Chapter 18
Anakin was ready to move the moment his ship landed in the forests of Yavin 4. Ventress had abandoned her other ship and taken a fighter from the cargo hold moments after they had landed on Muulinist, he had been able to hotwire her ship moments after she was gone and continued to track her. He excited the ship, lightsaber in hand as he glanced around the eerily quiet forest. Ventress' ship sat across the clearing from him but he knew she was no longer there.
He closed his eyes and let the Force guide him, letting it flow through him as he had been taught. When he felt certain he knew where she was he walked into the forest, his body tensed and ready for attack.
It came from above. Ventress leapt from the branches above, both of her blades ignited as she tried to catch him unaware. But Anakin blocked her attack with relative ease and spun out of her way as she landed.
"It's nice to see you again Skywalker," she said, glaring at him through the red glow of her twin lightsabers. "It has been far too long
"I wish I could say I felt the same way," Anakin replied with a wry grin, attacking her with a series of swift strikes that she had to backpedal to block.
They traded blows as they moved quickly over the forest floor, every attack pushing them deeper and deeper into the dark forest. Anakin had taken the time to master defending against two blades and Ventress found it nearly impossible to get passed his own blade. Every attacking strike that they managed to get off was countered swiftly as the intensity of their duel increased.
She attacked suddenly, driving him back against a tree until he had nowhere to go. The strike that would have killed him was blocked with a downward parry that forced her blades back as he flipped over her and landed several feet away. She cried out angrily and used the Force to break several limbs from the trees around them sent them flying towards him but he was able to either duck them or slice them before they could harm him.
"You've gotten quite good Ventress," he taunted, breathing heavily. "Better than the last time we fought."
"You don't have Kenobi to back you up this time Skywalker," she said, charging him in the next instant. She attacked with one blade, attempting to draw him out so that the other could strike him down but he seemed to know what she planned an instant before she could do it, leaping over her head and disappearing into the thick foliage above. She quickly followed him.
He was hiding behind the trunk of a tree, balanced precariously on a branch as he tried to catch his breath when she landed on the branch of another tree. She used the Force to snap the branch he stood on, sending him crashing down until he was able to catch himself on a vine. He used his momentum to swing towards another branch but she appeared out of nowhere to slice through the vine and he had to rely on quick instincts to land on a branch below.
She landed across from him and cackled with glee. "At least you put up a challenge boy," she called.
"If you call this a challenge then perhaps you need to get out more often, I'm barely breaking a sweat," he shot back.
"Liar," she hissed. "Even from over here I can hear you breathing."
He glared at her, struggling to hide the fact that he was out of breath. She smiled at him sinisterly before she darted away, using the Force to enhance her speed. He cursed under his breath and gave chase.
They jumped from branch to branch, using the vines to swing themselves forward when there were no branches to run on. Occasionally they met in mid air, their lightsabers sparking at the contact as they tried to knock the other down. She led him deeper into the forest, drawing him away from their ships.
He caught up to her on a branch and attacked her with a flurry of spinning moves that sent her tumbling from the trees, and he followed. But she had managed to disappear by the time he landed softly. He stood in the middle of a small clearing and looked around for any sign of her, taking the time to catch his breath and slow his heart. She chose that moment to catch him just slightly off guard, using the Force to push him through the dense forest until he was stopped by the stone wall of an ancient temple.
He coughed from the impact and leaned back heavily on the wall. He lifted his head to watch Ventress slowly emerge from the forest.
"I'm growing weary of this game, Skywalker," she said as she walked towards him. "One of us will die this day."
"I'll make sure that it's you," he vowed.
"You're so confident in your abilities and yet you are the one panting for breath."
"Why don't I throw you against a wall? Then we can see whose panting."
She stopped mere feet away from him and smiled. "My Master would be most pleased to have you broken and begging for your life, you would be so easy to turn."
"Too bad that won't happen then."
"We'll see about that," she replied, an evil glint in her eyes. "I'm sure I could bend you to his will should I get my hands on a certain Senator from Naboo."
"How did you know?" he demanded, stalking towards her.
"My Master keeps a very close eye on you," she said. "He knows more than even you could expect. He knows your weaknesses and he knows your strengths and he will use them."
He let out a cry of anger as he attacked her but she used the Force to leap over him and land on the level above him. Her mocking laughter spurred him on and he followed without thinking. She caught him off guard before he could land, lifting stones from the temple and flinging them at him. He grunted in pain as one slammed into the side of his head, the sharp edge slicing through his right eyebrow, he could feel the blood beginning to leak from the wound. She reveled in his pain and drew from the Force to push him over the edge, back onto the forest floor where he skidded through the dirt until he could stop himself.
He lifted himself onto his hands and knees, taking a moment to shake off the effects of the hit he had just taken. He tasted blood and spat it out, whipping the back of his hand across his mouth before he slowly pushed himself back onto his feet. The sleeves of his tunic had been shredded and the knees of his pants had been torn.
