"Well, this is just perfect—all three children are here," Pietro muttered grimly. "So who exactly are you supposed to be?"
Anakin's eyes narrowed as he studied the imposing figure before them: the distinctive hair, the prominent scar over his right eye, the familiar stance.
"I... I know you. You're Tol Skorr. Weren't you killed on Korriban during the tomb excavations?"
Pietro looked confused by this revelation. "What are you talking about?"
"How gratifying to know that someone of your rising reputation would recognize one of his former brothers-in-arms."
"Brother?" Pietro said with obvious bewilderment. "This guy is your actual brother?!"
"Not biologically," Anakin clarified, then addressed the fallen Jedi directly. "How did you survive that mission?"
"Quite simply—through Count Dooku's intervention and wisdom."
"Dooku," Anakin's expression darkened with understanding. "You've fallen to the dark side."
Skorr replied with calm conviction, "No, I was rescued. Awakened to the true potential of the Force, freed from the dogmatic and stagnant tyranny of the Jedi Order."
"You would turn against those who once called you brother?" Anakin demanded with growing anger.
"Turn against them? It was Count Dooku who aided me when the Jedi Council abandoned me to die," Skorr stated with unwavering certainty. "It was Count Dooku who revealed my authentic path through the Force, not the blind shepherds of the Temple."
Skorr raised his crimson lightsaber with practiced menace.
"With Count Dooku's superior training, I will defeat you—Skywalker."
"Yeah, that's not happening," Pietro scoffed dismissively.
Skorr studied the Avenger with mild curiosity and asked in a detached tone, "And what exactly are you?"
"Someone who's about to rescue these kids and kick your sorry ass back to whatever hole you crawled out of."
"Isn't it customary to demand the return of hostages before resorting to threats or violence?"
"No, you're using innocent babies as human shields. As Avengers, we don't negotiate with child endangerers, and we definitely don't tolerate that kind of behavior," Pietro said with ice-cold determination.
The mere mention of the Avengers caused Skorr's demeanor to shift noticeably, becoming more defensive and alert. His master had warned him that these Avengers represented unpredictable and dangerous variables, and now that one stood before him, he wouldn't underestimate the threat.
In a blur of superhuman speed that even a Force-user struggled to track, the medical droid beside Skorr was instantly destroyed, and the Rodian infant was safely secured in Pietro's other arm before the fallen Jedi could react.
Pietro grinned with obvious satisfaction at the former Jedi's shock, when suddenly the entire chamber began shaking violently.
Emergency warnings about gravitational system failure began blaring from nearby displays. The reinforced flooring groaned ominously before beginning to buckle and collapse.
Seeing the immediate danger, Skorr swung his lightsaber in a vicious downward arc while leaping toward Pietro, but was intercepted by Anakin's defensive maneuver.
Anakin raised his lightsaber and prepared for combat, but Skorr smiled with cruel calculation and deliberately positioned the human baby girl in front of himself as a living shield. The infant began crying desperately. Anakin, unable to risk harming the child, was caught off-guard and knocked backward toward Pietro's position.
Suddenly, the floor beneath Skorr's feet gave way completely. He deactivated his lightsaber and desperately grabbed a power cable that was fortunately hanging from the ceiling structure.
Anakin saw his opportunity and used the Force to pull the baby from Skorr's weakened grasp, safely tossing her to the waiting Avenger. Pietro quickly secured the final child and attempted to soothe all three infants.
"Pietro! Get these children out of here immediately!"
"What about you?!"
"I'll keep Skorr occupied while you get back to the Twilight!"
"But—"
"Go now!" Anakin shouted, deflecting another vicious attack from the fallen Jedi.
Despite his overwhelming desire to help beat the traitorous Jedi into submission, Pietro understood that the children's safety took absolute priority. Without further hesitation, he accelerated through the collapsing corridors toward their ship.
Meanwhile, Skorr had managed to swing back from the cable he'd grasped to more stable ground and reignited his crimson lightsaber with renewed fury.
Skorr attempted to pursue the escaping Avenger, but Skywalker positioned himself directly in the path, blocking any chance of recovering his master's experimental subjects.
"Stand aside, Skywalker."
"Only over my dead body."
"That arrangement would be most satisfactory."
Skorr lunged forward aggressively, his crimson blade clashing violently with Skywalker's azure lightsaber, both warriors locked in a brief but intense stalemate.
"You possess considerable power, Skywalker. You should embrace the dark side," Skorr attempted to seduce him. "Its potential is limitless. Consider how restrictive and obsolete the Jedi have become."
"Pretty words from a fool who willingly serves a Sith Lord obsessed with absolute power," Skywalker retorted with obvious contempt.
"Master Dooku seeks only the fundamental truth of existence," Skorr roared, his fanatical loyalty to the former Jedi Master unmistakable.
As Skorr bellowed his devotion, Anakin delivered a devastating headbutt to his face. If the floor hadn't been collapsing beneath them, the fallen Jedi would have been knocked completely unconscious.
Reaching the Twilight, Pietro found R2-D2 emitting a series of worried beeps and whistles.
"Anakin told me to evacuate with the children first. Now we need to power up the ship and be ready for immediate takeoff," the Avenger explained urgently.
Back in the facility, Anakin leaped backward into the main corridor, followed closely by Skorr, and the two engaged in an increasingly fierce lightsaber duel. Anakin remained primarily defensive while Skorr's attacks grew more desperate and wild, though both were limited by the narrow confines of the collapsing hallway.
All around them, the entire structure was disintegrating, with power cables and debris falling everywhere.
Aboard the Twilight, their ship was fully prepared for departure, and Pietro muttered anxiously to himself, "Come on, Anakin, where are you?"
Finally, the increasingly worried Pietro rushed back out of the ship and returned to the crumbling laboratory.
Anakin and Skorr were still engaged in their deadly dance, both warriors trying desperately to gain a decisive advantage, but neither able to break through the other's defenses.
The stalemate was finally broken when Skorr found himself violently struck by a fast-moving blur that appeared from nowhere.
Anakin was instantly carried away to safety, leaving behind a thoroughly confused Skorr, who suddenly realized he was now alone and would have to act quickly if he wanted to survive the facility's complete collapse into the molten lava below.
Anakin found himself aboard the Twilight in seconds, feeling somewhat disoriented by the rapid extraction.
"Anakin," Pietro said beside him with obvious relief, "come on, we have to leave now."
"Uh... oh, yes, absolutely."
The Twilight launched into the air with perfect timing, as the landing platform beneath began crumbling and slowly sinking into the superheated ground.
Standing on the rocky outcroppings scattered around the destroyed laboratory, Skorr watched helplessly as the Republic ship rose through the atmosphere and quickly departed Mustafar's hellish environment.
The former Jedi frowned deeply, knowing with absolute certainty that neither Count Dooku nor Darth Sidious would accept this humiliating defeat with anything resembling grace.