Chapter 21: Diplomatic Immunity

"Remember," Obi-Wan drawled, his long, easy stride taking him through the expanses of the Providence-class dreadnaught that was his to command. "This is a peace mission. No fighting." His companion didn't answer. Her pale eyes just narrowed as she frowned. "...I mean it, Asajj. It all falls through if we start something."

"I thought we wanted it to fall through," she drawled, deadpan, her arms crossed and her entire Force presence screaming boredom.

"We do, my dear, but not with violence. Sometimes that is the least effective way to go about things. My Master wants to discredit Senator Amidala. She is, apparently, extremely irritating to him. Hence the assassination attempt."

"But what if the Jedi are there!" Ventress cried, their footsteps hitting with a metallic twang on the ground as they entered the docking bay and headed toward the Sith Lord's personal cruiser, the sleek black and red ship a sharp contrast to the bulky, military droid crafts that populated the hanger.

"The Jedi will absolutely be there, Asajj, and we're going to be civil." He smiled when the woman beside him groaned. "The war has just started. You'll have your chance to kill Jedi, I promise. But not today. And I mean it." He grabbed her arm, stopping her and turning her to face him. "I'm going to be alone with the Senator, and I'm not going to be able to feel you through the Force."

"It's a huge mistake to do this!"

"Yes, for them." Kenobi took her hand and patted it, smirking as the Nightsister frowned. "The Jedi are bound to their Code. You and I will be completely safe, so long as we do nothing to provoke them to action. Don't think this is something it isn't."

She frowned, her pale eyes locking on to his handsome face and reaching to him through the Force for comfort, and she found it, the warmth of his presence filling her. "What is this, then?"

"An opportunity." He exhaled sharply, running his hand through his hair as he organized his thoughts. "My Master made certain the Senate gave me exactly what I wanted. Alone with the Senator in a containment room is much better than allowing her a Jedi guard to oversee proceedings. It lets me deal with them separately, which I need, since I need to conduct myself very differently with the Senator and the Jedi."

"Why do you even bother..." she drawled lazily, watching droids clank around the hanger, clicking and beeping in their binary language, and she smirked as she saw the Sith Lord glare, his mouth trembling in a repressed snarl. "You're powerful enough to kill them all."

"You've been listening to Dooku too much, my dear."

Ventress punched Kenobi's arm, an amused smirk on her face. "I've been listening to you. I know how strong you are."

"My talent is in the Force, Asajj, and I'm giving it up for this meeting."

"Because you are an idiot," she growled, turning and stalking up the ramp of the sleek cruiser, the Sith Lord following her at an easy pace. "We should have brought Grievous. There would have been no contest then, we could kill them all with no trouble!"

"You're so violent." Obi-Wan yawned as he settled into the pilot's seat, lazily priming the ship for their transport to Mandalore after they had come out of hyperspace near the planet. "Control your anger, Asajj. I can still leave you behind. I would rather not, I need support in case something does go wrong, but I won't have things going wrong because of you." She bit her lip and looked away from the Sith, her brow furrowing, and Obi-Wan could feel her anger, her rage, and her frustration with herself as she struggled to control it. "If we kill the Jedi here," Kenobi softly explained, "than every undeclared system turns against us, and I will have the full might of the Jedi Order upon me. Even I can't survive that. But if we are peaceful, reasonable...I can disarm the Jedi. If they think twice before raising their weapon against me in the future, it will make it easier to break them."

"But if you kill them-"

"I have two goals today, Asajj, pay attention," Kenobi said swiftly, ignoring the direction she seemed to want to take the conversation. "First, make my impression on Amidala. I get her to agree with my terms, my Master and Dooku orchestrate another battle, courtesy of the Republic, and we are left with a diplomatic situation that cannot be solved without violence. I look good, Republic looks bad."

"...but the Jedi-"

"Are my second goal my dear. I-" He stopped, a smirk slowly crossing his face. "Never you mind about the Jedi. You just keep quiet and follow my lead. And when you are alone with them, and you will be, you are going to be a perfect lady, understand?"

