Title: Hidden Shadows Seeking Light

Rating: I wish I knew. I am putting it at PG-13 just because I don't know any better and would rather err on the safe side.

Genre: Drama/Mild Angst

Feedback: I would love to get feedback on this story. I would appreciate it if everyone would put down their flame throwers though because this is only my second time out and I know I made mistakes on the first story and have no doubt I will make many on this one. I need constructive criticism so that I will get better not mean comments that will only serve to make me cry. I thank each and every one of the readers who take the time to review this story. I love fan fiction and hope to write stories that can entertain others as much as their stories have entertained me.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story. They are, were and will always belong to Mr. George Lucas creator of an amazing universe. Not only does this story contain elements of the universe that Mr. Lucas created but also the Alternate Universe (AU) found in a wonderful story called An Untimely Frost by CYNICAL21.

Just to a little guide as to what things mean:

/-/ Bond thought //-// Private thought "-" Speaking aloud

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Obi-Wan slowly began to become aware of his surroundings. He was on a ship once more he could tell from the smell of re-circulated air and the constant hum of the hyper-drive. He should have guessed that his "rescuers" would have felt the need to exact a little control over his consciousness. He reached out with his Force sense but couldn't feel anyone in the room with him. He opened his eyes hesitantly as he attempted to rub the back of his head with his hand. Unfortunately his hand didn't cooperate with him. No matter how many times he requested it to rise it remained securely behind his back.

As his thoughts cleared further he realized that his arms were secured behind his back with some sort of band. He sighed in frustration. He calmed himself. He felt it then. It was the Force almost laughing around him. He closed his eyes embracing the Force fully. It was then that he sensed it. He snapped the cord holding his hands with barely a thought. It had come as a light from within him almost like a mere impulse. It felt like an instinct of some kind. Something buried deep within him. He had never accessed the Force so easily but now it was almost effortless. He felt connected to it in a way he had never before imagined. It was different from the light that had exploded before while in the medical bay. This time it had been more of a flash. A brief but comforting ray of strength that seemed to come from within as much as he had always felt it coming from without. He opened his eyes and eased his arms out of the awkward position slowly easing his protesting muscles.

He sat on the edge of the bunk where he had been thrown by his captors. He took a moment to marvel at the empowered feeling he was experiencing. He glanced at the door wondering if it had been secured in order to prevent his escape. Like a child with a new toy, he found himself smiling in spite of his circumstances longing to see just how far his new Force connection would take him. He tested the water by nudging the door release with his mind. The door remained closed. He then closed his eyes once more and focused on the locking mechanism. To his surprise he could see it with his mind's eye. He used the Force to realign the electronic sequence and he heard the door unlatch. He opened his eyes in amazement. It was all coming so easy. He had no idea why but certainly had no intention of trying to figure it out on board a sith's ship.

Embracing the Force with a wave of both awe and gratitude, he lowered himself to the floor. His legs felt a bit unsteady under his weight. He wondered how long he had been out. He reached down and removed his saber from his boot, checked to insure that it was still functioning properly, and steadied his rapidly racing heart. Amazed that his utility belt was still in his possession he attached his saber and checked one of the smaller pockets to see if all of his supplies were still present. Reassured that they were he found himself smirking in delight at his good fortune.

He made his way out into the corridor. He reached out and found that there were still only two force signatures aboard the vessel other than his own. He wondered if he dared to remove the collar he was carrying in his boot. There was no way to know whether there was a dampening field in effect as long as he was within the bubble created by the collar. He decided not to risk it. He made his way into the transmission room. He had to act fast. He wanted to complete his task and return to his original quarters before he was discovered. Reaching out once more he felt relieved to discover that neither of the sith had made any closer. He supposed that they were either in their own quarters, in the galley or perhaps the cockpit.

Reaching within his utility belt he removed a tracking beacon and attached it beneath the last panel of instruments. He set it to begin transmitting as soon as the ship left hyperspace. The device would be linked to the Temple frequency so that not only would the Temple's communication room receive the transmission but so would any Jedi ship in the vicinity. He knew he would need help when the time came to confront the sith and this was his best chance of gaining it..

He only hoped that he had guessed correctly and that it was still the sith intent to take him to Coruscant. He wondered why the sith would be so interested in him. He wasn't anyone important. Perhaps they were merely taking him along so that they could be sure that he was dead. Perhaps they believed that the council would bargain for his life. He knew better than that. Surely every being in the galaxy now understood that the council would never negotiate for the life of a Jedi. //We live to serve.// He had a vague feeling that perhaps he was bait of some kind. He could see the sith using him to get to Qui-Gon and Anakin. He felt his heart ache at the thought of the boy. The sith had him in his clutches. He could only hope that Qui-Gon would be able to protect the boy against any schemes that the sith had to turn him.

