A MESSED UP DESTINY

A STAR WARS STORY

Chapter 31

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

Hello there everyone and welcome to chapter 31 of the story! Today's chapter picks up moments after chapter 30 ended and follows Obi Wan as he tries to help Siri deal with the information he's just given her, as Anakin and Windu have a talk, one long overdue in my personal opinion.

Also, for those who may have missed the Author's Note or are simply reading at a later date, I can now be found on AO3 under the same pen name, with all my works there for you to enjoy, since I will be updating there as soon as I do here!

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

Two truths and a lie! Still reeling from his near-Fall during the battle with the Sith Phantoms in the Works, Obi Wan has revealed his greatest secret to his love, but is now desperately trying to help her understand everything related to it, before things take a turn for the worst. Meanwhile, Jedi Master Mace Windu approaches Anakin Skywalker with questions, knowing that he will probably dislike the answers to them. But can a talk between the two Jedi finally solve their years-old feud, or will it simply cause more conflict amidst the Jedi Order's ranks?

Coruscant, Jedi Temple, Obi Wan's point of view:

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

As soon the words left my mouth, Siri looked at me with a blank stare, as if all thoughts had left her mind. She blinked once, then again, and finally a third time, but still said nothing, looking at me like a Lothcat would had I been a Rancor. I then felt the Force tingle slightly, as if she was checking to see if I was lying, so I decided to confirm it for her again, to help the information set in.

"As an old friend once told me, 'search your feelings, you know it to be true'.", I said, in what I hoped was a soft voice. My throat certainly felt too dry for that to happen.

"Obi…that's impossible.", Siri whispered, but I recognized this to be a final attempt to deny this new information. I didn't respond verbally, only nodding an affirmative in her direction.

Siri then surprised me by clinging to me and hugging me as tightly as she could, as if disregarding the fact that I had been lying to her for a full year now. "…I forgive you.", she whispered, and something, some self-made barrier for my emotions broke as I heard her voice. Logically, I knew she didn't know what had happened to her in that other timeline, what my inaction brought upon the Galaxy and of how it was my failure as a Jedi Master that had Anakin Fall to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader, but to hear those words from her mouth, it certainly felt like it.

"I-I assume you have questions…", I tried, hoping that my voice wouldn't crack from the emotional overload currently going on inside my head. The sentence seemed to surprise Siri, as if she hadn't been expecting me to elaborate after dropping this kind of information on her.

I could see the hesitation in her eyes, as if she could sense I didn't want to think about anything that happened, but I owed her answers as to what had been going on, about what happened to everyone after she had died at the hands of that Bounty Hunter. "It's alright. I'll tell you everything.", I told her, but Siri just let feelings of worry and concern flow through our Bond, as if she was concentrating solely on me for the time being, not at all fazed by the fact that I was a time traveler.

"You don't have to…", she said, voice sweet and angelic, with eyes shining like a pair of bright stars.

In response to this, I simply nodded, to show that I understood her. "I know. I want to.", I then said, and was momentarily surprised to find this to be genuinely true. I did want to tell her about everything, not because I felt like I owed it to her, but simply because I wanted to talk to her about it.

"I'm not sure where it all began…", I heard myself say. "I know now that everything was planned by the Sith, that Darth Bane's Order were the ones causing chaos and death throughout the Galaxy for a long time, but really, there was only one Sith Lord who I truly believe ensured the destruction of the Jedi. The Order was destroyed by a Dark Lord named Darth Sidious, so Anakin and I were sent back to stop him and bring Balance to the Force.", I continued, Siri saying nothing as to not interrupt me.

