| Title: One Appreentice, One Pathway #1: Brewing (Part Six) Author: Ginger Ninja ***** I am sinking in this silence... ***** Tuvua slipped through the corridors towards the gardens. She moved without disturbing the air. No sound did she make. Had anyone been watching, they would have assumed she was a spirit-silent and deadly. She slipped soundlessly into the first garden she came across and she eased round the bushes and expertly walked silently through the trees, never causing one twig to snap. Her ears picked up the sound of water and something else. Something, or someone, was moving through the gardens stealthily. But not stealthily enough... With the barest flicker of a grin, Tuvua pulled a long and sharp blade out of a sheath on her back and moved forward. Her eyes saw what her ears had been hearing. A small figure dressed in the colours of the Jedi was creeping through the gardens. But what use was a Jedi when he was cut off from the Force? Tuvua forced herself to swallow a laugh. She knew this was going to be too easy. ***** Without the Force, Obi-Wan was incapable of finding out if there were any enemies in the vast garden with him. Obi-Wan still had a bad feeling despite his uncertainty and his back prickled as if there was a pair of eyes rooted on him. He shuddered slightly and his entire body tensed, ready to bolt at the slightest hint of trouble. So urgent was his feeling that he should run, that Obi-Wan was having a difficult time restraining himself from hurtling out of the gardens at top speed and throwing caution to the wind. Definitely not a good idea when the Temple was under siege. The only sound he could hear for certain were the flowing waters in the garden but he was certain every now and then he heard someone breathe or a footfall behind him. He told himself impatiently that it was just his imagination creating ideas in his mind but he wasn't able to convince himself at all. And what was not a great help when he was trying to be as silent as possible was a sneezing fit. It started as an annoying tickle before exploding into a fully-fledged sneeze, followed by another, and another. Sneezing as quietly as he could, Obi-Wan carried on walking forward. By the time his sneezing was finished, he found himself standing in front of the large pond where he often came for a swim with his friend Bant. He gazed into the rippling water and at his bedraggled appearance and nearly yelled aloud in shock as he saw a pale, shimmering face hovering above his shoulder. Before he had the chance to turn around and see who she was, a heavy weight rammed itself into his back and Obi-Wan fell face first into the pond. Tuvua smirked and held the thrashing boy under. Her hair slipped past her shoulder and irritated her neck but she didn't push it away. She focused intently on what she was doing. Xanatos had said she wanted the boy. What he hadn't mentioned was whether or not he wanted the boy dead or alive. ***** No one uttered a word. Xanatos didn't even pace. Yoda didn't grunt disapprovingly. Tension captivated everyone in its firm grasp and no one, Dark or Light side made any sound out of turn. It was Yoda who finally broke the silence and all eleven of the other Councillors were certain it was because the tiny Master lost his patience. "Exactly what planned have you?" he demanded, thwacking his stick on the tiles. Xanatos laughed. "Do you really expect me to tell you everything down to the very last detail so you can just stop me somehow? I think not. All you need to know is very soon, the Jedi will be no more." "Succeed you will not," Yoda retorted tapping his stick continuously on the floor. "Impossible it is." "Oh is it?" Xanatos said. With one swift move he grabbed Yoda's cane and tossed it away. "It's impossible to succeed when I have ever last Jedi under my power?" "Not every Jedi," Yoda reminded the fallen Jedi. "Ah yes, of course. Little Obi-Wan Kenobi. The foolish brat who follows my old renegade Master around the place." Xanatos nudged Qui-Gon in the ribs with a booted foot. "If he hadn't caused me or young Bruck so much trouble I might feel sorry for him. Poor boy. He's quite ignorant of how uncared for and useless he is." "Care for him we do," Yoda said. "Useless he definitely is not." "Ah but in the eyes of the one who means the most to him he is quite a problem," Xanatos replied, a smarmy grin on his face. "Change that will," Yoda insisted. "I don't know about that," Qui-Gon's hoarse voice spoke up, capturing the attention of all. "There are issues between us that may not ever reach a resolution." Xanatos laughed harshly and hauled Qui-Gon mercilessly into a sitting position and shoved