Chapter 13 – The Minds' Eye
The mind is a complex system, harboring a humans' consciousness, imagination and intelligence. It gives the ability to analyze, catalogize and reflect. Memories and attachments are sealed deep within, kept behind well protected walls.
Try to tear them down and the rest might crumble to ashes in a matter of a blink of an eye.
In the past Dooku may have shown some kind of scruple before invading someones' mind in that cruel manner. But that was another time and he was another man now. Darth Tyranus. The name his master has given him. Dooku, jedi master, tutor to Qui-Gon Jinn and later councilor, might have felt affection for the man he should consider his grand-son, the man who would have continued his lineage. But Tyranus had taken over, the small, flawed Light replaced by powerful, all-consuming Darkness. He had seen the faults of the jedi, the corruption by the senate and the upcoming downfall of the mighty Republic.
There was no remorse left for him as he searched for the jedis' weak spots. The auburn-haired man in front him was so deeply anchored in the Light, strengthened by his beliefs and all the while weakened by his emotions. It was almost satisfying to sweep that away from him. The Darkness was taunting the jedi, no one could withstand forever.
It spreads its' roots over the minds' shield, searching for a gap or crack. Kenobis' defense was impressive, Dooku had to give him credit for that. His Light was blinding, but he could see the emotional wounds breaking the otherwise perfect barrier. The remains of a ripped training bond. Qui-Gon Jinn. Once floundering in golden, the tattered end of the connection was now tinted in a dark red, almost black color. It still seemed to be bleeding after all these years. More torn bonds were to be seen on the jedis' mind but this one almost called to him in an enticing matter.
The Sith let the Darkness flood the broken remains. It was like a void opened up, trapping him inside. He was sucked into the jedis' mind.
Dooku always thought that peace and harmony would dominate a lightwielders' consciousness. Obi-Wan Kenobis' was different. He manifested in the midst of a battlefield. Bodies were littering the dusty ground and it felt like the whole scene around him was shaking and crumbling down. It was loud. Undefined screams could be heard, Dooku couldn't make out what they said but it almost sounded like they were shouting names. The Sith had to brace himself against the onslaught; the jedi was definitely on the edge of breaking down. Mentally and physically as it seemed.
"Did you find your peace of mind, Dooku?", a tired voice suddenly sounded from somewhere behind him.
The Count whirled around and was met with the sight of a downed gunship. On the top of its bended and smoking hull sat Kenobi, back turned towards him. The jedi was holding something in his hands, but he couldn't see what it was.
"I'll make my peace once the Republic and the jedi have fallen, Kenobi", the Sith said, slowly approaching the wreckage. The man in front of him let his head fall back and gave a broken laugh. He then stood up from his place and turned around to face the Sith.
"What's stopping you then, Count?", the jedi jumped down from the ship, landing directly in front of him. Blue-grey, but worn-down eyes were studying him. "You broke into my mind, now finish what you started", Obi-Wan whispered, drawing closer. He was clutching Qui-Gons' lightsaber in his hand, his knuckles almost turning white from the strong grip.
Dooku studied him closer. The jedi looked sick, his otherwise neat appearance was disheveled, hair matted with dust and blood, his robes singed. The eyes were sunken in, sporting a haunted gaze, his skin ghostly pale. Like a man who went from hell and back. Yet this spirit version didn't seem to be as physically broken as the original. He moved with grace despite his sickly looks.
Jedi and Sith stood before each other, oblivious to the world outside. Both were trapped in this mind game. It was only a question of strength and willpower who would emerge victorious.
"Who are they?", Dooku finally asked.
"What do you mean?"
"The voices and screams, Kenobi", Dooku growled, "Whose are these?"
"The fallen ones", Obi-Wan stated calmly, tilting his head slightly, "people I've lost to war or the Sith; to your army, Dooku. I hear them every day and every night. It's easy to pretend everything is alright because droids don't feel or scream, right?"
The jedi stepped closer, lightsaber still held in his hand. "I won't let you take any more from me. You've entered my mind, now you have to fight to get back out alive", he hissed, eyes darkening dangerously. The jedi called his own lightsaber into his second hand.
The Sith was taken aback by the sudden change of demeanor and moved back slightly.
"We're only spirits here", he said confused, "you can't kill me."
Obi-Wan grinned. "Spirits can be broken, Count", he hummed, "I may not kill you, but like you said before to me, that doesn't mean I can't disarm you in one way or another."
Green and blue blades activated. The jedi took his stance. "You're at a disadvantage here, this is my place and you're an unwelcome intruder. So, I'll give you a choice. Leave me and my family alone and go your way or face me now."
The Siths' eyes narrowed. "Twice the pride, double the fall. I defeated you and your apprentice before, Kenobi. You're alone now", he drawled. His red blade snapped alive. He knew how the jedi master fought, him wielding two blades now wouldn't change that, he thought to himself. Something was off about the bearded man he was facing; Kenobi was too sure of himself, too confident for his liking. 'Maybe insanity finally got the better of him', the Sith mused.
Dooku attacked with his usual style. In a flurry of blows red met blue and green. Kenobi moved with an incredible speed, swirling both blades to block the incoming swings.
The Count swung his sword towards the jedis' midsection forcing him to bend backwards to avoid the hit. As Kenobi arched his upper body, he used the momentum to place a well-aimed kick right to Siths' torso. The wind was knocked out of Dooku in an instant and he stumbled back a little. The jedi flipped but was on him again in a blink of an eye. Both lightsabers were aimed straight at his head, meant to dismember. He caught both strikes right in front of his throat, forcing Kenobi to hold his swords crossed. Using the Force he pushed the man back against the gunship, giving him space to move again.
"Let's see if you're doing better than your pitiful apprentice." The Sith lifted his hand and shot lightnings towards the jedi. Obi-Wan evaded the first charge by merely jumping away, up onto the wreckage. The second was redirected with one of the lightsabers, so that it came barreling back at Dooku. The Sith sidestepped just in time and stopped his assault. Kenobi was looming on the gunship, both lightsabers held in a defensive manner. His gaze was fixed on Dooku and he didn't let his body move an inch.
"I won't fall for this again, Dooku", Obi-Wan simply said. The Sith jumped up onto the other side of the ship, attacking the jedi again.
He pretended to swing his lightsaber down on the jedis' arm, but Dooku moved again at the same time to grab the hilt of Kenobis' sword. Twisting in a pirouette, he ripped the weapon from Obi-Wans' hand. Still holding on to the arm, the Sith used the opening to kick the jedis' knee in, sending the man tumbling down from the ship. The blue blade deactivated and fell to the ground somewhere behind them.
Kenobi made contact with the ground with a pained groan, but stood up again. Green blade held at the ready. Dooku attacked from above. As their strikes met, the Sith propelled himself upwards from the jedis' lightsaber and landed behind the jedi. Obi-Wan swirled around and again their blades met. They danced back and forth, both men lost in the depth of the battle.
Growing inpatient, the Count growled and suddenly grabbed the jedi with the Force. Kenobi was too slow to prepare for the attack. Lifting the man up by his throat, he closed his fist a little, almost breaking the jedis' neck. With a swift motion he let the jedi hurtle towards him, plunging him into the ground before him. He didn't wait a second as he went for the killing blow. Kenobi still seemed to be dazed by the attack, so he only managed to lift his torso before Dooku plunged the blood-red blade into the jedis' spine from behind. The bone snapped with a sickening sound and the jedis' legs immediately gave out.
The time seemed to slow down, as the blue eyes widened in shock and the first blotches of blood started to fill Obi-Wans' mouth.
Despite being mortally wounded, he somehow gathered his strength one last time. The jedi propped himself up with his arms, dragging his now useless legs behind him, and made a dive for the perplexed Sith, ripping him to the ground with a roar. Dooku tried to shake the jedi off again but the man was faster. His former apprentices' blade was plunged into his lung. The jedi stared at his face, as he was still clinging to the weapon.
"You've lost, Dooku", the man rasped out, "tell your master- tell him, that he will never lay a hand on Anakin. Not over my dead body."
Obi-Wan was heaving with exhaustion as he finally rolled off his opponent. He let himself fall to the dusty ground, the grip on the lightsaber loosening.
With a shaking hand, the jedi used the Force to plunge Dooku back into the void. Before the Darkness consumed him and he was brought back into his own body, the wounded Sith caught a last glimpse of the spirit version of Kenobi. The man was still on his back and barely holding on, yet his whole appearance seemed to be glowing with a bright white light. The Force was shielding and strengthening its child.
With a snap their connection tore apart again, rendering both jedi and Sith unconscious as the backlash hit them.
He came to with a gasp. Still lying on the ground where Dooku had hit him, Anakin slowly began to prop himself up, twisting so he was sitting upright. His right hand was still twitching, sending false signals to his brain. With a few simple steps, he deactivated the now useless prosthetic.
Their ship was gone. "At least she did listen for once", he grumbled. Still, that meant they were stuck for now, if they didn't come up with an escape plan. Then it hit him. The fight. Dooku. Obi-Wan.
Stumbling to his shaking feet, Anakin looked around franticly in the hangar. There. Two figures laid motionless on the ground, one clad in black, the other in cream colors.
"Master!", he shouted, while taking off in a sprint. As he finally drew near, he became aware of the blood, that seemed to be pouring out of both their noses and ears. Anakin kneeled down next to his friend and carefully cradled the head in his lap. The otherwise auburn hair was sticky and matted with blood and the flow didn't seem to stop at all. 'Inner bleedings', Anakin realized, 'presumably in the brain area'.
"Kriff, Obi-Wan. Don't die on me now." His friends' pulse was weak but surprisingly steady. The jedi master was fighting for his life. Anakin tried to connect with him through the training bond, but had to recoil instantly. His masters' mind was a complete mess, like someone had broken in with force. His eyes landed on Dooku, equally out like a light. The Sith had attacked his friend through the Force and had apparently met his match with Obi-Wan. Despite the anger against the Count bubbling up for leaving his master in such a state, he felt satisfaction at the same time, that Obi-Wan had dealt his share of hits as well.
He turned his attention back to the situation at hand. They had to get off this ship, it was a miracle the other droids hadn't approached them yet. There weren't any functioning ships left in the hangar, which meant they had to get to the escape pods.
Anakin looked down at Obi-Wan. "Sorry, master. This may hurt." Careful not to jostle the man's wounds further, he swept him up in his arms, head cradled against his shoulder. The jedi master didn't react at all from the movement. Worry creeped up his spine. "Hang on, Obi-Wan."
Leaving Dooku behind, the jedi began his search for the escape pods.