Author: TemporaryUniverse
WC: 3,335 (14,010 Total)

A.N. If you hadn't figured it out already, this fic is really just an excuse for massive amounts of obi whump.

TW: torture, violence. Obi-Wan really doesn't have a good time.

The days continued in this manner: Wake, eat, get brought to that room with its terrible instrument of pain, endure agony like he'd never felt before, return to his rooms hurt and exhausted and a little more broken each time. Then sleep, take care of the alparas, eat again, talk to Qui-Gon, and sleep until the nightmares woke him and the cycle began anew.

They had brought in new furniture for him, at least, and a datapad, though it didn't have access to the holonet and was restricted to only "Empire approved" materials. And Sith texts but Obi-Wan didn't touch those.

"Qui-Gon?" He asked early on, staring up at the alparas plant after a particularly rough session. It had made a remarkable recovery. It was missing a lot of leaves, but the few it did have were vibrant and healthy-looking, and there was even some new growth at the top.

His Master hummed a questioning acknowledgment.

"Why didn't you appear to me before? Why only now?" Obi-Wan had been wondering about it since Qui-Gon first came to him but had been too afraid of the answer to ask.

"You weren't ready before."

"I needed you. After Naboo," he clarified, although he didn't think he needed to. "There was… I didn't know what I was doing. And you weren't there, and I missed you."

He had spent so many nights in the months after staring at the ceiling, feeling the ache in his chest as he tried not to cry loud enough to wake Anakin sleeping in the next room.

"Which was exactly why you weren't ready. You grew so much in those years. Seeing me would only have held you back. You needed to let me go."

"And I suppose I've done that now? If you decided to grace me with your presence." He tried not to sound too bitter.

"To an extent, yes. But mostly because you will be tested by what comes next, and I didn't want you to be alone." It was nice to know that Qui-Gon cared, although Obi-Wan hadn't doubted it. Much.

"You mean the Sith Lord trying to turn me into his apprentice."

"Yes. You must not let him."

"I'm not planning on it. I promised you once that I wouldn't Fall. I will not break it." He had already failed his Master once, he wasn't going to do it again.

"I have faith in you, my Padawan."

A thought occurred to Obi-Wan, one that made him tense, his brow drawing together.

"Master? What if he threatens Luke and Leia?" Sidious hadn't brought them up so far, had not even hinted at it, even though he must have arranged the visit. It was only a matter of time, though.

"It will not be easy."

"They're only younglings, Master. Babies. I can't let him hurt them." Qui-Gon said nothing. Obi-Wan let out a breath. There was only one way he could guarantee they couldn't be used against him. "I have to get them out."

"Be careful, Obi-Wan. You may only get one chance."

"Then I will have to succeed." Anything less wasn't an option.

With some goal to focus on, something other than the nebulous aim of "Don't Fall," Obi-Wan's battered and bruised determination was renewed. He planned, studying guard habits, tracking shift changes, mapping routes with the Force.

And then at the end of the first week, the troopers did not bring him to the torture room. They brought him to Padmé.

Seeing Luke and Leia again was like seeing the sun after a long winter night. He basked in their glow, their warmth in the Force. Luke clumsily and instinctively reached for him in the Force, nestling up to his mind the way he snuggled up to his chest, so trusting and happy to see him.

He glanced at Padmé. She looked exhausted, cradling Leia even as her eyes drifted closed. He couldn't imagine how tiring it was to care for two children alone.

"Padmé." He nudged her and she blinked blearily up at him. "I've got them. Go take a nap."

He shifted Luke to one arm and held out the other for Leia.

Padmé hesitated. Obi-Wan knew it wasn't because she didn't trust him, but because she hadn't left them in someone else's care before, and that was nerve-wracking for any new mother.

"I'll be right here, Padmé. Your bed isn't very far." She nodded and transferred Leia over to him.

"Thank you," she said.

"Get some rest."

She disappeared into her bedroom and then it was just him and the twins. He leaned back on the couch, trying to get comfortable despite feeling the edge of his prostheses against his spine. Luke was asleep already, but Leia gazed up at him with bright, still blue eyes. She yawned, her little mouth opening wide and her tiny hand waving in the air.

