10
Dark things lurked in Anakin's mind; they prodded him, lured him, fueled him, and screamed at him with demon voices. Chained loosely to the wall, he howled back at them. Images from his deepest, darkest nightmares appeared before him and taunted him. There was nowhere to escape, for they followed him everywhere, even into the realm of sleep. Drained of energy, kept from his power by the collar around his throat, the portion of Anakin's mind that was still somewhat sane wanted nothing more than to curl up in a corner and die.
Maybe then the demons would leave him alone…
He roared, sounding like an enraged panthac, and lunged at the dark things before him. His chains brought him up short, but still he strained, voicing his rage at the images that vanished like mist before his eyes.
Deep in the palace, the roar was heard by two commandos.
"Stars…what was that?" Padmé whispered, glancing at her older companion.
"We probably don't want to know. Quiet, now, we're almost there." Suddenly, shots broke out somewhere ahead of them. "That's our cue. Let's go!"
They sprinted out into the corridor, and Obi-Wan ran to a nook, protected from blasterfire, Padmé hard on his heels.
"Get Leia!" Obi-Wan yelled, turning around to present his back to Padmé. On his back was a small piece of equipment that could easily be mistaken for a backpack. Padmé took off the top, revealing Leia's small face. Picking her up out of out of the sack, Leia looked scared, but there was something else on her features. Padmé prayed it was relief, that she could feel Luke.
"Leia," Padmé cried, "point to your brother! Where's Luke?" Please, let her understand…
Leia pointed one chubby finger at a door.
"Good enough!" Obi-Wan yelled, grinning. They scurried over to a door, avoiding the lethal bolts that were exploding all around them. Obi-Wan pounded on the admit button, and they jumped inside.
"Luke?" Padmé whispered in confusion. The room was empty.
"Looking for this?" The cackling tones made the whole party jump, just as Padmé realized that the corridor outside had gone deathly quiet.
"Palpatine!" Obi-Wan hissed, standing in front of Padmé and Leia, shielding them with his body and blade.
"Knight Kenobi, what a pleasant surprise. Your former pupil spoke very highly of you, back when he could speak coherently. I have long wished to meet you. And Senator Naberrie, my, but that blaster suits you. Is that your daughter you hold? Charmed. As you can see, I've already met young Luke." He gestured to the boy who was squirming in his arms.
"Let go of my son!" Padmé said, her tone colder then the Hoth night, and twice as deadly.
"I will command, now, Your Highness. And I believe you are surrounded."
"Put your blaster down, Padmé." Obi-Wan murmured. He glanced at her, "This is but one battle in a war."
"How…philosophic." Palpatine revealed his damaged teeth with a sneer. "No matter. You wanted to see Vader, didn't you? Well, see him we will. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you." Palpatine cackled with dark glee, and Obi-Wan and Padmé glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing.
I have a bad feeling about this…