CHAPTER THREE: DEVELOPMENTS


The Jedi temple


"It doesn't look that bad, it's definitely not a lethal cut, you'll be fine." The Togruta Master Shaak Ti said and stopped healing the wound on Ahsoka's belly, then Anakin came towards them.

"I am so sorry, to both of you, I just lost it there, I can't explain what happened, please forgive me…" he said honestly and Ahsoka looked up to gaze at his raw eyes, Anakin wasn't himself, the death of Obi-Wan had devastated him, Eyan handled it much better.

Much better.

"Anakin, come with me, maybe I can help you to find peace in all this, I'm worried about your current state." Shaak Ti said and touched Anakin's arm softly to feel what was wrong.

"No, maybe it's better I left the Order, I can't be trusted, I attacked another Jedi, I should leave, I shouldn't be a Jedi!" Anakin said with a raised voice, but Ahsoka immediately brought something into that, ""Master, no, you're meant to be a Jedi, you have to be, to help people, we can help you through this and I won't let you go like this." She said stubbornly.

"You can't-" "Oh yes we can, Anakin, it's not just our duty to help people, it's also because we want to, and we can't let you go in this state, not while you can't think clearly." Shaak Ti added and nudged Anakin out of the room.

"Well, how do you feel right now?" Eyan asked Ahsoka and put his hand on her shoulders, seeking for the answer like Obi-Wan had always done with him, something that had surprisingly often worked.

"I don't feel the pain if that's what you mean, I feel that Anakin needs help, not just from the Jedi, but from someone else, I wish Obi-Wan was here, he would know what to do…" Ahsoka mused and stood up, her wound was now only appearance, but Ahsoka didn't feel it anymore.

"You okay?" Eyan asked as Ahsoka blinked as though there actually was pain.

"Nope, just forgot that Padmé could help him." Ahsoka replied.

"That expression didn't fit well then." Eyan continued with a worried glare through his face.

"Doesn't matter, I'm going to talk with her, see you later." Ahsoka said a bit too happy and left the room and R2-D2, the astromech droid that pretty much everyone in the galaxy knew about, faithful partner of Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear.

Or so they say.

Today's happenings show again that it is only a moniker, not truth, 'cause in all reality, Anakin has fears all right, as a matter of fact he's crushed by them.

He fears for his secret wife, Padmé Amidala.

A lot.

"Artoo, how she got back like that, is beyond me." The little astromech droid swiveled its dome and focused its photoreceptors on Eyan, then it chittered a response.

"You're right, anyway, why are you here?" Eyan asked and again R2-D2 responded.

"The Council wants to speak to me? Do you know what it is about?" R2-D2 turned its dome and it looked like a very human shaking of the head, thing is, R2-D2 wasn't a droid, he was a true friend, and had spend a lot of time with Eyan, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka.

"No, well, better not keep them waiting, oh, by the way, if you go over to maintenance, you can get an oil bath any time, just tell them I send you." The droid beeped and whistled enthusiastic and thankful, then headed of, leaving Eyan behind with a smile on his face.

"I love this new authority, it's a miracle Anakin never did this for Artoo…" then he headed off to the Council chambers.


The Chancellor's office


"Ah, Anakin, such a delight to see you again." Supreme Chancellor Palpatine said and walked welcoming towards Anakin, Palpatine's expression changed immediately, though Anakin looked a lot better than when he lashed out in the temple, it was obvious for the Chancellor that Anakin was still crushed.

"I'm so sorry, condolences on Obi-Wan, such a shame, he was such a gentle and fine person, very intelligent and wise." Palpatine said and laid his hand on Anakin's shoulder, immediately feeling the pressure Anakin was under.

"Come, sit down, my boy, you look exhausted." Palpatine guided Anakin to a chair on the opposite side of the desk, but Anakin shook his head, "No sir, I don't want to take your time-" "Oh but I always have time for you, my boy, come one, take a seat." Palpatine insisted and Anakin gave in.

