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Chapter Two -o- Starting Out

"So how many planets are there?" Buffy asked a half an hour later as she, Obi-Wan and Anakin sat on the couches. Buffy noticed Anakin's eyes drifted to Padme's door more than once and it made her smile. Why didn't he just say something to her? And why did it seem to bother Obi-Wan so much?

"Far too many to be counted," Obi-Wan told her, taking the tea from a droid, well at least that's what Anakin had called it; it looked like a garbage can on wheels to her. Buffy looked down at the cup in her hands and decided she needed a little more information here or she wasn't going to be able to help.

"What's a Sith?" she asked after a moment of silence. Another moment of silence met her question and Buffy began to worry a little.

"How is it that you have no knowledge of a lightsaber or the Jedi yet you know of the Sith?" Obi-Wan asked, setting his tea on the table in front of him.

"I don't know or I wouldn't have asked," Buffy explained, knowing that was not what he meant but she hoped he might overlook it. He sat forward so his elbows were resting on his knees and sighed.

"The Sith, in essence, are users of the dark side of the force, they-"

"There's a dark side?" Buffy asked, looking between the two men. Did that mean there was a light side, which of course all went back to the good against evil thing? Obi-Wan gave her a look and she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, go on."

"They are guided not by the will to do good, but by the pull of power. They let their anger and greed overpower them," Obi-Wan explained it to her.

"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering," Anakin said speaking up for the first time in quite a while. "Master Yoda was the first person to tell me that, a very long time ago."

"So what, you have no fear?" Buffy asked, not really understanding. No one could be totally fearless, that didn't make any sense. Even she, a very powerful slayer feared things. This whole thing was beginning to scare the shit out of her.

"Being afraid and giving into that fear are two very different things," Obi-Wan told her, a small smile on his face now.

"Ok, that makes more sense," Buffy said, nodding her head as she leaned back on the couch. "So, are there a lot of these Siths?"

"Only two," Obi-Wan told her, shaking his head. "A Master and an apprentice."

"There are only two of them?" Buffy asked, a little surprised. She had been sure there must be a great army of them. "You don't know who they are, right? Or who the apprentice is, that must make your jobs a little harder."

"Yes indeed," Obi-Wan said, standing up and looking down at the two of them. "I'm going to go check in with Captain Typho. Stay here and watch over Padme." He said the last part looking at Anakin.

"Yes Master," Anakin said, nodding his head once. Obi-Wan smiled at them then turned and walked out the door. Buffy looked across the table to Anakin. He looked a little bothered and Buffy wondered what was wrong. His eyes drifted back to Padme's door again and then quickly away.

"A Jedi shall know no anger, nor hatred, nor love," Anakin whispered, so quietly that no normal person would have heard him. Buffy was a little taken aback by this. No love? Was that why Obi-Wan looked so disapproving of Anakin's feelings towards Padme? That seemed silly though, how could a person go through life without knowing any kind of love?

Abruptly Anakin stood up and walked over to a monitor behind them where he could see into Padme's room. He shook his head then walked over to a large window. Buffy watched him as he stared out the window. How was she going to help them? She didn't even know where to begin. Slowly thinking things over, Buffy stood and walked towards Anakin. This whole 'no love' thing bothered her. She knew what having no attachments could do to a person. Without her friends fighting by her side she would have been gone a long time ago. She smirked when she passed by the monitor, it looked like Padme had covered the camera with something. She could feel Anakin stiffen when she came up next to him. Did he not trust her or was it something else? She had to help him see that love was a good thing, maybe that was where this whole problem started.

"How much has Obi-Wan told you about where I came from?" she asked, finally looking up at him. He continued to stare out the window.

"Everything," Anakin said, finally looking down at her for a moment before looking back out the window. "You are an enigma, from another, dimension, I believe he called it. He said you are a warrior of the light." Buffy could see that while Anakin didn't distrust her he didn't really trust her either. Well neutral was ok, but if she was going to help him she was going to need to get past that.

"In my world I was a slayer, I fought back the forces of darkness. In my world we also have a kind of council. They were the Watchers Council, and as far as I can tell it was very similar to your Jedi Council. Girls around the world that had the potential to be a slayer were taken from their homes, from their families and brought up by a Watcher. Someone who trained them and helped them, not unlike your Masters and Padawans." Buffy stopped for a moment, unsure how to go on. "These girls are brought up to believe that being a slayer is the only thing worth living for. They are ready and willing to give their life for the cause." Anakin looked over at her, a somewhat understanding look on his face.

