Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, all Star Wars characters and the trademark of Star Wars itself is the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilms.
Author's Notes: Thanks to all who reviewed, I appreciate it. Here's the revised second chapter of Chosen One. Hope you enjoy
Chapter 2
Sion found himself sitting, cross-legged, on a grassy hilltop. He was not aware of how he had gotten there, but somehow that fact didn`t concern him in the least. He looked out at the world around him. He could hear birds chirping from a nearby tree. The sky was a beautiful blue. The two suns in the sky shined down upon him as he sat there and stretched out his feelings. He could feel the Force, as it flowed around and in him. The birds, the tree; everything could be felt through the Force. Then he felt another person approaching. Using the Force, Sion could sense the tension, the worry in the person's emotions.
"Sion? Sion!! Where are you?" called the unknown person. Sion knew that he knew this person, but for some reason he couldn't think of who it was. He just knew that this person cared for him, and that he reciprocated those feelings.
Flash.
Sion found himself lying on the ground in the Jedi Temple, in the Archives. The room was a complete mess, bodies strewn about the floor. In front of him were two Jedi, faced off against one another. One of them was cloaked and hooded; all Sion knew was that they were fairly tall, and wielded a silver-bladed lightsaber. The other Jedi was shorter than the cloaked Jedi. His sandy-colored hair was picking up weird highlights from the blue-bladed lightsaber in his hand. Unfortunately, try as he might, Sion couldn`t recognize either Jedi.
"You will not hurt him, ever," proclaimed Sandy-Hair, gesturing towards Sion with his lightsaber.
"Hurt him? I would never do that," replied the cloaked figure. "I'm his only chance of survival."
"It's your very idea of protection that will hurt him," said Sandy-Hair loudly. He raised the lightsaber in his hand, getting into a guard position. The other raised his lightsaber as well, and struck. The two of them dueled with their lightsabers, with no hint of either having an advantage. Sion instinctly knew that if one won, he would be safe. But if the other won, a fate worse than death awaited him. But he was unsure of which one he should cheer on, as he still did not recognize either of them. All of a sudden, the whole room began to shake. The two Jedi dueling paid it no heed, as if they did not notice at all.
"Sion!!! Sion, wake up!!"
Sion blearily opened his eyes. He managed to focus them enough to see the face of Anakin right in front of him.
"A..Anakin?" asked Sion.
"Yup, it's me," said Anakin cheerfully. "Have a nice snooze?"
"I guess so," said Sion groggily. "I had some pretty intense dreams.."
"Intense dreams?" asked Anakin thoughtfully. "I thought that Jedi didn't have dreams. We have visions."
"Well, I'm not a Jedi yet," said Sion. "So I'm still allowed to have dreams." With that, Sion stuck his tongue out at Anakin.
Anakin just shook his head, trying to fight back laughter.
Fully awake by this time, Sion focused his gaze on the smiling boy in front of him. He still couldn't get over how handsome Anakin was. He looked into Anakin's eyes, mesmerized by the hazel orbs that looked back at him with a combination of mirth, slight worry over Sion's physical condition, and a certain twinkle that Sion was unable to identify.
Hoping to break the now awkward silence that had befallen them, Anakin gestured to the table next to Sion's narrow bed. "I brought you some food. It's from the cafeteria, but I figured this way you wouldn't have to overexert yourself just for this stuff."
"Thanks, Anakin," said Sion shyly, quickly turning his head away. 'You idiot!' Sion silently berated yourself. 'Why don't you just blatantly check out his arse while you're at it! There's no way he couldn't have noticed the way I was looking into his eyes.'
"Sion?" said Anakin, looking at Sion, who was gazing off into space as he was engaged in his internal dialogue.
"...Huh?" said Sion, turning back to Anakin while still avoiding the other's eyes. 'Don't mess it up anymore,' he said to himself. 'Maybe he didn't notice the way you were looking at him.'
"Are you ok?" said Anakin, concerned. After all, that bolt had hit Sion in the head. Who knew what kind of damage those bolts could do to an unprotected head?
"Yeah, I'm ok," said Sion, giving Anakin a slight smile. "I was just thinking."
"What were you thinking about?" asked Anakin, rather curious to find out what was causing Sion to act so peculiar and space out.
