Where the Dead Return

"Master?"

Anakin's fighter's reverse thrusters flared to life, skidding the small ship to a full stop. Another fighter saw this and banked, circling until it was facing Anakin's ship and slowed.

Ki-Adi-Mundi's voice crackled over the comm. "Yes, Padawan Skywalker?"

He was a Master of course, but not the one to whom Anakin was referring. Indeed, the young Padawan had not even heard the other Jedi's voice; Anakin had closed his eyes and was completely turned inward, searching... searching... It had been silent for so long now, he'd begun to fear the reality of what everyone had been telling him - that Obi-Wan Kenobi was dead, one with the Force, passed from this mortal coil. Anakin had never completely believed it, he'd witnessed so much death, felt so much death, that whenever he looked to his training bond he found he always doubted. He never felt the snap, the rip he'd felt with others, the ones he barely even knew, nor did he feel the agony he did when he felt his mother slip through his fingers. All he had ever felt was a flash of pain that was not his and then utter, deafening, silence.

Except now...

Now...

"Master!" His eyes flew open, elation filling hive voice. "Master!" He felt along the bond, begging for direction. He found it, and already a hand was flying across the controls of his fighter, inputting commands while the other gripped the steering yolk and fired his thrusters. A triumphant howl escaped his throat and he took off at full speed, forgetting about Master Mundi, forgetting about the mission, forgetting about everything else that could be considered important.

He had to go rescue his master, his real master: Obi-Wan Kenobi.

It was a blur after that; he was bursting with so much happiness, so much relief, so much overwhelming joy that the time spent traveling to some planet named Riflor seemed to be gone in the blink of an eye. Bounty hunters were only the barest blips on the radar, easily chased off with a barrage of fire from his fighter back to their ships. It was a joke, really, because he was the finest pilot in the galaxy and they weren't even worth the time it took to either chase them away or blow them up. All that mattered was that presence on the ground by the broken down ship, that beautiful, steady, soft, unwavering presence that meant almost everything to him: the most important person in the world after Padme.

His fighter was still landing when he leapt out of it, having set the ship to shutdown automatically. He ran to the smoking ship, his smile bright enough to light the galaxy.

"Master!" he called out. "Master, I'm here! I guess I'm rescuing you again, huh? What number does that make it?"

And there he was, back to his Padawan. He turned, slightly. "... Anakin?"

The strain in his voice was missed at first, Anakin's emotions making him feel like he was walking on clouds. A quip was already falling out of his lips. "Some day, Master, we'll break you of this overpowering need to be rescued. After all, when I'm knighted I won't always be around to..." His voice trailed off.

It trailed off because his master turned around fully to stare at his Padawan, and Anakin realized that this man was not his master, was not Obi-Wan Kenobi as everyone knew him. He was thin, emaciated. One could tell this because his tunic - he had no robes - was in absolute tatters, covered in slashes, stained with blood and grime and filth and space knew what else. His ribs were visible, once toned and defined muscles had been eaten away through disuse. Color and pallor could not be determined, his body was a painter's pallet of injury - blood stains turned brown with age or still a deep red and leaking; black, blue, purple, green, and yellow of bruises of varying age. Whites of scars long healed, hot pink of infected wounds; it all smeared together with the filth and soil that also stained his tattered tunic. His hair was long, unkept, knotty and snarly and as filthy as the rest of him, his beard was untrimmed and scraggly, colored with bloodstains that had never been washed out.

The worst of it, though, what made Anakin realize that this man wasn't his Master, was his eyes. Those sharp, intelligent blue-grey eyes were now unfocused, hollow, and worn; bags hung under them, dragging them down to something less than human, less than sentient.

This wasn't his master. It couldn't be.

It couldn't.

It...

"... Anakin?" the man asked again. He closed his eyes, his entire face grimacing in pain, something his master would never do. But when he opened them again they were alight with the same joy and elation Anakin had just been feeling. "Anakin... It's really you?" The man released a breath and smiled, a warm, heartfelt smile through the blood and bruises and obvious pain and turned off his lightsaber - Obi-Wan's lightsaber. "I'm not sure I'd call it a need, exactly..." he said lightly. The jibe was all Anakin needed.

