Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.

Aubrey's crap: Final part to my little Attack of the Clones trilogy. I think I'll probably make two more trilogies for The Phantom Menace, and Revenge of the Sith, but they probably won't be out for a while. This one was really fun to do. I'm sure it'll be fun to mess with Qui-Gon too. In any event, the title is a song by The Doors. Please enjoy it! Set just after Clones, the sequel to The Departure Song, and Graceless Falling. You really need to read both, to understand all of the nuances.

When the Music's Over

"Padawan," The Master speaks the title with no visible effort, though inside he's dying.

"Yes, Master?" The Padawan does not turn to face the Master. The Padawan couldn't bear that. Turning now would mean immediate annihilation for them both, the Padawan knows. He has made his first step on the path to self-destruction, all for this man who he cannot seem to face.

"Senator Amidala is safely back on Naboo?" The Master already knows the answer to this question. He needn't have asked at all, the Padawan decides grumpily. The Master is grasping for straws, though. He is desperate to make this less horrible, and the Padawan humors him.

"Yes, Master."

"And…how is your hand?" The Master asks next, and the Padawan almost twitches. The prosthetic on his arm is a fresh sore point, physically and mentally. Again, however, the Padawan humors the flustered Master.

"It's better, Master."

"Good…Padawan?" The Master draws a sigh of exasperation from the Padawan, but he is again humored.

"Yes, Master?"

"Things are going to be…different, now. But, I won't let them be worse."

The Padawan hesitates.

"They are worse, Master," The murmurs finally. Though he knows well what the Master speaks of, he does not acknowledge it. "War does that."

The room is dark, and the Padawan enters. The room is silent, and stays as such as the Padawan crosses. Pausing only briefly, the Padawan admires the sleeping Master's face. The Padawan thinks about the last time he watched the Master sleep like this. 'I love you,' he'd said. 'Protect you,' he'd said! The Padawan feels a liar, and this time keeps his confession to two, short, words.

"I'm sorry." The Padawan whispers, knowing the Master does not hear him. Turning mutely, the Padawan continues on. Even when heard, apologies make little difference now. The Padawan is married now. He did it to protect himself. He did not do it to protect the Master, as he'd like to think.

The dream is dead.

The room is dark.

And the Master just sleeps on.

When the music's over…
When the music's over
When the music's over
Turn out the light
Turn out the light
Turn out the light
When the music is your special friend
Dance on fire, as it intends
Music is your only friend
Until the end…"

When the Music's Over (The Doors, Strange Days)