Disclaimer: Mesa no owna Star Wars, so nosa suea mesa
A/N: Thanks for holding out, you guys. This chapter had been brewing in the back of my mind all week and I finally get the time to type it out! Glad you all enjoyed the two lightsaber duels. Don't worry there will be more! And maybe another fight between a certain pair…I won't say no more.
Ch. 15 You are readyObi-Wan finished tying a temporary bandage over his burn wound. The ship was racing towards Telos and would soon arrive at the planet in about two hours. The 17-year-old turned to face his companion. Xanatos was sitting straight up in his seat, biting his lower lip while he applied bacta to his stab wound. The Dark Jedi would need to go into the tank when they arrived at home to completely heal the wound.
Xanatos shut his eyes and hissed as he leaned back into the chair. Peeking out the corner of his right eye, the man muttered, "What are you looking at?"
Obi-Wan grinned as his eyes darted to the floor. "You called me Apprentice."
"And you called me Master," retorted Xanatos.
"It was a slip of the tongue," frowned Obi-Wan.
Xanatos smirked and looked at Obi-Wan with a playful glint in his eyes, "So was mine."
Obi-Wan sighed with exasperation and turned to look out the window. The stars streaked by and blended in with each other.
"Kenobi…Obi-Wan, we probably just called each other that because I've been training you for the past four years. And the only bond that exists between us is that of an almost brotherly-" explained Xanatos.
But Obi-Wan interrupted him, "Don't go into denial, Xanatos. You sense it as well as I can, that our bond is now on a different level now…that of a master and apprentice."
Xanatos narrowed his eyes at the boy, who turned his back on him. The cocky boy was not the one talking; it was the Saterin in him that spoke those words in such a cold tone.
Wanting to change the topic of the conversation, Xanatos laughed, "Well then, as your first act as my apprentice, you can attend the senator's ball in one week on Telos while your master deserves a nice, needed break."
The expression was priceless on Obi-Wan's face. One minute he was sullen, looking out the window; the next he is in front of Xanatos, face alight with anger.
"Xan, you've gotta be kidding me! You know how much I hate balls. All those girls swooning over me, tearing at my clothes, then their jealous boyfriends giving me death threats and next thing I know is that I'm waking up with a pounding headache the next day."
Xanatos evoked a pout and patted Obi-Wan on the shoulders, "Too bad, so sad, Obi-Wan. But every apprentice has to follow their master's orders."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, "Fine, but it is only because you are injured." Backing away, the boy muttered incoherent words, plopped down on his seat and started to mediate.
Xanatos narrowed his eyes, "You're meditating?"
Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes tighter and frowned, "I'm going to need every once of strength, and so I'm starting to reserve my power, master."
Xanatos couldn't help but laugh as Obi-Wan sneered his new title. He wanted to go to the ball now and see the boy try to outrun a group of screaming fan girls. But there was a reason why Obi-Wan had to go alone. Many of his co-workers, business associates and government officials were beginning to think that Obi-Wan's internship position as a cover-up for something else. The only way to salvage his stature was for Obi-Wan to attend the ball without being at Xanatos side.
Getting up, Xanatos left the room and walked into the small lobby where a bed was stationed at the side. Groaning slightly, Xanatos clutched at his wound while he slowly lay down on the bed. Closing his eyes, the Dark Jedi welcomed the precious darkness.
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He found himself standing in the doorway of Council Chambers. Dark clouds loomed outside, but nothing could compare to the heavy tension that filled the room. The scene was familiar, but once in awhile in his searching, a new part of the vision revealed itself to him. The Sith with blond hair towered over a group of children, that were still very hard to make out. But their whimpering and tiny voices were enough proof. Obi-Wan stood across from the Sith. The boy looked older, not in just physical but everything about him told that he had seen too much, lived through too many ordeals. Fear was emanating off of him and clashed with the rage of the Sith.
Again he heard the words being screamed with heart retching emotion.
"NO! ANAKIN! Please! Don't hurt them please, they're only children!"
But Obi-Wan's pleas fell upon deaf ears. The Sith inched forward and raised his saber towards a girl. Obi-Wan lunged forward and the scene burst into flames and he found himself being pushed like a leaf into the darkness once more.
