Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 8

Bruce stared at the footage that Barbara had eventually found, the footage that had led them to the warehouse…Tim fighting against the Joker and several of his goons. He was so small… but the way he fought, he was so brilliant, not giving up at all, fighting until he was subdued, still wriggling as he was pinned until suddenly going limp, unconscious. His limp form was hauled up and thrown over a shoulder, carried away.

Dick had told him that a member of YJ had come to Gotham and was positive that no one had died in that warehouse. But if that was the case…where was Tim? Had he gotten away somehow before they arrived and died elsewhere? But that wouldn't explain the Joker's state, he'd been surprised and sure that he had Robin, that the boy was unable to really move. Every ally they could think of had been contacted, the Lanterns were checking with every alien race they thought might be able to sneak Tim off earth for any reason…and there was still nothing. At least if they had a body…

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Obi-Wan dropped behind cover, checking the power pack of his blaster. He really, really missed his lightsabre.

"Hurt?" Myles asked.

"Nayc," Obi-Wan answered, one of the few words he'd learnt so far. The Halls were better defended than they'd thought, considering how could the Mando scouts were, that was…concerning.

He felt the brush of concern from Tim and assured the older boy. He had felt Tim's shock when he'd shot and killed an Elder and remembered Tim's whispered admission that he'd never killed before, that on his planet, working with law enforcement killing had been out of the question. Wouldn't that be nice? Obi-Wan popped up again and took a few more shots before ducking back into cover. He then felt Master Koon checking on them, feeling his concern over the resistance they were facing. At least their blasters were still as bad as ever, they hadn't gotten off world help or anything. The Mandalorians would have detected other ships anyway.

But then the doors gave way and they were moving.

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Tim slid under the arm of an adult, spinning quickly to grab his arm, hearing the limb break even as he slammed the soldier into the pillar, the man dropping limp to the ground. Tim quickly disarmed and bound him; the plan wasn't to just wipe everyone out after all. He drew his beskad, slamming it into someone's ribs, hearing them wheeze in pain, letting him grab their blaster.

And then another soldier was launched into the air, flying across the room to slam into several others, was that… he looked over to see Obi-Wan panting slightly. Okay, that, that was cool. Could he do that too? He knew better than to try in the middle of a fight and with no clue how though. He sensed incoming intent and spun, beskad impacting an extended wrist. Don't get distracted in a fight.

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Plo's sabre spun swiftly as he acted in defence of the Young with his group, the children firing around his wall of protective spinning plasma. The Mandalorian's armour barely reacted to the shots if they landed but the durasteel would not be as impenetrable to the weapons the adults aimed on the children. He was keeping a distant 'eye' on the other groups, relieved they seemed to be making progress too.

He felt the sudden lack of fighting at…Jaster's group had succeeded, and soon after, so had the one with the boys. One base and one Hall taken then.

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Jaster was relieved to see his ade, both…no, that was blood on Tim's armour and he was holding the arm carefully still. The sooner he had proper beskar'gam rather than the durasteel version, the better. Tim either saw or sensed his appraisal and flashed a hand sign for fine. Right, where was…there was Mij, already headed right for Tim, Jango's shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter as he spotted the approaching baar'ur. Tim slumped but turned to Mij even as Jaster reached them.

"I'm okay," Tim tried to assure them all, but Mij grabbed his arm, releasing the damaged armour plate to inspect his arm.

"Not too bad," Mij admitted, slapping a bacta wrap on the wound. And then he was inspecting Jaster and Jango before moving towards a head of red hair.

"Now comes the hard part," Jango muttered.

"Isn't fighting the hard part?" Tim asked teasingly, and Jango shuddered, making Jaster and Tim laugh at him, they knew very well that Jango preferred fighting to politics.

Soon they were joined by the three Young leaders and Koon. Jaster smiled when Obi-Wan stood beside Tim, their arms brushing. He'd thought at first that he might end up with another ad but now he thought that would be rather awkward in a few years, if Obi-Wan didn't return to the jetii anyways.

Still…. he couldn't fully relax, something still felt off.

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"Obi-Wan?"

He looked at Tim, wishing he could see his face rather than just the helmet. "Something feels…wrong."

Tim's helmet tipped to the side slightly. "But what…"

A lightsabre hissed to life and they both spun, seeing Master Koon in front of Cerasi, blocking two blaster bolts, sending them safely into the ground rather than returning them in the direction of the shooter. Obi-Wan found himself being yanked back behind Tim and Jango, but Tim's armour wasn't blaster proof! Sure, it could take distant hits but as Tim's injury proved, it wasn't as good as the others armour. Apparently his was still more like training armour, that Tim fought differently to most of them so they were still working on his proper armour. Obi-Wan had seen him in the battle and he did move different to the other human Mandalorians, he was a lot more acrobatic though not as much as many jedi in that he wasn't really using the Force to enhance what he did.

"Cerasi!" Neild yelled in shock.

"I…I'm fine," she called back even as Obi-Wan pushed his way to her, Tim and Jango right with him, both with blasters in hand.

