Chapter 14
(Arabher porl, lærling av Владелец. Take three steps forward, one step back. Where are you now? Closer than you were before. One warning: Beware. Left, right, middle: Silence. Look for a door in dark places, when you need it, it will be there. Arabher porl, lærling av Владелец. End of Story.)
Obi-Wan jolted awake when a finger jabbed into his sore ribs. Expecting it to be Kimone, Obi-Wan slapped away the hand and announced rudely,"Stop it Kimone, I'm sleeping."
His response was a growl, and it did not emanate from Kimone. Blearily he opened his eyes and courageously glared at an angry Dei'ma.
"Where is Kimone? What have you done with her?" Obi-Wan spitefully spit at the enraged creature. Dei'ma viciously slapped Obi-Wan. His head snapped to the side and his cheek burned with fire, but still his eyes fixed on those of Dei'ma, daring him to backhand him again.
"There is no Kimone, you wretched brat. There is no one here by that name. You must be loosing your mind." And then, Dei'ma proceeded to laugh, chuckling at Obi-Wan's misery.
But Obi-Wan was surprised, he was startled, but at the same time enthusiastic. Kimone had been his bright star in the dark, she apparently didn't exist, though. This greatly upset him. But while at the same time despairing at the unfortunate turn of events, he was also hopeful. He had been told not to believe everything he saw. If Kimone had never been here, perhaps Qui-Gon had never been here either. He knew he would never escape, he knew that he was dying. He knew that it was unlikely that he would make it through the night, but Qui-Gon was still alive. Dei'ma unknowingly made his last few hours of life less bleak. Dei'ma was not finished ranting, however.
"And guess what else, brat. In a few hours, I'm going to be rich. In a few hours, we will be off of this wretched planet. Helena is on her way to meet our benefactor as we speak. I hope you don't mind spending the rest of your life in darkness." Dei'ma cackled like a mad man. With one last look at Obi-Wan, he shut the door and strolled down the hallway, his laughter following at his heels.
Obi-Wan smiled to himself. We will see who gets the last laugh.In a few hours, it was doubtful that he would still be alive. Then who would be laughing; his spirit would be as Dei'ma and Helena never got their money because they killed him. It was definitely a morbid thought, but Obi-Wan's mind was beyond normal reasoning at this point.
He closed his eyes and let his mind wander into an unconscious state that it might never wake up from. Even with that thought, though, he was still smiling.
"Kimone…"
Obi-Wan opened his eyes. He felt…strange was the best way to describe it. He was jittery almost, as if he was waiting on the edge of his seat for something to happen. He felt a renewed invigorating power that he wasn't quite sure how to explain. He had first noticed it after Kimone had disappeared. His memory sparked, Obi-Wan scanned the abyss before his eyes and listened intently, but all he saw was darkness, all he heard was his fluttering heart and ragged breathing. The child still wasn't there.
Perhaps she was never there; perhaps she was just a figment of his delusional imagination. His body was slowly slipping away. Tired of fighting, he decided to let go of the living world. His systems were shutting down. His body was preparing for death. Perhaps his mind was going with it, perhaps he was going insane in the last few days, hours that he had left to live. It was possible, logically speaking.
A bright blue butterfly flew from the abyss. It landed on his outstretched palm and melted into his skin. Yes, that proved it, definitely insane. In what he perceived as his delusional state, Obi-Wan stood up. The chains fell away from his bloodied wrists. A power he had never known (and still didn't believe existed) flew through his veins. His body glowed bright blue and the chains fell from his wrists.
He was definitely delusional. His hopes finally invading his living present mind. He must be dead, or insane, because this couldn't possibly be happening.
Kimone had mentioned a butterfly. She had told him to let it come to him, to let it flow through him. Kimone didn't exist though. And this was simply his oxygen starved brain creating an unrealistic scenario in an attempt to soothe the suffering of his dying brain.
In other words, he was insane, or delusional. Either way, it wasn't possible.
Arabher porl, lærling av Владелец.
"Tahl, what can you tell me about Arabher porl?"
"It happened about twenty years ago. Two fractions on the war torn planet Gretof were in the midst of a civil war. Jedi Master Ydres and his apprentice were sent to alleviate the situation. At the bombing of Arabher Porl, Master Ydres saved thousands of lives that day by sensing the bombings and averting most the bombs from reaching their targets. Shortly after he soon made a peace agreement between the two warring fractions. However, during celebration, one of the radicals who helped organize the bombings at Arabher Porl, became angry and murdered Master Ydres. His apprentice, upon leaving the planet, said one word to the citizens."
"That being?"
"Beware."
Lærling av Владелец. Apprentice of the Master.
"And the apprentice, what is his name?"
"The apprentice is a she and is now known as Jedi Master Nilla'li."
"And how do you know all this?"
"I knew Master Ydres. Yoda told me of the events that lead to his death. I will never forget them."
"Contact the Temple and tell them that we believe that we have discovered the person responsible for all of the attempted kidnappings directed towards Obi-Wan. Tell them that we have reason to believe that it was Jedi Master Nilla'li. Ask for any information that they can provide on her." Qui-Gon firmly directed while gathering his cloak and lightsaber.
"Where are you going?" Tahl asked clearly confused by Qui-Gon's outburst.
"Out, I will be back shortly. The Force, it calls to me."
"Perhaps…Perhaps…"
Qui-Gon walked into town. He didn't have a clue as to where he was headed. All he knew was that he was heading in the right direction. He didn't know to where it lead, or what he would find when he got there, but he did know that it was important.
One his way through town, he passed Ettall Street, then Kakkonen Road, and then he stopped at Trójka. A nagging feeling told him to stop here. He couldn't understand why though.
Take three steps forward, one step back. Where are you now? Closer than you were before.
Take three steps forward. Ettall, kakkonen, and trójka, the native words for one, two, and three, respectively. Clever, real clever, Arthenia. He had taken his three steps forward. Now one step back. Did that mean return to Kakkonen Road? No, that wasn't how Arthenia's mind worked. It must be a direction. One step back. One step back…To the left. It was only logical. He must go left down Trójka Avenue. But to where did it lead?
I know, I'm sorry. I said I'd have it done sooner. For awhile I was unsure of how I wanted it to end, and then I sort of lost interest, but I now have an ending worked out. An outline has been made it just has to be written up. Almost There will be included as one of the final chapters. Including that chapter, I believe that there is about 3 or 4 chapters left of If Only. And, I know, the writing is a bit weird in this chapter, morbid, sarcastic and a bit rushed. It also leaves alot of holes. I really am sorry. And this time, I will really try to update more frequently than once every month and I will try to explain some stuff. I just want to thank everyone who is still reading this story. It means alot.