Chapter 5: The Jedi Temple
******Where We Left Off*****
Buffy tried not to stare at the alien creatures that she saw. She was used to demons. The aliens did not seem hostile, nor did they ping on her slaydar. It was odd. When more than one greeted Dawn in a friendly way, she realized that her sister had made a lot of friends. There was a real sense of contentment in Dawn that Buffy had never witnessed before.
"The Song of the Green is all around this place," Illyria observed.
"How is it that we cannot sense her in the Force, but she can sense the Force?" Obi-Wan asked Qui-Gon.
"I do not know," he said. "I would assume it has to do with her powers. Buffy said that she can sense the nature of things."
"I was a god," Illyria reminded them.
Buffy grinned while Dawn rolled her eyes. "Well, you're not a god now," Dawn reminded her.
"It's best not to make her angry," Buffy advised.
"Don't you have her on a leash," Dawn said.
"I am not an animal, nor does your sister control me," Illyria told her, glaring at her.
"That was very rude, Dawn. You will apologize," Qui-Gon said, giving her a disappointed look.
"Sorry," Dawn said, flushing under his disapproval.
Buffy grinned and said nothing. Man, did she like this guy!
"Come, let us go speak to Master Yoda," Qui-Gon said.
"He's even shorter than you, Buffy," Dawn said. "And speaks even more confusing."
Buffy followed Qui-Gon inside the temple, which had a ridiculously high ceiling and very little decoration. "You guys believe less is more, huh?" she asked.
"Yeah, Mom would've loved decorating all the walls," Dawn agreed. "You get used to it."
Obi-Won did not like the implied criticism of his home and worked hard not to glare at Dawn's sister.
"Jedis do not waste energy on things that do not serve a practical purpose," Qui-Gon said.
"So beauty for its own sake is not a purpose?" Buffy asked.
"Believe we do that less clutter is beauty," a voice said.
Buffy turned a saw a tiny green creature waddling toward them. The creature's power was immense, and Buffy could sense it more the closer it got to her.
"Master Yoda," Qui-Gun said, tilting his head in a respectful bow of acknowledgment.
So this was the one that was ancient and shorter than her. Buffy looked at Dawn, who was grinning knowingly at her.
"I have not sensed such power in so small a package in all my many years," Illyria observed as she gazed down at Yoda.
"Strange to me you are," Yoda said, looking up at her. "No presence in the Force do you have."
"Master Yoda, this is Dawn's sister, Buffy Summers. Her friend, Illyria, an ancient hell god from Dawn's planet Earth, has the ability to open portals and travel through dimensions," Qui-Gon introduced. "She also can sense the Force although she is a void to us. She brought Buffy to Dawn on Corellia."
"Interesting this is," he said, looking up at her. "Many years have I. Pleasant it is to see something new. Welcome."
"Thank you," Illyria said, pleased to be welcomed.
Yoda looked at Dawn and Buffy, looking for a resemblance between the two.
"They don't look alike," Obi-Won said.
"Dawn looks more like our mother—at least she has her height," Buffy told them.
"Can you believe it, Master Yoda? Buffy is here!" Dawn exclaimed, linking her arm through Buffy's.
"Happy for you I am," Yoda said, smiling. "Believed you would come she did." He gazed at Buffy, noting her unique power.
"Yes, well, it wasn't easy, but I didn't know she was so well cared for," Buffy said. "The insane hell god that wanted to drain Dawn to get home and destroy all dimensions in the process was worshiped by these really ugly demons. I had no way of knowing where Dawn fell. We thought and feared she was in a hell dimension somewhere, and those places are truly awful places. Many are places of torment where time moves much faster than in my own world."
"Well, luckily, I fell here practically in Father's lap!" Dawn said, grinning.
Yoda looked at Qui-Gun. "Father? Adopted her you have? Forbidden by the Code such attachments are," Yoda reminded him.
"I did so before Buffy arrived, wanting her to have the protection of my name," Qui-Gon said.
"Protection of all Jedi has she," Yoda pointed out.
"She was raised differently," Qui-Gon said. "I did not want the pain of her loss to cause her to stumble."
"Not having attachments is really insane. If you don't care enough about someone to die for them, what do you live and fight for?" Buffy said. "Not to mention, you can't possibly be growing your numbers or producing very many Jedi babies with that type of philosophy."
"Reason for it we have," Yoda said.
