2

Obi-Wan centered herself, trying not to brace against the pain she knew was coming. She hissed as Qui-Gon examined her arm.

"I don't think it's a bad break, but you should let the med-droid double-check. Either way, you won't be able to use it for a few weeks." Qui-Gon gave her a pitying look.

Obi-Wan nodded.

"Well, as long as we aren't to fight more sith in the next few weeks, I think I'll manage."

"I have no doubt, padawan." Qui-Gon gave her an approving smile as he left the small med-bay. Slipping through the doorway as Padme peered in.

"Would you like some company?" she asked.

"Thank you, Padme. I am not a stranger to quiet."

"You seem a bit uneasy."

"I do not want to worry you with my own insecurities," Obi-Wan replied.

"I am no stranger to insecurity. I see the Queen battling them daily; there are many in the Senate who do not take her seriously. They believe she is young and unfit to lead. Others believe she is merely a puppet for some stronger power. They never say such things to her face, but being a handmaiden lends me some privilege.

"You are invisible to those kinds of people."

Padme nodded.

"I certainly did not feel invisible today. That Sith knew more about me than he should, and he was strong…I am not sure how I made it out alive. He is a better duelist than I."

"He's a better duelist than you when you have just broken your arm," Padme said gently.

Obi-Wan smiled. "You are right. I am being too hard on myself, I suppose." She laughed, "Oh how the tables turn."

A wry smile graced Padme's lips. "You were not always this studious Jedi?"

Obi-Wan shook her head. "No; I was not eager to…follow the rules."

"I never would have guessed, you are very professional. I know the Queen appreciates your presence."

Obi-Wan winced as the med-droid jostled her arm while setting up for the x-ray.

"Watch it!" she hissed.

The droid beeped apologetically.

Obi-Wan sighed and turned away, trying to ignore the thing.

"It is not often," she continued, "that I feel so out of sorts. I am rarely so outmatched."

"Speaking just as a woman," Padme began slowly, her voice steady and her eyes piercing, "is it possible he did not underestimate you?"

Obi-Wan looked up sharply.

Padme's face was neutral, but serious.

"I like to think I was treated the same as all the others. I would not make an effective Jedi otherwise. We have a traditional tournament every year for Masters to pick their padawans. I defeated as many of my peers as I lost to…" she trailed off, frowning.

"What is it?"

"No one picked me that year, and the next year— I am sure Master Qui-Gon took me on as his padawan by Yoda's request."

"I am sure that had nothing to do with it."

"Qui-Gon has always assured me that it was my attitude and general disregard for rules that made me an undesirable choice, but now I am not so sure. I know I am not weak, or I would be dead several times over, perhaps there is some darkness in me that others sense. Something I cannot see, myself."

"I see no darkness in you, Obi-Wan, but perhaps it is uncertainty that you fear."

"Jedi must not succumb to fear; but you are right, I do feel it. Normally, I am at peace with that which I cannot control, I must meditate on this. Thank you, Padme."

Meditation proved as helpful as it was hindering. Again and again, Obi-Wan was struck with visions of the future. Of possible futures. Of pain and screaming; of her friends burning. Her sleep was fleeting, even once they had returned to Coruscant.

She was doing the right thing; why did she feel so tormented by these visions? Was she not doing enough? She was anxious, and she knew Qui-Gon could sense it. She tried meditating alone and with others. She just could not let go of her fear. It seeped in through cracks she did not know were there.

Once again, she found herself in the room of a thousand fountains, letting the sound of the water calm her.

"Cannot sleep, Obi-Wan?" Master Yoda's voice came from somewhere above her.

"You know me, Master. I thought I might try the outdoor experience; or something close to it."

She sat up and glanced into the tree where she thought the Jedi Master was sitting. She did not see him and instead leapt up to the nearest branch she thought would hold her weight.

Yoda had a butterfly sitting on his finger.

"Anxious, you are, Obi-Wan. Unlike you, this is. Sure of yourself, you used to be."

"I don't know what is happening to me. I see my visions when I sleep now, and I have this creeping dread that I have failed, and that something terrible will happen because of it."

"Succeeded, you have," Yoda turned to her. "Your visions, changed, have they?"

Obi-Wan shook her head, she could feel her anxiety building again. Her hands began to tremble. Something terrible was coming.

"Master Yoda—"

"Nothing but your own fear, I sense, Obi-Wan. Breathe, and center yourself."

Obi-Wan took a deep breath.

It came out as a scream.

Blinding pain flashed through her body, and she only just had time to steady herself against the trunk of the tree before she was hit with another wave of excruciating pain.

