Title: Two Of A Kind
Author: Me :o)
Rating: G
Archive: WAAS, Anywhere else, please ask. I probably won't say no.
Feedback: Absitively
Spoilers: The JA Series
Warnings: This is seriously un-beta'd. Read at your own risk.
Disclaimers: *waves hand in Jedi-like fashion* I'm /not/ the author you're looking for....heh ;o) Yes, yes, George own's em. I'm merely their therapist.
Summary: Obi-Wan tries to meditate after a particularly trying tiff betwixt Master and Apprentice and instead takes a wacky trip through his past only to come to a horrid realization.
A/N: This is merely one of those 'missing scene' things that could possibly fit somewhere in AoTC. Where it would go is up to you. In fact, it could happen /after/ AoTC for that matter. I've left the incident alluded to at the very beginning unwritten since what happened is really not important. Feel free to speculate :o)
Oh yeah, this idea could probably get me into a little trouble. Please blame it on a brain that was trying to fall asleep...
two of a kind
Anakin had gone too far this time and, if one was to believe the Padawan, so had his Master.
Obi-Wan fell to his knees and rubbed his face. His niche in the Room of A Thousand Fountains secured his privacy, yet it was hard to keep the flaming beacon of his anger contained.
/I bet I was never this trying on Qui-/ at the thought of his late master, Obi-Wan's raging emotions came to an abrupt stop. The thick, cold feeling of grief, powerful and unexpected after these ten long years, bathed him in its icy grip. Doubling over, hands wrapped around his abdomen, Obi-Wan rocked back and forth several times. Slowly the rocking stopped and his body, if not his mind, recalled his Jedi training. His eyes closed and his body straightened into a proper meditation position.
The peaceful depths of meditation failed to come, however, as Obi-Wan's roiling thoughts continued to dwell on Qui-Gon.
Memories flashed quickly behind Obi-Wan's closed eyelids, coming to rest on the image of himself and Bruck Chun. They were alone in a Training Salle, training sabres at the ready. This wasn't right, Obi-Wan mused. This encounter had been tense and rife with traded insults - not silent, yet peaceful determination.
As the two children attacked, a slight ripple in the image added spectators, merging two memories together. Obi-Wan's heart lurched as he caught sight of Qui-Gon on the sidelines watching the two initiates fight. The battle clash was silent, as was the crowd. Before Obi-Wan could wonder about these slight changes to his memories the image rippled again.
A dingy hanger housing a decrepit looking transport was now the backdrop for his younger self and Qui-Gon.
With a pang of mild embarrassment, Obi-Wan recognized the scene at once: Bandomeer. His thirteenth birthday. But again, the memory was wrong; instead of the impromptu exercise and light banter that had followed, the newly formed Master-Padawan team stood gazing at each other silently. With no ado whatsoever, the Knight's gift of a Force-sensitive stone exchanged hands.
As the stone touched the young Padawan's hand, the image burst and Obi-Wan was suddenly flying over a war ravaged planet. The mountains flew past at an alarming rate before the glint of silver caused an abrupt halt and a downward spiral.
With pain and guilt, Obi-Wan watched the modified memory of his shameful betrayal of his Master and the Jedi Order. The silent face-off filled Obi-Wan's vision. The green and blue blades of their sabres blurred and he winced. The light disappeared as the blades were disengaged and Obi-Wan grew dizzy as the scene spiralled away.
Modified images of one of the scariest times in his apprenticeship began to cycle; the horrified looks of Didi and Astri as the strange bounty hunter took them down and absconded with Qui-Gon; Astri and Obi-Wan trying to infiltrate Jenna Zan Arbor's lab. The bounty hunter's laser-whip flashed out of nowhere, wrapped itself around the image and pulled it away, leaving Obi-Wan in a dark room.
In the center of this room was a cylinder filled with a thick mist. He found himself walking towards the tank and stopping before it. He placed a hand upon the cool transparasteel. The contact caused the mist to swirl and coalesce before parting to reveal Qui-Gon's face. The Knight's eyes were closed, his features peaceful.
A tug around Obi-Wan's midsection violently pulled him away from the tank. The imagery changed and Obi-Wan was deposited into a med-center waiting area. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and braced himself; New Apsolon. Tahl's death.
Obi-Wan didn't have long to wait before the unmistakable vacuum of death swept through the Force. With it, the scene rippled and Qui-Gon was once again hunched over the body of his beloved. As Qui-Gon raised his head, the surroundings dissolved, leaving Obi-Wan in a dark void with his Master. Qui-Gon's grief had transformed into madness and rage shaped his once noble features.
As Obi-Wan gazed at his revenge-crazed Master, he noticed himself withdrawing away from the image until it existed as a mere holo.
Obi-Wan started, finding himself in loose fitting civilian clothing and standing barefoot on a dazzling beach. To his right was a crystalline lake backed by snow-capped mountains. To his left was a lush green forest.
Before him, the holo still floated and Obi-Wan gazed at it resolutely.
"Not my finest moment, I'll admit." The dearly beloved tones of his Master's voice broke the silence that had inundated the trip. The warmth of the voice crested over Obi-Wan and broke like a soothing wave over his ravaged soul.
Obi-Wan choked on a sob and turned to face his mentor. He reached out a tentative hand, wanting to affirm Qui-Gon's presence with tactile proof yet, before his fingers could caress Qui-Gon's cheek, the figure rippled and began to fade.
The sob broke free from the prison of Obi-Wan's throat and he let his hand fall back to his side.
In Qui-Gon's last moments of Being, he spoke: "Patience, my Padawan. Patience."
The vision shattered into a billion, bright fragments as a firm hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder shook him gently. Instantly aware of the dampness of spent tears on his cheeks, Obi-Wan's gaze travelled up Anakin's body, coming to rest upon the youth's face.
Obi-Wan's intense frown caused Anakin's brow to furrow. "Master Obi-Wan, are you alright?"
Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed. It was if he was truly seeing Anakin for the first time and in a different light.
With a sick feeling, Obi-Wan realized that he had more in common with Anakin Skywalker than he was willing to admit.