Chapter 46: Chapter 45
It all happened so fast. The quaking gave barely any warning before the ground beneath them began to violently rip itself open. They all ran and leaped, the Force guiding and speeding them along as the ground collapsed into an ever-widening chasm, swallowing trees, animals, and all else unlucky enough to fall in.
The dirt crumbled beneath Anakin's foot before he could make the next jump.
Qui-Gon grabbed him and tossed him further, ahead of the collapsing surface.
But he nearly went tumbling down as well.
The Dark Woman stopped and used the Force to make the vine of a falling tree grasp the Jedi Master and hurl him to relative safety.
She was fully aware of Darth Vader using the Force to keep the piece of earth below her from crumbling for a moment before she sped off.
Anakin nudged a falling tree away from falling on Vader.
There was no time to stop and think, only mutual survival in this sudden disaster.
Without the Force, they would never be able to stay ahead of it, the quaking was so fast and intense that it would have swallowed small cities entirely.
On and on they went until, finally, it stopped.
It had lasted less than two minutes.
But in that time, where once was a dense forest, now was a canyon. No, a sinkhole rather, Vader realized. It stretched out in all directions rather than cleaving into the ground. It was massive too.
He looked out and saw that they were all spread out.
The Dark Woman was on the opposite side of him. Skywalker, Kenobi, and Jinn were all off at different spots to his right.
He looked down into the canyon. He couldn't see the bottom. It was only an empty blackness.
He searched the Force, the Dark Side, but felt nothing. Nothing but it hanging over his shoulder, peering down into the abyss with him.
Something felt very wrong about this.
"Vader!"
He looked up, towards Kenobi who called him. He could see Anakin backing away from the edge, some of it still crumbling away.
"We'll meet up with you ahead!" Obi-Wan said, waiting until Vader nodded before heading into the forest as well.
Vader lingered long enough to share a look with the Dark Woman, who narrowed her eyes at him before departing as well.
Vader conceded that, after Sidious had unleashed a Force Storm on Coruscant, he didn't blame the Dark Woman for suspecting him of being able to cause a Force Quake.
That said, as he ventured into the forest as well, he found himself troubled.
He had been on this planet in the future, in his own timeline. He had made the trek to the ruined city before. There was no groundquake and certainly no chasm like what he had just seen formed. Could he have misremembered the event? Possibly. It was years ago, and a lot had happened since then.
But this planet didn't feel like it had in his timeline. There was something...more to it, a blanket of some strange feeling even the Force could not help him place.
He was fully aware of ripple effects and accepted them as an inevitability of time traveling. He changed things, and that would change other things in reaction.
But what could have caused this change?
He was brought out of his pondering as he felt a presence approaching. He was somewhat surprised by who. "Skywalker? Where are the others?"
Anakin climbed over a root as he answered. "Must have missed them. I thought I'd at least run into Obi before you."
Vader looked towards where Anakin had come. He could sense the others, true, but something was definitely going on here. He could sense them in the general area, but not how close or in what direction. It was like being an untrained Padawan all over again.
"Yeah, you feeling that too?" Anakin asked with an uneasy look.
Vader didn't answer as he began heading into the trees, the Padawan following after him.
Meanwhile
"I truly don't understand you sometimes," the Dark Woman remarked as she walked alongside Qui-Gon.
"I have heard that more than once, from within and outside the Order," Qui-Gon acknowledged with a raised eyebrow.
"Placing any trust or faith into a Sith is already rather bizarre for a Jedi like you," the Dark Woman explained bluntly.
"And what kind of Jedi am I, exactly?" Qui-Gon shot back in amusement.
"As unorthodox as you might be, I have no doubt that you haven't fallen to the Dark Side, or are tempted to do so," the Dark Woman answered, which may or may not have been a compliment.
"Vader once told me he saw both sides of the Force as being addictive in their own right,"" Qui-Gon commented idly. "In his words, the Light Side is the one I know I can manage best."
"Analogy aside, you being the one most ready to give Vader the benefit of the doubt is still strange," the Dark Woman continued.
Qui-Gon shook his head at that. "And why, pray tell, is it strange?"
"Because you are training the Chosen One."
They both stopped at that, Qui-Gon glancing at her carefully. "I didn't think you were among those that believed that."
"My skepticism of your Padawan and the prophecy are irrelevant to this. All that matters is that you believe it," she said pointedly. "You are training the one you deem to be the Chosen One. If it is true, and the prophecy comes to pass, how do you think that ends with him and Vader?"
"I imagine you and most of the Council hope it ends with Vader and the other Sith dead," Qui-Gon mused thoughtfully.
"And bring balance to the Force, yes," the Dark Woman mused.
