Chapter 34

Mustafar

Obi-Wan recognised the place. He had seen it in his dreams: the bright red lava rivers everywhere, their heat, the pungent smoke which got into his nostrils and made his throat dry and his eyes water. He had had several visions of this place, and the last one had ended with his own death. Paralysed with fear at the realisation, Obi-Wan could only stare at Master Dooku, who stood like a dark pillar on the pathway between the bubbling lava rivers.

Dooku looked the same as ever. Tall, imposing – like a dignified Jedi Master. No red lightsaber or yellow eyes, no horns, no tattoos on his face.

"Obi-Wan." With long, quick strides he came towards Obi-Wan, his dark robe billowing behind him. "I'm glad you came. Are you alone?" He also sounded the same as always.

Obi-Wan hated that the first thing he was going to say to his Master after not having seen him for so long had to be a lie. He just nodded.

"Good. I knew I could rely on you. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Jedi Order as a whole. There is much we need to talk about."

Obi-Wan waited, seemingly unable to move.

"The situation is grim. The Senate and the Jedi Council are under the direct influence of a Sith Lord."

"Are you a Sith Lord?" Obi-Wan's voice sounded louder and firmer than he felt.

Dooku sighed. "You must understand that the situation is complicated. As I said, the-"

"Are you a Sith Lord?" Obi-Wan needed to know. Or rather, he needed Dooku to confirm it, in his own voice, to Obi-Wan. He needed him to explain.

"Don't let the dogmatisms you have been taught blind you with prejudice. There is so much-"

"Just answer me: Are you a Sith Lord, yes or no?"

Dooku slightly inclined his head. "Yes," he said simply. "But surely that is no way to talk to your Master." It was the same reprimanding but calm tone he used to have when Obi-Wan had made a mistake. But the words were sheer mockery to Obi-Wan.

"How can you say you are my Master when you are a Sith? And don't you have a new apprentice anyway?"

"I do not have an apprentice. But I could use one. One who is not afraid of unconventional measures to gain power." Dooku looked intently at Obi-Wan. "I understand this must sound worrying to you after everything you were told about the Sith. But by gaining knowledge of the ways of the Sith I have come to understand the true nature of the Force. There is no strict division into light and dark, there is only one Force, and you are free to use it."

Obi-Wan silently shook his head. It was not what he had been told. It was not what Dooku had taught him. The Force was not a tool that a Jedi used. It was the other way around: a Jedi should let the Force guide them.

"I have seen that there is so much more power at our hands if we just broaden our minds. Obi-Wan, you, too, can access that power. The Jedi have tried to hold you back. But we need this power if we want to stand a chance. You must have noticed that something is not right, with the Jedi Order, with the Senate, with the Republic. I believe that we can stop it and set things right. But I cannot do this alone. I need your help, Padawan."

That little word was everything. Above all else, Obi-Wan was Dooku's Padawan. If Dooku had not chosen him, he never would have become a Jedi. He owed his Master everything. And he could see it all too clearly in his mind: Dooku and him, side by side, finally reunited, finally some guidance, finally someone who made sense of everything horrible that was going on. And they would be powerful, more powerful than anyone else. Finally Obi-Wan would not be second best any longer, finally the Jedi would recognise his worth, finally his Master would be proud of him. The fantasy was tempting. But… You don't belong to the dark side. He remembered Anakin's words, Yoda's words after the fight against Darth Maul, and Obi-Wan's own words: That's not who we are. Obi-Wan had had a taste of the dark side, and he did not want to be that person: someone who took forcefully whatever they wanted, someone who drew power from a place of hate and who did not care at what cost.

"I can't, Master," he said. He was shaking but he knew this with absolute certainty: He would rather be second best his whole life and never get any recognition than become such a person. "I am truly sorry but I can't." He saw everything with such clarity now. Maybe Dooku's intentions had been noble but Obi-Wan had seen what he had done, what he had become. "I wish you hadn't chosen this path. You can't fight the dark by turning to the dark side yourself. Maybe, if-"

"Don't lecture me," Dooku said impatiently. "I don't expect you to throw all your Jedi beliefs away but I had hoped for some loyalty to your Master."

"Ah, well, apprentices."

Obi-Wan whirled around at these words. There was – Chancellor Palpatine? What was he doing here on Mustafar of all places? The Chancellor was meant to be on the Senate, giving speeches, signing important decrees, shaking the hands of important people. He looked completely out of place here, almost like a vision.

Palpatine smiled thinly. "Fickle things, aren't they? Can't expect any loyalty from them."