"I was fifteen when the powers chose me to be the next slayer." Buffy looked away from him and out to the city, so many lights, so much life. "But I had slipped through the cracks; I had grown up with a family, with my mom and sister. So when I got the power I had to hide it from them. From everyone. Because my Watcher told me they'd be safer that way. But then something happened. A few of my friends from school found out what I was, and you know what? They wanted to help, they wanted to fight by my side. And I know, without a doubt, I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for my friends, for the people I loved." Buffy looked at him now to see if she was making any kind of an impact.

"So you went against your Council's orders? You had people you loved?" Anakin asked, now looking out the window too. There was a bit of wonder to his voice and Buffy smiled.

"I did," Buffy told him, nodding her head. "And I'd do it again; the people I loved, they kept me sane, kept me grounded. Without them, I would have been lost." Buffy turned, so her whole body was facing him now. "The important thing to remember is that you have to trust people, you have to help them enough so they can take care of themselves, and then you have to understand that sometimes the people you love are going to get hurt, and sometimes... sometimes they're going to die." Her voice hitched a little on that last word and she took a breath. "But you have to be stronger than the pain. You have to remember that you'll see them again."

They both stared out the window for a long moment. Anakin seemed to be thinking things over in his head. He kept looking at Buffy then over his shoulder at the door to Padme's room. Buffy could understand why the Jedi didn't want to become attached to people. Buffy had seen firsthand what can happen when an emotionally unstable person with great power loses someone they love.

"Why are you telling me this?" Anakin asked, finally turning so he was facing Buffy.

"It needed to be told," Buffy told him, a small smile on her face. "The Jedi have their rules for good reasons, I'm sure." She took a deep breath and reached out and put her hand on his arm; he didn't pull away or stiffen up, and Buffy smiled. "But over the years I have learned one very important lesson, there is nothing in my world or this one stronger than trust and love." Buffy removed her hand and they both turned back to the window.

They stood there for a long while, both thinking about love, though in very different ways. Buffy was missing all of her family and hoping that everything was going ok for them. Anakin was thinking about Padme and wondering if there was any way she was feeling the same things he was and what they were going to do about it if she was. Both of their heads swiveled to the main door though seconds before it opened. Buffy could feel the tension drain out of Anakin when Obi-Wan walked in.

"Captain Typho has more than enough men downstairs. No assassin will try that way. Any activity up here?" he asked, looking to the two of them.

"Quiet as a tomb. I don't like just waiting here for something to happen to her," Anakin said, looking from the door to Obi-Wan and then out the window again. Obi-Wan looked at the monitors to the left of them then back at Anakin.

"What's going on?" he asked, a little surprised that he couldn't see into Padme's room. Buffy snickered at the look on Anakin's face as he shrugged.

"She covered the cameras. I don't think she liked me watching her," he said, a slight smirk to his voice.

"What is she thinking?" Obi-Wan asked, looking from the two of them to the door to Padme's room.

"She programmed Artoo to warn us if there's an intruder," Anakin said, looking from the door to Obi-Wan. Buffy walked back over to the monitors as Obi-Wan and Anakin began to discuss politicians, well discuss as in argue about. She smiled down at the blank screen; she wouldn't want people watching her every move either. She turned to the men when she heard the word 'politician' and wondered who they were talking about.

"I've observed that he is very clever at following the passions and prejudices of the Senators," Obi-Wan told Anakin, a slight frown on his face.

"Who?" Buffy asked and both men turned to look at her; surprise was written on both their faces, as if they'd forgotten she was there. They seemed so at ease with each other, something must happen, something soon, which would change that. Whose side would it come from, Anakin's or Obi-Wan's?

"Chancellor Palpatine," Anakin explained, walking towards her a little. "He's..." His eyes flicked to the monitor and then back to Obi-Wan.

"I sense it too," Obi-Wan said as they both rushed Padme's door. Buffy was quick to action as she ran into the room seconds after them, but not quick enough it would seem. There was a loud crash as Obi-Wan jumped through the window and Anakin looked to Padme. Buffy saw Obi-Wan zip away on some kind of a droid and hoped he had a firm grip.

"Stay here," Anakin told Padme running right past Buffy. Buffy smiled at Padme then rushed out the door after him. Buffy was running next to Anakin in a matter of seconds. He looked over at her and she could see he was thinking about telling her to stay here too.

