Anakin wasn't sure what woke him. He laid perfectly still, listening to the sounds in the house and trying to figure out just what it was that woke him. All that he could hear, though, was the sound of Obi-Wan breathing. He could have strained his senses and found out just what it was that had woken him, but Anakin didn't want to do that. He didn't want to risk the possibility of Sidious sensing him. Because Sidious wouldn't just let him go. Not after Anakin had sworn to serve him. The fact that Anakin's pledge to Obi-Wan had been made first would matter to the Sith Lord. All that would concern him would be getting his apprentice back.
That, ultimately, was what Anakin feared most. That a day would come when he would truly be Darth Vader. It had been grief that had created Vader. Grief over Obi-Wan's supposed death and the fear of what would come next. One day, though, Obi-Wan really would be dead. Whether it was a death in battle or from old age, a day would come when Obi-Wan was no longer with him and Anakin feared that day. Because if he fell a second time, Obi-Wan wouldn't be there to pull him back up.
While he hadn't actively been hunting her, it would have been a lie for him to say that he didn't know she was in the same system that he and his lover were. It still caused a little thrill to run up his spine whenever he thought of Obi-Wan as his lover. It was something that he had never thought would happen. Many of the older padawans had always joked that Obi-Wan was a eunuch. When he was young and hadn't known the meaning of the word, Anakin had laughed with them. When he had discovered the meaning of that word, however, he became his master's greatest defender. It had never occurred to him that he would have actual proof of Obi-Wan's non-eunuch status.
The only thing that mattered to him in that moment, though, was that he was standing before the woman who had very nearly taken Obi-Wan from him. His entire body was vibrating with the anger and fear he had been suppressing since Obi-Wan had first gone missing. He tried his best to remain calm, but as he remembered just what she had done to his beloved Obi-Wan his anger was once again fueled. As much as Obi-Wan had tried to protect him from it, Anakin had still been able to sense the older man's nightmares. The terror that they caused was able to leak through Obi-Wan's shields, giving Anakin only a small taste of what they contained. And what Anakin saw frightened him.
"So you are the arrogant little boy who thought he could defeat my master," Ventress sneered, twirling her lightsaber about absently in her right hand. "How did that work for you?"
Anakin scowled, but didn't rise to the bait. That was what had happened with Dooku and had only resulted in the loss of his arm. The situation with Dooku had also not been as personal as the one with Ventress. For while Dooku had enabled the assassination attempts on Padmé, Ventress had nearly killed Obi-Wan. It was important that he not fail this time. He refused to give her the satisfaction.
"You are nothing like I thought you would be, Skywalker," she taunted, attempting a different route. "They say that you are the greatest warrior in the galaxy, yet here you are, cowering before me like a little boy. You master must be so proud."
Anakin merely grinned at her and ignited his lightsaber. "He is."
Obi-Wan stirred slightly and Anakin remained completely still, hoping that his lover would stay asleep longer. Obi-Wan had been expending so much energy taking care of him when Obi-Wan himself had been injured not that long ago. First by Cody's blaster and then the drugs that had left him in a state similar to death and then finally by Grievous' lightsaber; all of this happening in the span of a week. Yet Obi-Wan had been the one taking care of him when it should have been the other way around. Now that he was aware of it, though, Anakin was determined to change it. He would take care of Obi-Wan who was likely more exhausted as he was dealing with both his injuries and Anakin's unbalanced mental state.
Carefully extracting himself from Obi-Wan's arms, Anakin rolled out of the bed without waking his lover. He needed to meditate, to clear his head, and knew that he would do it better out in the open where he could feel the wind and the sun. Anakin preferred to meditate in the rain or in the fountain room at the Temple, but on Tatooine there was very little rain so the other elements would have to suffice.
Anakin pulled on his trousers before he left the bedroom, but otherwise remained undressed. He had spent the first nine years of his life on Tatooine and was much better suited to the desert climate. Unlike Obi-Wan, his skin burned only rarely, even under the twin suns of Tatooine.
It wasn't until he was standing out on the rocky outcrop that the homestead was built on that Anakin realized he hadn't seen Cody once. All thoughts of meditating left him then. It was only a short time ago that he would have trusted Cody implicitly. He had trusted him with Obi-Wan's life which was far more important to Anakin than his own. And he had repaid that trust by nearly killing Obi-Wan. Even if the shot had only been meant to stun him, it had resulted in Obi-Wan tumbling more than a hundred feet into a water-filled crater. Jedi or not, a fall like that could have killed him.
Anakin rushed back into the homestead, darting from one room to the next in search of the errant clone commander. Except that Cody wasn't there. In fact there was no sign that he had even been in the building.
Fearing for both his and Obi-Wan's safety, Anakin rushed back out of the homestead. Still dressed only in his trousers, Anakin hopped onto one of the speeder bikes and took off towards the Dune Sea. He wouldn't allow Cody to place Obi-Wan in further danger no matter what he had done for them in the past. Ultimately, it was Obi-Wan who was more important. His safety. Anakin would do whatever was necessary in order to ensure that Obi-Wan was kept safe.
