"What do you remember?"

Lin's arms were shackled behind her, her feet bolted to the floor. There was a hollowness in her cheeks, paleness in her skin. She looked dead, Qui-Gon thought. So much guilt was wafting off of her, he had to slam up his mental shields to keep himself from being affected.

"Not much," Lin finally answered. She whispered as she spoke, her voice rough and scratchy. "There's flashes of… blood and pain and…" A shuddering sob cut her off. "And then I was me again."

Mace exchanged looks with Qui-Gon. With a nod, Qui-Gon confirmed the story. "What was the last thing you remember before this… black-out?"

Lin shifted her shoulders to get into a more comfortable position. The restraints wouldn't allow her. "I was walking to my morning class," she closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. "I remember smelling something odd. Sulfur. I thought a Padawan was playing a trick. I didn't really pay attention."

Another glance, another nod, another confirmation.

"Then…" Lin shook her head, her face squinting in concentration. She gave up. "Nothing."

"The Force gave no warning?"

"No."

"Lin," Mace leaned forward. He gently placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head up, so they may see her eyes. "What do you think it was?"

Tears began to flow out of Lin's already deeply red eyes. "Evil."

"The Darkside."

"No," she hissed, jerking her head out of Mace's grasp. "Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with the Force. This was pure madness."

()

"Do you believe her?"

Qui-Gon sighed. He wasn't sure what to believe. The Darkside? Maybe. Insanity? Probably. Black evil smoke? "I don't know," he admitted. "If I hadn't seen the smoke with my own two eyes… It was like nothing I have ever seen before. Even as it exited Lin's body, I felt nothing. Nothing in the Force even indicated it was there."

"We tried to pull vids from security, but the system temporarily went down during the whole incident," Mace said, sounding very disgusted. "Other than the eye witness accounts, we have no proof."

"What will happen to Lin, then?"

"Trial, perhaps. Possessed or not, Lin killed four people and severely injured countless others."

"And Obi-Wan? What will his role be in this?"

"That, we can keep out of the public records. But understand this, Qui-Gon," Mace said, and lowered his voice. "Until we know what we're dealing with, how Obi-Wan is involved in all of this, the Council will demand much from him. From both of you."

()

Obi-Wan had never hated the words I don't know more than he did today. Every question that was asked of him, every inquiry made by a Council member or by his Master, all he could answer with was, I don't know.

What was that chant?

I don't know.

What does it mean?

I don't know.

Can you repeat it for us?

Obi-Wan paused. He remembered few of the words, though certainly not in the right order. 'Omnis' was one, and he only remembered that because he said it five times. "I can't. I don't remember."

Council member Jchayne leaned back in her chair, slightly frustrated. Obi-Wan really couldn't blame her. They were in here for nearly an hour and they were going in circles. "Your Master said you collapsed mere seconds before Lin started to commit the murders. What happened?"

Obi-Wan nearly said I don't know, and stopped. "I heard someone speak."

"A vision?"

Obi-Wan had to frown at that. Was it a vision? It would explain a lot, except Obi-Wan never had a vision like that before. It been nearly two years since his last vision and his control over the Force had dramatically changed since then. "I don't know," he admitted, internally hating himself for his lack of vocabulary. "I never heard of the chant before. It… would make sense. The voice only said a few things."

"Like what?"

"He said, Bella, I'll see you in hell. Before I started saying the chant, the voice said, Demon and Time to exorcise this bitch."

"You never heard of this voice before?"

"No. I believe he was addressing someone named Bella, but I never heard of that name before, either. And demon; isn't that a derogatory word used for outsiders?"

"Most of the time, yes," Mace said. "However, there are religions on other worlds who use that word to describe creatures of the dark… do you believe that smoke was a creature of the dark?"

Obi-Wan had never seen it before. Never heard of any accounts of it before. And yet there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head, telling him he had.

"I don't know."

()

Nothing happened for the next two months.

No visions, no voices, no black smoke. Obi-Wan supposed this should be taken as a good thing, except the Council was no closer to an answer since day one. Master Lin's trial came and went and it was decided she would be banished to a heavily guarded prison planet.

She went willingly.

Obi-Wan underwent every test the Council requested. Blood samples were taken, mind scans were done, and nothing came up. Nobody could figure out where Obi-Wan's words originated from, what they meant or how it was related to Lin.

