A/N: I'm so incredibly sorry to my readers for my lack of updates recently. I had finals, rehearsals, and a terrible case of writer's block, which equals less writing time. But, I'm on summer break now so I should be adding chapters much more regularly. Anyway, enough chitchat; please enjoy Part 20 of "The Final Battle."
(P.S. I have Tanya's character profile uploaded on my Author's Profile for those of you who want to check it out. Message me what you want added to it.)
The Final Battle: Part 20
"We've – been – running – a lot – today – am I – the only one – who noticed – this?" Ahsoka asked, clutching at her side, trying to catch her breath… again.
"Do – you – have – a better – idea – of what – we – should do?" Barriss wheezed.
Tanya was silent. She was staring at nothing in particular, her expression shocked and panicked. Barriss noted this and pointed it out silently to Ahsoka.
"Hey, Tanya," Ahsoka said, snapping her fingers in front of Tanya's face. This broke Tanya out of her trance. "Something wrong?" Ahsoka inquired.
Tanya looked as though she was about to speak but her words caught in her throat. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and shook her head.
"What's wrong?" Barriss asked, feeling Tanya's forehead. Tanya shook her off and muttered, "Dooku."
"What about him?"
"He knows I'm Master Yoda's padawan."
"And that's a problem because?"
"Dooku was once Master Yoda's apprentice and he has… quite a grudge against his former master. He wants to destroy him and might use me to do it."
"Well, we're just going to have to get off this ship before he can," Ahsoka assured her. "Come on."
Ahsoka stood Barriss and helped Tanya to her feet, before setting off in search of a hanger. But just as they got back up on their feet, they were almost knocked off of them again by the Separatist ship lurching forward suddenly.
"What was that?"
"I think we've gone into hyperspace," Ahsoka explained.
Tanya and Barriss' eyes widened. "That means we can't get off this ship, I presume?"
Ahsoka nodded. Tanya groaned, leaning against the wall. "Can this get any worse?"
The sound of droids marching in their direction answered her question.
"All units," said a rasping, metallic voice. "Be on the lookout for three Jedi younglings."
"Padawans," Ahsoka grumbled. She turned to her friends. "What do we do?"
"We keep running," Tanya groaned. But just as they started walking in the opposite direction of the droids, they heard more droids marching down the hall in their direction. They tried to go down the opposite hall but they heard marching from that direction.
"We're surrounded. Perfect."
"What do we do?" Barriss asked. They looked around for a place to hide.
"There," Ahsoka said, pointing to a door. The trio ran into the room closing the door behind them. It was much like the storage room Ahsoka had hidden in from Grievous the last time they had fought. It was dimly lit, with shelves stacked to the ceiling.
"Split up and find a way out of here. A door, an air vent, anything. They'll find us quickly enough in here if we don't," Tanya instructed. Ahsoka and Barriss nodded in reply and the three padawans split up. Just as they began searching, they heard the door open. Ahsoka, Barriss, and Tanya melted into the shadows as they saw Dooku, Grievous, and Ventress enter, flanked by three MagnaGuards.
"Come out, children, and we will make your deaths quick and painless," Grievous taunted. The Separatists stood, waiting for them to surrender.
Silence.
"Very well. Grievous, to the right. Ventress, take the left," Dooku ordered. They spread out, searching for the padawans, each with one MagnaGuard following them. Ahsoka, Barriss, and Tanya climbed on the shelves, trying to avoid the Separatists. Tanya noticed that while the Separatists were busy searching, they had left the exit unguarded.
Ahsoka, Barriss, if we make a distraction we can lure the Separatists away from the door and we might just be able to get out of here, Tanya suggested.
Leave it to me, Ahsoka replied. She found a storage container and threw it to the other side to the room with the Force, where it clattered to the ground. The Separatists immediately changed course and followed the sound. Ahsoka motioned to the others and they jumped down from the shelves. Looking over their shoulder to make sure the Separatists were on the other side of the room, the crept over to the door.
