No. 13—Can't Make an Omelet Without Breaking a Few Legs

Fracture | Dislocation | "Are you here to break me out?"

Anakin curled on the floor of his cell shuddering. The lightning from Dooku's last bout of torture had been worse than the others and now his muscles wouldn't stop twitching. His stomach pressed empty against his ribs, pain curling in that hollow space.

Had Obi-Wan gotten that video yet? Was he fussing about tracking Anakin down or had he already resigned himself to losing him? He couldn't believe that nonsense about Palpatine the Sith Lord.

A cloaked figure crept down the hall. Anakin frowned and sat up.

"Hello?"

The figure turned towards Anakin. He gasped.

"Palpatine! Are you here to break me out?"

Palpatine smiled, except unlike his normal ones, this one felt cold. "Hello, Anakin."

"He's my prize now," Dooku said, strolling towards Palpatine from the other side of the hallway, his lightsaber activated. "I don't appreciate you trying to steal him from me."

"Be careful," Anakin begged. He made sure to stay well away from the ray shields. He didn't want to see his mentor get sliced to pieces on some dumb diplomatic mission. "He's a Sith Lord."

Two lightsabers snapped to Palpatine's hands and activated. The blades were red.

"No," Anakin breathed. It was true. His mentor really was a Sith Lord.

Which meant Dooku's accusations of Palpatine grooming Anakin to kill and replace Dooku as Sidious's new apprentice could be real too.

Anakin placed a hand to his stomach, suddenly sick.

The two flew at each other, raw power and speed against decades of lightsaber training. Palpatine pushed Dooku back, then Dooku pushed Palpatine back.

Anakin's head throbbed. His energy drained. He curled up on the floor. Whoever won would surely abuse him. The attention was flattering, but he would have preferred a nerfsteak or some ice cream. Perhaps a nice sandwich. Even bantha milk.

Someone thumped against a wall. Anakin dragged his eyes back to the fight. Palpatine was climbing to his feet. Dooku slammed his hand against the cell controls and deactivated the ray shields on Anakin's cell.

Anakin sat up, blinking. "Wait…" He didn't want to be dragged into this.

Dooku seized his left arm and twisted it behind his back, placing the tip of his lightsaber at Anakin's neck. "Take one more step and the boy dies."

Palpatine froze.

"Over ten years of your hard work wasted," Dooku said. "And I certainly won't be your apprentice anymore. You'll have to start completely over."

"You really think I care about him?" Palpatine laughed. "You must be insane."

"I think you want to be right," Dooku said. "I think, more than anything, you want to be vindicated. You want to prove to the Jedi that you can take their precious Chosen One and make him the Dark Side's slave, killing them for you instead of killing you for them. And you'll never find someone with as much potential as Skywalker, not if you scoured the galaxy."

"Thanks for the compliment," Anakin gritted out.

"Don't be, you're wasting your potential terribly," Dooku said. "Reckless hoyden."

The lightsabers in Palpatine's hands disappeared up his sleeves. He closed his eyes. "I can feeel his anger, even now. It's delicious, intoxicating."

Anakin wrinkled his nose at his former mentor. "You're disgusting."

"As I thought," Dooku said. "You can't resist the challenge of turning the Chosen One. I'll give you one chance to walk away unhindered. I suspect the Jedi will be coming for you soon. Even now, Obi-Wan Kenobi draws near to my cache of information on you. You can have the chance to kill Kenobi, perhaps in front of Skywalker if you play your cards right."

Anakin tugged at his arm. "Don't you dare!"

Palpatine stroked his chin. "Your offer is…intriguing. Perhaps the delay could be…useful in smoothing young Skywalker's path to the Dark Side. Yes…"

"Don't even think about it!" Anakin spat. "I'd rather die than turn! Especially for you! I thought I could trust you!"

And just like that, the kindly old man Anakin thought he knew returned. "Oh, Anakin, just because I possess the power of the Dark Side does not mean I do not want what is best for you. Very well, Dooku, I will walk away to preserve Anakin's safety."

Dooku snorted. "Very well, Master." He twisted Anakin's arm sharply, gripping and bending it with the Force.

Anakin's arm snapped, being pulled in directions it was never supposed to go. Hot streaks of pain stabbed up his arm. With a wrench, his shoulder tore. He screamed.

"We'll see each other again soon, my wayward apprentice," Palpatine said, his voice cold as ice. He nodded at Anakin. "I will see you back under my protection soon, son." And with that, he swept out as silently as he had come.

"Believe me now, Skywalker?" Dooku dropped Anakin on the floor of the cell.

Anakin curled himself around his broken arm, keening. Hot tears filled his eyes.

Dooku strode out and reactivated the ray shields soon. "You'd better pray your master hurries up with that man's head. We're lucky he didn't walk out of this building with you."

"Kriff…you…" Anakin spat. "Kriff you…both."

Dooku shook his head. "As I said, Skywalker, reckless hoyden." He strode off, his polished black boots clipping along the metal floor.

Anakin curled up tighter and wept silently.