"That's one interpretation," Qui-Gon accepted with a shrug.
"...You have another?" she questioned suspiciously.
"More like a hunch," Qui-Gon answered. "It's entirely possible that, ironically enough, the prophecy has already been fulfilled."
"...What?" she asked in surprise, her voice incredulous. "That is..."
"I know, a strange conclusion to draw," Qui-Gon agreed. "But...you are aware of what happened in the Battle Against Sidious?"
"..." she stared for a moment. "You refer to when Skywalker somehow aided Vader through the Force?"
"Aided him to end a very powerful, very sadistic Sith Lord, yes," Qui-Gon pointed out.
"The prophecy was to destroy "the" Sith, not "a" Sith," the Dark Woman countered.
"Yes, but Sidious was everything we identified and feared about "the" Sith," Qui-Gon countered.
"And you think that balance has returned to the Force?" the Dark Woman asked dubiously.
Qui-Gon chuckled. "No one said the balance would be restored all at once. But even on Dagobah, where the Dark Side is strong, I don't feel the same amount of danger and warning. It is as if the Dark Side and the Light Side themselves are honoring this peace we have, for now."
The Dark Woman said nothing, but he caught something in her eye.
"Oh, you felt it too," Qui-Gon realized. "The Dark Side tempts and threatens a bit less now with Vader in charge."
"And you think your Padawan is the key to securing this...balance between the two sides, not the one who will vanquish the Dark Side?" the Dark Woman asked.
"Yes, though..." Qui-Gon paused. "I doubt it will be as easy as that might sound."
"That much I believe," the Dark Woman said darkly.
"You disapprove," Qui-Gon said before smirking. "I suppose it's a good thing I never cared for the approval of my peers."
Meanwhile
Obi-Wan sighed. "Sithspits, I am lost."
Normally, this wouldn't be that much of a problem. His old bond with Qui-Gon should at least point him in the right direction. but Anakin might as well be a miniature star in the Force when he projected himself.
The less said about the overwhelming sun of blackness that was Vader's existence, the better.
But while he could sense them...the Force was unable to give him even the vaguest direction as to where they were.
Which was...strange? It wasn't Vader overshadowing them, or anything trying to hide them. He could detect them, and they were in the area, but nothing was pointing where they could be. It was like the Force had turned off its radar, for lack of a better comparison, and only could detect their signals.
"I suppose I'll have to do this the old fashioned way," Obi-Wan decided as he began to trek through the forest.
There were plenty of fallen leaves and broken branches from the groundquake, but there was much less debris than he would have expected. His eyes scanned carefully as he walked, looking for any sign of his companion
He stopped, craning his head back as something caught his eye, a large root that had grown partially above ground. On it was the impression of a large and heavy boot.
"Vader came this way," he mused as he looked over the side, spying smaller, shallower impressions in the dirt. "Anakin too."
Satisfied with that, he followed the footprints as they traversed deeper into the forest.
"Vader must have some idea of where he's going," Obi-Wan muttered to himself, wondering just what other business the Sith Lord had here.
"Obi-Wan! There you are!"
Obi-Wan's face lit up at the voice. "Master, I thought you might have gotten stuck in a tree again."
"One time," Qui-Gon remarked with a fond headshake. "It's good to see you're alright. Any luck finding the others?"
"I found some tracks that I'm sure are Vader and Anakin,"' Obi-Wan answered, pointing to the ground.
"The Dark Woman is missing," Qui-Gon observed neutrally.
"Are you positive she isn't going to kidnap Anakin again?" Obi-Wan asked with a small smirk.
"Almost certainly," Qui-Gon answered, matching his tone before sending him a pointed look. "And as if you have room to say much. You go to visit Dooku and get roped into this?"
Obi-Wan shrugged helplessly. "Your knack for trouble rubbed off on me, Master,"' he said, before making a face. "I don't think I'll ever feel right calling you just Qui-Gon."
"Well, you could always take a page from Vader and just call me Jinn," Qu-Gon offered as they continued on.
"But in all seriousness, do you have any idea what is really going on?" Obi-Wan remarked.
"Something destroyed Vader's warship," Qui-Gon reminded. "It's entirely possible that said something is related to this groundquake."
"True, but...," Obi-Wan eyed the trees. "It's strange. I don't feel in danger, exactly, but...?"
"I can't place the feeling either," Qui-Gon agreed. "Is it a creature or this world? Is it s a disturbance or is natural?"
"Is it dangerous or just new?" Obi-Wan added with a frown.
"Both, knowing our luck."
Qui-Gon smiled as he turned to his Padawan. "Anakin! I was beginning to think we missed you."
