Through a Glass, Darkly (A little postie 21/05/04)

Thanks for reading so far! I almost left this until tomorrow, to help spread things out a little, but this way I can use tomorrow to write. There will now be a short interlude while I play fill-in-the-gaps to the next bit that I have completed.

******

"Woo," Willow puffed as the Scoobies and associates arranged themselves back inside and began assessing the damage done by the fight. "So he really is a... a Jedi after all! Lightsaber, and... and Jedi medicine and everything!"

"So now we know that... what do we do with him?" Buffy asked.

"Can we keep him?" Xander croaked from Anya's lap. Barin was kneeling beside him as the Jedi worked on his leg and the others looked on with interest. Willow was itching to get her hands on the tiny medical scanner the Jedi had produced. Giles, Buffy and Spike had been more interested in the strange reddish-tinted gel he was using as an ointment. Experiment had shown that it worked equally well on Slayers, other humans and vampires. The bruises it had been tried on were already starting to fade. Only a shortage of supply prevented the lot of them from daubing themselves from head to foot.

?We may have to,? Giles said, rubbing his face thoughtfully. ?We don?t know how he got here, and personally I have no idea of how to get him back again. It is possible he has not merely come from another dimension in our own universe, but from a different reality altogether. In this reality, his own world is fictional. I? I believe Descartes had something to say on the subject.?

Willow looked up. ?Descartes? No, not Descartes. He said that any idea has its own reality. Don?t you mean Nietzsche??

?Oh god, please, anything but Nietzsche,? muttered Spike.

Xander looked seriously surprised. ?Spike knows Nietzsche??

Spike stared right back. ?Monkey-boy knows Nietzsche??

?Oh, hey, I knew Nietzsche,? Anya volunteered. ?Those migraines of his? That was me. When I was a vengeance demon. You see, he used to-?

"If we had to have a real Jedi turning up, couldn't we have had Obi-Wan instead?" Buffy complained suddenly, steering the conversation away from Anya?s past before Barin could start asking more questions. "The young one, I mean."

"Oy! First you say he-" Spike pointed at Barin "-looks like me, and then you say you prefer Ewan bloody McGregor. You have no taste, Slayer."

Buffy arched an eyebrow at the vampire. "Full of yourself, much?"

"Ewan is kinda cute..." Willow said, winding her fingers into Tara?s as she spoke.

"But he's Scottish!" Spike's tone of voice perfectly summarised his contempt for almost all things north of Watford.

"Hey!" Willow piped up, brightly. "I wonder if there's an alternate universe where... where we're only fictional characters and... and get played by actors?"

"Oh come on, who'd watch that?" Spike asked, scornfully. "What would they call it, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'? Ooh, catchy title. Sounds really scary."

"Who'd be me?" Xander tried to strike a pose, winced, and changed his mind. "Action guy! Keanu Reeves?"

"The One-Expression Wonder?" Spike snorted. "Nah. He'd play my sire, the big pansy."

"Well... well Buffy could have a stunt double to do the... the parts that hurt," Willow said, interrupting Xander's glare at the platinum-haired vampire.

"Someone else would get to hurt Spike instead of me?" Buffy asked.

"Now that's no fun," Spike pouted.

A slightly bemused Barin glanced towards an equally bemused Giles. "Are they always like this?" he asked quietly.

"Not... always," Giles replied, "but it is a constant source of amazement to me that they ever get anything useful done.? He watched Barin working for a while longer as the Jedi encased Xander?s leg in a flexible white wrapping he referred to as a Bacta Cast.

?That will be waterproof once it has set. Without a bone knitter the leg is going to take a few days to heal, I fear,? Barin added apologetically. The others gave him a collective look of surprise.

?But? but that?s like super-Slayer-healing,? Willow said. ?Just think how fast he could? could fix up Bu

 

Yeah! Two posts in one day!!!

I loved when everyone was talking about 'Buffy' the show. So what if there's a universe where fanfic writer are not real and only in stories? Wow, that gets confusing. Guess that answers my quetion if they had seen Epi 1.

~Swede

 

Oooo, this is too funny! So much good stuff! I can only say WOW so many times before the paint wears off the "W" (like it has off the "M" from typing "more" so often! ).

