Two Roads Diverged
Summary: After the death of Qui-Gon in the battle with Darth Maul, Obi-Wan finds himself lost without a master, but when he finds himself in an alternate universe after and accident, will it be for good or for worse. Because in this universe, rather than Xanatos turning, it was him.
Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters and I do not get paid for writing this. This work is out done for enjoyment. Please don't sue me.
As a light breezed blew by and caught his padawan braid, bringing it up to brush against his jaw, Obi-wan reached up absentmindedly and tugged at it before he could catch himself. At the back of his mind he registered the rough pattern which palm read as it moved slowly down the length of the braid and jerked back to reality as the situation made clear itself. Ever since the occurrence of the dream, he had been feeling out of place and even more disconnected from the world around him than before. Now, even the padawan braid which had adorned his head ever since Qui-Gon had taken him under his wing felt odd. Obi-wan mentally flinched as the image of his late master presented itself to him again, momentarily wiping all earlier discomforts away. A wave of emotion welled up in him, and he found himself floundering in guilt, loneliness, and betrayal, unable to decide which affliction hurt most. Calling up every ounce of Jedi training he willed the feelings away.
He closed his eyes and took deep calming breaths. When he opened them again, it was like he was seeing for the first time. The noise and general clamor of the shuttle station return in a rush, like a wave crashing down on him. He felt as though his whole morning so far was just a dream and he'd only now awaken. Sorry to say, he was not left alone to his wonderment for long. The familiar uneven padding of foot falls behind reached Obi-wan's ears, and he turned around, though almost slowly due to his current condition. It did not come as a surprise when a small yellow head bobbed into view.
"Hello, Anakin." He spoke quietly as the young boy came within hearing range.
He straightened automatically in an attempt to hide the effects of his earlier episode of…nerves, he supposed it was. Fortunately, the boy did not seem to notice. Actually, after muttering a quick hello, Anakin had resolved to stand silently beside the young jedi, not bothering to make any eye contact.
Studying the boy silently, Obi-wan could see that the last few days' stay had been only slightly kinder to young Ani than it had been to him. Tell-tale darkness ringed around the boy's eyes and, despite the fact that they were downward facing, Obi-wan was able to see that their usual spark was lacking, along with the rosy hue in those round cheeks. The newly masterless padawan struggled to find words of comfort, truly wanting to help, but in the end the gap that existed between them won out. He sighed in defeat.
What was Qui-Gon thinking, asking him to train the boy? Stark raving mad fool couldn't be satisfied with breaking his heart, letting some godforsaken sith stick him in like that? No. The idiot has to go and beg him to take on this burden! Like he doesn't have enough to worry about! That inconsiderate bastard!
It was with a heavy scowl on his face that he began to realize what he had just thought about, what he had just called Qui-Gon, his beloved master. Physically throwing himself back in shock, Obi-wan let his hand run over his face, the earlier glowering expression having disappeared completely. Panting slightly, he removed his handed which had moved into position to cover his eyes, and was unnerved, to say the least, by the expression plastered on Anakin's face, but quite unable to come up with an appropriate response. They held eye contact for a few short seconds, a pair of defensive eyes against a pair of questioning ones.
Finally, it was Anakin who broke the tension.
Stumbling slightly over his words, Anakin asked, "Are you all right?"
Obi-wan nodded, but frowned when he noticed the lack a proper a title when Anakin referred to him. He mentally sighed, they'd barely started the day together and already the boy was showing signs of defiance, however minor they were. Quickly squashing the sudden bubbling rage at the thought of his authority being questioned by this sniveling twerp, he turned away from Anakin to mask the wince of embarrassment.
Why was he thinking like this all of a sudden?
He started to repeat the old mantra but stopped when he realized that those questioning eyes were still boring into him.
Not bothering to cover his annoyance this time, he whirled around to glare at the boy. It was surprisingly satisfying to see the blonde head jerk back in shock at the young jedi's sudden movement.
"A-are you sure you're all right?" The boy inquired, visibly cowering under the force of the glare. Greater men would have fallen victim under that look that Obi-wan was presently bearing without shame; it was fortunate that Anakin was most definitely made of greater 'stuff', otherwise a trip to a mind healer's office would be in store.
Anakin couldn't help but worry slightly at the sudden change in the jedi. Not that he had ever been truly close with Obi-wan, actually, if he were to be truthful with himself, his feelings towards to the jedi bordered on detest, and he had no doubt that the feeling was mutual. However, these sudden displays of aggressiveness, though not quite severe enough to be considered obvious, were, as far as he knew, quite unbecoming of a jedi. He had earlier connected these 'attacks' to the loss of his master, but today, Anakin felt that this was something else altogether.
