Author's note: this chapter has been edited to erase some grammar and spelling mistakes

~ 10 ~

Battle on Giju

- Good or evil may depend on a certain point of view -

"Woah, don't!"

Two strong hands closed around Kenshin's, stopping the blade just before it would have sliced into his torso and heart. Wide-eyed, he stared at the owner of the hands that had just saved his life. It was a Zabrak boy, looking to be seventeen or eighteen, with blonde, rumpled hair standing in all directions between his horns, a thin braid running down one side, and friendly green eyes that held his hands in a firm lock.

Makiri looked at the boy in front of him and gave him a concerned look. The boy started to cry and sob again, while Makiri shut off the lightsaber and gently pulled it from the child's hands. Where the hell was Quinlan, and who was this boy? His friend was already a knight while Makiri was still a Padawan, yet the Kiffar apparently didn't know how to tell time. He had spent a while waiting alone on the terrace when he felt a slight disturbance in the Force and noticed a small figure at the edge of the terrace, holding an ignited lightsaber. Without a thought, he had jumped and intervened, not a second too early. He could only wonder what had led to this and tried to soothe the younger boy.

"Shhhhh, it's gonna be okay. I don't know what happened, but it's gonna be okay. What's your name?"

The boy didn't answer. He had a terrified and, at the same time, defiant look in his dark brown, unsettlingly piercing eyes.

"What's your name? I'm Makiri," he said slowly, pointing first at himself, then expectantly at the boy who finally understood.

"Kenshin," the younger boy replied.

"I'm going to help you, Kenshin. Don't be afraid! It's gonna be alright, okay? I'm gonna help you!" Makiri said and asked, "Do you understand what I say?"

The younger one shook his head.

"Do you wanna tell me what happened?"

The boy shook his head, winced, and cried again.

"Hey, what's going on there? You coming or what? I've hidden the bottle up here in the tree," a voice came from behind. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get Alderaanian wine? And into how much trouble we'll get if any of these lightsaber-stuck-up-their-ass and live-by-the-book grandmasters find out?" With a slight thump, a figure landed on the ground, and the shadows underneath the tree revealed another humanoid male with a yellow tattoo across his face and wild dreadlocks.

"Easy, Quin. I've just run into our young friend here," he said, gesturing at the boy. "The little guy just tried to cut himself down with his own lightsaber. I have absolutely no idea what happened, but we need to help him. I'm not sure if he really understands us. He doesn't talk and doesn't seem to understand Galactic Basic. I couldn't get anything but his name out of him."

Quinlan Vos kneeled down to lower himself and not scare the boy, offering him a hand. The child recoiled. "Shhhh, little one. No need to be scared. I'm Quin."

"He must be one of the people from that mission that got ambushed on Zeffo. Master Ranakos told me about it. The darksiders wreaked havoc amongst the team until a Padawan confronted their leader - someone talked about a Sith Lord! - and killed him in a lightsaber duel. Pretty crazy story. They extracted all surviving members of that mission and brought them here to the temple. I think we should take this young fella to Ranakos, 'cuz I don't know what to do," Makiri said.

"Yeah, probably our best bet. You don't talk to everyone, eh?" Quin asked the young boy but only got a terrified glance as a response.

***** Giju, in the now

"Why, what happened?" Anakin asked, putting as much compassion into his voice as he could.

"I don't want to talk about it," Kenshin replied sharply.

Anakin sighed. He had heard that before. What had made him think he'd be able to talk to his Master without irking the older Jedi?

"That's what you always say. You never tell me anything about yourself."

"I'm not very interesting," Kenshin retorted.

"You're a Jedi Shadow, a battle hero. There are rumors you've killed a Sith Lord, and you're saying you're not very 'interesting.' Right!"

"There's nothing to tell!"

"You're so hard to figure out. Maybe I just want to get to know you a little?"

"You know everything there is to know."

"You're frustrating."

