Obi-Wan watched the race with much interest and a constant smile on his face.
For some reason he found the whole race amusing; as if the lost lives of different racers were the best entertainment he'd seen in his time. He sensed from afar Padmé's deep interest in the race and that of her comrade, Handmaiden Yané. It wasn't hard to pinpoint the two ladies among a sea of different Force signatures.
Nor wasn't it hard to pinpoint Qui-Gon.
Qui-Gon… He sensed something wrong that seemed to dwell within his distraught Master. Opening his senses to their training bond he gently prodded further, hoping that they could somehow communicate what was disturbing him so…
Then Obi-Wan began to feel it. His sweating palms and beading forehead due to his fever returned, and Obi-Wan gently allowed his connection to the training bond waver just a bit; telling Qui-Gon that he still wasn't well but would allow the bond to hold.
…the world suddenly seemed to spin, and Obi-Wan rested his head in his hands; the cheering of the crowd echoing in his small quarters as the second lap of the race began. Something was wrong with him…and it was something of a different cause then the fever. This was something stronger, something darker and just as dangerous.
Tap.
Obi-Wan looked down. He half expected to find some of his sweat drip onto the food tray that sat on the foot of his bed, the meal his afternoon snack. He figured that whoever brought it in thought he was in the 'fresher, when it reality he was in the cockpit watching Padmé leave for Mos Espa.
Only it wasn't a drop of sweat.
It was a drop of blood.
Qui-Gon sensed his Padawan's presence as their training bond opened and Obi-Wan's weakened state flooded his being. So, he still wasn't well, but the Force was telling him that his Padawan was coping and eating well to keep up with his body's needs. A good sign and a welcomed one at that.
But he still couldn't help but to feel uneasy that the disturbance in the Force was coming from Obi-Wan.
Closing his eyes, the ripples in the tide slowly began to grow bigger and longer as danger grew nearer…and all seemed to be coming from his Padawan.
Qui-Gon wasn't prepared for what happened next.
The blood that slowly dripped onto the tray steadily increased as a few more drops joined the first.
But with each drop—the ones following the first—a quick vision of someone within the large crowd invaded his mind and clouded his perception. Every drop brought a quick history of the being that the Force was showing him; whether they be smuggler, full-time gambler, local shop keeper, a part-time guard…anything. It seemed rather harmless at first, seeing each random individual and knowing their past history.
Only nothing was harmless about each of these individual species. They all had a dark present, something mysterious about their character that nobody knew. Except for Obi-Wan. He knew exactly what secrets each of these men and women carried with them. Something dark and dangerous. Be it a killer, a child molester, a stalker and eventual wife-beater—everything. Every little dark secret invaded Obi-Wan's senses and overwhelmed his concentration of keeping open his training bond with Qui-Gon.
His lungs began to tighten and his breath soon was coughed out in gasps. The Darkside—it was all coming from the Darkside! He couldn't get up, couldn't get up to run from this tiny place that suddenly seemed to close in on him; trap him inside this ever-growing nightmare and swallow him whole. The blood stopped dripping from his nose but the visions didn't. They came at him in waves. Wave upon wave upon wave crashed into him and he whimpered and whined at the intensity of it all. The Darkside beckoned and Obi-Wan soon found himself thrown back upon his bed, kicking and thrashing wildly and everything and nothing in particular. Pain and despair ripping and tearing at him.
Qui-Gon's presence suddenly glowed along the forced-open training bond. Like a gentle hug from a mother protecting her child from danger, Qui-Gon seemed to envelop his spirit around that of his Padawan and protect him from the onslaught of feelings and past misfortunes that plagued helpless Obi-Wan.
But not even together were they able to stop the darkness that needed to be set free; to be sent to a better place other then a weakened and unstable Padawan.
No. It had to go somewhere else.
Padmé watched out of the corner of her eye as Qui-Gon seemed to stir just a bit from behind her.
Shmi had taken her place back inbetween the two girls', and didn't seem to notice the ever furrowing brow of the Jedi Master that stood behind them. Something deeply troubled him and Padmé wasn't about to let this moment of worry slip. Very carefully, she turned in her seat and gently placed a loving hand upon his arm.
During the battle of wills, Qui-Gon felt another signature within the Force enter within the fray. Only it wasn't Force-sensitive; it felt normal and offered a feeling of gentle sympathy and loving worry. Quickly Qui-Gon pinpointed the source.
The Handmaiden Padmé.
As if echoing his thoughts, Obi-Wan's alert conscience confirmed the match and seemed to "lurch forward" from within Qui-Gon's protecting grasp.
"NO!" He screamed within the tiny compartment. "Don't let it get her!"
The Darkside felt the connection and soon found Padmé to be a likely candidate for its release. Together, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan created a shield around Padmé's spirit and forced the Dark waves away from her, convincing it to go elsewhere and not harm the young girl. The battle of wills increased in strength as the Master and Padawan team managed to turn the tide and save the handmaiden from a grisly fate.
Only it wasn't about to give up.
In a last second effort, it lashed out. It lashed out hard.
Through Obi-Wan did the Darkside send its never-ending waves out into the realm of the outside world.
This was what Qui-Gon wasn't prepared for. He could hear the echoes from the screaming crowd; not from the device that was in Obi-Wan's quarters, but coming from his own ears. They weren't cheers from an excited crowd.
They were screams of terror.
Padmé soon let go of Qui-Gon's arm as the last Podracer suddenly burst into flame as it crossed the finish line to begin the third and final lap; the remains the flaming racer scattering into the crowd of spectators. The whole third lap was nothing more then a display of fireballs and constant crashing. Only a small handful of racers died during the first lap of racing, but the rest were meeting their grisly end before the race could even finish.
Up and down the crowd were mixes of amusement and sheer terror as every racer, without warning, would suddenly burst into flame and explode soon thereafter without any apparent reason. She suddenly began to fear for the lives of the thousands of spectators should any of the racers make it back and explode into the crowd.
Especially should one happen to crash into the tower in which they sat.
Yané seemed to echo her friends fear and the two exchanged a knowing glance.
"Shmi," Padmé gently told the stiffened older woman next to her. "We have to move to a safer ground. We're not safe here."
Shmi's tear filled eyes met her gaze and nearly broke Padmé's heart. She was worried about her son. "I understand." Was all she said.
Together all three gently prodded Qui-Gon out of his dozing state—and Padmé instantly regretted it. The last of the racers soon began to near the finish line, Anakin in the lead. Qui-Gon's expression of well-kept composure soon melted away as the racers behind the young boy erupted in flame and explode. Shmi grabbed onto the Jedi Masters hand and squeezed. Qui-Gon looked into Padmé's staring features and mouthed Obi-Wan's name.
As if understanding, she turned as if to flee from this spectacle and race back to the ship but was soon caught by Qui-Gon's free hand and brought close to the two beating hearts that ached for a miracle; Padmé's being the third as she dug her face into Qui-Gon's poncho and wept without resistance.
Qui-Gon was thrown back against the pillar by the Force-shock that hit him as the racer behind Anakin finally exploded and careened into the wall. Anakin finished the race with much success and quickly exited from his pod should his happen to end with the same fate as the others.
Shoulders relaxing, a much needed feeling of relief flooded him and Qui-Gon soon held a weeping Padmé and Shmi closer against him for comfort.
It was finally over.
Everyone exited from their place in the watch tower and down onto the sand to an awaiting Anakin.
Except something troubled Qui-Gon as they raced towards the small shaken boy.
He couldn't feel Obi-Wan along the training bond.