The sight I am welcomed with upon my arrival is truly terrifying. Obi Wan is sitting against a wall, unconscious with deep cuts to his shoulder and thigh. Anakin is lying on the ground in agony, his right arm completely missing from the elbow down. This explains the pain I was feeling just moments earlier.
The anger boiling inside me for the one responsible is unbearable. The hot, burning feeling inside of me was desperate to cause harm. It threatened to destroy me. To go against every moral I had. I felt my sense of justice corrupting at the hands of my emotions. The simple term 'anger' was not enough to describe what I was feeling. The word barely even touched the tip of the iceberg of emotions rushing through me.
I have to mentally remind myself that rage is not the way of the Jedi. Fighting with such feelings is a path to the dark side. I swallow down the burning flame and focus on what I'm meant to be doing. Bringing peace to the galaxy.
Count Dooku lifts his lightsaber to draw a fatal blow to Anakin.
Not on my watch.
I ignite my back-up lightsaber and clash it against Dooku's. The old man didn't sense my presence, it seems.
"Ah, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), another insignificant Padawan learner." He scoffs.
"Count Dooku, another worthless Sith." I counter.
It may not be the smartest idea to increase his anger but I needed to get to his head. There was no possible way for a Padawan to beat a highly trained Sith, even with my amplified powers.
He breaks away from the lock of our lightsabers and twirls his blood red one in his hand. His attempt to intimidate me failed. I do not lower my guard.
A regular Padawan would be terrified of facing a Sith Lord as I am. However, all I care about is saving Anakin. The fight to come will be all for him. My level of care for the line between Jedi and Sith was slowly fading as I remembered the state of my love. If I lose, so does he.
He clashes his curved hilt lightsaber against the unfamiliar one I possess. He is strong. Far stronger than I would ever give him credit for. However I am strong too in the presence of Anakin.
"You will die, my dear, just as these two Jedi will." He smirks evilly.
"I don't think so." I say aggressively before launching myself back at the Count.
I focus all of my strength into a swing aimed at the Sith. For the most part, he had been striking aggressively while I defended myself from the attacks. I keep the thought of Anakin at the centre of my mind through this. If I die, he dies with me.
"For an all-powerful Sith Lord, you're sure struggling to beat a Padawan." I attempt to get into his head.
"I'm simply going easy on you." He replies, not faltering for a second.
This was going to be harder than I thought. I remained steady with my attacks, managing to strike faster than the Sith despite the deep wounds covering my front. He was far more powerful than I, but he was becoming weaker with his increasing age.
Our lightsabers clash again. A perfect mix of green and red. Light and dark. Jedi and Sith. I have to admit, the spectacle would be far more cinematic if I still possessed my regular, blue saber.
"You are reckless, just like Skywalker." He rolls his cold eyes.
"I'm sure many would agree with you." I say without lowering my defence.
"It's a shame really. The Chosen One has so much wasted potential. Once I'm finished with you, he will be the first to die." His venom-laced voice threatens, no, promises.
His threat toward Anakin flips a switch inside of me. I scream at the Sith as I focus on all of the emotions I have built up. I concentrate on the force flowing through my veins and push him into a far wall. How dare he threaten Anakin. I wanted to see him in pain. I wanted him to suffer.
He hits with such an impact that I think he may actually go through the wall. Unfortunately, I'm not quite so lucky. He collapses to the floor before him and takes a moment to regain his strength.
Shock, terror and disbelief cover his face and I'm assuming I look much the same. I didn't realise I was capable of such...brutality.
His confusion fades into his evil smile as he comes to a realisation I was desperately hoping to avoid.
"Ah I see," He grins, "You have feelings for the boy."
"I don't know what you're talking about." I say with so much clarity that I almost convince myself that it is true. I never knew I could lie so easily when it really mattered.
"Oh but you do, Young (Y/L/N). I wonder what the Jedi Council would think of this." He threatens.
"You won't live long enough to find out." I say with a tone unfamiliar to me. It is dark, painful, and cruel.
Truthfully, I should be dead already. I'm merely a Padawan facing a Sith Lord. It should be no contest. I may be powerful when around Anakin, but not that powerful. Anakin himself is lying in agony due to the limb he lost at Dooku's hand. He was purposely keeping me alive. Why, I could not say.
Our previous duelling styles switch, with me opting for an offensive approach. I felt intoxicated by my own emotions. The power of a wildfire lied within my attacks on Dooku.
"Good. Give in to that anger you feel." He pleads.
"I'm not angry, Count. I'm determined." I shout in retaliation, however I do not believe my own words. I see red all around me as a flame curls in the pit of my stomach. I am angry. Beyond angry.
"Foolish." He states in his monotonous voice. "You may be stronger than I thought, but not strong enough."
"We'll see." I furrow my brows. This new, confident side of me was darker than I wanted to admit.
He smirks and shoots blue lightning from his fingertips toward me. I quickly raise my lightsaber in defence and deflect it. It doesn't shoot back at him, instead it is somehow absorbed by the blade of the lightsaber in my hand.
Within seconds, I find myself feeling weak. My previous thoughts that he would not kill me are thrown out the window. As soon as I let down my guard, I will surely die.
I drop to my knees in exhaustion, just barely managing to hold my saber against the attack. I'm about to give in and accept my fate. I have failed. Not only myself, but Anakin, Obi Wan, Master Ti, and the entire Order. I close my eyes, preparing to lower my guard and willingly take the hit from Dooku.
