#also i just love the idea of maul surrendering to obi as student

[darthkote]

Maul: and... This is supposed to help me.. how?

Obi-Wan: *remains cross-legged and quiet beside him*

Maul: Kenobi? *starting to open his eyes*

Obi-Wan: keep them shut and stop thinking so much. You're being quite loud, you know.

Maul: *growls before reattempting to quiet his mind* I told you this isn't my thing.

Obi: no, you just haven't given yourself enough grace. Try again.

[inkognito97]

Nyctophilia - Chapter 15

Light:

“Good, good,” Sidious sick voice praised, his cold gold eyes resting on the Jedi, who had been thrown at his feet. Midnight blue eyes did not show any fear, when he returned the evil and amused glance defiantly. “Well done, my apprentices.” Obi-Wan and Xanatos bowed.

Dooku and his monster of an apprentice chose exactly this moment to enter the room. The older intruder stopped briefly, when his eyes caught sight of the captured Jedi, Maul gazed at the bearded male hungrily.

“We have done as you have told us, my Lord,” Dooku bowed as well, only the Zabrak did not show his respect. His attention was on the Jedi and there was lust and desire in his gaze, it was almost frightening.

Sidious nodded satisfied, “Maul,” that caught the Zabrak’s attention, “would you show our unexpected guest, our hospitality?” The way the red and black Zabrak’s expression turned into an ugly grin, sent shivers down Obi-Wan’s spine and when the almost unnoticeable tremble in Xanatos was any indicator, than he was not the only one.

“With pleasure,” a flicker of fear passed the Jedi’s features. Obi-Wan was sure that he was the only one, who had seen it, except Xanatos that is.

With that the Zabrak grabbed the taller male and literally dragged him behind him, the remaining people were excused then.

 Dooku soon returned to his quarters, but not before nodding towards Xanatos and Obi-Wan. He had been surprised about their success, that much was clear. And he was also man enough to acknowledge the success.

“What is Maul going to do with Jinn?” Obi-Wan asked aloud.

Xanatos looked at him briefly, “I don’t know, but,” before he could finish his sentence, a loud scream tore through the building. Maul’s quarters were close and the two men did not have to guess that Qui-Gon had been brought there.

“Was that,” Obi-Wan’s voice shook a little, but he did not care.

His companion was not faring better. His gaze looked in the direction, from where the terrible sound had come from. “Yes,” he whispered, then shook his head and quickly turned the other way. Confused, Obi-Wan followed him. He had to run to keep up with the older male.

They only stopped, when they had reached the door to Dooku’s chambers. Even here the pained screams could be heard, but they were already much quieter. Xanatos literally hammered against the door and only a moment later, did an irritated Dooku open.

“Forgive me my intrusion Master, but I wondered if you would allow my apprentice entrance... the screams are very loud where our rooms are.”

Dooku looked them both over, his face also held an unreadable expression. “Come in, both of you,” with that he stepped aside and allowed them entrance.

 The three males sat a little awkwardly on the black leather couches of Dooku’s living room. Everything in the quarters looked expensive and valuable. Obi-Wan was almost afraid to touch something.

“This is not what I wanted,” he said without even realizing it. Two set of eyes rested on him.

“Neither I,” Xanatos was the first to speak up again and he caught the Padawan’s attention, who blushed at his break in control.

“Nor I,” Dooku admitted. He looked troubled too, it was clear that he did want the torture to end as well.

Blue-green eyes looked between the two older males. In this moment, he realized something. The three of them were quite different, yet there was something that connected them together, that pushed their darkness away from all their hearts, it was Qui-Gon Jinn.

“We can’t allow this to continue,” Obi-Wan felt sick to his stomach, when another pained cry could be heard.

“He has gone too far,” it was clear, to whom Xanatos was referring.

“Maul is a monster and Sidious should never have kept him,” Dooku cut in. “Look or rather hear, what he is already capable of. Imagine how he will be, when he is crafted to Sidious’ pervert wishes.” Obi-Wan shuddered.

