The Virtual Nightmare
Written by: Callista Loveday
Summary:Princess Leia and Han Solo get caught up in their own Virtual Nightmare. While they both try to survive, Leia makes amazing discoveries about her family.
Note:This story shows from my point of view what would happen if Leia found out who her mother was. This was my first Star Wars story, so please keep in mind this was a bit.. mushy.
Reader: This story is based on concepts and characters created and owned by Lucasfilm, Ltd. No infringement is intended. No money is being made off of this. Feel free to distribute this intact, but please let me know if you wish to put it on a website E-mail me.
Leia Organa-Solo glanced nervously around Bail Organa's castle. The palace no longer had the comforting protection she had felt as a child. It had always seemed like a cathedral, with huge windows letting the warm sunlight make rainbows with the chandeliar on the ceiling. Despite the light, Leia shivered. Something wasn't right. Without warning, a booming sound came from the sealed door.
Someone was breaking in.
The princess drew her lightsaber and braced herself. But instead, the hiss of her sword opening was heard echoing her own. 'If I close my eyes,' Leia thought, 'There will be no one standing in front of me.' One click from the door told her wrong. 'Oh-no. It can't be. Not that familiar breathing. Not now. Not when I have just recovered.' Fearfully, she opened her eyes and tried desperately tried not to scream. Leia could almost picture the black-masked man smiling. Without even realizing it, she recalled the incident that had happened years and years before. He had been battling with Obi- Wan Kenobi, who was once his tutor, over a pit, when the Sith fell. He was assumed for dead. True, he had come extremly close, but had survived in the end. The suit that saved his life seemed to fit for his advantage, though. He was the picture of evil in his black armor and helmet. Darth Vader. Just saying the name could make even the toughest pirate shiver in terror. "So, you finally came," the deep voice said. "Yes, I finally came," his daughter said mockingly. With that, the lightsabers clashed. Leia ducked, jumped, and used every trick her twin brother had taught her. But it wasn't enough. Exhausted, she finally allowed Vader to throw her saber across the palace. But instead of the final blow to her death, the Lord Sith circled her. Leia sat on the ground perfectly still, catching her breath. "Your thoughts betray you, like your brother." Vader declared. "Your thoughts of are...your husband. You wonder if he will be all right when you are dead. But if I could harm you..." Then something in Leia snapped, and she found herself fighting for all it was worth. Blow after blow, her anger and hatred took over mind. Her father kneeled on the floor. Suddenly she remembered when Luke was in the same position. He had realized he was wrong in the end. Could she? 'No,' she told herself. 'I have to fight. For me. For Han.' Leia blinked. For a second, she hesitated, but gave Lord Vader a final blow in the chest. 'Was that what I was supposed to do? Only one way to find out.' Leia told herself. She took the Sith's helmet off. What was there instead shocked her. It was Luke. "No!" she sobbed. The dull, blank stare was then filled with realization.
"You have failed," Luke proclaimed.
Gasping, Leia threw off her Virtual Reality mask. "I told you this was a bad idea," Leia muttered to her brother.
"I got this for your exercises because it would tell you the fears you need to face. Clearly it has." Luke Skywalker frowned. "You didn't tell me you were still having problems with what happened..."
"Luke! I'm not! I have no idea where that came from..."
"You're lying, Leia." Luke stated with concern.
"Hey! How did you know what was going on in my dream?" For a second the Jedi blushed. "Well, here's the trick. I can see everything that you're doing on this picture." Luke revealed a tiny screen. Just as Leia was about to give her brother a peice of her mind, Han burst in, to Luke's obvious relief. "Are you two still at it?" Han demanded. The twins glanced at each other, but Han continued. "You know, MOST couple's that have recently gotten married spend more time with EACH OTHER!" He said teasingly to his wife. Then he smirked at his brother-in-law. "Goldenrod said that Artoo is having a malfunction." Leia grinned at her husband, but Luke didn't share her amusement.
"What! That is going to take hours to fix!" Luke exclaimed. "While I'm gone, do another virtual exercise, Leia." "And I thought I was going to get away from this." Leia sighed.