She gawked at the Sith, puttering for a moment before she cried, "I am not a lady! I have never been a lady!"

Obi-Wan took her hand, swiftly kissed it, smiling slyly as a look of disgust passed over her face. "But you will be today." He shrugged, leaning back in the pilot's seat, hands behind his head. "And after this, it's Bull Rancor hunting on Felucia! Oooh, get excited, Asajj! Bull Rancors!" He put his immaculate soft, leather boots on the control console. "I'm going to let them go on the ship. Maybe they'll smash up all the droids..."

"You sure do hate them..."

"Don't get me wrong," he drawled smoothly, splaying his fingers out before him in what would have been a placating gesture if Ventress didn't look through the viewport to see several passing droids rise into the air and begin spinning head over heals. "Droids have their uses, of course. But as soldiers?" The Sith scoffed. "They are no match for an intelligent soldier. Certainly no match for a Jedi. They will tear through entire battalions of these things with no trouble at all. I suppose that's why we're using them, nobody cares about droids..."

"Are you sure you're Sith, Kenobi?" Ventress drawled, smirking as the yellow eyes narrowed slightly. "You certainly speak highly of the Jedi."

"As should we all, Asajj. The Jedi are peerless warriors. Slaves to fools, yes, but we will correct that in time, and those that do not come to our side will be distroyed. The Sith and the Jedi are far more alike than we like to believe. But the Jedi serve. The Sith rule." Kenobi laughed loudly, eyes closed, and Ventress could feel his Force presence reaching out, not to her, but all around, feeling the ship, the droids, the dreadnaught, something beyond that she could neither see nor sense., and she breathed deep, the feel of Darth Lumis heavy and comforting around her. "It's absolute insanity that a Force sensitive being should ever be made to serve. The Force has chosen us. We should be exalted for it, not enslaved because it."

"The Force shall set me free," Ventress said softly, and Kenobi grinned.

"Wonoksh Qyâsik nun. You're learning fast." Eyes closed, the Sith powered on the ship, feeling the dreadnaught leave hyperspace just outside the Mandalore system. "Are you ready?"

Ventress' nose wrinkled, grabbing the armrest as the cruiser lifted and Kenobi took them out of the hanger, the sleek ship cutting smoothly and easily through space. "Are you going to see your girlfriend? Because if I have to wait outside one more time while you and her-"

"I heard your complaints, Asajj, and we don't even speak in Basic anymore! We switched to Mando'a to save you the embarrassment. You're welcome."

"It doesn't help, Kenobi, I still hear it!"

"Stop standing so close to the door, sweetheart."

Ventress growled. "I'm not that close."

Obi-Wan ran a hand over his face, failing to repress a loud yawn. It was early, and his busy mind prevented him from getting any rest the night before. "You could always take a walk through the city, dear, Sundari is beautiful."

"It doesn't matter how far away from you I am, I can feel it in the Force!"

The gold eyes widened slowly, a sly, devious, perfectly delighted smirk sliding across his face, his one hand pressed on the flight controls and causing the ship to fly in a wide circle. "Oh, Asajj! We have a training bond!" The woman growled, low and deep and warning, and the Sith Lord just laughed. "We have been spending too much time together, haven't we? It's it great to have me in your mind?"

"No, it really isn't."

"You know...now the galaxy knows I'm alive, Satine and I don't need to keep that secret anymore. I haven't heard her scream my name in a very long time. Maybe I will see her after all..."

"It still needs to be secret!" Ventress shouted, pitching to the side for a moment as Obi-Wan righted the ship, resuming the course for Mandalore. "It would be very bad if people knew that the leader of the Neutral Systems was messing around with the kriffing Negotiator!"

"...damn it. Rancor hunting it is."

