EIGHTEEN.
— ☬ —
DARTH TYRANUS
"Look!" I yelled as I let go of Padmé and pointed up at the stands where Count Dooku and the rest of the separatist leaders were. As the others followed my gaze, a very distinctive purple plasma blade was being held at Jango Fett's throat. A smile broke out on my face as I got a somewhat smug and comforting look seeing as Master Windu was here. If Master Windu was here, surely there were more Jedi here to aid us as well, cause like Windu would have come all the way out here alone. Well, then again, that's pretty much what Anakin did earlier with Padmé for his miserable excuse at a rescue attempt.
"They're everywhere!" Padmé exclaimed with a smile as all around us Geonosians were fleeing from the stands and the clear colors of the lightsabers shone throughout the stands in the Geonosians places.
Red blasts fired, aiming at Master Windu who easily blocked all of the rounds with little effort. Jango shot flames at the Jedi Master who had to jump off of the stands and into the sandy pit with us to avoid the blast as he ripped off his robe to refrain from burning. Countless droids then flowed from all the entrances leading into the arena as they fired their guns and more Jedi rushed to join us. Thank the Force the destroyers didn't fire at us because if they had we would have certainly been dead.
"Hold on tight!" Anakin shouted at us while Obi-Wan just frowned and his typical teacher face appeared across his face.
"Anak—" he started to say in a warning tone before Anakin lurched the Reek forwards and guided the monster towards Master Windu and the other Jedi.
Three Jedi tossed us sabers which we quickly caught in our hands, poor Padmé was still weaponless. We all quickly ignited our lightsabers and mine glowed a regular green hue and it was pretty disappointing seeing as it wasn't my usual mint green saber. After freeing Obi-Wan from his cuffs, there was an explosion a couple of feet away from us that caused the Reek to rear up in panic as the four of us tumbled onto the sand. Luckily for Padmé, it seemed that the universe knew she was weaponless and decided to prepare her by having a blaster laying on the ground right next to where she fell.
Padmé immediately started firing away while Anakin, Obi-Wan, and I made sure to block all the blasts heading for us. Sure, having a lightsaber was great and all, but if it wasn't your own personal lightsaber, it just didn't feel right. It still held the same persistence but this saber wasn't rolling right with my hands.
"Anakin!" I yelled out to my brother as I sliced a droid in half. "The separatists are the ones behind Padmé's assassination attempts!"
Anakin looked up to the stands where all the separatists were still situated and watching us from above before he gave me an understanding nod and the two of us then stuck close to Padmé knowing they might come after her. Before I knew it though, I found her running across the arena and hopping onto the back of one of the Geonsian creatures that were guiding a chariot. Thankfully, Anakin noticed and hopped on the back of the chariot with her and the two rode off, at least they were together though.
I took down a few more droids before I found a certain red-headed Jedi Padawan running to my side. "Embry!" I cried out, beyond thrilled to see her, but our reunion was cut short seeing as we were basically fighting for our lives.
We stood back to back protecting the other as we fended off the droids. "Here! You might want this!" Embry yelled at me since you had to practically scream to hear anything with all the noise.
When I reached over to see what she was offering me, my hands grabbed a hold of the familiar juggernaut wrapped in black leather. My eyes lit up at the feeling and my lips turned into a wide smile as I immediately recognized my personal lightsaber. "It was in the Count's possession, my Master managed to swipe it before I was knocked off the platform," Embry informed me without looking at me as she continued to block the blasts from the droids.
I was a little taken back from the news, honestly quite shocked that Master Windu found time to actually be kind and helpful, retrieving my lightsaber seeing as how he had treated me in my past. Then again, what he told Obi-Wan when we were about to leave for Kamino about me was just as surprising. Perhaps I had misjudged Master Windu over the years and he really wasn't as bad as I previously thought. "Thanks," I told her, honestly thankful as I then emitted my mint green and struck down droids one by one.
"Look out!" A voice screamed out at us, as Master Windu then flipped onto the scene, swiping out a droid firing at us and joining our little fight circle.