"Are you done complaining about me anytime soon? You never talk about your past either!"

With sudden, unexpected impact, these words hit Anakin. Instantly, sadness washed over him. His past. Slavery. His mother, who was still a slave, enduring hardship. He missed her so much. He wanted to become powerful and free her, yet where was he at? No, for the millionth time, he would not admit to this attachment, this weakness, especially not in front of his Master. He desperately tried to dull the intense emotions he felt, but in vain. Despite himself, he started sobbing. Everything that had happened in the past months, every frustration he had felt in the years since he left Tatooine, came piling up and rushed over him like an overwhelming wave. Anakin was startled when he felt a strong arm come across his shoulders and hold him. Wait, was that his Master of all people, this constantly grumpy gundark, not condemning and berating him about controlling emotions, but giving him the comforting hug he needed? Not once had another Jedi tolerated physical contact, let alone comforted him. Only his mother had ever allowed him to cry on her shoulder. The rigid and cold way of interacting with one another was one of the things he struggled most with among the Jedi. Finally, the teenager let go, leaned onto the other man's shoulder, and just cried. The pain he felt didn't go away, but it became less daunting.

Tesha couldn't help but smile when she woke up and saw Anakin cuddled up against Kenshin, both peacefully asleep. Maybe the two would get along after all. She had noticed the events of the attack had shaken Anakin, but she felt too unsure of what to say to him, so she hadn't asked. Kenshin, on the other hand, seemed to hide a great deal of compassion and care for those around him, once one was willing to look behind the grim facade of a warrior. In their current state, the two reminded her of two snuggling Loth wolf cubs—okay, large wolf cubs at that—and she dearly regretted waking them up, but the night was setting soon, and they had to keep going. At least the group had gotten a few hours of rest.

They reached the proximity of the settlement not long before dawn. It was supposed to be dark, but it wasn't. An eerie shine came from the ridge behind which the settlement was located, and soon, noise could be heard. The noise of detonations and explosions.

"What the... The town is under attack! What is going on?" Anakin exclaimed.

"The settlement we're supposed to provide with medical supplies is about to get blown to pieces," Kenshin stated flatly.

"But why, and by who?" Tesha asked.

Kenshin pulled out a small telescope. After a few moments, he explained, "Those are Trade Federation droids. For a reason that is yet unknown to me, the separatist alliance is taking a greater interest in this planet than we thought. Dooku a non-violent idealist, my ass."

"Who is Dooku?"

"By the Force, did Ranakos tell you anything at all? Dooku's a former Jedi, founder, and leader of the separatist movement. Months ago, my investigations revealed that he's preparing for military efforts and that the Trade Federation has allied with him. And I presented my results to the Council. But blind and arrogant as they are, the green troll and brown shiny head dismissed my warnings as paranoid and didn't do anything about it," Kenshin explained bitterly. Tesha and Anakin didn't need to ask who he meant by brown shiny head.

The three Jedi analyzed the situation below the ridge they currently sat on. The settlement was situated on a vast plain surrounded by rock plateaus, facing steep walls, and hills growing into summits further away. On the outskirts of the small city, there were a few factories, and two droid battalions, including armored assault tanks and half a dozen gunships, were currently moving towards the city, firing at both the settlement and the industrial facilities.

"I have an idea, Master," Anakin said. "I'll steal a ship. The command center must be somewhere. We'll attack it and shut them all off at once."

"That's how you took them out on Naboo, but they don't control their droids by centralized units anymore. We have no idea who operates these battalions nor where the command center is."

"Look, over there, behind the factory, there's rock plateaus coming closer together, forming a canyon. We could maybe draw them away from the settlement into a more confined space like that and take out a greater number at once. I just don't know how. We're but three Jedi, and we don't have any bombs or anything like that," Tesha chimed in.

"But they have!" Kenshin fell silent, pensively looking at the scenario below. "We could combine Anakin's and your plan. We need to get a hold of one of those gunships. Then we need to create a diversion, herd the battalion away from the settlement, and round them up from behind."

