Though this story has nothing to do with wrestling, I am a wrestling fan. And I must say that I was deeply shocked and saddened when I learned of the death of Eddie Guerrero, one of the most talented and charismatic wrestlers I've ever had the pleasure of watching perform. That being said, I would like to dedicate this chapter to his memory for he, like Buffy, never stopped battling his demons until they were defeated. Viva la Raza!

Episode 2 Chapter 8

Return of the Slayer

Ten years ago, Buffy Summers fell through a portal into hell. Not the actual hell; that honor was reserved for Angel. No, her hell had fire and brimstone, but it also has slavers and their technology. Specifically, the control collar. Two inches wide and a half-inch thick, the seemingly innocuous device, which some on Earth would have worn as a fashion statement, became the one thing that Buffy truly feared. The constant anguish of having hundreds of volts of electricity pumped into her body through her neck, every day for over nine months… it hadn't taken long before she had finally broken. Only the love and understanding she had gotten from Shmi and Anakin when she had been sold to Watto had allowed her to regain herself, and for the most part return to normal. Of course, there was always that place in the back of her mind that was terrified of that collar and of what it could do.

So once Count Dooku put that collar back on her and turned it to full power, it didn't take long for Buffy to break once more. And this time there wasn't the presence of neither Shmi nor Anakin to help pull her back.

So now Buffy sat huddled in the corner of her darkened cell, slowly rocking back and forth, pleading to every god she had ever heard of to stop the pain…

FLASH

Buffy sat in her cell, looking out through the bars. All she could see was an endless corridor, full of cells. But she didn't pay attention to that; she merely sat on her cot, her knees to her chest, slowly rocking back and forth. She stopped suddenly when she heard footsteps coming down the hall, and instinctively she crawled to the farthest edge of the cot, hoping to make herself as invisible to the upcoming visitor as she could. Her fear turned to shock and confusion, though, when the visitor finally came into view.

"Faith?"

"Well, this is an interesting role-reversal," the Dark Slayer said as she stepped up to the bars and gave Buffy a once-over. "Jeez, B. You look like shit."

Buffy looked at her sister Slayer in shock. "Faith? What… how…?"

"Hell if I know, B," Faith replied with a shrug. "This is your head. Or maybe it's my head? Hell, I leave all of this metaphysical crap to Tara and Giles."

Buffy shook her head. "But…why are you here?"

Faith smirked. "I dunno. Maybe the fates decided they wanted to see us go at it one more time. Surprised they didn't throw in a mud pit, or Jell-o." Her smile faded as a look of concern flitted across her face. "B… what's going on? What the hell happened?"

Shame filled Buffy's face. "I was bad. I needed to be punished."

Faith looked at her oddly, "This some kind of weird S & M thing?"

"I shouldn't have fought back. I was bad…"

Things started to click for Faith, and she finally realized what was going on. "Whoa…wait a minute. B, stop. Right now, stop…"

"I shouldn't have fought back, I shouldn't have fought…"

"DAMNIT B, SHUT UP AND LISTEN!"

Buffy pressed even farther back into the wall in fear of Faith's tone, and the Dark Slayer mentally sighed; she shouldn't have taken that tone with her…

"Buffy, listen to me," she started again, forcing her voice to be even and calm. "I don't know what's happened to you, Buffy. I've got no clue. But I know a little bit about what you've gone through…"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Buffy cried and Faith stiffened.

"Like hell I don't, B," Faith shot back. "I know what it's like to have something you love more than anything, and then have it ripped away from you. My Watcher, before Sunnydale? She was the closest thing I ever had to a real mother. I loved her more than anything, and then I lost her. But I kept going, kept fighting. I never gave up. Even when I turned on you, I never stopped fighting. And you want to know why? Because I'm a Slayer. Even when everything else was gone, I had that. It may have been the one thing… it may have been my only thing, but I'm still a Slayer.

"You remember being a Slayer, don't you? Remember us, the Chosen two? We kicked ass and didn't ever think of backing down. That passed on to your sister, by the way," Buffy perked up slightly at that and Faith noticed. "Yeah, you remember Dawn, your sister? She hasn't given up on you, you know. Spends every free moment looking for ways to bring you back. She won't give up, why should you?"

"You don't understand!" Buffy cried out, but Faith cut her off.

"I DON'T CARE! Damn it B, the Powers obviously sent me to your mind to knock some sense into you, but I'd rather you did it yourself. You are a Slayer. You are the thing that the bad guys fear. When everything else is ripped away, that's all you got left. You're in pain and you work past it, you dis…disassociate? Yeah, you dissociate it yourself from it. I know you can do that!"

