Time is relative. That's what Hiro had always been taught. Right now everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, yet somehow it also felt like everything was moving too fast.
His brother fell into that endless abyss so slowly, but Hiro wasn't fast enough to catch him.
Those yellow eyes pierced into him like a thousand needles.
Honey and Wasabi were talking to him, but their voices came muffled to him as though they were speaking to him as he drowned under water.
The Force was an ever present scream that tore through his veins.
Before he knew it he was tearing across the icy bridge that led to the sith. His lightsaber activated and he moved to attack in form IV. He somersaulted over the sith and brought his saber down, but his opponent was prepared for his attack.
The sith blocked his slashes easily, clearly familiar with Ataru and how best to deflect it.
Those poisonous yellow eyes glared back at him.
The worst part of using Ataru was that it wasn't meant for long combat. It drained your stamina faster than the other forms, and Hiro wasn't even that well practiced in it.
It was probably his favorite form, but he never had much cause to use it outside of the training stalls.
He never had much cause to use any sort of combat outside of the training stalls.
This was a terrible idea.
It was hard to care though. Even with his brain yelling at him to stop this madness and run while he could, the larger, louder part of him shouted for vengeance.
He wanted to make that sith pay for killing his brother.
He renewed his attack with vigor, hell-bent on slicing the damn monster in two.
He could feel the Force surging through him, and it felt so wrong. It felt like it was burning him from the inside out.
He'd never felt so alive.
The sith blocked another swing before moving into an offensive stance and lashing back at him. Hiro had to focus on defending himself now against the ruthless barrage of attacks the sith was raining down on him. And with one decisive stroke the sith slipped through Hiro's guard.
Hiro expected to feel the sting of the saber ripping through his gut like it had Tadashi's. What he didn't expect was for the sith to ignore physically harming Hiro in favor of slashing through the hilt of his lightsaber and therefore ruining his weapon.
Hiro dropped the burnt carcass of his saber in surprise, unprepared for the Force shove that the sith sent his way.
The push was so strong that Hiro barreled straight into the Wasilsi that had been coming to aid him and causing them to tumble all the way back to the start of the bridge.
When Hiro regained his footing the sith had already disappeared into the countless tunnels surrounding them.
"Dammit!" he screamed, turning to punch the cavern wall.
How had this happened?
"Hiro..." Honey spoke softly, laying a tentative hand on his shaking shoulder. He knew she was trying to comfort him, but he didn't want her to. He didn't want her comfort. He wanted his brother back.
He wanted that sith to die.
"We should return to the ship," Wasabi said, looking around nervously. "We don't know if that man brought any more of our enemies with him. It's not safe here."
Hiro continued to glare at the wall. Let them come. He would fight them. He'd tear them all to pieces.
"Wasabi's right. We should go," Honey said, talking carefully like she was afraid one wrong word would set Hiro off.
"Fred could be in danger," she said, squeezing his shoulder.
That got his attention.
The Basiliskan had no idea what was happening here. He was probably worried out of his mind by now. He realized with a sick twisting in his gut that they'd have to tell Fred that Tadashi was...
He swallowed hard and nodded, turning away from the wall to begin their return.
He didn't think there was any more danger here- the Force was so much quieter now- but Fred deserved to know what happened.
If there was one last thing Tadashi would have wanted, it was for Fred to be safe.
The walk back to the ship passed in a haze, but at one point he had to stop and stare at the tunnel floor.
A white crystal pulsed with light, like a heart that beat in perfect time with his own. He reached down to pluck it form the ground, placing it carefully in his pocket. Its presence made him feel more clear headed.
He slipped his hand around it when they reached the ship.
Fred stood in the open door, ready to greet them. His face fell when he saw how haggard they looked, and Hiro couldn't help but notice the way Fred seemed to freeze when he realized there were only three of them returning.
He gripped the crystal so tight it bit into his palm.
