Author: TemporaryUniverse
WC: 1,587 (4,606 Total)
A.N. Final chapter!
No one looked twice at the Togorian pirates dragging a young Human boy along, stumbling and still bleeding from his face. Obi-Wan didn't know what he had expected from Nar Shaddaa, but it wasn't that surprising to him that a community of criminals weren't sticking their noses into things that weren't their business. A little disappointing, to be sure, but not surprising.
The larger Togorian had a firm grip around his arm and was practically holding him up, his leg still numb from the stun bolt. The sticky blood trickling from the cuts on his face had sealed his eye shut, but he didn't think it was worse than that, thankfully. Hopefully. He squinted with his other eye at the shabby streets, the buildings with their dark windows and flickering signs. It reminded him of Coruscant in a way, but more like the lower levels, where everything was run down and the law didn't matter.
Tikio's was on the tenth floor of one of the tower blocks. Tikio himself was a grim looking Nautolan, missing a chunk of his headtails and a wicked scar slashed across his green face. It looked like it came from a lightsaber.
"Captain Vin'nomu," he greeted in a low, growling voice. The Togorian shoved Obi-Wan forward.
"Brought you something," the captain said. "How much can we get for him?"
Tikio approached Obi-Wan, who stood his ground, lifting his chin to meet the Nautolan's gaze without fear, as a Jedi would.
Black eyes assessed him coldly.
"He's damaged." Tikio touched the wound on his cheek. Obi-Wan jerked his head away and glared at the slaver. He didn't seem bothered. "That decreases his value. But a Jedi Padawan…" He mused, fingering Obi-Wan's Padawan braid, grip tightening when he tried to pull away again. "Trained Sensitives are hard to come by. Thirty thousand wupuipi."
"Thirty-five," the captain countered. Tikio's icy eyes finally left Obi-Wan to stare at the Togorian, his expression unchanging, like it was made of stone.
"Thirty is more than you'll get from the Hutts. Take it or get out."
"Fine. Thirty."
"His lightsaber?"
"Didn't get the chance to grab it."
"Hmm. Wait here." He grabbed Obi-Wan's arm and lead him into the back room, where he opened a chest and brought out something that made Obi-Wan go cold. He took a step back. After Bandomeer, he had never wanted to wear a collar again. This one was sleeker than the bomb collar he'd worn in the mines, probably more expensive, too. He tried to hide his fear, but he had a feeling Tikio saw anyway. The slaver fastened the collar around his neck, and the click of it latching made Obi-Wan shudder, feeling too much like a death sentence.
Tikio pressed a button and Obi-Wan's vision suddenly went black. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground and there was a gaping, sucking, agonizing emptiness inside his chest and it was cold, so, so cold he couldn't breathe, and his heart was beating but it sounded wrong, and his lungs were moving but he couldn't feel it, there was nothing but the void and it hurt. A strangled noise escaped him as he gasped and shook, folded in on himself as if he could hold onto the Light that had been ripped away from him. Tikio stared dispassionately down at him.
He wasn't sure how long it was before the tearing wound in his soul settled into a quiet ache. There were tears on his cheeks, he realized. He hadn't even realized he'd been crying.
"Get up," Tikio said. Not waiting for a response, he yanked Obi-Wan to his feet. "That also has a shock function. Don't make me have to use it."
He dragged Obi-Wan into another room, this one lined with a wall of ray-shielded cells. Tikio pushed him into one and he fell, curling up on the floor as the shield closed behind him.
Obi-Wan closed his eye, the one not already sealed shut by blood, and tried to reach out to the Force, only for pain to spike through his head. He whimpered. He couldn't sense anything, it was like the world had ceased to exist, like he was alone, drifting in the cold, empty endlessness. He tried to focus on something, anything else, he should be trying to plan his escape, but it was impossible, his mind felt scattered and the lack of the Force pulled his attention in like a black hole.
An eternity passed, he was slowly getting used to the hollowed out feeling, but the ache of it didn't go away. He moved, shifting over to the back wall and propping himself against it, closing his eye again. Another eternity crawled by before he became aware of someone calling his name. He blinked out of his fugue, trying to get his eye to focus on what was in front of him.