"I'm not strong enough!" Buffy sobbed. Faith shook her head.

"You are the strongest person I know, Buffy. Hell, I wanted to be like you ever since I met you. Never thought I'd take it as far as I did, but…" Faith shook her head. "You got to be the Slayer, Buffy. You got to believe you are the Slayer. Don't let them do this to you. Fight it, Buffy. Believe in the Slayer in you again. Because if you don't, well… then you really got nothing left."

And then, with a flash, she was gone.

FLASH

Buffy stopped crying. She stopped rocking. She took a few steadying breaths, then cleared her mind and meditated. Even in the silence of her mental agony and the oppression she felt by the thin strip of metal around her neck, she could feel the balance of the Force all around her. Faith had given her a lot to think about, but fate hadn't given her a whole lot of time…

The following day, the four of them were convicted of espionage in a kangaroo court and sentenced to the execution arena. As they were taken out, however, Willow was separated from her sister and taken away. Buffy, still locked in her cell, was tried and convicted in absentia. It seemed as though Count Dooku wanted to take no chances.

Padmé and Anakin stood in the carriage that would deliver them to the execution arena. The guards bustled around them, checking their bonds and making sure all was ready for the big show.

"I wonder what they did with Willow," Anakin mused. Padmé sighed.

"Dooku will probably hold her to barter for concessions with the Senate," she replied. "I'm sure the Trade Federation won't mind if she lives as long as I die."

"If she lives, she'll never stop fighting for what you believed in," Anakin assured her as he looked around at their surroundings and listened as the crowd outside the tunnel bayed for their blood. "Not exactly how I saw myself going out. I always pictured something...bigger. With lots of fire..."

"I would have," Padmé said suddenly, and at the strange look Anakin gave her, she elaborated. "I would have made it work. I would have found a way to keep it a secret. If we die here, I just wanted you to know. No matter how much I tried to ignore it, no matter how much I tried to deny it - I love you. I think maybe I've always loved you..." she trailed off as Anakin leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers. After a moment's hesitation, she reciprocated.

The guard gave the signal, and the driver snapped his reigns and the cart made its way out of the tunnel. The two captives pulled apart slowly and looked forward to take in the scene before them.

The arena was huge. Hundreds of Geonosians filled the stands, hooting and hollering as the two were driven towards the four giant pillars that we erected in the center of the arena. Attached by a long chain to the pillar on the far right was Buffy and Anakin immediately noted two things - the far-away look in her eyes and the control collar around her neck. On the far left was Obi-Wan, similarly chained to his pillar and giving Anakin a look of extreme annoyance. Anakin sighed.

"We did as you told me, Master," he said as he was led past him to the next pillar. "We re-transmitted your message to Coruscant. Then, we decided to come and rescue you."

"Good job," Obi-War replied sarcastically as the Geonosian guard grasped the end of his chain and flew up to the top of the pillar and attached it. The other guard pulled Padmé out of the carriage, but did not hook her chin up. Her brow furrowed in confusion as Dooku came out on a small balcony with the rest of the Separatist leaders...

And Willow, who stood beside him with her hands bound in front of her.

"Senator Amidala," he started his steely grey eyes locking onto her soft brown ones, "Senator Naberrie has made a petition with us, and we have agreed. If you agree to listen to our concerns and speak before the Senate on our behalf, your life will be spared."

Padmé's eyes narrowed. "And what of the Jedi?"

"They are not a part of this bargain," he replied evenly. "Their lives were forfeited the moment they set foot on this planet."

Padmé lifted her chin defiantly. "Then my life is forfeit as well."

"Padmé, please," Willow cried, but Padmé only shook her head.

"I do not negotiate with terrorists, Willow. Neither should you."

"I'm doing what I can to prevent a war!"

"You won't succeed," Padmé said sadly. Dooku motioned to the guard, who proceeded to string her up to the final pillar.

"You have all been tried and found guilty of espionage," Dooku intoned. "The penalty is death. Let the executions commence!" He turned to Willow. "We'll start with your friend, Senator. Then we'll move onto the rest."

Willow just shook her head. "Buffy's gonna kick your ass, you know," she stated matter-of-factly.

"We'll see."

A gate at the far end was raised, and out came a hideous beast. It was easily a meter all and three meters long from snout to tail; it walked on two powerful hind legs that had five, large razor-sharp claws. Its smaller upper arms were likewise armed with six razor sharp claws on each of its long, lithe fingers. Red eyes gleamed from behind its long, pointed snout that held two rows of teeth that looked like it could rip leash and bone with ease. And it had locked its crimson on to Buffy.

