Chapter Five -o- Darkness to Light
Buffy had no trouble keeping up with Obi-Wan on the steep, narrow trail. She was just happy she didn't have a fear of heights. Not that she had looked down into that deep dark hole below them, that would have been stupid. They both stopped at the same time when something not too far away from them howled into the cool air. Buffy took a small step backwards, trying to figure out where the sound had come from and lost her footing. Obi-Wan grabbed her arm before her foot had even slipped over the side of the cliff; she looked up at him and smiled in thanks. They both waited for another howl but heard nothing.
"Thank you," Buffy mouthed silently to him. He nodded his head and turned back to the trail. They came to a very narrow, very scary looking corner, with hardly any trail at all and he looked back at her.
"No big," Buffy mouthed again, grinning despite the gut twisting fear seeping into her mind. So maybe she had a teeny tiny fear of heights. You take a nose dive off a four storey tower into a hell portal and see what kinds of fears you end up with. Obi-Wan nodded his head then made his way around the corner, quite easily, Buffy noted.
Buffy rounded it just after him, staying as close to the wall as she could, to find him knocked to the ground by a very large, very mean looking lizard thing. Buffy heard Obi-Wan's lightsaber activate and then the lizard thing was dead. Buffy turned, kicking out as she went; her foot connected with the jaw of a second lizard thing, knocking it to the floor. It stood again quickly then jumped at her, its mouth wide open for a big bite. Buffy caught it by its open mouth this time with both her hands, trying to avoid the teeth. She pulled backwards on both parts of the jaw, snapping it in half. It fell to the floor with a 'thud.'
"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan whispered, coming up behind her. She heard his lightsaber go off and nodded her head.
"I'll live," she said, looking down at her hands. Some of its teeth had caught her hand and she was bleeding a little. "What are those things?"
"They're called Massiffs," Obi-Wan told her, looking down at her hands. "You made quick work of it."
"Yeah, I don't take well to things trying to eat me," Buffy intoned sarcastically, smiling at him. "You alright?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. He turned and looked down the trail. "This way." She nodded her head and followed after him silently. She cursed herself when she looked down to the bottom of the cliff, again.
-o-o-o-
"Annie?" Padme asked when Anakin rejoined her and the speeder bike. He had been asking a few Jawas if they knew the whereabouts of the Sand people's camp. They had given him a vague idea of where it was, but they didn't know for sure.
"I can find it," Anakin said as Padme climbed back onto the bike behind Anakin.
"She's not too far from here, I can feel her." Padme could feel the tension in his shoulders and leaned into him.
"Anakin, relax, let those feelings guide you, she'll be ok," Padme said, kissing him gently on the cheek. Anakin looked back at her and nodded his head.
"Thank you," he said, a hopeful smile on his face. "Hold on," he said. She wrapped her arms around his stomach before he set off again.
-o-o-o-
"This is so cliché," Buffy whispered, rolling her eyes as she looked around the large hallway, carved stone pillars holding up the cave walls. "The bad guys always go with the 'dark and creepy' don't they?" Obi-Wan looked back at her, a slightly amused look on his face.
"Of all the 'bad guys' I've dealt with, yes," he whispered, nodding his head. Buffy smirked and continued to take in their surroundings, looking for all avenues of escape, just in case.
"I-"
Buffy was cut off when Obi-Wan's hand covered her mouth quickly and pulled her behind a large pillar, into the deep shadows.
"I want her head on a platter," Nute Gunray said as they turned the corner into the hallway Buffy and Obi-Wan were in. Buffy couldn't see who was talking, and for some reason Obi-Wan hadn't moved his hand yet, so she just stood there and listened.
"She will be found, Viceroy." Obi-Wan's whole body stiffened at the new voice and Buffy wondered if he recognized it. "She is no longer on Naboo. Jango had someone on her tail, hers and the Jedi Padawan, but he's lost them." Buffy could now feel Obi-Wan's worry for Anakin, where were they? What had happened? Had Anakin caught wind of the tail? Buffy was a little startled by all these thoughts, seeing as none of them had been hers. She looked up at Obi-Wan and knew they must be coming from him; had she really heard them or had she just imagined it?
"I am a man of my word, Sir." Buffy bristled at Jango's voice; instinct told her to get him while she had the advantage and she found herself trying to take a step, but couldn't. And it occurred to her that that might be why Obi-Wan was still holding her back. Had he known she would react that way, how? "You will see the end of her."
"Soon." Nute Gunray's voice was rather far away now and Buffy and Obi-Wan came out from behind the pillar a little as the three of them rounded a corner. There was a confused, almost sad look on Obi-Wan's face as he watched the corner they had just disappeared around.
"What?" Buffy asked in a very low voice, forgetting for a moment about Jango.
"That, was Count Dooku," Obi-Wan said, his voice a little odd.
"Dooku? Not the guy in the archives? Qui-Gon's-"
"Yes, Qui-Gon's master," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. They were both silent for a moment then Obi-Wan shook his head. "Come, we will follow them, perhaps we can bring an end to this threat." Buffy nodded her head as she followed him down the hallway. When they rounded the corner, after making sure the coast was clear, they come to a part in the hallway, they could either go on forward, or up the stairs to the left. Obi-Wan looked back and forth between them, then started up the stairs.
For a moment Buffy considered going straight, following Dooku and Jango. This whole 'information gathering' thing was not her thing. She knew Jango was in there, could feel him somehow. She wanted to get this over and done with. Obi-Wan was about one fourth of the way up when he realized she wasn't right behind him. He turned around and watched as she stared straight ahead, towards the room Dooku and Jango were in. He could feel her indecision, her need for confrontation. He eased forward a little, ready to jump down and stop her if needed, but it wasn't. She took a deep breath and headed up the stairs.
