CALIGINOUS
Summary: AU Qui-Gon does not die on Naboo. Jealousy has taken hold of Obi-Wan who is later killed, evil has stirred in the heart of the Republic, and any who oppose Chancellor Palpatine are mysteriously murdered. A new Dark Lord of the Sith has come into being.
Rated PG-13 for dark themes.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am making no profit from this.
Many, many thanks to Galaxylei for helping me edit and develop bits of plot. If it weren't for her, this story would have really sucked.
"So slippery he isn't around at all?" Anakin snorted at the empty interior of the factory building.
The place had been stripped. Where there should have been machines making speeders or leather products was emptiness and random crates strewn about.
It seemed a little suspicious to Qui-Gon. Everything was gone, the doors hadn't been locked and the huge skylights were open to the vast sky. It seemed like too much of a simple disappointment.
And the sound of footsteps alerted them to the fact that they were not alone.
Suddenly, the Force stirred from placidness and the doors closed and locked. Qui-Gon, acting upon instinct, reached for his lightsaber, as did Anakin.
A door at the far end of the factory building that led to the offices opened and Qui-Gon could only watch with a thudding heart as the ghost of one long dead approached them, the taps of his feet echoing hollowly as the footsteps of an incorporeal being are.
Qui-Gon knew that ghost.
"Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon said, his throat thick.
"What?" Anakin breathed. "I don't understand."
"You never did," the ghost said and he raised his hand as if to salute. Blue lightning flared from his fingertips and Anakin was snatched away from Qui-Gon's side and hurled into a pile of crates with a scream and a loud smash followed by stale silence. Qui-Gon raised his lightsaber in defense, hardly daring to breathe.
"You look so surprised, Master Jinn... and old," the man said, circling on Qui-Gon's left, deliberately putting himself between Qui-Gon and where Anakin had fallen. "My, my, my, you've grayed up nicely haven't you? All this age and so little wisdom. Did you really think I had died?"
"I-" Qui-Gon said. This was too much for him to take in at once. His old Padawan was indeed alive, which was shocking in of itself, but the way he had changed was much more startling. He was now a hateful person, crueler, and definitely not the Obi-Wan that he had known. His skin was paler than he remembered and shadows lurked under his eyes, shrouding the cerulean irises in darkness. His face was still smooth like it had been when he'd been his Padawan but his hair was a little longer. His clothes were sleek and well-kept like his face, but they too were dark.
"I didn't know what to think, Padawan," Qui-Gon admitted, hoping the final word would encourage Obi-Wan's better side.
"Your Padawan died years ago," the man said. "In this very factory, remember? It was rebuilt, of course. Obi-Wan Kenobi was blown to kingdom come and all that was left for the Jedi Order was the crystal of his lightsaber."
He withdrew a lightsaber from his waist and held it up for Qui-Gon to see. "Recognize the hilt? All that's changed is the heart of the blade. It appears the same on the outside..." he ignited the familiar weapon and a red blade sprang out. "But inside it is an utterly different weapon."
"I will not fight you," Qui-Gon said.
"Then I will kill you," the man said.
"Obi-Wan, you can't," Qui-Gon said.
"I'm sorry, who?" the man frowned. "I do not know this person. I know only myself; I am a Dark Lord of the Sith, and I am called Darth Caliginous. Those who have seen me are no longer alive and that same law applies to you."
Qui-Gon refused to feel defeat at hearing his former student confess his affiliations with evil. He did not believe his Padawan could be like this.
"Obi-Wan, this isn't you," Qui-Gon said.
"That name means nothing to me," Caliginous snapped, growing annoyed with Qui-Gon's pressings.
With a sudden spin of cloth and limbs, Caliginous launched a swift and brutal attack upon his former Master. His fighting style both frightened and intimidated Qui-Gon for the violence and sheer determination to kill was quite nearly overpowering. It was not at all like Obi-Wan's old fighting style which had played heavily on his determining speed but also on his prudence that kept him alive.
Qui-Gon shoved him back with a Force-push. The Sith repositioned himself with his blade angled toward Qui-Gon, calculating his next attack.
"I will not fight you," Qui-Gon said. "I will only defend myself. Remember, I taught you everything you know."
"Ha!" he said without amusement, attacking Qui-Gon with fresh vigor. "Do you think I have been alone for four years?" he asked between strokes. "Do you think I have no teacher?"
"There is a Sith Master?" Qui-Gon asked, shocked.
"As surely as there is a Jedi Master," Caliginous said, striking sharply and relentlessly against his former teacher. Qui-Gon, sensing he would lose if the battle remained between sabers, reached for the Force and threw a crate at the Sith. He tried to strike it down, but shards of it crashed into him nevertheless He swore and clutched his injured arm, eyeing Qui-Gon with a deep-rooted desire to bring malice upon him.
"Listen to me, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said.
"That is not my name," the injured man said angrily.
"Yes it is and you know it," Qui-Gon insisted. "You were my Padawan and I wrongly hurt you."
For a very brief moment, the Sith faltered and the old part of him was trying to break free of the darkness that held it captive. The new part of the man, fearful of this happening, came back to full strength and clamped down on the old self, silencing it. He was going to kill Qui-Gon Jinn and nothing could stop him. The struggle did not go unnoticed and Qui-Gon did sense him falter.
"I'm sorry for what I did to you," Qui-Gon continued. "I was wrong. Everything is my fault. And I deserve to be punished for your crimes. I know you have murdered, Obi-Wan."
"That is not my name," Caliginous hissed. "I am Darth Caliginous and I am as dark as my title."
"No, you are not," Qui-Gon said gently. "Obi-Wan, you are a kind person. You are an intelligent, virtuous, infallible young man. You were a Padawan to be proud of."
"You hated him," Caliginous sneered, releasing his arm. He had been healing it as Qui-Gon spoke to him. "You wanted him gone so you could train Skywalker, the angelic blessing the Force itself gave to the Jedi, it's prized people."
"But Obi-Wan, you were a blessing to me as well," Qui-Gon said. "When other Jedi doubted you, I set them straight. I told them you were the best Padawan a Master could ever have."
Qui-Gon was saying exactly what the old self wanted to hear. He was strengthening it and the power of the Sith could not smother it for much longer.
"Be silent!" Caliginous screamed and he hurtled himself at Qui-Gon. His attacks were less well-placed and sloppier than before, signifying his increased emotional discord. His emotions were strong and numerous and Qui-Gon knew if he tapped the right ones he could win Obi-Wan back to the Light Side.
Once again, he shoved Obi-Wan away and deactivated his lightsaber. The distance allowed him to speak to him.
"You have chosen the wrong path," Qui-Gon said. "But I know I can win you back."
"You cannot win back someone who was never yours to begin with!" Caliginous spat. "I am not Obi-Wan Kenobi! That fool is dead!"
Despite the hostility of the man, Qui-Gon did not back down. He kept his voice calm and soothing, speaking in the way he did when Obi-Wan was young and in distress. "I don't think I ever told you. And I'm sure if I did didn't tell you often enough."
Caliginous paused, actually waiting for what Qui-Gon had to say. The Jedi Master knew he was reaching him and he grew more confident of his plan.
"I'm so proud of you Obi-Wan," he said earnestly. "You are my pride and joy, my fully-trained Jedi Knight. You are my prize, my son, the greatest I will ever have."
Caliginous blinked furiously. It hurt Qui-Gon to see him fighting so violently with himself, but he knew he was close to saving his former student.
A final statement was all he needed and then it'd be solely Obi-Wan's choice.
"I love you like a son, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon's voice came out in a whisper. "I still do. I always will, no matter who or what you claim you are."
For several moments, there was silence, save for the hum of a lightsaber. Caliginous stared into Qui-Gon's face, seeking something he could prey upon in order to save himself and finding nothing.
Qui-Gon watched, ready to accept his former apprentice. Obi-Wan and Caliginous were at war; the Sith was summoning the demons within him and Qui-Gon could not interfere. If he did, he may lose Obi-Wan forever.