Checking the hallway he made his way back to the room where he had first awoke. He wanted desperately to confront his captors. He hated all this sneaking around but since he wasn't sure where the sith would be heading he had to continue with the charade a bit longer. He had to be patient. He had to wait. He wondered what the Sith was doing now on the other ship. He fought against a rising feeling of despair at the thought of him sitting with Qui-Gon or Yoda neither being realizing that it wasn't really Obi-Wan but the evil one. He swallowed hard at the thought of Adi being alone with the man. Surely she would figure it out. They hadn't be together long but he had felt their connection. He could only hope that she would notice some difference in the man.

He reached out seeking peace from the Force. He needed reassurance and comfort. Lacking anyone to give it to him he drew upon the Force like an old friend to help him cope with the uncertainty of his future and that of his loved ones. Just as he was pulling out of his center he felt it. It was a wave of reassurance and determination. He knew in an instant who it was that had sent it to him. He smiled as he sensed the familiar presence of Qui-Gon. He closed his eyes allowing it to fill him. He worried for a moment that the man was also a captive onboard until he received his ex- Master's words. His smile widened as his hopes were renewed. Qui-Gon knew. He had realized and recognized that the other man was an imposter. Somehow it eased an old hurt knowing that it had been his ex-Master who had been the one to sense the difference.

They had been so close at one time but that time had long since past. Now it seemed that they could hardly be in the same room together without there being some sort of conflict brewing. He missed the ease he had once felt with his Master. He missed their many evening alone in their quarters sharing a game of some sort or discussing the latest decisions made by the Council, or at the very least Qui-Gon disagreeing with the decisions while Obi-Wan tried to help the man see the logic in their rulings. He chuckled in spite of his surroundings remembering their moments together. He missed those. He had hardly allowed himself to think of them for over a year. It had all been too painful. Sometimes it is the good memories that hurt more than the bad ones when relationships change.

He had forgiven the man but now wondered if it was truly possible to forgive such a base betrayal. He had depended on the man for everything. He had been thrown aside emotionally first then physically and then both. He remembered back to the dark days following Tahl's death and shuddered. Those had been bleak days indeed. He had been left pretty much on his own. He had remained below Qui-Gon's radar for months upon months. Then just as things had started to improve they had been called to the secret cloning facility. He had watched as Qui-Gon had desperately tried to relive his past through the clones of Xanatos and Tahl. As a result of the older man's remorse and lingering grief he vainly clung to the hope that he could make things right by Xanatos and Tahl through their clones. He had managed to wrong Obi-Wan in doing so. He had chosen to walk away from his padawan of seven years. Once abandoned, Obi-Wan had been forced to leave the Temple. That had been his lowest moment well that is until a little over a year ago when the master had once again put his own vain hopes above those of Obi-Wan.

Thinking over their final five years together Obi-Wan remembered how wary he had been of Qui-Gon in the beginning. The first year had been the hardest. He had found himself constantly on guard against the next possible betrayal and abandonment. Then after another year passed and they were still working so well together he had begun to trust the man more. Little had he known that the final betrayal would come five years after they had been reunited. They had been five wonderful years, but even as his knighting had drawn closer Obi-Wan had felt that something dark was headed their way. He had had warnings in his dreams, but even they had not prepared for that moment in the Council Chambers.

He closed his eyes once more and felt Qui-Gon's determination and devotion fill him once more. It saddened him to realize that even now he found it hard to resist his desire to be a part of this man's life. He loved Qui- Gon. He was the only father that he had ever known. It had been a rocky time for them but weren't most father/son relationships a bit rocky. He felt his old defenses coming up around the presence of his ex-Master as he realized that as much as he loved the older man, he still found it hard to trust him. Obi-Wan released his emotions into the Force but it did little good. He knew now that he had not completely forgiven Qui-Gon Jinn. It wasn't his betrayal or his rejection that Obi-Wan still held to, it was the man's inability to see him, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the man.

How could a man as wise and insightful as Qui-Gon Jinn stand in front of his student each day and not see that he was dying inside? How could he not realize how desperately he needed encouragement and support? How could he think him capable of the dark acts that a past student had executed? Obi-Wan had needed to be trusted and appreciated for who he was. Of course in his Master's mind he had always paled in comparison to Xanatos in skill and to the Chosen One in worth. And yet even now the thought that Jinn coming for him filled him with a sense of hope that no other could have given him. It was maddening.

