Carmine Jinn, known to many as intergalactically renowned singing superstar Count Crescendo, was determined more than ever to succeed. For years, it was unknown to him that he had a twin brother, who was none other than Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. And now, taking a break from the superstar life to train as a Jedi, Carmine has become Obi-Wan Kenobi's newest Padawan, and received added guidance from Master Yoda as well as old messages written to him by his late father Qui-Gon Jinn.

Figuring out the more advanced ways of the Force was a challenge for Carmine, as he was more an expert on music and dance, and his daughter Lamenta was incredibly shy and anxious. Thus, neither of them fought in the Clone War the same as Anakin and his daughter Gabriella did. Nevertheless, Carmine paid close attention to every lesson as best he could, and tutored his daughter so they could help the Jedi bring order to the chaos created by the war.

Almost two months went by, and Carmine got better and better at using the Force with a little help from his brother and niece. Gabby told Carmine, "When my daddy taught me to use the Force, he told me 'don't try to be someone you aren't, and use your powers your way. Find what helps you focus. Find your motivation and let go of everything else.'"

And, Anakin noticed very quickly that Carmine had already mastered dancing very well, but did not tend to practice martial arts. Thus, he, Gabby, Carousella, and Crescent helped the pop star turn his dance skills into fighting skills. And they even taught Lamenta some movements so she could defend herself. They even got to using practice lightsabers to teach Carmine how to use a lightsaber when the time came for him to build one.

As the war progresses, the number of Jedi decline and new younglings are harder to find. When a youngling is discovered, they are brought to the Jedi Temple and learn quickly that their true family is now the Jedi Order. Well, one of their families, anyway. With the new code in place, younglings had a choice of whether they wanted to stay in touch with their families, as well as start families of their own someday.

One thing that had not changed though was the challenge younglings faced in the trials. Tests had to be passed, but none were as important as The Gathering. It is then that a Jedi's path will truly begin.

This time, things were a little different in The Gathering. There were six younglings: a wookie named Gungi, a human boy named Petro, a Rodian girl named Ganodi, A Nautolan named Zatt, and Ithorian named Byph, and a Tholothian named Katooni.

"Hurry, younglings." Ahsoka said as the children rushed over.

Gungi made his wookie noise. Then Ahsoka noticed someone was missing.

"Sorry, I'm late." said Carmine, running in.

"When did Master Skywalker start wearing glasses?" Petro asked.

"The name is Jinn. Carmine Jinn." Carmine corrected. There were still some Jedi who still had not gotten used to Anakin having a twin, and sometimes mixed the two up, mostly when Carmine didn't have his glasses on. "Anakin's twin brother?"

"Glad you could join us, Carmine." Ahsoka said. "Now, you have all proved to be the top of your class. And so now is the time of The Gathering. For a Jedi, there is no greater challenge or honor."

Gungi made a noise, and Petro asked Ahsoka what The Gathering was.

"Petro, Ganodi, Byph, Katooni... Zatt, Gungi, and Carmine... the time has come for you to build your own lightsabers." Ahsoka held up her lightsaber as an example.

Carmine and the younglings cheered in excitement.

"Be warned," Ahsoka continued. "This is no simple task, and many perils lie ahead of you. Where we are going, there is no place more sacred to the Jedi."

This was the first time The Gathering would have an adult constructing their first lightsaber.

"Isn't Carmine a little old for this?" Zatt asked.

"I'm twenty-one, and I didn't start in the Order as a baby like you did." Carmine reminded the Nautolan. "Not everyone learns at the same speed."

The younglings and disguised pop star were soon on their ship headed to a very cold planet covered in ice and snow.

R2 was first to exit the ship. Ahsoka and Carmine exited next, the children following one at a time, everyone bundled up in warm clothes.

"Not the most hospitable place." said Katooni, rubbing her hands together for warmth.

"I think that's the point." said Petro.

"Brrr! This is even colder than being in the kingdom of Frianieve in a bathing suit." Carmine whined, wrapping his arms around himself, and wiping the goggles he wore over his glasses. "And not so friendly to specs."

"Now I can definitely tell you and Anakin are brothers." Ahsoka teased.

"Very funny."

The younglings walked through the strong wind until they came to what looked like a dead end, according to Petro. But, Ahsoka was dusting something off the ground.

Ahsoka stood up and said, "Everyone, outstretch your hands and focus the Force. Together, and only together, can we enter."

