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Qui-Gon span around at the sound of the heavy, metallic breathing. Standing behind him was a tall figure, clad entirely in black with a robotic mask covering his facial features. Qui-Gon resisted the urge to take a step back, "Am I in the presence of the spirit whose coming was foretold to me?"
The heavy breathing continued until a deep, bone-rattling voice echoed over the sounds of the lava "I am the Ghost of Yule yet to come…"
"B-but your form is not one that I recognise?!"
"…That is a blessing for you."
Qui-Gon frowned at this, before bowing his head. "You are about to show me the shadows of things that have not happened, but will…is that so?"
Silence.
"I fear you more than any other spectre…but I know your purpose will do me good. I am prepared to bear your company."
The spirit shook his head, "Fear…how un-Jedi of you." It strode closer to the Jedi Master until they were but a finger's length apart.
Qui-Gon fought the urge to back away as the man lifted his hand to Qui-Gon and placed his palm on his forehead, sending a bolt of pain through Qui-Gon, who squeezed his eyes shut against the onslaught of pain.
When he next opened his eyes, he found himself back in the Council room. The atmosphere was subdued and Qui-Gon found himself frowning in concern at the pure grief that was on Mace and Master Yoda's faces.
"Is it done?" whispered Mace.
Master Yoda nodded wearily "Gone, he is. This morning, I believe."
Mace sighed, "How could we let it come to this?!"
"Blind we were. Hoped he could change, we did…Too late we were"
"Do you know if anyone saw him off?"
Master Yoda shook his head, "No-one there was…"
Mace seemed to deflate further at this, "I would've but…he didn't seem worried or sorry about what happened…What's happened to his lightsaber and other belongings?"
"Put into storage, they have been."
"Did…he ask for anything…or anyone?"
"Frustrated he seemed…but accepting of the outcome he was."
Mace scoffed, "He wasn't at first…apparently he wasn't to blame or what happened!"
"Wrong he was…"
Qui-Gon turned away from the scene and to the spirit, "I know what you're trying to tell me….the fate of this unfortunate Jedi may very well be my own…" He glanced up at the figure, "Let me see some tenderness connected with this time of the year, or the words spoken in this very chamber will continue to haunt me."
The figure remained silent as the scene faded to black, clearing to reveal themselves back in a familiar, empty training room. Qui-Gon found himself smiling, "Aah, Obi-Wan and his friends. Their gentle teasing is sure to lighten the mood…" he paused as all he heard was silence from the two boys who were there, "…it's so quiet. Why is it so quiet spirit?"
Silence.
Qui-Gon turned to the boys, Garen and Reeft, watching as they stared at the door in silence. Garen sighed, "It's past Bant's usual meeting time…s-she's usually here by now."
Reeft nodded, "I think she's walked a little slower these last few days….strange really. When she was dragging O-Obi-Wan here…she'd walk very fast. B-but they cared f-for each other d-deeply….so he never used t-to resist t-too much." The boy took a deep, shuddering breath as he attempted to control his emotions.
Suddenly the doors opened and the young female tiptoed in, with Garen rising to meet her. "I-is he gone?"
Bant nodded tearily, "Gone forever….I hope. I went to the gardens as well…it would do you both good to see how pretty it is. I promised O-Obi that w-we would visit and-"she fell to her knees as the overwhelming urge to cry overtook her, "Oh Obi!" she sobbed as her other two friends ran to comfort her "This w-was all my fault!"
Garen shook his head as tears streamed down his face, "No! No! We all know whose fault it is!"
Sensing her friends growing frustration, Bant desperately tried to calm him down "Remember…peace Garen. We mustn't turn against our teachings because of recent events…O-Obi is happier now…and I'm sure none of us will ever forget him."
Qui-Gon struggled to breathe as the scene blurred once again to reveal his quarters…deserted, with a familiar looking lightsaber resting on the table, carefully preserved in an ornate glass case. "No…" he whispered, "…no, not Obi-Wan!"
Still staring at the lightsaber, Qui-Gon missed the arrival of Master Yoda. The smaller Jedi Master seemed even smaller in his grief, "Sorry I am, Obi-Wan. Seen it sooner, I should have."
Qui-Gon shook his head in denial, "This can't be happening…" he span around to face the spirit, "…this cannot be the only future, surely there is another path we will take?!"
The spirit seemed amused at this, "The future is always changing…that's one of the Jedi's favoured sayings isn't it?" It turned away from the scene, "There are many futures that lie ahead for your padawan…"
Qui-Gon frowned as the spirit cut off and the scene blurred once again. However, before he could say anything, voices swirled around and echoed off of the walls.
