Just In Case I Like the Dancing

The group was silent as the black ship disappeared into the night, and for a few moments they were stunned. Obi-Wan shook his head violently.

"That's it. I'm tired of these games." He turned and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Sailor Hoth asked after him.

"To get her back," he yelled over his shoulder. Sailor Asteroid ran up to him and smiled.

"One of the mechs remembers seeing several long boxes, but no people being put into a black ship. The name of the ship is the Black Rose. It needed some special modifications made to the hyperdrive because they want to get where they are going fast. Neelgaimon."

"Neelgaimon? Asteroid," Obi-Wan began to say.

"The Dreamer is all ready to go."

A few minutes later, the Black Fire Dreamer lifted off and, like a bolt of lightning, flashed across the sky, then was gone.

"How much of a head start do they have?" Tuxedo Jedi asked.

"At least a day - those hyperdrive modifications are state of the art," Sailor Asteroid said over her shoulder. The ship zoomed past several small star systems and other ships as it neared its destination.

Obi-Wan paced back and forth, occasionally checking their position. He silently cursed himself for allowing Lamia to go this far. He should have done what his instincts told him to do a long time ago; now, he worried that it might be too late.

Sailor Iridonia sat quietly. She stared at the floor and sighed repeatedly. She was worried that Annika might die. If it were her destiny to die, there would be nothing Xarae could do. It couldn't be her destiny to die, Xarae thought. She has children in the future. She has to survive. Then, a small voice in the back of her head reminded her, Unless her destiny was to live until the future, but die in the past. Placing an elegantly-gloved hand to her temple, Sailor Iridonia rubbed away her headache. She didn't want Annika to die; she'd beg Master19 to let her live. She prayed it didn't come to that.

"We're here," Sailor Asteroid announced.

The planet was dry and desolate, the kind of place where one comes to disappear. In the distance, Obi-Wan saw the now dust-covered Black Rose.

"There's nothing on it," Sailor Iridonia said. She used her senses to do a sweep of the area and found only small life forms.

"They have to be here somewhere. We'll have to split up and search. Priire, you and Tuxedo Jedi go north. Sailor Hoth, you and Sailors Iridonia and Centrali go south, I'll go east..."

"Master Kenobi! Let me go with you. Please?" Sailor Centrali asked.

He nodded. "Fine. Let's all meet back here in a standard hour." After splitting up, they dispersed in their respective directions. Obi-Wan and Sailor Centrali ran east.

The horizon seemed to stretch on forever; only a barren, sandy wasteland lay ahead of them, but they trudged on. They stopped only momentarily to catch their breath before taking off again. Finally after what felt like a slow eternity, Obi-Wan came to an abrupt halt. "There," he said, pointing to a large castle. Ciel looked up at the building. It was more like a fortress, with huge stone walls and jutting towers.

"How do we get in?" Centrali asked.

Obi-Wan nodded in the direction of a thick wooden drawbridge. "You work on getting that lowered. I'm going up."

"Up?" she asked incredulously. "Up the walls? They're straight - there's nothing to hold onto!"

Reaching inside his belt, he withdrew what looked like small metal spikes and long wires. They sparkled and shined in the sunlight as Obi-Wan tied a thin piece of wire to each spike. Then, pushing a releasing mechanism hidden on the side, he flung the first one into the hard stone. He threw another one a few feet higher and looped the wire around them. Using the wire to balance himself, he began the slow and arduous task of climbing the wall. When he'd positioned his boot over the second spike, he pulled the first one from the wall and once again threw it high against the stone. It embedded with a tiny thud, and Obi-Wan placed hand over hand as he edged up the wire. Sailor Centrali watched a few more minutes, until she was sure he was okay, before alerting the other senshi to her coordinates.

By the time Obi-Wan reached the castle roof, the palms of his hands were littered with blood from where the wire had cut him. He wiped his hands on his tunic and set off in search of Annika. He climbed into a window and found himself in a room full of tiled mirrors. There were so many he almost didn't see Doll standing in the centre of them all, standing deadly still.

"Doll?" Obi-Wan ran up to him, but the other man didn't move.

With short breaths, Doll whispered, "I'm being punished for leaving the Bride alone with Akira. If I move, I'll be in the line of the mirrors... my reflection will kill me."

"Let me help you," Obi-Wan said.

"No! Just go get Annika. Lamia doesn't yet know about her ingesting Akira's blood, so she's safe for now."

"She what? Annika..." he said with disbelief. "I'm not leaving you here." Obi-Wan walked around the room, trying to find a way to move the mirrors, but he couldn't. Shifting one even slightly would affect Doll. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Slowly, one of the mirrors lifted straight into the air, missing Doll's image by centimetres. Obi-Wan used the Force to turn it so that it faced the cold walls; then he lowered it back to the ground. He repeated the effort until every mirror's surface was concealed. Doll let out a sigh of relief.

"How can I thank you?"

"Just tell me where Annika is," Obi-Wan pleaded.

"It's too late. Akira deceived her into taking his blood - it is too late." He slumped to the ground. "I didn't want this to happen to her! It's not right to force her to be something she doesn't want to be!">[?

"We can save her, Doll. Where is she?"

"Across the hall... with Akira."

"Stay here. I'll be back with Annika, and we'll leave together."

Obi-Wan stalked into the hallway. It was cold, very cold. And the only light was from a torch at the end of the hall. He heard Annika's voice from behind a door, she was laughing... but her voice was deeper and harder. It sent chills down his spine. Then he heard a male voice; it was dark and sinister. He propped the door ajar and saw Annika sitting in a large throne. She was wearing a long black gown - it extended several feet below her ankles. Her hair was loose, and it fell about her shoulders. Obi-Wan drew in his breath when he saw her eyes - they were cold... they looked almost dead. A man passed in front of Annika; he was talking very low, but whatever he said made Annika threw her head back and laugh. That's when Obi-Wan saw her teeth. Her two canine teeth had grown into small sharp points, like tiny arrows capable of piercing the toughest surface.

He kicked the door open and walked in with his lightsaber drawn and activated. The man in the room turned and narrowed his eyes at the impressive Jedi. Then he chuckled. Placing his hands in his pockets, he bowed.

"Hello. You must be the Jedi Kenobi. My name is Akira Takahashi, and I believe you are already acquainted with Annika." The aforementioned girl waved her hand. "Your lightsaber will not kill me," Akira said offhandedly.

Obi-Wan twirled it in his hand and said, "Well then, why don't I just see how many body parts I can slice off before you get out of my way."

"There's no cause for violence," Akira said. He took a few steps back and smiled as Obi-Wan walked toward Annika.

"Come on, I'm here to take you home."

Annika furrowed her brow. "I am home."

Obi-Wan looked at her and said softly, "No, sweetheart, you've been tricked. You don't belong here - they are brainwashing you." He looked on as Annika's eyes filled with tears. She stretched her hand out to grab his, but before they even got close, she kicked him.

"Sucker," she giggled. She walked over and stood next to Akira. "You should really go, because next time I'll kill you."

The Jedi straightened his posture and coughed. Annika kicked him hard; he struggled to catch his breath. "Annika," he said, "you won't kill me. I don't care what they've done to you - there is no way you'd sacrifice your principles. That's not my Annika."

"Your Annika is dead!" she yelled. "I'm a new woman now. I'm strong and powerful, and I don't need you!"

He shook his head. "That's a lie. You're not strong. You're a coward."

"What?" she asked, taking a few steps toward him.

"If you were strong, you wouldn't have been tricked by Akira. He tricked you into taking his blood, did you know that?"

"Is that true?" she asked, rounding on the black-haired man.

"Yes. See, I don't lie to you. However, you have since taken it freely, if you remember."

Annika sneered at him, then turned back to Obi-Wan. "Regardless, there is nothing you can do now, Kenobi."

Obi-Wan took a step closer. "Don't make me remove you forcefully."

"How dare you!" she railed. "I am a Princess, and I am the Bride! You do not talk to me in that manner."

Lamia burst into the room. "What is going on in here? I'm trying to rest!" she yelled, throwing her sleeping mask across the room. "Oh, so we have yummy company." She smiled at the sight of Obi-Wan.

"Don't get excited, Lamia - he's leaving," Annika said.

Lamia turned to look at her, and her eyes flipped open wide. "Why aren't you in your cage? Get back in there!"

"Oh please," Annika said. She rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"Excuse me?!?" Lamia screamed. She marched over to Annika and slapped her across the face. "I swear if you ever do that to me again..."

"You'll what, Lamia? Kill me? I don't think so."

Grabbing her mouth, Lamia forced Annika's mouth open and inspected her teeth. "How? I didn't give you enough blood."

