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Anakin shook Sarah's shoulder, trying to wake her up. "Sarah. Come on, Sarah. Wake up. You have to wake up! We need to get out of here!" He silently tried to urge her through the Force, through their small strand of a thread.
Finally, he felt her stir. She groaned and opened her eyes. When she saw Anakin kneeling behind her, she sat up quickly. He helped her stand up, but her knees felt shaky. She was soaked to the bone. Neither really knew what to say to each other. After some time of awkward silence, she realized that she was still wrapped tightly in Anakin's robe. She quickly handed it back to him. "Thanks..." she said quietly.
Anakin quickly nodded in response. "No problem." The was some more time of silence between the two Padawans. They began to walk.
They scrupulously avoided eye contact with each other. Finally, after a long while, knowing that they would never get anywhere in silence, Anakin spoke again. "Look, Sarah, I just wanted to...well...apologize for the other night. I was out of line with what I said."
Sarah stopped walking and turned her blue eyes to him. Though it was to dark to see his face, she could sense that his words were heartfelt. "Thanks. Look...Anakin, I'm really sorry too, I didn't mean to butt into your life like this, it just sort of...happened."
He nodded, and there was once again silence, but it was a little less strained then it had been before. They began walking again, letting the Force lead their steps.
"Do you think that Obi-Wan is here?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know," said Anakin, grateful for the change in conversation topic. "But I think that we need to get out of here."
"I completely agree with you on that one," Sarah said, her old wry grin taking over her features. She tried to force her eyes to adjust to the dark, but it seemed to be perpetual in this place. The two walked for what seemed like hours, arriving at dead end after dead end, having to constantly backtrack.
They had just turned around from a particularly long straight of dead end when Sarah stopped. She turned to Anakin. "Do you sense something?"
He fell into the Force. There was a tremor, but it was difficult to place. "Yeah...what do think it is?"
"I don't know," she said, looking around, "but it feels strange...precarious."
Anakin looked at Sarah and muttered, "Leave it to you to use a word like precarious when we're stuck here." He tried to sound irritated, but he could not help the amusement that crept into his voice. Sarah glared at him, but she too could not help a small smile. They stared into each others blue eyes, not knowing what was to come.
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The blades crashed together, blue and red. Obi-Wan's jaw was clenched in concentration. The Sith seemed to have only gained more power since they last met, but so had Obi-Wan. They parried and blocked each others blows, Obi-Wan taking the defensive.
Their blades collided with each other, each of the fighters pressing with all of the strength they could muster. Obi-Wan glanced up for a brief moment into the yellow eyes, and he saw there nothing but emptiness. A vast wasteland of hatred and murder.
The dark was so immense, it was impossible to see, and Obi-Wan had to depend upon the Force to tell him when to duck, leap, and roll. The Sith came at Obi-Wan with a flurry of blows, and one particular move had Obi-Wan jump out of the way, knocking his lightsaber out of his hand. Thank the Force Anakin isn't here. I would never here the end of it.
The Sith raised his lightsaber for a killing blow, but as it came down upon Obi-Wan, the Jedi summoned his lightsaber into his hand and ignited it just in time to block the Sith's attack. Obi-Wan rolled to his side, feinted, and then leapt up and over the Sith's head. The Sith brought his blade crashing down, sending sparks where Obi-Wan had been only moments before.
Obi-Wan found himself on a raised platform, his breathing rapid, sweat trickling down his forehead. He did not know how much longer he could keep going like this. The Sith was sheer power and would easily wear him down if this continued for much longer.
He gripped his lightsaber in his hand and masked his presence in the Force. He knew that the Sith would find him eventually, but for now, he just needed to buy himself some time.
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Anakin and Sarah continued along, increasing their pace as they went. The feeling in the Force was getting stronger as they continued on, and soon, they were all-out running, not knowing where they were going.
The darkness swallowed them as they ran. Suddenly there was a faint shimmer ahead of them. The threatening feeling in the Force grew stronger as they approached it. When they reached the strange mass, it was like a wall, but not a solid one. Its black pretense shimmered before the Padawans, flickering just beyond their reach. Anakin made to reach out and touch it, but Sarah grabbed his arm and pulled it back. "No!"
Anakin was confused, "What? It doesn't look bad."
Sarah gave him a incredulous stare. "Are you serious? You have no idea what that is, and you're just going to go and touch it?"
He gave her a sly smile, "Yeah...that's exactly what I'm going to do. Would you care to join me?"
She shook her head at him. When she saw that he was serious, her face became a look of complete shock. "There is no way I am touching that...whatever that is. You go right ahead, and have fun."
"Ok then, if you're sure." He reached out to it slowly, giving her a intense stare.
Sarah looked pained. He slowly leaned in to the shimmering mass, and at the last minute, with a look of deepest loathing, she followed him.
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Obi-Wan tried to control his breathing and remain invisible. He could feel the Sith pacing, anger and loathing practically radiating off of him. Obi-Wan willed the Force not to betray his presence. His breath came in sharp jabs inside of his chest.
He knew that the Sith Lord would soon find him. After all, the darkness was a Sith's great strength. He tried to hold onto the Force shield, but as the Sith drew closer to the platform, it became increasingly difficult to hold. Finally, Obi-Wan took a deep breath and ignited his lightsaber. He took comfort in the resplendent blue. The horned Sith jumped up onto the platform, bringing down an immediate strike, which Obi-Wan blocked. And it began again.
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Anakin and Sarah fell into the shimmering veil for what seemed like forever, until they fell onto solid ground. When they regained their footing, they took a look around. It was still dark, but not as repressive as it had been before. There were faint shadows moving everywhere, surrounding them.
Before either of them could speak, something shot out of the air straight towards them. They broke apart, diving to the ground. The shadowy orb simply rebounded and shot at them again. More and more spheres came at them, from all sides. A silent message seemed to pass between the two Padawans. Teamwork.
Something told both of them that the stakes were higher here than they had been with the training probes. This time around, there were no other Jedi to call it off if it got to be too much. The two once again leapt into action, this time letting the Force guide them, and this time, being mindful of the other's moves.
Neither had any idea what the hazy orbs were, and they did not know how they were supposed to defeat them. There were no lightsabers...they would have to rely on the Force. Trying a Force shove, Sarah knocked two of the spheres into a wall, and the ghost-like orbs dissipated. Quickly catching on, Anakin began to Force push the orbs as well. They covered each other from all sides. Working together, they were able to deflect any orbs that came at them where the other could not see.
After awhile, the two Padawans had managed to dissolve almost all of the spheres, but it took tremendous effort. Both were dripping with sweat, and both were tired from the leaping and the running. Finally, the last of the orbs had smashed against the walls, and they were once again alone. The two Padawans could not help sharing a smile. This time they had done it right, the way that they should have done it the first time.
Together, the two had made a powerful team, and though it had been hard work to destroy the shadows, they had done it...together, and both felt the sense of accomplishment in that. But then, a cry of pain from a familiar voice broke the moment. It was Obi-Wan.
Another shimmering, door-like wall began to glitter on the opposite side of the chamber. Together, Anakin and Sarah made their way toward it and stepped through, not knowing what they would find on the other side.
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A/N: Yay! I'm glad I was able to get this updated sooner then I expected. I know that this and the previous chapter have been a little bit strange, but they are quite necessary for our characters. Besides, I want that treaty signed! (Forgive me for that, I just wanted to add a little TPM spice to this Author's Note).