAATs in a banking descent with Luz leaning out the side door with her saber drawn as they descended over the arid plains and scrapyards of Ord Mantell.
Light saw her mistake, deciding to vent the way the Clones taught Luz, "Osi'kyr!"
Bringing up her lightsaber she blocked a leaping strike from Dark. Coming close to each other, near nose to nose, Dark smirked, "Well if we're using Mando'a, how about this? Sooran, shab!" Light just scowled, "I wonder how those two will see their best friend from now on after watching her fight in a War?! And of all things… you sent them there?" Dark giggled "I mean, after all… It wasn't just droids we cut down to ribbons that day, now was it?" a menacing tone was just dribbling from Dark.
The girls tumbled over each other before stopping hard on a metal floor.
"Ow...Why did Luz have to throw us so hard?" The plant user complained.
"More importantly, where did she send us?"
Amity and Willow looked around and saw they were in some metal compartment. Before they could speculate where they were, one wall slid open, revealing itself to be a door, before several clones hopped in, with an armored-robed Luz stepping on last. The two witches saw a large room where multiple clones ran to and from stations before boarding strange airships. All were armed and ready for a fight if the mood of the atmosphere was anything to go by.
"What makes you think this drop differs from the others we've been on, Commander?" One clone said to Jedi Luz.
"Just a hunch, Oak. But let me worry about that." Luz dismissed.
"Whatever you say. See you planetside, commander!" Oak shouted before running to another transport with theirs closing behind him.
The witches looked nervously at one another, knowing this was one of luz's memories of war. Something they were hoping to avoid.
A blue hologram of an alien wearing a Jedi robe appeared from the ground. He wasn't human due to his elongated head that stood up to a large proportion with a white-haired ponytail coming off the back.
"Master Mundi, do you have something for us?" Luz asked the Jedi as the Witches and clones paid close attention.
"I do, Padawan. My forces are set to siege the city, but I have another task that requires you and your men. ARC's have discovered a set of ground-to-space cannons. Our ships are out of their firing line due to the planet's current alignment, but that will change soon." His image changed into some landscape detailing a fortress with two boxy towers with cannons pointed to the sky. "We need those guns destroyed, or the fleet will be at risk."
"I understand, Master. May the Force be with you."
"And with you, Padawan Noceda," The Jedi responded before ending communications.
Luz had put on her helmet as the rest waited for what would happen next. A sense of weightlessness and yelps of surprise followed as their ship was released and fell through the air. The doors on both sides of the compartment flew open as harsh winds blew past. The view outside was something else as they flew over several barren plains and rocky cropping. As the witches saw everything, Luz began speaking to the clones as well as bringing her left wrist up to activate comms.
"Boys, welcome back to Ord Mantell. Today our targets are a set of planetary guns. How a bunch of slaving bat heads and criminals got their hands on them is beyond me. All I know is that we're going to destroy them before they can unleash them on the fleet. Time to work!" Some of the clones cheered as their ships closed in for the battle.
Soon the dropships landed and offloaded Luz, the clones, and many speeder bikes. The witches went and climbed aboard Luz's just as they saw many of the clones with strange backpacks do the same. Once everyone was loaded up, they raced at insane speeds toward a fortified structure in the distance. With a single word shouted by Luz, the world erupted into war.
"Attack!"
Fast-moving lights of blue shot out from the speeder's front mounts. Rockets released from the dropships flying above. The defenders manning the walls returned the gesture with their deadly red lights, ending several clones around the kids. Of the two witches, Amity quickly realized that these were blasters that Luz was training to defend against. As she observed Luz pulling out her lightsaber and deflecting aside a few of the incoming shots. As they neared the wall, many of the clones' backseat riding suddenly lifted into the air and hopped over the enemy defenses. Luz pared her speeder against the wall before Force jumped up the remaining wall and climbed over. Leaving the two witches behind.
"This is crazy! Is this what Luz was like all the time?" Willow shouted over the loud noise of battle happening around them.
"Guess we know why she doesn't talk about it." Amity looked back at the battlefield where several dead clones were. "Come on, let's follow.
The Witch summoned a platform of abomination goo under them. They raised up the battlements and saw the carnage. Clones were fighting hard against people with bat-shaped heads and green-scaled people. All armed with blasters shooting desperately at the clones, while Luz was at the center of it.
The Jedi moved like she was in a dance of death, slashing and stabbing with her lightsaber as she tore through her enemy. Jumping in front of one group of six, Luz downward cut the first man's torso before horizontally slicing into the guy next to him. The next, she chopped at his arms as he tried to bring the heavy blaster at her. But resulted in losing it and a hand. Before he could scream, he received another slice by the Jedi. The last two had brought their weapons to bear on the Jedi and were about to gun her down. They fire one shot each in hopes of killing the Jedi. Luz deflected one shot back at one of the soldiers but missed the second as it impacted against her armor plate. Luz yelped at the pain but kept her composure long enough to send the last soldier away with a Force push. That soldier flew through the air before he landed on top of an erected tent. Unfortunately for the soldier, he landed just right to where he was impaled through the back the tents stake. His screams in pain echoed in the air.
