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"Everything alright?" Obi-Wan asked.
Kit blinked and looked up. "Just... a familiar mission. The setup is just like the one where I lost my master eight years ago."
"Oh. Anything I can do?" Obi-Wan asked, a little nervously. He was still a padawan. He was happy to be paired with Kit for this mission out of possible Knights, but he wasn't used to going on missions without Qui-Gon.
...the fact that he had a crush on Kit, who was six years older than him did not help. He was 21, and Kit was 27. It wasn't as weird as when Obi-Wan was a teenager, but the age gap still seemed large.
Obi-Wan banished all thoughts, annoyed they were bothering him on a mission.
"I would feel better if we were prepared for a possible ambush worse than what they're predicting. That's what killed my master," Kit explained. "We were expecting a small group of dissenters, not ten hired bounty hunters."
Obi-Wan winced at the thought. That would do it.
"Well, you're in luck. My missions with Master Qui-Gon tend to go sideways in the worst, and sometimes strangest, ways. I'm used to adapting on the fly."
Kit gave him a small smile. "Then what would you suggest?"
Obi-Wan blinked, surprised to be asked his opinion. He shook it off quickly, and started offering suggestions on how to cover for as many possibilities as possible.
"Of course, all the preparation in the world does nothing if you're not quick on your feet. Plans rarely survive initial contact. Being able to adapt is key at times like that."
Kit nodded. "Less time on figuring out what to do, more time on reacting and countering the new..." He considered the plan carefully. "It should work. You're good at this."
Obi-Wan shrugged. "We just get in the worst scrapes. Planning for the worst is second nature now."
"It's impressive. I've had missions go wrong besides the one where I lost my master, but you're way better at this than I am. Better than most knights, I would imagine, barring some like Quin."
They shared a look and snorted. Quinlan adapted the easiest out of anyone they knew. He'd have no problem attempting to think his way out of a problem.
Kit sighed. "But I am concerned... I have a bad feeling. I am just not sure if it is from the Force, or if it's because of all the similarities."
Obi-Wan frowned, consulting the Force. "I'm getting the sense that something will go wrong. But that doesn't mean it's going to truly be bad, just not according to plan and if we handle it right, it won't affect anything."
"Well, better than it could be I suppose." Kit sighed. He stood and stretched. "We have arrived. Ready?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "Of course."
.
When things went wrong, they went wrong in spectacular fashion.
They were surrounded by ten bounty hunters.
Kit gripped his lightsaber tightly, breathing just a bit heavier as he faced them down.
Obi-Wan was unfazed and just prepared to fight.
At first, the fight seemed to be going their way.
Then Obi-Wan realized that they were not going after the younglings the Jedi were protecting... but the Jedi themselves. He cursed, and turned to say something to Kit, but it was too late.
Hidden bounty hunters were in place and got him in the neck with a tranq.
Obi-Wan fell to the ground.
Kit spun at the noise. "Obi!"
He didn't sense the tranq until it was too late.
.
Kit felt heavy and achy. Something wasn't quite right... He opened his eyes and sat up. He knew what was wrong instantly.
There were chains on his wrists and ankles. Leading back to the same point.
He saw Obi-Wan, sitting up and meditating, in a similar state.
Kit let out a breath. Meditation was not the worst idea.
He struggled through meditation. His feelings were too strong and overwhelming. Everything was reminding him of how he lost his master, and his fear had grown in response. It was intense.
Kit breathed and did his best not to think about how he had briefly thought that Obi-Wan had been dead. A padawan, killed on his mission.
He never would have been able to forget that guilt. He wasn't sure others would be able to forget it either.
He was jolted out of meditation by a shock.
He eyed the cattle prod with disdain.
Obi-Wan was calm and unruffled.
Kit wondered how he managed it in a situation like this.
They were dragged out of their room and to the fields.
The fields were full of rocks.
They were ordered to clear the land of rocks, using the Force for the larger ones.
"And if we say no?" Obi-Wan asked mildly.
He got a forceful poke with the cattle prod.
Kit only saw the wince because he was looking for a reaction.
"Is that all you want us for?" he asked.
He carefully did not react to the expected shock. It hurt more than he was expecting.
"What we want two Jedi for... that's for us to know and you to find out. We went through a lot of trouble for you two. Do not test us."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes but nodded.
