Chapter 28: Relinquishing Power
Obi-Wan stayed inside the refresher for two hours. Only because that was how long it took for Qui-Gon to give up. Qui-Gon stood outside the refresher door, speaking through the door to coax Obi-Wan out. He tried apologizing. Then followed up with reasoning and pleading, but Obi-Wan didn't budge from where he sat. He assumed Qui-Gon would Force open the door, but he didn't. For a man that violated his trust and heart, he showed respect in the oddest places.
When he sensed Qui-Gon's muddied Force presence dissipate from the room, he emerged from the refresher. Obi-Wan scanned the room, making sure Qui-Gon was truly gone before he fully stepped out from his sanctuary. The room was quiet. Not a single sound haunted the room. Only the soft pats of his feet were heard.
He made his way across the room, straight to the window. There was nothing spectacular. Nothing he hasn't seen before: a serrated mountain belt with thick forests sweeping the sides and sprawling onto the flatlands. Considered beautiful to a normal eye, but from Obi-Wan's viewpoint, it was a source of taunting. The mountain peaks, like arrow tips, resembled a barricade. Forever keeping him locked onto the land. A reminder that he was trapped.
He backed away from the window. Irritation rattled him. The Force prickled in retaliation and Obi-Wan decided he needed to meditate to free himself from those bothersome effects. He plopped down on the floor, folding his legs into the perfect formation. He breathed deep through his nostrils and waded back into the Force.
The Force was rougher than normal. The waves were fiercer than the usual gentle lapping. A reflection of his state of mind, Obi-Wan imagined. He took another deep breath, slowly releasing it. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale again. The Force began to smooth out, quelling the storm. All the anger and sadness that muddied his mind leaked out, streaming into the Force and leaving him feeling lighter.
Obi-Wan exhaled. With quiet focus, he brought himself back to thinking of Anakin. He sensed the supernova power across the Force. He felt himself being drawn to it, to relieve himself from the cold depths and enter a bright and warm embrace. Anakin always had that way about him. The boy was too full of light to emit anything but warmth: in either compassion or passion.
Obi-Wan hoped Anakin was safe. Qui-Gon's threats despaired Obi-Wan with an overwhelming doomed anxiety. He could not let them have Anakin. Obi-Wan wouldn't be able to live if Dooku and Qui-Gon succeeded in turning Anakin into a Sith. Heart break would consume him alive to see gold rings of fire in Anakin's eyes rather than the vibrant blue. Yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi would die if Anakin turned down the dark path.
Drawing closer to Anakin's presence, he sensed a great deal of sorrow and fear. A black cloud circling around the Anakin's presence, twisting into a vortex and threatening to upend the galaxy itself. The surge of power welling within that misery, yearning and reaching out to the only source it knew best.
Him.
Instinctively, Obi-Wan headed to the wraith that sucked the hope out of Anakin. He broke through the thunderous cloud, finding Anakin's presence in the center as expected. He was huddled in a ball, cowering under the fear. Obi-Wan dropped a knee, hand sliding over Anakin. He pulled Anakin close, shielding the boy from the strong currents of anger which pulled the light from Anakin's Force. Once Obi-Wan sheltered Anakin, sending calming vibes to quell the storm before them.
The Force shifted. The Darkness ebbed away as Light streamed into the center, spotlighting them both in pleasant warmth. A surge of relief fluttered between them, a great rest from the distress they shared. For some reason—Obi-Wan could not say—he started to hum. It was an old tune. One he heard before from another. A tune that often brought him comfort during his dark moments. He hummed and Anakin's temperament soothed to a calmer presence. The storm clouds adrift.
Obi-Wan?
Obi-Wan stopped humming. Anakin was calling to him again. The soft whisper ghosting across their bond, brought a moment of bliss. Until an oily presence circled them. It's ill tendrils stretching to them, penetrating Obi-Wan's meditation. Getting closer and closer to Anakin's bright presence.
