Chapter 41 - Battle brings out more than dead droids...

Ash and Kiro sprang into action. The droids were rushing out from all ways on the balcony. Ash had to deflect multiple shots back at the droids while making sure she didn’t aim them back towards Kiro or another Jedi..
Ash slipped past a droid’s defensives and flicked her lightsaber through its neck, all at the same time jumping into a spin and landing on 2 more droids.
As she landed she saw Kiro use the Force to bring 2 droids into his blade and then her spun around and destroyed the droids behind him.
He was better than she thought.
Ash took her mind off Kiro and focused on the battle. She used the Force to explode a few weapons in the droids hands, and then she threw her lightsaber at them, slicing them in 2. Before her lightsaber came back to her hand, she sensed danger behind her. She ducked and rolled and a blaster bolt went sizzling over top of her head and into another droid. She turned into a spin and then tripped the droid that had just tried to shoot her. Then she exploded its head using the Force.
“That’ll show ya,” she said as her lightsaber came back to her hand and she continued to destroy more and more droids.
She brought her lightsaber straight down one’s body and then kicked another one in the chest area. She saw Kiro out of the corner of her eye jump over a group of droids and use the Force to slam them back on the ground. Ash heard the mechanical devices pop from where she was standing.
She was glad he could fight inventively. It just made her like him more.
She turned back to the fight and charged at another droid. It seemed to be surprised that she was actually running at it. She charged and deflected the shots it fired at her, then flipped over its head and sliced through the middle of its mechanical body as she landed. Then she just kept on running, taking down as many droids as she possibly could.
All around her she felt Jedi lives wink out in the Force. It made her sad, but that just fueled her. It made her want to destroy the droids even more. But yet she tried not to let anger take over her. That was the path to the dark side.
She noticed that she was getting farther and farther away from Kiro. She wanted to stay close to him incase something happened, but a group of droids blocked her path. Then one of the super battle droids shot a missile at her.
“Sith Blood,” she rasped as she tried to get out of the way. A group droids blocked her way and she was caught in some of the explosion. She screamed as the blast took her off her feet. She desperately tried to find something to grab hold of, but couldn’t find anything. She heard Kiro in the background shout her name as she screamed.
Wow, he cares about me, Ash thought as she tumbled away.
She knew that the blast had taken her off the balcony, and if she could grab hold of the balcony that still existed, she might not die.
At the last second she used the Force to push herself toward the balcony. She finally grabbed on to an edge. Smoke and debris clouded her sight and she could barely see anything. But she could make out multiple blasters pointed at her.
“Hands up Jedi!” The droid said pointing a blaster at her.
Ash let herself laugh. The irony in this situation cracked her up.
“I’m a little busy right now trying to hold on for my life. Please ask me that question when I’m not freaked out of my mind…” she mumbled to herself. She couldn’t help but try to make a bad situation into a funny one.
Her hand slipped and she almost fell. She heard the droids getting ready to fire on her.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kiro come running to her rescue. He sliced through the droids surrounding her and grabbed her hand.
“I’ve got ya…don’t worry,” Kiro said with a smile. His face was covered with dirt and scraps, but he still looked handsome.
Then more droids came up and surrounded him. Ash heard them ready their blasters. There was only one thing they could do if they were both going to live.
“Drop me,” Ash said shaking, looking into his eyes.
“WHAT?’ Kiro said. “I’m not going to just drop you!”
“Just do it!!” Ash yelled. There was almost a tear in her eye. She didn’t want to let go of his hand, but she also didn’t want them to die.
Kiro dropped her and he destroyed the rest of the droids surrounding him.
Ash fell down to the main arena. She used the Force to soften her landing and landed on a couple of battle droids at the same time. Her landing was perfect.
It was chaos down in the arena area. There was an angry Ackley running loose around the arena killing Geonosians and Jedi alike. Ash made a mental note to stay as far away from that thing as possible.
It startled her when Kiro landed on the ground next to her and started to take out more battle droids.
“What are you doing down here?” she asked as she sliced through another droids body.
“I just thought you might need a little help,” Kiro said, winking at her.
“You keep mistaking me for Echo,” Ash said.
“I could never mistake you for Echo. Besides, I like you better,” Kiro said.
His words hit her like a Hutt. He liked her. He really liked her. Or maybe she just understood him wrong. But whatever he meant, he had just made Ash’s day.
Ash started to destroy droids even faster than usual. When she was happy she was even more skillful. She flipped into a Geonosian while sending blaster bolts back at multiple droids with her lightsaber. She felt the most alive she had ever felt.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kenobi finally take down the Ackley. Now she didn’t have to worry about it anymore and she could focus on the battle.