"So, you look troubled, is something wrong?" Palpatine said after he had settled in comfortably behind the desk and had given Anakin a glass of water.

"Actually sir, something is, after Obi-Wan's death, I've been… I've been freaking out… a lot…." Anakin said and Palpatine waited carefully until he was sure Anakin had finished.

"We've gone over this before haven't we? Your emotions, anyone's emotions are perfectly natural, and shouldn't be pushed away- not that I'm suggesting that Jedi do that, just that they have a…" Palpatine stopped to emphasize his words with a slight smile, ".. different… way to deal with their emotions. Oh Anakin, I'm sure you already know what I'm about to say, but nonetheless: you must not suppress those feelings, take them in your hands and face them, then, you will be unstoppable, Anakin, I've said it before, and I will say it again: you are the most gifted Jedi I know, and you're growing every second still.".

"I know sir, just… I attacked one of my friends…" Anakin said and looked away, half expecting Palpatine to be shocked and half hardly expecting a reaction at all, Palpatine had surprised him before.

"And who might this be?" Palpatine asked and Anakin sighed relieved, he was not going to lash out at him.

"Obi-Wan's padawan, Eyan, I… I saw him do something to Obi-Wan's body, that made it disappear…" a slight hint could've been Anakin's if he had looked up, Palpatine reacted surprised to this, where he normally wouldn't have.

"And then, I thought he had killed him, that he had ended Obi-Wan's life when we could've still saved him… but it wasn't true, I know it wasn't, right sir?" now Anakin looked up, and to his surprise Palpatine didn't have his customary wise and gentle smile on his face, but a slightly surprised expression.

"Ï don't know Anakin, be wary of him, why do you think he didn't wait for you?" Palpatine said and Anakin looked up, why wasn't Palpatine, almost his father, not telling him that he was right and comforting him?

"I know, Jedi do not think, they know, but you're not like any other Jedi-" exactly, he wasn't, and he shouldn't be, he enjoyed a natural childhood and so wasn't indoctrinated with the beliefs of the Jedi entirely, and he knew it.

He knew it all too well.

"-You are a man, and I've always tried to teach you to think, do you remember my lessons?" Palpatine asked and stood up, walking towards the window and peering out at the big city of Coruscant, now Anakin felt better, and finally managed a smile.

"I remember I didn't care about any lessons." He laughed and Palpatine turned towards him, still serious, "Indeed, and it is a shame, I've always tried to teach you to think, think Anakin, think. Why wouldn't Eyan wait for you? Does he think that he is more than you, better perhaps, does arrogance cloud his judgment as the great Jedi Masterswould say?" Palpatine pressed on, serious as ever.

"Well, I- I, no, that's just ridiculous, he's Obi-Wan's padawan, he wouldn't." Anakin said, almost laughing at his own stupidity.

"Anakin." Palpatine said seriously and looked him straight in the eye, "What did you feel from him?".

Anakin watched Palpatine carefully, was this some sort of joke?

"Sir, you have to realize how idi-" "No Anakin, think, you may be more right than you think about Eyan, you know that I don't trust the Jedi as much anymore, tell me, what did you sense in Eyan?" Anakin gave in, he should know better than to argue with a politician, and apparently, Palpatine had read his thoughts.

"We're not arguing Anakin, we're just talking, like any civilized two men would.".

"Well, okay… I sensed a certain passion from Eyan, a feeling I know a Jedi like he isn't supposed to feel." Anakin complied with a slight hint of a smile.

"A Jedi? I thought he was Obi-Wan's padawan?" Palpatine said and walked back to his desk.

"Well, the Council promoted him, and my own padawan, Ahsoka, to Jedi knights-" Palpatine's expression changed from serious to joyous.

"Oh, had said that immediately, congratulations, now the Jedi will surely make you a master!" Palpatine nearly bounced towards him and shook his hands enthusiastic, where did this come from?