Ahsoka outstretched her hand first, then so did the younglings. Carmine stretched out both his hands and focused, clearing his mind of all distractions. Big crystals of ice started to move high above on the ice wall in front of them. And as they continued to concentrate, the whole wall collapsed to reveal an opening.

"Now, hurry. The sun has already risen, and we must begin." Ahsoka said before leading the group inside.

Inside the cave, there were statues of ice, and Master Yoda was there as well, sitting on a chair made from a big rock.

The younglings all bowed in respect to the Jedi Grandmaster.

"The Force made physical, a Jedi is." Yoda said. "Comes great responsibility with that, yes?"

The younglings nodded.

"Protect others, how does a Jedi, hmm?"

"With their lightsaber?" Carmine guessed.

"Correct, you are, Young Jinn." Yoda levitated his lightsaber to demonstrate to the younglings. "Build your own lightsaber, you shall. But first, harvest your crystal, each one of you must."

The younglings once again sounded excited.

"The heart of a lightsaber, the crystal is." Yoda continued. Focuses the Force from the Jedi, it does."

Yoda raised his hand and used the Force to open a window at the highest point of a wall in the direction the group entered. The light turned a compass of some sort and shined through two crystals and melted the ice on a giant door behind Yoda.

Carmine was astonished. He'd never even tried to do anything like that for special effects during one of his concerts. But it looked epic.

"If Jedi you are to become, enter the crystal cave, you must." Yoda said. "Trust yourself, trust each other, and succeed, you will."

The younglings were soon gathered at the entrance to the Crystal Cave, ready to find their crystals.

"Once you have found your crystal, do not remain inside." Ahsoka warned. "As daylight ends, the door will freeze over again, and you will be trapped."

Carmine shivered at the mere thought.

"For how long?" Ganodi asked.

"For one rotation." said Ahsoka. "There will be nothing anyone can do for you."

"Unless you can do this?" Carmine conjured a small flame from his hand.

"Maybe. This is the first time in years that we have an Enchanted in The Gathering. But hopefully you won't have to find out."

"How will we know which crystal to pick?" Petro asked.

"Only you can know which one is yours. Now hurry."

And so, the younglings set out to find their crystals.

The crystal cave was a lot bigger on the inside, and some of the group felt unsure about finding their crystal.

"How do they expect us to find our crystals when the whole place is made up of ice?" Katooni asked.

"If there's one things I've learned all my life, it's that you need to rely on more than just your eyes to find things." Carmine said. "Most commonly, what you're looking for is standing right in front of you and you don't even realize it."

Petro scoffed and said, "I don't see the big deal though. I could easily last a night in here."

Zatt did some things on his data tablet. "From my calculations..." he sniffled. "taking into account the planetary movements in this system, um... the sun only rises on Ilum every 19 days."

"That's a very long night." said Katooni.

"You said it." Carmine said before sneezing. "I'm already catching a cold and we've been in here only five minutes."

Carmine pulled his hood back over his head.

"Well, I don't know about you lot," said Petro. "but enough with the chatter. I'm gonna be the first to get my crystal and get out of here."

"Petro wait," said Katooni. "Maybe we should stay together?"

"She has a point," said Carmine. "You shouldn't rush into a rite of passage. Slow and steady wins the race."

"Do what you want. You're on your own." Petro said, leaving.

"Petro, get back here, young man!" Carmine said as though he were Petro's father. The other younglings looked at him oddly. "I have a daughter. I naturally worry about kids."

"Come on. We need to keep moving." said Katooni.

As the younglings walked, Gungi howled, calling Petro selfish.

"You're right. He is selfish." Katooni agreed.

While the entrance to the cavern was slowly freezing over, the remaining younglings came across three different doors.

"Which way now?" Ganodi grunted.

"We don't have much time and we have no idea where the crystals are." said Katooni. "We need to break into groups."

"What? No!"

Byph agreed with the Rodian.

Suddenly, Carmine heard something.

Ah-Ah, Ah-Ah

Ah-Aahh Ah-Ah-Aahh

It sounded like, a voice singing (Call of the North Wind from 'Frozen 2'. Basically, the voice Elsa hears)

"Do you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Zatt asked.

Carmine listened and heard the voice.

Ah-Aahh Ah-Ah-Aahh

"There it is again." said Carmine. He took down his hood and held a hand near his ear to listen better.

The others listened.

"I don't hear anything." Ganodi said.

"Me neither." Zatt said.

But Carmine could hear it loud and clear. He picked into his ear and listened again. He still heard it.

"The cold must be getting to your head." Zatt said. "Maybe keep your hood on."

Carmine was pretty sure he wasn't just hearing things.

