A/N: Thanks for the reviews, you guys. They make me happy.

Chapter Sixteen: The Ceremony

Luke stood frozen in place at the sight of the Shadow Queen. He had never seen a person with such a feeling of despair surrounding her. She wore a long black dress with black robes covering all of her skin except for her face. Her skin was very white, but her eyes were dark and frightening.

The guard who had led Luke into the room went down on his knee and forced Luke to do the same. "My Queen," the shadow guard said. "This boy was just found trying to escape his redemption."

For the first time, the Shadow Queen stared right at Luke. She looked at him, as if studying his motives. Luke felt like she could see right into his mind. Finally, she spoke.

"Leave us," she said. Her voice was full of command and authority and never wavered. "Await outside for further orders."

"Yes, My Queen." With a final bow, the guard stood up and left the room. Luke watched the doors close behind him. He was alone in front of the queen… he didn't like this. For some reason, he stayed on his knees.

"Why do you seek to escape redemption?" the Queen said, coming closer to him. She asked this as if she already knew what the answer was.

Luke wished his voice didn't tremble as much as it did. "I… well; I don't exactly know what you mean when you say 'redemption.'"

The Queen was now pacing around him. Luke wished he could sink into the ground by the way her eyes pierced into him. Still, he stayed kneeling. He was afraid that if he stood up, she would do something terrible.

"A redemption ceremony is when you are allowed the privilege to leave this life and go on to the Afterlife of Peace."

Luke scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

The Queen finished her observation of him and began walking back to her throne. "Have you not seen the Lava River?"

Luke's eyes widened. "You mean you're going to throw me into the lava!? But I'll die!"

The Queen's voice remained mono-tone as if she were used to people saying this. "Yes, but through death you will freed from your miseries. You will no longer have to worry about anything."

"Yeah, 'cause I'll be dead!" Luke exclaimed. "I don't want to die."

The Queen shook her head. "You are young and, unfortunately, do not understand such things. Guards!" The guard that had left them along with the two guards who stood outside the throne room opened the doors and came in. "This one is ready. Take him and proceed with his redemption ceremony."

"No!" Luke cried. He tried to avoid the guards, but they were too quick and soon began dragging him out of the room. "No!"

"There it is," Boba said. He pointed at the large volcano that stood up high in the distance. "The lava river is on the other side of that volcano. And inside it is the Shadow People's lair. We have to get to the dungeons and free the others before they are killed."

"How much time do we have?" Vader asked. He sounded a little more desperate than he wanted to, but the worry about Luke was overwhelming him.

"I don't know," Boba said. "They base their executions on the prisoner's actions. If they are calm, then they may wait a few days. If they are not calm, then… who knows? We may already be too late."

"In that case, we better hurry."

As they walked through the overgrown forest life, Vader couldn't help but worry. Luke was so young. If he died now, a day after Vader had finally found him… that just would be cruel. No, he couldn't let them kill Luke.

These thoughts caused his movements to speed up and Boba had a rough time keeping up with him.

When they reached the volcano, finding an entrance wasn't a problem. There were four Shadow People guarding the entrance. Vader ignited his lightsaber, and Boba charged up his blaster. They silently nodded at each other, then emerged from the woods out into the open and attacked the guards.

Vader had no trouble taking out the guards with his lightsaber, and Boba, trained to do this sort of stuff had no problems either. As soon as the guards were dead, they rushed into the volcano lair.

"Where do we go from here?" Vader asked his companion.

Boba looked around so he could get a sense of direction. "The cells are this way," he said, taking a left turn. "That's are best bet as to where they are."

…

Bella looked around her cell for something she could use to unlock the door. She didn't want to stick around here long enough to get thrown into the lava. She searched her pockets, but of course they had been emptied. Except for…

Bella turned over the bottom part of her pants to reveal a hidden pocket. She tried it, and sure enough, a long strip of metal met her hands. She took it out and examined it.

It was something she had taken from one of her bounties not long ago. She didn't know why she had kept it. But maybe she could use it to unlock the door.

Bella studied the key hole then bent and shaped the metal until it looked like it could fit. Then she tried it. Her face scrunched up in concentration as she moved it around in the lock. Finally, she heard a little clicking sound. She tried the door, and sure enough, it had been unlocked.

Bella put the metal strip back in her pocket. Who knows? She may need it again some time.

When she came out into the hall she was torn as to which way to go. One side of the hall led to freedom, and the other side of the hall led to Han and Luke's cells. She quickly decided on freeing the other two. After all, they were all a team now. They had to stick together.

The first cell she came to was Han's. She unlocked it with the metal strip then opened the door. Inside she found Han banging his head against the wall.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

Han whirled around at the sound of her voice. "Bella! How did you escape?"

Bella held up the key and motioned for him to hurry. "Come on, we still have to free Luke."

Han didn't need any encouraging. He stood up and joined Bella in the hall. Apparently, she had seen where Luke had been put, so Han just followed her. But when they got there and unlocked the door, they found the cell to be empty.

"Hmm, maybe he escaped already," Bella said.

"No, if he had escaped, he would have rescued us," Han said.

Bella sighed in annoyance. "He's a frightened little kid. I wouldn't blame him if he ran off as soon as he got himself free."

Han was angry now. "Luke isn't like that!"

"As much as I'd love to argue with you," Bella said sarcastically. "We still have to get out of here."

"Not without Luke, we're not."

…

Luke was led through many corridors until they came to a huge circular room with a huge open doorway. He was taken through the open doorway and onto a platform that extended over the lava river.

Now Luke had been struggling all the way there, but now, a new desperation overcame him. He had to escape! He couldn't die!

The lava river roared below him. The steam came up and hit him in the face. The river was just waiting to claim him.

He struggled as much as he could, but in vain. With a shove from one of the shadow guards, Luke came to the edge of the platform. He wanted to run back, but the way was blocked.

The guard extended his hand and pushed him again. Luke lost his balance…

… and he fell.

A/N: Oh you guys, I feel so evil right now!

Reivew!!!