"Well, princess, I, -"

"Master Kenobi, your majesty. Are you two coming? The other masters are waiting." Mace Windu had returned to the chamber, glancing between the two and lingering on the worried look that crossed his friends face.

"Come, your majesty." Obi Wan laid his hand on her back and guided her outside, to the elevator that would take them to the council chamber. She could sense his reluctance in the way that he walked and the way his voice lowered even though he'd tried to hide it from his colleague.

"Oh, no." Lyanna sighed. "Please tell me I'm not going to another interrogation with the other masters. I'm done with being scolded like some rebellious child." Windu only scoffed as he pushed the button to close the elevator behind her.

"I fear it's worse than that, your majesty." Although he tried his best to compose his feelings, Lyanna could feel his worry radiating off of Obi Wan in strong waves. She glanced at him and soon tapped into their bond, knowing the other master was right behind them. He wouldn't talk openly with her, not with him so close by.

"What's going on, Obi?"

"They're going to try something, something that has rarely been done before." He replied mentally, crossing his arms before his chest as he clenched his jaw. "My darling, you have every right to refuse them. You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with, you're a queen and we can't force you to do-"

"Obi, for Odin's sake, just tell me what's going on." Right when she'd heard a sliver of his voice reappearing the door of the elevator slid open only to view all the other masters in their seats. Lyanna stood frozen for a while, taking it all in and noticing the fear creeping into her bones. The last time she was in this chamber she'd been locked up. Somehow, she had the feeling this time was going to be even worse.

"Follow me, your majesty." Mace Windu pushed past them both, walked towards the middle of the chamber where Lyanna noticed only now two holocron were laid down. One glimmered with blue lights but the other she recognized all too well. It was the sith holocron she'd found earlier. Even now she could feel it calling out to her, to that particular part in her that she'd been trying so long to hide away.

"What is the meaning of this?" Brows furrowed, she looked around at the other jedi.

"We call it the convergence." Master Plo Koon answered. He sat calmly in his chair, eyeing her with kind eyes. "We have reason to believe that when these two holocron, sith and jedi, are opened simultaneously and closely together, that any question we ask would be answered."

Her breath staggered as she glanced aside, trying to see what Obi Wan was thinking. His eyes were glued to the two objects, his bottom lip stuck between his teeth and his jaw clenched tightly. Frowning, she glanced back. "Is this some kind of test?" She wondered. After all, she'd have to open a sith holocron right in front of them which would only further raise their suspicions.

"If only it were." Master Fisto replied. "We heard from master Kenobi you'd been attacked by a certain sith lord we've been trying to find for a long time."

"Darth Sidious." Mace Windu murmured, his voice low and filled with an emotion Lyanna couldn't quite yet place. She glanced towards his body as he stood before the windows of the room, looking out over Coruscant.

"Your majesty, we agreed that we'd do anything to help you. Right now, we believe this may be the only way to find and stop him." Fisto continued and watched as the queen slowly made her way to the midst of the room.

"Isn't this illegal for you jedi?" Her eyes were glued to the red holocron, watching it hover slightly above ground. It called to her and she had the urge to answer. "To even allow this?" Tearing her gaze from the object, she instead tried to glue it to Yoda.

"A hard decision this was." He replied. "Yet, no choice do we have. Answers, we need. The only way this may be."

Lyanna felt a shiver run op her spine. "Obi?" She slightly turned in his direction. She felt the pull to the holocron yet every nerve in her body told her to run away. Somehow, she hoped that the jedi would hold her back from touching it.

"It's your choice, my darling." Even though he'd tried to sound neutral the fear was clear in his voice.

She turned back towards the holocron as her frown deepened. Any question we asked would be answered. The gears in her head started turning. If any question would be answered, maybe she'd finally get the answer as to how to get this darkness out of her, how to get Arthas out. Wasn't this what she'd been trying to find out all along? Suddenly, reluctance was quickly replaced by a burning hope.

"So, can both of us ask a question? The one opening the other, and me?" Her eyes flickered over all the masters.

"Well, yes." Fisto answered reluctantly. "But we'd rather have you try to find out the same, your highness. This is after all our first priority at the moment and this may be our only chance. We wouldn't want to waste it."

"All right." Lyanna's eyes narrowed in thought. They wouldn't know. But what would she ask, exactly? How to get the darkness out? But I know the answer to that already. She was sure. She'd have to be precise with her question, or else she'd most likely be rewarded with a vague answer. I need to get this right the first time.

