Sorry that I took SO LONG to write this chapter. It's just that Christmas sort of swept in and carried me off into the holiday festivities of families and gifts and food and all that wonderful stuff :) Plus the whole getting back to University took a good week of getting prepared and trying to find a job for the summer… ack ack too much!! Anyway, enough rambling.
Iile
It hurt to breathe…
His muscles were numb and heavy. He tried moving his hand, attempting to clench it into a fist but even the small action exhausted him and he let it fall back lifeless against the stone floor. The shadows played before his eyelids and he slowly opened them. The ceiling loomed above him and he was cast in darkness. A dribble of water ran down the wall near his left side, the only sound in the suffocating silence. His lips were cracked and he tried to swallow but his throat closed up causing him to cough violently.
Boba managed to roll onto his side, ignoring the threatening nausea and saw that he lay at the foot of a curved stairway in the rock. His clothes felt wet and he brushed a trembling hand against the front of his shirt and pulled it away to see it stained with dark blood. He couldn't tell if it was his own or if he was hurt badly since he could barely feel anything below his neck.
His hands slid against the rough wall as he pulled himself upright onto unsteady legs. Sharp pain ricocheted through his head as the drug in his system protested against the movement however Boba forced it down, gritting his teeth as he stumbled in what he hoped to be the direction of his room.
Twice he fell back to the ground with the images of Twaj hovering over him, pressing himself against Boba, trapping him… He whimpered pressing his hands to his ringing ears trying to rid himself from it. His pain went unnoticed; the hallways empty of the Geonosian creatures. All for the better anyway, he couldn't let anyone see him like this; especially his father. It was that thought that drove him onwards as he tried to get back as quickly as possible even with the floor shifting and swaying beneath his feet. To let Jango find out that he had walked again into such a situation would almost be too much; his father would think he was a fool and extremely careless.
Finally he turned a corner and saw the familiar outline of the apartment doorway across the hallway and he shoved himself away from the wall towards it. Please don't let him be inside… Don't be inside…
His hand stuck the hatchway panel and the door slid open to reveal the empty apartment. Boba exhaled in relief and moved over to the bedroom. He suddenly stumbled as the floor tilted again, causing him to trip and fall against the stone pillar jarring his shoulder violently. He bit back a curse against the agonizing pain and managed to get his legs under control and continued on. He went over to the pack on his bed and quickly pulled out another set of clothes and crossed over to the refresher unit where he threw the garments and his boots into one of the corners and entered the shower fully dressed. The searing water rushed down from the jet head and he stripped off his ruined clothing, leaving it in a bloody heap on the shower floor. Boba took a large amount of soap and began lathering his hair to clean it of the dried blood that stained it. A quick inspection told him that he had not received any wounds therefore the blood had to have come from someone else. He leaned heavily against the unit wall as his disorientated mind began recalling what had happened…
"Trust me…"
Twaj hovered over him as Boba fought to overcome the drug. It had shut down his system to where he could barely feel his body and it closed up his throat making each breath nothing more than a faint gasp. The fingers now were at his belt, sliding the soft leather through the metal clasp and throwing it to the ground. He had to escape!
His body stiffened as he tried to struggle but all it did was tighten the drug's hold on him making his efforts futile. Suddenly his right hand brushed against something off to his side. It was a piece of jagged red stone. Boba strained his arm towards it but it was just out of reach of his grasp.
Twaj sensed the tension in Boba and reached up to stroke his hand along his face in a caress.
"Relax child, if you fight it, it will just get worse. Accept it and soon you will feel pleasure just as I will," Twaj murmured.
Those words clicked in Boba's head as a faint idea of escape formed.
He let himself go limp under the creature, relaxing his muscles and slowing down his breathing.
Twaj grinned down at the boy, who had apparently decided to finally stop his struggles.
"That's better…" He moved upwards, his body lifting up slightly as he positioned himself over the child preparing to press himself fully along his young body.
Boba felt the weight release from his chest and all of the rage and hatred that he had concentrated within him in those brief moments exploded outwards overpowering the drug's effects and giving him control. He lunged to the right and grabbed the razor-sharp stone in his fist and slammed the end into the alien's neck, severing the jugular. Twaj let loose a bellow as Boba wrenched the stone from his flesh sending blood spewing from the artery. He instantly attacked again this time sending the stone into the soft underbelly and forced his knee up against Twaj, throwing him off. The alien gasped as he feebly tired to stop the flow of blood with his hands. It pooled around him in a dark circle and soon he collapsed against the floor his eyes glazing over as his body spasmed with his death throes. Boba watched silently as he slowly rose to his feet. The Araalian heaved one last time and died.
