ɪ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴏᴋᴜ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ. Not that it was hard. After borrowing a speeder from one of the clone troops, I made my way away from the battle and back toward the arena, where I'd last seen Dooku. It had taken me less than a minute of flying before I came across three speeders--one of which had a person on it. Even from a distance, I recognized the silver hair and swishing dark cape.
I quickly adjusted my flight path and began chasing after the speeders. I had no idea where Dooku was going, but he couldn't run forever. I only hoped that wherever he ended up, Jobal would be there as well. I knew I couldn't take the two of them alone, but hopefully when I found them, I could distract them long enough to call for backup and give away their location.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem I would make it that long. The two speeders that were flanking Count Dooku were apparently destroyers. As soon as Dooku turned his head and noticed me following, he made a quick little hand gesture, and the two speeders fell behind so that they were behind me, and immediately began to fire. It took all I had in me to keep my senses focused on both sides of me--the front, so I could follow Dooku, and behind, so I could dodge all of the shots from Dooku's destroyer speeders.
I had several close calls. One shot came scarily close, whizzing right past my ear. Another hit my speeder in the back bumper, inches from hitting me straight in the back. I dodged several at the last second, one coming close to my left shoulder, where my gunshot wound from the battle on Naboo resided. That one hit close to home... I didn't want my left arm out of order while trying to battle a Sith Lord again, like last time. We all know how that ended.
Thankfully, after one too many close calls, one of our clone trooper's ships caught up to me from behind. That took a lot of the heat off of me from the destroyers, but as I glanced behind me and saw who was aboard that ship, my heart skipped a beat. Even from a distance I could see the familiar red-blonde hair glinting under the sun, and next to that, two figures with brown hair, one short and one long...
Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé were here.
I was so excited I nearly lost my grip on my speeder, until I watched Padmé take a tumble out of the ship as it hit some mild turbulence. My eyes widened, and the destroyer behind me took my distraction as an advantage. It shot one well-placed blast at the side of the speeder, causing it to flip. Then I really did fall off my speeder. I hit the sand below with incredible velocity, got the breath knocked out of me, rolled a few times, then looked up as my speeder soared into a dune hill and exploded.
"Kriff," I swore under my breath, before collapsing backward, my hair in the sand, trying to regain my breath.
I watched helplessly as Anakin and Obi-Wan's ship flew overhead, Obi-Wan's face peering down at me from above with concern. I gathered enough strength to make one movement--a little gesture to tell him to keep going. I wasn't going to be the reason that Dooku escaped. Besides, if I was down here, I might as well help out Padmé before trying to continue on.
As Obi-Wan's ship soared off, following Count Dooku and trying hard to evade the shots from both destroyers now, I pulled myself to my feet and shook the sand out of my robes and hair. I reached to my side to make sure I still had my lightsaber, and sighed in relief. It was hanging against my hip as usual, slightly sandy but otherwise unscathed.
I quickly made my way over to Padmé, clutching my left ribs, which I had fallen on after getting knocked off my speeder. My sister was lying on the ground at the bottom of one of the dune hills, a long trail of divots in the sand indicating where she'd fallen from. She was laying on her back, with her wound pressed against the sand below her, sprawled awkwardly. I quickly rolled her over, trying to shake her awake, and get a good look at the scratch on her back from the Nexu.
The cuts weren't that deep, but they were very red. The wound looked very irritated, probably from her fall and all of the physical activity she'd been doing. I prodded it carefully, but it must have been enough pain to get Padmé to spring awake, her teeth clenched painfully. She tried to pull away from me, but I held tight.
"Hey. Hey. It's okay," I told her. "Padmé, listen to me. It's me. Emeré."
"Emmy?" She asked through clenched teeth, turning around to face me. "Oh, thank goodness." She sprung at me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and holding me tight. "Are you alright? Oh, of course you are. Come on, we have to go. Ani and Obi-Wan-"
"They'll be okay," I promised. "For now we need to worry about you- no, Padmé, you're injured," I added hastily, holding her down as she tried to rocket to her feet.