We made it, Tanya thought.
TCH! "AH!" Ahsoka screamed, jumping back twenty feet in the air as she was almost cut in half by Ventress' lightsaber, which had appeared between the shelves. Barriss gasped as the same happened to her with Grievous. Tanya heard a lightsaber igniting behind her and activated her own and was barely able to stop Dooku's blade from slicing her head off.
"Impressive youngling, though I should expect as much from a padawan of Master Yoda's," Dooku commented. "However, you and your friends are beaten and if you want to live I suggest you surrender."
"If you had ever truly been a Jedi then you would know that we will die fighting before we surrender."
"Then you shall."
Dooku broke the lightsaber lock and slashed at Tanya's neck again, which Tanya avoided by bending backward. She quickly recovered and blocked Dooku's next attack before slashing back at him. They were quickly locked in battle, slicing, blocking, stabbing everywhere they could. Within a matter of minutes, the two were in a lightsaber lock, trying to push both of their blades towards the other's throat. However, Tanya had become so involved in her duel with the Sith lord, she had forgotten to check on her companions' battles, and was only awaken from her reverie by Ahsoka's choking gasp. Ahsoka was hanging in midair, clutching at her throat, as Ventress tightened her grip. But before Tanya was able to aid her, Ventress threw Ahsoka across the room, where Ahsoka hit a set of shelves and fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Ahsoka!" Tanya shouted hopping to awaken her friend but to no avail. Barriss glanced at Ahsoka's blacked out form, only to have Grievous kick her in the abdomen. Barriss flew backwards, hit her head on the wall, and slid down to the ground, also stunned.
"Barriss!" Tanya exclaimed, hoping she wasn't out as well, but received the same result as Ahsoka's; silence. Tanya broke the lightsaber lock with Dooku and kicked him away, before back flipping, and outstretching her hand, into which Ahsoka's light saber leapt into. Tanya ignited Ahsoka's main blade, twirled both sabers in her hands, before staring at the Separatists, raising one saber over her head, and pointing both blades at her opponents. Dooku, Grievous, and Ventress did the same. I have to draw them away from Ahsoka and Barriss. I will not let them get hurt, even if it kills me, Tanya thought. She started backing away from the Separatists, leading them towards the center of the room, and they followed. Tanya knew she was at a disadvantage, not only because they were all much more advanced in their skills than she, but because their constant barrage were forcing her act on defense rather than offense, which was her main fighting style and strength. The three of them stabbed, slashed, and attacked wherever they could trying to get Tanya off balance. She, in turn, blocked the blows with her lightsaber and flipped and bended her body to avoid those she could not deflect. She had just been drive all three of the Separatists back and had gotten back to her original fighting stance, when something stabbed her in the small of her back, sending bolts of electricity up and down her spine. She collapsed to her knees, clutching her chest and trying get air back into her lungs.
MagnaGuards! She had been so busy fighting the Separatists she had failed to notice them sneak behind her. Tanya raised her head to find Dooku's blade aimed right at her head.
"Weapons, young one, or you lose your head," Dooku threatened, moving his saber even closer to her throat. Tanya glanced at Ahsoka and Barriss, unconscious behind her enemies, before she looked down, sighed through her nose, and rolled her and Ahsoka's lightsabers toward Dooku, Grievous, and Ventress. Before one of them could grab them, Tanya slipped a small device from her sleeve into her hand. It took Dooku a moment to recognize it as one of Doctor Caust's smoke bombs, but just as he realized this, Tanya threw it to the ground and the room was immediately engulfed in a thick, pitch black smoke. The air was filled with the sounds of two lightsaber's being moved with the Force, activating, clashing with MagnaGuard staffs, and cutting metal. By the time Dooku and Ventress had cleared the smoke, all that was left were the chopped up remains of the three guards. Ventress and Grievous growled in frustration. Dooku, however, looked thoughtful. He turned to the other two, smiling malevolently, and said, "The hunt continues."