'Well, this isn't so bad,' Leia thought. The scene that surrounded her was filled with green trees and tall, beautiful buildings which seemed to go on for miles. 'Yeah, I could get used to this.' Leia ran up to a young girl walking down the street. "Hey, kid! I just came into town. What's this place called?" The little girl watched her like she had just grown wings. "Well, the City of Theed, of course. That's Queen Amidala's castle." Then she looked her up and down. "Where did you get those clothes? Don't you know it's..." And the girl said the year. 'I'm 40 years into the past!' The scenery and the kid suddenly faded from sight. Again Darth Vader reappeared. "Now you will see your history." Although the words were perfectly harmless, Leia had a bad feeling about it all.
Han Solo watched his wife in fascination. Moments ago she had been jogging in place, then talking to a child. 'Man, this stuff sure is weird. If Luke didn't have that screen, I would swear Leia has gone insane!' Han thought with an amused smile. As he saw the next vision, his smile was wiped off. 'Vader! Can't Leia ever get a break?!' Then the princess' face showed horror, and the screen went blank. He expected Leia to stop moving, but she seemed unaffected. It was like she could still picture her father. Maybe she could. Han jumped up, ready to rip off the mask. Luke laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't, Han. Leia has to battle this on her own. If you want to help, put on this other mask. But be careful. She will have to face all obstacles herself." With a pained look on his face, he said, "Okay. I agree."
Leia screamed as she was transported into a large castle in Theed. She expected blood, battles, and massacre, but the sight before her she welcomed in open arms. It was a woman, a bit taller than her, with a decorative gown. Her long brown hair was piled on her head and her brown eyes watched the lovely city. Her face was painted white, and there was a red dot on each cheek. The upper lip was red, but the bottom half had one line. She was obviously royalty. But instead of a proud look, her face was filled with dread and sorrow. Then Leia followed her gaze. Large tanks and battle droids now flooded the once quiet streets.
Battle droids marched in endless rows, and Leia knew it meant war. "It is the Trade Federation." a voice said from behind her. Half of the man's face was a shadow, but his presence in the force was strong. That was all she needed to know. "You feel a connection with her, don't you? Like you knew her all your life. Like she is family."
"She is my mother, isn't she." Leia said, but her tone declared she knew the answer, and it was not a question.
"You are both alike. Strong-willed, and brilliant, each in your own time." The man stepped into the light, and Leia let out a shocked gasp. Half his face was terribly scarred, and the cold smile he had plastered on his face could not be mistaken for anything else but a horrible look. The princess silently wondered how someone from her dream could have the force in him, and she wondered if he actually had a soul like a living being. "You did not come here to stare. Come, let us go." As quickly as before, Leia was put in another area. This one was outside, but had large walls to seperate her from getting out. She scanned the situation. But things were worse than she feared. A large monster with razor-sharp claws loomed ahead of her. Her hands flew to her belt. 'Thanks Goodness. I have a gun and a lightsaber!' She fired shot after shot, but the monster didn't go down. Enraged, he took one claw and slashed Leia's arm. Bolts of pain flashed through her. 'This can't be a dream. This is real!' Then Leia had another thought. 'I'm going to kill Luke when I get back....IF I get back!' With that in mind, she ran. A set of stairs was right ahead. But the scene wasn't good. A droid and a young woman glared (if droid's could glare, anyway). "Sorry. Just passing through." She thought of jumping out the window, but the five stories underneath immediately changed her mind. "Well, guess I'll go fight." Leia ran back down the steps. "Okay, girl, think. A cage, a locked door, some kind of machine...Yes, thank you!" Leia exclaimed and looked up at the sky for a moment. Then, pulling out her lightsaber, she cut the machine into a million peices. The door slid open, and Leia was reminded again of the man-eating monster. "I'm lucky he's so slow, or else I would be dead by now!" Leia said, and smiled, despite the position she was in. She braced herself in the doorway and took out her gun. The 300 bullets cut into the beast she faced, and he finally lied on the ground, barely breathing. She had to finish the job. The beast howled with anger. He moved, so Leia's lightsaber cut only his arm. He weakly tried to cut her stomach with his one arm, but soon that was on the ground with his other one. Leia backed away a couple steps, then threw her saber as hard as she could. When she was sure he was dead, the beautiful young woman picked up her weapon again.
"Leia!" Han yelled. His wife ran over to outside the doorway.
"Is it really you? How did you get here?"
"I used one of those masks." Han explained. He frowned as he looked at her injured arm. "Are you hurt? I was so worried when I saw that ugly, hairy beast..."