The old self was strong, stronger than it had been in years, battling the new self with such energy the new self was soon the one being smothered, ruined, destroyed. It was crumpling, but it clung tenaciously to the old self, determined to take it down with it.
Suddenly, Caliginous made a soft cry like a wounded infant and he dropped his lightsaber. It fell to the floor and clicked off. He stared almost numbly at where the red blade had been and noticed for the first time in a long time the hilt that had been crafted under Qui-Gon's careful and nurturing teaching. It was the same hilt he'd used to slay a Sith and he had intended to slay another. But his plans had gone horribly awry. What had he become?
It was simple. He was an agent of evil.
His head lifted and Qui-Gon saw Obi-Wan Kenobi. There was a deep hurt in his watering eyes that stung Qui-Gon's core. That hurt was just the surface, for deep inside Obi-Wan was the abyssal pain of rejection that was just as fresh and strong as the first day of his Knighthood.
More agonizing silence passed as Obi-Wan grappled with himself. His mouth opened as if to speak, and Qui-Gon waited through the pregnant silence.
"I've killed children, Master," he confessed, his voice high and thick with shame and horror.
Qui-Gon was about to respond to Obi-Wan, who was very sensitive and unstable in his shyness and uncertainty, when a interrupting sound distracted the men from any possibility of conversation. They looked up to the huge skylights and saw the outline of several Republic starships lowering toward the factory building. Qui-Gon's and Obi-Wan's eyes met again and there was wild anger in the young man's eyes and Darth Caliginous lived once more when Obi-Wan when struck aside by betrayal.
"You set a trap for me!" he screamed, willing his lightsaber to his hand.
"No-" Qui-Gon's voice sounded feeble, even to him.
"Damn you, old man!" he was charging toward Qui-Gon with animal ferocity so freakish that the Jedi Master could not move; he only stood amazed in the manner of a man witnessing something so entirely out of any control he might ever tearing itself completely loose.
"Rot in-"
He did not finish his sentence. Instead of a word he made a gurgling sound and when Qui-Gon realized what had happened, it was too late.
"No!"
Anakin, who had regained consciousness in time to find his Master being attacked by a Sith Lord, had thrown himself into the fight, his own lightsaber ablaze. Now it was embedded in the man's chest, burning the delicate organs that nestled under the protection of his ribs.
Anakin withdrew the blade and the man slumped backward. Blood spurted up over a meter up out of his chest and Qui-Gon realized Anakin had stabbed him in the vicinity of the heart. The heat of a lightsaber cauterized a wound unless there was intense pressure behind it and the seal of burned flesh broke. A lightsaber wound to the aorta did exactly that, as Qui-Gon had gruesomely learned before under his own Master.
"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon cried. After he shoved Anakin aside he rushed to his former student. His eyes were wide in shock and his mouth was open, trying desperately to suck in the air that eluded him. His arms were bent at the elbows and his hands were raised above his body, curling in the air. He seemed unaware of the blood gushing violently out his body.
Qui-Gon clamped his hand over the wound and felt the throbbing pressure of the blood push angrily against his hand. He reached for the Force and drastically slowed and weakened his heartbeat in an effort to stop the blood's mad rush to escape his body. Obi-Wan shivered and reached out toward Qui-Gon and his hand found his arm. He squeezed very hard, digging his fingernails deep into the soft fabric, threatening to bruise. Qui-Gon hardly noticed.
"Master," the man said, and their eyes met. Caliginous had been killed. Now there was only Obi-Wan, and he was hurt, injured, betrayed, and scared like a child. His eyes, like a diary sprawled open, nakedly displayed his innermost feelings.
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said. His hands were covered with Obi-Wan's blood and he knew it was leaking out through his back, as well. It was too traumatic a wound for him to handle. If a Healer was there with him, then maybe...
A Healer was not there and Obi-Wan was not going to live.
"I- I'm sorry- M-asterrr," Obi-Wan said through erratic breathing. "F-forgive me, please."
"Of course I forgive you, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon assured his dying student. When he had believed that Obi-Wan had died in the explosion, his only hope was that he had been at peace when he died. Now Qui-Gon had a chance to make that possible, and he was going to everything he could to ensure a gentle departure for Obi-Wan.
