Writer's note:

HAA ZAAHH! Chapter 12! I'm on fire baby! Sorry for the long awaited update, I was busy with real life stuff... Ya know. Friends... A ComicCon... Art... The works. I managed to get this chapter done; hopefully I can get to work on 13 pretty soon.

I also got a review that said Shika's last name was close to "Skywalker". For those who are wondering, I based her last name off Skywalker, which is why they have a close resemblance. Everybody needs a base to start an OC until they can work out the perfect character. So, NOW YOU KNOOOOOWW! xD

Once again, no beta-reader! YAY!

Enjoy!

Chapter Twelve : Sparks start the fire

Shika's eyes shot open to see a white roof above her, she gasped before sitting up quickly she found herself sitting on a bed in the medical room stationed aboard the Invisible Hand. Her red vest had been taken off and tossed aside on a chair near the bed she sat on. How did she get here? She remembered spiders… And the Wookiees… And Grievous. And that was it. Wait, there was the lung thing, shouldn't I be dead? She thought before looking down at her chest, there were several small burn marks, as if someone had placed a burning metal plate onto her chest in order to warm her lungs. She blinked before lifting her gaze to the room around her

She pulled the blankets off her and flung her legs off the side of the bed, she pushed herself up onto her feet and wobbled a bit, the fast movements made her dizzy, so she fell back onto the bed, holding her head as the room spun slightly. Maybe getting up quickly was a mistake. This time she slowly got up and walked towards the door, she paused before turning and looking at the chair with her vest on it, she walked back over to it and quickly slipped it on. She then walked back to the door and it slid open, revealing a waiting room on the other side; droids all looked directly at her as soon as the door had opened. Shika stood there, a blank expression, why were they all staring at her? She swallowed hard before slowly walking out into the room slowly and stiffly, they all watched her. Once she was out of the room and out of sight, she sulked down and sighed in relief. At first I thought the droids were just weird, but now they're freaking me out…

Shika continued to walk down the halls of the Invisible Hand, droid after droid all watched her walk by, she could tell they were shocked just by the movements they made when they saw her. Was she supposed to be dead and that's why they were shocked? Seeing her walking around? What was with them? She shook her head and continued walking, she needed to find Grievous, but where in the ship would he go? More importantly, where was she? She stood there in the middle of the hall; she hadn't been here long enough to get to know the halls of the ship, so she was completely lost.

"Ma'am?" Came a voice. Shika spun around quickly to see a battle droid standing there, it jerked back a bit out of shock. Shika eased a bit.

"Yes?" She asked with a brief sigh.

"The General requested I was to take you to his quarters after you fully recovered," The droid answered." If you will please follow me." The droid turned and began walking down a different hall. Shika followed behind it. She was actually going to get to see Grievous' room? She almost felt as if she were special now, droids staring at her, Grievous wanting her in his room… She let that sink in for a moment, and then it sounded freaky. She blinked before looking to the droid.

"Why does the General want to see me?" She asked with hesitation.

"He did not say, ma'am." She was worried now. Of all people, of all things, why her? Why did she have to go see Grievous in his OWN room? She hating being called to places, it made her seem like she was being watched all the time or something, like they knew when she would make this move or that move, or when she'd go to bed or wake up. She hated it so much.

It was a few moments before the droid stopped a little ways away from a door, he pointed to it and Shika knew what she needed to do after that, she thanked the droid and it left. She then adjusted her cloak and got the wrinkles out from her clothes before walking up to the door, it slid open and she slowly crept inside. The size of the room was enormous! Everything he had was things Generals only got. Tables, chairs, mirrors, a desk, and a large window viewing out into space, it had everything a General really needed. It was cozy despite the fact it was Grievous' room. There was only one thing missing, and that was Grievous himself. Shika slowly wandered over to the large window and looked out it; she saw they were still hovering above Kashyyyk, over in a safe area where no wars were taking place, yet. Slowly she placed her hand onto the window and coughed lightly as she stared out into the endless stars of space; everything was so big to her. This happened every time she'd look out into space, she'd always feel like she was tiny. She smiled weakly, Saris used to think the same thing, always talking on how space was so big.

"Do you feel tiny?"

Shika spun around and saw Grievous standing right before her, she gasped and her back bumped into the window behind her.

