A/N - First of all I would like to apologise for not getting this up sooner! It's been a very busy week so this is the earliest I have been able to get back to my computer! Thank you for everyone still following and please don't forget to review!
"Are you prepared, Anakin?"
Anakin glanced up into the trusting eyes of Qui-Gon as nerves wracked his frame again, the full importance of his task weighing heavily down upon him. He felt weak from their practise, felt drained from Qui-Gon's hasty tutelage. Anakin didn't have the knowledge at present to really understand what he was prepared for only that he knew for Obi-Wan he could do it, he would do it.
"Yes, Master…" He furrowed his brows in a classic example of befuddlement. "I still don't understand what exactly I'm prepared for?"
Qui-Gon simply chuckled at the statement and held his hand out to ruffle the boy's hair, it was only when the hand fell straight through Anakin's head that Qui-Gon remembered circumstances and sobered. The action had evidently been a familiar one with Obi-Wan as his Padawan.
"You don't have to understand everything now, Anakin, you only have to trust in yourself and the force. Can you do that?"
Anakin mulled over the words as he finally felt enough energy to sit up on his sleep couch, he certainly could trust in the force but himself? Anakin was still only a Padawan no matter what Qui-Gon thought about the 'chosen one' prophecy. He would of course do all that he could, he would do his best and hopefully that would be enough.
He glanced out of the viewport anxiously as he answered in the affirmative, wanting to reach Obi-Wan's location sooner rather than later. All of the Jedi fleet were rocketing towards Moraband, he could feel the trepidation emanating from each and every one of them on board as they travelled closer to the darkness. There was no doubt that this was where Palpatine was hiding, they could all feel the stink he left on the force.
He had been confined to quarters and ordered to rest, Anakin knew the real reason why. They didn't want him in the way when they went to apprehend Obi-Wan, tough. Anakin had absolutely no intention of being side-lined, he would not allow the Jedi to mistakingly hurt one of their own when Anakin knew the truth. Siri had agreed albeit reluctantly to smuggle him off the ship when they landed, seeing the importance of his quest and realising Anakin would carry out the same action anyway. Nothing would come between him and his Master, he just wished that Obi-Wan was still fighting when he got there. The alternative was unbearable to think about.
Qui-Gon caught onto his thought track and sighed, Anakin realised he too was just as worried about Obi-Wan perhaps they were still having trouble connecting…
"We will save Obi-Wan, Anakin."
Anakin glanced back at Qui-Gon and saw the grave features adorning his face, even he didn't believe his words 100%. They still served to be a small comfort however as Anakin chose to believe not just in the force, he chose to believe in Qui-Gon's words and Obi-Wan himself.
'We're coming, Master, just hold on.'
Five sabers screamed out defiantly in the ghastly surroundings, the resulting illumination splattering the ancient crumbly walls being a mix of crimson and azure flashes, mostly crimson of course due to the sheer number of self-proclaimed Sith in attendance. The resulting effect cast a deadly red glow in the immediate area, painting each duellist in the bloody shade. Obi-Wan reflected that the colour actually suited Dooku and company, it completed their murderous image. Thankfully he had been given back his own saber, a weapon he had fought with many a time for good. Obi-Wan's fingers subconsciously slid over the grooves and curves of the hilt, remembering every moment he had ever wielded the saber with the knowledge this could very possibly be the last.
A mad cackle rebounded off the wall's as Sidious' vicious attack came rather too close to Obi-Wan's skin for comfort, he grimaced as his saber just about managed to halt a swing which would have taken his arm off. Obi-Wan was rather fond of his arms, best not let them get hacked off so early into the dance. As he half stepped half stumbled backwards under the weight, Dooku came from behind Sidious to re-engage the enemy once again. Obi-Wan could also feel Ventress to his left, he could sense her watching the movements of both fighters carefully before timing the perfect moment to undercut Sidious. Of course the Sith Lord saw the attack coming before Ventress had even decided to make it, his saber blocked both Dooku's and the Witch's two blades seemingly at once whilst also skillfully managing to manoeuvre the three of them onto the same side again.
