Alethea was grateful when she felt through the Force that Thal-ion was almost in position. She wouldn't have to hold out for much longer. She continued dancing with their opponent, not letting him get another strike past her defenses--a task made easier by his slowed movements. She didn't expend any more energy than was strictly necessary, instead she made her opponent work harder and used the energy from his strike in her counter attack. She didn't make any more headway than he did, as she wasn't truly trying to strike him, but to keep him where he needed to be and focused on her. Just a little longer.<br/><br/>Moments later she felt Thal-ion telling her through the Force that he was about to destroy the conduit. She waited until the last moment before leaping backwards. The Sith tried to leap after her, but Thal-ion, having rejoined the battle, pushed him back. Their opponent was soon covered in flames. He screamed in pain and unbridled rage as the flames licked at his flesh. Yet he didn't give up. Had he not been her enemy, she might have admired his resolve. Using the Force, he extinguished the flames. As he did so, Thal-ion attacked again, soaring over him to land behind him and stabbed through the Sith with his blade. Still, their opponent did not go down so easily, spinning around more quickly than Thal-ion could react and hitting him with a blast of Force lightning, sending him flying across the room.<br/><br/>As Thal-ion forced himself to his knees even as the Sith approached him, Althea knew what he was doing. He was holding the Sith's attention long enough for her to make a move. And make a move she did. She flipped one of her blades around into a reverse-Shien grip and, using the Force to enhance her speed, she kicked off the ground, running across the room at such speed that it was nearly impossible to follow her movement. She slid past their opponent, her reversed blade slicing through him as she did. She came sliding to a stop next to Thal-ion as their opponent toppled over, his head separating from his body as he did.<br/><br/>She let out a sigh of relief and slid to the ground as she did. She was breathing heavy, out of breath, and sweat slid down her brow. It had taken nearly everything they had to beat this Sith. Was this how they all were? Would they have to face stronger opponents than this? Could they really win against such opponents? She stared at the ground, both because she was tired and because her mind was elsewhere as she wondered what more they would face here, and if they could really succeed. It seemed quite clear to her now that the Force intended to test the limits of not only their strength but their resolve. If they wavered, if they hesitated, if they failed to work together, then the future as they knew it might cease to exist. But they were only padawans. Why choose them? She didn't know, but she thought that it was best not to question it.<br/><br/>For now, she tried to Force her mind back to the task at hand and her partner, who was in worse shape than she was. "Are you okay?" she asked as she slowly caught her breath. "Are you injured? I'm not a healer, but I can still heal you a little, if you are hurt," she offered as she forced herself to her feet so that she could take a look at him. They had stopped their enemy for now, and she sensed no one else close by who was intending to harm her. At least not anyone who wasn't there in the original time line. That meant that they at least had a moment to take a breath and assess any injuries they had. Then they could worry about what to do next.