A/N: Well here we go again! Nothing really much to say other than thank you all so much for the continued support that you've given me. I really appreciate it! And just for the record…right now this story is shaping out to be much, much longer than In All Things Balance. I wouldn't say double…but it is going to be longer.

Now to that, I should be able to make my next update in two weeks. However I'm not one hundred percent that I'll make my two week deadline two weeks after. So what I'm saying is that there might be only one update in November instead of two. I will try my best to keep my two week update schedule. But I have some RL commitments that are going to be slowly my writing down considerably in the near future.

A big thank you to my two beta readers HowInMadHowie and Dunstan Xenon. Thank you guys so much for your continued help!

And lastly, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you all think!

Chapter 8

Walking up the canyon path to his home, Obi-Wan Kenobi, former Jedi Master and Jedi Council Member, stopped and leaned up against the cool stone of the canyon wall as he hid from the relentless Tatooine suns. Jedi were taught to ignore such things as extreme cold or heat, but even the most hardened of Jedi would be hard pressed to remain unaffected by Tatooine's unrelenting heat.

Pulling a small water canteen from his hip, Obi-Wan took a long pull, draining the bottle of every drop of water left within. Sighing at not having brought more, Obi-Wan raised his hood back up over his head and continued down the path towards his small hut. Just as he could see his hut in the distance, he felt something…strange. It was like a wave of the Force rolled over him yet…yet he felt nothing hostile about it. But now that it'd passed…he could sense…someone in his house. No. More than just one. Several Force sensitives were in his house and two of them felt somehow…familiar. Yet at the same time…impossible.

Reaching into the folds of his robes, he made sure he had a firm hold on his lightsaber before he continued his trek up the slight hill towards his home. As he reached the entrance, he brought out his lightsaber and with a quick wave of the Force had opened the door to his house before rushing in, hoping to catch those within off guard. And froze the moment he stepped inside his small house…only to almost stumble at the voice that greeted him.

"Is this the way you greet all of your house guests Kenobi? Where's your famous Jedi hospitality?"

Obi-Wan felt his fingers go numb and he only just barely managed to fix his hold on his lightsaber before it slipped from his fingers. Sitting on his couch, with his feet perched up on the small table, was none other than Quinlan Vos. Even more surprising though, was the young woman that was casually leaning up against Vos with her feet propped up over the edge of the seat they were on. There were two others in the room with them, a man and a woman who were sitting just off to the side of the room, but he paid them little mind considering who was in front of him.

"Vos, you're alive." He breathed looking at his friend before turning towards the woman. "And Ventress…I heard you were dead. From Vos no less."

"Well, I would say that it's a pleasure to see you again Kenobi. But that would be a lie for the most part." Ventress smirked. "But I will at least admit that I'm glad you aren't dead. It'd be an awful bother to find a worthy adversary again."

Turning his head ever so slightly, he got a good look at the other two people in the room. They were both Force sensitive, but he didn't recognize either of them. And as a member of the Council, he the fair majority of Jedi that were in the Order. "And you two are?"

"Remus Lupin." The man said, inclining his head slightly.

"Aela…Lupin I guess you could say."

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes at the two of them. Their names were…rather unique. And given their level of power, there was no way he wouldn't have at least known of them if they'd been a part of the Jedi Order. Vos's voice brought him out of his musing.

"Now I know that times are rough Kenobi, but are you really just going to stand there holding onto your lightsaber and glaring at us the whole day?"

Tearing his eyes away from the two unknowns, Kenobi put his lightsaber back into the folds of his robe as he made his way across the small room and towards the seat directly across from Vos; which also allowed him to keep half an eye on the other two while his mind tried to process everything that was going on. "I think that we broke him Quinlan," Ventress chuckled darkly while leaning into Vos more. "Oh, I so wish I could've gotten a still image of his face the moment he walked in the door. Absolutely priceless."

Ventress's comment snapped Obi-Wan out of his stupor. "I'm glad that all of you managed to escape the purge, truly I am." He said slowly still unsure about the two unknowns. "But I can't help but wonder, how did you find me?"

"Oh, that's simple Kenobi," Vos smirked. "The old man told us where to find you."

There was only one man that Vos referred to as "the old man". Although he doubted that Vos would ever have the guts to actually call him that to his face. "Master Yoda…told you that I was here?" If they were speaking the truth, then it was more than likely that Master Yoda had told him just why he was here as well. "Then he must've told you why I am here as well."

"He did." Vos nodded, all previous humor that was in his voice and expression evaporating in an instant. "You're here watching over the son of Anakin Skywalker. Known now as Darth Vader."

Even though he was expecting the answer, it still did not make hearing it any easier. Especially considering the amount of disgust that was laced throughout. "So you know," Obi-Wan sighed. "And my failure is complete."

"The sins of the student should not be levied against the teacher." The man, Remus, spoke up surprising Obi-Wan. "Many have fallen to the darkness, no matter their teacher. Do not let Anakin's fall destroy you."

Staring at the man for a moment, Obi-Wan stretched out with the Force to try and get a feel for the man. What he found was…strange. Not dark. But there was something about this man and the woman. A wildness. Like there was a ferocious animal locked within each of them trying to get out.

"That wasn't very nice." The woman, Aela, growled. A noise which only reaffirmed what he'd felt. "Try that again without permission, and I will tear off your bits."

"Apologies," Obi-Wan apologized quickly. "But I'm afraid that you two have me a great disadvantage. I've known Quinlan for most of my life and I know Ventress quite well. But you two…your aptitude with the Force is on par with any experienced Master within the Jedi Order. And yet, I do not know either of you. So I must ask…who are you two? And how did you come to be traveling with Quinlan?"

"I can answer that Kenobi," Vos said quickly as he set his feet down from the table and leaned forward. "I could go into a whole long story and everything. But you know that isn't my style so I'm just going to say it plain and simple. We found her Kenobi. The woman who spoke to us all through the Force to warn us of the Purge. And as for these two, well you can consider them her emissaries after a fashion."

Of all the possible answers he'd been expecting…this was perhaps the last he'd expected. 'They…they found her? But how? And…' "How? Where?"

"I take it back." Ventress smiled. "I wish I could've gotten a still image of his face now. And to answer your question. Quite a fair amount of stupidity and luck on our part. Not so much for the others."

"Others?" Obi-Wan pressed leaning forward. "Who?"

Smiling, Vos began listing off names, "Well there's the old man of course. Then there's my little spitfire of a former Padawan Aayla. Kento and Mallie Marek, if you can believe that. And their son Galen. And lastly, the one and only Ahsoka Tano."

Obi-Wan was heartened to hear all of their names. But his joy was quickly extinguished as he realized something. "Master Yoda…he told everyone about Anakin. Didn't he?"

"Yes." Vos nodded.

Obi-Wan couldn't help but wince. "How did Ahsoka take it?"

"Not well." Ventress answered. "But that girl is strong, as much as it irks me to admit that. She will get over it. Especially with that green eyed kid with her." Ventress smirked at the mention of unknown "kid".

"'Green eyed kid'?" Obi-Wan questioned as he was still trying to wrap his mind around everything. "What green eyed kid?"

"That's…a long story." Remus chuckled.

"I have time." Obi-Wan responded. He wanted, no, needed to know more.

The four looked back and forth at one another before Vos sighed. "Alright. The abridged version then because the long version will take several days. And truth be told…I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. So, here you go. The woman whose voice you heard is known as Ziri Nox and she is an incredibly powerful Force user." Obi-Wan frowned at the name. It sounded familiar, but for some reason he couldn't place it. "And I can tell you recognize the name. So just to put an end to the mystery, Ziri Nox was also known as Darth Nox of the Sith Empire during the civil war between the Republic and the Empire nearly four millennia ago."

"What?" Obi-Wan asked uncomprehendingly.

"That's right Kenobi." Ventress laughed. "The one who saved the remnants of your Jedi Order was none other than a Dark Lady of the Sith. And probably one of the most powerful ones in history."

"Former Sith." Remus cut in sharply. "She's no longer a 'Sith', as you understand them to be. She's more aligned with what Quinlan called a…what was it again?"

"A Grey Jedi." Quinlan continued. "And that's a point I cannot stress enough Kenobi. She might lean a little bit towards the darker end of the spectrum. But she isn't, or at least isn't any longer, a Sith Lord. In fact, she absolutely abhors the Sith right now. Why I'm not really sure. But she does."

