Chapter 3 – Escape
Author's Note: In which Obi-Wan goes into hiding with his... prisoner.
WARNING: Emotionally abusive relationships (technically physically almost is true too but not quite)
~ Tirana Sorki
The wound really isn't that bad or that deep, but it burns and it's throbbing constantly, and Anakin wishes he'd been able to get up and keep moving. Or Vader. Maybe he is Vader right now. He's supposed to be, but he doesn't feel like it. He feels like he did as a padawan when he badly messed up something – it could have been anything, with how picky Obi-Wan was, and now he's waiting to see whatever his master will do. Except he's on a mission, and he was supposed to bring peace and he failed.
He was supposed to save Padme, to grow stronger in the Dark Side, but he didn't do that either, and he needs to.
He draws on the Force, trying to stay conscious and bring himself back, steady himself to keep moving. To do something.
Except darkness is blurring the edges of his vision and moving sends spasms of agony through his body. Obi-Wan did this to him. Obi-Wan. He wants to cry, but that would never be enough to give voice to it. He did this for... the greater good. Just as his master taught him to, and he... He couldn't think of objecting to his master's orders because of Obi-Wan, and Anakin refused to kill him like he should have.
He's not sure he can say the feelings are mutual.
He can't forget that look of fury burning in Obi-Wan's eyes as he attacked him, and something about it... He's seen it occasionally when his former master fights, but it's never been directed at him before.
Anakin doesn't even know why Obi-Wan was at the Temple – Sidious had already had him arrested. It had thrown him completely off-guard, especially with how angry Obi-Wan was. He knew he'd have to confront him eventually, but he hadn't even had time to think that far ahead. Everything was just about the mission. He couldn't let himself think past that.
If he did, he would realize the enormity of what he'd been asked to do, and he wouldn't be able to do it.
He'd been so scared then – but he didn't want to hurt Obi-Wan, even if he knew he needed to stop letting himself get distracted – and really, he still is now. He'd fading in and out of consciousness, and he doesn't know where Obi-Wan is taking him. He can't reach out with the Force very well either, thanks to the cuffs on his wrists. How did his former master even come prepared with those?
Not that there's much to feel in the Force right now anyway, beyond destruction and death – his boys are fighting all alone now; what's going to happen to them?! – and his former master's icy cold presence. It feels sharp and cutting like a blade of ice right now, and... (He can't really blame him for that, can he?)
His mind is moving in slow motion, though, and he has no idea how much time has elapsed since... Since Obi-Wan took him. Somewhere. He's too out-of-it to tell if Obi-Wan is being gentle or not. It feels like it, but it... hurts. Everything hurts.
He feels more than sees Obi-Wan moving him again, setting him down somewhere, but it jars the injury enough that it sends a wave of agonizing pain through him, and he abruptly blacks out.
**w**
Obi-Wan is not comfortable with leaving Vader anywhere unwatched right now, but he needs to get a ship to take them off-planet, and he needs to talk to Padme. She needs to leave too, or Sidious could still get Luke and Leia. Vader isn't in walking condition right now anyway, and nor can he reach out with the Force, so he shouldn't have any way of moving unless someone finds him, which is unlikely. Still, he needs to hurry.
In some ways, the damage to the Temple is so much more visible from a distance, now that he's reached 500 Republica. He can see distinct flames from here, and the smoke pouring up from the building, even in the relative darkness of Corsucant's night. The air feels of death, and he finds himself remembering all over again what it was like when he saw it the first time, returning that morning to see the Temple still smoking. The entire life he ever knew, gone, burned to the ground. Seeing it all over again is...
He knew this was coming, but that doesn't make it easy to see.
It was never the hardest part though, but at the end of the day, Anakin is still gone. He thought he had him back, but he didn't. Not truly. Unless he's not fully Vader yet, but Obi-Wan's not going to let himself hope.
"Obi-Wan?" Padme exclaims, as Threepio lets him in. She's looks close to tears, and he can easily see her fear. "What are you doing here? What's happening? Where's Anakin?"