him up against a nearby wall. He glared at Qui-Gon, their faces nearly touching. "You certainly have a way with your apprentices don't you Qui-Gon?" Xanatos hissed. "After the first everything went down hill. Which one of your two 'failures' will die first? Me or the boy? I know where I'd place my bets." Xanatos stepped back into the centre of the Council Room and resumed his silent pacing. He did not speak again. Mace looked over at Qui-Gon with a passive look that did not reveal his private thoughts. He could see the misery etched deeply on his friend's face and from the way his shoulders were slumped Mace guessed Qui-Gon was once again in a state of self-blame and destruction. Yoda saw this too, as did all the Council members. "Humph! We will see," Yoda retorted, looking strangely rebellious as he looked up at Xanatos. The other Council Members did not seem to share Yoda's optimism. Instead, they all seemed to be thinking the same thing: �I have a bad feeling about this.' ***** Obi-Wan's struggles began to grow weaker until he was completely still as he began to give in to the seductive and promising and endless darkness of death. It wasn't the death of a Jedi-the transition of the soul into the Force-just death. It offered the physically and emotionally battered young boy a hope of escape from the events that troubled him and clouded his thoughts. In the back of his mind Obi-Wan knew he could hold on longer than this under water, even without the Force but he was tired of everything and everyone and didn't feel like fighting. His mind was willing to accept death, even if it wasn't the proper death of a Jedi. /I'm committing suicide/ His thoughts cleared somewhat. /This isn't right. I shouldn't do this/ His eyes opened and clarity shone in their deepest depths. /If I give in, who will save everyone?/ Stubborn resilience rose again within him. /Not like this. I won't go like this/ Obi-Wan felt the weight on his back loosen. His attacker clearly thought he no longer posed any threat. This was perfect, and the element of surprise belonged solely to Obi-Wan. His attacker lifted him out the water and Obi-Wan managed to make sure he did not start gasping for air but just took in breaths that were shallow enough to go unnoticed. His attacker reached down and took something off his belt-his lightsaber. He kept his eyes firmly closed and kept his body limp as he was thrown over the shoulder of his attacker, all the while trying to come up with a way to get his 'saber back and escape this person. He was surprised to hear a feminine laugh and mutter something he couldn't catch. He had expected a male assailant due to the strength that held him down and because of the voice Bruck had been talking to back in the shafts. Obi-Wan peeked his eyes open and was glad to find his head and arms hanging over her back. She wouldn't be able to see that he was awake this way and he needed to keep her as unsuspecting as possible until the very last moment-everything depended on it. He inspected the woman's belt and found a multitude of weapons strapped there but not his lightsaber. He had a feeling that was being held in her hands. This woman, whoever she was, had training if she was able to wield some of the knives and daggers that hugged her waistline closely. Obi-Wan cautiously reached down to grab one. He needed to stop this woman-fast. They had left the gardens and were heading up. They had already passed the level Obi-Wan needed to be at. He reached, his fingertips groping for the weapons. The woman tossed her long, black hair over her shoulder and it landed on Obi-Wan's face. He held back a curse and grit his teeth, ignoring the irritating hairs that itched at his nose and neck. He had to stop her no matter what. His fingers grazed the top of one of her many weapons but the woman's hips twisted round as she changed direction and his hand slipped past it. Telling himself to have patience, Obi-Wan reached again and he successfully grabbed a long black, thick handle and tugged at it slowly. Softly and silently, it swiftly eased out of its leather sheath. His wet hand clung to it tightly, not daring to hold it loosely for fear of dropping it. Obi-Wan let out a slow breath but before he could stop himself, he breathed in and her hair went up his nose. Unable to hold it back, he sneezed. His chance of a surprise attack was gone. The woman dropped him and before he could get on his feet, she grabbed him by the head, pulled it back and held a blade to his throat. "You are a sneaky little thing aren't you?" she whispered, sounding amused as well as severely annoyed. Obi-Wan's mind raced and caused him to act before he had quite