Obi-Wan crashed against the wall and coughed blood. Dust fell, swirling lazily in the crepuscular sunlight. He righted himself gingerly while swallowing the metallic tang invading his mouth. Air was saturated by the smell of ozone and the sweetness of decay, marking the use of the dark side.
Everything was under control.
Huddled in a heap against the luxurious paneling, Sidious considered him with a stare filled with heinous fierceness. The dark lord swiped his eyes free of blood. Obi-Wan had scored a few lucky hits. He let out a sudden mirthless laugh, the surge of emotion irrepressible despite the stinging pain searing his ribs. He was injured, but his opponent wasn't faring better.
Sidious reacted to his provocation by launching a lightning attack, the strike crisscrossing the air in a violent crack.
Obi-Wan straightened his saber to absorb the hit and directed the surge of energy down to the ground with a quick flick of his wrist. Sidious was an expert in illusions and combo attacks, and while Obi-Wan focused on defusing the electricity, he had to divide his attention to deflect psychic assaults raining down non-stop on his mental shields.
Gritting his teeth, Obi-Wan seized a chair with the Force, hurled it at his opponent, and leaped a split second after to engage in close combat. He launched a series of randomly paced attacks, his blade blurring under the wielding speed. Sidious was a powerful enemy: besides being an outstanding duelist, the Sith was a master of psychic combat. The fight occurred simultaneously on the physical and mental planes, and the slightest lapse in focus could lead to his demise.
Obi-Wan had been waiting for this moment all his life. He had come prepared.
He drew on the vast resources and knowledge accumulated over his two lives to deflect the onslaught. His long studies of the dark arts and the ancient artifacts he had patiently collected had given him the means to overcome this battle. His mask and the particularities of his mind were helping him defuse parts of the psychic onslaught. And Obi-Wan knew his opponent well. Fortunately, Sidious couldn't say the same about him. He was a total unknown, until ten minutes ago when he had revealed himself at the heart of the dark lord power.
Yet, Sidious was a formidable opponent, who couldn't be underestimated. Obi-Wan couldn't have dreamed of defeating him without his extensive preparation. Sidious wasn't concealing his fury and hatefulness, handling these emotions like weapons to power his relentless attacks. One slipped by his defenses, and crashed against one of the spiritual pillars supporting the edifice of Obi-Wan's psychic fortress. It destabilized him and made him lose his pace. Obi-Wan struggled to regain his balance, and broke the engagement with a backward flip to gather his diminishing strength.
"You, pathetic lifeform. I'll take great pleasure in breaking and sullying everything you are and hold dear," Sidious sneered. "You will pay for your hubris and insolence. But first, you will drop this ridiculous mask and show your face!" he yelled, sending a forceful Force thrust to remove the garment, concealing Obi-Wan's features and protecting his mind.
Obi-Wan responded with an opposing shove in the Force, and for a few seconds, they struggled, locked in a duel of will. Sidious added to his attack a mental assault, like a cloying mist functioning as a corrosive agent, insidious in its action. It permeated psychic walls, finding the finest cracks to seep through, which proved very effective in the long run against the best mental defenses. His mask would be ineffective against it. Obi-Wan recognized the attack for what it was: a run against time.
He had to end the confrontation, and soon.
He gathered all of his strength, physical and mental, and activated the Kyber shard he wore as a pendant with a slight mental push. It discharged twenty years of carefully stored energy in the form of a pure beam of plasma, so powerful it blinded like a sun. At close range, Sidious had no time to dodge and chose to raise an impenetrable shield instead, a potent Sith spell that nothing could break through for a limited time.
The dark lord chuckled, mocking. "Ooooh, what a shame, all this effort for nothing. I recognize you have talent, my young friend." A cruel smirk distorted his face, "We could dominate the galaxy if we join forces. You may consider becoming my apprentice, and you shall have power." He punctuated his tirade with a new lightning attack that somehow escaped his shield. "Far more power than you can imagine!"
These meaningless promises were a cheap attempt to buy time, Obi-Wan knew. Maintaining this powerful shield required all of the caster's resources. But Sidious had only to wait for his psychic curse to take hold, and Obi-Wan couldn't afford to play the long game.
