Title: Crossing the Lines

Summary: Obi-wan Kenobi knows revenge leads to the Dark side, but after what his Master has done to him, it's worth it, isn't it?  Especially since Qui-gon betrayed him.  PG for violence.

Disclaimer: George Lucas owns Star Wars and the whole Universe of it.

Acknowledgments: Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka, Galahan, Redtailhawk, Ginger Ninja

Archiving: if you want it, email me first.  :)

a/n: sorry for the late update, I'm trying to work out the chap as fast as I can…=)

"Why did you kill her?" Obi-wan asked Kelyl softly.

"Kill who?" Kelyl didn't look at Obi-wan - he was checking the equipment on his utiliy belt.  He and Obi-wan were in the Weapons Room preparing for a mission.

"Takir.  The Jedi Knight," Obi-wan suspected Kelyl was trying to dodge the question.  He didn't need the Force for it.

"Oh.  Her," the mercenary was handling a vibro-blade now.  "I killed her, for revenge, mostly.  Qui-gon might have told you I'm trying to destroy the Jedi, to get back at them," Kelyl turned and trained his keen blue eyes on Obi-wan.

"Then what?" Obi-wan started sharply.

A flicker of deep, long-buried pain crossed the mercenary's face.  "She murdered my family.  First my parents, then my younger sisters.  That was a long time ago."

"Why?"

"You want to know why?" Kelyl turned away again, so Obi-wan wouldn't see the troubled look in his eyes, but this time, for once, his voice betrayed him.  "I shouldn't tell you."

"You can trust me," Obi-wan said eagerly, meaning it.

"You don't trust me.  I have nothing against the Jedi.  Takir killed my family, because…"

"It was a mistake," the voice of Qui-gon finished Kelyl's sentence as the door to the Weapons Room slid open.

"Don't do that!" Kelyl snapped, the vibro-blade unsheathed and in his hands, ready to kill.

Obi-wan stiffened, and he glanced away from Qui-gon's piercing gaze.

"Do what?" Qui-gon answered calmly.

"Sneak up like that," he snarled the reply and sheathed the vibro-blade again.  "You're not mine to kill."

"Then who is allowed to kill me?" Qui-gon was still calm, almost sarcastic.

"The one you betrayed," Obi-wan interrupted softly.  "Cut the sarcasm, Jedi.  We're on this mission together, and we'll have to trust each other.  I can wait."

"Get your gear together.  We're leaving now," Kelyl said shortly.

I never knew…the thought ran through Qui-gon's mind as he stared down at the boy chained to the wall, so exhausted from the physical tortures that he couldn't even stand anymore.  Old scars and new wounds were sharply defined on his arms and legs.  It was becoming a common sight, but Qui-gon still wasn't getting used to it.  He'd seen so many people and aliens suffering today, and half of them weren't even criminals.  The Jedi Master felt Kelyl's gaze on his back as he continued crawling forward on hands and knees in the ventilation shaft.

Qui-gon turned to face the mercenary behind him. 

"It's bad, isn't it?  They torture everyone here," there was no mocking tone in the cold voice.  The glowrod illuminated his sharp features, bathing them in a green light.

"Yes, it is," Qui-gon turned back.  Now, he knew why Obi-wan could hate him so much.  This place, the Prisons, was a place of no hope.  Only pain.  To have been in here for three months…Qui-gon didn't even know if he himself could have survived with his mind intact.

Obi-wan, Qui-gon and Kelyl were strung out in single-file - the ventilation shafts were too narrow to move side-by-side.  Qui-gon wasn't comfortable with Kelyl at his back, but he didn't have a choice.  And he could not afford to be petty.

The flicker of the Force jolted Qui-gon to his senses.  He stopped.

"What is it?" Obi-wan asked quietly from his position in front.

"Something doesn't seem right," Qui-gon frowned in the semi-darkness.

"Let's hurry," Kelyl said. 

Qui-gon carried on, the nagging feeling of the Force's warning at the back of his mind, pushed away but not ignored totally.  Light shone up from a grating ahead of him.  Qui-gon watched Obi-wan scramble across, and gesture for him to follow.  Nodding, Qui-gon crawled forward. 

The Force intensified and hit him sharply like a breaking wave.  At the same time, the grating beneath him began to give way.  Qui-gon could feel it sliding away beneath him.  He grabbed the edge of the shaft desperately, feeling, even then, despair as his fingers slipped.

Kelyl grabbed the Jedi's hand in a lightning-quick move, but it was too late.  The grating gave way completely and Qui-gon tumbled down into the room below.  Kelyl was forced to let go, or to be dragged down himself.

"Who are you?" a harsh, nasal voice shouted.  Kelyl didn't bother to look, he crossed over the gap in the ventilation shaft left by the broken grating and joined Obi-wan.  "Run," Kelyl whispered.  They scrambled through the shafts, hearts hammering.  Obi-wan tripped and Kelyl nearly fell over him, but they sorted themselves out clumsily and carried on.

Fear gripped Obi-wan as he crawled desperately.  It blinded him, and behind him, Kelyl followed.  They didn't stop until some five or ten minutes later.

"Sith," Kelyl swore softly when they finally stopped, their ragged breathing filling the still silence.  It was dark, too. They had lost their glowrods in the mad, panicked rush.

"What happened to Qui-gon?" Obi-wan asked, already knowing what had probably happened.

"Fell through," Kelyl answered.  "I think some guards got him.  It sounded like a guard.  They're probably holding him prisoner now," he paused to catch his breath, sitting against the side of the shaft.  "What do we do now?"

"I don't know.  We don't even know where he is."

Kelyl searched through the pouch on his utility belt, "I've only got one glowrod left.  We can look for him, or we can just go."

"You mean, leave him…"

"Yes.  We could get out alive."

Obi-wan thought quietly for a moment.  "No.  We can't leave him."

"Why?  He left you…"

"If I leave him, I'm as bad as he is," Obi-wan answered softly.

"You wanted revenge.  Now he can see how much it hurt for you."

Yes.  Now he can feel it.  Obi-wan stopped himself from smiling.  He would get his revenge, now, it was a perfect oppurtunity.  The tables were turned and Qui-gon had got what he deserved.

"If we go and look for him, all of us may not escape," Kelyl stopped again, then he continued, slowly, "It's your choice."

A/n: hopes y'all like it…=) thanx for the reviews.  Next chapter will be up in one or two weeks, I hope…

- wild horse