I had to admit, as much as Master Windu and I may not have favored the other that much, the pair of us certainly made a pretty good team. Of course, like everything else though, that was short lived as the Reek was pretty fired up and with a fierce roar, the creature took off running directly in between Embry and me, breaking us apart and then running after poor Master Windu.
That's when I first really caught the best glimpse of the monster, the big white fur ball that towered above me. Looks like Anakin and Padmé never thought to get rid of the Wampa, lucky me. With a loud roar, the Wampa struck a paw at me, but unlike the Nexus, I ducked out of the way and took off running through the arena, dodging droids as I did so. I don't know if you've ever seen a Wampa move before, but they're not the most agile creatures and so they sort of run with a waddle and thankfully weren't that fast.
I was putting good distance between the Wampa and I as I turned around to check and see that the monster was lagging behind before clumsy me ran head first into Obi-Wan. A loud "oomph," came out of my mouth as the two of us toppled to the ground. He looked just about as surprised as I was and I soon found my temperature rising, feeling the heat radiating off my cheeks. I was practically straddling him on the ground and our faces were mere inches from one another, the worst part was the fact that my muscles weren't moving so I just sat there frozen and red faced as I stared into his eyes.
"You good?" He asked me with a slight chuckle as he put a hand on my waist but my muscles quickly got back to work as I reared back and stumbled off of him.
"Not really," I admitted as I then heard the roar and when I turned back around I saw the Wampa clearly advancing since it now had ample time to catch up to me. "Trying to postpone my death," I then explained somewhat hurriedly, not having time to wallow in my embarrassment, as I grabbed his hand and pulled him off the ground before the two of us ran hand in hand across the arena to escape the Wampa.
"Got a plan?" Obi-Wan asked me as we slid underneath Obi-Wan's previous pillar that had been knocked over by the Acklay as I peered over the pillar to see the Wampa still coming after us.
"One," I sheepishly admitted. "So let's hope it works."
I then pulled him back from the pillar a few feet and raised my hands before channeling my focus and energy. With the Force, I then lifted the already broken pillar with a grunt before throwing the pillar at the Wampa. The pillar hit the Wampa and crushed the giant white monster underneath its weight.
"Nice one," Obi-Wan commented with a smile before the sunlight over our heads disappeared. A frown formed on my face in confusion before Obi-Wan and my eyes widened in recognition of the loud sharp cry coming from above us. Just as we thought, when we turned around, the green Acklay was towering above us with its snapping teeth and razor-sharp claws.
"One down, one to go," I heard Obi-Wan say while I just let out a quick groan.
"This just isn't our day," I grumbled as we both reignited our lightsabers and went to work.
Obi-Wan took out two of the Acklay's front claws while I simply flipped onto the Acklay's back. With one quick twirl of my weapon, I then plunged the blade straight through the Acklay's hard shell. The monster went eerie quiet and crunched towards the ground before its movements seized completely.
After that, we went back to killing droids with swift quick movements. Over time, all the Jedi were being crowded into a circle that continued to get smaller and smaller. I soon found myself back alongside my brother to my right and Master Windu to my left as the number of Jedi became lower only as the number of droids kept getting bigger. By the time only thirteen of us were left, I wasn't sure how much longer we could stand.
For some reason, the blasting suddenly ceased and all the droids lowered their weapons. All the rest of us were breathing heavy and I found myself worriedly scanning the remaining circle of Jedi until my eyes caught sight of Obi-Wan staring back at me from across the sand. A quick break of relief flowed out of me once I realized he was okay.
"Master Windu," Count Dooku then called out from above with his intimidating deep voice as all the rest of us turned our gaze towards the old man. "You have fought gallantly, worthy of recognition in the archives of the Jedi Order," Dooku commended him as his voice echoed off the walls of the stadium.
I snuck a quick look at Master Windu and found his icy glare staring up at the Count. Not gonna lie, it was nice to see him giving that cold glare of his to someone else and not me for a change. The remaining Jedi that was not in our small circle were then rounded up by the Geonosians and herded into our small group alongside us.
