As she crept along the darkened halls of the Separatist frigate alongside Obi-Wan, Zelina had to wonder how Anakin always seemed to get them sucked into these situations.

By now some time had passed since her discovery of Ur-Sema's killer, giving her plenty of time to gather herself. Anakin being there when she woke up had definitely helped. Anyone else would have thought that Anakin would have encouraged her to seek revenge against Grievous, though the following conversation had proven to be quite the opposite...

*****************************************

Her eyelids fluttered open as she tried to remember what had happened. When had she'd gone to bed? How did she get in the bed?

"It's about time you woke up," came a familiar, soft voice.

Zelina blinked blearily, head rolling to the side to see Anakin sitting at her bedside in a chair. Why he was sitting there, she didn't know. "Anakin? Why are you still here?" she muttered.

"I figured I'd wait to see if you'd be okay," Anakin said gently.

Zelina sighed. Normally, she'd be touched he was so worried about her, but right now... "I'll be fine Anakin, thanks for your concern."

He studied her closely. "Actually Zelina, I don't think you are."

Great, they were using full names.

"Why do you say that?" she asked, staring at the wall in front of her.

"Because you're acting like me."

She snorted, but then realized he was being serious. She sat up, staring into his intense blue eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Zelina," he said softly, and the way he said it sent shivers down her spine. "Before you...fell asleep...you were reminding me of me, back on Tatooine...the resemblance was rather unnerving."

Zelina looked away, suddenly uncomfortable. He had a point...even some of the things she said, her outburst where she pitched what she had in her hand across the room...

"Zelina would you please look at me," Anakin said quietly, and Zelina couldn't help but oblige, meeting his liquid blue gaze. "Do you remember what you told me?"

Zelina reluctantly cast her mind back to that dark night, wondering distantly if Anakin relived it often. She skipped over Shmi's death, focusing on the words they had exchanged and the advice she had given him. "I told you that they weren't worth it, and that it was wrong...that lashing out at them in revenge would make you a murderer just like them, causing more harm than good."

His eyes seemed pained at the memory, but he nodded. "And you told me to let go of the hate because it wouldn't bring me any good. Zelina..." he said softly once more, cupping her cheek in his hand and gently making her look him in the eyes. "You were right. Every word of what you said was right; and I want you to take your own advice. I don't want to see you end up in the same place I found myself in after that. Please, try?" he pleaded.

Slowly, Zelina nodded, and Anakin smiled slightly at her. "I suggest you get some more rest...you need it."

Afraid that he would leave as he started to pull away, she grasped his wrist. "Will you stay? Please? You being in here...your presence....it's soothing," she said in a hushed tone.

Anakin seemed to hesitate for a moment, his mind probably flickering to the duties he had already postponed for however long she'd been unconscious. However, he slowly sat back down in the chair. "I'll stay as long as you want me to."

Zelina nodded, releasing his wrist and lying back down on her bed. "Thank you Ani...it means a lot to me."

"Of course Zee. I haven't forgotten my part of that promise; I'll be here for you if you need anything," he said with a faint smile, the ghost of the nine year old boy who made a promise with her so long ago flickering across his features.

"No matter what," she said with a slight nod.

"No matter what."

*********************************

Zelina brought herself out of her reminiscing, focusing on Obi-Wan's back just in front of her as he lead the way through the darkened hall. Anakin had 'gone missing' while attempting to capture Dooku. In other words, he'd been purposely captured to infiltrate the ship Dooku was on and now they were all meeting up to snatch the ever elusive Count. Zelina, just like on Christophsis, had been sent to assist them; just in case Anakin had ended up in an excessively sticky situation. Now they were just feet away from the detention block where Anakin was sure to be, rushing past the single droid in the hall when he wasn't paying attention and into the detention block hall. The door shut firmly behind them, and Obi-Wan and Zelina both shared a brief smirk before they started to pass the cells.

Obi-Wan paused behind her, opening one of the doors at random and taking in its inhabitants. "Don't bother to get up; you're not the prisoner I'm looking for," he said rather cheekily before shutting the door again, probably in the inhabitants' faces. Zelina chuckled.

"Seriously Obi-Wan?" she asked as Obi-Wan came to her side at the next door over. He shrugged in response, though Zelina noticed his eyes were sparkling. Great. He was in a mischievous mood. She could already tell that this was going to be a bickering filled mission. Joy.

Zelina pressed the button to open the door, and Obi-Wan cautiously entered the apparently empty room. Before Zelina could enter as well, there was a trill of warning through the Force, and Obi-Wan whipped around and activated his lightsaber. It only took a moment for Obi-Wan to realize who he was pointing his lightsaber at and deactivate it.

"Oh, it's you," Anakin said rather snappily as he straightened up.

"So this is how you thank me for rescuing you? Pounce on me from the ceiling?" Obi-Wan asked, mirth twinkling in his eyes.

"Kind of difficult without a...lightsaber," Anakin said, smiling as he turned around to see Zelina standing in the doorway, catching his lightsaber as she tossed it to him.

