Whoo-hoo! I finally feel like writing again! The past week or so I've been really lazy, but now I get to try and update three stories all at once! (I'm writing for Naruto and Star Wars, PLUS I'm trying to finish a history and english class.) Well, I'll try and update as fast as possible at least.
(P.S. Writer on caffeine. Be warned.)
Moving on now. Author's Note and Questions answered:
Thank you to Ladygoddess8 and T (), my two newest reviewers. Reviews have been slow lately, so it was a big encouragement to see that more people are enjoying this.
And of course, a big thank you to The Tainted Knight, Floating Leaves, and Sw fan () who have been constant reviewers for nearly every chapter.
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten everyone else who reviewed, not to mention all the people who brought me into the 4 digit zone for story views. Your support is invaluable, and this story would be nowhere without it.
Okay, back to the questions.
Hmmm. No questions this time. Well then, on to the story! :D
...
Of all the things he could have done, jumping out of a moving ship was not the smartest option he could have chosen. Laurence felt the breath slam out of his lungs as he hit the ground and roll to the base of the sand dune. Giving himself a quick checkover, Laurence suspected that besides aggravating his initial injuries, he had managed to crack a rib or two when he fell. Laurence groaned and let his head fall back onto the sand. There were some times when he wondered if he really was as as much an idiot as Owen accused him of being.
Grimacing and clutching his arm, Laurence rolled to his stomach and crawled over to where Padme had fallen. She appeared to be all right, but she had a nasty bruise on her forehead. Laurence hoped it wouldn't turn into anything serious.
Flopping back against the sand, Laurence closed his eyes and waited for help to arrive. Soon enough he heard the running footsteps of what he hoped was a friendly soldier. Drawing his blaster anyways, he sat up quickly and pointed the weapon at the approaching figure. Moving fast had done nothing well for Laurence's headache however, and he found the world fading into a haze as he squinted towards the shadowy figure.
"It's all right sir," a filtered voice called out. "I'm not going to harm you."
Laurence shook the mist away from his eyes and felt the blaster drop from his hands. His head suddenly made contact with the soft sand, and he wondered vaguely if he had fallen again.
"Get him to a medic!" Padme's voice rang out. Laurence started, surprised to note that she was awake. He then smiled slightly, glad she was all right.
"Right away, Senator," the trooper answered. "We'd better get you back to the forward command center.
"No!" Padme answered, her shouts bringing a wince to Laurence's face as his headache worsened. "No. Get Laurence to a medic, then gather what troops you have. We've got to get to that hangar. Get a transport. Hurry!"
"Right away!" the trooper replied.
Laurence felt an armored grip scoop him up, and he finally lost his grip on consciousness. The world spun behind his closed eyes before everything went mercifully silent.
...
Darra shouted out in frustration and horror when Laurence launched himself over the side of the ship. Did that imbicele never think before he acted? Her heart leaping into her throat, she watched Laurence roll down the side of the dune. It was everything Darra could do to keep from jumping over the side of the ship herself. Torn between ending a war and helping Laurence, she could only take comfort in the fact that Padme and the trooper who had also been knocked from the ship might be able to provide some aid to her fallen knight.
Anakin however, had a separate opinion of what to do about the matter.
"Put the ship down!" he screamed as he leaned over the edge.
"Anakin!" Obi-wan called as he jumped to his padawan's side. "Don't let your personal feelings get in the way." Turning to the clone, he ordered, "Follow that speeder."
"Lower the ship!" Anakin repeated as the cannonfire continued to blast around them.
"Darra and I can't take on Dooku alone," Obi-wan objected. "We need you! If we catch him we can end this war right now! We have a job to do!"
"I don't care! Put the ship down!" Anakin shouted defiantly.
The pilot gave Darra a worried glance, and she indicated for him to keep going. He nodded in relief and drove the carrier forward.
"You will be expelled from the Jedi Order!" Obi-wan continued.
"I can't leave her!"
