I'm alive! I know apologies don't really mean much, but i AM sorry I haven't updated in like 2 months! I hope you guys still care to read this. haha. Thanks for all the reviews and the favorites since the last chapter! I love every one of you guys! And I won't abandon this story, no matter how long it takes! (hopefully not that long haha) Any thanks for reading and thanks especially for being patient!
random reader w/o a profile: Their definitely gonna try! ;) haha we'll see how successful they are though! You still don't see what happened with Han in this chapter, but it will all be explained in time... ;3
springpanther: It's not medicine induced i'll tell you that. And it does have something to do with memory, but it's more complicated than that. ;) And you were supposed to be confused about Chewie! hehe. Yes, bonding time! :D There's a lot more interactions in this chapter for sure :3 Leia is going to be pretty set in her views for a little while longer though. She's stubborn like both her parents. :) Obi-Wan do definitely have a bond, although they both don't realize it ;) Also, I'm sorry for taking so long to update!
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars; Disney does.
Previously: After following Leia to a secret base on Tatooine, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Luke split up in search for her and Han. Obi-Wan and Luke went one way, and Anakin the other. Anakin ended up finding Leia, and now they continue the search for Han together. A dark presence suggests a Sith, and even more danger than they had once thought...
The smell of chemicals hit Obi-Wan's nose like a wall, though he didn't show any outward signs of it. He and Luke had slowly made their way deeper into the compound, and they had both agreed to use a more subtle approach that—Obi-Wan regretted—was a skill seldom used in his many missions with Anakin. It came naturally to him though, and it seemed to come naturally to Luke as well. They were both able kept their footsteps light, and their movements silent as they progressed.
They had not been caught yet.
Of course, that might have had something to do with the Force suggestions Obi-Wan was always prompt to use on anyone that neared them. The guards were not stupid, and it wouldn't have worked on their minds for any other reason than the fact that they were not aware anyone was even there in the first place.
Obi-Wan looked over at Luke to see his nose scrunch and his mouth frown in disgust at the sudden smell. It struck him as strikingly similar to a face Anakin made when he was just a boy. A face that—to Obi-Wan's exasperation— he still occasionally made.
Sensing that they were alone, Obi-Wan risked speaking. "It seems we have stumbled upon something. We should investigate; we don't want any surprises." Feeling, rather than sensing Luke's confirmation behind him, he cautiously made his way towards the room the smell came from, Luke close on his heels.
The door to the room was locked, but upon further inspection, Obi-Wan realized that the lock on the door was Force activated. That was…strange, and unsettling.
It seemed that the farther they went into the compound, the more he was convinced that their captor was a dark Force user. It would explain the strength of the dark side, and it would certainly explain all of the Force locks. It almost seemed foolish to think there was ever any other explanation in the first place.
"Can you open it?" Luke's quiet voice cut through the silence, much like his own had, but the extent of the silence finally hit him.
It was too quiet.
However cliché it sounded, it was true. There was no reason why this door should not have been guarded. Even if the guards couldn't get into the room themselves, surely there would be some posted there anyway.
Everything had been too easy—too fast. Although they had expected this mission to be a trap, he was starting to wonder what exactly they had actually gotten themselves into. Nothing ever went as planned, but things could go bad very quickly if they didn't get a better grasp on their situation.
Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. If the Force wasn't so clouded by the dark side, maybe he would have some light shed on their circumstance.
"I take it that's a no?" Obi-Wan had forgotten that Luke had asked him a question.
Regaining his calm exterior, Obi-Wan mentally chided himself for showing his frustration in front of Luke. Uncertainty never inspired much confidence in someone.
"I believe I can open it," He hesitated and glanced at the door. "but I wonder what we're going to find in there. I have a bad feeling about this whole thing."
Luke responded with a tired smile. "I guess there's only one way to find out."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, "Indeed."
Turning back to the door, he focused on the Force. Ignoring the ever-present dark cloud hanging over his senses, he felt the lock inside the door. It was more complex than he thought it would be, and it took every ounce of his concentration to start the process of unlocking the door.
The lock was different that other Force locks he had come across. Usually, like the ones in the Jedi temple, all you had to do was wave your hand over it with the Force for it to unlock. This, though, this was something else. It was so intricate he debated asking for Luke's help.
After a couple of tense minutes of his attempt at unlocking the door, he finally got it. Thank the Force Anakin wasn't there to see him struggle with that lock though; he'd have never heard the end of it.
