One Path Chapter 21--The Choice
Title: The Choice
Author: Lionchilde
Summary: "Your choice you have made, Obi Wan..."
Rating: PG
Length: Around 2100 words
Category: Angst/Drama
Pairings/Charaters: Obidala
A/N: One Path Chapter 21. After the arena, set during an alternate AtoC. Yeah, I skipped a bunch of stuff. We know what happens. Heh.
The Choice
Obi Wan, Anakin, and Padme crouched in the open side of a gunship as it sped across the hot, dusty surface of Geonosis. Watching the clone troopers weave about on speeder bikes below them, the Master glanced speculatively toward his Padawan out of the corner of his eye. If Anakin wondered at all what his exchange with Padme in the arena had been about, he hadn't asked. His emotions were simmering though, turbulent in a way that the Master had not felt before. He couldn't be sure whether the change was a rekindled jealousy or something more. He sensed that something had occurred on Tatooine, something which troubled both of them, but there had been no time to ask.
He shifted his attention back to the speeder bikes, remarking casually, "They're good."
Anakin nodded honest agreement, giving no hint of an emotional struggle. Both Jedi turned their attention to the Techno Union starship they were rapidly approaching, and the gunship opened fire. The blaster cannons pounded it relentlessly, but seemed to have little effect.
"Aim right for the fuel cells," Anakin told the gunner, who adjusted his aim and fired again.
"Good call!" Obi Wan cried as huge explosions took out the ship and it tilted and fell from the sky. Then he shouted toward the crew, "Those Trade Federation ships are taking off. Target them, quickly!"
"They're too big, Master. The ground-troopers will have to take them out," Anakin told him, and Obi Wan knew better than to question his Padawan's judgment in the matter. Ships and flying were Anakin's forte, and the Master was content to let him have it.
The gunship slowed and banked suddenly, circling a droid gun emplacement. It came around too fast around the back for the stationary system to swivel, and it only managed a single shot before a barrage of blaster fire destroyed the defensive position completely. That shot hit hard, rocking the gunship badly.
"Hold on!" Obi Wan yelled as he clutched the edge of the drop door.
"Can't think of a better choice!" Padme shot back.
He turned toward her, a smirk forming on his lips, when he caught sight of a Geonosian speeder carrying a familiar white-haired figure. "Look over there!" he shouted.
"It's Dooku! Shoot him down!" cried Anakin.
"We're out of ordnance, sir," the clone captain replied.
"Follow him!" Anakin ordered.
The pilot obediently turned the ship up on its side, banking fast to swerve into a straight run for the Count.
"We're going to need some help," Padme said pointedly to Obi Wan.
"No, there's no time," he countered. "Anakin and I can handle this."
As the gunship began to close, the fighters flanking Dooku banked away, veering to both sides and turning to engage. The gunship pilot wove his way admirably through their fire, but then another blast rocked the ship, and with the vehicle up on edge, the two Jedi barely managed to stay aboard. Obi Wan felt Padme's fear as she started to fall, but she was gone even before his Force-aided reflexes could react.
"Padme!"
Not his voice but Anakin's. Obi Wan's own throat was closed tight with horror, and not even a strangled whisper emerged as he watched her hit the ground. Through the haze and dust, the white form of her body lay utterly still, motionless. Instinctively, he reached out through the Force, searching in desperation for a flicker of life, the single, distinctive spark of Force energy that he knew and could find anywhere…through anything.
"Padme!" by the time Anakin had screamed again, he had found her. Padme, he breathed silently, his vision wavering with tears of relief. She was alive, at least for the present. Only when he was certain of this did Obi Wan's mind register that his Padawan was ordering the gunship pilot to put the ship down.
Forcing the tears away, he moved to grip Anakin by the shoulders. "Don't let your personal feelings get in the way! Follow that speeder," he told the pilot with grim finality.
The Padawan wrenched free of his grip and tried to peer past him out the drop door. "Lower the ship!" he growled insistently.
"Anakin, I need you," the Jedi held his voice steady by sheer strength of will. "I can't take Dooku alone. If we catch him, we can end this war right now! We have a job to do."
"I don't care!" he bellowed. He pushed out to the side again, roaring, "Put the ship down!"
