| Title: Silent Nights (Part Five) Author: Ginger Ninja ***** Obi-Wan smirked sadistically as he grabbed his Master by the throat and with a strength he hadn't possessed before, lifted Qui-Gon clean off the ground. "Why Master, you appear to be in pain. Maybe you should lie down!" Obi-Wan savagely threw Qui-Gon across the room, causing the Master to crash into a bookshelf. Books and datapads rained down on top of Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan looked down at where Mace Windu struggled to get to his feet. Kenobi placed one bare foot on the council member's back and shoved him down hard. Mace, who was unprepared for the attack, fell heavily on his wrists. Obi-Wan didn't even look back at the Master when he heard the undeniable snap of both his wrists. Mace fought to not cry out in pain. Kenobi bent over Qui-Gon and lifted the dazed man up once again. "Well, well, well Qui-Gon Jinn I doubt this is the way you pictured your death. Beaten by your own apprentice," Obi-Wan spat in Qui-Gon's face. "Remember this well old man, you may be the first to be killed by this boy but you are not the last. No one can stop us!" If Qui-Gon had been in such a stupor, he would have realised the strangeness of Obi-Wan's words. As it was the only thing on his mind was remaining conscious long enough to stop his apprentice's rampage. Obi-Wan started banging Qui-Gon's head against the wall. Qui-Gon was honestly afraid that he might not be able to stop the boy before he ended up killing his own Master. Qui-Gon knew his apprentice was strong but since when had he been *this* strong? Mace, apparently forgotten for the moment by Kenobi, realised he was the only one who could do something. Reaching out with the Force, Mace used it to try and pull Leezal off Obi-Wan's back. As soon as Mace made contact, Obi-Wan span around and faced the dark skinned Master, one hand still pinning Qui-Gon against the wall, the other preparing to attack Mace. It was all the diversion Qui-Gon needed to pull his knees up and thrust his feet into Obi-Wan's head. He fell to the ground, stunned for the moment. Qui-Gon reached down to his lightsaber and ignited it, ready to bring it down on Leezal. His head maybe pounding but he could still function. "Enough!" Obi-Wan roared and stood up, backing off into a corner. Mace and Qui-Gon stood ready for a fight. Mace backed up behind Qui-Gon, knowing he was in no fit state to fight with two broken wrists. Out the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the com unit. An idea began to unfold in his mind. Obi-Wan looked at the pair with a critical eye. "It seems I was mistaken. You are stronger then I first thought. I shall have to do this another way." The darkness receded from Obi-Wan's eyes and the usual blue/green colour was back. "Master?" He said uncertainly, before crashing to his knees clutching his head in pain. "No!" he screamed at something only he could see. "Get out! GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD! NOOOOOOO! LET ME GO!" Obi-Wan's hands reached up to Leezal and he tried to pull the baby away, his head lowering. Qui-Gon rushed forward to help but when Obi-Wan's head snapped back up, the nasty grin and dark eyes were back. "If you try and stop me, I will hurt the boy." Qui-Gon was now certain there was something else inside Obi-Wan, controlling him. That was both a relief and a worry. At least Obi-Wan wasn't responsible for his actions. Mace made it to the com system unnoticed and sent an urgent message to both the council and the infirmary. "What do you want from Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked, keeping his focus on his apprentice and not his throbbing body. The boy was silent for a moment and his eyes closed and his grin twisted further. A wail rang out and Leezal fell to the ground with a sickening crack. Obi-Wan's eyes opened and honed in on Qui-Gon. "I want his body and his mind but I don't want his spirit." Once again the dark presence faded and the real Obi-Wan returned. Obi-Wan curled up into a protective ball and started to rock back and forth, mumbling under his breath. Qui-Gon cautiously edged towards his apprentice, not entirely sure if this was the right thing to