Ventress crossed her arms, looking petulant and annoyed, but the Sith was paying her no mind. She threw herself back in the chair dramatically, her pale eyes looking to the pilot, but his handsome face was calm, peaceful, serene, and absolutely not noticing her at all. She growled in irritation, reached out to him with the Force, and was met with the iron defenses of his mental walls. With a frown, Asajj slowly droned, "Kenobi..."

"I know you are distressed, Asajj, I can feel it. You don't need to make a performance out of it."

"The Jedi-"

"I know!" he snarled viciously, golden eyes lighting up with rage and the Force flaring with anger, but not toward her. A moment later saw him smoothing back his hair and breathing deep, the Dark Side submitting to his mastery. "I know you are concerned about the Jedi, but we are safe."

"I'm concerned about you, stupid."

Obi-Wan leaned back, closed his eyes, his hands resting easily on the ship's steering and guiding them toward Mandalore, the planet slowly growing larger before them. "...I confess I am...nervous, perhaps. There are those among the Jedi I once considered friends. Very close friends. I've always held Quinlan Vos and Luminara Unduli close to me. Even after I fell." He breathed deeply. "My Master has trained me well. I rule my passions, they do not rule me. He exists among the Jedi, and I can do so as well. No matter who the Jedi bring, I will get exactly what I want."

"You always do."

"Yes," he purred, yellow eyes running over the large Republic ships that were in orbit around Mandalore. "Always."

"I really don't think you should be here, Master."

"Anakin..."

"I mean it," the Padawan snarled, clenching his mechanical hand. "I think everyone's in shock, everyone's lost, nobody knows what to do, and we're all forgetting that he's Sith!"

"...I haven't forgotten."

"Control your anger, Padawan," Luminara said softly, her voice tight, and Anakin growled.

"He called me a slave!"

"You were a slave," Qui-Gon said softly, eyes distant, but Skywalker shook his head, defiant.

"Not anymore! He...made me one. Just for a moment, but it was enough!" Anakin snarled, his bright blue eyes darting to the end of the large, grand hall where Padmé Amidala talked quietly with Duchess Satine, the grand leader of Mandalore. "And why wouldn't she listen to us?! We should be with her! At all times!"

"She believes she will have more success without us," Barriss said softly, coming closer to the fuming Anakin. "Maybe she's right. Maybe the Jedi presence will make him less cooperative."

"Or maybe having the people he betrayed nearby will show more of his true nature! Maybe we can watch him have a big, stupid Sith breakdown, and Master Yoda will have to kill him!" Anakin pointed to the diminutive Master sitting cross-legged outside on one of the sunny verandas, his eyes closed in deep meditation. "All our problems would be solved! No more Negotiator, he can be dead for real this time, and we can all start healing!"

Barriss grabbed him when both Masters' eyes glazed over and she pulled him away, out of the large hall and into the grand foyer of Sundari Palace. "Nobody is healing from this, Anakin," she whispered. "His death would solve nothing."

"Yes it would, it would solve everything."

"But Dooku would be free. The war would continue with no hope of peaceful resolution." Anakin's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to speak, but the Mirialan put her hand over his mouth. "He may be a powerful asset for the Confederacy, but he isn't a leader. Dooku is. If the Negotiator dies, we gain nothing."

"No, we lose a Sith Lord! That's the important thing here, Barriss, he's Sith!"

"He isn't just Sith. He's..." She stopped, looking over her shoulder toward the grand hall where their Masters stood, and looked back with concern on her face. "He's your Master's former student. He's my Master's old friend. This isn't a pain that can be healed with death. No pain can be healed with death, it just creates more pain."

"I think killing a Sith Lord would save a lot of lives," Skywalker spat bitterly. "Don't you think? Aren't we supposed to be far-sighted?"

"...we are." Barriss sighed, slipping her hand into Anakin's, and the towering teen softened considerably when he felt the girl's distress, her confusion, her pain. "I admit this is difficult, but saying his death is the only way is just...wrong. If we kill him, the peace talks are over."

