The Jedi no longer had a huge temple with training facilities and more resources than they could count, but the Naberrie family did have a basement. It was a close second.

They trained in the basement for a few reasons. One, it was underground, so there was no possibility of anyone accidentally looking in through a window. Two, it was soundproof enough that the noise didn't bother Padmé or Sola. Three: if the Naberrie mansion was ever searched, they could hide everything in one place and make sure none of their Jedi relics were found.

When Anakin and Obi-Wan started training again after Order 66, they began redecorating the basement to suit their needs. Boxes and storage units were pushed to the side, and the two of them had gotten to work putting in mats and shelves. When they left the Jedi temple on Coruscant for the last time, Obi-Wan had packed a bag with textbooks, training tools, a few holocrons, and other things he thought they might need. Those items were some of the only ones recovered from the temple and were kept safe on the shelves. Anakin kept a few on the Rogue and had since visited other temples to recover more relics of the Jedi religion, slowly growing their collection.

The mats were put in place because neither of them really wanted to spar on hard concrete. When Luke and Leia started training, the mats became even more important. When they were little, Obi-Wan and Anakin had put very soft mats down to cushion them when they fell (which was often, at first). As they got older, they replaced the mats with harder ones and only used the soft mats on occasion. In the past year, because Luke and Leia expressed deep interest in joining the fight, Obi-Wan started pulling the mats out from under them entirely. If they could recover from a spar on concrete, they would be fine, provided that they stayed away from lava.

Since they were already warm from their run, Anakin, Luke, and Leia didn't need to stretch. Today's lesson would be well-rounded since Anakin was home. They would go over a little bit of everything and end the lesson by putting it all together in sparring matches.

They always ran through basic Form I sequences to begin. It got the twins in the right mindset to train in dueling and in the Force. Obi-Wan used a metronome to set the pace to start, and after each successful round of sequences, the twins would speed up the movements. What started as controlled, slow, steady strikes and parries escalated to beautiful, elegant, lightning-quick dances. They didn't do this for very long, not when the lesson was just starting.

Obi-Wan appreciated when Anakin was able to help train his apprentices because they could split up and take one twin each. Today, Obi-Wan took Leia to begin, and Anakin took Luke. They would train for thirty to forty-five minutes and then switch.

While Leia and Obi-Wan sat off to the side to train in the Force, Luke and Anakin pulled out their lightsabers and remained on the mats. Luke advanced his dueling slowly but surely. He would focus on learning one new technique or stroke and wouldn't move on until he had perfected it. His dueling style was very by-the-book and methodical according to Form III, though Anakin had been encouraging him to pick up a few tricks from Form V as well.

Luke's dueling was always more effective when he used the Force in the fight, which Anakin didn't let him do when they were sparring in this way. This part of the lesson focused on separating those aspects and narrowing in on them individually. When they sparred later, Luke would use his Force abilities to his full strength, but right now, Anakin instructed him to rely on his physical strength alone. He tested the movements Luke learned most recently, ensuring that he could incorporate them into a full duel.

On the other hand, Leia was working with Obi-Wan to release her body and use her mind. Though Leia was strong in the Force, she rarely applied her focus as easily and completely as her brother. Just like her father had, she struggled to concentrate long enough to meditate for much longer than fifteen minutes at a time unless she had a personal reason to want to. When she decided to dedicate herself, Leia was undeniably gifted at using the Force. Convincing her to do so was another matter, as she would much rather punch someone with her bare fists.

Training with Obi-Wan while Anakin and Luke were off to the side dueling was a perfect test for her. She had to block out the distractions in the room (which she would otherwise want to pay attention to) and detach her mind from her body. Obi-Wan scattered stones, bolts, and other small projectiles on the floor where he and Leia sat. He would use the Force to throw the objects at his apprentice, who would then have to catch them with the Force alone and fire them back at her master. He started off slow and then starting firing more and more objects at once from multiple angles. If her concentration wavered, even for a second, she would be pelted with high-velocity rocks. Obi-Wan wished he had thought of this training technique when he was teaching Anakin, but oh well. Better late than never.

