Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice. Working on it. Isn't looking good.
Chapter 4Maybe a greater thing will happen
Maybe all will see
Maybe our love will catch like fire
As it burns through me
What a beautiful smile
Can I stay for a while
On this beautiful night
We'll make everything right
-The Afters
Obi-Wan
The ship jolted and Obi-Wan jerked awake. It took him a moment to remember where he was, and that he was Xanatos's prisoner.
He sat up and stretched, then pulled off his boot to check his ankle. It was stiff from lack of movement, but it looked a little better then it had the day before.
How long have I been here? Obi-Wan silently wondered. A day? Two? More? And the ship is still in hyperdrive, just how far away is Tarria?
"Good," Obi-Wan was startled out of his thoughts by Xanatos's voice. "You're up."
Obi-Wan glanced up at him, wondering if Xanatos had simply been able to enter the room noiselessly or if he had been there the whole time and Obi-Wan just hadn't noticed.
"Let's see it."
"See what?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Your neck wound," Xanatos explained in exasperation. "It'd be a shame if I brought you all this way just to have you die of an infection."
Reaching around his head Obi-Wan gingerly touched the torn skin. He had almost forgotten about the cut.
"Well?" Demanded Xanatos impatiently as he held out some bacta and bandages. "Let me see it."
Obi-Wan stared at the
medical supplies in Xanatos's hands, wondering if he actually wanted Xanatos that close to him. For several reasons.
Xanatos sighed and moved behind Obi-Wan, kneeling down to look at the back of his neck. Giving in, Obi-Wan leaned forward so he could see better.
The feel of cool air hitting the wound as Xanatos pulled the collar of his tunic away from it was nice and uncomfortable at the same time. Obi-Wan knew that his tunic rubbing against the untreated open wound could not have been good for it.
"Ew," He heard Xanatos grumble.
"That's reassuring," snapped Obi-Wan in irritation.
"Watch it kid," Xanatos responded. "I'm doing you a favor. I don't have to be here."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "You're the one who hurt me in the first place, remember?"
Xanatos rubbed cool bacta on Obi-Wan's wound. "Am I supposed to feel guilty now?"
"I would never expect you to feel guilty."
"So quick to judge little Jedi?" Xanatos applied the bandage carefully, and then leaned back. "Why am I not surprised? I'm sure that Qui-Gon taught you well."
Obi-Wan turned and glared at him. "You have no right to assume that my dislike of you stems from something that Qui-Gon has taught me. At any rate, I chose my feelings for you a long time ago, when you imprisoned me as a slave on Bandomeer."
Xanatos smirked. "I hadn't realized that Jedi were allowed to hold grudges now."
"We aren't," corrected Obi-Wan, flustered. "But that has affected my opinion of you. We don't hold grudges, but we do remember."
Xanatos waved his hand dismissively. "Just another Jedi twist of words. It's easy for you to accuse others of dishonestly, but you yourself don't seem to notice the lies that you're wrapped up in. You can shave off his fur, but a kath hound will always be a kath hound. Paint your faults pretty little Jedi, but they will be faults nonetheless."
Heat rose in his face, and Obi-Wan glared at the floor. Let it go, he told himself. Don't let him know that he's affected you.
Obi-Wan nearly jumped when he felt Xanatos cool fingers trail down his jawline. "The worst part is you don't even seem to recognize the pre-chewed lies the Jedi council feeds you." Xanatos's hand stopped so that his fingers were resting on Obi-Wan's chin.
The thumping of Obi-Wan's heart quickened, but he tried to ignore it.
Move away, his brain told him. Move away from his touch.
But Obi-Wan didn't move.
Xanatos moved his hand up so that it cupped the side of Obi-Wan's face. He leaned forward, pulling Obi-Wan with him.
"Don't," said Obi-Wan, when Xanatos was just an inch from him.
Xanatos froze in that spot. "Do you mean that?"
Obi-Wan stared at him, but didn't respond. Taking that as a no, Xanatos leaned forward again.
When their lips actually met a tingling feeling ran from Obi-Wan's mouth down to his fingers, and his heartbeat became erratic. There were no thoughts in his head, and the only thing he could feel besides the tingling was just an overwhelming pull underneath his ribs.