"Let's go," she mouthed to him, passing him up the stairs. He nodded and turned and followed her up the stairs. They came to a kind of balcony that overlooked a long table down below. There were around ten people sitting at the table, with Dooku at the head. There were a few very odd looking people down there, three of them had wings, wings. And the odd things just kept piling up.
"Now is the time, my friends," Dooku said, looking around at everyone. Buffy could tell by his voice that not one of these people were his friends. "This is the moment when you have to decide between the Republic or the Confederacy of Independent Systems." Buffy was taking notes in her mind. She knew Padme worked for the Republic, but what was this Confederacy of Independent Systems? She'd have to remember to ask Obi-Wan when she got a chance. One thing she knew, they couldn't be the good guys.
"Some of them are senators of the republic," Obi-Wan whispered, as he pointed out a few of the people. Senators, like Padme, willing to betray their government, how typical. Buffy nodded and they both looked back down to listen.
"As I explained to you earlier, I'm quite convinced that ten thousand more systems will rally to our cause with your support, gentlemen. And let me remind you of our absolute commitment to capitalism...of the lower taxes, the reduced tariffs, and the eventual abolition of all trade barriers. Signing this treaty will bring you profits beyond your wildest imagination. What we are proposing is completely free trade." He paused and looked over at Nute Gunray and smiled thinly. "Our friends in the Trade Federation have pledged their support. When their Battle Droids are combined with yours, we shall have an army greater than anything in the galaxy; the Jedi will be overwhelmed. The Republic will agree to any demands we make." Buffy rolled her eyes; man, this guy was longwinded.
"I am authorized by the Corporate Alliance to sign the treaty," someone from down the table said. Dooku looked over at him and nodded his head once.
"We are most grateful for your cooperation, Chairman." Geez, these people were just going to play right into the evil guys' hands.
"The Commerce Guilds do not at this time wish to become openly involved, but we shall support you in secret - and look forward to doing business with you." Buffy nodded her head, tucking that bit of information away for later use. Buffy could see how frustrated Obi-Wan was getting; she wasn't sure where it was coming from but she was sure it had something to do with Dooku.
"That is all we ask." Dooku said, a slight smirk on his face as he surveyed the rest of them.
"The Intergalactic Banking Clan will support you wholeheartedly, but only in a non-exclusive arrangement," a tall thin grey alien said, nodding his head thoughtfully.
"The Techno Unions are at your disposal, Count," a large half metal alien said looking to Dooku. Obi-Wan sighed and backed away from the ledge; Buffy followed. For some reason she got the feeling they were 'checking in' again and she sighed. Things would be so much easier if they did things her way; at least, she thought so.
-o-o-o-o-
"Can we get down there without being seen?" Padme asked as they looked down over a cliff. Below them, there was a small camp; smoke billowed up out of the little huts. There were Sand People everywhere, working, moving about, doing things. Padme could feel Anakin's anger and fear bubbling up inside of him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled as some of it eased away.
"We have to, we don't have time to wait for nightfall." Anakin pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked over the camp. "There," he said, pointing it out as he handed Padme the binoculars. "The hut with the two Tuskens guarding it. That must be where they have her." Padme found it and nodded her head; why take her to begin with, and why guard her at all, as if she could escape. She continued to look around, trying to find a safe route to get there. Padme took a deep breath and looked from the huts below to Anakin; he looked so worried, so lost.
"Anakin," she said, drawing his attention to her face. "Is there anything you could do?" she asked easing away from the cliff a little. "I mean, you can float things, is there…anything else that might help us?" Anakin looked away from her, back down to the huts. There was something he could try, something he had never really had a chance to practice yet.
"There might be," he said, easing back away from the cliff too. He looked up at her and then down at his hands. "I might be able to cloud their minds, so they can't, or don't see us." He looked back up at her and sighed. "But there are a lot of them; I don't think I could do it to all of them."
"Just the ones in our way," Padme said, nodding her head. This could work; she believed in his power and knew he could do this.
"I just don't know if-"
"You can do it Anakin, I know you can." She leaned forward and laid a soft kiss on his cheek. "I believe in you." Anakin nodded his head and crawled back over to the edge.
"We'll have to find a way down there," he said, looking down at the huts again.
-o-o-o-o-
"Are you worried about Anakin?" Buffy asked quietly as they made their way back to the ship. Obi-Wan looked down at her for a moment then shook his head. "He must have had a good reason for going." Buffy went on, wondering, as Obi-Wan was, what that reason was.
"Anakin always has good reasons for disobeying me," Obi-Wan said, but Buffy caught the hint of a smile and nodded her head.
"I bet you always did just what Qui-Gon told you to, didn't you?" Buffy asked, a light mocking tone to her voice now; better he be laughing at her than worrying about Anakin. "I bet you hold some kind of Padawan award for good behavior."
"I was not...as well behaved as that," Obi-Wan said, looking down at her now. There was something in his eyes now, something sad, but also mischievous, and Buffy had to know what he was talking about.
"Oh really?" Buffy teased, looking up at him, a small smile on her face. "So tell me, you got into a lot of trouble, did you? Running around the temple getting into fights?"
"No," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. Though he had a very vivid memory of Anakin running through the halls chasing after a training droid he had fiddled with. "But I am not totally ignorant to the feeling Anakin is fighting with; I understand better than he would like to think." Buffy opened her mouth to ask him which feeling of Anakin's he was talking about when the starship came into view. "There it is," Obi-Wan said, looking down at Buffy before he jogged over to the ship and opened the cockpit.
