A/N: In my opinion, this chapter is better than the first, so I hope you agree. (And also, it was fun to get Obi in black robes, Heheh). And by the way, this is definitely going to be an Obidala now.
Disclaimers: Still don't own them…
Obi-Wan awoke with a start, from what must have been a nightmare. Strangely, he found his lightsabre in his hand. His grip on it was tight, so tight that his palm ached. He remembered nothing of the dream, except that he had been killed, and it terrified him.
Checking the time, he realized it was still the middle of the night. The Temple would be quiet, except for the guards. But Obi-Wan knew he could not sleep now.
He strode out onto the balcony outside his room, ignoring the cold night air against his chest. Something about that dream had shaken him. He still held fresh in his mind the lingering feeling of death…caused by someone he knew? Obi-Wan could barely see his killer, only a shadowy form, covered in blackness. Could this be foreshadowing of the future, he wondered.
That was the burden of being a Jedi. To know things you never wanted to know. Along with the power and majesty came that awful understanding that no one else possessed. And even as hard as Obi-Wan tried, he could not suppress the fear that had been building up inside of him in recent months. He could not help feeling that something was coming. Something bigger that they'd ever dealt was before. But the question was, was the galaxy prepared?
A few hours later, Obi-Wan awoke again, this time to get ready to leave. Massaging his face from lack of sleep, he remembered the black robes of the Sith. There they were, hanging on a chair near his bed.
He knew it was illogical to despise a set of clothes, but he hated the lies they represented. The lies he would have to tell. The Sith were not well liked on almost any planet, and he doubted he and his companion would be welcomed anywhere.
That led him to think of Amidala. What possible motives could she have to request to spend the next few months with him? From what he could remember, they had almost never had a civil conversation. But still, that was partly what contributed to the secret respect he held for her. She was very strong, and could always stand up for herself.
As he added the final touch, the black cloak, Obi-Wan turned to see himself in the mirror. The difference was amazing. It was almost as if even his face had changed. As he was studying the new image of himself, another reflection appeared behind his own.
He turned slowly to look at her. She was wearing the tight, body-hugging black cloth that most of the female Sith usually sported. Her hair was pulled back tightly, and strangely, he noticed two lightsabres at her side.
Obi-Wan bowed slightly. "Padme."
"Master Kenobi," she responded curtly.
He sighed. "Look, since we're in this together, and we're supposed to be…friends…we should probably drop the titles. I'm Obi-Wan, or just Obi I guess."
She nodded, and handed him one of the lightsabres she had. "This is yours."
Obi-Wan squinted. "But I already have - "
She cut him off. "No. I mean this is your new one. It's red."
Obi-Wan stood motionless for a moment, before he took it from her. He was frightened by the thought of having to wield a red lightsabre. And now he could place his fear. The more he changed to look like a Sith, the more he nearly became one. Obi-Wan was afraid of the transformation becoming complete. The last thing he wanted was to start thinking like a dark lord…
They walked to their transport in silence.
Upon arriving in the transport bay, Master Yoda greeted Obi-Wan one last time in silence. "Good luck, old friend," he whispered, nodding to Padme as well.
They boarded, and both watched quietly as Coruscant grew smaller and smaller before their eyes. Obi-Wan had left it many times before, but this time was different. This time he was leaving the only home he had ever known to face what could possibly be the most dangerous mission of his life.
The pilot informed them that it would be a couple of hours till their landing, which would be on a secluded part of Tatooine. So the two reluctant passengers both took seats across from each other in the holding bay.
The awkwardness of the moment immediately set in. And Obi-Wan got the feeling the whole mission would be like this. They rarely talked, and if they did, it was only to argue.
Padme, on the other hand, apparently had no qualms about starting up a conversation. "Anakin told me what you're doing to him."
Obi-Wan had expected this. Anakin had told several people his side of things, and had managed to convince some of his fellow padawans that they should be lucky they don't have him. He just sighed. "I don't know what you mean."
"I think you do," she answered, raising her eyebrows at him in an accusing stare. "You give him no freedom. You never compliment him, you only focus on what's bad. And worst of all, you're holding him back. He's only taking the trials now because Master Yoda finally agreed to it. It had nothing to do with you. Why do you do this to him?"
