SW: Celia:: The Last Trial

F.San
_{May 08
Short story}

The Last Trial

     She was sitting by the doorway of an apparently deserted building. The rain had stopped, and she was glad it did. Now the sun was setting and the narrow streets of the ghost city were getting darker by the minute. She looked up, the candy bar she was munching on sticking out of her mouth. The clouds were slowly disappearing, as if the heavy rain she had suffered since the day before was merely a bad memory.
      As she felt a familiar presence approaching the planet, she got up, grabbed her dirty robe and started to walk in the streets again. I would be a dozen of minutes before he arrived, she should be able to meet with him then. She brushed her blond hair with her hand. She was tired and longing for a good bath, but knowing him, she wouldn’t be allowed such luxury before a while.

      A X-Wing entered the atmosphere of the planet Selagis VI, quickly making its way to a relatively small town consisting of a few high-rises and lower constructions. The airship landed on a dirty landing bay, dust flying around as it did so.
     A figure emerged from the dust, walking towards the X-Wing.
Celia, dressed in her usual black pants and sweater, carrying her dark robe in her hand, reached the airship as her Master was coming out of it, obviously not pleased by such a trip he probably did.
“ Welcome to this humble planet, Master.. I hope you had a good flight.”Celia said with a smile.
       He looked at her for a second before walking past her.
“ Flying is for droid.. “ He grumbled as Celia followed him, laughing at her master's apparent bad mood.
She took out a piece of paper from her pocket.
“ Master, I have the info you sent me for, here.”
      She handed him the paper, which he read before ripping it in small pieces.
“ Very good, Celia, you managed yourself very well.”
S     he walked a bit faster in order to be at the same level as him.
“ I ran into some kind of.... problem, Master. I guess you should know..” She said, frowning as she did so.
      Tabris glanced at her.
“ What might that be, my young padawan? Nothing too bad if you're still walking with me to tell me about it.”
     Celia would have normally smiled at that, but she was not quite in the mood for it at the moment.
“ It was Robert, Master. He... attacked me as I was on my way.. “
     They came to a stop. He looked at her, a slight frown on his face, as her eyes were fixing the floor.
“ He attacked you? I didn't sense anything.. “
Celia nodded.
“ It was brief, and he fled, but... He was not himself...” She clenched her fists.” He was Vader... again...”
       Tabris put his hand on her shoulder with a smile.
“ Now I understand why I sense anger in you, young lady. From what I know, Robert is Robert right now, and he was on his way to Dagobah the last time I heard of him. To meet his destiny. Hopefully, he will listen to master Yoda better than he listens to me...”
       Celia lifted her head.
“ But Master, he was... I saw him with my eyes, I even have a bruise from it...”
Tabris patted her on her back to make her walk again.
“ I know, Celia, and I believe you. I do not know the reasons, but it probably has a role to play in the big game of the Force. You are still alive, and I rejoice about it. It is time for a trip of our own, my young padawan.”
He said those last words, followed by a strange laugh, on a tone Celia never heard before coming from her master. She was wondering what it was about, but she followed without asking a question.

       They walked through the narrow streets, the shadows looming over them. Their footsteps and the breeze lifting up the dust were the only things breaking the silence. The teenage girl was observing the shadows, her senses alert, has if she was waiting for something, or someone to jump at her again. But nothing happened, and after a twenty minutes walk, they finally reached the “Flying Beauty”, their light-freighter ship.
Celia pressed the newly set combination, and the hatch opened. They stepped inside. The girl sat at the commands as usual, Tabris standing next to her, his chin in his hand, as if he were in deep thoughts.
“ Master, what about your X-Wing?” Celia asked, not looking at him, but starting the engines.
Tabris waved his hand.
“ We'll come back for it later. Anyways, it is expandable.”
Celia felt a little uncomfortable for a few minutes, a feeling she didn't like, and that she never really experienced before in the presence of her master. She couldn’t read him right now, he was more closed than ever. Darker than ever.
When they reached space, she finally talked, her voice barely audible.
“ Where to, Master?... “
Without looking at her, he put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly.
“Dathomir, Celia.. That's where we're going..”
He went to sit down on the seat not far from hers, and closed his eye.

