AN. Yay, you're back! Chapter Two is here! (Technically Chapter Three, but the first one was the prologue, so that doesn't count.) Right, trigger warning again for mentions/descriptions of torture/abuse. Palpatine is really awful, guys.

Enjoy, hopefully!

1 2 3 4, I declare a Clone War.

Mace led the way to the Council Chambers. He took his seat, as the other Council Members filed in, or appeared via holo. Yoda, Mace, Plo Koon, Aayla Secura, Shaak Ti, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker were all present, while the rest of the Council participated in the field, through holos. As he waited for the Council, he studied the room, checking for escape routes.

Fox stood in the center, waiting, until Mace spoke up.

"What is your name, Trooper?" Fox replied,

"CC-1010." just as he had been drilled, over and over again, on Kamino, and then with Palpatine, By now he hated the sound of his number. Hated the way it flowed harshly from Palpatine's lips when he was displeased. Hated the way the Senators would bark it, making him wait for their every command. He scowled underneath his helmet. He just hated his number. Mace nodded as Yoda spoke up.

"A number, that was. Yourname we wish to know." Fox was stunned. No one but three senators had ever asked his name. Certainly not a Jedi. He didn't believe that they really cared. He didn't know how they could claim to care, and yet allow Palpatine's abuse to happen. He shook himself out of his thoughts quickly, before answering,

"I'm Marshal Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard." Yoda smiled appreciatively, and Fox blinked. He hadn't expected them to want to know. To Fox's surprise, Padme Amidala rushed in. she bowed, then moved to stand next to Fox. She gave him a friendly smile before turning to face the Jedi Council. Obi-Wan motioned for Fox to speak.

"You have concerns about the Chancellor?" he asked. Fox nodded.

"He's been abusing his men. The Guard." Plo and Shaak both growled, low and threatening, but he sensed it wasn't directed at him. Aayla leaned forward.

"How has the Chancellor been abusing you?" Fox sighed.

"I can show you." He called Punch in, and the medic told Fox,

"He's stable and resting, sir. He'll be fine in a few days." Fox nodded, and Punch turned to face the Jedi. Aayla spoke again.

"How has the Chancellor been abusing you?" Punch sighed and pulled out a small holo.

"River is the reason we came. Last night, he collapsed in the Guard Headquarters, right after meeting with the Chancellor." He showed a few images of the bloody marks of River's back. Anakin clenched his fists. He knew those patterns. He still bore the scars of them. He growled, and Obi-Wan leaned over to put a hand on his knee. He calmed slightly, still fuming.

"These are whip marks." Fox said steadily. Anakin sucked in a harsh breath. He had known what they were the instant he saw them, but it was worse hearing it out loud. For a moment, he flashed back to his eight year old self, refusing to cry as Watto whipped him. He remembered the crack of the whip, the whistling noise it made, and the explosion of pain that came from it. He felt Obi-Wan grip his knee, and he jolted back to the present to find the Council, Padme, Punch, and Fox all staring at him with expressions varying from exasperated, to confused, to worried. He managed to nod, and the meeting resumed.

There was something off about Skywalker, Fox thought. He seemed too affected by the news. He saw the instant that the marks registered in his brain, and it was the second they were shown. His reaction to even hearing the words 'whip marks' was strange, to say the least. Fox wondered if he had some sort of experience with it. But no, that wasn't possible. Jedi were raised in their beautiful Temple, in safety, growing up in a peaceful place, where no trainers yelled at them through the night. Fox shook his head slightly. He was getting off track. He realized Skywalker was asking something.

"Has he done this to anyone else?" Fox stayed silent. If they knew it had been done to him, they'd find him weak, a failure. He'd be sent back to Kamino for decommissioning, and his vode'ike in the Guard would suffer more. No, they couldn't know. He stayed staring at the ground. Anakin cracked his knuckles, repeating,

"Has he done this to anyone else?" Punch simply said,

"Yes." Fox looked at him worriedly. If the Jedi found out, he'd be in trouble. They'd probably punish him more than the Chancellor for failing so often. He was a part of their army, after all. He was their slave.

Anakin frowned. "Who?" he asked. Punch uttered two simple words, looking at Fox, and Fox panicked that they would determine his fate.

"The Commander." he said quietly. Mace spoke up, but instead of ordering a whip to be brought, he simply asked,

"Why didn't you tell us he did it to you as well?" Fox sighed, and kept staring at the ground. He was probably dead anyway. He might as well tell them the truth.

"Because it didn't matter." His voice sounded empty, hollow, even to his own ears. He hated how weak he sounded. "Palpatine punished me, even when it wasn't my fault, but I didn't care." he realized he was talking in the past tense, as if he was already dead. As if it was just a memory. "But Palpatine did it to my vod'ika, and he finally went too far. I'm willing to die for my brothers." he said. "But I won't let them die for me." he added, just loud enough to be heard. Punch stilled next to him, but he ignored, and waited for the punishment to come. Instead, Shaak Ti just looked at him with sadness in her eyes.

"Oh, Fox. I wish you had come to us sooner. How long has this been happening?" Fox was shocked. They weren't punishing him. At least, not right away. He couldn't let his guard down yet. But, was Shaak Ti actually upset? He must have heard her voice wrong. He stared at the ground and refused to answer. It was bad enough they knew of his failures. He didn't need to tell them how long he had been failing for. Unfortunately, Punch seemed to be thinking something different, and answered for him.

"Two years." Padme looked shocked.

"Through the entire war?" Punch nodded, and Mace nodded as well.

"How frequently does this happen?" Fox sighed. He figured Punch was going to answer anyway, and just waited for the Jedi to learn the full extent of his failures.

"Every few days or so, Commander Fox comes in, bleeding, and mostly unconscious. Sometimes, when the Chancellor is really mad, it's everyday. Then he's generally brought in, unconscious." Those present, with the exception of Mace and Yoda, were on their feet, fists clenched. Fox had given up, because at this point, he was just waiting to die. He didn't know what the Jedi were doing, or why Skywalker looked like he was about to murder someone, and he was pretty much too tired to care.

Yoda looked at Padme.

"Senator, a case, do we have?"

AN. I named the medic Punch because I wanted him to go with Kix. Punch and Kix. Hehe. Anyway, how am I doing? Hopefully you're enjoying it so far. Poor Fox has self-esteem in the negatives. Anyone else want to go charge Palpatine and the Kaminoans/trainers with flaming pitchforks? Cause I sure do. I guess I settle for foiling all of their plans, and making him die in various ways. Because that's totally normal...