Hey there, everyone! Sorry about the delay on this; I hope you can all forgive me for leaving you with such an awful cliffie! In my defense, I was having internet problems last week, and things didn't resolve themselves until Monday of this week. (shakes fist at Comcast)

Anyway, I want to say a HUGE thank you to all my reviewers, and thank you for your concerned PMs! I'm glad to see people so involved in the outcome of the story, and hopefully this wait wasn't too terrible!

Now, off with you! Enjoy the chapter!

20.

Obi-Wan struggled into consciousness, his brain feeling awfully muzzy, and his eyelids refused to part. He moved to stretch and started when he realized his hands weren't moving.

His eyes snapped open when adrenaline forced him into overdrive, his mind slamming up shields without a thought, and his gaze darted around the room. He certainly wasn't in his quarters, where he finally passed out, and part of him had a sinking suspicion that he wasn't even in the Temple.

Unless Mace and Master Yoda deemed him some kind of threat…?

But would they really lock you up? he thought, frowning slightly. The room he found himself in was definitely a cell, with no visible door, though he assumed it was because he couldn't differentiate any lines along the smooth black walls. It was rather large for a cell though, and it had absolutely no furniture. There was underfoot lighting, the bulbs positioned several centimeters below the grating that served as a floor, and it was rather uncomfortable to sit on, but Obi-Wan had no choice.

Perhaps it's some kind of new torture, part of him thought, snorting a little with mirth.

After taking stock of the cell, he turned his attention to himself. His body had so far gone unharmed, though he still felt rather unsteady, and as he ran a quick scan on himself, he could detect the residue of a mild sedative. Part of him grumbled at that; he hated sleeping aids, but at least this one didn't seem to be affecting him adversely. Anakin had tried getting him to take one during the Clone Wars whenever they returned to the Temple, to help with his insomnia, but half of them made him sleep for over a full day, while the others made him absolutely crazy.

The only time Anakin ever admitted to a mistake (namely, slipping a sleeping aid into his Master's tea unnoticed) was after he'd been forced to sleep-suggest his Master into unconsciousness, lest Obi-Wan find himself skipping through the Temple naked as the day he was born. Waking up after that had not been a pleasant experience, as his brains felt like absolute mush and his stomach gurgled disagreeably. And after Anakin had finished telling him of all the things he'd consumed before someone could stop him (boxes, for one; he seemed to have forgotten how to open them to get the food inside), he spent the rest of the day groaning in the 'fresher and swearing he would never show his face outside again.

Here and now, Kenobi, he chided himself, pushing the memory aside and finishing his diagnostics. His legs were free, as he sat propped up against the wall, but his feet were bare, which could be a problem for running on the grating. At least his sleep clothes wouldn't hamper his movements; they were more comfortable sometimes than his Jedi tunics.

He tried to move forward a little, but couldn't. His hands were locked behind his back with a pair of binders that felt more like manacles that had been fused together, and had then been chained to the wall.

Obi-Wan smiled a little; and here he'd thought these types of binders had been a new invention for the Clone Wars.

The Separatists used these on Jedi they captured, as they were shielded somehow to form a tight Force-free bubble around the metal, preventing Jedi from simply snapping them open. They were a Sith invention, though no one knew exactly from when, and they were a rather annoying one at that. He tugged on them a little, trying to use his normal senses to determine any weaknesses, and found them to be as snug and as well-crafted as he remembered.

Pity his captors didn't realize he knew how to break them open.

At least I know I'm not being held prisoner by the Jedi, he thought, trying to see if he could stand, but no. The chain that connected him to the wall was apparently only one link long, and it too was shielded in the same manner as the binders.

It would be difficult to get free, but not impossible. He'd escaped from worse places.

That brought him round to the inevitable question of where he was, which he unfortunately had no way of knowing. He couldn't hear any machinery so he doubted he was on a ship, though the cell walls could be soundproofed, but even then, they couldn't completely block out the miniscule vibrations of the engines.

However, if his connection with the Force hadn't been blocked by inhibitors…

Obi-Wan allowed himself another small smile. Whomever he was dealing with was certainly underestimating him, though he knew he had his padawan body to thank for that. They hadn't administered any Force-inhibitors, probably considering the binders more than enough to hold a mere apprentice, but it didn't help things that he couldn't find the door.