"Oh, this thing?" she chuckled as he clipped it to his belt.

"Thanks," he said with a smirk.

"Did you manage to locate Dooku before landing in jail?" Obi-Wan asked him as they shuffled out of the cell.

"Well I know he's on board. I might have been able to do something about it if I'd had my weapon," Anakin said pointedly, shooting a mild glare at Obi-Wan's back.

"It was important for you to arrive without it so your capture would be convincing," Obi-Wan chided him as they all started their way down the hall, Obi-Wan leading while Zelina took up the rear.

"Oh, they were convinced all right. But how come I'm the one getting caught all the time? It doesn't look good."

"If you'd like, I could play the captive next time. Give you a brief vacation for your bruised ego," Zelina said lazily behind him. She had to stifle her laughter at the look he gave her.

"When you're a Jedi Master, you can make the plan," Obi-Wan assured him.

Anakin scowled. "That's just it! How can I become a Jedi Master if I'm always getting caught?"

"At least you're a Master...at being caught," Obi-Wan responded. Zelina had to control her laughter, though it kept slipping through in snorts and chortles.

"Very funny," Anakin said sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact, that was," Zelina responded, earning a glare from Anakin.

"Don't encourage him."

"Too late."

***************************************

It wasn't long before they reached Dooku. The doors slid open, revealing the Count in a meditative position in the middle of the room.

"Surprise, surprise," Anakin said lowly before the three of them all activated their lightsabers; two blue and one violet.

"If it isn't Count Dooku," Obi-Wan added.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi; I thought I sensed an unpleasant disturbance in the Force. I see you've freed young Skywalker. Where might he be if you weren't always around to rescue him?"

"Once again, I am chopped Bantha liver," Zelina muttered under her breath, her grip on her lightsaber tightening slightly as the ship was rocked by sudden fire from another ship.

It seemed Ahsoka had arrived.

"Your ship is surrounded Count. Republic troops are boarding as we speak," Anakin stated as they all assumed a fighting stance, each one different in their own way, even if two of them had the same lightsaber style of Djem So.

"Jedi fools," Dooku sneered before the small spot he was sitting on collapsed into an escape tunnel, effectively whisking him away.

"I should have seen that coming," Obi-Wan said rather moodily. Anakin and Zelina were already moving though, standing ready at the edge of the tunnel.

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

"Following him," Anakin and Zelina answered, matching even in tone like it should have been obvious.

"Not that way, we need to cut him off!" Obi-Wan argued.

"You cut him off," Anakin responded, already jumping with Zelina right behind him, still talking. "I'll follow him and meet you at the hanger!"

"I don't think he's too happy we ditched him," Zelina called as they slid down the tunnel.

"Well he'll have to deal with it," Anakin grunted. A few seconds later, Dooku came into view, and Zelina grasped her lightsaber a little tighter. He shot lightning at them and caused Zelina to tense, but Anakin deflected it. Between Anakin and Dooku's lightning, Zelina couldn't see anything. So when the tunnel split and Anakin came to a sudden halt, it almost resulted in a messy catastrophe that would have involved quite a few injuries for both of them.

"Aw, great," Anakin mumbled, having moved just in time to give Zelina enough room to land.

"You take left, I take right," Zelina said, already jumping.

He didn't reply as she fell, so she assumed he'd obeyed. Oh well; it was too late now, she was already on her way.

To her delight—even when in the back of her mind she knew Anakin would be disappointed he wasn't the lucky one—Dooku appeared ahead of her. She sensed her slide was rapidly coming to an end, and reached out both hands to touch the walls and slow down just a little. She regretted the caution when Dooku sped up, shooting out of sight again.

She should have done things Anakin style and gone full throttle.

Still, there was time to catch up.

A few moments later she landed in the hanger, only having enough time to register a ship with a lowered ramp before battle droids opened fire, causing her to roll to cover before activating her lightsaber and flying into action. She could hear the ships in the hanger powering to life, starting to lift off...

Commotion from the middle of the room caught her eye, and she noticed Obi-Wan had commandeered one of the remaining ships in the hanger. Swiftly, she bolted across the open ground towards the now already powered up and rising ship, somehow meeting Anakin halfway there.

"Where did you come from?" she asked.

"The other tunnel," he responded shortly before they both jumped onto the ramp. It closed firmly behind them. "How'd you miss him?"

"I was actually cautious for once, plus Dooku left a group of droids for me. It's only halfway my fault," she said with a chuckle as they entered the cockpit. Anakin immediately took the pilot's chair.

"I thought you two were following Dooku?" Obi-Wan asked them. Zelina stood in-between the two, a hand on each of their chairs.

"We were," Zelina protested.

"We followed him here," Anakin said, somewhat cheekily. Zelina had to stifle her snicker and struggled to fight back the smirk.

Anakin was already to his usual piloting shenanigans. "Hang on," he warned, causing Zelina to grip the chairs in a death grip as the ship tilted and wobbled, and she was sure she was going to go flying across the cockpit.