"Nothing much," said Sion quickly. "How much time before the afternoon gong?"
"You've got enough time to eat all your food, if that's what you're wondering about," said Anakin, smiling. Then he glanced at the food. "Though whether that's good news or bad news..." He still wondered about what was on Sion's mind, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind.
Sion grinned at that. He momentarily lost his grin when he saw the food. It was one of the cafeteria's specialities: an unrecognizable pile of brown glop. Of course, the cafeteria's other specialities consisted of the same glop in different colors in a vain attempt to disguise the fact that they served the same glop every day at lunchtime. Fortunately, it was usually edible. Usually.
Sion sighed. "You'd think that after all this time, they'd find something that was just as nutritious as this stuff that actually looked decent.."
"Well, you know," said Anakin, "Jedi are supposed to judge things by their worth, not by their looks."
"Then why do all of the Jedi eat elsewhere?" asked Sion with a smile on his face. "Unless they're with their Padawan for one reason or another, you never see a Jedi set foot in that cafeteria." He reluctantly shoveled in a bite of the glop. Fortunately, it didn't taste that bad this time.
The two continued making fun of the "fine cuisine" being served in the cafeteria as Sion ate his food. As the conversation progressed, however, they touched on more important matters, such as their Jedi training. As they talked, Sion was able to see, firsthand, that Anakin was indeed as cocky as everybody had made him out to be. And yet, Sion found it impossible not to like him anyway. If nothing else, Anakin's overconfidence and brashness made him stand out from most of the other Padawans and their attempts at humility.
Sion also realized that a lot of Anakin's brazen attitude could be attributed to his belief that Master Kenobi was holding him back out of jealousy for Anakin's stronger abilities. Thus, Anakin was always trying to show off his powers, to show he was capable of being a Jedi. And all that led to was more chastisement by Master Kenobi about Anakin's brashness.
And yet, Sion could tell that Anakin was genuinely fond of Master Kenobi and viewed him as a father figure, very similar to Sion's own feelings about Master Windu.
Just then, the afternoon gong sounded.
"Oh no," exclaimed Anakin, jumping up from his chair. "I'm late!! I'm supposed to meet Master Kenobi in the Archives right now!!"
"It's alright," said Sion. "Just tell Master Kenobi that you were helping me." He then got up from his bed. He felt momentarily dizzy, and swayed a bit. Anakin instinctively braced Sion with his arms, holding him upright.
"Are you alright?" asked Anakin, very concerned. "I can tell Master Windu that you tried to make it to see him..."
"I'll be fine," said Sion with more conviction than he actually felt. He gently but firmly removed Anakin's arms from around him, and tried to walk towards the door. However, he hadn't regained his equilibrium after the bolt from the drone, and Sion took one step to fall towards the floor. Anakin just barely managed to catch Sion in his arms.
"My hero," said Sion jocularly, trying to hide his embarrassment of the fact that Anakin had had to catch him, and that he was now being held up by Anakin. Anakin gently brought Sion back to his feet, but still had a firm grip on Sion.
"Ok, Sion," said Anakin firmly. "You're staying in this room, and that's final."
"Fine, fine," Sion conceded. "I guess you're right.. I can't even get out the door."
"I'll tell Master Windu that you won't be able to meet him. You just stay in that bed, and I'll be back later to see how you're doing."
"Thanks, Anakin," said Sion gratefully. "I appreciate everything you've done for me."
"No worries, Sion," said Anakin with a smile. "What are friends for?" With that, Anakin gave Sion a brief but firm hug. Sion returned the hug a tad tentatively, worried that a certain something might crop up that would indicate to Anakin that Sion might be interested in more than just friendship. Fortunately, the hug was brief enough that Sion wasn't betrayed by his little friend. Helping Sion get back on the bed, Anakin walked towards the door, still keeping his eyes on Sion. "I'll see you later, Sion. May I join you for dinner?"
"Sure," said Sion. "I'll probably be up and around by then, so we'll meet in the cafeteria. See you later, Anakin." Anakin gave Sion one more smile, then left the room, the door closing behind him.
