PART 4

Chillingham Castle
Great Hall
18:48hrs

Obi-Wan forced his eyes open and tried to focus on his surroundings. The distraught face of Demoiselle Sandretta Latrey swam into view.

"Are you all right?" she asked with undisguised concern. "You've been out for hours."

Obi-Wan, with Sandretta's help, sat up and leaned against the wall. As his thought became more clear, he remembered what had happened to him.

He had discovered that Qui-Gon was on the rack and had yelled at the spirts to leave him alone, they had then turned on him. Then had came the sounds of ropes snapping.

Qui-Gon had broken free, then had begged the ghosts to leave his apprentice alone. His Master had saved him again, but at what cost.

"Where's Lex?" he asked as soon as he realized the young psychic was nowhere to be seen.

"She said she had a big idea, but needed to check something out first." answered Jaim from the other side of the room. "I assume since we have about five hours left to help your Master, time was of the essence."

And it still is Jaim. Time is a luxury we don't have

As if on queue, Lex ran in. "I have a plan!" she announced.

* * * *

Jaim and Sandretta repeated their stories for Obi-Wan's benefit and for the benefit of explanation.

"Lex, what does this have to do with anything?" asked a weary Sandretta. Lex's eyes lit up.

"We are going to have a type of Seance. Except we aren't just trying to contact someone, we are trying to pull someone back: Master Jinn."

There was a moment of silence. Obi-Wan thought the idea over carefully, could it actually work...

"We can't do this ourselves!" yelled Jaim. "Not Even with your gift and Obi-Wan's force sensitivity could we do this!"

Lex gave a glare towards the group's pessimist. "That is why I have enlisted the help of three spirts to search for victims of Chillingham to help them hold off John Sage and his minions." She gave them all a look. "Each of them have a connection to you."

Obi-Wan stiffened. "Who are they?"

Lex's look turned compassionate. "For Jaim: Juliet Marlin. For Sandretta: Cody Sileu and for you, Obi-Wan,: Cerasi."

The Padawan tried to keep his emotions in check as Lex explained that Cerasi had felt obligated to help Obi-Wan, considering all he had went through to help her.

Obi-Wan looked over at Sandretta and Jaim, they both looked like they were on the verge of hysterics.

"But," continued Lex, "even in the Spirit World things take time. The people they are looking for have been dead for centuries, we can't start until 2300hrs."

Obi-Wan's heart seemed to stop for a moment, that left them with one hour to pull Qui-Gon out.

The others clearly shared his opinion.

"Lex are you crazy!?" exclaimed Sandretta.

"That is way to close!" yelled Jaim.

Or is it...

"It will work!" said Obi-Wan. The others stared at him in amazement. "Four hours will give us an opportunity to look as if we are searching or plotting something else."

The others nodded. It was his decision, but Jaim asked a question. "Do you think he can last that long?"

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and tried to reach his Master.

Nothing. The sixteen year old bit his lip.

"We have no alternative."

Chillingham Castle
Great Castle
23:00hrs

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Alexis Brélis, Jaim Marlin, and Sandretta Latrey sat in a circle on the floor of the great hall.

Lex had explained what was to occur. Each of them would feel a new strength fill them and they would throw all their power into pulling Qui-Gon back to the land of the living.

Obi-Wan knew that he would be fronting the effort, no one had the connection he had to Qui-Gon.

The Padawan was not sure how long he sat there with the others, waiting for Lex's signal to begin.

The minutes seemed to pass like ages to Obi-Wan. What if Jaim was right? What if this couldn't work? What if they were cutting it too close.

No. We will succeed.

"Now!" Lex's voice interrupted Obi-Wan's thoughts. He looked up at the girl and she began to chant. Obi-Wan recognized it as some kind of ancient Sanderai dialect.

Sandretta joined in the chant, just as Obi-Wan sensed her fiance's presence. Jaim followed as the spirit of his daughter filled him.

Obi-Wan sensed Cerasi's wild spirit beside him and he reached out, chanting with the others.
He could feel every single spirit in the room, all of them keeping John Sage and his minions at bay.

It was working. Obi-Wan's heart leapt at the stronger sense of Qui-Gon he was receiving. But as he pulled, a realization came on...

They would free Qui-Gon, but he may not live through the crossover



Obi-Wan knew what he had to do. It could very well kill him, but he knew that his Master was worth it.

As he continued to chant he was pulling his Master's pain from his body into his own.

* * * * *
Lex felt the change coming from Obi-Wan but she could do nothing to stop it. If she broke the circle now, they would loose Qui-Gon for sure.

The Padawan suddenly had cuts, bruises and welts appearing all over his body. This was evidence of what Qui-Gon had been through and what Obi-Wan was accepting into himself.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan let out an inhuman scream that came from a pain beyond any known universe. Then three things happened at once:

Obi-Wan fell back from the circle as consciousness left him

Qui-Gon Jinn appeared beside his apprentice, also unconscious.

And Lex's wrist chrono sounded 2400hrs.