"Maybe so, but it sounds like to me, you've allowed fear of this Darkside to make you stagnant," Buffy said. "My world has a Council that believes in a similar philosophy. They would take potential slayers like me from their families. They normally got the slayers killed. They saw the slayers as tools to be used and discarded. I've saved my world nearly a half dozen times, while they did mostly nothing to support me or my Watcher except get themselves blown up. The slayers they raised, like Kendra, lasted six months because she was a good perfectly trained robot without any passion. I'm the oldest living slayer in my world because of my attachments."
Yoda looked at her in silence for a long time. "Think on this I will," he said. "Come, Qui-Gon. Obi-Won, take them to apartment across from yours. Available it is."
Obi-Won nodded and led them away, disturbed by Buffy's words and that Yoda did not shut her down. What was he supposed to think now?
Qui-Gon had a very different question for Master Yoda as they walked toward the Council meeting. "Did you sense Buffy in the Force?" he asked.
"Yes," Yoda said. "Upset many she will. Both will. One is void, the other a perfect balance of the Good and Dark."
"Yet she fights the dark," Qui-Gon said. "She is warrior for the good. You have heard Dawn's tales. Buffy Summers was called at fifteen and has done nothing since then but fight dark creatures and save her world."
"Kills them she does," Yoda pointed out.
"That's probably why she has the dual nature," Qui-Gon said. "To constantly have to end the life of sentient creatures requires a certain amount of darkness. Dawn uses the word slayer and slaying a lot. Never killing. When the slayer, Faith, accidentally killed a human, it broke her. They are meant to safeguard humanity."
"Fascinating it is," Yoda said as they approached the Council doors.
Qui Gon went in and shared all he knew about Buffy and her companion with the Council as well as his adoption of Dawn.
"You should have asked us," Mace told him.
"Such things are forbidden," Ki-Adi-Mundi added.
"What do you think, Master Yoda?" Depa Billaba asked him.
They all looked at him as he was the oldest and wisest amongst them. "True it is that our numbers grow small," he acknowledged. "Sith threaten us no more. Change the old ways must if we are to grow."
"But we cannot abandon the Code," Mace insisted.
"Abandon it not," Yoda said. "Bend it at times. Like now."
They all nodded and knew that Qui-Gon's adoption of Dawn Summers would be allowed.
"Is Dawn's sister going to stick around?" Mace asked.
"I think so," Qui-Gon said. "Dawn wants to finish her training. You know she is able to do things no other padawan is able to do. She can link anyone she wants to."
"That is a powerful gift," Depa Billaba agreed. "She must finish her training if her sister allows it."
"I think we can learn from Buffy herself. As a slayer, she can instinctively use any weapon," he said.
Mace scoffed. "I doubt she can wield a lightsaber," he said. "It takes years of training to do so with skill."
"Learn from her we shall," Yoda said.
"I wonder—" Qui-Gon began and stopped.
"You may speak freely," Mace Windu told him.
"The prophecy of the Chosen One who is to bring balance to the Force. We always believed it would be Jedi," Qui-Gon said. "Is it possible that Buffy is the one? Dawn has said that to be a vampire slayer is to be the Chosen One. That is her actual title. Her job is to destroy dark creatures. The Sith are the darkest creatures we know of."
"Much to think of we will," Yoda said.
"And discuss," Mace Windu added.
"She is a stranger—a powerful one," Ki-Adi-Mundi pointed out. "Tread lightly."
"I would like to meet her," Depa Billaba said.
"Yes," Mace Windu said. "Bring her and her companion in."
Qui-Gon agreed to do so and went to his apartment to see Dawn, who was across the hall introducing her sister to all the things in the apartment that she needed to know about.
"They call showers here freshers," Dawn said.
"I remember," Buffy said, smiling. "This is nice. I like it. We don't need much. Illyria just enjoys having a nice plant in her room to keep her company."
"I'll get her one," Dawn said.
"Dawn, the Jedi Council would like to meet Buffy and Illyria if they don't mind," Qui Gon said, looking at them.
"I don't," Buffy said. She looked at Illyria who shrugged.
"Can I go with her?" Dawn asked.
"No," Qui-Gon said. "Stay here with Obi-Won and work on your forms in the practice room. Later, you can show me and Buffy what you've learned."
Her eyes lit up, and she went to grab her lightsaber.
"I'm so easily forgotten," Buffy said dryly.
Qui-Gon laughed as he led her and Illyria to the Jedi Council room.
"What should I expect here?" Buffy asked.
"There are twelve Jedi Masters on the Council who guide the Jedi Order," Qui-Gon said. "They are mostly not human, so you will see several different kinds of aliens."
"Thanks for the warning," Buffy said.