"Hello, Leia," he murmured. She gurgled, grabbing at his beard. He winced as she pulled a little too hard, but he didn't have an extra hand to untangle her.

Quickly growing bored, she began to squirm in his arms.

"Shhh," he said, shifting her up further on his chest. When she didn't settle, he began to sing softly, a Dai Bendu lullaby he'd learned in the créche. She fell still, once more staring up at him with those innocent eyes. He sang even after her eyes drifted closed and her mind went quiet and peaceful the way minds did when someone was sleeping. He sang until his breath hitched and he realized there were tears rolling down his cheeks. Luke whimpered a little and he hurriedly shielded his emotions, falling into a meditative breathing set.

That didn't keep the grief from swamping him, though he tried to keep his body calm and relaxed to not wake the twins.

He was probably the only person left in the galaxy who knew that song.

When Padmé woke up, Obi-Wan was busy playing with Luke and Leia on the rug, Leia cooing as he wiggled his fingers in front of her face while Luke was sucking on his own hands. The tear tracks had been wiped off his face and he smiled up at her as she approached.

She smiled back and sat down next to him.

"Thank you. I needed that."

"Glad to help," he replied. He glanced at the chrono on the wall, noting that it had been nearly two hours.

"Are you okay? You look like you haven't been sleeping either."

"It's been a hard few months," he replied evasively. She gave him a look, but it didn't faze him. It was the same kind of look Cody used to give him when he thought Obi-Wan was being too stubborn for his own good. Obi-Wan was very well acquainted with it. "I'm alright, Padmé."

"I know they're… hurting… you." He looked away, back down at Leia who was now gumming one of his fingers.

"He wants me to Fall. By any means necessary."

"But you won't right? You won't… become like… like Anakin?" He could tell it hurt her to say it. Just like it hurt him to hear it.

"No." He took a deep breath. "Padmé. I'm going to get you out of here. You and the twins. I swear." Maybe it was a stupid promise to make, but he needed to make it. He would get his brother's family to safety if it was the last thing he ever did. The twins would be free to grow up safe and happy away from the Dark.

He looked Padmé in the eyes, needing to convey the depth of his promise, and watched the moisture bead up within them.

"Please be careful, Obi-Wan. I don't want to lose you, too."

"I will," he said.

The door opened and they turned to see Cody standing there.

"Time's up, sir."

Obi-Wan grimaced and struggled up from the floor. He glanced back at Padmé.

"Take care of yourself, Padmé. And the twins."

"You too."

The next day was more torture. Sidious went back to the whip, and didn't stop until Obi-Wan's back was a mass of raw, throbbing, mutilated flesh. He was in the med center—he couldn't bear to think of it as the Halls of Healing—until the next morning after that. The scar tissue that the bacta couldn't quite heal pulled uncomfortably as Cody helped him ready himself for another round.

He meditated briefly before the time came, needing to find his center.

They brought him back to the room, chaining him up to the wall, hands over his head, and Sidious pulled out his knife, the dark blade gleaming menacingly.

"I have to say," Obi-Wan panted as the dead steel bit into him over and over, "You're not exactly creative when it comes to this sort of thing."

"Is that a challenge?" A particularly deep cut made him flinch and stifle a cry, feeling the blood trickle down his bicep.

He backtracked quickly.

"No, just an observation." The knife dragged along his ribs, scraping against bone, and he bit his cheek. His breath shuddered. Sidious brought the blade up and rested it against his mouth. He could smell his own blood, feel it warm and slick on his lip.

"Perhaps I should carve out your tongue to silence your insolence. Is that creative enough for you?"

He wisely stayed quiet and Sidious smiled. Obi-Wan was starting to hate that smile.

The next day he hung from chains once again.

Sidious approached slowly, raising his hand, and Obi-Wan braced for the lightning. It didn't come, instead those bone-white fingers rested against his chest. He tensed, as much from not knowing what was coming as from wanting to get away from the touch.

The pain was faint at first, barely worth a mention. It ramped up fast and he gasped. His nerves were on fire, his entire body burning, flames spreading along his skin from the five points of Sidious' hand, consuming his flesh hungrily. The scream caught in his throat. He'd never been burned alive before, but if this was anything what it felt like then he was glad for that. Although he had heard that actual fire stopped hurting at some point as the nerves were damaged. This didn't. It went on and on, unending agony.

