A/N: Now to relieve you of the cliffhanger, I bring you the next post. I told you I was working on it. :)


Chapter 18: An Argument Between Friends

"I have to find her, you cannot stop me." Anakin stated angrily as he stood up from the bed and glared at Obi-Wan.

"Calm down Anakin." Obi-Wan stated, taking a step back and raising his hands in a calming gesture. The change in Anakin's eye color had not gone unnoticed. "I understand your frustration…"

"No you don't." Anakin barked. "You are not married, you have no idea how I feel."

"I may not be married, but that is my choice. However, I have lost friends and loved ones to the Jedi purges. So I can commiserate with your loss."

If Anakin had not been so infuriated he would have sulked guiltily at Obi-Wan's comment. He had aided the Emperor in the Jedi purges because he had been blind to see his former master's true intentions. At the time he had seen his actions as freeing the galaxy from the tyranny of a failing governmental system, but this had been a lie. As Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, and Apprentice to Darth Sidious, Anakin had been living under a series of lies. Sidious had no intention of bringing freedom to the galaxy, he only wanted to control it and he had used Anakin to get what he wanted.

"Padmé is not dead! I have to find her before that happens." Anakin growled, the muscles in his shoulders and back were tightening with his growing rage.

"I never said she was dead…" Obi-Wan began, raising his hands in a calming gesture once more as he spoke.

"Then why interrupt me?" Anakin stated angrily as he glared at his friend. "Why stop my search? Every second is precious."

"I know, but you cannot kill yourself while you look for her. You cannot help her if you are dead. You have to take care of yourself." Obi-Wan replied calmly.

"Do not lecture me. I am fine, all that matters is finding her." Anakin stated emphatically.

"You are being irrational. Padmé would be disappointed if she could see you now. She would not want you to fall apart…"

Anakin interrupted Obi-Wan again, "Do not tell me what she would think, you do not know her like I do.

"She was my friend long before she was your wife, I assure you she would be disappointed. You have to pull yourself together if there is any hope that we will find her."

"You don't want me to find her!" Anakin yelled. "Get out!" He ordered pointing at the door to the bedroom.

"Not until you see reason and calm down. You are following a path down the dark side. Let go of your anger." Obi-Wan said warningly.

"I should have known you wouldn't help me! What do the Jedi know of love?" Anakin shouted crazily. He was no longer thinking, but acting on his emotions.

"Last I checked Jedi Skywalker, you were one of us." Obi-Wan stated casually. He had used Anakin's formal title to emphasize his pint. However, he could tell that the situation was deteriorating rapidly and he needed to come up with another way to diffuse the ensuing conflict.

"If you aren't with me. You are against me." Anakin stated ignoring Obi-Wan's comment. "Now go!" He ordered Obi-Wan to leave once more.

Obi-Wan sighed and took a step towards the angry young man before him. However, he stopped when he heard a snap hiss.

"I said leave!" Anakin reiterated as he brought his shimmering cerulean lightsaber in front of him. He was standing in an attack posture.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted with exasperation. "This is not helping. Now calm down and come with me. I will help you find Padmé, but you need to get some rest." Obi-Wan started to carefully walk towards Anakin once more.

"You lie! You don't want to help me!" Anakin shouted as he lunged towards Obi-Wan. He swung his lightsaber at the elder Jedi's shoulder, but before the blow could connect, Obi-Wan ignited his own lightsaber and blocked it.

"Anakin, you are not thinking." Obi-Wan stated. He was glaring at the younger Jedi.

"I can see everything clearly now. You never intended to help Padmé or me. How can you be so heartless?" Anakin yelled with desperation as he began another round of attacks. The younger Jedi swung his blade around, but Obi-Wan was able to hold his own against the angry man. Generally, Anakin was a better swordsman of the two of them, but due to the lack of food, sleep, and success in locating Padmé, Anakin was far weaker than he usually was.

"Anakin, stop this. This is going to get us nowhere." Obi-Wan stated sternly. Obi-Wan had taken a defensive position and was slowly backing towards Padmé and Anakin's bedroom window. He weaved around the few pieces of furniture in the room as Anakin continued his assault.

When Anakin backed Obi-Wan to the window it seemed some of his anger had dissipated. The yellow in his eyes had faded to show a twinge of their natural blue color. Anakin pulled his ignited lightsaber away before saying, "Go! Leave me alone. I have to find her!" Anakin's tone was of a desperate plea rather than anger.

Obi-Wan deactivated his saber now that Anakin was not attacking him. "You need rest, Anakin. Stepping away from a problem for a while can help you gain a new perspective on it."

Anakin's eyes flashed yellow again at Obi-Wan's refusal to leave. "No!" He shouted before violently swinging his lightsaber at Obi-Wan's head. Anticipating the attack through the Force, Obi-Wan ducked and scooted out of the way. Unable to stop the momentum of the attack, Anakin's saber connected with his bedroom window, which shattered to pieces. Shards of glass fell down the Senate apartment building and landed in a scattered mess across the ground below Anakin's window.

In his weakened state, Anakin was unable to stop his forward momentum from the attack and found himself staggering towards the window ledge. Sensing danger Obi-Wan shouted, "Anakin!" as he turned towards the young man.

Anakin's anger had left him and his eyes fully returned to their natural blue color. Now a new emotion, fear, consumed him as he lost his footing and tumbled out the window. "Obi-Wan!" Anakin shouted as he began to fall. Anakin's lightsaber flew out of his hand to make the dissent without its owner.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted once more as he dove towards the window's edge and tried to grab a hold of his friend and fellow Jedi. However, Obi-Wan could not reach Anakin, who continued to fall towards the ground.

With the combination of fear and his weakened state, Anakin could not clear his mind to call upon the Force and slow or stop his fall. He was completely helpless and grief overtook him as he silently whispered, "Padmé, I've failed you." through the Force. Closing his eyes, Anakin readied himself for a deadly impact.

However, the crash to the ground never occurred. Anakin felt himself slowing down as he neared the ground and opened his eyes to see that Obi-Wan, who was hanging partially out of Anakin and Padmé's bedroom window, had his hand outstretched. Had Anakin not been so far down the building, he would have noticed Obi-Wan's brow furrowed in concentration.

Obi-Wan was not able to stop Anakin's fall, but he was able to safely set Anakin on the ground. Once he was sure the young Jedi was safe, Obi-Wan quickly left Anakin's apartment to join the young man outside the building.


"Anakin, are you all right!" Obi-Wan shouted as he sprinted towards the form on the ground.

Anakin sat up, pressing his right palm into a shard of broken glass that was lying next to him. "Yes, gods I'm sorry." Anakin stated weakly. "You were right, I'm sorry."

"It is all right, no harm was done." Obi-Wan stated. He could see that his friend had returned and was no longer consumed by anger and frustration. To lighten the mood, Obi-Wan added, "But I think you are going to have to replace your window."

Anakin indifferently glanced at the cut on his right hand that the shard of glass had made while he shakily replied, "I… I lost control. Gods I…"

Obi-Wan placed a calming and reassuring hand on Anakin's shoulder as he said, "You have every right to be frustrated, but we will find her. I promise."

"I… I could have…" Anakin began.

"But you didn't. You let go of your anger." Obi-Wan stated with a slight smile.

"The dark side…"

Obi-Wan interrupted Anakin once more, "You have championed it. You fought it and regained control."

"I…"

"Enough, it is finished. You need some food and rest. Tomorrow, we will continue searching for Padmé." Obi-Wan stated sternly as he called Anakin's lightsaber, which was lying on the ground several feet from them, to his hand." Just then a hoard of journalists from the Coruscanti media surrounded the area.

"Master Kenobi, can you explained what happened here tonight?" One of the reporters asked.

"Let's get out of here." Obi-Wan said to Anakin as he steered his friend back into the Senate building. Both Jedi ignored the reporters as holorecorders documented the scene before them. Focused on taking care of Anakin and getting out of the media spotlight, Obi-Wan failed to realize that as they reentered the Senate building, his comlink was chiming.