Duel of the Fates

by Susan Anthony (LdyGossamer@aol.com)

Pairing: Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon

Archive: Master_Apprentice, my site at http://www.geocities.com/area51/keep/8613/artists.html, anyone else, just ask

Category: AU, Humor, First Time

Rating: R

Spoilers: TPM

Summary: The real reason it was called the Duel of the Fates.

Feedback: Very welcome.

Warnings: M/M relationship implied, pays absolutely no attention to canon. I have no idea where this story came from.

Notes: The Three Fates of Greek mythology are Klotho, who combs the wool and spins the thread of life, Atropos, who weaves the thread into the fabric of one's actions and Lachesis, who determines the length of the thread and thus the period of one's life. Together, they were the Moirai, the personification of the inescapable destiny of man. Or Jedi as the case may be.

Disclaimer: The Boyz aren't mine. More's the pity. This story is for the pleasure of the readers only. I don't make a thing.

The blast doors slowly opened, revealing a figure dressed in black. The Jedi Master met its eyes across the firefight in the docking bay before turning to the queen.

"We'll handle this," he said with quiet authority. The young royal nodded.

"We'll take the long way round."

The master and his apprentice were already walking away, dropping their robes to the floor while moving towards the figure in black. It held out its light saber and switched on first one, then two blades of malicious red. The Jedi powered up their own sabers, the deadly blades reflecting green and blue before the battle was joined between good and evil.

Somewhere else...

"You can't kill Qui-Gon. You just can't!" an anguished voice cried. "He's the best Jedi there is."

"Tough!" The reply was heartless in the extreme. "His time's up and there's no getting around it. The other Jedi will just have to get along without him."

"How can you say that?" the first speaker wailed. "Think of all the knowledge, all the experience embodied in Qui-Gon Jinn!" Her eyes glazed over and she licked her lips. "Think of the body of...uh...embodied in Qui-Gon Jinn."

"I knew it!" An accusing finger nearly impaled the first speaker. "What kind of Fate are you, Klotho? You're trying to save him because you think he's hot!"

"I am not!" Klotho denied vehemently. "But just because he is the best looking human in the entire Order, doesn't mean you should kill him, Atropos!" The first woman turned to the silent third figure in the room. "Back me up here, Lachesis," she pleaded.

"Qui-Gon Jinn is a very fine looking man and a capable Jedi" a neutral voice stated.

"Just capable?" Klotho echoed in disbelief.

"He is not the best looking Jedi!" Atropos denied flatly as she crossed her arms. "Obi-Wan is MUCH better looking AND younger AND has more stamina!" Her own eyes glazed over as she focused on her inner sight and the visions dancing there. "And doesn't he look just fine in those tight pants. Ummm, did you see that kick? I bet he is so flexible! Just imagine... " Her words trailed off in a pant.

"And you accuse me of favoritism?" Klotho bleated. "You only want to kill Qui-Gon so it'll get him out of the way! You know Obi-Wan has a THING for his master!"

"He does not!" Atropos replied hotly before she took a deep breath. Then she smiled as she sauntered towards Lachesis who was seated before a table sorting brightly colored threads. She couldn't help throwing her sister a smirk. "Besides, it wouldn't matter anyway, would it? It's Jinn's time. That's all."

"And you think that will leave an open door for you to Obi-Wan?" Klotho demanded as she stomped after her sister. "Well I have a newsfeed for you, sister! It'll NEVER happen! Kenobi will be stuck training that Skywalker nightmare and he won't have time for anything! Much less a silly little Moirai like you!"

Atropos stiffened in outrage at her sister's declaration and with a snarl she snatched up several threads, among them a radiant green strand. The woman pulled it out of her fist and held it up. It was long and a bit worn but still quite strong and a beautiful vibrant color. Atropos glared at her sister triumphantly as she brandished it.

"And Jinn would go for you, you brainless nereid?" she cried as she groped around for her scissors. "Well we'll just see about that!"

Klotho wailed and jumped forward, grabbing at her sister's hand. "You will NOT!" she screamed. "You damn harpy, you will NOT cut Qui-Gon's Thread!"

"Oh yes I WILL!" Atropos finally got hold of her scissors and almost stabbed her sister trying to get to the gleaming green Thread.

"Lachesis! Make her stop! Make her stop!"

"It is rather stupid of you, Atropos, to kill off Jinn and make a saint of him in Kenobi's eyes," their sister's emotionless voice stated. "He will never love another if you kill his master now."

Atropos was stunned into stillness by her sister's words and Klotho made a grab for Qui-Gon's Thread, tumbling the pair to the floor. There was a thud of bodies hitting the ground, the sound of a SNIP, and the faint scream of a young man's voice in anguished agony.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The cry re-echoed as a faint whimper by Klotho, who now held the green Thread though it was barely hanging together in one piece. Her face was covered with tears.

"Atropos, look what you did," she sniveled and her sister was suddenly beside her, trying to comfort her.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, Klo! I didn't mean...oh no!" she said sincerely, seeing her sister in anguish. She reached out and tried to piece the Thread back together when Klotho whipped it away. She glared at her sister with blood in her eyes.