"Don't even bother," Buffy called. He nodded his head and Buffy smiled, a little surprised that he hadn't at least tried. She followed his lead all the way to a hangar and jumped into a yellow speeder with him. He pulled back and was out the door within seconds.

"What happened back there?" Buffy called over the noise of the busy lines of traffic.

"Someone is trying to kill Padme," Anakin explained to her as he zoomed in and out of the traffic. "This time the bounty hunter is trying Kouhuns, a very poisonous animal."

"Oh," Buffy said, holding onto the side of the car as Anakin rocked to the left. She was quiet for a moment.

"Obi-Wan is going to be ok, right?" she asked, as concern spread through her.

"Yes," Anakin assured her as he flew through the night sky. "Obi-Wan is very capable of taking care of himself."

"Not if he falls from that droid thing," Buffy said, mostly to herself. Anakin looked back and she followed his eyes just in time to see Obi-Wan land on the back of their speeder. She scooted to the side and watched as Obi-Wan climbed into the speeder, sitting in the middle.

"Having fun?" she asked, wondering just what the hell he had done. Had he fallen from the droid? They were lucky Anakin had gotten under him in time. Obi-Wan looked at Buffy oddly then turned his eyes to Anakin.

"What took you so long?" Obi-Wan demanded, looking at Anakin as he weaved right then left, just barely missing the back of a very big ship.

"Oh, you know, Master, I couldn't find a speeder I really liked, with an open cockpit... and with the right speed capabilities... and then you know I had to get a really gonzo color..." Anakin smirked and Buffy tried to hold back the laughter. Anakin had quite the sense of humor, hopefully that would help in all of this.

"If you'd spend as much time working on your saber skills as you do on your wit, young Padawan, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman," Obi-Wan said, looking a little pale as Anakin swerved to the right just missing the laser fire headed their way. The bounty hunter they were following was now firing on them.

"I thought I already did." Buffy could hear the humor and sarcasm in his voice as he smiled and then pulled up.

"Only in your mind, my very young apprentice." Obviously Obi-Wan had missed the sarcasm. "Careful! Hey, easy!" he said and Buffy could see he was holding onto the front of the speeder harder than she had been.

"Don't like flying?" Buffy asked as he watched the laser fire fly over their heads.

"I don't mind flying...but what he's doing is suicide!" Obi-Wan yelled. Anakin smirked then took the speeder up then back down twice, he was a little erratic, but they hadn't been hit, by laser fire or another speeder. And he was doing a very good job of staying right behind the bounty hunter they were following. Buffy could now clearly see the speeder they were chasing. Up ahead of them a ways there were two tall towers about a hundred feet apart and as their quarry flew in-between them he shot at one of them causing blue lightning-like stuff to shoot in-between the towers.

"What's that?!" Buffy yelled seconds before they flew through them. The jolt was unlike anything Buffy had ever felt, not really painful, but not very pleasant either.

"Anakin! How many times have I told you to stay away from the power couplings! Slow down!" Obi-Wan yelled as the blue light faded from their bodies. Buffy had to agree with him on that one, that was not something she wanted to do again.

"Sorry Master," Anakin yelled, clearly not very sorry. Buffy smirked, this guy reminded her of herself when she was younger so much it was a little scary. Buffy watched as the bounty hunter's speeder took a nose dive between two buildings and disappeared. She was a little shocked when Anakin pulled up.

"Where are you going?!" Buffy demanded at the same time as Obi-Wan. Anakin smiled at both of them as Obi-Wan continued. "He went down there, the other way."

"Master, if we keep this chase going, that creep's gonna end up deep-fried. Personally, I'd very much like to find out who in the hell he is and who he's working for... This is a shortcut... I think," Anakin said, speeding through a small tunnel. Speeders passed by them at high speeds and Buffy didn't blame Obi-Wan for not liking flying.

"Well that's comforting," Buffy said sarcastically, looking across Obi-Wan at Anakin. Anakin just glared at her as he turned right then left and stopped, hovering about sixty feet off the ground, they sat there waiting for a few seconds.

"Well, you lost him." Obi-Wan said shaking his head.

"I'm deeply sorry, Master," Anakin said, sounding a little bit sorry this time. Buffy watched as he looked around them. She saw a spark of excitement in his eyes and watched as he started to count to himself.

"Well, this is some kind of shortcut. He went completely the other way! Once again, Anakin—"

"Excuse me for a moment," Anakin said, leaning over the side of the speeder then jumping out. Buffy watched in shocked horror as his body disappeared.