Realizing the invasion, Obi-Wan abandoned his dome. He shut down his connection with Anakin, building a shielded wall that sheltered Anakin's from the Dark Side's wraith. Obi-Wan failed to stop Qui-Gon from abusing his Force bond with Anakin the first time, but he wasn't going to let it happen again. He closed up, shutting down all of his connections with Anakin.
Obi-Wan had just pulled out of his meditation when the door hissed open. Obi-Wan scrambled to his feet, backing away from the door to distance himself as Dooku strode into the room. His strides generated ruffles on the Sith's cloak and he swept a quick gaze around the room until he spotted Obi-Wan backing into the furthest point from the door.
Dooku halted his precession, roaming a critical eye over Obi-Wan. Since they met last, Dooku promised retaliation for his revelations to the Council. Damned the consequences he faced, Obi-Wan's own concerns revolved around Anakin. Last he heard, Dooku was arranging Anakin's arrival to this hellhole.
Not forgetting his lessons, Obi-Wan curtly bowed before Dooku. He didn't say anything. He remembered the times Dooku reminded him that he was to not talk unless spoken to. To his luck, Obi-Wan didn't have to wait long for Dooku to speak.
"You're still here," Dooku noted.
Obi-Wan raised a skeptic eyebrow. "Where else would I be?"
A touch of ire reached those dark eyes. "I said the same thing seven years ago," Dooku said. "I admit I underestimated you back then, but recent betrayals have made me wiser. Stronger." Dooku stared intently at Obi-Wan. "I will no longer doubt you."
Flattery or a threat, Obi-Wan could not tell. Possibly both. Dooku did admire those who showed incredible talent, but that admiration didn't spare them from death. Or torture. Obi-Wan was quite familiar with the latter during his days on Serenno prior to meeting Anakin. However, Dooku wouldn't considered it torture. Just… a painful lesson.
Dooku brushed his cloak. "I am in need of your assistance," he addressed to Obi-Wan. "It will require you to leave this room, so I ask you to accompany me without trying to escape or cause any damages. Do you think you can manage?"
Leaving the room was ample opportunity for Obi-Wan to read out the layout of his new home, to strategize the quickest escape points from his prison. As for the assistance part of the request, Obi-Wan's heart tingled in dire anticipation. What possible assistance did Dooku need of him? He was the most powerful Sith Lord alive!
"What do you need of me?" Obi-Wan questioned in a tone that did not please Dooku.
"Your cooperation, for now," Dooku uttered. "Or will I need to resort to binders?"
"That won't be necessary," Obi-Wan said, still distrustful as to what Dooku could possibly need of him. "I will follow your lead."
For now, Obi-Wan added as an afterthought.
Satisfied in securing a promise, Dooku beckoned Obi-Wan to follow. Obi-Wan left his confines and to his surprise, found no squadron of droids awaiting him. It was only him and Dooku. While Dooku clearly stated he shared no more doubts about him, he sure still contained his arrogance. To think the need for back-up unnecessary meant he still underestimated Obi-Wan. Something he kept in his mind for when he planned out his next escape.
Dooku led him down many corridors and into a turbolift. Not once did they encounter any servants or droids. It was almost as if they were the only two things staying within the Serenno palace. Obi-Wan thoughts strayed to Qui-Gon. Surely he was around, unless he was already at the destination he was heading to. Maybe with Anakin.
Dooku glanced over at him and Obi-Wan quickly reinforced his shields. Dooku was apt at mind-reading, his Force signature like a sharp blade that easily sliced down any barriers it wanted. But Obi-Wan was surprised again to discover Dooku didn't thrust his knife into the mental barriers. He let him be. Peculiar and unnerving.
Obi-Wan was stopped in front of a door at the end of the long corridor. With the Force, Dooku opened the heavy door and they stepped inside the dark, ambient room. It was a simple room. Nothing like the rest of the palace. No signs of any opulence. None of Dooku's tasteful accommodation. In fact, Obi-Wan found it belonged more in the Jedi Temple than Dooku's palace.
