Testoffaith3

PART THREE

Pain. Terrible, burning pain. Obi-Wan had expected death, but death could not hurt this much, unless he was in hell. He moaned softly and opened his eyes.

Wherever he was it was pitch black, and he could see nothing. A rustling whisper, like wind, only it seemed alive, moved in the eerie silence.

Obi-Wan tried to roll onto his side, tried to rise, but found himself utterly powerless to move. He was not sure if he were bound down, or if his body simply refused to respond to his commands. He hurt everywhere, yet somehow his mind told him that he was no longer suffering from the injuries he had received in the pit. That didn't make sense, but nothing made sense yet.

"Whe-Where am I?" he asked hoarsely, almost more with the Force than with his uncooperative voice. An inexplicable chill of terror that he could not control ran up his spine.

"Nowhere," a deep, raspy voice hissed from out of the darkness. "We are neither here, nor there, but we exist."

Obi-Wan started, not having expected a response, or at least, he would have started, had he been able to move, which he wasn't. "X-Xanatos?" he asked, feeling that strange terror wash over him again. That hadn't sounded like Xanatos.

"Calling me little Jedi?" Xanatos stepped from the blackness, somehow illuminated by an eerie light that lit only himself.

"Were am I? I thought you were going to kill me," Obi-Wan asked, his voice slurred slightly with pain. His mouth felt dry and his tongue too large. He didn't bother demanding that the dark Jedi let him go, because he knew Xanatos would only laugh. It would be a waste of breath, and Obi-Wan didn't have a lot to waste right now.

"Well, I was considering it, but then it would be over too quickly," Xanatos said with an evil grin. "Besides, my friends here have been of great help to me, I've been promising them a reward, a sacrifice, for some time. You're a perfect candidate. You see, the Therdaks live on plain that's not quite the same as the one we understand. We're not exactly on Telos anymore, at least, not in the sense that we were, but we're not in their home-place of Dakia either, we're... in between, in limbo. Therdaks feed only on Force-power. Where they come from they can drink it out of the air, out of the ground, out of anything. Here in our realm however, the Force is not so readily abundant, or at least, not so tappable. The Therdaks are strong, and make powerful servants, but they're hungry Obi-Wan," Xanatos' eyes burned with sadistic fire. "But they won't be for much longer. You see my friends?" Xanatos turned to face the darkness. "Do I not always give what I promise?"

A rumble sounded from out of the darkness, but Obi-Wan could not exactly tell what it meant.

Xanatos smiled down at the helpless boy on the floor. "Enjoy your stay, Obi-Wan Kenobi." With that, he turned and left, once more leaving Obi-Wan in complete darkness, surrounded only by the thrumming breathing of the Therdaks. The young Jedi could not be sure, but it felt like there were three or four of them.

Somehow, being lunch for hungry alien beings was not Obi-Wan's idea of a good time. He tried desperately to rise, to fight, to do *something*, but he couldn't even twitch his fingers. Dark terror engulfed him as he felt the Therdaks move towards him like giant beetles.

Something cold and clammy touched his arm and a sharp jolt of pain made him gasp. More touches, like tongues of fire, covered his body, absorbing his strength, sucking it out of him. The young Jedi realized that it was not his flesh they wanted, but the power of the Force that flowed through him.

The touch of their proboscises was excruciating, and Obi-Wan could feel his strength and life being sapped slowly out of him as he screamed in pain.

He felt sure they would drain him dry, drinking in his Force and life essence until they killed him, but the Therdaks apparently had other plans. Just when the young Jedi thought he could take no more, they relented. Backing away, they left him totally drained and weaker than he had ever felt in his life.

Time seemed to stand still here, he had no clue how long he lay there, it could have been hours, it could have been weeks. Slowly, he felt his strength returning to him. When he began reaching near normal levels once more, he heard that same, ominous rustle in the darkness.

"Oh, Sith!" his tortured body revolted as the Therdaks moved slowly towards him. He couldn't even struggle as the whole, horrible process started all over again, all he could do was try to choke back the agonized cries that the pain of being fed upon by four hungry Therdaks inflicted on his young body.

