Hours passed. If things weren't finally moving forward on the part of the Jedi, she'd surely have keeled over from boredom. As it was, her nerves were working on overdrive. Her anxiousness threatened to grow into irritation, then into anger the longer her isolation went on. She tried meditating, but that had proven useless when her thoughts began to intrude and stumble over themselves.

Thankfully, Obi-Wan's presence in her mind kept her from doing anything rash (as did the stun cuffs still on her wrists, but they would have been no great hindrance if her anger had taken hold). He assured her that Shaak Ti was still analyzing the recording before presenting it to the Council, that they hadn't left her to rot in her cell as she'd initially feared.

Not for the first time Asajj was thankful for the bond that she and Obi-Wan shared. The pulsing blue and violet lights behind her eyes were a comfort, just as his gentle voice in her head was her solace from the pressing loneliness. She allowed herself the tiniest smile as he went on. Usually she was ready to tell him to shut up by this point, but now his rambling only endeared him even more to her. He was trying so hard to keep her calm. It really was comforting to know that she didn't have to endure everything alone anymore.

Wait, she interrupted, Obi-Wan in mid-thought. The Force was no longer calmly flowing as it had been. A wave was coming towards her, like ones in an ocean that threatened to capsize unsuspecting ships. It made her flinch. There was no mistaking that presence on the other side of the door, the intensity of the emotions that were only barely kept restrained by sheer force of will. The dark silouhette that loomed in the doorway as it slid back into the wall confirmed her theory. Ah, your Chosen One is here.

Obi-Wan's bright tether shivered for an instant before steadying again. What? Why is Anakin there?

Be quiet a moment and I'll find out, darling.

Anakin didn't look at her as he closed the door behind him. He didn't have his cloak on, but the single light over his head cast him in a shadow that mimicked the appearance of being hooded. The picture it presented was eerie. She watched him pace in front of her, her back firmly pressed against the wall. "You think you've got everyone fooled, Ventress," he said at last. "But I see right through your act."

Asajj resisted the urge to tilt her head innocently at him. "Do you now," she replied simply.

"The Council is so blind. To think that you even deserve a trial after everything you've done. Or that you deserve another second of life."

Asajj felt her insides go cold. Obi-Wan. His voice.

Asajj, what's wrong?

I've only heard one other's voice sound like this, so full of Darkness: Dooku's Master.

"I know better than them," Anakin continued, still pacing. "I've always known better than them when it comes to people like you."

"Of course you do."

His eyes snapped up to hers...and she flinched again. "Don't patronize me, witch."

Asajj, what's happening?

Anakin crouched in front of her and leaned in close, his burning eyes only inches from hers. It took every ounce of discipline in her being to not lean back. "I know what you've done to Obi-Wan," he hissed. Asajj kept her face impassive, but she couldn't stop the icy weight that dropped into her stomach. "I saw you in his bed. You've cast some spell on him or poisoned him to let him allow you to do...that."

Asajj?

She didn't respond to either of them, mostly out of shock, but also to not give Anakin a reason to lash out. Let him get it all out verbally and maybe he'd feel a little better...or at least enough to not add to her collection of scars and bruises.

"He's still not in his right mind, otherwise he wouldn't be defending you. But your black magic will wear off eventually...especially when your head is rolling across the floor." His lips pulled back into a grim mockery of a smile. She knew that look well. "Kind of impossible to control someone when you're dead."

Asajj!

"Even if the Masters show you mercy, the Senate certainly won't. I have some pretty powerful friends there, and one word from me will see justice served."

That's it. I'm on my way.

No, don't. I'm alright. He won't hurt me, Obi-Wan. He's just trying to scare me. Honestly, she wasn't entirely sure if she said that to convince Obi-Wan or herself.

Don't be afraid, beloved.

I said he's trying to scare me. I never said he was succeeding. "I think I finally understand you, Skywalker."

