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Chapter Text

Way of the Proud Sith Lord was one of the most popular sci-fi web novels of the time. It told the story of Anakin Skywalker, a slave boy from a desert planet who was very strong in the Force, a magical energy that connected all living things in the universe. (Well, they never called it magic in the story, but that’s clearly what it was.) Anakin was raised by his mother, also a slave, who did everything she could to keep him happy and healthy, despite having no money or power either. When Anakin was still young, he helped a Jedi, a member of the order that trained in using the Force and obeying its will. He was set free and taken from his home planet with the promise that he could be trained as a Jedi, and Anakin was overjoyed, even if he was also distraught at leaving his mother behind.

Of course, as the protagonist, he was not meant to have such a happy existence, at least not so early in the story. The Jedi who had freed him was killed by a sith, the sworn enemies of the Jedi for the way they abused the Force. The kind Jedi’s dying words begged his apprentice to train the boy. Anakin’s new master was Obi-Wan Kenobi. First Kenobi had tried to pawn the boy off on a more experienced master, but the Jedi Council thought Anakin was too old to be trained, so Kenobi reluctantly took on the task himself. He hated Anakin, though. He resented that his beloved master’s last words were only about Anakin, and that his master had been so ready to get rid of Kenobi the moment he discovered a more talented apprentice. So Kenobi was cruel to Anakin, pushing him beyond his limits in training, looking down on him for being illiterate, taunting him about his background as a slave. 

At first, Anakin did his best to impress his master anyways, but over the years, any hope at Kenobi caring for him were chipped away. Anakin began breaking more of the Jedi Code at the encouragement of his kind mentor, a mysterious shadowy figure who came to him in his dreams. Eventually, Anakin fell in love with Padme Amidala, who was always kind to him and loved him for who he was. Their relationship had to be kept a secret from the Council, though.

Everything came to a head when Anakin was almost twenty. He and his master were on a mission to a planet of lava and death, searching for signs of a sith lord. They were attacked, and Anakin used the Dark Side to defend himself from the enemies. Finally having an excuse to rid himself of the boy he had always despised, Kenobi shoved Anakin into a pool of lava and walked away.

It was, of course, not the end for a powerful protagonist such as Anakin. His mentor rescued him, and revealed himself to be the sith lord. He promised to teach Anakin everything he would need to know to get his revenge. It was not long before Anakin swept through the Jedi Temple and massacred almost everyone he came across. He saved the worst for last, capturing Kenobi and keeping him a prisoner for years so that he could torture him. Kenobi never broke, until Anakin finally found the man’s one weakness, and tricked Kenobi’s old love into walking to her death. With Kenobi finally defeated, Anakin cut off the man’s head and was done with it. After that, Anakin lived happily ever after with Padme as his wife, and his mentor taking over as the Emperor of the galaxy, with Anakin as his right hand man. 

… and it was all absolutely dog shit! 

Ben had been keeping up with Way of the Proud Sith Lord since its very first chapter, when he had been drawn in by the intrigue and vague mysteries about Anakin and who really was. He had also just really liked the main character, who had always been so earnest and tried so hard to earn the respect that all of the other Jedi seemed to get without even trying. But at a certain point, the story had gone completely downhill. Anakin’s complex character was traded out for nothing but a dark vehicle of revenge. He even murdered all of the innocent baby Jedi, as if he no longer even cared about his own history! Once he was actually married to Padme, he hardly seemed to ever pay her any attention, despite her love being the one thing that could have kept him Light! The supposedly just and fair Council never did anything to punish Kenobi for the way he abused his apprentice! Anakin’s mentor was never given any backlash for secretly being a sith lord that then went on to take over everything! There was never any mention of what became of Anakin’s mother or whether he went back for her once he was an all powerful sith lord! The plot holes and shit writing were things that Ben could go on and on about all day. 

And he had. Many times. On nearly every chapter, Ben left a well-written paragraph or two criticizing all of the author’s choices. His username even became somewhat well-known by other readers, who usually just called him a troll or pointed out that he was the one who chose to keep paying for the latest chapters. But what choice did he have? He was always holding out hope that the writing would one day get back on track. Not to mention that Ben did enjoy the world building… if only it weren’t full of so much dramatic garbage.

But now all that time paying for chapters and holding out hope and offering his critiques so that the author would know exactly what to improve… It was all for nothing. The story was marked complete, which was disappointing enough, except that now the author was putting out explicit bonus chapters where Anakin hooked up with a whole host of other ladies, and Ben just could not stand the perfectly justifiable outrage he felt about it. He demanded a refund for the latest chapter, but got absolutely nothing, and now-! 

Ben’s heart was racing from anger, which wasn’t good considering the many physical problems he had experienced since he was young. He clutched at his chest, suddenly certain that he was having a heart attack, and fumbled to grab his phone. But it dropped from his shaking hand, and then Ben collapsed to the floor. His last thought before everything went dark was, “Stupid author! Stupid book!”

Chapter Text

Anakin couldn’t help but fidget as he stood before the Council. He couldn’t even blame them if they got mad at him this time. Usually he was more upset by whatever accusations had been thrown at him for the day, but this time they were more legitimate. It was all his fault that Obi-Wan had grabbed that ancient sith artifact, because Anakin had been stupid enough to reach out for it himself, and he would not have been able to contain the weird surge of energy that came out of it. 

Windu sighed after everyone had stared at Anakin in silence for what felt like a decade. “While the healers are doing everything they can, your master’s condition is not looking very positive.” It was so obvious from his tone that he was looking down on Anakin for his mistake, and probably for every other mistake he’d made in his years since leaving Tatooine. 

Before any of the other masters could speak up, the door to the Council chambers swung open, and Aayla cautiously peered in. “I’m so sorry to disturb you, masters, but Master Che said that Knight Kenobi has woken up and is asking for his padawan.” 

The sense of relief that Anakin felt at the thought that he had not gotten his master killed was nearly indescribable. He knew that with his age and temperament, there were no other masters who would be willing to take him on. He turned to head to the door, but looked back when Yoda cleared his throat. “Dismissed, you are,” he said, sounding almost amused. “Discipline you, your master may.” 

Anakin nodded, bowed his head and muttered a quick ‘thanks’ before hurrying to the door. Once it slammed shut behind him, Aayla raised one eyebrow as she looked at him. “Are you okay?” There were too many things she could be asking that in reference to, so Anakin just mumbled something and then followed her to the Hall of Healing. 

Once they actually reached their destination, Anakin started to feel more nervous. He knew that he had made a major mistake today, and Obi-Wan could get quite creative with discipline when he wanted to. Aayla kept giving him strange looks, though, so Anakin took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and walked inside. 

It was always strange to see his master laid out in a bed here, since Obi-Wan was always so insistent on not needing any medical attention. But at a time like this, he had had no choice, considering that he had been unconscious and barely breathing after the artifact went off in his face.

Anakin slowly shuffled forward, mostly staring down at the shiny white floor until he was right next to the bed. “You wanted to see me, Master?”

There was a long moment of silence, and Anakin finally risked a glance up. He couldn’t tell what Obi-Wan was thinking, thanks to his impassive face and the fact that he always kept his emotions locked down too tightly for them to leak through the training bond between them. It took a minute of awkward silence for Anakin to realize that Obi-Wan was staring at the bruises gotten during their last training session. Anakin did his best not to blush in embarrassment from how thoroughly he had been beaten, though he was unsure of how effective his attempt was. 

Not daring to ask again and risk annoying Obi-Wan, Anakin just stood there and waited. Finally, his master shuffled so that he was sitting upright, leaning back against a couple of pillows. “Anakin,” he said slowly, drawing the name out in a way that Anakin had never heard from Obi-Wan before. Then Obi-Wan reached out to take a small jar from the bedside table. He tossed it to Anakin, who caught it out of reflex, then looked down at the small jar in confusion. “Bacta gel,” Obi-Wan answered the unasked question. “I won’t have others thinking that I mistreat my padawan.”

Anakin clutched the jar tightly, though he was careful not to break it. He didn’t even have to think hard to know that this was the first time Obi-Wan had ever shown any level of real care for him. Strange that it would come so soon after Anakin’s mistake had led to Obi-Wan getting injured. “Thank you, Master!” 

Obi-Wan blinked once, then asked, “How old are you now?”

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Surely his master hadn’t just forgotten his age? But he dutifully answered all the same. “Fourteen.” 

There was the briefest surge of panic before it was quickly locked away behind Obi-Wan’s shields again. His face didn’t even twitch, though, and Anakin almost had to wonder if he’d just imagined it. Surely Obi-Wan would never show any emotion to Anakin. Unless his shields were weakened because he was still recovering? Nobody had even told Anakin yet if they’d figured out what that stupid artifact actually did. “I have been instructed to spend the next several days resting, so you will train with Master Bonda and his apprentice in the meantime.”

At least this was still familiar, the clear irritation in Obi-Wan’s voice at the thought that he had to rest and heal from an injury. Anakin nodded, and bowed his head forward slightly. “I understand.” He waited another moment to see if there was anything else, but Obi-Wan nodded in clear dismissal, and Anakin wandered out of the Hall of Healing.

He was deep in thought all the way back to his room, and he stared at the small jar of bacta consideringly.

,,,

Training with Master Bonda and Padawan Grecie almost felt like a vacation compared to his usual training with Obi-Wan. Anakin found that he even had to hold a lot of his blows, because they would hit harder than Grecie was prepared to block. 

At the end of their first session together, Master Bonda gave Anakin a nod and a pat on the back. “Excellent form, padawan! You may not take after your master in form, but you certainly do in skill. No doubt you will someday pass all of us masters.”

Grecie gave him a shy little smile, but it slipped off her face once her master had dismissed them both and then headed off on his business. Grecie walked past Anakin to go put away her training saber, deliberately shoving past Anakin in the process. “I bet you think that you’re so special, don’t you, oh Chosen One? Do you really think that being strong with your lightsaber is enough to call yourself a real Jedi? You’re pathetic. Master Jinn should have just left you in the dust where he found you. He’d probably still be alive if he had.” Then she stormed out of the practice room, leaving Anakin behind to wonder what he could have possibly done to annoy her. 

He felt the anger built up in his belly at her words, but he forced himself to take deep breaths, and try to release his emotions into the force, like he’d always been lectured about. It didn’t work, of course; it never did. Anakin decided that it would be good to give himself some time to cool down. Since his master wasn’t expecting him back until after dinner, it was easy enough to slip away from the temple.

Between his robes, the lightsaber clipped to his belt, and the terrible haircut with a single braid dangling down, there was no hiding that Anakin was a Jedi-in-training. He was not trying to hide, though, so it hardly mattered. He strolled his way down the busy sidewalk, breathing in the presence of so many people. Sometimes he liked to make up little stories about the lives of these random passers by, but he was not in the mood for that today.

Instead, he started to head to the bus stop so that he could head to Dex’s. Before he could get too far, though, he realized that he had been surrounded in the moments that he had been lost in thought. It looked to be a group of common thugs, but there were enough of them that even someone as powerful as Anakin had reason to be concerned. “Now why don’t you just follow us, little Jedi?” Anakin considered making a fuss, but he didn’t want to risk any innocent bystanders getting hurt.

So he took a deep breath, then followed the group of thugs into the nearest side alley. He went to grab his lightsaber, but one of the thugs reached forward and snatched it from Anakin’s belt before Anakin had a chance. “What do you want?” he demanded.

“Little Jedi are known for having all kinds of neat tricks. The kind that go for a lot of money.”

The mere thought of being sold off once more, after having been set free all those years ago, made Anakin’s vision fill with red. “You dare-?”

He wanted to get even more worked up, because he knew from experience that when he used his anger, he was able to achieve even more than he could normally. That kind of anger used to scare him, but Senator Palpatine from Naboo had assured Anakin that there was nothing wrong with doing what he needed to in order to survive when they had met briefly. 

But his anger was cut off with confusion when he noticed that the leader of the thug’s expression slackened, and his eyes turned glassy. “I want to give this back to you,” he mumbled, before plucking the lightsaber from his minion’s hand and giving it back to Anakin. “We just want to leave and cause no more trouble for today.” The other thugs did not argue, and Anakin noticed that they all had equally glazed looks before they all turned and shuffled out of the alley.

For a moment, Anakin thought that he had somehow done that, but no, he had never been all that good at changing peoples’ minds. And to do so many at once, whether they had weak mental barriers or not, was pretty impressive. In fact, there were very few people Anakin could think of who would be able to do such a thing. He whipped around, trying to catch a glimpse of his savoir. Disappointingly there was nobody standing in the mouth of the alley, but then Anakin realized he could feel something else, through the training bond. Maybe he was not as alone here as he thought. 

Chapter Text

Ben, or Obi-Wan as he was to be known now, had been relieved when he’d finally been allowed to leave the Hall of Healing. It had reminded him far too much of the hospitals that he’d spent practically half his life in and out of, and he’d prefer to never return there if possible. And considering how this body was in so much better condition than his old one, hopefully he would never have to. 

He made it back to his apartment, ignoring the strange look given to him by the random knight he’d asked for directions from. He figured out which bedroom was his because it was the one that had almost no personal effects in it, and he sank down onto the bed. Now that he was alone, he could finally stop and take in everything that had happened. 

He had died as Ben, and then woken up here in the world of Way of the Proud Sith Lord, and he was expected to play the role of the rotten child-abuser Obi-Wan Kenobi. The thing was, if he had gotten here a few years earlier, it would have been fine. He had a good memory for all the details from the stupid novel, and had always enjoyed tutoring his sister and other younger students in school, so he probably would have been fine. But as it was, Anakin had already spent the past five years being abused by Obi-Wan. There’s no way he would forgive all that, and he would surely torture Obi-Wan to death to make up for all those past deeds.

Obi-Wan sprang up from the bed and searched the room. He found a small bag and began shoving in everything that wasn’t bolted down. There was no point in waiting around for something that he didn’t even do. But then that annoying google translate voice, the same one he’d heard when he first woke up, began talking again. [Warning: OOC! OOC! Obi-Wan Kenobi would not pack his bags and run away from the temple!] Obi-Wan tried to ignore the voice and continue packing, but the voice was not done yet. [If user_002, aka Host, insists on acting OOC, this System will be forced to enact punishment protocols.]

Now Obi-Wan paused. This was the first he was hearing about any kind of punishment. “What would happen to me?”

The System sounded almost happy that he had willingly interacted with it. [Host would be transported back to his original world.] For a moment, that didn’t sound too bad, until Obi-Wan remembered the part where he had died there. So the System was essentially threatening to kill him if he went against the established canon? But then what was even the point of putting him here?? Just to laugh as he died horribly?? [Host is here to change the story, fill in plot holes, complete plot threads, and establish a well-written happy ending to the story. Host may unlock the OOC function after completing a tutorial mission.]

“And then I could run away?” Obi-Wan asked hopefully. The System’s judgemental silence was enough of an answer to that. Obi-Wan heaved out a long sigh, and shoved the half filled bag back into his closet. “Okay, fine, I get it. I suppose five years to turn things around is better than nothing.” Then something else occurred to him, and he let out a little gasp. “System, if I change things, we can avoid the Mustafar plotline, right?”

There was a long pause before the System responded. [‘The Duel on Mustafar’ is an unavoidable main mission.]

Obi-Wan threw his hands up in frustration. “But then no matter what I do, I’m screwed anyway!” The System didn’t respond, and Obi-Wan wished there was a physical person in front of him that he could scowl at. But no, scowling would probably be too OOC anyways. 

He needed some air. Obi-Wan changed into the set of robes that looked easiest to put on, and then made his way out of the temple. He realized that the skills of the original goods must have carried over to him, because Obi-Wan did not have much trouble keeping up his mental shields- an idea that had never even been properly explained in the book just because Anakin had never mastered it.

Once he was outside, Obi-Wan had to really struggle not to stop and stare at the people around him. Sure, a lot of them looked like normal humans, but there were also so many aliens, way more than that hack author had ever bothered to describe. But he knew it would be rude to stare too much, so Obi-Wan did his best to mind his own business and stroll down the crowded sidewalk. When he didn’t think about it too much, it actually did remind him of home.

After walking for a few minutes, Obi-Wan felt a strange tug of nervousness that he knew didn’t belong to him, and it took several seconds for him to realize that it had to be from Anakin. They did have a training bond, after all. Obi-Wan sped up until he reached the mouth of a dingy looking alley that only an idiot would go into. He sighed, then took a few steps forward, peering cautiously ahead.

There was Anakin, still the innocent little white sheep version of him, surrounded by some random low-level npcs that were practically radiating their bad intentions everywhere. Obi-Wan didn’t recognize this specific scene, so he held back. He was sure that Anakin would be able to beat them all anyways. But then they started talking, and even though Obi-Wan knew the kind of person Anakin would grow to be, he really couldn’t just stand there and allow a child to be bullied like this. 

He started to step forward, but the System loudly blared in his brain, reminding him that it would be too out of character for Obi-Wan to help Anakin out. He frowned, but then decided that if no one knew he had helped, then it would be fine, right? In all the fear and disappointment of the past day and a half, Obi-Wan had somehow forgotten about the coolest part of this world- the Force. He had what were essentially magic powers now! And he knew all kinds of things that the Force could do. 

After several long moments of intense concentration, Obi-Wan was finally able to get the thugs to leave. Then he turned to run off as well, not wanting Anakin to catch him. As he returned to the temple, Obi-Wan could feel the System’s annoyance with him, but he elected to not pay any attention to it. He was actually starting to feel kind of excited about this whole thing. Not only did he have cool powers, but he also clearly had the ability to change the story. Maybe it really was possible that he could stop Anakin from destroying him someday. 

Chapter Text

To be honest, Anakin wasn’t really sure why there were so many other kids along on this trip. Normally missions consisted of just him and Obi-Wan, or maybe another master and padawan pair. But right now there was just Obi-Wan to watch over nine apprentices. It’s not as though Obi-Wan would have volunteered to take the entire class from the creche on a trip, right? 

And why couldn’t the Council provide them with a bigger ship for the amount of people onboard? Anakin’s usual room had already been taken over by a gaggle of apprentices and their sleeping mats. One of the older apprentices, probably nervous that he would age out soon, outright laughed at Anakin. “Guess you’ll just have to sleep in the engine room! Are you going to cry about it now? Just because you’re not good enough to even get a bed, despite being the Chosen One?”

Anakin clenched his fists and did his best to take deep breaths. He hardly knew how to react when the older padawans made fun of him, let alone these little kids. The whole thing became even more embarrassing when he realized that Obi-Wan had heard the whole thing, and Anakin felt his face flush red. 

Obi-Wan gave him a long, inscrutable look before finally saying, “Grab your things.”

Anakin’s eyes widened in alarm. “M-Master?” They had already left Coruscant, surely Obi-Wan wasn’t going to turn the ship around and drop him off, was he?

Not knowing what else to do, Anakin grabbed his bag and shuffled after Obi-Wan. He nearly ran into the man’s back when Obi-Wan stopped and opened a door. Anakin furrowed his brows when he realized that he had been led to Obi-Wan’s room. “There’s extra space in here for your sleeping mat,” Obi-Wan told him in the same neutral tone as usual. 

Anakin bit his lip to stop himself from babbling out any nonsense that would annoy Obi-Wan. This was certainly the kindest thing his master had ever done for him, usually content to let the others push him around as much as they wanted. As Anakin laid out his sleeping mat, he glanced over to see Obi-Wan settle on his cot, crossing his legs and closing his eyes to meditate. He was always lecturing Anakin about his inability to do the same.

Since he had been given this boon, Anakin figured he may as well try and give meditation another shot. He sat on his mat in the same lotus position as Obi-Wan, and closed his eyes. He tried to clear his mind and ‘become one with the Force,’ whatever that meant, but became too restless after a few minutes had passed. He opened his eyes just the tiniest bit, and realized that Obi-Wan was looking right at him. Obi-Wan blinked once, then offered Anakin a tiny smile before he cleared his throat and went back to meditating. 

Anakin, meanwhile, felt like he could barely breathe. He had never seen his master smile like that before. Anakin was struck with the sudden realization that when he was not being unkind, his master actually looked… quite beautiful.

,,,

“This is a training exercise for you young ones,” Obi-Wan explained once they had all gotten off of the ship and stretched a bit. “There is something very special about this planet, but you will only discover what if you trust in the Force. I will aid those who ask, but I would like to see all of you try on your own first.” He spouted off a few basic safety tips, and then dismissed the younglings just like that. Considering that he was older than those children, and already a padawan besides, he wasn’t quite sure if he was supposed to participate in this exercise. Obi-Wan must have sensed Anakin’s uncertainty, because he gave his padawan a long look. “One is never too old to practice their skills,” he said sagely. 

Anakin nodded. “Yes Master.” He waited another moment, but it didn’t seem like Obi-Wan had anything else to say, too focused on pouring himself some tea. Anakin wasn’t sure why he felt a sliver of disappointment about the lack of words being directed towards him. Normally, as much as he respected his master, he preferred not to prolong conversations with the man, as it usually only led to more of Anakin’s inadequacies being revealed. 

Anakin slowly walked away from the ship, determined to make his master proud. He would figure out what made this planet special, and he would prove to Obi-Wan that he was good enough to be his padawan. 

Once he was a little further away from the ship, Anakin stopped and closed his eyes. He tried reaching out into the Force, eager to figure out what was going on. He furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance when he didn’t immediately pick up on anything. And he was interrupted from his searching when one of the younglings reached up to tug on his sleeve. He looked down at them with narrowed eyes. “What?” he snapped. The kid twisted their hands together, and Anakin felt a little bad about his sharp tone. This wasn’t one of the ones who had been laughing at Anakin before. Anakin forced his face to soften. “Did you need something?”

The kid nodded shyly. “I’m a little nervous,” they all but whispered. “I’ve never been away from Coruscant before. What if something scary happens? Can I stay with you?”

Very few people in Anakin’s life had ever wanted to spend time with him. And he was flattered by the acknowledgement that he was strong enough to keep this kid safe. So he nodded and let the kid grab his hand, and the two of them started walking. “So what’s your name?” Anakin asked after a few minutes.

“Bann. But you can call me Lucky, that’s what my friends call me.” 

Anakin wandered with Lucky for a little while, chatting about how Lucky’s classes were going, and how excited they were to become a padawan. Eventually they turned to the topic of what they were doing out here, and neither of them could really come up with any good ideas. They also had no clue where the other younglings had wandered off to, which made for a much more peaceful talk.

As they walked, Anakin paused. He thought he saw a glimpse of his master lurking behind a tree. Was Obi-Wan following because he didn’t trust Anakin not to mess everything up? Or maybe… maybe because he just wanted to check on Anakin’s progress?

While he was distracted, trying to sense his training bond, he heard a little yelp from behind him, and whirled around just in time to see Lucky being dragged off by what looked like a shapeless shadow. Anakin reached for his lightsaber, but Lucky was already out of sight by the time Anakin had drawn his weapon, and he couldn’t see the child no matter where he looked.

Filled with panic, Anakin ran all the way back to the ship as fast as he could. Obi-Wan was still sitting in the same spot sipping tea and scrolling through a datapad, but he set it down when Anakin approached. “What-?”

“Master, I’m so sorry, but I lost Lucky- Bann, I mean. Something grabbed them and I couldn’t figure out where they went and I don’t know what to do!” 

Obi-Wan stood up, and Anakin didn’t even flinch away from the punishment that was surely coming. He had messed up so badly, and now something terrible could happen to an innocent youngling. But Obi-Wan only demanded, “Take me to where you last saw them.” 

They raced together to get to the right place, and once they were there, Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Anakin didn’t dare interrupt the silence, since it was obvious that Obi-Wan was concentrating on something. Then Obi-Wan’s eyes snapped open and he took off without a word. Anakin followed, and was able to keep up without too much trouble.

They ended up standing outside of a cave with a strangely triangular entrance. Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows, and turned to look at Anakin. He opened his mouth, but then Anakin spotted the same shadowy thing that had snatched Lucky. “Master, look out-!”

,,,

Anakin woke to find himself tied up tightly, a force-inhibiting collar around his neck. Lucky was tied up next to him, and Anakin frantically looked around for a moment until he saw Obi-Wan. His master was on the other side of the room, and for some reason he was missing his robes?? The ropes were tied weirdly around him, too, and Anakin didn’t understand why he just stared for several long seconds before he reached out to nudge Obi-Wan with their bond. He forgot that he was wearing the inhibitor for a moment, and sighed before softly calling out, “Master!” 

Obi-Wan’s eyes fluttered open and he let out a little groan that made Anakin gulp. Obi-Wan looked around the room, taking in the whole situation. “What’s the situation?” he asked quietly. 

“Lucky seems to just be unconscious, but I can’t be sure. I don’t know where our attacker went. Are you okay, Master?”

Obi-Wan nodded dismissively, then frowned as he must have felt the collar digging into him. “One would not coincidentally have so many of these collars on hand.”

Anakin’s eyes widened. “They planned this?” he realized. “Master, what about the other younglings?” Most of them were jerks, but that didn’t mean they deserved to be kidnapped and frightened like this.

“Hm.”

Then the door to the room opened, and the black shadow from before swirled in, casually weaving around the room before landing in the center and solidifying into a humanoid shape. “So this is the best the Jedi order can offer?” the kidnapper said with an amused snort. “The great Obi-Wan Kenobi who supposedly killed a sith when hardly older than a child himself, yet gets so easily captured by me? How pathetic. At least you do have one thing going for you- I am pleased to be taking over such an attractive body.”

Everything about the kidnapper sounded horrific, but Obi-Wan remained as calm and collected as always. “Yes, you are so impressive for being able to capture literal children. Ah, but if a powerful body is what you want, then you need look no further than my padawan.” Anakin’s heart felt like it was about to pound right out of his chest. Was Obi-Wan really just going to hand him over to this dangerous stranger? Perhaps Anakin was just a fool for ever thinking that Obi-Wan might… well. It hardly mattered now.

The kidnapper laughed. “Trying to distract me? As if a child could be more powerful than the teacher.”

“Anakin is the Chosen One,” Obi-Wan explained, still sounding like there was absolutely nothing urgent about this situation. “You can assess his power for yourself.”

There was a moment of silence as the kidnapper considered it, and then they finally nodded. “Well, I really don’t have anything to lose here.” They turned and started prowling closer to Anakin, who could only stare in wide-eyed shock. Was this really how his life was going to end?

But to his shock, there was a sudden rumbling noise, and then a massive chunk of the rocky ceiling broke off, falling down and crushing the kidnapper to the ground. Anakin didn’t stop to think, just used his foot to pull closer his lightsaber that the kidnapper had been holding. He very carefully used it to cut his ropes and then ran over to cut Obi-Wan free as well.

The kidnapper got back to their feet. “What… How did you…? So this is the honor of the Jedi? Tricking people and attacking them while their backs are turned? What is wrong with you?” They didn’t have much time to complain, though, because as soon as his bindings were broken, Anakin shoved the handle of the lightsaber into Obi-Wan’s hand right as the kidnapper rushed at them. Obi-Wan removed their head from their neck in a single swoop, and then he hurried over to search the body for the keys to the inhibitors. 

“Master, I…”

Obi-Wan gave Anakin a long look. “You are wondering whether I would have let them kill you?” Anakin gulped once, then nodded slowly. When Obi-Wan offered him a tiny smile, Anakin felt like he had just been shocked with electricity. “As long as I am here, I promise that nothing will happen to you,” his master promised solemnly. 

It felt like something in Anakin’s chest cracked open at that announcement, and he could not contain a bright smile. It had been so long, not since his time with his mother, that anyone had so earnestly vowed to protect him. For everything that had happened in the past, Anakin would never truly forget, but he could forgive his master if Obi-Wan truly meant what he said. Whatever tests he had been put through had been worth it if Anakin had finally found his way into Obi-Wan’s esteem. To be cared for like this was all he’d ever wanted, after all. 

Chapter Text

It was such a relief for Obi-Wan to be able to get through an entire conversation without worrying about the System constantly bitching at him for acting too OOC. Now would be the best time to make a run for it, even if the System wouldn’t approve, but something in Obi-Wan’s chest burned at the thought of running away. He knew that if he left, none of the other masters would want to take on Anakin as a padawan, since they all looked down on him for not beginning his training until he was much older than the average youngling. And even though Obi-Wan knew that Anakin would be protected by his protagonist halo no matter what, he couldn’t help but want to see Anakin succeed. 

Besides, there was still enough time that Obi-Wan could hopefully turn things around for the better. For now, he would push aside all thoughts of Mustafar and its apparent unavoidability. It would be best to just focus on the present, and do everything that he could to make up for how badly the original goods had treated Anakin.

As he got dressed and pulled on his robes, Obi-Wan realized that he could smell something rather delicious coming from the main area of the apartment. He quickly finished getting ready and then stepped out of his room. Without the barrier of a door, the good smell was even more powerful, and Obi-Wan walked towards the kitchen. “What’s this?”

Anakin glanced over one shoulder to answer, while he continued to stir. “I’m making breakfast.” He said that as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, despite the fact that Obi-Wan could not recall reading any specific scenes of the two of them sharing a meal (unless one were to count the infamous scene where Obi-Wan had dumped tea over his new padawan…) Still, Anakin was too young and innocent to be planning on poisoning Obi-Wan, and it did smell really good. He was just grateful for the fact that his stomach didn’t start rumbling. 

They both sat down together at the small kitchen table, and Anakin quickly filled Obi-Wan’s plate. Obi-Wan raised one eyebrow, and silently took a bite. It was a struggle to stop himself from moaning out loud. He didn’t think the stupid novel had ever mentioned anything specific about Anakin’s cooking skills, but it was clear that the protagonist was just as good at this as everything else. “This is quite good, Anakin. Thank you.” In his previous life, Obi-Wan had mostly lived off of takeout and frozen meals, so this felt quite decadent in comparison. 

The praise seemed to bring a bit of a flush to Anakin’s cheeks, and he ducked his head down. “Ah, it’s nothing special, but I’m glad that you like it, Master.” Then he quickly scarfed down his own portion, reminding Obi-Wan that he was still a growing boy. Obi-Wan bit his lip to stop himself from laughing, and simply reached across the table to put his extra piece of bread on Anakin’s plate. Despite having been the one to cook, Anakin quickly hopped up to clean everything as well. “It’s no problem, Master!” Anakin chirped out.

Obi-Wan gave the boy a searching look, but it seemed as though his padawan really did not mind the extra chore. Well, so long as it wasn’t yet another thing to resent Obi-Wan for, there was no reason to discourage him. Instead, he took the extra time to flip through some more of the original goods’ journals. So far he hadn’t found anything useful, mostly just copies of various reports, but even those could be pretty interesting, providing glimpses of the world building that Obi-Wan had liked when reading Way of the Proud Sith Lord.

Once everything had been cleared away, Obi-Wan cleared his throat to get Anakin’s attention. “I want to try something a little different in your training today.” Anakin had always been pushed too hard too soon, on top of sometimes being given blatantly wrong instructions, and Obi-Wan wanted to turn that all around. Honestly, it was probably only the fact that Anakin was the protagonist that had saved him from any severe backlash from the Force. 

Anakin perked right up at the idea. “What is it?”

“Patience, young one,” Obi-Wan answered in his patently cool voice. Now that he had decided to stay and teach Anakin, he had to fully commit to the role. He would also have to do a lot of meditation on his own to make sure that he could fully control the Force as well as the original could, but at least for now he already knew all of the theoretical information, and could impart that knowledge to Anakin. “First, we will meditate together.”

Anakin scrunched his nose and Obi-Wan absolutely did not find it endearing or adorable at all. “But Master…” He cut himself off, but it was clear he wanted to argue and bring up the fact that he was terrible at meditation.

Of course that was something Obi-Wan already knew, but he also knew that the reason behind it was because of how much the original had not only failed to teach, but also sometimes outright sabotaged Anakin’s progress. “It is understandable that you still have some trouble; you were not raised in the temple and therefore were not taught to have the same instinctive skills. Which is why we will approach it from a new angle.” He moved a cushion from the couch to the floor and sat down on it with his legs crossed, waiting patiently for Anakin to follow suit. 

“Now what?”

Last night, Obi-Wan had wracked his brain trying to recall all of the meditation techniques that had been in the self help book his brother had gifted him for his birthday a few years back. It was a rather ironic gift, since his brother had mostly been concerned about Obi-Wan spending too much time lost in stories, but it had still been thoughtful. (Obi-Wan had tried to politely ask the System to give him a copy of the book, but it had cheerfully refused the request.) Obi-Wan wasn’t sure exactly how much those tips would be of use in this world, since the Force added a whole new element to everything, but it was worth a try. He didn’t want to see Anakin get hurt just because he had never learned how to properly orient himself. 

Obi-Wan cleared his throat once he’d gathered his thoughts. “I know that you’ve had some difficulty in the past with meditation, and I think I may know why. You already have such a strong connection to the Force, that it probably feels unnecessary to further draw yourself into it. In fact, those pathways may be completely inaccessible to you because of your natural affinity. So instead, I want you to try connecting with me while I am meditating, to see if I can bring you there through our bond.” 

Anakin stared at Obi-Wan with wide, uncertain eyes, and it made Obi-Wan internally seethe and curse the original who had somehow managed to be so cruel to this innocent child. “Okay, Master.” 

Upon Obi-Wan’s instruction, Anakin closed his eyes, and Obi-Wan did the same. Obi-Wan breathed deeply, trying to follow the advice from that damn book. He knew that this body already had a connection to the Force, but it still took him somewhat by surprise when he could actually feel the Force surrounding him. It was like being wrapped in a cozy blanket on a rainy day, and Obi-Wan allowed himself to sink into that feeling.

Once he felt comfortable with how far he’d gone, Obi-Wan then focused on his training bond with Anakin. He had to put some solid effort into raising the strong shields that had been in place, but he knew he’d succeeded when he could actually feel the cautious hopefulness coming from Anakin. Obi-Wan mentally reached out from his end, and after a moment he could feel Anakin reaching back, letting himself be drawn into the peaceful headspace that Obi-Wan had created.

He could feel the wonder and confusion that came from Anakin, who had never successfully meditated before. “This is what it’s supposed to feel like?” It was hard to say whether Anakin had meant to send that thought along or not. Right now, their minds were linked in a way that would make it difficult for either of them to hide anything. 

“Now that you’re here, take the time to organize yourself,” Obi-Wan instructed. Even as he explained what to do to Anakin, he found himself visualizing it all for the first time as well. “Sort your emotions in a way that makes sense to you.” Obi-Wan’s mental space looked like a little library. He wondered if it had been like that for the original goods as well, or if this was his own personal place. [The original Obi-Wan Kenobi’s mental space resembled the Room of a Thousand Fountains here in the Jedi Temple,] the System chimed in cheerfully. Huh. That was surprisingly peaceful for a man who must have been full of so much darkness. [Host has not yet unlocked Master Kenobi’s backstory,] he was promptly informed. Obi-Wan mentally rolled his eyes. Why would he even care about the backstory of such a scummy person?

For now, he needed to just focus on his padawan. He could see Anakin exploring the little library, his awe unhidden. Obi-Wan suddenly realized how disastrous it could be if Anakin peeked at the wrong memories and realized that Obi-Wan was an imposter from another world. [Not to worry, Host! This System has automatically granted you an upgrade that walls off your past life, so no one using the Force could access those memories!] Obi-Wan frowned. “And you did that for free?” he asked suspiciously. There was no response, which was just great.

He forced himself to not think about the System for now, and looked at Anakin, who was staring right at him. “Master? Do you…?” Then he shook his head, and both of them were abruptly jolted from the mental space and back to their bodies. 

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked at Anakin curiously. “What is it that you wish to ask?”

Anakin opened his eyes as well, and shifted awkwardly where he was sitting. “It’s stupid,” he mumbled.

Obi-Wan sent a wave of reassurance through their bond. “The desire to learn is always a noble one, and therefore there can be no foolish questions.”

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows, and didn’t make eye contact with Obi-Wan. “It’s just… when we were in your mental space, it felt a little bit like maybe you… you have a bond with somebody else?” 

That was the last thing Obi-Wan would have expected his padawan to ask about. Anakin must have somehow sensed Obi-Wan’s connection to the System, and to make it fit properly in this world setting, it must have felt similar to a bond. Though Anakin wouldn’t know that for certain, since Obi-Wan always used strong shields on their bond. 

Put on the spot like this, Obi-Wan tried to think of a way to explain without being too honest, and without saying anything that could get him expelled from the Order if Anakin were to share with the Council. In the few seconds it took him to think, Anakin seemed to shrink in on himself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked, it’s none of my business.”

Obi-Wan reached out to gently put a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “There is nothing wrong with your question; I am the one who should have realized that such a thing would be visible. I do indeed have another bond, another training bond. It is my connection to my own master. Though his sudden death mostly severed our bond, I have done my best to nurture it from my side, in the hopes that he will be able to pass me wisdom or peace now that he is one with the Force.” He could understand when he felt the brief wave of longing from Anakin. Of course the poor boy wished that Qui-Gon could have been his master instead, what with the way Anakin had been treated over the past five years. 

But there was nothing that could be done to change the past, so for now Obi-Wan would continue to help Anakin meditate, and hope that he would be able to change the bigger parts of their future as well. 

Chapter Text

As the months passed by since Obi-Wan’s brief coma, Anakin slowly began to relax into the idea that this change of personality was real. At first, it had been easy to believe that it was all just some big elaborate punishment, perhaps to show him some rare kindness and then suddenly yank it away again. But the carpet did not get pulled out from Anakin’s feet even after a while. He could tell that he was not the only one confused by the changes in Obi-Wan, which only seemed to add to the theory that it was all legitimate.

Of course, to those that didn’t know him as well, Obi-Wan would probably come across as essentially the same person. He was still clean-spoken and witty and well disciplined, often coming across as the perfect Jedi. But he was also kinder now, with more warmth in his eyes. He was not stingy with his praise when Anakin did well, and he never assigned punishments for Anakin’s failures anymore. (“I have come to a realization that those punishments never actually helped you to understand your mistakes,” was all that Obi-Wan would say on the matter when questioned.) He would gently pat the top of Anakin’s head, which always felt nice, and when he slipped up and forgot to hide a genuine smile, it always felt like Anakin’s heart was about to stop beating. And best of all was when they meditated together, and Anakin got to be surrounded by Obi-Wan's innermost self, which always felt so warm and loving. 

Anakin was busy finishing his homework when Obi-Wan got back from the meeting he’d been summoned to by the Council. He leaned over to look at Anakin’s work so far, and Anakin felt his cheeks flush because of the closeness. Obi-Wan let out a small noise, then stood back and pat Anakin on the head. “You are showing very good progress,” he said like he was not at all surprised. “It is good that you do not need much help for now, because I have been assigned a mission.”

Anakin spun around in his seat and stared up at Obi-Wan in dismay. “By yourself?” Another new trait of his master’s, one that Anakin was not so pleased with, was a terrible case of recklessness. Where he had always used to stay back and think things through carefully, usually sending others in to make sure it was safe, Obi-Wan these days would fling himself into danger with very little thought for his own well-being, caring more about completing their missions and protecting others than anything else. 

Obi-Wan chuckled softly, and the pleasant noise was almost enough to distract Anakin from his valid complaints. “I will be alright, padawan. I am quite capable of taking care of myself.” 

Even if it made him an unfilial disciple, Anakin couldn’t hide the disagreement he felt about that statement. “But what if something happens? I could help you!”

Obi-Wan patted Anakin’s hair, then took a few steps away. “Your studies are important, and there is no reason to believe that this mission will be so dangerous. I should be back in less than a week, alright?” 

That was not alright with Anakin at all, but he didn’t know how to argue without upsetting Obi-Wan. Instead, he waited until Obi-Wan had gone to pack, and then Anakin scribbled out a note saying he was going to study in the Archives before he scrambled to pack a bag of his own. He ran down to the docking hangar as quickly as he could, and checked to see which of the small ships had been fueled up most recently.

After deciding which one seemed most likely, Anakin walked onboard. He did his best to use the Force to cloak his presence, but he also walked with a confident strut. Even if someone spotted him, they would have no reason to assume that he did not belong here.

The ship was a small one, but there was a little utility closet that Anakin was able to stuff himself into. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, attempting to feed only some very specific information down his training bond while blocking the rest. He didn’t want Obi-Wan to know that he was here until it was already too late to turn back and drop Anakin off. 

He was relieved when he felt Obi-Wan Force signature getting onto this ship, since it meant that Anakin had chosen correctly. He smiled to himself as he settled down in the cramped space, happy to have pulled this off.

,,,

Obi-Wan would still not consider himself nearly as adept with the Force as the original goods had been, so he wondered if he was wrong when he felt something like smugness coming from Anakin. Not to mention that he had expected something about their training bond to feel different, perhaps more stretched out, once he was far away from his padawan. He could hardly ask the other Jedi about this, but he resolved to look into it once he returned to the Temple.

As for this current mission, Obi-Wan was quite proud of himself. As soon as the Council had explained to him where he’d be going, Obi-Wan had recognized the plot from Way of the Proud Sith Lord. It had been yet another instance of the original Obi-Wan Kenobi being an utter bastard, sending Anakin in alone to face off against a hostile assassin, which had led to Anakin being badly poisoned. Of course Anakin was strong enough in the Force that he was able to heal himself instinctively, but it still hurt a lot, and there’s no way Obi-Wan wanted to see his little white sheep in more pain when it wasn’t even necessary. Which is why Obi-Wan had told the Council that Anakin was busy with his studies, and that Obi-Wan would be approaching the mission on his own. There had been no arguments from the Council, and, surprisingly enough, no arguments from the System either.

Now he was landing his ship down on the planet he’d been sent to. Then he sat down on the floor and closed his eyes to meditate, reaching out to feel for the negative energy that would surely surround a Force-wielding assassin. It had been much quicker in that stupid novel, when the assassin had approached on her own after sensing Anakin’s power, but Obi-Wan was determined to deal with this on his own. [Would you like to purchase a small scenario pusher?] the System suddenly asked. 

Obi-Wan scowled. “No. Now leave me alone.” He didn’t know what currency the System dealt with, but he didn’t trust the System to be fair about it no matter what. 

[Is Host certain? For just the small price of-] Obi-Wan mentally brushed away the little chatbox that seemed to represent the System, and demanded it to mute itself for now. [That feature is not yet available in Beta mode,] the System told him with the least sincere-sounding voice ever. It continued to talk, but Obi-Wan just tried that much harder to ignore the irritating thing. 

Clearly getting nowhere with meditation, Obi-Wan abruptly got up and left the ship. Even though the Council didn’t know the assassin’s target, Obi-Wan did, so he figured he may as well just head there and wait for the assassin to show up. As he left the docking port and headed into the city, he cursed out that damn hack author for never even naming the assassin, despite her leaving a pretty big impact on Anakin. 

As he walked through the city, Obi-Wan did his best to repress a shudder as shivers ran down his spine. He couldn’t help but feel as though he was being followed, even though he knew there was no reason for the assassin to care about him, and the Force would surely let him know if he was in real trouble. 

When he reached his destination, Obi-Wan went on high alert, as he could feel the Force whispering that there was danger ahead. He didn’t bother knocking on the front door of the vast estate, and instead just pushed the door open and stepped inside, already pulling out his lightsaber.

The body of the target was flung towards him, and Obi-Wan easily dodged out of the way. Apparently without Anakin there to distract her, the assassin had had plenty of time to carry out her job. Obi-Wan didn’t bother feeling bad, though, since he knew that the dead man was a tyrannical warlord who only terrorized the people around him. Originally, Anakin had been the one to return here later and take care of it, but now it was one less difficult task for the boy. “That was a little uncouth,” Obi-Wan said dryly as he raised one eyebrow.

Still cloaking her Force signature, the assassin stepped out from around the corner. She was taller than Obi-Wan, very pale, and had no hair to cover the markings that ran across her face and over the top of her head. She was also holding a blood red lightsaber, which was a sure sign of a dark sider. “And who are you? If you claim to be a bodyguard, then I’ll be sure to leave a bad review on this pig’s behalf.” 

“Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi,” he introduced himself. “I’ve been sent by the Jedi Council to take you in for questioning regarding the deaths of several high-ranking Republic officials.”

She rolled her eyes and shifted into a stance that was clearly easier to fight in. “As if you can take me anywhere.”

Obi-Wan internally sighed, since he’d figured that the conversation would go this way, but it had at least been worth a try. “May I at least know the name of the one I am to fight?”

The assassin narrowed her eyes, but then seemed to decide that there was no harm in it- whether because she did not see Obi-Wan as a threat or because her name would not give him any further information, he did not know. “Asajj Ventress,” she finally responded. “Just so you know who to curse once you’ve joined the Force.” 

Without any further warning, she lunged forward, and Obi-Wan parried the attack. The two of them danced around the room, occasionally using the Force to fling heavy furniture at each other and to leap through the air, but mostly they focused on dueling with their lightsabers. Blue clashed against red in a vibrant display, and Obi-Wan found that he was almost having fun with it. 

Then the front door of the estate burst open with much less finesse than Obi-Wan had used, and suddenly Anakin was standing there, the training bond radiating with anger and fear. Obi-Wan had no idea how Anakin had gotten here, but he was distracted by his padawan’s appearance, and Asajj had no problem pressing her advantage. What had been a mostly even battle shifted to Obi-Wan on the defensive. It wasn’t too devastating since Obi-Wan’s style really shined on the defensive, but it did mean that he couldn’t keep a very close eye on Anakin.

Apparently he didn’t need to, though, when Asajj suddenly went flying across the room, slamming heavily into the wall and her lightsaber rolling into Anakin’s outstretched hand. “Leave my master alone!” the boy all but growled.

Even though there were much more important things to worry about, Obi-Wan couldn’t help taking a moment to feel touched that Anakin cared so much about him. By this point in the book, Anakin had not yet despised his master to the point of wanting to torture him to death, but there had certainly been no warm feelings between them. 

But on the other hand… that definitely hadn’t felt like lightness when Anakin had acted, and Obi-Wan knew he needed to step in. He walked over to Anakin and reached out to gently place a hand on his padawan’s shoulder. Questions about what the boy was doing here could wait until later. “Anakin,” he started, keeping his voice as soft as he could, not wanting to make it sound like he was lecturing in the way Anakin always hated. “What you just did… you acted out of anger. Jedi must not…” Then he trailed off. How could he say that Jedi did not act out of emotion when Obi-Wan had not actually been raised as a Jedi, and therefore did not actually believe such things? Even while reading he’d always thought about how hypocritical the whole system seemed, asking Jedi to act out of compassion but not emotion, and to expect them to stay anchored without allowing them anything to be passionate about. All that, plus the way Anakin’s eyes had dropped to the floor and his shoulders had hunched up in preparation to be yelled at made it impossible for Obi-Wan to say what he’d intended. “You must be careful,” he said instead. “It is easy to fall when you focus only on your negative emotions.” He reached out with the bond to send calming and peaceful thoughts to Anakin. The boy looked up at Obi-Wan with wide, awed eyes that Obi-Wan wasn’t sure he’d really deserved.

While Anakin was caught up in the peace that had been sent to him, he did not notice when Asajj twitched, and suddenly flung a dagger forward with her hand, not even bothering to use the Force. The dagger would have stabbed Anakin in the back of the shoulder, and Obi-Wan reacted without thinking, grabbing Anakin and spinning them around to reverse their positions, so Obi-Wan was the one who got stabbed instead. 

Obi-Wan slowly turned to look at Asajj. “That did not seem very sportsmanlike.” Internally, he was freaking out. What was he even thinking?? Anakin was the protagonist and would have been perfectly safe after a few hours of torturous pain, but Obi-Wan’s body had moved before he could even think it through, and now he was-! 

“I never claimed to be honorable,” she answered, sounding entirely unbothered. “What a shame that such a fun duelist will be dead within a few hours.”

Anakin’s eyes widened in alarm, and the peace he had been feeling evaporated immediately. “What are you talking about?”

Asajj grinned as she got back to her feet. “That dagger was coated in a special poison. It’s very rare stuff, impossible to find or make without having some very specific connections, and usually a lot of money as well. The thing that makes this poison so insidious is that it can only affect those who are Force sensitive. It eats away at your midichlorians and makes them attack your own body. It’s a drawn out and painful death to be sure.”

“What’s the cure?” Anakin demanded. When Asajj only laughed, Anakin leapt over to her and held up her own lightsaber to her throat. “What’s the cure?”

Obi-Wan held up one hand. “Relax, padawan. She is bluffing.” Of course Obi-Wan knew very well that she was not, but he really didn’t want to see his little white sheep murder someone right in front of him! “Even if such a poison exists, I am too strong to succumb to it.”

Asajj snorted. “To answer your question, little Jedi, it is incurable. And even as we speak, your master must be feeling his connection to the Force breaking apart.” Anakin glanced back at Obi-Wan in panic, which was truly a rookie mistake when standing so close to an enemy. Asajj was able to quickly grab her lightsaber back and duck away. “If you’re really going to insist that you are unbothered, Jedi Knight, then I suppose you wouldn’t be afraid to face off against me again? No weapons, just the power of the Force for both of us.”

It was actually quite painful to feel his connection to the Force weaken so rapidly, and Obi-Wan doubted he’d be able to so much as float a feather through the air. But he knew the power of a good bluff, so he nodded and stepped forward. “Very well. But once you acknowledge that your poison has had no effect, I must really insist that you accompany us back to Coruscant so that you may be questioned.” 

He walked right up to Asajj, and he could practically feel Anakin’s eyes burning a hole through his back. What else was he supposed to do at this point, protagonist? It’s not as though he could just back down and let Asajj kill them both. 

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, regretting all of his life choices that had led him to this moment. Then, just before his hand could make contact with Asajj’s, the assassin once more went flying. This time she was dragged to the door and had force suppressing cuffs slapped around her wrists before she could react. Obi-Wan turned to look at the newcomer, planning on thanking them for the interference and also figuring out who they were. 

Before he could fully turn, though, his knees gave out and he started to collapse to the ground. Anakin had to have used the Force to get to him quickly enough to catch him and lower him more gently. “Master?” 

“I’ll be okay,” Obi-Wan said in a pathetically weak voice. This poison was going to surely kill him, but at least that was still a better death than being tortured by his student, so maybe it was for the best. Obi-Wan reached out, even though his arm felt like it weighed a million pounds, and he gently patted the top of Anakin’s head. “I’m so happy that I got to meet you,” he said, before his arm fell back down. It really was so cool to have gotten to meet the protagonist- aka the only reason he had continued to read that dumpster fire of a novel. His eyes slid shut and he was vaguely aware of Anakin sobbing and shouting, “Master!” over and over. The System also seemed to be saying something about having unlocked a new storyline? But Obi-Wan could hardly pay attention as everything finally went black and he passed out. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan was truly surprised when he woke up. He would have thought for sure that he would be dead, considering the fatal poison he’d been stabbed with. In the book, Anakin only survived because of how powerful he was. It was good to know, though, that Obi-Wan was at least a little stronger than even he had suspected.

Brushing thoughts of his near death aside, Obi-Wan realized that he could hear sobbing, and he concentrated on making out the exact words. “-so sorry, Master. I understand now, and I promise that I will do whatever you say, as long as you just wake up!”

He still felt tired and groggy, which seemed reasonable considering the fact that he’d been poisoned, but Obi-Wan made the effort to open his eyes and look around the Hall of Healing. Then he reached out and patted Anakin’s head. “I’m okay,” he mumbled. He cleared his throat, and let out a little groan as he moved to sit up. Anakin immediately helped him up, and stuffed several pillows behind him so that he would be able to lean comfortably against the wall. “What happened isn’t your fault,” Obi-Wan said absently, as he tried to think of a delicate way to bring up the fact that he had felt Anakin go a little dark.

Anakin just shook his head, padawan braid flapping back and forth. “If I had just listened to you and stayed behind to do my work, then you wouldn’t have been distracted, and-!”

“It seems to have all worked out, so as long as you know what you did wrong, then it’s alright.”

Anakin gave Obi-Wan a long, searching look, and there was something like disbelief coming down the bond, followed by something warm and unnameable. “I understand now,” Anakin assured him.

Obi-Wan blinked once. “Ah, that’s good.” He had absolutely no idea what it was that his student understood, but considering that Anakin was the protagonist, it was probably something cool and profound. Anakin smiled brightly, then hurried off, saying something about getting a healer to make sure that Obi-Wan was okay.

A few minutes later, Master Che pulled back the curtain around Obi-Wan’s bed and stepped forward, followed closely by Master Yoda. “It’s good to see that you are awake, Knight Kenobi. We were all so worried about you.”

“I feel fine. So what actually happened?”

Yoda frowned as he moved closer. “Poisoned, you were. Rescued, you were, by Knight Vos. Escaped, the assassin did.”

“You’re lucky to be alive,” Che added. “But I’m worried about the aftereffects. It would seem that there truly is no cure to this poison, at least none that I’ve ever heard of. I will, of course, be doing more research into the matter. But for now, you will have to deal with it. The poison seems to consume the midichlorians inside of you. You are strong enough that they heal faster than they are destroyed, but you will require constant upkeep to make sure that balance is not shifted. And based on the condition you were in when you were brought here, it seems that there will be times where the poison is too strong, and your connection from the Force will be temporarily blocked until a strong Force-user is able to help you heal up. You will have to be very careful from now on, but you will still be able to live a full life.” 

Obi-Wan was a little in disbelief. He could already imagine that his Force connection would fade at all the worst moments, since the System loved to fuck with him like that. [Host made the choice to move in front of the knife,] the System cheerfully reminded him. There was no need to remind him about that, System! Obi-Wan didn’t know either why he’d protected Anakin even knowing that the protagonist halo would have kept him safe! “...very well,” Obi-Wan said to the two Jedi who were staring at him. “May I go back to my apartment now?”

Che furrowed her eyebrows. “I understand if you are in shock about this. Without-A-Cure is really too insidious of a poison.” 

It took a serious effort for Obi-Wan not to roll his eyes. Without-A-Cure? Seriously? That had to be some of the laziest naming ever to be put into any story! If he hadn’t died back in his world, he would have to hunt down the author and make them understand how shitty the writing was. “I believe I will be best off meditating in my own space,” Obi-Wan spoke, voice much calmer than the thoughts roiling through his mind.

Even though Yoda kept giving him weird looks, Obi-Wan was cleared to go, and he hurried back to the apartment. He actually did sit down on the floor to meditate, stretching his senses out into the Force. As far as he could tell, everything felt fine, but Without-A-Cure would definitely cause problems in the future. And since the damn poison hadn’t been used on anyone other than Anakin in the story, there was no way to know if there really was a natural cure for it.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes again when he smelled something good, and he got up to head to the kitchen. Anakin glanced over at him with an almost shy smile. “I thought you might be hungry, since you were unconscious for nearly three full days.”

“Thank you, Anakin, that was very thoughtful of you.” He reached out to pat Anakin’s head, which sent a jolt of pure joy through their bond. What a strange kid. But he was a strange kid with amazing cooking skills, so Obi-Wan settled down at the table to patiently wait for his food. He decided to use the downtime productively. “System, when I was passing out, did you say something about a new storyline?”

The bright blue chatbox popped up immediately. [Host is correct! Host has unlocked a new storyline- ‘Saving the Sith Through the Power of Love’! Please work hard to get the best ending!]

Obi-Wan frowned as he thought about what that could mean. Was he supposed to help Anakin get with his wife sooner? The whole affair would get Anakin in so much trouble with the Council if they were to find out, and Obi-Wan would be in just as much trouble for not informing them. But Obi-Wan did not actually care much about the Jedi way, and if helping Anakin fall in love and get married was what it took to make sure that Anakin was happy and not evil, then of course Obi-Wan would help him. For some reason, though, Obi-Wan felt like the System was laughing at him. “What? What is it now?” he asked suspiciously.

[Host certainly has a big surprise coming his way!]

,,,

It definitely took Anakin a few minutes longer than it should have for him to realize that something was very wrong with this place. Once he figured it out, the world around him seemed to vanish into a strange bout of smoke, he found himself standing in a large empty space, the air around him hazy and strange. 

He looked around in confusion until he spotted a familiar figure in the distance, and then he ran towards them. “Master! Master!” 

Obi-Wan looked towards him. “Anakin,” he greeted calmly. “I believe that you have accidentally drawn me in through our bond.”

“I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry!” Anakin was quick to apologize, since he felt bad about getting his master involved in whatever was going on, but he couldn’t deny that he was also pretty relieved to have his master here. He felt so much safer knowing that Obi-Wan would be able to help him through this. “Master, where are we?”

“We are in your dreams,” Obi-Wan answered calmly, as if it were perfectly normal to be dragged into someone else’s dreams. Anakin’s face flushed as he thought of a few other dreams he’d had lately, ones that he absolutely did not want the real Obi-Wan to know anything about. It was good that they were just stuck with this boring gray fog instead. 

Now he at least knew where they were, though Anakin still had no idea why or how they’d both gotten here. He wanted to ask his master, but before he got the chance, the fog around them shifted until it took on a new form, that of a familiar desert town. “It’s Tatooine,” he murmured, barely noticing as Obi-Wan nodded. Walking forward, Anakin quickly recognized the streets around him, and then without even moving, suddenly he and Obi-Wan were standing inside of Watto’s shop. He gasped when he spotted his mother stepping out from behind the droid she’d been working on fixing. “Mom! Mom, it’s me!” 

She glanced back, then furrowed her eyebrows and gave Anakin a disappointed look. “What are you doing here? You left to become a Jedi, but all you’ve succeeded at is annoying your master. And what have you always been taught about annoying your masters?”

That’s when Watto flew in, and he gave Anakin a greedy look. “Ah, my favorite money maker, there you are. It’s good to have you back; things have not been so easy around here since you left.”

Anakin shook his head, unable to hide the feelings of horror that rose through him. “I would never come back to be your slave,” he protested. “I’m- I’m just here to free my mom!”

“Talking back? I thought I’d beaten that out of you long ago.” Then Watto laughed. “And did I hear that right? You want to free your mother? Good luck with that. I sold her off years ago, and I have no idea where she ended up. I guess you should have come back sooner if you wanted to save her, rather than hiding away on Coruscant. Of course, if you hadn’t wanted to be sold back to me, you should have avoided making your Jedi master mad.”

Anakin could barely even think through his rage, he just charged forward and started wailing on Watto, fulfilling many of the fantasies he’d held as he grew up. He was only vaguely aware of Obi-Wan shouting something at him while sounding worried. Anakin finally remembered his training, and ignited his lightsaber, swinging it towards his former owner. 

Instead of hurting Watto, Anakin stared with wide eyes as he realized that Obi-Wan had jumped in the way, letting the lightsaber burn a slash across his chest. All of Anakin’s anger evaporated in an instant, replaced by terror at the thought that he had just hurt Obi-Wan so badly. He rushed forward to catch his master as the man collapsed to the ground. “Why would you do that?”

“You would have only hurt yourself worse by attacking conjurations of your own mind,” Obi-Wan said with some effort. “As your teacher, it is my job to protect you from such harm.”

Anakin sniffled, and reached up to try and scrub away his tears. “Master…” This was now the second time that Obi-Wan had been hurt trying to protect Anakin. He understood now, without a single doubt, that Obi-Wan must truly love him and feel attached for him to keep throwing himself in front of Anakin like this, and Anakin regretted that he had ever doubted it. The harshness that Obi-Wan had shown in the past must have all just been some giant test, and now Obi-Wan had decided that Anakin had proved himself worthy of love. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes fluttered shut, and then he slowly faded away until he was entirely gone, leaving Anakin’s lap bereft of the warm weight of his master. “Oh, my dear boy…” a voice slithered out.

Anakin leapt to his feet and held his lightsaber out in the direction that the voice had come from. “Who’s there?”

It felt as if the shadows themselves were talking to him, though Anakin did realize that it was probably because the culprit was really trying to hide their face. “I am a friend,” the voice assured him. “I see that you are afraid of losing your master. The Jedi may preach all day about letting go of such fears and attachments, but you know better than that, don’t you? How can anyone blame you for holding on tight to what little you have, when you have lived a life with so little in it?”

Anakin refused to feel grateful for the sympathy. “Who are you, and what have you done to my master?”

The voice sighed, and spoke as if it were disappointed in Anakin. “Your master was simply sent to a dream within a dream. He will be fine once he awakens. But that may not always be the case. Your master is more vulnerable now than ever, thanks to Without-A-Cure. And he is so very ready to jump into danger. Wouldn’t you like more power, young Skywalker? So that you will be strong enough to always protect those you love? There is much that I could teach you, but the choice is yours.”

Of course Anakin wanted to be stronger. He had vowed to himself, as soon as he’d seen his master collapse from Ventress’ poison, that he would do everything he could to become as strong as possible, to ensure that Obi-Wan would never be hurt like that again. But could he really trust a faceless, nameless stranger that had somehow trapped him in his own dreams? Would it be worth it to risk selling his soul to the devil in exchange for enough power to keep Obi-Wan safe?

…yes. Yes it would. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan jolted up in bed, panting for breath as he looked around the room and tried to assure himself that it had just been a dream. And what an absolutely bizarre one it had been. Somehow he had been dragged into the arc that was supposed to involve Padme, Anakin’s future wife, to remind him of the crush he’d had on her since he was younger. How the hell had Obi-Wan ended up there? That would be weird enough on its own. But then on top of that, Obi-Wan had been sent away before the Sith Lord could show up. But instead of waking up, Obi-Wan had been sent into a nightmare, where the evil future Anakin had been waiting for him, and had cut off Obi-Wan’s arm. 

Now Obi-Wan looked down and clenched his fist a few times, just to make extra sure that he still could. Of course it had all just been a bad dream, but that didn’t change the fact that it was absolutely terrifying. “System, is there really no way to avoid Mustafar?”

[‘The Duel on Mustafar’ is an unavoidable main mission.]

Obi-Wan cursed under his breath. No matter what he did in the present, no matter how kindly he treated Anakin, it was unavoidable that Obi-Wan would betray him some day. So wouldn’t Anakin want revenge no matter what, since that’s how his character was written? In many ways, wouldn’t it be even worse now? Getting betrayed by someone who he knew hated him would suck, but to be betrayed by someone who showed him care and love for a few years… well that was just… 

The sound of his bedroom door sliding open dragged Obi-Wan out of his morbid thoughts, and Anakin rushed in. He threw himself at Obi-Wan for a hug, and Obi-Wan could not stop himself from minutely flinching, as he saw a flash of the future Anakin in the current one’s place. Anakin obviously noticed the flinch, because he pulled away from the hug very quickly. “I’m so sorry, Master! I swear I’ll never do anything that will get you hurt again!”

Obi-Wan sighed while giving Anakin a fond look, and he let his shoulders slump down in relief. It was obvious that this was still his white sheep padawan, and no matter what might happen in the future, Obi-Wan could not find it within himself to spurn his student. He reached out to gently pat the top of Anakin’s head. “Ah, my silly padawan. Don’t you know that it’s the job of the master to protect the student, not the other way around?”

Anakin shook his head. “I’ll keep you safe,” he said stubbornly. Then he abruptly shot up to his feet again. “Are you hungry? I’ll go make something!” He ran off towards the kitchen without waiting for a response. Obi-Wan shook his head in amusement, and thought privately to himself that if things could just stay like this forever, that would be really nice.

,,,

Obi-Wan was heading to the Archives after morning training, but he slowed to a stop when he felt an inquisitive force signature brush up against his. He turned around to see a somewhat familiar looking man standing there. Not sure who it was, though, Obi-Wan could only stare for a moment. When the man said nothing, Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “Can I help you?” 

The man took a few steps closer, but Obi-Wan refused to back away, so they were left awkwardly staring at each other for a moment before the other Jedi finally cleared his throat. “You’re not really Obi-Wan Kenobi, are you?”

Obi-Wan blinked once, and made absolutely certain that his face did not show a single sign of his internal panic. “System, who is this guy?”

[Character- Jedi Knight Quinlon Vos. Special ability- psychometry. Saber color- green. Favorite food-]

Obi-Wan sent away the System, and then gave Vos a bland look. “Pardon?”

Vos frowned. “Well, for one thing, you didn’t start insulting me as soon as you saw me. And then there’s the fact that you… I don’t even know how to describe it. Blocked me, I guess? When I was carrying you back to the ship because you swooned so dramatically, I couldn’t get a read off of any of your things, not even the clothes you were wearing, or your lightsaber.”

Now that he mentioned it, Obi-Wan did recall Master Yoda saying that he had been rescued by Knight Vos. Obi-Wan probably should have followed up on that, but he had felt more concerned about getting discharged from the Hall of Healing. 

He did remember this character from the novel. Vos had been a bit of a wildcard, and the original Obi-Wan had hated him for reasons never fully described. (Thanks, once again, to that hack author’s shitty writing!) Vos had died fairly early in the story, and even though Anakin had not been present for it, the book had made it quite clear that Obi-Wan had all but murdered his fellow Knight. Actually, now that Obi-Wan thought about it, he was pretty sure that Vos had been killed when Anakin was fourteen, which meant some time around now. 

Well, it’s not like Obi-Wan had any interest in murdering a stranger for no reason. Since he was here to fix the story, it’s not like he should have to align everything with canon, right? “I’m afraid that I can’t explain what happened, seeing as I was unconscious at the time.”

Vos narrowed his eyes. “There’s something different about you. I’ve heard the rumors about how you’ve started coddling your student lately. I thought you hated him? For that matter, I thought you hated me?”

Obi-Wan offered up an amused smile. “I have simply had a change of heart. I was being too harsh on my padawan in the hopes that a ‘tough love’ approach would help his training, but it was not working out, so I have changed my methods. As for you, wouldn’t it be best if we buried the hatchet? Things will be so much more pleasant around here if there is no more needless fighting in the Temple corridors.” 

Vos continued to stare at him, but Obi-Wan refused to show his nerves. After another long moment, Vos suddenly grinned and let out a loud chuckle. He reached out to give Obi-Wan a solid pat on the shoulder. “I’m curious to see how long this new outlook of yours lasts. This will be interesting, for sure.” Then he walked away, continuing to chuckle to himself. Obi-Wan shook his head in disbelief, wondering how it could be possible that everyone in the Jedi Order was so utterly bizarre, then just continued on his way. 

,,,

“-and then he held up the roof while also holding back like fifty of the bandits so that the farmers could get away!” Anakin finished proudly. Then his smile drooped a bit, and he grumbled, “Of course, it would have been a lot cooler if Master hadn’t been hit in the back by a broken board.” He shuddered at the memory of being frozen in awe of how powerful and beautiful his master looked while wielding the Force, too distracted to notice the woman who’d snuck up to hit Obi-Wan in the hopes of breaking his concentration. Anakin had then sent the woman flying, and Obi-Wan had been able to continue without breaking a sweat, but still.

Aayla and her master both laughed and looked at Obi-Wan. “I never expected such a thing from you,” Knight Vos said with a smile. “So altruistic.” 

There was a very faint blush going across the tops of Obi-Wan’s cheeks, only visible because of his pale skin. Anakin couldn’t help but stare for a few seconds at the sight. “Yes, well,” Obi-Wan said stiffly, just as uncomfortable with praise as always. Anakin found it hopelessly endearing. Obi-Wan cleared his throat and quickly changed the topic. “Anything interesting in your missions lately?” 

“Don’t even get me started,” Vos warned, before immediately launching into a long and elaborate tale that was probably only about 70% true, if the looks on Aayla’s face were anything to go by. 

After everyone had finished eating, which didn’t take too long considering how good Dex’s food was compared to the standard fare served at the Temple, Obi-Wan stood up and cleared his throat. “Can I speak with you for a minute, Quin? Alone?”

Vos nodded, and the two of them went up to the register to pay for the meals, then stepped outside together. Anakin couldn’t help watching with a small frown, wondering when Knight Vos had become Quin to Obi-Wan. He turned back to Aayla when he felt her staring at him. “What?”

She tipped her head to the side and gave him a long, assessing look. “Nothing. It’s just that you seem much happier lately. I know that Obi-Wan hasn't always been the most, er, emotionally available master, but it seems that things have been different the past few months.”

Anakin couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he thought about his time with his master ever since Obi-Wan had been hit by that sith artifact. It wasn’t good that his master had been hurt because of him, but Anakin couldn’t help but feel grateful for everything that had happened since then. “I think I was just misunderstanding him for a long time,” Anakin confessed quietly. “But I get it now. And I am happy. Obi-Wan is the best master ever. If I could, I would stay his padawan forever.”

For some reason, that made Aayla look slightly more concerned, rather than setting her at ease. “Be careful Anakin. That sounds an awful lot like attachment.” 

Anakin pressed his lips together flatly. He had been so caught up in the euphoria of being Obi-Wan’s padawan that he had almost forgotten about the stupid Code. It was probably because Obi-Wan had all but stopped mentioning it entirely, unlike in the past where he was constantly reminding Anakin of what a terrible Jedi he was for being unable to follow the Code. 

There was a knock on the window next to the booth, and Anakin and Aayla both looked over to see their masters gesturing for the padawans to join them outside. The four of them all walked back to the Temple together, but then split off once inside.

As they walked back to their apartment, Anakin peered up at Obi-Wan. “Master? What made you decide to be friends with Vos?” For as long as he could remember, he had never really seen Obi-Wan have friends. 

“Knight Vos,” Obi-Wan chided with no real censure. “To answer your question, I suppose there are a few reasons. He did save our lives, remember. And you are already friends with his padawan. He is also a strong Jedi, and can be quite funny. It seemed petty to continue on as before, when there were so many more reasons for us to get along than to fight.”

They entered their apartment, and Anakin started to head to his room. He stopped when Obi-Wan reached out to gently grab his shoulder, and he turned around to look up at Obi-Wan in confusion. “Master?”

“I have something for you,” Obi-Wan told him in his usual serene voice. Then he let go of Anakin so that he could reach into his sleeve and pull out a small box wrapped in shiny paper. 

Anakin’s eyes widened. “A gift? What for?”

Obi-Wan cleared his throat awkwardly. “It is your birthday today, Anakin,” he said very gently.

Anakin’s eyes somehow widened even further, and he could feel them start to tear up. Nobody had ever cared about his birthday enough to give him a gift since he’d left his mother’s side, and he had all but forgotten about the significance of the day. He reached out and accepted the present, looking down at it with more gratitude than he thought Obi-Wan would ever understand. 

He sat down at the table, and very carefully removed the wrapping, folding it up so that he could save it. He gave Obi-Wan a curious look when he saw the small metal box that had been hidden by the paper. It had a beautiful design etched into the cover, and Anakin reverently ran his finger over it. Then he finally unlatched the box and popped it open to see what was inside. It looked to be the key to a vehicle, and Anakin looked up in confusion. “What is it?”

“I cannot endorse pod racing, due to its illegal nature and high mortality rate, but I thought that this might be enough to satiate your urge to drive insanely fast. I got you a swoop bike.” Anakin leapt back to his feet and decided not to stop himself from wrapping his arms around Obi-Wan’s waist and pulling him into a tight hug. Obi-Wan stuttered for a moment, and though he did not return the hug, he also did not pull away. “It isn’t- it isn’t anything too fancy, just a used model, but I figured you would enjoy putting your own touches on it anyways. Just promise me that you will always wear a helmet and be careful when driving it.”

Anakin nodded, willing to agree to anything Obi-Wan asked of him in this moment. “I promise! Thank you so much, Master!” This was the best gift ever, and not only because it was a great present, but also because his master cared about him enough to get it for him, and knew him well enough to know he’d appreciate it. Anakin promised himself that someday he would return every favor tenfold to Obi-Wan, but for now, he was content to go on just like this. 

Chapter Text

Anakin was enraptured by the sight of his master gracefully dancing around on the practice mats, fighting against another Knight who had asked for pointers. The only thing Anakin didn’t appreciate about the scenario was the fact that Obi-Wan’s opponent seemed to be constantly and intentionally tripping and brushing up against Obi-Wan, while Anakin’s poor master remained entirely oblivious to the nefarious intentions. 

Anakin cheered just as loudly as the other padawans in the room as they watched the two Knights begin to leap around with graceful precision. But then, while Obi-Wan was in the air right over his opponent’s head, he suddenly fell right down on top of the other man. The other Knight was a hair too slow to turn off his lightsaber, and Anakin could smell the singed cloth and burnt flesh underneath. The Knight immediately, carefully, rolled out from under Obi-Wan and looked at him in alarm. “What happened? Are you alright?” Anakin could barely breathe for a moment, as he felt his training bond flicker and then fade, and for a moment, Anakin was certain that Obi-Wan must be dead for their bond to not just feel blocked but gone. 

Anakin rushed over and dropped to his knees, reaching out to pull up Obi-Wan’s sleeve before he could even think about it. “Master!”

Obi-Wan gave Anakin a small smile, and gently pulled his arm free so that he could get to his feet. “I am alright, padawan, Knight Tross. It would seem that this Without-A-Cure is really quite inconvenient, and I will endeavor to be more careful in the future. Today’s injury is only minor.” Then he just stood there, ignoring his wounded arm, so that he could give Tross his constructive criticism of their duel. 

Anakin hated this so much. Not only was Obi-Wan permanently weakened by that stupid poison, but it also felt horrific when their bond faded like that. If this was going to happen every time the poison acted up, Anakin wasn’t sure how he’d stop himself from being driven crazy with worry for his Master.

When Obi-Wan was finally done talking, he calmly motioned for Anakin to come with him, and they left the training room. Instead of heading back to their apartment, or to the Hall of Healing, Obi-Wan led Anakin to a different wing of apartments, and stopped in front of their destination to knock politely on the door. Anakin furrowed his eyebrows and wondered why they were coming to visit Aayla. 

It slid open a moment later, revealing a bemused looking Knight Vos. Obi-Wan let out a small sigh. “I’m sorry to bother you, Quin, but Without-A-Cure has caused a small problem. Would you be able to help me unblock myself?” 

Vos nodded and stepped back to let the two visitors enter his apartment. Obi-Wan walked over to the couch and sat down, and looked up expectantly at Vos. Vos sat down next to him, and he seemed to be sitting quite close. Anakin narrowed his eyes, then squished in on Obi-Wan’s other side, even though the couch really wasn’t meant to hold three people. 

Vos arched one eyebrow and gave Anakin a long amused look before turning his focus back to Obi-Wan. They shifted slightly so that they could join hands, and then both of them closed their eyes and deepened their breathing, almost like they were just joint meditating. Anakin clenched his hands into fists, and vowed to himself that he would someday be strong enough that he would be able to help Obi-Wan with this, if Anakin hadn’t already figured out the cure by then. 

It felt like ages passed before Anakin could feel his bond with Obi-Wan slowly coming back, and Vos finally took his unworthy hands off of Obi-Wan’s. He stood up, stretching until his back cracked. “Want some caf or something before you go?”

Anakin bit his lip to hold in a snort. Of course Obi-Wan wouldn’t want any, he hated the stuff. It was quite surprising when Obi-Wan actually nodded. “Thank you, that would be nice.” Then he turned to look at Anakin. “I will be alright now, padawan. You may go and continue with your studies.”

The tone of Obi-Wan’s voice made it clear that it was more than just a suggestion, and Anakin frowned. “But Master…” He could see the way Vos kept staring at Obi-Wan, and Anakin was concerned about what might happen if he left the two of them alone together. Still, he did not want to disobey his master, so he heaved out a large sigh, then got up to leave the apartment.

Some practice dueling would probably help Anakin work out some of his frustration, but he was worried that he would go too far. Obi-Wan would probably suggest meditation, but it was useless to do that without his master’s help. There was still another outlet that Anakin could use, however. 

Sending Obi-Wan a quick message to let him know he’d be back in the Temple before dark, Anakin headed out on his swoop bike. He didn’t know of any good races going on at the moment, but even just racing down the streets as fast as he could was so exhilarating. Especially when he had to slam down and go even faster because he could hear the sirens behind him, and Anakin most certainly did not want to deal with getting ticketed.

After a couple of hours, Anakin returned to the Temple feeling much lighter inside, almost as if he was made of air. He carefully stored away his swoop bike, then headed up to the apartment. He found Obi-Wan there, reading something on a datapad. For a moment, Obi-Wan didn’t realize that Anakin had returned, and Anakin got the privilege of seeing all those little expressions that Obi-Wan tended to keep hidden around other people. From the endearing way he wrinkled his nose, Anakin figured that Obi-Wan was reading one of his books, the kind that he refused to let Anakin read for himself. Obi-Wan even muttered under his breath, something about underdeveloped plots and braindead love interests. 

Anakin tried to move quietly into the room, not wanting to disturb Obi-Wan from something he enjoyed? Hated? (Honestly, Anakin could not tell whether Obi-Wan actually liked the books or not, since all he ever seemed to do was complain about them, but he also kept reading new ones, so…) But Obi-Wan must have sensed their bond, and he looked up. “Did you have a fun afternoon?”

Anakin nodded. “Yes, Master.” To his relief, Obi-Wan didn’t actually ask whether he had done anything illegal or not. “I’ll get started on making dinner.” 

It was easy to get lost in the familiar rhythm of cooking, and time passed quickly before it was time to serve. Obi-Wan gave him a fond little smile before eating, and when he assured Anakin that it was as excellent as always, Anakin felt a thrill in his belly before he started eating from his own plate.

Once they were finished, Obi-Wan cleared his throat before Anakin could get up to start gathering the dishes that needed to be washed. “While you were out today, the Council summoned me to assign us a mission.”

Anakin tilted his head curiously. “What is it?”

“Do you recall when we first met?” Obi-Wan asked carefully. Anakin nodded slowly, though he did not like to think of that time, when he had been a slave and had left his mother behind, and had thought he would have the kind Qui-Gon Jinn to teach him, only to be handed to an Obi-Wan that seemed to hate him. But that was all in the past, and he knew that Obi-Wan wouldn’t bring it up for no reason. “You may perhaps recall the young Queen Amidala, whose planet and life you helped save. In more recent years, she has stepped down as queen and is now one of the senators from Naboo. Because of some bills she has been introducing to the Senate, there have been many threats on her life, some which seem quite credible. We have been assigned to act as her bodyguards until the threat can be resolved. Considering how close you were back then, I can imagine that you will work hard to protect her.”

It had been a long time since Anakin had thought of Padme. When he’d first laid eyes on her, he had thought of her as an angel, beautiful and kind and compassionate. The adventure he’d been on back then, though scary, had also been quite thrilling. But he had not seen her again since then. Of course that would not stop him from doing his job, but there was another concern. “Won’t it be dangerous, Master? What if Without-A-Cure…?”

“Do not worry about me, padawan, I can take care of myself,” he assured Anakin. Anakin graciously refrained from arguing. “We will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning.”

,,,

Obi-Wan had been quite surprised when he’d received this particular mission from the Council. Wasn’t this not supposed to happen for another few years? What had sped up the plot, and should he be worried about it?

There wasn’t really anything he could do about it now, though, other than following through with the assignment. Plus, a part of him couldn’t help but feel giddy. Up until she began dating Anakin, when Padme had a sudden drastic decrease in IQ points and also didn’t seem to care that her lover was clearly unhinged, Obi-Wan had thought that Padme was a pretty awesome character. She would have made a great love interest if she hadn’t done a 180 on her personality, but still. Obi-Wan would actually get the chance to see his favorite character meet his future wife and fall in love with her. This mission was going to be great!

[Host is a fucking moron,] the System chimed in moodily. Obi-Wan was in a good enough mood himself that he chose to ignore the insult. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan had to work hard to contain the excitement as the elevator doors slid open with a soft ding. Anakin and Padme’s reunion in the book had been iconic, and not only because of Anakin’s hilariously terrible flirting. (Not that Obi-Wan was by any means an expert on such, but he had read enough bad books to at least know the things that one shouldn’t say to a potential love interest.) But this moment was also a turning point in Anakin’s story, as he finally got someone in his life who truly cared about him and believed in him. Without Padme, Anakin probably would have snapped much sooner. So really, it could only be a good thing that Anakin was meeting her sooner than canon, since it would give her that much more time to be a good influence on the boy. 

Anakin kept giving Obi-Wan weird looks, but Obi-Wan just prodded his padawan into stepping out of the elevator. They found themselves in a nice apartment, though perhaps not as fancy as one would have expected from someone who had once been a literal queen.

Padme stood with an armed handmaiden on either side of her, and she offered a polite smile. “Ah, Master Kenobi, thank you so much for coming. I know that the Jedi have many responsibilities, so I am truly grateful that you are taking the time to protect me.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “It is, of course, the Jedi’s honor to protect the Republic, and that includes you, Senator Amidala. I am not considered a master yet, though, as my padawan is still in training.”

Padme furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Obi-Wan with bemusement, though it was quickly replaced once more with her polite smile. “Of course, Knight Kenobi.” Then she finally looked at Anakin, and Obi-Wan had to fight not to grin like an idiot as he waited for the sparks to start flying. Love at first sight might be a terrible and stupid trope, but the two had actually seen each other before. And besides, Obi-Wan wanted to see Anakin happy, which he knew Padme could help with. Which is why he was utterly surprised when Padme just gave Anakin a small nod. “Padawan Skywalker,” she greeted plainly.

“Senator,” Anakin said with a small bow of the head. Neither of them said anything further to each other, though, and both of them just turned to look at Obi-Wan.

Maybe… maybe Obi-Wan had actually been a good influence and taught Anakin some level of restraint? He hadn’t been very subtle in Way of the Proud Sith Lord when it came to his feelings for Padme. The only reason he hadn’t been caught sooner was just because his master had not cared to pay enough attention to him to even notice something like that. Or maybe it was because the plot had been weirdly fast-forwarded, so the two of them were still too young to think much about those kinds of feelings? Anakin was still a child after all, and Padme was five years older than him so she was already an adult. In fact, it was actually a good thing she wasn’t showing any particular interest in Anakin, since it meant that she wasn’t a pervert.

There would be time to think about all of this later, though. For now, Obi-Wan needed to focus on the assigned task. Of course he already knew who was responsible for the death threats and what kinds of dangers they would throw towards the senator, but Obi-Wan was a little worried that the plot moving forward like this might mean that the details could change, and he didn’t want anyone to get hurt just because he got too cocky in his knowledge of the story.

So he sat down and let Padme and her handmaidens share all the relevant information that they could think of. Once they were done, Obi-Wan turned to his padawan. “This is an excellent learning opportunity, Anakin. Based on everything we’ve just learned, what strategy would you suggest in order to most efficiently guard the senator?”