"Obi-Wan! Look to me. Only in your head, this pain is."

"Master—this pain—" she grimaced, "I do not think it is mine."

She bit back another scream.

Yoda grasped her head in his hands and closed his eyes.

Obi-Wan forced the pain to a section of her mind. It still burned like she was on fire, but she removed herself from it. Her hands shook, and she whimpered with the effort. Ever so slowly, the pain dulled. It was still there, but she was able to sit up.

Yoda looked at her gravely. "Able to hold it off for a time, I am. A connection you have with another."

"In my visions, I see two, light and dark, acting as one. Never clearly. I think-" she choked slightly on the words, "I think it is me."

"And the other?"

Obi-Wan shook her head, she did not want to believe it.

"Maul," she breathed. "It's Maul."

Yoda frowned at her. "The sith you fought on Tatooine?"

She nodded.

"He couldn't kill me, and not for lack of trying. I cannot explain what happened."

Yoda let out a sigh; the kind of long-suffering sigh that could only come from one so ancient. Obi-Wan waited patiently for him to speak, watching the butterflies flit about the canopy.

"Not unheard of, is this type of bond. Taught you all about Force bonds, I did. Left out one kind, we always do. Dangerous, even the knowledge of such a bond is. Careful you must be. By the sith, called a dyad it is."

"How is just the knowledge dangerous?"

"Too easy to manipulate, is the mind. How would a young jedi know where their bond came from if they knew that, sometimes, spring up from nowhere, they could?"

"I understand."

"Understand, you must. As dangerous as this knowledge is, far more powerful is the dyad itself. Little of them do we know. Razed cities and toppled Empires, they have. The most powerful of all, when allowed to flourish, the bond is."

Obi-Wan's mouth felt dry. "How can you tell the difference?"

"Strong, your bond is with this Maul. Gone is his pain?"

Obi-Wan let herself feel for a moment. She felt relief. There was still pain, but it was no longer debilitating.

"It's over…"

Yoda nodded. "Prepare yourself."

"I am ready."

It came flooding in: relief, anger, twinges of pain. Manageable, this time.

Yoda sagged forward slightly, as if it had been a great effort to hold the bond at bay.

"What can I do?"

"More fear, I sense, Obi-Wan."

"I am afraid I will not be able to do the right thing."

"Fear not. Hold to your training you must. More, there is."

"I didn't think it could get worse."

"So strong will your bond become; merge, your goals will. Protect each other, you must. Willed by the Force, it has been. Unable to kill each other, a sign, perhaps."

Yoda paused, seemingly in thought. He nodded a few times and then turned to Obi-Wan.

"A permanent hold, the dark side never has. Balance, you must achieve. Good, there is in everyone, Obi-Wan. Even the sith can love. A selfish love, they have most often, but incapable of good, they are not."

"So what you are saying is that I'm not completely doomed."

"Inevitable some things are." Yoda gave her a small smile. "Doing what is right, a choice is. These padawan lessons, you have forgotten?" Yoda smirked at her and chuckled.

Obi-Wan smiled. "No, Master. I remember."

"Sleep,, you will get now, hmm?"

"Thank you, Master Yoda."

Obi-Wan found herself distracted on the way back to her rooms, her chest twinged from time to time, but the pain was mostly gone. She was no longer anxious, but still felt antsy. Protect each other, Yoda had said. What could have caused him so much pain? A twinge of worry panged in her heart. It was not like she could do anything about it even if she wanted to help him.

She was only curious. He was probably back on Naboo doing his Master's dirty work. She reached out and found that he was close. Much too close. Had he followed them to Coruscant? Was the queen in danger?

Without another thought, Obi-Wan darted toward the temple doors. She flew down the steps and followed Maul's presence down around the next building and toward the Spaceport. Her footsteps echoed across the empty streets, and very suddenly she was glad she was as well trained as she was. Even in the safest areas of Coruscant, a woman traveling alone in the dead of night was a prime target for all manner of ill-fated trouble.

"Jedi," Maul's voice greeted her as she rounded a corner, yellow eyes shining in the darkness.

"Maul."

"You came looking for me."

The sith took several steps toward her, a non threatening gesture from anyone else, but everything Maul did had a level of predatory grace to it.

"You're hurt," she said. It was a true enough reason.

His reaction was about what she expected. Externally, that is.

"Come to try to finish me off, Obi-Wan?" He snarked, obviously trying to hide the surprise that was not on his face, but in his soul.

A glimmer of something warm grew somewhere around Obi-Wan's heart, something she knew came from Maul as well.

