Saga The Prisoner (AU, Qui-Gon, Anakin, usual suspects, OCs) COMPLETED 12/17

The Prisoner
By BrightFeather

Disclaimer: If you think they're mine, you're sadly mistaken. I borrowed them, hugged them, squeezed them, called them George, then gave them back like a good girl. All things Star Wars belong to George Lucas.

Author's Note: Seriously AU, but does not relate to my current WIP, Bless the Child. My thanks to BrentusofGath , Layren, and DaenaBenjen42 for beta reading.

~*~*~*~

"Love is the ultimate expression of the will to live."
--Thomas Wolfe

~*~*~*~

They would get even. It was unfair--the three of them had been struggling to be noticed, to be chosen, their entire lives. Two of them now had Masters. Two out of the three. And the third knew that he was destined for Agri-Corps. His dream was dead. And then Anakin Skywalker--that know-nothing slave boy from a backwater dustball planet had shown up, already chosen, by one of the best swordsmen in the Order.

It started as an idle idea. But as the Slave had caught up to them and started to excel in certain areas, they had started planning in earnest. The code had been obtained. They picked up a stray animal and started convincing other padawans and initiates to bring food to feed it. And then the time came. Master Qui-Gon and his slave-padawan had just returned from a mission, completely exhausted. They took the chance and now, revenge was theirs.

They were keeping him for as long as it took to punish him, checking on him when they remembered to feed him. The first few weeks had been entertaining; they'd volunteered to search the corridor where he was being kept themselves to keep everyone else away. Anakin had kicked and screamed and tried to get out, but it was useless.

Together, the conspirators laughed at his antics until he finally settled down. It had been a year, now. They couldn't let him out even if they'd changed their minds--not that they did. The codes on the cells had been changed, and the member of their little group who had obtained them was now locked out of his Master's files. There was nothing to do now but wait. Wait and maintain their anger at the interloper. Wait and nurture the jealousy at a boy who had come late to training and arrived at the Temple with a Master.

~*~*~*~

Anakin didn't know how long he'd been there. He frowned slightly as he settled into the meditation posture that his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had taught him. There had been a time when he'd do anything to get out of meditation, but that time was long past. He'd only been Master Qui-Gon's padawan for a year when he'd woken up in the small, dark room that now comprised his existence.

He thought he'd been there for quite some time, but he couldn't be sure. Anakin didn't know what had happened--he went to sleep in his bed at the Temple one night, and woke up in this? place the next morning. He'd been half-asleep when Master Qui-Gon had come in, tucked his blankets around him, and kissed his forehead. That was the last time he had felt his Master's presence.

For a while, Anakin screamed and pounded on the door, hoping that someone would hear him, but it had never happened. After a time, he gave up. He could not touch the Force inside the cell, and that was the worst of all. His first instinct was to try and rip the door off using it, but it hadn't worked--it has simply given him a killer headache to try. He had also tried to contact his Master along their bond, but it was cut off. Before he had known what the Force was, he had sensed it, and the lack of it now made him want to cry. Not only was he incarcerated physically, but mentally as well.

Finally, he had turned inward, searching for why he had been imprisoned. First, he had thought to blame the Council--they thought he was dangerous, after all. But that impulse had passed; Master Qui-Gon would have never allowed it. After that, he'd decided that he must have done something terrible to warrant it. But he had been being good--he hadn't even joined in some of the pranks that had been played by the older Init

 

Ooh wow!!
That was definately an interesting beginning- please do post soon!!
Its nice to see that Anakin has flourished under Qui Gon's teachings on emotion, especially. And he seems to be on nice terms with Obi and Hannah, too. Can't wait to see where you'll take this!

 

If there was one thing that being locked up had done, it taught him patience. The anger had passed. With nothing to sustain it, with nobody to blame, it had eventually worn itself out. What sustained him was the hope that somehow, someway, someday his Master would find him.


This looks like it is going to be interesting! I wonder how long it will be until Anakin is let out, it looks he has been in there for quite some time already. I am looking forward to finding out what happens next, so please update soon!

~KT

 

You know how much I liked reading this the first time -- really great opening there! You guys are in for a treat!

 

You are scaring me, brightfeather. You sure you didn't tell your evil twin darkfeather the password to your account?

I suppose I'll admit that the 'scary' in this is a good thing...

*grins*

 

oooh, nice beginning and staring all my favorite Jedi men!
I look forward to more!

 

Yeah... he was. Before he disappeared. Are you sure you want to know?

That I will. Tomorrow, perhaps.

Thank you!

Hmmm... DarkFeather. Methinks I like it. Yep. That's my Sithy Twin, I think. She plays with my stories very often...

Thanks!

Since this is finished, I will be updating pretty soon--much sooner than I'll be updating Bless the Child.

