Chapter Text
Anakin knew that when the Sith temple fell they would be buried alive.
It didn’t matter.
Without the Wayfinder, another effort to bring the Clone Wars to an end would be lost.
“Anakin!” Obi-Wan yelled over the roar of collapsing pillars and stone. “We need to get out of here!”
“Get back to the ship, Obi-Wan!”
“I’m not leaving you here, Anakin. We need to go. ”
“No!” Anakin yelled back. “I’m not leaving this planet empty-handed!”
“Anakin see reason! ” Obi-Wan said, now practically begging. “If we get buried under this temple we won’t be leaving this planet at all! ”
“Then go! Get out of here! Get back to the ship!” Anakin repeated. “I’ll find it and meet you back there. I promise.”
Obi-Wan knew it was a lie. “Anakin, you know as well as I do that I cannot leave you here to die.”
“Then help me!”
Obi-Wan groaned and helped Anakin continue his search. The dark energy in the temple made it hard to focus but they pressed on.
Anakin and Obi-Wan had ventured out on their own, far past the outer rim into uncharted territory – wild space. They were in search of a Wayfinder – one that would help them find the rumored hideout of the Sith. It could potentially lead them a step closer to the mysterious Darth Sidious, if not directly to his front door. They needed it. However, in their desperation to find said Wayfinder, they had failed to account for booby traps in the temple. Obi-Wan had been the one to get his foot caught on the tripwire, causing the temple to begin crumbling around them.
Obi-Wan dodged a piece of falling rock. “We don’t even know if it’s real Anakin!”
“If it is real, it will be invaluable to the war effort. Don’t you want the war to be over?”
“Of course I want it to be over! You don’t think I’m sick of all this… this… death? This darkness? You think I don’t want you and Ahsoka and everyone else to live and prosper in a peaceful galaxy?” Obi-Wan questioned incredulously as he continued to dig through the temple.
Anakin inwardly cringed. Obi-Wan sounded offended. Anakin had been offending his old Master a lot these days. He just could never seem to say the right thing.
“Master, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply…”
“Of course you didn’t,” Obi-Wan snapped, his voice tight with barely concealed anger – a real testament to the fear and stress he must be feeling as the temple crumbled around them. “Let’s just focus on finding this thing.”
The pair continued to hurriedly dig through the temple.
“Anakin…” Obi-Wan said, his voice unsettled.
“What now?” Anakin snapped.
“It’s gone.” Obi-Wan gestured to an empty case with a hollowed-out mold in the shape of a Wayfinder.
Anakin’s stomach dropped.
“No, no it has to be around here somewhere,” Anakin said frantically, digging in nearby piles of rubble.
“Anakin, look at me!” Obi-Wan pleaded. “It’s not here. They must have taken it before we even got here.”
“But…”
“We need to get out of here!”
The younger Jedi continued digging.
“Anakin!” Obi-Wan grabbed his shoulder and made him face him. There was barely any light, but the planet’s moons allowed them to see each other’s faces. “We’re out of time. We must leave this place now. ”
Anakin looked around at all the destruction and chaos around them. “Alright,” he said, defeated.
“Let’s go,” Obi-Wan said in a gentler tone.
They took off in a run, Anakin a few paces ahead of Obi-Wan. With so little light in the temple and the dark side of the Force clouding his very connection to the light side, Anakin couldn’t really be blamed for tripping over a fallen piece of debris. Stunned and with the wind knocked out of him, he lay on his stomach on the floor of the crumbling temple.
It was at this exact moment a sharp flare from the light side of the Force snapped through Obi-Wan’s body like lightning. Without even thinking about it, he leapt over some rubble and threw his body over Anakin’s. He put his arms over his head and prayed to the Force to protect them as the remains of the building finally came tumbling down on top of them.