“Could it be,” the ginger haired male said slowly, “that this is all a big mistake?”

“You mean joining the dark side?” Xanatos chuckled, but without any joy, “Of course it is.” That surprised the two other males in the room.

“You,” Obi-Wan swallowed the lump in his throat, “you don’t want to use the dark side anymore?” “No... I don’t know what changed though.”

“I think I know the answer to that,” the grey haired Master spoke up. Two pairs of eyes settled on him, but he just waved his hand at the youngest in their midst. “The darkness can only be destroyed by light.”

“Of course,” Xanatos spoke up again, “we were all so blind.”

“What are you talking about?” the ginger haired teenager wanted to know.

“We are talking about you, Obi-Wan,” he pushed a few strands of black hair out of his face, “I think the time you spent with us... might have influenced us more than the other way around. We think that your unwavering bright presence might have driven the dark fog in our minds away.” Dooku nodded at that. Another moment of silence passed between the three males, in which they all pondered about the newest revelation. Then, “What are we to do about Sidious and Maul then?”

Shadow:

“Master,” the fallen Jedi made sure that his voice sounded worried and apologetic. He let himself slide to his knees and he bowed his head. “Forgive me.”

“For what?” the man’s voice was unfamiliar cold. “For killing two beings, one of them my former Master, the other my former Padawan, or should I forgive you for betraying and lying to me? Or perhaps you are asking forgiveness for falling to the dark side? Tell me, which one is it?” The usually composed Jedi Master was angry.

“Forgive me for not fighting more against the Council, for succumbing to their wishes and Orders,” that made the long haired man take a surprised step back. His lightsaber was still activated, but the angry and distrustful expression had turned to shock.

“What do you mean?”

“I am referring to my mission, Master.” “There is no mission!” thundered the older male.

Tortured blue-green eyes looked finally up, “There was, there IS. It is a secret mission,” he looked at his hands, which were resting in his lap. “I was supposed to infiltrate the Sith in order to find their leader and to sent the information to the Council. Just, things got quickly out of hand and unexpected enemies arrived. I wouldn’t have killed them, if they had not been too deeply anchored in the dark, you have to believe me!”

“I don't know if I can,” the words would have hurt Obi-Wan, where he still the stupid little Padawan, but since he pretended to be, he pretended to be hurt by those words too.

“I understand,” he mumbled, he bowed his head again.

Neither male said another word for the next few minutes. It was clear that Qui-Gon was thinking about his next steps. He was unsure, that much was palpable in the Force. He was afraid that Obi-Wan had become just like Xanatos, but the ginger haired teen had not become like the dead raven haired Sith, he was better. Or worse, depending on your point of view.

“And I will surrender to you, so that you and the Council may judge me and my actions.” That certainly took the Jedi by surprise.

The bearded man slowly stepped forward. Obi-Wan stayed where he was, not moving a single muscle. He didn't want to scare his former Master and perhaps future student away, at least not yet.

“I believe in second chances,” Qui-Gon eventually said. He was standing directly in front of the kneeling figure, who only tilted his head enough, so that he could look at the dark brown boots right in front of him.

“I already had mine… and look where it got me,” he sounded pathetic even to his own ears.

“It left you in a… bad situation,” the Jedi admitted and Obi-Wan knew that he was nodding his head, “You were ordered by the Council to accomplish this mission, you said. There you have it. Your desire to prove your worth has brought you in this situation, it was undoubtedly the fear of being casted aside that allowed the darkness to take hold in the first place. Therefore I will do the only logical thing,” he stopped talking and moved so fast that Obi-Wan could not have reacted, even if he had wanted to. Before he knew it, he found himself in a tight embrace of the older male, his head pressed against the other's shoulder. It was surprisingly comforting. Perhaps this was truly what he had missed… but being with the dark side gave you the ability to take whatever you wanted.