Before he even opened his eyes, Obi-Wan knew that he was alone. There was nothing in particular that had woken him except perhaps rolling onto a cool section of the bed. Blinking his eyes open slowly, Obi-Wan scanned the room for any sign of Anakin even though he knew the younger man wasn't in the room. Reaching out through the Force he couldn't sense Anakin anywhere in the house. That instantly had Obi-Wan worried. There was no reason for Anakin to have wandered off.
Reluctantly climbing out of the far too comfortable bed, Obi-Wan pulled on his trousers and snagged his tunic up from the floor on the way out the door. He was yawning as he slipped the shirt over his head, his mouth still open wide when his face emerged from the fabric.
"That's not entirely Jedi-like, General," Cody chuckled as he came in from the kitchen.
Obi-Wan offered the clone a bemused smile as he straightened his clothes. "It has been some time since I was considered entirely Jedi-like. The Jedi are not meant to form such strong attachments to their padawans. They aren't mean to form attachments at all. Because then you might be willing to destroy the entire galaxy just to keep him safe."
Pursing his lips, Obi-Wan strode out of the homestead, hoping to get a better sense of where Anakin was. Something wasn't right. There was no need for Anakin to disappear so early in the morning. Anakin hated getting up early. From the time that he had first arrived at the Temple, Anakin would remain in bed until forced out by Obi-Wan to attend to his lessons. During the wars, Obi-Wan never forced the issue. Luxuries being so few, allowing Anakin a few more hours of sleep was the least he could do.
So the fact that Anakin had not only woken up, but had wandered off somewhere so early worried him.
"Have you seen Anakin about anywhere?" Obi-Wan when Cody followed him outside.
"Everything was quiet when I got back from scanning the borders of the property. I assumed that he was still sleeping."
Obi-Wan's left arm crossed over his chest, his right hand rising to his chin where his fingers moved automatically to stroke hair that was no longer there. The gesture was familiar, though, and Obi-Wan found that he was able to concentrate better that way. Even so, he had no idea where Anakin could have gone. There was absolutely nothing around them except sand and dunes. Of course, Obi-Wan had stopped trying to understand Anakin's actions a long time ago.
He should have known that Anakin was up to something when he'd woken to find the younger man absent from their tent. No good ever came from Anakin being awake before him. What he hadn't expected was the seething rage that had overwhelmed their bond a short while ago. There was only one thing Obi-Wan could think of that would enrage his padawan so and that was Asajj Ventress. He'd hoped that his mind had simply been playing tricks on him when he felt her presence the day before. Sadly, that didn't seem to be the case. Anakin's anger was far too genuine. Obi-Wan only hoped that he could get to his lover before he did something foolish. Of course, with Anakin, that was usually a futile effort.
Lightsaber in hand, Obi-Wan rushed through the corridors of the military compound. It was times like this that he was grateful for the strength of the bond that he shared with Anakin. It took very little effort on his part to be able to track the younger man through the twisting hallways that made up the abandoned military compound.
Obi-Wan skid to a halt as he entered one of the storage bunkers. He had half expected the sight that greeted him, but was still unprepared for the sight of Anakin and Asajj Ventress fighting in the centre of the large, open room. Ventress' two twirling red lightsabers against Anakin's single blue one. Obi-Wan didn't doubt Anakin's abilities for a second, but he still felt uneasy about it all. There was a slight tug in the back of his mind, warning him that something was going to happen.
For a brief moment Obi-Wan was propelled back more than a decade to the last time he had seen two red blades wielded by a single fighter. That day he lost the man who had become a father to him. The consequences were much more dire this time. This time he could very well loose half of himself. Obi-Wan didn't know if he could overcome the darkness that had consumed him following Qui Gon's death if Anakin fell.
He would not be too late a second time.
So focused on reaching Anakin, though, Obi-Wan failed to notice the trap set before him. Stepping on a sensor built into the floor, a force field came up, separating him from Anakin. Touching it with the tip of his lightsaber, Obi-Wan wasn't surprised to find that it wouldn't penetrate the red haze.
It was everything that had happened with Qui Gon all over again. He couldn't even toss Anakin his lightsaber to make it a more even match. He could only stsand by, helpless, as he had that afternoon in Theed when he was still a padawan.
Slowly, the battle began to wind its way over to where he stood. Obi-Wan watched it intently, giving Anakin a second perspective of the fight by relaying what he saw along their bond. He didn't force the information, knowing that it would distract him, instead allowing Anakin to extract the information on his own.
Obi-Wan could tell that it was Ventress who led the battle right to him, fighting only feet away. She had used such taunts when he was her prisoner and stuck in that Sithspawn mask. Out of the endless silence he would suddenly hear Anakin's voice, breathless and frantic, and for a few seconds Obi-Wan would think that he was safe. That he was finally being rescued. Never once had it been Anakin and each time he would feel the loss of his padawan all the more.
Not having thought anything could penetrate the field, Obi-Wan was genuinely shocked to feel the blade of a lightsaber pass through his chest.
