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Prologue: Beginning and Beginnings
Serenity shot up in bed, gasping for breath, bright blue-sliver eyes wide. "He's here..." she murmured. She quickly threw back the white and silver comforter that covered her sleep couch, and leapt to her feet. Walking over to the closet and pulling one of the long white robes out. Rushing out of her quarters she nearly ran right into another member of the council.
"Master Cosmos! You sensed it too?" the Calamarian asked.
Serenity nodded somehow maintaining a calm, neutral expression, "Yes, Aquariusa, I felt it."
"What does it mean?" the Calamarian asked, eyes wider then usual.
Serenity sighed, "The Child of the Light, our Chosen One has finally been born."
"Th-the Ch-chosen One!?!" Aquariusa repeated, eyes widening even more, "I don't believe it..." she said shaking her head, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, calling on the Force to calm herself. "What do we do?"
"Come." Serenity replied as she walked quickly down the corridors, her cloak billowing out behind her. "We must speak with the Council."
"Oh! Of course!" Aquariusa agreed, nearly running to keep up.
********************
"It is simply out of the question!"
Serenity raised an eyebrow, "How so, Master Aberdene?"
"We can't leave the boy unprotected! He's our Chosen One! An-" the Quarren Councilor protested, but was cut off by Serenity.
"Indeed, he is the Chosen One. However, there is little we can do as of yet, the Force has brought him to the Jedi, we shall not intervene." The Lunarian replied.
"But... the Sith will kill him! They already meddled with his medical record, the Jedi have no idea how strong the boy is in the Force, thanks to them! We can't leave him unprotected!"
Aquariusa sighed, "Zil, there is little we can do. Are you suggesting we go against the will of the Force, and remove him from the Jedi's care?"
"Well... no, but..." The Quarren was obviously confused. "He's not safe there! The Jedi don't even acknowledge that the Sith still exist! We can't leave him unprotected!"
"He will not be left unprotected."
The other Councilors turned to Serenity.
Serenity sighed, "You are right, Zil, that the Jedi temple offers little protection for an infant against the Sith. They could easily infiltrate it and kidnap him or even execute him with little difficulty. And until he is older he will not truly understand the need for caution."
"Exactly!" Zil Aberdene agreed, nodding quickly, "I wouldn't be surprised if they've already sent one of their Lords to infiltrate the temple an-"
"We *could* infiltrate the temple just as easily..." Serenity continued, overriding the Quarren.
"But Master Cosmos," Agira Albusa, a tall, glassy eyed Kaminoan murmured. "Did you not just state that the Chosen One's going to the temple was the will of the force, and we must not intervene?"
Serenity nodded, "I did, Agira, I did. However, I am not suggesting that we take the child from the temple... I am suggesting that we follow our enemies lead. If they are going to be constantly trying to kill him, should we not always be there to protect him?"
There was a general murmur of agreement and many of the Counselor's nodded.
"But how would we go about this?" Akira De'Grey, a blue-skinned female Twi'lek Councilor inquired, shaking her head, and causing the two shapely prehensile tentacles that grew from the base her skull to swish back and fourth, gracefully.
"We could install one of our own." Caesius Zetahwa a short Sullustan Councilor suggested quietly.
Many of the councilors traded looks.
"But who could-?"
Serenity cut Councilor Aberdene off in mid-sentence, "I will." She met each of the councilors gazes in turn, silencing any questions with her calm acceptance. "I will protect the Chosen One."
** 2 Years Later **
Two-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi lay awake in bed, struggling to remain silent as tears streamed down in cheeks.
'Why am I so different?!' The young boy thought, 'Why can't I be like everyone else?! Why do they h-hate me?' He silently questioned the darkness. He sobbed quietly, remembering.
** Flashback **
"Hey Obi-Wan, wanna play?"
Obi-Wan looked up, blue eyes wide to see Initiate Bruck Chun, who was only a few months younger then him, grinning down at him. "Su-sure!" he replied, smiling brightly.
