A/N: The first few chapters have already been written and posted on Deviantart, which explains why I'm chucking them out so fast. After the fifth chapter, however, publishing is gonna slow waaaaaaayyy down.

Disclaimer: The only way I'll ever own Star Wars is if I buy it off George Lucas. Do you think he'll take it for $25.76? Oh, and the creature is mine.

Off to a Fiery Start

Back at the outpost, Dooku strode to the makeshift med bay. He had just finished making his report to Darth Sidious, and he was now carrying out his master's latest orders. As much as he despised Grievous, he was a necessary evil. If they lost the general, they lost the war.
He felt an involuntary shudder run down his spine as he remembered the events of the past few hours. When he lost contact with Grievous, he immediately sent out orders for a search and, possibly, rescue. Grievous, though haughty and disrespectful during their conversation, was right about one thing: the rock he said he was heading for was indeed visible from the outpost. It certainly narrowed down the search area.
With a platoon of battle droids he set out for the lone monolith. They were only about halfway there when they ran into Grievous--or rather, Grievous ran into them.
Dooku remembered getting into a crouching position cursing, ready to berate Grievous for the daring stunt. Then he saw Grievous on all fours, like an animal about to bolt. Dooku, however, was most enraptured with the Kaleesh's eyes. They were open as wide as they could go, and the pupils had become near pinpricks. They almost flashed with a mad light as they rolled everywhere, trying to keep all the droids in sight. Curiously, Dooku stretched out with the Force to examine Grievous's feelings--and then visibly and mentally flinched at the seeming ocean of panic that was roaring in his mind. Even now, snatches of fearful thoughts flickered across his subconscious:
I have to get away! It's going to kill me! Someone help me!!
Dooku reached Grievous's quarters-turned-med bay. The general was in a portable medical capsule. He was still unconscious from the blow Dooku had to give him to get him under control. He quickly glanced over the readings on the capsule's screen. For some reason, his body temperature was slightly higher than normal. His brain activity was still on the subconscious level. Other than that, everything was fine.
Dooku cautiously stretched out with the Force to examine his mind again. He winced as the panic surged through his thoughts once more. It was muted now, but still....
Suddenly, he felt a surge of something other than mindless panic. Grievous was slowly gaining consciousness again.
Dooku expected him to move, make a sound, something to get his bearings. But if it wasn't for the capsule's readings and Dooku's own analysis, he would have thought Grievous was still out cold.
He opened the capsule and leaned in to get a closer look. If one didn't know better, one would of assumed he was dead...his eyes were making practically no movement under their lids....
The Force suddenly surged the exact instant Grievous's eyes snapped open. Had it not been for the warning and Dooku's Force-enhanced reflexes, his face would have been mauled by swinging robotic claws. He quickly leaped back as Grievous flipped out of the capsule and onto his feet, ready to dash out the door.
Realizing this, Dooku quickly stepped between the general and his target. "Grievous," he said slowly, "Calm down. You're safe now. Whatever was chasing you is gone." He took a step to the side to dissuade Grievous from running. "Just relax. You don't have to run now."
Recognition slowly brightened the fear-darkened eyes. Grievous sank down until he was sitting on the edge of the capsule, as if his legs couldn't support him. He looked around himself like a child seeing a palace for the first time. Dooku chanced another glimpse into his mind. Grievous suddenly flinched and jumped away from him. Though quite surprised, Dooku hid it with a questioning eyebrow. "What was that about?"
Grievous coughed with embarrassment. "I...it was nothing...I just...thought it was something else." He shifted, reluctant to reveal any more.
Well, at least he can still talk. Dooku thought. "What happened? You were talking about finding something and then you just stopped. Then the link got terminated." He looked at Grievous thoughtfully. When he didn't answer, Dooku continued. "Was it Republic forces?"
"No."
"Hm. Well, I don't see how it can be anything else. Were you jumped by space pirates?" Though I doubt that's the answer.
"No."
"Angry locals?"
"No."
"Some kind of local fauna?"
"I...I don't know, really...it might of been...."
"What, you mean to tell me that you were nearly scared to death by some kind of giant lizard or something?" When he got no response, Dooku snorted with contempt. "How pathetic. The great General Grievous, scared witless by a reptile-urk!
He suddenly found himself with a ringing headache, struggling to breathe as Grievous banged him against the wall and slowly tightened his grip on his neck. The mad light was shining in his eyes again. "You weren't there," he said in a dangerously low voice. "You didn't feel that...that...thing try to tear your mind apart like a piece of meat. You didn't see the things it showed me. You didn't hear it laugh...laugh...as it saw me nearly go completely mad back there. It didn't care that I control an army that spans the entire galaxy. I could actually feel the Force back there, Dooku, for the first time, and the thing that almost stole my body could snuff you out in a second! So don't go sniffing at me, because that giant lizard nearly caused the Republic to win this war!"
He finally let go of Dooku. He slid down the wall, gulping down giant breaths of air. He could also feel a sensation like an icy claw gripping his heart. Fear. If what Grievous was saying was true, then they were both in very grave danger.
He got on his feet and nervously cleared his throat. "I believe the time has come to move to a new location."
Grievous's voice held a scathing tone a sarcasm. "Oh yes, wise Count. Shall I start wrapping the art figur--" He suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in fear. Dooku felt a disturbance in the Force centering around Grievous. But it was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was stronger, yet more primal.
Grievous, meanwhile, grabbed his head. "What are you doing!? Get out of my head!!" He screamed. He started spasming and grabbing his chest. A single unending scream of agony tore from his voice box. Dooku backed away in horror. The scream degenerated into a fit of dry hacking coughs. Still Grievous was clawing at his chest like he was trying to dig something out. Something wispy seemed to be coming out of the grills that projected the sounds from the voice box. He was able to take a single, strangled breath before the coughing took over. But with each hack of his lungs a burst of fire erupted from the slits.
Battle droids, sensing that something was happening to their general, stormed in to protect him from the unknown danger. Grievous turned to the direction of the disturbance, still coughing fire. Those droids that were caught in the stream melted in seconds. Dooku was forced to retreat from the rapidly heating room as fast as possible.
After a few minutes, a deathly quiet fell over the outpost. Dooku waited some more before cautiously walking back in. The walls had softened to the point where the ceiling could collapse at any minute. The floor had become a shallow pool of melted steel. Droid parts that escaped the blasts lay sparking around the crouching figure of Grievous. Miraculously, he seemed untouched by the fire he was belching a mere ten minutes ago. He was breathing heavily, but the coughing had subsided, as well as the flames.
"What happened?" Dooku finally ventured to ask.
The reply he got was less than reassuring. "I...I don't know."

A/N: And so it begins….

Review and critique, please. Any and all flames will be used to make s'mores.