Dar--um, BrightFeather

 

And then Anakin Skywalker--that know-nothing slave boy from a backwater dustball planet had shown up, already chosen, by one of the best swordsmen in the Order.


perhaps because he earned it??!!!
and how jedi like is too lock a padawan in a cell, feeding him from time to time, FOR A WHOLE YEAR!!! animals get more compasion

God, please have Qui Gon find him! i don't understand how he was fooled by those wanna be padawans

This is really good, and angsty!

 

I'm really curious to see what will happen in this story. I want to know how Anakin will get out of this one. Keep up the good work.

 

Very interesting start! That is some mean Padawans! I sure hope that they are found out, for I defintely wouldn't want them to be Jedi. And poor Anakin - I could see why the padawans get jealoux at him, but it really isn't his fault, and he really, really didn't deserve that 'treatment'.
At first, I throught it sounded very unlikely that three padawans could keep Anakin prisoner in the middle of the Temple for a whole year, but on the other hand, no-one would expect him to be there, would they? They would look everywhere else but there. And if the padawans were clever enough - and they seem to be -then they could hide it from the MAsters.

 

Good to see this up.

Bet I know what happens next.

 

Love it so far.

And they were jealous? Isn't that against the jedi code?

Thou must continue!

 

Thanks for reading, y'all! A new part coming soon...

DarkFeather

 

Qui-Gon walked silently through the corridors of the Temple. It had been a year since his padawan had been kidnapped. An entire year without his child. They had searched for months for any sign of what had happened. Some members of the Council had even suggested that Ani had run away. But the only thing missing from his room was his blanket--even his boots had been left behind.

Anakin still felt cold easily. There was no chance of him ever running away without boots, warm clothes, and a cloak. And Ani wouldn't run, anyway. It wasn't in his nature. There were no signs of a struggle, no signs that anyone had broken into the Temple. There were no traces of where the kidnapper had taken him or even who had taken him. The common thought was that he'd been taken as a new apprentice by the Sith who was still out there, somewhere.

But even then, wouldn't there be traces left behind? The Council sent him on many, many missions since Anakin's disappearance. They'd said it was to keep him busy, to keep his mind off his missing apprentice. He hated that he'd been sent away so much--he wanted to stay where his padawan could find him. And little Ani couldn't find him if he were halfway across the galaxy.

On the rare times that he'd been home, he had spent time searching--first all of Anakin's favorite haunts. Then he'd called in all his favors for word on where his padawan had been taken. He'd even visited Tatooine against the Council's orders to find him. He was woefully unsuccessful. And they hadn't been contacted with any kind of ransom demand, either. Even though the Temple was already searched quite thoroughly in the beginning, he started searching it again, level by level, when he'd been home. Qui-Gon had personally searched every single inch of the Temple in the last year--except for the lowest level. He simply hadn't managed to search it, until now.

Being the Council's errand boy didn't leave much spare time to search for Anakin. Slowly, he descended to the lowest level of the Temple where the force-suppression cells were located. It was deserted, of course--there was rarely a reason to go down there. The surveillance was never on unless the level was occupied, either. Some Initiates and Padawans had conducted the initial search there, but he didn't think that anyone had been near the cells since. He'd been walking a level a night every time he was home for quite some time now--sleep had been slow in coming for him since his padawan had disappeared.

Qui-Gon walked slowly through the dimly-lit corridor, searching, as always, for some sign of Anakin. It was habit, by now. Part of him was always on the lookout for his apprentice. His eyes scanned the hallway, looking for something that was out of place. He frowned slightly when he noticed a strange feeling. It was if there was something alive in one of the cells--and a dark Jedi hadn't occupied one of them for thirty years.

Cautiously, he looked through the one-way panel. It was Anakin! Qui-Gon started working at the lock, cursing softly in a dozen different languages when he couldn't get it open. The Council. He hurried to the 'lift and punched in the level. Yoda would just have to get over being awakened--he was the fastest way that Qui-Gon could think of to get his padawan out of the cell.

Silently, he vowed that he would seek justice from whoever had imprisoned Ani. This was more than a prank; it was a crime. Qui-Gon waited impatiently for the lift to open, then ran down the corridor, skidding to a stop in front of Yoda's quarters. He hit the door chime, waited a few seconds, then hit it again.

It seemed an eternity before the door slid open. "Late, it is," Yoda said. "Sleeping, I was. Sleeping, you should be, too, hm?"

"I've found Anakin," he blurted out. "The reason why we couldn't find him outside the Temple is that he never left--someone has kept him locked in the Force-suppression cells on the bottom floor!"

Yoda frowned. "Troubling, this is--search that level, younglings did. Require ass

 

Qui-gon found him! Yay!

[sing-song voice]And someone's gonna be in trou-ble.[/sing-song voice]

Like this story!