Let's make sure they won't discover I'm anything more than I seem.

With that, he drew inward mentally, shoring up the blocks he'd placed around much of his Force-presence to prevent anyone from noticing how much it had altered. He'd only dropped them once, perhaps twice if he could remember exactly what had happened during his meditation, and hopefully his abductors were underestimating him because his shields were working properly and making them overlook how much he was hiding.

That brought him to another question: who in the world would want to kidnap him? Unless someone other than the Jedi had discovered his secret-

Part of him went cold at that, unconsciously tightening his defenses. It was Palpatine; it had to be. Obi-Wan's irrational mistake on the landing platform had alerted the Sith to the danger he faced, so he'd sent someone out to kidnap the Jedi.

Probably his current apprentice, the one with all the horns, Obi-Wan thought, icy calm stealing over him, just as it did every time he realized he'd been captured by the enemy. If he knows I represent some kind of threat, why hasn't he had me killed?

And why hadn't he been more on guard?

I really am a fool, he thought with a flash of irritation, but calmed himself and forced himself to think. There could be only one reason why he hadn't been handed over to that apprentice, and that was that Palpatine didn't know what he knew and wanted the information.

Which, in turn, meant only one thing: interrogation.

Obi-Wan almost smirked a little; he could handle interrogation. It wasn't as if he hadn't undergone it before. He'd survived extensive Sith torture, even with his Force-sense blocked, something few Jedi had been able to do. If they hadn't left the planet, as he suspected, it would only be a matter of time until he was found. He knew he could last until then, and even longer, if he had to.

I suppose I ought to try the bond with Qui-Gon, though if the Sith are half as smart as they claim, they'll have shielded it, he thought, stretching out along the familiar pathways, part of him sighing when he came up against a definite wall. He could break through it, but it wouldn't do much good to do so now, as he had no idea where he was, and breaking a shield would bring the Sith down on him before he was ready.

At least his Force-sense wasn't blocked, and so he began to stretch out tentatively, being as unobtrusive as possible. He'd learned many ways to creep around prisons with his mind, quietly learning the building plan for possible escape routes, and not once had his probes been noticed.

He could only hope it would remain that way, considering he was most likely imprisoned under the very nose of the strongest Dark Sider in over a millennium.

He hadn't gotten very far when he felt the temperature of the Force drop drastically, which it only did around powerful Dark Siders, and his internal warnings blared, yanking him back to himself. He opened his eyes slightly, working effortlessly to project the image of a senior padawan, letting a touch of superficial fear, as well as confusion and uncertain determination, murmur into the Force around him. He tried to look like he were restraining himself from shifting around impatiently, which was what he would've done, had he been twenty-five in truth, and sped up his heart rate just a touch, to fully complete his projection.

It wasn't a moment too soon, as something hissed, and the wall in front of him began moving to the right seamlessly. Part of him stilled, as in the doorway stood a familiar cloaked figure, yellow eyes gleaming from the hooded shadows.

Palpatine, his most heavily shielded part snarled, but he successfully controlled it, not letting a single wisp of anger escape.

"Welcome, young Jedi," the Sith rasped in a voice Obi-Wan recognized from the transmissions the Jedi had intercepted over the course of the war. "I hope you find your accommodations comfortable?"

"Absolutely first rate," he replied, though he injected some unfelt tremors into it, and he watched Palpatine smile widely. "Tell me; who does your interior design work? The Temple could use a few good cells like this."

"Quite unorthodox of a Jedi to joke, especially when faced with the unknown," the Sith replied as he took a few steps into the room, and Obi-Wan strove to let out a small whisper of fear as the wall slid back into place, essentially trapping him in a box with a creature more deadly than a starving krayt dragon.

"Well, I tend to face the unknown a lot," he said, making it seem as though he were fighting to keep his voice steady.

"And you don't feel afraid whenever it happens?" Palpatine asked, peering down at him, and Obi-Wan forced himself to look away, pretending to shift uncomfortably. "You don't know what I want with you, young padawan, and you mean to tell me you aren't frightened?"

"Not a bit," he said, his voice calmer than he would've liked, though Palpatine smirked.