"Please remember I don't have a chair in here Anakin," Zelina said, her voice slightly strained as she struggled not to let her feet disappear out from under her.

"Well you're in for a rough ride; you should be used to it by now," Anakin responded through grit teeth as he tailed Dooku.

"Ahsoka; Dooku managed to escape," Obi-Wan was reporting into his com link. "We're in pursuit, but we could use reinforcements. Follow us in what ships you can round up."

"We'll get there as soon as we can," came Ahsoka's reply, and he cut off the connection.

"I guess I'll just watch while you boys handle this. Whatever happens is not my fault now," Zelina said with a smirk.

Obi-Wan and Anakin both ignored her, with Obi-Wan focusing on shooting the fighters down and Anakin focusing on piloting the ship. Finally, Obi-Wan managed to score a hit on the ship Dooku was on, and the ship started to go down.

"That was easy!" Anakin said happily.

"Lucky for you I'm an excellent shot!" Obi-Wan responded with a smirk.

"Well now those fighters are attacking!" Anakin warned.

"I'm on it," Obi-Wan assured him. Instinctively, knowing their track record, Zelina's grip tightened on their chairs.

"Uh, he's getting too close!" Anakin warned once more, his tone more urgent.

"Once more, I'm not in a chair, let's try not to crash or get shot!" Zelina warned, eyes glued to the nearing fighter. They obviously weren't helping Obi-Wan. Sure enough though, one of the fighters collided with the side of their ship, and they started to go down.

Zelina was startled when one of Anakin's hands suddenly shot out, grasping her around the waist and pulling her onto his lap. She leaned out of the way as he grasped the controls with both hands again, arms encircling her at the same time.

"Lucky for you, I'm an excellent pilot!" Anakin snapped at Obi-Wan. He glanced at Zelina. "Now you've got a seat."

"I'll try to keep from obscuring your view," she murmured, leaning a little further back as he peered around her. One hand grasped the back of the chair while the other grasped his shoulder. Somehow he was still managing to pilot the ship with someone sharing the seat with him.

She figured they were quite a sight.

They entered the atmosphere, scraping across the ground rather roughly. Vaguely, Zelina wondered if her nails had broken skin on Anakin's shoulder as she struggled to keep her precarious seat on Anakin.

"For all your expertise, this isn't a very smooth landing!" Obi-Wan shouted over the emergency alarms, getting jostled around, though nothing like Zelina was. She was fighting not only to stay in her seat, but to not get in Anakin's way. With this landing, that was easier said than done.

"If you'd hit that second fighter, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Anakin shot back as Obi-Wan was flung forward. Zelina had to throw her arms completely around Anakin and cling to him with all her strength, burying her face in his chest to keep from flying into the controls.

The ship finally groaned to a stop, and Zelina sighed, slowly peeling away from Anakin. "Is it over?" she asked warily.

"Yeah, you're good," Anakin said with a small smile, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Though, my leg's falling asleep..."

"Sorry," Zelina said with a blush, standing up to let him free. "And thanks."

"No problem. At least we're all alive," Anakin said with a smile as they hurried off the ship. Anakin stumbled a little at first since his leg was asleep, but he was quick to recover, already walking normally again as they exited the ship.

"I've had better landings," Obi-Wan stated as he dusted himself off.

"Dooku," Anakin suddenly said, pointing towards the ship they had landed next to. It was, in fact, Dooku's.

They all approached the ship, cautiously examining it for, well...anything that would lead to Dooku. At least that's what Zelina was looking for. They all heard the beeping, though Obi-Wan found the source.

"What's this, a homing beacon?" Obi-Wan asked, tapping the small device.

"Which means the extinguished Count is waiting for help," Anakin mused. "So he can't be far off..."

Obi-Wan crouched down, inspecting the ship. "His engine is damaged; he's not going anywhere."

"Not without a homing beacon," Anakin said smugly, slicing the device easily with his lightsaber.

They all stood, evaluating the landscape. It seemed to be just endless waves of rock to Zelina.

"There!" Obi-wan suddenly said. "Caves are a good start."

"Let's just hope there's nothing there that wants to eat us," Zelina muttered. "It'd be just our luck."

"Way to keep things optimistic Zee," Anakin said with a small smirk.

"I'm just saying; something always happens when it's us."

They made it to the mouth of one of the caves, peering into its dark depths from the entrance.

"Strange..." Anakin mumbled.

"You sense it too," Obi-Wan stated lightly. "Many life forms in there."

"And Dooku's one of them," Anakin said before igniting his lightsaber.

"Let's try to get him before something else does," Obi-Wan mumbled before he followed suit. Zelina was the last one to activate her lightsaber, following close behind the boys as they entered the cave, moving slowly and cautiously as they looked around. The hairs on the back of Zelina's neck were on end. Something was wrong...

Something between a roar and a growl echoed through the cave.

"What's that?" Obi-Wan asked sharply as they all came to a halt, looking around.

