Summary: "He tried to forget what had happened to him…" Obi-Wan was kidnapped by unknown persons. He is finally found, but he refuses to talk about what happened to him at the hands of his kidnappers. Will Qui-Gon be able to return the young man to normal and find out what happened to him, or will somebody silence him for good?
I hope you like this story!
Chapter One
Long Road of Recovery
Obi-Wan Kenobi sat in his bed under his sheets staring up at the white ceiling above him. His eyes were glazed over, like he wasn't even in the real world, which he probably wasn't. His Master Qui-Gon Jinn sat right next to him, looking at the youth in concern. Qui-Gon had rushed to his Padawan's side as soon as he had heard the news.
When he had first heard of Obi-Wan's kidnapping, he had been on a peace mission on the planet Melida/Daan, which was threatening to break out into war once again. Obi-Wan had become horrified when he had learned that he wasn't going with Qui-Gon, but he had finally accepted it. The truth was that Qui-Gon did not want to risk losing his Padawan again.
When Obi-Wan had joined the side of the Youth during the first conflict on Melida/Daan that they had tried to stop, it had upset Qui-Gon; but when Obi-Wan had refused to return to the Jedi and had left the Order itself, Qui-Gon had become horrified, knowing all too well that he might have just lost his second Padawan for good, as he had Xanatos. Thankfully, he hadn't; and although it had taken some convincing, Qui-Gon had finally agreed to take Obi-Wan back as his Padawan.
The rising conflict and need for peace was much to important for Qui-Gon to just drop, and he was the best candidate for the mission, so he had been forced to sit back and hope while his Padawan was lost and in pain. Qui-Gon could feel it, occasional bursts of pain through their bond. Although Obi-Wan had tried to keep his end of the bond closed off and shielded, he was only a Padawan; and he couldn't keep everything from Qui-Gon.
About two months later, the same time that peace had finally been negotiated on Melida/Daan, Obi-Wan was found. Qui-Gon was immediately notified. Obi-Wan hadn't been in such great condition, but he was still alive. However, the best medics were still a little doubtful. They said that even though Obi-Wan was a Jedi, they didn't know if he was going to live.
It had been about a month since then. Obi-Wan had regained consciousness just the day before, but he seemed to be in a daze, not knowing that anybody was around him and not responding to anybody. Qui-Gon sat by his bed day after day and night after night, never leaving. When Obi-Wan was put in a bacta tank, Qui-Gon was right there next to him. Anywhere that Obi-Wan was, Qui-Gon was there, silently encouraging him and urging him to live.
Qui-Gon was renewed every day with the hope that maybe this would be the day he would return to them and tell them everything that happened and everything would be okay. They would find the people that had hurt Obi-Wan, and the people would be justly punished. Actually, in Qui-Gon's eyes, there was no just punishment for them but death; and that might not even be enough. For what they had done to Obi-Wan, they needed to suffer. For all the pain they had inflicted on innocent Obi-Wan, they needed to experience double the pain.
Obi-Wan stirred slightly, and Qui-Gon immediately cut off his thoughts, looking at Obi-Wan with a bright hope in his eyes. It was diminished, however, when he saw that Obi-Wan still had the same glazed over look in his eyes. The only thing that had changed was that Obi-Wan had moved his arm slightly. It still appeared that he didn't register Qui-Gon's presence. Qui-Gon had even tried to reach out to his Padawan through the Force, but nothing seemed to work. Qui-Gon slowly reached out his hand and put it on Obi-Wan's shoulder.
Nothing happened. Qui-Gon rubbed a hand over his face. He hated being there and not being able to do anything and feeling useless. The door suddenly opened, startling Qui-Gon and stopping him before he could get lost in his thoughts again.
Qui-Gon looked over as Mace Windu entered the room. Qui-Gon sighed. "Any news on Obi-Wan's kidnappers?" he asked bitterly. He couldn't stand the fact that Obi-Wan's tormentors were still out there roaming about freely.