"Commander!" A few clones had broken off from the fighting to Luz's side. "Saw you get hit. How bad?" He asked.
"Plate took the hit, but man, does it sting," Luz informed the trooper as a medic went to her side. A few clones went over to the screaming man and ended his suffering with a single blaster bolt. An act that did not go unnoticed by the scared witches.
An explosion drew everyone's attention away to the sight of the guns blowing up. The clones cheered at their success as the remaining defenders surrendered with their lives spared.
Meanwhile, the two teens stood speechless as the world faded to white.
Back at the Owl House. The portal door was open, and former Jedi Master Quinlan Vos came out. With a look of focused determination as he searched the room. WhenQuinlan spotted Luz unresponsive with a few clone troopers standing guard over her, the Jedi reached and ignited his green lightsaber. Before he could advance on the soldiers, Eda threw herself in his way.
"Woah! Hold a moment, Vos! Those are Luz's boys!" Eda said to the Jedi.
Quinlan eyed the Witch before glaring at the clones. "So are they the troopers Luz freed from those chips she spoke about?" He inquired.
"They are." Eda glanced back at the soldiers. "You guys might want to head outside for a bit."
The soldiers wordlessly agreed and exited calmly out of Hooty's door. Gus went with them as he still had more questions to ask for his school report. Quinlan eyed them with suspicion as the door shut behind them before returning his attention to Eda. "Apologies for that. All the clones I meet these days prefer to shoot me on sight, so I reacted accordingly. I assume they're the ones that sent that message to me?"
"I asked them too, and Luz is not in a good spot to be in." Eda brought Vos over to Luz's side. The Master rested a hand over Luz's forehead and reached out with the Force with her. What he found he did not like.
"By the Force, what happened to her?! It's as if her mind is in shambles and her presence in Force is all over the place!" Eda began to explain what had gone down at the school, how memory photos work, and how this pertained to Luz's situation. Quinlan visibly winced at the adverse effects of destroyed memories. Then felt intrigued and displeased at the older Witch for sending Amity and Willow into Luz's head to fix them. "I'm not happy you sent them of everyone in there but can't find fault for the situation. I faced a similar hardship years ago with Ayla. Have you heard of anything from them?"
"Before losing contact, the kiddies have fixed a few of Luz's memories but have hit a snag when they encounter her inner Luz, or Luz(s)."
"Two?"
"I have only heard of such cases as this but only to those with multiple minds or old hags. Luz is neither of those, so I don't know how this is possible."
Quinlan hummed in thought and recalled all his past experiences with the Force these recent years. His part acting as a double agent under Count Dooku and learning about the Dark side of the Force to his time with the former assassin Asajj Ventress and their trip to Dathomir. Just thinking about when she required him to abandon the vast majority of his Jedi ideals to learn the darker aspects of the Force hounded him from time to time. The aftermath of the Nightsister massacre carried out by the late General Grievous wasn't a pretty one. Nor the lessons Ventress had him pursue. But that was the past, and he'd needed to focus on the present.
"Obviously, the Force has a hand in it, but I would bet this realm would be the probable cause."
Eda blinked in confusion. "What does that mean?"
"Remember when I said this world is strange in the Force? When connecting with it, it is like an exploding star. It shines so bright and chaotic. The Light and Dark sides of the Force surged across the world like vast storms, forming a kaleidoscope of ever-shifting powers. Never staying to one side. Like the Force wants to remain neutral. Gray. Then there's the energy emitting here. From all the worlds I've explored, few could match the power of this place, but none with its intensity."
Quinlan Raised his left hand and flexed his fingers. "Due to past experience, I've dealt with both sides of the Force and am more responsive and accepting of the Force for what it is. Coming here again confirms that I feel more power flowing through me through me from both sides. What surprised me is how balanced it all feels when connecting to it."
"Okay, hold up, we're getting off-topic!" Eda made an X motion with her arms. "How is this relevant to Luz?"
Vos sighed. "Like many Jedi growing up in the temple, Luz was taught the dangers and temptations the Dark side brings. But the Clone Wars changed many Jedi, with few falling into its allure and corrupting them. Becoming Dark Jedi. It is not something to dismiss. Luz went through much of the war without a Master to teach her its dangers. By herself and with war at every turn, she probably and unknowingly brushed against the darkness more than once. Having never been trained to deal with it has left her open. Luz's old Master, Luminara, didn't give Luz enough time to teach her what she needed to know before the Clones took her out. The Force as it is here empowering both sides. If Luz's connection to the Light is strengthened..."
"...Then so is the darkness within her." Eda finished the Jedi and recognized the growing problem. After Luz saved her after Tibbles sold her off to the Covens, the girl revealed the dangers of the Dark side and the Sith. The Witch dismissed what the kid said in favor of her view of the problem. Eda still stood by what she said about individual choice but realized that she should have taken Luz's words more seriously. Eda wasn't a Force user. she didn't understand any of it. "What can we do about this?"
"To my understanding and experience, the Dark affects everyone differently. Some with power and others with the promise of forbidden knowledge. It varies from person to person. I haven't seen Luz use the dark side, so I can't tell you."
