Breaking Point

Jania and Gav both stood in the middle of the circle of Jedi Masters patiently for someone to say something regarding why they had been called before the Jedi Council. Their Masters had not given them any real hints as to what was going on which would have normally caused Gav to be nervous but with Jania next to him he had nerves of steel.
"Ready you think they are Masters Mundi and Gallia?" Master Yoda asked which sparked the interest of the two Senior Padawans immediately.
"Padawan Atari has shown massive leaps in his training over the past few months and has passed all the trials except facing the mirror as well as the Trial of Insight," Master Mundi stated confidently, "I am positive that he is ready and will pass without any problems."
Then the attention turned to Master Adi Gallia who responded, "Padawan Ardilles has learned everything she can from me, there is nothing more I can teach her. She is ready to take the final trial which is also the Trials of the Spirit and Insight," she said with a great amount of surety.
Gav and Jania glanced at each other momentarily in surprise as to what was going on, they were going to be Knighted. This realisation caused excitement to fill their chests but then Gav faltered at the thought that he had to face the mirror which he was not looking forward to in any way.
"Go Padawans, take the Trials you will," Master Yoda dismissed the two Padawans and their Masters.
Gav watched Jania disappear into one of the private meditation rooms with Master Gallia while he was gently coaxed into another room by his own Master. The door closed shut behind them as the teacher and student sat down on separate meditation cushions.
"How are you feeling?" Master Mundi asked in concern as he sensed that his Padawan was getting anxious.
"Are you sure I am ready?" Gav asked nervously as he twisted his hands together.
The Jedi Master smiled softly, "I would not have proposed this to the Council if I had any doubts of your readiness," he stated in reassurance. This statement had a calming effect on Gav as he nodded in agreement.
"What do I need to do?" Gav inquired in a serious tone.
"The Trial of Spirit is one of deep meditation to face the darkest parts of yourself. I will assist you in going as deep and far as you need to go," Master Mundi explained briefly, "And then I will pull you back out once you have completed the trial."
Gav nodded as he rearranged how he was sitting into the meditative position and his Master copied this action before they both closed their eyes. The Jedi Padawan felt his Master's mind connect with his own and then started to pull him deeper than he had ever been before. Suddenly Gav felt the odd sensation that he was floating and he opened his eyes to find himself alone in the private room which caused him to become slightly confused.
"Master Mundi!" Gav called out as he stood and started walking around but then when he opened the door he was met by himself. The Jedi Padawan took a double take as he attempted to make sense of what was going on and then he remembered that he was undertaking the Trial of Spirit which involved facing the darkest side of himself.
"Not very impressive are we," the other scowled as he pushed past Gav with a shove.
The Padawan frowned slightly in annoyance but then realised that the apparition was trying to rile him up so he took a deep breath to calm himself down. Gav took his seat back on the meditation cushion and decided to go back to meditating.
"Why do you bother trying? You and I both know that you're going to fail this trial," the other version of himself stated.
Gav kept taking deep and slow breaths as he continued to block out and ignore the comments that his dark self was making, "There is no emotion, there is peace."
"Oh please not that load of gibberish. Reciting the Jedi Code is not going to get rid of me," the apparition stated.
"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge," Gav continued to recite believing that as soon as he got to the end of reciting the Code he would pass the trial.
"Wait until the others find out that you spent your trial reciting the Jedi Code," his dark self pointed out, "They will think you are completely pathetic."
Gav took another deep breath to calm the spike of fear that had risen in his chest, "There is no passion, there is serenity," he said softly.
"Admit it, you fear me," the apparition tried to convince the Senior Jedi Padawan.
"There is no chaos, there is harmony," Gav stated still deciding to completely ignore the comments.
At this point, the Padawan could sense a peak in the apparition's rush to stop him from saying the final line of the Jedi Code, almost as if it was sensing its own doom. It leapt at Gav and wrestled him to the ground as the two started to roll around, struggling for domination over each other.
"I am a part of you, you can never get rid of me!" the dark self yelled at the top of his lungs as he slammed Gav into the floor. The Padawan kicked his foot and landed a strong blow to the apparition's shin which enabled him to get an upper hand by rolling them so that he was above.
"You are a part of me but the Jedi Code helps me to keep you at bay," Gav stated in determination as he rose to his feet and sat back down on the meditation cushion, "There is no death, there is the Force."
Upon the final word being uttered the apparition disappeared with a yell as Gav felt himself being pulled out of the deep meditation and his eyes snapped open to find Master Mundi sitting across from him.
"Good job Padawan," the Jedi Master congratulated him warmly, "Now it's time for you to complete the Trial of Insight," he added as he rose to his feet and led Gav out of the private room but he was surprised not to find Jania out there waiting for him to finish.

