Ex-Instructor Quistis Trepe: Hey, tomorrow is a good time for me, considering how long it normally takes me to upload the next chapter (a fortnight or thereabouts)! *grins* Okay okay I couldn't resist! It goes up today, seeing as I've written this chapter already. Be grateful for this, young man! I put this up like 12 hours early for you!
Bounty Man II: In reply to your email, yes. I did have to make Garen suffer too. Nobody escapes the might of angst!
Padawan Jess Kenobi: *uses mind trick* You will not use mind tricks on jedi monkey.
Jedi7: That's very blunt of you!
Ex-Instructor Quistis Trepe: Yeah, you again. Feel priveliged ^-^ What's your name all about? Just feeling curious and ignorant.
Everyone: *uses various mind tricks* Cliffhangers are good things. I am not evil. You will keep reading. You will give me nice reviews. *grin*
You think the last chapter was bad? Well, just you wait and see what I do next, the hint's in the chapter name I suppose *cackles evilly* Perhaps I was too harsh in this chapter...
And how can I be evil? I spent half the night writing this for you guys *cries*
Hard to Break, Harder to Fix
Revelation
Qui-Gon saw a quivering wreck in the corner of the room, curled up in the foetal position beside an unignited lightsaber. Qui-Gon could speculate what had happened. Obi-Wan had bottled out at the last second and powered the saber down before it could do any harm. That wasn't important now though.
"Thank force you're alive!" Qui-Gon kneeled by his shattered apprentice and cradled him gently in his arms. A quick check with the force told him that Obi-Wan wasn't hurt except for a massive bruise on his hip. Must have been from that speeder accident. He sensed it was giving Obi-Wan a lot of pain, so he rummaged through his bag quickly for a spare bacta patch. Obi-Wan rolled over and met his Master's eyes.
"You."
Qui-Gon stared. Obi-Wan's face was the picture of fury. The Padawan pulled away from his Master's grasp and backed away.
"Come to taunt me some more have you?" snarled Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon shook his head helplessly.
"I'm trying to help you."
"Ha. Bit late for that now." Obi-Wan turned and left. The bacta patch fluttered from Qui-Gon's hand as Obi-Wan slammed the door. Snatching it back, Qui-Gon quickly got up to follow him.
He called down the stairs. "Padawan, listen to me..."
"Why should I?"
"Because I care about you."
Obi-Wan turned around and studied Qui-Gon's expression before going down the last few steps.
"No you don't."
"Never underestimate for a second how much I'd have missed you if you'd gone through with that. My life would have been empty."
"Well my life is empty!"
They were in the bar now, but they both ignored the stares their argument was attracting. The unpopular dancers from earlier used the diversion to get away as quickly as they could. Obi-Wan still headed outside.
"Why is it empty Padawan?" he probed in a gentler tone.
Obi-Wan turned around and glared.
"Because of YOU. A year ago I wouldn't have even thought of leaving you. But now I know I'm not wanted..."
"Obi you ARE wanted," Qui-Gon pleaded.
Obi-Wan stopped and stared beseechingly at his Master. Qui-Gon couldn't help but notice that Obi-Wan's eyes were glassy, filled with tears he didn't want to shed in front of Qui-Gon.
"Then why did you act like you did?"
Obi-Wan's voice was pleading with Qui-Gon for an explanation, any explanation, so he could understand and go back to the temple and be happy again, be with his Master again.
"Because I... didn't have my priorities right."
"Too right. You were too busy thinking about your beloved Xanatos to care about me."
Before Qui-Gon could think of a justifying reply, his apprentice had climbed into a taxi and was speeding into the distance.
"OBI-WAN!!!!!" he bellowed, but he was too far away to hear. The echoes faded into nothing, just like the taxi blended into the traffic.
"You don't understand."
The whisper fell into the wind, along with a single tear shed by a weary Master's eye.
***
Another mind trick, another motel room.
Finally in privacy, Obi-Wan threw himself onto the bed and buried his face into the pillow. Sleep wouldn't come easily tonight, even though it was already in the small hours of the morning.
Only now did the stresses of the past day lean onto Obi-Wan. That speeder accident this morning seemed like a century ago to a mind which had suffered too much over the past 24 hours, let alone the last six months. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and drifted into the force, attempting to purge himself of the memories of today. Well, he could never purge the memories, just bury them into his subconscious self as far as he could, and hope that they would never return to terrorise him again. He couldn't start a new life with so much distress flowing freely through his mindset.
After an hour, (or was it more? Time had lost all meaning now…) he opened his eyes. The meditation seemed to have worked quite effectively. The only thing that constantly reminded him of that speeder accident now was his bruise. The memory of the suicide attempt had all but gone for the moment, and the well renowned galaxy famous Jedi control held a new place of respect in Obi-Wan's mind. He was calm, unnaturally so for all what had happened to him that night.
Now I might actually get some sleep.
