Chapter 10: Home of the Weapon
Entry log: After a close shave with death by wedding, Rex has finally come to his senses. Now that the whole gang is here, we need to figure out a way to stop a sinister Separatist plot. Knowing Bane, Ventress and that despicable no-good Emperor, they're up to something that involves this whole Star Wars galaxy. Me included. Problem is… where do we start in a galaxy of over thousands of planets and moons?!
Obi Wan: Where indeed…
Anakin: Oh come on, Hikaru! Tell us already!
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: No way, you have to read to find out.
Rex: I still can't believe I tried to… (Glances at Claire and blushes)
Cody: She'll forgive you.
Anakin: Say it before I get Soltaria's special nickname for you!
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: O_o I have a nickname?
Anakin: Yeah! And it's stupid too!
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Cool, what's it called?
Anakin: O_O No! You're supposed to be terrified! Not interested!
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Then stuff it, while I get the disclaimer rolling.
Droid: Err… why am I here?
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: You my friend, have just won the honor of doing the disclaimer.
Droid: Really?
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Yes, now get on with it before I call Grumpy General Grievous in to slaughter you.
Droid: AAH! (Stands rigid) xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists, except her OC in this story- Claire Aschlock. Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers. (Cowers) Please don't hurt meeee!
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Smiles sinisterly, patting trembling droid's head) Good little droid.
Anakin: Obi Wan… I sense the Dark Side in her growing strong.
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Pauses, taking out light saber)
Obi Wan: It's been nice knowing you Anakin.
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Vigil gazed out to his room of mirrors, each holding a portal to another dimension. He chuckled as he noticed the mirror with Claire chasing Soltaria around with her light saber.
"Much like her father, she is. Yes?"
Vigil nodded solemnly to the glowing image of Yoda. "I see you have found a way through the Force to access my dimension."
"Tricky it was, but found it at last, I did," Yoda smiled.
"Her father would be proud to see her so happy for once."
Yoda nodded in agreement. "Loved her, he did. But now a threat, approaching it is. Massive and Destructive." Yoda turned to ask Vigil, "Vigil, helping us, would you be?"
Vigil sighed wearily as he gazed at the girl from another world. "I wish I could, Yoda. But as one who oversees the dimensions and travels around them, I'm not allowed to intervene unless the time calls for it."
Yoda gazed at the sorrowful eyes of the glowing blue entity floating before him. He sighed heavily. "Tragic and unfortunate, his death was. But if you let fear of hurt control your will... Then letting down your son and his child, you would be."
The Jedi Sage disappeared, leaving Vigil gazing at the child of his son- the very same son whom he had cherished before letting him journey on his own across the many dimensions; the very same son who he tried to teach, only to see him angered and betrayed by his choice of actions.
"Claire Aschlock… how unpredictable and dangerous, your fate has become."
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The following day, we departed for Rex's drop ship after explaining to Cut and his family what happened. Initially, Obi Wan and Anakin were suspicious about Cut's identity, and they might have actually guessed it right, if I didn't lie to them about his true identity.
"Claire, why did you tell them that that strange guy was third distant cousin from her second aunt in this dimension?" Soltaria asked as we trekked through the forest.
"Because Rex and I promised to keep his identity a secret. Consider it your punishment for that trick you pulled on Rex."
Soltaria's eyes beamed. "You mean you forgive me?"
I tapped my chin. "Hmmm… not really. Unless…"
I eyed her with a sly smile. "Unless you destroy all of those baby and kiddy pictures of me you have in your hand phone."
Soltaria shot a horrified gape at me. "All of it?"
"All of it."
She sighed; her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine…"
Artoo beeped, nudging my leg again in glee as I patted his head.
"Sir, how did you find us?" Rex asked Anakin, who jerked his thumbs to Obi Wan who told him, "Well we have a very interesting story for that."
"It's a long way to the drop ship anyway."
##########(Flashback)############
"Nice scary Trees… nice scary trees…" Soltaria mumbled nervously to herself, shivering as the cold wind blew against her skin. Under the moonlight, Obi Wan cast his eyes to the shivering Soltaria, and turned to Ahsoka, Cody and Artoo.
"Perhaps we should camp here for the time being," He suggested.
