Chapter Text
The weather was as dour as his thoughts by the heavy rain slamming against the windows and his internal turmoil were the massive cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning. It was the only true betrayal of his feelings, if someone was to walk into the inner bowels of Darth Tyranous’s dwelling they’d find Darth Vidious sitting at a blazing fireplace of his private library with an untouched drink in his grip. His bloody golden eyes millions of miles away in another place, considering and perhaps, plotting. His posture was relaxed with him leaning back in his comfortable chair with one leg up and resting on his opposite knee.
He still wore his mission gear, having just returned from betraying his fellow Sith. The thought made him smile thinly as he knew Tyranous would not take kindly to it. He was already quite... agitated in him lopping the head off the abomination called Grievous. The creature deserved it after attempting to blackmail him into submission after guessing correctly what he had been up to on that planet where he met the most interesting man. He had twitched, revealing himself.
Grievous had thought he had him.
The only thing Grievous had was a missing head. Perhaps that was less than he had prior but oh well.
Darth Vidious had also been rather short tempered that day, crushed ribs and other severe damage he managed to hold at bay had left him severely drained. He had never lost his temper once with the creature but with a Sith, anything could happen. It was why when Grievous began to gloat at blackmailing him, he soon no longer had his head attached to his neck. His master was partially displeased, he barely tolerated the creature himself, and as a halfhearted punishment, forbade him from using a bacta tank. He was to recover with only minimal medical assistance and healing meditation which took the better part of a week. The Sith weren’t the best at force healing either, so it was near double that.
His ribs still hurt like hell.
It made his mind wander, pondering if Cody properly healed his own injuries with a bacta tank. With how fast he had recovered, something that could have taken months, he was back on his feet and serving the Grand Republic. He had also watched him intently from the corner of his eye while speaking with Windu. He looked well. He must have used a bacta tank, something Darth Vidious was slightly jealous of.
Only because he was not there to admire the view.
Darth Vidious had not expected to be taken advantage of in his moment of triumph over Qui-Gon Jinn. He had paused, just to savor the moment of finally killing what had made him suffer for so long only for a kriffing clone to take advantage of his victorious moment. He had been caught completely off guard by the action and the man didn't let go, not when he twisted and kicked, no, he held on tighter. He had been especially impressed when the man pushed them both to their deaths. Although, the only reason why they had lived was because the man got hit in the helmet and let go, with his hands free he had been able to manipulate several boulders to cover them from the top and land in a perfect spot where those said boulders would create a space to not be crushed. He wasn't sure why he protected the other, perhaps in a flash of admiration for his gall he had done it, he wasn't sure until the man had woken up.
The Sith hadn't come out unscathed from it. He had landed hard and took the brunt of what he wasn't able to control. Several small boulders slammed into him when they landed that he hadn't been able to control and buffer the speed of the landing either.
To say he hadn't pulled out his lightsaber and flicked it on to kill the clone in a fit of anger would just be a straight up lie, and he didn't lie. He had his victory in his grasp and the other man stole it from him in self-sacrifice. Not once but twice. It had been infuriating and he had been spitting Sith curses at the unconscious man while cradling his destroyed ribs, foaming at the mouth blood ever on his tongue.
He had raised his lightsaber to stab the man who looked like his now passed ally and the Force suddenly reached out and grabbed him. The Force had never done such a thing before, not in anything he had ever heard from the holocrons, and it had shaken him to his very core as he stood frozen, staring down at the defenseless clone with yellow armor. The Force like an embrace of a long-lost friend.
Wait... It whispered in his ear. Wait, my child.
Then, another voice whispered deep within his mind, long ignored and forgotten.
Mercy. Give him mercy. It was a young man's voice, full of hope. Give him what we didn't.
Then the Force let him go and left him alone but with a man who prevented his one goal for over a decade to be fulfilled.
Darth Vidious eventually shook off the shock and decided that if the Force wished for the clone to live, it shall be. The other voice can remain quiet and ignored. He managed his bloodthirst from a roaring beast to a snuffed out smoking candle. He left his lightsaber on and went to scrounge around the man's utility belt to find bacta and treat his head wound. Once the bacta had been found, he peeled off the damaged helmet to find Jango Fett's unconscious face staring back at him. When Darth Vidious peered at the details of his face, taking in the scars and lines of age. With a quick flick of the eyes, he determined he was a Commander.
