The thought of ripping off all of the Jedi's limbs simultaneously was the only thing that kept General Greivous calm. Green eyes locked onto General Kenobi sitting perched on the roof of an archaic building. With each thundering step, his breath rose. His eagerness grew, inflated by the thought of presenting Kenobi's lightsaber to Count Dooku.

Either side of the main road, villagers cowered as he bolted by. He drank it in; their fearful reverence. The slightest grunt and more would squeal, snapping their windows shut. But they were just the vermin that inhabited this primitive world. He was here to catch scum of a higher caliber - and he was assured in exactly what game they would play to escape.

Grevious leapt onto the roof in one monstrous bound of his cybernetic legs. The building shook beneath him, trembling in his presence.

"Kenobi…" he growled

The human man sat atop a small scrap pile of droids. He admired the head of a B1 troop in his hands, as if having conversed with it up until his rude interruption. Finally looking up, the Jedi smirked. His organic insides roiled.

"Oh, General Grievous. What a pleasant surprise, you're right on time…"

He resisted the urge to split his arms and ignite his sabres. They were playing a game of patience. It was the only way to ensure he could capture all of them. They still didn't know where Skywalker was lurking about. This deception wasn't as one sided as he would let Kenobi believe.

"The Separatist alliance accepts your surrender, Jedi," he snarled, stalking around him.

"As gracious of an offer as that is, I must decline," he replied, dumping the droid's head back into the pile and moving to keep the distance. "However, the freedom of our troops and your own surrender are still viable options."

General Grevious couldn't help the sickened smile underneath his helmet. Though the Jedi was obviously killing time, their routine banter was always engaging enough. Especially when he won.

"Your petty games will not save you this time, General Kenobi. You are already beaten, you just don't know it," he hissed.

The Jedi's hesitation supplied him with immense joy. After a few more unsteady steps, he noticed him reach for his sabre.

"Perhaps. But defeat is a matter of perspective…" he muttered after a while. A sudden grin flashed across his face. "And from where I stand, that isn't the case."

A distant cacophony of blaster fire erupted from the village's west entrance. Skywalker… he thought bitterly. He ignited two sabres and crashed them into him, unable to suppress his impatience anymore. Kenobi's sabre flashed blue. The impact exploded over the locked sabres. He could see the blue grit of the Jedi's eyes. Rage surged over him and he snapped his arms into four.

Kenobi leapt back, his defence impervious as he predicted every mechanically enhanced attack. Grevious snatched the remaining sabres from his belt and pushed him to the edge of the roof. Kenobi held firm. One of the only benefits of his organic body, was it's ability to produce adrenaline. A machine will only go as far as it was designed for - an organic has reserves fuelled by intense emotion. And Grevious was overflowing with it.

He smashed all four sabres from different directions into the Jedi - a reckless move leaving his body vulnerable with the potential to murder the intel. But it caught him off guard just enough for him to lose balance. With his legs, he clawed at the Jedi's shoulder, and bashed his sabre to the floor, holding him dangling from the building. Kenobi's shock was palpable and he laughed, drunk on it.

"Has your perspective changed now, Jedi scum!" He hissed, pressing down on his shoulder.

Kicking out, he gasped in pain. Causing pain was the closest Grevious got to feeling it himself anymore. The sweet agony filled him with nostalgia.

A grunt broke free from Kenobi as his desperation took hold. He fell limp and suddenly became dead weight in the Cyborg's hands. Using the newfound momentum, he swung down to the side of the wall, dragging Grevious with him. Soon as Grevious was in the air, Kenobi kicked off of the wall to reposition himself to fall on top of him. He summoned his sabre and Grevious could do nothing else but brace for both the fall and the attack.

The crash was the least deadly of the two. He rolled onto his side, Kenobi only scoring one of his limbs in the process. He scrambled into a defensive crouch, sabres still clutched in his hands. The Jedi jumped away. With one hand, he beckoned him closer before running around the corner.

Grevious roared and stood to his full height, charging after the pathetic, self aggrandising, little…

His com link blared at him, snapping his focus.

"What is it?" He growled into the wrist device.

"General Grievous," a warbled voice answered him, unlike any droid in his army. Immediately, he recognised it as his assailant. "My apologies for not reporting in earlier, sir."

"Phoenix 3, this had better be important or else you obviously consider that your life isn't," he snarled, reluctantly.

The buzz of static beeped before the response.

"I consider both important, General, as should you. The Jedi are working to free their clones but they left their Padawan at the village. I believe this leaves us with a more effective strategy for acquirement, sir."

He slowly eased his mind. Count Dooku had insisted this assailant was worth listening to, but the lack of fear in their tone annoyed him.

"Can't you just deal with the brat yourself?" He hissed.

A scoff blared through the com link.

"You may be able to detain a Jedi single handedly, but for the rest of us, that's a far more difficult a task," they responded, the warble over their voice breaking up. "Besides, should something happen to her, the other Jedi would sense it. Sure, it might give us a chance to capture her master, but he would not risk the safety of the clones and the other Jedi. The best situation would be to isolate both parties and then incapacitate the larger group before the Padawan. Should you leave now, I have a plan ready."

He hummed. Obviously, he had underestimated the intelligence of this organic. Reaching a decision, he turned back for his ship, giving up the alluring pursuit of Obi Wan Kenobi. This time, he would trust the wisdom of his Master.

His response came reluctantly. "What do you propose?"

Obi Wan ducked behind a corner in wait. He prided himself on his patience but even he was struggling to remain composed. General Grevious had been right on his tail. Had he turned and ran? Perhaps he accidentally scared off the great lumbering cyborg when he removed his arm. However, that was hardly a rare occurrence. He knew Grevious. He rejoiced in cruelty and that he respected Count Dooku more than anyone else in the Galaxy. He was a coward, but he wouldn't squander any opportunity to show off to his Master, especially now that Ventress was out of the picture.

The Jedi Knight stepped out from the shadows. From where he stood, he could see villagers beginning to come out of hiding, nervously scanning the area for the metal monster. It was nowhere in sight. A pit blossomed in his stomach and he immediately took off into the outskirts of the forest, racing back towards the west entrance. Something was wrong. They were missing a piece of the puzzle, he just had no idea what it could be.

They all needed to get off world as quickly as possible. He could feel the force itself stirring up and shifting, like the tide readying for a wave. Rational thought became sparse in his mind. He had to pull himself together before reaching Anakin. They needed to get back to the ship as quickly as physically possible and they all needed to get off world now.

There were no doubts in his head that Anakin had successfully freed the clones. If he was anything in situations like these, it was reliable. As he raced past the brush, he noted the lack of marching metal. Good, he thought. That's one less thing to worry about.

Rounding the outskirts, he spotted Anakin and his troops. He was immensely relieved to see Cody and Captain Rex at his side, both seemingly in one piece.

"Now we just gotta hope Obi Wan isn't too late -"

How he wished that was the only thing they had to worry about. He called them over, explaining the situation, all the while hearing the rush of blood to his head, speeding his thoughts along. Beware his heart… The warnings pounded in his mind. Train the boy….

The cold expression Anakin wore as they rushed to the rendezvous point was a stark reminder of how easily his training could be sidelined.

How much he had yet to teach him. How much he had yet to learn himself.

It almost made him feel like a Padawan again.

He said the only thing he could think of that might reassure him.

"They'll be fine Anakin."

They reached the tunnel's entrance, flanked by several dozen clones. The air was still, frozen on the young man's breath. Looking dead into the cave, he replied.

"They have to be. I won't allow alternative."

The promise chilled the area as he snapped the flare off his belt and fired a blazing trail of green into the sky.