Hello readers old and new. For those of you returning to my works I'd like to say thank you so very much for sticking around. For those of you that are new, this is a rewrite of my story If Everyone Cared, the first part in my Xanatos Chronicles. I first started publishing the Chronicles years ago and since my writing has improved massively since then I've decided the best way to reboot the series that I initially thought I'd lost my muse for was to begin rewriting it as I would if I'd thought of it today. That being said real life is a bit of a pain in the butt and I might go MIA here and there but rest assured I won't abandon this time. And if I am gone for too long then feel free to pester me into returning; if it brought my muse back three years later then chances are it'll work again in week to month spans. So without further ado, I present to you the first of my six part Xanatos Chronicles, Fifteen There's Still Time. I own nothing, regardless, enjoy :)


"I'm 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I'm just dreaming"

As a Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn wasn't very used to the feeling of the dark side. Understandably, the entire time his green lightsaber clashed with the red of his defected apprentice's, Qui-Gon felt overwhelmed. It wasn't the first time that the younger man had raised a blade against him or the first time heartbreak crossed the Jedi Master's eyes upon thinking of how it all came down to this. Yes, Qui-Gon had seen the reckless arrogance in his young apprentice, even at an early age, but he hadn't expected the witness of his father's death to be Xanatos' breaking. But seeing the man fall to the dark side wasn't enough for Qui-Gon, it wasn't enough for him to simply let it go and move on with his life the way the council expected him to.

No, instead Qui-Gon had chased after Xanatos for closure, tracking down where he left his marks and where the army boots clamoring behind him could be heard. For months all he was faced with was the sickening thump thump of the obscure force coursing through Xanatos' veins but this particular encounter on Telos IV within the very chamber where Qui-Gon had killed Crion Omega, was different-felt different. There was no longer a steadfast barrier of hatred and felon standing before Xanatos, rather a crumbling one and this became clearer than ever when Qui-Gon finally bested his former apprentice.

"Just do it." The hoarseness of the younger man's voice startled Qui-Gon and the fatherly instincts he'd developed for the Telos native willed him to ease the boy's pain. "Go on, just get it over with."

The Jedi Master remained silent and frozen, hand tight on his lightsaber, determined to keep his resolve strong to strike the newest Sith apprentice down.

"Come on, old man, I'm ready" Xanatos spoke through his pants, "I made my mistakes, ruined the life and chance I was given so just give me what I have coming and just-make...make it quick, ok?"

Qui-Gon exhaled deeply, and with full awareness that he might be making an enormous mistake, withdrew his lightsaber from Xanatos' face. He crouched down before Xanatos, the small noise of a popping joint reminding him that he quite dearly needed to retire, and looked hard into his former padawan's eyes.

"What is it, Xanatos?" he asked quietly, "What plagues your heart?" He found it almost funny that he'd been training a rebellious teenager for so long that the lack of a snappy comment surprised him. What surprised him even more was the sudden glossiness in the young man's eyes and the way the amber glow in them was chipping back into a familiar glacial blue.

"Regret," was Xanatos' quiet and shaky answer after some time, "Regret and..."

It occurred to Qui-Gon, as the fallen Jedi before him took a moment to compose himself and contain the heat in his eyes, that Xanatos was still merely a teenager, eighteen years of age only. He tended to forget, what with the way Xanatos had grown into his body, his voice lowering, shoulders broadening and chest filling. Six feet and fifteen years later Qui-Gon had forgotten that his former apprentice was still a child.

"I made mistakes, master." Qui-Gon was shaken by the spilling over of Xanatos' tears. The loss of control was new to him and seeing the younger willing to let himself go stirred his chest.

"I made mistakes that even the deepest of regret won't forgive so I'm ready for you to end it the way you should. That's what plagues my mind, that even regret can't change my mistakes and worse yet, right my wrongs."

There were many things that the Jedi Master could have said in that moment, but what he chose to do spoke many more words than he could have ever hoped to summon to express his thoughts. He reached into his cloak and produced a familiar lightsaber that once shone a bright green next to Qui-Gon's of the same color. An intricately designed weapon that saw its hardships but made it through thick and thin, scratches and scrapes. Qui-Gon took this lightsaber and pressed it to Xanatos' palm.

"This weapon is your life, young one. And here is your chance to have it back."


So that was that. Let me know what you lovelies think, how it turned out, constructive criticism questions, comments, suggestions, anything at all, I love to hear from my audience. I'll put up the next chapter within the end of the week so until then happy fic-ing :)