Obi Wan was running his fingers through his hair as he sat down on one of the cushioned stools in Yoda's quarters.

He had sensed that something was wrong, and had had a bad feeling about Anakin going alone to interrogate the prisoner.

If had not been for a given instruction that only one Jedi should be present in the cell, added to the fact that he had been called to discuss the protection measures for Iblis and some other senators, given that he had been present upon the scene, he would have gladly gone with Anakin to the prison block where the prisoner was being held.

He had a nagging feeling in his chest, which would not leave him, telling him that he should have gone with Anakin, or alone in his place, but it was too late. The other masters were already gathered, and had already started the discussion.

Something, something in his heart told him that something was clearly wrong, that something bad would happen, that something terrible would happen to Anakin.

He only hoped he would be proved wrong.

Unfortunately, he was going to be proved right.


Meanwhile in the prison block…

Anakin was standing in Zam Wessel's cell, looking intently at his client.

She had been fitted with a mechanical hand, and was close to glaring daggers at him.

She snapped, "What do you want from me?"

Anakin coolly spoke, "It seems that whatever you have been doing, or whatever you were planning, you are not and were not alone. I intend to find out exactly what is going on."

"Like I'll tell you everything," she mocked, "Padawan!"

Anakin felt irritated to say the least, but kept his anger in check.

He would not fail his master this time.

He said, crossing his arms across his chest, "You have a choice. You can choose to calmly tell me everything, and perhaps, who knows, maybe get a lighter sentence. The Republic is surely going to try you. Or, you can decide to remain silent, which may not do well for you should the truth be found out."

Zam sighed and slowly said, "Alright, well you may have heard of a Padawan…"

"Yeah," Anakin snapped, "And I don't believe it could have happened. Clearly, you're lying."

Zam said, "Of course, say all you want, but it was still a force user who…."

All of a sudden, Zam rose into the air and clutched her throat.

Someone was strangling her through the force it seemed.

Anakin had no idea what was happening.

He had not done anything, but she was right in front of him, and she was suspended in midair, clearly looking as if she were being choked.

Panic stricken as he was, Anakin clutched his hands as if they were around her neck, trying to pry open the seemingly existent fingers around her neck, without even realizing that it looked like he was the one choking her.

He tried with all his strength to save her, but whatever force it was, it seemed stronger than his own efforts.

And then, with a sickening crunch, Zam Wessel's neck snapped and she remained suspended in midair.

Anakin, realizing that a dead body was in his grip, loosened his hands and the body fell to the floor.

Anakin looked at the body in horror, crying out, "What have I done?!"

The next moment, the door burst open and prison guards swarmed in.

One gave Anakin a blow to the head before the latter could realize what was happening.

In desperation, Anakin tried to pull out his lightsaber, but the guards opened fire, and all though Anakin managed to block a few stun blasts, one eventually caught him off guard before he could even sit properly and he fell.

One guard walked over to him and shouted, "Take the prisoner's corpse away, and lock this boy in! We'll have to report this to whoever sent him!"


Some hours later…

When Anakin woke up, he noticed that he was lying in a cell.

It was not the very same cell, but a very similar one.

And the first thing he thought about was how that woman had died.

He had not gotten angry with her and lost it.

And yet, somehow, she had been lifted up into the air with the force and had been killed.

Anakin tried to introspect and find out if he had been the one responsible.

And he knew that although it may have looked so, he had not been the one to kill her.

In fact, he was the one who had been trying to save her, although he couldn't.

Maybe he shouldn't have positioned his hands like that.

But then, what else could he have done?

Perhaps he could have called for help.

But would that have helped? After all, he had been the only force sensitive in the building during the interrogation.

Unless, he thought, there was another.

He walked towards the door of his cell.

He could see through the bars and noticed something.

A key card lying nearby, on the floor.

He couldn't help wondering how it had gotten there, but there was freedom, waiting for him, and he was not going to be sitting in prison for something he never did.

He was going to get out, get to the temple, tell Obi Wan everything, and then it would be alright.