He directed his attention to the room's various elements, outrageously luxurious goods and furniture in the process of being thoroughly ruined. Pushing through the mental destabilization, Obi-Wan connected fully with the Force, took hold of all he could seize with his mind, and projected rubble and material against Sidous' shield to explode. He turned the debris into a howling whirlwind of destruction that forced the dark lord to hold his spell for a few more seconds. The psychic attack was taking effect: Obi-Wan sensed his defenses crumbling et dissolving.
The heaviness of despair rose in him, threatening his capacity to maintain his nimbleness and flexibility in combat.
He could not fail, not so close to the goal. He had a duty, a mandate to the galaxy. The fate of everything was holding with the last thread of his will. He closed his eyes, and chose to put all of his resources in a last bet. He drew the dregs of his waning mental strength to give him a boost of energy, and instantly deployed it to fracture the permacrete floor to destabilize his enemy's footing. The building shook, ominous creakings vibrated through the structure, and then the floor collapsed. Sidious roared in rage and launched himself into the air, instantly dropping his shield to pursue Obi-Wan who had taken refuge on a steel beam.
The howling wind rushed into the devastated room. Obi-Wan could vaguely hear screams beyond the door he had taken care of barricading before attacking Sidious.
He flew to meet his opponent and released his blade with a powerful blow, which Sidous stopped with his red saber in a shower of sparks. Sidious' frail appearance was only an illusion, the dark lord had long resorted to enhancing his body via Sith alchemy. Locked in a standstill, Obi-Wan took the opportunity to free his left hand and apply it to his enemy's face. As soon as their skins made contact, Obi-Wan launched a last psychic attack, powering it by drawing the energy contained within his soul-kyber. In doing so, he was putting everything he had on the table, in this last bet for victory. He felt his mind fracture, dangerously weakened by the strain, but chose to go further and didn't stop his assault.
Powered by the crystalline puissance, the battering blow finally crushed his enemy's mental defenses. Sidious let out a howl of agony that echoed through the Force itself, his eyes rolling back and lighting up as if burning from within. Pure malevolence exploded, directed at Obi-Wan, whose spirit was entangled with the mind of his enemy. He preferred to maintain his attack rather than disengage. He began to scream himself, pain, rage, and grief fueling the final seconds of his assault. In a last-ditch effort, he unpowered his blade for a microsecond, only to reactivate it immediately. Sidious' blade sank deep into his left shoulder, but Obi-Wan twisted to minimize the range of the blow while he operated a blind, desperate swipe of his lightsaber.
An instant, suspended in a moment of eternity, as Sidious' head detached from his body.
Malice and hatred erupted and expanded brutally while the corpse fell into oblivion. Too weakened to dodge, Obi-Wan endured the full force of the death curse, adding dangerously to the severe damage he was already sporting. He dropped to his knees on the thin ledge hung over the howling void, in a precarious balance, his vision blurring and graying out.
He wouldn't, couldn't pass out.
Badly wounded, his shoulder burning terribly, he tried to gather a fortifying breath. The pain spiked, and an uncontrollable spasm shook his body, which tilted dangerously. Obi-Wan took a desperate hold of a crevice to right himself. He waited for the wave of pain and dizziness to recede. He could hear the sirens of the security forces approaching by air, and the frantic shouting behind the office door. A distant part of his brain continued to supply him with strategic details. The logical next step was for the security forces to use explosives to break into the chancellor's office. He was too deeply wounded to care much about that.
Obi-Wan pressed his right hand against his shoulder wound, but he couldn't summon enough power to initiate a healing spell. His fractured mind lacked the footing to grab even the lightest wisp of the Force, even if he vaguely perceived the ever-present danger and the intense sense of urgency pressing against his tattered shields.
A deafening explosion knocked down the massive double doors, and a contingent of clones entered the room in a coordinated and efficient manner. They situated themselves on the border of the pit, ripping open the area and keeping thankfully Obi-Wan at bay. The yellow radiance of his saber offered a fair counterpoint to the failing rays of twilight.
"Freeze! Drop your weapon!"
