I apologize profusely for not updating in so long. It's been my senior year in high school, and I just haven't had time to write. however, now it's summer, and I have the time (Or at least I should, I'm picking up a second job to get ready for college, so yeah). I am back to updating, huzzah!

Now I just need to remember where I was in all my stories...this one was easy cause I was almost done.

So, I don't have the title of the episodes in this one, because I kind of mashed a few together. So this has a unique title, and it may be the only chapter with a unique title from it's episode titles, we'll see.

Anyway, again, I apologize! I am sooooo sorry! Thank you for the support in my absence though, and I will get back to ALL of my stories, I promise.

Please Forgive Me, and Please Review!

Enjoy!

Zelina managed to talk one of the council members into letting her investigate how Hardeen, Bane, and Eval had escaped purely for the sake of improving the security of the prison. Really, she wanted to get a lead on the three, two of them for personal reasons.

Like she was going to tell the Jedi Masters that.

Now, after a very thorough search and a full detailed report to the council and the head of security for the prison the three had escaped from, she was sitting in Anakin's room, giving him a rundown of what she had found.

"Boba Fett started a riot in the cafeteria—from the looks of it one of Eval's crew may have bribed him into starting one. In the confusion the three slipped out and made their way to the morgue, where they rode the shoots down to the crematorium. They overwhelmed the guards, had a quick getaway to the outside from there, were now armed, and stole a police speeder and fled the scene. After that they ditched the speeder and stole some poor Aqualish's freighter," Zelina explained from her seat on Anakin's bed while Anakin paced the length of the room in a fury.

"Any idea as to where they were headed?" Anakin asked, his tone hard.

"No, none. We'll know when they appear though, as the ship's already been reported missing," Zelina explained.

"That's not good enough!" Anakin exclaimed harshly. "He shouldn't have escaped in the first place—I should have killed him when I had the chance!"

"Anakin," Zelina said sharply, and Anakin rounded on her.

"No, Zelina, I will not calm down. I've earned the right to be angry about this," Anakin snapped.

"At the very least, try to think rationally," Zelina replied in an exasperated tone of voice.

"Oh, like you do when Grievous is around?"

Zelina stood up at his words, her expression cold. "Fine, if you're going to be that way, I'll just leave," she said in a cool tone, turning to leave. She almost made it to the door before Anakin's voice stopped her.

"Zelina, I...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that..."

"No, you shouldn't have," Zelina returned, keeping her back to him. "You know Anakin, there are people that want to help you, but we can't if you keep pushing us away. When you calm down again, you know how to find me."

Before Anakin could even protest, Zelina left the room, shaking her head and nursing her hurt that he would stoop so low as to make such a jab.

Anakin didn't chase after Zelina—he knew the damage had been done. Now Zelina wanted to be left alone and he'd chased off one of his best sources of support. Still, with the news she'd given him he still needed someone to talk to, and his guilt at chasing her off only deepened.

But for now she needed space, he needed someone to vent to, and he could only think of one place to go to.

With that thought in mind, Anakin rose to his feet and left his room in the Temple, one destination firmly in his mind.

"General; we're prepared to make our departure as soon as you give the word."

Zelina turned to Cruiser and gave him a small smile, nodding somewhat sharply. "Then we should make a swift departure, shouldn't we?"

Cruiser inclined his head. "I'll go tell the Admiral so he can set course for Nal Hutta."

"Thank you, Cruiser," Zelina said gently, turning back to the display before her of the planet and the report in her hand as her Captain left. There had been a sighting of Rako Hardeen and his ragtag group on Nal Hutta, and Zelina was now continuing her chase of the fugitives, even if she hadn't resolved her issue with Anakin yet. Right now she had a lead on Obi-Wan's killer, and she wasn't going to let the man slip through her fingers again. Determination glinting in her eyes, Zelina flipped through the vague report, studying the coordinates and the information on the town Hardeen had been spotted in intently. She wanted to get there as fast as possible, hopefully to intercept the group of criminals before they made a break for it and moved to a different system. If they were smart, they wouldn't stay on Nal Hutta long and would leave as soon as possible, and Zelina was hoping to catch them before they could. Even if she didn't get there fast enough, she could still stay on their tail. She would catch them—Obi-Wan's killer would not continue to roam free, not while Zelina was still alive and breathing.

