I know I said I will finish my other story first but you completely overwhelmed me with your response. Thank you so much! :) I hope you enjoy this second chapter :D


Anakin didn't know what possessed him to attack his friend, his brother. And he probably would never be able to answer this question which left a burning mark inside his head.

As his blade tore through those blue-grey eyes that had been with him for most of his life, that had looked at him with concern more often than he would have liked, but that had also pierced him when he had made a mistake, Anakin didn't know what to feel. Satisfaction? That he would never again be exposed to that watchful gaze? Disgust at his own atrocity? That he had just taken the sight of the man he had always looked upon as a kind of father?

In the end, anger remained. At the council. At the whole Jedi Order. At Obi-Wan. Because he had not been there when Ahsoka and he had needed him most. Because he had stood by silently as his grandpadawan had been subjected to this injustice, and in the end had nothing more to offer than a weak apology. Anakin wanted to hate him for it. He knew he was trying to justify himself for what he had just done. Perhaps it was the sense of indifference that set in that made him decide he had done the right thing. And it was the blind rage again that made him overlook the fact that Obi-Wan had not even tried to defend himself. The rational part in the back of his head whispered to him that this was how he tried to repress what he had done. A mechanism to come to terms with it.

His gaze had briefly lingered on his friend, watching him fall to the ground, hands pressed against his eyes. Or what remained of them. Anakin had not felt the pain he was sure was there. He had been blocking their bond since the beginning of the trial.

In the next moment, he tore himself away from the scene before him and turned, ignoring how the guards came rushing up. No one tried to stop him. He knew they were afraid of him - of his unpredictability. Before he began to go on his way, Obi-Wan's voice reached his ear one last time.

"Anakin..." It was no more than a barely audible, broken whisper.

And yet it made the feeling boil up inside him that he had unjustly condemned Obi-Wan. A small part of him wanted to force him to turn around, and not leave behind this shambles that had once been their friendship.

Fists clenching at his sides, his posture went rigid. He had to go. Ahsoka needed him. Obi-Wan had broken his trust by faking his death. Had used their grief to sell this deception.

"I hope you're happy now, master."

With that, he began walking away, determined to catch the transport which was meant to bring Ahsoka to the prison.

He didn't stop until he reached his destination.

The transport had already arrived and Anakin could see Ahsoka being escorted out with a number of guards. He could feel her fear in the Force, and somewhere at the edge of his mind he could also feel Obi-Wan's pain and despair. Only he had no capacity for it now. Sooner or later, he would have to deal with it, but for now his ignorance was both a protection and an option for him to move on.

For the second time that day, Anakin went on the attack. The azure blade of his lightsaber snapped from the hilt, burning hot and just as deadly. He leapt while still sprinting and landed right in front of the troop of clones surrounding Ahsoka.

"Let her go," he demanded confidently, his lightsaber raised menacingly in front of him.

The foremost two clones instinctively took a step back and raised their blasters in response. "General Skywalker," the one on the left spoke, "you should reconsider your next move."

Anakin let his gaze sweep over the troops. Their armor was white with red markings - the Coruscant Guard. Not as battle-hardened as the 501st, but dangerous nonetheless. Ahsoka was standing behind them a shocked expression crossing her face.

'I'll get you out, don't worry Snips', he sent over their bond. It didn't do much to ease her fear and Anakin's blood began to boil again at the thought of who was to blame for all this.

Steadfast, he took a step towards the guards. "I don't like to repeat myself, troopers," he snarled, "And you will let her go now if you value your lives."

Even though their eyes were concealed by the helmets they wore, he knew that they were exchanging nervous glances. "Sir…," one of them tried again, "I must remind you that what you're doing is considered a crime. If you step aside now and let us pass, we will refrain from pressing charges."

Anakin huffed, undeterred. "The only crime being committed here is that my innocent padawan has been wrongfully convicted. And now... Step. Aside."

With the Force, he put a crushing strength behind his words that caused the clones to stumble to the side, holding their heads.

His robe billowing behind him, Anakin quickly closed in on Ahsoka and severed her handcuffs with his lightsaber before deactivating it and grabbing her by the arm. "We need to get out of here. Quickly."

Ahsoka was too overwhelmed to protest much as he began to more or less drag her along. After a few minutes, she finally caught herself and the two began to disappear into the lower levels of Coruscant at an insane speed. Behind them the sirens blared, but that didn't stop them.

Master and Padawan dashed ahead, jumping from roof to roof and using even the smallest sneak paths. At some point, they lost track of time. But at some point, their pursuers must have given up. When silence finally fell and they found a hiding place in one of the narrower alleys of the poorer districts, Anakin took Ahsoka aside, resting her hands on her shoulders.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" he asked anxiously, already scanning the girl for possible injuries.