Obi-Wan hadn't a single witty line to offer, too exhausted to think. He doubted he could muster the strength to power his voice to get audible over the furious howls of the wind anyway. He couldn't afford to get captured and interrogated, not while rendered almost delirious by his injuries. He let go of his hold and tilted backward, dropping suddenly into the void, followed by blaster shots.
]o[
Obi-Wan ducked into the shadow of a parapet, letting a patrol pass. He couldn't remain static, as he no longer had the strength to maintain a stealth spell or his glamour. All security forces were probably searching for him. The Jedi had to be involved already, and they were likely able to track him with the Force. He was leaking on the psychic side, shields in tatters, and a deep slash on his thigh was bleeding profusely. An architectural ridge had ripped his leg open during his first less-than-controlled fall. His makeshift bandage was doing a poor job of staunching the flow.
Anyone with a modicum of tracking skill would be able to follow him, and Obi-Wan wasn't okay with that.
He was trying to scramble his trail by operating drops to sink as far as possible into the depths of Coruscant. He was aiming for one of his safe houses, but was disoriented and needed directions. He had lost his secured comm in the confusion, and feared he had left it where someone could retrieve it. He would worry about it later. The pain and nausea induced by the psychic shock kept him from ordering his thoughts. He had to stay out of sight and out of surveillance systems, which were sadly ubiquitous on Coruscant.
Taking off his mask was too risky right now, the artifact helping him to keep his frayed mind in one piece. He had no doubt he was now recognizable, since the clones would have immediately broadcasted a visual of their target. He had to keep moving.
Every movement sent a jolt of pain, despite the general numbness gaining his body. He had suffered too much damage and needed urgent care. He dropped in a more or less controlled fall into a small alley, which was unfortunately not empty of passers-by. He absorbed the kinetic energy with a roll, jostling his shoulder, and crashed into a group of persons with a pained cry. There were yelps of anger and surprise, while Obi-Wan tried to disentangle his limbs from one humanoid to stand back up. He growled in anger, and violently pushed the person away.
"Hey, excuse yourself!" the being cried, radiating aggression in the Force. Obi-Wan was too rushed to exercise patience and diplomacy, and kicked back the being in the face with a satisfying crack. The other passers-by ran away with frightened cries. He rolled his victim over and stripped them of their hooded jacket. He could use it to obscure his silhouette.
Obi-Wan walked briskly out of the alley while draping the jacket over his shoulders and head. Despite his limp, he mimicked the confident gait of someone who knows where they are going and has every reason to be where they are. He wouldn't be able to hold the masquerade for very long. He just needed to access a wider artery to find his bearings. He emerged onto what looked like a boulevard, mildly crowded at this hour, and squinted through his mask in an attempt to catch a glimpse of a familiar landmark or indication. He headed for a public transport stop, which was bound to have a map.
Suddenly, general sirens blared, covering the constant hustle of the city. Passers-by stopped to express fear and confusion. The giant advertising billboards went dark, and flashed back to display Obi-Wan's image, taken a few minutes earlier.
"Attention citizens, an extremely dangerous individual is on the loose. Please, report immediately to the authorities if you have sighted them."
Obi-Wan swore, lowered his head, and rushed toward the station. The adrenaline was helping him keep his focus, but his energy reserves were dangerously low. The map showed a part of the city he was reasonably familiar with, and he took a few seconds to orient himself. He would need to continue toward the south, and drop two more levels. He would soon find himself in the alley he was looking for.
Fearful cries rang out, and Obi-Wan suddenly felt the attention on him. Someone had spotted him. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, keeping the pain and exhaustion away. For a limited time.
The Force was screaming confusing and contradictory messages at him, and his trashed mind could no longer defend itself against its battering. The elation he had felt at Sidious death was tainted by fear, anger, and exhaustion. Despite his extensive preparation over more years than Obi-Wan could care to count, a part of him still hadn't really believed he could finally accomplish his goal. He hadn't thought about the rest of the operations if, by chance, he succeeded in his plan and survived it.
