Anakin could feel his strength fading, but he wouldn't let on about it. He had to keep moving, and to keep moving he had to stay strong. Not only for Ahsoka and Rex, who counted on him to lead this mission, but for himself as well.

And for Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan…

For the seventh time that day, he probed their Force bond. It had once been so strong, so unbreakable.

Now it, too, was fading like his stamina, his hope.

"Master." His Padawan's small voice was heavy with exhaustion. When was the last time they'd had a decent night's rest, any of them?

"Yeah, Snips?" He stretched his tight leg muscles, appreciating a break from the endless riding. Speeder bikes, he'd decided, were not meant to be ridden for longer than a short trip around town.

Certainly not for a five day stint through the desert.

"You can't go on," Ahsoka said after a moment's hesitation. "You're not doing Master Obi-Wan any favors by wearing yourself down like this. Can you even see anything more than a click away?"

"Just 'cause my eyes are bloodshot, Ahsoka, doesn't mean I can't see." He shouldn't have snapped, not at her. She didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of his anger. After all, she only had his best interests at heart. And she was concerned for him.

No. She was afraid for him. He'd seen it in her eyes…

… And he didn't know how he felt about it.

"We have to face it sometime, sir," Rex added, wiping beads of sweat from his brow. "We're not gonna find the general."

Spinning around, Anakin jabbed a finger at his friends. "No! Don't you say that! Don't you dare say that, Rex! Or you, Ahsoka, don't either of you even think it!"

"But, Master," Ahsoka pressed, her eyes clouded with a soul-killing sadness. "It's been almost two weeks since we all left Coruscant."

Rex nodded. "We've searched nearly this entire desert, and there's been no sign of him since Trapper and the credits. Sir, that was three days ago."

Three days…?

Anakin inched the sleeve of his dusty tunic up and counted the tally marks. Even they were fading.

"Eight," he muttered. "Only eight? How could I not have… Rex, give me your marker."

"Uh, sir?"

"You know, the one you use to make all those tallies on your armor."

He watched as Rex exchanged a worried glance with Ahsoka. Quit it! Won't you quit worrying about me? Then, ever-so-slowly, Rex pulled the marker out of his backpack and offered it to Anakin, his expression wary.

"Thank you," he managed before making several quick marks on his arm.

For a long moment, they all watched the dark ink seep into his reddened skin.

Ahsoka was the first to break the silence. "Is that—"

"How many days Obi-Wan's been missing?" Anakin nodded before wiping a hand over his face. "Yeah. And I don't want to add any more marks. I don't want to…"

His Padawan's hand on his shoulder nearly broke the dam of tears that he'd barricaded behind his eyes.

But it held fast.

He made it hold.

Her voice was a trembling whisper when it finally came out. "I know, Master. I know."

"I just… I can't give up on him. What would he say if he knew? If he knew I stopped searching for him when he needed me most?"

"But, sir, we need to look at this realistically."

"I know, I know, Rex." A shaky sigh wracked his frame. "I…"

That's when he saw it.

"Master?"

A figure off in the far distance.

"Are you all right, General?"

It's just a mirage. A figment of my fried imagination.

Only… the figure was moving. Actually making good progress across the sandy dunes.

"Is that…?"

So, Ahsoka saw it too.

I'm not insane. I'm not—

Obi-Wan.

No… No, we already looked over there, but…

Who else would it be?

Anakin had his speeder started before he was even on it.

"Master!"

But he didn't have time to stop and explain.

Let them chase after him.

Then they'd see.

Then they'll see, the doubters.

"Obi-Wan!" He called as he drew nearer to the battered figure. "Obi-Wan!"

No answer. The man didn't even seem to have heard.

Though it was Obi-Wan. There was no way he could've been mistaken.

Not at this distance.

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin was right on him now, carelessly discarding his bike in a heap on the ground. "Obi-Wan!"

Still nothing. He was standing right in front of that man he'd searched for days and his Master was looking right through him!

As if I'm not even here…

Anakin heard Rex curse under his breath in a language he'd never heard before, and Ahsoka's sharp gasp cut through his heart.

Yet, Obi-Wan didn't seem to be aware of any of it—of any of them. His feet seemed to be in control of his brain, moving him in a straight line to… where was he trying to go, exactly?

I don't think even he knows, Anakin realized with a sinking feeling, trying to push his presence through the blank look in his Master's eyes.

"Help me get this thing off him!" He commanded as he started prying the ropes supporting some sort of makeshift sled off Obi-Wan's back. Jumping into action, Rex and Ahsoka aided in the quick release of the Jedi Master.

And still, he kept stumbling along.

"Does he even know we're—"

"Quiet, Snips!" Anakin snapped, hurrying after a clearly delirious Obi-Wan. "Quiet…"

With a fierce gentleness, Anakin grabbed Obi-Wan by the shoulders. Still, the Jedi tried to get away.

And he was… laughing.

He was laughing. A hysterical, abnormal laugh that made Anakin shiver.

"Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan! Can you hear me?"

"Master Kenobi!" Ahsoka joined, crowding around Obi-Wan with Rex on her heels.

"General Kenobi!"

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin tried again.

Come on, Master! Come on!

At long last, Obi-Wan appeared to notice he was no longer alone. He started jabbering something to Anakin, going on about thorilide and games. And guns.

