The Guardian's Path

Chapter 1 - Visitors

Author's Note: This plot bunny struck me and it would. Not. Let. Go. Lol. So, I wrote it out. I really didn't expect how it turned out, but I love it anyways! If you want something that is very Anakin-Obi-Wan-centric and focuses on their father-son relationship and them finally sorting things out... this fic is for you.

I hope y'all enjoy it! :D

Updates, should be weekly. :)

~ Amina Gila

When Anakin was captured, held prisoner by Count Dooku, the Force had screamed. Never before in her entire life has Ahsoka Tano seen or felt anything like it. It was as if the Force itself was in agony. Even now, no one has any answers. After Anakin came back, after Senator Padme Amidala agreed to the prisoner exchange, after General Grievous was released, after Anakin went to the medbay for treatment, Ahsoka had talked to him. She'd asked him about it, but he had no answers either. Talking about it seemed to be physically painful for him, and not for the first time, Ahsoka found herself wondering what the Force feels like for him.

Ahsoka creeps through the trees as silent as any predator might be, carefully peering at the clearing up ahead. She has a squadron of clones with her; they're doing a sweep of the area to ensure that no Separatist forces are still on Naboo in the wake of the failed attack. So far, they've found nothing. Maybe they're fortunate and the Separatists have really withdrawn.

Or, so she'd hoped until she felt the Dark Side in the forest. They've been following her senses ever since. The presence is clouded, elusive, but unmistakably there. She's also begun to sense someone else, someone who is being shielded by this Dark Sider. All of them are braced for battle as she slips behind another tree trunk, cautiously scanning everything. Movement catches her eyes, and she turns, spying two figures leaning against a boulder.

She can't tell who they are from here, but they seem to be humans. Strange. This would be the first time Ahsoka has seen a wandering human on Naboo. This area is mainly home to the Gungans. The elder of the two is wrapped in a dark brown cloak, hood pulled up which makes any identification impossible. The younger is clothed in a light gray tunic of sorts, blonde hair shining gold in the sun.

No one made any noise, but the older suddenly jerks upright, revealing a similar tan tunic of sorts. It vaguely reminds her of Jedi robes for some reason. "Who are you?" calls the voice – it's so familiar, for some reason – coldly. "Show yourselves!"

The boy shifts, edging behind the elder man for protection, and Ahsoka feels bad for him, for both of them. Are they being hunted by somebody, by someone? For that matter, are they both Force sensitives? Are they dangerous? They probably are, or at least the older is. He was able to sense her, even though she was being careful and quiet, not to mention shielding herself as she always does.

Bracing herself, Ahsoka steps into the open, hands twitching towards her lightsabers as she prepares for possible violence. "I'm not here to harm you," she tells them.

"Jedi," snarls the man, pushing back his hood, eyes flashing yellow. His ginger hair is longish, and he has the beginning of a beard on his face. That's what clues her in.

Ahsoka stumbles back with a gasp of shock. No. This – this isn't possible! "Obi-Wan?" she squeaks, voice semi-hysterical. "I don't understand...!"

The man – Obi-Wan – stiffens, gold eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" he hisses, "And how do you know who I am?" In one swift motion, he's pulled a lightsaber from Force knows where, its red blade held defensively in front of himself.

"This can't be happening," Ahsoka mumbles to herself, shaking her head. Except it is. The Force is quite insistent on that fact. It's definitely him. It feels like him, only darker. But how? She's never heard of time travel or reality jumping or whatever happened here. And the child... Now that she focuses on him, she recognizes him. Anakin. Of course. He's being masked by Obi-Wan, but the essence of what makes him... him is still shining through. He's a child. Oh Force, this is her master as a child.