A MESSED UP DESTINY

A STAR WARS STORY

Chapter 30

Disclaimer: Disney owns everything and I make no profit from this.

Hello there everyone and welcome to chapter 30 of the story! Today's chapter explores the events and aftermath of chapter 29 from Siri's point of view, seeing as this is one of the rare occasions where the story is told from outside the point of view of a main character. I'll do my best to put the effects caused by the Sith Phantoms' Force Corruption into words and thoughts as she goes through an emotional battle after state after waking up, believing that she is responsible for the death of Obi Wan.

Please bear with me as this is my first trying my hand at something like this, but I hope I've made it enjoyable for your reading pleasure.

Now…without further ado…let's dive right into it!

Jedi Rescued! Having been saved from the clutches of the evil Sith Phantoms at the nick of time, Jedi Knight Siri Tachi awakens in the Jedi Temple, plagued by nightmarish visions of her time as a Sith Acolyte, and with Obi Wan absent from the scene, draws the worst possible conclusions…

Coruscant, Abandoned Warehouse, Siri's point of view:

The sound of a lightsaber clicking, then igniting, a blood red emanating from what had once been a beautiful azure blade -blue as his eyes-. Pure agony ravaged my soul, but for or the slightest of moments, I couldn't believe that I was raising a blade to harm my beloved Obi Wan. Looking into his eyes, I saw my own, who -once as bright and blue as his own- were now emanating a golden glow, the signal of power and control.

Obi Wan didn't move a muscle, silently observing me, and I never noticed bringing the saber to his neck, only seeing it as a sense of horror filled me, but it lasted barely a moment, before the euphoria of power calmed me once more. Mentally berating myself for this weakness, I raised my beautiful blade above my head, and heard a satisfying scream of terror as I slashed at the weak Jedi beneath me.

Letting out a screech as I opened my eyes, I found my movements to be sluggish, as if I was submerged in some kind of thick liquid. Looking around, the room I was in seemed like it was behind tinted glass, and I soon realized that I must be in a Bacta Tank. The environment seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't…remember where I was. All I could see was Obi Wan's face as I…slashed at him…

The machine holding me lifted my body out of the tank just in time for me to process what had happened, and for my brain to come to the conclusion that Obi Wan was…dead. That I-I had killed the man I loved. I didn't hear myself scream, nor did I feel my body thrashing around mid-air, for all I wanted was him. All I wanted…no, all I needed was for him to be okay. For Obi Wan to be alive, to run inside the room and let me cuddle under the robe he always wore, or to just…be there, but he wasn't. Obi Wan was dead.

"-ri! Siri!", a voice shouted, but I didn't care. Obi Wan wasn't here, and he would be here if he was still…here.

"Siri! You're tearing the-ah!", another voice, a feminine one, shouted to me, but I didn't care. I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. Not after what I had done.

"-Wan! Go get Obi Wan! I will…get down!", the voice from before shouted, the latter words becoming numb in my ears as his name was yelled out for the world to hear.

At the mention of him, everything seemed to slow down, and my eyes darted around the room, searching for any sign of my beloved Jedi Knight, but he was nowhere to be found. Instead, the only person in the room was another Jedi, certainly not a healer of any kind. Wasn't his name Anakin?

"Siri! Listen to me! Obi Wan is on his way, but I need you to calm down! Please, do it for him!", the Jedi…Anakin, shouted at me, and I found myself staying still for a moment, pondering over his words. Obi Wan was coming! He wasn't dead!

My mind still in disbelief over Anakin's words, I dared myself to say his name, the words still sounding foreign on my tongue. "Obi…Wan?", I found myself asking, voice barely above a whisper.

Anakin's eyes lit up at the mention of my love…but why? Oh, aren't they friends? He slowly moved to some sort of table with buttons on it, was it the control table for the machine suspending me in the air? "I'm going to let you down now.", Anakin said in a calm voice, confirming my assumption. "Obi Wan is almost here, but please follow my instructions until he arrives, okay?", he then asked, and I nodded to him, trying to show that I had heard him.

Anakin took a deep breath and pressed a few buttons before I found myself being lowered, the ground getting closer and closer to my feet. After a few seconds, I found myself standing up, or rather, my legs being held upright by some force I couldn't see. Anakin then guided me to a nearby bed, the only one in the room that wasn't covered in debris or was on fire like the bed in the corner. Once I had sat down, Anakin dashed towards the flaming bed, running a hand over the fire before the flames completely disappeared. I was about to ask him how he did that, but a passing through interrupted my inquiry.

