Chapter: 6 Nightmare on Blúm Island

"To be brave is to be terrified."

A venturous excursion! Jedi Masters Mattias and Yelana take their Padawans Elsa and Anna Dellian deep into the Outer Rim territories. Determined to get the siblings to better understand each other, Mattias has proposed a trip to the tropical planet of Scarif. Though desolate and scenic, Scarif houses a dark mystery that the Aren siblings have yet to unravel. Will they be able to face this trial, or succumb to forces beyond their control?

For any Padawan, departing Coruscant was typically a welcomed surprise. For Elsa, it only prompted feelings of dread for the journey ahead. She peered out the sleek window of their custom corvette and watched their ascent above the clouds. There was a distinct serenity in the shrouding of city life. Separating oneself from it all would offer peace had Elsa not sensed the negativity radiating off her sister. She glanced over her shoulder and caught Anna glaring from the seat beside her. With arms crossed and a twitching scowl, Anna looked as if she was mentally killing her. Elsa scoffed and broke the heavy silence. "What?"

"What do you mean, what?" Anna hissed.

"What's with the stinkface?" Elsa asked. "We're thirty-thousand feet above one of the most illustrious cities in the galaxy and you're busy giving me a death glare. Are you that petty?"

"No!" Anna snapped. "I just can't fathom that you of all people would pass the Trial of Courage first."

"So you are that petty," Elsa huffed.

"How about you meditate my pettiness away then?" Anna spat.

"That's not even how that works. You'd know if you could even quiet your mind, but your mouth's always running."

Anna jabbed a finger at Elsa. "Only because I walk the walk and talk the talk!"

Mattias groaned like a dying bantha and slammed his face on the wheel. "We're not even out of the atmosphere yet," he groaned. "But I swear in the name of the Old Republic, I WILL TURN THIS SHIP AROUND IF YOU TWO DON'T QUIET DOWN!"

"Honestly, Mattias." Yelana murmured. "If you're going to snap like that, you're no different than either of them." She spun from the co-pilot's seat to address the Padawans. "Ladies, your behavior is exactly why we're taking this trip to Scarif. There is no chaos, there is harmony...yet neither of you live up to that tenet now."

"With all due respect, master." Elsa began. "What harmony is there to be found in the Outer Rim? Hoth was-"

"Steady yourself," Yelana assured. "The Abrion Sector is nowhere near Hoth."

"But it does contain the planet Rishi. I heard about a Separatist attack on its moon that left a Republic base destroyed." Elsa's eyes widened as her trauma returned. "Just like on Hoth."

"Oh for the love of!" Anna growled. "Get over it, sis. There's a war going on and sooner or later we're all going to be part of it. Start acting like you passed your Trial of Courage. Better yet, start acting like a Jedi, why don't you."

"Anna!" Mattias scolded.

Elsa didn't hate her sister, but rather despised how she made her feel. She pursed her lips and stared Anna down, battling to hold off any swelling tears. "What?" Anna scoffed. "Am I wrong?"

Elsa took a deep breath. "I can't call you wrong, sis." she replied calmly. "Speak as you will, because you can't possibly understand what you don't know." Elsa faced her window once more, leaving Anna befuddled.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Anna asked only to be met with silence. She snorted and turned to her own window. "Whatever."

The ship rumbled as it permeated Coruscant's atmosphere and Yelana unbuckled her seatbelt. "Elsa," she said. "Perhaps you can help me run a diagnostic on the hyperdrive."

"Yes please," Elsa replied exaggeratedly towards her sister and stormed off.

Mattias alternated glances between the stars and his Padawan. "I'm not in the mood for another lecture," Anna spoke in advance.

Her master shrugged and reached for his seatbelt. "Alrighty then. I mean, I was going to let you fly the ship but-"

Anna's buckle flew off as she launched out of her seat. "No no!" she blurted. "Please go on, master."

Mattias smirked and slid to the co-pilot's chair. "I got it all warmed up for you." Anna plopped into the seat and let her hands hover over an assortment of flickering switches. "Go ahead and prime the boosters with that overhead lever, then steer us steady."

Anna bit her lip and followed as instructed. Her breaths hastened as the ship turned with her movements. "This is hardcore," she said. Mattias humored her with a chuckle and leaned over. As he guided her further, he cherished seeing a genuine smile across her face. Even if it was temporary, he relished a moment where he could teach her something new without conflict. "Which way do I go?" Anna asked.

"For now, the stars are your limits. Show me what you're made of." That was all Anna needed to hear as she swerved across the blackness of space. With each sway of the ship's powerful prowess, Anna's grin widened. "You know," Mattias suggested. "If you like flying so much, perhaps you can become a Jedi Ace someday. I could see you as one of the best in the Jedi Order's Starfighter Corps."

"One of the?" Anna chuckled. "I'd be the best, master. But let's reach knighthood first. I've got to get ahead of Elsa."

