In Padmé's ship, Obi-Wan was steering while Anakin sat beside him. Anakin wasn't really doing an awful lot to help.
Once in a while, he looked over the controls and readings to make sure everything was under control but after that, he just stared out across the velvety horizon ahead of them both as they travelled to a secret location where Obi-Wan assured him that Yoda was.
His hand tapped aimlessly against the panel, the only form of movement Anakin was making.
His thoughts were filled with Padmé and the twins.
The way they had parted hadn't been ideal. After all, she had left without a backward glance, disgusted and disappointed in him.
She had carried his children in her arms and taken them away to a place where she thought they would be safe without him there.
He yearned to see her and speak to her. To tell her how sorry he was and how much he loved her, Luke and Leia.
Obi-Wan glanced in Anakin's direction and saw that he was far away. Or at least his thoughts were.
Obi-Wan wondered briefly how Anakin would react when he saw just where Yoda was now residing. It was the last place that even Obi-Wan would have looked for the little, green Jedi Master but fortunately for him, Yoda had already confided in him that there would only ever be one place he would go to be kept hidden in times of great evil or uncertainty.
And Obi-Wan knew that this was one of those times. He also knew that great changes in power had also now taken place in the Galaxy. Trouble was now free as evil was loose.
He could feel something else within the force, even within himself. He had been dreading to feel it but he didn't hide from it.
Yoda did not win.
Yoda could not win.
Fighting Sidious would always be a risk. He was unbelievably powerful.
Sidious was just too powerful for nearly all of their skills. Look what had happened to Mace and all of the other Jedi. Obi-Wan had always had a bad feeling about Yoda's wanting to fight Sidious but he also knew that it was for the greater good. It was a plain fight between good and evil and unfortunately this time, good hadn't managed to succeed. But hope was still among them. At least, it was with Obi-Wan.
All because of one man who was sitting beside him. One man who had been a controversial issue with the Jedi from the beginning but now, could be crucial for their very existence.
He remembered when Qui-Gon and he had brought the young nine-year old Anakin to the Jedi Council and Yoda had already sensed the future of the child being clouded.
Even Obi-Wan himself had thought that bringing Anakin to become a Jedi had been a bad idea. But it was eventually decided that Anakin would be taught anyway. He had an amazingly high count of midichlorians and he certainly had a presence in the force and a gift for it.
He had thought, perhaps rather stupidly, that if Anakin had been taught in the right way, the Jedi way, then he would be fine. That his fate would be a good one because after all, he was the Chosen One.
As it turned out, Obi-Wan had been wrong. Anakin had the kind of spirit that the more it was restrained the more it would fly free. Anakin had known life before the Jedi and had probably never felt the strain of so many rules, not even when he was a slave.
In some cases, Anakin just seemed to ignore the rules given and do things his own way, hoping he wouldn't get caught.
There were some things even Obi-Wan himself hadn't known about. Anakin's marriage for one thing. Now that had been a shock.
It had always been obvious to Obi-Wan that Anakin loved Padmé. That he had done so from the moment they met. He also know from an early point that Padmé herself harboured feelings of some kind for Anakin when they had been assigned to protect the Senator from all of the assassination attempts on her life.
He had tried to warn Anakin to keep his feelings and emotions in check and he had thought that simple instruction had been obeyed.
Certainly after the assignment was over, they never much talked about Padmé again and when they did, it was in short abrupt conversations but Obi-Wan knew Anakin still carried those feelings around with him. And they had intensified.
But Obi-Wan had still thought that nothing had happened between them. That illusion had begun to crumple around the edges after Obi-Wan's visit to Padmé's apartment. He'd had his suspicions,of course. But this proved it, at least to him.
His illusions hadn't been shattered with the last visit he had made to Padmé's apartment, when he had told her of Anakin's turn to the Dark side.
There had been a time before that.
The first time he had been there he had tried to tell her that Anakin was going through a rather difficult time (it had been one of the first times that Obi-Wan had been beginning to realise that Anakin was changing) and since he had known that Padmé and Anakin were good friends (who didn't?) he had tried to explain that he felt that Anakin was becoming confused about his and Padmé's relationship (maybe Anakin had wanted more than that? How was he meant to know that they were already married?). When he said that, Padmé closed up and tried to avoid any questions he asked about her and Anakin. In truth he hadn't really wanted to know (not really).
