Hello. This is the AU ending for Melt Your Headaches, Call It Home. I hope you enjoy this. Let me know what you think. OH! THIS FIC TAKES PLACE DIRECTLY AFTER CHAPTER 9 OF MYHCIH. JUST FYI!
Meditation was something Obi-Wan struggled with when he was younger. He didn't like it and he couldn't understand how other Jedi could stand it.
Now, after the mission to Zigoola, he understood more. The Force was quiet as he sat in meditation. He was getting better, but his mind still ached. Headaches were far more common and Master Che informed him that they would be a constant companion in his life now. However, in meditation, the Force seemed to soothe the ache just a bit.
The warmth that wrapped around him was comforting and not something he ever wanted to leave.
Though, there was another thing. True, the Force was difficult for him to reach at times, but it always tried to be there. This worked two ways.
One way was the warmth. It covered him and whispered soothingly in his mind. It was kind and light.
The other way?
Obi-Wan found that after Zigoola, he had issues with the dark. It seemed to always be there. It seemed to constantly press down on his mind. Before Zigoola, he wouldn't have felt it press against him as strongly as it was after Zigoola. It seemed that now, the dark was always there.
It seemed it was stronger on Coruscant than Obi-Wan remembered it being.
It pressed against the Temple. It soaked into the very ground his home was built on. He didn't press the blame on the Sith Temple that resided below this Temple. That darkness had been quiet for a long time. No, this darkness seemed to come from somewhere else.
It was during this meditation that Obi-Wan attempted to focus on it. He breathed in deeply and sunk as deep as he could into the Force without causing himself pain or discomfort. The Jedi around him (there weren't many in the Temple and those that were seemed to know that Obi-Wan was healing. They didn't press him or push him. They didn't beg him to spar or teach a class. They kept their minds tightly shielded and gave him soft smiles as he passed them in the halls with whatever Jedi was tasked to be near him.) stayed silent and careful. If they realized he was there and trying to find peace, they left him to it. The small children that ran around the Room of a Thousand Fountains seemed to pick up on the unspoken rule as well. They didn't try to bother him.
So, without anyone or anything to distract him, Obi-Wan sunk deep into the Force. He felt the warmth of the light and he kept a bit of it close as he searched out the dark. The Force did not send any warnings or reprimands.
It's as if the Force wants me to do this. He mused as he kept looking.
Finally, he found it.
Or, rather, it found him.
The dark reacted to the idea that a Jedi was actively seeking it out. It didn't lash out as it would normally. Instead, it whispered and called softly to the light. It promised things that Obi-Wan knew would never come to pass.
Obi-Wan had encountered plenty of the dark over his years as a Jedi.
None of those experiences prepared him for what he felt moments later.
The dark was vast and enticing. It was cruel and sickly. Its dark tendrils reached out and tried to bat away the light that flowed through Obi-Wan. It wriggled and slithered. It pulsed and prodded as it tried to force itself into further into Obi-Wan's mind.
This dark was different from the dark Obi-Wan had faced before. It was different than Maul. It was different than Dooku and Ventress. It was different than Zigoola.
It was darker and harsher.
It was far more powerful and cunning.
It was-
"-Wan!" A call from outside Obi-Wan's searching caused the tendrils to lash out. The distraction and interference from the world outside brought the dark to a screeching halt. Obi-Wan backed away, further into the warmth. He could feel the dark more clearly. He could feel the way it tried to force the light away once more.
It hurt.
"Obi-Wan!"
Obi-Wan's eyes jerked open with a gasp and he swayed as his mind rooted itself back to the here and now. His head pounded and a groan escaped his lips as he wrenched his eyes shut. Nausea rolled in his stomach and he pressed his lips together in an attempt to keep everything down.
It was blissfully silent as he tried to ground himself. He opened his eyes and squinted against the pulsing pain in his head.
"Plo?" Obi-Wan's voice was soft and far away. It was as though it wasn't even his.
"Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan's eyes tracked to the next voice. Adi Gallia crouched behind the Kel Dor Master with concern pulling at her features.
"What happened?" Plo asked as he steadied his charge.
"I-" Obi-Wan paused as he gathered his thoughts. "He's here." He said breathlessly. "The Sith Lord." Obi-Wan's eyes flickered from Adi to Plo, then back again. "We need to meet with the Council."
"Hold on-" Adi put a hand out as Obi-Wan forced himself to his feet.
The world spun and Obi-Wan felt himself falling before clawed hands caught him and pulled him against a chest tightly. The same clawed hand ran through Obi-Wan's hair softly.
"Breathe," Plo ordered. "We will meet with the Council." He promised as he kept Obi-Wan upright. "But first, gather yourself."
Obi-Wan swallowed thickly and closed his eyes. The feeling of Plo's fingers running through his hair was grounding and he used that to pull his shields as tightly as he could. Once he was sure they were as durasteel tight as they could be, Obi-Wan opened his eyes and nodded to the other Masters.
