Before All is Lost - (Obi/Qui/Others)- [Post 3: 11.10.02]

Well, DRL has tightened its grip around my throat, and now I basically have twenty thousand homeworks, papers, and tests on my lap. I guess I'm going to restart this story when DRL relents a bit.

*Sighs.*

Aunecah

 

Something roared in anger, and I came awoke with a start, darting back on my bed until I could go back no further. Everything was dark in my room, and I couldn?t see or hear anything at all.

Then, another roar split the still air.

I shuddered, feeling as if something had pounded on my heart with a great, big hammer. For I suddenly knew what was making the sound: the thunder. I was not completely sure I knew what thunder was; everybody told me that it was not going to hurt me, but it made such a big noise!

I sat at the very back of my bed, my bottom pressing against the wall, my ears straining for any other sound, my heart pounding, and my mind praying to the Force. I knew that the Force was bigger, and more powerful than the thunder. If I could only wake the Force up, then it would go tell the thunder to stop scaring little children, and I could go to sleep again.

Suddenly, the thunder roared again, and I delved into my covers, afraid that it was shouting at me. It probably was. Maybe if it couldn?t see me, then it will go away. As the seconds ticked by and I waited for the thunder to shout again, I felt something wet and cold on my face.

I hesitantly touched my forehead, and almost jumped a meter into the air. ~Only sweat, only sweat,~ I muttered to myself as if it were a mantra. Suddenly, I was furious with myself. Master Yoda told me many times that fear was the path of the Darkside. (I didn?t know what ?the Darkside? was, but if Master Yoda said that fear was bad, then it must be bad.)

I shouldn?t be afraid. I was almost three years old, and all grown up now. If I was going to be scared of thunder, then how was I ever going to become a Jedi?

Deliberately getting out from underneath the covers, I forced myself onto my feet, and ran over to the large window before my bed.

?I?m not afraid of you!? I yelled at the thunder. ?Shout all you want. I will not be scared!?

Another earsplitting grumble tore the air, and I somehow found myself back underneath the covers again, shiver. ~I don?t think the Force likes me very much.~ It sure didn?t make the thunder stop from screaming like that. A cold wind blew in my heart, slowly sucking away the warmth and leaving bitter chill in its place. I felt so cold, so very, very cold.

I hugged myself, pulling the blankets around me, but they did nothing to drive away the cold. ~Cold. Cold. Cold. I am cold.~

Gulping again, I slowly got onto my feet. I didn?t like the dark either, but I liked the thunder even less. Wiping a hand across my mouth, I walked across the room, to the door, and out into the large corridor outside.

This wasn?t my room. I usually slept in the Infirmary, with my friends. This was the Healers? ward, and I was here because an evil, evil boy elbowed me in the stomach and nearly killed me.

~I don?t think Master Égrita was very happy when she found out what Chek did. Maybe she?s going to beat him.~

It was wrong of me to think like that, I knew, but I couldn?t help it. I hated Chek so much. He was always trying to kill me. I couldn?t see what the Force found so good in him to make him a Jedi. ~Maybe he isn?t going to be a Jedi. Maybe everybody?s going to see how very bad he is, and not take him as an apprentice.~

The thunder roared again, spraying me with its spit. But then, when I touched my cheek to wipe the spit away, I felt nothing wet. ~Maybe thunder didn?t spit like Chek did.~

I kept near the wall as I walked, slowly and hesitantly. I didn?t like being in big corridors at night, especially when I was the only one in them. It made me remember bad dreams?like that one time I dreamed of Master Yoda having two horns and pointed teeth.

I don?t think Master Yoda likes me very much either.

Something was not right, I just knew it. I think there is somebody in this corridor other than I.

?A little troll walking down the hall?? something suddenly said from behind, and I wheeled around, darting backward to a wall, and cowering against it.

?I?I didn?t do it!? I said without knowing what I was saying

 

Whoa!

I thought that was Obi, but it turns out to be Qui!

Ooh, mesa likey! Qui is so sweet! Do continue.

And I inspired you? Woo-hoo, I inspired a fic!

 

Oh, I thought it was Obi-Wan too.

 

WOW, that was great. Poor little Qui.

Can't wait to read more!


sabe126

 

Suzuran : That was intentional. Yep, you inspired it. You complained so many times in Misunderstandings about how you all stories (especially mine) show Qui as a blockhead, I thought I might as well write something that shows him from a new light. And I needed a story that didn't need multiple viewpoints so that I could experiment with first-person.

Cascadia : Yep, that's why I didn't describe the Master or the apprentice much.

Sabe126 : Here's the next post.

. . . .

Little things were what made me happy.

I didn't care for being revered by everyone or being told that I was one of the greatest swordsmen alive. If my apprentice were to be praised by someone for doing a beautiful job on a mission, I'd be even happier than if somebody took me on a trip to all the planets in the galaxy.

My apprentice and I were one, joined by a bond that was started by the Force, itself, and nurtured by our mutual love. Everyone, even the Force and Master Yoda, had seen us as a team before we did, before I did. When I looked at my apprentice now, I wondered how I could have seen an aggressive Initiate who was destined to break my heart by failing in his studies. Now I knew that Obi-Wan was born a Jedi, and that was how he was going to die--even if he went astray in the middle.

I wasn't perfect, and I was nowhere as omnipotent as the Force (and even the Force made mistakes once in a while), especially as of late, but I swore to myself that I would do everything I could to make sure that Obi-Wan was not going to turn to the Darkside. Even though he was only twenty-five, he had seen so much darkness in his life already, so much death, so much destruction, so much loss. It didn't bode well if you were reckless, especially when you had an uncanny ability to attract trouble even in perfectly safe places like Hoth.

"If something can go wrong, Master, then it will."

