A/N Last chapter was an evil cliffhanger I know- but then again, evil is seriously underrated. Anyways, it gets you to read ;) Wanna know what's happened to poor Karys? Read on to…

Chapter Five

Obi-Wan hurriedly typed in the code for Anakin's door- being Anakin's ex-master, he knew what it was. He wasn't a moment too soon- the first thing he heard was Karys choking. He raced forward. Karys collapsed, revealing Anakin's clenched fist. Obi-Wan stared in horror at his ex-Padawan, who stood over the child's body with anger plainly written all over his features and positively screaming through the Force.

"What have you done?" Obi-Wan demanded. Anakin looked up.

"You… you turned her against me! She was spying on me for you- admit it!" he yelled back. Obi-Wan was stunned for a moment.

"You are really an idiot sometimes Anakin- why would we spy on you? We gave you a Padawan because we" or at least, I he thought to himself "thought you were ready! Clearly I was wrong to put such trust in you. I promise, it won't happen again." He stepped over to where Karys lay. He put his fingers to her neck, relieved to find a weak pulse there. He began to lift her into his arms.

0-0-0

Anakin stared in shock, all his rage vanishing as Obi-Wan's words sank in and realisation of what he had just done hit. It hit hard. He noticed Obi-Wan carrying Karys off, and felt ashamed, like he had after the Tusken Camp.

"Wait!" he called after the retreating back. Obi-Wan turned.

0-0-0

The slow ascent to a pain-filled reality dragged Karys out of her black, painless world. Her throat and head ached, and she felt thirsty. She forced her eyes open, aiming to get a glass of water and then return to blissful unconsciousness.

It was just her luck that Obi-Wan decided to come in as she was getting up.

"Oh no you don't." he admonished, giving her a gentle Force shove onto her back. "You've been Force-choked, you're not going anywhere for a while. You're lucky to be alive." Memories started coming back, including one very scary one. She tried to say something, but her throat was too dry and all that her attempt to communicate resulted in was a fit of coughing, which just made everything worse. Obi-Wan picked up a glass of water and helped her drink, and she tried again.

"Did Master Anakin do that?" she asked softly. Obi-Wan sighed.

"As much as I hate to say it- yes, he did."

"Where is he now?"

"Off on a mission. He's truly sorry for what happened, but we can't risk it happening again."

"Does anyone know?"

"Only you, me and him. If anyone else finds out, he could be thrown out of the Order, and that would be dangerous. With the dark side getting stronger like it is, he may easily be seduced and then we'd really be in trouble."

"Will I have to go back to him?"

"I'm afraid, as scary as it may sound, you will have to return to him when he gets back. Until then, you can stay with me. He won't be back for a month or so, though, so you're alright for the time being." Only for the time being. Thought Karys After that, who knows? I'll be stuck with a short-tempered, very powerful Master who nearly killed me, and may or may not try again. Great.

"I'm sorry, but it has to appear as though that little incident never happened, Karys. If Anakin goes out of the Order, who knows what could happen? I'm very sorry, but it's the only thing we can do." Karys nodded silently, resignedly accepting her fate. Obi-Wan looked uncomfortable and left.

Karys decided to see if she could stand up. She swung her legs round so they were dangling over the side of her bed. Gradually, she eased herself forward and into a standing position. As soon as she let go of the bed, however,pain shot out from her ankle,and with asmall cryshe collapsed on the floor in a heap. Obi-Wan was instantly in the room, striding over to help her.

"What did I say?" he chided gently, helping her back into bed. "When you were choked, you collapsed and twisted your ankle pretty badly. You're not going anywhere for the time being. For now, try and get some rest. And there's nothing you can say that will make me let you get up today, so don't try it." He added when he saw Karys's mouth open. She shut it sullenly, leaning back with her arms crossed. "And don't look at me like that either. Maybe tomorrow you can get up, but for now just try and pass the time as best as you can."

Karys sighed as he left the room. It was going to be a long day.

0-0-0

It was a month before Karys was walking again. When he had called with some news, Karys had begged Obi-Wan to tell him she was asleep- she really didn't feel up to talking to him. But in a couple of days, she would have to face him again when he returned. She had definitely not forgotten the choking incident, she still had the nightmares, which had mixed with the ones she'd had before to give her very little natural sleep, especially now she was going back to Anakin. Although it was bad, she couldn't help wishing that the Outer Rim wars had gone worse.

But it was too late for that now. A Jedi Starfighter was coming in to land, and the pilot had a Force-Signature that she'd hoped never to see again.

It was time to face her fears.