"Obi Wan, take Queen Amidala back to the ship and get out of here!l" Sifo Dyas shouted as the three Jedi deflected fire from the incoming IG droid units, "contact all Jedi and loyal senators you can, and keep the queen safe!"
"What about you, Master?" Obi Wan asked as he drew fire from an assassin droid. The streets were crowded with fleeing refugees and incoming gunfire.
"Stay here, we will, and investigate this attack," Yoda said over the laser blasts, waving his green saber in all directions, "behind it, the Sith may be."
"What if it's a trap?" Obi Wan hollered as he stood protectively over Queen Amidala, who was likewise shooting back at the droids.
"Listen to me!" Sifo Dyas replied as he cut a nearby droid in half, "take the Queen!"
Obi Wan took Queen Amidala by the hand and pulled her away from the ensuing battle. As they retreated down the Mos Espa alleyway, Obi Wan continued to block the fire with his saber while Amidala kept shooting.
"I don't need you to take my hand!" she shouted as she hit an IG unit in the head.
Yoda and Sifo Dyas held off the droids, innocent people laying dead around them.
"The presence of Emperor Sidious, I sense," Yoda rasped as he began cutting the droids into scrap metal, jumping around the tan colored desert street, the green plasma whirling all over the place.
Through centuries younger, Sifo Dyas struggled to keep up with the ancient Jedi Master as he too battled the former Banking Clan droids.
Yoda grimaced as he sliced open the swarming droids. He sensed the dark presence of Sidious for sure, but he sensed a power far...greater than even the lord of the Sith. Whatever it was, the Jedi needed to get to the bottom of it soon.
As Yoda and Sifo Dyas finished off the nearby droids, the ancient master beckoned for Sifo Dyas to follow, turning down another avenue. Yoda knew that on this planet, at this moment, something was happening, something that would change the course of galactic history. It was no accident that they'd chosen to hide on Tatooine.
As the two Jedi Masters made their way through more droids, corpses and ruins, a figure dressed in black stood in the distance, holding up a red bladed lightsaber. It was an older man, with a bald patch atop his head. Yoda remembered him as Vanee from the Battle of Coruscant.
"Masters, at last we meet again," Vanee said ironically, pointing his blade at them amid the smoking ashes, "this time, we will settle things the way we should have long ago."
Neither Yoda nor Sifo Dyas bothered to return the banter, as too much was at stake. Both Jedi Masters charged at their foe, lightsabers at the ready.
"Deal with this one, I will," Yoda said as he parried at Vanee's knees, "Go find the Dark Lord and the Chosen One."
Sifo Dyas did not argue. He deactivated his saber and ran past Vanee down the street, which was filled with bones, flesh, and scraps
Yoda leapt into the air, striking at Vanee with his green blade. Vanee blocked the attack, then backed up and moved his blade downward. Yoda sprang to the side, then came spiraling back towards his larger opponent.
Vanee jumped up and deflected against Yoda's saber with his own.
As Sifo Dyas ran across the streets of Mos Espa, he reached out and tried to detect the Emperor and his supposed prize. Sifo Dyas turned a corner, deflecting fire from nearby droids, then sprinted down the street towards the outskirts of Mos Espa.
Panting and sweating from the energy and heat, Sifo Dyas stayed focused on his target and ran past the adobe structures until he reached the border.
As he continued to run across the desert, Sifo Dyas began to follow the footsteps leading away from the city into the ruthless, scorching sun. He held his saber hilt in his hand as he sped up, the presence of Sidious serving as a beacon. Sure enough, the cloaked figure of the Dark Lord could be seen in the distance, carting a small shape.
As Sifo Dyas activated his saber, Sidious dropped the small, unconscious boy into the sand and drew his own lightsaber from his robe. Sidious blocked Sifo Dyas' saber attack, then pushed back with his own. The old Sith ruler bared his teeth as he braced for yet another Jedi kill.
Meanwhile, Yoda continued to battle Vanee in Mos Espa, jumping at him from every which way. Vanee was barely able to keep up with the ancient Grand Master, and was forced to retreat backwards. Yoda pressed his attack, lunging at Vanee's legs and striking with maximum force.
As Vanee raised his saber to bring down a killing blow, Yoda pivoted his tiny body to the side, then jumped past Vanee, taking both of his lower legs with his small green lightsaber.
The human Sith Lord groaned as his remains toppled onto the smoky sand. Yoda deactivated his green saber, gave Vanee one last scornful glare, then hurried down the alleyway out of sight.
In the Dune Sea, Sifo Dyas struggled to keep Sidious away from the sleeping boy who lay in the desert. He stepped away from the hooded Sith Lord, then raised his hand, saber facing down. Sidious briefly lifted into the light blue air, then came back down and extended his free hand.
Lightning shot out of Sidious' fingers and struck against Sifo Dyas' blue blade. Sifo Dyas felt his legs aching as he slid backwards from the impact.
"Jedi fool," Sidious taunted as he continued his attack, "You have walked into a trap, and you will finally meet your fate." He had known Sifo Dyas quite well, he'd been a friend of Sidious' old Master Dooku.
"The Sith will be no more," retorted Sifo Dyas, "your rein of oppression will never return."
Above, an Imperial shuttle was descending from the afternoon horizon, approaching the combatants. Obi Wan sat in the cockpit, with Queen Amidala at his side, and the recuperating Master Yoda standing behind them.
"Hurry, we must, if we are to succeed," Yoda stated as the three of them witnessed the duel down below.
Sifo Dyas was holding up well, but clearly Sidious had the advantage.
Sidious halted his onslaught against Sifo Dyas as he looked up at the incoming shuttle. He sensed the presence of Master Yoda, as well as another of his Jedi goons. As the shuttle hovered over the hot sand, the ramp lowered and the Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi stepped out, standing directly over the sand.
"MASTER!" he shouted, "up here!" Sifo Dyas turned away from Darth Sidious and used the Force to levitate the form of Anakin Skywalker. As he sent Anakin through the burning air towards the ramp, a red stick of plasma sprouted through his bowels.
Obi Wan caught the boy in his arms, and screamed, "NO!" Sidious cackled as Sifo Dyas fell limp onto the sand.
"There is no time," Yoda rasped, beckoning Obi Wan back into the shuttle, "leave we must."
Obi Wan cringed in sorrow and felt the tears come to his eyes as he pulled the unconscious Anakin into the shuttle. He took one last look at his fallen mentor as the ramp slid shut.
Yoda took Anakin from Obi Wan's arms and carried him to the ship's sick bay. The shuttle blasted out of Tatooine's atmosphere as Sidious glared at it with rage.
He'd been so close, and once again the Jedi had foiled him. As Sidious stalked slowly back to his Sith Infiltrator, he swore to himself that the longer the Jedi eluded him, the more they would suffer eventually when he finally brought the fist of the dark side onto them.