Obi-Wan was sitting in a meditation room when Yoda and Mace Windu entered.
"We have a problem." Windu said softly.
Obi-Wan brought himself out of trance, then looked up.
"What kind of problem?" he asked.
"Senator Amidala sent a communiqué a few minutes ago. Skywalker knows of
your visit and is on his way here. Senator Amidala sounded quite
terrified. She does not know what he's going to do, just that he's looking
for you." Windu explained.
"A confrontation he is seeking. Ready, you must be." Yoda said quietly.
"I am, Master. Anakin will be made to see reason." Obi-Wan said firmly.
"Arrives, he does." Yoda said, turning to the door. Two seconds later, it
slid open to reveal Anakin's slender form.
"Master Yoda, Master Windu, you will excuse us. My padawan and I have much
to discuss." Obi-Wan requested.
Without a word, the other masters left and Anakin moved into the room to
face his mentor.
"I am not longer your Padawan. I am a Jedi!" Anakin snapped.
"A Jedi would not let his feelings rule his life as you have. He would not
be as full of the dark side as you are. He would not be making his wife
fear him. He would not have a wife. Do not have any illusions about what a
Jedi is, young one, or what they stand for." Obi-Wan warned.
But Anakin heard only one thing. "So, Padme contacted you behind my back.
Again. You are stealing the only thing I love, away from me. I will not
let the Jedi cause me to lose the most important thing in my life away from
me, not again."
"Padme is terrified. Because of you, Anakin. Your wife is frightened of
you."
"You will stay away from my wife, or I will strike you down, my Master.
Padme and I are leaving for Naboo, tonight. And I forbid any contact
between you and she." Anakin answered coldly.
"The Council will never approve of you leaving for Naboo, not now, you must
retrain your mind, Anakin. Or you will leave the Order."
"I'm not asking for the Council's approval. And if they force it, I will
leave the Order. Anything to get away from you." Anakin spat.
Obi-Wan's concern towards Anakin grew. "Anakin, what are you talking about?
Padme and I are friends, we spoke because of our shared concern over you.
You can't honestly believe anything else is happening. Listen to
yourself."
"I know what I saw. I saw you and she together!" Anakin shouted, his face
contorting in fury.
"Where, on the ship, talking?" Obi-Wan asked, standing and facing him.
"No, in my bed. I saw it, in my dream!! Just like the dream of my mother.
I know it's true!" Anakin was shaking now.
"Anakin, you must hear me. Padme and I would never and have never been
together. The dark side is coloring your dreams now. You know Padme would
never do that to you, nor would I. Read my thoughts, young one. I invite
you."
Obi-Wan opened his mind and reached for Anakin, but Anakin shook his head.
"You would use your mind to trick me. I know you. I am not a fool."
Obi-Wan lost his temper at that. "Well, you'd never guess from the way
you're acting now. Anakin, you are being deliberately difficult. Chosen
One, do you want to know what you really are? You're nothing but a spoiled
brat with a gift. I don't know how Padme has lived with you this long.
You're a child in a man's body, and you have tried my patience for the last
time."
"Prepare to meet the Force, my Master." Anakin said, rage flowing through
his body, strengthening his resolve.
Obi-Wan smiled. "Come on, young one, let's see how much of a Jedi you
really are."
The lightsaber's ignited, first Anakin's then Kenobi's. They crossed and
started circling the room, parrying and thrusting as they went on. Obi-Wan
was a gifted swordsman, not as good as Qui-Gon or Yoda, of course, but
still better than average. Anakin was better, but the rage suffusing his
body made it difficult to concentrate and Obi-Wan was calmly defending
himself as Anakin tired himself with his rage-fuelled blows.
Suddenly, both lightsabers were yanked from them. They flew straight into
Mace Windu's hands who deactivated them, then returned them to the belts of
the owners.
"Forbid this battle, we do." Yoda warned.
Windu's face was solemn. "We shall be holding an inquiry into this duel.
Both of you are forbidden to leave the temple until we are satisfied with
our findings."
"You cannot hold me here!" shouted Anakin.
"We can, and we shall. Do not test us on this, Jedi Skywalker." Windu
warned.
