Until the end... (Invite)

[Neutrino]

Anami was pushed out of the cool darkness and into the harsh, blinding sunlight. She stumbled forward and then fell, as controlled as possible, into the dry and dusty dirt. Inside, the little Sephi was cursing the shackles around her ankles and wrists.

The door through which she had been pushed into the giant, deafening arena, closed behind her.

Struggling to her feet, Anami took in the the jeering crowd that filled the stands. She was completely surrounded by the yelling, laughing, and pointing. And she wasn't the only one. Within the large, circular pit stood three other women. Each was just as different and beautiful as herself, each was shackled, and each was dressed in ridiculous outfits that showed off their assets.

One seemed to be a rather scared looking human. She was young, maybe 20, and crying her eyes out. This woman didn't even bother to move from the ground.

Another woman was a Twi'lek. She was on her feet and looking around wildly. Anami had the feeling that this woman had been here before. Whereas the human and herself were completely unprepared.

Then there was the Zabrak woman. She was taller than all of them and she seemed well muscled. Anami tried to not let this bother her. But when the Zabrak's eyes came to rest on Anami's face, Anami shivered. The Zabrak was smiling.

Yes, this Zabrak had definitely been here before.

Then there was a loud voice being amplified above the crowd's. "Welcome, welcome!" It called out in basic before being reiterated in Huttese. "It is another sunny day here in this wasteland and it is a perfect day for another battle to the death!" The crowd cheered.

Anami was supposed to battle to the death?

"We have here four beautiful ladies for your enjoyment!" Anami was sickened. "There are keys in the center of the arena! These keys can get them out of those chains! But they must be careful! The closer to the keys, the closer they are to each other!" Anami's eyes were already searching for these keys. To her disappointment though, the Zabrak was already halfway to the center. "And only one is allowed to leave this arena alive!" Then the human was up and running toward the center as well. She tripped and fell on her way there, crying the whole way. "Weapons have been dispersed at random for their use! Now let's enjoy the show!" The crowd roared its agreement.

Anami's eyes searched for one of these weapons. Nearby she saw a heavy looking axe. Glancing at her opponents, she went for the axe.

The Twi'lek seemed to have the same plan as Anami. The human, meanwhile, had just reached the center. This human was awfully close to the Zabrak who was already freeing herself of the shackles. The human was trying different keys clumsily as the Zabrak slowly approached, chains wrapped tightly in her hands.

Anami was sitting down with her legs out in front of her. She was lifting the axe to bring it down on the chains connecting her ankles. She struck the chains with all the force she had. The vibrations stung her hands and ankles, but the chain was barely affected. Anami lifted the axe again.

On the other side of the arena, the Twi'lek had found a small battery powered saw. She was already applying this saw to her own chains.

The Zabrak woman was slowly choking the human to death. Chains tightly dug into the human's soft neck. Her tears didn't seem to want to stop.

Anami brought the axe down with a new sense of urgency. Her panicked swing almost caused her to chop her own foot off. Focusing, she brought up the axe again. With her next swing, she made progress. The chain was definitely damaged.

The Twi'lek, however, had her feet free and was already working on the chains around her wrists. The human was dead. The Zabrak was looking for a good weapon, unfortunately in Anami's direction.

The crowd was going nuts and Anami heard vulgar statements that she had never thought to comprehend before. She focused on bringing the axe down again. One or two more blows and then Anami's feet would be freed from each other. She glanced up to see the Zabrak going for a weapon that luckily took her away from Anami. The Twi'lek however was edging around the arena now, getting closer to Anami.

Anami brought the axe down on her chains again, worrying about how she would be able to break the chains on her wrists. This method would not work on them. Then suddenly the Twi'lek was running at Anami, power saw spinning violently. Anami felt her heart jump into her throat and she suddenly rolled away to dodge the blades that the Twi'lek swung while running past.

The axe lay abandoned in the dust.

Anami began to crawl back toward the axe, but then the Twi'lek was coming back around.

"Wait!" Anami called out to the Twi'lek, "We don't have to fight!" But Anami could see the fear in the Twi'lek's eyes. She could see that the Twi'lek would not listen. Anami's finger's tightened around the handle of the axe.

And then there was a scream. Blood sprayed. And the Twi'lek fell, a spear in her back. Anami wiped the blood from her face. The Zabrak continued to approach slowly, confidently. Then Anami brought the axe down one last time. Finally, she was free to move her legs.

