Sorry for taking so long, cant write when I don't have power :) kinda makes it a bit hard. But here it is, the next chapter, finally up.

With Xanatos, I wanted to give him a bit of a past and history that wasn't all bad. I figured there had to be a time where he and Qui-Gon got along. So it was my little tid bit there.

R2R

MusicDreamer-

Thanks for all the wonderful comments, I'm glad you like it so far. And as far as questions go, all I can say is read and out

K-rock

Lol…what's that supposed to mean? I always take care of Legolas and Aragorn in my LOTR stuff,…well at least there aren't dead yet, does that count for anything?

Mellaithwen

-gets huge bunch of flowers.-

I feel special now, I got flowers

I hate it when Internet messes up, mine does the same, and it drives me crazy. Not that I am already :)

That's the one thing I really like doing about animals, is making them real, otherwise, it seems kind of odd to me. If it's an animal, it's an animal, if not, it's not, don't make one in between.

Yesh, lots o angst. Since Qui-Gon's part doesn't involve a lot of action, I'm really working on devolping his past, something I felt wasn't touched up enough in the JA books. Which is a good thing because it means it's free for me to mess with.

It will be a bit of a shock for him to learn his padawan is alive…for now at least. Cant say anything about the future!! -Evil smile-

And thank you for the nice comment, I'm glad you like my stories!

Halfling-

-Doesn't mean to make anyone go insane on purpose.-

I'm glad you really liked the chapter, I wasn't sure on some of the stuff, action isn't my best quality to write.

But I'll let you read the chapter, before you do go crazy

Chapter Five

Dawn was just breaking when Obi-Wan reached the city limits. It wasn't much of a city, Obi-Wan thought, but more of a town, an ancient one. The roads were dirt paths, and many of the buildings looked ready to collapse. At this time in the morning, Obi-Wan could neither see nor hear anyone, but he still took no chance, and moved swiftly in the shadows, keeping his hood up.

The landing in the jungle hadn't gone well. The jungle was in fact more of a swamp, and the craft had landed in a mud pit. From the air it had looked like solid ground, but he had misjudged himself, and the boy had barely been able to get out before the ship disappeared. The walk through the swamp had been tiring, as he was constantly in knee deep muck, something that he hadn't enjoyed.

Now that he was here, Obi-Wan didn't know where to go next. He supposed he needed to find a place for the night, and pry for information tomorrow. But he did not know the planet's inhabitants, if they were not human, than it would make things very difficult. Garen had said that the planet rarely received travelers.

Obi-Wan continued to move swiftly alongside the old shops, the rooms dark and eerie. He wasn't sure what it was, but something in his gut told him that something was amiss. There was no disturbance in the force, and everything about him was calm and quiet, but still there was something that wasn't right. He trained his senses on the here and now, a lesson Qui-Gon had pressured on him.

Obi-Wan turned the corner, and faltered as someone ran into him. The impact sent both of them too the ground, Obi-Wan caught himself with his hands, groaning softly at the jolt of pain that raced through his arms. The other was a human, a youth about his age, who was back on his feet quickly, and helping Obi-Wan up. He was slightly taller than Obi-Wan, his green eyes showing worry as he pulled Obi-Wan to his feet.

"Are you all right?" the boy asked. Obi-Wan nodded, brushing himself off, about to ask the boy what he was doing out at this time. The next moment however, the boy had grabbed his wrist, and was pulling Obi-Wan after him.

"Hurry, this way," the boy called, leading him down an alleyway. Blaster fire shot after them, pinging into the walls and lighting the area up for a short time. Glancing over his shoulder as he ran, Obi-Wan could see a group of men after them.

They came to a stop when they reached the wall, the boy next to him looking wildly for a place to hide. Obi-Wan considered jumping the wall, but he remembered Garen's warning that Jedi may not be welcomed here, and so began looking for another way out.

The force surged in warning the moment before they arrived, and Obi-Wan was able to duck out of the way as one of them men reached for him. From the corner of his eye he could see the boy struggling to get free of the hold they had on him. It was a distraction that shouldn't have happened.

A rope was slipped around his neck and tightened, and the next moment, Obi-Wan found that he could breathe. The man behind him gave a sharp tug on the rope, forcing the boy down to his knees. The impact caused Obi-Wan to wince, as he reached up in attempt to pry the rope free from his neck.

"Look at what we have here," the man holding him laughed, "This scum was trying to kidnap the prince." Obi-Wan shook his head, coughing as he struggled to get himself free.

"He didn't kidnap me!" the other youth yelled. "I ran away, let him go, he's my friend."

The man scoffed but let go of his hold on the rope. Obi-Wan fell forward, grabbing his sore neck as he tried to regain control of his breathing. He glanced up as one of the men approached the young prince.

