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Author	Topic: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's) updated April 17th
Lady_Jedi_Carenix Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 2/7/05 3:14pm Subject: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's) updated April 17th - Date Edited: 4/17/07 8:04pm (26 edits total) Edited By: Lady_Jedi_Carenix
	Title: Finding Your Way subtitle: Part of The Guardian of Nothing Chronicles Author: Lady_Jedi_Carenix Characters: Jacen Solo, Tenel Ka, Zekk, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vergere, OCs, and anyone else the muse tells me to write about Time: Post TUF Genre: Epic story Summary: In a relatively quiet moment in Jacen's life, he begins to dream of strange places and even stranger people. What impact will this dreaming have on the GFFA? Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own "Star Wars" so if I manage to offend the Flanneled One, please don't sue me. Thank you. Nominated in the 2005 Summer Fan Fic Awards for: Best All-Around, Best Canon Interpretation, Female: Tenel Ka (qualified), Best Original Character, Female: Kitanian, and Best New Author Nominated in the 2006 Winter Fan Fic Awards for: Best Action, Best Romance, Best All-Around (qualified), Best Epic (qualified), Best Canon Interpretation, Male: Jacen Solo, Best Ensemble Cast The first part of this fanfic was written in response to the Obi-Wan Workshop Beyond Challenge titled "Falling Again". Since I liked how it turned out and received quite a bit of encouragement to continue the story, I'll do my best to keep things...interesting. Enjoy. (if you've already read the piece "Falling Again", scroll down to the next set of stars for the new stuff) *********************************************************** Falling again For most people, experiencing a free-fall without anything to save themselves from hitting the ground at maximum speed is an absolutely terrifying and life-threatening situation. Fortunately, most dreams end before the fall reaches its end and the dreamer is left jarred awake, sometime gasping for breath as their heart pounds from the adrenaline rush. This was not most dreams, and Jacen Solo was not most people. I should do something about this As real as it felt, Jacen knew with the certainty of all dreamers that he was, in fact, dreaming and that what he was experiencing was not real. Still, he could feel the wild whipping past his face, rushing through his hair, ripping at his clothes, and he kept falling with no end or ground in sight. I will fly Almost as soon as he thought it, he wanted to laugh at himself. Jedi do not fly. Jedi can fight with lightsabers, lift large rocks at will, and see both into the past and into the future with sometimes rather frightening clarity. But Jedi do not fly, not without star ships or rocket packs or… I WILL FLY Will is often the determining factor in what a Jedi can or cannot do. True, there were the rarities like Corran Horn who no matter how hard he concentrated could not move a small stone. In the dreamstate, Jacen saw no reason why he could not fly so long as he willed it, and hoped he would remember his thought when he woke up. Why should a Jedi not fly? Now the ground came into sight, and Jacen began to slow his descent. The wind was still tearing past him, but Jacen knew he was in control now. To prove it, Jacen angled himself towards an area of flatter land instead of towards the jagged rocky field he would have fallen straight into. Time passed, the wind grew colder, and now the air seemed to take on a slight smell of dampness and decay. Jacen continued to control his descent, sometimes even pushing himself up higher to readjust his course to the flat land where he wanted to make his landing. What a desolate place this is Indeed, as far as Jacen could see, there was not a hint of green or life anywhere. The ground looked far greyer then it did brown, and Jacen began to wonder why he would dream of such a place when it also occurred to him that this was not his dream. Of course how exactly that worked Jacen’s dream-logic could not explain, but in the dream it made perfect sense. In fact, the only remarkable land mark that Jacen could see beyond the land being either rocky or smooth was a dark tower in the distance. From the air, Jacen could block his view of the strange jutting building with his thumb, but something inside him said that the tower was nothing trivial in this land. Almost without realizing it, Jacen landed on the soft grey ground. He blinked for a moment as everything around him took on a surreal look. When things came back into focus Jacen found himself in the center of a flat valley that the old Jedi Academy would have fit into, completely surrounded by walls of rock. Deciding that nothing would be gained from just standing there, Jacen took a few steps towards the nearest rock wall when he heard a howl that sent involuntary shivers up his spine. He paused for a moment, stretching out with his feelings, to see if he could identify where the howl came from. RUN CHILD RUN Startled, Jacen turned all around. Where had that voice come from? Feeling a slight tug in the Force to head to the south rock wall, Jacen began to jog which turned into a desperate run. Jacen knew he was not afraid, he did not feel afraid, but there was something urgent in that voice and something dark in that single howl which urged Jacen to move faster. Approaching the rock wall, Jacen felt his heart sink as he saw no hand holds, no openings that would allow him to either climb up or go out through. Hope quickly returned when Jacen finally noticed a rope hanging down, almost as if it were waiting for him to grab hold. Reaching the rope, Jacen did not hesistate to start climbing up, and he just about ran up the wall. Close to the top, a hand reached down to help Jacen up. Just as Jacen took the hand, the rope jerked out of Jacen’s other hand, leaving Jacen momentarily hanging over the edge where he finally looked down. He wished he had not. At first, Jacen could not understand what he was seeing. Had the ground in the valley come alive? He could see waves of moving grey, and only after a moment of focusing in did he begin to differentiate hands, arms, legs, and faces to realize that the entire valley was completely full of…strange people. The grey people looked mostly human, but Jacen could pick out a few very alien looking creatures here and there. The grey people were also very angry, as they appeared to crash against the rock wall in waves, howling and screaming at Jacen. A few even began to climb up the rope. “That’s enough of that now,” a warm but firm voice spoke, pulling Jacen up from the edge and onto the top of the rock wall. There Jacen had another shock as he saw that his rescuer was a man dressed as a Jedi! The hood of the robe was pulled down so he could not see the face