She got to her feet, not realizing how much she was shaking. Anami was no killer. She was barely a fighter. She had always been a runner. Grabbing the power saw from the dead Twi'lek's hands, she began to back away from the Zabrak. Her heart pounded in her chest and she glanced all around for a way to escape. None could be found.

The crowd cheered the Zabrak on excitedly. Obviously she was a crowd favorite. This was all just a slaughter. There was no way anyone had expected her to live. It was sick and cruel. But for some reason Anami found herself feeling sorry for the Zabrak. This woman had probably been forced into the same fate as Anami. At least this Zabrak had mastered her fate.

The Zabrak continued to approach her slowly. She was weaponless, by choice, Anami was sure. The crowd probably loved it. This Zabrak probably got better scraps of food if she killed Anami with her bare hands.

The small Sephi continued to back away slowly.

And then suddenly the Zabrak was sprinting toward her. Anami swung the saw at the Zabrak. It was awkward since her wrists were still connected. The saw still made contact. Blood was flung away by the spinning blades, but it was just a flesh wond and it barely phased the Zabrak, who was grabbing onto Anami's arms.

Anami aimed a kick at the larger woman. The Zabrak growled in pain but this did not stop her from wrestling the saw out of Anami's hands and throwing it away. Anami kneed the Zabrak again and then the Zabrak struck her across the face so hard pain didn't register so much as dizziness did.

Disoriented, Anami didn't know up from down for a moment. She didn't realize she was being lifted up. She didn't realize the Zabrak's mouth was covering her own. The crowd cheered.

And then Anami kicked her in the stomach. Angrily, the Zabrak threw Anami to the ground and began to kick her mercilessly. The little Sephi tried to crawl away. Dust and blood filled her hot mouth.

 

[D.C.]

Tatooine was not quite his favorite planet. That could be because he was a Nautolan and he didn't like hot suns, or maybe because of the gross sports on this planet. Yes, he hated fights like this, and especially when the girl he really cared for was being hurt by some stupid Zabrak female who thought she was the best. In fact, it made him angry.

The Nautolan rogue got up from the chair he sat on and grabbed his blaster pistol. He was a great marksman, and his blaster was modified to extend its range. The Nautolan aimed his pistol at the Zabrak woman and pulled the trigger. One good shot was needed, and one good shot it was.

The energy bolt crashed into the back of the Zabrak, wounding her, but not killing her yet. The Nautolan walked towards the edge and looked down into the pit. Some guards showed up and called out to him: "Hold it right there!"

Another guard said: "Who are you?"

"My name is of no concern, gents." The Nautolan answered. "But you can call me mister Awesome."

A moment later he jumped down into the pit and ran over to the Sephi girl. He kneeled down beside her and grabbed her hands. "Anami?" He whispered. Then he looked over to the Zabrak and then he looked to the guards who were taking aim again. Caleb didn't hesitate but aimed his pistol at one of the guards and fired a shot. Then he took down the other guards and looked around the arena. No other guards had shown up yet, but they would eventually.

He turned back to Anami, not paying attention to the deadly wounded Zabrak, who was inable to move. He reached out his hands to Anami and said: "Let's get the hell outta here. Come."

Caleb looked around and then the guards rushed in.

"Blood 'n guts!" Caleb shouted. He was tense. Then finally, to his relieve, a Human male stood up and aimed his rifle at a guard and shot the guard down. Then other men stood up and they too fired their rifles and blasters at the guards. Then five men showed up at the edge, above the arena pit, and sent down a ladder.

"What took you so long?!" Caleb said and he smiled the typical Nautolan smile.

"Sorry, sir." One of them said.

"C'mon, Anami. Can you stand?" Caleb asked her with concern.

Of course, Caleb was not stupid, so he did not go in there alone. He was a very skilled and experienced mercenary, but even he could not take on an army of guards on his own. So to beat an army, he brought a bigger army. Mercenaries and bounty hunters he had worked with in the past, and mercenaries and bounty hunters who had worked with the ones Caleb had worked with, all of them showed up. For what? Not for money. No, for action! They would be rewarded with some money of course, but they considered the mini war the biggest reward ever. They loved fighting.

 

[Neutrino]

Anami had turned over to see why the Zabrak had stopped ramming her foot into the Sephi's ribs. Perhaps this would be an opportunity to fight back, but more than likely the Zabrak was just pausing for one good final kick before switching methods.

Her eyes were met with blinding sunlight, however. And then someone whispered her name. She saw green. Caleb? And then there was blaster fire.

