Balance and Victory: A Star Wars Alternate Universe [COMPLETED!]

Chapter 20

(This chapter is PG-13. PG-13-ish.)

Anakin was so preoccupied walking down the street that he nearly forgot about Artoo, who was quietly following him. A sudden thought entered his mind, so he took a moment to stop and say something to the droid. "Artoo, you know you don't... have to... come with me. Do you know how dangerous this will be?"

Artoo gave a positive beep, indicating that he did understand.

"I might not come out of this alive. You might not either, if you come along. In fact, I think it's better if you stay here. That way, if the worst does happen, you can continue to fight for Leia. Find someone that will help you rescue her."

Artoo was uncharacteristically silent for several minutes. Then, he gave a sequence of beeps, which Anakin roughly understood to mean: No. She needs you, not me, and you will need my help. I must go with you.

Anakin couldn't argue with a response like that. "All right," he said, "as long as you understand what we're getting into.... Let's keep going, then."

As they walked down the street, Anakin tried to shut out everything around him and concentrate solely on the Force. It was pretty much impossible to feel anything other than darkness, chaos, and fear. The presences of millions of people prevented him from being able to distinguish one person apart from another. This place was a sea of pain, in which Leia was just one drop.

But, he did feel that the Force was pulling him in a very particular direction. Desperate for a lead of any kind, he followed the disturbance without giving it much thought.

Where are we going? Artoo asked.

"No idea."

Anakin continued to follow the Force in this manner until they came to a massive building with a sign that read: The Imperial Academy.

Of course. It all made sense; the Empire would want a young child like Leia so they could put her in training and have influence over her mind early on.

Lots of people were freely going in and out of the building, which made sense, because it was a public university. Anakin and Artoo didn't hesitate before going in.

Inside, the building was crowded and complicated, packed with people and hallways and doors. But the Force still seemed to be leading them down a specific path. Anakin found himself being drawn towards a stairway, leading several stories downwards. It was packed with students going up and down. Artoo had a hard time maneuvering through the crowd on the stairway, and angrily beeped Astromech curses at anyone who got in his way. Anakin couldn't help but smile at this. "Artoo, be quiet, some of them might understand you!"

But as they kept going, the crowd grew thinner and thinner until Anakin and Artoo were the only ones there. They eventually came to the bottom of the stairway, which had a door guarded by two Imperial officers in their neat gray uniforms.

"Students aren't allowed beyond this point," one of them snapped.

Anakin rolled his eyes. Did they really think he was young enough to be a college-age student in the Imperial Academy?

Utilizing Obi-Wan's favorite trick, he concentrated on the force and imagined a hazy fog forming in the officers' minds. "You will let me and the droid through," he said with a wave of his hand.

Thankfully, the expressions on their faces instantly became duller, more docile. "We will let you and the droid through," they said in unison, opening the door.

Once inside, the door closed behind them and they found themselves in a massive, dimly-lit room. The opposite wall was hard to see because it was so far away. It was completely silent in here... except for a low, guttural laugh echoing off into the distance. "Ah, Anakin!" a voice exclaimed. "It's been a long time. I knew you would come."