"Now . . . it is finished," Dooku declared as he raised his eyebrows down at us. "Surrender . . . and your lives will be spared."
"We will not be hostages to be bartered, Dooku!" Master Windu shouted up at the Count with a cold undertone and his still harsh signature glare.
"Then . . . I'm sorry, old friend," Dooku then apologized as he somewhat lowered his head.
However, I simply rolled my eyes and let out a small groan. "Again with the friends," I grumbled. "Like hell, we're your friends," I grumbled quietly but I heard Anakin smirk beside me and Master Windu's lips even twitched into a small smile.
But with the Count's orders, the guns were then raised back up at us. A loud humming noise could be heard over the arena as Padmé then looked to the sky as she smiled hugely in triumph. "Look!" She called out to us as we all looked above and found ships upon ships filled with the Clones back on Kamino advancing down towards us. Along with the Clones, on one of the ships, I felt a warm glow coming from my heart as I saw my wise Master standing on one of the ships.
Gunfire then resumed as the ships flew low over the stadium as they came to surround those of us that were still alive creating a perimeter and protecting us from the droids blasts. Anakin and Padmé were the first to hop on a ship with Obi-Wan and I quickly following behind. I could practically see Obi-Wan's eyes glowing with relief and rejoice that we were all okay as he offered me a hand before pulling me up into the ship alongside him. Once the four of us were all on board, the ship then took off away from the arena.
"Hold on!" Obi-Wan then instructed all of us as the ship rocked violently. Padmé and Anakin grabbed hold of the handles above us while I stumbled around clumsily trying to gain better footing. Major shout out to my sweet brother who's always looking out for me because he quickly grabbed me and helped me grab one of the handles before I fell over, or even worse, fell off the ship.
"Ani! Look!" I yelled at my brother as I pointed at the energy holsters that was supplying power back to the droid machine factory back in the fortress.
Anakin nodded in understanding as he then turned his attention to the Clone piloting the ship. "Aim right above the fuel cells!" He then ordered and the Clones quickly did as instructed, soon bringing down the power cells.
Obi-Wan turned to my brother with a big smile and gave him an encouraging nod. "Good call, my young Padawan," he then told Anakin while we continued to fly over the battle occurring down below in the red desert.
Some ships were blasted down while ours managed to dodge all the blasts and continue afloat. "Attack those Federation starships, quickly!" Obi-Wan then shouted at the Clones just as the starships were emerging from the ground below. Our blasts hardly did any damage though seeing as we didn't have enough gun power to destroy a starship such as these.
Master Yoda must have instructed the Clones to do the same though because a large torpedo then soared past us as it blasted the starship to pieces and a large cloud of dust and sand then covered our ship to the point where we couldn't see anything. By the time the dust had cleared, Obi-Wan had his saber pointed towards an object that was moving through the canyon. "Look over there!" He called out and when I followed his eyes, I found the striking white hair and billowing dark cloak of Count Dooku on the back of a speeder getting away.
"It's Dooku!" Anakin also agreed, but I only grabbed Obi-Wan's arm in alarm.
"Obi-Wan," I then called out to him so I could be heard above the drone of the ship. "If Dooku escapes, he will only rally more systems to his cause," I explained to him as soon as his blue eyes met mine.
His eyes widened in understanding and gave me a quick nod in agreement before turning to the pilot. "Shoot him down!" Obi-Wan instructed but the pilot only delivered us grave news in return.
"We're out of rockets, sir," he then informed us.
"Follow him!" Anakin and I then ordered the pilot in unison.
"We're gonna need some help!" Padmé then exclaimed slightly panicked while I simply shook my head in disagreement.
"There isn't time!" I shouted back at her.
"Anakin, Serenity, and I can handle this!" Obi-Wan then told Padmé while I could only hope he was right. It was one thing to take on a droid made to resemble a Sith Lord when I was ten, it was another thing entirely to actually fight one.
