Judgment Day

Chapter 12 - Confrontation

Author's Note: No regrets. ;) I hope you didn't think this would be easy.

~ Amina Gila

He hasn't taken the time to sort through his tangled emotions over this, so all he does is keep moving from one moment to the next. It seems so surreal, completely impossible. Nothing should've been able to defeat the Jedi, but here they are. Obi-Wan can only thank the Force that Ahsoka had gotten through it all alive, and more than that, that she was able to track down Anakin. He's still alive. Through everything, Obi-Wan hadn't dared to take the time to worry about him. If anyone could survive this, Anakin could, and he couldn't afford to be distracted.

"Can't guarantee he's conscious," Ahsoka tells him briskly – that's how she's been around him this entire time. Short, like she doesn't know how to talk to him or doesn't want to.

It's strange seeing the clones here moving around as though nothing has changed, when his men just tried to kill him. He tries not to dwell on it, instead following Ahsoka into the medbay. Anakin is, in fact, conscious when they arrive. He's still in bed and... doesn't look so good, but he's alive, and that's what matters.

"Anakin."

He's halfway pushing himself to his feet in a moment, and Obi-Wan moves forwards to steady him before he falls – he seems quite unsteady. Anakin leans forward, wrapping his arms tightly around him. It only lasts a moment, but it feels... nice. Sometimes, he forgets how easy it is to have a firm, constant reminder that his padawan is here. He's not going anywhere. He never would.

It's something Obi-Wan came to accept a long time ago, that he can never truly be... himself unless Anakin is with him. They can't go anywhere without each other, because they are meant to be one. Perhaps they always were. That's what Qui-Gon saw so long ago. Anakin is both his son and his brother, and something else entirely – something on which no name can be placed.

"What happens now?" Anakin asks. He looks tired, worn, and Obi-Wan finds that he already misses the version of Anakin that's constantly, ceaselessly cheerful, even if it's occasionally irritating. Seeing him lost in a shell of depression and so closed off is wrong, and it hurts him in a way nothing else could

"Can you stand?" Obi-Wan queries him, hands still on his arms to steady him.

"If I have to. Where are we going?"

"We must destroy the Sith," Obi-Wan replies firmly. "Sidious will not stop until he is dead."

Is he imagining it, or does Anakin seriously feel... relieved about something?

"Master Yoda is searching for surviving Jedi," Ahsoka adds, moving forwards. "This is our best chance. If we don't act immediately, we will lose our chance."

"We'll be accused of treason."

"We already have been," she argues.

Anakin nods, gathering himself. Obi-Wan doesn't let go – doesn't think he can. This may be the last moment the three of them spend together, and he suddenly gets a strange sense of finality. It doesn't matter. This is the one chance they have at destroying the Sith before the situation deteriorates farther, and he is firmly convinced they can do it. They are together, after all.

"You'll need a lightsaber," Obi-Wan adds.

Wordlessly, Ahsoka unhooks one from her belt and extends it.

Anakin shakes his head. "That's yours. You do better with two, and I don't know how much help I'll be."

"Take Maul's," she shrugs. "That's the least of our concerns. You can help, even if you don't fight Sidious himself." Obi-Wan remembers Ahsoka telling him that they still have the renegade Sith Lord imprisoned on the Cruiser. They can't really take him to the Temple, so they'll just have to keep him there for now. They certainly aren't going to let him go either.