"A-À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̀̂͑̉͠ͅͅḍ͖͍̦͍̲͗̎̈̀̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕ś̑̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾́̇͊͐̍̕̚͝! Wh- "he didn't have a chance to question just what in the world À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̀̂͑̉͠ͅͅḍ͖͍̦͍̲͗̎̈̀̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕ś̑̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾́̇͊͐̍̕̚͝ was doing in the vents before his former ṗ̴̻̓̄͐̍̏̌͋̓̉́͘͝a̶̡̯͕̫̣͚̭͓̰̰͗̇́͜͝͝͠d̷̡̝̯̙̦̦̜͖̬̝̑́́̐̄̎̽̃̀͋̇s̴̘̺̞̠̏́d̉́̉̆̀͘̕w̴̝̮̤̞͈̫̥̝̼̩̪͈̎̂͐̆̌̓̎̐̀͑̃͝ͅḙ̸̢̨̧̤͙̠̜̲̟̜͚̭͇̈́ pulled him into a tight hug. Ã͒͗̂̀̅͆̈́͑̕͠j̵̢̖̼̜̥͉̰̻̮̹̜̗͋̈́̄̋̔͜s̷̢͎̹̟̯̟͍̠̩͎̼͔̃͜-́̏̀͆̏̿̇̀́̕̕̚͝͝w̵̟͑̅́̈́͐̎̓̿̋̊̊́͘͝͠ä̵̭͉́̇̄̄̾̈́͆͘ń͆̋̔̈̇͊̓̋̉͘͜ stiffened up at the sudden contact, his hands hovering over À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̀̂͑̉͠ͅͅḍ͖͍̦͍̲͗̎̈̀̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕ś̑̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾́̇͊͐̍̕̚͝'s back for a short second before returning the hug, melting into the embrace"…I'm sorry," À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̀̂͑̉͠ͅͅḍ͖͍̦͍̲͗̎̈̀̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕ś̑̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾́̇͊͐̍̕̚͝ curled his body, resting his chin on his ḿ̷͚̜͙̹͕͎̿͜a̵̢̢̛͈̲̬̤̓͑̾͋̂͜͝s̷̬̏̆̈̐̏d̶̢̏̔̚ñ̷̮̤̯̲̪̖̩͍͎̘̲̖̤͊̀͆͊̊͊̀̂̑̓͊̎̕͘͜ŕ̀̔̈́̆̃͂̆ shoulder, craning his back in an awkward way to accommodate for the height difference.
e "I-I just thought…I don't know what I was thinking," À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̀̂͑̉͠ͅͅḍ͖͍̦͍̲͗̎̈̀̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕ś̑̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾́̇͊͐̍̕̚͝'s meek voice only reminded Ã͒͗̂̀̅͆̈́͑̕͠j̵̢̖̼̜̥͉̰̻̮̹̜̗͋̈́̄̋̔͜s̷̢͎̹̟̯̟͍̠̩͎̼͔̃͜-́̏̀͆̏̿̇̀́̕̕̚͝͝w̵̟͑̅́̈́͐̎̓̿̋̊̊́͘͝͠ä̵̭͉́̇̄̄̾̈́͆͘ń͆̋̔̈̇͊̓̋̉͘͜ how young À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̀̂͑̉͠ͅͅḍ͖͍̦͍̲͗̎̈̀̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕ś̑̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾́̇͊͐̍̕̚͝ was, remembering that he was only" It just really freaked me out when I saw you holding the remote."
"Oh ạ͕̲̜̙͖̓͑̅̽͑̈́͗̾̽̄̓̑̈́̎͝ḱ̈̆̅́͊̓͑̃͘j̶̛̤̟̥̝̰͕͚͖͓͎̳̣̘̊̑̐̈́͠," he used the nickname without thinking, only using it when the two of them were alone, "I'm sorry, I should have gotten your chip removed first chance we got." Surprisingly, À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̀̂͑̉͠ͅͅḍ͖͍̦͍̲͗̎̈̀̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕ś̑̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾́̇͊͐̍̕̚͝ laughed quietly at his word" You dork," À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̀̂͑̉͠ͅͅḍ͖͍̦͍̲͗̎̈̀̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕ś̑̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾́̇͊͐̍̕̚͝ sighed and tightened his hold," you don't remember how mad you got when the h̴̡͓͍̗͍̝͈̠̺̥̋̃̎́̐̓̅͆̉̽̉̎͌̈́s̵͇̓͗͋͘͝d̀͗͋̑̉͠ͅȟ̶̥͈̊̌̉͊̅̐̐̊̍̎̌͐̇̃͜f̴̨̨̯̗̥̗̥̻͔͈̳̈́ẃ̇͒̕͠ȩ̷͎̜̬̤̤̠̼̦̓̿̈́̿͐͊̈́͋̓̕͜͜͝s̴̝̣̩͓̦̗͈͕̭̰̭͆̂̔̃̃̀̆́́̀̕̚ͅ told you that it wasn't safe to remove my chip
"I did?"
"Yeah, you got the both of us in trouble…Ã͒͗̂̀̅͆̈́͑̕͠j̵̢̖̼̜̥͉̰̻̮̹̜̗͋̈́̄̋̔͜s̷̢͎̹̟̯̟͍̠̩͎̼͔̃͜-́̏̀͆̏̿̇̀́̕̕̚͝͝w̵̟͑̅́̈́͐̎̓̿̋̊̊́͘͝͠ä̵̭͉́̇̄̄̾̈́͆͘ń͆̋̔̈̇͊̓̋̉"Yes, À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̂͑̉͠ͅͅd̢͕̲͖̣͖͍̦͍̲̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕s̯̼̥̜̹̘̤̟̩̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾̇͊͐̍̕̚͝?"
"…you won't leave me, right?" although the words were vague, Ã͒͗̂̀̅͆̈́͑̕͠j̵̢̖̼̜̥͉̰̻̮̹̜̗͋̈́̄̋̔͜s̷̢͎̹̟̯̟͍̠̩͎̼͔̃͜-́̏̀͆̏̿̇̀́̕̕̚͝͝w̵̟͑̅́̈́͐̎̓̿̋̊̊́͘͝͠ä̵̭͉́̇̄̄̾̈́͆͘ń͆̋̔̈̇͊̓̋̉͘͜ knew exactly what À̴̡̡͍͎͚͈̝̝̼̤̤̤̥̑̐͌̀̂͑̉͠ͅͅḍ͖͍̦͍̲͗̎̈̀̉͑͜͝f̴̧̢̳̫͚͎̗̘̋̈́͗̕ś̑̉ǰ̷͚̠͉̮̾̅͜͝n̴̟̪͕̘̫̹̼̓̆̾́̇͊͐̍̕̚͝ was asking
"No, of course, I won't."
"…Thanks."
His dream ended when one of the droids shocked him.
Again.
He was so used to getting shocked, it almost didn't hurt anymore. It was disturbingly easy to hold in his cries of pain now, the weeks of practice really paying off.
He wasn't sure how long he has been there, to be honest. But he was pretty sure that his clothes weren't supposed to hang off them like they were, they practically swallowed him up and made him look tiny. He spent his time sleeping, inhaling the slop they called food, suffering, and annoying the cloaked man who seemed to visit maybe every week.
Again, he's not sure how much time has passed, but it feels like it's been a lifetime already
Like clockwork, on every seventh meal he got, the cloaked man would come in as he was eating his food. Always trying to make him kiss the man's feet, but he has learned that he liked to be stubborn and he liked to cause trouble.
Granted, he didn't like suffering, like a rational human being would, but the being that was in his head always smiled when he refused the cloaked man's demands. And since that being was the only person he knew, or at least the only one that didn't hurt him, he latched onto them. They were his only beacon of light in the cold and damp cell and they helped his pain go away. Granted, he can't see them, nor has he heard them since he woke up free of his chains, but he knew they were still there. There was just this feeling that he can't describe but he knew that they hadn't left him yet.
He grunted as he got kicked to the stomach, hard enough to make him hit the wall with his entire body. He stayed curled up next to the wall, biting on his lip as he tried to distract himself again.
He started to think about his dream to distract him. He had noticed that he couldn't remember any names or titles, but he can vividly remember the bearded man. He had shown up more than once in his dreams, and although there were some dreams where he and the bearded man were arguing. There were a lot more dreams where the bearded man was smiling and laughing, nudging him with an arm or a shoulder.
He honestly wished he could remember the bearded man's name. he could tell that he was a good person, and something about the man made him smile.
Even though he didn't have a single memory with the bearded man, something was telling him that he could trust the man with his life
He really wished he could remember the bearded man's name.
"That's it!" he came out of thinking when the cloaked man was somehow strong enough to pick him up and pin him to the wall.
It would have been a lot scarier if he wasn't so short.
"I am done waiting for your obedience!" he was staring into the cloaked man's eyes, he was going to have to start calling him the old man because he seemed to be nearly ancient
"I'll kill you if you don't obey me!" the old man was seething, baring his teeth as he spoke. The old man's demands made anger well up in him. He had not endured torture sessions and overall suffering just to be threatened like this.
"This is your chance, take it." It was the first time in months since the being had spoken, but he had no problems listening to it.
" No!" he grabbed the old man's hands with a snarl, painfully twisting them away, almost taking pride in the way the old man grimaced.
An impact made the entire room rumble, a bright red, flashing light filled the room at the same time an alarm started to go off. but he didn't get off the old man, who was surprisingly strong for such an old fart.
"You are not my master and no one will ever be!" through the knowledge he didn't even know he had, he managed to knock the old man's feet out from under him, taking him down and pinning him to the floor. His hands were around the old man's throat, squeezing tight enough to make the joints in his fingers ache.
"I'll never bow down to you!" the old man glared back before placing his hands over his temples, not doing anything to them but holding them there as if he was going to do something. Once a few seconds had passed of his hands doing nothing, the old man started to yank on his hair, jerking his head side to side as he tried to break the hold on his neck.
He let the old man pull and twist his hair, the only thing he did was hold on tighter, the old man finally starting to turn colors as the entire room rumbled again. This time, he could hear the distinct sound of blasters and shouts far off in the distance.
He had no idea how it happened, but before he knew it, the old man had rolled onto his side and kicked him across the room. He didn't hesitate in scrambling back to his feet and rushing the old man before he could get back up. The sound now was terrible, there was screaming and shouts of pain along with the sound of blasters and the alarm and the red light, creating a scene of chaos.
He tackled the old man, quickly taking him down. But the old man had the advantage of being fed, of being able to sleep peacefully in a warm bed, so his flame was dying out fast, his rage being the only thing that was propelling him to keep on fighting.
His head smacked against the cement as the old man pinned him.
"You'll regret that you scum!" he struggled to get out of the man's grasp, panic starting to claw up his throat. Between the fight and the chaos that was happening outside, everything was starting to overwhelm him. So, he did that only thing he could do at that moment, using the only weapon he had left.
He barely registered the feeling of flesh in his mouth, only noticing the taste of blood that filled his mouth as he bit down on the old man's throat. Barely noticing the way the old man tried to pry his head away from his neck by pulling his hair. The only thing that did was help his attempts to tear his throat out.
Flipping over the man, he violently pulled away from the old man's neck, taking a chunk of flesh with him. He immediately spit out the chunk of meat he had in his mouth before emptying the content of his stomach, relishing in the taste of bile rather than the taste of blood in his mouth. He coughed out the remaining phlegm, before turning to look at the body of the old man.
Blood was slowly coming out of his neck, he was laying in a sizable puddle of blood, his eyes were already staring lifelessly at the ceiling and the sight made a mix of horror and pride fill his chest. Half of him was telling him that he should be terrified of the fact that he just killed someone, but the other half was praising him for finally getting rid of his captor.
Standing directly over the body, he spat onto him, ignoring the chaos that was outside as he said his final words to the man.
"Fuck you,"
Obi-wan was still trying to process the way the force brightened all of a sudden, it had happened in the middle of the battle and it was difficult to maintain his focus when the force was practically throwing a party for some unknown reason.
"General, you might want to see this." Rex's words brought him out of his thinking and Obi-wan sighed tiredly before motioning for Rex to show the way, Ahsoka right by his side. They had just finished an attack on a remote separatist base that was rumored to have some sort of prisoner as well as a Sith master. Based on the way not a single force sensitive person came out to defend the separatist base, they already knew it was a waste of time.
Rex led them to a cell with the door wide open," We found this while making the initial sweep of the building. We found this on his person." Rex handed over what was distinctly a Siths lightsaber, along with more, corrupted Khyber crystals, a remote, and a commlink. Obi-wan rose an eyebrow at the sight of the Sith lightsaber and crystal but pocketed them as he walked into the room.
He blinked in surprise when he saw the body. It was clad in dark, blood-soaked clothing, blood covering its throat as a puddle of bile was on the other side of the room, along with a chuck that looks suspiciously like human flesh. Obi-wan didn't know how to feel about the fact that the chunk looked like it could fit perfectly into the hole that was in the body's neck.
"Is…is that Chancellor Palpatine!?" if it was any other time, Obi-wan would have been delighted that Ahsoka had finally spoken of her own accord. She hadn't done that since Anakin had died over half a year ago.
Obi-wan finally looked at the face of the body and realized that it was the beloved chancellor of the republic. He just stared on in shock, as everything started to make sense.
It was the chancellor who knew everything about their plans and location. It was the chancellor who kept on allocating emergency powers to himself.
It was the chancellor who Anakin couldn't stand.
He clenched his jaw tightly at that. Anakin was the only one who had such a bad reaction to the chancellor. It should have been obvious, they should have known from the moment Anakin had rejected him both as a child and as an adult.
They were all so stupid to not realize what was going on.
"General, we have found evidence of the rumored prisoner, however, we have not found another lifeform here on the base, it's possible that the prisoner escaped." Obi-wan nodded at his words before turning to the clone and his padawan.
"Order your men to try and find the prisoner, Ahsoka, we have to report to the council immediately." Without waiting for a sign of agreement, he walked out of the cell, anger bubbling up in the pit of his stomach, making his chest tighten as he struggled to control his emotions.
He should have known, they all should have known, but Obi-wan couldn't help but think. If he had realized it earlier if he thought on it a little bit longer and thought about the what if's a little bit longer. Anakin would still be alive.
Anakin would still be with them if he wasn't such an idiot.