Anami blinked, and Caleb came into focus. When he offered her his hands, she took them with both of hers, which were still bound together at the wrists. She tried to pull herself up. Then there was more blaster fire and Caleb was shouting something.

Maybe her head still wasn't working right, she didn't know what was going on. Maybe none of this was really happening and she was just dreaming this nice little rescue. When she tried to stand, her body protested with very real pain. She felt herself leaning heavily on this nice dream Caleb.

Anami shook her head. This was no time to dream. She needed to focus.

Caleb was real and so were some men that appeared to be with him. And the crowd was really angry looking now. While some seemed to still be enjoying the show, other's seemed to think that everything was spoiled. Tensions rose. Foul words were being yelled in almost every known language. They had to get out of there.

But of course she could stand, or at least she thought. "I'm fine," she murmured close to him. "Thank you." She was surprised by how exhausted she sounded.

 

[D.C.]

Caleb held her in his arms and supported her to walk to the ladder. "Can you climb, Anami?" He asked as he looked up to his comrades above. "We need to climb out of this pit, by this ladder. Our friends up there will help you get over the edge."

One of the men stretched out his arms towards her to help her if necessary while the others aimed their guns and covered him, Caleb and Anami. The whole arena was filled with light of the blaster bolts and a lot of noise was heard. Some spectators fled while others were enjoying this. Guards were gunned down by Caleb's men, and thus far, everything was going as planned.

 

[Neutrino]

Anami nodded. Her legs worked just fine. But when she went to grab the ladder, she realized her wrists being bound together made it very difficult. Her going up the ladder was very difficult and her ribs screamed protests at her. It was so bad, tears stung her eyes. She tried to blink them away. Seeing was already hard enough with the harsh light above her.

Tears rolled down her face, making a path in the dust that coated her face.

She wanted to give up badly but that wasn't really an option. Then the man above her was helping to pull her up. While she was actually grateful, this just caused more pain as his hands passed along her bare ribs. Involuntarily, she gasped in pain.

 

[D.C.]

Caleb climbed after her and when he had climbed over the edge, he turned to Anami to support her again. While the other men were around them with guns drawn, to cover them, Caleb helped Anami walk towards the exit of the building. Soon they would be in Caleb's ship, and soon they would be far away from Tatooine. Soon, it would all be over. Caleb looked forward to some peace.

"Anami," He said as they moved towards the exit. He was careful and tried not to hurt her. "We will be outside in just a few moments, and then we will go to my ship. My men will protect us, we're almost out of this. There is a speeder outside we can use to escape."

Some of the mercenaries were already making their way to the exit while others stayed behind to cover Caleb's escape. So far, so good.

Outside, the speeder waited and two of the men that surrounded Caleb and Anami jumped into the vehicle, when they were outside. Caleb stopped in front of the vehicle and said: "Here is the speeder. Do you need help to get in?"

One of the men, who was next to the driver, opened up the small doors of the speeder so Caleb and Anami could easily step into the vehicle.

 

[Neutrino]

"I'm fine." Anami said seriously, but it ended up sounding breathless. She climbed into the vehicle. But then suddenly she turned around to Caleb who was still outside the vehicle. She threw her arms over his head and hugged him.

 

[D.C.]

"Whoa!" Caleb said when Anami suddenly hugged him. "When we get to my ship, you can hug me as much as you want to, but right now we gotta get outta here." He hugged her back when he said that, but then stepped into the speeder as well. He smiled at her with his typical Nautolan smile and then called to the driver: "Jones! Get drivin' yo!"

"Right away, sir!" Jones said laughing and then the speeder raced away from the arena, soon followed by other speeders of other mercs, but then the speeders all went a different way, and took a different route to the location where they had landed their ships, so the guards would have a hard time to follow them, especially since the guards were dead.

While they were riding, Caleb put his left arm around Anami, since he sat at her left, and said: "Just doing my job as a bodyguard!" And he and the other mercs in the speeder laughed. They had done it.

The mission was succesful.

After a while the mercenaries met up at the ships, out of town, and right before Caleb stepped out of the speeder he said to Anami: "I'll be back in a bit. Gotta talk with the dudes."

He exitted the speeder and walked towards the commanders. Of course such an army needed commanders to operate succesfully.

"Thanks guys. Thanks a lot." Caleb said to the commanders. "You can pick up the money at the bounty office on Nar Shaddaa. Don't ask me where I got the money, it's kind of a weird story."

The commanders laughed and one of them said: "You just take good care of that pretty girl of yours. We had our fun today, see you around, mate."

