It felt like hours to Jo. It could have been for all she knew, but she had no way to keep time. So she just assumed it had been hours. She was so worried she couldn't even clear her head to meditate. Instead she just sat on the soft, moist ground and tried to not think about Leia out there... alone... with Imperial guards.
After a while of failed meditation, she stood with a loud groan. "What's taking them so long!"
Han, who leaned against a tree behind her, stood up straight. "Relax, they'll be here."
Jo turned to him and shook her head. "They should have been here already, Han. At what point are we going to go look for them?" She asked hotly.
Han walked to her to see the fire brimming in her bi-colored eyes. "Where do you suppose we start looking? Huh? You just wanna go in there blind?" He nodded towards the thick forest behind her.
"Those are our people in there, Han!" Jo pointed behind her wildly. "We came looking for you!"
He huffed. "Yeah, it took you six months." He didn't mean anything by it, but it caused Jo's anger to flourish.
"I WAS IN A COMA FOR SIX MONTHS!" She shoved his chest. "I COULDN'T look for you!" Angry tears started to fill her eyes, but she wasn't angry at Han, not really. She was angry at herself for letting Leia go. "Don't you think I would have looked for you if I could have?"
"Hey, hey, okay, hey- Jo-" Han grabbed Jo's upper arms to stop her from trying to shove him again. "I know you would have. You woulda found me a hell of a lot sooner than Lando would have. I know. I didn't mean anything by that."
Jo hiccupped as she looked into Han's deep eyes. "I can't lose her Han." She told him, and she meant it. "If anything happens to her-"
"I know." He pulled her towards him again. "I know, Doll." He rested his chin on her head and held her as tightly as he could without hurting her.
"Oh, General Solo, somebody's coming. Oh!"
Han and Jo pulled away at C-3PO's alert. Instinctively, every scout including Han, Jo and Chewie, raised their blasters. Jo turned in her spot to try and hear any footsteps or twigs snapping. She took a few steps to a large bush that gave a little shake. She aimed her blaster at it and put her finger just over the trigger, ready to fire if necessary. The bush parted and Luke slumped out. He took one look at all the blasters, but instead of putting his hands up, he fell to the ground exhausted.
Jo holstered her weapon as she fell to her knees beside Luke. "Luke, hey, Where's Leia?" She lifted Luke's buckling chin. "Where is Leia?" She repeated eagerly.
Luke looked up at Jo, then all around her as he realized Leia wasn't here. "What? She didn't come back?" He sat up as he looked at every Rebel scout just in case he missed her.
"We thought she was with you." Han told him as he stepped up behind Jo.
"We got separated." Luke admitted.
Jo's shoulders stiffened as she dropped Luke's face and stood to look out into the forest. "She could be anywhere... she could be captured..." Jo's head ran wild with all the possibilities. "We need to find her." She turned to Han, the General of this mission, though she wasn't going to let him stop her this time if he said no.
One look in Jo's eyes, and Han knew what he had to do. He turned towards his Rebel officers and motioned for them. "Take the squad ahead. We'll meet at the shield generator at 0300."
"Yes, General." The Rebel Officers nodded as they began to scout out ahead.
Han turned back to Jo and Luke. "Let's go look for her." Jo gave an exhaustive smile at the man.
Luke stood, though his feet were begging for relief, and motioned for R-2 and C-3PO. "Come on, R-2, we'll need your scanners." R-2 gave a little whistle as he started for Luke.
Jo, Han, Luke, Chewie and the two droids headed in the opposite direction of the Rebel officers.
"Tell us what happened." Jo kept close to Luke as she kept averting her eyes between the ground and Luke.
"We were chasing some Imperial guards-" Luke started. "I hopped off of Leia's speeder onto one of the guard's and knocked him off. She was ahead of me then, and when more guards came up behind us... I lost track of her."
Jo swallowed the ever growing lump in her throat. "But... but you didn't see any explosions or- or hear her scream?"
"I don't know." Luke admitted sorrowfully. "I had my attention on the guards following me."
"You couldn't do-" Jo stopped herself. She looked back to the ground as she tried to clear out her anger. She understood how hectic the situation probably was, but she had been in just as hectic situations and was able to keep an eye on Leia.
"Come on-" Han placed a hand on Jo's tense shoulder. "Let's keep looking." Jo shook his hand off as she pushed forward. She didn't want to be comforted. She wanted Leia back, and she wasn't going to get that by arguing with Luke.
She scavenged the area Leia had taken on her speeder bike. The wreckage left in Leia's wake told her more about what happened than Luke did.
Leia was a true fighter, and that filled Jo with an overwhelming sense of pride. Her best friend, her sister, was a warrior.
She stalled and bent down next to a dead Imperial scout. She rolled him over to make sure Leia wasn't stuck under him. The entire time she prayed to the heavens that she wouldn't find her best friend. When she didn't, she let out a thankful breath and kept on.
The search took hours as they made sure to check between bushes and under fallen trees just in case she was unconscious somewhere.
Jo's feet were starting to swell with all the walking and heat, but she tried to ignore it and focus instead on finding her friend.
She needed to find her. Leia was her security blanket, she was her comfort, her other half. Without her, Jo didn't know who she was and she wasn't ready to find out yet. She still needed Leia. She still wanted Leia.
"Jo! Luke!" Han called out for the two.
Jo snapped over towards the pilot and jumped over the exploded Speeder she was checking out. She ran over to Han to see another wreck sight. Just like the one Jo was checking out, this speeder bike had a large black burnt area around it from where the fire lashed out.
"This isn't good." Jo mumbled as she used her foot to move the bike to check under it. Again, she prayed to the heavens as she moved it.
"There's two more wrecked speeders back there." Luke nodded behind him. "And... I found this." Luke tossed Leia's helmet to Jo. She grabbed it and looked down at it. It was the same stupid helmet she was making fun of earlier. Luke still had his, so it had to be Leia's.