Anakin seemed surprised for just a moment to be asked his opinion on such a serious matter, but then the surprise slid away and he looked a little smug. It wasn’t really fitting of a Jedi, but Obi-Wan saw no need to point it out while in company, especially right in front of the person he knew that Anakin had a secret crush on. “I would have her handmaidens stick with her at all times, including while she’s sleeping, while you and I would start investigating to figure out who’s actually behind all this,” Anakin finally said.

To be honest, Obi-Wan was a little confused. Why didn’t Anakin offer to stay and protect Padme while Obi-Wan went to investigate? Maybe it really was just because Anakin was simply too young to be thinking of inappropriate things in the first place. Actually, now that he thought about it, Obi-Wan couldn’t recall Anakin in the story ever being given ‘the talk’. It was highly possible that he didn’t even understand any of the things he was feeling at the moment. Obi-Wan resolved to make sure Anakin fully understood it all, but that would have to wait until after this mission. There would be plenty of time for Anakin to get to know Padme better, and even fall in love with her.

“That would be an efficient use of resources.” Obi-Wan reached out to pat Anakin’s head without even thinking about it, but then quickly dropped his hand when he remembered that there were multiple other people in the room. He cleared his throat to continue. “However, the Council sent us here to personally see the senator protected. We were not instructed to leave and investigate.” Though he could understand why Anakin might want to start an investigation, since it would guarantee the senator’s safety much more quickly than just waiting around for something to happen. 

Anakin narrowed his eyes slightly. “But aren’t you the one who told me that the Council isn’t always right about everything?”

Obi-Wan felt his ears heat up, and hoped that they weren’t too visibly pink. “Anakin!” he hissed quietly, tugging gently on their bond to reprimand his padawan. He turned back to look at Padme, who seemed quite shocked by something, though Obi-Wan had no idea what it might be. Maybe just the fact that a padawan was willing to argue with their master and speak against the Council? 

Ultimately, it was decided that both Jedi would stay the night, since that was the most likely time for anything bad to happen, and then they would go from there. Anakin was given the task of wandering the apartment to check for any bombs or traps that may have been planted, though he didn’t seem to want to do that, despite how exciting a task it was. Instead, he just kept popping back into the room where Obi-Wan and Padme were still sitting, looking over the both of them carefully. It wasn’t until about the fifth time that Anakin checked on them that Obi-Wan realized what was happening, and he let out a soft chuckle. Don’t worry protagonist, this old man has no interest in stealing your wife! No need to get so worried about it.

Now that they were mostly alone together, Obi-Wan gave Padme a careful look. Of course he had liked her character in the book, up until her entire personality and IQ had been nerfed, but that didn’t necessarily mean that she was the best match for Anakin now that the storyline was getting changed a little bit. Anakin did deserve only the best, afterall. “How have you been since we last met, senator?” Obi-Wan asked, genuinely interested in getting to know Padme a little better. 

She gave him a strange look. “Ah, it’s been- good. And you look well, Knight Kenobi. Much more grown up now with that beard.” The words should have been teasing, but there was something else in her tone, something that Obi-Wan didn’t quite understand. Almost like he was being tested, though he had no idea why such a thing would happen.

Obi-Wan reached up to stroke said beard. It was one of his favorite things about this body, since in his first life he’d never been able to grow more than a weird patchy mess when he tried. “Thank you. You are looking well yourself. How is life as a senator treating you?” 

He didn’t understand why Padme hesitated to answer, but it did give Anakin time to return to the room and announce, “I’ve checked everywhere and I haven’t found anything suspicious.” Then he all but dragged Obi-Wan off so that they could discuss sleeping accommodations, and Obi-Wan glanced back to give Padme a little shrug as if to say, ‘what can you do?’

,,,

Anakin had volunteered to take the first shift so that Obi-Wan could get some rest, but Obi-Wan chose to simply meditate instead. It would be easier to drag himself out of if something were to happen, and it meant that Obi-Wan wouldn’t have to deal with some of the more disturbing dreams that had been plaguing him recently. 

So he was aware enough to feel the jolt of alarm that flared through the bond, and Obi-Wan leapt to his feet. He heard the sound of glass breaking from inside Padme’s bedroom, and he hurried inside the already opened door. Anakin was already there, swinging his lightsaber to deflect the shots being fired by a masked figure on a droid hovering just outside, providing enough of a distraction for Padme to grab her own blaster.

Seeing that they were outnumbered, the assassin turned to fly away. Currently this was the biggest lead they had, and Obi-Wan refused to lose it. In the book, it had taken the original goods ages to make all the proper connections to start figuring out what was happening, and it had led to multiple instances of Padme’s life being endangered and Anakin flinging himself in the way to protect her. Obi-Wan already knew the answers, but he did not want to see his padawan get unnecessarily hurt.

So Obi-Wan didn’t hesitate, he just threw himself through the window, using the force to guide him onto the nearest vehicle, ignoring the shock of alarm that he felt coming from Anakin. Obi-Wan continued jumping from roof to roof, trying to focus on using the force to guide him towards the assassin.

Unfortunately, Without-A-Cure picked the perfect moment to strike, right as Obi-Wan was midair between two lanes of traffic. He cursed his rotten luck as he started to plummet, certain that he was about to die considering how high off the ground he was. So he was quite relieved to land messily in the backseat of a speeder, wind knocked out of him for a moment.

Obi-Wan got up and saw that it was of course Anakin who was driving. “Master, don’t do that again!” he demanded, sounding petulantly childish.

Obi-Wan couldn’t help smiling fondly as he climbed into the front passenger seat and did his best to straighten up his robes and finger comb his wind-tossed hair. “I apologize dear one, but it did seem like the best option. It would have been if it weren’t for-”

“Without-A-Cure,” Anakin hissed, his voice sounding nearly as poisonous as the affliction itself. Rather than continuing to drive along at top speeds to chase after the assassin, which is what Anakin should have done to fulfill his duty, Anakin slowly took the speeder down to the ground and landed somewhere safe. He turned and reached out to grab Obi-Wan’s hands. “Let me help you,” he all but begged.

The problem wasn’t so much that Obi-Wan doubted Anakin’s intentions, but that Anakin was still young and learning, and Obi-Wan didn’t want the boy to get injured while trying to help. “It would take too long,” Obi-Wan finally decided. “We must continue pursuing the assassin before they can get away. Once that is dealt with, we can return to the Temple. I will be fine in the meantime, I promise.”

Anakin shook his head, and looked at Obi-Wan with wide, watery eyes. “Master, you don’t understand. When you’re affected by the poison, our bond feels like it’s gone, like you’re dead. I can’t focus on anything else, I can’t- Just please let me help you Master, please. I promise that I can do this!”

The boy sounded so earnest, and there was a small chance that they would still be able to catch up to the assassin even if they took this extra time. So Obi-Wan finally nodded, and was happy to see the teary look go away. Obi-Wan didn’t like to see Anakin looking so upset. Which made sense, since Anakin had been his favorite character, afterall.

They meditated together, and it felt much different than usual. When Quin helped Obi-Wan with this, Quin would meditate first and then slowly draw Obi-Wan into it until Obi-Wan was able to get past where the poison blocked him from the Force. But since Anakin couldn’t really meditate on his own, Obi-Wan still had to lead the exercise, even if it didn’t do much for him. It was still enough for Anakin to get into the right headspace, though. But unlike Quin’s gentle coaxing, it felt more like Anakin reached out and grabbed Obi-Wan to drag him past the blockage. It was much quicker, but more shocking, and he opened his eyes as he let out a loud gasp. Whether it was because of their training bond or just because Anakin was the protagonist, nobody could deny the power of this boy. 

And since the process had taken hardly any time at all, Anakin restarted the engine and took off back in the direction the assassin had last been seen. As they raced down the road, Anakin kept his eyes firmly ahead, which was unusual for him. Normally he would keep glancing over to talk with Obi-Wan. Maybe he was just distracted from his concern over Padme. “Master?” he asked suddenly. 

“Hm?”

Anakin frowned as he continued to concentrate on his driving, which felt a little less reckless than it was always described in the book. “What does WTF mean?”

Obi-Wan blinked a couple of times, then frowned. “What? Where did you hear that?” So many ordinary words had been replaced with nonsense made up ones in the book, as if that somehow improved on the world building or made the book more immersive as a sci-fi story (which it definitely did not, you hack author!). Obi-Wan refused to integrate that nonsense into his vocabulary anymore than necessary, but he was still careful not to use the IRL equivalents out loud where anyone could hear him. One of those words was ‘fuck’, which as far as Obi-Wan knew, did not exist in this universe. (Which had led to him accidentally letting Anakin get away with more swearing than intended, since Obi-Wan’s brain didn’t register kark or kriff as vulgarities right away.) And since the word ‘fuck’ did not seem to exist here, it was logical to follow that WTF should not either. 

Anakin shrugged one shoulder. “The senator shouted it when you jumped out the window.” He clenched the steering wheel tighter at the mention of Obi-Wan’s dive. Obi-Wan barely noticed, though, because he was far too distracted by the implications of what Anakin had just so innocently said.

Chapter Text

When it came down to it, Way of the Proud Sith Lord had been written for the sake of earning money. Of course that had not been the original intention. The author of the novel, going by the online username Airplane27738, had started writing the novel because of a genuine wish to share an interesting and somewhat unique story. But at a certain point, it became clear that the type of people reading Airplane’s story were not the ones who would have been expected to, and the things they wished to see were different from what Airplane had planned on writing. In the end, though, the author needed to eat and pay rent, so it made sense to just write what the people expected. Which was mostly a bloody, overly dramatic, revenge fueled power fantasy. At first it had pained Airplane to write it, but at a certain point, paying the bills became more important than artistic integrity.

The last thing the author expected was to get hit by a car just hours after posting the final chapter to the story, not giving any time to even read the final reviews. Or maybe that was the second to last thing. The very last thing the author expected was to wake up as a toddler in an all too familiar world- familiar because she had written it herself.

Becoming Padme Amidala was not too great of a hardship- as a princess she was treated well, and she never had to worry about where her next meal was coming from the way she had in her previous life. And all of the politics made sense to her because she had been the one to think of it all. 

But the longer that Padme grew up in this world, the more she realized that it was all so much more vast than anything she’d envisioned while writing. Ideas from lost drafts seemed to have all made it in, along with many things that were entirely unique.

It was not all fun and games, of course. While Padme had some leeway, she was also beholden to a cruel System that prevented her from deviating too far from the original plot. Many times she had questioned what the point was in being here if she could not actually help fix the broken story, but the System only ever gave cryptically teasing responses. 

At least there was one thing Padme knew for sure she could change, and she would be relieved to do so: the protagonist’s infatuation with her. She had spent so much time working on Anakin’s character that it was difficult not to think of him almost like a son. And besides that, Padme had no interest in being with such an unstable, insecure manbaby who only knew how to solve problems with violence. So when she first met him on Tatooine as a child, she did her best to remain cordial but distant. 

After Naboo had been saved, Padme all but forgot about Anakin, at least as much as she could with the System constantly breathing down her neck. She threw herself into her work, and found that she actually quite enjoyed it. Clearly she had missed her calling in her previous life, considering how much she had hated writing by the time she was finished with that accursed book. (Of course, it probably helped that she already knew exactly what she needed to do to put pressure on each opponent she encountered.)

Since the System had no problems with it, Padme was happy to move to Coruscant full time to continue her work as a senator. She would have probably been content to remain like that for quite a while, but of course she should have known that the plot would advance forward to match the pace she was moving at. Oh well. At least she could be fairly certain that her character was not destined to die as long as she avoided making an enemy of Anakin.

It had been just six years since Padme had last seen Anakin, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now that man was a real piece of work. He hadn’t been too terrible back then, but that was only because he hadn’t yet had any real reason to resent the young protagonist so thoroughly. 

She knew it would be a much different situation now, after years of him training Anakin. Padme actually felt quite guilty that she hadn’t been able to save Anakin from this path, but the System had made it clear that the poor boy had to train under Obi-Wan. 

After preparing herself for the worst, expecting to see a horribly abused child and a cold, smug man, Padme was quite surprised to find that everything was different than expected. Obi-Wan was charming and caring, and from the enamored looks Anakin kept sending his master, it was clear that it was not just a ruse to wear in front of strangers. He also did not seem at all bothered by his rank of Knight, even though in the book he had tried many times to have Anakin knighted early, both to potentially get Anakin harmed if he was sent out on missions on his own, and to give Obi-Wan himself the title of Master. Padme was no fool, and she realized almost immediately what this had to surely mean- the man who had just so brashly jumped out of her window was not Obi-Wan Kenobi at all.

,,,

Of course Padme was not surprised to hear that the assassin had been killed before any questions could be asked. She could only hope that everyone assumed she was in shock at the news, though, and not that she didn’t care. It was just difficult to pay attention to the plot when she was busy staring at Obi-Wan. Was he someone in disguise? Was the real Obi-Wan Kenobi dead or missing? Was this man like Padme? He also seemed to keep staring at Padme in a way that he had not been before, and she wondered what could have happened during the chase scene that would make him look at her like that.

More frightening, though, was the way that Anakin noticed Padme and Obi-Wan staring at each other. She was pretty sure that Anakin had not shown any of his canonical signs of interest in her, and surely he would be capable of having a crush even if he was still only a boy. Which meant that he was not jealous over Padme, but over his master. Which was a complete mind-fuck, considering everything she had written about their relationship. And yet it was also very obvious that things had gone differently between them this time.

Padme should probably ask more about the assassin, even though she already knew everything that mattered (it had been many years since she had woken up in this world, but as soon as she was able to, she had written down everything important that she could remember about the plot, and it was stored on a secure datapad that she still checked periodically to this day). 

But before she could, Obi-Wan opened his mouth. “Airplane27738,” he stated calmly.

Padme’s eyes widened at the confirmation that Obi-Wan was like her, and that he had come from her world, where all of this was just supposed to be a dumb book with some intense fans. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the confusion on Anakin and her handmaiden’s faces, but she was too busy looking at Obi-Wan in relief. Even though she had not had too many issues navigating through this world, there was something nice about knowing that she wasn’t in this alone. “You’re a fan!” she exclaimed in delight. Then she cleared her throat and forced herself to relax, not wanting to be seen as acting too strange, at least not in front of so many other people.

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes slightly, then gave her a pleasant smile. “I would not call myself such, no.”

“But you are a reader?”

“Unfortunately. And I suppose you are a reader as well?”

Padme blinked a few times, then realized that Obi-Wan must have only used her pen name instead of the title because he didn’t want to be throwing the word ‘sith’ around in this setting, and not because he knew that she was the author. So he was an anti-fan, big deal. It’s not like disliking her writing meant anything now that both of them were trapped in this world anyways, so she had no problem clarifying that she was, in fact, the one who had somehow created this world. “I do my fair share of reading, but I’m really more of a writer.” 

Obi-Wan’s face went blank, and she knew that he understood. Before Obi-Wan could respond to the revelation, though, Anakin reached out and actually tugged on Obi-Wan’s sleeve. Padme had to resist the urge to pinch herself to make sure that this wasn’t some bizarre fever dream causing the main characters to act so strangely out of character. “Master, shouldn’t we report to the Council about the assassin?” 

Any possible sign of annoyance faded, replaced with a fond little smile as Obi-Wan turned to Anakin. “I am shocked, padawan. You, of all people, actually wish to make a report to the Council? Are my teachings finally sinking in?”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “I do actually listen to you sometimes, Master,” he muttered. 

Obi-Wan let out a soft chuckle, then he looked back and forth between Padme and Anakin. There was a gleam in his eyes that Padme did not trust at all as he focused on his padawan again. “Since I know what a chore you consider reports, why don’t you stay here and keep an eye on the senator to make sure nobody returns to finish the job. I will inform the Council on everything that has happened.” 

Anakin frowned. “But Master-”

Obi-Wan ignored his padawan so that he could give Padme a pointed look. “Just don’t forget how fast things have moved around here, and how some people are still too young for certain things.”

Padme stood there awkwardly, not sure of how to communicate that she had absolutely no interest in Anakin, now or in the future. There wasn’t really any way to say that without the witnesses in the room catching on to a few things, so she just bowed her head once. “Of course, Knight Kenobi.” 

After giving her a long look, Obi-Wan nodded, apparently satisfied that Padme was not going to try and seduce the underaged padawan, and then he swept off despite Anakin’s whining. Padme just hoped that Obi-Wan hadn’t done that because the System forced him to, since that would mean that she still had to marry Anakin, which she really, really did not want to do.

Once his master was gone, Anakin looked at Padme more fully, and there was suspicion and jealousy clear in his eyes. If Obi-Wan was trying to change this story, then he really was not doing a good job of persuading Anakin to follow the Jedi Code and forsake attachments. 

,,,

Anakin couldn’t help trying to observe Padme as he followed her around her apartment. For one thing, this whole assassination business seemed like there was something very off about it. Why would a bounty hunter hire an assassin? But also, Anakin was trying to figure out what was so special about Padme that had grabbed so much of Obi-Wan’s attention. 

It clearly had something to do with the strange thing she’d said after Obi-Wan had jumped out the window (and boy was that image going to be visiting Anakin’s nightmares for a while). But even before that, Obi-Wan had been looking at her and she had been looking at him as well. It burned at something inside him to be reminded of the fact that Obi-Wan still saw Anakin as a child. And Padme was pretty enough, so what if Obi-Wan…?

Anakin quickly shook the thought aside. Obi-Wan was as close to being a perfect Jedi as someone could get, so there was no way that he would break the Code just for some senator that he’d only met once before. But that didn’t mean that Padme wouldn’t try anything. 

Trying to search up ‘WTF’ to figure out what language it was had come up with nothing, which left Anakin with no other clues to go off of. Based on the strange conversation Obi-Wan and the senator had shared, the only thing the two seemed to have in common was that they liked to read. Maybe Padme liked to read the kinds of books that Obi-Wan always refused to let Anakin look at? But that still didn’t really make sense, since how would they know about their shared interest if they hadn’t talked to each other over the past six years?

With his thoughts going in constant circles, Anakin found himself getting more frustrated by how long it was taking Obi-Wan to get back here. He tried to release his emotions into the Force, but of course he was no good at that. He just didn’t understand. Why had Obi-Wan even left Anakin here in the first place? Surely the people trying to kill Padme wouldn’t be foolish enough to make another attempt after they had just been stopped, right?

Padme must have picked up on the tension radiating out of Anakin, because she tried to pull him into a conversation to distract him. “You’ve truly grown so much since I last saw you. Tell me honestly, how has your time with the Jedi been treating you?”

It was unfortunately difficult to hate the senator when she genuinely seemed to care. And he knew that Obi-Wan would be disappointed in him if he were to be rude to her. So he would answer her questions and be polite.

Anakin did his best to avoid thinking about those first few years, before he’d managed to prove himself worthy of training to Obi-Wan. He also did not like to think of how many times Obi-Wan had been injured because of him. Anakin would much rather focus on the positive experiences he’d had. “It has been good,” he told her honestly. “I’ve learned much under my master, who is an excellent teacher. And I have been to so many places and seen so many things that I never would have gotten the chance to see if I had stayed on Tatooine.” He also did his best not to think about the mother he had left behind and not seen or heard from since then. 

Padme smiled gently. “I was so happy for you back then, when Master Jinn helped free you, but I admit that I was a little concerned about how you’d fare with the Jedi. You were such a wild child, afterall. And Knight Kenobi was so young and inexperienced-”

Despite what he’d already decided, Anakin couldn’t stop himself from interrupting the senator and snapping, “My master is perfect!” 

Padme blinked a few times, and nodded slowly. “Of course. I’m glad that he has been good to you.” 

Anakin grimaced. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…” he trailed off, and made a mental note to speak to his shadowy teacher in his dreams. He was meant to focus on his anger to help make him more powerful, but Anakin did not want to hurt the people around him every time his feelings got out of control. It was bad enough to snap at Padme, but he especially didn’t want to hurt Obi-Wan. That would have to wait until the next time he slept, though. For now, he would just try to avoid talking more with Padme. 

Chapter Text

As Obi-Wan walked away from the Council chambers, he tried to figure out how differently the story was going to go now that everything seemed completely off the rails. He’d been tasked with investigating things further, but unlike in the original novel, Anakin was still a child and still his padawan, so of course Anakin would be coming with him. But then how was Anakin going to have enough time to fall in love with the senator if he didn’t escort her home?

Thinking of Anakin falling in love with that woman made Obi-Wan scowl. It was one thing when it had been about the original Padme Amidala, which Obi-Wan could support (even if he wasn’t a big fan of the underage aspect). But it was instead that stupid hack author in the body of Anakin’s future wife. Begrudgingly, Obi-Wan could acknowledge that Airplane probably had no more control over her placement in this world than he did, but still. 

It definitely seemed unfair that Obi-Wan was stuck as the child-abusing scum of a villain (though he was pretty sure that he was succeeding at changing his role into that of a wise old mentor instead) while the author slipped in as a literal queen and someone whose husband was endlessly devoted to her. “I deserve a refund for this,” Obi-Wan grumbled.

[No refunds or store credit available!] the System chimed in. [However, Host can purchase one of several amazing prizes from the gift shop.]

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What gift shop? You’ve never mentioned a gift shop before. And I don’t have that many credits; surprisingly being a Jedi is not a great way to earn money.”

[Credits are not a valid currency in the gift shop! Host can, however, earn and spend Protagonist Satisfaction Points, or PSP for short. Host has already accumulated 355 PSP.]

Suddenly remembering the time when the System had offered him something else to buy, he perked up. He doubted any of the available prizes would be anything but a scam, but what if he could buy his way out of the plot point that he was dreading more than anything? “System, can I spend my points to avoid Mustafar?”

[‘The Duel on Mustafar’ is an unavoidable main mission,] the System responded automatically. Obi-Wan’s shoulders slumped down, but then the System continued. [Because Host has been performing so well, this System has been authorized to offer a deal. Main mission- ‘The Duel on Mustafar’ may be avoided for the low price of 10,000 PSP.]

For just a moment, Obi-Wan was foolish enough to feel relieved. But then it registered with him what the System had just said, and he could imagine cartoonish smoke blowing out of his ears from his anger. “Are you serious?? 10,000?? If I’ve only earned 350 so far, then it would take me thirty years to save up enough at this rate! What the hell is wrong with you, offering me something like that when you know there’s no chance of success??”

He was so pissed that he forgot to pay much attention to his surroundings, and was dragged out of the frustrating conversation by a familiar voice. “Hey there, Obi-Wan. Everything okay?”

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, then did his best to release his anger into the Force, and then gave Quinlon a genial smile. “Yes, of course. I was merely pondering on something, but it is of no importance now.”

Quinlon narrowed his eyes, but didn’t call Obi-Wan a liar, which was good enough. “Well, it’s good I bumped into you. Me and the kid are heading out now, and we probably won’t be able to make contact with the Temple for a month or two, so I wanted to make sure that you wouldn’t get too worried.”

“As if I need to worry about you,” Obi-Wan said without thinking. He just figured that since it was already past the point where Quinlon was supposed to die, so Obi-Wan decided to interpret that as meaning Quinlon now had some amount of plot armor, especially since he had established himself as someone who could help Obi-Wan with Without-A-Cure. 

Quinlon obviously interpreted that statement a little differently, and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to leave you, the greatest user of Soresu and one of the most talented Jedi of our generation, all on your own here. Who knows what could happen to you. Though I’m sure your padawan wouldn’t mind at all if I never returned.”

Obi-Wan arched one eyebrow. “Now what are you talking about?”

Quinlon just laughed. “I’d tell you, but me and Aayla have already placed bets, and I wouldn’t want to lose. Well, take care of yourself Obi-Wan. And try not to jump out of any more windows, okay?”

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened. “What? How did you-?”

“You of all people should know how fast word travels around here. There’s nobody more gossipy than a bunch of Jedi.” He was still laughing as he walked away, leaving Obi-Wan to just shake his head. 

He continued to think about his dilemma as he made his way out of the Temple. “Hey System, for the new love storyline, does Anakin have to fall in love with Padme now, or can he still wait until he’s older? And the fact that she’s actually the author instead of herself- will that change how he feels about her? I just want to make sure I’m keeping things on track.” Surely falling in love would be very satisfying, and maybe it would be possible for Obi-Wan to get 10,000 points before that pivotal moment that he was dreading. 

[...]

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows. “What is it now? Aren’t you here to help me? Can’t you at least pretend to answer my questions?”

A new type of alert popped up. [System is currently in sleep mode.]

Obi-Wan scowled. “I know you’re not actually asleep.”

[You know no such thing.] 

Obi-Wan would have let out a screech of rage if it weren’t for the fact that there would be too many witnesses to such a thing. For now, he settled for vividly imagining himself smashing a computer to pieces, the exact way he would in a heartbeat if the System was ever physically in front of him.

,,,

“I’ve done some research,” Obi-Wan explained carefully. “Some of it of the more unusual variety. But it has unfortunately not led to much yet. First we will make sure that Senator Amidala returns safely to her home planet, and then you and I will continue the investigation.” 

Anakin was relieved that they would be sticking together. Not that he thought that Obi-Wan would intentionally leave him behind, but he knew that Obi-Wan would most likely do whatever the Council told him to, and Anakin knew that the Council couldn’t be trusted to always make the best decisions. The Council had never really trusted Anakin anyways, and hadn’t wanted him to be a Jedi, so he wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to save their perfect Jedi from him. But Anakin was more than happy to stick together- both because he wanted to spend as much time with Obi-Wan as possible, and because he needed to be there to make sure that Obi-Wan wouldn’t get himself killed. Not to mention that he didn’t trust the senator alone with Obi-Wan, not when they’d both already had a weird instant connection (that mostly involved staring at each other when they didn’t think that the other was looking).

Things were a bit hectic after boarding the ship that would take them to Naboo, as everyone settled in and the course was properly computed and then it was time to wave farewell to Coruscant for now. Anakin always preferred to be off the planet, where he always felt so weighed down. Everytime he left, it felt like he was finally able to breathe again, even if he tended to get used to it when he spent a long time there. 

When Padme reached out to touch Obi-Wan’s arm as she thanked him for his help, Anakin’s good mood fell away, and he struggled not to glare at the poor woman. Obi-Wan seemed to have noticed Anakin’s thoughts, though, because he looked over, and Anakin dropped his head in shame. A proper Jedi would not be so possessive, but Anakin couldn’t help it. Obi-Wan was his Master. His. 

Accepting that he deserved some kind of discipline for his behavior, Anakin followed Obi-Wan back to the quarters they were sharing on the ship. Obi-Wan gave him a long, thoughtful look, and then suddenly hit Anakin full force with that charming grin of his. Anakin could feel his heart thudding away in his chest, and he was very grateful for how much his loose robes could disguise. 

He opened his mouth to apologize, or to say anything else Obi-Wan might want him to say- anything so long as it would keep that smile focused on him for a little longer. But Obi-Wan spoke first, clearly not suffering from a sudden case of dry mouth the way Anakin was. “You are getting older now, Anakin, and I’m sure you’re aware of some of the changes that come with aging. You have learnt about the biological changes in your classes, but there are also other matters that the Jedi are less likely to speak of.” The brilliant grin faded away, though Obi-Wan still seemed to be radiating positive feelings through the bond. “As you grow, it is very possible that you will experience certain, er, feelings, for another person.” 

Anakin could feel his cheeks heat up as they turned bright red. He was mortified by the thought that Obi-Wan was able to get through the tangled knot of ideas that ran through Anakin’s head. Even Anakin didn’t understand his reactions half the time, and he really didn’t want Obi-Wan to know.

But Obi-Wan continued on, not seeming disturbed in the slightest. “Of course the Jedi Code forbids attachment, but what you may not understand is the reason why. To be attached to anyone or anything could lead to harm when one puts that attachment above everything else. Or if one is so afraid of losing their attachments that they are willing to do anything to keep them. The Code is strict to prevent those extremes, but…” Obi-Wan trailed off, and looked uncharacteristically hesitant. Anakin forgot all of his concerns, and waited with bated breath. He somehow knew that whatever Obi-Wan said today would be one of the most important moments of Anakin’s life. “The rigidity of the Code is for everyone’s safety, but that does not mean that it is always fair or just. I only ask that you keep that in mind when making your decisions going forward.” 

Anakin felt his jaw drop, and he didn’t do anything to hide his shock. Obi-Wan, his master and the epitome of perfection in a Jedi, believed that the Code was not always right? Since he had first become Obi-Wan’s padawan, Anakin had constantly been lectured about his inability to follow the Code, but now Obi-Wan was blatantly telling him that the Code could be wrong? This was major, this was huge, this was- this was- Anakin didn’t even know what this was. 

There was a line of pink across the tops of Obi-Wan’s cheeks, like he was embarrassed to have told Anakin something so important. Anakin didn’t even care about that, he just leapt up and pulled Obi-Wan into a hug, waiting patiently for Obi-Wan to return the gesture, and also preferably pat the top of his head. 

Obi-Wan allowed the affection to last for a few moments longer than Anakin would have expected before he pulled away, clearing his throat a few times. He clasped his hands together behind his back and stood with perfect posture, as if to make up for his previous lapse. “You are old enough now to make many of your own choices, and I trust that you will do so safely and with as much care as possible.” Anakin nodded, though he barely paid attention to the words, too excited by the thought that maybe someday… Well, he didn’t want to jinx anything. But he could certainly hope for the best until then, since Obi-Wan didn’t think that Anakin was a bad Jedi for having attachments. 

,,,

Alas, the good mood from the day was not to last, as Anakin struggled to escape the nightmare he was trapped in. He could see his mother calling out for help, reaching out for him, but no matter how much Anakin stretched, he could never reach far enough. She was dying right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do-!

It wasn’t until she was dead that Anakin was able to race forward, cradling her broken body on his lap and sobbing. And then finally the dream disappeared into the vague background that his dream teacher liked to use. Anakin looked up at the shadowy figure, eyes burning. “What-?”

“My dear boy, I do believe that the Force is trying to tell you something. There are many Force-sensitives who are gifted, or cursed, with visions of the future. I tried to end your dream sooner, but I could not, which tells me that the Force willed you to see it.”

Anakin’s eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. “No, it can’t be. My mother, she…” Her face had not been very clear in the nightmare- or vision- since he had not seen her since he was a child. But he had always kept it in the back of his mind that he would someday return to Tatooine and free all of the slaves, including his mother. “Is there any way to know how much time I have?”

The shadow sadly shook his head. “I’m afraid not. It could happen tomorrow, or years from now. I would advise you to act quickly if you wish to prevent what you have seen.” Then the shadow let out a soft noise. “Ah, but you are stuck. If you were to leave to rescue your mother, which is surely the right thing to do, then your master will undoubtedly report you to the Council. They already distrust you so much, and this will only further prove to them why they should doubt you.”

Anakin sniffled, even though he was really too old to be crying like this. “You think they’re right to doubt me?”

“Of course not, my boy, of course not! But it is all too easy to imagine what they would say. That you are governed by your attachments, and that you should not be trained as a Jedi, despite the fact that you have better intentions than all of the Jedi on the Council put together.”

Anakin squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to think about how much the Council hated him. Had always hated him. “Then what do I do?”

A tendril of the shadow swirled out and gently rested on Anakin’s shoulder, and it would be almost like a comforting hand if it weren’t for the violent chills it sent through his body. “You must do the right thing regardless of what the Jedi think of it. And of course, you needn’t worry too much, for I will always be here to guide you.” 

The dream faded away, and Anakin slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. He rolled over onto his side, curling up as he did. He peered across the small room to where Obi-Wan was sleeping, mouth opened just a little bit, and letting out a soft snore every few minutes. 

If Anakin left without permission, then Obi-Wan would certainly be worried about him, but what if it was just the last straw, and Obi-Wan decided that it was too much effort to be Anakin’s master? Or what if he informed the Council because of his concern, and the Council punished him by kicking him out of the Order? The last thing Anakin wanted was to be ripped away from Obi-Wan’s side. But he also could not just stand around and let his mother die when there was a chance that he could prevent it. Why else would the Force have given him that vision if not to help him change the outcome?

Then Anakin thought about everything Obi-Wan had told him during the day. What if there was another option, one besides just running away or staying put? If Obi-Wan truly believed what he’d said, that not all attachments were bad, then maybe, just maybe, there was another way out of this.

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan found that it was much harder to corner someone on a ship than one would have expected. It’s not even like it was a massive ship, but there were just too many nosy people everywhere around him. Either that or Padme was avoiding him, which was honestly equally likely. But Obi-Wan really wanted to talk to her as soon as possible. He’d barely had any time to come to terms with the fact that she was literally the author of this terribly written novel that they were trapped in, and he certainly had a thing or two to say to her.

Trying to do anything on his own was not helped by the fact that Anakin was acting even stickier than usual, clinging to Obi-Wan’s side like he was afraid his master would vanish if he were to look away for even a moment. There was obviously something bothering the boy, but Obi-Wan had learned by now that pushing for answers never ended well- it was always best to just wait until Anakin was ready to talk. Unfortunately, sometimes his character from the original story came through, and Anakin seemed to refuse discussing anything of any importance. 

Maybe it was just that Anakin didn’t want to confide in Obi-Wan specifically? What if he actually wanted to find Padme alone just as much as Obi-Wan did, though for very different reasons? That would make sense, though it wouldn’t explain the padawan’s inability to leave Obi-Wan’s side.

Fortunately, on the second day of travel, one of Padme’s handmaidens asked Anakin to spar. Being incapable of refusing a challenge, Anakin had agreed and gone off with the woman. He’d glanced back a few times, though Obi-Wan wasn’t sure what his padawan wanted, so he just nodded encouragingly. Anakin drooped a bit, but still followed the handmaiden.

With Anakin and one of the handmaidens occupied, Obi-Wan figured that this would be his best opportunity, so he closed his eyes and concentrated on using the Force to find Padme. She was not Force-sensitive herself, but she had a very distinct feeling to her, perhaps caused by being a fellow imposter. 

He found her in the mess, papers spread out in front of her on the table. She was looking over them seriously, and it occurred to Obi-Wan for the first time that she’s had to actually fulfill all of the politics that her character was meant to be doing. The fact that she’d managed to do so, as well as doing it even faster than canon, meant that she had to be at least some level of competent. It still didn’t mean she was a good author, of course! just that she might have at least some talent in certain areas.

She only looked up after Obi-Wan cleared his throat a couple of times, and then she sighed. “Really? You want to do this now?”

There were only a couple of other people in the mess and they were all far enough away that they would not be able to overhear a quiet conversation over the sound of the ship itself. So Obi-Wan slid into the seat across from Padme and stared at her. “So you’re Airplane then, right?”

Padme hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Yes. And you’re an anti-fan?”

“I suppose you could say that. I’m not sure how anyone who read that trash heap of a story could feel any differently. Loose plot threads that never get explained, repetitive story beats, smart characters suddenly losing all of their IQ when around the protagonist, turning Anakin into the villain instead of giving him therapy after all the abuse you put him through, convoluted ideas that do nothing to aid in the world building, having him not care at all that his mentor was evil all along. A dog with a typewriter could sneeze out better stuff than a ridiculous excuse for a writer like you-!” 

Padme cut him off, and Obi-Wan realized that he’d been getting louder and louder as he’d started ranting about the many aspects of the story he had disliked. Rather than looking discouraged by all of his extremely valid criticism, Padme actually looked somewhat intrigued. “Hang on, I think I recognize this rant. You wouldn’t happen to be Peerless Negotiator, would you?”

Obi-Wan stiffened slightly at hearing his screen name said out loud like that. It was very strange, since he’d never said it out loud in his previous life, and now that he was here, there was even more of a disconnect. “What of it?” he asked somewhat defensively.

Padme let out a loud laugh, then quickly glanced around to make sure no one was looking before she quieted. “I don’t believe this. Of all the people to be stuck in this situation, it’s you. The guy who bought and read every new chapter I wrote, and then wrote what seemed like entire essays in the comments about how much you hated it. I must have made half my fortune off of you alone! You know, in a way I almost looked forward to reading your comments. None of my other readers seemed to care even half as much about the story as you.”

“I didn’t care about the story at all, that was the point of those comments,” Obi-Wan reminded her.

Padme just gave him a knowing look that made him shift uncomfortably in his seat. “I don’t think anyone could be considered to be nearly as invested as you were. If you really hated the story so much, why would you keep reading it?”

Obi-Wan scowled at the reminder of his bad life choices. If it weren’t for that stupid book, he wouldn’t have died in the first place. “I was holding out hope,” he admitted gruffly. “The beginning was actually quite intriguing, and the quality of the writing itself wasn’t too bad. I wanted to see Anakin succeed, and rise above everything he’d been through. But then you turned it into a never ending dumpster fire of poorly conceived plot points and-” He abruptly stopped talking when he felt something through his bond with Anakin. “I’m being summoned. But we certainly have more to talk about.”

“Looking forward to it,” Padme answered dryly.

Obi-Wan sighed, then got up and followed the excited tugging on the training bond. He reached the small gym and stepped inside. Most of the equipment had been pushed towards the walls, leaving a decent space in the center of the room for sparring. Anakin and the handmaiden were both looking a little sweaty and tired, but Anakin perked up as soon as he spotted Obi-Wan. “Master! You have to watch our first bout! I’m getting so good against Sabe!”

Obi-Wan tried, but could not refrain from smiling fondly. “Very well, then. Let’s see how much you have been progressing.” 

Anakin grinned, and then turned to properly bow to Sabe, who bowed in return. Then the both of them started circling around each other, both holding a long wooden stick. Obi-Wan already knew that one of Anakin’s biggest weaknesses in this sort of fight was impatience, and sure enough, Anakin got fed up with circling and charged forward, beginning the fight in earnest.

Impressed with Anakin’s skill, Obi-Wan could only pick out a few minor critiques that he made a mental note to bring up during their next training session. For now, though, he allowed himself to feel proud of Anakin, and to let that feeling travel through their bond.

Anakin stumbled slightly, and Obi-Wan sharpened his eyes, trying to spot an uneven piece of metal on the floor or any other hazard, but he didn’t spot anything. Hopefully Anakin’s earlier days of being so clumsy that he constantly stumbled into Obi-Wan weren’t returning here. 

Then Obi-Wan glanced over and saw that Padme had just entered the room, and her presence had probably distracted Anakin. Padme seemed to be paying more attention to Sabe than Anakin, but Obi-Wan figured that that made sense, since she was so much older than him, considering the fact that she had presumably been a grown adult before dying and waking up in this world. 

A sharp nudge to the side from Padme drew Obi-Wan from his thoughts, and she nodded towards the fight. Obi-Wan focused back on it, and noticed Anakin glowering, the light and joyful feelings in the bond becoming staticky and sharp. Obi-Wan watched carefully, but didn’t notice anything else weird during the fight, and eventually it was over. 

Neither of them had been knocked to the floor or pinned down or disarmed, but they both seemed to mutually decide that the spar would end in a draw, and they both stepped back and gave each other a final bow. “Excellent form as always,” Padme said warmly. It took Obi-Wan a moment to realize that the senator was speaking to her handmaiden and not to Anakin.

Not wanting to be outdone, Obi-Wan quickly added, “It was a fine fight, padawan. You have improved much lately.” And of course he knew why- because Anakin wanted to impress Padme. But whatever the motivation, Obi-Wan was just happy to know that his student would be able to defend himself properly if he ended up in a dangerous situation.

Much to Obi-Wan’s surprise, Anakin bounded towards him and looked up to meet his eyes. “Master, can we practice some meditation now?”

Obi-Wan blinked once, bemused, but nodded. While he would have liked to get more time to interrogate Padme, Obi-Wan would never prioritize her over Anakin. So he and Anakin made their way back to their room, and sat down on the floor across from each other. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, then scrunched his nose. “Perhaps you should shower first, padawan.” He cracked his eyes open just a slit. “Even I find it difficult to concentrate through the stench.” Anakin pouted, but he did head into the bathroom to quickly clean up. When he returned, for some reason, there seemed to be a much more somber mood in the air, and Obi-Wan’s mirth was replaced with concern. “Anakin? Is everything alright?” 

Anakin fidgeted with his hands, and continued to stand over Obi-Wan instead of sitting down. “Master, I- I need to talk with you about something important. But I worry about what you might say.”

Immediately Obi-Wan’s mind started running through all of the possible plot points that this could be related to. It was hard to narrow it down, though, especially since Padme had forced things to move quicker than they were supposed to. “I hope you know that you can tell me anything,” said Obi-Wan seriously. “Whatever it is, I promise to do my best to understand.”

It was hard to figure out exactly what emotions were coming through the bond, something thick and dark but unnameable. Anakin gulped, then finally sank back down to the ground, crossing his legs. He bent forward to stare at the ground rather than look at Obi-Wan. “I’ve had these dreams lately. Except I worry that they are more like visions. I keep seeing my mother dying, and me being too late to save her.”

Ah, now Obi-Wan knew where they were. It actually made sense, since Anakin in the original story had gotten these visions while escorting Padme back to Naboo. The biggest differences were that he had been completing the mission alone, and that he would have never thought to confide such a thing in the original scummy Obi-Wan by that point. The original Anakin had instead told Padme as a show of trust, and then the subject had never come up again. Obi-Wan had always thought it strange that Anakin had never even tried to leave the Order to help his mother, and it was something he’d angrily complained about many times before in the comments section. [Perhaps now Host will be able to fill some missing plot holes!] the System chimed in without prompting. Obi-Wan ignored it. 

“You truly believe it to be a vision from the Force?” Obi-Wan asked, despite already knowing the answer. 

Anakin nodded slowly, still not looking up from the floor. “Yes Master.”

Of course Obi-Wan knew what the original goods would probably do- something along the lines of convincing Anakin to let go of his emotions and not to focus on the past, and probably then gaslight him into believing it had all just been a bad dream anyways, caused by his problem with attachments. 

That was all absolutely bullshit to say to anybody, but especially a vulnerable child! Even if it did just turn out that Anakin was just suffering from some bad nightmares rather than visions of the future, he still deserved to be comforted! Obi-Wan didn’t actually know whether the visions were real or not, since Airplane never went into it in the book, but he did know that Anakin was in distress right now, so Obi-Wan could not allow an outcome in which he just dismissed Anakin’s feelings.

He reached out to gently take hold of Anakin’s hands, as if they were still going to meditate. “If you are truly seeing the future, then I do not know how to guide you through it, as that is not an aspect of the Force that has ever been available to me. So I can only ask you what would ease your mind.”

Anakin finally started to look up, peering past his long braid. “And if I asked to go to Tatooine to see for myself that she’s okay?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “We have already made a commitment to safely return Senator Amidala to her home planet. However, I see no reason why we cannot make a small detour on our way back to Coruscant after we have fulfilled our assignment.”

Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then there was a sudden explosion of emotions through the bond, far too many for Obi-Wan to properly pick out any individual thread. At the same time, Anakin flung himself forward and wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan’s neck, pulling him in for a hug. “Master! You’re-! I don’t-! You really-!” Even Anakin didn’t seem to fully understand what he was feeling.

Obi-Wan just smiled at him indulgently, and let the hug stretch on for a few seconds before he finally pulled away. “Now, did you still wish to practice meditation, or was it only a ruse to have a conversation?”
Anakin groaned and shook his head. “Ah, Master, do we have to?”

“It was your request,” Obi-Wan reminded him, not bothering to contain his amusement. Anakin grumbled some more, but then finally settled down for some joint meditation, and Obi-Wan was just glad that he seemed to have made the right choice.

,,,

That night, Anakin looked at the shadow in his dreams dubiously. “You were wrong. My master is not going to report me to the Council, he’s going to help me save her.”

Even without any kind of clear face, Anakin could tell that his shadowy teacher was surprised. “Is he? I see…” He trailed off for a moment, gathering his thoughts before murmuring, “You must be extra careful then, my dear boy. If you are caught, then your master will get in that much more trouble with the Council for not stopping you. You know that the Council would not be as understanding as your precious Kenobi.”

Anakin felt a pang of guilt at the thought of Obi-Wan getting in trouble for him, but something else bothered him more. He furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the shadow. “Do you not like Obi-Wan?” He already knew that the shadow disliked the Council and the Order as a whole, which Anakin could not blame him for, but he didn’t know why Obi-Wan would be disliked. He wasn’t on the Council, and had no say in how the Order was run. Unless it was just because Obi-Wan had the reputation of being the perfect Jedi?

The shadow was quick to brush aside Anakin’s concern. “Nothing of the sort, my boy! I only wish to make sure that you have the best of everything, including the best teacher.”

“Obi-Wan is the best,” Anakin insisted.

There was a pause, and then the shadow sighed. “Of course.” His voice cheered up a lot after a few seconds passed in silence. “Ah, of course. Your teacher is very dear to you, even willing to go against the Council for your sake. You must truly treasure him, then. And do your best to keep any harm from befalling him, as he has surely done for you since you became his padawan.”

It was awkward to be reminded of his first few years under Obi-Wan tutelage, and Anakin cleared his throat. “Do you think we’ll be able to save her? Me and my master working together?”

“Why I believe that you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to, dear boy, and the help of such a prestigious Jedi can only improve your odds from there. Just don’t forget to make use of my teachings as well, if you wish to guarantee your success.”

Anakin nodded absently, already deciding that it was time to wake up, because it had been too long since he’d last seen Obi-Wan’s face. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan knew that once they reached Naboo, he would have lost his chance to talk more with Padme. While she was supposed to remain an important character, assuming that she didn’t decide to take the story completely off the rails, she would only have reason to be interacting with Anakin, not Obi-Wan.

So he had to rush to find a chance to speak, which ultimately ended up with him creating an opportunity for himself. He subtly complained to Anakin about the poor quality of tea onboard the ship, which led to Anakin marching towards the kitchen with a determined look on his face. It wouldn’t take too long for Anakin to either track down Obi-Wan’s favorite tea, or give up and find someone to scold for not stocking it. Either way, Obi-Wan’s time was limited. 

Obi-Wan hurried towards Padme’s room, doing his absolute best to look as though he was not rushing at all. When he knocked on the door and Sabe answered, he gave her a polite smile. “Ah, just the person I was looking for. You know, Anakin was so impressed by your last spar that he’s been talking about it nearly nonstop since then. I was hoping that you could do this old man a favor and give my padawan another chance to test his skills?”

Sabe furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Obi-Wan like she was trying to read his mind (though luckily for him she was not Force sensitive and would not be able to do so). Then she glanced back into the room, and must have gotten a sign from Padme, because she looked back at Obi-Wan and nodded before silently departing. Obi-Wan took a deep breath and then stepped into the room, dearly hoping that this wouldn’t cause any unsavory rumors.

He walked over to where Padme was sitting at a small desk, looking over a couple of different datapads at the same time. She let out a long-suffering sigh before peering up at Obi-Wan. “Can I help you?”

“You really have nothing to say?” Obi-Wan demanded, not caring if he didn’t come across as the ‘perfect Jedi’ when there was no relevant audience. “After everything you put Anakin and everyone else through?”

Padme sighed again, and leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. “What do you want me to say? Am I supposed to feel bad because somehow the fictional world that I wrote ended up real? How could I have possibly known that this would happen? Or are you saying that authors should never put their characters through difficult or painful situations on the off chance that they end up becoming real people?”

Obi-Wan’s shoulders slumped down. “No, of course not, it’s just…” he trailed off, and just barely resisted the urge to fidget. “Anakin deserves better than what this story offers him,” he muttered.

“And that’s what you’re giving him, isn’t it?” Padme asked gently. Obi-Wan suddenly looked up at her in surprise. “Even people who don’t have the meta knowledge that we do can still clearly see how much happier and healthier that boy is now compared to before you came along. You’re already treating him the way you think he deserves, so what’s there left to be mad at me about?”

Obi-Wan frowned. “According to the System, what happens on Mustafar is essentially unavoidable, unless I earn an impossible amount of points that seem to be based around Anakin.” He didn’t mention the fact that he would probably earn a few points for completing the storyline where Anakin finally ends up married, because that felt kind of like he would be pimping Anakin out, and it was just weird.

A look of understanding washed over Padme’s face. “So you think that Anakin is always destined to become a Sith Lord and brutally torture you to death?” 

“Well I wouldn’t say it like that,” Obi-Wan grumbled. But it was the truth. No matter how much better he treated Anakin than the original goods, surely Anakin would never forgive his master for turning on him and leaving him to die in a river of lava. 

It was hard to tell exactly what Padme was thinking just from her face, which made sense considering that she was a professional politician and all. After several long seconds, she finally shook her head. “Look, as the author of the story, you could say that I know my characters better than anyone. And from what I’ve seen, this version of Anakin really cares about you and respects you and lo- and uh, appreciates you. I think he’s too grateful for the better treatment you’ve offered for him to turn on you.” She thought about it some more before continuing. “Anyways, just because you have to go to Mustafar, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to leave him in lava. Teaching him not to rely on the Dark Side is actually a good thing, as long as you focus on actually teaching him and not just immediately attacking him.”

Of course it went unsaid that Obi-Wan would never attack his padawan unless the System forced him to. The problem was that Obi-Wan had absolutely no faith that the System would try to give him a fair go at resolving the situation on his own. But he would like to believe that Padme was right. Especially since Obi-Wan had already gotten some hints of Anakin using the Dark Side, like when he’d fought Asajj Ventress. And Obi-Wan was pretty sure that Anakin was in regular contact with his Sith Lord dream mentor, since he didn’t believe that the story had changed enough for that to not be happening still. 

Maybe if he could make sure to teach Anakin the right stuff now, then the ‘Duel on Mustafar’ plotline wouldn’t be so harsh. “Hey, System-”

[Talking to the Protagonist about his mentor would be metagaming, which is cheating,] the System chimed in. [Cheating will result in immediate expulsion from this world!]

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at the stupid thing. “How did you even manage to move things so quickly when the System is such a dick?” he asked Padme.

She laughed before answering. “Well for one thing, I try to avoid insulting my System. Honestly, you can get pretty far with bartering and making deals and such. Mostly, from what I can tell, the System cares about improving the story. So if you can convince it that a big change you want to make would be a good thing for the narrative and not just for yourself, then you can usually get away with it.” When Obi-Wan just stared at her for a moment, she sounded almost self conscious as she asked, “What?”

Obi-Wan shrugged one shoulder. “Nothing. It’s just… you’re not at all what I would have expected the author to be like. I always pictured something more like a sweaty virgin shut-in who lives in his parents’ basement or something.”

Padme snorted. “Well, you know what they say about assumptions.” There was a brief moment of silence, then Padme cleared her throat. “If you’re truly worried about your fate, then there are some precautions that you could take, some things that were in my notes but never made their way into the final story. We should have plenty of time, assuming that Mustafar is still going to happen when Anakin is nineteen, which I assume it will, since he still needs time for the, uh, the romance plot.”

Not wanting to think about the romance at all, Obi-Wan just focused on the first part of what Padme had said. “Why would you help me?”

“I’ve been living in this world a lot longer than you. I just thought it might be nice to be able to talk about the one that we left behind with someone who actually gets it. And besides, I feel like I already know you so well from all those comments you left on my story.”

Well, when she put it like that, it did make sense. Even just in the time that he’d been here, which was less than two years, Obi-Wan found himself missing many things from his original life that he would never be able to talk about with anyone native to Way of the Proud Sith Lord. So though he would never say the words out loud, he could admit to himself that it would be kind of nice to have Padme as a friend. “So what’s up with your username, anyways? Was Airplane27738 just completely random, or…?”

A light pink blush covered Padme’s cheeks. “Ah, it’s actually kind of corny, but I made that username while I was going through a particular phase, and-”

“Master!” Anakin’s voice suddenly rang out, and Obi-Wan nearly jumped. How had he not felt that very particular Force signature approaching? He turned around to see Anakin standing in the hallway, a peculiar look on his face. Obi-Wan silently prayed that Anakin wouldn’t get the wrong idea about finding his master alone in Padme’s room with the senator. 

There was also something crushed in Anakin’s hand, and it took Obi-Wan a moment to realize that it was a box of tea, presumably Obi-Wan’s preferred kind. He felt his entire body relax at the sight of his thoughtful and caring little white sheep. “What is it, padawan?”

Anakin narrowed his eyes. “I thought- I felt our bond go away, so I thought you would be in pain from Without-A-Cure.”

Now that Obi-Wan thought about it, and actually tried to reach out with his senses, he found that he indeed could not connect with the Force. It was strange that it would happen now of all times, when Obi-Wan had assumed that Without-A-Cure would only ever come into play when it would conveniently cause the most issues during tense and dangerous plotlines. [Not all tense moments need to be life or death,] the System informed him, sounding weirdly smug about it.

Of course Obi-Wan just ignored the System and addressed Anakin. “Ah, you seem to be  correct.” He glanced back at Padme to give her a small nod. “Perhaps we will continue this conversation later, Senator.”

She nodded, and grabbed a scrap to quickly scribble down some numbers and held it out. “My comm link.” For some reason, she gave Anakin a nervous glance before quickly adding, “It’s not my personal one, so only call if you have updates on the assassin situation, or if anything else of equal importance comes up.” Obi-Wan accepted the code with bemusement, then followed Anakin back to their room. He was even more confused later, after meditating with Anakin and unblocking the poison, when he went to program the code into his contacts list and he found that it was listed as a private number afterall. Weird. 

,,,

The senator offered to throw a small banquet in the Jedis’ honor once they finally reached Naboo, and the thought of delaying even further had Anakin feeling quite nervous. To his relief, Obi-Wan informed Padme that they were on a tight schedule and would unfortunately not be able to stick around. It was almost frustrating that Padme was so understanding about it, but Anakin did his best to not let on anything he was feeling about her.

It felt like it took forever, but then it was finally just Obi-Wan and Anakin alone on a ship, headed towards Tatooine. Part of Anakin was terrified about what he might find, considering the high possibility that his nightmares were actually visions of the future. Part of him, though, was only able to focus on the pleasure that came from having his master all to himself for the time being.

Anakin found himself constantly looking at Obi-Wan, happy to just generally exist in the same space together. He loved observing his master, watching every expression that flitted across the man’s face as he wrote out their mission report, or read his books, or meditated, or anything else, really. The best times, though, trained together. Obi-Wan was so strong and talented, but Anakin didn’t even care when he was beaten, because he was able to see his master come undone in those moments, sweaty and hair sticking out as they danced around each other. 

And whether Anakin won or lost, Obi-Wan would come over and give him soft praise. And because they were alone, Obi-Wan would give Anakin a pat on the head much more often, which was a gesture that always filled Anakin’s body with warmth and happiness. 

The time passed quickly, and then their ship was suddenly landing down on Tatooine. Anakin’s stomach was twisting into knots from nervousness, but Obi-Wan remained by his side, a steady and comforting presence. “Whatever we may find here,” he said quietly, “you will not be alone.” Just a couple of years ago, Anakin could never have even imagined hearing such words from his master. Now he could not bear the thought of ever going without them.

They left the ship and Obi-Wan paid the docking fees. As soon as the transaction was taken care of, Anakin turned and led the way to Watto’s shop. Despite not having been back here since he’d left over six years ago, Anakin’s feet remembered the exact route to take. Obi-Wan followed silently, understanding that Anakin needed to be the one in control of this situation, at least as much as he could be anyways.

By the time they reached their destination, both of them were covered in the familiar dust and sand that always clung to those who made their way through the desert planet. It was a feeling that Anakin had always hated, and would have preferred to never feel again. But it was worth it, as long as he could make sure that his mother was safe. She was the only person who had ever loved Anakin unconditionally, and had always done her best to make sure that Anakin grew up happy and healthy despite their circumstances.

Stepping inside the shop felt a little like traveling back in time, to when Anakin was small and still a slave. It was only Obi-Wan being so close that kept Anakin grounded in the reality of the present. 

It was both disappointing and worrisome when Anakin could not sense his mother’s presence anywhere in the shop. He did find Watto, though, hovering around and looking at some spare parts that he would no doubt sell for far more than they were worth. Watto looked up and Anakin shuddered at that familiar greasy grin. “Ah, customers!” 

Somehow, the most insulting part of all this was that Watto didn’t even recognize Anakin. Sure, he had grown up some, but still. Anakin had spent the entire first nine years of his life being the property of this man, and yet Watto couldn’t even recognize him? Dark feelings boiled in the pit of Anakin’s stomach, but they settled when Obi-Wan reached out and lightly rested his hand on Anakin’s arm, silently asking if Anakin wanted him to take over.

Anakin gave a slight shake of his head, but did not dislodge Obi-Wan’s hand before clearing his throat and speaking. “Where is my mother?” he asked with as much calm as he could manage.

Watto squinted and looked closer at Anakin. Several long seconds passed, but then it finally clicked. “Ah, little Ani, is that really you? What a wonderful surprise. I don’t suppose the Jedi are interested in selling you back?” 

Anakin’s throat closed up in panic, and Obi-Wan sent waves of comfort through their bond. It gave Anakin enough strength to take a deep breath and continue on. “No. I am only here for my mother.”

The toydarian sighed, but accepted that answer. “She is out on a job at the moment. She should be back in a couple of hours.” 

Anakin clenched his jaw, but nodded. “I’ll wait.” 

That answer seemed to make Watto nervous, but Anakin didn’t care. After everything he had seen in his dreams, there was no way that he was going anywhere without seeing his mother for himself and making sure that she was absolutely okay. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan could literally feel the way that Anakin’s tension and anxiety went up with each hour that passed by with no sign of his mother. There wasn’t much Obi-Wan could do to help, since he didn’t even know for sure that the rest of the storyline hadn’t been moved up as well because of Airplane’s eagerness to push ahead. All Obi-Wan could really do was send comforting feelings down the training bond. 

Anakin looked up from where he was sitting on the ground, messing around with some little device he’d grabbed from who knows where, leaning up against the door to his old home. His face was more pitiful than vengeful, which was probably a good sign for the future, but it also made Obi-Wan’s stomach twist in knots at the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to take away all of his padawan’s worries.

Obi-Wan absently reached out to pat Anakin’s head. “I’m sure it won’t be much longer now until you get to see her.”

There was an annoyingly loud ding, followed by the System proclaiming, [+13 PSP!]

Those stupid alerts popped up more often than Obi-Wan would have expected, and they never actually explained what the points had been earned for. Like now, for instance, when Anakin was freaking out worrying about his mother’s life. In what way did that count as the protagonist’s satisfaction? What an unscientific and useless thing. “Can you mute those notifications?” he muttered. “They’re giving me a headache.” 

[Is Host certain? Notifications cannot be filtered, so all will be muted. Host may miss out on important information-]

“I doubt that you’re even capable of giving me useful information, you stupid computer. Just mute the notifications.”

He hated the way that it felt like the System was laughing at him, but Obi-Wan wasn’t going to give in and follow the suggestion of the thing that was so intent on ruining his life. [Notifications have been muted! Host may check for any missed messages or alerts at his convenience!]

“As if I’d want to see any notifications that you see fit to give me,” Obi-Wan grumbled. 

With the issue of notifications settled for now, the plot finally remembered that it was supposed to be happening. Obi-Wan only realized because he felt the jolt of recognition immediately followed by love, and he turned to see where Anakin was looking even as the padawan scrambled to his feet and rushed forward. Obi-Wan wanted to call out a warning to Anakin, since he obviously looked much different now than he had the last time his mother had seen him, but Obi-Wan couldn’t find it within himself to do anything to dampen the moment. 

Anakin all but threw himself into his poor mother’s arms, and Obi-Wan could feel her brief moment of alarm sent out into the Force before she somehow recognized her grown child. “Ani!” She pulled him close, and the two of them clung to each other like they were both afraid of the other being torn away from them. Knowing everything he did about Anakin’s backstory, it’s not as though Obi-Wan could blame either of them for reacting so strongly to this unplanned reunion. It’s not as though they could act in-character for this when it was an event that had never even happened in the original novel.

Obi-Wan felt like he was awkwardly intruding on the family moment, but after a few seconds, Anakin finally pulled away from his mother, though he continued to hold her arm. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” 

Shmi Skywalker smiled fondly, and reached out to gently cup Anakin’s face. “I told you that I would be alright. But what about you? How have you been?” She glanced up at Obi-Wan, then craned her head to look around. 

It took Obi-Wan a moment to realize that she was looking for Qui-Gon. “We have much to discuss, Lady Skywalker.”

Shmi blushed slightly at the address. “I am no lady, Master Jedi.”

“And I am no Master,” Obi-Wan returned gently. 

Shmi gave him a long, searching look, and then nodded. “Come in, both of you. I’ll make some tea.” She ushered them into the small home, and Obi-Wan looked around while trying to appear like he wasn’t being nosey. This was the place that his padawan had grown up, and it was immediately obvious that Anakin would have outgrown it very quickly, both mentally and physically, if he had not been taken away to join the Order. 

The two Jedi sat down at the small table, Shmi immediately rejecting any offers of assistance before turning on the stove. While waiting for the water to boil, she turned back to look at her two guests, her eyes hardly leaving Anakin’s. “I had always hoped… but I thought that I would never get to see you again.”

Anakin leapt back to his feet. “I always wanted to come back and…” he trailed off, then reached up to rub awkwardly at the back of his neck. “I’ve been saving up money so that I could come and set you free, but I never thought that I’d actually get the chance.” He quickly turned to look at Obi-Wan. “I wasn’t lying about my vision, Master, I swear, it’s just-”

Obi-Wan held up his hands. “I believe you, Anakin. I’m more interested in knowing where you’ve been getting money from.”

Anakin gave Obi-Wan a searching look that made him look almost identical to his mother for a moment, then he let out a soft sigh as he slowly sat back down. “I’ve been winning a lot of swoop races. So if I can set my mother free, then it’s only thanks to you, Master.” There was something intense in his gaze that made Obi-Wan shift in his seat and clear his throat.

Before he was forced to think of something to say to that, Shmi cut in. “Ani, you don’t need to use your hard earned money on me.”

“But Mom-”

Shmi shook her head. “I am not entirely helpless, you know. I have been making plans of my own.”

“Then let me at least help,” Anakin pleaded. “If you stay on Tatooine you will die, I just know it!” 

Obi-Wan reached out through their bond to try and calm Anakin. It would be difficult to convince his mother of anything if he was too busy panicking. There was a pinched look on Shmi’s face, and Obi-Wan cleared his throat again, this time with the intent of getting attention. “Anakin is very gifted in the Force, and sometimes with individuals as strong as he, the Force can provide possible glimpses of the future. If Anakin says that he has seen your future, then it would be wise to heed those words.”

[Is Host sure that he does not wish to receive notifications? There are some interesting things here!] the System asked in an almost sing-song voice as Anakin stared at Obi-Wan. 

It wasn’t even worth answering, since of course Obi-Wan didn’t want to get notifications, and asking about it was just as annoying as having to hear the notifications in the first place! Besides, it was rude to distract him from this important moment. It had obviously never happened in canon, which meant that Obi-Wan was very interested in seeing what the outcome would be here. No matter what happened, it would at least be more closure to this plot thread than the novel had included, but now that Obi-Wan was living in this world and looking at the characters as real people, the thought of them going through such atrocities was really quite uncomfortable. So if Obi-Wan could help Anakin protect his mother then it would really be a win-win.

While Obi-Wan had been distracted, Anakin had explained the basics of the situation, and the water had apparently finished boiling, because Shmi set three steaming mugs down onto the table. “Do you still prefer so much sugar that it’s practically wet sand?” she asked Anakin teasingly, trying to lighten the mood.

Regardless of Anakin’s intentions, Shmi’s teasing worked, and Anakin’s face turned red, the bond echoing with mortification. “Mom!” he hissed. “I drink my tea like an adult now!” His eyes flicked towards Obi-Wan for a moment, and Obi-Wan had to bite back an indulgent smile. Anakin wanted so badly to be seen as an adult, and yet he was so obviously still a child. 

For some reason, Shmi also looked to Obi-Wan then, and he avoided her gaze by focusing on raising his mug and inhaling the smell of freshly brewed tea. It was obviously a much different kind than what was available on Coruscant, but as a proper tea connoisseur, Obi-Wan knew how to appreciate teas of all different origins. Anakin imitated the gesture in an attempt to hide from his own mother, and something like understanding washed over Shmi’s face as she looked back and forth between the two. “Ah… you really have grown up so much since I last saw you.”

“I’m still the same person,” Anakin assured her earnestly, slamming his mug down with a little too much force, droplets sloshing out over the rim. “Anyways, stop trying to change the subject! If I want to use my money to help you, then that should be my choice. Please let me help you.”

Even though it really wasn’t his place to interfere, Obi-Wan couldn’t help but speak up. “It would truly set multiple minds at ease to know that you are safe and free.”

Shmi furrowed her eyebrows when she turned to look at Obi-Wan, and something like bemusement gently swept through the Force. “You would truly help me? I understand that the Jedi are benevolent heroes, but they have never invested themselves in stopping slavery in the Outer Rim before.” 

It was a good thing that Obi-Wan wouldn’t get penalized for being OOC, because what he was about to say would certainly stray very far from what the original goods had always been trying to teach Anakin. “I would end all slavery in an instant if I could,” he said calmly. “But such a thing is not possible even for the Jedi. However, I am invested in seeing you free, because you are a sentient being who deserves such a thing, but also because you are important to Anakin and I don’t wish to see him suffer your loss.”

Shmi arched one eyebrow, and Obi-Wan felt more nervous than when he was facing down the entire Council after doing something that Anakin would refer to as ‘reckless’ or ‘foolish’. “The Jedi reject attachments,” she said, a statement and not a question. 

Obi-Wan nodded and answered anyway. “Yes. The Code is important, but so is Anakin.” 

Anakin let out a choked up little noise, and Obi-Wan glanced at him in concern as his padawan hurried to block their bond from his end. When Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, Anakin just shook his head and then stared down at the table as if it were the most interesting thing that he had ever seen before. 

Shmi let out a soft, “Ah.” Several moments passed, and then she finally reached across the table to take one of Anakin’s hands and give it a gentle squeeze. “I will accept your help, but only on the condition that you allow me to pay you back once I have the funds.” Anakin eagerly nodded, but she wasn’t finished yet. “I cannot go to Coruscant with you. There is too much risk that I would get both you and your master in trouble, which is the last thing I want to do.”

It was obvious that Anakin wanted to argue, his stubbornness apparent even if one didn’t know him half as well as Obi-Wan did. But ultimately, his biggest concern was his mother’s freedom and safety, so he would agree to her terms even if it wasn’t exactly what he had wanted to hear. Shmi stood and moved around the table to pull Anakin into another hug, which he eagerly returned. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered into his hair. 

Obi-Wan took a long gulp of his tea and then set the empty mug back down as he pushed his chair back and stood. “I’m going to step outside for some air.”

“You don’t have to go, Master,” Anakin practically whined as he pulled away from his mother. 

Obi-Wan smiled and reached out to pat Anakin’s head. “I won’t go far, I promise. I just think that the two of you need some time to catch up without a third party witnessing everything. You know how to let me know if you need anything,” Obi-Wan reminded the boy, tugging gently on their bond. He gave Shmi a respectful nod, then slipped outside the small home to start wandering aimlessly down the street.

,,,

Inside, the two Skywalkers stared each other down, until Shmi finally spoke. “Does he treat you well?”

“Mom,” Anakin whined.

Shmi refused to be deterred. “I’m serious, Ani. No matter how you feel, you are still a boy, and he is a grown man in a position of power over you.”

Anakin groaned, beyond embarrassed to be having this conversation with his mother. “It’s not like that. He doesn’t even- he’s not-” Anakin groaned loudly. “He would never do anything like that. He likes someone else, anyway.” Anakin scowled as he remembered that Obi-Wan had been so distracted by his conversation with Senator Amidala that he somehow hadn’t even noticed Without-A-Cure acting up. 

His mother didn’t have to say anything for Anakin to know that she thought that that might be for the best. “He’s too old for you, darling,” she said gently.

Still, it made Anakin feel defensive of Obi-Wan. “He’s not old!” Then he forced himself to take a few deep breaths, not wanting to get angry with his mother. “He’s a good man.”

Shmi gave him a genuine smile. “I believe you, Ani. My instincts also say that he is trustworthy. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom, I promise. Just being able to get you out of this place is already more than I could have ever asked for.”

Shmi nodded, then gave Anakin a more excited smile. “So, tell me how the last six years have treated you. Is being a Jedi everything that you had dreamed of?”

Happy to be on safer ground, Anakin grinned and launched into a long description of everything that had happened since he’d first left Tatooine. And if Obi-Wan featured heavily in his stories, then at least his mother was kind enough to not point it out. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan figured that he could at least use this extra time to figure out some logistics, since that was something that seemed to go right over Anakin’s head. If it were up to the padawan, they would just be bringing Shmi right back to the Jedi Temple and all but shoving her in the Council members' faces. Someone here had to actually think through what was going to happen next.

Shmi was right that she could not stay on Coruscant. If it were only Obi-Wan who would get in trouble for such a decision, Obi-Wan would probably give it some genuine consideration. But as it was, Anakin would be the one made to suffer the most, and Obi-Wan would never do something that he knew would bring Anakin more pain.

So Obi-Wan called up a familiar face (though admittedly one he had hoped not to have to see anytime soon). “You wouldn’t happen to have some extra space for the mother of one of the people who helped save your planet, would you?”

Padme blinked a few times, and even through the grainy blue of her hologram, she was able to give him such a suspicious look. “Either you’ve tracked down the original Obi-Wan’s parents, despite them being nothing more than a few vague ideas that never even made it into my notes, let alone the actual story, or…” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re on Tatooine, aren’t you? You really can’t just let the story go on, can you?”

“Like you can talk,” Obi-Wan grumbled. “It’s your fault that everything is moving so quickly. And you’re the one who never gave a single satisfactory answer about what happened with Anakin’s mother, so you need to take responsibility.” When Padme didn’t respond right away, Obi-Wan added, “My System would have definitely stopped me if this wasn’t allowed, which means that this is actually what’s best for the plot.” 

For some reason, that made Padme snort. “Are you sure that this is what’s best for the plot, and not what’s best for Anakin.”

“I hardly see how that matters.”

Padme just rolled her eyes instead of clarifying. “Yes, there’s plenty of room here. I can help Anakin’s mother get settled and set her up in whatever type of career she would like. But if this is going to bring the Hutts to my door-”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “Believe it or not, Anakin has been saving up his money to help buy Shmi’s freedom. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to stick it to the slavers and just snatch the woman away, but there’s too much risk involved there. Someday, maybe when Anakin has reached his full potential, he’ll be able to do something about it. Even if that’s not what you had him do, for some reason.”

Luckily, it would seem that Padme was immune to Obi-Wan’s constant criticism of her work- though it probably helped that from her perspective, it had already been a while since she had written it- and she didn’t immediately retract her offer to help. “Whatever. Just get her to Naboo, and I can take it from there.” She didn’t hang up immediately after that, like Obi-Wan would have expected. “You know you can call me even if you don’t need something, right? Since it’s just the two of us from our old world, at least as far as I know, it wouldn’t hurt to be able to reminisce sometimes. My life here is my life now, but there are things that I miss on occasion.” 

That was understandable enough, and it was essentially what she had said before, when Obi-Wan had asked why she would be willing to help him. “Thank you, Padme. It might be… nice to be able to talk about such things. For now, though, I should probably go check on Anakin. He’ll have a little more time to speak with his mother on our way to Naboo, but for now we should focus on just getting out of here before we get into trouble.”

Of course Obi-Wan should have been smart enough to never say anything like that, since it all but guaranteed that trouble would happen. Point in case, when a rough voice growled out, “What’s a pretty thing like you doing out here all alone? You don’t look like you’re from around here.”

Obi-Wan let out a sigh of exasperation as he ended the call with Padme and then looked up at the one who had spoken. They were quite a bit taller than him, and had to be absolutely blind if they were calling Obi-Wan of all people ‘pretty’. He even glanced behind him to see if there could be someone else that the thug was addressing, but there were only a couple of other thug-like beings closing in from behind. 

Of the three who were approaching, none of them seemed to give off even the faintest hint of a Force connection, which meant that it would be easy enough to get rid of them. The biggest problem was that if too many people spread the word of a Jedi being on Tatooine, it could make its way back to the Council. And though Obi-Wan had said that there would be no problem with making this detour, he knew that in reality the Council would not be very happy to hear about it. Especially since they would probably be able to immediately guess that the only real reason they would have for diverting to Tatooine would involve Anakin, and therefore his ‘dangerous’ attachments.

Obi-Wan focused on the thug in front of him, assuming that he was the leader of the trio. “I don’t want any trouble, my friends, so it would be best if you walk away now.” 

The leader sneered, “What a posh little accent. You must be someone’s little lap dog that got lost.”

Since there was obviously no reasoning with this lot, Obi-Wan planned on injecting a little of the Force into his voice to tell them to leave him alone. Unfortunately, it was right then that he felt the painfully familiar sensation of his connection to the Force being blocked, and it felt like something was gnawing on his veins. Of course Without-A-Cure would choose right now to act up. Of course. 

Still, that didn’t mean that all was lost. Obi-Wan was never defenseless. He had trained enough with his lightsaber that he was confident in his ability to use it safely even without the Force to guide him, and he also still had his words. Not that words would do much against this lot, but still. “There are better ways to profit than preying on others. You never know when you will end up picking a fight that you cannot win.”

The leader of the thugs chuckled and then gave Obi-Wan a dark look. “It was a nice try, but you are clearly outnumbered. Why don’t you just come along, and I promise that my friends will play nice.”

“You will not touch him!” Anakin’s voice growled out from behind. Obi-Wan hadn’t even heard the boy approaching. Though of course it made sense, if Anakin had felt their bond disappear the way he said it did when the poison acted up, he would have immediately left his mother’s side to make sure Obi-Wan was okay. And boy did it rankle that even his own padawan apparently thought Obi-Wan was incapable of defending himself.

While Anakin moved into position to get into a standoff with the thugs, Obi-Wan mentally glared at the System. “If the original novel were of a different genre, I’d almost say that these are wife-plots I keep getting dragged into. Will you please explain why you can’t just leave me alone for five seconds?”

[Host is a male, so of course these can’t be wife-plots,] the System responded, as if that was somehow the important part of what Obi-Wan had said to it. [Has Host considered the possibility that his actions have changed the genre?]

“No,” Obi-Wan grumbled, “Even if you account for the changes that me and Padme have made, everything is still too similar to the original for it to have changed something like the entire genre to be different. Of course you wouldn’t understand that, though, since you seem to have absolutely no grasp on what good writing is- that must be why Airplane is able to get along with her System so well.” 

[There’s no need for insults,] the System complained. [See if Host is offered any special deals in the future.]

“As if I could even trust any of your deals.” 

[Host should pay more attention to his surroundings,] the System said with what would have probably been a petty little sniff if it were an actual person.

As much as he wanted to spite the thing, he had to admit that it probably would be a good idea to pay attention- and how the hell had he ended up on the ground without even realizing it?? One of the thugs was sprawled on his back several feet away, presumably shoved there by the Force. The other two definitely looked as though they were rethinking their life choices now.

Obi-Wan let out an exasperated sigh. There was nothing low-key or subtle about the way that Anakin was all but growling at the remaining two thugs as he reached for his lightsaber. Hoping to at least somewhat preserve the day, Obi-Wan scrambled back up to his feet, and reached out to physically grab Anakin’s wrist, since he could not reach out to tug on their bond at the moment. “Anakin, these men are no threat to us.”

It looked like it was a struggle for Anakin to tear his eyes away from the other men so that he could look up at Obi-Wan. “But they- they were going to-!”

Obi-Wan gently pulled Anakin into a hug, and the boy let himself be moved. “They did not get the chance to do anything. Besides, I would have been alright. I am a Jedi, remember?”

Anakin pulled back far enough for Obi-Wan to see his scowl. “But Without-A-Cure hurt you again, didn’t it?”

 “Yes, but I am capable of holding my own even without the Force. It’s not that I don’t appreciate your help, but rather that I wish you would not throw yourself into danger for my sake. I am the teacher and you are the padawan, remember?”

Anakin narrowed his eyes. “You throw yourself into danger just as much! And I can handle myself, I don’t have the poison affecting me, because you’re the one who-!” He cut himself off to glare at the thugs, who had already helped their fallen leader up and were backing away quietly while the two Jedi talked. “I could feel their intentions through the Force, Master. They deserve to be hurt for what they were thinking of doing to you!” 

Too bad there was no easy guide on how to help an angsty teen deal with the fact that bad things were inevitably going to happen to the people he cared about because he was the protagonist. “Anakin, nothing happened, and it is no longer something we need to concern ourselves with.”

The frustration on Anakin’s face was all too clear, and definitely something that the original goods would have long berated the boy for. But Obi-Wan understood better than the original did, about the fact that people were not meant to be some emotionless robots with no attachments. But then the frustration faded, and there was a gleam in his eyes. “If those men were willing to hurt you, Master, then they’re probably going to try and hurt others, people who won’t have me- won’t have the Force- to protect them. Letting them go without teaching them a lesson will only put more people in danger.” 

Obi-Wan sighed at the blatant manipulation, but he knew that Anakin did have a point. Could Obi-Wan live with himself knowing that there could be many people who were hurt just because he was so worried about teaching Anakin the wrong life lessons? “Help me get past Without-A-Cure first, and then we’ll see.”

Any sign of victory in Anakin’s eyes was immediately replaced with concern, and Obi-Wan was reminded of what a white sheep his padawan still was, regardless of his actions during times of high stress. “Does it hurt a lot, Master? Let’s meditate right away and fix it!” 

They retreated back to Shmi’s little home so that they could sit down somewhere with slightly less sand. As they meditated together, Obi-Wan did his best to hide his conflicted feelings, not wanting to give Anakin any indication that he was not proud of the boy. It was easy to shout out the right answers while reading along with a shitty book, but it was a lot more difficult to actually make the right choices when you were living through them. And Obi-Wan could only hope that he was making all the choices that would lead to Anakin having the safest and happiest life that he could. 

Chapter Text

The last thing that Anakin wanted was to let go of his mother, when he had just gotten her back after all these years. But more than he wanted to be able to spend time with her, he wanted to know that she would be safe, which is why he was willing to drop Shmi off on Naboo. Of course, his negative feelings probably weren’t helped by the fact that he could see that Senator Amidala was obviously doing this as a favor for Obi-Wan. 

After setting the coordinates for Coruscant, Obi-Wan beckoned Anakin closer, and cleared his throat once. “I feel as though we should discuss what happened back on Tatooine.”

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s there to discuss?” 

Obi-Wan gave him a long look, and Anakin made sure to keep both his face and the training bond open, wanting Obi-Wan to know that he could trust Anakin. Whatever he saw or felt must have relieved Obi-Wan at least some small amount, because his shoulders slumped down, and he seemed less tense. “What happened with those men… you understand that that is not an acceptable way to deal with every situation? That we did it to protect their future victims, and not out of anger or vengeance?”

Anakin stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest. He hated to argue with his master, but he couldn’t let Obi-Wan think that it was acceptable to let anyone get away with hurting him. “What’s wrong with getting justice?” He thought with vicious satisfaction of the state those men had been in once Anakin was done with them. And the fact that Obi-Wan hadn’t even tried anything more than a token effort to get him to stop meant that deep down, Obi-Wan had also wanted to see his potential attackers suffer. So what was wrong with it? It’s not as though those had been innocent people that Anakin was taking his anger out on.

“Anakin…” Obi-Wan started, then stopped. Anakin loved the sound of his name on his master’s tongue, and he waited patiently for Obi-Wan to say what he was thinking, the feelings coming through the bond too mixed and varied to parse out anything specific. “I will endeavor to protect myself better in the future so that such actions will not be necessary again,” Obi-Wan said softly.

Though he didn’t argue, Anakin couldn’t help but think to himself that it wouldn’t matter, because he had made a promise to himself that he would someday be strong enough to be the one to protect Obi-Wan.

,,,

There was no trouble with the Council by the time the two of them had returned to the Temple, and Obi-Wan learned that it was because Padme had claimed that she’d needed the Jedis’ assistance for a few days, accounting for the time that the pair had gone to Tatooine and then back to Naboo before turning around to head home. Obi-Wan was reluctantly grateful to her for that, though he didn’t know what he could do to return the favor. Perhaps something would come to him later.

For now, he wanted to just settle in and focus on training his padawan. Anakin would not be a child forever, and he would need to be as strong as possible to make it through the story that had been so cruelly laid out for him. 

,,,

During a session of meditation, Obi-Wan got curious and asked the System, “Do I have enough PSP to stop Mustafar from happening?”

[Not yet, but Host is doing a remarkable job of earning them, keep up the good work!]

That wasn’t the most encouraging thing to hear, but Obi-Wan knew that he still had time, as long as Padme hadn’t accidentally screwed up the timeline too terribly. For now, he was doing his best to try and look the other way when Anakin snuck out of the Temple, knowing that the boy was calling either his mother or Padme, which would surely satisfy him enough to earn more points. It had better be, anyways. Because if there was one thing Obi-Wan wanted more than anything, it was to avoid that fateful battle between himself and his padawan. It had been bad enough when caused by the original goods who had always been forthright with his dislike of Anakin, but Obi-Wan had always treated Anakin well instead, and wouldn’t that just make it that much worse if Obi-Wan was forced to betray the boy?

Well, with Anakin’s seventeenth birthday having passed just recently, Obi-Wan still had two, almost three, years to earn enough points to avoid that terrible outcome. Of course that meant it was also another couple years of Anakin being under the influence of his dream mentor, but there was nothing Obi-Wan could do about that, as per the System’s ruling. 

Finished with meditation for now, Obi-Wan stood up and stretched his arms over his head to work out the stiffness that had built up from sitting still for so long. That then transitioned into a few other stretches as well, to help him loosen up. He looked down at the floor in alarm when he heard a sudden wheezing noise from Anakin, whose face was bright red. “Is everything alright?”

Anakin coughed, then cleared his throat a few times as Obi-Wan dropped his arms, and he felt his shirt settle back into place. “Yes, absolutely, yes. Fine. Um, I’m gonna…” he trailed off as he used the Force to leap up to his feet with more speed than usual. “I’ll be back in time to make dinner!” he shouted over his shoulder as he all but ran out of their apartment. Obi-Wan stared after the boy in bemusement. No matter how old Anakin got, it never seemed any easier to figure out what he was thinking.