"I have."
Quinlan and Eda turn to the skull-headed demon sitting on the couch next to Luz's head. Looking down in concern at the human, King told the Jedi his story. "When Eda got taken by the Coven while I was held prisoner by Tibbles. Luz somehow tracked down me first and confronted him, and revealed me. When she saw me in the cage, her eyes flashed yellow and killed Tibbles right then and there. After that, her eyes went back to normal."
"Her eyes returned to normal? They didn't linger longer?" The Jedi question.
King shook his head. "After she realized what she did, Luz panicked before I called out to her. She seemed to snap out of it before getting me out before she went to rescue Eda."
Quinlan looked at Eda for context, but the Witch shook her head. "We'll talk about that later. Does this help figure out Luz's problem?"
"It does. Luz must have unknowingly connected with the Dark side during the war. More than likely from her many battles. Seeing King imprisoned must have triggered that connection."
"So we keep her out of any fights? That will be tough, considering how much trouble the kid gets in." Eda stated lamely.
"Even then, that wouldn't be enough. Whether Luz likes it or not, she now has a connection with the Dark side. We can only hope those two girls in Luz's mind will come out alright.
Willow and Amity exited the memory once it ended. A bit traumatized by what they saw, what Luz had done, and what she had to do.
Looking around, they saw neither of Luz's alter egos.
Amity dusted herself as she got up. "Okay...Looking back, Luz has downplayed a few things she did in the war. Didn't think actual combat was that fast-paced!"
"Differently, " Willow agreed. "It was also intense."
"Very intense! It makes grugebee games look tame! I didn't think it was possible." Amity breathed in and out to calm herself. "We still have a mission to complete. Are there any more memories we need to look for?"
Willow rubbed her chin in thought. "We already fixed a few important ones before being tossed into that battle. I think there were maybe over a dozen memories we pulled out of Luz. We should keep searching." With the two in agreement, they moved down the passageway.
They silently passed more undamaged memories, only taking a slight interest in them for what they displayed. Some looked like they were from Luz's childhood in the Jedi Temple, and others were from the war with her clones. A few were with a tall male human or a green-skinned woman in a black gown. After a bit of searching, they came across another damaged memory. This one looked like a flying contraption.
"Well, it's not like it's going to fix itself." The two gave each other a nod before jumping and not noticing the tailing yellow eyes following them.
The first thing the two witches noticed when entering the memory was a sense of falling, and a feeling like their brain and stomach had switched places. Another thing they saw was the lack of control over their bodies' movements as they floated through the air.
"What's happening?! Oh, I don't feel so good." Willow held her belly as she began to spin from the movement.
Amity was no better as she flayed her arms around in an attempt to grab onto something. Luck found her as her hand grasped onto some metal board. Seeing a sickly Willow, she used her abominations goo to catch the plat witch and sat with her. With both their feets planted, they gauge their surroundings to see where they are.
"Okay, this is different." The girls first see bits and parts of equipment floating around them and even stranger what was further beyond them. The surroundings didn't make sense as everything was a mix of floating junk, lights, and a big light-dotted ball. "Where are we?" Amity asked to no one.
"Why, you're in space!" The witches gasped as they turned to see the dark-clothed Luz sitting idly on another flowing metal plate. She looked at them with a carefree face as she took in their surprised looks. "Where did you think you were?" Dark Luz said.
"Luz!"
"Well, you're not wrong in that. Oh! You mean me?" The inner Luz laughs at her own bad joke, and she then jumps and floats over to them. "So... back to fixing memories then. How are you going to attack this one?"
Amity and Willow glanced at each other. "Well...we something in that's broken that's the center point within the memory and reassembles it, and the rest of the memory then fixes itself."
The inner Luz nodded with this logic. "Alright. So what needs to be fixed?"
Amity looked around at the floating debris and formed an image. From the panels that looked like wings to the half-round glass canape. When combined with others, it made it pretty clear what it is.
The answer made the inner Luz smile stretch. "It's a starfighter. Luz explained them to me one day and showed me a few examples of the ones she and the clones had flown. We need to assemble the one in pieces around us."
The inner Luz nodded in approval. "Good. Now, do you remember how it looks?"
Amity smiled in confidence before turning to her old friend. "Follow my lead."
As the two got to work, they learned quickly that working in a zero-gravity environment wouldn't be easy. Floating with no stable ground, the witches relied on their magic to move the other to spots where ship parts floated. After a few failed attempts and a hard lesson in physics, they started to piece together the starfighter. It soon came together and gave the three the image of a white and red bird of prey. The memory flashed when the last piece connected, and the three found themselves in the memory hallway.
Looking back at the portrait, they watched as the memory played out.
The image showed the starfighter with Luz and two clones in the glass cockpit. Behind her ship was more of the same craft as they followed Luz to hundreds of bigger vessels of all shapes and sizes firing blasts of blue and red. A closer look showed some being destroyed over the planet.
The witches realized what they were seeing. A battle in space.
