The night was dark and silent, almost peaceful. Neither Jedi felt any sign of darkness or any kind of disturbance in the Force. For a moment neither man believed they would encounter something this night, but they were not foolish enough to let their guard down. The Force had a strange sense of humour, after all.
"This is completely pointless," Dooku pointed out after they walked repeatedly on the same street, passing the same graffiti on a grey wall.
Qui-Gon shrugged, "I don't know Master, I enjoy it."
Dooku sent him a disapproving look but then his gaze softened, "It is... a pleasure... to spend time with you my old Padawan. Other than that, I see no reason for us to continue."
The moon stood high on the sky, but his light was blocked by clouds. It didn't look like it would rain though, which was at least something in Qui-Gon's opinion.
"Maybe the manifestation noticed us roaming the streets and is afraid to come out?" the taller male offered his companion.
"I highly doubt that it is afraid. You have seen the damage it had caused," Qui-Gon hummed at his former Master's reasoning, "Besides, we have shielded our presence."
"Yes," Qui-Gon confirmed, "but we have not shielded the sound of our feet on the ground, not the minimal vibration walking causes in the ground and we certainly have done nothing against our smell."
"I do not 'smell'!" The older Jedi replied undignified and his expression turned into a scowl.
"I never said that you do Master, but every being has a natural odour."
"Of course you would know about that," Dooku replied and despite the scowl he said it with fondness in his voice.
Before Qui-Gon could return anything else, the peaceful silence was disturbed by a loud shriek. Both male's heads snapped towards the direction from which the piercing sound has come from. "I think we just found our little troublemaker," Qui-Gon replied. It was incredible what a few days in the company of his old Master could do to his mental state. He felt better, more sure and confident than he had in years.
"It appears so."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Dooku did not even had the chance to answer before the taller Jedi grabbed his wrists and pulled him with him.
"Qui-Gon," and there was a hint of amusement in his voice that even overlapped the man's annoyance.
"I just want to make sure you won't get lost," Qui-Gon replied boldly to the unspoken disapproval. From the scowl he received, the taller male knew that his old Master was aware of the mission he was referring to. Long story short, Dooku had not been able to keep up with his Padawan and the planet's leaders due to a leg injury and the young Padawan was left alone with the negotiation. Thankfully it had not ended in a catastrophe and thankfully Dooku had been found limping through the streets.
"I am glad you enjoy your old Master's misery so much Qui-Gon," the older male said when his companion chuckled because of the fond memory.
"You have to admit that it was rather amusing."
"The Council did not seem to share that thought," he replied bitterly.
"And since when do you care about the Council's opinion?" Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, but of course Dooku couldn't see that.
"Since they have ended the search of my Grandpadawan," at these words, Qui-Gon abruptly stopped walking, causing Dooku to bump right into his back. "Force Padawan, what has gotten into you?"
"What did you mean by that?" Qui-Gon asked, turning around to face the other male and completely ignoring his old Master's question.
Two set of eyes met, "It was a shame and a false decision to cease the search. They only sealed your Padawan's fate with that... I know we could have found him and freed him from this presence you mentioned."
Tears were forming in the taller male's eyes. He didn't care though and Dooku did not see them, for he was pulled forward into a bone crushing hug. "Easy there, watch your old Master's bones."
"Thank you," Qui-Gon simply said, "Thank you for still believing in my Padawan."
"Of course I still believe in him, he is of MY line after all," there was a hint of teasing in the old Master's voice, when he hesitantly returned the embrace.
"That he is my Master," Qui-Gon found himself smiling despite the tears that escaped his eyes.
A moment later they quickly pulled away again, for the inhuman shriek had sounded a lot closer than before. The younger jedi took the opportunity and wiped away the tear stains.
"Do you feel that?" Qui-Gon asked. It was faint but there was darkness and rage in the air.
"Yes. Quickly now, we have to hurry." Qui-Gon nodded and the Jedi continued their way forward.
"Oh my..." Dooku said, gaping at the sight before them.
"By the nine Sith hells," Qui-Gon agreed. He too was gaping at the enormous creature standing in the middle of the town's gallery walk. Countless pictures and sculptures, which were created by people who lived on the planet, were presented here. Their value was not to underestimate and only then did the Jedi realize that the being was not after destroying value objects, it was simply destroying everything it saw. Just as they had guessed, the being took care of the light sources first, which seemed to pose a problem here, for every piece of art was illuminated in some kind of way.
"What in the name of the Force is this?" the taller male eventually spit out.
"I have never seen anything like this," was Dooku's only reply.