Obi-Wan rejoined the battle as he spotted Palpatine's right side was unprotected, he was no longer surprised when the Sith Lord's saber found his, no longer flinched when the sparks scintillated off of the melding sabers to singe skin and tunics alike. Sidious seemed to know every single move they were going to make before they had even thought of them, the longer the duellist's battled the less confidence Obi-Wan had in them succeeding. The truth of the matter was Sidious was too powerful for them, even though they had him outnumbered three to one.
He marvelled at the sheer skill required to hold back the three of them at once, well two at once really with how well the new-formed team worked together. It was true Obi-Wan and Ventress never really worked in synch in the attacks but it surprised Obi-Wan that he and Dooku did. They could read each other's next moves almost as quickly as Sidious did, working together oddly felt right in some convoluted way. Obi-Wan mused that perhaps it felt so familiar fighting alongside the ex-Jedi was because of just who the man had trained, Qui-Gon. Parts of his Master's fighting style would have been inspired by his own Master, Dooku. Obi-Wan of course imitated more than one of Qui-Gon's moves it was as if he were trained by Dooku in ways, seeing the saber move he could almost imagine the blade were in fact emerald and when he glanced into those eyes they would be kind and gentle, not aflame.
He wouldn't even have to look into the Count's eyes to know how absolutely furious the man was, how much rage he felt towards Sidious, he could see perfectly clearly by the man's overly-aggressive moves. Dooku was a remarkably skilled swordsman, each and every assault was precise and deadly always aiming for a killing strike rather than maiming. Obi-Wan mused that the Count could even give Mace Windu a run for his money, that however did not seem to be enough to defeat Sidious and Dooku was starting to realise it.
The attack's from the man started to become uncharacteristically sloppy as his frustration bled through into the fighting, soon it was Dooku on the back foot with Palpatine baring down on him mercilessly. Even though Sidious was most probably the oldest in the room he was faster than all of them, his attacks like lightning cutting through all of them.
As Obi-Wan moved to allow Ventress room he noted an opportunity, they could effectively box the Sith Lord in and if they were really lucky one of the trio might catch a break. Obi-Wan closed the circle whilst switching to swing overhead, noting Ventress aiming at the Sith's midriff. The result did not have quite the desired effect but Obi-Wan did spot a flash of panic sprawl across Sidious' features before suddenly the man was flying upwards. He landed behind Obi-Wan and swung almost before the Jedi had a chance to register what was happening, luckily his saber was already high ready for the next swing so he met the deadly slash with his own defence.
The Sith kept one hand on his saber to press down on Obi-Wan and used the other to send Ventress flying in a vehement force push, Obi-Wan winced as he heard the sickening crunch of her body making contact with the ceiling then floor. Before Obi-Wan could readjust his position to allow for Dooku to aid him he heard the ex-Jedi gasping for breath, it was then his mind registered that Sidious appeared to be squeezing the air in front of him. With his allies out of the dance for now Sidious turned his attention fully to Obi-Wan, his yellow hate-filled eyes bearing into his own. That's when Sidious spun out of the lock just to slash downwards again, not giving Obi-Wan the chance to regain a more solid footing in the process.
Sparks flew as the crimson saber was held at bay just by the blue, death being denied it's latest victim. The Sith Lord's attack was filled with such rage, empowered so greatly by the dark side that Obi-Wan was actually being pressed backwards, back bending at an exceedingly uncomfortable angle. Obi-Wan gritted his teeth as he felt old wounds starting to flare, he was pushing his body too far and too fast but what else was there to do? The sickly smile from the Sith cut through his very soul, leaving a chill in its wake. Obi-Wan knew this was what it was to stare into the face of evil.
"Silly little Jedi…" Palpatine hissed darkly.
The chilling voice reaffirmed his panic he could still hear Dooku gasping for precious air and Ventress was still picking herself up, if Obi-Wan did not think of something clever soon the Sith's sheer power would overwhelm his and that would be the end of it. He gritted his teeth against the continual strain closing his eyes to focus on his options, it seemed Sidious saw this as a sign of defeat as his cackling increased. Obi-Wan saw only one path forwards, he needed Dooku back in the duel.
