Author's Notes: You know, I wrote loads of this chapter, and Works shut down on me. I'd only saved up to half way, so you can imagine my frustration ( and cussing) when the faux-polite window pops up and says 'Works has encountered an error and will shut down' (!£$#?!!!!!!!) 'Would you like to report this problem to Microsoft' (!£$%#&!!!!) 'You will need an internet connection to do so' (%$&£!????). You get the picture… Why can't it just save my work for me first! I'd appreciate that… sigh So, this isn't quite as good as the original draft, but I've salvaged what I can from my poor memory.

A Test of Faith

Chapter 22 - Wounds Torn Open

The Jedi Temple was quiet. Well, technically, it wasn't, with the halls filled to the brim with Padawans, Knights, teachers and Masters. A new wave of infantile, future Jedi had filled the crèche, and everyone else were obliviously getting on with their lives. Jinn felt that he and his master hadn't yet escaped their bubble, their void where life was refusing to grind onwards.

He sighed, perched on the base of a pillar in one of the Temple's gigantic halls. He watched with little or no interest as Jedi paced back and forth on the carpeted floor before him, leaning his head against the pillar as he swung one of his feet beside the base and knocked his heel against the stone. He wasn't bored, he was just empty, and he had no will to do anything. He hadn't seen much of his master for the past four days, though he knew that Master Dooku was to receive his 'proper' judgment today, following his conduct back on Colla IV. He hoped that the Council would be lenient - the death of Allyaah had been punishment enough.

Tahl was busy today, as were most of the other Padawans Jinn had any inkling to hang about with, so he had resolved to just sit here and pray that his master would be all right. In the back of his mind, however, he was also hoping that his master wouldn't be taken away from him. He wanted to become a Jedi Knight trained by Dooku, and Dooku alone.

Serenn was beginning to get the impression that no one wanted to be near him. As he walked to the High Council, he found that virtually every group of Padawans or Knights he passed would veer as far around him as possible, as though the sadness and bitterness he currently carried within his heart was contagious. He didn't care right now - he'd rather be left alone than pitied and consoled.

He turned into one of the training halls, deciding to take a shortcut through it, but soon wished he hadn't when, the door closing behind him, he found the opposite exit guarded by Syfo-Dias. He halted in his tracks and swallowed; part of him suspected that Dias had been waiting for him, but the more cautious part of him, the part that he rarely paid attention to, told him that he was in enough trouble without adding further accusations of a Council member aggravating him to the pile. This part further advised for him to turn around and go the long way, but this was soon overridden by the traditional Dooku philosophy of 'don't be a coward'.

They stood there, some kind of face-off imminent.

"Master Dooku," Vance began, pacing away from the door behind him and approaching the Jedi Master from across the hall, "Fancy us meeting at such an hour?"

'Fancy that, indeed,' Serenn sneered within his mind, keeping the thought there. He also began to trek over the hall, the giant space seeming to close in around him as he came nearer and nearer to his long-time nemesis.

"The Council have some worthy penalty in store for you, I'm led to believe," Dias went on, greying hair tied back behind his head, dark eyes filled with an evident pleasure, a petty thing for any Jedi to have; but they were all only human, in the broadest sense.

"I can hardly wait," Serenn murmured.

They stopped within a metre on each other, eyes locked, hands balled into fists by their sides.

Syfo-Dias's face dropped suddenly, "I said that you'd pay for your mistakes with people's lives, and you have," he hissed.

"I warned you," Dooku countered, "I warned you all against implicating this stupid mission. The fault is not mine."

"Allyaah is dead because of you," Syfo-Dias stated loudly. His voice reverberated around the hall, fading into a chill silence.

Serenn didn't flinch. Only those who looked deep into his eyes would see the hurt this caused him, the pain he tried his hardest not to show, "I do not deny it," he replied quietly, "And her death wears heavily on my heart."

"As it should," Vance snapped, stepping forward and entering Serenn's personal space, "As it bloody well should."

Serenn didn't revert his gaze from Vance's. The atmosphere between them was frigid. Common sense was yelling at Dooku to turn, telling him to for once be a good boy and walk away. It hurt his pride to do it, but he did, and, brushing past Syfo-Dias, he began stepping away toward the opposite side of the room.

"Don't you turn your back on me, Serenn!" Dias suddenly yelled.

Dooku halted, a frown creasing his forehead. He looked back over his shoulder, seeing Dias steadily turn toward him, fists shaking by his sides, eyes burning with nothing short of rage.

"You've caused this Order much grief," Vance continued, pointing at Serenn, "Master Yoda took you in, not for your potential, but because you were dangerous! You had a fiery, independent streak, and it's clear to me now that you should never have been trained! Even Master Yoda couldn't tame the beast that you were. And that you still are."