"If you only knew, Anakin," Sion mused to himself. No matter. Anakin was a great friend, and Sion considered himself lucky that he'd actually gotten the chance to know him. Turning his mind to other matters, Sion picked up a datapad. Although much of his training was hands on, some of it was still boring notes and text about different topics, such as the history of the Jedi, and of the Republic. Pulling up the current reading material up on his datapad, he soon became engrossed in the founding of the Trade Federation and other such commercial guilds.
"There you are," said Master Kenobi disapprovingly. Anakin had outdone himself this time. Obi-Wan had been waiting in the Archives for over half an hour.
"I'm sorry, Master," said Anakin apologetically. "I had to help Sion out, and I ended up having to make a detour to the Jedi Council room."
"And how is Sion Jardian?" asked Master Kenobi inquisitively.
"I think that the bolt temporarily threw off his sense of balance, because he couldn't hardly stand up by himself, and he almost fell flat on his face when he tried to walk. I informed Master Windu; or rather, I left a message for Master Windu informing him of Sion's condition, so that he would not expect Sion in his quarters. He was still meeting with the Jedi Council when I arrived there."
"Well, I'll forgive you just this one, my young apprentice, since you had a legitimate reason for it. Next time though, I would appreciate at least a message from you or something. I don't much appreciate having to wait for your convenience," said Master Kenobi, frowning.
"I'm sorry, Master," said Anakin. "I promised I'll be more considerate in the future."
"Very well," said Master Kenobi, apparently satisfied with his Padawan learner's response. "You must become accustomed to using the Archives without the help of the Archivist. So, I want you to spend the rest of the afternoon using the resources of the library to research one planet. You must create a report consisting of a brief summary of the ancient history and modern history of this planet. Also include a few stories of the works of any Jedi from that planet, if any. Summarize the planet's medical programs, and also their law enforcement system. I'll expect this done in three days time. Meet me here in the Archives precisely at the afternoon gong on that day. You must also meet me at the fourth gong on all of those days for lightsaber practice with Sion Jardian. Other than that, your time is your own until your report is to be turned in. I suggest that you use most of that time for your report."
"Yes, Master," said Anakin. 'What planet should I pick?' wondered Anakin. He knew that his Master would most likely veto Tatooine or Coruscant. Coruscant was far too easy to research, Tatooine was too familiar to Anakin. His mind then wandered, as minds are wont to do. His mind drifted to thoughts of Sion. Anakin felt drawn to Sion, had felt that way since meeting him. His beautiful green eyes. One could get lost in those eyes. His quirky little smile. His slight sexy accent. And that inner fire that Anakin could sense lurked behind the shy exterior. So different than the other Padawans Anakin had been with. 'Where did he say he was from?' Anakin thought hard, suddenly eager to find out more about the planet that Sion was from. It might come in handy. Also, perhaps he could his report as an excuse to get closer to the tow-headed boy.
"Well, Anakin, which planet are you thinking of?" asked Master Kenobi.
"Corellia!" said Anakin, suddenly remembering.
"That's fine," said Obi-Wan. "Good luck, Anakin. I expect you'll do well." With that, Master Kenobi turned and left the Archives.
Anakin headed to an empty terminal, and started his research. The historical research was easy enough. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of it. Corellia was a bustling planet, and quite important. The medical programs were also easy to research.
Eventually, Anakin looked at the time on the terminal screen. He was amazed to see that much time had passed. He quickly pulled out a datacard and uploaded all the data he had collected onto the datacard, so that he would have the information at his fingertips when it came time to write the report. He placed the datacard into his tunic pocket, logged off of the terminal, and stood up. He walked towards the exit quickly, hoping to catch Sion as he was going to dinner.
Sion sat in his bed, reading about the circumstances that had led up to the Trade Federation's failed blockade of Naboo. He heard the door open, and he looked up, expecting to see Squall or Anakin walk in. He was amazed to see Master Windu.
"Sion," said Master Windu, nodding his head. Sion started to get up out of bed to bow respectfully, but Master Windu waved him back down. "According to the message Anakin Skywalker left, you're having trouble keeping your balance. So please, remain in your bed. I needed to discuss something with you. But first, I thought I heard you discussing Count Dooku at breakfast this morning. What were you saying?" Master Windu sat down in the chair next to the bed.
"Well, Master, it's really nothing," said Sion, modestly.
"Leave that for me to decide, young one," said Master Windu calmly.
