Where Am I Going To?

Part One

Chapter Four

A few hours into his trek, Luke was obviously suffering from heat exhaustion. He'd guzzled all his water, he was delirious, stumbling around alone in the waste lands of the desert.

That's why he never realized that the Sandpeople knew he was there.

Fully awake and watered, Luke was a formidable enemy. In his present condition, however, he was nearly helpless. He only just sensed that something was stalking him, and had been about to unclip his lightsaber. By that time, it was far too late, and he'd only just barely been able to dodge an attack by a Tusken Raider. However, delusional, he fell over a protruding rock, crying out at the sickening crack that came from his rib cage. He'd nearly faded from consciousness when he heard the sudden howl like cry, saw the Sandpeople scatter in terror. Blinking, he tried to prop himself up, met with blinding pain.

A hooded figure approached, the shadow passing over Luke's face. And then was unconscious.

A boy, standing on an outcropping of rock, watching the twin suns set…..

Luke awoke, shoving himself up in bed with one arm, only to hiss at the sudden pain. He let out a short little "Ah…." Before biting his lip. Son of a-

"Oh, so you're awake then!"

Luke's senses were fully restored, and he turned to where the voice had come from. Wait a second….. What the-

"You certainly gave me a bit of a scare, young man." He was scolding him! Lord Skywalker! Oh, wait, he got it. The old man didn't realize it was him. Tatooine was the back edge of nowhere, after all. "I've taped your rips, so don't be stupid and hurt them all over again. Here, sit back."

The old man stepped into the dim light – Luke gathered that it was night – and another wave of nausea passed over him, only it was much more quickly.

A cloaked man, humming a soft lullaby…warmth, safety….

The smile on the old man's face faded briefly as he noticed Luke's sudden discomfort. "Are you alright?"

Luke shook his head. "Yes, fine….Uh…..thank you."

"No need for thanks," the old man answered, pulling a stool to sit by the bed. "Are you hungry? No? Well, young Lord Skywalker-" He paused as he saw the look of utter disbelief on the face of the young Lord of the Sith's face.

"Who are you?" Luke demanded at great length.

The old man smiled and patted the boy's arm. "No one of any importance."

Luke settled back against the headboard. "In my experience, people of no importance are generally very important."

The old man laughed. "Very good, young Skywalker. Alright, then, you win; Kenobi."

Luke now tried very hard to throw the covers off of him and leap from the bed. He stopped for three reasons: One, there was a blinding pain in his left side, two, he had no idea where his lightsaber was, as it wasn't on his belt. And the third was the most startling of all.

A voice, a voice that was entirely too familiar, and glowed with the Light Side of the Force: Hey, easy, do you want to break another rib?

The old man placed a wrinkled hand on Luke's chest, and gently applied enough pressure to keep him seated. "What's gotten into your head?"

Luke was trying to find his focus. At length, he asked "You are the Jedi Obi Wan Kenobi?"

"Obi Wan?" The man was suddenly very surprised, leaning back. "Obi Wan. Now there's a name I've not heard in a long time…..I haven't gone by the name Obi Wan since…." He glanced at the boy, his sea blue eyes flashing. "Oh, before you were born."

Lord Skywalker was making another struggle. "Where's my lightsaber? I'll strike you down where you stand, you-"

Relax.

Startled, Luke fell back again. Finally, he replied. Stop doing that!

"I think," said Kenobi, "you'd better lie down. Killing your saviors is not a gentlemanly thing to do."

Luke was seething. "You nearly killed my father."

The Jedi blinked. "So, that's what he told you, did he? That I tried to kill him?"

"Well, it's true, isn't it?"

The man stood up, mumbling to himself. "Well, that's very interesting….Oh, Anakin, you never change, do you?"

Luke blinked, leaned foreword. "Anakin?"

Obi Wan turned. "Well, of course. You didn't think his name was Vader for his whole life, did you?"

"Well, I…." He'd never thought to question that. It was one of those few stable things in his life, the few things that weren't mysterious.

"Your father has changed quite a bit from when I trained him."

"He's stronger now," insisted the son.