"Obi-Wan. Padawan, answer me." A large, familiar hand caressed his uninjured cheek.
"Master?" Obi-Wan rasped.
"I'm here. We need to go, can you stand?" He got his feet under him and struggled up, Qui-Gon's hand on his elbow supporting him. A wave of dizziness washed over him and he staggered. Qui-Gon caught him. "Easy now. Come."
Obi-Wan obediently followed Qui-Gon out of the cell. He didn't know where Tikio had gone, but his master seemed rather urgent. They made it out of the building, back onto the streets of Nar Shaddaa. Qui-Gon kept him tucked to his side, his arm and cloak wrapped around him as his master guided him through the crowds.
"How'd you find me?"
"I managed to get a tracker on the pirate's ship. When they came out of hyperspace I knew where you were."
"Xevo," he remembered suddenly. "The others, the pirates still—"
"It's alright. They're waiting for us on the ship, Padawan. I found them first." That was a relief.
They made it to the hangar, and Qui-Gon directed them to a small starship towards the back. As soon as they boarded, walking into the main hold, Xevo came rushing towards them, followed closely by Hruum and Jor.
"Obi-Wan! You're okay!"
"Obi-Wan, I'm going to start the ship," Qui-Gon said. "Can someone find a medkit for me?"
Jornussi nodded and began rifling through drawers.
Obi-Wan felt the engines power up, sending vibrations through the ship's floor and he relaxed a bit. He headed over to the bench and sat, pulling his knees up to his chest.
"We were so worried when we heard you get hurt by the pirates," Hruum said, taking a seat beside him. Xevo took his other side.
"What about you three, are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, thanks to you. The pirates didn't even find us. Master Jinn did," the Rodian told him.
"He fought the pirates! It was so cool!" Xevo added. "His lightsaber was all like vruuumm kssh and he cut off the guy's hand!"
"He made them tell him where you were. They left pretty quick after that."
Jor made a noise of triumph, holding up a medkit. At that moment, Obi-Wan felt the familiar lurch of the ship entering hyperspace. Qui-Gon joined them a minute later, taking the kit from Jor. He had Xevo move so he could sit beside Obi-Wan and began to clean up his face with bacta wipes. Obi-Wan winced at the sting but held still while his master treated him.
"What about the other kids? The ones from the hangar."
"They're safe. Being returned to their families," Qui-Gon replied, carefully unsticking his eyelid. He blinked rapidly once it was free, clearing the blurriness from his vision. Qui-Gon examined him. "Hmm, doesn't look to be damaged."
Obi-Wan sighed in relief. He'd been trying not to worry about his eye, but the possibility had been lurking in the back of his mind.
Qui-Gon finally got all the blood clear from his skin and set about bandaging him up. When he was done, he hesitated.
"I need to take the collar off. This may hurt."
"Do it," Obi-Wan replied. He wanted the awful thing gone. His master hovered his hand over the seam.
"Brace yourself. In three. Two. One…" The metal shrieked as it was wrenched apart. Qui-Gon tossed it aside, but Obi-Wan barely noticed because he was suddenly burning from the inside, the Light flooding him fire-hot, blindingly bright. He squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth against the scream that bubbled up in his throat as the energy of the universe crashed into his mind like a tidal wave. His master pulled him in close and he buried his head in his chest, shaking.
It eventually subsided, the Force calming into a gentle warmth that curled protectively around his heart.
"Alright?" Qui-Gon asked. Obi-wan nodded, leaning back to swipe the moisture from his eyes. His master held on, his hand on the nape of Obi-Wan's neck, and bent to press their foreheads together.
"Don't you ever do that to me again, young one." His tone was stern, but Obi-Wan could feel the relief and affection behind the words.
"I'm sorry, Master. I acted without thinking." He didn't regret saving those kids in the hangar, but he knew there were better ways he could've handled it if he hadn't jumped straight in.
"I think some lessons in patience are in order," Qui-Gon said. He pulled back, smiling a bit. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Thank you for finding me, Master." Obi-Wan smiled back as Qui-Gon tugged lightly on his braid.
"Always, Padawan. Always."
Thank you for reading!