of the man that rescued him and before Jacen could ask the man pointed to a nearby rock and said, “Have a seat. I need to deal with them first.” Jacen could feel that the Force ran very strongly in this man, and he also felt very at ease, safe, as if he had known this man for all of his life. But how could that be? “I see we’ve gotten all riled up today. There’s no need to make such a fuss over a little one like him. Let’s go back to sleep now,” the man spoke gently but firmly to the grey people. At first, Jacen did not think that the grey people had even heard the man since the man had not raised his voice much beyond how he had spoken to Jacen. Soon all the angry sounds from the valley ceased, and the man leaned over to collect his rope. Curious, Jacen got up and walked back over to the edge to peer into the valley. The grey people were gone! The valley had gone back to its smooth grey land as before. “How did you do that?” Jacen asked the man, astonished. “At times I am their keeper, but most of the time I am their friend. Perhaps they have come to respect me, or to fear me, but they have come to know me and that has made all the difference,” the man replied, coiling up his rope. “Now then, young one, tell me—you are not dead, are you?” “I—no, I am not, I am just dreaming,” Jacen responded. The man lifted his hood, and Jacen saw that his rescuer was in fact an old man with white hair and a long white beard. “That is what I thought. If you were meant to be here, you would have landed safely far from this place. You’re lucky that I saw you, and saw that you were going to land here. There are some places here that have at times welcomed the living. This is not one of them,” the old man explained. “You are a Jedi, aren’t you?” Jacen asked. “As are you,” the old man replied with a sly smile. Jacen couldn’t help but smile back. He almost didn’t want to ask the next question, but felt he had to know for certain, “Are you dead?” The old man drew in a breath and replied, “Yes, young Jedi, I am dead.” The old man quickly added, “But it isn’t a bad thing. Death is just another path that we all must take in our great journey of existence.” Turning to Jacen, the old man dumped the coiled rope in Jacen’s arms. “But you have a different path to travel this day,” the old man said. Fumbling a little with the rope, Jacen asked, “Where am I supposed to go? Shouldn’t I be able to leave here by waking up?” The old man walked forward, guiding Jacen forward. He pointed to the dark tower in the distance, now appearing much larger than it had during Jacen’s free fall. “You could wait to wake up, but that wouldn’t get your questions answered, now would it?” Jacen gave the old man a confused look, and the old man asked “Do the dreamers make the dream or does the dream call to the dreamers?” Jacen opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again when he realized he did not know the answer, especially considering his feeling of certainty that while he was dreaming this was not a dream he had created. “Why must I go there?” Jacen asked the old man. For the first time, the old man looked sad. “Because there is…someone there who has not come out in a long time.” The old man looked at Jacen as he explained, “If I could go there myself, I would, but I am bound to the land. You are not, and if you wake the one in the tower that person can give you answers about why your dreams have been so dark of late.” “What do you know of my dark dreams?” Jacen asked, feeling a little stunned and also a little curious of what the old man knew. The old man shook his head. “There is nothing more I can tell you. It must come from a higher guardian.” The old clasped Jacen’s shoulder in a warm grip. “Do not be worried; whether or not you make it to the tower you will eventually wake up from this dream.” As the old man began to walk away, Jacen abruptly realized he did not know the man’s name. “My name is Jacen Solo. What is yours?” Jacen called out. The old man continued to walk away, as if he had not heard Jacen. Jacen sighed, and started walking towards the tower in the distance when he heard the old man’s reply. “Kenobi. Obi-Wan Kenobi. A name I have not used in a long time.” Turning on his heel, Jacen cried out “Kenobi? THE Obi-Wan Kenobi?” The old man was gone. With even more questions running through his mind, Jacen turned back to the tower. I must get there before the dream ends… *********************************************************** The rocky outcroppings gave way to a seemingly endless sea of sand. If Jacen had not known he was dreaming, he would have sworn on his strongest oath that he had somehow ended up on Tatoonie. Then again, Tatoonie is much brighter than this place While his way was well lit, his surroundings were dark as if under the shade of nightfall. Jacen could see that his patch of light did not extend far beyond the reach of his arms. Jacen wondered for a moment if there was some cloud cover that was just opening as he passed. When he looked up, the sky was completely dark with gloomy looking rain clouds that looked like they would dump a flood of rain on top of him at any moment. Not relishing the thought of a rainstorm in a desert with no cover, Jacen picked up the pace. While he was running, he noticed something that caused him to come to a complete stop. Experimentally, he extended his arm as far out as he could. The light in front of him extended several feet. He put his arm to his side; the light receeded a few feet. “Luminous beings are we,” he murmured to himself, reaching out and pulling back his arm a few times, watching curiously as the light around him moved out and back in towards him. “Tsk! A grown Jedi playing with light like a child,” a familiar voice carried from several meters in front of Jacen. He looked up and attempted to look as far in the distance as he could, but since his light only extended so far he saw only darkness. “Vergere?” he asked. Suddenly the bird-like Jedi hopped into Jacen’s light. She appraised Jacen for moment, then asked, “Do you not have something better to do?” “I am going to the Tower.” “Why?” Swallowing, Jacen answered honestly, “I’m not sure. I want to find answers—“ “Tsk! You’ll find no answers there. Everything the One in the Tower says is a lie,” Vergere trilled. “Everything you tell me is a lie,” Jacen countered. She cocked her head to one side, then to the other, and asked him, “What are you learning here?” Jacen let out a small laugh, more out of nervousness than humor, “That the universe, the Force, is far stranger than I can possibly imagine since this is not my dream.” Her avian head bobbed for a moment, appearing to agree with Jacen’s assement. “You aren’t really Vergere, are you?” Jacen asked cautiously. “You aren’t really Jacen Solo, are you?” Vergere countered. “Now we’re back to making no sense. You must be Vergere,” he said as he rolled his eyes. A