do. Obi-Wan looked up at Qui-Gon, his eyes dull and appearing to grow duller as Qui-Gon watched him. Without hesitating, Qui-Gon sat down by Obi-Wan, just as the young Jedi began to clutch his head and moan in pain. "Master please," Obi-Wan whispered, his voice tired and his entire demeanour reflecting his exhaustion. Tears trickled down his face but he was too drained to wipe them away. "Please help me. Please get it out of my head! Don't let the Darkness get me! Don't! It'll kill us! Please Master help me! You have to stop it! I..." Obi-Wan slumped against his Master's chest and fell deadly quiet. He didn't even breathe. Thinking fast, Qui-Gon placed Obi-Wan down on the floor and placed on hand on the boy's chest, coaxing Obi-Wan's lungs to breathe with the Force. //No Obi-Wan! Don't you dare die on me!// Qui-Gon ordered through their bond. The bond was so messed up on Obi-Wan's side Qui-Gon wasn't sure if the boy got the message. Mace came over, Adi Gallia and Yoda leading T'Gaz and his apprentice in. Adi pulled Qui-Gon away gently while T'Gaz and Pascal took over supporting Obi-Wan's body. In all the mayhem, the little girl who seemed to be causing all the mess was forgotten. That was until Qui-Gon tripped over her lifeless body. Bending down, he checked the baby girl's pulse. She was gone, probably died the instant she tumbled to the ground. Her neck was clearly broken from the odd angle her head rested at. T'Gaz and Pascal lifted Obi-Wan onto a stretcher and rushed away, T'Gaz informing the group of Master's that another pair of healers would come down shortly to check on Qui-Gon and Mace. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon lay his robe over Leezal's dead body and sat down heavily, his head in his hands. "What happened?" Adi asked, standing in front of Qui-Gon and Mace who had gone to sit down next to his friend. Mace explained what had taken place in the strangely short space of time. What had felt like hours had only been a few minutes. The healer's arrived while Mace was still explaining and began to dress wounds and take care of the deceased child. Qui-Gon remained silent the entire time, even when he was too was placed back on a stretcher and taken to the infirmary. He was worried, to say the least. What was happening inside Obi-Wan's head? What was it that was inside of him? And more importantly, could Obi-Wan hold on until Qui-Gon found a way to save his apprentice? And that was how Yoda found Qui-Gon; lying on his side oblivious to the healer who dressed his wounds sustained in the fight against Obi-Wan. Yoda gently rapped against Qui-Gon's head with his stick. "Solve your problems this brooding will not," Yoda informed his former apprentice. "Bring news I do of young Obi-Wan's condition." Qui-Gon turned his eyes to Yoda's large ones. "How is he?" "Hmm, not good. Lie to you I won't. Hopeful the healers are not. Detect an immense struggle within your apprentice they do. Fighting something Obi-Wan is. See it, we cannot. Help him we must." Qui-Gon nodded. "Our bond isn't completely blocked. It's confused and that's making it hard for me to understand what's going on. There is something in the way but I know that's not Obi-Wan's fault." "Any ideas do you have Qui-Gon, as to what caused this?" Yoda asked. Of course Qui-Gon had an idea. "Leezal." "Ah yes, interesting that child was." "Interesting Master?" Qui-Gon was not amused by Yoda's vague description of the girl. "That baby was evil and she was the cause of all that's happened to Obi-Wan!" "Cause was she? Or pawn in a larger game maybe? Fear I do that someone else used an innocent young child to get their own way. Unfortunate it was that realise this sooner we did not. If known this we had, different situation we would be in now," Yoda said. Qui-Gon's eyes narrowed. Could it be true? Was someone sick enough to twist an innocent life into an evil one? "I will find out who is behind this Master," Qui-Gon determined. "But first..." "First, to Obi-Wan you must go." Qui-Gon pulled himself and all his bandages off the bed and followed Yoda to where his Padawan lay. Obi-Wan was in a side room. Or at least he was in there somewhere amongst the machines that were keeping him alive. "We had to