Star Wars: We are against the rest

Chapter 12: Shadows and Shinning

Draken was standing on a position ready to defend himself as his opponents were doing, Zoey to show her preliminary strategy by advicing Anakin to use the force to move the earth where Draken was standing and they did making him jump and try to air strike them but they responded to this making a cloud of dust and dirt then turning off their lightsabers to take advantage on the dark of the chamber. Draken kept his lightsabers on ready for combat and as well looking for them.

Zoey was hiding behiend a pillar of wood, while he was still looking for them using the force but the presences of the past made it difficult for him. He heard some rocks moving and raise his blades once thinking the rocks would be thrown to him however the real attack came from behiend, he block the stroke of her lightsabers before they even harmed him, she jump spinning to the left. Taking the oppening he left, Anakin pushed him with the force sending him to one of the tunnels.

"Good work" Zoey said

"I'll keep him busy, you block the access to the other tunnels" Anakin ordered

"Got it" she replied

Zoey started using the force to colapse only some parts of the tunnels to block them and make it diffucult for anyone to remove the debris, Anakin charged at Draken but he responded with force lightning hitting Anakin to numb his muscles, those lightnings caused him a lot of pain and made him scream, but not of pain but of rage, he overcame the pain thanks to the force something that surprised the sith lord because he only maneged to break a few parts of the mandalorian armor that Anakin was wearing, it also prevented him from having any burn in his body.

He approched with pain and managed to take Draken from the neck with his cybernetic hand, squezzing as hard as he could making Draken stop with the force lightning and making him difficult to breath, he took his lightsaber ready to pirce his heart but he soon wonder why he was levitating until he felt a tremendous force push sending him metters way, he stopped when he crushed against a wall that connected two tunnels on the ones he was. It was a good thing he had the helmet on to protect the back of his head, Anakin was starting to stand up dazed while Draken was recovering without much problem.

"You really belive that you are the most powerfull being in the galaxy?" he asked rhetorically and then said "That hunger for power and knoledge combained with your impulsiveness makes you weak and pathe-!!" He was interruped as he felt a throbbing pain on his left shoulder, it penetrated the muscles of his shoulder and part of the forearm

Sharped rocks and metal that came from Zoey's direction had hitted Draken's on his right shoulder and forearm with the intention to limitate his mobility. He turned to look at her, his eyes were fulled of rage and pain, she was ready to fight.

"Im only gonna say this once" she said and then warned " Run if you want to stay alive"

Both turned on their lightsabers and then charged at eachother, Anakin didnt loose time and joined the battle to help her. On the other side of the tunnels, Obi Wan and Ventress were fighting to but unlike their comrades, their duel was something between hate and attraction. Ventress jumped to evade him and once she was behiend him she pushed him agaisnt the wall with the force.

Kenobi got up and charged at her, Ventress took the offensive making it hard for the jedi master to attack her but soon Kenobi found an openning and started to take the offensive, both clashed their lightsabers and had the chance to see eachother face to face.

"Well, today you're clearly inspired" Kenobi said on his carismatic tone

"You havent seen anything yet" She replied angry

Falling on her back and then catapulting him with her legs, then running. Both felt how the tunnels colapsed so in case another colapse happend it was time to change their strategy. Ventress was looking a way to get to the chamber but Kenobi was thinking on many ways to get her out and buy time to Anakin and Zoey so they could detonate the explosives, while doing this they were clashing lightsabers and then marking a distance after a few seconds to clash them again.

Outside of the tunnels things were going good for the clones, many of the droids were destroyed thanks to the mines that the clones set wich decrease the number of droids very quick. The clones were shooting at discretion using the bushes, the tops of the trees and rocks to their advantage but some droids didnt fall that easy. Some clones were taking cover.

"We need those B2 out of the picture!" Rex exclaimed

"Do we still have explosives?!" Terry asked with anxiety on his voice

"I think we have some ionic grenades!" Skyler replied yelling and added " that should do it"

"We need to take some distance to have a better range, shortie" Rex explained

Some clones covered the back of Terry, Rex, Echo, Skyler and Fives who once they got the distance they needed threw the grenades at the B2's and some droidekas making them fall instantly.

"That wasnt so bad" Rex said while taking a few breaths and then ordered "We have to get ready for round two"

"Sounds like a plan" Skyler anwsered

The clones started to go into the woods, they knew that soon droids or general Grievous would sent more droids when they noticed their troops number were now low. They had two options to get some advantage: Ask to one of their generals permission to ask for reinforcements or jam the enemy comunications so they couldnt report to the ship and ask for more droids. Terry was thinking on calling for reinforcements but Rex decided that jam the communications would be enough but he recognized the fear of his brothers - and the young mandalorian- and told them that if things got way out of hand he would ask for reinfocments

"Where do you think they have their communications?" Echo asked

"Probably near the top of the montain" Rex replied

"We could caliber our helmets so they pick up their signal" Skyler suggested

"Sounds like a plan" Fives commented

They caliber their helmets and then started to follow the slight signal that would start becoming an intense one, they were going as fast and stealthily as they could. Back on the tunnels, Anakin and Zoey were fighting Draken who was having a hard time defending himself and fighting the pain that was on his right shoulder. Zoey was fighting with a mixture of Makashi and Juyo trying to penetrate the stonewall defense on the left side of Draken while Anakin was striking with Djem So.

He let his guard down for a moment to respond better at the attacks of Anakin leaving an oppening for Zoey who kicked him metters away. Despite he was a remarkable warrior he knew fighting the most powerfull jedi the order had to offer, both complemented their best atributes: muscles and brains not to mention their combained potential was all to much for him. If he wanted to win, separating them was an option and the exploid their weakness. Without loosing more time Draken sent the most powefull force push at Zoey sending him metters away then blocking her path by colapsing the tunnel, he knew that wouldnt stop her from long but it would give him the upperhand with the choosen one - and unware to him, with the person Zoey loved the most-. Anakin raised his guard ready foor Draken's assult.

"Now, what would you do if she's not around to help you?" he asked mockingly

"Im not that defenseless if Zoey isnt around" Anakin replied

Draken shoot him force lightning again but this time Anakin responded by blocking and redirect them with the lightsaber then charging at him who defended himself with Soresu, he found himself surprised by the physical strengh Anakin was displaying on the duel something that he held back on Ruusan possibly because of the fact that back them he was relying on Alika, still Draken kept his ground by blocking and rediracting the strikes of Anakin, knowing he would have to take a different course of action.

Draken trew rokcs at him but Anakin evade or slice them with ease, jumping and landing on his feet but then he had to defend from Draken who tried to attack from the air but not with his saber, he rely on the force lightning once more. He block it with the lightsaber once more but he left an oppening so Draken started an offensive with juyo but the djem so of Anakin turned his offensive on taking strong counters making him to rely once more the force.

Contrary to his previous counter meassures, Anakin blocked them with his cybernetic hand, he jumped backwards but when Draken saw this he pushed him with the force and again used force lightning but on the prostetic hand of Anakin, the intensity was to great that ended up destroying the entire prosthesis, detaching from the rest of his arm, falling in the ground. When he crashed against the wall, Anakin tried to get up using his hands but he soon noticed the absence of his prosthesis and that he didnt had his lightsaber. He was in shoock and thinking on what to do now.

"You put up a fight, i'll give you that" Draken said and then sentence " But now, you will die"

Anakin soon called his lightsaber to block the strike, despite the pain he was feeling but then a strong sound called their attention. Zoey had detonated the explosive charges, Draken turned around angry as he assimilated his failure.

"Maybe separating us wasnt such a good idea" Anakin commented in a mocking tone

Soon he felt how he was being choked, despite he hadnt perfected the tecnique he was trying to free himself but the grip of Draken was to strong, he was slowly squeezing his neck but before he broke this throat a rock pushed him to the other tunnel, before he got up the path was blocked by another colapse.

"What kept you?" Anakin asked touching his neck and having a hard time to breath

When Zoey saw whim she run to him to make sure he was fine "Are you ok?" she asked a little worried

"Yeah, my neck is starting to feel better" He replied while Zoey used the force to heal him"

Zoey saw that his cybernetic arm was missing "Your arm.." she said

"Calm down, i can get another" he replied reassuring and then said " We better get going"

Both stood up and she starting walking to get him out of the tunnels, they knew Draken soon would attack them so they move as fast as they could.

"You got a plan?" he asked

"Not yet" she responded and said "But i'll see what i can do, i have to get you out of this"

"Thanks for the rock" He replied

"No problem" she stated

"I could kiss you" he commented with relif and a slight tone of seduction

"You can do that on the ship, if you like" she replied flattered

Beofre they got out of the tunnels, they saw Draken waiting for them so he could finish them, it would be complicared for the jedi to get out alive. Zoey prepared for the duel and turned on her lightsabers standing between Anakin and the sith lord.