Suddenly, Cruiser returned, looking rather grim. "General, I'm afraid I have some bad news to report."

Zelina frowned, turning around to face Cruiser. "What is it?"

"It appears that the Jedi Council have removed the bounty on Hardeen and his accomplices. It appears they have ceased their attempts to find them, at least with the military. The Admiral can't take us to Nal Hutta."

"What?" Zelina stated incredulously, facing him completely. "How could they? Why would they? He was hardly in there for what, one, two days and he's already loose, and they're going to let him run free?"

Zelina felt annoyance and anger ripple through her, but she stored them away, pinching the bridge of her nose as her mind raced to come up with what she would do now. Surprisingly, she ended up choosing to do a very Anakin-like thing.

"If any Jedi asks, I'm taking a brief personal leave to clear my head so that I'm still acting at my fullest potential," Zelina said steadily.

"And where will you actually be, if I may ask, General?"

"I can't tell you Cruiser, for your sake, but I'm sure you can figure it out."

A light of understanding arose in Cruiser's eyes and he nodded, standing aside. "I'll be sure to tell them, General."

Zelina paused by the door. "Oh, and if anyone does inventory, tell them you lent a fighter to the 501st because they needed it...and thank you, Cruiser, it means a lot."

"Of course, General, anything for you. Just be careful out there, all right?"

"You know me Cruiser, I'm always careful."

"I would have never guessed."

"Yeah, they were here—a Duros, a man with a funny tattoo, and a Phindian, all male," the bartender was telling Zelina as she batted her eyelashes at him. "They sure made a mess of my place too—and they didn't even pay for the damage they did or the drink the man with the tattoo had. But I took care of them, showed them who was boss."

Zelina laughed softly, giving the Ithorian a lazy smile. "I'm sure you did, a tough guy like you. I hope they don't come back and give you more trouble, or you'll probably be putting some thugs in the hospital," she said with a playful pout.

"Nah, they won't be any more trouble: I heard the man with the tattoo say he had a ship. It sounded like they were going to leave, and the Phindian was all too happy to do so. We probably won't be seeing any more of those troublemakers."

"Good. A good man like you doesn't need those kind of roughians around here," Zelina told him with a dazzling smile. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, giving the Ithorian a sad smile. "I would love to stay and talk more, Darling, but I have to be somewhere now—perhaps another time we can...get to know each other better?"

As Zelina winked at the bartender, he chuckled. "I should hope so. You be careful out there, all right? Nal Hutta isn't a place for a pretty little lady like you."

Zelina grinned at him, tossing a few credits—tip included—onto the counter as she turned to leave. "Oh, it's the thugs that should be careful around me, Sweetie."

Outside, a ship had just landed, it's occupants—a female Togruta and a male Human—disembarking in the middle of a conversation.

"What makes you think Obi-Wan's murderer is on Nal Hutta?" Ahsoka asked.

"I got a tip from the Chancellor himself," Anakin stated with vain pride in his voice as a ship took off behind him.

"How are we going to find them?" Ahsoka asked skeptically.

"Ahsoka, you should know by now, if you want to find a low life..."

"You start at the saloon," Ahsoka finished, pointing to the building on their right.

Zelina had just started on her way down the far right ramp of the saloon, headed for the shipyard to see if she could get even closer to Hardeen's group, when she felt something twinge at the edge of her senses. She paused with a frown, stopping and looking around the vicinity with the thought that perhaps she was sensing Hardeen. However, her gaze fell upon two beings that were just entering the saloon, and alarm bells rang in her head.

"Oh no," she muttered, cursing Anakin for delaying her as she jogged back to the saloon. She heard a few squeals inside from the Gamorreans that acted as the law in the town, followed by clapping. Walking inside, a few of the beastly creatures were still picking themselves off of the floor, where it seemed they had been thrown, most likely by Anakin.

"The fugitives are already gone," she heard the bartender say as she picked her way down the hall.

"All three of them were here?" came Anakin's voice.

"Two came in, left with the third."

"When did they leave?" came Ahsoka's voice as Zelina finally entered the main room.

"Nothing's free on Nal Hutta, especially in—"

Zelina felt the surge in the Force from Anakin before it manifested itself, and the bartender was risen into the air by some unseen force, choking. Anger sparked inside of Zelina, and she stomped up to Anakin, brushing past a suddenly frightened and worried Ahsoka.

