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

************************************************************

There was a sound coming from not too far away. It was a humming sound. It was so familiar. Obi-Wan knew he needed to figure out what it was. Something inside of him was warning him that it might be dangerous. He felt his thoughts float away once more. The sound lulling him deeper into sleep, he wanted to surrender. He felt so tired. There was a pounding in his head. He had tried to wake earlier but had been rewarded by a shock of pain when he had opened his eyes. The pain had sent him immediately under once more. He just wanted to sleep.

He felt a sense of urgency though. It was building within him. There was something that he had to do. He stumbled through his thoughts looking for his "To do" list. He couldn't find anything on his list in fact he couldn't even locate the list itself. Maybe he was on vacation he mused, but then reasoned if he were on vacation he would be able to move his arms and legs. His inability to move along with the humming were clues he felt certain to task he had to complete. What was it?

The humming grew louder. The Knight knew that his time for pondering was over. He would have to risk opening his eyes and facing whatever task he had left undone. Slowly he felt this lids lighten. He was just starting to feel hopeful about opening them, when by chance one did open. The room was blurry for a moment. He could see a light in front of him. After more concentration he discovered it was a light saber. That was where the humming was coming front. With the mystery solved he felt an overwhelming need to close his eyes once more and surrender back into the waiting arms of oblivion. It was then that he suddenly remembered what it was that he had to do.

Escape.

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"Where are we?" Adi asked as she and Qui-Gon felt their way along the walls. The metal surface felt cool beneath their fingers. They were being led by the distinct presence of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Qui-Gon had finally been able to sense the man in the Force once they had entered through the tunnel. He wasn't sure what material or barrier the sith was using to cloak their presence here beneath the Senate, but it was important that once the Knight was rescued that he Council discover that secret.

The Master shuddered when he realized how vulnerable the entire Republic Government was now. He wondered if the sith had selected this location in part to mock the Jedi. It was obvious that being located in literally the center of the galaxy's government would have obvious advantages. What concerned the older Master more so was that so much darkness had co-existed with the light. That this odd interweaving of the two opposing forces had gone undetected by anyone. He found his mind thinking of his padawan for a moment realizing that he too had missed such an existence.

"Qui-Gon?" Adi's voice pulled him back from his thoughts. The walls were cold and rough. He was sure that centuries before this very portion of the building had served as possibly the Senate building as well. How many noble servants had made their way down this very passage in pursuit of justice, freedom and liberty? Now only servants of darkness used these corridors plotting pain, oppression, and destruction.

"It isn't much further." Qui-Gon whispered. Sensing someone in the Force wasn't exactly like a homing beacon. Qui-Gon had a general impression of where the Knight was but for some reason wasn't able yet to communicate with him. In secret, Qui-Gon was relishing the thought of using their bond once again. It had been far too long since he heard Obi-Wan's thoughts in his mind. He found it disturbing that the Knight's mind was so blank. He knew that it must be the result of some injury that the Knight had sustained or even perhaps some drug he had been forced to ingest. Either possibility was enough to increase both Qui-Gon apprehension and speed as he and Adi made their way down the corridor.

"It's so dark." Adi commented. Qui-Gon wondered for a moment which darkness she was referring to. They were after all walking along blindly. Neither could even see their hand before their face, but there was also the cold curtain of evil that darkened the area surrounding them. They had discussed using their sabers to speed up their progress but felt it would reveal their presence too quickly. They were both working diligently to mask their presence in the Force. The last thing that they needed was for the sith to find them before they found Obi-Wan.

"Do you sense-" Adi's words froze in her throat as they both suddenly felt the presence of one moving towards them. They continued to cloak their presence sinking deeper into the Force doing their best to become a part of the wall that they had been using to guide themselves toward the Knight.

There was only one presence. They felt it as it ventured down another corridor its dark signature growing dimmer as it did so.

"How many to do you think he has here?" Adi asked suddenly finding herself concerned that she and Qui-Gon were about to find themselves highly outnumbered.