"How can you stop me?" Anakin sneered.
Yoda nodded to Windu and immediately a force beam surrounded Anakin,
raising him above the other three. He was powerless to move, or use the
Force to free himself.
"No!" he shouted. "Let me go! He'll go to her again!" he almost sobbed.
Yoda's face saddened. "Unfortunate it is, young Skywalker, that so blind
you are." He shook his head and they slowly left Anakin alone.
"Under house arrest? In a force beam? Obi-Wan, there had to be better way." Padme exclaimed. Anakin was correct in one thing. Obi-Wan had gone straight to Padme, not for the reasons Anakin thought, but he was there none the less. "I tried, Padme, but he is totally irrational. He believes that we are having an affair. He was planning on taking you away to Naboo, tonight, and he forbade me having any contact with you again. He says he had a dream and saw us together. He believes the dream was prophetic, as the ones of his mother were." "That's insane. He knows that we would never." Padme trailed off at the thought. "He is acting as if he can't think clearly at all. Yoda and the Council are afraid to let him go. They think if they do, eventually, we will have to destroy him. He's becoming a danger to all around him. The dark side, Padme, it's winning." Obi-Wan was dejected. "I knew he was losing control, but to embrace the dark side as fully as he has been.Qui-Gon trusted me to train him. I promised, now look. Yoda warned me, and I didn't listen, not hard enough. This is my fault, as much as it is Anakin's. I have to make this right." "How, do you know how to make Anakin see that he's being irrational? Or to help him to regain the control that he's lost?" Padme asked, striding back and forth across the room. "I know that I have to. Otherwise, he will be lost. And I can't accept that." Obi-Wan shook his head. "Can I see him?" Padme asked. "I will arrange it. The Council will disapprove but I think that it would help him to realize that I'm not trying to keep you from him. He said something that I found disturbing. He said that the Jedi would not cause him to lose the only thing that he loved, again. He blames the Jedi for the loss of his mother. That in itself says much. However, he is being fed these ideas from somewhere. Anakin would have come to these conclusions, if they were his own, a long time ago. That it has happened now, points to another source." Obi-Wan stated thoughtfully. Padme frowned. "The only other person who has any influence over Anakin is Chancellor Palpatine." "I know. But to investigate him, is difficult, at best. I will do my best though. Come on, let's go to the temple, Anakin may be calm enough now to see you." Padme took a deep breath, "I'm ready." And followed him out.
Anakin was far from calm. He was seething. Being trapped did nothing for his mood. They were keeping him from his wife. His wife. Confusion filled his mind. Was Padme having an affair with Obi- Wan? He didn't sense that from her, but her mind was unusually strong. Still, his mentor had never expressed any interest in any woman, much less Padme. He'd often mistrusted her because she was a politician. Why couldn't he think straight? His mind was so full, why couldn't he clear it? "Because the Jedi didn't teach you properly. This way they could use this excuse to excommunicate you from the order." A voice answered from below him. He looked down, and saw a holograph of a dark cloaked figure. "Chancellor Palpatine?" Anakin questioned. "Yes, Anakin, and I have come to help you. And to give you a gift." Came the soothing voice. "What did you mean, that they had trained me poorly on purpose?" Anakin asked. "You must be aware that Yoda and most of the Council, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, did not want you trained. It was the wish of Qui-Gon Jinn that you would be." Palpatine said softly. Anakin remembered the arguments of the fatherly Jedi who had save him from Tatooine, even with his own Padawan at the time, Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon had insisted that Anakin was the Chosen One, and had nurtured his gift, even after the Council had forbade it. "They gave you to Master Kenobi, a newly appointed Jedi Knight, to train the Chosen One? Why not Master Yoda, or Master Windu, two of the most able instructors in the order? No, Anakin, they wanted you to fail, because they fear the power that you could wield as a full Jedi." Palpatine intoned. "How can you help me?" Anakin asked, his anger at the injustice done to him building. "By giving you the final lesson of your instruction. The reason my lessons to you have not been working is that they conflict with the flawed lessons you have learned here. Let them go. Be Anakin Skywalker, Chosen One of the Force. Use your anger, it is your