Luke and Leia - Rebels [2]

13: Confrontation

Leia was unaware of how long it took before the light started filing back in, but once her eyes adjusted she realized that she could see much more clearly now.
Finally, the hallway gave way to the hangar, the exact same layout Leia remembered when she first walked into it. But, for some reason, her chest tightened even more than it had been previously.

For the past hour or so Leia had gotten a feeling of dread, as if something bad were awaiting her. She had initially shaken it off, but the more it grew the more undeniable it was. It had gotten to the point where she had actually had to stop to breathe because her chest was so tight.

And now that she was at the hangar, for some reason the dread was the worst it had been. Everything was still and silent around her, but the air itself seemed to buzz with apprehension. Suddenly a freezing cold washed over her, making her numb and paralyzed. Her eyes widened and her breathing grew faster as fear grew more prominent as well. It was all encompassing.

The hangar door slammed down with a loud thud that sealed her in a pitch black darkness, and if Leia hadn't been so focused she would have screamed. But her breathing soon slowed again and her brain started functioning just enough for her to notice that there was a slight concentration of the cold. But where?

She focused as hard as she could to realize... It was right in front of her.

Leia didn't even think, she just shot. Amidst the black around her the red blaster bolt was blinding, and she watched stiffly as it flew.

But then, it stopped.

The blaster bolt was floating in mid air, pushing and pulling as if fighting to reach its target. But it wasn't moving, not at all. Leia stared, open mouthed, as the fear crept higher and higher inside her, clawing at her insides. She knew now who she was dealing with, but it was far too late.

As she stood shocked and afraid, the blaster bolt fizzled out suddenly as if it was crushed. As it did so she gasped loudly, startling her out of her paralysis. The gasp echoed through the hangar eerily, and Leia turned slowly as she faintly felt the presence now behind her. The sound of the respirator sent shivers down her spine. Then the footsteps came, and her entire body tensed up in a hesitant anticipation for what was about to happen.

:-:-:-:

Luke grunted as he stumbled down the rocky slope, shielding his head as a few loose rocks scattered around him. He looked back up to see Threepio and Artoo making their descent carefully, then turned to Han who was investigating the area.

"Find anything yet?" He asked halfheartedly.

"Not yet, kid. We've only been down here for a minute." Han gave the younger man a look. "I'm antsy to get out of here too, but wanting me to find a way out as soon as we get down here is asking a little much."

Luke chuckled. "And here I thought you'd be good at finding alternate ways out of hairy situations, considering that's your job."

"Was." Han corrected pointedly. "I've been working with you Rebels for over a year now, remember?"

"Don't you still have a bounty on your head?"

"Well... Yeah. But I'm working on it."

"Right."

Han glared at Luke. "You wanna just stand there looking pretty or are you actually gonna help me find a way out with that big glow stick?"

The droids finally made it down the rocky slope and Artoo scanned ahead, then informed Luke that there was a less dense patch of ice he could cut into further along the path. Luke sighed in relief and suppressed a shiver; the deeper they went the colder and icier it got. It had gotten to a point where almost everywhere they looked was just ice.