//------------------------------// // Illum // Story: The Dragon and the Force // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// It had been weeks since Spike and the others had been given their training lightsabers, weeks of hard training and no small amount of pain from the amount of losses Spike had endured. Nevertheless, Spike had gotten better since he had first began, not at the level of the others, but better all the same. Out of all of them, he was the only one to not stick rigidly to a single strategy, allowing him his few victories against the powerhouses that were Zule and Tarhal. His control of the force however, was still growing, gaining in both strength and control at exponential levels. Asho and Corinna were equally matched able to match each other blow for unsteady blow, and while their grasp on the Shii-Cho form was only just above what was expected, it was still within acceptable levels to advance to the final test. Tarhal, on the other hand, had proven that he had finally found his element, using brute strength to batter down his targets, and although his actual skill was little more than brutal hacks and slashes, it was good enough to not injure himself, or anyone around him, save for his enemies. Norik had initially expressed concern over the ferocity of his attacks, but conceded the point that Wookie problem solving usually involved two steps; find the problem, then beat it over its head with as large a stick as possible. In fact, only one person amongst their merry group could ever hope to match Tarhal in a purely physical Lightsaber duel was Zule. While the human was not nearly as strong as Spike or Tarhal, he was much more skilled in Shii-Cho than either of them, following the way of the Sarlac further than the others. If Norik was to be believed, he was a natural at the form, and if he stayed on his current path, he could someday master the form. Now though, after almost ten weeks at the Jedi temple, the five member of Nexu Clan were ready to undertake their final test, a fact they all knew, but were still eagerly awaiting true confirmation from mater Norik. To that end, the five of them were in the Jedi training room for what would hopefully be the last time when they were all together. After today, it would simply be a case of completing the Jedi temple apprentice tournament and gaining the attention of a master, and they would be out in the galaxy at large. “Gather round apprentices.” Norik said, as the five of them walked into the room. “No more training, no more lessons, at least not from me. Today, you will travel to the ice planet of Illum, accompanied by Jedi knight Siphous.” As he said this, a Jedi entered the room behind the apprentices, and Spike turned to look at the new arrival. He was a Selkath, his skin a mottled blue colour, offset by the slight shine of his skin. He wore a tight robe on his body, held around his body by a thick black belt, hanging from which was his own Lightsaber. “Master.” He said in near perfect basic, a difficult fact for a Selkath, before bowing deeply. “Siphous was my padawan when he yet stood as one.” Norik informed them. “On Illum, you will face numerous trials to your own psyche, but more importantly, you will find the crystals for your own Lightsaber. I will allow Siphous to explain more on the journey.” As he said that, he turned on his heels and quickly walked from the room. Siphous nodded as Norik left the room, before beckoning for the initiates to follow him. The six figures walked through the winding hallways of the temple, before they finally reached the one part that had been strictly off limits to them during their training, even when they were with master Norik, the hanger bay. Quickly entering the room, Siphous walked towards a small craft with its loading ramp down, before turning to face the initiates. “You have proved to be the top of the others clans in skill, and so now is the time of the gathering.” He said, slowly walking in front of the initiates. "For a Jedi, there is no greater challenge, or honour. Now, Tarhal, Zule, Corinna, Asho, and Spike, the time has come to build your own Lightsabers.” As he said this, he drew his own weapon, allowing them to see the smooth hilt. “But be warned, finding your crystals inside the caves of Illum will be no easy task, and many perils will lie ahead of you. That being said, where we are going, there is no place more sacred to the Jedi.” The initiates smiled, looking between each other in excitement, before following Siphous up the ramp and into the ship. Shortly afterwards, they felt the ship move, as slowly, it rose into the air, before speeding off towards the ship in orbit that would take them to Illum. “Master Siphous.” Spike sniffed, tapping the Jedi on his back. “I am no master, Spike.” Siphous smiled. “Apologies.” Spike said, his voice sounding blocked. “But can you do anything about colds?” “I believe there is a medical droid on board the maiden ship.” Siphous nodded. “Th…tha” Spike began, sniffing, trying to stop himself from sneezing. “A…choo.” As Spike sneezed, a huge gout of flame spewed out of his mouth, only narrowly missing Siphous, who dived to the side in fear. The others all looked at Spike in utter shock and confusion, but none more so than Spike himself, who was staring at the singed area on the floor. “How the buck did I forget that?” Spike whispered to himself, completely confused about how he could forget something as integral to his anatomy as the ability to breathe fire. “What was that?” Zule shouted in amazement and confusion. “Agreed.” Corinna nodded, looking as confused as her brother. “Knowing that you can breathe fire would have been nice to know like, I don’t know, when we first met?” “It should have been something that you said when we first met.” Asho nodded. “Hi, I’m Spike, I’m a dragon, I can breathe fire. Something like that.” “Hey…I forgot.” Spike said, still in confusion. “There’s been a lot going on, and…it just slipped my mind.” He finished weakly. “It’s not a problem.” Tarhal growled. “Just would have been nice to know.” “Well, that’s something.” Siphous laughed. “Not something many on the gathering have to deal with I’m sure.” Laughing to himself, Siphous turned and walked towards the cockpit to discuss something with the pilot, while the other initiates crowded around Spike. “You’re full of surprises.” Tarhal laughed. “I can send letters home!” Spike suddenly whooped in joy, surprising everyone again. “What?” Asho asked. “Err…Celestia, she enchanted me as a baby.” Spike said, looking around for something to write on, before groaning and pulling out a note he had written himself. “This will have to do.” He muttered, before taking a deep breath. “I can send messages to her through my fire.” With a massive smile plastered on his face, he unleashed a gout of flame. Orange flame. The paper was instantly reduced to ash, falling to the floor of the spaceship, but most definitely not being sent to Celestia. “Oh.” Spike said, his face falling. “I’m guessing it didn’t work perfectly.” Zule asked. “No…no it