But even then, after that, he had just thought that perhaps they had become lovers or something like that. But husband and wife?
For three years and now with children.
Obi-Wan had no idea what was going to happen to any of the Skywalker family. He did not hold the key to a decision like that. But he could try and help Anakin as best he could. And that was what he planned to do.
The first thing he could do was to get to Yoda and to do that he would have to concentrate on getting Anakin to the planet where Yoda was.
Dagobah.
They weren't very far away from the planet now.
Obi-Wan doubted if he himself was going to be staying there a long time after they arrived.
He had other things to do and other people to see now.
Anakin bit his lip, nervously. He felt lost.
He didn't deserve anything from the Jedi. Not after what he had done. Yoda was a fair and kind Jedi but Anakin highly doubted that it would extend to him. Why should it?
He deserved nothing but contempt and a death sentence from everybody.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan muttered softly under his breath. "There is no reason for you to think that way."
A small, barely visible smile appeared on Anakin's lips.
"Were my thoughts that obvious?"
Obi-Wan chuckled softly.
"It wasn't very hard to see. I'm afraid your thoughts are practically surrounded by flashing lights judging by the way they are making such a large impact in the force."
Obi-Wan's face hardened slightly.
"But Anakin, please do not worry."
Yet.
Anakin's small smile disappeared.
"I can't help it Master. I deserve everything. Any punishment people think of for me- I deserve it. I've done some things that I should die for. That someone with even an ounce of humanity in them wouldn't have done. I don't deserve to live."
Obi-Wan was shocked. He had never seen Anakin in so much despair, so much pain. It was though he had just given up.
Something that Anakin's usual spirit didn't give him a chance to do.
"Anakin, listen to yourself. You have everything to live for. You've got a wife and children." He had to swallow before he uttered those words. It felt strange to say.
"If not for anything else, remember them."
Anakin could feel himself closing up. Of course he hadn't forgotten about Padmé and the babies!
"Don't you think I realise that? I hurt Padmé in the space of a few minutes. I've hurt you and I've hurt her. I love them so much, Obi-Wan and I've lost them. I--I've lost them. I'll---probably never see them again."
Anakin's put his face in his hands and Obi-Wan coughed slightly when he realised that he was crying.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan's voice was gentle. "I promise you that I'm going to help you. You are like a brother to me and I'm not going to stand by and leave you on your own. I am going to be with you every step of the way."
A hand reached over and clasped Anakin's shoulder. It stayed there while Anakin cried and to Anakin, this gesture was more of a comfort than any words Obi-Wan might have been able to put together.
Crying doesn't last forever and in Anakin's case, this was no exception. His tears began to dry up though in his heart, it felt like it was still crying with a hundred times more pain than was shown on the outside.
The tear marks that were beginning to dry on Anakin's cheeks were wiped away by a sweaty hand and a black glove. He ran his hands through his hair, (a sign which for anyone who knew him well showed that he was nervous) and sighed.
"Thank-you, Obi-Wan."
"I meant every word."
No more was said between them. No more needed to be said. The trust that had dimmed between them and had nearly been severed was beginning to glow again, as they both opened their thoughts and feelings again to each other.
Despite everything else, they knew one thing. They had each other for support.
Yoda stood in front of a large, gnarled tree. He had felt a ship making it's way towards Dagobah long before he had seen it.
Obi-Wan's presence was a familiar one. Yoda was not expecting him on the planet but he was not surprised. But the other presence he had felt? That he was curious about. Very curious about.
The ship was getting ready to land on the planet though they were going to have a difficult time finding somewhere with enough solid land to do it in. Marshes were everywhere.
Maybe it was because both of the pilots were force sensitive or maybe it was because they were just so damn good at flying but they landed on a good bit of land on their first try.
The door opened and one figure emerged. Not two, like Yoda knew was in there. One.
Obi-Wan stepped out and looked around him.
They hadn't been joking when they'd said that it was a planet with no civilisation and basically had nothing on it.
He found Yoda standing by a large tree, waiting for him.
"Maser Yoda," Obi-Wan said quickly.
"Master Kenobi. Agreed we did, that you would not come to this planet."
"I know and I'm sorry. But I think that even you will be surprised by what I have to tell you."
"I already know. I can already sense the presence. Find it hard to believe, I do. Skywalker is with you?"
"I thought that hope had been lost when we saw the security tapes at the Temple." Obi-Wan's hands twisted his Jedi robes nervously.
"But I managed to find out where Anakin was and I went to look for him. He--he was there and we had an exchange of words for sure. But I managed to convince him to return to good. Anakin Skywalker is back."
"Returning to the good from the bad is nearly impossible . A full explanation, you have not given me."
Obi-Wan looked at his feet. He didn't want to mention Padmé's name in it all. At least, not unless Anakin himself did. He barely wanted to think about all they had been through on Mustafar, let alone discuss it with anyone.
"Time to see for myself, I think it is."
Obi-Wan nodded and walked back to the ship.
Obi-Wan walked into the ship and Yoda stayed where he was, watching with interest to see who would return with him. Would he look the same?
Footsteps were heard and Obi-Wan walked out of the ship with a tall figure following behind him.
Anakin stepped off the ship and his eyes widened in shock.
Overgrown, gnarled trees surrounded the clearing where he stood and he could see many more behind them. This was a dark planet filled with marshes and mist. It was grimy and dark and had a mysterious quality surrounding it. Not a good sign.
Anakin looked straight at Yoda and saw that the little green master hadn't moved. He hadn't even blinked.
He just stood and watched Anakin.
It is a curious thing, Yoda thought.
He looked exactly the same as he had done the last time they had seen each other.
He didn't look like a man who had turned to the Sith ways and had, apparently returned back alongside the Jedi.
Such a thing to do was nearly impossible and yet Anakin Skywalker had managed it. As soon as Yoda had seen Anakin again he knew. He knew that Anakin was not a Sith. But he also knew that he did not consider himself a Jedi either.
He may have returned to the good, but he was still confused about some things. Not about being a Sith or a Jedi. No, he had already decided about that.
He was confused about what was going to happen to him now. Who was he now? What was he going to do? What was his fate?
Obi-Wan stood silently and watched both Anakin and Yoda.
Yoda did not do a thing. He stood still and watched all.
Anakin stood tall. He seemed to be fearless. Yet his hands was fidgeting and Obi-Wan knew that inside, he was falling apart.
Silence grew around them. No-one spoke or made a noise.
Obi-Wan felt more and more uncomfortable. He felt helpless. He should do or say something. Anything to break the silence.
"Yoda. Anakin is before you. Do you see it now?"
Yoda's head turned.
"I see something I have never seen before. Impossible it is, to say for certain at this point what the outcome will be."
Anakin knew he was referring to the well known fact that once a Jedi succumbs to the Dark Side, they usually never return.
"Master Yoda," Obi-Wan's voice was slightly more pressing, "Anakin has returned. He would not be with us now if he hadn't."
"Confusion surrounds his mind. Uncertain he is, of the future."
"Anyone would be, in his position."
"Considers himself a Jedi, he does not."
"It is only because I do not know what my place is anymore," Anakin's voice was quiet and level.
Obi-Wan glanced at Anakin quickly before returning his attention to Yoda. Yoda's green eyes glittered in the semi-darkness.
It was the only sentence that Anakin had uttered since Yoda had seen him and yet it showed Yoda many different things.
The Anakin Yoda had once known would have been hot-headed and impatient at this point. Even when he had been a Jedi, Anakin had been distrustful and suspicious.
But now, when Yoda spoke of his uncertainty about Anakin's return, he did not rush to contradict Yoda's words. He did not try and prove that he had returned with rash words and a quick temper.
He waited. He listened to Yoda and he spoke calmly and graciously. Maybe he had changed in more ways than one. Maybe he now had the attitude that was needed in a Jedi. Maybe he now had an attitude that wouldn't hold him back from many of the things he can do.
Of course, time would show him for certain but it was a pleasing first impression.
"Hmmmmmmmm."
Yoda looked as though he was thinking carefully over Anakin's words.
Obi-Wan held his breath.
Yoda stared at Anakin and Anakin looked at Yoda, unblinking.
"Do not know your place, you say."
Anakin blinked and swallowed for what seemed to be the fifteenth time within two minutes. At the very next moment his fate would be decided. Well, maybe not his fate but at least it would show him whether Yoda believed him or not.
Fortunately for him, Yoda did believe in him.