Anakin leaned back slightly, surprise plain in his face. "You don't know a thing about me, witch."

She knew she was taking a big risk by antagonizing him, but if she could get him off-balance she had a chance to end this meeting without either of them leaving in a body bag. Maybe. Plus, she was tired of his attitude. "I know you're a hot-headed boy making pretend he's a man. You think a lightsaber and being called 'the Chosen One' make you something more than you are."

Anakin stood but didn't step back. He glowered down at her. "Shut up."

Those two words let her know that she'd struck a nerve. "You've let that go to your head, Skywalker. But being the Chosen One isn't all you thought it was, is it? The Council still treats you like a Padawan, don't they? For all your gifts and talents and achievements, they refuse to see you as an equal. And that pisses you off." His silence was her proof that he'd been thinking those exact same thoughts for quite some time now, possibly even before the war. She knew that feeling all too well. "That's why we've always hated each other: we're exactly the same."

Being the disciple of someone like Dooku had long inured her to all sorts of torture and corporeal punishment. Force chokes weren't used with any great frequency while in his service, but she'd been at their mercy more than she cared to remember. This one, however, was different. This hold was both crushing her throat and making it seem to explode from the inside out. She gasped for air and clutched at her neck, but there were no fingers to pry off.

Now she was afraid. She had pushed him too far and now his impulsive need for vengeance, which he disguised as justice, had taken over his Jedi training. He would kill her now without a second thought. She'd known how little he cared about consequences if his track record during the war was anything to go by, and yet she had pushed him until his already fragile hold on his emotions had snapped. He would play the repentant victim in front of the Council, but she would still be dead.

Shadows appeared at the edges of her vision. The only thing she could now see was Anakin's furious face...and the way his eyes shifted.

"Release her, Anakin!" Asajj wanted to cry out in relief at a third, most welcome voice, but struggling to remain conscious took up all of her energy and attention.

"No, Master. She deserves to die for what she's done!"

Obi-Wan's voice became as hard as durasteel and more cutting than a razor. "That is not for you to decide. Release her NOW."

Indecision flared on his face, then the invisible grip around her neck loosened. Asajj fell to her hands and knees as she greedily sucked in air, an occasional cough racking her chest and scratching at her raw throat. A hand on her back offered comfort, but there was none to be found. He knows, she thought frantically. Obi-Wan, he knows.

She felt him freeze beside her, then sigh through their bond. I should have known. "Anakin, what were you thin-" He stopped when he saw that only he and Asajj were in the room. Anakin had disappeared. "Anakin!"

Asajj had managed to stifle her coughs, though her throat still burned. Not even Dooku had ever gone so far. Skywalker was more dangerous than she'd suspected. He was losing his hold not only on himself but on his teachings. Calling him a Jedi now after that, not to mention how close he had come to killing her in the Coruscant underworld so long ago, couldn't even be classified as a joke.

Obi-Wan, she reached out cautiously. He saw us together. He thinks I've bewitched you. He didn't look at her; he just stared at the floor. She touched his arm, no longer caring if they were being watched. This was a bigger problem. What if he goes to the Council? You'll be ruined.

Now he looked at her. Confusion, sadness, guilt, and shame danced through his eyes in those few seconds. They hardened just as quickly as he came to a decision. He won't. And if he does, I don't care what they say. Master Yoda carries the most weight and... He stopped when he remembered what Yoda had told him months earlier: if they were discovered, he couldn't protect them both. He may have allowed their clandestine relationship to go on as some sort of experiment, but once it was out in the open all bets would be off. Obi-Wan was more concerned about what would happen to Asajj than anything the Council could do to him. I'll take care of it, my dear.

He stood and hurried to the door after Anakin. Asajj's voice followed him out: "Keep your Chosen One on his leash, Kenobi!"

