Chapter 5: The Flood

Water.

At first, the ancient had assumed it to be merely tidal movements, normal fluctuations of the lake... But no, this water was churning and dark, reaching far beyond its natural boundaries as the trees themselves began to be swallowed up, water tearing at their grip on the soil.

Not good. Not good at all.

Sucked into the night, Guardian had continued to patrol the border of the clearing, extending his watch further, trying to achieve more geographical information in the meantime.

Liquid slogging around his boots, the sentinel wasted no time in slipping into the shadows.

He called it Walking the Rift.

Stepping from the physical world to the webbing of the Force, Guardian dashed across the sparkling energy, following the threads to the group he had watched over for a majority of the night.

Something was amiss though.

Where is the boy?

Though he had little contact with the youngest of the group, he could not mistake the hole left behind at his disappearance... Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

He could feel it... The way the Force shivered with dread at his call.

Burning through the remaining shadows about the camp, Guardian emerged into the clearing, once more on the physical plane. All three remaining members of the group stood awake, in frantic discussion. They too had noticed the absence of the boy.

As Osk finished carrying out orders, Hazel turned, having noticed the returning presence of the ancient.

"Good timing," she acknowledged. "We were just about to go searching for Jace. He's disappeared, but I'm sure you already know that."

"There is no need to search," Guardian informed the others solemnly. "He is already dead."

All three spoke at once, Hazel questioning how he knew of this, Rahm insisting that he would have sensed it as well, and Osk beginning to rail at him for allowing this to happen.

"Enough," Guardian said, lifting a hand. All three halted mid-sentence, in obedience to the command. "There are more urgent matters at hand, and you are all in danger."

"Why, what's going on?" said Hazel.

In answer to the girl's question, water began trickling into the clearing. First it merely soaked into the ground. Then came a great wave, washing so far as to ripple around the ancient's feet and dampen the hem of his cloak.

"Water?" Osk muttered in disbelief, watching as another current came to wash around his own boots.

"The lake is rising," Guardian declared. "Soon it will overtake this land and you with it."

"Lakes don't work that way," Osk grumbled.

"Nothing is normal about this place," Guardian turned and took a step toward the source of the rushing waters. "Come with me, I know a place where we can find safety."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Hazel protested. "If this place is flooding, shouldn't we be going the other way? Away from the water?"

"Remember what I spoke to you of," the ancient told Hazel. Then addressing the whole group he said, "There are tunnels underground where we may find sanctuary. They are by the lake so we must walk against the current to reach them."

Osk sighed while Hazel and Rahm exchanged a glance, but it was clear to all that with hesitation came folly. Together, the four pressed through the forest toward the mysterious tunnels, toward the source of the rising waters, even as kilometers separated them from their goal.

o0o

Osk stomped coldly behind Guardian, the rushing current so far offering little resistance to the spacer's sturdy legs. With Guardian no longer speaking in that enchanting way of his, Osk's thoughts strayed back to Jace. Now he was able to process the news of the boy's death that had come so suddenly.

"Where did you go last night?" he growled, now striding side by side with the cloaked being. "You should have been there. You should have been watching him. Guarding him. He could still be alive... he could..."

"I am sorry, Osk," Guardian said, though he continued to keep his gaze fixed straight ahead. "I was patrolling beyond the perimeter of our camp. My only intention... was to keep you all safe. Unfortunately, I cannot be in more places than one..."

"You didn't have to be!" Osk barked, clenching his hand tighter. "We already knew the way out… we already knew the katarn were dealt with. You didn't have to leave… all you had to do was wait and watch, and this never would have happened. He's dead because of you!"

"He is dead... because of the people who put you here. They are the ones to blame... for all of this."

"Then we are going to find whoever is responsible for this," Osk said in a cold, toneless voice. "And we're killing them. And you are going to help me do it."

"That was always my intention," said Guardian, as he slowed his pace in order to fall behind the spacer. Leaving Osk to his own thoughts of vengeance and despair.

o0o

The further the group progressed, the more the water tore at them. Eroding their strength... wearing away at their will.

Even Guardian's grace was not enough to counteract the growing waves, and he too stumbled slightly.

A little ways back, he sensed the younger pair nearly overcome by despair, their determination to continue draining away.

But Guardian did not fear. For presently the trees opened up, revealing the vast expanse of the swollen lake. Finally they had escaped the jungle and the destination was near. Not far away, water spurted up from below the surface, creating a geyser that would hang for but a moment before crashing down and creating yet more waves, a process which repeated itself infinitely.

Guardian came to a stop, followed immediately by the others. "The ground level only drops from here. The hatches that open up into the tunnels are but a little further in."

"How do we get to them?" Rahm asked. "Swim?"

"And then what?" said Osk. "I'm guessing the tunnels are sealed, so even if we make an opening, won't they be immediately flooded too?"

"I can open the hatches and reseal them behind us," Guardian explained. "All I need is the Force."

Without another word, Guardian lifted his hands so they came to peek above the waterline. The air began to hum with his power as invisible waves emanated from him, counteracting those of the lake. Slowly, the water began to flow and part around him and the other three who stood close by. Around them the tide was lowering, as Guardian pushed back against the waves, preventing them from refilling the pocket of land he occupied. The ancient stretched out his hand, parting the waves before him as he began moving forward once more.

"Why didn't he just do that in the first place?" muttered Hazel, only to be shushed by Rahm.

"It's taking huge amounts of concentration and energy to do something like that," the boy explained in a whisper, his awe at the spectacle apparent in his voice. "No way anyone could have kept it up the whole way."

They remained silent after that as they traversed down the slick surface of mud and crushed grass that now lay exposed in their path. As they moved down the decline of the hill, soon the waves outside of Guardian's influence rose to a level above their heads. One falter in his concentration and it would all come crashing down upon them.

Still nothing but mud and grass was revealed.

Then Osk spoke. "Right below us. There's a cavity of some sort. I think it's the tunnels he's looking for."

"I only see grass..." said Hazel. "Oh, of course! It's probably hidden under the topsoil."

"Yes," said Guardian, one word being all he could manage at the moment.

Hazel bent down and held her hands over the ground in front of her. Guardian felt the manipulation of the Force even as the mud parted, revealing metal paneling. With a creak that too was pulled open. Beyond was a metallic shaft, square in dimension and great enough in size to allow beasts as large as the katarn to move through. Large enough also for humanoids to stand up in.

"Go," directed Guardian, his whole form tremoring with the energy expended on keeping the water at bay.

Hazel was the first to leap in, followed quickly by Rahm. Osk remained still and did not follow the others, even after Hazel called up to him. Guardian remained focused on his task, unable to turn his eyes or his attention to the hesitant spacer.

Then Osk moved, but not toward the tunnel entrance. Before Guardian was able to react, he felt his lightsaber tugged away from his belt.

"What are you doing?" the ancient shouted, his voice combatting the roaring of the waves.

"You've abandoned us far too many times. I won't let your absence endanger this group again. I can protect these kids, all I need is a weapon."

"I can't let you have it, Osk! This isn't the way to-"

A stream of water slipped past Guardian's control. Sweeping along the ground, the wave knocked Osk to the ground before thrusting him back into the surging waters. With one break the entire wall collapsed, pouring down upon Guardian. He made a sweeping motion with his hand, utilizing raw energy over finesse. The hatch sprung out of its recess and slipped back into place over the tunnel. Then the waters hit him, crushing him and sending him tumbling back with the current.

The world spinning in water and confusion, the ancient barely managed to snatch the spacer by the wrist, iron grip managing to keep his counterpart from getting sucked away.

Boots sliding along the slick bottom of the lake, his grip remained firm until the water suddenly ceased, leaving them both in a sort of strange limbo, water replacing the air once around them.

Eyes shining, he pulled the spacer to his feet, the both of them standing at the lake bottom, facing each other.

'Can you hear me?' Guardian speaks through the Force, directly into the Zabrak's mind, voice eternally soft and calm.

'Yeah.'

At the muffled reply, Guardian's eyes flared an icy blue, meeting the spacer's gaze,

'We have been separated from the younglings' he stated, motioning to the warped area of grass. 'We will not be able to reopen that particular tunnel... I know where others are though.'

'Oh, so now you're worried about leaving the group? Fine. Lead the way.'

Wasting no time, the dark specter summoned another, smaller, pocket of air about them, and with delicate movements, eased open another tunnel.

"If you would, Osk," Guardian motioned with a gloved hand, "And do try to be a little faster this time."

"It wasn't my speed that was the issue," Osk muttered, once more able to use his helmet's speakers. As he stood, he received only the cloaked figure's enduring gaze. "Do you really think I'd try the same thing twice?"

"I'd be a fool to dismiss the possibility."

"Alright, let's do this," Osk said as he lowered himself into the pitch darkness below. He seemed unwilling to simply leap into the unknown, as the younger pair had done, and instead descended slowly and deliberately. Soon he was completely enveloped in shadow.

Deeming that Osk was far enough down to allow suitable passage, Guardian followed the spacer into the darkness, keeping one hand raised to ward off the water until the hatch sealed above him.

The two were now in complete blackness.

"You know," said Osk as they moved further into the depths of this mysterious world, "for having a name like 'Guardian', you sure aren't very good at protecting things."

"I do not see how you could have done any better."

"It's your job to protect people, not mine, not anymore," Osk growled. "That's not even taking into account your apparently huge powers. Everything I've done here, I've done. I didn't have some fancy source of power doing all the work for me..."

"It is not merely a power source. It is life itself... flowing through all living things. Without it, even you would not exist."

"It's still a source of something. Don't act like you don't think you're special 'cause of it. One of the first things out of your mouth was how you were summoned by this Force, how the Force kept you alive for so long. Without your Force, what would you be? I ain't got anything like that. You take away my blaster and I'm still me. Take away my helmet, I'm still me." The spacer paused in his rant. "That much I know is true."

Guardian spoke no more. Any further argument at this time would be pointless. Instead he fixated his attention on a crimson glow that emanated from somewhere further down the hall. A little further and the light was revealed to be coming from an energy field that restricted passage further down the tunnel. It shone harsh and red, yet translucent enough to grant sight to the area beyond, where the tunnel veered to the right. Leading further away from where Guardian dimly sensed the presences of Rahm and Hazel.

"This is... rather unfortunate," the ancient said. "For even if the shield comes down, this path leads away from the children. Regrouping with them will be a more difficult task than anticipated."

"Huh..." said Osk as he scanned the surroundings. "Couldn't we just cut through the walls with your lightsaber or something?"

Guardian's head dipped. "The wall dividing us from the others is much too thick. Even were I to plunge the blade of my saber, it would not even make it half way through."

"Then what can we do now?"

"We must find a way around. I do not doubt these tunnels cross paths somewhere. If need be, and they come to danger, I can Walk the Rift to reach them."

"Because no one ever gets hurt when you decide to do that,"

So it seemed the spacer had yet to get over his bitterness at the loss of the youngling. It would take more than apologies to reach him.

"At least I do what I can, which is more than what you have to offer."

Those words were all it took. Osk clenched his fists and eyed his prey for a moment before leaping forward. He closed the gap between them in an instant and Guardian felt all of the Zabrak's weight slam against him, knocking him against the wall behind. Despite this sudden attack, Guardian remained utterly calm... waiting out the storm.

"What I have to offer?" Osk barked. "I have done everything in my power to help this group ever since I woke up in this damned place! I saved Jace's life during the katarn attack! I killed those beasts with my bare hands to protect him! Meanwhile, you see fit to disappear whenever you damned well please! I don't care who you are, who you used to be... I WILL NOT be talked down to by the likes of you!"

"You know... Once, I was like you. I had... fire. You have a strong heart, Osk... and that only proves my theory of this place."

"Your theory?" Osk growled, giving Guardian's shoulders a firm shake. "Stop trying to find purpose in all this! Stop trying think this is all happening for a reason! The 'why' of it all doesn't matter when a kid winds up getting killed! You could have saved him…"

"You could have as well," Guardian retaliated, unfazed by the man gripping his shoulders. "Why did you not stand watch? Could you not have remained in camp and made sure no harm came to the youngling? Do you not blame yourself for his death?"

"No, I don't."

"And why not? You said it yourself that protecting people was your business. Was it because you weren't getting paid to watch over the boy's life?"

"It's because I expected you to be keeping track of him, watching from wherever you were. Like I said, the difference between you and me is expectations. People expect a hell of a lot more out of you than they do me, and for good reason. I did what I could with what I had. Can you say the same? Can you say that the unliving, unwavering, unstoppable champion couldn't stop one kid from slipping away? Or is it because he isn't covered by your 'vow.' He isn't a Skywalker or whatever, so you could not honestly care less if he died."

"I believed you were watching over him... that you would keep him from harm. Obviously I was mistaken."

"Yeah… that seems to be a running theme with you," Osk grumbled, clenching his fists around Guaridan's cowl.

"And you've lived a perfect life? You just decided to discard your past, to hide your face, to seek redemption for… nothing? Nothing at all?"

"You… do not… want to go down that road," Osk growled. "I don't care who you are or who you were… I don't care if you can use the Force… I will not hesitate to take you down…"

"It's not a question of whether you are willing, but whether you are able. You may be strong, but I am beyond strength. You do not want to go down that road."

"I've dealt with your kind before. I wasn't impressed."

"You've dealt with nothing," Guardian dismissed. "Those 'Jedi' you killed in your past life? Weak. Of too little significance to warrant the full attention of the Emperor or even Vader. The purge had already dealt with vast majority of the Order. Your targets? The Emperor considered them clean-up. Assurance. You hunted down stragglers… children… and delivered them to their deaths…"

There was a pause as silence overtook the holding cell. Osk, it seemed, had been dumbfounded by his elder's perception. His head dipped and his hands loosened around Guardian's cowl. The ancient prepared to offer his next words, but was interrupted by an unexpected blow as a balled fist collided with his cheek.

