Chapter 2- The Council
X
Anakin strode through the decadent halls of the Jedi Temple finally reaching the doors that barred the Council chambers from his view. At his approach it automatically snapped open and he stepped inside smiling faintly at Obi-wan.
Yoda's eyes narrowed as he searched Skywalker, "Happy you are? A Jedi Master yesterday died because of you."
The smile slid off Anakin's face and Obi-wan snapped at Yoda, "How could you say that? He was confused and alone. The Sith tricked him and in the end Anakin saved the day once again adding to his growing record,
"Tainted by the dark side, Skywalker is," snapped Yoda.
Anakin grew agitated and spoke out, "Many Jedi over the course of galactic history have been redeemed from the dark side. How is my situation any different?"
Yoda glared at Skywalker, "Your fate decided by the Council it will be. Leave us for now."
Shaak Ti sighed turning to Obi-wan, "What do you think Master Kenobi?"
"That we should at least give Anakin a chance," said Obi-wan his voice straining as emotions welled up in him.
Plo Koon sensed the unrest inside Obi-wan and calmly recited, "There is no emotion, there is peace."
Yoda spoke after a long period of silence, "The battle here is over. To Coruscant I will return. Disturbances in the Force I sense."
The holograms of half the Council flickered away after Yoda spoke again, "Skywalker's fate will be decided at a later date."
Obi-wan nodded rising to his feet and Shaak Ti rose as well, "Obi-wan you know you can tell me anything," she said, "What's troubling you?"
Obi-wan sighed, "I-It's nothing."
"Obi-wan," she said sternly.
"Y-You wouldn't understand!" he snapped more harshly then he wanted too.
"Rules are meant to be broken Kenobi," she smiled knowingly as the door snapped shut behind her.
He smiled , "You always could read me like a book Shaak."
X
Anakin paced around in his quarters in a fury. His emotions bottling up inside him. His door snapped open and Obi-wan walked in his face void of all emotion.
"What did they say," snapped Anakin anger plaguing his tone.
"Calm yourself Anakin. We haven't reached a decision yet," said Obi-wan, "Master Yoda will be returning to Coruscant in a few days time."
"Kashyyyk has already been won?" asked Anakin calmly.
"Yes," said Obi-wan, "You need to get your emotions in check before he gets here. Otherwise he's going to keep the mindset that you are beyond saving."
"Do you believe that too?" asked Anakin quietly.
"Of course not Anakin," said Obi-wan.
Anakin stood mere inches away from Obi-wan his face in his, "We'll see if I can then."
"I'll save you myself if I have too," said Obi-wan quietly. Anakin smirked and pressed his lips against Obi-wan's wrapping his arms around him. Obi-wan leaned into the kiss overwhelming Anakin in fiery passion. Anakin broke away, "That's enough for now. We don't need stray Padawans walking in on us."
Obi-wan frowned but gave in and sat in a chair watching Anakin head over to the holo screen on the other side of the room. The Holonet flashed on with a breaking news report. The picture of Padme's apartment complex filled the screen completely destroyed and up in flames.
Anakin's eyes widened in shock. The reporter continued, "Among the wounded and dead, Senator of Naboo, Padme Amidala did not survive the bombing."
Tears streamed down Anakin's cheeks and he roared, "NOOOOOOO! SHE CAN'T BE DEAD, SHE CAN'T BE!"
His emotions exploded in a fury and the table and chairs around Obi-wan lifted from the ground swirling around the room. Holodisks flew off their shelves swirling in a vortex of data discs.
Obi-wan leapt to his feet braving the storm of the Force, "ANAKIN CALM DOWN! YOU'RE ATTRACTING ATTENTION!"
He couldn't help but notice the dark side growing stronger. Suddenly, everything dropped and the tension in the Force seemed to vanish. Anakin stared at the door with fury and jhe lashed out with a concussive blast ripping it free. He stormed out of his quarters filled with grief and anger his emotions rolling off of him. Padawans recoiled from the distress in the Force coming off of him in waves.
He stormed into the hangar ignoring everyone in his path. He hopped in his speeder as Obi-wan sprinted out into the hangar, "Anakin wait-"
His speeder zipped off across Coruscant's cityscape and over to Padme's apartment building. He parked on the remnants of the landing strip off her apartment and clone troopers strode forward blocking his path. "This is a restricted area, please leave immediately," said the commander firmly.
"Where is Padme," asked Anakin barely containing his fury.
