Kids in the Dark

Amidst the danger, we prevail

Summary: Mace wakes up grumpy. Anakin cries. Ventress, why are you still here? Obi-Wan has a bad feeling. Ahsoka has a bad feeling.

"Mace, look what I got!"

Mace turns to receive a cluster of blumfruit from his fellow clan member. He looked up to see a familiar yet blurry face.

"Maybe we can convince Master Chrundi to let us all make muffins!"

Master Chrundi? Mace's old clan Master.

Looking around he identified the room he was it. The initiatives hall for Clan Jubba. His fellow clan member name was on the tip of his tongue. No matter how hard he tried to remember it seemed to slip past his grasp.

"Stop thinking so hard, Mace. You need to learn some charm." He could see the youngling let lose a juvenile smile.

Psshew

Mace turns just in time to see a pair of initiatives dueling in the sparring room.
How did he get here? A hand on his shoulder jolt his body.
The boy but older was here again.

"Don't rush it! Make sure your fight gets some of those Masters attentions." His signature smile was shown again.

"Cocky, aren't we?" Mace couldn't help but jab back. It's been a while since he teased with a close friend.

"We can't all be promised a Master like me!" The young lad whiffed with pride. "People like you gotta work for it."

"Hey!"

"Okay," The Boy raised his hands in resignation. "Jus-... just know that I got your back. You'll find your Master and we can become the most fearsome padawan pair."

Mace looked deep in those dark blue eyes. Trying to find the darkness lurking into it that he missed long ago. All his saw was a gleeful child, steadfast in the light. He twisted his head back to the fight, only to see a glass window. He almost stepped back down a long drop.

"Whoa there, buddy! Watch your step! I rather not die while chasing that scum!"
His best friend was hugging the wall glowering at the distance.

Mace could hear him curse under his breath.
"We can't just let them get away! They're going to pay for their crimes!"

"We lost our bike," argued Mace. "Let's just wait for our Mas-"

Instead of hearing Mace's reply, his rash companion sprang off the building embracing gravitation....

Taking Mace with him.

His companion's long dark hair was following up against the wind.
"SO MANY REGRETS RIGHT NOOOWW!"

"YOU THINK!" Roared Mace.

Leave it for the eager Telosian human to take the brash way of things.

He blinked and found himself under a waterfall in the room of a thousand fountains next to the Telos human. His name searing his mind as he sought to remember.

"It's not fair! Qui-Gon doesn't say it but I can see it. And every time Feemor visits, I swear he acts like the stupid perfect Jedi!"

Back then he would listen to those ravings, trying to help his friend. Both of them admittedly known for anger issues.

Luckily Mace's Master was able to help him channel that anger into more productive use. Sadly Qui-Gon ways seemed to not make a significant impact on his own student.

It was not comfortable to admit, but the dark-haired padawan has a hard time letting go of his anger. Some of the Jedi would approve to just ignore it, but Mace... he didn't see the point in that, all it did was prolong the problem.

He wished he done something.

The fallout was brutal, no one knew what happen to Xanatos on Telos IV. He found out, faced the Padawan that accompanied his close friend. He remembers the sense of devastation from the news. His oldest friend fell to the Darkside and tried to kill Qui-Gon. Yoda took him aside and told him Xanatos was no more.

His friend was dark the whole time? That can be! This is Xanatos!
Sure he's brash, proud, self-confident, passionate and at times emotional but never wicked.

Not dark!
He banned any memory. Yeah, he shaved his head. It had NOTHING to do with Xani.
Yep, nothing at all.

He banished any resemblance.

He remembers when he first saw Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon became a broken man after Xanatos's treachery. But Obi-Wan managed to pull him together. For a while, they became the greatest pair of Jedi's in the temple. Than Qui-Gon died and Obi-Wan stubbornly declared Anakin Skywalker as his padawan.

Anakin, the boy that seems to be a little shadow of Xanatos, is reckless and brash. There was darkness in the boy, he knew it. Obi-Wan acted like Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon who ignored Xanatos anger and flaws. Likewise with Obi-Wan to Anakin.

Did he walk away?
No.
He couldn't.

Fermor ignored anything related to Qui-Gon after getting wrongfully disowned by the man. Yoda was too busy. Dooku, well Dooku is not an option.

Unofficially in private Mace Windu became Obi-Wan's older padawan brother. While he refuses to give Obi-Wan any slack, there is a reason Obi-Wan comes to him sometimes to talk. He still didn't trust Anakin, but he wouldn't just convict the boy for something he did not do.

Didn't mean he wouldn't keep a closer eye.
He wouldn't miss the signs this time.
Looking up he saw Xanatos as a kid, smiling with happiness.
"Come on Mace! You still got to finish-"