This was the fate that Xanatos had in mind for him then, to be a kind of living buffet, which the Therdaks could drain to their fill, and after he recovered, they could feast again.

Obi-Wan could think of no more horrible fate. How like Xanatos, he thought grimly. Leave it to him to kill two birds with one stone. Feed his helpers, and torture his enemy at the same time, efficient in an evil way. Most efficient.

Qui-Gon washed Obi-Wan's lightsaber gently and hung it up in his quarters. The boy was gone now, and there was no way to set right all that was wrong between them. No opportunity to straighten out the tangle that had knotted up their relationship. No chance to ask forgiveness for the way they parted.

How had things gone so wrong? How had what should have been so simple become so hopelessly impossible? Qui-Gon didn't know. Somehow none of it made sense anymore.

None of what used to seem so important, the issues of trust he had struggled with, the doubts he had had about both
himself and the boy, none of that seemed to matter now, if only he could have Obi-Wan back...It was true that one never quite realized the value of what they had, or how desperately they needed it, until it was taken away from them.

Qui-Gon palmed the door open. Wallowing in his regret and despair would do no good. It was time to stop all this cloak and dagger. Xanatos already knew he was here. It was time to confront the dark Jedi once and for all. And if the determined clip in Qui-Gon's long strides were any indication, Xanatos was in for deep trouble when they did.

******************

Obi-Wan had no idea how long he had subsisted in this living nightmare.

The Therdaks had literally been starving and wasting away, so they fed often, seeking to regain their impoverished strength. Obi-Wan wasn't sure how long his body could stand playing buffet for them before it gave out. He wished it would hurry up, he was in agony.

Xanatos visited several times. He taunted and tormented the Padawan verbally, but, strangely enough, bolstered and strengthened him physically. Xanatos had big plans for the Therdaks, he wanted them kept happy and fed, so, oddly enough, he really couldn't afford to lose Obi-Wan yet. The boy was much more useful to him as a food source for his helpers.

Xanatos held the trembling boy dispassionately, keeling on the floor and holding Obi-Wan against him with his arms wrapped around the teenager's chest.
Obi-Wan was propped limply against the older man in a semi-sitting position, his back leaning against Xanatos' breast. The young Jedi was still powerless to move on his own. If he could have, he probably would have shoved the other man away.

Xanatos' body heat warmed the boy's chilled frame as the dark Jedi pumped strength back into the critically weakened Padawan.

At first, Obi-Wan fought it with all his might; he didn't want any dark energy sustaining him! But the truth was, after the Therdak were finished with him, he didn't have much of anything left to fight with.

"Stop fighting me you little fool!" Xanatos snapped impatiently, one arm tightening around Obi-Wan's ribs, the other reaching up to deliver a stinging slap to the boy's face.

In the state of suffering Obi-Wan was already in, the blow barely registered.

The Padawan never gave up fighting, but he was completely drained and had nothing to fight with, so Xanatos forced his way in, overrunning the boy's weakened will and defenses. He made Obi-Wan accept the strength he poured into his body, whether the apprentice liked it or not.

Obi-Wan never succumbed, never chose to accept, yet in the end he could do nothing but lay still in Xanatos' arms and let the Dark Jedi do as he would.

Strength welled up once more in his failing body, relieving some of the aching weakness and pain he was suffering from, but Obi-Wan refused to feel glad about it. He knew Xanatos was only keeping him alive this way because he needed the young Jedi to feed his horrible pets.

Xanatos' long black hair brushed against the back of Obi-Wan's neck and the side of his face as the older man leaned forward to speak softly in the apprentice's ear.

"Funny, isn't it little Jedi?" he mused, his hot breath brushing the side of Obi-Wan's face and warming his shoulder.

If Obi-Wan could have moved, he would have shuddered. He had never had such close physical contact with the fallen Jedi before and the sheer evil in Xanatos made his flesh crawl.

The strength that Xanatos channeled into him was, of course, the power of the Dark Side. It was strong, but terrible and Obi-Wan writhed inside against the dark invasion. He did not invite it into himself, so it could not become part of him, but it was still there, surrounding Obi-Wan with it's awful strength and tormenting him with it's sheer darkness.