crack of thunder overhead made Jacen jump slightly, and a jagged line of lighting lit up his surroundings. He had walked for a long time, yet the Tower was still so far away. He did not know when he would wake up, but he did know that if he did not get out of the sand dunes soon he would never make it there. Vergere clucked, shook her head in disapproval, and began to walk out of Jacen’s circle of light. Before she completely stepped out of the last traces of light, she turned her head to the side, “This is a dream, young Solo. Treat it like one.” Before Jacen could say anything, she stepped out of the light and disappeared. He scratched the back of his head for moment, mulling over Vergere’s parting wisdom. It was certainly far more direct than normal, for her at any rate, yet he was not sure how exactly that helped him. At first, he thought perhaps she meant to fly to the Tower. He called on the Force and would have made a leap into the sky when a wave of extreme nausea rolled over him, sending him to his knees. He had felt the Dark Side of the Force before, but this just felt…wrong, as if the Force had been corrupted. After he stopped drawing on the Force, his sense of nausea faded. So flying is out…now what? As far as Jacen could see in between lightning flashes, the vast expanse of sand was the only thing that separated him from the Tower. Jacen reflected for a moment on the nature of dreams. A person can travel to far off places without any ships or speeder bikes in dreams. All they have to do is imagine themselves elsewhere, and elsewhere is where they go. Figuring he had nothing to lose, Jacen closed his eyes, and imagined he was standing in front of the the Tower, filling in the details of the cracks, windows, stairs leading up to the door, the door itself being rather simple in appearance with the only adornment being a small inlaid tear shaped leaf… The ground beneath Jacen began to shake and a great roar filled the air. He stumbled backward as the sand beneath his feet began to disappear, as if a large vacuum had opened up and was sucking away the desert. He grew somewhat concerned as the ground at the very perfiery of his light in front of him cracked open. A more cowardly, or others would say more wise, person would have started running in the opposite direction to get away from ground that looked like it was falling apart underneath their feet. As strange and as dangerous the situation looked, Jacen could feel no danger. Out of curiousity, he took a few steps forward, his light illuminating a large chasm that had opened up right in his path. For a moment, Jacen wondered if he had made an error, or if the dream was working to prevent him from reaching the Tower. Without warning the world turned into a forward blur, and Jacen felt as if he and his surroundings had just jumped into hyperspace. At first it was all one big dark blur but after a few moments the dark blur turned into a lighter one. Just as sudden as the trip began, the world revert to its normal surreal state. Jacen blinked, registering the changes around him. Where he had once been surrounded by nothing but sand, he was now surrounded by swampland. A sniff of the air quickly told Jacen that something was rotting nearby, and he took a step forward. He nearly fell when he realized he was stepping off a patch of sandy ground, and as soon as he removed a foot, the sand patch disappeared and a soggy patch of moss took its place. Zekk is not going to believe me when I tell him about this dream Walking forward, ducking under low hanging branches and doing his best to step on solid ground, Jacen felt a knot of apprehension growing in his stomach. What if all that had happened was that this dank, crowded swamp simply replaced the sand dunes and he was no closer to the Tower? The sense of wrongness had grown stronger. Where Jacen should have been happy to finally see life, he felt an urgency to get away. Fortunately, he did not have far to walk before he came to a foggy grassland. Without knowing quite why, he veered slightly right, into the heart of the deepest fog. The light he had in the sand dunes was not present in this fog land, and he walked forward for several minutes seeing nothing. Finally, the fog cleared enough that Jacen could see a body of water, with a wooden dock extending out into the water. Coming closer, he could see that the dock looked rotten and the water had a murky sickly brown color. Rationally he knew he shouldn’t walk out onto the dock, but being rational in a dream doesn’t always work. Reaching the end of the dock, Jacen peered out over the water, though he couldn’t see very far as the fog thickened again. At first he thought he was imagining the movement, but soon Jacen could see a figure standing in a decrepit looking rowboat. As the figure came closer, Jacen could see it was using a long pole to push against the water bottom and push the boat forward. Once the figure was a few feet away from the end of the dock, the boat stopped and the water immediately went still. At least as tall as a Wookiee and as thin as a Verpine, the stumped figure was wearing a tattered black robe. The hood was pulled far down over the creature's face, obscuring its facial features. Slowly, the creature stood up straight, and the hood lifted enough to show the creature's lower jaw. Jacen’s eyes widened a little when the creature opened its mouth, showing double-rows of pointed rotten teeth as the creature spoke. “Who are you?” -----signature----- “Yes, yes, I know, random, clumsy, etcetera, etcetera; but some times you just need to make a lot of indiscriminate damage." - Zekk Link to J/TK fanfic in bio JC twin to TheEmperorsHand Retired Lightside Jedi Master, Knight of Fan Fiction
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VaderLVR64 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 2/8/05 6:25am Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	I really look forward to reading more! I hope you post soon. Also, thanks for having all that handy information in the first post. Made indexing a breeze! -----signature----- R.I.P John, Alex, Jason, and Christian Never forgotten Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ 2114 soldiers waiting for someone to care
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Lusa_Thul Registered: Sep '04	Date Posted: 2/8/05 12:36pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	Hmm, looks interesting! Can't wait for an update. Your descriptions were really nice, and I loved how you wrote Vergere! -----signature----- http://z4.invisionfree.com/mindbreak/index.php?act=idx Kriff This! http://www.geocities.com/lusa_thul/breakfree.html Raynar Fansite http://www.geocities.com/lusa_thul/crystal.html R/L Fansite http://www.echuta.net/chrono XD Thrilled Master to Kotorchick