"I will help you to find it. Believe you have returned, I do. However, young Skywalker, much to learn you still have. Stay with me you will, until all is decided."
Anakin said nothing. He nodded. Well, it would seem that he would now be staying with Yoda indefinitely.
Didn't Obi-Wan say he would be a prisoner? He had thought he would have to be locked up and only allowed around somewhere with heavy security? For the obvious reasons, he didn't think it was going to be quite like that.
Strangely enough, Obi-Wan was thinking along the same kind of lines.
Well, I suppose the term "prisoner" will have to be adjusted slightly.
Instead of being guarded in some horrible cell, Anakin will be living (for a while) in a planet with no other inhabitants apart from Yoda and some very questionable species living in the swamps.
He also won't have any method of escaping. After all, Obi-Wan was going to need to be leaving soon and that meant that the transport Anakin had used to arrive in wouldn't be there. And Obi-Wan didn't know how Yoda had arrived on Dagobah.
But that didn't mean that Obi-Wan would never be coming back. It was inevitable that he would have to, even if he didn't want to.
Obi-Wan and Yoda were going to need to have a serious talk about Anakin and his future.
Anakin and Yoda were going to need to have a serious talk.
Anakin and Obi-Wan were also going to need to talk at some point. Obi-Wan still had questions.
All three of them would have to talk together as well. To finally sort out a way of ending their questions, get some answers and find a way to move on from everything.
Off the top of his head, to put an end to everything would probably be a trial or some sort of method that was also a fair one. One that would see all sides of the story.
But that would not be today.
Obi-Wan had no doubt that Anakin would begin to find the planet a little bit more like a prison every day. He wouldn't be able to leave and he had no methods of contacting anyone.
Obi-Wan had already taken everything like that away from him. Anakin hadn't complained or stopped him. He gave him everything, including his lightsaber. They lay in Padmé's ship.
"I think that would be best, Master Yoda. For the moment."
Obi-Wan looked over at Anakin but addressed his next words to both. Now that he knew where Anakin was going to be and that he would be fine, he would now have to go and make sure that a few other important people in Anakin's life were also fine.
"I will be back soon. I have a few other things I need to see to."
Anakin looked up at this, his eyes piercing into Obi-Wan.
"I will be back soon and together, we will all begin to sort through our options and work out a way to fix this. We will find a way to solve this."
Obi-Wan gave a small smile to Anakin. In that one small smile, Obi-Wan hoped he had conveyed a "Don't worry" kind of message. There was still much more he wanted to say but he didn't think he had the right to, in front of Yoda.
"Goodbye Yoda. Goodbye Anakin."
Obi-Wan patted Anakin's shoulder and turned to Yoda. He smiled at him and Yoda nodded.
Obi-Wan knew that he could trust Yoda completely. He knew that Yoda would keep Anakin safe, while in his own way, would find out what had happened with Anakin and his choices.
Obi-Wan turned and walked away from them both. He didn't really want to leave and he was fairly certain that Anakin didn't want him to leave either.
But he was positive that Anakin would want him to make sure that Padmé and the twins were safe more. He would be helping Anakin a lot more by making sure his family were all right.
Anakin watched Obi-wan walking back to Padmé's ship. He knew precisely where Obi-Wan was going and it hurt him that he couldn't do it himself. But he also knew it was for the best. The best for everybody at the moment.
Obi-Wan walked into Padmé's ship and the door slammed shut. It was the second time in one night that Anakin had seen two people he loved (in different ways) leaving him. All for very different reasons. One was so scared she felt she had to get away from him and the other was leaving to help Anakin and his family.
Anakin turned back to Yoda and waited for Yoda to speak.
"Come with me. Lots to do, we have."
Yoda turned and walked away. Anakin had to run to catch up with him.
They both walked into the looming forest and the mist began to surround them.
Soon, they were gone.
I'm sorry! I haven't updated in ages! I'm really sorry and I don't know why exactly that was. I was just really busy and some nights I was out and then it was my birthday and everything got hectic!
And I was finding it really difficult to write this chapter for some reason and I'm still not very happy with it so sorry about this chapter as well. I guess I was almost avoiding having to write it but then I just decided to write it! And anyway, if I didn't write it then you wouldn't be able to read all of the other things that are going to happen later in the story!
Please keep on reviewing. It makes my day!