"Sounds like a great plan, but maybe we might need to be more detailed than that," the young woman commented.

"You and Anakin, you'll steal a ship. I'll be the diversion to lure them into our trap in the canyon over there. You'll have to sneak to the back of the formation behind the ships; they won't expect an attack from their rear. At the low speed they're going, you can easily reach them. While you're working on that, I'll position myself in the canyon and start entertaining our separatist friends. Once the greater part of the battalions is in the gorge, you guys blast the walls with the gunship you'll steal."

"It's a crazy plan, but I like it," Anakin said. Tesha wasn't as convinced.

"You can't go alone and play target for the whole army down there! You're gonna get killed! How are you even planning to distract them?"

"I have my ways, and I can take care of myself, thank you," Kenshin replied in his usual flat manner.

"Master Kano, you're insane!" Tesha said disapprovingly, and she meant it.

"If I had a credit for every time I heard that. Do you have a better idea? Let's have some fun then, shall we?"

The two Padawan covertly moved past the battalion and approached from behind. But this was the easy part. Now to reach one gunship, get aboard, and disable its droid crew. A deafening noise came from where Kenshin was supposed to be by now, and the Padawans saw a cloud of fire rise into the sky where moments ago one of the tanks had been flanking the battalion. A boulder the size of said tank was hovering in the air and falling onto the next assault vehicle.

"For a stealth expert, he sure does a good job at getting attention," Anakin remarked.

"How did he move those rocks? That's some insane force telekinesis right there if that's how he did it," Tesha said in awe.

"Our moment to steal one of those ships, or we won't get a chance to ask him later 'cuz they'll have blasted him to dust soon enough!"

The droids didn't notice the slight thumps on the hull of their ship, but they did notice two lightsaber blades cutting through it. A few lightning-fast lightsaber slashes later, the two young Jedi had control of the ship.

The plan actually worked. The droids and assault tanks changed their trajectory and were now moving towards the explosion, away from their original target.

Kenshin stopped and stood still. Time slowed down. He drew on the Force, a sphere of dense energy forming and swirling around him. The droids were still too far away for their blasters to reach him, but he felt the first tank opening fire. Kenshin raised his hands, the cannon shot stopping dead, sizzling in the air, and the tank got force-blasted into the vehicle behind it. The detonation took out two more tanks. He exploded into action, leaping onto the next one. His purple blade formed a blurring shield of deadly energy, cutting and slashing mercilessly through everything in its way. The world around him seemed to blow up. Bursting metal, parts, machines, and droids came crashing down everywhere. He knew Anakin and Tesha would be on time. He knew it would work. The previously orderly battalion had almost entirely moved into the canyon opening by now, disarranged in chaos. As if on command, cannon projectiles targeted the rock faces on both sides, and a flood of rocks and boulders came crashing down, taking out the remaining gunships. What was left of the droids and tanks didn't resist much longer. He cursed. Keeping up the force hold against the next assault tank charging at him, he hadn't felt the boulder coming. It knocked him down, nearly smashing his right arm beneath it, scraping by only a tiny bit. Forcing air back into his lungs, he managed to stand up, but the pain spiking in his arm indicated it was out of use for now.

Smoke and scattered flames rose from the wreckage, but the enemy forces were defeated.

"We've made it!" Anakin exclaimed excitedly and jumped out of the gunship as he spotted the figure that could only be his Master. His face immediately turned into a worried expression as he saw the state the other Jedi was in. Kenshin was in one piece, but his right arm was covered in red, and even his tunic was soaked with sweat and blood. As little medical knowledge as Anakin had, he imagined that this much blood wasn't a good sign. "You look like shit, Master. You okay? I'm not dragging your body back to Coruscant; I'd prefer if you'd walk on your own feet, so don't die, okay?"

