//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Trail by Fire // Story: Star Wars: The Great War // by ShootingStar25 //------------------------------// The morning came over the planet Coruscant as it was the signal of another day. Although some of the occupants of the Jedi Temple were up. Jedi Master Luna was sitting in her chair on the Jedi High Council as she had her eyes closed. She had her hands to her mouth as she was thinking. Her mind was also meditating as she could feel the Force. She was shown a vision of the past, but more so, a memory. (Memory) "Try again," stated Luna in a stern tone with her hands behind her back. In front of her was Storm when he was a Padawan as he fell after trying to improve his jumping and wall running. "It's difficult, Master." said a young Storm. "Are you going to cry?" asked the woman. "I can't." responded the small boy. Luna knew what he meant as when she found him, he was a baby and cried nonstop. Now... he couldn't. "Yes, the path is difficult. It may seem impossible, but with persistence and the Force as your ally, you will overcome any obstacle." stated the woman. "You will master any path. Now, do what you must to reach me." The platform Luna stood on now moved to a different location. Storm then saw more platforms connect and configure as he now had to find the path to reach his master. The small boy then began to climb the wall as he got a hold of the footings and started to climb. He got to the top as he jumped from the wall onto the platforms that were spread out. He managed to get over the last one as he landed on another platform. He saw Luna as there was a huge space between them. There were no platforms as the only means of getting across was running across the wall next to the boy. "Trust yourself," said Luna as the wall running part was the thing that always caused Storm problems. The boy was hesitant as he remember all the past failures. He looked at Luna as she had a stern look on her face as she could sense her Padawan's feelings. He then took a deep breath as he prepared himself. He then began to run as he jumped onto the wall and then used the momentum as he was now successfully running along the wall as he felt himself slowing down as he jumped. Storm barely landed on the platform as he landed on his feet before he tumbled and fell to his knees. He was out of breath as he looked up at Luna who kept her stern look. Storm put his head down as he felt like he did horrible. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. "Good job, Padawan." smiled Luna. She then did something unexpected as she pulled the boy in and hugged him. For Luna, it was her duty to not show too much emotion with her Padawan to avoid a strong attachment. But she couldn't help herself as she felt the boy was like her son. (End of Memory) Luna now opened her eyes as she looked at the palm of her hand. "Have I treated Storm with too much attachment? Is it wrong that I've been treating him like a mother, instead of a Master?" asked the girl to herself. "I ask myself that too." said a voice. Luna looked up as she saw her sister who had heard Luna. "You're not the only one who thinks that, Lulu." "Sister." Celestia now sat down in her chair next to Luna as both now began to think of their students. "I feel as if, I've strayed from the path that I'm supposed to implement. As a Jedi Master, I need to have some little attachment to my Padawan. To prepare for the day, when something unfortunate were to happen to Storm. I must be ready to let go then and there." "As do I. Should Twilight fall either in battle or by other means? I must not let her death consume me. I must not weep for her too much, but... it's hard. Just as you see Storm as a child figure, I too see that with me and Twilight. She's a smart girl and I know she'll be an even better Jedi Master than I ever will be. But, is it wrong to think that maybe our relationship is more than student and teacher?" said Celestia as she now thought back on a memory. (Memory) "Get up. Try again, Twilight." "I just keep failing, Master." said a young Twilight. "Give me a few minutes to evaluate and then..." "No!" stated Celestia. "Prepare and prepare all you want. Read to your heart's desire. But all that knowledge will be useless if you don't let it go." "Let it go?!" "Yes, let it go, Padawan. Don't forget, but understand not everything can be figured out. Not even the Force itself. Facts and figures can be helpful, but if you apply them to every single detail, then you're losing more knowledge faster than you will gain it." "But I'll fail for sure if I do that!!" stated Twilight as she couldn't help but sniffle a bit. "Do you? Good. Keep failing, keep getting back up. That is the only way to succeed. Failure is the key to learning. Your failures will guide you, you will learn from them. You take that knowledge and implement it in your brain because that is the only knowledge that is worth remembering. It's the only knowledge that will help you in combat and it's the most