Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is slightly shorter than some of the other ones. I really wanted to write more, but I also really had to study for finals and also go buy Christmas presents (yes, I'm a procrastinator :P), and figured you guys would understand that this chapter is a little shorter than usual. I hope you guys like it, regardless!

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, only my OC('s), and a few storylines I come up with.

So sorry for the double post, but it was brought to my attention that this chapter didn't send as an email for some of my readers, and I wanted to make sure everyone knew about it :P. Sorry again for the inconvenience!

Chapter 9: No Hope

Serena continued to viciously struggle against the stormtroopers, desperate to do something—anything—to save her brother. He didn't deserve to be punished because of something she did. Vader almost seemed…angry with her for something, and it wasn't for keeping Luke's location a secret. There was something else.

Still, Vader's motivations didn't matter to her. All that mattered was making sure Han wouldn't be hurt, and she kicked at the stormtroopers shins, though her kick didn't do much with all the armor they wore. She only made the stormtrooper angry, and he roughly dragged her forward.

They rounded a corner, and she spotted her brother being dragged out by another pair of stormtroopers. His eyes were filled with concern, but also relief at seeing his sister unharmed for the most part.

"Sis!" He cried out, as they were about to pass one another.

"Han, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She repeated, feeling tears well up in her eyes once again.

The stormtroopers continued to push them forward, clearly not intending to allow the siblings to speak for longer than necessary.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking for any signs of injury, though it was difficult as the stormtrooper continued trying to drag him away. She seemed shaken up, but otherwise uninjured.

She closed her eyes, attempting to hold back the tears, "No, I'm not."

Han was then forced around the corner, and out of her line of sight, though she could hear him shouting, "Wait—just let me talk to her! Serena!" His shouts were cut off as he passed through a door.

Please let him be alright. She thought desperately, though she knew Vader wouldn't show Han any mercy.

She opened her eyes, holding back the tears, as the stormtroopers continued to drag her to her cell. When they arrived, they roughly threw her in and slammed the door. She glanced around. The cell was nothing more than a small room, with nothing but a few cots.

Chewie was placed in the same cell, and quickly approached her, helping her stabilize herself when the stress of the day finally began to take its toll on Serena. She allowed Chewbacca to assist her, and was glad to see the wookiee seemed relatively unharmed.

"Where's Leia?" She questioned, concerned that she hadn't seen the Princess since their initial capture.

Chewie roared, "I do not know. She was taken away before Han."

Serena sighed in defeat, trembling slightly when she thought about what could be in store for her brother and friend. If only there was some way for them to escape and help the others. Serena finally resigned herself to sitting on the floor, taking some of the pressure off of her recently healed leg.

Chewie looked at her, seeing how fearful and worn out she looked.

"Are you alright?" He growled softly, "Did Vader hurt you?"

She shook her head, ignoring the tears that were threatening to spill over once again, "Nothing permanent."

Chewie didn't seem convinced, looking at Serena with open concern.

"Chewie," She said softly, hearing a hitch in her voice as she attempted to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill over, "I'm—I'm…fine."

"No, you're not." The wookiee said gently, or as gently as a wookiee could.

The wookiee's open concern was too much for her to bear, and she finally allowed the tears to flow, her body trembling with the violent sobs. Chewie comfortingly pat her back, not sure what else to do. Serena was glad Chewie didn't ask her what happened. He knew talking about it would only upset her more.

As her sobs gradually subsided, Chewie remained by her side. His presence made her feel safer, and she finally stopped crying, wiping off the tears hastily, embarrassed by her reaction.

"Thank you, Chewie." She said, her voice sounding hoarse, both from her recent strangling and crying. The wookiee growled in anger at her treatment, seeming to have a good idea of what happened. She shook her head, "Please don't tell them. They have their own problems, and I don't want them to worry."

Chewie didn't like the idea, but agreed reluctantly, knowing she would continue to press the point.

"I appreciate it, Chewie." She said, attempting to smile at him.

The wookiee nodded, and attempted to distract Serena from her concerns by showing her Threepio.

Serena glanced at the broken droid, "What happened to him?"

"He was destroyed shortly after we arrived. I do not know how yet."

"Can you fix him?"

Chewie nodded, and placed Threepio's head on his body, fiddling with the controls.

Serena tried to pay attention to distract herself, but she couldn't stop focusing her thoughts on Han. She knew Vader had something horrible in store for him, and it was all her fault. Han hadn't done anything. Somehow, she'd angered Vader, though she wasn't sure exactly how yet. It had something to do with his search for Luke.

She just hoped that Luke didn't find out about the situation they were in. She knew he'd risk everything to save them, and she also knew that, even though Luke had a small amount of training by Ben Kenobi before his death, Darth Vader wouldn't have much trouble defeating Luke.

And Leia—where was the Princess? What were they doing to her? She knew Leia had been interrogated once by Vader before, and although Leia never talked about it with anyone, Serena knew the Princess had been deeply affected by the encounter. She hoped that, wherever Leia was, she was safe. She couldn't bear it if something would have happened to Leia, as well. She had become a good friend over the years.