"Oh, Titan..." Willow gasped as Luz's fighter flew under one wedged-shaped ship, showing tremendous damage along its hull, where it was breached in several places where air vented out of the ship with a few of its unfortunate crew...
"Which battle was this, Luz?" Amity asked the mind guardian.
"The battle of Coruscant." The dark clothed luz replied. "It was nearing the end of our war. The CIS launched an assault on the Republic's capital in a desperate attempt to capture the current leader of the Republic and force it into submission. It was one of the biggest battles we participated in, with more Separatists ships coming out of hyperspace, reinforcing the fleet already engaging the 1st sector fleet and the Home Defense fleet. By the time the battle ended, the fleets were in ruin, with many dead littering the skies above Coruscant."
They watched as Luz twisted around blaster fire from several enemy fighters before shooting back. Destroying a few before diving down with a wing of her pilots to pelt it with torpedoes. Taking out or damaging its turrets and puncturing holes in its hull.
"Look! That Sepi ship's diving into the planet!" A clone pilot shouted.
The memory shifted to see that an elongated Sepritist ship with a high observation tower was diving toward Coruscant. And moving quickly too.
"That's General Grievous's ship. The Invisible Hand! Someone must have gotten a lucky shot, and it's going down." Another clone said.
"Yeah, and it's going down right onto the planet! That's going to cause a lot of casualties depending on where they crash." Luz responded, and she turned her fighter to give chase to more enemy fighters. "We'll worry about that later. Keep focusing on the battle!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Several clones sounded off. Then the memory ended.
"Turns out Master Kenobi and Skywalker had boarded the Invisible Hand during the battle. The leader of the Republic, Chancellor Palpatine, was taken and held on board. They successfully rescued him, and it was known that Master Skywalker had killed Count Dooku, leader of the Confederacy. With him dead, the war quickly turned in the Republic's favor and ended soon after." The inner Luz explained.
"With Order 66 and the death of the Jedi order."
At the sound of the voice, the three turn to see the light-clothed inner Luz walking down the hall. She appeared calm but held a strong stride as she approached the group. Eyes never waving.
"Oh boy, here we go again." The dark inner guardian drew her saber just as the lighter counterpart got ready in a fighting stance. The two were about to duel again when Amity recklessly hopped in between them.
"STOP! Stop fighting each other!" Amity shouted at them.
"Get out of the way, Amity!"
"This does not concern you, move!"
"Yes, it does! Luz, just stop and look." Amity then points at each of the inner guardians. "You're hurting yourself."
The two Luz glanced at one another. They noticed that their hair was ruffled, and their clothes and armor showed signs of damage. Even the lightsabers they held in hand looked worn and scratched.
"Tell me, Luz. What do you see?" The two gave each other another look before they answered.
"A worn-down warrior that clings to old ideals and is afraid of change."
"A scared teenager that wants everything but is scared to lose everything."
"It's like looking in a mirror." The two said together.
"Luz... Before the war ended, you had the Republic for support, the Jedi for backup, clones troopers by your command, and the Force by your side. Now you've lost the Republic and gained the Empire as an enemy. The clones lost their free will and killed the Jedi you grew up with. Leaving you with just the clothes on your back and the Force to guide you. But look where it led you?"
"You've lived through it and made it here. You survived. Made friends, learned magic, and found a way to save the clones from enslavement. You freed Vultan and the others from those chips and gave them a new purpose for the future. You gave them hope. You befriended the most wanted person on the titan and several others in Hexside. We met, Luz, and you're teaching me a side of myself that I would never find or understand. Things that we could never know." Amity smiled at the two. "After surviving and helping so many, stop fighting yourself, hurting yourself. Let me, let us, help you..."
Amity reached out and softly grasped the rough hands of the two inner Luz, bringing them closer to her. The Witch was taking a gamble on this and prayed to the Titan and the Force for guidance. For she wasn't sure what was going to happen.
"Amity, how can you help us? After all that you've seen." Light Luz asked her apprentice.
"And do we even want it? Are we deserving of redemption?" The darker side asked in a harsh yet hesitant tone of voice.
Amity became hesitant before speaking. Not knowing what to say exactly. Then the memory of their duel came to her and the words that made her yield.
"Well, Luz." The abomination user started. "Then we can be stuck in the past while everyone else moves on. Or we can change to be better than we are now for the future."
Her words caught the guardians flatfooted. But a moment passed before the dark Luz roared with laughter. "Using our own words against us. Oh, the irony. I love it!"
The other Luz returned to her senses and rolled her eyes at her counterpart. "Yes, the irony isn't lost to us. But having your own words thrown at us doesn't improve things."
It was then Willow came forward. "Then why don't you? Why are you split like this if you don't have to?"
"Fear," the dark Luz answered.
"Anger and hatred are strong emotions that can fuel the dark side." The lighter guardian explained. "You've seen us tapping into it in the memories, leading us to fear it may corrupt me."
"Which has led to me..." The darker Luz touched her chest with her free hand. "So tell us, Amity. What are we to be?"
Amity scuffed. "What kind of question is that? Your Luz, both of you are." The girl looked at the two. "What needs to happen is for you to pull yourself together."
