Think Twice

Chatper 2

            “Stay out of my way, Skywalker,” Ventress growled at him. “Count Dooku put me in charge of this mission.” He stared at her a moment and then shrugged.

            “Okay, but when it falls apart, I’ll swoop in and save the day.”

            “In your dreams,” she muttered and turned when two people entered the room. He leaned back against the column and let her take the lead.

            “Ventress, you’re not looking well,” Obi wan commented as though having a friendly chat with friends. She never does, he thought to himself.

            “You’re not much to look at either, dear,” she replied and he rolled his eyes. Obi wan glanced past her and saw him standing there and narrowed his eyes.

            “Stay back, padawan. Let me handle this.” Kenobi put out his arm to block Ahsoka. He looked her over. She was glaring at Ventress and then tried to hide her disappointment at her master’s statement. His lips curled a little in annoyance, but he shook it off. Why did he care how her master treated her?

            She stepped back obediently and then looked up, noticing him. He stared at her a moment longer and then went back to watching the fight that unfolded between Obi wan and Ventress. Ventress was strong in the dark side, but not as strong as him. Nor did she really have what it took to go up against master Kenobi, but she held her own for awhile. She kept trying to turn him, so his back would be to him, but he ignored the easy target because she’d wanted to take the lead. So, he just watched them bemused as they half taunted, and half flirted.

            At some point, Ahsoka jumped into the fight too and he studied her form. She had power, but it was often misplaced. Her second saber lagged behind her first as though an afterthought. Ventress was easily able to deflect anything she threw at her and keep Obi wan busy.

             “You could join in any time, Skywalker!” Ventress called through gritted teeth from the other side of the room after pushing Ahsoka to the side.

            “I thought you had it under control?” he smirked. But he pulled his lightsaber to his hand and narrowed his eyes.

            “I do,” she replied stubbornly.

            “Yet you still need my help?” he chuckled.

            “Just get over here!” She ducked under Obi wan’s swing and dodged Ahsoka’s charge.

            He jumped into the fray, forcing Kenobi to duck and dodge attacks from both sides. Eventually he pulled him off Ventress and threw his attention into fighting the Jedi master. She was grateful for the reprieve, not that she’d admit it, though Ahsoka was still a contender. He half watched their fight while focusing on Obi wan. He danced and twirled around and at one point backed up against Ahsoka. Almost as though they were on the same side. Obi wan lunged forward and he ducked. She felt his sudden movement and rolled to the side missing getting hit by her own master by a hair. From the floor they both watched Obi wan and Ventress start fighting again.

            She glanced at him uncertain but then pulled her lightsaber back to her hand and swung it at him. He blocked her strike and flipped back to his feet. Ventress broke the window behind her and leapt out of the building and Obi wan followed suit. He was left alone with Ahsoka.

            “Your master doesn’t appreciate you,” he said after they fought for awhile. All her focus was on trying to get through his blocks, but she looked a little unsure of herself.

            “Why do you care?” she asked through gritted teeth. Interesting, she didn’t deny it.

            “I don’t,” he said. “It was just an observation.” He pushed her back hard and she lost her balance. “You have potential, but you need a better teacher.”

            She looked up from the floor. “This again?” She narrowed her eyes and got back to her feet. She spun both sabers into her reverse grip, then she ran at him. He easily danced out of the way, blocking both strikes on the way by.

            “Your jar kai needs work. Your left hand is weak,” he smirked, rolling to the side. “If I swing like this, what do you do?” He swung his saber low, bringing it up along her left side. She fumbled a bit and barely managed to stop the strike before it hit her. “Nope. That’s the moment you should have flipped your saber around to block and then bring the right hand around, forcing me to duck.” She gave him a confused look but shook her head like she wasn’t sure how to respond to him. “So then if I come down like this, what do you do?” He brought his strike down hard and she frantically raised her lightsabers but tangled up her hands in the process and staggered under the pressure he’d put into it. She grunted and managed to push him back, leaping forward and cutting across his shoulder. He flashed her a dangerous grin. “So, you do have claws.” He turned up his nose at the smell of burning flesh, ignoring the pain. It was nothing compared to what he’s already known. “See, Snips? A few minutes with me and you’ve already improved.”

            “Why are you trying to help me?” She rushed at him and he flipped out of the way. He landed, dropping down low, his hands on the floor. “Shouldn’t you be trying to kill me? Isn’t that what all you Sith do?”

            “You’re not a threat yet,” he said simply. “Besides, why would I kill my favorite toy?” He noticed that the stripes on her horns brightened at his comment. He smirked to himself.

            “Is everything a game to you?” she asked and stopped fighting to study his face. He didn’t like her sudden piercing eyes.

            “It beats the alternative.”

            She was quiet for a moment and he felt uncomfortable under her stare. He raised his lightsaber to keep fighting and distract her. “It’s not too late, you know? You could come back to the light.”

            He narrowed his eyes angrily. “You don’t know the power of the dark side, Ahsoka.”

            “You’re stronger than your master, you can beat him!” she urged him. All he wanted to do now was run away.

            “It doesn’t work like that.” He ran at her and she blocked his strike and twirled out of the way.

            “Why not?”

            “You don’t know anything!” he shouted and threw all his energy into the force. She hit the wall hard and slumped down to the floor. He stood over her, holding his lightsaber near her neck. A tear escaped as he studied her unconscious body. He took a deep breath and turned away, leaping through the window and putting his mind back on his mission.

            She didn’t know how much he’d suffered and lost. She didn’t understand. Asking him to turn to the light was like asking him to be weak so they could strike him down. He wiped his eyes and went looking for Ventress. He had no reason to kill her yet. Next time, she might not be so lucky.