"No..." Tears swelled in Jo's eyes and overflowed instantaneously. "No- this can't be-" Jo held the helmet in one hand as she turned on her heels to look all around her. "LEIA!" She screamed, hoping the princess would hear her. "LEIA ORGANA YOU GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Her throat pulsed under all the sudden weight, but it didn't crack. "Please..." Jo whispered as she looked for any movement in the foliage around them. "This... this can't be happening."
"I'm afraid that R-2's sensors can find no trace of Princess Leia." C-3PO told them sorrowfully.
"No-" Jo's legs gave out, making her fall to her knees. "This isn't happening." She couldn't see anything as her tears blurred her vision.
"Look, there's no body-" Han told her, hoping it'd bring her some comfort. "If she were- well don't you think we'd find her body?"
"Unless the Imperial soldiers took her back to Vader." Jo proposed as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "He- He'll kill her. He will make a public spectacle of her capture and he will execute her in front of the entire galaxy." She squeezed her eyes shut as they stung with fresh tears. "I was supposed to protect her." She whispered to herself.
"You did all you could-"
"I was SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER!" Jo stood and threw the helmet against a tree. The force behind the throw was so hard it cracked upon contact. "I am her guard." Jo poked herself in the chest as she looked at Han. "My entire life has revolved around protecting her and now-"
Chewie gave a low growl to get Jo to stop talking.
The enraged warrior looked at Chewie to lay into him, but she saw him sniffing the air.
"What?" She asked as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "What is it, Chewie?" The others turned to Chewie as well as he started to move towards the smell.
"Chewie?" Han followed after him. As Chewie took off at a sprint, the others picked up the pace to keep up with him. Jo and Han were just behind him, and as they broke through a break in the thick bushes, they spotted a spear sticking up from the ground with a dead animal on the tip.
Chewie approached it first as Jo and Han looked at it warily.
"Hey, I don't get it." Han admitted as he rounded the stake. Chewie continued to sniff at the meat. "Nah, it's just a dead animal, Chewie." Jo walked up to it just as Chewie began to reach for it.
"Chewie, wa-wait! Don't!" Luke tried to stop Chewie, but it proved too late. As Chewie took the meat, a giant net pulled up from under their feet and entrapped them in a giant ball several feet above the ground. Jo groaned as Han's elbows dug into her side and C-3PO's foot pressed into her thigh.
"Great-" She groaned as she pushed against the thick netting. "Leia is either dead or about to be dead and WE'RE STUCK IN THIS STUPID TRAP!" She tried to move her limbs, but either person or net stopped her from moving very far.
"Nice work. Great, Chewie!" Han fueled off of Jo's anger. "Great! Always thinking with your stomach." Chewie gave a regretful howl at the two's anger.
"Will you take it easy?" Luke told both the hotheads. "Let's just figure out a way to get out of this thing." Luke tried to move his hand closer to the lightsaber on his hip, but he couldn't quite reach it. "Han, can you reach my lightsaber?"
"Yeah, sure." Han slipped his hand behind Jo's back and tried to reach out for Luke's saber. "Hey, Doll, can you move just a-"
"Don't you think I would if I could?" Jo asked him sarcastically. They were forced so close together she could see the junk in the corner of Han's eye.
"I was just asking." Han bit back at the angry woman.
"Maybe don't ask stupid questions when we're about to be devoured by some primitive creature!" Jo threw her head back, but it didn't get very far as it hit the net.
"R-2, I'm not sure that's such a good idea. It's a very long dro-" C-3PO didn't finish his thought as R-2 cut through the bottom of the net and set them all free.
The entire group crashed to the hard ground under them. Jo landed on top of Han with a thump. Her knee accidentally hit him in the crouch as his fist punched her in the gut.
"Ugh-" Jo rolled off of Han as she held onto her stomach.
Han clutched onto his manhood as he suddenly became very nauseous. He tilted his head back as he tried to ride through the pain, but as he opened his eyes he spotted the tip of a very sharp spear mere inches from his face. "Wha--? Hey!" He rolled over and swatted the spear away from his face. "Point that thing someplace else."
Jo stood to her knees as she spotted dozens of small, bear-like creatures pointing sharp spears at them. They couldn't have been more than two feet tall, but there were so many of them that it concerned Jo. One of the small creatures inched closer to Jo with his spear pointed directly at her throat. "Don't touch me-" Much like Han, Jo swatted the spear away carelessly. She didn't care who the little warriors were, or how many of them surrounded her. She would not have some mid-century weapon pointed at her threateningly.
The two small little bears were angry by Han and Jo's lack of regard for them, so they stepped forward and pressed their spears even closer.
"Woah-" Jo started for the spear again, but Han beat her out as he grabbed the spear in front of her and grabbed for his pistol at the same time.
"Hey now-" Just as he was about to draw his pistol, Luke stopped him.
"Han, don't. It'll be all right."
"All right?" Jo scoffed as she looked back at Luke. "Look at this. What about this is all right?" She seethed. Jo turned back as she felt a small furry hand on her hip. "Hey!" She tried to swat the hand away, but as she did another one just appeared.
"Let them take it," Luke told her. Jo didn't want to listen to him, but she didn't have much of a choice as the tip of a spear pressed into her throat. "Chewie, give 'em your crossbow." Chewie let out a low growl as he handed over his beloved crossbow.
"Great, now we're weaponless," Jo grumbled at their new circumstances.
"You don't need a weapon," Han told her confidently. "I've seen you take down men in practice with nothing but your hands."
Jo scoffed as she turned her head to look at him. "Those were normal-sized men. These are the size of a dog. What am I supposed to do? Punt them?"
Han snorted at the idea.
