1"I don't know." His throat ached and his face was wet. His eyes had been beaten to the point where he could not open them. "No one knows where he is. No one knows if he's alive."
"He is." The mechanical voice sends shivers down his spine. "I've seen him." The heavy steps of Darth Vader echo in the room.
"Then why do you need me?" The only sound is the clicking of the respirator and the heavy, false breaths that accompany them. "He's not where you last saw him."
"Find him."
"I can't." A scream tears through his throat as agony shoots through his limbs.
"He won't make it." Darth Sidious's voice scraps against his mind and he groans from the pain. "You have a choice, Jedi. Tell us where Kenobi is, or die."
"I don't know where he is." He forces out the confession through his tears. His chest is heaving and he can barely feel his body anymore. "Please." Again, the only sound is the heavy breathing of Darth Vader. It's eerie and it's spine-tingling. It reeks of things to come.
"Then," The Emperor speaks, his decision made. "You shall die."
The agony that roars through him is too much. The lightning arcs across his body and he can't see. He can't hear. He can't think. Everything is fading. Everything is creeping away. Everything-
Ben shoots up in his bed and sucks in deep breaths. He's dead. Ben felt it. He heard it. The Jedi in his dreams or visions is dead. The feeling of emptiness echoes through his body again. Another Jedi gone. How many are left?
Ben's face is wet and he brings a shaky hand to wipe off the tears that stain his cheeks. His breathing is all that can be heard in his quiet room. The night is cold and he's alone.
"It seems that's what I'm meant for." He laughs to himself. "Loneliness and infinite sadness. What a tragic tale." He pulls his legs up to his chest and wraps his arms around them. "Do you think they'll tell stories of us?" He asks, flicking his eyes to the quiet form of his former Master.
He gives off an ethereal blue glow that brightens the room slightly. His face is etched in a frown as he observes his former Padawan.
"Do you think they'll let our memory die? Do you think there are those that still care about us? Those that didn't believe we were traitors." Ben's mind flicks back to Tatooine and the man he met in the Catina. "I can feel the loss our lives have brought. I can feel the gaping hole in the galaxy. It's dark and it's cold." He drops his head to his knees and heaves a sigh. "Perhaps we're meant to disappear. Perhaps that's what is for the best."
"You want to leave?" Qui-Gon asks with a thoughtfulness that doesn't betray the sadness he feels at seeing his former Padawan like this. Obi-Wan looks so small, so fragile with his legs tucked against his chest and his arms wrapped around them. His head pressing into his knees so that he's nearly folded into a neat little ball.
"Wouldn't that be for the best?" Ben asks, his voice soft and questioning.
Qui-Gon hums and thinks about his response.
"If you think that's what you should do, then what's stopping you?" Qui-Gon inquires. He receives no answer, so he continues with his thoughts. "You could leave. You could go into exile once more and stay that way. There's a Rebellion. Ahsoka's part of it. The galaxy is not without Jedi." Still nothing. Qui-Gon sighs and shifts. He crosses his arms and gazes out the window and into the night sky. "The galaxy needs the Jedi. Luke and Leia need you."
Ben scoffs into his knees but makes no move to lift his head.
"Ahsoka can train them." He mutters. It's the truth. He believes it to be the truth. "I wouldn't be a good teacher. Look how well that turned out the first time." His voice is dry and full of self-hatred. "My student fell to the Dark Side. I was clueless. I didn't see the signs." A breath shudders from his mouth and his body slumps further in on itself. "This is all my fault." He whispers, feeling tears start to renew themselves. "The Fall of the Republic. The Rise of the Empire." A pause. "The death of my brothers and sisters." His voice cracks and he allows the tears to fall from his clenched eyes. "I did that. It was my fault the war started. If I hadn't gone to Kamino and then to Geonosis, the war wouldn't have happened." A sob rips through his throat and his body shakes from the force of it. "I have been the cause of the so many dead bothers and sisters. And for what?"
"Obi-Wan, none of this was your fault." Qui-Gon pushes as much kindness and love into the words. "None of it was your doing."
Ben snorts and shakes his head.
"Where's your proof?" He asks, finally raising his head. His eyes are red and his skin is pale with tracks of tears not having the time to dry as new ones take their place. "Where's your proof?" He asks again, gearing up for an argument.
"The Dark Side is hard to see." Qui-Gon begins, but Ben just laughs.
"You sound like Master Yoda."
"Obi-Wan, if it's your fault that Anakin fell and all this happened, then it's Yoda's as well," Qui-Gon says, eyeing the man on the bed. "You didn't see his fall to darkness, but neither did Yoda. Neither did Mace or Plo. No Jedi saw it coming. We are not all-knowing."
Ben sits in silence as the words seep into his bones.
"You did not cause this. It was the plan of the Sith. They played the long game. We just couldn't see it. We are all at fault. Don't place the blame on yourself." Qui-Gon watches as Obi-Wan just breathes. His chest falling and rising slowly and his eyes dull. "Please, little one. Listen to me. Trust me. You did not do this."
Ben flicks his eyes to meet Qui-Gon's. He can feel the truth in the words as well as the strength. He nods his head and bites his lip before speaking.
"I don't think I'll be able to believe you all at once," He says, eyes brightening slightly. "But I think I can get there."
Qui-Gon smiles softly and brushes a glowing hand through Obi-Wan's hair.
"That's all I ask."
The doors to Ben's room slam open and the former High General jumps in his spot. He doesn't have time to wipe his face and rid his cheeks of the tears. Ahsoka stands in his doorway with the Clones behind her. She has a smile on her face as she enters the room and comes to stand right in front of Ben's bed. If she notices the tear tracks, she says nothing.
"We found it." She says, chest heaving as though she ran through the whole palace just to get to Ben.
"Found what?" He asks, wincing at his slightly croaky voice.
"A home." Rex pipes up from behind his former Commander. "We found a home."
The Force brightens just a bit.
Ben smiles widely at the men behind Ahsoka. He knows Qui-Gon has the same look on his face.
A home for them. Somewhere they can be safe and happy.
"Well then," Ben says, eyes meeting each Clone's eyes. "We've got some planning to do, don't we?"
The End!