Mattias' smile faded and he hung his head. "See how you're flying the ship, Anna? Imagine your sister is flying one of her own. Now knighthood is the planet you both need to get to, but there's so many ways to travel."

"And your point is?" Anna mumbled.

"This isn't a race," Mattias intoned. "I believe in you, but there's a difference between competition and perseverance. If you focus on comparing Elsa's accomplishments, you'll never achieve your own."

Anna sneered and death-gripped the wheel. "I know that."

"Then show me," Mattias insisted. "Be happy for Elsa. The Jedi are a team where we build each other up. And if others don't exemplify that, let it start with us."

"It's just hard to not let it get to me sometimes," Anna admitted.

"So you lash out," Mattias replied. "Instead, try moving forward through your own productivity. Like right now, how about hitting the hyperdrive?" Anna faintly smiled and offered him a nod. Mattias opened the ship's intercom and spoke into it. "Yelana, Elsa...You're gonna want to buckle up because we're about to make the jump to lightspeed."

"Aw, I wanted to send them flying." Anna quipped and Mattias shot her a glare. "What? I'm kidding. Now what do I press?"

Mattias rotated a gridded screen filled with planets to her. He gestured to a keyboard as it unfolded beneath. "Punch in the coordinates to Scarif. I find repetition the best way to memorize something. S-15, S-15, S-15 and S-15." With each reiteration, Mattias turned the coordinates into an irksome song. "S-15! S-15! Now you'll never forget."

"Of course I'll never forget it when you just said it a hundred times," Anna groaned and typed away, the tune of her master's song festered in her subconscious. Elsa and Yelana returned just in time to strap in as Anna made the jump. The siblings braced as their ship entered the awesome, vibrant vortex that was hyperspace. The corvette rocketed out of lightspeed as quickly as it had entered, and the blue streaks of hyperspace were replaced by a bright planet.

Scarif's cool, cloudy surface boasted vast oceans and numerous archipelagos. All of which would've been far more enjoyable to witness had Elsa not been on the brink of vomiting in the backseat. Anna rolled her eyes and glanced over to find her sister clenching her seatbelt. The jolt from lightspeed coupled with its abrupt stop had left her a sweaty mess.

And she passed the Trial of Courage, Anna thought to herself but then remembered to be supportive. "Umm, eat crackers or something." she muttered. Mattias nudged Anna out of the pilot's seat and motioned her to Elsa. She reluctantly saw to her sister while her master took the helm. "Deep breaths, Elsa." Anna feigned support. Elsa belched and leaned over, causing Anna to flinch. "Not on me! Do it in a bag or something!"

"Relax," Elsa hiccuped. "I'm not that sick. I'm getting better." The corvette rumbled as they pierced Scarif's atmosphere and Elsa pressed against her seat. "Nevermind!" she bleated through gritted teeth and shut her eyes. "Just tell me when we're on the ground." Her head swayed into the leather cushion as turbulence rattled the ship. Like a passing storm, the whir of engines faded into the distance and all gave way to deafening silence.

"We landed," Anna growled. "You can let go of my hand now." Elsa did so and Anna stared at her reddened, throbbing palm. The starboard ramp opened and rays of sunlight glistened into the cabin.

"Welcome to Scarif, Padawans." Mattias proclaimed.

Yelana whiffed the salty sea air and ran her fingers through the isle's white sand. "Specifically Blúm Island," she added. Their good tidings juxtaposed against Anna's questionable demeanor and the sight of Elsa sprinting into the bushes to throw up. Yelana shook off the sight as her Padawan recovered and gestured to the scenic beach. Waves gently stretched across the shoreline and nicked their boots. The glistening sea went on forever, making the Jedi feel even smaller. "Blúm Island is home to a Jedi temple," Yelana said.

"So we left a temple...to go to a temple?" Anna asked.

"Oh come on, sis." Elsa jeered. "Given Scarif's natural state and geographical setting, the only temple that could be out here would be an ancient one."

Anna didn't take kindly to Elsa being right, let alone correcting her. "Wipe that smug grin off your face," she threatened.

"Or what?" Elsa retorted.

Mattias stepped between them before they could have at each other again. "That's enough, you two. Long have ancient temples been a means of self discovery for Jedi. I once heard tell of a Jedi in the Old Republic who meditated in one for twenty years."

"Fascinating," Elsa remarked.

"More like mind-numbing," Anna mumbled. She noticed her sister applying layer upon layer of sunscreen over her pale skin.

"Want any?" Elsa asked.

Anna furiously refused as they followed their masters into the jungle. The calm, spacious beach was soon replaced by the cacophonous wiles of the tropics. Colossal palm trees were the least of their worries as tremendous foliage stretched further into the canopy. Dried mud skimmed their boots as they vaulted over mossy logs and boulders. Despite admiring its ecological beauty, Elsa preferred the coldness on Hoth to Scarif's humidity. As she scaled another log, she noticed a pair of stone totems jutting on adjacent sides of a dirt path.