Releasing a final breath Obi-Wan allowed his legs to buckle beneath him, no longer pressing back on the crimson saber screaming for his blood. As he fell backwards he used the momentum to roll away from the descending saber, unluckily for Obi-Wan he had still not been fast enough. The crimson saber scraped against his arm, not deep enough to render the limb useless but certainly enough to elicit a strangled scream and cause blinding white hot pain to cascade down the wounded appendage.
The manoeuvring all happened in less than a second and soon Obi-Wan was back on his feet arm outstretched to manipulate the force with his own intention, calling on his precious reserves desperately to do so. Sidious had almost reached Obi-Wan's position again intent on baring down on the seared Jedi. The Sith Lord saw precisely what Obi-Wan intended and just before the force shove hit he brought his own arms up to deflect or absorb the energy, Obi-Wan did not know for sure he did not have enough knowledge of such things. The peculiar thing was he had seen somebody perform the feat before, Anakin.
Sidious managed to deflect most of the attack only sliding back a few paces as the force dissipated around him, it had been enough though. In all the distraction the hold on Dooku had been released and Obi-Wan could feel the furious man was ready to re-join the fray. Looking to his right Obi-Wan could see that Ventress was also back in the game, remaining largely unharmed by the impact.
Everyone seemed to stop as they all stood there, on opposite sides again just as they all had before this dance had begun. Of course much had changed since that short time ago, Obi-Wan had now experienced the sheer power of the darkness here as well as Sidious. He was losing hope by the minute for their cause, the force was oddly silent on the matter. The fact was this man was quite clearly too powerful for them, too skilled and more at home in this evil place than any of them were. It was no coincidence that this was where the Sith Lord had taken refuge, the surroundings were his advantage along with the abundance of darkness he could feed off of here.
The surroundings were filled with the sound of thrumming sabers, the sound of heavy breathing as they all strove to control their rocketing hearts. Obi-Wan's fresh wound flared as Sidious glared right at him, evidently not pleased that the Jedi was still alive to feel anything at all. Obi-Wan could still hear the voice's calling out to him, telling him to embrace the dark and allow his hate to run free, he had no trouble ignoring the taunts at all. That was until Sidious sneered at him.
A flash of destruction almost had Obi-Wan stumble, flashes of the Jedi temple in ruins, hundreds of slaughtered Jedi, of Bant. He quickly blinked back the beginnings of tears, buried the murderous feelings he felt towards the man that had caused so much pain, so much death.
Just as Obi-Wan stepped forward to take out some of his rage on the monster responsible he suddenly found all of his breath stolen from his lungs. His body sailed backwards through the air as his brain finally caught up to the fact Sidious' arms were now outstretched and aimed at him. The coldness he caught in those eyes reminded him again of the visions, of how callous Palpatine had been when he ordered the end of so many lives.
As Obi-Wan sailed backwards at an alarming rate struggling to catch any semblance of a breath, he witnessed Dooku and Ventress unleash a barrage of deadly over-head strikes and limb-removing moves. Before Obi-Wan could observe if any of the duo's attacks were successful he cried out in agony as his back inevitably found a solid surface, the back wall of the temple. He felt and heard several bones crack upon the impact, Obi-Wan had been subject to the force before but never quite like that. It was more powerful than anything he had ever experienced, he imagined it was what the effects of standing next to an explosion felt like.
Ringing started in his head as gravity did its work, pulling his screaming body to the floor like a rag-doll. As he impacted with the hard floor his saber rolled loose, his hands unable to keep a hold of the weapon as other parts of his body screamed for attention. With the saber extinguished Obi-Wan was plunged into darkness, with the voices.
'He destroyed everything you loved, you know he deserves to die!'
'We can all feel your anger here, Jedi, you cannot hide it from us.'
'Embrace the dark and take your vengeance!'
He shook his head in defiance, willing himself to ignore the taunting evil words. He would not give into the urges, even if Palpatine's murder did seem rather appealing right now. Obi-Wan blearily looked up in the direction of the fight and noticed the duelists had moved even further away from him, all four sabers moving faster than Obi-Wan's muddled brain could keep up with.
