***chapter four***
Taking a deep breath, Amithyst found herself gasping for air. Her entire chest felt constricted and tight. It felt as if her heart were going to burst from the pressure. Her eyes flew open and everything around her seemed to swirl. She felt sick.
"Don't worry, my dear. The spinning does not take more than a few minutes to overcome. It's a harmless side effect." The voice was unfamiliar to Amithyst. It was dark yet humorous all at once. She didn't particularly care for the man's humor, and right now she wasn't in the mood for any of it.
She closed her eyes quickly, trying to regain her senses, but they collected together slowly. She listened as well she could to her captor. The best thing for her to do right now was stay alive. That's what she had promised Zeth, and she was sure he had taken care of his end of the bargain. Now it was her turn.
"Who the Sith are you?"
"You give me more credit than I expected. I am no Sith, darling. Only a. how should I put this. A dark Jedi. My name is Shaun Nightshadows, but most people know me as Darth Demento." He paused for a second. " And I know your not Shea Walsh. Reason one, being her termination was tonight. And the other. her hair isn't that purple!"
Amithyst felt the male's eyes on her. He was trying to make her squirm, and be scared. *Well, he's gonna have to do more than that to make me jump. *
"So are you going to exchange the courtesy? Or do I have to force it out of you the hard way?"
Faintly, she heard him shift closer to her. The nauseated feeling finally was drifting away. She forced her eyes to open and found his dark silhouette leaning over her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Then it hit her as his face became clearer.
"Frankly, I don't mind the hard way." Shaun smiled evilly with pleasure.
"Amithyst Blade," she stated simply.
"Amithyst Blade," Shaun repeated as if confirming her doom. "Such an interesting name. An intriguing one too."
Amithyst ignoring his comment, using the Force to mask her shock. She reached out and felt for her Jedi weapon. It caught her eye slightly as she surveyed the room. It was laying on the desk. Keeping her face emotionless, she looked up. His eyes were the deepest brown she had ever seen, yet instead of warm they were cold. She snickered to herself. *What did you expect Ami? A happy-go-lucky-Ewok who is full of warm over-joyous hugs? *
She narrowed her blue eyes at his. He obviously did not remember her from the Jedi Temple. However, then, she had only been a mere trainee in Master Yoda's class. Shaun was a few years older than she was. The night before he was supposed to become a Padawan he had disappeared.
"What is it?" Shaun questioned noticing her expression of disbelief. Before he could question her further the door to his office whooshed open. He was hardly in the mood for interruptions.
Getting back on his feet, he spun around angrily. "What now, Garik?" The dark Jedi already knew it was him through the Force and for the fact he was the only one with clearance.
"We have some more rebels, Darth Demento." Behind him a group of stormtroopers marched in. Three each held a boy, a teen, and a middle aged woman; all whom appeared to be sleeping. "They were brought into headquarters a few minutes ago."
"Who are they?"
"Durron's family, sir."
Shaun raised a brow advancing towards the bunch. He stopped suddenly as he felt a shift in the Force from behind him. He turned around and shot Amithyst a glance. She had been struggling to sit up for some unknown reason.
Curiosity rose inside of him. Shaun stared her down, Amithyst froze in her position, hoping to break his interest on her movement. For a moment, her thoughts were opened up, and as she closed them all too quickly, she already knew it was too late. Shaun had picked up the reason why she began to move from her place. "You know them, don't you?"
Fear flooded from her. Of all the times in her life she wished she knew how to hide her feelings from others, this would defiantly rank at the top of the list. Tearing her eyes from his stare, Amithyst held her breath.
Before she could speak, Zeth's voice yelled out. "Don't tell him anything, A-" Suddenly his voice stopped. He tried to breath in but something cut off his oxygen.
Demento held tight two fingers aimed in the outspoken teen. His voice cut off abruptly by the invisible hands. Ignoring the chocking teen, Demento kept his eyes on Amithyst, raising an eyebrow in annoyance. "You were saying?"
Her lips trembled as her eyes darted from the dark Jedi and her closest friend. "I. I do know them." Her eyes came up to his brown ones, all fear drained from them, replaced with a confidence that was not there before. "But who said I was going to tell an Ewok-stabbing-Sarlacc like you?" with that said, Amithyst jumped onto her feet and shoved Demento to the ground. She somersaulted in the air, right over him, to the other side of the room where the desk sat.
Caught off guard, Demento fell hard on his back. His Force grip on the boy released, and he too, fell to the floor, gasping for air. The sound of blasters coming up and loading filled the room.
"Put those things away!" Demento commanded. Already he was on his feet, lightsaber drawn. "Now, darling, don't try to be heroic and give up. You trapped."
