The jungle around the two figures walking through it felt way too quiet. Almost becoming… oppressive.
Ben Skywalker walked ahead with his lightsaber in hand, its intense, blue glow cutting through the branches and vines, many times for real. Although he moved carefully, being cautious, they were still making a good pace, getting farther than even a stormtrooper squadron would. Behind him, Vestara kept up with his pace, her red-bladed saber humming the same tune, taking her part in thinning out the jungle around them.
They hadn't spoken much since losing sight of the others and recognizing that something was very wrong with this island. The silence wasn't because of the tension of the two's past but because they both knew the Force flowed strangely here. There was something in it, something unnatural, and they quickly realized they had walked into a trap. The world was too quiet for a jungle, and it was left without the sensations it should definitely have. Worse than that, the Force had pressed against their thoughts, doing it subtly and trying to influence them, akin to how people felt when they were placed under a Jedi's mind trick ability.
"I think this planet is not how you imagined it would be," Ben finally said, breaking the stillness without turning.
"You mean the Force?" Vestara's voice was soft, but he could feel the disappointment in it. "It's not… At all… Haaah, whatever they did to this planet, the Force… It was corrupted. And it feels… Almost sentient. You remember how it felt back then, aren't you?"
"Yes, but this is nothing like it." Ben nodded, his eyes narrowed. "It's not like that... This one feels more… controlled. As if someone has control over the Force and is using it to blind us."
"Have you ever heard something like that? Because I haven't… And it sounds terrifying," she said, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "If someone can use it to place a Force-induced fever dream on us… That person is even stronger than the ancient Sith I know of."
"Maybe." Ben glanced back, a smile of his own forming. "But such power comes at a great price. It always does."
"It may be the case, but we can't be sure about it. Haaah… It is a paradise, though, because what I can feel is that the Force is thick and rich here. Too bad that it doesn't want to listen to our call, only if we force it."
"For now, try not to use it more than necessary," Ben warned her, stopping, closing his eyes, reaching out to get a sense of Kael, heading directly towards him. "Hmmm… It seems they went underground… I can sense them, but it is… so much fainter."
"Then let's go. If the thing that has control over the planet wants us to find it, it knows it can't manipulate us… So it will aim for the children."
Nodding, they walked in silence for a few moments longer, once again, both aware of the irony of the situation. They were once lovers, now walking in silence, alone again under such circumstances. It should be the time to talk… but none of them knew how to initiate it, really. Yet, despite that, the tension that used to be apparent between them was different now. Much more… mellow. Thinking about it, Vestara ran her fingers along a tree trunk as they passed, watching Ben's back, remembering how his face was when she left him, betraying his feelings, refusing to walk the Jedi way.
"I knew we'd cross paths again," she said with a soft sigh.
"I figured it'd be on a battlefield," Ben replied without sarcasm. "My Aunt wanted to round you up multiple times."
"Jena? I guessed as much," She laughed lightly. "That's fair. There were… a few possibilities of a war between us, yes."
He didn't answer right away… Even if he wanted to, the forest suddenly shifted, forcing them around a knotted root cluster and trying to confuse them, but Ben easily cut through the subtle trap, placing them back on the route toward his disciple.
"Well, it turns out we don't need to fight after all," she added. "Maybe we can… start over."
"I don't know…" Ben adjusted the grip on his saber and sighed. "But yeah, time has a way of rewriting things. I just don't know if I am willing to repeat past mistakes."
"I…" Vestara murmured, still looking at his back, "I understand."
"Say," He stopped suddenly, turning back to meet her eyes. "Do you regret what happened back then? Between us? Is that why you left…? Choosing to end it?"
There was no accusation in his voice, which, somehow, made Vestara feel a slight tinge in her chest. She even cursed him, damned Jedi, and their no-judgment policy. How could he look at her with such calm eyes, asking a genuine question without any emotional breakdown? Without rage or complaints… Damned Jedi… Damned Skywalkers…
"…" In the end, Vestara tilted her head as her red saber illuminated one half of her face, casting the other in a gentle shadow. "Sometimes. Sometimes, I do regret not believing we could make it work. But then again, I also remember that... I just can't deal with things as you do. As you Jedi do. I can't forgive and forget… I am more of an eye for an eye kind of girl. Wrongdoings must be punished, and force must be met with an equal counter-force."
"I understand…" Ben smiled suddenly, making Vestara's chest tighten with pain again, "You made your choice."
"So did you." She stepped closer, and for a moment, it felt like they were back on the Mon Calamari outpost again, two teenagers pretending the galaxy wasn't collapsing around them in death and destruction. "And you were right. Both of us were."
Yet, before their lips could meet, Ben turned away, not because her words hurt him, but because right now, he couldn't let it happen… not when he needed every focus to keep the planet's weirdness at bay and keep his mind clear.
"I know you think I should be shouting at you."
"Well, at the very least." Vestara smiled, not trying to force it, even taking a step back and giving him his space.
"I'm not angry anymore," he said finally, turning back towards her. "I used to think I would be. That if I ever saw you again, it would boil in me and throw all of it back at you. But... It's just… gone now."
"You are like your father…" She smiled faintly, raising a hand to touch his face, caressing it only for a moment, "I always envied that about you. I could never be like you... I think I would be holding grudges until the end of time."
"Lucky you that I am not like that, then." Ben chuckled, turning his back on her and starting to walk again, causing Vestara to let out a quiet, silent sigh of regret.
Falling into silence again, they continued walking, the jungle tightening around them, vines curling in unnatural directions, trying to confuse them, roots spiraling around their ankles, wanting to trip them up. At the same time, a noticeable, low hum began building in the ground.
