Ch. 8 Danger

Obi-Wan hung on, trying not of think of the hard ground below. Never had he felt so defeated. There was no escape, except the long drop under him. The dark side was not an option: it never was. Anakin, I'm sorry. He had failed his Padawan.

Sidious and Dooku were only a few feet away. He heard Sidious tsk irritably.

"Foolish, Kenobi. You should not fear the Dark side. Now, your fear has led you to your death."

Obi-Wan lifted his head to face Sidious. Sidious' face was contorted with hate. His hands were raised for the final blast of Lightning that would make Obi-Wan's last seconds a living hell. Dooku wasn't looking at him, but seemed ill at ease. Obi-Wan braced himself, but his fingers slowly began to slip off the ledge.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan and Sidious vividly heard the sound of a speeder bike. Sidious gritted his teeth and Obi-wan gasped in disbelief as he felt a very familiar presence. Sidious noticed and stamped on his last remaining few fingers. Obi-Wan let go, not uttering a sound.

Something clothed in brown and riding something grey appeared right beside him. A strong hand gripped his and Anakin pulled him up onto the speeder. They reached the ledge and Anakin flew right over and into the hangar. He saw the Sith Lords and his lightsaber flew to his hand. They remained motionless, watching his every move. As he turned and sped towards them, Obi-Wan whispered.

"Don't."

Anakin was about to ignore this, he had a good shot at Dooku's head, but then the Sith Lords smirked. He got ready to swing, but stopped. No, Obi-Wan had said not to. Maybe he's right. He was playing right into the Sith Lords' hands and only Obi-Wan had shown him how predictable he was. He lowered his lightsaber. The smirks vanished.

. …

Shaak groaned as Grievous' last strike almost dislocated her shoulder. He was pushing her further and further across the room. Only five feet separated her from the window. That gap kept getting smaller, until Grievous flipped and landed behind her. What is he doing? Shaak whirled around and sent a Force-Push in his direction.

He had been expecting it and stepped aside. Her Push shattered the window and Grievous nipped in front of her again. For the first time in the duel, he laughed.

Shaak froze. That laugh…

Grievous noticed her pause but instead of taking advantage of this, he waited to see what she would do.

"Shakar…"

Shaak's mind raced with distant memories. Her best friend at four years old, before the Temple. They would play together, climb magat trees and fish for kimbo in the lake outside Shaak's house. Once Shakar tried to wrestle with a baby muumuu, and Shaak spent all day bandaging his wounds before their parents came. He only came to Shili every few months, but they remained firm friends. Then the Jedi came and told her she was going to Coruscant. Her parents couldn't come, so she asked could Shakar, because he was her age, but they had said no. It was a tearful farewell, mostly on her part.

Grievous stared at her once again threatened by the strange nagging in his mind. Shaak blinked back tears.

"Don't you remember…?"

Grievous averted his eyes. His lightsabers drooped slightly as he released his grip. He didn't know what to say. Shaak gazed at him pleadingly.

"Don't you remember your childhood? Our childhood?"

. …

Anakin and Obi-Wan headed straight for the ledge again. Dooku drew his lightsaber, but Sidious frowned and motioned for Dooku to retreat. Anakin accelerated and they flew off the edge. Obi-Wan went rigid.

"Anakin-"

"Don't worry, Master. Everything's under control. I have to pick up someone."

Anakin sent the speeder back down the building and reached out for Shaak's presence. Obi-Wan gripped the sides of the bike. He glanced back up at the hangar. The Sith were gone, but they weren't out of danger yet.

. …

Grievous stepped back. Shaak thought desperately. Nicknames, they had given each other nicknames…

Shaak looked up straight into Grievous' eyes.

"Ra?"

"Sha."

Shaak's tears finally spilled over, but this time in happiness. Grievous looked at her, his golden eyes distant. His lightsabers fell to the ground, but as much as they would have liked it to, time didn't stop.

They started as Anakin's speeder was heard. Shaak glanced at the window, then at Grievous. They'll kill him! She wiped her eyes and saw Grievous reactivating his lightsabers and glaring at the shattered window.

"No, Ra! Not now!"

Grievous paused and looked at Shaak. Without a word he spun around and vanished through one of the doors on the right. Shaak whispered her farewell.

Anakin and Obi-Wan came through the broken viewport just in time to see the door slam.

"Shaak!"

Anakin called and drove towards her. Shaak tore her gaze away from the door and jumped onto the moving speeder. They flew for the viewport, but suddenly the speeder engine spluttered and failed.

"No!"

Anakin slammed his fist down on the accelerator in anger.

"Tut, tut, what a temper."

All three of the Jedi leaped off the speeder with their lightsabers drawn Count Dooku smiled at them.