Okay about Obi-Wan's name, I don't understand why the "-" did not appear between his name for the first chapters, but I don't plan on going back and fixing it – I'm WAY to lazy to do ALL that! Haha So I've been typing it as "Obi-Wan" and for whatever reason Chapter 9 came out correctly so just deal!

Please review! I don't want to have to put up a "deleting" notice again :p

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Star Wars; all rights go to George Lucas!

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Obi-Wan rubbed his chin as he sat back down at the table, Qui-Gon was very cautious about the soup before finally tasting it; he had a surprised expression, as he tasted something wonderful. Obi-Wan was a terrible cook, Qui-Gon would always dump little by little down the sink or into the flower pot, which he would have to get rid of the next day and replace – it was tearing him apart in credits. Did his young padawan spontaneously learn to cook?

Qui-Gon Jinn was much smarter than that.

"Who was here," Qui-Gon asked.

Obi-Wan jumped slightly at being brought from his thoughts, "I told you, no one."

"I don't like being lied to Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said, "there's clothes in the disinfectant, the refresher has been used – and judging by your dry hair, it wasn't you. And the soup is actually good."

"What's that supposed to mean," Obi-Wan Kenobi pouted.

Qui-Gon sighed, "I'm sorry to say that I have lied to you, my young padawan. You can't cook. There, I've told you the truth, now you tell me."

Obi-Wan frowned at that, "you remember my friend that I mentioned, Raven?"

"She was here," Qui-Gon questioned, "what was she doing out so far out here?"

"That's what I wanted to know," Obi-Wan scoffed, "I guess her and her Master are here on a mission too."

Qui-Gon furrowed his brows, "Obi-Wan, no one else is stationed here. It's just us."

- ? -

Raven looked up tiredly, her feet sinking into the hot, orange grainy sand as she walked. She had been chased out of the jungle, and hated the heat that beat down on her relentlessly. The only cover she had was Obi-Wan's tunic that he had given her a couple weeks back. Her thoughts distracted her enough so that she didn't notice the dip, her foot sunk further than she anticipated and she tumbled down the hill.

Lying there for a moment, she finally pushed herself up and shook off the sand that had covered her in her fall. She scanned the area carefully and her eyes landed on a black figure – a mirage? No, she felt through the Force and was met with familiar feeling of her Master, Maul. It was sinister and dark; usually there was protectiveness that let Raven know that her Master truly did care for her, but at the moment there was none, something was different…off balance.

Stumbling to her feet she made her way to the opened area where he stood, waiting; but for what? She probed lightly, cautiously and finally picked it up; he was preparing for a fight; but for whom?

Raven had an idea, but didn't want to dwell on the idea.

"Darth Sidious only has use for one apprentice," Maul spoke in his smooth voice that seemed to somehow lazily carry through the thick heat and reach Raven, he dropped his robe and ignited one side of his saber, "which means one of us is not leaving this planet alive."

Raven didn't have much time to dwell on his words, or even comprehend them because he quickly charged her; she stumbled back and ignited her saber as they crashed weapons. As the two held against each other, testing each other's strength; she took in her Master's state. He was healthy, strong where as her body was exhausted from running the entire time. She was weak, and even she could see the outcome of this battle!

Her right shoulder twitched in pain and she knew that it would give out in just a matter of moments so quickly used the Force to shove her Master back and switch her weapon to her left hand. It felt awkward, but it would have to do if she had any chance of surviving.

Numbly she went through the familiar motions as she fought her Master; looking for an opening in his defenses and looking for the right moment to switch from offensive to defensive. He suddenly spun and kicked her, Raven stumbled and tried to avoid leaving an opening in her defenses but he saw one and burnt her skin across her abdomen so that she crumbled.

He stood over her, "I'm going to make you suffer."

Glaring, Raven shot up and charged this time; her strikes were all precise in all of his openings, but she moved a lot slower than she usually did. This gave Maul ample amount of time to block her attacks and to give an attack himself. She was growing frustrated at her own weakness, but she kept going – determined not to slow but Maul could tell that she was tiring.

Realizing this, Raven decided she needed to get an advantage. She suddenly kicked his saber out of his hand and went for an attack of her own but he ducked out of the way and put his hand up to use the Force. She grunted and struggled to keep her hold on her saber before he yanked it away. Raven feeling she had no other way, she pounced on him; he wasn't anticipating such an attack and stumbled with the weight – though very light, and the two pummeled to the orange sand beneath them. Maul threw a punch, and Raven used her forearm to block the attack and then kneed him in the stomach, he grunted as he fell off of her. She rolled onto her stomach and called upon her weapon with the Force, Maul did the same; both were ignited and Raven turned onto her back just in time to defend herself from Maul's attack.

Both sabers slowly eased towards her and she grunted in effort as it sizzled near her skin and crackled in a silent threat. Raven knew that strength alone wasn't going to help her, Maul watched as her eyes turned black and she put up a barrier between her and his weapon, once his weapon hit the black barrier, it bounced off; giving him no other alternative but to get up so he didn't get burned by his own weapon. She flipped herself up and ducked as he charged once more.

He struck once more, expecting her block, leaving her weak right shoulder open. He grabbed the muscle, and he watched her eyes widen at her mistake as he forcefully twisted it; the cry of pain couldn't be held in as she stumbled back, her right hand now limp. He burnt her cheek and she fell to the dirt once more.

"I'll kill your sister when I'm done with you, save her the misery," Raven froze, he knew about Lauren? "Of course I know-" he paused to cut her leg, she cried out in pain, "I know about you going to see her. You're lucky, Lord Sidious doesn't know – he would manipulate you with her! With your foolish pathetic love for her; don't worry, me killing her will be an act of mercy-"

"NO!"