Hm.
When his eyes returned to his face, he looked closer. A scar trailed down his temple and appeared younger than that of Jango. Jango had smaller scars riddled on his face. Not this one. This wasn't Jango and he had to remind himself of that. A pain in the ass clone that completely impressed him with his stupidity.
Clearly Jango's genes spread well amongst them. Especially when they all threw themselves at him to get in the way of a wounded Qui-Gon and Anakin dragging him to safety.
Those lives were on him, and the Force cried with every death he had done by his own blade.
Darth Vidious managed to knock himself out of those thoughts and proceeded to treat the wound on the man's head. Once the wound had stopped bleeding, he used the Force to assess the man and find he was probably going to die within the next few hours. Darth Vidious cursed at the Force for manipulating him but allowed himself to use a piece deep inside that was once a young vibrant happy child to keep the other man alive. He managed to set bones within the clone and attempt to heal internal bleeding, but the best practice would be to let the clone sleep and not move him. Once he had pulled away within the Force the clone stirred with deep groan only for Vidious to press a hand to his forehead and urge him into a sleep he would not wake from until Vidious permitted or his mind pushed past the suggestion. It would help him heal with his clone genetics and limited air usage. Making him sleep took energy but not an awful amount. The large amount he did use was on himself with his own serious wounds.
Once he managed to use the Force to knit bleeding scratches and wounds that would cause problems, like broken limb that he now set with the Force, ow, he rested and waited for the clone to stir from the deep sleep he pushed him into.
And waited.
And waited.
Eventually several days passed with him meditating as patiently as a Sith could be before he realized the air was thin and they had no new oxygen. The Force was sluggish or perhaps that was his inability to think clearly with no new oxygen in his lungs. Vidious was able to find a small crack to pull oxygen into the room, saving them both from suffocation and that is how he found the spot they would soon cut out to escape but Vidious still could not believe the clone tried to stab him in the neck with his back turned when they had dealt with their initial conversation.
Cody was a soldier to the core and his first action was to kill or be killed.
Commander Cody was brazen and strong, determined and with a lot of heart that Jango seemed to have lost with the defeat of the True Mandalorians. As much as Jango loved Boba, his love of Mandalore was gone with Satine's destruction of their culture. Vidious could not help but like Cody and his snark, Cody was aware he could die but he kept at it and was smart, the Force showed Vidious much of Cody's pained thoughts until Cody told him to kriff off with that. Vidious did but didn't mean he didn't read his emotions and enjoy teasing him.
Sensing his emotions twist with his annoyance made Vidious smile behind his mask and the flirting was just a natural talent that Vidious enjoyed exploiting with his targets.
Ventress always denied the blushing, but he could always tell by the darkening of her skin around her neck and ears. Especially since she was kriffing a Jedi behind her master's back.
He still hadn’t let her live that soft spot down.
Vidious had his own soft spot, the clone was fierce and passionate. He had always admired those who had hearts. It reminded him of his time with The Young. Although, that soft spot was a weakness. A major weakness. Especially when the once hopeful young teenager inside his head began to whisper towards the end of his and the clones adventure.
That Vidious had a weakness for the strong heart.
Ugh. This wasn’t a holo romance. He wasn't Anakin for Force sake!
Vidious broke from his thoughts and let out a deep sigh. Finally, he took a sip of his drink only to grimace in realization the ice had melted into the strong drink, diluting it.
A flash of lightning lit up the room and Vidious snapped his eyes to his peripheral to meet the gaze of a young blue-eyed teenager staring back at him from the corner of his room. A ginger colored padawan, a braid dangling over his shoulder, his tan Jedi clothes fit comfortably. Vidious hissed and the young man smiled thinly back.
“Finally acknowledging me, I see.” The young man gloated and Vidious didn’t hesitate to whip the glass at the man’s head only for the man to duck. It shattered against the wall, shards flying in every direction. Kriffing hells, he’d have to clean that up.
