A/N: I know I'm a little late with this chapter, but because of some helpful reviews, I actually went back to this chapter and the next chapter--which is the final one--and did a bunch of editing. It took me about two weeks to do my edits and tweaks, and I can't bear to edit it anymore, so I'm posting it, lol. This chapter is a bit of a long one, so bear with me. There's a method to my madness, I swear.

Thanks to those who have reviewed so far. I really appreciate it. Be as critical as you want. I can take it. Like I said, it helps me become a better writer.

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The darkness seems to be weighing down on the both of us, threatening to completely crush us with its weight until every bit of goodness inside of us is tainted and soiled. I feel odd sensations of calmness and anger, determination and corrupted composure swirling within my former Padawan as we walk and my stomach involuntarily lurches in response, a strong reaction to my building anxiety. We're on our way to meet his new Master; for what reason, I'm not sure. I am curious to know the identity of the Sith Lord the Jedi Council has been diligently searching for over the many years, but why would he want to meet me?

"I don't understand," I say, only now realizing, as a breeze passes, that I'm without my cloak. In haste, I must've discarded it in the garden. Oh, wonderful. "If he has you as his apprentice, what does he want with me?" I wrap my arms around my body, a vain attempt at protection from the weather and the ominous figure next to me.

The walk from the Temple to the Twilight, an old freighter he discovered during a battle on Teth, feels like a walk to a final demise. So many questions. So few answers. In death, all questions cease. Perhaps that is this Sith Lord's objective: to gain Anakin's allegiance by using what he could and then eliminating the bait. Anakin expressed his intentions, but there is still something else hanging in the Force that I can't quite sense.

This isn't going to end well. I don't need the Force to tell me that.

"He doesn't want you. I want you." That familiar passion begins to surge inside of him again with his notions of possession and power. It screams through the Force and I quickly shut my mind to it, not wanting to give in again as I did in the garden.

"Oh, I'm sure that your happiness is of the utmost importance to him," I say with a roll of my eyes and a slight shiver.

Anakin stops walking and looks at me with what might be a concerned frown. "You're cold."

His dark, territorial eyes travel up and down my body as moves closer to me, and I start to back up slightly, not trusting myself to get close to him again. "I'm fine. Let's just get going."

I start to walk again and I stop as he abruptly blocks my path. With a sigh, I shake my head in suppressed frustration. Can't we just get on with it? The day has lasted much too long already, and being at the Jedi Temple in the state it's in makes me feel ill.

"Honestly, Anakin, I'm not in the mood to--"

"Stop being so stubborn," he says, control drifting between his words as he effortlessly shrugs off his own cloak and wraps it around my shoulders. Our eyes meet and I relax ever so slightly when his eyes soften, his actions reminiscent of the Anakin I knew mere hours before I left for Utapau. "There. That's better, isn't it?"

No. Nothing could possibly make me feel better. Dread has overcome me, and I haven't felt this helpless in my entire life. Though, it's probably better that he doesn't know that.

"Yes. Thank you."

"You know, I'm not here to make you feel uncomfortable," he says. He looks at me for a moment longer before he turns away from me and we continue our walk to the landing platform where his ship is waiting.

No, of course not. The murder of Jedi always calms me down. "I understand."

Anakin nods and the hatch to the aging freighter slides open. Walking up the ramp, I instinctively tug Anakin's black cloak closer around myself in response to another breeze. His familiar scent from the cloak assaults my senses and a wave of comfort washes over me, pleasant memories slowly floating to the surface.

I need to take off his cloak. Now.

No matter what has happened, I am a Jedi. I was instructed to handle and resist all types of temptation that may conflict with the Jedi Code. So, why do the little things concerning my former Padawan make me unsteadily balanced on the line between reason and resignation? Before tonight, I was firmly on the side of reason, and any kind of temptation from Anakin was immediately, for lack of a better term, suppressed. I'm sure of it. Unfortunately, I think he knows this, and is slowly trying to release whatever feelings I have locked inside of myself. That cannot happen.