"On the count of three, close your eyes and point to a door." Zatt told everyone. "and that's the direction each of us will go."

And on the count of three, the younglings pointed to different doors. Zatt and Katooni got the first one together, Gungi and Ganodi got the middle, and Byph got the third. But, Carmine was too distracted by the voice to follow their plan. But, his instincts told him to take the third door as well. But Byph was afraid.

"You shouldn't be afraid of monsters, Byph." said Katooni. "You're a Jedi.

Byph looked into the third door. He was so nervous.

Carmine looked at Byph and saw he was scared. He'd experience plenty of times like this with Lamenta when she was scared to go through a dark hallway or a fun house at carnivals they sometimes stopped at while on tour. He knew just what to do.

"It's okay, Byph." Carmine said. "I'm right here beside you."

Carmine offered Byph his hand. The Ithorian youngling took Carmine's hand, and on the count of three, they stepped in together.

"I know things you can't see are usually scary at first, Byph." said Carmine. "But you can't live in fear. If you do that, you'll miss out on a lot of great opportunities."

Byph spoke in his native language.

"Do you know that famous singer Count Crescendo?"

Byph went on how he was his favorite performer ever.

Carmine chuckled and said, "Well, it just so happens I know Count Crescendo personally. Better than you realize. And believe it or not, he's felt pretty scared lots of times. It's actually one reason no one ever sees his face. He thinks by doing that, no one will see the anxiety in his eyes. But, hiding isn't what helps him be confident."

"Then what does?" Byph gurgled.

"Before every concert, Count Crescendo has this ritual of looking in the mirror and telling himself, 'Let the music in you be your guide.'" Carmine explained. "It means to follow your heart. Be true. Never let fear stop you from doing the things you set out to do. Fear will only stop you if you let it. It's up to you to show fear who's boss. Look fear in the eyes and say, "it's my life, and I'm in control, not you.'"

Byph started to feel better even as the cave remained dark. But then, Carmine started to hear the voice again. And Byph, he started to see something, which he told Carmine, but he wasn't listening. Byph asked Carmine to go with him, but Carmine told him, "You're on your own for now, Byph. I know it's not going to be easy facing your fears on your own. But trust me, you can do it. If it helps, when I'm afraid of something, it usually helps to think of something silly. Laughter is a good cure for fear."

Carmine headed on his own, listening for the voice.

Ah-ah, oh-oh

Ah-ah, oh-oh

Ah-ah, oh-oh-oh-oh

Carmine could hear the voice getting louder. But then, he realized he didn't have much time. He had to find his crystal before the ice trapped him in the cave.

Carmine: I can hear you, but I won't

Some look for trouble

While others don't

There's a thousand reasons

I should go about my day

And ignore your whispers

Which I wish would go away, oh, oh-oh

Oh

(Voice: Ah-ah, oh-oh)

You're not a voice

You're just ringing in my ear

And if I heard you, which I don't

I'm spoken for, I fear

All that I am looking for is here within these walls

I'm sorry, secret siren, but I'm blocking out your calls

I'm on my adventure, I don't need something new

I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you

Into the unknown

Into the unknown

Into the unknown

Carmine heard the voice again. Annoyed, he stuck his fingers in his ears, but he could still hear the voice.

What do you want?

'Cause I really need a break

Are you here to distract me

So I make a big mistake?

Or are you someone out there

Who's a little bit like me?

Who's guiding me

To where I am meant to be?

Carmine suddenly spotted some sort of light at the end of the tunnel he stood in.

Every day's a little harder

As I feel my power grow

Don't you know there's part of me

That longs to go

Into the unknown?

Into the unknown

Into the unknown (ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)

Oh, oh, oh

Are you out there? Do you know me?

Can you feel me? Can you show me?

A little wind carried little flakes of ice that seemed to dance around Carmine and form a path of snowflakes that grew with each step he took forward.

Ah-ah, ah-ah (ah-ah, ah-ah)

Ah-ah, ah-ah (ah-ah, ah-ah)

Ah-ah, ah-ah (ah-ah, ah-ah)

Ah-ah, ah-ah (ah-ah, ah-ah)

Ah-ah, ah-ah (ah-ah, ah-ah)

Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah (ah-ah, ah-ah)

Some of the crystals took the form of a butterfly and flew in the direction of the light, and Carmine ran after it.

Where are you going?

Don't leave me alone

How do I follow you

Into the unknown?

