More nightmares.. Revelations and Pain

As she escorted me down the halls of the ancient ruin; which is the only way I can think of to describe it, I thought for sure I was living a bad dream. Mere ripples of the temple's former glory whispered through the dark halls, calling out to me like a siren's song .I could see the tapestries, which were full of color and life in my time, now dark with decay, and coated in dust hanging from the walls. We passed the hall of the lost 20 and she stopped.


" Come in here first, there is something you MUST know. " I followed albeit hesitantly. She pressed the button which activated the holo pictures of the faces of the lost 20, the 20 jedi who had been knights, some revered and then turned to the darkside, like Count Dooku. " you do know what this is don't you?" she asked me, her eyes fixed on mine.

I could feel there was some terrible truth she was about to reveal.Something I didn't want to hear but must hear for the greater good.


" Yes this is the hall of the lost 20, or now the lost 21"


" Wrong, it's now the hall of the lost 23"


" WHAT?"


She smiled and shushed me" Catia counts for 22.. the 23rd was her apprentice.. Lord Vader"
I nodded, the bile rising in my throat.. Why wouldn't she tell me who it was? I could goback and kill the person before this acrocity ever happened!


"why I brought you here is not because of Vader or Catia, but because of your father. He is one of the lost 23"


My eyes widened with shock. No! it simply couldn't be! My father one of the lost 23? No!


" It can't be!"


" Oh but it is.. you get your force sensatitivy from him. he died about 20 years ago give or take.. just before you were born.. Phobia.. Our father.. he was apprenticed to Qui Gon Jinn"


The world suddenly spun and I fell flat on my butt in the hall.. There was no utter way.. but somehwere in my heart I have always known it was true.. Every tiem I saw his holo I felt a special connection to him. I didn't know why.. I rose and slowly made my way over to the holo picture of my father.. The apprentice of Qui Gon Jinn.. fallen to the darkside, and his death watched by the man I care most about in this world: it was Xanatos.
My hand rose to the holo and it flickerd before comming back into place." Who.. who was my mother?"


" Your mother was a call girl in the Blue Rose bar.. When you were born, she wanted nothing to do with you.. she dumped you as soon as she could. Xanatos wanted to take responsibility for his mistake, by finding you and bringing you to the temple if nothing else; but Qui Gon would not let him search for you. In his diary Xanatos thought that Qui Gon was jealous of you and was afraid you would distract him from training."


"The council agreed and forbade Xanatos to search for you. Your own story you know from then on. it was because of the council's denial that caused Xanatos to turn to the darkside. He felt they had betrayed him. when the council teaches patience and tolerance but whenever Xanatos tried to excerise those same virtues he was brought up to being a golden calf of sorts. It would make anyone angry.. some could survive it , others could not. Your father was one of the unfortunates . I believe if he had found you, he might not have turned at all."


Tears were falling from my eyes as she finished the story. Pressing a small button on the bottom of the drawer, she removed a small mahogany chest with the symbol of a raven etched into it via wood burning. She pressed it into my hands. " He was quite good with wood projects. He left a note asking that if you would ever come to the temple that this box finds it 's way into your hands. You can take it back with you to the past"


She pulled me to my feet and we exited the room and kept going down the hall to another door which she knocked and I heard a male voice answer" Come on in dear.. I'm almost done with these old records!" Smiling she tugged me into the room and I nearly dropped the box as the man seated at the computer nearly dropped his glasses.


He was the spitting image of Obi Wan in his younger days, a pair of thick geek glasses perched on his nose, clad in a red sweater and black jeans with black boots. Giggling my future self pinched me and laughed " no your not dreaming. I thought so too the first time I met him.. so to speak.. come on in and sit down.. there's more we need to talk about.. "


The man rose from the computer and extended his hand to me" I'm glad you got that message, you did turn it over to the council though didn't you?" he asked with a look that reminded me of an evening I would love to forget. Embarassment flashed through me and he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it" There was no need to be embarassed about that night.. but you might want to know that it was Gar Gar who spiked the punch not Anakin. Blasted cat framed him for it. Needless to say, Anakin took his revenge in a very just way."
I

giggled, butterflies fluttering around in my stomach." um okay.. is there anything I shouldn't be asking?"


He nodded gravely" Two things, one who Catia's apprentice was and secondly, about my past.. You know much but you know nothing.. all I will say is I am a Jedi..." A kiss to my forehead.. Hmm maybe I should stay in the future..

The void that had made me felt so restless and alone was filling under his tender care and I sighed relaxing into the couch. He chuckled and ruffled my hair" You can't stay here as much as I would like to let you.. You have to go back before Vader knows your here .. oh and when you see Obi Wan again, tell him in the matter of DJK.. things are not always what they appear to be, look to a gypsy."


My future self sat bolt upright her eyes wide" He's here. Ivan get her to the portal, I will distact him" she raced out of the room headed in one direction, Ivan grabbed me by the arm and took off running for the oppisite end of the hall. I could see the portal shining in the gardens. All of a sudden he doubled over in pain" Keep running, don't stop for anyone or anything. Remember we're always with you GO!"


He ran back down the hall to help his wife.


My feet beat across the stones as I ran for the portal . I was almost to it when a chilling darkside energy made me turn, my hand on my saber there stood the one man who everyone feared.. Darth Vader.

He looked right at me and his eyes seemed to widen in shock.. Well I wouldn't know because they were hidden behind that ugly helmet. He raised my future self from the stones and began to choke her. To my horror I felt my trachea begin to give way under the intense pressure. I unclipped my saber intent on helping them even if I could barely breathe.

Ivan screamed at me to run but I refused and instead went after Vader , using every ounce of strength I possessed.


He had me beaten in 5 moves. As he raised his saber to strike the final blow, a surge of energy whipped through my body, elecricity crackled through my fingertips and I slammed Vader in the chest with force lightning. He was thrown back and I picked up my saber which had fallen to the floor" now tell me who you really were before you became Darth Vader"
He scoffed" you would not believe me if I told you"
My saber inched closer, wanting to stirke the final blow but I could not, my training would not let me, not til I knew the truth.

" Try me"

He remained silent, as though considering my challange and said" Alright, a riddle for you then , the kyrat dragon flies,the mynock sings.Two twists of blue one soon to be red. Disturbed and confused, angry and resentful, one pines for an unrequuited love. Fires of passion burn bright when these two duel. Who are they?"


He chuckled" If and when you figure the answer out, I will tell you my true identity, even let you kill me. For I am sure you will wish to. When you figure it out, type the answer on a blank datapad and leave it on the windowsill of your room. I will find you."


Then he force shoved me through the portal.


I fell on my head in my room , trying to draw air but I found I couldn't. He had crushed my trachea. I stumbled out the hall and to the helaer's ward, praying to the force Obi Wan and Anakin wern't there trying to find me.. I slipped in and saw one of the healers quickly before I passed out and she healed my throat in a matter of seconds.. She warned me not to try to talk til sunriset least, and told me she would keep me hidden from Anakin and Obi Wan for them moment. So now I can sit and think.. and maybe open this box..
More later
Pho