"Sidious had noticed a powerful Jedi in the Order and groomedhim to become his apprentice. When the time was right and after decades of political manipulations, he revealed himself to the Jedi, and when the Council tried to kill him, four of us ended up dead since he had Darth Vader's help. I was on the hunt for General Grievous when the Clones received Order 66. They had choice but to obey the new Galactic Emperor, and Vader laid siege to the Jedi Temple. The Jedi inside didn't stand a chance. When Vader was sent to Mustafar to kill the CIS leaders I followed him, but Anakin almost died during the fight. Vader survived and went on to serve as Sidious' enforcer, but both Anakin and I were left broken by everything that happened. I had thought him dead at the time, so I fled. I only realized that he had survived after being brought back here, with the help of Qui Gon."

My voice was close to cracking again as I finished recounting the shortened version of the story, the one that omitted details like Vader's identity and Anakin's deeds at the Jedi Temple. I never mentioned how Darth Vader tore my quarters anew during his siege, nor how the only thing left of Bant had been a charred, dismembered corpse so unrecognizable that it had taken me a second look to confirm her identity.

I could feel something wetting my eyes by the end of it, and only when Siri swooped me in a hug did I realize I had started to cry. Unable to bring myself to speak, I simply let myself melt in her arms, not knowing what else I could do. There was nothing I –or anyone for that matter- could do to save those who had died in the other timeline. It was done, and we could only hope to undo it here by not repeating the same mistakes, something that neither Anakin nor I have ever truly been good at.

I felt Siri's jaw move all of a sudden, as if she was trying to come up with something to say, but whatever she had been close to uttering was silenced by the sudden sound of the door sliding open, revealing Anakin, holding Siri's lightsaber in one hand and a Jedi Holocron in the other. He remained silent as he walked to and away from us, only stopping momentarily to place both items on the nightstand and give a nod of affirmation to Siri, as if she didn't already believe me.

My brother then turned around and left the room, never breaking the comfortable silence that still enveloped it. It seemed like he had learned a few things after all, even if it took over two and a half decades for someone to drill proper manners into that boy's head.

Moments ago, Obi Wan's quarters, Anakin's point of view:

Having just placed the Jedi Holocron on Obi Wan's nightstand along with Siri's lightsaber, its crystal still emitting a blood red glow whenever it was activated. I could feel that the poor thing was crying out in agony, and silently hoped that the purification process I had found in the Restricted Sections of the Achieves was worth nearly getting chewed out by Master Nu. I had thankfully cut her off before she could begin and endless line of questioning, simply telling the Jedi Librarian that I had Master Yoda's permission and that she should speak with him if she had a problem with it.

I felt kind of bad for sending so many people his way, first Master Koon for the second time this week, and now Master Nu, who would be cause enough to worry about the Jedi Grandmaster, but covering for me on these occasions was part of his job, and he had long accepted that he'd have to do it for the fight against the Emperor to end in his defeat and subsequent demise.

Taking a deep breath and tugging on my bond with Obi Wan in a way I knew to be reassuring, I completely missed the presence of Master Windu in the hallway I was about to walk through, though after a few milliseconds of pondering I decided that he had been trying to hide, which was relatively easy in a place with so many other Jedi, since singling his Force Presence out would require more work on my –or anyone else's- part.

"Knight Skywalker.", the Jedi Master addressed in a cold tone, reeking of the same sense of distrust and displeasure I had always felt from him, but it had become much more intense since my return to the past, or the Battle of Geonosis, to be more specific.

Still, despite my negative feelings toward him and his general attitude, I could now understand that he was just trying to do his job, as Qui Gon had explained to a few weeks ago, after a particularly annoying conversation with the man. His opinion may have been a bit biased due to him and Windu being longtime friends when he was still alive, but that took nothing away from the fact that he was, fundamentally, correct in his reasoning. Since then, I had done my best to display an attitude of indifference towards him, since pretending to enjoy conversation with him would be torture for the both of us.

Out of politeness, as well as the aforementioned talk with my father, I wasted little time before responding to him, even if I was just hoping to get this over with. "Yes, Master Windu?", I asked in a calm tone, as if I hadn't given him a very stern warning only a few minutes ago in the Halls of Healing.