Kenshin didn't answer. He stared into the distance, not even looking at Anakin and Tesha. "Something's not right," he said. He felt a warning in the Force. A threat, but from where?

"You've crashed my party. How rude!" A coarse female voice snarled, and the slim figure it belonged to elegantly slid off a speeder.

"My Master will not be happy about it either. But I'm sure, bringing him your heads will appease him."

Anakin had never seen her before, but her picture was all too familiar from reports he had studied. "Ventress," he said, his eyes widening in both terror and hate.

"You must be Skywalker. And who's this scruffy excuse for a Jedi?" she said, gesturing at Kenshin. "You're Skywalker's new Master, I assume? Let's see what you've got. His last one wasn't exactly much of a challenge!"

"Both of you, stay back!" Kenshin growled. Tesha obeyed the command, but Anakin? He immediately let out a roar and attacked. Ventress parried, cutting his lightsaber hilt in half and at the same time snatched Tesha's weapon out of her hand with the Force. Both Padawans were completely overwhelmed by the sheer speed of her assault. Now Kenshin was the only one left, with only one arm he could use.

"Don't worry," he coolly said to Ventress. "I was raised better than to disappoint a lady!"

His lightsaber hummed to life in his left hand. Ventress laughed diabolically, but the mockery she wanted to utter remained stuck in her throat. Already Kenshin's purple blade pressed against her two crimson ones, cold threat in his eyes. Stripped of his lightsaber, Anakin saw himself left with nothing but to watch. He felt panic flashing up, helpless against the rush of terror and adrenaline. He had not been present when the dark side assassin slew his former Master, but he had imagined the fight a thousand times in his head, and how he'd intercept and defeat the darksider. Now he could do nothing. Tesha's weapon was gone; she could do nothing either. Kenshin was powerful, but he was wounded, and Ventress was lightning fast, her precision deadly. The assassin attacked rapidly and ferociously. She outstretched her hand towards Kenshin's throat to force-choke him. Her opponent didn't even flinch, fiercely standing up to the pressure. For moments, both combatants stood there, a tense balance in their struggle. Kenshin brought up his blade. Then Anakin felt something shift in the Force. A solid wall of energy moved, turning into a raging storm. He sensed fear. Growing fear becoming more intense before switching to blank horror. But it was not his Master from whom the fear came. The angry, confident resolve in Ventress' eyes had turned first into astonishment, then sheer terror. Kenshin's face was pure serenity and resolve, a hint of cold determination in his dark, glistening eyes. The blows of his lightsaber erratically rained down on her. He brutally forced her back. A terrified, desperate scream finally filled the air. Ventress was slammed to the ground, the impact knocking both her lightsabers out of her hands. Kenshin had his uninjured hand outstretched, still holding his ignited blade, and seemed to lock a force-grip on Ventress' head. Both Padawans incredulously watched, trying to make sense of what they saw. The darksider curled up in the debris, clasping her head with both hands, writhing in the dust, and she screamed and screamed and screamed. It was the most horrible sound Anakin had ever heard. With a last, desperate effort, she crawled onto the speeder bike and fled. Kenshin let her go, his gaze following her for a long time until the demonic resolve in his eyes softened back to a more normal state.

Moments later, he shut his lightsaber off.

Anakin was hard to impress, but now he didn't know what to say. Kenshin sat down onto a piece of debris and started to examine his injuries. His arm turned out to be broken, along with several deep cuts. It hurt a lot, and it would take a week or two to heal, but it was nothing overly serious. So he pushed the exhaustion aside to deal with the certainly unpleasant but inevitable conversation and opened a communication channel to contact the Council. The blue, wavering holo images of several Council members appeared, and a stern-faced Mace Windu asked, "You have a first report, Master Kano?"

"I have. Things escalated a bit."

The Council was shocked by the report of the events on Giju. Nobody had expected separatist military forces nor a full-on battle, the Confederation of Independent Systems now openly resolving to violence. Before ending the transmission, the Council declared they'd organize a pick-up mission to get them back to Coruscant.

