Star Wars: Beginnings Of War

Ch: 5

Darkness plagued my mind as the familiar sand of Korriban entered my vision. No.... I told myself as I realized where we were...what they were trying to do. Nadia's only done it to me once...and that was utter pain and now again...? I staggered up as I looked around, the harsh wind felt like blades against my skin. My mind ached as this darkness felt suffocating. I looked at Ashlyn and Nadia...both their eyes held a yellow tinge to them. It was the first time I'd seen Ashlyn like that...it gave me chills.

"I'm surprised just being here isn't doing it...." Ashlyn slightly gritted out, obviously not liking this place.

"Her will is stronger than last time." Nadia informed Ashlyn as she looked at me. "That's for sure."

"What are we doing here...?!" I somehow managed to speak out through this veil of suffocating darkness.

"To truly be balanced, you must experience both sides of the Force and find the middle," Ashlyn instructed me.

"But I've been encased in darkness before...!" I managed to say against the harsh wind.

"Obviously not enough." Nadia seemed to tell me. "You fear of what you'll become, forcing you to stray towards the light and only flirt with the darkness within you." Nadia then reached her hand out to me as the wind only seemed to pick up more of the sand that blew around us.

I could feel the darkness as it wanted to seep into my mind, I barely managed to push it away.

"This is for your own good," Ashlyn informed me before she too reached her hand out toward me and the darkness grew tenfold.

I let out a scream of despair as the darkness seemed to slowly make its way into my mind. "No...!" I screamed out as small visions made their presence known in the very sand which seemed to swirl around me like a tornado. Voices flew around my mind and unlike the last time...I could hear them.

One screamed out in unbearable pain, it was Anakin.

I heard Padmé crying.

Three people fought in a deadly duel, I couldn't make out who they were but I could feel their force signatures. One held pure darkness, another pure light, and the third...both light and dark.

"You were my brother Anakin...!" I heard an enraged Obi-wan state over a dying Anakin.

"Padmé...!" I heard my voice call out in desperation, but it didn't come from me but rather...through the ravenous sand.

"No...!" I yelled out with rage, wanting it all to stop. The darkness made it's way into my mind as the sand suddenly stopped and calmed.

I took a shaky breath as I placed my hands along my knees, suddenly drained of energy as the darkness took hold. Ashlyn and Nadia stopped before Ashlyn came over to my knelt down figure.

"It had to be done." Ashlyn told me before my world went black and I forgot all I saw in the sand. Yet in the very dark corners of my subconscious, I could remember.

I awoke with a start before I placed my hand to my aching head. How dare they...?! I internally cried out. I saw myself in a mirror hanging on the wall. I got up and went over towards the mirror. I looked at my now yellow eyes, a tear slid down my face. Although I didn't try and clear them...knowing now what the two of them meant.

The Dark side is as much a part of me as the Light. My eyes seemed to clear back to their normal shade of brown all on their own.

"...and besides, you're generalizing. The Chancellor doesn't appear to be corrupt." I heard Anakin state as both him and Obi-wan walked into the room.

"Palpatine's a politician." I heard Obi-wan state. "I've observed that he is very clever at following the passions and prejudices of the Senators."

"I think he is a good man. My instincts are very positive about-" Anakin suddenly stopped as I felt a pull at the back of my mind.

"I sense it, too." Obi-wan stated but I was long gone as I ran into Padmé's room.

Crawling up Padmé was a type of bug, a type of creepy crawly. Once it noticed me, it stood on it's hide legs and hissed...waking up Padmé in the process. I quickly reached my hand out towards it before I brought it flying towards me. Lightsaber already activated in my other hand, the light blue blade easily sliced the creature in half by the time Obi-wan and Anakin even entered the room. Obi-wan looked out the window and then suddenly...he leaped.

"Obi-wan...!" I called after him as both Anakin and I went over towards the window to see Obi-wan now dangling from a flying sphere-shaped droid. I looked over towards a shaken Padmé. "Stay here!" I then looked at Anakin. "Come on!" I didn't need to tell him twice as he followed me out of Padmé's room as Captain Typho and some guards entered with our leave.

Anakin and I left the building as we neared a line of parked speeders. He vaulted into a yellow two seat one and starts the engines. I quickly jumped into the passenger side and the second I do, Anakin drives the speeder at a fast pace.

I used the Force as I directed Anakin on where to go, who hesitantly followed my orders. "Up there...! And falling...!" I quickly shouted as I watched Obi-wan free fall down at least a hundred stories up.

"On it." Anakin told me before he angled the speeder to quickly catch Obi-wan.

"What took you so long...?" Obi-wan asked us after he landed on the back of the speeder.

"You know us." I told Obi-wan, slightly joking. "Picking out a speeder."

"I couldn't find a speeder I
really liked, with an open cockpit...and with the right speed capabilities...and then you know I had to get a really gonzo color...." Anakin stated as he flew the speeder in hot pursuit of someone who was currently shooting at us. Luckily, the shoots seemed to be slightly missing us.

"If you'd spend as much time working on your saber skills as you do on your wit, young Padawan, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman." Obi-wan informed Anakin.

"I thought I already did." Anakin stated, somewhat amusingly.

"Only in your mind, my very young apprentice." Obi-wan stated before Anakin had to swiftly dodge out of the way of another speeder, barely missing it. "Careful! Hey, easy!"

"Sorry, I forgot you don't like flying, Master." Anakin stated.

I don't mind flying...but what you're doing is suicide!" Obi-wan complains of his Padawan just as we barely missed a commuter train.

"Master, you know I've been flying since before I could walk. I'm very good at this." Anakin tried to reassure Obi-wan.

"Just slow down! There! There he goes!" Obi-wan pointed out for Anakin.

Anakin then raced the speeder through a line of traffic, if it wasn't any worse...the line was comprised of giant trucks. The speeder backed on it's side as we slide around corners between buildings. With the one we were chasing flying into a tram tunnel.

"Wait! Don't go in there!" Obi-wan ordered of Anakin. "Take it easy...."

"Don't worry, Master." Anakin stated quite cockily, causing me to smile as we too zoomed into the tunnel. I slightly laughed, much to Obi-wan's dismay, as we had to exit back out of the tunnel because of an oncoming tram.

"You know I don't like it when you do that!" Obi-wan told Anakin.

"Nova does...she can't stop laughing." Anakin replied, only causing me to laugh a bit harder.

"Her flying's suicide." Obi-wan stated, causing me to look back at him, questioningly.

"H-hey...!" I called back after Obi-wan. "Take that back...!"

"Nope." Obi-wan stated, this time making Anakin snicker at our antics.

"Sorry, Master." Anakin apologized. "Don't worry, this guy's gonna kill
himself any minute now!"