Obi-Wan moved quickly, not hesitating for even a second. His blaster and vibroblade shot to his hands, charging the blade and aiming the blaster. Using the vibroblade as a shield, he fired off three fast shots at the nearest droid, while at the same instant moving to protect Anakin.

"Move!" he called out to the young boy. Anakin stumbled for a moment with his lightsaber, momentarily stunned by the action that had quickly erupted around him. He then stood back with Gunray, watching nervously as Obi-Wan, T'Hia and Qui-Gon battled the three attackers.

Obi-Wan quickly downed the first droid, stunning it with his blaster first, then plunging his lightsaber down into its shield generator. The electrical field then collapsed, leaving Obi-Wan to slice off the droid's head with a single, fluid motion.

T'Hia was holding off the other droid, much in the same manner as Obi-Wan had been doing. He helped her to stun it, and left her the delivering the killing blow.

He turned swiftly to make sure that Anakin was alright. The young boy had his lightsaber up and at the ready, prepared to plunge into any situation that might need his attending. Obi-Wan reassured him with a quick smile, and scanned the room with his eyes to find and identify the other cloaked presence.

Nothing. It must have left at the beginning of the battle.

T'Hia had since downed the last droid, its scattered components littering the floor, some still hissing with power. Obi-Wan noticed that Qui-Gon and the Zabrak apprentice had departed the room. "Stay here with them." he stated curtly to T'Hia, gesturing to Anakin and Gunray. She nodded quickly, and Obi-Wan ran out of the room to find his former master.

*_______________________________________________________*

Excitement was only one of the many emotions Darth Maul was feeling as he battled this elder Jedi. This would be his second Jedi kill in three days. His master would be proud of him.

His twin-sided blade parried every attack the Jedi made, and delivered many the near blow. The elder Jedi was strong, but showed a few warning signs of fatigue. It wouldn't be long until this one succumbed under the power of his blade.

Unless that fool Kenobi intervened. Maul shared only a few of his master's theories about the Jedi, but the one about Kenobi he did believe. He was too strong in the Force to just be a normal Jedi; no, he had to be the Chosen One.

If he wanted to win this battle, he would have to kill this Jedi before Kenobi's arrival. Or else it would be him who would die under another's blade.

*_________________________________________________________________*

Obi-Wan's swift legs carried him through the maze of hallways in the complex quickly. Left. Right. Right again. The directions were ever changing as he followed the Force to Qui-Gon's presence.

Closer now.

He could feel Qui-Gon's presence ahead, and that of the Sith apprentice. They were both deep in battle, although Obi-Wan could sense Qui-Gon weakening. He sped his legs to a nearly impossible sprint, trying to get to his master was quick as possible.

A rush of pain ran through him suddenly, slowing his pace down as he felt a throbbing pain in his left leg. He soon realized that it was not his leg that had been injured but Qui-Gon's. The older master had been stabbed through the leg by the Zabrak, and was now collapsed on the floor. Obi-Wan could see them only a few meters ahead.

Just as the Zabrak raised his blade to deliver the killing blow to Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan Force-jumped through the air and knocked the blade out of the Sith's hand with a kick. He then landed on the ground in a crouch, drawing Qui-Gon's fallen blade to him.

The apprentice Sith's face was alight with anger and arrogance. He moved lightning-fast towards Obi-Wan, and forced his blade down. Obi-Wan rolled out of the way, watching as the Zabrak stumbled from loss of balance. He then stood, activating Qui-Gon's emerald lightsaber, and awaited the Sith's attack.

Qui-Gon watched half-consciously from his position on the floor, spots of bright colour waving in and out of his vision as the pain over took him. He dropped into a meditative trance, using all the energy that he had left to help repair his injured systems. Obi-Wan was on his own.

The Sith attacked anew, anger fuelling his spars at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan himself fought defensively, seeking to tire out his opponent before starting his own attacks.

Unfortunately, the Sith soon realized this for himself, and began to respond accordingly. His attacks became more defensive as well, and soon the two were at a stalemate.

The battle would have continued like that, if not for the entrance of young Anakin Skywalker. He too had felt the attack on his Master, and had hurried to find him.

"Master!" the young boy yelled out upon seeing the body of his master collapsed on the ground, unmoving. The Sith was momentarily distracted by this, and Obi-Wan used that to his advantage. Striking his blade down, he sliced the Zabrak's blade in half, one part falling to the ground and sputtering off from lack of power.

The Zabrak reacted more quickly than Obi-Wan had anticipated. In an instant, the Sith had flung the remaining half of his blade towards the young Anakin Skywalker, striking the young boy in the heart. Obi-Wan's body reacted with the pain that Anakin was feeling as well, and stumbled for a moment.

"Anakin!" he called out. The boy's eyes light up with pain, looking Obi-Wan straight in the eyes just before he plunged down to the ground.

"Nooooo!" screamed Obi-Wan, turning to face the Sith. The apprentice's face held an air of triumph, knowing that even were he to be killed, he had plunged a stake deep into Obi-Wan's heart, or rather, Anakin's. A sneer ravaged the Zabrak's face, silently laughing at Obi-Wan.

Before he knew what he was doing, Obi-Wan had plunged his blade deep into the Sith's own heart. Obi-Wan could feel the anger, the devastation running throughout his own body as he killed the Sith, and he knew that he had used the Dark side. Red eyes glowed once more with triumph, before darkening with the coldness of death.

Obi-Wan paused only for a second, considering exactly what he had just done, before running to the young boy's side. The blade had missed the heart by only a few inches, and slow laboured breaths still escaped from Anakin's mouth. But Obi-Wan could feel the child's life Force ebbing away, slowly plunging the boy into the chasm of death. Obi-Wan knelt helpless beside him, wondering in vain what he could do....

To be continued in the final chapter......