Akira cleared his throat and smiled. "You didn't give her any blood. Lilith told me that she saw Doll make sure Annika didn't taste a drop. I, however, fed her my blood personally."

"You did what? I'll kill you!!"

"It's only fair, Ibara. You took my daughter, and I take yours!"

Lamia pouted her bottom lip and made whimpering noises. "Oh, Annika! How could you? I love you so much!"

Annika laughed. "You don't love me! You have never cared about me... all you did was use me! You sweet-talked me into everything! You preyed on my innocence and my naïvety, and my soft heart! You tricked me... you disgust me. Guess what, Lamia? I never loved you either! I felt sorry for you, I wanted to love you, to change you. But you aren't worth my time. I've got someone better anyway." She stroked Akira's handsome face.

Akira smiled and winked at Lamia, which threw her over the edge. She was literally shaking with anger. "You... conniving... little... WHORE!!" she screamed. Lamia lunged at Annika, tackling her onto the ground. She smacked her prey repeatedly until Akira wrapped his hand around Lamia's black curls and physically picked her up and threw her across the room.

"Have you lost your mind?" he yelled. "Have you forgot about the Rebirth? About the child she carries in her womb? I should kill you for even coming near her!" he said, walking over to Lamia. She growled and jumped on him. She had her hands wrapped around his neck as she hissed curses at him.

Obi-Wan ran over to Annika, who was still lying on the floor in a heap. His heart skipped a beat as he thought for a second that she might be dead, but he saw her chest rising and falling; she was just knocked out.

"Get away from her," Akira said from behind him. Obi-Wan turned to see him standing, with his teeth bared. Lamia lay unconscious on the cold ground. The Jedi stood and unclipped his lightsaber.

"I told you, Jedi, that won't work on me."

"No, but this will," he said. Obi-Wan doubled his fist and sent Akira flying. His body landed hard next to Lamia. Quickly, he bundled Annika into his arms and ran with her down the hallway. He ran into Doll, who led him downstairs and to the door that Sailor Asteroid had blasted open. Not saying a word, he continued to run, carrying Annika back to the ship. The senshi and Doll followed close behind.

Doll grabbed Sailor Centrali's arm. "Wait. I can't go."

"Why?" she cried.

"I belong here."

"No! Please, come with us. You have to! We don't know what's wrong with Annika. You're the only one who does."

He stood and thought for a moment. He was confused - part of him wanted to go, but a part of him wanted to stay. What Ciel said next made up his mind.

"Look, Doll, they're going to come after her... after the Bride. We need you to keep her and Oame safe!" He nodded and smiled, and then they both ran up the landing ramp leading into the Black Fire Dreamer. Once the ship took off, Obi-Wan sighed with a mixture of relief and fear. He had Annika, but he didn't know how to deal with her.

Doll walked up to Obi-Wan and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not sure if there is a way to save her, but I'll help you any way I can."

"What can I expect when she wakes up?"

"This Annika is the full realisation of her corrupted Dark Side. This is the purest form of her evil. It's never been reversed before... not that I'm aware. However, she's not a vampire yet, so there might still be hope."

"There is always hope."

"When she wakes, she will be strong, very strong. You might not be able to contain her, but I probably can. She will try to get free of whatever bond you place her in; since Akira made her this way, she will be smart and sneaky. She'll try to seduce you into letting her go. Don't fall for any of her tricks. No matter how much she cries, or begs, or temps you... don't let her go. In this state, she's capable of anything."

Annika groaned and mumbled in her sleep, "Obi-Wan? Where are you? I can't find you..." Then she slipped back into unconsciousness. He clasped her hand and kissed her fingertips.

Doll sighed. "That was your Annika. I don't know how you'll be able to get her back. Or if you even can."

"I will."

"Damn you, Akira! Look what's happened!" Lamia panicked. She walked in circles and chewed on her fingernails.

"Don't worry about it, Ibara."

"Don't call me that!!" she spat.

"It's not difficult to figure out where they've taken the Bride. Obviously they've gone back to the Jedi Temple, I-BA-RA."

Lamia shook her head and threw a handful of lit candles at him. He dodged easily.

"If I had time to kill you, I would. But, right now I've got more important things to do. Are you coming with me?"

"Where?"

"Back to Coruscant, you twit!"

"I swear to the Force, Akira, as soon as Oame is born, I'm going to kill you and your new little obsession!"