Xanatos blinked open his eyes. Harsh sunlight trickled through his window. Moaning, he covered his eyes with the back of his hand. How many times did he relive that one dream that snuck past Obi-Wan's mind and into his? How did such a transaction occur anyway? Sadly, this time nothing new was—
The Dark Jedi jerked upward, eyes blazing. The girl! It was the first time he had been able to clearly make out one of the children. For the briefest second he saw her deep brown eyes with the faintest hint of blue streaks. Along with those eyes, he felt fear spring forth from the child, and an aura that he sensed and reminded him of someone.
"That's strange. That much fear erupting from her…it would almost seem that she was calm before, but once the Sith…this Anakin person attacked…no that's not when I sensed it. Her fear became apparent when…" Xanatos broke his train of thought when he heard laughter coming from the garden.
Tossing the covers to the side, the man made his way to the windows and parted the curtains. Down below, Obi-Wan and Nyree were cleaning a pair of hedgers. Nyree had a big smear of grease of her cheek. Obi-Wan laughed she tried to wipe off the grease. Throwing her hands in the air, droplets of soap water splashed onto Obi-Wan. The boy moaned but then grabbed the bucket of water and dumped it all over Nyree. The servant sputtered out the dirty water, cursing in every language she knew of on how to get back at the ex-Jedi. But Obi-Wan grinned despite the threat and leaned over, wiping excess water, muck and grease with a clean towel from Nyree's face. Xanatos narrowed his eyes as he watched Obi-Wan move the towel in a delicate way as if not to hurt Nyree…almost in a loving way.
Eyes widen in shock as the Dark Side began to seep into his body in response to this new developing relationship between the two. Using the Force quickly to avoid detection from Obi-Wan, Xanatos brushed against Nyree's aura. Letting the curtain drop, Xanatos bolted out of his room. Nyree's aura was the similar to the girl's aura…too similar. And he had a bad feeling that that girl was the reason for Obi-Wan's fear and maybe his downfall.
Nyree let Obi-Wan wipe away the dirt from her face. In the past three days, the two had grown close, which had surprised the household but not the two teenagers. When Obi-Wan and Kaede placed the unconscious Xanatos into a bacta tank, Nyree waited patiently in Obi-Wan's room to attend to his wounds. She saw how he had avoided using his bandaged hand and figured that the wound must serious. Obi-Wan was surprised to see Nyree waiting for him, but didn't object to her treating his burn. The electricity had not only scorched and scarred his skin, but had damaged nerves and muscle as well. The scar, thankfully with the help of bacta and Nyree's healing, was about three inches long and ran diagonally on his forearm. The bottom of the scar was a straight line but above the skin formed tiny peaks, almost like a mountain range.
For the past two days, Obi-Wan used one arm and focused all his energy on healing his damaged nerves and muscles at the same time, destroying the left behind traces of the Sith's energy out of his system. In his weakened state, Nyree had aided Obi-Wan in almost of all his activities, such as cleaning, looking over paper work and at night trying to find out where the second to last Saterin chip was on Dathamor. Today was the first time Obi-Wan had gone outside and decided for a change to help Nyree catch up on her chores. They had talked about everything, except for their past, but the two didn't seem to mind. They were content with each other's company, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I think I'm just making things worse," joked Obi-Wan as he started to turn to rinse out the dirty towel.
Nyree sighed, "And how could you manage to pull that off?"
Obi-Wan laughed. Nyree was a total mystery to him, but he liked a mystery. To the strangers, she was this shy woman and around the rest of the servants she seemed friendly, respectful and eager to help out where she could. But when the two were alone, it seemed like Nyree transformed into this outgoing, joking girl who would be random one second and then say something wise beyond her age.
Obi-Wan was rinsing out the towel, when he noticed out the corner of his eye Nyree's hand inching carefully to the hose.
"So that is how she's going to get her revenge," mused Obi-Wan.
Nyree had almost reached the hose when the balcony door flung open and an exasperated Xanatos bolted into the garden.