"Looks like we're heading the right way," Yelana deduced and examined one of the totems. Each totem was teeming with chiseled faces ranging in expression. Fascinated by the architecture, Elsa rounded each totem for a closer look. She paused only at the sight of an eerily familiar face.

Its delicate nose and thin lips, Elsa thought. Those eyes, that hair. "No," she said out loud and rubbed her eyes for clarity. "Anna?" she gasped. "By the Force! Come quickly!"

While Yelana and Mattias were slower, Anna slid down with her hand on her lightsaber. "What is it?" she panted.

"This face," Elsa declared. "It's you!"

Anna's widened eyes narrowed and her gaping mouth became a glower. "You know, it's really hard to be nice to you when you're pulling stuff like this."

Elsa raised a brow and turned to the totem. Anna's face had been replaced by that of a hideously horned, pointy-eared creature. "I know what I saw," Elsa affirmed.

"Sure you did," Anna quipped. "Well I'm gonna take the high ground on this one and not find an ugly totem face that matches your ego. Sound good?"

Elsa shook off both her bewilderment and Anna's insult to catch up with the group. Further along the path was a rock wall coated in a thick layer of vines. "Up we go," Mattias said and was the first to start climbing. The others followed suit against the slippery vines, all trying to resist looking down with each pull. Fresh water blissfully cascaded beside the Jedi and a series of chirps emanated from nests in the rocks.

It had been far too long since Elsa had heard her master laugh as several birds flew by. "Convores," Yelana identified. "I've always loved those beautiful creatures."

"Hey Elsa," Anna taunted. "I'll race you to the top."

Elsa looked to Yelana as if needing permission, but her master merely shrugged. "You're on!" Elsa replied and climbed after Anna.

The masters watched happily as their students scurried beside one another, hastily gripping wet vines and duking it out for first place. When Elsa nearly slipped, she used the Force to catch a stronger vine and swing back up. However, no amount of Force ability could stop her thin arms from tightening under strain. She looked up past her pain while Anna powered through. The youngest sister heaved herself over the edge and flexed victoriously.

Elsa made it up in time to see Anna performing a rather embarrassing victory dance. Despite the boisterous boasting, Elsa sensed a disturbance in the Force. She looked beyond Anna's shoulder and noticed the glint of four, scarlet eyes. "Anna," she warned. "Behind you!"

"Nice try," Anna jested. "But you're not gonna fool me this-" A deep growl emanated from the bushes. "Time?"

Anna backflipped away as a wild nexu pounced from the darkness. The predatory feline chomped at the empty air and slashed the dirt with its lethal claws. Its four eyes narrowed in on the sisters while its quilled back straightened. It gave chase before the sisters could formulate a plan, prompting them to flee. The nexu's speed was petrifying as it sprung from tree to tree. Its forked, whip-like tail snaked behind as it closed in for a kill. Anna tried to spring for a tree branch, but the nexu slashed it clean in half. She imagined that being her severed limb and picked up the pace. Elsa was too frightened to look back and merely saw a tan blur over her shoulder. The nexu's ferocious snarls made her heart pound and she tripped over a stone. Elsa spun from the ground to see the beast soaring towards her with mouth agape. Rows of sharp teeth were poised to strike across the nexu's sinister, grinning expression. Blue plasma sparked from beneath as Anna lunged into the fray. Before she could strike the creature, Elsa Force-pushed it into a palm tree.

"I had that!" Anna scolded.

"So did I!" Elsa countered.

"Yeah, okay sure." Anna's arrogance vanished as a second nexu emerged from the treeline. It would've snatched both sisters had a cyan lightsaber not slashed its underbelly. The beast fell dead, its flesh still sizzling where the blade had sliced. Yelana stood over her kill and efficiently deactivated her weapon. The first nexu recovered, only to be impaled by Mattias' green blade.

Elsa went to embrace her master, but was surprised to find only disappointment across Yelana's face. "You should've trusted your sister," she intoned. "She would've downed the creature before you pushed it away."

"What she said!" Anna agreed.

"And you," Mattias lectured Anna. "Because you were too busy arguing with Elsa, her attuned senses were clouded and she couldn't sense the other nexu."

"Had Mattias and I not been here, both of you would be dead." Yelana spoke sternly and led onward.

Elsa hung her head shamefully and then glanced at the dead creatures. Just as she started to feel remorseful, Anna bumped shoulders with her. "It was us or them," she derided. "Get a grip."

The rest of their jungle trek was awkwardly silent. Each Jedi was lost in their own thoughts until the group reached a stretch of jagged terrain. Greenery ceased to grow as if an unseen barrier blocked it from an ancient entrance. A plethora of stone totems dotted the ashy landscape and trailed along a gravely path. Mattias peered up at the archaic glyphs etched into the walls of a rocky gateway and sighed in awe. "And so the stories of the Old Republic were true," he said. "Behold the Temple of Huzwan."

