Assassin (A Star Wars Fan-Fiction) Book 1

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

By the time Anakin had said good-bye to his mother, they were all packed and ready to leave. Denali quickly slung her backpack over her shoulder as they started running down the streets. Jessa, Jar Jar, Padme, R2, and Master Jinn lead the way. Anakin kept lagging behind because he couldn't run as fast as them, so Denali would slow down and wait for him to catch up. But then so did Obi-Wan. Denali was sure he was only doing that to get on her nerves, but she pretended not to notice.

"Hurry, Anakin! We need to go!" Qui-Gin shouted from the front of the group. Denali stopped running and took off her backpack.

"Hey, Kenobi." Obi-Wan turned around at the sound of Denali saying his name. "Catch." She's aid as she tossed him her bag. He caught it in his hands as she knelt down on her knees. He looked at her, confused.

"What are you doing?" Obi-Wan asked her.

"Ani, get on my back." She said. Anakin did what she said and climbed onto her back, she put her hands behind his knees so that he wouldn't slip off. Obi-Wan knew exactly what she was doing as he carried her backpack and his own.

"I could've carried him." Obi-Wan said to her as they raced after the group.

"I can handle it, Padawan Kenobi." She spat at him, her speed not changing with the added weight on her back. Obi-Wan actually seemed to be falling behind as the crowds in the street began to thin out. Denali looked behind them, making sure they weren't being followed. But her hopes had been diminished.

"Are you still mad about that? I told you I was-"

"Obi-Wan! Get down!" Denali shouted as red blasts of plasma zoomed by their heads. Obi-Wan ducked, so did Denali and Anakin. Clouds of dust blew past them as the the shots rained down. After a sudden pause, they started running again. Denali looked up, realizing that they'd had completely lost Master Jinn and the rest of the group.

"The Seperatists must've brought their droids to hunt us down!" Obi-Wan shouted over the sound of the blasts. He quickly pulled out his lightsaber, deflecting the shots the droids sent at them as he continued to sprint beside Denali and Anakin. The people in the streets screamed and fled into the buildings that surrounded the road.

"Really? Are you sure about that?" Denali shouted back sarcastically. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes as he deflected even more shots. The droids were gaining on them, and Denali knew it. They dived behind a large stack of crates to take cover from the showers of sparks that was pouring down on them. Denali set Anakin down and ignited her white-bladed lightsaber. Anakin's eyes went wide as. He gazed at the beam.

"Obi-Wan, take Anakin to the ship! I'll hold the droids back as long as I can! Then I'll meet you back at the ship!" She shouted, deflecting a few more blasts. The red plasma ricocheted off of the lightsaber blade and into one of the droids, causing it to explode.

"No! I'm not leaving you behind!" Obi-Wan shouted.

"Yes! You! ARE!" Denali shouted back at him, then jumped into the action. She ran over to the droids, her boots kicking up dust, dodging and slicing them into pieces. Obi-Wan hesitated for a second, deciding what to do.

"Come on, Kenobi! She gave us an order! A good Jedi does what he knows is right!" Anakin shouted, pulling Obi-Wan back into the reality of the situation. They both stood up and began to run. Obi-Wan didn't look back. He couldn't, he knew that if he did he'd return to her. But that was the last thing she wanted.

Denali fought valiantly, gracefully destroying each droid with ease. It was a few minutes before Denali had gotten rid of all of them, but she had done it without getting herself shot. She smirked, proud of her work as she returned her lightsaber to her belt, then began to run after Obi-Wan who was no doubt already at the ship.

Denali ran, faster than she had ever ran before in her life. Faster than she had ran the night before. The pain her stomach that she had developed this morning returned, but she ignored it. Once she reached the outskirts, she could see a large ridge that over-looked a large amount of the desert. She made her way towards it, hoping that she would be able to locate the ship from there. Denali climbed up the rocks, not knowing that she wasn't the only one on the ridge.

"Hello, Denali." a voice said as she made it to the top, getting to her feet. She looked up, not surprised of the figure standing before her. The red skin, the black tatoos, the yellow eyes. Zeffan hadn't changed one bit since they were kids. His black Sith robes covered most of his body, like a Jedi robe would.

"Zeff? Is that really you? What are you doing here? How's Danik?" Denali asked as she approached him. Zeffan just chuckled.

"I don't go by that name anymore. I am now more commonly known as Darth Maul, ever since I became a Sith Apprentice." he said, his eyes widening as if he were a hunter, hungrilly watchin his prey.  Denali took a step back, her hand on the hilt of her blade.

"What about Danik? Is he alright?" Denali asked.

"Danik is fine. Great, even. Ever since Zendy was jailed, he's been the leader of the Rancor Slayers. Even after everything that had happened and is happening, he's been really happy."

"What about Gerg? Is he doing good, too?" she asked.

"He's....well.....He hasn't truly forgiven Danik for what he did to you. In fact, many of the Rancor Slayers have been doubting his leadership abilities since." Maul chuckled. "Danik really hates you for what you did to damage his reputation. The group hasn't gotten many bounties since you left. And I think we both know what the lack of bounties means to the group."

"No money, no food or water." Denali said sadly, realizing just how critical the situation was for her brother. "How many people have joined?"

"Three, I think. It's been awhile since the last time I spoke with him."

"That's good. The more members, I mean. Not the lack of communication." Denali added quickly. Maul just chuckled evilly again.

"You know, I was just watching your friends. Would you like to see them?" Maul asked as he handed Denali a pair of binoculars. She hesitantly took them, then held them to her eyes. She looked out over the desert, then saw the ship.

"Do you see them yet?" Zeffan asked.

"Yes, I see my ship. I see Obi-Wan-"

"You mean that idiot that took you from us." Zeffan scoffed.

"He's not an idiot! He did the right thing by taking me from you guys. I've never been so happy in my life as a Jedi." Denali said as she glared at Zeffan. He chuckled again.

"Really? Because I've been watching you.....closely. And it seems that you and Padawan Kenobi have been having some issues lately." he said with a smirk.

"I'll admit, we haven't been getting along. But he and Master Jinn still did the right thing by taking me away." Denali defended. Zeffan glared at her as he put his hand on the hilt of his double-bladed lightsaber. He pulled it out, igniting both his red blades. He grinned as he twirled them.

"I'm the first Sith you've encountered, aren't I?" he asked evilly. Denali took another step back, tossing the binoculars to the side. She pulled out her lightsaber, the white blade buzzing to life.

"Actually, Zendy was the first." Denali said with a smirk. Maul shouted in anger, then attacked.