Darra fiddled with her lightsaber nervously. What had gotten into Anakin? He had always had difficulty with his unreined temper, and yelling matches with Obi-wan were fairly common, but Anakin had never lost control before. It frightened Darra.
"Come to your senses!" Obi-wan shouted. "What do you think Padme would do if she were in your position?"
This seemed to calm the raging padawan. "She would do her duty," Anakin finally admitted.
Obi-wan nodded in satisfaction. "Follow that speeder," he confirmed to the pilot.
Darra sighed in relief and tried to ignore the harsh emotions rolling off of Anakin. She shuddered inwardly. Mentally Darra made a note to mention the incident to Master Windu when they returned.
Only a short time later, Dooku's ship disapeared into a doorway carved into the side of a cliff. The Jedi activated their lightsabers as the cargo ship pulled alongside the platform.
Darra felt a warning call in the force as they darted away. Immediately afterwards the cargo ship burst into flames as the enemy rockets finally hit their target. Silently Darra mourned the death of the troopers on board, then focused her mind on the task ahead.
Dooku turned around as the entered, a lone droid speeding away from him. Anakin quickly moved to stand between the Count and his escape transport.
"You're going to pay for all the Jedi you killed today, Dooku." Anakin said vehemently.
"We'll take him in slowly," Obi-wan ordered softly. "Darra, you take him in from the right, Anakin - "
"I'm taking him NOW!" Anakin growled as he ran at the Count.
"No! Anakin, no! No!"
Obi-wan's warning was unheeded as Anakin threw himself at Dooku.
Dooku merely raised a hand, shooting deadly bolts of lightning towards the raging padawan. Anakin felt back against the wall with a scream of agony, bolts of electricity running through his body.
Darra gave a worried glance in Anakin's direction, but was forced to revert her attention to Dooku. Slowly she paced to the right as Obi-wan moved to the left.
"As you can see, my powers are far beyond yours," Dooku said coldly. "Now, back down."
Raising his right hand again, he shot a lightning bolt towards Obi-wan. The Jedi Master raised his lightsaber slightly, allowing the energy bolts to curl around the saphire blade.
"I don't think so," Ob-wan replied.
Anakin groaned and writhed against the wall, his nerves screaming as the electric shock died down. Mentally he berated himself. How could he have been so stupid? Once again he had jumped into a situation without thinking, and once more he had paid the price.
Anakin hadn't reconded his fellow Jedi paying for his mistake as well however. Before Anakin's eyes, Dooku suddenly lifted his left hand again and force threw Darra into a wall. Unprepared for such a violent attack, the padawan slammed against the rock support structure and fell to the floor, unconscious.
"No!" Obi-wan shouted as his concentration slipped. Immediately Dooku barraged the Jedi Master with lightning again, and Obi-wan barely raised his lightsaber in time.
Undaunted, Dooku reached for the curved lightsaber handle at his belt and activated it in one smooth motion. A crimson blade snap-hissed to life, and a chill ran up Anakin's spine. Only the sith used the red crystals for their lightsabers. Once more Anakin tried to get up, but his body was weak from the electricity still.
A second later Obi-wan threw the first attack at Dooku, and the air was quickly filled with grunts and clashing lightsabers. Obi-wan's attack was fast and hard, yet Dooku blocked the moves with ease.
"Master Kenobi, you disappoint me," Dooku taunted smoothly. "Yoda holds you in such high esteem."
The Count's eyes gleamed as Obi-wan struck out again. "Surely you can do better!"
Anakin twisted against the wall, still trying to numb out the pain of Dooku's attack. He knew he should be accepting the pain, allowing his body to heal faster, but all he could think of was fighting it. He didn't have time to wait for the endorphins to do their job. Anakin needed to move now.
Even now was too late however, as Dooku's lightsaber suddenly lashed out and caught Obi-wan's left arm. Obi-wan gave a cry of pain just before the crimson blade struck again, deeply grazing his left leg. The Jedi master collapsed to the floor, clutching his wounds.