"You will be expelled from the Jedi Order!" The words cracked through the air between them, resonating deeply through the Jedi Master's mind and heart. It was the same warning he'd spoken to Anakin in his dream.
"I can't leave her," Anakin pleaded, his voice dropping to become almost a whisper of desperation.
"The most difficult thing that I have ever had to do is leave her," Obi Wan kept his tone firm, but felt the burn of tears again and didn't bother trying to hide them.
The fire returned to Anakin then, and he lashed out at his Master in furious disbelief as he began to understand. His resentment stung Obi Wan as deeply as the harsh demand. "Then why are you? How can you? You're supposed to be her best friend!"
"Come to your senses!" the Master commanded, bringing all his years of training and self-discipline to bear, cutting through both of their emotions with icy, harsh reality. "What do you think Padme would do if our positions were reversed?"
Finally, Anakin's shoulders slumped in defeat. "She would do her duty."
And I will do mine, Obi Wan promised silently. He pushed past Anakin toward the pilot, ordering again, "Follow that speeder."
***
Padme!
The desperate, unspoken cry filled her mind as she fell. Then again as she lay stunned on the scorching sand, a softer echo, Padme.
She hurt all over. In fact, she hurt so badly that she felt as if her body had disappeared into a solid mass of aching. Her ears rang violently with the impact of her head and the dune beneath her, and in her mind there was again the clash of lightsabers…
"You're going to pay for all the Jedi you killed today, Dooku!" Anakin shouted, full of pent up rage.
Obi Wan calmly caught his arm, pulling him back, calling him to focus. "We move in together. You slowly on the--"
"No! I'm taking him now!" The Padawan yanked away from his Master, his eyes burning with resentment that had nothing to do with Dooku, and Padme understood. The Jedi were not the ones Anakin wanted to avenge. Obi Wan had prevented him from saving her, but Obi Wan was his Master. Count Dooku, though, was the enemy. He was a killer--he could become the focal point of the turbulent boy's frustrations. He could become a target for the rage that exploded from him now.
"Anakin, no!" they cried together, anguished.
He rushed in, only to be thrown back by a motion of Dooku's hand.
"As you can see, my Jedi powers are far beyond yours," Dooku told Obi Wan smugly.
"I don't think so," Obi Wan countered, moving toward him carefully, his blue blade held diagonally up over one shoulder.
The Count elegantly raised a hand, sending a terrifying arc of blue lightning toward him, and Padme screamed. Obi Wan held his ground, and the crackling energy met the blue blade in his hand, channeled harmlessly into it by the Force.
"You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine," he said.
"I've been waiting for you, Obi Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master," came the taunting rejoinder.
"Only a master of evil, Darth," Obi Wan said in reply.
No, she shook her head vehemently. There was still good in him. He was still their Ani. She could feel it. "Anakin, please! Stop! Stop now. Come back! We love you."
"Liar!" the Sith Lord roared.
"Padme, get to the ship," Obi Wan said calmly.
But she couldn't--couldn't move. Her throat was closing, as if caught in the grip of Anakin's tightening fingers.
"Let her go, Anakin!"
She felt the choke-grip loosen, then release, and she slid to the ground. He was beside her instantly, his lips pressed to her forehead. "Padme…darling, are you all right?"
…The red blade struck…
"You'll destroy everything he tried to protect!"
…The red blade struck…
"BEN!!!"
"Padme…darling, are you all right?"
…are you all right…?
…The red blade struck…
"M'lady, are you all right?" the distant voice of a Clone trooper asked.
Padme slowly sat up, shaking her head to clear it. She blinked up at him in confusion, wondering for a moment where she was and how she had gotten back here. Then the dream images faded.
"Are you all right?" he repeated.
"I think so," she nodded.
"We better get you back to the Forward Command Center--" he started.
"No, no," she shook her head. "Gather up what troops you can. We've got to get to that hanger. Get a transport. Hurry!"
***
She raced in as he and Anakin made their way toward Yoda, almost staggering him with the force of her embrace. Obi Wan leaned into her, wrapping his own arms around her just as tightly, despite the pain that still lanced through his arm with each motion. He pressed his cheek to her hair, tears welling behind his closed eyelids.