Even Yelana swallowed hard. "Situated within a dormant volcano," she said. "That's reassuring."

"And poetic," Elsa added. "Forgotten, yet mighty power resting within a proud surface of extrusive igneous rock, just waiting to feel the adventure of-" Yelana, Mattias, and Anna glared at her until she stopped.

"Students," Mattias began. "It is time for you to both enter the Temple of Huzwan. Yelana and I will set you on your path as you unlock its secrets."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Anna asked. "And please don't say I'll know it when I see it."

Mattias smirked and shrugged. "Then you'll see it when you know it."

"UGH!" Anna looked as though she'd pull her hair out.

"Elsa," Yelana called to her apprentice. "Trust yourself in there, but your sister as well." Elsa nodded and fought to understand such a contradiction. She and Anna rarely saw eye to eye on things. In fact, during the nexu situation she was confident in her own abilities. Yet apparently she was supposed to trust Anna to protect her. All Elsa could do was walk beside her sister as the masters used the Force. The mighty stone gate lifted under their combined power and the Padawans stepped into a darkened chamber. They caught their last glimpse of sunlight as Yelana and Mattias sealed the gate behind them. Yelana took a deep breath amidst the eerie silence. "I know you sense it too, Mattias. Are you sure their ready for what's in there?"

"We all need to trust each other," Mattias affirmed. "Plus, I know you're sure. Because you wouldn't have let Elsa go in otherwise."

Anna and Elsa stepped through an elongated chamber, listening to their footsteps echoing across. With each advancement, the sisters watched a series of torches light beside them. "Gee," Anna murmured. "That's totally not creepy at all."

"I wonder if they're motion activated," Elsa said.

"Why don't you sense if they are," Anna grumbled.

"That's not how that works," Elsa replied. "I-" She quivered as a chilling sensation brushed past her.

"You were saying?" Anna quipped.

"Quiet," Elsa intoned and rubbed her goosebump-ridden shoulders. "It felt like something touched me."

"Would 'Ms. Trial of Courage' stop being so scared?" Anna mocked.

"Shut up!" Elsa snapped, much to Anna's surprise. "I am so sick and tired of your jealous, inconsiderate behavior. I have done nothing but try to be there for you and-"

Anna raised a hand and stared into the darkness. "Do you hear that?" she asked.

Having mustered the courage to stand up to Anna, Elsa refused to yield. "Don't try and change the subject because I'm right."

"Just listen," Anna insisted as Elsa huffed. They stood still with widened eyes as a series of whispers emanated behind them.

"Those are...our echoes," Elsa nervously assured.

"Are they?" Anna inquired.

"Well now I'm not sure." Elsa hugged herself and shuddered. "How could any Jedi meditate in here?"

"How could anyone meditate, period?" Anna jested.

As Elsa rushed to defend herself, the mysterious whispers continued. Frustrated and perhaps slightly frightened, Anna screamed "Quit it!" into the shadows.

Whatever unseen power obliged and all of the torches shut off simultaneously, leaving the Padawans in total darkness. Elsa loosed a wild shriek that nearly left Anna deaf in one ear. "Calm down!" Anna yelled at a matched volume. "It's not like we carry giant glowing swords or something."

"Right," Elsa replied while hyperventilating. "We'll ignite on three. One...two..."

"Three," the sisters said and sparked up their sabers. They stared at each other's blue-hued faces and exchanged nervous nods.

Elsa's gaze trailed off towards the ground as she examined a pair of silhouettes. "Those are moving too quickly to be our shadows," she said. The figures darted behind her and Elsa followed without thinking. She spun so quickly, that her lightsaber almost struck Anna's head.

"Watch it!" her little sister shouted. Elsa followed the shadows while Anna trailed behind. They were equally surprised to find a peculiar, indigo glow shimmering in the distance. "I don't like this."

"It could be guiding us out," Elsa considered. "Trust me."

"What about trusting me?" Anna insisted.

Elsa ignored her and continued towards the glow. As she got closer, it reminded her more of how her saber crystal had called to her back on Ilum. In a similar fashion, the indigo sparkle was like a beacon of hope in the blackness. Elsa lowered her saber as the object became a brighter source of light.

"Elsa?" Anna asked worriedly.

Elsa reached longingly towards the light, only to have her hand phase through it. Her fingertips grazed a veil of gunky, ebony moss and she felt air escape the other side. Sensing another chamber, Elsa pushed through and instead fell forward. The encroaching darkness was suddenly replaced by the dreadful glow of a lava pit. Elsa screamed as she plummeted, only to be hastily grabbed by the sleeve. Anna had sprung at the last moment to snag her sister by the arm, but it wasn't enough to keep her from losing her footing as well. Elsa dangled for dear life as Anna clasped the ledge with her mere fingertips.

