Chapter Five

"I don't like him."

Denali looked at Anakin, shocked by his outbursts. She crossed her arms as they continued to walk.

"Who are you talking about?" She asked him.

"Who do you think? That guy is just too suspicious to me. Did you see the way he had his arms all over you?" Anakin asked her, his anger obvious in his voice. Denali rolled her eyes.

"First of all, Gerg was like an older brother to me when I was-"

"A bounty hunter?" Anakin asked. "You never said you were a bounty hunter when I first met you. Because that definitely would've been some great information to have."

"I said that I was in a gang, usually gangs are filled with bounty hunters. I even went on a few bounties." Denali told him.

"And how old were you?" Anakin asked in a testy kind of tone.

"I started when I was ten." Denali told him, a smirk on her face. Anakin wiped the feisty tone from his lips, admitting defeat. Obi-Wan had been unusually quiet since the encounter with Gerg. She was beginning to grow worried. He was never this quiet when she was around. He usually had something to say.

"Look, Gerg isn't as bad as you think. He knew that Danik was a bad guy-"

"After he punched you across the face." Obi-Wan piped in, anger and disappointment covering his words like a blanket. Denali looked at him, shocked. She could handle one outburst about her past life from one of her friends, but another from her secret HUSBAND that had been so personal-

"I'm not talking about this with you two. It's not like you two would understand anyway. Just forget it. I'll meet you back at Padme's apartment." Denali spat at the two of them. She turned around to walk away as Obi-Wan tried to stop her.

"Denali, wait-"

"No, it's fine. Just run your mouth about the man that had been the brother I had always wanted. The man that had SAVED MY LIFE less than ten minutes ago. Go ahead, just warn me next time so I don't have to hear it." She spat at him, then walked away, lifting her hood of her cloak over her head. Obi-Wan groaned, knowing that he shouldn't have said that to her. He knew that the whole relationship with her brother still bothered her, and he had completely disregarded it.

"What's wrong with her?" Anakin asked.

"She's mad because I'm a total idiot." Obi-Wan said with a sigh as he began to follow her. "Go back and check on Senator Amidala. Make sure that she's alright and safe. Tell Chewbacca that I'll be back with Denali as soon as I can." He told his apprentice. Anakin sighed.

"Are you sure I shouldn't talk to her?" Anakin asked. Obi-Wan stopped in his tracks.

"I believe that it would be better if I alone spoke with her." He said, not even looking over his shoulder.

"Yes, Master."

She stood at the bar once again, alone, her face hidden underneath the dark fabrics that disguised her within the boundaries of the lower city. It had been a few hours since she had last seen her friends, but she didn't mind. She'd find them again soon enough. After a few minutes of anxiously looking around, she finally found him. Well, he found her.

"A little bird told me that you wanted to speak with me." She heard a whisper in her ear. She smirked.

"I think outside would be a better place to speak. Too many unwanted ears around here." She said to him as she walked beside him. They made their way out of the club, this one was different than the one they had been in before. It was located farther away from the site where the bounty hunter had been killed. Farther away from any unwanted spectators.

Away from Obi-Wan and Anakin.

"I apologize for my friends' rash behaviors. They don't exactly understand what happened fourteen years ago." Denali said as they entered an abandoned street. They stood near the shadows as she removed her hood. Gerg smiled at her as he leaned on the wall, his arms crossed.

"Eh, I know I can be troublesome at times. I understand where they're coming from." Gerg said, his green tentacles falling down over his shoulders. Denali had always thought that he was cool for being Nautolan. Her Master was the same species, so whenever she looked at him, she would always think of Gerg. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"But honestly, something must be wrong. You wouldn't have come searching for me if everything was alright." Gerg said to her. She sighed, knowing that even if she was a Jedi, she couldn't hide anything from him. No matter how hard she tried.

"I wanted to ask you some questions, actually." He held his hands up in surrender, a smirk on his face after she had said those words.

"So is this is an interrogation?"

"No, not at all. I just wanted to know what happened after I left." She stated. Gerg put his hand on his chin, thinking.

"Well, after you left, Zeffan disappeared-"

"Dead." Denali said to him. He stared at her, shocked.

"When did that happen?" He asked her.

"I'll explain later, but keep going." She said to him.

"Well, then Danik became leader of the group. It gradually grew bigger. I mean, WAY bigger. I swear there are possibly hundreds, maybe even thousands of members. Danik got busy, recruiting people from other planets besides Alderaan. Tatooine, Corosaunt, Naboo, Felucia, you name it, and he was there." Gerg explained.

"Why did you leave?" Denali asked him. He sighed.

"I left because Danik was starting to.....well.....get a little controlling. He was starting to buy demolition tanks when I boarded a ship to get off that rock." Gerg explained as he kicked a small stone on the ground. Denali bit her bottom lip, thinking deeply.

"Has Danik done anything good since I've left?" She asked her old friend. He smirked.

"He missed you so much that he turned your favorite sport into a Rancor Slayer tradition. Every single Friday night, Danik would hold matches, hoping that the publicity would bring you back home." Gerg said with a smile. Denali's jaw dropped. She hit his shoulder.

"Shut up! No way! Are you serious?!" She asked him. He nodded, chuckling.

"MMA fighters from all over the galaxy have been coming to Alderaan. I heard a few people say that no matter how many people try, no one can beat your record. Someone even told me that Arlon Amino had come when he found out that his record for knocking people out had been beaten by a twelve-year-old girl." Gerg said.

"No way! Arlon Amino!?! The greatest Mixed Martial Arts fighter in the galaxy?!?" Denali said, obviously getting excited.

"Not anymore, he's not. At least not until you came along."

"I swear if you're lying, I'm going to be super ticked."

"Do you think I would honestly lie to you about this?" They were silent for a moment. Denali sighed.

"I wish I could see it all. Just hearing about all that....it makes me want to go witness it for myself. I mean, Arlon Amino being ticked because of MY records!? It just sounds so amazing, an MMA fighter's dream. I wish I could go watch at least one match." She said with a huff.

"You totally could. I'm sure Danik would allow us both to come back-"

"I'm not leaving the Jedi Order." She said quickly. Gerg held up his hands again.

"You don't have to, all you need to do is drop by. Danik wouldn't turn you down. I bet he'd willingly sign you up for a few matches....... And I think it would be best if you patched things up between the both of you." Gerg suggested at the end.

"I guess you're right. I mean, I really do miss him. It's just that...."Denali sighed, remembering that horrible day. The sound of her jaw-bone being crushed echoed through her mind. She then looked at the watch on her commlink.

"I better go." She said, pulling her hood back over her head. She knew that Obi-Wan was probably searching for he right now, he had probably even gotten into a fight or two. She couldn't help but worry at that thought. Gerg grabbed her hand. She turned around to look at him one last time.

"Thank you, for coming to talk to me. And if you ever need me," he handed her a small card. "You know how to reach me." And with that, he disappeared into the night.