** End Flashback **
Obi-Wan sobbed. That was the first time the other initiates had begun to show any acceptance of him, instead of ostracizing him. Yet, once again, he had to be different.
** Flashback **
"Now all you have to do is catch this ball and throw it to another one of us, k?" Initiate Chun instructed.
"Ok!" Obi-Wan replied, smiling even more brightly.
The younger initiate nodded with a smiled, "By the way, call me Bruck."
"O-ok."
Bruck smiled and half ran, half crawled several feet away, sitting in front of the window that overlooked the gardens, before throwing the ball to another initiate.
** End Flashback **
Obi-Wan shook his head, trying to hold back more sobs. 'It was so simple! Why'd I have to screw it up?!'
** Flashback **
"Obi catch!"
Obi-Wan readily caught the lightly tossed ball before setting it on the ground and taking a deep breath, struggling to contain his fear. He didn't want the others to think he was a weakling and wasn't able to throw a ball. Just as he threw the ball, Obi-Wan unknowingly accessed the Force, and sent the ball hurtling toward Bruck Chun like a missile.
The other initiates screamed as the ball hit Bruck like a cannonball and he was propelled through the window that led to the gardens. "NO!!!"
As they all ran/crawled to the broken window, Obi-Wan felt a tremendous surge of... light nearby, although, glancing around, it looked as though he was the only one to have felt it.
Looking out the window, they saw Bruck Chun, a crumpled, bloody heap on the ground three stories below them.
** End Flashback **
After that, the others had turned on him. Their Crèche Master had run in just in time to stop them from throwing him out the window.
He sobbed again, no longer trying to hid his pain.
His Crèche Master had told him that Bruck would be fine, perhaps a bit afraid of heights for awhile, and he was a little scratched up, but, all in all he'd barely been physically hurt by the incident. He hadn't suffered from the fall at all.
Nonetheless, he knew that the other children would never trust him.
It had been a month since that happened, Bruck had been released from the Healers Wars in perfect health. Yet, whenever he tried to talk to them, they'd turn away, if he was lucky, if not, they'd give him a piece of their minds, calling him any number of things from 'Freak' to even something as horrible as 'Sith'!
He sobbed again, another tear rolling down his cheek into his already soaked pillow. Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, which sounded more like a sniffle, he thought, 'I'll n-never be able to make friends if I'm always like this!'
Once again, he unknowingly accessed the Force...
********************
Serenity shook her head, sadly. It was awful to have to see how much pain the boys Gift brought him. She closed her eyes, leaning back against the wall, scanning outside her surroundings with the Force.
She was surprised to feel the Force growing stronger within the Crèche, and gasped, turning towards her ward. Her eyes widened even further as she felt him pull back within powerful shields which quickly centered around the core of his being, becoming stronger with each passing moment.
Serenity quickly shot out a bond to attach to the boys inner self, just barely managing to complete and solidify the bond as his shield clamped down, keeping everyone else, even himself, to an extent, out.
She continued to gaze at the small form that was huddled beneath the blankets on the small sleep couch, still shaking and sobbing softly.
She shook her head. She knew what had happened four weeks past, she had, of course, been there. She had been overjoyed to see that the other Jedi children were beginning to trust Obi-Wan, for some reason they had always given him the cold shoulder ever since he arrived at the Crèche. Needless to say, she had been utterly horrified when she saw Obi-Wan's nervous sub- conscience access the Force, which then resulted in the other boy flying out the window. She had barely been able to save the boy by calling the Force around him and slowing him down, making him stop in mid-air and gently placing him on the ground just as the other children got to the window. It had been even more awful to see the frightened two years olds attempt to force the Obi-Wan out the window after the other boy.
