Obi-Wan very pointedly ignored the part of himself that felt relief at the slippery coldness of the bond which told him that whoever had crafted it, that person had not been his former padawan. Most likely, it had been Sidious—or rather, Palpatine. Much more relevant to focus on the bond itself, for Padmé's presence was gradually dimming, her life being pulled from her body and away through the rope of twined darkness.

Summoning all of his will, he started to shove against the bond with the intention of snapping it—but then realised that such a snap would likely inform the bond's creator that it had been broken before the intended life leeched fully away. If he was right, and Palpatine was the creator, then it was crucial that he not be thus alerted to Padmé's survival and Obi-Wan's hand in it, as the presence of a Force-user capable of breaking the bond would also provide shielding as an explanation for the sudden disappearance of the twins' exceedingly bright signatures from the Force. No, the bond must be broken subtly, so that its breaking would be indistinguishable from the fading-out of life, so instead, Obi-Wan slowly, slowly severed the dark threads, one by one, until at last the bond was no more.

When he returned his focus to the physical world once more, Padmé was asleep, and though he watched for several minutes, her condition deteriorated no further. Leia and Luke would know their mother, at least, and the galaxy would retain one of its strongest voices for fairness and decency—and as Obi-Wan left the room to check on Artoo and ship, he thought he heard the faintest of sighs from some indeterminate direction, as of relief at something averted. He really was becoming a bit cracked, after—everything.

Artoo gave a frantic warble as Obi-Wan entered the ship. [Senator is okay?]

"She is now."

[And shinies? Is there Senator(1)? Or Pilot(1)?]

"Both."

[What? Two?]

"Luke and Leia."

[In good repair?]

"Yes. They're all fine."

[So Pilot was out of order? Code for Senator was corrupt? He said would break when shinies came. Should have fixed. Would have fixed in me.]

"I suppose sometimes we sentients can't see when our own code is corrupt, Artoo." Or when other sentients' code was corrupt. How had things deteriorated so much between them that the droid had been privy to Anakin's "corrupt code," and Obi-Wan had not?

Rako Hardeen, a familiar voice seemed to whisper through his mind. That incident had been both a symptom and a causative agent of the schism between himself and his former padawan, a distinct point in the spiral of resentment and distrust. When had all that begun? Had it really been set into motion as early as Anakin's first meetings with the Chancellor, all those years ago?

Fury welled up again at the thought of his boy being guided along a downward grade so slight that no one had ever been the wiser. From moment to moment, the changes were never great enough that anyone thought to ask what had become of the lively, bright-shining Ani.

Artoo beeped in concern as Obi-Wan clenched his hands until the knuckles turned white. The Jedi drew one breath—two—three, falling back into the habit of a lifetime to release the anger into the Force. It would serve no one if he lost his self-control now, particularly as the safety of the children relied upon his ability to shield them from Sidious' perception.

Obi-Wan's return to composure was further aided by the sound of his commlink. When the holo appeared, he found himself facing Yoda, who looked—old. No, he had always looked old; now, his aspect was elderly, frail, from the set of his shoulders to the way he seemed to actually rely on the eternal gimmer stick for support. His voice was weary, too, and ears drooped as he said, "Obi-Wan. Good it is, to see you. Lost to Sidious, I have; inevitable, his Empire." He paused a for moment, perhaps to reflect on that final duel, before inquiring not-ungently, "Successful, your mission was?"

How in the galaxy was Obi-Wan to answer that? I regret that I was unable to carry out my duty in a detached manner, the result of which was that I tortured my own brother, but yes, the desired end was achieved. He could not tell that to his great-grandmaster and burden him with yet another failure of his lineage, so he settled for, "… yes, Master Yoda." From a certain point of view.

"What you have done, difficult it was—yes, and what you have seen." Yoda studied Obi-Wan for a moment, then dipped his head. "Fall, my own padawan did."

There was a moment of silence.

"Failed our Order, I have. Retire, I will, to Dagobah. And you, Obi-Wan—do what, will you?"

"I intend to see to the safety of Senator Amidala and her children."

The ancient Master's ear twitched. "Strong in the Force, they are." It was not a question.

"Very."

"Want them, Sidious will."

"I know. The Senator and I will need to discuss how best to keep them from his notice in the long term. Her, too, perhaps. I found a dark bond attached to her, which appeared to be draining her life. I fear Sidious is undertaking yet another nefarious plot."

"Mm. Possible, it is. A life for a life; to transfer it, he may be able."

A faint chill glided down Obi-Wan's spine at the words, like the breath of a ghost. Ignoring the odd feeling, he replied, "Well, we shall doubtless discover in time. Perhaps it is merely a convenient way to prolong his own vitality while eliminating those who would speak out against him." After all, Padmé Amidala had been a powerful voice in government, and Palpatine would naturally seek to eliminate her early on in order to prevent the rapid formation of a coalition against him.

"Perhaps. Careful, you must be, all the same. With you, may the Force be."

"May the Force be with you, Master."

Once the holo disappeared, Obi-Wan turned to Artoo. "I need you to stay with the ship while I go back inside for a while."

The astromech chittered, his binary uttered too fast for Obi-Wan's more rudimentary understanding to make sense of, but his distress was plain even without words. He had never taken exception to waiting with the ship before, so why would he start now? Unless… "He told you to stay with the ship, didn't he?"

[Pilot said stay, and virus took over. Don't want to stay, let you get virus.]

"You don't need to worry; I don't have the corrupt code that let the virus take over. Just one more time, Artoo; I need to speak with the Senator."

Artoo chittered unhappily again, but this time it was in resignation. [Be careful, OB1.]