Title: Rising From the Ashes
Timeframe: During and after ROTS
Genre: Drama, Action, Semi Crossover
Characters: Obi-Wan, Anakin, Yoda, Dooku, Palpatine/Sidious, and more to come
Summary: Certain events in Episode III happen differently, all of which leads to the rise of a phoenix.
Authors Note: I had the idea for this story for awhile, and I couldn't resist writing it. I hope this will be as fun for you guys to read, as it is for me to write it. Please post as many comments as possible, and please feel free to point out any mistakes I made. Please keep in mind that some background information about some of the characters (like stuff from the books, comics or established canon) was slightly altered for this story.
Disclaimer: While some parts are based on the novelization of ROTS and the X-verse, it's all still property of the mighty Lucas & Marvel. In the same regard, I do not own any of characters, or any other affiliates. I am not making any money off this story. I own nothing, etc, etc.
Prologue
30 years before Empire Day…
The speeder dove to the depths of Coruscant's lower levels, one of the most bleak and dangerous places on the entire system. Jedi Master Yoda sat in the passenger seat while his companion and former padawan, Yanis Dooku, sat in the driver's seat steering the vehicle to their destination.
Dooku had been piloting the craft for almost an hour now. "How much longer are we going to keep at this, master?"
"Patient you must be. Soon will..."
At that very moment, Yoda suddenly felt the surge of energy again, but stronger this time.
"Wait, closer we are getting."
"Where to now master?"
"Turn left, somewhere around here it is."
Within a few moments they came upon a truly mesmerizing sight. In front of them they saw dozens of ships and speeders floating high in the air in front of a large residential building. On the ground, they saw many people trying to exit the building, each attempting to carefully make their way past the front doors that seemed to be continuously opening and closing at a fast pace. Once past the doors, they, along with dozens of other pedestrians on the street, ran away in fear. A small amount of people stayed behind to continue watching the spectacle before them.
"Alright, now what is this all about?" Dooku said somewhat worriedly.
"Found what we are looking for, I believe we just have."
"This is too strange master, are you sure about this?"
"Handle this we can, be confidant."
"It's just that I have a strong sense of foreboding. Why didn't we assemble a group to assist us, why did we have to come here alone?"
"A most delicate matter this is, Yanis. The less involvement by others, a better chance at success and a peaceful correspondence I feel there is."
"I just feel we should have taken some more precaution though."
"Called here for a reason we were. Trust me if not the force."
"I can't say I see things the way you do, but I'm with you on this one as always."
"Thank you my friend."
As Dooku moved in closer, Yoda told him to land on the street below. As they stepped out of the vehicle, it took less than a minute for it to shoot up in the sky and join the others.
Dooku looked up in astonishment. "Shall we proceed then?" Dooku said bluntly. Yoda nodded in agreement.
The two made their way to the entrance of the residential building. Yoda tried using the force to handle the front doors, but there was no effect. He was about ready to try something else when Dooku suddenly stepped in.
"Don't worry my friend, I can handle this" said Dooku with a smirk.
Before Yoda could say anything, Dooku cut the doors down with his lightsaber, and then used the force to fling the pieces off in the distance.
"Thank you, Yanis, but no need to show off is there. Bother to find another way inside did you?"
Dooku just continued smirking, his usual expression when ever Yoda would lecture him. Yoda sometimes worried that this kind behavior would rub off on Dooku's young apprentice, for young Qui-Gon Jinn was very impressionable. He worried for Dooku as well for he would often showcase his abilities and skills like this when fearful. Perhaps it provided some reassurance, and if so, he could see how it could be hard habit to break.
On the positive side, Dooku's action enabled the several people still inside to pour out more quickly. After everyone else had finally cleared out, Yoda and Dooku stepped inside the dank lobby of the building and weren't too surprised to see that things were just as strange inside as they were outside. There was smoke everywhere and various pieces of concrete, rubble, pipes, and glass floated around them. Most of the doors were doing the same thing the front doors had been doing, several lights were continuously flickering on and off, and water from various broken water pipes floated upwards; an unusual yet beautiful sight.
Dooku looked around the lobby and spotted the lifts. Yoda saw them as well. A few of them had been blown out of their repespective shaft and lay shattered on the lobby floor which suggested that they had fallen from a higher level. To their surprise, however, some of of the lifts appeared to be functional. They entered one.
"Time to get to the bottom of this."
Yoda tried sensing where in the building the source of the energy was coming from and then instructed Dooku to take them to the tenth floor. When they stepped off the lift, they saw that this is was the floor where the other lifts had been blown out. They walked ahead and came upon a long dark hallway. As they proceeded down it, they noticed that the doors to the apartments seemed to be blown inwards until coming upon the apartment at the very end of the hall. The door had been blown outwards and lay in pieces on the carpeted floor. As they stepped inside, they were both startled by the amount of energy they felt.
As they cautiously explored the apartment they saw that there were cups, furniture, broken shards of glass, and other various items floating around everywhere. They came to a hallway and saw what appeared to be the indentation of a person burned into the carpet with a pool of blood in the middle of it. Beyond that they saw something that appeared to be glowing at the foot of an empty doorway at the end of the hallway. As they approached it, they saw that the glowing was coming from a red hot heap of goop that had once been a door.
Carefully stepping over the molten steel, the two Jedi walked in the room. They saw that much of the room was blackened and deteriorated, as if it had been dissolved by some great force. Yoda was the first to notice that there was someone else in the room. A small boy was huddled in a corner with his head down on his lap and in front of him laid what appeared to be a dissolved blaster.