Unnerved by the idea, Soltaria quickly stride ahead of them. Ahsoka walked along her side, with Artoo whirring, a little spooked. As they walked, Soltaria suddenly shrieked.
"Something just poked me! Get it off! Get it off!"
Ahsoka inspected the object behind Soltaria's neck and said, "Soltaria, it's just a tree branch."
"Oh… I knew that."
Cody sighed. "Honestly, how did you ever survive in life?"
"It's not my fault I'm claustrophobic and afraid of the dark!"
All of a sudden, the shadow popped up from the trees behind and sped past them. Soltaria screamed in terror as the shadow brushed past her. Obi Wan whipped to the side, catching a glimpse of another shadow escaping to the bushes on the right.
"Stop him!" Obi Wan yelled. With Obi Wan leading from the front he chased after the shadow through the thick forests.
"AH! Ow! Trees! Ow! Curse you branches! Ow!" Soltaria winced at the pricking and scratches from running through the dense forest. Obi Wan eventually caught up with the shadow at a small cliff. In order to stop him, he raised his hand to Force-Hold the shadow. Out of the blue, Soltaria barged from the thick bushes and knocked onto Obi Wan's back, causing his hand to jerk and Force-Push the shadow down the cliff.
"AAAAAHHHH!" The shadow screamed before falling splat below the cliff. Soltaria and Obi Wan stared in horror of what they had done.
"Oh my God! You killed him!" Soltaria half-shrieked.
"Wha- No! You pushed me! And then I-"
"You killed him!"
Obi Wan was about to protest when they heard groaning. Upon reaching the edge of the cliff, they found Anakin sitting up in a pool of mud. Obi Wan was surprised. "Anakin?"
All of a sudden, Ahsoka rushed into the scene, accidentally knocking into Obi Wan and Soltaria. Not watching where they were going, Cody slammed into Ahsoka, followed by Artoo slamming at his thigh. The collision sent Obi Wan and Soltaria falling into the mud pool, colliding head to head with Anakin. Ahsoka, Cody and Artoo stared at the muddy trio in surprise.
"Sky Guy?"
Anakin, prostrate on the ground, groaned and gazed up to return a surprised look. "Snips?"
"General Skywalker?"
"Cody?"
Artoo beeped.
"Artoo?"
"Ahsoka!" Soltaria whined.
"Soltaria?"
She grinned. "Annie!"
"Ahsoka… Cody…" Obi Wan growled in slight frustration.
"Obi Wan?"
"Anakin."
"Soltaria!" Soltaria randomly shouted out, raising her mud-caked fists in the air. Everyone blinked, staring at the random purple-haired, bespectacled girl. She was about to exclaim into the name game again when Cody cut in.
"Not. Another. Word."
##########(End Flashback)############
I was stifling my laughter throughout the story, burying my face against Rex's shoulder and slapping my knees. Failing to remain unfazed, Rex sniggered discreetly while Obi Wan, Soltaria and Anakin stared at us crossly.
"Pfft… Okay. I'm done. I'm done," I said in between dying laughters. But after while I burst out laughing again, thinking of the part where Obi Wan sent Anakin landing face first into the mud. "Are you done?" Anakin grudgingly asked.
"Yeah, we haven't got to the part where we found you," Soltaria added, some what embarrassed by me laughing.
"Fine, carry on," I said.
##########(Flashback, again)############
The group had spotted a barn house from afar after the whole forest trip resulted in Soltaria, Obi Wan and Anakin completely drenched in mud and earth. Their boots sloshed along the ground as they walked through the field of crops.
"So you were after Cad Bane?" Ahsoka asked.
"Yeah, the blue monkey-lizard gave the slip after someone shot our starfighters down."
"Who would try and attack Bane in the middle of nowhere?"
"He is a bounty hunter," Anakin mused. "With lots of enemies everywhere."
"Maybe that bald wicked witch of the east did it?" Soltaria suggested. "She did admit that she was after Claire-Bear."
Cody reloaded his gun, musing, "So she took him down for fear of competition?"
"It's possible, considering that Bane works for his own benefit and doesn't care about sides," Obi Wan said. "Although we shouldn't be too certain. It could be another Separatist plot."
