A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy Far Away

Chapter 159

Anakin stood, lightsaber at ready as he studied Sidious wearily. The Jedi started forward only to jump back at a warning in the Force as a red beam of light sprang from the neuranium statue and into Sidious's hand.

Great, and now he's got a lightsaber too, Anakin thought to himself sarcastically, wincing as he felt a disturbance in the Force.

Deaths. The deaths of Jedi.

And something told Anakin he wasn't going to get the chance to activate the warning signal anytime soon.

Yet he felt a buzz as his comlink vibrated. Anakin didn't even bother to look. He knew what that meant.

Luna had gotten the message. She must have convinced Windu to send out the warning.

Now all there was to worry about was the Sith standing in front of him.

"I'm disappointed in you, Anakin," Sidious told him with an all too kind looking smile that was at odds with the hatred in his eyes. "Here I thought we had an understanding.... It's not too late to join the winning side. The Jedi are weak and can not be trusted. Surely you don't believe that they will accept things as they are. Accept you."

"Who said they needed to?" Anakin asked before launching into a flurry of attacks that Sidious met with incredible ease.

And then the Sith went on offensive.

Each swing had the strength of a bantha behind it. The red blade danced back and forth never staying in one place for more than a moment, changing direction within a moment. Anakin was hard pressed to defend himself, continuously blocking, side stepping, and dodging.

It wasn't a position Anakin found himself enjoying. Reaching into the Force, Anakin blocked the next strike, Force shoved the Sith back, and then attacked.

Sidious easily recovered from the push, dodged the saber, and brought his red beam of light towards the Jedi's unprotected right side. Anakin was hard pressed to get his lightsaber to right place quickly enough to block. He could smell the ozone of the lightsabers as the blade lock neared his face.

There's no way I can beat him, Anakin realized with sudden horrid certainty as he was forced to break the lock, only to attempt to defend himself from a barrage of angry strikes.

He would fail. There was no way Anakin could beat Sidious alone.

No, he thought to himself. You are not giving this up. They're all counting on you.

Firm with determination, Anakin attacked once more, this time managing to force Sidious onto the defensive. The Jedi put up a Force wall on one side to prevent the Sith's retreat and force him somewhere with less advantages.

Think of Padmé. Think of Luke and Leia. Think of Obi-Wan.

Think of Luna.

Sidious growled as he blocked the blue saber with his red, creating a blade lock that Anakin was winning. The Sith stepped back and spun out of the way, catching Anakin off guard for half a second.

That half second was all Sidious needed

Lightning sprang from the Sith's hands, hitting the Jedi dead on.

Anakin cried out in agony as the lightning tour through his body in unmeasurable pain filled waves.

He didn't know how long it was before the lightning retracted. Anakin could only lay on the floor gasping for air as the pain ran up and down his body.

And he had thought Dooku was bad.

"You see, Anakin? The Jedi are powerless. Join me and you can share in this power, become greater than you could ever imagine," Anakin heard Sidious say through the haze of pain.

"Never," Anakin spat as he struggled to rise, only to feel the burning pain of a lightsaber dig into his left shoulder that forced him back to the floor.

"What a pity. I had such high hopes."

The burning pain of the lightsaber disappeared, only to be followed by another round of Force lightning. Anakin couldn't do anything besides scream, and even then, he could feel his body shutting down around him as it became harder and harder to breath.

Darkness became to claim his eyesight.

"STOP!!!"

The lightning disappeared. Anakin gasped, taking in pain filled breaths. He opened his eyes and looked around the room, his mind slowly cataloging the scene in front of him. Furniture had been destroyed in the rampaging fight. He was on the floor with his lightsaber just beyond reach. Sidious was facing away from him.

And the last thing Anakin's overridden pained mind noticed was the newcomer standing in the hallway that connected the Chancellor's private office to his public one.

Luna.