I LOVED Thom's observations; does Barin have any idea what a good job he's doing with his kid? I admit, for a moment I thought "High Heels" might be Our Favorite JediMaster, so both he & I are relieved by "Small Boots." (Though wasn't that Caligula's nickname? Not such a good thing...)

And as to the rest... well, I'm glad my roommate's out at the moment! Favorite lines so far:

"Oh come on, who'd watch that?" Spike asked, scornfully. "What would they call it, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'? Ooh, catchy title. Sounds really scary."

and:

?Okay. Xander?s right,? Buffy said. ?Giles, I want to keep him.?

?I don?t know, Slayer,? Spike drawled. ?You?d have to remember to take him for walks? and you?ll have to get a basket, he can?t sleep on your bed.?

Oh, I am putting in a query, which will hopefully be answered in a future post: can Jedi feel vampires through the Force? I mean, the Force is generated by living things, and vampires aren't. Living, that is. Do they register as a void? Do you believe I think about this story as I am driving home after work?!!

Okay. It's great. It's amazing. It's fabulous. Write fast!

 

Now that would be a desolate alternate reality indeed, if somebody else got to hurt Spike besides the real Buffy. Hai Gan, this post was perfect, just perfect! Loved Spike's contempt for anything north of Watford, and the reference to the young Obi-Wan, and the way Anya was responsible for Nietzsche's headaches, and the way Giles agreed that Barin was not a pet, and oh, just everything. Are we going to get to find out some of those hundred things that you really should not do with a lightsaber, and who teaches the class on how to look inscrutable when you're really completely bamboozled?

I'll second Renata: Write fast!

 

I have to sercond Renata's query: If the jedi can use the force to sense life-forces/signatures, then shouldn't Barin be able to notice that there is something not quite right about Spike. After all, vampires are a form of the undead; they don't breathe, and have no heart beat. I would think that the lack of life signs would be obvious if Barin bothered to "look."

Oh, and I think you answered someone's old question about whether or not the scooby gang knew about TPM. Definitely yes. I can't wait for them to see Obi/Ewan.

 

Thanks, everyone.

As far as whether Barin could sense something different about Spike- or any vampire- I haven't really shown everything Barin has noticed, only what he's chosen to let on that he's noticed...

Discussions on the nature of Vampire-dom and life-force will come later. I was thinking it would make a good Barin/Giles conversation.

 

There is just so much to praise about this story. Your action scenes are fantastic, and the dry humor that is interwoven into each scene is great!

?Elementary Jedi training. ?Wear Stoic Expression At All Times?,? Barin informed them. ?Right in between ?How To Sound Knowledgeable When Completely Bamboozled? and ?One Hundred Things You Really Should Not Do With Your Lightsaber.??

I really, really, really thought this was a funny line.

looking forward to the next part! Wonder what Buffy's reaction will be when young Obi does arrive (although I'd personnally rather have Qui arrive on the scene )

 

Great posts! Like the others have pointed out, excellent lines! I also really liked Thom's observations about the shoes and how he immediately recognised his Master's. Hopefully then it won't be too long until they're reunited!

About Renata's question, the Force is in innanimant objects, like rocks, isn't it? (Going from what Yoda said in ESB). And vampires are sort of alive in a sense, they heal and the like. Yet they are 'dead', without souls. Interesting question! I look forward to the Barin/Giles conversation!

 

Ahhh, no posts in two days? We're dying here, HaiGan. Give us more!

 

Delurking to plead for more ...

 

And did I mention I liked the Nietzche/Descartes discussion?

 

I have to go out of town on business. Please post before I leave tomorrow.

 

No chance of a post before friday at the earliest, I'm afraid. The time to sit down and rub more than a sentence together is just not going to happen.

Okay, so next time I finish the WHOLE story before I start posting...

 

:_(

We shall wait, but not patiently.

 

Okay, it's friday! Where's our post?!

 

Somewhere in the cotton-wool fuzz of my brain, Lilith. The Dread Lurgy has struck. I'm working, I just don't know how much sense the finished product is going to make. I've got a few short-circuits and a lot of fried RAM.

 

Ooohh. I'm sorry. I hate it when that happens. We'll wait. I know how much pressure overeager readers can put on you.

 

I've just sent the next post to Leona for her beta-type opinion.

 

No one expects brilliance when you're sick, HG. Plus, your "non-brilliance" is probably equivalent to everyone else's "genius!"

Take care, get better... we can wait a while longer if we have to. As long as we know you're still alive.