"Works for me, but can we find some place to shower. I haven't cleaned myself for like hours!"
Just then, two little kids popped out from the cornfield, running into a mud-covered Soltaria. The Twi'lek kids stared at Soltaria in horror and then screamed. Soltaria screamed back in surprise, and the three of them seemed to be having a screaming competition with each of them screaming louder and louder before running off in the opposite direction. Soltaria ran to Obi Wan, hugging him in fear. Obi Wan blinked, staring down at a trembling Soltaria before clearing his throat.
"Soltaria, do you mind?"
She paused, and looked up, staring at narrowed bluish gray eyes.
"Wow, you have very nice eyes," She muttered. Everyone squirmed uncomfortably under the awkward silence. Obi Wan yet again cleared his throat nervously. "Right then, let's continue."
"Yeah, phew. For a minute I thought those little monsters wanted to eat me."
"Oh come on Soltaria! Those kids aren't scary at all!" Anakin complained.
Soltaria glared at him. "Well since you're so macho and brave, lead the way then, Annie!"
"And stop calling me that! I'm not ten years old!"
##########(End Flashback)############
"And that was when someone shot me in the butt!" Anakin growled at Rex's direction. "Sorry sir," Rex apologized, hiding a smug look under his helmet.
After trekking through some vegetation for hours, we finally reached the spot where the drop ship was hidden. "We're almost there, sir," Rex said, pushing through some branches and bushes.
However, everyone didn't expect the ship to be found by someone else first. There was Bane, leaning against the drop ship as if he owned it! Upon noticing me, he flashed a toothy smile, showing off his blood-chilling fangs.
"Took you all long enough."
Everyone either ignited their light sabers or aimed their blasters in his direction. Rex on the other hand would rather a machine gun at him if he could.
"Why the hell are you here, Hutt-Slime?" He growled.
"Just making sure that your ship is working," He casually walked towards me, tracing my jaw line with his slender blue finger. "And that my little girl was not hurt."
Disgusted, I slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me!"
"Now, now, don't try to play hard to get," Bane lightly scolded, caressing my locks of hair, as he leaned closer to whispered into my ear. "I'm only doing this for your safety."
Rex butted in, shoving Bane away from me. "Don't you dare touch her! You sleazy slime ball!" He snarled protectively. "Make one move and I'll make you eat laser!"
My inner chibi swooned at Rex's heroic move. 'He loves me!'
"Pity, because you'll need my help against a certain Separatist threat."
"Why should we trust you?" Ahsoka demanded.
"Because I know where the Emperor is making his next move, and what he plans to do about a certain doomsday weapon hidden there."
Reluctantly, everyone lowered his or her weapons. Soltaria was shocked. "We're just going to let him live?"
"As much as I hate to say this, Soltaria. He does know what is really going on," Obi Wan said.
"No offense, but I'm with Soltaria on this one," Anakin said.
"Ditto," Rex agreed bitterly. I would have agreed if Obi Wan did not cut in.
"If the weapon is as deadly as he described it to be, we would need to find out more about it. But what do you stand to gain from this?"
"Let's just say I have a score to settle with a certain assassin who double-crossed me," Bane replied dryly.
"Do we have to pay you?" I sarcastically asked. Bane glanced at me briefly, before replying with a smirk. "Actually, I'm in a mood for something more than cash."
I blushed madly in disbelief. Rex balled his fists up, pouncing on Bane to punch the daylights out of him. Rex and Bane would have put up more of a fight, but Cody and Anakin quickly intervened by pulling the two of them apart.
"You son of a- I'll kill you! You hear me? I'll KILL YOU! Let me at him!"
"Rex! Calm down!" Cody held back the struggling, enraged Clone Captain.
"Wow… Claire-Bear, your love triangle is epic!" Soltaria remarked as I stared at the fighting pair in even bigger disbelief.
"Guys! Break it up!" Ahsoka shouted. They only managed to calm down after a long half an hour of heavy breathing and glaring.
"Well then, I suppose we have a truce?" Obi Wan asked.
