I was able to get this one up a little quicker than usual! Well... sort of... Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! Happy New Year!

Asajj was dreaming. She hadn't dreamed in years.

It was Ohma-D'un, the moon on which she had first met Kenobi. Obi-wan would have appreciated the irony in the dream. She hated her past, yet this dream brought a wistful smile to her sleeping countenance. The moment replayed itself in her head as if it had happened yesterday. The imagery was that vivid.

The moon had been one of the most humid places she had ever been to; full of lush forests and hundreds of swamps, it was wet to the core. As much as she had hated it then, she couldn't help but admire the oddly beautiful terrain in her dream.

It played out like she remembered. She and Durge had brought a poisonous gas to the moon, intent on wiping out every last gungan that inhabited the area. They had caught the Jedi completely off guard with their strength and numbers. This was the first time Asajj had made herself known to the Jedi.

He appeared in her dream exactly as he had appeared those many years ago. His hair had been longer and shaggier than it was now, unkempt and streaked with mud from the swamps. There were fewer wrinkles on his face and he carried himself differently, almost with more confidence. Or, rather, a different sort of confidence. One borne from determination and youthful inexperience.

That had been one of only two times she had almost killed him. Durge had almost taken his head off first with a poorly-aimed blaster shot, and Asajj had taken it upon herself to finish the job. She was so close, had been barely a second away from ending the life of the young master. Then Skywalker had arrived and the battle had changed, with her being on the retreating side.

The dream slowed when it came to the moment when she had turned to get one more glimpse of the Jedi that had eluded her. Her eyes locked with the most vibrant blue gaze she had ever had the pleasure of seeing. She had missed it then, back when things had been different and they were still enemies. She had missed the confusion in his eyes, mistaking it for loathing. But it was different in the dream, now that the moment was being played out in slow motion.

He had seen her light. The confusion was caused by the inability to understand. He hadn't known why she was so dark.

The moment started to fade at that point, as if the Force had showed her all that she was meant to see at that particular time. The last thing she saw before it faded to black was Kenobi's gaze, still locked on her face, as she turned away to follow Durge into the thick growth of the swamp. She had been the first to look away.

Even as she began to stir, Asajj still saw his face in her mind, the eyes flashing with swirling hues of blue and green. It had yet to fade to that dull gray she was so familiar with now. She would have to ask him sometime what had caused the change, if he even knew.

Her eyes blinked open and she squinted, trying to adjust to the light. When everything came into focus, her gaze settled on the young man standing just outside her cell. She smiled. "Luke Skywalker," she said. "What a pleasure it is to finally meet you properly."

~~OOO~~

Luke had watched the lady in silent contemplation. It was curious, the way that she smiled when whatever she was dreaming about clearly troubled her. He could feel the slight quickening of her heartbeat, her distress a subtle throb in the Force.

But her smile had been genuine, one glowing with both joy and gratefulness at the same time. He wondered what she was so grateful for that caused even a few tears to accompany that smile. It was confusing. The emotion he felt in the Force was in complete contrast to the emotion on her face. He didn't have enough time to decipher it, though, since she was now stirring and her eyes were blinking open.

As she adjusted to the light, she reached up and subconsciously wiped the tear streaks from her pale face. He wondered if she really knew that they were there. Then she turned and fixed him in her sights. She smiled again. "Luke Skywalker," she said. "What a pleasure it is to finally meet you properly."

He didn't answer at first, instead choosing to observe her face and see if he could pick up any clues as to what she had been dreaming about. All he got in return was a poker face with a poker smile. Luke sighed and sat down outside the cell, legs crossed, back straight. This way he could talk to her on her level. "Nice to meet you too. I'm… um… sorry for how we first met. Yesterday wasn't the greatest day in the world and I wasn't in the greatest mood." He stopped, hoping that she would accept his apology and forget about the whole Force-suppressant deal.

Her head tilted to the left and her smile almost transitioned into a smirk. "No need to point that out; it was quite obvious." She paused. "Apology accepted, though. At least now I know you're not the arrogant, self-centered jerk I first took you for."