There was no evidence of foul play with the security systems and according to the engineers, there should've been no reason for the shut-down during the five minutes of the assault.

No physical proof, no clue, no idea of what to do next.

"Obi-Wan, you're not concentrating."

"Sorry, Master."

Obi-Wan sighed and squared his shoulders. Meditation had never been this hard since he was young. Back then, he had trouble was he was bored. Eventually he would find his center and relax into the Force, but now, all he could concentrate on was how tiring this all was.

He slowed his breathing, concentrated on it. He touched upon the edge of the Force, slowly allowing it to wash over him. And just as he was about to lose himself in the calming waves of the Force, he lost connection.

His eyes opened and he saw Qui-Gon looking disapproving at him. "You're not con-"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time."

Obi-Wan snapped his mouth shut. The words came out before he even realized he'd said them. Nearly twenty years old and he felt like a child as he hung his head in shame. "I apologize, Master. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

Qui-Gon sighed. "It's alright, Padawan. I think that's a sign we should take a break. From all of this."

"I shall make tea," Obi-Wan picked himself off the ground, glad to be moving. He was tired of all the meditation exercises he was forced to do lately.

"No, Obi-Wan. That's not what I meant. When was the last time you left the Temple?"

"That mission to-"

"With your friends?"

Obi-Wan paused. It'd been months. And though he'd eaten lunch with Bant and Garen a few times over the past two months, those encounters were uncomfortable and quiet. Bant was close to Master Lin.

As much as Obi-Wan wanted to leave, wanted simply to enjoy the sun on his face, he had tests almost every single day. "I have an appointment with a mind healer today."

Qui-Gon made a face. "Am I seriously going have to order you to play hooky?"

Obi-Wan shared a timid smile with him. "Well, maybe if you did it more often…"

"Cheeky brat. If that what it takes… Obi-Wan, I order you to go out, eat lunch with your friends, and don't come back for at least seven hours."

The Padawan chuckled. "What will I tell Master Tomas?"

"Don't worry about that. You go have fun."

()

Force, he needed this.

Obi-Wan ran. He felt the wind in his hair, the sun on his skin, his heart beating in his chest. He could sense Bant was close behind him, her arms stretched out to grab him and he merely ran faster, ducking and dodging her hands.

"Damn you, Obi!" She cursed, falling behind.

He laughed and jumped suddenly to the side, evading Garen's obscure tackle. The delay in movement was all the time Bant needed to catch up. She grabbed Obi-Wan by the shoulders and used her weight to bring him down.

They fell, yelling and laughing loudly. Grass and dirt filled Obi-Wan's senses and he reveled in the pureness of it all. "Damn it, Obi-Wan," Garen slapped him playfully on the arm, plopping down next to him. "I thought we agreed: No Force."

"You agreed. I stand indifferently."

"Now I know why he always wins at cards," Bant said, brushing off her tunic. "He cheats."

Obi-Wan gaped at her indignantly. "I do…!" He trailed off.

This caused another round of laughter. Lords, it felt good not to think. Obi-Wan knew he and his Master was probably going to get a stern lecture from Master Windu once he got back, but at the moment he didn't care. He flopped down onto his back and sighed. The sun felt warm.

"Hey, have you two noticed that guy's been staring at us this whole time?"

Obi-Wan lifted his head. Bant indicated with a nod towards a small brush of trees. The park was filled with people and it took Obi-Wan a few seconds to filter through the passing bodies to see who she was talking about.

Even from his distance, Obi-Wan could clearly see that this man was looking at them. He seemed to be wearing some kind of tan cloak.

"Look at his clothes," Garen whistled. "They're so old. And I thought Master Chau enjoyed vintage stuff."

"Isn't it a bit too hot for that cloak?"

"Some species like it hot."

"He's human, you can clearly see that."

"I don't know. Hey, Obi-Wan, do you think it's too hot? …Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan didn't respond. He stared at the man quietly, his head cocking slightly to the side in a curious manner. He'd seen this man before. He knew this man.

Holy tax accountant.

"Obi-Wan!" Garen shook his shoulder, jarring him.

Obi-Wan turned his head to him. "Uh, what?"

"You okay?"

Obi-Wan turned back to the trees. The man was gone. "I'm fine."

()

A/N: I'm having so much fun with this. I'm not sure where officially Cas will show up. Soon, because I'm just too impatient to wait around three or so chapters to bring him in. Hee hee hee! R/R, please!