-o-o-
"I think it's working," Padme said in an almost silent whisper. They had now passed two Tuskens without any kinds of problems. Anakin was keeping them hidden, and doing a damn good job of it too. Anakin didn't reply as they continued forward, he didn't want to break his concentration. When they were behind the right hut, he pulled out his lightsaber and cut a long hole in the back of the hut. Padme followed him in and stopped short at what she saw. Shmi was tied to some kind of a wooden frame, there were cuts all up and down her face and body; she looked almost dead. Anakin rushed to her side, cutting the ropes that bound her hands.
She fell limply into his arms. Padme crouched down next to him and smiled as Shmi opened her eyes.
"Mom?" Anakin whispered, tears running down his face in streams. "I'm so sorry, mom."
"Annie?" Her voice was horse and weak. Padme took one of her other hands and hoped that Cliegg got the Doctor like she told him to. "Is that you?"
"It's me, mom, I'm here." Anakin pulled her close and Shmi nodded her head. "Hang on; I'm going to get you out of here."
"Oh Annie, my little Annie." She reached up with her hand and touched his cheek. "How much you've grown. So handsome, I'm so proud of you," she said, her eyes fluttering a little. Anakin looked worriedly to Padme.
"I love you," Shmi said, before her eyes fluttered closed.
"Mom?" Anakin's voice came out in a choked sob.
"Anakin," Padme said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "She's ok, just unconscious, we have to-"
"They'll pay," Anakin said, gently lifting his mom up and setting her with Padme. "They will!" He growled this out as he stood up and his lightsaber flashed on.
"Anakin!" Padme called, moving Shmi very lightly; she set her head down softly on the ground. Anakin didn't even turn as he headed to the door. "Anakin Skywalker!" Padme shouted, her voice still in a whisper, she didn't want the Tuskens to know they were there. This time Anakin paused and turned a little. Padme hurried over to him placing her hands on his arm. "Annie," Padme pleaded with him. "You don't want to do this, I know they hurt your mom, they-"
"Deserve to die, every last one of them!" Anakin said, shaking his head, a rage flooding through him, pain and anger the likes of which Padme had never seen before. There was something in his eyes, something Padme didn't recognize, but it wasn't him.
"Anakin, listen to me, you don't want to do this, it's not your way." Padme's eyes began to water as she thought about just what he wanted to do. "Your mom, she wouldn't want this, you know she wouldn't." Padme looked back at his mom and was happy to see his eyes follow hers. "We have to get her out of here, now, to a doctor," Padme said, reaching up with her other hand and placing it on his hand, the one holding the lightsaber. "Anakin, please?" Something in her tone made Anakin look at her; his eyes had a scary yellow tint to them and Padme ran her other hand down his face. Anakin blinked a few times and looked into Padme's eyes, then to his mother. The anger drained away slowly and Padme sighed in relief when his eyes were fully blue again.
"I'm-"
"Not now," Padme said, rushing back over to Shmi. "We have to hurry." Anakin shut his lightsaber off and put it away then hurried over to his mother's side. "Can you cover all three of us?"
"Yes," Anakin said, all doubt gone from his voice now. He bent down and gathered Shmi into his arms gently. Padme hurried to the hole in the hut and held it open for him. As soon as they were out, Anakin began to work on covering them again. The whole way back to the speeder Anakin went over what had just happened in his head. What had he almost done? What would he have done had Padme not been there? He knew the answer, and it was a very disturbing thought.
-o-o-o-o-
"Well?" Buffy asked a few minutes later. Obi-Wan was working on sending a message, but so far they weren't having any luck.
"The transmitter is working, but we're not receiving a return signal. Coruscant's too far." Obi-Wan said looking down at her. He had a thoughtful look on his face as he looked over at the droid. "Arfour, can you boost the power?" The little droid beeped a few times and Buffy smiled.
"You actually understand him?" she asked, looking at the droid.
"Of course," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Arfour beeped again and Obi-Wan sighed.
"We'll have to try something else," he told Buffy; she looked a little confused and he smiled. "Arfour doesn't have the power to boost it."
"He told you that in a few little beeps?" Buffy asked, a little amused by the droid.
"He did," Obi-Wan said, climbing off the wing into the cockpit. "If Anakin's not on Naboo, where is he?" he asked and Buffy was a little thrown by the change in topic. "We could send him the signal, have him relay it."
"Oh," Buffy said, nodding her head. There was beeping again, this time from the ship.
"What in the blazes is he doing on Tatooine?" Obi-Wan asked, jumping down out of the cockpit. "Why..." Obi-Wan trailed off and Buffy watched him curiously.
"What's on Tatooine?" Buffy asked, leaning against the ship as she watched Obi-Wan.
"His mother," Obi-Wan told her, shaking his head. Something about that bothered him, Buffy could tell, but what? Was he not supposed to see his mother either, part of the whole no love thing? She was starting to think maybe this whole 'Jedi' thing had too many rules. 'Well,' she thought, as Obi-Wan talked to Arfour, 'rules are meant to be broken.'
"I hope he gets this soon," Obi-Wan said and Buffy nodded her head. He stood in front of Arfour and nodded his head. "Begin transfer." The droid beeped and Obi-Wan began to talk to it.
-o-o-o-o-
"How?" was all Cliegg could get out as Anakin carried a still unconscious Shmi into the house. He followed close behind them looking up at Padme.
"I hope you got a doctor," she told him and he nodded his head.
"He's in the back. Anakin, two doors to the right," he told him. Anakin didn't seem to be listening but he went just where Cliegg said. "How?"
"Love," Padme told him, following after Anakin into the room.
It was a long while later and Padme was making something in the kitchen. Anakin hadn't eaten anything in a good day and a half and she knew he'd need to keep his strength up. Someone walked in and Padme turned around to see the young girl Cliegg had introduced earlier. His son's girlfriend, what was her name?