Anakin and Rex grumbled simultaneously, each having their own reason to dislike the decision. 'Who could blame them?' I wondered. Grudgingly, I nodded. Despite my most secret desire to use Bane for a punching bag, I swallowed back my anger (and pride), holding my hand out to his.
"Truce?"
Bane smirked and shook my hand. "Truce."
Then he paused, feeling my hand with his, as if he noticed something particular about it. "You have very nice soft hands…"
Impulsively, Rex broke free from Cody's grasp and lunged at Bane again. I smacked my forehead again. Soltaria grinned at the others as she skipped to the drop ship.
"So does this mean I get to drive?"
Everyone stopped whatever he or she were doing and yelled simultaneously:
"NO!"
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The Emperor approached the temple on Kalee with General Grievous and (Still random) Count Dooku by his side. The ruined temple was a sight to behold. A multitude of once grand towers and an entrance that led underground to the many wonders hidden away from the naked eye.
Just then, the holo-com beeped and the Emperor activated it to reveal a hologram transmission from Ventress. "Have you found the girl, my dear?"
"Unfortunately, the bounty hunter has her at the moment. I had a run-in with her dwindling friends… Including the Jedi," She hissed at the last word.
"Hmm… his betrayal was foreseen."
"What about Aschlock? Should I attempt another capture?"
The Emperor smiled evilly. "No need. Once Bane gives them the information they need, Claire will be skipping towards the ritual site in the temple. For now, make sure they reach Kalee."
Grievous stopped in his tracks momentarily, staring at the temple and the very ground of his home world. His mind drifted off to the memories of many victories gained in his life, along with the many battles he had battled.
Then he remembered a foolish wanderer who had traveled from afar. A being whose appearance derived from many different fighting styles around the galaxy, including some that he had never seen before. The man put on a brave fight, but like all others, he fell in combat against him.
Aschlock.
The name was driving him insane. How can there be another Aschlock here? Was the girl related to him in some way? Were they relatives? Siblings? Lovers?
Grievous hoped it wasn't the third option otherwise he would gag.
"YIPEEE! I CAN SEE MY SHIP FROM HERE!"
Grievous snapped out of his daze and jerked his head up to see a loony Dooku prancing on top of the temple like a mad bunny.
"Get down here, you old lunatic!" He yelled.
"You do not order me! I am your Master and you are my SLAVE!" Dooku sang out of pitch.
"General, please get Count Dooku down before he kills himself," The Emperor said nonchalantly, wiping the shiny long staff in his possession. Grievous grumbled and proceeded to climbing up the ruined walls Spiderman-like. 'When I get my hands on you… you'll wish that you had never called me your Slave!'
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"Are we there yet?" Soltaria whined.
Cody whipped around, glaring at her. "No, we are not. Can you please just keep quiet for one second?"
"But it's so boring here!"
"However about the silent game?" I suggested.
"No way! You ain't tricking me with th-
The sudden appearance of Mace's hologram quickly forced Soltaria to keep quiet and ducked behind Cody, who rolled his eyes. The hologram of Plo and Kit appeared right after.
[Obi Wan! I've been trying to contact you for hours! Where have you been?] Mace demanded, but paused upon noticing Bane. [And why is the bounty hunter doing here?]
"My apologies, Mace. But we needed his help in uncovering a separatist plot," Obi Wan explained.
[Claire! Long time no see!] Kit cheerfully greeted with his charming smile.
[Koh-To-Ya, Claire Aschlock.] Plo Koon greeted with a bow. I smiled back warmly. "Glad to know that you're all safe."
The chatter however just made room for more glaring between Rex and Bane, and I was squashed on a seat between them. Rex placed a protective arm around my shoulder, but I had a feeling Bane had a few tricks hidden under his sleeve.
"So what exactly does this temple hold?" Anakin asked.
"The Terror of Dimensions. A powerful battle cruiser ship that can travel through many dimensions, loaded with enough arsenal to wipe out planets and worlds. Although I must say that the odds are against us, since the Emperor has the map and the Ritual staff required for the summoning."
"Aren't we in deep doo-doo then?" Soltaria innocently murmured.
"Well, we just need to get to the ship and destroy it first right?" Ahsoka asked.
"Exactly."
I turned to meet his gaze, frowning. "You better not be lying."