Now as he sat upon this ship heading for an unknown destination and a precarious future once he arrived there, he found it ironic that it had been Qui-Gon's touch that had calmed him, centered him and buoyed his hope. Of course he knew that this hope was born out the unfailing confidence Obi- Wan had in Qui-Gon's abilities yet he knew that the Master held him in such little esteem. He smirked thinking once more about fathers and sons. Perhaps sons learn to accept themselves in spite of their father's rejection. Perhaps fathers never truly see their sons for who are they are but only as poor substitutes for the men that they had hoped them to become. He had never wanted to be thought a failure by Qui-Gon and yet he knew that was exactly what he was to the other man. Deeds spoke louder than words and Qui-Gon's actions screamed of disappointment.

Obi-Wan pushed the confusion surrounding his future with Qui-Gon aside and instead thought of Yoda for a moment. Thoughts of the steady small force to be reckoned with always brought a smile to his face. Yoda believed in him. Yoda, the greatest of all the Jedi, believed in him. Somehow it helped to lessen the ache left by Qui-Gon's rejection but even Yoda's love fell short of easing all the pain. The young man found himself wondering if it was a Master's love that he needed to heal the hurt he felt. His mind was flooded with images of Adi Gallia for a moment. //Yes.// He thought. //There is definitely some healing properties there.// He smiled feeling the warmth of his love for her push away the pain and heart ache of the last few years.

He wondered once more why it had felt so comforted to know that Qui-Gon had reached out to him. As he began to lose himself in meditation once more he was flooded by the memories of all of their previous missions. How many times had he found himself in peril and yet known that Qui-Gon would move stars and seas to reach him? He had always known that the man would stop at nothing to save him from whatever terrible fate had befallen him. More than once he lay in the cold, a prisoner, facing physical torture and emotional despair only to know with everything within him that as long as Qui-Gon drew breath there was hope for his rescue. Now the man knew that the man aboard the Jedi ship was an imposter. He knew that Obi-Wan's life was still in peril. He had sent out a message to him across light years to reassure him that help was on the way. So much had changed between them and yet the scenario felt so familiar. Even though he was no longer the man's padawan, Jinn still cared for him. He clung to the determination he had felt in the other man. He was not alone. Whatever fight he would be facing, he would not be facing it alone.

Lowering himself onto the bunk once more he began to fade deeper into the mediatative trance. Keeping his senses on alert, he listened for any sign of the sith approaching. He had to be ready, unfortunately he no idea what it was that he had to be ready for.

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With Yoda deep in meditation and Qui-Gon tending to Anakin, Adi found herself with the job of keeping an eye on the sith. The only part of keeping an eye on him that she resented was that such a task would also involve being in the evil man's presence. She felt her outrage toward the being rising as she made her way down to the cabin he was occupying. She swallowed hard remembering the kiss that she had shared with the man earlier. She felt a wave of revulsion hit her. She shuddered wiping at her lips involuntarily. She worried slightly about being able to continue with the charade that the man was her Obi-Wan. He obviously was aware of her relationship with the knight so in order to keep him unaware that his cover had been blown, she would be forced to play out her role.

She swallowed hard and steeled her resolve as she knocked on the closed cabin door. A moment later it opened and revealed a smiling Obi-Wan.

Now that she was certain that this was not the man that she loved the differences immediately jumped out at her. She fought to keep her face impassive as she found herself feeling more disappointed by the minute that she had missed so many obvious signs. Other than his appearance there was no resemblance what so ever between the knight and this imposter.

"Are you coming in?" She heard Obi-Wan's voice but it now seemed odd coming out of the man in front of her.

"I though maybe you were hungry." She offered. She had planned to take the man to the galley and cook whatever she could find that would occupy the most time.

"Yes I am hungry." Obi-Wan's smile turned into an unfamiliar leer as he reached out and pulled her into his cabin. She felt his lips on hers and could feel her stomach turn at the thought of the sith touching her. She pushed him away and frantically searched for something to say that could serve the dual purpose of maintaining the charade and keeping his hands off of her.

"Is something the matter?" Obi-Wan asked coming up behind her. Sidious wondered for a moment if perhaps the woman had sensed that he was not her knight. Wrapping his arms about her waist he pulled her close. He felt her body stiffen slightly. He kept his hand near his own saber so that if indeed the young woman had sensed his presence she would be dead long before she could alert the others.