"The Jedi were accused of treason," Obi-Wan replies bluntly, "The Chancellor is a Sith, and he intentionally set this all up to destroy us."
"What?" Padme asks, desperately, "How – how could anyone believe that? And – Palpatine is a Sith?"
"Palpatine fooled all of us," Obi-Wan replies grimly.
"Where's Anakin?" she demands again, the faintest note of panic in her voice now, "Is he alright?"
In truth, he doesn't know the answer to that question himself. He probably never will. "He's alive," Obi-Wan replies, and she breathes out a quiet sigh of relief, even if she still looks close to panicking. "But the situation is... complicated."
"What do you mean?"
"He sided with Palpatine."
"What?! You can't be serious. He – wouldn't do that."
"I didn't want to believe it either, but he did. He was leading the clones to attack the Temple," Obi-Wan replies.
"No," Padme shakes her head, stepping away from him, "I don't believe you. He wouldn't." He remembers this, from last time. She likely won't want to believe him, until it's too late, and he's not letting a repeat of that happen.
"I didn't want to believe it either," he repeats, "But it's true. He is not the Anakin you remember anymore."
"No," she denies again, voice shaking, "He – how can you say this?"
"I saw it," Obi-Wan retorts, "I know this... cannot be easy for you. I know you two are... close, but Palpatine will go after Senators loyal to the Republic next. You need to leave Coruscant immediately."
Talking to her almost feels like talking to a ghost – it's also reminding him of Leia, for some reason. He doesn't want to think about Leia, but this time maybe he'll... something. The twins were the future, and he'd accepted that. It's true now, only he's afraid he'll have to sit out the exact same events. He doesn't think he can handle it.
"What?! I can't just leave. I –"
"He's going to form an Empire," Obi-Wan continues, remembering a second later that she has no idea that that's about to happen, "
"How would you even know that?" she demands.
"We found out much of what he's planning, but it was already too late to stop it," he responds. It's as close to the truth as he's willing to give. That he time-traveled is not something everyone needs to know. "It's far too dangerous for you to stay on Coruscant –"
"Where's Anakin?" she demands again, "What happened to him? Is he – at the Temple still?"
"I brought him with me. He's... currently unconscious."
She looks no less worried. "Is he okay?"
"He will be," Obi-Wan offers, "I'll need to treat his injuries. But he's not the person you remember anymore. He's..." He can't really explain it to her.
"I want to see him," Padme declares
Except Obi-Wan remembers what happened last time, and it's not safe. Nothing will dissuade her, though. "I don't know if it's safe –"
Padme glares at him. "I know Anakin," she snaps, "He – I don't understand how any of what you're saying could be true."
"He's dangerous, Padme. You don't know what he's capable of."
She has no intention of backing down, not that he expected otherwise. "Maybe not, but it's not as if he'd hurt me! I need to see him. I don't see why he would do what you're saying."
"I wish I could agree," Obi-Wan replies, turning away, "I can take you to see him, but I must determine if he is... stable first. And it will not be safe for him to stay around you."
"Let me be the judge of that."
"It's not only because of him. Sidious will be after him and you, and it will be safer if you're separate for now." Someone, preferably a Jedi, should be watching over the twins too, but it won't be him. He needs to keep an eye on Vader, and he doesn't know if there's anyone else who could handle him. (He wants to be the one to do it anyway, even if he can't say why.)
At the mention of Luke and Leia, some of the fight goes out of her. "I want to see him," she insists.
Obi-Wan can understand that – he didn't want to believe Anakin was gone, and he never would have if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. "Then we must hurry," he decides. There's no point arguing with her any longer. "But after that, I will need a ship to take him elsewhere. And you must go into hiding."
"Fine," Padme concedes finally, "There's things I'll need to deal with first, but let's go."