Not wasting any time, he opened the door and stepped through. Behind him, mist and frigid air spilled out of the door-frame and onto Luke's boots. Automatic lights flickered on in front of him, only succeeding in creating a dim lighting in the medium sized room.
"What is this place?" Luke breathed, astonishment coloring his voice.
It looked like a chemistry room. There were plants and other organic masses tucked in various sized containers scattered across the room that Obi-Wan had no hope to identify. The chemicals they smelled were there too, kept cool by the temperature in the room.
Using the Force, Obi-Wan carefully took a sample from one of the plants. "I should take these back to the ship be analyzed." He placed the sample into a pouch on his belt. Whatever was going on, it needed to be investigated further. He couldn't just let this go without understanding what that was. It might be a bigger threat than they had first imagined.
He pressed his index finger to his comm. Anakin needed to be updated on what they found. "Anakin," He waited, but only silence greeted him. "Anakin, do you read me?" Nothing. "Blast, something must be cutting off our communications. It looks like Anakin is on his own."
Luke's face turned somber. "That means we are too."
Obi-Wan gave a grave nod in response. Neither of them knew what that meant for them exactly, but the sooner they regrouped with Anakin, the better.
"All the more reason to be careful." A pause, "We should search the room for anything that might give us a clue as to what is going on here." Obi-Wan walked up to a glass case, half filled with a glowing liquid that reminded him of a drink he had often seen at some of the bars he and Anakin had the pleasure of entering on previous missions.
"Be careful Luke, we don't know what any of this is. It could be potentially fatal." Luke nodded near him.
"You don't have to tell me twice."
"Stabbing at it won't make it work any better." Anakin stopped abusing his communicator at the sound of Leia's disapproving tone and turned to grace her with a bland stare before turning his attention back to the way ahead of them. His voice dropped a bit when he spoke.
"Sorry; I just get frustrated when I lose communication on a mission. It seems to be happening a lot lately." He grumbled.
"Don't say sorry to me, it's not my equipment you're mistreating." She said haughtily. He glared at the side of her face, irritated, and not for the first time in their journey together. She had a bone to pick with him, and although he had felt misplaced guilt at first, now he was just plan annoyed. And impatient. Contrary to popular belief, Jedi were not mind readers. He wished she would just spit out whatever was bothering her already.
Instead of focusing on it though, he forced himself to attempt to release some of his frustrations into the Force. It had always been difficult for him to let go of his feelings, but somehow he managed to push away the worst of it. Not a moment later he felt the Force spike in warning. He stiffened, spreading his senses out.
"What's wrong?" Leia's quiet inquiry went unanswered as he found what he was looking for.
"Someone's coming."
With no time to move, Anakin spun around, and Leia followed suit, although still a bit confused. Blue orbs met a guard's muddy brown ones in a moment of quiet shock. They were a mere twenty feet apart, and judging by the look on the guard's face, he was most likely alone.
The guard went to grab his communicator, but thinking quickly, Anakin snatched it from his hand with the Force. When the comm. met Anakin's mechanical hand it sparked and sputtered under his clenched grip. The guard's eyes widened, and without saying a word, he turned to run back to where he came from.
"We can't let him get away!" Leia started to run after the guard, but Anakin grabbed her arm, stopping her mid-stride. He ignored the furious glare and the way she yanked her arm away, as he stretched his flesh arm out and trapped the guard in a Force-grip before he could get too far away.
With all of the frustrations of recent events, Anakin couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied seeing the fear in the man's eyes as he struggled helplessly in midair. He knew he was caught, and he was smart enough not to make any noise other than an occasional whimper as he was brought closer.
Of course, it also helped that Anakin was using the Force to grip the man's neck, although only with enough pressure to discourage any speaking.
Anakin's gaze bore into the guard's eyes, making sure he had his attention, before speaking slowly. "I'm going to ask you some questions, and you would be wise to answer them quietly and efficiently. I will not kill you, but that is all I can promise." A wave of unease rolled off both the guard and Leia, momentarily disorienting Anakin. She felt almost as distressed as the man in front of them. She stayed silent though, so Anakin let off the pressure he had put on the man's throat.
The man immediately started breathing heavily, but after a moment he swallowed and visibly forced himself to calm down. "I-I'm just a guard here!" He spoke too loudly, but the look Anakin gave him caused him to bring his voice to a whisper. "Wha-what could you possibly w-want with me?"