He gripped his own saber hilt after calling it back into his hand, closed his eyes and listened to the purity of the crystal deep within, the purist thing in this force forsaken place. His eye's shot open at the same time his saber ignited, flooding the blackness with light again. His gaze landed on Sidious just as the man flipped out of range once again and raised his hands, not good.
Cackling electricity shot out of the Sith Lord's fingertips, targeting either opponent with each hand. Obi-Wan's eyes widened as he witnessed lightning dance through the air, illuminating their end of the temple to show the true height of the ancient structure. It had previously looked limitless as the darkness reigned supreme everywhere. Obi-Wan could not believe his eyes, he had never seen the force manipulated in such a way before.
The sparking energy reached their targets micro-seconds later, Dooku held his saber up defensively and Obi-Wan marvelled at the sight of the lightening being absorbed. That would come in rather useful… He mused.
Unfortunately for Ventress she was not so lucky, the dark energy struck her dead center and immediately the air was filled with her screams. Obi-Wan dragged himself to his feet with as much haste as he could muster, realising the fight was taking a downward turn for them. He raced towards the writhing figure of Ventress, towards the weakening posture of Dooku, towards the cackling madness of Sidious himself.
As Obi-Wan rocketed towards the ghastly scene, Sidious gave up on Ventress allowing her to writhe in sustained agony over the attack and poured all of his energy into his attack on Dooku. The re-doubled effort from the Sith Lord halted the Count's steps forward, in fact it was so strong that Obi-Wan could feel the strain Dooku was under from his distant position. The lightning bounced and cackled off of Dooku's saber the extent of the energy being too much for all of it to be absorbed, Obi-Wan could see sparks make contact with the Count's skin which to his credit did no more than make the man flinch.
As Obi-Wan was almost on top of the situation he noted the look in Sidious' eyes and recognised it, the man was so engrossed with killing his former student Obi-Wan's return had so far gone unnoticed. Dooku was being pushed so far backward under the strain of the prolonged attack that the man was almost kneeling, which would explain the quite frankly gleeful expression adorning Sidious' face.
Obi-Wan knew if he didn't intervene then Dooku would not be able to last much longer under the strain, with that knowledge he leapt into the air as he finally reached their position, ignoring the screaming protests his various wounds were giving him and relying on the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He sailed through the air saber ablaze, in a signature Ataru move towards his intended target. Sadly Sidious snapped out of his murderous rampage quickly enough to perform some acrobatics of his own, Obi-Wan's saber sliced the air where just seconds previously Sidious had been.
He quickly spun and slashed out at the Sith, jumping over a sweeping attack from the clearly rattled man. Sidious had clearly forgotten about Obi-Wan, had been so wrapped up in his visage for vengeance that Obi-Wan's re-emergence had almost gone amiss.
Obi-Wan and Sidious advanced further down the corridor at blazing speeds, saber's swinging, meeting, crashing and parting to begin the dance all over again. Burned clothing and seared flesh assaulted Obi-Wan's nostrils as there were more than a few close shaves, regrettably only on his person.
As much as Obi-Wan wanted to release all of his hatred and anxiety towards the monster in front of him he could not, in the heat of battle in such a place where darkness reigned it almost felt natural to feel such thoughts. The harder he tried to center himself the more flashes of the heart-wrenching future Sidious caused invaded his mind, the more he thought of the very real possibility of this evil creature being able to do it all again if he failed here.
He watched as Palpatine corrupted Anakin, turned the good boy against the Jedi, against him. Tears threatened to pour as images of his closest friends dead bodies flashed in his mind, all dead because of the man at the end of his saber. Qui-Gon's impaled lifeless eyes stared up at him, Siri's ghostly white skin marred with blood, Bant's scorched body lay slain in their home, Anakin's incinerated remains lying on a far away world the hellish screams still hauntingly remembered.
'He killed them all… Show him what it means to hurt!'
The voice's volume rose in conjunction with the vision's number, the more he remembered the louder he could hear the taunts. Obi-Wan felt his blows strengthen as he subconsciously drew on the overpowering force in the area, the longer he remembered the chilling visions and this man's part in all of it the stronger he became, the angrier he became. Sidious' curious gaze only seemed to fuel his growing rage, the Sith Lord could evidently sense at least a handful of the memories and was understandably intrigued by the content.