"We must be getting close," Ben frowned. It's rising again, and its resistance is building up power…"
"…" Wanting to get a feel for it, Vestara reached out to the Force and immediately recoiled in disgust. "Ugh… These are not exactly the same emotions my people follow… This is undiluted, boiling rage and maddening fear… and it isn't distant at all. This thing is trying to dominate us but doing it subtly and overtly, like slow-acting poison!"
"Yes…" Ben nodded. "It's also adapting, trying to press into our consciousness in different ways."
"But it's not getting in." Her voice was firm. "It knows it can't."
"Yes, but the kids and the people you sent down may be in danger."
"My people should be fine," Vestara said, looking over at him. "But yes… your Padawans are a different matter…"
"Then let's go…" Ben picked up speed, his face straight and turning into that of a warrior, making Vestara's heart skip a beat, following him, matching his new tempo.
...
....
...
It was close to sunset when Vestara paused, one hand resting lightly against a vine-choked tree as her other hand subtly extended, fingers brushing the air. Beside her, Ben mirrored the gesture, eyes half-closed, his posture stiff.
"It's changing again," she murmured. "Can you feel it?"
Ben didn't answer immediately, as his attention was rooted deeper, somewhere beyond the surface, the nearby root systems, tracing the decaying ancient energy that lingered in the Force itself... Then, finally, after another long moment, he gave a short nod.
"It's directly beneath us. Including the kids."
"You mean…" Vestara tilted her head. "The source?"
"Yes." He opened his eyes, casting her a quick glance. "Or maybe an entity. I felt… something. There's a building," Ben whispered, brow damp with sweat. "Or a vault. It's… buried, but I think I managed to glimpse where its entrance is."
"A Rakatan ruin," Vestara whispered, biting her lip. "If they entered it, we'd best not wait more than necessary!"
"That way!" Ben pointed but stumbled when he began moving, drawing in with a sharp breath, shaking his head as the clarity faded from his eyes for a moment.
"Hoy!" Vestara steadied him with a hand to his back, sounding surprisingly worried. " Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just… I went deeper than I thought. It's not just changing the Force here... It's rooted in it, acting like a parasite."
"Then let's burn the nest," she muttered.
"That may not be the best idea," He gave her a look, steadying himself, "I think that's how you get super-viruses."
"Fair." She smirked. "But whatever this is, it needs a good killing; then maybe the planet could be salvaged and cleansed."
"Vestara…"
"Anyway, let's find a way in before it decides to fully focus on us!"
The trek took less time than they expected. The ground sloped downward, carved in ways that looked too unnatural to be a coincidence; it had to be the remains of a terrace or something similar. It was simply overgrown in the passing ages. Around them, stone and vines shifted in unnatural spirals, almost as if the terrain had been warped after the structure had been buried. Under the strangely colored night sky, they reached a wide clearing surrounded by thick-leafed ferns and massive roots, and there, barely hidden beneath a curtain of moss, was a tunnel mouth. A black oval embedded into a wall of stone, half-swallowed by earth, half-open like a gateway to a subterranean void.
"This should be it…" Ben whispered, kneeling, trying to get a feel for it.
"I can't get a good read…" Vestara crouched beside him.
Then, just as the two flinched, a third presence appeared.
"Of course, you two would be the ones sniffing out ancient evil like bloodhounds."
The voice came from the trees, dry and unimpressed, and Ben turned with a smile as Kyle Katarn emerged from the underbrush, brushing aside low-hanging branches with far more irritation than anything else. His robes were torn at the hem, and mud streaked across his boots and sleeves while a bunch of dark leaves stuck to his shoulder.
"Ah," Vestara chuckled. "Master Katarn. I am not surprised you also found this place."
"Sorry to ruin your date," he grumbled. "Are the kids down there?"
"Yes." Ben nodded, a bit surprised… and also cautious, even if the Katarn they faced felt and acted like he should. Maybe… he was simply paranoid, thanks to the influence of this world. "How did you—"
"I followed the headache," Katarn cut in, answering Ben's question. "That, and I got turned around by some compelling illusions involving stormtroopers, a Reborn Dessan, and Tavion, who wanted to hook up with me... This place sucks… And I hate it."
"Khm!" Vestara coughed to hide her laugh, making Ben also chuckle, his suspicion lowering.
"I take it you figured out the Force here is cursed all to hell?" Katarn continued, finally reaching them.
"We did," Ben nodded.
"It is evil," the older Jedi muttered, glancing at the tunnel mouth. "And ancient. Feels troublesome. With a nasty habit of twisting the Force like it's a toy... Explains why we've all been getting fed our worst memories on loop."
"You did. We could push it off." Vestara glanced at Ben, unable to help but mock him a little.
"Yeah, yeah, how professional of you," Katarn sighed, waving her off. "I was first following you two, but I lost track of you two hours ago. So, I did what Luke had always been preaching, and I decided to trust the Force and follow the guilt-tripping whisper in my skull telling me I had abandoned my student. Aaaaand… following where it was getting louder… Ta-da, here I am."
"The Katarn way, huh?" Ben smiled faintly, shaking his head.
"The best way." Katarn reached into his belt and pulled out a glow rod, cracking it. "Well. Are we going in or standing around waiting for the trees to grow legs?"
"Please," Vestara grinned. "After you, Master Katarn."
"I'm too old to be bait," Katarn said, but he stepped forward anyway, ducking into the tunnel entrance. "Let's find out what your Rakatan pen pal left behind while we get the kids back under control. I bet they are having the worst day…"
"Maybe… maybe not," Ben followed, lightsaber humming back to life, "Kael could fight it off, I think…"
Finally, Vestara came last, sparing one last glance at the canopy above. There was something in the air… something she also didn't like… at all.