"I hate it when he does that," Obi-Wan said, scooting over so he was now in the driver's seat.

"Does he do it often?" Buffy asked, looking over the side of the speeder as Obi-Wan set off after Anakin.

"Often enough," Obi-Wan said. They had a little maneuvering to do weaving in and out of traffic but it didn't take them long to come up behind the bounty hunter's speeder. Buffy watched as Anakin was thrown around on the back of it, which did not look like much fun.

"Ok, I hate this," Buffy said, mostly to herself as they watched Anakin slide down the ship till he was almost hanging off the back of it. He pulled himself up and climbed quietly to the top. The bounty hunter's speeder braked hard, throwing Anakin forward. Buffy waited to see him falling towards the ground but didn't. She smiled when she saw him trying to pull himself back up. The bounty hunter began to try and shoot at Anakin but he got back to the top of the speeder, without being hit. They were now driving as Anakin and the bounty hunter sped through the traffic. Buffy was sure Anakin was going to get hit by one of the other speeders and winced when one came uncomfortably close to the top of his head.

"Agreed," Obi-Wan said, watching as Anakin finally got his lightsaber out and started working on making a hole in the roof of the speeder. A flash of light shot up through the roof of the speeder knocking Anakin's lightsaber out of his hand.

Buffy watched as it flew back towards them; she reached up to try and catch it but she could see she was going to miss the saber. She got up onto her knees a little unsteadily and reached up farther but it was no use, she wasn't going to reach it. She watched as it flew over her head.

"No!" she yelled, reaching out for it. She watched in shock as the lightsaber stopped its flight then flew back to her slowly, landing softly in her outstretched hand. She pulled her arm in slowly. She was in awe of what she had just done. She didn't think it would really work. She hadn't really thought anything beyond not losing the lightsaber.

"Wow," Buffy whispered, looking down at the lightsaber. She looked up at Obi-Wan who had stopped and was staring at her. "Did you see that?"

"I did," he said dryly. There was no awe in his voice but Buffy could see he was a little shocked.

"What does it mean?" she asked, looking back to the lightsaber.

"I don't know," he told her, looking away. He started off again and it took them only a few seconds to get back behind the bounty hunter. Obi-Wan was almost just as fast a flyer as Anakin, he was just, not as scary. Obi-Wan refocused on Anakin and his struggle to stay on the speeder; Anakin was a good twenty feet ahead of them now.

"No," Obi-Wan said shortly, slamming on the brakes as traffic around him suddenly grew thick. Buffy watched the speeder for a moment before it disappeared. He looked around but it was no use, they had both lost sight of Anakin.

"Shit!" Buffy said shaking her head. Obi-Wan looked over at her oddly then they both looked up at the loud 'crash', then there were sounds of people yelling.

"Ah, there he is," Obi-Wan said, pulling up out of the traffic. Obi-Wan landed the speeder very close to the now crashed speeder and looked at Buffy.

"Could you see that no one's hurt?" he asked as he hopped out of the speeder and tore off after Anakin.

"Sure," Buffy said to the air as she climbed out of the speeder. It didn't take Buffy long to find that there was no one hurt. A few people stopped her to ask what was going on, but she didn't know what to tell any of them, so, she lied. It only took her a few seconds time to decide to go after Obi-Wan and Anakin. She hadn't really seen which way Obi-Wan had gone but found it was easy to track him down, and that scared her a little. She saw as he and Anakin pulled a body out of some double swinging doors.

"Gees I miss all the fun," she said as she ran over to them. She stopped just to Obi-Wan's right by his shoulder and looked down at the woman they had caught.

"Who hired you?" Obi-Wan asked, lifting her head up a little so she could see better. Buffy could see the hate very clearly in the woman's eyes and shivered, man these two made enemies fast, she'd fit right in.

"It was just a job," the bounty hunter said, shuddering a little.

"Who hired you? Tell us!" Anakin was on the verge of shouting at her.

"That Senator's gonna die soon anyway, and the next one won't make the same mistake I did..."

"No, they'll make all new ones," Buffy lamented and both Anakin and Obi-Wan looked up at her for a moment.

"This wound's going to need treatment," Obi-Wan said, looking back at the woman. It was then that Buffy saw the woman was missing an arm. 'Wow,' she thought, looking down at the stump which had once been an arm, 'did the lightsaber do that?'