crucial." said Celestia in a mother-like tone. "Don't allow yourself to be weighed down by ego and pretense. Let go of what you fear to lose and rise up!" stated Celestia as Twilight now wiped the small tears as she looked at her master. "Let go and accept that you will fail, Twilight. Grades mean nothing, but talent and skill are everything. Accept that as smart as you are, you will not know everything." (End of Memory) "Guess I too am guilty of the same thing," said Celestia. "That just means we're not perfect, Tia. And that's a good thing." smiled Luna as she put her hand on top of her sister. Both girls smiled at one another as Celestia pulled Luna in for a loving hug as the two sisters held the smile. Twilight was awake as she was in the archive as usual. She was reading up on some old records and looking at some maps. Despite Celestia telling her that no matter how much she read and absorbed, the most important knowledge would be the ones she would learn by experience. It was still a habit that the girl had as it was one of the things that defined her character. Which was probably why Celestia still gave the girl a grade to please her appetite. Twilight was looking at some records when she noticed her reflection on the table. She couldn't help herself as she tried to fix her appearance a bit to make her look a bit more pretty. Her hair normally hung down to her shoulders, as she was now trying different styles. A bun, a ponytail, even trying to do some bangs. To think that being a Jedi was something that she wanted, but it was something that she believed allowed her to escape from her duty. But that was a story for another day. She was so engraved in trying to look pretty that she didn't notice someone standing next to her. "What the hell are you doing?" "Ahh!!" screamed Twilight as she looked at who said that. "Oh, it's only you, Storm." "Am I supposed to be offended by that?" asked the boy. "It's nothing," said Twilight as she stopped playing with her hair. "Is there something that I don't know?" asked Storm. "Why would say that?" asked the girl. "Your hair." stated the teen. "It's... nothing. Just... forget you ever saw that." answered Twilight as she looked away. Storm had a raised eyebrow as Twilight looked back at her partner. "Please... don't ever bring it up. Ever." "O-kay?!" said the Jedi Knight. At that moment, Storm's communicator beeped as he took it out from his hip. He turned it on as the holographic image of Luna appeared. "What is it, Luna?" "Glad I could reach you, Storm. If you would be so kind as to tell Twilight who's next to you that my sister also wants to see her." "Sure, but how do you know that Twilight is next to me?" asked the boy. "I just know," stated Luna with a smile. "Now then, hurry up you two." "Best not keep them waiting," said Twilight as she got up from her seat. The pair now began to walk towards the courtyard as they saw their masters. The two teens saw the sisters as they were sitting in front of the tree. The tree was said to be ancient as within flowed the powers of the Force. Both sisters opened their eyes as they heard the footsteps without turning around. "We're here," said Storm. "Good," said Celestia as she closed her eyes again. "So, what..." "Shush," stated Luna as she too went back to her meditation. The girls breathed in and out as they focused their minds. The two students didn't know what to make of their masters. After a few more minutes, both ladies opened their eyes and then stood up. "So, can you tell us why we're here?" asked Twilight. "Simple. Draw your lightsaber," stated Celestia. "What?" said the girl. "You heard me." Celestia then took a position as she looked at Twilight. Luna then did the same as she looked Storm in the eye. The boy knew what she was going to say as he obeyed the wishes of his master and pulled out his yellow blade. Twilight did several double-takes as she didn't know what was happening. "Twilight, draw your blade. That is an order," said Celestia. "R-Right." stated the girl nervously as she pulled out her weapon as a purple light came out. "Now, defeat us," said Luna as she and Celestia took a stance but didn't have their lightsabers. Both teens then spread out as they looked at their masters in the eye. Twilight was a bit uncertain as Storm had a set of determined eyes. Both studied the movements of the ladies as they were trying to see what they may do or find an opening. Luna and Celestia just simply stood in place as they watched their students. Eventually, both apprentices then lunged forward with their blades as the sisters simply side-stepped and then chop them in the chest as it caused both to back off a bit. "Is that all?!" taunted Celestia. "I thought I taught you better than that," stated Luna. Both teens growled as they now raced back in and tried a two-slash attack to which the sisters just dodged without any effort. They both then jumped over their students as they landed in place. Storm forward flip as he tried to slash while in the air to which Luna rolled. He landed