Again, an awkward silence settled between the two. Anakin supposed Obi-wan was thinking over how he would phrase his answer. He was slightly surprise that the older man had not just brushed the question aside again. He felt an odd pang when they made eye contact again. The look in Obi-wan's eyes looked so familiar, almost like Qui-Gon's, almost but not quite. Anakin wasn't sure what was going on, but before any word was spoken between them, a loud salutation erupted and both turned toward the noise. Anakin mentally sighed when he felt whatever had existed between the to-be master and padawan was shattered by the arrival of the two pilots. Ironically, ten minutes ago, all he wanted was to get out of this place and away from the jedi, now he was cursing the pilots' bad timing, and he wasn't alone. From the corner of his eye, he saw Obi-wan do something he'd never thought he'd see any jedi do. Obi-wan scowled, and quite ferociously for the matter.
Anakin stifled a fit of giggles when the smiles slipped off the pilots' faces at the look Obi-wan sent them.
The taller of the two new men stepped forward, edging cautiously closer to the pair. Obi-wan narrowed his eyes.
"This is our pilot?" He thought, fighting a hard battle not to deepen his scowl. Obi-wan scanned the man before him up and down before coming to the conclusion that a good knock would probably finish off the poor man. The other pilot didn't seem to fair any better. A quick glance over to Anakin made it obvious the boy wasn't exactly thrilled with the situation either.
The man spoke, his voice high and surprisingly shrill for a grown man, "We apologize for the wait. There we were experiencing some difficulties which was the cause for the delay. There might also be need for…"
His voice trailed off under the menacing scowl.
"When will it be possible for us to leave? There are matters of great importance for us to settle, and any more waiting would be a pointless waste of time, wouldn't you say?"
The man nodded mutely, turned away, and rushed off, obviously happy to get away from this ominous jedi. The short man quickly followed his partner's footsteps. Neither of them bothered a glance behind, which was fortunate because the scowl had now metamorphosed into a full out glare that would had frozen lesser men to statues.
Anakin on the other hand was enjoying the show, quite sure that this was the last time he would be seeing anything anywhere near this entertaining. He looked up at Obi-wan. The man here today was different from the one Anakin had known.
"Or maybe not." He thought. It wasn't like he'd known Obi-wan that well before. Maybe this was how Obi-wan was when he's grouchy. Anakin assumed this was his grouchy mood because he was pretty sure that even as a padawan, he would have better control over his feeling.
As if reading his thoughts, the older man jumped slightly, as if noticing his actions for the first time, then turned to look at Anakin.
Sparing the boy a sheepish smile, he said, "That might have been a bit over the top…"
Anakin raised an eyebrow, "A bit?"
He chucked a bit at the incredulous look on such a young face, "You have to admit, it was pretty funny."
"A bit, I suppose." He held back to urge to laugh outright, not feeling comfortable enough around the man to be showing too much emotion around him. However, his mirth shone brightly in his eyes.
"Hm." Obi-wan tugged awkwardly at his braid, not missing the glint in the boy's eyes. Just as he was starting a quick retort on how the shorter man seemed to waddle in his rush to leave the two, he'd caught himself, stunned that he was about to make a joke of another's plight. What was wrong with him? He needed to do something, but what? He couldn't just drop and meditate right here at the docking bay, could he? He didn't have anyone to ask for guidance either. Where were those masters when you need them? With a deep sight, he pinched the bridge of his nose and turned away from the boy.
Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Anakin remained silent. Staring up at the back of the young man, he wondered what had just happened. Mimicking Obi-wan, he sighed and turned the opposite direction. And there they remained each in his own contemplation, each wondering what the future held for them.
Each basking in his own grief until the two pilots returned with news of completion of the shuttle inspection and that they were ready for leave. Beckoning the jedi to follow them, they turned and made for the shuttle. Anakin followed the pilots immediately, glad the uncomfortable moment was finally over. However, Obi-wan hung back. He watched the receding figures with an odd dread. He didn't know why but he felt … the presence of something unpleasant.
He tried consulting the Force, but it remain quiet.
Settling with the presumption that he was just being paranoid he also followed the pilots.
"I'll just ask Yoda when we get to the Temple." He thought, not noticing that he no longer referred to the Temple as 'home'. Home for him was his place beside Qui-Gon, now that his master's gone, he'd unconsciously settled that he no longer had a home.
Author's Note: Haha! Oh my gosh! There are people who actually read and reviewed! Thank you so much! It feels great! I know I'm being a dork but this is pretty cool. Any who, hope this chapter wasn't a complete bore. I promise action for the next.
And sorry about the long update. I had no internet connection or access to a computer because I'd just move. Hopefully the next part would come more quickly.
sYnergY's Duality : Hey! You're the first to review an my first motivation to continue! Nope, definitely not missing out on this. It's good to know the first chapter wasn't too confusing. Hope this chapter wasn't a disappointment.
Saintmagician: Actually, I'd written some little scraps here and there, nothing I plan on posting though. Thanks for the praise.
Rhiw: Look! I did!
Mistress of Parchment: Yup. Tadah!
websurffer: Sorry! Don't die on me! This chapter's pretty low on suspense, so hopefully the next wait won't be too harsh on you. Considering that you continue reading of course.
Thank you all for reading! Hope you like this chapter.