After this, they would take a quick water break before switching. Obi-Wan would take Luke, who was more than happy to spend any amount of time delving into the Force. His problem had never been calming down enough to meditate, but meditating for so long that his mother or someone else had to call him upstairs for a meal.

With Luke, Obi-Wan didn't train his concentration but his capacity and complexity. One of the things he had taken from the temple on Coruscant were small, intricate, brass Hoberman spheres. Luke would access the Force around him and create a field over which he had complete control. Obi-Wan released Hoberman spheres into his Force field, adding more as time went on. Once Luke was manipulating all twelve spheres that they owned, his master added less rigid objects, like strings, ribbons, and fabrics.

Today, he stepped it up a notch by taking a glass of water and throwing the liquid into Luke's field. Obi-Wan didn't warn him beforehand, but even without warning, Luke quickly sensed the water in his Force field and caught it, suspending it in midair. Once he got used to the idea, Obi-Wan instructed him to form shapes with the water. Ever the talented Jedi he was, Luke started making complex figures with the water (all while still manipulating the other objects). After a while, he tested himself by forming a tesseract with the water and revolving it. It was very slow, and the oscillation of the other objects slowed so he could focus on all of them at once, but Obi-Wan was very proud.

Not to mention, Anakin and Leia were making a racket over on the mats during all of this. Leia loved a good adrenaline rush, and fighting against her dad certainly got her pumped up. As soon as she was done training with Obi-Wan, she wrapped her singular braid around her head and pinned it in place. She didn't have time to be distracted by her hair, not when Anakin was teaching her how to kick ass. She used Form V with a bit of the flare of Form IV thrown in, as well as her own spin on nearly everything she did.

Neither of Anakin's children was very tall, but Leia was shorter than Padmé, making her the shortest person in the family. It didn't seem like she was getting much taller soon, so Anakin had to teach her to fight opponents much bigger than herself. On the one hand, she was powerful and could pack an excellent punch. On the other hand, there was only so much you could do when you stacked up to a mere 155 centimeters. Anakin's 183-centimeter frame towered over his daughter, but Leia didn't let that stop her. With Anakin's help, she had learned to utilize her small, strong frame to her advantage.

Where Luke went about dueling very methodically, Leia relied more on her natural instincts. Yes, she completed her sequences and took that very seriously, but she wasn't thinking about her form in the heat of a fight. It was second nature instead of a conscious choice. Leia was to dueling as Luke was to the Force: Luke's natural talent was in the Force. If Leia had created a Force field and Obi-Wan had thrown water toward her, she would have been so surprised that the Force field would have dissipated, and Leia would have been drenched.

By the time they finished the second session apart, Padmé and Sola were awake and had come downstairs to watch the twins train (and Padmé liked seeing Anakin shirtless). They didn't come onto the floor but stayed on the staircase where they would be out of the way. Despite having no experience using the Force themselves, they were incredibly impressed both by the teachers and the students.

Well, Sola had no experience in the Force. A while ago, the family had accidentally discovered that Padmé was Force-sensitive. Obi-Wan had asked them to assist in training the twins in using Jedi mind tricks (harmless things like picking up a spoon or walking to another room). The twins managed to trick Sola after a bit of training and trying, but neither Luke nor Leia could convince Padmé to do what they told her. Just out of curiosity, both Anakin and Obi-Wan tried, but not even the fully mature Jedi could perform a mind trick on her. Padmé's mind was immune to Force manipulation.

During the next water break, Sola smiled down at them from the stairs. "Having fun?"

"Oh, yeah," Leia assured her aunt, loosening her arm muscles. "We finished the whole run today. No pauses."

She widened her eyes in surprise, then smiled at Anakin. "They're going to start catching up to you."

"That's the idea," he agreed, taking a drink before cocking his head at the twins. "I can't do this forever."

"Not for lack of trying," Padmé teased, making him grin.

"You know," Luke proposed, "if we join the Rebellion, you can start retiring."