Their chains were attached to weights.
There was one left to watch them.
Obi-Wan looked over the field and the rocks. "Well, it could be a lot worse."
"There doesn't seem to be a simple way out."
"There rarely is. I've found it's best in these situations to mostly play along, have some moments of rebellion and defiance, but keep them small, and that means they won't realize we have a plan for escape because they think they're wearing us down."
"Right." Kit sighed. "Let's start moving some rocks and start thinking on it."
.
Days later, they still didn't have a plan. They had a few ideas, but nothing concrete.
Kit was still struggling with letting go. The Dark side was beckoning, the temptation stronger than it had been in years.
He didn't want to fail. They had been captured, there was still room for dying, and Kit did not want Obi-Wan to die because Kit wasn't good enough.
They were no closer to figuring out what it was about Jedi that these people wanted besides people to do their hard labor for them instead of getting machines and droids for it.
"I can tell you've been trying to plot your way out of this. There is no way off this planet. There is no winning."
Kit looked up at the sudden voice.
He recognized the one in charge, the boss of this whole organization.
In his eyes all Kit could see was danger. Daring them to try something, anything.
"And what if we are?" Obi-Wan challenged.
Kit still found himself constantly surprised by how defiant Obi-Wan could be when wanted. Back in the Temple, he was generally obedient, well behaved. Not defiant. He was always polite when disputing something, and while he was mischievous, and sometimes a troublemaker, he never challenged anyone like this.
Kit winced when he saw the prolonged shock of the cattle prod. That was their favorite punishing tool of choice.
"Then I suppose I shall have to make sure neither of you will be escaping. You can still use your Force while injured."
Kit yelped when his side was struck with the strongest jolt of electricity yet. It was held there.
When the pain went away, Kit wondered how he had ended up on the ground as he panted and pushed himself back up.
"You two will suffer for daring to think you will ever escape. I don't let go of what is mine."
This was followed by him dragging them to some poles, where they were hung by chains.
Obi-Wan huffed. "Going to take more than this to dissuade us."
"Oh, I know. I intend to break you."
The first few hours were a blur of pain, blood, and broken bones.
Neither Kit nor Obi-Wan pleaded for it to stop. Both could handle a little pain.
"I see I need to come up with something else... for now, have a good night."
They were left there overnight with no food or water. Just hanging and in pain from the new injuries that had been inflicted.
Kit and Obi-Wan talked on and off about how to escape, occasionally checking in on pain levels and the injuries.
Escape was going to be tricky after this, with broken legs on top of other injuries.
Sometime in the middle of the night, they both started dozing fitfully.
Kit found the silence and dark of night to be the worst part. It made it even harder to meditate, it made it harder to cope.
The Dark side promised the power to break free, promised that he would be able to save Obi-Wan, promised that he would never suffer again.
Kit let out a shaky breath and pushed away the Dark side. It was getting too tempting. He couldn't give in, not again.
It had been the worst mistake he ever made, and he wasn't going to make it again.
But... the longer they dealt with this, the harder, and harder it was going to be.
Kit was exhausted by the time the boss returned.
The torture started with another whipping.
Obi-Wan was not able to stifle his noises of pain this time.
While Kit couldn't quite hold back from whimpers and cries either, hearing Obi-Wan in pain hit him more than anything else during that session.
The Dark promised he could save Obi-Wan.
Kit concentrated on pushing it aside and trying to stay calm with the pain.
He blocked out all sounds, and all the pain after a bit, just concentrating on letting go and keeping the Dark at bay.
A prolonged shock jolted him out of his thoughts.
"You in there, Jedi?"
The cattle prod was jammed into an open wound.
Kit cried out in pain. It turned into a scream when the shocks did not stop but just kept going at the highest intensity.
Finally it stopped.
Kit hung limply and panted as the aftershocks of the shocks racked his body.
"I'm not satisfied that either of you are learning anything from this. You were still plotting an escape last night. Ignoring me is disrespectful. I will break you. But I think I know how to do it. You." He turned to Obi-Wan, twirling a sharp knife in his hand. "Say "I will not attempt to escape, and I will be obedient."
Obi-Wan lifted his head. "No."
Without a word, the boss grabbed one of Kit's headtails and cut four inches off.