"Yes, Master. Last night, I had a dream. I was sitting on the Jedi Council, having just investigated the Separatists. Master Yoda asked me what I knew of them, and I told Master Yoda that I had discovered that Count Dooku was leading them. Master Yoda said that the Count was his old apprentice. Then I answered a question from you, about his motives. I didn't know them, but vowed to seek them out. Master Ki-Adi-Mundi declared his confidence in my ability to do so, after which I woke up."
"Very interesting," said Master Windu, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I must say, your dream seems to have been more than just a dream. Just this morning, the Council discussed new intelligence; namely, that Count Dooku is indeed leading the Separatists."
"Really?" asked Sion, shocked.
"Yes," replied Mace Windu. "Also, it is a little known fact that Master Yoda was indeed the Jedi Master of Count Dooku. It has been some years since Count Dooku left the Jedi Order. Few are the number of Jedi that even recall meeting him; fewer still are the Jedi aware of who his teacher was. There is no reason why you should have known this. Your dream was indeed true."
"But what about the Jedi Council part? I'm not a part of it. It wasn't entirely true," protested Sion.
"Your dream foretold the future. The immediate future, to be sure, but the future nonetheless. Who knows what the distant future holds? I think you have it in you to be on the Jedi Council. Have you had any more visions that might have any significance?" asked Master Windu.
"Well, I had a weird dream this afternoon," said Sion, thinking back. "In the first part, I was sitting on a grassy hilltop, under two suns. I was sensing the nature around me with the Force, and a voice called me. It was urgent, and worry-filled. I didn't, and still don't know who it was, but I instinctively knew that I cared for this person."
"There doesn't seem to be any points of significance, but one never knows. Go on."
"The second half, I was laying on the floor in the Jedi Archives. It was completely wrecked, and there were bodies strewn about the floor. In front of me were two Jedi, both trying to protect me by defeating the other. The first one heavily cloaked, seemed significantly taller than me and wielded a silver lightsaber. The other was shorter than the first Jedi, was sandy-haired, and carried a blue lightsaber."
"Did you recognize either of them?" asked Master Windu, intrigued.
"No, Master Windu," said Sion. "Somehow, their faces were cloaked in shadow, though they both held lightsabers."
"Interesting," said Master Windu. "It shouldn't be too hard to find out all of the other Padawans and Jedi, apart from you, who wield silver lightsabers, as they are fairly rare. Unfortunately, blue is a very common color, so I'm not sure how much you'll find out on that front." Mace Windu stood up. "I'll let you investigate who the other silver blade wielders are, and discover the identity of the two mysterious Jedi are. If you have any other visions, please tell me."
"Yes, Master," said Sion.
"I came down to commend you on a decent first day, training with Anakin," said Master Windu, switching subjects. "Obi-Wan tells me the two of you seem to work well together. Keep up the good work, and never become complacent. Always strive for more."
"Yes, sir," replied Sion.
I must be going," said Master Windu. "We're meeting with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine later today. Take care of yourself, Sion. Meet me after the Council meeting tomorrow."
"Yes, Master," said Sion, nodding his head.
Master Windu opened the door, and walked out. As he left the room, he said to a person in the hallway, "You can go in now." With that, Squall poked his head in the door.
"Hey, Sion," said Squall. "You doin' ok?"
"Hey yourself, Squall," said Sion, smiling. "Yeah, I'm doing all right. I'm having problems keeping my balance, but other than that, I'm feeling good."
"Do you think you'll be able to make it to dinner?" asked Squall. "I hear we're having bruallki!"
"That's a rarity," said Sion, his mouth starting to water at the thought of it. "If you can help me to the cafeteria, I should be ok. By the way, Anakin is interested in joining us for dinner. Is that ok?"
"Why wouldn't that be ok?" asked Squall, just as cheerful as ever. "Something to remember: powerful friends are always a plus. I mean, look at me." Squall gestured to himself. "I'm only of middling strength in the Force. However, I hear that Anakin is the strongest Jedi out there, even stronger than Master Yoda, and you're like right up there with Master Windu! Lots of powerful friends for Squallie here!" He laughed.
"You know, you're something else," said Sion, unable to hide his amusement. "But let's head on over to the cafeteria. After all, it'll probably take us a while to get over there with me being at less than 100 percent."
