The Rise of the Valkyrie *ON HIATUS*

Chapter Fifty-One

"Rex... please... no... Rex... I love you... no, don't!" Ashara tossed and turned in her sleep. "REX!" She screamed sitting up. Sweat covered her body and she shivered. Tears fell from her eyes as the pain of her wounds finally reached her. If her ribs weren't cracked before, they definitely were now. Every intake hurt. Bruises were littered all over on her body, and there were lightsaber burns everywhere. She could feel the infection spreading from those wounds. It was only made worse by the fever that kept her from sleeping well. That and she knew that the sith lord Darth Sidious was messing with her mind when she slept. It caused her to try not to sleep which only hurt her mind. She was constantly exhausted, and every bit of her body ached. Force lightning was a terrible was the worst torture imaginable in her mind. Dooku loved using that on her. He seemed to take pleasure in her screams.

It had only been week. It felt like so much longer. Ashara found herself crying for Rex when she woke more and more often. Whenever she slept, she seemed to have a rotation of nightmares. She never knew which one she would get when she did sleep. Sometimes it would be of Rex dying. Other times it would be Rex saying that he should have never tried to kiss her. That he didn't know what was going through his head.

She didn't know which one was worse. Each one of those broke her spirit each time it appeared in her mind. She let out a shaky breath, and curled into the corner of her hard bench that was supposed to be her bed. She just hoped that her tormentors wouldn't be coming back that day, but she knew that hope was fruitless. She knew she should be trusting in the force, but the force seemed to have abandoned her. Everyone seemed to have abandoned her. She didn't regret her decision though. As long as the younglings were safe, then she did not care how much they tortured her. She would make the same decision again and again if she had to.

Ashara lifted her head up off her knees when she heard blaster fire just outside of the room. The door opened, and a familiar twi'lek was standing there.

"Master!" Teriko shouted. "Come on!"

Ashara stared at him, unsure if this was another one of Dooku's tricks or not. She pinched her arm, but Teriko was still standing there. She shook her head.

"No. You're one of his holograms again, aren't you", she muttered. "He's trying to get into my mind again, isn't he?"

Teriko shook his head, and stepped closer to Ashara. "Come on, Master. Those burns look nasty, we gotta get you out of here."

He grabbed her arm gently, but she still hissed. The pain was everywhere, no matter how she held herself. He let go of her arm, and stared at her in shock. 

"You're burning up", he whispered. "We need to get you out of here."

Rex appeared in the doorway. "Commander Che, we need to go now!"

"Rex" Ashara asked softly, staring at the clone captain. She forced herself to stand, but she stumbled, unable to hold herself up as a wave of dizziness washed over her.

"I got you", Teriko said as he scooped her up. "Let's move."

Ashara couldn't take her eyes off of Rex. Had his armor always suited him so perfectly. It accentuated his curves nicely. A blush crossed over her face, but she didn't stop staring. It wasn't he turned around that she realized exactly what she had been staring at. She shifted in Teriko's arms, groaning slightly as pain appeared all over her body.

"How much further?" Teriko asked. Ashara could sense his worry, but she wasn't quite sure what he was worried about. She didn't look as bad as she felt, right? 

"Not much", Rex answered. They continued moving, and Ashara winced as she was jolted in Teriko's arms. Suddenly a cold presence washed over her. She rolled out of his arms, and stood, shaking in every limb, but she stood, glaring at the white haired sith lord. 

"Dooku", Teriko sneered. "Rex, get her out of here."

"Come on, General", Rex said, grabbing her and pulling her after him. "We gotta go."

Ashara fought against him, but she was weak and it didn't hinder him at all. "Teriko can't face Dooku all by himself! He'll get himself injured."

"He won't be alone", a new voice said. Ashara looked to see her brother figure.

"Anakin", she said softly. He gave her a worried smile, before hurrying on ahead. Ashara followed Rex, but she was losing energy and quickly. It wasn't long until her legs gave out again. Rex didn't hesitate to pick her up, and run through the ship. Each step he took send pain jolting though Ashara's body, and she couldn't help but yelp every so often. Her vision started fading in and out, as did her hearing. 

"Stay- me", were the only words she heard from Rex. She was struggling to keep her eyes open. She knew deep down that she was safe, and now her body was forcing itself to shut down so it could begin healing her. She wasn't fighting it and instead welcomed the darkness. It wasn't long until she was completely out.