Anakin paused, then looked over at his son. "How old do you think I am?"

Pointing a finger at his apprentice, Obi-Wan reminded him, "Don't get ahead of yourself. That goes for both of you. During the council meeting, remember?"

"Yes, master," they both replied, but no one missed the look in their eyes.

"One round of dueling, and we'll conclude for the day," Obi-Wan decided, lifting the mats out of place and folding them against the wall. Putting their water canteens away, the twins obliged and stepped into the center of the room and pulled out their lightsabers, a blue one and a green one. The sooner this duel ended, the sooner they could shower, eat lunch, and have that meeting.

Luke and Leia stepped into stance, facing each other. They stood still, poised and ready to launch into the duel as soon as their master said the word. Obi-Wan stood off to the side to oversee the match while Anakin joined Sola and Padmé on the stairs. He folded his hands under his chin and watched intently. He always loved their duels. They were so evenly matched that it could go either way.

"Begin."

Leia sprung forward first. If Luke ever got a moment long enough to concentrate, he would use the Force to end the fight before it started. There was a long string of duels that lasted about five seconds because Luke would send Leia flying backward into a wall before she so much as swung her lightsaber. Now she knew better than to give him time to think.

On the other hand, Luke knew that Leia was a better dueler. If he tried to win the fight through his physical technique alone, he was screwed. He had two options: either he could wear Leia out by staying out of her reach, or he could knock her out quick before she landed too many hits on him. Knocking her out was more efficient, but Leia rarely gave him enough time to concentrate long enough to do much more than push her back a meter.

In reality, this had nothing to do with Luke's processing but both twins' speed. Seven years of training under Obi-Wan Kenobi (with the assistance of Anakin Skywalker) resulted in lightning-quick strikes and footwork. They knew each other's fighting style so well that they fought each other faster than they would have fought a stranger. It probably had something to do with their Force Bond. Anakin remembered how his and Ahsoka's fights sped up around the same time they figured out they had a Force Bond too. He didn't think that was a coincidence, and he didn't think this was either. If you didn't watch carefully, Luke and Leia's duel looked more like a blur of clashing blue and green light.

The water trick from earlier must have unlocked something in Luke because he pulled out a new stunt he hadn't displayed before. When he managed to create enough space between him and Leia, he dropped low and kicked his foot around in an arc, creating a sharp shockwave with the Force. The shockwave hit Leia square in the chest, knocking her back. It wasn't enough to end the fight, but Luke jumped up and came down on her while she was still stumbling. He swiped her lightsaber out of her hand and knocked her to the ground. The duel went to Luke.

Leia herself was impressed. "Where did that come from?"

"No idea," he admitted, lowering his lightsaber from her neck and giving her a hand up. "I kinda like it, though."

"Can you recreate it?" Obi-Wan asked, and Leia backed up to give him space. Luke crouched again, being a bit more mindful of his body movements, then thought back to what he had just done. It was almost as if his leg had been some sort of blade in the Force. He didn't know how to explain it in words, but he could do it again.

Obi-Wan propped up a metal sheet against the nearby wall, and Luke sent a shockwave at it, but much more powerful this time. The Force tore through the metal entirely, leaving a long, thin gash in the sheet.

Raising her eyebrows, Leia remarked, "Glad that one wasn't me."

"That has a lot of potential," Obi-Wan pointed out. "Depending on the range you can sustain the shockwave for, you can use it to subdue opponents before they get too close."

"Or set off explosives from a distance."

Anakin smirked at his daughter and tried not to laugh. Obi-Wan looked exasperated but not surprised. "Or that, yes, I suppose."

"It's always good to keep your options open!"

"What options? We're in a basement. Now, if we were outside..."

"Subtle," Anakin piped up, looking pointedly at Luke. "Real subtle. Didn't catch that one at all."

He made a face before turning back to his master. Obi-Wan didn't even try to chastise them for the banter. All three of them were Skywalkers, after all. "Excellent duel, both of you. Well done."

