"R2, we need you to stay with the ships." Anakin told the droid.
"Take this, and wait for orders." Obi-Wan commanded, tossing a comlink to the droid. We set off into the ship, finding an elevator to the spire. I heard rolling behind me, and knew what was coming.
"Destroyers!" Anakin shouted. We activated our sabers and deflected their fire until we were safely inside the elevator. We turned to see multiple battle droids aiming at us.
"Drop your weapons! I said drop 'em." Ordered one of the droids. They never stood a chance as we cut them to pieces. The elevator began to move, but shortly screeched to a stop. I jolted and instinctively pressed against Obi-Wan.
"Did you press the stop button?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin.
"No, did you?" Anakin asked back.
"No!" Obi-Wan answered.
"You both are idiots." I grumbled.
"Well, there's more than one way out of here." Anakin said, igniting his saber and cutting into the ceiling.
"We don't want to get out, we want to get moving. R2, R2. Do you copy? Activate elevator 31174." Obi-Wan called over the comlink. A large circle of metal dropped to the floor, and Anakin jumped out.
"Always on the move." Obi-Wan mumbled.
"Hold onto something." I said. He gave me an odd look, but complied, holding a rail. There was a shudder before the elevator began to drop, throwing us upward.
"Stop, stop! R2, we need to be going up." Obi-Wan protested. The elevator stopped with a jolt, throwing us to the floor before ascending.
"Much better." I said. Suddenly Anakin dropped into the room, startling Obi-Wan to activate his lightsaber.
"Oh, it's you." He sighed.
"What was that all about?" Anakin asked.
"Well, R2 has been-" He started, getting cut off.
"No loose wire jokes. He's doing the best he can." Anakin defended.
"Did I say anything?" Obi-Wan asked me incredulously.
"He's trying!" Anakin further argued.
"I didn't say anything!" Obi-Wan protested. I sighed and rested my head in my palm as they argued. The elevator doors opened to reveal an observation deck with the Chancellor in bindings. He appeared to be quite calm, even though a war raged outside.
"Chancellor." Obi-Wan greeted formally.
"Are you alright?" Anakin asked.
"Count Dooku." Palpatine muttered, gesturing with his hand. He was above us, standing on the balcony we had descended with two super battle droids.
"This time we will do it together." Obi-Wan whispered to us.
"I was about to say that." Anakin contested. Count Dooku jumped down to the main level.
"Get help! You're no match for him. He's a Sith Lord." Palpatine ordered.
"Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lords are our speciality." Obi-Wan argued quaintly. Obi-Wan and Anakin threw off their cloaks and we ignited our lightsabers.
"When have they ever been our speciality?" I whispered harshly to him.
"Your swords, please, Master Jedi. We don't want to make a mess of things in front of the Chancellor." Dooku offered.
"You won't get away this time, Dooku." Obi-Wan warned. We charged Dooku, testing his skill.
"I've been looking forward to this." He said once he knocked us back.
"My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count." Anakin challenged.
"Good. Twice the pride, double the fall." He accepted. Dooku lunged at us, making us fall back.
"Your moves are clumsy, Kenobi, too predictable. You'll have to do better." Dooku joked. As the battle proceeded, I could see Obi-Wan and Dooku become tired. I felt anger roll off of Anakin, and gave him a harsh look. Anakin continued to drive the attack on Dooku, pushing him up to the balcony. Count Dooku kicked me in the chest, making me fall over the railing. He then kicked Anakin into an archway and lifted Obi-Wan into a Force choke. Dooku sent Obi-Wan flying into the side of the balcony, knocking him unconscious and to the lower level. He spun around again and, using the Force, caused a section of the balcony to drop onto Obi-Wan. I ran to him and tried to lift the debris, but it wouldn't budge. Anakin spun and kicked, sending Dooku over the balcony. He jumped down, following him to the main floor. They locked their blades in a stand still.
"I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate, you have anger, but you don't use them." Dooku growled. Anakin regained his composure and attacked Dooku as the Dark Lord continued his spin to meet him head on. Anakin began attacking Dooku with a new ferociousness. Finally, in one last energized charge, Anakin cut off Count Dooku's hands. The Jedi caught the lightsaber as it dropped from the severed Sith Lord's hand and put the two lightsabers to his neck. Palatine was grinning as he watches the defeat.
