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

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

"I'm not going to just sit here and wait." Siri paced anxiously.

"Siri." Garin spoke her name as a warning trying to anchor his friend to reason.

"Did you hear him? Did you hear his desperation?" Siri turned on him eyes blazing. "No. I will not sit here idling waiting for his end to come."

"You would rather contribute to it?" Garin leveled her once more.

"No." She hissed. "No Garin but they will kill him." She stated incredulously. How could her friend think anything else?

"Or they will turn him." Garin knew he was grasping at straws. Siri ceased her pacing once more changing directions so that she could charge at the man.

"He won't turn. You know that. I know that. Master Windu knows that. It is just a matter of time before they become frustrated and realized the futility of their actions. They will kill him Garin." Her voice softening toward the end of her impassioned rant.

"They will kill you as well Siri." He brought his hand up and laid it upon her shoulder.

"No great loss there Garin. Maybe that is the reason the Force put me here. Perhaps I am to die in his place. I willingly do so. Would you?" Her eyes searched those of her friend's.

Garin took a deep breath stepping away for a moment. He and Obi-Wan had been friends for years. He had always been a little bit jealous of the Knight. Kenobi learned so quickly, never seemed to stray from his total devotion to the Temple, and was instantly liked by all who crossed his path. If he hadn't been his friend Garin felt certain that he would have despised Kenobi instead, but they were friends. They were the best of friends. Somehow over the first years of their friendship that early envy had changed into admiration for the young man.

Garin always enjoyed being in the Obi-Wan's presence. Obi-Wan never failed to say just the right sarcastic thing to make the other Knight laugh. He missed his friend. The thought of never seeing him again, of never sharing a holiday together or a sparring match was unthinkable.

"Garin?" Siri called her brow furrowed with concern. "Would you die for him?"

Death seemed so permanent. There was no going back once a Knight became one with the Force. The thought of giving up his future caused the young Knight's chest to constrict. He fought against the fear that sprung up in reaction. He didn't want to die. He wasn't ready to leave just yet. There were still so many hopes and dreams he had yet to achieve. He had always felt he would have more time. He had never foreseen his death coming so shortly after his knighting.

"Garin?" Siri laid her hand upon his shoulder causing him to turn.

"I love Obi-Wan too." His voice was soft. "But I don't want to die." Garin's face reddening with shame. Siri sighed.

"I don't want to die either Garin that wasn't the question." Siri exclaimed exasperatedly. "Ask me that and I'd be screaming NO!!! The questions is would you die for him? Would you lay your life down to protect our Chosen One? Would you give up all that is yours so that the Order could continue?" Garin smiled. He felt relieved by the clarification. Now that answer came swiftly and without hesitation.

"Yes." His voice held a fierce determination causing Siri to smile.

"You never listen to me." She chided causing Garin to chuckle softly at her admonition. "You and Obi-Wan never listen to me."

"Perhaps it is because you have so little to say that is of interest to us?" He teased.

"Or perhaps you two are so thick headed you are unable to comprehend my thoughts." She defended.

"They are fairly incomprehensible." He joked. She play punched him in the arm.

"So are we going to continue to sit here or go help our friend?" Siri asked

"Siri we will be ousted from the Order if we disobey Master Windu's directive." Garin tried to explain.

"There will be no Order if we don't get to Obi-Wan." Siri countered. Garin considered her words for a long moment.

"Lead the way." He announced resigned that one way or the other once this mission was complete he would no longer be a Knight of the Jedi Order.

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

"Bant." Siri's words caught the Mon Calamarian off guard.

"Siri?" She whispered into the comlink. "We are ordered to silence." She added her admonition.

"We're moving. Where is Windu?" Bant was taken about by this sudden change in plans.

"Are you being pursued?" Her concern was evident in her tone.

"No. Where is Windu?" Siri demanded.

"Siri I want to speak to Garin." Bant requested feeling a growing sense of apprehension.

"He's with me." Siri shot back derailing Bant's attempt to reach the more reasonable of the two knights. "Now are you going to tell us where Windu is or are you just going to move with us?" Siri gave no time for the other knight to consider before plunging away into the plan. Bant's eye searched about in panic wishing the Master would appear and remove her from this situation.

"Siri?" Bant's voice revealed her apprehension and uncertainty.

"I sensed him." Siri stated emphatically.

"I did as well." Bant confessed.

"Then we both have a fairly reasonable idea of where he is located. We are headed in that direction. Rendezvous' with us there but be careful. I sense a great deal of movement." Bant was about to object when the comlink went silent. She tried two more times to reach her friends but failed. They had switched the comlink to silent mode.