"I'm not sure." Qui-Gon whispered, "But we must keep up our guard. They must not find us before-"

"Before what Master Jinn?" They both started at the sound of the voice laced with a sarcastic sneer coming from behind them. It was familiar to them both. Qui-Gon tried to place it. They both turned slowly their eyes trying to adjust now as a light saber began to glow illuminating the space behind them. How could the sith have sensed them and yet they had both failed to feel his presence so near?

They ventured a glance at one another before turning once more to face the dark lord. Both of their expressions revealed what they neither dared to utter, that their failure had just sealed the fate of their most beloved knight.

*************************

Mirilent sat watching the young boy as he kept himself occupied with a data pad.

"What are you reading?" She asked.

"Astronavigation." He commented glancing up giving her a sincere smile then returning to his work.

"Hmph." She sighed. "You actually think I'm going to buy that boy?" Her eyes were smiling but Anakin wasn't sure how to take her comment. He had been trying to earn some points by returning to his studies without any Master's command forcing him to do so. He realized that this woman would be one of the Jedi evaluating his fitness for training. He had hoped that his obvious diligence and determination would help his case. Now he wasn't so sure.

"I don't know-" He started innocently.

"Don't compound it by lying to me." She stood and walked over taking his pad from him.

"How old are you?" She asked. She of course knew the answer.

"I'm-" He began.

"You're too young to be willfully studying something as dry as astronavigation without some Master standing over you with threats of week long katas." Anakin wanted to smile but he knew that that would be admitting to the woman that he had been trying to manipulate her.

"So when did you start this?" She asked. Unlike most Jedi, Mira was a mother and mothers all have a knack of sorting out truth from lies. She spotted the boy's game shortly after she began observing him. She had spent the last hour reading over his history. It was time to start making a true assessment of the situation.

"Start what?" He asked sounding both defensive and angry.

"This little game that you play with people. You know games can be a lot of fun but it helps if everyone knows that they are playing and what the rules are. You don't let other people know. You just play. That's not really fair now is it Anakin? Did your Mother teach you play like this?" Anakin's eyes immediately flashed with anger as he growled at the woman.

"Don't talk about my Mother." Mira leaned back and considered the boy for a long moment as she crossed her arms across her chest. He was an angry little cuss. She had noted in his records that he had an extraordinary midichlorian count. Since he was trained outside the Temple she had no idea what he was capable of so it left her feeling a bit off balance.

"Okay." She conceded. "Why don't you talk about her instead." She smiled as she watched the angry slowly drain away from his eyes evolving into two blue pits of sorrow. It was obvious that the boy was missing his Mother. Mira could not imagine being separated from her child. The woman who had willingly let go of this child had done so out of love. She had sacrificed her own heart so that he could have a chance at a better life. She must be a remarkable woman no wonder her son was so devoted even now to protecting her. As long as this year had been for Anakin though, Mira realized that it had been endless for his mother.

"She's a slave." Anakin announced watching Mira closely for her reaction.

"We are all slaves of one sort or another." Mira smiled. She gestured to the space in the bed next to Anakin. He gave a small smile in reply but watched her warily as she moved towards him. Mira made a mental note but continued forward. She climbed up next to the boy and continued talking. "Your Mother is a slave physically, some of us are slaves mentally, some emotionally, some to memories, some to mistakes they cannot forgive themselves for, some to revenge, some to hate, some to the light and others to the dark." She watched as Anakin mulled her words over.

"Are you a slave?" He asked. Mira nodded.

"I am a slave emotionally because many times I allow my heart to tell me what to do even when I know it is the wrong thing to do. It is as if I am powerless but to obey it. I am also a slave to not being able to forgive and move on. There is one man who hurt someone that I love very much. Because he hurt this person I have been angry with him for a long time. I have allowed my inability to forgive to overshadow all of my dealings with him since. This is not the right thing to do but I seem powerless to forgive him. Just as you mother is powerless to leave her owner. Just as your mother longs for her freedom though Anakin, we must all strive to be free from what enslaves us." Her voice was soft Anakin looked up at her his expression open and receptive. Mira hoped it was sincere and not just another ploy to manipulate her.