"Master," Anakin choked on his own tears, unaware until now that they had been falling, streaming down his face. "Master... What did they do to you?"

He regretted the question immediately, Obi-Wan's eyes again became unfocused. He swayed on his feet, tilting to one side as if he were about to fall. An arm quickly jerked out to grab him, steady him, hold him, something, and Obi-Wan shook his head, wincing again against the pain.

"Are you alone, Anakin?" Obi-Wan ground out, his own hand suddenly clutching Anakin. The Padawan could see the whites of his bruised and bloody knuckles; Obi-Wan was holding on to him for dear life, but the grip was pitifully weak. "Did you come by yourself? Or are there others... reinforcements...?"

The question drew a blank at first; Anakin didn't know what his beloved master was talking about. He did recover quickly. "Master Mundi," he replied quickly. "Master Mundi and Jedi Knight Hett are on their way. I can call for more." Anything, he could do anything if it helped his master. He'd call the entire army...

Relief washed over Obi-Wan's face but was quickly replaced with more pain. Force, what had happened to him? He opened his eyes from the grimace, his grey gaze locked onto Anakin, still holding him for dear life, as if his Padawan was his only connection to reality. His eyes were in and out of focus, and he pinched them closed again, as if struggling to stay cognizant of his surroundings. "Can you hold?" his voice was hoarse.

"I... what?"

"Can you hold this position? Can you and Alpha hold until the reinforcements arrive?"

Alpha? It was only then that Anakin realized his master was not alone. A clone trooper, and ARC trooper, was also with them. Obi-Wan had not been the only one captured - or tortured for that matter, given the similar state of abuse the trooper seemed to have sustained.

"Sir," Alpha said. "With all due respect, Commander Skywalker and I are all you need."

Obi-Wan didn't seem to hear him; his piercing gaze was locked onto his Padawan.

"Do you need me to help defend ourselves?" he demanded, and the desperation in his voice struck something deep in Anakin's heart, and it broke.

Anakin struggled to put on a light face. "Master, it's me, remember?"

The relief that flooded Obi-Wan's face was palpable, even without the bond. His entire body started to sag, as if his greatly reduced weight were too much for his legs to hold him up. He swayed from side to side, but then suddenly that fist on Anakin's arm tightened again, and the Jedi made himself stand firm again, drawing on reserves the Padawan couldn't even imagine.

"The healers..." Obi-Wan started, and his breathing suddenly became ragged and uneven. His eyes were struggling to stay focused through the blood, the pain, through whatever he'd been through. "The healers," he tried again. "When they get here... you have to tell them..."

"Tell them what? Master, I'll do anything you say," Anakin said quickly, unable to completely control the panic cracking through his voice.

"Anakin... you have to tell the healers... about the mask... and about the maggots."

... Maggots? Anakin didn't dare think. "Yes, Master. Mask and maggots."

"You'll tell them?" Obi-Wan demanded, his voice actually cracked in desperation.

"I promise, Master. Mask and maggots. I'll call them right now if you want."

Something in Obi-Wan's eyes changed. They lost focus entirely, and underneath him his legs at last buckled. Anakin gave an odd choking sound as he slowly lowered his master's minimal weight to the ground. His master was smiling again, his eyes drifting closed. "I've been so worried about you..."

Anakin choked again, tears streaming down his face.

Abruptly he stood up, rubbing a sleeve over his face. He turned determined eyes to Alpha, and the clone nodded, cocking his blaster and taking off the safety. Anakin spun around and all but ran back to his fighter, powering up communications. He opened up a channel to Master Mundi, the Temple, and all short range Republic frequencies in case there were ships closer.

"Hett, Master Mundi," he said quickly, and then just spoke louder when he heard the start of an infuriated reprisal. "Master Mundi, I've just found my master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's alive but in need of immediate medical attention."

"... What?"

The question came not only from Ki-Adi-Mundi, but several Council members at the Temple.

"I repeat," Anakin said, shocked that his voice sounded as calm as it did. "I've found Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. He and an ARC trooper named Alpha Seventeen have been recovered, but they both need medical attention - especially Obi-Wan. He specifically said to tell the healers about... about a mask and mag... maggots."

