Disclaimer: In no way at all do I own any of the original character, locations, ships, or anything else mentioned in Star Wars. They are all owned by George Lucas. I only own my OC. Any similarities between this story and another are purely accidental.

Sica Meni: I am so tempted to let someone catch them…it would make the story interesting, don't you think? Maybe I'll do it in Episode III, but not just yet.

Masked Masquerader: No worries there! I have definitely no intention of stopping.

---

The probe droid sent several protective electrical shocks across its surface, causing Obi-Wan to almost lose his grip. As they darted in and out of traffic, Obi-Wan disconnected a wire on the droid's back, causing it to shut off. The droid and Obi-Wan plummeted to the ground, until Obi-Wan reconnected the wire. The droid's systems lit up again and it took off.

Not to self; never do that again.

The droid bumped against a wall, trying to shake the Jedi loose, then moved behind the afterburner of a speeder to try and scorch him. It moved between buildings and speeders wildly, headed for a dirty and beat-up speeder hidden in an alcove of a building about twenty stories high.

Scrutinizing the speeder, Obi-Wan caught sight of the speeder's pilot; a scruffy-looking assassin. No doubt the assassin had also seen him, as he pulled a long rifle out of the speeder and aimed it at the droid.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan muttered. Blaster fire from the rifle directly hit the droid, causing it to explode, and him to fall fifty stories.

A speeder dropped down next to him. He grabbed onto the back end, managing to haul himself into the four-seater cockpit. The driver was Anakin, and riding shotgun was Lyra.

"That was wacky!" exclaimed the younger Jedi. "I almost lost you in traffic."

"What took you so long?" Obi-Wan complained.

Anakin grinned. "Oh, you know, Master, I couldn't find a speeder I really liked. With an open cockpit, and with the right speed capabilities and then, you know, I had to get a really gonzo color…"

"You practice those lines, don't you?" asked Lyra amusedly.

"Two hours a day, every day, in front of a mirror," quipped Anakin, winking conspiratorially at Lyra.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "If you'd spend as much time working on your saber skills as you do on your wit, young Padawan, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman."

"I thought I already did."

"Only in your mind, my very young apprentice," replied Obi-Wan. "Careful! Hey, easy!"

As the conversation was going on, Anakin deftly moved in and out of the oncoming traffic, across lanes, between buildings, and miraculously through a construction site.

"Sorry, I forgot, you don't like flying, Master," apologized Anakin as he whizzed through another line of traffic.

"I don't mind flying," said Obi-Wan, "but what you're doing is suicide!"

"He's been flying since before he could walk," said Lyra reassuringly, turning around to face him. "He's very good at this." She turned around again, facing forward. "I hope."

"Just slow down!" ordered Obi-Wan, having heard what Lyra had added. "There he goes," he added, pointing at the beat-up speeder.

The assassin and the three Jedi raced through a line of cross traffic made up of giant trucks. The speeders banked sideways as they slid around right-angle turns between the buildings, allowing the assassin to race into a tram tunnel.

"Wait! Don't go in there! Take it easy," Obi-Wan advised.

"Don't worry, Master," said Anakin, zooming into the tunnel after the assassin. A tram came up on them, causing Anakin to brake, turn around, and race out, barely ahead of the charging commuter transport.

"You know I don't like it when you do that," said Obi-Wan.

"Sorry Master," said Anakin. "Don't worry, this guy's gonna kill himself any minute now!" he added confidently.

Obi-Wan restrained from rolling his eyes. Cocky little…

The assassin turned onto the oncoming traffic, deliberately trying to throw the Jedi off. Oncoming speeders swerved, trying to avoid the chased and the chaser. The assassin did a quick loop-over, ending up behind the Jedi and in a much better position to fire at them. To avoid being hit, Anakin slammed on the brakes and moved beside the assassin, who now fired point-blank at Lyra.

"What are you doing?" she yelled. "He's gonna blast me!"

"Right—this isn't working." Anakin slid underneath the assassin's speeder. They raced along in traffic, one underneath the other. The assassin skimmed over the rooftops, causing Anakin to drop behind. Anakin went through his gears, zooming around traffic. They raced at high speed across a wide, flat surface of the city planet. A large spacecraft almost collided with them as it attempted to land.

"Watch out for those banners!" shouted Obi-Wan as they rounded a corner and clipped a flag, which got caught on one of the front air scoops.

"Clear that!" Anakin suddenly yelled.

"What?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Clear the flag! We're losing power!"

Lyra leaned out of the speeder, then crawled out onto the front engine and pulled the flag free from the scoop. The speeder suddenly lurched forward with a surge of power.

"Don't do that," muttered Lyra as she climbed back into her seat. "I don't like it when you do that."

"So sorry, Lyra," apologized Anakin, even though he was smiling. He was definitely having fun.

The chased the assassin through a power refinery. The assassin shot a power coupler, causing voltage to jump across a gap from one couple to another. Anakin stayed on course, piloting the speeder directly through the arc. All three bodies rippled with blue power.

"Anakin, how many times have I told you to stay ways from power couplings!" Obi-Wan yelled as huge, electrical bolts shot between the buildings.

"Sorry, Master."

"Oh…that was good," snapped Obi-Wan sarcastically.

The assassin slid around a corner sideways, blocking an alley, and firing point-blank at Anakin as he passed. "Aah, damn!"

"Stop!" shouted Obi-Wan.

"No, we can make it!" replied Anakin, barely missing the assassin's speeder as dove under it and through a small gap in the building, hitting pipes and going wildly out of control. Anakin struggled to regain control of the speeder, narrowly missing a crane. A giant gas ball shot up, causing Anakin to spin and bump a building, stalling the speeder.

"I'm crazy…I'm crazy…I'm crazy," muttered Obi-Wan under his breath.

"I got us through that one all right," protested Anakin.

"No you didn't!" shouted Obi-Wan. "We've stalled! And you almost got us killed!"

"I could have made it…"

"But you didn't! And now we've lost him for good!"

"Shut up, the both of you!" Lyra snapped angrily. "The killer's getting away!" She pointed somewhere in the distance, and both males looked up to see the assassin take off.

Out of a cloud of smoke and ball of flames, the Jedi tear after the assassin. The speeder zoomed up and down through the criss-crossing traffic, turning down and left between two buildings. Anakin, however, pulled up and to the left.

"Where are you going?" asked Obi-Wan. "He went down there, the other way."

"Master, if we keep this chase going, that creep's gonna end up deep-fried," said Anakin. "Personally, I'd very much like to find out who in the hell he is and who he's working for. This is a short cut." He looked up at Obi-Wan and Lyra. "I think…"

"What do you mean you 'think'?"

Ignoring the question, Anakin turned up a side street, zooming up several small passageways then stopped, hovering about fifty stories above the ground.

"Well, you lost him."

"I'm deeply sorry, Master." Anakin looked around front and back, spotting something. He seemed to be counting down to himself as he watched something below approach.

"Well, this is some kind of shortcut," said Obi-Wan. "He went completely the other way. Once again, Anakin…"

"…if you'll excuse me."