Chapter Text
Truly, Obi-Wan was used to getting into situations. At times his faith in the Jedi and the Force were shaken. Yet he never wavered. Not after Bandomeer, Melida/Daan, Bruck’s death, his time on Mandalore, even the death of Qui-Gon. And all that happened when he was a Padawan. So much more had happened in the ten years since. Ten years of raising his own Padawan, Anakin. That boy got them into plenty of situations as well. At times he was unsure he could properly train a Padawan so headstrong as Anakin, but he’d made a promise. A promise he intended on keeping. Perhaps after this he’d recommend the young man for the Trials. If he got out of this, that was. This being held by Count Dooku and a group calling themselves Separatists. He knew it wouldn’t end well, he could feel it in the Force. But he had hope at least that he could make it through to the other side and start fixing things.
For now though, he had to focus. Count Dooku was here, former Jedi and his grandmaster. As much as he hated to admit that. “Traitor."
Slowly, Dooku circles Obi-Wan as he’s suspended in a force field. “Hello my friend. This is a mistake. A terrible mistake. They’ve gone too far. This is madness.”
“I thought you were the leader here, Dooku.”
“This had nothing to do with me, I assure you. I promise you I will petition immediately to have you set free.”
And didn’t that just feel like a lie? Even the Force agreed with Obi-Wan in that. But there was something off about it. “Well, I hope it doesn’t take too long. I have work to do.”
“May I ask why a Jedi Knight is all the way out here on Geonosis?”
“I’ve been tracking a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Do you know him?”
“There are no bounty hunters here that I’m aware of. Geonosians don’t trust them.”
Another lie, a half lie. Certainly the part about the Geonosians was true, but Jango was definitely here. “Well, who can blame them. But he is here, I can assure you.” Already his hand had been played. Obi-Wan decided to just see it through.
“It’s a great pity that our paths have never crossed before, Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon always spoke very highly of you. I wish he were still alive. I could use his help right now.”
At least part of that Obi-Wan could sympathize with. He wished Qui-Gon were alive too. But the statement after… “Qui-Gon Jinn would never join you.” Of that much, he was certain.
“Don’t be so sure, my young Jedi. You forget that he was once my apprentice just as you were once his. He knew all about the corruption in the Senate, but he would never have gone along with it if he had known the truth as I have.”
As much as Obi-Wan wanted to argue about Qui-Gon, he was curious. Best to keep Dooku talking, perhaps he could learn something. “The truth?”
“The truth. What if I told you that the Republic was now under the control of the Dark Lords of the Sith.” Dooku lets those words hang there, like they hadn’t sucked all the air from Obi-Wan’s lungs for a moment.
“No, that’s not possible. The Jedi would be aware of it.”
“The Dark Side of the Force has clouded their vision, my friend. Hundreds of Senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious.”
“I don’t believe you.” The words are barely there, a whisper. How could any of this be true? And yet…
“The Viceroy of the Trade Federation was once in league with this Darth Sidious. But he was betrayed ten years ago by the Dark Lord. He came to me for help. He told me everything. The Jedi Council would not believe him. I tried many times to warn them but they wouldn’t listen to me. Once they sensed the Dark Lord’s presence, it would then be too late. You must join me, Obi-Wan, and together we will destroy the Sith.”
“I will never join you, Dooku.” Oh but Obi-Wan wanted to. For just a moment, he wanted to. So much had just been dropped onto his lap. But he’d made a promise, and he would see it through. That promise to Qui-Gon came first.
With a sigh, Dooku turns to leave. “It may be difficult to secure your release.”
As Obi-Wan is left alone, he contemplates his next moves. He can only hope Anakin sent his message to the Council. Training the boy was one thing, but dying before that training was over wasn’t something he wanted to do. He’s certain Qui-Gon wouldn’t have wanted that. So he would have hope, and trust in Anakin. Just as he’d been doing for ten years. Even with all the close calls, and worries he had, he trusted Anakin with his life. Some small part of him whispered that it was an attachment, but he ignored it. Any proper Master/Padawan duo trusted each other with their lives. That’s just how it was. He’d felt the same way about Qui-Gon. That’s why he’d agreed to that promise after all. That trust they had in each other, even as the man lay dying, it was there. And he wouldn’t break that trust even now. He would see Anakin’s training through to the end, and then perhaps he could figure out just what Dooku meant about a Sith being in the Senate.
Unfortunately, his musings about his promise and what the future may hold are interrupted by a pair of Geonosians pulling him from the force field and taking him out of the room. He can practically hear Qui-Gon’s voice now, “Focus on the here and now, Obi-Wan”, so he does his best to do just that. As he’s brought out into the middle of the stadium, he knows what the Geonosians have in store for him. Of course he can also feel a bright presence in the Force; Anakin. Of course the boy wouldn’t listen to him. He’d told Anakin to stay with Senator Amidala and protect her, and now they were likely both here on Geonosis and likely to end up in trouble right alongside him. And from the sight of the cart coming into the stadium, he can see he’s correct.
As the two are chained to posts beside him, Obi-Wan looks to his Padawan. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d gotten my message.”
Anakin at least has the decency to look a little ashamed that he hadn’t listened to orders. “I retransmitted it as you requested, Master. Then we decided to come and rescue you.”
Looking up at the cuffs holding his arms above his head, Obi-Wan sighs and then looks at Anakin. “Good job!”
As they talk, Obi-Wan can see that at least Padm è has a plan for how to get out of this. So he focuses on how to get himself and Anakin out of the cuffs. As he’s trying to figure them out, he hears something and looks to see three huge creatures being herded into the stadium. That was how they were to be executed then, interesting. Certainly not how he would go about it, too unpredictable.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Anakin looks at the creatures and then to Obi-Wan as the monsters roar.
“Take the one on the right. I’ll take the one on the left.”
“What about Padmè?”
Obi-Wan glances over to Padmè and sees her climb up to the top of the post she’d been chained to. “She seems to be on top of things.” Of course he has to stifle a grin when Anakin looks and just pushes an exasperated feeling down their bond. Now wasn’t the time, he had to focus.
As the three of them deal with their creatures, Obi-Wan does his best to focus on Dooku. While the man seems to not care if Anakin or Padmè are in trouble, it’s when he’s the one in trouble that the man seems almost worried. It’s not obvious, but Obi-Wan can just barely sense it in the Force. Just that tiny bit of worry that dissipates the second he’s got things back under control. Perhaps Dooku had wanted him to join his cause for more selfish reasons than he’d mentioned. It made sense in some way he supposed. They did come from the same lineage, but then that should also extend to Anakin. Yet it didn’t at all, and that he didn’t understand in the slightest. Hopefully they would be able to capture Dooku and he could get the man to explain it. For now he was staring down Droidekas, something he hadn’t seen in ten years. Now that struck him as odd, and made him remember what Dooku had said. The Viceroy had these on his ship ten years ago, and according to his grandmaster, he’d been working with the Sith. Now there were droidekas here. The Separatists were working with the Sith by that logic.
But right now he couldn’t focus on that. He could see a purple lightsaber blade, and he knew that could only be Mace Windu. If Mace was here, other Jedi were too. They were saved. He watches lightsabers come to life as Jedi make themselves known. The Geonosians were no match for this, but still something felt off. Then came the battle droids. This was an enemy he knew how to fight, and thankfully he’s tossed a lightsaber quickly. Now he could help deal with this and they could all get out of there before more droids were brought out. So he fights, just praying to the Force that this will be the last fight he has to be a part of. He’s tired of feeling friends die around him. Even now he’s trying to block it all out, to not let it consume him as one after another the Jedi around him are shot down. And to think this could all be a Sith plot. Something meant to wipe them all out. Clearly these battle droids were up to the task, and the Jedi were not. One hundred Jedi were quickly brought down to only twenty. Eighty lives gone, just like that.
A s Dooku and Windu talk, Obi-Wan wants to step forward and ask about the conversation he and the former Jedi Master had earlier. To have it all laid out. Clearly something was going on and he desperately wanted to get to the bottom of it. But he knew any move forward would likely get him shot, and that was the last thing he wanted. Not just for himself, but for Anakin. They’d seen each other hurt enough times, but this would be a bit too far. He’d lost his own Master, he wouldn’t make his Padawan go through that if he could help it. So he does his best to just reach out to Dooku in the Force. He’s just about got it when he hears Padmè and the sound of ships, both breaking his concentration. Thankfully it looks like these are meant to be helpful and not a further hurt. As they all run for the gunships, Obi-Wan reaches out and grabs onto Anakin, making sure his Padawan is on board along with Padmè before he climbs on himself. And if he does a quick once over of the younger to check on him then who could blame him? He was the only Padawan here and he’d managed to survive the fight. It was only right for him to check on Anakin after something that horrific.
