Disclaimer: Star Wars brings in tons of money and as I have not seen a single cent of that money, I am not George Lucas and therefore don't own Star Wars. And sadly, that means I don't own Obi-Wan either.
Summary: The second story in the Jedi Trials series. Obi-Wan's been captured, Qui-Gon's left the Jedi Order, and Anakin must learn to trust his new Master. The Republic is on the brink of war and only Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Anakin can save the galaxy.
Author's Notes: Gotta love three-day weekends. I hope you guys like this chapter. It's filled with tons of angst. I decided to experiment with a different style of writing, so let me know what you think!
Out of Phase - Sadly, it won't be that easy for Qui-Gon.
Ally127 - Heh... Yep, well, what did you expect? I'm glad you love it.
Katieelessar - Oh...that makes sense. Forgive the blonde moment. Hmm...sometimes my computer does things like that too. I think it's because it's really slow and doesn't always load the full window. I don't know exactly why it does that, but usually if you just refresh, it'll fix it. Sometimes. I would never train Anakin either. Definitely too hard. And too much pressure. ... I've just been compared to fresh, clean socks. How...nice? Just kidding. I'm glad you like it, and I hope you're satisfied with this chapter. It had Obi-Wan in it!
Funyun - "not-so-fuzzy feelings" Heehee. I like that. Well, I'll be nice and tell you that Dooku is not one of the choices. He's already on the dark side and I don't think Anakin will ever meet him in this portion of the story. As for the other two...well, you already know what I am going to say. Don't worry; I say it to everyone. It's just how I am. Sooner or later you'll find out who's going to the dark side. You may be surprised...or you may not be. I love being vague.
PuffyCheese - Thank you very much.
Anakin's Girl 4eva - I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Optimus Primal: Jedi Maximal - Lightsaber duels? Hmm... let me think. Yes, there will be...at least two major ones between some of those characters. They'll be near the end though, but there will be plenty of suspense and action as they work their way towards the climax.
Sirithiliel - Maybe, maybe not. I'm not telling one way or the other.
The Strange - Oh, you think you do, do you? Well, you might just be surprised.
Torture and Death
By Kekelina
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Chapter Four: Invisible Evils
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Obi-Wan wasn't sure how long he had divulged in restless sleep, but he was positive it couldn't have been more than a few standard hours. Or had it been a few days? It was impossible to tell – especially without his sight.
All he knew was that he was still tired, sore, and hungry. His dreams had been filled with horrible nightmares about…well, he wasn't sure exactly what they had been about. He couldn't remember them very well, but perhaps that was a good thing. Too many times had his dreams been filled with things that haunted him, maybe not remembering was better.
Obi-Wan desperately needed to stretch. He began with his bound arms, but cringed as a sharp, sudden pain shot up his arm and into his shoulder. His blaster wound, he had forgotten about that. Out of habit, he turned his head to examine it, and gave a long, depressed sigh when he realized he couldn't. He slowly stretched his arms out again, to test the extent of the wound. Another sharp pain shot up to his shoulder. Sithspit. It would most likely become infected very quickly if he didn't get some bacta on it. But he had none at his disposal.
"Not good," he mumbled.
He sighed and stretched the rest of his limbs, trying to make some sense out of this whole situation. His headache had decreased after his rest, but it was still there, thumping in the back of his mind. He knew it had lessened in intensity only because he hadn't had any contact with the Force for a long time. Every time he had tried to grasp onto the Force, the darkness had made it intensify a hundred-fold. He was beginning to become suspicious that he had actually passed out from the pain instead of slept.
What was the difference? Rest was rest…and Force's sake did he need rest. He was so completely and utterly exhausted. Every bone in his body screamed from him to lie down and rest. But Obi-Wan knew enough to know that he would find no rest in this prison, at least none qualified to be called rest.
Growl.
Obi-Wan straightened, then winced as he irritated his injuries. He shifted back into a more comfortable position, but his senses were attuned to the world around him. Was there something lurking in the shadows of this cold, gray, stony cell? Had his captor sent some wild, vicious animal to finish him?
Grr.
Obi-Wan was frightened. He had no sight, no weapon, nor the Force around to guide and protect him. He was defenseless against this new evil…whatever it was. Was this the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi? Was this how his small blip of an existence ended? In a cold, dark cell underground without any friends or his senses to a wild beast? Was that what he deserved?
He braced himself for the end.
Suddenly, something was attacking his stomach. He tried in vain to fight off the invisible foe, panic rising within him. It clawed at him and he clawed back, but all he caught was air. He sent a hard right hook at it, but instead hit himself in the stomach. He stopped his attack, out of breath and stunned at the fact that he had not hit his attacker at all. Was he really that poor without his eyesight or the Force?
Again he was attacked, but this time he didn't fight it. He sat back, eyes closed, and waited to become one with the Force. At least he would have that in the end. At least he wouldn't be hiding from the Force because it hurt him. At least he wouldn't be staring into a world of black. He would be free.
Rumble. Growl.
Obi-Wan could've laughed aloud for joy when he realized exactly what was attacking him. Relief rolled off him in waves. He smiled for the first time since he had been brought into this prison. An outsider would've thought he'd gone insane, but he was more sane now than he had been while fighting off the invisible creature. Obi-Wan wasn't going to die! He wasn't being attacked at all.
He was hungry; his stomach had been trying to tell him that.
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"STOP!"
Obi-Wan cradled his head in his hands as his brain pounded with pain. The room…it felt like it was spinning. The darkness was creeping in, its long, brittle fingers curling around his mind, squeezing it until he felt it would explode.
The pain… Obi-Wan gasped for breath.
Stop it… Stop it…
He had to let go. Accept and release it.
He moaned.
A sharp spike of pain shot through his head.
He screamed.
"Stop…please."
He wept.
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How long had it been? A week? A month? A year? How long would it take the Jedi to realize he had gone missing? Would they? Would they care?
Qui-Gon wouldn't.
Anakin wouldn't.
Bant might.
But she was only one Knight against the entire Council. Would they listen to her? Would they send a team to search for him? Would they even know where to begin?
Was he lost?
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Why was it he could only feel the dark side of the Force? The question haunted him. He had never felt so much dark power all in one place before – not even when he had fought Maul back on Naboo. Maul had been a Sith, yes, but not a very powerful one.
Who could gather up so much dark Force? Who could be able to stand a place like this for longer than five seconds? It would have to be someone equally as powerful and as dark.
"Always two there are. A Master and an Apprentice."
"But which was destroyed: the Master or the Apprentice?"
Those had been the words of Master Yoda and Master Windu after Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Anakin had returned after destroying Maul on Naboo. Obi-Wan, young and impatient, hadn't fully understood what the venerable Masters had meant by those statements. After all, wasn't killing one Sith just as good as killing the other? But here, surrounded by such a powerful dark Force, Obi-Wan was fully able to comprehend those statements.
Maul had been the Apprentice.
That meant that there was still a Master Sith still on the loose.
And he had captured Obi-Wan.
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The Other Author's Notes: It will only continue to get darker from here. Especially after the next Obi-Wan chapter. I shudder when I think about writing it. But what else can I do? Don't forget to review!