The men shook hands and Caleb walked back to Anami. He stopped before the speeder and reached out his hands, to help her out of the speeder. After that he pointed towards his ship with his right arm as his left arm was around her waist, and said: "That's my ship over there. C'mon, let's get rid of those chains, and I bet you could use a shower and some sleep."

 

[Neutrino]

After Caleb had hugged her back, Anami lifted her arms up and away from him in embarrassment. And she felt stupid for feeling embarrassed. And then she felt ridiculous for feeling any of those things during a time like this. None of this showed on her face, it was blank.

Then when he had put his arm around her while they rode in the speeder she smiled a bit. But with his comment of 'Just doing my job as a bodyguard!' her smile fell. She wasn't sure how she felt about that at all. She would have held herself if she could, but with her restraints, it wasn't an option. Instead, she just slumped tiredly and looked away out at the sands.

Anami really wished she wasn't wearing the revealing clothes.

After Caleb had helped her out of the speeder, she tried to keep a professional distance, but his arm was suddenly around her bare waist. She just nodded at his words. "Thank you Caleb," Anami said as they made their way to his ship. "When we get to Coruscant, I can get your money." She sighed, exhausted. "You have certainly earned it." Leaning on him, she realized how much pain she was in.

Maybe she would see a doctor too when she got to Coruscant.

 

[D.C.]

"Money?" Caleb asked. "Nah, don't worry about that." He grinned and then led her towards his ship, and right in front of it he stopped. "I didn't do this just because I am your bodyguard, Anami. C'mon, let's leave Tatooine."

He smiled and then opened the the hatch to board his ship, and the boarding ramp extended. He led her inside, and showed her towards the main room, then headed back to the entrance and shouted: "So long, brothers!" He waved with his hand once and the mercenaries cheered. Then Caleb headed back inside and walked over to Anami.

"First of all, let's get rid of those chains." He said. "I'll be right back."

He turned around and walked into another room, and came back with a small laserknife, which was rather a repair tool than a weapon, and carefully, making sure he would not hurt Anami, he cut the chains and took them off her arms. He brought the chains and the tool back to the room and then returned to Anami. "That was quite some action, wasn't it? When I rescue a beautiful and sweet girl, I do it in style. Let me get us into space, and then I'll show you the shower and the sleeping quarters and everything else. Oh, and if you still want to hug me, I'll be right back."

Caleb smiled at her, and then headed towards the cockpit. The ship floated up a few moments later, and then the ship was flying upwards, and into space, leaving Tatooine behind. After some time they had reached space and Caleb headed back to Anami again.

"So," He said. "What do you wanna do now?" Once again, he was smiling his trademark Nautolan smile, but he was still concerned about her. He figured she might needed some rest. His smile faded and he looked serious now. He crossed his arms and examined her from a distance.

"How do you feel?" He asked concerned.

 

[Neutrino]

When Anami was free of all the chains, she rubbed her wrists. They were very sore, more than she thought they would be. After he left her to take the ship into flight, she sat down and waited.

It was so strange, to be safe again. It had been so long since she could just relax. She hugged herself, it was strange to feel her bare arms around herself. Her thoughts then turned to Caleb. She had not seen him in so long. She hadn't even been sure he was still looking for her.

Anami had never felt more alone.

And then when Caleb came back she could not call on any of her interpersonal training. She was at a loss. Instead of saying how she felt, she was rising up and walking over to him. And even though he was still pretty much a stranger, she wrapped her arms around him.

"I feel bad." Anami said into his chest. "But I am happy."

 

[D.C.]

Caleb put his arms around her and said: "Then I am happy too." He stroked her hair and smiled. His heart pounded faster, and his black eyes were sparkling. He really felt happy.

"You must have been through a lot." He said. "I've been searching everywhere, and then I found out they took you to Tatooine to fight in the arena. I had left Shaal and Mawld'e just before I found out where they had taken you, and then I realized the arena was quite well guarded. I contacted a few mates I've worked with in the past, and they contacted mates they had worked with, and so I managed to gather a little army. And now, you're safe! I'm so glad you're safe. I'm so glad you're here..."

He realized he really liked her even though he didn't really know her, and he was happy she was in his arms now. He could stand there for hours, just holding her, but he figured she needed to rest. He wanted to tell her she'd better lie down for a while, but he didn't. He remained silent instead and just smiled, and held her in his arms.