Sighing heavily Bant cast one more desperate look about the room. She knew that Master Windu had also turned his comlink to silent before leaving. She had no way of reaching him. She silently cursed her friend for putting her in this position. Master Windu was counting on her being there when he returned, but now Siri and Garin were also counting on her being with them when they arrived at Obi-Wan's cell.

Bant touched her saber lightly with her hand reaching deep for the courage to do the right thing whatever that might be. Reaching out she activated the door panel distracted by her own indecision.

"Sith." Bant spat in frustration.

"You called?" She jumped at the appearance of the other being realizing suddenly that the decision had been made for her.

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

The ground was opening up. He ran faster but knew he would never make it in time. The cracks in the soil were starting to appear between his legs as he pumped his arms harder pounding the ground with his feet. He searched the horizon for help. He saw something. It was his Master. He almost sighed with relieve but realized he had no time.

"Master!" He called winded his voice was weak. The words were a mere gasp.

He watched as Qui-Gon reached out his hands. "Take my hands Anakin." Anakin leapt and reached for the older man. It was then that his Master disappeared. In his place was the sith, laughing and reaching for him. Anakin wanted to pull his hands back but knew if he didn't allow the sith to save him he would plunge into the deep pit.

"Master?" Anakin cried out once more. He felt the cold flesh of the sith gouge into his arms. The sith had him. He had saved him from the pit or had he? With a certainty he had seldom felt in his young life, Anakin realized he was now one of them.

Anakin sat up suddenly his breath coming is short gasps.

"Easy my Padawan." It was Yoda's voice coming to him out of the darkness. Feeling the older Master's hand on his arm Anakin flinched.

"He had me. He had me!" Anakin cried as if those words alone would explain his fright and sense of failure.

"A dream it was." Yoda nodded his voice remaining calm. The soothing properties of an aged and wise voice having the desired effect on the small boy, "A vision perhaps?" Yoda offered.

"You think it will come true? Was it my future?" Anakin's panic surfacing once more.

"Always in motion the future is. Hard to see. Tell me you must of this dream." The small Master climbed up next to the young boy and patiently waited while the boy relayed all that he had felt and seen.

"Fear Anakin. It is fear that you dream of." Anakin nodded understanding.

"How do I let go of it Master Yoda? I don't want to be afraid anymore." Yoda smiled.

"That my young Padawan is the first step. The next step will present itself in time. You must trust and wait for it to appear." Anakin yawned. "Now rest." Yoda moved down and helped to ease the boy back under his blanket.

"Master Yoda." Anakin called. "Will you stay with me until I go to sleep?" His voice was so young. So many Masters at the Temple lost sight that their students were children. They were gifted Force sensitives but first and foremost they were children. They had all the same insecurities, needs, and longings of other children. Yoda smiled and moved back to the side of Anakin's bed.

"Sleep. Be here I will when you wake." He listened as Anakin's breathing immediately deepened. The reassurance that he would not be alone had been enough to ease the boy's fears for the moment and allow him to heed the call to rest. Yoda lowered himself into a nearby chair. He thought about the dream the boy had just recounted. There was much fear in this boy, but now that he recognized it perhaps it could be dealt with.

In spite of the dire circumstances surrounding this boy, the Order and the galaxy at the moment, Yoda found himself feeling hopeful. After all what he had told the boy was true. Always in motion the future is. The future had not been determined yet. It was in the hands of another boy. A boy that the Master trusted not to fail.

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

"What do you mean by that?" Adi asked still eyeing Pratell's hand so near her saber.

"Just what I said. I will do what I must." She moved past the Master. "I must go. I will leave the cell unsecured. I doubt that they will be back to check on you anytime soon. You were not to be a part of this portion of the dark lord's plan." Adi felt her curiosity peaked.

"What part was I to play?" She asked moving swiftly into place behind Pratell. Pratell turned to look her over once more.

"You were to be." The Twi'lek paused wondering how to voice the Master's position. "He was going to use you to secure the offspring of the Chosen One." She turned back to the door after registering Adi's shocked expression.

She felt outraged by the sith's arrogance and assumption. How dare he consider her for such a utilitarian purpose.

"I am a Jedi Master." She hissed angrily. Pratell couldn't resist smirking at the woman's outrage. She would have had the same reaction but still found it humorous.

"And also a woman. You are a woman who is attracted to the Chosen One as he is obviously attracted to you. It would make sense that together you would produce children strong in the Force no?" Adi furrowed her brow. "My master's plan though insulting does have merit does it not."

