Chapter 10 – Rest for the Weary
"Anakin! Anakin! Anakin!"
Anakin perceived Obi-Wan's concerned voice traveling down to him, but from where he couldn't say. He forced his eyes to open at the sound of that voice, and was greeted by a white haze which gradually filtered into the serene blue eyes of his Master. Only Obi-Wan's eyes weren't so serene at the moment, clearly holding concern for his Padawan.
"What…what happened?" Anakin managed to ask, though not without pain.
He knew that the metal hit he'd taken to the stomach had hurt, but it hadn't hurt that much. He shouldn't be having this much trouble getting air to speak.
"Lie still and don't try to talk. I think you overexerted yourself just a bit."
Obi-Wan tried to deliver this news with a smile, yet that still had grimness to it that Anakin didn't like. Anakin, hardheaded as always, was preparing to speak again when the darkness took him once more. He awoke a little while later in the infirmary of the Jedi Temple. State of the art machinery lined the walls of the infirmary, and the windows allowed in a light that mysteriously seemed to have an instant ability to heal. Anakin sat up, reflexively touching his face as he did so. He could feel where the bacta had been applied, not too long ago, but fortunately he didn't appear to have too many cuts. His midsection hurt quite a bit, and his breaths were coming out in ragged waves.
"I see the patient is awake."
Anakin looked straight ahead at the features of Tempe Denu, one of the most respected Jedi healers. He was a thin, stark looking man, with sharp features and very little hair. He looked as though he should be gangly, yet moved with a fluid grace Anakin had come to expect of Jedi warriors. And his presence always gave off something powerful, something that convinced whoever was near him that everything was going to be just fine.
"I must admit that you're not the first patient I've had due to stage 3 of Tunan-Ra. Sometimes I think we Jedi have some of the most idiotic practices in the galaxy."
Anakin was hard pressed to disagree with that assessment. He'd felt a lot was questionable about the logic behind Tunan-Ra.
"Opinionated as always Tempe."
Both Anakin and Tempe Denu looked toward the voice, though neither was startled to hear it. Obi-Wan was standing in the doorway, looking serious and severe. His robe was very dirty, but other than a small scar above his right eye there was no indication that Obi-Wan had been hit by a pile of falling metal.
"What…what happened?" Anakin asked again, the words springing to his mouth.
"Amazing. That is exactly how you asked that question before. No matter what else is happening with you Padawan, your curiosity remains first and foremost."
"Yes, good it is to be so inquisitive. Learn truly, only the inquisitive mind can."
Anakin hadn't noticed him before, but Master Yoda was standing beside Obi-Wan, clearly dwarfed in stature by the much younger man, but not in force of presence.
"So," Anakin said, tilting his head to the side, "are you going to make me ask a third time?"
"No Padawan."
"Performed well did you young Skywalker. Powerful you have become. Resourceful, you are."
Praise again from Master Yoda. Anakin made a note in his mind to remember this day well. He suspected he'd never get this much praise from Master Yoda or Obi-Wan again. With those words, Yoda walked out of the room, limping along on his cane in customary fashion. Obi-Wan approached Anakin's bed and sat down on the edge.
"Those were some neat tricks you pulled. Very sound planning. You knew your opponents and thus were able to take advantage of their weaknesses, or should I say, were able to take advantage of OUR weaknesses."
Suddenly another thought flashed into Anakin's mind.
"Barriss, is she alright?"
"Oh, quite alright Padawan. She just banged her shoulder is all. Master Mundi was able to help her sufficiently."
"I'm glad," Anakin said, meaning every word.
"Yes. So was she I imagine. Master Unduli has already been informed of what happened. I imagine they will be having some extra training sessions in the immediate future."
Anakin was about to raise a protest, to say that he didn't mean to get a fellow Padawan in trouble, but Obi-Wan stopped him with a look.
"You have not gotten anyone in trouble Anakin. A Padawan's role is to learn, a Master's to teach. Barriss Offee still has much to learn and Luminari Unduli still has much to teach her. Today's events were merely another reminder of that. There is no shame in this. In fact, it is a wonderful thing to be able to learn from mistakes that didn't result in disaster."
"I suppose," Anakin said, not really sure he meant it.
"And what did you learn Anakin?"
"I'm not really sure," Anakin responded quickly, clearly having expected the question. "Perhaps if you told me what happened I'd be able to make some sort of determination."