***
Qui-Gon had been sitting on a box outside Pexin's Motel for a while now. He needed time to collect his thoughts. There was no point really though, different thoughts kept invading his head every second which led him into a state of utter confusion and helplessness. Two simple thoughts were all he could distinguish from the smeared blur that was his mind now.
What am I going to do?
I wish Obi were here with me.
***
* Never underestimate for a second how much I'd have missed you if you'd gone through with that. *
Obi-Wan tossed again. Every time he drifted into a peaceful sleep all he could hear was his Master's voice resonating through his head, quoting from the two conversations they had yesterday. Now dawn's rosy fingers had crept above the skyline of Coruscant, there wasn't a lot of point in trying to sleep. And besides, resolved Obi-Wan, I have to work out what I'm going to do next. He yawned and tried to ignore the pain that came with everything he thought about.
He looked at his belongings spread out on a desk briefly. Noticing that his Jedi robes were all the clothes he had, he frowned. They were too noticeable. For the moment, he put them on, having nothing else to wear. He would have to get some new clothes though. In fact, he would have to get rid of everything that looked even remotely Jedi. Apart from his lightsaber, there would be hardly anything he could keep. He glanced across the room and into the mirror. He got up and slowly walked over to it, gazing deep into his reflection. He moved a hand to touch his Padawan braid. That would have to go too. Obi-Wan watched a tear fall down his cheek before moving away from the mirror. Cutting that braid would mean cutting away his Jedi life forever.
***
"So, do you think you can do it?"
"I can do anything for the right price."
The dark corner in the bar of Obi-Wan's newest motel was a favourite meeting place for the shadier characters of Coruscant. This meeting was no exception. A wealthy slave trader and a bounty hunter are definitely considered to be shady in most minds. If you ever wanted a price put on anyone's head, this was the place to come, and that slave trader knew it. Right now he was requesting the untimely death of a member of the Senate.
"Oh, don't you worry about money. You'll get that all in good time."
The bounty hunter's eyes narrowed, trusting nobody.
"I don't do any jobs without some money upfront."
"Well I don't give any money before a job is completed."
The bounty hunter scowled but their attention was distracted before he could reply. The slave trader looked around anxiously at the sight of Obi-Wan coming down the stairs.
"Look, a Jedi, they're onto us…"
"Ssh," he hissed, afraid that the Jedi would notice them, "it's only a Padawan, and a young one too."
"Yes but Padawans only follow their Masters."
The two exchanged a worried glance.
"Take him out."
"What? You're only paying me for the Senator..."
"Yeah yeah you'll get paid for him too. I just don't want any Jedi prowling around."
The bounty hunter threw a glance sideways at the Jedi apprentice, who was now sitting at the bar. He shook his head.
"Jedi, they're a nuisance to dispose of."
"I'll give you extra than the normal price."
The bounty hunter's eyes met the trader's.
"But still, I may not manage - "
"You will. You're a resourceful man."
The bounty hunter sighed, knowing he might lose the Senator contract if he didn't agree.
"Ok, deal. Now lets talk figures."
The hunter wasn't really listening to the trader's offers. He asked just to make it look like that they were having a chat to the rest of the motel's customers. His eyes were following Obi-Wan everywhere, waiting for a chance to strike. He formed a plan quickly in his head and left the trader talking to himself.
***
Obi-Wan was too dazed to take any notice of anything at the moment. Vaguely remembering his Master's advice to never drink anything blue in a Coruscant bar, he groaned. Maybe he should have taken more heed. He thanked the force he'd only had three shot glasses of the stuff though, instinct telling him that any more would probably have sent him into a coma.
Still, he managed to turn his head enough to see a tall, burly man come towards him. His mind too intoxicated to process information quickly enough, the next thing Obi-Wan saw was a fist. The world turned into shades of misty red and grey, which is never a good sign. The blow threw him off his seat. Fumbling for his saber, Obi-Wan tried to concentrate enough to try to use the force to identify the man. It was no use, the force didn't even seem to be there. The force wasn't the only thing missing, so was his lightsaber. Puzzled and confused, Obi-Wan picked himself off the floor only to be punched back down again, powerless to do anything. The world was spinning more than before, and eventually it whirled into darkness. Before his mind fell into a total unconscious stupor, Obi-Wan wondered why he wasn't fighting better. He could guess at a few reasons before his head made a sickening crack against the stone floor. Whether it was his injuries or the alcohol that caused him to pass out though, is a different question entirely.
***
A/N
Ok, I'm starting to see a pattern here. I'm leaving you with way too many 'is Obi dead?' cliffies. I make it 4 out of 4 chapters now. Eep. I'm starting to feel guilty for what I'm doing to my poor little Obi. I'll have to write a really nice, happy story for him next. Perhaps a romance. Yeah, a nice mushy romance.
And yes, before you ask, I did get Obi leathered on cheap booze for my own ongoing amusement. It's late ok? And I have weird ways of entertaining myself. Anyways, there's more to that than meets the eye ;)
Keep with me, the next chapter answers a lot of questions ;)