Chapter 28 - Duel of Fates

DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P

Author's Note: In which Anakin and Ahsoka fight Sidious... ;)

~ Amina Gila

For a long moment, the three of them stand there, and Anakin begins dropping his shields. He'll need all of his strength to win this fight; he cannot afford to hold back. The faster Sidious is destroyed, the better. They can make no mistakes. They won't have a second chance.

Anakin hears the door at the end of the hall close, separating Obi-Wan, Solo, and Chewie from them. It won't be easy for scouts to follow them, especially being as Sidious didn't seem to be planning their arrival. Or maybe he was. Maybe this is some giant trap to kill all three of them. Well, they have to try. If he begins to doubt himself and everything, he'll never stop.

He willingly meets the sickly yellow eyes of his former Sith master and sees a flicker of rage. It's all Anakin needs to see to know that while Sidious had been planning a trap, he hadn't expected Obi-Wan to actually escape. He'd probably been intending to use Obi-Wan as a way to get Anakin to bow to him again. Anakin lunges, swinging his lightsabers in a joint effort to catch Sidious off guard. Ahsoka is right behind him, covering his weaknesses and hammering at the Sith's defenses right alongside him, just as they'd planned for.

Anakin isn't an expert as Soresu – actually, any defensive form is hard for him – but he knows the basics. Obi-Wan had drilled them into both him and Ahsoka after they had settled onto Corellia. As Obi-Wan so aptly pointed out, Soresu is the best form for defense which will be exceptionally useful when dueling a Sith with unknown skills. Anakin knows he was one of the best duelists among the Jedi; he couldn't have defeated the Jedi at the Temple if he wasn't. If he survived that, he can survive this too.

Sidious blocks and parries their strikes, moving with a grace that reminds Anakin of a giant, lethal predator. He's good, but Anakin is better. Anakin draws on the Force, Light and Dark Sides swirling around him. He might have been injured, he might have been close to death, but he's healed now. He may not be as strong as he once could have been, but it will be enough. It has to be enough.

Ahsoka ducks backwards, dodging Sidious's attack, deflecting it with a move that seems rooted in Soresu. They have to outwait him, wear him down slowly by letting him attack them. Anakin spins around, his red blade clashing with the Sith's, forcing him to spring backwards as Ahsoka's twin blades whiz towards him.

It becomes methodical after a minute or so. He and Ahsoka block and cover one another, doing their best to refrain from causing excessive damage which could compromise their escape. Sidious has no such compunctions. He uses the Force to hurl Ahsoka backwards, and she catches herself by plunging her blades into the floor. Before Anakin can block him, Sidious slashes diagonally across a security terminal. Alarms start blaring, and Anakin flinches. It's only a matter of time before the stormtroopers show up. Or worse, Inquisitors.

"Ahsoka, the door!" yells Anakin, throwing himself into a brutal assault against Sidious, forcing the Sith to move backwards down the long hall. This really isn't the best place to duel. From behind him, he can hear a sizzle as Ahsoka presumably destroys the controls to make it harder for anyone to come inside.

Leaping across the hall, she crashes blades with Sidious again. Anakin is almost grateful for how powerful and warriorlike she is. If not for the Clone Wars, she would never have gotten this much strength. Anakin's blue blade nicks the Sith's thigh, making him hiss at the pain. The Dark Side seems to swirl even more menacingly as he struggles to force them away from him. Anakin can sense him tiring, and it seems to be making him desperate. Which probably isn't a good thing, come to think of it.

They're keeping Sidious so busy that he doesn't even have enough time to gather the Force to throw them away from him. Out of the corner of his eye, Anakin spots a red lightsaber plunge through the entry to the prison block. Not good. They can't fight on two fronts and still expect to win. They have probably thirty seconds, and that's not nearly enough time.

Drawing on the Force, the Light and Dark Sides swirling around him in a balance reminiscent of Mortis, Anakin hurls Sidious backwards as hard as he can. The Sith slams into a wall, and Ahsoka pins him there, pressing him as hard against the wall as she can. Sidious – unlike most Force users – manages to counter by pushing her enough to break her hold. He lands on his knees, flipping towards them with unmitigated fury.

Behind them, the door is crashed open, and the Grand Inquisitor steps through. Anakin casually knocks Sidious off his feet before angling his blue blade in low, bringing the other one around to score a hit. He doesn't think it'll work, but Sidious is tiring, so it does. It hits his side, while Ahsoka nicks his upper arm on the other side.

From behind them, the Grand Inquisitor advances, igniting both blades and spinning them rapidly. His mistake. Unlike most of the surviving Jedi, Ahsoka is extremely skilled, and Anakin knows she'll be able to handle him easily.

"Go deal with them," grunts Anakin, blocking Sidious's downward swing with both of his lightsabers. Their blades catch in a saberlock. "I'll deal with him."

Ahsoka complies, hurling herself at the Grand Inquisitor. Anakin doesn't take the time to pay attention to how she's doing. She can keep him occupied, while Anakin destroys Sidious. Their duel continues, Anakin countering each of the Sith's blows with two of his own. He's beginning to tire as well, but he won't let himself pause for even a moment until he's succeeded. Immersing himself in the Force more deeply than usual, Anakin lets it guide his every movement and action. Sidious feints to the left, and when Anakin moves to block him, the Sith spins his blade in an attempt to sever one of Anakin's hands.

But Anakin is faster. He slices through the Sith's right forearm, and as he howls with pain, he loses the other hand. Anakin brings his blue lightsaber back around and through Sidious's neck. The lifeless body crumples to the ground in multiple pieces, and Anakin turns towards where Ahsoka is dueling the Grand Inquisitor. He's struggling to fend her off, and it's easy to see that he'll fail. They don't have time to wait. The stormtroopers outside the door haven't opened fire only because they will probably hit the Inquisitor. Once he's dead, they'll have no such reservations.

Anakin gathers in the Force, hurling them backwards. They're thrown into the wall behind them, some of them hitting it hard enough that they don't move. Clenching his fist, Anakin lifts the Grand Inquisitor up in a choke hold, stopping him in the middle of attacking Ahsoka. It's an underhanded move, but he doesn't have the patience to actually duel it out. Besides, the Inquisitor isn't as strong as Sidious, which makes attacks like this much easier; he doesn't have the skill to counter them properly.

Ahsoka throws Anakin a quick look before turning and opening the concealed door at the end of the side hall. The Grand Inquisitor thrashes in Anakin's grip, finally hurling his lightsaber towards him. Anakin squeezes his fist, snapping the man's neck, and tossing the body at the incoming stormtroopers, but not in time to stop the red blade from slicing through his right forearm. It doesn't hurt, of course, though it's definitely annoying. He pauses only to call his blue lightsaber back before racing to the exit door after Ahsoka.

The door slides closed behind them, before the stormtroopers have a chance to open fire. "We have to hurry," pants Anakin as they run down the staircase towards the exit point far ahead. "It's only a matter of time before everyone learns that the Emperor is dead. I need to secure my position before it's too late."

"How will you do that if everyone's shooting at you?" demands Ahsoka, falling in step next to him as they run down the main tunnel, following the path which Obi-Wan should have taken with Solo and Chewie.

Anakin smiles grimly. "Simple. We'll go to my residence on Coruscant. I have extra armor there which I can use. People might question me, but they'll be cautious about questioning Vader."

"I thought you were going to reveal yourself?" Ahsoka queries as they finally reach the opening to the pipe and crawl inside.

Anakin hums a confirmation. "But I can't do that until I've secured the Empire. Most of the military will follow me – they respect me as a genius and less insane than their alternatives – but the commanders such as Tarkin will continually try to undermine me."

"Great," huffs Ahsoka. "I guess that means we'll be playing politics for a while. The twins can still come here to Coruscant, right?"

He nods. After this, he desperately wants to see his children again, to ensure that they're safe. "I'll send Solo to get them once we've secured the Palace."

"Good," sighs Ahsoka, stumbling slightly as they approach the end of the pipe. "I can't wait to contact Bail and tell him the good news."

"We can do that after Obi-Wan is checked. I want him to be there."

"If everything went well, he will be," she replies as he pulls open the grate. It's a short trip from here to the Falcon and safety.