A/N: Hey again. Well I promised I would update on Thursday and so I have! I will probably not update for another week now that I have got a ton fo AS level work to do, but I promise I will leave it no longer than a week at most. Also, hi to a couple of new reveiwers and everyone that is reading this but cant be bothered or simply dont want to reveiw. Hope you are enjoying it! Oh yeah and another thing, I am accepting Star Wars challenges at the moment, so if anyone has any idea they would like to challenge me with, feel free! May The force be with you always. xx
Poet317 - I love The Crash, it was brilliant. Glad you managed to get round to reading this, have you read my alternate ending, thats the other fan fic I have on here, if you like this one you should read the other one. Hope you like this chapter and update Edge of Blackness soon! xx
WoketteUK - Here is what is happening next! lol. I love Anakin angst, I am so good at writing it according to my friends so...here it is! xx
Ewan007 - Hey new reveiwer! Glad you have finally got round to reveiwing this, and I am pleased to know that it has been one of your favourites since I strated writing. Its always nice when I get people telling me they've loved this from the beginning! Stick with me, and I hope you will reveiw again for this chapter! xx
sewardsfolly - Why not! I think Anakin is very cool when he's bad, even if he does make me cry with the things he does! lol. I'll try not to make him go bad, but I'm, not promising. According to Anakin, its fun being evil and he can be very persuasive sometimes! xx
Hopeless4life - You cried! You cried too! Oh god was it really that sad? I'm sorry for making you cry, hope this one makes you laugh slightly, although this is still along the lines of being quite dark and depressing... xx
The sky outside is black, rumbling with the threat of a lightning storm, and I think of how convenient it all seems. The weather seems to suit Anakin's present state and mood, unstable, dangerous, a storm of power waiting to break free from it restraints. I cannot pretend that I am not concerned and upset by Anakin's sudden change of mood; neither can I hide this anymore from Obi-Wan. As soon as Anakin came back from his second coma like state, I could tell he was still arguing with himself, battling to gain control of his own mind. But I cannot shake the image of his dull, lifeless eyes looking straight through me, and his heart wrenching, whispered words as we left the room on the Physiotherapists request….
"Thanks a lot…..traitors"
A sudden clap of thunder and a burst of lightning that illuminates the small waiting room startles me and I snap out of my reverie, wrapping my arms firmly around my waist, trying to inject the smallest amount of comfort and reassurance back into me.
I look to the door as it opens and I sigh gratefully as Obi-Wan steps into the room, holding a cup of steaming caffe in each hand. He passes one to me silently and settles himself calmly in a seat next to me, although I can see the hint of fear playing behind his eyes. There is an awkward silence between us, and I know that neither of us wants to talk about Anakin or think about what he is going through alone at this moment. But something nags at me, something that I need to know, something that I want Obi-wan to answer.
"Obi-Wan….what was he like, before all of this happened? Was Anakin ever happy?"
He takes a long slow slip of the hot liquid, and looks sadly to a spot on the opposite wall before turning to look at me, a mixture of amusement and sadness dancing on his features. His tone of voice has become soft, heartfelt; almost as if it were Anakin he was talking to, trying to remind him of everything.
"There were many times that he was happy, especially in the early stages of his apprenticeship. He and I went on so many missions together, and we had a great deal of fun on those missions, always doing small, comforting things like betting one another who could kill the most battle droids, or who would be the one most likely to be injured"
He chuckles as he remembers this and I can't help smiling as I think about the kind of things they could have gotten up to. But his face soon turns deadly serious, and I can see him wince as he speaks.
"It was the nights that were the hardest for him. Early on, it didn't really matter, but when he hit 16, something happened on a mission and to this day I still don't know what it is….but the enemy captured him. He got out, but he suffers from reoccurring nightmares…visions of terrible things. He never wanted to sleep, even after a long mission he would do his best to try and stay awake, always making up some sort of excuse. And then a couple of months back, the nightmares about his mother started. Of course I told him they would pass, that not all nightmares are visions. If only I'd known…"
I nod solemnly, placing a comforting hand on Obi-Wan's arm, remembering Anakin's piercing screams at night that echoed around the silent landscape of the Naboo Lake Country. I decide to steer Obi-Wan away from this train of through and he looks grateful as he is directed to somewhat happier memories.
"What was he like growing up?"
"He was….eager to learn. He took everything the council and I threw at him and seemed to….sail through each problem as easy as breathing. Somehow things that people consider to be impossible, turn out to be merely difficult for Anakin. Its astounding the things he can do."
He gives a small chuckle as he leans back in his seat and begins to stroke his beard again.
"I still remember the first time he got his hands on a lightsabre though. He somehow decided to try and learn one of the hardest forms of lightsabre combat there is. Though I guess I should have expected this, seeing as Anakin never does anything the easy way."
I nod amazed, eager to learn more about Anakin's life as a Jedi and the things he got up to.
"There are different ways to fight with a lightsabre!"
He laughs softly at my eagerness, I guess seeing in me what Anakin was like when he was younger. He places his cup of caffe on the table and rises to his feet, signalling for me to do the same. I look at him warily and step over to his side. He unclips his lightsabre from his belt and places it gently in my hands.
"Now you hold onto it with two hands like this." He said, demonstrating.
"Good, now if you gently slide your thumb down over this button, you will activate the blade."
I gently push down and look on in awe as the blue blade emerges from the hilt with a snap-hiss. I listen intently to its soft hum and stare at the blade for a while, wondering how anything so beautiful could be so deadly.
"Alright, now. When being attacked by a blaster or another lightsabre, a Jedi can defend in many different ways depending on which style you use. I use the style of Soresu, mixed with a little hint of Ataro which was the form that Qui-Gon used. I defend like this."
He moves the hilt just to my side, tilting the blade away from my body, but still at a close enough range to guard myself. I nod slowly, taking in all that he is teaching me.
"This is the standard form of the Jedi, not difficult to master and certainly very helpful in defence. Anakin on the other hand, decided as I said, to do things that hard way and learn a style called Djem-So. This is how he defends and attacks."
He brings the blade up and over my head now, so that the blade now runs straight down my back.. But it is an uncomfortable position and I can't hold it for very long. I turn off the blade and hand the hilt back to Obi-Wan.
"Anakin fights like that! But it's so uncomfortable!"
Obi-Wan nods grinning.
"Yes, to many it is an uncomfortable way to fight. But in the end, Anakin always has the advantage against a large group because he can switch so quickly from defending his back to his front. He is so skilled in this form and it is so rarely used that hardly any of our opponents know how to attack him."
I nod, smiling.
"However, when he first started out, he found it very difficult. Needless to say our apartment in the Jedi Temple was practically ruined by the end of the first week. There were scorch marks everywhere from his lightsabre."
I burst out laughing, and so does Obi-Wan. I try again to find some more past experiences to talk about, but our laughter is cut as a loud alarm sounded from down the hall. Obi-Wan and I hurtle from the small room, down the corridor and into Anakin's room, where something had just gone horribly wrong. Obi-Wan rushes to the corner of the room, looking over an unconscious, huddled form, while I continue to look around frantically, taking in all the damage to the room, but also searching for something.
I start to panic as I realise that it isn't here. I practically scream at Obi-Wan, the fear evident in my trembling voice.
"Obi-Wan!"
He turns to me, two fingers pressed to the man's neck.
"What is it?"
"Where's Anakin!"