Dathomir was in the Quelii sector, not far from Selaggis VI, the planet they had departed from. The trip was short and soon they were coming out of hyperspace above the blue planet.
It was slightly smaller than Coruscant, but as Celia knew, only 10% of its surface had ever been explored, the rest being the home to vegetation, animals and other things most people wouldn't like thinking about. But what struck the teenage girls as they came closer wasn't what she learned in geopolitics class. It was the dark side; it was resonating from it. Maybe not as strong as one could find on Dagobah, but the evil energy was there. She wondered why her Master had lead them here, but she didn't put it into words. She trusted her master, and after all, he didn't always tell her everything about their missions.
For a second, the image of late Master Collison Montross went through her mind, followed by the figure of the man who had killed her. She had confronted him, and though she had been greatly helped by the renegade Travis Dala, she was still alive from it. She frowned, trying to get the images out of her head, trying to calm her anger.
Anger wasn't something that could be felt in her usually, and she wasn't even sure herself why she felt like this. She didn't like it, and felt like she was betraying her Master's teachings by allowing her emotions get to her mind like this.
Tabris, sitting behind her and out of her sight, slightly opened his eye, his gaze darker than the usual. He sighed in silence, the slight frown never leaving his face.

They entered the atmosphere of the planet, and after about twenty minutes minutes of wandering  above the dense forests, Tabris gave some instructions to the teenage girl, and she soon found a place suitable for landing, as if it were made for it.
They came out of the beauty shortly after. Celia observed the place for a few seconds as Tabris was standing still by the hatch.
It was dark the sun having difficulties passing through the heavy trees. The air seemed to be still, the silence complete, only disturbed by the engines of the “Beauty” cooling down. But most of all, the dark side was all around, as if you could breathe the Force itself.
Tabris walked to Celia and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, a bit puzzled by all this. She took a step backwards, an eyebrow raised, as the old man swiftly unclipped her saber from her belt and shoved it in his own sleeve, in one of his "secret" pockets.
“ What.. what are you doing?... master?” She asked, her hands on her hips, a frown on her face.
Tabris pointed in a direction behind her.
“Where you are going, you won't need that, my young apprentice. Now go, you will know when it is time to come back to me.”
He sat on the floor, his gloved hands on his thighs. Celia wanted to say something, to protest, but she did not. Instead, she looked behind her, where she was instructed to go, right to where she could feel the dark side grow even stronger.
But what disturbed her more was the dark aura around her own master, a darkness that she had never felt in him before, and that worried her for a minute as it was growing darker as seconds were passing by.
She took a breath and nodded. She didn't care.
It was said among the Jedi that Celia's loyalty to Tabris was as big as it was ever seen in a padawan before. It was said that she would follow him anywhere without asking a question, without doubting him. Even in the dark side. And the saying was true, they were right. She would follow him anywhere, even in the darkest places of her soul. She started to walk towards the trees without looking back, and soon disappeared in the darkness of the woods.

She walked for some time, maybe half an hour. She had no watch, as Tabris forbid such instruments, and she couldn't see the sun as it was covered by the dense vegetation. She kept moving towards the dark side, at least where she felt it was growing stronger since it was everywhere.
Again, an uncomfortable feeling came to her, as images were going through her mind. Things she had lived as a little girl, before Tabris found her. Things she had lived as she was growing up, the people she met, the betrayals, the 7-years war... Her master...
She couldn't feel his presence anymore, it was diluted in the dark side. She looked around, trying to grab her lightsaber, but it wasn't on her belt, since Tabris had taken it from her before sending her here. She stepped over a dead tree.
“ Dammit Master, you better buy me a whole box of candies after that... By the Force I would gladly take a shower...”
She stopped as she felt something, or someone. Something she had not felt in a long time. Familiar, yet strange. Her green eyes flashed with surprise for a second as she saw the figure emerging from the trees.

Out of the shadows, Collison Montross came. She was as Celia remembered her as a little girl, before the 7-years war. Collison was a teenager herself at that time. Celia looked at her in silence as the figure was coming closer. She knew Collison was dead, and she felt it was not her spirit either, not like this, not like that. She was wondering what it was all about, if the dark side all around her was playing tricks on her, making her see things she maybe wanted to see. A new fear took possession of her as the ghostly shape came closer, faster. Collison's face changed into a grin as her eyes flashed yellow, and suddenly she was Darth Entreri, the Sith apprentice that nearly destroyed a whole civilization with her bare hands. Blood was on her face, on her clothes, on her hands.
The ghostly looking Entreri smiled an evil smile and grabbed Celia by the throat. The teenage girl could feel the grip tightening, her breathing becoming difficult, but she didn't fight back, she tried to keep her mind focused on the fact that it couldn't be happening.
“ You.... will..... know..... “ Entreri's voice whispered coldly.
The grip tightened before the ghost disappeared with a terrifying scream. Celia wiped the sweat rolling down her forehead. But it wasn't sweat... It was blood she now had on her hand.