Illyria was curious to meet a body of powerful beings who were not humans and was not disappointed when they entered the room as she could sense the power of all of them as they walked closer. None of them were like any that she had encountered even if they did remind her of a few demon species. There were only one dark skinned human male and one human female amongst the dozen pair of eyes that looked at her.
One looked at her in awe, and she preened.
"It is wonderous," Kit Fisto announced as he looked at Illyria. "She truly has no Force presence."
"I do not like this," growled Saesee Tiin, unsettled by the fact.
"Careful, brother," Plo Koon cautioned him.
"Welcome," Mace Windu said. "I am Master Mace Windu. That is Master Plo Koon, Master Saesee Tiin, Master Kit Fisto. . ."
Buffy tried to keep up as he introduced all the Jedi Masters, but she was so distracted by the appearances of the faces that went with the names that it was hard. Saesee was hands down the mirror image of a demon species on Earth. Kit Fisto just gave her the wiggins. Plo just looked right down weird. It was like the council of weirdos, and Buffy was working hard to not laugh at her thinking.
"Amused at something you are," Yoda said.
Buffy then was freaked out that the Jedi powers consisted of psychic powers. "You can read minds?" she asked, her eyes wide.
"No," Mace assured her. "We can just detect strong emotions."
"Just a silly random thought I had," Buffy said, waving her hand dismissively. "You guys aren't anything like the Council that runs vampire slayers like me back on Earth. They are a lot more pompous."
"We try not to be," Mace Windu said.
"What do you try to do then?" Buffy asked.
Mace smiled and said, "As one late Jedi Master Yarael Poof said, 'We must always strive for peace, but also justice. Peace without justice is flawed, hollow at its core. It is the peace provided by tyranny.'"
"So you are peacekeepers?" Buffy asked.
"We try to be," Mace said. "The Galactic Senate requests our presence at places that need our calming influence."
"Yet you allow slavery to exist in this universe," Buffy said.
"On your world gone it is?" Yoda asked.
Buffy frowned. "Mostly. At least in all civilized countries," she said.
"As it is here," Mace said. "The Outer Rims is not civilized by anyone's standards. Our numbers are too thin to police the universe."
"Probably because of that little 'no attachment' rule you have," Buffy said with a cheeky grin.
Yoda laughed, amused by her while Mace looked offended.
"Learn much from you we will," he said. "Learn from us also you shall. Peace you will find here, Buffy Summers." He looked at Illyria and sensed something else. "The younglings. Protect them you will."
"What do you mean?" Illyria asked.
Yoda frowned. He closed his eyes and was silent for several minutes. "Know not," he said as he opened his eyes and looked again at her. "One day, hunted they will be."
The human woman Depa Billaba looked horrified as his words. "Did you have a Force vision, Master Yoda?" she asked.
"A glimpse," he said, nodding. "Protect them she will. Welcome here she is."
"What are younglings?" Illyria asked.
"That's what we call our Jedi children," Qui-Gon explained.
Buffy and Illyria were both outraged. "Something is coming that would seek to kill little kids?" Buffy asked.
"I will rip out their spines!" Illyria vowed fiercely.
Yoda nodded in satisfaction. "Open portal. To safety take them," he said.
Illyria returned his nod. "I will protect the younglings. Only cowards harm children. I detest cowards," she said. "This upsets me. I wish to do violence."
She turned to leave.
"That means I have to go spar with her before she hurts someone," Buffy said. "Don't worry, though. Illyria will always protect your young."
The two left and Qui-Gon followed after them, rattled, too, by Yoda's words.
The Council had much to discuss. Was Buffy Summers the Chosen One? Should Qui-Gon Jinn be allowed to adopt Dawn Summers? How could they disregard the Code? What did the appearance of the two strange women really mean? One could not be detected—the other rattled them.
"Buffy Summers Force presence was so strong and yet so dark," Mace Windu remarked. "It was remarkable. I have never seen such a thing before."
"Not from this universe is she," Yoda reminded him.
"Do you think Qui-Gon is right? Could she be the Chosen one?" Depa Billaba asked him.
"Too soon to know," Yoda said. "Watch her we will."
"The blue one, Illyria, worries me," Kit Fisto admitted. "She seemed very alien, unlike any creature I have ever seen."
"Saw her I did," Yoda shared. "One day, come will she. Younglings she will save."
"Then we will make sure she feels welcomed here," Mace Windu said.
He did not like to think of a future that would have their younglings threatened.
Hopefully, he could learn something from the slayer. Surely, her skills as a fighter were exaggerated.
No one could use a lightsaber without any training.
He would fight out very soon.
*****Chapter End*****
I hope you liked the update and can see some potential in this story. Comments and reviews are always welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading!