Three days and she hadn't said a word. She'd been brought before the Jedi High Council each day and questioned without seeming end. She never once opened her mouth, never gave them any reason to use what she would say against her...or Obi-Wan. She knew that he would come up in the interrogation. She would sooner be put to death than betray the trust that had been so carefully rebuilt between them; it had happened once before, although inadvertently, and she wouldn't be the cause of it a second time.

So she took all of their questions in stride. The Jedi wouldn't use torture or other means of physical coercion to get the answers they wanted, but Skywalker's presence at each session was what unnerved her the most. She could feel his hate and loathing like a cloud of thick smoke that threatened to choke her. It amazed her how incredibly blind the Jedi had become if even they couldn't sense the Darkness in their prized Chosen One.

After the third day, when she had been forced to stand in the center of the ring of Jedi Masters for well over fourteen hours (she refused to kneel before them or show any sign of weakening despite the exhaustion that grew stronger with each passing moment), she had been thrown back into her cell by a clearly frustrated Master.

She'd had enough.

As soon as the door was sealed behind her, she forced the thumb of her right hand into an unnatural position, then gave it a sharp pull with her other hand. She bit back the yelp of pain as the joint dislocated; she'd been through worse than that. Once the digit was sufficiently malleable, she was able to slip the stun cuff from her wrist. She hurriedly popped her thumb back into place with a grunt and let out a deep sigh when the pain dulled to a throbbing ache.

Now for this abomination. She grasped the collar around her neck and pulled. Her desperation to be rid of it gave her arms more strength than she'd thought possible, but the metal and wires refused to give. A frustrated growl echoed in the small room. The Jedi weren't going to make this easy for her, were they. Thankfully, they hadn't bothered to check the soles of her boots for additional weapons when they'd taken everything that could be construed as such before her first interrogation. She tore off the shoe and pried the rubber away from the tough leather. A thin piece of metal was lodged inside the thick sole, a handy tool she was grateful she'd had the foresight to start carrying months ago. Although the Jedi could be smart (she had to give them that on occasion), they never did see a need to upgrade their Force-suppressing gear.

Asajj removed the small door of the collar's control panel, and with some minor rewiring the band gave a slight click before falling from her neck. She breathed deeply when the Force flooded back into her limbs and the haze on her mind lifted. The blue and violet lines of the Force bond between her and Obi-Wan flared back to life; that sight and sensation alone was almost enough to ease her worry. She felt as if she'd just inhaled pure oxygen: lightheaded and very near a high like a spice addict.

It took her a few moments to calm her heartbeat and breathing, feeling more like her old self for the first time in days. If not for her current predicament of imprisonment by the people who had more of a reason than anyone to hold a grudge against her, she would have smiled.

Obi-Wan, she sent along the pulsing waves of their Force bond, happiness at just being able to feel him again coloring her tone. Where are you, darling?

Asajj! He actually sounded worried. She almost grinned at that. What's happened? Are you alright? I couldn't sense you for days. I'd started to think-

She didn't let him finish that thought. I'm fine...relatively speaking. Just been enjoying Jedi hospitality. Where are you?

About to land at the Temple. Asajj, I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to get here. We were ambushed in the Outer Rim and couldn't leave. I tried to end it quickly, but-

Asajj never thought she would have to be the one doing the comforting in their relationship. First time for everything. Obi-Wan, calm down. It's okay. You seem to forget I know all about unexpected delays in a warzone. I'm just glad you haven't forgotten me.

A wave of love enveloped her as his bright blue aura wrapped around hers. Never, my love. She couldn't help but smile. I'll be there shortly, Asajj. We'll fix this. I promise.

"Master Kenobi," a voice called out as soon as Obi-Wan set foot in the Temple. Without slowing or changing his course, he saw Kit Fisto approaching from his left. "Have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

The Nautolan fell into step beside him. "It's all over the Temple. I'm surprised Skywalker hasn't already contacted you about it." Kit managed to sound both shocked and fascinated at the same time. "Not only is the Sith assassin Asajj Ventress still alive, she was captured in the Temple. In your chambers!" He didn't see Obi-Wan's back stiffen. "Everything grows more strange by the day, my friend."