Anakin didn't respond to the question. "We need to know where a man named Han is. He's a prisoner here."
" His full name is Han Solo." Leia added, taking a step forward. "We know he's here so don't play dumb. I don't care if it's above your pay-grade; guards hear rumors all the time. You must know something." Her voice was tight, a sign of her stress.
The guard looked back and forth between the two, obviously unsure of what would happen should he reveal any information. In the silence, Anakin watched a single bead of sweat make its way down the side of the man's face.
"A-and I-if I tell you, you'll let me go?" He looked over at Anakin pleadingly and Anakin nodded, encouraging him to speak. The guard seemed to gather some courage from it. "I don't know much, but I have heard of a prisoner. As far as I know he's the only one here. Probably the man you're looking for. I think they took him from his cell, but I might know where he went." He paused.
"Well?" Anakin demanded. The guard looked unsure.
"Only a few of us are allowed to go there, and only to transfer the prisoner. It's high security and almost impossible to get into..."
"What else?" Leia's brows furrowed at the man's reluctance to expand on the subject.
"He—" The guard started to choke, effectively cutting him off.
"What are you doing?!" Leia grabbed Anakin's arm, yanking on it to try to stop him.
"It's not me!" He bit back. He let go of his grip on the guard, and the man unceremoniously collapsed to the ground, although he continued to choke.
Leia dropped to her knees next to the fallen guard and tried to help unsuccessfully. Anakin watched helplessly as the man convulsed in Leia's arms, clawing desperately at his neck.
Someone was choking him with the Force. Someone didn't want him to finish his sentence. No matter how hard he tried though, he couldn't sense who was doing it.
Angry with the whole situation, all thoughts were stopped as a dark presence brushed his mind. He recoiled from it, but quickly latched onto the presence. There must be a Sith there, and if he could find where the darkness was coming from…
Closing his eyes, he reached out further. The presence was cold and an endless darkness. Its depths seemed to be that of an abyss. He felt it touching his mind as well, and he brought his shields up, though not as much as he would have liked. He didn't want to scare it away.
It seemed to whisper to him like the dark usually did. It was calling him by his title, the title of the Chosen One. This Sith knew who he was, but Anakin didn't know the Sith. It wasn't Dooku; he knew his presence almost on instinct now. It definitely wasn't Ventress or Maul and his brother either. It seemed…older than anything he'd sensed in a while.
"Anakin!" He snapped his eyes open at Leia's tone. He quickly found her eyes: she was still sitting on the ground next to the guard. He was dead.
"What?" His voice felt far away.
She eyed his carefully. "You zoned out. You felt…strange. I don't know how to explain it. What were you doing?"
He frowned. "I was searching for the person who did this," he paused, unsure on whether to continue or not. "He knows who I am." He finished.
Leia tensed. "What does that mean?"
Anakin shrugged, feeling uneasy himself. "We knew we were walking into a trap when we came here," He gave her a pointed look. "I'm guessing you knew the same."
"Of course," She frowned. "But how does he know you?" She said, standing to her feet.
"I'm not unknown in the galaxy." He took her spot next to the dead guard and started busying himself by searching his body. "It's not unusual that he would have heard of me."
"But you have no idea who he is?" It was a statement, not a question.
"Right."
After a moment of searching, Anakin found a key-card. He looked at it for a second before handing it over to Leia.
She eyed it herself. "This probably won't get us into many places, but it's a start, and more progress than we've made so far."
Anakin nodded his head in agreement, and stood next to her. "We have an idea of where he is now too, even if we don't know the exact location. That should cut our time by half at least."
She stuffed the card in a pocket on her vest. "We should get moving." They both looked at the dead body on the floor. "There's no sense in hiding the body if he already knows we're here."
Anakin allowed a sigh to escape his lips. "Whoever he is."
Luke bent over with his hands on his knees as he stared intently at a pulsing life-form floating in murky water.
"What do you think all this is for?" He said, standing up strait. Across the room, Obi-Wan's back was facing Luke.
"I wish I knew…" Obi-Wan sighed and put down the datapad he was glossing over, finally turning around. "Nothing here is helping to uncover what is going. We need to find Anakin and get back to the ship to analyze what we have found and contact the Council." He stroked his beard while he glanced around the room.
Luke's jaw clenched in disbelief. "What about Leia? And Han?" His voice rose. He couldn't believe Obi-Wan had even suggested leaving. He wouldn't leave his friends. Not after what had happened at Bespin.
"Luke," Obi-Wan leveled a hard stare at him. "You must think; something is going on here and we are hopelessly in over our heads. Even if we were to find your friends, there's no telling what we would come across in the process or if we'd be able to even get out at all."
"But—"
"No, we have to regroup. You will be risking your friend's safety more if we do not get help." They stood there, staring at each other, locked in a battle of wills. Obi-Wan was the first to break it, although his resolve stayed intact. "I'm sorry Luke, but we must leave."
Obi-Wan turned to leave, expecting him to follow, but Luke was rooted to his spot. "I don't have to go with you," He called after him, causing Obi-Wan to stop. "And how would we meet up with Anakin anyway? We've lost communication with him; we have no way to know where he is or to tell him that we're leaving!" He swung his arms at his sides, desperate to get Obi-Wan to stay. To change his mind.
Obi-Wan looked at him from where he was by the door, a displeased look on his face. "No, I can't force you to leave with me, but it would be better for everyone if you did. As for Anakin, our communications are out, but there is an emergency frequency that doesn't require a signal I could send. And he'd know I wasn't in trouble through our bond."
Luke stood in silence where he was. He didn't want to leave, but without Obi-Wan and his father it would be difficult—if not impossible—to find Leia and Han on his own.
Obi-Wan waited patiently for Luke to speak. Luke knew that he was anxious to get going, but anyone who had not heard the conversation would never have guessed. Obi-Wan's face was the very image of patience.
Breaking his gaze, Luke looked down at his right hand—the hand that had been cut off by Vader at Bespin. Both Yoda and Obi-Wan's warnings came to mind. They warned him about allowing his feelings to control him, about trusting the Force. It had cost him so much to go to Bespin…
He clenched his mechanical fist, not looking up. "Fine," He managed to strangle out.
Out of sight, Obi-Wan nodded. "We'd better get going."
As Luke followed, he didn't notice the tiny organism fall off a table and onto his boot.
"This is hopeless." Leia glared at the billionth card slot to reject the key-card they had found on the dead guard. Snapping her head towards Anakin she said, "Can't you just cut open any door with you lightsword or something?" She huffed.
Anakin's lips thinned and his impatience shifted from the door to her face. His face seemed to darken at her tone. She shivered involuntarily.
"It's a lightsaber, and cutting down every door we come across would be as good as leaving a marked map for any guard to follow." She raised an eyebrow at his tone. He was speaking to her like she was a child! Who did he think he was? Her—
"They probably have been following us with surveillance this entire time anyway. A couple of opened doors might confuse the guards that are physically after us." She crossed her arms.
He scowled. "Fine then; move aside." She willingly complied. His lightsaber was out before she took her first step back.
Once out of the way, a burst of glowing blue shot out from the hilt of his weapon. The hum and the hiss were the only noises as he began cutting through the door. It took longer than she would have thought: it moved like molasses in the durasteel. The sight still held her interest though; she had never seen Luke do it before. Not because he hadn't, but because she had never been with him when he had.
"There," He grunted. Pulling out his lightsaber and attaching it to his belt, he raised his hand and used the Force to push the cutout out of its spot in the door. For a moment nothing happened, but the cooling molten started the crack and fall when the circle started to push out the other side of the door. At the cushioned fall of the metal, Anakin turned towards Leia, still upset. "Are you happy now?"
Leia was about to go off on him for his impertinence, but before she could say anything, he recoiled from the hole he had cut. Leia's own stomach grew nauseous.
"What is that?" She stared through the door in disgust. The other side of the hole seemed instantly darker.
"The dark side." He spat. She turned to look at him, but he moved past her to the hole before she could make eye contact. "We're closer than we thought." He crouched his way through the hole, disappearing into the darkness.
"But we don't know where that goes. It couldn't possibly be the way." Her hand found her blaster. Suddenly she felt reluctant. She didn't know much about the dark side, but it made her uneasy.
With the snap-hiss of his saber, Anakin's face appeared on the other side of the hole as he crouched so he could see her. The hard shadows from his lightsaber only accentuated his impatience. "The more we feel the dark side, the closer we'll be to your friend. We'll have my saber for light." He shook it a bit for good measure, but at her silence, he studied her face. His face softened a bit at her concerned look. "It's ok; I won't let anything hurt you."