"He doesn't want peace. I was there, I saw him. I felt him in my mind. Obi-Wan Kenobi isn't peaceful, he's...h-he's-"

"No, you're probably right," she admitted, looking away from the other Padawan. "But we still must try. Ending the war here would save the most lives." She sighed, rubbing her thin arms against the cold. It was early, and the large marble halls did little to retain heat. "Even still...his death gains us nothing." Anakin began to object again, and she held up a hand and carefully said, "We gain the most by his capture. If we can capture him, we can learn about the Sith. We can find out where the real threat is, we could give our Masters a chance to finally heal. They can come to peace with his rehabilitation, or come to accept he is lost to us. No matter what, at least we can say we tried."

Anakin closed his eyes, slowly turning over all Barriss had said. It was true that the Jedi Order was in shock, and it was only now that they were starting to come out of it as the reality of the situation set in. Obi-Wan Kenobi's survival and turn to the Dark Side was disturbing the Force in a way Anakin didn't think was possible. Even easy-going Quinlan Vos was tense and agitated, declining the invitation to accompany the Senator with a tense smile and a surge of anger that everyone understood. He claimed that he had a Padawan to find, and while everyone knew it was an excuse, nobody said a word about it. They were Jedi, yes, but it was easy to stay unattached when it was peaceful. Now they were faced with war, with dead Jedi and innocents, with the Sith, with the traitorous Obi-Wan. Remaining serene seemed impossible to Anakin. Only Yoda was truly handling it like a Jedi should.

"...maybe you're right." Anakin grinned almost viciously. "I would like to capture him. We'll see who's the slave then!"

Barriss sighed. "Anakin..."

"How long will it take to break a Sith Lord? They thrive on pain, right?"

"You can't break a Sith, they've already been broken," Both Padawans turned to look at Luminara, who had come to check on the absent learners, and in the presence of the wise Master, Anakin hung his head. He knew he was not behaving in the Jedi way, but thoughts of revenge felt...good. "The Sith thrive on hatred and pain. Torturing him will only send him further down the dark path. Don't forget why we're here, Padawans."

Barriss nodded. "For peace."

"For peace," the Master repeated in a whisper. "And, to get the measure of our enemy. Master Yoda believes that understanding what he has become will help us in the future."

"He's going to be in a containment room, Master," Anakin snarled, his mechanical hand clenching tightly. "Why don't we just lock the door when they're done. Without the Force, he can't do anything." But Luminara shook her head.

"Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons does not make it right, Anakin. That's how many Jedi have fallen prey to the Dark Side. Master Yoda is of the belief that observing Obi-Wan here while he is working will make him easier to find and capture later."

"Master Yoda wants to capture him?"

The Master nodded. "We all do. So far, at least, so far as we know, Obi-Wan hasn't committed any crime."

Anakin's eyes narrowed and he felt rage build up inside him again. "But he has."

"Can you prove that?"

"W-well..." Luminara smiled sadly as Skywalker fumbled for examples he just didn't have.

"He will know that as well. It's why he's here, he knows he is safe. For now. Nobody here wants him free. All of us agree that Obi-Wan must be apprehended, if not for his own good, for the good of the galaxy. But not now. Not when it will hurt us."

"...yes, Master." Anakin could say nothing else. He didn't have a good argument. Maybe Yoda was right. The Grandmaster was far-sighted, and it was very possible that he saw something the other Jedi simply could not. After all, his own Master had passed his adherence to the Living Force on to his student, and while it gave Anakin keen insight, living in the moment didn't lend itself to advanced planning.

However, Anakin thought, everyone but the sage Master Yoda was living in the moment right now, and none of them were handling it well. When they left, Quinlan was in an adamant state of denial. Luminara was simply...sad, accepting of what had happened, but open and sympathetic to the plight and pain of her fallen friend. Poor, suffering Qui-Gon was filled with self-loathing that seeped into the very heart of him, leaving him shattered and broken far worse than Anakin had ever seen. And that made Anakin angry.