"I don't have time for games," Anakin growled, but Zelina was already there, and she grasped Anakin's hand in an iron grip, yanking him away from the bartender with fire in her eyes and a voice with the sharp crack of a whip.

"Let him go, Anakin. You're leaving, now."

Anakin did a double take to see her there, and Zelina took his distraction—Ahsoka's too—as time to compensate the bartender with a few credits and shove them out of the saloon. Anakin had recovered his wits by then, pulling himself free from Zelina. "What are you doing? You're wasting time; Obi-Wan's killer is going to get away now!"

"No, you're wasting my time by making me act as babysitter," Zelina snapped, getting right back up in his face. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Getting information," Anakin shot back. "What are you even doing here?"

"Tracking Obi-Wan's killer the right way! Kriff it, Anakin, what did you think you were doing using the dark side to get that bartender to talk? I already got that information without causing a scene, but I had to backtrack to keep you from doing something stupid." Zelina fixed him with a glare, shoving past him and making her way to the shipyard once more. "You keep using the dark side more and more, but instead of getting worried you just seem to justify it, and I'm getting really sick of it."

"Where are you going?" Anakin asked; Zelina could hear the scowl in his voice.

"I'm chasing after my lead—hopefully the detour you cost me doesn't make them slip just out of my grasp. If you're coming, hurry up, because I'm not waiting—and no more stunts like what you pulled in there. I'd thought that poodoo had stopped with Poggle."

Anakin didn't say anything, but she could feel Anakin and Ahsoka following her. The curiosity and concern came off of Ahsoka in thick waves, but she held her tongue in Anakin's presence, probably reserving her questions for Zelina's ears only.

The group made their way to the shipyard, though Zelina was seeing no sign of the three fugitives. Just as she was beginning to feel like they had missed the group with the entire saloon ordeal, they managed to find the ship dealer. Zelina was swift to converge on him, Anakin hot on her heels while Ahsoka struggled to keep up with how quickly the two were moving, never mind the friction between the two at the moment.

After some questioning that confirmed the fugitives had indeed already left, Zelina finally got her first break in their chase—one she'd been waiting desperately to come across.

"How do you know they couldn't have gotten very far?" Anakin asked sharply from beside Zelina. The Bith rattled off a few more words, which Anakin echoed out loud for the other two's benefit. "So you only gave them enough fuel to reach the nearest fueling station on Orondia, which is owned by your brother...well that's a nice little money making scam."

Anakin tossed him a few credits of compensation, as Zelina had compensated the last, and they all turned to leave while the Bith happily went his way a little richer.

"We better get going—Orondia is pretty deserted. They may steal a ship there to throw us off their trail," Ahsoka commented.

"I like you're thinking," Anakin commented.

"And on the way, you can explain to me how you're here," Zelina said coolly, falling into step beside him.

"I was given permission by the chancellor himself—a mission from him, if you will—to track down the ones conspiring against him. It's Republic intelligence that Moralo Eval has a plot against the chancellor, and since Rako Hardeen is traveling with him, that means I can track Obi-Wan's killer. Now, how are you out here?"

"I told Cruiser to say I was taking a personal leave to clear my head. And if anyone asks, I donated a starfighter to the 501st, and that's why it's missing from my little collection," Zelina said indifferently.

"I'll try to remember that," Anakin said, returning the cold-shoulder attitude. Ahsoka glanced in confusion between the two, not used to seeing them act this way towards each other. Still, she held her silence as Master and Padawan broke off to make their way to their ship while Zelina headed towards her starfighter.

"I'll meet you at the fuel station. Don't do anything stupid in the meantime," she scolded him gently, starting to feel the beginnings of guilt for the way they were treating each other at the moment.

Anakin didn't even glance her way, which hurt. "Yeah, I'll see you there," he said stiffly, disappearing into the ship. Ahsoka gave her an apologetic look before she too disappeared into the ship. Zelina turned away with a dejected sigh, climbing into the cockpit and starting the ship up, feeling more than just a little put off.

When they arrived, Anakin had pulled just in front of Zelina and took the lead, guiding them to the fueling station on the planet while Zelina trailed along. They had opened communications between their ships so that the instant they saw one of the fugitives, both parties would know.

