Chapter 18: Play, Play, Play
"It's all just a game, you see…?"
The voice was blurry, but seemed to knife its way through the groggy darkness of unconsciousness like a surgeon's scalpel through his study subject. Vague but defined.
"…and you… oh, you'll make such a magnificent player. You'll see. You're a fighter, and we've never had the honors of having a Jedi attend our games. You should feel honored, young Jedi. This is quite a big deal to all of us…"
Game. What game? What's going on? He fought, tried forcing his way to consciousness. It was taking an agonizingly slow time.
"…long as you obey the rules, you really do stand quite a good chance. If I could bet, I'd bet on you, young Jedi. Unfortunately, I cannot bet; they're my own games after all. But still… I have confidence in you."
A hand was placed on his forehead, a gesture that mocked true friendship and concern. With that sensation he became aware of the feeling of his hands bound tight behind his back, and the cold dampness all around. He was lying down, on the floor it seemed. But where? He tried to stretch out through the Force… but no. It was impossible. A Force-dampener. Perhaps on the cuffs that bit into his good wrist and immobilized his mechanical one. Or an injection. Either way, the Force was lost to him for now.
The hand pat the side of his face, and then slid away.
Eventually, after a few more minutes of mumbles and darkness and a severe lacking in the Force, Anakin managed to open his eyes. It was all blackness even then, except for a slit of light beneath what appeared to be a cell door, heavy metal, most likely locked. With that little light he could see the form of a man sitting there nearby, still talking to himself; or to the unconscious Anakin, it appeared.
"A game… oh, it's been so long since we've had one. Not many people left, you know? This must be a sign… this is why you were brought back here, Jedi, because oh, you were brought back. By whatever deity is out there, you were brought back here, to keep me and my friends sane. Entertained. To keep us fighting and surviving. To keep us playing… play, play, play…"
Anakin blinked groggily, trying to focus on the darkened figure nearby, trying to sense him, trying to get a grasp on who he was. He needn't try; the man then leaned forward, and the Twi'lek smiled at him. Purple eyes stared hard, cold, and psychotic.
And Kolic Kat chuckled as he pat the Jedi's face once more.
"So thank you for that, young Jedi. Thank you, for your sacrifice."
The door suddenly swung open; the light – white, flashing, artificial – stung Anakin's eyes and he drew back instinctively, hands straining against the chains to cover and shield his face. His eyes must've had shut, had to, because when he felt two pairs of strong hands grab his shoulders there was only blackness once more in his vision; the Jedi lashed out. As he was brought to his feet his head snapped back and cracked against the nose of one of the men holding him; he took pleasure in hearing the man cry out, and feeling something wet and warm spurt against the back of his head.
The blow to the side of his was decently less-enjoyable, and left Anakin reeling as he was dragged out of the cell.
"Take him to be prepared," he could hear Kolic order his men.
"Procedure choice?" inquired a female voice, not belonging to either of the one's holding him and pulling him down a hallway it seemed. So there were three altogether. Anakin recognized the voice. The pregnant woman from the Forsaken that Lynn had been treating not long ago.
Back-stabbing sleemos.
A pause; Kolic was considering his options. "Three day prep," the Twi'lek decided, a smirk audible in his voice. "That should give us plenty of time."
"And if his friends come looking for him?" asked one of the men.
"We play the game," replied Kolic. "No different. We're concerned, we offer to give as many resources and men to a search as possible. We offer worries and we offer help and then…."
The man's voice had lowered, so Anakin couldn't hear the rest of his words. All he could make out was a symphony of laughter that rose up from the small group, and then nothing but darkness as his exhausted mind fell back into unconsciousness.
xXx DATE: 5/14/45876 ((the Colony)) xXx
"DO I LOOK LIKE I KRIFFING CARE IF YOU ALREADY CHECKED IT?! CHECK IT AGAIN!"
It was chaos.
In the midst of the frantic searching and shouting that had exploded throughout Central and the rest of Standards, was Derek, barking out orders in full-blown general mode; behind him, Obi-Wan Kenobi held the same emotions only contained beneath a well-experienced, blank and steady mask that only showed a few signs of weariness, and 'wear-and-tear', to betray his true state of mind and body.