didn’t.” Spike said sadly. “I guess it only worked in Equestria.” Shaking his head, Spike cleared his thoughts, before smiling once more. “Ah well, I can get over it. I already knew I couldn’t go home, at least now I’ve remembered about it.” He laughed. “Glad to see you’re not a quivering wreck over the thought of home anymore.” Tarhal smiled. “Thanks to you guys.” Spike laughed, pulling them all into a hug. *** After a few days of travel, the five members of Nexu Clan, as well as Jedi knight Siphous, descended towards the surface of Illum. All of them, bar Spike and Tarhal, were wrapped up against the bitter cold that covered the surface of Illum. Apparently, Tarhal’s fur would keep him warm, and whenever Spike had tried to put on one of the fur coats, the spines on his back had cut through them, eventually necessitating that he go without. He had assured the Jedi that he knew what cold was though, he had been the saviour of the Crystal Empire after all. As the ramp to the spaceship opened, Spike realised he may have been slightly mislead, as the cold whipped into the ship. It was not unbearable to him, but he would be lying to say that it was comfortable. Wrapping his arms around himself, Spike ventured out into the icy weather, glad that there wasn’t a storm wracking the surface as they walked towards a massive ice wall. Getting closer to it, Spike saw a beautifully crafted arch way, made entirely out of ice. The inside of the arch way was also filled with ice, but with a wave of his hand, Siphous moved the ice aside, revealing a large cave inside the wall. Walking in, they quickly caught sight of Grandmaster Garton Brine, sitting cross-legged on, or rather, above, a plateau of ice. Slowly, he got to his feet as the initiates gathered around him. “A Jedi, is the force made physical.” He began, slowly looking from Jedi to Jedi. “With this power, come great responsibility. With this power, we can protect others, but how can we do that? Through the force, and this.” He said, drawing out his Lightsaber and igniting it, showing off the bright yellow blade. “To build your own Lightsaber, you must harvest a crystal from the caves behind me, with it, you can construct the heart of the Lightsaber, allowing you to focus the force that flows through you into the blade.” He re-attached his Lightsaber to his belt, before raising both his hands towards a large closed window near the top of the room, sliding it open, and allowing glorious sunlight to stream in, falling on a massive crystal in the middle of the roof. Using the force, Garton spun the crystal, until a smaller crystal aligned with it, focusing the light into a single beam, which shot out towards a part of the ice wall. Instantly, the ice melted, streaming across the floor, before vanishing once again. “If you are to become Jedi, you must enter the cave, trust yourself, trust your friends, trust the force. Do this, and you will succeed.” Garton said, turning back to the initiates. Nodding, the initiates moved towards the now open archway, climbing a small flight of stairs on the way. As they were about to enter, Siphous approached, bidding that they turn to face him. “Once you have recovered your crystal, do not remain inside the caves. When day turns to night, the door will have frozen over once more, and you will be trapped.” He said, looking between the initiates. “For how long exactly?” Spike asked. “Until the sun comes back up in a single planetary rotation.” Siphous said simply. “Become trapped, and all we can do is wait, there will be no help to those caught inside.” “So…how long’s a rotation then?” Spike asked again. “The sun rises over Illum every nineteen days.” Siphous said with a slight grimace. “Luna would like that.” Spike muttered. “Are we going to encounter anything living in the caves?” Zule asked. “Gorgodon’s, if anything. Keep your wits about you, and even on your own, you should be able to protect yourselves from them.” Siphous replied. “How will we know which crystal to pick?” Tarhal asked, Asho quickly translating when Siphous looked confused. “Only you can decide that. As master Brine said, trust in the force. Now, hurry, daylight is already ticking on.” Siphous said, turning and walking away. Stealing themselves, the five members of Nexu clan quickly made their way inside the cave system itself. The cave was dark, but eerily beautiful at the same time, the ice of the walls sparkling off the lights emanating from the sunlight. Small parts of the wall were twinkling more than the rest, and Zule pointed them out. “Do you think those are the crystals?” He asked. “No, they’re just denser ice than the rest of the wall.” Spike summarised. “Water crystals maybe, but not suitable for use in a Lightsaber.” “You still don’t strike me as someone who would be clever.” Tarhal laughed. “And you don’t strike me as someone who would be compassionate.” Spike shot back with a grin. “We should probably get a move on.” Corinna pointed out. “That’s a good idea.” Zule agreed. “How are we going to do this?” “Split up to find the crystals, then get back before it freezes over?” Asho suggested. “Are we all sure we can do it alone?” Spike asked. Receiving a unanimous nod from the rest of the clan, Spike placed his hand out in front of him. Quickly, the others placed their hands on top of his. “Alright. One…two…three…Nexu!” They all shouted in unison, before turning and quickly entering one of the many tunnels leading off from the main entrance, heading deeper into the main crystal caves. *** Asho *** Asho ran down the passage way, drawing her fur coat around herself tighter to conserve what warmth that she had. She quickly scanned the walls as she ran, searching for anything that looked or felt different from the never ending sheets of ice, but instead, all she saw was more ice. Suddenly, a thought hit her, and she skidded to a halt, emerging into a large circular ice room, and looking around herself in fear. For the first time she could remember in her life, she was alone, the master of her own destiny. There were no slavers towering over her making all the decisions for her, there were no Jedi masters teaching her every second of the day, there weren’t even her friends to comfort her from the memories that plagued her. She was truly alone. Pure, unrivalled terror gripped the young Twilek as she looked around the room, trying to remember which identical passage way she came down. Spinning around frantically, she lost her footing, and fell heavily onto the ground. A sickening crack sounded out as she smashed onto the floor, and resounded around the room, bouncing off the walls. Before Asho could do anything, the ice beneath her cracked, forming a spider web like pattern around her. A split second later, the entire floor smashed, plunging Asho the darkness below. As she fell, she heard a rumbling sound, as sheets of ice fell from the ceiling, crashing over the entrance to the tiny cave, forming cruel bars across Asho’s makeshift cage. Covering her head, Asho curled herself up into a ball, protecting herself from the physical