Anakin. Didn't I know him? He is Obi Wan's friend, so I probably do. Anakin…Skywalker was his name. And with that information, I felt a tingle in the back of my head. It felt warm and loving, like Obi Wan when his hand was entwined in mine…but when was that? I couldn't remember reaching out to hold his hand…ever. A thick fog surrounded my thoughts, and I could barely bring myself to remember a few basic things, like my name, which was Siri. I knew that much, because Obi Wan had called me that when I…tried to kill him.

Why had I done that? I loved him, why did I hurt him? Did I get angry at him? Over what? Questions were running wild in my mind, and I knew that I remembered the answers to them, but I just…couldn't remember. Before I had any time to try and ask Anakin the door slid open, and in came a female Mon Calamari, guiding him into the room.

Obi Wan. He was there, brown robe almost falling from his shoulders as he rushed to me, wrapping his arms around me. His hair was soft and smelled nice, as if he'd just taken a shower. His hands ran over my back in a comforting motion, and I squeezed him with all my strength, to make sure he would stay there and never leave me alone again.

His own arms didn't let go of me, pulling me closer. I lifted my head to look at him, and he cupped my cheek with a soft hand, moving his thumb in a circular motion as I leaned in to the touch. Then, our eyes connected. It was magical, gazing into his eyes as I let myself get lost in those big blue orbs that were a mere centimeter away from my own. Letting go of everything else, I closed the distance between us, kissing him with all the love I could put behind it.

When Obi Wan pulled away, it was as if the fog plaguing my mind had been lifted, and images and sounds suddenly filled my mind as I felt myself stumble backwards and fall to the floor.

Dark Mist surrounding me, as I fall to the floor in defeat. A sickening cackle fills the air, and everything goes black.

Clones of the Coruscant Guard searching for me. A shadow moving closer, dark hands reaching out to them. I try to call out in warning, but they too fall, defeated.

More squads of Clones, this time taking orders from a hooded figure as another bursts into the room, yelling about Jedi.

Blaster fire filling the air as bright flashes of light come into existence, knocking whole squads of troopers off their feet.

Obi Wan following me in silence, as I beckon him forwards. His expression is one of anger and he seems ready to kill whoever stands in his way.

Obi Wan is knocked to the ground, a bright red blade is at his throat.

My hand reaching out to entwine with his, Dark Mist following suit.

A bright golden glow emanates from his eyes as Anakin and another Jedi duel hooded figures.

Mind snapping back to reality, I registered a hand holding my own, another keeping me from falling over again. It was Obi Wan, probably completely unaware of the fact that I had nearly killed him…however long ago those memories took place. I tried to move away, to keep him safe from myself, but he wouldn't budge. When he realized what I was doing, he simply held me tighter, not letting go as he poured Light at me through our Force Bond.

I tried to move away again one final time, but found his presence to be calming and full of love. Suppressing my tears, I hugged him as hard as I could, wishing that we could stay like that forever, until someone cleared their throat next to us.

It was Bant, my longtime friend and esteemed healer at the Jedi Temple. "Forgive the interruption, but I need to ask Siri a few questions.", she said as politely as she could, clearly sorry for speaking up.

Obi Wan moved away from me and in front of her, left arm blocking me from her, right one hovering over his lightsaber and a strong feeling of protectiveness present in our Bond. "It can wait.", he stated, leaving no room for anyone to say otherwise.

Anakin was the one to speak up first, in Obi Wan's defense, as was to be expected. He was akin to a brother to him, after all. "I agree. Surely you can leave them alone for a few more minutes?", he asked Bant, not really leaving room for her to take it as a question, since it sounded more like an order.

Bant seemed ready to deny the 'request', but I sent her a pleading look that made her sigh in defeat, so she Anakin quickly stepped out of the room to give us some privacy. Obi Wan was the first to speak after the door slid shut.

"Siri…my Light…what happened to you?", he asked, on the verge of tears. Now that my mind was clear of fog and mist, producing an answer was easy enough.

"Obi…I was following this killer, the Phantom. Caught them right after he'd finished 'dealing' with a Senator's aid. The man's neck and face had been burned to a crisp, the rest of the body was still shriveling and dying as they stood over it. I could feel the satisfaction they were feeling, but they fled seconds after a guard stepped in the room, stopping to fire a stun bolt to her back as he leapt out the window. I gave chase, trying to hide my presence from them as best I could, and they led me to a warehouse of some kind. They tried to go in and I heard blaster fire, but then everything went black right after I leapt through a window.", I told him, not noticing the tears that had formed in eyes as relived every second of the memory in my head.

