"Master. I'm bored."

"I'm sorry, Anakin, I had no idea you felt that way. Perhaps you should remind me a sixth time, that may do the trick."

Anakin huffed and looked out into hyperspace, legs dangling a few inches above the floor. He could definitely tell that he was pushing the edges of even Obi-Wan's boundless patience, but he couldn't help it. Space travel was so boring. And they still had another 2 hours to go before reaching their mission planet.

"Anakin, why don't you go check our winter clothing gear? We'll be traveling far from the city center, so better to know if we're missing anything before we're knee-deep in snow. Or, perhaps we could meditate," Obi-Wan added looking knowingly at his young charge.

Anakin scowled and slid off his chair, knowing exactly which choice he would make. He made his way to the back of their small ship and began cataloging their clothes. Gloves. Hats. Goggles. Coats. Anakin frowned as he examined Obi-Wan's thick coat, small hands expertly exploring the tear he spotted along the right sleeve. He rummaged around his belt and quickly located the needle and thread he always kept with him. Though it was nothing like tinkering with droids, Anakin did enjoy sewing- it was simple, but required concentration and care just as Shmi Skywalker had taught him. He threaded the needle gently, taking care of both the fabric and his fingers, his mother's gentle voice whispering encouragement in his ear.

He was halfway through his repairs, lost in thought, when Obi-Wan came to find him. "There you are, Anakin. I heard silence and became suspicious," he said wryly. He looked at the needle in his padawan's hand and frowned. "What are doing?"

"I found a tear in your jacket, Master," said Anakin. "I was just sewing it."

"By hand?" asked Obi-Wan raising an eyebrow. "Surely it would be more efficient to just use the textile droid?"

"The textile droid?" said Anakin, feeling faintly embarrassed. Of course. "Oh. Um. Yeah, I guess. I always forget about them. We never had one. In our house I mean. Um, my mom just taught me to do it- but yeah it would probably be better to um, yeah just use the droid…" Anakin winced internally. Even the smallest mentions of his mother could propel Obi-Wan into a long lecture about the dangers of attachment.

Obi-Wan blinked, regarding his charge for a long moment. Anakin waited uncomfortably for his lecture, either on efficiency or attachment, he wasn't sure yet, when something shifted in the Force. Obi-Wan gracefully sat himself on the floor beside his young student. He held out his hand, silently asking for the needle and thread which Anakin wordlessly handed to him. The young master looked at the needle and then at the Padawan. "It's a good skill to have, Anakin," he said softly. "It's good what your mother taught you."

A small smile graced his lips and Anakin could feel warmth and acceptance soaking their nascent bond. "Will you teach me how to fix it, Anakin?"

Anakin startled awake, the memory fading as reality settled into place. He stifled a groan as pain laced through his body. Maul had taken to visiting him every few hours, smiling grimly as he watched Anakin scream as electricity coursed through his battered body. He would sometimes talk to Anakin, explain his grand plans about Obi-Wan, but Anakin could barely hear anything in his dazed state. Or above his own cries for that matter.

The worst, however, were the lightsaber burns.

He couldn't understand how a creature as savage as Maul could wield his saber so carefully, slowly searing it into Anakin's flesh, leaving burning cuts without hitting bone as Anakin nearly passed out from the pain and the smell of his own skin burning. He could remember Dooku cutting off his arm, of course, but that pain had been quick, instant. Anakin couldn't even tell how long Maul would spend on a burn- what seemed like hours to him was likely seconds.

Anakin cast his eyes around the lab, wondering which of the machines Maul used to dampen the Force. He hated not having access to it- it was like a cold, wet blanket had settled over senses, cruelly cutting him from his constant companion. The only reprieve he'd had was when Maul lifted the dampeners to send Anakin's pain to Obi-Wan. Although he'd done his best to close his bonds off, he'd just barely managed to slam his bond with Ahsoka shut before the pain was shooting through his body again.