In fact, Ahsoka had just made a sighting.

"Look, it's Cad Bane," she suddenly announced as they were making a slow trip around the fueling station.

"Are you sure?" Anakin asked, his voice tense. Ahsoka made a noise of disgust.

"Who else where's a hat like that?"

Zelina cast her gaze towards the ship they had to be indicating, taking in the large grey freighter with the yellow trim as it began to rise from its spot on the platform.

"Good point," Anakin muttered before the two ships fell into position to tail the freighter.

"I got port, you get starboard?" Zelina asked, already moving into position.

"How about I've got above, you've got below. Just don't let them get away this time."

"Oh, they haven't had the chance to try and get away from me," Zelina said darkly. "They've stayed ahead of me, but they haven't gotten away from me."

With that, Zelina dipped low under the ship while Anakin took the position above, jostling the ship as he rammed into it to get their attention. Zelina could just barely see that Anakin had ended up pulling in front of them, but she couldn't see much else beyond that. She did jostle their underbelly and take a few shots as well, though she quickly fell behind the ship, knowing she would be of better use there.

"What's the plan, Ani?" Zelina asked, keeping her finger on the trigger should she need to fire.

"Just follow my lead," Anakin instructed. "And help me herd them over to that rock valley over there."

"I'm on it," Zelina announced, taking a few shots to press the ship forward while Anakin stayed in an above and in front position, occasionally bumping into the ship to keep it on the track he wanted it while they struggled to break free of his herding. He hit the top a few times to make the ship skirt along the ground. Eventually, Anakin applied the brakes and ended up hovering over the ship, and the rest of his plan was made known to Zelina over the communications unit.

"Take over—I'll bring them down," Anakin said firmly to Ahsoka. Zelina didn't bother to argue with him as she knew he had probably already left the controls, but she immediately started looking for a place she could land so that Anakin had her help should he need it. For now, she would fly close and do her best to cover him.

Within moments, Zelina saw Anakin jump from his ship onto the fugitive's ship, and she came closer in an attempt to keep an eye on what would come next. Anakin's blade sprung to life as he began to work on the engines, trying to make the ship unflyable. It took a few moments, but not long after he landed another form joined him on the wing, but the wide hat and blue skin made it clear that the second figure was Cad Bane. Wanting to keep her friend safe, Zelina came in fast and fired at Bane, forcing Bane back and giving Anakin the breathing room he needed—with the way her friend was right now, she didn't trust the Skywalker to not make a stupid mistake and be acting on emotions alone at the moment. He could easily wind up doing something that would get him killed.

That thought had hardly crossed her mind before Anakin abandoned his task of attacking the engine in favor of chasing down Bane, which Zelina had tried to make clear was not Anakin's problem by making it Zelina's job to keep him away. Apparently, Anakin was up for the challenge and wanted to be pushed, bearing down upon the bounty hunter relentlessly. Whoever was piloting the fugitives' ship saw what was happening as Anakin chased Bane to the tip of the ship's nose, and the pilot swerved the ship, trying to knock off Anakin and possibly Bane as well in the process.

Anakin managed to keep his footing, and Zelina brought her ship to run alongside the fugitive ship as the fugitive ship began to fire. Ahsoka took up the rear now, with Zelina flying around the ship in preparation to engage again should she so need to. Admist the explosions, she couldn't see what was coming up, but she did know that suddenly she needed to veer far to port, and she just barely missed an arching rock formation the fugitive ship went right through, one Ahsoka didn't see in time. Ahsoka crashed into the fugitive ship as Zelina came back around, and Zelina saw the blue light that was Anakin's lightsaber fly through the air with the darker shadow still attached.

Zelina gunned her ship through the air, able to level off her ship below his form in time for him to react. Instead of landing on her speeder, however, he jumped off of it, controlling his fall so that he landed somewhere on the ground. That left Zelina needing to land so that she could help with the confrontation back on the ground—something she did as soon as she found a flat surface nearby. She popped the cockpit and jumped out in one fluid motion, already on her feet and racing for the crash site.

She could feel Anakin's anger beginning to swirl in the air, stronger and stronger with each passing moment. It only served to fuel her steps, as she was positive that meant he had found Rako. Sure enough, she soon felt the mild disturbance equal to that of a fight, though it was nowhere near mild when she looked at the rage building inside of Anakin through their bond.