"My senses tell me otherwise," the Sith said, "though your feeble attempts to hide it are admirable. I can feel your fear, my young Jedi, as clearly as I can see you sitting before me."

Part of Obi-Wan felt like he was staring in disbelief, though he increased the amount of projected fear just enough to make it seem like it had flared behind his shields.

When Palpatine smiled, his astonishment increased. Was his charade really working? Was he really fooling someone who had taken over the galaxy through his own clever manipulations and carefully contrived masks?

"Your amazement is justified, young Kenobi. I'm sure you've never met someone outside your precious Temple who can sense your fear behind all your pitiful shields," Palpatine told him, smiling a smug little smile that made Obi-Wan want to quirk an eyebrow. "As I doubt you have ever encountered a Dark Lord of the Sith before."

Obi-Wan really had to work at his reaction to that, letting a powerful burst of fear leap forth and gasping faintly, forcing his eyes wide.

"Impossible," he whispered, making the tremor in his voice more pronounced. "The Sith don't exist."

"Yet one stands before you," Palpatine cackled, clearly enjoying Obi-Wan's emotional show. "I assure you, my young Jedi, that the Sith aren't merely a tale to frighten your younglings. We are real, and powerful."

Obi-Wan remained silent for a while, projecting a swirl of conflicting emotions of fear and confusion, adding a dash of disbelief and a strong dose of denial, before he finally spoke.

"Then what do you want with me? If you think I'm going to join you…"

"Oh no, Padawan Kenobi," the Sith said, "you are far too entrenched in your precious Light. As powerful as your fear is, it is superficial, destroyed by the determination I sense. You could not, and would not, use it, no matter how much I try to provoke you into doing so."

"So then why did you kidnap me?" he demanded, making himself sound reckless and impatient, and Palpatine favored him with a condescending smile. "Am I some kind of bait for the rest of the Jedi? Are you going to try to ransom me to get the Jedi Order to dismantle?"

"What a creative imagination you have," the Sith mocked. "You think a Dark Lord would act so clumsily? That we would act like common terrorists, threatening people desperately with death? No, young fool, we are subtle. Our hand reaches out from the shadows, slowly manipulating events in our favor."

"You won't get away with it," Obi-Wan snapped the moment a properly reckless answer came to mind. "The Jedi will discover you and they will stop you."

"But they won't," Palpatine replied, stepping closer. "I have been under their watchful gaze for years, young Kenobi, and not once have they seen what truly lurks beneath the surface."

The Sith paused then, taking another step closer. "But then…" he began, trailing off.

Obi-Wan froze when Palpatine grasped his chin with a thumb and forefinger, tilting Obi-Wan's head up and considering him silently.

"But then what?" Obi-Wan asked, trying to jerk away as anger boiled in his gut, and he knew Palpatine could sense it when he saw the Sith's yellow eyes narrow in speculation.

"You," Palpatine whispered. "You were the first to ever sense what those fools on your precious Council could not. I almost wouldn't have noticed; a rare feat for a simple padawan. Your master must push you very hard, to have learned at such a young age the kind of skill such a manipulation requires."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he shot back, finally freeing his jaw.

"Oh, I think you do," the Sith replied, drawing his hand away. "Tell me, young Kenobi, what made you look? How did you know that it would be me?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, letting a defiant glare darken his features. "You've got the wrong Jedi. It must've been my Master you sensed and mistook it for me, because I honestly don't know what you mean."

"Is that so?" Palpatine replied and made a small gesture with his hand, the door sliding open at his silent command. "It is truly a pity that we cannot continue this conversation any longer, but before we part, young Jedi, I wish to give you something to consider during your confinement. Perhaps it will help to recover those lost memories."

"What? You planning on…"

No.

The words died on his tongue as the wall slid open completely, revealing a familiar tattooed apprentice, who grasped the wrist of an even more familiar figure, and Obi-Wan couldn't stop the horrible flash of real fear.

Anakin!

The boy was on his knees, and Obi-Wan assumed he'd fallen there as he swayed back and forth, his eyes glazed over. A livid bruise and countless scratches marked the side of his face, and there were several small tears in his clothes, giving the impression he'd slid across something, possibly the grating underfoot. He didn't focus on anyone or anything, and when Obi-Wan instinctively tried to reach out to him, he was met with a sickening whirl of incomprehension. A horrible burning sensation erupted from his left wrist and knees, ones he knew came from Anakin, and it blurred any cognizant thought.

They've drugged him.

"We've given the boy something that enhances the softest touch to the point of excruciating pain," Palpatine said, a satisfied smirk on his lips. "The slightest tap sends him to his knees, writhing in agony. I can't imagine how much my apprentice must be hurting him right now, by simply holding his hand."

Obi-Wan kept his mouth shut, no matter what vile obscenities came pouring through his thoughts. Palpatine favored him with the same condescending smile, as though he knew what the Jedi wanted to tell him to do.

"I wish I could discover what has made you hate me so viciously, young padawan," the Sith said as he began to walk from the cell. "Pity you seem to be able to destroy it easily; it could make you powerful enough to strike me down, powerful enough to take the revenge you so desperately crave."

A chill settled on Obi-Wan at that and he blew out a breath, working to control himself. Anakin's voice, weakened from the ordeal with the Council, rose to mind, quietly urging him to calm down, and as though the boy could sense Obi-Wan was thinking about him, he lifted his head. His blue eyes shifted, his gaze sliding in and out of focus, but Obi-Wan could sense him clumsily reaching for their bond, blinded by the pain as he was.

-I'm here,- he sent along it, trying to give Anakin some semblance of comfort by siphoning away some of the pain, stiffening as his nerve endings sparked.

"Until later, young Kenobi," Palpatine said and the wall began to slide closed, the horned apprentice waving a familiar lightsaber before clipping it on his belt with a dramatic flourish.

That's mine! Obi-Wan thought with a small rush of shock.

"Think on what I've told you," the Sith Master said, the wall finally sliding enough to block Anakin from view. "I'm sure, as a Jedi, you can't bear to let someone suffer needlessly. Your kind's compassion will always be its greatest weakness."

I'm beginning to believe that you are far too confident for your own good, Obi-Wan thought as the wall slid shut completely. After a few minutes had passed, he shut his eyes and stretched out again, quietly shadowing Palpatine and his apprentice as they walked away.

"Lock the boy in one of these cells," he sensed Palpatine say and the apprentice moved to do just that. Obi-Wan flinched involuntarily when Anakin was roughly tossed into a cell identical as his own, the boy's cry of pain echoing loudly through the bond and through the Force.

"Good," Palpatine said, smirking as the wall slid back into place. "I'm sure our Jedi guest felt that. Let it help remind him who is in control."

"What shall I do until your return, my Master?" the Zabrak hissed as they continued down the hall, and as much as Obi-Wan wanted to see to Anakin, he had to figure out where they were first. He crept along behind the two Sith, hiding in their dark wake, and began to follow them up a flight of narrow stairs.

"I have no tasks for you in my absence, Lord Maul," Palpatine replied, lifting his robes a little as he climbed and he drew back his hood. "I sense you disagree with me about something, my apprentice."

The taller Sith remained silent for a moment, as though debating whether or not to share his thoughts. "The Jedi does not seem like much, Master," he said at last, though rather hesitantly. "He certainly did not feel like one of their Council members."

"You have raised a very interesting question, Lord Maul," Palpatine said as they reached a circular landing. The apprentice pressed a small button on a set of controls, making a narrow, durasteel platform descend towards them. "And one that is most perplexing; the presence I felt was most certainly his, and it was very powerful."

"Perhaps he is able to hide it well," Maul suggested as they boarded the platform and it began to ascend steadily.

"That is the most likely solution, and yet I sensed nothing," the other Sith replied. "There were no shields that I couldn't see and his reactions were all what would be expected for a Jedi of his supposed level."

"Shall I kill him now, then?" Maul asked and Obi-Wan tensed.

"No, my apprentice," Palpatine said. "We will make absolute certain that there is nothing more to this mysterious padawan. Let him think on the boy's plight; perhaps we will find him more cooperative once we return."

The blazes you will! he thought as the platform slowed, reaching its final destination, and a gate opened to reveal another set of narrow stairs.