The black cloak he gave me falls to the floor and I walk to the co-pilot's seat and sit, as if we were both going on a normal, routine mission together. In the past, I'd say something about the bucket of bolts we were flying in and suggest that he could find a suitable, more reliable replacement for his beloved Twilight. Anakin would reassure me that he'd recently upgraded the mechanical beast and it could out fly any Separatist Starfighter in the galaxy. I'd be skeptical, of course, but then Anakin would nearly kill us both by flying in loops and flips around enemy fire in the clunker, trying to prove me wrong while I struggled with the ailing laser cannon. As it stands now, I don't have the urge to say anything about the ship, just as long as it gets us to our destination as quickly as possible. I'm in no rush to meet this Sith Lord, but I would like to limit my time alone with Anakin as much as possible. I look out of the glass and run a hand over my weary face, unaware of where we were going or how long it would take to get there. Most importantly, what exactly would happen when we arrived at our destination and who would be waiting for us? Anakin knows who the Sith Lord is, of course, but he hasn't told me his identity. Does that mean I don't know him? That seems unlikely. Perhaps I'm supposed to be surprised when I find out. After seeing the Clones turn on the Jedi, Anakin's fall to the Dark Side and the death of the Jedi in the Temple, nothing else could surprise me at the moment.

"Why do you want me to meet your new Master?" I ask quietly, my throat more hoarse than expected.

"Well, aren't you full of questions?" Anakin says with amusement as sits down to pilot the behemoth.

After checking a few components, the ship loudly roars to life and we take off, leaving behind the smoking ruin. The acrid smoke from the burning Jedi Temple rises higher and higher into the air; its smell is a disgusting mixture of death and decay, the scent still lingers after takeoff. I feel relief, then guilt, and then I begin to question my decision. Perhaps I should've stayed behind and waited for other Jedi. However, that was out of the question, as Anakin was not leaving the Temple unless I left with him or died at his hand. Not a very helpful scenario. Any second thoughts about my decision are pushed to the back of my mind, however, as I notice that we're not leaving the atmosphere, which means that we're staying on Coruscant.

That is...unexpected.

The Sith Lord is on Coruscant. Has he always been? I also notice that Anakin hasn't answered my question. That definitely won't do. I look at him, my brow furrowed. "Well?"

Anakin chuckles then glances over at me. "He ordered that I bring you before him when I got you. You were always a part of the plan, Obi-Wan. I just didn't anticipate you finding out about all of this as soon as you did. I was planning on going to Utapau and 'rescuing' you from the Clones after I left the Temple, but you put a cramp in that plan, didn't you? Like I said before, you weren't supposed to be at the Jedi Temple. You killed Grievous too quickly."

"I'm so terribly sorry. If I'd known of your murderous plan, I would've stalled for you," I say dryly.

Anakin chuckles in response. "No, I think this turn of events has worked out much better."

"How satisfying for you."

"You seem annoyed. Upset, even," he says with a grin. "Have I disturbed the even-tempered Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

More than you know, Anakin.

I decide to ignore his baiting. "If I am 'yours,' as you put it, then what business is it of this Sith Lord's? Why meet with me?"

He looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't ask. However, he said he wouldn't harm you and that's all that I care about. The quicker he meets with you, the quicker I can finish my assignment and the quicker we can finally make our own plans together."

"Do you honestly trust his word?"

"No," he says without hesitation. "It's my own instincts I trust. I'll make sure he doesn't harm you. You can be sure of that."

I frown and I lower my voice as I go to speak, making sure he completely understands my words. "That is much appreciated, but I am quite capable of taking care of myself." I pause and clear my throat. "May I be completely honest with you?"

"Please do." His entire body tenses, from his voice to his grip on the controls and I take another pause and stroke my beard, making sure to be as respectful as I can possibly be without provoking him.

"Based on today's events, I no longer trust you, Anakin, and I definitely do not trust your new Master. I saw the carnage at the Jedi Temple with my own eyes, so any reassurances on your part for my safety are utterly laughable at this point. I do not need a protector and since the partner and friend I once completely trusted as a Jedi has become a Sith Lord, I will be in control of my own well-being."

Silence falls over the cockpit of the clunking ship and I begin to breathe deeply to center myself against the raging ocean of emotions crashing inside of my companion. My words must have struck him hard and he seems dazed, as if he'd taken a blow to the face and must slowly recover.