His question was followed by a cracking, rumbling sound, and they all went on the defensive, looking around. The Force was screaming at Zelina in warning, but she couldn't figure out from what, looking around sharply to figure out what was causing the danger...

They looked up to see rocks and bolders falling swiftly towards them from the ceiling.

"Run!" Obi-Wan shouted, jumping away. Zelina's mind registered that Anakin wasn't moving, and she shoved him out of the way, adding a strong Force Push just to be sure that he would clear the falling rubble. With not much time, Zelina threw herself out of the way, her lightsaber flung away into the darkness as she rolled onto her back, using the Force to push the rocks rapidly falling towards her away from her. One large bolder fell just on her left, the other on her right, successfully pinning her between them. Another large rock landed on top of them, entombing her. She didn't complain through. At least she was alive.

She coughed from the dust, flinching as some smaller rocks pattered against her face. She'd told them something would happen.

Called it.

***********************************

Anakin coughed, pushing himself up onto his knees and looking around. He could hardly see anything through the dust, and in the confusion, he'd lost his lightsaber as well.

He scowled, slowly getting up. He'd hit the wall rather hard when Zelina had flung him aside—

Zelina!

Still coughing from the dust, he stumbled forward, peering towards the wreckage. He saw a hooded figure slipping away from the rubble...

"Dooku," he hissed, instinctively reaching for the lightsaber that wasn't there. It didn't matter though. Dooku was already at the exit, he had no weapon, and Zelina and Obi-Wan probably needed his help. He hadn't seen what happened to them in the collapse.

He snarled in anger when he saw Dooku collapse their way out of the cave, but forced his back on the sight, rushing to the rubble.

"Master! Zelina! Obi-Wan, Zee, can you hear me? Master! Zelina!" he shouted, pulling at the rocks.

"I'm down here!" came Zelina's small reply. He sighed in relief, turning around to the pile he had bypassed and trying to figure out where her voice had come from.

"Keep talking so I can find you," he commanded. Behind him, more rubble fell where he'd been standing moments ago, and he shook his head.

"I'm kind of pinned," she replied awkwardly.

"I'll get you out," he responded, finding her through the Force and starting to move the rocks.

"You know, when I tell you to run, you're supposed to run," came another familiar voice from behind him.

"Master! You're alive..." Anakin responded in relief. "Can you help me get Zelina out? She's pinned."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said, lending a hand immediately. Soon, Anakin spotted her blonde hair, covered in a thin layer of dust and dirt, and they were able to pull her out.

"Are you all right?" Anakin asked her, looking her up and down. Like him, she was missing her lightsaber.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she responded, dusting off some of the dirt.

"And where are your lightsabers?" Obi-Wan asked, eyeing them both.

"It...got knocked out of my hand," Anakin mumbled.

"By a rock?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yeah, by a rock," Anakin said reproachfully. "It's got to be here somewhere..." Anakin mumbled, already turning to survey the following area.

"That is a feeble excuse," Obi-Wan chided. Zelina shrugged.

"Oh, relax Obi-Wan, he did better than me. Mine flew out of my hand; it wasn't knocked out of my hand. He did better than me," Zelina said. Anakin felt a flare of gratitude that she was defending him, smiling to himself.

"You know what would be helpful? A little light?" Anakin asked, already crawling around in the dirt for his lightsaber.

"Certainly," Obi-Wan replied. Anakin glanced to the side, seeing Zelina also looking in the dirt for the missing lightsabers. Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber, but it sputtered and died, causing Anakin's smirk to slowly turn into a grin as Obi-Wan examined his lightsaber.

"Silly thing...it was just working a minute ago..." Obi-Wan muttered. Anakin schooled his expression into a serious look, picking up a nearby pebble as Obi-Wan slapped his lightsaber against his palm a few times.

"You don't suppose it was...hit by a rock, do you?" he asked seriously, tossing the pebble at Obi-Wan's lightsaber. Obi-Wan gave him a look, and off to his side he heard Zelina snickering. Obi-Wan was about to reply, but the sound from earlier came again, and they all looked up to see a rather large gundark hanging from the ceiling above them. They all slowly backed away, eyeing the beast.

"Oh...this should be interesting!" Obi-Wan exclaimed as the gundark started to lower itself.

"Well of course it should: none of us have weapons!" Zelina responded sourly. "Move!"

They all scattered as the gundark dropped and, of course, it went after Anakin, causing him to duck and dodge its swinging arm.

"It seems to like you, why don't you handle it while I look for our missing lightsabers?" he heard Zelina call, and he scowled.

Why is it always me?

********************************************

Zelina scrambled around in the dark, searching the dirt near where Anakin had fallen. If his lightsaber was lying around, surely it was somewhere around here...

"Jump in anytime!" came Anakin's shout from above. She smirked. The poor guy, of course the giant gundark would follow him. She caught a glint of something out of the corner of her eye, and crawled over to it.

"Oh, you're doing fine. She seems to like you!" Obi-Wan said, inspecting his lightsaber nonchalantly off to the side.

