Chapter 1 – The Phantom Apprentice

Plot: Anakin refuses to leave his mother behind in slavery if she'll never be freed. Qui-Gon never comes back, but Obi-Wan does. When he does, he's... different. Darker. Fallen. Even so, he carries through with his unspoken promise to train Anakin, though the boy will never become a Jedi. Perhaps that means Anakin will be able to fulfill his childhood dream of freeing the slaves.


Author's Note: This is a gift request for The_Storms_Eye on ao3. It's five chapters, and it will be updated every other week on Friday.

To The_Storms_Eye: I really hope you enjoy your gift! :D It was really hard for us to write for some reason, but I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out! I hope you are, too! ^-^

~ Amina Gila


"What about Mom?" Anakin asks, "What will happen to her?"

"I tried to free your mother, Anakin," Qui-Gon replies, "But Watto wouldn't have it."

Anakin freezes at the words, the realization slowly starting to sink into his mind. All he's ever wanted is to become a Jedi, to leave Tatooine and one day come back to free all the slaves. But... he always thought (hoped, at least) that his mother would be with him. He can't leave her behind here as a slave.

"Will you come back and free her?"

"Part of becoming a Jedi means leaving your old life behind, Anakin."

He frowns. "I don't understand."

"I can return to free your mother later, but you still wouldn't be able to see her."

What? "Why?!" He wants his mother to be free more than anything, because it'll mean she'll be alright, but this doesn't make sense.

"The Jedi do not allow attachments," Qui-Gon explains, which only serves to confuse Anakin even more, because what? She's his mother, of course he's attached to her.

"Being a Jedi is not an easy life, Anakin," Qui-Gon adds.

Suddenly, it makes a lot more sense why he was saying that earlier. Anakin looks down, uncertainty flooding through him. He always wanted to be a Jedi, still does, but suddenly he's not sure what to say anymore. He can't imagine spending the rest of his life unable to see his mother, simply because he isn't allowed to be attached to her. It doesn't make any sense to him. How can people not care about their family members? He doesn't understand.

"If you still want to come, we need to leave now."

"I... don't want to leave Mom here when she isn't free," Anakin says, finally. That, for sure, he can't do, because if he leaves, he wants to know that at least she's going to be safe. Anything could happen to her with him gone, and he would never even know if she needed his help.

He feels a rush of disappointment run through him, because he was waiting for this day for so long, but he can't leave now, either. He's beginning to have some major second thoughts.

"Alright," Qui-Gon replies, and he seems to understand or at least isn't upset at Anakin's sudden refusal, "I will come back, after this mission is over."

He leaves without much further ado, and Anakin stands near the entrance to the hut, watching him go. Moving closer to his mother, he reaches up, taking her hand. He can't imagine it, walking away like Qui-Gon is right now, knowing that he'll never see Mom again, not even to know if she's alright.

Why would the Jedi demand that?

It still makes no sense to him. Maybe he should've asked more questions about it, but Qui-Gon was in a hurry. He can... ask more about it when the Jedi Master comes back.

If.

Anakin can't explain why he has a slight inkling deep inside of him that he might never see him again.

**w**

"We must return to Tatooine after our mission is complete," Qui-Gon decides. "The boy is important. He must be trained."

"He's too old," Obi-Wan objects. To put it simply, he doesn't know what his master is thinking. Nine is far, far too old for someone to begin training. Most initiates are brought when they're babies. Three is the normal oldest, though there are sometimes exceptions, if the person is strong and their abilities haven't yet faded.

"He's important," his master replies. "I can sense it."

After the years of knowing his master, Obi-Wan can't help but wonder if there's something more he's not saying. "The Council will never accept him," Obi-Wan points out.

"Then I will train him myself, if I must."

"You can't," Obi-Wan argues. He's still a padawan, and it stings to hear that his master is already thinking about taking another. "What about him is so important?"

Qui-Gon is silent for a moment before he finally answers. "Obi-Wan, the boy has no father, and is of the strongest Force-sensitivity we have ever known. I believe he is the Chosen One."

For a moment, his mind screeches to a halt. He knows how his master has been searching for the Chosen One for years now. "Do you really think the Force would give that role to a random desert child?" Obi-Wan – unlike his master – never cared for the prophecy much. For the little he thought about it, he always assumed the Chosen One which his master has been so fixated on finding would be someone raised at the Temple. After all, why would someone of such importance not be a Jedi? He never believed in it, but it's not his place to argue with his master on this.