Suddenly, the ship hit a large patch of sand as we were being fired at and the ship rocked dangerously from side to side. It seemed all of us quickly lost our footing as Obi-Wan grabbed a hold of the side of the ship for support, Anakin lost hold of his grip on the ceiling, and Padmé and I lost our footing as we started falling to the sides. Luckily for me, Obi-Wan quickly grabbed a hold of me and pulled me close to him by my waist to keep me from falling out. Unfortunately, we heard a loud scream as Padmé and a Clone fell from the ship and then tumbled into the desert sand below.
I honestly thought Anakin was going to die right then and there. He started screaming hysterically and barking orders left and right to put the ship down. I had to even grab a hold of him just to keep him from jumping out of the ship after her.
"Anakin!" I screamed at him as I gripped him tightly. "You can't!"
"Lower the ship!" Anakin continued to scream anyways as he tried to push me off of him and I had to literally tackle him to the ground. This was the precise reason Jedi were so against relationships and attachment. Anakin was out of his right mind, making rash and frankly suicidal decisions instead of thinking straight.
"We have a job to do!" I yelled at him trying to knock some sense into him while we wrestled on the ground.
"I can't leave her!" He yelled at me as I had my arms locked around his neck and he grabbed my biceps forcing me off.
"You'll be expelled from the Jedi Order!" I screamed at him trying to reason with him but he was absolutely out his damn mind. I finally got a tight hold of him and pinned him down as I held his wrists by his head and locked my knees on his chest to keep him from going anywhere. "If I fell out of this ship what would you do?!"
"Let me go!" Anakin simply screamed at me while he tried to wiggle out.
"What would you do?" I repeated myself as Anakin finally started to relax and calm down as he paused for a moment.
". . . I would do my duty," he then responded as his breathing started to slow and I loosened my grip on him.
Our ship was still being fired at as we chased after Dooku's speeder. We followed him until he directed his speeder into a hidden hanger within the canyon walls. The three of us ignited our lightsabers as we jumped from the ship as soon as we approached the hanger. We hadn't even made it inside yet when the gunfire finally reached their target and our ship exploded behind us. If we wanted to leave, we certainly weren't going to be able to now.
Sprinting into the large structure, the room appeared dark and thick with the dull red walls and gray tiled floors. Sure enough, we found Dooku standing there practically waiting for us as he was preparing his ship to leave. Anakin and I stood next to Obi-Wan seeing as he was the Master and we were still Padawans, even though Obi-Wan wasn't my Master, I still couldn't just make up my own rules. As soon as Count Dooku looked over in our direction, a small shiver went up my spine from the large pit of dread swarming in my stomach. Nevertheless, I kept my eyes trained on the old man as I gripped my lightsaber tightly in my hands.
"You're gonna pay for all the Jedi that you killed today, Dooku," Anakin sneered at the Count as he paced back and forth.
"You're outnumbered," I then declared while Dooku only raised an eyebrow in response.
"We'll take him together," Obi-Wan then instructed both of us under his breath as he laid out his plan. "Anakin, you go in slowly on the left while—"
"—I'm taking him now!" Anakin then yelled out cutting off Obi-Wan before, to both of our horrors and only Dooku's amusement, my brother took off in a sprint for the Count.
"No, Anakin! No!" Obi-Wan yelled out after him but Anakin didn't so much as skip a beat.
"Ani!" I screamed at him as I took off after him but a sharp grip on my waist pulled me back as Obi-Wan grabbed me.
"No!" Obi-Wan yelled at me in a more panicked tone as I tried to push him off of me trying to get to my brother before the little shit did something stupid, but it was too late.
Anakin hardly made it within ten feet of the Count before a bright electric current flowed from Dooku's fingertips striking Anakin. Anakin let out a sharp cry and I could help but cry out as well seeing as a stinging tingle shot through my body. It was a horrible sensation and I could only imagine how terrible it must have felt to Anakin considering I was only feeling a small portion of what he was experiencing. I wanted to scream as the power of the current flowed into my brother and sent him flying across the room and into a room where he then laid there whimpering in pain hardly moving.
