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"A man of my acquaintance once wrote a poem called "The Road Less Traveled", describing a journey he took through the woods along a path most travelers never used. The poet found that the road less traveled was peaceful but quite lonely, and he was probably a bit nervous as he went along, because if anything happened on the road less traveled, the other travelers would be on the road more frequently traveled and so couldn't hear him as he cried for help. Sure enough, that poet is dead."
— Lemony Snicket (The Slippery Slope)
Recap
But, it wasn't much of a decision, she realized, studying Obi-Wan. Something in the Jedi had clicked into place. He would take Anakin and he would get him off planet. The more she looked, the more obvious it became. The only difference was if their departure would be with her help or without it.
Sabe nodded, one brisk drop of the chin. "Alright. Let's find you a ship." Pushing away from the table, she headed to the doorway, pulling out her comlink to start making the arrangements.
Padme is going to be furious.
CHAPTER 19 Failure
It hadn't taken long to pack. Obi-Wan hadn't brought much and Anakin would be returning to Naboo as soon as it was safe, so they could leave much of his stuff there. Obi-Wan was under no illusions. Anakin couldn't be kept in the Temple for long, but surely with the Jedi aiding the Naboo in their search for the killer, it wouldn't take long for him to be apprehended.
It wasn't a long term solution, but then, it wouldn't a long term problem.
Still, it wasn't a solution he had expected to take, had even considered, until he'd demanded it from Sabe. He hadn't let himself think too much on it, not yet. He was afraid of what he would find, if asked to confront his motivations, though he was sure that the Force had sparkled in approval. He clung to that brief assurance. He clung to the tight control he'd wielded during his discussion with Sabe, unable to risk endangering anyone by letting it drop, unwilling to see the effects the Darkness had undoubtedly wrought on him. He clung to the knowledge that Anakin would return to Naboo.
Anakin shifted uneasily at the Jedi's side while they waited for Sabe to appear. The night's events would have been traumatic for anyone, but for Anakin….the child hadn't spoken a word since he'd called the security team for help and it unnerved Obi-Wan. But it also helped to ground the part of him that desperately wanted to rush off and apprehend the Darksider. That part of him wanted to stay on Naboo, hunt down the being, and end him. The reasons ran together—revenge, safety, peace of mind, fear, compassion—until Obi-Wan couldn't tell one from the other. He needed to get off planet, as far away from temptation as he could get.
Because, really, he'd failed again, allowed the Zabrak to escape again—who would die next because of it? Four guards were dead; how could he possibly atone for that? And worse, how could he possibly atone for the fact he'd touched the Darkside?
He screamed against it, rejected it, but knew it was true. He could still feel the slime of the Darkside coating his hands, invading his soul, floating like an oil slick and separating him from the Light he so desperately craved.
But the thoughts circled back to the Zabrak, and from there back to the attack, and from there back to the present, where he needed to be aware and alert.
The same part of him that had stopped him from leaping through the window after the man-in-black was the same part that demanded he get Anakin off planet right now. Away from the planet and the Darkness that dogged it, besmirching what had once been a cool, clear Lightness. It was the part of him that recognized Anakin's silence and was willing to do almost anything to fix it. His hand drifted to his belt where his Master's lightsabre hung.
He hadn't kept his Master safe, hadn't been there when he would have made all the difference, but he would do everything he could to keep Anakin safe. Hopefully that would be enough to make up for his failures.
It had to be enough.
Obi-Wan shifted tightly, gripping the hilt of his master's sword. His head ached, a phantom ache.
Part of him snapped away from the thoughts, recognizing the quagmire of Darkness. The rest of him was too tired of being vulnerable for so long to care, the acknowledged pain acting like a balm to everything he'd been releasing and accepting and suppressing for so long.
"Obi-Wan. Please. Just tell me. Will you do what you can to keep my son safe?" Shmi Skywalker's words came back to him on the Force.
The door opened. Obi-Wan tightened his control. Sabe stepped through, flanked by a guard and Sache, the other handmaiden who had stayed in residence. The guard peeled off to find a car. The two handmaidens approached.
"You're sure about this?" Sache asked when they were close enough to speak.
"Yes. Just until the Zabrak is caught. It is not safe here." I will not let the Zabrak bring more death to these people than he already has. I will not force Anakin to bear guilt like that, not on top of everything else. When it is safe, Anakin will return and these people will show him how to live the life he deserves. Until then, I will keep him alive.
"Here, you'll need this." Sabe handed him the packet in her hands. "Tickets for your flight out. The next flight straight to Coruscant is the Chancellor's, so these will only take you to Chommell Prime. You'll have to catch a connection from there. There's credits for that in there, as well as a long distance com that Ninte made. She said it's untraceable. If you run into any problems, you let us know." Her tone sounded like the Queen's.