The only thing that turned Obi-Wan's attention was a massive, dark window. Or a sheet of black glass. Strange to Obi-Wan as to why there was sleek black on the wall. What was it for?
Dooku brought Obi-Wan to stand right in front of the glass. Obi-Wan tilted his head, peering at the dark glass in puzzlement. Was he supposed to see something? Was this another test? Was Anakin somewhere nearby? His heart thumped in rapid successions at the thought of Anakin trapped behind the glass. Alone and afraid. The stint in the Force reminded Obi-Wan of the last feelings he sensed from Anakin. Fear and sorrow.
Obi-Wan flashed a look to Dooku. "What is this? Why am I here?"
Dooku did not say a word. He abandoned Obi-Wan to stand in front of the window as he moved across to the side of the room. There was a panel beside the window. Dooku pressed one of the buttons.
Obi-Wan didn't know what to expect when Dooku pressed the button. Upon the click, the black blinked to a transparent window. Obi-Wan studied the hidden room. It was bright white, reminding Obi-Wan of a clinical healing ward. Sterilized and crowded with equipment that surrounded a single figure that was held locked in the center of the room.
The figure must have noticed it was being watched for it raised its head.
Obi-Wan was struck by a bolt of recognition. The circulation of blood flow frozen and mind fried upon the sight of silver-gold hair and crystal, blue eyes.
A terrified breath wisped from his mouth. "Satine."
Anakin tuned everyone out.
He felt Obi-Wan's presence. He broke through the torrent fear and a surge of familial love conquered Anakin's anxieties. The darkness retreated. The light returned and Anakin nuzzled in the blanket Obi-Wan draped over him.
"Obi-Wan?" he murmured quietly to the Force. Was he safe? Was he okay? Anakin didn't know, but in that moment amongst the streams of the Force, he felt secured. In that moment of time, he and Obi-Wan were safe and happy.
That was until Anakin sensed a disturbance. A dark presence oozed seeped outside their circle of shelter, circling them. Anakin squeezed his hold on Obi-Wan, but Obi-Wan reacted differently. Rather than press close to Anakin, he pulled away. Anakin tried to snatch Obi-Wan's Force presence, thinking: Don't leave me.
But the mental shields closed, snapping shut, and both Obi-Wan and the dark presence vanished.
Anakin withdrew from the Force, slugging in his seat in the corner of the medical bay of the Halls of Healing in the Jedi Temple. Bant, Obi-Wan's old friend, was in the room with him, discussing medical information with the head healer. They didn't noticed the sadness Anakin succumbed to.
Anakin dropped his head. I hope he's all right.
A hand gently squeezed Anakin's shoulder, bringing him back to focus. Anakin looked up to see Healer Che examining him. She scanned his newly cleaned face for the second time that day.
The red light covered his face and a loud chirped informed the healer that the scan was done. Healer Che read the results, lips tight in a straight line. "Healthier than your last visit here," she muttered. "You need a vitamin boost."
Before Anakin could object to being stabbed with a needle, a sharp prick broke his skin and a bubble of blood formed over the punctured wound. Anakin hissed. He never liked being poked or prodded. Even as a child, Obi-Wan basically wrestled him to the floor in order to inject him with the Balmorra flu vaccine.
Shortly afterwards, Anakin was discharged and given a bed within the crèche on other younglings his age. Like last time, he sat on the low sleep mattress and said nothing. The same younglings googled him with newfound interest than last time. News must have spread amongst the children about the "adventure" Anakin endured the past few days.
The younglings didn't speak to him. Not even that Ferus boy that hassled him last week. They kept their distance from him and muttered rumors out of earshot. When night covered the city skyscrapers, Anakin fell into a fitful sleep. Dreams mixed with nightmares which left Anakin distressed. Obi-Wan was there. In the nightmares and dreams. Tears streaming down his face and prostrated on his knees, Anakin watched him sway between the light and dark. A confusion binding him into a troubled future.