But now they were in the middle of a proper battle, something he never wanted to be in again. His hand strays to his lightsaber, just resting on it for now. This time no one would be asking for it before he stepped into this. Not that he’d give it so willingly this time, nor would he be asking for Anakin’s when the young man inevitably followed him into the battle. He had no doubts about that much; Anakin would follow him. More likely Anakin would run past him into the battle if given half a chance. So Obi-Wan hoped this would be a one off and not the start of a war, even though both sides now appeared to have an army. How that had occurred he still wasn’t sure, but he could feel it in the Force that if he waited long enough, he’d have those answers. For now he was doing his best to focus on the fight from the safety of the gunship.
Finally though, he spots something. “Look over there…”
“It’s Dooku! Shoot him down!”
Obi-Wan resists the urge to roll his eyes. Of course Anakin would go for that solution. But when he’s told they’re out of ordinance he does roll his eyes. That made almost too much sense.
“Follow him!”
“We’re going to need some help.” Padmè looks between the two Jedi.
“No, there’s no time. Anakin and I can handle this.” Obi-Wan hoped he and Anakin could handle it.
Watching Dooku, Obi-Wan notices the man signaling and gets ready to deal with whatever was about to happen, only to watch the Geonosian fighters circle around and shoot at the gunship. He’s quick to steady himself and Anakin in the Force, but turns when he hears Anakin.
“Padmè!” Anakin stares out of the open gunship door for a moment before turning to the pilot. “Put the ship down!”
Quickly, Obi-Wan reaches a hand out and grabs Anakin’s shoulder. “Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way.” Then he turns to the pilot as well. “Follow that speeder.”
“Lower the ship!”
Some part of Obi-Wan wants to argue, to convince Anakin to stay with him, but he knows this is his chance to talk to Dooku alone. So he sighs and nods. “Lower the ship some but don’t land.” Then he turns to Anakin. “You’ll have to jump. I need to catch Dooku. Do you understand?”
“Yes Master, I understand.”
“Then may the Force be with you.”
When the ship lowers enough, Obi-Wan watches Anakin jump, leaning out to keep an eye on him. Seeing his Padawan pop up and take off running has him breathing a sigh of relief. Anakin would be fine and he could speak to Dooku freely. So he pulls himself back into the gunship fully and waits patiently. As the speeder lands, he directs the gunship to land next to it, then he jumps out and takes off after Dooku. While he knows he should have his lightsaber in hand, he doesn’t. More hints from the Force. This didn’t have to be a fight. When he finally catches up to the man, he stops. It’s clear from the look his grandmaster gives him that this was somewhat unexpected.
“Where is Skywalker?”
“That’s none of your concern. Right now I want clarification on something.”
“Ah, the brilliant Negotiator. What do you want to know?”
“Enough with the games, Count. I just want to know if you were telling me the truth. No fancy words, no mind games. The truth. Is there a Sith in the Senate?”
There is a long moment of consideration before Dooku slightly nods. “Yes.”
“Swear it, on Qui-Gon.” This was the only way Obi-Wan could be certain, as much as he didn’t want to hear Dooku speak about his Master.
“I swear on the Padawan braid of Qui-Gon Jinn, I am not lying to you. There is a Sith in the Senate.”
Nodding a bit, Obi-Wan pulls his lightsaber off his belt. “That’s all I needed to know.”
“Are you truly going to fight me, Obi-Wan?”
“We both know that if I don’t, it would look suspicious.”
There’s an almost proud look on Dooku’s face before he calls his lightsaber to his hand. “Yes, I suppose it would.”
With that, the two jump at each other. Red and blue sparks are thrown as their lightsabers are forced together. While the two aren’t exactly evenly matched, their lightsaber forms are, and they’re both masters of them. Soresu is the best defense to most things, Makashi included. So that’s how they’re found by Yoda, the two practically dancing around each other. For a moment they’re so focused that neither notices the small Jedi, until finally Dooku catches the hint of green. So he shoves Obi-Wan into a nearby wall with the Force to knock him out and stands tall.
