Obi Wan Kenobi finds himself floating through nothingness. He watches through the Force, the memories of the past brought to fruition, dreams of his old life.

Laughter rang from a young blonde haired man as he cackled, watching the grizzled face of his mentor and best friend, himself, pale considerably.

"I'd call that a success, eh, Master?"

His image breathed deeply, a shaky hand reached up to his chest, before dropping it. He took another deep breath before his glare was on his former pupil, donning a prominent smirk on his face.

"I swear Anakin, by all that is of this entire galaxy, you're going to be the death of me. I said it once before and I'll say it again, I'm literally going to die because of you." He swore that he was going to die in this galaxy because of his former apprentice's reckless idiocy. How he, Anakin, and Ahsoka survived mission after mission was beyond him, especially if Anakin was the one piloting their ships.

The young man grins. "Right. Forgot how much you hated flying." A pat on the shoulder, then his eyes widened with glee. "We'll get assigned a mission where it doesn't involve flying, since Ahsoka and I know how much you're scared of heights as well."

"Anakin, I'm not scared of heights-!"

But Anakin wasn't listening anymore, exiting the cockpit with a cackle as his image palmed his face in his hand. "Hey, Jesse! Cody! Obi Wan's afraid of heights!"

That insolent little-!

Laughter formed, then the images were replaced. But it was not one of comfort, of a time where it had just been him and Anakin.

He knew the dream as soon as it came to him. Rako Hardeen.

The hurt face of Anakin stared at him, and he opened his mouth to explain himself, but he knew that he had no excuse. Nothing he could say that could possibly ever justify his actions. He had lied and deceived his closest friend and the man he considered brother and he should have realized how much Anakin valued their friendship, should have realized that his actions had completely pushed Anakin away from him.

"How do you even know you have the full truth either?!"

He stormed away, and Obi Wan could only watch the result of his deception to his closest friend.

Then the image changed once more, and he found himself facing his former friend once more, his face full of vicious rage and hatred for him, his eyes burning crimson with the roar of the Mustafar hellscape below them.

"It's over, Anakin. I have the high ground!"

He was face to face with his failures once more.

The visage of his friend's face twisted further. "You underestimate my power!"

"No… Don't try it!"

Please don't. He all but begged. Please. I don't want to fight you.

But the demon who possessed his former friend's body lunged with a roar, and Obi Wan could only watch as his mirror image pulled his blade up, the smell of cauterized meat as he fell screaming, and it was a horrible, horrible sound.

"You were the Chosen One!"

Stop showing this, please. I'm sorry, Anakin!

He didn't want to watch anymore. Why… Why was he dreaming of this?! He thought he had long since accepted it, that Anakin had been gone, killed by the being that was Darth Vader, that the boy he met on Tatooine. He had thought he had long accepted it when they met once more on Tatooine. Anakin is gone. I am what remains.

"I hate you!"

It had been the same words before, and it still hurt after all the years.

Then he was screaming, set aflame by the lava banks of hell. Anakin screamed, wailing as he was consumed alive by the flames of hell.

No! Help him! Why?! Why are you leaving him?! Don't leave him! Obi Wan watched his mirror image, he could only watch as he himself simply turned and walked away.

"Obi Wan…"

He could only watch as his friend became consumed alive by the flames.

I'm sorry, Anakin. I'm so sorry!

"Obi Wan!"

Obi Wan did not know the voice, but he did not care, unable to turn away from the grizzly sight that had once been his former apprentice, now barely a charred husk held together by hate and rage.

"Obi Wan!"

He watched as the scene transformed, watching as Sidious brought the husk back to Coruscant. A scream further pierced through Obi Wan as he wanted to tear his gaze away, but could not.

Wake up!"

The unfamiliar voice called out to him once more, and the final memories and dreams of Obi Wan Kenobi's past vanished.

"Obi Wan! Wake up!"

Obi Wan snapped awake, his eyes blinking madly.

"Obi Wan, are you okay?!"

He turned to the elder woman who spoke his name, concern and worry visible on her face. He looked around.

