It was strange and surreal, touching down and being escorted by Purge Troopers into the Fortress. When he found out about Reva's plans to move Leia to Vader's secret hideout, he had always pictured himself breaking in and entering through some alternate pathway, but never actually walking into it unarmed.

So this is where all those who commit dissidence against the Empire are sent, Obi-Wan thought to himself. What I am seeing is likely the last vision of every Rebel who has spoken out in the name of the Resistance.

It was certainly not easy on the eyes.

The Fortress loomed into the sky, so tall that its pointed tip grazed the edges of the clouds above, challenging the sky and defying its unreasonable limits.

"You should feel flattered, Obi-Wan. Most prisoners of war are sent to Fortress Inquisitorius. My domain."

Obi-Wan stared at her, his mouth too dry to speak. His tongue felt heavy in the back of his throat and the coarse, smoky air of Mustafar burned his lungs every time he tried to inhale.

"However, you are special. Lord Vader personally requested that we bring you directly to his castle. He is choosing to interrogate not with water, but fire." Reva narrowed her eyes. "I would much rather have you sent to Nur, but we can't always get what we want, can we?"

The Purge Trooper behind him nudged him with his blaster and unclicked the safety, issuing an unfriendly warning. Obi-Wan silently complied, picking up the pace. This time, Reva did not even bother to grasp his shackles. "I don't have to pull you around anymore," she coldly informed him. "If you try to run away, the shackle around your neck will incapacitate you."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow and decided not to ask.

As they reached the first security checkpoint, he was forced to undergo a full body search and retina scan. Satisfied that he was the real Kenobi, the Purge Troopers guarding the entrance nodded to each other and stood aside, letting Reva pass through. The Purge Troopers behind him pushed him roughly, and he stumbled forwards clumsily. They had stripped him of his shoes and his feet now had several cuts and scrapes and blisters from walking on the unbearably hot black rocks. He quietly clenched his jaw and did his best to not make a sound.

For the next security checkpoint, he was blindfolded, strip searched yet again and then pushed forwards without having the blindfold removed. He stumbled again, almost tripping on his own feet, and felt the back end of a blaster being pressed behind his shoulder blades. Deciding not to ask about the blindfold, he continued to walk forwards until the ground beneath them changed from rough igneous rock to smooth, cold obsidian. He could hear their footsteps echoing around them now.

We must be inside the Fortress itself now, he thought to himself.

His suspicions were confirmed when someone reached over and yanked the blindfold off his eyes, exposing him to the inside of the Fortress.

It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the low levels of light. As much as he tried to gauge his surroundings, he could not make them out. When he looked up, he could see the dark walls extend upwards, higher and higher, but there was no end in sight. It seemed as if they were in some sort of central foyer, from which other rooms could be accessed, but he could not navigate alone. Reva turned towards the Purge Troopers and glared at them.

"Leave us alone now," she ordered. "I will take him the rest of the way by myself."

Surprised, two of the Purge Troopers looked at each other before coming to a conclusion.

"Our orders are to escort him all the way," the one at the head of the procession retorted coldly.

"I am the Grand Inquisitor," Reva barked back. "Either obey me, or give me your identification so I may report you."

Relenting, the troopers turned around and walked away briskly, presumably to continue patrolling the front of the fortress.

Reva motioned at him and he nodded. She turned her back on and allowed him to follow her without any further torment. Obi-Wan silently thanked the Force. She led him towards a spiral staircase that stretched downwards with seemingly no end in sight. "Come," she barked.

Thus began their long descent into hell. If being captured by Vader was not punishment enough, being forced to walk down a thousand steps certainly walls. Obi-Wan contemplated the drab walls which were all made of rough stone and cold reflective black glass. His eyes quickly became tired of the same unending all-consuming black and infinite, descending steps.

What, not even a vase of flowers? He thought drily.

Perhaps he was spoiled from many years of living on Coruscant, but he heavily disliked the unnecessarily tall ceilings and staircases. He had admittedly never been a real fan of Brutalist architecture. It all seemed rather tacky and overcompensating to him. Ugly, even.