"Yeah! Lucky me! This isn't as fun as it looks!" came Anakin's strained reply. Zelina's hand closed around Anakin's lightsaber at that moment, and she grinned.

"Got one!" she said triumphantly, standing up with his lightsaber proudly in hand. Instead of tossing it to him though, she watched the following exchange between Anakin and Obi-Wan with growing mirth.

"I thought gundarks were only found on Vanquor!" Anakin shouted.

"Then this system must be Vanquor," Obi-Wan responded. He was leaning carelessly against one of the rocks, picking apart his lightsaber and inspecting it closely.

Anakin paused, levitating several boulders and rocks with the Force. It didn't do anything, and the gundark blasted throught the rocks, knocking Anakin to the ground. He clung to the rock at Obi-Wan's feet, struggling to get free as the gundark slowly dragged him back by the leg.

"So, that would make this one..." he grunted.

"The mother of all gundarks. Precisely," Obi-Wan said, kneeling down and hitting his lightsaber against the rock Anakin had just been clinging desperately to. Zelina snorted.

"Are you...gonna help me?" Anakin growled as the gundark hoisted him in the air.

"Ani! Catch!" Zelina shouted, finally tossing him the lightsaber she'd found a few moments ago while Obi-Wan hooked his lightsaber back onto his belt.

He caught the lightsaber firmly in his right hand. "Thank you!" In the next moment, he'd cut off the gundarks hand and fell free to the floor, scrambling over to them. Obi-Wan, meanwhile, threw a boulder at the gundark with the Force to subdue it and keep it from scrambling after Anakin.

"Well, you took your time," he said cheekily to both of them. Obi-Wan simply smirked, and the three of them started to rapidly pelt the gundark with rocks until there was another cave in that killed the creature. They all hesitantly approached it.

"It's a pity; I was just starting to sense a connection," Anakin said humorously.

"Shall we leave you two alone?" Obi-Wan asked, already turning away.

Zelina sighed. "Well...I haven't spotted my lightsaber anywhere. I have no idea where it could be."

"Maybe Dooku took it," Anakin responded. "He was by the rubble that had you pinned before he left, I saw him. I didn't go after him for obvious reasons, but still."

Zelina sighed. "Well...if he does I plan on getting it back from him, if he doesn't, I guess I'm going to have to make a new lightsaber..."

"Oh...it's not so bad. I like my second one more than my first," Anakin said with a grin, clapping her on the back.

"Could we perhaps focus on getting out of this hole before Anakin's lady wakes up?" Obi-Wan interrupted them. Zelina snorted.

"Yes, lets."

***************************************

Several minutes later, the three of them were straining under the weight of the boulders they were trying to clear from the entrance. The larger ones they all combined their Force abilities to move.

"Sounds like another gundark," Obi-Wan stated as another growling roar echoed from the tunnels behind them.

"That's too far away to worry about," Anakin grunted, focusing on the rather large boulder Obi-Wan and he was moving while Zelina moved a smaller one away from the entrance.

"It won't stay far away," Obi-Wan warned. They let the rock drop, but they were a little too rough, and gas began to pour out of the ground.

"Now look what you two did!" Zelina chided, letting her rock drop and turning right back to the rock pile with a new ferver.

"New problem!" Anakin told Obi-Wan grimly as the gas poured out of the ground rapidly.

"That's not good," Obi-Wan observed as more and more gas came out of the ground in more places than where they had dropped the rock.

"It's just gas," Anakin coughed.

"Yes, probably toxic gas," Obi-Wan observed.

"That's good—" Anakin started, though Zelina cut him off.

"Good? How is that good?"

"Maybe it will kill his gundark," Anakin finished with a smile.

"And maybe it will kill us!" Obi-Wan snapped.

"Well then why don't you two stop discussing the toxic gas, like me, and hurry on getting these rocks moved, like me?" Zelina offered.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Anakin agreed, and the two moved to pull more of the rubble out of the way. Zelina coughed, her lungs burning and her vision starting to swim as she rushed to get some sort of hole of fresh air for them at the least. She doubled over the rock she was standing in front of, trying to gather some air.

"This isn't going to work," Anakin gasped, already running out of breath. "I can't breathe."

"As always...I'm open to...suggestions..." Obi-Wan gasped out before he collapsed on the rock in front of him.

"Come on Obi-Wan...don't give up now," Anakin moaned, even as he fell to one knee.

We're going to die, Zelina thought suddenly. Maybe they actually would this time.

Just as that thought flashed across her mind, there was a sudden rumbling, and the rocks in front of them were blasted back, opening the entrance once more.

"What was that?" Obi-Wan coughed.

"I have...no idea!" Anakin responded, staring at his hands as if trying to figure out if it had been him, and if it had been him, how he'd done it.

"Master!" came a familiar voice from the entrance. Zelina looked up and smiled, pleased to see Ahsoka flanked by a couple of troopers in the entrance. Zelina, Anakin, and Obi-Wan both ascended to the entrance thankfully, coughing up a storm. "Looks like I got here just in time."