Obi-Wan held out his saber towards the Count but kept a tight hand around my waist while my eyes remained locked on my brother. "Serenity, focus," Obi-Wan told me in a gentle yet stern teacher like manner as his lips were grazing my ear so Dooku couldn't hear him. I couldn't turn away though, my body felt numb as the tingling sensation was still flowing through my body. "I can't do this alone," Obi-Wan then told me before letting me go.
For a moment I just didn't move, I continued to stare at my brother laying on the ground all pitiful. Part of me wanted to run to him, but I knew the job, I knew the rule. This fight wasn't over yet and I couldn't give up just like that. If anything, I would fight for my brother. Just like he said earlier, if this had happened to me, he would do his duty just as I should do mine.
"As you see, my Jedi powers are far beyond yours," Dooku then bragged as my face turned to a scowl and my grip on my saber tightened as I stared daggers into the count. Obi-Wan and I started to circle him, as the three of us all trod around one another.
"Now . . . back down," Dooku said in a warning tone before raising a hand and another shot of blue electricity shot from his hands towards Obi-Wan. Thankfully Obi-Wan was expecting this and absorbed the current with his saber. That's when it finally hit me like a bag of sand, this was Force lightning, the same type of Force lightning Master Yoda had been teaching me about four years ago.
"I don't think so," Obi-Wan then said viciously before Dooku then emitted his lightsaber and Obi-Wan and I advanced on him.
The two of us ran in side by side, synchronizing our attacks but Dooku still managed to block us. The three of us sparred back and forth as neither side made any advances. At one point, Dooku swung at Obi-Wan's feet and the Jedi jumped to avoid the blade before Dooku then tried to strike at Obi-Wan with his lightsaber, I swung my saber at his to block him from hitting Obi-Wan. Unfortunately, Dooku dodged my strike and tried to swing at me, trying to stab me but I quickly did a back handspring to avoid the burning blade. When I landed back on my feet, Obi-Wan had also backed away from the Count by my side trying to catch his breath.
Dooku only used this time to get into our heads as he paced around us with a clear devilish grin on his lips. "Master Kenobi, you disappoint me. Yoda holds you in such high esteem," Dooku then said rather bored while I could see his words quickly getting to Obi-Wan as his lips twitched and his eyes narrowed. "Surely you can do better?" Dooku asked slyly before Obi-Wan's lips thinned.
"Don't listen to him," I tried to reason with Obi-Wan but the words had already done their damage.
Obi-Wan was quick to attack Dooku first this time as the two sabers clashed in a blur of red and blue. I tried to join in the fight but as I ran over to them, Dooku kicked Obi-Wan before then using the Force to lift me up and throw me into a wall on the opposite side of the room as Anakin. I hit the wall with a loud grunt and my back stung immediately from the impact seeing as my wound had scrapped against the wall.
Now that I was clearly out of the way, Dooku used this time to tap Obi-Wan's upper arm and thigh with his lightsaber as the blade burned Obi-Wan's skin and the Jedi let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground, gripping his now burning thigh with his teeth grit. My eyes widened in horror as I watched the Count spin his saber in a taunting manner before raising the saber in an execution manner. I didn't even have time to say anything, only yelled just as Anakin and I leaped from our spots in unison as we ignited our sabers, stopping Dooku from hitting Obi-Wan. The two of us glared at the Count while Dooku just smirked at the two of us.
"Brave of you, but I would have thought the two of you had learned your lesson," Dooku then sneered while my lips just turned into a sassy smile.
"We're slow learners," I then smirked at the Count before Anakin and I threw Dooku back before the three of us continued our little duel.
Anakin took the Count from the front while I took him from behind. I was amazed at how fluid Anakin and I moved, we moved like one as we attacked and our movements easily mirrored the other. I had to say, it looked pretty impressive as we took on the Count. However, we weren't making all that much progress as it looked like we were hardly breaking a sweat on the Sith while the two of us were panting and slowly gaining exhaustion.
We couldn't break him, he was too powerful. But that didn't mean we were going to give up. If anything we were at least stalling until more help could arrive. Anakin and I had to stop for a moment as we took a step back together and beside me, Anakin cut a power cord to add to the darkness in the room hoping to give us a bit of a break so we could try and catch our breaths. The three of us stared at the other as we patiently waited for someone to advance.
"Cover my back?" Anakin asked me under his breath as he never took his eyes off Dooku.
"Don't I always?" I answered back quickly before Anakin then struck at Dooku.
As the two struck at the other with loud hissing from their sabers every time they clashed, Anakin then spun around so that the Count's back was facing me. Instead of lurching forwards at him, I used the Force to rip a piece of rock from the wall before tossing the rock at Dooku where it hit him hard across his back before exploding into rubble all over him. While he was momentarily stunned, Anakin used the chance to kick Dooku hard in the chest knocking him back a few steps. Now that he was in my court, I struck at the Count's legs but unfortunately, he noticed and was able to deflect my attack. Anakin then ran in behind and swung at the Count but Dooku sensed the strike and ducked just before Anakin's blade hit him.
We struck at Dooku over and over while the Count managed to keep blocking all the strikes and simply struck back at us until we were covered in sweat and panting heavily while Dooku still looked bored and energized. You would think that considering Anakin and I were the younger ones and Dooku was the older one that it would be the opposite, but this old guy knew what he was doing.
"The power of the Force within both of you is incredible," Dooku then commented while Anakin and I tried to pay no notice to his words. "As well as your connection with one another," the Count then exclaimed as he narrowed his eyes slightly at us.
Anakin and I just ignored his comment as we struck at him again. We were starting to get extremely tired as our moves became more sloppy and Dooku certainly used this to his advantage. It all happened so fast, that by the time I had realized what happened, it was over.
When I tried to come in at Dooku's side, he spun out of the way right before bashing me in the head with the hilt of his lightsaber. The blow sent me backward and to the ground as the blunt impact had my vision going dark for a second. Dooku then used this chance to outstep Anakin before, in one swift movement, sliced off Anakin's right arm. His arm fell to the ground but not before landing with a sickening thud that echoed through the room. By the time I had made it back onto my feet, I could already feel the sharp burn shooting up my right arm and Dooku used the Force to push Anakin across the room. My brother hit the ground at Obi-Wan's feet, completely unconscious.
My head felt like it had a heartbeat on its own, pounding against my skull and I could already feel a slight bump forming on my forehead as well as a slight bruise, blood trickled across my forehead too but I simply ignored my injuries. I couldn't have cared less how hard Dooku might have hit me, it was nothing considering what he did to Obi-Wan and Anakin. Seeing as I was the only one left, I wasn't going to give up that easily. Even though I probably had a slight concussion due to my unbelievable headache and my ears ringing.
"You just don't give up, do you?" Dooku then asked me with a bored sigh while I just glared back at him.
"No, but you can," I sneered back at him before raising my lightsaber in a threatening manner. "Besides, did you really think this would be easy?"
I slashed Dooku's saber away from me before stepping on his thigh and pushing off. Kicking him square in the jaw, I then did a backward flip from the momentum before landing swiftly on my feet. Once the Count realized what happened, he sent me a sharp glare before advancing towards me. He struck first with his saber as the mint green and red clashed and hissed dangerously during our fight.
My heart was pounding and my adrenaline was pumping but I ignored the exhaustion and heavy breathing setting in. Even though my training kept his skill at bay, his strength also matched my agility. Then again, we both had been trained by the same Master.
We both then took a moment to take a step back and catch our breath for a moment, seeing as the Count was now finally starting to tire out. "Impressive . . . Master Yoda trained you well," Dooku told me calmly but still holding up a strong defense.
"Ready to surrender yet?" I only quipped back at him while I just swung my lightsaber gracefully before gripping it tightly in my hands again.