He woke up early in cold sweat, panting as other younglings stirred in their cots by the disturbance. The master in charge scurried down the rows of sleep mattress to where Anakin was wide awake and shaking.
"Hush, youngling," the master tried to coo him to sleep. Her voice agitated Anakin. Her tone wasn't soothing like Obi-Wan's or Satine's. It was demanding. An order to be quiet, to ignore what he saw behind closed eyes.
"I saw Obi-Wan!" Anakin cried, clutching on the blanket for some stability. "I saw him!"
The master shushed him again. "It was only a dream, young one. They pass in time."
Anakin shook his head. "No—it wasn't a dream! I saw him!"
The master failed to settle Anakin and his anxiety in the Force upended every Force being in the room and in the next room. She comm the Master Yoda for assistance. Half an hour later, Anakin found himself standing in his sleep clothes in the middle of a circled group.
Members of the Jedi Council critically examined him with uplift brows. It was clear they did not like waking up in the night to humor a crying child. Anakin uneasily stared at each face. There were two people he did not recognize from his last interrogation. The serious dark skinned man that sat beside Master Yoda was replaced with an elderly woman with snow-white hair and a crinkled frown. The other spot that was replaced was Dooku. Sitting in his chair was a tall, green Nautolan with large black eyes that almost looked like space itself.
Anakin shivered from the cold that lingered from the nightmare. His gaze shifted from one face to the next, until his eyes landed on Master Yoda. The little, green Jedi was perched in his chair, looking wearier than before.
"Disturbed by a dream, Master Krav said you were," Master Yoda said.
Anakin shook his head. "It wasn't a dream!" he argued. Obi-Wan never questioned what he saw at night. He always held him and listened. Why won't anyone listen to him? "I know the difference between a dream and a vision."
The Council all murmured to one another. Master Yoda hummed. He too knew Anakin knew the difference. After all, he was there on Mandalore. "Of your vision tell us."
"I saw Obi-Wan. He was on his knees. Crying," Anakin told Master Yoda. "That's… that is all I saw."
The Council looked to one another with grim faces. The news of his vision was disturbing, but not expected. After all, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a hostage to the Sith Lords. One would expect pain and suffering to be part of their hospitality.
But that didn't mean it shamed Master Yoda. "Feel his suffering you do," he muttered. "Sad, it makes you."
More than sadness, Anakin quietly said to his thoughts. A part of himself was dying. But, Anakin only responded with a nod.
The creature with the long head spoke. "Visions do not define the truth, young one," he warned. "Be wary of what you see."
That was their response? Tell him to not trust what he saw—what he felt—at all? Did they not care at all that Obi-Wan was being tortured? Anakin's hands curled into fists. "I saw him! I felt him!" he screamed. "It was real! He was in pain. Suffering." Anakin glared at all of them, temper rising from his heart to his face. No one single face broke character. All wore the same iron-clad facial expression. Everyone but Master Yoda.
Anakin hated them for it. "This is all your fault!" he roared, blood pulsing loudly in his head. "You didn't listen to him! He told you everything and you ignored him!"
The loud accusations caused many to flinch or scowl in retaliation. One even cursed under its breath and another scorned Anakin.
One jabbed a finger in his direction. "Mind your tongue, boy!"
Anakin would not. "You damned him!" he snapped back. "He's being tortured because you chose to be stupid!"
Another Jedi sat upright, red in the face. "The Council did not gather here in the middle of the night for a temper tantrum or blame!"
"No—you're just advising me to ignore Obi-Wan," Anakin sneered. "Like you did all those years ago! Well—I won't! I won't abandoned him like you all did!"
Anakin stormed away from the circle. He head straight to the massive door, expecting it to open upon arrival. It did not. Anakin whirled on his heels, eyes focused on Master Yoda.
