Master and Padawan/Chapter 4

Chapter 4
Vader's furious attack caught Ahsoka only half-ready. She expected it and managed to cover herself with the humming, shining blades of her two lightsabers, but she didn't expect the might of the strike. It was no longer this tall, slender Anakin that she fought with side-by-side.

Here she deal with a monster, a human machine, heavy and powerful beyond normal human capabilities. Only the ultimate struggle and the power of Force let her stop the deadly blow of the red blade. The sabers sizzled and hummed as they met violently and she had to give under the sheer weight and savageness of his hit. Kneeling down of her right knee she managed to find a stable base and push back his hit. Hilts grated and she almost lost the grip on her right weapon.

She quickly ducked in a swift, trained movement, to avoid the returning saber that only missed her lekku by an inch and promptly rolled over, away from the black-clad predator that stepped forward again, aiming for another crushing blow. She barely escaped it again this time and jumped back gaining distance and breath. With a powerful hit of her long, strong legs she jumped high in the air and made a salto over Vader head, landing behind his back. Her body moved faster than her thoughts, lead by training, instincts and the Force and she struck a blow as he was in a mid-turn. The Sith Lord seemingly effortlessly blocked one of her blades with his bloody one and hit her on the wrist with his armored hand with the force of a machine.

Ahsoka lost her balance and fell back, struggling to regain her composure. With a quick gesture she retrieved her lost saber with a Force pull and jumped further back trying to catch a breath and gain salvific distance from the imperial butcher.

"Resistance is futile" he growled as he slowly walked toward her, his saber drawn up, the lens of his cruel mask seemingly piercing her through. "Give in and join me."

"Never" she whispered. "Never will I become what you allowed yourself to be. You killed the Anakin I knew and I'll have you pay for that."

"Always the same cheeky Snips, aren't you. Never able to judge your situation, always taking risks, always unthoughtful" he ridiculed her. "No other knight has survived. We killed all of them."

Ahsoka's head jerked as if she was slapped. She knew, she felt it, but she still had hope. When the hell unleashed she was away on a mission and upon learning the ghastly fate of the Order she fled and hid. "Those who fight and run away live to fight another day" she told herself. She waited. Now she knew – what for.

"You don't stand a chance, kid" Darth Vader's voice was raspy, echoing, as if it came from a distance, distorted by the mask's filters.

"Look at you, see what you've become" she shouted. "How could you turn yourself into a monster you are now?" tear rolled down her face again as she furiously jumped forward and drew a double hit from both sides aiming at his ghastly head.

He swiftly circled his saber over his head and lightnings clashed - the green and a red one with what seemed to be a clasp of a thunder. The Sith Lord took a backstep and drew a blow with his armored forearm, hitting her hard on the chest and chin, throwing her away, having her land on her back breathless, painful.

"Give it to me" he taunted. "Give in to your hate. Strike me down. I killed all of your friends. I killed all those who survived Order 66" he hissed, seeing dark rage in the slits of her eyes as she followed him life a snake gazing at a victim.

"You're the last one there is" he stopped, confronting her. "I even killed all the brats in the Academy. Slayed those snots with my own hands..."

With a deafening shriek of despair, rage and sorrow Ahsoka jumped forward and hit him with a crossed blow from both sides. One blade slid down to his hilt and she felt the tormenting pain of flesh being cut and burned as the lost the grip in her hand. Her other sword however managed to break through his defense and she heard a roar of pain as the green rod of light pierced through his armor and reached the human flesh of his torso.

She had little time to ponder the achievement though as she felt a deadly, suffocating grip on her throat as Vader lifted her up with Force grip and broke the wrist of her healthy hand with a crushing blow of his heavy, black fist. She lost grip of her other saber and only struggled to remain conscious in this vile, evil duel of will between a once mighty master and a padawan worthy of the prophesied Jedi savior.

"Almost there" he said with a raspy voice. He breathed heavily. "You are quick, young and well trained. I see you didn't waste the time you won escaping us for so long. But you need to give in to your feelings. Let the rage guide you. Forget the rubbish Yoda and that bastard Kenobi have fed you."

"Unleash your might" he demanded, throwing her in the air. She landed painfully hitting a nearby tree and fell forward like a rag doll. Her right wrist was crushed but she could still use it. Her left hand was burned and cut but she felt she could still keep the hilt firmly.

She retrieved her swords and took a position, a last stand in this deadly battle against a man she once admired, obeyed and maybe even deep in the core of her young, fierce hear - loved.