Ash and Kiro got up next to each other and began fighting back to back, deflecting as many blaster bolts as they possibly could.
Just then, a super battle droid shot another missile at them both. They were forced to separate from each other. The blast from the missile shook the ground and Ash did a barrel roll to get back on her feet. Kiro was already back on his feet battling droids, but he didn’t seem to notice the droid behind him preparing to shoot him. Ash ran up and threw herself on top of the droid. It was a desperate attack, and she could’ve just used her lightsaber, but she wasn’t really thinking like herself anyway right now. She was just acting on impulse, which wasn’t really a good idea. She made a mental note to SNAP OUT OF IT and use her head.
She landed on top of the droid.
“Hey what are you doinnnnnnn…..” the droid started to say, but before he could finish Ash snapped his neck in half. An unorthodox method, but she wasn’t exactly happy for these droids.
She stood up…and just then she felt Echo’s shock in the Force, along with Xiang’s. Pain followed. Ash cried out and fell to her knees.
Echo had just been shot. Ash’s arm and leg began to sting. That must have been where she took the hit.
Kiro ran up behind her and took out the droids about to attack her. He pulled her up to her feet gently and pulled her out of the battle behind a stone pillar. Not many droids noticed them there. He pulled her closer and grabbed hold of her shoulders.
“Ash, what happened?” he asked, his voice full of concern.
“It’s Echo…she’s been shot,” Ash said, her voice shaking.
“She isn’t…” his voice trailed off.
“No, she’s alive, but in a lot of pain,” Ash said..
Kiro was so distracted by Ash that they didn’t notice the droids coming up behind them. Neither of them had their lightsabers out and when the droids shot at them, they didn’t miss. Kiro took a shot in the shoulder and Ash took two hits in the leg. They both screamed out and Ash fell into his arms, not able to stand up. He could barely hold her. His knees buckled from her weight and he almost feel down himself, but he stood his ground.
Ash looked into his eyes. They were the softest blue she had ever seen, yet they pierced her heart like a vibrosword.
If we’re about to die right now, I can’t ignore these feelings, she thought. They’re there and I can’t take the chance not to tell him. I don’t care if he thinks I’m crazy…
“I love you,” she blurted out.
He looked back into her eyes and smiled.
“There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that you didn’t,” Kiro replied. “I love you too.”
Ash smiled as big as a Nexu, grinning from ear to ear, forgetting the fact that they could die any minute. She barely felt the pain.
He loves me too…I think my heart just exploded, Ash thought. I know we’ve just met, but I can’t ignore the connection between us. It’s love at first sight.
The droid came up and grabbed them by the arms and took them out from behind the pillar. Then the pain came back in her legs and she could barely walk. In the center of the arena the surviving Jedi were in a circle surrounded by countless droids. There was a person speaking in from the top balcony that she just now noticed. Other Jedi were being lead into the group off Jedi by other battle droids. She noticed one of them as Juno’s master, Aayla Secura.
As the droids pushed them closer, Kiro pulling her along most of the way with her hanging on his good shoulder, she saw Xiang bent down in the circle with Echo’s head lying on his knee.
“Now, it is finished,” an older man said. Ash just now started to listen to him.
“Surrender and you’re lives will be spared,” the man finished.
Ash and Kiro were pushed into the group and they stood and looked at the man talking. He was an old, gray haired man in black clothing.
“We will not be hostages to be bartered, Dooku,” Mace Windu spoke up from the center of the group.
So that’s who it was behind all this. Count Dooku, Ash thought.
“Then, I’m sorry old friend,” Dooku said.
All around them the droids brought back up their weapons and aimed at them. The Jedi around them that already had their lightsaber ignited stood in a battle ready stance. Ash just hung on Kiro’s shoulder, hoping that she would have enough strength to go into action if needed.
Then Senator Amidala, who had a huge wound on her back, looked up to the sky.
“Look!” she said. Everyone looked up. Coming towards them were several LAAT gunships coming to their rescue. She felt Master’s Yoda presence among the ships.
The battle broke back out and she pushed herself off of Kiro’s shoulder and ignited her lightsaber to help deflect blaster bolts. She used the Force to keep herself standing.
The LAAT gunships landed around the surviving Jedi and they were all helped onto the ships. Ash and Kiro stood close to Echo and Xiang. Xiang picked Echo up in his arms and carried her aboard the ship. Ash and Kiro followed.
The ship lifted off and they were carried away from that miserable arena.

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