I'm sorry for the delay in updating; I have many projects on my hands that get in the way of this. I'm making every effort not to take the easy way out and discontinue this! I am terribly, terribly sorry for the delay and the shortness of this chapter.

Chapter 13: The Gungans

Anakin could not keep it out of his mind, that dream, premonition. It was all he could think about as he and Padmé headed north, in search of allies, in search of the Gungans. Anakin's disturb feelings were so pronounced that Padmé would have picked them up even if she could not use the Force. She made no attempt to question him, as he seemed to be in a different world, whatever was ailing him, he did not wish to be questioned, and Padmé respected that. However, near mid day when they came upon the ruins of a once massive statue built by the ancient peoples of Naboo, the Jedi Padawan's stopped, and one could not refrain herself from questioning the other about what bothered him so.

"Anakin," said Padmé.

"Padmé?" Anakin asked as though surprised.

"I can sense something is bothering you."

A smoking… gaping… burned… hole… had been cut into her stomach. She gasped, and mouthed a word he could not hear before a black boot contacted with her head, sending her flipping down the dark pit, like a lifeless rag doll in the air. Anakin cried out—

"Padmé…"

"Yes?" Padmé asked.

"I… I had a dream…."

He was frozen in place, as though he was on the outside looking in to the scene before him. Obi-Wan lay unconscious near the rim of an endless, black, metal pit. His head was caked with a slight bit of blood, Anakin sensed he was injured, he wanted to help him, he had to help him, but he could not. His gaze was drawn to Qui-Gon.

His master lay several feet from Obi-Wan, sprawled upon the ground, long, cauterized gashes in his thigh and arm. The…

The Zabrak towering above him… smiling devilishly. Anakin felt his stomach tighten, and felt as though it would rip and he would die of internal blood loss when his gaze fell upon Padmé who lay against a bloodstained way… crimson liquid dripping down the side of her face. Anakin's momentary immobilization ceased to exist; he did not consciously command his legs to move… they did so at their will, propelling him at the Dark Jedi.

"You had a dream?" Padmé repeated.

"I—"

"Am intruding," finished a voice. Anakin spun, lightaber already activated, to face two Gungans who had emerged out of nowhere, carrying pikes. The Jedi quickly deactivated his lightsaber, it was best not to start out on the wrong foot.

"We've come to ask for help," said Padmé quickly.

"Help?" A Gungan repeated. "Mesa no thinkin' yousa should be here…."

"No," Anakin said. "We are in desperate need—"

"Wesa no helpin' yousa, wesa is takin' care of our own selfs."

"I know Jar Jar Binks," Anakin stated as a last resort. Obviously these Gungans were not the negotiating type, perhaps if they had a mutual friend….

To the Jedi Padawan's slight surprise, the both Gungans threw their heads back and laughed.

"Mesa thinkin' Boss Nass woulda wanna here what desa outsiders have to say, theysa know Jar Jar," said one Gungan to the other.

"Mesa agree," said the other.

"Very well, yousa shall be taken before Boss Nass."

Anakin just nodded and both Jedi followed the Gungans deeper into the forest they currently resided in, still thinking of that terrible dream, though grateful he did not have to talk about it with Padmé.

Padmé noticed Anakin's continuing unease, but found herself suspiciously watching their guides to this Boss Nass, she was under the impression that the two Gungans found the situation to be rather humorous. She could not help but wonder if it was herself and Anakin that they found amusing, or the fact that they knew Jar Jar Binks. The clumsy Gungan did say he was banished….

Anakin brushed these and all thoughts out of his mind, calming himself about everything, Padmé, the Gungans, everything. He merely followed the two aliens as they led him and the Jedi at his side deeper into the wood which became increasingly strewn with ruins. The Jedi padawan suspected it had once been a city built by ancient Nubian people.

Finally they came upon a clearing from which they entered between two stones. Gungans stood upon ruins surrounding them, and directly in front of the two Jedi lay the massive head of a once great statue. On its ear sat the largest Gungan either of the padawans had ever seen. Anakin sensed this was their leader and immediately kneeled, as did Padmé.

"Yousa come here, to disa place," boomed Boss Nass. "Mesa ask… why?"

"Desa knows Jar Jar Binks yousa highness," the guard to Anakin's left said.

The crowd of the nonhuman Nubians burst out in laughter including their leader whose chortle was thunderous.

"Jar Jar Binks?" Boss Nass inquired. "Hesa banished, hesa foolish imbecile."

"That's not why we came, however," said Padmé not particularly caring about why Binks had been banished.

"Oh?" asked the leader. Anakin could tell he was not taking the situation seriously. "Then whata do yousa Jedi want wit us?"

"We've come to ask for help," said the apprentice of Qui-Gon.

"Help," stated the obese leader. Nass said it simply, though thoughtfully.

"Yes," said Obi-Wan's apprentice. "Help to free Naboo from the control of the Trade Federation."

Boss Nass eyed Padmé in a way that could only be described as suspicious before replying.

"Wesa no carin' about da Naboo, da Naboo think they so smarty, they think they brains so big."

"That is not wise," Anakin warned, attempting to not sound disrespectful. He was confident he had not by Boss Nass' relatively… not hostile look. "You and the… Naboo form a symbiotic relationship, what happens to one of you affects the other, you must understand this. The Naboo are already imprisoned by the Trade Federation, and here you and your people are amassed in a large force, hiding in the woods, not so far away from Theed. The Viceroy of the Trade Federation will perceive you as a threat once he finds you, and I assure you he will, and then he will attempt to wipe you all out. However, if you can help us drive them out, you can return to your city and live in peace."

Boss Nass' eyebrows quirked. "Whata do yousa be thinkin'?" The leader asked.

"We wish for your army to amass south of Theed in the plains to draw out the droid army. Once you are locked in battle, an elite strike force including myself and my companion here will enter the city and take the Viceroy. We will also send all the pilots at our disposal up to take down the droid control ship orbiting the planet. The droids will cease to be active and Naboo will be safe, we will ensure your losses are minimal and that the battle does not last long. We urge you to help us, you are our only option."

"Our only hope," Padmé added.

Boss Nass scratched his meaty chin.

"It is likely a number of Gungans will die," said Anakin truthfully. "However, if you do not go to war with these invaders, all Gungans will die."

The leaded nodded.

"Wesa in agreement," said Boss Nass.

"Thank you, please move your army to the plains south of Theed as soon as possible. Take this." Anakin tossed one of the leader's aides a comm device. "We will contact you on it, I trust you know how to use it."

"Mesa have used one of dese before," said the aide. "Mesa knows, is ita set onto de right… erm…."

"Channel?"

"Yes."

"Yes, it is."

"Bery good, mesa remembers how ta use dese contrapions, not unlike our own communication devices desa are."

"Thank you, we will head out now, and contact you when we are ready, once we see the droid army head out, we will set our plans in motion and end the battle quickly. We will likely contact you late tonight, and we hope you will be able to rally your army and have them in the plains by morning tomorrow," said Anakin.

"Agreed," Boss Nass concurred.

Once more, I'm sorry this chapter is so very short and it's been so long since I last updated. I promise I will have the next chapter, which will be full of action and begin to wind down Part I of this fic so we can get in to Part II, the one you really came to read with Luke Skywalker's turn to the Dark Side. I am terribly, terribly sorry that I took so long to update. I hope you will all continue to read this fan fiction for it will take a very interesting turn soon, after a time skip in later chapters. Once more I am terribly sorry for the delay. I promise I will have the next chapter up soon, it will be my TOP priority, before anything else I might have to do on Thank you, sorry for the delay.