When Anakin woke, he was surprised to find himself in the healer's ward. Obi-Wan had fallen asleep in a chair close by, his head pillowed on his raised arm.
Anakin slowly sat up, wondering what had happened. The last thing he remembered was feeling dizzy in the Sith tombs. How had he ended up here?
"Ah, I see you're finally awake!" Tiangu, one of the healers, gave him a cheery smile as she came over and removed the IV from his arm.
"We were getting rather worried about you," she said lightheartedly as she began to check the computer readouts above Anakin's head. "You've been unconscious for two days now."
"Two days?" Anakin said - well, tried to say. His throat felt incredibly dry, and he couldn't force the words out.
Tiangu laughed slightly and quickly got him a glass of water.
"Have I really been unconscious that long?" Anakin asked softly as he looked towards his master.
Tiangu nodded gravely. "Nothing was wrong in the tests though. Blood tests, computer diagnosis, vital organs... you get the picture." She picked up a datapad and sat across from Anakin, putting finger to her lips as she pointed at Obi-Wan.
"He's been here almost the whole time," she whispered. "I finally got him to go to sleep an hour ago. Try not to disturb him."
Anakin nodded.
"Okay then," Tiangu continued in a soft voice. "Do you remember happened before you fell unconscious?"
Anakin slowly told what happened after Darra got shot. He was reluctant to speak of his experience with the Sith, but he knew the healers would want all the information.
Tiangu stared at her datapad after he was finished and shrugged. "I suspect your fainting incident had to do with the Sith, but unfortunately we have no tests to prove that. I need you to notify a healer at once though if you start feeling lightheaded again."
Just then Obi-Wan snorted in his sleep and accidently moved his elbow off the chair. Startled at the sudden movement, he opened his eyes and quickly sat up.
"Is he - " Obi-Wan looked over at Anakin and visibly relaxed when he saw his padawan's eyes were open
"How are you feeling?" Obi-Wan asked, genuine concern in his voice.
Anakin smiled. "I've had more painful injuries podracing. What happened after I fell unconscious?"
"Omega is dead," Obi-Wan explained briefly. "But Zan Arbor and the Sith escaped. Darra was injured as you know, but we were able to get both of you to the temple in time." He stopped for a moment. "What I don't understand though, is how Darra could have sustained a massive blood loss and yet have no visible injury." He gave Anakin a long, hard look. "You have any idea?"
Anakin recalled the strange burst of energy he had felt when he had touched Darra's hand. He slowly shook his head no.
Obi-Wan sat back, his face grave. "Anakin, giving another Jedi your life force may save them, but it has never been taught strictly for the reason that it could just as easily kill you!"
Anakin was dumbstruck. "What are you talking about?"
Obi-Wan watched him a moment, then shook his head. "I had hoped you realized what you were doing, and then perhaps you would have known better how to control it. What you did was a highly unstable and extremely dangerous healing method that even Master Yoda rarely touches. To pour your own life force into another being is not an easy task. What you did was you practically gave Darra your own ability to survive. If you had gone too much further you could very well have given her your entire life force and you would have killed yourself!"
Anakin stared at his master as confusion swirled in his brain. His own life force? He had been willing Darra to live!
Obi-Wan shook his head, his own troubled thoughts etched onto his face. "Anakin, I cannot have you doing that again. You don't realize the danger you could be placing yourself in. You could have died!" He knew he was overstressing the death part, but Anakin hadn't realized how close he had come.
Anakin nodded softly, still tired from the events of the past several days.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Well, I suppose nothing can be done about it now." He stood up. "Get some sleep. The council wants to speak with you as soon as you have your strength back."
Anakin's curiousity rose, but Obi-Wan turned and left, closing off any further concentration.
I never even knew what I was doing, was Anakin's last thought as his head touched the pillow. He was asleep immediately.
...
Several days later, Anakin met with the council, who made him explain in detail the events he had experienced in the tombs of the Sith. Apparently they were concerned that the padawans had been pushed too far in the urgency for more Jedi knights in the galaxy. The trials for knighthood had been postponed.
Somehow Anakin wasn't surprised, but that didn't stop the disapointment and frustration that knifed through him at the council's words. So he would have to wait now. It didn't matter how well he did. He would still remain a padawan.
Anakin meandered through the halls, looking for Darra and Tru. Apparently Darra had been released from the medical wards before Anakin, but where she was no one knew. Ferus had a meeting with the council at the moment, and Tru, Anakin learned, had been censured by with the council on account of hiding his faulty lightsaber during the mission. Anakin felt a quick stab of guilt, knowing that he had his also been a part of it.
