A/N: I'm terribly sorry for my lack of updates on this story! I've been busy, and college finals certainly aren't the thing I'm excited about…I still have a couple of exams to pass, but it won't take much longer. I hope to be able to update on a more frequent rate!

Thank you so much for reading, and for your feedback! If it hadn't been for your reviews, I'd long have abandoned this story!

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three

A New World

The Force swirled in gentle currents around Obi-Wan as he tried to relax in the meditation chambers. It was incredible how much stronger the Force was with Anakin. The world around him shimmered in all colours of the rainbow, and he could nearly see each sun ray reflecting off each tiny dust particle. Letting his conscious float in the Force waters, Obi-Wan could see the tinkering lights of every single little being in the galaxy, some shining brighter than the others. The Force enhanced his hearing, and he could hear the conversations held in the chambers above him. The Force gave him abilities to understand language of the wind, hear to the soft splattering of the rain, communicate with the sun rays…He just had to try hard enough.

Obi-Wan felt a slight pang of envy clutching him – Anakin could see the world in all its beauty, his enormous Force reserves giving him the ability to enjoy its indescribable magnificence… It was not the watered-down vision that Obi-Wan had known for his entire life. He had had no idea how beautiful the universe was, how many mysteries there were still to unravel. He wondered why Anakin had never told him about it, but it was as impossible as describing the colours to a blind person.

A shadow touched the surface of the glowing ocean, and Obi-Wan remembered that he had a meeting with the Chancellor scheduled for the evening. How was he supposed to fool the Sith Lord who had known Anakin like no one else?

Memories.

He needed Anakin's memories. They were trapped somewhere in his body. He just had to find them…

Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan joined the golden currents of the Force, diving deep into the glowing waters to find what he was searching for. Layer after layer opened up to him as he traveled into the deepest recesses of Anakin's mind.

He was rummaging through the scattered droid parts in the backyard, hoping to find details for a gadget that would remove the transmitter that was implanted deep in their bodies…Then they would be free…and he would also free all the other slaves…

The welcoming cool of his home after the desert heat…cool lips kissing his cheek, and loving hands smoothing his disheveled hair…a meagre meal waiting for him, but he couldn't wish for anything different…

Watto beating him brutally when he said that the droid was beyond repair…but he could hit him as much as he wanted to, he was used to pain…as long as he spared his Mom…

His Mom, looking horribly sad and lonely as he left her forever…

Obi-Wan telling him to let go of the past, but he could see that he had been crying recently…and his new Master didn't want to share it with him…why?...he could help share his grief, they were friends…

Mom's eyes watching him with love, but he could see the light fleeing from them, her heart beating slower…she was leaving him…if only he had found her sooner…

Padmé's eyes shining with eternal love and devotion as the holy man spoke the words of a sacred ceremony…

Palpatine telling him not to be ashamed of his anger…his eyes radiating sympathy and love of an uncle…the sound of his own voice complaining about Obi-Wan, and nauseating stabs of shame piercing him as he spoke… Palpatine's kind words making the shame subdue…he had every right to be displeased with Obi-Wan…but still…

A laughing Obi-Wan by the fire in the jungle…a great rush of affection blossoming in his chest…He knew that Obi-Wan wasn't proud of him, but it didn't matter because Anakin loved him nonetheless…

Padmé telling him that she was pregnant…a mad surge of delight taking hold of him so strongly he couldn't breathe…

Red tongues of flames…river of fire…Padmé laying on a cold, metal table...she was crying in agonising pain…she was dying in childbirth…and the Force signatures of his babies were flickering too…

Obi-Wan snapped his eyes open, feeling dizzy from his trip into Anakin's mind. His heart racing so madly he was afraid it would burst through his chest, he sat there, unmoving, as floods of realisation attacked his brain. Anakin had had the vision of Padmé dying in childbirth…he thought she would die…

Hot blood streamed into his brain, and Obi-Wan rubbed his face with his gloved hand. It was fear for his wife that made Anakin deceive everything he stood for, clinging to the tiniest thread of hope as how to save her…But, at the end, his actions were what led to her death…

How banal and yet ridiculous it was...there were no cravings for power, no desires to rule over the galaxy…Love, the most pure and beautiful thing in the world, turned the brightest pearl into the blackest of all stones. Immeasurable loyalty, a thing highly encouraged by the Order and valued by friends, was the factor that pushed his brother to the abyss. On top of his inability to let go of attachment, it were Anakin's virtues and greatness that killed him…

"Are you alright, Anakin?" a familiar voice asked him.

Obi-Wan turned around and spotted Anakin watching him closely, his eyebrows furrowed in a frown.

"I was meditating," he panted, taking a calming breath. Anakin lowered himself next to him.

"I received a comm call from Master Windu," he said darkly, sending him a meaningful glance. "He wants to talk to me about your appointment."