"Oh, my head. Oh, my goodness!"
Jo looked back at C-3PO finally freed himself of the net and sat up. As he did, the small creatures saw him and let out a collective gasp. Jo looked at all the small things as they began to talk. Their language was unlike anything Jo had ever heard. The little furbaby closest to C-3PO dropped his spear and fell to his knees as he bowed to the droid.
"What's going on?" She whispered as all the other furries followed suit until they were surrounded by a bunch of chanting, bowing creatures.
"Do you understand anything they're saying?" Luke asked C-3PO.
At the creatures were distracted, Jo stood to her feet and dusted the dirt from her knees and butt.
"Oh, yes, Master Luke! Remember that I am fluent in over six million forms of communication." Jo wanted to roll her eyes at C-3PO's annoying tendency to repeat himself.
"What are you telling them?" Han asked as he stood next to Jo.
"Hello, I think... I could be mistaken." C-3PO looked from the creatures to Han, Jo, and Luke. "They're using a very primitive dialect. But, I do believe they think I am some sort of god." Chewie and R-2 gave out a laugh at the idea of C-3PO being a God... to anyone.
Jo, Luke, and Han exchanged an exaggerated look.
"Great, this is just great," Jo whispered to Han. "So not only are these creatures dangerous but now they placed all their faith in C-3PO? We're doomed."
Han had to agree with Jo. But instead of saying so, he looked back at C-3PO. "Well, why don't you use your divine influence and get us out of this?" He motioned around them.
"I beg your pardon, General Solo, but that just wouldn't be proper," C-3PO told Han.
"Proper?!" Han's anger started to build at C-3PO's lack of want to help.
"It's against my programming to impersonate a deity," C-3PO informed them.
Han stepped around jo as he advanced on C-3PO threatening. "Why you-" A few of the small creatures noticed Han's approaching form and picked up their spears to protect their new God. Han stopped as several spears were suddenly thrust in his face. The creatures moved around Han until they circled him.
"Han..." Jo held out her hand defensively as she slowly approached the circle of creatures. "Don't do anything they might perceive as a threat." She warned him. "So... don't move." She clarified as she realized anything Han did could be seen as threatening.
"My mistake." Han held up his hands to show he meant no harm. "He's an old friend of mine." He explained to the threatening creatures. The creatures stopped chanting to C-3PO as they picked up their spears and circled around the group.
"What are they doing now?" Jo asked as several of the furry woodland creatures closed in on her. One held what she thought was a thick vine in his hairy little paws.
"I think they are going to tie us up." Han guessed.
"Excuse me?" Jo didn't have time for any of it, not when Leia was still out there and needed her. "This is ridiculous-" She grabbed one of the spears in front of her and shook the creature from it. When it wouldn't let go she kicked it back until it fell down.
"Jo- don't-" Luke warned, but she didn't listen.
She twirled the spear around in her hand before she brought it down and knocked it against the other spears pointing at her. She bent down quickly to one foot as she swiped her other leg out to trip the creatures behind her. Still, more came at her and they moved too quick for her to keep them all contained. Before she could knock them down, two lashed their spears out and cut small, shallow slices into her upper arms. She hissed as she turned and used the blunt end of the spear to knock the creatures back.
"Jo- stop-" Han tried to move towards Jo to help her, but the woodland furries closed in their circle so he couldn't escape.
One of the creatures climbed on Jo's back, and she reached behind her, grabbed fistfuls of hair, and yanked him over her shoulder and onto the ground in front of her. Then she rolled forward onto her hands and kicked out behind her to knock another creature down. While she was bent forward, another creature swiped his spear out towards her face. The sharp tip dug into her skin, slicing across her forehead.
"Jo!" Han screamed for her as he saw blood gush down her face.
The hot blood clouded Jo's vision, and she couldn't defend herself as more and more creatures piled on top of her chanting something. She groaned as she tried to wiggle out of their grasp, but soon enough they wrapped the thick vines around her wrists and ankles.
Defeated, Jo let her head fall back as she tried to blink the blood away. It stung her eyes and filled her mouth and nose with a metallic scent.
"Jo... talk to me, are you okay?" Han asked as a creature stepped towards him to tie his wrists. He let it do whatever it wanted as he kept his attention on the bleeding girl.
"Fine sai," she sneered through gritted teeth. "It's not deep."
Han didn't believe her. "It's bleeding."
"Yes, Han, I was cut but I'm telling you that I am-" Jo stopped as the woodland creatures put a long stick between her arms and legs. It took several of the creatures, but together they lifted her up until she was dangling under the stick. "Okay... maybe I'm not fine."
The creatures did the same to the others until they were all hanging from their bound feet and hands. The only one not dangling was C-3PO, who the creatures put on a makeshift throne.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Han muttered to himself as the creatures started to lead them through the forest.
Jo let her head fall back to see Han behind her. "Now is when you have a bad feeling? Not when we were trapped in the net or were surrounded by tiny furry men with spears?" She asked sarcastically.
"Look here, Doll, I know you're angry that we can't find Leia, but don't take it out on me!"
"I'll take it out on whoever I want to!" She screamed back at him. "If you had taken the guard out quietly like Luke told you to, all of this would have been avoided!"
"You don't know that!" Han snapped.
"Oh, right-" She gave a cold laugh. "Because none of this could possibly be your fault, right?" She pulled on her restraints, but they were taut. "I just- want- Leia- back-" The vines only further dug into Jo's skin. Soon they would rub the skin clear off her wrists.
"Jo, calm down. You aren't helping yourself." Luke told her.
"Oh, I'm not helping myself?" She found that entirely too funny. "What about you, Mister Jedi-in-training? Why don't you use some of that magnetic Force you have and get us out of this!" She twisted her wrist too hard to one side and pain exploded up her arm. She gave a low whimper as the pain grew by the second.
