Instead of falling flat onto the ground when the guards shove me forcefully into the cell, I hear a groan in my ear. "Hello?" I whisper, almost in fear of who the person is.
"Girly?" I hear Han`s voice!
I instantly latch onto him, and hug him until I think I might strangle him. I feel his arms wrap around me, and hold me tight. His hand comes up to my back, then quickly to my scalp, holding onto my short hair.
"Did you chop all of your hair off?" He drowsily asked me. I nodded, smiling the biggest grin and tears almost spilling. I open my mouth to say it, remembering he could barely see me, but a low growl comes from the dark corner! Han instantly pushes me behind him, and stands tall in front of me.
I hear his breath shake. "Chewie?"
The shadowy figure lets out a crazy yell and races toward Han and me, lifting us into the air and hugging us! I let out a small screech as the figure carries us into what little light there is, revealing to be Chewie! I immediately embrace Chewie back, causing him to hug us tighter. "Ah! Chew-Chewie!" Han chokes out.
The giant Wookiee barks with glee. Han speaks again. "Wait. I can't see, pal. What's going on?"
Chewie barks an excited blue streak. "Luke? Luke's crazy. He can't even take care of himself, much less rescue anybody." I chuckle as Chewie barks a response.
"A...Jedi Knight?" Han stammers. "I-I'm out of it for a little while, everybody gets delusions of grandeur."
Chewie growls insistently, he turns the two of us around and pets our heads. "We`re all right, pal. We`re all right." I speak softly.
When he finally let`s go of us, Han steadies himself against the wall. "So, what made you want to cut your hair?"
I shrugged, sitting on the floor and pulling my legs to my chest. "I don`t know, I think I couldn't let anything else get in my way of helping you."
"Is that it?" He smirks.
I sigh, and try to hide my face, but I don`t know why. "Okay fine, I was scared."
"Scared about what, girly?"
"Everything that was here." I try my best to tiptoe around the subject.
"Come on sister, I won`t tell anyone."
I squeeze my eyes shut. "I was terrified of Jabba."
He cocks his eyebrow. "Really?"
"Shut up, I never saw him in my entire life, until now." I only heard the disgusting things of what that thing had done to unfortunate people who crossed his path.
"He isn't that bad, once you deal with him once or twice." Han shrugs.
I force out a chuckle. When I was a little girl growing up on Tatooine, I often heard mothers use him to frighten children about misbehaving; a few of the people I worked with used it on me many times.
Han must have notice my silence, because he tries his best to crawl over to me. "Hey Cerise, we`re going to get out of here, I know we will. The kid hasn't failed me yet." He smirks, and Chewie howls in agreement.
I smile as the tears are lessening; leave it to them to make me happy in a cold, dingy hell hole.
Noisily, the main gate lifts to flood the blackness with blinding light and reveal the silhouetted figure of Luke Skywalker! His robe seems all too similar to Ben Kenobi`s, and he carries no weapons; not even his lightsaber. Luke strides purposefully into the hallway; but, two giant guards move to block his path. Luke halts.
He raises his hand and points at the puzzled guards, who immediately lower their spears and fall back. The young Jedi lowers his hand and moves on down the hallway.
Bib Fortuna appears out of the gloom. He speaks to Luke as they approach each other, but Luke doesn't stop and the creature reverses his direction and hurries alongside the young Jedi in order to carry on the conversation. Several other guards fall in behind them in the darkness.
"I must speak with Jabba." Luke says coldly.
Bib answers in Huttese, shaking his head in denial. Luke stops and stares at Bib; he raises his hand slightly. "You will take me to Jabba now!" He growls.
Bib turns in hypnotic response to Luke's command, and Luke follows him into the gloom. "You serve your master well." Luke speaks.
Bib responds in his language.
Luke nods. "And you will be rewarded."
In Jabba`s throne room, the fat creature is asleep on his throne, with Leia lying in front of him. Salacious sits by Jabba's tail, watching it wriggle. Leia is now dressed in the skimpy costume of a dancing girl; a chain runs from a manacle at her throat to her new master, Jabba the Hutt. Like a personal slave.
3PO stands behind Jabba as Bib comes up to the gangster slug. "At last! Master Luke's come to rescue me." He cries in joy.
"Master." Bib Fortuna whispers to the Hutt. Jabba awakens with a start and Bib continues, in Huttese. "...Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight."
"I told you not to admit him!" Jabba yells in Huteneese.
"I must be allowed to speak." Says Luke.
Bib speaks to his master. "He must be allowed to speak."
Jabba, furious, clobbers Bib and shoves him away. "You weak-minded fool! He's using an old Jedi mind trick."
Luke stares hard at Jabba. "You will bring Captain Solo, the girl, and the Wookiee to me."
Jabba smirks, "Your mind powers will not work on me, boy."
Luke steps forward. "Nevertheless, I'm taking Captain Solo and his friends. You can either
profit by this... or be destroyed! It's your choice. But I warn you not to underestimate my powers."
Jabba's laugh is mean and loud. 3PO steps forward, obvious terror in his voice. "Master Luke, you're standing on-."
"There will be no bargain, young Jedi." Jabba interrupts. "I shall enjoy watching you die."
Luke reaches out, and a pistol jumps out of a guard's holster and flies into his hand! The bewildered guard grabs for it as Jabba raises his hand. "Bascka!"
The floor suddenly drops away, sending Luke and the hapless guard into the pit! The pistol goes off, blasting a hole in the ceiling. Jabba laughs and his courtiers join in. Leia starts forward but is restrained by a human guard. Lando, recognizable behind his mask. She looks at him and he shakes his head "no."
