Hey, it's me--JediDreams, back from the dead! Obviously I don't own any characters, with the exception of Kyra-Ji, Master Oloah, and Master Dreza. In the interests of being kind of snobbish, Kyra-Ji is pronounced with a long "I" sound in both syllables. This story takes place long before Luke Skywalker is a twinkle in his father's Sithly eye, when Obi-Wan is just a toddler. It will probably be connected with a story several years farther down the road involving said sithly father before he becomes Sithly, but that remains to be seen. One story at a time. And now, on with it. Title may change, I never really had one for the documents on my computer.
Seeing in the Dark
by JediDreams
So far as Obi-Wan Kenobi could tell, the day was shaping up quite pleasantly. He'd awakened after having a very good dream involving candy and a bunch of little Jedi tickling Master Yoda until begged for mercy, he did, then he'd gone to breakfast with his crèche group, and then followed their Padawan play-leader out to one of the many meditation gardens in the Jedi Temple. Obi-Wan was very happy to be playing in the gardens with Kyra-Ji Dassan, who was his most favorite Padawan play-leader in the whole Temple. The fact she was the only one currently assigned to his particular crèche group made no real difference to him; she was still his favorite.
It was not quite lunchtime when things began to feel weird, and then really bad. Obi-Wan had been playing a game with Kyra-Ji called "guess the number," where she thought of a number and he tried to guess what it was by imagining what it looked like in her mind. He'd "won" the last three games, and was on his way to winning a fourth when suddenly a gray wall slammed up in front of the hazy image of the number in her mind. Absurdly, the word shield popped into his mind instead of the number. Obi-Wan opened up his eyes—which had been scrunched up tightly in concentration—to see Kyra-Ji staring intensely off to her right. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to complain about her blocking his guess, but she gestured quickly for him to be silent. With a smoothly fluid movement, Kyra-Ji unfolded her long legs and stood up, reaching for the lightsaber hanging from her belt as she stood. From his seat on the ground, the Padawan girl looked about a kilometer tall to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan scrambled to his feet as she began to move away from him, exuding a sense of sudden watchfulness. Something in the air of the garden suddenly felt bad to Obi-Wan. The back of his neck felt like ice, and he had a queer fluttery feeling in his stomach. Kyra-Ji stepped cautiously out of the sheltered corner they'd been playing in, her watchful stance at odds with the calmly peaceful appearance of the vine-covered wall beside her. Obi-Wan followed her, but stopped short when they cleared the corner and saw the black creature hulking in the middle of the serene garden. It looked like a monster to Obi-Wan, despite its distinctly humanoid features.
"Stay behind me, little one," Kyra-Ji said, her voice steady but firmly commanding as she used the Force to nudge Obi-Wan behind her. Her grip on her lightsaber betrayed her nervousness as her knuckles turned white around the cool metal cylinder, but her Force-signature held only wary preparedness.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked boldly. "This garden is off-limits to civilians."
The black monster made a hissing sound that might have been cold laughter.
"You think the command of a Jedi Padawan is enough to send me cowering away from this pitiful excuse for a place of meditation? I have come on a purpose, child, and no Jedi apprentice will stand on my way."
Obi-Wan shivered violently as the cold voice grated in his ears. He froze up solid when he saw the black monster's face turn towards him, and shuddered again when a sense of longing…almost hunger…suddenly stuffed the air. From the stiffening of Kyra-Ji's posture, she understood exactly what the monster meant, and what the hungry feeling in the air was all about. She cleared her throat and shook her head fiercely.
"No," she whispered, her voice trembling a very little. "You shall not have this child," she said a little louder, addressing the tower of black fluttering robes in front of her. "Leave! Go back to the hole from which you issued or be destroyed—you shall not have this child, nor any other from this Temple." Kyra-Ji pressed the thumb stud that ignited her lightsaber as she sank into a defensive stance. Knees bent, thighs relaxed, she stared down the dark figure with as deadly an intensity as that of the bright purple blade she carried. Behind her, Obi-Wan struggled to control his terror, eyes wide as he gaped at the monster on the other side of Kyra-Ji's narrow back. The garden seemed suddenly deserted. Obi-Wan wondered distractedly where everyone else had gone. The padawan who stood between him and the monster exuded controlled readiness, although Obi-Wan thought he felt fear underneath. He couldn't be sure, though. He was only three and a half years old, after all.
"Do not stand between the Dark and its chosen prey," the black figure hissed in a voice that sent chills all through Obi-Wan, "or you too shall become prey."
Kyra-Ji met the hateful stare with cool certainty.
"So be it, then," she responded. "You shall not have him."
From the depths of its robes, a long red blade hissed to life, swinging viciously at Kyra-Ji before she even saw it coming. The young apprentice leaped back, almost tripping on Obi-Wan where he cowered behind her. She blocked the next strike, but only just; pushing Obi-Wan away from her with a strong thrust of the Force, she swung her humming purple blade to block the next blow, but the monster was fast and strong, and his blows kept coming. In an effort to escape, Kyra-Ji launched herself into the air in a backwards somersault. Before she had even recovered her feet on landing, the red blade swept across her thighs, disabling her legs in one swift stroke. The padawan collapsed to the ground, dropping her lightsaber as she curled around her wounded legs with a cry of pain.
"I warned you, Jedi," the monster gloated in an icy growl as he stood over her. "Now, you will die." Reaching out one hand, the monster called Kyra-Ji's lightsaber to it. With the other, he channeled the Dark Side of the Force and sent it streaking at her in long fingers of purple-blue lightning. Staring up at the monster of the Dark Side in wide-eyed terror, the blast of Force-lightning caught Kyra-Ji full in the face, burning into her eyes. The girl fell back with a scream of agony that ripped through the Force bond with her master and shook the walls of the garden. Before he knew it, Obi-Wan was crying out as well, watching Kyra-Ji writhe on the grass at the feet of the Sith, her groans and cries piercing him.