"You don't have any friends," he said, glaring at the boy. He laughed, "What is this filth's name?"

The prince was silent for a moment, but spoke quickly before Obi-Wan could answer. "Ben, his name is Ben."

The man behind Obi-Wan kicked him roughly in the back, "Is that true?" he asked.

Obi-Wan nodded. He wasn't sure who these men were, but he didn't want to deal with them any more than he had too. "My name is Ben," he said, his voice shaky as he slowly stood. He didn't like lying, but he didn't want to push anything at the moment. He could very well use his lightsaber if he wanted to, but he didn't want to alert anyone that he was a Jedi. It would be better if Xanatos heard nothing about him.

"Ben what?" the man asked, grabbing his arm and twisting it sharply.

Obi-Wan grimaced. "Ben Kenobi."

All the men laughed then. "What kind of name is Kenobi?"

"He's from across the river," the prince spoke up, twisting free of the guard.

"River scum, don't you have anyone better to be around?" the man asked angrily as he reached out for the boy again.

The prince pulled further out of his grasp. "You should be kind to those less fortunate Reck," the boy spat. "One day you may be like that."

The man identified as Reck laughed. "Whatever you say," he turned to the other men. "Let's get on with it, Lord Dee isn't very happy about this."

The Man holding Obi-Wan motioned to him. "What do we do with this one?" he asked, pushing him forward.

Reck mused for a moment, "Kill him," he said, before turning to the others. Obi-Wan's heart leapt in his throat as he tried to twist out of the man's grasp. He truly didn't want to use the force or his lightsaber to get out of this, but if he had to, he would. He didn't come all this way to be killed for something he didn't do.

"You can't kill him!" the prince cried out. "Release him immediately!"

Reck laughed. "You have no authority over us, we follow Lord Dee orders."

"Which didn't include killing innocent children!" the boy spat back.

"He's River scum, they don't come over here unless they aren't wanted over the river anymore. Besides, anyone out here at this time is guilty of something."

The boy scowled. "He was with me, he was helping me escape!"

Reck laughed, "Then he's guilty of assisting you in breaking the law," he turned back to the man holding Obi-Wan, "Go ahead Caem, finish him off."

The man shook his head. "No way Reck, the brat's right, Lord Dee only wanted us to capture his nephew, not kill citizens, even if they are Rive scum."

Reck growled. "Fine, bring him along then, Lord Dee will give him a proper punishment."

The Palace was immense compared to the other buildings Obi-Wan had seen before. And cleaner too, he noted, as both he and the prince were led down a long hallway. The walls were lined with elaborate pictures of which Obi-Wan guessed were past rulers.

Not a single word had been spoken since there capture, which had bothered Obi-Wan. He had hoped to learn as much as he could about this place, but relying only on sight wasn't very helpful. How was this going to help him find his Master?

The thought of Qui-Gon made him stomach turn. He wasn't sure anymore if his Master was alive or not. Bant had told him to trust his feelings, but he wasn't even sure of his feelings anymore. If his Master was alive, where was he? What was happening to him now?

Anything was possible with Xanatos. He had been grateful that he hadn't spent much time with the man when he had been his prisoner. The slave fields had been hard, but it was away from him at least. To think that his Master was in the hands of someone, who hated him, it made him sick.

They were then brought into a room, where a broad man, dressed in a light tunic meet with them. "Leave," he told the guards crisply. "I will take care of this from here."

The men nodded, turning to leave, only Reck stayed behind a moment, motioning to Obi-Wan in question. "Leave him here as well," the man said, "now go."

No sooner than the doors had closed did the man stride up to the young prince, backhanding him across the face. Obi-Wan was at his side a moment later, helping the youth up.

"Third time this month!" he hollered, his face turning red. "Third time! What am I going to do with you,' he ranted as he began to pace. "You are my responsibility, and you will listen and obey my rules!"

The prince wiped his bloody lip with his sleeve as he pulled from Obi-Wan's gentle hold. "May I remind you Uncle, you disowned me when I was three."

"That doesn't change anything," the man howled. He was near Qui-Gon's height, Obi-Wan supposed, with short brown hair and a square face. It didn't take a second guess to know he was the Lord Dee the men were talking about.

"Do you have any idea what it would do to my reputation if you actually did escape? People will want to know why, they will revolt. You would put an entire planet's stake at risk just for yourself. You are a spoiled selfish brat, but they don't know that!"

"I'm sorry to have almost ruined your reputation, even as false as it is. You care nothing for the people," the youth answered back. Obi-Wan sighed as he leaned against a wall. He was completely lost, he felt trapped. Yet he was here to stay until he figured something else out. He didn't want to run into the guards again, but this man seemed to be even worse. He watched as the Lord's face grew tight.