"I'm proud of you," he continued in a relaxing voice. "You defeated the Dark Side that was within you. You demonstrated great strength."
Qui-Gon did something he'd done once before when Obi-Wan had been sick. Upon connecting his mind to Obi-Wan's he easily sensed the emotions in Obi-Wan; he felt the pain, the fear, the guilt, the sense of failure, and the helplessness. It was fading away like his life, not because he was dying, but because his Master was comforting him. This knowledge warmed Qui-Gon's heart in a way no words could describe.
I thought that by joining the Dark Side I could defeat it. Obi-Wan thought. I had to join, Master. I had to defeat the evil.
It was easy to think those things, Padawan. Qui-Gon thought, knowing Obi-Wan could hear him. It is a mistake I will not blame you for.
"The Force will welcome you, no matter what you've done," he said out loud. "Let it help you, Obi-Wan."
"Do not let Anakin fail you like I did," Obi-Wan said slowly. "The Dark Side is evil..."
"I know Obi-Wan," he said, wiping a hand clean on his pant leg so he could stroke Obi-Wan's face and sorrel hair. "Force guide you to peace."
Obi-Wan tried to breathe but blood was blocking his airway and his injuries were catching up with him.
Hold me, Master. he begged. Even the voice in his head was weak.
Qui-Gon cradled him close and murmured soothing words to his ear and whispered thoughts to his mind. After so long of living in turbulence, Obi-Wan Kenobi died in peace like a Jedi, just as Qui-Gon had hoped.
Like he had four years ago, Qui-Gon wept for his Padawan.
Anakin watched, not truly understanding. Darth Caliginous had been the enemy, hadn't he? Then why had he repented? Why had he changed? Wasn't Qui-Gon happy that he had killed him?
Qui-Gon had called him Obi-Wan, but he had been killed years ago in an explosion. Anakin could hardly remember what the Jedi looked like and he thought he certainly didn't look like the dark-clothed wan-faced man that had threatened he and his Master. Obi-Wan's presence in the Force had felt different when compared to Darth Caliginous'. While Obi-Wan had been bright and sharp, this man's had been cold, murky, and churning with conflicting sides.
He was even more confused when, after a few seconds of Qui-Gon crying and holding the body of Caliginous, it disappeared. All that remained were his clothes and the blood that had pooled widely around his body.
His confusion was replaced with fear when Qui-Gon put both hands flat on the ground in the blood and sobbed.
"Gone?! You were one of the Elite, Obi-Wan," the Jedi Master said between tears. "The Elite for Force' sake! Why did you have to do die if you were an Elite?!"
When Darth Sidious learned of his student's death, he was not upset. He merely searched for another student, one not as young as Darth Maul or Darth Caliginous had been. He soon had the former Jedi Count Dooku join him as a Dark Lord of the Sith and he adopted the name Darth Tyrannus.
Qui-Gon completed Anakin's training. They young man was always haunted by the death of Obi-Wan, who was superior in the ranks of the Jedi as one of the Elite, one of the true, pure warriors of the Order that under correct circumstances were destined for greatness for when they died their bodies gave in entirely to Force and disappeared, sparing them the shame of a soulless body requiring care and disposal of. Anakin was driven by jealously toward evil, and was given the final shove when his mother was murdered. During his fall to the Dark Side, Qui-Gon made certain that his twin children, born by Padmé Amidala, were kept hidden from him. After Padmé promised to take the baby girl to Alderaan to live with Bail Organa, Qui-Gon took the boy and hid him on the one planet Anakin would never think to return to, Tatooine, and there his aunt and uncle raised him. Qui-Gon remained on the desert planet to watch over the boy, and eventually gave him his father's lightsaber when he was an adult.
After the fall of the Jedi Order and the Republic and the birth of the Empire, Qui-Gon Jinn died on the superweapon the Death Star. His martyrdom allowed a group of rebels who were fighting the Empire that Palpatine had created to escape. They later went on to cripple the tyrannical government and kill the Emperor. Anakin, though he had fallen, returned to the Light Side, like the man he had killed so many years ago.
The End