The Loyalty of the Dark

Chapter 3

Obi-Wan Kenobi opened his eyes to find himself staring at what he strongly suspected to be Anakin's butt.

It looked like Anakin's butt—well, his pants, anyway—through it was thoroughly impossible for Obi-Wan to be certain, since he had never before had the occasion to examine Anakin's butt upside down, which it currently appeared to be, nor from this rather uncomfortably close range.

And how he might have arrived at this angle and this range was entirely baffling even as he shifted to try and get himself out of said angle and range.

"Easy," Anakin's voice said as Obi-Wan continued shifting and he felt something holding him around his abdomen tighten, his friend's voice sounding rather tense. "We're in a bit of a situation here."

So it was Anakin's butt after all. He supposed he might take a modicum of comfort from that. Looking up he discovered Anakin's legs, and his boots—and a somewhat astonishing view of the Supreme Chancellor, as Palpatine seemingly balanced overhead, supported only by a white-knucked death-grip on Anakin's ankle.

"Oh, hello, Chancellor," Obi-Wan said midledly. "Are you well?"

The Chancellor cast a distressed look over his shoulder, "I hope so...."

Obi-Wan followed his gaze to find a shaft that continued into nothingness....

And then the Jedi Master finally realized he wasn't actually looking up after all.

At least he was coming to understand where he stood.

Well, lay. Hung. Whatever.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

"Quite a bit, actually," the dry voice of Count Dooku responded. Obi-Wan looked to the side to find Dooku's face a little less than half a meter down and to the side of him hanging from his collar with handless arms crossed. The strange girl who had appeared from nowhere was holding him up with one hand while her other was hanging onto a cable to keep the two of them aloft. Considering she didn't have the benefit of a prosthetic hand latching on for her, Obi-Wan momentaily wondered how in Force's name she was managing it at all.

"Well, now that he's awake, we may actually have a chance of reaching the door," the girl noted. "Would you care to pitch in as well, Tyranus? My hands are getting tired."

"Don't you dare let go, girl!"

Before Obi-Wan could ask where this mystical door was, there was the distinct sound which his still idle mind quickly created an image of turbolift breaks unlocking in response. The accuracy of his imagination was confirmed when Anakin swore colorfully as a downdraft filled with the odor of burning metal swept towards them.

"Uh.... Artoo?" Anakin called, presumably into his comm.

"Too late," Obi-Wan responded, glancing up—the correct up this time—noticing the bottom of the turbolift rushing at them. "Jump."

"Jump?" Palpatine questioned, laughing shakaly from below. "Don't you mean fall?"

"Um, actually, yes. Anakin?"

Both he and the girl let go, and they fell. And fell. And fell until the gravity vector shifted a few degrees and they were sliding down the quickly ending shaft.

"Artoo! Open the doors! All of them! All floors!" Anakin yelled into the comm as the slide started coming to an end. One door had the luck of opening while they were all on top of it, sending the five of them crashing onto the opposing wall just as the turbolift screeched downwards overhead.

The group gradually managed to untangle themselves and stand back up struggling to keep up with the ever shifting floor. Anakin helped pull the Chancellor to his feet even as Obi-Wan and the girl, who had flipped her hood back over her head, hauled up Dooku.