Scratching at his beard, Obi-Wan tried to keep himself in check. The thought that he'd taken the advice of a Sith…even a former Sith at that did not sit all that well with him. "If she is truly Darth Nox from the time of the Sith Empire…then how is she alive? There is no known species that live that long."

"She was trapped in some sort of magical, or Force stasis for several millennia." Remus answered. "When she was finally released, she was visited by several Force ghosts who informed her of just what was going on in the galaxy."

"Wait…she knew what was going on?" Obi-Wan asked as he felt his Jedi calm faltering. "Why didn't she come forth with what she knew?"

"And how would that have gone over Kenobi?" Ventress asked sarcastically. "A renowned Sith Lord shows up on Coruscant in the Jedi Temple out of the blue and says that she's there to help. You Jedi would've been so blinded by her label as a Sith that you would've either killed her on the spot or locked her in the deepest darkest pit you could find."

Unfortunately…she had a point. "So where did she go then?"

"She left to find our world." Remus pointed to himself and Aela. "Apparently, our world has an abnormally large number of Force sensitives. The ghosts that visited her sent her to our world in an effort to create a…safe haven so to speak should the worst come to pass."

"Define abnormally large." Obi-Wan said resting his forearms onto his knees.

Aela shrugged. "I believe Nox said somewhere around…0.1%? So roughly six million."

Obi-Wan's almost face planted into the floor as his forearms slipped off of his knees. 'Six million? By the Force…there hasn't been a number of Force sensitives like that since…well…ever. And if that's true…then how come the Jedi have never sensed this world? Six million Force sensitives…if they were all on one planet just about any Master or even the Knights would've been able to sense them in deep meditation.'

"I had just about the same reaction as you Kenobi." Vos laughed as he reached into his robe and pulled out an ornate…mirror? "Now we can go around in circles for days about whether or not what we're saying is actually true or not. So to avoid that we have this. Think of it as a long range communicator."

Taking the mirror, Obi-Wan looked it over with both his eyes and with the Force. He could feel a slight pull from the item…but other than that it looked like just an ordinary mirror. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Hold it up to eye level," Remus explained. "Then say in a clear voice, 'mirror mirror in my hand, show me the one to whom I wish to speak'. And think of the person you wish to talk too."

Obi-Wan shot a questioning glance towards Vos, but his old comrade didn't have anything to say. "Okay then," he muttered holding the mirror up to eye level. "Mirror mirror in my hand…show me the one to whom I wish to –" He felt a slight vibration in his hand, and in the mirror every hair on his head stood up and turned…white.

Across from Aela was trying, and failing, to hold in her laughter while Ventress wasn't even trying as she openly laughed at him. "Don't worry Kenobi." Vos laughed as Obi-Wan felt his hair…and found that it was indeed sticking up in every direction. "He's gotten all of us with that one. You should've seen Asajj's hair whe–"

"Finish that sentence and you'll be sleeping alone for the next year." Ventress growled.

Still trying to figure out what had just happened to him, after failing to figure out how to break through the Force illusion that'd been cast over him, he lowered the mirror and set it back down. "How uncivilized."

"I told you!" Vos clapped before turning towards Remus. "That's twenty creds you owe me! Now change him back."

"Wait, what?" Obi-Wan was more than a little confused as Remus, who was still laughing, pulled out a stick from beneath his arm and wave it lazily towards him. He felt a subtle wave of the Force wash over him. And when he felt his hair again it was back to normal. Picking up the mirror, he found his hair was back to its normal color and style. "What did you just do?"

"Magic." Remus smirked. "Now for serious this time. Hold the mirror up and say 'Yoda'. It may take him a moment, but when he picks up the mirror he has a connection will be formed between the two of you and you will be able to speak with him."

Still more than slightly wary, Obi-Wan picked up the mirror again and held it up to eye level. "Master Yoda."

Nothing happened for a moment, but just as Obi-Wan was about to put the mirror back down the reflective surface rippled as if it were made of liquid. And when the ripples stopped, he was no longer looking at his own reflection, but rather the face of Master Yoda. "Ah, Master Kenobi. Warms my heart to see you again, it does."

For the second time in less than a few minutes, Obi-Wan nearly dropped the mirror that he held in his hand. "M– Master Yoda?" Obi-Wan breathed, turning the mirror over in his hand trying, and failing, to break through whatever Force trick was being used on him. "How?"

"Many uses for the Force, our new allies have found Master Kenobi." Master Yoda said to him from the mirror. "This form of communication, merely the beginning, it is."

Staring down at the mirror, Obi-Wan wanted to believe that he was staring at the man he respected almost more than any other. He certainly sounded like the Master Yoda he knew. But…part of him just wasn't willing to accept it so easily. Not after everything that'd happened to them. "Master Yoda…"

"Doubt that I am who you see, you do Master Kenobi." The image of Yoda sighed. "Understand I do. Ask a question that only I would be able to answer, you should. Put your mind at ease, it will."

Thinking for a moment, Obi-Wan knew exactly what question to ask. "When we last parted, you said that you had training for me. What was it?"

"Train to communicate with your old Master, I tasked you with." Master Yoda answered without hesitation.

There was no doubt about it now. Master Yoda was the only one in the room with him when he'd revealed the revelation that his old Master had become one with the Force and that Master Yoda was going to teach him how to communicate with him. "Master Yoda…it's really you? Where…where are you?"

"With our new ally on their home world, I am."

"You're with this…Nox then?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes." Master Yoda nodded. "Understand your reservations, I do. But understand as well, guided her to us, the Force has. Trust in the Force, we must. If to survive, we are."

Obi-Wan bit the inside of his cheek as he stared down silently at the mirror. "What would you have me do Master?"

"Bring young Skywalker and his family to our new refuge, you must."

"Wait. The boy and his relatives?" Quinlan asked out loud. "We might be able to convince them to let us leave with the boy. But I'm not about to force someone to leave their home if they don't want to."

Obi-Wan could see Master Yoda hum in the mirror. "If leave they do not wish, force them you shall not. But should they stay…dark is their future. Grave danger shall they face. For their own protection, leave with you, they should."

"Do we even have space to fit them?" Ventress asked, turning her attention to Remus and Aela.

"Yes." Remus nodded without hesitation. "We still have an extra tent. A few more passengers should be no problem at all. We should be able to find something that they can do back on Earth to give us all a hand."

"Agree with me, Master Nox has." Yoda cut in, ending the debate. "Welcome Skywalker's family, she will. Bring them if they wish. But force them, do not. Farewell, Master Kenobi. Look forward to seeing you soon, I do. May the Force, be with us all."

As Yoda's image rippled away, Obi-Wan handed the mirror back off to Remus. "Let me pack the few things that I have." He said, rising to his feet. "Then I will take you to Owen and Beru."

But even as he set about collecting his few meager possessions, he couldn't help but wonder just how in the name of the Force he was going to convince Owen and Beru to either give up Luke, or abandon everything they'd ever known. 'Force…why can't anything ever be simple?'


Sitting in the small dining room within the underground cavern like hut, Remus idly sipped on the blue milky drink that'd been given to him by their hosts as Obi-Wan tried to talk Owen and Beru Lars into leaving their farm. Sitting around the table with them were Quinlan, Asajj, Aela and Beru who was still holding onto little Luke.

"I understand and appreciate your concern, Master Jedi," Owen said as Obi-Wan tried once again to convince the two of them to leave with them. "But the simple fact of the matter is, Beru and I are moisture farmers. And we're happy here. Away from the Republic– or Empire as they are now called. We have no wish to get dragged into any wars. Present or future."

"I understand." Obi-Wan sighed regretfully. "And I'm sorry to have dragged the both of you into this mess. And I'm sorry to have to take Luke from you both."

"It's alright Master Jedi." Beru smiled sadly, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "We both knew the moment that you brought him to us that there would come a day when you would be taking him away once again. We just…didn't expect it to come so soon." Sniffing loudly, Beru carefully handed the still sleeping Luke over to Aela. "You'll take good care of him, won't you?"

"As if he were my own." Aela promised, holding onto the small child carefully.

Smiling, Beru reached behind her and grabbed a small miniature starship off of the shelf. "Here…this is his favorite toy."

"Thank you." Aela smiled as she carefully arranged the sleeping baby in her arms before taking the small toy and resting it against Luke's blanketed chest.