"G-G- General!" Shika stuttered.

"Answer my question."

"… The… Tiny question?" She asked; Grievous shifted his weight onto one foot, she knew that pose, it was the one he always went into when he was about to yell, so she quickly recovered." Yes! Compared to space I feel very tiny."

"Good, and that's how you should always feel when your around me, understand? Tiny and weak…" Shika nodded quickly and Grievous turned from Shika, he walked towards one of the chairs and sat himself down, his head lifted towards Shika, who was still backed up against the window. There was an awkward silence; Shika was waiting for Grievous to do… Something, anything, and he just sat there, staring back at her with a more… Relaxed gaze, seeming to know she was nervous. Shika guessed he liked it because it made him feel more superior to others. Shika slowly pushed up from the window and watched Grievous' eyes travel around the room. She cleared her throat and his eyes snapped to her again.

"Uh… Can I ask you something?" She said in a tiny squeak. Grievous waited." The droids were acting rather nervous around me, do you-" Grievous looked away. Shika's jaw dropped open slightly, she knew that was his signal for wanting the conversation to stop, and he normally didn't do that until she had fully asked the question. Her shoulders lowered and her head trailed off to the side a bit, she then coughed. Her lung still felt like they were frozen even though she could breathe normally. Grievous got up from his seat; he turned fully to Shika.

"I can see you've made a full recovery," He said, Shika looked to him, almost shocked, did he truly care for her health? He then ended that happy thought." Good. We can return to Kashyyyk then." He then turned his back to her. Shika couldn't believe what she was hearing, that was all he wanted to know? He just wanted to see if she was good enough to fight again?

"What?" Shika asked.

"You heard me, girl." Grievous then looked over his shoulder, sending her a slight glare." We are going to finish the mission." Shika set her hands on her hips.

"Why do you need me?" She asked." I've done nothing but slow you down!" Grievous looked away again.

"Count Dooku has demanded it so, and who am I to argue with my leaders? You should learn something from this, unless you haven't any brains, in which case I fully understand why you aren't learning anything." Shika growled and went to yell at him, but she stopped, he was right, she should start acting more like an apprentice and not a selfish child. But wouldn't that mean he was actually trying to teach her something? But wouldn't that mean he was acting like a master? Her face lit up in joy, was he actually teaching her things? This actually made her feel happy; she hadn't felt happy since… Well, the first day she met the General. She didn't know why, but she just felt the need to… So she quickly shifted to Grievous and wrapped her arms around his hard metallic body; he only shoved her away quickly and backed up, his eyes wide in shock.

"What is wrong with you? Why were you doing that!" He snapped, his voice sounded almost surprised. Shika stumbled back a bit before looking up at Grievous" I didn't say you could touch m-" He stopped when he noticed Shika was just smiling greatly at him, not showing she was the least bit afraid. He didn't like it. For some reason, he didn't like that expression." Stop staring at me like that!" He then smacked her hard across the face; Shika then held the area he smacked, she closed her eyes tightly as she felt pain sting through her cheek." I have no idea what the droids put in your Bacta, but whatever it was its making you act crazy!" He growled before turning and storming out the door. Shika stood there, her hand placed on her cheek, a look of confusion on her face. Learn from this, she thought, don't hug him next time.

Shika stood in the hanger bay, watching the droids prepare for the departure to Kashyyyk. She still had her hand placed on her cheek, it still hurt badly, man did Grievous have a hard hand. Shika's eyes lifted towards the entrance of the hanger bay, the door had slid open and Count Dooku slowly walked out into the hanger, Shika slowly stood up strait before seeing Grievous immediately march right over to him. The two began a conversation, Shika couldn't hear what they were saying exactly, being she was a little far from them, but she saw Grievous continuously point at her. Must have meant he was still mad. She sighed and shook her head, now she wished she hadn't done that, but she couldn't help herself, she felt the erg to embrace him. Now that she thought about it, did she hug him because he was acting like a master? Or for reasons unknown? The thoughts slowly were pushed out of her mind when she saw Dooku walking towards her; she felt the un-easy feeling again like she felt when she was in Grievous' room.

"Miss Cloudrunner, I am pleased to see you're out of bed." Dooku said as a greeting. Shika nodded slightly." The Droid medical officer told me you had a bit of a rough day last week."

