Valairy Scot: Yeah, Yoda is never going to give up on old Obi, and what reason does he have to trust Maul anyway, so Obi still has an ally with Yoda. I look forward to reading what you have to say about the rest of the chapter. BTW, just saw that there is a new chapter of "Even Jedi Cry", I can't wait to read it!
Shinen no Hikari: OK, I get that force choke is not perhaps as shocking as it might appear, however this would be Obi-Wan that we're talking about using it, and certainly in my AU that's the last thing Yoda would be expecting from him and this is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE story! As for the force lightening thing, if you read it Mace says it was, and I quote, "a Sith power of force lightening I have never encountered before." So I have something planned to explain that! Hoo ha ha ha ha! (evil laugh!)
SeraphimXII: Thanks for the comments, this next chapter should answer your questions. And don't count out old Maul yet, he's not exactly the giving-up type. And I have a feeling he's going to be seeking blood rather soon.
mtfrosty: I really liked writing the confrontation between Maul and Yoda and I hope it was convincing that Yoda would get upset, especially with Maul calling him the green gnome. And thanks for the review, I love reading and responding to the comments. Hopefully the next few chapters should get updated pretty quickly!
Michelle Erika: This is a power play that Maul and Ventress are involved in, and they are willing to do anything to get the upper hand. At that moment Maul is royally pisse off with her, and that action not only allows him to vent his frustration at her, but it totally shuts her up and throws her for a loop, are those feelings her own or are they part of his game? I picture the whole sith hierarchy as essentially a power play of one-upman-ship where they are constantly trying to balance working together and maintaining or gaining power over the other, depending on which one is the master and which one was the apprentice. Thanks for the review, it gave me an excuse to write about my idea of their philosophy!
Boba was tired. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this tired. His head still ached from Maul's mind probe and his leg was throbbing something awful, even after the pain killer Dooku had given him. The old man had looked pretty much spent himself by the time they had settled on the Jedi ship and he had braced Boba while he set the boy's leg, which had hurt worse than the original break and Boba had screamed, he just couldn't help himself. The tears of pain and fear had streamed down his face. That horrific pain had subsided now to the draining ache he felt starting in his leg, but it had crept up through the rest of his body and was settling around his heart and his eyes. Ever since Maul had invaded his mind, everything looked grey, all the color seemed to have bled out of his surroundings and there was an insistent ringing in his ears that he really wished would just go away. Dooku had tried to encourage him to sleep, but he couldn't close his eyes without seeing the vision Maul had planted in his mind, and that was in brilliant, vibrant colors, scarlet being the predominant one.
His attention returned to the man lying on his stomach on the bed in the small cabin. Boba had slipped from the bed to the floor when Dooku had entered carrying Ben over his shoulder, which looked uncomfortable for the both of them. Dooku had gently lifted him and placed him on the soft sheets using the force, Boba guessed, to get him there without disturbing the long, deep slash to his back. Boba had moved out of the way as Dooku sank to his knees to tend to Ben. Now Ben lay quietly, his back coated with the bacta patches from the med kit Dooku had found the painkillers in. As Dooku was cleaning out the wound, Boba had shuddered at the moans and gasps coming from his friend, but there had been nothing Boba could do in his condition. He was close enough to reach up and take Ben's hand in his own and Ben had grasped it, clutching and squeezing it with his discomfort, Boba wincing at the pressure on his hand, but determined to be there for his friend. Now Ben was silent, his breathing deep and much more controlled. Boba still held his hand, not wanting to let go, afraid that if he did the man would disappear and Boba's one point of stability would be gone.
He looked towards the cockpit where Dooku had disappeared to after tending the two of them. He still didn't trust the man, but he had saved Boba's life, which had to be worth something. He couldn't help feeling there was some other motive behind the old man's actions, but he wasn't in the mood for asking. He just wanted Ben to wake up so the man could work out how they would get out of there.
The boy's eyes grew intensely heavy, but he tried desperately to shake it off.
"Stay wake, Boba, stay wake," he said to himself in a quiet mantra, there was no way he was sleeping on this ship. Ventress was somewhere on board still for one thing and for another, he had no idea what nightmares awaited him there as reminders of his father's betrayal.
"Well, I could tell you how you got here, I suppose" he said to Ben who had become silent again. "Where do I start?"
He shuffled down the side of the bed so he could switch his hands holding Ben's before it went to sleep completely. He shook it to get rid of the pins and needles feeling as he thought about what had happened after Ben left him in to pilot the ship back to the hangar. He wasn't ready to talk about that yet, even to an unconscious man, so he skipped ahead to the moments after Maul had left his mind.