**w**
Vader is still unconscious when they return. Obi-Wan can only be grateful for that, even if it's very unusual, because Anakin is never unconscious for long, unless he hasn't slept in a long time. Which now that he thinks about it, that may have been true. He doesn't really remember.
Obi-Wan nudges him awake with the Force when he approaches. He was injured and, however reluctantly, Obi-Wan will have to treat that. He won't let Padme do it – it's too dangerous.
Vader seems only about half-lucid, but he watches Obi-Wan warily as he approaches, kneeling next to him. "I need to treat this," he tells him. Vader only makes a quiet sound of not-quite acknowledgement.
He looks...
(Something about it reminds him a little of how Anakin occasionally looked at him, after first coming to the Temple, when he didn't trust him yet, but he ignores that thought.)
It's awkward because this isn't Anakin and nor has he treated anyone's injuries in ten years, but he gets to work, pulling Vader's robes off as much as he needs to, to properly see the injury. It looks far from pleasant, but it's hardly the worst Vader's had in the past. There's not a whole lot Obi-Wan can do anyway – they only have things to treat small injuries, not significant ones. It'll have to be enough, even if it takes a long while to heal.
"Master," he asks, the word coming out slightly slurred, but hearing it in Anakin's voice is what hurts most.
"What did I tell you about calling me that?" he snaps, rage spearing through him.
"I'm sorry," he breathes faintly. "I did – what I had to."
"What you had to," Obi-Wan repeats acidly, "Is that the only excuse you can come up with? For massacring the Jedi? For turning on the people who gave you a home?"
"I didn't – want to." He cuts himself off with a quiet hiss of pain. As if he truly believes that is enough, but in truth, there is no excuse for it.
"If you didn't want to, you wouldn't have done it," he retorts, "And that justifies none of it."
"I – I had to."
Obi-Wan must physically stop himself from pulling back, or perhaps from lashing out. He should, he knows. He should kill Vader, and in a fleeting moment, he finds himself considering it. Except he knows he can't bear to see Anakin's body lying dead in front of him, even if it might as well be.
"If that's the only excuse you can come up with, I have no interest in hearing it," he bites back, "You're a traitor to the Republic and the Jedi, and you've become the very thing you once swore to destroy."
Vader doesn't say anything else. He breathes in shakily, expression twisted with pain, but he's quiet.
Obi-Wan pulls back with a frustrated sigh. He doesn't want to do this. He doesn't want to help the person who helped destroy the Jedi, both this time and last. "I did everything I could right now." He thinks so, anyway. Maybe he can do a little more, but this entire situation is extremely uncomfortable.
Now for the rest of what he needs to deal with. He's still far from comfortable, letting the Senator in here. "Padme wants to see you –"
"Padme?" Vader rasps, eyes widening the slightest bit.
"I question the wiseness of it," Obi-Wan interrupts, "Considering that you have no problem turning on the very family you were raised in."
He flinches slightly. "I..." He blinks a few times before reaching up to pull his robes back down over the wound.
He doesn't think Padme will much like seeing Vader in this condition and in binders, but Obi-Wan won't risk removing them off right now. "I'll send her in," he decides, turning away.
Padme hurries in the moment he steps out, and he pauses in the doorway, watching. He'd be a lot more comfortable leaving them to... talk alone, but he's not going to risk anything happening to her, even if it's unlikely.
"Anakin," she breaths, rushing to his side.
Vader shifts, looking up at her from where he lays, expression twisting. He looks somewhat relieved, but there's a jumble of other emotions there too he doesn't bother to identify. "Padme? I –"
She reaches out, lightly touching his side near the injured area. "Are you – How are you feeling? How bad is it?"
"I'm fine," he answers, blinking a few times. "You're – you're in danger, Padme." He's visibly struggling to remain conscious now.
"In danger from Palpatine," she replies, frowning as she takes his human hand, "Obi-Wan said you... What happened?"
Vader's expression twists again, slightly from confusion. "No, from – I saw –"
"What?" she asks, frowning.
"You..." He's slipping dangerously close to unconsciousness now.
