/Closing time/
/Open all the doors and let you out into the world/
It was ending. The whole world was ending. Qui Gon Jinn glanced up at the sky, wishing that he could still see the escape shuttle that had taken his padawan to safety... away from him.
/Closing time/
/Turn all of the lights on over every boy and every girl/
It was horrible here. A literal war zone. A complete and complex network of detonators has lined nearly the entire planet, interconnecting through abandoned transport shuttle tracks. A mad man had set them all off, with no discernible motive or reasoning. Hundreds had been evacuated, but more than fifty times that number had been killed. Here, in this sad, ruined bit of temple, there was quiet. None of the tranquility that generally was associated with the Temple, but quiet none-the-less. It hurt.
/Closing time//One last call for alcohol so finish your whiskey or beer/
Another figure walked out from behind one of the ruined stone pillars. It was Mace Windu. He was bloody and walking with a slight limp, but neither of them commented on the others appearance or asked about the state of their well being. Both knew that neither of them would survive for more than a few days. More than a few of the bombs had been filled with nuclear or toxic substances, and the entire city would be dead within a week and uninhabitable for years yet. They simply nodded in greeting to each other, disregarding their differing statuses. Right now, they weren't Masters, or even Jedi, but simply old friends bidding each other a good day and fare-the-well, all in one gesture.
/Closing time//You don't have to go home but you can't stay here/
They knelt by mutual consent in the rubble, clearing out enough space they could sit comfortably in a meditative pose facing each other. They joined hands and reached out to the Force, letting it fill them and swirl around them. Their greater connections to the differing ends of the Force gave each of them a different insight to the destruction that surrounded them, but both managed to push it away and focus on the Light.
/Closing time/
/Time for you to go out to the places you will be from/
They connected their minds through a strong link, trading and laughing quietly at old stories and sending each other mental images of times long past. Any old quarrels or rebellions were forgotten as the two reviewed their lives together. "I have no regrets." Qui Gon said quietly.
/Closing time//This room won't be open till your brothers or your sisters come/
"Nor do I." Mace answered levelly. "It may not have been perfect, but it was a good life." He looked Qui Gon in the eye. "We may not have always agreed on every thing, but here, at the end, I am glad that I have known you."
"And I you." Qui Gon replied. "I believe the Force is more than willing to see us home, now. Care to join me?"
He smiled, and took his friend's hand.
/So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits//I hope you have found a friend/
They slipped quietly back in to the Force, moving deeper and deeper into their trance, feeling their bodily functions slow and stop. They entered the Force together, still smiling and trading jokes.
The Force welcomed Her children.
/Closing time//Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end/
High above, in the outer reaches of the galaxy, Obi Wan jerked awake from where he dozed in an uncomfortable chair on the shuttle. He felt the connection to his Master end and break, and he felt a tear roll down his cheek. "Good bye, Master." He whispered. "I will join you one day, but until then, I promise I'll make you proud."
In the Force, Qui Gon smiled. "I know, padawan. I know you will."
/I know who I want to take me home/
/I know who I want to take me home/
/I know who I want to take me home/
/Take me home/