Chewbacca continued to work on Threepio, finally getting the droid to speak, though not in any recognizable language. He fiddled with the voice controls, hoping it would help. Serena returned her attention to Chewbacca, and watched as Threepio slowly came back, turning his head frantically and shouting, "Stormtroopers? Here? We're in danger, I must tell the others. Oh no, I've been shot!"

Serena's eyes turned to the golden droid, "Is that what happened to you, Threepio?"

Threepio's head turned in her direction, "Oh, Mistress Serena, we must escape before—"

"It's too late." She said bitterly.

Chewbacca resumed working on Threepio, who at Serena's words was stunned into silence…for a moment. It didn't take long for the droid to complain about Chewie's repair attempt, and Chewie shut the droid off in irritation.

They both remained silent, until a loud, agonized scream broke the silence. Serena immediately stood up. She knew exactly who was screaming and, although the screaming didn't last too long, she'd never heard her brother scream like that before.

She should have been thankful his screaming stopped so quickly, but that just worried her more. At least if she could hear him, she knew he was alive. She didn't know anything now, and that worried her more than anything.

"Han…" She whispered, and took in a deep breath, attempting to keep herself calm. She couldn't break down again. They had to try to find some way to escape. She knew that escaping Vader alone was next to impossible, and with Boba Fett waiting around for Vader to give up Han, she knew it was extremely unlikely that they'd escape. Still, she refused to allow her brother to be taken away to Jabba. They'd come so far, and Han didn't deserve to suffer any more than he already had.

Suddenly, the cell doors opened, and Serena barely had any time to react as her brother was thrown in roughly. The doors slid shut as quickly as they opened. As fast as they were able, Serena and Chewbacca rushed to the smuggler's side.

"Are you alright?" Serena immediately asked, as she and Chewie both helped him up.

Han, looking dazed and still slightly pained, looked at both of them before answering, "I feel terrible."

"This is my fault." She said, the guilt settling in as she looked at the pained expression on her brother's face.

Chewie roared in objection, and Han also shook his head, "Don't blame yourself, sis." Han seemed to want to ask her what Vader did to her, but she refused to acknowledge his questioning glances.

They led him to the cot and allowed him to lie down. He winced in discomfort. Han still seemed to be feeling the effects of whatever Vader had done to him. He looked pale, and exhausted. Serena still felt guilt for allowing this to happen.

The blast doors slid open once again, and finally Leia was thrown in. She seemed unharmed, and the Princess's eyes lit up when she saw that they were all unharmed as well, until her eyes trained on Han. She immediately rushed up to the smuggler, and stroked his head, hoping to comfort him.

"Glad you're alright." Serena attempted to smile at Leia, though it was a little forced.

The Princess smiled softly, "You too. We were worried when he took you away." She glanced down at Han, her eyes looking pained as she saw the condition the smuggler was in.

Han attempted to smirk, though his smirk also fell a bit flat, "Don't worry about me, Princess. It'll take more than that to bring me down."

Chewie roared in agreement. He knew Han was strong.

After a moment of silence, where they all were lost in their thoughts, Leia spoke, "Why are they doing this?"

Han shook his head, "They didn't even ask me any questions."

Serena remained silent. Vader wants to find Luke. She was about to voice her thoughts, when Lando entered their cell, followed by an entourage of guards. Immediately, the Rebels became defensive, attempting to look less afraid than they all actually were.

"Lando." Leia acknowledged him, her voice full of malice.

Han sat up and glared at his 'old friend', "Get out of here, Lando."

Lando, who was clearly fed up with their hostility, shouted, "Shut up and listen! Vader has agreed to turn Leia, Serena, and Chewie over to me."

Han still didn't look happy with Lando, but he seemed a bit relieved to hear that the others wouldn't be Vader's prisoners, "Over to you?"

"They'll have to stay here, but at least they'll be safe."

"And if we don't want to stay with you?" Serena glared. It was Lando's fault they were in this situation, after all.

Lando looked at her challengingly, "Do you want to go with Vader?"

She froze. Even though she'd only met him for a few brief moments, that was enough to completely terrify her. She really didn't want to be trapped with him any longer. He was absolutely terrifying.

Lando took her silence as a no.

Leia interrupted, "What about Han?"

"Vader's giving him to the bounty hunter."
"You can't let him do that!" Serena objected, though as soon as she said it, she knew Lando didn't really have a choice in the matter.

"What do you think I can do?!" He shouted back, defensively.

"Vader wants us all dead." Leia protested.

"He doesn't want you at all. He's after somebody called Skywalker."

"Luke?" Han questioned,

"Lord Vader has set a trap for him."

"And we're the bait." Leia said, looking angry. Clearly she was thinking about finding some way to warn Luke.

"Well, Skywalker's on his way."

"What?" Serena's eyes widened in both concern and fear. How did Luke find out so quickly? She'd hoped they would find some way to escape before Luke even knew they were captured. Now Vader would find who he was looking for, and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Han reacted with anger, glaring at Lando, "Perfect. You fixed us all pretty good, didn't you, my 'friend.'"