In a flash, Osk had pulled back and released his gloved hand, raking his knuckles across Guardian's face. The loud thud that followed echoed through the chamber before it returned once more to silence. Guardian's stance remained rigid, his only movement being the turning of his head to follow the motion of the punch.

He could hear the spacer's frantic breathing, his increased heart rate. Still they locked eyes, unwilling to divert attention to anything else.

As Osk wound his arm back, readying another punch, Guardian interceded. Raising a leg between himself and his attacker, he sent his boot colliding with the spacer's gut, sending him flying backward. After the mere moment of soaring through the air, Osk collided with the opposite wall of the cell with a loud thud. From there, he slid and slumped down, sitting upon the floor with his head dipped.

"Now, if you've gotten that out of your system..." Guardian began, unaffected even by the blows that had struck him. Before continuing his speech however, he heard a faint mumbling emerged from the crumpled spacer. "Osk?"

"Ni…"

Guardian took a step toward the fallen Zabrak.

"Ni… dar… cuyi…"

The mutterings made no sense to Guardian, who took another step forward.

"Ni dar'cuyi…" Osk repeated, with an increased haste.

As he bent over to investigate the crumpled spacer, Guardian's eyes went wide as Osk launched himself from the floor, throwing his shoulder into the cloaked figure's gut. The bulky Zabrak managed to carry his target backward, slamming him now into the opposite wall. Pinning Guardian against the solid surface, Osk began delivering blow after blow to the sturdy frame.

Regaining his stoic resolve, Guardian sent his knee upward, crashing into the spacer's helm. Osk staggered back, disoriented but showing no signs of pain. A thin crack stretched upon and down the front of his smooth facemask, but he showed no signs of relenting. Launching himself forward yet again, Osk's feet left the ground the moment before he delivered another fist to Guardian's veiled face.

Osk picked himself off the ground following his sloppy attack and charged yet again. This barrage had gone on long enough for Guardian, and this time he reacted with force. He was smaller in figure, though only a little, and was the far stronger of the pair. Osk was flung back from him and slammed not against a wall, but the energy barrier that denied access deeper into the hall.

The Zabrak released a primal howl as the red light singed and stung his backside, reducing the already torn back of his jacket to tatters. Taking a step back, Guardian watched Osk fall to his knees, gasping for air.

"Are you done?" he said steadily, for he had no need to draw breath, even after such a tussle.

Even still, Osk was unrelenting, now driven only by the will to fight. All of his conscious mind seemed to be shut out, replaced by a simple bloodlust. Guardian now feared what measures he might be forced to in order to return Osk to himself.

As it happened, all that was required was time. Guardian weathered all assaults against him, while doing little in return for fear of injuring Osk beyond repair. It one final attempt, the Zabrak darted behind Guardian and locked his arms around the metal-plating waist. Despite his considerable weight, Guardian was lifted upwards as his opponent arched backwards, releasing a primal shout as he did so. As Osk feel so did Guardian and he landed hard on his neck.

But there was no crack. No damage at all, in fact. In one smooth motion he rose, completely unharmed by a fall that would have killed any other humanoid.

It was time to end this.

Guardian calmly summoned his lightsaber to him from where it had lain neglected on the now-scratched floor and ignited the amber blade. "Enough of this. A real danger is soon upon us, but an opportunity also. There are droids approaching, but to reach us they must deactivate the shield that keeps us from progressing. Will you work with me?"

"Yeah, I can hear them coming now," Osk panted. "Okay, you don't have to worry about me coming at you from behind. There are bigger problems to face now."

"Indeed. And with your anger, I hope, spent, perhaps you will cooperate with me once more."

"I haven't forgiven you for allowing what happened to Jace... but I do believe you won't turn against me, not after the secrets we shared last night. For now, we stand again as allies."

No more talk could be had as a trio of humanoid droids came into view. They were heavily armored, shining the same chrome color that coated everything else in these tunnels, and each held a blaster in its hand. A danger to the weaponless they might be, but not to Guardian.

It was all over in moments. The energy shield lowered, the blasters fired, and the laser beams were redirected into the metallic bodies of the bots that had fired them.

The short battle finished, Guardian strode ahead, eager to continue. Osk, however, bent over one of the sparking droids and studied it for a moment. He then wrenched the pistol from its hand and holstered it, only to remove the weapon of another, which he kept in his hand.

"Do you need two of them," Guardian inquired. Now that Osk's aggression toward him had abated, the ancient was anxious to continue on and reconvene with Hazel and Rahm as soon as possible.

"Better safe than sorry." Osk stood up, brushed himself off, and strode up beside Guardian. "Now let's get going. I reckon we have a lot of ground to cover before we reach the others."

With that the two began their long traversal of the dark halls, illuminated only by the glow of Guardian's blade. Even Guardian did not now know what would befall them as they continued on into the bowels of this mysterious, artificial world.