"Last week?" Shika asked, tilting her head slightly. Dooku raised an eyebrow.

"Were you not aware Miss Cloudrunner? You were unconscious for a week; the medical staff was beginning to worry that the treatment they gave you wouldn't be enough to save you." Shika's eyes grew large; she was out for a week? Why wasn't she aware of that? Dooku shifted his pose as he continued." The medical officer said he was fixing broken droids when Grievous came storming in with you tucked away safely in his arms. Grievous demanded for all the medical staff to stop what they were doing to help you." Shika tilted her head, so the droids were shocked her because she was rescued by Grievous? That answered that question, but why would he save her?

"That doesn't sound like him," She said." It couldn't have been him… Grievous would never-"

"I'm very certain it was, Miss Cloudrunner," Dooku cut in." The General seems to be quite fond of you." He added with a small, yet sly, smirk. Shika gave an uncertain smile.

"Yeah right. Sorry if I seem rude, but Grievous hates my guts, I'm surprised he hasn't killed me yet." Shika answered as she watched Grievous from across the hanger, he was once more giving out orders to droids. Dooku only turned his back to Shika, he too watched Grievous.

"Apparently you know very little of the General."

"What is there to know? He's a Jedi hating, battle loving cyborg-droid thing." Shika attempted to say in a whisper.

"There's more to it, my girl…" Shika looked to Dooku; she blinked, as if she didn't understand. Dooku only smiled, even with his back turned to her, he still saw her expression. Shika turned fully to Dooku and opened her mouth to speak.

"GIRL!"

Shika looked over to Grievous who stood there, tapping his claw against the hanger bay floor impatiently. Shika looked to Dooku, who was already making his way out of the hanger. Shika went to call to him once more before Grievous grabbed her arm and yanked her to him. Shika looked to him with shock.

"When I call you, you come!" He snapped. Shika nodded quickly.

"I'm sorry; I was just talking to Count Dooku and-" Grievous released her arm and turned from her, he then began walking towards a ship. Shika followed after him, she took one final glance over at Dooku who had just left the hanger. What did he mean there was more to Grievous? Was there something about him she didn't know about? She looked to Grievous once more. Did he have some kind of a past that he never spoke of? Then how would Dooku know about it? So many questions buzzed around in her head, what was Grievous? She wanted to know badly now, but she was just too afraid to ask. Grievous then came to a stop, Shika stopped behind him. They stood in front of some kind of fighter ship. She watched Grievous get into the seat of the ship, she only stood there.

"You expect me to fit in that with you? It only has one seat!" Shika exclaimed. Grievous looked over at her." I can't go with you if you take that ship." If Grievous could smile, he most likely would have, just the look he gave her was a sign that he wanted to smile but couldn't. Shika shook her head." I'll just wait for you here, there's no way I can sit in there."

"There is a way for you to fit..." Grievous said before facing the controls of the fighter, he muttered several words to himself, something about Dooku and his orders. Shika tilted her head.

"How can I fit in that thing with you?"

"This was not what I had in mind." Shika muttered. She was now crammed in the same seat as Grievous in a most uncomfortable pose. She shifted a bit and knocked Grievous' head away from the controls with her arm.

"Stop squirming!" He snapped as he jerked his head down towards her. Shika looked up at him with a glare.

"If you would have taken the other ship with the droids we wouldn't HAVE this problem!" She snapped back.

"The Wookiees would have known I was returning if I took the droid ship. But if I take my personal fighter, then I'd have the upper advantage!" Grievous answered as he shoved Shika over against the side of the ship with his shoulder." I wanted you to go with the droids, but Dooku insisted you came with me!" Shika rubbed her shoulder that had collided with the side of the ship.

"Well this is just perfect…" She muttered before resting her head against the glass of the cockpit." Hurry up and land, sitting this way is going to give me cramps." Grievous went to yell at her, but he stopped himself, why carry on the argument? It was stupid anyway. He pressed several buttons on the control panel before looking out the front view for a moment before looking at Shika out of the corner of his eye, she had her head turned from him and was looking out the window beside her. His eyes traveled to the front of the window again. Having her crammed beside him wasn't… That bad…