Chapter 1 - De-Aged
Plot: On Mandalore, Maul de-ages Obi-Wan back to right after he became a padawan, intending to forcibly make him his apprentice. Anakin and Ahsoka show up in time to rescue him but now they're stuck with a teenage padawan Obi-Wan and with no idea if they can ever reverse what happened.
"Something wrong, Master?"
Anakin looks up at the sound of Ahsoka's voice, from where he's supposed to be working on one of the wrecked ships in his main cruiser's hanger.
Ahsoka's sitting on the wing, passing him tools when he asks for them.
He nods mutely, reaching deeper into the Force. It's ringing with a sense of wrongness that's only growing and growing, and it has something to do with – "Yes. I think Obi-Wan needs help."
"Considering the ship he took, that's no shock," Ahsoka deadpans.
"It was the only one flyable," Anakin defends. Obi-Wan left for Mandalore with little explanation, except that he needed a ship that wasn't considered Republic or Jedi property since this wasn't an official mission. Something going on with Satine and Death Watch, was the most Anakin gathered.
Giving him the falling apart Twilight had been funny just to see the look on his face but it was also the only help Anakin could even offer him.
"I know." She swings her legs, hopping off the edge of the fighter to the floor. "Do you know what's happening?"
"He feels – wrong. I can't explain it." It's almost like his bond with him is suddenly hazed over and distant, in a way it never is. Something about it screams of sheer wrongness. It's only getting worse. "But I think he needs our help."
He wanted to go earlier and he'd told Palpatine about it, but the Chancellor had cautioned him that more than one Jedi going there could cause serious legal issues. Which he understands but –
If Obi-Wan's in actual trouble that he can't get himself out of, Anakin's not going to just do nothing.
"Hardly the first time," Ahsoka snips, "Let's get going."
**w**
The room around him is completely unfamiliar. He's lying on his back and – actually, what's happening?
Obi-Wan sits up with a start, blinking in total confusion at the room. There's Mandalorians in the room and there's two tattooed Zabraks at the front of the room, both of whom have lightsabers but they do not look like Jedi. Or feel like Jedi.
The air feels cold, dark, in a way Obi-Wan's never felt before.
Is... is this the Dark Side?
Wait, why are there Mandalorians here?
And why is there a dead body lying on the floor in front of him? The woman has blonde hair and something about her seems familiar but he's never seen her in his life.
And how did he get here because it certainly doesn't look like the Jedi Temple, and despite being a sixteen-year-old padawan, Obi-Wan has yet to leave the Jedi Temple. Nor does he know why he doesn't have the slightest recollection of how he got here.
The fear starts to build instantly. He was supposed to be going to class, meeting up with Qui-Gon, and –
He could swear he knows how he got here but he can't remember a thing.
But – He's supposed to be a Jedi. Jedi don't panic just because something goes wrong. And he's been waiting for some kind of mission for so long. He's tired of being stuck at the Temple and he's not gonna mess up this chance.
The fear tight in his chest stubbornly refuses to recede, though.
"Who are you?" Obi-Wan demands, standing.
"I see that it worked," the red and black Zabrak replies gleefully. He's holding some holocron that's glowing an eerie red.
It looks Dark. This is the Dark Side, isn't it?
"What are you?" Obi-Wan demands again, "You can't be a Jedi." A Fallen one, maybe? But why has he never heard of him until now?
He scoffs. It sounds dark and unpleasant. "I'm a Sith."
Obi-Wan's brain freezes for a moment.
He – what - ?
But the Sith are gone. Right?
But why would someone lie about that? Does that have something to do with how he got here and doesn't even remember? But why would a Sith take him, a insignificant padawan?
Whatever the reasons, he knows he needs to stop him. If this is a Sith, he has to tell the other Jedi. He has to stop him. How could one even be alive?
Obi-Wan looks around the room, gaze landing on his lightsaber in one of the Mandalorian's hands. He rips it away, igniting the blade and lunging forward.
He's never fought any battle before but – He has to do this. It's his duty.
The Mandalorians raise their blasters behind him.
The Sith looks amused, and he flicks out a hand, and Obi-Wan suddenly feels a crushing pressure around his neck. Fear bubbles in his chest, as he tries to suck in a breath but he can't – he can't –
So much for stopping a Sith.
He can't breathe.
He's going to die here. Isn't he? He hasn't even gotten the chance to do anything yet and now he's never going to and –
He can't –
Anything.
It's the last he has time to think before his vision starts to go dark.
**w**
Getting onto Mandalore isn't hard. There's two groups of Mandalorians fighting each other so Anakin and Ahsoka take off to the prison together. Anakin disguises himself as a guard and Ahsoka dresses up a prisoner – there's no other way to get in unnoticed.