The lightning hits me all at once. I'm paralysed, stuck in place with no hope of escape from the pain. It was as though live wires had been attached to every nerve within my body. I convulsed as the electricity continued to flow through me. The pain is stronger than anything I have ever felt.
After what feels like hours of endless torture, Dooku eases his attack on me. I finally can breathe.
"Pathetic." Dooku spits as he stands before my near lifeless body.
He turns to retreat to his ship while I lie helpless on the cold ground. I feel physically unable to drag myself back up. I need to focus. I need to finish this.
Although paralysed in my current position, I manage to see Anakin force himself to his feet and re-ignite the saber he has been wielding in his remaining hand.
"You're...not going anywhere...Dooku!" The faded voice of Anakin mutters after the Sith Lord.
I need to regain my strength now. I concentrate on the guidance of the force the only way I truly know how.
"I am one with the force and the force is with me."
"That's brave of you, boy, but foolish. I would have thought you'd have learned your lesson." Dooku scoffs.
"I am one with the force and the force is with me."
"I'm a slow learner" Anakin says honestly, readying himself for whatever is to come.
"I am one with the force and the force is with me." I say aloud, finally regaining feeling to my body.
I stand weakly beside Anakin. We nod to each other reassuringly and take our battle stances. Dooku grins with amusement at the pathetic sight before him– the limbless Chosen One and electrocuted Padawan.
We muster all of the strength we have left and duel Dooku together. He is still much too strong for us both when we're in the conditions we are in. We were both growing increasingly weak. Anakin's pain radiates to me and my exhaustion to him. At least if we are to die here, we will die together.
When all hope seems lost, I hear the familiar clicking of a cane. It echoes over the deafening sound of our impending death at hands of the Sith. Dooku hears it too and seemingly panics. He pushes Anakin and I back into the wall behind us as he focuses his attention on his new opponent.
Through the smoke filling the room, the heroic figure of Master Yoda himself appears.
"Master Yoda." Dooku says to his former master.
"Count Dooku." Master Yoda replies. It must be devastating to see how far his former Padawan has fallen.
"You have interfered with our plans for the last time." Dooku says in true supervillain fashion.
The Sith begins levitating machinery and hurling it at the tiny figure of the galaxy's most experienced Jedi. Master Yoda has no problem deflecting every attack, whether it be lightsaber, lightning, or heavy objects. I decide he doesn't need our help and focus on the injured Anakin.
"I need to get you and Obi Wan out of here." I say, starting to stand up.
My legs cave beneath me and I topple back to the ground. A sharp pain radiates from my stomach where I had been cut in the arena. I look down to see the excessive amount of blood coming from the wound. Between that and the electrocution by force lightning, it's a shock that I'm still breathing. I guess the most recent impact into the wall removed any strength I had left.
"You need to stay here and wait for a medic." Anakin says, using his arm to bring me closer to him. To Master Yoda, it would simply look like he was trying to tend to my wounds.
My attention is brought to the sound of screeching metal. I look up to see a crane crashing down toward us and the unconscious Obi Wan. Anakin and I use the force to try to hold it up. Normally, we would have no problem doing this but struggle significantly with our injuries. Thankfully, Master Yoda adds his strength to ours and we manage to move the crane aside.
I look over to Obi Wan who has just come back to reality. He observes his surroundings and gasps when he see's the chaos engulfing the place he is in. He goes to help with the menace that is Dooku but realises he is also in no position to duel. He looks over to us and undoubtedly notices Anakin's missing limb and my loss of blood. He moves his mouth to speak but no words come initially.
"What'd I miss?" He finally manages to say.
I go to speak but am interrupted by the loud sound of engines roaring. Count Dooku has retreated to his ship. It's too late to do anything more. Dooku has escaped.
Master Yoda walks over to us, disappointment shrouding him. I can't begin to imagine how difficult this must have been for him, even though he would never admit it.
"Master Yoda," Obi Wan says, urging for the wise Jedi to say more.
"Young Kenobi," He addresses "Escaped, Count Dooku has." He lowers his head in defeat while leaning against his cane.
"I'm sorry, Master Yoda." Anakin says on behalf of us both.
"Need for apologies, there is not. Fought bravely, you have Young Padawans." He commends us.
"Thank you, Master...Yoda." I say slowly, my weakness increasing by the second.
Obi Wan stands up from the ground, struggling due to the pain in his leg. Anakin just barely keeps his balance. I can still feel the excruciating pain he is in. I want to get up and leave this hell of a planet but I do not have the strength. Not only have I lost a lot of blood, I am also exhausted beyond belief.
Padme and half a dozen clones enter the building as I am trying to stand.
"(Y/N)! Anakin!" she calls as she runs to us. She looks in horror at our wounds.
"I'm fine," Anakin says before she can ask about his arm "help (Y/N), please"
"You're not fine." I counter
"We feel each other's pain, remember?" I remind him.
"I know, but I haven't lost a lot of blood" He argues.
Padme looks at us with wide eyes, possibly realising that we had a conversation without actually speaking out loud. Thankfully, she doesn't question it while in the presence of Master Kenobi and Master Yoda.
She and Fives each put one of my arms around their shoulders and lift me to the ground. The combination of my pain and Anakin's is unbearable. For the first time, I'm beginning to think our connection is a curse rather than a gift.
Anakin, Obi Wan, and I are placed in separate medical areas within the transport we have boarded on our way to Coruscant. I didn't want to be alone. I wanted to be with Anakin. I knew the trip home would be long, but I wasn't willing to sleep. Too much was on my mind.