Her face flushed. "I'll be fine." She said, angry at herself for showing weakness. Shooing him back, she made her way through the hole and stood next to him.
The light from the hole did little for the place they were in. She couldn't tell where they were. The walls weren't visible other than the one they had practically just crawled through, and the dark feeling she had only grew worse.
Once steadied, she pulled out her blaster and met Anakin's eyes. She nodded and he turned around, not glancing back at her. "Stay close; we don't know what's ahead."
"Or what's right next to us." She grumbled. If he heard her, he didn't show it. She didn't argue though, and kept right on his heels.
What seemed like hours passed, and the darkness seemed to grow even more all encompassing than it already was, but as they walked, Anakin seemed to know exactly where he was going. She asked him how he knew where he was going once, but all he said was, "I'm following the Force."
Earlier, before they had found the door they had just used, Aankin's comm-link had beeped an emergency signal. Leia had been worried at first, but Anakin had insisted that everything was ok and that Obi-Wan and Luke just wanted them to leave. She had completely rejected the idea and had expected Anakin to run off to join them, but he hadn't. She wasn't sure if she was irritated or thankful. Either way, they were alone now, and they had no idea where they were.
Feeling frustrated, lost, and tired, Leia reached out to grab Anakin's sleeve. He stopped abruptly. "What's wrong?" He stared down at her, his brows scrunched in what she guessed was concern. The light of the lightsaber made it look more like anger.
"Let's turn around," She tightened her grip on his sleeve. "We're not getting anywhere. There's got to be a faster way to find Han. A better way." She spoke in just above a whisper, the darkness was getting to her and she just wanted out. It was becoming unbearable.
His face didn't change. "We're almost there. I can feel it." The confidence in his voice made the argument on her lips falter.
Instead of questioning him, she said with more confidence than before, "I just want to find Han. Something's wrong, I just know it." She had been having the feeling for a while. She had thought it was just her imagination, but now she knew Han was in trouble. And not just because he had been captured.
Anakin nodded. "Almost there." He repeated as he gently grabbed her hand to free his sleeve from her grip. She nodded back, and followed him as he continued on.
The more she focused past the darkness, the more she could feel how close they were. She had a passing thought that she must be using the Force, but she brushed it aside to think about later.
Feeling earth under her feet, she knew she had more pressing matters to focus on.
With the last swig of his drink, Han put the empty glass down in front of himself with a little too much force. He winched at the sound, and turned to Chewie.
"The acoustics in this room are amaaazing." He jerked his thumb behind himself at nothing in particular and laughed. He almost choked though, and Chewie had to slap his back a couple of times before he could breathe easy again. "You know what buddy? I think I'm drunk." Chewie roared in confirmation.
Making a noise that came from deep within his throat, Han folded his arms in front of himself on the bar and laid his head in the crook. "I jus' need ta take a nap…"
That old man and the kid were probably waiting for him at his ship and freaking out, but they could wait. Just like Jabba could wait. Heck, the whole universe could wait for all he cared. His head was throbbing from the booze, and it was too kriff'n bright on Tatooine to begin with. For a second he was able to dread the hangover that was sure to come.
Just as he was about to doze off, there was an explosion.
"What the—" the shock of it knocked him off his seat and onto the floor.
His arms felt like lead, but he was able to pull himself up to rest on his elbows—and more importantly—was able to see what in the universe had exploded.
"Han!" A female voice. But that was wrong because there was a man striding towards him. The man's face looked serious. Crap Jabba must have sent him.
A spit second later, the female who had probably been the one to speak ran out from behind the tall man and fell to her knees by his side. "Han are you ok? What did they do to you? Are you hurt anywhere?" She sounded worried about him. It felt nice. It helped that she was gorgeous too. At least he could look at her before the scary man killed him…
"Leia," The scary man spoke and raised his glowy-sword. So that was the pretty lady's name. He gave her a wobbly smirk when she tried to help him up. Even in his drunken state Han could tell there was about to be a fight. What he couldn't get his mind around was where Chewie was.
"Where's Chewie?" He barely managed to slur before sagging in Leia's arms. He was out cold.
I hope you liked it! How Anakin and Leia found Han will be explained more in the next chapter, so sorry if it seemed like I cut it short! Thanks for reading! All reviews are appreciated and loved!