Obi-Wan shook his head mentally in an attempt to refocus, he knew how dangerous it would be to lose himself here on this world. As hard as it was Obi-Wan managed to at least bury his growing temper and focus on the task at hand, feeling Dooku rushing to his left to re-join the fray.
Obi-Wan focussed on the Sith's right side and aimed low as Dooku focussed on the left aiming high, working in perfect synchrony as if they had trained together for years. The three duelist's focus was at the ultimate level, both Sith's hateful feelings tainting the force but indeed empowering their attacks all the same. From an outside point of view Obi-Wan mused this must look like unorganised chaos, he was sure the velocity that the sabers were moving at could not be tracked with usual sight, it was even becoming a bit of blur for his reflexes.
Obi-Wan found that trying to anticipate the Sith Lord's saber based on sight was useless, it was a complete blur at all times. Instead he breathed in deeply and reached out for the tiny slither which was the light, he listened to each and every one of its urgings and found his anger slip away. Obi-Wan's arms moved almost of their own accord as he knew exactly where and when his blade needed to be to meet the crimson sword. Sidious was forced to flip and pivot time and time again as Obi-Wan and Dooku pushed the man to his absolute limits, taking advantage in the fact they had him covered on either side.
The way the trio moved it was almost as if it were in-fact a dance, almost as if the entire piece had been choreographed. The precision and synchrony of the duel, the beauty and perfection of the melding sabers all led Obi-Wan to the conclusion this was what it felt like to be truly immersed in the force, to truly trust solely on the force and the force alone.
As he and Dooku continually pressed Sidious further down the corridor, feet not staying on the floor for longer than a second, Obi-Wan felt for the first time that they could actually stop Sidious. The power building and bubbling round the trio was in far excess of anything Obi-Wan had ever experienced, even more than when he and Anakin trained. He noted Dooku's grin as the man flashed him a smile, the Count too could feel tides turning in their favour.
Obi-Wan did not allow himself to become complacent, complacency could get them killed. He pressed harder and faster, harder and faster than he ever had in his life. His arms ached and muscles burned as he willed his already blurred limbs to move faster, fast enough to get past Sidious' increasingly weakening guard. Finally Obi-Wan was rewarded with witnessing the Sith Lord's saber moving too slowly for his attack, was rewarded with a hiss of agony.
Obi-Wan's saber sliced the dark Lord's thigh, only managing a few centimetres before the Sith leapt out of the remaining trajectory, nearly falling victim to a decapitating swing from Dooku. Sidious turned the flip into a retreating jump, managing to put a few meters distance between the two sides, Obi-Wan and Dooku had no intention of allowing the man to regroup however. Sidious' death glare would have put off lesser men, Obi-Wan could feel his fury over the wound and had to refrain from wincing as the monster projected the image of him running his saber through Obi-Wan's heart into his mind. Obi-Wan quickly clamped down his mind before preparing for an offensive again, giddy in the knowledge they almost had him. They went to rush the Sith Lord again, already formulating the best moves in which to corner the freshly wounded enemy.
Before Obi-Wan could get very far a blatant warning flared in the force forcing him to spin entirely, he had been so focussed in the force and following it's guidance without question that he had just turned his back on the enemy in a heartbeat. For good reason, if Obi-Wan had not spun to meet the new threat he would have been cut in half from head to toe. Ventress…
The Witch was baring her teeth in a feral growl as she pressed down on his startled form, murderous eyes glinting with the anticipation of finally ending his life. Obi-Wan couldn't believe she had been so reckless, he had been so close to stopping Sidious with Dooku, now all their hard work had been undone. He couldn't help but feel his temper flare over the interruption, this Witch had ruined everything.
Ventress pressed him backwards closer to the fiercely fighting Dooku and Palpatine, she very much had the advantage of direction with being on the offensive, Obi-Wan hadn't the chance to strike back as of yet. His brain was still catching up to the change in circumstances and change in opponents, it was very different to be now fighting Ventress who happened to have two very deadly blades.
