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By some sort of miracle, we've made it into the city without being noticed by the droid army. Qui-Gon, Padme, Anakin, Obi-Wan and I are all hiding in a small alcove by the city center, waiting to be signaled in by Padme's bodyguard. Qui-Gon leans down and takes a hold of Anakin's shoulders, "Once we get inside, you find a safe place to hide and stay there."
"Sure!" Anakin says, willing to do almost anything to impress Qui-Gon.
"Stay there," I reiterate sternly. I've known Anakin for years and listening to orders is not one of his strengths. The police resistance finally attacks the droids and cause the diversion we need to sneak into the castle. I draw my lightsaber and deflect blaster shots as we run to the doors. I see a droid heading straight towards Obi-Wan and lunge forward, cutting it in half before it can attack him.
"Thanks," he says, catching my eyes as we go through the doors into the castle.
"Anytime," I wink the adrenaline from battle fueling me with newfound confidence.
Soon we've made it to the hanger and within no time the droids are shooting at us.
"Ani, find cover!" Qui-Gon orders, deflecting another shot from a blaster.
Obi-Wan and I make our way forward, working in tandem. It's almost like we've been training together our whole lives. We work so in sync that one would think that we have known each other for years.
Obi-Wan blocks a blaster shot from hitting me and I shoot him a thankful glance. We take out the rest of the droids fairly quick and the starfighters fly out of the hanger, heading for the large cruisers up in space.
"My guess is that the viceroy is in the throne room," Padme says, turning on her heels and starting to leave the hanger.
"Hey, wait for me!" Anakin cries out, standing up from his hiding spot.
"Stay where you are," Qui-Gon instructs the young boy, "You'll be safe there."
"But I-"
"Stay in the cockpit!" Qui-Gon stares him down sternly.
The doors to the hanger open and a wave of dread hits me like a wall. The Sith apprentice stands there, his red eyes immediately locking with my brown ones. I stop and watch him carefully, trying to figure out his next move.
"We'll handle this," Qui-Gon says.
"We'll take the long way," Padme says, obviously okay with leaving us to fight the Sith.
I draw my saber as do Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. We go at the Sith from different angles, but he is able to deflect every single one of our attacks. I slam my saber down on his and push harder than I ever have. He stumbles back but quickly regains his footing, kicking me away from him. I land with a grunt and immediately jump back up, launching myself back into the fight. We end up in a power room and the Sith jumps away from us and lands on a walkway above the deep abyss. The three of us follow and as I land on the walkway, my footing slips and I almost fall. I steady myself and lock eyes with the Sith. I can feel the darkness rolling off him in waves and it almost makes me nauseous. How can anyone be that filled with hate?
I lunge at him and he moves back, obviously surprised with the ferocity of my attacks.
"Such a waste of talent in Jedi scum," he laughs, pushing me back, "You should join the side with power!"
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan take my place and attack him with renewed energy. The Sith hits Obi-Wan and he plummets off the walkway.
"No!" I cry out, trying to jump after him.
He hits the walkway beneath us and grabs onto the edge, struggling to pull himself back up. I land on the walkway and try to steady myself so that I don't go over the edge. I reach out a hand to Obi-Wan and help pull him up. We both turn and see Qui-Gon fighting the Sith. We both grab our sabers and jump back up to the upper walkway. I push myself as fast as I possibly can to reach my master and before the force fields can go back up, I launch myself to him with one last burst of energy.
Obi-Wan wasn't as fast as I was and is stuck on the other side of the force field, watching us with a horrified expression. Qui-Gon kneels down and begins to meditate, but I stand watching the Sith as he begins to pace. It seems like forever, but the forcefields finally come down and both Qui-Gon and I jump at the Sith, knocking him back. We attack from both his back and front and the Sith shoves Qui-Gon, knocking him to the side. I try to keep up my strength as he turns his full attention to me. His attacks are so powerful that I have a difficult time defending myself. Before I know it the Sith has knocked me off my feet and I fall back, landing on my back.
"Got you now, don't I?" he asks, sending his saber at my head.
I roll out of the way but am not fast enough as the saber slices up my stomach and chest.
"Kavra!" both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan call out.
I let out a scream and raise my hand, summoning the force to protect me. The Sith is thrown back, and Qui-Gon attacks him. I lay there, trying to regain my senses and get up to fight. Just as I grab my saber and turn to try and get up, I see the Sith plunge his saber into Qui-Gon's stomach.
"No!" I scream, my voice mixing with Obi-Wan's cry.
The forcefield lowers once again and Obi-Wan heads straight for the Sith. I try to get up, but my legs give out, my vision starting to get blurry. As Obi-Wan continues to fight the Sith, I crawl my way over to Qui-Gon, pulling his head into my lap.
"Kavra. . ." he rasps.
"Master, you can't die," tears begin to fall from my eyes, mixing with the blood on my hands.
"I must tell you something," he says, placing a hand on my cheek, "Sometimes, the Code is wrong. . . . Sometimes, you must follow your heart."
"But-but I don't understand!" I cry out.
I glance up and see the Sith shove Obi-Wan over the edge of the chasm and my eyes widen. This is the end.
We're all going to die.
The Sith turns and makes his way towards Qui-Gon and I, saber raised and his lips twisted into a sneer, "Looks like it's time to finish what I started."
I grab my saber and place myself in between the Sith and Qui-Gon. Even though I'm not strong enough to stand, I can still try to delay the Sith from moving on from us and attacking the Queen. The Sith raises his saber and just as it's about to be brought down on me, Qui-Gon's saber goes flying through the air and Obi-Wan appears. He grabs the saber and the Sith turns, just in time for the jade-colored saber to be buried in his chest.
The Sith falls back into the chasm and I let out a breath, collapsing onto the floor. The adrenaline is leaving my body and I barely have enough strength to keep my eyes open. In an instant Obi-Wan appears at Qui-Gon's and my side, his blue eyes the last thing I see before I slip into the dark.