"Relax, Claire." I shivered from the way my name rolled off his tongue, especially when I felt his hand over mine. "I'll never lie to you."
Disgusted, I swatted his hand away from mine. "Down boy," Ahsoka joked.
Rex's grip around me tightened and I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry Rex, I can handle him."
"But Claire-"
"Rex."
Rex reluctantly nodded, letting go of his grip on my shoulders. Just when I thought the battle of glares was over, Rex and Bane simultaneously placed their hands over mine. I sighed in defeat.
'Boys… Why must they be so competitive?'
"Claire-Bear, I pity you…" I turned around to find Soltaria patting my shoulder in comfort. "Erm, Soltaria, weren't you supposed to be hiding from Mace?"
Soltaria's face paled as the hologram of Mace bellowed, [Soltaria! What are you doing in the ship?!]
Everyone paused and stared as Soltaria flustered. "Oh, erm, Hi there Macey!"
[Don't you 'Hi There' me, Padawan! You're prohibited from any aircraft in-]
"What's that? Mace? You're… you're breaking up!" Soltaria crinkled a bag of potato chips (?!) at the transmitter's receiver.
"Soltaria! I can see you crinkling something to make it look like the connection's haywire! Now stop your nonsense and haul back to the Resolute ASAP!" Mace sure was living up to his reputation in the exploding volcano department.
"NEVER!" Soltaria shouted and ended the transmission. Everyone in the ship was staring at her, baffled. Everyone, except a furious Anakin.
"Nice going, Soltaria! You just turned yourself into a fugitive!"
"Oh just shut up and drive!" She yelled back, pushing Anakin off the driver's seat. "Or I'll drive for you!"
"NOOOO!" Anakin scrambled back to the seat and fought with Soltaria over the steering wheel. "I'm the better pilot here!"
"No, you're not! You're not even focusing on the road now!"
"That's because your big fat ponytail is blocking it!"
Soltaria growled menacingly. "You can talk about my bad driving skills, my attitude, my over-protectiveness for Claire-Bear…"
"It's Claire! CLAIRE!" I shouted, but was ignored as usual.
"But no one… No one messes with MY HAIRDO!" Enraged, Soltaria pounced on Anakin, pulling out handfuls of his hair.
"AAAHHH! MY HAIR! NOT MY BEAUTIFUL SEXY HAIR!" He screamed in agony.
With no one to pilot the ship, it began to fly off course, taking a nosedive into the empty space below. Poor Artoo was sent hurling to the front of the ship, hitting Obi Wan on back of his the head and knocking him out. As Cody went to secure Obi Wan, Ahsoka pulled Artoo back to the ground.
"Rex!" Cody yelled. "The ship!"
"I'm on it!" In a flash, Rex dived for the wheel and managed to steer the ship back on course. Unable to stand the squabbling duo, I stomped towards them and (to everyone's surprise) pushed the two of them apart.
"Will the two of you just… Shut UP!" There was so much anger in my voice, that I was sure it could set the whole ship aflame. Anakin and Soltaria gasped at my sudden angry appearance, as I jabbed a finger at them.
"Listen closely, neither of you are going to drive this drop ship. You'll not go near that wheel, speak of it, or touch it!"
"Erm… Claire?"
"Just drive, Rex." Not wanting to spark further conflict, he continued driving.
"If I hear one more squabble from the two of you… well, you better pray hard that there is a God for you up there to receive your souls. Because if you don't behave, I'll skewer your bones and dump your ashes into the sea."
Slowly, they backed up against the wall, as I stomped on the ground before them, glaring at their petrified eyes. "Do. You. Understand?" I seethed the words through my teeth, pissed off. Anakin and Soltaria nodded repeatedly, as I folded my arms, smiling innocently in a creepy way.
"Good."
As I returned to my seat, Bane whistled. "Feisty, indeed."
"Stuff it Bane."
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Inside the temple, The Emperor managed to evade the traps with the help of the map that showed the secret routes to the ritual site. Grievous was ordered to bring a small army of droids and accompany Dooku instead of guarding the entrance, because the Emperor feared that the Count would do something rash.
And here I am… reduced to a mere babysitter! Grievous thought grumpily.