"Tell us... tell us now!" Now Anakin was shouting, and drawing a little bit of attention to them. The woman shot him a glare and then let out a halting breath.

"It was a Bounty Hunter called—"

Buffy heard it before she saw the small dart pierce the skin of the woman. She let out another small shaky breath then blinked her eyes and died. Buffy watched as her face changed from the mostly human face to something alien. Obi-Wan gingerly pulled the dart out and looked it over.

"Toxic dart," Obi-Wan and Buffy said at the same time, again. Anakin looked between the two of them and smirked.

"Stop doing that," Buffy scolded, looking over at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan stood up, choosing to ignore Buffy.

"We need to get this information back to the council," he told them as Anakin stood up as well. He looked down at the dead bounty hunter and sighed.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Buffy paced outside what Obi-Wan had told her were the Jedi Council's chambers. She was walking back and forth in front of the large double doors, worrying. She wanted to know what was going on in there. Were they talking about her? Had Obi-Wan told them about the bounty hunter yet? Why would anyone want to kill Padme anyway? This all seemed very strange to her. She was used to finding something and killing it, not reporting back to the council, she stopped doing that a long time ago. She looked up when there was a slight noise from inside and smiled when Anakin opened the doors and came walking out. The doors closed behind him and he looked back at them. Then he looked down at her and smiled a little.

"I'm to take Padme back to Naboo," he told her. She could see that he was trying to hide his excitement. He wondered what the council would decide to do with her. Certainly they weren't going to train her. He had almost been too old by their standards, and she was a good 12 years older than he had been. "Obi-Wan has been sent after the bounty hunter."

"Oh," Buffy said, nodding her head slowly, that did not sound good for her.

-o-o-o-

"And you think this display of power means what?" Windu asked, folding his hands in his lap.

"I don't know-"

"Ahhh, revealed your feelings, you have" Yoda said, pointing at him with his gimer stick. "Force sensitive, you believe she is."

"Her Midichlorian count is 9,700," Obi-Wan said, looking from Yoda to the rest of the group. "She says she's been sent here to help."

"And you believe her?" Windu asked, leaning forward slightly.

"I feel no deceit in her," he said, shaking his head slightly.

"Bring her in," Windu said to Obi-Wan. He nodded and walked to the doors. He opened them and Buffy turned to look at him. He could see she had been pacing in front of the doors.

"They'd like to speak with you," he said, surprised by the nervousness coming off of her. "Take a breath," he said quietly to her when she was next to him. "You'll be fine." She looked up at him thankful for the words, even if they didn't help much. If these guys were anything like her council they were going to have problems.

"Hello," Buffy said smiling as she looked around at all the very different people.

"Buffy Summers, the Jedi council," Obi-Wan said, gesturing around the room at all the people. There were twelve people, of many shapes and sizes sitting around the room. Buffy smiled at each of them as Obi-Wan introduced them one by one.

"Welcome you to the Jedi council, we do," Yoda said, smiling at her when Obi-Wan was done.

"Thanks," Buffy said, taking a deep breath.

"Nervous, are you?" Yoda asked and she smiled. She had never seen anything quite like Yoda before, Buffy liked him right off.

"Kinda," She agreed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "It's just a lot to swallow, you know. For you I mean. I just don't want you to not believe me and throw me out or something." She let out a little giggle and shook her head. "And now I'm babbling, Willow would be proud." Buffy sighed at the thought of Willow.

"Ahh a great sadness there is in you," Yoda said and she nodded her head. "Lost the ones you love, you have."

"Yeah," Buffy said, nodding her head. "They're all back on earth."

"She's too old," Master Luminara Unduli, an olive-skinned, blue-eyed woman said, shaking her head. Buffy turned to look at her; she had little diamond shaped tattoos on her chin.

"With all due respect," Buffy said, looking from her back to Yoda. "I don't need training to be faster or stronger; I've been able to do that since I was 15 years old. What I need is help with this." She reached out her hand and the small screen sitting by Mace Windu's elbow came flying to her hand. A quiet murmur went up around the room as Buffy walked back over to Windu and handed it to him.

"I didn't ask for this, but I have it now and it might be a good idea if I knew how to use it." Buffy walked back over to Obi-Wan, she wondered if the rest of them saw the small quirk of his lips. Buffy grinned at him then turned and faced Yoda and Windu again. Yoda looked around the room at everyone and nodded his head.

