Memories

Chapter 19.

Obi-Wan's POV

__________

"Anakin, no!" I yelled. I could feel the Force gathering and wrapping around him, and I knew what was coming. The glazed look and violent trembling only served to confirm my suspicions.

He cried out, dropping to his knees, so I knelt beside him, feeling the conflict raging inside him.

"He's going to do it again!" someone from the crowd shouted, and people started fleeing, becoming a stampede of fear and panic. As I saw them running, I noticed someone in the distant shadows. Asajj had been watching us. She was leaning against a building, next to a small transport, her eyes fixed to us. Apparently she wanted to know what Anakin was going to do, too.

Anakin sunk to his hands and knees, his arms shaking severely, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath. His eyes were scrunched shut, and I knew the noise and chaos outside was not helping in the least. I could feel him fighting the power, struggling not to release it accidentally, and I tried sending my help and strength to him through our bond. Pain from him struck me – emotional, mostly – and I sensed the Force shifting, curling protectively around me and Ahsoka. Anakin was trying to take care of us, and he thought he could do that by letting the power out.

I had my hand on his back, spilling as much of myself through to him as I could and pouring out my logic and sense. "Keep it in, Anakin!" I was shouting. "That is what will save people! Letting it go will only hurt them; it'll only make things worse!"

Anakin's arms buckled, leaving only his elbows to support him, and I sensed his consciousness flickering. He was fighting, fighting, fighting. But I couldn't tell if he was winning. 

"Come on, Anakin," I pleaded silently with him. "You can do it; I believe in you."

He crunched his fists into tight balls, and I heard the sound of bending metal as his bionic hand crumpled. Both he and I knew this was it – all or nothing.

I held my breath, my heart racing. "Come on, my friend."

Then he cried out in pain, and the power vanished. He collapsed fully, his limp form falling into my arms as I jerked forwards to catch him.

I could sense the Force humming quietly around him, and my fingers hastily checked the pulse in his neck. I let out my breath as they met a strong heartbeat; he was alive – utterly exhausted and pained, but alive.

I glanced up when I heard a small ship taking off in the near distance. Asajj's ship was leaving; evidently she had seen enough.

Ahsoka knelt beside us, reaching out to Anakin, then hesitating. "Is he okay?"

My hand trembled as my fingers rested on Anakin's chest, its constant rising and falling providing no end of comfort for me. I nodded. "He's alright."

She breathed a sigh of relief, and we fell into a brief silence. Ahsoka glanced out of the ship, watching the last straggler from the mob disappearing. "What do we do now, Master Kenobi?"

My eye lingered on my friend's face, tracing the lines of frustration and pain carved into his handsome features. He looked exhausted – more than just today's exertions would warrant. His broken voice, cracked with years of pent-up emotions, drifted into my mind. "It's my mother." Then that crestfallen guilt had crashed down on him and broken my heart. He thought I was disappointed in him. I sighed softly. "We're going home."

"What about Asajj?" she asked reluctantly.

"She's gone. I saw her ship leaving before." I gave Ahsoka a sad smile. "Don't worry, Little One." Neither of us quite knew why I said it, but both of us felt better because I had.