attach all of those to keep his body going," T'Gaz explained. "He is on total life support. Whenever we tried to get one of his vital organs going by itself, another would stop." T'Gaz looked up from one of the monitors and spoke to Qui-Gon. "Master Yoda explained to me what may be wrong. All I can say is this: you had better find the real Obi-Wan and get rid of whatever else is inside him soon or he will die and the creature inside him will be free to do whatever it wants. There is very little I can do." Qui-Gon nodded and tore his eyes away from Obi-Wan. The teenager looked lost amidst all the technology that was supporting him. Qui-Gon wanted nothing more than to sit down by his Padawan's side, go inside his head and destroy whatever it was that was blotting out the boy that was his son. But until Qui-Gon knew what he was up against, there was nothing he could do. "Don't worry T'Gaz, I'll be back. And when I do return, I'll know how to save him," Qui-Gon said, clenching his fists unconsciously. Walking out of Obi-Wan's room was one of the hardest things Qui-Gon had ever had to do, but he managed it. With a strong sense of purpose, Qui-Gon headed to the room where all the records of every Jedi; from the youngest initiate to the oldest Master; living or dead, was kept. The answer to everything had to be there. ***** Obi-Wan awoke in his room in the apartment he shared with Qui-Gon. It was dark out, most likely the dead of the night. Everything was silent, no sound met Obi-Wan's ears. Nothing disturbed the silent night. Yet something had disturbed Obi-Wan's sleep and he slipped off his sleepcouch and padded into the main chamber of the apartment. //Obi-Wan. Help me...// Obi-Wan frowned. //Master? What's wrong?// //Help me...// Obi-Wan ran into this Master's room and flung the door open. He gagged at the sickly odour that wafted up his nose. //Master?// The bond was as silent as the night around him. Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan went into the room, his hand reaching for the light switch. He flicked it but it didn't turn on. Light filtered through the partially drawn curtains, illuminating Qui-Gon's bed with a strange orange glow. The rest of the room was lost in the murkiness. Obi-Wan could make out the shape of his Master in the bed. Still getting no reply over the bond, Obi-Wan walked to the foot of the bed and pulled back the covers. Obi-Wan cried out in a combination of shock and horror at the sight he discovered under the covers. His Master was there, lying in a pool a dark blood, his chest a gaping, bloody hole and his face a mask of the agonising death he had met. From the looks of things, Qui-Gon's lungs and heat had been ripped out. Obi-Wan let out a cry and tripped over his feet in his rush to get out of the room. Qui-Gon's bed loomed in front of him. Whimpering Obi-Wan backed out the door, his eyes landing firmly on Qui-Gon. "Oh Master, my Master what happened to you?" A figure emerged from the shadows surrounding the area in Qui-Gon's room that the light from the window didn't touch. It was her. "No!" Obi-Wan cried, climbing to his unsteady feet. "You...I...Get away from him! Leave him alone!" The shadow-woman glided easily over to Obi-Wan. "Oh my dear boy. It's a little late for that." She gently stroked his face. "Your Master is dead, can't you tell?" she added savagely. "No! No this isn't real! It can't be real!" The shadow-woman backed away into Qui-Gon's room. "This is real Obi-Wan. Don't try and pretend it isn't." The shadow-woman threw herself onto the bed. She landed on Qui-Gon and started to fall into his body. "Would you like your Master to tell you?" Qui-Gon suddenly sat upright, blood pouring out of his chest. His head turned to Obi-Wan, his death mask changing to an expression of warped amusement. "Welcome home Padawan," Qui-Gon croaked. Qui-Gon started to laugh. His laugh became a wicked gurgling sound as the shadow-woman pulled herself back out of his body and his body hit the ground with a soggy sounding thud. "NOOOOOOO!" Obi-Wan turned around and ran out of his home, knowing he had to escape from the darkness before it got him too. ***End Part Five*** |
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