Dooku hadn't been expecting this. He was too busy getting his head round it all to act, whilst Vance continued to insult him.

"You've caused many Jedi deaths, and now even that of your friend. I'm surprised you managed to salvage your Padawan from the mission!" He shook his head, "I've lost all the faith I had in you, Serenn… what little that was. Next time, just make sure that it is your life that is forfeit."

Dooku didn't know where to start; his lip trembled, his inner pain frothing into a renewed anger at his old rival. How dare he…?

"It was you who selected me for that damned mission," he growled, "Not I."

"You've put Master Yoda's training to waste!" Syfo went on, "I should have been trained by him, and I would have been, too, if it hadn't been for the need for him to train you!"

That was enough. Serenn couldn't even remember running, he just remembered charging at Dias and driving him down onto the wooden floor. He certainly remembered Vance's fist smashing into his nose next, though, for it took him a moment to regain his bearings as blood oozed down his face and onto his robes. By that time, he'd had another kick in his ribs, and Vance's blue lightsabre had made an appearance. Ah, so it was going to be like that… the old-fashioned way.

Serenn scrambled back to his feet, green 'sabre soon in hand, before they plunged into a savage grudger's duel. Their battle was without finesse or elegance, it was just the older man's equivalent of a boy's playground fight, a rivalry put to the test by physical hostility.

Their ravaged breaths shook the calm air and their 'sabre's sliced the Temple's delicate fabric of peace,bringing an unnatural savagery to its walls. There was a thud as Vance was winded by a kick from Serenn, another thud as Vance returned the favour by elbowing Dooku's back. Blood spattered across the polished floor from Serenn's nose as Vance forced him to retreat across the hall. It wasn't long until Dooku regained the upper hand, however, and he took a firm grip of his weapon and drove it back into Syfo-Dias, swinging wildly, yet with clear calculation. Vance felt panic begin to grip him now as, retracing his steps backwards, he found himself with no room but to parry Dooku's assaults. It wasn't long until he lost his footing and stumbled onto his rear, thenceforth losing the grip of his lightsabre, which went hurtling away across the floor. He sat and panted as Serenn's green blade looked him right in the face.

Dooku just stood there, glaring down on Dias. He'd always been the stronger fighter, and nothing would ever change that.

There was the sound of a door opening behind them, and suddenly, Serenn felt his weapon torn from his grasp. He looked behind him and saw Master Yoda stood there, clutching the weapon in his tiny hands. Next to him, Master Rancisis now held Syfo-Dias's lightsabre.

"To my apartment you will go, Serenn," Yoda said quietly.

Dooku raised his arm back to his nose, which continued to bleed, and, after throwing Dias one final scowl, left the hall.

Vance was still breathing deeply, waylaid on the floor.

"Vance, with Master Rancisis you shall go," Yoda added before he trundled on after Dooku.

Syfo-Dias exchanged a stinging glare with Oppo Rancisis before he, too, made to leave.

Serenn sat cross-legged on the floor of Yoda's apartment and drew lazy circles on the floor with his free hand whilst he waited, his sleeve still held up to his nostrils as the bleeding refused to abate. It was like old times, being back here again at what had once been home, waiting to be rebuked for another brawl with Vance. Their rivalry had been legendary; there were always rivalries between Padawans - hormones did that to them - but none on the scale of Serenn and Vance's. They'd been something else: the infamous two.

Soon, the door swished open behind him and the tap-tap-tap of Yoda's cane announced the little Jedi's arrival. There was a clink as Yoda dropped Serenn's lightsabre hilt onto the carpet, and rolled it toward him, before he hobbled round before the lofty Jedi and took a seat on his stool. They were at least now on the same eyelevel.

"Oh Padawan," he sighed, "Old Padawan…"

Serenn gave Yoda a quick glance, but then returned to his circles on the carpet. He was sure he could just about make out the imprints from his circles of years gone by.

"Never walk away, you could. Why never could you walk away?"

Serenn removed his sleeve from under his nose, satisfied that the bleeding had stopped, and, dropping it by his side, said, "Master, I can't walk away. Not from him. He just makes me so angry, so…"

"But walk away you should!"

"I tried, master… I almost walked away, but he… OW!" Serenn flinched as Yoda's cane came down on his head; he gave his master a look of utmost injustice.

"No! Good enough 'almost' is not!"

Serenn rubbed his head and continued to stare.

"Weak you are. Always weak."

"Weak?" Serenn spat.

"Yes, weak!" Yoda said, giving the cane a nod toward Dooku; Serenn backed up a little at this, wary of the cane; "Physically, perhaps not," Yoda continued, prodding one of Dooku's biceps at this, before swiftly moving it to Serenn's head and giving it a light tap, "But mentally, yes. Walk away you should have. Always you should have walked away, but never you did."