blows that always came after she was put into her cage, briefly wondering whether it would be the whip or the rod this time. She waited for what felt like an eternity for the blows to land, assuming that the long wait was another one of the master’s cruel tricks to catch her off guard. Eventually, Asho cracked her eyes open, taking in her surrounding once again. Instantly, the mental images that had been forming in her mind about her past were dispelled, as she saw exactly where she was. Looking around herself, she took in her new surroundings. She was in a tiny ice cavern, barely two meters by two meters back, giving her just enough space to move around if she stooped. Above her head, ice shards covered the hole she had come in from, forming bars to complete her prison. Reaching up, Asho made to push the ice away, before pulling her hands back. She knew that touching the roof of her cage would result in punishment. She still bore the scars from all her ill-fated attempts. Shaking her head, she tried to push the thoughts out of her mind, telling herself that it wasn’t real, and that she was no longer a slave, but try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to touch the bars. Sliding back down the walls, Asho put her head in her hands once more, and began to cry. She had been stupid to believe she was free, or could ever be a Jedi. At heart, she knew her masters would always own her, and try as she might, she wasn’t going to be able to get over that. Sobbing, she glanced up, looking at the ceiling above her, forcing herself to get at least one last glimpse of her newest surroundings before she froze to death in this hell that she found herself in. A tiny glint caught her eye. Wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve, she looked up at the ceiling more carefully, hoping against hope that it wasn’t just her mind playing tricks on her again. For a moment, she couldn’t find the glint from before, and her heart sank again. As she was about to give up hope once more, she spotted it again, a small glinting speck in the ceiling, shining out against the ice surrounding it. Quickly getting to her feet, being careful not to smack her head on the bars as she did so, she looked up at the ice keeping her captive. Unsteadily, she reached up, and gingerly touched the bars, flinching as she waited for the pain that would surely follow. When none came, she gritted her teeth, and pushed. The ice scraped against the other bars, and began to rise slowly, before Asho slipped, falling to the floor and letting the bars fall back into place. Not allowing herself to be deterred, Asho rose again, grabbing hold of the bars and pushing. Slowly, they began to rise, but as they did, she felt herself slipping again. Thinking quickly, she shot her hand out, pointing it at the walls of her cage and channelling the force to push into the wall. The wall didn’t move, but Asho accomplished her goal, and steadied her footing, using the force to steady herself as she continued to push the bars up, before with one final effort, she cleared them away, and opened up the pathway to her escape. Quickly climbing out of the make-shift cage, she made her way over to where she had seen the glinting crystal, quickly finding it, and inspecting it closely. It was small, so small that if she hadn’t known exactly where it was, she would never have seen it in and amongst the other bits of ice. If fact, the only reason she hadn’t walked straight past it was because of the fact that she had fallen into the cage, and looked upwards. Reaching out, she plucked the crystal from the wall, before slipping it into her pocket, and turning on her heel, running back down the passageway she instinctively knew lead to the entrance. *** Corinna *** Corinna made her way down the ice passage, checking at different intervals to see if she could find the crystal that she was looking for. Truth be told, she didn’t actually know what she was looking for, having never seen what a Lightsaber crystal looked like, and even if she had, knowing that it would be unique to her and her alone. She smiled briefly at thinking how her brother would be getting on in this, so stymied by his rules in a situation that couldn’t be described in any manual. It was almost poetically ironic. It felt odd to be doing this without her brother, they hardly ever parted, they worked better when they were together, but it wasn’t the first time they had been separated, and she wasn’t worried. She could work on her own quite well, and unlike her brother, she wasn’t bound body and soul to rule books, in fact, she hated the things, always trying to tell you what to do in a situation that required a bit of free thinking. She’d never been able to apply it in any meaningful way yet, unlike Spike, and had actually quite enjoyed the regimented style of Shii-Cho. Apparently, Shii-Cho was a very randomised form when it was taken to its highest level, and that was something that appealed directly to her own opinions of how things should be done. Finding a fork in the passageway, Corinna stopped, deciding which way to go. “Hmm. Eenie meenie miney mo, catch a Wampa by its toe. If it roars, you should go, eenie meenie miney mo.” She said to herself happily, pointing between the two paths, finishing on the left path. “Well then, right it is.” She smiled, before running off down the right hand path. Giggling to herself, she quickly found herself in a massive cavern, and walked around in awe at the soaring walls and pillars of ice rising all the way to the ceiling. What really captivated her though was the massive waterfall at the end of the room, replete with large chunks of ice thundering along with it, before smashing apart on the surface of the water to join the thousands of other tiny shards that were already there. Glancing up, she saw a large piece of ice reflecting something, and glanced further down the wall, her eyes falling until they finally alighted upon a small crystal object, resting on the surface of the ice shards down in the bore hole the waterfall had carved out. Smiling to herself, Corinna extended her hand, reaching out with the force to grab a hold of the crystal and pull it to her. Finding herself unsuccessful, Corinna tried again, closing her eyes and scrunching her face up in concentration, willing the crystal to come towards her, but was once again found herself unsuccessful. Groaning in frustration, Corinna looked around the room, looking for anything that could help her reach what she instinctively knew was her Lightsaber crystal. Walking around the pit to the waterfall, she quickly looked behind it, assessing the wall to see if she would be able to climb down and retrieve the crystal by hand. Gingerly, she put a hand on the wall, testing it to see if it would take her weight. The hand-hold was freezing cold, and creaked as she stepped onto it, but it held, and Corinna smiled to herself. She could imagine Zule freaking out at this blatant disregard of the established rules, and smiled as she slowly made her way down the wall. It was slippery, and