Star Wars: Emergence

Chapter 6- Battered

Anakin's senses returned to him slowly as blurry shapes gradually grew in clarity. He gasped as the muted, then muffled screams became clear to him. Anakin jolted up to see Ahsoka on the ground crying out as Malicus shot bolt after bolt of Sith lightning at her.

Malicus was torturing her to death, and he seemed to be enjoying it.

"Ahsoka!" he yelled.

All at once, Anakin's energy returned, and he force leapt over to Malicus. He landed directly in front of his padawan, shielding her from any more of Malicus' attacks.

Malicus grabbed his lightsaber and ignited it quickly to block Anakin. Ahsoka, freed from Malicus' torture, fell back, unconscious.

Anakin let his fury fuel his attack. For once, Malicus was struggling to block each of his strikes. Using his Sith lightening had weakened him. Anakin landed a cut to Malicus' upper arm, and he cried out in pain.

Anakin felt a rush of satisfaction from inflicting pain on Malicus after all the pain he had caused Ahsoka.

Anakin continued on, thrusting powerful blows. Malicus blocked a harsh jab, but Anakin charged quickly enough to slice part of Malicus' leg. Each cut seemed to slow him down a little more.

Anakin held his ground, gradually wearing down the Sith apprentice.

The room was aglow by the luminosity of the red and blue blades coming in and out of contact with one another.

Malicus thrust his lightsaber against Anakin's one last time before leaping back and retreating out a hidden door. He must have known he would be overpowered.

As the fight ended, sunlight began to peak over the horizon, illuminating the throne room.

Anakin was torn between chasing after Malicus or checking on his padawan. She hadn't moved since Anakin had re-engaged him. He chose to stay behind and make sure Ahsoka was alright. Anakin and ran over to where she lay and fell to his knees beside her.

He placed a hand tentatively on her shoulder.

"Ahsoka, can you hear me?" He asked her gently.

When he got no response, he worriedly pressed two fingers to her neck to feel for a pulse. He sighed out of relief when he felt a faint one.

Anakin called Rex on his commlink.

"Rex, I need a medical unit to the Queen's palace immediately."

"Right away, sir," Rex responded.

Anakin slipped his arms under Ahsoka's knees and back and carefully lifted her into his arms. As he left the room, he used the force to grab her lightsabers, clipping them to his belt. Half walking, half jogging, Anakin carried his apprentice outside to meet the med unit shuttle that was just touching down. For a brief second, he thought he saw Ahsoka's eyelids flutter, but then her face stilled. Anakin hoped this was a sign that she was still fighting.

"Just hold on, Ahsoka," he whispered, "Help is coming."

A gunship landed nearby the shuttle in the palace courtyard right outside the main entrance. As the shuttle doors opened, several clones from the med unit rushed over with a gurney. Anakin gently laid his padawan down on it and helped the clones hurriedly push it back to the ship.

Once inside, the clones checked Ahsoka's vitals and examined her for injuries.

"Will she be ok?" he asked one of the med unit clones as the ship took off.

"She's in rough shape, but she's with us for now," the clone responded.

Anakin felt slightly reassured. He reached out in the force for Ahsoka's force signature but was met with only pain. A little twinkle of light burst from the darkness. A slight smile grew on his face. She was still fighting.

The ship landed back at the main base camp. Anakin watched as the med unit took his padawan into the medical tent to further assess and tend to her injuries.

"How's the Commander doing?" Rex asked, approaching Anakin.

"Not great, but she's holding on for now," Anakin replied, "She took quite a beating from Malicus."

Just saying his name made Anakin fill with white hot anger.

"Ahsoka might look small, but she's tough. She'll get through this," Rex reassured him.

Anakin nodded. "How are the troops holding up?"

"Pretty well, actually. We've got the tinnies on the run. Seems that without their leader they can't rally."

"Good, that means we can head for home soon."

Anakin relaxed a little after hearing Rex's news. He was hopeful they would return to Coruscant within the next rotation and get some much-needed rest. Then, he could track down this Darth Malicus and prevent him from harming another Jedi.