 

Thanks for the get-well wishes. I'm working on it. Chances are I'll be fine by monday- just in time to go back to work.

A short post to keep you going, thanks for reading it through Leona. I may yet tweak it once I have half a brain again. I should probably refer to the knights way back in Obi's dream at the start- any thoughts on that?

******

?Master?? Obi-Wan briskly pushed open the library door then moderated his movements as he found Qui-Gon deep in meditation. //Master?// he asked again in a mental whisper.

Obi-Wan clearly sensed his Master?s reply. //I felt a disturbance in the Force, padawan. Did you sense it too?//

//As if everything was turned upside-down for a moment?//

Qui-Gon opened his eyes. ?A good description, padawan. Yes. It came from close by.? The Jedi Master looked about. ?Have you seen young Thom anywhere??

?No, Master? and he?s usually difficult to miss,? Obi-Wan added wryly.

?He is always so impatient,? Qui-Gon said, with gentle regret. ?I expect he will learn as he grows older. Until then it?s likely to get him into trouble.?

?Now that he ought to be used to,? Obi-Wan remarked with a half smile. ?Shall I look for him, Master??

?Thank you, padawan.? Qui-Gon composed himself with his eyes closed once more.

Obi-Wan noted his Master?s return to the search through the Force. ?You haven?t found anything yet, Master??

?Patience, padawan,? Qui-Gon replied distantly.

Obi-Wan allowed himself a moment?s amusement at the familiar admonishment. ?If I were Thom, where would I go?? His eyes went to the metallic door leading to the ?control room?. ?Like master, like padawan?? he wondered to himself.

The door was closed. Obi-Wan stepped up to it, it before he could put out a hand to test it he felt a minute shifting beneath his feet. With a Jedi?s reflexes he jumped back. The door opened slightly, then closed again. Realisation dawning he took a pace forwards, testing the stone slab in front of the door and seeing the door obediently open at the pressure. The room beyond seemed brighter than before, and a faint hum filled his head.

?Master??

?Patience-? Qui-Gon?s eyes snapped open when he realised that Obi-Wan had spoken the word at the same time he had. ?Yes, padawan??

Obi-Wan gestured to the room. ?It?s different, Master- and one of the stars on the panel at the back is glowing now.?

The tall Jedi Master flowed gracefully to his feet. ?The sound is new as well. Thom was trying to say something about the room. I felt he knew better than to touch anything.? He held out his hands. ?I may have been mistaken.?

Obi-Wan blinked into the room. ?Thom??

?I don?t sense anybody, padawan,? Qui-Gon said.

?Maybe he got bored and went exploring,? Obi-Wan suggested. Just in case, he took a step into the room to check behind the door.

?Padawan, no!? Qui-Gon spoke as the padawan started to move. The Jedi Master shot forwards in a blur, but he was not quick enough. The pitch of the humming rose sharply. The light flared to eye-searing brightness. Qui-Gon could feel every pulse of electrical energy pulsing through his nerves as he forced himself through the pain to reach his padawan. There was a flare as his strong hand closed firmly on Obi-Wan?s shoulder and his fingers burrowed into the fabric of the padawan?s tunic. Energy poured into him, overwhelming his senses. He threw out one final reassurance to his padawan before it swept him into unconsciousness.

******

//Padawan?//

Obi-Wan was immensely grateful to feel Qui-Gon?s familiar mental presence still with him. //Master? I?m a Jedi. I don?t drink intoxicating substances. Why do I have a hangover?//

//Pain is the body?s way of telling you it needs attention, padawan-//

//So don?t focus on the pain, focus on the attention required,// Obi-Wan responded dutifully. He relaxed and turned his awareness inwards, trying to pinpoint the source of his discomfort. The Force was strong around him and he drew on it a little to dampen the headache and the pins-and-needles sensation th

 

"I'm a Jedi. I don't drink intoxicating substances." That's what I've always believed, too. Nice to see someone else emphasizing this, as well. Um, what about Barin, though, in his double life?

Good philosophy, too, to not focus on the pain, but on the attention required. I'll have to remember that next time.

I think I know a little bit about these males in mail. It's an organisation similar to the Templar Knights, right? And they want to destroy the Key, and Qui-Gon has just offered to help them. Good conflict! Can't wait for more!

Hope you feel well soon!