"Good, Anakin, good. I knew you could do it. Kill him. Kill him now!" He ordered. Anakin seemed conflicted, and I couldn't watch.
"I shouldn't." He protested.
"Do it!" Palpatine commanded. I heard the sickening slice and hiss, then the thump of Dooku's body dropping to the floor. I looked up and saw Anakin standing over the corpse, looking regretful. I glared at him when he looked at me, and his ears went red.
"I couldn't stop myself." He tried to justify his actions.
"You did well, Anakin. He was too dangerous to be kept alive." Palpatine comforted. Anakin dropped Count Dooku's lightsaber, moving to release Palpatine.
"Yes, but he was an unarmed prisoner." He argued. He raised his hands, making the Chancellor's restraints pop loose. "I shouldn't have done that, Chancellor. It's not the Jedi way." Palpatine stood up, rubbing his wrists.
"It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the sand people. Now, we must leave before more security droids arrive." The Chancellor reasoned. I grimaced at his words, revenge was forbidden in the Order.
"A Jedi doesn't seek revenge, it is a dark temptation." I told the Chancellor.
"And you did not want revenge for what he did to you, young lady?" He asked me.
"Never. I wanted him brought to justice, not slaughtered like the sand people on Tatooine." The ship began to tilt on it's side after a blast from the Republic. Anakin rushed over to Obi-Wan, lifted the control console from on top of him, and I pulled him free. He knelt down and checked his vitals.
"Anakin, there is no time. We must get off the ship before it's too late." Palpatine begged.
"He seems to be all right. No broken bones, breathing alright." Anakin said, assessing the damage.
"Leave him, or we'll never make it." Palpatine pressed.
"Like hell." I said.
"His fate will be the same as ours." Anakin finalized. Anakin picked up Obi-Wan, slinging him over his shoulder and heading for the elevators. The ship gave a lurch and began to plummet towards the surface. Anakin and I grabbed the elevator's door frame and look for a way out. Once we climbed inside the elevator shaft the ship was pointed straight down, making it a large hallway.
"These physics make absolutely zero sense." I muttered. We made our way down until I felt the ship begin to level out again. We began to slide, eventually falling rapidly. Anakin and I grabbed wires sticking out of the wall and stopped with a snap. This was one of the moments I was thankful for my robotic arm. The Chancellor was hanging desperately to my leg, and I was almost tempted to shake him off. I jumped when Obi-Wan shouted, but chuckled when I saw him panicking.
"Easy, we're in a bit of a situation." Anakin warned.
"Did I miss something?" Obi-Wan asked dazedly. I was relieved when I heard R2 beeping on Obi-Wan's comlink. The ship began to roll, causing the vertical shaft to move into a forty-five-degree angle. I dreaded the sound when I heard the elevator brakes release and I looked up to see the elevator heading toward us.
"Hold on." Anakin said, realizing what was happening.
"What is that?" Obi-Wan asked worriedly. "Oops."
"R2, R2, shut down the elevator!" Anakin rambled, scared out of his skin.
"Too late! Jump!" Obi-Wan yelled. Anakin and I let go of the wires and slid down the wall. On the way down the three of us took out grappling hooks and threw them at a beam. We fell for a bit longer before falling and swinging through an opened door.
"Let's see if we can find something in the hangar bay that's still flyable. Come on." Obi-Wan said.
"R2, get down here. R2, do you copy?" Anakin called. We continued down the hall for a minute before white light surrounded us.
"Ray shields." Anakin exclaims.
"Wait a minute, how'd this happen?! We're smarter than this." Obi-Wan asks no one in particular.
"Apparently not. This is the oldest trap in the book. Well, I was distracted." Anakin defended.
"Oh, so all of a sudden it's my fault." Obi-Wan pressed.
"You're the Master. I'm just a hero." Anakin claims.
"Really? You're seriously going to start this?" I ask him.
"I'm open to suggestions here." Obi-Wan offered.
"Why don't we let them take us to General Grievous. Perhaps with Count Dooku's demise, we can negotiate our release." Palpatine suggested. We looked at each other in disbelief.
"I say patience." Anakin added.
"Patience! That's your plan, is it?" Obi-Wan argued.
"Yes. R2 will be along in a few moments and he'll release the ray shields." Anakin predicted. Not a moment later, the astromech came skidding across the hallway, screaming and bashing into the opposite wall. He took a moment to compose himself as I laughed.
