Emmithar: Sorry ;) I didn't mean to be cruel…well maybe just a little bit ;) But I wanted to give people a shock!! :D
Cassia: Hey! Thanks for coming! Yes, I like stories with odd twists in them as well. (which is another reason why I like *your* stuff ;) This was probably one of my weirdest twists though :D
Okay, only one more chapter after this one!
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Kuro-N: Chapter 7
Please see Chapter 1 for details
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Donté smiled and brought his lightsaber down towards Qui-Gon, Qui-Gon brought up his green blade to block the attack. He swished up and stabbed down catching Donté's blade in a terrific buzz. Donté's eyes were a flame, their fire was like the saber in his hand.
"You're apprentice is your weakness, I, like others, have realized this." Qui-Gon took on the offensive for a moment his eyes flashing.
"If I care about him it's something you could never understand, what you have realized is that hurting him is like hurting me." Donté crashed down his lightsaber in several furious strokes holding one blow against Qui-Gon's saber and smile.
"It is foolish of you to care about someone so much, and then not protect him as you should." Qui-Gon pushed his opponent away with a great shove, Donté whirled around and brought his saber down towards the fallen Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon ducked forward quickly putting his green blade between the red one, his saber came dangerously close to Obi-Wan's head. Donté laughed in triumph. "You see? Weakness. I have no doubt that you would turn that saber into your own heart if it meant saving him." Qui-Gon slashed towards Donté's head.
"You think it is weakness because you've never cared about anyone, you can't understand." He felt Donté's rage grow.
"I cared about my brother, the one you murdered." He spat maliciously.
"He killed himself, Donté."
"No! You were killing him from the very start, you didn't give him what he needed, to understand the truth, you fed him lies and he was killed because of it." Qui-Gon remembered the look on Xanatos' face as he had stepped into that acid pit and retreated a couple steps. Donté held off the attack his eyes locked with Qui-Gon's. Xanatos' eyes.
"I won't pretend I don't feel a deep regret and remorse for the death of your brother. I didn't realize that trust is something that shouldn't be given lightly, you must be sure of the one you are trusting. I've learned that in the hardest ways. To whom I give my trust, and how much I will give cost the life of a man, your brother." He turned to glance back at Obi-Wan, pain filled his eyes and he turned his gaze quickly back to Donté. "And to crush the heart of an innocent boy more times then I would like to mention." Qui-Gon's blue eyes shone with memories as he let his lightsaber drop slightly. "You trust no one anymore, but when I can fully trust someone, I know how to love them like I love Obi-Wan." Donté's eyes flickered with a brief sense of confusion at Qui-Gon's words, but it soon passed away and his eyes became bright, he leapt forward catching Qui-Gon's blade harshly.
"That's what makes you weak." He said bitterly. Qui-Gon twisted his blade away and struck it at Donté his mind was suddenly filled with the pain of his Padawan. He struck harder towards his opponent, he knew there was no way to save Donté, he was so engulfed in evil the only thing to do was to try and save Obi-Wan. Donté whirled his red blade around and cracked it against Qui-Gon's. The two enemies slowly moved back down into the warehouse, away from Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon slashed at Donté's middle, but Donté fell to one knee and caught the blow. Qui-Gon was impressed at Donté's skill, since the man had never been trained, he must have trained himself, but Qui-Gon knew that with an opponent like this, he may not be in time-- He cut the thought, and banished it from his mind, refusing to believe it could happen.
For a long while they struck at each other's blade, each capable of hard and difficult blows, each able to deflect the other's blows with a steady defensive. Suddenly Donté swung his saber at Qui-Gon's chest, Qui-Gon couldn't block it in time so he moved back, Donté swung his blade into one of the plate glass tanks of DNA fluids, with a burst of glass the greenish fluid ran out along the floor, Qui-Gon wisely shut down his lightsaber as the fluid washed over him, drenching his hair and cloths. Donté waited until the waters had subsided, than laughed and ignited his lightsaber, Qui-Gon ignited his own.
Fighting in the water was much more difficult, and once or twice Qui-Gon stumbled in the ankle-deep fluid.
"Getting tired old man?" Donté taunted. "I hope your little Padawan is thirsty!" Without warning Donté flung his blade into another glass tank. The water swept around them in green torrents. Qui-Gon shut down his lightsaber again, there was a fleeting sense of horror and panic. Donté needed Qui-Gon to loose his calm, by making his Padawan's situation more dire than it was, the only way he could do that was by trying to kill him. Obi-Wan couldn't stand and the water would certainly drown him. Donté blew another tank sending the water rising to shin level, then knee level. Qui-Gon cut his saber towards Donté to block him from bursting another tank. There was a grating buzz as Qui-Gon blocked the strike, one more tank blown and Obi-Wan would be submerged in water. Donté was pushing hard against Qui-Gon's lightsaber trying to shove the green blade into the tank. "You want to give your Padawan the final killing blow?" He pushed Qui-Gon's blade closer. Qui-Gon put all his weight against it, but he was tired from the fight, and his fight with the clone. He knew that this was the moment, he had to do something.
Suddenly, Qui-Gon pushed his blade into the tank, he shut down his lightsaber, but Donté didn't have time. the green water rushed into his red blade and in a sizzling sound the blade shorted out, at the same moment Qui-Gon whirled around and stabbed his lightsaber into Donté's chest. Donté eyes were wide with shock, he said nothing, his eyes conveyed nothing, but it was like seeing Xanatos die, and Qui-Gon turned away. He heard Donté sink down into the water behind him.
Qui-Gon didn't waste a moment, he ran back down the corridor, through nearly waist deep water. He was relieved when he found the right room.
"Obi-Wan!" He called. "Obi-Wan!" He splashed through the water trying to make out his Padawan under the green tint, suddenly, he saw a strange shadow below the surface. He splashed over to a corner of the wall near the entrance. He reached his hands down, and felt his apprentice under his touch. He grabbed Obi-Wan around the waist and pulled him up above the water. Obi-Wan didn't breath for one terrifying moment, then he coughed into Qui-Gon's shoulder, and Qui-Gon felt sheer relief flood through him. Obi-Wan was shivering with pain and cold and he was deathly pale. Qui-Gon held his Padawan close as Obi-Wan began to breath normally again.
"I'm-m all right Master." Obi-Wan barely whispered the words. Qui-Gon brushed some wet hair from his Padawan's face. Obi-Wan tried to stand on his own to prove he was all right, but he slipped and fell back into Qui-Gon arms. "I-I can't." He said in defeat. Qui-Gon lifted him gently into his arms.
"Shh, it's all right," Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan shivering vilontly.
"I'm so cold." Obi-Wan murmured into his master's tunic. Qui-Gon started out of the warehouse leaving the swirling waters behind them.
"It's all right Obi-Wan. It's over now. It's all over."