Thick fog covered the area, making it so much harder for Zelina to find Anakin, and she had to force herself to slow down and think lest she accidentally overshoot. However, her job was made easier when she heard blasterfire, changing directions to follow the sound. Eventually, she was able to make out the faint blue light of Anakin's lightsaber as well, though it was still so far away...

The light suddenly disappeared, and Zelina felt Anakin's pain growing with every second she spent apart from him. Fear beginning to crop up over what was happening, Zelina increased her pace and rushed to the scene as fast as she could. Just before she arrived, she felt shock zip through their connection, and just as fast as the unexpected emotion reached her, Anakin suddenly lost consciousness.

When she came upon the scene, Rako was just beginning to dust himself off and rise from beside Anakin's fallen form while Bane pointed his blaster at Anakin, ready for a kill shot. Before Bane could do so, Zelina unclipped her violet saber, activated it, and then threw it through the air in a deadly spiral, leaping from the cliff she was on that placed her above the scene as she did so.

Her blade guided by the Force, the violate lightsaber cut cleanly through Bane's blaster, rendering it useless as she landed in a protective crouch over Anakin, snatching her blade out of the air as it returned to her without ever touching the ground. As if to add the finishing touch to her unspoken threat, Zelina activated her emerald blade as well, glaring murder at the two fugitives before her.

"Get away from him," she warned in a deadly voice.

"The ship is still operational—I got it working. Now let's get out of here," came a new voice. Zelina refused to take her eyes off of Bane and Rako despite the arrival of Eval, her threat clear in her very pose. As much as she wanted to see Rako brought to justice over Obi-Wan, Zelina was not about to lose Anakin too.

"You're lucky we're in a hurry, pretty lady," Bane purred. "Oh yes, I remember you—hard not to. We both know I could outstep you in this dance any day."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Zelina shot sharply. She heard Ahsoka's quick steps coming up behind her, but she didn't budge, remaining the shield that would keep Anakin from the two criminals in front of her. Hopefully Ahsoka would be smart enough to know she couldn't take them on her own.

Before Ahsoka even reached them—why had it taken her so long?—the criminals turned and left, and once it was clear that they would not be turning around Zelina knelt beside Anakin, gently touching his face to turn his head to her and probing at his presence in the Force.

"Ani...Ani, wake up," she said softly, brushing some of the hair from his face. She could tell he wasn't seriously injured, just unconscious, which made her wonder why Rako or Bane or whoever had done this to him didn't kill him, or even seriously hurt him for that matter. It took him a moment, but eventually Anakin stirred, the same time Ahsoka slipped to the ground beside Zelina.

"Master? Master, are you all right?" Ahsoka asked in concern as Anakin began to cough from the dust that was now in the air as the fugitive ship lifted off of the ground. He seemed to be physically fine, so Zelina tried to get him to his feet, but Anakin dropped right back to where he was, his presence in unquestionable turmoil. Zelina could feel so many emotions coursing through him at the moment: pain, anger, betrayal, hurt, relief, confusion...

"Ani, what is it?" Zelina asked in concern, gently touching his face once more to get him to look at her even as Anakin squeezed his eyes shut.

"That's why I felt a connection," Anakin grit out, sounding lost and wounded at the same time he sounded angry. "Obi-Wan's still alive."

Zelina blinked and sat back in surprise. "What?" she whispered. "But Ani...we saw...I don't see how that could be possible."

"I don't either...but believe me, I'm going to find out; believe me," he said firmly.

Zelina looked at him dubiously, but didn't vocalize her doubt any further. Instead, she and Ahsoka helped him to his feet, though Zelina shook her head when the young girl went to go start the ship.

"I've got it, Ahsoka. Would you mind flying my starfighter back? I need to talk to Anakin alone," Zelina said softly. Ahsoka frowned, but she could see the light of seriousness in Zelina's eyes, so she didn't question her and instead went to go fly Zelina's starfighter while Zelina got Anakin comfortable on the ship he'd flown. Once he was settled, and after some scolding to stay in place while she fired up the ship, Zelina warmed the ship up and guided them off of the planet and out of the system, back towards Coruscant. Once they were well on their way to Coruscant, Zelina returned to where Anakin was resting, leaning against the wall.