There he was, running the street of Coruscant like a criminal. He did not doubt he would be treated like one if caught. The exhaustion was so intense that he was tempted to give up, just to have a chance to rest. Obi-Wan fought against the idea but feared his mind and body would not allow him to continue running much longer. He could think about his plans later, when he's gotten out of trouble.
He shoved passers-by in his haste, slicing through the crowd, keeping his frame sideways to protect his injured shoulder. He perceived the concern of the population, set in an aggressive seething which prevented him from clearly reading the intentions and the people's movement and intentions. Obi-Wan continued losing blood, but he couldn't do anything about it. He could only focus on his escape.
He was finally approaching a point of the square that gave him an extensive view of the surroundings, and he recognized specific landmarks. Despite his limp, he began to quicken his pace in preparation for a dive, when several military speeders suddenly loomed up in front of him, pointing blinding searchlights in his direction. The Force hadn't warned him.
"Down!"
The civilians screamed and scattered, mostly obeying the order and leaving Obi-Wan exposed and vulnerable. He was in the middle of a square, far from actual cover and ten meters off the edge of the street.
Obi-Wan froze and unclipped his lightsaber, unable to protect his eyes from the aggressive light, and unable to use or read the Force. Fine, he would resort to pure instinct and experience, he had those in spades. He had to flee before the Jedi were deployed in pursuit.
"Drop your weapon now, or we will fire!"
Obi-Wan raised his hand and tried to use the Force to send one of the speeders flying at the other, but his move lacked power and only contributed to slightly destabilizing one of the aircraft. The clones didn't delay before retaliating by opening fire.
Obi-Wan activated his saber, and fell automatically in the well-known moves of Soresu, the defense form. He could execute the most subtle and complicated maneuvers flawlessly even when badly injured, and keep up the pace for as long as necessary. Well, he was right now far beyond the state of "badly injured" and didn't have much endurance just to continue walking. He had to break the fight fast. He didn't want to return blaster fire to the clones, and directed all the bolts to the same harmless point on the floor.
Despite his wounds, he found his footing, allowing him to move slowly toward the edge of the street again. He had to pull through, but exhaustion threatened, and the temptation to surrender grew stronger.
He gathered his strength and as much control as he could, and performed a desperate Force leap that landed him on top of one of the speeders, amid fumbling soldiers. He rolled and slammed against the control panel, causing the device to spin the aircraft immediately. Taking advantage of the confusion, he took the opportunity to knock one of the clones down, and grab his blaster. He fired into the fray without taking care to aim precisely, solely to sow chaos in enemy ranks. In the same motion, he jumped to the other side and dove right through the pile of busy lanes. The air hissed in his ears as he picked up speed, and he focused all his attention on deviating minutely from his course to dodge the numerous speeders and aircraft. He had left his enemies higher, but the clones were fast and quick-thinking. He knew they were still after him.
]o[
After controlling his fall to crash into a leisure boat, and intimidating the occupants and the driver droid, Obi-Wan disembarked in a relatively quiet street. Staying out in the open wasn't the smart choice, and he needed to find cover. A crowd in a building would do. He scanned the surroundings, and located various recreational establishments nearby. He tried to control his limp and walked into what seemed to be a bar or a nightclub, not filtering entries. Strobing colored lights and heavy beating sounds welcomed him. People of diverse and dubious origins packed the place. It was sufficiently into the bowels of Coruscant to be under most of the Judicial radars. Law enforcers would not be welcome here.
Perfect. Obi-Wan could move more easily here, and, with a bit of luck, not raise suspicion. He knew his trail was fresh and would not deter his pursuers. He only had a few minutes to find a place to change clothes and alter his silhouette. He was currently wearing a form-fitting black and his full mask. He had penetrated the Chancellor's office with heavy and fashionable robes, which he had got rid of as soon as the battle had begun to keep his movement the less impaired. He was reluctant to take off his mask. In a city like Coruscant, it was impossible to know what was recording your image or your voice, and Obi-Wan couldn't afford to take that risk and see his public image be associated with the murder of the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. He would need something different to camouflage his face, and make the transfer in a quiet corner. A helmet or a respirator would do just fine.