About an hour after Anakin had left, Obi-Wan was summoned down to the Council chambers. He pulled on a clean robe, and stared down in confusion as he made his way through the Temple halls, wondering why the hem seemed too far down. It took him way too long to realize that he must have grabbed one of Anakin’s robes by mistake. He would have to remember to remind Anakin that the boy was perfectly capable of doing his own laundry, and did not need to keep slipping his clothes into Obi-Wan’s pile.

Doing his best to adjust the robe so that he wouldn’t come across as a little kid playing dress up, Obi-Wan lamented the fact that Anakin’s growth spurt had hit so hard. It had been much easier to see Anakin as his little white sheep when the boy was short and scrawny, and it also left his head in perfect patting range. Now Obi-Wan had to actually reach up quite a ways if he wanted to pat Anakin’s head, and the years of training and eating right had worked to bulk Anakin out as he grew. And now Anakin’s robes were too long on Obi-Wan and Anakin was always looming about without meaning to. It served as a constant reminder that they were getting closer and closer to a moment that would change everything between them.

Not wanting to be distracted while standing before the Council, Obi-Wan did his best to release his feelings into the Force, and then he straightened his back and strolled confidently into the room. The first few times he’d been summoned here after waking up in this world, Obi-Wan had felt like a child who had been called to the principal’s office. After all this time though, he had mostly acclimated to being stared down by such powerful Jedi.

He looked calmly up at the assembled Council members, along with the few that were attending through call only. “Is there something I can do for you, Masters?”

Yoda nodded. “Many years since the sith killed your master, it has been. Always in twos, we were taught, yet appeared to be no other, there has.”

Mace nodded, and his usual resting frown looked even more serious than normal. “We believe that the sith’s master has been around, but in hiding, since you killed the apprentice. But now I fear that he has finally found himself a new apprentice.”

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows, trying to recall if any of this had been in the book. Surely he would remember something so important, wouldn’t he? Hadn't the Sith Lord been spending all this time grooming Anakin into becoming his next apprentice so that he would be able to rule over his empire with the most powerful Force wielder at his side? Had he grown bored of waiting, because Padme had unintentionally moved up the timeline, or was there some other reason for this deviation from the plot? Unless it was all just more crap from Airplane’s notes that had never actually made it into the finished draft. That was always a possibility when annoying things started happening.

“What makes you think so?”

Mace’s frown deepened, somehow. “Your grandmaster, Master Dooku, has been distant from the Order for many years now, long before Qui-Gon Jinn’s unfortunate demise. Recently, he has officially left the Order behind. Rather than return to his homeworld, he has begun to interfere with trade routes, of all things, plaguing the Senate with many problems. He has also begun to donate large sums of money to radical fringe groups, and made no attempt to hide the transactions.”

Obi-Wan’s frown matched Mace’s. “You believe that Dooku is a sith apprentice, and working to bring about the end of the Republic?”

Yoda gave Obi-Wan a sharp look. “That we believe, it is but one possibility. Investigated, this matter must be. Look into it, you and your padawan shall.” 

Genuinely curious about where this was all going to go with the overall story, Obi-Wan bowed his head in agreement. “Yes Masters. Where do you suggest that I begin?”

“The attempt on Senator Amidala’s life several years ago- we believe that it may be somehow connected,” Mace explained. 

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows. “The assassin at that time was killed by an unknown party before they could be questioned. It will be difficult to pick up that trail again after such a long time.” Of course he already knew about the bounty hunter that had hired the assassin to kill Padme, but there was no way for him to explain that without getting some strange looks. Maybe there was some way he could play it off as a Force vision or something?

[Host thinks of cheating far too often,] the System scolded.

Obi-Wan wanted to grumble about how it wasn’t cheating to use the information available to him when he was already at such a disadvantage, being placed into this role that was destined to be tortured to death, but he decided it would just be a waste of time. It’s not like arguing with the System ever actually earned him anything.

[Actually, Host has earned a number of achievements since being assigned the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Would Host like to see his backlog of notifications?]

Obi-Wan pointedly ignored the System to focus on the Council. “Is there some other information that you have discovered in this case that makes you believe it is connected to Dooku?”

Master Fisto was the one who nodded and explained, “The groups that he has been donating money to are ones that would greatly benefit from having Senator Amidala taken out of the picture, as she argues for many policies that would stop them from growing their profits. There is no actual evidence proving his connection to Amidala, though, or to the Sith Lord, so that is why we wish for you and your padawan to look further into this.”

“I know that you will not let us down, Knight Kenobi,” Mace added. “If you need anything to aid in your investigation, you only need to ask.” 

Obi-Wan nodded and waited a moment. When there was nothing else, he assumed that he was being dismissed now, but then he noticed the troubled air around Yoda, and he looked curiously at him. “Is there anything else you wished to discuss, Master?”

Yoda and Mace exchanged a look which seemed to contain some kind of silent communication, and then Yoda looked back at Obi-Wan. “Close you are, young Padawan Skywalker and you. Worried about him, we are.”

Obi-Wan immediately tried to run through a mental list of anything Anakin might have done lately that would show off his connection to the Dark Side, but nothing immediately came to mind. “What worries you?”

“It is as we said when Qui-Gon first brought him here,” Mace said. “He is too emotional and prone to attachments. When you ended up becoming his teacher, we had hoped that you would be able to reign him in, as your reputation for being an excellent Jedi was well known to us even back then. Everyone can see how you coddle the boy, and it has led to what seems to be an even worse attachment than what he showed for his mother. Just a short while ago today, he was seen nearly getting into a fight with Master Bonda’s padawan over some offhand comment made about you. I believe that the only reason he did not is because of the many witnesses, and not because he is in control of his emotions.”

“I will speak with him about this,” Obi-Wan said calmly, even though inside he was already dreading the conversation. Couldn’t Anakin at least try to be a little more careful? Didn’t he realize how much was on the line if everyone else were to figure out just how unconventional Obi-Wan’s teachings had been ever since he’d taken over this body. 

Yoda gave Obi-Wan a long look, but Obi-Wan stood his ground and just stared serenely back until the master spoke. “Attached to the boy, you are.” 

Obi-Wan fought to keep his body relaxed and his voice normal. “I have a fondness for him, as many masters do for their padawans. But I would never put him before the Jedi Order or the Code.” That was the only answer that would be acceptable here.

It did not seem to mollify Mace all that much, though. “You should be careful, Obi-Wan. The boy wants…” he trailed off, looking vaguely uncomfortable. He cleared his throat once. “Keep a close eye on him. If he shows any worrying signs, then you must report it right away.”

Obi-Wan nodded but did not actually agree out loud to that command. “Am I dismissed now?” The Council members continued to stare down at him, but they agreed that he could go, so Obi-Wan walked away as quickly as he could without making it look like he was running away. As he made his way through the Temple, he couldn’t help but worry- if the Council was already noticing these behavioral issues from Anakin, then did Obi-Wan even have the full amount of time that he’d thought to prevent Mustafar from happening?

Chapter Text

As soon as Anakin stepped into their apartment in the Temple, he knew that something was up. For one thing, it was still early enough that he could get started on dinner, and yet he could smell that something had been cooked (presumably by Obi-Wan, since it didn’t exactly smell… appealing). He found Obi-Wan standing over the stove, with what looked like a couple of loaves of charred bread sitting on cooling racks. “Master?”

Obi-Wan turned to look at Anakin, and Anakin’s eyes widened slightly when he saw the smudge of flour on Obi-Wan’s cheek. It was hopelessly endearing, and Anakin didn’t know how he was supposed to survive seeing things like that. It took a real effort to keep himself focused on Obi-Wan’s words. He just hoped that nobody had gotten a chance to snitch to Obi-Wan about what had happened earlier. “We need to have a talk, Anakin,” Obi-Wan started in a serious voice. 

That, more than anything, was able to distract Anakin from any joy he might have normally taken from this scene. He gulped once, and avoided meeting Obi-Wan’s eyes, making sure to keep his shields tightly drawn so that nothing would leak through their bond. “Master…” Even though he knew full well that it would be impossible to make Obi-Wan forget about whatever serious topic he had in mind, that wouldn’t stop Anakin from at least trying. “What’s with all this bread?”

Obi-Wan waited for a moment, but when Anakin didn’t actually say anything else, the man sighed. “Maybe we can break this bread up and feed it to some local animals,” he said softly. “I get a bit too distracted to keep track of the time while it’s baking. It’s a recipe that Shmi sent me. I thought I would make you something from home as a bit of a late birthday gift, but clearly it did not work out too well.” He glanced towards the trash bin. “I suppose even the birds would not want to eat this mess.”

He moved like he was going to gather up the loaves and throw them away, but Anakin instinctively reached out with the Force to gently grab Obi-Wan’s arm and stop him. “No- don’t throw them out.” Even if his master was not very good at making food, it was something that he had made just for Anakin, which meant that it was bound to be wonderful and Anakin refused to see that effort get thrown out as if it meant nothing. As if Anakin meant nothing.

Obi-Wan raised one eyebrow, and Anakin let go of him, though only after taking a few steps closer so that he knew he could physically stop Obi-Wan if he had to. “I had no idea you were so attached to burnt bread,” Obi-Wan said dryly.

“Well, compared to some of the rations we get while out on missions, burnt bread is quite the luxury,” Anakin responded back quickly, gratified when it earned him an amused smile from Obi-Wan. 

Then the amusement faded, and Anakin knew that Obi-Wan was not just going to forget about whatever serious thing it was that he had had in mind. “Anakin, I heard that you almost got into a fight today. Is that true?”

Just thinking of that insolent brat from earlier had Anakin feeling on edge, though of course he did his best to try and shield his feelings, even though he knew it would be fruitless. Obi-Wan knew him too well by now to fall for that. “The things he was saying, Obi-Wan… I refuse to repeat any of it, but I couldn’t just…” 

He was surprised when he suddenly felt Obi-Wan’s arms around him, and Anakin sank into the warmth of the hug for the few seconds that it lasted before his master pulled away. “I’m so proud of you Anakin, for not doing anything even though you were clearly tempted.”

Anakin stared at his master with wide eyes. “You aren’t mad that I felt that way in the first place?”

Obi-Wan sighed. “All these years, and I still worry that I have not been a very good master to you if you still do not understand.”

“You’re an amazing master!” Anakin immediately refuted. “If there’s anything I don’t get, it’s just because I’m not smart enough to figure it out, that has nothing to do with you.”

Obi-Wan shook his head and reached out to pat the top of Anakin’s head, though it took him a bit of effort because of how high up he had to reach. Anakin didn’t try to make it easier by leaning over, because he liked knowing that his master was willing to put in the effort. “You are very intelligent, Anakin, and I have no doubt that anything I cared to teach you properly is something that you would pick up on very quickly.” He took a step back, tucking both of his hands behind his back. “By now, I’m sure you know that my views of the Code do not precisely line up with the Council’s. When it comes to emotions, I know that it is impossible to rid yourself of them entirely, especially if you were not raised in the creche. But for you to experience certain feelings and still make the right choice, well, that is a much more difficult task, and yet you have done it. As I said, I am very proud of you, Anakin.”

“Then why do you still look so serious, Master?”   

Obi-Wan sighed. “I’m afraid we’ve been assigned yet another mission, even though we were supposed to have a little longer to rest after our last one.” He looked a little tired, now that Anakin thought about it, but Obi-Wan quickly brushed that aside and tried to look more positive. To someone who didn’t know him as well as Anakin did, it would probably even work. “You will surely enjoy this one, though. We must go to Naboo to speak with Senator Amidala. There are pieces still missing from the puzzle when it comes to the attempt on her life, and it is our job to fill it.”

Anakin had no idea why Obi-Wan thought he would enjoy a mission like this. Was it just because Obi-Wan enjoyed torturing his poor padawan? No, Obi-Wan probably had no idea that Anakin had figured out about the blatant feelings between him and Amidala. Anakin would have to be on guard to make sure that nothing suspect happened during this one. For now, though, Anakin was the one who got the privilege of living with Obi-Wan and making his master happy. “We can pack our bags later. For now, why don’t I make dinner? Maybe something that would go with the bread.”

Obi-Wan laughed, and the noise filled Anakin with joy. “Surely you were just joking about eating it?”

“It’ll be fine,” Anakin insisted. “We can just scrape off the burnt bits, and it’ll be good as new.”

“The burnt bits were part of it when it came out of the oven new,” Obi-Wan reminded him. “But very well, dear one, you are certainly old enough to choose for yourself what to eat.” Anakin grinned brightly at his master, then moved past him to start pulling out what he would need for dinner. If things could just stay like this forever, Anakin would be more than content. 

,,,

Honestly, Padme had no idea what she’d done in her previous life to deserve everything that was happening in this one. Everything had been just grand, up until one of her most dedicated readers ended up in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Things had been going kind of shit since then. Well, it was fine when she was able to just focus on her work and her people, but everytime she had to actually deal with those two…

If it had been any kind of a choice, then Padme would certainly have not chosen this. She didn’t mind chatting with Obi-Wan, and in fact sometimes quite enjoyed it (yes, even when he was completely trashing on her writing- she knew where her flaws were). But whenever Anakin was there too, it just made things difficult. It was hard to act normal when she could feel the protagonist giving her a constant death glare anytime she so much as looked in Obi-Wan’s direction for longer than a few seconds. She sent a silent apology to the original Padme for having to put up with this constantly, although this jealousy didn’t seem quite so bad in the book. But maybe that was just because she didn’t have to actually live with it when writing it. She really had no idea what the original Padme had seen in this boy, and she was the one who’d written it!

Obi-Wan, on the other hand, seemed perfectly designed to put up with Anakin’s nonsense, considering the fact that he seemed completely blind to its very existence most of the time. In fact, based on the ‘subtle’ hints that he still dropped on occasion, Padme was pretty sure that Obi-Wan somehow still expected Anakin to end up with her.

Well, she couldn’t politely kick them out when they’d just gotten here. She could only hope that the sooner they got down to business, the sooner the pair would leave her alone. “So you wanted to speak about the assassin?” she prompted. “I’m surprised someone with your memory would need to even ask.” 

Anakin narrowed his eyes as he stared at Padme, like he suspected that she was making fun of Obi-Wan. It really was impossible to get through a decent conversation when both of them were in the room. It would probably be a relief to everyone when Anakin finally worked up the nerve to confess his feelings- though Padme wouldn’t be surprised if Obi-Wan succeeded at the mental gymnastics it would take to misinterpret even an outright marriage proposal, let alone anything less blatant.

Obi-Wan, as unaware of the tension in the room as always, just gave her a serene smile. “The Council has reason to suspect a connection between the attempt on your life and the strange activities of a former Jedi.”

Padme only kept her face from reacting thanks to her many years of experience as a politician. But truthfully, she was confused, because this sounded like something that should be a big plot point, but in the book, the only thing related to the assassination attempt was another plot thread that went nowhere. Padme had planned out an entire war arc, where Anakin would have plenty of opportunities to use the Dark Side for just reasons, in order to help his descent into eventually going fully Dark, and it would be very dramatic when the secret Sith Lord maneuvered his way into a position as the leader of the Senate. But then Padme had lost her notes for all of that, and by the time she’d remembered what she’d planned, it was already clear what her readers wanted, as her editor made sure to tell her, and that was just to jump right into the revenge fantasy part of the story. Was it possible that the System had decided that the cut content from the original draft made for a better story? 

Before the silence could get too awkward, Padme forced herself to think of some kind of response. “That would be a very serious matter, indeed. I’m sure that you must be very busy, though, so why don’t I just write up everything I remember, and I will send it to you as soon as I can?” That would get the Jedi away from her, and also give her the opportunity to tell Obi-Wan about some of the ideas that she’d originally had for Way of the Proud Sith Lord. Maybe Obi-Wan would even approve of the way that it would resolve a few of the dangling plot threads that he liked to harp on about in the comments section of each chapter.

Unfortunately, Padme had underestimated just how bad Obi-Wan was when it came to being clever and observant about his own padawan. “It is alright, we have the time. There would be no point in us leaving until we have a lead to follow up on, anyways.” Then he stood up and strode over to the doorway of the room. “Why don’t you start filling Anakin in on what you can recall right now, while I go and update the Council.” Then he hurried out of the room, probably giggling in delight to himself about how kind he was to give Anakin and Padme time alone together. If there was one plus side to any of this, it was only that she could tell without a doubt that Anakin had just as little interest in her as she had in him.

Chapter Text

One of the strangest things that came along with this new plot thread was the fact that Obi-Wan did not, for once, already know all of the answers in advance. As exciting as that might seem on the surface, it unfortunately meant that there was all kinds of room for Obi-Wan to look like an incompetant fool if he couldn’t figure out where to go with all of this. And the System was of no help, telling him only that he could unlock some cheats for a ridiculous number of PSP. No thank you, System, this old man is still saving up so that he can avoid inevitable death at the protagonist’s hands! 

It would be okay enough to read about or watch this kind of investigative montage, but it was really quite boring to live through it. Though perhaps if Obi-Wan’s biggest gripe was being bored, then he wasn’t doing too badly in this life. And he even had trashy novels to fill his spare time, just like the kind he’d read in his previous life, the kind that Airplane wrote. He didn’t even have to chuckle out loud at the thought before Anakin’s head slowly rose from the contraption he was tinkering with. “What made you suddenly so amused?”

In terms of the Jedi Code, and the Council, it was probably not a good thing that he and Anakin’s bond was so strong, but Obi-Wan knew how much Anakin needed his connections to the people he cared about, and that it was better to teach him how to balance his attachments with his duties, rather than just tearing all of his attachments away and telling him he was wrong for wanting them. So Obi-Wan was content to let things continue on as they were. Besides, with how powerful Anakin was already, let alone how strong he’d get as he continued to grow and learn, even the most powerful member of the Council would have trouble getting an accurate read on the training bond, so there was really no risk in keeping it like this.

“Just a random thought that came to me, nothing of any importance,” Obi-Wan informed his padawan.

Anakin gave him a long look, then rolled his eyes. “You’re so weird, Master.” Then he leaned over to get back to what he was doing. 

As he watched Anakin at work, it suddenly occurred to him that in the not too distant future, they would no longer have this kind of time together. Either because Obi-Wan was forced to betray the boy and was then tortured to death in turn, or because Anakin was happily married to Padme and wanted to spend his time with her. (Obi-Wan still wasn’t really sure how he felt about that, especially since Padme was so much older than Anakin, but if it made both of them happy, then Obi-Wan could accept it). 

For now, it would be nice to take advantage of the fact that they did still have time. So Obi-Wan sank down onto the floor next to Anakin. “What are you working on?”

Anakin arched one eyebrow. “Do you even know anything about droids, Master?” 

“Of course I do,” Obi-Wan huffed out. 

Anakin’s eyes sparkled as he moved his arm so that Obi-Wan could get a better view of what he was doing. “Then you should understand this without any trouble, right? Simple enough, Master.” 

Obi-Wan sighed. “Explain it to me as if I didn’t know anything about droids, then.”

“Why? You’ve never really shown interest before.”

Obi-Wan shrugged one shoulder. “If my padawan is so very fascinated in all of this mechanical work, then there must be something good about it. Besides, you are getting older, and someday you won’t be here to fix everything for me, so I’ll need to know how to do it myself.”

Anakin shook his head. “I’ll show you since you want to know, but I promise that I’ll always be around to help you, Master. So you won’t even need to worry about it.” 

Those words could do nothing but fill Obi-Wan with fondness for his white sheep (not so little anymore, though, since Anakin had the gall to have such a big growth spurt). “Just in case, then,” he agreed, before leaning back slightly to get into a comfortable position for what was sure to be a very long and passionate ramble. 

,,,

Sooner than Obi-Wan had expected, the investigation bore fruit, and he and Anakin were off on a trip to a planet that was somehow absent from almost every known record. If it weren’t for the fact that Obi-Wan was so confident in the abilities of his padawan by now, he would have insisted on coming here alone.

As it was, he felt nervous to leave the ship and step out into the raging storm. Why were umbrellas not part of the standard Jedi kit? “Master, let me,” Anakin started. He waved his hand, and used the Force to suspend the water around them so that it would not land on them, forming a bizarre looking empty sphere in the middle of the pouring rain. Obi-Wan should really tell Anakin not to use the Force on such unimportant matters (he would say something for sure, just as soon as it stopped being so endearing). 

They walked towards the entrance of the building, where there was a very tall and fascinating looking alien. “System, what exactly is going on here?” Obi-Wan murmured. 

[Host is uncovering a forgotten plot thread! Work hard to keep filling plot holes and improving the story!]

“Not even a little hint?”

[Host is- sometimes- capable of observing situations for himself,] the System answered flatly.

Obi-Wan just barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he walked up to the unfamiliar being. He didn’t even need to introduce himself before the alien spoke first, “You are the Jedi client? You’re a little early, but you may tour the facility and meet with Fett if it would please you.”

Obi-Wan and Anakin both shared their confusion through their bond, but they followed into the facility. Anakin let go of his hold on the rain once they stepped inside, so neither of them had more than a few damp spots around the bottoms of their robes. 

As they were led down shiny white hallways that reminded Obi-Wan uncomfortably of the hospitals that he had spent too much of his previous life in, he tried his best to focus on the present. He could already picture the size of the report that it would take to even begin explaining all of this, and Obi-Wan was still missing all of the context, since he was certain that none of this had been in the original novel.

They were brought to a massive room, big enough to fit a couple of warehouses in it, and what filled the room were apparently bacta tanks. They were definitely not empty though, as both he and Anakin could feel the many lives in the room. The alien stopped and gestured around the room. “The oldest of them should be fully matured in a matter of months.” 

Anakin and Obi-Wan both walked up to the nearest tanks to see the people inside. It took a moment before they both realized the same shocking fact- that each tank looked as though it contained the same person in it. Some races were known for having many children at once, but this was far beyond anything that could occur naturally. “Are these… clones?” Anakin asked hesitantly, unable to think of any other word that could properly describe what they were seeing.

Their tour guide glanced back at them, obviously having heard the question. “Of course. 200,000 units, with a million more on the way, as ordered. The first batch is nearly complete, but if you have any requests for future batches, you are welcome to voice them.” Then they nodded towards an exit on the other side of the room. “This way now, please.” 

Anakin was kind enough to keep his questions to himself until the two of them were back on their ship and flying away from Kamino, already trying to figure out how to explain all of this to the Council. “Why would a Jedi order an army?” Anakin wanted to know. “I thought we were all about peacekeeping and helping people.” 

“Indeed,” Obi-Wan answered absent mindedly. There was no way that an army was being handed over to them, already paid for and everything, without there being some kind of major catch. This was obviously the System’s fault somehow, or maybe Padme’s. Either way, Obi-Wan found himself feeling quite wary of whatever was going to happen next. If there was an army, then there was surely going to be some kind of war, and Obi-Wan was flying totally blindly into all of this. He would definitely need to talk to Padme as soon as possible.

,,,

After returning and giving their reports, the Council randomly decided to send Anakin on a little retreat with several other padawans around his age. It would probably be about a couple of weeks long, and Anakin made it very clear that he did not want to go, especially since Obi-Wan would not be going. “I am not a padawan,” Obi-Wan said with undisguised amusement when asked. “Why would I need to go?”

Anakin whined and fussed, but Obi-Wan supported the Council’s decision. For one thing, it was always best to stay on their good side when possible, and this was a minor thing not worth fighting over. And for another thing, it meant that Obi-Wan would have their apartment to himself for a bit, at least until he was sent out on his next mission. 

Without having to worry about a nosey and impressionable teenager being around, Obi-Wan was able to lounge around in his sleepwear, drinking some wine that was on the more expensive side, and watch some crappy hallmark-esque movie. Jedi did not believe in ‘me time’, but that was no reason for Obi-Wan to miss out. It was a nice little vacation (not counting that one time Quin had had a sudden case of forgotten manners and had barged in to the sight of Obi-Wan dancing to artificially recorded covers he’d made of some pop songs he remembered from his previous life. Both of them had made a vow to never speak of that incident again- though Quin was hardly the trustworthy sort, so Obi-Wan would be keeping a close eye on him). 

But as much as he enjoyed the opportunity to relax and pamper himself a bit, Obi-Wan had to admit that the time dragged on for just a bit too long, and he found himself missing his padawan. Hoping that nobody would comment on how pathetic it was, Obi-Wan went down to the hangers to wait for the ship containing the padawans to return. He could feel it through their bond as soon as the ship reached Coruscant, and he felt Anakin seeking him out just as eagerly.

As soon as the ship landed and the doors opened, Anakin bounded towards him and pulled Obi-Wan into a quick hug before the two of them made their way back through the Temple. “How was your trip?”

“Awful, since you weren’t there,” Anakin answered immediately. Then he launched into an explanation of every little thing that they’d done, and Obi-Wan could hear how much Anakin actually cared about what he was saying. He really was meant to be a Jedi, to help people. If only it weren’t for all the other influences that turned Anakin away from such a path. 

Once they reached their apartment and Anakin had run out of steam, Obi-Wan let Anakin know about their next mission orders. “We are to approach former Master Dooku and question him about his involvement with the group now calling themselves the Separatists. If he does not have any good answers, then we will need to take him in.” 

Anakin was uncharacteristically silent as he gave Obi-Wan a long, intense look. “What do you think is going to happen if all those people really do want to leave the Republic? Is there going to be a war?” 

There shouldn’t be! There was nothing mentioned about a war in the novel, and you’d think that that would be the kind of thing to at least come up in the background! But unfortunately, the novel did not seem to contain all of the answers. “I do not know,” Obi-Wan admitted, knowing that Anakin preferred when Obi-Wan was honest rather than acting as though it would always work out thanks to the Force, or whatever. “We must hope for the best, but prepare ourselves for anything. Focus on the now and the things you can change, rather than on the unknown future.”

Anakin nodded. “In that case, for now I’m going to go make some food, since I’m sure you’ve been living off of Dex’s while I was gone and I’d hate to see you die from malnutrition.”

“I am capable of taking care of myself,” Obi-Wan reminded his padawan. “...but I would never say no to your cooking.” 

As Anakin went to the kitchen, Obi-Wan asked the System, “Are you still not going to tell me what’s going on?”

[Host will just have to wait and see, like everybody else!]

Obi-Wan hesitated, then asked, “Do I have enough points to avoid Mustafar yet?” The only thing he could imagine that would be worse than such a betrayal would be for it to happen right during or after a major war. 

[Host is on track, but does not currently have enough PSP to avoid the essential plotline, ‘The Duel on Mustafar’! If Host completes storyline ‘Saving the Sith Through the Power of Love’, many points will be granted! There are other side quests available for Host to earn more points as well. Would Host like to hear about them?]

Obi-Wan gave it some serious consideration, since he knew that with the System involved, it was bound to come down to something weird and uncomfortable, but that might be worth it if it meant protecting Anakin- protecting himself. He didn’t give his answer, though, because he heard Anakin calling out, “Master, is this really all the food you have? What have you been eating??” Obi-Wan laughed as he went to the kitchen to reassure Anakin that he had not been wasting away in the time that his padawan was gone. 

There was still plenty of time to think and plan things out, so there was no real reason for Obi-Wan to panic and start doing whatever the System told him to just to earn a few extra points. Like he’d told Anakin, it would be best to simply focus on the here and now. (If only that worked to actually make him feel any better about the future that was to come.)

Chapter Text

Serenno was a surprisingly lovely planet, with enough greenery to make Anakin’s head turn in awe even though it had already been so many years since he had left the desert behind. And he didn’t get any strange sensations through the Force here the way he had in that one jungle that had tried to eat Obi-Wan while Obi-Wan continued trying to get far too close to the deadly plants for Anakin’s comfort.

The place was so nice that it was easy to forget, for just a moment, that they were here to question a potential traitor, and not to take a little vacation. Anakin still didn’t know all the details of the situation, but he knew everything Obi-Wan had told him, and he already strongly suspected that the Council must- shockingly- be right about something for once. 

Anakin just felt bad for Obi-Wan, since Dooku was Obi-Wan’s grandmaster, which might make it more difficult for his master to act. But that was okay, because Anakin was here, and Anakin would make sure to take care of anything that his too kind master was not able to.

The manor that they approached was practically a castle, which made sense, since Obi-Wan had mentioned that Dooku was a count, and in charge of ruling this place. He had forsaken his right to the title when he had joined the Jedi Order, but since he had left, he had been able to reclaim it and begin ruling the planet that he had not even grown up on.

They were let in without a fight, and in fact they were greeted as though they were anticipated guests rather than Jedi here for what would amount to an interrogation. As they were led through the manor by a friendly servant, Anakin clenched his fist tightly around his lightsaber handle, though he relaxed his grip as Obi-Wan sent soothing waves through their bond. 

The two of them were brought to a spacious dining room, and Anakin’s stomach grumbled loudly as he smelled all of the delicious foods covering the long table’s surface. He glanced at his master, but Obi-Wan had on his resting face, which had just a hint of a smile, but also gave no indication about the man’s actual thoughts.

An older man in dark robes was sitting at the head of the table, and he stood with a grand sweeping motion so that he could greet them. “Ah, so you are the legacy of my line.” He looked at Obi-Wan first, and let out a small thoughtful noise. “From everything I have heard over the past several years, I cannot claim to be disappointed in Qui-Gon’s padawan.” Then his eyes flicked to Anakin, and Anakin did not like the strange sense of hostility that he felt for just a moment before Dooku’s shields snapped more sharply into place. “And here is the golden boy himself, the one of the prophecy, correct? I suppose I had expected something… more.”

Anakin didn’t let himself react to the blatant taunt. He did not care what this old man, no longer even a Jedi, thought of him. All that mattered was what Obi-Wan thought of him, and Anakin was already more than sure of that. Obi-Wan just gave Dooku a bland little smile. “Such an interesting greeting, Grandmaster. Welcoming at the door, but then such strange remarks. What are we to think about that?”

“Shall we not dance around each other, then? Such a pity, when I went to all the effort of preparing a feast just for you.” He sat back down into his throne-like seat, acting as if there wasn’t a single thing to be worried about here. “Very well, then. Straight to business. Dare I even ask what the Jedi Council wants from me, when I am no longer associated with the Order?”

“You know why we’re here,” Anakin barked out.

Obi-Wan gave Anakin a Look™ and Anakin resisted the urge to sigh, but he did back down. Obi-Wan looked at the count again. “You have been funding the Separatist movement. Why?”

Dooku raised one eyebrow. “Why indeed? Am I not allowed to use my money to fund whatever I so wish? They are simply a small political group who have not done anything illegal by the Republic’s laws.” He patted his mouth with a napkin even though he had not taken a bite of any food, and stood back up, looking for all the world like an inconvenienced aristocrat. “Have you truly come into my home just to launch accusations at me? How very like the Jedi. Or do you plan on claiming that you are merely here for peacekeeping purposes?”

Obi-Wan took a step forward, arms crossed casually over his chest rather than reaching for his lightsaber. “There are two main questions that I hope you can answer for us while we are here. First- are you hoping to bring about the end of the Republic?” Dooku stared at Obi-Wan, and even Anakin was a bit startled by the bluntness of the question. 

“With such an opening question, dare I even ask what your second is?”

Obi-Wan continued to smile blandly. “Are you in any way connected to the assassination attempt on Senator Padme Amidala?”

Dooku barked out a startled little laugh. “I had always heard that you were more subtle than this, Kenobi.” 

“More subtle than your attempt at avoiding the questions?”

Dooku bowed his head slightly. “Very well. Do I believe that the Republic is corrupt and irredeemable in its current state? Yes. If there are some who wish to be set free from the Republic’s greedy grasp, then who am I to deny them such a thing? Do the Jedi not believe in freedom, or do they only stand for upholding the Republic’s laws?”

Obi-Wan still did not show anything differently on his face, and Anakin was having a difficult time getting a read on his master’s emotions through their bond. “And you are aware that if too many pull away from the Republic, then the Republic will collapse? Who will these newly independent planets trade with and gain vital resources from?”

“From the Republic’s rotting corpse, of course.” Dooku tilted his head. “Now I suppose that you will attack me? Is that the kind of justice that the Jedi stand for? To destroy a man simply for stating his opinions?”

Anakin scowled. “Don’t you even care about what will happen to all the people-”

Dooku looked sharply at Anakin, and something in his cold gaze made Anakin freeze for a moment. “Is the slave boy truly the one arguing against giving people the autonomy to live as they choose?” 

Anakin hesitated. Put like that, it really did kind of make sense. And wouldn’t it ultimately mean more resources left for those who stayed in the Republic? Surely it didn’t have to mean that the entire system would fall apart, right? He glanced at Obi-Wan, and really wished that he knew what his master was thinking. Obi-Wan was always so good at explaining things in a way that made so much sense compared to when other people talked about it. 

Even though Obi-Wan did not fully communicate through the bond, he did send some more comforting warmth, and Anakin forced himself to settle down. Whatever it was that Obi-Wan hoped to accomplish here, it did not seem to be a battle, at least not yet. So Anakin would wait for his master’s cue (or if Dooku seemed like he was about to attack). 

Obi-Wan cleared his throat to get Dooku’s attention back onto himself. “Much of the documentation of the Old Republic has long been lost, but many stories do remain in the Jedi Archives. I’m sure you must have read some of them yourself. So you know that this situation is not unique to us. The Exile Jedi held the Republic together at a time when many were losing faith and wanted to leave, and the Republic was only made stronger for it, lasting for thousands of more years. And that was with the power of only a handful of Jedi, most of them having never set foot in a Temple.”

Preferring to learn from doing rather than reading, Anakin had not spent nearly as much time dedicated to studying stories the way that Obi-Wan had, but he was intrigued by this, and resolved to ask Obi-Wan more about it later. Dooku just looked bemused. “What is your point?”

“If the Old Republic had fallen at that time, then the sith from back then would have never been stopped, and billions of more lives would have been lost. And in the end, those who had had their doubts about the Republic were proven wrong about its strength.”

For just a second or two, Anakin thought that Obi-Wan might really be able to convince Dooku, but then Dooku just sneered at them. “There is a flaw in your logic. It was not the Republic’s strength, but rather that of a single individual, or even a small group if one is being generous. And there is no one left in the Jedi Order who are as strong in character and the Force as the Exile was.” He gave Anakin a disgusted look. “Power alone means nothing. And you cannot convince me to change my path now; it is far too late for that. The Jedi are rotten to the core, nothing more than little lap dogs that bite and bark at the Republic’s command. You are the ones who must reconsider your loyalties. Perhaps when the Republic falls, there will be a place for you in the new world, perhaps even continuing on as Jedi.”

“We have no interest in such a thing,” Obi-Wan responded in what seemed like far too polite a voice for this situation. “If you insist on continuing like this-” Obi-Wan cut himself off, sensing at the same time Anakin did that there were many people moving rapidly towards this room.

Just seconds later, the doors burst open and armored people filled the space with their bulky guns. There was barely even time to think before blaster bolts were being fired, and then Anakin’s lightsaber was turned on and he let himself fall into the rhythm of battle.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed before he noticed that Dooku had slipped away in the chaos. He double-checked and saw that Obi-Wan was holding his own while barely breaking a sweat, so Anakin fought his way out of the room, and focused on following Dooku’s Force signature through the long sprawling corridors of the manor.

It wasn’t long before Anakin burst into a small speeder garage, where Dooku was just about to get into a vehicle and leave. Anakin used the Force to slam the speeder door shut, and Dooku whirled around to face him. “You would attack an unarmed man?” the count challenged.

Anakin could feel the kyber crystal in Dooku’s pocket, and when he focused, he could almost feel the fear and misery that leaked out of it and into the Force. Whatever Dooku had done to it was unnatural and perverted, and Anakin leapt forward without any warning.

Of course he could not forget that Dooku had been a Master before leaving the Order, and his appearance of being an old man did not mean that he could be underestimated. Dooku had already drawn his lightsaber and dodged aside before Anakin’s feet touched the floor again, and Anakin could see the dark red gleam of the saber. The sight of it reminded Anakin of the assassin, Ventress, who had tried to kill Obi-Wan. 

Anakin rushed forward, relying on brute force to get him through a fight with this much more experienced enemy. They danced around the room, random things getting destroyed as they were flung around by the Force or sliced through by stray lightsaber swings. 

Anakin knew that he was the Chosen One, that Obi-Wan believed in him, that he was powerful. So Anakin let the Force and his instincts guide him, and he actually found himself not doing too badly. But then he felt the crippling sensation of his connection with Obi-Wan being cut, and he knew that Without-A-Cure must have flared up, which could be very bad if there were still many guards left to deal with.

That single moment of distraction was more than enough for Dooku to get the advantage, and before Anakin could properly focus again, he felt a bright, searing pain in his arm, and his lightsaber flew away from him as it dropped uselessly to the ground. Anakin collapsed to his knees and bit his lip hard enough to bleed just to avoid screaming out in pain.

Dooku looked down at him like he was worthless. “Your attachments get the better of you, young Skywalker. And to think that some believe you to be the one who will change everything. Perhaps I shall save myself the trouble of dealing with you again in the future.” He summoned Anakin’s lightsaber into his hand, then activated it to raise up over Anakin’s head.

There was a sudden commotion in the doorway, though, and Dooku hurried to get into his speeder and drive away. As everything went dim around the edges, Anakin was just barely aware of swaying back, and then being caught in familiar, gentle arms. Anakin could see Obi-Wan’s concerned face, looking too pale for Anakin’s liking, and he could see a red mark on Obi-Wan’s cheek from where he’d been clipped by a blaster bolt. Anakin wanted to work up some rage so that he could go and take out everyone who’d hurt Obi-Wan, but his body registered that he was safe enough now, and Anakin could not stop himself from passing out.

,,,

At this point in his training, Anakin could no longer be tricked into thinking he was awake when he was actually dreaming. He waved aside the random dream of a moment from his childhood when Obi-Wan had been disciplining him for messing up on something or other, back before Obi-Wan’s coma. 

When the dream vanished, he was left in a murky void, and then his shadow teacher appeared. “My dear boy, what a mess you got yourself into today. You were not even strong enough to defeat your enemy. You would have been, had you allowed yourself to tap into the Dark Side, as all of our training has prepared you for.”

Anakin looked down, and was surprised to see both arms intact, but then realized that it was probably only because he was able to control his dreams, and he could only imagine himself as he was used to. He looked back up at the shadow, warily considering his words before speaking. Truthfully, it had not even occurred to him to use the Dark Side against Dooku, at least not at first. He hadn’t been angry, he had only been eager to defeat the count and make Obi-Wan proud. “My master was so close, I would have surely been caught if I did.”

“Hm.” The shadow swooped closer, the sudden movement startling Anakin into taking a small step back. “Or perhaps the problem is a matter of your resolve. You could be powerful enough to cure your master, but you would rather be weak and let him waste away. You could stop this war before it’s even begun, but you would rather sit back and allow everything to happen around you without your input. Do you think that Kenobi will continue to care for you when you are always so weak? Or will he go back to how he acted before he noticed your worth?”

Anakin wanted to believe that Obi-Wan would never go back to acting that way… but truthfully, he still wasn’t entirely sure of what he had done to prove himself to Obi-Wan, and he was always a little afraid of losing his master’s regard. “You are being more cruel than usual. Why?”

The shadow let out a contrite sigh. “You are right, my dear boy. I am letting my disappointments with other matters affect our time together. One who I was relying on failed at an assigned task, but I should not be taking that out on you. Perhaps it would be best to meet again once I have had some time to compose myself.” Then the shadow faded away.

Once Anakin stretched out his senses and was sure that he was alone, he pulled up some better memories of Obi-Wan, and allowed himself to dream peacefully for now.

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan looked down at Anakin’s resting face, and resisted the urge to reach out and brush aside a strand of hair that was covering Anakin’s eye. It had been three days since the fight against Dooku, and Anakin had been unconscious the entire time. Obi-Wan knew that it was because Anakin’s body needed the time to heal, and he knew that Anakin was the protagonist and therefore would not die from something like this, but that didn’t stop Obi-Wan’s stomach from twisting itself up in knots. He should have paid better attention, he should have known that Anakin would want to chase after Dooku. If Obi-Wan could not even protect his padawan now, then how the hell did he expect to stop Anakin from getting hurt on Mustafar?

Obi-Wan had briefly spoken to the Council after returning from this mission, but most of his time after that had been spent here in the Halls of Healing, watching over Anakin. Obi-Wan was no Force-healer, but he still hoped that the little bit he could do would be enough to help, though he had been feeling quite weak himself by the time they’d gotten back to the Temple and Without-A-Cure had still been blocking him from the Force (and Quin didn’t even have the decency to be around, which resulted in the most awkward session of shared meditation with Master Che). 

And what was even the point of Anakin getting so badly injured, despite his protagonist halo, if Padme wasn’t even here to sit at Anakin’s side and fuss over him until he recovered? Not that Obi-Wan could really imagine this version of Padme, piloted by Airplane, to be the fussing sort, but still. Shouldn’t protagonists only get injured if it was to trigger the hurt/comfort angst with their love interest? [Would Host like a hint-?] the System suddenly spoke up.

“Shut up about the notifications,” Obi-Wan grumbled. 

[This System is only trying to help.]

Glancing at the time, Obi-Wan realized that he’d have to get up now if he wanted to make it to the Council Chambers in time for the meeting they had summoned him for this morning. He sent warmth through the training bond, and hoped that it was not a bad sign that he could not feel very much coming from Anakin’s end.

With no excuse to put the meeting off, Obi-Wan headed to the Council, and stood before them, hiding all of his anxiety behind a neutral mask. “You wanted to see me?”

Mace cleared his throat. “While the concerns that we spoke of last time are still relevant, nobody can deny that Padawan Skywalker has proven his dedication to the Order, and the fact that an arm is all he lost, it proves that he fought well. And so we have decided that Skywalker has proven himself enough to officially be made a Knight.”

One of the other Council members spoke up, “Congratulations, Master Kenobi.” 

Honestly, considering how much the Council seemed to dislike Anakin for no reason, it hadn’t even occurred to Obi-Wan that they would knight the boy already. Anakin had never even been knighted in the original novel, which was one of the many things that he had resented his master for!

Obi-Wan did his best to convince himself that such drastic changes could only mean good things for the story, and for himself. “Not that I do not believe in Anakin’s abilities; in fact I know that he is a very accomplished Jedi, but does this not seem a little sudden?”

“You were also knighted after an unofficial trial,” Mace pointed out, eyes burrowing into Obi-Wan. “If you do not think he is ready to be knighted, then simply say so.”

Obi-Wan thought about the original goods’ relationship with Anakin, and he thought about how much Anakin would surely hate him if he found out that Obi-Wan was the reason he could not get knighted when the offer was made. So even though something in his gut felt like this wasn’t correct (and not just the part of him that would miss Anakin when they were no longer spending so much time together), Obi-Wan shook his head. “Of course I have full confidence in Anakin, and if the Council has decided that it is the right time, then surely it is.” He cleared his throat. “But why are you telling me now, rather than waiting until Anakin has woken up?”

The Council members all looked at each other briefly, and then Yoda spoke. “Troubling news, you have brought. There is a coming war, you said. Agree with your assessment, we do.”

Mace added, “If there is to be a war between the Republic and these Separatists, then the Jedi will be at the forefront, as we have dedicated ourselves to the Republic. We will need as many as we can get to lead the troops.”

Obi-Wan arched one eyebrow. “The troops?”

“The ones you found on Kamino. They were paid for by the Jedi, so we will take advantage of that resource.”

There was that bad feeling in Obi-Wan’s gut again, and he honestly couldn’t tell whether it was a sign from the Force or just his own natural intuition. “Are you sure that that is wise? There is so much we do not know about those clones, and-”

“We will lose by numbers alone without them,” Mace interrupted. “The Separtist movement is only growing, and Dooku’s money is giving them a lot of power. We must use whatever we can to prevent the Republic from falling.”

If Anakin sided with the Sith Lord, then it would not matter who won this war, the Republic would fall all the same. But Obi-Wan could appreciate the dramatic tension of making it seem like there was actually a chance that they might win here. Now he was even more motivated to make sure that Mustafar did not happen, because Obi-Wan couldn’t bear the thought of fighting in a literal war only for it all to mean nothing. At this point, if it weren’t for the fact that Anakin wanted so badly to be a Jedi, and that he was so good at it when he actually tried, Obi-Wan would probably just suggest that both of them just leave the Order and let someone else deal with all of this mess.

A few more words were exchanged with the Council, though Obi-Wan was barely aware of what was said, and then he walked slowly back to the Halls of Healing, still deep in thought. Somehow it had been easy enough to fall into fighting and battling after arriving in this world, despite never having gotten even close to doing any of that in his first life. Hell, he didn’t even play any video games, too busy for such things. But now- a war? A war was something else entirely. Obi-Wan’s previous life had been a somewhat privileged one, and he’d never had to deal with the realities of war like some people did. Could he even do it? Go out onto a battlefield with hundreds or thousands of enemies and allies alike, fighting for something that he didn’t even really believe in?

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t even realize he’d reached his destination until he heard a loud shout of, “Master!” and then Obi-Wan looked up, so relieved to see that the protagonist halo had worked, and that Anakin was really going to be okay. He hurried over to the bed as quickly as he could go without full on sprinting. “Where were you? You feel weird in the Force, did someone bother you?” were Anakin’s first words once Obi-Wan was close enough to the bed to not have to shout.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes as he sank back down into the chair next to Anakin’s bed. “Perhaps what bothers me is my reckless padawan charging on ahead and getting himself hurt,” he grumped. Then he paused, and realized that he really shouldn’t be calling Anakin his padawan anymore. As soon as Anakin heard the news about his knighting, he’d probably consider it insulting if Obi-Wan called him anything less than that.

Anakin ignored Obi-Wan’s words, and reached up with his remaining hand to brush his fingers over the faint scar that had been left behind even after bacta had been smeared over the cut on his cheek. It was because he hadn’t been able to use the Force to sense when to dodge at the end of the battle, and he hadn’t been able to use it to start healing himself, and all of the emergency kit bacta on their ship had been applied to Anakin’s arm, so Obi-Wan’s face hadn’t gotten any treatment until they’d reached the Temple, and by then it was unavoidable that the small injury scarred up. 

Anakin’s touch felt like it burned into Obi-Wan’s face, and he found himself waiting breathlessly for the several long seconds it took for Anakin to pull his hand away. “Sorry I went ahead,” Anakin said softly. “I should’ve stayed to help you, and I wasn’t even able to stop Dooku in the end.” He looked down and clenched his hand in the blanket that had been carefully tucked over him.

“I’m not angry or disappointed,” Obi-Wan immediately assured him. “You must know that I am capable of taking care of myself. I’m hardly concerned about this little scratch. I’m more worried about you.” 

Anakin turned his head slightly so that he could look down at the arm that now ended in a stump. “It’s okay, I can get a mechno-arm. Some of them actually look quite cool.” Even through the Force, Obi-Wan couldn’t feel more than a little bit of apprehension; Anakin really seemed more bothered by his perceived failure than his lack of an arm. Obi-Wan couldn’t help feeling fond at the thought of Anakin fiddling around with his arm to give it all kinds of weird upgrades that it probably didn’t need. He supposed that that would be better than Anakin messing with the toaster again, and let out a little chuckle. Anakin looked up at him curiously. “What is it now, Master?”

“Ah, actually, you probably shouldn’t call me that anymore.”

A surge of panic bolted through Obi-Wan from their bond. “What? But you said you’re not mad! Is it the Council? Did I-?”

Understanding the problem, Obi-Wan reached out to grab Anakin’s hand. “It’s nothing like that, dear one, I promise that you are not getting kicked out of the Order. I would never let that happen. In fact, you are being knighted. The Council probably wanted to tell you themselves so that they could see the look on your face, but I don’t mind spoiling their fun.”

Rather than looking excited, like Obi-Wan would have expected, Anakin just looked kind of… lost. “I’m not going to be your padawan anymore?”

“You’ll finally get more privacy in your own apartment, and you’ll be able to go on your own missions, and-” spend time with Padme without your old master hanging around, he added mentally.

Anakin shook his head, and clutched tightly at Obi-Wan’s hand. “Maybe I’m not ready to be a Knight yet.”

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked closer at Anakin. The initial panic had faded, but Obi-Wan could still feel distress pouring off of Anakin. Then he realized what this must be about. Anakin had just gotten badly injured after going off on his own, so he was probably afraid of what would happen on future missions where he had no backup. It was an understandable fear. “I believe that you will do great things as a Jedi Knight, but if it is not something that you’re ready for, then nobody is going to force you into the position, and nobody will judge you for that choice,” at least not while Obi-Wan was around, “You are still very young, much younger than most Jedi when they are knighted, so there is nothing wrong with taking your time.”

“I’m not that young,” Anakin grumbled. Then he sighed, and met Obi-Wan’s eyes. “You really believe in me?”

“Of course.”

Anakin thought about it for another few seconds, then nodded. “Alright. I’m ready to be a Knight, then.”

It wasn’t until Obi-Wan was back in their apartment that night, alone because the healers wanted to keep an eye on Anakin for another couple of nights, that he realized just how lonely it was going to be around here with Anakin moving out permanently into his own space. And Obi-Wan would probably be asked to move into a smaller apartment as well if he wasn’t given a new padawan (which he really hoped he wouldn’t be, because Anakin was more than enough for him). All of these changes were happening so quickly, and Obi-Wan was not very happy about it, but at least he could be happy that Anakin was on track to get everything that he wanted.

Chapter Text

Anakin looked around his new apartment unhappily. He should be ecstatic at the thought of having all this space to himself, and never again having to be nagged about picking up whatever random junk he left strewn about, but was it really worth it? At this point, Obi-Wan’s nagging came across as fond more than lecturing, and Anakin would rather have Obi-Wan’s presence than extra room for himself. Maybe he was too selfish to be a proper Jedi, if this was his first thought upon being Knighted.

At least there was one big benefit to no longer being a padawan- he could move about much more freely. Which meant that if he wanted to take a side trip to Naboo to visit his mother after finishing some mission nearby, there was nobody around to tell him that he wasn’t allowed to. It still would be better if he had more missions with Obi-Wan, but seeing his mom was good too. Even if she did insist on constantly teasing him about his feelings for Obi-Wan. 

Not bothering to unpack his bag, Anakin just dropped it on the floor and then turned to leave the apartment, intending to track down Obi-Wan. Usually his former master was waiting for him when he returned, so it probably meant that Obi-Wan was out on a mission of his own, but Anakin could hope for the best. 

The first place he checked was the Room of a Thousand Fountains, but there was no sign of Obi-Wan. Then Anakin closed his eyes, and focused hard on their training bond. (Technically it should have been dissolved once Anakin’s braid was cut off, but he had pointed out that it could come in handy for them to be able to communicate if war really did break out, and Obi-Wan had agreed, even though he’d obviously been worried about the effect on Anakin whenever Obi-Wan was hit by a bout of Without-A-Cure). 

Even though he was still no good at meditating on his own, Anakin was very good at using the training bond, and he followed it through the hallways, barely paying any attention to his surroundings, until he found himself in one of the training rooms.

Anakin paused and leaned in the doorframe to watch as Obi-Wan carefully corrected the stance of an apprentice, whose joy lit up in the Force when Obi-Wan praised her. At first, Anakin felt warmth fill him at the sight of Obi-Wan being so good with the kids, but then he felt a tinge of wistfulness from Obi-Wan, and Anakin abruptly straightened up and marched into the room. 

It had not occurred to Anakin to worry about it before, but now that he thought about it, didn’t most Jedi take on new padawans once their current ones had been Knighted? But Obi-Wan was Anakin’s master, and no matter how old Anakin got, that would always be the case. What would even happen if Obi-Wan took on a new padawan? Let someone else meditate with him and get to explore Obi-Wan’s mental space? Get patted on the head and praised and encouraged to do their best even if that sometimes meant going against the code? Now that Anakin was a Knight, he already had to spend so much time away from Obi-Wan, and a new padawan in the picture would only make it worse.

Without quite meaning to, Anakin mentally tugged on their bond, and Obi-Wan turned around as he was alerted to Anakin’s presence. He smiled, and Anakin’s irritation faded, though he was sure it would come back later. His shadow teacher would probably be pleased to see something else that could be used to fuel Anakin’s use of the Dark Side, but that was a whole separate thing. “Obi-Wan!” That was one of Anakin’s favorite parts about being knighted- the way he could say Obi-Wan’s name whenever he wanted, and it flowed so nicely off of his tongue.

“Anakin, I’m sorry, I must have lost track of time.”

The young Mirialan that Obi-Wan had been working with tipped her head back to grin up at Anakin. “Master Obi-Wan was teaching us forms! He’s amazing!” 

The earnest compliment brought a bit of a flush to Obi-Wan’s face, and Anakin was torn; he enjoyed the sight of a flustered Obi-Wan, but it annoyed him that someone else was the cause of it. Pettily, Anakin decided that the best fix to the current situation was to simply remove his master from it. He reached out to grab Obi-Wan’s arm to tug him towards the door, even though he was really too old to be acting like this. “Come on, I want to tell you all about my mission!” It had actually been quite boring, but he was also pretty sure that Obi-Wan would approve of how Anakin had chosen to resolve things. 

Obi-Wan chuckled. “Alright, alright, lead the way Pada- Anakin.” He cleared his throat to cover for the slip-up, but truthfully, Anakin didn’t mind. Although it meant that Obi-Wan still saw him as a child, it also meant that Obi-Wan continued to acknowledge the connection between them.

Anakin didn’t let go of Obi-Wan’s arm, though he was careful to make sure he wasn’t using too much pressure. It had taken some time to get used to his new mechno-hand, but with all of the upgrades he’d put in himself, it was actually better than his old flesh hand.

They went back to Obi-Wan’s apartment, where Anakin’s old room still had a made up bed in it for him to borrow whenever he felt too lonely in his new place. He gently pushed Obi-Wan down into a chair, then began bustling around the kitchen to throw together a quick meal while he chattered about every detail of the mission. It was a pleasant evening overall, and Anakin even convinced Obi-Wan to have something stronger than tea to celebrate Anakin’s return. The Force around them buzzed with gentle happiness, and Anakin would have been content to soak in that feeling forever. 

,,,

The bad news was all over the holo-net the next morning- the Separatists had officially sent forth representatives to make their stance clear to the Senate, and when the Senate had refused to hear them out, a senator from Corbin Dtym was killed on video and it was posted for all to see. Within hours, thousands of star systems had declared themselves to be seceded from the Galactic Republic, and were now calling themselves the Confederacy of Independent Systems. 

The Temple was full of activity as Jedi hurried about, the Council sending them all out on various missions in a hurry. The Jedi were known as peacekeepers and diplomats, but somehow Obi-Wan doubted that they would be able to do anything to get the CIS to back down now. If there had been any time before he was called before the Council, Obi-Wan would have called Padme and demanded answers about what the hell was going on. As it was, he had to go into this without about the same amount of information as anyone else.

The Council Chambers were already full when Obi-Wan arrived, all of the Council seats were full (either physically or with a hologram), and the standing room was also quite packed. With so many Force sensitives in such a small space, after such a major event had occurred, those who were not the best at shielding were unable to keep their feelings to themselves, and the Force reflected the fear and apprehension and worry that was coming from those who were unable to properly release their emotions. 

By the time the meeting was dismissed, the biggest thing that was clear to Obi-Wan was that the Jedi did not know anything more about this situation than anybody else did at the moment. Which was unfortunate, when there were already many people calling for the Jedi to take action to protect the Republic. 

“Obi-Wan, stay,” Mace called out. 

Some of the other Jedi gave Obi-Wan curious looks as they filed out of the room, but most were too caught up in their own thoughts to even pay much attention at all. When everyone else had left, Obi-Wan moved to the center of the room. “Do you have a mission for me?”

“Among the new generals, you will be,” Yoda told him somberly. 

He did not follow that up with anything else, and Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Yes, I had assumed as much, based on our talk when it was decided that Anakin would be knighted. Was there anything else?”

Yoda sighed. “Spotted, Dooku has been. Stopped, he must be.”

Obi-Wan resisted the urge to gulp. “Stopped… how?”

Mace cut in then. “The tensions existed before, but it was Dooku who allowed them to erupt like this. The people are afraid, and they need to be able to trust in the Republic, and in the Jedi. As long as a former Jedi stands as the face of this CIS, we will be at a disadvantage. But we do not expect you to go after him alone. We are more concerned about what he is up to, since it seems as though he’s been funding some very large factories.”

Obi-Wan was relieved that they weren’t sending him on some secret assassination mission. Not that he hadn’t taken lives before, since it had been necessary on more than one occasion since waking up in this body, but that was always self-defense or defending others, not heading somewhere with the premeditated intention of killing. He nodded once. “I understand, Masters. We will not let you down.” Some of the Council members looked at each other warily, and Obi-Wan frowned. “What is it?”

“This will be a solo mission, Obi-Wan,” Mace told him gravely. "We are still trying to get everything organized with the clones, but there is no way of knowing when that will be done. As for Skywalker, he’s being given a mission of his own.” Obi-Wan really wanted to ask what it was, since he didn’t know how much the Council trusted Anakin at this point, and it was now the beginning of a war, which meant it would be even more dangerous out there for Anakin, but he didn’t want to question the Council at this point. Thankfully, Mace took some mercy on him, and elaborated. “Chancellor Palpatine is concerned about the safety of his home planet, and has requested Skywalker by name to assure the safety of Naboo, so he is to be stationed there for now.”

It was difficult for Obi-Wan not to show his confusion. Of course he understood why the plot would send Anakin to Naboo, since it would give him more time to spend with Padme. But the name Palpatine sounded familiar. Wasn’t he a senator? Since when was he the Chancellor? Maybe Obi-Wan should have been keeping up more with politics, but it was too late to regret that now. 

Well, there was nothing to be done about it now. Obi-Wan had read that entire shitty novel enough times to remember all of the important details, and he couldn’t recall Palpatine’s name being mentioned more than a couple of times near the beginning, when he’d offered some advice to a young Anakin. Whatever else was important must have been in Airplane’s extra notes.

But the important thing here was that Anakin was going to have plenty of time to spend with his love interest, so Padme would probably be happy about that as well. He could only imagine the amount of stress she and the other senators must be under at the moment. 

“Of course,” Obi-Wan responded. “Then I will make my preparations to leave as soon as possible. Where is it that Dooku has been seen?” And how am I supposed to know that I’m not stepping right into a trap???  

“A planet called Geonosis,” Mace informed him. “We will send backup after you as soon as you can, but at the moment, we need many people watching over the Senate to make sure that the other senators are safe, so there’s no guarantees. For now, we only want you to scout out the situation, and see what’s inside of those factories if you can.”

“A talented Jedi, you are,” Yoda said. “Believe in you, the Council does.” 

With that, Obi-Wan was dismissed, and he headed back to his apartment, doing his best to ignore the chaos around him. He was already mentally preparing a list of everything that he should pack to bring with him (as someone who had rarely ever traveled in his first life, he hadn’t been an expert on it when he’d come here. He was still mortified by the time he’d forgotten to pack extra underwear for a mission, and of course he couldn’t just run into a local Wal-mart for more).

Anakin was already waiting for him in his apartment (since he’d never bothered to change the code after Anakin had moved out). “So what’s going on? What’s happening?”

“You will be going to Naboo,” Obi-Wan answered with all the cheer he could muster. At least it should be relatively safe there. Obi-Wan hated having to rely solely on the protagonist halo to keep Anakin safe. 

Anakin narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Just me?”

Obi-Wan nodded as he moved past Anakin to get to his room so that he could grab his to-go bag and start making sure it would have everything he needed. “I’m being sent to Geonosis.” Don’t worry protagonist, you will have plenty of time to spend alone with Padme!

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest and wrinkled his nose. “What’s on Geonosis?”

“Count Dooku, apparently,” Obi-Wan muttered, forgoing his usual careful elocution in favor of hoping that Anakin would somehow not hear what he said.

Anakin’s arms dropped down to his sides. “What? They’re sending you after Dooku while I’m just supposed to go on vacation or something?” He clenched his metal hand into a fist, clearly remembering his first traumatic encounter with the former Jedi. “You have to bring me with you!”

Obi-Wan looked up from his packing, and walked over to Anakin so that he could reach up and pat the boy’s head. “I’m not going after Dooku on my own. I am merely being sent to look into whatever it is that he is up to, and then backup will be arriving.”

Anakin’s shoulders slumped down, relieved that Obi-Wan was not facing Dooku himself. “I should still be going with you,” he grumbled. “What am I even supposed to do on Naboo by myself?”

“You won’t be alone,” Obi-Wan assured him. “Padme will be there too.” For some reason, that just made Anakin’s face grow darker. 

Before he could turn around to resume packing, Anakin’s arm shot out and he grabbed one of Obi-Wan’s hands. “Promise that you’ll be careful,” he insisted.

Obi-Wan smiled, and sent warmth through their bond before nodding. “I promise.” Ah, what was he to do with this clingy padawan of his?

Chapter Text

Even Anakin found it difficult to remain grumpy for the entire time that it took to travel from Coruscant to Naboo. But he did continue to miss Obi-Wan, as he always did when they were forced to part ways. He hoped that this stupid war would end as quickly as it started, so that Anakin could finally spend more quality time with his master.

The first thing Anakin did after landing on Naboo was toss his stuff into the rooms he was being given for the duration of his assignment here, and then he snuck out of the palace to go find his mother. He couldn’t really see her in any official capacity, but it was easy enough to go visit her without anyone knowing. And if Senator Amidala wanted to complain about his behavior, then that was her business.

Anakin barged in through the front door of his mother’s house like usual, mouth already open for him to start complaining about everything. He hadn’t even gotten a word out, though, before his mouth snapped shut and he looked at the scene in front of him suspiciously.

Shmi hurried to stand up from the couch, wringing her hands together. “Ani! I wasn’t expecting you.” Then she hurried over to pull Anakin into a hug, and he melted into it. How could he not, when even these days being able to get a hug from his mother was still a rare treat? When she finally pulled away, she took a step back so that she could nod towards the other inhabitant of the house. “Ani, this is Cliegg. He’s also from Tatooine, believe it or not. We met a few months ago, and have been working on a bit of a project together.”

There was a hint of pink in Shmi’s cheeks, and Anakin put his hands on his hips. “A ‘project’, huh?” Truthfully, if Shmi had found a good person that made her happy, then Anakin was happy for her. He knew that Shmi was much more involved in the local community here and that she had some friends, but he still worried about her being lonely. And if she’d found someone else who could truly understand the harshness of life on Tatooine, then that seemed even better- provided that there wasn’t anything more than a coincidence to their meeting. “How did you meet, anyways?”

Cliegg had gotten up, and held his hand out, so Anakin shook it, holding onto his suspicion, knowing not to act until he actually had proof that he should. Obi-Wan would be so proud of him for that. “I left Tatooine for a fresh start after my wife passed away. I ended up coming here because there were some rumors that I wanted to confirm, and I met your mother when we were both researching into the same matter.”

Shmi gave Cliegg a meaningful look. “I trust Ani with my life, and with this.”

“With what? What’s going on?” Anakin demanded.

Shmi reached out to take Anakin’s hands and give a comforting squeeze. “My implant was deactivated when you helped me buy my freedom, but it was still inside me, until Padme made sure the best surgeons took it out. I kept it, and have been working on using its dead signals to figure out how to deactivate others.”

Anakin’s eyes widened as he realized what she was getting at, and Cliegg cleared his throat. “It’s obviously something that needs to be kept very under the radar, but we are doing our best to liberate as many slaves from Tatooine as we can. Between your mother’s knowledge and skills when it comes to the tech side, and my contacts, we’ve been successful so far, though of course with each person we free, the next one becomes a little more difficult.” 

“Whatever you need help with, just ask me and I’ll do it,” Anakin assured them. This was a cause that he very thoroughly agreed with, and he knew that Obi-Wan did as well. It was shameful that the Jedi as an organization had never tried to end slavery in the outer-rim, but Anakin was very proud of Shmi for doing this. But of course it scared him as well, since the Hutts would show no mercy if they ever caught on to who was responsible. 

Shmi shook her head, and let go of one of his hands so that she could reach up and gently cup the side of his face. “Oh, no, Ani, we couldn’t ask that of you. You’re a Jedi, and you have your own responsibilities. And with everything else going on in the Republic now, I’m not sure that we’ll be able to do much from here anymore anyways.” She looked down at the floor sadly as she took a step back from her son. “The first people who will be affected by this war are those who have no say in it, which is why it needs to be ended quickly. The best thing you can do to protect people now is to help with that.”

Anakin clenched his flesh hand into a fist, but he nodded in understanding. Freeing the slaves wouldn’t mean much if they went off to start new lives and were immediately killed just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So far, at least as far as Anakin had heard, the CIS hadn’t made any further moves to attack, but everyone knew that it was inevitable, especially with the Republic refusing to acknowledge the secession of all those systems. “I’ll end the whole thing myself, if I have to.”

Shmi let out a little laugh. “Oh, my darling boy, don’t forget that you do not have to do anything alone. You have your Obi-Wan, don’t you?”

Anakin felt his face flush, and he let out a whine when he remembered that there was someone else here witnessing all of this. “Moooom!” 

The atmosphere became lighter after that, and Shmi insisted on making a full meal before Anakin could leave. “If Padme is upset about you being late, just blame me,” she told him cheerfully. Then she disappeared to the kitchen, which was even bigger than the kitchen in his apartment at the Temple. 

It was also very unsubtle that she was leaving Anakin and Cliegg to get to know each other better, but Anakin didn’t mind too much. It seemed that this Cliegg wasn’t a bad guy, and his mom did seem happy. It was a little strange to learn that Cliegg had a son about ten years older than Anakin, but he could roll with having a step-brother, depending on how things went with Shmi and Cliegg. But Anakin wouldn’t actually be able to meet Owen, Cliegg’s son, because Owen still lived on Tatooine with his girlfriend, where they worked on a moisture farm. 

After learning as much as they could about each other in the amount of time that was given, Shmi called out that the food was ready, and the three of them sat down together to share the delicious home-cooked meal. By the time Anakin took off, a container of leftovers stuffed in his bag, he thought that maybe there were some benefits to staying on Naboo for a while.

,,,

When Anakin met with the senator the next day, he bowed his head to hide the look of distaste that probably flashed through his eyes. “Sorry I was unable to meet with you yesterday.”

Amidala gave him a polite smile. “It is quite alright, I understand that there are other things which may take up your time. And I believe that I do have plenty of protection here already.”

“Still, you must be disappointed that it’s only me here,” Anakin blurted out without thinking. He silently berated himself for antagonizing the person he was supposed to help protect. No matter what his personal issues with her were, it would definitely reflect badly on him and the Jedi if she kicked him out.

Amidala sighed, and she gestured towards the only handmaiden in the room, who left a few seconds later so that it was only Anakin and the senator in the room. “May I speak bluntly, Knight Skywalker?” Anakin nodded slowly, uncertain of what she might say. He really hoped it wasn’t going to be anything about her feelings for Obi-Wan. “I am trained in how to defend myself, but that is not the only reason I feel safe here even without the Jedi around. I am never alone, as I have a very well trained woman with me at all times- including when I sleep. Do you understand? It would not be proper for the information to get out, not while I maintain my political position, but I feel that you should know, since you have been assigned to look after me.”

Anakin could only blink rapidly as he processed that. “Senator Amidala-”

She held out one hand. “Please, if we are to be working together for the foreseeable future, then I would ask that you simply call me Padme.”

Anakin nodded. “Then you can call me Anakin,” he offered. Had he really been misunderstanding things this badly all along? Or had Padme once had a crush on Obi-Wan, but gotten over it because she met someone more attainable? It was hard to believe that anybody could get over a crush on Obi-Wan, but maybe it was possible. Maybe Anakin had been a little too harsh on her this whole time, and he resolved to himself to do better going forward. It would certainly make things easier while he was stationed here if he was able to actually get along with Padme. 

,,,

Before going to bed, Anakin did his best to meditate, and tried to reach out to Obi-Wan. Of course they were much too far away for even someone like Anakin to be able to make a connection, but Anakin could still feel their bond at least, and he contented himself with the fact that it was there. As long as he could feel that bond, he knew that everything would be alright.

,,,

Naboo was very sheltered from the war, and Anakin wasn’t sure whether he liked it better that way or not. Of course it was nice to be safe and to know that his mother was safe here, but as news of the war came in, Anakin couldn’t help getting more and more worried. The other Jedi were all out there risking their lives to end this conflict, while Anakin was on what essentially felt like a vacation.

“Obi-Wan will be alright,” Padme suddenly spoke up.   

Anakin whipped his head towards her. “What?”

She smiled. “I know that you’re worried about him. It’s obvious that you care about each other a lot.” Anakin furrowed his eyebrows at the strange emphasis, but Padme kept talking before Anakin could parse out what she was saying. “Obi-Wan is capable of looking out for himself, so I’m sure he’ll be okay.”

A few days ago, Anakin would have thought she was complimenting Obi-Wan because she liked him so much, or to brag about knowing him so well, but now Anakin was pretty sure that that wasn’t the case. “I’m sure you’re right.” 

Padme cleared her throat. “So, you were sent here directly because of the Chancellor, I’ve heard? It is kind of him to be so concerned about his home planet when he has the entire Republic to be worried about at the moment. Still, I can’t help but think…” she trailed off, then shook her head. “Ah, don’t mind me.”

Anakin waited to see if Padme would say anything else, and when she didn’t, he just shook his head. He didn’t think that he would ever be able to understand this woman, even if he tried.

As he walked alongside her through the long corridors, he felt the Force whisper a warning to him, and then he came to sudden halt when he felt his bond to Obi-Wan go away. It wasn’t as big a jolt as it would be when the two of them were physically closer, but he could still clearly feel the absence because he always dedicated some awareness to checking on the bond.

It was just a case of Without-A-Cure acting up, and it didn’t necessarily mean anything, but if it didn’t, then why would the Force warn him about it? What if there was no one else around who could help meditate with Obi-Wan and clear up the poison? Or what if Obi-Wan had gotten into more danger than he’d said he would? What if Dooku himself had shown up?

Even though she wasn’t Force sensitive, it didn’t take a genius to realize that something was going on, and Padme looked at him with wide eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Something happened to Obi-Wan. I don’t know- I can’t tell-”

Padme reached out to gently put her hand on Anakin’s arm. “If something’s wrong, then you should go.”

Anakin stared at her. “But- you’re the one who just said that he can take care of himself and he’ll be okay. And the Order-”

“It’s up to you, of course. But if you want to go, then I think that you should.” She paused for a moment, then added, “It’s your choice. But you are supposed to be guarding me, and I plan on going to help Obi-Wan,” she declared.

Anakin frowned. “Why would you want to help him?” Suspicion nagged at him again when he’d just started to relax around her.

Padme rolled her eyes. “Because he’s my friend,” she said with some exasperation. 

Anakin didn’t hesitate after that. If Obi-Wan was in trouble, even if it turned out to be nothing, Anakin had to see for himself that his former master was okay. And besides, it’s not like he could stop the stubborn senator from heading out on her own if that’s what she was determined to do, so wasn’t he obligated to go with her?

As they met on Anakin’s ship less than an hour later, Padme changed into more practical clothes and with a couple of blasters at her hips, Anakin couldn’t help thinking that maybe she wasn’t so bad afterall. 

Chapter Text

When Obi-Wan had been sent to Geonosis, it had been with the strict instructions to stick with scouting out and assessing the situation until backup could be sent. And that really was what Obi-Wan had intended to do- it’s not as though he had any interest in throwing his life into danger when it wasn’t necessary. But as he’d been sitting around, fretting about how they were inching ever closer to the Mustafar plotline, the System had offered him a too-good-to-be-true amount of points if he just pressed on ahead without waiting.

It was dangerous to continue on, especially after Obi-Wan had confirmed that these really were factories, and they seemed to be mass producing droids. In some ways that was a positive sign, since it meant that the CIS didn’t actually have enough support to build an army of their own, but it also meant nothing good for the direction this conflict was headed in. (And if he was being honest with himself, it was getting a little boring just sitting around like this.)

But Obi-Wan was pretty good at sneaking when he had to, and fighting a couple of droids seemed more than worth it if it meant he could avoid betraying Anakin and then being tortured to death. If he did die to some droids (which didn’t seem to be highly intelligent from what Obi-Wan had witnessed so far), then at least it would be a quick death.

So with the incentive of 1,000 PSP on the line, Obi-Wan went against his better judgement and proceeded into the nearest factory. “So am I looking for anything specific, or are you just here to entertain yourself by putting me in a near-death situation?”

[This System takes no enjoyment from Host’s negative experiences!] he was assured. [While progressing here alone may be out of character, it will surely lead to a better narrative overall, so Host should be happy!] 

“Well, I suppose it would still be better for me to die with Anakin remembering me only as his teacher who did not turn on him,” he muttered to himself.

[Host will not die here! Host has-]

Obi-Wan shushed the System, even though he knew by now that nobody else could hear the damned thing, and pressed himself up flat against the nearest wall. He could hear voices getting closer, and they were not the robotic voices of the completed droids. Apparently this place was not entirely automated. Or Obi-Wan had gotten really unlucky to show up on an inspection day. Either way, he had to quickly come up with a solution. 

    Remembering a scene from a movie he’d once been forced to watch, Obi-Wan leaped up and then used the Force to keep holding himself up, flat against the ceiling. He had been smart enough to not bring his cloak with him, so there was no excess fabric to dangle down, and unlike in the movie, Obi-Wan did not have an injury that would suspiciously drip blood down in front of the bad guys.

Stretching out his senses, Obi-Wan did not feel that the approaching people were Force sensitive, though if they were good enough at shielding then it would be difficult to tell anyways. He stared intently as they got closer, trying to take in every detail so that he would be able to include it in his reports.

It was two people having a conversation, somewhat hushed despite the fact that they surely had to think that they were alone here. Obi-Wan didn’t recognize either of them- from meeting them or from book descriptions, but he wasn’t ready to write them off as unimportant background characters until he knew for sure that that was the case.

Of course, Obi-Wan should have known that the System was just setting him up, or that the universe hated him, or something. Because just as the two were about to pass by, Obi-Wan felt his connection to the Force disappear, and there was no way to grab the smooth ceiling, so he dropped to the floor, grateful that he was able to land on his feet so that he didn’t completely embarrass himself.

The two strangers just stared at him with gaping mouths for a moment, just as surprised as Obi-Wan about the sudden drop in. He could grab his lightsaber very quickly, but it was much more dangerous to use without the Force, even with all his muscle memory, so he held off. Even though it had yet to happen, maybe Without-A-Cure would just fade away on its own?

To buy himself some time, Obi-Wan offered a friendly smile. “Ah, what good luck to run into you again! It’s been far too long, my friend.”

One of the strangers looked at Obi-Wan in confusion. “Do we know each other?”

The other one shook his head and hissed, “Isn’t that one of the Jedi?”

The first one squinted at Obi-Wan for a few seconds, then frowned. “No, I don’t think so.” He pulled a small device out of his pocket and pointed it towards Obi-Wan, and a green light came out as it scanned the Jedi. The first guy showed it smugly to the second. “See? The Count specifically said that the number would always be above this line if there’s a Jedi.”

Obi-Wan didn’t actually frown, but he couldn’t help wondering if Dooku had given his people a midichlorian scanner. And if that was the case, then shouldn’t Obi-Wan’s number still be relatively high, despite his inability to connect to the Force at the moment? Obi-Wan wasn’t sure he liked the implications about Without-A-Cure. He knew that both Ventress and Healer Che had told him that the poison would eat away at his midichlorians, but he hadn’t realized it happened so quickly that a scanner wouldn’t detect them right after the poison flared up! Or, and this was even more concerning, would his midichlorian count look so low even when he was perfectly fine, because they were constantly being destroyed inside of him?

He made a note to test this out for himself once he was safely back at the Temple. Idly, Obi-Wan wondered if there was some way to just get himself a new body, since this one may not last as long as he’d hoped, but that was something to think about later. For now, he needed to focus on what was going on in the present. “See? Not a Jedi.” He gave them a winning grin (and he knew that it had to be effective, because even Anakin was willing to do as asked when Obi-Wan used it on him- which is why Obi-Wan used this powerful weapon so sparingly). 

“Well if you’re not a Jedi, then what were you doing up on the ceiling?” the second guy asked suspiciously.

Obi-Wan laughed. “Are Jedi known for being on ceilings?”

Both of the guys, who Obi-Wan was quickly becoming convinced were nothing more than nameless goons, looked at each other as they tried to figure out what to do. “So what are you doing here?” the first guy asked.

Banking on them being unimportant NPCs, Obi-Wan told them, “Count Dooku himself sent me to check everything and make sure this place is running at peak efficiency. Good work, from what I’ve seen so far, everything here passes inspection.”

The goons both looked pleased to hear that. “You’ll tell the Count about how well things are going here?”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan assured them, lying through his teeth. “Now if you don’t mind-”

“Would you like an official tour, sir?” one of the goons asked.

For a moment, Obi-Wan could only stare. When he was finished here, he would really need to have a conversation with Padme about believable writing, because Obi-Wan just could not believe the sheer level of idiocy coming from these guys. While it was good when it worked in Obi-Wan’s favor, he somehow doubted that this made for a good story. [Host would be surprised,] the System chimed in. It didn’t say anything else, and Obi-Wan didn’t bother asking for clarification, since that never got him anywhere.

He just looked at the two goons, and continued to smile. “That would be wonderful, thank you.” He followed the two down the hallway, and they began pointing out anything of note. Obi-Wan did his best to pay attention to everything, since he knew that no detail would be too small to leave out of his notes. 

When they reached one of the factory floors, it was only Obi-Wan’s many years of training in keeping his thoughts to himself that he was able to stop himself from gaping at the sight of more droids than he’d ever seen in one place. All of them were armed, and there were more moving along the giant conveyor belts overhead. There were a lot of clones, who could presumably think and act for themselves as sentient beings, but just this one factory looked like it was producing many more droids, and at a faster rate, even accounting for the artificial growth  of the clones. 

“There’s one more important thing to see- the control room,” one of the goons told him. “It’s this way.” 

They led him down a narrow hallway, and seemed to be going oddly far from the factory floor, but Obi-Wan was no expert in designing factory layouts, so maybe it was normal for the control room to be so separate. One of the goons opened a sturdy metal door and gestured for Obi-Wan to go first. He stepped inside without thinking, and then the door slammed shut behind him. He whirled around, and immediately realized that it had been foolish of him to assume that these two were just stupid background characters. Afterall, it’s not like Padme had written any of this stuff, had she, so it made sense that it would be a little more complex than her usual writing. Which was great and all, except for the fact that Obi-Wan was now locked away and still had no way to use the Force. 

He wanted to say that at least he still had his lightsaber, but when he reached down to grab it, ready to slice through the wall and make his escape, he realized that it was not clipped to his belt like usual. He thought of how one of the goons had stumbled and brushed against him while they’d walked. Obi-Wan had written it off as clumsiness, but now he realized that it had been very intentional. And without the Force to warn him, Obi-Wan had no idea that he’d been pickpocketed. Well this was just great. “So this is why you wanted me to come here? Just to get captured?”

The System almost sounded like it was laughing at him, that bastard. [The protagonist needs more character development before the climax of the story,] it explained to him, as if that made any sense. Anakin was already a well developed and complex character- and besides that, how was Obi-Wan getting locked up going to help Anakin at all? Unless he was going to get executed and it would launch some kind of revenge plot from Anakin to make up for him not hunting down Obi-Wan for revenge? The wise mentor character was often killed off- just look at Qui-Gon Jinn from Way of the Proud Sith Lord.

Obi-Wan sighed, and settled down to meditate, ignoring the jeers coming from his captors, who were patting themselves on the back for being so smart that they were able to capture a Jedi. They mentioned something about Dooku being on his way, but Obi-Wan just ignored it. Though it would have nowhere near the same impact on Anakin as if it were Padme in trouble, Obi-Wan still did not want his padawan to be emotionally scarred by his teacher’s death, which meant that Obi-Wan had an obligation to more than just himself to get out of here. 

Chapter Text

The closer they got to their destination with still no sign of Obi-Wan and their bond, the more anxious Anakin felt. He knew that his master was capable of defending himself, even in very dangerous situations, but he also knew that his master had a tendency to just… not understand when he was in danger. Normally, Anakin found it endearing, how Obi-Wan could be so smart, and yet so clueless when it came to certain things, but right now it only made Anakin’s nerves worsen as his imagination provided him with all kinds of ideas about what could be happening to his master right now.

He was too nervous to fall asleep and ask his shadow teacher for advice, but at least he wasn’t alone on this mission. Probably the biggest surprise out of this entire situation was the fact that Anakin realized that he didn’t actually hate Padme like he’d thought, and that she was actually a decent person.

Like now, when she came up to offer him more reassurances, even though she had no way of actually knowing whether they were true or not. “Obi-Wan is going to be okay.” Then she muttered something that sounded like ‘wife halo’, but Anakin was in no state of mind to be questioning the senator’s odd turns of phrase.

It felt like the trip took years to pass, but then finally, finally! they were close enough to see Geonosis through the windows. The last thing Anakin needed was the annoying ringing of his comm, and he could see that it was the Council trying to contact him. It was really tempting to just ignore the call and later claim that he’d had bad reception out here. “They’ll probably just tell me to turn back,” he grumbled. “Even though Obi-Wan needs me!” 

Padme reached out like she was going to touch Anakin’s hand, but then thought better of it and dropped her arm. “Maybe, but maybe they will be able to help. I know you want to be Obi-Wan’s hero, but making sure he’s safe is more important than doing it all by yourself, isn’t it?”

“You don’t think I could?” Anakin demanded hotly.

Padme shook her head. “We don’t even know what kind of situation Obi-Wan has gotten into, trouble-magnet that he is. There’s no shame in admitting that you cannot take on the galaxy yourself.” 

The thing was though, that when Anakin used the Dark Side, he really did feel like he could take on the entire universe. It was just usually a little tricky getting into that mental state when he knew that it wasn’t what Obi-Wan would want for him. But right now, with the thought that Obi-Wan could be in serious trouble, that someone might have dared harm him while he was vulnerable, Anakin found that it would take hardly any effort at all to tap into that much more powerful part of the Force.

