Darkness swirled around him. He could feel the grit of mining dust, could feel the collar that had kept him aboard the mining yacht, scratch irritably against his skin. Thankfully, it was deactivated for the moment due to Qui-Gon Jinn's great skill. In their hurried silence, Obi-Wan's heart rapt in his ears, until he was sure each and every vein would burst with the pressure. Xanatos, the Jedi Master's fallen apprentice, was going to destroy the entire planet of Bandomeer, covering up his illegal activities and killing thousands of beings in the process.

This was everything he'd thought a mission would be like, had even dreamt about as he lay in his bunk in the Temple. He could almost hear the buzz of his model starfighters circling over his head. But in so many ways, this was unlike anything he had ever imagined. In his dream he always came flying in at the last moment or blocked that crucial shot with his lightsaber.

Right then as he felt Qui-Gon's frantic thoughts bump against his own, he'd never been more helpless in his life. He wasn't a Jedi, all this training seemed inadequate. People were going to die. And he was only an inexperienced child.

His eyes flickered to Qui-Gon, who was doing his own estimation of the area, looking for any possible escape. But Obi-Wan knew, he'd been working the mining tunnels for days and how volatile an explosion an ignited lightsaber could do in a closed tunnel and enough stale gas. The other slaves on the mining yacht had not been hesitant in explaining the unlikelihood of their survival.

Obi-Wan turned back to the shut door, his skin brushing against the near razor edge of the slave collar. Inspiration dawned and he shuddered. Slowly, he reached into his tunic and pulled out the remote that would activate his collar.

It was then that the Jedi Master realized he was dreaming. The trial of his youth was long past over and this was only a flicker of synopsis causing him to relive a part of his life that had been both struggle and reward. Lucid now, Obi-Wan allowed the dream to play out. He remembered turning to Qui-Gon then and declaring his brave and incredibly naive plan to save the planet of Bandomeer.

But as he turned this time, he found Anakin in Qui-Gon's place. It was not Anakin as he was now; jilted and given to anger and hatred. This was Anakin as he had been, on the cusp of becoming a Jedi as young Obi-Wan had been when Qui-Gon Jinn accepted him as his apprentice. He stood with his hands at his side, dressed in his customary brown and black Jedi garb, his hair shorn to the Padawan style, no longer long and wavy, his head considering Obi-Wan at a tilt.

"Anakin," he breathed, a line forming between his brows as he squinted in the pale light.

"Why don't you open the door?" Anakin asked, the pace of his words, slow, milky, and deliberate.

Confused, Obi-Wan shook his head. "This isn't how it happened," he argued. "You weren't even born yet."

"Does it matter?" Now there was the lilting smile, the cocky grin. An image of Ben Skywalker flashed before the exit. "Time is running out."

"Xanatos is gone," the next denial tore out of Obi-Wan's voice.

Disappointed, Anakin said, "You're still missing the point."

Unaccustomed to his former apprentice speaking in riddles, Obi-Wan felt his irritation rise. "What exactly is the point, Anakin?"

"Are you going to use that?" the younger man asked, jerking his head at the remote still clutched in Obi-Wan's hand. "You must decide."

Was Anakin to be concentrated on killing him even in his dreams? "The circle needs to be complete," he exclaimed, pointing to the half-circle that had been Xanatos' trademark.

bWhen I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the Master/b a menacing voice, breathed in a rhythmic hiss. He saw the flash of a red lightsaber, a cloak fluttering lifeless to a sterile floor.

"It is nearly finished," the young Jedi pointed out, scratching his neck thoughtfully.

"Will you open it?" Obi-Wan asked. Back in his youth it had taken the power of both himself and Qui-Gon to complete the circle.

In answer Anakin walked to the blast doors and pressed his hand to the metal. Skin went through metal as the wind cut through the branches of trees. With a child-like smile, Anakin took his hand out and waved it towards Obi-Wan.

"It takes two," Obi-Wan admitted.

A blink and Anakin had vanished, leaving him alone in the mining tunnel. "No," he muttered and walked to the half circle emblazoned on metal. He put his hand on it and focused his will on the door. He would not lose Anakin again, especially not in the enigma of his own mind.

The two ends, the edges of the near complete circle began to slink towards one another. But just as those opposite ends were to meet, his own power gave out and he could not make complete the circle. "No! Dammit!" He didn't know what lay behind that door but he knew it was better then the darkness enveloping him. He had to believe in a better world. "Master, please," he begged for the first time of the dead.

Silence echoed his plea and he punched at the metal, the unyielding rock. He felt the darkness lick at his frustration, promising him easy power, enough to complete that circle.

A hand clamped on his shoulder. "You cannot fight the darkness like that." Ben Skywalker grabbed his hand. "I'm here to help."

Grasping the future Jedi's hand was like holding sand, but eventually he got them positioned over the near-circle. With the power of two, Obi-Wan caused the ends to meet and the door hissed. He stumbled back as the slabs of metal spurted apart. Behind lay Anakin, as he was now, restrained in his cell.

"Sometimes it is as simple as opening the door," his Masters' voice reverberated in his mind.

"You're joking," Ben gasped, as Obi-Wan finished laying out his plan.

Cocking an eyebrow, the older Jedi replied, "This from the boy who traveled back through time on the whims of Force-visions."

Grunting begrudgingly, Ben said, "I had no other choice. It was either travel through time or let the Jedi become extinct." Anger clouded Ben's next words. "You release Anakin and you put everyone on this ship in danger. We're talking about my father and my aunt. Innocence in this."

"I've trusted you, Ben. Against everything logical thought would tell me, I've trusted you. I understand that you fear for your family, but need I remind you that Anakin is a part of it," Obi-Wan chastised gently. "All I ask is you return a little of that trust to me."

"A little? I suppose you think an asteroid is just a little obstacle," Ben shot facetiously.

A sly smile turned the corners of Obi-Wan's mouth. "From a certain point of view."

Ben groaned. "Now I see where my father got it." He eyes the older Jedi with his oceanic orbs. "Alright. But either you or I are with him at all times. Agreed?"

"Agreed."