and tried to sweep her legs but simply jumped and elbowed the boy in his chest as he fell to a knee. "Weak, pathetic." "Shut up!" growled Storm as he tried to do a surprise slash but Luna moved her head and hit the boy in the back as he tumbled a bit. Twilight wasn't faring any better as each time she tried to attack, Celestia would grab her wrist and deliver a quick elbow strike to get the girl to back off. "Is this all you can do? All the books and knowledge you've spent reading. And this is what you have to show for." said Celestia in a stern tone. Twilight responded by getting back on the offense and trying to swing at her master. She tried to Force push her, but Celestia just raised her hand as it did nothing. She then snapped her fingers as it was Twilight being pushed and she fell to the ground. "Star pupil? I don't think so," said Celestia looking over her student. "Perhaps, I should have never found you," said Luna as she looked at Storm. "Enough!!" shouted both teens as they now began to tap into their emotions as they did some more flips. This time the students tried to do some kicks combined with their lightsaber attacks. It got them to be closer with their connections, but both Jedi Masters still got out of the way as they got some good hits in on the teenagers. "Focus!" shouted Luna as she picked up some pebbles and flung them at Storm as it hit him in the face. "The Jedi do not seek aggression, but we stand against it. The Force is there to shield us. The obstacles in your path define the path! What stands in the way becomes the way!" Luna was using her Force powers with her hands behind her back as more pebbles were being hurled. The boy was now using his weapon to slash at the stones as he tried to cut through. "Where is the Force?" asked Celestia as Twilight was being held down by the Jedi Master's force powers as she simply circled her on the floor. "Everywhere. It's within me. It surrounds me." said Twilight as she struggled to break free from the Force grip of her master as her weapon lied in front of her. "Just so! It connects you!" yelled Celestia. "There will be times when emotion... pain or exhaustion trick you. You will feel cut off. Isolated. This is an illusion." She applied more pressure as Twilight was struggling harder to escape. "Your lightsaber lies there. Out of reach. But you remain connected through the Force. Feel that energy around you... And summon your weapon." Twilight saw her lightsaber as she reached her hand out to call it. But it wasn't responding as her body was being held down by Celestia's grip and the Force. She tried to apply what her master said about not letting illusions get in her head, but the pain and the feeling of it all were too real that she couldn't think straight. "The Force is... within you, around you..., connecting you to your weapon," said Twilight as she reached her hand again as her lightsaber moved but then her mind was still not focused as it didn't respond and fell in place. "You must ignore all distractions!" "I am!" "Are you!!!!" shouted Celestia. "Are you sure!!!" Twilight then looked at Celestia's eyes as she saw what her master meant. She saw the thing of her in the library playing with her hair trying to look even more pretty. At that moment, the girl had her realization. Twilight then closed her eyes and concentrated as she tried to put that image out of her mind. It was tough, but Twilight made progress as she felt the grip loosening as she extended her hand out as her lightsaber flew into it as she now broke free and stood up. Celestia cracked a small smile as now she took out her lightsaber and projected a blue light. Twilight then raced forward as she slid under her master trying to go for a low attack to which Celestia just forward flip out of harm's way. She turned back quickly and rushed forward as she clashed her blade with Twilight's as she was showing off her strength as Twilight felt her feet dragging along the floor. The Jedi Master then did a quick kick to her midsection as Twilight backed off and barely had time to react as Celestia responded with a barrage of quick attacks as the girl could only defend and dodge roll out of the ones she couldn't block. "Are you going to cry!!!" shouted Luna as Storm just finished slicing through all the pebbles she hurled at him as he was breathing heavy. "Shut the hell up!!" responded the boy. "So be it." said the Jedi Master. Luna then pulled out her lightsaber as it too hummed a blue light. She gave her student no time to prepare himself as she lunged forward as Storm saw her coming as he blocked the first two attacks but was kicked in the face by a roundhouse from his master. He spitted out some salvia as he now quickly stood his ground as he now began to do some attacks to which Luna blocked with her blade using one hand. Storm then tried some more of his tricks like doing a spin in midair with his lightsaber as Luna rotated her blade horizontally to block all connections. He landed and put his hand out as he Force pushed Luna