Brink
By: Syntyche
Six: A Night to Forget
Aghast and startled by his gruesome discovery, Obi-Wan hastily dropped the sodden cloth back over the severed hand and the warpstone clenched within its long fingers, stumbling back in horror as appalled thoughts tripped over each other in his mind. We should leave. We have to leave. Something is very, very wrong …
Coupled with the hushed meeting he had witnessed, Obi-Wan's senses were reeling with the wrongness that was surrounding the village, and the shadows and confusion that had plagued him since they'd arrived on Etruria.
We have to leave!
A tendril of a thought, its cloaked Darkness obscured from him, gently nudged itself to the forefront of the disoriented Knight's mind, giving immediate pause to his quite reasonable caution.
But …
What about the innocent villagers? Were any of them innocent? And if there were any, the Jedi couldn't just abandon them.
And there was still the matter of the warpstone deposits.
Also, he reasoned calmly, almost numbly - though he noticed somewhat detachedly that his fingers were trembling and his heart may have been thudding in his chest a little more swiftly than its norm - it's not like we haven't encountered disturbing things on previous missions. This is really just another run of the mill assignment.
Really.
Only the Knight found that he wasn't convincing himself. Whether it was the Unifying Force nudging him, or his own instinct, something was telling him that this mission would end in sorrow, that some of them might not be returning from Etruria.
Although he'd had the same feeling before leaving for Naboo the second time - and look how that had ended, he reminded himself pointedly - but they had survived. Even if not all of them had survived whole.
Obi-Wan sighed, a soft release of breath that sounded ridiculously magnified to him amidst the splendor surrounding the Knight, rising into the vaulted ceiling but taking none of his worry with it. He had best seek Qui-Gon's counsel, even though he could already hear the patient, "focus on the present, Obi-Wan," that was coming. His old master was certainly very consistent in his advice-giving.
Obi-Wan frowned. Despite his macabre discovery, he felt oddly sad to be leaving this place of beauty. Ensuring the hall was empty and the lights extinguished, Obi-Wan slipped out into the darkness, making his way back to Makir and Elika's. He was so wrapped up in his troubled thoughts, he didn't even notice that he was the one being followed this time.
The Jedi was a little surprised and dismayed to see Elika waiting for him at the door, her arms crossed sternly over her chest, her wrinkled brow crumpled into a frown.
"Where have you been?" she hissed chidingly, anxious concern lining her face further. "You shouldn't be out after dark."
"I just went for a walk," Obi-Wan lied smoothly, adding, "I went to bed rather early, as you recall." And there was a memory attached to that thought, one he couldn't quite hold on to but seemed important. They'd had so much to discuss for the next day - why the hell had he retired early?
Her eyes raked over him uncomfortably and she gasped suddenly, pointing to his tunic in shock. "Did you injure yourself, Obi-Wan?"
"What?" He glanced down in surprise, startled to see red smears marring his cream tunic near the hem. He thought back quickly, trying to remember where he might possibly have acquired the stains. He hadn't touched the dismembered hand, what else had he done tonight … ?
"The fountain … in the square," he realized slowly. "I wiped my hands after I touched the - "
"Oh! Never you mind, dear," Elika said hastily, grabbing for his hand as he went to touch his tunic reflexively. Her hands were icy cold against his suddenly overheated skin as she soothed, "Clearly you're distraught, little Jedi, let me get you some kaffe … "
"No," his brow furrowed as he shrugged her off, struggling to piece disjointed images together - what was wrong with him lately? He needed to go back to the fountain, had to confirm the warning the Force was firmly sounding in his mind. "Excuse me, please, I need to check something … "
There was the soft click of the front door closing and he saw Elika's eyes dart over his shoulder, watched weary relief cross her face at the same moment he heard a thud behind him. It took him a half-second to realize that he'd been struck from behind, but even as his body tried to alert him what was happening, darkness was already closing in around him and he was falling senseless to the floor.
OoOoOoOo
"Obi-Wan, wake up. Come on, sleepyhead; morning is upon us!"
Obi-Wan slowly blinked gritty eyes, wanting nothing more than to burrow deeper under the soft blankets piled over him; he had a headache that was pounding fiercely behind his eyes, and Qui-Gon's booming voice sounded magnificently loud in his ringing ears.
"Go 'way … " he mumbled, grasping for his pillow to pull it over his head. His limbs, however, were sluggish to respond and Qui-Gon snatched the fluffy softness away before he could fully hook his scrabbling fingers onto it.
"Come on, Obi-Wan, we have another exciting day ahead of us. Lots to do!"
Accompanying the cheerful words, a large hand settled on his shoulder, shaking gently, but even the light touch was enough to snap him back into awareness. He shot up then, remembering, his gaze flying to the tunic hanging innocently on the bedpost.
It was immaculate.
His brow dipped, blue-grey eyes crinkling in concern and confusion. "Qui-Gon," and his voice sounded hoarse and unused, barely sliding past his cracked lips. Qui-Gon's surprised eyes met his, but Elika was already pushing past the large Jedi from behind, settling a cup of hot liquid into Obi-Wan's shaking hands.
"You've slept a long while, little Jedi," she said gently. "Drink and be refreshed."