Dooku who wandered around the temple like a little boy on his first trip to the museum, gaped in awe at the mural paintings on the wall. "Ooh…" Dooku cooed, playfully touching the mural paintings, accidentally pressing down a certain button on them. As a result, flying darts shot out from the bottom of the walls in front of them.
"How can there still be traps here if this is the safe route?" One of the droids asked, earning a fierce growl from Grievous.
"Vigil, I shrewd of him…" The Emperor snorted.
"WHEEEEEE!"
Everyone stared in disbelief when they looked up to find Dooku on the other side of the death trap. "How did you get there?" Grievous demanded.
Dooku simply shrugged and lifted his legs up and down to do the Can-Can. Feeling ridiculed the Emperor shook his head. "Unbelievable…"
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"Here it is."
All of us stared at the insides of the temple in all of its glory. Mural paintings were painted all over the walls and the ceilings. Ancient statues of godly towering guards stood firm and regal at the entrance.
"Wow… that's huge," Ahsoka said.
"Yeah, and that cursed Emperor has the cheat sheet," I added.
"We'll have to split up and cover more ground, I guess."
Soltaria met Obi Wan's gaze with a serious expression. "Obi Wan. The minute we split, something bad always happens."
"But we have to get into that ship before the Emperor finds it."
"Yeah, and in every temple like this. There's bound to be booby traps that may even kill us if we're not too careful. And aren't you forgetting that not all of us have Jedi Force Powers to dodge darts, bullets, flames and boulders like you?"
I frowned at Soltaria's mother hen excuses. "Soltaria, I can take care of myself."
"Yeah, and I trained her too," Bane added smugly.
"But did you forget that tiny part when we had difficulty tracking Claire-Bear down in the Force? I swear it was like connecting to the Internet with no wireless connection!"
I stared at her quizzically. "You couldn't detect me in the Force?"
"Duh! We had to resort to tracking Rex down! And I must say…" Soltaria eyed him with a sly smile. "He sure had a whole romantic honeymoon planned for you, Claire-Bear."
Rex blushed madly while I gaped at her. "Are you saying that I can hide my Force-Aura thingy from others all this time?"
"Yeah! So can you turn your Force 'Bluetooth' on next time you get lost?"
"Soltaria, that's not something that you can turn on like a switch," Ahsoka said, a huge sweat drop fell from her forehead.
"Cool! I have a camouflaging security system in my Force Signature!" I cheered.
Rex patted the towering door. "Looks sturdy, sir. I could try a grenade to break it open."
"No need for that, Rex!" Soltaria rolled up her sleeves and charged a ball of Force Energy in her hands.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Since when did you become Ryu of Street Fighter?"
"Since now," Soltaria grinned, as Rex stepped away from the door. "HADOKEN V2!"
Thrusting her hands forward, the 'Hadoken' sped towards the door at lightning speed, colliding and seemingly burning the door. But after awhile, it dissipated and the door stood still, unscratched. Soltaria gasped. "I don't believe it! My Super Ball didn't work!"
Obi Wan's fingers trailed the door's brick-hard surface. "Not even a scratch."
Anakin grabbed Bane by the collar. "Tell us how to get through this door!" He ordered. "I only knew how to get here, not how to get in, Skywalker," Bane hissed back.
"Maybe you need some encouragement!" Anakin raised his hand to do his (soon to be famous) Force-Choke. Determined to know the truth, I read his mind and gasped.
"Anakin, stop! He's telling the truth!"
Anakin and Rex were surprised by my actions. "Are you sure, Claire?"
"Rex, as much as I had like to kill him myself," I grumbled. "He's not lying."
Much to his distaste, Anakin released Bane, who walked over to me with a cunning smile. "Thanks," He muttered.
"Whatever," I snapped. Ahsoka looked closely at the writings on the dusty gold plate behind the statue on the right. "Psst! Claire! Check this out!"
Curious, I walked briskly to the plate she was pointing to, noticing the strange engravings on it. "What do you think it means?" Ahsoka asked.
Peering closer at the gold plate, I read out loud.
To find my spoils and few surprises
guess this riddle to enter inside
Ahsoka stared down at the riddle in disbelief. "What is the day for Ice Cream?"