It was taking all of Obi-Wan's defensive skill to keep the mad Witch at bay and remain outwardly unfazed, even though under the surface he was shocked Ventress would openly challenge him like this. Perhaps she too saw the end coming for Sidious and finally cottoned onto the fact that Dooku had no intention on keeping her around…
"Kill her, my apprentice, make her suffer…" Dooku spat out viciously as he kept his main attention on the more confident Sith Lord.
The flash of betrayal stuck with Ventress for some time, long enough to make Obi-Wan feel some pity for the Witch perhaps she did not realise Dooku's intentions. All she ever wanted was to be the man's apprentice and now he was repaying her loyalty with death, her hurt bled into the force and Obi-Wan could have sworn he saw the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. She really had no idea…
In a flash the sorrowful emotions were obliterated and a rage like no other grew inside of her, consuming her very being with fire as Dooku's words really set in. Suddenly it wasn't just Obi-Wan she despised and hated, it was Dooku too. The longer they fought the more her rage grew, her grief fuelling the fires of vengeance. Obi-Wan's arms actually trembled under the ferocity of her blows, realising he was being pushed closer to the other duelists at a faster pace, she wanted to reach Dooku.
He spun out of the way of her deadly blades with just inches to spare, the blades had passed so close to his skin that he could still feel the remnants of the heat. Now neither of them had their back to the other duelists, they both had a vantage of Ventress' new target. Obi-Wan breathed in deeply and wiped the sweat out of his eyes whilst waiting for his opponent to make their next move, Ventress kept glancing towards Dooku's position and Obi-Wan could tell she was only just about restraining herself from charging towards the traitorous Sith.
From the corner of his eye Obi-Wan could see the fight had taken a dramatic turn, sadly Sidious had regained the upper hand and was busy thrashing Dooku. Just as Ventress was about to make her move both of their attention's snapped towards the more dangerous threat, Sidious. Dooku was sailing backwards further down the corridor saber hilt going flying in the process, he was unconscious.
'Oh not good…' Obi-Wan muttered to himself at the turn of events.
He glanced at his previous opponent Ventress and observed her decision making also, Sidious was the bigger threat here they would deal with each other later. Obi-Wan and Ventress leapt forward as tentative allies once more, her vaulting over the Sith Lord so she and Obi-Wan might box the enemy in.
Sidious was having none of those tactics, realising that's what had him on the back-foot last time. The powerful Sith controlled the pace and direction of the duel with ease, looking every bit as confident as he was before the battle. Obi-Wan could tell the difference as soon as they locked blades, it was as if he was fighting a rejuvenated man. Perhaps in a way he was, the man grew stronger the deeper they travelled into the temple, the darkness and voices here almost accomplishing in their goal of drowning Obi-Wan and the light.
Obi-Wan winced as he caught a boot in the ribs which almost had him flying backwards again, he managed to harness the force to halt his movement so ended up tucking into a roll before landing on his feet. The jolt of the landing still had him cringe and hiss however as the damaged ribs rattled in his rib cage. He raised his saber high above his head as he witnessed the Sith vault towards him, like a cougar pouncing on his prey…
The saber lock was held until Ventress managed to get Sidious' attention again, Obi-Wan was thankful the Witch had intervened. He had felt his footing weakening under the strain and the evil Sith had angled his saber in such a way to cause the sparks to travel into Obi-Wan's face. Obi-Wan stood shakily to his feet and ducked under a decapitating blow only to then have to leap high above a sweeping arc, it was as if the Sith Lord's blade was everywhere at once. His movements were so fast and deadly that it was taking everything Obi-Wan had just to stay inches ahead of the crimson blade, it was becoming futile…
How could he have possibly thought he stood a chance against a Sith Lord? Sidious was going to kill him, even the force was now screaming for him to escape, the only way to survive the encounter. Obi-Wan was not going to run, he had committed to this action and fully intended on seeing it through no matter how dire the outcome was going to be.
His musings were interrupted as an awful scream ripped through the air, he mentally catalogued injuries just to make sure it was not he who had screamed. His confusion was answered as two saber blades extinguished at once and Ventress fell to the floor, clutching a nasty looking saber wound to her leg.
