"This isn't working," Ahsoka gasped between combat moves. "We're going to be overwhelmed!"
"What should we do?" Barriss asked, Force-pushing a battle droid away from the explosive charges.
Peter swung around the room from above, eliminating every droid in his path while expertly avoiding their return fire.
Landing atop the facility's main reactor, Peter's eyes quickly scanned the room before focusing on the tactical droid that had remained motionless throughout the entire battle. It hadn't moved, hadn't participated in the combat at all.
Just standing there, observing with glowing red photoreceptors.
Peter shook his head and continued his reconnaissance. He noticed the super tank that hadn't moved since their arrival. The battle droids inside had been eliminated early in the fight and it had remained stationary ever since.
Completely undamaged.
Blaster fire bounced harmlessly off the tank's armor without leaving any marks, and Barriss had even thrown thermal detonators at it earlier, with the explosions causing no visible damage.
"Ahsoka, Barriss!" Peter called to his teammates. "The tank!"
Both Padawans looked toward the stationary armored vehicle, quickly assessed the situation, and nodded in understanding.
The girls could see at least a dozen explosive charges now secured in place by spider-webbing. However, Barriss determined that wasn't sufficient for complete destruction.
"Peter," Barriss held up the backpack containing their remaining explosives. She tossed it to him, expecting him to web it and swing it over to the main reactor.
Peter caught the package, crouched low, and destroyed an approaching droid with a powerful kick. Backflipping to avoid incoming fire, he suddenly saw Ahsoka being grabbed by Geonosian warriors who were attempting to carry her toward the reactor chamber above.
"Let go of me, you overgrown insects!"
He leaped into the air, spun around, and struck one of the alien attackers, then another. They released Ahsoka, and Peter caught her mid-fall.
Landing safely, both saw the super tank advancing toward their position. Barriss reacted quickly, jumping onto its hull and using her lightsaber to cut through the hatch's locking mechanism. She quickly dropped inside, and Peter and Ahsoka heard droid distress sounds, indicating their friend had eliminated the crew.
Barriss poked her head out of the hatch and gestured for her friends to join her.
"Are the charges set?" Peter asked, and Barriss nodded affirmatively.
Ahsoka looked between both teammates, considering their options.
"You think the tank will protect us?" Ahsoka asked.
"It survived direct blaster hits and explosive impacts. I'm betting it can survive Barriss's demolition plan, not to mention a factory collapse," Peter reasoned.
Ahsoka nodded and activated her wrist communicator. "Master, do you copy?"
Battle sounds could be heard faintly, with Anakin's voice cutting through the noise. "Ahsoka, detonate the charges! We can't maintain our position much longer!"
Ahsoka sighed and managed a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Master. We're not getting out in time."
"You can't escape?!" Anakin exclaimed urgently. "Ahsoka, wait!"
"Kid," Sam's voice suddenly interrupted over the comm. "What's your situation?!"
"Nothing serious, just finishing the job," Peter began webbing the interior of the tank for additional protection.
After receiving confirming nods from her friends, Ahsoka pressed the detonator button, triggering massive explosions throughout the entire foundry complex.
Instantly, the Padawans and Avenger felt the tremendous force of the blast wave passing through the tank's armor and impacting them, quickly rendering them unconscious.
Outside, the Jedi and Avengers watched in horror and shock as the factory began collapsing before their eyes.
Thick smoke from the explosions engulfed the entire battlefield, temporarily blinding the Republic forces.
Dust particles still hung in the air, but the Avengers and Jedi had summoned their gunships and deployed clone search teams to comb through the wreckage for the three teenagers.
"Ahsoka," Anakin called desperately over the comm. "Ahsoka, please respond."
Luminara knelt on the ground in meditation, her expression solemn yet sorrowful.
"We will find them, Luminara," Anakin tried to console her.
"Patience, Skywalker," Luminara replied with forced calm.
"Patience?" Anakin said incredulously. "This isn't the time for patience. We need to act immediately—our Padawans need our help."
"Where could they possibly be?" Sam muttered, scanning the debris field.
"Are they even alive under all this destruction?" Aayla wondered aloud.
"They must be alive," Steve stated firmly. "We will find them."
"There isn't much time," Luminara said grimly.
"Then we'll use every second we have to locate them," Steve declared loudly. "Rex, get everyone moving immediately. We're not leaving until we find them."
"Yes, sir!" Rex saluted, joining his troops as they began methodically searching through the destroyed factory.