Carmine stopped and saw a rock where the beautiful glow was coming from. He was astonished by what he saw. Across a canyon, there was a pointy rock, a beautiful blue glow coming from its tip. Carmine walked towards it, only to see a very dark, seemingly bottomless hole below. Carmine backed up a little; he was terribly afraid of heights. Luckily, there was a path that led right to the rock. But... the path got smaller and smaller the farther it went. If Carmine slipped off the edge, it was game over. But if he didn't get his crystal, he would never build a lightsaber. But then, Carmine recalled a similar incident when he was younger.

Eight years ago...

In music school, the dance classes had a very unique method of training students. They had students learn various activities such as cheerleading, yoga, and gymnastics in order to help them practice and improve their balance and focus. On this day, students were practicing gymnastics.

After tumble and cartwheel practice was done, it was time for the balance beams. Carmine had already mastered the short one. But he was terrified when he saw that they were practicing on the tall one. He watched as one by one, students walked across very well. By far, the most graceful was Caroline Mitchell, the girl he had a huge crush on. He was lost in his thoughts as he watched her move so gracefully across the beam, flipping off and landing beautifully.

"Carmine Jinn. Pay attention! You're up." the coach said. Carmine was snapped out of his train of thought as the coach snapped her fingers in front of his face.

Carmine looked at the balance beam and felt his heart racing in a bad way. It didn't help when the coach literally pushed him to get on. And when he looked down, he could see the floor getting farther and farther away. He could barely breathe or move, but then he heard a voice.

"Don't be scared, Carmine. Fight your fear." Caroline said. "I know you can do it. You've got this."

It felt like forever since Caroline last talked to Carmine. He felt his heart race in a whole new way, and felt music running through his veins as he discovered how he could get to the other side.

Carmine imagined that Caroline was on the other side of the balance beam waiting for him, and with each step, he felt himself getting closer and closer to the end, and he did, but he nearly faceplanted onto the floor... until Caroline jumped in and broke his fall by catching him in her arms. And they ended up looking each other in the beautiful blue eyes they both had.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." Caroline giggled.

Since that day, Caroline always stood by Carmine's side, and his innocent love for her motivated him to work harder to be a great singer, dancer, and musician. About a year later, Carmine got the courage to ask Caroline to a school dance, where Carmine asked Caroline to be his girlfriend, and they had their very first kiss.

Carmine took a deep breath as he stood at the start of the bridge. Then he started to walk across and sang himself a song that expressed how deep his love for Caroline ran.

I remember life before

Faraway dreams and locking doors

Then you came, then you came

Afraid to fall, to be free

Always my own worst enemy

Isn't what, what you see

Carmine held his head high and kept slowly putting one foot in front of the other, starting to forget all about the dark abyss below him.

I took time to realize

That I couldn't do it by myself, myself

There's no gravity when you're next to me

You will always break my fall, like a parachute

When you're holding me so weightless I can barely breathe

You will always break my fall, my fall

Like a parachute

You're my parachute

Carmine continued to sing, seeing his crystal getting closer and closer with each step.

With you it all begins

Feeling okay in my own skin

So alive, I'm so alive

I know this life isn't gonna be perfect

The ups and downs are gonna be worth it

As long as I'm, I'm with you

There's no gravity when you're next to me

You will always break my fall, like a parachute

When you're holding me so weightless I can barely breathe

You always break my fall, my fall

You're my parachute

And finally, Carmine reached the end.

Carmine looked at the bridge and sighed with relief.

"I made it."

Carmine looked back at the rock and slowly put his hand near the crystal. He could feel something he never imagined. It had to be the Force Yoda and Obi-Wan had been teaching him so much about. Carefully, he picked the crystal out from the ice and put it in his pocket so he wouldn't lose it, and he carefully got himself across the bridge back the way he came.

Meanwhile, Petro exited the crystal cave, and saw none of the others there, except for Ahsoka and Master Yoda.

"Looks like I'm the first back with my crystal." said the human boy. He scoffed. "That wasn't so hard."

"And the others?" asked Yoda.

"Who knows? I didn't want to gloat, since I found mine so quickly."

Yoda looked at Ahsoka, and she looked at Petro and asked him to show them his crystal. Petro took out a little crystal from his pocket, but it melted in his hand because it was a crystal of ice.

"A crystal you found. Water you have brought." Yoda chuckled.

"But that's impossible." said Petro. "It was my crystal. I was sure of it."

"Mmm. So certain you. Go back, and closer you must look."

Petro looked at the door. "But the door is already half closed."

"Then you better hurry." said Ahsoka.

The other younglings were still going for their crystals.

