AN: Hello! Did you miss not having a Friday update? If yes, then seriously, go check my profile because DIVISION HAS LANDED! Andy is here, and she's ready to fight the Empire. And there is some carry-over of the Displacement OC's, cause literally the first chapter has Neria bailing Andy out of a bad situation. Go read Division. It's gonna be wild. Go read it.

But for now, enjoy some more Michelle and Ozerra! Who are working out the whole Master-Padawan thing, and not doing all that bad a job of it.

Enjoy!

Part 4, Chapter 2: In The Dark

Meditating with someone else took effort.

It wasn't supposed to – for most Jedi, the feeling of another's mind contemplating the Force with them was soothing. A good way to strengthen any bond.

But for Michelle, meditating with someone else was extremely stressful, considering just how many secrets were in her mind. Let alone the risk of someone noticing Ketros's presence. That would end in many awkward questions.

Ketros and Michelle were pretty sure that anyone who got far enough into their mind would figure out there was two people in there. Might even be able to talk to Ketros.

It had taken some long talks between the two of them, before agreeing not to let that happen.

Because sure, Ketros might be able to talk to her loved ones again, but only ever through the medium of Michelle. It had been seven years since she'd seen or talked to any of them, and Ketros hadn't changed at all in that time. They'd left her behind, unintentionally, but left her behind all the same. What would be the point of talking to them? It would only rip open old wounds on both sides.

So after some arguing, Michelle had agreed to make sure nobody else was able to speak to Ketros.

But Ozerra was a new element.

Ozerra had never known Ketros. She wasn't Michelle's friend, she was her student. And she needed a level of support that Michelle could not possibly give without exposing Ketros's existence.

They'd talked it over during the battle, and after, whenever Michelle had had a spare moment, and had agreed to let Ozerra in – to really, properly, let Ozerra in.

…Although they were going to leave out the detail of Michelle knowing the future. That was something Ozerra didn't need to be worried about.

But still, it was difficult to actually open her mind up to another. It was a practice thing, she figured. She'd set an hard boundary for so long, now she didn't feel comfortable even when she wanted someone to cross that boundary.

In a way, it was sort of like with her chest. Growing up in North American Earth society meant that, for her, breasts were astoundingly sexual objects. For the rest of the galaxy… sure, on some level, but nobody was getting arrested for public indecency if they went shirtless. When she had been shot before Geonosis, a lot of healers had seen her topless during her recovery. At first it had been mortifying, but soon enough it was just background static, to the point where she was comfortable doing things like running into battle wearing nothing but a towel around her waist.

Which she would not be comfortable doing again. Bacta could only work so fast, and it had taken her feet two days to heal. Two days of being medically banned from walking, she'd almost lost her damn mind. Next time, shoes took priority.

…And she was stalling, to avoid having to do this.

Right. Time to take the plunge.

Reluctantly, Michelle dropped most of her shields, and invited Ozerra into her mind.

She materialized in the grey space of her mindscape, and stretched. Technically speaking, her 'body' right now was just an extension of her conscious will and more of a metaphor than anything, but it felt real enough to her. Besides, it helped to get metaphysically settled.

An outline appeared, before Ozerra formed in as well, sitting in a perfect meditation lotus, eyes closed, and face serene.

"Padawan?"

Ozerra's eyes opened. Almost immediately, she let out a cry of surprise and jumped to her feet, looking around in shock.

"What happened? Where are we!?"

Michelle stood up as well, and looked around. Yup. Same old mindscape.

"Uh… in my mind? We're meditating. Together. Remember?"

Ozerra stared, her expression one of deep confusion and disbelief.

"That doesn't explain what this is! All of… this? Doesn't happen when meditating. Ever. What's going on?"
"Wait- seriously? Oh. Oh my god, I kind of just thought that like – everybody had this. Has it just been me this whole time?" Michelle asked, feeling confused, and just a little bit stupid. Was it because of the whole situation with Ketros?

"Yeah, it's because of me being here." Ketros said, also materializing in.

Ozerra yelped, flinching away in surprise.

"Hey Ketros. Don't scare my Padawan?"

"Not my fault she's jumpy. Hi Ozerra, nice to meet you, I'm Michelle Ketros."

"No you aren't, she's Michelle Ketros! Who are you? WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

"Alright, calm down. Probably should have explained this first, but well… I figured you wouldn't believe me if I just told you. It's kind of an unbelievable story. Yes, I am Michelle Ketros. So is she. We're the same person, just from different dimensions. Alternate versions of each other. I'm… not actually a Jedi. At least, not really." Michelle explained, gesturing between her and Ketros in the process.