"Have you seen either of our dark friends?" Obi-Wan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not so far," Anakin answered with an uneasy look. "I don't exactly like the idea of those two stumbling across each other alone."
"Agreed," Qui-Gon said. "Perhaps we should head back to the hole, make sure we're going in the direction of one of them still."
"I don't hear lightsabers clashing yet, so that's a positive," Obi-Wan opined.
Meanwhile
The Dark Woman glared as she locked blades with Vader, the Dark Lord batting her away with little effort.
"You're holding back," she said coldly.
"As are you," Vader retorted evenly. "That will cease to be the case if you continue this."
"What did you do to Qui-Gon? You had to have crossed him, I was with him just before you arrived," she accused, eyes narrowed.
"I have done nothing to him. But you have obviously tried to take Skywalker again," Vader countered dangerously.
"Skywalker?" Dark Woman questioned in confusion. "You are trying to confuse me, using this planet's Force-obscuring effect to do as you please."
"Clever, that was my assumption of you," Vader said, holding his saber tightly.
"One of us is lying, clearly," The Dark Woman said coldly.
Both stared one another down, ready to unleash their true might at their apparent enemy, the Dark Side swelling around Vader as many vines snaked around and behind the Dark Woman...
"What are you both doing?!"
Obi-Wan's call of alarm drew their attention to his arrival, glaring at both parties.
"Obi-Wan, be careful. I believe he has captured Qui-Gon," the Dark Woman warned.
"And from where I stand, you have taken Skywalker," Vader responded in kind.
"Amazing. You both managed to find and lose our two missing members before I found anyone?" Obi-Wan questioned sarcastically as he walked out between the two of them.
"What are you doing, Knight Kenobi?" the Dark Woman asked with a frown.
"Well, I think if Vader had turned on us, he'd cut me down pretty fast," Obi-Wan answered plainly. "And if you have, you'd at least have me in the trees by now."
"She/He could be trying to trick us," both dark beings said in sync, the area going silent at their mutual accusation.
"Vader, you're normally the reasonable Sith, so please just stop," Obi-Wan requested with a sigh.
Vader seemed to debate it a moment longer before deactivating his lightsaber. "We are wasting our time with this. If neither of us is the culprit, something else has taken them."
"Agreed," the Dark Woman said while reluctantly putting her weapon away as well. "For now."
"Good. Now, Vader, do you have any Chaos-forsaken idea what is wrong with this planet?"
Meanwhile
"I do not," Vader said to Qui-Gon as they traveled along. "I did not even know this moon suffered from ground-quakes."
"Suffered feels about right," Qui-Gon murmured, stroking his beard. "When we were landing, I didn't see any canyons, notable mountain ranges, or active volcanoes in the region. Or giant pits that might have formed from prior quakes."
"Indeed," Vader agreed.
"I don't suppose you know a Sith technique that would explain any of this?" Qui-Gon questioned.
"No. Nothing that wouldn't be radiating or attracting the Dark Side," Vader answered with a hum. "Of course, the Jedi and Sith are only the most known children of the Force."
Qui-Gon rose an eyebrow, at both the subject and the wording. "You think this is the work of another group, a part of neither Order?"
"I have met many with differing practices and teachings on the Force, Jinn," Vader said vaguely. "I would not be surprised if one of them were making a play against me here and now."
"Hmm. I wonder if the Dark Woman knows of your interest in other Force users," Qui-Gon remarked idly.
"She does not, to my knowledge. Almost all of them are wary of me, but even more of them are wary of the Jedi Order," Vader remarked. "They prefer if I do not draw the attention of Jedi to them."
"And why are you telling me then?" Qui-Gon questioned.
"Because you are the type of Jedi they would not mind finding them," Vader answered knowingly. "After all, were you not the Jedi Master who trusted a Sith Lord to not stab him in the back?"
"That's worked out well so far for me," Qui-Gon mused.
Vader found that ironic, knowing exactly how things would have turned out for Qui-Gon without his intervention.
"Did Kenobi take it well?" Vader asked, the question almost catching Qui-Gon in shock. "When you had Dooku finish his training?"
And taking Anakin as a new Padawan, it went unsaid
"Ahh," Qui-Gon acknowledged. "Obi-wan appreciated it in a way. Our time with you made him very...introspective on many things."
"Any other Jedi Master might suspect their student of being tempted by the Dark Side," Vader said idly.
"Don't over-exaggerate," Qui-Gon rebuked half-heartedly. "Obi-wan hasn't changed much in what he believes, just...how he sees it."
"Perhaps, a different stance on the same belief is all that is needed," Vader acknowledged. "I am impressed he did not lose a single limb learning under Dooku."
