A/N: Well aren't I just the fucking worst. Apologies for last week's cliff hanger, but chapter 3 was getting quitelong, so I decided to split it into 2 parts-though I must say this is my favourite chapter yet. Hope you like it
Previously:
Reaching for the keyboard, he typed in his Master's name, stared at the information displayed and, ignoring Ahsoka's panicked gasp, collapsed into the seat in front of the console.
NAME: KENOBI, OBI-WAN
AGE: 23
SPECIES: HUMAN
GENDER: MALE
RANK: SENIOR PADAWAN
MASTER: JINN, QUI-GON
STATUS: DECEASED
DECEASED
No matter how many times he willed it not to be true, the word stood bold and proud on Obi-Wan's record, uncaring of the unrest and grief it had caused in its reader.
DECEASED
Either the entire force-forsaken temple had unanimously declared it "Let's Fuck with Anakin Skywalker Day", (which he dismissed. Eventually.) or the truth was no longer deniable.
OBI-WAN KENOBI: DECEASED
It just wasn't possible. Yet there it was.
The file was accompanied by a picture, apparently out-dated. Anakin stared despondently at the screen, and the bright eyes, shaggy red hair and cheeky grin of a 10-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi smiled back. Gazing at the child, he gently reached out his flesh hand and touched the face on the screen. He has a dimple on his chin, was his first thought, I'd forgotten with the beard. He was a cute kid, with a face that was going to break the hearts of many a man and woman when he was older. Although he apparently didn't get to be much older. 13 years from this photo being taken was all this little boy had.
Numbly, he saw a "read on" button, which expanded the small summary to give a slightly more detailed account. He felt cold and detached as he read the following:
Padawan Kenobi was killed in action on the planet of Naboo, following a duel with a suspected Sith Lord, the first to appear in over a millennium. His Master, Jinn, eventually killed the creature, but due to their location and lack of back-up, Kenobi died on the scene before medical assistance could be given.
There was another button. A video file.
Anakin knew what it would be before he hit play. Nevertheless, it didn't make him feel any less nauseous. It was security footage, slightly grainy, but he recognised with ease the generator room in the Naboo palace. This wasn't the first time he had seen this video; everyone had. It was the fight that had labelled Obi-Wan "Sith Killer". A video where not only had a renowned Master fallen, but a mere Padawan had survived? And on top of that, became the first Jedi to fight a Sith and live to tell the tale?
There wasn't a Jedi alive who hadn't seen this.
It was shown in classes regularly, to highlight both Obi-Wan's sabre technique, and his ability to push aside emotions amid a battle without falling to the dark side. Anakin, on the other hand, always felt a burning anger whenever that video was shown. He'd never forget the first time he saw it, a few months after becoming Obi-Wan's student. It was on that day that he realised that there was truly nothing his new Master could have done to save the other Jedi, and the last bit of resentment he'd been holding onto slipped away. He instead felt sorry for Obi-Wan. And while he too knew the harrowing pain of watching the one he loved the most taken away from him when he could do nothing but watch, at least that pain had been private. It was his and his alone.
Instead, the whole temple knew the details of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's final moments together. They heard Kenobi's anguished scream as his teacher was ran through. They saw the look of loathing on his face as he ignited his lightsabre, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation, with Maul pacing in front of him, sizing the Jedi up like a bloodthirsty predator would its prey. They gasped as he lost his weapon and tumbled over the edge of the pit. They cheered as he leapt out and triumphed over the Sith Lord, avenging his Master and more than earning his Knighthood.
They also knew what final words Master had said to Padawan. Anakin had felt immense guilt upon learning that Qui-Gon had used his final breath to speak of him, and not of the man holding him in his arms. No, a single touch to the cheek was all Obi-Wan got. (Not that the two of them had ever talked about it; Anakin was too uncomfortable to bring it up, and his Master had never exactly offered up the information) The video would always cut out before help arrived, the image of Kenobi sobbing over the body of his Master the last thing anyone saw, before the instructor carried on their lesson as if nothing had happened.
Of course, no one had asked Obi-Wan if he was alright letting the video be shown. He was never told when it was used, but he always knew, as the name "Sith Killer" would resurge throughout the halls, along with more than one look of hero worship from younglings. Anakin would make sure to stick close to his Master at these times, glaring daggers at anyone who even so much as looked at Obi-Wan.
The point was, he knew this video so well, he could recite perfectly what happened without watching it. But as it went on, his stomach seemed to fall deeper, and his eyes began to traitorously water again. The blows were the same, the fight unchanged except for one key, crucial detail.
Obi-Wan faced Maul alone first, with Qui-Gon trapped behind the laser wall.
Two voices shouted their denial when Obi-Wan's torso was pierced by the fiery red sabre.
The first was Qui-Gon Jinn, watching helplessly as his student fell before his eyes.
The second was Anakin Skywalker.
"NO!"
Gripping the edges of the monitor so hard the machine started to creak, Anakin stared frantically at the screen, willing the image to change. But change it did not. With a gasp of pain, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi's weapon fell from his grasp as he tumbled to the cold, unforgiving floor. Stepping over the prone form, Maul proceeded over to Qui-Gon. Instead of watching the ensuing fight, Anakin's eyes were glued on Obi-Wan, hoping against hope that the man would get up.
But get up he didn't.
He stayed on the floor, eyes squeezed shut in pain until his mentor made his way to his side. As if in a trance, Anakin saw Qui-Gon cradle the body of his student, whispering useless reassurances until his face went lax and his chest stopped moving. The video stopped playing as sobs racked the body of the elder Jedi.
As the screen returned to the fact file from before, the only sound Anakin could hear was his own laboured breathing. His whole body was shaking as he released his death grip on the databank. He slumped into his seat, suddenly exhausted. Slowly shaking his head in denial, he vaguely felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice in his ear.
"Anakin? Master! What's wrong? ANAKIN."
Ahsoka.
She was still there, and suddenly Anakin understood why she was so concerned for him, why Jocasta Nu had given him a look of such confusion and judgement, why Qui-Gon had looked close to hitting him that morning.
To these people, Obi-Wan Kenobi was long since gone, tragically cut down at such a young age. He never got to live his life, become the Master he was destined to be. Instead, his story ended that day on Naboo in the arms of his teacher. Yet here was Anakin, suddenly asking where he was and claiming to have been the product of his teachings. Coupled with his current appearance, he looked more than a little mad.
So, where was he? In another universe? Another timeline? As much as this had answered some of his questions, it raised so many more.
Reaching out again for the machine, he scrolled back up to the picture of Obi-Wan at ten. Placing his hand on the monitor, he stared into the little boy's eyes and made a silent promise.
I will find you. I don't know how this happened, but I swear I will bring you home.
Feeling his composure about to shatter, he swiftly stood and all but ran from the archives, ignoring Ahsoka's calls for him to wait. Heart and feet pounding, Anakin felt as if he would never stop running. Eventually, he found himself in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, which was mercifully empty. He didn't stop until he reached a far wall, and all but collapsed to his knees. Here, he finally set his emotions loose, allowed the first harsh sob to escape.
After that, the dam seemed to break, and in the solitude of his Master's favourite place in the temple, Anakin wept out of frustration, cruel incomprehension and sheer grief.
A/N: I could be very cruel myself and end this story here, but I promise more is coming. Also, yes, I implied that Obi-Wan was Bisexual because fuck you I can. Until our paths cross again, dear friends, take care x