Obi Wan clenched his teeth and hugged me again, offering comfort before asking if I remembered anything else. I didn't want to tell him about whatever fragments of memory had popped up in my head before, but I also dreaded him knowing what I had tried to do, though he was there, so he probably knew anyways. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves and hold back more tears, I answered, keeping my eyes locked with his as I spoke. I wanted to feel as much warmth from his before he began to hate me for my actions.

"I…I remember a few things. Voices. Images. Clones were shooting someone. A dark figure killed a bunch of them, I think. She spoke about a Brotherhood. But…I almost killed you.", I said, expecting to see him step away and declare that he hated me.

Obi Wan did nothing of the sort, however. Instead of being reasonable and getting away from the person that had just said were the cause of your near death, he stepped forwards, kissing me again. Tears were swelling in his eyes when he moved away, his serenity and calmness long gone, almost as if they were never there to begin with. "Siri.", he whispered, voice broken into a million glass shards. "I almost Fell.", he said to me, and I stumbled backwards again.

"Fell?", I asked in disbelief. "As in, Fell to the Dark Side?"

Obi Wan didn't respond verbally, only nodding, tears now flowing from his beautiful eyes. Where there once was the image of a perfect Jedi, stood a broken man, one who I knew to have been hardened by War and loss, but there was something deeper to this look he was giving me. Tapping into our bond, I saw nightmarish images of a fiery landscape, two azure blades clashing in combat and someone screaming for Obi Wan to help them. It all came with a name, and a thought.

"Vader. I almost became like him." Unspoken words that never needed to be heard by anyone if my love had his say, but ones I heard as clearly as the hum of my Kyber Crustal. All I could do was hug the man I loved, taking as much pain away as I could. Questions could be asked later, but I wouldn't let him shut everyone off like he had nearly a decade ago, when Qui Gon was killed by that Sith. I'd always regretted not trying to be there for him then, but my duties hadn't allowed it at the time. This was my chance to make up for that mistake.

"So…looks like we both went a bit crazy.", I tried, but the joke fell on deaf ears as Obi Wan was too busy erecting shields around his mind, too keep everyone out. I was about to deter him, but then noticed that I wasn't blocked off from his thoughts. Who was he trying to shield from then?

"Siri, I think we need to talk.", he said, tone identical to the one when he had ended things with me all those years ago. In a desperate attempt to try and prevent it from happening again, I kissed him roughly, but he didn't pull away like I had expected. Instead he continued, as if the last few moments hadn't happened. "There's something you need to know.", he whispered to me, and my heart fluttered at the thought of him not breaking things off again. I wouldn't blame him if he did, but it was still nice to hear that he wasn't going anywhere.

I leaned in again, desperate to just…put everything aside for a few moments and simply be with the one I loved, but Bant stepped in again, followed by Anakin. Upon realizing what the two of them had interrupted, the younger Knight proposed that they leave again, but Bant weighed her options for a moment. She had been lenient with protocol so far, but hadn't we pushed it enough already?

Bant hesitated for a moment, then looked like she was about to relent, until the door slid open, revealing Masters Plo Koon and Windu, the latter of which wearing an angry scowl on his face, looking absolutely livid. "I'm afraid that you, Skywalker, are in no position to decide what happens in this Temple. You are to answer to the Jedi Council for threatening the life of a fellow Jedi, and you, Master Kenobi, are to give an extensive report of the mission your Padawan dragged you into, or he will the one I talk to next.", Master Windu stated, and absolute confusion was present in my mind.

Sensing this, Obi Wan placed a hand on my shoulder and sent Light through our Force Bond, but his lack of a response only made Windu more agitated as Master Plo looked on in confusion and bewilderment at the situation unfolding before his eyes.

Anakin on the other hand simply smiled at him, ignoring Master Koon for the time being. He took a step towards Windu, causing the Jedi Master to ignite his lightsaber and point it at Anakin's throat. This was where Master Plo stepped in between them, trying to defend Anakin as Obi Wan's hand grasped his own saber, finger a split second away from igniting the blade. Bant seemed to be in shock, and I just…didn't know what to do.

"Master Windu! You told me what we were going to be asking Knight Tachi some questions regarding her whereabouts and lack of communication! Never did you mention threatening or attacking a fellow Jedi!", the Kel Dor Master protested, lightsaber firmly in his own grasp.