She looked around her, a frown on her face, as she was wiping her hand on her already dirty pants. But she could only see the trees, the dense vegetation, the various bugs flying around her.
“Now that was just a little bit creepy... Why would the spirit of Master Collison attack me like this?...”
But of course she realized that it was not Collison’s spirit she had seen. It was the dark side feeding on her memories, on her wishes, on her deepest and most secret thoughts.
“The Force is my ally, I have no fear of such tricks!”
But she was shaking, feeling cold, her limbs numb as if she had been violated. She shook her head wildly and rubbed her arms, taking a step further into the wilderness.
“That is a tricky test you are putting me through, Master, I’ll get you for this..”
She took a candy bar out of her pocket and unwrapped it before munching on it. The evil words were still resonating in her mind, even though she was trying her best not to be bothered by them.
You will know... But what?

She reached what she felt being the stronger point where the dark side was coming from. A rather large area with no tree and wild grass. She stood in the middle of it, looking up at the sky. The sun was setting, she probably had been walking for hours now. She glanced behind her, to where she came from.
“That is going to be a problem for coming back...” She whispered to herself.
The dark side was clouding all he senses, she couldn’t feel anything but the evil energy all around her, as if it were wrapping her, caressing her pale skin. She felt its power flow through her.
She didn’t want to feel that, but she had no choice, she couldn’t fight it, it was pressing on her, taking possession of her mind, as more images flashed in front of her eyes. Her head started to spin wildly, a great pain emerging from deep within herself.
She screamed as she grabbed her face in her dirty hands and fell to her knees. Her eyes were open but she couldn’t see anything. She was blinded by the darkness around her, inside her, as sweat rolled down her cheeks.
She fell on her side, eyes wide open, her breath short. And when her sight slowly came back, she saw her, and she knew.
She saw the little girl standing in front of her, looking down at her with her cold green eyes, her blond hair floating in a non-existing wind. It was her as a child, as she coldly took the lives of the mercenaries that had came to claim a bounty on her parents. Memories came back as if forcefully pushed inside her. She remembered the power that she didn’t understand, the frightening possibilities coming from it, how it felt to crush those throats...

The shape of the child changed, growing into a young girl. The girl Celia had been during the 7-years wars. She remembered what it felt like to feel the power growing inside her as her Master was teaching her. She remembered the power she had over people she had met, about how easy it would be to end their insignificant lives, how easy it would be to lose herself.

The shape of the young girl changed again, and Now Celia was seeing herself lying on the ground, covered in dirt and sweat. She saw the almost glowing yellow eyes staring right back at her. Pain and fear could be read in those. Her own pain and fear.
She remembered all the people she had cared for, all those who had been taken from her, everything that had been taken from her. She remembered all the people who had betrayed the Jedi. No. Who had betrayed her. In her mind formed the shape of the two she cared for the most. Her Master Tabris Longuine standing in the doorway of the dirty house on Tatooine, looking down at her right after she had done her evil deed on the mercenaries. Had he been standing there the whole time, watching the scene unveil itself in front of him? If so, why didn’t he stop her? Why didn’t he stop the thugs from murdering her parents? Is that a smile on his face?
And Master Collison who had turned after Robert had betrayed them all again. Collison in great pain from herself as she was slaying the men on Dxun. The blood on her hands, the doubt in her eyes. Pain and fear... How she was never able to prevent anything from really happening.

Power would give her that opportunity. She would be able to stop this, she would bring peace to the fallen, she would cleanse the worlds of the weak, she wouldn’t allow anyone to betray her again.
She stood on her knees, her eyes wide open. The deep green slowly changing into a pale yellow as she clenched her fists.
Then she saw it, she felt it. The light, this tiny star glowing behind her ghostly clone which was still in front of her. Again she saw her Master, she saw Collison. The darkness around them.

“Nooooo!!!” She yelled as she leaped to her look-alike, grabbing her by the throat. “I will not let you do that to me! Return from whence you came, evil creature!”
The ghost laughed. It was only an image, yet it felt so real. It laughed harder, until its cold voice rose.
“I am you! You are the one I came from, young apprentice.”
Celia screamed again and got up abruptly, her legs barely supporting her, her breath heavy, sweat rolling down her face. She let go of the ghost and clenched her fists again.
“No, you are not me! I am a Jedi, and your dirty tricks will not work anymore! You have no reason to remain here!” She shouted.
“Oh really?...” The ghost laughed before vanishing.

