"Hello, there!"
After staking the Wookie (and apologizing to him), Obi-Wan moved swiftly to the shelves directly behind the group of vampires. He then climbed silently up to the top of the shelves, then crouched, watching the scene playing out below him. Obi-Wan waited, knowing the right moment to make his appearance would come, and when Buffy broke the museum worker's trance, he leaped out from his hiding place.
As he descended, the Jedi lashed out hard with his foot aiming for Kardash's head. His head jerked back with an audible crack and he staggered, before crashing to the ground once more.
Obi-Wan shot him a condescending look. If any Jedi should have questioned him, the kick was done so that he could concentrate on the master. It had nothing to do with seeking revenge on a vampire who'd shown far too much interest in Buffy.
The vampire master looked across to where the young vampire writhed on the floor, holding his hands to his neck. Then he regarded the Jedi knight in silent appraisal. Obi-Wan felt something was missing. Buffy would have made a rather nasty insult, but as a well-brought-up Jedi, Obi-Wan felt that would be rude.
With a small toss of his head (to throw back his hair, Buffy had told him he needed to wear more gel and he'd forgot), he raised his eyebrow and drawled, "Hello there."
The vampire master rolled his eyes and shook his head, more irritated than impressed.
Obi-Wan's expression became somber. The creature he faced was once a Jedi. The man had worked hard for the Order and his skills had gained him the title of master. Perhaps something of the Jedi remained in him?
"Master Silus Jai," Obi-Wan said, "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi, I believe we met at a Senate banquet when I was in attendance with my master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Do you remember me?"
"Oh, I remember you, Kenobi." The vampire allowed his robe to fall, unhooked his lightsaber and ignited a green energy blade.
Obi-Wan cocked his head. As Buffy would say, it was time to get fighty. He took a step back, shrugging off his robe. The brown garment floating to the ground and forming a pool of fabric at his heels. Obi-Wan stepped neatly to one side to avoid tripping over it. Reaching across with his right hand, he unhooked his lightsaber and then ignited the blue blade with a dramatic flourish and spin.
Across from him, the master made no move to attack, instead, he sneered at the young knight's ritualistic challenge.
Obi-Wan altered his stance, raising his lightsaber until it was level with his face and shifting his weight to his back foot. Never taking his eyes off the dark presence of the vampire master in front of him.
Silus Jai gave a short derisive laugh as if he found something amusing. Then, without any warning, he exploded into action. He thrust the green blade forward and down, to be blocked by the blue. Parrying away the blue and coming in once more, his blade rained a torrent of high powered blows. Obi-Wan met each one with his usual fast yet careful precision.
As the two blades slammed and held each other, the vampire leaned in. His face ridged as the demon snarled, "The Jedi Council must be desperate to give a pathetic loser like you, Kenobi, the rank of knight." He pushed hard with his blade and stepped back. At the same time sending out a fast Force push. Obi-Wan deflecting the energy into the packed shelving above where Kardash sat. Several large clay pots from Naboo's ancient past shattered. Others fell, crashing down onto the hapless vampire and smashing on the floor.
The two duellers ignore Kardash's yelps of protest.
"I heard you were unwanted as a padawan and they shipped off along with the rest of the losers." Master Jai leaped forward once more. Again, raining down a series of fast strikes at the young knight, each blocked by the young Jedi. Knowing a Jedi's precognition would not work well in perceiving the moves of a Dark Side vampire, and that Obi-Wan would be struggling, the vampire belittled him further by saying, "Qui-Gon told everyone he only took you as his padawan because he felt sorry for you. It's quite obvious you have limited capabilities."
Obi-Wan ignored the jibe and concentrated on the fight. Raising his blade and blocking the green. Knowing the vampire was goading him into making a fatal mistake. What the master didn't realize was that he'd trained with Buffy. The Slayer was an evil master with her snarky verbose and general underhand sneakiness. This vampire was a novice in comparison. The Jedi settled into a defensive swing and block rhythm he could keep up for hours.
Undeterred by the lack of response, the vampire suddenly thought of a new subject, "Are you still claiming you fought and beat Darth Maul?" The green energy blade made a lightning slash at Obi-Wan's legs.