"If something should come up and you two feel that you are in danger please do not hesitate to contact me on the holo-frequency that I gave you." Obi-Wan said as he rose from the table, prompting the rest of them to follow suit.

"We will Master Kenobi." Owen smiled as he bowed the Jedi. "And we wish you luck, wherever it is that you're going."

Following the others out of the underground hut, Remus shielded his eyes against the unrelenting Tatooine sun as the group began their march towards the ship. "Merlin's saggy balls…did you have to park it so far away?" Aela growled lowly as she kept hold of Luke.

"If I landed any closer we'd be on top of the hut or worse in the canyon." Ventress shrugged, seemingly completely unbothered by the heat. "You know, for all of the amazing Force abilities you people have, it's still amazing that you've yet to figure out how to use the Force to ignore the elements around you."

Just as they were reaching the ramp leading into the ship, Obi-Wan stopped and turned around sharply. "What is it?" Quinlan asked as he, and Ventress, all froze up. "I sense…what is that?"

Before Remus could ask what they were talking about, he felt it. A bone chilling cold that went down to his bones despite the heat of the desert. "W– what? What is this…cold?"

A low whistling noise, audible to only Remus's sensitive ears, was the only warning they had before a small fighter craft of some sort flew over their heads heading straight for the farm hut less than a few hundred meters away. The next few seconds pass unbelievably slowly for Remus. Obi-Wan cried out and started running towards the hut with Quinlan yelling after him. His wand was less than half-way out into his palm before the fighter dropped something into the canyon-like home. The next thing he knew, Remus was flat on his back and a ball of fire was rising up from the canyon.

"Kenobi! Stop!" Shaking his head, Remus saw that Obi-Wan was still running right for the hut, even as the fighter was turning around.

Reaffirming his grip on his wand, Remus raised it up and shouted, "Protego maxima!"

The powerful shield spell slowly enveloped the ship and the surrounding area just as the fighter had made it back to them. The fighter opened fire with its blasters, but each shot was stopped dead by the shield Remus had created. "Shite! That fool has a death wish." Ventress growled.

Taking his eyes off of the fighter, Remus saw that Obi-Wan had reached the hut and was now using the Force to try and subdue the flames as he ran in. "Remus, how long while this shield of yours hold?" Quinlan asked as the fighter made another pass at them.

"Against that ship? A few hours or so." Remus grunted as he got up and immediately put a hand against his side. 'A broken rib at least…probably more.'

"Good," Quinlan nodded before turning to them. "I'm going for Kenobi. You three get inside and get the ship ready to depart now."

"I'm coming with you." Remus grunted as he got to his feet. "No arguments. I can get the two of you back and inside the ship with that pilot being none the wiser. So let's move."

Not even bothering to see if Quinlan was going to take his suggestion or not, Remus waited until the fighter passed overhead again before running as fast as his legs could carry him between the ship and the hut.

Inside the hut, the flames that Kenobi hadn't been able to subdue spread rapidly through the numerous electronics and pipes lining the house. Waving his wand, Remus sent a powerful extinguishing charm which spread through the house like a wave while suffocating all the fires within. Holding a hand to his side, he and Quinlan marched down into the hut while shouting for Kenobi, Beru and Owen.

A short flight of stairs down and they found the three of them. Beru was dead, her chest crushed by a large piece of iron. Owen was alive, if only barely. A large piece of pipe impaled through his gut while Kenobi knelt by his side holding onto his hand. "…guess it's…too late to say…we've rec–re considered? Eh Kenobi." Owen coughed as a small stream of blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth.

Kneeling down next to the man, Remus waved his wand over him while casting a diagnostics spell. What he saw…wasn't pretty. One of his lungs was collapsed. His liver, stomach, diaphragm and large intestine where all ruptured by the pipe in his gut. In short…there was nothing that he could do for him.

"I'm sorry." Kenobi said, his voice thick with remorse as he closed his eyes. "If I had never come…"

"You…don't know that…" Owen coughed again. "I've heard…stories…the Empire goes after…families. We're…Skywalker's family. We always wondered if…if they would come…"

"Is there anything that you can do to help him Remus?" Quinlan asked coming up behind them.

"Help?" Owen laughed before coughing up even more blood. "I– I might just be a farmer. But I know…what a pipe through the– the gut means. There is no…no helping me now."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Remus leaned in closer to the dying man. "If you wish…I can make it quick and painless."

Owen looked up at him, and Remus could've sworn that he saw a measure of gratefulness in his eyes. "Please…Master Jedi. End it. Now."

Nodding, Remus placed the tip of his wand against the man's heart and motioned for Obi-Wan to let go. "Avada Kedavra."

A green light pulsed from the end of his wand and into Owen's chest. "May you find peace in what awaits beyond." Remus said solemnly as he closed the man's eyes.

Turning back around, Obi-Wan was staring at him with a mixture of awe, confusion, anger and suspicion. Just as he was about to say something, the hut was rocked as the fighter more than likely made another pass at them. "We'll explain everything later Kenobi!" Quinlan yelled, ending whatever Obi-Wan had been about to say. "Remus, can you get us out of here and onto the ship."

"Yes." He said placing a hand on both Quinlan's and Obi-Wan's shoulders, the latter whom pulled back slightly, but not out fully out of his reach. "Just a fair warning, but this is going to be extremely-" a crack filled the air as the three of them disappeared, only to reappear in the small hold of the Howling Wind. "Unpleasant."

Quinlan managed to stay on his feet, if only barely. But Obi-Wan fell right onto his face while holding onto his gut. "What…what was that?" He gasped. "It felt…it felt like we were traveling through the Force and…and are we back in the ship?"

Ignoring Obi-Wan for the moment, Remus hurried along towards the cockpit, where both Asajj and Aela were frantically trying to get the ship up and running. "What's wrong?"

"Just about fucking everything!" Asajj growled as she leapt out of her seat and shoulder her way past him, making him wince as his ribs painfully reminded him of his previous injury.

"One of the engines was slightly damaged during the first attack." Aela answered him as Quinlan and Obi-Wan made their way into the cockpit. "We're trying to fix it, but it's not going well."

Overhead, the four watched as the fighter make another pass, unleashing a barrage of blaster bolts against the shield. "How much longer can this…shield hold for?" Obi-Wan asked looking over at him.

Pulling out his wand, Remus made a quick jab to connect his mind to the shield. What he found was…shocking. The shield was failing. Rapidly. 'Just what in Merlin's name is this pilot hitting us with? This shield can stand up to a barrage of spells for several hours without a problem. And even though I created it on short notice…it should've been able to hold an hour or more. But now…now it looks like it might survive another few minutes if we're lucky.'

"Not much longer." Remus growled as he closed his eyes and started channeling his magic into the shield to try and reinforce it. "A few passes at best. Aela…I need you to bring up the runic cluster onboard."

"On it." Aela nodded as she vaulted out of her seat and towards the back of the ship.

Next to him he felt, rather than saw, Obi-Wan lean forward and look out the viewport.

"Quinlan…help them as best you can." He said pulling back and making for the exit. "I'll try and buy us some time."

"What kind of bantha shit are you going on about now Kenobi?" Quinlan growled.

"I know who's piloting that fighter." Obi-Wan sighed. "And before you say anything, this isn't some self-sacrificing act. I'll buy us some time by going out there and stalling him. While I'm doing that, you four get this ship airborne and then come and pick me up."

"One problem in that plan." Remus grunted as he felt the shield pull on his magic again. "How do you know that this guy won't simply blast you away from the safety of his ship?"

"Don't worry about that." Obi-Wan responded as he walked out of the cockpit. "He'll want to kill me in person. Not from behind the controls of a fighter."


After walking a hundred or so meters from the ship, Obi-Wan looked up and watched as the fighter went to make another pass, only to sharply veer off and speed towards him. It took everything in his power to keep himself calm as the fighter passed him over and his fears were confirmed as he felt an all too familiar presence from within.

'So it is him.' He thought as the fighter turned around and sped towards him, only to come to an abrupt stop before touching down softly a short distance in front of him. 'But why is he here? Does he know about Luke? Unlikely. Only a three of us knew about the birth of the twins and we had the droids' minds wiped. No. He can't know. But I guess it doesn't really matter how he came to be here. All that matters is that he is here. And I have to do everything I can to keep him from getting to the ship.'