"Jo?" Han found himself still concerned for her. Even though her anger was mainly pointed at him, he couldn't blame her. He was angry at himself too, for losing Leia but also for worrying Jo so. "What happened?"
"I think I popped my wrist out of its socket." She told him as she gingerly tested out the mobility of her wrist. Even the slightest movement ricocheted pain up to her elbow. "Yup, it's definitely dislocated."
"Don't move," Han told her. "It will just hurt it worse."
Now all of Jo's anger was replaced with pain. She realized, as her arm throbbed along to the beat of her heart, that she couldn't be angry at anyone other than herself. She was the one supposed to protect Leia, but she was too busy helping Han to watch over her. In the end, she failed her princess, and that realization hurt worse than any dislocated wrist.
"I'm sorry." Jo squeezed her eyes shut as she apologized. "This is my fault. I just- I didn't want to admit that I failed her. My whole life I've kept her safe."
"She's not a weakling, Jo," Luke told her. "Leia is just as strong as you are. She's okay. I can feel it."
That gave Jo a little bit of hope. "Yeah?" She peered her eyes open to see the treetops above her. The sun barely leaked through the thick branches, but it was just enough for her to feel its heat on her skin.
"Yes," Luke promised her. "And we will be okay too. Trust me."
"I do," Jo told him quickly. "Always."
The creatures holding Jo slowed down, and she had to tuck her chin into her chest to look ahead of her. The tops of the trees held wooden houses, and connecting the houses from tree to tree were fragile-looking swaying bridges.
"How are we going to get over there?" Jo asked though she knew it would go unanswered. Or, they sort of answered it, as several of the creatures took a thick rope and swung across the gap to get to the small treetop village. "Woah, how are we supposed to do that with these? Please tell me there's a long way around?" Jo asked, still knowing she would not get an answer.
After one more of the furry, angry creatures crossed the divide, the creatures holding her moved to the left down a flight of stairs.
"Oh thank the stars." Jo let her head fall back in ecstasy. She couldn't let it hang long, as she hit the back of her head on the first step as they walked down. "Ouch-" She lifted her head and made sure to hunch her shoulders closer into her to avoid hitting them too. She looked to the right side to see a far, far drop. Somehow, they had left solid ground and were along the treetops now. Below them- too far for Jo's comfort- was the ground.
The frightening height made Jo dizzy and she had to avert her eyes to the bark of the tree on the other side just to keep herself conscious.
After a few more steps, they reached a flat surface and crossed a bridge to the main huddle of treehouses. At least there Jo couldn't see the floor below them, so she could pretend they were on solid ground.
When they all reached a large hut, the precession stopped and they placed Han over a bed of rocks.
"What's going on?" Jo swiveled her head as they picked her up and set her against the trunk of a tree. Her toes barely scraped the ground but she couldn't quite stand on her own. From her new vantage point she noticed all the other small bears that came from each of the houses. They all looked so different, some were brown and black, some just black or brown, others were peppered grey.
The baby Wookie-looking animals set C-3PO up on a raised podium while the rest were carelessly propped against trees.
Luke stood to Jo's left as Chewie was to her right. R-2 was across the entrance to the main hut behind them.
They all looked as Han hung from his stick in the middle of the huddle.
"I have a really bad feeling about this." He told them as he watched the creatures move around him. Chewie growled his own concern for his partner, and for the rest of them.
Suddenly, all the creatures stopped as an old, gray furry walked out of the big hut. He looked towards Chewie, Luke, and Jo before Han, then slowly he walked over to C-3PO's side.
As the older creature whispered intently to C-3PO, the others filled the bedrock under Han with pieces of cut wood.
"What did he say?" Han asked C-3PO when the old creature stopped whispering. Luke, Jo, and Chewie looked expectantly at the droid.
"I'm rather embarrassed, General Solo, but it appears you are to be the main course at a banquet in my honor."
"What?" Jo shrieked at the idea. "They're going to eat us?" Just the idea made Jo feel faint. The rumble of drums started up and the terrifying sound just made Jo more nauseous. She was going to be a sacrifice. An actual sacrifice to an annoying droid who has basically been the bane of her existence since she met him.
"Leia?"
Han and Luke's voices pulled Jo out of her delirious state.
"No," She moaned. "Leia isn't here!" Jo looked at Luke to see his wide eyes staring at something to the other side of her. Jo turned her head to see Leia in the flesh. "LEIA!" Jo squirmed in her restraints and instantly regretted it as her dislocated wrist screamed at her. She flinched and stopped moving but she kept her eyes on her best friend.
Leia wore a dress made out of some sort of animal skin, and her hair was free of any braid. Now it hung loosely to the small of her back. She looked majestic. But she would have been smeared with oil and spit and Jo would have still found the sight of her mesmerizing.
Leia made a move towards Luke and Jo, mainly Jo as she saw a worrisome amount of blood on her head.
But before she could reach them the small Ewoks raised their spears to stop her. "Oh-" She stopped and looked down at the things she had only just started to understand.
"Your Royal Highness." C-3PO sounded delighted to see Leia again. As did R-2 and Chewie as they bid her their own welcomes.
Leia ignored the droids and Chewie as she looked at the small creatures keeping her from untying Jo. "But these are my friends." She told them as if they'd understand. Maybe they did and they just decided to ignore Jo's questions earlier. "C-3PO, tell them they must be set free." Leia looked up at her droid when the Ewoks wouldn't listen to her.
C-3PO did as she said and told the Ewoks to release the captives, but instead of listening to their supposed deity, they shook their heads and motioned towards the Ewoks putting wood under Han.
The orders must have been bad, as they began to put wood under Han even faster.
Jo gave Leia a worried look to see she was already looking at her.