Willow nodded along. "I'm not a healer but being apart like this can't be good or healthy for you."
"That's it? Just pull ourselves together and be done with it. Yeah, like that will happen." The dark dismissed.
"Were it so easy?" The Light shook her head softly.
"Never know till you do, right? What was that one saying your grandmaster spoke of? Do or do not?" Amity offered. That made the two inner guardians sigh in frustration.
"Troublesome..."
"You got that right."
"So, will you do it?" Amity asked.
The two looked hesitant, the darker one rubbing her shoulder and the lighter looking sheepishly at the ground. Nether met the Witch's eyes as they thought it over. Then they looked at the hands each of them was holding and the caring smile Amity wore. They gave each other one last look before the sides joined hands. At first, nothing happened between the three. Then a glow surrounded the two inner guardians.
As they glowed, Amity gasped at the unique power she was feeling through the Force. At first, it must have been scary, but as she continued to feel it, it was comforting. Speculations of what could be halted when she refocused on the two guardians. The glow encompassed them before a flash as the two became one.
"Whoa..." Amity looked at the new girl that she was holding hands with.
It was still Luz, but different than the others. This Luz wore white clone armor with gold pinstripes and trimming. But the way it shined looked like it was more ceremonial instead of combat. Underneath them were a darker set of Jedi robes than Luz had often worn on and off, but cleaner and less used. A cape and cawl were draped over her shoulders, just like their student uniforms. The single lightsaber hung off a brown belt. Her caramel-colored face was clean of marks or battle scars, and her brown hair was tied in a low braid that rested on her left shoulder.
The girl with bright eyes looked back at her, and for a moment, Amity couldn't breathe. There was something in the new Luz's eyes that she couldn't understand but be drawn to that radiated protection in her chestnut-colored eyes.
"Luz?" Willow walked up next to Amity, the girl still holding the inner guardian's hands. "Are you okay?"
The two Force wielders broke apart to let the inner Luz look at herself. "Yes, it is strange, but I do feel better. Thank you." She smiled at the two.
Amity had to control herself from blushing. She coughed in her hand to keep her voice from breaking. "Of course, Luz. We should call Eda to get us out of here."
"Unless there are still more memories that need to be repaired," Willow announced.
The inner Luz nodded and pointed down the hall. "There is one that is still damaged."
The three went down to the damaged memory. Willow walked forward and entered. Amity was about to enter but noticed the inner Luz not moving. "Aren't you coming, Luz?"
"I'll be here when you finish...It's not a pleasant memory for me."
"Okay... We'll be right back." Amity turns and enters the memory.
When she entered, she stood on a beach with a broken metal platform standing over it. In the distance was a big tree with many huts in its branches. A Wookie village, by the looks of it. Meaning they were back on Kashyyyk during Luz's time in the Clone Wars.
Willow stood in front of the broken platform and was already in the process of fixing it. When the Plant Witch looked back at her and did not see Luz, she looked sad.
"Luz, isn't coming?" Amity shook her head.
"She said she doesn't want to relive this." She summoned her abomination goo to rearrange a few pieces.
Willow didn't comment but kept a worried face.
After setting the last piece, the memory fixed itself.
Surrounding the two witches were Wookie warriors and green-painted clone troopers. A few cots held wounded troopers and Wookies, with one being treated by someone that was neither.
This woman wasn't human, judging by her green skin. Her eyes were the brightest baby blue they'd ever seen, and she had a strange tattoo on her chin. She wore a simple dark robe with a sash that had an elaborate design with a headdress that covered hid her hair.
The person was also kneeling over Wookie and tending to his injuries.
"Master Unduli!"
The witches saw Luz approach the kneeling women. But the viewers gasped at hearing the name, now understanding why the inner guardian didn't want to come.
The green skin woman, now identified as Luz's Master, Luminara Unduli, looked up at her approaching Padawan. Her face was concerned as three took in the sight of Luz's approach. "Luz? What happened to you?"
When she approached, it looked like the Padawan had seen better days. She wore her armored robes like the witches had seen in the past. But the chest and leg armor were blackened and scorched, even cracked in one area. Her robe was scorched along with her hair, and her face looked like it got smacked with a dirt pie. She was also being escorted by three of her men, one Amity recognized as Vultan with his armor color pattern. The next that was helping Luz to a cot had green and yellow flames painted on his gauntlets and thigh armor. The last looked like one of Vultan's men with his jet pack.
"The droids got too close to the lines I was defending. A grenade got me by the side and scorched me. Right after getting up to continue the battle, a stray rocket came close to ending me if I didn't divert it with a few seconds to spare, but it cracked my armor." The Padawan batted her chest piece. "Say what you want about the Phase 1 clone armor, but it does its job." She winced before the clone holding her led her to a cot for her to rest on. "Thanks, Drake."
"Not to worry, Commander." The clone waved off.
"Head back to the line and gather the wounded for transport and treatment." The Padawan ordered. "As much as this world is an improvement in beauty over most we've fought over, I rather not have more men die here."
"Right away." The clone said before leaving the two Jedi.