"Oh," Dooku then chuckled darkly before his eyes narrowed at me. "You foolish girl, I'm only getting started."
I then let out a loud grunt as I swung my lightsaber at Dooku, but he easily deflected the blow and even managed to knock my saber from my hands. My eyes then grew huge as I was now utterly defenseless. Dooku raised his hands at me as his eyes glistened with darkness and an evil grin covered his lips. I knew right then and there what was about to happen.
"Serenity!" I heard Obi-Wan yell just as the blue lightning shot from Dooku's hands.
I quickly threw out my own hands focusing on the energy just as I had been taught, making an "argh" sound with a loud grunt and a wince as the current collided with my fingertips. The light was blinding and the energy was overwhelming, much different from the lightning back on Lah'mu four years ago. This was a whole different pod race and I was quickly understanding how serious Master Yoda was when he told me that while you could absorb this energy by using the Force for a short while, it was certainly at the price of immense effort.
The blue glow slowly faded from my hands as my arms then dropped to my sides and I let out a tired sigh in response as my body started to go numb from exhaustion. I could feel Obi-Wan's giant blue eyes glued to me but he didn't look nearly as shocked and surprised as Count Dooku did. "Impossible," Dooku muttered at me while I just shifted my stance trying to still look intimidating.
"I like to think I'm full of surprises," I quickly responded as my eyes narrowed back at the old man.
In response, he simply gritted his teeth and tried another blow of Force lightning at me which I managed to deflect again as I absorbed the energy through me and then reflected the energy back through the Force. Dooku was quickly realizing that his Force lightning was going to get him nowhere with me as he then resulted in different methods.
Raising his right hand towards me with a dark glare, I then found a tight grip forming around my throat as my feet were lifted off the ground and I could no longer breath. I found myself gasping for air and clawing at my throat from the invisible hand choking me. My vision was starting to blur and my head was spinning as Dooku only knit his eyebrows together in confusion and pulled me closer towards him as I still hovered above the ground struggling to breathe.
"No way," I then faintly heard Dooku exclaim as he took a closer look at me and then over at Anakin who was now awake but still at Obi-Wan's feet. "You've got to be kidding me," the Count then said with a chuckle as his eyes widened in realization.
"That's your brother, your twin!" The Count said with a louder chuckle as his dark laugh bounced off the walls in the room. Either he had forgotten he was still choking me or clearly didn't care as I was still striving for air and my feet were twitching below me as my vision was quickly fading to black. "Ah, the power of twins, always more significant than one. It's said that twins share a connection and what effects one effects the other," Dooku then started to say with a dark gleam in his eyes as his lips turned upward dangerously. "Why don't we test that theory?"
I hardly even understood what he was saying as my eyes were rolling to the back of my head and my vision was dark due to the lack of oxygen. Dooku then suddenly let me go and I fell to the ground in a coughing fit as I was still gasping for air while the oxygen flooded back to my lungs. Dazed and confused, Dooku then used this opportunity to reach his hand over my form up against the wall and shooting electricity through me.
The pain was excruciating, worse than anything I had ever experienced before. I raw scream rippled through me and I could hear the Count's laugh faintly echoing through my ears as I was guessing Anakin was also twitching in pain, but I couldn't pay any attention to my brother. My insides were being torn apart as each shock rocked through me and I was writhing on the floor in pain. This was nothing like the lightning back on Lah'mu. In fact, the two were practically nothing in comparison back to the pain I had felt with that lightning to what I was experiencing now. The pain from this lightning was more than unbearable, it was plain torture. Screaming didn't help, thrashing didn't help, it seemed nothing I could do as the pain was overwhelming. I was being helplessly electrocuted and forced to the mercy of a Sith Lord.
Dooku didn't stop either to give me a break. No, he waited until I was on the verge of passing out seeing as I was clearly no longer a threat to him before he decided to stop the flow of blue electricity thundering through me. I was then left on the ground with a quick gasp and whimpering as I laid exhausted and the feeling of being torn apart.