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Lady_Jedi_Carenix Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 2/8/05 4:40pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	VaderLVR64: Hello! So glad I could make your job easier (I noticed the new story index thread -- very helpful ); I made sure to include the info since that appeared to be one of the things actively requested of writers to do. Lusa_Thul: Thank you!!! I wasn't sure I'd get Vergere right but I felt I needed to include her. I appreciate the feedback. is thinking Vergere might make another reappearance Here's a new postie. I'm hoping to keep things farely well updated. is also hoping she hasn't jinxed herself If you're a Bablyon 5 fan, you might notice something interesting. whistles innocently ********************************************************* “Who are you?” the creature at the helm of the boat hissed again. Okay, now when did I step into this B-horror holo vid? Jacen thought to himself sardonically. Not sure what answer the creature was looking for, Jacen answered, “I am Jacen Solo.” The creature spat to the side, a dark glob that went gloop when it hit the surface of the murky water. “A name given by others. Who are you?” “I am a Jedi Knight.” “A title defined by others. Who are you?” “I am a man,” Jacen answered, making a slight face as soon as he realized what he said, knowing that was probably the weakest answer he had given the creature. Slapping the water with its rowing stick, the creature hissed, “A condition defined by flesh, by your mother! WHO…ARE…YOU, and you’d better give me a good answer else I’ll leave you stranded on the shore!” “A wanderer lost in a dream he did not dream,” Jacen responded smoothly. He wondered for a moment where that answer had come from, though it was a truth. The creature made a gargling noise in its throat. “If you can do no better than that, you have no business going to the Tower. You would not last very long,” the creature cackled, starting to push the boat away from the rickety dock and away from Jacen. Exasperated, Jacen cried out, “YOU ASK THE WRONG QUESTION!” The creature froze in place, and the waters around the boat stilled. Abruptly the creature began to curse in several languages, with Jacen recognizing only a few from his father’s colorful vocabulary. Pushing the boat back to the shoreline and this time close enough to the dock that Jacen could make a small jump into the boat, the creature mused, “I will take you across to the other side. You might amuse the One in the Tower yet.” Seeing Jacen make no immediate move toward the boat, the creature hissed, “What are you waiting for, a gold engraved invitation? Get in, or do not get in, I care not.” Judging the distance, Jacen made the leap into the middle of the boat. He had expected the boat to rock when he landed, but the boat remained perfectly still. In fact, the murky water around the boat was also still. Jacen couldn’t shake the feeling of how wrong everything felt the closer he went towards the Tower, and he knew, he just simply knew, that this feeling of wrongness would only get worse. Finally, the boat rocked and Jacen stumbled backwards onto the only seat in the boat. With its stick, the creature pushed the boat through the water, in a jerk-wise fashion that had Jacen been prone to motion sickness he would have added to the pollution of the water beside him. “A Jedi, eh?” the creature started to cackle which turned into sickening wet coughing sounds. “It had been a while…” “Other Jedi have come here before?” Jacen asked, mostly out of politeness but also to keep the boat-master talking. He was not sure he entirely trusted this creature behind him, and Jacen could see nothing in the fog. Except…for a moment Jacen thought he could make a face, no several faces in the fog. Sad faces. Angry faces. Faces that somehow felt familiar to him, though how Jacen wasn’t sure. Suddenly he realized his hands were gripping one side of the boat, and that Jacen had been leaning over to peer more closely into the fog. Suppressing a shiver, Jacen retook his seat in the middle of the row boat. Out of all the dreaming so far, this place was truly the most dangerous. Here he knew he would find no allies. “Not concerned are we?” “Only of your teeth and how hungry you are,” Jacen answered. “Heh…heh…heheheheheCOUGH COUGH COUGH…heh…you think you’re a funny one,” the boat-master hissed. A rueful smile appeared on Jacen’s face for past days. “You don’t get out that much, do you?” “Heh…out…you are funny.” A silence as thick as the fog settled in over the boat. As far as Jacen could tell, aside from the creaking of the boat, there were no other sounds. No chirping of insects, no bird calls, nothing. Jacen felt himself being lurked forward as the boat came to an abrupt stop. He looked around but saw only fog. Even the murky water was now completely obscured in a white haze. “Where is this?” Jacen asked, his eyes flicking back and forth, looking for land. “Out,” the boat-master hissed, and then started to laugh-cough at his own joke. Jacen stood, and gave one last look around, though land was no where to be seen. Only the fog, the boat, the creature, and Jacen seemed to exist at that moment. Wheezing, the boat-master offered, “If this is not where you wish to go, I can take you back.” Jacen gave the creature a skeptical look. “For a price, of course,” it added, flashing a grin that was largely teeth. I’ll take my chances Jacen thought to himself, and stepped out of the boat into the fog. After the Jedi had disappeared, the creature spat another dark glob off to the side. “I never get to have any fun,” it muttered, “always rowing, rowing, take me to the other side, take me back, no I never agreed to that, nooooo…” The creature’s voice trailed off as he and his boat disappeared into the fog. -----signature----- “Yes, yes, I know, random, clumsy, etcetera, etcetera; but some times you just need to make a lot of indiscriminate damage." - Zekk Link to J/TK fanfic in bio JC twin to TheEmperorsHand Retired Lightside Jedi Master, Knight of Fan Fiction
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obi_ew Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 2/8/05 7:28pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	You continued it! Love the newest additions. Eager to see what awaits our hero in the Tower. Jacen is of course lovely. -----signature----- In Loving Memory Of CC Price of Courage- Obi/Whie/Luke- http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/20124958/?37 Updated 4/20 Finally!!
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SilSolo Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 2/9/05 8:56am Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	lovely characterization! -----signature----- http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/27517284/p1/?11 Like this quick sketch: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32848083/ ? Then commission me. Prices are negotiable.