Kit screamed.
Obi-Wan's eyes widened in horror.
"I can take the whole thing off. Say the words."
Obi-Wan repeated them numbly.
"I know that words mean nothing, but the consequences will be far worse if you try anything."
Obi-Wan nodded, looked at Kit, then dropped his gaze to the ground.
"Jedi."
Kit was still trying to find his balance after the spike in pain. It was much harder to ignore the pain in his headtails and they had been ignored before that point.
"You in there?" The boss laughed mockingly. "Maybe that was a little too much pain." He poked Kit with the cattle prod but did not turn it on this time.
Kit's eyes snapped to him, full of pain, but there was a simmering sense of danger that the boss ignored.
"Say 'I will not escape and I will be obedient.'"
Kit blinked and shook his head, a little confused.
The boss took a bigger knife and stabbed Obi-Wan in the thigh, twisting the knife back and forth to make the wound worse.
Obi-Wan grimaced and closed his eyes, breathing.
"Say it."
Kit was too busy dealing with the sudden rush of emotions to say anything.
“Alright.” The boss yanked the knife out and traced a line up Obi-Wan’s torso.
Obi-Wan whimpered.
“I could take his eye, he’ll still be able to use one, will that get you to-“
“No!” Kit yelled.
A rush of power accompanied his surge of emotions and he used that to get free.
Kit didn’t think, he moved.
He threw the boss away from Obi-Wan and felt nothing but hatred for the man that had tortured Obi-Wan.
Lightning tingled at his fingertips.
Kit aimed it at the source of his hatred. Then he squeezed his fist until he felt the life drain away from his target.
Then he rushed over to Obi-Wan and got him free.
Kit picked up a shocked Obi-Wan and started running. When it felt like his legs would give out, when they ached too much, Kit used that to power him further.
He didn’t let anyone get in their way, tossing them to the side and sometimes killing them.
Finally, they were on a ship. Kit set Obi-Wan down on a bed gently.
He then went and got the ship into space, setting autopilot to get them away before he went back to find a first aid kit and start taking care of Obi-Wan’s wounds.
The whole time, he seethed with anger and hatred and everything hurt, so he used that to keep him going. He couldn’t stop until Obi-Wan was safe.
“Kit?” Obi-Wan whispered.
“You’re going to be fine, I don’t see anything that will cause permanent damage if we get you to a medical facility quickly.”
“Kit… can you look at me?”
Kit looked up.
Obi-Wan jerked back a little, then put a hand on Kit’s cheek before leaning in to kiss him.
Kit froze in shock, then relaxed as he returned the kiss and it sunk in that this was real.
“Kit, are you in there?” Obi-Wan asked gently.
Kit wondered why Obi-Wan was asking him. Then it hit him.
Kit fell back and stared at his hands. “No…” he whispered in horror. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m pretty sure everyone has a breaking point. Come on, let’s take care of your injuries.”
Kit stood slowly and moved to sit next to Obi-Wan, in shock.
Obi-Wan started taking care of all the injuries, talking about what he was doing and why for each one.
“Looks like we’re in the same boat, though you may have made your injuries worse by running around the way you were.”
Kit nodded numbly. “I killed him. I killed others. I used the Dark side. Again. I vowed to never…” He buried his head in his hands. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t blame you,” Obi-Wan said gently. “We were dealing with a lot, and you were already thinking of the time you Fell and what led to it because of so many similarities. Do you want to meditate?”
“Yeah. Autopilot’s set for Coruscant.”
“Good, then we’ll be good for a bit. Let me help.”
“It’s… it’s not going to be easy to walk away… the first time was hard. They told me it gets harder every time.”
“Then it’s more important that we get started now.” Obi-Wan took his hand and squeezed it gently. “So let’s meditate.”
“Okay.” Kit took a deep breath in and closed his eyes to meditate.
He was instantly overwhelmed by the Dark, by the person he was becoming the instant he gave in. When he gave in without a thought.
He didn’t remember making a decision, just moving.
Obi-Wan squeezed his hand and pushed gentle calm and patience to him.
Kit let him in and started working through his feelings.
Being out of the situation did wonders for his ability to actually let go.
Kit had a lot more work to do before he was ready to be a Jedi Master, but having a friend like Obi-Wan helped.