Obi-Wan twisted his wrists, his lightsaber blocking the blow. "Qui-Gon, Buffy, and I all fought the Zabrack," replied Obi-Wan, his voice level and calm. "It is true that I executed the killing blow."
The vampire laughed harshly. "I heard he tripped over his foot and fell to his death."
Obi-Wan spun, dodging out the way as a second blade joined the fight. The dark blue lightsaber blade belonging to Kardash slamming into the spot Obi-Wan had occupied. His blade cut deep into the floor with a loud crack and shower of sparks.
With his lip curled at the interruption, Obi-Wan threw up his hand to send out a Force push at the gray-robed vampire. It launched Kardash off his feet, flinging him in the direction of the teenage vampire. The youngster was no longer searching through Palpatine's crate. Instead, he stood gaping first at the lightsaber battle and then across to his friend, who'd crashed into the shelves beside him.
Obi-Wan blocked a weak blow from Master Jai's saber and shoved him backward. Then, his eyes never leaving the master, flicked curled his fingers in a Force pull in the vampire's general direction. A large crate wobbled on the shelf, before smashing down onto the unlucky Kardash.
"Speaking of being clumsy and rumors," said Obi-Wan, flourishing his blade in a circle. "I hear you take your orders from someone well known for his clumsiness."
Their blades locked. Steely determination on Obi-Wan's handsome face, darkest intent, and malevolence on the contorted master's.
"I don't take orders from the Gungan," snarled Master Jai. "My orders come from Master Sifo-Dyas and he answers only to Darth Desolate." He threw himself forward, his green blade blurring as it struck over and over again at the defensive blue.
As Obi-Wan blocked the blows, he realized his bouts with Buffy had helped to prepare him for this fight. Although neither vampire nor slayer were easy to track within the Force, it was not impossible, you simply had to know how and where to look. Obi-Wan decided now was a good time to ramp up the action and let the Sith destroy himself.
In a move that surprised the vampire, Obi-Wan drew on the Force to push the master back a few steps and then somersault away from his adversary. He landed on top of a box the vampires had pulled from the shelves during their search for Palpatine's crates.
The vampire master followed him eagerly, taking the knight's weak push and quick retreat as a sign he was flagging and increasing his own attack. Obi-Wan using the advantage of the higher ground to rain blows down around the vampire's head and shoulders.
As their battle reached the peak of intensity, a body whizzed past Obi-Wan and the Force-bond he shared with Buffy reverberated with anger. That was Buffy! She hated being Force pushed, no wonder she was furious. Parrying a blow to his legs, the Jedi caught a glimpse of a female vampire climbing to her feet in the main aisle. A vampire with a stake protruding from the center of her bloody chest.
Buffy hit the far wall side-on, pain exploding down the side of her face and stars dancing before her eyes. Knowing the crazy Dathomirian would be on to her soon, she shook her head in an attempt to quickly clear the blurred vision and dizziness. She moaned, the head-shaking did not help. With a loud groan, she rolled from her side onto her back, arched her body, and sprang to her feet. Everything around her lurched. Her face and neck throbbed like crazy and she was seeing two of everything.
Down their link, she felt Obi-Wan's concern
~I'm okay.~ She reassured. Her eyesight was clearing. Everything was still blurred at the edges, but she'd be damned before she'd let dead vulture-girl beat her.
Obi-Wan deflected a lightsaber blow that came close to taking his arm off. He gave himself a silent rebuke. Buffy was fine. He needed to concentrate. The creature in front of him had been a Jedi master. This was not a sparring session at the Temple where the loser would congratulate the winner and they'd try again in future. This was an evil Force user who was trying to kill him.
Obi-Wan countered with his own fast attack of ferocious blows that sent the master on the defensive.
"Chop his head off. It's no use just poking holes in him!" Buffy came up alongside the dueling pair, her eyes on the female vampire. Troya, reluctant to get in the way of her master, waited for her in the main aisle, walking to and fro, impatiently swishing the long green energy blade that she'd ignited.
To the Jedi's horror, he could sense a cloud of Dark energy bouncing around Buffy.
Obi-Wan slammed his own lightsaber into the green blade and yelled a warning, "Stop being so angry. Use the Light Side of the Force!"
In reply, Buffy ignited her Sith-made blade with a dark smirk.