"We're...too...heavy," Anna grunted as her forearm trembled. Her eyes shot open as the rock around her fingers crumbled. "No!"

The ledge dispersed under pressure and the sisters fell to the lava below. Its incredible heat had their skin reddening even from such a distance. As a last resort, Elsa threw up her hands and created a burst of energy. Her sudden, Force-repulse was enough to launch both of them to the nearest rock surface. Their tabards shred as their bodies skidded against stone and they crashed into each other. Though free from imminent death, the pit's proximity still made the Jedi sweat profusely.

"Are you feeling any self-discovery yet?" Elsa panted.

"Not a hint of enlightenment," Anna grumbled until she looked at her hip. "But something's alight! Holy kriff!" Anna leapt off the ground as the tip of her unraveled tabard was set aflame.

Elsa gasped and rushed to help her sister. "Quick! Stop, drop and-"

"I know!" Anna shrieked and threw herself on the floor. While doing so extinguished the flame, her impact destabilized the surface they rested on. "Oh come on!"

Anna and Elsa wobbled as the rocks split into bobbing fragments. "There!" Elsa exclaimed and pointed to a higher ledge. "Run for it." The duo dashed across the parting rocks as lava bubbled beneath them.

"If this is your idea of a race rematch, I hate it!" Anna quipped, threw herself to the ledge, and then helped Elsa up. "I won, but I hate it."

The lava behind them continued to rise and they were sealed behind a familiar gate. Anna prepared to slice it with her lightsaber, but Elsa stopped her. "You could cause a cave in," she warned. "That's not metal, you know."

"Do you have a better idea before we become fried Padawans?" Anna asked.

Elsa stroked her braid in contemplation. "We'll lift it with the Force just as our masters did." Anna raised a brow and Elsa mimicked the gesture. "I'm serious, Anna. Because right now there is no alternative." Anna observed the ascending lava pit and reluctantly obliged. She held up her hands as her big sister did, but was unsure what to feel. Elsa could very much tell and said, "Though you can see it with your eyes, picture the gate in your mind."

Great, Anna thought. Now students are teaching students. She shut her eyes and imagined what she'd just seen.

"Now focus on the stones connected to it. The glyphs that encompass it, its size, the density." Elsa said. Anna suddenly endured a peculiar feeling in her mind's eye. She visualized the gate lifting and experienced a tingling sensation at the ends of her fingertips. "Think about where it is we want to go and-"

"Oh my," Anna whispered as she opened her eyes. She and Elsa had suspended the stone gate and opened a path into more darkness. She turned with a grin, but was surprised to find Elsa worried. "What is it?" Anna asked.

Elsa bit her lip and replied, "I can hold the gate while you pass under, but you'll need to hold it for me afterwards." Anna gulped as Elsa sighed heavily. "I trust you, Anna. You are powerful enough to do this. Now go."

It was the first time Anna had ever heard her sister call her powerful. It was rather reinvigorating as Anna let go and slipped under the gate. She turned to see Elsa struggling and realized it was her turn. The lava was seeping over the edge behind Elsa, forcing Anna to reach out for the gate. She wondered if she could utilize the same 'pull' she'd used to fight the Bug, but wasn't sure if the Force worked as such. Instead, Anna focused on how Elsa was counting on her as she nervously kept the gate aloft. Elsa hurriedly snuck under and Anna dropped the stonework with a boom.

"By the Force, Anna!" Elsa rejoiced. "You used, well...the Force!"

Anna caught her breath and let her heart rate slow. "I did, didn't I?"

"I'm so proud of you. How did it feel?"

"Mighty," Anna proclaimed only to shiver. The extreme heat from the lava chamber was replaced with the increasing chill of a reflecting pool. Dimly lit by a triad of blue torches, the reflecting pool resided in the center of a tiled chamber. Anna wiped the sweat from her forehead and grinned. "Looks like the temple's rewarding us. Good because I'm so thirsty."

Elsa grimaced and gripped her sister's shoulder. "We should stop and think," she warned.

Anna paused and hummed in thought. "Okay I thought about it and here's what I got. First of all, Master Yelana said you needed to trust me more. Second, remember when I trusted you and we almost fell into lava? Exactly. So unless you want to die of dehydration in here, I say drink up!" Anna slid to her knees and dunked her head into the reflecting pool. Its chilled waters were welcoming to the skin and cleansed her hair as she swished around. With a proud jolt, Anna emerged from the pool joyously gulping and refreshed. Anna wiped her soaked lips and sighed, "That's some good stuff right there." She looked to Elsa who appeared absolutely horrified. Anna furrowed her brows and asked, "What the heck's your problem?"