And games.

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin shouted, still trying to get his Master's attention, still holding him tight lest he fall.

Another laugh bubbled in Obi-Wan's throat. "Told him I wouldn't play anymore! I won't play any more games. No games, no guns, no—"

"Obi-Wan!" It took every ounce of Anakin's self-restraint not to slap the man. He just wanted him to see so badly!

Look at me, Master! I'm here, look at me!

However, a slap wasn't necessary. For the first time since they had left Coruscant, Obi-Wan looked straight into Anakin's eyes.

And he saw.

A broken sob shook Obi-Wan and Anakin had to work hard to blink back his own tears.

"Ani…?"

"I'm here, Master." Anakin clutched Obi-Wan's cheek. "I'm right here."

"Oh, Anakin…"

He felt Obi-Wan's trembling hands latch onto his tunic as the Jedi collapsed into a series of sobs.

Anakin was dumbstruck for one terrible, numb moment. He scoured his brain, trying to remember the last time he'd witnessed his Master cry.

Obi-Wan never cries…

At least, Anakin had never seen him cry, not since Master Qui-Gon—

"He was carrying a dead man, sir," Rex informed him, his voice sober.

Anakin tightened his hold as Obi-Wan melted into his embrace, an embrace out of which he never wanted to come.

I'm here, Master, he soothed through their bond, which felt fuzzy, but not unreachable. I'm here.

As Anakin sank to the ground in exhausted relief, still clutching a sobbing Obi-Wan, Ahsoka felt his Master's lips.

"Where's our water supply, Rex?" She asked, her voice frantic. Not more than a half-minute later, she was easing water into Obi-Wan's mouth. "He's been through some kind of hell, Master."

Anakin squeezed his eyes shut, burying his face in Obi-Wan's sandy hair.

Finally, when he was sure no one could see, he broke the dam, letting the flood of tears have their way.

Only when Obi-Wan's body slowly stopped its shaking did he realize that the harsh sobbing echoing across the dunes was coming from him.

Ahsoka was probably watching—no, definitely watching. Watching her Master break down like a youngling. And Rex, witnessing his fearless general crumble to bits, and for what?

For my Master. I've found my Master.

And I don't care who sees me like this, don't care who sees me break.

Because I'm not broken.

I'm found.

Finally, I'm found.

Ahsoka has never seen her Master cry before, but why shouldn't he? Though it'd startled her slightly as first, Anakin deserved to cry. They had found Master Obi-Wan.

We found him…

She almost couldn't believe it. They'd been searching for so long.

So long.

What startled her the most, however, was Obi-Wan. As with her Master, she had never seen him cry, but his sobs felt different somehow to that of Anakin's.

Mainly because she had always suspected Anakin of being capable of showing such raw emotion, but she hadn't ever thought… had never even imagined she'd see a day when Master Obi-Wan Kenobi would be reduced to tears.

And these weren't mere tears—these were sobs. Hoarse, heart-wrenching sobs.

An eternity seemed to pass as she knelt beside Rex, feeling completely and utterly useless. She couldn't give Obi-Wan any more water because his entire front half was buried in Anakin, and she couldn't console her Master because she was sure he wouldn't notice her even if she tried. He was too caught up in his whirlpool of emotions.

Which was spinning far too fast for Ahsoka to enter in.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" She whispered to Rex, her eyes glued on the two sobbing Jedi before her.

Rex didn't reply right away, and that nearly scared her.

But she was done being scared. She'd spent the better part of their journey allowing her emotions to get the better of her, to control her in unhealthy ways.

And fear was one emotion she swore she would never let rule her.

Not again.

Never again.

There was no room in the story of Ahsoka Tano for fear. It didn't own her, so she wouldn't let it control her.

When Rex finally replied, his tone was low, uncertain—since when was Rex uncertain?

"I don't know, lil'un. I just don't know."

Salty tears bit at the back of her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall.

One of them had to stay strong.

"He looks pretty bad," she choked out, trying not to let her gaze linger too long on the cuts and gashes decorating Obi-Wan's body.

"He's been through some kind of hell."

Why did she have to go and say that? It had been a thoughtless observation, but now it was taking her mind to places she'd rather not go.

Not yet.

There were so many questions burning on her tongue. Questions that needed answers:

Why was Master Obi-Wan carrying a dead man on his back?

Who is that man?

Where has Obi-Wan been all this time?

And most importantly:

Why did this have to happen?

It took her a minute to register that Rex was now leaning over Obi-Wan.

"What? What's wrong?"

"He's passed out, I think."

Then, that horrible sobbing sound was coming from… Anakin?

"What do we do now?" Ahsoka bit her lip to stop it from trembling.

"Contact the Jedi on Coruscant. Have them send a ship. Make sure they bring lots of medical supplies," he tacked on the end, a crucial afterthought.

With a nod, Ahsoka pulled their main commlink out of her pack. Making sure to turn the settings to audio-only, she stood and took the device a few paces away.

The Jedi Council didn't need to be privy to such a private moment.

Master Windu answered almost immediately.

"Any news, Commander Tano?"

"We found him." The gravity of the situation fully settled on her and she blinked back tears with a smile. "We found Master Kenobi."