"Is that right?" he finally asks, his voice as dark as death and just as lethal. "You don't trust me anymore? Well, Obi-Wan, let me be honest with you. You know nothing of the power I've gained. You know nothing of the things I can do. Until you become aware of these things, I suggest you watch how you speak to me. I'm no longer your little Padawan who had to take a backseat to your forced Jedi ideals and demands. I am a Sith Lord and I make my own demands. And soon, when my power surpasses my Master's, I will make the rules." He turns and looks at me, his eyes sinking into my very being, piercing me like a blaster bolt. "Then, you'll have no choice but to trust me again. The trust you have for me and only me will be as strong as the desire we share. You are mine. So, stop fighting, my love, and face the inevitable."

The menacing edge to his voice excites and disturbs me and shocks me silent, unable to form a coherent response to his words. I turn away and ignore the building pain and pleasure inside, my thoughts twisting and curling around his words, trying to make sense of them. The inevitable? No. Nothing is ever set in stone. We all live according to the will of the Force, not his. He may continue to grow stronger with his use of the dark side, but nothing is stronger than the Force. His lust for power is beginning to become dangerous. I now know that he's too far gone and no longer the friend I once knew. He's not Anakin. He is Darth Vader. The Sith must be stopped.

So, why do I have this escalating, undeniable urge to feel his body against mine again?

These emotions are a sickness, quickly spreading throughout my entire being like an incurable virus, changing me from the inside out. I'm both curious and troubled, and I have an strange, unfamiliar desire to harm the person who did this to Anakin. The person who has corrupted him beyond all decency deserves to experience the pain I feel. To know how I feel. Anger. Vengeance. Entitlement. I shouldn't entertain such thoughts, as they are a path to the dark side, but at the moment, as I'm sitting next to Anakin on my way to uncertainty, I can't help but think them. If all is lost, if the Jedi are no more, what difference could these thoughts possibly make?

Foolish, foolish thoughts. I know better. When Qui-Gon died at the hands of the hooded Zabrak on Naboo, those same thoughts haunted me. My Master was gone. I was alone. There was nothing left inside of me but anger, sorrow and vengeance. I thought that the one who killed my Master deserved to die. Those thoughts nearly led me to my own death. So, what of these thoughts now? One must learn from the past.

Nothing is ever truly lost.

The bright lights of the Coruscanti nightlife pass us in a blur and my vision becomes unfocused as I stare out of the glass of the cockpit, my mind racing as fast as we're traveling. People travel back and forth in their speeders, contently going about their business. How nice that must be. To be ignorantly unaware of the gravity of what has happened over the past few hours. Yes, the Jedi Temple is still on fire and the smoke is clearly visible, even at night, but what exactly has been said about it in the HoloNet? Is there concern? Panic? Relief? What happens now? What of the other Jedi? Are they fighting back? Hiding? What of the Clones? What of the Separatists? How did all of this happen so quickly? I close my eyes and lay my head back on the head rest of my seat. My blurred vision along with my overwhelming thoughts are giving me an unneeded headache. I have so many questions, but I don't ask them. Mostly because I know Anakin doesn't have the answers. I'm sure that Darth Sidious does, but I doubt he'll be very forthcoming with the truth.

Why did I think this would be a good idea?

The thick fog covering my vision begins to clear and I see a very familiar sight in front of us. Lights litter the approaching building like small green dots. There are people walking back and forth to and from the building with a strong sense of urgency. The enormous dome of the Senate Building comes into view, along with the tall, imposing statues lining the flat plaza, and our acceleration slows as we land.

"Wait," I say as I look at Anakin after the ship lands. "This is our destination? The Senate? The Sith Lord is here?"

"And the Jedi were blind to it," he says, the ship now silent.

As we leave the ship, my senses are assaulted by the same faint scent of death I hoped I left at the Temple. I turn and look in the Temple's direction and see smoke and specks of orange and red fire littering the building's landscape. The building's life signature is dying and I can't do anything about it. What a helpless feeling. It's a feeling I'm beginning to become accustomed to.