Closing his eyes, he sunk down to his knees and sought the peace and serenity of the Force even as he heard a pair of heavy boots impact the hardened sand before him. "So you are here. Obi-Wan."

"As are you, my fallen Padawan."

Opening his eyes, he stared first at a pair of black boots before looking upwards towards the helmet the hid his old friend's face. The respirator that was keeping his lungs functioning let out several deep breaths as the two just sat and stood there staring at one another. "Anakin Skywalker is dead. Whatever was left of him was destroyed on Mustafar." His fallen friend breathed. "I am Darth Vader."

"It matters not what you call yourself. Changing your name will not change who you are." Shaking his head, Obi-Wan let out a long sigh. "Tell me Anakin. Was it worth it? Was all of the pain and suffering you've inflicted upon yourself and others worth it? Your brothers and sisters in the Jedi Order slaughtered without mercy. Losing Padme and your chil-"

Obi-Wan had only a brief warning from the Force to move before he rolled backwards and onto his feet just as a red lightsaber slashed at the ground where he'd been sitting. "Do. Not. Speak. Her. Name." Vader growled and despite the unrelenting heat of Tatooine, Obi-Wan felt a chill down to his bones as the dark side of the Force radiated off of Vader. "You turned her against me!"

"As I said on Mustafar Anakin, you did that yourself." Obi-Wan replied coldly. "You are the one who turned to the dark side. You are the one who led the attack on the Jedi Temple and slaughtered younglings. And you are the one who nearly choked her to dea-."

Again, Vader slashed out at him forcing him to side step while using the Force to push himself just far enough away so to be out of the range of his lightsaber. "Your anger has unbalanced you Anakin." Obi-Wan sighed as he calmly folded his hands into the arms of his robes. "Have you forgotten everything that I taught you?"

"I told you," Vader growled. "There is no Anakin Skywalker anymore. Skywalker was weak. Pathetic. He lacked the strength to do what was needed. Now…he is gone. And soon all traces or memories of him will be gone as well."

Eyes widening, Obi-Wan risked a glance towards the ship. "That is why you've come then isn't it? To end all ties that you once had in the galaxy."

"Yes." Vader answered simply. "The slave owner Watto, he died pathetically begging for his life as I squeezed the life out of him. And those two…they had ties to Skywalker's mother. They failed to protect her…so they have more than earned their fate as well."

'Two? So…he doesn't know about Luke then. Thank the Force for small favors.' "They were innocents Anakin." Obi-Wan said, his hand moving inside the sleeves of his robes. "Have you really fallen so low that you feel nothing at killing innocents?"

"They were a nuisance. Nothing more." Vader countered back. "And now they are dead. Just as my Master wished."

"You truly have fallen far, my old Padawan." Obi-Wan sighed as he grabbed hold of the lightsaber in his sleeve and brought it out into the open. "Then I shall do what I must on my oath as a Jedi to protect innocents of the galaxy."

"You couldn't kill me on Mustafar." Vader growled while pointing his lightsaber at him. "And I have grown far far stronger since then. You will stand no chance against me now."

Arching an eyebrow, Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber. "Are you telling me this in an attempt to make me run Anakin?"

"No." Vader shot back, and he could've sworn he heard a slight twinge of amusement in his voice. "I merely wish to cause you as much despair as possible before I end your pathetic existence."

Obi-Wan nearly faltered at hearing the malicious in his voice. "I couldn't kill you on Mustafar because Anakin Skywalker was my Padawan. My friend. My brother." Taking a breath, he held up his lightsaber before his face. "Darth Vader is none of those things. And I will do what I must to ensure the safety of innocents."

"You will try. And you will fail."

Obi-Wan just barely managed to get his lightsaber up into a high block as Vader's red blade descended upon him almost faster than the eye could see. Side stepping and pushing Vader's blade off to his side, Obi-Wan settled into a traditional Soresu stance while waiting to see what Vader would do next.

Vader hesitated only a moment before once again pressing his attack. And when he did it was all Obi-Wan could do to keep up with him. Anakin had been a master at both versions of Form V when he'd been a Jedi, but usually preferred Shien. But Vader…Vader seemed to prefer Djem So. His attacks were brutally strong and more than once Obi-Wan felt his guard faltering under sheer tenacity of Vader's attacks. Back and forth the two traded blows, but as the fight progressed Obi-Wan found himself constantly on his back foot as he tried to keep himself from being overwhelmed.

Obi-Wan circled his blade hoping to break their deadlock, and ended up on the receiving end of Vader's boot right into his gut. Before he could recover, he felt his throat being constricted painfully as he was lifted up off the ground. "You skills have dulled Obi-Wan." Vader taunted him while he tried desperately to use the Force to break the hold Vader had on him. "You time spent on this rock has defeated y-"

Vader quickly turned sideways as he brought his lightsaber around to clash against the green blade that was coming right for his head. The distraction was enough that Obi-Wan was able to break through what was holding him in place and he collapsed onto the ground while taking in several desperate breaths. "Well damn. I thought I'd be able to take your head before you even noticed."

Vader remained silent as he stared at the Quinlan Vos who'd somehow managed to launch an attack without either of them even noticing. 'I didn't even feel his presence. How did he do that?'

"Master Quinlan Vos." Vader intoned, pushing Vos blade off to the side with his own. "You masked your presence from me to try and get in a killing blow from behind. Not very Jedi of you."

"Eh, what can I say? I'm not necessarily the stereotypical Jedi type." Vos shrugged with a grin.

"Obviously." Vader responded lowly as he carefully stepped off to the side while keeping his lightsaber in front of him. "You should have never turned your back on the dark side Vos. You don't understand the power you forsook."

"Oh, I know all too well Vader– or whatever the fuck you're calling yourself now." Vos shot back without any humor. "Perhaps in time, you too will realize the price you pay for falling uncontrollably into the cesspool that is the Dark Side."

"And yet, I still sense the dark side within you Vos." Vader said back.

"Of course," Vos nodded. "I said 'falling uncontrollably' idiot. There is such a thing known as moderation. But…I'm afraid our time here is at an end. Kenobi. Duck."

Obi-Wan had just the briefest warnings from the Force before he felt a burning heat sail over his head, singeing the hairs on the back on his neck. When he looked up again, it was to the sight of perhaps the strangest thing he had ever seen. It was some sort of canine made entirely of flame that was attacking Vader.

Vader slashed his lightsaber through the creature, cleaving it in two. But then to everyone's amazement, the canine reformed and renewed its attack against Vader. Just as Obi-Wan was regaining his feet, some sort of avian creature made of flames flew past him towards Vader, followed quickly by another four legged creature.

Abandoning his lightsaber, Vader relied solely on the Force to try and repel the creatures. He was able to keep the three of them back. But when a fourth, a snake creature, slithered into the fray, Obi-Wan could clearly see that Vader was starting to struggle.

"No time for gawking Kenobi." Vos shouted nearly in his ear as his old friend grabbed him by the shoulder and began forcibly pulling him towards away from Vader, who was now fighting against all four flame creatures while a fifth, a bird, flew towards them. "I'm not sure just what he's doing. But I don't think he can keep this up for long."

Turning towards the ship, he saw that Remus was standing on the loading ramp with his stick, wand, in hand. He felt the briefest surges of the Force and another four legged creature made of flame came to life from the tip of his wand and ran towards the other animals. "Move!" Remus grunted, the stress of what he was doing written clear across his face as the two of them reached the loading ramp. "I can't hold this up for much longer."

Deciding that questions could be left for another time, Obi-Wan let Vos guide him into the small ship before leading him to the even smaller bridge before dropping him down into one of the seats. Dropping down in the seat next to Ventress, Vos immediately took to the controls of the ship. "Remus is holding him off for the moment. But we need to leave now."

"I know," Ventress growled as she activated one last control. "Remus! Get your ass in here or we'll be leaving you to get your ass handed to you!"

"I'm in." Remus's voice echoed back. "Get us out of here! That won't hold him for long."

Leaning back in his seat, Obi-Wan rubbed at his neck as the small craft lifted up off the ground and shot off towards the sky and away from his fallen Padawan.


Standing amongst the scorched ruined land, Vader stared up at the sky. He'd been so close to having his vengeance. But once again Obi-Wan Kenobi managed to elude him. 'But not for long.' He thought as he continued to stare up in the direction the ship had flown off in. 'There is a ship in orbit. They have nowhere to go. Soon I will have my vengeance. And I will extract whatever secrets that strange Jedi has.'