"You and I both know I couldn't even if I wanted to."

"Do you not want to?"

Maul took a few more steps toward her, one hand resting casually on the hilt of his lightsaber.

"Do you want to fight me, Maul?"

Conflict grew in him like a weed, but in another instant it was squashed, covered by fear and rage. He ignited his blade and leapt for her.

She blocked entirely on instinct, feeling a twinge of pain spring up her chest where Maul was injured. Taking a step back, Obi-Wan lowered her lightsaber.

"I do not want to fight you, Maul," she said firmly.

He struck, and just like on Tatooine, his blade stopped short.

"Why?" Maul snarled, eyes fixed on hers. He sheathed his saber, and Obi-Wan was surprised he hadn't just thrown it, with the amount of fury searing through him. He was more disciplined than she had given him credit for.

Fury that she was able to keep at bay began to shift to anxiety, which gave way to panic. She struggled to keep his feelings from infecting her again, but she was overwhelmed. She backpedaled until her back hit the wall and Maul went for her throat. His raw desperation shone through his eyes; he was so afraid.

"Why‽" he spat again as his hands tried to close around her throat.

She was beginning to understand. She took a calming breath, trying to assert her calm over the tide of Maul's raging torment. It seemed to work and she was able to look up at Maul with more than just his own fear. His bloodshot eyes were strained as he continued to try to strangle her with muscles that refused to comply.

She thought back to earlier that day; the feeling of failure, and the dread of what was coming before the pain began.

"What did he do to you?" she whispered.

Maul shook his head, her words bringing him a little further off the edge.

"What?"

"Your Master. You are afraid of what he will do if you fail again."

Obi-Wan placed her hands on his, and she realized his hands were bare. He froze at the contact. His hands were warm. Too warm. Frowning at him, she gently pulled one of his hands from her neck; burns criss-crossed the flesh in lightning patterns. The flesh was inflamed, these were new injuries. She hadn't even felt pain in her hands.

"Can you not still feel it?" he whispered, his voice hoarse, head dipping slightly in defeat.

Obi-Wan could feel bits; her shoulder still burned, but it was much more removed than it had been an hour ago. She frowned at Maul, her heart aching for him more than she expected.

With trepidation, she reached for his robe, pulling it back to reveal where the pain was the worst. He did not flinch as the fabric pulled back to reveal angry, burned flesh, still hot with excess energy.

Rage bubbled up through Obi-Wan's normally steady center; rage that was entirely her own.

Maul stared at her, a smirk forming on his lips.

"You do care," he said.

"How could I not?" she replied with a growl. "Are you so accustomed to this that it no longer pains you? I feel only a sting, here." She pointed to the area that looked shocked raw.

"I am not a stranger to pain," he replied absently as he shrugged his robe into place.

Obi-Wan let her fury wash over her; the man who did this deserved death. Then she thought of Maul; the strongest opponent she had ever faced. What kind of being scared Maul?

Who could cause him so much pain without fear of retribution? She let her fury go and let compassion flow through her. She let her heart ache and as she did so, the small glimmer of warmth flashed from Maul's center.

"Where else do you have scars no one else can see?" she breathed.

Maul took the opportunity to flash her a wicked grin.

"Would you like to find out, Obi-Wan?"

Maul's hands returned to her throat, but he began to study it instead of attempting to crush it. His thumb ran across her chin in a frustratingly distracting manner.

Obi-Wan huffed and shook her head. Layers and layers of masks and emotions made Maul a mystery to her, despite feeling his strong emotions as though they were her own. The desire was new; and it was creeping in. That, she could not allow. He could keep that to himself.

She moved to push his hands away, and froze. She heard his breath hitch as well. Something was wrong. Without thinking, Obi-Wan shoved Maul away from her with all her might. A soft whizz was the only indicator that a small assassin's dart passed between them, right where Maul's head had been only moments before. So focused they had been on each other, they had missed the encroaching danger.

Obi-Wan ignited her lightsaber and jumped into action. They were surrounded. She felt a wave of the Force as Maul pulled the first assassin across the alley, smashing them into a wall with a crack. Not dead yet, but down for long enough to give them a few seconds.

Blaster fire erupted toward them from all angles; she dodged and blocked, returning blaster fire returning with precision. Would-be assassins fell, but still more came.

Maul's back hit hers as he fought off three gunmen and a tall vibro-blade wielding alien. Obi-Wan did not have time to look before she was assaulted by an assassin droid.