"I think we need to talk," Zelina said quietly. Anakin looked away, the anger and hurt evident in his gaze before he did so.

"What's there to talk about?" he forced out between grit teeth. Zelina sighed.

"Ani, you know I don't like it when we fight," Zelina said in exasperation. "I don't want to be on any kind of bad terms with you right now—especially right now."

Anakin glared at her. "You didn't even give me the chance to apologize, Zelina—you slammed the door," Anakin bit out.

"You were the one treating those trying to help you so harshly," Zelina returned. "But I don't want to be placing blame on one another, Ani. I can't stand such animosity between us, and I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine," Anakin said indifferently.

"No, you're not," Zelina returned. "You've been using the dark side left and right, you're attacking without thinking and you were almost killed earlier today—and you're building up these emotions and making yourself a ticking time bomb, and I'm worried about when that bomb will go off."

"I didn't realize you cared," Anakin said bitterly. Zelina flinched, wounded.

"Ani, you know I've always cared…" Zelina said softly. "But you're not the only one affected by everything that's happening, and you forget that I'm hurting too, and the way you've been treating everyone hasn't helped."

Anakin sighed, still not looking at her. "All I've been doing is trying to bring Obi-Wan's killer to justice."

Zelina shook her head. "No, Ani, you've been waiting for me to catch him. While I was out running around looking for them, you locked yourself away and wouldn't talk to anyone. And you know that doesn't justify your recent usage of the dark side either."

"I've only been doing what I have to in order to catch them," Anakin returned, but Zelina was quick to cut him off, and she went right for the jugular.

"Anakin, I promised your son I'd look out for you, and part of that promise was to help you with these darker tendencies of yours. You've been making that rather difficult. And I understand that I was harsh earlier, but you were using the dark side and I was still upset over what happened back at the Temple. That does not mean that I suddenly don't care about you at all and I'm not going to try and watch out for you, and that I don't want to put this behind us."

Anakin closed his eyes. "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier," he finally muttered under his breath. Zelina sighed, taking a seat across from him.

"And I'm sorry for giving you the cold shoulder and not letting you apologize. I just felt like you needed a little bit of a reality check because it wasn't the first time you'd treated me badly since the…incident."

At that, Anakin finally met her gaze. "I know it sounds crazy, Zee, but I sensed Obi-Wan. He's alive. I don't know how; I just know that he is."

Zelina sighed, studying his gaze and gauging his sincerity and surety before she nodded. "Then I guess we'll have to try and get answers from the Council whenever we get back to the Temple."

Anakin snorted. "Like they'll tell us anything?"

Zelina shook her head. "Well then, if we don't ask we'll just have to wait for the Force to answer our questions."

"Or we could find the answers ourselves."

"Yes, but we've lost the trail, and it seems you're definitely not thinking clearly whenever those three are involved. I think you need some time to clear your head before we jump back into the fight. Maybe you should go spend some time with Padmé?"

Anakin scowled. "You know all that does is make me more restless. I can't take a break until this cursed mess is cleared up."

"Fine—but I still think that you need some time away from everything before you kill someone—or get yourself killed," Zelina said pointedly, rising to her feet. "For now, why don't you get some rest? It will be a while before we're back in Coruscant."

Anakin sighed. "Fine…I'll try."

Zelina paused at the door, turning to face him as she decided to say one more thing. "Ani…I'm sorry if I ever snap at you, or seem rude. I'm just worried about you, and just like I know you feel it's your duty to take care of me, it's also my duty to take care of you. I'm just trying to stay true to that responsibility I feel I have. No matter what fights or disagreements we have…I care about you. Truly and deeply," Zelina told him softly.

Anakin gazed at her quietly for a few moments, prone on the bed she had placed him in. "I care about you too, Zee; with or without the fights," Anakin replied quietly.

Zelina nodded, deciding not to ruin the fragile moment with any excessive words before she left the room, returning to the cockpit where she sat in the pilot's seat and promptly began to doze until their arrival.

Strangely enough, Zelina and Anakin were not immediately called in to see someone upon their return to the Temple, something that surprised Zelina greatly. However, she wasn't about to look a gift eopie in the mouth, and while Anakin scurried away—hopefully to take Zelina's advice and go see Padmé—she made her way for her quarters. She didn't get that far though, as Ahsoka appeared to tail her.