"We've got to protect Buffy and Padmé!" Anakin yelled as the beasts came closer.

"It would appear that Padmé has things well in hand," Obi-Wan said wryly. Anakin looked over and, sure enough, Padmé had already picked the lock on one of her cuffs and was busy pulling herself up the pillar. Obi-Wan said nothing of Buffy. He had seen that dreamy look on her face, but it was her eyes that startled him as she was brought past. He thought he had seen terror in that gaze… he had never seen that sort of fear from her, ever… Anakin glanced over at Buffy, who still had that far-away look in her eyes.

"Buffy, snap out of it!" Anakin cried out as the beast made its way towards Buffy. He glanced at the closing distance and felt the first flutter of panic. She had pulled him out of a dark place; it seemed only fair that he at least try to do the same, even though they were minutes away from becoming lunch.

What was it? Buffy thought to herself. What was that whole spiel that Giles loved so much? Oh, yeah - Into each generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world. A Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to fight vampires. To stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers.

Was I the Slayer?

Was it real?

Am I real?

Am I the Slayer?

I AM the Slayer.

Oh, I'm SOOOOOO gonna kick some ass….

They are so mine.

The thing that looked like a Raptor on steroids came charging at Buffy at full speed. It was a hunter, a predator, whose strength and speed were unparalleled, its lethality unmatched. It was especially good at hunting at night, as its vision was based on heat.

So it never saw the deadly smirk that formed on her face.

The beast reared its head back and opened its jaw wide. Buffy tightened her grip on her chains, and in an instant, she yanked it free of the moorings. In one fluid motion she spun around, swinging the chain over her head - and straight into the creature's mouth. Anakin watched in stunned surprise as the chain didn't stop when it hit the back of its mouth- it went through the back of its mouth, and sliced off the top of its head. Buffy quickly spun to the side and, without breaking the chain's movement, quickly swung it up, then back down, cutting through the creature's neck. Its momentum carried it forward as it fell to the ground and slid into the pillar she had been attached to, cracking the stone and spraying bits of bone and blood over the ground.

"Told ya," Willow said smugly. Dooku frowned, then reached into his belt and pulled out the remote for the collar. Without fanfare he pointed it at the Slayer and switched it on to full and watched in satisfaction as the girl collapsed to one knee, her face screwed up in pain. His satisfaction turned to further disbelief, however, when Buffy reached up, grasped the collar and ripped it off. She then got back to her feet and calmly pointed first to him, then drew her hand back and pointed her thumb to herself. The meaning was clear - You and Me.

"She looks pissed," Willow taunted from behind him. Dooku turned to Willow with a scowl on his face.

"You are enjoying this far too much," he noted, taking in the obvious look of enjoyment on her face.

"That's what you get for trying to kill my sister."

Down on the ground, Buffy turned as the sound of more creatures reached her ears. She saw three large, nasty looking creatures being led out into the arena and towards her friends. Buffy saw that Padmé was out of immediate danger, and she didn't doubt that Obi-Wan and Anakin could handle themselves. But, she felt they would be quickly overwhelmed if they didn't get any weapons into the fray soon. She glanced up at the dignitaries' box, then back at the two Jedi.

"You two hang on for a second," she quipped. "I'll be right back." With that, the Slayer took off at a sprint towards the box, bobbing and weaving around the guards as they tried in vain to shoot her with their sonic disruptors. As she sprang past a guard, she snapped the pole straight from an unsuspecting guard and used it to vault herself over a line of Geonosians who had lined up, weapons in hand, to block her. She sprang cleanly behind them, despite their best attempts to shoot her out of the sky. As the stadium erupted around her, she landed on both feet and then used her vaulting weapon to knock a blaster from the Geonosian guard's hand.

She was below the box now. Tossing the pole aside, she leapt upon the shoulders of the guards and jumped, the momentum carrying her to the balcony. As she pitched over the rail, she maintained a grip on the railing with one hand and used her right foot to kick Jango Fett away from her. She felt a small sense of satisfaction as she noticed the Bounty Hunter fall into those stupid Trade Federation viceroys. Turning to Dooku, she held out her hand and smiled grimly as her light saber somersaulted into her hand. "I'll be taking this," she said cheerfully, noting the look of rage spreading across his face. The control to the collar was still in his hand, and he seemed to be pushing the red button in a futile gesture to try and assert some control over what he thought was becoming a loose cannon. Snatching her light saber from a diving Bounty Hunter, she leapt backwards onto the railing and stood perched for a second.