The blood-red energy blade sprang to life with an ominous crackle. In front of him, the vampire master's attention wavered. Obi-Wan took advantage. His blade swung. Almost succeeding in bisecting the master, it was blocked by a clumsy parry at the very last second.
"I can't help being angry," Buffy called as she walked past the fighters, her eyes on the Dathomirian apprentice glowering at her. "Baldy pushed me. Plus, like, that haircut," she grimaced and pointed her lightsaber at Troya's head, "is a galactic eyesore."
The bald vampire snarled, her vampire ridges becoming more pronounced as yellow eyes flashed with rage. "I'm going to slowly tear you apart," she growled. "I'll rip you limb from limb. Pull out your intestines, wrap them around your neck and choke you with them. The last thing you'll see before you die is my face."
Buffy sprang forward, charging the Dathomirian who believed she'd goaded her into a wild attack. Then, instead of engaging, Buffy somersaulted over the top of the vampire. Spinning in mid-air, she landed lightly on her feet, before swinging Mr Sparkly and almost getting a hit first strike. Only the agile suppleness of the Dathomirian's body allowed her to twist her body to avoid it.
"Aww, did the baldy comment make you feel all hurty-wurty inside?" Buffy made sure her voice was extra chipper, to ramp up the annoyance level.
Troya twisted once more, her green blade lashing out at Buffy. Her reach was longer than Buffy's, but the Slayer seemed to be able to dart under the blade and meet each blow with a stronger return. The crimson blade crashed into the green, both energy blades hissing and spitting wildly as Slayer strength met the vampire's.
The Slayer flowed through Buffy as she fought. Her blade swung, cut, slashed, slammed, and parried the green. Never giving the vampire an inch, drawing on every aspect of her training with Count Dooku, she had the Dathomirian apprentice on the defensive from the off.
"You know, it's the scrawny neck that makes your haircut look so bad," she said as the two blades locked and she stepped in, pushing with the crimson blade, looking into the yellow eyes of the vampire. "Someone should have told you it emphasizes all your bad features- like your face." She put more Slayer strength into the push. The Dathomirian slid back. "Last year's hair and you're soon gonna be last year's girl."
The Dathomirian growled. Her hatred for the Slayer generating a surge of power that she turned into a huge Force push that she threw at Buffy.
And the Force warned Buffy of its approach. She raised her arm, hand curling in a fist, sleeve dropping, revealing the magical Nightsister amulet wrapped around her wrist. A mist of green magic sparked to life, forming a protective barrier around Buffy. The Force push hit, then bounced off the shield, doubling in strength as it rebounded back to its source.
It hit the Dathomirian full-on without any warning. Troya was thrown off her feet, tumbling over and over, slamming into the side of the packed storage unit with a loud bang. Artifacts spewed down around her. A chunk of carved stone dropped, gouging a jagged gash into her shaven head. Blood dripped down from the wound, running into her left eye. Hatred, intense savage hatred for the Slayer, surged through the bald female. Drawing on that hatred, drawing on that pain, Troya filled herself with the power of the Dark Side. Using the fast healing, empowering energy, she sprang forward. Rage pouring from every pore.
Buffy saw the demented eyes of the demon as it ran towards her. Yellow eyes flashing as the Dathomirian drew back her blade, to slash at the small irritating human.
The Slayer dodged. Ducking low to avoid the wild, angry strike that would surely have cut her in half if the Force hadn't warned her. Around her, the power of the Force hummed. It called to the Slayer and placed her within a shadowed yet prismatic light. She breathed in, and time slowed. Crouched in mid-duck, protected inside a pocket within the Force. Buffy found she could sense and track the actions of others around her. Past, present, and even a hint of the future unfolded with stark vividness.
She 'knew' Obi-Wan and the vampire master's fight was almost over. Malevolence radiated from the older man, steeling determination from her shiny Jedi. Despite the master's greater experience and confidence in himself, he was losing. She could 'see' Obi-Wan's connection to the Light Side of the Force was far stronger than the vampire's ability to draw on the Dark Side.