No one tries to stop them, though.
"Something does feel wrong," Ahsoka mutters, once they're in the elevator together.
"The Dark Side," Anakin acknowledges. He doesn't like it.
They check prison logs, finding the cell where Obi-Wan's being kept and go straight there.
Anakin opens the glass cell door and someone jumps him. Anakin stumbles back, pushing him off. The tackle wasn't very well timed, not nearly enough to catch him off-guard.
What does catch him off-guard is... who's standing in the cell.
Because it's definitely not his former master.
It's a teenage boy with a padawan braid who's hair is identical Obi-Wan's and actually – he looks suspiciously like Obi-Wan did when Anakin first met him, just... younger. Much younger.
And why does he feel so much like him...?
"How'd a padawan get here?" Ahsoka asks incredulously.
The boy's eyes land on her braid., as Anakin pulls his helmet off. There's no recognition in his look though. "You're Jedi?" he asks hopefully.
"We are," Anakin confirms, "Who are you?"
"I'm Obi-Wan," he replies, adding his last name as an afterthought, "There's a Sith here. I think. If we hurry, maybe we can find him together – "
Wait.
Oh no.
The rest of his words pretty much go over Anakin's head entirely.
"You are Obi-Wan?" he repeats incredulously.
"Yes?" He pauses, sounding a little uncertain.
The boy isn't lying. He feels a bit like Obi-Wan too, and suddenly the way their bond is muted over and different makes too much sense. Because somehow, Obi-Wan was turned into this.
A child again.
That – is actually the funniest thing that's happened in a long time, even if he knows it's not funny at all. Also, he's kind of adorable.
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Ahsoka protests, looking between Obi-Wan and Anakin in confusion, as though either of them could give her an explanation about what's happening right now.
"I don't know how I got here either," Obi-Wan says, though he seems confused as to what they're so confused about.
Alright. They need to take this one thing at a time.
"Come on," Anakin urges, "We better talk about this on the way back to the Temple."
"But what about the Sith?" Obi-Wan objects as he follows Anakin out into the hall, "We have to stop him!"
That he's mentioning a Sith finally clicks in Anakin's head. It's not likely it's Dooku and that means there's only person it could be.
Maul.
He'll never forget how Maul killed Qui-Gon and nor can he ever forget how scared he was that Maul was going to kill Obi-Wan too. He'd come back from that mission to fight Maul so badly beaten up and he'd had worse but he could have died there. Anakin can't forget how close that came.
He wants to end him. Or at least to have him safely in custody where he can't hurt anyone anymore. But now's not the time for this. He's never going to take Ahsoka into something like that and Obi-Wan is a child just as young as her, with probably far less experience.
"The Sith is... another long story for later. We will see if we can find him when we're leaving," Anakin replies, "But Mandalore is not friendly to the Jedi right now. We cannot linger here."
"We're just going to let the Sith get away?" Obi-Wan protests, appalled.
He'll never get over hearing how childish he sounds.
"Not get away," Ahsoka interjects, "But we aren't even supposed to be here. Hurry. I think someone's coming."
**w**
They manage to get off Mandalore mostly without incident. They're briefly intercepted by a group of Mandalorians, one of whom tells him that Maul's disappeared – though that could mean anything – and his forces are fighting against other Mandalorians. It's an internal matter now, nothing they're allowed to interfere in.
"This will sound insane," Anakin says dryly, "But... Maul must have de-aged you."
Obi-Wan blinks, tearing his eyes away from the hyperspace swirls outside the window, as though it's the first time he's ever seen it, "What?"
It's all Anakin can do not to laugh even if he's admittedly a little freaked out. "You're not supposed to be like this. I don't know how old you are now but you're supposed to be like – two decades older. I was your padawan."
"My padawan?" Obi-Wan nearly squeaks, "But I just became a padawan. That – that doesn't make sense!"
"None of us understand," Ahsoka replies cheerily, "But I'm your grand-padawan."
"So I'm like – in the future?" He sounds so incredulous.
Anakin shouldn't find it funny but if he didn't laugh, he'd be panicking about well – the long list of problems this could cause. Like that Obi-Wan doesn't even remember him and he has no idea if this is permanent.
The notion feels as unreal and ridiculous as this entire situation. He can't just basically lose his master like that. Hopefully when they get back to Coruscant, the Council will know what to do. Because Anakin certainly doesn't.
"Basically, you are," Anakin agrees.
"Is Master Qui-Gon around?" Obi-Wan asks and Anakin freezes.
"Where's Qui-Gon sir?"