"Padme," he whispered.
"Obi Wan, are you all right?" she asked urgently.
"I'm fine," he murmured, kissing her hair in reassurance. Then he pulled back, adding softly, "Anakin's been hurt badly."
She nodded in understanding, and they both moved to help the wounded Padawan out of the hangar. He could barely stand, and although the heat of Dooku's lightsaber had immediately cauterized his arm, Obi Wan feared that he was going into shock. Yoda went with them as they helped him aboard a transport, watching silently.
Little was said by the exhausted group until Anakin was safely inside, but Padme was surprised when Yoda remained with her and Obi Wan as they left him. Arms tightly around each other, the pair made their way back outside again, she bearing as much weight for him as she comfortably could. The diminutive Master walked along with them, saying nothing until all three of them stood out in the Geonosian sunset.
"Your choice you have made, Obi Wan," he murmured.
"Yes, Master, I have," he nodded without hesitation.
Padme frowned.
Yoda said nothing for a long moment. His gaze seemed tremendously sad, but Obi Wan saw no judgment in the great Jedi's expression, sensed not even disappointment. "See to your Padawan for the moment, I will. When you return to Coruscant, a final report to the Council you may give, and then say your goodbyes."
Letting his arm fall away from Padme, Obi Wan gave a deep bow. "Thank you, Master," he said.
"May the Force be with you, Obi Wan," Yoda replied gravely.
"May the Force be with you, Master Yoda," he inclined his head.
Yoda turned to go back into the ship and Padme's frown deepened. Looking from one to the other in confusion, she finally focused on Obi Wan and asked, "What was that about? What did he mean, final report?"
"I'm leaving the Jedi Order, Padme," came the quiet reply.
It stung her like a slap. Her breath caught, and she felt all the blood drain from her face. "No," she shook her head insistently. "I won't let you!"
"It's not your decision," Obi Wan told her in the same tone of calm certainty.
She shook her head, fighting sudden, angry tears. "You are a Jedi! You can't give that up, not for me. Especially not now. The Republic is going to war."
He glanced down at their feet, searching for words, and finally began, "The path of my life led to you ten years ago. I tried to ignore that, tried to make things go back the way they were, but it was a mistake. Everything keeps leading me back to you. The Force won't let me move on until I make a choice, and I've made it. I can't let you go, Padme. I don't want to."
"What about Anakin? You gave your word…" she trailed off, unsure whether she was more afraid that he would change his mind or that he wouldn't.
He gave a weary sigh. "I have taught him all I know. Qui-Gon would ask no more of me than that. I promised Yoda that I would do my best, and I have done it. I cannot continue teaching him the Way of the Jedi, teaching him to forego attachment in favor of service to the Force, when I want more than anything else to be with you."
"Oh, Obi Wan…" she shook her head in disbelief and glanced away, biting her lip to keep him from seeing it tremble.
He wasn't fooled and reached to cup her face in his hands. "What's wrong?"
"I'm afraid," she confessed, though she was sure that he must already know that much.
"Of what?" he asked gently.
"This--and everything that's happening around us," she said, swallowing hard as her fingers drifted up to touch his cheek. "But I don't want to be anymore. I love you, Obi Wan Kenobi. And I want to be with you."
He took a breath, opened his mouth to say something, and closed it again. Then he shook his head and let out a little laugh of both amazement and exasperation. "I don't know what to say," he admitted.
Padme laughed as well. "What?"
"I never imagined I'd hear you say that," he explained, still chuckling. "Now I have no idea what to say."
"Then don't say anything," she grinned, letting her arms slide around his neck. Her fingers tangled in his hair, guiding his head slowly but firmly toward hers. In the instant before their lips met, both paused, suddenly wanting to draw the moment out, to hold and capture it. They were so close now that each could feel the warm, rapid bursts of the other's breath. They held each other, conscious of every curve and contour, every line of the other's familiar form in a way that neither had allowed themselves to be before. Their erratically pounding hearts didn't slow, but each beat began to come together in such perfect unity that it they lost all sense of whose heart was thudding against whom. In that moment, each felt the touch of the other's lips, felt the bond that the Force had forged between them firmly, finally, endlessly realized.