Amithyst grabbed the silver smooth handle of her lightsaber. Spinning around, her blue eyes stared deep into Demento's. "Might as well have some fun will I'm stuck here then." Without another word, she activated her violet blade. He attacked her, but she blocked his golden blade and parried.
Demento spun, tricking Amithyst into thinking he was going to hit her legs. She came down to block his blow, but her blade flew from her hands as he kicked her in stomach. Pain racked through her spine as she hit the hard duracrete floor. Her head bounced two times before coming to a still. An entire throbbing accented throughout her body and she did not dare to more.
"Child's play, Ami. Simple and pure child's play." Shaun laughed hauntingly. His voice seemed to echo in her head. For the first time in her life, Amithyst felt afraid. Something moved closer to her ear, then heat. Forcing her eyes open, she saw the golden light of the lightsaber burn near her neck. Flicking her eyes up into Shaun's she did her best not to scream. For a moment, his eyes seemed to change. He thumbed the blade off. Instantly, the fear flew from her. With an eerie smile he reached down with his hand, offering it to her. If he thought that she was going to.
Before she had time to ponder on what she was thinking, her hand grasped his. Flying up, Shaun continued to smile wickedly. His hand spun her around, twisting her arm behind her back. Now, was her time to scream.
Demento leaned towards her left ear and began whispering in her ear. "Nice move Jedi, but I hardly think we will be seeing anymore of that!" Warm metal jammed into the side of her neck. She was sure a bruise was going to be there later, but right now, bruises hardly were her concern.
"Now tell me who and where are the other rebels?"
Amithyst bit her lip. It was not suppose to happen like this. The mission plan was to get in steal some secret plans and get out. It was that simple. How did it end up like this? Why did she not sense that other man? Her thoughts broke when she saw him standing in front of the three stormtroopers.
"YOU!" Amithyst yelled. Her voice was cut off as Shaun pressed the blade harder into her skin.
"Silence! You have 10 seconds to tell me. Face, start counting!" he ordered impatiently.
"Ten. Nine. Eight."
The female did the best to calm herself, but what could one do in a moment like this? All she could think about was about the Durron family. Little Kyp stood half awake swaying back and forth. He looked as if he had been drugged. She had to do something. anything to get at least them some place safe. Even if it meant-
"Seven. Six."
"Alright!" She begged. "I'll tell you everything, on one condition!" she shouted out over the counting. Thankfully, Face stopped; waiting to see what Shaun was going to do.
"Do you honestly think, you're the one who can make conditions right now?" Shaun remarked, getting ready to thumb the blade to life.
Face started up again. "Three. T-"
"Let me be your apprentice!"
Everything seemed to stop just then. Face didn't dare continue this time. Zeth was still on the ground, but she felt him look up at her in disbelief. He felt his shock. *NO! A-- * but Amithyst cut off their Force connection. A cold wind seemed to knock her inside as she made the disconnection. It was just her now. She had to keep her courage.
"What did you say?" Shaun questioned. Even he doubted his ears, but kept his voice steady.
"I will tell you what you want to know, if you will let me be your apprentice."
The blade fell from her neck, and his grip on her arm loosened. Amithyst felt like collapsing in his arms from the relief, but quickly stood up on her feet straightening. Coming around to her front he gazed in her eyes, searching for some truth.
"Your serious aren't you. What about your friends?"
Her blue eyes glanced over to the prisoners for a second then back to him without a thought, as if she didn't care. "What about them? They are yours to do with what you will."
Keeping contact with her eyes, he turned to speak to Face, but never faced him. "Face, take them away."
"Sir?"
"Send the youngest boy and his mother to the Kessel mines to their father." Amithyst didn't move under his words. Her face kept expressionless, her eyes frozen.
"What about the young man?"
His lips moved once again. This time Amithyst braced herself for the worst. "Send him to the Imperial Academy for training. Maybe a life of servitude to the Emperor in his army will change his mind towards the government."
"Yes, Darth Demento. I shall get to it right away."
Using all her will, she held back her tears. At least they were alive. She would find a way to free them. She had too. Once they exited, Shaun never moved from his spot in front of her. The door whooshed shut. Amithyst forced herself to speak when he continued to stay still.
"So. am I to be your trainee. or," Reaching out she used the Force, and her lightsaber flew to her hand. Lifting her arm, she placed the blade near her heart. "Or shall I do the honors?"
His hand pulled the blade away from her. "Stop fooling around. We have work to get done." He spun around and marched toward the door. "First you're going to get that purple dye out of your hair and back into a decent color. To be an espionage agent along with my apprentice, you can't stand out. At least not yet."