“You know it would just have passed right through me.” The man chided once he straightened and adjusted his obi.
Vidious huffed and leaned back into his chair, glaring. “I’m well aware but it still felt good.” A pause. “You also ducked.”
The Jedi chortled softly before approaching to sit in the chair next to the Sith.
“You know why I’m here.” The Jedi murmured once he was comfortable. The Sith sneered in response while his gold eyes assessed the other, taking in the youthfulness of his features and electric blue eyes.
“I’m well aware, you are my conscience.” Vidious scoffed, slouching in his chair as he spoke.
Obi-Wan Kenobi chuckled at the posture, looking at the fire after being glared at again. “It’s time to end this charade.”
“I say when it’s time.” Vidious spat back, pouring himself another drink from the table next to his right, without the ice this time.
“You do.” The response made the older man pause, staring at the Jedi, the fire making his face glow but shadowed all the same. “You have that control, I’m just a wisp inside of you, the last whisper of your Light.”
“I thought I finally got rid of you.” The Sith muttered, “You were so quiet for so long.” Obi-Wan turned back to him to smile, his eyes crinkled.
“Cody helped me to prove you wrong.”
“Kriffing Cody.” Vidious griped, sipping his drink while avoiding the gaze of the Jedi. “Don’t even go there.”
Obi-Wan threw his head back and laughed, his shoulders shaking.
“I am you, Vidious. I already know.” Kenobi snickered and Vidious groaned deeply.
“Enough, what do you really want? Why are you here?” Vidious spat, his golden eyes flaring with rage. Any smile on the young man’s face was instantly gone, turning grave.
“You already know why I am here. You betrayed your master. You know what comes next. Your Grandmaster will come for you once he finds out. You cannot stay here any longer.”
Vidious hummed, smirking. “Let him come, I look forward to it.”
“He is more powerful than you realize.” The child chided.
What was this? A battle of the tongues? The only tongue he wanted to battle with was too many stars away. Vidious closed his eyes to fight off the image of Cody, he could feel a throbbing vein in his temple. Once calmed, he looked back at his opponent.
“I am no fool, child. I am well aware of how powerful and clever he is.” Vidious stood and moved to the fire, putting his arms behind him. “He has plotted his entire life for the moment Anakin Skywalker will be his Sith apprentice. I understand once its within reach, he will have us killed conveniently. I will not allow the practice of two to occur.” He could feel Obi-Wan frowning, disapproving. “If that means he kills me with his bare hands, it will happen. I may be younger and more talented, but he’s a spider with a thousand strings that he can easily weave and cut. We are just pawns, I am merely helping the Jedi cut them.”
A moment of ponderance. “Is that why you kept Anakin so close?”
Vidious tilted his head, letting his bangs cover his eyes for a moment. “Perhaps.”
“There is no perhaps with you, Vidious. Tell the truth.” Obi-Wan sniffed, for someone who didn’t truly exist, he was grating.
“You are an obnoxious brat.”
“I am you.”
“Enough of this us, me, and you!” Vidious spat, turning on him with a sharp cut of his hand. “Anakin was a lost and terrified child. He still had the chip in his skull when Qui-Gon took him in, his mother was still a slave. Qui-Gon was never a true Jedi, he was selfish and exploitative. I realized that when he left me behind with The Young and took his lover home.” Vidious looked back to the fire, eyes seemingly wet. “He would have mangled Anakin beyond repair and left him open to Sidious’s velvet tongue.”
“But you prevented that.” Vidious let out a deep sigh.
“With great cost of time I could have used somewhere else, yes.”
“You know, Vidious, for someone who is a Sith, your conscience and heart show more of me in you than you realize. You saved Anakin from certain doom you yourself are now stuck in, you saved Cody because he did not care of death, but only of his beliefs and love his brothers. You stepped from the shadows into the Jedi’s sight to end the plot to destroy the Republic!” As he spoke the teens’ voice got higher with victorious excitement. Vidious did not look at him, but at the mantle above the fireplace. Hm, he needed to dust there. “You know I am right.”