"You did really well. You both did," Kenshin said as he shut his comm device off.

This acknowledgement surprised Anakin a bit. He was not used to getting any praise, no matter how well he had done. Maybe Kenshin wasn't so bad after all. The Padawan thought about the completed mission. Any other Jedi would have chastised him, in a situation like in that cave, for losing self-control, whereas his Master had reacted in the way Anakin had needed. There were, regardless of the last few days, many things he'd reproach Kenshin with, but not that he was cold, the trait many Jedi shared and that he loathed. The elusive Nantoan was withdrawn, and sometimes also ill-tempered, but not cold. In a way, he really seemed to care. And for the first time, he and his Master had actually worked together, not against each other.

Tesha wasn't quite sure what to think. The young Master's reputation was something else, and having witnessed what he was capable of in battle, she found the rumors pale in comparison to reality. But what she had seen when Kenshin dueled Ventress had profoundly disturbed her. It was not only the display of sheer Force power. Jedi were peacekeepers. The way she had seen Kenshin fight was cold-blooded and cruel. It stood in great contrast to the Jedi ideal of a defensive protector. What was it that he had done to Ventress? In the end, she decided, honesty and openness would go a longer way than mere assumptions, so she took heart and asked, "Master Kano, what did you do to Ventress? What did you do to her head?"

"I probed her mind. I wanted to find out who was behind this. Who she works for."

"You did what?" She didn't understand at all.

"Getting into someone's mind, to see their thoughts and intentions. If you break their will, you can see things they wouldn't even reveal under torture. It's very painful for the subject."

"Isn't this... a dark side power? I'm not sure a Jedi should use violence in that form. We're peacekeepers. At least, that's what I was taught," she finished timidly.

"In my book, dark or light comes from the user and their intention. Was I willing to kill her, before she would kill you or Anakin? Absolutely. Is that dark? Yes. Was I using brutal force as a means to an end? Yes. Was that dark? Yes. Did I do it with the intention of gaining insight, to possibly erase greater evil? Also yes. Some philosopher shall answer the ensuing question. I am not a philosopher, and not a peacekeeper. I am a warrior. I have sworn my life to oppose and hunt down a power that is threatening the entire galaxy. The Sith."

"The Sith..." Tesha said pensively before she continued. "Couldn't you have simply interrogated her?"

"She's just as trained to resist interrogation techniques and torture as I am! She would never reveal anything," Kenshin said disgruntledly.

"How did you learn to do what you did? Why are you even able to do that?"

Kenshin hesitated before answering. "Believe me—you don't want to know!"

"So, who does Ventress work for, Master?" Anakin finally asked. He, too, was curious how Kenshin had learned to 'invade' a being's mind, but he had a feeling this was one of the many things his Master would never talk about.

"Dooku. I also wanted to know Dooku's reasoning for attacking Giju. But Ventress didn't possess that knowledge. That's why I let her go."

"You really are insane!" Tesha stated.

"You already said that," Kenshin replied.

The trip back to Coruscant was just as quiet as the journey that had brought them to Giju. The battle and duel had finally taken a toll on Kenshin, so he was his usual grim and silent, this time only more exhausted self. Tesha and Anakin were tired too, but Anakin felt good. Things had worked out well in the end, and he imagined he would soon learn the powers his Master wielded. Soon, he would be just as good or even better. Arriving on Coruscant, Anakin's contentment about their successful mission didn't last long. Of all people, it had to be Ferus. They had been away for a less than a week, and in the meantime, as he learned the moment he walked into the Padawan's dorms, his greatest rival had passed his trials to become a full Jedi knight! How had that guy even been admitted to the final examinations? He was much better than Ferus! His force skills and lightsaber skills were far superior compared to what this picture-perfect, rule-obsessed eager beaver with his ridiculous gold-streaked hair could do! Himself, not Ferus, should have been the first in his group to be knighted! The rage within the Padawan was boiling. He had never felt so angry before. It wasn't fair! Kenshin should have prevented that. Kyle had spent the better part of an hour trying to cheer Anakin up, who sat on his bed and pouted. Someone knocked at the door to their shared dorm room. Kyle went to answer since his friend decided he couldn't be bothered to deal with the world right now.