"Her body is inside-" started the trooper. That set Anakin off and he lashed out with the Force lifting both troopers off their feet in an iron grip the dark side pulsing off of him in waves. The troopers clutched at their throats gasping for air. Anakin dropped them and they slipped into unconsciousness. He stormed into the apartment despite the two troopers inside raising their blaster rifles and he ripped them from their grasps with the Force hurling them out a window.
He unleashed concussive blasts from his palms and both troopers slammed against the wall hard slumping to the floor. The medics turned in fear at him and he paid no attention to them running over to her body. "P-Padme," he cried out weakly choking back a sob.
He dropped to his knees holding her cold hand. Her right side was burned from the explosion and she laid sprawled eagle with her eyes wide open staring up at the ceiling, a look of shock across her face.
Another small air speeder zipped onto the small airstrip and Obi-wan jumped out checking the guard's vitals. Obi-wan stood behind Anakin quietly watching his former Padawan grieve over the death of his wife.
Anakin rose slowly and Obi-wan froze watching him, he could sense the turmoil of the dark side growing into a maelstrom inside him. "Anakin," warned Obi-wan.
Anakin turned around consumed by rage and grief and the medics were blasted aside and he snagged one back into his iron grip choking the life from them. He clenched his fist snapping the poor man's neck and hurled him aside against the wall violently. Lightning sparking on his fingertips, he turned on Obi-wan. he raised his hands, "A-Anakin!"
Lightning blasted from his fingertips sailing past Obi-wan and blasted the soldiers taking aim at Obi-wan and him. Their shrieks pierced the air and Anakin stopped the lethal flow as their cries subsided. The tint of gold vanished from his eyes and Anakin looked at Obi-wan realization dawning on his face as he looked around the room, "I-I did this?"
Obi-wan nodded silently and Anakin choked back a sob, "So much for redemption."
Obi-wan turned away realizing the truth in his words. He moved into action. He snatched several grenades off of the trooper's belts and set the charges and pulled Anakin out of there. Anakin looked back at Padme once more as her apartment exploded in a huge blast the apartment caving in and burying the corpses in rubble.
The two speeders zipped back to the temple as more emergency vehicles converged on the scene. The hangar doors opened and Anakin landed and jumped out waiting for Obi-wan. Obi-wan didn't say a word until they returned to their quarters. The door snapped shut behind them and Anakin ran over to Obi-wan and Obi-wan held him tight in a comforting embrace. The door suddenly snapped open again and Shaak Ti stepped inside. Anakin jumped out of Obi-wan's embrace startled by her sudden appearance.
Obi-wan frowned at Anakin, "It's alright you dolt she already knows about our situation."
"W-why haven't you told the Council?" asked Anakin in shock.
"Rules are meant to be broken Skywalker, you of all people know that for certain," she said with a smile, "Besides, you're going through a lot right now."
Shaak Ti turned sadly to Obi-wan, "There's no saving him now in the eyes of the Council. Your little performance at Padme's apartment insured that."
"H-How did you know?" asked Anakin.
"The Force was disrupted by the dark side even a Padawan could sense its source," she said quietly.
"Master Yoda will be arriving tomorrow morning. I'm sure he felt it as well, she said sadly, "The Council will decide your fate then."
Anakin nodded and she bowed her head slightly in respect and vanished outside the door. The door snapped shut and Anakin walked over and sealed it shutting off all security feeds and voice taps in the room to ensure privacy for their conversation.
"Anakin," said Obi-wan, "No matter what happens tomorrow I will stick by your side, whatever happens."
Anakin smiled and ran over to Obi-wan wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him in for a passionate kiss. Obi-wan parted Anakin's lips exploring the caverns of his mouth with his tongue, vying for domination against Anakin's. Anakin leaned in against Obi-wan grounded against his growing arousal. Obi-wan shoved Anakin onto his bed and jumped on top of him straddling him and starting to disrobe him.
X
Master Yoda's shuttle tore through hyperspace drawing ever closer to Coruscant. He surveyed the Holonet pondering on his thoughts. The terrorist strike on Amidala is unfortunate but I think it's just a Separatist cell seeking revenge. All the second set of blasts was a cover-up to mask the deaths of the medics and the troops. My only guess is that Skywalker lost control of his emotions.
Yoda narrowed his eyes searching the Force and felt the dark side dissipating. "Dark times lie ahead that sure of I am," sighed Yoda, "Tomorrow will be a long day."
A/N: Fin! Sorry for the long wait completely forgot this story wasn't one of my many one-shots. Please review and favorite. Thanks to everyone that has already favorite and put this on their story alert I really appreciate it. I promise I'll update soon this time.