"Hey, Zelina," Ahsoka called, though she seemed a little bashful when she received a few disapproving looks from a handful of Jedi who had been passing at the moment. "I mean, excuse me Master Du'ahn, I was hoping to catch up to you."

Zelina chuckled, gesturing the young girl closer. "It's all right, Ahsoka, you can call me Zelina, you know that. We were both Padawans at the same time, you know."

"I know…so I was wondering, back there, on that planet," Ahsoka said vaguely for those that might overhear. "What was that between you two? I've never seen you act like that. And you said something about the other side?"

Zelina sighed, glancing around and gesturing for Ahsoka to follow her into one of the adjacent rooms. "Understandably, Anakin hasn't been the same since the Obi-Wan incident, but we got into a fight of sorts the other day and things were never resolved, so there was still ice between us. As for the dark side…Anakin has a bad habit of tapping into it when he's impatient or upset, or when things get personal. He's done it before, and I'm hoping to help him get over that nasty habit of his. He tends to justify it by the fact he got results or he was able to provide what was needed in the end, but honestly, the ends don't justify the means," Zelina said quietly.

Ahsoka nodded. "Oh…okay. I was just confused about what the two of you were talking about. I…I have noticed some of Skyguy's darker habits, but…I never thought it was anything serious."

Zelina looked away. "Honestly…I think he toes the line a little too much these days, but that's my opinion. Don't let me affect yours—that's for you to decide."

Ahsoka hesitated for a moment, but then gave a slight nod of confirmation. "All right. Thank you for being honest with me, Zelina."

"Anytime," Zelina said with a smile, clasping her shoulder. At that moment, her comm unit started to go off, and Zelina raised an eyebrow, pulling it out. "Du'ahn."

"Zee, Master Yoda wants to speak with both of us in his chambers," came Anakin's voice, and Zelina frowned.

"Master Yoda? That sounds rather serious…" Zelina commented. "I'll be right there."

Zelina clicked the device off, turning to Ahsoka. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't keep Master Yoda waiting," Ahsoka stated, stepping out of the way and watching her leave.

Anakin was waiting for Zelina by the time she arrived, leaning against the wall and staring at the floor. He looked up once Zelina was a few paces away, though it was Zelina who spoke first.

"Did you get to see her?" Zelina asked, and Anakin gave her a small half-smile.

"No, not yet. I didn't even make it there."

"I'm sorry. Maybe afterwards?"

"Yeah, perhaps."

The door opened then, and the two straightened, falling into business mode as Anakin entered first, Zelina filing in close behind him. Yoda was sitting with his back to the door on one of the cushions in his room, and Anakin folded his arms across his chest. Zelina caught a flicker of distrust in Anakin's eyes, but she didn't say anything about it.

"You summoned us, Master?"

"Wrong to deceive you, it was…but much at stake, there is," Yoda said softly as he scooted around to face them.

Deceive us? What does he mean deceive us?

Anakin, however, seemed to know instantly what was going on by his angry proclamation. "So I was right! Obi-Wan is still alive!"

"Skywalker," Yoda stated, holding out a passive hand. "A powerful Jedi you and Du'ahn are. Yet unpredictable and dangerous, you can be, to both your friends and your enemies. And follow you, Du'ahn tends to. For Obi-Wan, on your patience everything depends."

Zelina was stupefied first. Obi-Wan really was…alive? He hadn't died? He…he didn't have a killer? She'd been spending all of her energy on a killer that wasn't even a killer? With another revelation, she realized that perhaps…Hardeen was Obi-Wan in disguise.

Force!

And Satine…poor Satine…all of Anakin's grief…

How could they put them through that? How could they? They'd been utterly devastated, and no one said anything! After the funeral, hadn't they been entitled to the truth if they'd been trying to sell his death? They could have been told after the funeral! Why not at all?

While Zelina's hurt and anger grew, Anakin spoke once more, and his words of concern were like a brutal chiding to her. Here was Anakin Skywalker, Mr. Short-Fuse, and instead of focusing on his anger and hurt at the moment like she was always scolding him for, he was putting that aside in favor of concern for his friend, and Zelina was the one feeling hurt and angry. "What if he needs our help?"

Yoda hummed. "If you leave, help him, you could. But his future…uncertain, is. Trust in Obi-Wan, we must."