"Did you really turn on the Jedi?" Padme asks.
"I... had to –"
If he hears that one more time.
He can feel Padme's shock and disbelief. "Maybe we can talk about this when you're... feeling better," she says, finally, "I want to know what happened, and I don't think you should strain yourself trying to talk about it right now."
Vader makes an unidentifiable noise, closing his eyes again, going still.
"Does he really need these?" she asks unhappily, hand dropping to cuffs on Vader's wrists.
"Yes. Until I determine if he's a threat."
Padme stays next to him for a few long moments before finally standing. "I don't like this idea of being away from him," she says softly.
"There's little choice at this point," Obi-Wan replies.
"Where are you going to go? What are you planning to do with him?"
"For now, all Jedi must remain in hiding. And I cannot allow him to return to Sidious, so I will keep him with me."
"He needs to see a healer," she says, frowning.
"I'll do what I can," Obi-Wan replies flatly.
Padme doesn't look any happier. "He was injured, Obi-Wan. It's not minor."
"He's been through worse on the battlefield. He'll be fine."
"He can at least stay with me until he's healed," she retorts.
"If he's with me, I can try to see if there is any of Anakin left in him. I will know if I see it." That's not a thing she can argue with. He raised Anakin, after all, and it's a false hope. "And I will know if he's still a threat. He's a Sith now, Padme. You don't understand them."
"And if you deem him a threat, what will you do?" she demands. "Kill him?"
"No. He will be... confined somewhere." He doesn't say that he can't do it, how he could have thrice now but couldn't.
"I just want to talk to him," she says, still no happier.
"Once he is somewhat recovered, perhaps we can arrange that, if it's safe," he assures. It's the most he can offer, at this point. They need to leave soon. They're in an abandoned building near the Temple, and Obi-Wan doesn't know how long it will be safe here. Sidious is likely already looking for his missing apprentice, and keeping him on Coruscant any longer than necessary would be stupid.
He needs to take him somewhere the Sith won't think to look for him, and somewhere Vader would have an equally hard time escaping from.
There's only one place he really knows – a little too well.
Tatooine.
**w**
Consciousness returns painfully slowly, and when he wakens, he wishes he hadn't. So much has happened. Too much. He joined the Sith. Padme is in danger, and Anakin can feel her somewhere nearby, but it's not clear thanks to the Force restraints still on his wrists. He sold his soul to save her – it's Sidious' now, and he's...
The Jedi betrayed the Republic, and Force knows why, but Anakin was supposed to stop them before they hurt anyone else. And he'd have succeeded, except Obi-Wan stopped him and Obi-Wan hurt him.
The burning pain in his side is a little less now, but it's still bad. Enough to slow him down. He could move past it if he had to, except he's in a ship somewhere, and the binders on his wrists would make it much harder to move. It's not as if there's anywhere to go. The battle at the Temple is already done, and the thought of going back to Sidious after failing floods him with fear. He doesn't know what he's like as a Sith master, but he sensed that darkness, and he has little desire to find out what the Sith might do.
He also has little desire to be here. He can feel Obi-Wan so painfully close, and more than that, he's angry. Obi-Wan is so rarely angry. And Anakin doesn't think he's seen him this furious with anyone before.
He tries to blink back the memory of the lightsaber stabbing into him, and what Obi-Wan was saying earlier when they talked. Anakin doesn't remember all of it, but he remembers enough.
The words hurt, far more than he wants to remember. But he did do what he had to. He had to save Padme, but he's failing that too, and he doesn't even know where she is now. Or where he is now. But – he has to do something because he can't let her die. He'll have to go back to Sidious, and he doesn't know how, and a part of him is still scared to.
Anakin stiffens at the sudden sound of movement before the door opens and Obi-Wan steps inside. He does not want to have this discussion. Especially not when he can hardly move. Not now, please.
Obi-Wan stands in the doorway of the ship, whatever exactly it is. He doesn't recognize the room or type. "Vader," he says icily.