a few inches. But she then stood up and walked towards the boy as he was still using the Force to push her. Her hair fluttered in the wind as she got closer and then slashed her blade through to which the boy blocked as she towered over her student. Their blades hummed against one another as their faces were mere inches as Storm had a determined look as Luna was unamused. "Child's play!!" shouted Luna and Celestia. The nighttime sister then knocked the blade out of Storm's hand as he rolled as Luna brought her lightsaber down. He avoided it as he reached out and it began to fly, but it zoomed past him as it responded to Luna as she now grabbed it. Storm was stunned for a bit as Luna retracted her blade and then thrust both of her hands out as Storm was being pushed back as he stood his ground. His feet dragged along the ground as Luna applied more of the Force to get her student off his knees. The boy was determined to get to his master as he too put both of his hands out to repel the attack. He began to take a step while trying to push back. Meanwhile, Twilight and Celestia were still engaged in their sword fight as Celestia swept her student from under. The girl fell as Celestia towered over her and struck her blade downwards as the lavender teen moved her head to avoid being hit as she slid out and then got to her feet. She slid under Celestia's next attack as she was now behind her master back to back. Twilight coping with her master's movements trying to find an opening. Twilight then saw it as she did a side swipe to which Celestia just blocked it with a backward motion without looking. She spun around guiding Twilight's blade as she tossed both into the air as they retracted the light. Now it was hand-to-hand combat as Twilight tried some strikes as Celestia countered and blocked as she got her student in the chest. Twilight then flipped and landed using the momentum to deliver a roundhouse to which Celestia caught it as her eyes were closed. Twilight was stunned as her master then opened them and pushed the girl off. She did some quick strikes and chops to Twilight as she just put her arms up to cover but she could feel the blows. Celestia then grabbed her arm and flung Twilight onto the ground as at that same moment, the lightsabers fell. Twilight lifted her head up and immediately was trapped as both blades were near her neck as Celestia stood over her crossing her hands. Twilight was at a loss for words as she was trapped by her master with a stern look. One look and Twilight knew... she just put her head down to which Celestia retracted the weapons and could hear the small sniffs coming from her student. Storm was still trying to push through Luna's Force push as every step he took used a lot of his strength. At the rate he was going, he was going to collapse before he was anywhere halfway. Luna kept applying more as she watched her student struggle against something he couldn't win. "Give it up, Storm!" shouted Luna as she now just used one hand as it put more into her Force push as Storm's feet dragged even more. "Give up, you can't beat me." "Yes... I... CAN!!!" shouted the boy. He took a huge step as it resonated with the Force. Storm took another step as he now thrust his arm out as he stepped. He alternated his arms as he took a step as if trying to pile up the amount of Force pushes so that he could break through Luna's barrier. And the crazy thing was... it seemed to be working. Not at first, but slowly, inch by inch, Storm was now stepping towards Luna as she saw what her student was doing. She applied more as it only moved the teen boy back a bit before he got right back to pushing. Thrust after thrust, in sync with each step, the Jedi Knight was determined as it was fueling his concentration. "You can't beat me!" yelled out Luna. "I... will... and I'll... become... a better... Jedi Master... than... you ever were!" screamed the boy. His focus was now burning like a raging inferno as he started to get faster and faster with each step and arms thrust. He was now more than halfway in the distance between him and Luna. Even the girls watching were impressed by what the boy was doing against someone of Luna's caliber. Even the Jedi Master herself was shocked, with all her experience and training, she was seeing her student do the impossible. Storm was getting closer and closer as he was just inches away from Luna's fingertips as he was there. He just needed a bit more, but... he couldn't. At that point, all of Storm's body and his mind couldn't take anymore as they failed. The Jedi Knight was now flung back with so much power and speed as he was sent flying. He crashed into the tree as he felt the impact of his back with the hard wooden bark. The tree stood its ground with the Force protecting it from the impact, but the same couldn't be said for the boy. Storm felt his body as he now slid down the stem of the tree and collapse face-first on the ground. "Storm!!" called out Twilight. She wanted to check on her partner but was stopped by Celestia