Dooku twirled his blade disspationately and Anakin found his strength returning as his concern for his master overwhelmed the pain. Launching himself away from the wall with a shout of rage, Anakin directed his green lightsaber into the path of Dooku's blade just as it swung towards Obi-wan for the final blow.
"Brave of you boy," Dooku said as he quickly covered up the slight burst of confusion that had spread across his face, "But I would have thought you had learned your lesson."
"I am a slow learner," Anakin replied cooly before twisting Dooku's lightsaber away.
"Anakin!" Obi-wan called as he flipped his lightsaber in the padawan's direction.
Anakin caught it easily and activated it, attacking Dooku with the advantage of two blades. Dooku was harder kept now to keep up with the steady barrage Anakin threw at him, but he still managed to hold his own. Soon enough Anakin found himself retreating quickly as Dooku began lashing out faster, and he pulled his hand away as the crimson blade seared through his green lightsaber handle.
Falling back, Anakin sliced through a power coupling, trying to buy himself some time. He had sorely underestimated Dooku, and he wished now that he had stayed with his Master instead of attempting to take on the Count by himself.
Stepping back further, Anakin rapidly searched his mind for what Laurence would have done in this kind of situation. The Guardian would have kept his cool, that much was certain. He would probably have waited for the enemy to come to him. Yes, that would give Anakin the better advantage in this case.
Anakin didn't have time to consider further as Dooku attacked once more. Despite the dark corridor, Dooku was fully capable of fighting to the best of his abilites. Anakin found himself having use the force to watch his feet and Dooku's blades at the same time. Several crucial seconds passed before the lights flickered on again, and Anakin put his whole concentration into his attacks.
A sudden fumble brought around his downfall. Stumbling slightly over a severed cord, Anakin missed an obvious feint by Dooku's lightsaber. He raised his own blade to block the attack, only to find that it wasn't there. The force screamed at him, and Anakin could only watch helplessly as Dooku's crimson blade sliced down towards his unprotected side.
Anakin screamed as he felt the lightsaber shear through his arm, just below the elbow. The ravaged nerve cells clouded Anakin's mind with pain as he felt himself being thrown backwards against Obi-wan. Barely able to breath through the agony, Anakin could only curl in and pull the mangled limb towards himself. Through the fog of pain he saw Obi-wan's horrified gaze, but the consuming fire along his arm quickly blocked out everything else.
...
Obi-wan could only watch in horror as his padawan fell to the floor, his arm severed at the elbow. Anakin closed his eyes, curling up as though to protect what was left of the severed limb. Dooku bent his head and deactivated his lightsaber, seemingly tired out from the struggle.
A slight tapping of a cane brought the Count's attention back to the present, however. Obi-wan looked up and saw a shadow lengthen as a figure approached. He couldn't describe how relieved he was to see Yoda standing there.
"Master Yoda," Dooku said in some slight surprise.
"Count Dooku," Yoda responded.
"You have interferred in our affairs for the last time," Dooku said calmly as he raised his hand and threw a hunk of metal towards the Jedi Master.
Yoda dropped his cane and caught the metal with the force, launching it away to hit the wall.
Dooku tried again, and when that attack was also foiled, lifted both hands to rain chunks of rock down from the ceiling. Once more Yoda easily halted the attack, throwing the missils to the side.
"Powerful you have become, Dooku," Yoda said in his raspy voice. He sighed. "The dark side I sense in you."
"I've become more powerful than any Jedi," Dooku boasted. "Even you." With those words he launched his sith lightning towards Yoda.
Yoda didn't flinch as he caught the lightning in his hand and threw it back towards Count Dooku. Dooku's eyes widened and he quickly directed the attack towards the ceiling. Obi-wan watched in amazement, unable to grasp the display of power. Once again Dooku attempted to electrocute the small green Master, but his efforts were useless.
"Much to learn, you still have," Yoda rasped.