He felt a brief rush of anger, but he smothered it with a light chuckle. "Thanks, I guess. I don't think you actually told me your name…"

"Asajj Ventress."

Luke's brow furrowed. "No offense, but that's a strange name. You're not from around here are you?"

She actually laughed. "Please… spare me your subtle hints and questions, will you? I've been through enough interrogations to know how it works. Don't insult my intelligence by asking questions I'm smart enough not to answer."

Luke actually felt a little guilty and bowed his head slightly. "Sorry… I just sort of blurted it out. Do you mind if I ask you what you were dreaming about?"

Her smile disappeared to be replaced by a contemplative gaze. Her sharp brown eyes narrowed slightly. "Why would you need to know?"

"I'm only curious," Luke explained, trying to be as truthful as possible. If his suspicions were correct, then this woman was far more experienced in the ways of the Force than he was. "You smiled in your sleep, which led me to believe that it was a good dream, but your signature in the Force was anything but happy."

She looked surprised for a moment, but it was quickly covered up as she stared back at him. "It was a good dream. More good than bad, but still bad in some ways. It was an old memory. We'll leave it at that."

Well, that was the end of that conversation. Luke frowned, but knew that it wouldn't do any good to pursue it any longer. He tactfully chose to change topics. "I was just wondering. Anyways, I don't think you ever told me why you guys came here. Yes, I know. Classic interrogation question, but I would still like to know."

This time it actually was a smirk and she casually crossed her arms. "Very well, young man. I guess I can answer that one for you. You see, my stubborn friend over in that other cell is rather hard-headed when it comes to certain things, and well, there are some specific… instances… in his past that need mending." She trailed off to shake her head. Luke watched her glance up at the ceiling for a quick second before closing her eyes as if thinking about what she was going to say next. "He's going to kill me for telling you this…"

"Then don't," Luke was quick to reply. "I don't want to know things that I shouldn't know."

Asajj opened her eyes once more and gave a dismissive wave. "No, it's fine. You're not going to hear it from him, so I have to tell you anyways. Luke… there was a person in his past that did a terrible thing to him many years ago and it's still hurting him to this day. He's the kind of person that will keep it all bottled up inside and not seek any help, so I really had to push him to come here."

"But why here? What does this have to do with me?" By this time, Luke could hear Kyle getting into a rather heated discussion with the man in the other cell and he took a second to mute them out with a light Force-shield. Then he turned back to the woman. "I've never met him before in my life."

"Well, Luke, you have the unfortunate pleasure of being the only connection that he has to that person. I thought it would do him some good to come see you, not to mention that I also thought that we could help you guys out a little in terms of the Imperials that you seem to be good at annoying."

Luke gave a curt nod. "Great. So you're trying to tell me that I'll probably be having a heart-to-heart conversation with a complete stranger in a few days about a past I have no part in that involves a person that I know nothing about. This day is turning out to be almost as bad as yesterday." He groaned and rubbed his forehead. Then something suddenly struck him as strange. "Wait a second. You're Asajj Ventress? I read somewhere that she was a Sith. Are you telling me that you're that Ventress?" He looked at her, blue eyes suddenly hard and accusing.

She merely stared back at him, unfazed. "I used to be," she softly answered. "You seem to have a natural grasp of the Force for someone so young. Tell me, Luke. Am I dark?"

Luke blinked. While she wasn't exactly the brightest signature in the Force, she certainly wasn't dark. She was more gray, venturing towards the light side. "No," he stated, a smile growing on his face. "You're not. But you're the same person?"

She smiled back. "Even Sith can be saved. Remember that."

"So who's the other guy?" Luke asked, his voice growing slightly irritated. He was no longer able to block out the two men down the hall a little ways.

"He's the reason I'm no longer a Sith."

Luke accepted the answer without comment and silently mused on it. Asajj was obviously very loyal to the man, whoever he was. So far, she hadn't really given out any information, only a vague story that explained why they were here. He stood up and looked at her, reaching for the key on his belt. At the sound of metal striking concrete, Luke glanced sharply down the hall before unlocking Asajj's cell. "Even though you really haven't told me much, I think I can trust you."