more than once she almost lost her footing, but the handholds that she found held, and that was good enough for her. That was until she reached the halfway point. Stepping down, she placed her foot on an icy outcrop, before lifting her other foot to find another foot hold. As soon as she rested her entire weight on the outcrop though, there was a sickening cracking sound, and Corinna only just managed to pull her foot away and place it back where it was originally before the ice broke off the wall, plummeting downwards and sliding into the water with a loud ‘splash’. Relenting, Corinna began to climb back up, making sure to test each hand hold before putting her weight on it. She managed to make her way back to the top of the hole without incident, and sat on the edge, looking down at her crystal. It was cruel really, being able to see it, but it might as well have been a million miles away for all the good it was doing to her. As she looked down, she noticed almost dismissively, that the water had risen quite a bit since she had been climbing. Dismissing it as irrelevant, she racked her brains for what to do, thinking up and dismissing numerous strategies, before falling back and groaning in frustration. Wracking her brain, she thought back for anything that could help her. ‘A Jedi’s greatest asset is patience.’ Norik’s voice echoed in her head, and she nodded, knowing that for once, she was going to have to do the expected. Getting to her knees, she sat back, closing her eyes, and meditating upon the force. *** She stayed in the exact same position for what felt like hours, thinking upon all she had learnt since she had come to the Jedi temple, and how far she had her brother had come since their time on Corellia. She had loved every moment of it, and reflected on all the decisions that had lead up to it, the good and the bad, and smiled, knowing that she wouldn’t have changed any of them, just in case it lead to her not being here today. Opening her eyes, Corinna’s grin grew even wider as she saw the water level. The water had risen to almost the top of the hole, and Corinna quickly went over to the edge, looking down at the crystal that lay on top of the ice. Reaching out, she brushed her hand through the water accidentally, pulling it back as the cold shot through her, before trying again, this time making sure not to touch the water. Grabbing hold of the crystal, she placed it in her pocket, before running back the way she had come, towards the entrance. *** Zule *** Zule slowly made his way down the passageway, inspecting the walls carefully as he went. He smiled as he imagined his sister simply running around like a headless chicken looking wherever she wanted to for her crystal, rather than screening each area slowly and methodically. As he always said, ‘Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.’ Moving further down the passageway, Zule ran his hand over the smooth surface of the ice, reaching out to sense if he could find anything that was out of the ordinary, a blip in the ice, a tinge in his brain as he pushed the force deep into the wall, anything. He tried everything he could, everything he had learnt about using the force to sense something, and yet he still felt nothing. Sighing, he took his hand off the wall, and pulled his coat around himself, before heading off deeper into the cave, periodically stopping to check the surrounding area with the force, before moving further in after finding nothing once again. Not giving up, Zule moved forward, reaching a dead end, and placing his hand on the wall for the millionth time, pushing his mind deep into the fabric of the wall, feeling for anything. Finding nothing, he pushed deeper into the wall, trying harder than ever before to try and find something, anything, even if it was just a direction towards where his crystal was, but once again, he came up blank. Sighing, he removed his hand from the wall, before looking around. Everything looked the same, the ice walls blending into the ice-covered floor, and stretching up to the frozen roof. Nothing was standing out, and nothing he was doing was making anything any clearer. Everything that master Norik had taught him, everything he knew about the force, which granted wasn’t much, had failed him. Nothing was working, and he was crack out of ideas, not able to think of anything that he hadn’t already done. For the first time in his life, he was envious of his sister. She could always figure out what to do in a situation, and then she would do it, even if it went against everything that she should have done in the situation. Knowing her, she had probably already figured out where her crystal was, how to get at it, and was probably already waiting for the rest of them outside the cave, getting to have a personal lesson from the grandmaster. Giving his surroundings one more look over, Zule turned back to face the dead end, trying again to find something in the wall, but coming up blank. Stopping for a moment, he visualised his sister, trying to figure out what she would do in a situation like this. Corinna would probably just run through the caves, hoping to find it, rather than searching methodically, she had probably then found it, and instead of doing what she had been taught, she would do what she thought. Closing his eyes, Zule tried to think about what he should do in this situation, not what he was told to do, but what he actually thought he should do. He wracked his mind, trying in vain to think about the situation in a non-logical way, but finding no answers. Growling he placed his hand back on the wall, and channelled the force through it, but this time, it wasn’t searching for anything, it was just pure power. Instantly, the wall fractured, cracking from floor to ceiling, before collapsing at Zule's feet, revealing a large cave, dotted with massive crystal protrusions. Zule smiled in amazement, walking around the room and looking at the different crystals, before one finally caught his eye. It was big, and instantly knew that it was the crystal for him, but also that it was way out of his reach, being over the other side of an ice canyon that was slowly being filled up with water from a small waterfall. His first instinct was to focus on what he knew, and on what the Jedi had taught him, and use patience. The hole would fill up and freeze over, and he would be able to walk across and get his crystal. But would he have enough time to then get out before the ice wall froze over again? He also knew that the distance was too great for him to simply grab the crystal with the force, so that lesson was also out. Deciding that he had got this far by emulating his sister, he closed his eyes, and once again thought about what Corinna would do in this situation. Knowing her as well as he did, it was not difficult to deduce what she would do, and Zule opened his eyes, looking around the room for anything that might help. Smiling, he caught sight of exactly what he needed, and walked over to a large pillar of greyish ice. Placing his hands on the base of