"Open the doors!" he demanded.
Master Yoda's shoulders sagged. "Not yet, little one."
Not yet? Anakin would not wait. It was quite clear the Jedi didn't learn from their mistakes. That they were emotionless scums of the galaxy. "Let me go! You can't hold me here against my will!" he shouted, glancing from one Council member to the next. "I'll call Padme! I'll call the Senate!"
That didn't unnerve Master Yoda at all. "Save him running off to rescue Obi-Wan will not," he said. "Only hurt him, it will. You know this."
Anakin wanted to deny it. He could save Obi-Wan from the Sith Lords. He did it before. He could do it again. But something in the pit of his stomach warned him that this time around was different. He couldn't walk onto a spaceship and rescue Obi-Wan. But, he denied it.
"I won't stay here and not do anything!" Anakin retorted. "I won't make your mistakes."
"Made, mistakes were. To Obi-Wan I take full blame of what happens," Master Yoda confessed. His voice sounding much older and weaker as he spoke. A loss of light within his irises. "My fault he is in their hands, is it. For that my arrogance and ignorance sealed his fate and, sorry, I am sorry." He dropped his head, leaning heavily on his gimer stick for support he could no longer hold himself. "But let his mission fail, I will not. Stay where you are safe, you will."
"But what about Obi-Wan? How are we going to save him?" Anakin questioned. He wanted to save him. He didn't care about himself. He only cared about saving Obi-Wan.
"We will," promised Depa Billaba, her tone nearly convincing Anakin to trust them. "But running head on will not do anyone good. Even less for Obi-Wan and yourself. These are Sith Lords, young one. They will not be easy to beat."
"We don't need to beat them. Just save Obi-Wan!"
"Winning against the Sith Lord is saving young Kenobi," came the hissing voice of a masked Jedi. "The Sith will not easily let Kenobi go. Especially not after all the effort they put in to capture him… and you."
Anakin picked the ends of his sleeves. "Then how do we beat them?"
Master Yoda removed himself from his gimer stick. "Patience," he answered. "Come from the Force, the answer will."
The Force! Why was the Force always the answer to every single problem? What if the Force couldn't answer? What then? Do they keep waiting? Or do they make their own decisions? Anakin began to think that the time to rely on the Force was no longer useful.
It was time to make his own choice.
And he chose to save Obi-Wan.
So he looked at Master Yoda and lied. "All right."
Obi-Wan tentatively stepped forward, closer to the window. His eyes were deceiving him. Reason insisted that what he saw couldn't be true. His imagination running wild! It was a random woman strapped to a chair on the other side of the glass. Not Satine.
He reached the glass. There was no mistake in those blue eyes. Satine—the love of his life—sat on the opposite side. Directly in front of him with raggedy hair and a bruised cheek from a previous struggle.
Obi-Wan clung to his sides, pinching the skin between his ribs as his fingers dug into the grooves between his bones. Too many emotions ripped through his mind, his shielding slipping underneath its rapture. Obi-Wan breathed heavily, every effort a force of difficulty to not breakdown.
He felt Dooku watching him, studying and analyzing his reactions. The Sith Lord was graceful on his feet as he moved to stand beside Obi-Wan. "She's beautiful," he purred. "Such pretty eyes."
It took all his willpower to turn away from Satine to Dooku. "What is the meaning of this?" Obi-Wan demanded, trying his best to not give Dooku the pleasure of breaking him.
Dooku's lips curled high up his face. Enjoyment fluttering across his eyes. "She's a friend of yours, is she not?" he asked with mock innocent. "Perhaps even more?"
"You know what we are to each other," Obi-Wan snapped at him, no longer interested in playing his little shadow games. He was quite aware Qui-Gon informed Dooku of his and Satine's affair long ago. "Why is she here?"