It'd been his Master who'd ordered him to come to this waste of a planet. There were still traces of Anakin Skywalker within him. Traces that were preventing him from reaching his full potential with the Dark side. So on his Master's command, he'd come to put an end to those traces.

Killing the slave owner Watto had been…pathetically easy. The little flying womp rat had tried to beg for his life, offering him credits, slaves or whatever else he might want. But all of his pleas fell on deaf ears as Vader choked the life out of him.

After Watto's death, he set out on his own to put a quick end to Owen and Beru Lars. But as he was flying he…felt a disturbance in the Force. A presence that he hadn't felt in a long time. A presence that filled him with rage. His old Master was on Tatooine. So after bombing the farm he'd been ready to order his men to hunt down the wayward Jedi…when out of nowhere his old Master came out to meet him. He could've easily have blasted the Jedi from his fighter, but that would've been too impersonal. He wanted Kenobi to suffer like he had suffered. So he landed his craft and fought him: Jedi to Sith.

Their brief fight had been, in a word…disappointing. Obviously Kenobi had been neglecting his training while in isolation. The only reason that Kenobi even managed to survive had been because of the interference of Master Vos and that other strange Force user. It was a sound tactic on their part, one that Vader wouldn't let happen again. Vos distracted him while that other man used some sort of strange Force technique to create living creatures made of fire.

By the time he'd actually managed to subdue the flames that'd surrounded him; Kenobi, Vos and the mysterious Force user were all gone. And he was left standing there to ponder what had just happened.

Strange Force techniques were not a new thing for Vader. The witches of Dathomir possessed Force abilities unlike any ever seen. But the witches were all gone now. Wiped out by Count Dooku and his pet Grievous during the Clone Wars. It was highly unlikely that the witches taught their abilities to an outsider, let alone a male outsider. But perhaps there was another sect of Force users out in the galaxy that had abilities similar to the witches. But then the question became, how did the Jedi find them in the first place? And when? Or perhaps…perhaps the mysterious Force presence that brought him to his knees during the Purge was part of this sect of strange Force users.

The more he thought about it, the more that line of thought made the most sense. It would explain how they managed to stay out of his Master's vision for so long. And how they've managed to hide from them as well. If this were true…then capturing that this mysterious Force user that was traveling with Skywalker's old Master was now a top priority. Once he got his hands on him, he would extract everything the man knew of the mysterious Force user that had interrupted the purge. And once he learned everything he could, he would overthrow his Master and bring true order to the galaxy as its Emperor.

A low beeping ended Vader's thoughts as he reached down and retrieved the holocomm attached to his belt. "Commander." He said levelly as the image of the commander of the destroyer he'd confiscated appeared before him. "Report."

The commander's hologram fidgeted slightly. "My Lord…I regret to inform you we were unable to detain the ship before it managed to flee the system. I apologize my Lord and take full responsibility."

Vader stared down at the hologram suddenly thankful that his mask prevented anyone from seeing his face. "Send a shuttle to my location. I shall deal with your failure when I arrive."

The commander visibly gulped. "Yes my Lord. A shuttle is on its way a-"

Crushing the communicator in his hand, Vader faced off against the now-deserted farm before him. Howling in rage, he lashed out at the nearest object, a large moisture generator. The device shattered into a thousand pieces before coming back together in a ball of condensed metal that he then threw as far as he could. Next he turned to a nearby speeder that was stripped into pieces within seconds. Still not satisfied, he focused in one the hut before him. Reaching deep, he grabbed the hut at its base buried within the groaned. With hardly any effort he pulled the entirety of the hut out of the ground, lifting it nearly a dozen meters into the air before crushing it when he clenched his fist.

By the time his shuttle arrived there was little left of the moisture farm. Sweeping past the troopers that'd come down in the shuttle without even a passing glance, Vader hand his way towards the front of the shuttle. Both pilots cowered slightly from his presence as he stood in the forward section of the small ship. "Take me to my ship. Now."


Sitting in the mess hall of the small ship he now found himself on, Obi-Wan held his head in his hands as he tried to meditate in order to find some semblance of peace. But no matter how hard he tried, peace eluded him. His failure, doubly so now, kept taunting at the edges of his mind preventing him from finding any rest.

"Alright, knock that shite off right now Kenobi."

Raising his head, Obi-Wan let out a tired sigh. "Not now Vos."

"No. Now Kenobi." Quinlan said, marching across the small room and taking the seat right next to Obi-Wan. "You need to stop this shite right now man. What happened back there isn't your fault."

"Yes it is Vos." Obi-Wan nearly growled. "Triply so. First I failed to prevent Anakin from falling to the Dark side. Then I failed to end the Sith that he'd become when I had the chance. And now I've failed to protect a pair of innocents who'd done no wrong ever."

"Alright Kenobi, enough the pity party." Vos growled. "Do you have any idea how I felt after everything that I did during the time I served with Count Dooku as his Apprentice? Shite…it took the old man himself to actually get my ass back in gear after I came back to the Order. So I'm basically going to give you the same advice that he gave me. Learn from your past. But don't let it consume who you are."

Letting Quinlan's words sink in, Obi-Wan turned and gave his old friend a small grin. "Thanks Quinlan."

"Eh, that's what I'm here for. Moral support and all that bantha shit." He laughed before clapping Obi-Wan on the back. "Now come on. We got some time now, so let's go and properly introduce you to our new allies in their tent."

"Tent?" Obi-Wan questioned as Quinlan led him out of the mess room and towards one of the two crew quarter rooms.

Pressing a button to open the door, the two were met with the sight of a…tent. An actual cloth tent that looked barely big enough to hold two people laying down side by side. "Okay…" Obi-Wan said wearily as he reached out and felt some vibrations from the Force emanating from the tent. "Is this another joke?"

"Trust me Kenobi," Quinlan smiled as he held the tent flap aside for him. "This is no joke."

Figuring that he'd already come this far, Obi-Wan ducked into the tent– and was nearly run over by Quinlan as he tried to enter behind him. The inside of the tent…wasn't simply possible. The room they were now standing within was perhaps bigger than even the ship! And all around him he could feel the Force. Focusing hard, he tried to break through whatever illusion was being cast. But he couldn't.

"Alright…" Obi-Wan said slowly. "What is going on?"

"I believe it's called 'spatial compression, Master Kenobi." Remus's voice called out to him from the back of the tent. A moment later the scruffy looking man appeared, bare chested with numerous bandages wrapped around his middle. "Our people have learned quite a few interesting ways to utilize magic, or the Force as you call it. This tent is one of those applications. Using magic to create a spatially compressed area within another finite area. Quite ingenious don't you think?"

Reaching out with his hand, Obi-Wan felt the cloth canvas with his bare hand. "This…this is real."

"Well at least he's having a better reaction than Ahsoka." Remus laughed drawing Obi-Wan immediately out of his musing. "She must've run in and out of her tent about a dozen or so times before she was actually convinced that what she was seeing was real."

"Move your ass Kenobi, you're blocking the way."

Spinning around, he found a mildly irate looking Ventress standing behind him waiting for him to move so she could enter the tent. "Still so uncivilized." He muttered moving aside for the former Sith Acolyte.

Ventress however merely glanced at him, growled, and then flipped a credit chip towards Quinlan. "You told him to say that, didn't you?"

"Not at all," Quinlan smirked as he pocketed his newly acquired chip. "I just know Kenobi better than you."

Shaking his head, Obi-Wan turned back towards Remus as the other man sat down at a table in the center of the tent and pulled out a crystal like bottle full of a deep brown-red liquid.

"Firewhiskey," he explained before pulling out a stick and waving it in a tight circle. Beneath where his stick was pointing the air…vibrated almost as he felt a surge of the Force and then there were five glasses, each the size of a fist, sitting there. "It'll probably help considering the day we just had."

Taking a seat across from him, Obi-Wan picked up one of the glasses to inspect it. "How did you create this with the Force?"

"I told ya Kenobi," Vos chuckled as he took a seat next to him with Ventress sitting as far away as she could while still being at the table. "They're people have found uses for the Force that we've never even dreamed of. Or maybe someone has, but if they had then they were never researched. Even the old man was more than slightly awed by what mere children could do."

Deciding to fish for information, Obi-Wan set his glass down and let Remus fill it with several fingers of the liquor. "And where is your world?" He asked taking the glass but not drinking. "If it were anywhere in the Republic Core Worlds the Jedi would've noticed it immediately. Especially if it has a Force sensitive population like you claim."