Thinking so, he summoned the card, and used it to open the doors and free himself.

He walked out, sporting a look of savage glee at the thought of the prison guards finding out that they had been duped.

But just as he entered a corridor, a horrifying sight greeted his eyes.

Bodies were strewn across the corridor. These were bodies of guards, and they looked like they had all been killed.

But that was the least of it.

Anakin noticed blaster wounds in some, but almost all of them had fresh lightsaber burn marks, across the chest, neck, or abdomen.

And then, he came across something lying in the middle of the dead bodies.

A blaster, and lying right next to it, a lightsaber, but not just any lightsaber.

His own lightsaber.

He was so shocked.

How had it gotten here?

And who had killed these people?

He summoned both objects to himself and looked carefully at the blaster, wondering if whoever had gotten a hold of his lightsaber had been using both weapons.

And then suddenly, he heard footsteps and looked up to see more guards entering the corridor.

One suddenly shouted, "There's the murderer! Get him!"

At once, all the guards began to fire stun blasts at him.

Anakin quickly ignited his lightsaber and began to deflect the bolts.

With a force push, he managed to push them back, and then quickly ran and ducked into a passageway.

He could hear the running footsteps of the guards behind and knew that he was being pursued.

He kept on running.

And soon, he was nearing the entrance.

Only a few more meters, and he would be out of this building.

He could hear a guard shouting, "Don't let him escape! Don't let him leave!"

Anakin reached the doors, and with a wave of his hand, using the force, he managed to open the doors and run out.

He was out.

Now all he needed was a speeder.

And to his luck, he saw a bright red one, not too far away.

He began to run towards it.

He was close to it.

He could make it.

Only a few more meters to cover were there.

And he made it.

Jumping into the speeder, Anakin quickly sped away from the prison block as fast as he could.

He was just about to head to the temple when suddenly, he heard a beeping sound, indicating an incoming transmission from the speeder's comm unit.

He picked up the call (luckily, no passcode was asked for) and saw the hologram of what looked like a young woman, hooded, cloaked and screaming, "Help, help! Can somebody hear me?!"

Anakin immediately replied, "This is Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker. I read you loud and clear. Where are you?"

The woman replied, "I'm at a warehouse in the undercity. I need help. I'm sending you coordinates. Please help me!"

Anakin replied, "I'll get to you as fast as I can. Just hang on."

With that, the coordinates were received and the transmission ended.

A short while later, Anakin's speeder was in the undercity, and found himself looking at what looked like an abandoned warehouse.

He parked the speeder and set foot inside calling out, "Hello, can someone hear me?"

He wandered around the warehouse, and then noticed something.

There were crates almost all over the place.

He looked inside one and gasped in shock.

There were explosives inside, all marked with the same black skull mark that had been found at the scene of every attack.

And then, he heard a female voice calling out, "Behind you."

Startled, Anakin ignited his lightsaber and turned around, and then saw someone.

It was a Palliduvan, female, and dressed in a sleeveless jumpsuit and a vest, with a blaster rifle and other weapons attached to a belt around her waist.

Anakin gasped in horror as he realized who this was.

"Aurra Sing?!" Anakin cried out, "What are you doing here?"

Aurra Sing replied coolly, "Waiting for you, Skywalker. Of course, you had to fall for that call."

"What do you want with me?" Anakin demanded.

Aurra replied, "To show you more to that conspiracy which got you framed. I want to make a deal with you. I'll help you prove your innocence, and get to the truth of the matter, and you get the Jedi Council and the Republic not to incarcerate me, is that understood?"

Anakin looked at her and said, "I don't trust you, Jedi Killer."

Aurra Sing replied, "I know. You don't have to, but you don't want to be a fugitive forever do you?"

Anakin replied, "My master will help me. All I need to do is…"

Just then, there was a shout, "He's there, get them!"

Anakin shouted out, "Wait!"

