From: Katrinka Here is the last part of Vaartuslik. Disclamers are in the first part Thanks: To everyone who sent their kind emails. There is a couple of scenes I added after LadySerez's well-thought remarks. Special Thanks goes to: Shannyk my beta. A good beta's like fine wine. Fedback: Hug an author! Give feedback. Pretty please? If you like it, drop me a line. If you don't like it, drop me a line. Part Four: Redemption *********** Obi-Wan couldn't explain it. He just knew it was time. He had tied his hair into a thick braid, then he put his clothes on. He fastened the ties on his shirts, knowing this might be the last time he put them on. Then he picked up his belt, fastened that, then checked his lightsaber. He looked down to Qui-Gon, who was still asleep. They had been lovers for only one day. He knew that he would probably be killed, and that this would be the last time he would ever see his Master. //I didn't know I could love anyone the way I love you.// He sat down on the pallet, then he reached his hand out, and touched his Master's hair. There was still so much to learn from him. Qui-Gon still had barriers that Obi-Wan would now never see behind. "I am sorry that our Vaartuslik had to be so short. I wish it could have gone on forever." Qui-Gon's eyes opened. "You're going to face Hayata?" "Yes, Master." The older man's eyes narrowed. "Alone?" "I am the one that should take care of this." "I must come with you." "This is my fight." Obi-Wan said firmly. "It is both our fights. Mine more then yours." Qui-Gon was steely in his determination. "Master, I know we are now involved." Obi-Wan took a deep breath and let it out. "But the truth is, I should fight my own fights." "You asked me last night what I had behind the wall in my mind. I told you I didn't want to discuss it." "That was your right." "I never told you the whole truth about my former master. He wasn't allowed to quit after the council found out about the abuse." There was a pained look in Qui-Gon's eyes. "Instead, he was 'rehabilitated.' After several years, they believed they could trust him with a new Padawan. When I found out that he was abusing his new apprentice, I almost killed him." Qui-Gon looked away from his lover, but opened his mind to him. Obi-Wan could see a young Qui-Gon, crying, bleeding. //You're not strong enough!// the voice of his Master echoed in his mind. //If you gave yourself completely to the Force, my beatings wouldn't hurt.// The voice! It was Hayata's! Qui-Gon's first Master had been Hayata! //I'm sorry Master, I'll try harder.// The young Qui-Gon begged, his forehead on the ground. //There is no try!// The whip came crashing down on his back. //There is just do!// Qui-Gon let Obi-wan see it all, the beating, the rape. Until finally the older man closed his mind. Tears dripped down his cheek. "I'm sorry, I should have found him and killed him. Then he couldn't have destroyed your life." "I don't think I could have loved you if you had given into the dark side. Killing him wasn't the answer." Obi-Wan pulled the older man into his arms, stroking his silky hair. "You were like me, young, innocent." "I don't even think I remember being innocent." Qui-Gon confessed. *************** An hour later, Obi-Wan was walking towards Hayata's quarters with Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon's hair was tied back into a ponytail. Qui-Gon acted as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Obi-Wan wondered if was because he now knew the secret. Obi-Wan now felt a new bond with his Master. "A shared pain." "What?" Qui-Gon asked. "I was thinking." "You said a shared pain. Is that how you feel about our bond?" "Yes Master." Obi-Wan looked away. "You were telling the truth. Our pain is shared." Qui-Gon stopped, looking around the square, as if lost. Several guards passed them. "I don't think I can defeat Hayata, he is a Master." Obi-Wan confessed. "I will be killed." "You are being a pessimist." Obi-Wan looked into Qui-Gon's eyes. "I am being a realist, Master. You know him. What are my chances of being able to defeat him?" "Very slim." Qui-Gon admitted. "I will face Hayata. You will have to get the boy." "Master, I can handle my own fights!" Obi-Wan insisted. "You yourself said you cannot defeat Hayata." Qui-Gon pointed out. "The boy is young, innocent. He needs a protector." "But, Master!" 'The child knows you. He would trust you enough to go with him." Qui-Gon's voice was soft. "Besides, we have just bonded. I couldn't forgive myself if you where killed." //Master....