the pillar, Zule channelled the force into the frozen substance, pouring it into the structure for almost a full minute, before finally, the pillar began to wobble. Stepping back, Zule tapped the pillar lightly with a single finger, and slowly, the pillar toppled forward. With a loud crash, it slammed into the ravine, bridging the gap, and landing nearly directly underneath where his crystal was lodged. Smiling to himself, Zule unsteadily stepped onto the pillar, before making his way across, arms outstretched for balance. Quickly crossing the gap, he reached the wall, and used it to steady himself. The crystal was still out of his reach, but with the reduced distance from being on the pillar, Zule knew what he could do now, and quickly extended his hand towards it. Instantly, the crystal shifted in the wall, coming loose, before whizzing across the gap into the outstretched palm of Zule. The boy looked at his hand in confusion for a moment, before grinning widely. Switching the crystal to his other hand, he quickly unbuttoned a pocket, slipping the precious sliver inside, before buttoning it back up. Grinning widely, he set off back across the pillar, before breaking into a run back towards the entrance to the cave, hoping against hope that the ice sheet hadn’t sealed up completely yet. *** Spike *** Spike quickly made his way down one of the passages, weaving through the stalagmites that festooned the floor, before darting down another side passage. Truth be told, he didn’t know what he was looking for, neither did he have a particular strategy, but if there was one thing the dragon knew, it was the fact he would only know where his crystal was by getting close to it, so going slow was not going to help him. He was sure that not all of the others would share his philosophy, Zule in particular, but that didn’t matter to him, this was his quest, and only he could decide how best to complete the challenges that lay ahead. Skidding to a halt, Spike saw a large room ahead of him, and slowly walked inside, checking the corners of the room for any sort of movement. Finding none, he nodded to himself, before walking around the room, checking the walls to make sure that nothing was hidden within them. Rounding a corner, he gasped as he saw what was in front of him. Rising up from the ground was a huge pillar of ice, reaching half way up the room before flattening out. Above that, a stalactite hung down from the ceiling, stopping just above the first pillar, and in between the two huge chunks of ice, hovering in place, stood a small, glinting crystal. Instantly, Spike knew that it was the crystal for him. Looking around the room, Spike searched for anyway to get to the crystal without risking his neck in a fifty meter climb. Realising that short of climbing higher up one of the equally dangerous walls and jumping towards the pillar in the hope of being accurate enough to hit the pillar, he had only one choice. Sighing, and smirking to himself as he remembered his first adventure in the Crystal Empire, Spike extended his claws, and walked over to the pillar. As he rose his hand to dig his claws into the frozen substance, he was suddenly aware of another presence in the room, and whirled around, expecting to see one of the other initiates. Instead, what he saw both sent his heart soaring higher than the ship that was waiting to take them back to Coruscant, as well as terrifying him to his very core. “T…T…Twilight?” He asked in complete confusion, terror and happiness. The purple mare looked just like he remembered her, right down to the smallest detail, and slowly, she walked over towards Spike, nuzzling up to him softly. That was the final straw, the final crack that unleashed the deluge of emotions hidden behind the mask he had been forcing himself to wear for the past few weeks. “Mummy.” He sobbed, pulling Twilight closer, and burying his face into her soft fur. “I’m here Spike.” She said, her own tears making the words difficult to decipher. “Where did you go?” “I…I don’t know.” Spike bumbled, not knowing what to say. What could he say after this length of time? “I’m so sorry.” “No I’m sorry Spike.” She sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I failed you.” “You didn’t fail. You didn’t, just…no.” Spike managed. “Look at me now. I’m so different now, better than I was before.” “So what now?” Twilight smiled, breaking off from the hug. “If I get that crystal up there,” Spike said, choking back his tears and pointing towards the pillar of ice behind him, “then I’m a Jedi padawan, they won’t let me up and leave.” “Do you want to be a Jedi?” Twilight asked. “I couldn’t leave you again.” Spike laughed weakly. “I didn’t ask if you wanted to leave, I asked if you wanted to be a Jedi.” Twilight reiterated. “I have friends here, Tarhal, Zule, all the others.” Spike said slowly. “So, yeah, I guess.” “Then let’s go.” Twilight smiled. “We get that crystal, and you become a Jedi.” “You mean you’d help me?” Spike asked. “Oh course I would.” Twilight nodded, before walking over to the pillar. Smiling, Spike grabbed onto the pillar, digging his claws in, and gesturing for Twilight to garb on to his back. Nodding, she wrapped her hooves around him, and slowly, Spike began to climb up the pillar, slowly pulling both himself and the purple mare up the ice tower, Twilight whispering words of encouragement into his ear all the time. It was long, hard, arduous work, digging his claws into the ice before hauling himself up another few inches. Hand over hand he worked, struggling with every move he made, and all the while receiving encouragement from the mare on his back. “You can do it Spike.” “Just a little more Spike.” “That’s it Spike.” On and on it went, until finally, Spike managed to get near to the top of the pillar. Reaching up, Spike stretched out towards the crystal, trying to push his arm up as far as it could go. His other claw dug deep into the ice, keeping the pair steady. In the end, it was only a matter of time. As he stretched out, the ice fractured, and for a heart wrenching second, Spike was weightless as his claw sought to find purchase on something. Slipping down, Spike felt the grip on his neck recede, and looked around to see Twilight falling in slow motion. Giving up on the crystal instantly, Spike smashed his free claw into a solid piece of ice, before reaching out with his other claw, grabbing hold of one of Twilights hind legs. As he did, he watched as a crack spiralled up the ice, hitting the crystal, and beginning to collapse the tower above it. It would only be a few minutes before everything was buried in a wave of ice, forever dooming his attempt to get a hold of the Lightsaber crystal. He roared in pain as he suddenly took up the weight of the purple mare, his head slamming back into the ice and momentarily dazing him. “Twilight!” He yelled, but the mare looked dazed herself, her horn sparking but failing to ignite properly. “Spike?” She slurred, her eyes focusing on the purple dragon. “Just hold on!” He screamed, trying to pull her up slightly, but