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Lady_Jedi_Carenix Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 2/9/05 5:33pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	obi_ew: Yup, I continued it. The muse said "Must write more!" and now I find myself her slave. Yes, Jacen is very lovely. I'm having quite a bit of fun writing him. SilSolo: Thank you!!! does happy dance that she's doing well with characterization Continuing the journey to the Tower... ******************************************************** After stepping out of the boat, Jacen was half-way expecting to be sent tumbling through the air in another free fall or perhaps taking an unpleasant dive into murky waters. Instead, he almost immediately stepped onto land, and his surroundings changed instantly. There were rolling grasslands as far as the eye could see, save for a dirt path leading up to a degraded iron-wrought fence with an equally degraded gate a distance away. Jacen turned to look behind him to see how far away he had landed from the boat and the water. Again he could only see grassland. It was as if he just kept walking or falling into a completely different part of the dream. How long have I been asleep? And how much farther do I have to go before I get to this bloody Tower anyway? He took a breath and shook his head, mindful of his thoughts. A Jedi’s greatest strength is his patience Jacen thought as he calmed himself, sending his impatience away. He remembered and took consolation from what Obi-Wan had told him, that whether or not Jacen made it to the Tower he would wake up. The spark of curiosity flared up again, and without consciously thinking about it Jacen began walking toward the gate. Summer smells assailed Jacen’s nose, and unlike the foggy gloom of the boat ride, here the light came through strong. The wind ruffled his hair, and it felt like a perfect summer day. He felt half-way tempted to go lie down in the grass, roll around, and act like a kid for a moment. Jacen smiled at the pleasant thought, but his curiosity and determination to reach the Tower before he woke up pushed him onwards. Coming closer to the black fence and gate, he noticed that barbed spear points lined the top of the fence, which discouraged any thought of climbing over. The bars of the fence, however, appeared very slender, fragile looking, enough so that if one lightly pushed on them they would break. Of course, the simplest road is to just open the gate Jacen thought to himself, wondering why he had been thinking of destroying the fence to get through. In fact, Jacen wasn’t even sure why he was walking toward the gate; he didn’t see the Tower anywhere, and through the bars of the fence he only saw more green grassland. Curiously, Jacen did note that the dirt path did not continue past the gate and in fact stopped right underneath it. He eyed the nearly 4 meter tall gate for a moment. The bars of the gate appeared much thinner than those of the fence, almost wire like. The two crescent halves of the gate were closed together to make a complete circle. As much as Jacen looked, there were no latches, chains, or bars holding the gate shut. Experimentally, he pressed his fingers on a part of the gate to see if it would give. Nothing. He pressed harder. The gate didn’t move; it didn’t creak, bend, or otherwise show any indication that Jacen was trying to push it open. He threw his full body weight against a side of the gate, tried putting one hand on each half of the gate and pushing, even pulled on the gate instead of pushing to see if that would work. Nothing. Perturbed, Jacen took a few steps back and looked at the gate again. Forcing it open wasn’t an option. He thought for a moment, and nearly smacked himself on the forehead when he thought of the alternative. Jacen closed his eyes and fixed the image of the gate in his mind. Then he imagined the gate openly, slowly, slowly, with a horrendous screeching sound as it finally opened far enough to allow him to pass through. He let the image remain in his thoughts as he opened his eyes, feeling pretty certain the gate would be open. The gate was still shut. A sigh escaped his lips. Now what? Should I try flying again? The immediate queasy feeling he felt from probing the Force told him that wasn’t going to be an option either. He was about to walk back up the gate when he noticed something white out of the corner of his left eye. Unconsciously he turned his head. A large white rock that was mostly flat but had a raised curve towards the back now occupied the grassland space a few feet away from Jacen’s left side. Curled up on the rock, her back leaning on the curve, was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful humanoid women Jacen had ever seen. Her hair was a very pale blonde, so pale it almost looked white, and it cascaded down the length of her body, almost falling over the far edge of the rock. Her pale skin almost had a luminescent quality to it. Her long white dress appeared very simple with a low neck line and a little ruffle at the bottom. All of the pale color helped to greatly intensify the color in her eyes, which were a deep, dark blue, so dark that they almost appeared black. Jacen swallowed, and felt his heart start to pound. “What do you want?” the fair-haired maiden asked in a soft, sensuous voice. “I—“ he blinked for a moment. What did he want? What was he doing in front of this ugly gate? What was keeping him from going towards that beautiful woman? What would he gain from going through the gate anyway— He shook his head. Those are not my thoughts He looked at the woman on the rock again. Yes, she still appeared very beautiful, but now when he looked into her intense eyes he felt cold. Very cold. He also noticed a passing look of surprise cross her features. I wonder what she is expecting of me She licked her lips, and very casually brought a small hand up, lightly caressing the skin under her chin before she rested her face on her hand. “What do you want?” she asked again, watching Jacen very intently. Another man might have been very flattered at the look she was giving Jacen, the promise of many intimate moments in her eyes. There was no denying that he found her physically attractive, but everything about this woman felt wrong. His eyes widened a little as he realized part of what felt wrong was her look. Jacen found her look to be more analogous to a hungry predator than to a receptive woman. “I want to go to the Tower,” he answered honestly. She wrinkled her nose, which only made her slightly less attractive, and asked, “What is in the Tower that you want?” “Knowledge,” Jacen answered, not sure of what else to say. “I have knowledge,” she smiled wickedly. “Knowledge is…such a vague