"See! No problem." Suddenly several doorways open, revealing two destroyer droids, sixteen super battle droids behind them. R2 turned and zapped one of the droids, who then kicked him over.
"Don't hurt my baby!" I shouted at the droid, who almost seemed to flinch.
"Do you have a plan B?" Obi-Wan asked calmly. We were lead down many twisting hallways until the droids opened the door to the bridge, and I saw General Grievous watching us enter. He laughed at our misfortune as he approached us.
"Oh yes. General Kenobi, the Negotiator. We've been waiting for you. That wasn't much of a rescue." He taunted. A battle droid walked to the General and handed him our lightsabers.
"That depends upon your point of view. Hah!" Obi-Wan shot back.
"And Anakin Skywalker, I was expecting someone with your reputation to be a little...older." He teased.
"General Grievous, Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies. You're shorter than I expected." Anakin played off.
"Ahhhh, Jedi scum." Grievous dismissed, stalking away.
"Anakin, try not to upset him. We have a job to do." Obi-Wan berated with no seriousness.
"A pleasure to see you, Kate. You are one of the few who can actually attempt to fight me." He complimented.
"Aw, you always know how to make a girl blush." I joked.
"Your lightsabers will make a fine addition to my collection." Grievous commented, stashing the weapons in his robe.
"Not this time. And this time you won't escape." Obi-Wan threatened.
"R2." Anakin signalled. The little astromech opened all of his electronics in a distracting display, giving us enough time to call our blades and ignite them.
"Crush them. Make them suffer." Grievous ordered, backing away. Obi-Wan and I took on the magnaguards while Anakin protected the Chancellor from harm, along with cutting down any who tried to escape. I took out the pilot and crew while Anakin and Obi-Wan surrounded the General, who had a electrified staff.
"You lose, General Kenobi." Grievous announced, stabbing the transparisteel window. The pressure makes it shatter, dragging everything loose into space. Anakin slammed his hand on the button to close the blast shield. I gasped for air before sitting to help Anakin land the ship.
"All the escape pods have been launched." Anakin observed.
"Grievous. Can you fly a cruiser like this?" Obi-Wan asked.
"You mean, do I know how to land what's left of this thing?" Anakin corrected. Anakin sat in the pilot's chair and saw on a screen the back half of the ship break away. There was a great jolt, and the ship tilted forward.
"Well?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Under the circumstances, I'd say the ability to pilot this thing is irrelevant. Strap yourselves in." Anakin told us.
"Steady, altitude eighteen degrees." I reported.
"Pressure rising. We've got to slow this wreck down. Open all hatches, extend all flaps, and drag fins." Anakin ordered, flipping several switches.
"Temp steady. Hatches open, flaps extended, drag fins-" Obi-Wan said, but got cut off as the ship lurched forward.
"We lost something." Anakin deadpanned.
"Not to worry, we're still flying half the ship." Obi-Wan said sarcastically. The ship started to glow orange outside.
"Now we're really picking up speed, I'm going to shift a few degrees and see if I can slow us down." He said, pulling the handles.
"Careful, we're heating up. Twelve thousand, thirteen thousand..." Obi-Wan warned.
"What's our speed?" Anakin asked.
"Eight plus sixty-forty. Eight plus sixty-twenty. Eight plus sixty. Temp ten thousand, nine thousand, we're in the atmosphere." I reported. Anakin pointed to one of the controls near R2, who was beeping madly.
"Grab that, keep us level." He commanded.
"Steady. Steady." Obi-Wan said.
"Easy, R2. Hang on, this may get a little rough. We lost our heat shields." Anakin told us.
"Five thousand. Three thousand, two thousand. Fireships on the left and the right." Obi-Wan said.
"We'll take you in." Said one of the Fireship pilots.
"Copy that. Landing strip's straight ahead." Obi-Wan informed.
"We're coming in too hot." Anakin protested.
"Easy, easy." Obi-Wan warned as we broke through the cloud line. Everyone jolted forward when the ship hit the landing strip, I had to cover my ears from the screeching of metal on metal. The fireships sprayed the ship with foam as we slid across the surface, eventually coming to a hard stop.
"Another happy landing." Obi-Wan said cheerily. I was half tempted to smack him for that line.