And why would he comment on the Jedi apprentices like this? Nothing of it made any sense. Obi-Wan turned back to look at Dooku and saw with surprise that there was fear in Dooku's eyes. Fear of…Palpatine? Why was he, with all his powers, afraid of the Chancellor? Or had the Chancellor learned that Dooku was a Sith Lord and had come to place him under arrest himself? Ridiculous. The Chancellor wasn't exactly a young man, he was no fighter and he would never stand a chance against a Sith. Where were his guards? The Supreme Chancellor would not go alone to Mustafar, right?

"Chancellor." Obi-Wan stepped towards him. "May I ask-"

"Out of the way!" Dooku bellowed. "No-"

Suddenly, the Force threw Obi-Wan backwards. He landed painfully on the hard ground. Confused, he scrambled to get up again. A few metres away, Dooku was standing with his hand still outstretched. That was why he was not quick enough to draw his own lightsaber when the blade of a red lightsaber pierced through his chest. Obi-Wan screamed at the terrible pain that cut through his own heart at the sight. Not again. Then Dooku fell backwards, down into the lava. Obi-Wan ran but he was not fast enough, not fast enough to catch his falling Master, it felt like he was running against a solid wall –

Then he realised that it was Dooku Force-pushing him back again but this time the push was not nearly as powerful as before. Dooku, who lay badly injured on a bank of hot lava, the flames licking at his cloak...he used his last strength to stop Obi-Wan and it was that realisation that made Obi-Wan stumble to the ground. Then Palpatine was above him or whoever this dark person was, and the red lightsaber came forward, right towards Obi-Wan's chest –

Another lightsaber, a blue one, blocked the attack. Anakin! He drove Palpatine back with a series of wild slashes. Obi-Wan did not have any time left to worry about that fight and what it all meant – he needed to get to his Master. But he could not get over the hot lava because, whatever he tried, he sank into the unstable ground.

"Come here, Master," he cried, "just take my hand, I will pull you up!"

Dooku was in pain. The lava was burning his legs but he made no move to try to reach Obi-Wan's hand.

"I can't, Padawan."

"Yes, you can!" Obi-Wan shouted back and extended his hand as far as possible. The lava was so hot and everything hurt but he needed to reach Dooku! "You are so powerful, just use the Force, please, Master! I can get you out of here, everything's going to be alright!"

"You can't help me anymore," Dooku said, his voice softer now, almost affectionate. "Looks like I am now the fool who died to save you. You must go now. Leave me."

"No!" Hot tears were burning in Obi-Wan's eyes. "I won't leave you!"

Dooku's face contorted in pain when the flames reached his arms. "Go now," he rasped. "Your friend needs your help. He will not be able to defeat the Sith alone."

Obi-Wan gasped, choking on tears. He could not leave his Master here like this! But Anakin was in danger, and Palpatine was a Sith and –

"It's alright, Obi-Wan," Dooku said as if he had read Obi-Wan's mind. Maybe he had, through their old training bond, even though it had never been very strong. Obi-Wan tried to reach for the bond too, tried to send calm and healing waves through the Force but where could he find calm when everything hurt so much?

"It's alright," Dooku repeated with the barest hint of a smile on his face. "You did well, Padawan."

Obi-Wan could feel it in the Force when the life slowly left Dooku's body. There was nothing he could do. With a desperate sob he hurried off. He needed to help Anakin now.

oOoOo

Anakin had not been prepared for this. Fighting Chancellor Palpatine had seemed absurd at first but the ring Obi-Wan had given him had been very clear on this: it shone the brightest blue, brighter even than his lightsaber, almost blinding, a perfect contrast to the red lava everywhere. Anakin had quickly come to realise just how powerful Palpatine was. Fighting battle droids was nothing compared to this. In hindsight, even Ventress seemed harmless. Anakin had always thought he was strong in the Force but Palpatine's command was boundaryless. How was he going to defeat Palpatine? He was meant to be the Chosen One, he was meant to fulfill the prophecy! But how? There was not much he could do against such power. He was on the defensive. He was not used to being on the defensive. His arms were already trembling with exhaustion from blocking Palpatine's powerful thrusts. I'm not going to make it, he realised with growing panic.

But then Palpatine stopped unexpectedly and lowered his lightsaber. „Anakin, this needs to stop. I do not want to fight you. Quite the contrary, I meant to train you as my apprentice."

„What?" This was all a feverdream. First Dooku was revealed as a Sith, then the Chancellor too, and now he wanted to train Anakin?

„You are too powerful to be simply a pawn of the Jedi. Take your destiny into your own hands. I can help you."

Anakin could not believe what he was hearing. This was madness. „You want me to become a Sith?" A Sith had killed Qui-Gon! Anakin's ears were ringing with exhaustion and anger and he struggled to catch his breath in the hot, ashen air. „You must be out of your mind!"

"If you become my apprentice, you will be invincible."

"And then you'll kill me like you killed Dooku?"