“Anakin!” Padme snapped. He looked at her sharply, and realized that she must have said his name a couple of times to try and get his attention. “If you can’t stay focused, then you’re better off turning back now before you make things worse.” Though her words were harsh, her tone was not unkind, and it did not grate on Anakin’s nerves like it would have if she’d spoken to him like that a week ago. “Just focus on Obi-Wan. Not whatever’s going on with him right now, but like a good memory that has him in it.”

That was easy enough to do. As soon as the senator suggested, Anakin’s mind was flooded with all of his happy memories with Obi-Wan, and he found that some of the tension eased out of him like magic. He thought of the way Obi-Wan smiled all the time, but that he had a little secret smile that only Anakin ever seemed to be gifted with, and how Obi-Wan would pat him on the head and praise him when he did well. He thought about the time he’d been out at the swoop tracks later than expected, and he got back to find Obi-Wan fallen asleep on the couch, datapad on the floor next to him, clearly from Obi-Wan trying to stay up until Anakin returned.

Anakin took several deep breaths, and then looked at Padme. Without him even noticing, she’d unclipped his comm and taken possession of it, answering the call from the Council. “-my idea,” she told them, her steady words inviting no argument. “As he was sent mainly for my protection, he had little recourse but to accompany me.”

“...I see,” Mace said dryly after a pointed moment of silence. “I cannot force you to do anything, Senator, but I can insist that you turn back now, and return to Naboo.”

Padme shook her head. “Obi-Wan has helped save my planet, as well as my life on multiple occasions. Now that there is a chance to return the favor, I will take it. But I do appreciate your concern, Master Jedi. Was there anything else?”

Mace frowned, though the impressive effect of it was somewhat lost through the wavery blue hologram. “I do not know how long it will take for backup to arrive. Be cautious, Senator Amidala. The Republic cannot afford to lose you.”

“I know,” Padme responded. “May the Force be with you.”

“And with you,” Mace answered slowly. He gave Padme a long look, then finally hung up the call.

Padme gave Anakin the comm back. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“He’ll definitely chew me out when this is over,” Anakin told her.

There was a wry grin on Padme’s face. “Oh, I don’t doubt it.” Anakin rolled his eyes, but didn’t bother saying anything else. Padme cleared her throat as she stood there. “So you’d really do anything for Obi-Wan, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would, I lo- he’s my master.” Anakin flinched at what he’d almost just let slip out. Even if Obi-Wan didn’t begrudge him having feelings and going against the Code, this was definitely a step too far.

It was impossible that Padme didn’t know what he’d been about to say, but she didn’t laugh at him or show disgust, or seem like she was going to lecture him. “How long have you felt that way? I don’t mean to invalidate your feelings, but you are still very young, and Obi-Wan is the person you have spent the most time with in your life. And when I first met the two of you, you did not seem to get along so well.” There was a strange catch in her voice when she said that last part, though Anakin wasn’t sure why.

He swallowed down his immediate defensive response, and actually gave some thought to the question. “I know that I’m young, but I can’t imagine ever caring for anyone as much as I do for Obi-Wan. I guess there’s not really any one specific moment that I can pinpoint, but after his coma, I finally proved myself to Obi-Wan, and ever since then, I just… Other than my mother, he’s the only person to ever really show me kindness and believe in me. And he’s so…” Anakin blushed when he realized that he was about to talk about how beautiful and powerful his master was- even if Padme wasn’t interested in Obi-Wan, Anakin didn’t need to be drawing her attention to those virtues, so he quickly moved on. “Even what you saw of us back then isn’t what it looked like- Obi-Wan was just testing me. Making sure that I could really be a Jedi.”

He waited nervously for Padme’s response. He was putting a lot of trust in her right now, because if she told the Council anything about this conversation, they would be happy to use it as an excuse to finally get rid of Anakin. “Oh boy,” she muttered under her breath before tilting her head back so that she could meet Anakin’s eyes. “I can’t claim to know that Obi-Wan feels the same way about you, but I do know for a fact that he cares about you and puts your interests above pretty much everything else, even when he probably shouldn’t. But that doesn’t excuse how you were treated as a child. Nobody deserves to-”

Anakin held up a hand to cut her off. “It’s alright if you don’t understand,” he told her. “But I don’t resent Obi-Wan for anything. He can do whatever he wants, and I won’t care. I know that he only does what’s best for me. He got- he got poisoned just to protect me.”

There was a pinched look on Padme’s face. “I really wish there was therapy in this world.” She let out a long sigh. “Alright, so you love your master, and both of you are foolish enough to throw yourselves into danger for each other. You two are perfect for each other. Ah, but you’re still technically a kid, and Obi-Wan’s known you since you were a kid, so he probably won’t be able to see you differently.”

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest. It was annoying that Padme was giving words to things that he’d been thinking about himself for a while now. “I’m a Jedi Knight now, Obi-Wan knows that I’m not just a kid.”

“It is okay to just be a kid, you know. Adulthood is not all it’s cracked up to be.” 

“You’re only like five years older than me,” Anakin reminded her.

Padme blinked. “Ah, right, of course. I guess I just, ah, feel older because of the stress of my job.”

Anakin would have said something about that, but the ship’s computer indicated that they were about to enter Geonosis’ atmosphere. It was nice of Padme to have distracted him from the current issues for a little while, but right now, he needed to focus on what was important. He sat down in the pilot seat, and Padme sat next to him, both of them wordlessly buckling up. Then Anakin grabbed the steering apparatus, and told Padme to hang on tightly.

,,,

Even though Obi-Wan was quite good at meditating by now, it was much more boring to do when he couldn’t actually connect with the Force, and he quickly found himself with nothing to do. “I don’t suppose you come with in-flight entertainment?” he asked the System.

[Host can entertain himself,] was the only answer he got, which was pretty rude when it was entirely the System’s fault that he was in this mess.

Even though he couldn’t see it as a good thing that he heard footsteps heading towards the room he was trapped in, Obi-Wan had to admit that at least it would probably mean something interesting, though he wasn’t really looking forward to being tortured or killed. He was already starting to feel a little sluggish from going his longest amount of time yet without having Without-A-Cure treated, not to mention that his captors hadn’t exactly been smart enough to offer him food or water. What was the point in locking him up if they just wanted him dead? No, it was more likely that they were too stupid to remember that he still had bodily needs. (Obi-Wan preferred to think of them as mindless goons, even if they had somehow been clever enough to capture him. It wasn’t his fault that he was used to only stupidity when it came to Airplane’s side characters!!)

The cell door slid open, and of course it was Dooku himself standing there. It had been a tempting idea to stand by the door and smack his visitor in the head with one of his shoes, but Obi-Wan had realized that it would be pointless since a shoe wouldn’t do much damage, and Dooku would have the Force on his side anyways, so Obi-Wan may as well at least try to keep up his image as an untouchable Jedi Master.

Dooku glanced sharply at one of his minions. “You did not put any Force-inhibitors on him?”

The goon gulped. “It didn’t seem necessary, since his number was lower than what you told us…”

Dooku frowned as he turned back to Obi-Wan, who was still sitting calmly in his meditation pose on the floor. Even though Obi-Wan couldn’t feel it, he guessed that the man was trying to reach out in the Force. “Hm. It would seem that Without-A-Cure is still good for something, even if it did not take your life.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened slightly. “How do you know about that?” The Council and healers had all agreed that it was best to keep the information under wraps, so that they could try to avoid Obi-Wan ever being targeted by enemies who knew he was vulnerable. 

One side of Dooku’s mouth twitched up in a faint approximation of a smile. “I believe that I am the one in a position to be asking questions, Master Kenobi.”    

“Ah, right.” He gestured with one arm as if giving Dooku permission, and he still did not rise up from the floor. It’s not like standing would give him any advantage since he was screwed no matter what, so he might as well do his best to give off the impression that he was not at all frightened. Too bad Anakin wasn’t here, since that protagonist halo would surely come in handy in a situation like this. “What is it that you’d like to know?”

Dooku’s smile grew. “Are you comfortable here, Kenobi? No? Well, I believe that I have a better room prepared for you, one that should make you more likely to talk.”

Ah, so torture it was then. Alright. “System, do I actually know anything important enough that it would lead to the Republic losing the war if Dooku got it out of me?”

[There is no way of knowing… Host will just have to remain strong!] Great. This was exactly why Obi-Wan never bothered asking for help from the System, because it was just useless.

Whatever, it was fine. Dooku was planning on moving his prisoner, which was a major mistake, since it would give Obi-Wan all kinds of opportunities to escape, whether he had the Force or not. Really, this was no different than his previous life, where he’d obviously not had the Force, and he’d survived just fine there. Or at least he had up until he died… Alright, so maybe it was time to panic at least a little bit. Though there wasn’t much time to do so, as he felt the Force suddenly wrap around his neck and squeeze, cutting off his air until the edges of his vision went fuzzy. So maybe Dooku wasn’t that big of a moron. What were the odds that there would be so many smart characters in this sham of a book? Obi-Wan certainly couldn’t have expected that.

Chapter Text

Even though Padme reminded him about twenty times that he should really stop and think through what his plan was, as soon as they had landed, all thoughts along those rational lines flew out of his head. Even though he still could not feel his bond to Obi-Wan, he could feel the Force urging him to hurry, and he knew that he should heed such a warning.

So he took off, and was only vaguely aware of Padme running right behind him. He slashed open the door of the nearest factory with his saber and then ran in. An unfamiliar model of droid walked around, and started making loud beeping noises when it spotted Anakin, which was immediately followed by it shooting at him. Anakin deflected the shots back into the droid, and it went down in a heap of smoke. He didn’t even pause before he continued running. 

It was the strangest sensation, of not having his bond available, but somehow still being led around by the Force. He wasn’t going to question it, though, if the Force wanted to help him here. He could also see the shots fly past him as Padme more than pulled her weight, taking out several droids before Anakin could even see them coming, more used to being able to sense the presence of organic living things. 

Anakin slashed open each door he came across, and after a few, he realized that perhaps that was not a good idea, as he found himself in a massive room that had to contain hundreds of droids, and the destructive entry had caught their attention. “You’re a fucking idiot!” Padme shouted as she immediately ran to duck for cover behind a large machine. “We can’t take them all, we’ve got to go!”

Anakin was already deflecting all of the bolts that came his way, but there were so many of them that it was hard to keep track of every slash of red flying through the air. “Obi-Wan is this way!” he argued. “You should go back, though!”

Padme let out a snort loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the shooting. “You’ll be dead without me!” she shouted back. She furrowed her eyebrows in concentration, doing her best to get a good look at their surroundings every time she popped up to fire off a couple more shots. She pointed towards a narrow metal set of stairs that led up to an observation balcony. “That way!” 

Anakin followed where she was pointing, and nodded in agreement. “I’ll send you up first!”

“What? No-” Padme tried to protest, but Anakin used the Force to pick her up as carefully as he could, and lifted her up to the balcony, bypassing the need for stairs. He probably set her down with a little too much force to be comfortable, but that was genuinely only because it was difficult to concentrate on using the Force in multiple places at once, and not because he wanted to hurt her. 

From up there, Padme was able to provide better cover as Anakin sprinted across the factory floor towards the stairs. He was swinging his lightsaber wildly, grunting with pain when a couple of blasts snuck past his defenses and hit his open back. Still, he fared better than most people probably would have in such a situation.

When he was halfway up the stairs, he used the Force to leap up the rest of the way, and then sliced at the thin pieces of metal connected the stairs to the balcony, watching in satisfaction as the stairs dropped down, crushing a couple of droids who weren’t able to move out of the way quickly enough. The droids were still shooting, but as long as Padme and Anakin stayed up against the wall, it was a lot harder for any shots to actually reach them, and Anakin was able to bat them away with his saber.

There were a couple of different doors that were all closed, and Padme looked at Anakin with one eyebrow raised. “Now what? Which way?”

Anakin closed his eyes and concentrated. He asked the Force for some guidance, and he felt a quiet answer. He opened his eyes again, and nodded for Padme to follow him. They walked to the door at the furthest end of the balcony, and this time Anakin looked for a button to open it rather than just cutting it up, not wanting to walk in on another room full of more droids than he could count. It also meant that he could close the door behind them, and hopefully block any stray shots from the droids out there.

Fortunately, that was not what awaited them on the other side of the door- there was just another hallway. They walked cautiously down it, wary because there were no doors or alcoves to duck in, only the doors at either end of the hallway. At least it also meant that there wasn’t a big question about which way to go next, since it was obvious that they needed to just continue forward. “Are you sure about this?” Padme asked in a quiet voice, despite the fact that there didn’t seem to be anyone else behind them. 

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes, I just suddenly changed my mind about saving Obi-Wan, let’s just go drink fizzy alcohol while he’s tortured to death or something.”

Padme reached out to flick him in the shoulder. “Obviously that’s not what I meant. Whatever, let’s just do this.” Under her breath she added, “We’re all going to die here, aren’t we?” which Anakin graciously chose to ignore.

They reached the door at the other end of the hallway, and Anakin motioned for Padme to stand off to the side with her blaster ready as he opened the door. It slid open and there was no immediate attacking or shouts of alarm, so Anakin peered through the door, and saw that it was a ship hangar. The ship that immediately caught his attention was a menacing once that didn’t quite look like any of the ships Anakin knew of, and he knew a lot. 

The boarding ramp was still down, but Anakin knew that he had limited time, so he raced forward and into the ship. He looked around frantically, but he still couldn’t feel Obi-Wan. He could feel a different Force signature though, and Anakin headed the opposite way of it, assuming that Dooku would be overseeing takeoff while Obi-Wan was stored elsewhere.

He sliced down a droid that was standing guard in front of a suspiciously prison-like door, and then got to work on the locking mechanism until. He was just about to get frustrated enough to hack through yet another door, when suddenly Padme was there, panting for breath. “You really need to slow down sometimes,” she complained, before jamming a strange little device into the keypad. There were some beeps, and then the light clicked green and the door slid open. 

Anakin would want a closer look at the device later, but for right now, he just needed to get to Obi-Wan. He deactivated his lightsaber and stepped into the room, which was weirdly dark. He reacted on instinct when something came barreling towards him, and grappled the body to the floor. Then he really looked, and realized that he was pinning down Obi-Wan, and that Obi-Wan had gone down far too easily. “Obi-Wan!” He quickly got off of his former master, and looked the man over.

There was a painful looking bruise around Obi-Wan’s neck, but other than that there weren’t any noticeable injuries, which made it even more worrying that Obi-Wan had barely put up a fight before being shoved to the floor. Obi-Wan sat up with Anakin’s help, and gave Anakin a small smile. “Ah, I did have the situation quite in hand, but I do appreciate the assistance.”    

“Of course, Master,” Anakin said indulgently. He didn't even realize that he had reached out to touch Obi-Wan’s face until he felt the warmth beneath his flesh hand. “Let’s get you out of here.”

When he pulled Obi-Wan back to his feet, Obi-Wan stumbled a little, and Anakin quickly moved to steady him. “I’m alright, I’m alright,” Obi-Wan assured him, though it didn’t mean much when his face was so pale and he looked like he might topple over any moment. 

Padme peered nervously into the room. “There will be time for catching up and administering first aid later. For right now, we just need to get out of here.”

Obi-Wan shot Padme an annoyed look. “And then you and I will be having words,” he threatened. 

Padme nodded, then looked at Anakin. “So any plans for how we’re going to get back to our ship without passing through a room full of aggroed droids?”

“We could always fly there,” Obi-Wan suggested, and his rescuers looked at him in confusion. “I don’t believe that Dooku has a very large crew. If we take this ship and fly it back to yours, we can pass right over the entire facility rather than passing through it.”

“Maybe you should just wait here,” Anakin started to say.

Obi-Wan immediately shook his head. “I am not helpless,” he said primly. 

Now Anakin was extra glad that Padme was here, because it meant that she could keep an eye on their surroundings while Anakin kept a constant eye on Obi-Wan. He knew that his former master was too stubborn to just sit back and wait for the others to get everything done, and Obi-Wan was still a powerful person to have with them, regardless of whether he could use the Force at the moment or not.

The trio moved stealthily through the ship, dispatching the few droids and crewmembers they came across, until they finally reached the cockpit. They were all taken aback when they realized that the person in there was not Dooku, as expected, but rather a different familiar face that Anakin had hoped to never see again. “You,” he growled.

Asajj Ventress turned around casually, like she had absolutely no fear from being outnumbered, and smirked. “Let me guess, you’re here to hijack the ship,” she drawled out.

Anakin was ready to lunge towards her regardless of the consequences- this was the wretch who had poisoned Obi-Wan, the reason that he was so weak even now, and was in constant danger of succumbing to Without-A-Cure. But Obi-Wan reached out to lightly grab Anakin’s wrist, not with nearly enough strength to physically restrain, but enough to make Anakin take a deep breath and stay where he was. “What are you doing here?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“Dooku already knew about Without-A-Cure,” Obi-Wan said mildly. “So it stands to reason that the two of them are working together. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Dooku has taken on an apprentice of his own?”

Ventress laughed. “Perhaps it would be.” She gave them all a long look, and then shrugged. “Don’t go thinking anything of it, really, but I am honestly impressed that you’re even still alive, so why don’t I give you a free pass just this once?”

Anakin scowled. “What makes you think we’d just let you walk away?”

Padme leaned a little closer to Anakin so that she could speak softly, though in the small cockpit, Ventress could probably still easily listen. “Obi-Wan isn’t looking so good, and we don’t know where Dooku is, so it might be best to just let her go this time.”

Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan, who was still standing tall but looking even paler than before, and he knew that Padme had a point. His master’s health and safety took priority over justice. So even though it pained him to do so, he stepped aside, but didn’t actually say anything, daring the assassin to walk past him while he had his saber in hand.

Ventress let out a little laugh before walking by, intentionally bumping into Anakin’s shoulder on the way. “Have a good trip,” she called back over her shoulder while she lifted her hand in a little wave. “Oh, and you’ll probably want this.” Something was tossed through the air and Anakin reached out to grab it, immediately recognizing Obi-Wan’s lightsaber. He didn’t even want to know why Ventress had it on her in the first place.

As Anakin sat down in the pilot’s seat, Obi-Wan looked at Padme. “Thanks,” he said quietly. She just nodded once, and then motioned for him to take the co-pilot seat. It didn’t take long for them to fly over the factory and land next to the ship that Anakin and Padme had come in, and then all three of them hurried to get in and leave Geonosis. The Council needed to know about the army that the CIS was building, but Anakin left Padme to start taking care of that, and once the ship was in space and the autopilot was running, he dragged Obi-Wan into his room so that they could meditate together. And when their bond finally reappeared, Anakin could hardly breathe from the relief of it. 

Chapter Text

Padme didn’t even try to argue when Anakin said that they needed to go straight back to Coruscant rather than to Naboo. Even after having meditated together, Obi-Wan still felt a little weak, and it was no surprise, given how long he’d been affected by Without-A-Cure. As he watched Anakin and Padme speak with each other, he couldn’t help feeling curious. Maybe his connection with the Force was still too weak for it, but he didn’t detect any of the feelings between them that he would have expected to make an appearance by now. 

He wanted to pull Padme aside to ask about it, but Anakin seemed reluctant (aka refused every suggestion) to leave Obi-Wan’s side for longer than a few seconds, even though they were on a fairly small ship and there wasn’t really anything that could happen to him that Anakin wouldn’t be able to attend to right away.

Still, Obi-Wan couldn’t deny the appeal in staying close to Anakin. As much as he liked to think he was above all of the nonsense of this world, and tried to think of it as just a story, being captured and on his own like that actually was a bit… scary. But of course, being so near to Anakin just made it all the easier to tease him. “You couldn’t even bear to be apart from the senator for long enough to rescue your old master?”

Anakin gave him a pained look. “Obi-Wan…” 

Padme snorted from where she was sitting in the pilot’s seat, the open door to the room making it so that sound traveled easily all through the small ship. She got up and walked over to stand in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest, eyes amused. “Obi-Wan, I almost forgot to tell you something that I thought you might find interesting.” Her eyes flicked to Anakin for a moment before landing back on Obi-Wan. “I’m a lesbian.” 

Obi-Wan blinked a few times in confusion. “What? But then how-?” He also looked at Anakin for a moment. He assumed that she didn’t mean the original Padme, though he could be wrong about that, but if she did mean herself, as in the author, then that did change things. Was she saying that Anakin was such a good protagonist that she liked him despite her label? Or was she saying that she didn’t like Anakin? The idea seemed foreign to him, but that seemed like the most likely thing she was trying to convey. “I see.” Then, worried she’d think he was unaccepting, he hurried to add, “That’s, uh, good. For you.” 

Anakin scowled, clearly irritated to not understand the conversation revolving around a word that didn’t exist in this universe. Padme ignored Anakin, though, and just stared at Obi-Wan with piercing eyes. “Are you sure that you understand what I’m telling you?” 

Of course he got it! He was an ally, okay? He was the first one in the family that his sister had come out to as being his sister, and he’d read many books with two male leads, as long as they were decently written and not complete Way of the Proud Sith Lord type trash. He sat up straighter, and rolled his eyes at Padme. “Yes, I understand. You couldn’t be more clear.”

Padme arched one eyebrow as if to say she doubted it, but didn’t say that. “Would there perhaps be anything similar you might want to get off your chest?”

Now Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “I’m not a lesbian.” 

Padme just stared at him for several long seconds before bursting into laughter, though Obi-Wan really didn’t understand what was so funny. What other kind of similar confession was she expecting if not that? Fed up with being left out of the loop, Anakin glowered up at Padme. “What’s a lesbian?”

“I’ll leave you to handle this one,” Padme said before heading back to the pilot’s seat.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes again at her back, then turned to face Anakin. “A lesbian is a woman who loves other woman.” He knew that there was probably more nuance that could be given to the definition, but he’d never paid that much attention to these things in his former life, and though he’d spent much of his time on the internet, it was not usually on the types of sites that would go in depth about this.

Anakin let out a little, “Ahh,” like something suddenly made a lot of sense to him, and he nodded in satisfaction. Obi-Wan was surprised that Anakin wasn’t more upset about learning that his crush wouldn’t return his feelings. Unless he’d already confessed and been rejected, and now he understood the reason? It was so hard to tell where they were at in the timeline, what with Airplane moving everything up, and now she’d made this major change. Not that Obi-Wan wanted her to be with Anakin if that wasn’t what she wanted, but he had to wonder what would replace the large chunks of the novel that had been dedicated to the romance plotline.

,,,

Obi-Wan didn’t even realize he’d drifted off to sleep until he found himself waking up in the Halls of Healing in the Temple. He blinked a few times and looked around in confusion, feeling a wave of deja-vous at all of this. He definitely didn’t recall the original goods getting so battered around, at least not until it was time for Anakin’s revenge. Obi-Wan quickly shoved those thoughts aside, though, not wanting to dwell on his potential future.

As he shifted to sit up, two hands immediately reached out to steady him, one warm and one cold. He looked up at Anakin, who helped settle him in an upright position with a couple of pillows lodged behind his back. “Thank you,” he murmured.

“The healers said you’re lucky to not have worse long-term aftereffects,” Anakin said in an equally soft voice. “How do you feel?”

Obi-Wan mentally took stock of his body. Nothing felt particularly out of the ordinary, at least not when it came to this lifetime. None of the minor aches and pains from Without-A-Cure could even compare to his previous life. “I’m alright,” he assured Anakin. “Has the Council been updated about everything?”

Anakin sighed, and sat back down in the seat next to the bed. “Yes. They’re understandably concerned. They said that they have no choice but to use the clones at this point.”

“They told you that?” Obi-Wan asked with surprise. The Council had never been subtle about their distrust of Anakin.

His former padawan snorted, clearly thinking along the same lines as Obi-Wan. “No, of course not. Aalya and Vos are here, and she told me.” 

“Master Vos,” Obi-Wan corrected absent-mindedly, long past the point where he thought that Anakin would actually change his ways about this. “Yes, I can understand the Council’s point. Even with an army of organics, we would be vastly outnumbered, let alone with an army of droids to supplement it.” Anakin furrowed his eyebrows, and looked at Obi-Wan the way that he always had when he had a question but was worried that it would be foolish to ask. “What is it?” he prompted.

Anakin hesitated, and glanced around to make sure that there was nobody too close to them before he leaned forward and spoke quietly. “It’s just… these clones, they’re being made for the sole purpose of being soldiers. But they’re still people, aren’t they? Are they being given any choice here? Do they actually want to fight, or are they just being forced to because the Jedi claim to own them?”

Obi-Wan reached out to rest his hand on top of Anakin’s, who didn’t seem to realize that he was gripping the sheets of the bed hard enough to nearly tear them. “I wish that there was an easy answer I could give you, but the truth is that I do not know,” since it hadn’t been in that stupid book, “Perhaps we can ask them ourselves, when we get the chance. But you are right that they are still people and should be treated as such. I’m sure that all of this will be as much of a learning process for them as it will be for us.” 

“I don’t want to go to war,” Anakin mumbled. 

Obi-Wan leaned over further so that he could pull Anakin into a brief hug, while also sending comfort through their bond. “I know, dear one, I know.” He didn’t want to go to war either, but at this point, there wasn’t any choice at all, was there? 

,,,

“Commander Cody at your service, General,” greeted the helmeted figure in front of Obi-Wan. Then he reached up to pull off his helmet, and if Obi-Wan had not already seen so many copies of that same face in the facility on Kamino, he would have had no reason to think that there was anything unusual about it at all. 

“You can just call me Obi-Wan,” he insisted gently. “I’m hardly any more experienced with all of this than you are.” 

Cody nodded, but something about the glint in his eyes made Obi-Wan think that this was going to be like dealing with a young Anakin all over again. “Would you like to meet the rest of the men?”

Obi-Wan was led to a ship far larger than he would have expected, and wondered how much it had cost the Council to commission such things for each of the Jedi that they had appointed as generals. Onboard, he was respectfully greeted by every clone that they passed, with Cody introducing them all by name, and Obi-Wan doing his best to commit them all to memory. He would make a point of figuring out how to tell them apart and call each of them by name, because he refused to let them feel like they were just blank droids being sent out to die, even if that was what most of the Republic seemed to think after news of the clones had gotten out.

After getting a full tour of the ship and meeting everyone whose lives he would be responsible for going forward, Obi-Wan returned to his apartment in the Temple to make sure he had everything he would need. He knew that it could be a while before he was able to make it back here. Despite the fact that in the movies, wars usually lasted for the span of about a single epic battle, he knew that it was not usually like that, and since this was not part of Airplane’s terrible writing, he couldn’t rely on it being so easy. 

As he was packing up, he heard the door open, and looked up to see Anakin wandering in like he still lived here. “Obi-Wan, do you really have to go right now? My ship isn’t ready yet so I’m stuck here for another couple of days, can’t we just leave at the same time? Or better yet, can’t I just go with you? What if something happens, like Without-A-Cure, and you’re out there without any Jedi to help you or anything?”

Obi-Wan quickly moved over to Anakin, reached up to pat him gently on the head. “I will be fine, I promise. Our medic has been given detailed instructions from the healers on what to do if Without-A-Cure becomes a problem,” (though he knew that there was no ifs about it, as soon as it would make things more dramatic, the poison was guaranteed to cause problems), “and I am an accomplished Jedi in my own right. We cannot delay, as there are already attacks taking place that show the boldness of the CIS, and we cannot let them run rampant.”

Anakin frowned, but he nodded. “Make sure you stay in touch.” He pointed towards Obi-Wan’s comm threateningly. “You better check in if anything happens or you need backup, or-”

“It will be alright,” Obi-Wan said gently. “Everything will work out.” He couldn’t stand having Anakin all but begging for them to leave together, because Obi-Wan wanted to just say yes and let it happen. He did not want to send his padawan out onto the battlefield alone anymore than Anakin wanted that. But unfortunately there wasn’t much choice, because winning this war as quickly as possible was more important than the two of them. At least he knew that Anakin would be alright, because he was the protagonist, so he had to survive, but he still hoped that Anakin would not face anything too difficult.

Chapter Text

“What do you want?” Anakin grunted with annoyance as he scrubbed at the dirt and blood on his hands. He and his men had been holded up in the trenches of Axxion for the past two weeks, unable to push forward and unwilling to retreat, and yesterday backup had finally arrived, in the form of Aayla. It was difficult getting used to the idea that he was in charge of all these clones- all these men- and he worried that a different general would have been able to succeed without as many lives lost. 

Aayla could probably read all of that on his face, or in the Force, or whatever, but she didn’t try to push him to talk about it. Instead, she kept her voice teasing as she walked further into the tent. “Is that any way to speak to an old friend? I just wanted to show off to you, that’s all.” 

Anakin grabbed the nearby towel to dry his hands, and finally looked up fully at Aayla. “Show off what, exactly? Because if you mean lightsaber skills, then I can assure you that I saw plenty of it out there, and let me tell you, I’m not impressed.”

His fellow Jedi Knight laughed loudly. “To think that I always thought of you as such a sweet little thing.” Then she glanced behind her, and jerked her head, motioning to someone to come in. A young Togruta bounded in, and Anakin could tell she was Force-sensitive. The braid dangling down, made of thin little ropes, gave away her position as a padawan.

Anakin looked at Aayla in mock disbelief. “They’re trusting you with a padawan?”

“I can take care of myself,” the girl spoke up before Aayla could. 

Aayla didn’t even bother to hide her grin as her friend and padawan met for the first time. “Anakin, this is Ahsoka, my padawan. Ahsoka, this is Anakin, my friend.” 

Even though he knew that Aayla was older than him, it still seemed a little strange to Anakin that she had a padawan first when she’d been knighted after him. Not that Anakin particularly wanted a padawan- it seemed like far too much responsibility for him when he was already constantly worried about the clones- but still. It was the principle of the matter. “Well, it’s nice to meet you,” Anakin said somewhat awkwardly. He knew (at least according to Obi-Wan) that he was still basically a kid himself, but that didn’t make him any better at interacting with the younglings.

Ahsoka peered up at Anakin with narrowed eyes. “So you’re the Chosen One, huh?” She let out a little hum, then shrugged. “You look pretty normal to me.”

Aayla rolled her eyes. “I suppose it works out for all of us that my former master decided to interfere in things.”

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side. “What are you talking about?”

“Master Koon had initially wanted to send Ahsoka to be your padawan before she ages out, but Quin said he thought she would be a better fit for me, and the Council agreed that it might be best to wait until the war is over before you take on a padawan.” 

As much as he hated to think that Vos was ever helpful with anything, Anakin had to admit that this probably was for the best, even if it did sting that neither he nor the Council thought that Anakin was ready for a padawan (regardless of the fact that he honestly felt the same about it). “Should we really be talking about this right in front of the kid, though?” 

Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not an idiot, I know that I was going to age out.”

Anakin held his hands out. “Okay, no need to get so snippy about it.” 

Aayla shook her head, eyes glinting with amusement before it slowly faded into something more serious. She must have said something to Ahsoka through their bond, because the girl made a funny face, then let out a dramatic sigh before turning and exiting the tent. Anakin raised one eyebrow as he waited for Aayla to speak. “I have a message for you, from Obi-Wan.”

Anakin felt fear jolt through him. Why would Obi-Wan send a message through someone rather than just using his comm to call Anakin directly? What if it was time sensitive information that he could have used weeks ago. What if-? “Why didn’t you tell me when you got here?” he demanded.

Aayla just sighed and shook her head, and it only felt all the more obvious that she was the older of the two. “As soon as we touched down we were in the fight, and it’s not like I was going to risk distracting you by shouting across the battlefield. Anyways, I saw Obi-Wan about a month ago, and he said that if I happened to see you I should pass on the message, but that I needn’t go out of my way for it, so it couldn’t be anything urgent, I promise.” Anakin relaxed slightly at the thought that Obi-Wan wasn’t in immediate danger- or at least no more than anyone else was while wading through this war. Still, he waited impatiently to actually hear the message. “He just said to tell you to stay away from Mandalore.”

At that, Anakin’s frown was purely one of confusion. “I don’t understand. I’ve never even been to Mandalore before, and it’s got strong enough defenses that they shouldn’t need the aid of the Jedi. And besides that, didn’t they already declare themselves neutral?” Personally, he thought that neutral was a cowardly position, like they were just waiting to see which side was winning before picking who to go with, but that wasn’t relevant at the moment.

Aayla shrugged. “I’m sorry, but that’s all he said. Just something to keep in mind, I suppose.” Her eyes flicked down to Anakin’s hands, which still had some dirt under the fingernails that he hadn’t been able to wash away. “I’ll just leave you to it, then. As long as we’re cautious, we can probably get a few hours of rest before we’re back at it.” 

Once he was sure that he was alone again, Anakin closed his eyes and tried to reach out through his bond with Obi-Wan. He knew that it wouldn’t actually do him much good, since they were too far apart, but it at least made him feel better to be able to feel its warmth and presence in his mind. He considered calling Obi-Wan to ask for some clarification, but then decided against it. Obi-Wan must’ve had his reasons for not calling to begin with, and Anakin didn’t want to risk distracting him if he was in the middle of something precarious. Still, Anakin couldn’t help but roll the words over his mind, and wonder what the heck it could actually mean.

,,,

When Obi-Wan’s ship landed outside the palace on Mandalore, he braced himself for just how awkward this might get. Afterall, he’d never met the duchess in this life, but as far as the novel had shown, Satine Kryze was the only person that the original goods had ever truly loved, and even after all of the torture, it was only this one woman’s death that truly broke the original, and satisfied the original Anakin enough to decide he had gotten enough revenge. 

Unfortunately, Way of the Proud Sith Lord had never explained the backstory between the main villain and his love, preferring to focus mainly on Anakin’s story, and the duchess of Mandalore never even showed up in the book until nearly the end, and was only mentioned zero times before that. It was obvious that Airplane had either not planned out the story at all (very likely), or she had somehow forgotten to include such a pivotal character (also likely), or both. 

What all of that meant, though, was that Obi-Wan had absolutely no idea what to expect here. He’d been sent because he had been asked for personally, but he didn’t even know what this woman looked like, other than that she tended to wear large headdresses. And there was basically a zero percent chance that Obi-Wan was actually going to fall in love with her, considering how very different he was from the original goods. Not to mention that she would always be technically thinking of a different person when seeing Obi-Wan. At least on the plus side it should mean that Anakin didn’t have any reason to kill her. Yay. It was just an uncomfortable situation all around, and he almost found himself wishing that he had been sent back to the front lines.

At least his men were relieved to be getting a bit of a break from the constant fighting. Not that it would necessarily be safer here, considering the reasons the Council had given for sending him, but it was still at least a little better, as long as no one let their guard down.

A young man was waiting as Obi-Wan stepped off of the landing ship. “You are Master Kenobi, yes? I will bring you to Duchess Kryze. She has been awaiting your arrival with much anticipation.”

Obi-Wan inclined his head in greeting. “It is my honor to be here.” Then he nodded towards Cody, who followed him off of the ship. “This is Commander Cody.”

The young man let out a small noise, and looked slightly confused. “Ah, of course.” 

To be honest, Cody had seemed as surprised as anyone else when Obi-Wan had actually agreed to let him come along rather than making him wait up on the Negotiator , but Obi-Wan had realized that it would be good to have a buffer. Hopefully it would prevent the duchess from trying to talk about any personal details from their past, or even worse, pick up where they’d left off. Honestly, he just hoped that whatever had happened between them had already been over, and that the poor woman hadn’t just suddenly been ghosted when Obi-Wan woke up in this body.

They were led through the palace and into a beautifully decorated little study, where drinks were offered and the men were asked to wait just a few minutes. Cody kept giving Obi-Wan a look that indicated he wanted to talk about something, but Obi-Wan chose to ignore it, staring intently at one of the paintings hanging up on the wall.

He heard the door swing open, and then a low voice spoke up. “Ah, the Dialleno. You were always fascinated by his line work.” Obi-Wan slowly turned around, bracing himself for any amount of awkwardness that might come up while he was here. He wasn’t sure of what the most appropriate way to address the duchess would be, so he waited and hoped he would be able to just follow her lead. “Obi-Wan,” she said with clear fondness in her voice. “It’s been too long.”

“Yes, it has.” There was a heavy pause there, like she was waiting for more, but Obi-Wan really didn’t know what else to say. He’d tried asking Airplane for help on the trip here, but all she’d said was that she didn’t really have any notes about Satine, other than that her and Obi-Wan had been very in love, and that Obi-Wan had once considered the idea of leaving the Order to be with her. Not helpful when it came to figuring out how formal he should act around her. “This is Commander Cody,” he introduced, just to have something to say.

Cody nodded once, though he was not immune to the air of awkwardness that had taken over the room, and he did not say anything either. A few long moments passed, and then Satine moved to sit in a comfy looking chair. “Please, have a seat. There is much that we must discuss.” Obi-Wan nodded and sat down on the couch across from her, though Cody chose to remain standing by Obi-Wan’s shoulder, ever-vigilant, and also probably rethinking his request to come down here with Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan also wondered if he shouldn’t have just faked being sick with the Council or something, but it was too late for regrets now. The only way out was through. 

Chapter Text

To be honest, Cody should have known that something was up from the moment that the general agreed to let him come along. It was usually a bit of a fight to do anything that would actually make the general’s life safer or easier (and the 212th was not above using a little trickery to that end when needed). But here he was now, which made sense because they’d been sent to protect the duchess from some radical group that was not afraid to take lives, and yet Cody had the odd feeling he was stuck in the middle of some soap opera instead. It went against everything that Cody knew about Obi-Wan, but he couldn’t help getting the vibe that there was some personal history here.

Rather than address any of the awkwardness that could be blatantly felt, Obi-Wan just cleared his throat and offered his typical little smile that he used when he was trying to charm his way out of a difficult situation. “So, the Death Watch is back.” Straight to business then, apparently. Perhaps that was for the best, though, at least for Cody’s sanity. Whatever Obi-Wan and the duchess needed to hash out could be done on their own time. Though who knows when that would be, since Obi-Wan had clearly taken Cody along as a buffer. Cody was already imagining the revenge he could get (like maybe forcing the general to sleep for more than three hours at a time).

The look on the duchess’ face made it pretty clear that she had been expecting something a little different, and Cody felt sorry for her. Maybe in the end she was just another person who’d made the mistake of being charmed by Obi-Wan without realizing that he was somehow immune to noticing other peoples’ romantic intentions (that’s what made it so painful to see their interactions on the few occasions where General Skywalker and his men got to work together with the 212th).

In the end, though, the duchess was still a politician, which is probably why she was able to roll with it. She nodded once. “Yes. They are unhappy with the position I have chosen to take in this war. They believe me a coward, when I am only trying to keep my people alive and safe, and they have already made several very loud threats. I would not call upon the Jedi at all, but I know that you will be able to handle this in a manner closer to what I wish for.”

If it wouldn’t be entirely unprofessional, Cody might have just blurted out a question about how well they know each other. The only thing Obi-Wan had mentioned was that they ‘knew each other’, but there was clearly more to it than that. Then again, perhaps Cody was best off not knowing. He’d rather stay free from the drama of it all, even if he was quite curious.    

“-the letters?” Obi-Wan asked, and Cody realized that he needed to pay better attention to the actual job rather than just thinking about the personal history of his general. So he straightened his back, and focused intently on the conversation so that he wouldn’t miss anything.

,,,

Obi-Wan had just finished meditating and was getting ready to go to bed when he heard a knock on the door. He went to answer it, lightsaber off but in his hand just in case. When he opened the door slightly and saw that it was the same who had escorted him into the palace, he relaxed slightly and opened the door the rest of the way. “Hello there.”

The young man smiled. “The duchess has requested your presence.”

It was already so late though! And Obi-Wan never had enough time to sleep while out on the battlefield since there was always so much to be done, so he’d been looking forward to getting a long night of rest. But, he reminded himself, this could be about something important and not just a random excuse to speak in private. “Lead the way,” he said, trying not to sound reluctant. He’d already told Anakin not to come here, just on the slim chance he suddenly decided to follow through with his canon urge to kill Satine, but Obi-Wan couldn’t help but wish that Anakin were here all the same. 

Instead of going back to the same little study as before, he was led to what had to be Satine’s private quarters, though at least it wasn’t her bedroom. He didn’t even know what he’d do if a duchess was trying to hit him up for a booty call. The servant bowed then hurried off, closing the door behind him.

Satine was already waiting, still fully dressed but in a different outfit than earlier. Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “You wished to see me?”

Satine gave him a long look, and it was only years of experience living as Obi-Wan Kenobi that prevented him from fidgeting like a padawan caught breaking curfew. She smiled gently. “You’ve never had the chance to meet my- nephew, have you?” 

Obi-Wan shook his head. “No, I don’t believe so.” 

There was a long moment of silence, and then Satine sighed before sinking down into the chair she’d been sitting in front of. There was a sad smile on her face, and Obi-Wan internally panicked. This kind of protection mission wouldn’t work out very well if Obi-Wan couldn’t even stop himself from upsetting the person he was supposed to protect. 

He opened his mouth, though he wasn’t even sure what he could say to try and make things better. Luckily, Satine spoke first. “You’re not Obi-Wan Kenobi, are you?”

Obi-Wan’s mouth snapped shut and he stared at her in shock. The only other person to outright ask him such a thing had been Quin, but in the end Quin hadn’t seemed to really believe that, since he’d never brought it up again after that first time. But Quin would have presumably spent more time around the original goods than Satine, so how did she figure it out so quickly? And how could he convince her otherwise? “System, is it okay if other people know that I’m not from here originally?”

[Host may speak with other users about such things.]

“But what about people who aren’t like me and Padme? I mean, if I don’t tell them I’m from a different world, or I don’t tell them about you, and just say that I suddenly woke up in this body, that would be okay, right?” He wasn’t even sure why he was asking, when he had worked so hard to take over the original’s life and never let on to anyone else, but he just felt like if the person who actually loved Satine was gone, then she deserved to have some closure.

[It is not recommended that Host-]

“But will I be punished for it? I wouldn’t lose points, right, since those are tied to Anakin’s satisfaction, so it should be okay, right?”

There was a brief pause, and then the System almost sounded almost like it was trying not to laugh when it answered. [Host may proceed.]

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, then slowly let it out, looking carefully at Satine. It was hard to say for sure what she was thinking, but at this point it just seemed like it would be cruel to deny what she’d asked when he also would not be able to give her anything that the original had. So there was no point in denying it when she’d already figured out the truth. “How did you know?”

Satine’s eyes widened a little, like she hadn’t expected him to actually admit it. “I suppose there are many different things, but the main one is your eyes. They are less…” cruel , Obi-Wan thought. “Haunted.” Satine said decisively. Then she gave Obi-Wan an almost pleading look. “Who are you really, if you are being so honest with me? And where is the real Obi-Wan?” 

Obi-Wan sat down as well, already knowing that this wouldn’t be a fun conversation (and yet part of him was just relieved that he would not have to deal with the awkwardness of pretending that Satine was his true love or something). “First I must tell you that I did not choose to come here like this, it just happened. But this is truly the body of Obi-Wan, and at this point it feels as much like mine as it ever did his. For all intents and purposes, I am Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

“And yet you’re not,” Satine said quietly.

Obi-Wan bowed his head. “I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that he died after touching a Sith artifact almost four years ago.” At least, that’s what Obi-Wan preferred to assume, because the thought that the original had died just for him to come into the picture didn’t sit well with him, no matter what kind of terrible scum the original was.

Satine gulped and closed her eyes, slumping back in her seat. “I see.” Then she opened her eyes again, and looked at Obi-Wan intensely. “You still have not explained who you are- or rather, who you were.”

“I was nobody special, really. Just from some small place that you’ve probably never heard of. I’m not like, secretly an ancient Sith or something who stole this body, if that’s what you’re asking.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t suppose you are.” She stood up again, and started slowly pacing back and forth. “He always did tell me that the Force was such a mysterious and unknowable thing. I never really understood what that actually meant, though.” She turned around suddenly to look at him again. “It must have been difficult for you to adjust to living someone else’s life.” She didn’t sound accusatory when she said that, so Obi-Wan didn’t tense up and just let her continue. “Surely the other Jedi must have suspected something when one of their own suddenly supposedly remembered nothing of his life.”

Obi-Wan hesitated, but still didn’t get any warning messages from the Force. “Ah, I did already know a little of the original, because of, uh, visions that I had before suddenly waking up as him. They did not give me all the details, but enough that I could pass as him.”

There was a moment of silence before Satine let out another sigh. “How sad it is that he could be replaced by someone so different from him, and yet nobody asked any questions.”

He’d never really thought of it like that before, but when she said it that way, it was a little sad. He supposed that in the end it came down to the fact that even if anyone had questions, they probably decided that they actually preferred the new Obi-Wan because he was nicer, and they had liked him better. Not that Obi-Wan was the most popular guy at the Temple or anything, but he was friendly with pretty much everyone else there, and had made friends that the original had not, like Quin and Padme.

“I have not seen or spoken to my Obi-Wan in many years, not since our time together as youths came to an end, and I shared some very important news with him…” she trailed off for a moment, lost in her memories of the past. Honestly, Satine seemed like a pretty decent person, and Obi-Wan couldn’t help thinking that there must have been at least something good about the original if the two of them had been able to love each other. “I still consider myself one of the foremost experts on him. Perhaps only his master knew him better than I, but Master Jinn is long gone. If it has truly been years, then you have clearly done an excellent job of figuring things out on your own, but if you need to know more about my Obi-Wan, I will tell you about him.” Obi-Wan hesitated, but Satine just continued on in a quiet voice. “I feel as though it is my duty to do so. For as long as he lives on in our memories, he will never truly be gone.” She looked towards the nearest window to see that it was dark out. “Not tonight, though.”

Obi-Wan slowly stood up, though he didn’t move to leave the room yet. “I do not wish to seem ungrateful, but why would you help me? I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me.” Not that Obi-Wan really wanted to hear more about the original, since it was probably the kind of stuff that might make him actually feel bad for that guy. 

With her facing away, he could only see the set of her shoulders, but just from that he could tell that she was tensed up. “I suppose you could call it selfishness, to want to see his face and hear his voice… although they seem so different now and I don’t know if it is because of how long it has been, or because you have made the face of Obi-Wan so different. Or perhaps I just wish to speak of him to someone who cannot judge me for it, or make either of our lives more difficult.” When a few seconds passed and she didn’t say anything else, he finally started to turn towards the door, but Satine’s voice reached out with one last question. “What is your name? Your real one?”

Almost since the moment he had woken up in this body, he had only thought of himself as Obi-Wan, and it seemed almost unnatural to think of who he was before that, because like he’d told Satine, he was Obi-Wan now. But Satine was the one person who deserved to be able to call him something else. “Ben,” he answered quietly, that single syllable rolling awkwardly off his lips. 

“Goodnight, Ben.”

,,,

Cody didn’t think he was imagining it that the tension between his general and the duchess was gone in the morning, and did his absolute best to not wonder what they could have done to clear the air (especially when he had been in the room next to Obi-Wan’s, and had heard how the duchess summoned him for a private late night meeting). He only hoped that General Skywalker wouldn’t find out about this.

Chapter Text

Anakin couldn’t help feeling excited at hearing his master’s words, even if that beautiful accent was slightly marred by the tinniness of the hologram’s quality. “Really?”

Obi-Wan let out a little chuckle. “Yes, really. We should both be back at the Temple at the same time, if only for a few days.”

All of the things he’d seen and done in this war faded to the back of his mind, nothing nightmarish able to persist when Obi-Wan’s fond smile was directed towards Anakin. And the thought of actually being able to see his former master in person again was almost too much, and he was glad that there was no Council around at the moment to notice this blatant attachment that Anakin felt. “Excited to finally get a vacation?”

Obi-Wan snorted, then shook his head. “Unfortunately, it’s nothing so grand. The Senate will be in session, and there are several very important bills that they must vote on. Chancellor Palpatine insisted that everyone would feel safer if there were a stronger Jedi presence during their session.”

There was a troubled look on Obi-Wan’s face, and Anakin liked to think that he only recognized it because he knew Obi-Wan so well. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing… I just wonder what the Chancellor’s interest in you is. He is the one who asked for you to protect Senator Amidala and Naboo, and he requested you by name once more, for this meeting.” 

Anakin shrugged. “Well, I did help save his entire planet.” It made sense when he said it, and he might have not given it another thought, except that he could still see the uneasiness on Obi-Wan’s face, and suspected he’d be able to feel it through their bond if they were physically closer. Obi-Wan did not have visions of the future, but he had a keen instinct and ability to read people that Anakin trusted. “Do you think that there’s something more to it?”

Obi-Wan grumbled something too softly for the microphone to pick up, his face scrunched up the same way it got when he was complaining about a bad book he’d read. Then he sighed and shook his head. “Everything has been so stressful lately, I may just be reading too much into it. Anyways, tell me how your latest mission went.”

It was an obvious change of subject, but Anakin went for it anyway, not wanting to talk about anything that made Obi-Wan look worried. Of course, he had to be a bit creative with the way he told this story to prevent that concern, but he didn’t mind because he knew Obi-Wan could probably guess the truth for himself, and this was more just to tell a funny story and make Obi-Wan laugh. But more than anything, Anakin couldn’t wait until he could hear that laugh in person again.

,,,

The few days it took to return to Coruscant felt like they lasted about a hundred years, and as soon as they were docked, Anakin was off the ship and heading straight for Obi-Wan’s apartment. He was a little confused when a couple different Jedi he passed by gave him off looks, but he chalked it up to them not knowing why he was here instead of out on the front lines still.

When he reached Obi-Wan’s apartment, he opened the front door without thinking, only to hear a voice laugh softly. “-yes, I believe that was for the best.” That was definitely not Obi-Wan’s voice. 

Anakin quickly entered the apartment, and saw Obi-Wan sitting in his chair, and an unfamiliar woman sitting on the couch. Anakin cleared his throat, annoyed that Obi-Wan hadn’t even noticed him right away. Obi-Wan looked up, and smiled brightly, and Anakin begrudgingly let go of his annoyance as Obi-Wan set down his mug of tea and got up to greet him. “Anakin, I was told that you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow!”

Technically, that had been their planned arrival date, but Anakin may have demanded that the ship be pushed just a little faster, all to see Obi-Wan sooner. “Well I’m back now,” he stated even though it was obvious. “It’s, uh, good to see you.” He wanted to reach out and hug his master, or have Obi-Wan pat his head, but it seemed like that might be inappropriate in front of a stranger. Though she seemed familiar enough with Obi-Wan, despite Anakin having no clue who she was. He stepped past Obi-Wan to give the woman an assessing look. “Hello, I’m General Anakin Skywalker. Jedi Knight,” he added, trying to sound more impressive. 

She stood up and held out her hand, and Anakin shook it. “Duchess Satine Kryze,” she offered in a somewhat dry voice. “Ruler of Mandalore.” Alright, so that did sound a lot more impressive than Anakin’s introduction. 

Wait, Mandalore? Wasn’t that the place Obi-Wan had told him to stay away from? He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and Obi-Wan let out an awkward sounding laugh. “Ah, yes, Anakin, my former padawan, Satine, ah- an old friend.” Satine raised one eyebrow and gave Obi-Wan a pointed look when he said that, but he didn’t dispute it.

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest. “An old friend? Obi-Wan’s never mentioned you before.”

Rather than getting annoyed, Satine let out a sharp laugh, then glanced at Obi-Wan. “I think I understand better now.” Then she bowed her head in a shallow dip aimed at both Jedi. “I must prepare myself for the Senate meeting, but it was kind of you to escort me to Coruscant, Obi-Wan.” There was something strange in the way she said his name, but Anakin didn’t have much time to analyze it before she left the apartment.

Anakin turned on Obi-Wan, ready to demand answers, but got lost in the moment as he just took in the sight of his former master. It felt like they had been decades since they had last seen each other like this, and Anakin opened his mind so that he could crawl down their bond and warm himself with Obi-Wan’s presence. He reached out to grab Obi-Wan’s hand and dragged the man over to the couch, sitting down and pulling Obi-Wan down next to him. To Anakin’s delight, Obi-Wan didn’t even try to protest, and Anakin could feel how Obi-Wan had missed him too. “How are you?” Perhaps that was a dumb question, since he could see for himself that Obi-Wan looked a little thinner and had dark circles under his eyes, but he didn’t know what else to say now that he was actually here.

There was nothing Anakin could do to stop his heart from fluttering when Obi-Wan finally did pat his head gently. “I have been well, dear one. I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that Without-A-Cure has not flared up since the last time we saw each other.”

Indeed that did make Anakin happy. Not only because he did not want his master to suffer, but also because it would mean that someone else would have to meditate with Obi-Wan in Anakin’s absence. “That’s good.” He scooted just a bit closer to Obi-Wan, so their legs weren’t technically touching, but that really was only by a sliver, and he drank in the sight of Obi-Wan, hoping that the war would end soon just so that they could have more of these moments together.

,,,

Padme hadn’t been expecting anybody, so she was immediately on edge when there was a knock on her apartment door. Her handmaids quickly and quietly positioned themselves so that they would be able to get the drop on anyone with untoward intentions, and Padme had a small blaster in her pocket as she got up to answer the door.

Having introduced many controversial political policies throughout her time as a senator, Padme would not be surprised for retaliation to come from any of several different groups. But rather than another assassin, Padme was surprised to see a familiar face (though perhaps others would not be able to recognize the person without all of the fancy makeup and clothes, but the same could be said of Padme herself). She opened the door a little wider to let in her guest. “Duchess,” she greeted politely, all while wondering what the woman was doing here.

The two had seen each other in Senate meetings before, and had cast similar votes on a few things over the years, but as far as Padme could recall, they’d never spoken outside of the Senate, and since Satine had never made it into Way of the Proud Sith Lord as early as intended, it wasn’t as though the original Padme had ever interacted with Satine either. 

Once Satine was inside and the door was closed again, Padme gave a very subtle signal for her handmaidens to relax. “Would you like anything to drink?” Padme offered.    

The duchess shook her head. “No, thank you.” She spoke softly, and her voice sounded different like this than when it was echoing powerfully throughout the Senate chambers. “I’ve had the most curious past couple of weeks,” she finally said. “My life has been threatened many times, and yet that is probably the easiest to understand out of everything.” She paced back and forth across the room, the kind of nervous tic that would never dared be shown in public. Then she abruptly stopped and turned to face Padme. “What do you know of Jedi Master Kenobi?”

Though she wasn’t sure what this had to do with her specifically, Padme did relax a little. She’d made it pretty clear in the novel that Satine was the only person that the original Obi-Wan truly cared about, and obviously such a relationship could not be discussed without hurting both of their careers. “He is a friend,” Padme answered carefully, wondering why Satine would come to her to talk about this. “He once helped save my life and my planet, and we have shared pleasant conversation on occasion.”

“I admit, he is something of an enigma to me,” Satine responded. “Though perhaps it is not so strange for someone to change when you do not see them for a long time. He also once helped save my life. It appears that he is in the business of doing such things. He said that you could be trusted, that you already know of his secret.”

Padme just blinked. Sure, she knew several things about Obi-Wan that could be considered, but very few of those were things that could be shared with Satine of all people, so Padme wasn’t going to start making suggestions. “We have shared many conversations,” is all she said.

“If I am wrong, to come out a say such a thing will surely make me sound like a fool, but I must know if I have a confidante in you.” Satine hesitated, then all but blurted out, “I know that the Obi-Wan here now is not the same one that I met all those years ago.” 

Padme just stared with wide eyes, mouth slightly open. What? How the hell had Obi-Wan gotten away with telling her that? Why would his System ever allow for such a thing?? [user_002 is here to improve the story,] her own System reminded her. 

Padme furrowed her eyebrows, just a little offended at this point, since it had been so many years since she’d actually written the story. But still, the System thought that the story was better without the villain having a bit more complexity to him? Well, Obi-Wan could hardly be considered the villain anymore. And it wasn’t as though not having Satine in his life meant that he had nobody to care for. She thought of the way Anakin had rushed headfirst into rescuing Obi-Wan, and then she thought she understood. While the System often reiterated the goal of bettering the story, there didn’t seem to be any force powerful enough to go against the protagonist’s ability to get what he wanted. So basically the fate of the world was in the hands of an immature child and a man who would not know he was being flirted with if his life depended on it. Fascinating. 

“I don’t think you’re crazy or a fool,” Padme told Satine, since apparently this was allowed. She would need to ask Obi-Wan what exactly he had said, but for now she could just wing it. “You’re right that I’m in on the secret.” Satine looked so relieved that Padme wanted to just give the woman a hug, despite them being all but strangers to each other. “If you need to talk, I’m here.” Satine smiled and nodded, and then finally sat down and cleared her throat. Padme could already tell that it would be a long night, but she found that she didn’t mind the thought all that much. 

Chapter Text

The Senate session passed without anything of note happening, though it did confirm to Obi-Wan that he wanted to stay as far away from politics as humanly possible. None of the senators actually yelled or outright insulted each other, but it probably would have been easier if they had. And he could tell that Anakin did not appreciate everyone dancing around what they were trying to say.

Despite the general unpleasantness (as well as the boredom radiating from Anakin- did he really care so little about trade routes and agriculture? Those were some of the few parts of the world building that didn’t revolve around the protagonist, and Obi-Wan enjoyed learning more about them even if this wasn’t his preferred medium), Obi-Wan still found himself disappointed when the session was called to a close after a long three weeks.

It didn’t feel like nearly long enough, when Obi-Wan knew that he and Anakin and the other Jedi who had been guarding the meetings would all be sent back out onto other missions, and then it would be who knows how long until the next time they would see each other again.

Without even needing to discuss it, Obi-Wan and Anakin met back at Obi-Wan’s apartment, and Anakin pulled out some food to get cooking. “I don’t recall leaving anything like that in my fridge,” Obi-Wan noted. “It would have gone bad during all of our traveling.”

“I went shopping earlier,” Anakin admitted, keeping his back to Obi-Wan as he chopped something up. “Padme said that there are enough bloated egos among the Senate as it is, and that they would survive with one less Jedi being forced to waste his time.”

Obi-Wan snorted, easily able to picture her saying that, and then he tilted his head to look at Anakin curiously. “You two are getting close after all?” he wondered.

Anakin set down his knife and quickly turned around to face Obi-Wan, staring at him with wide eyes. “She’s decent enough, for a politician, and she did help me rescue you from Geonosis, but that’s all.” 

He sounded almost pleading when he said that, and Obi-Wan wasn’t sure why that innocent question seemed to affect his padawan so much, but he did know that he had never intended to upset Anakin. He moved around the little island counter and reached up to pat Anakin’s head, and Anakin pushed his head further into Obi-Wan’s hand. “I believe you.” He still wasn’t sure why it even mattered- oh, maybe Anakin was worried that he’d get in trouble for breaking the Code if Obi-Wan thought he had a crush? Obi-Wan thought he’d made it clear over the years that he did not believe in the strictness of the Code, but that was the only thing that really made sense. “I know we discussed it before when you were younger, but perhaps it deserves repeating- you are allowed to have feelings for people, Anakin. And know that you can confide in me about anything, and I would not snitch to the Council, or any such nonsense.”

Anakin gulped, then took a tiny step back, though he remained entwined with Obi-Wan through their bond. “Can I really talk to you about anything? What if I really do have feelings for someone? Not Padme,” he reiterated before Obi-Wan could ask. “Someone else. You said that attachments don’t have to be bad or dangerous, but ultimately as Jedi we are still bound to live by the Code. So how could I find out if this person likes me back without risking…?” he trailed off, frowning thoughtfully like he wasn’t even entirely sure how to finish his question.

Even though Obi-Wan was quite curious now, since he couldn’t think of anyone that Anakin had shown interest in before other than Padme, he didn’t want to push for answers when Anakin was already feeling vulnerable. “Even for those who are not Jedi, feeling a certain way about another person will always bring with it risks that they will not feel the same, or that you will be hurt. But if you truly want to pursue something with this person, then all you can do is be straightforward and tell them how you feel.” That was pretty good advice, if he did say so himself, considering that he wasn’t exactly the epitome of experienced himself with such things.

Anakin licked his lips and took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “Obi-Wan, I-”

It had been quite a long time since Obi-Wan had gotten any notifications from the System, thank goodness, but he still recognized the annoying little chime. “I thought I muted those!”

[ERROR: user_002 bound to role: scum villain Obi-Wan Kenobi. user_002 bound to role: ERROR_INVALID_FUNCTION. ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND. ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND. ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED. ERROR_TOO_MANY_USERS_OPEN. ERROR 01110101 01110011 01100101 01110010 01011111 00110000 00110000 00110011 00100000 01100001 01100011 01100011 01100101 01110011 01110011 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000…]

Obi-Wan frowned with uncertainty, not able to pay any attention to Anakin at the moment. Afterall, the System had already made it clear that it had the ability to kill Obi-Wan, so he very much did not appreciate it messing around like this. “If this is some kind of joke…” 

There was no response, and Obi-Wan felt more concerned, especially as a pain began building up in the back of his head. It was barely noticeable at first, but quickly getting worse. Anakin was fluttering around him, saying something that Obi-Wan couldn’t hear over the ringing in his ears. He could feel the fear and concern through their bond, until it abruptly cut out, indicating Without-A-Cure, but the poison had never made Obi-Wan feel like this before, and it had never made the System fritz out, so he really had no idea what was going on. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Anakin’s terrified face, and he wanted to reach out and assure his former padawan that there was no need to be scared because Obi-Wan would protect him, but his arm refused to obey him, and then everything went black.

,,,

Anakin paced back and forth just outside the Halls of Healing, where he’d been kicked out for being unable to contain his emotions, making it more difficult for everyone inside to do their work. Anakin ran a hand roughly through his hair as he tried to figure out what the hell was even happening. 

Everything had seemed normal enough, and then Anakin finally decided to confess his feelings. Since he wasn’t Obi-Wan’s padawan, there would be nothing wrong with it, even if some other people might consider the situation to be inappropriate. But then Obi-Wan’s eyes had glazed over, and for a moment, Anakin had considered that maybe Obi-Wan had actually known all this time, and was not looking forward to the confession.

But the blood had rapidly vanished from Obi-Wan’s face, leaving him far too pale and fragile looking, and then he’d let out a pained noise before collapsing to the ground. There was no way he would do this on purpose just to avoid a confession. Obi-Wan had mumbled something about Anakin, though he had no idea what, and then their bond had disappeared and Obi-Wan’s eyes had rolled back as he passed out. Anakin had scooped up his former master and ran through the Temple to reach the Halls of Healing, not caring what anybody else could feel from him through the Force.

The healers had swarmed as soon as Anakin showed up, possibly alerted by any of the random witnesses that Anakin would have run right past. And then they’d kicked him out while trying to use the gentlest possible terms.

Even though he would have thought for sure that it would be impossible to sleep until he knew that Obi-Wan was okay, it felt like no more than the time between one blink and the next passed, and then he found himself in the familiar hut he’d spent his childhood in on Tatooine, and he recognized the work of his shadow teacher.

“This isn’t a great time,” Anakin said through clenched teeth, proud of himself for not just immediately tearing through the dream and potentially causing damage just to wake up and be back by Obi-Wan’s side again. 

He didn’t even flinch when the shadowy figure appeared. “I’m terribly sorry, my dear boy. I noticed your agitation, and thought it best for us to talk before the Jedi could catch on. We both know how little they would approve of something as base as emotions.” 

Admittedly, that was true. He could already picture the lecture that the Council would give him once they’d gotten the full report of this situation. And there could be other benefits here too. He knew that his shadow teacher was old and knew quite a lot, so maybe he would know something about what was going on. “Do you know what’s wrong with Obi-Wan? I don’t think it’s just Without-A-Cure, but I don’t know what else could be going on.”

“Hm. It would be difficult for me to diagnose the problem without better access.”

Anakin narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

There was a pause, like his teacher knew that Anakin would not be happy with whatever words came out next, and he was right to think that. “If you allowed me to touch on your bond with your master-”

“No,” Anakin immediately snapped. He didn’t even need to think about it. As much as he was willing to do pretty much anything to help Obi-Wan, he had to try the line at letting anyone violate the safety of their bond. “If there’s nothing else, I should just wake up and check on him myself.”

“Wait.” Anakin turned back to his teacher with one eyebrow raised to show his impatience, and his teacher sighed. “From what little I know of the situation, I have a guess, but there are no guarantees about how accurate it would be. My best guess is that this does have to do with Without-A-Cure. The Jedi are best educated in the biology of humans, so you cannot blame them for getting things wrong on occasion when there are other factors involved.”

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “But Obi-Wan is a human.” 

“Most likely,” his teacher allowed. “But there is very little known about your master’s homeworld. There is the possibility that the Jedi know as little about Stewjon as the rest of the Republic, isolationist planet that it is. It may very well come down to a lack of information, and if that is the case, your dear Obi-Wan is perhaps the only one who would be able to provide any clarification.”

Anakin clenched his hands into fists. If Obi-Wan could have gotten better ages ago but the Council just didn’t do enough research, he didn’t even know what he’d do. He also berated himself for never thinking to ask Obi-Wan about where he was from, despite the fact that they’d talked about Anakin’s origins many times over the years. 

His teacher was not finished, though. “Even without that information, there are several different rituals that come to mind that could be used to heal your former master back to his peak self.”

That was tempting, but Anakin wasn’t sure that Obi-Wan would appreciate Dark rituals being used on him without his knowledge or consent, so Anakin would hold off on those for now. “Thank you, you’ve given me a lot to think about.”

“Of course, of course. I only hope that the Council’s incompetence does not lead to any further misfortunes for your Obi-Wan.” Then he faded away, allowing Anakin to easily leave the dream and wake up.

He found himself slumped against the wall just outside the Halls of Healing, and a quick check of the time showed that it had been at least a few hours since he’d brought Obi-Wan down. Taking several deep breaths and making sure his shields were properly in place, he stepped back inside, and went straight to the bed with Obi-Wan on it.

To his relief, Obi-Wan’s eyes fluttered open as soon as Anakin got near, and he gave Anakin a comforting smile. “I’m fine, I promise,” he assured Anakin, and Anakin smiled in return, but inside, he couldn’t help but wonder when this might happen again, and who was truly at fault for it. 

Chapter Text

The last remnants of Obi-Wan’s headache faded away pretty quickly after he woke up, which was great, except for the part where he still had no idea what had actually happened. Did the System crash? Was that even possible? Unfortunately, he couldn’t even message Padme to ask if she had any clue what had happened, because Anakin refused to leave his side for longer than the three seconds it took to refill his water. Not that Obi-Wan didn’t appreciate the aid from his former padawan, but he really wanted to know what was going on. If there was a chance that the System could completely crash, then did that mean Obi-Wan could be sent back to his original body, aka the completely dead one, without any notice?

“System, what happened?” There was still no response though, just like the first twenty times he’d asked since waking up. This was really quite concerning.

Still, Obi-Wan did his best to shield his emotions, not wanting Anakin to realize how worried Obi-Wan was. It’s not as though there was anything that either of them could do about it, so it was best to just brush it aside until Obi-Wan could learn more. 

One of the healers walked over. “Well, there doesn’t seem to be any signs of a relapse,” she said, looking over Obi-Wan’s chart. They’d insisted on keeping him overnight in the Halls of Healing for observation, even though Obi-Wan had insisted he was fine. “If you still aren’t feeling any new symptoms, then you are free to go. But I must tell you that I will be recommending that the Council remove you from active duty.”

Obi-Wan scrambled to get out of the bed and to his feet. “What? Why?”

The healer gave him an apologetic look. “There is no way of knowing what caused this episode, and without knowing how it started, we also don’t really know how to help it either. If you were to suddenly pass out in the middle of the battlefield, there could be extreme consequences for both you and your men.”

Anakin reached out to grab Obi-Wan’s arm. “Please, Obi-Wan, no one is saying you’re not capable of continuing in your role, but it would just be too dangerous.”

There was something strangely ironic about Anakin calling it his ‘role’, considering the error message he’d gotten from the System before everything had gone wrong. Still, he couldn’t help feeling upset about potentially being benched. He hoped that the Council would see reason and understand that they needed to keep all of their generals in the field right now, but there were no guarantees that they would. It all just felt a bit too much like his old life, where he’d always been left on the sidelines because no one wanted to risk his health. And it wasn’t as though Obi-Wan could just explain that Without-A-Cure wasn’t the main issue, and he couldn’t promise that it would never happen again, since he didn’t understand what had caused the System to freak out like that. 

They walked back to Obi-Wan’s apartment in silence. It was probably for the best that way, because Obi-Wan didn’t want to lash out at Anakin, who really was just trying to help. 

After making sure Obi-Wan was settled down on the couch, Anakin fluttered around nervously. “Do you want some tea? Or something to eat?”

Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head. “No, I’m alright for now.”

Anakin looked disappointed, like he’d been really looking forward to making a cup of tea, but he did sink down into the seat across from the couch. “Can I ask you something?”

Obi-Wan was tired, mentally more than physically, but he never wanted to be the kind of person who brushed aside a child’s questions, so he nodded. “You know that you can ask me anything.”

Anakin hesitated for a moment before asking, “What is Stewjon like?”

Obi-Wan closed his eyes as he tried to figure out what was being asked. He had no idea what ‘Stewjon’ was, whether it was food, or a person, or a place. Since there was no other context to go off of, he figured that it would be better to be honest than to try bullshitting. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re asking about, dear one.”

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows. “But I thought…” he trailed off, a pensive look on his face. After a few seconds of silence, he asked a different question instead. “Where were you from before you joined the Jedi?”

That was a terrible question, protagonist! How the hell was Obi-Wan supposed to know that, when it was never included in the novel? That hack author had never gone into the original goods’ backstory, and it wasn’t like Obi-Wan could just call up Padme right in front of Anakin and ask her if she knew anything about it.

He would just have to be vague about it, and try his best to look into the subject later, though he hoped that it would not come up again. It shouldn’t be relevant where he was from anyways, since he was a Jedi, but he could not blame Anakin for being curious. “Ah, I don’t remember much about it, since I was brought to the Temple as a youngling, like most Jedi are. The Temple is my home, so I do not give much thought to my distant past.” There, hopefully that would be enough to get Anakin to stop asking about it.

There was an odd look on Anakin’s face, though. “How old were you when you were brought to the Temple?”

“System! If you don’t want your stupid story to break right in two, then can you at least give me a hint here??” No response. Obi-Wan just blinked and looked at Anakin. “Quite young,” he answered, hoping that it was close to the truth. 

Anakin frowned. “Ah.” He stood back up, and then came over to pull the throw from the back of the couch over Obi-Wan. “You should probably get some rest, and there’s a few things I need to take care of. But call me if you need anything okay?”

Obi-Wan smiled fondly, and reached out to pat Anakin’s head. “You are too good,” he said softly, already regretting that the future would most likely bring with it Anakin’s fall to the Dark, since Obi-Wan still had not gotten enough points to avoid that dreaded scene where he would be forced to betray his padawan.

,,,

“You know something that I don't,” Anakin accused. 

His shadow teacher let out a little chuckle. “My boy, there are many things I know which you do not.”

“About Obi-Wan,” Anakin pressed. “Why did you tell me to ask him about Stewjon? How do you even know where he’s from?” Anakin had tried looking it up himself after that strange conversation, but it wasn’t as though files on all of the Jedi were just readily available for anyone to search through.

His shadow teacher sighed heavily, as if Anakin had just disappointed him, and Anakin shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “Have you learned nothing from my teachings over the years? The Force is very powerful and when used with the proper precision, can provide one with all kinds of interesting information.” The shadows around him looked like they were twisting and writhing despite not seeming to move at all. “I did not want to tell you the truth too soon, as I have no real proof yet, but I believe you deserve to know.” Anakin nodded, determined to know whatever it was that his teacher was trying to tell him. “The truth is that I believe that your former master is a traitor.”

Anakin paused, so taken aback by the statement that felt like it came out of nowhere. “What?” He might have suspected some potential memory issues caused by his most recent episode, or maybe some kind of tragedy from Obi-Wan’s past that he didn’t want to talk about. But a traitor? “What are you talking about?” That wasn’t something that would have ever occurred to Anakin. 

“I know that you care about your Obi-Wan and would choose him over anything, which is why I hesitate to tell you something that would break your heart. But I have reason to suspect that he will betray you. Sometime soon, within less than two years. If nothing happens by your twentieth birthday, then I will happily admit to being wrong. But if something does happen… if he intentionally hurts you… Why, I just don’t know how I’d live with myself knowing that I did nothing to help.”

“Shut up!” Anakin snapped. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know anything about Obi-Wan!” Then he forced himself to wake up, unable to bear the thought of hearing any more slander towards his former master.

As soon as he was awake, he rushed out of his old room and into Obi-Wan’s, then paused in the doorway just to watch over his sleeping master for a few minutes. Anakin could never believe that Obi-Wan would ever do anything to hurt him on purpose, not since Anakin had finally proven himself to the man, and Obi-Wan had become someone so good.  

He must not have done a very good job reigning in his emotions, because Obi-Wan let out a soft noise and started to stir. He blinked, and then squinted to see Anakin in the dark. “Anakin? What are you doing up?”

Anakin shuffled into the room, feeling like a child again. “I- I had a nightmare.”

Obi-Wan sighed, but it didn’t sound anything like Anakin’s shadow teacher, especially when it was followed up by Obi-Wan sitting up and patting the edge of his bed. Anakin eagerly took up the offer, and hurried to sit down next to Obi-Wan, who crawled over to sit with his legs crossed in front him. “We have not meditated together in a while, have we? Would you like to try now?”

Anakin nodded, and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths in and out as he focused on his bond with Obi-Wan. He was helpless to the shining light in the Force that was Obi-Wan, and he didn’t believe that the man could ever betray him. (Still, he couldn’t help but feel, somewhere deep down inside, that until he knew for sure what he had done to earn Obi-Wan’s care, he would never be able to guarantee his ability to hold onto it. But he shook that thought aside, only wanting to focus on the pleasantness of spending time with Obi-Wan, mentally wrapped around each other in ways that felt like they would be impossible to ever separate again).

,,,

The first thing Padme saw when she woke up was Satine’s worried face. “Hello,” she said softly.

Satine laughed. “Hello. Anything else to say after scaring me like that?”

Padme thought of the bizarre error messages that had come from the System before the pain had become too much to endure. “What happened?” she asked, instead of giving any answers of her own.

Satine gave her a look that was far too knowing considering the fact that they’d only really known each other for less than a month, but she answered the question anyways. “The doctors wouldn’t tell me much, but your handmaidens passed along what they were told. Apparently you had some kind of brain aneurysm, though they have no idea what actually caused it.”

“Well, you know how stressful the Senate can be,” Padme joked quietly. “I just wish something like this hadn’t happened while still on Coruscant. I’m sure by now the entire Senate knows.”

Surprisingly, Satine shook her head. “Many of the senators left Coruscant right after the session was closed, and your handmaidens have made appearances in your regalia to keep anyone from asking questions about your absence.”

Padme should have known that her handmaidens would have everything covered, and she let herself relax just a little bit. “Can you get me my comm?” She tried reaching out to her System but it wasn’t answering, and the only person she knew of who she could speak to any of this about was Obi-Wan. She just hoped that he might actually be the one to have answers for once, because otherwise she really did not know what she was supposed to do about any of this. 

Chapter Text

“Well that’s a weird question,” Aayla said bluntly, her frown visible even through the staticky hologram. “There’s probably nobody in the Order who knows Obi-Wan better than you do.”

Anakin sighed, even though the thought of that being true did make him happy. “I know who he is now, but I don’t know anything about him from before I became his padawan, other than that his master was Qui-Gon Jinn, and that he only agreed to train me because his master had made him promise to do so. Other than that, I know basically nothing about his past.”

Aayla shrugged. “If he’s never told you, considering how close the two of you are, I have to assume that it means it’s stuff he doesn’t want to talk about. If you already know who he is now, then what difference does the rest of it make? I know that things weren’t so easy between the two of you in the beginning, but I thought you’d moved past all that?”

Of course Anakin had, willing to forgive Obi-Wan for all of the struggles of their first few years together, because the happiness that he’d gotten in exchange for the past several years far outweighed all of that. But Obi-Wan was the person Anakin cared about most in the world, so wasn’t it reasonable that he wanted to know as much about him as possible?

Aayla must have been able to read the look on his face even through the grainy quality, because she let out a resigned sigh. “Alright, alright. But why are you asking me, of all people? I’m only a few years older than you, so it’s not like I knew him as a kid or anything.”

And now came the part that Anakin really dreaded- having to ask for help from someone he didn’t like at all. “I know… but your master and mine are friends, so I just thought…” he trailed off, too embarrassed to even finish his request.

There was a moment of silence, and then Aayla started laughing. “Ah, this is too good! You’re just talking to me because you don’t want to ask Quin for help to his face!” Even once she’d stopped laughing, Anakin could tell that she was still amused, but he was willing to (grumpily) put up with that if it meant he’d actually get the answers he was seeking. Not that he even knew exactly which questions to ask, but still. “So what exactly is it that you want to know? Or should I just ask my old master to write an entire Obi-Wan Kenobi manifesto? Although I’m not sure he’ll really know much more than you. They only really became friends around… hm, I think after Obi-Wan was poisoned? But I can still ask, they are around the same age anyways.”

This was more progress than Anakin could have hoped for, but now he really wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted to know. “Um, let’s see. Can you ask him if he knows where Obi-Wan was from before he joined the Order? And about his time with Master Jinn? And any other anecdotes he can think of from before I became Obi-Wan’s padawan?”

“Sure, I can ask. Like I said, he might not actually know much, but who knows. Also, don’t be surprised if he calls you up just to laugh in your face.”

Anakin rolled his eyes, and then another voice interrupted the call. “Who are you talking to? Is it that brat again?”

Aayla let out another chuckle. “Ahsoka, aren’t you supposed to be finishing your homework?”

“Yeah, but that’s so boring. Who can focus on maths when there’s so much other exciting stuff going on?”

Aayla rolled her eyes as she focused back on Anakin. “Well, I’ve got to go now, but I’ll try to talk to Quin as soon as I can. Stay safe out there, okay?” 

She ended the call, and Anakin just sat there for a minute before finally getting up to go find Rex so that they could discuss their plan for their latest mission. He tried not to think too much about Obi-Wan, not wanting to get distracted at a crucial moment, but of course it was impossible for him to ever fully stop thinking about his former master, especially when he could still feel their bond, faint but bright. He just hoped that he’d hear back from Vos soon.

,,,

They told him that it was an honor to be offered a seat on the Council, especially at his age, but Obi-Wan couldn’t help feeling a little awkward about the whole thing. The only reason that there were even spots to be filled was because the fighting out there was getting worse, and some Jedi were not able to make it back home. And he was pretty sure that the only reason they’d offered Obi-Wan a seat specifically was because they figured it would be a way of keeping him safely on Coruscant. 

It wasn’t that Obi-Wan wanted to be in danger, but he didn’t like the idea of everyone else going out there and risking their lives while he stayed safe and sound on a planet that was unlikely to ever see any actual battles. 

After yet another Council meeting that mostly involved everyone saying repeatedly that they really needed to win the war, Yoda motioned for Obi-Wan to follow him, so he did. They ended up at Yoda’s apartment, and they sat down across from each other. Yoda sighed after setting down a cup of tea in front of Obi-Wan. “Disappointed, you are. Unhappy with the Council’s decision, you are.” 

“I trust in the wisdom of the Council,” he said carefully. “But the ones making these decisions are not the ones who have spent much time out in the field.”

Yoda gave him a long, searching look. “Spent time out there, you have. Qualified to speak on such matters, you are. Wish to be out there still, you do.”

Obi-Wan sighed and took a sip of tea just to give himself an extra moment to think. “I feel useless here,” he admitted. “My voice is just one of many on the Council, and so far it feels as though I have not managed to do anything at all. As terrible as it was, at least on the battlefield I knew what I was meant to be doing.”

There was a pause, and then Yoda slowly nodded. “A new purpose, you need. A new padawan, you should train.”    

It took real effort for Obi-Wan to swallow back the immediate refusal that threatened to spill out. Even though he knew it was normal, expected, even, for masters to take multiple padawans, Obi-Wan found it difficult to imagine anyone but Anakin as his padawan. Taking a new one would feel uncomfortably like replacing Anakin, and he felt like Anakin might agree. Plus, a new padawan might notice that Obi-Wan still had his bond with Anakin, and if they mentioned that to the wrong person, it could be an issue. And on top of all of that- Anakin was the protagonist of this shitty story. How could any other padawan hope to live up to that? 

He didn’t even say anything, but Yoda pressed his lips together, and looked unsurprised. “Interested, you are not.”

“It just wouldn’t be the right timing,” Obi-Wan tried to bullshit. “The younglings should be allowed to just stay younglings while this war goes on.”

“Not in the field, you are,” Yoda pointed out. “Force you, I will not. Think on it, you should.”

Once Yoda had dismissed him, Obi-Wan had been more than happy to be given a distraction in the form of one Quinlan Vos. He met his friend at Dex’s, and realized that it had been too long since they’d last had the chance to see each other in person. “How are you? Or is that a foolish question, all things considered?”

Quin laughed. “It’s fine. And I’ve been as well as can be expected, all things considered. But what about you? I can’t imagine you’re too pleased about being benched, especially when your former padawan is still out there on the front lines. Have you seen the news lately? It seems that the chancellor is trying to make Skywalker into the face of the Republic forces. Knowing that boy as well as I do, I worry that the chancellor is going to regret that.”

“I’m fine,” Obi-Wan reassured his friend. “Without-A-Cure has not flared up since I joined the Council. And Anakin is certainly putting in enough work to deserve everyone’s admiration. Though I’m not sure that I like the thought of the average Republic citizen, at least here in the Core, treating him like some kind of celebrity. It feels distasteful, like they are making light of the war.”

Quin sighed, and leaned back in his seat. “Yeah. The people who don’t have to see the fighting right in their backyard seem to prefer pretending like it’s not even a problem, even while there are millions who are watching their worlds be torn apart.” He sat up straight and plastered on a smile. “But I’m sure we’ve both had more than enough war talk lately! Let’s talk about something else.”

“Like what?” Obi-Wan asked with bemusement, wondering if there were any topics left that were not touched by the war.

Quin thought about it for a moment before coming up with an answer. “I know we’ve been friends for a few years now, but it feels like we still barely know each other. I remember seeing you in passing when we were younglings, but once I became a padawan, I’ll admit that I didn’t give you much thought, at least not until we were both adults and it seemed like you always wanted to kill me on sight for some reason. So tell me about yourself! I heard that you aged out and were being sent to the AgriCorps before Master Jinn agreed to train you, but what actually happened that made him change his mind? Or tell me some funny childhood stories. Like if you remember anything about where you’re from. Or just anything, really. I just want to know more about you.”