"It is obvious that this contest cannot be decided by our knowledge of the force," Dooku stated as he drew his blade, "But by our skills with a lightsaber." Twirling his lightsaber with a flourish, he waited for Yoda to make his move.
Yoda's posture was strict and formal as he moved his cload aside and drew his tiny green blade. Without further warning, Dooku flipped into a divebomb and Yoda launched himself forward with a yell.
Obi-wan stared in awe as the duo fought. Yoda flipped through the air and danced around Dooku's legs, putting the Count at a disadvantage due to his heigth. Dooku still managed to block Yoda's blows with amazing speed, though Obi-wan could see that he was swiftly tiring. Steadily the green master forced Dooku to retreat until the Count was nearly cornered against his ship.
"Fought well you have, my old padawan," Yoda panted.
"This is just the beginning," Dooku replied darkly.
Raising his hand towards a large metal pillar, he sent it crashing down towards Obi-wan and Anakin. Obi-wan drew back, but realized that neither he nor Anakin would be to escape in time with their condition. To his relief Yoda turned and caught the collapsing structure with the force, sacrificing Dooku's capture to save the two Jedi.
Obi-wan watched in slight trepidation as the column continued to screech towards them. There is no death, there is only the force. He took comfort in the words and readied himself for whatever might happen.
Just before it could crush the two Jedi, the column halted and soared back to land behind them with a crash. Laying his head back down, Obi-wan allowed himself to feel a fleeting burst of aftershock before calming himself with the force. The distraction with the column had been enough to let Dooku escape however, and the Jedi could only watch helplessly as his ship flew away.
Obi-wan sighed softly, then turned to Anakin as the padawan began to regain consciousness. Anakin moaned and clutched his wounded arm, his mind oblivious to everything but the pain. Slowly Obi-wan sat up, carefully lifting Anakin so as to cause the padawan as little further pain as possible.
Padme and several clones ran in at that instant, and one of the clones pulled out a med pac for the two Jedi.
"We'll take you back to the base immediately," the medical trooper assured Obi-wan as he smeared Anakin's wound with bacta. Obi-wan nodded slightly, his mind numb from everything that had taken place. As he watched, another trooper examined Darra and confirmed that she would be all right.
Obi-wan sighed deeply and allowed a clone trooper to help him to his feet. Dooku had escaped, but they were all alive.
Suddenly Obi-wan remembered they were still missing one member of the group.
"Where's Laurence?"
...
(Dooku) "Master Yoda."
(Yoda) "Count Dooku."
(Timon) "Timon, Pumba. Great! Now that everyone knows each other, WOULD SOMEONE MIND TELLING ME WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND HERE?"
(Movie quote take-on from Simba's Pride)
...
Things to note about the past couple chapters:
When I mentioned Obi-wan jumping to the side of the cargo ship, he literally jumped. Obi-wan practically rocked the ship, and I doubt the loud thump was merely blaster fire. Of course, it's better than the "Magically teleporting Jedi" in Phantom Menace.
Anyone ever notice that part? During the destroyer droid attack outside the doors (when Qui-gon is attempting to drive his lightsaber blade through the blast doors in order to get to Nute Gunray), the Jedi suddenly zip away from the doors and appear all the way down the hallway. Talk about weird...
.com/watch?v=joTzwjVUSo4 (You can find it here. I would suggest starting at 5:00)
Also, Obi-wan's tunic has a habit of flipping all the way up to the belt. It happens when he's fighting the acklay in AOTC, when he leaps off the balcony to rescue the queen on Naboo in Phantom menace, and when he jumps down to meet Grevious in ROTS. Between that and his fancy moves with his lightsaber, Obi-wan is almost the most hilarious character of the series.
...
Okay, now to the author's note:
Shorter chapter, yes. It was a perfect transfer point.
No, I didn't save Anakin's arm. I considered the option, but decided an amputation would better fit the sequels. Also, I did elaborate on the details a little, since it didn't make sense that Anakin would just sit there and whine a bit after getting his arm cut off.
Next chapter is the end of AOTC!
I think.
