Ch. 22: "What do you Say to Somebody You Hate?" - Dr. Dre ft Emenem, Forgot about Dre

The small ship settled on the lawn behind the cabin he remembered, and Obi-Wan grabbed his bag. "Don't forget to eat something," Qui-Gon admonished him. "I will return as soon as I can."

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said as the ramp lowered. He started down it, giving a last wave before jumping to the ground.

The ship lifted off immediately, climbing steeply into the sky. Obi-Wan watched until he could no longer see it, as he always did when Master Jinn went somewhere without him. It had become a tradition. Turning, he started around the building to the front door, enjoying the warm breeze that stirred the trees surrounding the clearing.

The log cabin hadn't changed much on the outside, and it brought back memories from the last time he'd stayed here. The tree in the front looked as big as it had the first time he'd seen it, which meant it had grown as he had. He'd spent some wonderful time in its shade, sparing with Master Jinn, learning again to love working with his lightsaber. He grimaced when he remembered the sunburn he'd gotten when Bant had visited, and the sequence of events that had followed. Mounting the steps, he wondered how Bant liked her latest mission with her Master. He'd have to talk to her the next time they both had time in the Temple.

The door opened easily under his hand, and he paused to let his eyes adjust to the dimmer interior. He found the main room as unchanged as the outside, and his shoulders eased considerably. Whoever owned this had replaced the couches, but they stood in the same place and had nearly the exact same shade of cream he remembered. The fireplace in the opposite wall looked like it had seen recent use. The white rug still lay under the skylight, glowing faintly in the sunlight that came through, and it made him smile. That rug had comforted him a lot the first time he'd come here, so many years ago.

First order of business: something to eat. Taking his bag into the kitchen, he smiled as he set it on the table and began to empty it. They'd replaced the table, too, but it looked the same, although without the scratches he'd put into it, building his light saber. He moved about the bright kitchen, finding what he needed still in same places, feeling at home. In the midst of fixing early meal, his shields crumpled to nothing, except the block on the bond with Master Jinn. While he ate, he rebuilt them, and he'd nearly finished eating when he realized it had worked. Startled and suddenly uncomfortable, he dug his dream data-pad out of his bag and recorded the incident on it, including the vague threat he felt in the Force. His shields had not stayed up before now, not since he'd started having problems with them. That meant something good, didn't it? He'd finally gotten his shields under some kind of control. He didn't know if he could trust that, but at least he had them up. Smiling, he cleared the table, left his bag on it, and went into the front room to meditate to try to make sense of it. The rug felt more worn under his feet, but still warm and soft as he remembered it. He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and found contentment in meditation.

Obi-Wan didn't stir until after he should have eaten mid meal. When he stood and stretched, he felt a distinct warning in the Force. Whatever had felt like a vague threat had come closer. He touched the lightsaber hanging at his belt for reassurance and went into the kitchen to eat. He grabbed the leftovers from early meal, and then, on his way out the back door, took the staff from his bag and clipped it on his belt opposite his lightsaber. He didn't know why, only that the Force wanted him to have it. He headed out the door and walked around to stretch his legs. He wished he understood why he felt so uneasy, and where the threat would come from.

"Meditation," he murmured, knowing exactly what Qui-Gon would say. Obi-Wan knelt beneath the tree, just as he had when he'd come here the first time, and sought peace. Baring that, he'd settle for a hint as to why the Force warned him, and what it warned him against.

Sometime later, his shields crashed down, opening his mind to anyone around. He started to get up, only to find he couldn't. Someone had gotten into his mind, somehow, without his knowing, and frozen his muscles. He knew that feeling from the dream he'd had about Bruck and Xanatos, and from before then, during his time with each of his former Masters. Someone had control of his body.

"Hello, Padawan Kenobi," a woman said as she plucked the lightsaber from his belt.

Obi-Wan tried to reach his Master through the bond, only to find it still blocked. Instead, he concentrated on getting back control of his own body. He thought he recognized the voice, so it didn't surprise him when Di'ona moved into his line of vision, eyes narrowed angrily. "Have you nothing to say?" she asked. She hadn't changed much from the last time he'd seen her. She still wore the blue of the Hanani medic uniform, so he'd seen her more recently than he thought. She looked more stern than he'd ever seen her. She reached forward and fished his comm unit out of his belt pouch, flinging it to the side. He lost sight of it before it hit the ground.

Obi-Wan bit his lip, his thoughts moving inward to investigate his own mind. Interesting, what she'd left under his control; luckily, it included his heartbeat and breathing. She smiled triumphantly, and he decided he preferred the frown. He would have said something, but he didn't know what she'd allow him to say. "I don't want to destroy the Jedi," he blurted.

"Of course you don't want to," she said. The sympathy in her voice surprised him. It sounded like she understood how he felt. "But you will anyway."

"How?" he demanded, so sharply that she rocked back and her smile slipped. "How am I supposed to destroy them? You have said over and over that I would, but you never said how. Tell me how I do it and I will stop!"

She shook her head slowly. "You think it's that easy?" she asked. "What do you think it takes to change one's destiny? It's not easy to escape it. How successful have I been in changing it? It's not been easy."

"You turned three Knights away from the Jedi," Obi-Wan said flatly.

"You were not glad to see them go?" she asked, but he thought he saw a flash of pain in her eyes.

"I should not have had to be glad," he snapped, and then took a deep breath.