Dooku raised a censorious brow. "She's here… because you are here," he answered and he looked to the window, watching the droids injected an IV into her arm. "I thought you would be happy?"
Obi-Wan ground his teeth together. "I would be far happier if you remove her from that room."
And for some reason, Dooku grinned. "That is why I need your assistance," he said, pulling out a small handheld comlink. He pressed down on the talk button. "Initiate stage one."
Obi-Wan's eyes flicked from Dooku to Satine. The droids moved around Satine, working the machinery that were hooked into Satine. Obi-Wan fidgeted on the spot as he eyed the droids in their programmed work. As to what they were programmed for was what worried Obi-Wan the most.
"What are they doing?" he asked. A question he feared the answer. But the wait was intolerable. He needed to know. Now!
Dooku leaned down and whispered. "Patience, Kenobi. You will see soon."
And he did. Seconds after Dooku uttered those terrible words, a green compound liquid was injected into the IV. Obi-Wan watched as the chemical flowed through the plastic portal and straight into Satine's bloodstream.
At first, Satine only winced. Then she jerked. Eventually, it grew into a raging seizure. She contorted and twisted. Face screwed up as she bit down on her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Lurching in her seat, she attempted to break away from the IV to not avail. The straps prevented her from going anywhere.
Obi-Wan was stunned. Eyes tearing at the sight of Satine withering under the effects of the chemical the droids injected into her, his heart wrangled inside his rib cage with distraught. The teeth marks left red blood bruises on her bottom lip. Her muscles twitched involuntarily, the lasting effect from the chemical compound. A soft whimper choked from her throat.
Obi-Wan had seen enough. He charged for the door, but Dooku yanked him back. Fingernails pinched into the back of his neck and the other hand grasped firmly on his arm. "The show's not over yet," Dooku announced and he let go of Obi-Wan's arm to draw up the comlink again. "Proceed onto the next stage."
The droids nodded and a procured a vibro knife. Using the knife, they ripped opened one of the Duchess's sleeves, revealing the soft, milky pale skin underneath. Tender arm, unblemished by any harm. Obi-Wan's heart pounded violently in his chest as the knife came down upon Satine's shoulder.
The droid, with great accuracy, drew the knife down. Satine gasped in pain, eyes round upon the sight of blood streaming down her arm from the open flesh wound. She cried out, the burning sensation overtaking her. The droid brought the knife up again and this time, instead of going down, went across her shoulder and toward her exposed neck, stopping short of the esophagus.
Blood gushed like a waterfall over limestone. Smooth and clean, staining everything in red. Satine's lips trembled, her body still shaking at the sight of the knife coming down on her again. The droid brought it down along her backside. Satine screamed.
And Obi-Wan screamed with her. "No! No… please! Stop!" he begged. "She didn't do anything!"
Satine screamed again as they brought the knife right under her arm and cut downwards.
Obi-Wan ripped his eyes away and looked to Dooku. "Stop!" he pleaded with the Sith Lord. "Please—torture me! Hurt me!"
Dooku merely glimpsed at Obi-Wan. "Aren't I already?"
Obi-Wan looked at the Sith Lord before him. The dawning realization of the situation hitting him smack in the face. This was not Satine's torture… it was his. This was Dooku's revenge for his confessions to the Council. This was all a punishment for Obi-Wan.
Oh Satine! Obi-Wan was wracked with guilt as another piercing scream enveloped him. It was his fault. He lured her straight to the Sith Lords. Brought them upon her doorstep and made her a sacrificial lamb. This was his fault. He had sentenced Satine to this cruel fate.
The droids had stopped the cutting and moved onto the next stage. They brought over an electrostaffs. No hesitation, they jabbed the end of the electrostaff right into Satine's gut. She shrieked as blue-purple sparks danced along her curved body, twisting away to the best of her ability before another jolt of electricity hit her from the other side.
Obi-Wan shook his head, lost on what to do. He had to free her! He couldn't let Dooku and the droids poke and prod her to death. The guilt ate his heart, blackening his soul upon every scream and cry that escaped from Satine's mouth.