It had started small. Sadness had already draped itself around young Skywalker after his mother had died just a few short days before. He was angry then too, but his brother Owen's strength had helped him endure, regain control, and the rage faded into sadness. And then Obi-Wan happened. The Sith Lord knew exactly how to make the Jedi Padawan lose control, and Anakin did, rage engulfing him and refusing to let him go. And while he wanted the Sith Lord killed violently, he also understood that his anger was making him stupid.

Barriss was fine. She hadn't known Obi-Wan, and she had the benefit of the wise and controlled Luminara guiding her on her path to Knighthood. Next to Master Yoda, the younger teen was perhaps the most level-headed of the group.

The all turned when Qui-Gon rushed into the room and stuck himself to the wall, his hands seeming to grip the cold marble. "...Yoda senses him," the old Master mumbled, and Anakin could see even Luminara tense. "I can't do this."

"You can, and you will." The Mirialan took his hand. "You can't turn him in a day, Qui-Gon. It took years for him to fall, and he's had lots of time for the Dark Side to twist him."

"That's what I'm afraid of, I don't want to see that."

"You already have, Master," Anakin said softly. "It can't possibly be worse than last time. He's supposed to be...peaceful, right?"

Luminara carefully took the Master's hand from the wall and squeezed gently. "We'll do it together. Come on." He closed his dark eyes and breathed deeply, finally nodding and entering the large hall with Luminara in hand, their Padawans trailing behind them. They stopped just behind Yoda when the tiny Master held his stick out, tapping Qui-Gon on the stomach with it.

"Watch carefully, you must," he quietly rasped, eyes looking at the two women standing unaware by the throne. The other Jedi nodded, but said nothing. There was nothing left to say.

A few minutes later, and Obi-Wan Kenobi entered the room, though not from the main entrance they were expecting. The man came through a door at the side of the throne, a black cloak draped over his shoulders, hood drawn, and a smaller, thinner person in similar dark grey garb trailing just behind him. Qui-Gon frowned, observing the Sith carefully. The Jedi delegation had been directed through the main entrance of Sundari Palace. The Kenobi used the side door, an entrance that Qui-Gon knew led to the less formal, private sections of the palace, bespoke of a familiarity that made the Jedi uneasy. He believed Mandalore to be truly neutral, but Satine may not be. He'd have to investigate while Padmé conducted her business with the Negotiator.

Obi-Wan's strides were slow and easy, ambling almost carelessly as he pulled back his hood and mounted the steps to the throne, his companion waiting for him on the first step, and the Jedi looked on carefully, hardly noticing they were holding her breath, and Qui-Gon could hear Luminara whimper softly beside him. Anakin felt his chest tighten in the presence of the Dark Side, and he frowned, blue eyes narrowing dangerously as he looked between the Negotiator and his cowled friend. He suspected that the man would have brought guards, but he thought they'd be droids, given his connection to the Separatists. Instead, he brought a single person, and not a very big one, but the Force didn't shy away from the small of stature. If there was yet another Sith in the picture, Anakin was going to tear his hair out.

And yet, something was...off. Anakin shook his head. He couldn't place it. Not yet.

Obi-Wan kneeled before the two women when he reached the base of the throne, delicately taking the Duchess' hand in his and pressing his lips to her fingertips. "Ni dinu ner gaan naakyc, Mand'alor Satine."

"Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it, cyar'ika."

Luminara leaned in towards Qui-Gon. "What are they saying?"

The Master shook his head. "I don't speak much Mando'a. Certainly not enough to understand that."

Obi-Wan smiled, rising to his feet and bowing deeply to a blushing Padmé. "Senator Amidala. It has been a very long time. Last time I saw you, you were still a queen."

Padmé's hands were shaking. She knew it was him, she had watched his proposal to the Republic nearly a hundred times, but seeing him again was another matter entirely. She thought to sound regal, strong, commanding, but instead could only manage a weak, "I thought you were dead."

"I know. Some...changes needed to take place." He smiled, a charming thing, and Padmé flushed further.

