FROM THE ASHES

Chapter One

"I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I can overthrow him!" Anakin smiled proudly as he delivered the news of his power to Padme on the landing dock at Mustafar.

"Anakin, is he really a Sith Lord? Obiwan said so, but I can't believe it, he was always so kind to me..."
"He was kind to me, too, that is how he gained my trust and used me against the Jedi. I now regret what I have done, and now I feel I can use this power against him! Come with me, back to Coruscant, so we can make it our own!" He extended his flesh hand to her. She didn't take it.

"Anakin, I am afraid of you?"
"Afraid, why?"
"The things Obiwan said about you..."

"I told you, I am sorry!"

"Sorry isn't good enough, Anakin! You have turned to the dark side!"
"Only for you, my love, to save you from dying! That's the only reason!"
"I don't want you killing younglings to save me, think of our own baby!"
Anakin hung his head in shame, tears dripping from his once again blue eyes. "Please forgive me."

"I don't know you anymore, Anakin! You're going down a path I can't follow, and it's breaking my heart!"

"Why, because of Obiwan?" Just then, Obiwan appeared at the doorway of her Naboo ship. Anakin's eyes shot straight to him in an evil stare.

"You betrayed me! You brought him here to kill me!"

"No-no, I sw..." He stared at her and his hand reached into the air in squeezing motions until she was clutching her throat, raised off the ground.

"Anakin let her go!" Obiwan screamed. He loosened his grip, and she fell to the ground. How could he have hurt the one he loved so much, the one he had turned to the dark side and committed terrible deeds to save? He stared at her lying on the ground, and bent over her. He turned her head, and noticed she was out cold. "What have I done?" He muttered, taking his head in his hands.

"Indeed!" Obiwan said, standing over him. Anakin raised to his feet. Obiwan's arms were folded, and he made no move for his lightsaber, so Anakin did not draw on his old friend. But he was furious.

"Why did you come here, Obiwan?" "To stop you!"
"You mean to kill me?"

"I do not choose to, but, if it is the only way to stop you, I will do what I must."

"You will try." Anakin said, his back turned. He could hear Obiwan's lightsaber igniting. He did the same.Turning around in a flash, he made a spin move and the lightsabers met. Obiwan had not heard Anakin's admissions of regret to Padme, and he was so full of the dark side Obiwan was unable to sense anything good in him. He attacked Anakin, and Anakin attacked him. Force pushes, chokes, lightsaber battles, back and forth it went. Anakin thought how strange this was, pulling Obiwan's own moves on him. Images of memories of their happy times together came to mind, all their lessons. It was Obiwan who had taught him the very moves he used on him now. Obiwan looked at Anakin the same way, his padawan, his friend, his brother. How could it have come to this? He wanted to stop right there, hug Anakin and drill some sense into him! But it had gone too far now, the fight was raging. Now that the self destruct mechanism of Mustafar's plant had been accidently activated as they had fallen on it, it was now heading down below, into the lava. Both of them looked down, knowing that it might surely take one or both of them to their deaths.They could feel the heat on their faces, and feared their clothes might burst into flames. "You know, Obiwan, maybe this isn't such a good idea."
"What?"
"Look, one or both of us is going to die if we keep this up, look at all that lava down there."
Obiwan was surprised to see such rational thinking in Anakin. Perhaps there was hope for him after all. He couldn't be sure so he held his lightsaber ready. Anakin's face scowled at him. "Master, whatever the differences are between us, surely there is a better time and place to settle them! Let's get out of here!" Obiwan, the horrid images of the holovid in the temple still vivid in his mind, was finding it hard to believe Anakin wasn't just trying to trick him. He searched his feelings, but only found the dark side blocking it. Palpatine had taken his brother away, this wasn't Anakin, it was Darth Vader. But Darth Vader was making a lot of sense. The platform shook again as it lowered. "Master, I tell you, if we don't go now we will find our ends right here and now!" Anakin's eyes looked so convincing, and a bit of his old self was coming through. Obiwan believed him.

"You're right, Anakin, whatever we must settle can wait. We first must get ourselves and Padme out of here."

Both lightsabers went off almost in unison. The two stared at each other, not sure what to do now. Their fate was decided for them. The platform broke, and together, they fell toward the lava below. Both managed to keep their bearings and composure and utilize their Jedi training enough to come to quick landings on broken bits of machinery below. Flying next to each other, they tried to reach solid ground. They stared at their feet, and how close they were to the lava. The rage had left them,and their main concern was for their lives, and Padme's. "Anakin, this way!" He tried to follow Obiwan, but his footing was a bit less stable. Finally, Obiwan came to rest on a rock, jumping and landing safely just as his metal floater fell into the lava. "Over here, Anakin, I have the high ground!" Anakin came up next to him on his own metal slab, and tried to jump over to the same rock as Obiwan, who was offering his outstretched hand to help. Anakin stared at the space he had to jump, and tried to calculate his move. He took a deep breath, and jumped.

"Aaaahh!" he screamed as he made his move. The metal he had been riding on shifted a bit, and Anakin was a little off. He fell to the ground, stomach down, grasping at the same rock Obiwan was standing on, but he was sliding fast. Obiwan stared down at his face, sweaty and covering with ashes and pieces of molten lava, with such a frightened expression in his eyes. "Help me, Obiwan, I'm falling into the lava."

Obiwan reached down for his brother's hand, but he had slid too far down.With a terrible scream, he fell and landed on the hot ashes near the edge of the flowing lava. Obiwan stared in terror as he saw Anakin's clothes and hair start to burn in places. He writhed in pain and screamed in terror, rolling over and over, beating the ground. In another few seconds, the lava river would carry him away if he did not move fast. "Anakin, this way!" He screamed as he headed toward him.