"Beru," the girl supplied, seeing Padme's obvious loss for a name.
"Sorry," Padme said, smiling at her.
"It's alright," she assured her, walking over to the counter. "Are you cooking?"
"Just a light lunch, Anakin hasn't eaten anything in a while." Padme said putting the sandwich she'd made together. She picked up the plate and the glass of juice and headed to the door.
"Padme," Beru called and Padme stopped and turned around. "Shmi is such a nice woman, I'm really glad she's ok. Would you...would you thank Anakin for us?" Padme smiled warmly at her as she nodded her head.
"I will," Padme told her before she turned and headed back to the room Anakin was in with his mom. He was slumped against the wall, sleeping in a very uncomfortable chair, just out of arms reach of the bed. Padme set the food down on the desk opposite the bed and then walked over to him.
"Annie," she said, softly touching his cheek with her finger tips. "Wake up, you need to eat."
"Padme?" he asked groggily as he started to wake up. "Hi."
"Hi." Padme said, tugging on his braid lightly. "You hungry?"
"I could eat," Anakin said, seconds before his stomach growled.
"I'd say, Anakin," she said, smiling at him. She brought the food over to him and he smiled up at her. The light, the pure joy, in his eyes now was such a stark contrast to the rage and fear in them earlier. It made her shiver a little and Anakin looked up from his food.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concern lacing his voice now.
"Fine," she said, smiling at him, if a little forced; she looked past him to his mom. "How is she?" Anakin looked over his shoulder at her and a small sigh escaped his lips.
"Dr. Manith said she'll be ok," he said, taking a deep breath. "He said if it had been a few more hours..." He trailed off and looked down at the food in front of him, suddenly not hungry any more.
"But we got to her in time," Padme said, reaching out and taking his hand. "And she's going to be fine."
"Yes, she is," Anakin said, nodding his head. "She should wake up soon," he said, looking over his shoulder at her again. "I hope-"
"Master Anakin, there is a droid here that says he belongs to you. He was quite rude about it as well, he said-"
"Threepio, where is he?" Anakin asked, interrupting him.
"I'll bring him in," Threepio told him. Anakin opened his mouth to tell him that he'd come out there but Artoo was already on his way in. He beeped quietly, obviously understanding that there was a need for quiet.
"He's got a message from Master Obi-Wan," Anakin said, sighing a little. "Which means he knows we're not on Naboo."
"He'll understand, Annie," Padme said as Anakin stood up and nodded his head.
"Well, let's see it then," Anakin said, fully expecting to be scolded for leaving Naboo. Obi-Wan came into view and the message started. They both listened silently as Obi-Wan gave them the message. Padme gasped when, near the end of the message, a Droideka rolled into the holoimage.
"Obi-Wan! Shit!" They heard a women scream as there were shots fired they couldn't see.
"Elisa!" was shouted back and the message ended.
"Oh, Annie!" Padme said, turning to look at him. He was worried, Padme could feel it.
"We'll have to go back to the ship to transfer this to Coruscant," Anakin said, keeping his eyes off his mom behind him.
"Annie?" A weak, low voice said from behind them. Anakin whipped around to face his mother. She had a small smile on her face as Anakin walked over to her.
"Go help your friends, I'll be fine," she said, her voice getting stronger with every word.
"Mom," Anakin said, every bit the scared eight year old he had been ten years ago. "Are you going to be ok?"
"Of course," she said, reaching out and running her hand down his face. "My son," she said, smiling at him. Through the cuts and bruises she shone brightly in her love for her son. "Go, help your friends, I'll be here when you can come back."
"Ok," Anakin said, nodding his head as he stood up. "I will be back," he stated, no room for doubt. She smiled at him and nodded her head as he let go of her hand.
-o-o-o-o-
Both Anakin and Padme sat in the cockpit and watched, again, as Obi-Wan relayed his message to the Jedi Council. It was all Padme could do to keep from crying. Obi-Wan's image flickered in and out as he spoke.
"Anakin, my long range transmitter has been knocked out. Retransmit this message to Coruscant." Padme nodded her head when Anakin looked to her; she had already started the transfer.
"We have tracked the bounty hunter, Jango Fett, to the droid foundries on Geonosis." Obi-Wan said looking to his left at what was probably Elisa, standing out of view.
"The Trade Federation is to take delivery of a droid army here and it is clear that Viceroy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala." Padme and Anakin met each other's eyes again at these words. At least that was one mystery solved.
"The Commerce Guilds and Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming an...Wait!...Wait!!"
"Obi-Wan!...Shit!" a women cried as shots were fired. A Droideka rolled into view and opened fire on Obi-Wan.
"Elisa!" Obi-Wan yelled back before the whole message blinked out.
"More happening on Geonosis, I feel, than has been revealed," Yoda said over the comm link. Anakin nodded his head, his worry for Obi-Wan winning out over listening closely to what the Masters were saying.
"I agree," Windu said, nodding his head as he too looked down at Yoda. "Anakin, we will deal with Count Dooku. The most important thing for you is to stay where you are. Protect the Senator at all costs. That is your first priority," he said, his voice very clear. Anakin nodded his head, even though they couldn't see him.
"Understood, Master," Anakin said as they disconnected.
"You're not really going to stay here are you?" Padme asked as she swiveled in her chair. "They'll never make it to him in time. We're just-"
"I know," Anakin said, sitting down in the other pilot's seat.
"You don't even have to break mandate," she said as a sneaky smile broke out over her face. "I'm going, and if you're going to protect me, you'll just have to come along."
"Well, when you put it that way." Anakin nodded as he set the coordinates. "Let's go."