"I'd like a moment of your time, if you will.", the Jedi Master said, almost as if he was actually asking and not demanding or ordering me around. Huh. Odd…

Seeing that he was at least trying to be civil, I decided to do the same, and responded with politeness usually reserved for dealing with politicians, though it wasn't as forced as the times where I've had to deal with people like Lott Dod, the Neimoidian representative of the Trade Federation in the Republic Senate, though how he managed to maintain this position when his employers were clearly working with the CIS was beyond me, and quite frankly, not worth my time.

"Of course Master.", I replied to Windu, and he nodded in affirmative before turning around and walking down the corridor, beckoning me to follow. From what I could sense of his well-guarded intentions, he simply wanted to get to a place where our conversation would not be overheard, which was fine by me. I wasn't in the mood to murder Jedi today anyways.

When we reached a hallway a few corridors down, one completely devoid of other Jedi, Windu turned to me, concern written over his usually stoic features. "Are you alright?", he asked suddenly, and I was stunned by the unexpected question. Why was he asking about my health?

"Pardon?", I questioned out loud, hoping he'd elaborate or that I'd –somehow- misheard him.

Windu cleared his throat before responding, almost as if trying to avoid any awkward silences, not that I'd stay here long enough for one to happen. I'd be gone the second he stopped talking. "I…observed that since the Battle of Geonosis, you've been exhibiting various traits and abilities related to the Dark Side of the Force.", he clarified. Bravo, genius. As if I was trying to hide…

"I suppose I have….", I confirmed with a slight bit of hesitance, not sure where he was going with this.

"Skywalker, I'm going to be honest with you. The reason I've been so…hostile towards you is because of the Shatterpoints I can always observe around you. There are more than in any other living being or location I've encountered. You displaying these traits caused me to worry and I acted…irrationally, sometimes.", he tried to explain, but there was no need. I had already understood what this was, even though it took me by surprise.

"This is an apology.", I said, more of a statement than a question. "It's fine.", I waved him off, "I get what it looks like from your point of view. Seems as I'm taking one step after the other to Falling, but to perfectly honest…I already have.", I admitted to him, silently ashamed that I had taken some measure of satisfaction at the look of pure shock on Windu's face.

"Wha-What?", he stuttered, and I could sense he was praying to the Force that he had misheard me.

"Don't look so worried-", I tried to reassure him, "-I'm not going to wake up one day and decide to cut your head off, even if you annoy the ever-living Bantha Poodoo out of me. Besides, I've been holding up okay this far, and Yoda knows, if that makes you feel better.", I continued, honestly doing my best not to spook him, since I'd rather not get in a saber fight with Mace Windu. Wouldn't want to be responsible for the death of such an esteemed member of the High Council.

Windu, still reeling from this discovery –though it was old news by this point- inhaled sharply, trying to keep his composure from failing him entirely. "…I assume that Master Kenobi knows as well?", he questioned, suspicions turning to Obi Wan.

"So does Master Koon. He learned during the Malevolence Crisis and Obi Wan has known since Geonosis.", I told him, saying nothing but the truth…from a certain point of view, since while he might have suspected before that, it was in the Arena that he finally got a definitive answer, and therefore no lie would be detected by the elder Jedi Master in front of me.

Hearing my response, Windu let out a long sigh, before composing himself once more as a spark of mischief flashed in his eyes. No…not mischief. It was something I knew all too well. The feeling you get after having found a worthy opponent for combat, though it was a feeling I had only experienced once as Darth Vader, with a Jedi Master whose name I couldn't even remember anymore.

Windu seemed to be debating on whether he should request a sparring match or going to Yoda to try and gain more insight into my condition, but I was quick to make the choice for him and swiftly gave a bow before departing, not wanting to fight him on anything but fair grounds, since this was the man who had gone toe to toe with Sidious and would have won if not for outsider intervention. As I walked away from, I did my best to not acknowledge that I had been that outsider, instead turning my thoughts to Padme.

