Part XIII
Something was wrong. Obi-Wan didn't know what it was, but there was something very unsettling in the air. He paced the small confines of his cell, the fingers of his right hand clenching and unclenching nervously. The fact that his guards had not arrived with his usual morning rations only increased his unease. Over the past few days Obi-wan had become used to the routine of his prison and knew that its disruption didn't bode well.
What was even more perplexing to Obi-Wan was that he was fairly certain he could sense Anakin's presence somewhere nearby. The knowledge was just somewhere there in his mind, as though inserted by some unknown force. Something had happened to Anakin. Obi-Wan could feel it just as surely as he could feel the insistent itch across the back of his right hand from a still healing blaster wound.
The door to his cell slid open suddenly, startling Obi-Wan. He whirled towards the door, coming face to face with the aristocratic old man for the first time since he'd woken on the way to his new prison. Obi-Wan did his utmost to appear calm and collected, to show no sign of his growing fear.
"Looking at you, one would hardly think were a Jedi," the aged man mused as he stepped into the cell. "You are bedraggled as a nerf herder."
Obi-Wan squared his shoulders, hiding his fear with a mask of indifference. "I want to know what's going on. Who are you?"
"And here I thought I'd made more of an impression on you when you were a child," he murmured as he looked Obi-Wan over from head to foot. "My name is Count Dooku, formerly of the Jedi Order."
"You're a Jedi?"
"I was a Jedi," Dooku corrected. "Until I realized just how false the order is. It does nothing but create martyrs. Such as your young friend."
Obi-Wan tensed at that, unsure of what the man was implying. It didn't bode well for Anakin, that much he was certain of. He opened his mouth to ask Dooku just what was going on when the older man brought his hand up between them, a small disk resting in his palm. Before he could stop himself, Obi-Wan took a step back. From that small disk came a sudden flash of light then a blue holographic image took shape.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan gasped as he watched the small holographic figure battling against another person that he couldn't see. The two beings were moving so quickly that Obi-Wan could barely track the movements of the laser swords they fought with.
Then it happened. Anakin was too slow to block a downward strike and his lasersword, along with most of his right arm, tumbled from view.
"You monster!" Obi-Wan shouted, starting forward before he could think to stop. The room began to vibrate and the disk flew from Dooku's hand, shattering against the opposite wall. "Where is Anakin? What have you done with him?"
Dooku merely smirked at him, completely unconcerned by the sound of bending durasteel. "It would be wise for you to calm down."
"Tell me where Anakin is!"
The air around him swirling, energy vibrating around him. It was pulsing, seeping in and out of his skin, becoming a part of him. Obi-Wan was too enraged to be thrown off by that. The man in front of him had hurt Anakin and Obi-Wan would make him suffer for that. With a scream, Obi-Wan tried to direct all of the energy he could feel moving around him towards Dooku.
"This is far too tedious," Dooku sighed, raising his right hand.
A blue haze surrounded his hand for a brief moment before lightning erupted from his fingertips, slamming into the center of Obi-Wan's chest and sending him flying across the room. Obi-Wan crashed into the wall, clutching feebly at his chest as he slid into a pitiful heap on the floor. It felt as though his chest was on fire. As Dooku crouched down next to him, Obi-Wan lashed out weakly, the blow completely ineffective.
"You should rest while you're able. My master has great plans for you."
Mace Windu entered the meditation room Yoda was in andsat himself down across from the diminutive Jedi. Neither spoke for several minutes; Yoda meditating and Mace waiting for him to speak. He had sensed something troubling in the Force a short while ago and wanted to confer with the older Jedi about it.
"Great suffering I sense," Yoda said at last. "Young Skywalker and Obi-Wan both, consumed by pain and sadness they are. Be brought safely back to the Temple they should be."
"Can we even be certain they are together?" Mace wondered, furrowing his brows. "The last we saw of him, Anakin was on a mad chase about the galaxy for his master. There is no guarantee that he was able to find Obi-Wan."
Yoda appeared thoughtful, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Yet divulged their base, the Separatists have. A trap, it was. Sprung by the apprentice to save his master."
"I fear that this trap has swallowed the both of them whole," Mace said quietly.
"Loose them to the Dark Side, we cannot," Yoda announced, nodding his head briefly. "Save them, we must. Capture Dooku and defeat the Separatists. To Geonosis you will go with remaining Jedi and to Kamino will I."
Anakin sat huddled in the far corner of his cell, clutching what remained of his right arm to his chest. Since he'd woken in the cell he'd been trying to meditate, knowing that he would need to separate himself from his pain if he was going to rescue himself and Obi-Wan. His attempts at meditation were proving futile, though. Every time that he closed his eyes or tried to concentrate he would see Obi-Wan. The images that he saw were not peaceful ones. Rather he saw tortured scenarios where Obi-Wan was in a great deal of pain and calling out for Anakin. Those frightening images made Anakin all the more determined to find a way to rescue the other man.