"Somehow, I got the feeling that didn't help us very much," Han said sarcastically as he let his head fall back to look at Jo. If he were going to die, he'd want to do it looking into her eyes. He just wished she didn't have blood matted in her hair and smeared down half of her face. She looked like she was the one dying instead of him.
"C-3PO, tell them if they don't do as you wish, you'll become angry and use your magic," Luke told C-3PO calmly.
Jo furrowed her brows- but stopped as the cut on her forehead stretched. "What?" She whispered to her blue-eyed companion.
"But Master Luke, what magic? I couldn't possibly-"
"Just tell them." Luke stopped him. C-3PO was hesitant, but ultimately he listened as he relayed the message to the creatures. Jo looked around to see most of the creatures take on a worried tone, but the older Ewok didn't believe C-3PO as he stepped up to him and whispered a challenge to him. Jo looked expectantly at Luke, but his eyes were closed. Jo wondered for a split second what he was doing, but then realized that he chose now to use his force.
"You see, Master Luke; they didn't believe me." Jo looked back at C-3PO to see his entire mini throne lift slowly into the air. C-3PO didn't even seem aware of it as he kept talking. "Just as I said they wouldn't. What-" It was then he seemed to realize what was happening as he began to panic. "What's happening? Oh! Oh, dear!"
Luke's little trick worked as all the Ewoks backed away from C-3PO's floating form in absolute terror. But Luke didn't stop there, he started to spin C-3PO's throne which made the droid break out into a bigger panic.
"Put me down! Help! Master Luke! R-2!" Jo tried not to smile- she didn't want to ruin the illusion- but it was too funny. "Somebody, somebody, help! Master Luke, R-2! R-2, quickly! Do something, somebody! Oh! Ohhh!"
C-3PO's cries seemed to convince the Ewoks as the older, apparent leader of the tribe yelled out at his disciples. The younger creatures listened immediately as they started untying their captives.
As soon as Jo's hands were free she cradled her dislocated wrist against her chest. Still, as soon as she was free she stumbled over to Leia and threw her good arm around her.
"I thought I lost you," she whispered to her Princess.
"Never."
Han and Luke joined in on the hug until they were having a group hug in the middle of the odd creatures. They all kept hugging until Luke pulled away to look at the still screaming, spinning, golden droid. Luke slowly lowered C-3PO back to the ground as R-2 rolled up to him.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh! Thank goodness." C-3PO grabbed his hand to calm himself. It made Jo wonder if he really could get dizzy... since he was technically a robot. He shouldn't be programmed to get dizzy, so it could just be him being over-dramatic.
"Thanks, C-3PO." Luke thanked the helpful droid, though he didn't technically do anything. Luke did all the work.
"I...I never knew I had it in me." C-3PO admitted.
Jo smiled but flinched as Leia raised a hand to touch the cut on her forehead. "What happened?" She asked.
Jo moved her head back to avoid Leia's clammy hands. "One of these little guys got a little too excited with his spear." She hooked her thumb towards the Ewoks.
"Actually, she attacked them and knocked several of them down before they finally overpowered her." Luke corrected her.
Jo gave him a side glance as she simultaneously blocked Leia's third attempt at touching the cut. "They outnumbered me, not overpowered, thank you."
"Either way, we have to clean it... and those two as well," Leia added as she noticed the cuts on both of her arms. "The Ewoks are relatively peaceful, how did you get them to actually hurt you?"
"They wouldn't stop pointing their spears at me, so I got mad." She shrugged. "Who uses spears anyway?" She huffed.
Leia wasn't impressed with her explanation. "Come on, let's go clean you up." She grabbed Jo's hand and led her back into the medical hut she had walked out of before.
Jo stayed quiet as she observed the surroundings in the tent. The Ewok's medical practices were far less advanced than Jo had ever seen, there were no med bots or scanners of any sort. The most medically advanced thing she saw was a thick liquid that she assumed was for burns- or at least she hoped it was for burns.
Jo sat on a cot as Leia dipped a cloth in a bowl of water. After she wrung it out she turned to Jo and lightly scrubbed the dried blood from her face.
"I was really worried about you," Jo admitted as she watched Leia work. "For a second there I thought- I thought that Vader had gotten you or that you had died." She had to force herself to swallow to stop the growing lump in her throat from forming. "I couldn't help but blame myself." She looked up at Leia's serene face. "It would have been my fault if anything happened to you."
"You have to stop putting all the galaxy's problems on your shoulders," Leia told her as she grabbed her chin to keep it steady as she rubbed the cloth over her eyebrow. Jo flinched as the motion pulled on the wound. "I chose to get on the speeder and follow those Imperial guards. You couldn't have stopped me if you tried."
"But I could have gone with you." Jo proposed.
"If you truly want to be free of your decoy duties, I have to prove that I can take care of myself." Leia paused her cleaning to meet Jo's eyes. "I won't always have you to protect me, Jo, no matter how much you wish I did." Jo gave a sad smile at the realization. "But that's a good thing-" Leia placed her free hand on Jo's shoulder as she went back to cleaning. "It means you raised me well." Both Jo and Leia laughed at that.
When the blood was clear of every other surface save for around the wound, Leia started to very gently dab at the wound.
"You're never this gentle," Jo told her friend. "This isn't like you."
"Should I be offended?" Leia laughed.
"No... it's just different." She noted. "I like it." She closed her eyes as she let Leia take care of her for once.
With a clean wound, Leia got a look at how deep the cut was, and how long it was. The cut itself was about the length of Leia's pinky and just deep enough that she thought it might scar.
"Well?" Jo asked as Leia analyzed it for a full minute.
"You'll live."
"Whew, good. You were starting to scare me for a second." She joked as Leia turned to grab a small bit of tape. She wasn't sure what the Ewoks used it for- or where they found it- but she would utilize it. She placed the tape over the cut just so it wouldn't open any further and bleed again.