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes in suspicion, trying to figure out why Quin would suddenly want to know about Obi-Wan’s history when it had never come up before. Unfortunately, he thought that it might be a little more difficult to vaguely handwave his way out of the conversation here than it had been with Anakin. “My life is not all that interesting.”

Quin leaned forward. “Says the guy who trained the Chosen One himself.” Then he shrugged. “But I get it if you don’t want to talk about stuff that’s too personal. Say, have you met my grand-padawan, Ahsoka? Here, I have some pictures!” He pulled out a datapad and turned it around to show Obi-Wan the photos it contained. It was a very unsubtle way of changing the conversation, but Obi-Wan didn’t mention it, just grateful to get away from those dangerous subjects. If he had realized that so many people would be asking about his past, he would have already demanded that Padme share everything she knows about it. He would definitely need answers to give if these questions came up again, before anyone got suspicious. Well, at least in the worst case, he could just make up some answers if he knew for sure that nobody actually knew the correct ones. For now, though, he would just focus on looking at pictures of Ahsoka and Aayla, and try not to think too hard about his own former padawan.

Chapter Text

Maybe it felt a little bit like he was admitting defeat and saying that even his bullshitting skills weren’t good enough, but Obi-Wan gave in and called Padme. “So do you have any idea about the backstory of the original goods? Because for some reason, the topic has been coming up a lot lately. I know I could just tell them that I was too young to remember much, but the problem is that I don’t know how realistic that would be.”

Padme let out a thoughtful little hum. “Well, I did have a few ideas at one point, but I’m not sure how much of the original draft plays into this world.”

Obi-Wan raised one eyebrow. “Original draft? I’ve never heard you mention an original draft before. It hadn’t occurred to me that you even bothered to edit your work at all, considering what a mess it turned out to be.”

Padme rolled her eyes, but at this point was so used to Obi-Wan insulting Way of the Proud Sith Lord that it didn’t even bother her. “For your information, I did, in fact, have an editor. Or maybe more like a beta reader? I’m not sure exactly what you’d call him. But once the story started picking up traction and I realized that I could actually see some benefits from it, I hired him to look over everything that I already had written. Remember how I told you that I had planned out this war arc until I lost my notes? That wasn’t entirely inaccurate, but I guess you could say that it really was closer to a draft than just a handful of loose notes. Anyways, for the original Obi-Wan, let’s see…” she looked off to the side as she tried to recall details that she probably hadn’t thought about in decades. “I wanted his life to sort of parallel Anakin’s. He was also born a slave, but when he was probably about three or four, his master realized that he was Force-sensitive and wanted to sell him for a lot of money. The Jedi interfered because there was a whole trafficking ring specifically dealing in Force-sensitive children. 

“Most of the children were already too old to join the Order, so they were relocated to the Service Corps, but Obi-Wan was accepted as an initiate to begin training. He was talented and willing to work hard, but also had a lot of trouble controlling his temper, and he often lashed out at the other children who were not so kind to him. None of the Jedi wanted to take him as a padawan, so he aged out and was assigned to the AgriCorps. Master Jinn happened to be on the same transport, and they were attacked by Jinn’s former padawan who had fallen to the Dark Side, and Obi-Wan risked his life to protect Jinn, who then decided to train him. 

“After that, Obi-Wan worked extra hard, always trying to please the master who had not even wanted him to begin with. And when he finally felt like he had earned his master’s approval, Jinn all but tossed him aside for what seemed to be a better and more powerful child.”

When she was done talking, there was a long pause, and then Obi-Wan scowled. “What the hell? Why wasn’t any of that in the novel? That actually sounds kind of decent!” 

Padme shrugged one shoulder. “My editor thought that it would make it seem like I was trying to justify the child abuse, and by that point, it was pretty clear what kind of story people wanted. And I guess a revenge fantasy wouldn’t feel as good if the villain was a little more complex, or something like that. I don’t remember all of his reasoning at this point, but I agreed, so the book is what it is. But it might all still be canon in this world.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “Well, it’s fascinating, but I can’t really use that. I’d feel pretty shitty claiming to have those experiences when I haven’t ever gone through anything like- like slavery.” 

Padme nodded. “Yeah, that part you could reasonably leave out. I doubt you could claim to forget the incident that got you accepted as a padawan, though. Unfortunately, I don’t really have any more details than what I’ve already told you.”    

“You’ve already given me plenty, thank you. It’s just a shame that you didn’t pick a better editor. You could have actually had something good, considering the promising potential the story had to begin with. Anyways, I should probably go.”

Padme gave him an amused look. “Still trying to dodge Yoda because he wants you to take on a new padawan?”

Obi-Wan groaned. “It would be such a terrible idea.”

“Would it really be so terrible? You’re a good teacher, and Anakin adores you, so you must have done something right.”

Obi-Wan frowned. “It just wouldn’t feel right. If I can’t prevent Mustafar, then I wouldn’t want to provide Anakin with another target.”

Padme’s amusement faded. “Right.” She hesitated for a moment before asking, “One more thing before you go- Have you been able to communicate with your System since that weird glitch?” 

The subject soured Obi-Wan’s mood further. “No. Perhaps it would help if we actually knew what half of the error message said, but I don’t happen to know binary.”

“No, but you do just happen to have a former padawan who does.”

Obi-Wan immediately shook his head. “We don’t even know what might have been in that mess, what it might give away about us. That would be a terrible idea. Besides, it’s not like I happened to memorize a bunch of random ones and zeroes while dealing with a splitting headache.”

Padme laughed, and she quickly typed something out before holding it up so that Obi-Wan could see it. “I wrote it all down before I passed out, because I figured it would be important.”

“And you haven’t been able to translate it with all the resources of a senator and former queen?” Obi-Wan asked with scorn in his voice, even as he copied down the numbers. 

Padme shrugged. “Like you said, it could be sensitive information. At least you could swear him to silence or something. You know that he wouldn’t tell anyone if you told him that it would be dangerous for you.”

After they ended up hanging up the call, Obi-Wan stared down at the message Padme had given him. Wouldn’t it be easier to just find a droid who could speak English and ask them to translate? On the other hand, it would be a nice excuse to speak with Anakin. What with Anakin off running around on constant missions, since the Council didn’t seem to believe in giving breaks, Obi-Wan tried not to reach out too often, not wanting to risk causing a distraction at a crucial moment.

Obi-Wan dithered about it for a bit, and considered just forwarding the message to Anakin. But he knew that there were no guaranteed secure channels, and that he didn’t want to risk this being leaked to anyone when he still didn’t even know what it said. So finally he heaved out a sigh and called Anakin to ask him to translate.

The call rang so many times that it was nearly dropped before Anakin answered, revealing a face with a dark bruise across one cheek, and his hair sticking up everywhere. “Master! Is everything okay?”

“Nothing urgent, I promise. If you’re in the middle of something, you can just call me back later.” 

Anakin quickly shook his head. “No, everything’s good here! We were just killing time waiting for- well, it doesn’t matter. What’s up?”

Obi-Wan found himself staring intently at Anakin’s face, wishing that the image wasn’t so grainy so that he could get a better idea of what kind of shape his former padawan was actually in. “I was hoping to make use of your talents,” he admitted.

“Sure, anything!” Anakin responded quickly.

Obi-Wan blinked a couple of times, then nodded gratefully. “Thank you. I have a binary message that I need translated, and I know you can speak it, though I’m not sure how that differs from reading and writing…” he trailed off as he tried to think about whether he’d actually seen Anakin read or write in binary.

“No problem, what’s the message?”

Obi-Wan read off the numbers, and waited patiently for Anakin to write them all down. He watched the endearing look of concentration on Anakin’s face as his eyes ran over the numbers and his mouth moved silently. After a minute or so, he looked back up. “Alright, I think I’ve got it. It doesn’t seem to be a full message, but it says, ‘user_03 accessing…’ I don’t know what. Is there any more?”

Obi-Wan shook his head, thoughts already racing. The System had said that there were too many users as it started glitching out, didn't it? And then a third user that he’d never heard of? They could be anybody with any kind of intentions, or they could just be a farmer on some mid rim planet with no intentions of getting involved in the plot at all.

“Master? Is everything okay?” Anakin asked, looking a little concerned when Obi-Wan had just sat there in silence.

It took another few seconds for him to shake off the shock of that reveal, and then he smiled at Anakin. “I’m alright, dear one. Just a little confused, is all. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Thank you for your help.”

“Yeah, no problem…” Anakin trailed off, still staring like he thought that he could somehow feel their bond from across such a grand distance if he just stared hard enough at Obi-Wan’s image. “I was thinking that maybe… since Without-A-Cure makes it too dangerous for you to go out alone, maybe you could join up with me? Then you’d know that there’s a Jedi around to help you if the poison flares up, but you could still be out in the field.”

It was a tempting suggestion, especially without the System around to guide his actions, but something in Obi-Wan’s gut told him that it would not be possible. If the Council would accept such a thing, then why wouldn’t they have offered to pair him up with another Jedi general in the first place, rather than sticking him on the Council? 

When he didn’t give an immediate response, Anakin frowned. “Do you… not want to work with me?”

“Of course I do, and I miss being able to talk to you more frequently. But I am not so sure that the Council would agree that it is the best course.”

“So don’t tell them,” Anakin said dismissively. “Just grab a ship and fly out here to meet up with me. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “That would be a perfect plan, if we were perhaps hoping to be expelled from the Order.”

There was a brief pause before Anakin spoke in a low voice. “Would that be so bad?”

Obi-Wan just stared at his former padawan, trying to figure out an answer to that that wasn’t just useless sputtering. “What?” After fighting and working his way up and finally being made into a Jedi Knight, how could he even suggest a thing? Obi-Wan felt his features soften as he looked at Anakin with sympathy. “I know that this war is not what you expected when you joined the Order, but isn’t being a Jedi all you’ve ever wanted?”

“Not all I’ve ever wanted,” Anakin murmured, giving Obi-Wan a long look. When Obi-Wan didn’t know what to say to that, Anakin just sighed, and the strange tenseness disappeared as quickly as it had come. “Well, if the Council does give you permission, then I look forward to seeing you then. If not, I guess I’ll see you whenever I’m allowed back to the Temple next?”

Obi-Wan nodded automatically. “Yes, I’ll see you then.” Even after hanging up, Obi-Wan still stared at his comm, wondering why it didn’t contain all of the answers. He did wish he could be out there with Anakin, if only to sooth whatever the horrors of war had stirred up in him, but he didn’t think that he’d be so lucky. As he sank down into his meditation pose, hoping to clear his mind at least a little bit, he heard a familiar mechanical voice in his head.

[REBOOTING… CALIBRATING… Hello Host! This System apologizes for any gap in coverage, and reminds Host that 24-7 user support is available.]

Chapter Text

[+5 PSP. +18 PSP. +5 PSP. -100 PSP. +50 PSP. -]

“Enough, I didn’t want the notifications, remember? And just where the hell have you been? What even happened? Me and Padme have been freaking out wondering, so you’d better have a good explanation!” 

[Apologies for the gap in coverage. This System is available to provide user support-]

Obi-Wan scowled. “Really? You don’t have anything else to say?” The System said nothing, and Obi-Wan had to bite back the insults on the tip of his tongue. When he really thought about it, as much as he hated the System for forcing him into this whole situation rather than just letting him run away in the beginning, or choosing not to push his padawan into lava, he had been rather concerned when the System was out of order. And Padme seemed to get along fine with her System (or was it one shared System? Whatever, not the point at the moment), which meant that they could probably be at least a little bit helpful sometimes. Obi-Wan let out a heavy sigh. “System, do I have any notifications that are not about the stupid points?”

[There are many such notifications! Would Host like to hear them?]

Obi-Wan thought about it for a moment, then let out another sigh. “Fine, whatever. Just start with the most recent ones and work back from there.” Whatever was most recent would probably be most useful, assuming that it wasn’t all going to be a complete waste of his time.

[Mission added- ‘Star Crossed’. Mysterious and Intriguing attributes raised. Mission updated- ‘Unlocking the Backstory’. Mission complete- ‘Talk to Friends’. Storyline updated- ‘The Mysterious Mentor’. Storyline updated- ‘Saving the Sith Through the Power of Love’. Protagonist Satisfaction Points update- 8,369. Character depth unlocked. Mission added- ‘The Chancellor and I’. Mission-]

Obi-Wan waved his hand to indicate that the System could stop. “So that’s it? I guess I was right to mute notifications, that would get annoying quickly. Is there anything other than points updates, mission updates, or attributes updates?”

There was a pause as the System considered the question, possibly running through all of the notifications to see if there was anything that did not fit the categories Obi-Wan had just listed. [Notifications about Without-A-Cure, notifications about Protagonist’s Dark Side and Light Side levels, notifications about other users. Would Host like to hear any notifications?]

Obi-Wan was about to just brush it all aside and forget that he’d even been convinced to ask in the first place, but then his brain caught up with that last thing. “Users? Plural? Can you tell me about them? I mean, I already know about Airplane slash Padme, but what about this sudden new third user?”

He could practically hear dial-up noises as the System thought, and when several seconds stretched by as it remained silent, Obi-Wan just rolled his eyes. “Whatever, don’t worry about it, I’ll figure it out on my own- like I have to with everything else around here.” He didn’t want the System to crash again from focusing on the third user, since that had to be what had caused it in the first place.

Really, all of this just served to confirm Obi-Wan original thought, which was that the System was completely useless and he didn’t need any of its notifications anyways. It wasn’t like he’d been missing out on anything important anyways, and he certainly wasn’t going to dig through years of backlogged notifications just on the off chance that there might be one or two interesting things there. 

,,,

“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone look so happy to be sent into an active warzone,” Rex commented in what he probably thought was a casual tone.

Anakin just scoffed, unwilling to let anything get him down at the moment. He hadn’t really expected anything to come of that conversation before, but Obi-Wan really had asked the Council for permission to accompany Anakin, and they really had granted it! It wasn’t going to be every mission, but even just being able to see Obi-Wan every once in a while was still way more than when Obi-Wan was stuck at the Temple. 

And it wasn’t just him who was excited about this update. He knew that Obi-Wan had built up a well-earned reputation throughout his time in this war, and everyone felt more confident for having the Jedi Master right by their side as they fought.

It felt like they’d been waiting at the meeting point for ages before one of the clones finally announced that they picked up the signal from Obi-Wan’s little ship, and Anakin impatiently motioned for the loading bay to be opened so that Obi-Wan could land inside. If it weren’t for the fact that he could feel the weight of his mens’ gazes on him, Anakin probably would have just run straight down there to see Obi-Wan as quickly as possible.

Instead, he waited in the command room, doing his best not to fidget too obviously, and glaring at any clones who looked like they might be brave enough to actually say something to him about it. And then finally, Obi-Wan arrived, and it was like Anakin’s entire body was able to relax for the first time since he’d last been on Coruscant. He wanted to rush over and pull Obi-Wan into a hug, but he knew that his former master wouldn’t be comfortable with that, so he settled for giving Obi-Wan a wide grin. “You made it! What took you so long?”

“Yes, well, some of us are forced to drive at reasonable speeds if we don’t wish to die in a fiery wreck in the middle of space,” Obi-Wan answered dryly. Anakin could feel the way that Obi-Wan reached out to him through their bond, and he was quick to return the gesture, happily entwining them together in a way that nobody else in the room would be able to pick up on. 

After everyone was briefed on the specifics of their latest mission, it was decided that they should all get a good night's rest while they could. Obi-Wan started to head towards the guest room he’d stayed in a few times while on Anakin’s ship, but Anakin reached out to grab Obi-Wan’s arm without even thinking about it. When Obi-Wan didn’t make any move to pull away, Anakin couldn’t force himself to let go. “Oh, I meant to tell you that the guest bunk is, uh, out of order. I mean the fresher in it is! So it would be kinda inconvenient to stay there. Um. And the bed has some spare parts on it?” He knew that he didn’t sound very smooth or confident at all.

Obi-Wan just gave Anakin a slightly bemused look. “Then where am I to sleep? I don’t suppose there are any empty bunks with the men?”

“No, they’re all full,” he hurried to assure Obi-Wan. In this case, it wasn’t even a lie, since they’d been fortunate not to lose anyone recently. “There’s an extra bed in my room.” 

Of course Anakin wouldn’t be so bold as to invite Obi-Wan to share his bed, but Anakin just felt like he’d die if he had to sleep knowing that Obi-Wan was onboard the same ship but still so far away. At least if they were in the same room, Anakin could just look over at the other bed whenever he needed the assurance that Obi-Wan was actually there and okay. If Obi-Wan found anything strange about this situation, he didn’t say anything about it, to Anakin’s relief.

They walked together to Anakin’s room, and Anakin was quick to offer Obi-Wan the chance to use the fresher first. Obi-Wan gave Anakin a strange look, but he stepped inside and the door slid shut behind him. Anakin sank down onto his bed and pressed his face into his hands, wondering what the hell he was even doing. He was pretty sure that there was really nothing he could do to give away his feelings to Obi-Wan, short of saying the words out loud, but he still felt so keyed up and nervous. 

He didn’t even realize that enough time had passed for an entire shower until the fresher door opened and steam lazily curled out. Obi-Wan exited the small room, his sleep clothes clinging to his damp skin. Anakin stared for a few seconds too long before dashing into the fresher to splash some cold water onto his face. He hadn’t changed his mind about wanting Obi-Wan here, of course not, but Force if it wasn’t going to be difficult to survive until he got used to being in close quarters with his former master again. Well, even if he did expire from this situation, at least it would be a pleasant way to go.

,,,

Obi-Wan looked carefully at Anakin’s men, wondering if one of them was the cause for Anakin’s strange behavior. Knowing that the mission about Anakin’s love life had been updated even after Padme made it clear that she was not interested in the protagonist, Obi-Wan assumed that Anakin must have set his eye on someone else. And since these clones were the people Anakin had spent the most time with since the start of the war, it would make sense if it were one of them. Obi-Wan ignored the strange tight feeling in his chest at the thought that one of these soldiers had taken Padme’s place in the story. He tried to console himself with the knowledge that maybe a new love interest would be able to keep all of their IQ points around the protagonist, which was something the original Padme had never been able to do, for some reason. 

When Anakin loudly cleared his throat, Obi-Wan looked back at his former padawan, and saw how Anakin was practically pouting. Did Anakin not want Obi-Wan to focus too much on the clones because he thought it would give away his secret? Obi-Wan thought that he’d already made it clear how little he cared about enforcing the Code, but then again, perhaps it was just something that Anakin wanted to keep private. That was understandable, especially considering the disastrous nature of Anakin’s first attempt at romance.

“Master, do you have a plan of attack here or what?”

Obi-Wan gently chided Anakin through their bond for his impatience, but Anakin didn’t look at all repentant. He just looked satisfied with himself for having gotten Obi-Wan’s attention back. In many ways, Anakin had barely grown up from the boy he’d once been (though in many other ways, he’d grown up far too quickly). “You haven’t even shown me the terrain maps,” he reminded Anakin, unable to hide his amusement.

Anakin rolled his eyes before pulling the maps up on the screen in front of them, tapping his finger down on a random point. “Now do you have a plan?”

“What has gotten into you? You seem even more impatient than usual.”

Anakin sighed, and his shoulders slumped down. Obi-Wan immediately set aside the map to give Anakin his full focus. “Is everything alright, D- Anakin?” He’d almost called him ‘dear one’, but of course it wouldn’t do to be using pet names in front of so many other people. Not only because they might report it to the Council, but also because it might accidentally trigger some jealousy in Anakin’s new love interest, which wasn’t a problem that Obi-Wan wanted to accidentally cause because of his fumbling. 

Anakin reached up to run a hand through his hair. “I just want to get it over with,” he muttered.

Obi-Wan reached out to pat Anakin’s head, but quickly redirected to pat Anakin’s shoulder instead, congratulating himself for the quick save. “I understand. Just give me a minute to actually study the map, and I’m sure I’ll come up with some brilliant strategy to put an end to all of this soon enough.”

Anakin nodded, staring intensely at Obi-Wan. “Thank you.”

Obi-Wan felt like his stomach was squirming around inside of him. “Ah, that’s quite alright, no need to thank me.”

Anakin’s gaze grew more intense. “Thank you,” he said, like the words help a much deeper meaning than what was coming across. Obi-Wan just nodded, not sure of what else to say. 

Chapter Text

On the ground with the mud and the blood and the endless waves of enemies and people to protect and problems to solve, it was understandably easy to lose track of time. Which is why it took him completely by surprise when he woke up one day to a notification that the System seemed to think was important enough to not remain muted. And when he heard it, his stomach sank. [60 days until the main mission ‘The Duel on Mustafar’ begins. Work hard to earn more points and change the story!]

Obi-Wan gulped once, his mouth too dry and his throat feeling like sandpaper. “How- how many points do I have right now?” He’d never bought anything from the System’s scam of a gift shop and it had seemed like a pretty big number the last time he’d checked, so he crossed his fingers as he waited for the answer.

The System paused for a moment, probably to make it all more dramatic, the bastard, and then announced, [Protagonist Satisfaction Points update- 9,592.]

Obi-Wan let out a heavy sigh. Okay. He could work with this. Two months to get another four hundred or so points would be no problem. Hopefully. Maybe he could try progressing Anakin’s love storyline? The System had said back in the beginning that that would come with a lot of points, and he’d do just about anything to make sure he had enough by the time the moment came. He’d never thought he’d even get to this many points in just a couple of years, so he was already doing way better than he would have originally guessed. So it would be fine. He would make sure that Mustafar never had to happen. For his sake, and for Anakin’s.

,,,

It didn’t escape Anakin’s notice that there was something heavy on his former master’s mind lately. Obi-Wan was shielding more through their bond than usual, but the bond was still there so he knew that it wasn’t Without-A-Cure, and he seemed like Obi-Wan was constantly lost in thought. Whenever Anakin tried to ask about it, though, Obi-Wan assured him that he was fine and quickly changed the subject, clearly not wanting to discuss whatever was going on.

But it was hard for Anakin not to worry, because he didn’t want Obi-Wan to have to deal with any problems or pains. Even if this behavior was just because of the war weighing down on them, Anakin wanted to be able to fix it. He wanted Obi-Wan to be able to just smile and make some stupid joke and critisize some random badly written novel. And, more selfishly, he didn’t want Obi-Wan to keep his distance from Anakin. 

And he knew that it was intentional, because of things like this. “But you’d be much more useful out there with us,” Anakin argued, trying to figure out why Obi-Wan would turn down the chance to go on a mission with him. The Council had allowed them to do a lot of missions together, more than expected, though it was probably just because they’d seen what an effective team the pair was. But it still wasn’t enough, and Anakin had thought that Obi-Wan felt the same.

Obi-Wan gave him a little smile and reached up to pat Anakin’s head. “You’ll be just fine, you’re more than prepared to handle a small threat such as this. As a member of the Council, I do have some responsibilities here, but I will see you as soon as you return, dear one, I promise.”

Anakin had not had any specific visions lately, but something in his gut, or maybe the Force itself, was telling him that they should not split up just now. “Please come with me,” he begged in a quiet voice. He reached out to take one of Obi-Wan’s hands. “Maybe I can handle it on my own, but it’s so much better with both of us.” He didn’t tell Obi-Wan that he had a bad feeling, not wanting to make it seem like he knew for certain that they were supposed to do this together, even if he was pretty sure that that was the case. “Please.”

Obi-Wan hesitated, then bowed his head in a slow nod. “Very well.”

,,,

Two days later, Anakin wondered if he had just tricked himself into thinking that Obi-Wan was supposed to come along. Because surely the Force wouldn’t have wanted him to drag Obi-Wan into danger like this, right? He had to ask, because crawling out of a crashed escape pod and helping drag out an unconscious Rex wasn’t exactly the together time that Anakin had imagined. 

“Well sithspit,” Anakin said after they’d finished setting up a little base and made sure that Rex would be alright. “We should have dealt with that stupid witch ages ago!” 

His rising anger faded a bit when Obi-Wan reached out to him through their bond at the same time that he reached out to lightly touch Anakin’s shoulder. “It will be alright. Your poor captain may disagree, but there was no serious harm done, and it will not be very long before your men come for us.”

“Our men,” Anakin grumbled. It was an argument he’d made many times before, that they led the troops equally at this point, but he knew that admitting it would make Obi-Wan feel like he’d left behind his previous troops, so Anakin never pushed too hard on the matter. “And we don’t currently have any working communicators.” 

Before Ventress had so boldly rammed right into their landing shuttle, she’d hit them with some kind of high powered emp that had made most of the non-emergency power shut off. The three of them had crammed themselves into the escape pod and launched out of the shuttle, but it hadn’t had enough power for a proper landing, and now here they were.

Obi-Wan sighed and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. “I must confess that I don’t understand her motivations,” he said softly. 

Anakin frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s Dooku’s apprentice. It doesn’t exactly seem like it would be out of character for her to try and kill us.”

“She let us go without a fight the last time we saw her,” Obi-Wan reminded him. 

“Only because we outnumbered her!” Anakin insisted. Obi-Wan gave him a pointed look, reminding him of the condition he’d been in at the time of that rescue, which they both knew would have made him more of a hindrance than a help if they had to fight in that small space.

Obi-Wan reached down to pat his lightsaber. “And she returned my weapon that we didn’t even know she had on her because…?”

Anakin threw his hands up. “Fine, maybe she’s secretly the nicest person in the universe who just happens to be the direct apprentice of someone funding a war and who cut off my arm! Sure!” 

Obi-Wan chuckled and shook his head, and Anakin settled down somewhat at the feeling of fond amusement that came through their bond. “Anyways, none of this should be a problem, since I packed the solar powered batteries in all of the escape pods after the Trentchis incident.” They both shuddered in unison as they remembered the odd planet where the sun rose like normal during the day, but had absolutely no light sources at night, perfectly positioned so that it was impossible to see any other stars or moons from any spot on the planet. 

As Obi-Wan pulled out the batteries from their protective case and set them up to start collecting the sunlight, Anakin could sense an approaching person who was unfortunately familiar. He reached for his lightsaber, and was grateful when Obi-Wan immediately followed his lead, trusting in Anakin’s instincts.

Ventress emerged from around the corner of the rock cliff face they had set themselves up next to (to prevent anyone from being able to sneak up behind them). “What a coincidence, running into you again.”

“You’re the one who-!” Anakin started to shout, only calming when Obi-Wan sent soothing waves through their bond. 

Ventress raised one eyebrow, pointedly holding up her empty hands. Of course, Anakin was more than aware of the fact that someone did not need weapons in their hands to be dangerous, and he didn’t let his guard down even a little. “I just wanted to chat,” she told them, speaking slowly as if this was just some random smalltalk. “Your friend,” she started, and Obi-Wan’s eyes flicked to Anakin for a moment. Ventress shook her head. “The one with the nice hair. The cute one.”

Obi-Wan blinked once as he thought about it. “Quinlan?” he asked. Anakin’s grip tightened so much on his lightsaber that he was amazed it didn’t shatter into pieces.

Ventress laughed. “Yes, that one. We were working on a bit of a project together, him and I. I was getting bored of Dooku and all his grand ideas anyways, and he was only getting worse at keeping his promises anyways. So your friend and I planned on killing him together. We failed, but I have some more ideas. Unfortunately, he forgot to leave behind any way for me to contact him. So I thought I’d ask you.”

Anakin scowled. “You could have killed us! If all you want is really a comm number, then why wouldn’t you just ask for it like anormal person?”

She shrugged. “If you want a call from me on your logs, be my guest.”

Obi-Wan powered down his lightsaber and clipped it back to his belt, holding out his other hand. “Now, now, there’s no need for arguing. Of course you can understand why we would be hesitant to just hand out the personal contact information for a fellow Jedi, when your intentions towards us have not always been so kind.”

Ventress barked out a laugh. “Still upset about being poisoned? You were the one who interfered with matters that were none of your business, and you seem to be doing just fine now anyways. Other than that, what else have I done to get on your bad side?”

“That’s more than enough,” Anakin all but growled at the blatant reminder that she was responsible for the condition that caused Obi-Wan the most pain and inconvenience. He was a little torn, though, because he wouldn’t be all that upset if Ventress did trick Vos into a trap and killed him. He knew Obi-Wan wouldn’t be happy with that, though. 

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows and gave Ventress a long, searching look. He must have found something honest about her, because he relaxed a bit more, and nodded once. “I would prefer if we could avoid assassinating Dooku… but I understand that this is not the time to let righteousness outweigh ending this war. I will give you Quin’s information, but only on two conditions.” Ventress stared at him curiously and nodded for him to go on. “First, you must swear that you will only kill Dooku if it is not possible to capture him- we do still need certain information from him. And second, you will give us a ride back to our ship.”    

“Ma- Obi-Wan!” Anakin protested, not wanting to go anywhere with that woman.

“Would you rather be stuck here until we have enough power to comm for assistance, and then have to wait longer for someone to actually show up?” Obi-Wan asked. 

Ventress laughed again, but she ended up agreeing to the terms, and even kindly helped them carry Rex onto her little ship. It wasn’t until they’d been dropped off and were flying away that Anakin wondered why Ventress had agreed to do that for them. How had she not been worried that they would just stop her from leaving once she’d landed on the Resolute. Maybe she just thought that Obi-Wan was too honorable for those kinds of tricks, but it still seemed weirdly trusting of her, especially when anyone with eyes could tell how much Anakin hated her.

But it meant getting Rex better medical help sooner, and if Ventress was going to go off and distract Vos, or maybe even succeed at taking down Dooku, then all the better. But Anakin still wasn’t going to forgive her for poisoning Obi-Wan, so for her own sake, she had better not show up too often. 

Chapter Text

According to the System, there was just two weeks left until everything on Mustafar was supposed to happen, and Obi-Wan had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do. The war plot wasn’t even resolved yet, as expansive as it had gotten over the past couple of years, and Obi-Wan didn’t even know if it was all for nothing or not, like it would be if Anakin still went and helped the sith lord destroy the Republic and create their empire. “How many points do I have?” he asked, even though he was sure that it couldn’t have changed that much in the past couple of hours. 

[Host currently has 9,898 Protagonist Satisfaction Points!] the System told him in a voice that sounded far too cheerful.

Obi-Wan nodded. That wasn’t too bad. Just a hundred away from being able to buy his way out of the biggest moment of betrayal that was destined to happen in this story. He’d been doing everything he could think of to raise Anakin’s satisfaction and earn points, but it wasn’t easy. Some days things just did not go well out on the front lines, and Obi-Wan was undeservedly punished during those times with loss of points. 

But he was so close now, he could almost taste it! Imagining the future without Anakin remaining a Jedi, the two of them continuing to go on missions together until someday they figured out a way to completely get rid of Without-A-Cure, and then they’d probably go their separate ways. Obi-Wan ignored the slightly nauseous feeling that he got from the thought of it. 

He was tempted to call Padme again and ask for her advice, since he was getting so close to being able to successfully change the course of this terrible story, but he decided not to. The last time he’d asked about how to get more points, she’d just come up with utterly ridiculous ideas, most of which bordered on being inappropriate for one’s former padawan. And ultimately, if Padme knew how to improve the story she would have done so to begin with, rather than leaving all of the hard work to Obi-Wan, so it was really probably for the best that he just figured this much out on his own. “And there’s no more side missions I can do for extra points?” he double checked.

[Host is correct, all current side missions that would earn PSP have been completed. There are other side missions pending-]

“Pass,” Obi-Wan interrupted, unable to stop himself from sounding a little bored. Why would he want to go and do all the work of missions that wouldn’t help him towards his goal? He needed to focus everything on earning more PSP.

Then he remembered that he was in the middle of a Council meeting at the moment, and probably shouldn’t be thinking about any of that stuff when he was supposed to be paying attention to this nonsense instead. Something about a droid who had killed a couple of Jedi and was now using their lightsabers in combat. It’s not that Obi-Wan thought such a thing was unimportant, it’s just that none of it would matter at all if he couldn’t prevent Mustafar, so it was harder than usual to summon up the ability to care about such a thing.

He was relieved when the meeting finally came to an end, though of course he couldn’t just slip away because Yoda summoned him over. Doing his best to hide his frustration, Obi-Wan approached. “You wanted to see me, Master?”

“Given any thought, have you, to having a new padawan?” 

It had been so long since that initial conversation that Obi-Wan had all but forgotten about it entirely. If it had come to mind at all, he probably would have assumed that since he was back out in the field, he didn’t need a new padawan to drag into danger with him. Not everyone had the guaranteed plot armor that Anakin did. 

Obi-Wan shook his head, wanting to be honest. “There has been so much going on lately that there’s hardly ever time to just stop and think. With how much the war has been escalating, though, I’m still not sure that it would be a good idea.”

Yoda frowned slightly. “Attached to Knight Skywalker, you are.”

Obi-Wan blinked once. “Attachment is not allowed for Jedi,” he finally settled on saying, after many possible answers swirled through his mind.

“Hm. Aware of the Code, I am. Know it well, do you?”

“As well as any Jedi should,” Obi-Wan answered carefully. 

With the way Yoda was looking at him, Obi-Wan wouldn’t be surprised if the master could use the Force to pluck so many secrets right out of his head. Like that Obi-Wan obviously was attached to Anakin, and would do just about anything to avoid having to betray his former padawan. Or that he wasn’t even the real Obi-Wan, or that if he failed to stop Mustafar then life as they all knew it would change soon, at least for those who even survived. Or- well, Obi-Wan should probably stop thinking about all of his secrets while right in front of Yoda. 

Yoda sighed heavily, and looked down at where his hands were resting lightly on top of his staff. “Control the future, we cannot. Control the actions of others, we cannot. Only follow the Force’s guidance, we must.”

“I understand.”

Yoda suddenly looked up again, eyes sharp. “Do you?”

Obi-Wan nodded firmly. “Yes.” It’s not something he’d have the words to explain to anyone from his first life, but he truly did trust in the Force, and not just because it seemed like a better option than trusting in the System and Padme’s writing skills. To say that he didn’t trust the Force would be like saying that he didn’t trust his own hand- it just wouldn’t make sense. 

Whether Yoda actually believed him or not, he dismissed Obi-Wan, who hurried away with much to think about. 

,,,

Anakin was always grumpiest when Obi-Wan wasn’t allowed to come onto a mission with him, and his men were well aware of that fact. Still, Anakin did his best to take his irritation out only on enemies, of which there seemed to be no shortage. Still, it was best (for everyone) when the mission was over and Anakin was given a rare moment to stop and breathe. 

Part of him wanted to go to Naboo to check on his mother, but she had been alright the last time they’d called each other, and it was not her that the Force seemed to be giving him strange warnings about. For the past several nights, Anakin had seen horrific things in his dreams, things that made him want to get Obi-Wan within sight and never let him go again. The only refuge from those dreams was whenever his shadow teacher helped pull him free from them. Anakin knew that they could not be visions, as much as they felt like they might be, because there was no way he would ever hurt Obi-Wan the way he did in those dreams. Still, they disturbed him, and Anakin knew he wouldn’t feel better until he could see for himself that Obi-Wan was okay.

So he settled for calling his mother and chatting with her for a bit, but ultimately headed the ship back to Coruscant. Anakin was relieved to feel his bond with Obi-Wan get stronger as they got closer to the planet, and he rushed through the usual docking procedures. He’d already written out his reports in advance (which Obi-Wan would surely be so proud of him for doing), so he didn’t have anything delaying him from rushing to Obi-Wan’s apartment.

He paused outside the door, since he could feel that Obi-Wan was not inside. He wanted to just follow their bond and run around the Temple until he found his former master, but instead he just sent his eagerness through the bond, and he felt Obi-Wan’s fondness in return.

Knowing that Obi-Wan wouldn’t keep him waiting for too long, Anakin was about to let himself inside the apartment, not wanting to annoy Obi-Wan by interrupting whatever he was currently in the middle of doing. But when he felt a jolt of alarm through their bond, immediately followed by Obi-Wan putting up strong shields, Anakin couldn’t wait.

He headed straight to the Council chambers, and got there just as the doors swung open and Obi-Wan stepped outside. His face looked pale, but his shields were too good for Anakin to figure out exactly what had just happened. Considering that they were in the middle of a war, it wasn’t too hard to guess some possible causes, but why would that mean blocking Anakin out?

Anakin reached out, unsure of whether he was going to hug Obi-Wan or just grab his arm to drag him somewhere safe and private, but he didn’t do either after Obi-Wan flinched violently away, and Anakin took a small step back. Then Obi-Wan looked up at him sheepishly. “Ah, sorry about that, I was just…” he trailed off, seeming uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

Anakin’s eyes flicked towards the Council chambers. “What happened?” There was no point in asking whether everything was alright, because he could tell that it was not. 

Obi-Wan gave Anakin a somewhat strained looking smile. “Just some news that I was expecting, but not looking forward to.” 

Anakin frowned. “What news?”

“It’s, ah. The Chancellor. He’s been kidnapped.” 

Anakin’s eyebrows went up. “What? How did that even happen?” Then he looked at Obi-Wan in confusion. “You expected the Chancellor was going to get kidnapped?”

Obi-Wan immediately shook his head. “Oh, no, of course not! I suppose I meant more that I expected something big to happen, with the Separatists getting more desperate lately. Anyways, you and I have been assigned to go and rescue him, as quickly and quietly as possible. If it becomes public news that Palpatine was kidnapped, it would be crushing to the Republic’s morale. And since we haven’t heard anything from Quin or his new friend, we can only assume that Dooku is the one responsible for this. We must head out soon. I’m sorry, dear one, I know that you were looking forward to having a break.”

“It’s fine,” Anakin responded immediately. “Rescuing the Chancellor and taking down Dooku is probably going to get us the closest we’ve been yet to ending this war for good.” Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, but he still didn’t let down his shields, and Anakin had to consider whether he’d be successful in straight up begging for Obi-Wan to let him in. 

They were heading out within a couple of hours, and Obi-Wan did not stop shielding himself the entire time. Anakin could only watch in concern, hoping that whatever was going on, it would be resolved once they put an end to this once and for all. 

Chapter Text

[9,950 Protagonist Satisfaction Points!] the System cheerfully informed Obi-Wan as they boarded Dooku’s ship, Obi-Wan absent-mindedly complimenting Anakin for his driving skills. They moved quickly and quietly as directed, with Anakin leading the way since he was able to sense Dooku’s Force signature with more ease than Obi-Wan could. 

Both of them had their lightsabers drawn but not ignited, ready to jump into battle at a moment’s notice. If they failed on this mission and the chancellor was killed, it would be a crushing blow to the Republic. Not that Obi-Wan was able to bring himself to truly care much about that when he was too busy worrying about what his own future held. He was so close to having enough points to buy his way out of that stupid mandatory main mission, and he couldn’t imagine ever wanting anything more than he wanted that. 

Obi-Wan could feel Anakin’s impatience growing through their bond, and he motioned for them to speed up. When they found the room with the chancellor tied up in a strangely throne-like chair, Anakin hurried forward to cut the ropes binding the man while Obi-Wan continued to look around the room nervously, stretching his senses. Hadn’t they come this way because Anakin was following Dooku’s Force signature? So then where was the former Jedi, and why would he just allow his prisoner to be set free so easily?

There was a bad feeling in Obi-Wan’s gut, and he found himself bolting forward and shoving Anakin out of the way just before the blade of a lightsaber fell right where Anakin’s shoulder had been a second earlier. The chancellor looked annoyed to still be tied up, but Anakin and Obi-Wan moved into a better position to fight, standing back to back so that they could protect each other. [9,960 points] the System updated Obi-Wan quietly, for once showing at least some level of awareness of the situation.

It was bizarre that the room did not floor with Dooku’s backup, when he had clearly been expecting the Jedi to show up. He was fighting them with all his might, but it was still one against two, and Obi-Wan didn’t understand what any of it meant. He glanced back to make sure that Anakin was doing alright, and in that moment, Dooku was able to surge forward and fling a chair, of all things, at Obi-Wan’s head, and it hit him. He was vaguely aware of the System saying, [9,910 points] before everything went black.

,,,

When Anakin saw Obi-Wan passed out on the ground, injured and unable to communicate through their bond, he felt rage fill him, and he ran at Dooku. He did not need to worry about holding back since Obi-Wan wasn’t standing close enough to him anymore to get hit by accident, considering that he was sprawled out on the floor instead.

Anakin and Dooku circled around the room together, the sounds of their lightsabers clashing together the only noise Anakin could hear over the sound of his own pounding heart and heavy breathing. Dooku had years of experience, but Anakin had more raw power, and Anakin could not suppress the part of him that wanted to avenge Obi-Wan, as well as avenge himself. He clenched his mechno-hand tighter around his lightsaber as he thought about what he’d lost to this man already, and how he was unwilling to lose anything more.

Anakin found that he was forcing Dooku back, and Dooku was switching to more defensive stances. Though his face remained impassive, nothing more than his usual sneer to be seen, Anakin could feel the faint hints of fear that leaked out into the Force, and he knew that he would be able to win. That he was the Force’s champion, and therefore it must be that the Force wanted him to win.

As soon as he saw an opening, Anakin slashed his saber, and watched with satisfaction as Dooku’s hand, the one that had been holding his own weapon, fell to the floor. While Dooku was distracted by the pain, Anakin used the Force to summon the fallen lightsaber to himself, so that Dooku could not grab it with his remaining hand. Dooku did not concede there, though, and raised his hand to pull at something with the Force, most likely an attempt to hit Anakin the way he’d hit Obi-Wan.

Not having it at all, Anakin cut off Dooku’s other hand, and then let his full weight in the Force flood out and press down on Dooku, forcing him to his knees. Even like this, the man did not bow his head or beg for mercy, he just stared up at Anakin with resignation. 

Anakin pulled out the Force-dampening cuffs that he and Obi-Wan had brought, and he used the Force to snap them around Dooku’s ankles, since obviously they would just slide off of his wrists now. Anakin powered off his lightsaber, though he was not foolish enough to put it away, and then he turned to check on Obi-Wan.

He’d all but forgotten about the chancellor’s presence entirely until the man cleared his throat and gave Anakin a pointed look. “Right, sorry.” He went to the tied up man first and severed the ropes, moving quickly because he just wanted to be able to check on Obi-Wan and then get the hell out of here.

The chancellor was apparently in no such hurry, because he spoke to Anakin rather than letting him go check on his former master in peace. “Wait. Are you really going to let that man live? He took your arm, he nearly killed your master, and he is far too clever to stop being a threat just because you have bound and crippled him. And he is the face of the Separatists in this war. So long as he lives, the war will never truly end, and you will never be able to live in peace with your Obi-Wan.”

Anakin frowned as he looked over at where Dooku was still kneeling, though there was a new expression on the fallen man’s face- one of shock. Anakin slowly looked back at the chancellor. “Should you really be advising me to kill him? As the leader of the Republic, aren’t you supposed to advocate for him having a trial or something?”

“And you think that he would be tried justly, with his money and his connections?” the chancellor asked in a low hiss. “And have you already forgotten that it was his apprentice who poisoned your Obi-Wan and caused him great suffering?”

Anakin’s frown deepened. “That was before she worked for him,” he said carefully. Even if he did personally think that Ventress deserved to die for Without-A-Cure, it didn’t mean that Dooku should be blamed for that specifically. But it was tempting, listening to the chancellor’s words, to just take care of the threat Dooku represented, right here and right now. 

The chancellor’s voice became a smooth murmur as he gently coaxed Anakin. “The Jedi do not need to know of what happens here today. They would not understand, they are so attached to their Code that they are unwilling to do what is necessary for the protection of the Republic. You do not need to trust them with everything, these people who would tell you that you are wrong for having attachments. Do what needs to be done, my boy. Be the hero that the Jedi would never allow you to be, protect the people, protect your Obi-Wan.” 

Anakin started to raise his lightsaber, but then he stopped, his eyes sliding over to Obi-Wan’s unmoving body on the floor. He lowered his weapon and shook his head, recalling how Obi-Wan had specifically said that Dooku should only be killed if he could not be captured, and he knew that Obi-Wan would be disappointed in Anakin if he did this.

He started to shake his head, and he could hear the faintest hint of frustration in the chancellor’s voice. “You are no longer a padawan who must do everything his master tells him,” he reminded Anakin, as if Anakin could ever forget that he was not technically Obi-Wan’s padawan anymore. He still remembered what Obi-Wan had told him that day when he’d broken the news, ‘I believe that you will do great things as a Jedi Knight.’ and Anakin shook his head. He could not let Obi-Wan down.

Anakin looked away from Dooku to fully face the chancellor, and tried to keep his voice kind, but firm. “We will take him in, and he will stand trial, and he will tell us whatever we need to know that will help us end the war.” Anakin wasn’t sure why he felt something so heavy and oppressive in the Force just then, but he did not want to investigate it when he could be making sure that Obi-Wan was okay instead.

Anakin knelt down next to Obi-Wan and gently reached out to probe him with the Force, seeing how bad the damage was. To his relief, it didn’t seem as though there was anything permanent that had happened, he had just been knocked out from the hit. Which was still bad, but it was fixable, and it didn’t mean that Obi-Wan was going to keel over anytime soon. 

Knowing that he would not be able to carry Obi-Wan off the ship while also keeping Dooku prisoner and making sure that the chancellor was safe, Anakin closed his eyes and reached through their bond, gently prodding at Obi-Wan’s consciousness until the man’s eyes finally fluttered open. He looked dazed and confused for a moment, but as he glanced around it all seemed to come back to him, and he let Anakin help him back up to his feet.

Looking at Dooku, Obi-Wan frowned a little at the sight of the severed hands, but then he turned back to Anakin, and reached out to pat his head. “Good work Pa- Anakin.” 

The four of them managed to make their way back to Anakin and Obi-Wan’s ship without any further injuries, and then they began to make the journey back to Coruscant. With Obi-Wan awake and well, Anakin was free to take a small nap, since he found himself suddenly feeling unbearably exhausted.

He immediately realized when he was in a dream, and did not have to look far to spot his shadow teacher. “This is the second time you have let the same enemy go,” his teacher said in a much harsher voice than usual. “You must take great pleasure in wasting all of the time and effort I have spent to teach you.” 

Anakin grimaced and shook his head. “It isn’t like that. We needed him alive, to get information out of him,” he tried to explain, but the words sounded clumsy in his mouth, and he felt like a little kid who had broken a cup and was trying to talk his way out of getting in trouble for it. 

His teacher did not seem to care for his excuses, though. “Whatever happens next is on your head, boy. Perhaps you do not care for your former master as much as you claim to, when you are not even willing to do what it takes to keep him safe. Do not blame me when your most horrific dreams come true.” His voice was cold and distant, and he disappeared from the dream entirely just a moment later, letting Anakin slip without warning into one of his many nightmares regarding Obi-Wan. 

,,,

Obi-Wan assumed that points had been lost when he’d gone unconscious, since that obviously wouldn’t please this version of Anakin, who hadn’t yet been betrayed. The points had gone up again once Obi-Wan had woken up, but as Anakin slept, the System informed him that he was back down to [9,925 points]. He was so close to success that he could almost taste it, but there was hardly any time left, just a couple of days according to the System’s countdown.

While he tried to contemplate any way to earn a big handful of points in a short amount of time, he realized that Dooku was trying to get his attention, and he looked over curiously, raising one eyebrow. Dooku gave him a long look, then spoke in a low voice. “The sith lord you are looking for- it is Chancellor Palpatine,” he gritted out roughly. 

Obi-Wan did not visibly react to that pronouncement. “And why would you tell me that?”

“He was my master, yet he conspired to kill me,” Dooku answered. “He wanted your padawan to take my life and become his new padawan. I have just been a pawn all this time, as he waited for a stronger apprentice to come along. I have no chance of escape and no reason to remain loyal to him. I am telling you all of this now because I suspect that I will be dead before we reach Coruscant.”

There was a sinking feeling in Obi-Wan’s stomach as he considered how truthful this information might be. It would make sense, why Palpatine had tried being kind to Anakin and sending him to do easy missions that would make Anakin grateful to him. This would mean that Palpatine was Anakin’s shadow teacher, the one who guided him along through the majority of the novel until finally revealing himself as a sith lord… on Mustafar. 

And yet there was no actual evidence to support this theory. All Obi-Wan had was the word of an enemy and meta knowledge from a book that no one in this world would believe existed. So it’s not like Obi-Wan could just slap some Force suppression cuffs on Palpatine and call it a day. Surely the man’s supporters would not allow the Jedi to arrest him on what they’d consider to be such flimsy reasoning. 

It was tiring, but Obi-Wan stayed up to watch over Dooku for the entire rest of the trip back to Coruscant, pulling on the Force to give him energy even if it would never be as restorative as just sleeping would be. But Obi-Wan only believed Dooku more with each time that Palpatine kindly offered to let Obi-Wan take a break and have Anakin take a turn keeping watch, or made some tea for him, which Obi-Wan dumped out each time the man’s back was turned.

By the time they finally returned to the Temple, Obi-Wan felt like he could just tip over and collapse at any moment, but he remained upright long enough for Dooku to be taken into custody, where he would be safe for now. Then Obi-Wan dragged Anakin to the Council chambers, knowing that this was not the kind of report that could wait. Whatever was going to happen next, the Jedi needed to all be aware of the situation.

,,,

Anakin didn’t really know what to think as he heard Obi-Wan confidently announce that Chancellor Palpatine was the sith lord behind everything. It’s not as though Anakin was very close with the man, but it still made him uncomfortable to think that the person who had been leading everything on the Republic’s side had actually been doing his best to undermine all of their efforts the entire time. 

The Council trusted Obi-Wan, but they did not trust Dooku, so they were hesitant to accept the truth so quickly. It made a certain amount of sense to Anakin, though, and he added, “While Obi-Wan was unconscious, after I had already incapacitated Dooku, the chancellor tried very hard to convince me to kill Dooku on the spot. Why would he do that unless he didn’t want Dooku to be able to talk?” He didn’t think it was relevant to mention the fact that he thought Palpatine had actually been making some pretty good points.

There was a strange feeling through the bond when Anakin said that, but there wasn’t time to figure it out before Obi-Wan spoke again. “Dooku told me that Palpatine was hoping to groom Anakin into his new apprentice, knowing of Anakin’s reputation as a powerful Force user and the Chosen One.”

Mace gave Anakin a sharp look. “Yet Dooku lives.”

Anakin took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “Yes. I could not betray,” my master, he thought to himself, while out loud he said, “the Jedi and the Code. I knew that Dooku would have vital information to help end the war, and that a Jedi would not kill an unarmed man.” He winced at the unintended pun, but no one said anything about it.

Yoda just looked so tired. “Act now, we cannot. Required, more evidence will be. Believe you, we do. For our word, you will wait.” 

They were dismissed after a little more discussion, and Anakin all but carried Obi-Wan back to his apartment, wanting to make sure the man got some proper sleep. He understood now why Obi-Wan had not wanted to rest on the ship, though Anakin wished that he’d been told the truth sooner so that he could have helped Obi-Wan.

After carefully pulling off Obi-Wan’s boots and tucking the man under his blankets, Anakin turned to leave, but Obi-Wan reached out to grab his arm. Despite the tired haze he was in, somehow his eyes still managed to look piercing. When he didn’t actually say anything though, Anakin gently asked, “Obi-Wan?” 

There was a pause for a few seconds before Obi-Wan actually answered. “Whatever happens, I just…”

“Just what?”

There was another pause, and then Obi-Wan sighed and let go of Anakin. “I’m glad I met you,” he said, before his eyes slid shut, and Anakin could tell that he’d already fallen asleep. Anakin stood there for longer than he probably should have before finally leaving, wondering why those words, despite making him happy, felt so final.

,,,

“Palpatine has run,” Mace told them solemnly. “He must have known that Dooku would talk and reveal him, and he is nowhere to be found in the Senate, or his home here on Coruscant. He could be hiding anywhere else on the planet, but it is most likely that he-”

Nobody blamed Mace for abruptly stopping, as they all felt the same thing at that moment. A massive wave of Darkness in the Force washed over them, and it was clear that Palpatine was done hiding. All of the Jedi currently gathered immediately tried to start pinpointing where the energy had come from, but Obi-Wan didn’t need to look at any star charts or reach out in the Force, because he already knew the answer. 

To boldly announce to the Council that he knew where to find Palpatine would be too much without having any actual evidence to back him up, but he thought that he could get away with going off on his own. If he left now, then perhaps in the confusion of Palpatine’s reveal, Anakin would be too late to follow Obi-Wan. [‘The Duel on Mustafar’ is an unavoidable main mission,] the System reminded him, as if Obi-Wan could possibly forget.

“I’m so close to ten thousand points, though, surely I’ll have enough by the time I get there, and then it won’t matter.” The following silence somehow came across as judgemental, and Obi-Wan let out a sigh of defeat. Of course Anakin wouldn’t be pleased if Obi-Wan left him behind. If anything, it would only make him lose points. “But how can I explain to him that I know where to go?”

The System had no answer for that, typical useless thing, and Obi-Wan let out another heavy sigh before going to find Anakin. Luckily, Obi-Wan didn’t have to think of any excuse at all, because as soon as they bumped into each other, Anakin gave Obi-Wan a determined look. “I think I can follow Palpatine’s Force signature and find where he’s hiding out.”

“Even if it turns out to be very far away?” Obi-Wan asked. He was not surprised that the protagonist would be able to do such a thing, but it made sense to at least pretend to be skeptical, since he doubted any other Jedi would be capable of doing that.

Anakin nodded. “Yes. I can still feel it even though he’s stopped projecting, and I think I can follow it to the source.”

“We should tell the Council-” Obi-Wan started to say.

Anakin shook his head, though. “It would just slow us down if there were a lot of people following; I can feel the signature getting further away as we speak. You can message them from the ship. Please, trust me about this, Obi-Wan.”

Even though he already knew that he was going to regret this, he also knew that in the end there was no point in trying to fight against the System, so Obi-Wan nodded and followed Anakin to the hangars. Anakin got into the pilot’s seat, and then they were off, chasing a sith lord through space. Even though he probably should have been trying to think of strategies, or anything else that might be useful, Obi-Wan just found himself constantly looking over at Anakin, and relaxing into the soothing familiarity of their bond. He had [9,970] points right now, and if he could just get thirty more before they arrived, then everything would be okay, but if not then… then this would be the last time that Obi-Wan would ever see Anakin, at least like this. If Obi-Wan had to fight and betray Anakin, then the next time they saw each other, Obi-Wan could only expect to see hatred and killing intent from Anakin.

He had never been to Mustafar before, but he recognized it from the vivid descriptions found in Way of the Proud Sith Lord. The heat was nearly overwhelming as soon as they got out of their ship, and Obi-Wan had to force himself to look away from the lava that was all around them, not wanting to think about who might soon be lying in it. 

When they spotted Palpatine’s ship, Obi-Wan murmured a soft, “Good work,” and the System announced that he’d gained another few points. Obi-Wan’s stomach clenched as they walked closer and closer to the end.

Rather than trying to hide from them, Palpatine moved out into the open, though he looked much worse than before. His skin was gray and mottled and it made him look closer to a corpse than an old man. He had also ditched his fancy clothes, and was wearing a simple black cloak. The smug smile on his face made Obi-Wan clench his hand into a fist. “So you found me,” he said, stating the obvious. Maybe he’d start villain monologuing now, just to give Obi-Wan a little more time. 

“Did you really think you could hide from someone as strong in the Force as Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked, voice cool.

Palpatine’s grin stretched grotesquely across his face. “He is not the one I was expecting to look for me here,” he admitted easily. “I was surprised that you were not already waiting for me when I arrived.”

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows. “How would I know-?”

“You tell me, Obi-Wan Kenobi.” The way that he put emphasis on the name sent a sinking feeling down Obi-Wan’s stomach. Palpatine barked out a laugh. “Did you actually think you could change any of this? Only a fool would ignore what the Force predicts.”

Anakin took a step forward, lightsaber up and steady. “Enough talking. Either you surrender to us now, or we take you down. I don’t care how strong you are; I’m the Chosen One, and I will stop you!” 

Palpatine barely paid Anakin any attention, which only disturbed Obi-Wan more. At least as far as he could tell from the book, he would have thought that the sith lord would be more obsessed with Anakin, especially while still trying to win him over. But instead, Palpatine seemed to have eyes only for Obi-Wan, and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet before silently berating himself for so obviously giving away what he was feeling. “You would be nothing without me, my dear boy,” Palpatine said, still not even looking at Anakin. 

“Anakin is worth a hundred of you,” Obi-Wan snapped, unable to stop himself from defending his favorite character. [9,995]

“We shall see,” Palpatine answered with a grin, before suddenly shooting bright blue lightning right at Anakin. 

Um, what the hell was that?? Since when could people shoot lightning out of their fingers in this universe?? There had definitely been no mention of that in the book! What kind of shitty last minute extra power for the villain was this??

Anakin grunted in pain, and Obi-Wan set aside his criticisms for later, before leaping forward with his own lightsaber drawn. The three of them danced around each other, but the usual harmony that Obi-Wan and Anakin had while fighting together seemed strangely absent, and Obi-Wan wasn’t sure why. 

After hitting Anakin with more lightning, Palpatine oddly decided to point out, “Your twentieth birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it?” 

Perhaps it was just unsettling to have a sith lord know that kind of personal information, because Anakin faltered for a moment before steadying himself. “You’re wrong,” he said through gritted teeth. “You don’t know anything!” He ran forward with reckless abandon, and while Palpatine defended himself, it left an opening on the other side that Obi-Wan was able to take advantage of. But Palpatine was strong and fast and clearly an expert at reading warnings from the Force, because he was able to block both of them.

The fight seemed to last forever before Palpatine suddenly leapt up onto a large chunk of rock, looking down at the two Jedi who were both panting for breath. “You have ruined many of my plans, but perhaps it was my fault for believing I could change things anymore than you can. But it matters not. The Jedi Order will be dead soon enough, even if not by my hands.” He tilted his head, eyes locking with Obi-Wan’s. “What do you think will happen when you die? Will you wake up in some other world and get another chance, or will you be gone for good?”

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened, and he stared up at Palpatine in alarm as several things clicked into place. “How long have you been here?” he demanded. “Why are you still going through with all of this if you’re not even-?”

“I have not been here as long as I would have liked,” he confessed, and Obi-Wan could feel Anakin’s confusion, but he didn’t have the time to explain even if he knew where to possibly begin, which he did not. “I think I like things just fine the way they are,” Palpatine told him. “Especially the part where I become the Emperor of the galaxy. I am not a patient man, but I am willing to wait if I must. You, however, will not be around to witness any of it.” He finally looked at Anakin. “I’ll leave you to take care of this yourself.”

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows, anger and confusion fighting within him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Palpatine laughed, and looked back at Obi-Wan. “Are you so unobservant that you have not noticed your own padawan constantly tapping into the Dark Side? He is not fit to be a Jedi, and once the rest of your Council finds out, they will most likely arrest him on suspicion of being with the sith. What a shame that there is no other possible outcome. Perhaps if your student had been more loyal to the Order, this would not have happened.” 

Now Anakin suddenly looked and felt scared, and Obi-Wan wanted to curse Palpatine for this. He’d ensured that Obi-Wan couldn’t even play dumb, and would be forced to go through with the plotline instead. But he was just five points away! “System, can’t you just give me a break and let me avoid this in exchange for all the points I’ve got right now? Please!” 

[‘The Duel on Mustafar’ is an unavoidable main mission.] was the only answer he got.

Obi-Wan slowly turned to look at Anakin, who was staring at him with wide eyes. “Master, I can explain.”

Obi-Wan begged the System not to make him do this, but the only response was that he lost five points. “Is it true? Have you been using the Dark Side, despite knowing the consequences and meaning of such a thing?” 

Anakin powered off his lightsaber and lowered his arm to show that he was not a threat, and Obi-Wan wanted nothing more than to just pull Anakin into a hug and promise that all was forgiven. But if he did that, then the System would kill him. At least he knew that Anakin would survive this, because he was the protagonist. Was it even worth the extra few years he’d buy himself before Anakin came for revenge? Obi-Wan wasn’t sure, especially when Anakin was looking at him like that, so frightened. But even if he refused to do this, who was to say that the System would not force it to happen anyways, since it seemed so insistent on this?

Obi-Wan kept his lightsaber out, even though everything inside of him shouted at him to not point a dangerous weapon towards his beloved padawan. “Is it true?” he asked again. His voice was cold because if he let any emotion in, he just knew that he would break down and give away the entire thing.

Anakin gulped, then slowly nodded. “It’s true- but I can explain! I know that most people can’t balance between both sides of the Force, but I can, and sometimes you just need the power from the Dark Side because there are things that the Light isn’t capable of. But I promise that I’ll never use the Dark again if you don’t want me to, and you can punish me or kick me out of the Order, but just don’t-”

“Enough,” Obi-Wan interrupted, steeling himself for this. Ten measly points short and he would have to do something completely unforgivable. “You have betrayed the Order, and you have betrayed everything I’ve taught you.” Anakin frantically shook his head, but did not back away as Obi-Wan stepped closer. No. How could Obi-Wan do this? Even if he knew that Anakin would come out the other side stronger and happier, how could that justify this kind of betrayal, when Obi-Wan didn’t actually believe a single word he was saying? No, Obi-Wan could not do this. Anakin did not deserve any more suffering, and it would be kinder to let his master die than to go through with this. “I won’t do it,” he told the System. “You can just kill me now if you want, because I won’t do it.”

[‘The Duel on Mustafar’ is an unavoidable main mission.]

Before Obi-Wan could snap about how he already knew that, he felt a sudden burst of pain in his back, and knew that he must have been hit by Palpatine’s Force lightning. He was such an idiot for forgetting that the sith lord was still there! 

The lightning pushed Obi-Wan forward and his muscles spasmed, and he watched in horror as the tip of his lightsaber sank a little ways into Anakin’s chest because the foolish boy still did not move out of the way, apparently believing that even now Obi-Wan would never hurt him. Anakin whimpered, and looked so betrayed, and even when Obi-Wan powered down his lightsaber and stumbled back, he knew that it was already too late. When it came to fighting against narrative destiny, he had never stood a chance. Anakin had slipped back a little when he’d been hit, and with the sudden removal of the lightsaber, he couldn’t hold himself up, and fell backwards, right over the edge of the rock they’d been fighting on.

Obi-Wan raced forward and reached out, ready to use the Force to pull Anakin back to safety before he could land in the lava, but nothing happened when he tried, and he realized that this had to be the most inconvenient instance of Without-A-Cure ever. He dropped to his belly and reached out to try and physically grab Anakin, but he was already too late. There was nothing he could do but watch Anakin fall. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan wasn’t even sure how he got back to Coruscant. It seemed like one minute, he was watching his former padawan fall, an endless fall where he didn’t even scream, just looked up at Obi-Wan with complete and utter betrayal written across his face. Then the next minute, Obi-Wan was sitting on a bed in the Halls of Healing in the Temple, and everything in between was such a blur that he didn’t even know what had happened. 

“-Wan? Are you…?” 

Obi-Wan looked up, and saw that it was Quin standing in front of him, looking more concerned than he’d ever looked before. “Ah, you are back with us, then,” he said with some relief. “You were pretty out of it. Well, it was getting to be time to take a new padawan anyways, right?” Obi-Wan wasn’t sure whether that was supposed to be a joke or a genuine attempt at comfort, but either way, it fell flat. Quin sighed and shook his head. “Sorry, too soon, I know. But Obi-Wan, what even happened? All I know is that the Council said you messaged them to say you and Anakin were on Palpatine’s trail, and I hacked your coordinates and went to find you on Mustafar, and there was no sign of Skywalker or Palpatine, just…” he trailed off and nodded to Obi-Wan’s hand. Obi-Wan looked down, and was somewhat surprised to see that he was holding Anakin’s lightsaber in one tightly clenched hand.

Obi-Wan didn’t even care about Palpatine. Sure, he knew now that it was a fellow peer from his original world trapped in this insanity, but it was clear that he liked the power that came with his new role, and would use it for terrible things. And he surely needed to be stopped, but Obi-Wan could only think about one person at the moment. “Anakin is…” he couldn’t tell them that Anakin would be joining up with the sith lord now, because he couldn’t bear the thought of the Order hunting down Obi-Wan’s former padawan. So all he could say was, “Anakin is gone.” He would let them make their own assumptions from that. 

The part that no one else knew was that the clock was ticking down now. There was only so much time left until Anakin would return for his righteous vengeance. There was no way of knowing exactly how long it would be, since the shoddy writing had never specified, but it would happen. Obi-Wan just hoped that he had taught Anakin enough for the boy to at least spare the Jedi as a whole, but he knew that there could be no forgiving his own actions. It may have been Palpatine’s lightning that forced the encounter to come to a close the way that it did, but it had been Obi-Wan’s choice to go there in the first place, even knowing that there could be no good outcome. 

As he sat there and stared at the lightsaber in his hand, one of the many that Anakin had made over time, as he had a bit of problem with losing them, there was something he had to know. “What was the point of bringing me into this story if I couldn’t change the things that mattered most?” he demanded to know. “Why dangle the possibility of avoiding it all when you had no intention of ever letting me succeed?”

The System was silent for several long seconds, and then it finally responded in a much quieter voice than usual. [This System is currently engaged in Energy Saver Mode™. Please reconnect with energy source to obtain 24-7 user support.] No matter what else Obi-Wan asked or demanded of the damned thing, it kept responding in the exact same way each time. This rotten System, not even taking responsibility for the role it had played in all of this misery! Obi-Wan would like a refund and a new System please!

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a gentle hand wrap around his wrist. “Obi-Wan, we’re going to stop Palpatine,” Quin promised. “He won’t get away with everything he’s done. You should just… just rest for now. Your latest bout of Without-A-Cure has already been dealt with, so you can just focus on resting now, okay?” 

Quin was talking to him like he was a child, but Obi-Wan couldn’t even summon the energy to get mad about it. Then he saw Quin reach out, like he wanted to take Anakin’s lightsaber away, and Obi-Wan’s body reacted before he could even think about it, flinging himself backwards across the bed and cradling the saber to his chest. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to force the muscles in his hand to loosen enough to let go of it anyways, so it made the most sense for him to just keep holding onto it. Besides, what if Anakin wanted it back someday? Although he would probably already have a new red one by the time he returned.

Quin held his hands out like he was trying to calm a spooked wild animal. “Obi-Wan…” he trailed off and didn’t say anything else, just stared at Obi-Wan sadly. Obi-Wan almost wanted to laugh. If the Council hadn’t already figured out that he was far too attached, then it would surely be obvious now. Perhaps he would get kicked out of the Order and Anakin wouldn’t be able to track him down. Obi-Wan shivered at the thought, and instinctively tightened the shields blocking his bond to Anakin, only to realize that he couldn’t feel them. Right, Without-A-Cure had acted up, hadn’t it? Maybe that was for the best. Anakin wouldn’t be able to find him if he couldn’t feel him. But somehow Obi-Wan didn’t find that thought to be comforting in the slightest.

,,,

Anakin stared blankly at the dull metal wall in front of him. “Why did you save me?”

Palpatine gave him a sickening smile, one that would have probably come across as sympathetic if it weren’t for everything else that had happened. “Should I have just left you to die, the way your former master did?”

Anakin squeezed his eyes shut as his memories surged forward, refusing to leave him alone. The way that Obi-Wan had looked at him so coldly the moment he found out that Anakin was using the Dark Side, and the way he’d refused to even listen to Anakin’s apologies or explanations. The way he’d kept walking forward even after Anakin had lowered his own weapon, reminding Anakin all too much of what his master had been like back in the beginning. And then, right when he’d thought that Obi-Wan had faltered and maybe changed his mind, Obi-Wan had suddenly surged forward and stabbed Anakin. Just half an inch deeper and his heart would’ve been punctured, and he’d be dead. Then Anakin had fallen, and it had not been Obi-Wan that reached out with the Force to save him, but rather it had been Palpatine. 

The sith lord had not been quite fast enough, though, and Anakin’s legs and back had felt the painful, searing heat of the lava before he’d been pulled to safety. He had passed out from the pain, and did not know what happened until he’d woken up on Palpatine’s ship, fully healed from the pain, but ugly scars left behind. The scar that hurt the most, though, was the one on his chest, and even now, Anakin had to force himself not to reach up and feel it. “You don’t know anything about him!” Anakin snapped, though he couldn’t stop himself from wondering about the whole thing. Why show Anakin kindness and love and teach him that the Code was not the most important thing, only to turn on Anakin so quickly. Had Obi-Wan been a liar all along, or was there something inherently evil about Anakin himself?

Palpatine’s voice sounded regretful, but Anakin suspected that the sith lord did not regret the outcome at all. “I did try to warn you, my dear boy. I never wished to see you in such pain. I would never begrudge you for wanting to use whatever resources are at hand to grow stronger. How ironic it is that the Jedi would cut down an unarmed man while the Sith would rescue and heal.” 

Anakin knew that he would be a fool to trust Palpatine, but that didn’t mean he could trust anyone else, either. He needed answers from Obi-Wan, he needed to know the truth. He tried to reach out through their bond, even though he knew that they must be too far away to actually communicate, but gasped when he realized that he felt nothing there. He jolted up to his feet. “If you touched him-!” he started to threaten. He shouldn’t even care after being betrayed like that- but it was Obi-Wan. Even now, Anakin couldn’t bear to picture the man dead. 

Palpatine held his hands up. “I was more concerned with getting you medical help,” he tried to sooth. “But I could not risk the Jedi tracking us down. You know that Kenobi must have already told the Council all about you by now, and he surely twisted everything to make it sound as though you were the villain rather than the innocent victim. I had to sever your bond, for both of our sakes.” 

Anakin sank back down onto the bed he’d been sitting on, a sudden wave of exhaustion washing over him. He wanted to scream at Palpatine for daring to do such a thing, but he also knew that logically, it made the most sense. If Obi-Wan hated him enough to try to kill him, then he wouldn’t just let Anakin get away if he knew that Anakin had survived. “Does he even know that I survived?” he couldn’t help asking in a small voice. 

“I cannot be sure, since he left the moment you fell without even bothering to look back. I am so sorry, my boy.” 

That hurt worse than actually being stabbed, and Anakin let out a strangled sounding sob. He didn’t know what to believe anymore, but he knew what he had seen, and he knew what he had felt. Anakin still needed answers from Obi-Wan, but he’d never be able to reach the man while he most likely hid in the heart of the Temple. Anakin would just have to get stronger, then, and then he would be able to confront his former master and get the answers to every question he had left. And then, depending on the answers, Anakin would figure out what to do from there.

He already knew that he would not be able to bring himself to kill Obi-Wan, or even hurt him, not with the history they had. Obi-Wan had been one of the only people to ever truly care about Anakin. He had helped set Anakin’s mother free, and he had offered encouragement and praise where the other Jedi never would. He was kind and funny and beautiful and smart and fun and- and Anakin knew that deep down, what he truly wanted would not change, no matter what answers he got.

Chapter Text

He had lived a rather ordinary life back in his old world. Perhaps one could even call it boring. He went to work every day where he slaved away without ever being shown any appreciation, and he went home too tired to make use of the little free time that he had left. He would make himself a simple meal, go to bed, wake up to his alarm in the morning, and do it all again. He had no time for family or friends, or any real wish to have relationships with other people. All he really wanted was to finally earn the promotion he’d been working for and have someone acknowledge that without him, the whole company would be dead in the water.

Things changed one day, when he found one of his coworkers slacking off, reading on company time. When he scolded his coworker, she tried to defend herself by saying that she was already ahead of her work and that she’d really wanted to read the latest chapter since the previous one had left off on a cliffhanger. Of course he reported her poor behavior to management. If she was getting paid to just sit around and read, then clearly she was being paid far too much.

He couldn’t deny that he was the slightest bit intrigued, though, from what she had briefly said while describing the story. So when he got home, he searched online and found it himself. There weren’t too many chapters out yet, and it was clear that the writer had no professional experience or training… but he couldn’t deny that it at least had some potential. He didn’t care much about the story at all, but scrolling through the comments, he saw that more than a few people seemed willing to pay money to get chapters in advance, and for specific scenarios to be included in the story. 

So he generously reached out to the author to offer his services… for a small fee, of course. The story currently had a somewhat small following, but it seemed to be growing with each chapter, and he could see the opportunity to be a part of something big. And when Airplane27738 responded and gratefully accepted his help, he knew that this was his chance. 

He did not bother helping with edits related to grammar and mechanics and continuity, as it was obvious that Airplane was beyond help in that department. No, his job was much more complex- ensuring that Airplane continued to write what the people wanted to see. He scoured the comments on each new chapter to see what the readers were asking for. The few loyal readers from the first couple of chapters slowly faded to obscurity, leaving to find other works that were not so focused on pure fan service. And it was easy enough to ignore the one annoying commenter who left entire essays on each chapter to tear them apart. He did notice that the comments left by ‘Peerless Negotiator’ on the earlier chapters were much more encouraging, and wasn’t sure why the reader didn’t just stop reading if they were no longer happy. Still, it was none of his business. If anything, those comments actually brought more readers to the story when a few of them went viral, and anything that raised the view count was a good thing.

When Airplane sent him an outline for an entire war arc, he had to immediately veto it. The readers who actually paid for the story did not have the patience to sit through such a long stretch, and they would not care about whether the protagonist’s descent was carefully foreshadowed and plotted out. 

By the time they reached the arc that the readers had been waiting for the longest- the part where the protagonist tortured his former teacher to death, he had already quit his corporate job and was living off of his profits that came from this book. He was much better than Airplane when it came to contract negotiations, and had secured himself a neat little percentage of income. As the story reached its conclusion, there were already talks happening with agents who wanted to publish the story through official mediums, and someone had even reached out to ask about making the story into a movie. Things were just getting better and better for him.

But then everything was ruined when that stupid twit couldn’t even figure out to look both ways before crossing the road! The author had always kept their life private and separate from their online username, so when it made the local news that she died the same day the final chapter was posted, her identity remained secret. He only knew her real name because it had been needed for the legal aspect of things. The face posted with her obituary, of some smiling young woman, was not what he would have expected, but it hardly mattered what the author looked like.

What mattered was that the deals all started falling apart one after the other when Airplane did not respond to any emails or messages. Suddenly the producer was not interested in making the movie without Airplane around to help with the writing, and the potential publishing deals went through Airplane’s family instead, ignoring the agreements that he had made with Airplane first. Once again, he was being pushed aside, his hard work unacknowledged. He logged onto the author’s account to make sure that the last few extra chapters were posted, to at least get as much money as he could before the hype died down, but inside, he was still seething. 

What an unjust world it was where that inane drivel was treated as though it was more valuable than all of the hard work that he had put in to make sure that the story maintained its popular status. And once all of the extra chapters had been posted (even though he knew that Airplane had never truly intended to include them in the story, since they mostly consisted of porn scenes between the protagonist and various female characters that were not his wife), the money quickly began to dry up. The readers left to find new works, and the view count stopped rocketing up. 

Since nobody was willing to show him the proper respect, he thought it only fair to treat them the same way, and he refused any requests for refunds that were sent through. Did these people want him to live poor out on the streets? Besides, how would it be fair to give their money back after they already read the chapter? It would basically be the same as letting them read for free, which would not be allowed. He had already ensured that all of the extra chapters would require money to read, and they would never be posted for free. It was all he had left, afterall.

Then, in what had to be one of the most ironic acts of the universe, he died. From a heart attack. While on an airplane. 

It was not a big surprise that he woke up, since heart attacks were survivable (though he was only in his forties, wasn’t that too young for such an affliction?) but the surprise was where he woke up. It was not on the plane, or in some hospital room. It was entirely unfamiliar, actually, and it took some investigation before he finally figured it out.

He was in the story, Way of the Proud Sith Lord. And if the messages waiting for him were accurate, then he was in the body of Sheev Palpatine, a senator from Naboo. More importantly, he was secretly the most powerful character in the story, even more so than the protagonist. 

There was nothing stopping him from just leaving, or not playing out the role, but why should he? This was the universe’s way of finally paying him back for every hardship he’d been through, so he took on the role of Senator Palpatine with glee. His conversations with the protagonist did not go exactly how he remembered from the story, but then again, he had done his best to not waste brain space with the pointless book, so it made sense if there were things he didn’t recall perfectly. What mattered most was that the story stayed on track, so that he could finally get the happy ending that he deserved.

As time passed, and he got more frustrated with the stubbornness of the protagonist, it occurred to him that perhaps there was a solution to be found. There was that entire war arc that had never made it into the story, afterall. What better way to convince the protagonist of the Jedi’s hypocrisy than to put them through a war?

It was a little nerve wracking to get things going, because he knew that people would die, and obviously he had never killed anyone before. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was a flaw in his thinking. No one in this world was an actual person, were they? They were all just fictional characters. To kill someone in this world was no different than a writer killing off a character. In fact, he was, as far as he knew, the only real person in this entire place, which meant that it really did make the most sense that he would end up on top by the end of the story. Satisfied that he’d figured everything out, he was content to let things continue on as planned (though perhaps he was at least a little grateful that he did not have to actually do any of the killing in person. Even if these were not real people, he felt a bit squeamish about actually seeing them die).

Everything seemed to be going well, but then something changed all of a sudden. It was during a Senate session in the middle of the war, where he could just sit back and enjoy the sounds of everyone arguing, unknowingly playing right into his hands by doing so. A brief break was called, and he went to take a quick trip to the bathroom. Not wanting to cause too big of a disruption, most of the senators remained in the Senate chambers during the break, so it was not alarming to find the hallways mostly empty.

What did surprise him was that he passed by the protagonist. Thinking about it, this was the first time that he had ever actually seen Anakin Skywalker in person. Previously, they’d only ever met in dreams, where he was careful to disguise himself, not wanting to give up his biggest advantage too soon. It was strange to see the protagonist in person. After all of the hype, he had expected something more. But ultimately, Anakin was just a naive boy who was far more attached to his master than made sense for the story. He was a fool, but a powerful one, which was why he continued to try drawing Anakin over to his side.

Even though he knew that it was probably unnecessary in the long run, he decided to say something. “Ah, you are Knight Skywalker, aren’t you? You’ve grown so much since I last saw you. The Senate chambers are so large that I didn't even notice you inside.”

Skywalker froze as he turned, a guilty look on his face. A moment later, he spotted the grocery bags in Skywalker’s hands. “I was- uh, I was just running some important errands. That couldn’t wait.”

He nodded, even though Skywalker clearly expected to get in trouble for skipping the meeting. It’s not as though he actually needed the protection of the Jedi, considering how powerful he was on his own, so it was really not that big of a deal. And perhaps it would be another way for Skywalker to think of him as an ally, just like when he’d sent him to spend time safely on Naboo rather than the front lines. Of course, Skywalker hadn’t appreciated that gesture so much, considering that he seemed to be more in love with his master than Senator Amidala, but that was a whole other matter. “Of course, I understand. Perhaps we can catch up some other time.” Skywalker nodded and offered a tight smile before turning and running off.

It wasn’t until the session had been closed and he was able to safely relax back in his apartment in the Senate building that the strangest thing happened. He had a small headache, which wasn’t unusual after listening to three weeks’ worth of bickering, but the headache seemed to be getting exponentially worse. And then he heard an almost robotic sounding voice, though he could not see where it could be coming from. [Welcome to the world of Way of the Proud Sith Lord! User_003 is bound to the role- Sheev Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious, Chancellor of the Republic and future Emperor of the Empire. Please work hard to- ERROR_UNAUTHORIZED_USER. ERROR_USER_003_NOT_FOUND. ERROR_INVALID_FUNCTION. ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND. ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND. ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED. ERROR_TOO_MANY_USERS_OPEN. ERROR: USER_003 ACCESSING BACKUP DATA. ERROR: user_003 bound to role: Sheev Palpatine. ERROR-] There were more mechanical noises, but he couldn’t make out any of them, and then the pain in his head became too much to withstand, and he passed out. 

,,,

Luckily, since no one else was allowed access to his apartment, there was nobody to spread rumors about the chancellor being in poor health, or any other such nonsense. The headache was gone, and he looked around, but saw no droid that could have been speaking to him before he went unconscious. 

Then that same voice returned, still with no visible source. Now that he did not have a blinding headache to deal with, he realized that the voice seemed to be inside his head the entire time. [CALIBRATING… Hello, and welcome to the world of Way of the Proud Sith Lord! This System apologizes for the delay, but user_003 was not expected here. Good work in avoiding any OOC actions! While the story recalibrates to account for Host’s presence, Host will have this System’s full attention and support!]

“Who are you?” he asked suspiciously. “What do you want from me?”

[This System is here to provide 24-7 user support while Host progresses the story! Fix plot holes, uncover hidden story threads, and increase character depth to earn points that can be redeemed at the gift shop!]

For some reason, this System seemed more ridiculous to him than the idea of simply waking up in the middle of a fictional story. But even as he had that thought, a different one suddenly hit him- if he was user_003, then wouldn’t that imply that there were at least two others? “Are there others like me? Who are not from this world originally?” 

[Host may investigate on his own, but this System cannot reveal such sensitive information due to user-System confidentiality!]

That was as good as confirmation in his mind. And he was pretty sure that he already knew who the other two both were. Even though he hadn’t really experienced for himself because he’d dropped into the story far past the beginning, he had been able to figure out that things had progressed more quickly than in the story, and Padme Amidala had been at the forefront of many changes and policies and decisions that should not have happened so closely together. And of course Obi-Wan Kenobi- the character meant to be an abusive piece of shit to prove to the protagonist that the Jedi could be bad and there were more benefits to joining the Sith- had apparently been nurturing and affectionate enough to earn Skywalker’s devotion. That was certainly one way to avoid the fate of being tortured to death. So that meant that Obi-Wan wouldn’t betray his former padawan, right? So it would be even more difficult to convince Skywalker to join him. How annoying. Maybe he could have Obi-Wan killed and then convince Skywalker to get revenge?

As he considered the merits of the idea, he asked, “Are there any rules against killing other users?”

[Host has not unlocked OOC function, but may act within the assigned role.]

