Anakin recovered.
His chip was removed. And Shmi stayed by his bedside.
Obi-Wan refused to leave the Temple until the matter was resolved to his satisfaction.
He didn't know what to do. What he should do. He knew what he wanted to do- he wanted to find those who'd hurt Anakin so horribly- he wanted them punished.
But what was a fair punishment?
After all, if the Council hadn't revealed Anakin's past Sith training none of this would have happened. Obi-Wan had talked to Anakin's teachers, to the Initiates he was living with, and found a wellspring of animosity directed at Anakin that concerned him. Most of it was because he had been a Sith. Because they believed he still was, and that those who had fallen to darkness could never return from it.
Could Anakin ever truly be safe in the Temple if everyone thought so horribly of him?
Anakin was supposed to stay here, for his own safety from the Sith Lord who was still at large, for the possibility that he might be able to identify the Sith, and to give him a chance at an education he would not otherwise have.
But with all the opposition from the other Jedi- opposition made on baseless assumptions- opposition against a child who'd had almost less than no choice in his training-
Would he ever be able to be a Jedi?
Obi-Wan needed to talk to someone. He had already talked to Shmi, but she was understandably biased towards her son. She was planning on taking him away, bringing Anakin home with her unless there could be a far greater assurance that her son would be safe.
Obi-Wan could not be there to protect Anakin all the time, and Obi-Wan knew no other Jedi who could or would take on the mantle of Anakin's protector for his time in the Temple.
Obi-Wan knew who he wanted to talk to- and it was important…
…-…
Satine was not expecting Obi-Wan's call, but she welcomed it all the same.
She had never seen Obi-Wan so conflicted. He was the type of person who devoted himself wholly to a thing, then never turned back or away from his decision.
This situation was hard for him because two things he'd committed himself to came into conflict.
The boy- and the Jedi.
"I see three things you can do," Satine said, finally, "One, you can help Shmi take Anakin permanently. They can have no further contact with the Jedi Order, and also lose the protection of the Order. Two, you help make a deal between Shmi and the Order. Something where Anakin takes classes at the temple during the day, is only among the other initiates in the presence of teachers and goes home to her every night. Where he is watched closely to make sure he is not hurt again. Or, your last option- you could take him as your Padawan. That would give him a measure of protection on its own, it would also allow him to come on missions with you. He would be in your company a great deal of the time that way, they would find it much harder to hurt him."
Obi-Wan listened. They talked. They planned.
And when the call ended, they were both smiling.
…-…
"Anakin," Obi-Wan called, knocking on the frame of the open door into Anakin's room, "Shmi."
They both looked up, smiling at him with a warmth that even now shocked Obi-Wan. Why were they so happy to see him? He'd seen them smile at the others and it was never like this. What was special about him to warrant such a thing?
"Obi-Wan!" Anakin said, "Where've you been?"
"Planning," Obi-Wan said, "On what we should do about your situation. Satine and I have come up with several plans that would be able to keep you safe." Probably.
Anakin was looking at him, head cocked slightly to the side. Obi-Wan could feel the confusion rolling off the boy, though he wasn't sure why Anakin was confused.
Surely he knew that things like this weren't supposed to happen, that he was supposed to be protected, not beaten.
Then again, he'd been a slave and a Sith Lord's apprentice. So maybe he didn't know.
Shmi watched Obi-Wan for a long moment. "Let's talk of your plans then," she said, motioning him towards his chair.
He sat.
And the three of them made plans.
…-…
The three of them stood before the Jedi Council, and Anakin told the Council all he knew. Well, most of what he knew.
"All of the initiates you placed me with were part of it," he said, "And a couple of others. I haven't really paid attention to their names," They wouldn't tell me their names, so I had to listen into their conversations to figure it out, "But I would recognize them if I saw them again."
Anakin paid attention to people- he watched them. He listened. He did know their names, but he would rather point them out himself with the older Jedi watching. If the initiates knew he had support from the upper ranks of their order they would be less likely to attack him again. The Jedi really seemed to be into following authority figures.
It still surprised him that it hadn't been a punishment. That these men had known nothing of what was going on. It was… nice to know that they hadn't ordered his beating. That some among them were upset that he had been hurt at all. That- that his getting hurt wasn't right. Or good. Or justified.
"I knew they didn't like me, so I tried to stay out of their way by waking up earlier and going to bed later than them. But they'd been waiting up for me. They told me to follow them. I did until we got to a less populated part of the Temple.
"Thinking back on it, I don't think they knew what they were going to do to me at that point. But I thought it was a punishment for going to see my mom, I thought you'd ordered it, and I wanted it to be over.
Anakin took a deep breath. He hated talking about stuff like this, but Obi-Wan said it was important, so he kept going. "Sometimes, when Master punished me, he'd want me to fight back. He liked overpowering me, liked being stronger than me. So I asked them if they wanted a fight. One of the older ones agreed and we started. Then I realized I was better than him, and I said that out loud. I think it embarrassed him. The whole group attacked me together then.
"I expected them to stop- punishments were meant to cause pain, they weren't meant to keep a person from working the next day. But they just kept going. I passed out. I woke up and tried to make it to the Healing Halls, but I passed out again. When I woke up that time Obi-Wan was there. He made me stay awake and they brought me to the Healers- and that's all."
The council members nodded. Some of them looked particularly sad, Yoda among them. Windu had a slightly pinched expression on his face, as though he'd tasted something sour.
Anakin wondered what it was.
…-…
Windu felt… strange.
Jedi were not supposed to be angry or hateful or bitter, and yet they obviously were. They hated the Sith. And they weren't supposed to.
How had they gone so far down that path without even realizing it?
The boy- Sith apprentice though he was- had been savagely beaten. He hadn't fought back- not nearly as hard as he could have. The other initiates were practically unharmed.
The Jedi had been the aggressors, the Sith the victim.
How had they come to this?
It was wrong. It was not the way Jedi were supposed to be. And something had to change.