Chapter Text
Qui-Gon had expected to be greeted by one or two Council members, namely Mace and Yoda, the more surprised was he when their shuttle landed in the temple hangar and the whole Council was present. The tall Jedi felt the ginger haired male’s uneasiness, but when he was about to reach out to him, Dooku stepped between the two. The older Jedi leaned closer towards Obi-Wan, who seemed to listen closely to what his Grandmaster was saying. Afterwards, the young man relaxed, his body not as tense as it was before and Qui-Gon was left to wonder what Dooku had told his Padawan.
The ship landed and when the ramp was completely lowered, Dooku was the first to exit.
“Is everything alright?” Qui-Gon could not help but ask, before either of them followed the old Master.
“It will be, I feel it.” And that was more than enough for the long haired Jedi. With new found confidence, the Master-Padawan team stepped outside their shuttle, side by side, like it was supposed to be. Most Masters looked shocked and scandalised at the pair, only Mace Windu and Yoda had other emotions on their faces.
“Master Windu does not look too pleased,” Obi-Wan whispered good-naturedly so that only Qui-Gon could hear. The taller Jedi had to stifle a chuckle at that.
“He is probably thinking about all the paperwork he has to work himself through,” he joked. It earned him a raised eyebrow and a brief glance from his Padawan, but that was enough. Besides, Qui-Gon could have sworn that he saw the ginger haired male’s lips twitch under that beard of his.
“Obi-Wan,” sounded the all too familiar voice of a very pleased looking green troll, who slowly came hobbling to the Jedi pair.
“Master Yoda,” there was the brief appearance of a small smile on Obi-Wan’s face, but it was quickly hidden, when the returned Jedi first bowed deeply before the old Master, and then kneeled down in front of him. Now it was Mace Windu’s turn to also step forward. Without giving Qui-Gon a glance, he stepped behind the young ginger haired Jedi, who only focused on the old and wise Master standing before him. He seemed to know what was about to come, even though most of the other Council members shot questioning and curious looks at each other.
Meanwhile Qui-Gon stepped next to Dooku, who had crossed his arms over his chest. “What will happen if they find whatever they are searching for?” Qui-Gon could not help but ask.
Dooku sent him a reassuring look, “They won’t fight it.”
“How do you know?”
“If there were any kind of darkness in young Kenobi, the beast would have bowed to his will and not fought him like it did,” he explained and in a way it made sense to the younger man. “That and he would have acted already, instead of hiding in the shadows.”
“What do you mean?”
Dooku sighed, “I would not want to have your former Padawan as an enemy. He is wise beyond his years, he always was talented with a lightsaber as well as Force use and manipulation. What do you think would have happened if he had fallen to the dark side?” Qui-Gon thought for a moment, but could not come up with an answer. He shrugged and only then did Dooku continue, his eyes were on the kneeling and still form of Obi-Wan, on whose shoulders rested the hands of Mace Windu. “The Sith would have taken him in... you know, the few days I have spent in his company, I came to the conclusion that there is more to Obi-Wan Kenobi than meets the eye. I am not sure if he realises this though.”
“Obi-Wan has always been very humble,” Qui-Gon answered and Dooku seemed satisfied with it.
This moment the dark skinned Korun Master reopened his eyes and took his hands from the younger male’s shoulders. “There is not the slightest hint of darkness in him,” he said aloud, but somehow Qui-Gon had the feeling that it was only for Yoda and him to hear.
The green and wise troll nodded his head and folded his hands over his walking stick. “As expected,” he then turned to back to Obi-Wan, “good to have you back, it is. Welcome our lost Jedi, we should.”
“It is good to be home Master Yoda and no festivity is needed.”
The green Master hummed, “A lot to tell you have. Talk we will later.” Obi-Wan hesitated for the briefest of moments, but Qui-Gon caught it nevertheless. But apparently he was not the only one. “Concerned you are. Need for that, there is not. Know of your path, I do. Accept it, I will. Leave soon, you will.”
“What?” all eyes turned towards Qui-Gon, except Obi-Wan’s cerulean blue ones. The Jedi Master slightly flinched, he had not meant to speak out loud. “I mean,” he cleared his throat, “surely you are not planning on sending my Padawan on a mission so soon after his return.”
“Your Padawan, he is not,” Yoda was shaking his head.
“He lost his Padawan status the moment he defeated the Sith on Naboo and again when he started to seek out and defeat the darkness in the galaxy,” Mace added.
Qui-Gon did not know what to say to this. But in all honesty, what had he been expecting? Now that he thought about it, he had not really thought about what was going to happen once they were back in the temple. A small part of him had hoped that he and Obi-Wan could continue their partnership where it had ended, but the other part of him knew that was foolish thinking.