"What do you mean just in time?" Anakin asked, brushing off some dust and standing cockily in front of her.

"You were in very big trouble!" Ahsoka stated, seeming surprised.

"Trouble? We were simply searching for Count Dooku!" Obi-Wan insisted.

Anakin coughed again before smirking. "Yeah; we had the situation well under control my little Padawan."

"Oh, I see," Ahsoka stated, sounding annoyed. "So, which part of the situation did you have under control? The blocked entrance, the poison gas, or perhaps that gundark behind you?"

"Gundark?" Anakin asked, sounding alarmed.

"Oh, you mean the one that's too far away to worry about?" Obi-Wan asked as they turned around to see another angry gundark behind them, not yet out of the cave.

"Block the entrance," Ahsoka commanded, and the troopers shot at the cave, causing another collapse that effectively pinned the gundark.

"There's still Dooku to deal with," Anakin stated, already headed for the transport Ahsoka had taken to the planet's surface.

"You let him get away?" Ahsoka asked in shock, causing Anakin to pause.

"No, not let him...get away, exactly, just..." Anakin said, searching for an excuse under Ahsoka's condemnatory gaze.

"Chime in...anytime," Anakin muttered to Zelina and Obi-Wan.

"Oh no, I'm enjoying this far too much," Obi-Wan responded with a smile. Zelina laughed.

"Same here," she said grinning.

Anakin looked as if they had just thrown him to the nexu pack.

**********************************************

"His only stipulation is that you arrive unarmed."

"Well that's no problem for me," Zelina muttered bitterly under her breath at Windu's statement. Only Anakin seemed to hear her, and he seemed to smirk a little before he replied.

"Unarmed?"

"We know very little about these pirates. We may be walking blind into what could very well be a hostile situation," Obi-Wan mused.

"We can't let Dooku slip through our fingers again," Windu stated. "Report back as soon as you arrive."

With that, he was gone. Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head with a scowl painted across his face while Obi-Wan smiled a little. "Well...this should be fun."

***************************************

As Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Zelina decended the ramp onto the surface of Florrum, she looked around, curious. The planet seemed like a cross between Tatooine and Geonosis.

My two favorite planets, she thought sourly.

They were greeted by a medium sized group of pirates, all pointing their blasters at them. Anakin and Obi-Wan had left their lightsabers onboard the ship and Zelina, of course, had no lightsaber at the moment. Despite the blasters, they remained calm, looking around with mild curiosity. One of the pirates checked each of them for any sign of a weapon, before uttering a gruff, "Follow me."

"Cheery," Zelina muttered under her breath.

As they were lead into the pirate's hideout, Zelina looked around, trying to hide her look of distaste at the pirates getting drunk all around her. The loud music she didn't mind, but the rowdy drunken pirates she knew would get on her nerves.

"Gentlemen...can I offer you something to drink?" someone said, directing Zelina's attention back to what was currently happening.

"No thank you," Obi-Wan said smoothly. A glass slid over to them anyway, and Anakin eyed the glass distastefully.

The Weequay pirate in front of them had an air about him that made Zelina uneasy, though she was sure that her presence did the same for him, for his gaze was fixed on her. "I was under the impression only two Jedi were coming?" he asked dangerously.

"Oh, Zelina here isn't a Jedi yet. She's just a learner," Anakin said smoothly, placing a hand on her shoulder right by her braid. She stiffened just slightly, not liking her Padawan status being presented the way it just had. However, she didn't say anything. If it allowed her to stay, then so be it.

The pirate eyed him for a moment. "Eh...so be it."

Just what I was thinking, Zelina thought with a small smile.

"Congratulations on your capture of Count Dooku. Very impressive," Obi-Wan said, already getting down to business.

"Yes, it was. Eh, even a Sith Lord is no match for my warriors!" the pirate said, raising his glass to a group of passed-out drunken pirates off to their side.

"Right..." Zelina muttered under her breath so only Anakin could hear.

"He put up quite a fight! Blasters, cannons, that glowy thing, woom, woom!" the pirate stated, waving his arm like he was crudely swinging a lightsaber.

"You mean a lightsaber?" Obi-Wan suggested.

"That's it!" the pirate said quickly. "And I don't need to tell you, those things can do some damage..."

Zelina wasn't paying attention anymore. The pirate's monkey-lizard had appeared, and it was holding a rather familiar looking lightsaber.

How did he get that? Did he...get it from Dooku? Did Dooku really take my lightsaber back on Vanquor?

Anakin seemed to have recognized it as well, glancing from the lightsaber to Zelina. "And how exactly did you get the jump on him? With this?"

Anakin called Zelina's lightsaber to him, holding it firmly in his hands. Just like Zelina expected would happen, all of the nearest pirates suddenly had their blaster on Anakin, who was frozen halfway through giving Zelina her lightsaber back. The monkey-lizard crawled along the blasters, snatching the lightsaber out of Anakin's hand and causing him to scowl. Obi-Wan moved one of the blaster muzzles out of his face.