"Please Dooku," Obi-Wan beseeched, looking up at the regal Sith Lord. Dooku didn't look away from the spectacle. Too immersed with the fear and suffering to even glance at Obi-Wan. "What must I do to stop this madness?"
Dooku favored a thought. "I think you already know."
Obi-Wan's eyebrow furrowed at the lack of response. He was prepared to snatch Dooku by the collar of his cloth and demand a direct answer when he realized he did know the answer.
The fear, pain and anger all swirled around Obi-Wan, wrapping him up in a foggy state of mind. So much confusion warped his mind. Everything grey. No light. No darkness. Simply grey. He was treading on a dangerous path. A single wrong move and he would be lost forever.
Obi-Wan tried to retreat further into the Force to gain clarity, but only found insanity. There was nothing for him to rely on. Only what he saw and what he felt and what he knew. And Satine's screams and bloodied face was enough for him to know he could not escape the path that laid before him.
But he tried one more time. "Please—have mercy," Obi-Wan pleaded in his last ditched hope.
Dooku sighed, disappointed. "Mercy will not save your lover."
Obi-Wan shut his eyes, unable to watch what he proceeded to do next. "Then… then accept me," he offered, raising Dooku on the stakes. "Accept my duty and honor."
The Sith Lord idly surveyed him. His presence prickling up against Obi-Wan's mental shielding, a shiv sliding underneath for entrance. With great difficulty, Obi-Wan relinquished and deconstructed his shielding.
He winced upon the brutality Dooku released onto him. Dooku mercilessly rummaged through his mind—his memories—as he investigated into Obi-Wan's past. Flashes of happier times with Anakin came across his mind, along with his fondness for Satine and the isolation that plagued him as a boy.
Obi-Wan endured Dooku's ruthless raid until the Sith Lord's presence pulled out of his mind, leaving a sharp prickle across his forehead. Dooku clasped his hands behind his back, satisfied with what he found.
"Kneel," commanded Dooku.
Regrettably, but without resistance, Obi-Wan kneeled before his grandmaster. Dooku's dropped a hand on his head, fingers latching onto his auburn strands. It didn't hurt, but that didn't mean Obi-Wan was uncomfortable. He stayed kneeled on the floor before Dooku, chin to his chest as Dooku took in his victory.
Finally, the Sith Lord spoke. "May the Force be with you."
Then, the fingers pinched tighter on the strands and Obi-Wan's head was jerked back so that Obi-Wan met those brimstone eyes. "First and last warning," he intoned. "Cross either me or Qui-Gon again and it will be the last thing you will ever do."
Obi-Wan tried to swallow but his throat was too arid. All he did was hoarsely reply. "I understand, Master."
Dooku tilted his head, mouth stretching in a smug grin. He reveled in Obi-Wan's surrender. "Good," he said and he retrieved the comlink from his pocket. He pressed the button and talked. "You may cease all activities."
The droids stopped their massacre on Satine, back-pedaling away from the Duchess as she laid limp in her seat. Obi-Wan took no time to rescue her. He snagged Dooku's cloak and ripped it right off the man's chain link. Dooku admonished with decry of the uncouth behavior, but Obi-Wan didn't care. He bolted to the door, using the Force to open both his door and the one holding Satine. The droids who handled Satine backed away from the oncoming storm.
Obi-Wan reached for Satine, unbuckling her binds to free her from the confines of the chair. "Satine?" he whispered. "Satine? Can you hear me?"
Her eyes blinked up in confusion, disoriented. She stared at him, unsure if what she saw was real or a dream. "Obi-Wan?" her cracked voice murmured.
Obi-Wan nodded. "I'm getting you out of here," he said as he freed her from the last bindings that kept her prisoner. With the last bind off, he threw Dooku black cloak over Satine's limp body before he lifted her out of the seat. Satine's head rolled back before Obi-Wan readjusted it for her to fit right against the crook of his shoulder.