"Well, Master Shaak Ti spoke to me about it and well… she said, that in my current state, it would not be a good idea, what kind of Master would I be if I couldn't even master myself?".

"That is untrue. In my opinion." Palpatine was quick to add and continued to explain it, "By showing your anger, by letting it go out, you've shown that you have mastered your emotions, it is actually the reason to make you a Master." To any normal person, this would be obvious to be a lie, but to Anakin Skywalker, confused and sad, it was not, and slowly, he started to believe it too.

"Oh Anakin, just be who you are, and no one will ever triumph over you, promise me, you will never dispose of your emotions as the Jedi do, it would be unnatural, except to the average Jedi of course, but promise me this." Palpatine said with a certain emphasizing urgency.

Anakin could do nothing than nod, after all, this was the second most important person in his life asking, how could he refuse, besides, this was also the promise he had made the first most important person in his life, Padmé Amidala, his loving wife, for who he'd do anything.


Padmé's apartment


"Ahsoka!" Padmé said and welcomed Ahsoka in, offering her a chair and giving her a glass of water, "I'm so glad to see you, I've been looking for you actually.".

"You have?" Ahsoka said astonished by how delighted Padmé was.

"Yes, oh, I'm sorry, I-" "It's okay Padmé, I think we're having the same reason to talk anyway, it's Anakin." Ahsoka said and had to literally set Padmé down in the chair, as soon as she touched her though, she could feel that on the inside, Padmé had turned into a wreck, and the intensity had her stumble herself.

"Yes, it's Anakin, he's been a wreck since Obi-Wan died, he came h- I mean here and he was so upset, I'm sorry for you too, and Eyan, he must be even more upset." Padmé rattled on and on, and Ahsoka smiled, she and Padmé had always been able to talk freely, and Ahsoka suspected things Padmé was no so much as confirming.

"Actually, Eyan is not that upset, he's sad, but definitely not as much as Anakin." "Because he didn't know Obi-Wan as long?" Padmé proposed, but Ahsoka shook her head with a faint smile, Padmé was looking so helpless and lost that it warmed her heart in a sense.

"No, I think it is because Eyan knows that Obi-Wan is still with him, that he is guiding him, he… used some sort of power on Obi-Wan, as Obi-Wan asked him to." Padmé nodded, "Anakin had said as much, he thought that Eyan had killed Obi-Wan by doing that, but I can't believe that Eyan would kill Obi-Wan, and I told Anakin that." Padmé said, starting to relax a bit.

"Padmé…?" Ahsoka said slowly, and Padmé immediately knew what was coming.

"Ahsoka, listen, what I am going to tell you must remain between us alone, no excuses, no one else can know, no matter how much you trust him or her, not even the Council, do you understand?" Padmé asked with an serious –parent like tone.

"I understand, I won't talk about it with anyone." Ahsoka said with a nod and Padmé looked back at the table, she was almost crying now.

"Ahsoka, Anakin and I aren't just friends, we're married." Somewhere, Ahsoka had already known, and she was okay with it, be to hear Padmé confirm that feeling, was a totally different thing for her to comprehend.

"Padmé, I- I am sorry, what?" only now started the stubborn denial.

"You must've suspected already…" Padmé replied merciless.

"Well, yes, but… to hear it from you is a whole other thing…" Ahsoka muttered and Padmé found the courage to look her in the eye.

"I need to think about-" "Anakin has had visions of me dying, Ahsoka, and after Obi-Wan, I am afraid he'll be even worse, I know he attacked Eyan, what if he will blame my death on him as well then?" Padmé continued ruthlessly and Ahsoka stumbled away from the chair.

"I am so sorry, Padmé, I have to go." she muttered and ran off.


A/N: Wow, I had three really depressing chapters in a row, don't worry, it'll get better for our heroes. Or will it?

Please Review this and my other stories and most importantly: Enjoy!