“Master Yoda.”
“Count Dooku.”
“You have interfered with our plans for the last time.” Quickly, Dooku levitates some of the heavier machinery nearby and throws it at Yoda, hoping to distract the Jedi Master and make his exit. Of course he should have expected Yoda to simply redirect it with the Force. Then for him to do the same with the boulders he tries to drop on his former Master. Finally he has enough and shoots some Force lightning with his free hand. Only for Yoda to once again deflect it.
“Powerful you have become, Dooku. The Dark side I sense in you.”
“I have become more powerful than any Jedi. Even you, my old Master.”
Even as more Force lightning is shot at him, Yoda simply deflects it. “Much to learn, you still have.”
“It is obvious this contest will not be decided by our knowledge of the Force, but our skills with a lightsaber.” Doing a formal salute, Dooku gives his former Master enough time to draw his lightsaber before moving forward quickly to start the fight. Unfortunately, not even this is a very long fight. Between his fight with Obi-Wan and the lessening adrenaline, he knows he won’t win this one. Not on his own.
“Fought well you have, my old Padawan.”
And those words just stung. Far too often he’d heard them, and he didn’t want to hear them again. “The battle is far from over. This is just the beginning.” Then, as much as he doesn’t want to, he pulls a piece of heavy machinery with the Force, sending it right towards Obi-Wan. As Yoda focuses on saving the Jedi Knight, Dooku hurries off towards his ship. With one last glance back, he lightly pushes Obi-Wan out of the way with the Force before ducking into his ship and taking off.
It’s just after the machinery is set aside by Yoda that Anakin makes his way into the hangar. “Master!” Quickly he hurries over to Obi-Wan and drops down beside him, shaking him. “Obi-Wan!”
With a quiet groan, Obi-Wan forces his eyes open. “Anakin?” Then he comes to his senses and looks around. “Where’s Dooku?”
“Gone, he is. Fought well you did, Obi-Wan.” Making his way over, Yoda checks over Obi-Wan for a moment before nodding and leaving the two be to continue directing the battle.
When the battle is finally over and all Jedi, dead or alive, are back in the Temple, the Jedi High Council call a meeting. One Obi-Wan is actually happy to attend for a change. He had things he needed to say about what Dooku had told him. So he lays it all out, from the moment he’d woken up in the force field to his fight with the former Jedi. He lays out each moment the Force had nudged him along to do certain things. After giving it a moment for it all to settle in, he speaks again. “Do you believe what Dooku said about Sidious controlling the Senate? Some part of me wants to deny it, but I know he wasn’t lying to me.”
“Becoming unreliable, Dooku has. Joined the Dark side. Lies, deceit, creating mistrust are his ways now.”
“I understand that Master Yoda, but… There is one thing Dooku would never do, and that would be tarnishing Qui-Gon’s memory. He swore to me on my Master’s Padawan braid that he was telling the truth. I believe him.”
Leaning forward, Mace Windu catches Obi-Wan’s attention. “Even if he is telling the truth, what would you have us do about it?”
Thinking it over for a moment, Obi-Wan sighs. “We are now currently in a war, and you will need Jedi to lead the clones. I can only assume that you will be knighting the oldest Padawans so they can lead. So knight Anakin and stick him wherever you see fit. I will… I will appear to follow in my grandmaster’s footsteps. Leave the Order because I can’t bring myself to fight in another war. Then I will go to him and learn what I can of Sidious.”
“Do you truly think that wise? The Count may just kill you outright.”
“If Dooku really would have killed me, he would have done so on Geonosis. He had plenty of chances to do so. But he didn’t.”
“True, this is. Witnessed Count Dooku save Obi-Wan myself, I did.”
That wasn’t something Obi-Wan had heard just yet, but he supposed it would make some sense. “Then you’ll allow me to do this?”
For a moment, the Council consults with each other in the Force before Mace nods. “Yes, you can do this. When you’re ready.”
“After Anakin is knighted then. I still intend to follow through with my promise to Qui-Gon. I will see Anakin finally finished with his training.”