"What's being done about her?" He made sure to keep his voice neutral lest the worry that ate at him show through.

"She's being held and questioned every day. As far as I know, she hasn't spoken a word since her capture. Nothing is making sense anymore. First our home is bombed by one of our own, now it's been breached by an assassin. I fear to think what may be next."

Obi-Wan looked at his comrade. Kit's lidless eyes swam with emotion as he continued to ponder the recent developments. He was right: nothing was making sense. A few short months earlier everything had at least had some kind of logic. Now, a Jedi had fallen to the Dark Side, a Dark Acolyte had returned to the Light, and Obi-Wan's closest friend had possibly had something to do with Asajj's imprisonment. The latter troubled him the most. That incident on the battleship in the Outer Rim regarding his misplaced comlink still lingered in his mind. He didn't want to believe what it most probably meant...

"These are strange times, Master Fisto," he offered placidly.

"That's what Master Unduli said. I'm inclined to agree."

"Where is she being held now?"

Kit raised his hands in a subtle shrug. "No one knows except the High Council, and possibly Skywalker." He paused. "When we fought her on Ord Cestus, she seemed to take a special interest in killing you."

"She didn't leave you out, my friend," Obi-Wan quipped.

Kit smiled. "True enough, but I was not the center of her focus. The general consensus is that she came to finish her work. Why do you think she hasn't spoken to defend herself, or even to denounce you? She seemed most vehement about that when I last encountered her."

Obi-Wan returned the shrug. "I couldn't say."

A sudden idea seemed to come to Kit. He turned his bottomless eyes to Obi-Wan. "Perhaps if you were to lead the interrogation she would be more willing to explain herself."

He'd opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped by the approach of Ki-Adi-Mundi. "Master Kenobi. I'm very glad to see you've returned. There has been a disturbing development, one that involves you, I'm afraid."

"Yes, Master Fisto was just telling me."

"I suggested that Obi-Wan try to get answers from the assassin himself. He has a history with her that may prove useful in interrogation."

Obi-Wan tried not to wince.

The Cerean looked at him with hopeful eyes. "That may work. She has refused to speak, and we are running out of options."

"I will try my best, Master. I will question her alone-"

"I think, in light of what information she may possess and the threat she poses, the Council should be present."

Obi-Wan wanted to argue, wanted to spare her further incrimination from people who did not understand her like he did. But that would only arouse suspicion, something neither he nor Asajj could afford right now. He had no choice but to comply with Ki-Adi's veiled command. He inclined his head. "As you wish, Master."

"I will have her brought before the Council presently."

Obi-Wan watched his fellow Councilman walk away with a sinking feeling in his gut.

Asajj groaned in irritation when her cell door opened. They couldn't leave her alone after a fourteen-hour stint of questioning, could they? At least she was able to stand on her own now. The Cerean that had unlocked the door wore an expression of shock at finding her unrestrained and without the Force-suppressing collar. His hand went to his lightsaber, but she merely raised hers. She would give him no reason to draw the weapon if he gave her no reason to lash out. "Back for more, Master Jedi?" Her throat felt thick and tight after days of not using her voice, but she hid her discomfort.

The Jedi looked her over with clear distrust. "We're not done with you, assassin."

She sighed dramatically. "If I must." Seeing that he wasn't going to relax in the slightest until he was sure she couldn't attack, she replaced the open cuff on her wrist. She left the collar where it lay in the corner. When her arms were made properly useless, she gestured sarcastically to say, Better?

The Jedi still looked dubious, but he took her arm none too gently and pulled her into the hall. Asajj noted how he kept his lightsaber in his free hand as extra insurance. Always so suspicious. At least he sense of humor was coming back.

Asajj, they're bringing you back to the Council Chamber.

She smirked. You don't say, darling.

They want me to lead this interrogation. Before you're questioned again, I have to know: what happened?

I was set up. Skywalker knew I was coming and caught me in your room. I have a feeling he was the one who sent that message the other day.

She felt him sigh. I'm afraid you may be right.

How did he get my frequency in the first place? A more traitorous part of her thought that Obi-Wan had let it slip to his former Padawan that he was in contact with her, but she forcefully stomped that notion down.