answer.” She pouted at Jacen for a moment, and asked, “What do you really want?” Her voice was a low purr, and her free hand began to play with a lock of her hair. “I want the gate to open so I can get to the Tower,” he answered, feeling a bit stubborn. Her wicked smile turned into a grin. “I can open the gate.” Jacen was about to ask her if she would when she added, “For a price.” She purposely looked Jacen up and down. When he didn’t move, she sighed. “What do you want?” her sensuous voice gaining a frustrated edge, and unconsciously her face began to harden and go cold, matching the coldness of her eyes. Not wanting to waste any more time, Jacen repeated the statement that had changed the mind of the boat-master. “You ask the wrong question.” While the exterior of the maiden still appeared beautiful, the raw fury and hatred in her eyes proved that her beauty was only skin deep. Her jaw appeared to unhinge and she hissed, showing sharp double rows of rotting teeth similar to those of the boat-master. “You think yourself clever, Jedaai, but you’ll fare no better in the Tower than the others. The Tower will remain closed to you too!” she screamed. As if to mock the maiden’s statement, the wire gates creaked apart, opening the rest of the path to Jacen. He raised an eyebrow at her and starting walking toward the now open gate. “NO!” she shrieked. “The gates have never opened for me! Why do they open for you?” she cried out. She fell into a sobbing heap on her rock, her fair hair glittering golden in the light. “Do you know who you are? Do you know what you want?” Jacen asked her softly, feeling a small measure of pity for a creature that he could feel was very distraught. With a dark laugh, she turned her tear stained face toward Jacen and snapped, “You say I ask the wrong question. What is the right one?” He did not answer right away, and thinking she had trapped him, the gate Guardian smiled smugly. When he answered, though, her face crumbled, and her eyes had the look of someone who was falling into the abyss of their own shattered shallow mind. “Why?” -----signature----- “Yes, yes, I know, random, clumsy, etcetera, etcetera; but some times you just need to make a lot of indiscriminate damage." - Zekk Link to J/TK fanfic in bio JC twin to TheEmperorsHand Retired Lightside Jedi Master, Knight of Fan Fiction
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obi_ew Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 2/10/05 8:35am Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	Well now that posty left me scratching my head. Hum... Got me really wondering what her story is. Can't blame her for her admiring glances. -----signature----- In Loving Memory Of CC Price of Courage- Obi/Whie/Luke- http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/20124958/?37 Updated 4/20 Finally!!
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C3P0_R2D2 Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 2/10/05 1:53pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	Huh... Wha? I don't get it... But it's good. I likey. -----signature----- Come to the Dark Side, we have cookies Heaven doesn’t want me, hell’s afraid I’ll take over. I <3 Carth, Jacen, and GIR! (Don’t ask me bout the last one) First Love, Last Love: J/Z Index http://boards.theforce.net/Fan_Fiction_Resource/b10304/20496232/?11
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theatrejock Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 2/10/05 3:12pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	Very interesting story. Your descriptions bring vivid images to mind. I think that it will be quite interesting to see how this one turns out. Keep it up! -----signature----- "What man is a man that does not make the world better?" -Balian of Ibelin, from Kingdom of Heaven
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Neo-Paladin Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 2/10/05 5:15pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	This fic is very interesting to me. It paints a surrealistic setting that I am very much enjoying. Is surrealistic a word? Spellcheck.net says yes. -----signature----- Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. Edward R. Murrow
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ZebulaNebula Registered: Feb '05	Date Posted: 2/11/05 10:17am Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	Wow, This is amazing! If Jacen wakes up before reaching the tower, will he resume his quest the next time he falls asleep? What will he find in the tower? Is some of this supposed to be symbolic? This brings more and more questions the more I read. What kind of terrain will Jacen encounter next? Lava? Tundra? Glacial? Will little demons pop up and shout "Rakanichu" while waving swords? Sorry, Diablo II references. -----signature----- I Jedi mind-trick pushy salespeople ... "You do not want to sell me jewelry/beauy products/shades/whatever." They can take our lives, but they will never take our FREEDOM! Feeling down? Have a mint.
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Lady_Jedi_Carenix Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 2/11/05 3:50pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc)
	obi_ew: Got me really wondering what her story is. That's a good thing since she'll be showing up again later. C3P0_R2D2: Welcome to the dream. I know it's really been strange so far but hopefully when I get to explaining stuff it all make sense. Or be even more confusing and make no sense but is fun to read. theatrejock: I do my best to describe good images of what's going on so thank you for the compliement. Neo-Paladin: I'm glad you're enjoying the surreal-ness because I'm pretty sure things are going to stay pretty strange for a while. ZebulaNebula: Perceptive, you are. Noticing patterns, you are also. Diablo II references, not gotten but I might include the idea anyway. Here's a new post before I have to spend the weekend on homework (gaaah): ***************************************************** The world was grey. Not gloomy since there was plenty of light, but everything-–the ground, the sky, the flight of steps leading up to nothing--just looked like a grey-washed painting. Jacen scratched the back of neck, looking around. The gate and the rolling grasslands had disappeared behind him. There was nothing of any interest to notice in the grey land except for a tall flight of steps that appeared to lead to nowhere. Well there’s a random place for stairs With nothing else around, Jacen started walking up the steps. He had only gone a few steps up when he noticed the ground becoming darker, much more black than grey. Six steps more and he could see neither the ground nor the first step anymore; they were consumed