"Y-your eyes..."

"We're not here to talk about me, Senator, or the past, we're here to discuss the future! Of course," Kenobi drawled smoothly, drawing closer to the Senator and smirking as he felt through the Force the young woman burning, "I would be happy to discuss it another time in a more informal setting. I'm not always on business for the Confederacy."

Satine arched an eyebrow. "Vaabir gar kar'taylir kaysh?"

"Vi cuyir ruug'la tomade." The Duchess nodded, and Anakin had enough, with a snarl, he broke away from the Masters and made a mad dash for the stairs, reaching for the light saber at his belt. His swift approach to the throne was blocked by the hooded figure, reaching under the thick cloak for something when Anakin's lightsaber flew from his hands and was caught easily by Master Yoda. Obi-Wan grinned broadly when Luminara and Qui-Gon grabbed the furious young man.

"Skywalker! So nice to see you! How's the arm?"

The light tone, the smooth voice, the insufferable accent was too much for Skywalker to take. He was in control before, but now, all the rage had come bursting to the surface and consumed him. Anger for his arm, his Master, his mother, his forced enslavement, the Sith's close proximity to Padmé, everything came to the surface, and Anakin saw red.

"Calm yourself, Anakin," Qui-Gon hissed, and the Padawan, growled, channeling his will through the Force to hurt the Sith, and the golden eyes widened in what looked like momentary shock before they melted into ease and amusement, and Skywalker felt the transparisteel walls that surrounded the smirking Kenobi's mind. Obi-Wan cautiously inclined his head as Yoda drew near, casually hobbling over with his stick to support him.

"Master Yoda..."

"Obi-Wan." That easy smile faltered for just a moment, twitching with a vicious sneer that he quickly repressed, nearly too fast to see. Yoda simply regarded him curiously.

Kenobi's yellow eyes looked over the Jedi carefully and found them shockingly unguarded. Qui-Gon's eyes were averted, pain and desperation rolling off him in waves as he held the fuming Skywalker back, the Force presence that Obi-Wan knew was comforting filling his Padawan in an attempt to sooth him. Skywalker's furious eyes, by contrast, never left the Sith Lord's face, the young man far, far more angry than he had any right to be. He began to reach out to identify the source of the teen's anger, but a sharp rap on the ground by Yoda's stick snapped Kenobi's attention back to the tiny Jedi Master, his ears back and his eyes narrowed in...warning. Obi-Wan frowned. He was perfectly shielded, but any obvious use of the Force seemed unwise under Yoda's watchful gaze.

What he didn't expect, however, was Luminara, his old friend, standing at Skywalker's side, her small hand on the Padawan's chest, her bright blue eyes wide and relieved and hurt, all at once. He bit his lip, shook his head and allowed his easy, careless expression to settle back on his face. There would be time for the Jedi after he finished with Padmé. For now...

Kenobi cleared his throat as he walked down the stairs, laying his hand on his robed companion's shoulder. "You're in the presence of royalty, dear. Have some respect." With an audible growl, the hands came from beneath the heavy gray cloak and drew back the hood, revealing the shorn head and light gray skin of a severe featured woman, her pale eyes narrowed dangerously at the Jedi. "My companion, Ventress," Kenobi purred, watching carefully as Yoda's wide eyes darted between the two.

"You brought another Sith?!" Anakin howled, his anger beginning anew, only to stop when Yoda slammed the point of his stick into his foot.

"I'm not Sith," Asajj rasped, crossing her arms and clearly not happy to be there.

"See? No trouble!" Kenobi chirped, turning back to Padmé and offering her his hand, which she gladly took. "Right to business, then. Duchess, care to lead the way to our meeting place?"

"Gladly." She held out her hand, and Kenobi gently took it, allowing the woman to rest her hand in the crook of his arm, and with the two women in hand, chatting softly and amiably as they started a relaxed walk out of the side room, two guards and the Sith's sneering companion following them as they went.