"That doesn't matter!" She protested. "How many times have you fought while injured? I can do this, we need to capture Dooku now, we need to get to Ani-"
"Anakin and Obi-Wan have this under control," I assured her. "If we go now, you'll be more of a burden to them than a help. Please, just let me help you."
"Emmy..." Padmé protested.
I stared at her imploringly. "Please, just trust me."
Padmé stared at me for a while, then finally looked down, her eyes defeated. "Fine. But you need to hurry. We don't have a lot of time."
"We have as much time as we need," I promised.
I'd spoken too soon. An ominous giggle filled the air. I hadn't found Dooku. I hadn't even just found Padmé. I'd found something much worse.
"I'm afraid that's a lie, my dear daughter," Jobal's voice purred as a section of my vision of the landscape behind Padmé flickered, like some sort of sick mirage. Jobal appeared before me, smiling perversely. "Time is one thing you do not have."
Padmé stiffened as she, too, realized who was here, even without looking. "Mother," she hissed.
"How long have you been here?" I demanded.
"Long enough." She smiled again, displaying rows of yellowed teeth. "Look at you two... my beautiful daughters. Even after Emeré left, you were able to find a way back to each other."
I pursed my lips angrily. "That tends to happen to people who care for each other," I stated. "And you're not one of those people. Come on, Padmé." I got to my feet and tried to hold my arm out to Padmé, to help her up, before realizing I was frozen. Jobal had a hand extended toward me, holding me in place with the Force.
"Not so fast, darling," she murmured. "See, I can't let you escape that easily."
"Yeah, not like the past couple of times I've escaped you," I leered. "That wouldn't look so good in front of your boss, would it?"
Jobal's hand began to tremble angrily, and she shoved me backward with the Force, sending me falling back so quickly the breath flew from my lungs again as I hit the ground. "I already told you," she hissed. "I don't have a boss."
"Hit a nerve, there, did I?" I panted with a smile, trying to regain my breath and hold myself together.
"I work for myself," Jobal hissed. "I have my own motives... my own intentions."
"Then why were you working with Dooku?" Padmé challenged. "Mother, this isn't like you."
"You know nothing of who I truly am!" Jobal cried, now spinning on Padmé, giving me a chance to evaluate myself and catch my breath. "Everything you knew as a child was a lie! All I did then was prepare you two to become who you are now. So you can join me, live forever. Is that not what you want, my dears? To live a long, fruitful life with the men you love?" She glanced between me and Padmé knowingly. "You forget I've been inside your heads... both of yours. I know who you love. I know what you desire. That Kenobi boy..." her eyes flickered toward me, then moved to Padmé. "And... Skywalker."
Anakin. I knew it. But now wasn't the time to bask in my sister's love life.
"Love is only one part of my life," I challenged. "I've spent my whole life working toward becoming a Jedi Knight. And now I've been offered a spot on the Jedi Council. That has been my goal my entire life. I'm not giving that up now."
"Fool!" Jobal growled. "The Jedi Council can't give you what you want. The Jedi Order can't, either. As long as you're one of them, you'll never be able to be with your precious Obi-Wan," she sneered.
"So, what, you want me to just renounce them and join you?" I demanded.
"Not just me," Jobal said elusively. "I told you. I have a partner. Someone who shares my vision... who could do with someone as powerful as you, my daughters."
"Your vision?" Padmé demanded. "What vision?"
"A vision of a better future," was all Jobal replied. "Where we could be the ones in power. No longer hiding in the shadows, ridiculed, or looked down upon. I've spent too long of my life hiding in the shadows because of who I am. A new Republic... a better Republic... with the elimination of the senseless Jedi Order who regulates anything and everything... will be built, with you two at my side."