"It is good to tend to the safety of your troops, Padawan. You've become a caring leader for them," Luminara stated as she removed Luz's damaged armor. The Padawan winced as a medic came over and applied a dressing over her legs.
"Someone needs to be," Luz checks the dressing before focusing on her Master. "With the war so close to the end, the need for the army will downsize relatively soon. With the number of soldiers we have, I fear what will become of them when they are discharged."
"Given that the Keminonis bred them, they would likely want them back."
"That's what I'm afraid will happen."
Luminara looked intrigued by Luz's response before a wave of concern passed through her features that made her blink in surprise. Luz, Amity, and Willow saw this.
"Master, are you-" Luz was about to ask if she was alright when her com. unit lit with an old man's voice speaking through it.
"Execute Order 66."
Amity and Willow skins paled in unison as to what this memory truly was about.
"What the- clear the net. Who was that?" Luz keyed in her com. As she was focused on her wrist device, the two Jedi failed to see the clone behind Master Luminara raise his blaster at them.
*Pew!*
Luz's head snapped to see Commander Faie shoot her Master in the back.
"Faie! What are you doing!?" Luz cried out in horror.
She acted when he didn't verbally respond but leveled his blaster on her. Homed by instincts on the battlefield, she used a Force to throw the clone off the ground and away from them. As soon as his back hit the sand, the other troopers leveled their blasters, not on Faie, but on Luz.
Luz didn't have time to say anything before she drew her saber and blocked the blaster fire coming at her. It was so sudden, and with her injury, it was taking everything she had to not get killed.
"Stand down! Stand down!" Luz shouted before she Forced jumped over to a trio of clones and sliced at their guns. With their weapons destroyed, they tried to grab Luz. They caught the teen by surprise, and the three held her down. Another clone ran up and shoved a blaster into her vision.
Luz saw the blaster belonging to nonother than Vultan, but the viewers noticed that he was twitching. As if his body wasn't complying. Before the clone could shoot, he was picked up by a very angry Wookie.
The Wookie warrior roared into Vultan's face before throwing the clone captain at another clone. All around them, the Wookie's began fighting and brutally disarming the clones.
The clones holding Luz were pulled off her and tossed away from her. One Wookie brought Luz up and dragged her to where Luminara lay, her blue eyes fluttering as she tried to make sense of it all.
"Master! Hold on, I'll get us out of here!" Luz picked her Master up over her shoulder. Her body screamed in protest before the two went to some nearby hut. As they ran, more and more troopers of the 41st came out over a sandy hill and started raining blaster fire, killing several Wookies and nearly hitting them. The natives used their bowcasters to fight back, with a few drawing blades to get close kills.
Amity and Willow were forced to follow Luz, and the memory was starting to get disorganized around them the further they were away. They followed them behind a hut where Luz tried to tend to her Master's injuries.
"Dang it! What is going on? It's as if the clones lost all their senses!" The Padawan complained as she pulled her Master's headdress off, revealing fuzzy black hair and using it as a makeshift dressing.
"Padawan..." Luminara tried to speak but luz was having none of it.
"Don't talk, Master. You've taken a blaster bolt to the back, and about to go into shock. Save your strength."
As Luz was about to apply pressure to the wound. Luminara rested a hand over hers.
"Luz...you need...to run," Luminara said in a shallow tone.
"No. Not without you!" Luz said definitely.
"Too late...for me." Luminara reached down, pulled out her saber, and presented it to Luz.
"Master?"
"Take it..." Luminara pushed the weapon into the Padawan's hands. "Take it and flee... hide." Luminara's voice faded as her breathing labored more.
"Luz...trust...in the Force..."
Luminara stilled her body, shocking everyone.
"There she is. Blast her!"
Before Luz could process her second Master's passing, she was fighting again. She ignited her and Luminara's lightsabers and began battering away the blaster bolts from the clone troopers. On instinct, she reflected a few at the soldiers, killing a few, but more kept arriving and threatening to overwhelm her. Seeing no choice, Luz fled into the jungle with clone troopers on her tail while leaving behind everything she knew.
Then the memory ended.
After the talk about Luz possibly using the darker side of these Jedi magics. Vos decided to inform the Owl House residents about current events in the other realm. He told them that a high bounty was placed by the Empire on all Jedi or their locations. This got the Witch thinking about the heist they did on the temple and asked Vos to look them up. That gained the Jedi interest when he brought up the galactic bounty list and did a search. After a few minutes of scrolling through thousands of bounties, he found them.
A picture of Eda was shown from when they did the heist.
Species: Unknown/Humanoid
Gender: Female.
Age: Mid to late fifties.
Defining features: Gold eyes, gray hair, pale skin, pointed ears, single gold fang.
Crimes: Collaboration with a Jedi, robbery of a high-profile government building, disruption of a public government event.
If found, notify the nearest imperial office.
Bounty: 1,000,000 Imperial Credits
Then there was a picture of King walking upright.
Species: Unknown
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Defining features: red eyes with yellow background, bone skull with one horn missing, black fur.
Collaboration with a Jedi/Robbery of a high profile government building/disruption of a public government event/Public urination in a government building.