"I should return within a few hours; I don't expect this vote of no-confidence to take long," Palpatine said as they ascended the second flight of stairs. "Prepare yourself for the interrogation how ever you see fit."

"Do you expect the queen will return to her planet once the vote is over?" Maul asked as they reached a door that opened to a room as big as the training salle in the Temple, with a large circular window to the right and a set of spiraling stairs that led up to a narrow platform on the left, both of which were wrought from durasteel. Obi-Wan saw that the platform led to a grey door, which the two Sith headed steadily towards.

"I do. She is much like the Jedi; her compassion for her people will be her downfall," Palpatine said, as Obi-Wan followed carefully, glancing out the window in surprise. That skyline was incredibly familiar; it seemed his hunch was correct and they hadn't left Coruscant after all.

Now to figure out which building we're in, he thought, stopping as Darth Maul did, and the door opened to reveal a darkened hallway that Palpatine stepped into.

"We will discuss our plans for her once this matter with our guests is settled," he said as the door slid shut, Maul bowing deeply before turning away. Obi-Wan withdrew until he was certain he wouldn't be sensed, watching as the apprentice made his way towards another door on the floor level and walked into a hallway similar to the one his master had.

Drawing a mental breath, Obi-Wan began to head towards the first door, his presence sliding through it easily, and then down the narrow hall. His Force-instincts warned him a second before he slammed into a powerful shield, and he bit back a curse. He could go no further and all he could see was a long, dark hallway. It gave him nothing to tell him where he was.

I suppose I could study the skyline, try to figure it out by process of elimination...we did have to learn most of Coruscant by heart, to ensure we wouldn't get lost when we were Initiates.

Heaving a small sigh of frustration, Obi-Wan drifted back to the room with the window and peered out, his mental eyes drifting from building to building. He saw several towering corporate structures, their logos blazing despite the early hour, and countless apartment buildings, but all were distant enough to leave him puzzled. The surrounding air traffic was relatively light, considering that Coruscant was a planet that never slept, so where was he?

There, something whispered, his gaze landing on a very familiar sight. Haloed by the rising sun was the Jedi Temple, its white spires gleaming in the light, and Obi-Wan knew where he was, as there was only one building that lay this directly west of the Temple.

I'm in the basement of the Senate building.

Smiling a little, he retreated cautiously, heading towards Anakin at last. The boy was a beacon of agony, and after Obi-Wan threw up shields around the two of them and alerted Anakin to his presence, he worked to drain off as much pain as he could. He shunted it into the Force and levitated Anakin a little ways off the floor in an attempt to ease his suffering. The boy started at that, his gasp rolling through the bond, but Obi-Wan felt he rather enjoyed floating, as it was sort of like flying.

-Obi...Wan?-

He smiled at the tentative thought that came through the bond, and sent back an affirmative. –I'm here. How're you feeling?-

-Like utter poodoo,- Anakin replied, groaning softly, and Obi-Wan sensed how much the drug upset his stomach. –Is there any way to make this stop for good? As cool as it is, I can't hover around forever, and that tattooed sleemo is bound to be back to give me more of that kriffin' stuff.-

-I can help you to rid your body of the drug,- Obi-Wan sent, feeling Anakin's interest pique, hope making the bond light up. –We'll have to work quickly, though. We need to get out of here before Palpatine comes back, and you'll need to be able to run without collapsing.-

-So that was Palpatine! I thought it sounded like him, if only a little bit, but I didn't get too good a look at him before his koochoo sidekick made me drink the stuff that made me sick,- Anakin said, his irritation clear as day. –I actually spat most of it back in his face, which he didn't like too much. He slammed me across the room for it.-

Well, that explained the bruise and the scratches, though he really shouldn't have been too surprised. Anakin had always been a fighter, no matter what age he was.

-So you've got a plan for escaping?- Anakin asked, interrupting his thoughts a little. –And what do I need to do to get rid of this stuff?-

-Just follow my lead,- Obi-Wan replied, showing him how to carefully remove the chemical directly from his blood stream. –I'll tell you my plan once we've finished, which shouldn't be too long, considering there're two of us and you didn't swallow very much of the drug.-

-All right,- Anakin sent, copying Obi-Wan. –Let's get to it.-