Dooku stood back as Yoda slowly approached the boy. Startled, the child looked up, instantly making eye contact with the old Jedi master. They both stood there for a moment looking into each other's eyes, as if they were trying to mind read one another. The bright daylight from the shattered window in the room highlighted his features.
The child looked to be no more than eight years old. He had blue-grey eyes and auburn hair. His face was stained with ash, and his eyes were wet with tears. While he looked innocent, Yoda couldn't help but notice the dark undertone in the boy's expression. It didn't take too long for Yoda to realize that it was this child in front of him who was the source of the energy.
To Dooku and Yoda the boy felt like a maelstrom of power, taking them both aback. The amount of power within the boy was overwhelming, like a blinding beacon in the force. The boy noticed Dooku who was still standing in front of the doorway. He quickly stood up and backed himself against the wall, a look of fear and uncertainty on his innocent face.
The boy eyes darted to the two strangers in front of him, and he spoke in a panicked voice. "Who are you?!"
Dooku walked forward and quickly spoke up. "Don't be afraid of us, were not going to hurt you."
Yoda continued. "Here to help you we are, trust us you can."
"Trust you?! Who are you?!" The tension was apparent in his tone.
In order to keep the boy as calm as possible, Yoda gave him a reassuring smile and calmly responded.
"Jedi masters are we. Know about the Jedi do you?"
"Y...Yes."
"Then no need to fear us there is"
The boy didn't look any less apprehensive. Dooku eased his guard and tried to further commune with the boy.
"We're good people. All we want to do is help."
The boy's face told them he wasn't buying it.
"Really?" His response was tinted with bitterness.
"Yes, we do."
"You think I need help?"
"Yes, we both do. You can trust us."
The boy said nothing, but his cold stare told them they didn't have his complete trust.
"What happened here young one?"
The boy didn't know what to say because he didn't really know himself. Only moments ago he had awoken to find himself in his room, blackened and dank. He had gotten scared and huddled in the corner, and then his two strangers arrived moments later. He was looking around the room when his eyes came to the blaster on the floor. He just looked at it with a blank expression for awhile, until it suddenly all started coming back to him.
His eyes widened in horror as his mind replayed what had happened. Tears started running down his cheeks and the room began to shake slightly. Dooku looked on in interest, his previous fear replaced by fascination, but Yoda just stayed where he was as if he didn't notice a thing. The boy's resentment changed to anguish as he fell on his knees.
"I don't know why but my dad took that...," He pointed at the blaster "and shot my mom. I tried to save her, but I couldn't." The boy started to sob and the shaking intensified.
"Then he tried to get me, so I ran in here. He followed me, but I don't know what happened after that. Everything just went dark, like if I was asleep, and when I woke up he was gone."
Yoda and Dooku didn't know what to make of this, but they knew it wasn't good. The boy looked at the blaster again, and tried to fight back more tears. Yoda and Dooku were saddened by this and were now more determined to help him. Now that both the boys' parents were nowhere to be seen, it seemed like child was all alone. They now knew the fate of the boy's mother, but what had happened to the father? Where were the bodies? Perhaps those questions were best left for a later time.
"No need to worry now, over it is. Come with us I think you should" said Yoda.
"What?" The boy sounded both surprised and confused, also wondering why the short green fellow talked so strangely.
Dooku sensed this and smiled, and then spoke next. "This isn't a good place for you to be right now. We think it'd be best if you come with us?"
The boy just stood there for a moment, but he managed to give a faint smile.
"Do you really want me to?"
"Of course we do"
"Does this mean I'll be like a Jedi or something?" the boy asked curiously.
"Know about that my companion and I do not young one, although much potential we're sure you have. However, truly great is your power. Just how much power you have, I do not think you realize. A great gift it is, but harm it can cause to you and others if not in control of it you are. Teach you we will how to control it, to use it for a good cause, but only if you'll let us."
"I...I don't know."
"Trust us you can, never forget that."
"But we don't even know each other."
"Not beyond compassion are the Jedi. Our duty it is to help and protect," Yoda said warmly. "We promise to do whatever we can for you, if come with us you decide to. Even if you do not, try to be there for you in any way we can we will, if you allow us, and always know that turn to us for anything you can should you wish to do so.
Hearing Yoda's words were comforting and gave the boy newfound hope, and it helped him to finally make his decision.
"I'll…I'll go with you."
Yoda reached his hand out to the boy, who slowly grabbed it and came to his feet. Now that the boy had finally calmed down the slight shaking stopped. At the same time there was a deafening noise coming from outside. Dooku glanced out the shattered window and noticed the floating ships had crashed back down on the ground.
Yoda gently patted the boy's shoulder, and led him away from the corner. Now close to the boy, he felt a dormant presence within his psyche. This presence in the boy dwelled deep within his subconscious mind. Even though he could always read force signatures quite well, Yoda could not tell if the presence in the boy was of the dark or light side of the force.
It harnessed all the pure and unadulterated power he had felt earlier and it felt like it had its own personality, almost uncontrollable. Despite this the boy's normal active mind was completely different. It was sane, and in control which was reflected in what he saw in the boy now. Right now the boy appeared as normal as any other child, but nonetheless he had somehow managed to tap into his subconscious mind as earlier events had proven. Yoda knew he would have to keep a close eye on this boy, and plan his future very carefully.
"Your name tell me young one?"
"...I'm O...Obi-Wan. Who are you?"
"Jedi Master Yoda I am" said Yoda.
"And I'm Yanis Dooku" said Dooku.
"...Nice to meet you both."