"Reserve judgment for now, the council does," he said, pointing his gimer stick at Buffy. "Go with Obi-Wan to find this bounty hunter, you will." Buffy held in the sigh of relief and nodded her head. She could find out all she needed from Obi-Wan about Anakin, she would help him. They would not end up fighting by that lava river, she would see to it.

-o-o-o-o-

"Padme!" Buffy called, running over to Padme as she stuck her head out the door. Obi-Wan was off talking to Yoda about something and had instructed Buffy to stay in her room. So of course she had done just what he said, till she was sure he was gone. Then she headed over to Padme's room, she needed to talk to her.

"Mara," Padme said, turning as Buffy came up to her.

"Is it all right if I call you that? Do you prefer senator?" Buffy asked, smiling at her. She was still not used to that new name, she'd have to talk to Obi-Wan about that.

"Padme is fine," she said, smiling at her. She had a light brown robe on and an odd copper looking headdress. Man, these people dressed up for everything.

"Are you on your way to the shuttle?" Buffy asked as Padme looked around the small hallway.

"As soon as Dormé and Typho get here, can't have me wandering around by myself with someone trying to kill me." Buffy smirked at the bitterness in the words and Padme blushed a little. "They're only looking out for my well-being," she said, and it sounded to Buffy like she was trying to convince herself.

"Right," Buffy said, nodding her head. "Can I have a word then?"

"Of course," Padme said, nodding her head. She opened her door and stepped in, inviting Buffy in. "I was just checking to see if they were here yet," she told Buffy, closing the door behind them. Buffy watched Padme as she walked over to a bar, pulled open a door and pulled out a bottle of something blue.

"Would you like anything?" Padme asked, looking back at Buffy.

"No, thanks," Buffy said, shaking her head. Padme nodded then walked over to the couch and sat down.

"You had something to talk to me about?" Padme asked and Buffy nodded.

"Right," Buffy said, nodding her head again. She didn't sit down; instead she took to walking back and forth in front of her. "I know I don't know you all that well, hardly at all in fact," Buffy said, wondering how she was going to say this without making it sound odd.

"And I've known Anakin for about a second longer than you but..." She trailed off and turned and looked at Padme. "He's hot headed, I can tell, he's actually a lot like I was a few years ago. I know this isn't my place to say because, well like I said I don't know you guys. But I know you care about him. Obi-Wan told me you've known him since he was a child. So, just..." She trailed off again and took a deep breath. "Don't let him do anything stupid," Buffy finally got out and nodded. She turned to walk out the door and Padme stood up.

"Mara." Buffy sighed and turned around. Padme walked over to her. Buffy saw a few emotions in Padme's eyes, none of them were anger. "How long exactly have you known Anakin?"

"Um..." Buffy thought back, how many days had it been? "Around five or six days."

"And already you care about him?" Padme asked, there was a slight smirk in her eyes now. Buffy looked down at her feet and then back up at Padme.

"I left a lot of things behind so I could come here and watch out for him," she said, deciding a half truth was ok. Padme could be trusted, she was sure.

"Why?" Padme asked, a little surprised.

"Because he's going to need it," Buffy told her totally truthfully now. Buffy thought she saw a glimmer of understanding in Padme's eyes.

"You know more than you're letting on, don't you Mara?" Padme asked, a curious look on her face.

"Yeah, I do," Buffy said, nodding her head. She turned and walked to the door, reached out and stopped before she opened it. "Remember what I said," she told her, turning around to look at Padme. "Don't let him do anything stupid." Buffy turned, opened the door and walked out.

Padme stood there a long while watching the closed door. Where had this girl come from? All Obi-Wan had said about her was that she was extra security, but it seemed to Padme that she was a great deal more than that. She would have to ask Anakin about this Mara, who is she, where is she from, and could she be trusted?

-o-o-o-o-o-

"I don't see what is so hard about 'stay in your room?'" Obi-Wan asked, walking with Buffy towards the shuttle. Buffy snickered and rolled her eyes at the ground. This guy reminded her so much of Giles sometimes, and then at other times, he was a little like Xander. She wanted to see more of that side; she'd have to work on that.

"I had some things to do," Buffy said, shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, what am I going to do, it's not like I know my way around here, like I'd just up and leave you."

"Of course not," Obi-Wan agreed, nodding his head. Buffy could detect the slight smirk to his voice, though he was totally straight-faced. They walked in total silence for a long while. It was unusually comfortable walking in silence with Obi-Wan and Buffy wondered why.