"Anakin. It's for you."

"I don't wanna see anyone." He really didn't. Couldn't they at least leave him alone?

"Uhm, it's your Master, you probably should go!"

Anakin bolted past Kyle and yelled, "What the kriff are you doing here? This is the Padawan's dorms, get out!"

"Watch your mouth! This is still your Master you're talking to! What the blazes is going on?" a completely bewildered Kenshin asked.

"This is your fault!"

"What is my fault?" Kenshin could feel an immense amount of fury coming from his Padawan, also sensing that Anakin was angry at him personally, but why or where this was coming from was completely lost on him.

"Why was Ferus admitted to the trials and not me? It's unfair. I'm much better than him!"

"Ferus was knighted yesterday," Kyle explained in a small voice, with an anxious glance at an infuriated Anakin.

"Ferus? I don't even know who that is! And you're not ready for the trials. Even if I considered you ready, it's the Council and not a Padawan's master who makes that decision. Calm the kriff down!"

"The blazes I'll calm down. You should have told the Council to admit me to the trials, not Ferus!"

"You're freaking the shit out because some random guy got promoted to knighthood before you did? Seriously? I don't get it."

"Of course you don't. You don't understand!"

"Then make me understand! How can I help you when I don't understand what's wrong?"

"Oh, you wanna help? Help me? You're the one who needs help here, who never talks. The only thing I get from you are worthless lectures, but I have now understood why. I've heard what happened on Gentora. No wonder you wouldn't tell me. You always talk about control, but you don't even have your own shit together. You can't even help yourself! You're damaged goods. That's why they ordered you back to Coruscant to be my babysitter!"

Kenshin solidified, staring at Anakin. A painfully long moment passed.

"Do you realize what you've just said, Anakin?" he asked with a low voice.

"Everyone's against me, holding me back, you above all. I don't have anything to say to you!" Anakin yelled. Kenshin gave him a last, sithly scowl, then turned on his heel and stormed off. Only then did it dawn upon the Padawan what had just gone down. He sheepishly looked at Kyle.

"Kriff!"

"Looks like he didn't take that very well!" Kyle stated.

"Kriff! Why did I...fuck, I should NOT have said that!"

Half an hour later, Anakin knocked at the door to Kenshin's room, without receiving an answer. He decided to just walk in like he always did. Kenshin sat on the floor, using his uninjured hand to meticulously clean a shuriken, with several more throwing knives laid out in front of him.

"Go away," he said, without moving or looking at his visitor.

"I want to talk to you, Master," Anakin said ruefully.

"You said it yourself: you don't have anything to say to me!"

"But now I have!"

"Your bad! I don't wanna hear it."

"Master. Please, hear me out."

"Go! Away!"

Anakin didn't move, suddenly a force push blew him out of the room and against the opposite wall of the corridor, and the door shut. That message was clear! He stood up and went where he always went when something was wrong.

Anakin had wanted to just hide in the hangar by himself, fix something, only accepting Kyle keeping him company. Then one of the mechanics had approached him; he needed help with a droid. He was more than willing to help, the only problem being that he'd need an intact repulsor anchor to fix the issue, and he couldn't just go and buy a new part. And the temple's part repository was out of stock, of course. That left him with the option of finding a used one on the scrap heaps on the lower and to him very forbidden levels of Coruscant. So despite his own vow not to do anything stupid after this recent fight with his Master, Anakin found himself on a scrap heap searching the clutter, helped by Kyle, looking for the spare part they needed. Soon enough, they had found one, along with something else. The object looked like a strange vase, downright vibrating with the dark side of the Force. Anakin wasn't easily scared, but something emanated from it that made chills run down his spine. Kyle was at least equally intimidated by what he felt. "Kriff, what is that? What should we do? We can't just leave it here! It must be a dark side artifact or something. I think that thing is dangerous!"