 

Yoda grabbed his gimmer stick and stepped out in the hallway. Together, the two Masters hurried to the lift and down to the cells. In a matter of minutes, Yoda had used his access codes to open the cell, and Qui-Gon had run inside and knelt by the cot. "Ani?" he said softly.

The boy turned over in his sleep. "Master," he whispered, his voice raspy with disuse. "Love you. Never gonna see you again. Never gettin' out."

Yay!!!!!!! Qui-gon found him!!! I can?t wait to see what happens next! Poor Anakin, I am really looking forward to him finding out that it is not a dream and that he is no longer locked up. I hope Yoda is able to find out who did this to Anakin.

I am really enjoying this and am looking forward to the next chapter!
~KT

 

Yay! Qui-Gon rescued him! So glad that Anakin's safe again!

 

Glad y'all liked this. More coming soon to a screen near you.

BrightFeather

 

Yesterday, on The Prisoner

Reluctantly, Qui-Gon left Ani's bedside, went into the living area, and sat down at the comm.. He punched in a code and waited a few minutes. "Shmi? I found him?"

~*~*~*~

Anakin snuggled into the blankets. He was warm for the first time in a long time. Sleepily, he decided that waking up was a bad idea--if he woke up, the warmth would go away. There wasn't much to wake up for, anyway. He snuffled a little--it smelled like safety; it smelled like Qui-Gon.

Against his better judgment, he opened his eyes to find his Master sitting in a chair beside him. The lights in the room were dimmed, and didn't hurt his eyes. "Master?" he said hoarsely. Without further thought, he threw himself at Qui-Gon.

"Master!" he said again, then started to cry.

Anakin had claimed for years that he was too old to cry because only babies cried. But as Qui-Gon's arms closed around him, for the first time in a long while, he was safe. He grabbed a handful of his Master's tunics, buried his face in Qui-Gon's chest and let go. Dimly, he heard the murmured reassurances and felt the hand stroking his back, but he didn't care. He was home. He was safe, and that was all that mattered.

Eventually, his tears wore themselves out and he pulled back slightly without losing his grip on his mentor. "Better?" Qui-Gon asked softly. He produced a soft tissue and used it to wipe away Anakin's tears.

Ani nodded. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again," he sniffled. "Thought maybe you didn't want me anymore; that I was too much trouble."

Qui-Gon put the tissue to his nose. "Blow," he ordered. Ani complied. "That's not true, little one," he said softly. "I've been searching for you since you were taken a year ago."

"A year?" Ani asked. "I was in there for a whole year?" He felt a flicker of anger at losing a whole year--it was practically forever! But he dismissed it; anger would not help him. What mattered was that he was safe, and he'd been right--Qui-Gon still loved him and still wanted him around.

"Yes," was the quiet answer. "Master Yoda is investigating to find out who took you."

Anakin considered that for a moment, but found that he didn't really care at the moment. "Okay," he said with a shrug.

"Now," Qui-Gon gave him a smile. "Let's get you something to eat--when I told Hanah that I'd found you, she went to Dex's and brought back some soup for you."

"You won't leave?" he asked.

Qui-Gon shook his head. "No, I won't," he said. "And after you've eaten, we can call your mother to let her see that you're safe."

Anakin bit his lip. "Did she know I was missing?" he asked.

"Yes," was the soft answer. "Some people thought you'd hitched a ride back to Tatooine."

"Did you think that?" his asked plaintively.

"No." Qui-Gon smiled and touched Ani's nose. "If you were going to run away, you would have taken clothes--and you probably would have told me first so I wouldn't worry."

Anakin laughed weakly. It was true, in a way. He'd never liked making his mom worry, and he didn't like upsetting Qui-Gon, either. He loved the older Jedi, and he knew that Qui-Gon saw him as a son. He didn't mind; Qui-Gon was the father he'd always wanted, but never had. He cuddled closer, content to be safe in his Master's arms.

"Hey now," Qui Gon began. "I'm under orders to make sure you eat--and since Hanah went out to get you something special, we shouldn't hurt her feelings, should we?"

"No," he said reluctantly. "But?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Ani," Qui-Gon said, reassuringly.

Anakin hesitated, then slid off Qui-Gon's lap. Without thinking, he reached for his master's hand, and was rewarded with a reassuring squeeze. Everything had to be all right, because he had Qui-Gon back. He followed him into the kitchen, then sat down where indicated, never taking his eyes off his master. He watched as Qui-Gon pulled a bag out of the cooling unit, poured soup into a mug, and put it in the hotter.

Slowly, Ani relaxed. He was ho

 

Anakin had claimed for years that he was too old to cry because only babies cried. But as Qui-Gon's arms closed around him, for the first time in a long while, he was safe. He grabbed a handful of his Master's tunics, buried his face in Qui-Gon's chest and let go. Dimly, he heard the murmured reassurances and felt the hand stroking his back, but he didn't care. He was home. He was safe, and that was all that mattered.




