Ahsoka POV
Walking through the temple was eerie. Now, I was glad that Anakin had not come because this place was consumed by the Dark Side. This place had high walls made out of metal and you could almost hear the screams of people being tortured from long ago.
"Let's do our job and get out of here," said Rex.
I nodded in agreement.
"Alright, if I were Sidious, I would be standing in the place of power waiting with some type of trap," said Obi-Wan. "That's this way," and he lead down the hallway, his lightsaber lighting the way. We followed him, cautiously.
"This feels weird," said Rex. "All that barrage of fire outside, but nothing in here."
"It's a trap," I said, "set for Anakin."
"Well, sorry to disappoint them, but he is not here," he said with a grin.
"We will break it to them gently," said Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan continued to lead us through the old Sith temple. I could not help but compare this to the Jedi temple where I was raised. Where the Jedi had love and peace, the Sith had hatred and war. I could not believe that this wretched place had wormed its way into Anakin's heart and corrupted him. And I was partially to blame, I thought.
I shook myself. I needed confidence if I was going to take down a Sith. Anakin was in a good place now, happy, married, about to be a father. He had forgiven me for leaving the order. It was time to forgive myself and hunt a Sith. We came up to large, impressive doors, and I felt a dark presence beyond them.
"Sidious is here," said Obi-Wan, "be ready for anything."
"Do we fire, sir?" asked Oil.
"Blow the doors, fan out, and hold fire," said Rex. "Let the Jedi handle this."
Degger set the charges and the blast doors flew off the hinges. The troopers filed in, and a few battle droids fired at us. The troopers returned fire, hitting the droids square in the chest or the head.
"Hold fire!" screeched Palpatine.
The droids moved into rest mode. Obi-Wan signaled to Rex, who gave the silent command for the troops to stop firing. For a second, nobody moved.
"Welcome, Master Kenobi. It has been a long time," said Palpatine in a slimy voice.
"I have been avoiding you, Your Grace," said Obi-Wan.
"And young Ahsoka Tano. My, how you have grown into such a fetching creature," Palpatine said to me.
I finally looked at the wrinkled old man who had corrupted my best friend and destroyed my galaxy. He looked like he had not been in the Sun for a hundred years. His face was white, his eyes were yellow, and he looked a hundred years old. We were supposed to be fully restored in the Force looking fully matured and around 25, but Palpatine was so corrupt with evil, the force could not help him.
"I can not say the same for you. I can not believe the stupidity of the Senate to follow such a monster," I spat the last word.
"Oh, you have a temper, don't you? You take after your master. Speaking of Anakin, where is he?"
"He is leading our ships to kick your ass," I said with pride.
"Such a pity," he said. "I was hoping for a reunion. I need a new apprentice."
That set off my temper, and I bared my teeth. "Anakin would never join you again!" I yelled.
"You say that with such confidence, young one. But that confidence is misplaced. Anakin would do anything to save his children."
Cold fear went through me, and I rushed at the monster who dared threaten the unborn infants.
"Ahsoka, wait!" yelled Obi-Wan.
I raised my lightsaber, prepared for whatever the Emperor could throw at me. He raised his hand and fired a bolt of lightning at me. I blocked them with my saber, but the force of the barrage forced me to retreat a few steps back. When the lightning subsided, I felt my strength drained from the effort, and looked to Obi-Wan for a plan.
"Your Majesty, Anakin is defeating your forces, and soon you will be in chains. You should save yourself the humiliation and surrender now," said Obi-Wan as he took off his outer robe.
"I do not think so," snarled Palpatine. "Soon I will be joined by Lord Vader!"
Obi-Wan ignited his weapon. "I do not foresee that happening."
Sidious drew his crimson blade and they began to circle one another. Obi-Wan waited Sidious out, as the Emperor jumped across with a vertical spin and began a series of blows. Obi-Wan blocked each blow with grace, but he began to lose ground. With each parry, I noticed that Sidious blows were getting more and more stronger. Soon, he was going to overpower Obi-Wan!
I tried to get up and realized that I could breathe easier. I stayed limp until Palpatine's back was to me, then I sprang up and jumped into the fray. Obi-Wan and I fell into a perfect rhythm, each pulling blows at the dark Sith Lord, never letting him rest. Soon, I realized, we would find a weakness from tiring him out and expose it. I felt my confidence rise as my excitement got the best of me. I missed a critical block and Sidious sliced at my exposed ribs.
The pain from my chest felt like I was sliced open with a knife without anesthesia. I screamed in pain,and instinctively dropped my lightsaber, collapsing on the ground. I curled up in a ball, trying to protect my exposed ribs. Soon, tears flooded my eyes, a normal reaction to the pain. I glanced up to see Palpatine slowly start to overpower Obi-Wan. My final thought before I passed out was, we split up the gang.