Han moved forward aggressively, intending to punch Lando in the face, but Lando was prepared and fought off Han. The guards sprang into action, hitting Han with their blaster rifles, causing the already weakened smuggler to collapse onto the floor of the cell. The guards continued to hit Han, and Chewie growled threateningly.

Serena ran over to Han, "Stop!"

Leia followed close behind, and they were immediately at Han's side as Lando shouted, "Stop!"

The guards finally stopped beating Han, and moved away, allowing the two girls to check the smuggler for any further permanent injury. Chewbacca glared at the guards menacingly, and Serena noticed with some satisfaction that the guards looked nervous when facing the large wookiee.

Their former friend continued, "I've done all I can do. I'm sorry I couldn't do better, but I have my own problems."

Han had no sympathy for Lando as he said, "Yeah, you're a real hero."

Looking somewhat hurt by that last statement, Lando decided it would probably be best for him to leave the cell. His guards followed closely behind him, slamming the blast doors shut once more.

Leia looked at Han, who wiped the blood from his chin with his sleeve, and shook her head, "You certainly have a way with people."

Serena inspected her brother for any more serious injuries, and was relieved that, aside from what would surely be a few bruises from his recent beating, Han was mostly alright.

"We have to try to get out of here before Luke arrives." Serena said as they helped Han to the cot once again.

Han shook his head, "I don't know if we're gonna get outta this one that easy, sis."

"We have to try!"

"It's not possible. There are stormtroopers everywhere." Leia responded, looking like she was about to give up.

"I'm not going to let Boba Fett take you to Jabba. There has to be a way."

Chewie roared in agreement with Serena, "I agree. There must be something we can do."

"How are you even going to get the doors open? They're sealed tight." Han said, wincing as he moved to gesture to the doors.

"I'll…think of something." She muttered, but knew they were probably right. Even if she could get the doors open, they would surely run into a few stormtroopers on their way out. Still, she wouldn't—couldn't—allow her brother to be taken away. He didn't deserve that.

She leaned against the wall, and slowly slid down until she was sitting on the ground, and continued to think. Chewbacca resumed his work on Threepio, while Leia continued caring for Han, who was resting on the cot, trying to regain some of his strength before they were interrogated once again.

Luke knew something was off as soon as his ship landed so easily on Bespin. He could sense something was off the moment he entered the planet's atmosphere. There was a dark presence on Bespin, and Luke felt for his lightsaber, feeling reassured by the weapon's presence at his side.

The little green creature had turned out to be the Jedi Master Luke was looking for and Luke spent the remaining time on the planet training day in and out with the small Jedi. He had learned more about the Force in those few days than he had in his whole life, though he also knew he still wasn't even close to knowing everything. He would have stayed, if it wasn't for the vision he'd received.

Luke was standing on his hands, with his legs up in the air. It was a challenging position to hold, but Master Yoda insisted it would teach Luke control and focus. Luke wasn't so sure, but he didn't question the Jedi Master.

As he listened to Yoda's voice, helping him feel the Force flow around him, he suddenly was struck by an odd feeling. Suddenly, Luke was shown images and faces, and though they passed quickly he was able to see pieces of the future.

Han's face flashed once. He mentioned something about a mining colony. Leia's face appeared next, followed closely by Chewbacca's. They were being greeted by someone called Lando. Serena finally appeared, limping along. When did she injure her leg?

He continued looking into the future, when suddenly the vision grew dark. He saw Serena, her eyes wide with fear, as Vader approached her, questioning her on where Skywalker was. He saw Leia being thrown in a cell, and Chewie roaring in anger. He saw Han screaming as he was tortured by Vader, and he saw his friends horrified expressions as Han was lowered in a chamber—

"Serena. Han…Leia…" Luke muttered, feeling pained the longer he saw into the future. Finally, he was unable to bear it, and fell over, knowing exactly what he had to do…

Yoda wasn't pleased with Luke's decision, but he knew he had no choice. Though the Jedi Master tried to argue with him, Luke was unfazed, and knew he had to rescue his friends. Even Ben Kenobi returned to attempt to persuade Luke to stay with Yoda. He knew they were concerned for him, but Luke was worried about his friends, and knew he couldn't allow them to suffer without attempting to rescue them.

As Luke landed his ship, he thought of the final warning Master Yoda had given him as he was about to fly off.

"Let go of your attachment, you must, or destroy you both, it will."

Luke knew Yoda was talking about Serena, and ever since he made that comment, Luke hadn't been able to get the words out of his head. What if he had a point? What if by being close to her, Luke was putting her in more danger?

He shook his head, knowing that now wasn't the time to be thinking about Yoda's cryptic warning. He had to save his friends. He released Artoo from the ship, and prepared to investigate Cloud City.

Okay, so I know this chapter was a little short, and didn't really move at a fast pace, but I felt like this chapter was delayed and wanted to update this story desperately before Christmas. I'll try to make the next one longer—I promise! Thanks for reading, and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :)