Hey, thanks so much for your reviews! If you guys want some more flashbacks on how Serena and Obi-Wan met, I'll gladly do that. Oh, and if you guys like a cute and funny Han/Leia fic, check out my oneshot called "Two Princes and a Pirate", I think you'll enjoy it.
Black's Phoenix: Yeah, I agree! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
okanabe: Hey, no worries, man, I understand. Thanks for reviewing! Can't wait till you update your story.
xXxArwenxXx: Hey, thanks for reviewing my story! I'm glad you like it!
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
In the gloomy tunnel, Anakin and Padme were tossed into an open cart. The murmur of a vast crowd was heard distantly. Guards extended their arms along the framework and tied them so that they stood facing each other, and the driver got up onto his seat.
"Don't be afraid," Anakin said to her gently.
Padme stared at him, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm not afraid to die," she said hoarsely. "I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life."
Anakin was confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"I love you," she whispered.
Anakin stared at her incredulously. "You love me!" he said. "I thought we decided not to fall in love," he said. "That we would be forced to live a lie. That it would destroy our lives..."
"I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway," Padme cut in. "My love for you is a puzzle, Anakin, for which I have no answers. I can't control it... and now I don't care. I truly, deeply love you, and before we die I want you to know."
They leaned toward each other, and by straining hard, it was just possible for their lips to meet. They kissed softly, but were pulled apart when the cart jerked forward. Suddenly, there was a huge roar and blinding sunlight as they emerged into the arena. The great stadium was packed with tier upon tier of yelling Geonosians.
The cart trundled to the center, where Obi-Wan and Serena were chained to one of four upright posts that were three feet in diameter. The cart stopped, and Padme and Anakin were taken down, dragged to posts, and chained to them.
"I was beginning to wonder if you had gotten my message," Obi-Wan said to Anakin.
Anakin glared at him. "I retransmitted it as you requested, Master," he replied. "Then we decided to come and rescue you."
Obi-Wan looked at his bonds and turned back to Anakin. "Good job!" he congratulated sarcastically. Anakin rolled his eyes but bit back a grin.
Padme pulled a wire from her clothing and placed it in her mouth, causing Serena to grin. She immediately lifted her bottom half up and snatched the same kind of wire from her belt, putting it in her hands.
Anakin and Padme's arms were pulled high above their heads, and the cart drove away. There was another roar as Poggle the Lesser, Count Dooku, Nute Gunray, the Fetts, and dignitaries arrived in the archducal box and took their places.
Sun Fac cleared his throat. "The felons before you have been convicted of espionage against the Sovereign System of Geonosis," he declared. "Their sentence of death is to be carried out in this public arena henceforth."
The crowd roared and cheered. In the box, Poggle put up his hand, and the crowd became quiet. "Let the executions begin!" He called out.
The crowd goes wild as from different gates around the arena, four monsters were driven in. One was a Reek, a bull-like animal, one was a Nexu, a lion like animal, one was an Acklay, a kind of dino-lobster, and the last one was a Nexor, a cross between a Rancor and a Nexu. They were driven in by Picadors carrying long spears and riding Orrays. They poked the monsters toward the center, and then retired to the perimeter.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Anakin stated, eyeing the Reek, the monster in front of him.
The monsters tossed their heads, looking around, roaring or screeching. Then they caught sight of the four captives and started moving toward them.
"Take the one the right," Obi-Wan put in quickly. "I'll take the one on the center left. Serena, you take the one on the far left. Just relax, concentrate."
"No worries, dude," she replied through her teeth, as she was holding the wire in them. She quickly unlocked one of the chains.
"What about Padmé?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan.
Padme had used the wire she concealed to pick the lock on one of the hand restraints. She turned around and pulled herself up by the chain to the top of the post. Within a moment, she was standing on top of it, trying to pull the chain free.
"She seems to be on top of things," Obi-Wan said dryly. Serena and Anakin groaned, and Serena quickly flipped herself onto the post, crouching on it like a spider. Obi-Wan looked up at her. "Be careful, Serena," he called out.
"Sure thing, you take care of yourself, too," she shouted back. She then tried to free herself of the chain, and suddenly felt a little bit of her power coming back. Slowly, she tried using her metal controlling ability to try and loose the chain apart. She turned down to Obi-Wan. "Hey Ben, I think my powers are coming back!" she yelled down.
"That's good to know," he called, trying to concentrate on the Acklay.
The Reek charged Anakin. He jumped up, and the beast hit the post hard. Anakin landed onto its back, wrapping part of his chain around its horn. The Reek backed off, shaking its head angrily, which tore the chain from the post.
Obi-Wan ducked around the post as the Acklay charged. It knocked the post flat, sending Obi-Wan sprawling. The Acklay crunched the post between its claws, freeing the chain. Obi-Wan leapt up and run towards one of the Picadors, and the Acklay took off after him.
The Nexor, who was just as tall as the Acklay, tried to swipe at Serena, who flipped over and kicked it in the face, sending it roaring back. It quickly recovered and knocked the post over, causing Serena to tumble back with it, but landed easily on the ground. As the Nexor came closer, she desperately tried to pull herself free of the chain, when suddenly the metal snapped, and she was set loose; but her hands were still bound together. Serena then tried to draw out her claws, but they only came out a little bit. She growled and ran off to try and escape the approaching animal.
The Nexu arrived at Padme's post and reared on its hind legs. On top, Padme struggled to tear the chain free. The Nexu roared, displaying wicked, dripping fangs.
In the archducal box, Nute Gunray beamed and rubbed his hands.
Back in the arena, Obi-Wan ran at the Picador. The Orray reared up, and Obi-Wan grabbed the Picador's long spear and pole vaulted over him. The chasing Acklay smashed into the Orray, which immediately went down. The Picador tumbled onto the sand, where he was crunched by the Acklay.
Anakin's Reek started to buck and charged around the arena with poor Anakin hanging on for dear life. He whirled the free length of chain around his head and cast it into the Reek's mouth. Its jaws clamped hard on the chain. Anakin yanked hard on the chain, turning the Reek, and beginning to ride it.
Serena was beginning to get more of her power back. She drew out her claws, and found that they came almost all the way out. With a smug smile on her face, she leapt on top of the Nexor and began driving her claws into its large head again and again.
The Nexu's claws dug deep into the post. The cat-like creature reached the top of the post and takes a swipe at Padme. She turned and the claw barely caught her shirt ripping the bottom of it off, leaving superficial claw marks across her back. She hit the creature with her chain and it backed off down the pole. Then, she jumped off the post into the air, swung around on the chain, and whacked the beast hard on the head with both her feet. It tumbled back onto the sand. Padme climbed back up the pole, scrambling to the top.
In the archducal box, Nute Gunray fumed. "Foul!" he shrieked. "She can't do that... shoot her.. or, or something!"
Back in the arena, Obi-Wan ran out from behind the fallen Orray and threw the spear at the Acklay, hitting it in the neck. It lets out a terrible screech, and he grinned, thinking he had fatally wounded it. It snatched the spear with its teeth and snapped it in two. Obi-Wan had a worried look on his face as he darted away. Well, that didn't work.
He saw Serena, who was by the minute gaining more power, driving her claws, now full length, into the Nexor, who was quickly dying. She finally drove her claws in one last time, before she jumped down gracefully next to Obi-Wan, an angry look on her face. She used her power to make the metal handcuffs come off, cracked her neck and fingers again, and he grinned at her. She smiled grimly and ran off to get Anakin and Padme.
The Nexu sprung up and made to leap up at Padme again, who finally managed to work the chain loose. Anakin came charging up on the Reek and drove it into the Nexu, which was killed. "You okay?" he called out anxiously.
Padme nodded, gasping. "Sure!" she replied.
"Jump!" he ordered.
Padme leapt from the top of the post to land on the Reek behind Anakin. She quickly kissed him on the cheek, and the Reek charged away, around the arena and passed the wounded Acklay, Obi-Wan, and Serena. The two Jedi ran and jumped on the back of the Reek behind Anakin and Padme.
"What took you so long?" Anakin said sarcastically to Obi-Wan, who rolled his eyes and turned to Serena. "If you would be so kind?" he said, holding out his hands. She made the chains fall off instantly. "I wish that I could do more to use my powers, but I don't think that I should unleash them here in front of all these people," Serena spoke up. "It wouldn't be wise."
The other three nodded. "Oh, Padawan, I have to tell you the good news," Obi-Wan added, "I'm going to become a mutant."
Gasp! What will Anakin and Padme think? Find out in the next chapter, but don't forget to review!