"Mace, this is madness! Stop before someone gets hurt!", Obi Wan chimed in, raising his voice in anything but concern in the first time since Qui Gon passed away. Anakin just smiled at both of the Jedi Masters in the room, while Bant was too focused on the state of the room, only now noticing the debris littering the space.

Obi Wan tensed as Anakin stepped forward again and lightly shoved Master Koon out of his way. His hand then twitched, as if going to call his saber, and Master Windu noticed, amethyst blade swinging at Obi Wan's former Padawan as Master Koon tried to step in and help him, but was too late to do so.

Where I and everyone else expected to see Anakin be sliced in half before our very eyes, Anakin never lost his now shit-eating grin as he simply…caught the blade. In his hand. As if he'd done it a thousand times before. Twin gasps were let out by myself and Bant, Master Koon looked on in shock and Master Windu gazed at Anakin with a perplexed expression I had never seen on him…but Obi Wan looked ready to start howling in laughter.

Before anyone could so much as breathe, the amethyst blade was on Anakin's belt, clipped between his own saber and a second one, which was probably mine, though the crystal felt…different, somehow. The young Knight then stepped forward again, stopping an inch away from Master Windu, who seemed to have stopped functioning entirely.

Anakin then raised a hand, as if about to start chocking the elder Jedi, but stopped himself at the last second, taking a short breath before locking eyes with Master Windu. "Make no mistake, Master Jedi. If you try that again, I will not be pleased.", he said, but it wasn't Anakin's voice speaking. Even if I didn't know him as well as Obi Wan, I could tell that someone else was talking to Master Windu.

Master Windu himself seemed to be oblivious to this however, as he immediately tried to counter Anakin's statement –threat-, with one of his own, as Obi Wan and Master Koon were both ready to step in if needed, though something was telling me Anakin -or whoever was talking- wouldn't need their help.

"Skywalker, I will not ask again. Explain yourself now, or in front of the Jedi Council.", Master Windu said calmly, though his tone betrayed that he was anything but. Anakin seemed ready to throw to retort his way, but a sideways glance from Obi Wan made him reconsider, and he prepared a different answer as he took a deep breath, calming himself down.

"What I meant to say-", Anakin began, knowing that he had everyone's attention. "-was that I apologize for my actions on the Landing Platform. Knight Tachi was in critical condition, and your insistence for answers was putting her life at risk. I was angry at the situation and worried about her and Obi Wan both, and I'm sorry to have taken it out on you. I misspoke and it won't happen again.", he said, voice sounding entirely genuine. He seemed to mean those words too, as he promptly returned Master Windu's lightsaber and walked out the room, with no one moving to stop him.

"…What just happened?" It was Bant who dared to speak first, breaking the silence. Only then did the two Jedi Masters in the room come to their senses, with Master Windu looking thoughtful for a moment before running after Anakin, as Master Koon stayed behind, trying but hesitating to speak.

Obi Wan, as if having read his mind, quickly stepped between us, cutting the Kel Dor Jedi off before he could say a word. "I'll handle this.", he said, his voice the very definition of confidence. Master Koon nodded in understanding and turned to leave the room, mumbling something about having to speak with Master Yoda.

Bant hadn't yet moved from her spot, frozen in shock as she kept looking around the room, eyes darting from one person to the next. With how many times I've been to the Halls of Healing, I knew it was protocol for the patient to stay under the 'watchful' eyes of a Healer in case something happened, but she did nothing to stop Obi Wan from guiding me away and inside his quarters.

Once there, we both sat down on his bed, and everything that had happened since I woke up finally clicked, replaying itself over and over like a broken recording, always spewing up the same words. "Siri…", my love began, and I set my questions aside for a moment, giving him my undivided attention.

"…I-I haven't been entirely honest with you. There's something I haven't told you, something I should have told you before I went away to fight in the War.", he uttered, tone full of regret and voice cracking with sadness and fear.

I reached out to touch his shoulder, to tell him that everything would be alright, but he calmly raised his own hand and guided mine back down, taking a deep breath before continuing. He was afraid of what this revelation would bring to our relationship, I could feel it though the Force.

Obi Wan cleared his throat after a few moments of silence, ready to reveal whatever this secret was. I would listen to him, and I once again raised my right arm, wrapping it around his waist and pulling him a in comforting hug.

"Siri…I-Anakin and I…are from the future."

