You cannot save her, a voice said. No matter how many times you tell yourself you will. It is a dream. She lives the nightmare.
'Stop,' he begged. 'Stop.'
As if the cave itself had heard him, everything stopped. The cave wall was smooth again. What had looked like blood was now just moisture. The darkness fell around him like a heavy blanket.
Shakily, Anakin moved forward. He felt sweat trickle down his forehead and cheeks. Ahead he saw a faint gleam on the floor of the cave.
'The crystals,' a voice said.
He turned. It was Obi-Wan. His Master smiled at him. 'It's time.'
Anakin's step quickened. He leaned down to examine the cave floor. The crystals grew in intricate formations. Even in the dark cave, they glowed.
He passed his hand over them without touching. He felt vibrations emanate from them. Slowly, he chose the three that seemed to speak to him. To his surprise, it was easy to break the pieces free. He placed them in the pouch hanging from his utility belt.
'Before you begin, you must meditate,' Obi-Wan said. 'Go into a trance state, Anakin. Cleanse your mind. Then your feelings will guide your intent.'
Anakin sat on the floor of the cave. He emptied the contents of the pouch onto his lap. He held the three crystals in his palm. They had a strange warmth.
Accessing the Force was not difficult for him, even now. He felt it rise around him from the dirt and rocks and air, and especially from the crystals themselves. He felt comforted by that sureness.
'Now begin.' Obi-Wan's voice was soft.
His Master gave him a gentle, encouraging smile. But suddenly, Obi- Wan's face changed. Strange markings covered his skin. Horns sprouted from his bald head. The smile became a smirk, and Anakin saw blackness and evil.
It was Qui-Gon's murderer. Obi-Wan had described him in detail.
Anakin sprang to his feet, scattering the crystals.
'Did I startle you?' the Sith Lord asked. He began to circle around Anakin. 'Perhaps you need to work on those Jedi reflexes. You're almost as clumsy as Qui-Gon.'
Rage pumped through Anakin. Qui-Gon had risked so much to take Anakin away. He had been the one to see that Anakin could be a Jedi Knight. Anakin owed him everything. He reached for his training lightsaber, but it flew out of his hand.
The Sith laughed. 'A child's toy. Try this.' He threw something at Anakin. It was a fully fashioned light-saber, beautifully balanced, with an austere hilt. Just the kind of lightsaber Anakin would make.
He activated it, and the laser glowed red.
'Why do you fear your anger?' the Sith Lord asked. In a casual gesture, he activated his own double-edged lightsaber. 'Why do you fear your hate? I can feel it. You hate me. It is natural.' He bared his teeth.
'After all, I gutted your friend like an animal.'
With a howl torn from his belly, Anakin threw himself at the Sith.
Their lightsabers tangled. Their faces were close. He could smell the Sith's foul metallic breath.
'You see?' Anakin's enemy purred. 'You see what anger can do? It gives you power. It is something you can use, like a weapon. You thought the same thing a moment ago. You will twist your fear into a weapon. Why deny it?'
'No,' Anakin said, driving his lightsaber toward the Sith again. 'I will learn to let my anger go. I am a Jedi.'
'Fool,' Qui-Gon's killer hissed. 'There are other paths to power.'
'It isn't power I seek,' Anakin said, his lightsaber tangling with the Sith's again. The shock of the blow made him grip his lightsaber with both hands.
'Then you lie,' the dark Lord said, stepping back. 'How else will you save that poor, weeping mother you abandoned if you do not have power?'
Anger surged again. Anakin whirled, his lightsaber circling, his body taut. The blow passed through his enemy.
The Sith laughed. 'Don't you remember, boy? I am just a vision. Your vision. I am the Master you secretly want. I am the one who will deliver to you what you most desire.'
'No!' Anakin screamed. He launched himself forward. Again and again he tried to strike a blow, using every technique he had mastered. The Sith's own lightsaber whirled in a circle, deflecting Anakin's moves.
With a cunning twist, the Sith flipped Anakin's lightsaber from his grasp. It spun in the air, then disintegrated into pieces. Then he reached out a hand. Anakin felt the Force move against his body. He flew through the air and hit the cave wall. His head hit the hard stone and he slid down. When his head cleared, he found himself sitting on the floor, the pieces of the lightsaber in his lap.
'The dark side can deliver what you most desire,' the Sith Lord said, leaning over him. Anakin could feel his hot breath on his cheek. How could a vision have breath?
'Admit it,' Qui-Gon's killer said. He raised his lightsaber for the killing blow.
Anakin summoned up the last shreds of his defiance. He stared down his foe. 'I have created you. I can make you go.'