Shaking her head once more, Serenity leapt off of the windowsill, using the Force to glide gracefully and soundlessly down to the floor, which had been two stories below her. Walking over to the sleeping couch, she placed a gentle hand on its trembling occupants forehead, encasing him in soothing, reassuring Force waves, and sending more soothing thoughts down along their new bond.
'Sleep, little one,' she commanded, 'rest now, all is well...'
She smiled as the young boy finally relaxed and fell into a peaceful, dreamless slumber.
After gently wiping the remaining tears off of the child's face she smiled and glided back to the wall, leaping up to windowsill and beginning.
********************
Obi-Wan gave a start as he felt a soft and gentle hand rest on his forehead. Before he could open his eyes to see who it was, he was engulfed with waves if light and reassurance. He felt it coming into his being from the outside, but also echoing from deep within his being.
'Sleep, little one,' he heard a beautiful, almost musical, feminine voice command from deep within his with gentle insistence.
He suddenly felt very sleepy.
'Rest now,' the voice continued, 'all is well...'
After a moment of trying to fight it, he gave up and fell into a blissful world of nothingness, no longer haunted by the event of one month past.
** 2 Years Later **
Four-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi wandered through the temple, desperately trying to find something, *anything* recognizable.
He'd gone with the other crèche kids to watch some of the older initiates spar right before dinner, and hadn't noticed when the crèche master had led everyone else out of the training room and, probably to the cafeteria.
Not wanting to get into trouble again, Obi-Wan had run out of the room, not thinking to ask any of the older Jedi for aid, and had ended lost in a part of the temple he'd never seen before.
Still not thinking to ask for help, the young Jedi had wandered even farther into the unknown corridors, and soon found himself even more lost, in a part of the temple where no one else appeared to be.
So now that he thought of it, he *couldn't* ask for help.
To make matters worse, it was long past sundown, and, as they did every night , the corridor lights were dimmed a degree, in reflection of the hour.
'I wonder if anyone will come to find me...' Obi-Wan thought worriedly. He shook his head, knowing that even if the masters did come looking for him, they probably wouldn't notice his absence until bedtime. Especially since the other initiates wouldn't think of pointing out that he was missing and wouldn't care if he was found in one piece or not. 'Well... that new girl, Bant might...' he thought with a slight smile, still plodding along quietly, looking for anything familiar.
Bant was an initiate from the planet of Mon Calamari, who'd come to the temple a little over a year ago and had been transferred into his crèche group two weeks before. The Calamarian was a little over two years younger than Obi-Wan himself. She had the salmon-colored skin that was common among her kind and large silver eyes that seemed to be able to look into your soul. She had ignored both the advice and the derision of the other crèche children to form a tentative friendship with him.. something he had almost forgotten how much he wanted, as he'd never expected to have a true friend.
Hearing quiet foot steps approaching, Obi-Wan spun around, to see a tall cloaked figure approaching. He breathed a sigh of relief, taking a hesitant step forward and preparing to call out to the older Jedi.
He blinked, uncertain of how to proceed as the Forces urgent warnings began to beset him.
The approaching figure was a Force-user , certainly, he could feel that... but... they didn't *feel* like the other knights and masters Obi-Wan had met... they felt... *dark*... and the young Jedi could feel an incredible, and terrible convergence of intense hatred sparsely mixed with fear, coming from the older Force-user.
"Hello there, young one..." the approaching figure called, as the young Jedi began to back away instinctively, his voice seemingly solicitous, yet striking the initiate as rather... specious. "What are you doing down here all alone?"
Obi-Wan continued to back away, and the other Force-user increased his pace.
"Don't be afraid," he said, "I won't hurt you..."
Obi-Wan hesitated, if this was a knight or master, then he was an odd one, but he could still help him... he just wanted to eat and get back to the Crèche.
The dark-cloaked man smiled, "There's a good boy..."
Obi-Wan stayed where he was until the other Force-user was only a few feet away.
A surge in the Force made him dodge to the right, just as a red lightsaber blade sliced through the air, cutting through where he had been standing.