{"The boy is dangerous. They all sense it, why can't you?"}
{"Uhh, it's too late, it..."
"No!"
"Obi-Wan, promise... Promise me you will train the boy."
"Yes, master."
"He is the chosen one. He will bring balance. Train him."}
Qui-Gon span around as he tried to locate the source of the voice, including his own familiar tones. "A boy? What boy?! What's going on! Answer me spirit!"
The spirit remained silent as the voices continued.
{"Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?"
"Don't say that Master... You're the closest thing I have to a father"}
{"You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. You were to bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness!"
"I hate you!"
"You were my brother, A****n. I loved you."}
Qui-Gon grew even more confused, "What's happening!?" he cried out as screams of pain rang in his ears, causing him to wince and fall to his knees. "Please…stop…" he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. For a while, the screams continued until suddenly…they cut off.
Cautiously, Qui-Gon opened his eyes to find himself in a healer's ward, the white walls reflecting the artificial light, making the room seem brighter and more ethereal. There was only one patient in the room…a young man, with dark hair, was sitting upright in his bed. The man had a large bandage covering the left, upper side of his face and a resigned look on his face.
Qui-Gon frowned in confusion, turning to the spirit. "Why are we here?" he questioned, "I asked to see a better future for my padawan, who this man is not!"
The figure chuckled menacingly, "You only asked to see another future, not a better one…and the fate of this man and your padawan are very closely entwined."
Qui-Gon opened his mouth to protest, however, he found himself interrupted by the door bursting open and another young man rushing into the room. This young man had reddish-blonde hair and held himself with the dignity of a Jedi Master, a fact only confirmed by the Jedi uniform and the lightsaber at his side. However, it was his eyes that caught Qui-Gon's attention.
At the moment they were grey with worry, but even that didn't stop Qui-Gon from recognising him. "Obi-Wan?" he whispered in shock.
Of course his padawan didn't hear him, rushing straight past him to the man on the bed. "Cody!" he called out in relief, the familiar cultured accent seeming like music to Qui-Gon's ears, especially after the last vision. Obi-Wan perched on the man-Cody's bed and gently brushed his hand against the bandage, pulling it back when Cody hissed slightly in pain. "I came as soon as they called to let me know that you were awake!"
Cody frowned in confusion, "I-I don't understand Sir…why am I here?"
Obi-Wan sighed, "Because you were injured, quite badly I might add. Now I know you and your brothers like to 'suck it up' as it were but-"
Cody held up his hand, interrupting the Jedi, and shook his head, "No I mean…it was a serious injury to my eye! I should have been removed from duty and let the injuries finish me off…"
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, "You are so melodramatic, you'll have an attractive scar by your eye and that's it. No sight issues, and even if that happened, we can just give you a mechanical eye…" the Jedi smiled at the man, "…I wouldn't have let them leave you to die Cody. Not even the Council could have held me back…"
This took both Cody and Qui-Gon by surprise.
"B-but Sir…" stammered Cody "…I'm just a clone."
Obi-Wan shook his head, "Not to me Cody, not to me."
The scene blurred once again and Qui-Gon watched as his padawan and this mysterious 'clone' grew closer and closer, listening as they exchanged promises of love, devotion and loyalty to one another. Seeing the happiness on Obi-Wan's face, Qui-Gon couldn't find it in himself to be disappointed. At this moment in time, he was simply happy to see his padawan alive.
The next few years of the pair's life seemed to flash before Qui-Gon's eyes, until he found himself watching as Cody handed his padawan his lightsaber whilst Obi-Wan was sitting on a Boga. "I think you'll be needing this?"
Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan leaned over to kiss the commander on the cheek, "Thank you Cody…" He sat up straight and grinned, "Now come on, we've got a war to win!"
"Yes Sir!"
Obi-Wan rode off towards the top of a cliff just as Cody received a transmission. A hooded figure greeted the clone, "Commander Cody, the time has come. Execute Order **"
"Yes Sir…"
Qui-Gon watched in shock and dismay as Cody pointed at Obi-Wan and ordered his men to fire at the Jedi Master. "No…" he whispered, "….No! He loved you and you him! How can you betray him like that?!"
The scene blurred again to reveal Cody clinging onto Obi-Wan in the hanger bay "I'm sorry…" apologised the clone, "…I don't know what came over me! I couldn't stop it!"
Obi-Wan shook his head, "I don't blame you Cody, it's just like Fives said all those years ago…there's something in your head that makes you more susceptible to following orders."