Obi-Wan grinned and rose to his feet, "Well, look who decided to get out of his room."
Xanatos stopped before the pair, "Obi-Wan you're leaving for Dathamor right now."
"What?" questioned the boy, confusion on his face.
"You are going to Dathamor to find the chip. You may stay there as long as you want."
Obi-Wan frowned. Crossing his arms, the boy asked in a stern tone, "What's going on, Xan? I'm staying here remember. I have to attend the senator's ball. I can' t leave."
Xanatos sighed, "Forget about the ball-"
"You don't think I know Xan. I know that if I don't attend this ball, my reputation will be under fire and everything that I worked for these past years will be for nothing. I'm not leaving. Now what's the reason for this?" "Xan, please…"
The Dark Jedi furrowed his brow at the use of their bond. His eyes traveled to Nyree and her frozen position, hand hovering over the hose. Dark blue eyes narrowed into slits and anger began to rise in him. He hated to admit it but he would protect Obi-Wan from this girl. Not only was Obi-Wan the perfect candidate to be his partner in Offworld, and not because the boy was accessing the Dark Side, but because he had wormed his way into Xanatos' heart. Xanatos was the one who had to punish the boy when he had done something stupid. He was the one who had taunted the child to do things that the boy had not wanted to do. He was the one who would wake-up in the middle of the night and run to Obi-Wan's room to comfort the boy when a nightmare or vision occurred. The two had first started off with a business relationship, and while that was still present, a brotherly and now master and apprentice relationship was blooming within their minds.
Obi-Wan darted his gaze to Nyree then back to Xanatos. Whatever was bothering Xanatos had to do something with Nyree. Something in him made Obi-Wan harden his gaze and stand between the Dark Jedi and the girl.
"Xanatos."
The older man locked gazes with Obi-Wan and saw the determination set in those sea-colored eyes. Another reason why he wouldn't let Obi-Wan fall; the boy remained a true Jedi at heart despite using the Dark Side as a tool and all the horrors he had seen out here in the galaxy.
"I want you to get rid of the girl."
Obi-Wan soaked in Xanatos' cold statement and responded in the same manner, "No."
Xanatos' fingers flinched slightly, wishing to draw out his saber. He would fight Obi-Wan if he had to protect him, the irony of it all. Maybe the brat was right in assuming that a great flaw in the Saterins was their short sightedness.
Xanatos continued, "She cannot be trusted, Obi-Wan. I had a vision…and let's just say it didn't end well."
Obi-Wan shrugged, "So what if it was a vision, the future is always in motion."
"Boy, she can't be trusted," hissed Xanatos as he took a step forward.
"Give me one good reason."
"In my vision, you were frightened, more than anything we've worked through."
"Xanatos, I have faced all my fears, my greatest fear back there on Badamoor. I thought I was going to lose you, a person whom I hated at first but now regard as my brother. But, I faced and conquered it. I know there might be other fears that I will grow into because it is part of human nature to feel fear, but I won't let it consume me to the point that I will fall," spoke Obi-Wan with a calm look on his face.
Xanatos clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "I don't care. If you think you can just dismiss this and say that fear won't consume you, then you are a fool. No one can ever fully control their emotions and the people think they can are arrogant."
Obi-Wan sighed and turned to face Nyree, who just sat on the ground watching the two. "You've always wanted me to open up to women and when I do-"
"The truth is only for the ears of the pure bred. That is what she said to me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Nyree is not all of what she seems to be. She talks about the Sith that you saw in your nightmare…the same one we fought on Badamoor. That is too much coincidence," yelled Xanatos.
If the words reached Obi-Wan, the boy only continued to stare at Nyree. After what seemed like forever, Obi-Wan turned and walked back to the house. Kaede opened the door and announced that lunch was ready and he was pleased to see Master Xanatos awake after three days. But, Xanatos ignored the old man's comment and watched Nyree resume cleaning the hedgers like a predator stalking his prey.
-Later that night-
Obi-Wan crashed onto his bed, his mind in turmoil. Fists clenched the sheets and despair began to seep onto his face. He had trusted her, started to like her but those words.