I believe he took my comlink and figured out which one was yours. We both communicate with the same people, so to see an unfamiliar line must have tipped him off.

But how did he know it was me?

I don't know, darling. I never mentioned you. I never gave anyone reason to believe you were even alive.

She couldn't resist teasing him. Except for Yoda, you mean. She immediately regretted the snarky comment when she felt a pang of hurt. I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. I was joking.

Good to know you haven't lost your sense of humor.

"If you want this over quickly," the Cerean interrupted while they rode the turbolift that would take them into the Council Chamber, "you'll start talking, assassin. We've given you plenty of opportunities. If you squander this one, that cell will remain your home for the rest of your life...short as it might be."

"Such a sweet-talker," she purred, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sure you've charmed dozens of ladies with words like that." He didn't take her bait, didn't even glance in her direction. Well, you're no fun. Perhaps it was the knowledge that her bondmate was within reach that restored her flippancy and demeanor. It would probably get her in trouble if she tried to toy with the Jedi Council like that, but it felt good to feel like her old self again.

Her elevated mood quickly crashed when she saw Skywalker standing with his arms crossed over his chest near a far wall. He wasn't a Councilmember; why was he here? The Cerean left her in the center of the arc of chairs, some occupied by holoimages of Masters who were off-planet. She glanced briefly at Obi-Wan, who hid his true emotions behind a mask of mild interest. His Force signature told a very different story as he embraced her through their bond.

"She was found in your quarters, Master Kenobi," Mace Windu said, his words directed at the Jedi to his left but his hard gaze fixed on Asajj.

"Yeah, weird," Anakin offered with a lightness uncharacteristic to his intense dislike of her. "Any ideas on why she would be in there?"

"I'm more interested in how she got into the Temple in the first place," Windu countered. "And how she's even alive."

Talking about me like I'm not even here, she thought bitterly. I thought you were going to be doing the questioning, Kenobi.

So did I...

"Didn't you report that she had been killed on Boz Pity, Master Kenobi?"

"I did. To my knowledge, she was indeed dead...or as close to it as possible." He turned to her then, half out of respect to not treat her like she was invisible. "How did you survive, Ventress?" He had to remind himself to not address her with the familiarity that had become second nature over the months.

"Luck." The longer she spent surrounded by Jedi the more uncomfortable she got. Not even her lover's presence could completely cure her of that.

"There has always been an animosity from Ventress towards Obi-Wan," said the flickering image of Plo Koon. "Darth Maul survived bisection by the power of his rage towards you. Is it possible she utilized the same tactic?"

Asajj resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I don't believe so, Masters," Obi-Wan answered. "Maul was nothing but rage and hatred given physical form. Ventress had renounced her allegiance to the Dark Side just before her apparent death."

Anakin spoke up again, obviously rankled by his Master's defense of her. "She faked her death, why not that as well, Master?" His eyes burned into hers with a heat that nearly made her shiver. "How do we know that wasn't all a trick, or even a plan cooked up by her and Dooku to throw us off? She could still be one of his pets for all we know."

"Enough, Skywalker." Windu glared at the younger man. Asajj wondered if, if things didn't go as badly as she thought, she might end up liking the Korun.

Obi-Wan almost sighed at his former student's outburst. "I sensed no deception in her on Boz Pity. No Darksider could fake a return to the Light."

"I have to disagree, Master," Anakin spat.

Windu had started to say something, but Obi-Wan beat him to it. "That's enough, Anakin. You didn't see or feel what I did on Boz Pity."

"I remember seeing her trying to kill you. Or have you forgotten that, too?"

"Because that was all she'd ever known!" Everyone, Asajj included, was startled by the vehemence in Obi-Wan's voice. "I forgave her for all her transgressions against me long ago. I didn't agree with what she'd done while in Dooku's service, but I understood why she did the things she did. As much as I abhor them, I understand the motivations behind them. I understand her."

Asajj almost slipped up and smiled at him. No one had ever defended her like that before. Only Ky had ever truly attempted to understand her as a person.