 

[Neutrino]

Anami pulled away from Caleb after a moment then asked sheepishly, "You said I could shower?" She was covered in dirt and blood. "And maybe there is something I can wear...?" That isn't so... revealing.

Her current outfit wasn't that bad by many standards, and it did make her look really good. But she just wasn't used to it at all, especially not in front of Caleb. Anami always wore modest clothing.

 

[D.C.]

"Well," Caleb said with a big smile. "I took care of a few things, like, making sure I got some clean clothes for you. I figured you might needed some, since you might not have your old clothes anymore. I put 'em in there." He pointed at a door which would lead to the room where the shower was.

"Inside that room is the shower, and you'll find some clean clothes there. Yup, I've taken care of everything! Although some say I'm stupid, I'm certainly not!" He laughed his charming Nautolan laugh and then looked at her.

"I could make you some food while you take a shower."

 

[Neutrino]

"That sounds... too good to be true." Anami couldn't remember the last time anyone took care of things for her. "And no one," she said hugging him again, "should say you are stupid." Then she was quickly pulling away to disappear into the shower room.

After slipping out of the clothes and into the shower she looked herself over. Without the dirt all over her, she could easily see bruises blossoming slowly all over her body. The ones all over her ribs were especially bad. She chewed on her lip for a moment, then touched them tenderly. Pain made her eyes sting with tears.

It was official, her ribs were bruised. No wonder it hurt so much to move, which she tried. Yes, her range of motion was definitely decreased. It should be fine though, as long as she got to a doctor, everything would be taken care of.

Soon she had washed and dried up. Then, looking at the clothes Caleb had layed out for her, she was happy to see they were soft and would cover her completely. Anami didn't realize how much she had been longing for such comfort. After being so exposed and treated so badly for the past couple of weeks, all these nice things felt like a dream. Caleb and soft clothes felt like a dream.

Anami shook her head, sending water droplets flying. Nothing too bad had happened to her after all. It could have been much worse. Then trying to dry her hair a bit more, she wished she had a brush. Her fingers would have to do for now.

When she stepped out of the room, she went to find Caleb. Maybe he was in the galley, making the food he had mentioned before. Anami was very hungry, now that she thought about it. "Caleb?"

 

[D.C.]

Caleb was whistling a tune while he was preparing some food when he heard Anami calling his name.

"Yeah?" He called back while he put the food on two plates. He put the plates on a table behind him and then walked over to the door to see what was going on. He had left the door open, and when he got close enough he could see Anami.

"The food is ready." He said and he smiled. "Those clothes suit you well. I knew they would, but they suit you even better than I thought. So, yeah... you hungry?"

 

[Neutrino]

"Hi," Anami said rather shyly when her eyes met with Caleb's. "Yes, I am hungry." She sat down in front of a plate but she was looking at him very seriously. "Caleb, thank you so much. For everything." It was almost over whelming. All this special treatment, especially after the dreadful ordeal, was really touching. She couldn't remember ever feeling like this before.

 

[D.C.]

Caleb nodded and said: "No worries."

After the meal Caleb looked at her and said to Anami: "How are you, Anami? I'd really feel much better if you see a doctor when we get to Coruscant..."

He stood up and put the plates aside, and put them with the other dishes. He had to do dishes soon, and he absolutely did not look forward to it. Then he turned around and walked back to Anami and knelt down before her, so their eyes were at the same height, and asked: "Are you ok?" He sounded concerned, and this time he didn't smile. Even his face looked concerned.

 

[Neutrino]

Anami was okay. At least, that's what she had been telling herself. It was so much easier just to not think about it and put it off. She could handle it.

But with Caleb's big black eyes on her and his voice so serious, she felt her eyes tear up. Maybe what had happened to her was extreme. So maybe it would be okay to cry. They barely knew each other, but she felt her arms going around him as her tears started to roll down her face.

Anami hadn't cried since she was a child. And after twenty years of feeling dead, she was surprised it took almost actually dying to feel alive again. She wasn't even sure she had ever felt alive. Anami buried her face in Caleb's chest, hoping that was alright.

It was a strange feeling. She had never hugged a man before.

 

[D.C.]

Caleb gently put his arms around her and said: "Hey, why the tears, dear?"

He stroked her hair and whispered: "It's alright, you're safe. Everything's just fine."

Caleb then remained silent and just held her, and let her cry. He understood she maybe had to cry, because so much had happened to her lately. She really had been through a lot of shit, and if Caleb was in her position, he probably would have cried too, although he would never admit that. Patiently, he waited for her to stop crying, and simply held her in his strong arms.