"Master, I couldn't walk away!"

"Walk away, you could!"

"I can't walk away from everything!"

"Said that, I did not… Just know when to walk away, you should."

"For Force's sake…"

Serenn turned away. He was moody now. He was staring into the corner he'd always stared into when he was being told off; Yoda had taken to calling it his sulking corner, and it seemed that it was that, even now.

Yoda softened a little at the sight of this childish gesture in his former apprentice, "Old Padawan," he said, reaching out and placing a little hand on Dooku's shoulder, "So proud you are. Too proud you are."

Dooku was in the kind of irritable mood where he wanted to tell Yoda to talk with proper grammar, but he'd risked that once before, years ago, and got the cane on the head back then. He simply settled by heaving a deep sigh, and let the darkness close in on him; "But he was right, I guess…" he murmured, "It was my fault."

They were talking about the recent mission now, and Yoda, who picked up on these things, knew it; "No, Padawan, your fault it was not. Nothing you could have done. The seeds of death long ago were planted within Master Jiao. Waiting to get out, they were."

Serenn turned even further away now, shuffling out of Yoda's reach. He brought his knees up to his chest and clutched them to him, burying his head between them. He didn't want anyone, especially his old master, to see him cry.

"Oh, Serenn," Yoda said gently, "Even to me of this will you not speak?"

Dooku made no reply; he was trembling a little with the anguish he was keeping hidden between his arms and knees. He didn't want his master's sympathy or comfort.

"Always keep locked up, your problems, you do. As a boy and now as a man. Only more trouble does this cause you." He turned to the windows where light was peeping just through the blinds. "One with the Force, Allyaah is now. Many Jedi have I watched come, grow and go. Always pains me it does when this life they leave, but let go, I must. One with the Force they become and always close to them I feel, because all around they are. On this plain they have gone, but forever with the Force they will remain."

"But you didn't cause their deaths, Master!" Serenn suddenly yelled, his head rising up from the darkness in which he wallowed, "You didn't cause them!"

Qui-Gon kicked the wall, and again regretted it afterwards; "I can't believe him!" he griped as he returned to the task at hand and shoved his few belongings into a rucksack, "Fancy getting suspended!"

Tahl observed him from the doorway of his apartment, arms folded; "It could have been much worse. He could have been expelled."

"Not just for that," Qui disagreed, "He could have done worse. And besides, the Order needs him too much. They'd never expel him. He'd have to be the one to give the word if he ever was to go. He always gets the last word."

Qui tossed his rucksack over his back, "I'm gonna miss him. Suspended for three months?"

"That's only 12 weeks, Qui. You know, eighty-four days?"

"Yeah, but that's a quarter of a year! Considering most humans only live seventy to eighty years, that sounds like a big chunk of my life!"

"Well, just be glad it wasn't twelve months."

"Oh, I am… But it means three months with him!" He kicked a stool over and, still, regretted it afterwards; "It seems like a double punishment to me."

Tahl sympathised with Qui - his replacement tutor for the next few months was none other than Syfo-Dias. It seemed to her too much of a coincidence for this not to be a penalty on Vance's behalf - forced to train his enemy's Padawan - as well as seeming as something of a sentence to Qui-Gon, even though he didn't warrant any.

"Don't worry, Qui-Gon, " she said, "It'll be over in no time."

"That's all right for you to say! You don't have to move in with the man…"

There was a brief silence in which Qui calmed down a little; "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Your master?"

"Yes."

Tahl glanced at the floor and shrugged, "I don't know. I don't see why not. He's a tough cookie. He'll pull through."

Qui-Gon sank onto the stool he hadn't upturned, "I hope so. He's never been so depressed before."

"He lost a dear friend. You can't expect him to get over it very soon."

"How are we supposed to cope, Tahl? How are we supposed to grieve when the very notion is against the code? We should have no attachments, yet… we feel sorrow when a friend dies. We shouldn't, but we do. What are we supposed to do? Be heartless morons?"

Tahl flinched as she picked up on the slight air of resent in Jinn's voice; "I don't know," she said softly.

Jinn sighed as he got to his feet again and trotted over to his best friend; "Don't worry about it," he said, giving her a light hug as he realised the discomfort he'd somewhat stirred in her, "I'd better get going."

He entered the hall and heard the door close behind him.

"He lives right near the top floor," he griped, "As if having the Temple above the rest of Coruscant isn't bad enough…"

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Tahl laughed.

"No, I'm just thinking about the long trek I now have to take from the dorm to the canteen every morning…"

Tahl smiled and waved him off before turning back for her own quarters. Qui-Gon, meanwhile, pondered on what his master would do for the next few months without him, and hoped that he'd be all right.

TBC…