The second wave of vulture droids swarmed the two Jedi. Anakin shot down as many as he could, but there were just too many. Glancing over at Ahsoka, he saw she was in a similar predicament.
Anakin's ship jolted as his right wing was struck by a vulture droid. It began trailing smoke.
"Master, what's wrong?" Ahsoka asked him.
"My wing was hit, I'm fine."
Anakin sensed both his and his padawan's fear at the situation they were in. At this rate, they weren't going to last much longer.
Suddenly, a short distance away, three Republic cruisers came out of hyperspace. The main hangar doors of the closest cruiser opened, releasing a couple squadrons of clone fighter ships. With reinforcement from the clones, Anakin and Ahsoka were able to navigate their ships away from the battle and over to the Republic cruisers.
Anakin landed his ship in the cruiser's main hangar just in the nick of time, as his navigation system was about to fail. He sat back in his seat for a moment, breathing out a sigh of relief. Then, he noticed some clones had surrounded his and Ahsoka's fighters, guns aimed at their cockpits.
Anakin and Ahsoka both opened their cockpits and held up their arms, attempting to avoid any further escalation.
"Stand down!" one of the clones called out, "It's General Skywalker and Commander Tano!"
The clones followed orders, lowering their weapons upon the realization that it was friends, not foes, who had piloted the Separatist fighters into their ship.
"Admiral, inform the Jedi council that we have found Skywalker and Tano," the same clone spoke into his commlink.
Anakin jumped down out of the fighter and walked over to his padawan.
"You good?" he asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Surprisingly, Ahsoka wrapped both her arms around him in response, pressing her forehead against his chest.
"I didn't think we were going to make it out alive," she admitted.
Anakin put his arms around her, holding her tight.
"I didn't either," he responded.
After a couple moments, they let go. Ahsoka quickly wiped away a stray tear, trying to regain her usual tough demeanor.
They were finally free.
"General Skywalker, Commander Tano. You both are wanted in the bridge," the clone stated.
"We'll be right there," Anakin replied.
He and Ahsoka exited the main hangar and hopped on one of the nearby lifts.
Anakin and Ahsoka walked in to the holomap room, right off the bridge. Admiral Yularen was there giving out orders.
"Call back the fighter squadrons and prepare to jump to hyperspace."
"Admiral, boy is it good to see you," Anakin interjected, "Ahsoka and I can't thank you enough for helping us get away from Darth Malicus and the Separatists."
"You are most welcome. But I think there is one other person you might want to thank," Yularen responded, motioning over to a nearby clone trooper.
As the clone came over, Anakin was shocked to see that he was none other than Captain Rex.
"Rex!" he and Ahsoka both exclaimed at the same time.
"How are you- I thought you were dead," Anakin stumbled out.
"My gunship was one of the last to take off from Ryloth. We were just leaving the atmosphere when our cruiser exploded," Rex explained, a hint of pain on his face. "We wanted to come back for you, but we knew we didn't stand a chance against the Separatist forces that had arrived. We decided to rendezvous with Admiral Yularen's fleet and track the Separatist cruisers that took you. I'm relieved you're both still standing."
"We're glad to see you're still alive."
"I'm so sorry about the rest of the 501st," Ahsoka chimed in.
"My brothers died honorably, that's what counts."
Anakin and Ahsoka both nodded.
"We are on route to Coruscant now," Admiral Yularen announced.
"Did you make contact with the Jedi council?" Anakin asked.
"Yes, the council is requesting both of you report to them as soon as we return."
Darth Malicus stood on the bridge of the Separatist cruiser, white hot anger coursing through him. Accompanying that anger was a sense of fear. Dooku would not be happy when he received word about the Jedi's escape.
The cruiser came out of hyperspace and began its descent onto Raxus, where his master would be waiting for him.
Upon landing, Malicus made his way to Dooku's chamber. Entering the room, he saw Dooku standing behind his desk, looking out the large window that overlooked the city below. The sun had just begun to set, casting a golden sheen over the buildings below, yet the light didn't seem to spread throughout Dooku's chambers. Instead, darkness clung to every corner.
"You wanted to see me, Count Dooku?" Malicus questioned.
"Yes, Darth Malicus. I sense your mission has not gone as expected."
"No," he gulped, "The Jedi managed to escape and return to Coruscant with the aid of a few Republic cruisers."
Dooku turned around, facing his apprentice, a look of disgust on his face.
"This is most disappointing. I must say I expected more from you."
Malicus looked down, shame turning his face red.
"I know, and I-"
"I don't want to hear it. You have failed me for the last time, apprentice."
Dooku used the force to grab his lightsaber and ignite it. Leaping up, he spun through the air, landing behind Malicus.
Malicus swiftly spun around and ignited his matching red lightsaber, using it to block Dooku's initial blow. In a fury of red, master was pitted against apprentice.
Many emotions swirled throughout Malicus as their duel raged on, but the strongest one he felt was betrayal. He expected rage and punishment from Dooku, but not abandonment.
Unlocking this inner rage, Malicus pressed on, parrying Dooku's blows and counterattacking with some harsh thrusts. Dooku sent a wave of force energy at him, causing him to be pushed back, but Malicus thrust his lightsaber into the floor to stabilize himself. Then he leapt at Dooku with his lightsaber poised, holding nothing back.
Soon after, a moment of opportunity arose, and Malicus got a slice in Dooku's leg. The swell of pride that loomed within himself vanished as quickly as it had risen when Dooku's anger boiled over. He tapped into a raw source of power within himself, and countered Malicus with double the energy he had before.
Malicus attempted to keep up with him, switching to a defensive mode. Dooku, a powerhouse of darkness, landed a cut on right through Malicus' right eye, causing him to stagger back.
Pain rippled through Malicus in gushing waves. Realizing this was a battle he could no longer win, he retreated from Dooku's chambers. Stumbling out of the building, Malicus retreated into the dusk, finding a semblance of shelter in the encroaching darkness.
The one relief Malicus acknowledged was that Dooku didn't chase after him. Their time as master and apprentice had come to an end, but Malicus swore he would be ready to exact his revenge when the chance arose.