The Jedi stood fix to their spot, Yoda beginning a slow, hobbled walk after them. Clearly, he was in no rush. He lightly tapped Barriss on the leg, quietly commanded her to follow them closely, and with a nod, she set a quick pace to fall in line behind the diplomats.

"Anakin, you shame me," Qui-Gon growled softly, but Anakin was not backing down.

"Master, he's Sith!"

"We have been over this!"

"Well maybe some people just don't deserve to live! If he's a Sith Lord, at some point, he's done something that makes him unworthy of living!"

"We don't get to decide that," Luminara whispered, her voice shaking terribly. "I thought...I saw him in the message to the Senate, so I thought I could handle this, but seeing him in person..." She brought her hand up to her forehead, her breathing uneven. She felt nauseous. "You were right. It's different in person. It's...real. You can't feel a Force presence from a hologram."

"...I'm sorry, Luminara," Qui-Gon said softly, and the Mirialan slowly hugged him, easily getting lost in the folds of his robes, and Anakin frowned, clenching his jaw as he thought about what Luminara had said. Something felt off before, and it felt off now.

Released, Anakin strode quickly after Padmé, only to be stopped when he tripped and went pitching forward, only just barely catching himself before his face struck the floor. He looked back to see what he tripped on and saw Yoda, chucking softly and dragging his stick behind him. The Grandmaster had tripped him. Anakin frowned. "You're worse than the younglings, Master."

"If slower you were going, Skywalker, than seen my stick, you would have seen." He held Anakin's lightsaber out to him, and the Padawan took it, only to be grabbed by the wrist by the Master and pulled to the ground, grimacing as his knees slammed into the hard stone. With a gasp, Anakin shivered as the Force surged through him, awakening his senses and clearing his vision as the anger quickly faded from him, replaced by the calm serenity of Master Yoda.

"Anger, there is in you," Yoda rasped, his three-fingered hand tightening around the Padawan's wrist. "Fear, there is. New pain." Yoda frowned, his ears rising and falling as he seemed to listen to the Force, and Anakin couldn't help but watch the Master with rapt attention.

"...I don't know what to do, Master."

"Help you, I will." Yoda patted his hand and let go of the teenager. "The Dark Side, you call, Skywalker. Danger, there is in that path. Fail your Master, you must not. Too much pain, he has already."

Anakin looked back to his Master and the Mirialan, the two quietly comforting each other and far more hurt than they were letting on. "...can we help them?" he asked quietly, and Yoda's forehead wrinkled, his eyes closing.

"Time. Patience, they need. Strong, you will have to be, Skywalker. Aware and in tune with the Force, you must stay, or to the Sith, you will belong."

Anakin bristled. "I don't belong-"

"But you do," Yoda said, pushing the tip of his stick against Anakin's chest. "Through the Dark Side, Obi-Wan controls you. On Geonosis." The Master nodded sagely. "Here. Fear the Dark Side, I do not. A powerful ally is mine, in the Force. Touch me, the Dark Side cannot. Cautious, the Sith Obi-Wan is. Knows his weakness is my strength, he does."

Anakin bit his lip, his blue eyes drifting away from Yoda and contemplating the Force, everything that had happened here. Something felt...off. Again. He couldn't see it before for all his rage, bit now, clarity set in. He was embarrassed for not sensing it before. "I felt the Dark Side when they came in. But it was...different." A small, secretive smile came to Yoda's thin lips. "It wasn't like Geonosis, it was...angry. I felt anger and fear and power when Obi-Wan entered, but it was...different." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "It wasn't strong enough to him. I was sensing his friend."

Yoda nodded. "Felt this, I did."

"...Master, we can't sense Obi-Wan." Yoda shuffled along, his stick lightly tapping the ground as he walked, and Anakin rose and followed slowly beside him. "What are we going to do? If he's concealing himself in the Force-"

"A plan, I have, Skywalker," Yoda whispered. "Trust in the Force, we must. Patience, we will have. Reveal himself, the Sith will."