Elsa couldn't breathe she looked so frightened. With flared nostrils, a quivering lip, and widened eyes, she pointed a trembling finger towards the water. Anna almost didn't want to look as droplets ran down her face. She cautiously craned her neck, following Elsa's finger to the reflecting pool. Her eyes met those of a reflection that never stopped staring. It didn't turn, nor blink, nor gasp, nor lean. Anna's reflection stood there, staring back at her like a specter in the water. In an attempt to break the tension, Anna laughed nervously and the reflection didn't respond. She made a silly face and gasped when the reflection twitched its head opposite of hers. Fed up with the creepy illusion, Anna decided to angrily splash it away. To the Padawan's terror, two very real hands emerged from the water and dragged her under.

"No!" Elsa screamed and rushed to snatch Anna's heel. "Hold on, Anna!" Whitewater splashed across the once dormant pool as Elsa struggled to grasp her sister. Her knees scraped against the tiles and the torches strobed from behind. Anna's wet boot slipped out of Elsa's grip as she was taken completely underwater. Realizing what she had to do, Elsa backed away and took a deep breath. She dove after her sister, but instead landed into a pool of cold ashes. Elsa emerged and spit out the dusty particles. "What?" she panted and dug through the ashes. "I don't understand. Where did-" Elsa heard a distinct whimpering in the shadows. "Anna?" she asked and pursued the sound.

Anna flailed as if she was drowning until she emerged in a tizzy. She spun through arid darkness until she hit a flat surface. Without a light source, Anna's first reaction was to grab her lightsaber. She caught her breath as it echoed throughout a cave and gingerly activated her weapon. As she did so, a scarlet beam emanated from the hilt. She screamed at the red blade and threw it into the blackness. Anna hugged herself nervously as a laugh similar to hers echoed around.

"I'm sorry," it said. "Sooo sorry. That weapon is mine. Though it could be yours."

"I don't get it," Anna admitted. "Who are you?"

The shadows around her meshed into the familiar site of the DazzleDaze nightclub. While its patrons were partying, everyone was in slow motion and not a sound was audible. Anna witnessed the same couple kissing by the bar, only this time...it was her atop the Twi'lek man. The 'other' Anna turned with yellow eyes and smirked. "I'm you, dear." It said. "I have to hand it to you. When you have passions, you really let them fester." The Twi'lek transformed into Hans as Anna watched this version of herself kiss him. They pressed against each other, passionately nipping at necks and ears...leaving Anna unsure what she was feeling.

The setting suddenly shifted to the abandoned warehouse. This imitation Anna had the Bug knelt before her and glanced over. "So much anger within you. But where does it all end up?" Anna flinched as the imitation ignited its red saber and struck the Bug down in cold blood.

"Is this some sort of test?" Anna asked.

"No. Think of it as we're finally getting to meet for the first time. I've always been with you, but you think you're too righteous to let me serve at your side."

Anna shook her head in realization. "Are you part of the pull?"

"I'm part of you." The imitation slowly paced around Anna.

"Well I'm doing just fine on my own so take a hike!" Anna snapped and shoved away the entity.

She gasped as it caught her arms and squeezed. The yellow glow in its eyes intensified as it growled, "You will never be rid of me. So long as you live, Anna. I will always exist within you."

Elsa followed the sounds until she discovered a whimpering version of herself. It was balled up on a ledge with its face buried between its legs. "You're a vision, aren't you?" Elsa deduced. "Do you represent myself in the past or future, spirit? I ask because I do a lot of crying and I'm not sure."

"Failure," the imitation Elsa sniffled without lifting her head. "That's all we are. From the past, in the present, and in our future."

"That's not true," Elsa assured. "I can't change the past, but what happens next is up to me."

"But others never forget. It doesn't matter what we think when it is they who decide our fate. We shouldn't be in the Jedi Order. We need to leave before we make things worse."

Elsa felt sick to her stomach as she sensed a resonating disturbance. It was a lingering pain beyond her own that felt...ancient. The suffering seemed to span thousands of years as a sound pulsed around it. This noise was venomous to the ears as consonants and vowels wrapped tightly together to form a name. A name that Elsa blurted as her attuned senses picked it up. "Kalav," Elsa divulged and her imitation ceased whimpering.

All went silent as it shook relentlessly and slowly raised its head. Its eyes were pure white and it brandished teeth sharper than a nexu's. This fowl spirit lunged at Elsa as she shrieked in response. When Elsa opened her eyes, the apparition had vanished...leaving her to find her sister. Using the Force, Elsa tried to sense Anna through the darkness. She fought to endure the boisterous echoes of her troublesome past, as this 'Kalav' spawned obstacles. Among the voices, Elsa heard Commander Surge and Hans criticizing her abilities as a Jedi. She fought such negativity with peace of mind and focused on Anna's presence.

"Shut up!" Anna shouted and backed into a corner.

"Can't take the truth, can you?" Her yellow-eyed counterpart hissed in her ear. "You want to be the best, yet you've never been willing to take the steps to achieve it."