Obi-Wan ran through the dark corridors, desperately trying to escape his mysterious pursuer, who was rapidly gaining. He was still terribly lost, and having no idea where he was, seeking help was rather difficult.
He half stumbled, half ran through the corridors; once again having reverted to unconsciously summoning the Force's aid in order to escape... but the other, older and more experienced Force-user was not far behind.
He quickly turned a corner and saw an exit not far ahead of them, which appeared to go out into a garden. Hoping it led to the main gardens, where he would no doubt find many other Jedi, he increased his speed.
Running through the portal, he found that this was only a small garden, one that he'd never seen before and that appeared to not be a part of the main gardens. He ran through the small garden, down the pathway, gasping painful breaths of air and willing his young, exhausted legs to move faster.
If he'd found this garden under different circumstances, such as when he was exploring the temple on his own, he would have taken time to notice the sheer beauty of his surroundings, as it was, everything was a blur, due to both the speed he was running at and the tears that were falling from his eyes.
It was just as he came to what appeared to be the center of the garden that his physical strength finally failed him, his young body not able to withstand the it was under from both the physical exertion and the magnitude of the Force he'd been unknowingly pulling through his body.
He stumbled and fell to the ground, twisting his ankle and skinning both his right knee and elbow, his forehead hitting the ground as he landed with a gasp right in front of a beautiful, ancient Merelia tree.
He rolled over in time to see his pursuer come to a halt a few feet from him before quickly narrowing the gap between them, his dark black robes billowing out behind him ominously, his red eyes holding an obvious not of triumph as he approached.
Obi-Wan whimpered as he drew back against the Merelia tree.
His assailant grinned maliciously as he loomed over the fallen Jedi.
Obi-Wan heard the red lightsaber ignite and his eyes widened as he watched the saber's descent.
He closed his eyes tightly as it came toward him.
______________! [AN: Fill in the blank, then tell me what you think should be there, I can't think of what 2 lightsabers hitting each other should sound like...]
His eyes snapped open, to see that the blade of a white lightsaber had stopped his attacker's blade an inch from his face.
His wide blue eyes traveled up from his saviors grip on the unique saber to his defender hi-*herself*. Cloaked in long white robes with her long silver hair flowing out of a simple, yet elegant bun (French-braid?) on the back of her head down to her waist behind her, she appeared to be a human in her early twenties, but, for some reason, Obi-Wan felt that she was *far* older...
Only half a second after halting his assailant, although it seemed much longer to Obi-Wan himself, his protector pushed up and began to attack the dark Force-user with blinding speed.
Obi-Wan watched, eyes wide, as the two, quite obviously as different as night and day, began to fight, although it soon became evident that the light-cloaked women was much, *much* better than his attacker. Tall and slender, she moved with the grace of a Twi'lek, and speed that few beings could ever hope to match.
Apparently recognizing that he was *far* outmatched, the dark-cloaked humanoid desist in his attack, quickly falling back and quitting the garden with the utmost haste.
Once her opponent was out of her sight, the woman turned and walked over to him, sinking to the ground with almost boneless grace.
"Are you alright, little one?" she asked, her beautiful voice the most musical sound he'd ever heard, and oddly familiar, meeting his wide blue eyes with her own cerulean orbs.
'Little one... wait... why is her voice so familiar?' Obi-Wan blinked. "D- do I know you?" he asked hesitantly.
A soft smile graced her otherwise neutral, flawless features. "No you do not, little one, but I know you."
"You do?" Obi-Wan blinked, "but... how?"
She smiled, "Your a little young to be hearing all of the reasoning behind this Obi-Wan, but you deserve to hear at least some of the truth." She sighed, "How much do you know of the Force Wars, Obi-Wan?"
He blinked, "Uhh... They happened a really long time ago..."
She laughed lightly, "Yes, they were. Do you know anything else?"
