Title: My Master No More
Author: SilverDragon
Notes: Have you ever had a story that you just kept editing...and editing...and editing? That's what this one was to me. It was originally written looong ago, and was my first posted Star Wars fanfic. Some months later I edited some of the atrocious grammar mistakes. Then I changed the ending. And again. Then I edited the grammar mistakes yet again! And...wrote a new ending! -.-;; Well I can't say this version is the final, for I'm sure there's still some pesky grammar errors, but it'll suffice for now. Thank you for your patience. =D
I swallow hard as I glance across the horizon. All seems at peace. The sun is setting and low clouds are beginning to settle over the mountains. The air feels crisp and cool and for a moment I feel as if I can let go of my worries. But I can't. They haunt me now.
My hand moves up to a cut on my left arm. It's bleeding and I dare not get it treated. For my Master made that cut. I shudder quickly. He's looking for me now.
My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am a Jedi Padawan - or at least I was. But now Qui-Gon has driven me here, onto this desolate moon or Coru-10. Behind me is the master switch that will start a chain reaction around Coruscant, first blowing up the Temple, then imploding the Senate. Lastly the core of Coruscant will glow red-hot, finally smashing my home into oblivion.
I have placed a code on the switch, a code that I know Qui-Gon can break. No, I remind myself sternly. He is not Qui-Gon anymore. Only Dark Zqui lives now.
It was not always like this. When I was eight he took me on as his apprentice. I followed him, not knowing that he was using me, preparing for the fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Sith. How could I not sense this in him? I was his apprentice and the only person close to him to observe his weaker moments, the moments when he shed his disguise.
This is all my fault. Tears start to well up in my eyes. I fight them back. Jedi do not cry. With a struggle, I tamp down my emotions and grip my lightsaber harder. Qui-Gon has tracked me down. He knows I'm here. I only have minutes before he finds my exact location. And I, a fifteen-year-old apprentice stand in the path of one of the deadliest Sith apprentices ever.
"Master Qui-Gon, why are you up so late?"
"I need to check up on some things, my young apprentice."
"But I sense something evil underway, Master. I'm afraid of that darkness."
"Another dream, my Padawan? Visions are not always true as the future is always in motion. You can't see the Dark Side any clearer than Master Yoda can."
"Can you sense it?"
"Darkness? Yes."
"I'm afraid, Master."
"A Jedi feels no fear, little one. Now go back to bed. I have business to take care of."
I replay that night in my head. I had sensed something then. Back then, I had still believed that dreams came true. How I wish that that were true now.
Yet Qui-Gon, no, Darth Zqui, is no longer my Master. Only I amongst the Jedi can see into his soul. Only I can stop him.
A shadow falls over me. "Master," I murmur quietly. I do not - cannot - hate this man. "What have you done?" I ask softly, knowing that I will receive no answer.
"Tell me the password, Padawan," Darth Zqui mocks. "I know you locked it. I know that you would never destroy the master switch."
I silently concede. It would have been so easy to destroy it with my lightsaber. Darth Zqui is a genius. He knew that I would never break the switch, knowing that my rock, the rock Qui-Gon gave me for my thirteenth birthday, and the last reminder of my former life, is inside. My compassion is my greatest weakness.
No, Jedi. Your compassion is your greatest strength. It is what makes you different from your master.
Darth Zqui suddenly steps forward. "You are running out of time, boy," he snarls, his face twisted in an expression of pure rage. It still surprises me to see that Qui-Gon's face can be twisted in such a way.
"I can't tell it to you," I whisper. "I can't."
"Fool," Zqui sneers. "Don't you hate me, Obi-Wan Kenobi? You know you want to strike me down right now." He spreads his arms pleadingly. "Oh end my cruel life," he gloats, laughing, "Kill me now. The power is in your hands."
I don't move. With a frustrated growl, Darth lunges forward, his red lightsaber flashing into existence. Against my will, I flinch. But his blow is not to sever my head. The glowing red beam slices neatly through my Padawan braid, cutting it to the floor. It falls and lands on my feet. I feel my heart drop down to join it.
"See that?" Darth Zqui sneers. "That is your life, Padawan. I will sever your head from your body with the same ease if you don't tell me the password...now."
"You can't do this, Master," I plead. "Please."
To my surprise, Darth Zqui steps backward, extinguishing his lightsaber. He draws forth another one, a green blade. I gaze into it, remembering the warmth the green glow had always given me. It is another reminder of what my Master had used to be in my eyes. For a fleeting second, Qui-Gon is back. Yet the second passes.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Darth Zqui says savagely, twirling the green 'saber around. "See this blade? I was once proud to handle this. A rather clumsy blade," he says, whirling it around his head. "But now - " he flicks the lightsaber upwards and neatly slices through it with his red one. There is a dazzling flash of light as the green lightsaber splits into two.
The smoking remains of his lightsaber land in my lap. Several pieces of metal slice into my cheek, drawing blood that runs down my face.
Qui-Gon laughs. "He's gone," he says, reaching out a hand that used to offer comfort to me. He roughly runs his finger down one cut, the movement sending pain shooting through my cheek.
