Gasping. Stinging. A bitter taste in his mouth.
Shadows. A blurred blue image. Horrible pain.
Invisible lashes bringing forth rich red blood. A scream tearing through a parched throat. And then whispers in a familiar voice.
A voice he once knew. A voice he once trusted.
"Give in to your hate." Hot breath on his overheated and sweating skin.
"I didn't want you. I was forced to train you." Another sharp pain, this one across his chest.
"They don't want you. They aren't even looking for you."
"It's too late. You're infected with the dark. It's too late."
A red lightsaber slashes through the neck of a screaming person. Male? Female? Adult? Child?
The shadows do not allow him to see. All he knows is that it was a sentient being. And it was unarmed.
Guilt. Remorse. Suffering.
Replaced with anger, hatred, and the overpowering need for revenge.
He will return. He will make them pay. He will make them all pay.
"Obi-Wan! Wake up."
A gentle hand is nudging his bare shoulder. Obi-Wan's eyes fly open, his breath coming out in gasps, the sweat on his brow and chest cooling in the breeze filtering through the window of his assigned room in the Healer's wing.
It was a dream. No,a nightmare. But it was real. Oh Force. It was real.
"You were having a dream. Are you okay?"
His breath and heart beat were slowing down now and he reached up to offer a hand in comfort along Padme's cheek. "I'm okay. I'll be okay." She didn't look very reassured.
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not really." A slight smirk to try and lighten things up before he began. "But I think I'd better.I'm beginning to remember what happened on Mustafar." A long pause. "He tortured me. I'm not sure how long. I remember not eating or having anything to drink for days. And there were beatings."
Padmé traced the deep scar that ran across his chest as tears began to fall from her eyes.
"But that's not the worst of it. I think I killed someone. I don't know who it was. I think it was test. And I think I passed it, because the torture ended after that. Somewhere, I gave up. I gave in. I became a Sith." The word sounded and felt blasphemous on his tongue and Padmé shuddered upon hearing it.
"You didn't give up Obi-Wan. You fought. You won. You did what no other Jedi has ever done. You went to the Dark Side and you came back."
"Did I?"
Padmé was silent as she gazed into the blue-green depths of Obi-Wan's eyes. There was no darkness there. No trace of yellow. All she saw was the Jedi she loved. "Yes. Mace believes in you. Yoda believes in you. I believe in you. I love you." She punctuated her last words with a soft kiss and was soon rolled over and gently pinned beneath a strong muscular body.
"And I love you. Thank you. Thank you for coming for me. Thank you for believing in me." Another kiss and a small smile replaced the previous frown. "But you'll have to excuse me for a moment. I need to use the 'fresher."
"Don't be long." A quick peck followed by a more lingering kiss and a slight growl, and he was up off the bed and moving across the floor. Padmé simply lay back and enjoyed the view.
It was amazing to him -- that love had the power to simply banish the guilt and remorse from his soul. The torture he had suffered, the things he had seen and done, should be tearing him apart. But somehow, all he felt was a great peace.
A calmness radiated through his soul, and he knew its source. It wasn't coming only from the Force, but from Padmé. Her love was the anchor that he needed, or else he would have gone insane. It was so clear now. She was his salvation, the love of his life.
Then what are you waiting for?
His eyes glanced up to the mirror in the 'fresher. A confident Jedi Knight looked back.
Make her yours. Ask her. Don't wait another minute.
A bright smile lit his face as he turned to re-enter the room, with one intention on his mind.
However, the door was shut. He didn't remember shutting it when he came in.
And then he heard her scream.
His hand immediately flew to the scanner to palm open the door, but it didn't budge.
Another scream.
He called upon the Force to pry open the door with a swipe of his hand. It moved only partially. He physically pushed it open the rest of the way and ran into the room.
Padmé lay supine on the bed. In the dim moonlight, he could see a shadowy figure hovering over her, and then to his horror, it lowered onto her body, and then sunk into it.
Her body convulsed and thrashed on the bed.
Obi-Wan was immediately there, prying open her mouth to secure her tongue. Her eyes had rolled back in her head.
He screamed out her name, but there was no reply.
Then she was still and her eyes opened.
Shaking her gently, her repeated her name. Still, there was no reply.
Slamming his hand against the emergency comlink, he threw on his robe and waited for the Healer to arrive.