After the cut on her face was better, she focused on each of Jo's arms.
"Is now a bad time to tell you I also dislocated my wrist?" Jo asked.
Leia paused and gave a long, exhausted sigh. "Why am I not surprised?" She asked. She left Jo as she ventured out of the tent. Jo didn't know what to do, so she merely sat on the cot and waited patiently. It took only a few minutes before Leia came back in Han in tow. "I'm not putting it back in," Leia told her. "Have Han do it."x
"Woah, put what back where?" Han held up his hands as he stopped by the door. Jo gave him a dry look as she raised her purple, swelling hand. The round bone at the end of her arm had shifted and caused the entire area around it to bubble up until her hand lost all dainty-ness. "Woah-" Han's eyes widened as he saw the size of her wrist. "You want me-" Han looked at Leia. "To fit that?" He pointed at Jo's raised wrist.
Leia nodded as she helped Jo take off her poncho. "If you could... yeah." When she was just in her long-sleeved black shirt Leia began to clean the cuts in her bicep, starting with the good arm as she waited for Han to fix her wrist.
Jo looked expectantly to Han who had yet to move from his post by the door. "Just do it," she told him curly. "I can take it."
Han's face blanched at the mere thought. "Sure, yeah, yeah you can take it." He gulped as he moved closer to her on the cot. "What about me?" His eyes moved between her wrist to her gaze. "This'll scar me for life."
She held her hurt wrist up for him to grab. He gingerly grabbed it, careful not to pull it or shift it in any way. "Poor you," she deadpanned. "Can you just shove it back in place so it can stop hurting?"
Leia paused her cleaning to hand Leia the belt from her abandoned outfit. "Bite on this so you don't cut your own tongue off."
Jo grimaced as she took the belt and folded it in half. "Thanks..." she looked at the leather belt. She let out a breath before fitting the folded straps between her teeth. She bit into them to keep the belt in place then she looked at Han. She met his eyes and nodded.
Han winced as he grabbed Jo's forearm with his right hand. He placed his palm against Jo's palm and held onto her hand around her thumb. He let out a quick breath before he jerked Jo's hand in one direction and her arm in the other to straighten the alignment out.
Jo let out a muffled scream as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her face instantly turned red under the pressure of the pain. A single tear fell from her right eye and cascaded down her cherry chek.
"Ah, I'M SORRY!" Han screamed as he forced Jo's hand back until he felt it align with the bone in her arm. When it felt stable he released his hold on her and dropped her hand.
She let out a cry as she pulled her hand to her chest and cradled it. She spit the belt out but didn't say anything right away.
Han looked all around her face. "Come on, say something." Her eyes were still closed and she had grown extremely pale after the red tint faded.
"I might throw up." She admitted.
"Don't do that yet," Leia told her as she wrapped the sleeve of her shirt around the cleaned wound on her arm. "We need to put a splint on it."
Jo opened her red eyes as she groaned. "No-" The thought of a splint made her woozy. "It's fine-"
"You don't want to hurt it any further. This is the only way to keep that from happening." Leia was entirely too logical for Jo's taste. But... she knew the Princess had a point.
"I'll be down to one shooting hand. I'll be at half capacity. That's practically useless." She told Leia to try and persuade her.
"You can still outshoot any of us with just one hand." Leia wasn't buying into it as she moved around Jo's legs to tear her other sleeve off. Just like the other arm, she poured some clean water down Jo's arms to wash out any dirt or sweat that accumulated in the cut. When it was clean, she used the sleeve as a wrap to stop the cut from bleeding excessively. "Han, find me something stiff, like a flat board or a metal rod, anything I can use to keep Jo's arm and wrist straight."
Han nodded and turned in the medical hut to try and find something like Leia described. He picked up something he thought looked solid, but it jiggled in his grasp and he dropped it back to the place he found it. He kept looking as Leia tightened the wraps on each of Jo's arms to make sure they would keep out any dirt. The last thing she wanted was for Jo to get an infection from a small cut.
When the cuts were taken care of she grabbed a worn blanket from the cot and cut over several strips of it.
"Will this work?" Han showed her a thin piece of metal. It was just thin enough to start to bend, but could still keep straight if it was bound by something.
"It will have to do." Leia took it and placed it along the side of Jo's arm. As the cool metal touched the swelled wrist, Jo gave a low hiss.
"Careful." She warned, but Leia didn't heed her warning as she pressed the metal into Jo's arm. With the rod pressed against the side of her arm, Leia used the strips of blanket to wrap around her arm and rod to keep them pressed closely together. She placed the end of the strip of the blanket to Jo's inner arm and wrapped it tightly around her arm and the metal rod until she reached her wrist. Carefully, she wrapped it between each finger then secured it by tucking the other ending the wrap. She used more of the tap and wrapped three pieces around Jo's arm about two inches apart just to keep the material in place.
"This is a bit ridiculous," Jo said as she held up her casted arm. "I can't eve-" She tried to bent her pointer finger like she was pulling a trigger, but she could barely get the motion. "It's basically useless." She pouted.
"You still have the other hand." Leia wasn't the least bit sympathetic.
Jo huffed and stood from the cot. She looked down at her splinted hand with distaste. It still throbbed, and now the extra material made it feel noticeably heavier than before.
"Guys-" Luke popped his head into the hut. "C-3PO says the... things want us in the Chief's hut for some sort of... induction?"
"What?" Han asked.
"I'm not sure, but C-3PO seemed to think it was important. We should go just in case." Luke's eyes flitted over to Jo. "Are you okay?"
