Saga Dawn of a New Day ~*~ Qui-Gon, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Vader ~*~ 2011 Death Challenge Response (Qui-Gon)

Title: Dawn of a New Day
Author: JediMara77
Characters: Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader
Timeframe: Three years post The Phantom Menace, then later
Genre: Angst, Supernatural
Disclaimer: Plaid shirt blah blah blah
AU Note: In this universe, Qui-Gon survived the duel with Darth Maul and took Anakin as his apprentice.
Author's Note: This story was written for the 2011 Death Challenge. My assignment: Crush Qui-Gon to death. Also, please note that I have never written these characters before, so any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.
Acknowledgments: This fanfiction was somewhat inspired by the lore of the character Arthas Menethil from the Warcraft universe, specifically the novel Arthas: Rise of the Lich King by Christie Golden. While this fanfiction does not directly follow the events of the Warcraft universe, I was inspired by the concept and thought it only prudent to acknowledge that inspiration here.


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?Do you sense anything, Padawan?? Qui-Gon Jinn asked the twelve-year-old boy beside him.

Anakin Skywalker shook his head, his still growing padawan braid swinging like a tree in the breeze. ?No, Master,? he replied, his voice a mixture of frustration and apology.

Such was Anakin?s tone most days, Qui-Gon mused. The boy was strong in the Force; that much had been obvious since the first time Qui-Gon had laid eyes on him. Throughout Anakin?s apprenticeship, he had grown smarter, and stronger, but he had also become even more inquisitive than he?d been as a slave on Tatooine.

Suppressing a smile, Qui-Gon entered the cave in front of him, reaching out his arm to his apprentice. The blond boy fell into step beside his master.

?Can you tell me again what we?re looking for, Master?? Anakin asked for about the twenty-ninth time.

?Certainly,? Qui-Gon responded. ?We are looking for a crystal that is very powerful in the Force.?

?So we can take it back to the Council?? Anakin asked.

Qui-Gon shook his head. ?No, Padawan, I told you. The crystal needs to remain here, well-protected.?

?But why? If it?s so powerful, why can?t we take it with us??

?It is very strong in the Dark Side. For a long time, the Jedi have heard rumors of such an artifact existing. The Council wants us to investigate, and return with our findings. Then they will determine a course of action.?

Anakin sighed and kicked the ground as they walked deeper into the cave. ?I don?t see why we even had to come here, then,? he muttered. ?It seems like a waste of time.?

At this, Qui-Gon stopped and placed his hand on his apprentice?s shoulder. Anakin was a very good boy, but he had many qualities that gave Qui-Gon pause. Qui-Gon didn?t mind that Anakin constantly questioned; everyone knew that the Jedi Master himself was known to outwardly disagree with the Council, even on the matter of training Anakin. No, it was the fact that Anakin seemed to refuse to listen to the Living Force. He was impetuous and constantly looking toward the future, and never recognized when a rule or order was given out of care. Anakin wanted to disobey just for the sake of causing trouble, not because he felt it was the right thing to do, as it was with Qui-Gon.

Still, Qui-Gon believed him to be the Chosen One, and he would train Anakin to the best of his ability. He would push and test the boy, as no other master would dare, because that is what such a padawan needed.

Anakin stared up at his master with inquisitive and frustrated blue eyes. Although he had grown much in the past three years, he was still dwarfed by Qui-Gon?s impressive height. Qui-Gon gave him a smile before speaking. ?What do I always tell you, Padawan??

Anakin sighed. ?To listen to the Living Force, Master.?

?And what does the Living Force tell you now??

The boy closed his eyes, and Qui-Gon could feel him reaching into the universe around him. He felt a swell of pride, seeing how powerful the boy had become in the Force in such

 

Great AU that played all their characterizations wonderfully. Quite scary, too. Very fitting ending that felt right, even if it was so different. Great response!

 

This was goooooood. I really really liked it. You captured Qui-gon well and I love how even tho Qui-gon didn't die fighting maul Anakin still fell and everything.

A very nice very well rounded story.

Brava!

 

Very intense story. I enjoyed all the reactions after the death; Vader's was simply chilling.

 

Very good story and response to the challenge.

 

Luna: Thank you! I'm glad the characterizations came off well. Obviously I've seen the prequels a billion times but I haven't read a lot of prequel EU or written any fics with these characters, so I was worried about it coming off genuine.

Raphire: Thank you! Once I got Qui-Gon I knew I had to play off my theory that if Qui-Gon hadn't died, Anakin would not have turned to the Dark Side. So I wanted his death to be one of the main turning points for Anakin.

Briannakin: I've found that I really, really like writing Vader. I find that somewhat disturbing. Thanks for reading!

Hazel: Thank you!

 

A great piece showing the effect of Qui-Gon's death on Anakin and Obi-Wan.

And a nice twist on canon.

 

Ooh, I like. I love your characterization of Qui-Gon. And Anakin's creepy Dark Side teenage angst was great. Awesome job!

 

Thanks earlybird. I wanted this to be slightly different than canon, but with the same results.


Ubersue: Thanks so much! It seems that I find characters easy to write because I can either understand their mindset very well or hear their voice inside my head. Qui-Gon, like Han Solo, appears to fit into the latter category. I'm glad you enjoyed Anakin's creepy teenage angst. I figured he'd be prone to a lot of it. And I find his pre-teen angst a lot scarier than his 19-year-old angst, for some reason! Probably because I'm still picturing him with a bit of baby fat.

 

Wow, who knew that teenage angst had such a sadistic twist? Great job!

 

Great story, terrible ending, but a great story.

 

OOOhhh - that was good.

I loved that Qui-Gon allowed Anakin to make his own choice and I'm not surprised the brat in him and later Vader would think him a fool for doing so.

?What do I always tell you, Padawan??

Anakin sighed. ?To listen to the Living Force, Master.?

?And what does the Living Force tell you now??

?It tells me to listen to my Master,? Anakin deadpanned.



Loved that bit of humor you worked in.

Great response to the challenge

 

That was very well done.

Character wise I think you got them right; Qui-Gon?s self sacrificing and Anakin?s anger. Obi-Wan was a little more restrained than I would have thought possible, but you made it work

The whole thing rang true to the darker emotions of grief; of choice and the consequences of those choices. While dark the ending had an almost triumphant ring to it, as if Vader had used Qui-Gon?s death as a catalyst. Very well done.

 

padawan3: Thank you! I was definitely going for sadistic here!

Ocelotl: Thanks! The ending was sad, but necessary.

Kelia:

I loved that Qui-Gon allowed Anakin to make his own choice and I'm not surprised the brat in him and later Vader would think him a fool for doing so.

He would, wouldn't he?

Loved that bit of humor you worked in.

Thank you. I had to lighten it up somehow!

Jade_Max: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the characters. I think at this time Obi-Wan still had a lot of the padawan in him, which is why I was trying to write him more serious.

While dark the ending had an almost triumphant ring to it, as if Vader had used Qui-Gon?s death as a catalyst.

I'm glad to hear, that is what I was going for! I believe that Anakin would not have turned to the Dark Side if Qui-Gon had been his master. When I got the prompt for this story, I decided to use Qui-Gon's death as one of the first steps on Anakin's road to darkness. Of course, after he became Vader, he would see Qui-Gon as weak and foolish.


Thank you all for reading!

 

Ooh, very chilling. The exchange between Anakin and Obi-Wan was so telling of his future. The bit at the end with Darth Vader was great.

Great response!