realised it. He brought his legs up to his chest, planted his feet on her chest and gave an almighty shove that sent her reeling backwards. She teetered on the edge of the stairs, arms flailing wildly as if she was trying to claw at the air and pull herself up. She dropped Obi-Wan's lightsaber and it fell down the stairs with a loud clatter. He dark eyes widened in shock and horror and her already pale skin became even more washed out and Obi-Wan was able to see the frantic beat of her heart as it pounded in fear. He flipped himself to his feet and grabbed her arm holding her tight so she did not fall. She may have attacked him but Obi-Wan did not feel right somehow letting her fall to her death. There were other ways than death to bring justice. He just had to find one before he was left with the last case scenario. "Stupid boy!" she hissed, still sounding frazzled. "Didn't you ever learn NOT to help your enemies?" She aimed a booted foot at his head and Obi-Wan ducked just in time to avoid getting a face-full of hard boot heel. He let go of her wrist and thrust the heel of his hand into her nose. He felt it break beneath his hand and sprang back. She came at him looking unfazed by her broken and bloody nose, fist balled and held back, ready to deliver a swift strike. Obi-Wan bent his knees and rolled away, coming up to her side. He scored a kick at her stomach and she went down on her knees, painfully winded. Obi-Wan approached her from behind, hoping to give her a large enough blow to the head to render her unconscious. With the Force or even his lightsaber the chore would have been an easy one. Maybe even the knife he had swiped but he had lost that in the fight. Instead he improvised by lacing his fingers together and bringing down the combined strength of both his hands onto the base of her neck. She went down with a cry. Obi-Wan backed away from her and spied the knife he had taken from her lying by the stairs. He picked that up and was then struck with a thought. He had to take away all her weapons in case she woke up and attacked someone else. He walked over to her and rolled her over, confident that she was out of it. When Obi-Wan found himself flying down the stairs, hitting each one on the way, he made a note to himself to never be so confident about such things again. Tuvua wiped away a stream of blood that was gushing from her nose and with one leap, jumped from the top stair to where Obi-Wan was trying to get back to his feet but was so far still bent over on his hands and knees. She grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. "Isn't there a lesson in the wise old Jedi world that teaches overconfidence is a weakness?" she sneered into the choking boy's face. "Yes," Obi-Wan choked out. "Maybe you...should...remember that...as well." Without another word, he ignited the lightsaber he held in his hand. The blue blade thrust itself straight through Tuvua's side and she dropped Obi-Wan as an agony swept through her. He gasped for air as he watched the woman's eyes widen as she saw the wound. Her mouth opened to speak but there were no suave retorts to say. Silently, she slumped to the ground. She was dead. Obi-Wan looked at her for a moment as he disengaged the blue blade of his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. He didn't know what he felt at the moment: relief or remorse. When this was all over he would need to speak with someone slightly older and wiser about these events to help him come to terms with it all. /I wish it could be Master Qui-Gon but I don't think he would even look at me if he found out what I just did/ Obi-Wan bit his lip and eased to his feet, hoping action could silence his distressing thoughts. He started heading back down to the level he needed to be at to get to the room where he would find the blue prints for the Temple. With each step he felt an agony tear through his left ankle. He was fairly certain that he had sprained it seriously. Now all he could hope was for a med kit in one of the tech classes or the caretaker's room where he could tend to his numerous abrasions and left ankle. Limping, Obi-Wan made his way out of the stairwell and out onto the floor where he hoped to find all the things he needed. He left Tuvua's body behind. Obi-Wan made a note to himself to tell someone about that later. /Can't go leaving bodies all around the Temple. Someone might trip over it and hurt themselves. Nasty business leaving bodies everywhere. What would the Masters think of me?/ And in the silence, Obi-Wan Kenobi struggled on to the caretaker's room where his goal lay. ***End Part 6*** |
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