in darkness. He started walking up the steps faster, and the steps behind him also disappeared. The luminance that he had in the sand dunes now returned as the grey light around him began to fade. He ran up the steps, getting the feeling that they weren’t going to stay there much longer, and Jacen could see the edge of a curtain of darkness nipping at his heels. Just as he placed one foot on the landing at the top of the steps, the last step was swallowed up in the darkness. Jacen went down hard on one knee, teetering on the edge of the landing while his other leg hung in the air. He quickly rolled onto the landing, panting a little at how close he came to actually falling. When he stood up, he noticed there was nothing around but the square stone landing, acting as an island in the blackness. Frustrated, Jacen paced the edges of the landing, not much longer than he was tall and only a few feet wide. There was nothing. “Is this it? I came all this way for nothing?” he yelled. Feeling downcast, he sat in the middle of the landing. “How I am supposed to get to the Tower from here?” he asked aloud. In answer, a pitch black area in front of Jacen turned a fuzzy grey. He blinked and crawled closer to the grey. It was roughly in the shape of a small door! Excited that he had not come to dead end, he closed his eyes, recalling the image of the Tower door from when he had been in the sea of sand. To his elation, the door in his mind took shape in the fuzzy grey outline. The door itself was simple in appearance, grey with the only adornment being a small inlaid tear shaped leaf roughly in the middle of the door. There was no door knob, entry panel, or window that Jacen could see. He stood up then, and reached out for the small inlaid tear shaped leaf. Just as his the tips of his fingers brushed the edges, a bright searing light tore through the surrounding darkness. Reflexively, Jacen raised his hands to shield his eyes from the abrupt bright light. “Hey Jacen! You awake?” a male voice called to him. Oh kriff The world was now bright with light and Jacen reached out blindly to find the leaf in the grey door. A booming sound startled him. “The early Fosh gets the worm, but the late Jedi doesn’t get any breakfast,” the male voice said, and the booming sound repeated. Opening his eyes, Jacen woke up. He groaned, grabbed his pillow, and smashed it into his face. “Zekk, your timing sucks,” Jacen growled, his voice muffled by the pillow. “Jacen, are you awake yet?” a slighting irritated Zekk asked, knocking on the door again. Jacen removed the pillow from his face and answered in an equally irritated tone, “I’m awake!” “Good to know. Get a move on already or the military grunts will have eaten everything,” Zekk said through the door. Jacen could hear Zekk’s footsteps as he walked away. With a sigh, Jacen threw off his blanket and got out of bed. He felt more tired now than he had when he went to bed last night. Showering, dressing quickly, and taking a few moments to shave, Jacen dashed out of his room into the hallway and headed for the mess hall. For the moment, he and Zekk were stopped at a Galactic Alliance military base on Fondor, helping to negotiate a dispute between the ship yard company and their suppliers. Fortunately, the nature of the dispute had not erupted into any major battles or assassination attempts, so Jacen’s time on Fondor had been relatively peaceful. I guess the universe wanted to make sure I didn’t get bored Jacen thought to himself as he entered the mess hall, and noticed that Zekk had already claimed a table and two breakfast trays. Jacen slid into the seat in front of Zekk who passed over a breakfast tray. “What’s with the raccoon eyes?” Zekk asked. “Huh?” “Dark circles under your eyes,” Zekk said, pointing to Jacen’s face. “Did you not sleep well last night?” “I slept for a long time, actually,” Jacen answered. “At least, it felt like I was dreaming for a long time.” “Dreaming? You mean you had a vision?” Zekk asked, concerned. “No, this was a dream. I’m pretty sure of that,” Jacen said, nodding mostly to himself. Zekk’s eyebrows shot up. “Ahh…so was this a good dream or a bad dream? And did this have anything to do with why I had trouble waking you up this morning?” he asked, teasingly. “No, it wasn’t a good dream. Or a bad dream. It was just a—dream. A really bizarre, surreal, and yet felt so real all at the same time dream,” Jacen answered, completely missing what Zekk had been hinting about. “Uh-huh.” Zekk looked at Jacen, confused. “So what happened in this not-good-but-not-bad-but-not-a-vision dream of yours?” “Well—first of all it wasn’t my dream,” Jacen started, feeling the need to make that clear first. “Wait a second—you were asleep, you were dreaming, but the dream you were participating in wasn’t your dream?” Zekk asked, now even more confused. “Yes! Participating in, that’s exactly what it felt like,” Jacen said excitedly, thinking Zekk understood. “I was just a—participant in this other worldly realm that didn’t seem to be bound by the normal laws of science. It was—unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.” “Jacen, are you about to pull a Riina on me?” Zekk asked, looking slightly frightened as he referred to the Vong personality that had been implanted in Tahiri and nearly drove her mad. “What? No, I am not going crazy. At least, I don’t think I’m going crazy. No, I’m not going crazy and a Vong personality sending me weird dreams, I know that for sure,” Jacen answered. “Maybe all that time you spent as a captive of the Yuuzhan Vong really messed up your brain patterns,” Zekk said, his frightened look gone and his tone teasing. “Maybe it did. I don’t know,” Jacen replied seriously. “I was teasing.” “I know.” Zekk shook his head. “I miss the old Jacen sometimes. You take life much too seriously now,” Zekk said, jabbing towards Jacen with his spoon but keeping his tone still playful. Jacen shrugged and smiled softly. “I miss the old Jacen sometimes, too. Innocence in the dark is a wonderful thing when you can have it. I don’t think the old Jacen would have survived the Vong, or have the courage to choose and act when the fate of the galaxy is at stake,” Jacen replied, his voice soft and serious. Zekk’s spoon clattered to the table. “Alright, that’s it. You’ve had a rough night of little to no sleep, you’re acting like the weight of the universe is one your shoulders AGAIN for, what, the twentieth time now, and I’m about to banish you to the land of ‘Stop-sulking-or-I-won’t-like-you’,” Zekk said in mock seriousness, pointing at Jacen with one finger very authoritatively. Jacen couldn’t help but laugh. “You still remember that?” he asked, laughing, remembering bygone days back on the old Coruscant when