He was not on Mustafar, the images of hell were replaced by a room, his room. But it wasn't one of the Jedi Temple, nor was it the hut he had lived in on Tatooine during the Empire's reign. No. It was his new home in Kazimierz of Terrakind, a world far beyond his one in the galaxy.

The weary and concerned face of his Aunt Kira stared back at him, and she hugged him. "Obi Wan."

"Aunt Sheila?" He looked around his room once more. "Why… why are you here?" He rubbed his face, only to feel something wet, the blankets over him and his bed, and the seconds of processing the information turned to realization.

That's why she had been concerned. His past of his prior life with Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, Cody and their campaign. The mission assigned by the Council to him disguised as Hardeen. The battle on the hell of Mustafar…

He rubbed the remnants of his grief away from his deep slumber. She nor anyone else could understand. "I'm fine, Aunt Sheila. I am. Really."

"Obi Wan-"

"I'm fine. It's just a nightmare."

His aunt gave him the look. That look, and Obi Wan wondered if this was how Anakin felt when he was interrogated every time he had gone to visit Padme–His heart lurched painfully at the thought of them, and it stabbed deeply into him, because Anakin didn't trust him with that knowledge.

You didn't give him any reasons to. The voice in his head mocked, the image of his face not of the bearded appearance but of the infamous Rako Hardeen. You lied to him, deceived him, and did so without any hesitation.

He ignored the pain of it.

"Obi Wan, if there is something you need to tell me, I need to know." Her face grew closer simultaneously with suspicion and concern, and Obi Wan struggled to meet her gaze. "Please. You can tell me anything. Who's Anakin?"

After being granted a new chance in this world, even despite being reborn in Kazimierz, for in his prior life, he had been taken away from his home in Stewjon, war had been rampant. He had seen brutality across multiple campaigns that he began to lose faith in what a Jedi stood for, what he stood for. Ahsoka had been right. The Jedi only cared about politics, forgone what they had meant to stand for, all for their own gain.

Though Obi Wan wanted to stand for a Jedi, to bring peace and justice, he could not. For his time on Tatooine in his old life, slavery had still run rampant, the torture and injustice, and he had never seen it before and now knew what Anakin had been through and that he had been completely wrong to try and enforce the path of the typical Jedi on Anakin. While he had remained true to the Light, Obi Wan found, even after his death, that his own faith in the Jedi had been shattered. He had guided Luke from the Force to kill his own father, but the son, the son that looked so much like his brother, could not. At that time, he did not know, simply trying to follow the remnants of the Code, a Code that even he no longer believed.

Many injustices he had seen and the Jedi had never bothered to lend assistance. Though circumstances such as the Clone Wars took away the Jedi from help, he knew that even before, the Jedi never considered the option. They had allowed the Republic and other worlds to atrophy. There was no justice. Only a fabrication that no one had bothered to notice, pretending as if everything was alright, while those who suffered from such conditions found no such assistance.

Dooku was right. Qui Gon had been right.

And as Obi Wan realized this, so did his trust in others, his trust in altruistic intentions, lessened. Men who served under him, clones who gave their lives for died, yet there was no comfort for Rex and Cody. How many did he lead that watched their brothers die, yet there was no comfort for them? No comfort for any that was caught in the crossfires of the Republic and Separatists.

There wasn't justice.

Obi Wan looked up at his aunt.

He didn't know his parents from his previous life. Like most other Jedi, he hardly knew them. As an Initiate and later Padawan under Qui Gon, he had occasionally wondered who they were, but the Jedi had enforced no contact and to remove themselves from any attachments, and Obi Wan eventually had stopped thinking of them. Qui Gon became akin to his father following his failures with Xanatos, and though Obi Wan had tried to maintain a professional relationship of a teacher and student, he found he could not and neither could his Master. Qui Gon had been his father then and there.

Now, Obi Wan was of Kazimierz, a nation of chivalry, his birthplace; a home located in a town. He used to be Obi Wan, a Jedi. Now? He was Obi Wan, born as a Kuranta to parents he did not know. His only parental figure was his aunt, her own features aging with flecks of gray in her auburn hair and wrinkles as he had in his previous life on Tatooine, raising him for a decade. When inquired, he was told they had been gone for work. Obi Wan supposed it wasn't far off from his parents in his previous life, having little to no knowledge of them. Yet with the Jedi no longer bearing down on him, he truly wondered what happened to his parents of this time now.