Peter regained consciousness weakly, immediately gasping for air and coughing violently. He quickly removed his mask, hoping to improve airflow through the filtration system before attempting to locate his friends. He reached out and grasped their arms, gently shaking them awake, hoping they were uninjured.
"Barriss? Ahsoka?"
The two Padawans awakened abruptly, only to find complete darkness surrounding them. The tank's electronic systems that had once provided illumination were no longer functional.
"Are you both alright?"
"I'm okay, Peter," Ahsoka replied.
"Me too," Barriss groaned softly.
The Padawans drew their lightsabers, carefully avoiding pointing them at each other. Blue and green light ignited, helping to illuminate their confined space.
"How deeply buried do you think we are?" Barriss asked.
"Difficult to determine," Ahsoka said, looking around. "Best to focus on solutions." She turned her head and spotted something near Barriss. "Hand me that power cell."
"What?" Peter asked, as Barriss reached for the device.
"I want to try signaling the others through my wrist communicator to let them know we survived."
Peter nodded, then remembered his Avengers communicator. "Maybe mine has better range." He quickly searched his suit, attempting to locate it, only to discover it was missing. "I definitely had it with me."
"What are you looking for?"
"My Avengers communicator," he explained. "It has significantly better range than wrist comms and operates on an independent power source."
The Padawans nodded, and soon they located the device.
"Found it," Barriss said, attempting to retrieve it. She couldn't reach it because the collapse had compressed their space too much, and even using the Force proved ineffective as the device seemed firmly embedded in the debris.
Eventually, Peter apologized while carefully maneuvering closer to Barriss's position. The awkward moment passed quickly once Peter secured the communicator.
He nervously activated the distress beacon, hoping the others would reach them in time.
Above ground, the Jedi, clone troopers, and Avengers continued searching for their missing teammates.
"If they're really—"
"They'll find a way," Anakin cut off Luminara sharply. "They have to."
Gunships arrived overhead, using their tractor beams to lift debris from the wreckage while the Avengers, Anakin, and clone forces continued searching through the ruins.
"Ahsoka, where are you?" Anakin muttered, pacing frantically with growing desperation.
"They're not responding," Aayla stated with stoic concern.
"They'll find a way out," Steve said firmly. "They're resourceful—they'll find a method to contact us."
"Wait! I've got something!" Sam shouted, holding up his Avengers communicator. "Peter activated his distress signal. They're alive!"
"Can you determine their location?"
Sam nodded and headed toward where the signal appeared strongest, using his communicator for triangulation.
Below ground, the three teenagers talked quietly to pass time and maintain morale.
"Do you think we'll be alright?" Ahsoka asked with concern.
"Whatever happens to us doesn't matter after completing our mission," Barriss said simply, trying to control her breathing as their air supply diminished. "By destroying this facility, we've saved countless lives across the galaxy."
Peter muttered, "Good thing I probably saved all three of us."
"What makes you so confident?" Ahsoka asked with a nervous smile.
Metallic groaning sounds could be heard from outside the tank. The teenagers wondered what was happening, worried that the vehicle might be crushed by falling debris. However, their concerns proved unfounded as the creaking noises intensified, and then the hatch was forced open, bringing them brilliant light and fresh, dusty air.
"See that? Now do you believe I saved all three of us?" Peter asked with a grin, and both girls nodded appreciatively.
Soon, a familiar figure blocked the light. "Good to see you're all safe."
"Great to see you too, Rex," Ahsoka said, coughing.
The Clone Captain helped them exit the tank, and they were quickly surrounded by their worried allies. The three climbed out of the blast zone with assistance from their friends.
"I knew you'd come for us," Ahsoka said gratefully.
Despite struggling to hide his worry, Anakin maintained composure. "I never doubted you for a moment."
"You performed excellently, my Padawan," Luminara told Barriss.
"Thank you," Barriss replied, acknowledging her companions, especially Peter. "But without Peter, we'd still be trapped down there."
Peter smiled modestly.
"Without Ahsoka's leadership, we would have had serious difficulty handling those droids. She guided us perfectly."
"Indeed," Aayla smiled at Anakin's Padawan. "It's reassuring to know your Master never lost faith in you."
Anakin gave Ahsoka a proud smile while she beamed with gratitude.
"You did well, kid," Steve said, patting Peter on the shoulder.
"That feels pretty good," Peter joked wearily.
As the gunship began descending from altitude, the exhausted teenagers finally collapsed from complete exhaustion.