She charged; her movements were a flurry of energy that Raven didn't even know she had; but Maul, being the Master, knew her too well. Knew every trick that she would try, knew every step that she took in a mirror image of his own, every muscle that tensed in her body; Maul knew what moves she would make.

Maul shoved her back and tripped her, giving him the higher ground once more. Before she could defend herself, Maul stepped on her wrist so that she glared down at the point of his red saber and then returned her gaze back up to him. Maul couldn't help but a feel a bit of pride for his apprentice, even when faced with death she still didn't reveal any emotion to him.

"I guess the best apprentice won," he grinned and reached down grab her saber from her hand.

In one final moment of defiance, Maul watched as she suddenly latched onto his hand. He was reminded of his act of defiance when Sidious sent him through the Ultimate Test. The same anger and rage burned in her eyes as she clamped her pathetic teeth into his hand, but it was enough to cause a little blood to erupt from his red and black tattooed flesh. She then released as Maul started laughing.

Alike they were in so many ways, and different all the same. He was truly proud of his apprentice, and knew that if she did ever kill him to be a Sith Lord – somewhere beneath all the hate and anger, he knew he would be proud to have raised such a fine Dark Lord.

"What's so funny," she growled, Raven didn't like to be laughed at, who did?

"Darth Sidious still wants us both, young one," Darth Maul explained, "You have passed the Ultimate Test. You shall now go by, Darth Serim, Dark Lord of the Sith."

- ? -

For a while Obi-Wan was concerned that Raven never got off Etti IV and was ready to go back and fetch his friend, he had decided that if she wasn't back by the end of that week he would return at all costs. But it was a fateful Friday when Raven entered Dexter's café from her usual morning jog, she slid into her seat easily and gave him a soft smile as Dex set two drinks in front of them.

"Raven, where have you been," Dexter said with a grin, "Obi-Wan's been moping around here, haven't seen ya in months!"

"It was just one," corrected Raven with a grin, "and I was off planet."

Her tone told Dex that she didn't wish to say anymore, and he understood, so the Besalisk patted her back and said, "good to see ya again."

"You too, Dex," Raven called out to the cook and sniffed her drink cautiously, "well it doesn't smell terrible."

"Where have you been," Obi-Wan suddenly demanded, slamming his hand down – it made a loud bang, but he watched as she didn't even jump but kept her face calm. Someone trained to keep thir emotions in check; "It's been almost a month since you've been back!"

"Technically two weeks," Raven stated matter-of-factly, but didn't say anything more.

"What were you doing there anyways," Obi-Wan demanded, "Why did you take so long? Why were those assassin droids after you?"

Raven raised a thinly shaped eyebrow, "what makes you think they were after me and not you?"

"I wasn't hiding in the jungle and running," Obi-Wan scowled.

"I wasn't running…I was moving…very quickly," she said, before sipping on her drink and raising her eyebrows in interest.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, "will you give me a straight answer?"

Raven slapped her forehead, he noticed she used her left hand – not her right, was her shoulder still injured?

"Before I forget," she said, reaching into her bag and pulling something out for him, "I washed them."

Folded neatly were his brown jedi tunic and leggings, Obi-Wan had completely forgotten that he had given them to her. He watched as her right shoulder twitched and she placed the clothes down on the table and slid them across the table. There was no evidence of pain on her facial expression, but he motion of her placing clothes on the table, instead of holding them out, was enough to make the Jedi padawan suspicious.

"You could've kept them," Obi-Wan said with a shrug, "I have about a dozen of the exact same."

"What, they don't have a jedi shop in the temple," questioned Raven with a smirk.

Obi-Wan sighed and sipped the new concoction, it was good – strawberries and bananas, "you are yet to answer any of my questions.

"And I thought we agreed not to talk about this," she groaned out, she slumped in her seat, obviously upset with how the subject had turned back, "why do you always bring this up?"

Obi-Wan glared, "because my Master has never heard of you, I've spoken with the other female padawans too, no one has heard of you as Elizabeth or Raven!"

"Keep your voice down, don't get your leggings in a wad," she scowled as she continued to slump, she tried crossing her arms, but then he saw it, she winced from the action and just set her hands in her lap.

"Are you injured?"

"No," she scoffed.

"You know, when you lie, your voice gets a little higher," he said with a smirk.

"Does not," she lied once more, only to confirm his observation, she glared.

He moved over to her seat and moved the sleeve of her tunic, he eyed the shoulder warily as she looked away in shame and embarrassment. Of course he couldn't see anything, but by feeling the muscle she let out a slight whimper, by her reaction the entire muscle was tender and this made him worry even more.

"Your Master didn't help heal you," Obi-Wan asked, when she shook her head, he grabbed her elbow, "c'mon we'll report this to the jedi council!"

"No, Obi," she growled as she snatched her arm away, "it's fine!"

She saw hurt in his eyes and she realize dhow close they were, she slid so she was pressed against the wall instead and then stubbornly slipped underneath the table to get out instead of asking him to move. She would never admit how childish the act was, but she put her hands on her hips and jutted her chin out defiantly.

"I will be leaving for another mission-"

"So soon from your last," Obi-Wan asked in surprise.

"I'll see you when I return," she stated simply, her tone leaving no room for his argument that he wanted to make, "I'll see you again soon, Obi."

HOORAY! I'm all caught up! So hopefully I'll have the next chapter up by the end of the week :) Thanks guys for either being patient or for reading and not reviewing, but I do have to ask one thing: REVIEW!