Vidious did not respond, instead his tongue moved over each tooth, considering. What brought him back was a force tug to his hair. “I do not like children for a reason.” Vidious harrumphed when he finally looked back at himself. Obi-Wan smiled, crossing his legs.
“You know, Padme considers you a great friend, its why she invited you to attend a celebration of their wedding.” Vidious just wanted the battle of tongues to be over now. “Its why she asked you to the godfather of their future children.” Vidious did not want to think of that. How Padme had looked at him with such open trust. Her doe eyes wide, like she believed him to be a good man.
“Where are you going with this?”
“A Sith is selfish and greedy, what you did for Anakin was neither of those.” The older man opened his mouth to cut in but Obi-Wan plowed on. “You saved Anakin from Sidious. Anakin came to you during that celebration to seek your advice instead of Sidious himself in his own turmoil. You did that. You made him truly think about what was going on inside of him.” Vidious let out a bark of laughter.
“At the probable cost of my own life.” The young lost boy stared back at him; eyes wide.
“What do you mean by that?” Vidious moved away from the mantle and hovered over the lost padawan.
“Do you really think that Sidious, pardon me, Palpatine didn’t notice Anakin pushing him away? Of creating distance that once didn’t belong there? Come now, ignorant, naïve Obi-Wan. You know better than that.” Vidious felt the barbs in his thra
“The Jedi will-” Vidious jabbed a finger into his nose, cutting him off.
“The Jedi will what, child? Save the day? Save me? The Jedi are the Republic’s pawns and that is what they always will be. Nothing more than political pieces. They will not help me if I struck down in the battle that is coming. I am alone.” Kenobi sucked air in between his teeth. Vidious smirked, standing back to his full height, but the smirk was not of victory. On the way to returning to his spot beside the fire, he snatched his drink up and took a deep swallow. Savoring before continuing at the silence from his opponent. “Finally, you listen.”
“No.” Vidious turned, eyebrows raised.
“What do you mean no?”
“No, because the light always wins. Even at great cost. You are going to help them take down Palpatine. Anakin will be with you, you really think he will allow you to die And,” Obi-Wan stood, his robes moving with a flourish. “because you volunteered to help them, Obi-Wan.? You swore and you keep-”
“-my promises.” The older man finished, eyeing the once young man he once was.
The young Obi-Wan turned and gazed into the fire, his features twisting in resentment of his former master having thrown him away. “Unlike some.” Obi-Wan resists the urge to comfort the broken child next to him.
“Even if with my help we bring down good ol’ Palpatine, it doesn’t mean all this death suddenly ends, you know? Every planet who has been involved will struggle with the doubt of the Jedi, the lack of funding and everything else Palpatine has slowly destroyed with this war he plotted.” The Sith pointed out, just to poke.
“Once the head has been cut from the spiders, all the strings will be cut from him too.” The Jedi vowed, the Sith wanted to gag.
“Not the strings that are connected to each other though.” He shot back, the child turned and met his eyes, an expression fierce in the gaze of his own darkness.
“The Jedi will recover and cut them too.” A pause, a consideration. Young Obi-Wan sighed, seeming older than just a moment ago.
“The Republic will never be what is once was, will it?” Vidious snorted at the question and put his hand on the solid shoulder of his young self.
“My dear, you are me, aren’t you? You already know the answer to thy own question.”
The look Vidious received was as dry as Tatooine. “Very funny.”
“I am a hilarity of my own making.” Vidious snickered behind the glass of his drink. Obi-Wan pouted, ever still a child.
“I remember now why Dooku found you annoying.” Vidious let out a laugh at that, squeezing the shoulder he gripped and gave a playful shake.
“You mean you, my dear.” The young Jedi let out a noise that sounded like a growl in response. The moment was broken when a knock on the door rang through the room. Vidious startled when his hand that gripped his shoulder dropped abruptly, and he staggered to catch himself.
Young Obi-Wan was gone. The older man stared at his own hand, flexing in perplexity. The puzzlement only lasted a moment before the knock became a pounding.
Ah, that could be only one woman.
“Ah, Ventress, come in.” Obi-Wan smiled to the point where the skin around his eyes begin to crinkle once she slammed open the door. Such a drama queen. “We have much to discuss.”