The main question that ravaged the group and sent them into upheaval was a question centered around the disappearance of one of their own.
Where is Anakin?
The young Knight was last seen taking his place on guard for the night – he failed to awaken any of the others for guard duty. When Derek awoke he opened his eyes to no guard, no Anakin Skywalker, and no idea what had happened in the darkness of the night.
It was, indeed, chaos.
"I've checked the basement five damn times!" Ax roared back in response to Derek's heated shout. "He isn't down there, Derek! He isn't anywhere in this whole blasted building!"
"CHECK AGAIN!" returned the soldier angrily. "Pull apart every nook and cranny in this hospital! I ain't sending men out into that hellhole until I know for certain he ain't here!"
Ax cursed violently, shoving a chair out of the way so it crashed against one of the walls as he stormed over to the other man. "Kid's probably at the Forsaken's place cryin' over that Togruta!" he roared. "He ain't here, Derek!"
"I'm not sending ANYONE out there until I know for sure!"
It was such a fragile system, the Colony, already so tightly-packed together by stress and fear and a desperate fight for survival that the brief absence of even one member sent the entire group spiraling down into the Nine Correlian Hells. Obi-Wan remained silent behind Derek and, for once, he did not move to stop the shouting, or the arguing, or the desperate search. The Master had noticed it immediately when he awoke; the sudden departure of Anakin's Force-signature. But no, he wasn't… Anakin wasn't dead. He'd know if he was dead, of course he would. No, this was something else. Perhaps the demon, Death, playing another game with his friend, or there had to be another reason.
Of course, one very possible reason stood out like an ink stain on white cloth: the Forsaken.
It was in everyone's heads, and everyone knew it. It was why Obi-Wan resisted his own urge to run down the few blocks that separated him and the other survivors, and interrogate them one by one, why he allowed Derek to keep searching the building. It was because he knew what Derek was doing. If they went out there now, it would be hostile havoc. Accusations would fly, perhaps lasers as well. Derek was trying to keep anyone from heading over there until they'd calmed down enough to talk to the Forsaken with a clear head.
It was agonizingly painful, the wait, but necessary.
Inya paced the rooftop of Standards, a hot wind blowing her mess of ebony hair around her face as she hugged her body and moved back and forth, back and forth, from one end to another. Jason watched her for several minutes silently, before sighing and walking over. "We're gonna find him," he said quietly. "We're gonna find him and everything is gonna be just fine."
Inya smiled bitterly, stopping her movements and then staring out at the desolate Coruscant landscape, scorching breeze blowing through once more. "Don't pretend, Jason," she replied simply. "Don't do that thing."
"What thing?"
"That Jedi thing," she stated dryly. "Where you pretend you're not scared, or worried, or that your just so confident that everything will be fine. Anakin is missing; and people in this small of a group in the middle of hell don't just disappear unless something is very, very wrong."
Jason pursed his lips, and stuck his hands into the pockets of his camo trousers, not saying anything.
A beat of silence, then she took in a slow breath. "When is Derek going to send out men to the Forsaken?"
The Jedi Knight slowly walked over to the edge of the rooftop, and after his eyes trained over the area briefly, he pointed a finger quietly at the sight of three individuals jogging out of Standards doorways and down the street.
"Now."
xXx ((the Forsaken)) xXx
"How is he?" Kolic's voice was as smooth as ever. Calm. A poisonous melody.
"Stable. He reacted stronger than we anticipated to the Force-suppressants but his body seems to be adapting well enough. We'll be on schedule with his preparations."
Even though he was lying on his back, and his eyes were closed (he couldn't seem to open them no matter how hard he tried, Anakin could tell Kolic Kat was smiling widely. He felt his wrists held down to the cot he was on by binders, and the same with his ankles. He couldn't identify the woman talking with Kolic.
"So," the Twi'lek stated – Anakin could hear him pacing around. "Do you think the others will be causing any problems?"