Obi-Wan had said that when he was sixteen, and somehow I hadn't taken it as anything more than an ironic twist on words. It was often the case in the Jedi Order that masters preached knowledge and wisdom to their apprentices, not the other way around. Perhaps that was why I found it so hard to take his apparently casual words seriously.

I should have felt his growing cynicism on life in general, and the Force in specific, long before even he realized it, but I incredibly managed to turn a blind-eye to his problems even when he blatantly verbalized it for me.

Like my apprentice, I had many strange qualities, and one of them was how I could convince myself that nothing was wrong precisely when everything was. I lay on my bed, my arm over my head, my fingers flexing in a rhythmic pulse as I stared at the dark ceiling, listening to the light whine of the ship's engines.

The door to my room opened, the effulgence from the corridor outside blinding me momentarily. When my eyes readjusted themselves to the light after the dark, I found myself gazing at my apprentice.

"Master, we're coming up on Naboo."

Why was it that I was always asleep--or at least, should be asleep--when Obi-Wan came in to announce that? What weird norm dictated that we always drop out of hyperspace in the middle of the night?

"I'll be right there." Groaning, I made out of the bed, and followed my apprentice out my room and into the cockpit. The countdown for dropping out of hyperspace was down to single-digits. Obi-Wan quickly dropped into the Pilot chair and rested his hands on the hyperspace levers.

The molten skies of hyperspace melted away into discrete pinpoints of stars, and our ship shot over a vista of white dissolving into green. Naboo. A world known for its thunderous waterfalls, beautiful plains, and clear-water lakes. The security checks took only a moment, and Obi-Wan was soon piloting the ship through the atmosphere.

When the Republic ship knifed through the thick mists, and I saw Theed, I knew that my apprentice would like this world. Obi-Wan ha

 

I'm confused. Is this an AU from TPM?

You're doing a good job of writing Qui-Gon's thoughts. Very well written.

Please write more!

 

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Excellent, so is Qui-Gon dreaming of the future? Have we gone forward in time? Is Obi-Wan now his Padawan?

Can't wait for more!


Sabe126

 

Okay, I'm confused (surprise, surprise ). Qui had the dream, but now they're at Naboo?

Is this TPM, or a mission before TPM? ?

And what happened to Qui?

Glad I could inspire you, Aunecah. It's nice to see Qui in a good light. I'm doing that on both of my fics. The guy needs to be nice sometimes.

 

Cascadia : Yeah, it's an AU. I thought it was obvious, but that's probably because I'm writing the story. I'll go make the changes to the title, now. And thanks for the up.

Sabe126 : Well, he's actually recollecting his past experiences. Obi-Wan is his apprentice, though.

Suzuran : This is TPM. You started another story? Where?! *Looks around and finds one staring back right at her in Suzuran's signature.* I can't believe I missed that one. I'll go read that ... when I have time.

Well, here's the next post (it's a shortie).

. . . .

I was staring at the ceiling, something cold and wet trailing down the corners of my eyes.

Moaning, I painfully got onto my knees and looked around. My master and Master Yoda were lying on the floor behind me, still as ice.

"Master!" If my master heard me, he didn't respond.

I wanted to rush toward him, but I couldn't. Something was tearing at my mind as if it were a cheap, filthy cloth. While I wanted to run, all I could do was crawl.
By the time I did arrive at my master's side, I said tentatively, "Master?" He still didn't move, but I found myself unable to do anything other than stare at his silent form.

Fear gripped my heart, making me feel as if the entire galaxy was squashing it against a durasteel wall.

"Master?" I slowly reached out to him and turned him around. His eyes were closed, and his mouth slightly open, and he still didn't move. I could taste the bitter taste of my own sweat, mingled with the tears streaming down my eyes, as I stared at him. ~It couldn't be ... he couldn't be....~

"Master? Wake up! Wake up, Master," I whispered yet again. It was a rhetorical question, asked more to see if my voice was still working or not. Gulping, I gently nudged him through the Force.

He stirred.

"Master!" I shouted gleefully, shaking him awake as if this was just a beginning of another day, and I were dragging a weary master into the play room to play with me. Even the dark stirrings that were constantly attacking my mind couldn't suppress the joy I felt at the other's movements. My master wasn't dead, after all. Slowly, Master Yoda got himself onto his feet, as well.

" Wha --Qu-Qui-Gon?"

"Yes, it's the one and only me, Master," I told him happily as he raised himself into a sitting position and Master Yoda walked toward us.

Then, the dark energy shoved the rest of my thoughts away and sat squarely in the forefront of my mind, awaking dread and some strange feeling that I had never felt before. The pain that I hadn't noticed during the past five minutes suddenly came back in full force, nearly making me unconscious.

Tears filled my eyes, making everything extremely blurry; my knees weakened, unwililng to support me any longer. I collapsed into my master's lap. My master's voice, calling my name, sounded as if it were coming from a great distance, muffled by numerous closed doors.

Then, strength flowed into me, from the bond that I shared with my master. I bathed in it, taking in the deep delight the pure light gave me. The pain slowly receded, leaving in its wake only memories of what it once had felt like.

When some semblance of thought returned to my mind, I realized that I was sitting resting against my master's chest, his arms around my small body. He was whispering something to me non-stop, but I couldn't quite understand what he was saying. His words sounded muddled, as if they had been put together in a bin of vibroblades for a couple of minutes and then handed over to me on a platter.

I didn't care. It didn't matter. My master was alive, and he was here.

As long as I had my master, I had nothing to worry about.

 

Great post, Aunecah!

 

Okay, I'll be frank. That confused me. The last part, was that Obi or Qui? ? Mesa don't know!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That was Qui right? So, what happened to Yoda and Dooku?

Very intriguing!


Sabe126

 

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