"Your majesty?" Windu ripped her from her thoughts. He'd turned away from the window and was now eyeing her closely with his arms crossed before his chest.

"I'll do it." Suddenly, everyone in the room shifted with either relief or fear.

Windu started to walk towards the midst of the room, throwing his cloak back. "I hope you've learned something from the documents I gave you, -"

Lyanna looked up and turned towards her favourite jedi. "But only if he does it."

Obi Wan froze for a short while, his eyes shooting from one master to the other. Then, he sighed deeply, nodding in agreement and walking up to her.

"Very well." Windu agreed and walked towards his own seat. "Remember; you need to find out who the dark lord is, and to how find him. Otherwise, this will all be for nothing."

Both the queen and the jedi slowly sat on the ground with their legs crossed, facing each other with the two devices between them. Their eyes connected momentarily, a silent agreement forming between them. "You ask how to find him." She spoke through their bond, her own eyes quickly glued to the object between them.

"What will you do?"

"Ask it a question I need answered." With the way she spoke, Obi Wan knew he wouldn't get further.

"Please, don't make me regret this." He only shot her a quick worried glance before he extended one of his arms.

"Remember what I taught you." He spoke as the holocron lifted between them. Closing their eyes and focussing, they soon felt the energy surging between them. "Focus on your question and don't let anything else distract you." Obi Wan continued but his voice seemed to get further and further away.

Pressing her eyes shut she focussed on the humming before her, the energy that drew her in. She could feel the different parts of the holocron unfolding before her and the power finally escaping from the confines of its prison. As they both submerged a blinding light suddenly erupted before them and filled the room. She could hear the other masters yelling, but she couldn't quite understand what they were saying. She could only focus on one thing.

Show me how to find the Aether.

Then, suddenly, she was being pulled into an endless abyss. It was like being sucked out of a spaceship, suddenly tumbling through endless nothingness until her feet suddenly connected with ground. A loud echo sounded through a dark space, softly lightened by a red light.

"Hello?" Her steps echoed with each step she took. The entire room was dark and in the shape of a triangle, as if she was standing in the middle of some sort of ancient pyramid. There was an altar before her, with glowing red streams leading up to the base. On top of it, she could see the holocron hovering above the surface. This one was different than the one that'd been before her just moments ago, for this one radiated much more power. It glowed more fiercely and had a chaotic flickering inside of it as if it was going to burst.

"But how do I find it?" Lyanna sighed as she reached out for it. The moment her fingertip nudged the cold metal, she was pulled into yet another string of images. A dark temple on top of a mountain, overlooking a battlefield. A ship that had exploded, leaving debris in the vacuum of space. A loud alarm that echoed through her head and then, she felt a presence. Not one she'd felt before, less dark yet filled with a burning hatred.

Her vision cleared and suddenly she was standing right before the entrance of a temple she herself knew. "Borovia?" She frowned. It was one of the passages hidden deep within the castle, beneath the ruin that had now entirely collapsed. She recognized it for her father had tried to open it many times yet hadn't succeeded.

"How?" She repeated with frustration woven through her voice, laying her hand on the cold hard stone.

Find him.

Suddenly, an unknown voice echoed through her head. Her eyes narrowed, she looked around. "Find whom? How do I find it?!" The vision before her seemed to blur and tear, reality disappearing before her. "Find who?!"

That same presence appeared but now it was accompanied by a voice. She felt that hatred echo through her bones, almost tearing her to pieces with the mere force of it. Her chest started to ache, like claws were tearing away at her flesh. "Kenobi." It murmured, filled with both disgust and longing. "KENOBIIII!" It screamed with such a force that she was almost literally thrown out of the vision, and back to reality.

"Kenobi!"

She blinked a few times, thinking that that voice had followed her into reality. "Master Kenobi?!" Bodies jumped into action before her as a faint gagging sound echoed through the room. "What is happening?!" She heard the panicked voice of one of the masters.

"Obi?" It came out as a soft whisper, almost a plea. The tearing at her chest remained. Her heart pounded, but she didn't know why. Then she realized her jedi had fallen over and was grasping at his throat.

"Obi Wan!" Immediately she surged towards him and pushed away one of the jedi that had gathered before him, her hand going for his face as she tried to digest what was happening.