Obi Wan had spent a majority of his life previously detaching himself, now he could not. He was no longer a Jedi, and no longer he was an old man. He was a child, but a disconnect from what he used to be and what he was now was there.

He had only the Force and his aunt now.

"I'm fine. It's nothing." He smiled up at her with the same reassurance he gave to Leia when both had been hunted by the Inquisitors. "It's just a nightmare." Wasn't that the same thing he told Anakin of his mother? His voice fell flat and forced, and it took an effort that Obi Wan did not understand to even convince his aunt of such.

Her concerned gaze was wary and cautious. "Obi Wan…" She stared a moment longer, before relenting, but the look in her eyes told him that the conversation was far from over.

It had been the same look he had given Anakin when he had gone out doing illegal podracing or late to meetings because of… A sharp piercing pain, and rightfully so.

The hug he melted into, and Obi Wan wanted to spill everything, but she could not understand, and she could never; only he and the man he betrayed the trust of multiple times. "He's someone… someone that I and a couple other kids played with outside. I…" An azure blade crisscrossed to disembowel him, along with a face fueled by the rage that seemed to be enhanced on Mustafar, casting an eerie glow of crimson.

"We fought..."

"You turned her against me!"

"I-It was an a-accident. I-I didn't mean- I" His mouth opened to explain more, but he could not. It still hurt. And he melted into the embrace of his new parental figure once more. He could no longer contain his grief.

It was not an accident.

She whispered comforting words of reassurance that Obi Wan had never received since Qui Gon's death. Never received when Siri was killed, never had since Satine, and never since Anakin. The Jedi all told him to release his emotions, to accept it as a part of life, but how could he, when all that he cared for was gone, and he could have prevented it? It was part of the reason why the Jedi, he realized, were doomed.

She didn't understand, and the pain was still there, but the comfort of a parent to a child was what Obi Wan needed, and so he embraced her, crying until he had no more tears left to cry.

Breakfast consisted of porridge and bread, though Obi Wan felt his appetite dissipate after all that had happened earlier. His gaze was blank at the food in front of him and he had to force it down his throat only to appease the insistence of his aunt.

Even without the Force, Obi Wan could feel her gaze on him, her thoughts of speaking to the child and his parents if they did fight again; she couldn't even begin to understand, and Obi Wan only focused on the meal.

With the meal finished, Obi Wan pushed the bowl away. His aunt looked up at him. "Obi Wan? Hmm let's see…" Her eyes widened as she exclaimed. "Ah! I'm planning to go out shopping today. Do you want to come, Obi Wan?"

The town Obi Wan had lived in for the decade of his life since his aunt raised him was known as Southside, as it was one of the towns that lived in a small neighboring community of trade that in its very name, forked down. It was also where Obi Wan and his aunt did most of their shopping.

Their family wasn't exactly poor by any sense of the word, or lacking in funds, but the town seemed to prefer the life of a minimalism; technology seemed to also be limited, and Obi Wan was used to it, having been living on Tatooine watching over Luke. He had only ever come into contact with any form of it occasionally when reaching Mos Espa.

The radio in their room was their only form of technology, crackling as it produced a garbled noise of incomprehensive static. A few turns of the knob produced a tad more clear sounds, but still static. Obi Wan was still unsure of how to attempt to fix such a device, and he was concerned that any attempt would damage or even break it. Though he picked up on a few tips from Anakin during the Clone Wars, especially with field maintenance of his own lightsaber, comlinks, and other devices, he still wasn't someone like Anakin, who lived and breathed machinery. Anakin did build his own podracer and C3PO after all. Most of the Clone Wars he relied on Anakin, and following the rise of the Empire, Obi Wan abandoned the usage of a large portion of technology almost entirely in order to not be tracked by the Empire. Supposedly that it was his paranoia, but following Leia's kidnapping by the Inquisitors, Obi Wan felt it reaffirmed his decision to abandon usage of technology and relegate it only to pick up news.

