Scarease - This story still has plenty of twists and turns until the end.

Chapter 55

"Remind me again why I agreed to this?" Anakin asked as he gazed over the group of younglings who were sitting cross-legged on the floor and bubbling with excitement.

"How many times I have served as a chaperone so that you can play with fire and let the esteemed senator from Naboo bat her eyelashes at you?" Ben replied, leveling him with a pointed stare that indicated his friend was definitely ready to take on an apprentice. In response, Anakin rolled his eyes and shifted on his feet.

"Really? You had no come back for that one?" Ben asked after a moment. "What's wrong? You've seemed off this morning."

"Master is acting odd," Anakin said softly, laying out the first piece of bait. Obi-Wan and his master were planning something highly public for Xanatos' grand departure from the Jedi Order. They all agreed to keep Ben in the dark until then so that his reactions were genuine. He would be pissed later, but he would understand. "I think something is going on with the Council."

"That would explain why I heard him and Master arguing last night."

"You really need to get your own quarters," Anakin murmured.

"If all goes well, that will happen soon."

Anakin groaned inwardly. His master's little stunt was going to overshadow Ben taking on an apprentice much like Anakin being kidnapped by a Sith had overshadowed the start of Obi-Wan and Ben's journey. Again, Ben would understand and his apprentice would get her first taste of being a part of the family.

"Which one is she, again?" Anakin whispered, quickly changing the subject.

"Front and center," Ben replied. "She is the one with dark hair sitting next to the Togruta."

Anakin nonchalantly glanced in that direction. Sure enough, the dark-haired girl was watching them, large eyes lit up with excitement. His gaze briefly met blue, the Togruta girl directing her attention toward him. She offered a gentle smile before glancing away as their caretaker stepped forward.

"Younglings, we have two guests today to help with training exercises. Please welcome Knight Ben'dek Itires and Padawan Anakin Skywalker."

Ben stepped forward. He folded his arms in front of him and tucked his hands into his sleeves. His posture made him look like Obi-Wan at that moment if you could ignore the mess of curls that tumbled off his head. Anakin wondered if he resembled Xanatos at all in the way he carried himself.

"Good morning, Younglings," Ben began will all the bearing of a proper master. "In our training as Jedi, we spend much of our time learning lightsaber forms by sparring. Unfortunately, the galaxy is at war. The majority of combat on the battlefield is defending against droid blaster fire. I have brought Padawan Skywalker with me today, to demonstrate some techniques."

Anakin stepped forward to join Ben, offering a small wave and smile.

Ben used the Force to draw a training remote to himself from the side of the room.

"Everyone knows what this is," Ben said as he activated the remote and drew his saber. "We practice using these training remotes, training as though we are facing a single adversary," he said as he deflected the simulated blaster shot back to the remote, deactivating it. "However, the battlefield will have many combatants coming from all directions. You will most likely be with your master or another Jedi after you are apprenticed, so working in tandem is an important skill."

It was true, Anakin mused as he watched Ben draw about thirty remotes from the side of the room and set them up surrounding the pair. That was his cue. He ignited his saber and turned his back to Ben, spacing out so both had enough room to fight. They began to work in tandem, deflecting the simulated blaster fire and covering each other until Anakin had a mischievous thought, dropped his saber, and stepped out of the circle at the last second to allow Ben the full brunt of the remote attack. The first unexpected shot skimmed his friend's thigh.

"Anakin," he practically growled as he adjusted his defense, weaving his saber around him in an exemplary demonstration of Soresu. Thirty remotes wasn't a challenge for either of them, but it did grab the younglings' attention. It took a matter of seconds for Ben to deactivate them all, leaving him to glare at Anakin while he extinguished his saber.

"That was really rude, you know." The gentle scolding came from the young Togruta he has seen earlier. "You are messing up Knight Itires' lesson."

"I was just shaking things up a bit," Anakin explained.

"You are a padawan and should follow his lead because he's a knight."

Anakin thought he heard Ben choke back a laugh.

"Yes, and you are a youngling so don't get snippy with me," Anakin bit back.

"Padawan Skywalker's improvisation actually provides a valuable lesson," Ben said pointedly, interrupting so that he could bring dignity back to his lesson. "First, there must be trust in a team. I know that Padawan Skywalker would never actually do that to me on the battlefield. Second, you must always be sensitive to the Force in combat as your circumstances may unexpectedly change."