Nearing the council room again, Anakin was surprised when Ferus walked out. He nearly passed Anakin by, as though blinded by his feelings.
"Ferus?"
The padawan turned. "Anakin. Well. I think you should be the first to know. I have resigned from the Jedi Order."
"WHAT?" Anakin couldn't understand it. "But why?"
Ferus hesitated. "Darra could have died. And I was the one that brought it about."
"That's not true - you couldn't have known - "
"But I did," Ferus objected. "I knew that Tru's lightsaber was malfunctioned. I offered to fix it secretly. I did not tell Tru's Master or urge him to do so. His lightsaber failed in battle, and Darra was nearly killed trying to protect me."
"But you said you fixed it!" Anakin objected.
Ferus stopped. He gave Anakin a hard stare. "You knew?" he asked. "You knew Tru's lightsaber was broken? You must have seen me fixing it."
Anakin knew he had backed himself into a corner, and he cursed his mistake. "I didn't say that."
"No, you didn't," Ferus agreed. "But there are only two of us here, Anakin. You don't have to lie."
Anakin bristled with barely controlled fury. As usual, Ferus was trying to trap him, to show Anakin how much more noble he was.
"When we got back, I took it to the Jedi Master Tolan Hing," Ferus continued. "He told me that the fusing between the flux aperture and the power cell needed a slight adjustment. Nothing major, in fact Tru might never have noticed it. The only problem is that in battle, the power drained faster than normal."
"I don't know why you're telling me this..." Anakin said.
Tru's voice came from behind him. "Because you fixed the flux aperture. You would have known that it needed to be rechecked after the power cell boost."
Anakin turned. "You didn't come to me!"
Tru's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "That's funny. Shouldn't you have said, But I didn't know it was broken?"
"You're trying to trap me," Anakin said, shooting an angry glare at Ferus. "Both of you!" He turned to his friend. "Tru, I would never do anything deliberately to put you into a position..."
Anakin's voice trailed off as Tru's face hardened. His silver eyes held a sheen Anakin had never seen before. They were icy, as though Anakin could slip off his gaze.
"I wondered," Tru said. "When we got back here I wondered if you knew. I saw how you froze back in the tomb. 'But not my friend,' I said to myself. 'My friend would never do that.' But then I thought about how you feel about Ferus, how angry you had been. You would want to get him in trouble, even if it meant exposing me."
"That's not fair!" Anakin said, feeling his world fall apart around him.
Tru continued. "And suddenly I realized - yes, Anakin could have done that."
"You're looking at this all wrong," Anakin said.
But how could he explain? He couldn't admit that he knew Tru's lightsaber was broken because he couldn't understand why he'd forgotten to tell him to readjust it. How could he have forgotten something so crucial? Tru would think he'd deliberately forgotten it. Worst of all, there was nothing he could say to convince his friend otherwise, because he himself didn't know the reasons.
Tru's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so. I think I'm truly seeing you for the first time."
Anakin swallowed. He didn't know what to say. This was an unfamiliar Tru, not the friend of his childhood.
"I'll see you outside," Tru said to Ferus as he walked away.
"Do you see what you've done?" Anakin said savagely to Ferus.
"Yes, I see what I've done," Ferus said calmly. "Do you?" He shook his head. "I'm afraid for you. You think admitting you were wrong opens you up to attack."
"That's not true," Anakin countered. "I think you should save your fears for yourself."
A spasm of fear crossed Ferus's face. Anakin could not imagine how awful it must feel, to give up the Jedi Order. It would be like giving up everything he lived for.
"If the Jedi ever need me, I will be there," Ferus said quietly. "That includes you, Anakin."
Ferus walked away quickly, Anakin's glare following him. Ferus had gotten the last word. Not only that, but it had been a kind one. The noble Padawan to the last.
And Tru? Tru was angry with him, but he had never truly understood the burden Anakin carried. Maybe Tru had never understood him at all. Perhaps no one did, except his Master. Tru would come around.
Anakin walked outside, catching sight of Ferus as he joined Tru. He felt like he was watching them through the wrong end of a pair of electrobinoculars. They seemed so small, so far away.
Feeling his presence, Tru looked back over his shoulder at Anakin. Then it hit him like a punch that knocked the air from his lungs. Tru would never come around. Anakin had lost his friend forever.