Poor baby!!! can't we put the basta*ds on the cell and leave them there the same amount of time and in the same conditions the kept Ani??? I dont think somebody who did something like that deserves to be a jedi.

I love Qui-Gonn! It's so good that you kept him alive!

 

Glad you're enjoying this, michaellover!

 

I missed a post!
Ah well, it was nice having two to catch up on!
I love how wonderfully gently and caring Qui is with Ani! And wow, Anakin seems to definately have let go of all his anger problems -amazing how easily people *cough-thecounicil-cough* disregard the wonders that being near people you know loves you does for one!

Can't wait to see more!

 

He couldn't think of anything to say. "I love you," he offered finally.

Aw, Ani. That's all you need to say.

And those idiots need to either be thanked or locked up... or BOTH. (And I say thanked because of the anger issues getting resolved. Otherwise? Lock those kids up and throw away the key.)

Loved this installment.

 

It is partially that. It's also that when one has nothing better to do but learn self-control... Poor Anakin was locked up for a long time... And I think that a ton of his problems stemmed from being isolated. He never seemed that connected to the Jedi to me.

I agree it was interesting trying to figure out what the Council would do...

---

Yesterday, on [b]The Prisoner[/b]

[i]Qui-Gon nodded and headed towards his room. He'd often wondered why the Force had given him Hanah all those years ago. With her talent with children, it was surprising that she hadn't ended up as a padawan of one of the Crèche Masters. Instead, she'd found a young field Knight who'd come to visit the Crèche. But he'd taught her well; with Hanah guarding him, Anakin would be safe, and he could afford to get some rest.[/i]

~*~*~*~

Anakin opened his eyes, half-expecting to see his master sitting in the chair beside his bed. He flinched when he saw somebody else sitting there, but it only took a few minutes to recognize his watcher. It was Hanah. Silently, he berated himself for shying away from her. Hanah was a lot of fun! She'd taken him to the park a few times, and even bought him snow cream. "Hi," he said softly.

Hanah put down the datapad she'd been reading and smiled at him. "Feeling any better?"

He gave her a shy nod.

"Master Qui-Gon's asleep," she said. "Are you hungry?"

Anakin nodded again. He was, kind of, a little.

Hanah gave him a big smile. "When I told Dex that what I was getting was for you, he sent a bushberry pie. It was still hot, and if it's not still warm, I'll heat it up for you."

Anakin licked his lips. He [i]loved[/i] Dex's bushberry pie. It was the best thing in the galaxy--even better than dust crepes. "Okay," he said, then slipped out of bed and headed into the kitchen. He opened the door to the cooling unit and carefully, using both hands, got out the juice. He carried it to the table and sat down.

A few seconds later, Hanah set more soup, a small piece of pie, and a glass of milk in front of him, then sat down on the other side of the table. "Soup first," she ordered absently.

"Obi-Wan's on a mission," Hanah volunteered. "I don't know if Master has told him yet that you're found." She reached across the table and ruffled his hair. "I missed you, Youngling."

Anakin wasn't sure how to answer, so he said nothing. He started eating the soup quietly, listening as Hanah talked.

"Ani, would it be okay if I untangled your hair? Your padawan braid, too?"

Anakin hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "As long as my Master fixes my braid," he said. She pulled out a comb and started gently running it through his hair. He winced whenever she ran into a particularly bad knot, but he knew that she didn't mean to hurt him.

"Anakin," she began softly, "Why aren't you touching the Force?"

"Can't," was Ani's response. He started eating the pie. He [i]could[/i] but if he did, [i]they[/i] would come and take him again. If he'd never tried to be a Jedi, he would've never been put in that dark place. So he'd closed himself off; he couldn't feel it anymore. He didn't [i]want[/i] to feel it anymore.

Hanah was silent for a few minutes while she unbraided Ani's padawan braid and untangled it. "There," she said softly. She put the bead from the end of it on the table and went to sit down again. "Ani, you can touch the Force if you want to."

He shook his head violently and finished his pie. He wouldn't give [i]them[/i] a chance to take him

 

Anakin had stopped paying attention by then. He snuggled closer and laid his head on his Master's chest. He closed his eyes and listened to the thump-thump of Qui-Gon's heartbeat. He was so tired. He knew he shouldn't be, but for the first time in forever, he wasn't afraid. His kidnappers couldn't come in and kill him anymore.


poor little Ani, he is so scared! such an sweet scene


"Anakin," Yaddle began. "You don't have to be a Jedi if you don't want to be--we can work something out."

"No!" Anakin cried. He threw his arm around Qui-Gon's neck and started to cry in earnest. "Don't let them send me away," he begged.


the council surely knows how to kick a person when he is down,dont they?? the child is suffering! give him time to recover before you send him away I hope Qui Gon doesn't let them