"It just isn't like you to be so-" She searched frantically for the right word. Disgusting, repellant, repugnant, but finally she settled for " forward." She stuttered. "I guess I'm just feeling a little unsure." She turned. She saw the suspicion in his eyes and felt her heart rate quicken. She gave an uneasy smile taking a step back out of his arms. Instead of allowing her to ease away, she felt the hands tighten around her waist.

His green eyes seemed to pierce her. She wondered for a moment if perhaps he could read her thoughts. Releasing her anxiety into the Force she bit down on her resolve.

"Adi." He purred running his hands up her back. "Surely you must know how much I have missed you." He pulled her close and buried his face into her neck. "Allow me to give you a demonstration." Looking back up into his eyes she felt a part of her heart break. For within those same eyes where she had found so much warmth and humor, she now only found malice and hate staring back at her. This man was dangerous. These were the eyes of a killer but more than that. This was a man who would kill for sport, ending a life just for his own amusement. He was evil. It was in that one moment that she knew what her options were and what her choice had to be.

She could have killed him so easily and saved herself. She could reach for her saber, sever his hands and she would never have felt them on her skin again, but then she also knew she would never feel Obi-Wan's hands again either. She would never see him, taste his lips, feel his strength or gaze into his hope filled eyes. She swallowed the tears that were welling up inside of her. He would be lost to her forever.

Sensing some shift in her emotions Sidious pulled back. He found unshed tears pooling in the Master's crystal blue eyes. He wasn't sure how to proceed. His mind raced trying to conceive of how the knight would have reacted. He painted a concerned and compassionate look upon his face as he pulled back further and cupped the lovely woman's chin.

"Adi?" He questioned softly. "What is it?" He searched her eyes from some clue. He was ready to spring if for an instant he believed her to have discovered his rouse. She stared back the words screaming in her mind.

//Where is he? What have you done with him? // Her mind desperately pleading. //Don't hurt him. Don't destroy him. Don't take him from me.//

"Adi?" He asked once more. "You're worrying me. What is it?" Adi released the shaky breath she had not been aware that she had been holding. She felt the weight of defeat descending heavily upon her body. Using every ounce of strength she had left she forced a smile upon her lips.

"I was so scared for you. I was so frightened that I had lost you." It was whispered. The words were honest just spoken to the wrong man. Convinced Sidious relaxed against her pulling her back into his arms.

"I'm here now. I'm here with you and I'm never going to leave you again." He whispered into her hair.

"What do you think the sith would have done to you?" Adi asked seizing an opportunity to delay the inevitable and at the same time perhaps purchase a clue as to what was happening to Obi-Wan at that moment.

"I'm not completely sure. Why do you ask?" Sidious replied impatiently. He felt increasingly frustrated as the beautiful Master moved once more away from him.

"I just wonder what could have happened to you if we hadn't come along." She stated her back to him.

"Well he was a very evil man." Adi started a bit at the confession. There was something dark lingering beneath the man's words. "He knew how to inflict pain and seemed to relish the chance to do so. You can see what shape Anakin is in. He had obviously spent years perfecting his craft. Cruelty comes so easily to some, but even to those practice makes perfect." Adi merely nodded refusing to turn around.

"He would have turned me I suppose." She whirled around anger evident in her eyes.

"But you would not have turned." She defended him defiantly. A slow smile curved Kenobi's lips into a knowing smirk.

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure Adi. There is only so much any man can endure before he breaks. I would like to say that I wouldn't have turned but the sith was determined. I would have turned or I would have died." He paused for a moment allowing his words to sink into the young Master. He wrapped his arms around her and spun her around to face him. "I would have turned." His face was lined with a certainty that made Adi's blood run cold. She shivered.

"Not you. Obi-Wan Kenobi would never turn." Her voice was hushed but firm. She wanted to set this evil man straight. How dare he presume to know the limits of her beloved Obi-Wan.

"You sadly overestimate me Adi." He sighed and smiled leering at her once more. "But you need not worry your little head over such matters now. I am here. I am safe with you. Qui-Gon and Yoda are here to protect me but it was you that saved me Adi. You saved me from a fate that for a Jedi is worse than death. I am here because of you."

Adi shuddered involuntarily against his body as she heard the words that she knew would haunt her for the rest of her life. Drowning in a sea of guilt she accepted his kiss hoping that her sacrifice would be enough to save the man that she had failed. If this was her second chance she would make it count and pray that if ever she found herself in the Kenobi's arms once more that he would understand and forgive her not only for what she did but for what she chose to do.

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This was going to be longer BUT I didn't like what I had written so I gave you what I could tolerate. That's right now completely happy with this either BUT didn't want to leave ya'll high and dry for too many days. Hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day. Thanks for the reviews. I just love reading them.