Overwhelming regret replaced his anger as he watched them leave. Would others abandon him too? Would Darra?
Hearing footsteps behind him, Anakin turned to see Obi-Wan come up behind him.
"Anakin, I've been looking for you," his master said.
Anakin felt like he was in a daze. "Do you need me?"
"No, I... Anakin? Is something wrong?"
Anakin didn't want to go into details about what had just happened. "Ferus has resigned from the Jedi Order," he stated simply.
Obi-Wan let out a breath. "I was afraid he would do something like that. He took this mission very strongly." He paused a minute, then continued. "I wanted to tell you though... the Jedi Council has decided that they won't speed up the trails for Padawans. Your knighthood will have to wait a bit longer."
Anakin nodded slowly. He had been told earlier.
Obi-Wan continued though, not having seen his padawan's acknowledgement. "When the time is right, you'll take the trials. I have no doubt you will astonish us all." His voice held great pride as he spoke. "Until then, we will work together. There is so much left to do, and I'm grateful to have you by my side for a little longer." Obi-Wan paused as he saw that Anakin's attention was directed elsewhere. "Anakin? Are you all right?" he asked again.
Suddenly Anakin realized he was all right. His mind was clearer than it had ever been before. The weakness in his knees he'd felt when he saw Tru walk away was gone. The lancing wounds from his friend's words had only pointed him in the right direction.
"I'm fine," he said softly. And he would be. But not while he remained at the temple.
Anakin could see now that he had been fooling himself all along. The Sith was right. He was not wanted here. The Jedi only trained him because they needed him, because they feared his capabilities. He was their Chosen One, their weapon against the Sith. Only his friends had seen him as Anakin.
And now his best friend was gone.
So be it. Anakin would leave as well. Suddenly he recognized the knife like pain Ferus had felt at the possibility of leaving behind everything he had ever known. But he pushed down the feeling, allowing it to strengthen his resolve.
Ignoring Obi-Wan's preterbed gaze, Anakin walked back to his room. It was time to find his own place in life.
...
Nightfall found Anakin wide awake and ready. Wearing civilian clothing, his braid tucked into the colar of his shirt, Anakin looked one last time at his room. Nearly everything would be left behind. His most important tools, a few droid parts, and some other supplies were packed for his departure, but his model podracers, ship parts, and the rest of his belongings would be left behind for the council to deal with as they chose.
Anakin smiled ruefully as he laid his lightsaber on the desk. Ferus might leave the honorable way by telling the council of his leaving, but not Anakin. He was a former slave, and a junkyard thief. He had been sneaking out of the temple since he was nine years old, and tonight would be his last excursion. There would be no noble departure for Anakin Skywalker.
"Goodbye, Master," he whispered to the wall seperating their quarters. He knew this would be unfair to Obi-Wan, but he couldn't risk any delays.
Anakin's thoughts went to Darra. She would never forgive him for not saying goodbye, but perhaps she had given up on him already. Anakin had not seen Darra since Koriban, and for all he knew she could be siding with Tru right now.
Anakin gave a final glance around his room. He couldn't stay any longer or he might change his mind. Swiftly crossing over to the wall, he activated a small panel, revealing a secret opening.
Anakin allowed a small smile at his ingenuity. He had discovered the series of tunnels leading underneath the temple some years ago. Obi-Wan had never been able to figure out how his padawan could leave the temple without being sighted.
Hitting the button at the top of the opening, Anakin let himself down the opening and felt his stomach flip as he slid down the many twists and turns of the badly lighted flume. Finally the tunnel ended, revealing a large underground room.
Anakin smiled at the familiar area. He wasn't sure why this cavern had been carved underneath the temple, but it had served his purposes often. Now he was leaving it for good.
Sighing wistfully at the ancient Jedi cruiser he had found years before and slowly been repairing, Anakin hitched his pack higher up his shoulders and walked out. He was soon lost in the maze of streets on Courosant.
...
Close by, Darth Sidious watched as Anakin walked away. So this was it. Skywalker was leaving the temple. It was time to carry out plan B.
"Take the boy to his new quarters," he said to his apprentice. "The Jedi must never realize he was gone."
Anakin Skywalker, Sidious's plan B. The clone had been created so precicely that even the boy's own memories were identical to the Chosen One's. The Jedi would never know the difference. And soon, Palpatine would have his own revenge.
He smiled in the evening twilight, gloating over the temple and picturing its demise. Yes. Soon the Jedi would be no more. He would see to it.
...
Review please. Really need to know if people like this.