-o-o-o-o-o-
"The Commerce Guilds are preparing for war... there can be no doubt of that," Bail said, pacing a little in front of Yoda and Palpatine.
"Count Dooku must have made a treaty with them," Palpatine agreed, nodding his head thoughtfully.
"We must stop them before they're ready," Bail said, looking from Palpatine to Yoda and back again.
"Exsueeze me, yousa honorable Supreme Chancellor, Sir. Maybe dissen Jedi stoppen the rebel army," Jar Jar said, stepping forward into the group.
"Master Yoda, how many Jedi are available to go to Geonosis?" Palpatine asked, looking down at Yoda.
"Throughout the galaxy, thousands of Jedi there are. To send on a special mission, only two hundred are available," Yoda told them, looking at each of them in turn.
"With all due respect for the Jedi Order, that doesn't sound like enough," Bail said, shaking his head, obviously in doubt of the Jedi.
"Through negotiation, the Jedi maintains peace. To start a war, we do not intend," Yoda told him, nodding his head once.
"The debate is over! Now we need that clone army-"
"Unfortunately, the debate is not over. The Senate will never approve the use of the clones before the separatists attack," Bail said, cutting off Ask Aak.
"This is a crisis! The Senate must vote the Chancellor emergency powers! He could then approve the use of the clones," Mas Amedda demanded, looking from Yoda to Jar Jar and then to Bail.
"But what Senator would have the courage to propose such a radical amendment?" Palpatine asked, looking around the room, his eyes stopping briefly on Jar Jar.
"If only Senator Amidala were here," Mas Amedda said, shaking his head sadly. Jar Jar looked between the two of them, an idea forming in his head.
-o-o-o-o-o-
"Where is she?" Obi-Wan demanded as Dooku walked into the room. Obi-Wan was hanging in midair, held up by some kind of blue energy field. He hadn't seen Elisa since the droids had carried her off, her kicking and cursing the whole time.
"Hello, my friend," Dooku said, obviously ignoring Obi-Wan's question.
"Dooku," Obi-Wan said in a warning tone. "Where is she?"
"She is safe," he said, turning to look at him. Obi-Wan could almost hear the 'for now' at the end of that sentence. "May I ask why a Jedi Knight is all the way out here on Geonosis?"
"We've been tracking a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Do you know him?" Obi-Wan asked, deciding he'd get more answers playing things Dooku's way. He knew Elisa was ok, he could feel it. He'd have to have faith that she could take care of herself for the time being. Not that it took much faith, she was faster and stronger than a lot of the Knights he knew.
"There are no bounty hunters here that I'm aware of. Geonosians don't trust them," Dooku said, walking around Obi-Wan, like a predator circling its prey.
"Well, who can blame them? But he is here, I can assure you," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head.
"It's a great pity that our paths have never crossed before, Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon always spoke very highly of you. I wish he were still alive. I could use his help right now."
"Qui-Gon Jinn would never join you," Obi-Wan said, looking down at Dooku in disgust.
'You tell him,' Buffy thought as she watched Dooku circle Obi-Wan. She could see and hear everything going on in there, though it was apparent that Obi-Wan could not hear or see her. She seemed to be locked in some kind of a box force field thing. It was small and cramped and Buffy wanted out. She looked up and realized she had missed something.
"The truth," Dooku was saying now. What had she missed? "What if I told you that the Republic was now under the control of the Dark Lords of the Sith?" Oh, the Sith; Buffy hadn't come across one yet but she was sure she wouldn't like them.
"No, that's not possible. The Jedi would be aware of it," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. Something he had told her early came floating back to her. 'The dark side clouds everything now,' Obi-Wan had told her, shaking his head. 'It's getting harder to feel into the force.' The fact that the council was missing so much scared Buffy a little. This big powerful group and they were missing so much? What else had they missed?
"The dark side of the Force has clouded their vision, my friend. Hundreds of Senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious." Buffy tucked that name away in her mind in case she needed it again later. She had a lot going on in her mind now, lots of names and facts to remember; Giles would be so proud.
"I don't believe you," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head, but Buffy could feel his doubt; she knew that he knew it could be true.
"The Viceroy of the Trade Federation was once in league with this Darth Sidious. But he was betrayed ten years ago by the Dark Lord." Buffy giggled a little at 'Dark Lord' and her thoughts went to her sister for a moment; right now Dawn would be making a Harry Potter joke. "He came to me for help. He told me everything. The Jedi Council would not believe him. I tried many times to warn them but they wouldn't listen to me. Once they sensed the Dark Lord's presence, it would then be too late. You must join me, Obi-Wan, and together we will destroy the Sith." Buffy knew his plea for help was all a farce, trying to lure Obi-Wan into something.
"I will never join you, Dooku," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. Buffy nodded her head as she sat back down, she hated not being able to help Obi-Wan. She'd have to find out how these things worked, and then she'd have someone teach her how to disable them. She watched as Dooku walked out the door.
"It may be difficult to secure your release," he said, before he was gone. Buffy sighed and shook her head.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Jar Jar rose slowly into the air, the senate around him booming with voices from everywhere. Mas Amedda looked around at everyone from his spot next to Palpatine in the middle of the huge room. As Jar Jar's pod neared the center, the crowd got louder.
"Order! The Senate will accord the Representative the courtesy of a hearing!" Mas Amedda yelled, his voice, surprisingly enough, booming over the voices of everyone else. After a moment or two the senators quieted and Mas Amedda nodded his head to Jar Jar.
"In response to the direct threat to the Republic mesa propose that the Senate give immediately, emergency powers to the Supreme Chancellor." Jar Jar said his eyes going wide at the new burst of sound. Now people were cheering, and everyone was clapping. The senators went quiet again as Palpatine stood up and looked out at them.