"Why are you just sitting there! Get the damn duct tape!" she screamed as she surged up and carefully laid the Thread on the table before Lachesis. "Oh, Qui-Gon," she crooned as she petted the limp strand. "Hang on, sweetie. We'll make it better!"

Atropos looked at her sister as if she'd lost her mind when Lachesis leaned over to look at the damage. "It looks fairly fatal, Klo," she opined. Klotho glared as she reached out to pull a thick roll of duct tape from the air.

"I'll fix him right up!" she snarled. "You just watch!"

With a loud rip, she pulled off a strip of the heavy gray tape and wrapped it carefully around the green Thread, tenderly patting it down.

"See?" she said happily as she held it up. The green Thread looked faint and lifeless with the heavy gray tape weighing it down. The tentative smile on her face dropped away at her sisters' doubtful looks. She dropped the strand on the table and burst into tears.

Atropos came up beside her sister and laid her arm gently around her shoulders. "It's okay, Klo," she murmured, eyeing the patched Thread. "There are other Jedi in the sea."

Klotho threw off her sister's arm. "I don't WANT any other Jedi! I want Qui-Gon Jinn!" she shouted. Atropos looked at her helplessly and Klotho narrowed her eyes. With a quick snatch, she grabbed up several Threads from the table, among them the vibrant blue strand, which carried the life of one Jedi padawan.

"What are you doing with that?" Atropos said warily as Klotho pulled out the strand. "Now, Klo, you know it's not his time!"

"It wasn't Qui-Gon's time either!" Klotho grated as she pulled out her own pair of scissors. "We'll see how YOU like it!"

"NO!" Atropos shouted and jumped at her sister, again throwing them to the floor. The scissors flashed again and a resounding SNIP echoed against the walls. This time several strands clutched in Klotho's fist were cut completely apart and miles above the planet a Trade Federation ship exploded.

Klotho's fist opened nervelessly and let the remaining strands fall although Obi-Wan's strong blue filament still fluttered in her fingers, whole and radiantly gleaming.

"Oops," she stated as she glanced hesitantly up at her eldest sister.

Lachesis carefully leaned down from her seat and sifted through the threads on the floor. After a moment, she picked up half of a gleaming white strand, now cut completely in half and plainly showing its black inner core. She glanced up at her sisters with a vaguely accusing gaze. They both stumbled to their feet as Klotho dropped Obi-Wan's strand on the table next to Qui-Gon's patched-up Thread.

"And who will explain this one?" Lachesis asked them archly.

The pair looked everywhere but at their sister.

"Nobody liked the little brat anyway," Klotho finally stated.

"Even Sabe was thinking of ways to space him," Atropos added with an earnest nod.

Lachesis felt her brow rise in spite of herself. Secretly she couldn't help but agree. However, there were certain things that were - Just. Not. Done.

With a sigh, she dropped the white Thread. There was nothing for it now. Even duct tape wouldn't help Skywalker now.

Then she spotted two other Threads in the mess of strands on the floor. With a shaking hand, she leaned down and grasped half of a blood red strand. As she picked it up, another half Thread, a shining black and red strand, caught briefly on it before fluttering to the floor. Her eyes were more than accusing when they met her sisters' panicked expressions.

"And these two?" she inquired with a polite tone that had more in common with an iceberg than anything else. When neither of her sisters answered she continued. "In one little fit of pique, the pair of you have taken out the Sith, an institution that has lasted thousands of years. Who needs a Phantom Menace when we've got the pair of you!"

"Awwww, come on 'Sis," Klotho said coaxingly. "Palpatine had it coming. He was just an evil old letch."

"Of course, he was evil!" the oldest Fate snapped and her sisters flinched. Lachesis never raised her voice. "He was supposed to be evil! He had things he was supposed to do!"

"Rabe? Sache? Yane?" The voice of Naboo's young queen preceded Amidala into the room, followed by her other two handmaidens. Her brown eyes were hard as she glared at the Fates. "Why the hell are you all in here? Don't you know there's a war on?" she snapped. She never stood on formality when she was reprimanding her people.

"We were...ah...just monitoring the battle from here, Majesty," Klotho/Sache hastily explained as she silently thanked the makers that the average mortal couldn't see the mess of cut Threads behind her. She glanced back at Lachesis with a meaningful look. "Weren't we Rabe?"

Lachesis/Rabe rolled her eyes and stood. "Indeed Majesty, the Trade Federation has fallen. Their control ship was blown to the far side of the galaxy."

Klotho looked a little guilty. "Yeah, sorry about the Skywalker brat - " Atropos/Yane elbowed her sister hard, "ah...kid," she finished with a blush. "He was blown across the galaxy too."

Amidala looked stunned at her handmaidens' words and more than a little upset. Atropos thought she needed some cheering up.

"Yeah, but the good news is that the Jedi are fine," she said happily.

"Aren't they just?" Eirtae noted from her place at Amidala's left, a familiar glazed expression in her eyes. The Queen threw her a hard look and Eirtae quickly assumed her usual bland expression.