"Yes I mean no." She seemed a bit flustered. It made her uncomfortable to have others thinking let alone voicing their opinions as to the nature or outcome of her relationship with Obi-Wan. "That's private. I will not discuss anything of my relationship with Obi-Wan with you or anyone else for that matter." She declared her body ridged and her head held high. Pratell nodded knowingly. It was obvious that this woman did care deeply for the Chosen One but that they had yet to come together. Though the idea did not in anyway seem to repulse Master Gallia she was not yet ready to consider someone using her for the Chosen One's breeding stock. She had much more romantic ideas attached to their uniting physically.

Pratell nodded and motioned for the Master to be silent as she slid the door open. One swift movement of her hand and Adi knew that the locking mechanism had been disengaged.

"I need my saber." Adi whispered urgently.

"All I can offer is your freedom. The rest is up to you." Pratell spoke without turning back to face the Master. "Do not follow me. I will try to distract those who are around you so that you might escape." The young sith was looking both up and down the corridor as she spoke reaching out to sense her fellow sith.

"How will I find him? I was unconscious when I was brought here." Pratell smiled and turned to regard the Master one last time.

"You will find him." With that the young sith disappeared down the corridor leaving Adi wondering why she had just been helped and what she was to do now to help save the Knight.

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

"Can you feel a difference in the Force?" Qui-Gon asked his voice encouraging the Knight across from him.

"Yes it has been different. I seem to have more power and-" Obi-Wan paused before continuing assessing his new found skills.

"Yes?" Qui-Gon asked excitedly. All of his life he had read the prophesies of the Chosen One. Even hanging here from these blasted energy binders in the hands of the sith he found himself amazed that he was actually witnessing the prophecy coming to life.

"It feels as though I have more control from within." Obi-Wan shook his head smiling weakly at the other man. "It's hard to explain." He grimaced as he searched for words.

"The prophecy claims that the Chosen One will bring balance to the Force." Qui-Gon stated hoping that his words would help the Knight clarify what he was feeling.

"Yes." Obi-Wan smiled excitedly. "That's it. I feel balanced. I feel an equality in the intensity of the Force from both within my body and without." Obi-Wan blinked his eyes still a bit hazed with his struggle to put into words the sensations he was experiencing

"Excellent!" Qui-Gon cried.

"But it is a bit hard to control and comes on when I least expect it." Obi- Wan furrowed his brow in concentration as he reached for the elusive feeling once more. He wondered if he could honestly control when he accessed it or not.

"Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon's voice caused the young man to open his eyes and regard the man who had been his Master. "Meditate." The young Knight nodded. Yes that was what he needed, but how could he when he was cut off from the Force.

"I can't feel it. I'm cut off from it." He sighed in frustration as he continued to search for his center.

"You are not cut off from the Force. You just confessed that you feel it as much from within yourself as you do from without." Obi-Wan nodded once more then closed his eyes trying to throw off the preconceived notions he had always held of the Force.

"Don't struggle so much my Padawn. Close your eyes and allow the Force to lead you. You are the Chosen One. You serve the Force's purpose. Has it ever forsaken you before?" Obi-Wan smiled knowingly and shook his head. He felt comforted by the sound of his Master's voice. He felt a peace that had eluded him for so long.

Obi-Wan suddenly felt confident that he would find the answers. He felt certain that the Force would lead him to the knowledge he required. Opening his eyes he observed Qui-Gon's steadying presence across from him. He felt a wave of relief that the man was with him to help him find his way. They had struggled in the past, but somehow the man had always been there in the end for him. Now as this final act between them played out he was here as well having forsaken his earlier belief that Anakin was the Chosen One, he was now willing to sacrifice his very life to help his ex- Padawan succeed. It was all for the Order but yet there was something in the older man's eyes that cause Obi-Wan to accept that it was for more than just that. Once his Master always his Master it was right that it would be Qui-Gon who would instruct him and lead him.

"I'm glad you are here." Obi-Wan voice was soft. Qui-Gon's lips curved into a grateful smile.

"Where else would I be my beloved Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon's voice was thick with emotion as he realized that the Knight had not corrected him when he had used the term of endearment. He watched as the Knight centered himself. It was a familiar sight for the Master. He had meditated countless times with his student, but this time it felt different. Qui-Gon sent a request into the Force that the Knight be given time to find the answers he was searching for before the sith returned. Listening to Obi-Wan's breathing as it deepened Qui-Gon prayed that those answers would come to him quickly.
***********************************

Thanks again for the reviews. I appreciate those of you who take the time to tell me what you think especially when you are thinking good things about this story (big grin). Out of curiosity I signed up for a month of enhanced services just to see how many people are reading this story. It doesn't give me anything but hit numbers but I was shocked and pleased to find out there are so many of you. Hope you are all enjoying it and thanks for your patience in this long ordeal. I had NO idea we would be doing this together for so long. I honestly planned on being done two months ago but the story had other ideas. I am a slave to the story. Like you, I am wondering where it will take us next.