He jerked against the chains, feeling as though if he could see his body, it would be charred and blistering. When it stopped, he was shaking, twinges of pain still running through him.

Then it was cold, so cold it burned in a way entirely unlike the fire. His breath seemed to freeze in his lungs, he was inhaling icy shards, tearing him up from the inside, the ice crystalizing his veins, frost creeping across his skin. His head ached as he shivered uncontrollably.

It was abruptly fire again. He cried out, he was burning, burning, burning in a blazing inferno, and then encased in ice once more. Fire. Ice. Fire. Ice. No respite between the two.

He woke, unsure when exactly he had passed out, and the pain started again.

"Stop, please," he whimpered, but it didn't.

"Recite the Sith Code, Obi-Wan, and I will stop."

He shook his head.

"So stubborn. They're just words. Peace is a lie. There is only passion."

"No." He knew saying the words wouldn't magically cause him to Fall, but he wasn't going to give Sidious anything.

And the pain continued.

"Master?" He called, once more sitting in front of the alparas.

"Hello, Obi-Wan."

At first, Obi-Wan thought it was the light reflecting oddly. Then the vision began to take on more form, the faint, blue glow defining into the ghostly image of his Master. He blinked rapidly, sure he was imagining things.

"What—? Master?"

"You can see me?" Qui-Gon didn't sound surprised. Pleased, rather.

"Yes? How?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Our connection is growing, Padawan. You are learning how to perceive me more fully."

Qui-Gon looked how he did in life, if one disregarded the translucence and blue aura. Tunics disheveled but beard neatly trimmed, long hair streaked with grey, and blue eyes somehow both soft and intense.

Obi-Wan felt a pang in his heart. The last time he had seen Qui-Gon was on Naboo, while he was burning on a pyre. He drank in the sight, a smile tugging at his lips even as his eyes stung.

"I have missed you, Master."

"And I, you, Padawan," he replied warmly, embracing him in the Force. Obi-Wan leaned into his familiar presence. Felt the love and protection wrap around his mind.

As the weeks passed, Qui-Gon only grew more visible, although he never quite became more solid, and they could not physically interact. Obi-Wan didn't mind, he was content with just being able to see his Master and feel him in the Force. His time with Qui-Gon and then with the twins and Padmé was the only solace he had in the midst of the pain.

Sidious seemed determined to inflict as much pain as it was possible for a person to feel. Obi-Wan ended up in the med center more often than not, and it was wearing at him both physically and mentally. He was exhausted, teetering on the precipice of a broken spirit, only his iron-clad determination to stay in the Light keeping him upright.

Sidious would not break him.

Surely Sidious would have to change his tactics at some point, right? Obi-Wan mused as he was escorted once more to the torture room. He would have to accept that Obi-Wan wasn't going to Fall no matter how much pain he endured. He was embedded far too firmly in the Light for that.

When they reached the room, his guards took up their positions on either side of the door. Obi-Wan felt a sliver of dread creep up on him when he wasn't chained up in any way, as had been the routine for the past few weeks. The last time had been when they drowned him in a tub of water, holding him under until even his breath control failed him and the water filled his lungs.

Sidious entered, his sulfuric gaze immediately falling on Obi-Wan.

"You have resisted remarkably well, Obi-Wan. But how will you feel when your torture comes at the hand of a friend?" The last word left his lips in a mocking hiss. Confusion made Obi-Wan frown. What could the Sith have planned?

Sidious gestured and Cody stepped forward, drawing Obi-Wan's eye. And then he punched Obi-Wan in the face. He stumbled backwards.

"Cody?" Confusion colored his voice. Cody raised his fist again. "Wait, stop." Another punch, this time to the ribs. "Cody, don't."

He couldn't bring himself to hurt his Commander, but he grabbed Cody's fist as it swung at him again. Cody nailed him in the gut with his other hand. He grabbed that wrist too, and tried to take his friend down as gently as he could, pinning him to the ground. They had sparred before and were fairly evenly matched, even when Obi-Wan was using the Force to enhance his skills. Cody was a superb fighter, persistent, calculated, and deadly. He twisted in Obi-Wan's hold, getting his leg up and hooked around Obi-Wan's knee and then pulling it out from under him. He used Obi-Wan's momentary unbalancing to flip them, his weight settling over the metal across his hips.