"We have no interest in disagreeing with you," Obi-Wan said diplomatically. "All we want is to confirm you are holding Dooku; and we'll go."

The pirate nodded. "I will arrange a meeting."

************************************************

Zelina had to admit; it was pretty satisfying seeing Dooku captured, even if he wasn't under Republic control...yet.

"Look how the mighty Sith Lord has fallen," Obi-Wan mused as the three of them entered the room, inspecting Dooku like a reek on display at a zoo.

"This place suits you Count," Anakin said with a smirk.

"It wasn't so long ago that you yourself were in similar surroundings on my ship," Dooku stated calmly but venomously.

"Yeah...but now I'm free and you're not," Anakin said happily.

"I am confident the situation will rectify itself soon," Dooku responded.

"Soon you'll be brought to trial by the Senate and most likely spend a very long time in a cell just like this one," Obi-Wan replied.

"And that's if you're lucky," Anakin chimed in. Zelina rolled her eyes. She had no desire to taunt Dooku, so she was simply leaning against the wall, picking at her nails.

Dooku shook his head. "Oh my naïve young Jedi. You must be overly optimistic if you think the Weequayans plan to let you leave this planet."

Anakin laughed, though Zelina felt a prickle of premonition go down her spine at Dooku's words, meeting the Count's eyes for a second before breaking eye contact. "They're planet hopping thieves looking for a quick score; they have no interest in picking a fight with Jedi."

"They are devious and deceitful. And most importantly; stupid."

Zelina chewed on her bottom lip, deep in thought for a moment. Dooku had a very good point, and she always knew when Anakin was being overly-confident...

"It's a wonder you don't get along with them Dooku," Obi-Wan said with a smile. Zelina frowned. The two boys were being way too cocky. She didn't like it; it spelled trouble with their luck.

Obi-Wan motioned for Zelina to follow along, and she sighed, taking up the rear. "You have so much in common," Obi-Wan finished before he exited the room.

"You underestimate them at your own peril Kenobi," Dooku said lowly. The comment caused Zelina to pause, but she did not glance back, forcing herself through the door.

There was a few moments of silence among the three as they walked down the hall before Anakin spoke.

"I don't know about you, but I could use some rest."

"Remember Anakin, this could still be a trap," Obi-Wan said.

"You're not worried about Dooku, are you?" Anakin asked skeptically.

"No; I'm worried about these pirates."

"I think Dooku had a point...we should keep an eye open," Zelina said quietly.

"Please, he was just trying to spook us," Anakin scoffed. Obi-Wan, however, had a thoughtful expression.

"I think you might have a point Zelina...we should exercise some caution for a while."

Zelina sighed, hearing his tone. They were still overly confident. It was a recipe for disaster.

"Jedi; now that your business is completed, we invite you to join us in the grand hall for a banquet!" a random pirate told them with a smile Zelina didn't like. "And a true Weequay banquet is not to be missed."

Well...looks like this disastrous recipe is only going to get spicier, she thought to herself as she saw the look on Obi-Wan and Anakin's face.

Momentarily, she wondered if right now she was the only one with any sense in the group.

**********************************************

To say Zelina was in a bad mood would be a mild understatement.

Drunken fools were everywhere, and several of them had already made a move on her. Recently, approaching drunken pirates had been sent away with a slap after they tried to cop a feel, and her hand was starting to hurt from how many that had been. Obi-Wan didn't seem too disturbed by the festivities, though currently he did have his face hidden in his hand in exasperation at the dancer passing them on the table. Anakin, however, seemed to be rather enjoying himself.

As Anakin smiled at the passing dancer girl, Zelina leaned over. "Hey lover boy, don't forget; all you can do is stand at the end of your chain and bark," she said to him under her breath.

Anakin scowled at her. "Seriously Zee?"

She grinned. "I'm just reminding you."

At that moment, the Weequay pirate that was in charge arrived, putting his arms around the boys and looking over at Zelina, who was sitting on Anakin's right. Obi-Wan was sitting on his left.

"Now can I persuade you to join us for a drink?" the Weequay asked them all. "It's a tradition. In the name of friendship!"

"I'm sorry, I don't drink. Ever. I don't like it," Zelina said with a sheepish smile. It was true. She didn't like how it dulled her senses.

"All right...but nothing too strong; he's flying," Obi-Wan said with a smirk, nodding to Anakin who rolled his eyes in response.

"Bring our guests some refreshments," the pirate said, gesturing to the boys and giving Zelina a look, which she ignored. Whether it was disrespectful or not, she wasn't going to lower her standards for a bunch of drunken pirate hoodlums.

The boys eyed the drinks they were given with a look that clearly stated they could sense something was off about the drinks, sharing a look with each other.

"To as successful transaction!" the pirate stated, and all the other—conscious—pirates cheered. While the pirates drinks were raised, Obi-Wan and Anakin switched their drinks with the nearest pirates using the Force, causing Zelina to smirk.

"To powerful pirates and new friends of the Republic!" Obi-Wan stated before both Anakin and Obi-Wan started on their first glass of the night.

"Enjoy your evening gentlemen," the pirate stated with a smirk, causing a shiver to run down Zelina's back.

"I still don't get it," Anakin muttered as he put his drink down.

"Get what?" Obi-Wan asked.

"How a bunch of drunken pirates managed to catch Dooku when we couldn't."

"Maybe there's a lesson to be learned here," Obi-Wan offered.

Anakin sighed. "I still don't get it."

"It's to remind us to be humble and never too proud to accept a gift when it comes our way."

"Well...to unexpected gifts then," Anakin said, raising a toast with Obi-Wan.

"Here, here."

Even when the two pirates Obi-Wan and Anakin had switched their drinks with face-planted onto the table to her amusement, Zelina couldn't push the feeling that something was going to go bad.

*******************************************

After a while, Zelina was ready to personally strangle the boys.

She had got up for a moment to see if she could find some water—or at least it had felt like a moment—and had returned to find them utterly drunk. They had been decently tipsy when she left, but she had thought they had enough sense left not to get hammered. Apparently she had overestimated them.

Even now, they were downing another glass, and she angrily grasped Anakin's shoulder. "What do you two think you're doing?" she hissed at them.

"Relax, don' get your twousers in'a bunch," Anakin slurred, setting his cup down.

"How many glasses have you two had?" she asked, trying to push her anger away.

"Just a few since you left," Obi-Wan responded.

"Are you even capable of standing?" she challenged them, scowling. She could feel several of the pirate's eyes on them.

"O'course we'r," Anakin replied, standing up. Obi-Wan did as well, though he was a little steadier. Zelina watched closely as Anakin took one step towards her. "See? Perfectly...fi..."

His eyes glassed over and he collapsed, causing Zelina to dart forward and catch him before he hit the ground. "Anakin!"

Obi-Wan had hit his knees, passing out rather similarly just behind Anakin, falling unconscious to the floor. Her gut told her that it hadn't been necessarily from the drinks either.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," she grunted, trying to get a better grip on Anakin to heft him up and carry him out of the room. She was stopped by a blaster muzzle pressed to the back of her head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a gruff voice behind her. She froze, glancing around as several other, much more sober pirates also pulled out blasters. "Drop 'im," the voice behind her commanded again. She scowled, but slowly set Anakin down gently on the floor.

The Weequay in charge reappeared moments later. "I see your friends enjoyed themselves a little too much. Ah well, I've already got a room for them. Bind them and take them away!"

"You're going to regret this," Zelina growled.

"I'm sure I will," the pirate responded sarcastically before walking away. She eyed the blaster muzzle aimed at her head distastefully, wondering if she could possibly disarm the pirate and contact the Republic and tell them what was happening.

The pirate seemed to catch on though, and he shifted his blaster muzzle to point to Anakin's head. "Don't even think about it," he growled.

Zelina glared at him, but allowed the pirates to tie her up and link her to her two unconscious friends. There was no way she would risk Anakin's life.

Two pirates carried Obi-Wan and Anakin, while a third kept his blaster pointed at Anakin's head to keep Zelina in line. Zelina memorized the halls she was lead through to the best of her abilities so that should an escape attempt be made, it might be a successful escape.

Finally the sad procession came to a stop outside a triangular door, which was promptly opened. The two pirates holding Obi-Wan and Anakin threw them inside, and the dead weight yanked Zelina forward, causing her to scowl.

"Hey, watch it laser-brain," she snapped as the pirate stepped around her to the other occupant of the cell.

Dooku.

The two watched each other in silent tension as Dooku was added to their chain. It seemed now Dooku would take up the rear, with Obi-Wan attached to Dooku, Zelina attached to Obi-Wan, and Anakin attached to Zelina. Once they were all securely attached, the pirates left.

"I see my warning was not heeded. At least by those two. I assume compassion is what got you captured? Didn't want to risk young Skywalker's life I'm assuming by the fact they were pointing the blaster at his head and not yours," Dooku drawled.

Zelina shrugged. "What can you do? Boys will be boys...and get drunk."

"It seems that despite your rank in the Jedi, you are the most competent of your little band seeing as you heeded my warning instead of being too proud to listen to it; it is a shame that apparently your skills cannot keep up with your astuteness."

Zelina currently had no reply. She was still trying to figure out if he was being sarcastic or not, watching as he attempted to sever his connected shackles from Obi-Wan.

"You possess a lot of promise Du'ahn, and it seems you are aware that you are capable of more. You simply lack the proper teacher, who could educate you to use those feelings I sense in you that could give you power..."

"Thanks, but no thanks," she said shortly, leaning over to check on Anakin. She brushed some of the hair from his face, moving on to Obi-Wan so Dooku wouldn't assume anything.

When she'd felt they were going to get into a situation...she had not been expecting this.