The pair stood in silence for a few moments before Cody pulled away from Obi-Wan and gently pushed him towards a ship, "You have to get out of here, before they realise you're not actually dead!"
Obi-Wan nodded and, keeping hold of Cody's hand, he dragged them both towards the ship. However, before he could get there, Cody suddenly stopped and pulled his hand away. "You…you have to do this alone. I need to stay here."
Obi-Wan frowned, "You can't stay here…they'll kill you if they ever find out you helped me escape!"
Cody shrugged, "Then I'd better make sure they never find out…"
"We'll deal with this…and then I'll come and find you okay?"
Cody smiled sadly, "I know you will…now go! They'll be here any second!"
The pair embraced one last time, before Obi-Wan rushed into the ship and flew off into the distance. Qui-Gon watched as other clones poured into the hanger bay and surrounded Cody, however, before Qui-Gon could see what happened next, scene went black.
Qui-Gon shook his head sadly, "All I want….is for Obi-Wan to be happy! Is that too much to ask?!"
The figure remained silent as the scene got brighter once again, causing Qui-Gon to take a step back in shock as he came face-to-face with an identical copy of the spirit….but this one was brandishing a red lightsaber.
"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan…" exclaimed the copy, "…We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master."
Qui-Gon glanced between the spirit and its copy, before spinning around at the slightly older voice of his padawan.
"Only a master of evil, Darth."
As the lightsabers clashed together, Qui-Gon leapt out of the way as the fight begun.
"Your powers are weak old man."
Obi-Wan smiled, "You can't win Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
"You should not have come back."
The fight continued and out of the corner of his eye, Qui-Gon watched as three, young people and a Wookie appeared from around a corner, heading towards a large ship.
"Ben?" questioned a young man with sandy hair, wandering closer to the fight.
This caught Obi-Wan's attention and the Jedi Master smiled sadly at the boy, before smirking at the Sith Lord and raising his own lightsaber in a gesture of surrender…therefore allowing the Sith to strike him down, leaving only a pile of clothes and a discarded lightsaber.
"NOOOO!" cried out both the young man and Qui-Gon as everything went black once again.
Furiously, Qui-Gon span around to face the spirit, "You! You killed him!"
The spirit wasn't fazed at the anger that was directed at it, "I am a spirit who has taken on a form, do not blame me for your padawan's demise. You should not forget so readily, that the Sith Lord is not the only one responsible for the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi."
This simple statement caused Qui-Gon to practically deflate, as his anger disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. There was a few minutes of silence as the Jedi Master glanced around. Their surroundings had not cleared, and they remained in almost-complete darkness, with only a single ray of light.
He shook his head, "I sense our time is coming to an end spirit. I know what I must ask…I fear to, but I must." He sighed, "Who was the man who was forced to leave the Jedi order…the one linked so closely to my padawan's death in that timeline?"
Qui-Gon flinched as the spirit pointed its finger at a spot behind him, watching as the ray of light moved to reveal a dusty placard. Even from this distance, Qui-Gon could tell it was the placard that contained all the names of the Jedi who had been kicked out of the order, either due to falling to the Dark Side or through other circumstances. Walking closely to it, Qui-Gon soon found that the last name on the list was the only one that could not be read.
['I can't do this anymore….'] echoed a voice in the darkness. Obi-Wan's voice.
Qui-Gon span away from the placard, and turned back towards the spirit, "Answer me one more question! Are these the shadows of things that will be, or are they the shadows of things that may be only?!"
['He won't miss me…']
The spirit ignored the voice and pointed at the placard again, silently urging the Jedi Master to read the last name.
Qui-Gon frowned, "These events can be changed!"
['It'll be over quickly…']
Another step closer, and Qui-Gon pointed at the spirit furiously, "A life can be made right!"
[Just do Obi-Wan...be brave for once in your life!']
Qui-Gon slowly brushed his hand over the last name, only to fall to his knees in grief. "Q-Qui-Gon Jinn…" He leapt to his feet and ran back to the spirit, "Oh please Spirit, no! Hear me, I-I am not the man I was! Why would you show me this if I am past all hope?"
The spirit remained silent as a new voice echoed in the darkness, ['Obi-Wan? OBI-WAN, NO!']
Qui-Gon shook his head, tears streaming down his face, "I will honour Yule, and try to keep it all the year! I will live my life in the past, the present and the future. I will not shut out the lessons the spirits have taught me! Tell me that I may sponge out the writing on this placard!"
Qui-Gon grabbed a hold of the spirit's cape, "Please answer me!"
Burying his face in the material, Qui-Gon rocked backwards and forwards until he fell forwards…onto a soft surface.