Luke and the guard have dropped twenty-five feet from a chute into the dungeonlike cage, perhaps even farther. Luke gets to his feet as the guard yells hysterically for help. A crowd gathers up around the edge of the pit as the door in the side of the pit starts to rumble open, and the guard screams in panic. Luke looks calmly around for a means of escape.
"Oh, no! The Rancor!" 3PO screams.
At the side of the pit, an iron door rumbles upward and a giant, fanged rancor emerges! The guard runs to the side of the pit and tries uselessly to scramble to the top. The hideous beast closes in on him. The Rancor moves past Luke, and as the guard continues to scramble, the
Rancor picks him up and pops him into its slavering jaws. A few screams, and the guard is swallowed with a gulp. The audience cheers and laughs despicably at the guard's fate.
The monster turns and starts for Luke. The young Jedi dashes away just ahead of the monster's swipe at him, and picks up the long arm bone of an earlier victim. The monster grabs Luke and brings him up to his salivating mouth. As the Jedi`s eyes grew wide, before he could be swallowed, Luke wedges the bone in the monster's mouth and is dropped to the floor. The monster bellows in rage and flails about, hitting the side of the pit, causing an avalanche!
The monster crushes the bone in its jaws and sees Luke, who squeezes into a crevice in the pit wall. Luke looks past the monster to the holding cave beyond. On the far side of the holding cave is a utility door-if only he can get to it! The Rancor spots Luke and reaches into the crevice for him! Luke grabs a large rock and raises it, smashing it down on the Rancor's finger.
The Rancor lets out a loud howl as Luke makes a run for the holding cave. He reaches the door and pushes a button to open it. When he succeeds, he sees a heavy barred gate between him and safety! Beyond the gate two guards look up from their dinner. Luke turns to see the monster heading for him, and pulls with all his might on the gate. The guards move to the gate and start poking at the young Jedi with spears, laughing.
Luke crouches against the wall as the monster starts to reach for him. Suddenly he notices a main door control panel halfway up the wall! As the Rancor moves in for the kill, Luke picks up a skull from the cave floor and hurls it at the panel. The giant overhead door comes crashing down on the beast's head, squishing him!
A startled gasp is heard from the stunned court, there's consternation at this turn of events. Heads look to Jabba, who is actually turning red with anger. Leia cannot suppress her joy. Jabba utters harsh commands to his guards and they hurry off.
"Okay, can you see them now?" I ask.
"Not really, I can see something, it`s just all fuzzy." He slurs, leaning forward.
I sigh. "Fine then, just take a guess."
He leans forward. "Two?"
I shake my head. "No, four." I put my fingers down, and wrap myself in my arms again.
He snickers. "Never was really good at math."
I chuckle. "Neither was I."
"Do you really think that low of yourself, my child?"
My leaps into my throat, and I freeze. Out of all the times I`m alive, why oh why now?! I can`t even tell if I`m breathing too loudly, or if I`m breathing at all.
"Girly, why`d you stop talking?" Han`s voice pulls me out of my trance; but only a little. I ignore him, and stand up slowly, searching almost frantically around the cell, looking for her.
"Sister come on, say something." His voice rises, and he gets up from his feet, Chewie helping him quickly.
The door is jagged, and I can feel rust as I aimlessly touch the door, then come up to the bars. I stare right through them; nothing. "Mama?" I ask, almost like a horrified child.
A hand gently rubbing my shoulder causes me to jump almost a foot in the air! I swiftly turn around, thankful for it to only be Han.
"Cerise, what`s the matter with you?" He asks, slowly leading me away from the door.
I pull away from him, and go back to the bars. "Mama-?"
The door bangs violently! I scream, and fall back for Chewie to howl in anger, pulling me and Han behind him and shielding us. Four guards step in, and tear us apart from each other, aggressively pushing and pulling us to who knows where.
The area slowly becomes more familiar, as the three of us are forced into the throne room. The crowd of creepy creatures parts as we are brought into the front throne room, and other guards drag someone else to the steps.
"Han! Cerise!"
"Luke!" Han and I scream; me, of course, being the loudest.
"Are you both all right?" He instantly asks.
"I`m fine, don`t know much about girly. Together again, huh?"
Luke shrugs. "Wouldn't miss it."
"How are we doing?"
"The same as always."
"That bad, huh?" I ask, and then-. "Where's Leia?!"
"I'm here." I hear her growl.
I snap my head to her voice and- oh my heavens. 3PO is standing behind the grotesque gangster as he strokes Leia like a pet cat. I grit my teeth in disgust not to lash out at the revolting thing. Several of the guards, including Lando, bring Luke from the other side of the room. Boba is standing behind Jabba.
3PO steps forward and translates us "captives". "Oh, dear. His High Exaltedness, the great Jabba the Hutt, has decreed that you are to be terminated immediately."
Han sighs. "Good, I hate long waits."
I slug him. "Shut up."
3PO continues "You will therefore be taken to the Dune Sea and cast into the pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all-powerful Sarlacc."
"Doesn't sound so bad." Han whispers to Luke and me.
"In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you are slowly digested over a thousand years."
"On second thought, let's pass on that, huh?" Han looks down at me, and I nod rapidly as Chewie barks his agreement.
The guards start to lead us away, and Luke shouts over them "You should have bargained, Jabba. That's the last mistake you'll ever make!"
Jabba cackles evilly at this. As the guards drag the prisoners from the throne room, a loud cheer rises from the crowd. Leia, Chewie, and I exchange concerned looks. But why is Luke suppressing a smile?
Helooooo everybody! Sorry once again for almost an entire two month wait, but first year of high school can surprisingly be stressful! Anyway, oh my gosh you people this is the most viewed, favorited, and followed fanfic I`ve written on here! Thank you (crazy) people so much, and I just wanted to quickly apologize for the length of this chapter, and if throwing Cerise`s mom into it seemed off.