Still pondering Anakin's odd disappearance, Obi-Wan wandering about the plateau that the homestead was built on, trying to get some sense of where the younger man had gone to. When he noticed the absence of one of the speeder bikes he was suddenly consumed with dread.
"Was the bike gone when you did your check?" Obi-Wan asked the clone, following the track of sand that had been disrupted by the passing speeder bike.
"I only looked in here when I started my circuit," Cody informed him, the response somewhat mechanical. "There was no new disruption in the sand so I assumed that the marks were made when we'd arrived yesterday."
"Damned fool," Obi-Wan muttered under his breath. Anakin had always been far too spontaneous. It was a trait that Obi-Wan had never been able to reason or train out of him. And, to be honest, it was something he had always loved about the younger man. Anakin was always so alive and so in the moment that Obi-Wan couldn't help but be drawn in by that energy.
Only now Obi-Wan feared the very thing he loved about Anakin had led him into further danger.
The suns were beating down heavily on his back before Anakin came to a stop on the edge of a high plateau. The shifting sands destroyed any possible trail that he could have followed and he was instead searching in random directions. His search was random because he couldn't sense anyone out there. While there was nothing unusual about him being unable to sense Cody, Anakin couldn't help but worry over the fact that he could not longer sense Obi-Wan. He would normally be able to locate him so long as they were in the same system. That he couldn't feel Obi-Wan along their bond meant that he was no longer on Tatooine. That Obi-Wan had abandoned him. It made Anakin physically sick to think that his lover could have left him.
Anakin stumbled away from the speeder, staggering about until he at last fell to his knees. All around him was endless desert, no sign of another living creature. Anakin sagged forward, holding himself on his elbows as his chest began to heave and he vomited up what little contents were in his stomach. For the most part it was bile since Anakin couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten.
He couldn't really blame Obi-Wan for leaving him.
It was an odd thing to watch a lightsaber duel from two perspectives. With barely more than a thought he could alternate from what he saw to what Obi-Wan could see. It didn't grant him completely advantage over Ventress, but it did give him an edge. Enough to block several blows that might have snuck past his defenses otherwise. He was also better able to track their progress through the empty bunker.
All the way to the red force field that prevented Obi-Wan from taking part in the fight. And though he could tell Obi-Wan was trying not to, his frustration was coming through their bond very clearly. Ventress was taunting his lover.
Yet even with both their views on the battle, neither of them could have predicted Ventress' red lightsaber piercing the force field and stabbing Obi-Wan very near to his heart.
"NO!" Anakin screamed, watching in horror as Obi-Wan crumpled to the ground in a boneless heap.
While he was distracted, Ventress disarmed him, removing him not only of his lightsaber, but of his durasteel arm as well. She severed the prosthetic just below the elbow joint and while he felt a slight twinge as circuits were shorted out, all that Anakin was aware of was that Obi-Wan could be dead.
Probably was dead.
And it was all his fault.
Rolling himself over onto his back, away from the mess, Anakin stared up at the sky with absolute calmness. He figured that it would take two days of Tatooine's intense suns and near freezing nights for him to die. It would normally take longer, but he had not food, water, or shelter. It would be a painful death, but Anakin knew that he deserved it.
If Obi-Wan didn't believe in him any longer what chance did he have of being redeemed?
A shadow fell over him then, one in the shape of a man. "I thought that I would find you here."
Obi-Wan felt it the moment Anakin gave up. The further he got away from the homestead the more he could sense Anakin's troubled emotions. Dark as Anakin's thoughts had been, Obi-Wan had always been able to feel an undercurrent of hope. Hope for them and their future, until suddenly there wasn't. There had been no warning; no hint at the depth of Anakin's despair.
Bringing the speeder bike to an uneasy stop, Obi-Wan leaned forward so that his forehead rested against the handles. He was panting and shivering, trying to figure out just what had happened. What could cause Anakin to give up so completely? Especially since the night before he had thought Anakin made a turn towards the light. Even with Sidious creeping into his lover's mind, Obi-Wan had truly thought that their love had won out. And, for a time, he knew it had. He just hadn't thought that it would be so brief.
Anakin, please... Obi-Wan sent along their bond. Anakin, where are you? Answer me, love. Please. I'm here, Anakin, please. Just give me something so that I can find you. Anakin...
Silence was the only thing he received in return. Not even a tremor or any clue that Anakin was still alive. The only reason that he knew the younger man was still alive was because he would have felt it if Anakin had died. He might not have been able to sense his lover's emotions at that moment, but their bond was strong enough that he would have felt his death regardless.
I'm sorry.
Obi-Wan sat bolt upright when Anakin's half-sobbed plea ghosted along their bond. It was so full of misery and desolation that it caused a physical ache deep in the pit of Obi-Wan's stomach.
Anakin, please. I love you.
As suddenly as Anakin's presence had been there, it was gone. In its place was a gaping void that Obi-Wan had not felt since Qui Gon's death. It was as he'd feared, though, with Anakin, the loss was much worse.