Falling Up, chpt 1

Warning: May contain gore, violence, implied sex (LOL, yeah, right...) and swearing in places. I will not warn past this point in each chapter. If you don't read this, don't bitch at me about being offended by it.



Chapter 1 – Lessons Learned



Two days. That was how long it had been since their arrival at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, since they had arrived back at the lion’s den to await judgment. Two days since the looks and whispering began; you could nearly cut the tension with a lightsaber if you wanted to try hard enough. Everything was double checked in the young Sith’s wake, always making sure that something had not gone missing or that someone had not gotten harmed (or worse, killed) in any given case. The situation lent itself to everyone involved being overly touchy, wary and snippy towards each other. If anything, it was more fuel to get the two young Sith out of the Temple yet again and this time, permanently. The history of the now teenaged children was made apparent before the Jedi Council when they were first brought. These children had already been encountered by the Jedi once before nearly a decade prior by one of the Knights. The result, however, bared little in the of viable results; most thought the children already to be entirely lost to the Darkside of the Force. Others felt that the children, despite their upbringing, held promise and should be trained to further their development and skills so they would not become like the Sith Lords of old.

Either way, the clock was now ticking and playing against the Jedi and their two newest students. The Sith, no doubt, were aware of the two being back on Coruscant and miles away from their old home. As dusk tinted the city planet’s skyline a burnt umber and nearly violent purple, there was little doubt left. Come dawn the next day, it would be decided whether the children would be allowed to stay or if they would have to train elsewhere. Away from Coruscant, away from the other Jedi, away from evil itself and allowed to be trained fully in the Jedi ways. Chances of the children taking lightly to any part of that was slim, the Masters knew this, but it had to be accomplished.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Master Kenobi.”

The dark-skinned human Master, Mace Windu, finally broke the belittling silence; tone carrying more of a veiled threat than anything. He was one of the few who never believed that even a child could be redeemed in even a small way from the Darkside.

“No more than you do by separating them.”

Obi-Wan Kenobi shot back, eyes slightly narrowed. (Rumor had it he was the one who found out about the children in the first place.) Windu sighed explosively nearby; the debate had been waging for hours…

“By separating them, we’re given the chance to find out the limitations of their powers…”

Windu was cut short,

“By separating them, you risk unleashing whatever power the boy has.”

Circles. Slow, agonizing circles. The discussion was going nowhere fast. Windu steepled his fingers in front of him, peering over them up to Obi-Wan and slowly shook his head,
“We cannot risk the other students.”

Obi-Wan bit the inside of his lip for a moment then nodded,

“Agreed, but we should really consider that their motives aren’t to annihilate us but their old masters instead.”

Windu again shook his head,

“If that’s true, why bring them here? Any Sith that age should already possess the power and the knowledge to take out their masters.”

Part of him wanted to scream. The Sith Lords had withheld enough knowledge from the Sith children to inhibit their training enough for at least two years before they could progress in the Jedi ranks, if they were ever accepted into the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan folded his arms over his chest, momentarily looking down before again meeting the Councils’ collective gaze again.

“On the way back to Coruscant, I came to the knowledge that these children don’t even have the understanding or the knowledge of how to meditate. Something that a Jedi student has mastered by the age of ten at the very latest; I’m not asking for a miracle that we no longer have the threat of the Sith looming over our heads. I’m asking for a sanctuary in which these children can be trained.”

--

The next morning was one of what was becoming the normal routine: get up at the crack (“asscrack” as Anakin Skywalker address it scathingly) of dawn, shower, dress, get breakfast then head out for morning lessons which typically consisted of lightsaber spars that lasted until lunch or later. The students that he wound up paired with were, by his figuring, at least a year behind in their lightsaber training as compared to their “finger-up-their-ass” Jedi ways.

“Keep your defenses up, Padawan.”

I’m not a Padawan yet, doofus.

The mental quip was hidden behind hastily learned barriers. The Temple was somewhat lacking in privacy especially in the student dorms, Anakin was stunned to find out after getting acquainted with the layout of that particular wing. (Never doing that again, he had promised to himself.) Then, to top that, the Jedi Council had confiscated his lightsaber and the twin ones he had made for Halley until the Council made up their mind on what was to happen to the children.

Never gonna get my lightsaber back… never gonna get my Halley back… never gonna get out of this Force-forsaken…

CRACK.

“OW!”

The slightly older Padawan bounced back on his heels, grinning from ear to ear just out of sight,

“Told you to keep your guard up and the anger low.”

Bite me, you sadistic bastard. Just kill me and get it over with.

It was hard to think when one was somewhat sleep deprived, worried about the one that he was bonded with (mentally, emotionally, and, though rarely now, physically), and the things to come. Worrying about the future had come at an early age, but now was not the time to worry.

“I let you hit me.”

Anakin turned to face the Padawan, smirking ever so slightly and twisting the blade of the training saber in a circle. He’d been “forced” (asked) to take instead of his fully-powered one; Council rule. The Padawan grinned all the more broadly if it was possible and knowing those near human species, some of them could manage some pretty impossibly wide grins.

“Sure, you did.”

A beat. The elder human boy nodded and stepped back out of Anakin’s reach, saber blade raised. Anakin’s gaze followed, waiting for the usual prompt. Sweat had clumped his bangs up into strands, highlighting the stretch of blanched white hair that spilt over his right eye; the sweat would drip into his eyes once in a while, blurring and stinging. He was tired, he was sore, and he knew giving up would never be acceptable for either side. When the prompt came, it was a relief to hear the single word.

“Again.”


--

“They’ve returned to Coruscant.”

The Zabrak responded quietly, molten gaze hidden beneath the cowl of his black hood. His gaze set firmly onto the topmost spire of the Jedi Temple; it was all that was visible from the Sith complex. Across from him, the white haired man smirked, chuckled and strode over, hands clasped neatly behind his back.

“I understand your eagerness to retrieve the girl, Lord Maul, nevertheless, bid your time. The Jedi are on high alert with these children, to walk in there now would be suicide.”

Maul snorted but never turned. He snarled quietly, then nodded,

“Aye, Lord Tyranus. I know this, though, retrieving only the girl would be a far more feasible feat than to retrieve both children.”

The second Sith only quirked a brow, looking over,

“In due time. I understand now why they wished to leave your presence, impatient fool. In due time, we will retrieve them both.”