Everyone gathered around us to look at the weird riddle. Obi Wan raised his fingers to his chin, thinking. "The answer to it might open the door."
"But what is the day for Ice Cream?" Soltaria asked.
"And what the heck is an Ice Cream?"
I turned to Anakin in disbelief. "You never ate Ice Cream?"
"No, why?"
Cody turned to Ahsoka and I. "Ice Cream?"
"We ate them before back in Claire's world, remember? That cold yet sweet dessert?" Ahsoka said.
Anakin's eyes bulged. "You guys get to eat it?"
"Yeah, and it's so cute too. It comes in different flavors!" Ahsoka counted her fingers to list them down. "Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, Minty Chip..."
From the corners of my eye, I could tell Anakin was drooling. "I want one!" He whined. The riddle was really simple to solve, but everyone's excited guessing drowned my voice out. "Erm, guys! It's really easy-"
"Chocolate Monday!" Anakin cried out.
The door refused to budge.
"Vanilla Tuesday!" Ahsoka yelled.
"Strawberry Wednesday?" Cody asked. Rex blinked.
"What? It tasted good."
"Cookies & Cream Thursday!" Soltaria exclaimed.
The door didn't move at all.
"Ahhh… Pistachio? Yam? Raspberry ripple Friday?" Soltaria tried again.
But the door never once budged. "This is getting ridiculous."
"I don't see you helping out, Hutt Slime," Rex growled.
"You aren't even trying, Clone," Bane growled back. And so the two of them went back in their glaring competition. Anakin kicked the dust from the ground in fury. "Great, the Emperor's probably gloating at the Doomsday Ship, as we speak!"
Ahsoka grew crestfallen. "I'm sorry, Sky Guy. I failed you."
"It's not your fault, Snips."
"We're toast. Screwed. Dead-Meat!" Soltaria lamented.
I couldn't take the idiocy anymore.
"Oh for crying out loud! SUNDAE!"
At last, a loud click was heard behind the door and the heavy stone doors creaked open majestically. Everyone gaped as I walked to the door. "What?"
"How did you…"
"It's a riddle from my world," I simply replied. "Even six year olds can solve it."
Everyone shrugged and followed, entering deeper into the temple, while Anakin stood dumbstruck. "Am I… that dumb?"
"You noticed that until now?" Bane wondered aloud purposely.
I walked beside Rex, smiling at him. "Sure brings back memories, huh?"
"Yeah," He agreed, holding my hand warmly. I felt butterflies fluttering inside my stomach as his warmth wrapped around mine. Suddenly, I felt someone snake his arm around my waist, pulling me away from Rex. I didn't need to look up to recognize who it was. "Pardon the intrusion, but we have much to talk about," He whispered huskily.
"Do the words "Don't touch me" mean anything to you?" I hissed, pushing him away from me. He grabbed my arm possessively. "Not when that Clone is around."
"Hey! Leave her alone, You Hutt Slime!" Rex shoved Bane aside, bringing me to hide behind him. Bane snarled, his hand on his gun strapped in his holster. "I think it is you who should leave."
'Uh-Oh.' I glanced between the two guys nervously. "Erm... Rex? Bane?"
Rex was ready to take out his blaster, until Soltaria stepped in between them. "Oy! Save your guns for the bad guys later! We got to find that ship!"
Then, in the distance I noticed a statue that seemed too familiar.
"... Dad?"
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xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Whoo! Cliffhangers! Why is a statue of Claire's father doing in the temple? Will her secret origins be revealed? Is Bane truly serious about Claire and helping them? And what else would the gang find in the mysterious temple?!
Soltaria: Man! The suspense is killing me! (Munches on popcorn) Where's Anakin?
Anakin: X_X (RIP)
Claire: I won't even ask who did it. And Bane, stop flirting with me in front of Rex God dammit!
CB: I can't.
Claire: Why not?
CB: Because (smirks) I like you.
Claire: O_O
Soltaria: Ooh boy…
Claire: REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEX!
Rex: (Barges in with laser machine gun)
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Anyways, please review and no flames! The more reviews, the better! Don't miss the climatic epic battles and jokes ahead for the two-part finale! XD (That's right, the finale is coming in two more chaps!)