"Where are you, Obiwan?" Anakin turned his head and strained his eyes, but couldn't see a thing. The hot ashes had blinded him. "I can't see you, I can't see anything. Please, help me!" His face was so helpless, so pitiful, Obiwan no longer felt any evil in Anakin. This was not Darth Vader, this was his friend. For a second, he thought perhaps Anakin was tricking him, and when he got down there, he'd rise up and toss him into the lava. But then Anakin cried out again for help, and Obiwan could see he was truly hurt and unable to get up on his own. Carefully, Obiwan steadied himself enough with his footing and one hand to reach for Anakin.

"Take my hand, Anakin, just a little closer." Anakin tried to pull himself forward. The flames were out now, but the damage to his body had been done. He had suffered many burns, and now he was choking and coughing.

"I- I can't see where you are, and I'm losing my breath. You'll have to come get me, or I'm going to die. I am sorry to put you through this, master!" His voice shook, and he started to cry. Obiwan couldn't take it any longer. He risked himself, jumping off the rock and walking down the steep, dangerous incline of hot sand and ash to take Anakin's hand, which was reaching desperately into the air. As their hands clasped together, Anakin's lips managed a weak smile.

"I got you!" Obiwan said in a strong voice, pulling Anakin by the hand, then when they were far enough away from the lava bed, bending to pull him to a standing position. "Can you walk, Anakin?" He asked. Anakin was breathing heavily. Much of his clothes and hair were singed black. Open wounds through parts of his burned away clothing and boots showed that he had sustained severe burns to all of his limbs, his shoulders, his chest, and his face.

"I don't know if I can make it, Obiwan, just leave me here and go get Padme out of here. I'm sorry I hurt her."

"I know you are, my brother." Obiwan said, using his right hand to try to clean the ash off Anakin's face. He noticed in his horror that there were deep burns on his cheeks and forehead, his eyebrows and lashes where singed, and the surface of his eyes looked like they had melted. He waved his hand in front of Anakin's face."Can you see my hand, Anakin?" He squinted and tried to see. All he could make out was a very faint shadow of the movement of his hand against the light of the lava.

"No, I'm sorry, I can't." Obiwan felt very sorry for him. He tried to lead him up the rocks, but found that being blind and injured so badly, he wasn't going to be able to make it on his own power. Calling on all his strength, and the force, Obiwan lifted his taller brother into his arms, and began to climb up. Anakin's burned flesh hand and steaming metal hand reached out to hold onto Obiwan's shoulders. He recalled how Anakin had saved his life, carrying him unconcious on his back. He looked down at Anakin's face, and found him not a frightening Sith Lord but a wounded, helpless child. He only wanted to get him, and himself, away from that lava.

Looking over his shoulder, the last parts of the broken control center fell into the lava with an enormous splash. Obiwan bent forward to shield both his own face, and Anakin. The weight of Anakin was hard for him to balance on the rocks, and he almost fell backward several times. Anakin grunted. "Just leave me here, Obiwan, save yourself."

"No, your fate will be the same as mine." Anakin sighed in relief, then began to cough again. He was wheezing, and this concerned Obiwan greatly.

Finally Obiwan had gotten high enough above the lava river, he lay Anakin flat on a safe rock."I am going for help, Anakin. "I will be back."

"Don't leave me."

"There is no way I can make it back to the ship taking you all the way uphill. I will return, I promise." He squeezed Anakin's hand tightly.

"I can't see your face, Obiwan. I could always tell by your face if you were serious or not. I'll have to take your word for it."

"Search your feelings."

"All I can feel now is pain." Obiwan gently touched hs forehead, and left him. As he did, he heard Anakin cough and choke again, but saw that he had finally calmed down and was still alive. As he climbed farther up toward where Anakin's starfighter and Padme's ship were parked, he noticed another ship coming into the sky. It appeared to be a shuttle, and he sensed a sinsister presence on board. Obiwan ran as fast as he could to Padme's side. He felt for her breath, and she rolled over and opened her eyes.

"Obiwan, is Anakin all right?"

"He is wounded, Padme, but we are going to get both of you to the medical center as soon as possible."

"Where is he?"

"I had to leave him back on the rocks, I could no longer carry him."

"Can you use the force or something?"

Obiwan did consider this, perhaps he could levitate Anakin, if he could muster enough power. He was feeling very spent right now. "You're both going to be okay, Padme. I promise." Threepio, who had not left her side, looked at her, and Obiwan, and shook his gold plated head. R2 beeped sadly. Threepio helped Padme up the ship's ramp.

Suddenly, a cackling laugh came from behind. "My my master Kenobi" Palpatine's evil voice was heard to say. "What a touching scene. Anakin's wife and child will die, just as his dreams foretold, if he fails to comply with the deal I gave him."

Obiwan handed Padme to Threepio, who was in a hurry to get her, and himself, away from the frightening image of Palpatine. Obiwan turned to face him. "So that is what happened to Anakin! You tricked him into thinking Padme was going to die and you could save her!" He thought of his friend lying helpless and hurt on the rocks below, and pitied him so much. Now he understood, though he could never condone Anakin's actions. Obiwan stared at Obiwan with much contempt, hating him for what he was, what he had done to Anakin, and the Jedi, and the entire galaxy with his bogus war. Palpatine's disfigured face cracked a wicked smile. He closed his yellow eyes.

"Gooood, gooood, Kenobi. I can feel your hatred, your anger, it makes you strong! As it appears my new apprentice is now in no condition to serve me as I would like, perhaps you should take his place at my side! Give yourself to the dark side, Obiwan, every bit of rage in you makes you more and more my slave!"