"Make this easier on yourself Skywalker, surrender to me and I will not harm your precise Senator or Master Kenobi," she called down to him.
"I will not surrender," he replied calmly.
"Then I will have to kill you," she said a moment before a bolt of lightning struck the very top of the temple, a loud clap of thunder following immediately. The rain followed, only a few drops at first but it quickly turned into a downpour.
They stood motionless, waiting for the other to make the move that would continue their battle, their lightsabers sizzling in the rain. Anakin was the first to move, leaping back onto the level she had thrown him from, attacking her with renewed determination. He drove her back towards the steps that would take them even higher up the temple, his attacks never letting up until she was forced to flee up the steps.
He chased after her, continuing his attacks as he pushed onward. She was growing desperate in her attempts to stop him, relying on the Force to slow him down as she raced away from him. She was the one breathing heavily when they reached the very top of the temple, her coordination growing sloppy as she tried to keep him at bay. It was only by sheer luck that she managed to disarm him as he tried to bring his blade down in a killing strike.
She took advantage of his momentary surprise, attacking him with both blades but he managed to catch her wrists. She swallowed hard, fearing for her life for the first time as they stood eye to eye, her red blades illuminating his face. A sinister smile pulled at his lips as he squeezed his hands tighter around her wrists, feeling the bones protesting beneath his grip. With a jerk of his right wrist he snapped hers and caught her lightsaber before it could fall to the ground when he pushed her away.
She staggered backwards, holding her broken arm close to her chest while she tried to threaten him with her remaining lightsaber. The smile returned to his face as he easily knocked the lightsaber from her hand and used the Force to throw her back against what was left of a wall. He stalked towards her and pinned her there with one arm as the other held her lightsaber hilt against her abdomen.
"You win," she gasped.
"I know," he replied.
"Spare me please."
He shook his head. "I want to know something."
"Anything."
"Who is your Master?"
"I do not know his true identity."
"Liar," he hissed. "Tell me who he is."
"I don't know!"
Another flash of lightning illuminated the sky as Anakin ignited her lightsaber, the blade slicing through her with ease. She gasped in pain and clutched at his shoulder as she tried to stay on her feet.
"Just tell me who it is," he said softly.
"P… Palpa…tine…" she whispered with her dying breath.
Anakin stepped away from her, confusion filling him as her limp body collapsed at his feet. She couldn't possibly have told him the truth; it had to have been a lie. He tossed her lightsaber away and called his with the Force, hooking it to his belt as he raced away from the horrible truth.
Obi-Wan had just landed the ship in the middle of the clearing when Anakin emerged from the forest, bruised and exhausted. Padmé gasped sharply when she saw him and before Obi-Wan could do anything she was racing from the ship to embrace him. Anakin grunted in pain when she threw her arms around him and clung to him as though her life depended on it.
"Padmé," he sighed, enveloping her within his arms and burying his face against the side of her neck.
"What happened?" she asked breathlessly. "Anakin?"
"She's dead," he said, his voice strangely devoid of any emotion. "I killed her."
Her blood ran cold at his words, a painful reminder of that dark day on Tattooine not so long ago. She pulled away from him to see his eyes and found the same emptiness. He could sense where her thoughts were leading her and he looked away in shame. He gently took her hand to lead her back to the ship, wanting to leave this place forever.
"Is it done?" Obi-Wan asked when they entered the cockpit.
"It is," Anakin confirmed. "Let's get off of this Force forsaken rock."
The instant they were safely in hyperspace Padmé got to her feet and reached for Anakin's hand, guiding him to the small cabin at the back of her ship, grabbing a medical pack along the way. She made him sit on the edge of the bunk and helped him undress; stripping away the shredded layers of clothing so she could examine his injuries. His arms were covered in tiny scrapes and bruises and there was a superficial lightsaber burn on the outside of his right thigh, but it was the slice along his right eye that drew her attention.
"It isn't as bad as the first time," he tried to joke as she looked him over.
She didn't respond, instead she tilted his head to the side to get a better look at the wound. "What happened here?" she finally asked as she lightly traced a finger tip along the bruise that surrounded it.
"She hit me in the face with a rock," he said, grimacing slightly.
She frowned and reached for a cloth to clean up the dried blood. He hissed in pain when she sprayed antiseptic on the cut when she finished cleaning and then grunted when she pressed a bacta patch over it. "I think this is going to scar," she said softly.
"Oh well, you weren't marrying me for my good looks were you?" he teased.
She smiled for the first time and pressed a swift kiss against his lips. "Not entirely," she teased back. He grinned and lifted his hand to cup her cheek, drawing her forward to kiss her again.
Alone in the cockpit, Obi-Wan opened is his eyes from his meditation when a rather unexpected emotion swept through the Force. He focused on trying to find the source of it and felt himself blush when he realized what was going on in the back of the ship. He did what he could to block out the emotions washing off of his two companions and tried to ignore the rest.