"I'm fine, master," croaked Ahsoka, the exhaustion finally catching up with her, "But… but how do we proceed? They'll be looking for both of us now."

With a watchful eye, Anakin scanned their surroundings. Cheap, flickering neon lights were some of the few sources of light in this place, shrouding the unattractive, shadier sides of Coruscant in a dim light. They could not stay here, he knew that. But he had had no time to plan. It had all happened far too quickly.

"We'll figure it out," he muttered, more to himself than to Ahsoka.

"What about Master Obi-Wan?", his padawan asked a little unsure, "Maybe he can help us."

Anakin bit his lip so hard that it began to bleed. "He won't help us."

Ahsoka tilted her head, trying to catch his gaze. "What do you mean? Surely, he can…"

Baring his teeth, he whirled around, his face red with rage. "Don't you get it?" he bellowed, "If we meant anything to him, none of this would have ever happened! And now look where we are!"

Ahsoka had backed away, her eyes wide. Anakin's anger suddenly vanished into nothingness when he saw her expression. "Ahsoka, I'm..."

He reached out with his hand but she took another step back, shaking her head. "Weren't you listening, Master?", the padawan whispered, her voice breaking, "They weren't in total agreement. Someone believed in my innocence."

"Even if he believed it. In the end, he bowed to the council. As he always did. After all, he clearly showed how little we meant to him when he faked his death." His own voice had become quiet.

"You can't be serious," Ahsoka wrinkled her nose, "You of all people should know that's not true. Yes, it was hard to forgive him for that, but in the end, I don't think he had a choice to say no." She paused.

"Sometimes I feel like it's not you he doesn't care about - it's him you don't care about."

Anakin felt sick as he realized she might be right. He had not let Obi-Wan get a word in, had instead thrown accusations at him for which he wasn't even at fault. And then he had struck. Precisely. With the intention to hurt. Without thinking. Without thinking of the consequences. Something in his chest lurched. His stomach cramped painfully and before he could do anything about it, he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the asphalt at his feet.

I should hate myself.

He zoned out – barely registering that Ahsoka was standing beside him, a steadying hand on his shoulder, trying to break through the haze that occupied his mind.

"Master? Anakin?"

He simply shook his head, unable to form words, and leaned against the wall beside him. He couldn't tell her. He should do it, he owed it to her - and to Obi-Wan, whom he had pulled the floor out from under his feet and whom he had practically kicked again after he had already been lying on the ground. But there were no words to even begin to express what he had done. So Anakin remained silent.

Unconsciously, he tightened the robe around his shoulders and tried to suppress the tremor that ran through his body. The once so familiar cloth brought him no comfort.

"We have to keep moving," he rasped quietly, "Get off the streets. And you need a disguise."

Swallowing the stale taste in his mouth, he pushed himself off the wall and began to walk ahead, not able to meet Ahsoka's eyes again. Her silent footsteps were the only indication that she was following him. Anakin was not sure if she would still do it when she learned the truth. He pulled the hood deeper into his face.

The alleys ahead of them were long and twisted, dirty and run down. Not the image of Coruscant that was always shown in the media. Anakin wove his way through the crowds as unobtrusively as possible, scanning the buildings in search of a temporary place to stay. His gaze caught on a rather small hostel. The advertising on the roof was only half lit and even the rest which was still doing its job was flickering.

That had to be enough. As he approached the building, he noticed how the asphalt in front of him began to turn a little darker. Confused, he lifted his head and only when his nose suddenly became wet, Anakin realized what was happening.

It was raining. Coruscant had an adjustable climate system, so this was a rarity in itself. But exactly on this day it rained. As if the fate wanted to punish him personally for his deeds. He stretched his head upwards and stared at the dark sky - as he had done on the day when he had seen and felt rain for the first time in his life. As a child from Tatooine, he hadn't known what that was. Obi-Wan had been with him. With a calmness Anakin had never understood how he could achieve it, his master had smilingly explained to him what this phenomenon was and that there was no need to fear it.

He still remembered exactly. Anakin had practically dragged Obi-Wan outside after that, with a curiosity that only a child could possess. No sooner had they passed through the gates of the temple, he was rushing off, his head stuck to the sky - and not paying attention to where he was running.

Anakin pressed his mouth into a thin line at the memory. He had almost fallen down the steps in front of the temple, had Obi-Wan not intercepted him at the last moment. Despite everything, his master hadn't yelled at him for his carelessness. No, instead he had taken Anakin on his shoulders.