"Anakin?" I ask quietly as we walk to one of the more hidden entrances of the Senate Building, my companion wanting our presence to be as subtle as possible. "How did you find out who Darth Sidious was?"

Anakin stops walking and runs his gloved hand through his hair as he turns and faces me, his eyes that indecipherable shade of dull blue again. "The same time I learned that the Jedi were planning to overthrow the Republic."

"I already told you. The Jedi were never going to rebel against the Republic. The Jedi have been the defenders of the Republic for centuries. This all makes no sense; you have to see that."

"Then why was Windu planning to assassinate the Chancellor?"

My brow furrows in confusion and shock. "What? That's absurd!"

He grabs my shoulder and pulls us aside into a small alcove and out of the way of potentially prying eyes. "I saw it with my own eyes, Obi-Wan. He was in the Chancellor's office ready to strike him with his lightsaber before I intervened."

I look at him skeptically and cross my arms. "Why were you there?"

"I felt a disturbance in the Force. I felt that the Chancellor was in danger."

Rubbing my beard in thought, I lean against the wall of the alcove and focus my gaze onto a crack on the opposing wall behind Anakin. More questions and even fewer answers. The more questions I ask, the more lost I become. This was beginning to be unbearable. While Master Yoda and Master Windu were beginning to become concerned with Chancellor Palpatine's extended stay in office, they wouldn't agree to an assassination plot. No one on the Jedi Council would. If all this is true, and I do have my doubts, then there had to be a reason for Master Windu to want to cause harm to the Chancellor.

Perhaps there was no other alternative.

"This all feels...wrong," I say, troubled by my thoughts.

"The Jedi were fools. If the Jedi only knew who the Sith Lord was, I doubt they would've tried to overthrow the Republic," Anakin says, obviously amused. "They lacked vision. Their demise is their own fault." He lightly tilts up my chin and our eyes meet, that longing washing over me again as it did in the garden. "Don't pity them, Obi-Wan. They're not worth it."

I force myself to look away and I sigh. This is getting me nowhere. Every time I--

Wait a moment. Did I hear him correctly? If the Jedi knew who the Sith Lord was, there wouldn't have been a revolt? I see. Now, this is beginning to make sense. I stare at Anakin, studying him, wondering if he realizes what he's just told me. His brow is furrowed, jaw clenched, as if he's studying me as well. Two proud animals circling around each other, sniffing, trying to determine who is in control.

"And you 'intervened,'" I say, attempting to be nonplussed. "You killed him."

"I had to. He was going to kill the Chancellor. What would you have done?"

My eyes never leave Anakin's face. "What did the Chancellor do?"

"What do you mean? He did nothing to provoke Windu. He was scared, of course."

"I mean, what happened before you got there? How do you know there wasn't any provocation?"

Anakin's eyes narrow and his voice grows into an intense whisper. "Windu tried to kill the Chancellor! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

He's becoming flustered. This seems to be as expected. Usually, when he's agitated about something and I don't share the same enthusiasm, he gets frustrated. Darth Vader? I'm not exactly sure how he reacts to the same situation.

"Master Windu would not harm another being unless he needed to. As all Jedi have been instructed to do. Yourself as well."

"Will you stop with your lectures about the Jedi?!"

"Is that what he told you?" I ask, referring back to Palpatine. "And you believed him over Master Windu? Did you even ask?"

"I didn't have to ask! I know what I saw and I do not regret what I did! He deserved it! We outsmarted him and he died because of it!" Anakin's frustration is turning to anger as he begins to yells at me, building and building upon the words he seems to spit with all of his intensity.

I blink. "Outsmarted? We?"

Anakin steps away from the alcove and yells an obscenity before he begins to pace. I watch him, my eyes following his form, and I realize that he has let something slip that he did not intend to.

"What did you mean, 'outsmarted?'"

"No more questions, Obi-Wan. No more talking," Anakin says, his voice with a grim finality as stops his animalistic pacing and walks back towards me. He steps back into our secluded spot and leans in close to me. "Let's go."

I stare at him in silence before I lean my head back on the wall and close my eyes to let everything sink in. There are so many things happening that I can't make sense of it all. I am here at the Senate Building to meet the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. Anakin says Master Windu was going to assassinate the Chancellor. Master Windu was outsmarted. 'We outsmarted him.' Anakin and the Chancellor.

