Obi-Wan's legs no longer held him. He dropped, dazed, to his knees, Yoda's words echoing in his mind, his thought spinning as he tried to come up with a defense. After a moment, he collapsed completely, forehead pressed to the floor in supplication. "Master," he said in a broken voice.
"Hear from you now we will not," Yoda said severely.
Swallowing hard, Obi-Wan pulled himself sharply back under control. Slowly, his mind eased; slowly, he sat up but did not stand, eyes cast down. It all seemed unreal; he could hear his Master - Master Jinn, he corrected himself sharply - arguing heatedly with Masters Windu and Ki-Adi-Mundi, but it sounded very far away, and he couldn't make out any words. It was familiar, really; the only thing missing was the guilt. The despair was just as crushing as it had been when he was repudiated.
Suddenly, everything came back into focus as the darkness reached for him. He looked around, checking faces, scrutinizing the Council members for any indication that they felt it. There was none.
Shaking harder, familiar panic setting in, Obi-Wan began to get to his feet, only to have Master Even Piell give him such a glare that he settled back down. Master Jinn was still arguing with Master Windu, and others had joined in the argument.
The darkness crept closer, and he could feel it reaching for his mind again, reaching to get in, to take him away - from what? The Council had already taken everything that Master Toman might want. Obi-Wan moved sideways, trying to keep out of range of that darkness. How could they not feel it? He glanced around again, shaking so hard his teeth would have been chattering if he hadn't clenched them to keep from screaming out the unfairness of his banishment, but no one noticed. None of them were even looking at him, caught up in the argument at the one end of the room.
The end opposite the doors.
He didn't wait for the darkness to reach for him a third time. Lurching to his feet, he fled, slamming through the doors and the antechamber, running for the stairs. He took them two at a time, ignoring the looks and shouts from the few knights he passed, pulling his arm free without even stopping when one grabbed at him. He wondered if that meant security had been alerted. He'd forgotten how many stairs there were from the Council Chamber, and by the time he found a door out of the Temple he was gasping for breath and had a stitch in his side. He staggered out and across the bridge to the shelter of the next building over, leaning against the wall.
While he caught his breath, his fingers fumbled to hide the braid he'd plaited this morning after his shower. His breath hitched at the memory. He forced himself to think on escape, not what he'd lost. Going straight for the space port was not an option; they'd think to look for him there. Casting out with the Force, he could feel Jedi leaving the Temple from the door he'd used, and he ran again, not believing they were looking for him yet, but not willing to take the chance. For all he knew, there was a ceremony and everything for casting him from the Order, and public humiliation was not something he wanted. He'd had enough of the private kind. At the next ramp, he took the downward slope, strengthening his shields to hide his Force sensitivity.
He'd gotten two levels into the depths of the city before he slowed again, and paused long enough to get his bearings. Not that he was familiar with this area, but... He started a little, realizing he was familiar with the market he found himself near. He'd been here a couple of times, against both Temple rules and what his Master had said, to find his mother's bracelet after his former Masters had found and sold it. He winced, wishing he could somehow keep from lumping Master Jinn in with the other three.
With a firm shake of his head, he walked into the crowd, making for the other side. The beings here were as varied as any place in the galaxy, but he paid them no mind. The last time he'd been here, he'd been so scared someone would notice him... but they had noticed no more than he did now. There would be a place he could hide a little farther on; he'd found it long ago when he'd been spotted by one of the gangs that lived on the lower levels. At least this time he didn't stand out as a Jedi apprentice, if he kept his cloak tight around him. He shuddered, remembering Master Toman's anger when he'd gotten back to the Temple the next morning, cold, hungry and filthy. He'd wished he'd let the gang get to him instead of facing the punishment he'd had that time. At least they would have just killed him. He still bore the scars from that particular punishment.
Obi-Wan found the small alcove with only small problems, and was glad to see it was empty - the market hadn't moved down this little street yet. Settling in, he realized he wasn't as small as he had been then and groaned. Maybe, with a little judicious use of the Force, he could keep from being seen, at least for the night.
As soon as he'd settled, he realized that his training bond had not yet been broken. Fury leaked down the bond from Master Jinn, and there was a thin veneer of panic under it. Slowly, regretfully, he began to erect the wall around the bond again. It was harder this time; he knew his Master had believed in him. Despair pressed on him and he clenched his teeth tighter to keep from crying. His jaw was beginning to ache.