A little startled himself, it had taken him a moment to calm down. But then he had wrapped his thin arms around Obi-Wan's neck, resting his chin on his head. They had remained like this for a while, non of them speaking, only cherishing the moment of peace.

As Anakin felt the rain drops run down his face now, he only felt reminded of what he had lost – of what he had voluntarily destroyed. Swallowing thickly, he lowered his head again and continued on his path. The rain continued to beat down mercilessly on him as he covered the last few meters. A little more forcefully than he had planned, he pushed open the door, startling the receptionist behind the counter. Anakin winced and entered, holding the door open for Ahsoka. He glanced over his shoulders and saw that his Padawan was soaked to the bone. She desperately needed dry clothes.

"I'll get us a room," he whispered to her, "wait here."

Ahsoka nodded only briefly and let her gaze wander through the rather sparsely furnished lobby.

Blowing out a breath, Anakin stepped up to the counter and put on the most charming smile he could produce. "We would need a room for two."

The lady behind the counter raised her eyebrows and clicked her tongue. "Are you guys on the run?" she joked.

Anakin gave a forced laugh. "Yeah, something like that. So?"

"Three hundred credits a night."

"What?" he could hardly believe what he was hearing, "That's usury!"

The receptionist just tilted her head, bored. "Do you want the room or not?"

Grumbling, Anakin slid the credits across the table and received a key with the number "Three" in exchange.

"Thanks," he pressed out before turning and walking over to Ahsoka, who was staring intently at something.

"Come on, I've-," he started but stopped as his eyes fell on Ahsoka's subject of interest. A small screen had been mounted to the wall. The HoloNews were on.

"…News has reached us that Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore has been confirmed dead. We can't report how this happened yet, but one thing is for sure - Mandalore is now a war zone…"

Anakin almost dropped the key in his hands.

This can't be true. A serious mistake.

Numbly, he stared at the image of Satine flickering across the screen, and the longer he did so, the more he realized it had to be true.

It all made sense. Why Obi-Wan had sought him out days before, agitated, almost begging him for the Twilight. Anakin had not understood why his master had acted so strangely.

Now he understood, and it made his stomach twist again.

Satine had asked Obi-Wan for help. And the council had refused him to travel to Mandalore - so his friend had needed the Twilight to get there anyway. Obi-Wan had defied the council. Had flown to Mandalore. And now Satine was dead.

Anakin's heart clenched.

"Had you said a word, I would have left the jedi order."

That's exactly what Obi-Wan had said to Satine on the Coronet back then. His master did not know that he had overheard him. It had shocked Anakin to hear that the otherwise so upright Jedi Master would do such a thing. Leave the order. For the woman he loved.

Looking back, he remembered that Obi-Wan had seemed drained when he had run after him, dragged down by something. More than the trial that had also shaken him to his core. Satine's death. Was that why he hadn't defended himself?

Why did you let me hurt you so much, Obi-Wan?

It had been wrong to assume that Obi-Wan didn't care. Yes, the man had made mistakes. Mistakes, Anakin still couldn't forgive. But his friend had tried to help; he saw that now. Despite losing maybe the only person that he had truly loved, Obi-Wan had come after them after the trial. Because he didn't agree with the Council's decision.

And he had hurt his brother in return. Had hurt his brother so severely that his life would never be the same.

And the problem was – Anakin couldn't even tell why he did it.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that the reporter from the HoloNews had changed the topic.

"...there was an incident in front of the Jedi Temple between Generals Skywalker and Kenobi..."

Abruptly, he was jerked back to reality. Of course, there had to be recordings. Nothing escaped the media. A buzzing noise spread through his head as he watched motionlessly as the video played. The recording was choppy, but you could clearly see him drawing the lightsaber and slashing at Obi-Wan. Anakin didn't know if he should be happy that at least there was no sound.

In front of him, Ahsoka stared at the screen and Anakin felt sick as he sensed the change in her Force signature. Slowly, his Padawan turned around. He should have told her.

Now it was too late.

"Tell me that's not true," she demanded sharply, her eyes wet with tears.

"Ahsoka, I..." he began, but she cut him short as she stepped right under his eyes.

"Tell me," she hissed, punctuating her point by pointing at the damn screen where the scene was still playing, "Tell me you didn't do this, Anakin."

His breath quickened as he desperately tried to formulate words. There was only the piercing gaze of his Padawan, so full of disdain, and the recording of his own atrocity that had found a place in his mind.

What have I done...?

I am a monster.


Maybe I will expand this into a larger story, let's see about that. Thanks for reading :) And feel free to comment if you like.