Unfortunately, although Vader did not have any vases, he seemed partial to sculptures. Along the sides of the staircase were different marble statues of past Sith Lords, their faces either cold and indifferent or contorted with anger and hatred. As they went deeper, the temperature seemed to get hotter, and the statues became more recognizable. He passed some faces which he recognized either from having seen them in the Wars, or having fought them himself.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes as they began to approach the end of the staircase, not wanting to know if his Apprentice's likeness was among them. But his traitorous eyes opened anyway. He was standing next to an impression of Vader himself, standing at a true six feet tall, his prosthetic arm extended menacingly in front of him in a grasping gesture.

Reva yelled at him and he immediately turned away from it, walking a little faster to keep up with her. He tried to forget what he had seen as quickly as possible, but the statue continued to linger in the back of his head.

Reva looked behind her and grabbed him, dragging him roughly until he was in front of her.

At the end of the staircase was yet another door. This one required password identification and a retina scan. Reva rapidly punched in the code and then pushed him through the doors, not caring if it hurt.

Obi-Wan stumbled forwards, falling onto his feet, and found himself surrounded by complete darkness. He did not even dare to get back up. Behind him, he heard the sound of the door closing. And then nothing.

Silence.

Obi-Wan tried to peer around himself using the Force, but it was useless. The only thing he could feel was a heavy, impenetrable, oppressive Darkness that radiated an energy he dared not touch. He could not sense a single living being while surrounded by it. He inhaled shakily, and marveled that he was still able to breathe in its presence.

Then, before he could react, the darkness was broken up by the sound of a single red lightsaber buzzing to life.

"Kenobi."

Obi-Wan looked up from where he was kneeling and finally made eye contact with his captor. The real thing, this time. Not a holographic projection or an imitation carved out of marble.

There he was, clad entirely in the same black with which he surrounded himself. Vader breathed, and Obi-Wan shuddered as he felt the strength go out of him, as if each breath that Vader took was stealing the energy from his blood. A monster made of blood and flesh and metal, he seemed half-alive at best, except for the mechanical, artificial breathing that betrayed him. But he could not be called a dead man, either.

He did not breathe, except for with the aid of the helmet that took away others' breath. He did not move, except for with the help of the prosthetic arm that had sliced off so many others' heads. He could not even see because his entire vision was the Mask that formed him and molded his hatred. But that was not an issue because he could still sense everything with the Force, by throwing his energy around the room until all those before them had felt its oppressive power.

Had his face not already been burned off and disfigured so horribly, he might have burnt it himself, if only so that he might better serve the Darkness which nursed and created him. The Darkness which cried for blood and demanded that he leave behind all remnants of his past life.

"Oh Anakin," Obi-Wan whispered. "What have you become?"

The sound of breathing got louder and louder, until finally he had his answer.

"I am what you made me," Vader sneered.

And suddenly the lightsaber was slashing at him, barely missing his left ear. Obi-Wan ducked to the right and gasped, his survival instincts kicking back into gear. Vader swung his lightsaber again, cutting off his shackles and nicking him in the exact same spot where Reva's lightsaber had cut into him.

Obi-Wan cried out in pain, too overwhelmed to notice that he had been freed. As he looked back up, Vader watched him silently, unmoving. Then before he had a chance to catch his breath, the red light flashed before his eyes again. Obi-Wan screamed and backed away, finally using his hands after days of being shackled.

His legs obeyed him, relying on a pure rush of adrenaline as he crawled away on all fours from Vader. Vader took slow steps and made wide, deliberate swings with his lightsaber. Each time he swung the lightsaber, Obi-Wan gasped and yelped, trying to force his body to move faster. With a jolt of shock, he realized that Vader was holding it in his left hand, not his right.

Panting, he scrambled to his feet and stood up shakily. He did not dare look behind him. He heard the lightsaber coming before it swung at him and sprinted, his body burning every calorie it could in order to create the burst of speed he needed to survive. Right now, he was no longer thinking rationally. He had no battle strategy or way of finding himself in the darkness. All he could do was run forward without stopping.

The red light thrummed to life in front of his eyes, stopping him in his tracks.

Vader was now in front of him.

Obi-Wan screamed, realizing that he was trapped. He tried to run to the side, but Vader blocked him. He tried to back away, but Vader reached out and grabbed his legs using the Force, making him unable to move them, feeling as if he was trapped in thick, black tar. He looked around frantically, searching for a way out, a way to die faster, anything. He would even take Reva at this point.