personal strength Anakin. It is as much a part of you as passiveness is Master Yoda's. As introspection is Master Windu's. As faith was Qui-Gon Jinn's." he paused. "They call it the dark side, to make you fear to use it. And effectively, they clap irons on your wrists. Only by tapping into what makes you strong, can you be strong. Try Anakin, and feel the peace that you could have, again. The peace that killing the Tusken Raiders brought you." Anakin shivered. He'd told no one except Padme how he'd felt after killing the Sandpeople, but it didn't matter suddenly. It was true. Anakin took a deep breath and let his rage loose, and he felt the power course through him, shredding the pain and taking it away, and he stepped out of the force beam and landed beside Palpatine. His mind was clear, and his senses attuned to everything around him. The feeling of unfettered power was exhilarating and he smiled. He understood who and what Palpatine was now. Turning to him he bowed, "I thank you, your excellency. And I welcome you, Lord Sidious." Palpatine smiled. "Truly a prodigy. I look forward to a long association." "You intend to use the armies to take over the Republic. And to keep the Jedi in check." Anakin stated, it wasn't a question. "Very good, my young apprentice. The Sith will rule, and there will be order, and war will become obsolete." Palpatine said calmly. "You shall rule, Anakin Skywalker. But we will need a new name for you, not the name of a slave, the name of a Sith. Think on it, and come to me." And the holo flickered and disappeared. Anakin smiled but before he could answer, he'd turned towards the door. It slid open to admit Padme and Obi-Wan Kenobi. "Anakin!" Obi-Wan was shocked, and he knew immediately what had happened. "Run Padme!" he yelled, pushing her back behind him. "Oh, I don't think so." Anakin smiled confidently, and he pulled Padme to him through the air, and slid the door closed behind Obi-Wan effortlessly. "Ani, no." Padme cried from his feet where she lay. Anakin put the sound of her voice out of his mind and focussed on his former Master. "Care to try that duel again, Master Kenobi?" he asked. "You are a fool, Anakin. You've sold your future for nothing." Obi-Wan said pityingly. "Oh, I don't think so, and I'm not Anakin. Anakin Skywalker is gone, my name is Darth Vader." And with that, he drew his lightsaber and ignited it. Obi-Wan did the same and faced him. And the only sound was of Padme, weeping.
"Under house arrest? In a force beam? Obi-Wan, there had to be better way." Padme exclaimed. Anakin was correct in one thing. Obi-Wan had gone straight to Padme, not for the reasons Anakin thought, but he was there none the less. "I tried, Padme, but he is totally irrational. He believes that we are having an affair. He was planning on taking you away to Naboo, tonight, and he forbade me having any contact with you again. He says he had a dream and saw us together. He believes the dream was prophetic, as the ones of his mother were." "That's insane. He knows that we would never." Padme trailed off at the thought. "He is acting as if he can't think clearly at all. Yoda and the Council are afraid to let him go. They think if they do, eventually, we will have to destroy him. He's becoming a danger to all around him. The dark side, Padme, it's winning." Obi-Wan was dejected. "I knew he was losing control, but to embrace the dark side as fully as he has been.Qui-Gon trusted me to train him. I promised, now look. Yoda warned me, and I didn't listen, not hard enough. This is my fault, as much as it is Anakin's. I have to make this right." "How, do you know how to make Anakin see that he's being irrational? Or to help him to regain the control that he's lost?" Padme asked, striding back and forth across the room. "I know that I have to. Otherwise, he will be lost. And I can't accept that." Obi-Wan shook his head. "Can I see him?" Padme asked. "I will arrange it. The Council will disapprove but I think that it would help him to realize that I'm not trying to keep you from him. He said something that I found disturbing. He said that the Jedi would not cause him to lose the only thing that he loved, again. He blames the Jedi for the loss of his mother. That in itself says much. However, he is being fed these ideas from somewhere. Anakin would have come to these conclusions, if they were his own, a long time ago. That it has happened now, points to another source." Obi-Wan stated thoughtfully. Padme frowned. "The only other person who has any influence over Anakin is Chancellor Palpatine." "I know. But to investigate him, is difficult, at best. I will do my best though. Come on, let's go to the temple, Anakin may be calm enough now to see you." Padme took a deep breath, "I'm ready." And followed him out.