"When I was fifteen, I was on a mission that went south. I took a bad hit to the head, passed out on the flight back to Coruscaunt, fell into a coma, and started dying. I tried to use the Force to save myself, but I was out of it from the head wound, and didn't have an overly strong will to live. Which is where she comes in." Ketros added, nodding to Michelle.

For her part, Ozerra's eyes were wide, but she seemed to be following the story.

"Where I'm from, the Force doesn't exist. Nobody has it. I grew up as a normal civilian with my family. But when I was fifteen, I got into an accident, and was fatally wounded. It took a while for me to die, and before I did, the paramedics arrived, and well… triage. I was left for dead. So when I died, I was terrified, desperate, and really wanted to live. So when at the same time, Ketros was trying to use the Force to get back to her body…"

"Michelle got caught up in it as well. But her will was stronger than mine at the time, mostly due to our very different emotional states when we died, so she took over my body. Leaving me as essentially a ghost, tethered to her mind."

"While I was suddenly waking up in a different universe, with everyone convinced I belonged there. Since Ketros had gone down from a blow to the head, when I woke up, the healers assumed that the brain damage had caused amnesia, and I was too freaked out to try and tell anybody what really happened. Especially considering it took a few months for me and Ketros to establish contact, so I didn't even know what had happened until it was too late. But since I inherited Ketros's life and Force sensitivity, I figured I might as well be a Jedi. Especially considering I knew nothing about the galaxy as a whole, and was just a scared fifteen year old suffering from a bad case of interdimensional displacement."

"Meanwhile I can't get back into control of my body, and I can't go anywhere – not without becoming one with the Force for real, and I… don't want to do that yet. At first, I was able to teach Michelle how to handle life as a Jedi, considering I didn't actually lose my memories. But she grew beyond me years ago, before she was even knighted, and I don't change at all. I'll be fifteen forever. So now I help with our mental shielding – it's crazy strong for a reason, and that reason is there's two of us making shields."

"Plus, we talk like, all the time. It's been seven years like this, we're used to sharing a mind. Besides, we are technically the same person, and we work well together. It's good to have someone else to bounce ideas off of, especially since we can trust each other with anything. As for why we're telling you this… well, we've never let anybody in here before. Not like this. All of my friends knew Ketros first, and think that I'm her. Well, except for Anakin and Obi-Wan, but I met them before I could talk to Ketros, so they also believe that I had amnesia as a teenager that I never recovered from. This isn't something I can tell them. How do I explain to Master Coltin that I'm not the girl he chose as his padawan? How do I tell Ketros's crechemates that we didn't grow up together? That I didn't grow up in the temple at all? That… that's not something I want to do. It'd hurt too much for all of us, and change nothing. It's easier for everyone to carry on with the amnesia thing. But you're different, Ozerra. You're my student. I want you to know me, to really understand who your teacher is, and why I am the way I am. And that means knowing about Ketros. You following?"

"Master, I… I had no idea. That all of that had happened to you. You – you weren't even raised in the Temple! You couldn't feel the Force until you were fifteen! You – oh stars, you're not even in your real body, are you?" Ozerra blurted out, eyes wide, and looking worryingly close to bursting into tears.

"Well… not technically. It bothered me when I was younger, but as time's gone by, I've been able to get myself looking more like… well, myself again. What with growing my hair out, dyeing it, piercing my ears… that sort of thing. Knighthood's made it easier. I'm considering getting tattoo's, actually – didn't have any on my original body, but I wanted some. Could be cool. …That's not the point. The point is, yeah, my life's been rough, and a lot weirder than most people's, but… I'm here. I'm alive. And honestly? While I miss my dimension, and my family, and my old life, I'm pretty happy right now. If I had the option to go back, I'm not sure if I would take it."

"What she's trying to say is, we're not exactly an orthodox Jedi, if only due to our interesting situation. So you can talk to us about anything. We want you to be able to talk to us. We've both lost everything, and are still here. Let us help you, Padawan."

Ozerra closed her eyes for a moment, before sitting down on the floor. Michelle and Ketros both joined her.

"I… haven't really talked about it before. I've been trying to let go of my grief, not dwell on it."

"Sometimes, when you're feeling bad, you need to dwell on it for a while before you can move on. Trying to pretend you never hand those feelings in the first place will just make more problems than it solves. …You said his name was Master Retlaw, right?" Michelle prompted, tone gentle.

