"Listen to me, Anakin!"

"LIAR!"

"It's true. Anakin, I swear to you."

They faced each other now. Obi Wan had never know his heart to beat so violently in his chest before. His muscles ached from the onslaught of his former Padawan's strikes, his soul shattered into a million pieces that may well form the stars of some far off galaxy. Was this the end? Even if he should survive, would he want to?

"This is not you," he said as he lowered his defence by a fraction. His movement caused Anakin to raise his lightsaber with a tighter grip. Though the young Skywalker hid it well, Obi Wan saw the flash of pain in his eyes.

"The decisions you have made, the lives you have ended; it was not you. You are merely a puppet," he called over the sound of the fires burning. The rivers of lava created an unbearable heat where they stood, wave after wave that taunted them.

"You think I am weak," Anakin spat back, fury evident in every syllable. "You think, I could not become stronger on my own- that I am nothing without you!"

"You are weak," Obi Wan roared. He couldn't help himself. He may have lost any chance he had. "You were the Chosen One. You were supposed to help fight the Sith! Not become one! Palpatine has had you in his grasp from the beginning, Anakin," he shrugged, lowering his lightsaber completely. He was too tired to fight anymore.

"Everything was a plot to put us all where we are now."

"You're lying to me," Anakin looked away, a look of devastation etching shadows onto his youthful face. Obi Wan often forgot how young he still was. Barely a man.

"He placed Padmé right in front of you," Obi Wan spoke more to himself now. "And you were helpless. How could you possibly resist the chance of love? To have everything you had lost. Everything that has been taken from you, that we have taken from you," he felt his heart break at the thought of what Anakin would be had they left him alone. Looking up to his friend once more, his heart seemed to slow entirely until each beat became forgotten to him.

"Padmé?"

The poor child.

"She loves me," he said so quietly Obi Wan could only hear it through the Force. "She wouldn't- Palpatine knew nothing of our love. You were all blind," he laughed coldly. "He was helping me to save her," he insisted, eyes wide and assured.

"Save her," Obi Wan questioned.

"Now, my powers are greater than you could know. I will not lose her. I cannot lose her," he advanced on Obi Wan, raising his lightsaber once more.

"I will not fight you, Anakin," he replied calmly, using the Force to shield himself. It was painful to watch the boy's confusion at his inability to break through. Arrogance would always be his downfall.

"You have so much still to learn."

Anakin screamed with frustration as he used all the energy he could to fight.

"I HATE YOU!"

"And I loved you," Obi Wan shouted back. "I still love you, despite what you have become. Now I see why Jedi are forbidden to love because I should end you here where you stand!"

"DO IT! Be noble and just and please just kill me!"

"No. You can still end this, Anakin. You can bring the Light."

"NO!"

He seemed exhausted by the sheer effort of trying to bring down his former Master's shields. Obi Wan was startled to see his eyes take on the red of the fires they had once only been reflecting.

"If Padmé is to die, this is not the way to save her."

They looked at each other then for a long moment before Anakin dropped his attack. His lightsaber fell from his hand and landed in the ash.

"She...she can't," Anakin whispered and Obi Wan dropped his own lightsaber, rushing forward to catch him as he dropped to his knees. He felt the hands of a desperate man clutching at the front of his robes.

"I can't live without her," he sobbed.

"Palpatine has twisted your thoughts, Anakin. Your nightmares may be just that," he held him close. He heard Anakin murmuring to himself as they sat in a heap on the hot ash.

'I'm sorry. Master I'm so sorry.'

"Hush now, Anakin. It will be alright."

All around them the river of lava flowed and the fires burned, the light grew stronger and brighter: extinguishing the darkness.