"Well that's the thing Kenobi." Quinlan once again answered, downing his drink in one go. Curiously enough…his face turned slightly red as he did so and he could've sworn wisps of steam escaped from his friend's ears. "Their world isn't in the Core, or even in the Outer Rim. Their world is deep in the uncharted sections of the galaxy."

Obi-Wan merely dropped his drink. In a way…it made sense. A world so heavily saturated with Force sensitives would have to be far, far away from any Jedi or Sith in order to remain unnoticed. Deciding that his drink was looking better and better, he downed the entire glass in one go. And wished he hadn't. "Force!" He cried as he felt steam leave his ears and…and a small stream of fire pass from his lips. "What is in that?"

"I told you," Remus laughed. "Firewhiskey. It lives up to its name. But continuing on, what Quinlan just told you is true. Our world is deep in the 'uncharted' section of the galaxy. Because of that, we've been uninfluenced by either the Sith or the Jedi and as such have been allowed to develop our magic, or Force abilities, as we see fit."

"So why leave now?" Obi-Wan asked. "It can't be coincidence that you people decided to leave the safety of your world so soon after the Purge."

"No it isn't a coincidence." Aela announced, walking into the main room and picking up one of the glasses and downing its contents with ease. "There is a…Veil of sorts around our world. No one knows where it came from, but it essentially blocks Force users from finding us. Well, except for Nox that is. But the Veil is weakening. By best estimate in a decade or so it will be gone. And when it fails, the Sith will know who we are and will come looking for us. Best guess? Within the next fifty years the might of the Galactic Empire will be knocking on our home looking to extinguish us."

"So it's allies then." Obi-Wan concluded, leaning back and falling into his 'Negotiator' role that'd been famous for during the Clone Wars. "You're offering sanctuary to lost Jedi in hopes that we will help defend your home against the Empire when they come knocking."

"Crude, but essentially yes." Remus nodded, filling his glass again. "But don't get us wrong. We didn't wait until you Jedi were on your last legs before coming after you. In truth…this is the first voyage denizens of our world has made beyond our own moon in history. And only a dozen or so of us even know about this trip. That is why we couldn't offer aid before. Nox has been slowly building up Earth's technology, but it's a slow process."

Rubbing at his beard, Obi-Wan idly turned his glass in his hand as he tried to think. "So why have you come after me? Over all the Jedi in the galaxy? Is it because of Luke?"

"In part." Aela admitted. "When we parted with the others, Madam Nox tasked us with three things: The first was to find you and young Luke. And that was simply because we knew where you two were. The second, is to find any wayward Jedi and offer them sanctuary. And third, is to collect one Leia Skywalker from Bail Organa. If he's willing to let her go of course."

Sighing, Obi-Wan put his glass down. "Now I see why it was so important that I join you as well. I'm the only one here besides Master Yoda who can get into contact with Senator Organa without the alerting the Empire."

"That's not the only reason Kenobi." Vos said shaking his head. "I would've come for you no matter what."

Lowering his eyes, Obi-Wan took a few deep calming breaths before turning towards Remus. "I need my trunk Master Lupin."

"Just Remus will do." The man responded with a slight smile as he reached into one of his coat pockets and pulled out the miniaturized trunk that held all of Obi-Wan's possessions.

Pulling out his strange stick, Remus touched the tip of it to his trunk and Obi-Wan was able to just barely feel a slight surge of the Force as the trunk floated off of his hand as it started to enlarge. By the time it touched down softly on the floor it was back to the same size it'd always been.

"Fascinating." Obi-Wan breathed as he felt the trunk, both with his hand and through the Force, trying to figure out what type of Force trick he'd used to hide it. "How did you hide it?"

"I didn't, at least not how you're thinking." Remus replied. "I actually did shrink the trunk and everything within."

"Don't gawk too much Kenobi," Vos laughed as Obi-Wan continued to stare down at the trunk that held all of his belongings. "He hasn't even begun to show you all the ways his people have discovered to use the Force. Even Master Yoda was floored by some of the things they can do."

Opening the trunk, Obi-Wan rummaged down towards the bottom before finding what he was looking for. A small handheld holocomm. Taking his seat once more, Obi-Wan hesitated only for a moment before activating the small device. "There is a chance that Senator Organa won't answer," Obi-Wan explained as the communicator started beeping in his hand as it tried to establish a connection. "If he doesn't what shall–"just then the image of Senator Organa appeared floating just above the surface of the small disk. "Never mind."

"Master Kenobi, it is good to hear from you again." The Senator greeted with a slight bow. "But I must admit that I am more than slightly surprised. I had not expected to hear from you again so soon."

"Apologies, Senator Organa." Kenobi greeted back with a nod of his head. "I understand that this call is more than unexpected, but unfortunately the situation has changed and I was forced to flee Tatooine with Luke and his Aunt and Uncle."

Bail composure faltered slightly. "What happened?"

"Vader came to Tatooine in an effort to remove any and all lingering ties that Anakin Skywalker had with the galaxy." Obi-Wan said with a shake of his head. He should've predicted such a move, but part of him still yearned for the possibility that his former friend wasn't lost completely. "We managed to prevent that, for the most part. But we were forced to flee Tatooine."

"And what of Luke? Is Vader aware as to his true parentage?"

"No, thank the Force." Obi-Wan sighed. "But unfortunately, we can't rule out the possibility that he will eventually put it all together. Luke is strong. So strong that it's impossible that Vader hadn't noticed him. And with my presence so close to the child's, Vader will eventually put it together. And because of that, and I'm sorry to ask this of you, but I feel that it would be for the best that Leia comes with us as well."

On the holo, Bail stared at him blankly for a moment before sighing and shaking his head. "I'm sorry Master Kenobi. But that is impossible now." Bail said before holding up his hand to stop Obi-Wan from responding. "That isn't to say that I don't agree with you. In fact, if I could I would put my wife and daughter on a shuttle and send them to your location within the hour. But that is no longer an option. The Emperor, is his infinite 'wisdom', has expressed concerns about my well-being. He feels that since my family has had such long ties with the Order, that my family and I could be the main targets in a retribution strike. To that end, he has assigned personal guards to look after every member of my family. Even my extended family. And should any of us turn up missing, he's promised me that they will stop at nothing to make sure that I am reunited with my family." The senator looked at Obi-Wan trying to stress the hypocrisy of Palpatine's order.

Leaning back, Obi-Wan scratched at his beard. 'Thankfully Leia isn't particularly strong in the Force.' "I understand Senator Organa. And I apologize for backing you into such an awkward situation."

"Pay it no heed, Master Kenobi." Bail said, waving off his concern. "My wife and I both knew what we agreed to the moment we took young Leia into our home. But if I may ask, where will you be going now that Tatooine is no longer an option?"

Looking across the tent, Obi-Wan met Remus's eyes. The man stared back at him for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm afraid that for both of our sakes, Senator Organa, that that particular piece of information is better left unknown."

"I understand Master Kenobi." Bail responded quickly, almost as if he'd expected that answer. "But before you go, I believe I have some information that you will find most interesting. It appears that the Empire has managed to track a Jedi Master to the world of Felucia. I don't know who this Master is, or whether or not they are even there. But the Empire is currently putting together an entire battlegroup to deal with them. And in the meantime, just about every bounty hunter in the sector is heading for Felucia to try and cash in on the bounty."

That was definitely something worth knowing. "Thank you for the information Senator. Take care of yourself, and may the Force be with you."

"And you as well, my friend." Senator Organa bowed before the hologram flickered out of existence.

"Well, that went about as well as we predicted." Vos commented as Obi-Wan lowered his communicator. "Any guesses as to who this 'Master' is?"

At this, Obi-Wan merely shrugged. "There are a number of Master's who are believed to have escaped the Purge. Most notably Rahm Kota, your own Master Tholme. Master Shaak Ti and Master T'ra Saa. But none of them were stationed anywhere near Felucia before the Purge. The only Jedi Master who was stationed in that sector was Master Secura. And by your own accounts, she is now with this Nox and the others. It could be Barriss Offee, she was with Master Secura on Felucia. But unfortunately I highly doubt that is the case, as last I heard the Empire managed to capture her."

"Perhaps whoever is there thought that Aayla would still be there." Aela offered. "Is this Felucia a highly populated world?"

