Here and Now
Chapter 5: the bird of prey is watching you
** Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! And thank you for encouraging me to write more. Special thanks to: KenobisGirl, Jedi Ha'Li, the nice fellow, who has written "me want more", Word-Yak, leah87, Joanne, Sentimental Star, WaitingAngel, Becky and Jacen20015! Your nice messages make my work seem precious!**
A net of lightning-like red blaster-shots covered the air. The noise was almost unbearable. For Obi-Wan everything was silent. The silence of the canalisation returned. The only thing he heard was the pounding of his heart. People opened their mouth and shouted but not a single sound came out, pilots were running to their ships and taking off. Chaos broke out. Nevertheless the Apprentice was acting like a machine, without thinking, blocking every shot that came his way, destroying every droid that wasn't out of reach. Qui-Gon looked at him worried but he was more occupied to shout at Anakin to find a save place.
His arm throbbed and he was still losing blood, though the loss of blood was not dangerous yet. The numbness was replaced by a white burning pain, that gnawed at his arm. Not the pain was the worst factor of his condition, but the torment of his mind. He was so angry with himself, why didn't he bring his blue blade up in time? What prevented him from reacting quickly enough? Kenobi was still capable to fight the Sith, he knew it, but did his Master think the same? The very last battle droids made their way towards the group. Captain Panaka took care of them. He was too good with his blaster! The dark-skinned chief of security shouldn't be judged by his peaceful and calm behaviour, he was trained to be a warrior in times like these. The way was free, finally. Qui-Gon turned one more time his head and told Anakin, who found protection in a cockpit to stay there.
Now Obi-Wan had to be a puppet player. The thread of fate lay in his hands. And this time the right thread would be cut instead of Qui-Gon's! He knew what lay ahead and beneath his next battle. The young man closed his eyes and gathered the force around himself, one final time.
Inhale…exhale…welcome the pain…inhale…exhale…release it into the force …inhale… exhale…focus!
He made it.
NO!
They made it!
There is no emotion, there is peace!
Slowly he put food in front of foot and went to his Master. For a single moment more he enjoyed the warmth of his cloak and the calming presence of his Master, who sent Obi-Wan a suspicious look. They arrived at the door. It opened in slow-motion. Obi-Wan was ready, one hand on his lightsabre. But there wasn't a Sith.
"Oh, Oh! This is not good! Why does everything go wrong!" he thought frantically. Now the Sith had the triumph in his sleeve and not Obi-Wan, who was desperate and nearly hyperventilating.
Suddenly they heard steps behind them and buzzing sound of yes, a Lasersword! They turned and saw the tattooed figure glancing at them menacingly!
"Well handle this!", Qui-Gon said, fixing his eyes on this creature. Both Jedi prepared for the fight, taking off their robes and igniting their lightsabres. What a powerful play of colours. Green, blue and red, though the red blades belonged to the Sith. You could see the thirst for blood in his eyes. The thirst for the blood of a Jedi.
*"Padawan, are you feeling up to fight it?" *, the Mentor asked over their bond.
*"Yes Master, I am ready to end the battle right now!" *. And with that the ordeal started from new. Parries followed by thrusts, force-pushes and punches were exchanged. Obi-Wan tried not to show his tiredness. But experiencing this battle twice without any rest, was taking its tribune. But he fought bravely. The were now on the small, but long paths that led to the melting pit. It was really hard to manoeuvre on such small things. Qui-Gon didn't seem to tire, that was a good sign! He was brought back to reality by a hard punch of the Sith, that hit his face. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Obi-Wan wasn't impressed. He kicked the Sith into his ribcage and sent him backwards coughing. Qui-Gon flipped over the Sith and took the position behind him. Now they attacked from behind and from the front. Suddenly the Sith hit the older Jedi and he fell from the catwalk, landing very hard on the one under them. This was enough. Obi-Wan pressed now more violently to put this battle to an end. He drove the Sith towards the laser-walls! His opponent was gaining footing again and was feeling stronger, but the force told Obi-Wan that his enemy's confidence was growing with every second that passed. Then the Sith's Lasersword double-bladed Lasersword made contact with Kenobi's left arm.
Pain….only pain. This wasn't a white pain anymore, this was a red, hot burning pain. Every bad event was connected with the colour red. Obi-Wan caught his breath and looked icy at the well-trained monster. He wouldn't give into his hatred and fear, no! He rose his weapon and the fight continued. In the corner of his eyes he could see that Qui-Gon was struggling to catch up with the young men. But the Apprentice couldn't stop and wait for him. And he didn't want to stop and wait for Qui-Gon, he wanted to keep him away from the Lord. Now he even parried the Sith's blows harder. It didn't matter how painful it was. The Master tried to reach his pupil over their bond, but he was blocked. He wanted Obi-Wan to slow the battle down, so that he was able to help him. Now Master was getting nervous. The laser-walls could be a deadly trap for his apprentice.
The Padawan tried to speed the whole thing up.
Parry, thrust, punch, kick.
With that enormous speed that only force-users possessed they arrived the laser-walls very quickly.
Suddenly they heard a humming sound and the walls closed. He was trapped! His world one more time turned red. Why did everything have to be red. Every bad experience in his life got to do with this colour! Like a bird of prey watching his next victim the dark warrior paced behind his wall…
The Jedi kneeled down and meditated to regain some strength. But then it struck him! He realized everything so clearly now! The separation was exactly, what the Sith wanted! He realized, what a blind fool he was. Only together with his master he had a chance to kill it… But how would he be able to escape his destiny now? He seemed to have switched the position with Qui-Gon. His death seemed to be inevitable now, but who knows?
Tbc..