Needing to breathe and escape from the feelings before they ripped him apart, Obi-Wan pulled back. He absentmindedly touched his lips and stared at the wall.
What did I just do?
"The force is a powerful ally," Xanatos said softly.
Obi-Wan glanced at him.
"That's how I lived. I used the force to protect myself from the acid. I lost my cloak, but that appeared to only help me in the long run. When you and Qui-Gon saw my cloak disintegrate, you assumed that I had gone with it. I stayed in that acid for two days, until I was able to escape inbetween the police inspection and the Telosian clean-up crew."
"But that's not possible."
"Apparently it is," responded Xanatos with a smirk.
Shocked, Obi-Wan glanced at him. "How did you get so powerful? I can't think of a single Jedi who could do that."
Pride was always able to overcome Xanatos. He smiled at the question. "Korriban."
Obi-Wan felt as if he had been thrown into the mountains of Hoth. A chill ran down his spine and goosebumps spread across his arms like webs. "The Sith homeworld."
"Not exactly, the Sith don't really have a homeworld. But the planet does hold many of their secrets. I unlocked only a few."
Hundreds of years before Jedi teams had been sent to study the Sith academy ruins on Korriban. Many Jedi were killed, some were lost to the dark side, and those who returned were either never the same or committed suicide. The planet is desolate and dark, and it leaves marks on those foolish enough to walk it's surface that echo for the rest of their lives. The dead Sith buried there whisper in your ears until you die.
The very thought of it made Obi-Wan sick to his stomach.
"Oh, have I finally done something to make the little Jedi scared of me?"
"Not scared," Obi-Wan corrected. "Just disgusted. You were never a good person, I know that, but I never thought of you as evil before. You practice the ways of the Sith, you are evil."
"Is that so?" Xanatos touched Obi-Wan's cheek again, but this time Obi-Wan pulled back.
"Don't touch me," he said, hardening his stare. "And this time I mean it."
Irritation flashed in Xanatos's eyes. He turned from Obi-Wan quickly, his deep blue cloak billowing behind him.
"I brought you some real food," said Xanatos, indicating a tray he had laid down when he went to clean Obi-Wan's wound.
Obi-Wan eyed it suspiciously. It all looked good, which just made him all the more nervous.
"Don't be paranoid, I wouldn't bother poisoning you. It would waste less time and chemicals to just kill you with a vibroblade," with that Xanatos left the room.
Obi-Wan was still a little shaken from their encounter, but not so much that he couldn't appreciate real food after who knows how many days with barely anything above inedible.
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Xanatos
There was a nice crashing sound as Xanatos's bottle of Elomin ale smashed against the wall. The liquid slid down the wall, creating a small puddle between it and the floor.
Xanatos clenched his fist where the bottle had been.
How dare he?
Anger seeped out of his every pore has he paced back and forth through his office.
I'm one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, Xanatos silently ranted. People don't say no to me. People have begged me to be with them. He should be falling over himself at the chance. And who is he? I've read his files, nothing but some outer rim kid from a nobody farming family. Who is he to say no to me
Evil. He used the word evil. That was his excuse; he said that Xanatos disgusted him. That he was disgusted by Xanatos's knowledge of Sith skills. Evil.
I'll show him evil.
With the mood swing of a child, Xanatos's anger diminished. A smile spread across his face as he turned to leave the room.
Let's see what the little Jedi has to say about room 6742.
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Qui-Gon
Qui-Gon settled himself into the passenger seat of the Senate starship. The ship was usually held for important senators and diplomats who needed a ship in a hurry, but Qui-Gon had spoken to a few friends in the Senate for help. He needed a fast ship; it was a four-day flight to Tarria. Yoda had been at the landing pad to wish him luck in finding Obi-Wan, and to try to convince him to take another team with him.
"Worried, I am," he had said. "Dangerous, Xanatos is. Planned this out, he has."
Heeding Yoda's warning but still saying no to bringing another team with him, Qui-Gon had left. He didn't want to take the time to contact another team, and if this was a trap, as it probably was, he wanted to keep as many people out of danger as he could.
Don't worry Obi-Wan, he thought silently as the ship lurched into hyperspace. I will save you.
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Obi-Wan
The light above his head swung slowly as Obi-Wan paced across his cell, trying to keep the stiffness out of his ankle.
He was also trying not to remember the kiss from earlier. That was hard, however, because it was all he could think about. Goosebump shivered up his spine.
No, he told himself. I shouldn't have let that happen. He wants to kill my master, not to mention me.
A dull, pulling pain began below his ribcage, and for some reason he wanted to cry. His painful thoughts were, thankfully, interrupted. The cell door opened and Xanatos glided in. He seemed very pleased with himself, which made Obi-Wan all the more nervous.
"Miss me?" Xanatos mocked.
"Ever so much," Obi-Wan replied dryly. "How could I not? This room was actually starting to feel peaceful."
Xanatos smiled like a small child who was torturing a balko bug with a magnifying glass. "I have something to show you, come with me."
"I suppose I don't have a choice?"
"Of course not," said Xanatos evenly. "No evil person would ever give you a choice."
Obi-Wan scoffed. "Don't tell me you're offended."
"Come. With. Me." Xanatos repeatedly slowly and headed out of the cell.
Not seeing anyway to get out of the situation, Obi-Wan followed. "Where are we going?"
Xanatos winked at him. "It's a surprise."
The farther into the winding ship they got, the more anxious Obi-Wan became. He had decided during his cell pace that Xanatos wasn't the most mentally stable of individuals, so who knew where they might have been heading.
Eventually Xanatos stopped outside of a large door. He stepped closer to a little box on the wall beside the door, and a red light bathed over his eyes.
"Retinal scan complete," said a computerized voice as the doors slid open. Xanatos strolled in, and Obi-Wan followed. At least for a few feet, then he froze.
All over the room were blue bacta tanks, all filled with people. Each tank differed in size, so that there was only about an inch and a half of space around each person's bulk. The smallest tank was about four feet high, and held a boy who couldn't have been more then seven. There must have been a hundred tanks.
Obi-Wan felt as if his legs had been dipped in frozen carbonite. All he could do was stand and stare at the different unconscious faces. Streams of sadness and fear from their sleeping bodies hit him like a tidal wave through the force.
"Prisoners," Obi-Wan mumbled.
Xanatos laughed maliciously. "No Obi-Wan," he felt Xanatos move behind him and grip his upper arms hard enough to bruise. "They're not nearly that important. They're sacrifices."
"Sacrifices? For what?"
"For the Sith, what else?" Xanatos leaned down and kissed the side of Obi-Wan's neck. "They're going to help us get into the academy and unlock more evil secrets."
Obi-Wan flinched a little, feeling as if he'd been burned. "All of them?" He glanced at the small boy.
"All of them."
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MyFictionalAnnihilation- Thanks for the review. Btw, I have decided that I love you, cause you are the first person besides my friends that I've meant who loves Darth Maul. I went and read your profile, and was so excited. I worship that guy, and I don't think he gets nearly enough credit. Everyone makes a big deal over Vader, but Maul is better.
Rian Sage: Thanks for being a devoted reading; I actually look forward to your reviews because you always have something constructive to say. What's GFFA? Yeah I've made Xanatos kind of the pushier one because it matches his nature better and he probably has a lot more experience in the feeling of lust then Obi-Wan does, so he'll recognize it more. A lot of the things that he does in this story are going to seem abrupt, because he strikes me as the kind of person who, when he wants something, takes it.
Chels: Madame Nu's kind of a besh too. She was so rude to Obi-Wan in Episode 2. Gerrith is going to come into some later chapters, but he'll remain a pretty small character, so I'm glad you liked him.
A/N: So I'm back. I hope the story is flowing alright to you guys, I want to make the relationship seem as natural as possible. Now I have something to get off my chest. Why don't people review anymore? I have over 300 hits and 13 reviews. That's so weird to me. I always review when I read a story, am I the only one? It doesn't even have to be a long review, I would just like for someone to tell me whether they hate my story or not, or offer advise. I don't know, maybe I'm just being a review whore. Well, thanks for reading, please review!