Assassin (A Star Wars Fan-Fiction) Book 2

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

 The three ran into the hangar, lightsabers ready for whatever they were about to discover. Standing there, the hilt of his lightsaber hanging by his side, an evil smirk on his lips, was Count Dooku. Denali glared at him, remembering all the horrible things she had seen in the earlier battle in the arena. All the death and destruction. Count Dooku, the man before her at that very second, had been the cause of that.

"Welcome, Jedi friends." the sith before them said with a fake smile.

"You'll pay for the lives you've taken today. Dooku." Denali said through clenched teeth. He just chuckled.

"Look at how blind you are, Denali. Can't you see we're on the same side here?"

"All I see is that you have alot of blood on your hands at the moment." Denali spat back.

"Now, now, Denali. No need to be...." Dooku lifted up both his palms, Force-strangling Anakin and Obi-Wan. The two immediately fell to their knees, clawing at their necks, trying to be rid of the invisible grip around their throats. Denali's heart skipped a beat and she looked back at Dooku, glaring at him. He just smiled. "....unreasonable."

"What do you want, Dooku?" she asked, nearly begging. "What do you want from me that has caused you to play one of the most pathetic cards in the book?" Dooku smirked at her, lifting the two men up into the air. They dangled there, trying to stay concious as their need for oxygen grew more and more intense. Obi-Wan and Denali made eye-contact.

'What he wants, don't do it.' Obi-Wan thought to her, even though his lungs were on fire.

"Stop it!" Denali shouted and was about to lung at him, her lightsaber ignited in her hands, when his evil smile grew wider. That made her stop in her tracks, knowing that moving would mean something horrible for her best friend and secret husband.

"Den....al....i..." Anakin gasped, his face flinching in pain. "Don't....do....it..."

"Take one more step, and I snap their necks. Such a horrible way to die, especially for your two closest friends. What do you think they would do if they were in your place? You know that they'd cooperate. At least Padawan Skywalker would." Dooku warned. Denali stood up straight, taking a deep breath. She needed to stay calm if she wanted to get the two jedi out of this alive. She looked over at them again, trying her hardest not to panic as their faces began to turn purple. She hated seeing them suffer, she needed to put an end to it.

"What do you want?! I'll do anything, just let them go!" Denali said, tossing her lightsaber to the side. Dooku continued to grin, then slammed the two jedi against the hard wall. Their skulls hit the stone with a loud THUD, then they slumped to the floor. Denali wanted to run to them, to help them, to make sure they were alive. But her feet weren't working. She tried to move, but she realized she was in Dooku's grasp. He lifted her up with the Force and spun her around in the air to face him.

"You are a very powerful jedi, and a smart one as well." he complimented. The pieces fell into place.

"You knocked them out so they wouldn't hear what you have to say." Denali said, realization in her voice. Dooku nodded with a sly grin.

"Very smart, indeed. But that is only part of my plan. Not hearing what I have to say is just a bonus to this plot." he stated. She rolled her eyes.

"Get to the point, Dooku." she snarled.

"Like I said before, you are very strong. I need more people like you committed to my cause."

"What makes you think I would join you?" Dooku pressed a button on his wrist-comm, two astromech droids rolled out of the small ship he would escape in. They each had a small syringe sticking out of the front of them. Denali's heart was beating rapidly in her chest as they approached her two best friends.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"My droids are installing micro-chips into the back of their necks. With one press of this button-" Dooku pointed to his wrist-comm. "Your friends will immediately be electricuted to death."

"Why not just kill us all now?" Denali asked him.

"Because, if I use them as hostages, then you'll have a reason to join me. If you don't, I'll activate the chips. And their deaths will be on your hands. Unless...." he trailed off. Denali could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she watched the droids install the chips. Within seconds, they had finished their jobs and were rolling back into Dooku's ship. She closed her eyes, nodding, letting the sith know she understood.

"I...." she looked at her husband, his body laying flat on the floor. This battle had been way shorter than she had thought it would've been. Obi-Wan would never forgive her if she went through with this. Anakin would be even less forgiving. But she had to do it, otherwise they both would die. She couldn't lose them. Not Anakin. And definately not Obi.

"I'll join you, Dooku." she said, her tears dripping down her cheeks and landing on the stone floor. Dooku smiled as he released her. She landed on the ground, her knees bent, her face covered in shame. But no regret. She would never regret this decision if it ment that Anakin and Obi-Wan would live to fight another day.

"Come, we have much to discuss." Dooku said, gesturing to his ship as he used the Force tp retrieve her lightsaber and handed it back to her. It felt heavy in her hands, like a weight that would forever be hers to bare. She looked back at the two bodies laying on the ground just as she was about to walk up the landing ramp.

"Den.....Denali..?" Anakin moaned, his head in pain. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, his master not yet awake. Denali smiled and let out a puff of air, relieved that her friend was alive and unharmed. But her happiness was short-lived as Dooku whispered in her ear.

"Get into the ship, or your friends die."

That certainly caught her attention. Anakin looked over at her as Dooku ignited his lightsaber, creating a barrier between the woman and the now-waking man. Denali looked at Anakin with pleading eyes as his filled with darkness, betrayal. Tears dripped down her cheeks again and Anakin realized that she had know choice.

"Denali!" Anakin shouted as the doors slid closed and the ship began to lift through the air. "NO!" he fell to his knees, despair filling his heart just as Obi-Wan began to stir. He watched as the ship disappeared from sight, flying out into the atmosphere. Obi-Wan groaned, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"Anakin?" he asked.

"He took her, Master. He took her."