// Qui-Gon looked into his eyes. //I can't risk loosing you, my beloved.// "Master, you must trust me to fight my own fights.// //I do trust you, but not today.// //You've seen something in the future.// Obi-Wan guessed. //Yes My Padawn, I have.// Obi-Wan thought over his Master's words, then reluctanly said. "Yes Master." They slipped into the back yard of Hayata's quarters. A guard came up to them. "This is private property." Qui-Gon waved his hand. "We are allowed on the premises." "You are allowed on the premises." the man echoed. "Tell the security computers not to record us." The Guard picked up his communicator and ordered the security cameras not to film Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. "You may go on your way." Qui-Gon said, waving his hand again. "You may go on your way." the man repeated. Obi-Wan followed his Master into the house, and opened himself to the force. He could feel Maybeus. The boy was hiding in a closet. The boy was terrified of his Master finding him. "He's in the house." Obi-Wan told the Master. "I can feel Maybeus's fear." "Find him, make sure he's safe." Qui-Gon ordered. "I will follow. If the boy comes out in the open, Hayata will find him." "Yes Master." ************ Obi-Wan slowly went up the back stairs. He quieted his mind, trying to feel where the boy was hiding. He could see the boy in his mind's eye, cowering behind cloaks. His shirt was soaked in blood. //Quiet your mind. Quiet your mind.// the boy kept repeating. //Maybeus! Where are you Maybeus!// Hayata yelled telepathically. //If you don't come out, I will kill you!// The rage that Obi-Wan felt from his former Master made him realize that the boy would die even if he came out of hiding. //Find him, I must find him.// He closed his mind to everything but the boy. There was a panel on the side of the staircase, barely visible. Obi-Wan put his hand on the front of the panel. He concentrated, and the panel opened. Obi-Wan moved the cloaks. The boy moved back further into the closet. "You must leave! He'll find you." the boy's eyes were large, terrified. "Ben, he'll kill you!" "I'm not afraid of Hayata." "If I stop hiding, he will find me." Maybeus said. "I'll protect you." Obi-Wan promised. "How can I believe you?" "Because if you don't, Hayata will murder you." Obi-Wan held his hand out. "Do you want out of here? "Yes!" The boy took his hand. ****************** Qui-Gon watched from afar as Obi-Wan started walking down the staircase with Maybeus. The boy's hand tightened around Obi-Wan's. A lump grew in Qui-Gon's throat. This young one reminded him so much of Obi-Wan when he was a child. Obi-Wan had the same scared look on his face, not willing to trust. Obi-Wan acted as if he had no fear. Through their bond, Qui-Gon felt the Obi-Wan believed that the courage came from him. //Not so my Padawan. Your bravery comes from inside.// //Maybeus!// Hayata yelled, coming into view. //Ben! What the hell do you think you're doing?// "I am freeing your slave!" Hayata came closer to the two of them. He hit his Padawan across the face. Maybeus flinched, then sank to the ground, covering his head protectively. Obi-Wan stepped back, took out his lightsaber, and turned it on. //You can't use it against me!// "I am no longer your slave!" //Didn't I teach you that you can't control the Force when I am near you.?// "You lied. You are afraid of the Force." Hayata reached his hand out and tried to use telekinesis to take Obi-Wan's lightsaber. Obi-Wan, without moving, willed a large planter off of the ledge above. It crashed into Hayata, sending him sprawling. "Run, Maybeus!" The Padawan said. The boy was too terrified to move. Obi-Wan picked up the boy and carried him down the stairs. Hayata got up, and started going towards Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon came out of hiding and lit his lightsaber. "Your fight is with me, not the boy." "Well, if it isn't Qui-Gon." Hayata turned towards him. He brought a lightsaber of his own out from under his jacket. "I should have killed you a long time ago! You are the reason I am no longer a Jedi Master!" "You would have been caught without me." Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan took the boy out of the building. "Tell me, do you beat Ben often? He was always the best in bed, if I beat him first. Almost as good as you were!" Hayata lowered his voice. "You can't defeat me. Once I get out of here, I'll just get another boy to use." Qui-Gon went towards Hayata. The man seemed shocked, but countered. Qui-Gon was easily able to step away from it. In his memories, Qui-Gon could remember the stregth of the fighter. How he had always wished he could be as strong as Hayata. But Hayata was rusty. "Too busy molesting children to practice, I see." Qui-Gon said. "Why should I practice? I am already the best!" Hayata seemed to ooze arrogance. They fought for several minutes. Hayata was getting visibly exausted. The former Master tried to parry again, but Qui-Gon delt a harder blow. Hayata fell down the stairs. Qui-Gon could hear his former Master's neck snap, then ran down to make sure. Hayata was dead. *************** An hour later, Qui-Gon returned to his quarters. He could feel Obi-Wan fighting the urge to run to him. //There's was plenty of time for that later.// he told his Parawan. Maybeus was sitting in the corner, his legs pulled up to his chest. "Tell me, do you want to be free of Hayata?" Qui-Gon asked him. "Please sir." "Hayata is dead. You'll never have to go back to him." Qui-Gon expected the boy to be happy, but instead the boy said, "Then I must go to the mines." "Why would you have to go there?" "Hayata told me that's what happens to his boys when he is finished with them. They are sent to be slaves in his diox mines." "He lied to you," "What happened to the boys?" Obi-Wan asked. "Some of the boys "disappeared", I would expect they had been vaporized. Others were sent to outer worlds, and sold as slaves. A few returned to their famlies. The rest went on to become Jedi Knights" "How many boys where there?" Obi-Wan asked. "Hayata had been a Jedi Master for 360 years before he was forced to retire. He had 45 Padawans. Then after his retirment, he had 3 more boys. The two before Maybeus "vanished"." "Over 360 years old? He's not human?" Obi-Wan gasped. "He's a Quarbinte. They appear huminoid, but their livespan is much longer." Qui-Gon explained. "The average Quarbinte lives to be 900." "Forty-Eight boys." Maybeus looked up to Qui-Gon. "Sir, what will happen to me? If I go home, Hayata's relitives might come looking for me, wanting revenge." "I contacted your parents." Qui-Gon began. The color drained from the boys face. "They know?.." "Your parents now live on Ahwatukee. Far away from Hayata's influence. They very much want you to come back to them." "How...how do I know they will take me back?" "We will come with you. If they don't want you, we will find someplace else for you to live." Qui-Gon promised. ******************** Qui-Gon had respected his apprentice's request for some time alone. After rescuing Maybeus, it was deserved. He felt Obi-Wan's calling through the Vaartuslik. He found his Padawan kneeling on a blanket on the floor of their room, his eyes closed in meditation. His normal braid was untied. His hair blanketed him. His beautiful hair. Qui-Gon couldn't help but admire it. There some sharp instruments on the floor in front of him. Was the man planning on killing himself??? Then Obi-Wan said, "Master, would you sit in front of me?" Qui-Gon knelt on the ground in front of Obi-Wan. He noticed that Obi-Wan was wearing the same blood-soaked shirt he had rescued Maybeus in. "What are you planning?" "I ask that you help me in restoring my lost honor." "Are you going to kill yourself?" Obi-Wan's face couldn't mask the surprise. "I would like to perform the ancient Jedi ceremony of restoring honor. I would like for you to cut my hair." "You want me to cut your hair." Qui-Gon said slowly. "Exactly." "It's an old tradition. No one follows it anymore." the older man pointed out. "I would feel better if we went through with the ceremony." Qui-Gon let his fingers run through the golden waves. His apprentice had beautiful hair. "Are you sure?" "Please, Master. It's the only way." There was something to Padawan's voice that made Qui-Gon pick up the scissors. As tradition dictated, he made a small braid of hair that lay beside the younger man's ear. Then he cut the rest of the hair. With every cut, Obi-Wan visibly relaxed, until all his hair lay on a pile on the floor beside him. Obi-Wan's hair was now short, spiky. "How do you feel?" Qui-Gon asked. "Better, whole again." Obi-Wan reached up, touching his hair. A smile drifted over his lips. "Thank you, Master." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special offer from The Science Fiction Book ClubŪ! Take 5 Star WarsŪ books for just $1, with membership. Many choices! Go to http://www.onelist.com/ad/sfbc1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Master & Apprentice Archive: http://www.valdemar.net/ma/warn.html