They smiled at the praise and bowed slightly. Obi-Wan and Anakin didn't enforce typical Padawan etiquette on Luke and Leia, but they had picked up on habits from both of the elder Jedi and silently adopted them.

Obi-Wan sat down, inviting the others to join him. Anakin, Luke, and Leia all did likewise, forming a circle in the center of the room. They always ended lessons by meditating for about ten minutes together, sometimes longer. Obi-Wan didn't set a specific goal for the meditation. They were encouraged to see whatever the Force showed them that day. It certainly was the quietest part of the lesson.

Padmé and Sola liked watching this part the most (not just because of the quiet). It wasn't often they saw Anakin and Obi-Wan so at peace. Obi-Wan, especially for the first few years, was constantly troubled, and meditation was the only peace he got. Unfortunately, for years, he refused to meditate at all. He told Anakin he didn't trust his visions, and even now, he was wary of them. Despite his suspicion, it did calm him.

Anakin, on the other hand, had taught himself to rely on the Force very intimately. Through all the chaos the Empire and the Rebellion had brought into his life, the Force was one of the only constants. He was most vulnerable when he meditated because that was one of the instances he felt safe enough to be uncertain. He didn't have to act confident because the Force didn't need him to be confident; it needed him to be honest.

The twins had not developed this level of vulnerability or hesitancy in the Force. Leia viewed it as practice, and Luke viewed it as a hobby. There wasn't much need to rely on it within the safety of their home. They were in awe of their father and their master when they meditated, though. Luke and Leia could sense that it was significant to them somehow, and their strength in the Force could not be felt more strongly than when Anakin and Obi-Wan meditated together.

As Sola and Padmé watched silently, every once in a while, they could see a flicker in the air around them. It was almost like a heatwave, but they knew better. The Force surrounded their family so strongly that it became visible if only for a millisecond. The Jedi had taught them that the Force flowed through all living things. They saw the Force pulse through the Jedi. All their years training in the basement and utilizing the Force had made it into somewhat of a nexus. A small one, to be sure, but a nexus nonetheless.

Ten minutes passed before the Jedi rose out of their subconscious. The twins were eager to finish the lesson, and Obi-Wan knew better than to try to prolong it. "Anything worth noting in your visions today?"

Leia answered first. "I saw the Star Destroyer that's orbiting Naboo. It wasn't doing anything in particular, but I did watch it for a while."

"Sounds about right," Luke grumbled, much to everyone's amusement. They all knew the Star Destroyer was only there to intimidate Padmé. "I ended up connecting with the planet again."

"You've been doing that often lately," his master noted. "There may be something there, something that's tying you to this place."

"Every time I've done it, I've seen a forest on the other side of Theed," he remembered. "I don't understand why it's important, but it's the only common factor between all my visions."

Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged glances. They knew exactly why Luke saw it, but saying so would have given away their surprise.

Moving on before Luke or Leia figured something out, Anakin attested, "I saw Tyrannus. I think it's safe to say that he's not happy with what happened last week."

"Are you ever going to tell us what happened?"

"Later, during the meeting, as always," he reminded his daughter. "He's taking his anger out on Jadis. It's not good."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'm not sure Jadis would accept help even if we could offer it. There's nothing we could say to her that would make her betray the Empire."

Though Anakin didn't want to accept it, he knew it was true. "I know. Believe me, I tried."

"My vision wasn't much better. Maul appears to have found a way off the planet. I hate to imagine what he has planned next."

"Maul?" Luke asked, his eyes going wide. His sister was equally as shocked. "The Maul that Ahsoka fought on Mandalore?"

"That's the one," Anakin reported, sighing. "He's up to no good, as per usual."

Leia made a face and looked to the side. "Why can't he just die already? Isn't he already supposed to be dead?"

Amused, Obi-Wan leaned back on his hands. "I'm afraid Maul doesn't care about what he's 'supposed' to be. He'll likely cause many more problems before we see the last of him."

Nobody seemed very optimistic about that. Obi-Wan sensed that his Padawans were itching to end the lesson and obliged. "Head upstairs and shower. We'll see you at lunch."