"Be back for you in a minute, Will!" she called jovially to her friend as she back-flipped off of the rail and to the ground some thirty feet below. Landing gracefully, she activated the switch on her saber, the silver light reflecting in her sharp, determined gaze. As the guards approached her, firing rapidly, she deflected their shots and took them out in quick succession, taking vicious pleasure on the one who had goaded that evil creature to her in the first place. As she swept her blade aside, she noticed that her brother, Padmé and Obi-Wan were also fighting off their own creatures.

Obi-Wan was battling a massive thing that looked like a praying mantis with large, deadly claws that seemed to want to pin him to the ground. Though his hands were bound, he was dodging between the stampeding character, which let out a high-pitched squeal that was not unlike a herd of pigs that was being trampled.

Anakin looked far more cheerful than she had seen him since they'd been captured. He had a hand poised over the tri-horned behemoth and was controlling its mind to ram over the guards that seemed to stand between him and the pillar that Padmé was perched on. Though she had gotten the cuffs off of one hand and was massaging her swollen wrists, her eyes were on a vicious monster below her. The creature, which Buffy dubbed as the Kitty from Hell, was snarling and panting. Using claws that were at least four inches long, it razed to the top and swiped at the Senator. Padmé cried out in agony as the claws ripped her shirt clear from her back and swiped deep gashes across her pack. She turned away as the beast lost its footing and collapsed back halfway down the pole. Lifting its feline head, it made to spring again when Padmé, depending on the chain still hooked onto her opposite hand, swung down and kicked the beast from the pole. The kitty hissed as it landed on all fours and glared up at her, spitting.

Buffy was right ahead of it, darting under Padmé as the young woman kicked the kitty away. Leaping in the air, she drove her light saber under its chin and then whipped it back around the back of its neck, watching as the feline, at last, fell. The head rolled off as the cat collapsed on its side. Buffy gave the head a little nudge and glanced up to see Padmé once again in control atop her perch.

"Thanks!" she called down to Buffy, who saluted her with her saber in response. Anakin pulled up beside her, his eyes on her light saber.

"Where did you find that?" he asked her as she quickly cut his bonds.

"Took it off a Count," she replied. "I'm going to help Ben. You got Padmé?"

"On it."

With a curt nod, Buffy turned and ran towards Ben. He had managed to get his hands on one of the guards spears. The Jedi threw it at the acklay and smiled when it hit one of its shoulders. His smile faded, however, when the acklay reached down and grasped the long shaft in its mouth and then ripped it free and snapped it in half with its powerful jaws.

"Oh, great..." he muttered as the acklay started towards him again... And then he watched as it screamed in anguish as Buffy's silver blade flashed beneath it. She had somehow managed to speed beneath it, amputating one leg at a time. The creature shrieked as it collapsed on its hindquarters, snapping ferociously towards its good legs. But the Slayer was faster, severing both in turn. As the creature sank to the earth, squirming harmlessly on its belly, she gave one last stroke of the saber and severed its head.

Buffy walked to Obi-Wan and smirked, then sighed dramatically. "Really, Obi-Wan. You can't keep losing your light saber. That weapon is your life..."

"Oh, do be quiet." Ben snapped back, though his face showed relief at her timely intervention. Her quick smile acknowledged this, and then they were brought back to reality as thundering footsteps approached from behind.

"Master!" Anakin called out as he and Padmé, who clung tightly to his chest, rode up to the on the beast Buffy dubbed 'Horny'. The two Jedi quickly leapt on to Horny's back and Anakin steered the beast towards the tunnels that they had been led in from. Buffy deflected various blaster bolts aimed towards the saber-wielding Jedi.

Finally, a droid got in a lucky shot, though it wasn't directed at the Jedi; hey targeted the ground in front of Horny, causing a massive explosion that caused the beast to topple over and spill his riders. Buffy managed to turn her fall into a flip, landing perfectly on her feet and blocking more blaster shots. She quickly moved to guard her friends as destroyer droids rolled out and began to surround them….

Jango Fett was suitably impressed. He had heard many things about this 'Slayer' from Lord Tyranus, and so far she had not disappointed him. The young Jedi had not only caught him flatfooted, but also regained her weapon, slain three of the four creatures sent to kill her and her friends (and had killed one with only a chain!) and was still standing defiant against a squad of battle droids. While his brush with the Jedi Kenobi had left him a bit shaken, he would still love to have a shot against her, one-on-one-

His thoughts were interrupted as a purple lightsaber blade suddenly activated under his chin.

Well, if I can't try the student, perhaps I'll get a shot at the teacher…

CountDooku, however, was nonplussed.

"Master Windu, what a nice surprise." he said calmly.

"This party's over, Count." Windu spat back.

