Chapter Four

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Stepping closer to Xander, Amber clenched her fists by her sides. "Your father killed my family!" she shouted. "Oops," Xander shrugged with a sly grin.

"That's all you have to say?! First you invade my thoughts, then you have half the mind to tell me you're the son of the man who killed my family?! And all you say is oops?!"

"Am I supposed to apologise or something?" Xander leaned back in his chair. Amber growled, swiping her hand in front of her, which pushed the chair out from under Xander. "Ow, shit!"

"Your father is a monster and so are you!" Grabbing the collar of his shirt, Amber lifted Xander up to his feet. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into," Xander grumbled, shoving the blonde across the room and into the wall.

Amber slid down the wall, groaning in pain and holding the back of her head. She looked up, only to see Xander right in front of her with an outstretched arm, and silver lighting engulfing his hand.

"I told you. You don't know what you're getting yourself into," before he could raise his arm to strike Amber, an outside force pushed Xander almost all the way across the room.

Standing in the doorway was Rey, her hand pointed in Xander's direction. She rushed to Amber's side, bending down to her level.

"Amber, I am so sorry. Are you ok? How much did he hurt you?" Rey lifted Amber gently to her feet, examining her for any injuries. "I'm fine..." Amber mumbled, rubbing the back of her head.

"Come on, let's get you an ice pack. Xander, stop being a dick and wait for your grandma. You'll have to talk to her about this," Rey said, leading Amber out of the room.

Once the girls were gone, Xander fell to his knees, tears falling from his eyes. He covered his face with his arms, mumbling to himself. "Great gramps, I need to talk to you again..."

The same blue light from before filled the room, and Xander lifted his head to see his great grandfather's ghost once again.

"I messed up again... I hurt someone..." Anakin placed his hand on Xander's cheek in a reassuring way. "Xander, please don't beat yourself up over this," "But I keep hurting people! I hate it!"

"You can't let your emotions get the best of you, Xander. They may help you in some ways, but when they get too strong, you could end up hurting yourself or someone else," Anakin spoke softly. "I know that... but how? How do I control my emotions? Why... why can't I just be normal...?"

"Xander... there's no such thing as normal. What you think is normal is someone else's different. You're unique in your own ways, which is what makes you who you are. As for controlling your emotions, that's a journey you'll have to take on your own. I can only help you so much in discovering who you are. Now please, don't be so mean to yourself about these things. Remember, you're still learning," And with that, the blue light dimmed to nothingness.

Sighing, Xander shifted from his knees to sit criss cross on the floor. He waited in silence for a few minutes with his head down, until Leia walked into the room with a forlorn expression.

"Xander..." Leia spoke. "I know... back in the cell...?" Xander kept his gaze locked on the ground. "Actually, I have somewhere else for you to go," Leia smiled slightly.

---

"Grandma, it's hot out here," Xander complained as he and Leia rode in a speeder down the sandy desert regions of the planet. "I know, sweetie. We're almost there, just hold on," Leia responded.

"Where is 'there' exactly?" Xander asked. "You'll see. You might want to take off your jacket if you don't want to have a heat stroke," Xander hummed in agreement, taking off his belt and jacket. Underneath was a gray tank top and slightly visible bandages across his chest.

After a few more minutes, the two arrived at a small oasis between a few large desert rocks.

"Why are we here? Why didn't you just put me back in the cell?" Xander questioned. "I figured that the heat may be getting to you, so you can relax here and not have to worry about the stresses from being at the base for a while," Leia smiled, assisting Xander out of the speeder.

They stepped through the lush trees and bushes of the oasis, to which the center was a large clear blue lake.

"Wow... it's beautiful..." Xander whispered. "It really is. Do you want me to stay with you? Or do you want to be alone?" Leia asked. "I... think I'd like to be alone... please," "Alright, sweetie. If you need me, just use this," Leia handed Xander a small handheld communication device.

"Thank you... I'm sorry, grandma..." Leia placed a hand on Xander's shoulder, giving him a loving smile. "It's alright, Xander. Just go relax, I won't be far," Leia said, turning and leaving through the trees.

Xander stepped closer to the water, sitting down near the edge. A faded blue light appeared behind him, and he sighed.

"Hi guys..." Behind Xander stood the ghosts of Anakin, Obi Wan, Qui Gon, and Yoda.

"You don't have to be so down about this, Xander. You're allowed to be angry sometimes, you know," Obi Wan spoke. "But I keep hurting people... I hurt Poe, I hurt Amber... I wanted to be her friend, and now she probably hates me..." Xander mumbled, keeping his gaze locked on the rippling water in front of him.

"If you wanted to be her friend, why did you attack her?" Qui Gon asked gently. "I didn't mean to... I guess... I guess I let my pride get the best of me. She was talking crap about my dad and I let it get to me," Xander sighed, tracing his hand around in circles in the wet sand.

"That's probably my fault. I guess you got it from me. Sorry about that, kid," Anakin chuckled embarrassedly. Obi Wan smacked Anakin on the arm. "Anakin, no. Xander, it may be a family trait, but don't use it as an excuse to hurt others,"

"I know..."

"A family trait it may be, but a true reason for this behavior there is," Yoda said. "There is? What is it? Is there a way to fix it?" Xander quickly turned around to face the four ghosts.

"Confused, you are. Answers, you seek. More confusion, you find," Yoda spoke. "Confused? About what? And holy force, it's getting hot. I'm taking this thing off," Xander swiftly removed his tank top, which underneath revealed his chest wrapped in off-white bandages. "I'm sorry, continue,"

"What he's saying is that you want to know which side you stand on," Qui Gon said. "In better terms, do you stand with the light side or the dark side. Your parents raised you with the views that they had. They taught you in the ways of the dark side. But now that you're with your grandmother, you're having second thoughts as to who you really stand with,"

Obi Wan nodded in agreement. "Although Anakin has been teaching you both the jedi and the sith ways of fighting since you were little, you've never seen the light side before. And now, that's all you can see,"

"And since I'll have to cut this short, I'll just say this," Anakin knelt down to Xander's level, placing a ghostly hand on his orange hair. "You don't always have to choose. You can compromise," Anakin gave Xander a kiss on the forehead in a fatherly manner, then he and the others disappeared.

"Xander? Are you still here?" Leia called from behind the trees and bushes. "I have someone who wants to talk to you," "W-wait, hold on!" before he could put his shirt back on, a familiar blonde stepped through the trees.

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