Anakin stills. "How did you know?" he asks. "How did you know my name? And how did you escape, for that matter?"
"Your master could have used better security," he replies lightly.
And for all that he is scared, he's just as angry – furious that Obi-Wan would do something of this nature. He had hoped, at the very least, Obi-Wan would never turn on the Republic. Except he did. Of course, he sided with the Jedi. "You betrayed the Republic," Anakin accuses.
Obi-Wan's expression turns even more furious if that were even possible. "You are the only traitor here, Vader," he snaps, "You turned on the Jedi –"
"They turned on the Republic! You yourself asked me to commit treason!"
For some reason, Obi-Wan hesitates a moment before replying. "The Council knew something was out of place with Palpatine, and we were right."
"He's still the Chancellor."
"He's a Sith."
As though it's that simple. Anakin knows the Sith are dangerous, and maybe Palpatine does need to be removed from office, but that's still not the way to go about it. It doesn't change that what they asked Anakin to do against him broke the Jedi Code, or that Windu himself was about to break it. (He's also the only one who might be able to save Padme, but that won't matter if he can't even go back to him.) "That doesn't change that what you did was treason! I saw Windu about to kill the Chancellor when he was unarmed," Anakin snaps.
"He had to be stopped. He's the one who started the war," Obi-Wan retorts, "And he destroyed the Republic."
"That does not change it, and he never destroyed the Republic."
Obi-Wan scoffs. "He turned it into a Sith Empire."
An Empire? Anakin didn't know that Palpatine was planning to do that, but he isn't really surprised either. And he can't necessarily say that he has a problem with it, not if it's the only way there will ever be peace. "He is trying to restore peace." Or at least that's what Palpatine had told him. He doesn't know what to think of all of this; he still feels so lost, but he knows what he saw – that the Jedi were trying to overthrow the Republic.
"Peace?" Obi-Wan repeats coolly, and the sudden icy calm in his tone is – bad. "Is that what you call slaughtering the people who were once your family?"
The words cut him sharply, guilt twisting in him. He didn't want to do it, but – what other choice was there? "They were never my family," he replies instead, even if the mention of the Order makes him somehow feel dead inside.
"You're more lost than I thought," Obi-Wan bites back, "The padawan I raised would never let the Sith blind him like this."
It's a rejection, really, and he doesn't know why he expected anything less. Obi-Wan will always be loyal to the Jedi and he saw Anakin killing people there. He – Of course, Obi-Wan is rejecting him. He knew it would happen, really, the moment he sold his soul to Sidious, but doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. "I saw the Jedi betraying everything you taught me."
"You betrayed everything I taught you."
It hurts as much as it angers him. It's that same tone, that same – everything that's always made him feel so worthless in the past and still is now. There's the instinctive part of him that always want to back down and beg forgiveness, make himself small and invisible until Obi-Wan calms down again but that's – Not this time. It wouldn't work anyway. Obi-Wan is furious with him (he's going to leave him), and – what's he planning to do with him, anyway?
The door to the room suddenly hisses open, and Padme enters. "I can hear you all the way in the cockpit," she snaps, "Obi-Wan, I'd like to talk to him in private."
His former master doesn't look happy, but he steps out of the room, leaving them alone.
Seeing her again, Anakin's fear spikes instantly. He needs to get out of here, see if there's anything he can to do stop her from dying. He can't – He can't fail her. He can't let her (and his child) die. What kind of father would that make him?!
And he already started down this path, and he needs to at least do enough to save his family. That's why he joined Palpatine, after all. "Padme," Anakin murmurs. She's here, and that means – where are they taking him? Why is she even with Obi-Wan anyway? He didn't have the presence of mind to ask her before, but now... "What happened? Where are we?"
"Obi-Wan needed a way off Coruscant, and I offered to transport him," she replies, frowning as she crosses the room, taking a seat next to him. He notices in that move how visible the child is now. His child. The child who – (who could die just like her, and it fills him with an icy fear.) "Is what he's saying true? About what you did?" She looks wary, but disbelieving.