"He – he's gone, Anakin."
He'll never forget that moment or the horror and denial and grief that followed. He'll never forget those moments at Qui-Gon's funeral, trying to... deal with the emptiness of him being gone when he was the only one who stood up for him. It was that loss that made him and Obi-Wan grow close.
And now Obi-Wan doesn't even know that Qui-Gon's dead. That's going to be –
Ahsoka's eyeing Anakin, eyes flickering with worry.
"Obi-Wan, this... isn't going to be easy to hear but he's gone. I'm sorry." There's no way to say that bluntly.
Obi-Wan jerks, eyes widening. "What? But – How?"
"It was almost thirteen years ago," Anakin replies numbly. It still hurts even now, when he thinks about it. Sometimes, there's still moments he thinks he can sense Qui-Gon's presence even if that doesn't make sense and for a moment, he almost thinks he senses him right now. Almost as though there's a hand touching his shoulder, the same way Qui-Gon did so many years ago in front of the Council when he defied some of the most powerful people in the galaxy for Anakin, something no one had done for him once in his life, "You were on a mission with him on Naboo. That Sith Lord you saw on Mandalore, he – You fought him and Qui-Gon was lost."
Obi-Wan's quiet a long pause, obviously shocked as he absorbs the words. "He – he's the one who did it?"
Anakin nods.
Ahsoka's worried blue eyes meet Anakin's. He can feel her concern for both of them.
"Then why didn't we even try to stop him?!" Obi-Wan demands finally, jolting forward, "How could no one have stopped him yet?"
"Believe me, there is nothing I want to do more than bring him to justice but risking you and Ahsoka would not have helped and we had no way to find him by the time I arrived," Anakin replies, "I do not understand how he is still alive, as it is. For years, the Jedi believed you killed him on Naboo. But I'll go to the Council will all of this. They should know what to do."
Obi-Wan falls quiet, the words obviously still sinking in.
"This might not be the time to ask," Ahsoka starts hesitantly, shifting a bit in the copliot's seat next to Anakin, "But what was Master Qui-Gon like? I never got to meet him but I've heard a bit about him from both of you before."
Anakin takes a moment to try and actually think of how to describe him. Most of what he thinks about when he remembers Qui-Gon is too personal and painful to try explaining – to talk about the day the Council turned him down and how Obi-Wan had been treating him back then.
"I haven't known him all that long," Obi-Wan speaks first, "I didn't become a padawan long ago but he's interested in prophecies and he's always meditating. He even says there's such a thing as battle meditation but I don't believe him." He makes a face and it's all Anakin can do not to laugh, despite the pain in his heart.
"There is," Anakin promises, "But I can't say you or I ever really did it."
Obi-Wan looks very dubious.
"Sixteen's kind of old to become a padawan," Ahsoka comments.
Obi-Wan's expression dims a little. "I was the last of my clan taken."
"I only knew Qui-Gon for a few days," Anakin reflects, back to previous topic, "But he was... kind. The Council said he was rogue. He went out of his way to help me when he didn't have to. It wasn't his mission but he did it anyway. Obi-Wan told me later he was always like that. He never really did things the way the Council said." Anakin can't help wondering sometimes, what it would have been like if Qui-Gon had survived. He can't imagine Obi-Wan ever not training him, for as hard of a time as they had often with each other, but if Qui-Gon had been there to help them through their master-padawanship, he thinks it would've been... easier.
Having a padawan can be hard. After three years of training Ahsoka, Anakin thinks he can understand Obi-Wan's own issues with it a little better, even if his former master never really talked about whether he had issues knowing how to handle situations.
Ahsoka nods, gaze wistful. "I wish I could've met him."
"I wish you could have too," Anakin replies quietly.
He could almost swear he feels Qui-Gon's Force presence shift next to him right now, offering a silent comfort. And it helps even if he doesn't really understand what it means.
**w**
"Reverted to a child, Master Kenobi has? How embarrassing. How embarrassing."
Anakin thinks most of the Council seem about as amused as Yoda himself.
Obi-Wan just looks flustered and a bit sullen, enough that Anakin almost feels bad for him. This would be awkward for anyone – especially when it's not like he was just de-aged. He doesn't even remember the life he lived after that.
"The Council will look into this matter," Windu declares, "But for now, we have no way of knowing if this is reversible."
What if it's not? The possibility never felt quite so real until right now.
And if it does, then – Obi-Wan's never going to remember him. He can't imagine that.
"Until then, we will have to assume it will not. Anakin, you can keep an eye on Padawan Kenobi along with your own padawan for now. But first, he need to be caught up on present affairs. Perhaps he needs a few weeks of classes at the Temple first."