Taking a look at the time, I saw that it was a good half hour after the end of her workday, so paying her a visit wouldn't pose any issues, and if she was in a meeting of some sort, I could simply wait for it to be over, or try my hand at this 'politics' thing she was so good at. Still, I never really had gotten to test that Mind Manipulation technique had I? Perhaps this would be a good time for some tests to be performed…

With those thoughts in mind, I set course to the Temple Hangar, and more specifically, to that yellow speeder in the far corner of the bay, the one that I had once tinkered with as a teenager, though to be fair, the same was true for most of the machines in this Temple.

And…scene! There you have it everyone, chapter 31 of A Messed Up Destiny! And yes, before the Anidala shippers say anything, this chapter was supposed to have Anakin visit her, but I decided that resolving this 'feud with Windu' thing seemed more appropriate, since it was beginning to sound and look a bit childish to me. Besides, I compensated by giving Siri and Obi Wan more screen time…more text lines…what's the appropriate term for a fanfic?

Ah, who cares! Point is, I hope you enjoyed this chapter since it was a bunch of fun to write even though it was a filler, but I promise the next chapter is going to be really good. Remember how I said that something worse than Sidious was awaiting him at Padme's place? Yeah…that's going be a lot of fun…

Anyways…we have some things to cover with this chapter, so let's dive in to the exposition!

Firstly, Obi Wan and Siri. I think that their relationship has drastically changed after the encounter with the Sith Phantoms in the Abandoned Warehouse (who I was going to have Revan dub as: The Sisters, by the way, I just couldn't fit it in) though whether it will end up being for the better or worse remains to be seen, especially since this isn't the last time they'll face an obstacle of grand magnitude, but I'm not giving anything else away at the moment.

As for how the reveal will impact their chemistry, I think it's been made pretty clear that this innate trust they've shown to have in one another is proof that things won't be worsened by it anytime soon. Besides, now Obi Wan will have someone to talk to about all of the things that have been eating him up for quite some time now, someone who will just listen and support while providing a fresh pair of eyes on any given situation he may have a problem with in the future.

Secondly, Anakin. Without delving into his conversation with Windu just yet, I think it's obvious that Anakin has matured a whole lot from how he used to be per-Order 66. This has been evident (to me) in a bunch of scenes up until this point (conversation with Grievous, discussion with Obi Wan, return of Siri's saber) and for me it's nice to see him act like a responsible adult once in a while, instead of getting either 'General Skywalker' or 'Lord Vader' depending on how his and his friends' lives are being threatened. It's good to see him in a more casual setting at the Jedi Temple, and next chapter is going to showcase that even more.

Thirdly, Anakin and Mace's conversation. Mace Windu is a lot of things (jerk included if you ask me), but he isn't stupid. He may be harsh and cold at times, but he's also a Jedi and knowns how to deal with situations responsibly, hence him seeking Anakin out to apologize and put an end to this feud between the two of them. While he does try to explain his reasoning for his actions in this chapter, a more complete analysis can be found in last chapter's epilogue (see paragraph 3: Mace Windu). Thankfully, Anakin is now mature enough to (with a push in the right direction from Qui Gon) understand Windu's perspective of what was happening, and seek to correct it without causing more trouble for anyone.

Lastly, in case anyone is wondering, the process of corrupting a Kyber Crustal and turning it red is called Bleeding and the opposite is also possible, evident by the white lightsabers Ahsoka wields in Rebels. While I myself am not exactly sure about the specifics of purifying a Kyber Crystal from the Dark Side of the Force, I wanted to address the plot point of Siri's saber so as to not leave any loose ends as the Coruscant Arc comes to a close.

Next time: Anakin's surprise visit to his girlfriend is interrupted by her family coming to see her unexpectedly, leading to an awkward dinner with her parents, and a scheming Sith Lord's plan being accidentally foiled by a careless Jar Jar Binks. But will this disaster of an evening have a happy ending, or will more sinister forces destroy the rare moment of peace that Anakin has inexplicably found himself into?

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!