"We will speak of this matter later, The guards will take you back to your room," he spat.

"I can find it on my own," the prince answered, taking his leave.

Lord Dee then turned to Obi-Wan. "What are you doing in here?"

The prince turned back, motioning for Obi-Wan to follow. He did so, giving the Lord a wide berth. "He is no concern of yours Uncle."

"Then get him out of my sight," he spat once again, taking his own leave.

Obi-Wan had to hurry to catch up with the prince. "Are you okay?" Obi-Wan asked, when they were alone.

The youth nodded. "I'm used to it by now, how are you?"

Obi-Wan nodded, and the prince continued. "I'm sorry for getting you into this, I'll figure a way to get you out later tonight, when my uncle is drunk."

Obi-Wan shrugged, follow the prince into another room. "You stopped them from killing me, I'd say that you've done enough."

The room was a courtyard, with cement walls and old trees, there leaves on the ground as the summer seasons had passed. With a graceful leap, the prince made his way up the tree and settled himself down, the wind blowing his long black hair.

"If I watch were I'm running more often you wouldn't have been hurt, or in this mess," he said softly. "I'm Serr by the way, sorry for not properly introducing myself before."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan confirmed, sitting down at the base of the tree.

"An off worlder huh? We don't get very many people from off world here," Serr said, glancing down at Obi-Wan below him.

"How could you tell?" Obi-Wan asked, a bit surprised.

Serr shrugged. "Easy, here, all male names cannot be longer than four letters, female names cannot be longer than six."

Obi-Wan nodded. "I'll stick with Ben then, I'm looking for someone here, and I don't want anyone to know I'm here," he explained vaguely. He believed that he could trust Serr, after all, he had saved his life, even if he was the one who got him into that mess.

Serr smiled. "Don't worry, I won't rat on you, you the first person who's talked to me besides the guards and my uncle. I don't have contact with anyone else. I didn't mean to downgrade you either, calling you River Folk and all. I just couldn't think of anything else to say."

"It's okay," Obi-Wan said with a sigh, "What's so wrong about them anyway?"

Serr jumped down the ground and sat across from him. "Nothing really, just the people that live across river, mostly farmers, who don't have very much money. They may be poor financially, but they can survive without the government's help. It is a struggle though, every day. Many of them die young, because they don't have the money to pay for treatment when they become ill. And my Uncle refuses to help them either, he says they aren't worth it."

"But you can when you come of age," Obi-Wan told him.

"I don't think the crown will ever be mine," Serr said softly, "My Uncle is the only family I have left, and you can very well see that he doesn't care for me. My parents died when I was young, in some bizarre accident. I think my Uncle poisoned them, but my word doesn't matter anywhere."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "To a friend it does."

Serr smiled a little. "Haven't had any friends, and we just met, so I don't think we can be friends yet."

"Anyone who saves my life is a friend," Obi-Wan told him.

Serr laughed. "If you say so Obi, I'm hungry, what about you?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "I can go for some food."

Serr stood, dusting the dirt off of him. "Follow me then, my Uncle will be angry if he catches us out."

How long had it been? Xanatos wondered, pacing back in forth. He had sent the troops out that morning, and now it was close to noon. They should be back by now, how hard was it to go out and kill off some Jedi? Xanatos nearly laughed. For the Strunians, it would be a surprise if any came back he supposed. Not that it bothered him, there were too many useless Strunians anyway, this way he was getting rid of a few.

He had left his former Master alone once he was certain the man would live. He was schedule for today's fight, but he was too weak to even stand, none the less to fight. He would surely die today, unless he waited.

Xanatos would wait, he would wait for the perfect death for his Master. Going like that would be too easy. Xanatos didn't want it to be easy for him. Not after all the Jedi did to him. He could have had so much, and yet Qui-Gon's selfishness kept it from him. The man would pay, and pay dearly.

Suddenly Xanatos was meet by the lead Strunian he had sent out that morning. The alien bowed and waited for permission to speak. Xanatos granted it. "My Lord, no ship was found. We looked, all morning. Nothing there, no people there. Left maybe?"

Xanatos frowned. No ship? How could that be, they wouldn't leave so soon. Unless it was two teams, and one was dropped off. There had to be Jedi somewhere, they knew he was here, and they wouldn't leave. With a sigh he dismissed the creature. He would have to take matters into his own hands. The Jedi were probably in the city by now. Something would stir up, and he would be able to track them. Maybe he could have some fun with them before he gave them their sentence.

With a smile Xanatos preceded up the stairs, he had much work to do, and it would get done sitting in the prison area. He would have to contact the Lord of Rixein, on the East Side, for help. Surely this wouldn't take long, not with a bounty on the Jedi's heads.

TBC