"Lies," Anna practically sobbed.

"Elsa's been ahead from the start and you know it. You should've passed your Trial of Courage and yet, you can't even tell anyone because that would brand you guilty to the Order. The only lies come from you, a corner-cutting...cheating...pathetic excuse for a-"

"STOP!" Anna roared and jabbed her lightsaber towards the entity. "I will become the greatest Jedi in history and nothing you do say can stop me!"

"That is correct," the entity said from behind her. "Now your sister will never stand in your way."

"That's not what I meant," Anna said only to open her eyes in horror. She stared at her saber as she realized it impaled Elsa's torso. "No...No no no!" Elsa's eyes fluttered as she fell into Anna's arms. She tried to speak but instead went completely limp. "Elsa!" Anna cried. "This wasn't supposed to happen...I was just so angry I-...you...it..." She pressed her face against her sister's lifeless hand as tears escaped her eyes.

"I'm part of you, yet you cannot control me."Anna's imitation said over her shoulder. "In your own blind fury, you have murdered your sister. How can you possibly face anyone now? You've lied to cover yourself before, but can you live with this lie? Can you spend every waking breath in your temple, swinging that saber knowing your sister died by your hand?"

With each passing word, Anna's heart broke further. "What can I possibly do to fix this? I can't face anyone."

"Oh Anna," the entity said. "You already know what to do. You can join her, and I will be with you."

Anna realized the grim reality of what the spirit meant, and for a moment nothing else mattered. The Jedi weren't supposed to form attachments, and yet now it was her fault Elsa was gone. She couldn't fathom going on as she lifted her lightsaber and the spirit helped her turn it on herself.

She pressed the emitter to her abdomen and the entity licked its lips. "That's it, Anna. Ignite."

A saber activated and Anna flinched. She opened her teary eyes to find her weapon still off, yet found a beam humming above her. Anna's entity had been stabbed by the icy blue saber of the real Elsa. "Get away from my sister, you Dark Side demon." she asserted.

The demonic Anna spun it's head 180 degrees and her yellow eyes rolled into pitch black pools. She screeched wildly while the "dead" demon Elsa rose to do the same with white eyes. Elsa Force-pushed the demons away and recovered her sister. To the siblings' disgust, the demons fled their human facades like snakes shedding skin. Their true forms were lanky, leathery figures with horned heads similar to the face on the totem. The demons skittered away, giving Elsa a chance to hug Anna. She was shocked when her little sister shoved her off.

"Anna," Elsa intoned. "It's actually me."

"How do I know that?" Anna stuttered and furiously wiped her tears.

Elsa huffed and pondered for a moment. "When we were younglings in Brith clan, you thought it would be a cool idea to sneak into the Jedi Council room. You had no sense of direction and ended up getting lost in the Archives, where Master Jocasta put you to work as her junior assistant. You didn't tell anyone but me because you didn't want people to think you were booksmart, as if that was a bad thing."

Anna nervously readied her saber. "Not good enough. Those things saw into my memories so you're no different."

Elsa used the Force to fling a stone at Anna's hand. Once it disarmed her of her weapon, Elsa claimed the saber only to give it back. "If I wanted you dead I would've done it," Elsa insisted as the demons returned. The sisters went back to back as another insidious name festered within Elsa's mind. "Belen," Elsa murmured and the other demon hissed in response. "Kalav and Belen. These creatures...this place is teeming with the Dark Side."

"I'm starting to think this isn't a Jedi Temple," Anna remarked.

"A Jedi Temple! Hah!" Belen cackled.

"This is a Jedi tomb," Kalav added while crawling along the cave walls. "For generations, masters and apprentices of your precious order have sought to cleanse this place."

"But inherent malice cannot be purified," Belen clawed open a muddy enclave. "All they found was madness and desolation!" Elsa and Anna cringed at the sight of Jedi skeletons piled atop one another. Their archaic robes and armors dated back to the days of the Old Republic.

"Sometimes we made them slaughter themselves," Kalav admitted until a sinister grin crept across its face. "But the best of times occurred when we turned masters against apprentices."

"What good sport that was," Belen hissed in Anna's ear.

"Sick monsters!" Anna snapped. "I'll kill you!" She haplessly swung her saber as the demons cackled.

"Were you not listening, little fool?" Kalav berated. "We cannot be defeated and this shall be your tomb. The Temple of Huzwan is our dark sanctuary and we are bound to it."

"Bound to it," Elsa reiterated. "That's it."

"Care to fill me in?" Anna asked nervously.

Elsa deactivated her weapon and stretched out her hands. "The Jedi of old had it wrong. They thought this place could be purified when its ties to the Dark Side were bound to its core. It can't be used for anything, but instead must be destroyed." Belen and Kalav looked to one another with widened eyes and then hissed at Elsa. The young Padawan used the Force to pull at the nearby columns and forced them to crack.