"It is with great reluctance that I have agreed to this calling," he said, shaking his head with a sad look on his face. "I love democracy... I love the Republic. The power you give me, I will lay down when this crisis has abated, I promise you." Again the senators cheered and Palpatine nodded his head, a smile on his face now. "And as my first act with this new authority, I will create a grand army of the Republic to counter the increasing threats of the separatists." The uproar was tremendous this time, people were out of their seats cheering him. Palpatine nodded his head, looking proud but a little sad at what he'd just had to do.
-o-o-o-o-o-
"So...that went well," Anakin said, looking down at his and Padme's tied hands. The rescue had gone a little south, and they had been caught by Jango Fett. They were standing in a cart, just inside of some kind of arena. There was just light enough inside whatever room they were in to see each other. Padme looked up at him and sighed, a very worried look on her face. He shook his head, the small smile he was trying to hold onto disappeared. "We will find a way out of this," he said, looking around them.
"I hope Obi-Wan and Elisa are ok," Padme said, looking at the big doors in front of them.
"Obi-Wan is fine, I can feel it," Anakin said with dead certainty. Padme nodded her head and sighed, but what about Elisa? Both of them looked up when the cart they were in jerked forward.
"Well, here goes," Anakin said, smiling down at her. It was very forced but Padme smiled back a little too.
-o-o-o-o-
Anakin was less than surprised to see Obi-Wan tied to one of the very tall podiums in the middle of the large stadium. There were four very tall podiums in all and Elisa was at the other end of the line of them, opposite Obi-Wan. The two Geonosians pulled Anakin and Padme down from the cart and dragged them over to the two remaining podiums.
"I was beginning to wonder if you had gotten our message," Obi-Wan said, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I retransmitted it as you requested, Master." Anakin looked back over at Padme who was being chained up at the moment. "Then we decided to come and rescue you guys," he said, trying to hold back the wince as the Geonosian jerked on the chain holding his arms up.
"Good job!" Obi-Wan told him sarcastically, as he nodded his head.
"You ok there, Padme?" Buffy asked. Padme had her eyes on her hands, which seemed to be fiddling with something.
"Yeah," Padme said, nodding her head. "Just give me a minute." Buffy was a little unsure as to what she was giving her a minute for but nodded her head anyway.
"The felons before you have been convicted of espionage against the Sovereign System of Geonosis. Their sentence of death is to be carried out in this public arena henceforth," Sun Fac said, raising his hand to point at the group of four below him. The crowded arena cheered and clapped.
"I really don't like these guys," Buffy said, looking up at the high balcony where there were two of the winged guys, what Buffy now knew were Geonosians, Dooku, the guy who wanted Padme dead and Jango Fett and his son. 'What kind of a father brings his son to a public execution?' Buffy thought, shaking her head.
"Done," Padme said, smiling over at Buffy. Buffy looked up and was surprised to see that Padme still had her hands up, but one of them was no longer connected to the chain.
"Let the executions begin!" Poggle yelled, raising both his arms above his head. The crowd cheered again and Buffy sighed. 'Ok, this is easy; they're just chains,' Buffy thought, taking hold of the chain at her wrists. Buffy looked to the left as three different gates on the edges of the arena opened. Big scary looking creatures came walking into the arena; they all looked very, very mean.
"Ok, this is bad," Buffy said, looking over the things; one kinda looked like a cat, kinda. The other one was part bull but with three really big horns instead of one. And the third, was what looked a little like a crab, a very, very big mean crab. There were Geonosians directing the things toward the four of them. The cat thing looked to be coming for Buffy and Padme, very slowly, as if dragging it out on purpose.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Anakin said and Buffy wholeheartedly agreed with him. She snapped the chains holding her wrists and began to climb the podium, an idea she was stealing from Padme, who was doing the same thing.
"Take the one on the right. I'll take the one on the left," Obi-Wan said, nodding to the two different animals. Anakin looked between the animals.
"What about Padme?" he asked, the concern evident in his voice.
"They seem to be on top of things," Obi-Wan said, a slight smirk to his face now. Anakin turned around to see both Padme and Elisa were now standing on the top of their podiums.
Buffy watched from her vantage point as the cat thing stalked towards them, yowling in a very odd way. She could see Obi-Wan and Anakin seemed to be doing ok with the animals they were going up against. Obi-Wan was faster than the crab thing, which was, at the moment, trying to shish-kebab him. She turned and smirked up at Dooku; they didn't seem very happy at the new turn of events. The Viceroy and Poggle seemed to be arguing about something. She looked back down just in time to see Anakin wrap his chain around the neck of the bull thing. When had he gotten free? And where was Obi-Wan?
She searched the arena and smiled when she saw him; he was having a bit of trouble with the crab thing. She winced as his podium almost flattened him but sighed in relief when Obi-Wan jumped back up off the ground.
"OW!" Padme screamed and Buffy turned to look back at her. The cat thing had taken a swipe out of Padme's back.
"Hey!" Buffy called as the cat thing fell back to the ground. "Come and get me!" she taunted, sitting down on the edge of the podium. The cat charged at the podium and jump. Just as it jumped so did Buffy, holding onto the chain she half ran, half swung around the podium. When she was close enough she brought her feet away from the podium and kicked the cat thing in the head sending it falling back to the ground. She pulled herself back up the chain and smiled. She looked down at the ground again and tried to decide who was going to need her help.
Anakin seemed to be doing ok with the bull thing; he was riding it now, kind of. But Obi-Wan seemed to be having more problems; the crab thing had just narrowly missed cutting his legs out from under him. She turned to Padme who was staring at her, looking a little surprised.
"I could have done that," Padme said, smiling at Buffy. Buffy laughed and nodded her head.