The Count then squatted down so that he was closer to me as he just gave me a loud smirk and grabbed my face with a cold hand. "Some Chosen One's you are," he then snickered at me before tossing my face aside and standing back up. I could then faintly see Dooku then heading towards Obi-Wan and Anakin with his hands outstretched to go after them next.
"No!" I screamed at the Count, my voice now raw from all my screaming, but of course the Count paid no mind to my cries.
I'm not sure how I did it, I'm really not, but somehow I managed to muster a new found strength within myself to jump to my feet and sprint in front of Dooku just as the blue lighting left his fingertips. The current hit me just as before as it shook me to my core and sent me flying in the air. I hit the ground with my legs on top of Anakin and an arm on Obi-Wan with my other hand clutching my stomach.
At this point, I had nothing left in me and laid on the ground whimpering and twitching from the pain and the electricity still coursing through my veins even though the Count had stopped firing the lightning at me. "Sere," I heard Obi-Wan's shaking voice call out to me full of concern and fear as I then felt his hand softly clutching the back of my head.
My body wouldn't respond to him though, I couldn't open my eyes as they were squeezed shut from the torture. My teeth were grit shut as the electricity still rocked through my body. My muscles were tense and immobilized not allowing me to move as I laid on the floor helplessly.
I faintly heard the sound of Master Yoda's cane echoing through the room. I really couldn't tell you what happened after that. I just remember Master Yoda telling the Count he still had much to learn as the familiar hum of the Force lightning coursed through the room before fading. I could then hear the sharp hiss and clashing of the lightsabers echoing through the room as well as yells from Master Yoda and I could only assume that Master Yoda and Count Dooku were locked in a lightsaber battle considering Obi-Wan, Anakin, and myself were the only other ones in the room and they were still with me.
I really couldn't tell you how long they fought. Time had more than escaped me as I continued to lay there on the ground writhing in pain and letting out small whimpers. The clashing sounds then stopped before I then felt Obi-Wan quickly, but gently, pulling me to him. Considering he was always so protective, I guess we must have been under a threat and I could feel Obi-Wan looking upward as he gripped me closer to him. There was then a loud clanking sound of metal hissing coming from right above us as a dark shadow hovered over us. The shadow then disappeared right before there was a crashing sound and the ground beneath us shook.
Anakin was grunting and also writhing in pain underneath my feet but I still didn't move as I just panted in whimpers and continued to lie motionless. I could feel Obi-Wan slowly moving my feet off of Anakin before I heard a sharp gasp coming from across the room.
"Oh my word!" I heard someone exclaim and recognized the voice to be that of Padmé's as her feet then thundered across the ground over to our sides.
She then helped Anakin to his feet before she and Obi-Wan moved back over to me. "What happened?" Padmé exclaimed out of shock.
"Dooku," Obi-Wan only responded quickly before looking up to Master Yoda who was walking over towards us. "Is she okay?" Obi-Wan then asked Master Yoda about me trying to sound calm but the concern and fear were clear as day in his tone.
"To the hospital wing, she needs to be taken," I heard Master Yoda instruct before I Obi-Wan worriedly replied as he then wrapped his arms underneath me and carefully lifted me off of the ground. The aching and throbbing at that point had become too much for me and my vision faded to black as I laid in Obi-Wan's arms.
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Here is our freaking Queen rocking that execution arena with a blaster and saber in hand!!! Of course, I personally think she looks better when she is absorbing Force lightning, but that might just be me. Here's also a little sneak peek at Embry who made a brief appearance in this chapter fighting alongside her Padawan bestie!
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A/N:
Holy cow. I don't even know how to feel right now.
That was a really freaking jam packed chapter!!! I mean like almost 20 pages long but I really couldn't leave out anything or find another chapter to put any of this in!!
SERENITY CAN CONTROL FORCE LIGHTNING TOO!!! I bet now you're seeing why I put chapter X in all those chapters ago 😏😏😏
*that moment when everything starts making sense*
Let me know your thoughts and be sure to vote if you enjoyed this chapter :)