"Sparsely." Vos answered. "It's a garden world for the most part. I could see Master T'ra Saa heading there. But anyone else? I'm not so sure. The land is pretty inhospitable without the aid of technology. Either that, or you'd have to be very adapt with the Force in order to survive unaided for any amount of time. But that might also work to our advantage because then they will be easier for us to find."

"So what are we waiting for?" Aela asked. "A sparsely populated world. A lost Jedi. A few hundred bounty hunters and their ships standing between us…it ought to be fun."

Sighing, Obi-Wan down his second glass of the liquor. At least this time he managed to keep his reaction under control. "You and I Madam…have two very different definitions of the word 'fun'."


Walking through the halls of Hogwarts with Hermione, Ron, Daphne and Tracey at his side, Harry marveled at just how…different he felt. Their 'trip' over the summer had definitely opened the eyes of his friends. Even Harry, who'd been training his whole life to fight, had been shaken slightly. So together, they had decided that they were no longer going to hold themselves back for the sake of their peers. Sooner or later, they were going to be fighting in a war. They didn't have time for the ridiculous drama of school.

Their first class of the year had been a transfiguration group class that had all four houses present. For the first part, Professor McGonagall had lectured about transfiguring an animate object into an inanimate one, and had then presented each of them with a small hedgehog into a pincushion. While the rest of the class floundered about, waving their wands and mispronouncing the spell badly, Harry and his group merely pulled out their wands and as one, touched their individual hedgehogs and created seven perfect pincushions.

The entire class pretty much came to a standstill after that, with McGonagall doing no more than raising an eyebrow at their quick success before asking them to turn them back, which they all did without hesitation. Then, just because Harry felt like it, he then transfigured the hedgehog wordlessly into a pincushion and then back. That had gotten a reaction out of his usually unflappable Professor. Nothing more than a slightly widening of the eyes, but a reaction nonetheless.

Their next class of the day had been Potions. Which completely failed to deviate from the same format that it'd been following for the past three years. The students would file into the class. Snape would throw insults at them, most of which were directed at Harry, lecture for a few minutes and then put up some potion on the board with instructions and told them to get to work. Even the sabotaging attempts by Draco and the few Slytherin allies he had left hadn't ceased. If anything they increased in number and creativity. But despite everything, Harry and Ron still managed to brew a perfect potion and handed it in at the end of class without uttering a single word to Snape or Draco. Neither of them were worth it anyway.

The next day they started out with History of Magic. Which again none of them even bothered to pretend to pay attention, not that Binns seemed to even notice or care for that matter, as they all worked on reading ahead in their runes and arithmancy classes which they had later on that same day.

By the third day, their not-so-small group had gained an almost legendary status within the school's fourth years. Mostly due to their performances in both Charms and Transfiguration in which they were able to perform any and all spells put forth to them by the Professors. And in both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy by acing the after acing the beginning of the year exams in each class.

"So, what do you think Professor Moody is going to be like in class?" Hermione asked out loud as they made their way up to the defense classroom.

"Ginny said that he was…mad. But brilliant." Harry answered as they came within sight of the room. Ginny had a few more choice words for the man, but in the end had concluded that he was probably the best man to teach defense; bar Remus of course. "She also said to be ready for anything. So keep alert at all times."

The moment they walked through the doors to the classroom, Harry felt his back immediately stiffen slightly, but still managed to keep his composure. Moody wasn't at his desk. In fact…he didn't appear to be anywhere in the room. With a slight nod to his friends, the five of them took their seats next to one another as Harry calmly palmed his wand and cast a wordless spell.

As soon as the last of the students took their seats, the door to the room slammed shut and no less than a dozen stinging hexes shot out from the back of the class hitting several students in the back or on their rump. All except for Harry that is. As the stinging hex that'd been aimed for him splashed harmlessly against the shield he'd managed to cast over his back.

"Constant vigilance!"

A part of the back wall shimmered as Professor Moody suddenly became visible to the naked eye. His rotating eye moving around the class as he walked towards the front of the room, only to come to a halt next to Harry. "How did you know Potter?"

"You might want to consider changing your aftershave Professor." Harry answered back. "Even though I couldn't see you, I could smell you the moment I walked into the room and figured that, since you were hiding, you were planning on doing something so I took steps to protect myself."

Moody stared at him for a minute or two before throwing his head back and laughing. "That's the best one yet Potter! You've got your father's wit, no doubt about that. And it looks like you inherited a bit of his skill too." Limping the rest of the way to the front of the class, Moody spun on his heel and glared at all of them before continuing.

"Let's get one thing straight right here and now you little whelps. I've been through several wars, both magical and mundane. I've been fighting dark wizards and witches since before most of your parents were alive. And the only reason I am here is because Dumbledore practically browbeat me into taking the post. I am not here to be your friend. I am here for one reason only. And that is to try and teach you little shites some of what I've learned over my extensive career."

Turning his back to the class, Moody started digging through his desk. "Brown! You'd better put that paper under the desk away before I turn back around or it'll be ash!"

At the table next to him, Lavender jumped and blushed bright red as she hurried to put away the astronomy homework that she'd been showing Parvati under the table. "Sorry Professor." She mumbled.

Moody didn't bother to respond to her as he turned back around. "Now, looking back over what you learned in the previous three years…eh, what the bloody hell am I talking about? The only time you even learned anything was last year under Lupin. So we have a lot of ground to cover this year. Starting with curses."

Drawing his wand out, Moody flicked it towards the board where one of the pieces of chalk began to write on its own. "Now there are more bloody curses out there than we can count." Moody lectured as he walked up and down the rows of students. "Some are instantaneous whereas some could take years to actually show any effect. My leg was hit with an acid curse back in the Second World War; started disintegrating my flesh and bone right away. Ended up cutting my own leg off with a cutting curse to the knee in order to stop it. But of all the curses out there…there are three that are considered 'unforgivable'. Using any of these curses without Ministry consent will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban for life. Now, who can name them? Malfoy. I'm sure that you know one. After all, your father cried it often enough."

Draco flushed brightly. "The Imperius Curse."

"Heard that one from your father didn't ya?" Moody glared at Malfoy. "But you're right…so take five bloody points to Slytherin. Now who can name another one? Longbottom."

Neville jumped slightly at hearing his name called and started to stutter. "Um…the-the Cruciatus Curse…"

"Right, take five for Gryffindor lad." Moody said before hobbling up to Neville and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Your parents were two of the best folks I've ever known. Don't let what happened to them destroy ya lad. Now that's two down and one to go…Potter."

"The Killing Curse, Professor." Harry answered without hesitation.

"Right you are lad. Five more points for Gryffindor." Moody nodded while moving back to the chalkboard. "These curses are indeed dangerous. But there are many out there that have similar effects, if to a lesser degree. So why are these three considered to be so 'Unforgivable'? Greengrass."

"Because there is no magical way to defend one's self against them Professor." Daphne answered back immediately. "You can avoid them or place physical objects between you and the caster. But unlike other magical curses or hexes, there is no known magical way to defend against those three."

Turning around, Moody gazed at Daphne with a slight grin. "I'll give ya three points for that answer Greengrass. Mostly because there does seem to be a magical way to defend against them, otherwise Mr. Potter here wouldn't be with us any longer." At that, most of the class turned towards Harry, but Moody pressed on regardless of the distraction. "And you also get partial credit because while there is no known magical defense against the three, two of them can be resisted."

With a tight twirl of his wand, Moody summoned three large jars from his desk, inside of each were a large spider. Opening the first jar, Moody enlarged the spider before magically lifting it up and placing it on his desk. "Now, for obvious reasons I'm not about to teach you whelps how to cast these curses. But I am, with Ministry approval mind you, show them to you. And we'll start off with the Imperius curse. Imperio!"

Immediately, the spider on his desk froze before it started to do cartwheels across the desk surface and then jumping-jacks. "Quite amusing, isn't it?" Moody asked as the majority of the class, save for Harry and his friends, laughed as the spider proceeded to jump around the room. "I can make it do acrobatics. Or maybe even sing a song if it had the lungs for it. Or maybe…maybe I'll make it jump out the window to its death." The spider jumped towards the window before stopping right on its edge. "Or maybe I should make it drown itself." The spider moved over to a pail of water Moody had conjured and sat on the edge. No one in the class was laughing now.

