Anakin stretched as they climbed off their speeders at the Landing Zone, and the rest of the 501st and 212th.

Most of the troops in sight were staring at Dooku's body as Obi-Wan ordered him pulled off and escorted to the morgue.

Anakin was exhausted. It'd been nerve racking, back in the Sith temple, never knowing when they'd end up attacked, and then he'd had to face off against Dooku. He still wasn't sure how he'd managed to kill the man, but he'd been forced to use his own power almost recklessly just to survive. He was tired.

And then, of course, the revelations of the day. Force Hells, the Sith Order was strange.

Obi-Wan glanced at him, as if he caught that last thought. "We need to let the council know that Dooku is dead."

Anakin nodded. "Let's head back to The Negotiator."

Obi-Wan nodded. "And everything else, we can discuss with the council in person, understood?"

Anakin quite agreed. Personally, he'd prefer not to mention it ever, but if Obi-Wan thought the council should know, he'd tell them. "We need to talk," he said.

Obi-Wan nodded seriously. "Absolutely," he said. He looked calm, but Anakin could feel his shock, just as he knew Obi-Wan could feel his. And that new twist to his Force sense was driving Anakin to distraction. He didn't understand how he'd missed it before, even if only Sith could feel it. It was so obvious. Anakin's hands shook for a moment, before he resolutely focused on what he needed to do. There was no way in all the nine Corellian Hells he was going to think about what the guardian had said just yet.

Obi-Wan shook his hands out as they boarded the same troop transport that held Dooku's body. Anakin could feel Ahsoka's curiosity as they headed up.

Once Dooku was delivered to the morgue, Anakin and Obi-Wan went to the holo room, after leaving Ahsoka, Rex, and Cody to write up their impressions on what had happened. The Council was already waiting. "Masters," Obi-Wan bowed. Anakin was perfectly happy letting Obi-Wan take the lead. "Count Dooku is dead."

There was dead silence, aside from the low hiss of the encrypted channel.

Finally, Mace Windu shook his head. "How?" he asked.

Obi-Wan hesitated. "It's a long story, Master Windu. I would prefer to tell it in person. But Anakin was the one to kill him, and from what I saw, he had no other choice."

Anakin looked down. "We were separated," he said. "And Dooku wasn't going to wait for Obi-Wan to get to me."

"Happened, something else did," Yoda commented.

"That will need to be discussed in person, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan said firmly. "But yes, something has happened."

"Very well," Windu decided. "Return to Coruscant, with the Count's body. We'll inform the Senate, and make the announcement to the rest of the galaxy. How long will your trip be?"

Anakin frowned, making some quick mental calculations. They had to finish picking up the rest of the clones on the ground, though that would be relatively quick… "Four days," he said.

"Then we will see you in four days, Master Kenobi, Knight Skywalker," Windu said.

"Your report, we expect at that time," Yoda added.

Obi-Wan bowed, and Anakin belatedly followed suit, and the transmission cut off.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan turned to look at him. "I know you said we need to talk but I need…" he cut himself off, and took a deep breath. "I need to meditate before I try to discuss this. Do you mind if we wait?"

Anakin all but slumped in relief. They needed to talk, yes, but he didn't want to just yet. "Of course," he managed. "I think… I'll do the same," he finally said.

Obi-Wan managed a raised eyebrow but seemed completely incapable of making the joke that would normally accompany it. Yeah. Anakin poked Obi-Wan's mental shields and got an answering poke on his own. Obi-Wan would be fine, eventually. Right now, no, but eventually.

Anakin headed for his quarters. He needed to get inside, get away from other people. Luckily, his troops were picking up on the fact that their generals were a little prickly right now, and he could hear and sense them warning the rest of the ship. (He could also sense the subdued celebrations starting, as the word spread that Anakin had killed Dooku.)

Anakin closed and locked the door to his assigned quarters and took a moment to reinforce his mental shields in the hopes of keeping Ahsoka from sensing anything. Then he allowed himself to drop all pretense and staggered to his bunk. It… it just could not be true. He wasn't Sith. He'd never be Sith. No! He buried his head in his hands. He wouldn't… he couldn't… he wasn't!

Anakin took a deep breath and tried to focus. It wasn't working, and his mind did nothing but go in circles. He wasn't. He'd killed a Sith. That didn't make him one. It made him a Sith Killer. The guardian must have been insane. It had to be. Steeped in Darkness, forced to stay in the temple, never able to become one with the Force… it would drive anyone insane.

That had to be it. Because Anakin wasn't a Sith, no matter what.

Anakin lay down and stared at the ceiling. "The guardian was insane," he tried. Unfortunately, he couldn't really believe that, not after he said it out loud. But he still wasn't a Sith. He was a Jedi. He wasn't Dark. He wasn't. Sith were Dark, and he wasn't Dark, so he wasn't a Sith.

Anakin groaned and closed his eyes. He took another deep breath, blew it out, then repeated. He had to calm down. He had to. The guardian was wrong, he wasn't a Sith. It was time he acted like a Jedi and proved it. He settled himself and pulled the Force around him, searching for the calm he needed.

Sith were evil, and all a Sith wanted was power. He didn't. He wanted his friends and family to be safe. He wanted to spend time with Obi-Wan, just laughing and joking. He wanted to have a few uninterrupted days with Padmé, to just hold her. He wanted Ahsoka to learn and become a great Jedi. He wanted his men to live through this war. He wasn't like the Sith.

Right?

Poor Anakin. The sad thing is, he's more like the Sith than he realizes, but (at this current point in time) less than he fears.