Palpatine.

Dooku's words from Geonosis ring in my ears again and the list of events are piecing themselves together. Darth Sidious is controlling the Senate. I thought earlier that if the Clones turned on the Jedi, that someone with influence had to be responsible. Who can give direct orders to Clones without objection from the Jedi? The Commander-in-Chief.

Palpatine.

"My word, he was right," I whisper in reference to Dooku, my eyes still closed, the realization sinking in. All my confusion, my frustration, my helplessness, is beginning to come to a head and I know I can't stop what I feel is going to happen next. I can no longer guard my feelings.

There's a pause. "What?"

I open my eyes and look at him hard. "Anakin, how could you be so callous?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You lied to us!"

"Obi-Wan--"

"No, you listen to me, Anakin!" I hear myself say, though the strained, pained voice sounds strange coming from my lips. "Palpatine is Sidious, isn't he? And you've known it! Windu wasn't going to kill Palpatine until he found out the truth and you used that against him!"

Anakin's eyes narrow. "So what if I did? It makes no difference now. All that matters is that the Jedi are gone and you're mine. Don't you see? With the Jedi gone, there's no Jedi Code for us to break. My Master may have his reasons for wanting the Jedi gone, but his reasons make no difference to me. I only wanted you!"

"He's a Sith! That's why he wanted the Jedi eradicated! He used you!"

"From your point of view! Look at what I got in return. The man and the power I've always wanted. A small sacrifice, that's all." He looks at me intently at me as he runs a finger along my jaw. "I'm failing to see the negative here."

"You and your Sith Lord deserve each other," I say, my voice tight with all the building frustration I have inside of me.

"Is that anger I feel, Obi-Wan?" Anakin's eyes grow darker as he moves closer to me, the space between us becoming smaller in the alcove we're confined in.

"Get away from me." My voice no longer belongs to me; it is a slave to my unrestrained emotions.

Anakin shakes his head defiantly and presses against me, pinning me against the wall of the alcove, the scene from the garden playing in my spinning head. My anger and frustration is beginning to consume me and I can no longer hide it, the Force stinging with our shared feelings. He leans into my ear and whispers so softly, "We both know what we want. Why won't you just give in?"

I shove him away from me hard, amazed at the force behind my push. His back hits the wall with a thud and he looks at me, his stare a mixture of anger and arousal. The dark energy between us quickly shifts and before I can react, I feel Anakin's firm and hungry lips attack mine, his hands gripping my tunic as he pulls my body against his own. His tongue forces my lips apart and pushes its way into my mouth. His tongue's assault is unyielding, and my tongue immediately awakens to join the fight, wrestling his for dominance. I desperately fist my hands into his hair and I hear his victorious groan of pleasure and I involuntarily moan in response as his satisfying scent fills my nostrils, our bodies flush against each other. All the questions I have distantly fade. The Jedi, Dooku, Sidious, the Temple, they all fade; all I can feel is my building anger and frustration and I hear his voice clearly through our bond in the Force, its tone full of desire and possession. Forget about them. It's about us. Give in. Give in to me. The intensity of the kiss grows, our teeth fervently knocking against each other as his hands grip my hips and my body arches against his in an unconscious, frantic urge to bring him closer to me. Anakin leans in closer as he deepens our kiss, his voice growing louder through our bond. You're mine. You're all mine.

I somehow find a small piece of clarity and I pull away, panting loudly while I look at him, his face still inches away from mine. His name is all I can whisper, trying to ignore the hidden urges pushing out of me as I slowly drop my hands from his face. His kiss. A simple action, but so loaded. I've never blatantly given into something so ferociously in my life.

It feels liberating. Is this how Anakin now feels?

He licks my upper lip and my eyes shift shut again as I bite back a moan. "I've wanted that for so long," he says, his raspy voice making me weak in the knees.

I close my eyes and lean my forehead against his, submitting into his arms. "So have I."

Regret. Worry. Concern. Guilt. Shame. Remorse. As I'm standing in Anakin's arms, I don't feel any of them.

Perhaps Anakin has the right idea.