instead, slipping down slightly further. “I wasn’t planning on letting go.” She slurred with a smile. “Can you use magic?” Spike shouted. “N…no.” She grunted, shaking her head and trying to light her horn again, but failing as she had before. “Are you ok?” “Can’t hold on much longer.” Spike grunted, his muscles starting to scream in protest as he struggled to stay attached to both the purple mare and the ice pillar. “Let go.” She said, so softly that if Spike hadn’t seen her lips move, he would never had known she said anything. “Tell me you didn’t say what I thought you said.” Spike growled. “You want this? You want your own life, a new one, you have to let go of the old one.” Twilight said softly. “You can’t get the crystal and hold onto me.” Deep down, Spike knew that on a level, Twilight was right, but he refused to accept it. He wasn’t the same dragon as before, and he wouldn’t just give up. “I am not letting you fall!” He shouted, struggling to raise her up even slightly. “You know you can’t do both!” Twilight shouted. “Choose! Down and lose the crystal, or up and lose me! Choose, NOW!” She screeched. “I will not choose!” Spike enunciated simply. “Then you’ll lose both!” Twilight screamed. “NO!” Spike screamed, but the scream was not just a physical sound, it was laced with power. Continuing to scream, Spike looked down at Twilight, and without moving his hand at all, wrapped her in a cocoon of telekinesis, a faint green aura, instantly reducing the weight on his arm, before removing it entirely, as Twilight floated up beside him. The purple mare stared in a mixture of shock and approval as Spike turned back to the wall, digging his second hand into the ice, and quickly climbing again, making sure to keep Twilight near him. Without the added weight on his back, Spike quickly scaled the last few meters of the pillar, snatching the crystal just as the pillar finally began to collapse. His goal achieved, Spike pushed himself from the collapsing tower, diving towards one of the walls. It was a long jump, and if he hadn’t been so high up to begin with, he would have hit the floor long before he hit the wall. As it was, he managed to dig a claw into the wall, sliding down until he gently touched the floor, lowering Twilight to the ground beside him. “That was…” Twilight began, but Spike silenced her. “Stop.” He smiled sadly, shaking his head. “You’re not her.” “What are you talking about?” Twilight asked. “You’re not…you can’t be. She can’t be here.” Spike said, tears forming in her eyes. “You were part of the test, the cave, whatever.” “You were supposed to drop me.” Twilight said, the damage done, and her body starting to flicker as the illusion came apart. “When did you realise?” “Twilight would have thought of some way to save both herself and let get the crystal, she always does, that’s what makes her amazing.” Spike said with a smile, even as the tears fell to the floor. “Like I said, you weren’t supposed to be able to do both.” The not-Twilight said. “You were supposed to give up on one life and choose the other one in its entirety, yet you did both.” “So what are you really?” Spike asked. “I’m part of the cave, part of the test. I’m not even real, not really. The Force works in mysterious ways Spike, that’s all I am, an illusion in your mind.” “So you’re not even here?” Spike asked. “Nothing is?” “You’re alone. I’m in your head.” Twilight smiled, fading faster now. “It is an interesting head, I will grant you that, such emotion, such power. Be careful young one, the allure of power has lured many a great Jedi to their ends. Even as we speak, the mighty are preparing to fall to the lowest aspects of the force, to give themselves over to it. Do not follow them in their pursuits.” “What do you mean?!” Spike shouted urgently, realising that this could be valuable to the Jedi. “You are going to go far, little Jedi, further than anyone can imagine.” Twilight said cryptically, before finally, disappearing completely. And like that Spike was alone again, nothing but the small sound of the last bits of ice falling to the floor. Sighing, but knowing deep down that this was always going to be the only logical explanation, Spike placed the crystal in a pouch on his belt, before running towards the entrance. Quickly reaching it, Spike saw that the door was almost closed, perhaps having only ten meters left to go, before it touched the bottom and sealed the cave for another nineteen days. Skidding underneath the door, Spike caught sight of Asho, Corinna and Zule, all standing around. As they saw him, they quickly gathered around him. “Did you do it?” Asho asked excitedly, holding out her crystal so he could see. “Yeah, let’s have a look.” Zule nodded. “Where’s Tarhal?” Spike asked, looking around for the Wookie, but not finding him. “He hasn’t come out yet, he’s the last one.” Corinna said, holding her own crystal in awe. Spike didn’t reply, instead turning on his heels and sprinting back into the cave, sliding underneath the ice sheet, which was still descending at an alarming rate. He knew that if he went back in now, he was definitely running the risk of being sealed in the cave until the sun rose again, but right now, none of that mattered. He had already had to say goodbye to somepony that he cared about today, even if it was only a vision from the force, he was not about to lose Tarhal as well. Reaching the crossroads that they had separated at in the first place, Spike looked around, trying to remember which fork the Wookie took. Looking around, he closed his eyes, delving deep into the force, before setting off at a sprint in pursuit of his friend. *** Tarhal *** Tarhal made his way down the icy passage, taking care not to slip over, he’d rather not go back to the others with bruises all over his back and arse, he could just imagine how much Spike would bring that up. Smiling at the thought of his draconic friend, the Wookie made his way further into the freezing cold cave, searching high and low, mostly low, for his crystal. Briefly he wondered if the others had already found their crystals, knowing that he was probably going to be the last one to get back, not that he cared about being last, he just didn’t want to get trapped in the cave for a couple of weeks. Still grinning, Tarhal forged onwards, finally reaching a fork in the passage, and instantly deciding to go right. He always went right at times like this, and whenever anyone asked him which way to go, he always said right, owing to a bad experience going left. Instantly, he knew he was going the right way, and sped up his pace, quickly breaking into a run, albeit an unsteady one which threatened to send him tumbling towards the floor at any second. He managed to keep his footing however, and eventually skidded to a halt, stopping just before a corridor full of ice spikes. The spikes criss-crossed the corridor, only leaving tiny gaps between them, and effectively cutting off forwards access. Deciding that this wasn’t the way to go to find his crystal, Tarhal was about to turn around and head down another pathway, when