In the ensuing silence, Yoda hmm'd and leaned forward on his gimer stick. The diminutive Master had remained quiet during the arguments, but now seemed to have something to say. "Found, you were, with a lightsaber not your own, young one." Asajj nearly flinched; only Ky had ever called her that. He lifted the aforementioned saber hilt from the cushion beside him. He examined it as he spoke. "In the Temple vaults, this was kept. A Jedi's, it was. Found its way home, it did." He fixed her with a bottomless stare, neither gentle nor hard. "How did it come to you?"

She didn't dare look away. If she so much as flicked her eyes at Obi-Wan, Yoda would know the truth. Force, he probably already did. But she would sooner be thrown down a sarlaac pit than betray her bondmate. "As you say, Master," she finally said with as much sincerity as she could manage. "It simply found its way home."

Skywalker made a noise but didn't speak. She felt Obi-Wan reach out to her through the Force, a most welcome sensation amidst the disbelief and latent anger that went around the room. She knew what they were all thinking: how dare she presume such blasphemy. How dare she make light of such a serious offense. She shut them all out and focused on Obi-Wan's presence in her mind and soul.

"It belonged to Ky Narec, my first Master," she explained. They didn't deserve to hear this story, but if it would help get this circus over faster... "He took me in when I lost everything and trained me to control and use my abilities that I didn't understand at the time. He was a close to a father as I could remember. When he was killed, his lightsaber was all I had left of him. I kept it safe to honor his memory. Then it was taken from me." She saw Obi-Wan lower his gaze at that. "But now, it found its way back. It belongs in the hands of one who would use it to honor its fallen master rather than gathering dust in some forgotten corner of a vault to be lost to time and history."

"A compelling story, to be sure," Ki-Adi said when she was finished, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "But that still doesn't answer the question: how did you get it from the vault?"

She fixed him with a cold glare. She really didn't like this one. "Perhaps it was the will of the Force. Don't the Jedi always say that when they can't explain something, or when they wouldn't accept the truth of things anyway?"

Darling, please.

I won't tell them anything more they don't deserve to know. I'll not throw you to the wolves, Obi-Wan. If that means the distrust of your friends and my possible execution, then fine.

Asajj-

Kenobi, shut up. She wrapped his signature with hers, the gesture as loving and telling as if she'd embraced him physically while putting her hand over his mouth.

"This is going nowhere, Masters," a female Togruta interjected before anyone could start another argument. "Ventress has been questioned for a very long time, twice now today."

"Agreed," Yoda said. High tensions are, and no deceit or Darkness do I sense in her. Discuss this further we will, but not today."

Skywalker launched himself from the wall at that. "Master, how can you say that?" He jabbed a finger at Asajj, who flinched at the suddenness of it. She didn't like being so close to the boy; his Darkness was almost a palpable thing to her. She debated whether or not to say as much while she had the attention of the whole Council. She could tell Windu didn't think as highly of the Chosen One as others. "This creature has tortured and murdered countless beings throughout the galaxy. Once the Dark Side takes hold of someone, it never lets them go. She will always be a threat so long as she's alive, always a slave to the Dark Side."

"Calm down, Skywalker," Windu said firmly. "You are allowed to observe this interrogation by the grace of the Council. One more outburst and you will be escorted out. Do I make myself clear?"

Skywalker shut up, but clearly wasn't happy about being told off. He confirmed that thought when he gave a stiff bow and stormed out of the room, fixing Asajj with a pointed look on his way out.

I think I like Master Windu, Asajj thought, attempting to lighten the knot that had formed in her chest.

"I agree with Master Yoda," Unduli said as if nothing was amiss. Like Yoda, she addressed Asajj directly. "When we fought many months ago, you were shrouded in Darkness. But now...something's changed." Asajj could have sworn she was smiling. "Your anger and fear are gone, though distrust is still present, of course."

"Do forgive me for that, Master Jedi," Asajj said dramatically. "Unlike the esteemed Jedi, I'm not so quick as to forget who still sees me as an enemy."

Asajj...

What?

Obi-Wan didn't answer; he just rubbed his forehead with his fingertips.

Windu let out a sound that on a lesser man would have been an irritated grunt, but on him was merely a sigh of frustration, like a father having to deal with unruly children. "I think we're done here. Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti, escort Ventress back to her cell. We'll continue this tomorrow when everyone's had a chance to calm down." He looked right at Asajj. "And just so my meaning is not misconstrued, that means you, too."