"That sounds like a plan," said Squall, nodding. He helped Sion up from bed. Luckily for Sion, the dizziness was almost gone by now. The room was just slightly spinning. Squall put Sion's arm over his shoulder so that in case Sion started falling, Squall could catch him. The pair made their way like this from Sion's room to the cafeteria. Squall made Sion sit down while he grabbed their food.
Soon, Squall was back with two trays of food. He set one tray down in front of Sion, and placed the other in front of the chair across from Sion.
"Smells pretty good, doesn't it?" said Squall, plopping down in the chair next to Sion. "Looks like even these guys can't create bad food everyday!"
They had just started eating when Anakin burst in. He headed straight towards the table where Sion and Squall were sitting.
"Hey, guys," said Anakin. "I was hoping I wasn't too late.. I had to do a bunch of research on Corellia for Master Kenobi."
"Corellia?" asked Sion, surprised. "That's where I'm from. Why Corellia?"
"Master Kenobi told me to write a report on a planet, and I figured there was plenty of material in the archives about Corellia, and I knew that Master Kenobi wouldn't object to it, like I know he would if I picked Tattooine or Coruscant," said Anakin quickly. It wouldn't help his plan out if he told Sion that he'd picked solely because it was Sion's home planet.
"Well, if you need any help on it, you can ask me," said Sion. "I mean, you'd think I'd know about my home planet."
Bingo! "I think I might take you up on that offer, Sion!" said Anakin, smiling. "When is a good time for you?"
"How about after dinner?" asked Sion. "It's only because of today's incident, that my schedule's light tonight."
"That'll be fine!" said Anakin, delighted.
The three spent the rest of the dinner getting to know each other better. Anakin found himself almost jealous of Squall Antilles. He envied the closeness between Sion and Squall, and wished his and Sion's relationship even be half as close. Between the nudging, and the punching, and even the tickling that went on, it was obvious that neither of them had a problem with lots of physical contact. But at the same time, Anakin found it impossible to not like Squall, as his irrepressible wit and ready grin seemed capable of weathering anything. Also, Anakin could see that Squall was a very loyal friend of Sion's, and would do anything and everything to protect him.
They were still chatting as they walked down the corridors in the living quarters for all the Padawan learners.
"Listen, guys, I have to finish something for Master Derka, so I'll see you later," said Squall. He and Sion exchanged brotherly hugs, then he stuck out his hand to Anakin. "Listen, it was great to finally get to know you, Anakin. I'll talk to you later, man!" Anakin took Squall's hand and shook it, and Squall pulled him into a brief hug. He laughed at Anakin's expression and ran off.
"He's probably the friendliest guy I've ever met," said Squall smiling. "He gives people he's known for ten minutes hugs, and usually gets a kick out of their expressions. Also, he never walks when he can run. Who knows why he does what he does?"
"Well, he's a really nice guy," said Anakin, smiling as well. 'Well, he didn't seem to have a problem with Squall giving him frequent hugs; maybe I can get away with it too,' thought Anakin. `I just hope the two of them aren't involved.'
Before long, the two of them were sitting comfortably in Sion's room on his bed. They were side by side, with their backs against the wall, close enough to chat, yet not so close so as to be deemed intimate.
As it turned out, Sion knew a great deal about Corellian Jedi, since he had started researching them soon after arriving at the academy. Nejaa Halcyon, the Jedi who had brought him here, had told him a few stories of famous Corellian Jedi to help convince him to become one himself. Since then Sion had been hooked.
Anakin dutifully put down all the names in his datapad, whilst his mind was elsewhere. His thoughts were busy trying to figure out the best way to go about romancing Sion. Unlike the other guys and girls Anakin had been with, Sion was very shy. And while Anakin did find it rather endearing, it also made it that much more of a challenge. Good. Anakin had always thrived on challenges. Anakin looked at Sion, who was going on about some Corellian Jedi. If it had been any other time, Anakin would have listened intently to the story, as he shared Sion's fascination with stories about the Jedi of old. But right now it unimportant. As Sion continued, Anakin created and discarded a half-dozen plans of conquest, before finally deciding on the direct method. Besides, it had worked well in the past.
And with that decided, Anakin leaned over towards Sion and kissed him fully on the lips.
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