If found, notify the nearest imperial office.
Bounty: 500,000 Imperial Credits
"Huh? Public urination? King…" The witch looked at where the little sat only to find him no longer there. "Little brat." She looked back to view the last one.
Luz Noceda Jedi Padawan
Species: Human
Gender: Female
Age: fifteen
Defining features: Hazel eyes, brown hair, tan skin.
Crimes: Treason against the Empire/Conspiracy against the Empire/Murder of Empiral military personal/Numerous war crimes/Robbery of a high profile government building/disruption of a public government event.
If found, do not engage. Highly dangerous. Contact the nearest Imperial garrison.
Bounty: 50,000,000 Imperial Credits.
Quinlan gave a low whistle at the numbers posted on them. "Not bad for only being out in our part of the galaxy for a short time. Is this from when you robbed the Jedi Temple?
"Luz mentioned that we would get bounties if they caught us. Seemed she was right, got our faces but not our names. Humm… Luz has a bigger bounty than me. How much are we worth in your realm?" Eda asked the Jedi.
"With you and the little one bounty together, you can get yourself a good size cargo freighter. For Luz, she can afford a whole attack cruiser on a single down payment," the Jedi informed.
"Attack cruiser?" Eda's mind went to the Jedi farm, and the big wedge-shaped slab of flying metal Luz called a "Cruiser" before they escaped. "That's a lot of money, isn't it?"
"Oh, yes. Having such an amount can help you a lot in the galaxy. Just be careful where you spend it, or you'll lose it," Quinlan advised.
Any further conversation was interrupted when a bell was heard ringing around them. It confused Quinlan, but Eda recognized it.
"That's right, I put people in there" With a wave of a magic circle appearing, a glow appeared over Luz's head, and a swirl of bright magic flew out of her ear. The spell then dissipated to reveal the tear-stricken faces of Amity and Willow, with the bell disappearing from Amity's hand.
"Whoa, you girls, alright?" Eada asked to which neither replied.
Quinlan approached the two teens, surprising the pair with his sudden appearance. "You've witnessed a few things that disturbed you and are now trying to process them. Take your time before answering."
They nodded together before turning to Luz, who was starting to wake up.
The Padawan looked up to see Amity approach her. "Luz? Do you remember us?"
Luz smiled in response. "I do thin-mint."
Amity sighed in relief before she was suddenly pulled into a tight hug. "Thank you for saving me."
Amity blushed at the contact but leaned in and returned the hug. "You'd do the same for me."
Breaking the hug, they turn to allow Luz to hug Willow. After the touching moment, they turned to the others in the room.
"Hey, kid. Any troubles with your memories?" Eda asked Luz.
"No, I remember everything. Even the stuff I didn't want to, along with what went on in my head. Talk about an out-of-body experience." Luz ran her hand through her hair at the unique situation she survived through. This amused the Jedi Master in the room.
"You've got that right. I don't think something like this has ever happened to a Jedi. Granted, the things in this world have been a first for people like us. How are you feeling?" Quinlan asked.
Luz thought for a moment before answering. "When the memories vanished, I felt pain but also relief, and the rest was just a big blur."
"And your connection to the Force? How does it feel to you now?" Luz opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
To her, the Force always felt like standing in a sea of energy floating around her. When coming to the Isles, it felt like she was underwater but could see and hear everything more clearly. Almost suffocating her with how powerful it felt pressed up to her. Now, however, when she opened herself up.
"Good…I feel good. Great actually. It's not as intense as it was before." Luz said in some excitement and relief that she had to suppress her presence to not feel overwhelmed. Now she didn't feel that.
"Interesting." The Jedi at the other two teens in the room. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to talk to the three of you later about what went on in your head." He got nods from all three.
"By the way, what are you doing here, Master?" Luz asked.
"Eda had your clones call me in. Thought that I could help and explain a few things," Quinlan informed.
As if summoned, Hootie's door opened with Captain Vultan entered the building. The clone officer spotted Luz, and his mood improved. "Commander! You alright?"
Luz smiled happily before it dropped in curiosity. "Feeling great. Where have you been?"
"After bringing you back to the house and seeing you looked after. I took a few men and returned to that school to look for who damaged your memories." The captain responded.
"Did you apprehend them? I would very much like to say a few words to them." Quinlan said with his intentions known.
Vultan sadly shook his head. "That's a negative, General. We were stopped by the school's principal to explain our arrival. By the time we arrived at the crime's location, the cleaning staff had already cleaned up the evidence."
This did not sit well with a few people. But they accepted this sad outcome. Before any further conversations started. Amity approached the clone and surprised him and others with a hug around his waist.
"Umm…Miss?" The clone had never been in this situation.
"You stopped yourself from shooting Luz. On Kashyyyk." Vultan's eyes almost popped out of his face at what she meant. "I saw that in Luz's memories. You stood over her with a perfect shot to end her, but you didn't? I saw you shaking, fighting to regain control and not execute her as she lay pinned on that beach. Thank you for stopping yourself." Before he could react further, Willow was by Amity's side and joined in the hug. His eyes went over to Luz and her soft smiling face. Seeing no way out, he accepted and returned the witches' hugs.