Two of the soldiers landed, a struggling figure between them, and Obi-Wan's heart sank. He didn't know the boys' name…but he was one of Mawat's, one of the Scavenger Young. Why had he shot at Cerasi…no, no way…but Mawat's message had been very clear when they contacted him. But he wouldn't go this far, would he? He wouldn't try to force them to fight until the Elders were all dead, would he?

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Jango grimaced, the shooter was an ad, that wasn't good. They had thought the children were all part of the Young, on the same side, had they been wrong? A glance at Obi-Wan showed shock and horror, and the other Young seemed just as shocked. No one on the ground seemed involved which was good. They didn't need more fighting breaking out. But why would the ad shoot at one of the leaders? There had been no captives near Cerasi, no threat to her that he might have been trying to aim at. So, what was going on?

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Plo stared at the child, Obi-Wan and Tim with him. he had to have a representative from both forces present to question the child but he had no problem with that. Obi-Wan would know he would not harm the boy but it was also good to have others there to hear the answers. And he was leaving Obi-Wan to actually ask the questions since he knew the boy, instead there as backup and to make sure the answers were truthful by listening to the Force at a Master's level.

Obi-Wan was kneeling before the younger boy, talking gently, something he was good at. He had never understood some of the comments in the boy's file when he looked at it. Obi-Wan was highly empathetic, no angrier than any other human teenager. No, it seemed there was something missing from Obi-Wan's official records and that concerned Plo and a few others. But once he had become a Padawan, he was very rarely in the Temple for them to investigate. And before…he had vanished to Bandomeer before he ever actually turned thirteen and Plo suspected Yoda's hand in that, why else would he be on the same ship as Jinn?

Young Tim is doing well in not appearing threatening, despite his armour, he had even removed his helmet to help with that. Bright blue eyes watched everything and Plo picked up on an old scar just by his hairline, several years old at least. A fight or just childhood shenanigans?

All anyone needed to do was meet him and his family to realise that there were many misunderstanding about Mandalorians amongst the galaxy. He knew they were stories told amongst the Younglings to scare them and while they were dangerous, even to Jedi…it had been a very long time since the wars between them. If they could foster some kind of working relationship…the Jedi did not have the numbers for so many things but if they could work with Mandalore they would have a chance. But the Senate would never allow it. He did agree with Yan on one thing, they were too closely tied to the Senate's whims.

He focused fully on the discussion as he felt the spike of emotional pain from Obi-Wan.

"Why Lian?" he asked.

"Mawat said…said we're not safe if the Elders live. The war would come back once the strangers leave. So, they have to die first."

"But Cerasi?"

The boy, Lian, sniffled, and Tim knelt down to gently wipe his face for him.

"It's alright ad," he murmured. "Here," he offered a ration bar.

"If…if she died…then war…" the boy sobbed.

"Cerasi is the most popular of the three of you, if she died, she'd be a martyr," Tim murmured, and Obi-Wan nodded.

"We need to find the other Scavengers," Obi-Wan stated.

"Sorry…sorry…didn't want…"

"Shh, it's okay," Tim hugged the boy, rocking him gently as Lian clung to his armour. He looked up at Obi-Wan and Plo. "We need to stop this."

Plo nodded in agreement. They hadn't even been able to start peace talks yet and already someone was attempting to sabotage them.

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Barbara sat back from her screens, pushing her glasses up. In not even a year, everything had changed. Tim…he was such a bright kid, so eager to learn and help, but also shy, unsure…and she was pretty sure she knew why. How had they never noticed the boy living next to the Manor? Or the child following them across the rooftops?

He had changed all of their lives, made things better since Jay…since Jason's death. And now he was gone. Dick was so sure that Tim was alive somewhere and she wanted to believe it but there was no evidence at all. She had to be realistic, she couldn't just hope blindly. If Tim was alive, he would have come home or found a way to reach out by now. Sooner or later, Dick was going to be faced with that and he was going to crash. Bruce…Bruce wasn't as bad as he'd been when Jason died but he had backslid. Dick staying close was helping a bit, though they were arguing over Dick's refusal to give up on Tim.

For the moment, it was an open case still, her fake footage fooling the police into thinking he'd been kidnapped. The family had barely been looked at over it, no one believed Brucie Wayne would have anything to do with his foster son being taken and Dick had been out of town on vacation when it happened so he was in the clear too. It was the best cover they had, they had to be careful to not bring too much suspicion on them and with Jason's death not even two years ago… her Dad was personally watching over Tim's case, frustrated by the lack of evidence, and adding to his stress made her feel horrible, but what else could they do?

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Jaster ran a hand through his hair but then smiled as his youngest joined him, lifting an arm to let the ad curl into his side, gently petting soft black hair. "How's the arm?" he asked.

"A little sore," Tim admitted, but he did answer. It had taken months to get him to realise that he was allowed, even meant, to tell people when he was in pain.

"I'm proud of you, you've done so well. I'm just sorry you had to face all of this so soon," Jaster admitted.

"It was going to happen eventually, we'll have to face Kyr'tsad in battle sooner or later," Tim pointed out. His youngest could be so logical, so much his ori'vods opposite in many ways.