"You love Obi-Wan. My Master hurt him and he is the man you cannot forgive." It was a statement but Mira nodded in assent anyway.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the finest if not the finest Knight ever to walk through the hallowed halls of this Temple. In all my years I never saw anyone as loyal, kind, brave, intelligent, giving or as funny as that young man. He is selfless and that is a rare quality. He is like a son to me. Your Master hurt him several times. His choosing you over the Knight a year ago was merely the last of a long line of betrayals. I'm sure if your mother were here and she saw someone causing you pain, she too would feel the need to protect and defend you." Anakin nodded.

"What happened?" He asked staring down at his hands. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Mira wasn't' sure how much she should tell him. She had never been one to pull any punches though. She wanted to boy to understand what it was that he was getting into if the decision was made that he be allowed to stay.

"Your Master had a student once named Xanatos. He was bright and talented. He was also selfish and impatient. He wanted it all. He wanted the glory and prestige of being a Jedi and the riches and power of the galaxy. Jedi cannot have it all. In fact Jedi can have nothing at all. You have seen what your Master possesses. Jedi hold no desire for material items or personal fame. Xanatos wanted it all and sold out to the darkness to get it. He betrayed his Master. He turned." Mira paused not wanting to frighten the boy any more than she had. "Qui-Gon, your Master, was devastated. He loved Xanatos like no other student he had ever had. For years he refused to take another padawan. Then he and Obi-Wan found each other and the Force made it clear that they were meant to be together. It was rough at first but then it got better. Qui-Gon was still carrying the grief and resentment about Xanatos. He blamed himself. He was a slave to all these masters." She paused allowing her words to sink in. "Over time Obi-Wan helped him come alive again. He smiled more and seemed at peace. He was married then to Tahl. She was another Jedi. He loved her very much. She loved your Master and loved Obi-Wan as well. They were very much like a family. Then something terrible happened. She died on a mission. Your master and Obi-wan were with her. Obi-wan was injured and it slowed Qui-Gon's progress. He couldn't get to Tahl in time and she died. He blamed Obi-Wan for a very long time. He needed to blame someone, but it wasn't his padawan's fault. He rejected Obi-wan. He refused to have much to do with him. That was a long year for me." She sighed. "I watched a brilliant, bright, loveable boy turn into a shell before my eyes."

"How could Qui-Gon do that to him? He didn't mean to get hurt." Anakin's voice was soft and full of sorrow.

"No of course he didn't, but it is strange Anakin how when we are in pain we justify our actions." His eyes narrowed. Mira waited she knew he would see that he had been justifying a great deal over the last year. "It wasn't the right thing to do but Qui-Gon was in pain. It took him years to really see how badly he had turned on Obi-Wan. Once he finally did see he started trying to make up for the damage he had done."

"Is it ever too late?" Anakin asked.

"Depends on the person Anakin and how badly they wish to make it right." She smiled.

"So did they work things out?" He asked.

"For a while but then your Master's pain came back and hurt them both again. That time we almost lost Obi-Wan. It was the closest I ever came to losing him. He had to leave the Temple." Anakin's mouth dropped open at the knowledge.

"No way." He breathed.

"Yes. He left and joined a gang of pirates who were out to free a planet." Mira smiled. "He was always looking for a good cause to give his life for. He almost succeeded that time, but your Master convinced him to come back to us." Anakin furrowed his brow. "Then things were good with them. They seemed to become close again. Obi-Wan was so close to his trials when- "

"I came along." Anakin frowned.

"It wasn't that you came along. Qui-Gon allowed another of his emotional captors to take control over him. He needed to redeem himself. It's odd but as we grow older we want to be remembered not as glorious warriors but as making some sort of worthwhile contribution. You were to be that for him. You were the Chosen One. He would be forever impacting a galaxy through you. Does that make sense?" She asked staring intently at the boy. Anakin nodded. He could understand why his Master wanted to be remembered. It was probably a lot like his wanting to return to Tatooine as a Jedi and freeing all the slaves. He wanted to look at Watto and the Hutts and say "Look at me now."

