The Adventures of Babysitting with Ahsoka Tano (COMPLETE)

Part 15

The hallways in front of them were not lit. As far as they could tell, the only sources of light were the white and blue lightsabers held by the Jedi. It was rather unsettling.

"What happened to 'more concentrated forces'?" Anakin asked, looking around. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"I am. I don't think that's the problem," Ahsoka told him, trying to think. "You said Grievous was involved, right?"

"Did we?"

Ahsoka furrowed her brow. Right, that's a dumb question. "We really need to get your memory back."

Still, no movement came from anywhere around them. Obi-Wan turned to the Padawan. "Where is the machine supposed to be?"

"Straight ahead until the hallway ends, and then we turn left. It should be right there."

"Well, I, for one, don't feel like waiting for Grevious or any other droids to show up," Obi-Wan declared. He started walking forward, and after exchanging glances, Anakin and Ahsoka followed behind him.

That was a mistake. Three steps in, a ray shield fired up around the Jedi, trapping them inside. Obi-Wan nearly walked face-first into it before he realized what happened.

"Ray shields," Anakin announced grumbling.

"Wait a minute, how did this happen? We're smarter than this!"

"Apparently not. What now, Snips?"

Looking around, Ahsoka's eyes found what they were looking for: her backup plan. Using the Force, she opened a side door that led down a different hallway. "Try to find a way around. As soon as the way is clear, secure the age ray. We'll catch up," she ordered the clone troopers. Rex and Cody nodded, ushering their men inside. The door closed behind them, leaving Ahsoka, Anakin, and Obi-Wan still within the shield.

Anakin raised his eyes at his Padawan. "You're sending off our only backup to fight without us?"

"If we keep Grievous and his droids occupied enough, they won't need to fight," she explained. "The real question is: how obnoxious can we be, and is it enough to keep the fight between him and us?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Obi-Wan predicted, turning off his lightsaber and crossing his arms. "This will truly be our time to shine."

"I feel like I should be insulted," Anakin muttered, but right then, the lights kicked back on, temporarily blinding the three of them.

They turned down the hallway and saw a hoard of battle droids marching toward them, weapons out. There wasn't any way for them to shoot the Jedi through the ray shield, so Anakin and Ahsoka turned off their lightsabers too. The Jedi looked at each other. One squad wouldn't be a problem for them, assuming they could escape their trap.

No, it was the maniac cyborg that might be a bigger issue. Grievous too turned the corner, following the droid squad and coughing up what was left of his lungs. "Ah, yes. The Negotiator. General Kenobi. We've been waiting for you."

"That's odd. You'd think I'd be welcomed a bit more warmly," he mused, making the other two grin. This was going to be fun.

"And Anakin Skywalker," he said, ignoring Obi-Wan's jab. "I was expecting someone with your reputation to be a little... older. Although," he coughed some more. "I suppose you're not the age you're supposed to be right now."

"General Grievous," he greeted him, sizing him up for the first time. "You're shorter than I expected. I thought you said he was taller," he remembered, turning to Ahsoka.

"To be fair, I was shorter too, the last time I saw him," Ahsoka explained, recalling her last official encounter with him. "Not to mention, I was in a bit of a rush. There wasn't time to pull out a measuring tape."