By My Side

Chapter 17 - Unexpected Allies

Author's Note: Anakin and Dooku talk... and make plans. Sort of. :')

~ Amina Gila

He barely stops himself from flinching at the snap-hiss of a lightsaber from behind him. He had one chance at escaping, one chance at making this right, and that was lost. He failed at that as he fails at everything. Anakin finds himself tensing, glancing around the room, and searching for possible exits. He needs to get out.

"Don't move."

He knows immediately this is about to go downhill. It always does. Anakin stills, anyway. He's not stupid enough to think he can make it out the door – there's probably MagnaGuards on the other side – but there must be something.

"How did you come here?" Dooku asks, and Anakin hears him walking closer. The sound makes his skin crawl.

He doesn't respond. It's probably best not to, anyway. The Sith will only use his words against him.

"Take him back to his cell," Dooku orders finally.

He doesn't resist when the droids take him – they are MagnaGuards, and he can't fight four without a lightsaber. He knows better than to start a fight he can't win. They take him back to his cell, throwing him onto the floor and disappearing immediately.

His head is throbbing as he sinks onto the floor, leaning against the wall. Anakin is going to be stuck here until... whenever the Republic is able to find him, and that won't be for a while. He doesn't question if, though he understands the reality of how possible that is. To his knowledge, they have no way to locate him, or to know if he's still alive. He knows – hopes – Obi-Wan will look, but...

Dooku is going to come in here to talk to him, and... he isn't looking forward to that.

But they do have confirmation that the other Sith is in the Senate. Probably. Maybe there is more truth to the claims about Sidious than he realized.

He breathes in and out slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. His head is throbbing worse now. It happens after being electrocuted sometimes. It takes a long time for all the aftereffects to wear off. It takes weeks, sometimes months. The healers usually give him something to help with that, but he'll have to sit it all out naturally this time. Anakin might be taking this time to plan another escape – and this time make it all the way out – but his mind is feeling too muddled. He can focus through almost any kind of pain, but it doesn't really work if you have a migraine. He loathes those the most.

He groans quietly, lying down on his side and curling up to stay warm. Prisons are freezing. Maybe he'll be lucky and the Sith won't come back for a while. He really isn't in the situation or mood to deal with it right now.

It must've been a while, because he feels better when he's jolted awake when the door opens and Dooku steps inside.

He hurriedly shoves himself up into a seating position, ignoring how the movement hurts. He should have been more careful, but at the very least, they do have a lead to finding Sidious. That doesn't mean it'll matter much if he doesn't find a way out though.

"It was impressive you escaped your cell," he begins. Anakin doesn't respond – there's nothing for him to say, anyway. Not really. "But you must know you will never make it off this ship unless I allow you to."

"You're overconfident," Anakin replies finally. He aches everywhere, and an icy sense of dread is curling inside him, but he pointedly refuses to focus on it. Breathing hurts, too, but it's something else to focus on. Something other than the Sith Lord standing in front of him.

"As are you."

"What do you want with me?" he asks. This isn't... normal. Usually, they take him right there and... or is it that they think he's too badly injured?