"You ok?" Buffy asked, sitting back down on the edge of the podium. Padme looked down at her back and winced a little, then she looked back up at Buffy and nodded.
"I'll be fine," she assured her, nodding her head.
"Alright," Buffy called as she shinnied down the chain onto the ground. She smiled up at Anakin as he tried to ride the bull thing; he seemed to be getting the hang of it. He nodded at her as she passed him and he tried to get the bull thing to go in the direction of Padme. Buffy came up next to Obi-Wan just after he threw a spear at the crab thing.
"How's it going?" Buffy asked over the screeching noises the crab thing was making. Obi-Wan looked momentarily surprised to see her then smiled. Buffy turned when there was another yowl from the cat thing just in time to see Anakin run it over with the bull thing. 'Well, one down,' she thought. She watched as Padme jumped from the podium, a little surprised that she would make such a jump. She blinked when Padme and Anakin kissed very briefly; she looked back to Obi-Wan, he hadn't seen it. Well, that was new.
"Run," Obi-Wan said, taking her arm as the crab thing finally removed the spear and started after them. It didn't take very long for Anakin to get to them and help them up onto the bull thing. It was a little crowded but Buffy wasn't about to complain.
"Now what?" she asked, looking around the arena. The Geonosians were going crazy, screaming and yelling down at them.
"This isn't how it's supposed to be! Jango, finish her off!" the Viceroy said, turning to Jango. Dooku shook his head and Jango nodded his.
"Patience, Viceroy... she will die," Dooku assured him as far below a group of Droidekas rolled into the arena.
"Oh not these things again," Buffy said, putting her arms around Obi-Wan's waist for fear of falling off the back. "I don't like this."
"Be patient," Obi-Wan said, keeping his eyes forward. "We are not alone."
"I know, the force is-"
"No," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head as he now turned and smiled at her. "We are not alone," he said, looking up to the balcony where Buffy could see Windu standing. She looked around and could now see Jedi hiding all around the perimeter of the arena.
"Well, now I'll get to see both of you in action," Buffy said, making Obi-Wan and Anakin chuckle lightly. She just hoped the Jedi sprung whatever plan they had before she and the rest of them got shot to bits.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
For a bounty hunter Jango Fett was surprisingly easy to sneak up on. Of course he was a Jedi and Jango was a common thief, but still. Mace Windu listened as the sound of the Droidekas stopped. They were in position now, ready to fire. Well, by now so were all of the Jedi's. Silently he pulled his lightsaber off his belt and ignited it, millimeters away from Jango's throat.
"Master Windu, how pleasant of you to join us. You're just in time for the moment of truth. I would think these two new boys of yours could use a little more training," Dooku said, hiding his surprise very well. Windu shook his head as he came around from behind Jango.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Dooku. This party's over," Windu said, looking down briefly to see Obi-Wan and Anakin. He raised his free hand and smiled as all around the arena lightsabers flashed on. The Droidekas turned their attention to the more immediate threat, the Jedi's, the ones with the weapons. Now the arena was almost totally silent, all but for the sound of the Droidekas.
"Brave, but foolish, my old Jedi friend. You're impossibly outnumbered," Dooku said, his lips curling in amusement.
"I don't think so," Windu said, shaking his head slightly.
"We shall see," Dooku said, raising a hand. Windu looked down into the arena as hundreds of droids started to enter.
"That can't be good," Buffy said as they watched Windu jump off the balcony, shedding his flaming cloak as he fell. He landed smoothly and Buffy nodded her head, 'nice.' Then all hell broke out. The Jedi in the arena blocked and blasted away the droids till they were almost circling the four of them on the bull thing. The droids started firing on them. Someone from the ground threw Obi-Wan and Anakin lightsabers, and the two of them freed each other of the rest of their chains.
Scared of the shots and blasters, the bull thing reared, tipping them all off the back. Buffy landed first with Obi-Wan right on top of her. He jumped up, turned to her and ducked as a blast flew over his head.
"Are you alright?" he asked, looking down at Buffy. She smiled and nodded her head.
"Fine," she told him, smiling when a droid fell down next to them. She grabbed its blaster and stood up with Obi-Wan at her back. Buffy looked up just in time to see Jango fly down off the balcony. He landed and looked around the mess of Jedi and droids. His eyes landed on something and he smiled. Buffy realized he was headed towards where Padme and Anakin were fighting.
"You ok?" she asked over her shoulder to Obi-Wan. Windu came up next to them and Obi-Wan smiled at her.
"Fine," he told her, nodding his head as he blocked a blast.
"Elisa," Windu said before she could turn and run towards Jango. She looked up at him and he pulled his robes back and pulled a long silver cylinder off his belt. He held it out to her and she looked up at him; she looked a little unsure of it.
"What does-?"
"Not now," Windu told her, thrusting the lightsaber at her. She nodded her head and took the lightsaber from him. It was just like Obi-Wan's in that it didn't fit just right in her hand. She ignited it and twisted it once in her hand, effectively blocking a blast from hitting her and nodded, it would do for now. She smiled at Windu, then turned around and ran towards Jango. When she was close enough she fired two shots at him, knowing they'd do no good, but she needed to get his attention. She holstered the blaster as he turned to face her and smiled.
"Jango, fancy meeting you here!" she called as she ran towards him. She blocked his first two shots with her lightsaber and flipped over the third one landing only a few feet away from him.
"Don't you ever learn?" Jango asked, stalking towards her, his gun pointed at her. He raised his other arm and shot his metal rope at her again. Buffy side stepped it, reached out with her hand and grabbed it and wrapped it around her fist. Then with her other hand she cut the rope with her lightsaber.