I love you…always have…since Tatooine.
Author: Lionchilde
Summary: "Your choice you have made, Obi Wan..."
Rating: PG
Length: Around 2100 words
Category: Angst/Drama
Pairings/Charaters: Obidala
A/N: One Path Chapter 21. After the arena, set during an alternate AtoC. Yeah, I skipped a bunch of stuff. We know what happens. Heh.
The Choice
Obi Wan, Anakin, and Padme crouched in the open side of a gunship as it sped across the hot, dusty surface of Geonosis. Watching the clone troopers weave about on speeder bikes below them, the Master glanced speculatively toward his Padawan out of the corner of his eye. If Anakin wondered at all what his exchange with Padme in the arena had been about, he hadn't asked. His emotions were simmering though, turbulent in a way that the Master had not felt before. He couldn't be sure whether the change was a rekindled jealousy or something more. He sensed that something had occurred on Tatooine, something which troubled both of them, but there had been no time to ask.
He shifted his attention back to the speeder bikes, remarking casually, "They're good."
Anakin nodded honest agreement, giving no hint of an emotional struggle. Both Jedi turned their attention to the Techno Union starship they were rapidly approaching, and the gunship opened fire. The blaster cannons pounded it relentlessly, but seemed to have little effect.
"Aim right for the fuel cells," Anakin told the gunner, who adjusted his aim and fired again.
"Good call!" Obi Wan cried as huge explosions took out the ship and it tilted and fell from the sky. Then he shouted toward the crew, "Those Trade Federation ships are taking off. Target them, quickly!"
"They're too big, Master. The ground-troopers will have to take them out," Anakin told him, and Obi Wan knew better than to question his Padawan's judgment in the matter. Ships and flying were Anakin's forte, and the Master was content to let him have it.
The gunship slowed and banked suddenly, circling a droid gun emplacement. It came around too fast around the back for the stationary system to swivel, and it only managed a single shot before a barrage of blaster fire destroyed the defensive position completely. That shot hit hard, rocking the gunship badly.
"Hold on!" Obi Wan yelled as he clutched the edge of the drop door.
"Can't think of a better choice!" Padme shot back.
He turned toward her, a smirk forming on his lips, when he caught sight of a Geonosian speeder carrying a familiar white-haired figure. "Look over there!" he shouted.
"It's Dooku! Shoot him down!" cried Anakin.
"We're out of ordnance, sir," the clone captain replied.
"Follow him!" Anakin ordered.
The pilot obediently turned the ship up on its side, banking fast to swerve into a straight run for the Count.
"We're going to need some help," Padme said pointedly to Obi Wan.
"No, there's no time," he countered. "Anakin and I can handle this."
As the gunship began to close, the fighters flanking Dooku banked away, veering to both sides and turning to engage. The gunship pilot wove his way admirably through their fire, but then another blast rocked the ship, and with the vehicle up on edge, the two Jedi barely managed to stay aboard. Obi Wan felt Padme's fear as she started to fall, but she was gone even before his Force-aided reflexes could react.
"Padme!"
Not his voice but Anakin's. Obi Wan's own throat was closed tight with horror, and not even a strangled whisper emerged as he watched her hit the ground. Through the haze and dust, the white form of her body lay utterly still, motionless. Instinctively, he reached out through the Force, searching in desperation for a flicker of life, the single, distinctive spark of Force energy that he knew and could find anywhere…through anything.
"Padme!" by the time Anakin had screamed again, he had found her. Padme, he breathed silently, his vision wavering with tears of relief. She was alive, at least for the present. Only when he was certain of this did Obi Wan's mind register that his Padawan was ordering the gunship pilot to put the ship down.
Forcing the tears away, he moved to grip Anakin by the shoulders. "Don't let your personal feelings get in the way! Follow that speeder," he told the pilot with grim finality.
The Padawan wrenched free of his grip and tried to peer past him out the drop door. "Lower the ship!" he growled insistently.
"Anakin, I need you," the Jedi held his voice steady by sheer strength of will. "I can't take Dooku alone. If we catch him, we can end this war right now! We have a job to do."
"I don't care!" he bellowed. He pushed out to the side again, roaring, "Put the ship down!"