The creature seemed to be made completely out of shadows and darkness. In fact, the dark side seemed to be pouring out of it. It could move through the shadows, use them as cover to destroy the light. It was bigger than a Gundark, not as large as a Rancor though, but it was faster and more agile than either species. It possessed a slender body with long limbs that ended in sharp looking claws, which glowed in a dark red. The tail was endowed with a massive club. All sorts of spikes came out of the creature's body, most of them on its back; while some looked like extended bones that were coming out of its elbows and knees. The head ended with two large horns and in a snout with sharp teeth. Hideous yellow eyes with large pupils gazed around the gallery walk, clenching shut when they gazed into light. Two slits at the front of its snout, were probably for breathing and smelling.
"Do we agree that this thing should not exist?" Qui-Gon asked. They had not dared to come out of their hiding spot yet, nor had one of them dared to probe the being with the Force.
"It looks like it has escaped from a nightmare. It certainly is no creation of the Force, no willing creation at least." Dooku commented.
A lantern was shattered by the massive tail club. "It looks heavily armoured... and I do have the feeling that lightsabers will do us no good here."
"The Force warned me too on this matter," Dooku nodded, "Look at the claws Padawan. They seem to cut through anything without any effort."
"Like a lightsaber," the taller Jedi gasped out. They had found the source for the strange burn marks on the crime scenes.
"We have to retreat," Dooku whispered harshly, "We have absolutely no chance against this... monstrosity."
"We need to the Council for help," Qui-Gon added, while gently urging his Master to move.
"I do not think that more Jedi would help..." Dooku said and he was already crouching away, Qui-Gon close behind him. Unfortunately neither man saw the glass shards on the floor due to the absolute darkness.
"Shit!" Qui-Gon spit out when he saw the creature cease his destructive expedition and turned its ugly head towards their current hiding spot. And here he had been hoping that the large ears would be useless. Neither man dared to breathe, let alone move a single muscle while the beast was slowly creeping closer. Its nostrils moved as it sniffed the air and it ears turned in all directions to spot another sound that shouldn't be there. It became clear to Qui-Gon that they had been spotted when yellow eyes stopped darting around and when the beast got on all fours, tail high in the air. "Run!" he yelled, urging Dooku forward and thankfully the older Jedi immediately complied.
A moment later a massive body crashed through the planks they had been hiding behind. A loud growl could be heard, but the Jedi did not bother look back. They knew they needed to keep running and find a hiding spot. Another piercing shriek sounded through the air, but it was different from the first two. This was the sound of a predator who found its prey and was excited about a good hunt. Unfortunately for the two men, they were the prey.
With Force enhanced speed the Jedi were running through the endless streets, careful to keep the beast away from the housing complexes. They desperately tried to stay in the light, but the sky was still clouded and not many lanterns remained.
"This is not how I pictured this mission would go," Qui-Gon complained.
"If I had known this, I would never have agreed in the first place. Nor would I have allowed you to go," Dooku panted out. The older Jedi was reaching his limit and Qui-Gon knew he himself was not the youngest either. Yet they could not afford to slow down, for the dark manifestation was close behind them and it sounded as if it was closing in.
"Right Master, into the alleyway," Qui-Gon instructed. To his surprise Dooku immediately complied, without any complaint.
Thankfully the being was too large to fit into the small alleyway, but the long haired Jedi had the feeling that it would not be stopped by this fact for long, so he grabbed his Master's wrist again and pulled him after him. True to his assumption the dark manifestation caught up to them rather quickly and Qui-Gon guessed that it was Force sensitive and could feel their signatures. He silently cursed, but also prayed the Force to help them. He could hear Dooku doing the same right beside him.
A warning from the Force was all Qui-Gon needed to Force push Dooku out of the way, just in time to avoid a jumping attack from the unknown creature. Its claws sunk deep into the ground, where Dooku had been running a few seconds ago. He himself stumbled away from the heavy impact. In this moment the creature remembered the Jedi of a feline that was playing with his food. Unfortunately that it was HIM that the feline was toying with.
Yellow eyes locked with midnight blue ones and the long haired Jedi knew that he had no chance of escaping the being's next attack, even if his muscles had responded like they were supposed to. Apparently he was not the only one to notice this fact. "Qui-Gon!" He heard his old Master's distressed and panicked cry and he prayed that the older Jedi would be able to get away.
No wonder there was no one, who could have told him about this. There simply was no one LEFT who had encountered this being. Qui-Gon closed his eyes when the being bent its legs to start his deadly attack, his last thoughts running around his lost Padawan and how he would never see Obi-Wan ever again...
Thanks for the reviews (Keep it up XD).
P.s. I LOVE writing Dooku this way... not so heartless and mean like he was pictured in the movies...^^
