Chapter 21 No Turning Back: The Nightmare Revealed At Last

In a panic, Anakin tried to withdraw from his brother, only to realize that Obi-Wan would not let him. Obi-Wan was so deep into the Force that Anakin could no longer even communicate with him. Fear gripped Anakin as he thought of what this might be doing to his friend. Again, he tried to withdraw and again he failed. "Obi-Wan, let go." He pleaded without result…

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"Fulfilled your destiny. Come and take your place at my side." Palpatine was telling him. "I will do whatever you ask; just save Padme, I can't live without her." Anakin was murmuring. "I pledge myself to your teachings." And he was looking at Palpatine in disgust. "Rise, Lord Vader." Palpatine ordering. "Every Jedi, including your friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of the Republic. Go to the Temple; do what must be done, show no mercy." Anakin nodding in agreement.

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The Temple, the Jedi, trusting, so trusting…leading a battalion of Clones in…lightsaber, slashing, mercilessly…young Padawans, cut down…Cin Drallig, fighting futilely, cut down and dead….Knights, once friends, now enemies…cut down with Anakin's lightsaber and the Clones' blasters…young, old…all dying around him. A squadron breaks away, heading for the nursery, Anakin, searching through the Force for more Jedi…a group hiding in the Council chamber…on the way…valiant Zak, cut down by Anakin's blade…"Why?" He asks before dying…Anakin does not look back…the Council Chamber ...younglings hiding there behind the seats…a little blond boy approaches him, trusting, innocent. "Master Skywalker, there are too many of them; what should we do?" Anakin ignites his lightsaber and the boy steps back, startled and frightened…. Emerging from the room, more fighting, but not many Jedi are left…bodies scattered…young bodies…Anakin feels no emotion… then none are left and he is contacting Palpatine, his new master. "It is finished, my master." Anakin says. "Good, Lord Vader, now you must go and kill the Separatists; only then will you be strong enough to save your wife. They are hiding on Mustafar." Palpatine, now Lord Sidious tells him. "It will be done, my master." Anakin answers….

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Seeing Padme, her sadness that the Jedi have become traitors…she's worried about Anakin, and he assures her it's all right. She is concerned about Obi-Wan and Anakin says many Jedi are dead….He tells her he must go to take care of some business for the Chancellor and he will return soon….

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Mustafar, volcanic and hotter than any place he's ever been. The Separatists are waiting for Lord Vader, Sidious' new apprentice. He will give them their reward for assisting in the Clone War ruse….He feels nothing, not hate, not love, not regret…nothing. Is this what it's like to be a Jedi? But Obi-Wan… No, I'm a Sith, not a Jedi. And the Separatists are unprepared, in minutes they are all dead. He looks out at the red sun setting above the molten planet and he cries. He feels his soul dying and his Light growing dimmer. But he's thinking of Padme, because of this, she will not die…she will be with him always ….Padme's ship comes into view. He is puzzled, why is she here? He goes to meet her and she runs into his arms. "What are you doing here?" He asks her. "I was worried about you, Obi-Wan says…" She begins. "Obi-Wan? He's alive?" He is shocked, surprised…disappointed. "He's says you've done terrible things." She says, crying now. "I did it for you, my love." He is saying without remorse. "He says you've killed younglings." Padme continues. "Come with me and we can rule the Empire together. We can have peace, we can make it any way we want." Anakin tells her. "Obi-Wan was right, you have changed." Padme is saying now and backing away from him. "Obi-Wan? I don't want to hear about Obi-Wan." He's saying now, with anger. "Anakin, you're breaking my heart; you're going down a path I cannot follow." She is weeping now. "Obi-Wan and the Jedi have turned against me, don't you turn against me." He's threatening. "No, Anakin, I love you." She says. He senses something and looks up to see Obi-Wan standing at the top of the boarding ramp. "LIAR!" He screams at her. "You brought him here to kill me." And then…then…brings his hand up and…and balls it into a fist and….Padme is holding her hand to her throat…Anakin is choking her…she has betrayed him…"Let her go, Anakin; let her go." Obi-Wan is saying…and this is Anakin's mentor…yes, he must let her go…she collapses to the ground and Obi-Wan circles around him to reach her. Obi-Wan bends down and touches her head. "You will not take her from me." Anakin demands. "You have turned her against me." "You have done that yourself." There is more here, about a new Empire and Obi-Wan claiming to be for Democracy and the Republic…and a very clear line from Anakin. "If you're not with me then you are my enemy." Then a threat, "don't make me kill you." Obi-Wan drawing his lightsaber, "I will do what I must." Anakin drawing his and leaping at him and they are…fighting. Anakin's hate and rage, burning inside him and he wants nothing more now than to kill Obi-Wan. Gone and forgotten is the fellowship they once shared; Obi-Wan is a Jedi, an enemy; he has taken Padme from him. He must kill him, he knows this now….he gets the upper hand… and Obi-Wan is disarmed, he chokes him with his prosthetic arm…this was Obi-Wan's fault, if Obi-Wan had let him go back for Padme, he would not have lost it….well, it will kill him now…then it suddenly releases Obi-Wan and he is able to recover and retrieve his weapon. They fight more and suddenly Obi-Wan has the advantage for a moment…they Force push each other until both are thrown to opposite ends of the control room they are now occupying. When they meet again, Anakin's swing at his former master misses and damages a control panel; an alarm sounds, the shields have malfunctioned. They fight out onto a walkway and with the shield down, hot coals and ash fall around them, burning the flooring beneath their feet until the entire walkway collapses and they are forced to jump to a support tower. They fight now from two levels until that too starts to topple. Anakin loses sight of Obi-Wan and then spots him on a droid platform. He jumps to a smaller, more maneuverable one and steers it toward Obi-Wan's. "Anakin, Palpatine is evil." Obi-Wan hears himself say. "In my eyes, the Jedi are evil." Anakin answers. "Then you are lost!" Obi-Wan cries. Anakin leaps to Obi-Wan's platform and sees that Obi-Wan takes a half-hearted slash at him. "This is the end for you, my master." Anakin tells him. Obi-Wan then leaps onto the shore of the molten river. "It's over, Anakin; I have the high ground." He says, but Anakin is all-powerful, he can kill Obi-Wan if he wants to. Obi-Wan is weak, he still loves him, the fool; Obi-Wan can't kill him. "Don't be a fool, Anakin, don't try it." Obi-Wan is pleading like a child. The weak fool, Anakin thinks and leaps up over Obi-Wan's head. "NOOOOOOOO!"

