Fic: White Rabbits (Star Wars, 23/?)

[butterfly]

Title: White Rabbits
Chapter: 23/?
Author: Diana Michelle (butterfly)
Warnings: Spoilers for Revenge of the Sith.
Pairing: Anakin/Obi-Wan.
Rating: PG/PG-13.
Summary: Obi-Wan and Luke each find out something new about the Jedi.
Disclaimer: Not Lucas, don't own a thing, not making any money.
Chapter Index

Chapter Twenty-Three -- Immortality

Every step out of the Temple tested Obi-Wan’s resolve.

 

Eventually, he paused at the mouth of a long corridor that he knew wound along the edges of the building, connecting with every balcony on this level. A stone had fallen from the middle of the archway and was in pieces on the floor of the hall. Each of the stones had had a single letter carved on it, and together the letters had formed a name.

 

This used to be the doorway of Mahrehi Khunaul, Jedi Knight.

 

The archways were so high, and the lettering so old and worn, that even the Jedi sometimes had difficulty reading the names. Perhaps even the Jedi wouldn’t have been able to read them, if they didn’t already know that they were there.

 

For some reason, the thought made Obi-Wan uneasy, and he moved past the next archways quickly.

 

He glanced back to check on Anakin, who was soldiering on, head down. The Temple had been Anakin’s home as well, though not his favored one. Still, Anakin had been fond of it, enough to speak longingly of seeing the Temple gardens again when they were on missions. Seeing it like this couldn’t be easy on him, even without counting in the impact of the emotional echoes.

 

“Obi-Wan,” Luke said, jogging up to walk at Obi-Wan’s side. “I wanted to ask you something.”

 

“Yes, Luke,” Obi-Wan prompted. “Go right ahead.”

 

“Back inside, Anakin said that he’s not your… Padawan anymore,” Luke said. “Is that the same as an apprentice?”

 

“I didn’t mention that to you, either, I suppose?” Obi-Wan asked. “It is, after a fashion. It’s strictly a Jedi term – you’d never speak of an artisan’s apprentice or a scholar's student as being a Padawan.”

 

“You know, it sounds like you skipped over a lot in your lessons,” Luke said. That much certainly seemed to be true. Background and vocabulary had been the first things that he’d taught Anakin, much to Anakin’s obvious distress. He couldn’t imagine just how he’d managed to train Luke without mentioning basic Jedi history.

 

“So it would seem,” Obi-Wan said. “Luke, just how much time did you spend as my apprentice?”

 

“Well, that depends,” Luke said. They were walking between the entrance pillars now – they’d spent rather more time inside than Obi-Wan had thought, as the sun was already sinking down below the city-line. Luke seemed particularly suited to sunset, his profile limned vermilion.

 

“I’m afraid that I don’t follow you,” Obi-Wan said.

 

“From the time that I ran into you on Tatooine to the time you died, well, it was really only a matter of days,” Luke said. “But you didn’t stop teaching me after that.”

 

“I’ve taught you since my death?” Obi-Wan asked, stopping on the steps. “And how, exactly, did I manage that?”

 

“You came back to me, to teach me the other things that I needed to know,” Luke said, putting a hand on Obi-Wan’s right arm.

 

“After I died, I came back to you?” Obi-Wan asked.

 

“That’s not one of those Jedi things?” Luke asked.

 

“No.” Obi-Wan said. There was a bit of an awkward silence before Obi-Wan ventured a hopeful thought. “Perhaps I faked my death?”

 

“No, you really did die,” Luke said. "Lightsaber battle."

There was another uncomfortable lull in the conversation.

 

“Master, are you all right?” Anakin asked, coming up on his other side. They’d likely been talking too quietly for Anakin to hear the details, but Anakin would have noticed Obi-Wan’s surprise.

 

“I’m fine,” Obi-Wan said, carefully pulling his arm away from Luke. “Apparently, I’ll be fine even if I die.”

 

“What?” Anakin asked.

 

“Obi-Wan,” Luke said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

 

“I’m not upset,” Obi-Wan corrected. “I’m confused.”

 

“I thought it was… a special Jedi thing,” Luke said.

 

“Yes, because cheating death is what the Jedi Order is all about,” Obi-Wan said. “We specialize in destroying the natural order of the universe. Next up, I plan on causing a premature supernova. Want to come and watch?”

 

Luke flinched, a little. Anakin just looked concerned and a bit confused.

 

“What are you talking about?" Anakin asked.