Obi-Wan frowned, "There were bad people fighting the Jedi... the Sith... I think..."
She nodded, "Yes..."
"And after a lot of fighting the Jedi won and the Sith have been extinct ever since." He finished with a smile, pleased that he remembered so much from his Crèche Master's stories.
The woman sighed again, "That is where the Jedi archives are wrong... they know *very* little about the Force Wars... particularly how they ended..." She shook her head, "Did you know that there was actually another group involved in the Force Wars?"
Obi-Wan started to shake his head, then stopped, "Oh yeah! Master Yoda thinks that some people called the *Illuminati* were involved..."
She nodded, "And Master Yoda is right." She continued to hold his gaze, "Do you know who the *Illuminati* are and what they stand for?"
"N-no, not really..." Obi-Wan replied. "They were supposedly really, *really* strong in the Force though..."
"Yes," she smiled, "They were, and still are." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "There were three parties involved in the Force Wars; the Jedi, the Sith and the Illuminati... the Jedi and the Illuminati were allies, as both fought for and were guided by the Light Side of the Force..."
"But, wh-why weren't they Jedi?" Obi-Wan interrupted.
She smiled, "Originally they were... of course, the Sith were originally part of the Jedi Order as well, when it was first founded... both groups broke off for different reasons..."
"Wh-why?..."
"As the Order became more refined and demanding, as the Code was formed, some Jedi disagreed with it... The Order came to recognize that the Force has two faces, and therefore band the Dark Side, for the most part, which is exemplified in the current Code, which is meant to lead Jedi away from the Darkness... some of the Jedi had trained themselves to use the Dark Side of the Force; they became masters of deception, greed, hatred and all the evils attached to the Dark Side... as the Code was enforced, they refused to except it, and instead rebelled against the Council, thereby forming the Order of the Sith." She shook her head, "The Force Wars did not commence for several centuries afterward, when both Orders were obviously drastically different..."
"Wh-what about the Illuminati?" Obi-Wan asked, looking somewhat mystified.
"The Jedi are considered by most who have the authority to judge it; the rivals of the Sith, which they are, in a way, but the Illuminati are their rivals even more. The Order of the Illuminati formed near the end of the Force Wars, it was made up of people who were different from their Jedi comrades in two ways..." She opened her eyes and looked into Obi-Wan's once more, "What do you know of the Prophesy?"
"About the one who will bring balance to the Force?"
"Yes..."
"Not much..." Obi-Wan shrugged, wincing as the ache in his head intensified, "I-I know that supposedly a Chosen One will come one day who is stronger in the Force than any other... and... they will bring balance to the Force..."
"Yes, that is the Jedi's version of it... which overlooks several parts of the original prophesy..." She sighed, "Both the Illuminati and Sith have a similar Prophecy... that one day two Chosen One's shall come; One of the Dark and One of the Light, their strength in the Force unmatchable... they shall be what decides the course of the future..."
"So the Illuminati left because they disagreed with the Prophesy?"
"Partially... they also left because they felt the Code wasn't strict enough in peaceful times and didn't really prepare Jedi to face Sith'..." She replied.
"Oh..." Obi-Wan winced again, bringing his hand up to examine the throbbing bruise that now slightly disfigured his forehead.
The lady shook her head, "I expect the Crèche Masters are worried sick about you... you'd should be headed back, but relax first..." she instructed, "That's it, now concentrate on you r breathing and take deep, slow breaths..."
Startled at first as she led him through the first few steps of the meditation the Creche Masters had recently begun teaching them, Obi-Wan closed his eyes and readily complied. As he continued to focus on his breathing, he felt the force swell around him, and also felt it flowing into him from the core of his being. He soon felt as though he was incased in and filled with warmth and light.
