"You are really starting to pester me, Kenobi." Dooku states as he duels him.
"Well, that is one of my specialties, Count." Obi-Wan says as he blocks a strike.
"Surrender now and I promise your men a quick death." The Count negotiates.
"Sorry, Count, but I would personally prefer no death." Obi-Wan counters.
"Sir, we're almost done with taking over the base." Cody says over comms. "Skywalker is heading your way."
"Well, I don't think I'm the one to be needing to surrender, Count." Obi-Wan smirks. "Surrender now, and I promise safe passage to the Temple."
"I will not stoop so low as to surrender myself to you, Kenobi. One of us will be dying today, even if it isn't permanent." Dooku states.
Obi-Wan hears the running of boots behind him and looks to Dooku who smirks.
"Looks like Skywalker has arrived at last." Dooku smugly states.
Dooku lifts up a piece of the bunker and throws it at Anakin, Anakin's eyes widen, and he struggles to get out of the way but he's too late. The concrete is about to crush him but then it suddenly stops a few feet from him, hovering in the air. Anakin looks over to Obi-Wan who is straining from holding the block of concrete with the Force.
Obi-Wan looks at him sadly and Anakin understands why, Dooku takes his opportunity and stabs Obi-Wan in the stomach with his saber. Obi-Wan drops his saber and it clatters to the floor as he does the same.
"Obi-Wan!" Anakin shouts. Dooku looks at Obi-Wan as he lies there dying.
"Till we meet again, Kenobi." Dooku states and flees like the coward he is. Anakin rushes over to Obi-Wan and sees the stab wound that goes straight through him, he gasps and knows he isn't going to make it.
"It's okay, Obi-Wan, just rest." Anakin comforts his dying friend. Obi-Wan tries to speak and tells him he's going to be okay, but he can't even make a noise.
He really should have told his men and Anakin, when he wakes up, he is going to be in for one long conversation. But he really should have told them and not cause them this pain. His last conscious thought is of regret and of Anakin's grief-stricken face above him, and with that, he leaves this Galaxy.
The first time he died, he was three and his mother had thrown him in the river in the forest of Stewjon; because he was force-sensitive and that was a curse in his birth culture.
Recently Knighted Mace Windu had found him in the river and taken him out, a few hours later he had come back to life, or so that was what he was told, he was too young to remember but it always pained him that his own mother would do that.
The second time was on Bandomeer when he blew himself up to save the other slaves and Master Jinn. And only then did Master Jinn take him on, claiming that no one but him could deal with a "species such as himself".
The third, fourth, fifth, and many more times was on Melidaan when his Master left him to fight a war with children. He didn't regret it though, the more times he died sacrificing himself for the children, the more children got to live.
He can't remember how many times he died after that, but he knows too many times. He also knows that each time is more painful than the one time before. Because dying hurts, forget what people have said about dying not hurting, they don't know because no one ever lives past that experience to tell, except him of course, and it hurts each time.
He's been stabbed by a saber before, it was in the fight on Naboo between him, Maul, and his former master, Jinn. He sacrificed himself once again to save his Master, but Jinn paid no attention to that and discarded him for the "Chosen One".
He was still good friends with Anakin, but not as close as he feels like he would have been. But now he has his own padawan to worry about, a stubborn yet brave Togruta, Ahsoka Tano.
Ahsoka already knows about his secret as he sacrificed his life for hers once. He just didn't tell his battalion because it's something he's not exactly proud of, his situation plagues him with guilt. The worse part is he doesn't even know what he is. He and Master Che spent the whole week in the Archives when he was younger and couldn't find one thing about his situation.
As others might see it as a gift, he sees it as a curse. He doesn't want to live forever, who does? Why would he want to live forever knowing his padawan will die before him? Why does he get to keep living when others die and never get to go back home?
It's not a gift, it's a curse. And he hates it.
Obi-Wan slowly comes back to consciousness in the med-bay, gasping for air. He hears someone yelp in surprise and sees Helix above him, wide-eyed.
"Hello there." Obi-Wan rasps out.
"What the?" Helix finally says as he stares at Obi-Wan for quite some time. "You're dead, you were dead. Are you dead?!"
"No, Helix, I am not." Obi-Wan says.
"How? When you were transported here, you had a stab wound. Wait!" Helix says and rushes over to him. He peers at his chest and sees nothing there, nothing, not even a healed scar. "How?!"
"I can't die. I'm immortal." Obi-Wan explains. Helix just looks at him as if he is a ghost. He comms Cody quickly and tells him to come over immediately. Helix checks him over and shakes his head.
"All the wounds you previously had, your concussion, and even the scratches you sustained are gone. They're all gone!" Helix exclaims. "How?"
"When I am "dead", my body heals all my injuries, even the smallest ones." Obi-Wan explains.
"What are you? Some kind of different species? Are you even human?" Helix asks bewildered and Obi-Wan flinches at the question.
"I don't know." Obi-Wan whispers, looking down. Helix looks guiltily at Obi-Wan and regrets his question.
"Sorry, Sir. This is just all new." Helix apologizes.
"It's all right, Helix. You're not the first one." Obi-Wan says but his tone is nothing of comfort, it just makes Helix look at him sadly. Cody and Anakin rush in and see Obi-Wan up on his cot.
"What in the Force?!" Anakin shouts, bewildered. "I saw you die! The Count stabbed you and your heart stopped. You died! Your dead!" Anakin shouts confused as to what is going on.
"I can't die. Whatever happens, I always come back. I'm immortal." Obi-Wan explains, timidly.
"Why didn't you tell them? Me?" Anakin shouts.
"Do you know how many vod died sacrificing themselves for you? Do you know how much blood is on your hands now? And when you "died", the vod got reckless and a lot of them died believing they'd see you again." Cody says.
Obi-Wan stays quiet and it just makes Anakin even angrier, but Cody stays silent as well, trying to calm down.
"Do you even care?! The deaths of the clones that happened today are on you. It's your fault! They shouldn't even have a General who doesn't trust their men enough to tell them something like this. And I thought you were different from all the other Jedi, I thought you cared about them, about me! But clearly, you don't. The 212th will be packing up, I'm officially going to request a transfer to a different General for them, they shouldn't have someone like you." Anakin states.
"That's not your choice, Anakin." Obi-Wan protests, and Anakin glares at him.
"Maybe I'll have Ahsoka be transferred to for child endangerment, if you can't trust your men, how can you be trustworthy with a padawan?" Anakin snarls.
"You can't do that!" Obi-Wan shouts.
"Yeah, I can. Maybe, I'll even tell the Chancellor because you lied to the Senate about this." Anakin smugly states,
"Anakin, please don't tell him, he can't know. Please!" Obi-Wan begs.
"Why should I? The Republic can just use you now? No Jedi have to die unnecessarily anymore because now they have you. Imagine if you would have told us before, countless of clones and Jedi could have been saved, but it was just you being selfish the whole time!" Anakin shouts.
"No, please!" Obi-Wan desperately begs.
"Okay! That's enough, Skywalker! Get out." Helix shouts, and Anakin looks at Obi-Wan and glares.
"I will be telling the Chancellor. Goodbye, Kenobi." Anakin coldly says and storms out. Cody looks at Obi-Wan with sadness and leaves too. Obi-Wan looks down as he leaves and wills himself not to cry.
"I'm sorry, General. They'll calm down." Helix assures him. "It hurts that you didn't tell us, General, but you didn't deserve that." Helix says. "Why didn't you tell us?" Helix asks, hoping for an answer.
"Because I was scared." Obi-Wan mutters and Helix looks at him surprised as he wasn't expecting him to answer truthfully.
"Why would you be scared, we would never hurt you. Or at least I would never let anyone do that." Helix says.
"I'm not scared that you guys would hurt me, I'm scared that you guys would use this to your advantage, that's why only a few people know. And with what Anakin just said, that;'s why I never told anyone. Only Windu, Yoda, Jinn, Ahsoka, and you guys now know. Not even the Senate knows or all of the Jedi Council." Obi-Wan says.
"I'm scared that if I told them that they'd send me on the dangerous missions that in any other case would be suicidal. But it wouldn't matter because I can just come back. And now it's going to happen, thanks to Anakin. I know it's selfish and I know that I'm a Jedi and can't be scared of death. But each time I die, I'm terrified. I don't know how many chances I have left or even if I have any. And after each time I die, the next time always hurts even more. I never asked for this, I never asked to be immortal, if I had a choice, I wouldn't want to be immortal anymore. I hate it." Obi-Wan admits, Helix moves to sit down next to him by the cot and comforts him.
"I would never let that happen, Obi-Wan. I don't care that you can come back, but I would never let you go on a mission knowing you would die, even if you can come back. I don't care that the Republic might do that, but I will never let that happen to you, never. And no one, especially you, should have to live with that fear, I'm sorry that you thought otherwise." Helix says and Obi-Wan looks at him, tears threatening to spill over.
"I do need to ask though, for medical reasons, how many times have you died?" Helix asks.
"I don't know, Helix. I lost count, and I don't know." Obi-Wan says and his tone breaks Helix's heart.
"Did anybody on your planet ever experience this gift?" Helix asks.
"No. And it's far from a gift, Helix. It's not a gift, it's a curse." Obi-Wan states, his voice sounds far away, and it sends chills through the room as his voice sounds like he's broken and given up. Helix isn't force-sensitive but even he can feel the chills and the feeling of mourning of once being a bright star but now being a dimmed light in the Force, that is Obi-Wan.