who blocked her path with Twilight's lightsaber being turned on and putting it in front of her. Twilight looked at her master as she simply shook her head. Luna now started to walk towards her student as she looked at the boy's body. Storm was still stirring after being hit by that much Force and getting slammed into a tree he was still not willing to go down. He lifted his head as he saw the feet of his master and then looked at her face. Luna held a stern look as she saw the boy who was considered her apprentice. "Accept defeat. You've lost." Luna then turned to leave as she dropped Storm's lightsaber in front of him. "NO!" shouted the boy as it got Luna to look at the teen. "I... will... never give up..." struggled the boy to say as he got onto his knees. "You've... taught me... to fight... until my dying breath... and... I... will... do that." Storm now got to his feet as his body was covered in scuffs as he slouched over upon standing. "Besides, you know me, Luna... I... never... give up!! I'll become... a Jedi Master... and then... you're gonna bow... down to me!!! You can bet your ass!!!!" shouted the Jedi Knight. Storm then slowly began to walk as he was but a few inches away from his master. Luna just stood there watching her student clinging onto the little hope that he had left. She knew Storm's attitude to persistent and willing to fight when the odds were against him, but as his master, she knew when there was a time to accept your loss and move on. Storm now put his hand out as if he was reaching for the woman. "I... will... never... give..." He didn't finish what he said as his body gave out. Storm was now falling forward. He would have hit the ground again if he wasn't caught by Luna. The boy's body leaned on the girl's arms as she had her eyes closed. She opened them as she saw her student in her arms as she had a look. Luna let out a sigh as she then began to sit down as she still had Storm in her arms. The woman placed the teen's head in her lap, brought her right hand, and ran it through his hair. Storm opened his eyes as he felt Luna's touch; she now smiled a bit as she was still caressing his face. Soon he heard Luna's voice as she began to sing. For Luna, she was not only singing but rather comforting her student. The scene now changed as it similarly showed the pair, but it was when they were younger. Luna was now holding a small Storm in her arms as he was crying. Her younger self sang as a way to suppress the child's constant crying. It worked as Storm looked up at Luna as her voice was angelic and it got the small child to stop crying. Luna just kept on singing while moving about rocking him in her arms as she ran her hand through his hair. She nuzzled her nose against his as the child now let out a yawn as he soon fell asleep. The scene now changed back to the present as Luna was reaching the end of her lullaby. Storm heard the song from his childhood as it made tears form in his eyes. That was the one thing that no matter what, always got the boy to shed a tear as he got older. Luna saw it as she wiped the tears from her student and pulled him into her chest as she rubbed the back of his head as Storm closed his eyes and felt the water run down his cheeks. Luna finished her song as she pulled back to look at Storm. She wiped the last bit of water in his eyes as she grabbed his face. She couldn't help but smile and see the boy not as her student, or an orphan she found, but as her family. She planted a kiss on Storm's head as she smiled. "Good job, son," said the girl as she got up from her knees and began to walk. Celestia and Twilight watched the whole interaction as the Jedi Master also smiled at seeing what went down with her little sister and her student. She then looked at Twilight as she retracted the light from Twilight's lightsaber. She then present it back to the girl who grabbed it with both hands and clutched it close to herself. Celestia then patted Twilight on the shoulder with a motherly smile as she left with her sister. Both teens were now kneeling as they reflected on what had just gone down. Twilight looked at her weapon as the message was clear. She gripped her lightsaber as she now had a refound purpose. For Storm, he looked at his hand as he could see it shaking. But he then remembered Luna's lullaby as it got his hand to calm down. He now brought it up to fell the somewhat dried up trails of water. To think that a boy who cried nonstop his whole life and now that he had grown up, he couldn't do that. But yet, Luna had the power to make him do that. It was clear what need to be done, as Storm put his hand into a fist and pounded the ground as he knew. But he wasn't going to do it alone. Both teens now lifted their heads to look at one another. Nothing was said between the two but the look in each other's eyes. The message was heard loud and clear as the only response was a nod. Soon the sun had set as the moon was now coming high into the sky as it lit up the whole planet with its beautiful and radiant light.