"So you see Anakin, it was not you that caused it. He had a choice and he made it. He chose you. You were given this wonderful opportunity to be a Jedi, but it almost cost Obi-Wan his knighthood." Mira sighed. It had cost the young man so much more than that but she refused to elaborate. She knew even now he harbored scars that would possibly never heal. Rejection is a knife that cuts to the core. She wondered for a moment about her enslaved Knight being held captive by a sith. It was true what she had said. So many of the beings she knew were slaves of one sort or another, but she knew with an unshakable certainty that her ginger haired boy would never be a slave to the sith even if the price of his freedom came at the cost of his life.

"So who is your captor Anakin?" Mira asked. She watched as the boy seemed to weigh his answer carefully. "Don't think it over just spit it out." She commanded refusing to watch the boy struggle with his need to be honest and his desire to remain at the Temple.

"I miss my Mother." He finally stated sadly. "I think of her all of the time. I am afraid of what might happen to her. I am afraid that I won't be able to go back and save her." He paused for a long moment as if finally seeing the big picture for the first time as enlightenment shone out of his eyes filling the Healer with hope. In a voice filled both with awe and conviction he stated, "I am afraid."

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The meeting of the Council members had broken up early each with their new assignments. There was security to check, a group of trusted knights to send out in pursuit of the sith, an investigation to launch in relation to the systems pulling away and the leaders of those planets being tied to sith influences, but the most pressing matter of all was saving the Chosen One.

Yoda sat silently across from Mace each Master lost in their own thoughts for the moment.

"So Obi-Wan is indeed the Chosen One." Mace finally asked needing to hear it once more from his trusted friend's lips. Yoda nodded.

"Chosen One he is. Have you any doubt now that I have told you as much? Obvious it is no?" Yoda smiled. He truly loved shaking things up. He would never forget the look on his friend's face when he had confirmed what the other man had suspected for the past few months.

"I always had some sort of inkling but now that I know it does feel right." Mace reached out to the Force and knew that it was true.

"Led you the Force did. Reluctant you were to believe. Now that you know understand the urgency to rescue him you must." Mace nodded gravely.

"We are sending out the Knights we have here at the Temple. They are being hand picked. I feel secure in their allegiance. " Mace stated lowering his head into his hands wearily.

"Secure we all felt with the sith systems away but find today that they were under our feet the entire time. Trust allegiances I will not. Send out his friends you must. Fight for him they have before. Fight for him now they will." Yoda demanded. Mace lifted his face and stared for a long moment at the green Master. He watched as the Master fingered his walking stick. Mace had taken one too many hits from it over the years.

"Very well. If they are at the Temple I will assign them." He rose from his chair carefully edging around the range of the other master's swing. Smiling he shook his head as he made his way over to the data terminal. He made a low level inquiry so as not to trigger any red flags if the system was being monitored.

"They are here." Mace announced. "At least three are here." He stated turning to face the other Master.

"Go with them you must." Mace nodded as he made his way over to his mission pack to retrieve the items he would require.

"I know where the sith are now. It shouldn't take us long to reach Qui- Gon, Adi and Obi-Wan." He attached the needed items to his belt.

"May the Force be with you." Yoda stated firmly.

"May the Force be with us all." Mace declared as he walked through his door heading towards the Knight levels. He had three Knights to locate and no time to lose.

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I got some really nice emails and reviews and it just helped me so much to get my confidence back. Thank you to all my encouraging readers and especially to Shanobi and Cynical21. I am once again excited about where we are headed. I hope you all are as well. I have no idea how far we have to go. The story is in the driver's seat. Next week another post. As inspired as I am it might come sooner if I can find the time. It depends on how cooperative real life is this week. Thanks again for reading.