By My Side

Chapter 15 - The Unexpected

"I may spare your padawan, if you surrender," he says. Apparently not.

The insinuation fills him with a raw, blinding rage, but he instantly tamps down on it. It's the Sith's intention to throw him off-balance, to make him easier to fight. Anakin doesn't respond verbally, but raises his lightsaber in preparation for battle, waiting for the Sith to make the first move. He already learned the hard way about charging into these battles, and it's not a mistake he intends to repeat.

Dooku moves towards him finally, and Anakin slashes at him once he's in range. They rapidly trade blows, working their way across the hangar with neither gaining ground. This is tricky, Anakin knows, because he also has Grievous to distract. It's a dangerous game to play, but he needs to make sure the others will be fine. If they can destroy the ship now, it would be just as well. (He should have listened to the Chancellor and the Council in the first place and not come. Maybe.)

Anakin lets himself reach farther into the Force. It hurts, but he needs to know. He needs to be able to sense everything on the ship, where his padawan is and where Master Plo Koon is and where the clones are, if they're alright. He needs to know when they're on the way back, when they're getting close, and to find a ship for them to take. Or to clear the hangar and give them more time to find a ship.

He senses the warning in the Force and dives aside as Grievous' blades nearly slash off his head. Anakin ducks down, swinging his saber upwards in a one-handed grip, blocking them. He circles around the two and backs away, eyes falling on the fallen lightsaber behind them. Reaching out, Anakin tries to call it to him with the Force. It would've come, too, and slices one of Grievous' legs right off, had Dooku not broken his hold by attacking him again.

The cyborg is approaching him now, and Anakin forces his breathing as level as it can be while he's moving as fast as he is. He must stay calm. He doesn't have time or energy to waste on fearing death in the Separatist's very brutal fashion. Plus, Anakin knows they don't want to kill him. They can't afford to. (That doesn't limit much what they can do, though.)

Anakin ducks around them again, snatching up the other lightsaber. It makes it significantly easier, to be sure, but it's a fight he can't hope to win. Not together.

One of Grievous' sabers glances a blow off the armor on his right arm, not quite cutting his skin. Anakin throws him backward in reward for trying, only for Dooku to nearly lop him in half for his efforts. Maybe he was wrong about not trying to kill him...

Ahsoka is almost there now. Maybe. Either way, he needs to buy her more time. Somehow, because he's already worn out and rapidly losing.

It's Dooku who knocks him down, of course. Anakin had – accidently, of course – turned his back on him to fight off Grievous for the moment, when Dooku sends a blast of lightning at him.

The agony of it is as strong as it always is, ripping through every inch of his body, sending him writhing to the floor. It always feels like it's dragging on to infinity, so in reality, Anakin has no idea how long it lasted. All he knows is that it's too much and he can't breathe. All he knows is that when it finally lets up, he's lying on his back, gasping. It sounds disturbing even to his own ears, and he wonders how much he's capable of fighting now.

Not that it matters, because before he could have moved to get up, Grievous steps on him. Literally. It's enough to keep him firmly pinned on the ground, not to cause permanent damage, though the pressure of it is harsh enough that he can barely breathe.

No. No. Absolutely not. Ahsoka is counting on him, and it could forfeit her life if he doesn't succeed. Closing his eyes, Anakin reaches into the Force. He can feel it in everything, in the floor beneath him. The Force ought not to be used in this way he knows, but there's little choice. Anakin calls the Force to himself, willing the floor beneath them to bend and break and give way altogether.