He shook his head stubbornly, grimly ignoring the increase of throbbing against his skull at the movement, grasping at loose thoughts that teased around his brain, giddily refusing his lackluster attempts to string them into coherency. "I need to tell you … "
"I know it's not my tea, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon interjected kindly, "but it is wonderfully invigorating for kaffe. Have some."
He couldn't have been sure, but Obi-Wan thought there might even have been a bit of suggestion behind his master's words for his hands lifted of their own accord and took the cup from the old woman, and the pair standing over him watched patiently but firmly until he swallowed back the bitter drink. At Qui-Gon's sternly prompting glance, Obi-Wan managed to scrape out a "thank you" to Elika for the beverage and was pleased that his voice sounded stronger. Gone, too, were the hazy images that had seemed so important just moments ago; his mind was clear and his headache was dissipating even as he pushed himself slowly from the bed.
"All right, then?" Qui-Gon asked with a warm smile. "We'll give you a minute to change and prepare; Anakin is already waiting."
OoOoOoOo
They left for the warpstone deposits shortly afterwards, passing quiet houses and the dried out, cracked fountain marking the center of town. Something bothered Obi-Wan about the fountain, an involuntary chill that crawled across his skin as he walked past it, but he shrugged it off and followed his companions complacently as they set off down a well-used path leading out of town the opposite direction from the one they'd entered.
It didn't seem quite right, Obi-Wan knew he was missing something, and for someone who relied as naturally and instinctively on the Unifying Force as he did it was more than a little disconcerting. But Qui-Gon didn't seem concerned, and Anakin was happily humming to himself as he hopped along, so Obi-Wan shelved the thought for later and resolved to be extra watchful.
They walked on below the hazy sunshine, mist that wouldn't dissipate licking at their boots. Elika proved a capable and knowledgeable guide, and she did Obi-Wan a small favor by keeping Anakin occupied as she listened patiently to him explain the glories of podracing. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes to hear the tales again, but he also realized that back in Mos Espa Anakin had stood out amongst others for his Force-enhanced abilities, while at the Temple he was just another padawan - a padawan who had skipped over many hardworking initiates to be granted a master right away.
Obi-Wan blinked, shaking his head regretfully. He didn't like to think of Anakin in such terms, but it was difficult at times with the boy's unrelenting braggadocio. The Knight noticed that Elika kept casting concerned glances at him, but he was unsure why she would be concerned; he felt fine, if a little confused, except for a persistent weariness he recognized he shouldn't be feeling if he'd truly slept undisturbed all night as Elika and Qui-Gon had assured him, and a disturbing greying at the edges of his vision that flickered and disappeared if he tried to focus on it.
Perhaps he was simply exhausted. He had been constantly on the move since his and Qui-Gon's initial trip to Naboo, and even of late when the Council didn't have an assignment for him, it seemed like Qui-Gon had need for his former padawan to accompany him and Anakin on whatever mission they were embarking on. Guilt or perhaps affection was motivating Qui-Gon's requests, Obi-Wan knew, and though he truly enjoyed spending time with his old master, Obi-Wan had begun to sense a rising jealousy and possessiveness within Anakin that out of kindness he could not condemn, but knew the Council would clamp down on as soon as they sensed the boy's tempestuous emotions.
It would be for the best if Obi-Wan stepped back, if he politely turned down Qui-Gon's requests that he tag along and just let the two of them adjust to being master and padawan.
Besides, he mused with a smile, it's probably not a good idea to get on the bad side of the Chosen One.
Although, whether or not he believed that Anakin was the "Chosen One" was another story.
Yes. After this mission, he would step back. Talk with Master Yoda. And a sabbatical might do him good, at any rate. It was traditional that a padawan take a brief respite after achieving Knighthood to reflect on their Trials and meditate on the new path before them; Obi-Wan rubbed his newest scar absently. Of late, he'd just been too busy.
Or perhaps he'd been avoiding reflecting over what he'd done on Naboo. If he didn't meditate on it, he wouldn't remember - wouldn't have to recall the darkness sliding through his soul, controlling his body as he'd … stop it stop it stop it.
Obi-Wan put his head down and grimly soldiered on.
OoOoOoOo
Something was off with Obi-Wan.
Qui-Gon frowned and again tried to read his former apprentice. Obi-Wan's Signature was normal; Qui-Gon had an intimate familiarity with stunning blaze of blue that was Obi-Wan's presence in the Force. While not the blinding brilliance that was Anakin, it was still brightly powerful in its own right.
No, it wasn't Obi-Wan's presence in the Force; that was steady, calm.
Qui-Gon watched the young man slogging ahead of him through the muck, noticed the abnormally slow movement and unusually slumped shoulders of his former padawan. Frowning, he probed a little deeper and immediately realized that something was wrong: dark specks danced throughout Obi-Wan's frame, a taint of some sort, an infection polluting the Knight's body.
Qui-Gon quickened his stride, intent on catching up with Obi-Wan, but as he moved closer he felt his sense of the Light start to flicker and weaken, his connection to the sweet song of the Force sliding away like liquid being poured from a pitcher. Darkness started to pound against his hastily fortified mental shields; he caught the surprised looks on Anakin and Obi-Wan's faces that showed they felt it, too.
They had reached the warpstone deposits.
