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When Obi-Wan returned home after he spoke to Yoda, he found Sarah reading a thick book on the sleep couch. Anakin was nowhere to be found. Obi-Wan sighed. Anakin should know better than to just go running off. Obi-Wan wanted to speak with both of them together. If there was anything that Obi-Wan was dreading, it was giving lectures, and he did not want to do it twice.
Sarah glanced up at Obi-Wan when he walked in, and then immediately glanced back down at the book. Obi-Wan knew instantly that something had happened. The echoes of an argument remained in the apartment. Bracing himself, he looked at Sarah and said, "What happened?"
Sarah looked at Obi-Wan straight in the eyes. "Nothing." She said it almost convincingly, but Obi-Wan could always sense it when he was being lied to. Great, just what I need. Two angry Padawans.
"Sarah, please tell me what happened."
Again she looked at Obi-Wan, and there was something else shining in her bright eyes, but Obi-Wan could not put a finger on it. "I think that I'm going to go for a walk," Sarah said. When Obi-Wan did not object, she took off running.
Sarah ran as fast as she could, her heart pounding, to every inch of the Jedi Temple. She eventually arrived at the lake, and she sat down, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head resting on them, trying to control her breathing. She sat there for a long while, trying to meditate, trying to sort out her feelings.
After awhile, her breathing had returned to normal and she could feel the warm breeze ripple through her long, dark blond, almost brown, hair. She did not know how long she sat there, but she finally felt at peace. She gazed up at the stars and she thought of how she had come to love the Jedi Temple, but her fight with Anakin had hurt her terribly. The things that he had said...
Out wandering the streets of Coruscant with his other Padawan friends, Anakin felt bad about what had happened. Deep down he knew that his angry words were more about Obi-Wan than they were Sarah, but he had not been able to control them. He stared out into the stars above Coruscant, wondering what would happen when he returned to the Temple...
Obi-Wan sat in his bed, trying to meditate, wondering what had happened between his Padawans. Everything just felt so confused and awkward. He thought of Master Yoda's words as he rubbed the bruise on his knee from where the Jedi Master's cane had hit him. Would they ever be a family? He watched the stars from his window, wondering if they would ever be able to overcome their issues...
And together the three stared out at the same stars, in the same sky that unites the galaxy. Though none realized it, their bond was strengthening as the moments ticked by, and the Force was surrounding each, uniting them as a family, pointing the way to their destinies; pointing the way to the love, hatred, hope, and betrayal that had long ago been written in the stars.
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Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Sarah stood before Yoda and Mace Windu to receive their new assignment. Two weeks had passed since the episode with the training droids, and the argument between Anakin and Sarah. To put it lightly, all three were...short on words with each other.
Yoda and Mace Windu shared a glance with each other. Both knew about the mission that lay ahead of the three Jedi. It was designed to test every part of them, to their fullest extent. This was the mission that would finally bring the three together, unless of course, it tore them apart first.
Yoda surveyed the three with his large eyes. "Sending you on a mission we are," he began. "A dangerous mission it is. Test the three of you to your fullest it will."
Obi-Wan could almost feel his Padawans' nerves, and he had to admit, he was feeling quite terrified himself.
"A diplomatic mission this is not." Master Yoda said. "Negotiation on this mission there will not be. Typical in any way, this mission is not."
There was a long pause before Mace Windu finally spoke. "This is a dangerous mission. It is unlike any that you have ever, or ever will find yourselves on as Jedi." He gave them a severe look.
Obi-Wan felt even more confused. He had no idea what the Masters were trying to tell them.
"You are to begin immediately," Mace Windu said. "You will not be allowed a lightsaber or any of your other materials." He handed them each a blindfold and a comlink, and the three were led out of the room. Obi-Wan felt vaguely aware of someone having removed his utility belt. He no longer felt the presence of either of his Padawans.
All of the sudden, Obi-Wan had never felt so nervous, or nauseas, in his entire life. After what felt like forever, with a vague sensation of moving, Obi-Wan felt the comlink buzz and he heard Mace Windu's familiar voice. "You may remove your blindfolds now. Good luck to the three of you." Obi-Wan felt the comlink go dead. It was worthless. As he threw it aside with his blindfold, he could not help thinking, Good Luck? That doesn't exactly make me feel a whole lot better.
He was in the pitch dark. He could not see anything, but there was a faint sense in the Force that gave him a feeling he could not put his finger on. He tried to wait and allow his eyes to adjust, but it still remained too dark to see anything. He knew that he would just have to begin walking and trust in his senses...only, he was not sure that that would be enough.
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Sarah began to make her way cautiously as she removed her blindfold. There was a faint tremor in the Force, but she could not place it.
She could feel the rough ground beneath her, and she figured that she must be in some sort of maze. She wished that she had her lightsaber to help light the way and make her feel a little...safer. She took a deep breath, and she felt a little bit shaky. She had no idea why she felt so nervous.
And then, in the distance, she heard the roar of thunder, and she could see flashes of lightning. Rain drops began to smack into her, and where each one landed, she saw blood on her skin.
Her eyes flew wide open, the piercing blue reflecting the lightning. Her breath felt sharp inside of her chest. She was soaked, and with every falling drop, more blood would appear. The entire storm reminded her of Roden. It reminded her of her parents' deaths at the hands of corrupt leaders. She thought that she could hear their screams in the thunder.
She pulled her hood around her tightly and ran as fast as she could, trying to outrace the storm, but it was no use. The thunder was only getting louder, crashing and rumbling inside her heart and mind.
She tried to let the Force flow through her, but all she could feel was a small glimmer of light. As she splashed through puddles, the effort of trying to protect herself with the Force almost became too much. She fell to her knees, her hands bloody...and everything went black.
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Anakin felt like he had been walking for hours. The darkness was endless, but as he walked, he could feel the temperature steadily rise. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead, and he had to remove his outer robe and carry it.
The air around him was sweltering. It felt as though two suns were beating down upon his back, only, everything was dark. The air was stagnant and dry, and it reminded him of Tatooine. We walked faster, but as he did, the heat only increased.
It felt as though he was back in Watto's shop, dirty and dusty. As he walked, he thought that he heard screams. They sounded all to familiar to Anakin. They sounded like his mother.
"Mom!" Anakin shouted desperately as he began to run. The screaming grew louder, and more voices began to cry out inside of his mind. It was as though every slave on Tatooine was crying out to him. The volume caused Anakin's head to pound. He ran faster, but his steps became shaky.
He tried to outrun the voices, and when he turned a corner, as abruptly as they had started, they stopped. He thought he saw something ahead of him in the shadows, and as he began to walk towards it, the air grew cool and damp. The only screams that he heard were the ones that echoed in his heart.
The dampness clung to his skin as he walked. He walked a little bit more quickly towards the shadows, and he felt himself splashing through puddles along the way. It was only after he got much closer to the shadows that he recognized who it was. "Sarah!" he shouted, as he ran to meet her.
But when he finally saw her up close, she was passed out and cold. He waded through the deep puddles as he reached her, and when he got to her, she was soaked. Anakin took his robe and wrapped it around her, trying to warm her up. "Sarah?" His voice was no more than a whisper, but he hoped that it would be enough for her to hear.
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Obi-Wan continued to walk along silently, the darkness surrounding him. He still felt supremely confused. What in the Force is this mission supposed to be? He continued on.
He made twists and turns, and he eventually arrived at a dead end. Sighing, he made to backtrack, but as he did, he felt another presence. When he turned around he saw a shadowy figure, and the breath caught in his throat. There was no doubting the red and black face. There was no forgetting the yellow eyes, shining with hatred.
It was Qui-Gon Jinn's killer. The ruthless Sith who had murdered the man who had been Obi-Wan's Master and best friend. The evil being tossed Obi-Wan a lightsaber. When Obi-Wan looked closer, he realized that it was his lightsaber. The one that he had lost in the power generator core on Naboo during that fateful battle. Fear rose up inside of Obi-Wan like a snake. He stared at the hilt in his hands, remembering.
The Sith glared at Obi-Wan, and he ignited his double blades. The blood-colored light burst forth from both ends. Obi-Wan did the same, the reassuring icy-blue erupting from the familiar hilt. This was his lightsaber, the one that he had had since he was a boy, the one that he had made and worked for weeks on. This was the lightsaber that was perfectly molded to his strong hands.
Though fear still pounded through his blood, the reassuring presence of his old lightsaber helped him. They circled each other...watching...waiting. Jedi and Sith. Good and evil. Light and dark.
And the battle commenced.
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A/N: Um, as always, I just want to give a huge thanks for reading! I'm hoping to update soon, but this week is going to be a little bit crazy at school with tests and essays...sorry to leave off here with a cliffhanger, but you know...I will do what I must (sorry, I can't help those RotS references), again, a big thanks for reading, and feedback is always most resplendently appreciated!