A/N: Thousand apologies my readers. I am finally settling down after moving, juggling multiple jobs and summer classes. I do really want to finish this story. It has been nagging at me to write for many years now. The hard part is the beginning, which I'm still working out. Once the story gets to a certain point I know exactly where the plot is going, more or less... so I'm currently wracking my brain trying to figure out how to bridge the gap between Obi-Wan dying and waking up in his padawan body on M/D and him being thrust back into a very AU version of events that span the preTPM-ROTS timeline. I hope you like what I've written so far. Feel free to let me know what you think in the review section.

To clarify, italics are used for thoughts, when a character is thinking something, whereas / are used primarily for speech over a bond between one or more force users. Basically for any communication through the force I will use /.

Example: /Padawan.../

/Yes Master?/

/...why is there a tail poking out from under your tunic?/

/umm/

/Padawan!/

In this chapter, I am using italic / to indicate dialogue in the force between Obi-Wan and the force. I'm not sure if this could actually happen in the cannon SW but since this is very AU, it works. On a final note, in case you were wondering, I will stay away from using bold because doing so lets the reader add the emphasis where they think it should go. And, I find it over-intrusive in other fanfics i've read, even if they are well-written. Voilà that's it for now. On with the story.

Chapter Five

A chill passed through his body. It's happening again. "Nield wait. There must be another solution."

"I wish there was." Nield said freeing his arm. "If we don't silence the voices of the dead the centuries of hatred will never go away."

"You are missing the point! The Elders are not using these halls as an excuse to fight, they are fighting to preserve the memories of the past. Now that you threaten to reduce them to rubble, they fight."

"Dammit Obi-Wan, don't you think I know that! I can't back down now. If I do, Mawat will take over, and things will change for the worse."

Obi-Wan folded his arms. "So you are aware then."

The dark haired boy nodded. "After the barracks were raided, I realized it must have been one of us. It didn't take long to figure out who..." He trailed off seeing the other boy in deep concentration.

"Obi-Wan? What is it?"

"Cerasi, she's in danger. Quick, there's no time."

"Let's go."

In the town center, the Young emerge from the shadows in groups of six. They advance, surrounding the Elders who stand defiantly around a massive fountain carved in the image of the Daan family crest — a coiled white dragon. No longer divided, Melida and Daan alike stand united against the threat posed by the Young. They would give their lives before seeing the only remaining symbol of Daan power turned to rubble. If anything, they are a stubborn people. The civil war that began over a hundred years ago had come to an end. Now is the time of revolution, the time of the Young. Then came the rain.

They race back, the path widening to reveal a larger area. Time slows to a halt as Obi-Wan takes in the scene before him. He pays no mind to the assembled group of Young and Elders. All his attention focused on the center of the clearing, on Cerasi.

Above the crowd, Mawat adjusts the blaster rifle's scope cursing the meddling raindrops. Old man Wehutti stands linked to the rest of the Elders. The boy is ready, wanting to end it by killing the blasted elders once and for all. Poised to shoot. His knuckle whitens and he presses down on the hair trigger. Roenni soon tackles Mawat but by then it is too late. The Elders draw their weapons.

Unsure who fired the first shot, both sides begin firing. There is no where to run. Cries of terror fill the air causing his stomach to knot. Before he knows it, the grate at the fountain's base springs open and Cerasi is caught in the crossfire. He watches horrified as the bolt pierces her defenseless body. He rushes forward and scoops her up into his arms.

It was too much. At that moment, decades of experience as a Jedi fall back into place and he finds his voice. It was a voice unheard of among the living. It came from the force itself. The ground shakes and visible waves of power spiral out from his body sending both sides flying in all directions.

"Ceasefire! No stop firing! Stop firing I say! Your weapons, put them down!" Stunned, and unsure what just happened, everyone that still held a weapon dropped it.

Cradling Cerasi in his arms, Obi-Wan's continues speaking, his voice strained. "What have you accomplished by this? Nothing! You fire this way and that, fire willy-nilly killing each other. And for what? For land? For freedom? For honor? Will you not see reason! This has to end here and now at the birthplace of your world. You must forge ahead and create a peace that lasts for generations to come. Pick up your dead, your wounded, your dying and find some way to salvage what remains."

"Obi-Wan is right" said Neild. "He does not only speak for the Young, but for all of us."

Wehutti nodded then wobbled to his feet. "I agree Nield, we have been so very wrong. We have done the unthinkable, and now my grand-daughter has paid the ultimate price."

"Possibly." Obi-Wan interjected

"I'm sorry?"

His voice softened. "There still may be time to save her. I will do whatever I can. She may yet live."

Ignoring the crowd around him Obi-Wan carefully sets Cerasi's body on the ground. Sinking deeper into the force he stops blood pooling from two red holes where the shot went through. Tenderly, he covers the wound, sending a wave of healing energy. In a heartbeat, the exposed flesh knits itself back together. Her body is healed but she does not stir. It is too late.

She's dying. Feeling her life-force slipping, he concentrates deeper into the force, intensifying the connection. Beads of sweat begin to form on his brow, mixing with tears.

/Why did you send me back if not to change the past, to save those I care about! I definitely died through and through, became one with the force. This can't possibly be some twisted fantasy Darth Sidious has concocted/

/Let go your training my knight. Let go your conscious self and plunge deeper than ever before into my depths and you will find what you seek. Do not let doubt stand in your way/

/I won't, not anymore. Forgive me/

Gently, he places his left hand on her forehead and his right over her side. In that moment, with thunderclouds swirling overhead, he lets go, using his body as a conduit for wave after wave of healing energy until it becomes a beacon of light surrounding the pair. Then slowly, it fades and he slips into unconsciousness from sheer exhaustion.

On Telos, the capital opera house was packed full of polite society. Despite not being near as grand and glittering as the one found on Coruscant it was nonetheless breathtaking to behold. Strategically placed mahogany support beams and a transparent roof giving the illusion of a much larger space. Without them, one might be distracted by the over-gilded interior. Together, they formed a perfect balance between detail and open space. Enormous aqua spheres harmonized with a light arrangement of strings and woodwinds. Busy in their pretensions, no one noticed when a dark robed figure made a swift exit.