She stood up in a single, graceful movement. Luke noticed for the first time how tall she was, almost a head taller than his own lanky frame. "Took you long enough," she said. There was a small teasing note in her voice.

Luke opened the door with a loud creak and stepped aside, allowing her to exit. "I know. Now let's go see what those two are up to. It doesn't sound like they are getting along very well."

Asajj strode straight by him without a backwards glance. "What a genius observation," she muttered, before mentally smacking herself. Obi-wan's sarcasm was rubbing off. She was slightly relieved when Luke didn't bite out a retort.

The sight that greeted her when she reached Obi-wan's cell was almost enough to send her over the edge into a fit of laughter. Obi-wan was leaning against the back wall, legs stretched out and crossed in front of him, arms folded gently on his lap. The shattered remains of what she assumed was a key were scattered on his right side and Kyle was standing over him with a look of pure annoyance on his face. Obi-wan had a bored expression on his face, but his eyes lit up when he spotted her. He smiled a little. "Well hello, my dear. Kyle and I were just finishing up, but there's been a small accident involving the key to the door."

Kyle snapped out of his daze and glared daggers at the older man. "Accident?" he spewed. "You shattered it!"

"I may have used a little more pull than I should have, but at least it hit the wall instead of my head," Obi-wan argued as if it was completely reasonable.

"I wouldn't call it fortunate," Kyle muttered. "The world would be one lunatic less than it is."

"Hey!" Asajj began, starting forward before realizing that there were still bars between them. She frowned. She still couldn't touch the Force, and Obi-wan, it seemed, was perfectly content to leave the situation as it was. "Listen, you little pipsqueak –"

"Pipsqueak?" There was a smirk on Obi-wan's face. "Really, Asajj. I had such high hopes for you, but calling someone a 'pipsqueak' is a tad bit dark, wouldn't you say?"

Her steely glare transferred from the younger man to the Jedi master seated on the floor. Blasted sarcasm. "Just shut up, Kenobi," she growled. He only grinned wider.

Kyle looked between the both of them and then narrowed his gaze. "I fail to see what is so funny." He turned to face Obi-wan again. "Well, Mr. High and Mighty, you can use the Force now, so why don't you break us out of here?"

Obi-wan merely shrugged. "I thought about it."

"Why not?"

"Why?" Obi-wan countered. "Besides, you can do it yourself? Or can't you?"

Kyle flushed and turned away. "I… well, I …. I… um…"

Asajj rolled her eyes. "Oh for pity's sake… you can't break a few bars? What are you guys running here? A camp of Younglings?" She immediately regretted her words when Obi-wan's own playful gaze instantly transformed into one of rebuke.

"Asajj, that was uncalled for," he said quietly.

Kyle's eyes were flashing as he walked over to stand directly in front of her on the other side of the bars. "And who are you to say such a thing?"

"Easy, Kyle." Luke's voice finally drifted into the fray as he showed himself. "They are friends, not enemies."

"I could care less with the way they're behaving," Kyle grit out.

"The way we're behaving? What about you!" Asajj argued, pointing a finger at him.

"You'll have to excuse my dear lady's manners; she's not quite herself," Obi-wan's calmly butt in from his place on the floor. He was giving Asajj a stern glare that instantly made her feel like she was twelve all over again.

Luke nodded in Obi-wan's direction. "No worries. I don't think any of us are quite ourselves today. I'm Luke, by the way, though you already know that."

"Obi-wan Kenobi."

Luke seemed a little surprised, but only for a moment before his gaze sharpened. "Really. Obi-wan Kenobi died twenty years ago on Mustafar. Vader killed him. Stop lying to us."

Asajj could feel the small waves of frustration leaking from Obi-wan, but as always, he remained as calm as ever. "I did not die. I merely disappeared. There is a big difference between the two."

Kyle clearly didn't believe him, but Luke looked a little hopeful. "Then why didn't Vader kill you?" Luke asked. "It doesn't make sense that he would hunt down every living Jedi that's left, but leave you alive."