Obi-Wan shivered. He was cold despite the overheated atmosphere of the club. He knew he was in a state of general shock, and was running purely under adrenalin. He had to get to safety before unconsciousness caught up with him. Grimacing, he made his way through the crowd, and reached the opposite side of the entryway. He walked toward what seemed to be part of the building housing accommodations and dressing rooms. The loud music was muffled when he let the door close behind him, but not enough to drown the commotion and clamors that erupted suddenly. It wasn't necessarily linked to his escape, but he would not take the chance.
Obi-Wan had to hurry. He entered an empty dressing room lined with mirrors, cluttered with different outfits. He was lucky. He selected a cloak and a respirator while trying to assess whether an electronic device was recording, but the response he expected from the Force was confused and unreadable. He still could not rely on his Force skills. He pulled off his torn and bloodstained outfit, as carefully as possible, to look at the damage. The wound didn't look good, and that was an understatement. A wave of dizziness immediately hit him.
He let his brow fall against the cool, metallic surface of the cupboard. He wished he could just stop and let oblivion take him, adrift in the flow of the Force. Control slipped away from him, as if he were the most noxious of initiates. The delicate dexterity required for most Force techniques was impossible for him to achieve in his condition.
Despite his preparation and the mask that had diverted the brunt of Sidious' assault, the psychic battle had cost him dearly. His soul-kyber was wounded, and Obi-Wan would need rapidly to assess the damage. He felt that the dissonance emitted could be harmful in the long way. It certainly didn't help to relieve his nasty headache.
All in all, he was in awful shape. But the whole undertaking was worth the sacrifice, even if he ended up losing his life. He had accomplished the main objective.
He let out an irrepressible cough, and the tremors that shook his body revived the pain. He had a few Force infusions on him, but they were sadly not healing spells. He hadn't found the right formula for stabilizing Cure infusions. Granted, he hadn't seen himself quite in this type of predicament before, and it hadn't been a priority while doing his diverse research. He was paying dearly for his oversight, but regrets wouldn't help him right now.
He tucked his mask away, safely in an inside pocket of his tunic, and put on the respirator. He covered his shoulders with the cloak. He could go back with the flow and try to mingle with the crowd, but he feared a systematic search. The establishment would have several entrances and exits; he simply had to navigate with intelligence, and in the least remarkable way possible. Illuminated panels mentioned an emergency exit nearby, and he followed a deserted corridor.
Obi-Wan kicked open the emergency door, leading into an alleyway cluttered with containers, garbage, and, sadly, a squad of Clones. They aimed immediately at him.
"Halt! Hands up!"
Obi-Wan swore silently and closed his eyes in despair. Exhaustion won over him. He didn't want to play his last card, but it seemed he would not have a choice. This solution was a last resort, a fail-safe he had put in place to foil the one trump card of Sidious' plan.
He raised his hands as ordered, not without a grimace of pain when the move strained his shoulder.
"What is this about?"
"Hands against the wall, now. We will proceed to a body search. Resist, and we will arrest you, by exceptional power granted by the high command of the senate."
"You waste your time with me, gentlemen," Obi-Wan desperately tried to deploy the Force suggestion, but he felt the idea fail to take in the Force. "I"m not the one you're looking for. Let me pass." He took a step in their direction.
"Scans show right thigh and shoulder wounds. It matches the description. Neutralize the target!" The soldiers opened fire without further warning.
Thanks to decades of keeping his back and trusting his instincts, Obi-Wan reacted in pure reflex. He activated his saber to deflect the bolts, all in the blink of an eye.
The shots rained down on him like a storm. His precarious position, added to his many injuries, impaired his speed and flexibility. One of the bolts hit him in his wounded leg, foiling his balance. He grunted as he stumbled on his knees.
He had to react or give up. Shutting his eyes and swearing in despair, he cried:
"Execute Order alpha-sigma-theta: override !"
Instantly, the clones ceased their attack and reared up, at attention.
"Good Soldiers follow orders," they shouted in unison.
Exhausted and overwhelmed by pain, Obi-Wan no longer had the resources to maintain the iron control he usually exercised in all circumstances.
He whispered, grief-stricken, "You shall get me to safety for as long as I need. No one should know where I am."
"Yes, Overlord."