He hadn't meant to send Obi-Wan such a desperate message, but even the brief touch of his Master's mind, his serene presence, was enough to start crumbling the wall that had formed between them. Force, he just missed the man. The sarcasm, the exasperation, the nagging, the faint fondness that he could feel in their subtle smiles, their shared pride in Ahsoka. Despite everything, he trusted his Master with his life- he loved the man. They were brothers.

I'm sorry, Obi-Wan, thought Anakin dizzily, closing his eyes again, For everything.

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting, fading in and out of consciousness, when he heard the familiar sound of the door slamming open. Anakin did his best to glare at the Sith, though he could barely find the strength to lift his head.

Smirking at Anakin, Maul approached the levers. "I'm afraid it's not quite time to send your master another message," he said softly. "But I think it's been far too long since we spent a little time together, don't you think?"

Maul slammed the lever upwards and watched Anakin writhe in pain as the electricity overtook him. "I won't stay too long, don't worry," said Maul shutting the lever off. "I want at least some of you left when I finally kill you in front of your pathetic excuse of a master."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi is the greatest Jedi who ever lived," gasped Anakin, fighting to stay conscious. Collecting his breath, he summoned the strength to look Maul directly in the eye. "He's double the man you are in every single way," he said, suddenly grinning wildly. "And if he could kick your red ass when he was a Padawan, just imagine what he'll do to you now."

He cried out as Maul slapped him, a low growl emanating from his throat. "I will destroy Kenobi," hissed Maul, "Right after I run my lightsaber through you."

Anakin laughed, spitting blood from his mouth, head spinning. "Obi-Wan came back from the dead," he whispered. "What are you, compared to death?"

The next punch sent Anakin speeding into darkness as unconsciousness claimed him once more.

Obi-Wan passed the binoculars to Ahsoka as he stroked his beard deep in thought. They were perched atop a building in Tikaba, one of Ithor's floating cities, a building that stood directly across from an abandoned research facility.

"What do you think, Master Kenobi?" asked Ahsoka. "Is Skyguy in there?

"I believe so," sighed Obi-Wan. "The Dark Side is strong here."

"Looks like that bartender was right," said Ahsoka, gripping the binoculars. "There's lights on, the front door's caved in…" She pocketed the binoculars, crossing her arms. "What's our move?"

Obi-Wan frowned. "Well, I don't think we can even consider engagement as an option. We need to extract Anakin without Maul or Savage realizing we're there."

Ahsoka glanced at Obi-Wan. "We're just gonna let them go?"

"As exciting as these rogue, unauthorized missions are, they do tend to have the unfortunate side effect of no backup," said Obi-Wan. "I'd say our chances of battling our way out with an injured Anakin are not fantastic."

"True," admitted Ahsoka. "If you and Skyguy had trouble fighting them, I don't think you and I would do much better."

"We might hold our own," said Obi-Wan with a ghost of smile, "but that is not a risk I'm willing to take today." He considered the building, stroking his beard again. "If we could somehow distract them long enough to grab Anakin...I doubt that they're guarding him full-time. Maul would have made sure Anakin had no information about his whereabouts that he could transmit to me, so he won't think there's any danger of us coming. He's planning on revealing Anakin's location on his own time, so we do have the element of surprise."

"So whatever distraction we come up with, their first thought won't be that it's us," said Ahsoka. She looked at the building.

"What if we borrowed one of the city police speeders?" she said. "It'll just look like some authorities came up to check up on the building. They'll come out to get rid of us, but we'll have already snuck into the building. I'll take some detonators with me and go through the vents, leading them off track while you grab Anakin."

"You bring detonators with you?" said Obi-Wan shaking his head. "You really must be Anakin's student. Though," he said considering, "That may work. Of course, we may need to, ah persuade, a policeman to lend us their speeder- "

"We'll give it back," said Ahsoka grinning.

"And I think that I should be the distraction," finished Obi-Wan. "If we are drawing Maul and Savage in that direction then I should be the one they're coming to. I will not put you in danger."

"No," said Ahsoka, shaking her head. "Master Kenobi, we'll probably have to carry Anakin out of there. I could maybe manage it, but probably a lot more slowly and with a lot more pain for him. Plus, we don't know how bad he is. If he needs immediate medical attention, he should have someone with more healing experience."

"Ahsoka- "

"Master Kenobi, I promise you I'm not looking to engage. I'm not the most powerful Jedi, but I am quick. And I'd like to think smart," she added smirking. "I won't let them get near me. Please. This is the best way to get Anakin out of here."

Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose. He stood for a moment, considering, before nodding. "Alright. But please be careful Ahsoka," he added softly. "I can't lose another Padawan today."

Ahsoka nodded. "You won't lose either."

Obi-Wan crept down the hallways of the research facility, letting the Force guide him. He and Ahsoka had successfully snuck into the building, and from the hurried footsteps he'd heard, had successfully attracted the attention of the two brothers. He sent a silent prayer to Force to protect Ahsoka before continuing his way.

He paused, reaching out carefully with his Force senses. There was disruption in this hallway, one where the Force felt scattered, weak. Maul's Force dampeners, thought Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan hurried toward the disruption, heart beating rapidly. Please…

He cautiously made his way to a battered door, slowly pushing it open. There were lights flickering and levers all around the room and tied to a post in the middle was-

"Anakin!" cried Obi-Wan hurrying to the slumped figure on the floor. He crashed to his knees beside his former Padawan, quickly checking his remaining wrist for a pulse before cupping Anakin's unconscious face in his hands.

"Anakin," he said softly, relief flooding over him. He's alive. Thank the Force he's alive. "Anakin, please. It's me. It's Obi-Wan. I'm here. Please, wake up, Padawan."

He gently stroked his thumb over Anakin's cold cheek, murmuring quietly to him as he pushed blonde curls from his padawan's bruised face. He tried to send Anakin a wave of strength through the Force, only to feel the horrible murky effects of the dampener. Cursing, he quickly located the source of the Force inhibiting mechanism and moved away from Anakin only long enough to destroy it with his saber before returning to his Padawan's side.

"Anakin," he called, "Come back to me. Please."

Anakin moaned in pain, eyes fluttering as Obi-Wan's concerned face swam into view before him. "Master?" he croaked, hardly daring to believe that the warm hand on his face belonged to Obi-Wan Kenobi. "You- you're really here?"

Obi-Wan smiled, patting Anakin's cheek. "Of course I'm here, Anakin. And I'm going to get you out of here, alright Padawan? I'll protect you."

"M-Maul- "

Obi-Wan face hardened. "Don't worry about Maul, Anakin. My top priority is getting you as far from him as possible. What do you think? Can you walk?"

"The burns…"

Looking down at his former student's injuries, Obi-Wan inhaled sharply at the damage he saw. His heart clenched. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and slowly let out a deep breath, struggling to calm himself. "It's alright," he said, managing to give his friend a reassuring smile. "I'll try to dampen the pain now so that I can carry you out of here."

"Will you now?"

Obi-Wan whirled around sharply, and his eyes widened as they landed on the newest occupant of the room. Maul stood in the doorway, golden eyes glinting wickedly, glancing over Obi-Wan's surprised face and Anakin's trembling body. He took a step into the room as a grin slowly spready across his face.

"You arrived a little earlier than I expected, Kenobi," he purred, "But I'm glad to see you already found your student." A red light entered the room as Maul ignited his staff. "I can't wait to see the look your face as I kill him."

Obi-Wan was on his feet in an instant, placing himself firmly between Anakin and Maul. His lightsaber was in his hand before he knew it, pulled back into the familiar Soresu stance, and he could feel seeds of rage prodding him as images of Anakin's injuries and Qui-Gon's face flashed through his mind. For a moment, he could almost swear that he was back on Naboo, standing above a reactor shaft, his dying master by his feet as he shook with grief and anger. He took a breath.

"No," he said quietly. "You will never hurt anyone I love again."