"Very well," Obi-Wan replied, shifting to a more comfortable position on the bed. "Your plan of using the metal pile to distract Master Yoda from attacking you was a sound one. Unfortunately, it also distracted me."
"I saw you smile when I redirected that piece of metal into the pile. You knew what I was doing," Anakin said, the truth beginning to dawn on him.
"Indeed. I was still surprised though. Frankly, I would not have expected that degree of subtlety from you." Obi-Wan glanced briefly at Anakin to make sure his comment had been taken as intended, saw Anakin give a simple nod, and continued. "I should not have allowed myself to be distracted so badly. If I had been more diligent perhaps we would not be here now."
Anakin gazed at Obi-Wan for a long moment, not really understanding what his Master was saying. "You mean…"
"Yes, my distraction allowed the metal beam to strike you. Fortunately, Master Yoda is far more alert than I am."
"You're talking about the second metal beam that should have hit me but didn't."
"Exactly. Master Yoda was able to change its course just in time."
"Wait. If I'm understanding what you're saying, that means it was your responsibility to keep the beam from hitting me."
"Correct Padawan."
"So that's why the only time you attacked me was with that floorboard. The whole time, you were making sure nothing hurt me."
"That is the Master's responsibility during this stage of Tunan-Ra. The idea is to challenge you not to kill you. My vigilance is merely a precaution. I must admit that there was only about one time where I actually had to intervene on your behalf."
Anakin looked away quickly, shame beginning to fill him. He thought he'd done so well in defending against four other Jedi all by himself. Now Obi-Wan was telling him it was all an illusion.
"I did not like this bit of news when Qui-Gon first told me either. But there is no shame in having had assistance. It does not diminish the effort you put forth. It is a great skill to know when help is needed Padawan, and when it is not."
Anakin was silent for a long moment. He knew Obi-Wan was right, knew that he had trouble accepting help from people. And yet, he always expected people to be grateful when he helped them. The irony of all this struck him in a flash, but a larger priority won out in the back of his conscience.
"But you still haven't told me what happened with you and the pile. Master Yoda couldn't have stopped that and redirected the beam all at once, could he?" The mere thought of someone having that much power was definitely of interest to Anakin.
"In this case that is not what happened," Obi-Wan replied, and Anakin noticed that he didn't say Master Yoda couldn't have done it. "For lack of a better description, I simply moved."
"How?" Anakin asked, stunned at the cavalier way Obi-Wan was telling this story. He had been afraid he'd killed his Master, maybe even Master Yoda, and here Obi-Wan was telling him the story like the whole thing was no big deal.
"I still have a few tricks that I have yet to teach you. I imagine you would have perceived what happened if you hadn't been so physically and mentally exhausted. Let that be another lesson to you Padawan, things are not always what they seem, especially in times of great stress. You must learn to pull back instead of always driving forward."
This time Anakin let his head droop just a bit. He had been waiting for Obi-Wan to point out something he'd done wrong.
"I had to help you. I was afraid I'd hurt you."
The words came tumbling out before Anakin could stop them, and he hated himself for being so weak as to admit such feelings to Obi-Wan. He should be stronger.
"I am glad you care for my safety so much Padawan," Obi-Wan said with a smile, "but you cannot allow your fear to rule you."
Obi-Wan stood up suddenly, and began to walk toward the door. Just as he reached the doorway, he turned and looked back at Anakin. "Anger, fear, aggression, these things lead to the darkside. Please remember this Anakin."
"How can I not Master."
Anakin meant for it to be the sort of light remark he often said to Obi-Wan during a lecture. Instead, he was struck by how heavy the atmosphere of the room felt. It was as though something significant had just passed between them and he'd missed the whole thing.
Obi-Wan nodded grimly as he turned to walk out the door.
"You shall have some time to rest, but Tunan-Ra is far from over. When you are ready, come to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. There you shall face your final challenge."
Anakin watched Obi-Wan stroll out the door, wondering the whole time at the sudden change that had come over his Master. One moment his Master had been expressing concern for Anakin's health and pride in Anakin's performance, the next, he was lecturing and looking grim. Sometimes, Anakin felt that no matter how close he and Obi-Wan got, there'd always be something between them. Something neither one of them could see or do anything to remove. That thought made Anakin tremble just slightly, and he found himself being taken back down to sleep, happily ready to escape into darkness.