All around the arena, Jedi activated their light sabers. On the arena floor, Buffy watched in awe as upwards of two hundred plus light saber blades glowed in bright blues, greens, and ambers. Never before had she seen so many Jedi in one place ready to fight. Breathing hard, her grip tightened on her own blade as her focus returned to Dooku.

Dooku also looked around at the multitude of Jedi, but seemed unimpressed. "Brave, but foolish. You're hopelessly outnumbered."

"One Jedi must be equal to at least a hundred Geonosians."

"But it wasn't the Geonosians of which I was speaking." Dooku remarked, and Mace whirled around at the sound of battle droids coming up the tunnel behind him. These weren't ordinary droids, though -these were seven feet tall, thickly armored with rapid fire dual blasters attached on the firing arm. The two droids lifted those blasters and activated them, rapidly spraying blaster bolts at Mace. The Jedi quickly swung his lightsaber around to deflect the bolts, and Fett took the opportunity to don his helmet and fire his wrist-mounted flame-thrower at Mace, who was forced to jump from the balcony to the arena floor to avoid it. The Jedi Master quickly shed his smoldering robes and made his way towards his Padawan as hundreds of battle droids started flowing out of the tunnels. The Jedi in the stands quickly followed suit, leaping in large numbers and making their way down to the floor to take on the first wave of battle droids.

"You're late!" Buffy called out to her Master as she rapidly sent blaster bolts back to their senders, shielding her unarmed comrades.

"I distinctly remember telling you to stay on Naboo," Mace shot back. Padmé, meanwhile had taken the initiative a picked up a fallen droids' blaster and started taking down droids, while Anakin and Obi-Wan received spare lightsabers from their fellow Jedi.

"Oh, please. Since when have ever listened to you?" Buffy shot back. "Besides, you told me to protect the Senators. I couldn't do that if they came here without me, now could I?"

And then they joined the fight in earnest.

Blasters were firing everywhere. Geonosian's had set up sonic disruptor cannons and were firing them indiscriminately, not choosy on whether their targets were Jedi, droids, or both. The Jedi were giving almost as good as they were getting though and soon scrapped droids littered the ground. One Jedi even managed to take down a battle droid with the head of a protocol droid with a ricochet.

Anakin had commandeered a carriage, and was driving around while Padmé fired at the droids from the back. She was in total control of her weapon, firing perfect shot after shot as each droid she hit fell. After a short ride, a lucky blast managed to overturn their ride. Anakin moved back to the carriage, which Padmé was using for cover while she continued to fire at the droids and used his lightsaber to defend the Senator.

"You call this diplomacy?" he called out, blocking bolt after bolt. Padmé gave him a wry grin.

"No, I call this aggressive negotiations."

Buffy had been fighting back to back with Mace, but had ended up getting separated dodging cannon blasts and was now fighting side by side with Obi-Wan.

"You sure know how to show a girl a good time."

"Yes, I bring all the pretty ladies to a battle to the death," the Jedi Knight replied sarcastically. "And if you like this, wait till the second date."

Buffy grinned, and then spied Mace trying to deal with both Horny and Fett at the same time. "Hold that thought; I'll be right back!"

Obi-Wan watched her run off in confusion. "Be right back? From where?" The last time she had run off like this, she was seconds from certain death. The last thing he needed was to encourage these suicide missions of hers!

Jango Fett was having a bit of a bad day.

It had started out good enough. The Jedi had been captured, and his son had gotten he opportunity to see a live execution; and in an arena, to boot. Then the Slayer had broken loose, and he had perked up at the idea of taking her down. She was definitely a worthy adversary and she was trained well in the Jedi arts.

And then that damn Jedi Master had shown up and stuck his lightsaber where it didn't belong.

Now here he was with his blaster against the Jedi's lightsaber. He had already taken down one Jedi today, and he was looking to make it two. Though, from the look on the Master's face and the sound of a high-pitched throat clearing behind him, he was definitely going to finish this off on a good note.

He glanced over his shoulder to see the young golden-haired Jedi standing behind him, twirling her silver blade with unnecessary flourish. Her Master stood before Jett, his purple blade held to his side. Pinned between two Jedi wasn't very good odds. To make matters worse, that stupid red, horned beast was making straight for him, running as though its very life depended on it.

He was knocked cleanly off his feet, the jetpack smashing into the hard ground. He lifted his blaster to kill the beast when it charged again, this time pushing him forward. After stumbling over him, Jett had lifted his head and took the blaster with his opposite hand. He managed to kill the beast with his usual grace and style, but there was still the matter of the two Jedi standing on opposite ends. If he attempted to take one, he would surely be attacked by the other. But her attention was soon taken by the advancing droids who seemed to have pinned her with a gaze. Knowing that Dooku was responsible for this action, he turned his attention to the Master.

He charged for the Master first, his blasts easily deflected by Mace Windu's able skill. He was drawing nearer and would soon be able to use the multitude of weapons he kept on his armor… he was nearly there…

Those hopeful thoughts were his last. He never saw the silver blade arc straight for, then through, his neck, severing his helmeted head and sending it flying to the edge of the arena.

Boba saw it, though. And the hated image of the blonde-haired Jedi would forever be burned into his memory.

"Thank you for the assist," Mace said as Buffy made her way over to him.

"What are Padawans for?" she glibly responded, cutting down a few more droids in the process. She looked around and grimaced. "There's too many of them."

"I know."

"Well, if I'm going to die, at least I'll die pretty."

"You're not dead yet, Sister," Anakin remarked as Buffy and Mace joined him, Obi-Wan, Padmé, and the few remaining surviving Jedi in the center of the arena as the droids encircled them, then suddenly stopped firing. Buffy took a moment to look around - only a few over twenty of the Jedi that had started out in the fight were still alive. Behind her, Obi-Wan sank to check the pulse of a fallen Jedi, his eyes closing when he realized that the man was dead.

"Not good," she murmured.

"Limited choices," Ki-Adi-Mundi agreed.

"Master Windu!" Count Dooku called out from the balcony above. The satisfied smile on his face told how much he had enjoyed the battle. "You have fought gallantly… worthy of recognition in the Archives of the Jedi. Now it is finished." He looked first at the surrounded Jedi, then at the multitudes of enemies surrounding them. "Surrender and your lives will be spared."

"Niou-se." Anakin muttered. Buffy felt a familiar smile tug at her lips from her brother's word.

"We will not become hostages for you to use as barter, Dooku," Mace replied in a voice of deadly calm.

Dooku sighed in mock resignation. "Then I'm sorry, old friend. You will have to be destroyed."

The intensity in the stadium seemed to double. Anakin whirled his blade over his head, poised to strike. Padmé signed in determination, pulling her blaster to her side. Buffy lifted her silver blade with a particular twirl, but a sudden hum from the heavens caught her attention. Knowing that she alone could hear it with Slayer-enhanced hearing, she soon saw something that nearly took her breath away. "Oh, juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean-jan..." she muttered. "This fight has more false finishes than 'Return of the King'."

Anakin gave her a confused look, but Padmé followed Buffy's line of sight.

"Look!" she yelled pointing up at the dozen gun-ships rapidly descending into the arena. As they began swarming in a perimeter, they opened fire on the droids before touching down around the Jedi. The droids returned fire, but the gun-ships had their shields up, allowing the survivors to quickly board the ships.

"Jedi, move!" Mace yelled as the Jedi jumped onto the ships. As soon as they were all aboard, Master Yoda directed the ship to lift off. As they blasted clear of the arena, Buffy marveled at the sight in front of her - thousands of Republic ships, backed up by huge capital ships that were landing in the background. Mechanized walkers rumbled across the rocky terrain, blasting away at droid tanks that were attempting to mow down the thousands of ground troops that had landed.

"Āi yā," Buffy breathed, taking in the sight around her.

"What happened to Willow?" Padmé asked in alarm, hoping one of the Jedi had an answer.

"I believe Dooku took her with him," Mace responded as Yoda commanded the troops around him.

They sped across the field, the gunners firing on any enemy they could target. And they had no problem finding targets. The pilots took aim at the looming Techno-Union starships that were preparing to take off and let their missiles fly; however, they only caused minimum damage as they slammed into the side of the ship.

"Aim right above the fuel cells!" Anakin yelled to the gunner, who adjusted his aim accordingly. His next pair of missiles hit on target, and the ship exploded in a huge fireball.

"Good call, my young Padawan!" Obi-Wan said cheerfully. "Those Trade Federation starships are taking off! Target them quickly!"

"They're too big, Master," Anakin replied. "The ground troopers will have to take them out."

As his ship roared on across the battlefield, Yoda turned to Mace.

"Capture Dooku, we must," he said calmly, despite the chaos surrounding him. "If escape he does, rally more systems to his cause, he will."

Mace nodded in agreement, and then turned to the pilot. "Captain, land at that assembly point ahead." He ordered, and the clone obediently landed the craft. Ki-Adi-Mundi, Mace, and a host of clone troopers jumped out, but Yoda stayed on board.

"To the forward command center, take me," he ordered, and the craft lifted off. Soon he arrived at the position the clones had secured to be the forward command center, and Yoda hopped out of the craft and was met by the clone commander.

"Master Yoda, all forward positions are advancing."

"Very good. Concentrate all your fire on the nearest starship," he ordered.

"Yes, sir!" the clone replied, running off to coordinate with the other commanders. Soon, the troops were acting in a more efficient manner, picking their targets and concentrating fire on them one at a time, rather than picking a ship at random. Soon, the retreating starships began to fall.

Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padmé and Buffy were holding on while their ship was rocked by explosions all around them. Amidst the confusion and noise, Buffy's sharp eyes spotted a Geonosian speeder streaking away, flanked by two escorts. As it streaked past them, she could make out two figures on the bike - Dooku, and seated behind him with her bound hands secured around his waist, was Willow.

"Evil son-of-a-bitch at three o'clock!" Buffy called to the pilot. "Follow him!"

"We're going to need some help," Padmé said.

"No, there's no time," Obi-Wan replied. "Anakin and I can handle this."

"What about me?" Buffy demanded, a fire burning in her eyes.

"You are too emotional right now, Buffy," the Jedi Knight replied. "You need to calm down before I let you anywhere near this fight." He saw the blazing light in her eyes and sighed. "If you pull off anything as you did back there, Dooku will kill her. I need you levelheaded and that isn't going to happen when you're angry!"

"And since when did I ever let you command-" Buffy reply was cut off by the massive explosion that rocked their ship. Before she could react, both she and Padmé were tossed out of the open bay door to the sandy dunes below. Two clone troopers followed them, landing near the fallen women.

"Buffy! Padmé!" Anakin screamed. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion - one moment they were there, the next they were gone, and he couldn't reach them fast enough. Frantic, he turned to the pilot. "Put the ship down!"

Obi-Wan put his hands on his Padawan's shoulders in an effort to calm him down. "Don't let your personal feelings get in the way." He turned to the pilot. "Follow that speeder."

Anakin shook free of his Master's grip. "Lower the ship!"

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan pressed, "I can't face Dooku alone. If we catch him, we can end this war right now. We have a job to do."

"I don't care!" he yelled back, and then at the pilot he yelled once more "Put the ship down!"

"You'll be expelled from the Jedi order!"

"I can't leave them!"

"Come to your senses!" Obi-Wan shouted back in an uncompromising tone. "What do you think Buffy would do if she were in your position? What would Padmé do?"

Anakin's shoulders slumped in defeat. "She would do her duty." he replied, speaking for both women. Dejectedly, he looked back to where two of the most important women in his life had fallen, and knew that now they were too far away to be of any help.

"Owwww…" Buffy moaned as she got to her feet. "That was not fun…" She spied Padmé lying on the ground a few feet away and ran over to her. "Padmé! You okay?"

"Ugh…" she moaned in reply. "I don't want to do that again."

"Senator!" a clone trooper called as he made his way down to them. "Master Jedi, are you all right?"

"Five-by-five," Buffy smirked, once more sending her thanks to her sister slayer, wherever she may be, for verbally knocking some sense into her. "Trooper, get what troops you can find, and get a ship. Padmé," she turned to the Senator, "when that transport gets here, lead them to the hanger."

"What will you do?" Padmé asked as Buffy bent down and picked up a rather large rock. The Slayer then straightened up, gave Padmé a wicked smile and let the rock fly in the blink of an eye. Padmé spun around and watched as the rock flew though the air and slammed into a droid riding a speeder bike similar to the one Dooku had been riding.

"I got my own ride." Buffy replied, running over to the now fallen speeder. "Get there as fast as you can. I'm going to get Willow and help out the guys!" and with that, she sped off into the desert terrain towards Dooku's secret hanger.

It didn't take long for Buffy to make it to the hanger on the speeder. She immediately saw the entrance to the main hanger, but decide to bypass it for a small entrance she spied lower down on the spire. She figured she could make her way back up and come in from behind, catching Dooku by surprise and giving Obi-Wan and Anakin the edge they needed to get the bastard.

So Buffy ran up the stairs that led to the main hanger of this facility. She reached the level where the hanger was and ran into the antechamber connected to it. As soon as she entered, she came up short.

This is the place from my visions…she recognized immediately. But if this is the place, than the woman that I'll find on the floor will be the one who'll try to kill me.

With growing dread, she slowly looked around the antechamber and found the woman in question. Her heart sank and her breath hitched when she recognized the woman's familiar red hair.

Oh, god. Willow….

"Buffy!" Willow called out, having spotted the Slayer. "Dooku left me in here. Said he needed to take care of the Jedi before we could get away. Cut me loose!" she insisted.

Cautiously, activated her light saber, and the silver-colored blade sliced clean through the ropes that bound her. Playing it cool she stepped back and allowed Willow to rise.

"Quickly!" she said. "We have to get in there and help them!"

Buffy turned to run into the hanger, and then heard the words she had feared.

"I got a better plan." Willow said. Buffy turned around to face her-

And she blocked the blast of energy that the witch had sent her way with her still-activated light saber. Willow looked on in surprise as the blast was sent harmlessly into the wall next to them. In her surprise, she could only mutter one word.

"Huh."

TBC…

A/N: My heartfelt thanks go out to my three amazing betas, both for their wonderful advice, their inspiration, and for their excellent touch-ups. Winterd, Fallenstar2, Shadow Master- my hat's off to you!

Just saw Goblet of Fire, and I am announcing that I am officially starting up 'Harry Potter and the Light Brigade' once again. But don't fear- I have the rest of this story already written. However, updates for Episode three may not be as regular. I learned that lesson when I tried to write 'Light Brigade' and 'Episode I' together. As for what I thought about Goblet- I thought it rocked! I wasn't sad to see the house elves cut out, especially since, in the book, Moody had given the book with the info on Gillyweed to Neville so Harry would find it. So not having Dobby wasn't such a loss. Plus we got more Filch, WAY more of the Twins (about damn time), a nice blend of humor and drama, and Ralph Finnes as Voldemort (though I wish he was a bit taller- he seemed a bit short in the movie). There was a lot cut out that I was sorry to see go, and I still don't care for Michael Gambon as Dumbledore (please get Ian McKellen, I'm BEGGING you!), but overall, if you haven't seen it yet, GO SEE IT!

R/R:

Miracle Angel Summers: I've thought about doing an in-between Episode, covering a period between Episode 3 and Episode 4, but I might just end up incorporating it into Episode 4. As for Episode 7, I had a vague idea dealing with the Solo kids, but nothing definitve. I've actually started getting ideas for a Stargate SG-1/Atlantis-Star Wars Crossover, though I'd be hesitant to do that, since I've only just started The New Jedi Order series, and never read anything before it.

Buffy-CrazyaboutAngel: You think that was bad, look how I ended this chapter ;P

Just Me Prime: In Episode I, Buffy was shown to have two great fears- heights, and the collar. She overcame her height phobia, but the collar was never addressed again, since it was off. I always believed that her last great fear would linger in her brain, and Dooku would exploit it. And as you see in this chapter, she finally overcomes her last fear, and shows herself to be Jedi Knight material. As for me 'borrowing' from The Empire Strikes Back- the prequels are filled with characters borrowing lines from the OT (example: in the opening battle of Episode III, Anakin says 'This is where the fun begins.' Han Solo says the exact same thing during the escape from Tatooine in A New Hope.)

RaeAngel: You know, everybody keeps wanting Buffy to kick Dooku's ass. At this rate, I might actually have to have the two fight…

MaxCobra: Well, as you might be able to tell from this chapter, Buffy and Willow just won't be able to have any kind of relationship…though I look forward to reading yours. Keep me updated!

Cycloneozgirl: Right in one- Slayer dreams. What, you didn't think I'd actually have the characters cross over between dimensions, did you?

Well, not yet…

Stcobb: As I tell my kids in Sunday School- when did I ever give you the impression that I was a nice guy?

Sean Malloy-1: As you can see, she just ripped the damn thing off. Simple, yet effective.

Rouge Mage: She definitely gets to kick ass- some here, and some in the next chapter.

General Mac: My thanks for the compliment. And again my thanks go out to my Beta's for making me look good.

Jedi-Princess: I think Mr. Lee would take it as a supreme compliment- it's his job to make people hate him in his roles most of the time. That you think he's slime would just show him how well he had done with how little he got. As for Buffy's driving skills- they've gotten better. But much like Buffy won't let Anakin forget the past sometimes, He won't let her forget certain things either. As for 'Phantoms and Slayers'- you are in luck, for Winterd has updated that wonderful story. So go read it!

Adi Skywalker: don't mind if I do. Buffy, Star Wars, and Harry Potter are my three favorite things, and I love to mix them all up sometimes.

Paul: I originally had them meeting Corran sometime in Episode's 4-6, though I might change that now…. As for Darth Traya, all will be revealed next chapter.

Marz1: Well, she didn't use the Force, but she did use the next best thing.

Midnight Emerald: Oh, yeah…she definitely got it off. And now THIS is where the fun begins…

Next chapter: Buffy vs Willow, Good Friends, Better Enemies. 'Nuff said.