She won't understand either. Not if there's really an Empire. He can try to explain, but he knows how Padme has always been. He has to make her understand, though. He did it for her, for their child, and – "What did he tell you?" Anakin asks.
"That you turned to the Dark Side. That you attacked the Jedi Temple," she says, a slight tremor in her voice.
"The Jedi committed treason," Anakin replies, "I chose to remain loyal to the Chancellor."
"He destroyed the Republic, Anakin!" Padme exclaims, "And I can't believe the Jedi would really do that."
What has Obi-Wan spent this entire time telling her? "I saw Windu trying to assassinate him myself."
She looks only more distraught than she did before. "The Jedi might not be right, but Palpatine isn't either. I can't support what he's doing."
He knew that would be true, but it still hurts. He did all of this for her, and she doesn't understand. He shouldn't have expected her to, after all – no one does. No one has ever chosen to stay with him. It's always been a simple fact of life, that no one would care to save him as much as he did them. Why should it be any different with her? "He's trying to bring peace."
"With an Empire?!" she demands.
"We can deal with him once – once I learn the power to save you," he argues, desperately. He can never convince Obi-Wan, so he won't even try, but Padme...
A look of understanding and something akin to horror flash across her face. "Is that what this is all about?"
"I found a way to save you," he responds quietly, "But it's with the Dark Side and Palpatine will help me."
"I told you I'd be fine Anakin."
"You don't know that," he argues. She said that before, and it only made him even more scared. He has the same feeling now that he did when he was having the visions of his mother. They will happen unless he does something to stop them. This is the only way, and Obi-Wan is taking that from him. He can't let that happen. He can't. If he can talk Padme into getting him back to Palpatine, maybe after that they can figure something out. "I will be strong enough soon, but I –" He has to go back.
"At what cost?" she demands, "You're a good person. Don't do this."
"I won't lose you the way I lost my mother! I can't let you die, Padme." It's actually odd, that he hasn't seen that vision again yet. He's been having it every single night, and even when he meditates, from the moment that he returned to Coruscant, but now that they're all away from there, he hasn't seen anything at all. Of course, he's also been unconscious and injured, so...
"I'm not going to die, Anakin. After I leave, I'll stay near a top medical facility somewhere. I'll be fine."
He wants to believe it, but it's not that simple, and something else in her words stands out the most. "After you leave?" he repeats, stiffening.
"I want us to stay together," she says quietly, reaching over to take his hand. But it's – all he can do is listen numbly as she keeps talking, "But it's going to be dangerous. If the Sith finds our child..."
"That's why I need to stay with you!" Anakin protests. It's all the more reason. He doesn't think Palpatine would hurt their child, though remembering his sheer darkness in the Chancellor's office, he can't be sure. Either way, their child will be in far more danger if there's no one to protect her. (Or him, if Padme's right.)
"He wants to find you, too," she objects, standing up, "If we are not in the same place, it will be easier to hide."
He can't believe she's seriously saying this, that they should stay away from each other, right here and now when their child is about to be born. Right when she's about to die. Right when their child could –
"How are you?" she asks. "I know you're injured."
"It's nothing," Anakin replies, because really it isn't in the face of all this. "I'll be fine." He certainly doesn't feel like it though. It feels like he's being ripped apart, like everything he thought he was going to have is falling down all around him. He thought he could leave the Order and be a family and now, he doesn't know when or if that's ever going to happen. He doesn't know when – when he'll even be able to see her again, or anything. (He doesn't know if he ever will because she could die.) And no one is even listening to his concerns – somehow, he's not surprised about that.
She doesn't look very convinced. "You were unconscious for hours."
"I've had worse." His side is still throbbing, but the physical pain hardly bothers him right now. He needs to know that she'll be fine, that their child will be fine, but – He'll have to find a way to get back to Sidious on his own, as soon as possible, whenever he finds a way out of here. Wherever here is.
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