"Dandy." Jo gave a smile as she raised her casted arm. "Perfect." Leia rolled her eyes at Jo's dramatic behavior. She knew the girl pretty well, and it was because of that that she knew Jo somehow deserved the wounds- not that Leia ever thought Jo deserved to get hurt. She just knew that Jo could strike out before offering up peace sometimes. Usually, it ended with her getting a few bruises, this time it was some cuts and a dislocated wrist.
Luke lead the rest of the crew to the hut next to the one they were in.
As they stepped in, Han had to bend his head down as the ceiling was far too short for him. Leia and Jo, who were almost a whole foot shorter than Han, had absolutely no problem standing in the hut.
There was a fire in the middle that provided enough heat that Jo had to avert her dry eyes.
The four of them stood against one of the far back walls with Chewie. C-3PO was at the front, midway into a story that had every last Ewok on the tips of their toes.
Since he was speaking in their native tongue, Han, Chewie, Luke, Leia, and Jo had no idea what he was talking about. The only clues they got were the sound effects he gave. There were a few blaster sounds, what Jo thought was maybe a lightsaber hitting another lightsaber. Then, Jo could understand some names, their names. C-3PO told the Ewoks all about their adventures across the galaxy, even mentioning Darth Vader, Ob-Wan Kenobi, and Jo by her name rather than Leia's.
Jo realized that was the first time she heard C-3PO say her real name. It was weird coming from him. It was all hard sounds instead of soft as Han says it. Or maybe she was just biased because it was Han.
R-2 gave out a high-pitched whistle that cut through C-3PO's story. The golden droid looked down at his silver and blue friend as he said, "Yes, R-2, I was just coming to that." Then he turned back to the lead Ewok and went back to his story. Again, Jo could only make out a few names: Millennium Falcon, Han Solo, Carbonite.
As he told the story, Jo leaned her head against Han's shoulder. She turned her head into him ever so slightly so she could smell burnt wire and oil on top of the smoke from the fire.
Just as she lost herself in Han's scent, a rumble spread among the Ewoks.
Jo pulled herself away as she watched the small furry creatures talk to one another. Then, when the Chief Ewok nodded, one Ewok banged on a set of drums and all the Ewoks stood to give their cheers and shouts.
"What's going on?" Han asked as he pushed off the wall.
"I have no idea," Jo admitted as she straightened herself up as well.
"Wonderful!" C-3PO expressed excitedly as he turned towards his human masters. "We are now a part of the tribe." Jo's eyebrows rose as several of the small Wookie-looking monsters ran up and wrapped their tiny arms around her thighs.
"Oh-" She put her hands on the top of their head and tried to politely push them away. "Okay... great." Jo looked over desperately at Han to see he had several Ewoks hugging him as well. He met Jo's gaze with one of equal discomfort.
"Just what I always wanted." As one of the Ewoks tried to jump up to hug Han, he gave a hearty chuckle. "Well, short help is better than no help at all." Jo had to smile at Han's perspective.
"He says the scouts are going to show us the quickest way to the shield generator," C-3PO told Han and Jo. Chewie let out a loud growl of approval as he was surrounded by several rather rambunctious Ewoks. More than ever, Jo thought the tiny furbabies looked like miniature versions of Chewie. Maybe that was why they were so fascinated with them. Jo thought they could be distant relatives. Very distant... but still.
Jo turned to share her thoughts with Leia but noticed the spot next to her was empty. She looked around the hut but couldn't find Leia or Luke.
"Good. How far is it? Ask him." Han ordered C-3PO. Jo looked back to Han and C-3PO. She wouldn't worry about Luke and Leia now. They were mature enough to handle themselves. "We need some fresh supplies, too," Han added. "And try and get our weapons back." C-3PO tried to turn to translate it all to the Chief, but Han pulled him back again. "And hurry up, will ya? I haven't got all day."
"Han-" Jo put her good hand on Han's arm. She pulled it gently off of C-3PO. "You have to give him a chance to actually translate it."
"Right-" Han dropped his hand and turned all of his attention back on Jo. "How's your hand?" He asked as he looked down at the awkward bandaging. The gray cloth Leia used looked dingy and well worn past its prime. But it didn't have to be clean, it just had to keep Jo's wrist stiff.
"It's fine." She shook her head as she put her hand behind her back and looked up at Han. "I... I actually wanted to tell you that I'm-" Jo let out a breath as she tried to get the words out. "I'm sorry... for directing all my anger towards you earlier." She looked between his eyes to see the fire dancing in them. She thought they never looked so alive. "I was angry at myself but I... I used you as an outlet and that's not fair."
"It's okay." Han shrugged it off, but Jo didn't agree.
"No, it's not." She told him sternly. "I think I did because... because I helped you when I should have been looking after Leia." Jo lowered her gaze to Han's chest as she tried to work through her feelings. "I have to find a new way to balance everything. It's not just Leia I want to keep safe anymore." She shook her head slowly. "I-" Han put his hand under Jo's chin and raised it to look into her eyes. "I want you safe." She told him gently. "I want to keep you safe." Han gave a crooked, handsome smirk as he ran his thumb along Jo's chin, then he slowly slipped his hand down to cradle the side of her neck.
Tingles buzzed just below the surface as Jo let herself succumb to Han's touch.
"I want to keep you safe too." He whispered to her. Jo closed her eyes as she fell into ecstasy at his words. It was the closest he's ever come to telling her he loved her. She never needed him to say the words, she was secure enough in their relationship that she didn't have to hear him say it to know he felt it. But... it was still nice.
"I need to go talk to Leia." Jo reached up and gingerly wrapped her fingers around Han's wrist. Begrudgingly, she pulled his hand from her neck and lowered it. "Don't go too far, Rescuer."
Han gave another crooked grin. "Wouldn't dream of it."
With his promise, Jo left the heat of the Chief's hut for the sanctuary of the cool night. While it wasn't anywhere near freezing, there was just a bit of a tinge to the air that cooled the sweat along Jo's neck.