Katooni found hers in a high part of the cave, and was climbing a wall to reach it. But, part of the wall crumbled and nearly sent her falling. Katooni held on and kept telling herself she could do it. Zatt was trying to rely on his device to find the crystal for him, but found it to be utterly useless. He got so mad he banged his device against the wall and threw it to the ground, destroying it.

Byph... he was scared walking through the tunnel by himself. He really wished Carmine was still there holding his hand. Up ahead he saw red and blue light, and big rocks that looked like a monster with red eyes, and heard sounds like it was growling at him. But between the imaginary monster and the Ithorian was Byph's crystal on a rock.

Ganodi found herself in a cave full of crystals that looked like stars twinkling in the night. She was getting frustrated. She had no idea how to figure out which was her crystal.

And Gungi... he had to wait for the ice to freeze over in order to have a safe path to his crystal.

The door was very close to closing all the way. But... Carmine crawled on his stomach and got all the way through.

"I found it!" Carmine said, holding out his crystal. And sure enough, it was a crystal, and not one of ice that melted.

"Congratulations, Carmine." Ahsoka said. "You're the first to find yours."

Carmine's smile disappeared when he noticed none of the younglings were out there.

"Where are the others?" Carmine asked.

"Still in the cave, they are." Yoda said.

Carmine looked back and saw the door was closing even more. Now, it was almost too small for him to crawl back underneath.

"That's it, I'm melting this thing myself!" Carmine said, and was about to conjure up some flames, but Yoda stop them.

"Patience, Young Jinn." said the grandmaster.

"They could freeze to death in there!" Carmine said.

"Hmm. Thinking of your own child, are you?"

"Yes. If Lamenta or Gabby were stuck in there, I'd go rescue them."

"Rescue themselves, can they not?"

"Well... sure. I guess. But..."

"Trust in them, we must. Learn to trust in themselves and each other, they must learn."

For Carmine, this felt really hard. All his life, he spent running away from things because he was terrified of so many things growing up. Only as Count Crescendo had he ever had the confidence to do big things like fight for causes that he believed in supporting and stand up for others. As Carmine, the only thing he could be protective of was his family. His daughter meant everything to him. He would be devastated if anything were to happen to her, which was why he feared leaving someone else's child for death when he could easily have done something.

However, Carmine found that he didn't have to worry, as Ganodi, Zatt, Gungi, and Byph each came back with their crystals.

Carmine gave Byph a good pat on the back for being brave on the rest of his scary path.

"But two still remain." Ahsoka said.

Unfortunately, the door was very nearly closed all the way. And Katooni and Petro were still in the cave.

"Will they make it, Master?" Zatt asked Yoda.

"We should help them." Ganodi said.

"Okay, I'm using magic now!" Carmine said, beginning to step forward. But Yoda held his stick in front of him.

"Left the cave you have." said Yoda. "Help them, you will not."

Carmine felt like he was seriously going to lose it. The thought of leaving two innocent children to freeze to death made him feel all sorts of things. And then Katooni slid underneath the door at the last second.

"I have my crystal, but Petro is still inside." said the Tholothian.

"Give up on your friend, do not." Yoda said.

"Don't look at me." said Carmine. "I've been instructed not to use magic or help."

It still surprised Ahsoka and Yoda that the twin brother of Anakin Skywalker actually did as he was told... most of the time.

A few seconds later, Petro burst out through the ice, to the delight of the others, who were relieved to see he was okay.

"How did he break the ice?" asked Ganodi.

"Only water made solid was the door." said Yoda. "Easy to break if you have the will."

"You... You said we would be trapped." Katooni said.

"If this was some kind of a joke, I'm not laughing." Carmine said, frowning.

"Not by the cave you were," said Yoda. "but by your mind. Lessons, you have learned. Find courage, you did. Hope, patience, trust, confidence, and selflessness. Yes?"

Carmine saw that Yoda was right. He and Byph found the same thing: Courage. But, Carmine also found one more thing... kindness. By being compassionate to Byph and being willing to support him when he was afraid to take the first steps, he showed that he had a lot of kindness in his heart that would warm any heart in the freezing cold cave.

"Take your crystals back to the temple and keep them safe, young Jedi." Yoda said.

Carmine looked proudly at his crystal. He couldn't wait to show his family and tell them all about his journey. But one thing still remained on his mind. What was that voice he'd heard earlier and why was he the only one who could hear it?

Songs featured:

"Into the Unknown" by Indina Menzel. From Frozen 2.

"Parachute" by Laura Marano. From Austin & Ally.