The ginger haired male hid his evil grin in the other's chest and his hands fisted in his beige tunic. “I am terrible sorry Master,” he 'cried' against the older man.

“It is me, who is sorry my Padawan. I should have seen your fears and I should have conquered them with trust and perhaps even with love,” he hesitated, “I promise that from this point on, I will never abandon you ever again.”

“Truly?” things were working better than Obi-Wan had expected. Oh, how love could blind people.

“Truly dear one,” the arms around him tightened.

The teenager pulled finally away, pretending to wipe away a few fake tears. He looked up and found himself gazing right into midnight blue eyes that held so much love and hope that it was truly disgusting to the young Sith. One would think that Qui-Gon had learned after Xanatos, but apparently this was not the case. Some people simply did not learn from their mistakes and some people were meant for more than the bright life of a Jedi.

“Master,” the teenager exclaimed, “the Sith Lord.”

Qui-Gon looked confused and perhaps a bit surprised at the unexpected outburst from his Padawan. “What about him?”

“He is still here… I can still feel his presence. If we hurry...” he let the sentence trail off.

Qui-Gon looked at the dead bodies on the sandy ground with a big frown on his features. Then his eyes turned back to Obi-Wan, who was getting up from his kneeling position. He offered the older male a hand. Hesitantly a large calloused hand, took a much younger one.

“Very well Padawan, if you are sure that we can face him and if you are sure that this is indeed a good idea,” he took a deep breath through his nose, “I trust you.”

Obi-Wan tightened his hold on his future student's hand, “And I trust you.” He did indeed trust him, he trusted him to fall prey to his scheming that is.

[theethird]

Episode 8 Theories.