"You will be expelled from the Jedi Order!" The words cracked through the air between them, resonating deeply through the Jedi Master's mind and heart. It was the same warning he'd spoken to Anakin in his dream.
"I can't leave her," Anakin pleaded, his voice dropping to become almost a whisper of desperation.
"The most difficult thing that I have ever had to do is leave her," Obi Wan kept his tone firm, but felt the burn of tears again and didn't bother trying to hide them.
The fire returned to Anakin then, and he lashed out at his Master in furious disbelief as he began to understand. His resentment stung Obi Wan as deeply as the harsh demand. "Then why are you? How can you? You're supposed to be her best friend!"
"Come to your senses!" the Master commanded, bringing all his years of training and self-discipline to bear, cutting through both of their emotions with icy, harsh reality. "What do you think Padme would do if our positions were reversed?"
Finally, Anakin's shoulders slumped in defeat. "She would do her duty."
And I will do mine, Obi Wan promised silently. He pushed past Anakin toward the pilot, ordering again, "Follow that speeder."
***
Padme!
The desperate, unspoken cry filled her mind as she fell. Then again as she lay stunned on the scorching sand, a softer echo, Padme.
She hurt all over. In fact, she hurt so badly that she felt as if her body had disappeared into a solid mass of aching. Her ears rang violently with the impact of her head and the dune beneath her, and in her mind there was again the clash of lightsabers…
"You're going to pay for all the Jedi you killed today, Dooku!" Anakin shouted, full of pent up rage.
Obi Wan calmly caught his arm, pulling him back, calling him to focus. "We move in together. You slowly on the--"
"No! I'm taking him now!" The Padawan yanked away from his Master, his eyes burning with resentment that had nothing to do with Dooku, and Padme understood. The Jedi were not the ones Anakin wanted to avenge. Obi Wan had prevented him from saving her, but Obi Wan was his Master. Count Dooku, though, was the enemy. He was a killer--he could become the focal point of the turbulent boy's frustrations. He could become a target for the rage that exploded from him now.
"Anakin, no!" they cried together, anguished.
He rushed in, only to be thrown back by a motion of Dooku's hand.
"As you can see, my Jedi powers are far beyond yours," Dooku told Obi Wan smugly.
"I don't think so," Obi Wan countered, moving toward him carefully, his blue blade held diagonally up over one shoulder.
The Count elegantly raised a hand, sending a terrifying arc of blue lightning toward him, and Padme screamed. Obi Wan held his ground, and the crackling energy met the blue blade in his hand, channeled harmlessly into it by the Force.
"You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine," he said.
"I've been waiting for you, Obi Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master," came the taunting rejoinder.
"Only a master of evil, Darth," Obi Wan said in reply.
No, she shook her head vehemently. There was still good in him. He was still their Ani. She could feel it. "Anakin, please! Stop! Stop now. Come back! We love you."
"Liar!" the Sith Lord roared.
"Padme, get to the ship," Obi Wan said calmly.
But she couldn't--couldn't move. Her throat was closing, as if caught in the grip of Anakin's tightening fingers.
"Let her go, Anakin!"
She felt the choke-grip loosen, then release, and she slid to the ground. He was beside her instantly, his lips pressed to her forehead. "Padme…darling, are you all right?"
…The red blade struck…
"You'll destroy everything he tried to protect!"
…The red blade struck…
"BEN!!!"
"Padme…darling, are you all right?"
…are you all right…?
…The red blade struck…
"M'lady, are you all right?" the distant voice of a Clone trooper asked.
Padme slowly sat up, shaking her head to clear it. She blinked up at him in confusion, wondering for a moment where she was and how she had gotten back here. Then the dream images faded.
"Are you all right?" he repeated.
"I think so," she nodded.
"We better get you back to the Forward Command Center--" he started.
"No, no," she shook her head. "Gather up what troops you can. We've got to get to that hanger. Get a transport. Hurry!"
***
She raced in as he and Anakin made their way toward Yoda, almost staggering him with the force of her embrace. Obi Wan leaned into her, wrapping his own arms around her just as tightly, despite the pain that still lanced through his arm with each motion. He pressed his cheek to her hair, tears welling behind his closed eyelids.
"Padme," he whispered.