"I will do it, Qui-Gon! You can't stop me!"
"Do I really care about you anymore, Obi-Wan? I have more important issues to deal with."
"MASTER! I will throw myself down these stairs!"
"Fool. You throw away your life for stupid teenage grievances. Your feelings will one day be your downfall."
My feelings are now going to be my downfall. All of Coruscant's downfall. I know I'm being naïve, risking all the Coruscant for my rock. I can't help that. I CAN'T destroy it. I tried and my body refused to comply, my arms suddenly lacked the strength to swing the lightsaber, my eyes failed to see....I couldn't do it. I was weak.
"That's right," Darth Zqui snickers. "You've always been weak. But with the Dark Side, those feelings are strength. Learn to channel your fear into a weapon, just as you know how to channel your anger. Join me now. Tell me the password and that shall be your key to your salvation."
"I'm trying to save you from yourself," I say, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. I'm not afraid. I'm not.
"My patience is wearing thin," Qui-Gon - no - Darth Zqui says. "You have five seconds to tell me the password. You know as well as I do that I can break the code with sufficient time."
"No," I answer. "You have ever forgotten the words that can allow you to break it."
"Five, four, three - " Zqui ignores me as he begins his steady countdown.
I clench my teeth together. "If I remain silent, Master, you'll never get the password out of me. If you impale me with your lightsaber, again, the outcome is the same."
"One," he finishes, before fixing me with an icy stare. "You are a fool."
"I'm a Jedi."
"Don't you know?" Qui-Gon paces. "Not to make a Sith Lord run out of patience?"
"I know that impatience leads to the Dark Side," I say, resisting the urge to be afraid. Fear is a natural feeling. It warns us to be careful. Yet be careful, I warn myself. You can't die yet.
Qui-Gon's red lightsaber is suddenly in his hand once more. He swings it tantalizingly, within centimeters of my face so that if I flinch, I'm dead. Just as Sith never flinch, I don't. Tired of his game, Darth Zqui suddenly lunges forward, this time meaning to kill.
My instincts kick in at the last second and I back flip away from the blade, my blue lightsaber in my hand, ignited and ready. I parry his second blow, drawing strength from the Force. Light can always battle dark. But no matter how good my connection is to the Force, no matter how many lightsaber competitions I had won, Qui-Gon was always a thousand times better than me. His skill as Qui-Gon has been passed on to what he is now, strengthened by the Dark Side.
His next blow drives me backwards. I swing in a sweeping motion, blocking the lightsaber centimeters from taking my leg off. With my last once of strength, I thrust upwards, turning him aside for a split second. With a snarl, Darth Zqui leaps aside, slashing downwards instinctually.
A wave of pure red sweeps over my leg as I fall backwards, thanks to the momentum of my attempted jump to dodge the blow. The hilt of my lightsaber slips from my grasp as I draw in a pained breath. Too much pain. I can't stand it. But unconsciousness is not granted me.
It doesn't matter. Darth Zqui will kill me soon and death itself would be a grateful release from the pain. With a triumphant grin, Darth Zqui steps over me. "Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said, smiling eerily. "The last hope for the galaxy now lies at my feet."
"I'll never - tell - paaasword," I manage out painfully, taking ragged breaths. The Force swirls around me, but I can't concentrate enough to focus its energy towards my leg.
"No matter," Zqui shrugs. He closes his eyes and suddenly the power of his mind surges up against me. No! I fight madly to keep him out of my mind. Sweat pours down my back as I combat him. His forces are strong, clouding my own conscious thought.
Time passes and I surrender my last barrier...
"All due respect, Masters, but I must go after Darth - Qui-Gon, my Master," I argue.
The thirteen members of the Council exchange quick looks. Even without the Force I can tell what they'll say.
"Padawan Kenobi, Darth Zqui is a dangerous man."
"Qui-Gon Jinn isn't. I sense the good in him. I can turn him back. I know I can."
"He will kill you."
"Let him try."
"He will."
"Ah-ha," Qui-Gon says triumphantly, his voice gloating. "Your defenses are weak against the Dark Side, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I'll leave you with one last lesson: never, ever, underestimate the power of the Dark Side."
He surges towards the switch. NOOO! I scream. I can't just stop and do nothing!
Pushing aside the pain in my leg for one second, I call upon the Force one last time and gather it towards me, towards my fallen and still ignited lightsaber blade.
Qui-Gon whirls as my blade hurtles towards him at a blinding speed. He doesn't cry out in outrage, but instead neatly steps aside and dodges it. I ignore him. My agenda isn't to kill him. Instead my blade flies rapidly towards the hated control panel that I refused to destroy earlier. Your feelings will one day be your downfall.
Not this day, Master, I think triumphantly. Not anymore.
With an outraged cry, Darth Zqui glares at the blade and then falls heavily on me. Unbidden, the image of the lightsaber and the Force slips from my mind as sheer pain shoots through my leg and up through my entire body. "Don't do it, Master," I hiss out as a wave of darkness washes over me. "I love you."
A funny smile crosses his face. "Do not think your 'love' can stop me," he sneers, "For I do not feel the same." And then he lets the lightsaber fall.
The End