But before he could do anything else, a few guards entered and began to fire stun bolts at them. Even as Anakin swung his lightsaber left and right to defend himself, Aurra pulled out her twin blaster pistols and fired lethal shots, killing the guards in front of them, all but one who managed to duck and escape through the doorway.

Anakin shouted, "Do you know what you've done?!"

Aurra smiled evilly and said, "Oh yes of course, we needed to defend ourselves. Now you had better look for the evidence here, and let me distract the others. Remember what I said."

With that, she blasted a window and jumped out.

Anakin did not pay attention to her after that, but instead started searching for any clues that could prove his innocence.

Just as he had opened a crate full of bombs, and was wondering what to do, he suddenly heard another shout, "He's in there! Get him!"

He turned around and saw an even larger number of guards.

There was no time to look around, and there was certainly no way the guards would even listen to him.

He jumped out of the same window, and began to run around in hopes of evading his pursuers and getting to his speeder.

He saw it a little distance away, after turning around the corner, and dashed towards it.

And then, just before he could make it, he suddenly found himself falling flat onto his face.

He got up, and realized that he had been tripped.

He was just about to jump in when he suddenly heard the snap hiss of a lightsaber igniting and came face to face with a purple blade.

He looked up to see what was happening and realized that he was face to face with Mace Windu, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Master," Anakin gasped, "You've got to help me! I didn't do anything. I need to get…"

"SILENCE!" Mace ordered, "Don't think we don't know what you've done. You think the police would not have notified us?"

Anakin tried to explain, "I don't understand what happened, but I think someone is trying to…"

"That's enough Skywalker!" Mace cut him off, "Let's hear what's happened. I heard there was a disturbance in this place."

"Yes Master Jedi," Anakin heard a guard say, "He has killed several of our guards already, and some of them had the same black skull mark that's been going around. And, he was with Aurra Sing, who is a dangerous criminal. I believe all the evidence points to Skywalker here. He's the culprit."

"No I'm not," Anakin desperately begged, "Master please listen!"

But Mace was unwilling to hear him out. Instead, he slapped Anakin and shouted, "I ordered you to remain silent! You are a criminal here. I knew that training you was a mistake. Good thing I never trusted you!"

He then hissed, "A Jedi was involved, and now it's all clear. You set this up, and then you killed the bounty hunter to avoid getting exposed. Plus, you were working with Aurra Sing to get away. This is going to be a case for the Republic. They are going to try you. Prepare yourself to face certain punishment."

Anakin began to breathe hurriedly in fear.

He said, "My Master won't stand for this."

Mace shouted, "Shut up!"


The next day, in the council chambers…

Anakin was standing in the middle, fear filling his whole body as he looked at all the members of the council.

Some were glaring at him. Others seemed to be sorry for him.

And then, he heard Mace Windu say, "Padawan Skywalker, you have committed a heinous act of betraying the Jedi Order and the Republic through countless acts of terrorism and murder. Normally, we would simply try you within these chambers, but it seems the Republic wants to try you. Given these circumstances, it is in the Order's interests and safety that we formally expel you here and now. You shall hereby be expelled from the Jedi Order."

Anakin cried out, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, "No Masters, please, you must hear me out! I am innocent! I…"

"Silence!" Mace shouted.

He then hissed, "What exactly happened in that cell?"

Anakin cried out, "I was just interrogating her when someone started choking her with the force. I didn't know what to do! I tried to save her, but I couldn't! My fingers were trying to pry open whatever had a hold on her, not strangle her! I don't understand what happened?"

Ki Adi Mundi asked, "And what about Aurra Sing? How do you explain that, plus being in the warehouse where several of those skull-marked bombs were being stored?"

Anakin explained, "I got a call asking for help, it was someone screaming for help, so I went to the coordinates and it turned out to be Aurra Sing, and she said she wanted to help me find evidence if I was willing to help her evade punishment."

Yoda asked, "And heard we have, that attacked and killed the guards, both of you did together. Explain this, how do you?"

Anakin cried out, "It was too sudden. I just wanted to defend myself, not kill them. Sing was the one who fired the shots!"