"Obi Wan, are you all right?" she asked urgently.
"I'm fine," he murmured, kissing her hair in reassurance. Then he pulled back, adding softly, "Anakin's been hurt badly."
She nodded in understanding, and they both moved to help the wounded Padawan out of the hangar. He could barely stand, and although the heat of Dooku's lightsaber had immediately cauterized his arm, Obi Wan feared that he was going into shock. Yoda went with them as they helped him aboard a transport, watching silently.
Little was said by the exhausted group until Anakin was safely inside, but Padme was surprised when Yoda remained with her and Obi Wan as they left him. Arms tightly around each other, the pair made their way back outside again, she bearing as much weight for him as she comfortably could. The diminutive Master walked along with them, saying nothing until all three of them stood out in the Geonosian sunset.
"Your choice you have made, Obi Wan," he murmured.
"Yes, Master, I have," he nodded without hesitation.
Padme frowned.
Yoda said nothing for a long moment. His gaze seemed tremendously sad, but Obi Wan saw no judgment in the great Jedi's expression, sensed not even disappointment. "See to your Padawan for the moment, I will. When you return to Coruscant, a final report to the Council you may give, and then say your goodbyes."
Letting his arm fall away from Padme, Obi Wan gave a deep bow. "Thank you, Master," he said.
"May the Force be with you, Obi Wan," Yoda replied gravely.
"May the Force be with you, Master Yoda," he inclined his head.
Yoda turned to go back into the ship and Padme's frown deepened. Looking from one to the other in confusion, she finally focused on Obi Wan and asked, "What was that about? What did he mean, final report?"
"I'm leaving the Jedi Order, Padme," came the quiet reply.
It stung her like a slap. Her breath caught, and she felt all the blood drain from her face. "No," she shook her head insistently. "I won't let you!"
"It's not your decision," Obi Wan told her in the same tone of calm certainty.
She shook her head, fighting sudden, angry tears. "You are a Jedi! You can't give that up, not for me. Especially not now. The Republic is going to war."
He glanced down at their feet, searching for words, and finally began, "The path of my life led to you ten years ago. I tried to ignore that, tried to make things go back the way they were, but it was a mistake. Everything keeps leading me back to you. The Force won't let me move on until I make a choice, and I've made it. I can't let you go, Padme. I don't want to."
"What about Anakin? You gave your word…" she trailed off, unsure whether she was more afraid that he would change his mind or that he wouldn't.
He gave a weary sigh. "I have taught him all I know. Qui-Gon would ask no more of me than that. I promised Yoda that I would do my best, and I have done it. I cannot continue teaching him the Way of the Jedi, teaching him to forego attachment in favor of service to the Force, when I want more than anything else to be with you."
"Oh, Obi Wan…" she shook her head in disbelief and glanced away, biting her lip to keep him from seeing it tremble.
He wasn't fooled and reached to cup her face in his hands. "What's wrong?"
"I'm afraid," she confessed, though she was sure that he must already know that much.
"Of what?" he asked gently.
"This--and everything that's happening around us," she said, swallowing hard as her fingers drifted up to touch his cheek. "But I don't want to be anymore. I love you, Obi Wan Kenobi. And I want to be with you."
He took a breath, opened his mouth to say something, and closed it again. Then he shook his head and let out a little laugh of both amazement and exasperation. "I don't know what to say," he admitted.
Padme laughed as well. "What?"
"I never imagined I'd hear you say that," he explained, still chuckling. "Now I have no idea what to say."
"Then don't say anything," she grinned, letting her arms slide around his neck. Her fingers tangled in his hair, guiding his head slowly but firmly toward hers. In the instant before their lips met, both paused, suddenly wanting to draw the moment out, to hold and capture it. They were so close now that each could feel the warm, rapid bursts of the other's breath. They held each other, conscious of every curve and contour, every line of the other's familiar form in a way that neither had allowed themselves to be before. Their erratically pounding hearts didn't slow, but each beat began to come together in such perfect unity that it they lost all sense of whose heart was thudding against whom. In that moment, each felt the touch of the other's lips, felt the bond that the Force had forged between them firmly, finally, endlessly realized.
I love you…always have…since Tatooine.