"He's special, Obi-Wan. If you meet him, you will know."

**w**

Qui-Gon did speak to the Council about the boy, but their reaction was much the same as Obi-Wan's. His master doesn't seem deterred in the least, though. The boy didn't accompany him because his mother is still in slavery, he'd said, which is enough to set off a lot of questions. It means the boy already has an attachment to someone, one not easily broken. (Obi-Wan pointedly does not think about how he has the same problem.) The admission gives the Council one further reason to object, but Obi-Wan suspects his master won't obey them, either way.

In the end... they don't have time.

The Sith which Qui-Gon encountered briefly on Tatooine is waiting for them on Naboo, and Obi-Wan knows from the very start that this is going to end badly.

The Zabrak is a deadly fighter, able to keep up with both the master and padawan with ease. How the Sith managed to stay out of the Jedi's sight for a thousand years is beyond Obi-Wan. That was before Master Yoda was born, and he's the oldest Jedi. Any concerns about the presence of Sith have long since been abandoned... until now. (Qui-Gon knew from the start. Somehow, he knew, and he was searching for a means to end them before anyone else suspected.)

The Sith kicks Obi-Wan off the platform they're fighting on, and he falls down a few levels below. By the time he makes it back up to where the battle is continuing – he tries to tamp down on the fear surging through him, worry for his master's safety – the two have made it to the end of the walkway through a line of ray-shields. Obi-Wan is caught behind the first one when they turn back on, and he can only wait impatiently for them to deactivate, hoping he makes it to the end before they turn on again.

The Sith is pacing back and forth at the very end, while Qui-Gon kneels behind the last ray shield, meditating. Obi-Wan can sense how his former master is slowly tiring. He doesn't have the same strength he used to anymore, and the fighting has worn him out. For as much as his master seems undefeatable, Obi-Wan knows he's still very human. He can fail. (He can die.)

The ray shield turns off again and Obi-Wan runs forwards, only to get trapped behind the last one the same way Qui-Gon was. Only, his master and the Sith are fighting now, the fight working its way around a melting pit in the center of the room.

It happens so fast.

Obi-Wan barely registers how it happened, only that Qui-Gon moves a second too slow, and the Sith stabs his blood-red saber through his chest.

Obi-Wan feels it almost immediately, the pain flaring – burning – through their bond, and the place where it was is rapidly filled with a vacuous emptiness as their bond rips in two. It's worse than it probably should have been, because to fight in sync, they have to intertwine their presences.

Horror and denial scream through his mind, as he stares at his master's now motionless form. He's... dead. Gone. Just like that.

He doesn't know how to accept this, how to deal with the sudden wave of shock and grief consuming him.

But he does know, is that's it's rapidly turning into a burning desire for vengeance. This Sith killed Qui-Gon. His master, the only person he's ever truly had a close emotional connection with. (More than he should have, as a Jedi.)

The Sith won't escape with what he's done. Obi-Wan will defeat him; he will make him pay for what he's done. His lightsaber springs to life, humming in his hand as he waits impatiently for the ray shields to deactivate.

The last of them finally hisses off and he charges forwards the Sith, uncaring that he's drawing on the Force with all of his emotions, with all of the pain and anger and desire for vengeance that he feels right now.

Obi-Wan attacks him furiously, but the Sith still matches him blow for blow as their duel starts to carry around the room. He's never felt the Force like thisbefore, so powerfully, responding to his every call. He knows somewhere in the back of his mind that he's drawing on the Dark Side, but right now, he doesn't care.

The red and blue blades continue to clash in a blur, and finally it begins to seem that maybe he's actually forcing the Sith a little onto the defensive.

Obi-Wan tries to Force throw the Sith back, and he instantly raises a hand to counter it. Both of them go flying to opposite sides of the room, Obi-Wan landing near Qui-Gon's body. Seeing him lying so still like this, next to him, only serves to fuel him even more, another wave of grief and anger crashing over him. He wants to hurt the person who dared do this.