"It's… complicated."

Luke crossed his arms. "Care to explain?"

And Obi-wan suddenly looked very, very stubborn. "No."

Asajj mentally groaned. If Luke was anything like his father, then this could turn into a rather long argument.

"Why not?"

Obi-wan sighed. "I will… later, but I can't right now. Too many old memories are involved."

"Then tell me how I am supposed to believe you. There is no proof of Kenobi's existence. Anywhere. If there was, we would know about it, as would Vader."

"Must there always be proof?" Obi-wan muttered, almost too soft for anyone to hear. Then he cleared his throat and leaned forward. "Very well. You told me earlier that you had read records of the Clone Wars. Ask me a question. Any question. I'll answer it."

Luke thought for a moment before nodding. "Okay… who was your padawan, if in fact you are who you say you are?"

Obi-wan stared at the young man. Hard. Something didn't add up. "His name was Anakin…"

"Last name?"

"Skywalker."

Luke nodded. "Right. I'm distantly related to him, according to the records of my lineage. But everyone who's even remotely familiar with the Clone Wars would know that. Tell me how he died."

Died. Since when had Anakin died? Obi-wan's mind was spinning and he could only come up with one reasonable answer. Vader had somehow changed the records before the rebels had gotten a hold of them. But that also meant that he had changed the record of Luke's lineage, which meant that he had somehow found out that Luke was his son… which wasn't good.

At all.

He felt Asajj's gaze and snuck a brief glimpse at her face. She was obviously struggling to hide her own shock as well.

"Well? Does it take this long to come up with the truth? Tell me how he died," Luke repeated.

And Obi-wan did the only thing he could do. He blinked, gave Luke a small, sad smile, and told him the truth. "You must be mistaken. Anakin never died."

And Anakin's temper finally showed itself through his son. "So, Kyle was right," he bit out. "You are an imposter!"

"Tell me how he died, then," Obi-wan said, voice suddenly rising. "As his master, I believe I would know if my former padawan had died!"

"Former padawan?" Luke stated. "You really are delusional. Anakin died before becoming a knight! Count Dooku killed him on Geonosis!"

Obi-wan slowly stood up and walked over until he was barely a foot away from the younger man. "Son, if you are going to speak of Geonosis, make sure that what you say is accurate, because I will not have people spreading false rumors about a battle that took the lives of far too many Jedi to count. It is a number high enough that I care not to remember it."

His voice had grown clipped, cool, and hard, with an edge to it that could have cut through the very Force itself. Asajj shivered. Luke flinched. Kyle wisely chose to take a step back, not wanting any part of it.

When Obi-wan continued, the tone hadn't gotten any warmer. If anything, it had grown even icier. "Allow me to explain. My padawan and I pursued Count Dooku when he fled like the coward he was. I say 'was', because Dooku is, in fact, dead. Anakin killed him, contrary to what you have read. When we caught up to him, my padawan foolishly charged ahead and was struck by force-lightning from the Sith's hand. I attempted to defeat him, but ended up in the dirt on my back with a cut on my arm and one on my thigh. Then he fought Anakin and proceeded to cut off his arm. We survived that encounter only because Master Yoda showed up to scare the Sith away." He paused and took a steady breath. "Anakin never died. The records are false."

Luke opened and closed his mouth a few times before gaining the courage to speak. "Then where is he? You guys can't possibly be that angry at each other!"

Obi-wan laughed bitterly. "Angry? No. It's worse than that."

"Worse…"

Obi-wan reached through the bars and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the prosthetic. "Apparently, my former padawan thought it would be amusing to give us matching appendages, so he decided to chop off my arm. This is what happened on Mustafar. I am not dead,I was not killed, and Anakin is most definitely still alive. And what's worse! He's managed to transform into possibly the darkest, vilest, most tormented thing to ever exist! Yes, it's hard to believe and yes, it seems impossible, but yes, it is the truth!"