Obi-Wan found Anakin leaning against a window seconds later. He was about to make a very vocal and un-Jedi-like demand for an explanation when he saw the expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Master," his friend whispered. He saw Anakin's hands clenched on the sill, the stiffness of his shoulders. "I shouldn't have done that."

Obi-Wan approached to stand beside him. It hadn't escaped his notice how much more volatile Anakin had become after Ahsoka left the Order. He had been struggling to rein in his emotions, as he always had trouble doing, but it only seemed to be getting worse lately. And Obi-Wan knew that he and Asajj had never been on remotely pleasant terms, so he couldn't say that that encounter was entirely unexpected. But it certainly wasn't excusable.

And there was one other thing that needed addressing.

"Anakin," he started softly, "during the fight to take back Adriana, did you take my comlink and send a message to Asajj?" There was no point in trying to hide his connection to her anymore. Anakin's silence was his answer. "You lured her to the Temple and lied to me to catch her in my room, didn't you." Dark blonde hair lowered between hunched shoulders. Obi-Wan closed his eyes. "Anakin, I understand how this must look-"

"Really? Do you really?" Now Anakin lifted his head to stare distractedly out the window at the Coruscant cityscape. "Because to me it looks like you're still under that witch's spell. She's corrupted you, Master. I know you've always been too lenient on her, but now she's used it her advantage."

Obi-Wan was aghast. Was that what he really thought this was? "Anakin…"

"Everyone I've ever gotten close to has been ripped away from me one way or another. My mother, Ahsoka, even Qui-Gon and other Jedi." Obi-Wan refrained from correcting him on Ahsoka's departure; it wouldn't do any good to point out semantic errors, not with Anakin in his present state of mind. "And now that Sith witch is trying to take you from me, too." He turned to his mentor with eyes that shone with unshed tears. Fear, grief, and near-obsessive determination all flooded over Obi-Wan through the Force in that instant. "I won't let that happen, Master. I can accept the possibility that we all might die in this war, but what I can't accept is that harpy getting her revenge on you."

Once again Obi-Wan found himself speechless. Anakin had so much wrong he didn't know where to begin. But could he really divulge the entire truth of how he and Asajj had grown to be so much more than just former enemies? He let out a long breath and placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Anakin, there is so much to explain. I've pondered over this for so long and I still don't fully understand it. But I will say this: Asajj is not the person you knew before Boz Pity. She's changed."

"Are you sure she didn't just make you believe that so she could get her claws in you?" Anakin was very near sobbing at this point.

Obi-Wan wanted nothing more right then than to prevent that, to spare his best friend such misplaced and mistaken sorrow and helplessness. "Absolutely not. Asajj and I…we share a Force bond, Anakin. A very strong one. It happened so suddenly…" He sighed again, this time in frustration at not being able to make everything so simple to explain. "I owe you a full explanation, I know. But it's going to take some time-"

"I have time now, Master." Anakin's gaze hardened with forceful resolve. "Convince me that you're in your right mind or I'll go back right now and kill her myself."

Another sigh. Obi-Wan had no choice. He had to reveal everything. Anakin wouldn't like it, but it was crucial that he understand his friend hadn't fallen under some Sith spell and that Asajj was no longer that rage-filled monster that Dooku had molded her into.

Darling, he thought. I'm sorry, but I have to tell Anakin the truth.

He felt Asajj bristle at the other end of their bond. Fine. If it will get him back on his leash, then do it. I already told you I don't care what he thinks.

Things will work out, Asajj. Anakin may come around…eventually. Obi-Wan and Anakin stepped into the latter's quarters, the door sliding shut behind them with a very real sense of finality. There was a highly probable chance that their friendship may not survive the truth; Obi-Wan had to beat that thought back. But I have a feeling this is going to be a very long night.

Like I'm going anywhere, Kenobi. He could almost see the smirk on her face at those words. Just do me a favor and leave out the more explicit details.

Trust me, those are things that will remain between us for all eternity. He took a seat across from Anakin and braced himself for the worst.