Slowly it began to fade until only a small amount of it remained, and once it was gone, Obi-Wan was shocked to note that all the pain he'd been in was completely gone. He looked down at his right knee and was astonished to see that where the painful scrape had been was now new, unmarred flesh, he glanced at his elbow to see that it was the same and knew that the bruise was gone as well since his headache was no longer present.
"Alright now?" He heard his guardian ask.
Looking up to meet her steady cerulean gaze, Obi-Wan nodded.
"Very good then, let's get you back to the Crèche."
"You're just going to bring me in?"
"No," she smiled, "I'm going to sneak you in... they'll find you comfortably sleeping in your bed."
"Oh..." Obi-Wan blinked, "How are we going to do that?" He didn't think anything could get past the Crèche Masters right inside the Crèche.
"Oh..." she smiled, "I have my ways..." she then raised an eyebrow, "but first, perhaps we should get you something to eat?"
********************
Obi-Wan sat on his bed staring at the much taller woman in astonishment, "H- how did you do that!?!"
She smiled, "The Illuminati have mastered some areas of the Force that the Jedi are completely unaware of... that was one of the... now, I believe you should get some sleep."
"Oh... right..." Obi-Wan laid back in the bed and smiled as the Illuminati tucked him in. "Th-thank you..."
She smiled, "You are quite welcome Obi-Wan Kenobi," she replied, "Now -"
"Wait!" Obi-Wan cried eyes wide.
"What is it?"
"I-I don't know y-your name! Who are you?"
She smiled, "I am Serenity Cosmos, a Councilor and Master of the Illuminati Order." She placed her cool hand on his brow, "*Sleep* well, Obi..." she instructed and he felt powerful Force suggestions enter his exhausted body, telling him to do just that.
He then heard her voice inside his head once more and realized where'd he'd heard her before, just as he slipped into a peaceful, dreamless slumber.
********************
Serenity smiled at the boys curiosity but directed him towards his bed nonetheless.
"Oh... right..." The boy smiled as she tucked him in, "Th-thank you..."
She smiled again, "You are quite welcome Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now-"
"Wait!" The boy cried, halting her.
"What is it?"
"I-I don't know y-your name! Who are you?"
She smiled calmly, "I am Serenity Cosmos, Councilor and Master of the Illuminati Order." She replied as she placed her cool hand on his slightly feverish brow, sending powerful Force suggestion into his tired body. "*Sleep* well, Obi..." As his eyes closed she sent a message along their unusual bond. 'Rest now, little one, all is well...'
And the four-year-old Chosen One of the Light fell into a deep, dreamless and therefore painless sleep.
End Prologue
AN: That's the end of the Prologue! Tell me what you think! (Hint!: *whispers* that means REVIEW!...) Btw, what's a good onomatopoeia for when two lightsabers engage? I seriously couldn't think of anything that worked! ( ... Anyway, I hope you like it. I'm currently working on another fic; Lady Serenity, and yes, the "Serenity" in this was partially modeled after the Serenity in "Lady Serenity" who was based off of Usagi/Serena or Princess Serena/Serenity in Sailor Moon, which belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, as I stated in my disclaimer, but there are quite a few things in this that are NOT Sailor Moon in any form, and this is definitely and AU, but not a Sailor Moon/Star Wars crossover, just Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice AU. I may pull something's from the SM story line if I get stuck in here to add to Serenity's character, but I honestly just like the name and the pretty much OC I've developed in my head based off of a cross between Neo-Queen Serenity and her mother Queen Serenity, this, like I said before is NOT suppose to be a crossover with Sailor Moon... uhh... ok.... I'm done now ^_^. Oh, and btw, I don't have any clue what the "Illuminati" was originally made for, I remembered them from Tomb Raider, and remembered it meant "Children of the Light" or something like that, and I liked the way it sounded, so I decided to use that for the name of the groups... Hope you like it! Tell me what you think! And... could someone help me think of a title?.. I'm not sure mine fits... REVIEW! REVIEW!! REVIEW!!! Bye! ^_^
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