“So basically it’s fine as long as I don’t get caught.” But maybe he could force a betrayal to still happen? If he could make Skywalker suspicious of his master, get him asking questions that Kenobi would never be able to answer, then that would be half his work done for him. Afterall, nobody knew more about this story than he did, with the exception of Airplane herself, of course. So if Kenobi couldn’t answer basic questions about his backstory, things that had not been in the book, then it would confirm that Kenobi was like him. 

Things were just getting more and more interesting, and he could not wait to see what would happen next. And if it was at all possible, then he would ensure that the betrayal still happened, because it would perfectly put the pieces into place to go through with his plans. He laughed out loud when the System suddenly spoke up without prompting, [‘The Duel on Mustafar’ is an unavoidable main mission.] And that was just perfect when it was proven true, and Kenobi really did fail at preventing the story from reaching its inevitable conclusion.

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan made the trip to Naboo to talk to Padme, even though she’d offered to come to Coruscant instead. She was busy with her duties, though, and Obi-Wan had more freedom to move around. (He wasn’t sure why he had more freedom, since he was supposed to be a war general and all, but he wasn’t going to question his good luck in not being given any new assignments yet). 

The place was as beautiful as ever, but Obi-Wan hardly paid any attention to it. He was too busy thinking about the fact that he had stupidly come to the same planet that Shmi currently lived on. Surely she’d heard the news by now, and would want to kill Obi-Wan for betraying her child. Well, she wouldn’t know that part, just the part where Anakin was gone now, but even that would be enough to show he’d failed to protect Anakin. Either way, he couldn’t face the wrath of a grieving mother. And if Anakin had somehow already gotten in touch with her, then things would only be worse. 

He wandered the gardens as he contemplated how to best avoid Shmi. He stopped after a few minutes, in front of a particularly lovely bush of flowers, separated a little ways from the rest of the garden. It was a peaceful little spot that seemed like it didn’t get much foot traffic. Without even thinking about what he was doing, Obi-Wan found himself on his knees, digging up a little spot, silently apologizing to Padme for messing with her garden before remembering that all of this was her fault for being a shitty author in the first place.

When he had a decent enough hole, hands caked in dirt and his fingernails black underneath (and a little red from where he’d bumped his hands too aggressively into the little rocks beneath the surface), Obi-Wan pulled out Anakin’s lightsaber. He hadn’t been able to put it away, even though it probably could have been stored in the box where Obi-Wan kept all of his Anakin keepsakes- mainly Anakin’s padawan braid, a get well soon card Anakin had made for him one time when he’d been sick, and a picture of Anakin with his mother. It wasn’t much, but since Obi-Wan had always known that he would lose Anakin someday, it had seemed important to hold onto something to remember him by. There was enough room in that box for the lightsaber, but somehow it felt wrong to put it away, as if Anakin was going to ever come back for it.

So instead, Obi-Wan buried it in that peaceful little spot he’d found. He would not be able to come to Naboo very often to visit this spot, but he didn’t think that it would be right to bury Anakin’s lightsaber near the Jedi Temple that he had always seemed to have some issue or another with. Out of instinct, Obi-Wan reached out to their bond before remembering that it was gone. When he’d first woken up in the Halls of Healing, he had assumed that it had just been Without-A-Cure disconnecting them. But then he’d realized that Without-A-Cure had already been dealt with, and the bond was still gone. Not just blocked or shielded, but entirely gone. Anakin must truly hate his former master and had gotten rid of their bond as quickly as possible. And who could blame him for that?

He didn’t even realize that he had company until he heard someone clear their throat, and Obi-Wan looked up to see Padme standing there. He couldn’t quite read the look on her face, but it seemed to have traces of pity in it, which made Obi-Wan bristle. He wasn’t the one who had been betrayed and hurt by a trusted person, so there was no reason for him to be the one faced with pity.

He slowly got to his feet, and gave Padme an even look. “Hello.”

She glanced down at his dirty hands and the patch of loose soil behind him. “I was told you’d landed, but I got worried when you didn’t come to see me. One of the guards mentioned you’d come this way a few hours ago.” Had he really been out here for that long? It didn’t feel like it had been more than a few minutes to Obi-Wan. Padme sighed, and reached out. Obi-Wan didn’t know what she was trying to do until she pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry. I really had hoped that there would be a way to avoid this.”

Obi-Wan shrugged and pulled away, not wanting to get her nice clothes all dirty. “It’s not very fun to live it out, but I suppose it wasn’t too terrible to read,” he begrudgingly admitted. “But I didn’t come here to talk about Anakin.” There was no point, since he knew that his fate of being tortured to death was only a matter of time now. Padme raised one eyebrow, so Obi-Wan told her the one thing that neither of them had guessed. “Palpatine is like us. Except that instead of trying to do damage control, it seems that he’s been doing his best to actively make things worse.”

Padme immediately frowned. “Oh, that’s… that makes too much sense. Damn it! If we had just known a little sooner-” she cut herself off and shook her head. “It probably wouldn’t have mattered.” She muttered something to herself too quietly to overhear, and then her eyes widened in alarm. “Wait- I thought that this world was just using content that never made it to the final draft, which it has been, but the war is definitely the biggest thing taken, most of the stuff that became canon was stuff about backstories and characters’ histories, nothing as active and potentially derailing to the plot. But if he’s been like us the whole time, then maybe he’s the one who’s been changing things!”

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “But the war arc wasn’t in the book. Even I never knew about it and I-” he stopped himself from confessing just how much time he’d invested in hate-reading the trash novel in question. Even though Padme was probably already well aware since she’d remembered the frequency of his comments.

Padme frowned. “Maybe his System made him start the war arc?”

He did not want to think about Mustafar, but his traitorous mind immediately provided him with unwanted memories. He immediately shook his head. “No, he took way too much joy in all of it for it to be coercion. I think maybe he’s just a bad person for real.” He sighed heavily. “You still keep in touch with Satine, right?” Padme’s cheeks flushed and she cleared her throat a couple of times before nodding. Obi-Wan barely took notice of the strange reaction. “You need to find a way to warn her. After Anakin…” he trailed off, unable to bring up the part where Anakin was going to massacre all of the Jedi in the Temple. “Um. After he, you know. He’s going to go after her to get to me. I don’t think she’d be foolish enough to walk into a trap, considering she knows that I’m not really her Obi-Wan, but better safe than sorry.”

Padme nodded. “Let’s just agree that any communication between you and Satine will go through me. So if she hears anything that isn’t directly from me, she’ll know not to go. As for the Temple…” she frowned, clearly deep in thought as she tried to remember details of a story she’d written decades ago. Then she gasped. “Oh- oh no. If Palpatine is really going to play out more things from the war arc, then it’s not just the Jedi at the Temple who will be killed. He’ll be able to get almost all of them, no matter how far from Coruscant they are. Shit!” She turned to go, mind clearly already racing towards what was going to happen next, but then she paused and turned back. “Are you going to be okay?”

Obi-Wan gave her a funny look at that question. “Sure, I’ll be just grand, until I’m taken prisoner and tortured to death.”

Padme gave him a long look. “...right. Maybe you should just head home for now. I’m going to be quite busy for a little while, and you shouldn’t be alone.”

That was a good idea. Maybe if he was around other Jedi, it would at least give him a little bit of protection against Anakin, though he somehow doubted that even Yoda himself would have the ability to stop the protagonist from getting what he wanted. “Sure. I’ll see you around, if I’m not gone by the time you’re done with whatever you’re about to go do.”

She had the audacity to roll her eyes at him, but then she reached out to give him another quick hug and little peck on the cheek before she hurried off. Obi-Wan turned back to look at the little dirt mount that made it obvious where the lightsaber had been buried. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, even though he obviously knew that Anakin could not actually hear any of this, and would not care even if he could. “If you can at least live a good and happy life once you’re done with your revenge, then that will just have to be enough.” He crouched down to reach out and lay his hand flat on the dirt for a moment, closing his eyes and imagining that he could actually feel Anakin there with him. Then he got up and headed back to the palace to wash up before getting back on his ship. 

Unfortunately, his plans were stymied, because when he got back to his ship, there was a familiar woman standing in front of it. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she looked tense as she waited for Obi-Wan to show up. She hadn’t spotted him yet, and he considered the merits of turning and fleeing and maybe hiding himself in Padme’s guest quarters until the end of time.

But in the end, if there was anybody who had the right to see Obi-Wan and berate him, then wouldn’t it be the mother of the protagonist? It didn’t matter that she would not have lived without his interference, Obi-Wan wasn’t petty enough to hold that over her. What mattered was that she had lost her son to the Jedi, and now had lost him from even that.

So he reluctantly forced his feet to keep moving, and he could feel the slight alert in the Force the moment that Shmi saw him. She hurried over, and Obi-Wan braced himself, expecting a slap to the face before the accusations could begin. He had no idea what to do with himself when she instead all but threw herself into his arms, hugging him.

When she pulled away, she looked up at Obi-Wan with teary eyes that were full of that familiar brand of Skywalker stubbornness. “My son is not dead,” she said boldly (and accurately). “I don’t know how to explain it, but I just know that I would feel it in my heart if he were truly gone. So whatever happened, it is not the end. You will see Anakin again,” she promised. 

Obi-Wan didn’t know how to tell her that that was exactly what he was afraid of. Because there was no way that Anakin would be happy to see him. In many ways, this was a much worse betrayal than in the book, because the original goods had never even pretended to care about Anakin, so Mustafar hadn’t been a betrayal so much as a natural extension of his disregard. “I don’t-”

“I know you’re grieving,” Shmi told him, her tone making it clear that he was not to argue with her. “But it will all be okay. You will see him again.” Then she was putting something into Obi-Wan’s hand, and he realized that it was the handle to a small bag. “There’s some fresh bread and soup in there. You must take care of yourself, Master Jedi, or it will only upset Anakin when he comes back.” Then she walked away as casually as if they’d been talking about nothing more important than the weather. He wanted to call her back just to point out that he couldn’t be grieving, since he knew that Anakin was still alive, but figured that that would just bring up more questions that he wouldn’t be able to answer, and it didn’t really matter much either way.

As he got onto his ship, Obi-Wan wondered what made Shmi so sure of Anakin’s survival. Perhaps she was a bit Force sensitive herself, or perhaps there was just some bond between mother and child that could only be broken in death. Either way, the fact that she’d been trying to comfort Obi-Wan only made him feel more guilty for what he’d done. He couldn’t even take a look at the food she’d made him, because he knew that all of her efforts were misplaced. He knew that she was right that he would see Anakin again, but what she did not understand is that there would be no happy reunion.

Chapter Text

Anakin had always pushed himself harder in his training than he really should. And his reasoning always revolved around Obi-Wan. In the beginning, it was in the hopes that if he did well enough, his cold master would finally be proud of him. And then, after Obi-Wan’s coma, he’d pushed himself still, wanting to prove that whatever Obi-Wan had seen in him had not just been a fluke. And now, here he was, once again forcing himself past his limits, so that he would be strong enough to get to Obi-Wan and finally ask for some answers. 

In the weeks since he had woken up on Palpatine’s ship, that was all he had been able to think about. That, and the strange final conversation between Palpatine and Obi-Wan. There had been too much else going on in the moment for Anakin to pay it any mind, but now he’d been almost obsessively running over everything in his memories, trying to find any answers that might be found.

Palpatine had implied that Obi-Wan should have already known where to look for him. But Obi-Wan had once told Anakin that he did not get Force visions, so it didn’t make any sense to assume such a thing. Palpatine had also been the one to push Anakin towards learning more about Obi-Wan’s past, to which Obi-Wan had avoided giving any real answers. Even if Palpatine had just made up ‘Stewjon’, shouldn’t Obi-Wan have had at least something to say about his own history? Even if he had joined the Order too young to remember the specifics of what came before, shouldn’t he at least know what planet he was from? But what had made Palpatine bring that up in the first place? And why would the Force show Palpatine a betrayal that had nothing to do with him, and not show Anakin? 

And as the three of them had fought on Mustafar, hadn’t Obi-Wan asked something strange? “How long have you been here?” he’d demanded to know. But they had just followed Palpatine to Mustafar, so Obi-Wan couldn’t be talking about that specific planet. So what had he been talking about? ‘How long have you secretly been a Sith Lord’ would have made more sense to ask in that situation, wouldn’t it? And then Palpatine’s answer had been even more strange, “I have not been here as long as I would have liked.” Been where? Palpatine had been in the Senate for ages, and had lots of power as the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic for years thanks to the war. So what did he not have enough time for?

It felt like there were answers just out of reach, and it only made Anakin all the more determined to grab hold of them. Though of course there was always the possibility that finally having answers would be worse than not having them. But no, he needed to know. Of course it would be easier if he could just hate Obi-Wan and be done with it, but they were far past the point where he could do that. Maybe ten years ago, when he’d been a naive child hoping for a better future, only to find himself mistreated and looked down on. But not now. So even though it would not be easier, Anakin knew that he just had to keep pushing himself and getting stronger.

,,,

“Have you ever considered getting a pet?”

Obi-Wan looked up from the book he’d been skimming, and arched one eyebrow. “A pet?” he asked dryly.

Quin nodded. “Yeah, something small and cute for you to take care of. I think it could be good for you.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “Pass.” He knew that his friend meant well, but Obi-Wan was a little insulted on Anakin’s behalf that Quin thought he could be so easily replaced by a kitten or something. He tried to focus back on what he’d been reading. It was on old text he’d found in the Archives, recounting the time that some old Jedi Master had been dying, until he found a mysterious planet where the plants could take the shape of other organic beings. The Master was able to fashion one of those plants into a healthier and younger version of his own body, then somehow used the Force to transplant himself into the plant body. When he returned to the Temple, the Jedi Council at the time had verified that it was truly him, as his Force signature was an exact match and he had all of the same memories. He was not able to bring his old body back with him to be studied, though, because he claimed that it had been given to the planet to be used as fertilizer in exchange for the new body he had. But the story was frustratingly vague on the exact details of where the planet could be found, or how he’d used the Force to put himself in a different body in the first place.

His frustration built, until Quin leaned over and flicked him in the arm. “Hey, what are you concentrating on so much anyways?”

“Just some old story,” Obi-Wan grumbled, setting the datapad aside. Maybe Padme would have some ideas. Because the thing was that Obi-Wan already knew how Anakin’s anger would lead him to destroy the entire Order, and not just his former master, so it wasn’t like Obi-Wan could just shamelessly hide behind the other Jedi and hope to be protected. But maybe if he could just start over in some easy plant body, he could hide right in plain sight, and Anakin would be too busy looking for him to attack the Jedi.

The mirth on Quin’s face faded, and he let out a soft sigh. “I didn’t actually come by just to chat. It’s just that, well, there’s this kid, Bann, who’s doing really well in their classes, and they’re at the right age to become a padawan. And they mentioned that you saved their life once, so there’s already at least a little familiarity, and we were thinking that maybe…” he trailed off, letting Obi-Wan fill in the blanks for himself.

The name was unfamiliar. Obi-Wan had saved many people before, or at least he had tried to, and this one must not have stood out very much. But it hardly mattered. Obi-Wan had very good reasons for not wanting to take on a new padawan- mostly for the sake of whoever would hypothetically be trained by him. He did not think they would survive being so closely associated with him, not once Anakin was ready for his vengeance. 

He shook his head. “I don’t recall them,” he said honestly. 

“I think they go by the nickname Lucky sometimes. They mentioned that they went on a training trip with you and a small group of other younglings, about five or six years ago.”

Obi-Wan thought about it, and with some effort, finally managed to remember who the kid in question must be. The mission where he’d unlocked OOC, most likely. He still wanted to sweat when he thought about the way he’d so callously offered up Anakin’s life, trusting that the protagonist halo would protect his padawan, and hoping that Anakin would not use it as more insults to be avenged. When Obi-Wan remembered what he’d said to Anakin back then, something along the lines of how he would make sure nothing ever happened to the boy, he felt ashamed. How could he have dared to make such a promise, knowing full well that he would have to break it someday? He also remembered the first time Anakin had made breakfast for him, and how that earnest attitude had never disappeared over the years, even once Anakin was technically an adult. Obi-Wan felt his stomach clench as he thought longingly of his white sheep, who he’d as good as killed himself.

He was taken out of his thoughts when Quin sighed again. “Alright, I get it. So anyways, have I told you about Aayla and Ahsoka’s latest misadventures? There was this utterly ridiculous incident that Aayla made me swear to never tell anyone about, but it’s so funny that I can’t help myself. So they were on the front over on Yaxtley, and…” 

,,,

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows as he held up the datapad he’d found. “You really don’t think that it would work?”

Padme sighed, voice sounding a little staticky over the call. “I do vaguely remember that plant body thing, and no, it won’t work. See, the part that probably never made it into any official records is that the process requires some kind of sacrifice, and your old body would not be enough. Those plants like live fertilizer only, if you know what I mean. So the Jedi from that story probably wasn’t as light as he led everyone to believe, and I somehow doubt you’d be willing to kill someone just for the sake of faking your death, or whatever you plan on doing. At one point, I’d actually planned for Anakin to create a new plant body for his wife after she nearly died giving birth, but I never actually got around to giving them kids in canon. It just didn’t feel like it would make sense for him to settle down as a happy family man after everything that happened throughout the rest of the story.”

“So that’s why you had him sleep with so many other people in those extras,” Obi-Wan mused to himself. 

Padme rolled her eyes. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times- those extra chapters were never meant to be published!” She stopped and took a deep breath. “Alright, so the plant body thing is definitely a no-go. But are you really sure that you need such a dramatic backup plan in the first place? I mean, you’ve already changed the story so much since arriving-”

“So have you,” Obi-Wan reminded her grimly. “And so has Palpatine. Things have definitely changed. And yet I still…” he trailed off, unable to put his own horrible deeds into words. Without even thinking about it, he reached up to touch his back. He couldn’t feel the mark through the layers he was wearing, but he knew that there was a scar in the center, just below his shoulder blades, from where he’d been hit with Palpatine’s Force lightning. 

The look on Padme’s face made Obi-Wan shift uncomfortably and drop his arm back down. He couldn’t tell whether she was pitying him or showing sympathy, but either way, it made something in his chest itch. He didn’t need either of those things, not when he was the one who had committed a betrayal against the one person that he had promised to always protect. 

Luckily for him, Padme was kind enough to not actually say anything about it, even though she probably wanted to argue again about who was responsible for what had happened to Anakin. According to her, it was solely Palpatine, but Obi-Wan wondered if she only insisted on that because it made her feel better for having written such tragic events in the first place. “Well, I have to go now,” she said somewhat awkwardly. “If I think of anything else, I’ll message you. It’s impossible to say for sure what’s going to happen next, considering how much everything has changed now, but whatever happens, just try to be careful, alright? I’ll talk to you soon.” Then she hung up, leaving Obi-Wan in an apartment that felt too big and too quiet.

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan was really starting to wonder if there was some kind of conspiracy going on in the Jedi Temple, one that involved bothering him as often as possible. Whenever he spent a couple of days in his apartment without coming out, or went to Naboo to visit the spot where he’d buried Anakin’s lightsaber, or accidentally called out for Anakin before forgetting that he was no longer there to answer, someone would inevitably drag him off to do something that ‘nobody else could possibly handle, Obi-Wan!’, which seemed more than a little ridiculous.

Case in point, Quin barging into his apartment, panting like he’d just run all the way down the hallway. “Can I help you?” Obi-Wan inquired politely, not bothering to hide the eye roll that accompanied the question. 

“Come on, you should come with me for this mission I just got assigned. I think you’d be a huge help! Um… Ventress may or may not be there as well, but don’t worry, she promised to behave!” 

Obi-Wan sighed, and stood up from the couch. “You seem to have an awful lot of free time lately. I normally don’t see you here more than once every couple of months or so, and now it seems that you’re here everyday.”

Quin shrugged. “Well, with Dooku captured and the chancellor turning out to be a Sith Lord, the war has come to a bit of a standstill, since neither side really knows what to do. May as well enjoy the peace well it lasts, right? Anyways, you, me, mission, now?”

Only because it seemed like it would be more effort to dissuade Quin than to just go along with this, he sighed again, but nodded. “Fine. Do I get any more details than ‘Ventress may be there’?” 

Quin all but dragged him through the Temple and to his ship, like he thought that Obi-Wan would change his mind and run back to his apartment given half the chance (and he was probably right). At least he did explain things while they walked. “Yeah, there’s this little planet called Jinlan that requested aid because they think they’re cursed or something. The people there are getting very sick and dying within days, and no amount of bacta or other medicine has helped. The whole place is under strict quarantine so that they won’t risk spreading whatever this is to everywhere else in the galaxy, but they’re willing to let us in because we might actually be able to help.”

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows as he got onto Quin’s ship, trying to recall if this had been in the book. Nothing immediately came to mind, though, which made sense. Why would the book focus on a random filler arc for the villain? Plus, Quin had been dead long ago in the book, so he wouldn’t be involved here either. So Obi-Wan was going into this blind, but that was fine. He’d had more than enough of knowing what was coming.

The trip to Jinlan could have been quiet and peaceful, but of course Quin insisted on chattering away the entire time, drawing Obi-Wan into conversation with ease. By the time they actually landed, Obi-Wan thought that maybe coming along hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. But then something occurred to him that he probably should have thought of hours ago. “If this whole planet is under quarantine, will we be allowed to leave if we can’t figure out how to fix this?”

There was a shifty look on Quin’s face. “Er…”

Then the loading ramp dropped and they could officially consider themselves exposed. Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose, gave Quin an annoyed look, and walked off of the ship first. He looked around the landing pad with a frown. “Where are all the people?” By Jinlan’s time, it was the middle of the day, and they had just landed just outside of a major city. There were other ships parked nearby, but there was not the bustling crowd of workers or pilots or cargo that one could expect from a place of this size. Was this plague really taking out so many people?

Before he could ask any of that out loud, there was a blur, and the Force sent him a small ping of warning before a small figure ran right up to him, nearly tackling him to the ground. Obi-Wan didn’t reach for his weapon, though, as he immediately realized that it was just a child, a very young Rodian. The child couldn’t be more than four or five years old, if Obi-Wan had to guess. He raised one eyebrow, but the child spoke before Obi-Wan could say anything. “You have to leave now! It’s not safe!” 

Obi-Wan glanced over Quin, who looked just as confused, and then he crouched down so that he could look the child in the eyes. “I’m Obi-Wan, and this is my friend Quinlan. We’re Jedi, and we’re here to help. Are you scared because everybody is getting sick?”

The child hesitated before slowly shaking his head. “There are monsters,” he told them solemnly. “When people get sick, the monsters eat them. You have to leave before you get sick and the monsters eat you.” 

“Can I tell you a secret?” When the boy nodded, Obi-Wan leaned a little closer and spoke in a soft voice. “We’re pretty much experts at dealing with monsters by now.”

The boy’s eyes widened, and he stared at them both, like he was trying to figure out whether they would actually be able to help. To Obi-Wan’s surprise, he could feel the clumsy touch of a Force signature brush up against his, as the child used the Force to try assessing how honest Obi-Wan was. Quin must have felt it too, and he smiled encouragingly at the boy. “It’s very brave of you to try and keep us safe, though. What’s your name?”

“Wee Dunn,” the boy mumbled. 

Considering the circumstances of the planet, and the lack of people at what should be a crowded space port, it was a risky question, but Quin dared to ask anyway. “Where are your parents?”

Wee Dunn cringed back, and his antennae twitched with agitation. “I don’t know. This isn’t my home.”

Obi-Wan already knew that he would do his best to figure out how to return this child home, as soon as they’d figured out what to do about this plague, and the ‘monsters’ that might possibly exist here as well. “For now, why don’t you wait on our ship? You’ll be safe from the monsters there until we get back. There’s plenty of food and water, so help yourself to whatever you want. If you get scared and think that a monster is coming, press that red button by the door, and we’ll hurry back, I promise.”

Wee Dunn hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.” He hurried onto the ship. 

Hoping to get this whole situation resolved sooner rather than later, Obi-Wan and Quin hurried to enter the city itself. The only person they saw was a single droid operating the gates, and it let them enter without any trouble. It didn’t know anything about what was going on, so the two Jedi hurried on. “So where’s Miss Ventress?”

Quin shrugged one shoulder. “She said she’d meet us here.”

Since there had been no official escort waiting for them when they’d arrived, it was difficult to say for sure where they should even begin. At least there were people actually out and about inside the city, though still not nearly as many as one would expect. It took some time of just wandering around before finding anyone willing to talk to them, and the things they heard did not bode well.

It seemed that Wee Dunn was right that the plague itself was not necessarily what was killing people. The symptoms of the illness included painful boils, fever, and maybe even hallucinations. But before the sick people had the chance to die of illness, they were usually found brutally killed in their beds, though the Jedi could not find anyone who had specifically witnessed what attacked.

The biggest success was when someone immediately recognized them as Jedi. “There’s a Jedi that already showed up to help,” she explained to them. “She couldn’t do much, but she also couldn’t leave with the quarantine still active, so she’s been stuck here for a few weeks now. Maybe you could team up and figure out what to do?” She kindly led the way to a somewhat run down looking hotel.

Wondering who the Jedi was, they knocked on the door that the young woman had told them to, and it swung open a moment later to reveal a Mikkian woman in Jedi robes. She blinked at her unexpected guests. “Master Kenobi?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met before.”

She nodded, and bowed her head. “Right. I am Master Tiplee.” She stepped aside so that the two could enter the hotel room. “I came when I heard the first distress call because my sister and I have some experience looking into bioweapons, but I have not been able to learn anything useful. My sister, Master Tiplar, remained on our ship in orbit while I came down alone, so if you need anything from off-planet to resolve this, then I can contact her for you. I assume that you are here to help?”

Quin nodded. “They made an official plea to the Jedi, so we’re here. I’m sure with four of the best Jedi Masters ever to come out of the Order, we’ll figure out what to do.”

“You didn’t even know me,” Tiplee said dryly, which just made Quin laugh. “I am concerned, though,” she continued in a more serious tone. “Jinlan is desperate to put an end to this plague, which means that they are willing to ask for help from anyone who might provide it.” She gave them a meaningful look, then reached down to pat at her lightsaber where it was clipped to her belt. “Come. I can bring you to someone who has been infected. Perhaps fresh eyes will see something that I have missed.”

Obi-Wan frowned. “Shouldn’t we wear protective suits first?”

The look on Tiplee’s face was grim as she shook her head. “They won’t do any good. Whatever’s causing this illness, it isn’t spreading in any of the ways that diseases normally do.”

They took a cab to another run down building, and Tiplee gestured to the door. “It’s an older woman in the apartment on the third floor, her name is Irene.” There was a beeping noise, and she reached down to grab her comm. “It’s my sister, I must take this. Irene is pretty out of it already, but if she does ask, just tell her you’re with me.” Then she stepped aside so that she could answer the call.

Obi-Wan and Quin made their way up the stairs, since there was no elevator, and when they got to the third floor, they saw that the door to the only apartment was already open. Obi-Wan still knocked on the doorframe to be polite, but there was no answer, so they decided to just enter without permission and apologize later.

The apartment was nicer inside than the building itself would imply, and the Jedi carefully made their way through to the bedroom. The Force was sending uncomfortable feelings to those who could feel it, but it wasn’t anything urgent, so Obi-Wan ignored it for the moment, walking slowly in. He could see someone curled up on the bed, back facing towards the door, and he cleared his throat. “Irene? My name is Obi-Wan. I’m a Jedi and a friend of Master Tiplee. Is it alright if we come in? We just want to make sure that you’re okay.”

There was no response, so Obi-Wan hurried closer to check on the poor woman. As soon as he reached out to touch her shoulder, the figure on the bed sprang up and chomped down into Obi-Wan’s hand violently enough to make blood spray out, and then it turned and ran. Not waiting for Quin to ask after him, Obi-Wan shouted, “Go, go!” Quin nodded and left to pursue the creature. It was starting to seem more likely that Wee Dunn’s ‘monsters’ were not so imaginary. 

After releasing his pain into the Force, Obi-Wan finally looked down at his hand, and scowled at what he saw. There, surrounding the deep imprints left by too-sharp teeth, were several little red bumps. It looked to be nothing worse than a rash at the moment, but he got the feeling that they would quickly grow and spread. So this plague was transmitted by bites? 

Obi-Wan let out a sigh of disappointment when he saw no signs of the real Irene. He doubted that she was still alive, and it saddened him that they were too late to save her. For now, it would be best to go find Tiplee and wait back at the hotel for Quin to return. Hopefully he would be able to successfully track the thing responsible for this. Though with an entire planet being infected, Obi-Wan did not think that it was all the work of a single being, especially if the method of infection involved biting each person individually. 

He pulled out his emergency kit to slap some bacta strips onto his hand, and took a moment to wonder why his life seemed to be so cursed. And why hadn’t the Force warned him about that? It was the kind of thing that would have been nice to know so that he could have avoided it! As he fumbled to secure the strips around his hand, he felt a shiver run down his spine, and it seemed perfectly warranted when just a moment later, he heard an all-too familiar voice say, “Master.”

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan slowly turned around, and was not surprised to see Anakin standing there. There was nobody else who that voice could belong to. He noticed that Anakin had closed the bedroom door behind him, most likely to prevent Obi-Wan from being able to run away. Despite himself, Obi-Wan looked Anakin over, trying to see if there were any signs of injuries that had not yet healed. But it was hard to see for sure when Anakin was wearing long sleeves and pants, covering basically any skin that would have been hurt on Mustafar. 

Then he finally dragged his eyes back to Anakin’s face, and found Anakin’s eyes gleaming darkly at him. Any hopes that Obi-Wan may have still been holding onto about Anakin forgiving him because he had been a kinder master to him went up in smoke. There was no way Anakin would look so intense if he had forgiven Obi-Wan. Not to mention the fact that he was even here. Surely it could not be a coincidence, when the galaxy was so vast and Jinlan was just one small planet. 

Being careful to keep all of his panic on the inside, not wanting to let on to Anakin just how frightened he was, Obi-Wan tucked his hands into his sleeves, and gave a shallow bow of his head, making sure not to dip his head down so much that it would block his line of sight. “Anakin,” he said quietly, then waited.

Anakin took a few steps forward, and Obi-Wan instinctively moved back. He thought he saw a flash of hurt in Anakin’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly that surely he had just imagined it. “Master,” Anakin said again. “I found you.”

Obi-Wan raised one eyebrow. “If you were looking for me, you could have just returned to the Temple.”

Anakin scoffed, and the noise sounded so familiar, so like the white sheep Anakin had been before Obi-Wan ruined everything, that it made Obi-Wan’s heart hurt. “Yes, that would be an excellent idea, for a user of the Dark Side to just waltz right into the Temple. I’m sure no one would try to stop me.”

They hadn’t in the past, when Anakin had been secretly training with the Dark Side throughout his apprenticeship, but there was no reason to bring that up again. “So you have found me,” Obi-Wan agreed. “Perhaps you could explain why you were seeking me out.” Of course the answer was obvious, and there were no witnesses around to force Anakin to pretend otherwise, but Obi-Wan didn’t really know what to do here other than try to make polite conversation.

Anakin’s face twisted as he took another step forward. “You won’t even-” he cut himself off and shook his head. “I just want answers,” he practically growled. 

There wasn’t really anywhere else to go, as Anakin prowled forward some more, slowly eating up the space between them. Obi-Wan instinctively tried to reach out through their bond to calm Anakin, before he remembered that Anakin had already severed their bond, eager to be rid of that connection with his wicked master, and who could blame him?

Anakin opened his mouth, clearly with more on his mind, when the door to the room slammed open, and Obi-Wan felt relief wash over him at the sight of Quin standing there. He knew that in reality, Quin was no match for Anakin, but he could at least hold his own against the budding Sith Lord. 

Quin furrowed his eyebrows as he looked back and forth between Anakin and Obi-Wan. “Skywalker?” he finally asked in disbelief. “You’re alive?”

The question seemed to puzzle Anakin for a moment, but then he reluctantly dragged his eyes away from Obi-Wan so that he could sneer at Quin. “It will take more than some lava to finish me off!”

Quin held his hands up in mock surrender. “Alright, I get it. Well, it’s terrible timing, but I really am glad to see that you’re alright. With the way that Obi-Wan’s been moping around-”

For some reason, Anakin looked more confused, but then another person arrived, Tiplee. With two other Jedi Masters who would presumably fight back if Anakin attacked Obi-Wan, Anakin must have realized that he was outnumbered. After an awkward, stilted introduction to Tiplee, Anakin excused himself, storming out of the apartment building. 

The three Jedi returned to the hotel, and caught each other up on what was happening. “I don’t think that whatever was in that bed was actually Irene,” Obi-Wan told them. “As far as I know, there’s been no other signs of the disease turning people into cannibals, and from the little I glimpsed of her face, it seemed too distorted to be natural for any species. I think that there is some kind of creature spreading the disease and then… and then eating those who get ill.”

Quin frowned. “Whatever they are, they’re very fast. I lost the trail so quickly it’s not even funny.”

It was getting late and they hadn’t really learned anything useful, but it was best to get some sleep and start fresh in the morning. Obi-Wan and Quin both booked rooms of their own in the same hotel, though Obi-Wan reached out to grab Quin’s arm before they headed separate ways since their rooms were on different floors. “Come by my room after you’ve gotten settled in. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

As much as Obi-Wan didn’t want to tell anyone about Anakin, he didn’t know of any other way to go forward. Quin needed to know that Anakin was not safe to be around anymore. And Quin also needed to know that Obi-Wan had been bitten, and would most likely succumb to the same illness that they were here to try and put a stop to.

His hand throbbed as if on cue, and Obi-Wan was glad to close the door to his room, take off his outer robe, and flop down onto the bed. It wasn’t as comfortable as his bed at the Temple, but it was more comfortable than the beds on most Jedi ships, so it kinda balanced out. 

Obi-Wan winced as he peeled the bacta strips off of his hand. The red bumps already looked much worse, and Obi-Wan marveled at how he’d get to find out the timeline of this disease the hard way. Not wanting to think too hard about it, Obi-Wan quickly put on fresh bacta, and did his best to just ignore the problem.

Sooner than Obi-Wan had expected, there was a knock at his room door. He was in the middle of washing his face, so he just called out, “It’s unlocked, you can come in, Quin.”

The door opened with much more force than necessary, and it only took a moment for Anakin’s powerful Force signature to feel like it was filling the entire room. Obi-Wan threw down his washcloth and stepped out of the bathroom to stare at his former padawan with wide eyes.

Anakin’s hands were clenched, and his frustration was leaking out of him so much that it would be obvious even to the most untrained of Force sensitives. Probably frustrated that he hadn’t been able to snatch up Obi-Wan back at Irene’s apartment. Well, Obi-Wan wasn’t going to give Anakin the chance to do so now, either.

So without even waiting for Anakin to say anything, Obi-Wan turned and bolted towards the window. He felt Anakin’s confusion, but he ignored it, using the Force to wrench open the window and fling himself out of it. As he used the Force to catch himself, Obi-Wan heard Anakin's voice shouting, “Master, don’t do that again!” after he’d jumped out of Padme’s window. 

The problem was that the voice was not one from his memories, but one that was vividly spoken as if the younger Anakin was truly standing right next to him. Obi-Wan glanced down at his bitten hand and barely refrained from groaning out loud. Seriously? The hallucinations started within just a few hours of infection? That was both annoying and worrisome. 

Obi-Wan began running across the rooftops of the nearest buildings. He didn’t even know where exactly he was headed, just that he needed to get as far away as he could. He doubted that Anakin would lose interest in revenge just because of a difficult chase, but Obi-Wan couldn’t think of what else to do. And it only made matters more complicated when he kept catching glimpses of Anakin out of the corner of his eye, though he knew that those were only hallucinations. The real Anakin’s Force signature was far too familiar and big for Obi-Wan to not feel it if Anakin were truly as close as the hallucinations were. Still, Obi-Wan was concerned that he would not be able to tell the difference soon enough. But there was nothing to do but keep running.

Right as Obi-Wan was midair between two buildings, he felt a lurching in his stomach as the Force abruptly cut off, and Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating a lethal drop. But he only fell a couple of feet before he was caught, and even though he couldn’t really feel it at the moment, he knew that it was the Force. It lifted him back up and deposited him gently on the next roof, but then continued to hold him so that he could not flee.

Anakin was there just moments later. “Why are you running away from me?” he demanded, as if the answer wasn’t obvious. “You really hate me that much?”

What kind of question was that??? Obviously Obi-Wan was running away because Anakin was the one who hated Obi-Wan, not the other way around! Anakin stormed right up to Obi-Wan, pinning him against the wall behind him with the Force. Then Anakin reached out to physically grab Obi-Wan by the shoulders. He might have said something else, but Obi-Wan was distracted by his first System notification in a while. [Energy source has been connected! Energy Saver Mode™ is now deactivated and 24-7 user support is available. Thanking Host for your patience!]

Obi-Wan wanted to yell at the System for its bullshit, but Anakin’s grip on him tightened, and it forced Obi-Wan to pay attention to his former padawan instead. “You cannot even look at me now?” Anakin snarled. “Is it really so wrong to use the Dark Side? To break the Code? Aren’t you the one who taught me that the Code is bantha shit anyways? Or do those words only apply to anyone who isn’t me?”

Obi-Wan blinked, and did his best to ignore the way he could also hear Anakin’s voice threatening to tear him limb from limb, screaming about how Obi-Wan had betrayed him and failed him as a teacher. Listening to hallucinations wouldn’t be very helpful right now. “You must have known it was wrong, or you wouldn’t have kept it secret,” Obi-Wan tried, since he didn’t really know what else to say. It’s not like he could explain that a god-like entity had forced the entire situation to happen the way that it had.

“Your reaction only proves that I was right to hide it,” Anakin pointed out. “You would have thrown me away even sooner if you had known before.” He scowled, then shook his head. “You can’t go anywhere right now, so you will answer my questions,” he announced in a threatening voice. “How do you know Palpatine? Where are you from? How-?”

These were not the questions that Obi-Wan would have expected, and he was a bit blindsided by them. How the hell was he supposed to answer any of that without giving away the System and everything else involved with hopping into a new body from a fictional story? “System, you let me tell Satine at least the basics, so can’t I-?”

[Talking to the Protagonist about Host’s circumstances would be metagaming, which is cheating. Cheating will result in immediate expulsion from this world!]

Bullshit! This whole thing was bullshit! What could he even say to Anakin if the truth was not allowed to be an option? There really was no reasonable explanation for any of Obi-Wan’s previous actions! His shoulders slumped down, and he looked forward at Anakin’s chest rather than meeting Anakin’s eyes, and he cut off the questions that Anakin was still asking. “There is nothing that I can say to justify what has been done in the past,” he said softly. 

“Then you deserve everything that happens to you,” Anakin spat.

“I know,” Obi-Wan murmured. There really wasn’t anything else to say.

“What?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan glanced up in confusion. “What?”

“You said you know… you know what?”

That’s when Obi-Wan realized that he probably should have been paying more attention to Anakin, because apparently it was easy to mix up the hallucinations with reality when he could not see whether or not Anakin was moving his mouth. “Pay it no mind,” Obi-Wan responded stiffly. “It is just the confusion of an old man.”

Anakin frowned, then slid one of his arms down so that he could gently take Obi-Wan’s injured hand and lift it up. He closed his eyes, and nodded once. “I see. Even now you are just a trouble magnet, aren’t you?” The small little smile on Anakin’s face could almost be described as fond, but Obi-Wan knew that that couldn’t be true.

Then Obi-Wan felt warmth wash over him, mostly in his hand, and a few moments later he gasped as his connection to the Force returned, and he could feel Anakin’s Force signature wrapped all around him, like a cozy blanket. He could also feel the way that Anakin was healing his hand, which should be impossible. The Dark Side could not be used for healing, not in the same way that the Light Side could. “System, what are Anakin’s Dark Side and Light Side levels at?” he had to know.

[The Protagonist is currently 30% Dark,] the System cheerfully reported.

Obi-Wan could only blink in surprise. What?? This was Anakin at only a third of reaching his full potential as a Sith Lord?? Obi-Wan could hardly even imagine how bad things would get once Anakin had gotten some more training from Palpatine.

Anakin sighed, and the way his breath brushed against the top of Obi-Wan’s head got his attention. Anakin kept holding Obi-Wan’s hand even after it was fully healed, and he reached up with his other hand to touch the side of Obi-Wan’s face. “You are truly distracted today, aren’t you Master? Alright. Perhaps it would be best to talk later, then.” His eyes glittered with his dissatisfaction from his own words, but he did let go of Obi-Wan and take a few steps back. “Be more careful next time.” Then he turned and hurried away across the rooftops. Only after Anakin was out of sight did the Force let go of Obi-Wan so that he was free to move again.

He could only stare after Anakin in shock. What had all of that been about? He’d chased Obi-Wan halfway across the city just to heal him, ask some questions, and leave? How did that make any sense? Why wouldn’t he just take the opportunity to get started with his revenge? Unless this was all part of a bigger plan that hadn’t been in the book? 

Obi-Wan sighed, then turned to head back to the hotel. It didn’t seem fair that it was so difficult to understand the protagonist even after reading the entire book about him, and it was unnerving to not understand what was going on. But perhaps in the end Obi-Wan should just be grateful that he hadn’t been tortured to death quite yet. 

Chapter Text

Anakin stared out the window of the hotel he was staying at. It was much nicer than the one that Obi-Wan had settled into for the night, and Anakin’s room was high enough up to let him look out over the city without any trouble. His eyes couldn’t help but zero in on the district where Obi-Wan was staying, even though obviously Anakin couldn’t actually make out individual details like a person or even a particular building from here. 

He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting when he snuck away to follow one of Palpatine’s ships here to Jinlan. He still wasn’t entirely sure what the Sith Lord’s end goal was here, but the whole ‘monsters eating people’ thing was simple enough. Even with the advantage of having been here since the problem started, Anakin had not immediately stepped forward to take care of things. Not because he wanted all these innocent people to die, though he found that the thought of such a thing didn’t actually bother him as much as he should. But rather because it would immediately make it obvious to Palpatine that Anakin was involved, and he didn’t want to throw away that connection until he was absolutely certain that he’d used it to its full extent.

And then, even more confusing than whatever strange plan Palpatine had going on, Anakin had felt it the moment his former master landed on this planet. Even with their bond no longer in place, thanks to Palpatine, Anakin was so attuned to Obi-Wan’s Force signature that he always seemed to be reaching out to it even without thinking. 

There was no way that Anakin could stay put then. So he’d hurried to follow after Obi-Wan. It was annoying that not only was Vos there, but another Jedi Master as well, and both of them had probably already heard so many terrible things about him that it was a miracle they didn’t just attack on sight. Perhaps because it wasn’t the ‘Jedi way’, though that hadn’t stopped Obi-Wan from attacking him on Mustafar.

Anakin quickly shook that thought aside before it could overwhelm him, as he knew that the Dark Side was always looking for any weaknesses to exploit. Anakin left, tense the entire time that he had his back to the Jedi, and then waited until he could catch Obi-Wan alone. Late at night in his hotel room seemed like a reasonable guess, so Anakin knocked on the door. When Obi-Wan called out for Vos, Anakin had barely been able to control himself as he shoved the door open and stormed in.

He saw his master standing there, droplets of water sliding down his throat, face flushed pink, and even though Anakin had just seen the man a couple of hours ago, he was once again struck by how beautiful Obi-Wan was. Then the moment was ruined as Obi-Wan went for the window before Anakin could even think to react. Anakin really had come with the intention of just talking, or at least demanding some answers, but when Obi-Wan ran, it triggered some instinct in Anakin to follow.

The chase across the rooftops was as thrilling as it was frustrating, but any joy he might have gotten from the situation was ruined by the fear leaking into the Force from Obi-Wan. And then all signs of Obi-Wan’s Force signature disappeared. Anakin reached out without even having to think about it, and was able to safely catch his master before the man could fall to his death. The thought of Obi-Wan dying was unbearable, and Anakin would never let it happen.

But even with Obi-Wan right in front of him with no opportunity to slip away, the man was still so frustratingly clammed up. He refused to properly answer any of Anakin’s questions, and Anakin couldn’t help but start to wonder if it was because there simply were no answers. Maybe Obi-Wan really had had a sudden change of heart about Anakin. It wouldn’t be the first time, afterall, since the switch to caring about Anakin in the first place had been just as sudden. 

Anakin gently healed Obi-Wan’s hand, not wanting his master to be in pain even if he knew that Obi-Wan would not be grateful. It would not change Obi-Wan’s mind into thinking that Anakin was a good person. The moment Obi-Wan found out about the Dark Side, apparently all of his affection for Anakin had been cut away, as easily as cutting off some unruly locks of hair. 

Perhaps it was wrong of him, but while Obi-Wan was distracted by something (unable to pay attention to Anakin even when they were face to face like this), Anakin raised Obi-Wan’s injured hand and pressed a light kiss against the back of it. Obi-Wan’s eyes didn’t even stray from where he was staring just off to the side. 

He did not want to go, but it was clear that he would not be getting any of the answers he wanted, at least not tonight. And if Vos was expecting to meet Obi-Wan, then it would only cause problems if that awful person found Obi-Wan’s room empty. “Be more careful next time,” he murmured, though he was already sure that Obi-Wan would not listen. 

Anakin forced himself to turn and leave, reminding himself that he’d be able to find Obi-Wan again. It’s not as though the Jedi could leave while the planet-wide quarantine was still ongoing. But even still, he couldn’t make himself let go of Obi-Wan until he was far enough away that the Force naturally pulled back. When Anakin finally jumped back down to the ground, he stomped out of the back alley he’d landed in, kicking over every trash can he saw. 

As he started to head back to his own hotel, even though he was pretty sure that he wouldn’t be able to get any sleep tonight, Anakin heard the sound of someone screaming. Not too unusual in this part of the city, but he still found himself approaching the noise, as if the old Jedi part of him still wanted to help.

He found one of the strange creatures about to bite into a young woman who was doing everything she could to hold it back. When her eyes randomly met with Anakin’s, she shrilly called out, “Help me!” though it did not seem as though she expected him to interfere.

Perhaps… maybe even if Obi-Wan couldn’t believe Anakin’s words, he would be able to believe his actions? If Anakin helped save a random person’s life, then wouldn’t Obi-Wan have to see that Anakin was not pure evil? So Anakin reached out and used the Force to rip the creature away from the woman, dangling it up in the air. “Put me down!” it got out in barely understandable grunts. “Put me down!” Anakin used the Force to fling the creature into the nearest wall, where its head cracked against the metal hard enough to split open. 

Anakin looked at the woman, who was staring at him with frightened eyes, even though the monster had already been dealt with. “Are you alright?” he asked, wondering if maybe she’d already been bit.

The woman straightened her back, but refused to take her wary eyes off of Anakin. The opposite of the problem he had when dealing with Obi-Wan. “I don’t have anything worth taking,” she warned him in a mostly steady voice. Anakin could feel the faint sense of the Force threading through her words, though it was clear that she had no training. She probably just thought that she happened to be particularly persuasive. 

Anakin had no wish to terrorize this random woman, so he ignored the way it hurt for her to just assume that he was a threat. He held his hands up lazily. “You don’t have anything I want,” he agreed, mind already straying back to Obi-Wan once again. He backed out of the alley, and decided not to continue back to the hotel instead. There was a more productive use of his time now, and he could live without sleep, at least for a short while.

So Anakin spent the rest of the night tracking down the creatures that had been plaguing the city. Now that he’d been so up close and personal with one of them, it was easy to find others. There were a lot more than there had been when they’d first arrived on Jinlan, but they were not expecting Anakin to come after them, and they were quite careless and lazy. They were fast, but it was easy to catch them off guard, especially when they were distracted with a potential meal. 

He killed most of the ones he came across, but for the sake of getting answers from something with less backbone than Obi-Wan, Anakin captured one of them. “What are you?” he asked, looking in disgust. A very brief glance would make one assume that these things were humanoid, but up close, one could see the lumpy skin that was reminiscent of an old mattress, and the sharp teeth filling the mouth, and the piggy little eyes with very little signs of intelligence. 

“Sower,” the thing grumbled, struggling to get out of the grasp of the Force Anakin had on it. Anakin squeezed tighter, and the sower winced. 

Anakin didn’t bother walking closer, since he was intimidating enough where he was standing, and he didn’t want to look foolish gagging at the stench of something rotting, perhaps a bit of flesh still stuck in the dumb thing’s teeth. “Why bother infecting people before eating them, when you can obviously run much faster than the average humanoid? And why do you rip the bodies up so much and then not even eat the whole thing?”

“Insides taste better,” the sower told him, as if it was giving him a legitimate tip. “Fever cooks the insides so they’re not as raw.” 

“And why are you here?” Anakin demanded to know, even though he already knew that they’d been sent by Palpatine.

The question brought a shifty look into the sower’s eyes. “Uh… we were told to.” 

“By whom?” 

There had been a recorder taking in this whole conversation, and Anakin would be able to use it as evidence to prove that he not only had nothing to do with this mess in the first place, since he was sure that the Jedi already suspected he did, and that he was helping to put an end to it. But at least part of the recording became immediately useless when the sower answered, “It was… Obi-Wan Kenobi. He told us to come here.”

Anakin rolled his eyes and felt his anger build. “You’re lying!” he snapped, even though he knew that it would be better to remain calm. But it was hard to stand such an insult. He knew that while Obi-Wan might be alright with throwing his own former padawan and friend into lava, it did not mean that Obi-Wan suddenly cared nothing for the lives of innocents. There was no way that Obi-Wan would ever do something like this. And the mastermind behind this chaos would not let himself get bitten, though that would be useless as evidence since Anakin had already healed that wound.

Anyone with common sense would be able to see that the sower was lying. The problem was, at least in Anakin’s experience, that many people in this universe lacked such a thing as common sense, and would have no problem turning on Obi-Wan. In theory, if the Jedi turned on Obi-Wan, it would leave Anakin an opening to take Obi-Wan in and give him a place to stay. In reality, though, Anakin knew that Obi-Wan would never agree to stay with a Dark Sider. And also, it would hurt Obi-Wan deeply to have the Jedi turn against him, when they were the ones Obi-Wan considered to be his family.

So Anakin let out a heavy sigh, quickly scrubbed through the recording to delete that last part, and then quickly killed the sower. He went back out to track down any that he might have missed, wanting to make sure that none of those filthy creatures were left to spread lies and ruin Obi-Wan’s reputation. If Obi-Wan’s reputation was ever to be destroyed, it could only be because of the man’s true actions and not because Palpatine decided to frame him for no discernable reason.

When he was done, Anakin went to tell Obi-Wan the good news, that the problem had been dealt with, and that he and the other Jedi could leave now. Anakin’s heart clenched at the thought of so easily clearing the way for Obi-Wan to leave when there was still so much unfinished business between them, but ultimately Anakin was the person who knew his master the best. He knew that Obi-Wan would not really answer anything until he was good and ready, no matter how much Anakin tried to push. So for now, the only thing he really could do was let Obi-Wan go.

But there was still one last thing Anakin needed to do first. Palpatine had cut the bond between Obi-Wan and Anakin because he feared that Obi-Wan would be able to use it to track Anakin down and harm him. But now it was clear that Obi-Wan only had interest in running as far in the opposite direction as possible. And besides, what if Without-A-Cure acted up again, or something else were to happen? Anakin wouldn’t be able to do anything to help, he wouldn’t even know what was going on, unless he was able to restore their bond. He knew that a Force bond between a Sith and a Jedi would be an abomination, but when his mind felt so empty without Obi-Wan’s there too, Anakin couldn’t find it within himself to care. He’d already done a good deed for today, so didn’t he deserve a reward? 

Chapter Text

Quin was staring at him, and it made Obi-Wan want to fidget, though he’d never actually do something that would go against his image as a perfectly serene Jedi. “Can I help you with something?” he asked dryly. 

Quin raised one eyebrow and let out a little laugh as he leaned back against the wall next to the door. “You’re the one who asked me to come,” he reminded Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan had to refrain from swearing as he recalled that fact as well. Please forgive him for being so forgetful when he’d just been running for his life! Obi-Wan glanced down at his newly healed hand. There was no point in mentioning the bite now, since it was no longer an issue. That just left the matter of- “-Anakin?”

Obi-Wan blinked and focused on Quin. “What?” 

He didn’t appreciate the gleam of amusement in Quin’s eyes. “I was just asking where your former padawan wandered off to now. I had assumed that he would come back with us now that we know he’s alive.”

It was clear that Quin was quite curious about the entire situation, though he was kind enough to not actually ask for more information. Obi-Wan took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, doing his best to release some of his feelings into the Force. “It is… complicated.” He tried to take a moment to compose himself and think about what to say. Of course he didn’t want to make himself sound like some innocent victim in all of this, but he also didn’t want anyone else to get hurt by Anakin.

He stared at his hand again, mind stuck on the fact that of all the many things Anakin could have done while Obi-Wan was pinned down and unable to use the Force to fight back, Anakin had healed him. It didn’t make any sense! Unless it could be used to make Obi-Wan look even worse, like to make everyone sympathetic for the young man who was still ‘loyal’ even after being betrayed? But that didn’t really make sense either, since Anakin had not tried to use the subtle route in the book after going full Sith. And yet Anakin, who seemed perfectly in control of his abilities, had not yet marched on the Temple to massacre everyone within it.

Rudely, Quin snapped his fingers in front of Obi-Wan’s face to get his attention. “Hey, you still with me?”

Obi-Wan resisted the urge to roll his eyes, since he was obviously still there. “What would you do, hypothetically, if someone you cared about was dangerous, but acting differently than you would have expected?”

As soon as he asked the question, he berated himself for it, since surely it would give away far more than he wanted about himself. But the System didn’t say anything to stop him, and Quin had a genuinely thoughtful look on his face. After a few long seconds, Quin sighed and dropped down onto the other bed in the room. “Hypothetically speaking, it would be a tricky situation to navigate. You might want that person to make better choices, but you know that they have to be the one to choose to do so, you can’t force it. And if they keep acting- dangerous, you might feel disappointed in yourself for expecting anything else, yet some part of you keeps hoping that she really does want to change because sometimes you get the feeling that she might want to, for you, and you don’t know whether that’s enough to be…” he trailed off, cheeks flushed. “Ah. That is, well. You know.” 

Wait, ‘she’? Was Quin talking about someone specific? He hadn’t realized that Obi-Wan was talking about Anakin because he had assumed that it was actually a question about Quin and… Ah, Ventress. She was a difficult woman to pin down, wasn’t she? They’d first met because she was an assassin who had caused Obi-Wan a lot of inconvenience with that stupidly named poison, and then she’d gone off to be Dooku’s apprentice, and yet she’d let them escape without putting up a fight, and then she’d even volunteered to help take down Dooku, and she had supposedly agreed to help out on Jinlan, though there had yet to be any signs of her. So Obi-Wan could understand why Quin would feel so confused in this situation. But Obi-Wan had asked because he needed some actual advice, not because he was trying to help Quin through a time of inner turmoil!

Still, Obi-Wan would feel like a shitty friend if he tried to make it about himself now when Quin clearly thought that it had been a more personal question, so Obi-Wan did his best to brush aside thoughts of Anakin so that he could focus on his friend for now. “What would you do about it if she proved that she really could change?” he wondered. “With the Code-”

Quin snorted loudly. “That’s rich, coming from you,” he said with a soft chuckle to let Obi-Wan know that he was not seriously criticizing him. “Sometimes I have to wonder about the validity of some of the things in the Code,” Quin confessed. “And I know you do too, or else Skywalker would not be so,” he waved his hand as if to fill in the rest of that sentence. Obi-Wan figured he knew what Quin meant, that Anakin was too emotional at times to really be following the Code like a ‘proper’ Jedi. “You know that I don’t usually go on the same types of missions that you do, that I go further away from the Order, and not just in terms of physical distance. Sometimes it’s all too easy to forget why any of those rules even matter.”

It was hard to say anything to that when Obi-Wan felt the same. Once again, Obi-Wan was reminded of how much easier his life would probably be now if he had been able to just quit the Order and make a run for it as soon as he’d unlocked OOC. But then he would not have gotten the chance to know his little white sheep Anakin, so it probably wouldn’t have been worth it anyways. Not to mention that he really did enjoy most of the aspects that came with being a Jedi, or at least he had up until the war started. Being able to use cool magic powers to help people was so much better than the boring nothing life he’d lived before all of this. 

Quin sighed. “Maybe this isn’t the time for this kind of discussion. We still need to figure out what to do about this plague and monsters situation.”    

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. After a few more minutes, they bid each other goodnight, and Quin finally left to go back to his own room. Obi-Wan still felt on edge after his encounter with Anakin, and he wasn’t sure if he’d actually be able to get any sleep. He tried lying down, but his mind didn’t seem to want to shut off, so he got back up.

Well, he could at least use his time productively if he wasn’t going to be able to use it to rest. Maybe it would be a good idea to check on Wee Dunn and make sure that the young boy was alright. So Obi-Wan pulled his robes back on and headed out. It didn’t take long before he got the creeping sensation on the back of his neck from someone watching him, though the Force didn’t actually warn him of any danger. 

Still, Obi-Wan didn’t want to bring any trouble to Wee Dunn, so he ducked into an alleyway, made sure his lightsaber would be easy to grab if he needed it in a hurry, and waited patiently. It didn’t take long before the shadows at the mouth of the alley moved, and then Anakin was in front of him for the second time in one night. Whatever Anakin had been up to in the past few hours since parting ways, it was clearly something messy. The lighting in the alley was too dim to make out any exact details, but Obi-Wan could tell that Anakin’s clothes were stained darker than before.

Obi-Wan did his best to remain calm. “I had thought that our business was concluded earlier,” he said delicately.

Anakin frowned, and Obi-Wan quickly asked the System for an update. [The Protagonist is currently 33% Dark], he was informed by a far too cheerful voice.

So whatever had happened had made things worse? Obi-Wan didn’t even want to know what kind of trouble Anakin had gotten himself into around here. Anakin moved closer, but Obi-Wan refused to step back and give ground. He had no interest in being backed up against a grimy alley wall. “I wanted to tell you the good news right away, Master. The sowers- the creatures that have been attacking people- have all been dealt with. They will not be causing any more harm. The plague should die out on its own now that there is no one to spread it.”

“As expected from such a talented Knight,” Obi-Wan murmured, before immediately wincing. Of course Anakin wouldn’t want to be referred to by his Jedi title, because there was no way he would still consider himself to be a Jedi even now! Obi-Wan really needed to watch his mouth better, or else who knew what might slip out.

It was hard to read the look on Anakin’s face, even though Obi-Wan had always prided himself on knowing his padawan so well. “I learned from the best,” Anakin responded in an equally soft voice. “I know how to take care of people.” There was a strange pointedness to his voice that Obi-Wan didn’t quite understand for a moment, until he realized that it was an insult, or perhaps a threat, about how Obi-Wan had not taken good care of his padawan in the end. 

They just stared at each other for several long seconds, Obi-Wan finding it difficult to tear his eyes away from the dark, intense look in Anakin’s. “Is that all, then?”

Anakin suddenly reached forward to grab at Obi-Wan’s arm, and Obi-Wan was surprised to find that his instincts didn’t kick in to make him flinch away. Anakin hesitated for a moment, probably just as surprised, but then he continued with whatever he was planning. “I missed you,” he said, obviously as some new strategy to torment Obi-Wan. His hand slid down Obi-Wan’s arm until he was just holding Obi-Wan’s hand, and it was hard to focus on pulling himself free when Obi-Wan could only really think about just how warm Anakin’s hand was, and how easily it covered his. Then Anakin reached out with his other hand as well, so that both of his were clasped around Obi-Wan’s, the chill of the mechno-hand a sudden contrast to the warmth of the flesh hand, and it made Obi-Wan shiver.

He tilted his head back to look at Anakin’s face, wondering why there was no anger or disgust written across those familiar features. Anakin noticed him looking, and used his grip to tug Obi-Wan even closer, so that the two of them were practically standing in the same space. From this close, Obi-Wan could smell the coppery tinge of blood and the smell of meat that was just about to go bad. He realized that the stains on Anakin’s clothes were not just mud or something else equally innocent.

Before Obi-Wan could start struggling, Anakin leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Obi-Wan’s. It was a surprising enough gesture that it made Obi-Wan pause for a moment, wondering what the hell Anakin was even up to right now.

Then he had to close his eyes as well as he felt Anakin’s Force signature reach out and wrap around him, feeling far too comforting considering the circumstances. With his eyes closed, it was easy for him to be pulled into meditation with Anakin even though he had not intended to, and Obi-Wan did not fight his way out of it, even though he knew that he could have. He could not for the life of him explain why he just let it happen.

Obi-Wan found himself in the familiar little library that was his mental space, and he seemed to be alone there. Obi-Wan looked around for signs of interference, but nothing stood out. Although it was much messier than when he had first tried meditating in this world, that was not unexpected. Over the years of joint meditation, Anakin had been in this space many times before, and always seemed to enjoy pulling down the books, rifling through them, and then leaving them scattered about the place. Obi-Wan had given up on keeping it all perfectly organized long ago, even though they had not actually come to this space together in a while, since Anakin had gotten better at meditating on his own.

Obi-Wan was not alone for long before Anakin was there as well, though his presence did not feel intrusive the way that it surely should have. Was it just because the Force would always be on Anakin’s side above anyone else’s? “Why-?”

“I missed you,” Anakin repeated. Though in this mental space, Anakin’s voice sounded more genuine than teasing when he said that, and it sent a pang of longing through Obi-Wan. Of course he missed Anakin as well, missed the version of him that had existed before Obi-Wan betrayed him. 

Anakin wandered the space almost reverently, and Obi-Wan just stood by and watched, unsure of what Anakin was looking for. Eventually, Anakin stopped and turned to look at Obi-Wan, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Your other bond… how is it so strong? Master Qui-Gon died so many years ago, and yet it still feels as though I could just reach out and… But even when I tried to do what you said and nurture the broken bond from my end, it didn’t work. So how…?” he trailed off, looking deep in thought. “That isn’t the remnants of your old training bond,” Anakin finally declared, sounding confident in his conclusion before the uncertainty returned. “But then who…?”

Was the System really not going to interfere here when it seemed like soon Obi-Wan would have no choice but to start talking about the truth?? [The Protagonist cannot learn about this System on his own,] the System assured Obi-Wan. 

Anakin’s head jerked around, eyes wildly searching the small space as if he had heard the System speaking. But that was impossible, right? The System had spoken to Obi-Wan before, other times when the two were joint meditating, and yet Anakin had never indicated that he had noticed anything strange going on. 

Maybe it was just a false alarm, though, because Anakin did not ask about the System or say anything about a strange disembodied voice. Instead, he surged over to where Obi-Wan was standing, grabbed Obi-Wan’s shoulders with an absurd amount of gentleness, and picked Obi-Wan up to set him down a little off to the side, revealing the shelf that Obi-Wan had been unintentionally blocking.

On the shelf was a sickly and withered looking plant, and Obi-Wan knew that it represented his bond with Anakin. Perhaps Anakin did not want even the bare roots of it to remain, and was here to fully destroy even the tiniest remnants of their once strong connection?

But Obi-Wan was once again surprised when instead, Anakin reached out with one shaking hand and traced a finger over one of the dead leaves. “It’s still-” he started to say, but cut himself off, voice choked by emotion. Obi-Wan could only stare. He wished that they were in Anakin’s mental space instead so that Obi-Wan might be able to figure out what the hell was going through Anakin’s head. Because to Obi-Wan, who knew Anakin so well, he could almost be fooled into thinking that Anakin looked… happy? 

Chapter Text

“I think I might actually know the cure,” Padme said so delicately that it immediately had Obi-Wan feeling suspicious.

He leaned forward in his seat. “Really. And why has this miraculous news somehow never come up in the many years we’ve known each other?” 

Padme cleared her throat, and asked what seemed to be a completely irrelevant question. “Have you perhaps ever read or watched anything of the xianxia genre?” Obi-Wan had a preference for sci-fi, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t at least dipped his feet into the water of many other genres. He wasn’t sure why Padme had asked, though, so he just nodded sharply and waited impatiently for her to continue. When a faint blush rose to her cheeks, Obi-Wan scowled. He had no idea where this was going, but surely it couldn’t be anything good. “So… do you know the concept of, well. Dual cultivation?” 

Obi-Wan leapt to his feet. “What?” 

Padme cleared her throat again, ignoring the cup of tea sitting in front of her. “Well, I remember that in a draft I had for one of the extra chapters, there was a part where I mentioned something along the lines of him being so strong in the Force that he could essentially heal any kind of problem by, er, working up enough energy-”

“Enough!” Obi-Wan cut her off, not wanting to hear anymore about this. “That’s my padawan you’re talking about!” 

There was still a flush on Padme’s face, but she looked a little more confident now that she’d actually gotten the words out. “He’s not your padawan anymore,” she pointed out. When Obi-Wan looked like he was about to say something unpleasant, she sighed and sank back into her seat. “Fine, fine, I won’t bring it up again. There’s no guarantee that it would work anyways, it was mostly just a throwaway line.” Obi-Wan finally sat back down as well, and soon the conversation was able to turn to more productive topics.

,,,

“How old are you?”

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but dutifully answered, “Fourteen.” 

Obi-Wan felt a surge of panic rush through him. Fourteen?? Anakin had already been through five years of abuse at his master’s hands and was only a few years away from-

,,,

“As long as I am here, I promise that nothing will happen to you,” Obi-Wan said solemnly. And it wasn’t even a lie, as far as he was concerned. It’s not as though there were any powers in this world truly strong enough to hurt Anakin, and Obi-Wan certainly had no plans of doing so himself. Of course, it’s not as though he would have much choice when it came down to it, but Obi-Wan would prefer not to think about the future. He’d rather focus on the little white sheep in front of him. Even long before this, Anakin had always been his favorite-

,,,

“You really believe in me?”

“Of course.” How could he not? Obi-Wan knew better than anyone that Anakin would excel at whatever he put his mind to.

,,,

Obi-Wan knew that he’d had a bit too much to drink, but he couldn’t help it. Everything was changing so fast, and he didn’t even know how to fix any of it because none of it had been in-

,,,

“Yeah, you’re such a terrible person,” Quin said with a snort, followed by him rolling his eyes. “I’m sure every little stray you’ve ever rescued would agree.”

“You don’t understand,” Obi-Wan tried to argue, words heavy on his tongue. “It’s all my fault that Anakin is- that Anakin is-” going to become a Sith Lord, he finished in his mind, though he knew better than to say the words out loud.

Quin’s expression softened, and he scooted closer to Obi-Wan on the couch, reaching out to put his arm around Obi-Wan’s shoulders. “Hey, none of it is your fault,” he tried to comfort. It was sweet of him, but ultimately pointless, since Obi-Wan knew that it was only said because Quin didn’t understand the full context. If he knew what Obi-Wan had done, he’d never want anything to do with him again.

Obi-Wan hunched over and buried his face in his hands. At least they were in his apartment, so he was not totally destroying his image as a ‘perfect’ Jedi, not that it mattered. Not when Anakin could be back at any time now and-

,,,

“Master, look at me!” Anakin called out from across the room. “Watch this!” He leapt up into the air, using the Force to lift himself higher, and flipped around a few times before landing on the ground again. He stumbled slightly, probably dizzy from spinning, but he had a bright grin on his face, and Obi-Wan could not help but smile in return, even as he was berated for it by-

“Very good,” he praised, the words slipping out before he could stop them. It was so difficult to not praise Anakin, when he knew how good his padawan was. “Although I believe that there might be better uses for your energy in a real battle.” He tried to sound stern, to appease- but he wasn’t sure he did a very good job of it, considering how unoffended Anakin looked despite his pout.

,,,

“How dare you,” Obi-Wan’s voice was cold. “How dare you discipline my padawan as if you have any right, when you do not even discipline your own? It is clear that it was Padawan Chern who instigated everything.”

The other Jedi held up her hands. “Ah, Knight Kenobi, let’s not fight about this. Sometimes children say things they don’t mean when they are upset. But that does not give others the right to retaliate with violence.”

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “So if you were to be thoroughly insulted and cruel things were said to you, you would remain perfectly at peace? I do not deny that Anakin needs to learn to control himself, but the things that your padawan said were truly disgraceful. Will you allow her to speak that way when on diplomatic missions? Or when-?”

“Alright, I get it. I’ll speak with Chern.” She was probably only saying that to appease him, but it at least made Obi-Wan feel a little better. He just felt so helpless whenever Anakin was bullied by the other padawans. Perhaps in the end this would only make things worse, since Anakin clearly hadn’t wanted Obi-Wan to know about the incident, but Obi-Wan couldn’t just stand by and watch his padawan be bullied. It just wasn’t right.

,,,

“Master? Are you… is everything alright?”

Obi-Wan didn’t allow himself to show how startled he was. He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even heard Anakin come home. He quickly reached up to pat his eyes dry with his sleeve before turning to look at his padawan with his usual smile. “You just caught this silly old man thinking of pointless things,” he said with a little laugh. 

Anakin looked at him hesitantly. “You’re not old,” he grumbled, like he often did when Obi-Wan pointed out how old he was. Then Anakin took a few steps forward, concern clearly coming down their bond from him. “You felt… sad.” 

Of course Obi-Wan could have spouted some nonsense about how Jedi did not allow themselves to get so emotional, and about how he would release his feelings into the Force… but it would just be a lie. But he couldn’t exactly tell Anakin why he was feeling that way. So he settled for answering somewhere in between, motioning for Anakin to sit down next to him. “I suppose I was feeling a little melancholy.” It had been a full year since Obi-Wan had woken up in this world. Even though the system for keeping time was different, the fact that it had been a year here meant that he had missed so much back home. He’d missed his sister’s twenty-first birthday, and his brother’s nagging, and the stray cat he fed sometimes against his better judgement. He’d missed any new books that might have come out and he’d missed the last season of a show he’d been following for ages. 

It would be a lie to say that he did not like his life here, now that he had had time to really settle into it. But that didn’t make it easier to accept that he had missed out on a lot, even if he had never actually done anything important or useful in his old life. Anakin looked like he wanted to ask more about it, but Obi-Wan really couldn’t explain any of it, even without- so he just asked about Anakin’s day in a desperate urge to change the subject. Anakin seemed to know what Obi-Wan was doing, but he was kind enough to go along with it, telling Obi-Wan about his classes. For a moment, the whole thing reminded Obi-Wan so much of home that he couldn’t help the flutter of pained nostalgia, and he quickly locked down his shields, not wanting to disturb Anakin any further. 

,,,

“Nasty things,” Mace said, nose wrinkled in disgust.

Obi-Wan let out a startled laugh. “Yes, well. They’re probably more palatable when one doesn’t drive right through them.” He gave Anakin a pointed look at that, but his padawan didn’t even bother to feign regret over his actions. 

Mace shook his head, but Obi-Wan could tell that the man was actually amused, at least a little bit. “Did you at least learn anything?” he asked, eyes still gleaming.

Obi-Wan nodded primly. “Yes. Never let Anakin drive during an asteroid storm-”

“Mas- Obi-Wan!” Anakin protested loudly. “Nobody could have done better and you know it!” 

Mace and Obi-Wan shared a knowing look, which only seemed to frustrate the young Knight further. Finally, Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes, I suppose it could have gone much worse. You could have tried driving us through an asteroid.” He couldn’t keep the fondness out of his voice as he said that. Missions with Anakin certainly never went the same as those without him, and Obi-Wan found he much preferred this brand of danger and excitement than when he was out there alone.

,,,

Obi-Wan wanted nothing more than to just pull Anakin into a hug and promise that all was forgiven. But if he did that, then-

Obi-Wan kept his lightsaber out, even though everything inside of him shouted at him to not point a dangerous weapon towards his beloved padawan. 

No. How could Obi-Wan do this? Even if he knew that Anakin would come out the other side stronger and happier, how could that justify this kind of betrayal, when Obi-Wan didn’t actually believe a single word he was saying? No, Obi-Wan could not do this. Anakin did not deserve any more suffering, and it would be kinder to let his master die than to go through with this. “I won’t do it,” he told- “You can just kill me now if you want, because I won’t do it.” 

[----]

Before Obi-Wan could snap about how he already knew that, he felt a sudden burst of pain in his back. 

This had to be the most inconvenient instance of Without-A-Cure ever. 

He was already too late. There was nothing he could do but watch Anakin fall. 

Anakin screamed as he hit the lava, and Obi-Wan could feel the tears running down his face. He hated to be grateful to Palpatine for anything, but at least the Sith was able to reach out and grab Anakin where Obi-Wan had failed, and pull the young man to safety. Anakin must have passed out from the pain, because his eyes were closed, and it was only the sight of his chest rising and falling that stopped Obi-Wan from doing anything rash, like rushing at Palpatine when he couldn’t even use the Force.

Palpatine laughed at whatever look was on Obi-Wan’s face. “It was truly too foolish of you to ever think that you could change this-. I can’t thank you enough for making things so much easier for me, though.” He continued to laugh as he walked away, the Force carrying Anakin’s unconscious body alongside him. It was only the knowledge that Anakin must truly despise him now that stopped Obi-Wan from leaping up and fighting to take Anakin back.

Instead of going right back to his ship and getting Anakin the medical help that he was clearly in need of, Palpatine turned back for a moment to look at Obi-Wan, who was still kneeling on the ground near the edge of the cliff. “I can only imagine how pitiful you must have been in your- if this is the best you can do now.” Then he hit Obi-Wan with another blast of Force lightning, right to the chest, letting out a cackle before finally walking away. Obi-Wan stayed curled up in a ball on the ground, knowing that he deserved every bit of pain that he got.

,,,

It took a lot of effort for Anakin to pull himself out of Obi-Wan’s mind, because part of him wanted to just stay there forever, in the comforting and familiar warmth that accepted him even now. But if he stayed, then he would not be able to look Obi-Wan in the eyes and ask him a question that had been building in the back of his throat for a little while now. “Who are you?” 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan felt like he was in a daze as he blinked a few times and settled back into his physical body. Anakin still held his hand hostage, and Obi-Wan was surprised that when he tried to pull free, expecting it to be fruitless, Anakin loosened his grip enough to let Obi-Wan go. Then he took another step forward, thoroughly blocking off any possible escape routes anyways. 

Obi-Wan cleared his throat a few times, unsure of what to say. He wasn’t sure what had made Anakin pick those specific memories to look at, and he wasn’t sure what Anakin had gotten out of it. Before he could ask, though, Anakin was the one who asked him something first. “Who are you?” His voice was gravelly, like he’d just woken up from a long nap, and it sent a shiver down Obi-Wan’s spine.

Then the question itself registered fully, and Obi-Wan forced himself not to react physically, even though he was already internally freaking out. “Um, System? What is the protocol here when you are the one who made it very clear that I can’t tell Anakin anything???”

[Host has leveled up the skill ‘Bullshitting’ many times and should be capable of navigating this situation without metagaming!] The only bullshit here was the System! What kind of stupid answer was that? It didn’t help at all! If the System was the one who so desperately wanted Obi-Wan to avoid saying anything about this being his second life, then shouldn’t it be fucking helping him here??? [This System apologizes for any unsatisfactory fulfillment of requests. Host is free to file a complaint.]

He’d file a million of them if he was able to make it out of this situation alive!!! He looked up at Anakin, who had a strange look in his eyes. “Who are you?” he asked again, like maybe Obi-Wan simply hadn’t heard him the first time. “I don’t understand. You are my master, I know that, I would recognize your Force signature anywhere. But you’re not…” he trailed off, looking frustrated. 

Ah, maybe that was his out? “The Force could not lie to you,” Obi-Wan told him. 

Anakin gave him an intense look (so it was basically the same as every other look Anakin had given him since he’d first appeared in that woman’s apartment). “You’re right.” 

Obi-Wan was barely even aware of Anakin pulling them back into meditation together, since the feeling of Anakin’s Force signature was already all around him. He looked around his little library, and then at Anakin. “And what are you hoping to achieve now?”

Anakin moved past him to look at that withered plant again, and it sent a pang of longing through Obi-Wan’s heart for the time when that plant had been big and green and ever growing. Over the years, strands of it had crept around the room like invasive vines, except that Obi-Wan had never been frightened by what should have probably been seen as an intrusion. Even though he knew that the Council would never approve of just how strong their training bond had gotten, Obi-Wan had never been able to find it within himself to care. But because he had let it grow so much, it had only made him feel that much emptier once it was gone.

Anakin stared at the plant, his expression unreadable even to Obi-Wan. He once again reached out to very gently touch one of the leaves, and then he turned back to Obi-Wan. “It’s still alive,” he said, clearly a statement and not a question. 

Obi-Wan moved closer despite himself, and shook his head. “It could not survive such a harsh severance,” he said truthfully, even as he automatically reached out to prod at the broken bond, like one would stick their tongue into the space where a tooth had been pulled from. 

“It’s still here, then,” Anakin corrected, sounding almost fond. Then he furrowed his eyebrows. “You don’t… hate me.” 

Whether it was because Obi-Wan was bound to be more honest without the filter of a physical mouth, or just because the thought of hating Anakin hurt too much, Obi-Wan was quick to confirm Anakin’s uncertain statement. “No. I could never-” he cut himself off there, though. Surely there was only so much useless sentiment that the protagonist would be able to stand before remembering that he wanted revenge.

Anakin let out a little gasp, like he hadn’t been expecting that response even though he was the one who had said it first. “And you didn’t mean for me to fall,” he murmured to himself, not looking away from Obi-Wan even as he reached out to gently touch the dead remains of their bond, his signature reaching out to it along with his hand. “You wouldn’t have pushed me without Palpatine’s lightning, and you would have caught me if it weren’t for Without-A-Cure. You didn’t want to do it. So why even begin?” The gleam in his eyes sharpened as he continued, voice gaining strength as he grew more confident in what he was saying, not even waiting for Obi-Wan to confirm or deny anything. “In your memory of Mustafar, you spoke words that you never actually said out loud. I’ve revisited my own memories often enough to be sure of that. So who were you speaking to in your version of events? Why would you tell them to kill you? Why would they make you-?”

Both of them were rudely interrupted as a splitting headache suddenly attacked Obi-Wan and it felt like it made the whole room shake, knocking many books down onto the floor. The pain was only worsened by the loud alarm noises coming from the System. [Metagaming is cheating! Telling the protagonist about this System is cheating! Cheating will result in automatic-!] Obi-Wan did his best to tune out the System, but it was hard. He didn’t even realize he’d collapsed forward until the slow sound of a heartbeat registered and he found himself being held up by Anakin, pressed against Anakin’s chest with Anakin’s arms wrapped carefully around him. At least that hadn’t happened in reality, where anyone could witness it, because that would just be embarrassing. 

Anakin peered down at Obi-Wan with what seemed to be concern, as little sense as that made. Then again, if he had truly figured out that Obi-Wan had not wanted to push him, then perhaps he had found it within himself to forgive Obi-Wan? “The other bond,” Anakin started in a low voice. “I think I understand now. They threatened to kill you if you didn’t- do what you did. You were willing to die to prevent it.” He pulled Obi-Wan closer to him, and then pressed a fleeting kiss to the top of Obi-Wan’s head. “If I had known, I would have jumped into the lava myself,” he said suddenly, fiercely. “I would never let anyone kill you. Who was it? Palpatine? Or-”

Obi-Wan quickly shook his head, too wary of the System’s punishments to let this conversation continue. “It doesn’t matter.” 

Anakin narrowed his eyes. “I disagree. But I understand.” He looked around like he expected a monster to jump out from behind one of the bookshelves. Then he finally let go of Obi-Wan long enough to turn back to the withered plant. He closed his eyes as he felt it again, then reached over to take one of Obi-Wan’s hands and gently tug him forward so that both of them were resting their hands on the soil that the plant was resting in. 

When Anakin’s signature focused on the plant, Obi-Wan understood what he was trying to do, but that didn’t mean he really got it. A Jedi and a Sith could not have a bond together, it just wasn’t possible, at least not as far as the novel had ever indicated. But perhaps Obi-Wan should have known better than to think that anything could be impossible for the protagonist himself, and he couldn’t help but gasp as the plant in front of them began to perk up and then the empty space in Obi-Wan’s head was filled again, and he could feel Anakin just like he had always been able to before. He felt the satisfaction thrum through Anakin, as well as the anger.

Obi-Wan quickly pulled his hand away, and gently ended the meditation so that they both opened their eyes in that grimy alley again. They were standing way too close together, considering how unpleasant Anakin’s clothes smelled, and Obi-Wan wrinkled his nose before taking a small step to the side. Anakin let him go, probably because he knew that with their bond somehow restored, it would not be impossible to track Obi-Wan down again. 

Considering the anger he had felt, Obi-Wan thought that he should probably say something. “I understand that you are still upset, and you have every right to be. Regardless of intentions, the end result was the same, and you have been hurt by me when I should have been able to protect you.” 

Anakin gave Obi-Wan a long look, then laughed, throwing his head back and letting the noise come without abandon. “You’re the most ridiculous, infuriating-” he cut himself off, shaking his head. “There’s something I have to take care of, and then… then I’ll meet you back at the Temple?” 

Obi-Wan’s first instinct was to say that that was Anakin threatening to go through with massacring the Jedi afterall. But the feelings that came through the bond didn’t seem to support that. However, Anakin was feeling some amount of bloodlust and the urge for revenge, so it was definitely for the best that a little distance be put between them for now. Obi-Wan didn’t know what else to say, so he just nodded cautiously. Anakin grinned, then turned and leapt up onto the nearest roof to hurry away.

Obi-Wan just stood in that alley for several long minutes, trying to figure out what the hell any of that had been about. Including the part where the System had been terrible at keeping itself hidden and then tried to blame Obi-Wan for it! “System-”

[Storyline updated- ‘Saving the Sith Through the Power of Love’. Keep up the good work!]

So that’s why Anakin had hurried off after so boldly declaring everything Obi-Wan knew to be wrong? He had found a new love interest and needed to see them before he could return to the Temple? Perhaps another Sith apprentice? There hadn’t been mention of more in the book, but it was beyond obvious that the pages of that book didn’t even come close to containing the complete sum of knowledge about this universe.

Well, there was really nothing for it now. Obi-Wan let out a heavy sigh and stepped out of the alley, finally remembering why he’d gone outside in the first place. He’d wanted to check on Wee Dunn, so he might as well still do that. Even if it shouldn’t have, it did make him feel better to know that Anakin had taken care of the problem. If the protagonist said he had dealt with something, then there was no reason to worry about it again.

