Tatooine was the only place Obi-Wan could remember feeling safe. It was where Anakin had found him and Obi-Wan had felt safe if only for a few days. The only time he could remember actually feeling safe. So Obi-Wan had decided to go to that remote planet to hide from Sidious and get his own head sorted out. Without his memories he was a danger to those around him. He had powers that he didn't understand and didn't know how to use properly and no matter how much he loved Anakin, Obi-Wan refused to put him at risk. Sidious had already used Anakin as a way to gain his cooperation, something Obi-Wan would not allow to happen a second time.
That he didn't like sand was only a minor inconvenience. Tatooine's desert landscape would ensure that no one would come to look for him. He could disappear into the rocky outcroppings and live as a hermit. Trading in his starship to a parts dealer, Obi-Wan was able to purchase a speeder bike and the necessary supplies for life on Tatooine: plenty of water, food, sturdy clothes, sufficient shelter, and a blaster. Beyond the borders of Tatooine's many spaceports the Tusken raiders were a constant threat that Obi-Wan would not make himself vulnerable to a second time. He was stronger now than he had been as their slave and wouldn't cower before them. He would kill them all if any attempted to enslave him a second time.
The home Obi-Wan created for himself was very primitive, little more than a cave in the center of a rocky outcropping some two hundred kilometers outside of Mos Espa, far beyond the borders of the last moisture farm. There was something familiar about Mos Espa, though he couldn't remember it.
It felt strange to Obi-Wan, not hearing the hum of Anakin's presence in his mind. He knew that he could have reopened their connection, but he wanted to keep Anakin safe. If Sidious was still having Anakin watched then the Sith lord could use the younger man to find him. Then the whole cycle would begin a second time. So in his cave, Obi-Wan spent many hours hiding himself from Anakin. In the quiet, Obi-Wan was able to turn his thoughts inward and shoring up the walls he found there. Walls that had been blasted open with his memory loss and that he was building back up brick by brick so that he could keep Anakin safe.
Once a week, Obi-Wan ventured back into Mos Espa for more supplies and to find out what news he could about the galaxy beyond his little cave. The war was over and in its wake both Chancellor Palpatine and the Hero with No Fear had disappeared. The first few times he'd heard the Hero with No Fear mentioned, Obi-Wan hadn't realized that it was Anakin the HoloNet spoke of. His own image appeared often enough, however, though hooded his identity had remained a subject of question. There were whispers of the name Vader, but nothing more.
The first of Tatooine's two suns was dipping below the horizon when Obi-Wan felt the first tingling of his presence.
"You didn't think you could escape me so easily, did you?"
Anakin shifted uncomfortably in the pilot's chair of his starfighter. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd slept in a bed, but ignored his desire for a bed in favour of continuing his search for Obi-Wan. With Dex's help, Anakin had gained possession of a well-armed starfighter and had even snuck Artoo out of his and Obi-Wan's quarters in favour of the unknown astromech droid Dex had offered up. Less than two hours after his escape from the Temple's medical wing, Anakin was spacebound.
He hadn't thought he'd still be searching for the other man a month later.
At first Anakin had had no idea where he was going, only vague reports that a starfighter had left the Senate Rotunda not long after Anakin's own rescue and immediately leaving Coruscant's atmosphere without making a single stop. Anakin had been on Duro when he'd learned of the execution of the Separatist leaders on Alzoc III. Even though the HoloNet reporters had been unable to glean any clues of their murderer's identity, Anakin had known in his heart that it was Obi-Wan.
It was at Alzoc III that tracking Obi-Wan became more difficult. His lover had simply disappeared after that. Anakin spoke to traders, smugglers, innkeepers, barmen, and any other person he thought might give him some hint as to where Obi-Wan had gone after he'd left Alzoc III. Even under threat from a lightsaber, Anakin was given no conclusive lead about Obi-Wan's route.
With no other choice, Anakin had simply begun to search planets and systems at random, starting outward from Obi-Wan's last known location.
ANAKIN!
Startled by the sudden mental shout, Anakin jerked in his seat, banging his head off an overhead console. All at once his senses were flooded as the bond between him and Obi-Wan flared back to life.
Obi-Wan...? Is that you?
He received only a single word in response before the bond was silenced once again.
Tatooine.
Obi-Wan stiffened at the sound of Sidious' voice. On some level he had always known this was a possibility. If Sidious had the ability to orchestrate an entire war it would have been no challenge to find a single lost Jedi.
"You think far too highly of me if you believe I had even considered such a thing," Obi-Wan said with as much calm in his voice as he could muster.
"Yet still you ran when I ordered you to return to me," Sidious mused as he moved to stand directly beside Obi-Wan. "I spared the boy when I could have easily—and rightly –had him killed. Should I go back on my word as you have on yours?"
"Leave Anakin out of this," Obi-Wan snarled, sparing the old man a brief glance. "I did your killing for you. I've done everything your way so leave me in peace."
"Such passion you are able to call forth when pleading for a life not your own," Sidious chuckled. "It's almost worth killing the boy just to see your reaction."
Even as he started to turn, Obi-Wan knew he had not chance against the Sith lord. Still, he reached for his blaster, raising it up to firing level as he whirled on the smaller man. He wasn't surprised when he was thrown back several feet, his upraised arm smacking off a boulder with enough force to make him loose his grip on the blaster.
"That really was foolish, my dear boy," Sidious sighed, stalking towards where Obi-Wan lay crumpled on the ground. "With all of the power I grant you, the concessions I make for you, and still you betray me. Is this the result of the teachings passed down from the Jedi Order's revered Master Yoda? If this is what comes of his line, I fear for the rest of your kind."
Obi-Wan barely had the time to roll onto his back so that he was facing Sidious before he was struck by that same blue lightning that had ravaged Anakin before. His body bowed as pain spiked through what felt like every nerve in his body.
As Sidious raised his hands to deliver a second strike, Obi-Wan rolled quickly to his side, taking refuge behind a large boulder. Obi-Wan lay against the rock, panting, knowing that it would offer him only a brief respite. Reaching out with his senses, Obi-Wan was frustrated to learn that Sidious was the only other living thing nearby, the other footsteps belonging to droids from the defeated Separatist army. No living minds for him to coax to his bidding.
So instead Obi-Wan scrambled into a crouched position and took off through the slim pass that led to the outer edges of the outcropping. For the first time Obi-Wan regretted that he'd left the lightsaber behind on Alzoc III. It would have been the only effective weapon against Sidious' lightning which was even then flashing over his head.
Momentarily losing his footing on the rough terrain, Obi-Wan stumbled and in that brief moment Sidious was once again able to strike. With a scream, Obi-Wan fell to his knees and was barely able to catch himself before he toppled forward completely. His momentum was only slowed because with the next blast of blue-tinged lightning Obi-Wan's arms trembled and gave out.
Not entirely certain he wouldn't regret it later, Obi-Wan threw down the barriers that kept Anakin's mind from his own.
ANAKIN!
He waited barely a heartbeat before he heard Anakin's frantic voice echoing in his mind.
Obi-Wan...? Is that you?
Obi-Wan only had enough time to shout out the planet's name before the third bolt of lightning sent him tumbling into blackness.
The planet Lok was little more than a parsec from Tatooine. Anakin had chosen that particular planet as his final stop before venturing back to Geonosis. And while Geonosis was closer to Tatooine than Lok, Anakin was still grateful that he was close enough to respond to Obi-Wan's panicked plea for help. Even as he fired up the starship's hyperspace booster, Anakin was silently cursing himself for not having gone to Tatooine immediately after discovering Obi-Wan wasn't on Alzoc III. Tatooine was one of the few places Obi-Wan knew and was the most logical place for him to hide.
Even though the hyperspace booster sped the ship's progress immensely, the trip was still far too slow. Through their new awakened bond, Anakin could feel the buzz of Obi-Wan's pain. Pain that was far more mental than it was physical.
Toggling a few of the controls, Anakin did what he could to speed the ship's progress to Tatooine. Reaching out across their bond, he sought to soothe Obi-Wan as best he could. In his mind he drew forth an image of Obi-Wan, lightly stroking his stubbled jaw with mental fingers that then moved to brush against his temple.
I'm coming, Obi-Wan. Fast as I can.
Sidious couldn't help but chuckle when he felt the sudden presence of Anakin Skywalker. He had expected the boy to try to rescue his former master, but hadn't expected him to arrive so soon. It was just as well for it meant he would have two puppets instead of just the one.
"My Lord Sidious, we've caught a Republic starfighter in the tractor beam," one of the clone troopers announced over the ship communicator.
"Excellent. Bring it into the main hanger and have a squadron of droids waiting for it."
The communication ended, Sidious nodded to the medidroid standing on the other side of the exam table. His new apprentice lay on the table, sedated. It would make the procedure that much simpler.
"Have one of the clones put him back in his room when this is over," Sidious ordered before striding from the room.
At first Anakin had considered putting up a fight when he realized that his ship was being dragged into the docking bay of the Republic cruiser. Sensing both Obi-Wan and Palpatine on board, though, he realized that it would be a futile effort. Palpatine would know of his presence and would have the entire ship on high alert if he wasn't immediately found inside the starfighter. So instead Anakin remained in the pilot's seat, waiting for the droids to find him.
"You need to come with us," the leader of the droid squadron said as it entered the cockpit.
Turning the chair away from the console, Anakin rose slowly to his feet. "Of course."
"Your lightsaber, please," the same droid demanded, holding a blaster out towards him with one hand, the other outstretched.
Anakin was somewhat reluctant about this, but handed over the weapon nonetheless. Uneasy as the situation made him, it was a necessary one if he was to rescue Obi-Wan. He tried, but could reach Obi-Wan through their bond. Like that day on Coruscant, Obi-Wan's mind was far too chaotic for Anakin to get through to him. Even when Obi-Wan was screaming his name, he hadn't been coherent enough to realize that Anakin wasn't just a figment of his imagination.
His hands bound before him, Anakin was led off the starship where he was immediately met by Palpatine. Or rather, Lord Sidious. Even though he was physically the same man Anakin had known since he had first arrived on Coruscant, nothing remained of the man who had been Anakin's friend.
"I would have thought you'd have been the first to find your former master," Sidious taunted as Anakin came to a stop before him. "I was led to believe that you shared quite a significant bond. The Jedi have been muttering for weeks that the two of you are able to bring balance to the Force. What a tragedy for them they're mistaken."
"Believe what you must," Anakin smirked, relaxing his shoulders in attempt to calm himself. "Obi-Wan is stronger than you think."
"Lord Vader is quite resilient," Sidious agreed, his expression angering Anakin. "I wouldn't have selected him otherwise."
"His name is Obi-Wan."
Sidious chuckled, turning his back on Anakin and stalking away. "Put the inhibitor collar on him and place him in one of the detention cells. Perhaps one just down the corridor from his former master."
Glaring at Sidious' retreating form, Anakin managed to refrain shouting threats at the Sith lord. He would be near Obi-Wan and even with the inhibitor collar he would be able to do something. He might be able to at least let Obi-Wan know that he was there and that he wasn't alone.
Obi-Wan lay curled on the small bench in the detention room, panting as he tried his best to focus himself. There was something very wrong. It wasn't like before when he'd first lost his memory. Obi-Wan knew exactly who he was, who he'd been for the past two months in any case. It felt as though there was a haze over his mind, spreading sludge-like through his system. Every time Obi-Wan thought he found some way to center himself it slipped through his grasp and he was lost once again in the haze.