He'd never had anyone channel sheer, Dark Side energy straight into his body before and even though it was saving his life and restoring his strength, Obi-Wan hated it. It was terrible.

Xanatos enjoyed feeling Obi-Wan mentally squirm in his arms. Enjoyed the fact that the boy was completely open to his whims. "Funny," he repeated, brushing his cheek mockingly against Obi-Wan's, making the boy squirm harder. "That I am now your only friend here. The only one who can comfort your pain and keep you alive. Ironic, isn't it?"

"You are not my friend," Obi-Wan denied hoarsely. His voice seemed to be the only thing he retained control of. "And I do not wish to be kept alive if it is by the power of the Dark Side!"

Xanatos smiled darkly. "You don't have a choice young one. You don't have a choice." He held the young Jedi tightly and the power rush became suddenly painful. Obi-Wan cried out at the abrupt change, tears coming unbidden to his eyes. For a few moments it hurt worse than he could have imagined, more even than when the Therdaks were draining him.

Then Xanatos relented and the bite of his touch softened.

Obi-Wan sobbed for breath.

"You see," Xanatos purred in his ear. "You see how painful this could be. I can make you hurt as much as I want, but I'm not. Toss that into the perfect, narrow, little equation that you view life through Jedi, and see what happens."

"You don't fool me Xanatos," Obi-Wan rasped, his voice shaky. "I may be young, but I'm not stupid."

"Don't be so sure my impetuous friend," Xanatos smiled, mouthing Obi-Wan's neck just to be annoying. "Don't be so sure." Xanatos' hands rubbed lightly back and forth across the thirteen-year-old's chest as he chewed softly on Obi-Wan's ear. The twisted Jedi enjoyed the way his attentions made Obi-Wan flush and squirm uncomfortably.

Xanatos laughed, a low, devilish sound and moved down Obi-Wan's neck to his shoulder. He had completed what he needed to do to ensure that Obi-Wan would continue to survive as the Therdaks' meal plan, now he was just having fun.

Obi-Wan was helpless to stop Xanatos' unwanted advances on him and a small thrill of panic shot through the boy. Was Xanatos just teasing to torment him, or did the Dark Jedi have more sinister inclinations?

Xanatos smiled, tasting Obi-Wan's fear. "If I had the time, little Jedi," he breathed against Obi-Wan's throat. "If I had time. Unfortunately," Xanatos pulled back, settling Obi-Wan on the floor once more as the Dark Jedi rocked back onto his heels. "I must go right now. I have a date with a mutual acquaintance of ours," he smirked. "When I'm done with him... well, I'll have more time on my hands," he said with a threatening, predatory smile, rising to his feet. "When Qui-Gon is taken care of, I'll be back," he smirked, the look in his eyes leaving no doubt about what he meant.

"Then you'll never be back Xanatos," Obi-Wan said with calm certainty.

"Don't count on it," Xanatos replied, his face turning stormy.

"You've faced Qui-Gon three times now, and every time you've had to run away to even survive," Obi-Wan taunted, wanting to make Xanatos angry and unfocused before he went up against the other Jedi. "What makes you think this time will be any different?"

If Obi-Wan wanted to make Xanatos angry, he succeeded. Xanatos lashed out, kicking Obi-Wan viciously in the side.

"Don't forget boy, I always have a plan. I will not fail this time, and you," his eyes narrowed, "Will regret your insolence. When I come back, I'll make you suffer for that statement," he promised. "You'll beg for death when I'm through with you! But for now," the Dark Jedi regained
some of his composure. "I think the Therdaks are hungry again. Until next time, Obi-Wan Kenobi, until next time." Xanatos turned on his heel with a cruel grin, his black cape swirling behind him, and strode away.

"There won't be a next time!" Obi-Wan called after Xanatos' retreating form, battling back the terror and despair that clutched at him.

"You'd better hope you're wrong boy," Xanatos' retreating voice echoed back. "Because I am your only hope. Without me, you'll die. Think about that for a while."