Anakin was far from calm. He was seething. Being trapped did nothing for his mood. They were keeping him from his wife. His wife. Confusion filled his mind. Was Padme having an affair with Obi- Wan? He didn't sense that from her, but her mind was unusually strong. Still, his mentor had never expressed any interest in any woman, much less Padme. He'd often mistrusted her because she was a politician. Why couldn't he think straight? His mind was so full, why couldn't he clear it? "Because the Jedi didn't teach you properly. This way they could use this excuse to excommunicate you from the order." A voice answered from below him. He looked down, and saw a holograph of a dark cloaked figure. "Chancellor Palpatine?" Anakin questioned. "Yes, Anakin, and I have come to help you. And to give you a gift." Came the soothing voice. "What did you mean, that they had trained me poorly on purpose?" Anakin asked. "You must be aware that Yoda and most of the Council, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, did not want you trained. It was the wish of Qui-Gon Jinn that you would be." Palpatine said softly. Anakin remembered the arguments of the fatherly Jedi who had save him from Tatooine, even with his own Padawan at the time, Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon had insisted that Anakin was the Chosen One, and had nurtured his gift, even after the Council had forbade it. "They gave you to Master Kenobi, a newly appointed Jedi Knight, to train the Chosen One? Why not Master Yoda, or Master Windu, two of the most able instructors in the order? No, Anakin, they wanted you to fail, because they fear the power that you could wield as a full Jedi." Palpatine intoned. "How can you help me?" Anakin asked, his anger at the injustice done to him building. "By giving you the final lesson of your instruction. The reason my lessons to you have not been working is that they conflict with the flawed lessons you have learned here. Let them go. Be Anakin Skywalker, Chosen One of the Force. Use your anger, it is your personal strength Anakin. It is as much a part of you as passiveness is Master Yoda's. As introspection is Master Windu's. As faith was Qui-Gon Jinn's." he paused. "They call it the dark side, to make you fear to use it. And effectively, they clap irons on your wrists. Only by tapping into what makes you strong, can you be strong. Try Anakin, and feel the peace that you could have, again. The peace that killing the Tusken Raiders brought you." Anakin shivered. He'd told no one except Padme how he'd felt after killing the Sandpeople, but it didn't matter suddenly. It was true. Anakin took a deep breath and let his rage loose, and he felt the power course through him, shredding the pain and taking it away, and he stepped out of the force beam and landed beside Palpatine. His mind was clear, and his senses attuned to everything around him. The feeling of unfettered power was exhilarating and he smiled. He understood who and what Palpatine was now. Turning to him he bowed, "I thank you, your excellency. And I welcome you, Lord Sidious." Palpatine smiled. "Truly a prodigy. I look forward to a long association." "You intend to use the armies to take over the Republic. And to keep the Jedi in check." Anakin stated, it wasn't a question. "Very good, my young apprentice. The Sith will rule, and there will be order, and war will become obsolete." Palpatine said calmly. "You shall rule, Anakin Skywalker. But we will need a new name for you, not the name of a slave, the name of a Sith. Think on it, and come to me." And the holo flickered and disappeared. Anakin smiled but before he could answer, he'd turned towards the door. It slid open to admit Padme and Obi-Wan Kenobi. "Anakin!" Obi-Wan was shocked, and he knew immediately what had happened. "Run Padme!" he yelled, pushing her back behind him. "Oh, I don't think so." Anakin smiled confidently, and he pulled Padme to him through the air, and slid the door closed behind Obi-Wan effortlessly. "Ani, no." Padme cried from his feet where she lay. Anakin put the sound of her voice out of his mind and focussed on his former Master. "Care to try that duel again, Master Kenobi?" he asked. "You are a fool, Anakin. You've sold your future for nothing." Obi-Wan said pityingly. "Oh, I don't think so, and I'm not Anakin. Anakin Skywalker is gone, my name is Darth Vader." And with that, he drew his lightsaber and ignited it. Obi-Wan did the same and faced him. And the only sound was of Padme, weeping.