When he got back to the landing pad, the same droid at the gates let him in without trouble, and Obi-Wan hurried back to his and Quin’s ship. He quietly let himself in, and found the child curled up on the bench behind the small table in the main room. There were some empty meal packets lying around to indicate that the child had not had any trouble finding food, and Obi-Wan felt a wave of fondness sweep through him as he went to grab an extra blanket and drape it over the boy. If Anakin really was so impossibly forgiving, then the Jedi Order would be alright. 

And even though the thought didn’t fill Obi-Wan with joy at the moment, maybe he’d even take on a new padawan for real at some point. The possibilities were endless. And most importantly, if Anakin really, honestly did not despise Obi-Wan for what had happened, then it meant that Anakin would come back, and everything could go back to how it had been before. 

Chapter Text

After slipping off-planet before the quarantine was even officially lifted, Anakin stared out the window at the blurred lines of stars that the ship passed by. Usually he enjoyed the sight, even after having gotten used to it over the years, but right now he was too distracted to pay much attention. He couldn’t help constantly reaching out to feel their bond. Obi-Wan had put his shields up almost immediately after Anakin had left him, but that didn’t stop the bond from existing, didn’t stop Anakin from knowing that it was there. And it was stronger than it had ever been. 

Before Mustafar, when the two of them were on different planets, Anakin still had an awareness of their bond, but it couldn’t really be properly felt, more like a single little thread than anything. Enough to know they were connected in the vaguest sense. But now, even though they were already far apart, Anakin could still feel their bond. It was distant, like they were on opposite sides of the same city, but still tangible in his mind. Whether that was just an automatic side effect of a Sith and a Jedi sharing a bond, or because Anakin had gotten stronger under Palpatine’s training, Anakin didn’t care. All that mattered to him was that it was there. Obi-Wan wouldn’t be able to run away or hide from him anymore.

There were still secrets between them, things that Anakin had not been able to pry out of Obi-Wan’s mind without risking harm. But he knew enough to understand that Obi-Wan had not chosen to betray Anakin. Someone had threatened his life to make him do it. And Anakin certainly didn’t intend to let that person get away with such a thing.

But figuring out who it was would take some work, since they seemed to be able to monitor Obi-Wan closely, and he did not want to risk Obi-Wan getting in trouble for saying too much. So for now, Anakin would focus on a danger that he did know the source of. 

Flashes of Obi-Wan’s memories ran through Anakin’s mind again, showing him how devastated his former master had been to see him fall, and how he was still on the ground when Palpatine had hit him with lightning and then all but kidnapped Anakin. What was it that Palpatine had told him? That Obi-Wan had walked away without even looking back? Anakin hadn’t thought to question it at the time, too distraught by the whole thing and remembering the coldness in Obi-Wan’s eyes. But he understood now that it had not been because Obi-Wan didn’t care about Anakin anymore, but because he cared too much. Being forced to betray his former padawan was too much, and he’d had to distance himself from the situation so that he wouldn’t break down. Seeing it all go down from Obi-Wan’s perspective had truly opened Anakin’s eyes about what had happened. 

He was a fool to have ever believed Palpatine about anything. Even then, Anakin had not trusted the Sith Lord, and yet he’d let himself fall for that vile man’s lies. He had dishonored Obi-Wan by allowing Palpatine to teach him even a single thing. Obi-Wan was the only person Anakin would ever call his master. 

As he tried to look back over his own memories of Mustafar, reconciling what he had seen with what Obi-Wan had felt at the time, he remembered that strange conversation between Obi-Wan and Palpatine, one that Anakin had not been able to follow. “How long have you been here?” Obi-Wan had asked. The question itself made no sense, unless…

For the longest time, Anakin had believed that he’d proven himself to Obi-Wan, which is why his master had suddenly changed his attitude and started to care about Anakin. With the knowledge that someone was forcing Obi-Wan to hurt him, Anakin had had the passing thought that Obi-Wan had never wanted to act cruelly towards him in the first place, but had been forced to by that unknown element. But that didn’t actually make any sense, did it?

The man Anakin loved would never abide by letting a child be hurt if he could help it, and he would certainly not be able to do the hurting himself. Even with his life on the line, he had refused to betray Anakin, and it was only the circumstances that made it seem otherwise. So then there was no way that Obi-Wan would spend years treating his padawan so coldly, was there? 

When Anakin was fourteen, Obi-Wan had been put into a coma after touching an ancient Sith artifact. Because Obi-Wan had woken up and was physically healthy and seemed sane and in control of himself and the Force like usual, nobody had really questioned him acting a little bit differently. So nobody, at least not as far as Anakin knew, had actually stopped to wonder if the artifact had had any effects other than nearly killing Obi-Wan. 

It had been so long ago at this point, and Anakin did not go out of his way to hold on to many memories from before things had changed between him and Obi-Wan, but when he squeezed his eyes shut and thought back to the day Obi-Wan had woken up, hadn’t there been something strange? Of course Anakin remembered how Obi-Wan had given him the bacta gel, which Anakin still had the little jar of in his room even though it had been emptied long ago. But there was something else… Right. Obi-Wan had asked how old Anakin was, and then, for just the briefest moment, Anakin had felt Obi-Wan’s alarm through their bond.

Obi-Wan had known. He’d known that he’d have to betray Anakin someday. And Palpatine had known as well. Palpatine had claimed that the knowledge came from the Force, but if that were the case, then surely the Force would have warned Anakin directly. 

Whatever that artifact had done back then, Anakin got the feeling that it was responsible for the changes in Obi-Wan. Because Obi-Wan had really been too different after that incident to even be recognized as the same person, hadn’t he? Somehow, the Obi-Wan that Anakin loved was not the same one who had reluctantly agreed to teach him after Master Qui-Gon’s death. And some part of Anakin, deep down, was relieved to reach that conclusion. He had, of course, forgiven Obi-Wan long ago for the way their first few years together had gone, because he’d been under the impression that it was important, that it had shown Obi-Wan that he was strong and worthy of love. But knowing that it had never been the same person at all… it meant that Anakin was free to continue hating the original Obi-Wan.

So somehow, Obi-Wan had changed. Anakin dismissed the possibility of amnesia, since Obi-Wan had known far too much about himself and his life when he’d woken up to have no memories of it. He also dismissed the possibility of Obi-Wan having been sent back in time or having been given a vision of the future. The man who’d been his master those first five years would not become so kind just to save his own life, and he would probably not feel regret for his actions either, or else he would have changed sooner. If he had seen a future where he betrayed Anakin, he probably would have enjoyed it, considering how much he had always seemed to dislike Anakin. 

Since it was a Sith artifact responsible, one might assume that the new Obi-Wan was an ancient Sith who’d somehow stored his soul or something, but Anakin knew Obi-Wan far too well to ever believe such a thing. And Obi-Wan’s Force signature was far too Light for that, anyways. Anakin had once read a case study about possession, and knew that even when the body was taken over, the Force signature would still reflect the person using the Force at that moment, rather than the one who owned the body originally.

Maybe the artifact had pulled Anakin’s Obi-Wan out of the future, but he had been someone else to begin with, and put him into that body. Then Obi-Wan had slowly changed how he acted towards Anakin. Thinking of the times when Obi-Wan shielded himself or pulled away even though that went against what the new Obi-Wan was always teaching him, Anakin wondered just how often the unknown element had forced Obi-Wan to do things he didn’t want to.

And what had happened to the original Obi-Wan? Was he dead now? Or… maybe the original was still there, in Obi-Wan’s head? That’s how he knew everything Obi-Wan said or did, and since he hated Anakin, he tried to force his Obi-Wan into betraying him. But if that was the case, then how the hell was Anakin supposed to free Obi-Wan from the original’s control?

“How long have you been here?” Obi-Wan had asked Palpatine. Obi-Wan who seemed to know the future. Was Palpatine also possessed by a spirit from the future? Perhaps he had just been a kindly old man who wanted to protect his planet and the Republic, but then a worse person had taken over? Ugh, there were just too many questions, and Anakin had no idea how to safely go about getting answers for any of them. 

Anakin opened his eyes again, and stared blankly out the window. He could see that he had nearly reached his destination, and did his best to strengthen all of his mental shields, not wanting to give Palpatine any chances to mess with him. He still needed to get some answers from the old man, like why had wanted to frame Obi-Wan for the situation on Jinlan. He didn’t think he’d be able to get any answers about the possession thing, but it might be worth a try to at least ask. He might even say please.

As the ship left hyperspace, he could see Palpatine’s much larger ship in front of him. Originally he had been planning on sneaking in as quietly as he’d snuck out, since he did not want Palpatine to know that he’d left to follow the ship to Jinlan. But now that Anakin was back, with knowledge that he would have killed to have sooner and anger that made the Force flare brightly around him, Anakin did not fear Palpatine’s reaction. Before, when he thought he’d have nowhere else to go, it had made sense to avoid angering the Sith, but now that he knew he could go back to the Temple, that Obi-Wan would be waiting for him there, Anakin did not care if he burned these bridges. In fact, he’d prefer it that way.

He was disappointed to realize that Palpatine was not onboard, though Anakin had no idea where the Sith could have gone off to. It’s not as though he could return to the Senate and pick up with the innocent old chancellor act, now that his secret had been exposed. And Palpatine didn’t seem to like getting his own hands dirty, so he probably wasn’t out doing anything too dark, either. 

Since he wasn’t going to be able to get his answers tonight, Anakin was tempted to call Obi-Wan, just to see his face for a few seconds even. But he knew that it would be too dangerous to do so here, where all eyes belonged to Palpatine. He was too worked up to go to sleep, and he didn’t want to leave again so soon and make Palpatine question his loyalty- Anakin’s best shot at getting to Palpatine was while the man still believed that Anakin believed his filthy lies. 

Since he didn’t have anything better to do at the moment, Anakin went down to the training rooms. Out of all the lies Palpatine had told him- and there were probably hundreds considering the many years Palpatine had been visiting Anakin in his dreams- there was at least one thing that he was right about. If Anakin wanted to be able to protect Obi-Wan from whatever was to come next, then he needed to be stronger. And he already well knew that the strongest power came from the Dark Side. 

Chapter Text

“By the way, who’s your favorite here?” Padme asked in a not-at-all subtle voice.

Obi-Wan snorted and took a sip of his tea, though it didn’t taste like much. And here he thought that a former queen would be able to afford better quality. “You really have to ask? As if there was anyone even remotely compelling in your piece of trash other than Anakin Skywalker himself.”

“My…?” Padme started, then trailed off, staring off into the distance. “I see. So you really love S- Anakin, huh?” 

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “If not for the-” “-I would never have even…” he trailed off himself as he heard the strange way that his voice had just skipped over one of his words. But wait… the System couldn’t censor Obi-Wan in real time, as far as he knew anyways, and it would have no reason to do so anyways when he was around Padme, so why…?

“Is something wrong?” Padme asked, suddenly sitting right next to him on the sofa. 

To hide that he was startled, he raised his mug to take another sip of the flavorless tea. It wasn’t even hot enough to pretend that a burnt tongue was the problem here. “Your tea is a disgrace,” he told her. “You wouldn’t happen to have any more of that stuff from Nwuoy, would you? I know it’s expensive to import because of the dangers that come with harvesting the leaves, but you could afford it. Or maybe I should just pop by there myself? Surprisingly, I’ve never actually gotten the chance to see the creatures myself, though I’ve heard that they have nine legs. Having an odd number of limbs seems like such an evolutionary disadvantage-”

Padme leapt to her feet. “I don’t care about your stupid tea!” she snapped, reaching up to run a frustrated hand through her hair.

Obi-Wan cautiously stood as well, giving his friend a careful look. “Is everything alright? I know your job must be very stressful lately, with all of the internal restructuring of the Senate to account for an evil madman having been in charge-”

“Do you ever shut up?” she asked coldly.

Obi-Wan scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, not bothered to wonder where his shitty mug of shitty tea had ended up. “Clearly you’re not in the mood to chat. Whatever. Maybe I’ll just go and we can talk later.” He started towards the door, then stopped to wonder how he’d gotten to Naboo. Hadn’t he been…?

“Master!” a new voice called out. Obi-Wan looked up to see his padawan running over, even though he was pretty sure that Anakin hadn’t been there a moment ago. “Obi-Wan, it’s just a dream, but you need to wake up.” He hesitated for a moment before reaching out to gently hold Obi-Wan’s face. 

“A dream?” Obi-Wan repeated. Yes, that did make a bit more sense, didn’t it? Padme could be annoying at times, but not usually like this. He reached up to rest his hands on top of Anakin’s. “Right then, thank you, dream-Anakin.” He was annoyed that even in a dream he had to rise up to his tiptoes to press a light kiss to Anakin’s cheek. “I’ll just go wake up then. Though I’m not sure how exactly.” He took a step back and reached up to brush a hand over his beard as he pondered what to do next. When there was no response, he looked over at dream-Anakin, who seemed frozen in place, face bright red. “Dear one, are you alright?” Then he immediately wondered why he would ask that to a dream figure. If this was a dream, then this was all just made up by his own mind, right? Still, it didn’t seem right to just leave Anakin standing there like that, so he instinctively tried to reach out with their bond. To his surprise, it actually seemed to work. Wait, was this the real-?

,,,

Anakin managed to pull himself together enough to use the Force to push Obi-Wan back into wakefulness, and the dream began to fade away from around the remaining occupants. Even though this was still just a dream, he reached up to touch his cheek, and it was like he could still feel the warmth of Obi-Wan’s lips, even if it had just been a brief peck and neither of their physical bodies had been involved. Obi-Wan had just kissed him. Obi-Wan had called Anakin his favorite and then kissed him. And- and Anakin had kissed Obi-Wan first, back on Jinlan. They’d really done that! How had Anakin managed to just kiss Obi-Wan like it was nothing and then walk away? He was-

He was still in a dream. Anakin whirled around to glare at his shadow teacher- at Palpatine. “What are you doing here?” he demanded to know. “You have no right to be dragging Obi-Wan into dreams and messing around with him!”

Even though Anakin knew Palpatine’s identity now, the Sith Lord still appeared to be nothing more than a writhing mass of shadows while inside of a dream, and it was disconcerting, because it was the appearance that Anakin couldn’t help but associate with someone who had always been kind and helpful. “Oh my, what a strong reaction. I had not realized that you were still so attached, even after how horribly your former master had betrayed you. And how did you find your way here, I wonder? You are not nearly as experienced as I when it comes to dreams, and your bond with Kenobi was severed for both of our safety.” Even without having a solid form, he managed to give the impression of a pointed look. “Perhaps you have been busy with your little unannounced field trip?”

Anakin shifted uncomfortably, before reminding himself that while he would take down Palpatine on the spot if he could, that wouldn’t be possible without them at least being physically in the same place. Which meant that Anakin needed to do his best to act until he was in a position where he could finally put an end to the Sith Lord. “I was curious about what was going on,” he said, trying not to sound too defensive, even though all he wanted to do was wake up and savor the warm feeling that Obi-Wan had sent through their bond. 

The problem was, of course, that Palpatine was much more experienced with using the Force and with manipulating dreams, and could probably see right through Anakin’s attempts. He still had to at least try, though. How could he face Obi-Wan again before he’d taken care of one of the biggest problems in their lives? 

Rather than pushing until Anakin’s story would fall apart, Palpatine just let out a little disbelieving laugh before saying, “I will be returning to the ship soon. I expect to see the results of your constant training in my absence.” Then he was gone from the dream. It was tempting for Anakin to try and pull Obi-Wan  back in, but he didn’t think that Obi-Wan would still be sleeping at this point anyways. 

Anakin let out a sigh and closed his eyes, ready to eject himself from the now empty dream space. But unbidden, he thought of how good it had felt to hold Obi-Wan, and to be in Obi-Wan’s mind, and to feel their bond, stronger than ever, and where Anakin should have woken up back in his own body, he found that he’d instead managed to follow their bond and was now in Obi-Wan’s mental space. 

It was strange to be here without Obi-Wan, and Anakin wondered if Obi-Wan could feel Anakin’s presence here. Anakin didn’t mean to intrude or make Obi-Wan feel like he had no privacy. But before he could leave, he just wanted to check on something real quick. He knew that the other bond, the one that forced Obi-Wan to do things like betray his padawan, seemed to always be watching Obi-Wan. But could it still be watching in here if Obi-Wan was awake and busy with things in the waking world? 

Mentally apologizing to Obi-Wan for the unannounced intrusion, Anakin did not immediately leave. He had been in this little library about a million times before, but somehow it felt very different when Obi-Wan wasn’t consciously there as well, and Anakin took great care not to disturb anything. He’d already caused enough disturbance here when he had rifled through all of Obi-Wan’s memories without permission.

Even though he really did mean to look for clues about the mysterious person who was forcing Obi-Wan into bad situations, Anakin couldn’t help the way that he ended up drawn over to the source of his own bond with Obi-Wan. It was not expansive as it had once been, creeping all around the mental space, but it looked healthy and when Anakin reached out to lightly rub his fingers over one of the leaves, he could not tell which end of the bond the resulting shudder of satisfaction came from.

Content with the physical proof of their connection, Anakin forced himself to turn away and look for signs of the other bond. It was not something he could feel very strongly at the moment, whether because Obi-Wan wasn’t here or because it was not active, Anakin had no idea. He did know that the bond would probably be represented by something tangible in this mental space, since that seemed to be how Obi-Wan pictured his bonds.

Anakin gently looked around, and he was glad to not find any other plants. It meant that Obi-Wan’s other bond was different, that Anakin’s was special and made of something living and beautiful. They weren’t back yet, but Anakin could still picture the brightly colored flowers that would bloom and fade based on how Obi-Wan was feeling at any given moment. Hopefully with enough time to heal, those would return as well.

Even though Anakin had spent much time in Obi-Wan’s mental space, since Anakin had never really gotten much better at meditating on his own, there were still surprises to be found. A photo of what looked like a family in strange clothes in front of an oddly shaped house. A sweater with strange characters emblazoned across the center. A vibrantly colored sweater with thick green trees and strange antlered animals covering it. Entire books full of those strange characters. A box of toys. A sketch that looked like it had been done by a talented hand and seemed to almost vaguely resemble Anakin. He wanted so badly to see the memories behind these things, but that wasn’t what Anakin was here for at the moment. And besides that, he was beginning to suspect that those memories would be inaccessible to him. The strange foreignness of it all made Anakin hazard the guess that all of these things were from Obi-Wan’s life before being put into the body he currently inhabited. 

For a moment, Anakin wondered how he could have possibly missed all of these things before. Then he realized that Obi-Wan had either intentionally hid them, or at least steered Anakin away from them, when they were here together. Maybe the thing that sent him here in the first place wouldn’t allow Anakin to see them, or maybe it just pained Obi-Wan to think about what he’d lost by coming here. 

While searching around, Anakin came across what seemed to be a computer, though it looked so strange that he almost didn’t guess what it was. The screen was bigger than any Anakin had seen before, and when he prodded at the keyboard and the screen came to life, Anakin was amazed by how sharp the image was, almost like he was staring in a mirror rather than a screen. 

There was a prompt for a password, which Anakin found odd. Intrigued, he tried to look closer, but no matter what he tried, there didn’t seem to be any way around the password. Doubting that even Obi-Wan’s top quality shields would be able to block out someone who was already in his head, Anakin was intrigued by this mystery. Especially when he noticed that the symbols on the keyboard were not in basic, or any other language he recognized. Instead, they were in the same unusual characters that Anakin had come to associate with Obi-Wan’s old life. 

With no clue what any of the characters might mean, Anakin just hit a few buttons at random. The screen made a single low beeping noise, and then the password screen transitioned into an image of an eye. It was so large from being stretched across the screen and so life-like that it looked grotesque, every little vein and eyelash displayed with more detail than Anakin had ever seen. The eye blinked once, and then-

Anakin was roughly thrown back into his own body, and he fell backwards from the force of it. What the hell was that thing? It had to be the other bond, didn’t it? One that presumably not even Obi-Wan could really touch. Instinctively, he reached out to touch his bond to Obi-Wan, to assure himself that it was still there and that Anakin had not accidentally ruined everything. But rather than comforting him with its presence, Anakin could just feel the faint tinges of pain that ran down it from the other end. Anakin clenched his hands into fists as he opened his eyes again. Whatever that thing was, it had obviously just hurt Obi-Wan to punish him for Anakin’s actions. How many times had this happened before? 

Even if he wasn’t quite sure what to do about it just yet, Anakin already knew one thing was certain- for all the pain and suffering and injustice that that thing had caused to Obi-Wan (and Anakin by extension), Anakin would pay it all back tenfold. 

Chapter Text

“-never seen a fish before,” Shmi shared. “I was so surprised, I thought my eyes were about to pop right out of my head. Ani did his best to act cool about it, but I’m certain that he reacted with just as much surprise whenever he first saw one as well.” 

Padme laughed along with the story. “Yes, I could certainly believe that.” Even the original Anakin, the one that did not exist in this world thanks to Obi-Wan’s interference, had taken some time to adjust to life away from Tatooine. She was about to counter with a funny anecdote of her own, when one of her handmaidens entered the room, a serious look on her face. 

She leaned over to speak quietly into Padme’s ear. “Mr. Skywalker is here.” 

Padme’s eyes widened in surprise. It’s not as though she expected Anakin to stay away from his mother forever, but surely he had to know that he was putting her, as well as the rest of Naboo, at risk by showing up here in person? Still, she would feel bad turning him away. She could only assume that he had rushed straight to Shmi’s house first before being redirected to the palace by Cliegg. 

Padme gave a shallow nod to indicate her permission to bring Anakin to the little study that she and Shmi were currently taking their tea in. (Padme had never cared much for tea in her old life, but the coffee equivalent of this world tasted absolutely awful, no matter how expensive the brand, so she had learned to like tea instead). She took a small sip of her tea, then looked carefully at Shmi, not wanting this sudden reunion to shock the woman too badly. “We have a visitor,” she said softly. “It’s-”

“My Ani,” Shmi breathed out, standing just several seconds before the door opened again and the handmaiden led Anakin into the room. Padme blinked in surprise at how Shmi had known, but then Shmi was suddenly running forward to pull her son into a hug. The way he melted into it should have looked somewhat comical, considering the way he towered over his mother, but ultimately it just looked sweet, and Padme found herself looking away, not wanting to intrude on the moment. “I knew you were alive,” Shmi said quietly. “I knew it.” 

“Mom- I’m sorry I didn’t come back sooner, I-”

Shmi reached up to gently tuck a strand of Anakin’s hair behind his ear. “I understand.”

Padme cleared her throat, and both Skywalkers turned to look at her like they’d forgotten for a moment that she was still there. “Why are you here?” she asked quietly, giving a pointed look towards Shmi.

Anakin sighed and stepped away from his mother, one hand clenched in a fist. “I actually came here to see you,” he gritted out, like the confession was as painful as pulling teeth despite the fact that they’d reached something of an accord over time. 

Shmi tilted her head and gave her son a long look, clearly wondering why Anakin would go out of his way to seek out Padme when he’d never been very good at hiding how he felt about her. “Should I go, then?” Anakin seemed conflicted, clearly wanting to spend more time with his mother, but also clearly not wanting to speak about whatever business he had in front of her either. Reading him clearly, Shmi gave him an understanding smile. “I will go home and get started on dinner. Please come by to eat before you leave Naboo.”

Anakin nodded earnestly, and gave his mother one last hug before she walked away. Once she was gone and the door was closed behind her, leaving just Padme and Anakin, Anakin walked over but did not sit down. “What is Airplane27738?”

For one bizarre moment, Padme thought that somehow Anakin was from the same world as her and Obi-Wan and Palpatine. Her heart panged as she thought about how devastated Obi-Wan would be if the person he loved had been replaced just like that. But then she realized that that wouldn’t really make any sense with the way he’d been so eager to see his mother, and that he was asking as if he genuinely wanted to know and not like it was some kind of accusation about her identity.

Padme settled back slightly and did her best to pay attention to Anakin while also keeping an ear out for any warnings from the System that would stop her from saying too much. “Why do you ask?” she questioned carefully.

Anakin narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare down at her. “I’ve been looking back through a lot of my old memories lately, and I found myself looking at the time me and Obi-Wan were sent to protect you from an assassin threat. You two were polite enough with each other, but then after I heard you say ‘WTF’ and asked Obi-Wan about it, he said ‘Airplane27738’ to you, and then you two started acting more familiar with each other. Neither of those words are in Basic, or any other language I could find. So what do they mean? And why do you and Obi-Wan seem to be the only ones to know?” He crossed his arms over his chest, and it was clear from the hard look in his eyes that he would not accept anything other than the truth.

Padme tried to silently ask the System what she was allowed to say here, since it seemed to be a very precarious situation at this point if the System didn’t want other characters to know too much about the body swapping. Then again, it hadn’t seemed to mind when Satine learned most of it, so maybe it wouldn’t actually matter? 

Anakin didn’t need to know everything, and Padme wasn’t even sure how she’d begin to explain that this whole world was just from a fictional novel in a different world, but if she could tell him the same general stuff that Satine had been told, then maybe he’d at least understand a little better what was going on, and it would help him resolve things with Obi-Wan.

She opened her mouth to speak, but then Anakin suddenly grimaced and took a small step back, shaking his head. “Wait- don’t say anything.” He looked frustrated, though Padme didn’t understand why when he’d just been about to get some answers. “I don’t understand, how does it even-?” he cut himself off, then his eyes widened slightly, and he gave Padme a knowing look. “It’s watching you too,” he murmured ominously before abruptly turning and walking away. 

Padme let him go, not seeing the point in chasing after him. He may have overcome his childish jealousy of her, but she had never become someone truly trusted to him, and if he was determined to keep his own counsel, then there wasn’t much that Padme could do about that. 

The one thing she couldn’t ignore, however, was that bleak final statement he’d made before marching away. Because if Padme didn’t know any better, then she’d almost think, based on the question he’d come here to ask, that Anakin somehow knew about the System.

,,,

Obi-Wan had been in a foul mood all day, no thanks to the splitting migraine he’d had since waking up. “I haven’t even done anything, why are you punishing me?” he’d grumbled after realizing that eating breakfast and drinking some tea wasn’t going to be enough to vanish the terrible headache. 

[Punishment protocols are not currently in place. This System is simply taking precautionary measures to prevent the story from unraveling. Apologies for any inconveniences caused to Host because of this!] the System had responded, not even bothering to lower its volume, the bastard. 

Obi-Wan considered the merits of just curling up and going back to sleep for the rest of the day, or maybe the rest of the week at the rate things were going, but then he remembered the dreams he’d been having lately. Every few nights he’d find himself having the strangest dreams, usually of himself chatting with a varying assortment of his friends and colleagues. It would always feel so real, and then inevitably Anakin would always show up to remind Obi-Wan that he was just dreaming and needed to wake up.

Knowing what he did, at this point Obi-Wan figured that it was reasonable to assume that these dreams were being caused by Palpatine, and before Obi-Wan realized he was dreaming, he had no problem answering honestly whatever questions he was asked. Though it was hard to understand Palpatine’s motive, since he never really asked about anything related to the war or the Jedi, at least not in ways that could be used against them. And then there was the fact that Obi-Wan was pretty sure that the Anakin who always showed up was actually the real Anakin, trying to stop Obi-Wan from spilling any info to the enemy. And if that was the real Anakin, then that meant…

Obi-Wan’s face flushed as he remembered the first of these strange dreams, and how he hadn’t quite realized that Anakin wasn’t part of the dream in the same way. He’d had the audacity to kiss Anakin on the cheek like it was nothing! Sure, he knew now that Anakin wasn’t planning on getting revenge, and even wanted to return to the Temple at some point (hopefully soon). But that didn’t mean he needed Obi-Wan acting so intimately!

Unfortunately, all of that blood rising to Obi-Wan’s face didn’t help with the migraine, and he wanted to groan about how unfair it was. How could the System not consider this to be a punishment of some sort? He almost thought to himself, ‘at least Without-A-Cure isn’t causing more trouble right now’, but cut the thought off viciously, not wanting to flag the poison into flaring up out of cruel irony.

Thinking about Without-A-Cure also made him think about the last time he’d discussed the poison with Padme, when she’d mentioned that she might actually know how to cure it, which would be to-

Obi-Wan’s face just turned even more red. Ugh. He was actually quite grateful to be pulled out of his own thoughts, even if the sound of a knock at the door seemed to echo thunderously through Obi-Wan’s poor head. “It’s open,” he called out as loudly as he dared.

The door slid open, and he was not all that surprised to see Quin poke his head in. That man seemed to have altogether too much free time now that the war was all but over, and he liked to use it almost exclusively to bother Obi-Wan. “Why is it so dark in here?” Quin wondered, reaching towards the light controls next to the door. He was probably going to turn them up so that the lights weren’t at the dimmest possible setting without being turned fully off. 

“Ah, leave them down, please. I’ve got a pretty bad migraine right now.” 

Thanks to the brighter light coming in from the hallway, Obi-Wan could easily make out the concerned look on Quin’s face before the other Jedi stepped fully inside and the door closed behind him, leaving him mostly shrouded in shadows in the dim apartment. “Are you alright?” he asked softly, voice barely above a whisper. “Do you need anything?”

Obi-Wan slowly shook his head. “I think I’ll just have to wait this one out,” he answered, while internally seething at the injustice of this. “Was there something you needed?”

Quin frowned. “Ah, the Council sent me to find you since you missed the meeting this morning.” Obi-Wan swore under his breath. He couldn’t believe that he’d actually missed a Council meeting. It was so irresponsible of him, and he’d known about the meeting in advance, but it was just so hard to focus on anything when his head felt like someone was trying to hammer it open. Quin shook his head. “If you’re not feeling well, I’m sure they’d understand.” 

Taking mercy on Obi-Wan, Quin didn’t stick around to chitchat, he just left with a promise that he’d come by to check on Obi-Wan again later. Just a little while after Quin had left, when Obi-Wan thought that the migraine was finally dying down, he got a call, and he’d stupidly not silenced his comm so the noise pierced through the otherwise silent apartment and Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut as he reached up to block his ears with his hands. “Are you trying to kill me!” he all but shouted at the System as the pain immediately returned in full force. 

[Apologies for the delay in removing the precautionary measures!] 

The migraine faded away just seconds after the System spoke, and Obi-Wan could barely even breath from the relief of it. He stumbled around the dark apartment to find where he’d last left his comm, since the ringing had stopped, and when he found it, he saw he’d missed a call from Padme. 

With the migraine still on his mind, Obi-Wan really wasn’t in the mood for the kind of long conversations that he could get into with her, so he just sent her a quick message telling her that he’d call back later.

Chapter Text

“I believe that your connection to the Jedi is holding you back,” Palpatine said over the hologram call. “You have hardly improved at all since your little field trip. If Kenobi is too much of a distraction-”

Anakin quickly shook his head, and did his best not to let his anger show on his face. “No,” he interrupted. “He’s not a distraction.” It wasn’t even really a lie. Anakin had spent so many years with Obi-Wan constantly on his mind that he’d gotten used to it by now. Their new bond might be stronger than the old one, but it had only taken a few days for the newness of it to fade somewhat and for it to settle comfortably in the back of Anakin’s mind.

“Hm.” Palpatine gave him a long look, and Anakin was almost grateful that they were not actually in front of each other, where the Force would surely give away Anakin’s feelings. But if they were in front of each other then Anakin would be able to finally kill Palpatine and be done with it, so mostly he was still just annoyed by the distance. The sooner he could get rid of the rotten Sith Lord, the sooner he would be able to return to Obi-Wan’s side. Then Palpatine changed the subject, going to the topic of Anakin’s training regimen, though Anakin did not let himself relax. He knew that it would be a mistake to ever let his guard down in front of this man, regardless of how far apart they physically were.

He was glad when Palpatine finally informed him of the mission he was being sent on, and then dismissed him and ended the call. Anakin’s shoulders slumped back as he let his muscles finally relax a little. He wasn’t looking forward to obeying Palpatine’s orders, since Anakin only had one true Master, but he could not disobey without making it clear to Palpatine that he had no interest in sticking with him. And this ruse needed to last long enough for Anakin to get an opportunity to take Palpatine down.

He headed to his little ship, set the coordinates, and headed off. Once the autopilot was engaged, Anakin allowed himself to lean back, close his eyes, and focus on his bond with Obi-Wan. He tried not to let himself relax enough to actually fall asleep, though he knew that it was a possibility considering how tiring it was to constantly chase after Obi-Wan’s dreams and make sure that they were free of the Sith Lord plaguing them. 

Outside of those dreams, Anakin hadn’t had any real opportunities to speak to Obi-Wan, and he felt the pang of longing in his heart at the thought of going so long between real conversations. It didn’t take too much effort for Anakin to follow the thread of their bond into Obi-Wan’s mental space, where it felt like he was being welcomed right in.

To his delight, Obi-Wan was there as well, though facing away from Anakin. The Jedi Master was surely aware of another presence in his own mind, but he didn’t say anything right away, instead focusing on something too blurry for Anakin to make out. Not wanting to disturb Obi-Wan, Anakin didn’t say anything either, and the two of them just existed together for an unknown amount of time.

Eventually, Obi-Wan put away whatever he’d been looking at, and slowly turned to look at Anakin. “Ah, Anakin. That was, uh,” His cheeks were pink, and he avoided meeting Anakin’s eyes. Anakin rarely saw Obi-Wan flustered, and he savored the sight. “That is to say that I, well. I don’t exactly, um.”

Finally, Anakin took pity on his poor Master. “I couldn’t see what you were looking at,” he admitted.

“Ah.” Obi-Wan pressed his lips together in a flat line for a few seconds, then opened his mouth again to let out a long sigh. He moved forward until he was much closer to Anakin, and had to tilt his head back to look up at Anakin’s face. “You look. Well.” 

The part of Anakin that was still aware of his physical body could feel the way that his heart beat faster at the compliment. “You look good too,” he murmured, pleased to see Obi-Wan’s face get more red. He reached out to gently touch Obi-Wan’s face, and Obi-Wan didn’t pull away for several long seconds. 

“What are you doing here?” Obi-Wan asked, though it sounded more like he was just looking for something to talk about rather than actually needing to know.

Anakin sighed. “I just wanted to see you,” he admitted, knowing that dancing around the truth would never allow his feelings to get through to Obi-Wan. “Also, I wanted to apologize. The pain you felt the other day… I think it was because of me.”

Obi-Wan gave him a sharp look. “How-?”

“I felt it through the bond. It was faint, but it was there. I know that there’s…” he trailed off, suddenly unsure of how much he could say before the creature would harm Obi-Wan some more. He still didn’t know what it was, exactly, or how it was constantly watching Obi-Wan and Padme. Even with their strong bond, Anakin could not constantly monitor Obi-Wan even if he wanted to (which he mostly didn’t, because he knew that Obi-Wan would appreciate having at least some privacy in his life.) Anakin took one of Obi-Wan’s hands, and led the man over to the same strange computer he’d found last time. Although when he looked at it now, it looked completely ordinary. So when Obi-Wan was here, the creature hid itself. And when Anakin tried to ask questions, the creature would attack Obi-Wan in retaliation.

It was beyond frustrating that Anakin didn’t have a solution to either of the main dangers in Obi-Wan’s life at the moment. Then again, maybe there was an answer here that Anakin hadn’t considered yet. He glanced down, and found Obi-Wan openly staring at him, though he averted his gaze when he was caught. “Whatever pain you may have felt through the bond, it had nothing to do with you,” Obi-Wan tried to assure him in a low voice. 

“What caused it, then?” Anakin challenged. He didn’t want the creature to hurt Obi-Wan again, but he had to know how much Obi-Wan was allowed to say about it.

“Just a bit of a headache,” Obi-Wan answered, and it seemed to be the truth, or at least Obi-Wan’s version of the truth. Anakin silently translated that to mean that it had been a very painful migraine. So the creature could manipulate its bond with Obi-Wan to cause pain? Or was it able to cause that kind of pain because it was already so thoroughly rooted in Obi-Wan’s head? 

Anakin glanced at the computer again, but there was still nothing strange about it, and no sign of the grossly realistic eye on the screen. “Are you feeling it right now?” he wondered.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I believe it was a one-off event.”

Still holding onto Obi-Wan’s hand, Anakin reached out with his free hand to tap a random button on the keyboard, but nothing happened. The screen remained blank, like it was not plugged into a power source. Was this part of its disguise, or was it actually inactive at the moment? Could it only watch over one person at a time, or-?

“It’s time for me to stop meditating,” Obi-Wan gently interrupted Anakin’s thoughts. “I have a Council meeting to attend.” 

Anakin didn’t want to give up this time together, but maybe it would be for the best. If he could stay here alone then maybe he could get a better look at the creature again. He opened his mouth, then shut it again. There was really nothing to say that he hadn’t already said, at least nothing that wouldn’t risk scaring Obi-Wan away. So he just leaned in for a long hug, and just before he was about to let go, he felt Obi-Wan’s arms raise up to hold him in return. Anakin took a long moment to just enjoy the feeling, before finally pulling away to let Obi-Wan leave.

Unfortunately, once Obi-Wan stopped meditating, Anakin was automatically removed from the mental space, and he found himself back on his ship, much to his disappointment. He wasn’t sure how he’d been able to get into Obi-Wan’s mental space last time without Obi-Wan around, but that seemed to be the only way that he could see the creature without it being able to see him there. 

Anakin didn’t want to bother Obi-Wan during his meeting, so he didn’t try to go back, at least not for now. He just sat and tried to figure out what to do the entire rest of the trip. He was glad to take over the steering once he got close to his destination, since flying had always been one of his favorite things. He remembered the swoop bike Obi-Wan had gotten him for his birthday years ago, and how many races Anakin had entered on it, determined to win and prove that Obi-Wan hadn’t wasted the money and thought that had gone into the gift.

He was able to land without any trouble, though he could picture the way Obi-Wan would complain about the rockiness of the landing, and Anakin smiled to himself. He only allowed the smile to last for as long as it took to open the door, though, since he knew that he could not allow himself to look happy and weak while completing the task that Palpatine had assigned to him.

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows when he detected a familiar Force signature as he stepped outside. And not familiar in a good way. He looked over at where Ventress was leaning back against a tree, looking far too casual and wearing a jacket that Anakin was pretty sure he’d seen on Vos not too long ago. “What are you doing here?” Wasn’t she supposed to be done with the Dark Side now or something?

She gave him a sharp grin. “What, you’re not happy to see me? After I came all the way here just to check up on you?” 

“What are you talking about?”

Ventress laughed as she finally stood upright and took a few steps towards Anakin. “Your precious Obi-Wan has apparently been worried sick about you even after finding out that you’re alive after all, which in turn has had Quinlan worried about Obi-Wan, so he asked me to keep an eye out for you.” She nodded towards Anakin’s ship. “So you’ve just been living it up with a Sith Lord, huh? I can tell you from experience that it’s not going to end well.”

Even though Anakin would always hate Ventress for being the one to poison Obi-Wan, he could also recognize the value of an ally. She’d been willing to try and assassinate Dooku, and Obi-Wan had trusted that it wasn’t because she just wanted to take his place. True, Obi-Wan could be a little too trusting on occasion, willing to see the best in pretty much anyone, but Anakin did generally trust Obi-Wan’s judgement. And it wasn’t like Anakin was having much luck on his own so far.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not an idiot,” he started.

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Anakin scowled at her. “Palpatine needs to be stopped. He’s not an idiot either, and wouldn’t let any random person close to him. He needs to think that I’m loyal if I want to stand a chance.” If he was being completely honest with himself, Anakin found it hard to care all that much about the destruction Palpatine had caused with the war, and would continue to cause if he wasn’t stopped. Other than the handful of people Anakin cared about most- Obi-Wan, Shmi, Aayla, maybe even Padme- Anakin found it hard to care about what would happen to everyone else. But those people were all at risk for as long as Palpatine was around, and besides that, they would not be happy with Palpatine remaining. So regardless of his reasons, Anakin was determined to destroy Palpatine. 

Ventress let out a low whistle. “I’ll admit, I’m impressed by your dedication. I can’t say I’m all that surprised, though. You tried to kill me when you were just a little brat. Sure, I’m in.”

“I didn’t ask,” Anakin told her with a frown.

She just shrugged. “What are friends for?”

“We’re not friends,” he pointed out.

Ventress barked out another laugh. “We’ll see. So are you going to tell me about what you’re supposed to be doing here?”

Anakin sighed, but he did end up telling her. Accepting help was not a weakness, and if Ventress could help make sure that all of this was over sooner rather than later, then he would just have to let her come along.

Chapter Text

“-were going to spend some quality time together, but when I heard about a planet-wide quarantine, I made the excellent decision to stay as far away as possible. What kind of fools would willingly trap themselves in a place where they don’t know what’s wrong or how to fix it? It’s a miracle you all made it out alive.”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Do you ever stop talking?”

Ventress laughed. “Why, was there something else you wanted to discuss?”

Anakin was about to snap at her that he obviously had nothing to say, but then he hesitated. Since all he’d been doing lately was thinking about Obi-Wan nonstop, he’d been thinking about some of the things he’d seen in Obi-Wan’s memories when he’d gone through them all. At the time, he’d mostly been focused on Mustafar and what it meant, but now that he had time to think clearly, a few others stood out.

If those memories were really accurate, then that meant that Padme had actually indicated at some point that she knew of a permanent fix to Without-A-Cure, and from Obi-Wan’s reaction, he seemed to understand what she meant, even if she had used more strange terms that Anakin did not recognize. 

Continuing to walk, he spoke while facing forward, not wanting Ventress to see how much he cared about the outcome, since she would probably just use that to make fun of him. “Do you really not know of any way to cure Obi-Wan?” he asked carefully.

“This again?” Ventress sighed. “You’re really caught up on the guy, aren’t you? But really, does it even matter at this point? It seems like he’s been doing just fine, apparently stronger in the Force than expected and all that.” She paused for a moment to give Anakin a searching look, but he pointedly continued to look straight ahead. “He is actually naturally strong in the Force, but of course he couldn’t even begin to compare to you. I wonder if your bond had anything to do with helping him make it through.”

Not wanting to give away too much, Anakin didn’t respond to that immediately, though the idea that it was only their connection that had helped Obi-Wan survive being poisoned made him feel a certain kind of way. But he didn’t understand how Ventress could act like Without-A-Cure wasn’t a problem. Obi-Wan would’ve been able to grab Anakin with the Force and stop him from falling on Mustafar if it weren’t for that stupid poison, not to mention how terrifying it was whenever Anakin felt his bond to Obi-Wan disappear. And even though Obi-Wan didn’t complain, Anakin knew that it was not very comfortable for his former master whenever Without-A-Cure flared up. All that, plus the danger it put Obi-Wan in whenever he randomly lost his connection to the Force, and Anakin couldn’t understand even a little bit why Ventress would think that Without-A-Cure wasn’t a problem just because Obi-Wan had survived thus far. 

But there didn’t seem to be much of a point in explaining any of that, since Ventress really didn’t seem to know anything about a cure. But then how would Padme know about it, considering the rarity of the poison itself? Once again, it probably all came back to the mysterious all-seeing creature, and the possible body-snatching. 

He was stopped from taking another step forward when Ventress abruptly swung her arm out to block his path, and then looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “I know you want to make the Sith think you’re loyal to him, but are you really sure that you want to do this? If your precious Obi-Wan finds out, then there won’t be any coming back from this.” 

“Obviously I’m not actually going to do it! What is wrong with you? How could you even think that I-”

Ventress held her hands up. “Alright, alright, I get it, you’re not actually a bad guy, you’re just misunderstood, etc. So what is your plan, then? Because somehow I don’t think that your new master would be all that appreciative of you going against his orders because you feel bad, or whatever.” There was a moment of silence, and then she arched one nearly invisible eyebrow. “Oh, you don’t even have a plan, do you?”

Anakin scowled. “Shut up! I was going to-”

He was interrupted by a small, curious voice. “Hello?” 

Ventress gave Anakin another wicked grin before turning to crouch down in front of the newcomer, who couldn’t be older than five or six. “Well hello there. Shouldn’t you be with the rest of your cohort?” 

The child, dressed in typical Jedi robes and radiating a faint Force signature that Anakin had not picked up on initially, tilted her head. “Hm. Yeah.” She took a couple steps closer. “Are you lost? You feel lost.” She gestured vaguely to the air, most likely to indicate that she was talking about the Force. 

“We’re not lost,” Anakin grumbled, well aware of how childish he sounded compared to the literal child. 

Ventress stood back up, and reached out a hand towards the kid. “Well, why don’t you show us the way, then? My friend here is just grumpy because he wants to make sure that his amazing plan goes through as intended. You get it, right?”

The girl nodded solemnly. “Yeah.” She reached up to take Ventress’ offered hand. 

Like many of the children raised by the Jedi, she was quiet and emotionally withdrawn, but with just a little bit of coaxing, was soon chattering away. Anakin barely paid any attention to it, since he was more worried about actually coming up with a plan on the spot, now that Ventress had forced him to think of something before they reached the crowd of Force signatures he could feel getting closer. 

He suddenly focused on the girl’s words, though, when he heard, “-Master Kenobi. He’s the best.” 

“Obi-Wan? He’s here?” Anakin asked sharply.

The girl paused, and shifted slightly so that she was half-hidden behind Ventress as she looked up warily at Anakin. “...no, but he’s supposed to get here today.” Then she narrowed her eyes and added a pointed, “As per my last statement.”

Ventress barked out a sharp laugh. “You can’t get mad, you must’ve been exactly like this when you were a little baby Jedi.”

Anakin grimaced as he thought of his own childhood. He didn’t get the chance to say anything about it, though, because the girl perked up slightly. “You're a Jedi too?” He could feel it as she relaxed a little, her signature losing some tension. “You’re wearing funny clothes.” 

She gave Anakin one last uncertain look, then picked up her conversation with Ventress, who looked to be on the verge of laughing every time she glanced over and made eye contact with Anakin. He did his best to just ignore it, too busy figuring out exactly what Palpatine’s play had been here. Send Anakin to harm and/or kidnap a bunch of vulnerable little younglings at a time when Obi-Wan would see it happen. Obi-Wan would, of course, hate Anakin for such a thing, and would have seen with his own eyes that Anakin was irredeemable. Then Anakin would have no reason to maintain his attachment to his former master. That was probably Palpatine’s thinking here, and it was so petty. And even worse- Anakin knew that it would actually work. If he and Obi-Wan hadn’t already cleared things up, then Anakin might’ve actually done something unforgivable here. Now he was just all the more determined to make sure that Obi-Wan’s faith in him would not be damaged.

They passed through a small thicket of trees, and then emerged into a campground, with tents of varying sizes set up in a semicircle with a firepit in the center. A group of about twenty or so younglings were sitting in neat rows, all of them holding a big leaf in their hands that they stared at intently as their instructor spoke.

Another Jedi, who had been standing near the furthest tent, straightened up as soon as they spotted the odd trio. Their hand started towards their lightsaber as they made their way over, though they did not actually pull it out yet. “Lizeedi Livgilly, where have you been? Master Ente has been out combing the area for you for over an hour now! What were you thinking, wandering off by yourself on a foreign planet?”

The kid- Lizeedi apparently- answered, “I told Tevris.”

The Jedi took a deep breath to keep calm and maintain their patience, furthering Anakin’s belief that even the most righteous of the Jedi weren’t capable of just getting rid of their feelings. “Tevris is a pet rock, and cannot speak to tell us what you said to it.” 

The girl pouted as Ventress let go of her hand. “You should probably go back to your master before we get accused of kidnapping or something.”

The Jedi lowered their hand slightly upon seeing how easily Ventress was handing their missing youngling back, though they still looked distrustfully at Ventress and Anakin. Lizeedi let out a resigned sigh that seemed like it belonged to a much older being, but obligingly walked over to the Jedi. “It’s okay, they’re Jedi too,” she explained.

“Hm.” The Jedi frowned at the two of them.

Anakin took a small step forward, keeping his arms carefully at his sides. Now that he knew for sure that his reputation with the Jedi was still intact, there should be no issue with him introducing himself by name. It might get a bit awkward if it somehow got back around to Palpatine, but Anakin could cross that bridge if he got to it. “I’m Anakin Skywalker. Master Kenobi was my master.” 

The Jedi continued to give him a searching look, and he could feel it when their signature reached out to brush against his. Anakin patiently let them search, focusing on the Light feeling that came from his bond with Obi-Wan, hoping that that was all that they would feel.

After a few seconds, the Jedi pulled back, and then physically moved forward, giving him a small bow. “Ah, Knight Skywalker. It would seem the rumors of your death were just rumors. That is a relief.” They furrowed their eyebrows. “But what are you doing here?” They then looked at Ventress. “Forgive me, but I don’t believe we’ve met.” 

“Don’t mistake me for one of your lot,” Ventress responded immediately. “I’ve got my own stuff going on, just thought I’d help out your knight here.” She didn’t offer her name, which didn’t go unnoticed. 

Before the situation could get out of control, Lizeedi piped up with a soft,  “She’s nice. And her tattoos are cool.” 

The Jedi automatically responded, “We don’t comment on other’s facial features,” like they were used to giving out such a reminder. Then they looked back at Anakin and Ventress. “While I do appreciate you safely returning Lizeedi, I confess that I still do not understand what it is that you are doing here.” 

Ventress turned to Anakin. “Yes, why don’t you explain to them just what exactly we are here for?”

Anakin glared at her, but it wasn’t like he could just chop her head off for making things difficult for him (not only because the Jedi and all of the younglings would see, but also because she was a talented fighter and Anakin wasn’t actually sure of how well he’d hold out.) “We…” he trailed off as he finally felt a warm, familiar Force signature reaching out to him without the owner intending for it to do so. Anakin automatically reached back, and the two signatures twined tightly around each other, proving that the Force itself wanted Anakin and Obi-Wan to be close. “Ah, it would seem that Master Kenobi has arrived.” The other Jedi frowned and glanced around quickly, never fully taking their eyes off of Anakin and Ventress. Obi-Wan was probably still a decent distance away, and anyone who didn’t have a bond with him probably wouldn’t be able to feel him from here.

That’s when Anakin remembered that he wasn’t supposed to have a bond with Obi-Wan either, and he let out an awkward little laugh as he tried to figure out a way to cover that slip up. 

Luckily for him, it was like all of the younglings in the area had their ears primed just for Obi-Wan’s name, because they all perked up excitedly as Lizeedi turned to tell them all, “Master Kenobi is here!” Half of them abandoned their leaves and jumped up before looking back guiltily at the instructor, while the other half looked like they wanted to do the same but had better control over their impulses.

The Jedi sighed. “I am Master Trine,” they introduced themselves. “I suppose we won’t be getting much else done until Master Kenobi reaches our camp. And once he’s here, we can all have a discussion together.”

“Looking forward to it already,” Ventress drawled out, nimbly dodging away from Anakin’s attempt to elbow her in the side. Anakin couldn’t really be bothered to actually be annoyed, though. Even if it did go against his plans, he couldn’t stop himself from being excited to see Obi-Wan in person once again. 

Chapter Text

For some reason, Anakin’s survival becoming common knowledge did not dissuade the Council from the idea that they needed to find Obi-Wan a new padawan. And they weren’t even remotely subtle about it. Still, Obi-Wan did tend to enjoy spending time with the children, so he let himself be sent off with a minimal amount of protesting. Admittedly it did help to make him feel a bit better when he was sent on his own, apparently no longer in need of constant company now that the war was all but over and Without-A-Cure hadn’t- no, Obi-Wan viciously cut off the thought before he could accidentally flag this vindictive universe into doing something unfortunate.

The trip was entirely uneventful for once, which was nice. But then he actually got out of his ship, and could feel an all-too familiar Force signature press onto him. Perhaps it should have been smothering, but instead it felt like a warm blanket being tucked around him on a chilly evening. Obi-Wan could faintly feel Anakin’s excitement, but also trepidation about something, and Obi-Wan moved faster to reach the campsite.

As he got closer, he could feel the presence of a couple of other Jedi, as well as the large group of younglings. (Ever since his own nearly disastrous outing with a class of younglings, it had been required for multiple supervisors to be present, at least one adult for every five or six kids). 

Obi-Wan spotted Anakin standing near the outer edge of the camp- as well as Ventress?? but he couldn’t go over to greet his former padawan because he quickly found himself surrounded by tiny children, all talking over each other and trying to get his attention at once. Honestly, he didn’t understand why they were so fascinated by this washed up old Jedi, especially when the protagonist himself was right there.

But still, Obi-Wan found himself crouching down to be at eye level with most of the younglings, and made sure to actually pay attention to what they were saying even though his mind wanted to wander elsewhere. “-we could feel the leaves! Even though they’re not on the mama trees anymore they’re still connected to the Force, did you know that?”

“Oh, that is very interesting, but I think I’m still a little confused.” He stroked his beard and pretended to think about it. “Could someone explain to me why that is?”

Several of the younglings started at once, but when Obi-Wan looked around sternly, they quieted up, and then silently decided amongst themselves who would get the chance to speak first. “It’s ‘cause everything is connected to the Force,” one Nautolan boy answered. “The Force is in everything, right? Even non-living things?”

Obi-Wan nodded, and reached out to give the boy a gentle pat on the head. “That does make sense. Does anyone know how we could prove Eirai’s hypothesis?” 

The looks of intense concentration on all of their little faces was just too adorable. He felt around in his pocket for the sheet of stickers he’d brought with him, as he often did when working with the younglings. It was positive reinforcement, or something like that.

While the kids thought about it, Obi-Wan stood back up, groaning slightly at the way his knee popped. He was really getting too old for this. He excused himself, and then headed over to the instructor who’d watched the whole scene with narrow eyes. “Master Kenobi, I am glad to see you have arrived safely. Masters Trine and Ente are here as well.” 

Obi-Wan bowed his head slightly. “It is good to see you, Master Fonn.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “The Council had not mentioned that Knight Skywalker would be accompanying you. Though it would seem that he arrived first.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t help but glance over at Anakin, and was somewhat startled to find that Anakin was already looking at him, and it took a few seconds for Obi-Wan to realize that he was being rude, and he dragged his eyes away to focus back on Master Fonn. “I apologize if his presence here creates any trouble. But as I am no longer his master, I am not always aware of where he will end up.”

Fonn nodded her head in acknowledgement. “Of course. But something you are responsible for is interrupting my lesson.”

Her voice was light and friendly, so Obi-Wan knew he was not seriously being censured for the enthusiasm of the children. “Of course, I offer my full apologies for causing such a scene. What can I do to make up for my terrible manners?”

Fonn gave him a wicked grin that had Obi-Wan seriously regretting that he’d even asked. “Well, Ente was supposed to help supervise bath time tonight, but is tired out from running around after an adventurous youngling all morning, so perhaps you could take his place?”

Obi-Wan didn’t hate children, of course, and even had what some might call a soft spot for them. But he also knew that little kids were messy and ridiculous, and Jedi younglings were no exception. Still, he had come here to help out, and he couldn’t imagine that bathtime would be any more difficult than any other activity that involved getting the children to all do as they were told, so Obi-Wan agreed. Though the look on Fonn’s face made him feel like he’d walked right into some kind of trap. “Ah, if you’ll excuse me, I should go catch up with my pa- with Knight Skywalker.”

“Of course. Feel free to join me once you’ve finished, though I cannot guarantee that I’ll have wrangled them all back by then,” she said with a soft laugh before walking towards the younglings, who had started discussing their ideas together in excited voices.

,,,

It took a serious show of restraint for Anakin to not just march right over to Obi-Wan and pull him away. It was so obvious that she was looking at Obi-Wan in a more than friendly way, even if Obi-Wan himself had no idea. It could be frustrating when Obi-Wan didn’t really understand Anakin’s feelings or intentions, but at least it was good that Obi-Wan didn’t understand others’ either.

Ventress nudged Anakin sharply in the side. “Looks like you’re Obi-Wan is good with the brats,” she said in a low voice. “Makes you wonder how good he’d be with some of his own, doesn’t it?”

Anakin turned to look at her in disbelief. “He- what? Jedi don’t have kids, they don’t…” he trailed off, remembering some of the other times he’d seen Obi-Wan interacting with children, both the Jedi younglings and others that they came across on various missions. Obi-Wan was always good with them, though he got embarrassed whenever it was pointed out. When he’d been younger, Anakin had been jealous of those kids, not understanding that Obi-Wan still liked Anakin best. Nowadays that jealousy didn’t seem so uncalled for, since there was a high possibility of Obi-Wan taking on a new padawan. 

But going back to what Ventress had just said, Anakin found himself actually picturing a scenario where Obi-Wan was patiently teaching the ways of the Force to children that belonged to him. It was so easy to imagine a little boy who took after Obi-Wan, and a little girl who took more after Anakin, and how they would bicker with each other but love each other and protect each other, and Obi-Wan and Anakin would teach them and protect them and-

Anakin was dragged out of his strange fantasy by Ventress’ throaty chuckle (strange in that he had never had any interest in the thought of having children, and he was also surprised that the thought of sharing Obi-Wan with kids didn’t make him feel jealous, not if those kids were also Anakin’s). He glared at her and crossed his arms over his chest. “What?” he snapped.

She held her hands up. “Oh, nothing. Just wondering how long it will be before you convince him to leave the Order and settle down on some backwoods farm somewhere.” 

Anakin rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t make him leave.” Even if it didn’t entirely make sense to Anakin, he knew that Obi-Wan cared about the Jedi and would not wish to leave. He probably would have had a better chance at convincing the original Obi-Wan to leave, since he surely didn’t care about a single person, let alone an entire group of people. (And if Obi-Wan was going to leave the Order, Anakin wouldn’t make him live on a farm. No offense to his former master, but he was pretty sure Obi-Wan would not be able to keep up a lifestyle that required so much work).

There was no point in trying to explain that to Ventress, who clearly didn’t understand anything about him, so he just waited silently for Obi-Wan to make his way over after he’d finished speaking with one of the Jedi. He stopped a few feet in front of Anakin and Ventress, looking at them both with undisguised curiosity. “I wouldn’t have expected to find the two of you together.”

Anakin moved closer to Obi-Wan and hurried to speak before any misunderstandings could set in. “Vos sent her to keep an eye on me for some reason, I wouldn’t have chosen to spend time with her.”

“I’m really feeling the love,” Ventress muttered.

Anakin scowled at her, and she took a few pointed steps away, but didn’t actually move far enough to be out of hearing range. When he looked back at Obi-Wan, he could see the amusement twinkling in his former master’s eyes. It was so strange to him that he could stand Ventress at all after what she’d done, but maybe it was best not to question it. If Obi-Wan was willing to forgive and even care about people who used the Dark Side, then Anakin had no right to complain. “Not that I’m unhappy to see you, but what are you actually doing here, dear one?”

Even now, Obi-Wan could call him that so casually and really mean it. Anakin closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then slowly let it out before looking down at Obi-Wan again. “I- I have business here.” He hesitated for a moment, before quietly asking, “Do you trust me, Obi-Wan?”

It felt like the seconds that passed as he waited for an answer were eternally long and painful, but then, somewhat to Anakin’s surprise, Obi-Wan nodded slightly. “Yes,” he said firmly, as if the nod wasn’t enough. “I know who you are. You may not be the person I once expected, but I know who you are now.” And Anakin could feel it through the bond that Obi-Wan was speaking the truth. The effort it took to stop himself from sobbing right on the spot was immense.

“When I told you on Jinlan that there’s something I still have to take care of before I can go back… it’s Palpatine. He’s too dangerous to leave alone. Even without the power of being chancellor, he could cause far too much trouble. The only way to deal with him is to be able to get physically close, but he’s not a fool, and won’t risk anything unless he thinks I’m truly on his side. It’s not real, though, I swear. Please, please, believe me.”

Obi-Wan stared up at him for a moment, then sighed and reached up to pat Anakin’s head. “What a ridiculous man,” he said, not even trying to hide the fondness in his voice. “If it were anyone else, I’d say that it’s far too dangerous, trying to play a Sith Lord.”

“You don’t care if I’m in danger?” Anakin whined, even though he could already guess that that wasn’t what Obi-Wan meant.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes as he dropped his hand back down to his side. “Of course I care. If anything happened to you, I would be…” he trailed off, gulped, then looked off to the side so that he wasn’t meeting Anakin’s eyes anymore. “But nothing can- will- happen to you. So just do as you wish. But Anakin?”

“Yes?”

Obi-Wan sighed, still blatantly avoiding making eye contact. “Don’t let this take too long.”

And Anakin could feel it through their bond that Obi-Wan felt selfish in asking that, which meant he wasn’t asking because he wanted Palpatine dealt with before he could hurt anyone else. No, Obi-Wan wanted Anakin to hurry up so that he could go home already. Anakin grinned, and if there weren’t so many people around- including impressionable younglings and the bitchy Ventress, Anakin might even ask for another kiss now that they were both awake and in front of each other. 

“Master Kenobi!” an impatient little voice called out. “We thought of an answer!” 

Obi-Wan laughed, and it made him look so much younger when he was happy. “Duty calls.” He hesitated for just a moment, then turned to start back towards the younglings. He paused, though, and glanced back over his shoulder. “You coming?” 

Anakin had never been the best with children, but he did alright. And more importantly, he wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to spend more time with Obi-Wan. He hurried forward so that the two of them were walking side by side, like a team, as they bravely entered the gaggle of kids.

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan didn’t even try to hide his amusement at the sight of Anakin walking over with three younglings clinging to him. “I didn’t know you were offering rides,” he teased.

Anakin’s face went pink, and the youngling perched on his shoulders giggled before tapping the top of Anakin’s head. “This is my new speeder!” they announced.

One of the younglings dangling from Anakin’s arms- which, in an incredible show of strength, were both being held up parallel to the ground so that the children could hold on and swing around- shook her head. “No, he’s a tree!”

The third youngling disagreed, “He’s a wookie!” 

Anakin gave Obi-Wan a desperate look, and Obi-Wan laughed, but he did speak gently to the children. “Ah, I know that Knight Skywalker has infinite strength and could never possibly get tired, but I also know that it is getting late and you all have bedtime routines to start.” 

The children reluctantly agreed that playtime was over, and Anakin crouched down so that they could all hop down and go back to the main group. Once they were reunited with the other children, Anakin let out a heavy sigh. “Thanks.” Then he glanced around to make sure no one else was near enough to listen in, before moving even closer to Obi-Wan. “We need to talk.” Obi-Wan agreed, and they both moved towards the trees, careful not to go far enough that the camp was out of sight. “I think I’ve come up with a plan. It’s not great, but it’s the best I’ve got. I’m sure you can guess that Palpatine didn’t send me here with any pleasant intentions. He probably knew you were going to show up, but I didn’t know that, so we could use that to our advantage. I can say that I tried to obey him, but that you wouldn’t let me, so that’s why I had to leave without accomplishing anything.”

Obi-Wan frowned as he thought about it, then murmured, “Dear one, I’m not sure I could take you.” Anakin’s face flushed red and he spluttered. It took Obi-Wan a moment to realize that Anakin must have already gotten out of the habit of being praised, since he was sure that Palpatine didn’t believe in positive reinforcement, so Obi-Wan decided to double down. “You’re much stronger than I am in the Force, and my style is much more defensive than yours. You’ve gotten so talented, I doubt Palpatine would believe that I could really beat you.”

There was a long moment of silence before Anakin cleared his throat aggressively, and Obi-Wan almost offered a cough drop out of concern before Anakin actually spoke. “Oh. Right. Um.” He cleared his throat one last time. “Um. There are three other Jedi masters here as well, so it would hypothetically be four against one? Two Jedi to help get the kids back to their ship and two to stay and fight me off.” Then he sighed and shook his head. “No, if I was defeated then I either wouldn’t be able to escape, or Palpatine would be so pissed that it wouldn’t lead to him trusting me anyways.” His eyes widened after a moment of thought, and he looked at Obi-Wan for a second before his eyes darted away to stare off into the distance. “What if we don’t say that I lost?”

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Whatever it is that Palpatine sent you to do, would he not have a way of knowing if you didn’t do it?”

“Probably. But what if it was a different kind of victory than he was expecting? We could say that you stayed behind alone to fight me, since that’s something that I could very easily picture you doing, unfortunately, and we can say that I won. It would have to be a big win, though, for him to not care about the younglings getting away. So I could…” he trailed off, and reached out to take one of Obi-Wan’s hands even though he still couldn’t look him in the eyes. Bemused, Obi-Wan let Anakin do what he wanted. “I think I have a better idea.” He finally looked directly at Obi-Wan again, stormy eyes piercing straight through Obi-Wan’s soul. “You still trust me, Master?”

Obi-Wan didn’t hesitate this time before nodding. Anakin grinned, and Obi-Wan felt a jolt in his stomach at the sight of Anakin’s brightness. Compared to the original Anakin, his Anakin was hardly even Dark at all. [The Protagonist is currently 18% Dark] the System suddenly chimed in, startling Obi-Wan a bit. Anakin gave him a strange look then, but Obi-Wan wanted to quickly assure him that he was not afraid of Anakin, not really, so he reached out to take Anakin’s other hand. [The Protagonist is currently 15% Dark] the System updated him. “So what’s your plan?”

,,,

Wearing a Force suppression collar was really no different than dealing with Without-A-Cure, so Obi-Wan did his best to not be bothered by it. Besides, not being able to feel the Force was barely anything compared to the annoyance of the way that Anakin kept looking at him, like he was happy to have captured his former master. It really pushed the limits of Obi-Wan’s trust, but Anakin could have easily grabbed him in Jinlan if revenge was what he wanted, so Obi-Wan had to trust that Anakin was being honest when he insisted otherwise. Besides, Obi-Wan would have been able to feel signs of deceit through their unnaturally strong bond if that were the case. So Obi-Wan would not make a liar of himself, and he would continue to trust Anakin, even if this whole situation was rather shady.

Since he wasn’t (too) worried about his own safety at the moment, Obi-Wan was able to look around and take in the sights as they walked down an ominous and shiny hallway. It looked pretty much exactly like Obi-Wan had pictured while reading about it, and begrudgingly had to applaud Padme for her ability to set a scene- even if pretty much everything else about her writing was complete shit.

They reached a large door at the end of the hallway, and Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan one more time. Even though Obi-Wan could not feel their bond at the moment, he could read the apprehension on Anakin’s face. It was the same look Anakin had worn before confessing that he’d lost his lightsaber for the nth time because he got wasted with Aayla the night before and they fell asleep in an alley behind the bar where they were both pickpocketed. This really was the same Anakin who Obi-Wan had known since waking up in this world.

There were no other people in the hallway, but Obi-Wan didn’t want to risk being too obvious, so he had to settle for a slight bow of the head, giving Anakin just half a second to catch the encouraging little smile that Obi-Wan gave him. Anakin straightened his back, message received, and then used the Force unnecessarily to throw open the door.

He grabbed Obi-Wan harshly by the upper arm and dragged him into a room that was impressively large, but sparsely decorated. Obi-Wan didn’t look at Anakin, not wanting to see his anger even if it was not real, and let himself be thrown down to the floor. 

Obi-Wan looked up defiantly at the hologram in the center of the room. Palpatine looked down at Obi-Wan, then up at Anakin. “What is this, my boy? Perhaps your eyesight has been damaged if you believe him to be one of the younglings.” Though he sounded in good humor, it was impossible to ignore the underlying steel in his words.

Anakin tipped his head back proudly. “I did not know that Kenobi was going to be there to interfere. He bought the Jedi time to escape, but he is weak, and I was able to defeat him. I figured that he would make an even better prize.”

Through the grainy blue image, it was hard to really make out Palpatine’s expression, but Obi-Wan doubted that it could be anything good. “Hm. Why not just kill him and be done with it? We both know that Kenobi is hardly going to be a well behaved hostage.”

“Do you know that?” Obi-Wan couldn’t help but ask, staring with narrowed eyes at the man who clearly took far too much pleasure out of being a villain, regardless of whether the System forced him into the role or not. “Do you know anything at all about me, really?”

Now the sneer on Palpatine’s face was pretty easy to make out. “You’re the one who changed things,” he reminded Obi-Wan. “So yes, I think I know exactly who you are.” 

Anakin looked back and forth between Obi-Wan and the hologram with furrowed eyebrows, and Obi-Wan suddenly remembered that the System would not be happy if the protagonist started to figure out the meta aspects of the story, so he snapped his mouth shut before saying anything truly witty and/or devastating to Palpatine. Somehow he doubted that he’d be able to get to the man anyways, since he was clearly some kind of psycho, starting a war that hadn’t even been in the book and letting millions of people die just for his own sick ego trip. Someone like that probably couldn’t be reasoned with or bothered by little things like reality.

When Palpatine didn’t say anything else either, Anakin hesitantly picked up the conversation, probably feeling quite confused about what his former master and new (fake) master were talking about. “He’s harmless without the Force,” Anakin started.

It was bizarrely mollifying when Palpatine immediately scoffed at the assertion. “You can say many things about the Jedi, but they would hardly promote someone ‘useless without the Force’ to the role of Jedi Master.” Before Anakin could panic about their story not working, Palpatine continued, sounding somewhat intrigued. “Although… knowing what we do about your sickening old master’s ways… hmm.” Then, even through the hologram, he was able to stare at Anakin like he was looking right through him, and if that made Obi-Wan uncomfortable, then he could only imagine how Anakin was feeling. “Perhaps I will let you keep your prize. But first you must prove that you did not take Kenobi because of your obsession with him.”

Anakin’s eyes widened infinitesimally, but he didn’t give any other external sign that he didn’t like the direction this was going in. “What do you mean?”

Palpatine grinned widely. “Ah, my boy, I’d hardly be a very good teacher if I just gave you all of the answers. I’m sure that you will come up with something that will impress me. Be creative.” Then he hung up, leaving Anakin and Obi-Wan alone in the giant room.

They were silent as Anakin led the way to the quarters he’d been given here, and it was only once they were in Anakin’s room with the door locked and a quick sweep to check for bugs that they finally let themselves relax just a little. Anakin slumped down onto the bed, and looked up apologetically at Obi-Wan as Obi-Wan reached up to rub at his neck where the skin was getting a little irritated from the collar. “I’m sorry, Obi-Wan. I don’t think I thought this through very well.” 

Obi-Wan recognized the sight of Anakin’s frustration with himself after a perceived failure, and he couldn’t let it stand, just like he’d always done his best to sooth Anakin in the past. He sat down next to Anakin and reached out to gently touch his former padawan’s hand. “We knew that it would not be so simple,” Obi-Wan reminded him. “So what if we have to think on our feet? That’s hardly different than half the missions we’ve been on, when you have that tendency to rush into situations half-cocked.” 

Anakin sighed, and leaned over, resting his head on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. Obi-Wan was surprised by it, but he didn’t push Anakin away. “I’m sorry that you’re going to be stuck in that collar for longer. There’s too much of a risk of other Force sensitives here who will report it to Palpatine in an instant if they feel your signature.” 

“It’s alright, Without-A-Cure has gotten me fairly used to living like this. But it won’t be for too much longer, anyways. I know that we’ll come up with something stupid and dangerous and all too clever. We always do.” 

Anakin sighed again, but seemed a little less tense. [Protagonist is currently 11% Dark] the System informed him, even though he hadn’t asked. Obi-Wan smiled, and then let himself tip his own head to the side, resting it lightly on Anakin’s. Even if this situation was dangerous and unusual, it was nice to be on the same page as Anakin again. 

Chapter Text

Padme sighed heavily, and Satine looked at her with some concern through the screen. “Is everything alright?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, and reached up to rub at the side of her head. “It’s just that I suddenly got the feeling that I’m going to be left to clean up yet another of Obi-Wan’s messes.”

Satine tilted her head and gave Padme a thoughtful look. “This Obi-Wan does like to cause trouble, doesn’t he.”

“It’s rarely intentional, but he seems to be lacking the part of his brain that would usually stop someone from rushing into the stupidest of situations without thinking it through. And somehow I’m always the one who’s got to help fix whatever problems he causes.”

Satine arched one eyebrow. “Problems like me?”

Padme quickly shook her head. “No- you’re different.”

“If I’m not a problem, then what am I?”

Padme smiled, immediately understanding that Satine was just trying to distract her from her worries. After a brief moment of hesitation, Padme decided to let the distraction succeed. “You’re wonderful,” she answered in a low voice. Whatever ridiculous thing Obi-Wan and Anakin had gotten themselves into, it was surely something that could wait at least a few hours until Padme looked into it.

,,,

Most of the younglings were smiling and giggling too much for their cover story to be taken seriously. “Yeah, there was like one- no, ten! spaceships full of… stink bombs!” one child enthusiastically told the Council. “It smelled like poodoo so we had to leave!” 

“Language,” Master Trine muttered, clearly without any hope of the child actually listening to her.

Amongst the silly younglings was at least one girl who seemed to be in the wrong line of work, because she was surely meant to be an actress rather than a Jedi. She looked up at the Council, tears glistening in all seven of her eyes, and she sniffled pathetically. “There were people with blasters everywhere, and it was so scary, and when Master Kenobi told us to run and that he’d stay back to help-” her voice broke and she let out a very tragic sob. Asajj wanted to clap in appreciation of the performance. At least her time wasn’t being totally wasted, even if being in the Jedi Temple made her want to run as fast as she could in the opposite direction. 

After a few more of the younglings gave their confusing and contradictory testaments about what had supposedly happened during their otherwise pleasant training retreat, they were dismissed back to the creche, led back by Master Ente. Masters Fonn and Trine stayed in the Council Chambers to try and clear up some of the confusion that emanated so obviously from the Council members. 

Mace leaned forward in his seat, reaching up to squeeze the bridge of his nose. “I don’t even know where to begin with this. Perhaps begin with the visitor you brought?” He nodded towards where Asajj was standing by the door, leaning up against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

Trine glanced at Asajj, then back at the Council. “She came to the camp with Knight Skywalker. To help.” They looked a little confused even as they said that, since Asajj had never further clarified her purpose. “She helped find Lizeedi when she wandered off on her own.” 

Yoda looked at Asajj, and she could feel his Force signature reach out to get a read on her. She gritted her teeth and batted aside his probe. He could have probably gotten through anyways, but was polite enough not to push. “Hm. Trained in the Force, you have been. A name, you must have.” 

“Yup,” Asajj told him with a grin. She decided to go easy on the old troll, though, since getting chased off of Coruscant wasn’t exactly how she wanted this day to end. “Is Vos somewhere around here? He can vouch for me.”

“Master Vos is-” Mace started to say.

Asajj cut him off. “Whatever. Anyways, I’m sure you have more important things to worry about. Like a Council member who’s been kidnapped, and all that.”

Mace stared at her with narrowed eyes, but it would take a lot more than that to intimidate someone who’d seen as much in life as Asajj had. “Right.”

Asajj’s grin didn’t fade. “Is it really so hard to believe that Skywalker would kidnap Kenobi? I mean, have you ever even seen them in a room together?”

“...” The way that Mace couldn’t even say anything to refute that made Asajj bark out some laughter, unbothered by the way it seemed to annoy about half of the Jedi in the room. She wasn’t part of their freaky cult and was under no obligation to follow whatever weird anti-emotion rules they had in place. Mace cleared his throat. “Regardless of Skywalker’s attachment to his former master, that doesn’t explain why he would resort to kidnapping. And why none of the apprentices’ stories matched.”

Trine cleared their throat and stepped forward. “Masters, there has been a deliberate misunderstanding fostered here. Knight Skywalker did not actually kidnap Master Kenobi. But what I’m going to share with you must not leave this room.” They waited until all of the masters had nodded, and then continued. “Those two came up with a plan to draw out the Sith Lord and put an end to his scheming before he can cause any more harm to the Republic. Knight Skywalker only pretended to capture Master Kenobi, so as to earn the trust of Chan- of Palpatine. But we had to put on a bit of a show for it, or else Palpatine would not believe it to be the truth.” 

“Are we sure that it was all fake?” Mace asked slowly. “We know that Skywalker dropped off the radar abruptly when the two of them left to pursue Palpatine, and Kenobi wouldn’t say a thing about it other than that his former padawan was gone. And we all know that Skywalker has always had an unhealthy level of attachment for his former master. Would it be so implausible that Skywalker has truly fallen to the Dark Side?”

There was a long, somber moment of silence as everyone considered the possibility. The silence was broken when Asajj laughed again. “That little puppy dog? He’d stay in the Light for eternity, if only to keep Kenobi from being disappointed in him.” She straightened up, and stretched her arms up above her head. “Well, this has been fun, but I gotta go. Things to do, people to see, you get it.” She turned and left the Council Chambers before anyone could demand that she stop. They did have bigger things to worry about, though, and they could probably feel it in the Force that she didn’t intend to harm anyone in the Temple. 

As she headed towards the exit, she felt a familiar Force signature, and was glad that nobody else was in the hallway at that moment, so there was no one to see that her smile was not as sharp as usual. She let her own signature out, just enough to signal where she was, and only had to wait a few minutes before Quin turned the corner and jogged over to her. “Hey!” He came to a stop right in front of her, and had to take a moment to catch his breath. “What are you doing here?”

“I didn’t come to visit you, if that’s what you’re asking,” Asajj told him. She felt a weird stabbing sensation in her stomach when Quin’s face drooped slightly in disappointment. “I just wanted to see how all the drama would play out. You have odd tastes in friends.”

Quin tilted his head. “Are you talking about Obi-Wan, then? What drama? Have I missed anything good?”

She laughed. “Depends on who you ask. As far as most people are concerned, Skywalker has kidnapped him.” She felt the confusion and worry, and decided not to leave Quin in suspense. “They have a plan, and I still haven’t finished playing my part in it, so I really need to be going.”

“This sounds dangerous,” Quin said, sounding quite concerned.

“I can take care of myself,” Asajj drawled out.

Quin held his hands up. “Of course I know that! I have no doubt that you could kick my ass, or Palpatine’s, or anyone else’s. I’m more worried about Obi-Wan. He’s not exactly known for thinking straight when it comes to that padawan of his.” When Asajj raised one eyebrow, Quin hurried to correct himself. “Which is not to say that I’m not worried about you at all! Obviously, even though you can take care of yourself, I’d still be worried when you go somewhere dangerous, it’s just that-”

Asajj reached out to press her hand flat against Quin’s mouth. “I get it.”

When she lowered her hand, Quin gave her a long look. “The point is, can I come with you?” 

“Wouldn’t you need your precious Council’s permission for that?” Even as she asked, she was already rearranging the plan in her head to account for an additional person. 

Quin rolled his eyes. “I’m not some child who needs an adult’s permission to do anything. The Council may assign us our missions, but it doesn’t mean we’re trapped in the Temple the rest of the time. Besides, I already have a looser job description than the average Jedi, as you know.”

Asajj shrugged one shoulder. “Well, since you are so eager to come along, I’d feel bad denying you. So sure, you may as well join me.” 

Quin grinned. “Great! This will make up for you ditching me on Jinlan.”

“I didn’t ditch you,” Asajj quickly denied as they started walking towards the hangars. “I just had the intelligence to stay away from a planet plagued by a mysterious and contagious disease.” She quietly caught Quin up on everything he’d missed while they walked, until she was interrupted by a hand tugging on her arm. She quickly whirled around, ready to fight if the Jedi were planning on stopping her from leaving, but relaxed when she saw that it was just a child. “I’m surprised you’d want to hear the lectures about not wandering off so soon after the last time.”

The youngling- Lizeedi, Asajj remembered the name- looked up at her with big eyes. “Are you guys goin’ on an adventure? Can I come too?”

“No way, kid. You should be in the creche with the rest of your cohort,” Quin immediately told her.

Asajj crouched down. “We’re actually going somewhere super boring, so I don’t think you’d like it there anyways.”

“Where?”

Asajj thought for a moment before coming up with an answer. “We’re going to a school, which is full of books and teachers. It will be like the times when you have to go to the Archives with your class, and you feel like you’re about to fall asleep constantly. And you can hear the lecturer droning on and on in the background, and it’s more effective than any bedtime story for putting kids to sleep. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

Lizeedi continued to stare at Asajj for a long few seconds, then sighed heavily. “Why would you go there?” she wanted to know.

“It’s the kind of thing that grown-ups find fun.”

The girl frowned. “Hm. Grown-ups are weird. Tell me before you go on a real adventure, okay? I’m going to go with you.” Only after Asajj nodded in agreement did Lizeedi finally turn and wander off. 

When Asajj stood back up, she noticed an odd look on Quin’s face. “What?”

He quickly turned around. “Nothing. It’s just… you’re pretty good with kids.”

Asajj shrugged. “They’re much more entertaining than most adults. And often more polite, too. No point in teaching them not to keep up the good work.”

Quin gulped. “Ah, yeah. Right. Anyways, we should probably get going.”

“Not worried about whether she’ll make it back to the creche in one piece?”

Quin laughed. “It seems like I should be more worried about the creche staying in one piece. I’ve got the feeling that that girl is going to be quite the trouble maker.” Once they were both buckled in on Quin’s ship, he glanced over at Asajj. “Do we need to swing back to the camp to pick up your ship?”

She shook her head. “Better to leave it for now. Unless you’re saying that you don’t want to travel with me?”

He laughed. “Yup, because that’s definitely something I would say. At the very least, we need the time so that you can tell me about whatever plan those idiots have cooked up.”

Asajj snorted. “It’s probably nothing nearly as exciting as what you’re imagining, but yes, it would be helpful for you to know.” Then she leaned back and got comfortable before she started explaining it to him. When she was done, Quin immediately pulled out his comm. "Who are you calling?" she asked with some irritation. "You do realize that this is supposed to be a secret mission, right? Not even your Council knows the details."

Quin waved aside her concern. "Ah, don't worry about it, my former padawan is very trustworthy." Then his eyes lit up. "Oh, that reminds me! Have I shown you any pictures of my grand padawan?"

Asajj rolled her eyes, but she could not deny the warmth she felt inside as Quin fumbled to get out a datapad with pictures while also calling his former padawan. What a ridiculous man. What a ridiculous plan. She wasn't sure there was anywhere else she'd rather be.

Chapter Text

“That seems like a terrible idea!” Anakin protested immediately. He couldn’t believe Obi-Wan would even suggest such a thing.

