Trial of the Times

Chapter 46 - The Lion's Den

Snarling in fury, Savage throws the Force at him, sending him flying backwards. He catches himself, springing to his feet before going on the offensive. Too much time has been wasted in defending. As he gathers the Force around him, Dooku lunges towards Savage again, catching the Zabrak off guard. Their sabers lock together, the stalemate being broken only when Dooku throws Savage backwards, slamming him into a wall.

He gathers in the Dark Side, far more strongly than he ever has before, extending his left hand as he catches his opponent in a Force choke. Savage struggles against the grip, eyes glaring fiercely at him as a burst of lightning envelops his body, sending him writhing to the ground. Not sparing a moment, Dooku leaps towards him, his blue blade stabbing through Savage's chest. He spins around, taking in the scene. Of everyone, Kenobi is faring the worst as he fends off Grievous, so Dooku springs forward, shooting electricity at him as he tries to flee on four limbs.

**b**

Obi-Wan spins his lightsaber as he approaches Grievous, sensing Anakin and Ahsoka engaging Maul behind him. "General Kenobi, you are a bold one," sneers Grievous. "Surely you realize you are doomed."

"Your move," Obi-Wan retorts coolly.

"You fool," growls Grievous, as he throws off his cape. His arms split as he withdraws and activates four lightsabers. "I have been trained in your Jedi arts by Darth Sidious himself. Attack, Kenobi."

So be it. Obi-Wan spins his blade again, pointing towards Grievous with the hint of a smirk on his face. The droid general snarls, eyes narrowing to slits as he begins dramatically and rapidly spinning his lightsabers. They cut into the floor, causing sparks to fly, as he stalks closer. Obi-Wan slowly backs away from the seemingly crazed cyborg until they're standing in the middle of the room. If they move any further, they'll risk running into Maul, and Obi-Wan really doesn't want to get a lightsaber stuck through his spine.

Obi-Wan lunges forward, swinging his lightsaber at the top two which Grievous doesn't have stuck in the floor. Grievous yanks the others free, spinning them towards him, so he leaps over the cyborg's head, attacking him from behind. Grievous whirls around, lightsabers flailing wildly as he tries to decapitate Obi-Wan. He draws on the Force, ducking skillfully and blocking the blows as they come. He quickly realizes that Grievous has had little training and seems to rely on the number of lightsabers which he possesses. He's not even Force sensitive.

As the duel progresses, Obi-Wan finds himself being challenged, as he ducks, blocks, and evades, but he isn't known as the master of Soresu for nothing. Defense is his specialty, and if he can't defeat Grievous alone, he can hold him off until someone can help him. Obi-Wan feints to one side, and as a green lightsaber is turned to block him, he changes direction, slicing off one of Grievous' hands.

The cyborg stares in horror at his missing hand, before charging forward with a roar of rage, lightsabers flailing wildly in every direction, forcing Obi-Wan to make some rather unconventional moves to about them. Grievous is only dangerous because he has so many lightsabers and towers over most of his adversaries. Falling back to the defensive, Obi-Wan slowly backs away, parrying any strikes which come to close to his body.

They're caught in a saberlock, as Grievous tries to overpower him, failing when Obi-Wan cuts off a second hand, sending the lightsaber clattering to the ground. Raving mad, Grievous slashes at him with the two remaining lightsabers, a strike which Obi-Wan hastily blocks. Again, and again, the droid general strike, raining blows towards his chest, legs, arms, any body part which is open, but Obi-Wan's blade is there every single time as he backs away.

Grievous pulls back for another strike, giving Obi-Wan the opening he was looking for. Drawing on the Force, he throws him backwards, sending him skidding across the floor. He doesn't realize until a second too late that it was a mistake. With one final snarl, Grievous turns and runs away on four of his limbs like the coward he is. Obi-Wan lunges after him, silently cursing his mistake. The clones will have no way of stopping him if he reaches them.

Just as he fears he'll never stop him in time, electricity blasts from nearby, striking Grievous and sending him to the floor, growling. Dooku steps into view, blue lightsaber held in front of him, eyes tinged with yellow at he stares the cyborg down. Grievous stands up, anger radiating into the Force even more powerfully as he ignites his two lightsabers once more. Obi-Wan and Dooku approach him from opposite sides, caging him in between them.

They lunge in unison, blades crashing into Grievous'. After a few more slashes, the trio find themselves trapped in a saberlock, which ends when Grievous raises his left foot and unexpectedly grabs Obi-Wan's neck, tossing him to the side like a rag doll. He lands hard on the floor, breath knocked out of him from the impact. He stands back up, sprinting towards Grievous just as Dooku slices off a third hand.

Grievous doesn't even stand a chance. He slashes towards them again with a howl of anger, but Dooku throws him back into the wall, keeping him pinned there with the Force as he runs him through with his lightsaber. The body collapses to the floor, life rapidly fading away as Obi-Wan and Dooku spin to face the duel on the other side of the room. Maul is the only one left standing, and he's losing fast – or at least it looks like he is until he swings his lightsaber towards Ahsoka's prone body for what will be a killing blow.