"I saw you fighting Ventress and then Maul after Dooku and the bloke in Jedi robes went down. I tried to get out, I really did, but the door was crushed shut and the dura-glass was so strong I.." he was choking on the frustration he had felt at the time and then composed himself, not wanting to tire himself out even more with hysterics. He breathed out deeply a couple of times and resumed his story.
"I saw you fall and I thought it was all over, we were done for, and when Maul left with you I pounded on the glass, but you didn't even turn round." His emotions were threatening to overwhelm him again. How was this helping? He only felt more tired and alone after this.
"Come on, Boba," he chastised himself, "pull yourself together, old man." Using the phrase Ben had used on him helped him to re-focus on the events and he got back to the story.
"It could only have been a matter of moments after you left when I saw Assajj start to recover and get up. I thought she would come after me now, so I stayed as still as I could, hoping she wouldn't remember I was here. But her attention was not on me, it was on this ship landing straight across from where I was. Two Jedi came out, they must have been the folks you talked to. One of them was a little green gnome and I thought 'What the heck is that supposed to be?' but it turned out to be really cool watching it go after Ventress. Then the other Jedi took over from the green thing. His lightsabre was purple, although you probably already knew that. He was Master Mace Windu, wasn't he? And the green guy was Master Yoda, had to be. Human, talk like that, never would!" he concluded with a giggle. He looked up at Kenobi's face, hoping for some response, but receiving none he continued.
"Well, Yoda disappeared off down the path you and Maul had taken. Mace was getting the better of Ventress, you could tell, he totally controlled that fight, she was in real trouble, and then Dooku joined in on Mace's side and I thought we'd finally be rid of her. But then they seemed to all be talking at the same time. Well," he thought about it for a moment, "I guess Mace didn't do any talking, it was just Assajj and Dooku, and she said something that had Dooku really shocked and then he pulled back behind Mace as Ventress pressed forward and Dooku grabbed Mace's head. There was this weird curling green lightening that came from his fingers into Mace, it looked really painful. He fell to his knees and Ventress leapt for Dooku, but he zapped her two, only she went flying and hit the dura-glass in front of me! It actually cracked the glass! Mace was getting up and swung at Dooku again, but that old man can move really fast when he wants to and this time he had his hand on Mace's chest and he just kept sending that lightening into him. I swear the man was smoking by the time Dooku let him fall to the floor. Then Dooku just looked up and straight at me."
Boba caught his breath, remembering the terrifying moment he realized Dooku knew he was there and the thought that he was next for the lightening treatment.
"He came over to me and I tried to scoot to the back of the ship. When he got to the ship he looked concerned, not upset, which was what I was expecting. He put his hand on the glass and it shook for a second before completely shattering, like you did to the detention cell Dad –" he stopped himself from going any further, shaking slightly at his slip, "no, I mean the way you rescued Jango, you remember?" He looked up again, more urgently this time, he really needed Ben to talk to him, say something reassuring and then something stupid he could laugh at.
Still nothing. He sighed deeply and went on again.
"Anyway, I was free, but facing Dooku, who had just taken out Ventress and Mace. So I really wasn't expecting what happened next. He asked if I was OK! That was too weird. He had to ask me, like, three times before I realized he actually meant it. So I told him about my leg and he was really careful in lifting me out and towards the Jedi's ship. That's when Ventress sprung back up again, but Dooku held her at bay and, would you believe it, he offered her a ride! How could he do that! I was really pi-" he looked up at Ben quick as he corrected himself, "I mean I was really annoyed by that. She's around in here somewhere, I don't know where. Anyway, he set me on the bed in here and we got moving, but I could feel we were hovering for a minute or two and then we moved off again and Dooku brought you in. Man, I thought you were…, well…., I thought you were dead. But Dooku fixed us both up. I just don't know abou him, Ben I really don't." He shook his head as his eyes slipped closed as the drag of sleep seemed to be pulling him down.
"Oh well, I guess we'll find out soon enough where we're headed." He lifted his head and rested it on the bed behind him opening his eyes before the images of destruction could return.
"Wake up, Ben, please," he sobbed out, "I can't hold on much longer, please just wake up!"
" 'Sokey…Boba,…'Sokey.." Ben's voice drifted down to him and the hand he had been holding slipped free to rest comfortingly on Boba's shoulder. "Getsome…rest…" and Boba found himself finally succumbing to his body's call to sleep.