Here's the end of the cliffhanger. This is a sad chapter, but will prove essential in the storyline.
I quickly parried the stroke, but only just missed the second whip. I lunged at him, but he swung the first whip in a blinding arc that shocked my side. I cried out in pain and fell. Panting, I jumped up and whirled my lightsabers in a deadly razor attack, with both blades turning rapidly at my sides. Just before he was going to strike me again with both whips, I ran and slid along the floor, lashing out as the two whips sliced above me. I caught one, and it fell to the ground, cut clean in half. I got up and slashed expertly at point blank range at his chest, but he had just enough time to deliver a hard kick to the head.
He walked up to me as I lay crumpled on the floor from the kick, still half paralyzed from the powerful blow. He picked up a lightsaber, and spoke.
"Well, I guess I could make a profit from this… two lightsabers…" He picked up the other, "…And a beautiful servant." He smiled evilly.
All of the sudden, the door flew off its hinges and slammed into the man's back. He fell heavily on the floor just feet from me.
I had since recovered from the blow, and stood up coughing. The dust cleared, and revealed a frightened Barriss.
"Ahsoka, are you alright?" She asked.
I pointed to the man that was just getting up, and he pushed the door off his back with one powerful shove. I immediately lunged at him and brought a flying kick to rest on the wrist of the hand that held my primary lightsaber. He instinctively dropped it, and I snatched it before it hit the ground.
Barriss and I activated our lightsabers, and he activated my shoto (Short lightsaber). He was not force sensitive, and beat a hasty retreat after a few sloppy slices that were parried and counterattacked. He ran out the door and into the hallway where he descended upon a squad of unlucky troopers. With a few small arcs, they all were on the ground, dead as stones. He burst through the door with ease and fled into the endless jungle.
"Barriss, quick, we can't let him get away!" I shouted. She didn't even need my comment, as she was already darting out of the building in hot pursuit.
As we ran farther away from the complex, the lighting grew very dim, and we soon lost sight of him. Nonetheless, we followed in his general direction until we entered into the dark Wild. A few clicks on, we halted and looked around. We could sense he was near.
His maniacal laugh echoed through the dark foliage. "You should have stayed where you were safe, Jedi!" He cackled.
A deafening and beastly howling suddenly erupted all around us. I knew that sound. They were Anoobas. Very dangerous beasts, about the size of a wolf, but more powerful and bone-chilling. One leaped out of the shadows, but was quickly decapitated with an expert flick of the wrist. Two more pounded like Gutkuurs out of the leafy tangle. That started the pack's main attack. Parry after stab after retreat after slice occurred to stop the endless grey flow of predators. Just before the last few were destroyed, the man jumped from the top of a tree, shoto activated, just between me and Barriss. He did a practiced spin kick, which caught me off guard and knocked the wind out of me when his foot slammed into my side. I hit the ground and never forgot what happened next.
As I lay on the ground, trying to get up and regain my stance, he turned to Barriss and mercilessly pounded my lightsaber onto hers. His strength caused Barriss to nearly lose her footing, and that was all he needed.
She was unbalanced and could not stop the jab of the lightsaber. Somehow, she diverted the blade to only hit part of her side, and she cried out in pain. With anger flowing from him, his second stab was unstoppable. He drove the lightsaber through her chest.
"BARRISS!" I screamed as he withdrew the shoto and she crumpled to the ground. Had I been in my right mind, I would have taken a very long time to get up. But a dark power; an anger that had no equal, pulled me up and forced me to slice in a downward motion as I came down upon the murderer. He screamed in agony as his severed arm, cut at the shoulder dropped to the jungle floor. He absentmindedly through a smoke grenade and rocketed far into the jungle.
He was gone. I staggered to Barriss's still form and dropped to my knees. Tears streaming down my face, I whispered brokenly, "Barriss… please… don't leave me here…"
I sobbed once, and spoke again, "Don't go where I can't follow…"
She didn't respond. She was dead. Through it all, she had been my friend, always there for me. She had been my best friend… but now she was gone. I collapsed beside her and blacked out.
The next thing I knew, I was in a bright room. My eyes gradually opened, and I could hear talking, faintly. I fully regained consciousness and shot up. I was in a medical bay, probably back on Coruscant. The room was nearly empty, save for my master speaking with the medical droid at the far side of the medical bay, near the door.
Seeing me awake, he ran over to me. He was quite worried.
"Ahsoka, lie back down. You need to rest." I slowly lowered myself back onto the bed as the night's events flooded back to me.
"Are you alright?" He asked, worriedly.
I looked at him, tears spilling uncontrollably down my face.
"No. No, I'm not. He killed her. I was supposed to watch her back, but I watched her die, instead. He murdered her… he murdered… her…"
He whispered, "I know. I'm so sorry, Ahsoka…" But then his voice faded and darkness took me again.
Please leave a review; I hope you won't say this chapter's bad just because Barriss dies.