In the central aisle, not far from her, the battered and bruised Casanova vampire had decided to flee. He was pulling on the robe of the youngest vampire, tugging him away from the fight. The frightened youngster was torn, obedience to the master vying with the instinct to escape. Buffy knew his survival instinct would win. They'd head for the speeder that she 'sensed' had been left close by.
Further off, Buffy focussed on the museum worker. She could almost taste the woman's distress as she ran into an office on the floor above, intending to call the authorities and reactivate the building's alarms.
Buffy's focus snapped back to the bald vampire in front of her. Anger, hate, and madness burned inside the creature and Buffy could clearly see how anger pulled in the darkest strands of Force energy, using it to amplify and fuel her fight. She'd raised the green energy blade high above her shoulder, her intention to cut down Buffy with a ferocious blow.
It was a move that left the Dathomirian wide open for a different sort of attack.
Holding Mr Sparkly to her right, Buffy allowed a second weapon to slip from her sleeve. Grasping the familiar and comforting shape of a stake in her free hand, she rose from the crouch and stepped into the space between herself and her assailant. Time sped up again, as the wooden weapon sank straight into soft flesh. This time Buffy didn't miss the target and the creature became dust floating in the air conditioning.
…...
From his position on top of the crates, Obi-Wan Force leaped and somersaulted into the air to avoid the strong thrust of the master vampire's green blade. Below him, the vampire master's Force enhanced lunge had sent him staggering forward into the space the Jedi had just occupied. Obi-Wan, hanging upside down in mid-air, spotted his chance and slashed his blade sideways, his blue blade slicing through the exposed neck of the master beneath him.
"I'm so sorry," Obi-Wan said with genuine sadness, as he landed on the floor behind the vampire. Before becoming the victim of a Sith vampire the man had been a Jedi. He'd gone on many missions and served the Order well, even if he hadn't made many friends during his time at the Temple. The once Jedi master exploded into a tower of ash without a word.
Obi-Wan turned, scanning the area, seeking out the two younger Service Corps vampires. They'd vanished. Only Buffy was in sight, walking towards him with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"They've run off," she said, knowing instinctively who he looked for. Coming to stand beside him, she discreetly checked him for any injuries as she continued, "The two of them slipped away as soon as they realized the fights weren't going in their favor. They took something Sithy with them. I'd chase them, but I doubt we'll catch them before they reach their speeder."
"They have a speeder?"
Buffy nodded. She didn't tell the Jedi how she knew or what had happened to her during the fight. It was all too new and difficult to explain.
From somewhere inside the building, Obi-Wan heard a siren begin to wail. The museum worker had managed to bi-passed the damage to the security system and switched on the museum's audible alarm, hoping to scare the intruders. Most likely the building's security droids would also reactivate and surround them soon.
Obi-Wan looked around him. What he saw made him cringe. The crates the vampire's had been searching lay with their lids ripped off, their contents strewn across the floor. More crates had been pulled or fallen from the shelves during the fight. Statues, ancient stone carvings, old weapons, even terracotta pots lay broken on the floor along with piles of torn protective wrapping.
Rubbing the bristles on his chin he mused, "The vampires have made a terrible mess here."He slanted Buffy a narrow look. "The Nabooan authorities are going to be very angry at this desecration to their cultural heritage."
Buffy looked down at her nails and then up at him from under her lashes. "It was like that when we got here and totally wasn't our fault. We were nowhere near when it happened. Vampires have no respect for items of historic value. Bad Sith types."
The Jedi blue eyes met hers and nodded. "I agree, the vampire's caused the majority..."
Buffy raised an eyebrow.
He amended, "If not all of the damage in their search for certain artifacts. Murder, kidnapping, destruction of museum's property, they'll let nothing stand in their way."
Obi-Wan looked about him once more and sighed. "Once it becomes widely known the vampires were once members of the Jedi Order it will cause enough problems. I'm not looking forward to admitting it to the Nabooan authorities."
"Do we need to admit they were ex-Jedi?" Buffy asked.
Obi-Wan gave her a speaking look.
"Oh, I almost forgot. The whole 'trust in me I'm a Jedi' thing they're telling people. That's not good news."
"Hence it needs to be explained to the authorities that they are no longer Jedi, but are masquerading as such and should not be trusted. After we've dealt with the authorities I'll contact the Temple and alert the Council."
The task weighed heavily on Obi-Wan. He rubbed at his forehead trying to massage out the creases.
It seemed that every time he came to Naboo something happened to change the course of the galaxy. Negotiations went wrong, he and Qui-Gon had almost been killed by the Trade Federation, they'd met Jar Jar Binks, fought Darth Maul, and now the Jedi were being turned into vampires. There was also something called The New Order, which he didn't like the sound of since it appeared to be made up of Force using vampires. He felt suffocated under the weight of it all. This was too much. It was all too much.
Arms slipped around him and Buffy moved in for a hug. Wrapping arms around her, he pulled her against his chest, dropping his head and taking a much needed moment to savor her comforting warmth and softness. The scent of her hair filled his nose, his cheek rubbed against hers as his lips sought her mouth...
"Oww!" she yelped.
He pulled from her grasp and what he saw made him swear. A huge purple bruise was coming up on the side of her face. It stretched from the middle of her cheekbone to her ear and then down along her jaw.
"Accelerated healing. I'll be fine in a few hours or maybe tomorrow." Their Force bond doing more to reassure him than her words. "Um," she added, "I've sort of got good news and bad news." Obi-Wan eyed her. "The bad news is those vamps took off with Darth Terrible's ring-"
"Darth Taris," corrected Obi-Wan. "I overheard them mention his name."
"Er, okay. They took that. The good news is they didn't grab the tesseract and the creepy wooden box," she pointed over to the two items.
Obi-Wan immediately went over to investigate and picked up the glass cube, turning it over as he examined the writing engraved onto the sides.
Buffy gave an internal sigh as she watched him. He'd a little smile on his face, he was going to keep it. Instead of a book collection like Giles, he'd have an ancient holocron collection. She took heart in the fact that at least they wouldn't smell of mold and have strange stains on the covers.
"I think we should pocket them before the Museum security arrives," she said. "It's better if the Temple takes them into their care, otherwise the vampires might target the museum again or since they came from Palpatine's, he might take an interest in them."
"This holocron was created by a Jedi and therefore belongs to the Jedi Order," said Obi-Wan. Buffy noticed the cube responded to his touch by glowing with a soft blue light. He passed it over to her and the glow dimmed. She pouted, it didn't like her. Maybe it thought she was a Sith.
"This, I don't like," Obi-Wan said, picking up the wooden box carved with hieroglyphs. He flipped open the lid and the crease lines appeared once more on his brow.
"What is it, Ubi?"
"I can read the writing inside," he said softly. "It says this is Darth Bane's phalanx."
"His what?" squeaked Buffy.
"His phalanx."
"Ugh," She gave a shudder. " It gets worse. Do you think they cut it off while he was alive?"
"I doubt it. Over the centuries grave robbers made a living robbing Sith tombs and selling off what they found in there."
She scrunched her nose up. "Who'd want to buy a withered up penis?"
Obi-Wan gaped at her in confusion. "What? Oh, no! You're confusing phalanx with a phallus. A phalanx is a single finger bone. See." He turned the box around to show her. The small ancient bone lay on a black silken cloth. "He must have been an extremely powerful Sith. For such a tiny object it resonates heavily with the Dark Side of the Force.
"Even if it's only his finger and not his penis, it's still creepy," said Buffy. "I'm glad the Sith vampires didn't grab this. God only knows what they'd have resurrected."
"Yes, it's important we discover more about this Darth Bane and who he was to the Sith." Obi-Wan snapped the lid closed on the box and went over to collect his discarded robe. He shrugged it back on, still holding the box.
"I've more bad news," said Buffy quietly, as he came back over to take the Jedi holocron from her.
"What's that?" Obi-Wan's blue eyes filled with concern.
"Until the Jedi security team turn up tomorrow, we're gonna have to keep Darth Bone's bane with us and that means sleeping with it in our bedroom."
The Jedi and Slayer locked eyes in mutual horror.
...
A/N; Kind thank you to Blackhat who beta-d this chapter and wrote a lot of notes on the action parts. He is great at fight scenes.
Any mistakes you see are mine as I change stuff up.
I have a special chapter prepared for Christmas. I shall try to post on Christmas day.
Thank you to all who have taken the time to review this story. If you haven't already, it isn't too late to do so... ;)