"The Imperius Curse gives one total control over another." Moody said seriously, all levity gone from his voice. "I could make this spider kill itself or its loved ones and it would do it without hesitation. Now going back to Ms. Greengrass's answer. It is possible to resist this curse if one has a strong mind." He accented his point by glaring at Draco, who flushed in anger in response. "But also, if the commands given are too complex or if they go against the true will of the recipient, then the curse becomes easier to resist. Now, onto the next curse."

Pulling the next spider out from its jar, he repeated the process of enlarging the spider before pointing his wand at it. "Crucio!"

The spider immediately started squealing and writhing on the desk top. As quick as the spell started however, Moody ended it and put the spider back in its jar. "The Torture Curse." He said solemnly. "I've been the recipient of this curse no less than ten times in my lifetime. Short term exposure is easily survivable and the after effects can be countered. But prolonged exposure…can cause death or worse."

Harry couldn't help but notice the look that Moody shot Neville, or the fact that Neville seemed to fold in on himself. Harry could sympathize with his classmate. He'd heard from Sirius and Amelia that after Voldemort's fall, his followers went after Neville's parents and tortured them for information for some reason. The two managed to survive, but they both lost their minds as a result. His mother, after hearing the story and recognizing a chance, had delved into ways to potentially heal the mind, but even after three years of research she'd come up empty.

"And now for the last curse." Moody said, bringing Harry back to the present as he brought out the last spider and enlarged it. Without any fanfare, Moody pointed his wand at the spider and said, "Avada kedavra."

A sickly green light that Harry knew all too well leapt out of Moody's wind and hit the spider. The arachnid immediately flipped over onto its back as its leg curled in on themselves.

"Instantaneous death." Moody growled. "There is no way to stop the curse expect to get out of its way or place something in its path, and there has been only one case in history. And he is sitting right here in front of me."

Again the entire class turned towards Harry, but Moody didn't let the silence reign as he pressed on. "Now obviously I'm not about to use any of these curses on you. Nor am I going to show you how to actually perform them. Don't feel like carting any of your sorry arses off to Azkaban just yet. But we are going to be going over some of the finer details of the curses. So get out your bloody quills and parchment and start paying attention."

For the rest of the class Moody lectured on the history of the curses and their individual properties. But despite the wealth of knowledge, Moody kept his word and didn't actually tell them how to cast the curses outside of 'ya can't just wave your wand and say the curse'.

At the end of the class while everyone was packing away their belongings, Moody called out to him. "Potter. Stay after and come up to my office."

Sharing a quick, reassuring, glance with his friends, Harry packed up the rest of his supplies and headed towards the back of the classroom towards Moody's office. The inside of the office could only be defined as 'spartan'. The only things decorating the office was a liquor cabinet. A large trunk. And Moody's desk. "Have a seat Potter." Moody growled as he opened the liquor cabinet, pull out two glass, filled each with what could've only been firewhiskey and then sat down at the desk while pushing one glass towards Harry.

"I'm underage sir." Harry said as Moody downed his glass in one go.

"Hogwash." Moody growled. "You're what? Fourteen? By your age your father, godfather and Remus were all shite-faced and swinging from the candles in the Great Hall. Don't try to sell me some story about you never having a drink before. Now drink up lad."

Still more than slightly wary, Harry drew his wand out just enough to line it along one of his fingers while still keeping it out of sight from Moody. The moment his hand, and wand, touched the glass the liquid inside evaporated in a puff of yellow smoke. "Really Professor?" Harry asked, fanning the smoke away from him. "Veritaserum?"

Instead of being mad however, Moody merely laughed. "Ha! Well done lad. The last one to catch onto that little trick was your father and Nymphadora. Now, you saw me pour the drink and drink from the same bottle. So how did I get the serum in yours and not in mine?"

Harry thought for a second before grinning as the answer came to him. "You laced the glass with the serum. That's why you were careful with which glass you handed me."

This time, Moody nearly doubled over as he laughed. "Ha! Right you are lad! Not even your father got that one right!" Reaching into the folds of his robe, Moody pulled out his own flask and took a long pull. "Now lad…how about you drop the act."

"Sir?"

"Your glasses lad." Moody said completely serious. "I don't know who made those for you, either Sirius or my own little protégé Nymphadora. But those bloody things were designed specifically to fool my eye. Which of course caught my attention. Now take them off."

Realizing that there was no way he was going to talk himself out of this one, Harry reached up and took off his glasses. "Well then," Moody nodded as Harry's black and green eyes became visible. "That explains why you would wear those things. People often explain that which they cannot understand as dark. Mind telling me how you got those?"

Putting his glasses back on, Harry figured that a half-truth would be better than an outright lie. "My mother took me on a spiritual journey of sorts this summer. My eyes were a side effect of that journey."

Moody stared at him for a long moment before nodding. "Aye. I've heard of those spiritual journey things. Several cultures have them within their magical community and they can cause some physical changes. But just off the record, you might want to work on that story a bit. For starters, I, and Dumbledore, know that your mother took you and all of your merry band of friends on a trip this summer. Where we don't know, but we know."

Harry couldn't help but blink. Sure he kind of figured that Dumbledore would know that he and a number of students disappeared for most of the summer. But to hear it confirmed was still somewhat shocking. "So…are you going to tell Dumbledore about my eyes then?"

"Why the bloody hell would I do that?" Moody growled, surprising Harry. "I respect the old man, but I'm not his spy. And if he can't figure out that you're fooling him, than that's his problem." Pausing, Moody took another pull of his drink. "I'll speak plainly lad. Dumbledore thinks you're going dark. You and your little entourage. And the whole reason I'm here this year is to ascertain whether or not that is true."

"So why tell me?" Harry asked. "If you're trying to find out whether or not I'm going dark, telling me your purpose seems sort of counter intuitive."

"It's like I told you kid, I ain't no spy." Moody growled. "And also…because I know your father. Hell, I was the one who trained him after he finished school. Do you know that the night Voldemort came for you he brought several of his flunkies along with him? Forensics determined that your father killed two and went toe to toe with Voldemort himself for a time. A third was killed as well, your adoptive mother's work I'd imagine."

"And what's your point?" Harry asked leaning back.

Leaning forward, both of Moody's eyes fixed on Harry as he conjured another glass for Harry and poured a fair amount of firewhiskey into it. "My point is this lad. I saw a spark in your father. He was willing to do what needed to be done to preserve the peace. Even if it meant he had to kill someone. Was he dark because of that? Fuck no. And I see that same spark in you lad. Do I think you're dangerous? Yes. But so am I. Do I think that there's a possibility of you going 'dark'? Possible. But then again, many consider me dark as well."

Reaching out, Harry idly turned the glass in his hand. "So what are you going to tell Dumbledore? That I'm dangerous?"

"Bloody hell kid, give the old man some credit. He already knows that you're dangerous. He's just worried about you." Moody chuckled darkly. "The old man has seen the rise to two dark lord's lad. He sees some of your traits and actions that are identical to those taken by Voldemort and Grindelwald. But what he doesn't realize; is that your actions also mirror his own. So for me kid, the way I see it is that you could either become the next Light Lord, or you could become the next Dark Lord. Just know though…should you go dark I will hunt you down and either kill you or throw your sorry arse in Azkaban to rot."

"Or there's a third option Professor." Harry countered. "I don't become either."

Moody actually seemed rather surprised by that omission. "A Grey Lord? Huh. There hasn't been one of those in a long bloody time. Since well before Merlin. That…would be quite the sight to see."

"Well then Professor," Harry said as he stood up and picked up the glass, downing its contents and doing everything in his power not to cough it all back up. "Keep your eyes open and stay alive along enough, and you might just see that."

"We'll see lad….we'll see." Moody said as Harry walked out of the Professor's office.

Just outside of the classroom, Harry found all of his friends, including Susan, Hannah, Ginny and Luna who must've run down after their classes were down. Hermione, ever the impatient one, spotted him first. "Well Harry?"

Instead of answering though, Harry turned to Daphne before motioning for everyone to start walking. "What did you pick up from him?"

"It was…difficult to get an accurate read on him." Daphne admitted. "Probably because of his magical eye, or leg, or the fact that a third of his body is being held together through magical means. But what I could sense was a darkness lurking within him. I believe that he could be made into an ally. Especially with what we've heard from Tonks and Sirius."

"I think so too," Harry admitted, thinking back on the conversation they'd just had. "But for the moment…we play the waiting game."