"…And to sever the final link, I renounce my apprentice, Padawan Qui-Gon Jinn." Jedi Master Dooku stood in front of the Jedi Council, his hands clasped at the small of his back, his black cloak flowing out behind him.

Qui-Gon Jinn was standing beside him, his face betraying no emotion. Truly this did not surprise him, and what he felt he quickly released into the Force.

"Sure of this you are, Master Dooku?" Master Yoda watched the two from half-open eyes as he spoke in his guttural voice.

The human nodded. "Master Yoda, I feel that corruption now runs free in the senate. How can I speak for what is in my heart if I am bound by age-old rules?"

Yoda seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Prevent you from going, we cannot. But strongly suggest I do, that reconsider this you will."

Dooku shook his head. "No, Master Yoda. I refuse to fight for a cause that I do not believe in. My only concern is for my Padawan." He rested a hand on Qui-Gon's shoulder. "I want to see that his training is completed. We had a good bond, and I owe him that much."

Liar! Thought nineteen year-old Qui-Gon Jinn. The team had had a standard training bond; neither thought of each other as a particularly good friend, let alone having a father-son relationship. He didn't speak the thought though; merely kept his head bowed, and his expression devoid of all emotion.

He didn't show how much it hurt him. He had always been a good apprentice: Never particularly wanted a strong bond; a good fighter- he had been chosen early after Dooku saw him beat opponents several years older than him; none of their missions had ever failed because of mistakes he made; and he had been told that he was already a better negotiator than his Master. Yet still, he was destined to be brought in front of the Council and abandoned just like that? Deep in the back of his mind, he knew that it wasn't his fault, but still…

It hurt.

TPM time period

Qui-Gon, now much older and experienced, stood before the Council. "I will train Anakin Skywalker. I renounce my Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi and take on Anakin Skywalker, to instruct and guide him in the Jedi ways." He felt his former Padawan's shock radiating off of him. He shook it off. No one comforted him when Dooku left him to a different Master's care.
Obi-Wan would live.

A/n: Please review.