"I'm a fast study," Buffy said, nodding her head, blocking the two shots from his blaster. It still surprised her quite a lot that she even knew how to do this. Buffy jumped back in surprise when he shot a blast of fire at her. It caught the bottom of her robes on fire; the flames were licking up her legs. While she was distracted Jango got a shot in, catching her in the leg this time. Having been shot once though, her body was a little more acclimated to the pain and it didn't drive her to her knees this time. She threw the robe to the ground and looked up at Jango; he was a little surprised that the shot didn't affect her the same as it had the last time. Jango shot up into the air and flipped over her head, but Buffy had anticipated this move. She turned as he landed and brought her lightsaber across in a slash. She had meant to catch him in the chest, disable him a little. But her timing was a little off and she was new at this. She aimed too high and the lightsaber went right through his neck.
She stepped back as his body crumbled to the ground in front of her, the head and helmet tumbling away. She didn't have any time to think on what had just happened because a new blast whizzed by her head. She turned in time to see a droid headed at her. She ducked as another shot came flying at her and blocked the next one, cutting the droid in half once it was close enough. She looked around her and could see there were more droids than Jedi left now; they were in trouble. She made her way to the center of the group and found Obi-Wan and Windu fighting. Anakin and Padme were nowhere in sight.
"Anakin?" she asked, helping in the fight now.
"There," Obi-Wan said, looking to his left. They were fighting their way through a group of Geonosians. It didn't take them long to get to the center with Obi-Wan and Buffy. Buffy looked around, surprised, when all the droids stopped firing at them. They had their blasters pointed at the ground now, waiting.
"Master Windu! You have fought gallantly. Worthy of recognition in the history archives of the Jedi Order. Now it is finished." He looked around at the Jedi, some standing, others not, and Buffy couldn't help but see the small amount of glee on his face. "Surrender - and your lives will be spared."
"We will not be hostages for you to barter with, Dooku," Windu told him, looking around the ground too; the look on his face, however, was the exact opposite of Dooku's.
"Then, I'm sorry, old friend. You will have to be destroyed," Dooku told them, nodding his head slowly. The droids all raised their blasters again, waiting for Dooku's command.
"Look!" Padme shouted, looking up into the sky. There were six huge ships flying in from above them. They opened fire on the droids, knocking about a third of them out in the first wave. The ships began to circle around them, landing on the blood-soaked ground.
"Around the survivors, a perimeter, create," Buffy heard a small voice yell as the ships landed. Buffy only knew one person who talked like that, it must be Yoda. Wasn't he a little old to be on a battle field though?
Buffy ran with Obi-Wan and the rest of them to the ships. She jumped on, turning her lightsaber off as she went. She pulled out her blaster and fired on the droids as the ship took off again. When they were too far away to fire on anything she looked around her at the people on the ship. It was her, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padme and two guys in white suits. She recognized the suits right away and sighed, clones.
All around them there were explosions as the droids on the ground tried to shoot them out of the sky. The ship rocked back and forth a few times, making Buffy's grip tighten every time. She met Obi-Wan's eyes and smiled at him, thankful that she didn't have motion sickness. A particularly bad blast almost hit them, rocking them violently and Obi-Wan grabbed her shoulder as she surged forward.
"Hang on!" he yelled over the roar; he had a big smile on his face now, he was enjoying this.
"Thanks," Buffy called back sarcastically.
"Aim right above the fuel cells," Anakin yelled, pointing out the place to the pilot of the ship. They fired at something ahead of them; all Buffy could see was a large tower toppling to the ground.
"Good call," Obi-Wan said, slapping Anakin on the back. Anakin nodded his head and smiled.
"Look over there," Obi-Wan called, pointing something out to them. A speeder flew out of some kind of bunker at very fast speed.
"It's Dooku! Shoot him down!" Anakin told the pilot. The pilot did something then looked back at Anakin.
"We're out of ordnance, sir." Buffy bristled a little at the voice, it was so unmistakably Jango, and it was creeping her out a little. Anakin sighed in frustration and shook his head.
"Follow him!" Anakin demanded, watching as the speeder got a little farther away.
"We're going to need some help," Padme said, looking at all three of them. She looked a little worried and Buffy didn't blame her.
"No, there's no time. Anakin and I can handle this," Obi-Wan told them. His eyes flickered to Buffy and she could tell he was looking for wounds.
"I'm fine," she told him. He didn't look too convinced but nodded his head anyway. "What do you want us to-"
Buffy was cut off as their ship was nicked in the wing by a shot sending her and Padme flying backwards off the open side of the ship. They landed in the sand and rolled a little before they came to a stop. Buffy sat up sputtering out sand.
"Well, that was the least fun thing I've done in a while." She looked around and saw Padme sitting up too. There was also a clone she hadn't seen fall. She pulled herself up and sighed, "Padme, you ok?"
"I'm ok," Padme said jumping up as well. She shook her head and Buffy walked over to her just as the clone got there.
"Are you two all right?" he asked and Padme nodded her head.
"I think so," Padme told him, sighing as she turned to see that the ship was totally out of sight now.
"We better get you back to the Forward Command Center," the clone said, getting ready to turn away from them.
"No, no. Gather up what troops you can. We've got to get to that hangar. Get a transport. Hurry!" Padme demanded. The clone nodded his head and ran off in the other direction. "I hope we get there in time."
"They'll be fine," Buffy said, looking to the same place Padme was. She hoped Anakin and Obi-Wan could take Dooku, but she was also a little sad she wouldn't get to help.
A/N- Ok, sorry it took so long to get this out, I've been doing the job search thing so I don't have all the time in the world for it. I know, tragic right? Well I hope you like it. Only one more chapy left of this one, but don't worry, I'm working out the story for the next one. Let me know what you all think!