he had first met his dark-haired, green eyed friend. Zekk grinned. “And that,” he coughed, then spoke in a fair imitation of Jacen’s voice, “Zekk, you’ve cornered the market on angst so well you ought to trademark it.” A genuine smile grew on Jacen’s face as he remembered better days and he laughed again. The smile faded, though, as soon as Jacen had the thought that he shouldn’t get too caught up in nostalgia, or else he might never want to come back to the real world. Zekk read this on Jacen’s face as the smile faded. Zekk sighed, pulled out his comlink, and began to push a few buttons. “Who are you calling?” Jacen asked, mildly confused. “Drastic times call for drastic measures. I know I promised to never tell her but…” Zekk drawled out. Jacen’s eyes widened. “You are not calling…” “I still remember the words. Great thing about Jedi memory techniques,” Zekk said with a roguish wink. “Let’s see, what was the title of that song again? Ah, yes, Lithium Flower.” “Don’t you dare!” Jacen cried, half alarmed, half laughing as he reached across the table to grab at Zekk’s comlink. “What do you care? It’s not like you two are anything more than friends now, so a sappy love song might just make her smile,” Zekk said, laughing a little as he eluded Jacen’s grasp. Jacen froze for a moment and was about to grab at the comlink again when Zekk abruptly put it away. “You are just friends, right?” Zekk asked, raising a single eyebrow. Jacen returned to his breakfast, shoveling food into his mouth. “Oh no, no, no, no,” Zekk chided, grabbing Jacen’s breakfast tray and pulling it away. “I want to hear something about this from you. It would be a nice reminder that you’re still human.” Jacen finished chewing his food and swallowed. “I always have and always will care for her,” he answered honestly. Zekk waited for a moment, still looking at Jacen. “And?” “And now give me back my breakfast!” Jacen said, half teasing and half hoping to change the subject. Zekk moved the breakfast tray farther away. “Do you love her?” Zekk asked quietly. “There’s a difference between caring for someone and loving someone, Zekk.” “I know. Do you love her?” Zekk persisted. “Why are you asking me this?” Jacen sighed, feeling slightly exasperated but also increasingly nervous. “Well, let’s see. I have a best friend who no matter what I say always has a serious look on his face except when the magical words “Tenel Ka” are uttered…see, you attention just perked up a little…and you are spending no time denying that you two are just friends. So what am I supposed to think?” Zekk finished, crossing his arms over his chest and eyeing Jacen again. “That stealing a Jedi’s breakfast can be a dangerous habit,” Jacen murmured, taking back his breakfast tray. Zekk rolled his eyes. “Fine, you don’t have to answer me today, but you might want to examine your heart a little more closely…and maybe, just maybe, give Tenel Ka a call before you dismiss your feelings as being unrequited.” Jacen coughed, choking on his food. “I never said that,” he stammered. Zekk stood up. “You were thinking it.” “Hey!” Jacen cried out in mock offense. “Stay out of my head!” “You don’t have to be a mind reader to know that’s what super-responsible-I-must-spend-my-life-saving-the-universe-and-never-have-a-girlfriend-super-Jedi Jacen Solo is thinking,” Zekk said, making a point of emphasizing his words. “I ban you to the land of ‘I don’t like you’,” Jacen muttered. Zekk left the table laughing. “Tell me about your dream later once I’m unbanned, okay?” Zekk spoke over his shoulder before walking away too far. Jacen smiled briefly and nodded. He felt a little better now than when he had first woken up, though bringing up Tenel Ka left Jacen with a “butterflies in the stomach” feeling. Maybe I should give her a call… -----signature----- “Yes, yes, I know, random, clumsy, etcetera, etcetera; but some times you just need to make a lot of indiscriminate damage." - Zekk Link to J/TK fanfic in bio JC twin to TheEmperorsHand Retired Lightside Jedi Master, Knight of Fan Fiction
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C3P0_R2D2 Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 2/11/05 5:14pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc) new post 2/11 - Date Edited: 2/11/05 5:32pm (1 edits total) Edited By: C3P0_R2D2
	First reply!! “You don’t have to be a mind reader to know that’s what super-responsible-I-must-spend-my-life-saving-the-universe-and-never-have-a-girlfriend-super-Jedi Jacen Solo is thinking,” Zekk said, making a point of emphasizing his words. falls down laughing on floor Banning to the land of or-else-I-won't-be-your-friend-anymore? My friend does that all the time to me, and the sad thing is that It always works on me. I'm to gullible sometimes. [face_roll_eyes] edit because added an extra f to face, so I didn't get my face. -----signature----- Come to the Dark Side, we have cookies Heaven doesn’t want me, hell’s afraid I’ll take over. I <3 Carth, Jacen, and GIR! (Don’t ask me bout the last one) First Love, Last Love: J/Z Index http://boards.theforce.net/Fan_Fiction_Resource/b10304/20496232/?11
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ZebulaNebula Registered: Feb '05	Date Posted: 2/12/05 12:43pm Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc) new post 2/11 - Date Edited: 2/13/05 8:49am (2 edits total) Edited By: ZebulaNebula
	As for the D2 references, you described the first three acts of the game (Out of sequence, I might add). Act I is lightly forested grasslands. Act II is desert. Act III is jungle marsh. Act IV is lava and fire (Hell), and Act V, (The expansion-only act) is tundra and glacier. The demons popping up and saying "Raganichu" are common cakewalk-y Act I enemies (Fallen ones, Carvers, etc.) Will Jacen's discovery in the tower involve Tenel Ka or his own ancestry in any way(e.g. Padme`)? -----signature----- I Jedi mind-trick pushy salespeople ... "You do not want to sell me jewelry/beauy products/shades/whatever." They can take our lives, but they will never take our FREEDOM! Feeling down? Have a mint.
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Neo-Paladin Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 2/14/05 7:15am Subject: RE: Finding Your Way (Jacen, TK, Zekk, OC's, etc) new post 2/11
	I loved the continued surrealist landscape of the vision, and I loved the conversation between Zekk and Jacen. Seeing them kicking around old times, giving each other a hard time, and bringing each other up was great. A lot of people forget that those two were good friends too. Thanks for some excellent characterizations. -----signature----- Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. Edward R. Murrow
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