Chapter 47 - Duel of the Fates

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Anakin and Ahsoka close in on Maul. From the stories Ahsoka has heard from Obi-Wan, she knows better than to underestimate the Sith Lord. If he could overpower Qui-Gon – though she never met him – Maul is a force to be reckoned with. She keeps her green lightsabers in front of her as they strike towards him as a team. Even though it must be unwieldy to use a lightsaber which requires a great deal of spinning, Maul is matching them blow for blow.

She desperately hopes it won't be hard to defeat him. When she fought him on Serenno, she hardly had a chance to learn his style, but between her and Anakin, she remains confident that they will win. Maul's lightsaber moves between them with a practiced grace, keeping both of them from going fully on the offensive. She leaps back as he nearly takes off her arm, before blocking him from hitting an opening Anakin left.

As the duel progresses, Ahsoka quickly realizes that she's doing far more defending than attacking. Trying to find a weakness in the blur of red swirling around him is almost impossible, even though she does manage to give his left arm a glancing blow. He's incredibly skilled at using the Force while fighting, something she learns all too well when she's tossed backwards for the third time. Somehow, Anakin seems to be holding him off far better.

Her frustration quickly leads to anger. If they don't defeat him, Sidious could escape, something that they cannot allow. On impulse, she reaches towards the Dark Side. She's gotten used to drawing on it over the past few weeks, though it still feels strange to embrace something she's shunned her entire life. Anakin isn't having nearly as hard of a time. She felt him grasp it towards the beginning.

Maul picks up the pace of his attacks, backing away and tossing a random object or two at them as they push him onto the defensive. A surge in the Force is Ahsoka's only warning before she's flying through the air and slamming hard into a wall. She lands on the floor most ungracefully, shaking her head to clear her vision. Maul spins his lightsaber, stabbing viciously towards Anakin, hatred boiling, as the Sith makes a clear attempt to force him onto the defensive.

She pulls herself back to her feet, calling her lightsaber to her hands, igniting them as she leaps through the air, bringing them down hard on one of Maul's red blades. He doesn't even seem fazed, ducking gracefully between them and pushing Anakin backwards a few steps. Maul is showing no signs of tiring, and Ahsoka is becoming irritated. The fight is taking far too long, and she knows the real duel is still ahead of them.

Twisting his lightsaber in a surprise move, Maul manages to rip one of her lightsabers away, sending it skittering across the floor, before kicking Anakin backwards off his feet. She barely has time to register that the Zabrak is turning towards her before she's flying through the air again, slamming into a wall for the second time. Stars dance in her vision as she feels herself landing on the ground. She can't stop now. They have a duel to win.

She reaches for her lightsaber, fingers outstretched as it flies towards her, looking up in time to see Maul's lightsaber arching down towards her neck. In a millisecond, she knows she can't block it in time and scooting across the floor only gives her inches. Is this the end? She can't help but wonder if it is, fear searing through her. When Maul's blade is only inches from her body – it's so close she can feel the heat – he's ripped backwards by an invisible Force and lifted into the air, reaching towards his neck as he's Force choked.

Scrambling to her feet, Ahsoka sees Anakin standing there, anger pouring off him in waves as he mercilessly crushes the Sith's neck, stalking towards him before stabbing him through the chest with his lightsaber. Maul's lifeless body falls to the ground. Anakin stares at it for a moment, breathing hard before he turns to face her, eyes glowing a Sithly yellow.

"Are you alright?" he asks, concern coloring his tone, even as the Dark Side hovers around him like a shroud.

"I'm fine," she assures him, calling her other lightsaber back to her hand. She looks away from him, trying to pretend that his yellow eyes aren't scaring her. She's not afraid of him – she has no reason to be – but she knows what he's capable of in that state. At least the only other person around he might kill is Sidious.

"Let's go join the others," he urges, turning towards Obi-Wan and Dooku who are approaching, "We need to find Sidious."

**b**

As they move deeper into the Temple, Anakin feels shivers run down his spine at the raw darkness pervading their surroundings. Even the embrace of the Dark Side doesn't protect him from the eeriness of it all. He has no idea how Sidious – or anyone – could stand to be here for an extended period of time without going out of their mind.