something at the end of the blocked corridor caught his eye. Turning back towards the corridor, and squinting down the dark passage, Tarhal straining to catch sight of what he saw, when it glinted again, right at the end of the passage. Whooping in joy, Tarhal knew that he had found his crystal, and tried to squeeze his way through the ice spikes. Unfortunately, Tarhal was far too big to slip past the ice, and stood back, looking at the way ahead. Grinning, Tarhal lashed out with his foot, smashing through the first piece of ice with ease. As he moved forward however, he heard something above him, and only just managed to dive backwards to avoid another ice spike falling from the ceiling, slotting almost exactly back into the place the spike Tarhal had just smashed had occupied. Not getting deterred, Tarhal lashed out again smashing the ice aside, before quickly moving in, smashing the second one. As he did so however, another spike slid downwards behind him, narrowly missing Tarhal, and effectively trapping him. Growling, the Wookie forced his way backwards, getting free from the ice prison, before looking back at the corridor. Already, the ice had fallen back into position, and if it weren’t for the ice shards littering the floor, nobody would ever know that Tarhal had already smashed four of the spikes. Thinking for a second, Tarhal realised that he was obviously not going to be able to smash the ice aside with brute strength, it was probably destabilising the surrounding ice which was causing the other spikes to fall into position. Instead, he decided to fall back onto the force, and brought his hands together. Thrusting them forward, Tarhal sent a wave of energy outwards, shattering the first few spikes. When nothing happened after a few seconds, the Wookie grinned, before making his way forward. As he did so however, a cracking noise sounded from the roof, and new spikes slid into place, once again blocking the way to his crystal. “Oh come on!” He roared, looking in despair at the ice in front of him. Slowly, the Wookie walked over to one of the spikes and ran his hand along it, seeing the grooves that had been cut into it as it slid down from the roof. Stepping back again, he evaluated what he knew. First, he couldn’t smash his way through, as that just shook more loose. Second, he couldn’t blast them apart with the force, as it had the same result. Finally, and most importantly, his future Lightsaber crystal was at the end of the pathway, and if he didn’t get it soon, he would be entombed in the caves. Sighing, Tarhal leant on one of the spikes, searching for any answer. As he did so, the spike moved, and slowly began to slide back into the wall. Instantly, Tarhal was alert, and continued pushing the ice, slowly but surely pushing it back until it was flush to the wall. Tarhal waited with bated breath, expecting another spike to slide into place and seal the gap he had just made, but after almost five minutes with nothing but his own breathing sounds echoing around the cave, he relaxed. Smiling to himself, he moved forward, and carefully started to push the next spike out of his way, making sure to only move slowly. *** It was long work, but it was not particularly difficult. After almost thirty minutes, Tarhal had almost got to the end of the passage, and to his crystal. He would have been further on, but he had gotten cocky when he had first got to the halfway point, and had tried to go faster. All that had accomplished however was collapsing yet more ice spikes into his way, forcing him to duck backwards, and adding at least another ten minutes to his journey. Nevertheless, he had now almost reached his goal, and just had three more spikes left. Unfortunately, these three spikes were much bigger than the others, and even Tarhal was worried about his ability to lift them. Pushing the doubt from his mind, he grabbed the first one and heaved, trying to lift it up. The spike shifted slightly, but even with Tarhal straining with everything he had, he could not push it up any further. Roaring with effort, Tarhal was forced to drop the spike, which clanged back to the floor with a loud ‘thud’. Briefly, he wondered if it would be worth trying to break the spike, but knew that that would only make things worse, and probably force him to do all his work again. Trying again, Tarhal grabbed the spike, struggling to lift it, when he heard heavy footfalls coming from behind him. Whirling around, he expected to see a Gorgodon running at him, and prepared to defend himself. Instead, he saw someone who made him grin. “Spike!” He roared. “Tarhal!” Spike roared back, switching to Shyriiwook to better facilitate communication without Tarhal’s droid. By this point, Spike had become nearly completely fluent in the language, much to the surprise of both Tarhal and Norik, who both assumed that to learn such a language would take years of study. Spike skidded to a halt before the Wookie, and looked around. “Find your crystal?” Tarhal asked. “Yes, yes I did.” Spike nodded quickly. “Have you found yours?” “Back there.” Tarhal muttered, pointing over his shoulder. “It’s blocked by some heavy ice.” “No time to waste then.” Spike nodded, walking towards the ice. “I can help with ice.” Breathing in, Spike prepared to unleash some fire at the ice, but Tarhal quickly stopped him. “NO! It’s unstable. If you’re too rough, more collapses in. We’ve got to be slow.” He explained. “Fair enough.” Spike nodded. “We need to move quickly though, the entrance is almost sealed.” “Then why are you here?” Tarhal asked, running over and grabbing the chunk of ice. “To help you.” Spike grunted, lifting with Tarhal, and slowly moving the ice aside. “Thanks.” Tarhal nodded, moving forward and grabbing hold of the next one. The pair pushed it out of the way, their combined strength making the once impossible task possible. Moving forward once more, the pair lifted the spike up, finally revealing the crystal. “Grab…it.” Spike grunted, taking the weight of the ice off the Wookie. Nodding, Tarhal ran the last few meters and grabbed the crystal, slipping it into pouch on his belt, before running back to Spike. “Time to go buddy.” He smiled. “Right behind you. Run, then I can drop this.” Spike grunted. “You better be.” Tarhal nodded, before setting off at a run, stopping at the end of the passage and turning to look at Spike. “COME ON!” He screamed. With one final grunt, Spike threw the ice spike up, before darting forward as it crashed down. The falling spike sent vibrations reverberating around the room, and instantly, there was a huge rumbling sound, as more ice began to fall into the passageway. Dodging the falling ice, Spike ran towards Tarhal, who was screaming encouragement, but Spike couldn’t make out what he was saying over the din of the ice falling. As he neared the Wookie, the avalanche intensified, and suddenly, two spikes fell down in front of the dragon, blocking his path. Not stopping, Spike roared as he crashed through them, tumbling to the floor. More ice fell around him, and cut him off from Tarhal, who