Before Obi-Wan could take in anymore of the scene his entire attention was stolen by the dizzying speeds of Sidious' blade, the man now concentrating solely on Obi-Wan. The last man standing…
Slash right, block overhead blow, leap over swinging arc, block thrust whilst still in the air, land then duck, pivot to avoid savage swing, block overhead swing, leap sideways narrowly avoiding jab.
The moves repeated themselves over and over again as Obi-Wan was forced to remain on the defensive, forced to dance down another corridor deeper into the temple, forced to fight for his life time and time again as his enemies saber swings singed tunics and skin alike.
He hissed and yelled each time the crimson saber brushed too close for comfort, each time a new branding was left on his skin, Obi-Wan did not give up nor did he slow down. He knew he could not if he wanted to live, every move he made every step was screamed at him from deep within the force itself.
As he struggled further into the corrupted temple he heard the calls from the dark grow to new heights, serving to deafen him to any other sounds. He ignored it all and focussed only on the blurred crimson saber whose only goal was to end his life. In all his life Obi-Wan had only felt so helpless once before, when Qui-Gon… He slammed his eyes shut and relied purely on the force's guidance as images of his Master's impalement invaded his mind, he knew what the voices were doing they were trying to make him angry.
Obi-Wan shook off the memory and re-opened his eyes just in time to see a vicious slash he hadn't felt a warning for, he flipped his saber up to crash against the descending red death, almost dropping his own weapon as they impacted. Sidious did not pull back from the lock, he sneered at Obi-Wan's struggles. He was playing with him.
"When I have slaughtered you I will destroy the Jedi Order for good!" The Sith gleefully proclaimed. "Not before I turn your Padawan of course…"
Obi-Wan looked right into his opponents eyes as the threat was made, he felt himself push back on the Sith's hold finding strength from somewhere. Sidious laughed as he thought of all the destruction he could cause with Anakin by his side, with all the pain he could cause…
Obi-Wan no longer saw Sidious when he looked into his opponent's face, he saw Vader. The sight made him furious! How callous the Sith lord was being made his temper rage and for the first time since entering the temple Obi-Wan did not strive to stop it, did not reject the voices tempting vengeance. The enemy standing before planned to rip away everything he had ever loved, was already responsible for Qui-Gon's death and had openly threatened to corrupt his Padawan. Obi-Wan could not forgive or forget those words, he couldn't.
As the figure before him still looked to be Vader's face twisted with hatred and soul corrupted by Sidious, Obi-Wan felt his muscles strengthen as he pushed back on the saber lock. With a pained outcry he pushed back so hard and so fast that Vader lost his footing and the facade faltered.
"You won't touch them!" Obi-Wan screamed with such passion and power the ancient structure shook.
Not one to miss an opportunity Obi-Wan capitalised on his opponent's shock and near tumble, viciously hacking away at every inch of the man he could aim at. It was the image of Sidious back in front of him albeit with a changed persona, Obi-Wan could feel the panic and anxiety welling up inside of the Sith, he thrived on it. The hacks and slashes grew more powerful by the second, driving the trembling Sith Lord back as Obi-Wan now controlled the direction.
As they danced along the corridor at blazing speeds feet almost always off the ground as the pace impossibly increased further, Obi-Wan saw flashes of visions which only served to aid his power and speed. Images of war flashed through his mind, thousands of innocents slaughtered on so many worlds, burning civilisations and the bodies of children…
Obi-Wan could see their blood on his hands now as he gripped the saber tighter and strove to end the monster who had caused all of it, would cause all of it. He yelled out as he hacked away, seeing more and more of this man's victims. He almost managed to slice the Sith Lord's arm off as the vision of Siri's death echoed through his mind, her lifeless eyes staring up at him, her beautiful blond hair ruined by blood…
Sidious actually had a look of fear in his eyes as Obi-Wan continued to come close to slicing off his limbs, a look of alarm as Obi-Wan came incredibly close to hacking the man's head clean off… The fear only served to make Obi-Wan chuckle darkly and increase his strength, he fed off it.