"Well, your Highness, you have passed your first test," the mysterious man declared. That reappearing act was really getting on Leia's nerves. "But your next test will be much harder." For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Leia was transported again. This time she and her bewildered husband were back in Bail Organa's castle with only Leia's lightsaber.
"What is this place?" Han asked. "This was my home on Alderaan," Leia stated. She took a deep breath. "Wow! You WERE loaded, weren't you?!" Han exclaimed. For the first time all day, Leia laughed and shook her head in disbelief. Han draped a hand on her shoulder. "So now what?" he asked. "Now, your wife will be challenged," the strange man said. He had appeared from no where, like before. Han jumped. If only he had his blaster with him... "I suggest you two stand five feet apart." With a quizzical look, Leia moved away from her husband. A large metal cage was put over Han. "Hey!" he shouted. "Okay, what do you want?" Leia asked, defeated. The man smiled. "Let me introduce you to something." He pulled out a hologram image. There was a base on a planet, but there was a satellite on top of it. "What is that for?" Leia asked. The man took his time answering her.
"You remember the Death Star? Well, apparently someone with the Empire remembered, too. This tiny, almost pathetic looking satellite has all of the power of the Death Star. It is not completed yet. It can..." "It can destroy planets." Leia finished for him.
"Exactly! Now... It is up to you. Would you rather have your husband killed, or billions of people?"
"Why you horrible..." Leia began. She pulled out her lightsaber and used all her strength to try to chop the man in half. But he was one step ahead of her, and met her challenge. Leia remembered that morning (it seemed like days ago) when she had fought Vader. She had ended up killing her own brother instead. 'But this can't be the same!' she argued mentally to herself. 'This man is evil, just like Darth Vader. But even he found the truth. In the end.' Just then, Princess Leia Organa Solo finally realized why she should forgive her father. It was not his fault he was the way he was. He was trapped in his own mind. A great relief came off Leia, and the man she was battling knew it, too. The sudden change in mood made him hesitate. It was for a brief moment, but it was all she needed. As the man lied on the cold ground, dying, he looked up at her with his blnk eyes.
"You have won," he said. He lowered his gaze, and Leia and Han caught a glimse of pain in his scarred face.
"Why? Why did you do this?" Han asked, practially shouting.
"Han, don't." Leia said sharply. She used invisible hands and the power of the Force to lift the bars that surrounded him. Then she turned to her enemy. "Where is the base?" When he didn't answer at first, she asked again. "It is...in Rirou...."
"Where is Rirou?" Han demanded. "What planet?"
"It...is Rirou...Naboo. It...is Naboo." the man said, and he was gone. Han and Leia looked at each other, and then things went black.
Luke saw his sister and brother-in-law fall to the ground, and he rushed over. 'Maybe this WASN'T a good idea.' Leia was the first to come around. "Rirou? Luke?"
"I'm here, Leia. What happened?" Leia put her hand on her forehead. "Was that real, Luke?"
br>"Leia, I have to tell you something. Something went wrong with the game. It was like... Something took over. I beleive it WAS all real. Now, what about Rirou?"
"Hey, what the heck is going on?" Han asked. His wife threw her arms around his neck, and he nearly fell over. They all got up to their feet. Han was the first to say something. "Um, Leia? Just to be safe, send a mission squad to Rirou, Naboo, okay?" Leia quickly agreed. But then Luke noticed his sister's condition.
"Leia, what happened to your arm?"
~~~~~~~~~EPILOGUE~~~~~~~~~
One year later, Queen Leia Organa Solo looked out the window at her breath-taking planet. She grinned. Closing her eyes, she remembered a couple months ago when she claimed her place as queen of Naboo. But that was not the best part. She didn't care about the money, or about the fame, but she was happy that she had found her place. She was glad that she had discovered who her mother was. Now that her twins were on the way, she was sure her life was complete. Han placed his hand on her shoulder. "Tired?" he asked.
She whirled around so Han could see her grin. "No, just thinking of how my life is perfect."
"Yeah, well no one deserves it more." he sighed.
"What is it?" Leia asked.
"Well, I was just thinking. Things have REALLY changed. Remember the celebration of Endor?"
"How could I forget!?"
"If things have changed so much in five years, then what does the future hold?"
"Don't worry about it, Han. Whatever happens, we will be facing the future together."
~End~
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