"Foolish girl!" Belen taunted. "It is impossible to shake this temple's foundation."

"Watch me," Elsa grunted and shattered one of the columns.

Kalav launched towards Anna and roared in her face. "Cease your hostilities or I will murder your sister!" it warned.

"Do it!" Elsa jeered and the demons growled.

"Elsa!" Anna gasped.

"They can't do anything themselves," Elsa explained. "They've been feeding on our fears and emotions from the start!"

"She lies!" Kaval snarled.

"Yet you haven't done it yet," Elsa quipped and continued breaking columns. Boulders crumbled off the chamber's sides as Anna rushed to help Elsa.

"No promises on having the same effect," Anna admitted. "But I'll try." She visualized with the Force and tried to separate the adjacent foundation.

"Anna," Belen shapeshifted into the redhead and stood beside her. "If you go through with this, Elsa will still always be better than you."

Opposite of them, Kaval turned into Hans and yelled in Elsa's ear. "Would you stop trying to be something you're not? You're no Jedi!"

Elsa offered a smile and the demon frowned. "I am a Jedi," she said. "And no form you take or word you spew can say otherwise." The demon backed away as Elsa scoffed. "What's the matter, Kaval?...Scared?"

Suddenly, Kaval and Belen linked together to form a new pair. They were oddly familiar strangers adorned in regal attire. A tiara glistened from the woman's brown bun while a golden crown lay nestled in the man's strawberry blonde hair. Her blue gaze was like Anna and Elsa's, while the man's green stare was equally loving.

"Anna? Elsa?" the man said. "My goodness you've grown."

"And into Jedi of all things," the woman added. "We couldn't be prouder."

Elsa's confidence wavered along with her connection to the Force. "Who...who are you?" she asked as curiosity got the best of her.

"Elsa!" Anna worried. "It's a trick! Keep breaking pillars."

The king and queen extended open arms to her. "You may see only malice here," the king said. "But there's so much knowledge yet to be discovered."

"We miss you," the queen admitted as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Don't you miss us?"

"I-" Elsa stammered. "Are you my-...our-..."

"Come closer," the king assured. "We'll tell you everything."

Elsa stepped towards them as Anna noticed a stalactite about to fall on her. Realizing the demons' plan, Anna smashed the remaining columns with her lightsaber and then tackled Elsa out of the way. The stalactite crashed where Elsa should've stood as the rest of the temple caved in. Elsa snapped out of her daze while sunbeams streaked in through cracks. Steam sizzled off the royal couple as they regressed to their demonic forms. The siblings watched as Kaval and Belen succumbed to Scarif's blistering sunlight. The fissures beneath them spewed lava as the terrain quaked.

Elsa and Anna ascended towards sunlight while the rest of the temple collapsed on itself. The sun bathed the ruins in its glorious glow as the demons were turned to acidic, ashy mush. Any peace was short-lived as the long dormant volcano awakened and the sisters fled down the cliffside.

All Mattias could utter was, "By the Force." Tremors shook the ground as he and Yelana caught a glimpse of their Padawans.

"What in the name of the galaxy happened in there?" Yelana asked.

"Talk later!" Anna shouted. "Just run!"

Disheveled and out of breath, the group sprinted down the gravely path as smoke escaped the volcano. Once they reached the jungle, they were suddenly rocked by an explosive eruption that sent them staggering. The sunny sky blackened as fiery stone rained upon the land. Vicious globs of magma spewed from the volcano's crater while ash clouds billowed around. Infernal blasts struck the trees and set the jungle ablaze.

Yelana took the lead and desperately recalled which way led back to the beach. Blazing palm trees collapsed on their path and the Jedi Force-pushed them away. "Just keep running!" Mattias insisted as they reached the rock wall. "No time to climb just jump for it." Mattias and Yelana leapt, but a fireball struck the ledge and sent the sisters spiraling off the opposite side. The terrain parted along with chunks of burning forest as the impact triggered a mudslide.

"Anna!" Elsa called from a sliding palm tree. "Take my hand!"

Anna launched to her sister as they held each other tightly. Their tree slid through a singed bush and over an unseen cliff. The siblings clung for their lives as they plummeted several stories into the ocean below. The tree pierced the sea and sent them spiraling fathoms beneath. Anna was the first to come to and noticed the blur of her sister struggling under the current. Being the more athletic, Anna swam deeper and scooped Elsa into her arms. With her breath dwindling, Anna kicked towards the surface and dodged sinking debris.

She bursted atop the waves with a gasp and held Elsa close. "I've got you," Anna said as Elsa coughed up seawater. She tread away from Blúm Island while watching its fiery destruction. "I hope our masters made it out," she panted and Elsa nodded in agreement.

As if on queue, the whir of an engine sounded across the water. Anna turned with a smile and waved to hail the craft. Her grin vanished when she realized the approaching vessel wasn't theirs.