He calls his lightsaber back to him, charging for the Sith once more. Their duel doesn't continue for much longer, before he finally manages to find a slight opening in the other's defenses. He slashes the Sith's lightsaber in half, knocking one part of it from his hands. The Sith lunges forwards, blade grazing down across his arm, and Obi-Wan instantly uses the opportunity to his advantage, cutting forwards, stabbing him. Maybe he could've pulled back and left him alive, but he doesn't, running the blade all the way through him instead. He's gone, and it feels good.

Obi-Wan pulls back, breathing hard as the Sith's body falls to the floor. Only now that he's the last one left standing, that he's the only one still alive, does the true implications of everything begin to sink in.

Qui-Gon is gone. Dead, murdered by the Sith.

And he used the Dark Side. He... Fell, because even now he doesn't know if he can let go of the darkness he drew on, doesn't think he even wants to.

The Jedi always warn against this, claiming they'll lose themselves forever once they start down the dark path. He certainly still feels like himself, though. He doesn't feel like the power-hungry, blood-thirsty Fallen ones are always depicted as.

Still, after this, he can't go back to the Jedi – for more than one reason. He doesn't know how and doesn't know if he even wants to let go of the Dark Side, and obviously, the Jedi will never accept that. They'll... he doesn't know, actually, and he doesn't care to stick around and find out.

In truth, he doesn't trust himself either, trust what he'll do. They say the Dark Side turns people into a monster, and... No, he can't and won't be able to return to the Jedi now. Going back would only constantly remind him of this anyway, of everything that happened.

Slowly Obi-Wan crosses the room, kneeling next to Qui-Gon's body. Only hours ago, everything had been fine, and now... He'll never see his master again. Not after this. It hurts more than he could say, and he's never lost anyone before, not like this. He didn't realize it could hurt this much.

The Jedi would say to rejoice that he is now one with the Force, and the mere thought makes him angry, because this should never have happened. It wouldn't have, if not for the Sith. Or if Obi-Wan had been able to do something about it. With the strength the Dark Side gave him now, he doubts if Qui-Gon would've died in the first place, had he accepted it sooner.

There's... too much going on right now, all of the things that happened in the last few minutes clashing with everything he once believed, and he doesn't know how to start trying to sort it out. But he still needs to finish the mission, and then leave before more Jedi show up.

He doesn't know where he'll go, but then, he suddenly remembers one of the last things Qui-Gon was telling him, about that boy on Tatooine. He can go there, train him as Qui-Gon would have. He knows it's what his master would want. It was what his master had wanted, the last request he'd made, not long before. This, at least, gives him something to focus on. It gives him center, a purpose.

Another wave of grief runs through him as he realizes that this means he won't even be able to attend Qui-Gon's funeral. It won't happen until this is over, and he can't wait for that. The Jedi will show up, and he doesn't know if they'd try to restrain him, but it's not a risk he'll take.

"I'm sorry, Master," he whispers quietly, to the empty room, before he reaches down, picking up his master's lightsaber and clipping it to his own belt.

He stares at him for one final time before he turns, sprinting out of the room, back the way he came. He draws more on the Dark Side as he does, letting it dampen the grief running through him, letting him focus on his anger and determination instead.

Making his way through the palace to find the Queen is easy enough. He quickly cuts through any droids that he finds in his making his way to the upper levels of the palace.

He arrives at the room where the Queen is, just as some destroyers approach it from the outside. The Dark Side siphons away his pain, drawing it into itself until it's nothing, filling him with power. And with it comes one certainty: he will not let another person in his care die today. Obi-Wan lifts them with the Force, crushing them into a sparking ball of metal and wires. He carelessly throws them aside and opens the door with the Force.

As it turns out, Gunray is as much a coward as Obi-Wan had hoped he was. It takes no more than a lightsaber pointed at him and a few well-placed threats to get him to backtrack and agree to shut down his army.

Now that all is said and done, the former-padawan turns to the Queen. "Do you have a ship I can... borrow?"

**w**

Obi-Wan didn't realize one (very obvious) slight little problem until too late... he has no idea what the boy's name is. It's not hard to guess though, because there's only one name anybody in the city will talk about right now. From there, it's easy to track him down.

Anakin Skywalker. That's his name. It... fits.

(He wishes he'd been able to be at his master's funeral, to see him finally put to rest. It would've given them some form of closure.)

"That was Qui-Gon's," the boy says first thing, his gaze fixed on the said Jedi's lightsaber. "Where is he?"

Why is that the first thing anybody wants to ask Obi-Wan? "He's gone," Obi-Wan replies, and the pain and grief he should normally have felt is instantly drawn in by the Dark Side. He won't – can't – let go of it. When he does, the realization and emotions accompanying the events in the last few days will come crashing down, and he is by no means ready to process it.

Anakin's eyes widen, shock flitting across his face along with his Force-signature before shifting to confusion and sorrow.

"I came here to train you," Obi-Wan adds, when he gets the idea that the boy is either in too much shock or too shy to say anything more. "If that's what you want."

The boy hesitates for a moment. "What will happen to Mom?"

"I'll free her," he promises, "And we'll stay here." It's not as if Obi-Wan has anywhere else he can go anymore.

And that was how Obi-Wan and the Skywalkers ended up on a moisture farm near the Lars.

**w**

"I don't know how to be free," Anakin says, "I don't know how to do this." He's wanted to be free his whole life, but now that he is, he doesn't even know how to handle it, what to expect, or anything, really.

"We all have to learn," Shmi replies. They're standing outside their new home, and Anakin can hardly believe it's actually theirs. He can only half comprehend the implications. Well, technically it belongs to Obi-Wan, but they're all living together now.

"What do I do?" Anakin wonders. Because honestly, he's only half sure. Watto's always told him what to do, all the time. Now, he feels... lost.

"You'll learn to be a Jedi," Shmi replies, "And there will always be the farm work here." Right. Because they do live on a moisture farm now.

Anakin stares out at the horizon for a few long moments, at the endless dunes of sand. Now that he's free, there's something else that he hopes maybe he'll be able to do. Try to free other slaves. They don't have to worry about hiding everything from Watto, so it should be easier. And maybe it will be easier to get the parts he needs to finish up the device to deactivate chips, too. He won't let them remain in slavery if he has a choice.

They don't have the chance to say anything more, before Obi-Wan approaches, calling Anakin away so that he can continue with his training. In reality, using the Force is nothing like Anakin imagined it as. It's much more complicated, and for whatever reason, he can't get it to flow through him the way Obi-Wan does. He can't interact with it properly.

"You need to stop rushing," Obi-Wan instructs. "It will take time. To master the Force, you must accept this."

He says it like it's so simple, but it's not. Anakin doesn't know how to 'slow down' because he can't. He never has. "How long is it supposed to take?" he asks.

"Most younglings start training when they are still very young and haven't yet closed themselves off to the Force," Obi-Wan replies, "Usually, it is not difficult, but you are starting late. It will take... time."

"Oh." He doesn't want it to take long, though. There's so much he wants to learn and do, and he's afraid Obi-Wan will be upset – even if he's been far more patient and understanding than most adults Anakin's known.

"There's no rush," Obi-Wan repeats. "Trying to rush will only slow you down."

He wants to finish learning, to get good enough to become a Jedi so they can help. "I understand," Anakin says, though he's really not sure he does.

"Good. Then, let's try again."

**w**

"I'm almost done with it," Anakin announces one morning. He looks down at the device in his hands. The device should work to deactivate the chips, and that means they'll finally be able to start freeing the slaves.

He knows it's more complicated than that, of course, because they have to have somewhere they can go and avoid being massacred by the outraged slavers, but... it's a start, and that's what matters most.

Besides, Obi-Wan is here to help them, and he's a Jedi.

Or a Fallen Jedi.

Anakin still doesn't get the difference, but whatever.

"Then it's time for us to start planning," Obi-Wan decides. "It's going to be a fight, even with the chips deactivated, and we'll need more people who can help."

"There is that... movement," Anakin points out. The anti-slavery movement that Anakin used to help with once, as much as he could. Which wasn't much without someone realizing that he was up to something. It's a secret that few people know about, but Anakin had found out because of one of his friends, one who was long since sold again.

"We'll have to get into contact with them, and act together," Obi-Wan decides, "We'll start in Mos Espa."

**w**

Two years later, the Sith – for so he proudly calls himself now – stands in the center of the main room in Jabba's palace, surveying the destruction. The battle is won, and he knew from the start who would come out triumphant, even if he feared at times who would be with him. He throws the Hutt's dead body off the throne with the Force. A new age for the planet will begin now, and Obi-Wan knows the Hutts will let the planet go. Starting a war would be bad for them. (Hopefully.)

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