"Is the radio still not working?" A sigh escaped his aunt's lips. She fiddled with it further, casting an apologetic expression towards her nephew when it still provided no clear voice. "It's alright, Obi Wan. We can fix it later. Do you want to come with me for now?"

He took a glance at the radio that Anakin would have located and fixed the source of the problem in less than ten seconds. "Okay." The two shut off the radio and departed their home.

Within a few seconds of departing, both of them greeted their neighbors across from them. Obi Wan just felt his embarrassment grow as many elders reached to pat him on the head, or pet his ears, which twitched sensitively and made him slightly move away. He could not help it.

For all that is good of the Force, please stop… Obi Wan could not help but groan. His aunt giggled.

Obi Wan Kenobi, legendary Jedi Master, was now being petted like a child. This was more than humiliating, there were no words to describe the feeling of being treated like a child, even if he was, and being called "adorable" and "cute" among various others. He bet Quinlan and Garen were cackling beyond the Force now.

Obi Wan Kenobi, renowned Jedi Master, was not cute!

Occasionally stopping to chat with neighbors, both managed to reach the stalls in the epicenter of the town, where a variety of products were being sold and shoppers were already milling about at the various goods.

His aunt looked around, before she glanced down at him. "Obi Wan. Do you want to follow me to go shopping?" Though she trusted him to go off on his own and not wander too far from her sight, Shiela, for taking care of Obi Wan since he was left in her care, still worried her as with any other parent.

Obi Wan knew what she was thinking, and though her concerns were largely unfounded, as Obi Wan for a majority of his lifetime prior, dealt with pirates and more suspicious groups that he knew across the galaxy. Nothing would faze him at this point, nor he would be gullible as many would expect a child to be. Even without the Force, Obi Wan knew which individual would have ulterior motives or intentions in mind.

"It's fine, Aunt Sheila. I'll be close."

His voice was reassuring and so she relented, after giving him a kiss that he was positively sure that Quinlan and Garen would be howling with laughter now, and she walked to a fruit stand, now leaving Obi Wan to his own devices, and a few LMD in hand.

Glancing around, Obi Wan let the Force flow through him as he felt the life presences of those in the vicinity of Southside.

While Obi Wan had yet to attempt any use of the Force, relegating it strictly to lifting small objects, he was glad he could sense all the lifeforms in the town. Pinpointing one of the presences surrounding her, which was far more warm, was his own aunt. However, despite it, Obi Wan knew that he would still have to relearn a large portion of his abilities.

Though he looked at the various stands of their goods, he assisted in shopping for any supplies or food they would need. Bargaining was one of the factors in obtaining goods, and though Obi Wan was not proud to admit it, he used the Mind Trick to influence the stands to give him the goods at a lower price. But he was no longer a Jedi, and any feeling of guilt of using the Force in such a manner vanished as well.

Walking around the stalls with bags of goods in hands and an amount of LMD left, Obi Wan checked out a few more stalls for any goods that he or his aunt would need. At a stall for wares, Obi Wan examined various tools.

"See something you like, young man?"

Obi Wan glanced up at the owner, a Kuranta who was aging around his aunt, giving a smile. "Just checking right now, sir. I'm not sure yet."

The man heartily chuckled. "Well, if there's anything that catches your interest, let me know!"

"Thank you, sir!" Obi Wan looked over at the various tools and contraptions on the stand for any use in their home.

Picking up one of the tools, he glanced at it, attempting to recall its purpose but failing to do so utterly. It had always been Anakin to figure out the purpose of tools for devices, not him, and he cursed his lack of knowledge, setting it down.

"Obi Wan, finished yet?!"

Obi Wan turned to look up at his aunt. "Yes, Aunt Sheila!"

"We can stay longer, if you wish." The voice of Anakin pervaded him, and Obi Wan shook his head.

"It's fine. I was just about done anyway."

The departure to home was brief, and Obi Wan enjoyed the breeze, the bags in their hands shifting of goods.

He would make most of the new life he had now, but he knew that even so, Anakin would always be there.

The past would come back to him, one form or another.