Obi-Wan bucked but Cody stayed where he was. When Obi-Wan tried to destabilize him by pushing out his arm, he simply grabbed his wrist and trapped it under his knee making him cry out. He held the other one down with his other hand, and then with his free hand, he began to land blow after blow across Obi-Wan's face. The first snapped his head to the side, dazing him and making his cheek throb.

"Cody, please! Stop!" He yelped. The punches rained down on him and he could already feel his eye swelling. "Wait—"

It was like his Commander didn't even hear him.

He struggled and finally managed to throw Cody off, only for his Commander to pick himself up and kick him instead. His heavy boot smashed into Obi-Wan's nose, blood pouring out as his face blossomed with pain. The next kick caught him just below his sternum and he tried to curl up to protect himself, but Cody managed to slip through his guard, not holding back at all, and he felt his ribs crack.

"Cody," he gasped. He grabbed at Cody's ankle and the clone shook him off and circled around to his back to continue the assault. His boot slammed into Obi-Wan's kidney, making his vision spark with nauseating white.

Cody only stopped at a signal from Sidious, when Obi-Wan was bruised and aching all over. He groaned, sensing the Sith approach.

An invisible force lifted him up by the neck and squeezed, and he clutched uselessly at his neck, choking. He struggled, legs jerking in the air, his mouth open and chest heaving. His sight darkened around the edges, his face tingling, his pulse throbbing at his temples. The grip eased and he gasped, gulping in air like it was water given to a man in the desert.

The pressure tightened again, closing around his trachea and he thrashed, helpless, terrified. He couldn't breathe, his lungs were burning, the lack of oxygen making his brain scream, the panic instinctual.

Sidious strangled him again and again, bringing him to the brink of unconsciousness before releasing him so he could cough and wheeze and sob. He lost track of the number of times.

Finally, the Sith seemed to get bored and dropped him. He hit the ground with a stifled cry, the impact jarring all his injuries.

"What did you do to them?" He said once he stopped coughing. His voice rasped, grating against his throat.

"The clones were always meant for this. It's what they were designed for, isn't that right, '2224?"

"Good soldiers follow orders, sir."

The glint in Sidious' eyes made Obi-Wan sick to his stomach.

"You may have pretended they were people, put your trust in them, but look where that got you, Obi-Wan. Do you feel betrayed? Resentful? The clones killed the Jedi without a second thought. Commander Cody shot you down and now he beats you on my orders. He didn't even hesitate." Obi-Wan looked up at Cody and said nothing. He didn't blame his Commander for anything. He knew Cody, the only person he'd ever known better was Anakin. His friend wouldn't have betrayed him unless he had no choice.

Of course, that was what he had thought about Anakin.

"Anakin told me you were close to your Commander. I wonder how he would have felt if he knew the true nature of your relationship."

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. There was no way Sidious could know that. He was fishing.

"If you mean to insinuate that Cody and I were… intimate, then I'm afraid you are mistaken." It was the truth and Obi-Wan was grateful for it. There were some things he couldn't let Sidious know. Like how much he cared about Cody.

"So he means nothing to you?" He lifted his clawed hand and Cody lifted with it, feet kicking in the air as he was strangled.

Obi-Wan jerked towards him, eyes widening as the panic leapt into his throat.

"Don't—"

"Ah, so he does. Even after everything he's done," Sidious said.

Obi-Wan's brain spun as he tried to come up with something to dissuade Sidious' line of thinking without him murdering Cody outright.

"A Jedi seeks to defend all life."

The Sith released Cody, who staggered but landed on his feet, and Obi-Wan sent a silent thanks into the Force.

Sidious' eyes gleamed calculating and yellow underneath the hood.

"I suppose he is still useful, then."

He knew, Obi-Wan realized. Obi-Wan had let something slip without meaning to. But it seemed as though Sidious wouldn't act on it yet.

Obi-Wan wasn't sure what he would do when it happened.

Thank you for reading!