Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Keeper's Arena

Chapter 14 - Broken

It seemed every captive had reached the center, now, and Jade was the primary target. Jade slipped behind one of the platforms and waited until the nearest captive approached before firing. When they began to approach in larger groups, Jade looked around frantically for a way out. She eyed a tree skeptically, but it would provide more cover than the platform she leaned against. She sprinted straight for it, lifting herself up after grabbing the closest branch. Twisting at awkward angles, Jade continued to pull herself up and nearly reached the top of the tree. Lasers cut up the leaves swaying around her, and Jade fired from above. They couldn't tell where she was, which made it easier for her to catch them by surprise. Jade looked over her shoulder, debating whether she should jump and land on a platform nearby. She realized the platforms that followed the one she was eying became some sort of path – straight towards Omega. For once, something was working out.

Jade crawled across a branch that stuck out, pleased when it began to dip. When the branch trembled in effort, Jade jumped and rolled to a stop. The other captives were forced to climb the tree; the platform offered no ladder. Jade moved closer to the edge, then leapt again. She could see Omega. Jade landed on a platform close to the ground, then turned around to crouch and lift her blaster. Omega beat her to it. A couple of figures cried out and landed on the ground with a dull thud just short of the platform Jade was crouching on, and Jade looked up to give Omega a smile of gratitude. When she looked down, however, her smile quickly vanished.

Hunter jumped on Sam's back, nicking his neck with his knife. Sam let out a cry of pain and moved backwards to shove Hunter harshly against a tree, then turned, expecting Hunter to drop. When he didn't, Sam gripped Hunter's shoulders and lifted him up and back against the tree. Hunter kicked Sam in the stomach with both legs, and Sam let go immediately. He backed off, twisting his sword to a more favorable position. When Hunter looked up and spotted Jade, she knew she had one shot at explaining who the angry boy – though the size of a grown man – in front of him actually was. He seemed to have figured it out, however. His helmet had been knocked off some time ago; Jade noticed him look from Sam to her, perhaps seeing the resemblance. Or maybe all he had to do was watch her deeply concerned facial expressions.

"It's Sam," she called, wishing her brother would hear and acknowledge her.

Sam didn't turn after hearing Jade's voice, but Hunter's eyes widened, and Jade realized she had given Sam an advantage. Hunter would not be so eager to hurt Sam, now. Jade jumped off of the platform, only several feet away from Sam, now. She was about to move forward when Omega waved to get her attention.

"They're going around!" she called.

Once again, Jade was occupied with a new battle. It was worse, this time, as she watched Hunter lose his momentum. She realized Sam wasn't just fighting Hunter for the fun of it; they were edging nearer to Omega's platform. Was Sam's primary target Omega?

Jade moved along the platform wall and pinned the arm of a captive who had reached out like a wriggling, searching creature. She lifted the other arm holding a blaster, and the nozzle flashed as a laser shot upwards. She turned the man around, and he was immediately shot in the back by another captive who had just turned the corner on the other side. Jade winced and grabbed the man's blaster before it could drop from his limp hand, holding on to him as she fired at his companions who had been right behind him. They scrambled to get out of the way, and Jade dropped the man she had been holding on to. She swerved around him and headed for Sam and Hunter, but the ground began to shake, and new platforms entered the scene. Sam and Hunter happened to be standing on a new one; they shot upwards so suddenly Jade skidded to a stop and watched in shock and renewed concern. They both buckled to the ground; neither of them had expected it.

Omega would be easier to get to, now.

"I have to get up there," Jade whispered, as if trying to encourage herself.