"Will they train me?" Buffy asked, when they were halfway there. "I mean, I can't exactly get rid of whatever this is."

"I don't know," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head, a slight frown on his face now. "What Master Unduli said is true. You are far too old to be trained. But for a power as strong as yours to go untrained could be...disastrous." Buffy turned that word over in her mind for a while, how could it be disastrous? Untrained could she hurt herself, or someone else?

"Why?" Buffy asked after a few minutes.

"Untrained, you may be… easily swayed," he explained to her.

"Swayed?" Buffy said, looking up at him. He was a good seven inches taller than her. "What do you mean?"

"Many on the council will fear you going to the dark side," he said, looking down at her now. "They may want you trained, if only to stop that."

"I wouldn't," Buffy said, shaking her head with conviction as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. She was trying really hard not to be insulted. "I've spent the better half of my life fighting for the good guys, why would I suddenly change sides?" she finished, shaking her head.

"You have never touched the force before this." He formed it as a statement not a question but Buffy nodded anyway. "It is a great power, one that most are born with, and learn to understand it and use it at a very young age."

"With great power comes great responsibility," Buffy quoted, thinking of Xander. She smirked at the look on his face. "Sorry, go on."

"What you say is true," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head, confused by her chuckles.

"It's just, something from home," she explained with a sad smile. "So do you think they'll train me? If only to keep me safe?"

"I'm unsure; the force is strong in you. And if what you say is true, if you really are here to help then training you would be the only logical step."

"What do you mean 'if'?" Buffy asked, stopping to scowl up at him. "Don't you believe me?" He stopped too and looked down at her. She felt as though he were scouring her for the answers. As if he were reading her with his eyes, and it made her fidget a little.

"I do," he confirmed, after a few intense moments. Buffy smiled, unusually happy by his announcement. "I think they will train you, if only to keep you safe," he said and now Buffy could see the full fledged smirk on his face.

-o-o-o-o-

"Strong in the force, she is," Yoda said, nodding his head slowly. "Yes, yes, help us, I believe she will."

"Should we have her trained?" Windu asked, walking along next to Yoda.

"Divided on this, the council is," Yoda said, letting out a deep sigh. "Troublesome, that is."

"She does seem sincere, even if the story is a little hard to believe or understand," Windu said, folding his arms across his chest. "But she is much too old."

"Ah, yes," Yoda said, rubbing his chin. "Come to the problem at hand, we have." He looked up at Windu. "Care not for her age, the dark side will." He nodded his head a little. "Recruit her they will, if given the chance."

"I agree," Windu said, nodding his head. "So we'll train her?"

"Wait, we should," Yoda told him, keeping his eyes forward as if he saw something Windu could not. "See where the force leads her, we will."

"Yes," Windu agreed. "And if she is to be trained? She's too old to be trained with the Younglings, she'll have to be taken as a Padawan. Who will be her master?"

"Revealed in time, that will be," Yoda said, looking up at Windu. "Very clouded, her future is."

"Are you worried she'll be tempted by the dark side?" Windu asked, looking down at Yoda. Yoda shook his head and a small smile played on his lips.

"Much change in the future, we will see," he said, his voice soft as if he really were looking into the future. "A large part of that, I believe she will be."

-o-o-o-o-

Buffy watched as everyone said their good-byes. Padme was talking to Dormé and Typho. Buffy could see that Dormé was crying and felt sorry for her, it was always hard to say good-bye to your friends, especially if you don't know if you'll see them again.

She was standing right next to Obi-Wan, right where he told her to stay. She was listening, this time, only because she wanted to know what was being said. Padme turned and smiled back at Anakin.

"Then my Jedi protector will have to prove how good he is," Buffy heard her say as Dormé nodded her head. Anakin nodded his head and Dormé smiled a little.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, pulling Anakin's attention back to him. "Don't do anything without first consulting either myself or the Council." His tone was solid and left no room for argument.

"Yes, Master," Anakin said, not without a little resentment. Buffy could hear it and if she could, Obi-Wan certainly could. She wondered why Obi-Wan was so hard on him; Anakin didn't seem like the sort to fly off half hazard, that about him was different from her.

"We will get to the bottom of this plot quickly, M'Lady. You'll be back here in no time," Obi-Wan said, looking from Buffy to Padme with a slight smile on his face.