Obi-Wan nodded; it was easier to acquiesce than to argue.
"I'm sorry we can't lend you one of our ships—" Sache began, but Obi-Wan shook his head.
"No, we understand. Thank you."
"Well, you'll need these," Sache said, thrusting her own bundle towards him. "I know you have your Jedi clothes, but you might need something more inconspicuous."
"Thank you. May the Force be with you," he blessed them with a bow.
"Comm us when you land?" Sabe asked. "We will want to know you have reached Coruscant."
Recognizing the risks the two were taking, that he was leaving them behind to deal with the fall-out, Obi-Wan agreed. It was the least he could do, after everything they had done.
"Of course. The moment we reach Coruscant."
A hint of a smile escaped Sabe's face, but Sache just nodded.
"Travel safely."
"Be well, both of you."
Anakin darted forward and gave each handmaiden a hug around the middle, before releasing them abruptly and dashing to the car. Obi-Wan gave a short bow and followed. Moments later, their guard-turned-driver pulled out of the garage.
Obi-Wan couldn't stem the overwhelming sense of failure that flooded him. His hands clenched over the green 'sabre at his belt.
Force willing, he would not fail again.
Anakin blinked awake slowly. His neck felt squished, and something was wedged tight against his stomach, but he felt warm and peaceful. Slowly, other sensations started filtering through the haze. Rumbly engines, Obi-Wan's smell, the taste of stale air, a scratchy blanket, the armrest wedged into his side. He blinked. The warmth under him shifted. But slowly the numbness came back, pushing away the pleasant sensations and reminding him that something had gone terribly, horribly wrong. He shivered violently, trying to shake off the almost thoughts before they could reach him, and he felt Obi-Wan pulled the blanket tighter around him.
They were on the transport, Anakin remembered. Images of blue and green 'sabres flashing interrupted the grey seat in front of him until he blinked it away, refusing to think about it, blocking out any thoughts of what had happened that night. He kept his eyes open, hoping that that would block out the images. There wasn't any room to move around, just rows and rows of dull, grey seats. Obi-Wan had told him this was a short trip until they reached…well, reached somewhere. Anakin didn't really care where.
He didn't remember the ride to the Theed spaceport, or getting on the transport, but he did remember Obi-Wan telling him to keep quiet, that he had to pretend to be his little brother, and that he was ten now, not nine. Still, his brain shied away from thinking about why. His fingers played with the hem of the blanket for a moment before he pushed himself off the uncomfortable armrest.
"How are you?" It was Obi-Wan.
Anakin shrugged.
"We're almost there."
Almost where? Anakin almost asked, but he didn't really care. Maybe he would later, but right now, it took all of his energy to not think, and he didn't have any to spare for curiosity.
Silence settled broken only by the sound of another passenger coughing. Anakin sat still, not thinking about anything at all. It was easier that way. Safer.
Stars blurred together outside. Anakin stared, letting the nothing fill him up.
"Anakin."
Obi-Wan almost sounded worried. How long had Obi-Wan been trying to get his attention? Surprised, Anakin turned to look up at his companion. Obi-Wan stared at him with an almost frown like he was looking for something particular. Then his face softened.
"Thank you for listening to me when I told you to stay out of it." Unwanted flashes of green and blue lightsabres blocked out Obi-Wan and the grey transport shifted away and a flood of anger filled Anakin, a rage so strong that he was frozen: unable to help his friend, unable to rip to pieces chizzsk who had killed his mother, unable to stop any of it—
Anakin scrunched his eyes up and made the images go away, shoving it into the corner. "What?"
The Jedi explained, "When I asked you to call for security earlier tonight. Thank you for keeping your head."
Anakin frowned, confused. "That was really you?"
"Of course it was," Obi-Wan replied with an almost smile. "I had wondered why you'd listened to me."
"But—"
"Thank you, Anakin," he rubbed a hand through Anakin's floppy hair. The child batted it away out of habit more than any real desire to make Obi-Wan stop. "I know how much you wanted to attack him, but keeping out of that fight and calling for help like you did was the smartest thing you could've done."
Anakin nodded, still peeved that he'd been ordered to stay out of it, but for once, confusion overtook the resentment budding slowly under the numbness—you didn't say anything out loud.
He ran through the fight in his mind and remembered how he'd stood frozen until he'd heard Obi-Wan's voice call for help, how he'd heard the voice in his head, not in his ears. How the shock had been enough to distract him from the anger.
But then the wave of confusion ebbed and the rage flooded back in, washing away every trace of numbness. That thing had killed his mother and he hadn't done anything about it! He'd promised he would, swore he'd avenge his mother. And he hadn't.
He'd failed.
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