"So you want to eliminate the Jedi Order?" I queried, fury dotting my vision. "The very foundation of who I am, the home of so many people I am close to? Of the very person I love, the person Padmé loves?"
"My partner has his sights set on Skywalker," Jobal murmured. "I'm certain he will gain his favor. If you join me, Padmé, you could be with him. As for Kenobi..." Jobal turned to me, "if he does love you, as he says he does--believe me, I saw your little exchange in the arena--he will not hesitate to join you."
"I don't think it's as simple as that," I snapped.
"You can make it that simple," Jobal insisted. "My dear, the power you know now is only a fraction of your true potential. There is so much more out there that I could teach you."
"So I can hurt others," I growled. "No way. That's not who I am."
Jobal moved a little closer. "The Jedi Order is not what you need. You need your mother. Join me."
"I already told you," I hissed, getting to my feet and inching toward her as well. "You're not my mother. I. Said. No."
Jobal glared at me for a couple of moments. "You are going to regret ever having said no to me," she gnarled.
I smiled at her. "I don't think so."
Jobal snarled, then shot a hand towards me, trying to shove me backwards again, but this time I was ready. When the force of her impact hit me, instead of falling helplessly, I used the momentum to launch myself into a flip and land on my feet, flipping my hair out of my face.
"Are you really out of tricks already?" I taunted. I was sure that was a bad idea, and that it would probably come back to bite me, but at the moment, I didn't care.
Unfortunately, that not caring did not last long. Jobal edged toward me, her grey eyes full of fire, twitching in fury. Even though I should have moved away from her, I held my ground, looking her in the eyes and holding her gaze, as hard as it was. Until she held up a hand and she was in my mind.
She didn't have to say a word, but it was excruciating. All of my worst memories bubbled up out of nowhere, playing simultaneously, overloading my mind and making me feel like I was imploding from the inside. Everything played on repeat--me watching Qui-Gon die, watching Obi-Wan fall off the edge of the platform on Kamino, nearly killing my father, holding a near lifeless Kera in my arms...
All of the worst negative emotions I'd ever experienced in my lifetime, I was reliving, but ten times worse. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced... the worst pain, the worst feeling...
"Yes," Jobal hissed. "You think I'm out of tricks? You forget that I'm more experienced than you, Emeré." She prodded harder, and the memories got more vivid, pressing at my skull. I felt a scream of pure agony begin to ripple up from within me. "I have experience that predates even you. You think what you did to all of those people you hurt was bad? What I'm going to do to you is much, much worse."
"Mother!" Padmé yelled. "Mother, stop!"
"If she won't join me, she will die," Jobal murmured. The pain grew even worse, and suddenly, I wasn't able to suppress my feelings anymore. The scream I'd been trying to suppress came bubbling up, and suddenly, I couldn't hear anymore. All of my senses were overloaded with this pain, this hopelessness. I wasn't sure how long I stayed suspended in that state... time didn't seem to be a factor at all anymore. All I knew was that suddenly the pain began to abate, and suddenly I could feel myself again. I couldn't understand why Jobal had started to stop.
Until I heard a voice... one I almost thought I'd never hear again, and one that told me that I was saved.
"Get away from her!" Kera yelled.
✧✧✧
Eeeeee! I loved writing this chapter :) Kera came back from Emeré... but has she forgiven her for what she did? (Flashbacks, in case you don't remember: Emeré accidentally hurt Kera a couple parts ago while Jobal was riling her up inside her mind!) Let me know what you think, and all will be revealed in the next part!
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the double drop this evening :) things are getting good, guys... and before we know it, we'll be onto Revenge of the Sith! If you would like to, leave a vote or let me know what you thought in the comments! I love reading your thoughts and messages. They seriously make my day, guys :)
If you've read this far, thanks! You guys are the best. Love ya, and see you in the next chapter!
~ ᴋᴀᴛᴇʟʏɴ ~