Ozerra took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Yeah. Master Iden Retlaw. He chose me as his padawan when I was eleven. Said that the Force led him to me, and it would be foolish not to act on that. He was always serene and patient, and confident in everything he did. Said that the Force would see us through to where we were meant to be. He didn't want me to go to Geonosis, but I insisted. The Force wanted me to go, so he let me come, and – and I know that the Force wanted me to save him, but I didn't, we got separated, and he was shot, and – and I didn't even know until I found him dying on the ground! Three years, and I couldn't even sense when he was dying! I failed him! And I can't even tell anyone about it because I know I'm not supposed to be hurting this much, and that Master Retlaw would want me to let go, but I… I can't. And I'm scared, I'm scared to go into battle, and I'm scared to have another Master, and I'm scared that I'll lose you too. I mean… we're in a war. And you're such a big target, the Separatists really want you dead. So I know there's a big chance that you might not make it, and it always just gets bigger, and… I don't know. I'm just sad and scared all the time." She said, voice rising in pitch and intensity near the end, before dropping off again, and ending with a self conscious shrug.

Ketros and Michelle made alarmed eye contact over Ozerra's head.

Ozerra was worried about losing Michelle, like she lost her last Master. That Michelle would die in combat, or the Separatists would have her killed due to her fame.

But Michelle knew that her fame was just a way for Palpatine to easily keep an eye on her. Knew that with the deadman's switch still a standing threat, he couldn't afford to kill her. Those orders would have been passed along to Dooku, who would shoot down any concentrated Separatist attempt on her life. So as long as Michelle didn't go around making stupid mistakes in battle, she was perfectly safe.

…Well, as safe as anyone sitting in a stalemate with an angry Sith Lord could be.

But Ozerra didn't know that, and really didn't need to know those details.

Michelle sighed. This Master thing was hard.

"Look, Padawan. I'm going to be honest here. We… haven't told you everything about my situation. There's more details, but those are incredible complicated, and you having the information will just put you in danger. So I need you to trust me when I say, there are greater forces at play here than anyone is aware, and I know exactly what I am doing. I also know that the Separatists want to keep a very close eye on me, but also want me to stay alive, for reasons I can't fully explain, but can summarize as essentially several years of a mutual blackmail stalemate that they can't afford to break. If I die… well, let's just say I have information that can ruin several centuries worth of planning, and they really don't want me to do that. So my death, while plausible, isn't going to be a Separatist end goal anytime soon. …Um, all of that is incredibly secret for the record, and I'm going to need you to never repeat it to anybody ever. Same with me being from a different dimension, and Ketros existing. Just, in general, pretend this talk never happened."

Ozerra did not look particularly comforted. She actually looked somewhere between alarmed and suspicious.

"So… whose side are you on?"

…Yeah, that was a fair concern to have. Michelle's description had been pretty suspicious, and they were at war. Really, a lot of the things Michelle did ranged from being kind of suspicious, to potentially incriminating. Good thing she knew how to hide her actions.

"The Republic. Always the Republic. In general, my motives are to uphold democracy, protect the Jedi, and with any luck eradicate the Sith. The last ones the big one. I might not use… strictly approved methods to get there, but at the end, my goals have never changed, and probably never will. But my opponents don't play by the rules, so I can't afford to either."

Ozerra still looked suspicious. Ketros pulled an alarmed face, and silently gestured for Michelle to do something.

"…I promise, when this is all over, I'll explain everything to you. No secrets, complete honesty. But for now, I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

"I… don't know. What happens if I don't?"

"Hm. Well… Nothing, I guess. I'd have to hide what I'm up to from you more, and it would probably make things strained between us, but that's about it. I promised to make you a Jedi, and that's what I'm going to do. If you don't trust me now, I can wait until you do trust me, or I can handle the fact that our bond won't have any trust in it. I'm not interested in forcing you to feel or do anything."

Ozerra nodded, and then gave a small smile.

"I'm not sure if I trust you yet. But I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt for now, and I realise that your situation is… entirely more complicated than I could ever predict, or even understand. So I'll try. Is that okay?"

Michelle grinned back, relieved.

"That's all I ever ask."

AN: Look man, I'm just saying, in the middle of a war, Michelle's methods go from being eccentric to being suspicious as all hell. Ozerra had some legitimate concerns that Michelle was Separatist, or at least working with them. And I mean… she's not entirely wrong. Michelle does have a deal with Palpatine after all.

This may be the first time Michelle accidentally incriminates herself, but it's not going to be the last. Her problem is, she needs to start taking action, but almost all the actions she needs to take run the risk of alienating her allies. So she needs to find the happy medium of doing what needs to be done, while keeping anyone from finding out. Let's just hope nobody interrupts her in the middle of something that can't be explained away. After all, there's quite a few villains that are high ranking members of the Republic right now, and if someone catches Michelle being proactive about it… well, it's best to just not get caught.

Anyways, I'm tired as hell and going to bed. Ahsoka shows up next chapter, and you should all go read Division. Cheers bitches.