"Leave her alone!" he yelled, his voice tiny but strong. The monster slowly turned to look at him. An evil smile creased its dark features as it turned all its attention to the terrified child. Stepping over Kyra-Ji's fallen form, it moved towards Obi-Wan with deliberate slowness that only increased the boy's fear into absolute panic.
Suddenly, the monster flew off the ground, smashing back first into the near wall. Stunned, Obi-Wan spun around to see three Jedi Masters, right hands still extended palms-out towards the monster, pounding through the gate at a dead run. All three had their lightsabers activated as they raced towards where the monster was picking himself up from the ground. Obi-Wan gasped in relief at the sight of the Jedi, who were now almost on top of the Dark Sider. He ran forward on shaking legs to where Kyra-Ji lay crumpled and moaning on the grass, but no sooner had he gotten to her than he heard a thunderous explosion, and something bowled him over and sent him tumbling backwards across the ground. Ears ringing and heart pounding, Obi-Wan lay sprawled for a moment before slowly dragging himself up to a sitting position. He looked around, amazed. Everything in the garden looked like it had been flattened by an enormous hand; the trees, the grass—everything looked like it was permanently smashed down. Feeling utterly dazed and confused, Obi-Wan crawled shakily over to Kyra-Ji and crouched next to her head, trying to look into her face to see if she was all right. Across the garden, the Jedi Masters were slowly picking themselves up, looking around with perplexed expressions on their faces. There was a black hole in the ground and on the nearby wall, but the monster was nowhere to be seen.
Obi-Wan was about to lift Kyra-Ji's arms away from where they covered her face protectively when he felt a pair of hands on his, pulling him away from the wounded padawan. "Careful, little one; don't touch her just yet. We need to make sure she is all right," a soothing female voice murmured from behind him. Panicked, Obi-Wan fought the strong but gentle grip on his arms until a familiar face appeared in his line of sight. He recognized the long hair and gentle blue eyes of the huge Jedi Knight kneeling before him, although he didn't think Master Qui-Gon Jinn knew who Obi-Wan was. "Calm down, child. You have nothing to fear now, my young friend. Relax, let your fear melt away," Master Jinn said in tones intended to soothe away Obi-Wan's terror. The words, backed by the gentle encouragement from the Force, had their intended affect on the boy, and he relaxed in the Jedi's grip. "There now, you see? Nothing to fear from us. Dreza, would you see that he is all right?" Jinn continued in the same low, calm voice, raising his eyes to those of the Jedi that still held Obi-Wan imprisoned in her grip. Obi-Wan felt the other Jedi nod, then he was being prompted to stand and walk toward the ruins of the broken bench.
Master Dreza sat down with Obi-Wan and checked him carefully for injuries or taint of the Dark Side, all the while murmuring soothing words and encouraging him to tell her what had happened. Obi-Wan was not listening, however; his gaze was fixed over her shoulder, where he could see the remaining two Jedi Masters bending over Kyra-Ji's inert body. Master Jinn had one large hand resting gently on her shoulder, while the other Knight appeared to be trying to speak to her. Obi-Wan watched until the two men carefully rolled her over onto her back; at the sudden feeling of shock that rippled through the Force he leaped to his feet and raced across the grass to the little clump. Throwing himself to his knees beside his friend and rescuer, Obi-Wan tried to look at her face. A split second later, a pair of strong arms was wrapped around his waist and he was being physically pulled up and away from her. Before Master Jinn spun him around to face away from the sight, though, the horrible vision was burned into Obi-Wan's memory forever—Kyra-Ji's face, frozen in a look of agony, beneath a bloody, charred mess where her soft gray eyes had been.
Obi-Wan's blue-green eyes were as wide as Coruscant's moons as Master Jinn hurriedly carried him to the far end of the garden, leaving only Master Oloah with his padawan. Obi-Wan barely noticed when Master Jinn dropped to his knees and plopped Obi-Wan down in front him. Spinning the boy around, Master Jinn stared hard at the child's horrified expression. He focused a tight Force-probe into the young mind, searching for the memory of what had happened to Kyra-Ji.
"You must help me, little Jedi," the big man said softly, peering urgently into Obi-Wan's vacant eyes. "Show me what happened." The Force prompted the memory forward in Obi-Wan's mind, where it was still fresh and terrifying. "No, do not be afraid, little one; he is gone, he cannot hurt you again. You are safe now," Jinn crooned as Obi-Wan's little body stiffened in fear. Slowly, the boy's eyes refocused on Master Jinn's, and a sense of anguish pervaded his Force-signature.
"What's wrong with her eyes?" he cried suddenly, the fear and grief in his voice driving into Qui-Gon's heart like a knife. "What's wrong with her eyes?" Before the child could ask again, Qui-Gon hugged him tightly, burying the questions and tears in his tunic.
"Shhh, youngling. It will be all right. Don't be afraid. Come, let's get you to the medical center. I want to make sure you're all right," the Jedi Master said, holding Obi-Wan close as he lifted the child into his arms again and wrapped his cloak around the small form. "Oloah," he called softly, holding Obi-Wan so that he could not see Kyra-Ji again, "I will send the Healers."
The gray-skinned Jedi Master looked up and nodded once, then returned his attentions to his fallen padawan, reaching out to her through their Force bond. Stay with me, my child. Hold on, my padawan, my Kyra-Ji. Hold on.