"At least that's welcome news," Amidala grumbled, turning back to her three AWOL handmaidens. "We will see if we can lend them any assistance," she stated grandly as she motioned Eirtae and Sabe to accompany her. She held up her hand when Yane moved to join them. "Not you, Yane. You three can remain here and...monitor the rest of the battle," she continued with a banal expression. "I'm sure it will keep you busy."

And with that, the Queen and her two handmaidens swept from the room, leaving two slightly disgruntled Fates with their eldest sister.

"Huh! Wasn't she crabby?" Atropos noted sourly.

"I'd think she'd be grateful she isn't going to have to deal with that whiny little Sithboy," Klotho agreed with her sister.

Lachesis didn't say anything but, as that was usual, her sisters didn't worry. It was when she started snickering that they started worrying. They looked over at their eldest sister who was intently studying something on the table before her. Hesitantly, they approached and stood on either side of her, looking down at the threads on the table.

"Hey, Qui-Gon's Thread is perfect again! The tape worked!" Klotho caroled happily before her expression turned dark. "But...."

"But what is it doing all entwined around Obi-Wan's Thread?" Atropos asked tightly. "And why is it moving around like that?"

Lachesis just snickered again as she reached out to pick up the two Threads that were doing their level best to become one strand.

"Well well well..." she murmured as the three Fates heard in the distance, 'Oh YES, Master, do that AGAIN!' and the blue strand merged beautifully into the green, creating a multihued Thread stronger than Lachesis had seen in several lifetimes.

"What are they doing?" Atropos screamed as she grabbed for the Thread in her sister's fingers.

"Separate them!" Klotho wailed.

Lachesis pulled the Thread close to her heart and glared at her sisters. "Haven't you two done enough damage here?" she asked in a tone that was colder than either of her sisters had ever heard. The pair immediately stepped back and tried to look contrite.

"Sorry."

"Just go, both of you," the eldest instructed harshly. "Find someone else to interfere with. I'm going to clean this up and see what can be salvaged."

"Yes, Lachesis," Klotho said as she dragged her sister from the room.

After a long moment spent glaring at the doorway, Lachesis held the single Thread out again and a slight smile touched her lips. Strong and glimmering, it was still moving sensuously as though in a strong breeze, though there was no wind in the room.

"It seems you have been given a second chance, Jedi," the eldest Fate stated fondly as she stored the Thread away with the others she had charge of.

Obi-Wan Kenobi stood next to his master...his former master, he had to remind himself, as they watched the Gungans parade down the avenue. So many things had changed so quickly in the last days that he was still working on keeping up with them.

The biggest shock had been the arrival of Chancellor Antilles with the Jedi Council. It seemed that the newly elected Chancellor Palpatine had been so thrilled with his new rank that he had been celebrating accordingly. The Chancellor's Guards could only guess at what happened but somehow, during the party, an unexplained power surge had taken out the new Chancellor's apartments along with the Chancellor and all his guests - certainly suspicious circumstances. Quite a shame. He might have made a decent Chancellor

And the loss of the boy...Obi-Wan's eyes slanted towards his master briefly. Qui-Gon was still meditating about his guilt on that score no matter how many times Obi-Wan mentioned 'Will of the Force' and 'Things Just Happen Sometimes, Master'.

Personally, he was relieved the little runt was out of the way. Now he had his master all to himself and if Master Windu didn't stop looking at Obi-Wan's bondmate with that leering gleam in his eyes, the Councilor was going to have serious problems when Obi-Wan rammed his lightsaber right up Windu's....

Peace Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon's voice floated into his mind and the younger Jedi got an extremely sappy look on his face. You know there is no one in this universe for me but you.

Obi-Wan grinned and then stiffened at the snivels and sniffs coming from the direction of the Queen's handmaidens. When he glanced that way, he saw two of them studying him intently, one with a look of infatuation on her face and the other with a glare that would have done the Sith they had beaten proud.

The new knight quickly brought his attention forward again.

Master? he queried softly.

Yes, my Obi-Wan? came the quick reply and the knight blushed a very becoming shade at the endearment.

Have you noticed anything...strange about the Queen's handmaidens?

Obi-Wan felt his master's thoughtful silence for a moment. They are rather odd, he finally noted.

They give me the heebies, the younger Jedi noted for the record. I will not be sad to leave. When do we get off this planet again?

Qui-Gon turned and looked at him. The expression was the serene mask of a Jedi master but those blue eyes were making promises that made Obi-Wan glad their Jedi robes covered so much of their bodies.

We board a private transport after this celebration, my Obi-Wan, courtesy of Master Yoda. The master Jedi noted before he turned back to watch the parade. It should take about five days to get back to Coruscant.

Obi-Wan didn't hear much after that, didn't really notice his master guiding him past the Queen and the now weeping handmaidens for formal farewells, didn't really notice anything until the transport door started closing and his master was twined around him again. Ummmmmmm, five days.

Lachesis watched happily as the transport lifted off. In her inner pocket a single, multihued Thread was already warming, sending her visions that made her come up with a quick reason to be elsewhere so she could enjoy the next five days in peace.

The End