The stone dropped from Boba's hand and clattered against the floor leaving a streak of red. The immense satisfaction that his action had brought him was suddenly cut short as a blow from the drug made him hunch over violently, almost knocking him back to the ground. He had to get out of there…
Boba turned and ran as fast as he could away from the room. The roaring in his ears accumulated, a gigantic beast in the shadows of his mind. Silhouetted shapes flew by him taking on the forms of those he knew, their voices echoing through the hallway. His father, Kya, Taun We, Lama Su…
He didn't see the stairway in the dark, didn't realize he was falling until the ground rushed up from below and slammed into him. Boba tried in vain to rise again but his remaining strength gave out and he collapsed into unconsciousness.
The water dripped from his damp hair onto the sheets of his bed. Boba sat in silence, freshly dressed in a new flight suit, his old one destroyed by the incinerator. Twaj's face frozen in disbelief as his lifeblood flowed out of him was playing over in Boba's head. He had killed the creature with his bare hands, had brought him down in one mere movement and had rid the galaxy forever of that piece of scum and possibly saved others from the fate that would have been his own. The tremor of thrilling satisfaction stirred deep within his belly and a soft smile curved on his lips. Was this what his father felt every time he caught a bounty? Pulling those who are immoral and breakers of the law out of their reign of disorder and brought before justice where their sentence was carried out.
Boba glanced over at Jango's bunk and the assortment of weapons that lay tidy upon it. Was a hunter someone who upheld the law or just merely there to offer their services in exchange for credits? Boba knew that his father found more in being a bounty hunter than just the money, although the cash was a nice extra, and held himself in high esteem for providing a service which actually did the galaxy good in the long run. True that not every bounty hunter out there had such a code of conduct, and some were just as immoral as those they hunted, but the majority of them could be considered the good guys to some fraction of a degree. Hell, even some of the employers were far dirtier than those that had the bounty placed upon them but surely he would be able to decide that for himself when he was a hunter and then make a decision on whether or not he would take the job. That was…if he did want to become a hunter and was fit enough for it…
Boba looked down at his hands and gently made a fist as if he was gripping that piece of red stone again. The satisfaction was still there and he knew that if he had the power to exterminate someone at his age and size, he would be able to later on in his life. After all he had plenty of time with his father to be taught more tactics and abilities which would help him into becoming a great hunter.
The drug floated up from where it had lay dormant for the past hour and the room swam before his eyes. A slight chuckle echoed out from his throat as he fell back again the mattress, he was too tired to resist anymore and relaxed as the sensations numbed his sore muscles into a blissful liquid state. Hopefully by letting himself calm down he would return to normal before his father decided to come and retrieve him. No matter how much pride Boba felt at what he had managed to do he knew that he would not tell Jango for it also held the shame with it. No…he would keep this incident a secret, one that would be pushed back into the dark recesses of his mind, hopefully to be forgotten over time as with all bad things.
His eyelids fluttered shut and he dreamt that he was lying in a green field with a beautiful blue sky over head and sunlight warming his body. Kya was with him and his head was resting in her lap and they were both watching the soft clouds float lazily by.
"I've decided to become a bounty hunter," he told her quietly.
She looked down at him with an approving smile and leaned over and softly brushed her lips against his forehead in a kiss.
And it felt right…
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Count Dooku stood beside the Sakak and looked down at the corpse of Twaj in the dim light of the stateroom. A Geonosian guard had come across the body on his route and immediately brought it to his attention.
He stroked his beard knowing all too well what had occurred to the pitiful creature lying before him on the cold stone, he could sense the lingering presence of young Boba Fett and it amused and slightly delighted him to know that the child had been capable to do such damage.
Uaaoq clasped his hands together in front of his long robes and shook his head in disgust.
"Such a pity," he mumbled.
"And why is that my friend?" rumbled the Count quietly. "Will you be seeking justice for such an act?"
The alien scoffed,
"No. Twaj was an idiot and a disgrace to my clan. It is a pity that I wasn't around to witness his death."
"I see."
"Whoever did this to him is in my debt for they have saved me the work of killing him myself," Uaaoq said and he turned and silently left the room.
Dooku motioned for the guards and nodded toward the body.
"Get rid of this mess."
*** I really loved writing this chapter because Boba finally got to kick someone's ass!! Yay go Boba!! Yeah so for everyone who was wondering why I put him through this again, is so that he develops an extreme hatred for rape and therefore it comes into play later on in the story (far far later on). Plus I wanted him to start to feel the whole justice thing that comes with being a bounty hunter.
Also thanks again for the WONDERFUL reviews (yay I hit 40 reviews!!) and hopefully you guys will keep coming back for more :)