Meanwhile, in the other private meditation room, Jania was struggling with her own Trial of Spirit which had not been what she had expected in any way.
"We could have been rich," the apparition of her dark self said jealously.
"Don't you get it, I never wanted any of that. I am nothing like my parents," Jania stated for what felt like the millionth time.
Dark Jania giggled in her posh accent, "But I am and yet I am a part of you that you will never be able to get away from."
"My parents were selfish people who only cared about themselves and their money," Jania said, "I was not even allowed to talk to the other children because they considered them to be beneath me," she added.
"Who needs friends when you have money?" the apparition scoffed lightly.
Jania frowned slightly at the question, "What a stupid question to ask, I would not be where I am now without my friends," Jania pointed out, "You wouldn't even exist without them."
Then a thought occurred to the Senior Jedi Padawan that this apparition had taken shape of the side of her that her parents had so desperately tried to mould her into. Without this part of her, Jania would not have decided to run away in the first place which meant she would have no doubt turned into this version of herself. The apparition had continued to talk throughout this time when Jania had been silent and so only just realised that the Padawan was no longer talking and was in fact smiling.
"What are you smiling about?" Dark Jania demanded in an almost tantrum-sounding tone that did not suit her voice at all and just made her sound like a whiny, spoiled brat.
The Jedi Padawan walked directly up to the apparition and touched her shoulders, "You are a part of me, I cannot deny that," Jania said, "But that does not mean I have to listen to you or allow you to control me," she added as the darker version of herself disappeared before she was even able to get another word out of her mouth. Then Jania felt her Master's mind touch hers once again and she was pulled out of the deep meditative state. Master Gallia and Jania opened their eyes and they made eye contact with each other almost immediately.
"You did well," the Jedi Master said in approval.
"Thank you, Master," Jania replied with gratitude as she bowed her head slightly.
Upon exiting the room Jania found Gav already outside waiting which surprised her slightly as she didn't realise how long she must have been in deep meditation for.
"How did you go?" Gav asked curiously.
"I passed, after what felt like an eternity though," Jania revealed.
"Yeah I'm surprised how quickly I figured it out," Gav mentioned, "And that I got through it quicker than you, did not see that coming at all," he added playfully.
"Oh very funny," Jania responded as she stuck her tongue out cheekily.
At that moment, the two friends stopped fooling around as Master Yoda approached them, "Complete the Trial of Spirit you both have, now time to face the Trial of Insight you both must," he stated simply and then he pointed his walking stick at Jania, "Go first you will Padawan Ardilles."
"Okay, if you're sure Master Yoda," Jania responded awkwardly as she stepped forward.
The Jedi Grandmaster chuckled lightly, "Enter the simulator room you will," he said as he pointed over at the door which was at the far end of the chambers, "Only let out you will be if complete the puzzle you do."
Jania approached the door in a confident stride even though she felt anything but confident, especially with the prospect of being locked in the room forever looming overhead.

Later that day, Jania and Gav entered the elevator with their Padawan braids firmly grasped in their hands. They were no longer Padawan Learners but fully-fledged Jedi Knights which was gradually filling them both with excitement.
As the elevator doors opened Jania grinned mischievously, "Race you to the hangar," she challenged her friend as she ran out into the hallway.
"Hey no fair!" Gav called after her as he ran to catch up with her. The two Jedi Knights skidded around the corner and headed north in the direction of the hangar where they knew all their friends were. Soon enough the entrance was in their sights however the door was closing at a steady pace and the two friends realised that it wouldn't open again in time for them to get through it without being squashed.
"See you on the other side," Jania laughed as she changed from running to sliding flat along the floor. Gav frowned slightly as he drew on the Force to go faster which allowed him to overtake his friend very quickly.
"Now I'll be seeing you on the other side," Gav laughed but not for long as he ran headlong into the door. Seconds later Jania slid gracefully under the door and yelled in victory, only to end up knocking over crates full of ship parts. The young Jedi Knight looked around to see everyone either laughing or frowning slightly in frustration.
Jania decided to attempt to break the ice a little by announcing as she stood up and held out her Padawan braid, "Hey everyone! Look Gav and I got Knighted!"
Ashlyn giggled as she approached and hugged her younger friend, "That's fantastic," she congratulated, "Where is Gav?" the Jedi Knight asked.
Everyone's attention was drawn over towards the entrance by Raven and Daly laughing so hard that they were coughing as they tried to help Gav walk in a straight line.
"He lost the race," Jania said in amusement as she shrugged her shoulders.

A/N: It is nearing the end of my university semester so I am hoping to post at least a chapter each weekend. Please review.

Ashlyn Dubreas