At this point, Vader's patience had finally worn out. He thrusted his lightsaber forwards with intent to stab and Obi-Wan was forced to throw himself to the side, rolling away and groaning when he felt the tender spot in his ribs begin to throb. Before he could get back up, h e felt himself being lifted into the air until his feet no longer touched the ground. As he did so, he also felt a tight pressure start to push down on his throat. When he opened his eyes, he was face to face with Vader, suspended only by the Force. Nothing was stopping him from taking what was rightfully his and ending this miserable life.

Obi-Wan did not attempt to fight back. He did not struggle or protest. He was done with fighting. What good was it, when he raised his saber against his brother and attempted to show him the right way? What good was it, when he hid his identity and spent ten years pretending to be a common meat cutter? Despite everything he had done to struggle against and delay his Fate, in his foolishness he had done nothing but lead himself right back into Anakin's grasp. And now, here he was, finally completing the cycle.

Vader observed him silently as he flailed helplessly in the air.

This is the end of the road, he thought to himself. He has finished testing me.

"Enough playing around."

He froze and stopped kicking his legs. Vader leaned in closer until he could was face to face with the cold black mask, watching the red light of his blade reflect off of it. Yet the two apertures that had been carved where his eyes should be remained dark, soulless, and unreadable.

"I am going to ask you a question. Answer truthfully. Your choice will not affect the outcome."

Obi-Wan nodded silently.

In response, the pressure on his throat relented slightly. Obi-Wan gasped shakily, feeling air rush forcibly into his lungs.

"Do you have any apprentices, Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan stared back at the faceless black mask. In his heart, he already knew what he was supposed to say.

"No," he said hoarsely. "I have no apprentices."

Immediately, he felt a jolt as the Force stopped holding him up and he fell onto the floor, landing on his broken rib. He cried out loudly, no longer able to hide his pain with a mask of indifference. Clutching his shoulder and rib with both hands, he let out a bloodcurling wail.

"You are correct," Vader sneered.

Obi-Wan watched dazedly as Vader strode towards him with his lightsaber pointing directly towards his heart. The way Anakin always pointed his lightsaber at him after a duel, to indicate that he had won. Only, those duels always ended in a rematch, and afterwards they would go to eat.

When this duel ended, so would his life.

Vader leaned in and whispered into his ear, revealing to him what he had already known all along and had refused to admit to himself for so many years.

"You have no apprentices, Kenobi, because you killed all of them."

Obi closed his eyes and nodded silently.

The lightsaber inched closer and closer to him, until he could feel its heat directly on his skin, could smell it burning the fabric of his clothing. He wondered if Vader would rapidly plunge it through his heart and kill him instantly, or perhaps drag it through his flesh and force him to watch as it flayed and tore his flesh apart.

He will most likely kill me slowly, he thought to himself. Leave me to bleed out, counting down to the last seconds of my life. Just like how I left him.

"Stand proud, Jedi," Vader spat. "You have completed your path. Congratulations."

And with that, he gripped the lightsaber in his left hand and swung.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and braced for the impact, waiting for the moment he would be able to feel the laser tearing into his skin, preparing for himself to be stabbed and tortured and slashed at until he was nothing but an unrecognizable mass of blood, preparing to finally be reunited in the Force with his master, his friend, and the love of his life. He wondered if Anakin would grant him the kindness of burying him properly, or if he would simply toss his mutilated corpse into the red lakes of Mustafar and watch it burn.

Instead, he heard a loud clash and was blinded by a dazzling white glow.

"Master Kenobi!"

Vader let out a strangled sound of surprise that was distorted through the vocoder in his helmet and almost dropped his lightsaber.

Obi-Wan gasped, paralyzed with shock.

His eyes must be deceiving him.

It had to be a hallucination.

It can't be, he thought to himself. It can't be.

There was another huge flash of white, and his savior landed on her feet in front of him. She slashed her two white lightsabers and crossed them menacingly, creating a barrier between him and Vader.

"I'm sorry, Lord Vader," Ahsoka hissed. "But I just can't let you do that."