"Oh, well." Palpatine looked regretful (or pretended to be). "I was never really interested in Dooku. He was useful for a time but in the end he was disposable. You, however, I've had my eyes on you for years. I've always planned for you to become my apprentice eventually. But I needed to wait until you were ready."

What Anakin heard was: I've tried to manipulate you for years. How dare that man, how dare he even suggest, how could he believe Anakin could willingly become a Sith apprentice!

"Then you shouldn't have tried to kill Obi-Wan!" he shouted at Sidious.

"Ah, yes. Obi-Wan. You care for him, don't you? More than a Jedi should, I think." Palpatine eyed him knowingly. Anakin clung to the humming lightsaber in his hands, ready to strike any second.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi is of no interest to me," Palpatine continued. "If you were to become a Sith, you could have him. You could have whatever you wanted. The Sith don't forbid passion, they rely on it."

At that precise moment, Obi-Wan came running towards them, wild determination rolling off of him in waves. Anakin snorted. Obi-Wan becoming… what? The lover, the possession of a Sith? That was never going to happen. It was nothing Obi-Wan would agree to. It was nothing Anakin wanted – it was nothing he needed. Because he already had Obi-Wan's love. However, if they pretended to go along with this, they might –

Obi-Wan attacked Palpatine with a series of vicious stabs. Obviously he was in no mood for any plans, pretence or negotiations. Never before had Anakin seen Obi-Wan like this. He was aggressive, powerful but not wild or uncontrolled. No, he wielded the lightsaber like Dooku had taught him, the technique that was best suited for a lightsaber duel. Anakin thought he was absolutely brilliant.

For a moment, Obi-Wan even drove Palpatine back. But once Palpatine had got over the initial surprise of Obi-Wan's attack and had got used to the unusual fighting technique (he and Dooku apparently had not sparred together), he gained the upper hand again by his sheer power in the dark side.

But it was enough time for Anakin to regain his strength. He hurried to Obi-Wan's side to join in the fight. Obi-Wan did nothing to shield or control his emotions, so Anakin could all too clearly sense his turmoil in the Force: sorrow, anger, determination but also growing frustration.

Focus, Obi-Wan, Anakin sent through their frail bond in the Force. Stay with me. He was not sure if they could exchange words through the Force or if Obi-Wan was even in the right frame of mind to receive them. But if Obi-Wan focussed on his negative emotions now, it was never going to work.

Whether the words had reached Obi-Wan or just the feelings or maybe Anakin's presence next to him – he fought down some of those dark thoughts and called the Force's light to him in a huge effort. Anakin tried to help as much as possible by gently directing the Force's flow between them, and then suddenly everything fell into place.

Anakin and Obi-Wan had fought countless training duels. They knew each other's moves, strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else. But they had never fought side by side, together. Now Anakin could only wonder why they had not done this before. A few adjustments, Anakin understanding how to fight next to someone who used the old lightsaber style, Obi-Wan finally, finally opening himself up to their Force bond, and they just clicked. On the one hand, their vastly different fighting techniques complemented each other perfectly. On the other, their connection in the Force made everything so natural. Anakin telegraphed his movements, so Obi-Wan knew when to attack and when to retreat and when to have Anakin's back. And like on instinct, Anakin always knew what Obi-Wan was going to do, sensed his movements in the Force before they were going to happen. But the best thing about it all was how Obi-Wan just went along with it and followed Anakin's directions in the Force. Anakin was delighted.

There was a gentle prod in the Force, a wry sort of admonition. Right, there was still a very powerful Sith Lord to defeat. And although Anakin wanted to just enjoy this moment and delight in the fact that Obi-Wan used his side of the bond to communicate, he knew he needed to focus on Palpatine now.

With absolute clarity he knew what needed to be done. If they drove Palpatine into a tight corner, that is back onto the landing platform which was located high above the sea of lava, there was no way for the Sith to escape. Either they dealt the fatal blow or he plummeted down to certain death.

Obi-Wan quickly caught on to his plan and together they drove Palpatine exactly where they needed him to be. It was Anakin who dealt the fatal blow right into Palpatine's chest, and Obi-Wan, with a well-aimed kick, sent him flying down the platform and into the lava. There was a huge explosion, fountains of lava hissed and gurgled, and Anakin shuddered at the disturbance in the Force. But then it was over.

It was over. Anakin sank to his knees, only now realising how exhausted he was, but he had never in his life felt lighter. He had done it, fulfilled the prophecy, his destiny. This great burden was suddenly gone from his shoulders and he was – free. Free to choose his own path without all the expectations. Free to be just Anakin. Laughter was bubbling inside him. Mustafar was the most horrible planet he had ever been on but he could not have been happier. But then he saw Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan looked completely forlorn and not happy at all but like he was crushed down by sorrow.