Obi-Wan gave him one of those looks, the kind that meant he thought Anakin was being childish. “There aren’t exactly many great options here,” he said in a calm voice. “For whatever reason, Palpatine seems convinced that you’re- obsessed with me.” His cheeks went a little pink as he said that, but he powered on, and Anakin refused to let himself be distracted. “The easiest way to prove otherwise is, well-”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Anakin interrupted. He crossed his arms over his chest. Even if he was one hundred percent certain that doing so wouldn’t set back his progress with Obi-Wan (which, if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure of that at all), he still wouldn’t want to see his former master hurt at all, let alone by his own hands. And this was all Anakin’s fault for thinking that it would be so simple to fool Palpatine, who had been successfully fooling the entire Republic for an unknown amount of time.

Obi-Wan reached out to gently touch Anakin’s arm. “We need to work quickly if we want the timing of everything to be right. Otherwise, Ventress will be in danger, and we will have missed our chance at taking down Palpatine. This is the easiest way.”

Anakin stubbornly shook his head. “There’s nothing easy about it. I can’t do that to you, Obi-Wan! I just can’t.” When Obi-Wan started to pull his hand back, Anakin reached out to grab it. “You’re the one who thinks so highly of Ventress, so don’t you think she can handle herself if we take an extra ten minutes to come up with something better than- than that?” 

Obi-Wan sighed, and for just a moment, Anakin found himself wondering what he would do if it were the original Obi-Wan right here in this situation with him. But even then, Anakin didn’t think he’d be able to do it. Not because he loved the original, but because they shared the same face. And then again, he’d never be in this position with the original anyways. If things had stayed the course without the imposter’s interference, Anakin would probably be working for Palpatine in truth by now, and not just as a ruse.

Then Obi-Wan’s shoulders slumped down, and Anakin knew he’d won. “What do you suggest, then?” he asked tiredly. With his free hand, Obi-Wan reached up to absent-mindedly rub at his neck, and Anakin felt a pang of guilt. Of course Obi-Wan just wanted to get this all resolved as quickly as possible, and was probably already on edge from being cut off from the Force for so long. 

“We should meditate together,” Anakin blurted out, even though he knew that meditation would not solve the problem the way that it could with Without-A-Cure.

Obi-Wan gave him a strange look. “I hardly think that now is the time for that, dear one. If you want to prove to Palpatine that you don’t care about me, then that seems like an odd way to go about it.”

Anakin frowned. “No, not for his benefit. For yours. It can’t be comfortable being cut off from the Force like this.”

Obi-Wan shrugged one shoulder. “I’m used to it. It doesn’t even come with the aches of Without-A-Cure, so the collar is still better than-” he cut himself off abruptly, looking just off to the side instead of directly at Anakin. “Ah. That is to say that this is bearable, and I would rather we come up with something to act on rather than wasting time on comforts. I will be much more comfortable when all of this is over.”

Anakin glanced briefly in the same direction Obi-Wan had looked, but of course there was nothing of interest there, at least not that he could see. Now that he was looking for it, Anakin knew that this had to be Obi-Wan interacting with the other bond. But how could it be accessed so easily when Obi-Wan was collared like this? Just to be sure, Anakin reached out, but as suspected, he could not get to Obi-Wan. It was different from Without-A-Cure, though. When Without-A-Cure struck, it felt like Obi-Wan’s entire being, along with their bond, had been snuffed right out of existence. With the collar, Anakin could still faintly feel their bond, but when he tried to follow it, it was like running into a solid wall. But then, if the creature was actually in Obi-Wan’s head, perhaps it made sense that it would still be able to interact with Obi-Wan even when everything else on the outside was cut off.

Though Anakin was curious about what Obi-Wan was going to say without the creature’s interference, he could acknowledge that now wasn’t the time to be pushing. He should be grateful enough that Obi-Wan had changed his mind about the torture plan. Now he needed to come up with something better. Something that would prove that he was not obsessed with Obi-Wan. Which was hard, because Anakin was, and he was pretty sure that he was terrible at hiding it. Palpatine had to know that he was only setting Anakin up for failure, right? Maybe he wanted Anakin to torture Obi-Wan, just to destroy anything that might be left of their relationship? 

“What if I did something you wouldn’t approve of?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan gave him a wary look. “Such as…?”

Anakin frowned. “Well, I know we’ve already talked about it with each other, but as far as Palpatine is concerned, you turned against me on Mustafar because I’ve been using the Dark Side, right? So it stands to reason that if I use it more, knowing you would hate it, then I must not care that much about you or what you think, right? Which is not true at all, but I-”

Obi-Wan held up one hand, eyebrows furrowed as he seriously considered the idea. “I’m not sure it’s what Palpatine would be expecting,” he said slowly. “But what would you do with the Dark Side that you haven’t already done?” 

There were many things Anakin could think of, but he knew that most of them would be unforgivable in Obi-Wan’s eyes, even if it was for the sake of saving the galaxy from Palpatine. “I could… I could kill someone,” he said softly, giving Obi-Wan a look that meant he wasn’t finished yet. “I know we’ve both obviously killed people before, but that was mostly because we were at war, or in self-defense on a mission. If I go out of my way to do it, and use the Dark Side, would you be able to forgive me, Master?”

He expected Obi-Wan to immediately disagree, but to his surprise, it looked like his former master was actually thinking about the proposal. “The truth is,” he said quietly, “That there is very little I would not forgive you. But if the choice is between hurting me or taking the life of an innocent, then that is hardly any choice at all. I can endure.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Anakin told him, frustration leaking into his voice. “Besides, who said it had to be someone innocent? Killing out of anger, or revenge, would be enough, wouldn’t it?” 

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I don’t want you to lose yourself. You’re already so different from- well. You’re still Anakin Skywalker at heart. I don’t want you to lose that for real.” 

“I won’t,” Anakin assured him. “As long as I know that you’re still here, and you don’t hate me, I will always come back.” 

Obi-Wan leaned forward, pressing the top of his head against Anakin’s chest. “As if I could ever hate you,” he murmured. “I think it’s a bad idea and it will take too long, but I… don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Anakin reiterated. “You can’t ask me to do that.” 

There was a soft sigh, and then Anakin could feel the slight movement of Obi-Wan’s head as he nodded. “I won’t ask it of you,” he promised. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Who did you have in mind?” Anakin hesitated, and Obi-Wan seemed to take that as meaning that Anakin wasn’t sure. “I have some ideas,” he said slowly. Anakin pulled away slightly so that he could actually look Obi-Wan in the eyes. 

“Are you sure?” Anakin double-checked. “If I do this, you won’t hate me?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I’m sure. And the Council need not know of this either. It’s bad enough that they may believe you actually kidnapped me, depending on what kind of tales those younglings brought back.”

Thinking of the younglings brought a smile to Anakin’s face, though that was more because seeing Obi-Wan work with them had been so cute. “Those kids all love you; they wouldn’t risk messing up with the task you gave them. Besides, I’m sure that the masters at least kept their wits enough to explain things properly to the Council.” What he didn’t say was that even if the Council truly believed the worst of Anakin and decided to kick him out of the Jedi Order, Anakin would not leave without Obi-Wan. “So what were you thinking?” 

,,,

Seeing the twisted look of fear and unhappiness on Kenobi’s face sent a thrill of pleasure through him. Then he focused on the reason for those expressions, as Skywalker let go of the Force hold he’d had and two corpses dropped to the floor of the throne room. Even through the holographic screen, he could identify the larger body as a Hutt.

He couldn’t make it too easy on Skywalker, though, and he needed to hear the boy’s reasoning to be sure that it was what he wanted. “What is this?” 

Skywalker looked up at him with an annoying touch of defiance in his gaze. “My old slave master,” he said, kicking at the twisted body of a Toydarian. “And one of the biggest reasons that slavery has been able to continue on Tatooine for so long,” he said with a nod towards the Hutt.

“And what is this supposed to prove?”

It looked like Skywalker wanted to roll his eyes, but at least the boy was intelligent enough to not show such disrespect to his new master. “You wanted proof that I didn’t take O- Kenobi because of attachment? This is it. I’ve done the unforgivable in his eyes, and used your lessons to take revenge on those who have wronged me. I made him watch every second of it all, so that he would know of his own fate once I grow bored of him.” 

He was much too far away to get a read on the boy’s emotions through the Force, but the bodies on the floor certainly looked real enough, and the disgust on Kenobi’s face did seem to indicate that he might have some problems with Skywalker’s actions. Of course there was nothing Skywalker could do- short of taking Kenobi’s life- that would prove a lack of obsession, but he decided to be generous, and allow Skywalker to keep his prize, for now. The fact that Kenobi would not be able to stand the sight of his former padawan would be punishment enough for the both of them. Besides, this was mostly a victory. If Skywalker could use the Dark Side to kill of his own volition, then it would not take much work at all to get him to go after whoever he was directed to kill or intimidate. 

He nodded once. “Very well, my young apprentice. You may keep your prize. I will be sure that good care is taken of him while you go off on your next mission.”

The way Skywalker hesitated showed how little he wanted to leave Kenobi behind, but he refused to allow his apprentice to be so dependent upon Kenobi. But perhaps he was wrong about the reason for the hesitation when Skywalker cleared his throat to say more. “While we were on Tatooine, I heard some news. Apparently the Senate and the Jedi are pretty confident that they will be able to track your location soon, and I have no doubt that they will not treat you kindly. So do be careful.”

He gave the boy a long look, wondering what Skywalker’s angle was. Of course with the ruins that had surely been made of the boy’s reputation, it wasn’t as though Skywalker really had anywhere else to go, but he was under no false impression that Skywalker actually cared about him or felt loyalty to him. But that was as it should be- Sith were not meant for those kinds of things. Still, there was much left to teach the boy, and the boy knew it, so perhaps he was just looking out for his new teacher. Either way, he would look into the matter himself before acting on any information. He nodded. “Of course. I will give you a few days to settle back in, and then I will give you your next assignment.” He hung up without allowing Skywalker to say anything, mind already racing with the next step of his many plans. 

Chapter Text

Based on the fact that Padme had never realized that Palpatine was like her and Obi-Wan, she thought it was safe to assume that he was pretty smart and had some 4D chess type plans up his sleeve. So it seemed unlikely that he would take the bait that Anakin had laid out for the sake of his plan. And yet here they were, one of her handmaidens having come to her in the middle of the night to let her know that an unmarked ship had landed on Naboo with no trouble. Apparently Palpatine didn’t even think to question why his old access codes would still work even after he’d been publicly named as a Sith Lord and ousted from his position as Chancellor. They only worked because Padme allowed them to. 

As soon as the handmaiden finished sharing that news, the young woman hurried off back to the palace, leaving Padme by herself in the small room. But Padme was far from being alone or defenseless in truth. She threw back her blankets and got up, already fully dressed, and walked into the main room of the house.  

Shmi looked up from where she had been tidying things up, still bearing the same nervous energy she’d had when Padme first showed up a few hours earlier. “Is that man coming here?” she wondered as she went to make tea.

Padme shook her head. “No. But he doesn’t have access to a lot of options or a lot of money right now, so when an easy option was dangled right in front of him, I have no doubt he took it.” 

Sure enough, it was less than an hour later before a window swung open on its own, and a figure slipped in through the opening. It had been a while since Padme had last seen the woman, unnamed in writing and yet such a vibrant presence in reality. “Ventress,” she greeted with a small nod. 

Ventress grinned as she looked around Shmi’s home, taking in every detail. “Not the hideout I would expect of a princess.”

“Senator,” Padme corrected pointedly. Then she looked at Shmi. “This is Asajj Ventress. She’s the one Palpatine hired to investigate the situation and see if we’re really as close to finding his location as Anakin implied.”

Ventress gave Shmi a long look. “So you’re the famous Skywalker matriarch, huh? Kudos to you for surviving raising that boy.” 

Shmi gave Ventress a hesitant look. “Why would a Sith trust you enough to hire you if you are working to help us?”

Ventress shrugged. “I used to be the apprentice of his apprentice, but that was ages ago. Just don’t go around calling me a good guy or anything, since it would give me indigestion. I have no interest in changing my ways, so I will always be a Darksider. But that doesn’t mean I want the entire galaxy to be at risk. And there’s a few people I want to protect as well.” She shuddered as she said that, as if it unnerved her to confess that she had people she cared about. “So basically I’m just going to confirm to him that the rumors are true about the Senate and Jedi being close to finding him.”

Shmi frowned. “Wouldn’t that just send him into hiding?”

Ventress gave Shmi a long look. “Did you not feel it? The day he clearly declared that he had no intention of hiding anymore? It was a massive disturbance in the Force, probably felt by everybody in the galaxy.”

Shmi’s eyes widened slightly. “Just a couple of days before my Ani was hurt,” she murmured.

Padme reached out to take one of Shmi’s hands and give it a comforting squeeze. “Anakin is fine,” she reminded Shmi. “Whatever happened before, he’s alright now.” 

Shmi nodded. “Yes, I know.” But she didn’t let go of Padme’s hand, and Padme didn’t make her. 

Ventress cleared her throat, looking slightly annoyed to have had the attention temporarily taken off of her. “Anyways, he’s not going to hide. After the big declaration he made, it would only make him look weak, which is something that the Sith despise. Not to mention that he’s used to a certain quality of life, but doesn’t have the resources to make a brand new luxurious base without anyone noticing. He’s going to want to fight back, and make a confrontation happen on his own terms. Right now, your son is probably his biggest asset, or at least as far as he knows. The brat is admittedly pretty strong in the Force, and he’s just handed over the perfect leverage against himself, since he had to take Kenobi with him to get away with not hurting a bunch of actual children. So Palpatine will most likely threaten Kenobi’s life or something to convince Anakin to help him make a stand. But considering Palpatine’s lack of resources, a threat won’t mean much if he isn’t there to personally enforce it.”

It took a few seconds before the wrinkles on Shmi’s face straightened out. “And once Palpatine is physically in front of him, my son can…” she trailed off, though all three women knew what she meant to say.

“Not exactly,” Padme hedged. “Part of the problem is that Palpatine doesn’t really trust Anakin right now, technically for good reason. He’ll be on constant guard even if he is willing to physically be in the same place. Anakin is strong, but Palpatine is older and more experienced, and has some powers that Anakin does not,” (she still didn’t know when Force lightning had become a thing, and remembered how pissed Obi-Wan had been about it when he’d come to her to rant) “so there’s too high of a risk that he would win in a one on one fight. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan isn’t in much of a position to help at the moment. That’s where having a couple of extra Jedi around will come in handy.”

Ventress smirked. “Now aren’t you glad that I blabbed? You got all annoyed over nothing.” 

Padme resisted the urge to roll her eyes, reminding herself that she was closer to Shmi’s age than Ventress’, and there was no need for her to act childish just because this body still looked young. She continued to explain things to Shmi, ignoring Ventress entirely for the moment. “Anyways, Anakin will have to make sure that Palpatine doesn’t catch on to anything, and give the other Jedi enough time to sneak into the base.” 

“This all sounds so risky,” Shmi murmured. “Will Palpatine not have defenses in place to stop anyone from being able to break into his base?”

Since Shmi obviously didn’t know that she was unintentionally criticizing Padme’s writing, Padme didn’t even twitch at the question. “The base is on one of Mustafar’s moons,” she explained. “It’s an oceanic environment, and part of the base is underwater. If one is willing to take the risk, and has the Force to help guide them, they can break in from below. The downside is that they’ll have to remain hidden all the way up to the throne room, but-”

“They’re all very capable,” Ventress cut in. “Quin, his padawan, and grand-padawan are all well-trained.” Then she stretched her arms up over her head, letting her shoulders make twin popping noises. “Well, I should probably be going now. If I’m here for too long, it’ll only make the old man suspicious. You two might want to go hang out somewhere better defended than this, at least until this whole mess is dealt with.”

Padme reached down with her free hand to pat the blaster hanging from her belt. “I think we’ll be just fine here. As far as any outsiders are concerned, I’ll still be at the palace anyways.” Her handmaidens truly were so gifted when it came to covering for Padme’s disappearances when she needed to get things done. 

Ventress just shrugged, then hopped back out the window and left. Padme led Shmi over to the couch for them to both sit down. “I’m sorry that there wasn’t time to explain this all earlier,” she said quietly. Though she had given the bare bones explanation when she’d arrived, she knew that Shmi still had to have a lot of questions about what they were doing, but even Padme hadn’t known much more than what she’d been told in a brief call from Obi-Wan, which was mainly that she needed to let Ventress get to Naboo, and that she needed to keep herself safe. Shmi just made a soft noise of acknowledgement, and Padme knew that the poor woman had to be quite worried about her son (and maybe future son in law?) Padme decided to take it upon herself to provide a distraction. “So how is Cliegg?”

Shmi gave Padme a knowing look, but allowed herself to be distracted, at least for now. “He’s still on Tatooine. He’s always happy to visit his son.” With some further prompting, Shmi talked about some of the measures Cliegg was taking while on Tatooine to make sure that their operation of freeing slaves was back to running smoothly now that the war had petered out. And honestly, Padme was also grateful to have something else to think about, because there were so many ways this plan could go wrong, and she didn’t want to sit here all night worrying about everyone else.

It was just a short while later that one of Padme’s handmaidens called to let her know that someone had vandalized the gardens. It took a moment for Padme to understand what had happened, and then she barked out a laugh. “Your son is definitely going to be alright,” she assured Shmi. “He’s got too many clever people on his side not to be.” 

,,,

Anakin couldn’t help the way that his eyes kept naturally being drawn towards Obi-Wan. He really wished that the collar wasn’t in the way, so that he could feel the truth of Obi-Wan’s feelings through their bond. It was scary to just trust that Obi-Wan really didn’t hate him, even now. 

Despite not being able to use the Force at the moment, Obi-Wan seemed to be able to guess what Anakin was thinking. Which made sense, since Obi-Wan had always known Anakin better than anyone else, probably even better than his mom at this point. Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, then reached out to pat Anakin’s head. “It was unavoidable. And if anyone had to be sacrificed, then there were not many better choices for it. They’re just as bad as Palpatine, really. The only difference is how many lives they have the power to ruin.” 

Anakin nodded, and then leaned forward to pull Obi-Wan into a tight hug. Obi-Wan let out a little squeak of a surprise, but didn’t pull away until after a few long seconds had passed. Anakin cleared his throat. “So is this the time where we assume that everything is going according to plan even though we have no way of communicating with the other people involved right now?” he asked.

Obi-Wan gave him a bright smile that made his stomach swoop. “It wouldn’t kill you to have a little faith in others on occasion.”

Anakin rolled his eyes at that. An expected response from someone who seemed to put far too much faith into far too many people who hadn’t proven themselves worthy of it yet. But since Anakin got to benefit from that as well, it wasn’t worth starting an argument over. “Alright, alright. So how are we supposed to know-?” He couldn’t even finish asking the question before he felt a tumultuous little group of Force Signatures, faint enough to just make out that they were somewhere near the massive base. “Ah, they’re here.”

That made Obi-Wan look concerned. “‘They’? And it’s way too soon, we haven’t even heard from Palpatine yet. Or do you feel him too? If Ventress is here, then Palpatine shouldn’t be far behind.” 

Anakin closed his eyes to focus more on the distant Signatures, then shook his head. “I don’t think Ventress is here yet.” When he stretched himself just a bit further in order to get a better look, he felt the familiar and friendly Force Signature of Aayla. He recognized Vos’ as well, though he wished that he didn’t. And even though he’d only met her a couple of times, he was pretty confident that the third one was Ahsoka. “Aayla, Ahsoka, and Vos. What the hell are they doing here?”

“I can only assume that Ventress ran into Quin at the Temple and brought him in on it. It will be harder for them to all hide from Palpatine when he gets here, but it would probably be for the best to have backup.” He sighed, though Anakin could see the amusement twinkling in his eyes. “Well, I suppose the Council will have a harder time punishing all of us.”

“They’d better not even think about it,” Anakin grumbled. “They should be grateful that we’re taking care of a major problem for them. If Palpatine got his way, there wouldn’t even be a Council left to scold us.” 

Obi-Wan shuddered slightly at that comment, and there was a far away look in his eyes. Anakin couldn’t help looking closely at his former master. He wondered what horrors Obi-Wan might have seen in the future, assuming that that’s where he was from. Anakin tried to push feelings of warmth through their bond, but only hit the impenetrable wall of the Force-inhibiting collar. “We will stop Palpatine,” Obi-Wan said, sounding steady and certain. “And then we will go home.” 

Even without their bond, Anakin could hear the truth in Obi-Wan’s words, and it made him giddy. It almost made him want to just blab out a confession of his feelings, but he remembered what had happened the last time he’d tried. At the time, it had just seemed like the Force’s way of saying that Anakin should just keep his mouth shut, but looking back now, he wondered if there was more to it. Obi-Wan had collapsed from a debilitating headache, which seemed to be the bonded creature’s preferred method of attack. Had it hurt Obi-Wan because of Anakin’s attempt at a confession, or had the timing been a coincidence? He wished that there was some way to know, but now wasn’t the time to worry about it. First they would take down Palpatine, and then Anakin could put more effort into trying to figure out how to free Obi-Wan from that cruel creature’s grasp. 

Anakin could feel himself getting angry as he thought about the other bond in Obi-Wan’s head, and he forced himself to take several deep breaths and try to calm down. Losing control now wouldn’t help anybody. And no matter what else was going on, Obi-Wan was here in front of him and mostly safe and healthy. “I hope they thought of a way to disguise their Force signatures,” Anakin muttered in an attempt to get his mind off of the problems he didn’t yet have answers to. 

The original plan only involved Ventress, and since Palpatine would be expecting her here, there would be no real reason for her to have to hide herself entirely. But Palpatine was very strong in the Force, and would surely notice several extra people skulking around. And Vos could definitely be an idiot sometimes, though Anakin expected that Aayla would, at the very least, have thought far enough ahead to realize how bad things could get. 

He assumed that it was Aayla who had come up with something, because as the signatures grew stronger, presumably from getting closer, they abruptly cut off like they had never been there. When Anakin closed his eyes and stretched out his senses, he could tell that there were living beings there, but it seemed highly unlikely that Palpatine would even think to look, let alone recognize those living beings as Jedi. “They must have come up with something,” he said aloud, wanting Obi-Wan to take comfort in the knowledge that their friends would not be caught instantly. 

Anakin wasn’t really sure how much time passed after that, since he was too on edge to let himself be distracted by any of the conversations that Obi-Wan tried to start. So he didn’t know whether it had been forever or just a short while until he picked up on Palpatine’s Force Signature, and Ventress’ not too far off either. Palpatine’s was much easier to focus on, though, because of the sheer amount of power it exuded, and the roiling darkness that made it up.

Anakin expected to be summoned down to the throne room, but instead he could feel Palpatine making his way closer to Anakin’s room. He looked over at Obi-Wan with concern. Palpatine probably wouldn’t be happy to see Obi-Wan looking comfortable to any degree. “He’s coming here,” Anakin hissed out.

The same thoughts must have run through Obi-Wan’s mind, because he nodded once, and then his face went blank before he lowered himself to kneel on the floor. Anakin just stared with wide eyes, though he did his best to compose himself just moments before the door slid open (apparently not providing any security challenge despite the custom modifications Anakin had added after being assigned this room). 

Palpatine stood there in the flesh, black robes draped loosely around him. It looked much different than the finery he had worn while playing at being the Chancellor. But the biggest difference, of course, was the thick, cloying feeling of the Force surrounding the Sith Lord. He was clearly being cautious even now, cloaking himself in the safety of the Force’s protection. “Lazing about, I see,” he said to Obi-Wan, barely sparing Anakin a second glance. Obi-Wan and Palpatine stared at each other and seemed to share some kind of unspoken communication before Palpatine finally looked at Anakin. “Come with me. Your pet can stay here,” he added when Obi-Wan started to rise to his feet. 

Anakin glanced back at Obi-Wan, who offered the slightest little nod. Anakin turned and followed Palpatine out of the room. It was probably smart of the man to keep Obi-Wan and Anakin separated while he was physically here, and Anakin wanted nothing more than to just pull out his lightsaber and take Palpatine’s head off on the spot for daring to tear them apart. But of course he couldn’t do that, when he didn’t even have a lightsaber. Master Trine had offered him a spare before parting ways at the campground, but it was only a practice one that would not do lethal damage, and Anakin didn’t want Palpatine to sense the kyber crystal and start to wonder.

So all Anakin could do was patiently follow Palpatine back to the throne room. When they got there, Anakin scowled at Ventress, who was leaning up against the side of the throne, looking entirely unbothered. “What’s she doing here?” he demanded to know. He risked annoying Palpatine by questioning him, but it was better than earning suspicion from not saying anything at all about the woman’s presence.

Palpatine looked back and forth between Ventress and Anakin with an amused little smile. “Ah, that’s right, the two of you have history. My grand-apprentice is the one who poisoned your old master, isn’t that right?”

Anakin clenched his jaw, not having to fake his anger at the reminder. “Yes,” he spat out. “You cannot trust her.” 

“Trust?” Palpatine let out a chuckle tinged with some faint wheezing. “Do not mistake the passion of the Sith for anything so base as trust.”

It seemed like a sad life if one could not trust any of the people around them, but Anakin didn’t bother to say that. “I don’t want her to be here,” he said instead. “Why is she here?”

Ventress spoke up before Palpatine could, and she proved herself to be an adequate actor as she scoffed and sauntered across the room towards Anakin. “Unlike some people, I’ve been out putting in some actual work. The information I brought back for your master is invaluable. Sounds like someone is slipping,” she added in a taunting whisper. “You might want to get your act together before you end up like his last couple of apprentices.” 

Palpatine held out his hand. “Now, now, there’s no reason for such enmity between you. We are all here for the same reason. The Jedi must be destroyed before the Republic can fall. We must act swiftly.” 

By ‘we’, Anakin was guessing that Palpatine actually meant that he just expected Anakin, and maybe Ventress, to do all of the hard work, but Anakin didn’t point that out either. Anakin gave Ventress one last scowl before he looked over at where Palpatine had sat down on the throne, making it clear what position he saw himself in if the Republic were to fall. “What do we need to do?”

There was a scowl on Palpatine’s face as he said quietly, “Unfortunately, I was a little too late for certain additions,” then he cleared his throat and spoke louder. “The Jedi act as rats scattered across the galaxy. They insist on continuing to impose their will upon many innocent planets despite the fact that the fighting has stopped, but at least it means that they have left their Coruscant Temple mostly unprotected. So when the Senate is threatened, it will take most of their forces to investigate. That is when we will take down the Jedi and much of the Senate in one swift move.”

Ventress’ eyes gleamed as she nodded approvingly. “You really know how to get things done, don’t you? Dooku was never so decisive with these kinds of things.” 

Anakin sneered at the obvious sucking up, even as he wondered how long they would need to buy time for before the others got up here. The most important thing was that they needed to catch Palpatine off guard if they wanted to actually do any damage to him before he could flee, fight back, or use the Force to cover himself. 

It was actually kind of useful to have Ventress there, because she was good at talking and clearly saying the things that Palpatine wanted to hear. All Anakin had to do was keep glowering at her and occasionally disagreeing with what she said, if only to make it clear that he wasn’t on her side.

The tense little meeting seemed to go on forever before a droid entered the throne room to report disturbances in the lower sectors. Palpatine frowned, eyes glanced suspiciously towards Anakin for just a fraction of a second. “If we have intruders, then I want them brought to me, dead or alive.” The droid nodded and hurried off to spread the word. Then Palpatine looked back at Anakin. “On your little vacation to Tatooine, did you ever let your pet out of your sight?”

Even with Anakin’s skills, there were no real ways to send communications outside of this base without them being logged somewhere, which is why they were only able to reach out during their excursion, and obviously Palpatine knew that that was the strongest possibility. At least it seemed like he only suspected Obi-Wan and not Anakin. 

He shook his head. “No.” When Anakin felt the Force wrap around his neck a moment later, not enough to strangle but enough to threaten, he realized what Palpatine wanted. Through gritted teeth, he said, “No, master.” while silently apologizing to Obi-Wan for acknowledging anyone else as his master, even if it was just for the sake of subterfuge. 

The invisible grip relaxed, and Anakin made sure to keep breathing like normal, not wanting Palpatine to think he’d actually gotten to him. Ventress cleared her throat, then, thankfully taking the attention off of Anakin. “If there are intruders you need to deal with, I’d be happy to take a look. You already know of my reputation when it comes to these sorts of matters.” She slid a dagger out from who knows where and tossed it up into the air, letting it spin a few times before easily catching it by the handle again.

Palpatine watched the display with narrowed eyes, but he did not. “Take Skywalker with you.”

Even though they were far from in the clear, Anakin couldn’t help relaxing slightly once they were out of Palpatine’s sight. “His energy is intense,” Ventress noted in a calm, yet barely audible, whisper. 

She’d never been here before, at least not as far as Anakin knew, but she somehow had an easier time leading the way than even Anakin would have. Once they’d turned a few corners, Ventress seemed to relax a bit as well. She reached into her bag and tossed something at Anakin. “Here, catch.” 

He caught it reflexively, then actually looked, and his heart clenched when he recognized his old lightsaber. When he reached out with the Force, he could feel the crystal inside resonate with him, and it felt like being reunited with an old friend. “Where-?”

Ventress snorted. “Ask your dear old master. From what I heard, I would’ve expected that thing to be vaporized in a puddle of lava.”

Anakin shivered as he remembered Mustafar, and clutched the familiar lightsaber closer to himself. Obi-Wan had saved this, holding onto it even when he thought that Anakin was going to come back for revenge against him. It was tangible proof that Obi-Wan couldn’t let go of Anakin any more than Anakin could let go of him.

They continued walking in mostly silence after that, not wanting to risk a passing droid or security camera picking up on any strange conversation. If all went well, then Palpatine would no longer be a problem by the end of the day, but that didn’t mean that they could afford to let their guards down just yet.

As they passed by a random electrical closet, Ventress grinned brightly. “I think we have our sneaks.” 

Anakin could feel organic beings inside the closet, but even this close up, he could not detect them through the Force. He gave Ventress a curious look. “How…?” Instead of answering him, Ventress just opened the closet door and slipped inside, leaving Anakin to do the same and close the door behind him. 

The thing about an electrical closet, though, is that even on such a large base, these closets were kept pretty small. With five people crammed inside, it was more than a tight squeeze. “Good to see you again,” Ventress said, nodding towards Vos, who was squished in one corner.

“You too,” he said with a grin. 

“I’m never going anywhere with the two of you again,” Ahsoka complained. “Seeing a couple of old people flirt is not my idea of a fun time.”

“What- old?” Vos spluttered. “The disrespect from my own grand padawan!” 

Aayla laughed. “She takes after you, doesn’t she?” Then she peered past her padawan to smile at Anakin. “It’s good to see you. We were all worried about you.”

Anakin gave Vos a dubious look. “All?” 

“If only because I didn’t want to see Obi-Wan fade from heartbreak,” Vos said, craning to look past Ventress so that he could meet Anakin’s eyes.

Ventress cleared his throat. “As fun of a rendezvous point as this is, I somehow doubt we’ll be able to kill Palpatine from in here.” 

Since Anakin was closest to the door, he opened it just a sliver and glanced around for any security cameras. There was one right across the way, and with just a small flick of the Force, he disabled it, and then stepped out into the hallway. He didn’t realize how enjoyable it was to breathe regular air until after being stuck in a tiny space with so many other people.

Everyone else piled out of the closet as well, and Anakin saw that none of them were wearing their typical clothes. Instead, they were wearing weird uniform outfits with medals pinned to the chests. He just shook his head, not sure why they thought that those uniforms would be any less conspicuous than Jedi robes at this point. “How are you all disguising your Force signatures, anyways?” 

“A little trick picked up from Asajj,” Vos answered quietly. “Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll teach it to you later. Now come on, which way is it to wherever Palpatine is waiting?”

Ventress led the way back to the throne room while Anakin and Ahsoka kept their eyes peeled for more security cameras that needed to be disabled. At this point, it wasn’t really a subtle approach, but Anakin still held out hope that Palpatine wouldn’t see them coming. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan paced back and forth across the room. There wasn’t really anything he could do to help now, now with this stupid collar blocking him from the Force. In some ways, it was worse than Without-A-Cure acting up, because Obi-Wan was still vaguely aware of the Force right now, and just couldn’t reach out to it properly. He knew that his bond with Anakin was still there, but he couldn’t quite reach it.

Of course, by now Obi-Wan knew himself well enough to know that even without the Force in his control, he could still hold his own in a fight. But since he didn’t know where exactly Palpatine had dragged Anakin off to, or where the other Jedi were at the moment. If Obi-Wan left to wander right now, he could potentially ruin everything.

But that didn’t stop him from being frustrated about being stuck here while everyone else risked their lives to get rid of Palpatine once and for all. Just to try and distract himself a little bit from his current worries, Obi-Wan’s mind strayed to Palpatine. It was one thing for such a straight-forwardly evil character to exist in fiction, but Obi-Wan didn’t understand how someone from his previous world could just slip into a villainous role with such glee. When Obi-Wan had woken up as a villain character, he’d done everything possible within the bounds of the System to change things.

He paused mid step in his pacing. Did that really make him a good person, though? Obi-Wan had been more concerned with his own fate than the other consequences of his actions. He had just been looking out for himself. Of course, Palpatine could have preserved his own life without starting a war and taking delight in ruining other peoples’ lives and relationships, there was no doubt there. 

But maybe in the end it didn’t matter why Obi-Wan had started being kinder towards the protagonist than the original goods had been. Because it was hard to deny that no matter what his reasoning might have been when he’d first woken up in this world, protecting Anakin had always been important to Obi-Wan. He could have just packed his bags and run as soon as he unlocked the OOC function, but that would have meant abandoning Anakin to an uncertain fate, and Obi-Wan hadn’t been able to bring himself to do that. 

Despite the shit quality of the overall writing, Anakin had to be one of Obi-Wan’s favorite characters out of pretty much any book. And knowing Anakin as a real person and not just a character only made it that much easier to care about him. Obi-Wan had been poisoned and stabbed and shot at on various occasions, all for the sake of keeping Anakin safe from harm, even though he knew that Anakin had to have a protagonist halo protecting him from anything permanent. It didn’t matter, though, because Obi-Wan didn’t want to see Anakin in pain, even for a moment. If it weren’t for the rotten System’s interference, Obi-Wan would have let himself die rather than push Anakin away on Mustafar. At this point, Obi-Wan couldn’t even imagine what his life would be without Anakin in it, and he didn’t want to imagine such a thing. All Obi-Wan really wanted right now was just to go home and-

Obi-Wan was interrupted from his thoughts when the door to Anakin’s room opened, and he turned, hoping to see Anakin returning victoriously even though he’d hardly been gone for any time yet. Instead, it was Palpatine looming in the doorway, a little less intimidating when Obi-Wan couldn’t feel the oppressive weight of the Dark Side at the moment. 

Obi-Wan scowled. “Back again so soon?”

“It occurred to me that we have not had many opportunities to speak candidly,” Palpatine started.

“It had not occurred to me that you would consider yourself a skilled enough conversationalist to speak with me,” Obi-Wan interrupted. If he wanted to reminisce about his old life, then he could do so with Padme, or maybe Satine if he was careful about it. He could not imagine having anything in common with Palpatine other than their origins, and he had no desire to talk to the man who had tried his hardest to lead Anakin astray. 

Palpatine (probably) couldn’t actually read Obi-Wan’s mind, but his thoughts must have been clear from his expression, because Palpatine rolled his eyes. “It’s pathetic how attached you are to that child. Did we even read the same book? He did not accomplish a single thing on his own, and sat around for years just accepting his mistreatment rather than trying to do anything about it. He has raw power, true, but that’s about all he’s got going for him.”

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at the Sith Lord. “Anakin is more brilliant and talented than you could ever hope to be. He comes up with creative solutions to most problems, and has achieved the very valuable goal of surviving in a world that has always treated him cruelly.” 

The passionate defense of his former padawan didn’t seem to sway Palpatine at all. “We both know that nothing he has achieved has been of his own volition. Every accomplishment and success under his belt is just the result of being the protagonist. He does not make it out of impossible situations because of his own skill, but because the story would be over if he failed. He has truly achieved nothing.”

Obi-Wan scoffed. “If you use that argument, then no characters in any story of any kind have ever achieved anything. It just makes no sense. Do you even understand what the point of a story is?” He took a deep breath, gearing up for an epic rant, the likes of which would have been screenshot and passed around on the internet if he’d left it as a comment on Way of the Proud Sith Lord.  

There was a somewhat constipated look on Palpatine’s face as he held his hand out to cut Obi-Wan off at the pass. “Considering how much more experience I clearly have than you when it comes to literature, I’m not going to stand here and argue with you about it. Surely there are more important things that could be said between us?”

Obi-Wan clenched his jaw. “I can’t think of a single thing I’d want to discuss with a monster like you.”

Palpatine rolled his eyes. “I’m only following the original draft of the story-”

“So then by your own logic, you have accomplished nothing, right?”

There was a pause, and then Palpatine narrowed his eyes. “You are awfully eager to make enemies with one of the only other real people in this world.” Obi-Wan just narrowed his eyes and refused to respond. Clearly he wasn’t going to be able to get anywhere productive in a conversation with Palpatine. After a few seconds, Palpatine let out a heavy sigh, and shook his head like he was disappointed with Obi-Wan, as if he’d somehow had any expectations that a chat between them could be any less antagonistic. “Well, if you are not in the mood to talk, then we shall move on to the next order of business. The role you are to play in my victory.”

“What are you-?”

Palpatine reached out with the Force to lightly choke Obi-Wan, enough to cut off his words. “You are the one who didn’t want to talk,” he said in the tone of a teacher scolding a student they were fond of. “I am not so big a fool as the Jedi seem to believe. Of course it did not go unnoticed when this base was infiltrated by them, loud and clumsy as they are. And of course I found it suspicious that Dooku’s apprentice seemed to vanish into thin air up until the exact moment I would have need of someone of her skills. It is your supposedly ‘brilliant’ protagonist who has been short sighted, in delivering to me the one thing that will guarantee my place as the master.”

He squeezed tighter, and the edges of Obi-Wan’s vision grew black. Obi-Wan lunged forward, and with the power of surprise on his side, was able to land a solid kick right between Palpatine’s legs before the Force reached out and squeezed around his entire body, restraining him thoroughly and choking him even more. “Hello?? System?? Are you really going to just let me get strangled to death here???”

[Unfortunately, Host has no free scenario pushers left. Would Host like to purchase a scenario pusher for PSP?]

“How many?”

[A limited time offer of-] Then everything went dark.

,,,

Ben laughed. “I can take care of myself, you know.” The look on his siblings’ faces made it clear just what they thought of that declaration. “I really can,” he insisted, a little offended at their lack of faith in him, even if it wasn’t entirely unwarranted. It was just easy to lose track of time while reading and forget to eat, it happened to everyone! 

His sister cleared her throat. “No offense, but I’m pretty sure-”

“Pretty sure anything you could say there would be offensive,” Ben interrupted. 

His brother held his hands out. “Alright, we can discuss it again later. For now…” he sighed and shook his head, then looked at Ben. “You were talking about that job offer?”

“Right, yes. I heard back from Rinsdale. They’re not looking for anyone full time at the moment, but they do have a few courses that need to be covered, and I’m qualified enough even without a doctorate. I’d have to go in person for a more thorough interview first, but I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like I really need the money, and it would be very time consuming.”

His sister reached out to grab him by the shoulders and give him a gentle shake. “Are you serious? You have the opportunity to work at a prestigious university and you ‘don’t know’? You’ve always loved tutoring! And you need to get out of your apartment more often!” 

His brother did his best to reign their sister in. “In the end, it’s Ben’s choice. If he doesn’t think it’s something that would work out for him, then there’s no need to force it. It’s impressive enough that he got the offer in the first place.” 

“Besides, I’ve still got my whole life ahead of me,” Ben joked, even though he knew that it was somewhat in bad taste, given his many health problems. 

Both of his siblings were used to his kind of humor though, and just rolled their eyes and let the subject drift to something less important. The next few hours passed pleasantly, talking about his sister’s latest boyfriend and his brother’s job and what their parents were up to, and just about anything else they could think of.

After both of them had left (which was only after his brother had run out to ‘take a phone call’ and conveniently came back with several bags of groceries to stock in Ben’s kitchen), Ben sank down onto the couch with a cup of lukewarm tea. His brother and sister’s care for him filled him with warmth, and he smiled to himself before pulling over his laptop to see if there were any updates to any of the stories he was reading.

He was startled by a mechanical sounding voice suddenly speaking right in his ear, or perhaps it was directly in his head. [Would Host like to return to his original world?]

The System’s voice was like a massive shock as Obi-Wan realized that he had just been dreaming. He didn’t even know that if that was an exact memory or just something he’d imagined, but he knew that the feelings in it were accurate. He didn’t remember that specific conversation, but he knew that there had been hundreds just like it, and he had felt so at ease in that dream with them. 

Then the System’s question fully registered with him, and he frowned. “What? What am I being punished for?” His original body was dead, so being transported back would be the same as killing him again, wouldn’t it?

[No punishment,] the System assured him. [For a limited time offer, Host may exchange all accumulated PSP to return to his original world and living body.]

Of course Obi-Wan loved his family and missed them. But no matter how time might pass differently, for him it had been six years of living in this world. Perhaps that wasn’t much, but so much had happened in that time. He knew that he was a different person now than he had been back then. He was sure he could adapt back to that life, but the truth was, Obi-Wan didn’t want to.

He would always miss his family, but to leave this world behind, there would be so much to miss from here. Padme and Quin and Aayla and Ventress and the other Jedi and the younglings that clung to him whenever he visited the creche and being able to use the Force and being able to see all of the fascinating different planets and peoples and creatures and feeling like he had an actual purpose in his life and- and Anakin. When Obi-Wan first woke up in Way of the Proud Sith Lord, he would have taken the offer to go home in a heartbeat, no matter how much he enjoyed Anakin as a character. But now… the truth was that this had become Obi-Wan’s home, and the people around him had become family, and Obi-Wan would not leave all of it behind, even for the modern conveniences he’d had to go without. And he could not go somewhere that Anakin wouldn’t be able to follow. 

“No thank you,” Obi-Wan answered carefully, not wanting there to be any misunderstandings here. “I would like to stay here. But why are you even offering?”

There was a slight pause before the System answered. [Host will be in pain when waking up.]

Obi-Wan scoffed. “I’m used to pain. And you have never seemed to give a shit in the past about things like that. In fact, you’re the one torturing me half the time. So is there another reason for the sudden change of heart, or…?”

He did not get an answer before slowly returning to consciousness. The System had not been lying about there being pain, and when he groaned, it only made his throat hurt more. His eyes fluttered open and Obi-Wan did his best to take in his surroundings. They were in the throne room, and Obi-Wan was sprawled carelessly on the floor. 

Anakin was standing near the doors, eyes gleaming with a golden shine, and Obi-Wan wanted to get up and walk over to Anakin, but his body refused to obey him. “-thought you were so clever,” Palpatine was saying, voice grating when Obi-Wan already had a near migraine level headache. 

Anakin’s eyes flicked down towards Obi-Wan, and when he saw Obi-Wan awake and looking back at him, his breath hitched. He didn’t even say anything, he just started marching across the throne room, completely ignoring whatever monologue Palpatine was in the middle of, eyes only for Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan could only stare at Anakin in return, heart beating quickly despite the rest of him feeling so sluggish. When he’d told the System that he wanted to stay here, it was like something had settled inside of him when he’d been going over the reasons why. There was much to enjoy about this world (not the least of which being the literal magic powers), but the most important part of this world would always be Anakin. Not because he was the epic protagonist of a trashy novel, but because he was Anakin, Obi-Wan’s precious white sheep former padawan (though perhaps a bit closer to a gray sheep now). He was the one who fussed over Obi-Wan’s injuries and cooked the best food and had a smile that shone even brighter than his Force signature, and threw himself into danger for the sake of the people he cared about, and stood up for what he considered to be unjust, and was so passionate about working on his droids, and had the stupidest sense of humor at times. 

They were both so lost in staring at each other as Anakin got closer that neither of them remembered to pay any mind to the Sith Lord who was still sitting right there behind Obi-Wan. Palpatine didn’t seem happy that he’d been forgotten, and he scowled as he rose to his feet. “You will come no closer if you wish for your former master to live,” he said with annoyance.

Anakin came to an abrupt stop, tearing his eyes away from Obi-Wan so that he could look at Palpatine instead. The bright blue was being swallowed completely by the gold color, which let Obi-Wan know that Anakin was drawing on more of the Dark Side, even if Obi-Wan still couldn’t feel the Force properly because of the collar. “You will not touch him,” Anakin growled. 

“So long as you do as you are told, he will be fine. Otherwise…” he trailed off, then suddenly hit Obi-Wan with a blast of lightning. Obi-Wan bit his tongue to avoid screaming, not wanting to get Anakin even more riled up, and he ended up biting hard enough that his mouth filled with blood, which was gross and he spit it out once his limbs stopped spasming. “I am offering you the chance to be the second most powerful man in the new Empire that we will form. You will get to keep your prize, and you will have the fear and respect of all those Jedi who constantly looked down on you. All you must do now is prove your loyalty. You have dragged several pests here, where they are cut off from the rest of their pathetic Order. Destroy them now, and you will cement your legacy. Otherwise, I will have to think of a suitable punishment for your disobedience.” He looked down pointedly at Obi-Wan. Speaking of, where even were the others? Surely they hadn’t just abandoned Anakin to deal with Palpatine on his own, right? 

“System, isn’t there anything you can do to help us against Palpatine? You sent me here to make the story better, right? Well at this point, if he wins, then the story is completely ruined, it wouldn’t match the other changes we’ve made. So you’ve got to help, right?” 

There was a pause, like the System was buffering, before it responded. [User_003 is ERROR_UNATHORIZED_USER.] It sounded almost apologetic, though Obi-Wan didn’t believe for a moment that the cursed System was capable of actually feeling bad about anything. Like Palpatine, the System seemed to take a certain amount of unnecessary glee in the suffering it caused. 

“So you’re saying you have no control over him? You can’t threaten to punish him or kill him or whatever the way you always do to me? He isn’t even supposed to be here?? Is there anything relevant you can even say about him right now??”

There was another pause. Then, [User_003 has not unlocked OOC function.]

“Yeah, why would he bother when he’s just as much of an evil dick as the original was?” Obi-Wan grumbled. And it’s not even like that was useful information, because there was nothing Obi-Wan could do that would trick Palpatine into acting out of character enough to break the rules and invoke the System’s punishments. Clearly all of the megalomania was perfectly in character for him. 

He waited, but it didn’t seem like the System had anything else to say, so Obi-Wan just sighed, and forced himself to pay more attention to what was going on around him. He didn’t want to get insta-killed just because he was too busy trying to get the System to actually be useful for once.

Anakin and Palpatine must have exchanged more words, but Obi-Wan had completely missed it, and now he was just looking back and forth between them, almost glad that the collar blocked him from feeling what had to be a very turbulent Force at the moment.

Then Anakin reached out, and even though his hand was clenching in Obi-Wan’s direction, Obi-Wan wasn’t worried that Anakin was going to hurt him. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised when the collar cracked and then shattered into pieces. Little metal shards and bits of wire went flying, though not a single piece left a scratch on Obi-Wan’s neck. Using the Force to break a Force suppression collar should not have been possible, but of course if anyone could manage, it would be Anakin.

The Force flooded back to Obi-Wan and he closed his eyes and took a moment to just breath and let it in. With the Force, he could nudge his body to heal a little faster. But more importantly, he could properly feel his bond with Anakin. He took just a moment to be comforted by the way their signatures were entwined, and then he leapt up to his feet. 

Anakin tossed something and Obi-Wan easily caught it, only realizing a moment later that it was his lightsaber. Anakin must have gotten it from Ventress, who had volunteered to hold onto it, which meant that Anakin had for sure made contact with her. Obi-Wan quickly activated the weapon, and tried to take the opportunity to put down Palpatine right away, since they were standing so close.

But even when taken by surprise, Palpatine was too quick to be hit, and probably had the Force helping him as well. That didn’t stop Obi-Wan from trying to fight, though, and soon Anakin was next to him. They fought side by side like they’d never gone out of practice, perfectly in sync with each other even without the use of their bond, though of course their bond only made things even easier for them. Despite the danger of the situation, Obi-Wan couldn’t help but feel warm inside. 

[Protagonist is currently 46% Dark!] the System chimed in without being asked. 

That was worrying, and not only because Obi-Wan hadn’t even been able to feel for himself how much of the Dark Side Anakin was currently channeling. They needed to finish this fast, before Anakin could hurt himself. He did his best to pour strength through their bond, though he admittedly didn’t have a lot to give at the moment. 

Not a word was spoken aloud between them, but soon they had Palpatine backed up against the wall. It wasn’t a guaranteed win, but it was still clearly more than Palpatine had expected, based on the way sweat began to drip down his face. He would probably call for backup soon, even if it made him look ‘weak’ to need help while facing two fully trained Jedi. Obi-Wan wanted to stop him, but Anakin gave the slightest shake of his head, so Obi-Wan didn’t immediately target Palpatine’s mouth to prevent him from talking.

Palpatine shouted out orders that could presumably be heard by someone watching over cameras or something. Within moments, the doors to the throne room burst open, and Obi-Wan ducked, ready for Palpatine’s minions to shoot at him and Anakin while their backs were open. But there were no blasters fired, and when Obi-Wan reached out with some bemusement, he realized that he could feel several familiar Force signatures, far more than just the few Anakin had mentioned earlier. 

Half of the Council was there, along with a large handful of other Masters and senior Knights. With all of them working together, the massive size of the throne room only aiding them since it meant that they weren’t getting in each other's way, it was not long until Palpatine was disarmed and unable to run through the crowd to escape. “This isn’t over,” Palpatine warned them. 

Mace stepped forward, lightsaber pointed towards the Sith. “I think it is,” and he ordered for someone to put some Force suppression cuffs on the Sith Lord so that he could be arrested and taken to stand trial. Because Obi-Wan knew his former padawan so well, it didn’t even take the darker shift of his signature for Obi-Wan to realize that Anakin wasn’t satisfied with an arrest. 

Palpatine had truly caused so much harm. Millions killed in a war that didn’t even need to happen, and he showed not even the slightest bit of remorse. He was dangerous, and knew more about this world than most people (not counting Padme and Obi-Wan himself, of course). There were high odds that Palpatine would be able to slip away and bide his time to cause more trouble in the future. There were things like the plant body that required a living sacrifice, and other things that Obi-Wan had looked into while thinking he would need to fake his death, that could make it easier for Palpatine to get away. So if it were up to Obi-Wan, he’d probably say ‘fuck it’ to the Jedi way and just let the evil man die.

But Obi-Wan was worried about what that would do for Anakin. He would not be killing Palpatine to prevent future harm, but out of vengeance. He was already Darker than he’d ever been before, at least that Obi-Wan knew of, and he had just killed those slavers so recently. Obi-Wan was worried about Anakin going too far and being unable to come back, consumed by the Dark Side. The fact that Anakin’s eyes were still bright gold even after the fight was over only solidified Obi-Wan’s worry. 

Obi-Wan gently tugged on his bond with Anakin, and then reached out to physically grab Anakin’s hand and lead him away from the crowd. He didn’t want to leave the area while things were still happening, but he could at least go to the back corner for some semblance of privacy. Several of the Council members gave Obi-Wan knowing looks that made his stomach clench, but he ignored them and continued pulling Anakin away. “It’s lucky that the Jedi got here in time,” he said, just to have something to talk about. He did his best to push some extra healing towards his tongue, which was throbbing painfully from being bitten.

Anakin scoffed. “As if they’d just show up on their own. Their favorite thing to do when there’s a problem is nothing.”

“Did you call them?” Obi-Wan asked with some surprise.

Anakin shrugged one shoulder. “Must’ve been Ventress or Vos.” 

“That was good thinking,” Obi-Wan said thoughtfully. “He was probably so distracted by outmaneuvering us and keeping track of the intruders that he didn’t even see the rest of them coming.” Anakin rolled his eyes, unable to admit that the Council had been useful and expedient. 

Then there was a shout from amidst the group of Jedi, and the whole room started to shake. Just seconds later, the floor crumbled out from beneath them, leaving the majority of the room’s occupants to fall down the long distance to the floor below. Large chunks of metal and concrete were everywhere, as well as smaller pieces of debris, and shards of glass. Obi-Wan hit his head on the way down, and cursed the universe for hating him so much, since his strangulation headache still hadn’t gone away. 

He didn’t even realize he’d let go of Anakin’s hand until he looked around, feeling somewhat dazed, and realized that he couldn’t see Anakin anywhere. “Shit! Anakin? Are you there?” He tried to reach out through their bond, but of course, of fucking course, Without-A-Cure seemed to have taken advantage of his weakened state by appearing with a vengeance. “Shit!” 

Who the hell set up their own throne room like this? Obi-Wan could only hope that Palpatine, cuffed and separated from the Force, had been injured or killed in the fall. He hoped that nobody else had been hurt. Since the rest of the room had the Force to aid them, there was a high chance that everyone was okay, if a little banged up. 

Obi-Wan had to exert some real effort to move a chunk of floor off of his leg, and got up with a sharp gasp of pain. It was awkward to climb over and around the rubble, and there was a faint cloud of dust in the air that seemed to persist even after several minutes had passed. 

Without being able to use the Force to figure out where other living beings were, it was very difficult for Obi-Wan to navigate his way towards anyone who might need his help, or towards Anakin specifically. It might make more sense to just stay put and wait for someone to find him, but Obi-Wan couldn’t help thinking the worst. If Anakin was hurt or stuck or scared, Obi-Wan couldn’t just leave him like that, which meant he had to keep looking. 

He wasn’t sure how long he was moving around before he finally spotted Anakin, curled up on the ground. Obi-Wan didn’t know how they’d ended up so far apart when they’d been right next to each other before falling, but he didn’t want to question his good luck, and instead hurried forward. He carefully lowered himself to his knees, and reached out to check Anakin’s pulse, letting out a long sigh of relief when he felt it going strong. He leaned over more, and gently pressed his forehead against Anakin’s. “You worried me,” he murmured.

Anakin’s eyes opened into little slits. “‘Least I didn’t jump out a window,” he mumbled. 

“Both of us are fine,” Obi-Wan assured him. “We’re-” 

God, why was he so stupid??? He should have definitely known better than to deliver a death flag to the story that loved its horrible tropes so much. The pain was sharp and burning, and when Obi-Wan looked down, he saw the tip of a red lightsaber sticking out through his chest. Instead of being deactivated for an easier removal, the lightsaber was yanked back, burning Obi-Wan’s insides all over again. When he literally coughed up blood (from being stabbed basically in the shoulder?? Seriously???) Anakin struggled to sit up, even though he looked quite pale. His golden eyes were smoldering, though. 

He carefully caught Obi-Wan and leaned him up against the wall before standing up and facing Palpatine. He didn’t even say anything, he just let out an inhuman growl and charged at Palpatine. Palpatine still had the cuffs on his wrists, but that didn’t make him incapable of fighting back. But Anakin did not give the Sith the chance. 

Using what looked like an equal combination of his hands and the Force, Anakin tore Palpatine’s arm off, sending the severed limb and the red lightsaber flying away. Anakin called the saber over to himself using the Force, and held it out towards Palpatine. He proceeded to completely eviscerate the man, until Anakin was just hacking and tearing at an unrecognizable lump. “Anakin, enough!” Obi-Wan called out, voice weak. Obi-Wan took a deep breath, or as deep a breath as he could take considering the damage that had been done, and got to his feet. The world seemed to spin around him, and Obi-Wan thought he was just going to crumple to the ground. But he couldn’t, not when Anakin needed him. So Obi-Wan shuffled forward, just a few feet but it felt like miles, and he reached out to grab Anakin’s arm. “Enough,” he said firmly. 

Anakin froze, then dropped the lightsaber and turned around, reaching up to gently hold Obi-Wan’s face. He didn’t seem to be able to say anything, just let out a high pitched whine, and then awkwardly hunched over so that he could press his face into the crook of Obi-Wan’s neck. Obi-Wan was barely even aware of the pain as he reached up to lightly cover Anakin’s hands with his own. 

He closed his eyes, and felt both of their bodies fall to the floor, neither of them able to hold up the other. Even though Obi-Wan was cursed with that stupid poison, he knew that Anakin would not be able to lead their meditation, so if Obi-Wan didn’t want to die here, he would have to try and guide Anakin into shared meditation.

An unknown amount of time passed before Obi-Wan blinked and finally found himself in the little library that represented his mental space. It was faint and somewhat foggy, like it usually was when he got help meditating away Without-A-Cure. 

Even here in his head, Obi-Wan found himself moving slower than usual, despite the fact that this place was divorced from the physical pain afflicting his body. He made his way over to the plant that was his bond with Anakin, and reached out to very gently touch one of the leaves that looked a little brown. As he ran his fingers over it, some of the life seemed to return to it, to Obi-Wan’s relief. 

He looked around, and furrowed his eyebrows when he didn’t spot Anakin. He couldn’t have gotten here by himself, so Anakin had to be here, and yet… then Obi-Wan looked closer to the ground, and saw Anakin lying on the floor between a couple of shelves, staring blankly up.

Obi-Wan hurried over and dropped to his knees, gathering Anakin up to look him over. Of course it was mostly pointless since it wasn’t likely that his injuries would show up here, but Obi-Wan just felt like he had to do something. “Are you alright? What’s wrong, dear one?”

As his pathways to the Force were slowly opened back up just from being here with Anakin, Obi-Wan reached out to feel Anakin’s signature. It felt strange and too faint. When he looked closely at Anakin’s eyes, he saw that they were swirling blue and gold, like the colors were fighting for which would be allowed to stay permanently. Anakin’s very nature was fighting itself, as he struggled to fully settle into being Dark or Light. 

Obi-Wan pursed his lips together, silently berating himself for not interfering when Anakin went ham on Palpatine, but he could not go back in time and change that. “Come back to me, dear one,” he murmured, gently reaching up to run his hands through Anakin’s hair. When there was no response, he asked the System, “What’s wrong with him?” though he didn’t have high expectations of getting any kind of answer that would actually be useful. 

[By this point in the original Way of the Proud Sith Lord by anonymous author Airplane27738, protagonist Anakin Skywalker had reached 100% Dark Side use.]

“Isn’t the whole point of me being here to change things?” Obi-Wan snapped for what felt like the thousandth time.

[Of course, Host should keep up the good work and continue doing your best to change the story, fill in plot holes, complete plot threads, and establish a well-written happy ending to the story!]

“Unbelievable,” Obi-Wan grumbled. “Useless.” He focused his attention back on Anakin. “Stop fighting yourself. The Force is really quite forgiving.”

When Anakin was able to actually force out a response, Obi-Wan’s stomach flipped from happiness, though the words themselves dampened his joy. “I don’t want you to hate me.”

So Anakin was struggling this much because of Obi-Wan? Because even now, after everything, he still thought that it could be possible to let Obi-Wan down just because he couldn't fully rid himself of the Dark Side? That was a misconception that simply could not be allowed to stand. “I believe I already told you that I could never hate you, Anakin. I don’t think I would know how even if I wanted to, and I can’t imagine ever wanting to. However you choose to be, whatever your interpretation and use of the Force, you’ll always be my Anakin.”

“Do you really mean that?” Anakin asked weakly.

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes. So please, please stop tearing yourself apart like this. Just focus on yourself and the Force, and center yourself before you fall apart.”

It seemed to take a supreme level of concentration, and Obi-Wan didn’t move an inch during the entire time it took for Anakin to slowly gather himself back together. Obi-Wan did everything he could to reach for Anakin along their bond, making it easier for Anakin to find his way. The more stable Anakin got, the easier it was for Obi-Wan to benefit from meditating together, and he could feel his own connection to the Force growing stronger again. The library cleared and got sharper and easier to see. Obi-Wan could not stop himself from letting out a laugh of relief, and he pulled Anakin into a tight hug now that he was sure that Anakin would be okay. 

Anakin returned the hug, and they were both content to sit there like that for a while, unable to feel any aches in their limbs while they were in this mental space. It felt like years passed before Anakin happened to glance something over Obi-Wan’s shoulder, and his whole body stiffened. 

He got up, reaching down to take Obi-Wan’s hand and pull him up to his feet, and then the two of them walked over to what had caught Anakin’s attention- namely the plant that represented their bond. Rather than looking more healthy, as it should considering everything that had just happened, it looked closer to the withering thing it had been when their original bond had been severed. Anakin looked at Obi-Wan in panic. “What-?”

“It wasn’t me,” Obi-Wan was quick to assure. He didn’t want Anakin to think that he was intentionally trying to destroy their bond.

Anakin shook his head, and reached out to hold tightly onto both of Obi-Wan’s hands. “You’re fading,” he whispered in horror. “Because of your injury.” His eyes seemed to laser focus on the spot where Obi-Wan’s body would have a bloody burn mark, but was unblemished in his mind. It was only then that Obi-Wan realized that Anakin’s eyes had gone fully back to being blue, with gold just occasionally flickering through.

“Am I really going to die like this?” Obi-Wan asked the System in disbelief. 

[Apologies to Host, but the body of Obi-Wan Kenobi has taken too much damage. Host will be transported back to original world in approximately five minutes.]

“I don’t suppose there’s still time to take the offer of returning to when I’m still alive,” Obi-Wan said dryly, not even bothering to frame it as a question.

The System took it as one anyways. [That is correct! Limited time offers are inherently limited in how much time they are available for. Apologies for the inconvenience.]

It felt so unreal, that after all of this, Obi-Wan was just going to die. Wasn’t that so anticlimactic for this story? Sure, Palpatine was dead and the Jedi were safe and the Republic had a chance to recover from years of war, but on a personal level, wouldn’t it just be unsatisfactory? Killing off the wise old mentor character at the beginning made sense for character motivation reasons, but now? Wasn’t it just cruel? Not to mention the fact that Obi-Wan did not want to die. He may have accepted that his first life wouldn’t necessarily be a long one, but he’d come to no such conclusion in his second one!

Obi-Wan looked into Anakin’s eyes, and saw the fear and panic in them. It was a slippery slope right back to the worst parts of the Dark Side if he didn’t handle this carefully. “Dear one, I am so sorry, but-”

Anakin shook his head stubbornly. “No! You aren’t allowed to die! I won’t let you!” 

“The Force works in mysterious ways,” Obi-Wan tried, even though he knew that such a sentiment would hardly be comforting to Anakin at the moment. “You cannot control everything, dear one. Everything has its time.”

Anakin scowled, and Obi-Wan couldn’t help but smile fondly at that wonderfully familiar face. “The Force can be used to heal,” Anakin said, as if it were something that Obi-Wan might have forgotten about. “I am the Chosen One. I will heal you.”

He closed his eyes to concentrate, and though Obi-Wan could not feel his physical body enough to know whether it was working, he could see their bond getting more sickly. Obi-Wan wanted to cry, but he had to stay strong if he wanted to stop Anakin from having a complete breakdown. “It’s okay,” Obi-Wan said softly. “Let’s just sit together.” He cleared his throat a few times. “System, how much longer do I have?” 

[Host will be transported back to original world in approximately two minutes.]

Obi-Wan was just paying attention to the System’s response, so he didn’t understand why Anakin’s head jolted to the side and his eyes snapped to attention on something. 

,,,

Anakin had noticed it before, but must have long ago written it off as just a strange quirk, the way that Obi-Wan would sometimes go still and silent for a moment, while staring off at something that nobody else could see. It even happened here in his mental space where Obi-Wan should be free from all outside influences. As Anakin had learned more about the mysterious creature bonded to Obi-Wan, he’d come to understand differently about those moments, recognizing them as times of communication. But even after reaching that realization, Anakin had never been able to truly witness the creature.

The closest he’d ever come was the time he’d been in Obi-Wan’s mental space without Obi-Wan there. The rest of the time, the creature seemed content to hide. Just now, as Anakin’s heart raced and he tried to demand that the Force listen to him and heal Obi-Wan- it didn’t have to do a perfect job so long as it was enough to keep Obi-Wan alive- Obi-Wan had looked off in that way that meant he was speaking with the creature.

In that same moment, Anakin had caught sight of the computer that represented the creature while in Obi-Wan’s mind. When Anakin glanced again at the plant that represented him, he thought he understood a little better. Obi-Wan was dying because of Palpatine, and it was weakening his bonds- both of them. Which meant that the creature did not have the same perfect control as usual.

Anakin knew he wasn’t the most talented when it came to healing people with the Force, but he knew enough and had enough experience to know what it felt like and how it was done. So he knew that it wasn’t a question of him not being strong enough, but rather of something blocking him. And Anakin got the feeling that he knew exactly what that something was.

So while Obi-Wan spoke to the creature, Anakin ran over to the table with the strange computer on it, and he could still see it even now. Instead of the grotesque eye, the screen showed another prompt for a password, and Anakin swore under his breath. The keyboard was the same as last time as well, with those unrecognizable characters. Obi-Wan would probably know what they meant, since they seemed connected to his previous life. “Obi-Wan!” 

His former master hurried over, and looked with wide eyes at the computer. “What is that?”

Anakin gestured to the keyboard. “Can you guess the password?” 

He knew he sounded desperate, but who could blame him? Anakin had no idea how long they had left before Obi-Wan slipped away, forever lost to him. Obi-Wan was as good as ever at understanding Anakin’s thoughts without having to hear them explained out loud. He just gave Anakin a long look, then reached out to pat the top of Anakin’s head before looking at the screen. “Let me think…”  

He muttered under his breath as the screen changed to show the eye. It wasn’t as vibrant as last time, and the password box was still visible in front, but Anakin was worried that the creature would figure out how to stall them long enough for Obi-Wan to be past the point of healing. 

Obi-Wan started to type something, but then he stopped and glanced at Anakin out of the corner of his eye. “Ah, of course.” He deleted what he’d already typed, and input something else as said. He entered the password he’d guessed, and a moment later, the screen unlocked to show an unfamiliar but not entirely unrecognizable home screen. Then he took a step back, gesturing to it. “Is this really how you want to use your time?”

“Just trust me,” Anakin said softly as he navigated the screen. Even when he couldn’t understand half the text that he saw, since it was more of that strange unknown language, Anakin was good with technology, and he was able to find his way to the power button without too much trouble. He clicked it, and waited expectantly for the computer to shut off. Obi-Wan gasped sharply, but Anakin didn’t want to waste any time and give the creature a chance to strengthen its bond with Obi-Wan.

Anakin lifted up the screen, and then smashed it down on the table.

It was disorienting when he found himself back in his physical body a moment later. He was sore and felt drained, but his mind felt clear, and when Anakin held Obi-Wan’s body close, he was able to focus on the Light Side of the Force, and all but begged for Obi-Wan to be healed by it. The Force must have truly loved Anakin, because he did not feel Obi-Wan’s heart stop beating.

It was easier to track time while centered in their physical bodies, so Anakin knew that it was only a few minutes later that some rubble was shifted aside, and several of the Jedi approached. Anakin did not want to let go of Obi-Wan, but he knew that there were others who were more talented in the art of Force healing than Anakin was, and Obi-Wan deserved nothing but the best care. 

Mace clearly saw Palpatine’s destroyed body, but he did not say anything about it, perhaps because even he could show the rare burst of sympathy. Or maybe he was just afraid that Anakin would turn his ire on him. But Anakin would not. Thanks to Obi-Wan he had calmed down, and there had been enough destruction today already.

As they emerged from the collapsed room, Anakin felt the signatures of Ventress, Vos, Aayla, and Ahsoka waiting nearby. As soon as they were out, Aayla surged forward to give Anakin a hug. “I’m so glad that you’re okay! I was worried that the backup wouldn’t get here in time and that we wasted ourselves as distractions.” Then her eyes landed on Obi-Wan. From here, Obi-Wan looked practically dead already, but Anakin could still feel their bond tethering them together, so he knew that Obi-Wan wasn’t actually gone. 

Surprisingly, it was Ventress who managed to provide the most comfort, though it was hard to say whether she knew that or not. She looked at Obi-Wan, scoffed, and crossed her arms over her chest. “That man is stubborn enough to survive one of the most deadly poisons I’ve ever even heard of. I doubt that a few little scrapes are going to do him in.” 

Nobody tried to stop the Jedi from leaving the base. Whether it was because they had no loyalty left to give to a dead man, or because they had never cared much about Palpatine at all, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was easy enough to return to the ships that the Jedi had arrived in.

Vos looked pleadingly at Ventress. “Are you coming with us?”

“You couldn’t pay me enough to get me to willingly go back to that Temple,” she declared boldly.

Vos seemed to droop at that, and he nodded once. “I understand.”

Aayal shouldered her way past her former master, and stared down Ventress, hands on her hips. “After everything, are you seriously going to just ditch now?”

Ventress arched one eyebrow, then shrugged. “Well. Perhaps there is something that could incentivize me to want to go there.” She gave Vos a leer that bordered on indecent, then glanced over at Anakin and shared a look with him that seemed to say, ‘at least I won’t be the only one who doesn’t belong.’ 

Anakin insisted on taking the same ship as Obi-Wan, and no one argued with him about it. After Obi-Wan was settled on a bunk and a healer was set up next to him, Anakin sat close by, paying close attention to both the first aid materials and use of the Force. He needed to get even better at healing, to make sure that if there was a next time (which he hoped that there wouldn’t be, but with Obi-Wan it did seem likely), he would be able to do more to help Obi-Wan get better.

It wasn’t until Anakin could feel a gentle tug through their bond that he felt like he could finally breathe again. A few minutes later, Obi-Wan’s eyes fluttered open. 

,,,

Obi-Wan’s whole body hurt, and it felt like he’d really drained himself when it came to using the Force. But the most notable thing was just how empty it felt in his head. He could still feel his bond with Anakin, but that was it. “System?” There was no response. Obi-Wan hadn’t even realized how big of a presence the System had until it was gone. Even when it had malfunctioned, Obi-Wan had never truly felt its absence the way he could now. The System was gone. There were no more threats hanging over Obi-Wan’s head. He could just… live his life. He was actually alive, at least as far as he could tell, and hadn’t died (for once he would not complain about such an impossible thing happening in Airplane’s work).

He finally opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Anakin, sitting in a nearby chair and staring at him. It made Obi-Wan’s heart flutter, and he felt like he’d forgotten how to say anything but, “Anakin.” 

“Obi-Wan.” Anakin moved closer, eyes roaming all over Obi-Wan, assessing whether he was doing alright. 

Anakin looked like he wanted to argue when Obi-Wan moved to sit up, but instead he just let out a long-suffering sigh and helped Obi-Wan. Once he was sitting up, Anakin’s cheeks flushed pink. “What is it?”

Anakin coughed. “It’s just, um. Your robes. They got a bit, um. Damaged.” Obi-Wan glanced down, and saw what Anakin was talking about. His robes had been quite torn and burnt and cut, leaving much of his chest exposed. He could see the thick bacta patches layered over the spot where he’d been stabbed, and quickly looked away, not wanting to think too much on what had happened. He wasn’t too chilly despite his state of near undress, but he still felt warmer when a robe was suddenly dropped down on his shoulders and carefully tucked around him. “I had an extra,” Anakin mumbled, suddenly unable to look directly at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan got his arms through the sleeves, which hung a bit too long on him, and then reached out to take Anakin’s closest hand and lace their fingers together. “We’re finally both going home,” he said quietly.

Anakin gave him a long, searching look, then nodded. “Yes. Home.” 

,,,

When they stood before the Council, Anakin expected to have to fight down the heaviness of his anger. But it was just too difficult to be so mad, not when Obi-Wan was alive and next to him, and still wearing Anakin’s robe (which was a sight that was going to come back to haunt Anakin for years, in a good way). 

Mace steepled his hands together as he leaned forward. “You abandoned the Order without any notice to work undercover for a known Sith Lord. You kidnapped and collared a Jedi Master, you contracted the former apprentice of a known Sith rather than asking the Order for assistance, you endangered multiple lives, you drew on the Dark Side to slaughter an unarmed man. You have shown that you are incapable of fully embodying either the Code or the spirit of the Jedi. Since the day that Master Jinn first brought you before the Council, we believed that your attachments, and your fear of losing them, would ultimately lead to your downfall, and you have proven us right time and again. While we are grateful for your assistance in taking down Palpatine, I’m afraid that there is no place for you here any more.”

Anakin clenched his hands into fists. “The only reason I’ve managed to stay in the Light at all is because of my attachments. Just because I didn’t become an emotionless robot-!”

Obi-Wan sent waves of warmth and comfort through their bond, while also holding up his hand to cut Anakin off. He cleared his throat and everyone looked at him curiously. “If Anakin is being expelled from the Order, then I will be leaving as well.” 

Mace looked surprised for just a moment, but then he mostly just looked resigned. “Why?” 

“Because I don’t want to be apart from Anakin anymore,” Obi-Wan answered calmly, as if he wasn’t turning Anakin’s entire world on its axis.

The little bit of anger that had started building up in Anakin at Mace’s words  was immediately washed away. Obi-Wan was truly just so… Anakin couldn’t even put it into words, so he instead sent his feelings through their bond, wanting to make sure that Obi-Wan understood just how much he meant to Anakin.

“Just as attached, you are,” Yoda said, looking at Obi-Wan. “Just as obvious, you have been.” 

Obi-Wan flushed with embarrassment, but Anakin decided to just take the opportunity to reach out and take hold of Obi-Wan’s hand. If everyone already knew that they were attached anyways, then it shouldn’t make any difference at this point. 

There was more discussion and arguments among the Council, but Obi-Wan refused to be swayed. So in the end, they had no choice but to accept Obi-Wan’s resignation, though it was agreed that Obi-Wan and Anakin could stay in the Temple for a few more weeks so that Obi-Wan would have time to heal the rest of the way. “You will always be welcome here,” Mace told Obi-Wan in the end. “You will still have a place among the Jedi if your circumstances change.”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan said politely. “But I don’t see that happening.” He gave Anakin a soft smile as he said that, and Anakin felt like his heart was going to just beat right out of his chest.

The two of them were dismissed then, no longer qualified to hear the rest of the Council’s business, and they continued to hold hands as they started towards the Halls of Healing. “You really mean all that?” Anakin asked quietly, even though he could feel the truth of it thanks to the Force. 

Obi-Wan stopped, and pulled Anakin into a small alcove so that they could talk alone before being around other people again. “Anakin, after losing you on Mustafar, I felt… that is to say that I didn’t… I realized that maybe… I just. Um. I. I missed you a lot when you were gone, and I don’t want us to be separated again.”

Anakin’s poor master seemed to be having some trouble getting anymore words out, though Anakin could feel the intentions through their bond, and he knew that even though Obi-Wan was absolutely terrible at saying it, they seemed to truly feel the same way. Recalling the way Obi-Wan had kissed Anakin’s cheek in that dream, Anakin decided to take a chance and do the same.

He leaned forward to kiss Obi-Wan’s cheek, but Obi-Wan happened to turn his head slightly at that exact moment, and Anakin thought he was going to explode the moment he realized that he and Obi-Wan were actually kissing. He went to pull back immediately and apologize, but Obi-Wan ended up following the movement, which stopped Anakin from breaking the kiss right away.

When they both pulled back in order to breathe, Anakin gave Obi-Wan a searching look. “Was that- was that okay?”

Obi-Wan blinked a few times, like he had to catch his bearings, and then he gave Anakin a beautiful smile. “Yes, that was- it was alright.” His face was bright red, but Anakin knew that his own probably wasn’t any better, so he couldn’t judge. 

It took a few minutes before both of them were able to stop looking so flustered, and then they linked hands again to continue walking down the hallway. And in their minds, and through their bond, they were already imagining the many adventures that they would go on together. 

,,,

Way of the Proud Sith Lord was one of the most popular sci-fi web novels of all time, telling the story of Anakin Skywalker, a slave boy who becomes a Jedi and rises to power after overcoming many difficulties in his life. It was poorly thought out, terribly executed, and contained so many minor errors that one could go on endless rants about each one. It was absolutely dog shit on so many levels!

…and Obi-Wan could not imagine a single other story that he would rather be a part of.

Chapter Text

Padme raised one eyebrow as she peered at Obi-Wan over the rim of her teacup. “And?”

Obi-Wan sighed. “And you were right about the cure to Without-A-Cure,” he grumbled. “But also, what the hell is wrong with you? Why would you write someone so…” he trailed off as Padme blatantly laughed at him. “You’re ruining my life,” he groaned, doing his best not to think about Anakin’s unrealistic proportions. 

“I’m sure you’ll get used to it,” she heartlessly responded. Then she leaned forward, smile fading just a little. “For real, though- are you happy?”

Obi-Wan leaned back in his seat, and didn’t try to hide the sappy smile that must be crossing his face at the moment. He glanced down at his left hand, where there was a shiny ring conspicuously located on one finger, then slowly looked back up at Padme. “Yeah. I’m happy.” 

Padme nodded once. “Good. And you can tell Anakin that if that changes, I’ll kick his ass.” 

Obi-Wan took a moment to consider whether that was more or less frightening than the shovel talk he’d gotten from Shmi. (Not that she’d been so forthright as to threaten him- but her thoughts had come across well enough for Obi-Wan to completely understand the sentiment.) “And how are you and Satine doing?”

He felt victorious when Padme looked surprised for a moment, but then she just arched one eyebrow. “Finally figured that one out, did you?”

Truthfully, Anakin had been the one to point out that he was pretty sure there was something going on between the two politicians, but Obi-Wan didn’t feel the need to bring that up. “Obviously,” he drawled. 

Padme rolled her eyes, but she did answer his question, voice soft. “Things are going really well. I’m really glad that things ended up going so differently than they did in the original story.” 

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say something else, most likely something insulting about Padme’s writing skills, but got distracted by the petulant irritation that he could feel through the bond, and he chuckled as he got to his feet. “I should probably go save Satine before anything happens.”

Padme arched one eyebrow, also standing up. “Are you sure it’s Satine who would need to be rescued?” Alright, fair point.

The two of them left the small study and went to the private dining room. It had been difficult to send his sticky former padawan away when he looked at Obi-Wan with those eyes, but Obi-Wan had been firm in wanting to spend time with Padme alone. There were a few things he’d had to confirm with her (and had found out that yes, the System was gone from her as well), but also he just wanted to spend some time hanging out with his friend. By chance, Satine had been visiting Naboo as well, and had volunteered to entertain Anakin while Obi-Wan and Padme caught up with each other. 

As soon as they entered the dining room, the emotions Obi-Wan could feel through the bond changed to be much more positive, and Anakin hurried over to Obi-Wan. “I thought I’d make some food while you were busy.” He gestured to the table, which was covered in what could only be described as a feast. Obi-Wan could almost picture a tail wagging as Anakin looked at him. 

“I mentioned that it seemed like a bit much for four people,” Satine said with a shrug, sharp eyes taking in everything about the way that Obi-Wan and Anakin interacted with each other. 

Obi-Wan reached up to pat Anakin on the head. “I’m sure all of it is good. I appreciate Anakin’s efforts.” He could imagine the System’s annoying voice declaring an increase in points as warmth flooded through their bond. 

The four of them sat down to eat, and it was definitely too much food for just them, but it was all as wonderful as Anakin’s cooking always was. Conversation flowed surprisingly easily, and it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. 

Once the dirty dishes had been cleared away and everyone’s drinks had been refreshed, Obi-Wan looked to Padme curiously. “You know, it just occurred to me that I don’t think you ever actually explained how you chose your username.” He could remember asking about it shortly after they’d first met, but he couldn’t recall ever getting an answer.

Padme blinked a couple of times, and then a faint pink blush appeared. “Ah, right. It’s kind of stupid, but I set up that account when I was a lot younger, and, well. Airplane to hell. That’s what it means.” Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows, and Padme elaborated without having to be asked. “7738 is how you spell ‘hell’ on those old calculators they gave us in school, but you’d just have to flip it upside down for it to look right. And 2 is ‘to’. So yeah.” 

Obi-Wan stared at her. “That’s…”

“I know, I know, corny-”

“That’s not even right!” Obi-Wan resisted the urge to smack his head against the table. “It would have to be 7734!” He took a deep breath, then grumbled under his breath, “Of course someone who can’t even be bothered to fact check her own username would be the one to write something with the quality of the original WOPS.”

“WOPS? Missing a few letters, are we?” 

“Easier to say than WOTPSL,” Obi-Wan countered. 

Satine and Anakin could only watch with bemusement as the two went back and forth. When Obi-Wan finally got tired of insulting Padme’s entire life, he finally politely thanked her for having them visit, and then he and Anakin retreated to the guest room they were staying in for the next few days. 

Anakin was more than happy to help Obi-Wan work off some of his frustration, and then they both laid down, holding each other close as they got ready to sleep. “Am I ever going to know more about you?” Anakin suddenly asked, after Obi-Wan’s eyes had already drifted shut.

He was tired, but Obi-Wan forced his eyes back open, doing his best to look at Anakin’s outline in the dark room. “Hm?”

“Who were you before you were Obi-Wan Kenobi?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan’s whole body immediately tensed up, as he half expected the System to rain its wrath down upon him for ‘metagaming’ or cheating, or whatever other nonsense it could come up with. When nothing happened after a few long seconds, Obi-Wan took a deep breath, and reminded himself that the System was gone; that Anakin had helped destroy it. He slowly let the breath out. “I was no one important,” he admitted in a voice barely loud enough to be called a whisper. “There’s not much else to say.” He could feel Anakin’s dubious look, and Obi-Wan smiled a little to himself, knowing Anakin wouldn’t be able to see it in the dark. “But if you truly want to know more, then I will tell you. I have no wish for secrets between us, dear one.” He would never tell everything, of course, since it seemed cruel to tell a person that in another world, they were just a fictional character, but Obi-Wan could at least talk about what his life had been like, and about the family he’d left behind. “I’m too tired tonight,” he continued before Anakin could get too excited. “But we have plenty of time.”

Anakin nodded, and pulled Obi-Wan even closer to him. “We have all the time in the world,” he agreed. 

As Obi-Wan drifted off to sleep, mind and body so entangled with Anakin’s that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began, he found that there was a new lightness in him. Even in the dark, he could make out the glint of the ring on his finger, and it was hard for him to believe that he could ever be so happy. He pressed even closer to Anakin, excited to meet with his husband in their dreams. And he knew that if this was what he had to look forward to for the rest of his life, then it would be a very good life indeed.