The next day rolled by with Luz and Amity in their training field, with Amity blocking blaster bolts again. This time she was doing better as she was blocking the shots as they came…
"Pew. Pew!"
"Ow! Titan, damn it!"
…Most of the time.
But being out and training gave Luz a sense of home. Something that felt like she was missing these last few months, if not longer. And with Amity here…
"You've improved," Luz commented after Amity blocked another combo of shots directed at her.
"Glad you've noticed." Amity blocked another shot before the remote shut down. "Seeing your memories of your past has gotten me motivated a bit and making any problems I face seem trivial in comparison."
The Padawan shook her head. "Still hard for me to grasp that there's a spell that can send a whole person into someone's head without exploding from the mass." Amity looked at her friend in amusement.
"I still find it hard to believe there are things bigger than the titan's fingers that can fly through space. Or cities that can cover the whole planet!"
The two shared a laugh. Enjoying each other's company.
"Alright then. I think it's time to move on to the next level." Luz pulled out a cloth that was around arm's length.
Amity stares in confusion at the fabric, then sees Luz smile innocently as she points at her face then at her. Specifically, her eyes.
The Witch puts two to two together before she gapes at the girl in disbelief.
"You must be joking?"
Omake:Alcohol – The Kinks
Cid glanced down at the jug of red substance, then up at the smiling witch who set it down.
"What's this supposed to be?" The female Trandotan asked.
"This, my lizard face friend, is apple blood!" Eda gestures to the bottle. "It's a popular drink from my world."
"And?"
"I'd like a trade. Drink for a drink?" Eda bargained.
Cid's brow rose at the deal. Being a businesswoman, she needed to make profits, not come out even. Still, it wasn't like she would be gaining or losing a lot of money.
"Where's Luz?" Cid questioned the gray-haired woman.
Eda thumbs to nothing behind her. "She went to hang with that clone with the bandana you've got employed. Something about a job she has for him and his crew."
Knowing Luz, it probably involved messing with the Empire. She'll know about it eventually. Meanwhile, she's got this cook with her swill in front of her. Might as well humor her.
Cid reaches under the bar and pulls up two glasses, followed by a bottle with alien lettering. Eda's interest peeks, and she smiles in mischief.
'What do we have here?"
"Chadian rum. Got a crate of this a few days ago. Got it from a back deal, and it's a popular drink in the system it originated in. Doesn't do much for me." She filled one cup with apple blood and the other with rum. She placed the rum before Eda before picking up the apple blood.
The two raised their respective glass in a silent cheer before they took a swig. Their eyes widen when the taste hits them.
Luz had a hand over her face to hide from the shame while Hunter looked at the seen in disbelief.
The two discussed details for a retrieval mission Luz was about to launch for the clone team. One of Quinlan's old contacts came through for him and was going to smuggle "precious" cargo that needed to be delivered. Luz was going to have clone force 99 meet the contact and bring them to Cid. Then for Cid to bring to Luz.
They were going to meet with Cid to inform her of what was coming, only to stumble upon an unusual singing trio of Wrecker, Eda, and Cid.
*"Oh demon alcohol*
*Sad memories I cannot recall*
*Who thought I would say*
*Damn it all and blow it all."*
Eda was mainly the one singing the strange song, but Wrecker proved to have a good base backup with Cid, surprisingly, a smooth sax.
*"Memories I cannot recall,*
*Who thought I would fall a slave to demon alcohol."*
The three had a good crowd of cheering fans in front of them as they sang.
But the atmosphere changed when Eda sang a high note, spreading her arms wide, one of the hands hitting Wrecker in the chest. When the arm was retracted, the hand stayed! Luz would've surely helped the screaming clone commando remove the independently moving hand crawling all over him… had she not been on the floor crying in laughter.
That is part two of what's inside Luz's brain. Willow and Amity learning more about their Jedi friend and more a first look into what went on in the Clone Wars for Luz. We even saw Order 66 happened and how she survived thanks to the Wookies intervention.
We also see Luz do a not so Jedi thing, excepting her Dark Side. This actual dives into Legions, specifically the Jedi Sentinel class that's been mentioned in earlier chapters. Of the three main classes that are known to us, Sentinels are probably the most practical of the three. And also, they use carful uses of the dark side. Something the Jedi Council was completely against. They view everything practicality rather than tradition like we've seen Luz do in the past. Both in this story and Cannon. They are also so few by the time of the clone wars that we don't see them, preferring to be out in the galaxy helping others rather than being stuck at the temple all the time waiting for trouble to start. Their also out and more integrated into galactic society then than any other Jedi. Having a more down to earth feel with the other residents of the galaxy.
Sound familiar?
So, Luz is making peace with herself. We have Vos making another appearance. Eda grows more concern about her Jedi roommate. Seeing more events from Luz's time in the clones. But Boscha has gotten away from the clone... For now.
Like to give thanks to Ghost-G339 and Wesley9516 for cleanup and editing.
Fav, follow, and review and see you all next time!