"No. I'm afraid not," Mace replied. "Whoever they were did well to cover their tracks. But I promise you, Qui-Gon, we will find them." Seeing the dejected look on Qui-Gon's face had prompted Mace to finish with that encouraging sentence.
Qui-Gon smiled a little bit. "Thank you, Master," he said.
"It's so good to see you smile, Qui-Gon," Mace said absently. Qui-Gon looked up at him in surprise. Had he really been that sorrowful?
Seeing the smile on Mace's face, Qui-Gon returned his attention to the youth before him. "I'm just so worried about him," Qui-Gon said. "Who could have ever done something like this to someone as sweet, innocent, and caring as Obi-Wan?"
The two Jedi Masters focused mainly on Obi-Wan for the next few minutes. Just as they decided to take their eyes off of him, the door opened, startling them both and revealing a little green muppet. "Any change on Kenobi's condition, is there?" Yoda asked, limping over to the pair.
"I'm afraid not, Master," Qui-Gon said, once again focusing on Obi-Wan.
Meanwhile, Obi-Wan lay paralyzed on the bed. He could hear distant voices, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Was that his Master? Yes! His Master was right there! How long had he been there?
Obi-Wan really wanted to respond and talk and move. He would have given anything to, but he couldn't. He was stuck in his subconscious, teetering on the brink of a huge mental cliff. Suddenly it appeared that somebody just decided to push him off. And as much as Obi-Wan wanted to hang on, tried to hang on, it was no use. He fell, falling down and down deeper into a black abyss of a dream world he didn't want to go to. The events of what had just happened to him came back vividly and abused him with seemingly no end.
It was a beautiful morning at the Temple, and Obi-Wan loved to go out early in the morning on days like these into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He hurriedly got up and got dressed, glancing once at his clock, which read 4:03 a.m. He then quietly opened his door and peeked into the hallway. No one was there. Obi-Wan thrust his door open, however careful not to let it smack the wall, and bounded out into the hallway. He quietly shut his door and swiftly jogged to the Room of a Thousand Fountains.
When he arrived at the Room of a Thousand Fountains, Obi-Wan made sure to firstly breath in a deep breath of the air with his eyes closed and slowly breath it out. The atmosphere in this room was so different from anything else. It was so real, yet so much better than anything that you'd ever find anywhere else. Obi-Wan loved it.
He was quick to shed his shirt and socks and boots. By then, he was right next to one of the many beautiful and crisp lakes in the room. He plunged deep beneath the surface, making only a small splash as he hit the water and dove beneath. He swam at the bottom for a few moments before breaking the surface. Little droplets of water flew in different directions with his disruption of the surface.
Obi-Wan just stayed there for a few minutes, treading water and enjoying the sweet aroma and atmosphere of the room. Then he dove back under and swam at the bottom for a few moments.
This time, he came back up with a warning from the Force. As he broke the surface, he didn't even bother taking in a deep breath of the sweet air of watching the silky water flow. He quickly looked around for any intruder, but he didn't see even the slightest hint that anyone was there, even with his enhanced senses with the Force.
Yet the Force was still giving him a warning that someone was there, and it was not someone he wanted to see. The warning was getting stronger, and Obi-Wan didn't want to take any chances. He swam over to the bank and pulled himself out of the water, sopping wet. He quickly dried himself off with the towel that he had brought along. Then he tossed it around his neck and put the top part of his tunic and his socks and boots back on.
The warning was now full blown, and Obi-Wan knew that he had to get out of there right away or risk a confrontation that he knew he didn't want to get into. He walked towards the door, fully intent on going to Qui-Gon's chambers and waking his Master up to tell him of the trouble.
However, somebody else had different plans. Obi-Wan never got to his Master. In fact, he never got out of the Room of a Thousand Fountains consciously …Well, what did you think? Good? Bad? Horrible? Please tell me, and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. By the way, I think you could already figure this out; but things in italics are flashbacks. If there's anything else you need to know, I'll try to remember to tell you. Please tell me what you think. And please don't give up on me. It'll get better. I promise. :) ;)