Truer words had never been spoken, Anakin thought.

"So, Ben continued. Find a partner, spread out across the training room, and practice with your partner. You will be using four training remotes."

The Younglings began to work together in pairs while Ben and Anakin made their way through the groups offering suggestions and corrections. There was actually some appeal in helping, which he found surprising. After the allotted time, Ben called the Younglings to gather again in one group.

"Now, you will begin working on an enhanced training course. I have added some surprises in terms of remotes and traps. You will need to be sensitive to the Force to not trigger traps or fall into an ambush. You will start at the entrance and work your way to one of the objectives and push the button to signal your team has completed. To demonstrate, Padawan Skywalker and I will each pick a partner and the rest of the group will watch from the observation deck."

Anakin practically snorted and wondered who Ben would pick. Sure enough, he called the young girl named Ruo An to join him, someone Anakin knew he would be seeing around a lot more. Anakin looked out over the younglings, a smirk stretching his lips as he caught sight of the Togruta who had scolded him earlier.

"You're with me, Snips," he said.

"My name is Ahsoka."

"Okay, Snips."

"Whatever you say, Skyguy," she said, leaving him speechless as she stepped in front of him and made her way to the training course.

Obi-Wan rushed up the stairs that would lead him to the observation deck overlooking his former apprentice's lesson. An excuse for his tardiness was already on his lips to stave off his padawan brother's teasing; however, he didn't see Xanatos where he expected.

"What are you doing in here?" Obi-Wan asked, finding the older Jedi in a panel room off the side of the observation deck.

"I am looking for the lights," Xanatos replied as though it should be completely logical.

"Whatever for?"

"This seems a bit easy for our apprentices," Xanatos explained. "If they want a challenge, I was thinking more along the lines of you and me stalking them in the cover of darkness."

"They are with younglings …" Obi-Wan began to protest.

"Who will be apprentices on a battlefield in a matter of weeks or months," Xanatos interrupted. "Besides, this will be the last chance I have to hassle them for a while."

"Xan …"

"Stop." Xanatos raised a finger to cut him off. "I don't want to repeat last night's argument."

"Then I wish you would at least hear me out and reconsider."

"Obi-Wan, I am well aware of the sacrifice. I know that Anakin will be legitimately knighted and will probably have an apprentice of his own when I return. We have discussed it, meditated, and are at peace." Obi-Wan grew quiet, suddenly very interested in the tips of his boots. "I feel the conflict in you and you need to let it go."

"This is more dangerous than you realize. I will admit that I am struggling with the fact that the Council and I as a member are actually going to allow you …"

"You are not asking me to take the risk … the Council is not asking … the Force is asking, and our late master would have something to say about trusting the Force."

Obi-Wan drew in a deep breath and wrapped serenity around him like a cloak. It always amazed Xanatos how Obi-Wan could find clarity and center himself so easily.

"Now, can we go harass our apprentices?" Xanatos asked.

"The younglings are supposed to watch from the observation deck," Obi-Wan said as the children began to file into the viewing area.

"Younglings," Xanatos announced in the most polite voice he could muster. He always seemed to scare children, which made him wonder how he had ever survived raising Anakin. "Knight Itires and Padawan Skywalker spoke to you about how the unexpected can happen on the battlefield at any time. We thought it would be worthwhile for you to observe how they adapt to the unexpected. The lights are about to go out but the view panel will allow you to watch in night vision."

"You are a bad influence," Obi-Wan scolded teasingly.

"This will be fun and you know it," Xanatos said as he killed the lights.

And there went the lights, Ben thought. So much for a straightforward lesson. Then again, he had invited Anakin and Xanatos - what did he expect? Although, he was fairly certain his master was in on it. The remotes he had stashed around the training course were a moot point now, not really a challenge before, but inconsequential when being stalked by Jedi masters.

Ben first reached out and calmed Ruo, then reached out with the Force to wrap it around her and hide her presence. The young knight sensed Anakin do the same to his young charge but they were on the other side of the course and probably plodding ahead with a frontal assault in true Anakin style. He and Ruo needed to do something unexpected. Ben thought about the layout of the course. The lighting ran on beams across the expanse, unable to bear much weight but Ruo was small and would be light enough.

"Ruo," he whispered. "Concentrate."

