Double Trouble
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Qui-Gon stared, his eyes wide and mouth gaping open. "Ob, Obi-Wan," he stammered, "what have you done to yourself?"
The young man standing in front of him did not look like his padawan. Yes, there was the cleft jaw, middle-weight build, and greenish blue eyes. But his eyes were ringed with black, matching his deep mauve velvety tunic. The shiny black boots that Obi-Wan often wore were replaced with scuffed-up knee high boots. The dingy laces were strung tightly and muddied with reddish-brown stains. Beneath his tunic was a yellowing white shirt, the loose fitting sleeves reaching to Obi-Wan's adorned fingers. The many gold rings practically popped out next to the accumulated dirt engrained in his flesh.
"Please tell me that's a wig," Qui-Gon said when his padawan remained silent. Qui-Gon knew All Hallows Eve was coming up and Obi-Wan had a penchant for dressing up in ridiculous costumes, but it was still nearly a month away.
It had to be a wig, Qui-Gon mused. His ginger hair reached to his chin and an angry streak of red ran through it. Had to be a wig, Qui-Gon thought, trying to rid himself of the strange unease coming from his padawan.
It wasn't right. His padawan moved slightly, cocking his head, his eyes becoming turbulent and violent. The force was screaming at Qui-Gon now and his heart leapt to his throat when he heard the door open.
"Master?" Obi-Wan's voice called worriedly.
But that wasn't possible. Obi-Wan was standing in front of him. He knew what Obi-Wan looked like; he wasn't such a horrible master that he didn't know that all the facial features and body type of the young man in front of him clearly stated 'Obi-Wan.'
"Master?" the voice called again.
But that was without a doubt, his padawan's voice, Qui-Gon realized as the footsteps heralded into the same room. The light clanking of the boots stopped behind Qui-Gon's large frame. He heard an intake of breath and Qui-Gon turned around to meet his padawan. This had to be the real one with his shorn ginger hair and filled face, his force signature strong and vibrant much unlike the strange young man who stood a mere five feet away. Obi-Wan's (the real one) bright eyes were locked with his strange counterpart's whose own violent eyes were swimming with confusion.
The strange man took an unstable step back. "Who are you?" he asked.
Qui-Gon's heart thumped frantically. The voice's raspy quality wasn't what unnerved him, but rather, the odd combination of emotions in it. Angry, afraid…there was a slight deterrence in his stance and his chest heaved in a wild sort of panic.
Obi-Wan stepped next to Qui-Gon. "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said, proffering a hand to the other one.
Qui-Gon could feel Obi-Wan trying to release his fear into the force.
The look-a-like stared at Obi-Wan's outstretched hand, his eyes dripping with malice.
Obi-Wan slowly lowered his hand.
"My name was Obi-Wan once," the man said, his posture settling into an eerie calm, "before everything changed."
"Were you a Jedi?" Obi-Wan asked, frowning.
"Once."
…
…
"Well that was a short story," Obi-Wan exclaimed. Turning towards Qui-Gon he asked, "Why did you let that man in? Did you really think that was me?"
Qui-Gon looked incredulously at Obi-Wan and waved a hand at the man in front of him. The other one had the dignity to look slightly insulted.
"I used to look like him."
Qui-Gon stared.
"Well you're just full of information aren't you? Mister creepy weirdo look-a-like dude. Where the Sith did you come from anyway?"
"Did you know Cerasi?" the man asked haltingly.
Obi-Wan froze. He nodded.
"That's why! They took her from me! He stole her away! He's the reason she's dead!" The man was in full-blown panic. His eyes darted around the room, all of a sudden a glint of metal shone in the room. "Where is he?" he asked.
"Who?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Nield! Where is he? Tell him Benjamin Barker has shown up! Tell him, I'll give him a nice old-fashioned shave!" the man yelled.
"Nield never took Cerasi! She's dead. She was killed, but not by Nield."
"It was by her own hand! Because of him!"
"No! It was crossfire…she got hit."
The man, Benjamin Barker, quieted down. And with an audible 'pop' he disappeared.
"What in the name of hell just happened here?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I don't know, I just walked in and he was here…It seems that you have a doppelganger," Qui-Gon said.
"But I thought those were only a myth. And he was supposed to be my polar opposite?"
Qui-Gon frowned. "If you don't consider him your polar opposite, what do you consider your polar opposite?"
"I kind of assumed someone less like me…"
"He was unlike you in many ways, padawan. Didn't you feel the darkness twisting around his very soul? You would never have let it get that far."
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Approximately one month later
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"No."
"But Master!"
"No. Go change."
"But it's funny! It's perfect and I even look like him!"
"You are not being Benjamin Barker for All Hallows Eve and that is final."
"Fine! But when I'm old and gray and living as a hermit in the deserts of Tatooine, my hermit name is going to be Ben!"
"Because that's likely to happen padawan."
"It could! You never know what's going to happen. Always in motion, the future is," Obi-Wan said imitating Yoda.
Qui-Gon shook his head. The insanity just never stopped.
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A.N.: Obi-Wan's doppelganger was based off of the character, Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker. No infringement was intended on either Sweeney Todd or the Jedi Apprentice series.
This was written for Rowena DeVandal's 1,000 words or less September Doppelganger challenge.
Please review! Constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated!