Chapter 9

Over my head

PRESENT

...I can't even imagine how...why Qui-Gon would do that to me. He's never shown any feelings like that before. I mean, he's never been an overly expressive master, but he's always been kind and considerate no matter what my faults have been. Maybe there is something I'm not understanding...maybe the context is all off...I hope...

4 1/2 MONTHS BEFORE

"Get in there!"

Obi-Wan was forcefully pushed into the arena, landing on his knees with a painful grunt. Cautiously he looked up, his eyes searching for the next punch, the next push, the next set of viscous stinging words. But he was alone.

But that was not for long. The whooshing sound of a door being opened heralded the arrival his opponent. It was his master.

What felt like years ago, he had been in this very arena, fighting for the chance to be Qui-Gon's padawan, or so he was told. Why he would have ever fought for the chance to be this man's padawan was a mystery to him. Now he was here to, presumably, fight for his life against the very man he had fought so hard to be associated with.

Outside of the arena, the gathered spectators were silent with anticipation.

A sniff of disdain was heard as Qui-Gon surveyed Obi-Wan and how the boy was taking his surroundings.

"They all want you to die, Obi-Wan," he taunted, "And I intend to grant them that wish."

He started circling Obi-Wan like a predator playing with its prey.

"You have made me the laughing stock of the Temple; I won't stand for it anymore," he smiled evilly. "As a matter of fact, I talked to the council about it, and they agreed with me."

"They told me I could deal with you as I wished," Qui-Gon said with an evil smile.

He ignited his lightsaber. Obi-Wan recoiled at the sound. How could the council condone such actions?

"Now how shall I do this?" Qui-Gon mused. "Shall I cut you half?"

He made a slicing motion with his lightsaber. The crowd roared in approval.

"Or shall I dice you up, like so."

He made choppy movement with his lightsaber, perilously close to Obi-Wan's emotionally vacant face. Even more excited yells echoed around the arena.

"Or maybe," he paused, "I'll just draw it out, with a cut here, a burn there..."

Obi-Wan winced as the lightsaber caressed his arm. The crowd was practically explosive now in its approval.

"Can I help?"

Qui-Gon looked to the newcomer and smiled.

"I suppose you can," he agreed, "But I want to be one to kill him."

Obi-Wan turned around and looked into the eyes of what he had heard was his former friend; she could no longer be counted as a current one.

Her eyes smoldered with hate and a lust for revenge.

He couldn't remember there ever being a reason for her to feel so much emotion toward him, though she did mention he had attacked her and almost killed her. But he couldn't remember such an attack. Why would he attack one of his supposed best friends?

"Poor Obi-Wan," she tutted. Following Qui-Gon's lead, she ignited her lightsaber and lightly grazed his other arm, reviling in the obvious pain it brought Obi-Wan.

By now the arena was filled to capacity. Not a sympathetic face was to be found as Obi-Wan looked into the faces surrounding him. What had happened to the Jedi? This was almost Sith like behavior.

He hissed in pain.

Qui-Gon smirked as he left a snaking line across the boys back. Bant giggled in pleasure at Obi-Wan's pain. The crowd started chanting and chapping as one as slow but building anger began growing within Obi-Wan.

He hadn't done anything wrong! Why was he standing here taking this torture? IT was as if his body had already given up and was simply waiting for the death blow. A fire burned in him. This was all so wrong. What had he done to deserve this?

"Oooooooh, he's getting angry" Bant said in a taunting voice. This only caused Qui-Gon to get even angrier.

"What have you got to be angry about?!" Qui-Gon shouted. "You're the one who's a failure!"

The crowed was deafening in its approval of Qui-Gon's words. Obi-Wan remained silent. It was obvious that anything he said would be turned against him, he was out numbered. He thought of how misguided he was to think that the Jedi were saviors of light. Where had he gotten that notion anyway? From what he had experienced they were master of torture and abuse.

"Catch!" a voice shouted.

Obi-Wan looked towards the voice only to see an object coming his way. It was a lightsaber. Catching it, Obi-Wan jumped up from his position on the floor, ignited the weapon and took a defensive stance against Qui-Gon.

"So you're going to fight me now?" he snarled. "You seek to further dishonor me?!"

Bant had an affronted look on her face as she took her place next to Qui-Gon.

Still keeping an eye on Qui-Gon and Bant, Obi-Wan glanced around the arena for his savior.

"I should have known you would show up one of these days," Qui-Gon spat out. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"Well then, it's a good thing you've never had the chance."

It was Xanatos. Obi-Wan was torn. All his instincts were telling him that Xanatos was bad. Yet, he barely even remembered the man and had no clue how he even remembered his name. He obviously was an enemy to Qui-Gon and at the moment that was all that mattered. He had been wrong about the Jedi, maybe his instincts about this man were wrong too.

Qui-Gon yelled out in rage as he charged the other man. Bant meanwhile, smiled evilly and took off toward Obi-Wan.

The crowd was uncontrollable now in its lust to see someone killed. Cries of displeasure were aimed at Obi-Wan and Xanatos, while cheers and praise were shot at Qui-Gon and Bant.

Every bit the crazed person she looked, Bant swung for his head, a maniacal gleam in her eyes. Obi-Wan ducked and launched a sweeping attack on her legs.

With all her momentum being sent to where Obi-Wan's head had previously been, in order to avoid the blow to her feet, she had to awkwardly twist while jumping. Though barley avoiding the searing blade, Bant was unable to avoid the floor. A loud crack was heard as her shoulder roughly connected with the ground.

A large chorus of angry yells broke out among the crowd.

Meanwhile, Qui-Gon and Xanatos were equally matched and equally getting nowhere in their battle for supremacy. However, distracted by the crowds sudden change in demeanor, Xanatos was able to gain some semblance of an upper hand, enough to make Qui-Gon stumble to the ground gritting his teeth in annoyance.

The crowd by now had broken out into numerous brawling matches. It was chaos.

"Obi-Wan come quickly!" Xanatos shouted.

Seeing no other option, Obi-Wan set after Xanatos.

"What do you want?" Obi-Wan said, stopping dead in his tracks. The two were now in an unknown part of the Temple, at least to Obi-Wan. No one was around.

"I want to help you," he said stopping when he realized that Obi-Wan wasn't following him anymore, "And I want to help you get revenge on our former master."

Obi-Wan held his lightsaber out, as he considered Xanatos' words, ready to ignite it at any moment. Xanatos smiled disarmingly and raised his hands as if to surrender, slowly walking toward Obi-Wan.

"Stay back!" he shakily shouted. When Xanatos didn't stop, Obi-Wan lit up his lightsaber and pointed it threateningly at the man.

"I just saved you," Xanatos said calmly. "I'm not trying to hurt you. You've been through a lot, I just want to help you," he smiled reassuringly at Obi-Wan, still moving closer to the boy.

"Stay back!" he repeated.

However as he was stepping backwards he tripped over his own feet ending up pitifully sprawled on the floor.

Xanatos now had a pitying look in his eyes.

"I can help you," he said kindly.

Obi-Wan paused.

"Help me what?"

"Get revenge," Xanatos purred.

Obi-Wan shook his head.

"I don't want revenge."

"Yes you do, I felt your anger in the arena," Xanatos countered.

Obi-Wan stuttered in denial.

Having planted his seed, Xanatos took another route.

"Do you want me to leave you here then?" he said with his hands on his hips.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, weighing his chances of survival if he stayed. They weren't good at all.

"No," he replied quietly.

"Then let's not waste any more time," he offered his hand to Obi-Wan.

Reluctantly, Obi-Wan grasped the proffered hand and allowed himself to be pulled up.

"You might want to put that out," Xanatos said nodding his head toward the still ignited lightsaber in Obi-Wan's other hand.

Though still mindful of what had just transpired, Obi-Wan allowed himself a small smile before he deactivated the shinning blade, and resumed following Xanatos.

It was the height of the evening rush. The streets were filled to capacity with people going in every direction, some headed home after a long day of work, others headed out to work or to the clubs for a night of partying. Obi-Wan and Xanatos were neither, but they did their best at blending in, looking like a pair of friends out to have a night of fun. Obi-Wan had ditched his distinctive Jedi clothing and exchanged it for clothes that a typical teen would wear, courtesy of Xanatos, who had similarly changed his appearance.

Obi-Wan's eyes were alight at all the sights, sounds, and smells surrounding him. Though he had gone on a fair share of field trips into the city as a youngling, it was still a sight to behold for him, especially since it felt like years since he had been out of the Temple and the abuse afflicted upon him there. Obi-Wan glanced at Xanatos beside him. He was smiling, amused at Obi-Wan obvious enthrallment with the city.

Obi-Wan set his eyes back on the people around him.

"Thief!" a voice shouted.

Obi-Wan looked though the crowd and saw a man waving his arms pointing in his direction. For a moment he panicked, but just seconds later, a small boy came into view, pushing his way as best he could through the crowd of legs before him. Held close to his chest was what looked like a wallet of some kind.

"Thief!" the man shouted again.

Rather suddenly, Xanatos grabbed a hold of Obi-Wan's arms and pulled him roughly to the side of the street away from the crowd.

"What are you-" Obi-Wan started, but Xanatos shushed him before he could say more.

As Obi-Wan looked for what could have caused Xanatos' behavior, the crowd quieted and seemed to part. For all his effort, Obi-Wan couldn't see a thing, Xanatos wouldn't let him move any closer. But it soon became evident what was causing the disturbance. The sound of a lightsaber igniting broke through the air.

"Please sir!" a small voice begged. "I didn't have a choice!"

"You're a thief," a familiar voice boomed.

"Qui-Gon!" Obi-Wan whispered panicked, looking to Xanatos. The man didn't rest at all it seemed. First Obi-Wan and now, not more than an hour later, he was out and about again, looking for a kill.

Xanatos shushed him once again.

"You know the punishment for a thief," Qui-Gon spoke.

"No!" a woman voice rang out. "He just a boy!" she yelled.

"Mommy!" the boy screamed.

"Boy or not, he is a criminal," Qui-Gon spoke cold and hard words. "He will only get worse from here."

"Have mercy!" the mother pleaded. "We haven't had food to eat for days! He was only trying to help!"

Qui-Gon didn't reply, instead the swing of a lightsaber could be heard, followed by a mothers anguished cries.

Obi-Wan's mouth was held open in shock, his mind unable to comprehend such an act.

"Let that be a reminder to all of you of what happens to criminals in this city. There shall be peace, and the Jedi shall keep it," then he was gone.

The crowd slowly regained their frenzied pace, giving a wide berth to the sobbing mother who sat on the ground, cradling her dead child in her arms, her tears falling down her cheeks and onto those of her son.

Obi-Wan made to go to the grieving mother, but Xanatos stopped him.

"We have to go," he said somberly, "He's looking for us."

Obi-Wan nodded. He didn't even have to ask who Xanatos was talking about, he knew.

As they walked, Obi-Wan couldn't help but think that if he had not escaped the Temple, then Qui-Gon would never have been in the streets looking for him and that mother would never have had to mourn the loss of her child.

"You need to put these on" Xanatos said handing Obi-Wan a box of contacts, a hat, some yellow concealer, and some black lipstick.

The pair were now in a bathroom just outside of the spaceport.

"The contacts have a different retina imprint on them, so that if they scan your eyes, you can successfully fool them," Xanatos explained.

Obi-Wan nodded and put on the hat and contacts without complaint, but looked doubtfully at the make-up before him.

Noticing his unease, Xanatos pulled out an ID card and passed it to Obi-Wan. Looking back at him was a boy with bright blue eyes, dark hair, yellowish skin, black lips, and dark markings down his chin.

"Benjamin Lepisto, from Mirial?" Obi-Wan said with an eye raised in jest.

"Well I could hardly expect to find fake lekku in a pinch don't you think?"

"That would interesting, me, a Twi'lek," Obi-Wan smirked.

"Just get that all on," Xanatos said.

As he was applying the various make-up to his face, Obi-Wan couldn't help but wonder.

"Who are you going to be?"

Xanatos flashed Obi-Wan his ID card. Obi-Wan read it out loud.

"Marael Nelprin from Arkania."

Xanatos looked relatively the same, except for his now pointy ears, brown eyes, and pony tailed hair.

A few minutes later, the pair was ready to go.

"Here's your ticket," Xanatos said handing Obi-Wan a data chip. "We'll get to the ship separately, then meet on board. I'll find you."

Obi-Wan nodded. Then, just like that, he was alone.

Obi-Wan sighed and made his way into the spaceport. The thought of escape crossed his mind. He had passable I.D. docs and a new look. Xanatos would never know. But what would he do? The galaxy was a big place and he was inexperienced at best. At least with Xanatos, trust issues aside, he wasn't alone, defenseless, or penniless.

When he finally found the gate to his flight, Obi-Wan found a long line waiting for him. Looking at the ticket, he saw that they were going to Naboo. Naboo was a relatively safe place as a far as he knew. Nubians were friendly people he had read and no doubt would help a person in trouble like him.

After what seemed like hours waiting, Obi-Wan was finally on board the ship that would take him away from all he knew. Space on the ship was at a premium, so the first empty spot he saw that was as out of the way as possible, he took. Luckily he was able to have his back to the wall, which provided him with a good view of everything going on around him. With nothing left to do but wait for Xanatos to find him, Obi-Wan listened in on the conversations going on around him.

"I'm glad to be leaving this cursed planet," one woman said. She was talking to a stranger next to her."The crackdowns going on down there were getting out of control."

The man listening nodded in agreement.

"They practically took over my business." the man supplied.

The woman shook her head.

"I was helping runaway kids who had nowhere to go," he continued. "I operated under the guise of a restaurant, but somehow, they found out, and I was barely able to escape."

The woman looked shocked at his.

"And the kids?" she questioned.

The man was silent, then...

"They were killed," he said quietly. "Only the force sensitive ones were kept alive," there was regret in his voice.

"Those barbarians!"The woman practically shrieked. the surrounding people barely gave her any notice, they were too caught up in their own troubles and conversations, many about the same thing: the Jedi.

Obi-Wan focused on another conversation.

"Sith? You can't be serious," a man said in disbelief.

"I am, Jamel," He replied. Obi-Wan presumed that the two were related by their similar looks.

"You told me-"

"I know what I told you, but you've seen how things have changed. The Sith are the good guys now."

"How?"

"Their gathering together I hear," He whispered conspiratorially. "Their gonna do something to put all of this right."

"You're not too bored I take it?"

Obi-Wan snapped his attention away from the talking pair and found that Xanatos had crept up on him.

Taking a seat on the floor next to Obi-Wan, Xanatos put his hand behind his head and leaned back against the wall.

"So," he started. "You hear anything interesting?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. He wasn't going to tell Xanatos anything until he knew more about what he had just heard and he was going to find a way to find out more.

Besides, he still didn't trust Xanatos. After all he had been through with Qui-Gon and the Jedi, he didn't trust anyone.

Hours had passed, in companionable silence with Xanatos. Now he was sitting by himself. Xanatos had left a few minutes before to go and find some food for them.

Obi-Wan looked around, looking for the pair of men that he had overheard speaking before. Sitting right where he remembered, they were talking once more, but in hushed whispers. Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan stood and made his way over to the two men. When they noticed him, they stopped talking.

"Uhm...Hi," Obi-Wan started.

He wanted to kick himself at how lame that probably sounded.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation earlier, and I was curious..." Obi-Wan looked around him before continuing in a hushed voice, "...what you meant when you said 'they' were gathering." He hoped that they would catch onto what he was talking about and that he didn't just sound like a crazy person looking for validation.

The two men looked at each other, silently communicating. Then, seemingly making up their minds, they motioned for Obi-Wan to sit next to them.

"It's true they are gathering," the first man started. "We're headed there to help."

"Their gathering on Naboo?" Obi-Wan said puzzled. Naboo was a peaceful planet, not prone to dissent.

"No, boy," the second man roughly replied. "We have to take a roundabout way to get there. The Jedi are always on the lookout for large gatherings, especially of this kind."

"You're thinking of joining aren't you?" the first man asked.

Obi-Wan didn't reply.

"You have a while to think this over, we won't get to Naboo for a while," the second man offered.

Obi-Wan nodded and took his leave. It was just in time, as a few minutes later Xanatos came with a tray of food.

"You're awfully quiet now," Xanatos said, a few minutes later after they had started eating. "Something happen while I was gone?"

"Where are we going?" Obi-Wan suddenly asked.

"Naboo, right now," Xanatos replied taking a bite out of a roll.

"Right now?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"If you have a better idea..."

Obi-Wan was silent for a few more minutes. Then...

"I heard that the Sith are gathering."

"And?" Xanatos said with a raise of his eyebrow.

Obi-Wan thought for a few minutes then let it all burst out.

"I want to join the Sith," he said simply, "All I remember of the Jedi is pain and suffering. If the Sith are opposing that, then I think they seem to have it right."

Xanatos smiled. "Then so shall it be."