Cupping her face in his hands, he projected a mental image of the lighting. She began to nod enthusiastically, understanding his meaning at once.

Folding his hands to create a foothold, he launched the young girl as she jumped, steadying her until she reached the beams. Now, he needed to create a diversion. Fortunately, he knew where each and every trap was located.

"Why did the lights go out … is something wrong?" Ahsoka asked.

"No, apparently two Jedi masters were not impressed with the challenge presented," Anakin replied, wishing he had paid better attention to where Ben had set traps. The traps themselves would not be much of a problem if activated, but they would give away their location.

"What are we going to do?"

"Keep moving forward … when we get closer, I will cover you …"

"Against two Jedi masters?"

"They will split up," Anakin said. "We have this."

Releasing a deep breath, Ben jumped into a clearing only visible through second sight. He rolled and flipped as the chorus of training remotes peppered the area with synthetic blaster fire then ran when he felt a whoosh of air, the only indicator of the Jedi master stalking him. It had to be Xanatos. His master didn't move like that. In the distance he heard more training remotes - someone had set off a trap. He didn't have time to think about it. His pursuer was right behind him. Dodging an attempt to grab him, he fell into the next trap, rolling through with muttered curses trailing behind him - definitely Xanatos. He continued on, still hiding Ruo as she ran along the beams above the training room, still luring Xanatos away from her without seeming like it. Another trap was set off in the distance, accompanied by the hum of a lightsaber. Obi-Wan had found Anakin. It was time to reunite everyone.

Ben continued at a dead run toward the now ongoing lightsaber battle, Xanatos right on his heels. He arrived to find Anakin and Ahsoka battling Obi-Wan. Igniting his own blade caused Obi-Wan to turn to face him right as Anakin intercepted Xanatos.

"This was supposed to be a lesson on firefights, not sparring," Ben grumbled.

"Blame Xanatos," Obi-Wan protested.

"You are the one in charge, Master," Ben teased while both he and Anakin gave Ahsoka a gentle nudge through the Force to continue on to the objective. She dropped out of the fray and began to slip away.

"You know that they are distracting us so that the younglings can continue on," Xanatos called out, reaching out through the Force to drag Ahsoka back toward him. The girl let out an indignant groan at being captured.

"Yes, where is the other one?" Obi-Wan asked as he locked sabers with his former apprentice. Ben's face was chiseled in granite, betraying nothing as he met his master's gaze and strengthened his mental shields. "Ben's hiding her."

In his mind, Ben could trace Ruo as she leaped from the lighting beams down to the floor and approached her goal. Ben finally allowed a smile to curve his lips as he said, "Shahmat, Master."

"What did you say, Ben?" Obi-Wan asked right as an alarm blared indicating that Ruo had met her objective. Ben dropped the shielding around her as the lights came on, all six Jedi blinking to adjust to the increased illumination. "You were drawing us away," Obi-Wan murmured. "That's nearly the equivalent of sacrificing a hanish … surely you didn't learn something so reckless from me."

"That's exactly who he learned it from," Xanatos said, slapping a hand onto Obi-Wan's shoulder.

Ruo approached but lingered on the fringes as Obi-Wan teasingly scolded him. Ben decided it was high time he spoke with her. "Master," he said, waiting to draw Obi-Wan's attention as he inclined his head toward the youngling. "Would you mind wrapping up the lesson? I would like to speak with Ruo."

"Of course, Padawan," Obi-Wan said with a bright smile.

Ben wandered toward Ruo who looked up at him anxiously. "I missed the sparring part," she said with a bit of disappointment.

"There will be time for sparring later. You did exactly what we needed," Ben praised. "We make a pretty good team."

"The point of the exercise was to work together. We split up," the girl pointed out.

"Sometimes that is required to complete a mission." Ben paused and let out a sigh, knowing his master would laugh at the irony of what he was about to say. "Or … for a master to keep his padawan safe."

Ben paused for a moment, seeing if the girl would catch on. She looked at him, curiosity obviously spurred.

"Ruo … I am young, not even knighted a year … all I can promise for your training is a battlefield … however, I wondered if you might consider becoming my apprentice."

"I … I would be honored," she replied shyly.

"I am glad … Padawan." Ben allowed the word to roll off his tongue, not an unfamiliar word or a word without an abundance of meaning, just one he had never said in this context. The Force hummed its approval.