 

“Ask Luke,” Obi-Wan said. Anakin glanced over at Luke, storm clouds in his eyes. The sunset was not so kind to Anakin as it was to Luke – it always made him look rather unbalanced and a little shady, to be perfectly honest. Anakin always looked better, healthier, under a central light source, like the midday sun.

 

“He’s upset that he guides me after his own death,” Luke said.

 

“He survives his own death?” Anakin asked, and his right, gloved hand was on Obi-Wan’s left arm now, as he stared at Luke with undisguised fascination.

 

“Well, he’s not the same, not flesh, more like a form of energy,” Luke said. “I’d just assumed that that was what becoming part of the Force meant.”

 

“Becoming part of the Force is the same for all creatures, Jedi included,” Obi-Wan said, firmly. “It’s about being absorbed back into the fabric of life, becoming one and whole with the source of that life.”

 

“Can’t you do that and still retain the form of who you were in life?” Luke asked.

 

“Well, so you claim,” Obi-Wan said. “But I’ve never heard of such a thing. There are tales of Sith seeking immortality, but that is not a desire of the Jedi Order. The only reason that I can think of to seek to live beyond your time is if you do not trust in the Force.”

 

“But perhaps it is possible, Master,” Anakin said. “If you… if you’re the one who succeeded, it can’t be evil. You would never betray the spirit of the Order.”

 

“That’s kind of you to say, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. “But you give me too much credit.”

 

“You aren’t the only one,” Luke said. “Yoda, the Jedi Master that you sent me to after your death, also appeared to me, and so did my… so did Anakin.”

 

“There’s a way to transcend death,” Anakin said, sounding almost reverent. "And I learn how."

 

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Obi-Wan said, Anakin’s words making him feel more than a little uneasy. “Luke, if you would call for that air cab?”

 

Luke glanced between the two of them, his gaze lingering on Anakin.

 

“Luke, please,” Obi-Wan said. Luke nodded, slowly, and continued down the steps. Soon, he was far enough away that Obi-Wan and Anakin could speak with some degree of privacy.

 

“Master, I know what you’re going to say,” Anakin said, the words seeming to tumble right out of him. “Attachment to life is as dangerous as any other attachment. But this sounds like something new, something different. Somehow, in the future, you’re going to discover the true path to immortality. I can’t see that as wrong.”

 

“How could it be the will of the Force?” Obi-Wan asked.

 

“How could you do it at all without the aid of the Force?” Anakin countered.

 

“I don’t know,” Obi-Wan said, and the words had never been more honest. Without the Force, his knowledge seemed limited indeed. “Anakin, what is the Force telling you?”

 

“That Luke isn’t lying to us. That we can trust him,” Anakin said. “He cares for you, a great deal.”

 

“And for you, I would imagine,” Obi-Wan said. Anakin pressed his lips together, and shook his head.

 

“I can’t read his feelings for me,” he said. “He doesn’t hate me, but it’s… clouded. The way he feels about you, on the other hand, is very clear.”

 

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, but he wasn’t entirely sure what else he could say.

 

“He wants you to stay,” Anakin said, tightly. “I’m worried that he’ll try to influence you. I know that you’re… stronger than that, I do. I just-”

 

“You’re just going to worry anyway,” Obi-Wan said. “He doesn’t really seem like the manipulative sort.”

 

“Maybe not. Just… be careful around him, Obi-Wan,” Anakin said. “I don’t want to lose you.”

 

“I’m not a speeder, Anakin, I’m hardly going to get stolen,” Obi-Wan said, and he was suddenly very aware of Anakin’s light, yet still inappropriately possessive hold on his arm. “It looks as though young Luke’s been successful. Shall we meet his new Republic?”

 

“We’ll talk more about this later,” Anakin said.

 

“If it comes up,” Obi-Wan said.

 

“You mean, if you can’t manage to avoid the subject,” Anakin said quietly, letting go of Obi-Wan’s arm a moment before Obi-Wan opened his mouth to ask him.

 

“If it becomes relevant,” Obi-Wan said instead, heading down the stairs and towards the waiting air cab, Anakin half a step behind him.

He almost wished that Anakin was still making smart remarks. A silent Anakin was an Anakin coming up with a brilliant plan, and that rarely ended well.

Obi-Wan still had a faint scar on his left arm from Anakin's last brilliant plan, back on Hermoida IV.

And this time, he probably wouldn't be lucky enough to get away with just a scar.

~end chapter twenty-three~