She stayed motionless for a few minutes, her breathing slowly coming back to normal. She blinked a couple of time as her sight became clearer. Her green eyes shifted from left to right, observing the trees around her. The dark side was more present than ever, but surprisingly she was not as affected by it as she had been only a few minutes ago. She heard a familiar voice behind her, and turned around swiftly, her muscles tensed.
“Very well done, my young apprentice.”
Tabris came out of the trees, carrying Celia’s lightsaber in his left hand. He had apparently left his dark robe behind, standing here in his usual black pants and sweater, very similar to Celia’s.
But something was amiss. She didn’t feel him the way she used to. A dark aura was around him. Another trick from the dark side, she thought as she slightly relaxed.
Tabris threw her lightsaber to her and unclipped his. She caught it, her familiar raised-eyebrow look on her dirty face.
“Now you know.” The old man said in a cold voice. “You know about yourself. You know yourself. En garde!”
He turned on his lightsaber, the blade glowing with a sharp purple, and stepped towards her, his face blank.
“What... what are you doing, Master?” Celia asked, genuinely surprised.
But she could wait for an answer as Tabris jumped at her, thrusting his blade at her. In a move, she ignited her weapon and blocked the blow, and the others coming right after.
For several minutes she parried the strikes, using the technique Tabris had taught her, until she saw a flaw in his moves. She used the split second to cast his blade aside with hers and kicked him in the chest, throwing him a few feet away.
She took a couple of steps back and switched her weapon off.
“Stop it Master, you know I don’t want to do that! You don’t want to do that. Don’t let the dark side take over you as it did back then! Master, I beg of you!” She screamed.
He glared at her coldly and lifted his blade.
“Then too bad for you, young lady.”
And he struck down hard and fast. But the teenage girl, once again, ignited her saber and blocked the blow in the same motion.
The fight went on for long minutes, as Celia’s Master was coming at her, always faster and stronger.
When their blades clashed and came to a stop, Tabris pushed her and in the same move force-grabbed her by the throat, lifting her from the floor.
“Have you learned nothing, my young padawan?” He said, his dark eye looking deep inside hers.
She stopped struggling, looking down at him, her arms falling down her sides.
“Master, you are not... yourself... Don’t make me...” She gasped as the grip tightened on her throat.
She extended her hand forward, showing her palm to the old man, and in a formidable wave of Force energy, they were both thrown away from each other.
Tabris landed on his feet, as Celia quickly rose, lifting her guard up. In a move almost too fast to be seen, he came close to her and struck his blade down at her.
After a few minutes of a terrible and violent fight, Celia started to tire, her muscles started to hurt badly, and she was becoming slower. The purple blade was coming too fast and she knew she could do nothing about her.
Her green eyes were locked on Tabris’s as the purple blade stopped inches away from her neck. She had no fear, she felt nothing. She was at peace.
Tabris stepped back with a smile and turned his lightsaber off.
“You are even stronger than I would have expected you to be, Celia. Yet you still have much to learn. I am proud of you, you are the best student I have ever trained.” He said.
She blinked a couple of times and sighed heavily, turning her saber off as well.
“By the Force, Master!! Don’t ever do that to me again!” She yelled.
Tabris laughed loudly and turned around before starting to walk towards the trees. He waved his hand as a sign for her to follow him. She ran next to him and walked with him, looking down at the floor.
“Master, I thought I lost you... I thought the dark side had taken you...” She whispered.
He put his arm around her shoulder and laughed softly.
“This is the last fear remaining in you, Celia. The last one you have to learn to give up. The fear of losing those you care for. When you do that, you will be free, and complete.”
“Yes Master, now I understand what you mean... It was... horrible, you know...”
“Yes, I know Celia, but you have overcome all the tests I have put you through, and more than that. I don’t have much more to teach you now. You will become one of the greatest Jedi the galaxy has ever known. Your loyalty to the Force and to the Light is far more superior than my own.”
“I am merely following all what you taught me Master. You gave me everything.”
“Not everything, Celia. Some things you have to take by yourself. And from now on, I cannot consider you as my padawan anymore. You have a new path to follow, a path that will go away from mine eventually.” Tabris said with a smile.
Celia nodded. They walked for a couple of hours in silence, until the teenage girl decided to break it.
“Master?” She asked. “What about... you know...”
Tabris smiled as they finally had the “Flying Beauty” in sight.
“Yes. Forgive me for that. Knowing where we were going, I had to condition myself for it. The dark side you felt from me was there of course, but you know I wouldn’t allow myself to fall. The residual dark energy on this planet did the rest, and troubled your senses. In time, you will understand, and learn to do it as well.”
They reached their ship and she opened the hatch.
“Master, you owe me the biggest box of candies we can find on Coruscant!” She said before stepping inside the vehicle.
Tabris laughed loudly.
“Very well, but first you have to take a bath, you’re not a very pleasant sight right now.” He replied before following her.