"I might have checked his hands for cybernetic fingers once," Qui-Gon agreed in jest, but possibly not joking at all. "...You're not going to ask about Anakin's training?"
"I will let him tell me himself."
Meanwhile
"I hear you're a natural with a lightsaber, Padawan."
"I'd say it's more I'm a natural at using the Force on myself in general," Anakin answered, begrudgingly making conversation.
"On yourself?" The Dark Woman questioned as they walked the forest path, eyes out for enemies.
"Yeah, you know, using the Force to make your body work better? Force Speed, Force Strength," Anakin answered. "Master Qui-Gon thinks I should take some acrobatic lesson from the Grandmaster."
"Oh?" she asked, glancing down at Anakin, only to find him missing. Without asking, she looked up and saw he had already found his way up into a tree and was now sitting on a branch. "I can see the argument."
"Thank you," Anakin said with youthful pride.
"Why do you trust Vader so much?" the Dark Woman asked suddenly.
Anakin frowned. "Shouldn't you be asking Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon that?"
"Obi-Wan doesn't trust him, in that sense. He simply believes he will continue to act as he has; not an enemy, but not an ally. Qui-Gon trusts him to not make the first move if and when our "never-ending war" resumes. You? You consider him a friend," the Dark Woman observed.
"Freeing someone and his mother from Slavery does make a wonderful impression," Anakin quipped. "And, you know, he saved my life."
"And you don't believe he has an ulterior motive for any of that?" she asked evenly.
"Well, he might," Anakin accepted casually. "But...I'm not stupid. The Council went from being on the fence about training me, to being very in favor of it. I know that was because they didn't want me trained by Vader."
"Would you have preferred we didn't?" she asked pointedly.
"Oh no. I don't think I'd enjoy Vader's training regimen," Anakin said with a smirk. "But it's probably a safe bet many on the council think I'll be important to fighting Vader if, as you say, the war reignites."
"You still haven't answered my question. Why do you trust him, really?" the Dark Woman asked curiously.
"..." Anakin hesitated and seemed to be looking at something that only he could see. "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."
She didn't like that answer, but didn't press the issue.
Meanwhile
"Anakin, stop."
"Oh, we are far past stopping, Kenobiwan," Anakin teased with a massive grin.
"Padawan, enough of this childishness," the Dark Woman said with an eye-roll. "Kenobi was not trying to kiss me."
"If you say so. Still, that's an effective way of getting help from impressionable Jedi Knights," Anakin said with a chuckle. "He does have a thing for the mature, forceful types."
The Dark Woman rose an eyebrow at Obi-Wan's blushing glare. "What exactly has Qui-Gon been teaching you?"
"All the ways to vent my frustrations on people without using anger," Anakin answered with a large smile "And since it's Master Qui-Gon..."
"Force have mercy on the galaxy when you have Padawans of your own to corrupt," Obi-Wan said with a groan.
"All that aside, I am beginning to suspect that we're going in circles," the Dark Woman pointed out, eyeing the trees warily.
"Yeah, whatever is affecting the Force definitely isn't helping, "Anakin said with a sigh. "I know we don't rely on the Force for every everyday thing, but..."
"I know what you mean," Obi-Wan agreed, rubbing his brow. "It's like having a compass in your head that is suddenly spinning in every direction. Even if you're not using it, it's enough to drive you off course just thinking about it."
"I wonder what we should do then?" Anakin asked. "Are we even sure the ships are alright after that?"
"Was trying not to think about that too much," Obi-wan admitted with a sigh. "For now, we need to make sure we're not getting lost."
"One moment," the Dark Woman said as she walked towards the forest. "I might have an idea."
The two waited curiously until the female Jedi returned, and with company.
"Master," Anakin greeted in surprise.
"Glad to see you both," Qui-Gon greeted in relief.
"How did you find him?" Obi-Wan asked curiously.
The Dark Woman shrugged. "We just happened across each other, same as you both I assume."
Obi-wan rose an eyebrow. "You should know. We both stumbled onto Anakin."
The Jedi Masters furrowed their brows and shared a look. "What are you talking about, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked. "This is the first we've seen of you two."
"...What?"
Meanwhile
"Is this a game, Jedi?' Vader asked coldly. "Because I am not amused.
"Vader, you were here with us two minutes ago," Qui-Gon insisted.
"You said you saw Obi-Wan," Anakin remarked, very confused.
"I thought the Dark Woman was trying to stalk me. I have not seen Kenobi," Vader answered.
"That is..worrying," Qui-Gon said carefully.
"Impossible, you mean," Vader retorted as the area grew tense. "If you saw another using my form, it was not me."
Assuming this Vader was not an imposter, it went without saying.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone