Even with his connection to the Force temporarily silenced, Anakin instinctively knew when they'd reached the corridor where Obi-Wan was being held. One didn't need the Force to feel the tension vibrating in the air. Being without the Force also didn't hinder Anakin's ability to fight. Obi-Wan had made sure that Anakin knew how to use hand to hand combat without relying on the Force to protect him. His own knowledge of droids allowed him to alter those same fighting techniques to use again the droids guarding him.
Twisting suddenly, Anakin dropped to his knees, his contorting body causing the droids to knock together and momentarily loosen their grip on his upper arms. Able to move better, Anakin rolled onto his sides and in the process kicked the legs out from under the first droid. While it was still falling, he reached up and grabbed hold of the other one's ankle and yanked violently. He miscalculated slightly and its heavy durasteel torso clipped his shoulder on the way down, hard enough to cause Anakin a noticeable twinge of pain.
His bound hands made things a bit awkward, but Anakin was able to wrench loose the correct cables while the two droids were floundering to right themselves. Once they were properly incapacitated, Anakin climbed out from under the mess. He found the necessary release mechanisms for both the binders and the Force inhibitor, but only unfastened the binders. Anakin pocketed the one for the Force inhibitor and hid the remains of the droids in an empty detention room.
Anakin paused a moment, scrubbing his hands over his face as he struggled to center himself. That was the easy part. Anakin could easily handle a few droids. But he didn't know what had happened to Obi-Wan or if he was even going to be in any condition to help with any type of an escape.
Whimpering, Obi-Wan smacked the back of his head against the durasteel wall behind him.
He won't come for you.
The Jedi have abandoned you.
The Jedi fear you.
He fears you
Obi-Wan screamed then, his eyes still squeezed shut tight as he tried to banish the voices from his mind. Over again, on a loop, and interrupting each other, they continued to taunt him.
The light has abandoned you.
He will not come.
All that remains is darkness...
Even though the voices never acknowledged him, Obi-Wan continued to shout at it, denying everything it said. It was tiring, though. Obi-Wan couldn't recall the last time there had been silence inside his head. The voices didn't give him a moment's rest. They wouldn't allow him time to contradict them as they spoke in endless breaths.
If he could just make them stop… long enough for him to catch his breath and just have a couple of minutes of silence.
The Jedi will destroy you now.
They will not let you live. Sithspawn.
They will send him—
"Obi-Wan!"
–to kill you.
He will—
"Can you hear me…?"
–kill you.
"Obi-Wan?"
Anakin's fingers danced a hairsbreadth above Obi-Wan's convulsing form. Every time he touched him Obi-Wan screamed in agony. Even with the inhibitor collar off and speaking to Obi-Wan through both their bond and vocally, he couldn't seem to get through to him.
"Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan, please… please wake up. You need to wake up. We don't have much time," Anakin pleaded, using the Force to lightly brush Obi-Wan's hair away from his face. "Come on. You're stronger than whatever this is."
It was all taking too long and Anakin was starting to panic. He knew that it wouldn't take Sidious long to realize what had happened and while Anakin was pretty sure he could use the Force to levitate Obi-Wan back to his starfighter, it would take a lot out of him. They would be too slow and the droids would overtake them.
"Please let this work," Anakin whispered to himself as he leaned over Obi-Wan's upper body.
Master Yoda had said that they'd created some sort of balance in the Force that morning when they'd made love. Following that hunch, Anakin used the Force to still the movements of Obi-Wan's head as he leaned forward. He brushed his lips against Obi-Wan's, waiting until he was sure that he wasn't causing his lover any further pain before increasing the kiss.
Obi-Wan, listen to me, Anakin whispered along their bond. I need you to wake up now.
He won't help you. He wants to kill you. The Jedi sent him to kill you.
The other voice caught Anakin completely off guard. He jerked slightly, nearly breaking contact with Obi-Wan. Steadying himself just in time, Anakin maintained the contact between the two of them, bringing his hands up to lightly stroke Obi-Wan's cheeks.
Obi-Wan, don't listen to it. I'm not going to kill you, Obi-Wan, I swear it. Please, just listen to me. Follow my voice. Listen to me and follow my voice. Please.
He will—
Obi-Wan, don't listen to it. I'm not going to kill you, Obi-Wan, I swear it. Please, just listen to me. Follow my voice. Listen to me and follow my voice. Please.
–kill you.
It wasn't silence, but it was Anakin. That was nearly as good as silence, better perhaps. Anakin could make all the voices go away and keep him safe. Concentrating as hard as he was able, Obi-Wan struggled to find a handhold to grasp their bond and follow Anakin back to where it was safe.
Anakin...
There was a sudden flaring, as though a sudden light was ignited behind his eyes, and he could see a hazy outline of Anakin.
I'm right here, Obi-Wan. Take my hand and follow me back.
Concentrating as hard as he was able, Obi-Wan was able to discern Anakin's hand in the darkness that flickered about him. At first it felt as though his hand slipped through Anakin's as though through a fog. There was a sudden grip to his wrist then and Obi-Wan knew it was Anakin. Fumbling about, he latched onto Anakin's wrist with his free hand, holding tight to it as Anakin began to back away from the consuming darkness.
The light that followed was so startling that Obi-Wan couldn't swallow the scream that bubbled in his throat. His body twisted in reaction to the pain and he found himself wrapped tight in Anakin's arms, warm lips pressed to his cheek.
"Ana… Anakin," he gasped as he lay trembling against the younger man. "Anakin."
Anakin held Obi-Wan against his side, supporting them as they slunk through the shadows of the star cruiser. Obi-Wan was conscious and functioning mostly under his own power, but Anakin felt safer in keeping him close as neither of them had any weapons. It would be easier once they left the bowels of the ship and came across some of the clone troopers. Even with his mind half-clouded by the drug, Obi-Wan was still a very powerful mind manipulator.
"D'ye know where we're going?" Obi-Wan whispered as he and Anakin came to a stop at the end of a corridor near a lower level docking bay.
"If it's like any of the other ones we've been on, yeah."
Beside him, Anakin could see Obi-Wan frown. "Oh. Have we been on a lot?"
Anakin shook his head briefly. "A handful of them. Not a lot."
"Good."
It was simple enough for Anakin to guess that there were still a lot of gaps in Obi-Wan's memory. It had been more than a month and a half since Obi-Wan had first lost his memory and Anakin couldn't help but worry that the older man would never fully remember his life. At the moment it was enough to know that Obi-Wan loved him with or without his memory.
There were no ships in the docking bay that either of them could pilot—they were all droid crafts and lacking cockpits –so they had no choice but to abandon an easy escape in favour of venturing into the upper levels of the cruiser where Anakin knew his own ship was. Artoo was up there as well and even though Anakin didn't have his comlink anymore, he knew the astromech droid would find a way to help their escape.
"Let's go," Anakin whispered, tugging briefly on Obi-Wan's hand.
Behind him, Obi-Wan stumbled briefly, his body still weak. Anakin forced himself to ignore it, knowing there was nothing he could do at the moment. They had to get off of the cruiser and to a Republic-friendly planet. Then the two of them could hide until Obi-Wan was better and decide what they were going to do after that.
The both of them stumbled when the klaxon alarm sounded, the sound reverberating off the walls of the narrow corridor. It was safe to say that someone had noticed their escape which would make escaping far more difficult.
Stumbling after Anakin, Obi-Wan ran down the corridor. His mind still echoed with the sounds of voices taunting him, trying to convince him that Anakin only meant to kill him. That the Jedi wanted him dead. That—
–the light has abandoned you. You are a creature of darkness. You are a Sith.
Stifling a cry, Obi-Wan's knees buckled and he had to grip Anakin's shirt tightly to keep from falling. Then Anakin's arms were around him, holding him tight until Obi-Wan was steadier on his feet.
"Make it stop," Obi-Wan moaned against Anakin's shoulder.
"Obi-Wan…? Make what stop?"
Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut tight, breathing deeply to calm his nerves. "Voices. So many voices. They won't leave me alone."
The gentle hum that had faded to the very edges of Obi-Wan's consciousness began to increase in volume, enveloping him with warmth. Obi-Wan sighed, relaxing against Anakin, focusing on their bond and shoving those voices as far into his subconscious as he could manage.
Stay here with me, Obi-Wan. Just focus on me. I'll get us out of this just like I always do.
Obi-Wan felt buoyed by Anakin's presence, calmer than he had in a long while. He was able to stand on his own and follow after under his own power if not with a huge amount of vigor. With each step Obi-Wan felt a little calmer and little surer of himself. His faith in Anakin had never wavered, but given what he knew of the Jedi Council he couldn't place his trust in them. They were the ones who'd wanted to separate Anakin and him.
It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to him that Skywalker had managed to get to his former master despite the Force inhibitor. The boy was incredibly talented. For a time Sidious had even planned on making Skywalker his apprentice. However, Skywalker had learned everything from Vader and Vader possessed a rage that he hadn't expected which made him the idea apprentice.
For the moment Sidious planned to see if the two men could get up to the docking bay. It would be amusing if nothing else.
They were nearing the docking bay when Obi-Wan was first able to sense Sidious' presence on the ship. He tensed briefly, his eyes darting about to search out the man who was determined to kill Anakin. Obi-Wan was suddenly fearful that the Sith lord would follow through on his earlier threats.
"You should go," Obi-Wan said, coming to a stop at the edge of one of the corridors. "Go back to Coruscant or wherever you'll be safe."
Anakin whirled around, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Obi-Wan?"
"I'm the one that Sidious wants. If you go by yourself you'll be safe. He won't have a reason to hurt you any longer," Obi-Wan insisted, looking everywhere but at Anakin. He couldn't let the younger man see just how desperately he wanted to stay with him. "Please, Anakin. If I do what he wants, he'll let you go."
Bringing his hands up to hold Obi-Wan's face, Anakin shook his head vehemently. "No. I'm not leaving you here with that monster. He'll destroy you."
Bowing his head forward, Obi-Wan touched his forehead to Anakin's. "But it'll keep you safe."
"We usually do this the other way around," Anakin murmured, a brief smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Usually I'm the one protecting you."
"Then let me be the one to protect you this time."
On some level, Anakin knew that he should have expected it. Even so it was a shock when Obi-Wan slapped the Force inhibitor back around his neck, effectively preventing him from fighting back as Obi-Wan hoisted him a few inches above the ground.
"Obi-Wan, what are you doing?" Anakin demanded as Obi-Wan began to float him towards the docking bay. Straining as hard as he could, Anakin couldn't even manage to twitch a single finger. "This is insane, Obi-Wan. Let me down and we'll figure out a way to do this properly. We can both get out of here, just let me down."
"I'm sorry, Anakin."
"Ahh, my young apprentice, this is most unexpected," Sidious mused as Vader strode confidently into the docking bay, Anakin Skywalker hovering just behind his shoulder. "Have you come to offer up your former lover as a prisoner?"
Vader didn't even pause as he stalked across the wide space. "You swore to me that Anakin wouldn't be hurt if I became your apprentice. I'm seeing just how serious you were about that pledge."
"So I must be expected to abide by my word while you are free to ignore your own?"
"You drugged me," Vader snarled, shifting his gaze towards Sidious as he neared the older man. "You owe me this. You're going to let Anakin go as a gesture of your good will, my Master."
The anger that infused Vader's words was intoxicating. His young apprentice was slipping further and further into the clutches of the Dark Side with each moment that passed regardless of his intentions. And very soon, once Skywalker was dealt with, he would have Vader completely at his beck and call.
"As you will, Lord Vader. I give you my word that young Skywalker will be allowed to leave the system completely unmolested," Sidious assured the younger Sith.
"I mean to hold you to that, my Master."
Hovering in place just behind Obi-Wan's left shoulder, Anakin could only watch the proceedings with rising panic. Unable to gain a sense of Obi-Wan's thoughts, he couldn't be sure what the older man had planned. Anakin wasn't even entirely sure that Obi-Wan knew what he had planned.
Glowering as best as he was able given his current immobile status, Anakin kept alert to what was going on around him. The moment Obi-Wan released him he wanted to be ready. Anakin had no intention of allowing Obi-Wan to go through with whatever nonsense he had planned.
Anakin was caught off guard when he was thrown in the direction of his starfighter. When he landed in a jumble of limbs on the ground, Anakin realized that he once again had control over his body. Anakin had the Force inhibitor off before he was on his feet, scanning through the area for something he could use as a weapon.
Only to be bowled over a moment later, landing flat on his back for a second time in under a minute. Scanning the area around him, Anakin could only stare in shock at the sight before him.
Scrambling to his feet, Anakin sprinted to where Obi-Wan stood, red lightsaber in hand. On the ground in front of him was Sidious, everything from the shoulders down. His head was lying a few feet away, unblinking eyes staring at the ceiling. The lightsaber clattered to the ground as Obi-Wan staggered backwards, bumping into Anakin who immediately gathered the older man up in his arms.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Anakin whispered in his ear, tugging Obi-Wan towards the starfighter. "We'll go somewhere far away and we'll hide. We'll hide from everyone. It'll just be the two of us and we'll be safe."
"Safe," Obi-Wan echoed, nodding his head jerkily.