Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter.

Disclaimer: All the Jedi Apprentice characters belong to Jude Watson, only the plot is mine.

Can Sins Ever Be Forgiven

Chapter 7: No Forgiveness

Sleep failed to find Qui-Gon after the dream he had had along with the excruciating pain that had been transferred through it so instead Qui-Gon sat in the lounge of the transport ship that was carrying him to Telos with an untouched blue drink sitting in front of him. His fingers unconsciously running up and down the glass as he lost himself in his thoughts.

He was ashamed of himself for the way he had handled Obi-Wan lately. Yes, Obi-Wan had stood against him on Milida Daan but did he really deserve the treatment that Qui-Gon had been giving him since his return? It wasn't as if the boy had fallen to the dark side after all, he simply stayed behind to help The Young, to help a band of children get back there home and family, what was so wrong with that. Perhaps Qui-Gon was wrong to leave the children to fend for themselves, and worse still he was wrong to leave his padawan behind.

Xanatos, everything boiled down to Xanatos. Xanatos had betrayed him and fallen to the dark side of the Force leaving doubt and uncertainty in Qui-Gon's heart and for this reason he was reluctant to take on another apprentice but there was something about Obi-Wan that made a bound almost instantly between them as if the Force itself had hand selected the boy for his tutelage. He vowed the day that he decided to take Obi-Wan as his padawan learner that he would not fail him in the way that he failed Xanatos, and he didn't, he failed Obi-Wan much worse and now the boy was paying for his mistakes.

They were no longer master and apprentice yet the bond still remained and it was a very strong connection. The pain he had felt through the dream was unimaginable but what hurt him the most was not the tearing at his gut or the burning at his shoulder but instead was the feeling of being totally and utterly alone, abandoned by hope and all those who once cared. Also he felt this overwhelming since of quilt, he shook it off thinking it was because of his failure to protect the boy, still something felt off. He felt as if there was someone staring at him but when he looked around he saw no one save for the bartender who was busy putting away glasses.

Qui-Gon rubbed his temples as he closed his eyes, he was fatigued and exhausted from all the worrying and was in desperate need of rest. He let the Force work its way through his mind calming his strained conscience, he started to relax as its delicate fingers soothed his weary senses. The relaxed feeling didn't last long, beneath his closed eyelids a face of a young boy appeared blood dripping from a deep wound in his head and his right eye was missing only one eye green eye stared at him, no not at him, through him.

His eyes snapped open, his breath catching in his throat as he tried to shake the image out of his mind. The roam took on a chill that seemed to pierce right through to your very core much like the stare of the green eyed boy that Qui-Gon had saw within his mind. "Hurry before it's too late." There was no one else present in the lounge to whisper those words. "Promise, one of us is in trouble the other will come, promise."

The chill vanished as the echoed whispered voice faded away. Qui-Gon was too stunned to move. What had just happened? It was not Obi-Wan's voice he had heard and it wasn't his face that he had saw, no matter who it was he knew that it was speaking of Obi-Wan and his time was running out.

Obi-Wan lay on his side, he found that it was the only spot on his body that would allow for pressure to be put on it. He could barely move his arms, Xanatos hadn't even bothered to put them back into there sockets and Obi-Wan couldn't find the strength to do it himself. The pain was still present but he didn't care anymore, he let the pain take him over as he lay blankly staring off into the darkened cell that had become his home.

This was his fate and he would accept it, he felt like he deserved it. How can he ask for forgiveness for what he had done on Milida Daan, this was his just punishment. In a way the pain almost felt soothing, the fact that he was suffering and that he lay in a broken heap in a dank dark cell seemed a fitting place for him. Yet no amount of physical pain could alleviate his tortured mind, yes, Harvey had kept his part of the promise which only served to further Obi-Wan's quilt for failing to keep his.

He felt he deserved death, but death would be a sweet reprieve. No, life was his sentence for his sin and for Harvey he would serve it to the bitter end no matter how long it took. He wouldn't give up, he would welcome the pain of living even if he wanted death so very, very much.

He wondered how long he would be here in this place before Xanatos finally killed him. He knew that Qui-Gon wouldn't come for him. Why would he? Obi-Wan had betrayed him just as Xanatos did, and he hated himself for it. Qui-Gon was the closest thing to a father that Obi-Wan had and he loved him dearly yet he still stood against him and the look in his eyes as they stood face to face, he'd never forget the way they dimmed and sank within themselves. Betrayed once again and this time must have hurt the most, for when Obi-Wan had saw him next they were still shallow and had continued to be ever since.

He had never meant to cause him pain, all he wanted was to help the children get there families back. He failed Qui-Gon, he failed Cerasi, he failed Harvey, he failed and this was karma coming back to punish him for his failure. Obi-Wan looked into the ever present green eye that was peering at him through the darkness. He couldn't hold back the tears as the regret far worse the any pain that Xanatos had inflicted upon him washed over him. Two of his friends had died in his arms and he had stolen the light from his master's eyes. So many sins but no forgiveness, perhaps one day they would forgive him but he will never forgive himself.

Qui-Gon stood watching through the view screen as his transport descended upon Telos. It had been many years since he had returned here, he was hoping he would never have to step foot on this planet again. Yet here he was, staring intently as the transport sat down on the docking platform. With a heavy sigh he exited the vessel and walked down the familiar streets of Telos.

He had been the one to find Xanatos here. His father was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men on the planet. Crion had reluctantly given up his son for Jedi training and Qui-Gon had willingly accepted him, but had he listened to his gut he would have left him here. Crion had gone mad with power and position and it was by Qui-Gon's hands that he fell. Xanatos had always leaned a little towards the darkness but in the moment that his father breathed his last breath he let the darkness have him completely. He took the ring his father wore and pressed it to his cheek forming the broken circle scar, a souvenir that he will never lose to mark that day. Qui-Gon had taken something from him that he could never get back and now he was doing the same to him.

Qui-Gon stopped in front of an all too familiar mansion, the very one in which he had found Xanatos, the very one in which he had slain Crion in front of his son, this was where his first sin was committed. A dark cloaked figure emerged from the shadows, flowing black cape lined with a blue so dark the night sky would be jealous of its hue. He didn't need to see his face to know it was Xanatos. "Here began the circle and here it will end."

Tbc.