"I got you, Satine," Obi-Wan murmured as he headed back out the door. "I have you."
Satine's bloodied lips parted just slightly. "Ana-Anakin…"
Obi-Wan's heart clutched. "Quiet, my dear," he urged. "Don't speak."
But Satine was never one to obey orders that were not her own. "Anakin," she repeated again with much more effort. She wanted to be listened. "Safe. He's… safe."
And that statement alone was enough to bring back some light into Obi-Wan's soul. It appeared Dooku and Qui-Gon failed to capture Anakin. It made Obi-Wan smile for just a split second until he felt a muscle spasm in Satine's arm. A leftover of the drug they gave her at the beginning.
Obi-Wan tucked Satine closer as he walked down the corridors. No one stopped him. Not even the droids patrolling the corridor. They only stopped at attention and watched him carry an injured human into the next corridor. Obi-Wan retraced his steps back to his room, turning down the last corridor.
That was when he ran into Qui-Gon.
Qui-Gon stopped in his march. He looked from Obi-Wan's perturbed glare to Satine's ashen face. "What happened?"
Obi-Wan curled his nose at Qui-Gon for his ignorance. He must have known Satine was here. That Dooku had planned to torture her to force Obi-Wan to be obedient. No, Obi-Wan was not falling such tricks.
"You already know," Obi-Wan growled, "If you excuse me?"
Obi-Wan stormed passed Qui-Gon to get to his room. Unfortunately, Qui-Gon didn't leave it like that. "Take her to the med bay," Qui-Gon advised as he followed after Obi-Wan. "They'll treat her injuries well."
Obi-Wan scoffed. "I'll keep her where she's safe," he said and he reached his room. That was when he realized he didn't know the code into his bedroom. Grunting a sigh, he turned to Qui-Gon. "Would you mind opening the door?"
Qui-Gon obliged and punched in the code. The door swished opened and Obi-Wan brought her to the bed where he carefully laid her down to rest. He rushed to the refresher, grabbing whatever supplies he could scavenged and brought it to the bed.
He unwrapped Satine from Dooku's cloak, the blood sticking to it like glue. Carefully he extracted the fabric from her wounds. Satine hissed at the friction, but did nothing else. Eyes remained closed and face palled. Obi-Wan pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and drenched a wipe to clean her bleeding wounds. Satine whimpered and flinched upon the touch.
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan apologized, mouth trembling at sight of Satine's scarred body. "This will hurt a bit."
She flinched again, but endured as Obi-Wan cleaned her wounds as gently as possible. As he finished up her lips, a medical droid was granted access into his room, floating over to the side of the bed.
"Please step aside, Master Kenobi," the medical droid commanded. "I'll evaluate the damages and proceed with the mending."
Obi-Wan didn't argue with the droid. He stepped aside and allowed the droid to take over for Satine's care. He watched as the droid scanned Satine's body, recording every injury and assessing different treatment options. As the droid worked on stabilizing Satine's broken body, Obi-Wan caught sight of his opened door.
Qui-Gon stood in the doorway, observing the scene in grey sympathy. And it angered Obi-Wan to see the man act remorseful to an act he obviously supported. Not wanting Qui-Gon to obtain any further enjoyment at the carnage he and Dooku caused, Obi-Wan went up to the doorway.
Qui-Gon saw his approach. "Obi-Wan," he began quickly. "I had no idea—"
Obi-Wan slammed his palm on the door panel. The door zipped close, cutting Qui-Gon's lie off before he even had a chance to come up with a good story.
Door locked and Qui-Gon on the outside, Obi-Wan returned to Satine's bedside, holding her hand in his own.
"Stay with me, Satine," he whispered as the medical droid bandaged Satine's sliced arm. There was so much blood covering her skin. Obi-Wan blinked back the tears. "Stay."