~Anakin's POV~

Obi-wan had been gone a month now.

And in that month, Anakin had lost the bond that had kept them friends through every catastrophe and horror they had experienced. He had lost it, and that had been the last straw.

He was getting his master back now.

"Rex," Anakin snapped, marching into the communication center with his cloak billowing behind him, rolling like a coming thunderstrom, destructive before it had even reached its final destination.

The clones snapped to attention, their admiring eyes wondering what scheme their general had now. If anything, this month had brought Anakin closer to his troops. But bonding time was over.

"Put me on a receptive line, open to anyone who wants to intercept it, traceable," he ordered. Rex looked up from his data-pad. Artoos whistled confusedly.

The other clones went dead silent. The shock and serious anxiety hung in the air. "Sir?" Cody asked, taken aback by Anakin's sudden appearance. Anakin glared at them.

"You heard me, captain," he snapped. Rex cocked an eyebrow but obliged, typing in the particular code.

"What's the plan, sir?" Cody asked cautiously. "I'm getting my friend back," Anakin barked. he would have thought that the answer was relatively obvious. The clones all glanced at one another, but shrugged.

Anakin walked within seeing range of the transmitter, too infuriated to think this plan through. Obi-wan needed him now. With the bond gone, Anakin would not be able to sense if he was alive or not. That bothered him to the ultimate extreme.

"We have a fish, sir. Untraceable, from somewhere out in the plains I think," Rex reported. "Put them through," Anakin answered. The force rolled around him as if pelting rain before a flood, foreshadowing great and terrible things.

Rex nodded curtly and pressed a button. A medium sized holo-gram of Bruck Chun was Anakin's reception. Bingo. He had fallen for the bait.

"Hello there," Bruck said pleasantly, seeming to be in good moods, certainly. "Where is he?" Anakin did not waste time with pleasantries. He crossed his arms. Bruck knew at once who Anakin meant.

"I won't tell you," he replied bluntly. "What are you doing to him?" was his next question. "I believe you'd rather not know the details," no, he did not want details, not at all. Anakin sucked in a deep breath.

"I know about you, Bruck. I know why you hate, Obi-wan. What I want to know is what you'd give him up for," he started diplomatically. "Nothing," Bruck replied casually. "The only thing I want is for him to suffer, young Jedi. Nothing more or less," he said with a wave of his hand.

Anakin's mind turned several gears. "I'll trade him for me," he burst out. Several of the clones gasped. But Rex and Cody only smiled mysteriously. Bruck cocked his head.

"Really? And what makes you think I want you?" He demanded, as if Anakin had insulted his hostage abilities. "Because, Sith idiot," Anakin leaned forward, like he had seen Obi-wan do when he was offering a politician something.

"You know Obi-wan, don't you? He'd needlessly give his life to spare another person torture, imagine how mad with guilt he'll go if you take someone else, a fellow Jedi especially," he felt sick, talking about his brother this way, but he had to do it.

Bruck's eyes had flashed with pleasure anyway.

Then the flash of delight turned into a sparkle of suspicion. Anakin gulped to think of Obi-wan at this mad-man's mercy all this time.

"What does Obi-wan mean to you?" Bruck asked softly. "Why would you give yourself up for him?" Had this fool never researched those fifteen years of Obi-wan's life? Had he not seen Anakin's name?

Anakin took a deep breath. "He was my master," he admitted softly. Bruck stared at him a moment, before bursting into laughter.

Anakin clenched his fists. "They gave… Obi-wan… A padawan learner? Oh, force, he must have made your life miserable!" Why did everyone keep saying that?

"He was a good teacher," Anakin replied angrily. "As wise as Master Yoda and as powerful as Master Windu. You have no right to even be in his presence, you insane Sith monster!" he snapped, in no mood to continue with diplomacy.

Bruck stopped laughing to regard Anakin with amusement. "Ooh, protective, aren't we?" He teased. "Do we have a deal or not?" Anakin demanded. "With that attitude? I think not!" Bruck said.

Anakin felt a burst of desperation. "You'll never break him," he forced himself to say. "Not without me," vomit slithered up his throat. Forgive me, master.

Bruck smiled. "Oh, I know," he replied confidently. What does that mean? Anakin wondered. "Please," Anakin whispered.

"Take me. Tell me where you are and let my men take Obi-wan back with them. You can have me," the clones, who had certainly never heard the pleading tone in Anakin's voice before, stared at him with wide eyes.

Bruck merely studied Anakin with curious pupils. "Very well," he said at last, to Anakin's utter relief. "Bring three men to these coordinates at sunset," quickly, Artoo copied the coordinates into his database. He patted the droid on the dome gratefully.

"And we'll trade," he smiled mercilessly. "Bring anymore or give me any reason to think that this is a trap and," he shrugged. "I'll cut my revenge short," Anakin nodded.

"I understand," he forced himself to say. "Be there within three rotations," Bruck ordered before his hologram fizzled away.

Anakin stood there in silence, marveling at his own luck and drowning in his own happiness. He was getting Obi-wan back! He would be safe. "Sir?" Rex asked, walking up.

"You know that this is a trap, right?" He asked without any question in his voice. He knew Anakin knew it was a trap.

Anakin nodded, a slow smile growing on his expression. "I know," he agreed. Cody cocked and eyebrow and a slow, sly smile spread on his face. "What are you thinking about, sir?" he asked. Anakin straightened and eyed Cody mischievously.

"I'm thinking it's time to bring Obi-wan home, is all."

To be continued yet…


Okay, I posted this out of guilt, because goodness knows I hate it when a writer places you on a blasted cliffhangar and then waits a millenia to post again. Eventually, the wonder of it wears off, and you're left bored out of your mind with a perfectly awesome story. Anyway, yes, there is going to be a part three.

~Queen Yoda