"Let's take it to the temple!" Anakin said.

"Are you mad? How are we gonna explain how we found it? They'll know we've broken curfew, and they will kill us for coming to this place. Dude, I have such a bad feeling about this," Kyle stated, contemplating for a few seconds. "Wait," he then said. "Kenshin is an expert on dark side artifacts, isn't he? Plus, if anyone lets us get away with not sticking to the rules, it'll be him."

"I don't think calling Kenshin is much of an option right now."

"Why? Do you have a better idea?"

"He's still angry with me. Like, really angry. At this point, I don't think he'll ever talk to me again."

"Didn't you go see him earlier to sort it out?"

"I tried to, but he force-pushed me out of the room and slammed the door shut."

"Oh!"

"Yep."

"You and your Master, that's more drama than an entire season of holonet soap operas," Kyle shook his head.

"As if you'd never have a fight with your Master. It's not my fault that the guy is being so emo all the time!"

"Emo, huh? Uhm, you're at least as much one to put on a show, and you gotta admit, what you hurled at him, that was pretty rough! I've never called my Master 'damaged goods.' Anyway, we can't just do nothing. You don't like it, but he's our best bet. Unless you wanna contact Windu!"

Anakin hesitantly activated his comlink. The connection got through, and a blue holo of Kenshin's face, stern as always but also a bit confused, appeared. It was past midnight; Anakin wondered whether the call had woken him up.

"Funny time to call." he greeted him.

"I need your help, Master! We've found something, we think it's a Sith artifact. We don't know what to do!"

Kenshin's expression switched from mildly annoyed to highly alerted and concerned.

"Send me your coordinates. And stay alive until I get there." As quickly as it had appeared, the holo had faded again.

Anakin exhaled in relief. His head was still on his shoulders.

"That wasn't too bad. Looks like he has cooled off a little," Kyle said. "Now all we have to do is wait."

The following minutes neither of the boys spoke, listening to the remote noise of traffic and a million beings going about their more or sometimes also less legal business on the levels above the scrap heap area. Something clattered, the two friends looked up the next scrap pile but couldn't see anything.

"Right behind you, Jedi scum!"

The teenagers swirled around and faced three enormous aliens of a species neither of them had seen before. All three stood two heads taller than Anakin, had a reptile look to them, wore heavy armor, and carried long metal staffs and axes. Anakin's and Kyle's lightsabers hummed to life, but Kyle immediately got kicked away, crashing into the next scrap pile with one of the three monstrosities going after him. The remaining two closed in on Anakin. He tried to figure out if Kyle was okay, but his two huge opponents didn't leave him any room to breathe. He fought desperately with everything he had. Somewhere in his mind, he wondered why these monsters attacked them, but then again, these were the lower levels. First shoot and ask questions only afterwards. His blue blade frantically parried the staffs coming down on him from all sides. His stamina was substantial, but there eventually came the point when he couldn't hold it any longer. He stumbled and fell, and he was bleeding. Something in his abdomen hurt in a way he had never felt pain before. Despair. He hadn't saved Kyle. He had not wanted to die like this. Not yet, not here, not now. He would never see his mother again. One of his attackers landed a first hit, then a second. His defense broke down, his vision started to blur, and his lightsaber was knocked out of his hand. Now he was on his back, defenseless on the ground. This was it. He prepared for the final blow. The large alien raised his staff and grinned. "Time to die, little Jedi!"

The killing blow never came. The end of a deep purple glowing rod suddenly emerged from his opponent's chest. The reptile collapsed, revealing the owner of the purple lightsaber behind him. Kenshin's shocked face was the last thing Anakin saw before everything went black.