Chapter Nine

The first sensation that Obi-Wan felt was an awareness of loss. But not an emotional loss. As a Jedi, he had been prepared to give his life for the greater good, and in his mind, there was no greater reason to sacrifice his life than to save his Master – thus saving the future of the Jedi as well as the Republic.

The sense of loss he was experiencing was a loss of feeling in his lower extremities, as well as his upper.

Something wasn't right.

In the after-life of the Force, the spiritual body was supposed to be whole.

This could only mean one thing.

He was alive. Which raised one question. Was Qui-Gon?

His eyes opened slowly to discover that indeed he was once again inside his Tatooine hut. At first, everything appeared normal. He could hear the hum of the moisture evaporator outside and the low moaning calls of a distant dewback herd.

And then he glanced down to his legs and tried to stand, and discovered he couldn't.

There was no response whatsoever. There was none in his arms as well, except for a slight trembling movement of his fingers.

Panic threatened to take ahold of Obi-Wan's reasoning as he realized he was confined to a hoverchair. However, he quickly controlled that emotion and resolved to accept his fate as long as he had accomplished his goal and Qui-Gon had lived.

As if on cue, the shimmering blue form appeared before him, but instead of a look of gratefulness or peace that Obi-Wan expected, he looked into the face of his Master and saw weariness, fragility, and despair.

"How could you?" The words haunted the space between them.

"I did what I thought I had to." Obi-Wan replied, hoping that somehow things had turned out better, even though obviously, Qui-Gon had, at some time, passed into the Force.

"Obi-Wan." His Master spoke softly, his head dropping in grief. "I told you not to interfere with my death. Now things are much worse than before."

"How so? How could things possibly be worse? You died and Anakin turned to the Dark Side and destroyed the Jedi. How could things be worse than that?"

Obi-Wan waited a long while in silence as Qui-Gon appeared to be gathering his thoughts and centering himself.

His gaze still on the floor, speaking in a low voice, Qui-Gon began to explain history as Obi-Wan had rewritten it.

"When you fell and took the Sith warrior with you, the fall did indeed kill him, but you were paralyzed. The Council allowed you to stay in the Temple as a teacher. Anakin and myself however, were not so fortunate."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan murmured, his heart once more filling with dread at his Master's words.

"Their original reason for not allowing me to train Anakin was only an excuse. We both knew there had been other Masters in the past who had taken on two padawan learners."

"Not to mention that the his training was too dangerous." Obi-Wan pointed out.

Qui-Gon looked up then, his eyes filled with pain that Obi-Wan recognized as regret. He knew that look well. It had been staring back at him in the mirror for many years.

"Not too dangerous for you, Obi-Wan, only too dangerous for me."

"That's absurd." The younger Jedi blurted out. "You were the best Master the Jedi had."

A small grinned appeared on the ghostly face. "Thank you, Obi-Wan. I realize now that the Force brought you and I together, which is obviously why our relationship worked and you became the Knight you are…were." Qui-Gon corrected himself as he looked at the hoverchair. "But as I tried to explain to you before, training Anakin was not my destiny. It was yours."

Obi-Wan shook his head, chewing his lip roughly. He longed to run a hand through his beard and hair as was his habit, but discovered he was unable to do so.

"Tell me what happened." He asked in an anguished voice.

"I'll show you."

Qui-Gon's hand swept out in front of him and the room filled with a glowing red light. Images began to appear and voices filled Obi-Wan's small home.

He watched as the Jedi Council appeared and heard their words as they denied Qui-Gon permission to train Anakin. He then witnessed Qui-Gon's defiant outburst, his Master claiming that he would take Anakin away and train him on his own without their permission.

Qui-Gon's long-time friend and council member, Mace Windu, attempted to talk some sense into the Jedi Master, but Qui-Gon was adamant that Anakin was the chosen one and he left Coruscant with the boy.

Obi-Wan frowned as he observed the years pass and saw Qui-Gon struggle on his own while he trained Anakin to use the Force. Many of the same trials that Obi-Wan had gone through with the boy were present. Teaching him to control his aggression, his anger, to rely upon the Force in all things, the nightmares Anakin had suffered from. They were all there, and Qui-Gon had to face them on his own, without the support of any other Jedi.

The training visions faded to reveal a conversation between Mace Windu and Master Yoda, and Obi-Wan listened in horror as the eldest Jedi informed his comrade of reports coming in that Qui-Gon and Anakin had formed a rebellion against the Jedi and the Republic. They had not turned to the Dark Side yet, but the possibility of them doing so in the near future was great.

It was now obvious to Yoda that Anakin was a threat to the Jedi and must be destroyed.

And Mace Windu would be the one sent to do it.

The vision then revealed a terrible lightsaber battle between Qui-Gon and Mace Windu with Qui-Gon ultimately disarming his friend and opponent, holding his green lightsaber centimeters from Windu's throat, the struggle between choosing between his apprentice and his friend revealed in his face.

The chilling words, "Kill him, Master. Do it!" in Anakin's voice filled the air and Obi-Wan watched in horror as Anakin's blue 'saber eventually decapitated the defenseless and kneeling Jedi Master.

Concentrating on the dazed and shocked look appearing on his Qui-Gon's face, Obi-Wan was startled as another form dressed in a robe of black entered the scene and in a raspy voice, informed Anakin that he had done his job well and now he needed to fulfill his destiny, kill his Master, and take his place at his side.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He didn't wish or need to see any more.

The sound of one lightsaber igniting and a single blow, followed by a soft thud of a body falling to the floor confirmed the worst.

Anakin was the one who had taken Qui-Gon's life.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes to look across at his Master through a veil of tears.

"You see, Obi-Wan? I had to follow my own destiny. The Force, however, has given you an opportunity that no one has ever had before. An opportunity to change your destiny and make it better."

Qui-Gon then stood and tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robe. "You have two more chances to discover what your destiny truly should be, padawan. May the Force be with you."

The spirit of the Jedi Master faded into the darkness of Obi-Wan's common room, leaving him once more alone with thoughts of desperation and hopelessness.

Two more chances.

There was only one thing he hadn't tried yet. He had considered it his last resort, but apparently, the time had come.

If there wasn't a way to stop Anakin from turning to the Dark Side, then perhaps, it would have been better if they had never met the boy in the first place.