A sigh escaped Obi-Wan's lips. "Just tell him that I wasn't happy with it, and that you haven't talked to me about it much. Don't try persuading him to remove the task from me. Don't start questioning the Jedi ways."

"I wasn't going to," Anakin said in a surprisingly calm voice, peering apprehensively at him. "I came here because I sensed that something was wrong."

Obi-Wan watched Barriss Offee entering the meditating chamber. She flashed him a smile, and he returned it, feeling as if his lips were frozen. His heart pounding loudly, he wondered if he should tell Anakin everything. Would he believe him if he revealed Palpatine's identity? Would he be angry if Obi-Wan told him that he knew about his vision about Padmé's death? The bitterest thing was that Obi-Wan knew this vision would come true, and he knew exactly how it would happen…

"I'm just…nervous," Obi-Wan said at last, scratching his chin.

"About your arrangement with the Chancellor?" Anakin asked sympathetically.

"I don't know anything about your relationship with him," Obi-Wan said wearily, rubbing his forehead. "What you talk about…how much you tell him…how much he knows about the secrets you have been keeping for years."

Anakin averted his eyes, watching Barriss Offee meditate instead, a look of serenity on her features. "He doesn't know anything about Padmé and I," he said quietly, pursing his lips. "He just knows that I…that I'm not content with the way things go in the Order. He knows about my …darker side, the side that I can never open to the other Jedi."

I bet he does, Obi-Wan thought bitterly.

A clear grey met his gaze. The eyes that looked at him were his own, but Obi- had never seen his own eyes swirl with such a myriad of emotions, such suffocating depth, and such a savage fire burning in the depths of the iris…

"Palpatine doesn't know anything you haven't known or suspected about, Master," Anakin said softly, a rueful smile dancing on his lips. "I just express myself more…clearly around him."

"I understand," Obi-Wan said dryly. His voice sounded foreign and lifeless to him.

"Just complain as much about the Order as possible, and you should do fine."

------

The gunship flew gracefully through the tight Coruscanti traffic. At the first sight, the city seemed to have recovered from the Separatists' attack, but Anakin could sense fear spreading like oil in the Force. People were scared, and he was no exception. But it wasn't himself he was scared for, it was Padmé…

"-I don't think the boy can handle it. I don't trust him," Mace Windu said darkly, snapping Anakin out of his reverie.

Why didn't they trust him? Because they were afraid of his power? Because he had known fear, anger and passion? Because he wasn't raised like one of them, having known love and warmth of parent's embrace?

"He will be alright," Anakin said calmly, trying to subdue a boiling feeling of bitterness. "I trust him with my life."

Who was he talking about? Himself or Obi-Wan?

Yoda cast him an unreadable look. Anakin sighed inwardly, wishing to have his Force abilities back. Obi-Wan's connection to the Force was like a listless sound of a solo tube compared to the beautiful symphony of an orchestra. Anakin missed the warmth of the Force, the startling colours of the world…He could hardly sense Padmé…

"The core of the problem, this is," the little Jedi Master said solemnly, his gaze boring into Anakin's, and he hastened to strengthen his mental shields.

"What do you mean, Master Yoda?" Anakin asked, perplexed.

Mace and Yoda exchanged a glance Anakin couldn't interpret.

"Too loyal, young Skywalker is," Yoda said sadly, slumping onto his gimmer stick. "Blinded by affection to the Chancellor, he is. Not be able to see his true face, young Skywalker might."

The Chancellor is a good man, Anakin wanted to contradict, feeling a familiar boiling in the pit of his stomach. But his words have hardly formed on the tip of his tongue as he swallowed them. Obi-Wan wouldn't have said it.

"I know," he said instead, nodding curtly. "There is something foul about him, and Anakin can't see it." These words tasted like venom in his mouth.

"Master Kenobi," Mace Windu said, looking sympathetically at him. "Your former Padawan is a Jedi of extraordinary power and skill. He has a potential of becoming one of the greatest Jedi Master one day. But he's still far away from it."

Anakin stared at the two Jedi Master, their faces full of compassion and … unbound respect. He had never seen them looking with respect at him. Mace said himself that he was powerful – why did they fail to appreciate his skills and grant him the rank of Master he deserved? He was much more powerful than Obi-Wan; why did someone weaker than he have so much respect, and he didn't?

Because he has something that you don't have, and you know that.

Something blazing hot and revolting filled his stomach, and Anakin felt shame creeping up in him. He loved and respected his Master, and he was proud of his reputation in the Order. He was more than proud to have been his apprentice. Why did he feel venomous stabs of dark envy piercing him? It was wrong, it felt wrong, and Anakin was disgusted with himself.

"He has no control over his emotions," Anakin repeated the phrase Obi-Wan kept telling him for years. He had usually rolled his eyes whenever Obi-Wan told him that, but now he felt confused. At times, he was scared how easily the Dark Side flew into fight. He had felt invincible and more powerful then, and its consummating after-taste wouldn't leave him for a long time. He was frightened what he might turn into if these slips became more frequent and longer.