Still holding his arms to his chest, Anakin pressed his shoulder blades more firmly into the wall. He dug his heels down and began to straighten his legs, slowly pushing himself upright. Once he was standing, Anakin stumbled slightly as he took a step away from the wall. He righted himself immediately, but the dizzy feeling remained. Anakin felt somewhat lightheaded and breathed deeply several times to try and center himself. He would be no help to Obi-Wan otherwise.
As a result of the past few hours, Anakin had even less of an idea how he was going to get them out of this. He didn't have any weapons, didn't know what condition Obi-Wan was in, and wasn't even certain his own fighting capabilities with the loss of his arm. He was right-handed and it was instinctual for him to lead with that hand when forced into hand to hand combat.
"This is absolutely insane," Anakin sighed, leaning against the wall. He could only shake his head in wonderment, at the moment having no idea how he was going to get them out of this. Obi-Wan was the one who normally came up with the plans, it was simply his job to give them life. Obi-Wan had always told him that he left too much up to chance.
Of course, sometimes that was the only tactic that worked.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure how long he lay crumpled on the floor of the cell, but eventually he was able to coax his limbs into moving. A short while later he was even able to stumble to his knees and then used the wall as leverage to climb to his feet. Exhaling a long breath, Obi-Wan closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Whatever was going on was obviously about to come to a head and he wanted to be prepared. Anakin had been hurt by Dooku and Obi-Wan meant to ensure that the old man was paid back for what he had done.
Once he was certain that his knees wouldn't buckle, Obi-Wan began to pace. He wanted to be ready when the guards returned. All that he knew at the moment was that Anakin had lost his right arm. If he had received any other injuries, Obi-Wan didn't know; that information had been lost when he'd smashed the holodisk. Obi-Wan still wasn't fully able to understand the things he had been able to do since Anakin had removed the collar. Everything was much louder than it had been before and he skin practically tingled with, the fine hairs on the back of his neck often standing on end. Obi-Wan suspected that whatever energies it was that he was sensitive to, it was that which made him aware of the fact that two guards were about to enter his cell.
Squaring his shoulders, Obi-Wan stood directly in front of the door. He felt stronger now and even if he hadn't he was going to get out of there. Anakin was in trouble, he had no other choice.
"You're coming with us," the former of the guards announced as it stepped into the cell.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you," Obi-Wan informed the guard, causing him and his partner to tilt their heads to the side. "I have other important business to attend to."
"He has other business to attend to," the first one echoed, his eyes glazing slightly.
Obi-Wan startled at that, not sure what was going on. Trying again, "I need to leave, now."
"He needs to leave now."
"Stand aside."
"We should stand aside."
When the two guards did just that, Obi-Wan wasn't sure whether he should actually step forward. These guards were offering him a way out, but he wasn't sure that he should take the chance. It was all far too easy for it not to be a trap. However, as he had nothing to loose in taking advantage of the opportunity it presented, Obi-Wan stepped out into the corridor.
The guards offered no resistance whatsoever.
R2-D2 tottered along through the corridors of the droid manufacturing facility. The system access module on level K-475 told him that his masters were on levels H-71 and I-16 respectively. As Master Obi-Wan was the closer of the two, it was there that the small astromech droid was headed. He would free the two Jedi and then they could finally go home. It was simply far too much hassle to look after the two humans.
For the past little while, Anakin had felt Obi-Wan getting closer. He tried to reach out to his master through the Force, but there was something in the way. The bond the two of them had shared for the past ten years was still firmly intact. It was simply spread too thin on Obi-Wan's end. The Force seemed to be swirling all around the older man, giving Anakin no clear path to follow in order to contact him. He tried anyway on the off chance that he could give Obi-Wan some sort of path to follow.
Anakin didn't allow himself to think about how exactly Obi-Wan had managed to become free to wander the corridors. He couldn't sense anyone else near his master, but given the odd Force signatures surrounding Obi-Wan it would have been easy for Dooku to mask his presence in the chaos.
Even knowing that Obi-Wan was getting closer, it was still a surprise to Anakin when the door to his cell was opened and Obi-Wan himself was standing on the other side.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted as he rushed into the cell.
Anakin met him half way, winding his arm around the smaller man's shoulders when they met. Obi-Wan's face was pressed into his throat for a brief moment before he pulled back. One hand cupping his cheek, Obi-Wan's free hand touched Anakin's right shoulder and trailed his fingers down until he reached the elbow. Obi-Wan's fingers clenched and then he lifted his gaze to meet Anakin's.
"I saw it.... Dooku, he showed me.... Anakin, your arm," Obi-Wan stammered, leaning in so that his forehead touched Anakin's. "Are you all right? Does it hurt badly?"
"How did you get here?" Anakin demanded, nuzzling his nose against Obi-Wan's.
Obi-Wan chuckled quietly, shaking his head slightly. "I don't know. I told the guards that I had other business and to stand aside and they did just that. Are you all right?"
"I feel much like you look," Anakin offered, sliding his fingers into the short strands at the base of Obi-Wan's skull.
"That bad," Obi-Wan murmured, stroking Anakin's cheeks with his fingertips.
A shrill series of beeps and whistles from the corridor brought them back to their current situation.