"I will be most grateful for your speed, Master Jedi, Mara," she said, nodding to both of them. She lingered on Buffy for a moment and Buffy could feel the questions just racing through her. She pondered what Anakin would tell Padme about her. Padme finally smiled at Buffy and nodded her head and Buffy decided she hoped he told her everything.

"Time to go," Anakin told Padme, a small frown on his face.

"I know," Padme told him, rolling her eyes at Buffy before she turned and smiled at Anakin. She smiled at Dormé and hugged her, holding on tight for a long few seconds. Anakin bent over and grabbed their luggage when Padme released Dormé. They stepped off the speeder bus and Artoo beeped at them.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan called and Anakin turned to face him. "May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you, Master," Anakin said, smiling at them before he turned and walked away with Padme and Artoo at his side.

"I hope he doesn't try anything foolish," Obi-Wan said and Buffy could feel the worry rolling off of him.

"I'd be more concerned about her doing something, than him," Captain Typho said, smirking at both of them.

"I don't know, she seems pretty level headed to me," Buffy said, turning to look at both of them. "Don't you think, Dormé?" Buffy asked and Dormé looked at her oddly for a moment then smiled.

"Most of the time," she said finally.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"So, what's our first move?" Buffy asked, looking up at Obi-Wan; he looked down at her and his eyes swept over her outfit.

"First, we're going to get you something suitable to wear, then we're going to find out where that dart came from," Obi-Wan explained, and Buffy nodded her head.

"Ah, research mode, I'm down with that," Buffy said and again Obi-Wan looked at her oddly.

"Your speech is a little odd," he said after a few moments. He turned a corner and Buffy nodded her head smiling.

"So are your names," Buffy said, shrugging her shoulder.

"Our names?" he asked; she didn't know where they were going so she was following him. "What about Buffy?" he asked and Buffy smirked.

"Well, my full name is Elisabeth, but I've just always been Buffy," Buffy explained, smirking. "And what about Obi-Wan? And Anakin? Padme? To you they may sound normal, but to me they're a little odd. And what's with Mara? That's the first thing that popped into your head?"

"I didn't want to have to get into questions about you," he said, looking down at her. "I don't know enough to answer any of them, and your name would have brought on questions."

"Yeah, I see that, so would Obi-Wan where I'm from." Buffy crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked around. They were walking down an all glass hallway now; the only thing she couldn't see through was the floor. It was an interesting view though. So many things flying through the air, all different colors, shapes and sizes.

"Is that your full name?" Buffy asked after a few minutes. Did they have any kind of last name system here?

"No," he said, shaking his head. "My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Kenobi, huh?" Buffy asked, nodding her head. "Well, I'm Elisabeth Anne Summers."

"Elisa," Obi-Wan blurted after a moment. Buffy looked up at him and he seemed genuinely surprised to have said anything at all. "It just-"

"No, I like it," Buffy interrupted him, nodding her head. "Better than Mara anyway." Buffy looked up at him a playful smile on her face. Buffy followed him into some kind of store room; it was filled with rows and rows of some kind of clothing.

"For now you should dress as a Jedi, it'll make things easier, or at least less complicated," he said, walking down one of the rows, her right behind him.

"Does that mean I get a lightsaber too?" Buffy asked, hopeful, as she looked through the clothes.

"No," Obi-Wan told her, shaking his head. "Jedi make their own as a part of their trial, and we don't have extras lying around."

"I'll need some kind of a weapon at some point," Buffy said, pulling something down and looking it over. She put it over her arm and looked up at Obi-Wan.

"I know," he said nodding his head. "We'll get you a blaster for now, can you shoot?"

"What, like a gun?" Buffy asked, thinking back. She didn't have a lot of experience with guns, not any good ones anyway. But they couldn't be much harder to master than a crossbow, right? And she had a little bit of practice shooting. "I think I could manage that," Buffy told him, looking down at the stuff in her arms.

"Ok, good," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. "We'll head back to the rooms, and you can change." He started towards the door. "Then we'll get you a blaster and we can go see about this dart."

"Sounds like a plan," Buffy said, nodding her head as she followed him. Things were beginning to look up. She was helping them, just like she said she would. All she had to do now was change the future for Obi-Wan and Anakin, piece of cake. She sighed as she followed Obi-Wan out of the room and down the hall.

A/N- So what do we think? Is it any good, let me know! What's going to happen to Anakin and Padme? Will Padme take what Buffy said to heart? Will Buffy be able to save Anakin? And how will things change for Obi-Wan with Buffy at his side. Tune in next time!

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