had already moved forward to help him. Sticking his arm through one of the gaps, Tarhal tried to reach Spike, who was reaching towards Tarhal, but they were just too far away. “Go!” Spike roared, lashing out at some of the ice, trying to force his way through. “I am not leaving!” Tarhal roared back. “GO NOW!” Spike roared. “I’ll be behind you!” “But…” Tarhal began, but Spike cut him off. “NOW! GET HELP!” Spike roared, before turning away from the Wookie in time to stop a shard of ice impaling him. Slowly, reluctantly, Tarhal turned and ran for the entrance. He knew that on his own, he couldn’t help Spike, but maybe if he got the others he would be able to help his friend. *** Tarhal rounded a corner, and managed to catch a glimpse of the light streaming in from the almost closed door. Pushing himself harder, Tarhal moved faster than he had ever moved before, before sliding on his back under the ice, just narrowly avoiding it, and getting back to his feet quickly. “Need…help…Spike…cave.” He panted as the others gathered around him. “Whoa there big guy.” Zule said, patting Tarhal on the back. “Catch your breath.” “No time.” He said, before taking a deep breath. “Spike’s trapped in a load of ice, we need to help him.” “But…the door.” Corinna said hollowly, pointing to the ice sheet behind Tarhal. Slowly, the Wookie turned around, looking at the massive wall office, his eyes instantly darting to the bottom, where it met the floor. “NOOOO!” He screamed, running over to the wall and smashing his fist against it. The wall cracked, but almost instantly, the crack froze over again. Again and again Tarhal smashed his fists into the wall, each time sending thousands of shards of ice flying, but before he could follow up again, the holes he made would freeze over. “We need to help him!” Tarhal yelled, looking at Brine and Siphous. “We cannot.” Brine said simply. “WHAT?!” Tarhal screeched. “The test must be completed only by the initiate’s taking it.” Siphous explained. “Screw the test! Spike’s going to die if we don’t help him!” Zule roared. “I am sorry Tarhal, but the rules are clear. Only those taking the test may help.” Garton said softly. “Guys!” Tarhal bellowed, looking at the other members of Nexu clan. “Come on, we can still help, even if they’re too afraid!” Turning back to the wall, Tarhal began to beat it with his fists again, receiving numerous cuts to his hands in the process for no visible gain. Quickly, Zule and Corinna restrained the Wookie, pulling him back. Tarhal roared, but Asho placed a finger on his lips. “Not like that Tarhal, use the force," she said briefly, before running over to the wall. Nodding, Tarhal and the others ran towards the wall, following Asho’s lead and placing both their hands on the wall, and channelling the force into the wall. Though the wall fractured and cracked at their touch, the fractures in its surface spider-webbing out from their hands, the wall stayed solid, the cracks disappearing faster than they initiates could make them. Sliding down the wall, Tarhal brought his hand into the wall one last time, gouging out a massive crater which was quickly filled in. “I am sorry Nexu clan.” Siphous said solemnly, speaking the truth. “But you cannot longer help Spike. Only he can free himself from the cave now. *** Spike roared as he lashed out at the ice in front of him, looking forward as he saw Tarhal running out of sight round the corner. He knew that his friend wouldn’t give up on him, but he also knew that he would be getting help, to do which he would have to leave the cave. By Spikes calculations, by the time he had reached the entrance and told them what he needed to, the cave would be sealed, and his friend would be safe. Spike was not going to just roll over and take this new development like a dog however, no matter how much strange dreams told him he would look awesome as a dog. In fact, his whole plan to get out of here hinged solely on him being alone, and now that he was, he could put it into action. Taking a deep breath in, Spike tried to breath fire on the ice, succeeding, but only in a minor capacity, his ability having depleted in the weeks when he hadn’t used it. He mentally kicked himself again, wondering how in the name of Celestia that he had forgotten that, but instead of dwelling on it, pushed it to the back of his mind. He would deal with it later. Undeterred, Spike tried again, melting more of the ice, only to have more slide in to take its place. For his plan to work, these small gouts would need to up their ante and truly show Spike as a dragon. Taking a deep breath in, Spike put everything he had into it, all his memories of home, the faces of Twilight, Rarity and the others, and his friends at the Jedi temple. Emitting a roar louder than any he had done before, Spike unleashed a torrent of flame, licking at the ice around him, before turning it to steam instantly. Looking up, Spike saw the ceiling was melting as well, giving him the time he needed to dart forward, narrowly avoiding another shard of ice as it fell towards him. Not stopping, Spike sprinted through the cave system, turning down random paths and hoping against hope that he was heading towards the entrance, all the while keeping just a few steps away from the falling ice behind him. Finally, Spike caught sight of the entranceway, completely frozen over, but still definitely the entrance way. Sprinting towards it, he saw a blurry shape on the other side, and recognised the brown fur of Tarhal. Trying to breathe fire, Spike found that even attempting to now hurt his throat, the strain of doing it after such a long time without practicing taking its toll. Nevertheless, he did managed to shoot out a small fireball, which sped towards the ice wall, impacting on it and burning through, creating a large crater in the ice, but more importantly, creating a tiny hole in the middle of the crater, allowing him to glimpse the outside world once more. He watched as Tarhal scrambled away from the wall, though if it was out of fear, or knowing what would come next, Spike couldn’t say, and at the moment, didn’t really care. Roaring as he ran, Spike jumped forward, leading with his feet as he sped towards the weakened ice wall. Already the hole was beginning to freeze over again, and Spike just hoped that when he hit it, it would be weak enough for him to smash through. Still roaring, Spikes foot impacted with the ice, smashing straight through, and barely even losing momentum. Whooping in joy, Spike tumbled to the floor, messing up the landing and skidding along the floor on his back, his scales carving small grooves in the floor as he skidded along. Looking at where he was sliding towards, Spike saw the pedestal that Garton Brine had been sitting on when they first entered the temple rising up above him, and smiled, closing his eyes. His head smacked into the ice, and if Spike had been a weaker being, he probably wouldn’t have survived it. Instead, it simply knocked the tired Dragon unconscious, allowing him to slip into the comforting embrace of sleep and dreams.