Mace asked, "Did you even realize what you were essentially doing, working with a dangerous terrorist who has killed Jedi and senators?"

Anakin said, "I don't know, all I can say is, I was desperate to prove my innocence, and I guess I wasn't thinking straight."

Ki Adi Mundi concluded, "It is evident that your mind was clouded by the dark side."

Mace said, "I agree. All the evidence points to you, regardless of your statements, which means that you must be expelled."

Anakin cried out, "NO! PLEASE HEAR ME OUT PROPERLY! I DIDN'T EVEN GET A CHANCE TO TELL MY MASTER PROPERLY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU!"

Suddenly, a male voice interrupted, "Master Windu, this boy is right. We have not ever bothered to hear him out properly, this sounds more of a matter of accusations rather than letting him properly explain himself! To expel him is injustice. You cannot do this to him. We must question him properly ourselves, and not in this manner. I believe this boy is innocent. I don't see how he could possibly be guilty of this when he has shown himself to be quite dedicated."

Anakin looked up and saw that it was Master Even Piell who had spoken up for him.

Next to Even Piell, Plo Koon added, "I agree. I know Anakin Skywalker, and he in my opinion is a good boy. A good student. Obi Wan Kenobi has trained him so well. Look at how he risked his life to catch that hunter, despite the fact that he didn't have his lightsaber. Would a murderer do that? No, he'd just be trying to put up an act. I heard the whole thing. I don't believe Anakin could have done this. You cannot just expel him like that."

Shaak Ti, who was sitting next to Plo Koon added, "I agree. We must not expel Skywalker. We should get to the truth of this ourselves. I don't think this evidence is enough to just punish him and leave him to the courts to be tried. I find what you propose to be cruel. Please, let us not expel him."

Anakin felt hopeful and grateful hearing the three Jedi Masters speaking up for him. Perhaps everything was going to be okay after all.

But then Mace said, "All for not expelling Padawan Skywalker, raise your hands."

Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, Even Piell, Adi Gallia, and Depa Billaba raised their hands.

Mace then said, "All those for expelling Skywalker."

And then, Eeth Koth, Sasee Tiin, Coleman Kcaj, Coleman Trebor and Mace Windu raised their hands.

Anakin was shocked to see this. It was a draw.

Only one vote could save him.

But then, there were still two more members to vote.

Mace, whose hand was still raised, turned to Yoda and asked, "What say you, Master Yoda?"

Anakin looked at Yoda pleadingly, hoping that Yoda would refuse to expel him, that he would not agree.

Yoda sadly looked at Anakin, bowed down his head, and raised his hand in agreement with Mace Windu, and the last remaining Jedi Master, Ki Adi Mundi, raised his hand.

"No," Anakin whispered in horror.

The ones wanting to expel him had won.

And then, Mace declared, "Anakin Skywalker, you have committed treason against the Republic and the Jedi Order through acts of murder and conspiracy. Hereby, you shall be expelled from the Jedi Order and handed over to the Republic for trial and punishment."

Ki Adi Mundi added, "You shall face the Republic Court's decision. You shall forfeit your rank and privileges. Henceforth, you are barred from the Jedi Order."

"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Anakin screamed, "PLEASE, I BEG YOU!"

But his screams fell on deaf ears as four temple guards burst in and dragged him away from the chamber.

Mace watched with a blank expression on his face before standing up and saying, "I suggest we adjourn. We have had enough for a day."

The other masters got up and exited the chamber.

The first thing they saw was Obi Wan, standing right in front, glaring right at them.

Obi Wan spoke coldly, "You expelled him, didn't you?!"

Mace replied indifferently, "We did what was in the best interests of the Jedi Order, the Republic and…"

"HOW COULD YOU?!" Obi Wan suddenly shouted, "YOU'VE JUST ABANDONED ONE OF OUR OWN, A PADAWAN NO LESS, WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN QUESTIONED PROPERLY! DID YOU EVEN HEAR HIM OUT?! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM!"

With that, Obi Wan stormed off, before any of the masters could say a word.