The question 'And why do you care', sat on the tip of Obi-Wan's tongue, but he didn't dare ask it. No need to make her hate him more. "I'm not trying to punish him. I just don't want him to jump into anything before he's ready." Obi-Wan had curled his legs up in front of him, and was looking out the window into space. Talking about this subject usually made him uncomfortable, and, though he wouldn't admit it, jealous. Jealous of the other masters and apprentices who got along just fine. He knew something was wrong with his relationship with Anakin, but he didn't know how to fix it.
"But he is ready!" she argued quickly back at him.
Obi-Wan finely turned to give her a piercing stare. Her quick and uninformed statements were starting to annoy him. "How can you be sure? You don't know him as I do. No one does."
"Then what exactly is it that is making you hold him back?"
He looked away again. This is where it always got uncomfortable. When he had to admit his lack of knowledge. "I don't know. But there's just…something in him, something that shouldn't be, and I can sense it. It's like he's got all this anger and fear pent up inside of him, and he can't let go of either."
"You're wrong. He's always happy around me," she taunted.
"Padme, please, for Force sake, stop speaking so surely of what you don't know," Obi-Wan said, exasperated. Calming himself down a little, he went on. "I think…I think he can hide it. He doesn't tell people about all this pain he's feeling, but it's there. And if he would only talk to me about it, I know I could help him. But he won't. He won't admit that he's not all-powerful."
"Aren't all Jedi all-powerful?" she asked in earnest.
He shook his head sadly. "Far from it. I think you will find that we have plenty of weak spots, unfortunately."
Padme looked at Obi-Wan differently, just watching his face it seemed. After a moment she asked quietly, as if afraid to be nice to him, "Obi-Wan…this is making you sad. Why? I thought Jedis had no emotions."
He laughed, a dark, haunting sound. He was partly laughing at himself, partly at the rest of the galaxy. How could people believe this? "Don't believe that old myth. Sure, we attempt to control our emotions, restrain them, but they're always there. We're just not supposed to be influenced by them. There are times though, when we're all too human. No one can supress grief forever."
Padme paused slightly before asking him, "But why does this grieve you so?" It was whispered, and Obi-Wan only just heard it.
"Because, Padme, I feel like I'm losing him. Like he's slipping away. And I don't know how to get him back."
They both looked away from each other, staring out at the stars for the rest of the ride. Eventually, the pilot came in, informing them they should get ready for landing.
Disclaimers: Still don't own them…
Obi-Wan awoke with a start, from what must have been a nightmare. Strangely, he found his lightsabre in his hand. His grip on it was tight, so tight that his palm ached. He remembered nothing of the dream, except that he had been killed, and it terrified him.
Checking the time, he realized it was still the middle of the night. The Temple would be quiet, except for the guards. But Obi-Wan knew he could not sleep now.
He strode out onto the balcony outside his room, ignoring the cold night air against his chest. Something about that dream had shaken him. He still held fresh in his mind the lingering feeling of death…caused by someone he knew? Obi-Wan could barely see his killer, only a shadowy form, covered in blackness. Could this be foreshadowing of the future, he wondered.
That was the burden of being a Jedi. To know things you never wanted to know. Along with the power and majesty came that awful understanding that no one else possessed. And even as hard as Obi-Wan tried, he could not suppress the fear that had been building up inside of him in recent months. He could not help feeling that something was coming. Something bigger that they'd ever dealt was before. But the question was, was the galaxy prepared?
A few hours later, Obi-Wan awoke again, this time to get ready to leave. Massaging his face from lack of sleep, he remembered the black robes of the Sith. There they were, hanging on a chair near his bed.
He knew it was illogical to despise a set of clothes, but he hated the lies they represented. The lies he would have to tell. The Sith were not well liked on almost any planet, and he doubted he and his companion would be welcomed anywhere.
That led him to think of Amidala. What possible motives could she have to request to spend the next few months with him? From what he could remember, they had almost never had a civil conversation. But still, that was partly what contributed to the secret respect he held for her. She was very strong, and could always stand up for herself.
As he added the final touch, the black cloak, Obi-Wan turned to see himself in the mirror. The difference was amazing. It was almost as if even his face had changed. As he was studying the new image of himself, another reflection appeared behind his own.
He turned slowly to look at her. She was wearing the tight, body-hugging black cloth that most of the female Sith usually sported. Her hair was pulled back tightly, and strangely, he noticed two lightsabres at her side.
Obi-Wan bowed slightly. "Padme."