The Sith Lord was forced to pivot over and again in an attempt to escape Obi-Wan's brutal murderous attack, Obi-Wan was not letting him get farther away than an arm's length however. He felt hot tears sting his eyes as Bant's mutilated body was recreated in front of him, his friend murdered.
Obi-Wan vaguely noted they were heading back towards the room he had last seen Dooku, he could still not feel the man however so deduced the Count to still be unconscious. Hundreds of visions invaded Obi-Wan's mind at once, almost blinding him and drowning him in sorrow. He saw more than he ever wanted to as Vader led the attack on the Jedi temple, slaughtering every single one of them including younglings. Obi-Wan choked down a sob as he realised the memories were affecting him so greatly, were unbalancing him so much that the darkness now felt right.
'Master, we're coming you just have to hold on okay?'
He halted in his steps, previous attack stopping mid-swing as the tiny voice startled him. He would recognise that voice anywhere, it was Anakin. Even though it had been quiet Obi-Wan still heard every word, his Padawan had been able to break through the closed bond to deliver it just in time.
As he heard the voice the reasons for why he was doing this became abundantly clear, the shocking knowledge that he had just acted on so much anger all without really knowing it or making the choice. He stood stunned as the revelation unfolded, he had almost crossed the point of no return, if it hadn't been for Anakin's intervention…
His thoughts stopped as Sidious' saber sailed towards his head, only narrowly missing him as the Sith Lord regained his offensive position. Sidious had noted his lack of concentration and more importantly his new vulnerability and had mercilessly capitalised on it, cackling at his new found-strength.
Obi-Wan felt his strength leave him as he forced his exhausted limbs to move just fast enough to stop loss of limb, mind still in turmoil over his disastrous actions and worse in remorse over the fact he would never see his Padawan again. That much was clear as he stared down the end of Sidious' blade with resources almost depleted, if it weren't for the force Obi-Wan would have dropped to the ground long before now. His energy was almost starved, his rag-doll body only being sustained by sheer will. Sidious could see it too.
"You're too weak to use the dark side…" Sidious spat as he pressed his opponent further towards a dead end.
Obi-Wan laughed inwardly at the insult which wasn't really very insulting, he knew that weakness was to embrace the temptation. It took true strength to resist the allures especially when so emotionally involved, he had proven yet again he was not worthy and more importantly not strong enough to defeat Sidious. He had known it from the start really, deep down he had.
Thinking of Anakin's last message made him feel such sorrow, the boy had faithfully followed his Master and still believed in the chances of rescuing him. The Padawan would likely be heart-broken when he found his Master dead, at least Obi-Wan knew the Jedi were on their way now. Hopefully some good could still come of this and Sidious would be stopped, even though Obi-Wan wouldn't live to see it.
Obi-Wan felt the wall's closing in as Sidious pressed him further and further into a corner, he wanted to ensure Obi-Wan had no room to manoeuvre. The gambit paid off sooner rather than later as Sidious saw his opening and force pushed Obi-Wan back to crumple against the ancient structure.
He cried out in agony as his body impacted strongly with the wall, saber extinguishing and slipping from his defeated hands. Obi-Wan moaned as he slid to the ground, blearily looking up into the evil eyes of his soon-to-be murderer. The knock to his head had him see more stars than evil Sith Lord's but it was not exactly difficult to make out the singular crimson light casting an eerie and relevant glow over the pair of them. Obi-Wan thought of Anakin and sent out an apology hoping the boy could hear it, hoping that his Padawan would not take his death too badly.
As Sidious cackled madly and lifted the Saber high overhead intending on drawing out the execution, Obi-Wan closed his eyes in resignation. He couldn't stand against destiny but the important thing was that he had tried.
'Do or do not…'
The familiar mantra parroted in his mind as he realised there was no try. Obi-Wan went out with an ironic smile on his face, dark humour making one last appearance as he muttered his last phrase.
"I guess its do not…"
A/N - yes I know another cliffhanger I'm an evil person... but you'll all just to have to tune in next week for the next bits! The next chapter is already looking to be the longest one yet.
Until next time...