:No, Obi-Wan, please don't block me out again.:
Obi-Wan gasped suddenly for breath. The fury was gone, as was the panic. But Qui-Gon's communication was not as steady as it usually was, and worry leaked down the bond between them.
:Why not?: he asked, trembling. He's searching for me, Obi-Wan thought, and could not deny the leap of hope in his heart.
:Because I have not given up trying to change the Council's mind. They have agreed to meet with me tomorrow. Where are you?:
:In hiding.:
:Will you tell me where?:
Before he could answer, the darkness he'd felt in the Council Chambers flowed around him, and he froze, suddenly more terrified than he ever remembered being in his life.
:Obi-Wan?:
"What are you doing here, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan cringed, huddling deeper into his cloak. He didn't dare look up. Just the voice was enough to awaken memories he'd buried, memories of punishments for the slightest infraction - sometimes even just for tripping over his own feet. Toman's mild voice, filled with false concern, usually preceded anything bad his Master did.
"Obi-Wan?" Toman's hand touched his head, sliding down to his shoulder, and Obi-Wan flinched, reminding himself firmly that he could move from that grip.
Slowly, Obi-Wan looked up. Master Toman had aged a little, but the greatest change the last two years had wrought was that his face was twisted with anger and hate. He wore a nondescript brown cloak, but where it hung open Obi-Wan could see dark blue and green expensive-looking clothing accented with gems of the same color. He looked well off. "Sir?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Hiding," he said flatly. "The Council was going to cast me out, so I ran."
Toman tsked at him gently. "Running again? Will your Master find you this time?"
"You never found me," Obi-Wan growled. "You never bothered to go look." And then he realized that was not exactly what his former Master had meant. He was referring to Master Jinn, and the last time Obi-Wan had run away. And then he began to get angry. This man was not going to intimidate him any more.
"Why do they want to cast you out?" The curiosity and concern were false and served only to increase Obi-Wan's fury.
"Because of you." Obi-Wan got to his feet, still trembling, but this time in anger. "You directed my hands to kill my Master. And they did not believe me."
Toman laughed. "So, you found out. I wondered if you would. I was surprised that you resisted, and that he survived."
"Why?" he demanded. "Why did you want me to kill my Master?"
"To get you out of that blasted Temple and away from him," Toman said calmly. "Where you are now. The first time you hid yourself too well, and I had to content myself with following your bumbling Master around to find you. Yoda didn't trust him to bring you back. Something about how he was too close to you, and might go off with you. He didn't want to lose a good Jedi to a bad Padawan. Therefore, Master Jinn wasn't allowed to look for you as much as he'd have liked." He shrugged. "But here you are. Come with me."
Obi-Wan was stunned at this news. Master Yoda hadn't trusted Qui-Gon not to leave the Jedi because of him? Then he felt the brush against his defenses and panicked, his thoughts bent on escape now. He lunged at Toman, driving the man backwards a step, then he was frozen, encased in Force-stiffened air. Panic filled his mind, driving out the anger, but he could do nothing, not even scoot away on a knee that wouldn't support his weight. Unable to move, feeling like an animal in a trap, he threw up more and more shields as the man tried to break through them. Finally, Toman gave a soft chuckle. "I have to give Qui-Gon credit," he said softly. "I didn't expect him to strengthen your shields quite so much."
"He believes in me," Obi-Wan snarled, but he was not strong enough to break the hold his former Master had on him.
Toman stepped closer. "Listen to me," he said softly, and if he could have, Obi-Wan would have shrunk back from the animosity in his words. "You are going to follow me. You will do nothing to excite suspicion. If you do...." He turned and gestured. A boy of maybe ten ran out of the shadows, smiling at them.
"Hello," he said, excitedly. "You need a guide? I know this place very well. Price is cheap."
"Yes," Toman said, and gave directions that Obi-Wan desperately repeated over the bond. The boy started off, and Toman turned his eyes on Obi-Wan, who tried to shrink back. There was nowhere for him to go. "I will kill him horribly if you do not follow me."
Obi-Wan nodded, surprised that he could do so, and discovered he was trembling as the air around him eased so he could walk. He could still feel bands of the Force around his wrists, binding them together in front of him, so he followed Toman quietly. He didn't know if his Master had actually gotten the instructions - his panic made everything unclear - but he could only hope there would be help wherever he was going.
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