"The truth is only for the ears of the pure bred."
The pure bred was him, no question about it. The title was reserved for him and there was only one group of people who had called him that, the Dathamor witches. In their eyes, he was only left who could understand and use the Force at the Saterin level, making him 'pure' in their terms. But if Nyree was a witch then how come he couldn't sense her? Why was she out here away from her clan?
Obi-Wan moaned, rolling over, stuffing his face into his pillow. He wanted to scream out all his mixed emotions. The Dathamor witches hated him and he hated them back. Every time he visited, the witches loved to taunt him to the point where he would almost lash out with the Dark Side to make them stop. He knew it was all a test to see if he was worthy enough to own the chip, but it seemed never enough. The elders would drill him with unanswerable questions and every time he answered or didn't answer, they would laugh at his stupidity. He was getting tired of their games and maps that lead to nowhere.
Opening himself up to the Force completely, not giving a care if any Jedi in the vicinity could sense him, Obi-Wan allowed his emotions to wash away with the current and become a blank slate. Everything on the planet glowed in the back of his mind. He could sense a woman on the opposite side of the planet beam in joy as she gave birth. He could sense a man's anger erupt as he heard news about his wife's sickness. He could feel Kaede and Fin feel content with each other over a game of cards. He could feel Xanatos' brooding nature to catch up on his work as if it was his own. Squeezing his eyes, Obi-Wan tried to push away the feeling of Nyree's fear as she stopped in front of his room.
Without knocking, Nyree opened the door and stepped inside. Closing the door quietly behind her, the girl moved to be in front of the bed and kneeled.
Her face looking down at the ground, Nyree whispered, "Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, forgive me for my deceptions."
Obi-Wan didn't answer.
Nyree continued, "I am from a remote clan village up in the highlands of Dathamor's southern region. We had heard of a talk of a young man's visits to the planet looking for the lost long chip of the Saterin. The elders talked amongst each other, for your presence along with the dark beings seemed to be odd. After your third visit, the elders of my village decided to take action. They sent me to the Morgs to work for them, for the elders had seen their deaths at the hands of one of the dark beings. I was sent because despite my family being in touch with the Force, I cannot access it. I have such a low Force presence that sometimes if I try hard enough, I can make myself invisible to the Jedi and Dark Beings. My mission was to research you and find anything about the dark being.
Before I came back, the elders told me to find a way to enter your world and see if you are worthy enough…ready to accept the Saterin chip."
Obi-Wan lifted his head slightly, "Is she saying what I hope she's going to confirm?"
Nyree bowed even further, "I am Priestess Nyree DeVorin of the Dark Goddess of the Underworld and Keeper of the Saterin Ways. From what I can see and feel, you have been tempted by the Darkness and fought with purity against the dark being. And when you heard of your old title, you did not retort in rage. You have changed, even if you do not sense it yet. While you and I were researching, you were no longer obsessed with the chip. It was as if a burden was lifted off your shoulders when you returned back from Badamoor. You are ready."
With that said, Nyree rose up, bowed once more at Obi-Wan and left the room. Obi-Wan followed her presence. Nyree walked down the stairs and entered into the room, where Xanatos was. He sensed the older man's anger begins to flare, but something must have been said for the anger was repressed.
Not wanting to pry, Obi-Wan closed his connection with the Force and lifted himself off of the pillows. Looking over his shoulder, the boy looked at where Nyree was bowing before him just a few minutes ago. On the floor where Nyree had folded her hands beneath her was a small package. Sliding off of the bed, Obi-Wan walked over and picked up the package. It was wrapped in a dry parchment. Opening it carefully, Obi-Wan almost dropped the object that was inside. In his hand was the real Saterin chip, the same markings covering the sides in the same sentences that he had read on every other chip.
For the one who seeks the truth of the dead
May his strength not blind him
May his wisdom not be judgmental
May his knowledge make him not arrogant
For all our faith rests on his young shoulders.
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A/N: I finally finished it. I would write a couple sentences then delete because I didn't like where it was going, especially the whole Xanatos/Obi-Wan argument. Well, I hope you enjoy it. Until next time, may the force be with you.