"If you mean the players, then no, they're all as they should be," replied the woman. "If you mean some… possible problems within ourselves, then we've had a talking with them. They may see things our way."
"And if they do not?"
"If they do not, what are your orders."
Once more, the smile reappeared; Anakin had the sneaking feeling that he could be eternally blind and never forget that sight.
"Simple enough. They'll just have to play the game as well."
xXx ((At Forsaken Headquarters)) xXx
"OPEN UP!"
It was Nathan Fox's voice that echoed through the alleyway, and his fist that banged repeatedly at the entryway of the Forsaken's Headquarters. Behind him, rifles out and blasting away a few straggling mutts that ran at them, Obi-Wan and Lynn remained crouched behind two dumpsters. "Cmon, Nathan, if they don't answer just bust the blasted door down!" called the doctor.
Nathan frowned, glancing back at Kenobi for confirmation.
Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder and met the man's gaze; then, after a moment, nodded grimly. "Take my place."
Nathan pulled out his blaster and ran to Obi-Wan's position while the Jedi himself ran towards the door. He hit it once more with his fist, the shaky steel clanging and screeching at the abuse. "Kat! Madeline! This is your last warning," the Negotiator called in a solemn tone. "We have an emergency and this unfortunately involves you as well. If you don't open this door we will force it open ourselves." The man then fell silent, and listened, using the Force to ignore the screeches of mutts and the screaming of the blasters and rifles.
Nothing. He didn't even sense any life forms come near.
That was it. With one single movement Obi-Wan's blaster was on the ground and the vibrant blue glow, accompanied by the hum of machinery, revealed the ignition of his lightsaber. The Jedi slammed the blade into the door all the way up to the hilt, and drove down hard. The locking mechanisms were melted and cut through, and with protest, the heavy portal slid upwards, opening up the door and allowing the Colony entrance. "Come on!" The rest of the mutts taken care of, Nathan and Lynn didn't hesitate to follow. They jogged through the doorway, and Nathan rammed the butt of his blaster into the control panel to make the door slide down again.
The hallway was desolate and completely dark except for the light at the end of the tunnel, the hospitality that the Colony had experienced upon their first visit nonexistent now. Obi-Wan made a few hand signals that everyone in the group was familiar with by now and Lynn and Nathan responded with nods. Obi-Wan, in return, turned and began to lead them down the hall, lightsaber still ignited and humming. The blue light sent dancing shadows across the walls.
Footfalls quiet and muffles, they inched closer and closer to the end of the hall towards the main meeting room of the Colony. To the tables lined with supplies they'd seen last, and the staircases and dead lifts; to the rows of lockers that they kept the ammo and food in; to the signs of civilized living that had seemed so welcoming to them during the initial ecstasy of finding other living, healthy beings. Once they were near enough, another hand signal conversation was made. Nathan crouched down and readied his rifle, and Lynn pulled out a small hand blaster.
One more signal.
Obi-Wan leaped out of the corner with his lightsaber as Lynn quickly came up behind the Jedi Master, the barking order of "Freeze!" echoing through the main room and reverberating through the air.
And all three men froze then in complete, utter, and total shock.
xXx ((The Colony)) (One Hour Later) xXx
Three knocks, heavy and slow; the signal that Obi-Wan, Lynn, and Nathan were back. Derek, of course, was the one that threw the door open upon the sound; the others in Central, and Jason and Inya sealing up the rest of the building. Standards was on lockdown until strategy could be formed.
As soon as the tired eyes of the soldier met the weary gaze of the Jedi, Derek knew something had gone wrong. "What?" he demanded, not even moving from the doorway to allow the trio to enter. "What happened?"
Nathan, who was running his hands through his hair, agitated, shook his head. "Nothin' man, damn nothin'…"
"Don't give me that kriffin' nothing crap, Fox…"
"No, Derek," Obi-Wan cut in with a tight expression. "Nathan is right, nothing happened. Nothing could happen."
Derek straightened, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited for the Jedi to elaborate.
Obi-Wan's gaze, if possible, turned even grayer.
"The Forsaken are gone."