"He... he can't breathe." Lyanna glanced up at the master that'd appeared on Obi Wan's other side, Master Windu. Quickly she turned back towards the man below, watching his face contort in pain and the veins on his head swell. "He can't breathe." She replied more steadily. "Get a tube, something to secure his airway, and a healer, now!"

From the corner of her eyes, she saw someone run towards the elevator as she lifted his jaw, making sure that his tongue wasn't the thing obstructing his airway. "Obi, hey Obi." She laid her hand on the side of his face as he looked up with panicked eyes, tears running down. She tried to ignore the sense of dread trying to overtake her, and instead tried to focus on the routine she'd done many times before. "I'm going to help you, okay? You're going to be all right."

He tried to answer but couldn't force out any sound. Instead, his hand tried to grasp hers as his consciousness dwindled. "Lyanna." His voice pleaded in her head. Desperately she tried to find the source of his staggering breaths, but couldn't find anything, not even when she looked into his mouth. Somehow his airway was shut tight as if someone was choking him.

"Can you force his airway open?" She glanced up at Windu. "Anything to help him breathe?"

"Lyanna, you should know, -"

"Your majesty, I..." Mace seemed just as clueless as she was. "I don't think I can."

"I've loved you, from the moment I first saw you in the woods, -"

"Do you have a pen, at the least?!" She yelled in frustration, already trying to find ways to open his lungs again. If only she had some kind of needle, so that she could bypass the obstruction in his throat. "Anything?!"

"forever and always."

"Your majesty..." Plo Koon redirected her attention back to Obi.

"No." Lyanna whispered when Obi Wan's chest had stopped rising. Quickly, she darted forward, propping her head above his to try and hear if he was still breathing while her fingers searched for his heartbeat. When she could find neither, she quickly sat upright before him and put both her hands steadily on his chest.

"C'mon, you stupid jedi." She grunted as she started to push down in a steady rhythm. "This is no time to die." Ignoring the gnawing sense of dread that tried to take over, she focused on the counting in her head and the force with which she pushed down. When she was at 30, she quickly darted towards his face.

"Please, Obi, wake up." She tried to speak to him, but she could feel the tearing at her heart get worse with each passing second. Connecting their lips, she let her tears run freely as she blew in the air that would resurrect him. Then, she went right back to his chest. "I came back for you. Don't you dare leave me now."

As the seconds ticked by she pushed harder and harder, tears clouding her eyes while the other masters could do nothing but watch and wait. "Obi!" She yelled mentally when she was done pushing. His presence that had once been so clear, had gone.

"Wake up!" When she'd blown in another gust of air and saw his chest rise as his lungs filled, she heard a staggering intake of breath coming from him.

"Obi Wan?!" She immediately ceased all her actions and instead focused on his chest to make sure he was breathing by himself once again. "Obi Wan, can you hear me?"

"Princess." With his eyes closed, his voice was hoarse as he spoke. He coughed, his face contorting in pain. "I..." Slowly his eyelids opened, his blue eyes connecting with her once again. "I assume he didn't like us asking questions." When a smirk appeared on his face, Lyanna let out a loud sigh of relief and sat back, tears running down her cheeks. All the other masters chuckled softly, crouching down in front of him as he tried to sit up.

"Don't ever do that again." Lyanna said, her voice shaking.

"I wasn't planning to, your majesty." He cheekily answered.

"I may have broken some of your ribs."

"As I understand, you also kissed me. Seems like a fair trade." As he tried to sit up, he groaned in pain and grasped for his chest.

Lyanna quickly pushed him back down to the ground. "You'll need to rest, master jedi. At least till one of the healers gets here."

"A healer? I've got you." Obi Wan glanced up at lyanna, their eyes connecting as they both processed what had happened.

"Even the queen can't heal fractured ribs, master Kenobi." Someone said, but both were too preoccupied with each other to really notice who it was.

"I almost lost you." She said, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill.

"Darling, I was never in any danger." A smile graced his lips. "Not with you right by my side."

Lyanna scoffed softly, looking down at her hands as a blush crept up her cheeks. "So, what did you find out?" Windu broke the relieved silence that had followed.

Obi Wan scoffed softly. "Not one thing." He spoke sadly. "I'm afraid this sith lord doesn't want to be found."

Dammn you, palps!

Quick update because I'm so glad most of you are still here! :))

I love you all