A chilling feeling of cold filled him, and Anakin shuddered inwardly, but the coldness would not go away. The phantom sound of horrible, mechanical breathing reverberated in his ears; the same sound he had heard in his nightmare after he had woken up in Obi-Wan's body. But this time it was much clearer, as if he heard his own breathing.

Yoda watched him intently. "Always in motion, future is," he said softly. "Have faith in your former Apprentice, we must have."

Anakin didn't like the way Master Yoda looked at him, but Mace seemed oblivious. He felt confused and suddenly scared, more scared than he had been in his entire life.

Palpatine. He needed to talk to Palpatine, to hear the Chancellor's soothing words. But he couldn't. He wouldn't.

Palpatine's kind, wrinkled face appeared before his eyes. But the smile that danced on his features was malicious, and his eyes shone yellow.

--------

The sky was streaked crimson, and waves of cool air brushed against Obi-Wan as he walked through the gardens to the Temple. It was quiet, only the soft rustling of the trees echoing gently at the edge of his hearing.

"Master Skywalker, are you alright?" a child's voice asked from somewhere beneath.

Obi-Wan glanced down, and saw two Younglings watching him warmly. His mechanical arm constricted involuntarily. In only few weeks he would kill the boy standing right before him…

"I'm alright," he lied, feigning a smile.

"No you aren't," a girl said softly, her big green eyes watching him both shy and sympathetically. "But we are sure that you will be. If someone can manage everything, that would be you."

Obi-Wan smiled mirthlessly. Children…they were so pure, so naïve…

"Thank you-" he said, trying to remember the girl's name.

"Leenah," she suggested, looking slightly crestfallen. Anakin must have known her name, and not only hers. After all, he kept spending so much time with the Younglings, play-sparring or just chatting with them. They must have reminded him much of himself, of his own childhood…And he would have been a wonderful father if he hadn't tried to kill both his wife and his unborn children…

"It's late," he exclaimed, suddenly becoming aware of the surroundings. "What are you doing here!"

"Just enjoying the fresh air," the boy said evenly.

"But the rules-" Obi-Wan started, but Leenah interrupted him.

"Master Skywalker, you told us yourself not to give a dam-"

"Leenah!"

"-about the stupid rules," the girl finished sheepishly.

Obi-Wan groaned inwardly. Anakin certainly had a bad influence on the younglings. He had to do something to repair the damage…

"Obi-Wan Kenobi-" he started, but he was interrupted again.

"-is the great Jedi Master, and you're proud to have been his apprentice," the boy finished for him, smiling slightly. "You keep telling that too."

Do I?

"I wanted to suggest that you play some tricks on him," Obi-Wan said vaguely, feeling a wonderful sensation of warmth spreading over him. "But he has much to cope with, so, on the other hand, you better not…"

There was a short silence between them.

"We had better get inside," the boy said. "We believe in you, Master Skywalker. May the Force be with you."

Watching their small figures retreat into the Temple, Obi-Wan felt a cold feeling of dread creeping up in him as his thoughts drifted back to the conversation he would be having only in few hours. A familiar golden glow enveloped him, and his heart beat faster. For what it felt like the millionth time today, Obi-Wan felt amazed at how strong the Force was with Anakin.

Was there a limit? There was something he had to try out…

-------

Half an hour later, Obi-Wan stopped his speeder in one of the most distant and horrible regions of the Coruscanti underworld. Clouds of smoke covered the ground, and the stench was unbearable, penetrating through his bones. A large, shabby building towered above him. It must have been mighty once, but it was derelict now.

Reaching into the Force, Obi-Wan concentrated on it. The golden threads enveloped him and the building, and he could see the glowing waters of the Force ocean opening up, revealing layers and layers of glow. Obi-Wan could feel himself bursting with power…much more power than he had ever bore within him. And a part of him enjoyed this intoxicating taste in his mouth, the sweet sensation of being indestructible and almighty…

The edge of his consciousness perceived a loud sound of collapsing debris, and then a cloud of smoke veiled his sight. Only a cloud of dust and pile of ruins was where a grand building stood only minutes ago.

Obi-Wan could feel himself shaking. The Force kept whirling around him like a savage twister, and destroying the whole building appeared to have made him even more powerful…Adrenaline surging through his veins, his entire being calling to do more, to use his power, Obi-Wan truly felt as though he was powerful enough to do anything.

On shaking legs, he walked to the speeder, feeling more scared than he had ever felt in his entire life. He was scared of himself, of what he might be capable having so much power…

It was no wonder that Anakin had used the wrong side of his immense gift, given his lack of ability to control his emotions. Climbing into the speeder and taking off to the Senate, Obi-Wan couldn't help but think that Anakin was destined to succumb to the Dark Side simply because he was too powerful to control.