“Why him?” and it was said with all the compassion of a parent that did not want to lose his precious child to the dark and evil world.
Mace had already opened his mouth to answer, but Obi-Wan beat him to it, “Because it is my destiny.” Only now did blue-green eyes lock with midnight blue ones and Qui-Gon saw the compassion, the determination and the wisdom in them. “It is the task the Force has given me. I can’t tell what is going to happen, nor do I know what I will encounter on my mission, or how long it will take. I only know that no one else can do it but me.”
“Anakin-“ Qui-Gon began, but he was cut off by Mace Windu this time. “My Padawan is not the Chosen One, Qui-Gon. He never was.”
The tall Jedi blinked in confusion and he knew he was not the only one who did not understand what the Korun Master had just said. Some of the Council members started murmuring among each other and Dooku had tensed in surprise too. The old Jedi had taken a step forward. “What are you implying?” His voice held a certain edge to it that usually meant trouble. Qui-Gon knew that his old Master was not amused by this display. Dooku wanted answers and he wanted them now.
Mace’s and Yoda’s gazes were meeting and everybody could tell that they were having a silent conversation over the bond they shared. In the meantime Qui-Gon tried to catch his Padawan’s eyes again, but the younger man had turned his head away, seemingly looking at nothing particular. It left Qui-Gon wondering what the bright man was thinking or to which dimensions his mind had escaped.
Eventually the Korun Master opened his mouth again, “Anakin Skywalker is a talented young Jedi, with a very high medichlorian count. Not as high as we presumed however. We tested his blood here in the temple, with the needed equipment. My Padawan’s medichlorian count is a little bit higher than Master Yoda’s, but he is NOT the Chosen One.”
“Found the Chosen One was, a long time ago. Kept it a secret, we did. Wish of the mother, it was. Who he really is, not even her son knows.” Yoda added and with his last sentence he kept the protests of the rest of the Council at bay.
“Who... who is the Chosen One?” looking at Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon already had his answer, but he wanted to be absolutely sure.
“Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Mace Windu answered.
A world shattered for the tall Jedi Master. Hadn’t it been his obsession with the so called Chosen One that had driven Obi-Wan away? Hadn’t it been his blindness that had caused the rift between him and his Padawan to open and to grow? Hadn’t it been his stupidity that had hurt the ginger haired male in front of him over and over again?
All eyes were on the long haired Jedi Master. That meant, all eyes except the ever changing blue-green ones of a certain ginger haired man, who was still kneeling on the ground. Qui-Gon couldn’t take the stares anymore. He felt caged, like a trapped animal, waiting for the predator to make the final move.
He vehemently shook his head to clear his mind and with a sick feeling in his stomach, did he approach the kneeling man, who still looked as if his mind was in another world.
“Obi-Wan,” he called out, but there was no physical reaction. Not one single muscle moved. He stepped closer and called out again, “Obi-Wan... Padawan.” Again there was no reaction. Qui-Gon turned his questioning gaze towards the green troll, whose eyes were narrowed and looking directly at Obi-Wan.
“Seem it does, that young Obi-Wan is having a vision.”
“A vision? About what?”
“The destruction of the Jedi Order,” Obi-Wan’s heavily accented voice answered to the surprise of the gathered crowd. The young man blinked a few times and shook his hand, resting his hand on his forehead while doing so. Almost immediately was Qui-Gon at his side, grounding him by putting on of his large hands on slim yet muscled shoulders.
“Remember your training young one. It was just a vision, not reality. Come back to the here and now where your senses belong.”
Obi-Wan pulled away from him as if he had been burned. “I’m not a youngling Master Jinn!” The tall Master winced. This had obviously been the wrong thing to say. He watched helplessly as the younger male struggled to his feet until he stood on shaky legs.
“You should rest,” Mace said and the younger Jedi nodded in approval. “We can prepare some quarters for you.
“There is no need,” again all eyes were on Qui-Gon. “He can come back to our quarters. If he wants of course,” the last part was hastily added.
Blue-green eyes mustered the long haired male for a moment and whatever Obi-Wan was seeking, he had seemingly found it, for he said, “Alright, lead the way.”
Qui-Gon exhaled, which was funny, because he hadn’t even realised that he was holding his breath in the first place. He hesitantly put his arm around the smaller man’s shoulders and once he was sure that it was appreciated, he guided his old Padawan towards their old quarters, the stares of the Council on their retreating backs.
Qui-Gon knew very well that the Council, as well as Dooku, would be after them soon enough. He knew that Obi-Wan – apparently the rightful Chosen One – would have to leave soon again. He also knew that they two of them would have to talk about quite a lot of things. But all that could wait for now. What really matters is the fact that Obi-Wan had returned again and for now, that was all Qui-Gon needed. And Obi-Wan seemed content too... at least for now.