"Master Kenobi," she responded curtly.
He sighed. "Look, since we're in this together, and we're supposed to be…friends…we should probably drop the titles. I'm Obi-Wan, or just Obi I guess."
She nodded, and handed him one of the lightsabres she had. "This is yours."
Obi-Wan squinted. "But I already have - "
She cut him off. "No. I mean this is your new one. It's red."
Obi-Wan stood motionless for a moment, before he took it from her. He was frightened by the thought of having to wield a red lightsabre. And now he could place his fear. The more he changed to look like a Sith, the more he nearly became one. Obi-Wan was afraid of the transformation becoming complete. The last thing he wanted was to start thinking like a dark lord…
They walked to their transport in silence.
Upon arriving in the transport bay, Master Yoda greeted Obi-Wan one last time in silence. "Good luck, old friend," he whispered, nodding to Padme as well.
They boarded, and both watched quietly as Coruscant grew smaller and smaller before their eyes. Obi-Wan had left it many times before, but this time was different. This time he was leaving the only home he had ever known to face what could possibly be the most dangerous mission of his life.
The pilot informed them that it would be a couple of hours till their landing, which would be on a secluded part of Tatooine. So the two reluctant passengers both took seats across from each other in the holding bay.
The awkwardness of the moment immediately set in. And Obi-Wan got the feeling the whole mission would be like this. They rarely talked, and if they did, it was only to argue.
Padme, on the other hand, apparently had no qualms about starting up a conversation. "Anakin told me what you're doing to him."
Obi-Wan had expected this. Anakin had told several people his side of things, and had managed to convince some of his fellow padawans that they should be lucky they don't have him. He just sighed. "I don't know what you mean."
"I think you do," she answered, raising her eyebrows at him in an accusing stare. "You give him no freedom. You never compliment him, you only focus on what's bad. And worst of all, you're holding him back. He's only taking the trials now because Master Yoda finally agreed to it. It had nothing to do with you. Why do you do this to him?"
The question 'And why do you care', sat on the tip of Obi-Wan's tongue, but he didn't dare ask it. No need to make her hate him more. "I'm not trying to punish him. I just don't want him to jump into anything before he's ready." Obi-Wan had curled his legs up in front of him, and was looking out the window into space. Talking about this subject usually made him uncomfortable, and, though he wouldn't admit it, jealous. Jealous of the other masters and apprentices who got along just fine. He knew something was wrong with his relationship with Anakin, but he didn't know how to fix it.
"But he is ready!" she argued quickly back at him.
Obi-Wan finely turned to give her a piercing stare. Her quick and uninformed statements were starting to annoy him. "How can you be sure? You don't know him as I do. No one does."
"Then what exactly is it that is making you hold him back?"
He looked away again. This is where it always got uncomfortable. When he had to admit his lack of knowledge. "I don't know. But there's just…something in him, something that shouldn't be, and I can sense it. It's like he's got all this anger and fear pent up inside of him, and he can't let go of either."
"You're wrong. He's always happy around me," she taunted.
"Padme, please, for Force sake, stop speaking so surely of what you don't know," Obi-Wan said, exasperated. Calming himself down a little, he went on. "I think…I think he can hide it. He doesn't tell people about all this pain he's feeling, but it's there. And if he would only talk to me about it, I know I could help him. But he won't. He won't admit that he's not all-powerful."
"Aren't all Jedi all-powerful?" she asked in earnest.
He shook his head sadly. "Far from it. I think you will find that we have plenty of weak spots, unfortunately."
Padme looked at Obi-Wan differently, just watching his face it seemed. After a moment she asked quietly, as if afraid to be nice to him, "Obi-Wan…this is making you sad. Why? I thought Jedis had no emotions."
He laughed, a dark, haunting sound. He was partly laughing at himself, partly at the rest of the galaxy. How could people believe this? "Don't believe that old myth. Sure, we attempt to control our emotions, restrain them, but they're always there. We're just not supposed to be influenced by them. There are times though, when we're all too human. No one can supress grief forever."
Padme paused slightly before asking him, "But why does this grieve you so?" It was whispered, and Obi-Wan only just heard it.
"Because, Padme, I feel like I'm losing him. Like he's slipping away. And I don't know how to get him back."
They both looked away from each other, staring out at the stars for the rest of the ride. Eventually, the pilot came in, informing them they should get ready for landing.