"He's in there somewhere," Dooku's voice is low, but certain. Maybe Anakin isn't the only one who is getting strange sensations.

"Ready?" Obi-Wan asks rhetorically.

Anakin adjusts his grip on his unignited lightsaber. "Do we have a choice?"

"Let's go," urges Ahsoka, "We need to end this."

Anakin pushes open the door, and the resounding clang echoes down the hallway, becoming distorted as time goes on. "I see you have finally made your way up here," Sidious calls, turning from the window overlooking the courtyard. A pleased yet cruel smirk twists up his lips. "You have lost," he declares with a chilling sense of finality.

"We still outnumber you, Sidious," Anakin spits, lightsaber hissing to life in preparation for the impending duel.

"It seems that you do," the Sith Lord replies, completely unruffled.

"Surrender now, and we will spare your life," Obi-Wan offers.

Anakin gives him an odd look. "We don't have any Force restraints with us," he reminds him.

"I know, but it's a moot point, because he'll never surrender," Obi-Wan replies dismissively. Anakin snorts. On that, he's definitely right.

"I don't think so," murmurs Sidious, the Dark Side gathering around him. A red blade hisses to life in each hand, and he raises them. "One last chance to surrender," he warns.

"I'll pass," Ahsoka spits out. Anakin glances at her briefly, noticing a faint tinge of yellow in her eyes again. He'd last seen it in their duel against Maul; he's not even sure if she realized.

Sidious lunges towards them, striking towards Dooku and Obi-Wan who block him just in time. They hold him off as Anakin and Ahsoka join the duel, seeking to find a weakness. A slow rage begins building when Anakin realizes that he's mainly going after Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. He intends to kill them, and he cannot let that happen. They're his family. He has to protect them. He just can't sacrifice his soul to do it.

Anakin attacks Sidious even more fiercely, using a combination of both his lightsaber and the Force. The Sith seems unfazed, darting between and around them, his blade grazing Anakin's arm. He ignores the pain and keeps fighting, drawing on the Dark Side more strongly than ever before. He can feel it burning at him, as he throws Sidious across the room. Obi-Wan lunges, aiming his lightsaber for a killing blow, but Sidious pushes him backwards and starts Force choking him as he stands up.

Despite everything that's ever happened between them, that's Obi-Wan. Anakin's father figure, former master, best friend, brother. He will never allow anyone to kill him. A snarl of rage escapes him as he raises his left hand, a bolt of lightning arching towards the Sith. Sidious throws Obi-Wan at Anakin – right in the path of the lightning, rolling out of the way and coming back to his feet in time to crash blades with Dooku.

Anakin can only stare – frozen with horror – at Obi-Wan as he lays on the floor, trying to recover after getting electrocuted. And it's Anakin's fault, because he did something stupid. He wasn't even thinking clearly. Even the sound of clashing lightsabers behind him doesn't snap him out of his trance. Obi-Wan finally catches his gaze, giving him a tired, but affectionate, half-smile. "Stop staring at me," he chides through their bond, "I'm fine. It's not your fault that Sidious is a sadistic monster."

They charge in unison, lightsabers blazing as they try to push through Sidious' defenses. The Sith Lord seems to realize that he's losing, throwing a blast of the Force outwards, and sending everyone skidding to the floor. Without wasting a second, he lets lightning strike them. Anakin gasps as pain courses through his body. If one of them doesn't do something, they'll all die an inglorious death. He doesn't mind sacrificing himself, but a cold, hard rage boils inside him at the thought of Obi-Wan or Ahsoka falling to Sidious' hands.

Anakin struggles to push past the pain searing through him, gathering in the Dark Side and Force pushing Sidious as hard as he can. It certainly wasn't his best attack – the Sith deflected much of it – but it was enough to knock him off balance. Anakin calls his lightsaber, igniting it mid-air as he throws it at Sidious's body, striking him in the arm before he has a chance to deflect it. Struggling to his feet, he charges, stabbing the blade through Sidious's chest and blocking the final attack of lightning, deflecting it back at him.

Behind him, he can hear the others standing up and moving to defend themselves if Sidious manages to survive. "I… still… win," Sidious rasps out, a demented grin on his face as his body goes slack, the life draining out of it.


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