1. Del Toro is Gallius Rax, a member of the Shadow Council and a key figure from the recent SW Novels. Gallius routinely fed information to the Alliance/Republic in order to weed out the weaker members of the Imperial Remnant, so it wouldn't be much of a stretch for him to have infiltrated his way into the Republic as a senator, especially as one opposing Leia's resistance movement. Gallius was also a student of Palpatine and charged with guarding an excavation on Jakku so, there's that. 2. Finn's story is about finding his way with the Force. There are plenty of clues to him being Force sensitive in the first film but even if he turns out to be a non practicioner, his destiny lies with Force users. My guess is he starts off unconscious after his injuries in Episode 7, loses his memory but not his connection to the Force as his F.O. programming takes hold. He'll escape from a Resistance base, creating a scene that Gallius will use for support in the Senate to shut Leia down. 3. Phasma is going to be looking for revenge but also purpose. I feel like her larger story is equal parts Boba Fett, General Grievous and Darth Maul. Boba - Armored badass who actually recovers from being misused in one film, Grievous - a bad guy with a warrior past to justify her allegiance to the Empire/F.O., Darth Maul - a villain with potential thar gets thrown aside by her faction after her failure. Im still willing to bet she's a Mandalorian left over from the "Rebels" years, probably the daughter of Gar Saxon or a descendant of Supercommandos turned into a human weapon. Her path will be to hunt Finn but the journey will probably force her to reconsider her loyalties and purpose. 4. Poe will replace Leia by the end of the film. Leia is the general we all love and adore but Kylo being who he is is political suicide in the long run. Between Kylo leading the First Orders troops and a potential leak from within (my Finn theory), Del Toro's character who is rumored to be a rival will have enough pull to remove her from any legitimate positron of power and possibly take her into custody (mirroring Han at the end of ESB) At which point Poe would have to assume leadership of the fledgling resistance, as it doubles back from whatever attack is sure to hit them. 5. The Empire will Rise again by the end of the film. Attack of the Clones gave us the start of the Imperial Era by giving us the Clone Troopers who would give way to Stormtroopers. Empire Strikes Back showed us the power of the Imperial Army and the reach they had in chasing their targets. I think episode 8 is going to show us the political side of the Empire, the calculating parts that led to the downfall of the Republic in the prequel era revisited for the sequels. I think Gallius Rax has his forces on standby and with the Republic thinking the First Order is gone after the destruction of Starkiller base, it's a perfect time to set up shop, or at least plot course for the key systems. 6. Rey will taste the dark side. As cliche as this is, there's only so much that happens to our Force using heroes in this saga. You either resist the Dark Side or you try it out. either way you can't run from it. Rey is at least 19 when her abilities awaken. Anakin was 9. Luke was 19. Luke had Obi and Yoda, Anakin had the entire order and fell, Rey just has Luke. Rey's chances of staying good aren't that high. Especially considering Luke probably knows who her parents/family are, what happened to them, and why she was abandoned in the first place. I think Kylo is going to crash her training session, kick her ass but Luke will sacrifice himself to give her a chance to escape. Kylo will either kill Luke or capture him (i vote capture) giving whoever is commanding the Imperial Fleet the signal to start their surprise attack on the Republic, and it will be Rey's fault...well at least in her mind. 7. Anakin will cameo as a Force ghost to either his kids, grandkids or Rey. I think he'll pop up just to fill in what Luke can't, for either of our heroes. What i would love is for him to show up to Finn and teach him how to keep Rey from falling to the darkside while showing him how to redeem his grandson but that's wishful thinking. They'd never put that much on Finn...never mind. He had a lightsaber once. But yes, Anakin will show up long enough to attempt to atone for his actions as Vader. 8. Kylo's darkness will be shaken, again. Kylo is probably coming back with a phantom of the opera mask (Hello, Arcann from SWTOR) and dark side eyes and a whole lot of rage. That being said, seeing his mother and/or uncle brought to their knees will be a moment of truth for him, and if I'm guessing correctly, he'll be unsure of how to continue once he's won. Fighting Rey will be one thing to boost his confidence but Luke will probably beat him back only to surrender which will rob him of his moment and he'll have to figure out how to move forward. Snoke will more than likely reveal his hand too quickly and Kylo will wisen up even if momentarily. 9. Lando and Boba will play significant roles even from the background. I haven't heard anything about Billy Dee being involved but i wouldn't put it past Lucas to toss a cameo to the galaxy's other lovable scoundrel. He's probably one of the richest members of the Republic, assuming they could get him to sign up permanently. If nothing else, Lando probably helped finance the Resistance and he'll probably have to help them when the Empire returns. Boba is dead until they tell us otherwise. Id love to see him be the father of Phasma or something, but more than likely he's running one of the criminal organizations out there if he lived. I mean between the two of them, who better to inherit the role of the Hutts in the Outer Rim? Furthermore, with the Republic all but assured to fail again, who else can you turn to as an illegal organization yourselves? The resistance will find it's old friends and enemies convenient allies by the end of episode 8. 10. Finn and Rey are probably experiments. As in Finn was probably the result of generations of selective breeding stemming from the Rebels era when the Empire and its Inquisitors kidnapped Force sensitive kids for unknown purposes. They handpicked them from cadets so so knows how deep that loyalty runs. If anything they took notes from the cloners on Kamino on how to alter genetics to create perfect soldiers, and Finn and his peers were the pinnacle of that process. (Hence the traitor thing) I think Rey is connected to the artifact that Palpatine wanted from Jakku and thus that's why Luke hid her there. I think the Church of the Force knew what was coming and probably set up a camp there to keep Rey and/or the artifact out of Imperial hands. Rey could also be the product of someone tampering with whatever was buried there, and it's probably what Snoke used to convince Kylo to turn on Luke. It probably went something like " you're using a dark side object to teach us? you know nothing of the dark side uncle. not like he does." Rey was probably the reason why the academy fell and Luke abandoned her so he wouldn't have to kill her. Sucks. Those are my wild ideas, feel free to tell me what you think. lol