The Ties That Bind
Chapter 13
Padmé watched the open window, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as the figure dropped from view. She took in a deep breath and slowly slid out of the bed. Where was she? She didn't dare look around, but disoriented from sleep she wasn't- oh right, she was in Anakin's room. She swallowed hard, the ghost feeling of something rough and metallic scraping along her skin. What had just happened? The sound of a knock on the main door brought her head around but she was quickly distracted. Anakin. Was he alright? She cast another look at the window before placing her blaster on the bed next to him. "Anakin?"
He didn't even stir. She reached out for their connection, their Life-Bond and her eyes widened. She couldn't reach him. Something was blocking her! "Anakin!" she grabbed him by the front of the shirt and rolled him over. His breathing was shallow, his skin clammy. Was this a result from his Force healing? "Anakin, please wake up!"
The knock on the door came again. "Not now!" she yelled.
"Padmé?"
She froze. "Obi-Wan!" she pushed herself from the bed, crossing to quickly close and latch the window before running to the main door and unlocking it. She opened it with quick, frantic movements. "Anakin won't wake up. There was an intruder but they got away out the window." She said nothing more as she was running back to the bed, crawling over to the still sleeping Anakin.
Obi-Wan and Sabé exchanged looks as they entered Anakin's room. Obi-Wan went to the bed as Sabé called up the comm. unit and quickly gave what little information she had to the security force.
Obi-Wan placed a hand on Anakin's forehead, a frown of concern on his face. Padmé looked shaken, her face pale as Sabé switched on the lights and joined them. She was shivering and the handmaiden grabbed the blanket from the foot of the bed. "You're shaking, Padmé, here."
Padmé's hands were wrapped around Anakin's, gently chaffing it as Obi-Wan checked his Padawan's responses. She didn't acknowledge that she could hear her friend. Sabé shook her head silently and placed the blanket over Padmé's shoulders. Obi-Wan stepped back from the bed, his foot connecting with something metallic on the floor.
He frowned, crouching down to pick it off the floor and his eyes widened in shock. "What's this doing in his room?"
Padmé's eyes never left Anakin's face. "The intruder dropped it."
Obi-Wan's brows drew together as he studied the instrument. "Sabé, stay with Padmé and Anakin. I need to talk to the med-techs."
She nodded, seeing him to the door before closing and locking it behind him. Sabé's gaze fell on Padmé's worried face as she turned around. "It'll be alright, Padmé." Her voice was quiet, confident as she sought to reassure her friend.
"I can't lose him, Sabé." Padmé's voice was choked. "I can't lose him, not now. I can't feel his thoughts, even though I know he's alive, I can't hear him in my head."
Sabé wrapped an arm around Padmé's shoulders and hugged her. "Whatever it is, Obi-Wan will find it. We won't let him be taken from you, I promise."
Padmé let her head fall on Sabé's shoulder and closed her eyes, sorrow bowing her shoulders. "I'm so tired. I just want to lay down beside him and sleep."
"You've got to stay awake." Sabé's voice was urgent even as she stroked her hair gently, "For Anakin. For yourself. If you let yourself sleep and he can't find you to help guide his way out of wherever his is, you'd never forgive yourself."
Padmé closed her eyes, hugging her friend with one arm even as she clutched Anakin's hand in a death grip. "Keep me awake. Don't let me fall asleep."
Sabé's arms tightened around her friend. "I promise."
Obi-Wan's footsteps echoed in the halls as he ran quickly towards the medical lab that was on the lower level of the palace. He sent a mental, Force call to Master Yoda, asking the diminutive Master to meet him there. He got little more than an affirmative feeling, but didn't waste any more time on it. He had to get this substance analyzed and figure out what was happening to Anakin.
He slid around one corner, his shoes barely finding purchase as he stopped outside the Medlab. Smoothing his hair and his robes, he double checked his appearance before carefully stepping into the lab. A male tech looked up from analyzing something under a microscope. "Master Kenobi!" he set his work aside and pushed away from his desk. "What bring you here, I trust you're not ill?"
Obi-Wan shook his head, "Not I, my Padawan. I believe he was nicked with this." He placed the injector on the table, the needle facing away from the doctor. "I have been unable to rouse him."
The doctor frowned and picked up the device, carefully extracting the small vial of fluid. "I'll have this analyzed for you in a few minutes."
Before Obi-Wan could thank the man, he disappeared into another room. The sound of a repulsor-chair brought Obi-Wan's head around. He bowed. "Master Yoda."
"What need you, Obi-Wan?"
"Anakin is in some kind of shock, I couldn't wake him."
Yoda nodded thoughtfully. "Tell me what happened, yes?"
"I felt a disturbance during the Party shortly after Anakin and Padmé left. A feeling like Anakin was in trouble. Sabé and I went to find them. When we found them, Padmé spoke of an intruder, but I could feel nothing and nobody around. I don't doubt her word, since the attacker nicked Anakin with a needle and some kind of fluid. The tech is analyzing them now."
Yoda frowned. "Strange and disturbing this is. Know you why someone would harm your Padawan?"
"No Master. I'm at a loss to explain it."
"Check on him, I will."
"Thank you Master, I'll wait here and get the tech's report."
Yoda nodded and steered his chair out of the lab. Obi-Wan paced up and down the small waiting area, impatient for the tech to return. He couldn't lose Anakin, not when the boy was so close to fulfilling his potential. His head came up a couple minutes later when the door opened again, allowing the tech to step back inside. His face was grim. "Master Kenobi, I'm afraid the compound is something I've never seen before. I can tell you what it's composed of, but I don't think that will help. Based on the elements involved, it's specifically designed to kill Jedi."
"How so?"
The man sighed, reaching up to remove his lenses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It's a Force suppressant, or at least, it contains one. We've dealt with Jedi a lot in the last nine years and some of the base elements of this I can't help but recognize. Two of the eight are Force suppressants. Two of them are a compound known to attack a person's immune system with the intention of disabling and destroying it. One is a poison designed to attack red blood cells and transform them. Though I don't know into what. Another is something to keep him unconscious. The rest of the elements are... beyond my comprehension."
"May I take this back to the council for study? Perhaps they can piece together the missing elements."
The Tech placed the small vial of fluid on the counter, "Be my guest. Without knowing what it is, I can't even suggest a treatment. Whoever put this together was smart; by purging him of one element in the compound, you may irreversibly damage his nervous system. I'd proceed very, very carefully if I were you, Master Kenobi."
Obi-Wan thanked the tech and left the medlab. So much for medical analysis. Carefully placing the vial in his robe, he made his way back to Anakin's chambers. Master Yoda needed to know about the analysis before any kind of treatment could be administered.
Padmé stretched out next to Anakin, her eyelids dropping with exhaustion. Whatever was affecting him seemed to be spreading to her. How, she wasn't sure. Sabé had left the room momentarily to get the door, and Padmé took the opportunity to gently brush Anakin's cheek with the back of her fingers. "I love you," she told him softly. "You have to wake up, Anakin. Please, open your eyes."
The sound of a repulsor chair was soft in the silence, but she couldn't find the energy to lift her head.
"Move you must, Padmé."
She blinked. Yoda? What was he doing here? She pushed herself up on one arm, the limb shaking with fatigue as she fought to do as he asked. "I'm sorry, Master Yoda," her voice seemed faint, even to her own ears, "I think whatever's affecting him is affecting me."
Yoda frowned, landing his chair next to the bed before picking up his gimmer stick and carefully walking to the side. He climbed on the edge and sat next to Anakin, carefully looking at the unconscious apprentice. He poked the side of Anakin's neck with the stick, his eyes widening when a ripple of red streaks was visible in his veins for a moment before disappearing. "Sick he is. Not from poison. From the darkside it is."
"That would explain why it's affecting Padmé then." Sabé went to Anakin's other side and helped her friend sit up. "Stay with me Queenie."
Padmé made a face but found herself grateful for Sabé's help. "Is there anything we can do, Master Yoda?"
Yoda closed his eyes and focused his senses on the apprentice. Nothing. Not even a flicker of life sense. He could feel a malevolent presence, but not in the Jedi. The young woman holding his hand was radiating darkside energy. Yoda's eyes opened and they focused on Padmé. Somehow, through the Force bond the two shared, she was pulling the energy from his body. Energy that should have been eating at Anakin's Force sensibilities and endangering his life. Instead they were working on Padmé's more vulnerable systems. "Remove your hand, you must. The darkside I sense inside you."
Padmé's gaze was listless as she looked at him, but her life force hadn't diminished. As long as she was conscious, it was as if the darkside energy couldn't finish its intended purpose. "Take my hand, you must."
She looked at the little claw-like hand of the green Jedi Master and couldn't find the energy to move. It was as if something were slowly destroying her motor functions. "Sabé, I can't..."
Sabé grasped Padmé's hand and offered the limp appendage to Master Yoda even as she pried Padmé's hand from Anakin's. Yoda's hands were soft, surprisingly so, yet strong as they held her fingers captive. She could feel energy swirling inside her as the diminutive Jedi's Force powers flowed into her system. Strength began to fill her, the darkness and lethargy being shaken off by the clean, pure energy. Her eyes closed as the awesome force of Yoda's power roared through her veins, destroying the crackling, malevolent energy. Feeling the power beginning to recede, ebbing from her system slowly, she carefully opened her eyes.
Yoda dropped her hand and nodded once, a slight smile on his face. "It was as I thought. Consuming you, it was. Safe, you are."
Padmé took a deep breath, straightening her shoulder unconsciously. She felt as if she'd just shed a hundred pounds from her shoulders. "What was?"
"Sith Energy. Know what they were doing, the intruder did."
Padmé felt a chill sweep down her back as she looked at Anakin. "Why would they want to kill him?"
"Know this, I do not."
Padmé picked Anakin's hand up again, bringing it to her chest and cradling it over her heaty. "Will he be alright?"
"Not if what the tech's report says is true."
All eyes in the room went to a serious looking Obi-Wan. "What found you, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan offered the vial to Master Yoda. "Whatever it is, it's designed to kill Jedi. There are Force suppressants in this, along with two types of chemicals designed to attack and destroy the immune system. One is a poison that works on the blood and the last is to keep him unconscious. That's the short version. The last two elements are something the tech couldn't identify."
"Darkside energy, they were."
Obi-Wan blinked. "How do you know, Master?"
Yoda pointed at Padmé, "Attack her, it did. The Life-bond put her in danger. Still wish you to continue on your quest for one?"
Sabé looked at Obi-Wan, who's gaze had fallen on Padmé's still shaking form. She was looking better than when he'd left, but she seemed to be taking Anakin's incapacitation alot harder than necessary. He fought a humorless smile. That wasn't exactly true, she could lose him in the next few hours if they didn't do something quickly. Did he want to inflict that on Sabé? He couldn't look at her as he nodded to Yoda. "Yes Master. I believe the good outweighs the bad."
Yoda sighed and turned back to Padmé, "Fell him, can you? Through your bond?"
She shook her head, tears on her lashes. "No. I can't hear him, I can't feel his thoughts or emotions. I can't even tell if he's dreaming!"
"Calm yourself." Yoda's voice was firm. "Calm you must be to help him, yes?"
Padmé took a deep breath, fighting against the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her. If this was what she felt with Anakin possibly knocking on death's door, what would he feel when it was her time to go? She fought it down, forcing herself to radiate a calmness that she didn't feel. She had to be strong, for Anakin.
Obi-Wan and Yoda conversed quietly as she fought her inner demons, discussing ways of helping Anakin. His system had taken only a small dose, but even a drop had the potential to kill, given enough time.
Padmé kept Sabé's hand clenched tightly with hers. "He'll be alright, Padmé. Obi-Wan and Master Yoda won't let him die."
Padmé swallowed hard, gently stroking Anakin's cheek, his skin feeling colder than it had before. "He has to be alright, Sabé. I'll die without him."
Sabé wrapped her arm about her friend and concentrated on giving her strength. Anakin had to pull through this, if he didn't Sabé didn't want to think about what Padmé would do. She'd heard the truth in her friend's words, felt the anguish and determination. If Anakin did indeed die, Padmé would have nothing left to live for.
Chapter 13
Padmé watched the open window, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as the figure dropped from view. She took in a deep breath and slowly slid out of the bed. Where was she? She didn't dare look around, but disoriented from sleep she wasn't- oh right, she was in Anakin's room. She swallowed hard, the ghost feeling of something rough and metallic scraping along her skin. What had just happened? The sound of a knock on the main door brought her head around but she was quickly distracted. Anakin. Was he alright? She cast another look at the window before placing her blaster on the bed next to him. "Anakin?"
He didn't even stir. She reached out for their connection, their Life-Bond and her eyes widened. She couldn't reach him. Something was blocking her! "Anakin!" she grabbed him by the front of the shirt and rolled him over. His breathing was shallow, his skin clammy. Was this a result from his Force healing? "Anakin, please wake up!"
The knock on the door came again. "Not now!" she yelled.
"Padmé?"
She froze. "Obi-Wan!" she pushed herself from the bed, crossing to quickly close and latch the window before running to the main door and unlocking it. She opened it with quick, frantic movements. "Anakin won't wake up. There was an intruder but they got away out the window." She said nothing more as she was running back to the bed, crawling over to the still sleeping Anakin.
Obi-Wan and Sabé exchanged looks as they entered Anakin's room. Obi-Wan went to the bed as Sabé called up the comm. unit and quickly gave what little information she had to the security force.
Obi-Wan placed a hand on Anakin's forehead, a frown of concern on his face. Padmé looked shaken, her face pale as Sabé switched on the lights and joined them. She was shivering and the handmaiden grabbed the blanket from the foot of the bed. "You're shaking, Padmé, here."
Padmé's hands were wrapped around Anakin's, gently chaffing it as Obi-Wan checked his Padawan's responses. She didn't acknowledge that she could hear her friend. Sabé shook her head silently and placed the blanket over Padmé's shoulders. Obi-Wan stepped back from the bed, his foot connecting with something metallic on the floor.
He frowned, crouching down to pick it off the floor and his eyes widened in shock. "What's this doing in his room?"
Padmé's eyes never left Anakin's face. "The intruder dropped it."
Obi-Wan's brows drew together as he studied the instrument. "Sabé, stay with Padmé and Anakin. I need to talk to the med-techs."
She nodded, seeing him to the door before closing and locking it behind him. Sabé's gaze fell on Padmé's worried face as she turned around. "It'll be alright, Padmé." Her voice was quiet, confident as she sought to reassure her friend.
"I can't lose him, Sabé." Padmé's voice was choked. "I can't lose him, not now. I can't feel his thoughts, even though I know he's alive, I can't hear him in my head."
Sabé wrapped an arm around Padmé's shoulders and hugged her. "Whatever it is, Obi-Wan will find it. We won't let him be taken from you, I promise."
Padmé let her head fall on Sabé's shoulder and closed her eyes, sorrow bowing her shoulders. "I'm so tired. I just want to lay down beside him and sleep."
"You've got to stay awake." Sabé's voice was urgent even as she stroked her hair gently, "For Anakin. For yourself. If you let yourself sleep and he can't find you to help guide his way out of wherever his is, you'd never forgive yourself."
Padmé closed her eyes, hugging her friend with one arm even as she clutched Anakin's hand in a death grip. "Keep me awake. Don't let me fall asleep."
Sabé's arms tightened around her friend. "I promise."
Obi-Wan's footsteps echoed in the halls as he ran quickly towards the medical lab that was on the lower level of the palace. He sent a mental, Force call to Master Yoda, asking the diminutive Master to meet him there. He got little more than an affirmative feeling, but didn't waste any more time on it. He had to get this substance analyzed and figure out what was happening to Anakin.
He slid around one corner, his shoes barely finding purchase as he stopped outside the Medlab. Smoothing his hair and his robes, he double checked his appearance before carefully stepping into the lab. A male tech looked up from analyzing something under a microscope. "Master Kenobi!" he set his work aside and pushed away from his desk. "What bring you here, I trust you're not ill?"
Obi-Wan shook his head, "Not I, my Padawan. I believe he was nicked with this." He placed the injector on the table, the needle facing away from the doctor. "I have been unable to rouse him."
The doctor frowned and picked up the device, carefully extracting the small vial of fluid. "I'll have this analyzed for you in a few minutes."
Before Obi-Wan could thank the man, he disappeared into another room. The sound of a repulsor-chair brought Obi-Wan's head around. He bowed. "Master Yoda."
"What need you, Obi-Wan?"
"Anakin is in some kind of shock, I couldn't wake him."
Yoda nodded thoughtfully. "Tell me what happened, yes?"
"I felt a disturbance during the Party shortly after Anakin and Padmé left. A feeling like Anakin was in trouble. Sabé and I went to find them. When we found them, Padmé spoke of an intruder, but I could feel nothing and nobody around. I don't doubt her word, since the attacker nicked Anakin with a needle and some kind of fluid. The tech is analyzing them now."
Yoda frowned. "Strange and disturbing this is. Know you why someone would harm your Padawan?"
"No Master. I'm at a loss to explain it."
"Check on him, I will."
"Thank you Master, I'll wait here and get the tech's report."
Yoda nodded and steered his chair out of the lab. Obi-Wan paced up and down the small waiting area, impatient for the tech to return. He couldn't lose Anakin, not when the boy was so close to fulfilling his potential. His head came up a couple minutes later when the door opened again, allowing the tech to step back inside. His face was grim. "Master Kenobi, I'm afraid the compound is something I've never seen before. I can tell you what it's composed of, but I don't think that will help. Based on the elements involved, it's specifically designed to kill Jedi."
"How so?"
The man sighed, reaching up to remove his lenses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It's a Force suppressant, or at least, it contains one. We've dealt with Jedi a lot in the last nine years and some of the base elements of this I can't help but recognize. Two of the eight are Force suppressants. Two of them are a compound known to attack a person's immune system with the intention of disabling and destroying it. One is a poison designed to attack red blood cells and transform them. Though I don't know into what. Another is something to keep him unconscious. The rest of the elements are... beyond my comprehension."
"May I take this back to the council for study? Perhaps they can piece together the missing elements."
The Tech placed the small vial of fluid on the counter, "Be my guest. Without knowing what it is, I can't even suggest a treatment. Whoever put this together was smart; by purging him of one element in the compound, you may irreversibly damage his nervous system. I'd proceed very, very carefully if I were you, Master Kenobi."
Obi-Wan thanked the tech and left the medlab. So much for medical analysis. Carefully placing the vial in his robe, he made his way back to Anakin's chambers. Master Yoda needed to know about the analysis before any kind of treatment could be administered.
Padmé stretched out next to Anakin, her eyelids dropping with exhaustion. Whatever was affecting him seemed to be spreading to her. How, she wasn't sure. Sabé had left the room momentarily to get the door, and Padmé took the opportunity to gently brush Anakin's cheek with the back of her fingers. "I love you," she told him softly. "You have to wake up, Anakin. Please, open your eyes."
The sound of a repulsor chair was soft in the silence, but she couldn't find the energy to lift her head.
"Move you must, Padmé."
She blinked. Yoda? What was he doing here? She pushed herself up on one arm, the limb shaking with fatigue as she fought to do as he asked. "I'm sorry, Master Yoda," her voice seemed faint, even to her own ears, "I think whatever's affecting him is affecting me."
Yoda frowned, landing his chair next to the bed before picking up his gimmer stick and carefully walking to the side. He climbed on the edge and sat next to Anakin, carefully looking at the unconscious apprentice. He poked the side of Anakin's neck with the stick, his eyes widening when a ripple of red streaks was visible in his veins for a moment before disappearing. "Sick he is. Not from poison. From the darkside it is."
"That would explain why it's affecting Padmé then." Sabé went to Anakin's other side and helped her friend sit up. "Stay with me Queenie."
Padmé made a face but found herself grateful for Sabé's help. "Is there anything we can do, Master Yoda?"
Yoda closed his eyes and focused his senses on the apprentice. Nothing. Not even a flicker of life sense. He could feel a malevolent presence, but not in the Jedi. The young woman holding his hand was radiating darkside energy. Yoda's eyes opened and they focused on Padmé. Somehow, through the Force bond the two shared, she was pulling the energy from his body. Energy that should have been eating at Anakin's Force sensibilities and endangering his life. Instead they were working on Padmé's more vulnerable systems. "Remove your hand, you must. The darkside I sense inside you."
Padmé's gaze was listless as she looked at him, but her life force hadn't diminished. As long as she was conscious, it was as if the darkside energy couldn't finish its intended purpose. "Take my hand, you must."
She looked at the little claw-like hand of the green Jedi Master and couldn't find the energy to move. It was as if something were slowly destroying her motor functions. "Sabé, I can't..."
Sabé grasped Padmé's hand and offered the limp appendage to Master Yoda even as she pried Padmé's hand from Anakin's. Yoda's hands were soft, surprisingly so, yet strong as they held her fingers captive. She could feel energy swirling inside her as the diminutive Jedi's Force powers flowed into her system. Strength began to fill her, the darkness and lethargy being shaken off by the clean, pure energy. Her eyes closed as the awesome force of Yoda's power roared through her veins, destroying the crackling, malevolent energy. Feeling the power beginning to recede, ebbing from her system slowly, she carefully opened her eyes.
Yoda dropped her hand and nodded once, a slight smile on his face. "It was as I thought. Consuming you, it was. Safe, you are."
Padmé took a deep breath, straightening her shoulder unconsciously. She felt as if she'd just shed a hundred pounds from her shoulders. "What was?"
"Sith Energy. Know what they were doing, the intruder did."
Padmé felt a chill sweep down her back as she looked at Anakin. "Why would they want to kill him?"
"Know this, I do not."
Padmé picked Anakin's hand up again, bringing it to her chest and cradling it over her heaty. "Will he be alright?"
"Not if what the tech's report says is true."
All eyes in the room went to a serious looking Obi-Wan. "What found you, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan offered the vial to Master Yoda. "Whatever it is, it's designed to kill Jedi. There are Force suppressants in this, along with two types of chemicals designed to attack and destroy the immune system. One is a poison that works on the blood and the last is to keep him unconscious. That's the short version. The last two elements are something the tech couldn't identify."
"Darkside energy, they were."
Obi-Wan blinked. "How do you know, Master?"
Yoda pointed at Padmé, "Attack her, it did. The Life-bond put her in danger. Still wish you to continue on your quest for one?"
Sabé looked at Obi-Wan, who's gaze had fallen on Padmé's still shaking form. She was looking better than when he'd left, but she seemed to be taking Anakin's incapacitation alot harder than necessary. He fought a humorless smile. That wasn't exactly true, she could lose him in the next few hours if they didn't do something quickly. Did he want to inflict that on Sabé? He couldn't look at her as he nodded to Yoda. "Yes Master. I believe the good outweighs the bad."
Yoda sighed and turned back to Padmé, "Fell him, can you? Through your bond?"
She shook her head, tears on her lashes. "No. I can't hear him, I can't feel his thoughts or emotions. I can't even tell if he's dreaming!"
"Calm yourself." Yoda's voice was firm. "Calm you must be to help him, yes?"
Padmé took a deep breath, fighting against the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her. If this was what she felt with Anakin possibly knocking on death's door, what would he feel when it was her time to go? She fought it down, forcing herself to radiate a calmness that she didn't feel. She had to be strong, for Anakin.
Obi-Wan and Yoda conversed quietly as she fought her inner demons, discussing ways of helping Anakin. His system had taken only a small dose, but even a drop had the potential to kill, given enough time.
Padmé kept Sabé's hand clenched tightly with hers. "He'll be alright, Padmé. Obi-Wan and Master Yoda won't let him die."
Padmé swallowed hard, gently stroking Anakin's cheek, his skin feeling colder than it had before. "He has to be alright, Sabé. I'll die without him."
Sabé wrapped her arm about her friend and concentrated on giving her strength. Anakin had to pull through this, if he didn't Sabé didn't want to think about what Padmé would do. She'd heard the truth in her friend's words, felt the anguish and determination. If Anakin did indeed die, Padmé would have nothing left to live for.