There was a surge of communication after that, but Anakin only stayed on long enough to give coordinates and get at least three promises of a medical frigate being immediately dispatched before he unequivocally told them he'd be with his master if they needed him. He left the channel open to trace and went back to the smoking ship. He didn't recognize the design, and he was suddenly left wondering where in the galaxy his master had been since his disappearance.

A brief exchange with Alpha that help was on the way, and Anakin knelt by his master's head, memorizing every bruise and contusion and scar. He would find the being that did this. He would. And it would be a dark day indeed when that... that... even Anakin's colorful vocabulary didn't have a word to describe what kind of being could do this to his beloved master. Rage boiled in him, and he found he was shaking with it.

It disappeared in a flash, however, when those beautiful eyes opened.

"... Anakin...?"

"Yes, Master. What do you need?" the Padawan said quickly, relief flooding and drowning his rage.

"... I'm dreaming again, aren't I?" he asked slowly, eyes in and out of focus.

"No Master, it's real. I've rescued you like I always do."

His eyes were staring at nothing, blank and frighteningly dead, before Obi-Wan finally looked at his Padawan. "I've been worried about you," he said softly. There was a sudden wince of pain. "I can't feel you through the bond, so I must be very far away... I hope you don't think I'm dead, I don't want to worry you," His eyes opened again, still roving around. "It's very bright here. Are we in the Force?"

Panic was once again threatening to choke Anakin. He fought for every word, every ounce of calm he didn't feel to appear in his voice. "Master, we're not in the Force. We're on a planet called Riflor; it's in the Mid Rim, and it's not bright, it's overcast right now."

Obi-Wan didn't seem to hear him. "I'm so worried about you," he said again. "So many Jedi have already died on Jabiim, and their deaths hurt you so much. I hope you don't think I'm dead, I don't want to worry you. Worse, I don't want you to die..." He drifted off again, and Anakin didn't have a clue what to do. He looked up at Alpha helplessly.

The clone shook his head. "A few times, when we were together, he said that sleep was an escape. I guess maybe he was dreaming."

"And he thinks he's dreaming now?" Anakin asked. Alpha could only shrug his shoulders. Clones didn't dream.

"... You have so much potential..." Obi-Wan's voice snapped Anakin's attention back to his master. "You are already so much greater than I could ever hope to be. Once you've mastered yourself..." he trailed off again, and all Anakin could do was hold his master's bony, weak hand, stroke his hair back, and cry. "... I hope soon that this temporary escape will evolve to a permanent one."

"It is permanent, Master," Anakin whispered, "You and Alpha escaped. You're free, and now that I've rescued you you're going to be just fine. Master Mundi is on his way and-"

"I've been so worried about you..." Obi-Wan started again, but his eyes drifted closed, and he was once again unconscious. A low moan gurgled up in Anakin's throat, and he cupped his master's limp head in his hands, bending down to touch that abused forehead with his. He knelt there for eternity, emotion boiling over him, making him unable to think, to see outside that one small sensation of touch. Nothing else mattered, only the man pressed so gently to his forehead. His entire world was made up of this unassuming, unconscious man; a man who had endured months of abuse and through it all, worried about his Padawan. What had he ever done to deserve that level of devotion? Anakin vowed, over and over, and he would make his master proud, be worthy of such a gift.

That was how Ki-Adi-Mndi and the medical frigate found them.

Author's Notes: Er, this is only part two of the drabbles for Jabiim. One of our small changes happens in the aftermath of it, and this is only the first: Obi-Wan, semi-conscious, has an unguarded confession of his pride and his worry for his Padawan. His disconnect with reality is also important. The repercussions of this series of drabbles is going to affect the rest of the fic drastically, and the small steps can now no longer be argued as small but as mid-level steps. If you haven't been seeing the deviation yet, this series of drabbles will definitely point them out.

We know that, because we don't have the Jabiim series, that there are some deviations from what truly happens. Please bear with it. Wookiepedia only has so much for details. We are aware that Valery Scot has a fic that details it, but we didn't know how accurate it was at the time. Alas, some of EU canon was going to have to go eventually.

Next week: Anakin struggles with getting Obi-Wan home. And not in the way you're probably thinking.