Jo found Leia alone, under the protection of the night sky. She looked around for Luke as she approached Leia, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Leia?" Jo called out warily for her friend. "Leia, what is it?" She asked as she saw Leia's shoulders shake.
Leia turned towards Jo so the girl could see the red of her teary eyes. Jo stilled as she realized Leia was actually crying. "It's Luke..."
"What about him? Where is he?" Once again, Jo looked around for the blue-eyed farm boy.
"Gone." Leia let out a whimper. J
o snapped her head back to Leia. "Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"Did you know?" Leia didn't answer Jo's question. Jo's eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion at Leia's question. "Did you know?" She repeated.
"Know what?"
"That Luke is my brother?"
Jo lost all her breath at that. Her head spun as she tried to put all the small puzzle pieces together. "How-" Jo stopped herself from asking. "That doesn't-" Again, she couldn't finish her thought. Nothing made sense. Jo had known Luke for two years. She would have known if he was Leia's brother. The two looked nothing alike... they were polar opposites... but they were raised by entirely two different families on different planets with different responsibilities.
"Jo!"
"No!" She shook her head as she looked between Leia's red eyes. "I... I had no idea, I swear." She stepped towards Leia and grabbed her hands. "How does Luke know? How can he be sure?"
"He told me that.." Leia didn't know if she should say, but it was Jo. She told Jo everything. "You asked Luke on the flight here how he was endangering the mission. You asked why Vader had a vendetta against him." Jo nodded though Leia never asked a question. "Vader can sense Luke because... because he is Luke's father." Again, Jo's entire world flipped at the life-altering news. Luke Skywalker... the sweet, considerate farm boy who convinced Han to rescue Leia and herself before he even knew them... was the son of the notorious Sith Lord.
"That doesn't make sense, Leia." Jo didn't want it to be true. She didn't want any of it to be true.
"Darth Vader... is my father."
"No-" Jo told Leia strongly. "You are nothing like him." She squeezed Leia's trembling hands.
"It's true, Josephine." Jo stopped at the use of her full name. "I can feel it." She stressed.
Jo's hands loosened around Leia's. "Feel... it?" Leia nodded. Jo licked her lips as she tried to wrap her brain around all the new information. "You mean, like how Luke can feel Vader? Like how I can feel Vader? And Luke?" Leia nodded again. "So you- you're like Luke, then? You have the Force?"
"Luke thinks so. He says the Force is strong in our family. Darth Vader... him... me." Jo raised her gaze to the stars. The idea of someone so menacing creating two of her favorite people troubled her. She despised Vader, she hated everything he stood for that she desperately wished it wasn't true. "He told me something else." Jo looked back down at her. "Luke thinks you have the Force too." Jo let out a laugh. She couldn't help it, Leia had told her so many ridiculous, unbelievable things, she could only take soo much. "He told me he saw you levitating when you were meditating with him." Jo's startled giggle didn't stop. She couldn't stop it even if she wanted to.
"That's just-" Jo gave another string of uncomfortable laughter. She had to let go of Leia's hands to cover her aching stomach. "That's not possible." She decided.
"You've said it yourself, Jo, you can sense Vader and Luke. You were able to talk to Luke through the Force."
"I don't know how I was able to do that," Jo admitted. "And for the-the levitating thing, maybe he was mistaken. Maybe he thought he saw something but he was wrong." Jo tried to make up excused, she wanted to poke holes in the story because that was easier than believing it.
Leia gave Jo a wary look. She knew it was all too much, she thought the same thing when Luke told her everything, but she somehow knew he was telling the truth. Everything he told her, she somehow knew, deep down inside her, her entire life.
Jo turned away from Leia. She gripped onto the vine railing on the bridge and looked up to try and spot the stars through the treetops. She never found comfort in the stars, not with how much she travels, but right now she couldn't look in Leia's eyes. Not after everything she just learned.
"Jo..."
"Just... give me a minute," Jo asked her.
Leia nodded and decided to leave her alone so she could process everything at her own pace.
Jo closed her eyes as Leia left, and she didn't open them again.
Not only did she learn that Luke and Leia were siblings... and connected to Darth Vader, but now she questioned... everything from her past.
She thought Senator Organa told her of the old Jedi knights because he found their training to be inspirational and their views on the balance intriguing. But what if he told her to try and get her to harness her own powers. What if everything she thought she knew was just an elaborate plan to get her to show her own force abilities.
Senator Organa didn't want to share inspiring stories with her, he wanted her to use the Force to better protect his daughter.
The one thing she had with the Senator, and now it was tainted.
Jo opened her eyes just as a tear fell down her cheek. She didn't even try to wipe it away. She knew it would be useless, another one would just fall in its place, and another one after that, and another after that.
"Jo?" Han's soothing voice shouldn't have made Jo jump, but it did. "What's wrong?" He asked as he approached her slowly. As soon as Leia came back into the hut with rosy cheeks he knew something must have happened. And when Jo didn't come back in with her, he went to find her.
"Everything's changed." Jo's voice cracked pathetically. "It's all different now."
"What is?" He asked as he stopped by her side. He looked at her profile: at her button nose that turned up slightly at the tip, her plump lips that were redder from her biting them, her wobbling chin as she tried to keep from crying out.
"All of it." She looked back to the sky. Maybe she kept looking to the stars because they were still the same. They hadn't changed, or at least she hoped not.
"What do you need?" Han asked her. He didn't know how to help and he hated himself for it.
Jo gave a desperate laugh at how considerate Han was being. It was entirely like him and just further proved that nothing was the same. "Just... hold me." She turned to him and crumbled into his chest.
Even as he held her up, Jo could slowly feel the world around her dissolve. A new world was building up around her and she didn't know what it would entail... or if she would survive it.