Taking a deep breath, Amithyst found herself gasping for air. Her entire chest felt constricted and tight. It felt as if her heart were going to burst from the pressure. Her eyes flew open and everything around her seemed to swirl. She felt sick.
"Don't worry, my dear. The spinning does not take more than a few minutes to overcome. It's a harmless side effect." The voice was unfamiliar to Amithyst. It was dark yet humorous all at once. She didn't particularly care for the man's humor, and right now she wasn't in the mood for any of it.
She closed her eyes quickly, trying to regain her senses, but they collected together slowly. She listened as well she could to her captor. The best thing for her to do right now was stay alive. That's what she had promised Zeth, and she was sure he had taken care of his end of the bargain. Now it was her turn.
"Who the Sith are you?"
"You give me more credit than I expected. I am no Sith, darling. Only a. how should I put this. A dark Jedi. My name is Shaun Nightshadows, but most people know me as Darth Demento." He paused for a second. " And I know your not Shea Walsh. Reason one, being her termination was tonight. And the other. her hair isn't that purple!"
Amithyst felt the male's eyes on her. He was trying to make her squirm, and be scared. *Well, he's gonna have to do more than that to make me jump. *
"So are you going to exchange the courtesy? Or do I have to force it out of you the hard way?"
Faintly, she heard him shift closer to her. The nauseated feeling finally was drifting away. She forced her eyes to open and found his dark silhouette leaning over her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Then it hit her as his face became clearer.
"Frankly, I don't mind the hard way." Shaun smiled evilly with pleasure.
"Amithyst Blade," she stated simply.
"Amithyst Blade," Shaun repeated as if confirming her doom. "Such an interesting name. An intriguing one too."
Amithyst ignoring his comment, using the Force to mask her shock. She reached out and felt for her Jedi weapon. It caught her eye slightly as she surveyed the room. It was laying on the desk. Keeping her face emotionless, she looked up. His eyes were the deepest brown she had ever seen, yet instead of warm they were cold. She snickered to herself. *What did you expect Ami? A happy-go-lucky-Ewok who is full of warm over-joyous hugs? *
She narrowed her blue eyes at his. He obviously did not remember her from the Jedi Temple. However, then, she had only been a mere trainee in Master Yoda's class. Shaun was a few years older than she was. The night before he was supposed to become a Padawan he had disappeared.
"What is it?" Shaun questioned noticing her expression of disbelief. Before he could question her further the door to his office whooshed open. He was hardly in the mood for interruptions.
Getting back on his feet, he spun around angrily. "What now, Garik?" The dark Jedi already knew it was him through the Force and for the fact he was the only one with clearance.
"We have some more rebels, Darth Demento." Behind him a group of stormtroopers marched in. Three each held a boy, a teen, and a middle aged woman; all whom appeared to be sleeping. "They were brought into headquarters a few minutes ago."
"Who are they?"
"Durron's family, sir."
Shaun raised a brow advancing towards the bunch. He stopped suddenly as he felt a shift in the Force from behind him. He turned around and shot Amithyst a glance. She had been struggling to sit up for some unknown reason.
Curiosity rose inside of him. Shaun stared her down, Amithyst froze in her position, hoping to break his interest on her movement. For a moment, her thoughts were opened up, and as she closed them all too quickly, she already knew it was too late. Shaun had picked up the reason why she began to move from her place. "You know them, don't you?"
Fear flooded from her. Of all the times in her life she wished she knew how to hide her feelings from others, this would defiantly rank at the top of the list. Tearing her eyes from his stare, Amithyst held her breath.
Before she could speak, Zeth's voice yelled out. "Don't tell him anything, A-" Suddenly his voice stopped. He tried to breath in but something cut off his oxygen.
Demento held tight two fingers aimed in the outspoken teen. His voice cut off abruptly by the invisible hands. Ignoring the chocking teen, Demento kept his eyes on Amithyst, raising an eyebrow in annoyance. "You were saying?"
Her lips trembled as her eyes darted from the dark Jedi and her closest friend. "I. I do know them." Her eyes came up to his brown ones, all fear drained from them, replaced with a confidence that was not there before. "But who said I was going to tell an Ewok-stabbing-Sarlacc like you?" with that said, Amithyst jumped onto her feet and shoved Demento to the ground. She somersaulted in the air, right over him, to the other side of the room where the desk sat.
Caught off guard, Demento fell hard on his back. His Force grip on the boy released, and he too, fell to the floor, gasping for air. The sound of blasters coming up and loading filled the room.
"Put those things away!" Demento commanded. Already he was on his feet, lightsaber drawn. "Now, darling, don't try to be heroic and give up. You trapped."
Amithyst grabbed the silver smooth handle of her lightsaber. Spinning around, her blue eyes stared deep into Demento's. "Might as well have some fun will I'm stuck here then." Without another word, she activated her violet blade. He attacked her, but she blocked his golden blade and parried.
Demento spun, tricking Amithyst into thinking he was going to hit her legs. She came down to block his blow, but her blade flew from her hands as he kicked her in stomach. Pain racked through her spine as she hit the hard duracrete floor. Her head bounced two times before coming to a still. An entire throbbing accented throughout her body and she did not dare to more.
"Child's play, Ami. Simple and pure child's play." Shaun laughed hauntingly. His voice seemed to echo in her head. For the first time in her life, Amithyst felt afraid. Something moved closer to her ear, then heat. Forcing her eyes open, she saw the golden light of the lightsaber burn near her neck. Flicking her eyes up into Shaun's she did her best not to scream. For a moment, his eyes seemed to change. He thumbed the blade off. Instantly, the fear flew from her. With an eerie smile he reached down with his hand, offering it to her. If he thought that she was going to.
Before she had time to ponder on what she was thinking, her hand grasped his. Flying up, Shaun continued to smile wickedly. His hand spun her around, twisting her arm behind her back. Now, was her time to scream.
Demento leaned towards her left ear and began whispering in her ear. "Nice move Jedi, but I hardly think we will be seeing anymore of that!" Warm metal jammed into the side of her neck. She was sure a bruise was going to be there later, but right now, bruises hardly were her concern.
"Now tell me who and where are the other rebels?"
Amithyst bit her lip. It was not suppose to happen like this. The mission plan was to get in steal some secret plans and get out. It was that simple. How did it end up like this? Why did she not sense that other man? Her thoughts broke when she saw him standing in front of the three stormtroopers.
"YOU!" Amithyst yelled. Her voice was cut off as Shaun pressed the blade harder into her skin.
"Silence! You have 10 seconds to tell me. Face, start counting!" he ordered impatiently.
"Ten. Nine. Eight."
The female did the best to calm herself, but what could one do in a moment like this? All she could think about was about the Durron family. Little Kyp stood half awake swaying back and forth. He looked as if he had been drugged. She had to do something. anything to get at least them some place safe. Even if it meant-
"Seven. Six."
"Alright!" She begged. "I'll tell you everything, on one condition!" she shouted out over the counting. Thankfully, Face stopped; waiting to see what Shaun was going to do.
"Do you honestly think, you're the one who can make conditions right now?" Shaun remarked, getting ready to thumb the blade to life.
Face started up again. "Three. T-"
"Let me be your apprentice!"
Everything seemed to stop just then. Face didn't dare continue this time. Zeth was still on the ground, but she felt him look up at her in disbelief. He felt his shock. *NO! A-- * but Amithyst cut off their Force connection. A cold wind seemed to knock her inside as she made the disconnection. It was just her now. She had to keep her courage.
"What did you say?" Shaun questioned. Even he doubted his ears, but kept his voice steady.
"I will tell you what you want to know, if you will let me be your apprentice."
The blade fell from her neck, and his grip on her arm loosened. Amithyst felt like collapsing in his arms from the relief, but quickly stood up on her feet straightening. Coming around to her front he gazed in her eyes, searching for some truth.
"Your serious aren't you. What about your friends?"
Her blue eyes glanced over to the prisoners for a second then back to him without a thought, as if she didn't care. "What about them? They are yours to do with what you will."
Keeping contact with her eyes, he turned to speak to Face, but never faced him. "Face, take them away."
"Sir?"
"Send the youngest boy and his mother to the Kessel mines to their father." Amithyst didn't move under his words. Her face kept expressionless, her eyes frozen.
"What about the young man?"
His lips moved once again. This time Amithyst braced herself for the worst. "Send him to the Imperial Academy for training. Maybe a life of servitude to the Emperor in his army will change his mind towards the government."
"Yes, Darth Demento. I shall get to it right away."
Using all her will, she held back her tears. At least they were alive. She would find a way to free them. She had too. Once they exited, Shaun never moved from his spot in front of her. The door whooshed shut. Amithyst forced herself to speak when he continued to stay still.
"So. am I to be your trainee. or," Reaching out she used the Force, and her lightsaber flew to her hand. Lifting her arm, she placed the blade near her heart. "Or shall I do the honors?"
His hand pulled the blade away from her. "Stop fooling around. We have work to get done." He spun around and marched toward the door. "First you're going to get that purple dye out of your hair and back into a decent color. To be an espionage agent along with my apprentice, you can't stand out. At least not yet."