And…scene! There you have it everyone, chapter 30 of A Messed Up Destiny! I am so sorry for the delay this time, I promise it won't happen again, but Writer's Block had the worst timing in the Galaxy.

Anyways…this chapter –while short- brings about a lot of things that warrant further discussion, so without further ado…let's get into the exposition!

Firstly, Siri's mental state as she awakes. This segment wasn't actually the beginning of this story. There's actually a thousand-word opening segment before this, where we get to see some of the events of chapter 29 through Siri's eyes as she is under the Dark Side's influence, but I realized that since the victims remember very little of what happened while they were corrupted (take the Clones as an example) I couldn't do that or I'd have a continuity error. Fear not though, for those scenes are being repurposed for a vision sequence in future chapters, so they won't go to waste.

As for Siri's actual mental state once she wakes up inside the Bacta Tank, the confusion and temporary memory lapse she experiences, as well as her general instability are due to the trauma she suffered at the hands of the Sith Phantoms in the last chapter. Now, I'm not a phycologist or someone with any sort of experience in that field, but I do know (or at least I'm pretty sure) that the brain will sometimes block off memories related to a traumatic event simply because it doesn't want to remember them, hence Siri not really knowing what was going on.

When her emotional response in concerned, she still remembers trying to hurt Obi Wan and quickly deduces that he'd be in the room waiting for her to awake if he was still alive, taking his absence as a sign of the opposite. Thankfully Anakin manages to calm her down by using her logic to stop her before it's too late and this is actually something that he'll be discussing with Padme next chapter.

Secondly, the Darth Vader parallels. I admit that this one can be missed, but the destruction Siri unleashes when she thinks Obi Wan is dead and that she's the cause of it is meant to parallel the scene from ROTS where Vader does the same. This isn't meant to show a connection between them, but rather comes back to something commonly said within the Jedi Order. To them, if a Force Sensitive isn't properly trained and can't control their powers they are dangerous, and this scene is meant to show that sometimes the danger is always there, no matter what we do to prevent it. It's one of those ideas that is here for future reference, as this is a concept I'd like to toy with in the future regarding Anakin's ARC as a character.

Thirdly, Mace Windu. I admit I may have jumped the gun a bit with his reaction at first glance, but if we think about things from his perspective, his reasons start to become much clearer. Windu is someone devoted to the Jedi Order and their teachings, meaning that he thinks 'Light Side good, Dark Side bad'. He is someone who has been watching Anakin acts a lot less like a Jedi since The Battle of Geonosis (to his knowledge) and has observed him as he (from a Jedi Master's point of view) came closer and closer to embracing the Dark Side of the Force.

Of course we as the author and readers know his true character development, but Windu doesn't, so it makes sense that after seeing a (then) Padawan use Force Lightning (see chapter 13), nearly kill a Sith Lord on multiple occasions (see chapter 11 and chapter 6 of Raging Wars), annihilate an entire army using the Dark Side (see chapter 3 of Horrors of Jabiim), defy or disrespect the Council on multiple occasions and now threaten to kill him if he didn't do as Anakin said, Windu is right to think of him as dangerous and a threat to the Jedi Order, hence his reaction in this chapter. This move didn't come out of nowhere, but was rather Mace just finally having enough of Anakin's Sith-like behavior over the past year.

Lastly, Obi Wan revealing the truth to Siri. This…wasn't a decision he made lightly, and one that I was also skeptical about before finally deciding to go along with it. To further elaborate on his reasons, Obi Wan is someone who has seen what secrets can lead to in the form of Anakin's downfall, and he knows all too well that what happened between him and Siri in the last chapter is something they'll be both dealing with for a long time, so he doesn't want to be keeping something from her anyone. He's bringing this out in the open so there are no more secrets between them, like Anakin did with Padme in Book 1. What this reveal will lead to is uncertain, for the future is never set in stone, and he's taking a risk by telling her the truth.

Next time: As Siri is left reeling by the revelation of Obi Wan's greatest secret, Anakin visits Padme, expecting a quiet night in after months of constant fighting on the front lines of the War. Meanwhile, Darth Sidious seeks revenge for the humiliation he suffered at the hands of the Senator of Naboo, but our heroes have bigger problems to worry about as a surprise visit threatens to turn a relaxing evening into a world-ending nightmare…

That's all for now everyone! Reviews are always welcome, whether it be to ask question or to chat, and I'll see you all next chapter, but until then, May the Force be with you!