Master
Apprentice  Archive
Rebirth
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<<Obi-Wan>>
My legs ached with each step I took up the narrow path to the cliff edge. As a young Jedi I would have flown up this path, noticed the natural beauty of Naboo surrounding me, felt the joy of the Force flowing through me I was no longer young. The Jedi were no more.
I let my robe flail in the wind, wanted the cold to bite through my clothes, to numb me to the misery I caused. The wind stung my eyes, blurring the view of the smoldering ruins of the Theed Palace across the straights. The waves pounded the foot of the cliff below me, but could not drown out the sounds of death. I could still hear echoes of Mace Windu's moans as my former apprentice slowly and brutally murdered him. Anakin's own screams as I pushed him into the molten pit. The thundering cry of thousands of Jedi dying during the destruction of the Temple. Followed by silence.
The silence hurt the most.
I did not hear the man approach. He had climbed up the west side of the cliff, a quicker but more treacherous path than I trusted myself to negotiate. He wore a black robe over a black tunic, thigh high black leather boots, and black gloves that somehow survived the climb unscathed. He was completely shielded to my mind, and his hood covered his face, but I knew who he was. Would have known him anywhere.
"Qui-Gon."
"I am not Qui-Gon."
He was correct. This was a clone, a sordid copy of my beloved master. I should have been surprised, but as the events of the past years fell into place with this new knowledge, it was as though I'd known all along. The Sith Master needed an apprentice who could hunt down Jedi, destroy the temple, seduce my Padawan to the dark side. Who better than a dark clone of Qui-Gon?
He pulled his hood back, and we faced each other, still many paces apart. He was younger than I remembered; there was no silver in his long hair, fewer lines around his eyes. The sight of him made my heart skip. I never told him I loved him, and even in the face of all that has happened, I still count that as one of my greatest regrets.
He seemed to regard me for a while, before pulling the lightsaber from his belt. "Your Master died here, so will you."
My heart caught in my throat, and for a moment, I considered letting him kill me without a fight. I had already seen enough misery and pain to last a lifetime, and did not know how I would bear the loneliness ahead. But I still had work to do, I was still a Jedi. The Jedi. I had taken an oath to be a guardian of peace and justice in the galaxy.
I pulled out my own lightsaber, and prepared to honor my oath.
<<Qui-Gon>>
He was a sight to behold, this Obi-Wan Kenobi, the last Jedi Knight, my progenitor's former apprentice. The man my Master sent me to kill. I watched him as he walked up the path to the cliff, and noticed the grace of a fighter in every movement. I did not take this task lightly. This man had slain Maul, and defeated my Master's next apprentice, The Chosen One. How I hated the Chosen One.
I could not bring myself to hate the man before me. He stood unflinching in the wind, his robe whipping around his body in a melodramatic way. I had never seen him up close before now, but I registered an odd sense of familiarity about him. At last he turned and spoke.
"Qui-Gon."
His voice! That name! Not mine, not mine. "I am not Qui-Gon," I declared.
We stared at each other for a long moment before I remembered my duty. Pulled my hood back, drew my lightsaber, and waited for him. He hesitated; I wasn't sure I could kill him unarmed. I had too much honor to be a good Sith.
"Your Master died here, so will you."
That seemed to affect him. He pulled his own lightsaber, and we began our dance.
My master created me for no ordinary purpose, and thus I was no ordinary clone. After creating the genetic duplicate, he wove some of Qui-Gon's Force essence into my body, so we could take advantage of his memories. Most memories were missing or suppressed. Many times I'd do something that would have been familiar to Qui-Gon, and a part of his memory would become my own.
Fighting with Obi-Wan Kenobi was intimately familiar. Memories of Qui-Gon sparring with his apprentice came to me as I watched him thrust and parry, swing his lightsaber, spin and duck to avoid mine. I enjoyed watching him, and eased my attack to prolong the fight. It was a luxury I could afford, since he did not take the offensive. He fought in a purely defensive posture, one he perfected after working countless hours with me.
No! Not me!
Betrayed by my own thoughts, I flinched. He took advantage of my mistake, and I felt the sear of his lightsaber burning a wound into my arm. Stopped the blow before it struck deep, but not in time to stop the pain. The pain angered me, and I felt the darkness rush over me. I pushed away Qui-Gon's memories, called upon the energy of the dark side, and attacked mercilessly.
Blind with rage, I know little of what happened next, only that I had backed him up to the edge of the cliff. Saw him falter, struggle to regain his balance, and I buried any thoughts of regret as I swung the killing blow.
Too soon! His lack of balance had been a ruse. He parried my blow, and sent my lightsaber flying off the cliff into the sea below. I rushed forward, tackled him before he could strike, and we both tumbled off the cliff.
We landed on an outcropping some distance down. I regained my senses fast enough to notice he had dropped his lightsaber into the rocks below us. My hand reached out toward the dropped weapon, as did his, and we both called for it through the Force. The lightsaber flew through the air into my waiting hand. It had come to me.
It had been mine, after all.
I stood, ignited the familiar weapon, and drew it back to prepare the blow. Looked down at him, my Obi-Wan, one last time.
"Master?"
Master? ...My Obi-Wan... called me Master. It was my undoing.
Qui-Gon's memories, my memories, flooded my mind. It came to me all at once, thousands of memories, important and trivial. I was struck with vertigo, and for a moment, I lost the sense of "me" as the lightness that was Qui-Gon merged with the darkness of the Sith created from him. It was too much. I reeled from the overload, dropped the lightsaber, and sank to my knees.
"Qui-Gon?" Oh, that voice, how I have missed it. Whoever said the dark side was more powerful than the light had never heard my Obi-Wan's voice.
"Yes, yes, Obi-Wan. It's me." I felt his strong hands on me, drawing me forward. I didn't resist, couldn't resist. He pulled me into his arms, rested my head against his chest, and stroked my hair, my shoulders, my back. Listening to his heartbeat soothed me, inhaling the scent that was uniquely Obi-Wan eased my soul.
After a while, my mind steadied and I remembered events from my more recent life as a Sith. I recoiled from myself, only to be held more tightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I whispered.
"There's nothing to forgive, Qui-Gon, it wasn't you, wasn't you."
I felt his lips kiss the top of my head, and his mind brush against mine. He pushed through into my thoughts along our renewed bond that couldn't possibly exist; pushed away my dark memories and replaced them with his love and need.
I looked up to thank him, and his lips found mine, or mine found his. It didn't matter. I released my despair into the Force, thankful I had another chance to live in the moment, to live in this moment with my Obi-Wan.
<<Obi-Wan>>
Night had fallen by the time we rose from that outcropping. The moonlight shone an eerie glow on the ruins of Theed. I looked at them for one last time, as Qui-Gon wrapped himself around me, shielding me against the wind. He released me, and took my hand as I led him down the same path I had climbed earlier that day.
We could not undo his unspeakable crimes or my tragic failures. There was no clear path ahead for us, but we had each other. Our duty was to ourselves, and to the Force. Wherever it might guide us, we would go together.
End