The Unchronicled Adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Book Eight

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Battle Begins

ANAKIN SKYWALKER

Anakin reasoned that he couldn't have been unconscious for more than thirty standard seconds, but even so, in this situation, any given time of weakness could prove to be fatal. Such as, for example, one's opponents could use that time to disarm them of their weapons, which was exactly what had happened here.

Darth Vader held his lightsaber in one black-clad hand, examining it as he used the Force to fairly glue Anakin to the cliff. "I see you have constructed a new lightsaber," he remarked idly, taking a few of his unsettling mechanical breaths. "But, without it, your skills are incomplete."

Then, without warning, he snapped it in two. Anakin winced, feeling the connection he had had to the blade and to its crystal wither and finally die out altogether. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of power lay in those prosthetic arms and hands... Or was the Sith Lord merely using the Force to amplify whatever physical power he already possessed?

"That's where you're wrong, Darth," he said, addressing Vader by his Sith title, though he uttered it more like a curse than a formality. "The only ally I need is the Force. It brings peace and good conscience; counsel that I heed willingly. And, no matter how hard you try, you will never take that away from me."

"The peace you speak of is a lie. There is only passion." Anakin recognized his words as a variation on a passage in the Sith Code.

"But what if the two could coexist? Has that possibility ever crossed your mind, Vader? Power and the Force – flowing simultaneously through a Force-sensitive... Think about it."

"The only words that Anakin Skywalker ever spoke were lies to protect those for whom he had... feelings. The words he speaks now are of that same nature." Vader was as unwilling to let go of his beliefs as ever. Anakin realized that he had no choice. There was no persuading his twisted twin to see the Light.

Suddenly, Anakin felt a presence deep within the Force. It was Padme, and she was heading towards him, fast. Carefully shielding his thoughts from Vader, he sent a message towards her through the Force.

Padme, no! Please, just stay far away! He mentally called to her. It's too dangerous for you here! I can take care of myself.

I know, Ani, came the reply.

He started. He knew that Padme could receive his telepathic calls, but he had never had an inkling that she could respond in kind! It must have been due to the strange powers that had been given to her in the... well, the place that she had gone when all others had thought her dead. She never really explained anything related them, except for the bare minimum to satisfy his curiosity.

But then he breathed an internal sigh of relief. For once, his Angel was choosing to listen to him when it really counted.

Vader raised his lightsaber, its ruby-red blade humming in the almost impenetrably thick snowfall. It would have been a pretty color for a blade... had it not been in the hands of one of the most deadly agents in the galaxy, and so frequently associated with the Dark Side of the Force.

"And now, Jedi scum, you shall meet your destiny!" cackled Grievous. If Anakin hadn't know better, he would have said that Vader looked more than a little annoyed that the General had ruined his opportunity to throw some sort of taunt in his direction before ultimately killing him.

"Now, Skywalker, I bid you farewell. May you find comfort in the fact that I send you to join your precious Jedi Order, whose bodies now rot in the Temple that they held so dear."

The Sith Lord swung his lightsaber into the battle stance of what would be a deathblow. Anakin stared straight into the glowing, bug's-eyes-like ocular devices on Vader's helmet. He was determined to meet death head-on, to keep his eyes open and render any illusion that he was afraid obsolete.

Then, he heard something. It seemed to be a continuation of Padme's earlier reply: But I'm coming anyways.

And then, out of the blue, something dropped out of the sky in front of him, blocking the Vader's saber with what looked like coils made out of pure white light.

Startled by the newcomer's arrival, Vader's hold on Anakin was broken, and he immediately jumped to a safe distance, next to the other person who had seemingly come to rescue him. Grievous growled, readying four red lightsabers.

A slight smile came to his face as they turned towards him. Although Vader surely wouldn't recognize them at this distance, because they were wearing a scarf that covered most of their face and hair, he knew exactly who it was: Padme!

And she was wearing what looked like a pair of metal wings! Under Anakin's fascinated gaze, they folded up neatly into a small, oval-shaped compartment on her back, made of the same material. And whatever those marvelous weapons were...

They're lightwhips, she said, answering his unspoken question. A rare variation a common lightsaber. The last ones made were built over a thousand years ago. But this isn't really the time to–

"I see you have taken on an new apprentice," Vader said. Anakin very nearly smiled. The fact that the Sith Lord was so off-track in his guess meant that Padme was safe from detection. "You were wise to hide her from me. But this pathetic last excuse to win will not save you, Skywalker."

Padme nodded towards her belt, where he realized there was another lightsaber hanging. Using the Force, he brought it into his grasp, and was amazed at how in tune he felt with the crystals inside, compared to the one that Christopherus had given him. And then he realized why.

It was his own lightsaber, the one he thought he had lost on Mustafar.

He turned it on, looking at the blue blade. Vader, seeing that he was armed again, motioned to Grievous. As the doppelgangers began to circle each other, Padme faced off the General.

Anakin smirked. "We'll see."

And with the clashes of lightsabers and the peculiar sliding and buzzing of the lightwhips, the battle began anew.

*Anakin and Padme confronted Darth Vader and General Grievous... But how will the battle end? Will they succeed in their separate missions, or will Vader's strength prove to be too much? And what has become of Lux? Will Ahsoka find him in time? Or will it be too late? You'll find out in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano!

Hello all! Sorry about the lack of updates in the past couple of days... Every time I sat down to write, my brain would whisper to me, reminding me of this ABSOLUTELY AWESOMAZING fanfic I just finished on fanfiction.net . It's called Where Doesn't It Hurt! and you (meaning the Luxsoka shippers, in case some of the people reading this aren't) should all check it out!

So, anyways, I hope this satisfied you, and I promise that another chapter is on the way! Bye!

Find yourself torn between the Light and Dark Sides of the Force as you battle your old Master and may the Force be with you,

Sharron