Anakin felt Obi-Wan's tortured emotions and tried desperately to break their connection, but it seemed that Obi-Wan had merged so deeply within the Force it was impossible.

Obi-Wan saw himself slashing at Anakin legs, and the arm holding the lightsaber coming towards him…"ARGGGHHH" "Oh, Obi-Wan, please; let go." Anakin is in agony, his legs and remaining arm are gone and he is trying to pull what's left of his body up the hillside with his artificial hand…."Obi-Wan, please; stop. I can feel your pain; don't do this to yourself, please." Obi-wan now looking down at him; Anakin hoping he will help him. "You were the Chosen One; it was said that you would destroy the Sith not join them. To balance the Force, not leave it in Darkness." Obi-Wan cries out in anguish. Obi-Wan, picking up Anakin's lightsaber and turning around, looking down at him, once again. Anakin sees hope there…come down and help then…oh, you want me to ask for help?...I won't, you know….you're not coming down, are you…"I hate you." Anakin screams as his hate reaches a zenith and he feels more rage than he has ever felt. "You were my brother, Anakin; and I loved you." Obi-Wan sobs to him. Anakin feels more pain as what remains of his legs catch on fire…he has one fleeting vision of what he now considers his sworn enemy turning his back on him… "THAT'S ENOUGH, OBI-WAN!"

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"Listen, if I decide to come to Coruscant, where will I live?" Boba asked.

"I don't know; but I'm sure Chancellor Organa already has that fig…" Zak stopped in mid-word, dropping the plate in his hand.

"Are you alright?" Boba asked with genuine concern.

"I…oh,…I have to go." Zak said suddenly and was gone.

Boba stood there, holding the plate he had just scraped off, looking down at what was left of the one Zak had dropped. Padme rushed into the kitchen, took one look at Boba and put her hands are her hips.

"What did you do now, Boba?" She demanded.

"Nothing…I…nothing. He just dropped the plate and ran out." Boba answered.

"For no reason at all?" Padme asked.

"Nothing I did. I just asked where I'd live if I came to Coruscant. He started to answer and then just dropped the plate. I asked him if he was alright and he just said he had to go and ran out." Boba explained. "I didn't do anything, Lady Skywalker; I swear."

Padme's face softened and so did her tone, "I'm sorry, Boba; I should not have jumped to conclusions like that." She said apologetically.

"That's alright; I can see why you did." Boba replied, looking down at his feet. "I'm not very trustable, am I?"

"Well, I'm sorry; but we'd better find out what's happened to Zak." Padme answered. "Did he look sick?"

"No; not sick, just…um…distracted?" Boba said.

"Oh, that does not sound good at all." Padme said, sounding very concerned. "We'd better find him."

"Is it that Force-thingy?" Boba asked as they entered the hallway.

"It sounds like it." Padme answered.

Luke came up to her, "Sackie's sick, Mommy." He said.

"Sick? What do you mean, honey?" She asked as she picked him up.

"His head is funny." Luke tried to explain. "Micks up."

"What does that mean?" Boba asked.

"I'm not sure." She answered. "Luke, where is Zak now?"

"By da door." Luke told her and then pointed. "See? White dere."

Padme and Boba looked toward the glass door leading out to the back veranda. Zak was standing there, statue-still, looking outside.

Padme put Luke down and walked up to him, "Luke go find Pappy." She told her son.

"But, what 'bout Sackie?" Luke asked.

"We'll take care of him; just go find Pappy." She answered. "Zak?"

When he did not answer and did not even turn to look at her, she looked out to see what he was looking at; there was nothing there, "Zak, what are you looking at?" She asked as she put her hand on his shoulder.

That seemed to break through to him because he turned and looked at her.

"Zak, what are you looking at?" She asked again.

"They're out there." Zak answered.

"Who?" Boba asked.

"My master and Master Anakin." Zak replied. "Something's not right."

"What's not right, Zak?" Padme asked, becoming concerned.

"I don't know; it's Master Obi-Wan. It just doesn't feel right." Zak answered. "And now, I can't…uh…I can't…well, I can't touch him; do you know what I mean?"

"I think so. Do you think you could find them if we went out and looked?" Padme asked.

"Padme? Honey, what's wrong?" Ruwee asked as he came in from the sitting room carrying Luke. "Luke said that Zak was sick."

"Dad; no, it's not Zak. But I think something might be wrong with Obi-Wan." Padme answered. "We were just going out to look for him and Anakin. Could you and Mom stay a little longer and look after the children?"

"Yes, of course, dear." Ruwee replied.

Padme turned to see that Zak had left the room, "Where did he go?" She asked Boba.

"In the other room." Boba answered.

Zak reappeared carrying Obi-Wan's cloak and Anakin's flight jacket, "They'll need these." He said calmly.

Without asking why, Padme opened the door. Zak walked out first, closed his eyes for a moment and then headed out into the darkness with Padme and Boba right behind him. Zak walked purposefully toward the lower part of the back lawn and there, seated by the pond, they were. Seated as they had been by the lake, palm to palm and Padme did not think there was anything wrong.

"It's not right, Lady Padme." Zak said and they drew nearer, she could see that Zak was right.

Anakin sat rigid, his hands held up trembling slightly, straining as if something were pushing against them. But Obi-Wan was shaking all over, his face a mask of pain. She started toward him and was restrained by Zak.

"Don't touch him." He warned and then handed the jacket to her. "Just put this around Master Anakin's shoulders."

She nodded as she took the jacket, slowly approached her husband and carefully, gently laid the jacket across his shoulders. Zak did the same for his master then moved a short distance away and sat down.

Padme walked over to him, "What do we do now?" She asked.

Zak looked up at her, his eyes calm. "We wait." He answered quietly.

Padme sat down next to him and Boba sat on the other side, "You don't have to wait out here with us, Boba." Zak said.

"I know; but I want to. Is that alright?" Boba asked.

"Oh…yes, of course. I just wanted to make sure you knew that you didn't have to, that's all." Zak answered.

"What are they doing?" Boba asked.

"I'm not sure; they won't let me in." Zak replied.

"It's the nightmare; isn't it." Padme said.

"Master Anakin's nightmare?" Zak wondered.

"Yes, Master Obi-Wan wanted Anakin to show it to him." Padme answered.

"That could be it then." Zak replied.

"Will they be alright, Zak?" Padme asked, suddenly feeling very uneasy.

"Don't worry, Master Anakin will be alright." Zak assured.

"But what about Master Obi-Wan?" Padme asked as she felt a lump rising in her throat.

Zak closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating, "I don't know." He said when he opened them again.

"I'm so sorry, Zak; I told Anakin he should do this. This is my fault." Padme replied, tearfully.

Zak put his hand on her arm and patted it gently.

"This isn't your fault at all, Lady Padme. It was something they both needed to do." Zak told her. "What happens now is the will of the Force."

Boba understood nothing of this, but Zak was his friend; right now, his only friend. He would wait with him.

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Anakin gave up, Obi-Wan could not hear him; he realized this now. He had given himself to the Force and Anakin knew the entire nightmare would have to be played out before the Force would release him. Powerless to break his connection to him, Anakin, too, gave in to the Force and let the nightmare flow out of him with no further resistance.

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Zak turned his attention away from Padme and looked toward his Anakin.

"It's different now; Master Anakin has stopped…fighting." He said.

"Stopped fighting what, Zak?" Padme asked.

"I'm not really sure; but I get the feeling that he's just…um…let go." Zak replied. "Does that make sense?"

"Maybe Master Skywalker didn't want Master Kenobi to see the rest of this nightmare you were talking about. And maybe now he's stopped trying to fight Master Kenobi." Boba suggested. "Could that be it?"

Zak looked at him, incredulously, "for someone who doesn't know anything about the Force that was very smart." He said. "I think Boba's right, Lady Padme."

"Well, what will happen now?" Padme asked. "Will they be alright?"

"Master Anakin for sure, yes; but I still don't know about my master. That's still up to the Force." Zak answered.

"Then we keep waiting?" Boba asked.

"Yes." Zak answered.