The droid charged to fire, there was no time to shout. She ducked hoping Maul would sense it, and felt Maul move with her. The blast exploded, breaking concrete and showering chunks of building on their heads. She struck out with several quick strokes, severing its arm and splitting the thing in half. She cleanly removed its head and turned back to Maul. As she turned, blaster fire hit her in the leg. She cried out, but before she could react further, Maul had used the force with great effectiveness to snap the neck of the assassin on the ground.

With a twist of his wrist, the remaining two gunmen were sliced in half. Obi-Wan knocked the vibro-blade out of the giant alien's grasp. A kerestian, she now saw.

Maul had the kerestian in a deadly force choke, suspending the last living assailant several feet above the ground.

"They're defeated," she said, "You don't have to—"

With another quick gesture, Maul snapped the kerestian's neck and flung it against the wall.

"No witnesses, Obi-Wan. Those are the rules. Will you live?"

Obi-Wan tested her leg. She could put weight on it, but it burned.

"It's just a graze. What do you mean by the rules?" She paused for a moment and the rage she felt earlier flew back two-fold. "Your master sends assassins after you‽ It's not enough that he tortures you to the point where you are so used to pain that lightning burns are only an annoyance?"

Maul stared at her, his demeanor and emotions the calm ones for once, as though this were a normal occurrence.

"He was not expecting you to be here, or there would have been more. Perhaps we have been fortunate and he has not detected my distraction," he said simply.

"You are strong in the Force; assassins do not scare you," she said, shaking her head.

"I must always be ready for an assault. Especially so close to the Jedi Temple."

Obi-Wan's eyes widened, someone would have noticed the disturbance they created.

"You are impressive," Maul said, no irony in his voice. "I could not have sensed the assassin's fire in time, I could have been singed."

Obi-Wan frowned. "What do you mean? I thought you had sensed it."

Maul shook his head. "I had, but too late. You—" He frowned. "You did not shout."

She shook her head. "I did not. There wasn't time."

Maul tilted his head in what looked like wonder. He stared at her like she was a puzzle to be solved. He paced back and forth slowly, keeping his eyes on her.

Obi-Wan felt a gentle wave of the Force flow over her.

"What are you doing?"

Maul muttered something under his breath and the Force dissipated. Another moment passed.

Obi-Wan.

The look of delight on Maul's face startled her more than his voice in her head. She let her mouth fall open. It took years of training to develop telepathy that strong, and she was certain by most of his brute-force tactics that Maul had not spent the years required to acquire such a skill.

In two long strides, Maul was at her side once more, and she was overwhelmed with emotion. Confusion that mirrored her own, delighted surprise, satisfaction.

And back once more was that desire Maul was feeling.

Isn't that interesting.

"Maul—stop that!" she glared at him. "Keep your feelings to yourself, if you please."

He smirked at her. How deep does your Jedi discipline run, Obi-Wan?

The tip of his nose brushed hers in a strikingly playful gesture.

A bridge goes both ways. She focused on his presence and pushed.

Deep enough, she interjected, trying to force a sense of calm over the bond.

Maul gave her an impatient look, but his eyes glinted.

"What do you know of dyads?" he asked.

Obi-Wan pushed him off and brushed some dust from her robes. "I know they are incredibly dangerous. They are capable of great things."

"So, nothing useful," Maul said dryly.

She meant to snap back at him with something clever, but his finger on her lips shut her up, if only for a moment.

"There are some ancient sith texts that speak of the dyad, not as two beings with a strong connection, but a single soul, split across time and space. Twins are the most common in our history."

"The Jedi will be here soon," she said.

"We have time yet," he replied, his tone irritated that she was not listening as well as he wanted. "I expect we will end up the second type."

She eyed him warily. "Which is?"

He gave her that same wicked grin. "One cannot share a soul without being intimate in some way. Those rare dyads who are not siblings — every one we have records of eventually became lovers."

"And that's where we descend straight into madness. You think I'm going to believe the ramblings of some ancient, mad sith?"

"Why fight it?" Maul paused, then frowned. "You don't take a vow of celibacy or some other religious nonsense, do you?"

"No!" she said, a little too strongly. He was exasperating. "No. I do not take a vow of celibacy. That's beside the point. Attachments are dangerous, even if I wanted one, I would not choose to form it with you."

Maul shrugged. "I always did enjoy a challenge."

Obi-Wan heard shouts from down the alley, and when she turned back to Maul, he was gone.

Maul's voice reached her through the Force as he disappeared into the darkness.

You cannot ignore this any more, Obi-Wan. Like it or not, we fought as one this night.

A/N: As before, there is a piece of art for this chapter. Link in Bio, or remove the spaces here:

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