In the safety of the ship and with the battle done they had stripped out of their armour, which made Tim pressing into his side more comfortable. Jango soon joined them, flopping down opposite them. His eldest didn't seek out physical comfort much anymore but he also never commented on Tim doing so, it was obvious to anyone that Tim had been neglected, had been starved for affection. It was part of why Jango was so protective of his vod, ensuring no one took advantage of Tim. But Jaster didn't think it was a risk, Tim wasn't an overly trusting person and he had to trust someone to let them touch him.

"What are we going to do now buir? We thought the Young were united but it seems they're not," Jango asked.

"It complicates things a little," he admitted.

"We grab Mawat and the others will back down, he's got them convinced all the Elders need to die, that the war has to be finished. Without him, they'll fold," Tim murmured sleepily. Ba'jurir Koon agrees, he finished in dadita.

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Neild was angry, so angry. They'd trusted Mawat! How could he betray them? To target Cerasi… yes, he hated the Elders and wanted them gone but he could also understand why that wouldn't work if they wanted to stay on the planet. He found himself wondering if maybe…if maybe they were right and it'd be better to leave…

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"Master Koon?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes Padawan?" the Master opened his eyes as their meditation ended.

"Can the AgriCorps help?"

"Perhaps," was the calm answer. "But the Senate will not allow such things until there is a definite and provable peace. Even then, there is no guarantee we will be allowed to intervene."

Obi-Wan frowned but nodded, the Jedi, even the Corps would need permission to help the planet recover. And even if they were allowed, there was no guarantee it would work. The planet was not in good condition as he'd warned the others before. Honestly, it'd be easier to just abandon it if there was somewhere safe to move everyone. Maybe they could send the different factions to different planets? But how to keep the Young safe.

"Peace, Obi-Wan," Master Koon's voice was calm and deep, soothing. A hand rested on his shoulder and Obi-Wan couldn't help leaning into the touch. "You are not alone Padawan."

"I…" he took a shaky breath. "Being a Jedi Knight is all I've ever wanted," he whispered. "But I…I don't think I can go back to the Temple."

He waited to be scolded but nothing happened, the hand remaining gently on his shoulder.

"You have been alone for a year, young one. To rethink your future is only natural after the way the Order failed you."

That had Obi-Wan jerking, staring at the Master with wide eyes. He'd failed the Order, not the other way around!

"There is time, Obi-Wan, I will not pressure you to make any decision but know that if you do choose to return to the Temple, I would be honoured if you would accept me as your Master."

And his jaw just hit the deck.

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Tim blinked awake, laying in his bunk, unsure what…Obi-Wan? He got up and pulled on a coat over his sleepwear before slipping out of the room and then outside of the ship. He was surprised to realise that Obi-Wan was sitting on top of the ship, but he quickly moved to join him, used to scaling things from years in Gotham. "Hey, you okay?" he asked softly as he sat beside him, letting their arms brush.

Obi-Wan took a shaky breath. "He…he asked me to be his Padawan," the younger teen finally whispered.

"Is that bad?" he asked since the way Obi-Wan was acting suggested it was.

"I don't know. Why now? Why not before I aged out and was sent away? And why would he want me now, after a year of war…"

Tim tugged Obi-Wan into his side, glad he wasn't wearing any of his armour, the war was over after all and if someone did attack between the two of them, they'd sense it coming. "I think only he can answer those questions," he admitted. "But you also have other options Tim. I'm sure the Young want you to stay with them and if you don't want that…you could come with us, to Mandalore."

"What?" Blue-gray eyes were wide in shock and Tim shrugged.

"I've caught at least three verd'e watching you with the adoption look in their eyes," Tim offered. "And even without adoption, you could still come with us, not all Foundlings want to be adopted. I've heard a few Mando already offering adoption to some of the Young, and some have accepted so you wouldn't be alone either." He was glad for the ones who had said yes, sure, they had their own war but it was nothing like this and ade were protected above everything else.

"Just think about it Obi-Wan, you have options and there's no rush. We'll be staying until after the Evaar Mando'ade, the uh…New Mandalorians get here. They're pacificists, buir doesn't really like them since they won't even fight in self-defence, but they can help with more medics and supplies." He leant closer. "And it gets them out of buir's hair for a while."

Happily, that got a small snort of amusement from Obi-Wan. "Thanks."

"Come on, it's getting cold and we both need sleep. You can bunk with me and Jango if you want the company, though fair warning, he snores."

That got a smile even as Obi-Wan just dropped down, Tim climbed halfway and then dropped the rest of the way down. "The Creche is pretty communal, I'm used to sleeping through snoring."

So, Tim led him back to their bunk room and stripped off his coat and shoes before handing Obi-Wan something to change into since he'd apparently not gone to bed at all yet. Obi-Wan changed and carefully crawled in beside him, Jango asleep in the top bunk. Usually, Jango had the room to himself but with Tim along, they had shared the room. Privilege of rank and all that. He was happy that Obi-Wan fell asleep quickly, he really needed it. He wrapped an arm around the still far too skinny teen to help make sure he didn't fall off the bunk and settled in to sleep as well.

TBC…

Nayc- no

Obi-Wan has been given options! Poor overwhelmed kid.