The Jedi snorted, and Luke inwardly snarled. "Yes, perhaps…." He whispered very softly.

"I promised him," Luke said slowly. "I promised him that when I met you, I'd kill you. For him. For revenge."

"I'd rather you didn't, believe me, I can beat you if I have to fight you here."

"You're a Jedi, no Jedi can beat me."

"Oh, so that's what you think, is it?"

"It's what I know!"

Wordlessly, Obi Wan drew a lightsaber to his palm using the Force.

Damn it, Luke, you should have kept your stupid mouth shut!

"Hey, hold on a minute!" Luke shouted. "At least give me my weapon first!"

Kenobi turned the weapon so that the hilt stuck toward Luke, and came close enough for him to take it. "But this is yours."

Lord Skywalker glanced at it, and shook his head. "That's not mine."

"It is," replied the Jedi, opening the boy's hand and placing the weapon inside. "It was your fathers, and now it is yours."

Gaping, the young Lord of the Sith could only stare down at the lightsaber in his hand. His breath came in shallow pulls, and he had to blink several times to comprehend everything that was happening to him. "But my father's is-"

"This is the lightsaber he used when he trained to be a Jedi, before he was corrupted, before he was turned."

"Your fathers lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or as random as a blaster."

Luke felt as if he might cry, which was odd, since he hadn't cried since he was six. He turned his eyes back to Obi Wan. "Why are you doing this for me? You don't even know me! I just declared that I wanted you dead! What feeling other than hate could you possibly have for me?"

Kenobi sat back down. "A Jedi does not give in to hate. Hate eats at a person's soul. And I do know you, Luke. I've known you fore eighteen years. I was there when you were born. And I made a promise that I would protect you, and when the time came, train you to be a Jedi. I think that time has come."

Lord Skywalker chocked. "And what if I don't want to be a Jedi?"

The Jedi sighed. "Then everything that the Jedi and your mother ever fought for was in vain."

"My mother? Wait, you knew my mother?"

The old man blinked, as if that should have been obvious. "Yes…."

"Then….you would know what her name was?"

Obi Wan stared at the young man, who began to feel uncomfortable. "He never even told you who your mother was?"

"She was a traitor to the Empire," the Lord of the Sith pressed angrily, leaping to the defense of his sire. "It was perfectly fine for him to-"

"But you wanted to know." Luke turned his head away. "But you had a right to know!" Lord Skywalker mumbled something unintelligible, and Kenobi rubbed at his temples. "I never dreamed it would be as bad as all this. The lies he's been telling you."

"He'd never lie to me!"

"From what you've revealed to me, he already has."

The Lord of the Sith tried to formulate some protest, but all he could gather was an angry rebuttal. "Look, I don't know who you think you are, but I'm not going to sit here and take it. I'm not going to become a Jedi, and I demand that you take me back to my troops!"

The Jedi sighed, shrugged. "I'm not going to hold you here against your will, Luke. Alright, you can go back. But it can wait until the morning."

The old man got up to go, but the boy's conscience plagued him. "Hey, wait…." Obi Wan turned and looked down at him. "Thank you….for today…..I would have died if you hadn't been there….thanks."

A smile tugged at Kenobi's lips. "I had to. I promised your mother I'd protect you, and I promised myself."

Luke could not reply as he watched the man go.

I must be going crazy.

He laid down, trying to fall asleep.

To Be Continued….

Schnickledooger: Hey, look, don't blame me. It's Band Festival season, so I'm packed to the gills at the moment. Also, I'm going to be gone until Sunday, so I won't be able to work on this until then, too. Going to Seattle for the High School Newspaper Convention.

Oh, I know! I always hate that! They kill poor Kenobi off in, like, the first three paragraphs, and then I'm like "O.O NUUUUU!" But, yeah, this chapter answers your question.

Cookiemunster: Ouch, I wouldn't say that. As for Han and Chewie: Wait and see. Wow, bad joke. You're forgiven.

xInuyashaxAngelx: Well, you'll just have to read and find out, won't you? ;)

Anthestria: My opinion: Man, it would suck to be him.