"They were willing casualties to save the Jedi Order," Di'ona said urgently, eyes glinting with a fanatical light. Obi-Wan wanted to spit in her face. He would not lose control, he determined, and clenched his fist instead.

It brought him up short. He shouldn't have been able to do that. Only then, he noticed the strain in Di'ona's face, and with a will, he attacked her control of him, finally breaking free. Her eyes widened, then his lightsaber snapped on and she swung it toward him, aiming for his exposed neck.

With a cry, he flung himself back, rolling to his feet with the staff in his hand. It opened to full length with a familiar snick. Di'ona laughed in derision, lunged to her feet, and attacked him again.

Obi-Wan knew the staff wouldn't hold up against the lightsaber. He just wanted to keep out of her reach long enough to try some of the under-handed tactics he'd learned from Merrick. Right now, though, he had to keep her from gaining control of his body again, while dodging his own lightsaber. He figured, after the first time he rolled out of the way, that he wouldn't have an easy time of it. She'd attained the rank of Master before the council cast her out, and while she hadn't had the intense practice he had the last few years, she hadn't lost much of her skill.

He could feel her trying to regain control of him again, and fought her off. He had to keep himself free of her mental grasp. She didn't even have to freeze him completely, like she had earlier. She just had to slow him down enough to kill him. If only he could get his shields up again….

"Your shields work just fine, Kenobi," Di'ona said as he dodged another attack. "They're doing exactly what I tell them to.

Obi-Wan didn't respond, focused on keeping her away from him. At least the Force hadn't abandoned him, and it helped keep him one step ahead of her. He led her around the tree, on the defensive mostly because he could not strike offensively, using the tree as part shield. He had to dodge, duck, roll out of her way, sometimes using the Force swirling around them, somethings pushing her away with the staff. When he did that, he had to move away from her fast enough that she couldn't hit him with his own lightsaber. Once he didn't quite get out of her way fast enough; the lightsaber singed his ear and scored his cheekbone as he threw himself back out of her reach.

Di'ona's smile grew more satisfied, but Obi-Wan saw something that gave him hope. He waited until the same situation happened and instead of stepping back, he stepped closer and ducked under his lightsaber as it took off one end of his staff. The other end he swung down and took her feet out from under her. She hit the ground hard, grunting in pain, and his lightsaber flew from her hand, extinguishing on the way. Obi-Wan dropped the staff even as he reached to call his lightsaber to his hand. As soon as he had it, he activated it and brought it up into a guard position in one smooth move. Di'ona rolled away from him and pulled another lightsaber from inside her tunic as she got to her feet. He wondered where she'd gotten it for a fleeting second before she attacked him again.

This time, he could trade blows with her, but he began to feel the effects of fighting off both the physical and mental attack. His arms and legs felt weight down with stone, and he had to keep blinking sweat out of his eyes. His braid clung to his neck, and he stumbled more. He didn't have the luxury of holding off or ignoring the physical attack while attending to the mental one. He couldn't do much more than he did, so he continued to struggle to keep her away from him.

The Force whispered around Obi-Wan, lending him strength, guiding his lightsaber to meet with Di'ona's, blocking, parrying, and even attacking on occasion. Obi-Wan followed it blinding, watching for anything that might help him. He noticed that every time he stepped toward her, she backed off, attacked him so he had to back off, or, once, pushed him away with the Force. Obi-Wan didn't have the strength or time to figure out why, but he knew he could use her aversion to him. He began to make his movements a touch slower, more ponderous, look more like a struggle than before. He didn't have to pretend too hard. If she didn't take the bait soon, he'd drop from exhaustion. He made that the foremost thought in his head so she couldn't miss it.

Her smile grew less satisfied and her triumphant, her eyes glittered, and she dove in for the kill, swing the lightsaber at him.

He knocked her blade away and lunched. His lightsaber slide easily into her chest. She gaped at him, but her arm continued downward in the follow-up strike she'd started. He threw out his arm to block her, too late. Her lightsaber bit into his side even as her arm hit his, stopping her from cutting him in half. He gasped in pain at the burn.

For an instant she stared at him in disbelief, the triumph bleeding out of her face. He knocked the lightsaber from her hand and away from her and stepped back, pulling his own lightsaber free. She crumpled to the ground, still staring at him.

"I have failed," she said, with so much despair in her voice that he almost felt sorry for her.

At least until he tried to move, and fire shot through his side from his wound. It drove him to his knees, but he kept his lightsaber ignited. He wouldn't underestimate her. Something hit his mind and he stiffened, struggling to push her mental touch away again. He'd forgotten her mental attacks, and he couldn't afford to.

"You'll never stop having nightmares," she went on, gasping for breath now, her voice softer. He hands grasped feebly for something in the grass. "You'll never have control of your shields."

"You don't know me or my master very well," Obi-Wan responded, still fighting her, trying to keep her distracted so she couldn't harm him anymore. "We will get control of both of those." Only then did it register what she'd said. "My nightmares?" he blurted.

"Your nightmares," she confirmed, her eyes narrowing. "They will never end."

Obi-Want started to get up, to get away from her even though he knew distance would make no difference, but pain flared through his body. She gave one last gasp and died, and some of the pain faded. He realized she'd caused it. He extinguished his lightsaber and staggered to his feet, gasping in pain. He had to get back to the cabin and the med pack he'd left inside. He hadn't gone far when everything went black.