The other Council members murmur their agreement.
Obi-Wan just looks lost.
Watching over Obi-Wan will be weird but they don't have much other choice.
**w**
In the end, Anakin doesn't have more than half an hour to try getting Obi-Wan adjusted because he and Ahsoka are sent off on a mission elsewhere. There's never time to stay at the Temple since the start of the war, to be fair.
They're about to board the shuttle to leave when Obi-Wan runs up.
"I thought you were in class," Anakin says, giving him a half smile.
"I was," he says, squirming a bit.
He already misses joking with his former master.
This Obi-Wan is recently being way more reserved and just – distant, but that's natural if he doesn't even remember him.
"Are you sure you can't take me with you?" He sounds so hopeful. A childish hopefulness that Anakin remembers feeling in the beginning about missions.
"I would like to," Anakin admits, "But you're not ready for that yet. These aren't normal missions like what you might be used to – "
"I haven't even gotten to go on a mission before," he protests.
Ahsoka's eye markings raise. "You haven't?"
Well, that proves Anakin's point even more.
"Qui-Gon never let me. I don't know why." He's squirming again, like he's uncomfortable talking about this. He seems upset, though. Anakin would ask but he doesn't know if now's the time or if Obi-Wan wants to explain what else is wrong.
"I promise I'll come back and take you on a mission in a couple weeks, okay?" he says, finally, "But this is war. Padawans die every day out there. You have to be ready for it."
Obi-Wan nods sullenly.
Obi-Wan listening to him is the most bizarre thing that's happened in his entire life, for many reasons.
Ahsoka waves a goodbye to him as they go onto the ship.
"He's weird," she remarks, "I keep forgetting he's Master Obi-Wan."
"Me too," Anakin admits with a laugh.
**w**
The next two weeks at the Temple are... miserable. Obi-Wan thought it would be easy enough but everything feels different now. No one he knew is still here either.
He asked about Siri but she's gone away fighting in the war. She's already trained a padawan herself.
The same is true for his other former creche mates. One of them is apparently even dead, killed in the war.
They've all moved on. He shouldn't miss them so much because that's not the Jedi way but he can't help it. They all have their own lives as Jedi Knights and he's stuck as a padawan again. And apparently he did have a padawan but he doesn't remember Anakin anymore, even if there's something about him that feels familiar. He feels an inexplicable fondness for him, something that feels more like – someone to watch over than as a Knight who's watching over him but everything's different now.
And Qui-Gon is dead.
Gone.
It would still feel unreal if not for the fact that Obi-Wan went to Qui-Gon's room just to see and his room was given to someone else. He's really gone and now Obi-Wan doesn't even have a master anymore.
It's even more bizarre to hear that Qui-Gon's master is leading a war against the Jedi. There's talk about him being Fallen and a Sith too, and Obi-Wan never met Dooku in his life, but he has no idea how he could be this.
Or how any former Jedi could be killing other Jedi with no remorse, just for their own power. The galaxy is a mess.
He doesn't think Jedi are supposed to be leading on the frontlines either, or at least he doesn't really think it's something Qui-Gon would have liked. Though it's hard to say because he's hardly even known him for long, but that does little to chase away the hollow emptiness inside of him when he thinks about his loss.
Qui-Gon was supposed to be the next person he connected with, after his creche mates were gone. They were already close with their own masters and he was left behind and now Qui-Gon's gone too.
Obi-Wan doesn't even feel like he has an idea how to be a padawan and he doesn't know if any other master is even going to want him or – what.
It's stupid that he can't shake the tight fear in his chest that if he disappeared right now, he has such little presence in the Order and the Force that no one would notice anyway.
A Jedi isn't supposed to be afraid of things like that and he has to be a good Jedi but even before he got de-aged, back when he was under Qui-Gon he didn't feel like he had a clue what he was doing. Like he was constantly disappointing his master somehow because why else did Qui-Gon not take him on a mission?
And now, he can't stop fearing that maybe this is all happening because he's not intended to make it as a Jedi.
But... he had a padawan so that can't be true but...
He doesn't know what to think.
It's so lonely, though, which is stupid because he's surrounded by other padawans who are very eager to talk to him – though they keep expecting the Jedi master he doesn't remember being. Maybe that's half of what's frustrating him so much.
He just misses his old creche mates but he doesn't even know the last time any of them spoke to him. He doubts they'd bother from their Jedi duties to talk to him either and they probably shouldn't because they're busy with important things, but he misses the days before they all started becoming padawans. Which is stupid because becoming padawans is what every youngling dreams of constantly, including him.
Maybe...
He just wishes Anakin would come back.
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