There was a stunned moment of silence at the elder man's outburst. Asajj was positively stricken. This was proof that bottling up all of the pain he had endured over the years had been torturous on the inside. Obi-wan Kenobi, possibly the noblest man she had ever met, had just reduced himself to the standard of a fifteen-year-old throwing a temper tantrum. And he was taking out all of his pent-up anger on a young man who knew nothing of the past he had been forced to live. "Obi-wan…" she started, gently touching his arm.

But he jerked it back.

He jerked it back and turned those awful, tear-laden eyes onto her. "Don't start," he snapped. "You have no business telling me how I should feel when you clearly don't understand how I do feel."

And that hurt. It hurt. She froze, her own arm still raised where it had reached to gently grasp his wrist. She tried to believe that it was only his temper speaking and it wasn't really him that had just said that, but she knew better. He had meant it. He was in pain, yes, and he was going through a very difficult time, but that was no excuse to disregard words plainly spoken. He had meant it.

She couldn't reply. Her arm slowly lowered and she looked away, suddenly feeling as though the fragile friendship that they had built up had somehow been shattered into a million pieces.

Luke was angrily glaring at him, face turning a light shade of crimson. "Listen, pal. You may be mad at the world, but that's no way to talk to a lady."

The first tears began to fall and they trickled into his beard. It looked more gray than copper right now. Obi-wan clenched his jaw and swallowed. "You don't understand –"

Luke reached forward, grabbed a fistful of Obi-wan's tunic and yanked the older man hard into the bars. "I may not know a whole lot about your life, but you can't just come into my camp and unleash your anger on anyone who's close enough to hit!"

Asajj dared a glimpse back at Obi-wan and suddenly felt a little nervous. "Luke…"

"Let go of me," Obi-wan quietly stated, his voice dropping into that lethal calm.

"No! I won't! Because somebody has to – " Luke grunted as an invisible wave suddenly slammed into his gut. He jerked back into the cell behind them and hit the concrete wall just hard enough to knock some sense into him.

Even when Obi-wan was barely keeping himself controlled, he had sense left to hold back just enough to not hurt anyone. Before Asajj could stop him, Obi-wan had unleashed another wave, this one a bit more powerful than the first. The bars trembled and cracked. Obi-wan only had to reach forward and yank, and a few of the bars gave way. He stepped through the opening. Without speaking another word, without even one last glance, he walked down the hall towards the exit and left the small building.

Luke quickly recovered and raced to go after him, but Asajj reached out and yanked him back. "Luke, that would not be smart," she quietly warned, though her voice was trembling a little from unshed tears.

"He can't just –"

"Luke." She drilled her gaze into the flashing blue eyes. "You don't understand."

"Maybe not, but –"

"You really don't understand. Just let him be," she softly advised before letting a few of her own tears fall.

Luke seemed to finally get it and calmed down a little. Then he only gave her a stiff nod and headed for the exit. Kyle silently followed, still struck dumb from what had just occurred. Asajj somehow knew that they would leave poor Obi-wan alone.

She slumped down against a wall and closed her eyes. Her shoulders shook as she cried. She supposed he wouldn't have lashed out at her like that if they really weren't friends. Their friendship would last. That had been her initial worry, but it wasn't what caused the tears to fall now.

Compassion was a strange emotion, one that she wasn't familiar with, and at first she didn't recognize it. Eventually, though, she realized that compassion was what was causing her tears. She felt sorry for him, and she even felt a little guilty.

Because even as he was fixing her piece by piece, he was tearing himself up in the process.

She let out a shaky breath. Eyes still closed, her mind drifted back to her dream. It helped to ease the tears, because the eyes staring back at her weren't ones filled with pain, grief, and despair. They weren't dull and gray, having seen too much death for one lifetime. They weren't accusing or angry.

They were selfless. Blue, green, and alive. They were hopeful. They were what Obi-wan used to be.

And what he still could be.

With help.

She opened her eyes and slowly stood up. It was time that she helped him. Really helped him. He had given too much of himself to other people and she figured it was about time that other people started giving back. Starting with her.

Please leave a review. I would really, really, really appreciate it! :) Thanks again, to everyone who has been reading and reviewing.

"If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future." ~ Winston Churchill