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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟗
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

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While the Gungans were left to face the droid army, Aurora went with Padmé and the rest of their allies into the city. They did their best to stay hidden as they rushed past droids and their battleships. When they reached a fork in their path, Captain Panaka took his troops one way while Padmé, Aurora, Anakin, and the Jedi took the other. They stayed as silent as possible as they snuck through the capital of Naboo.

As soon as they reached the end of the street, Padmé placed herself against the wall with Aurora right by her side. The two girls exchanged a look before the Tinsley girl sent her friend a slight nod. Her actions caused the Queen to turn her attention to the path across from them and use a light to send their allies a signal. It wasn't long after that when they saw a flashing blue light coming from none other than Captain Panaka. Once Qui-Gon saw the signal coming from their allies, he turned around before crouching down in front of Anakin and placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Once we get inside, you find a safe place to hide and stay there," the Jinn man ordered, earning a small nod from the Skywalker boy who was a mile short of convincing, "stay there."

It wasn't long after that when their allies came into view on the other side of the street. They only had to wait for a moment before they fired at the droids' tank, causing it to explode. A blaster battle soon began as the droids and the guards advanced on each other. That was all it took for Padmé to come out from her hiding spot and run around the corner. Aurora instantly followed her before she heard the sound of lightsabers igniting. The Tinsley girl did her best to ignore the droids firing at them as she kept up with Padmé. As soon as they reached the large door to the palace, Aurora punched in the code before the entrance slowly opened, allowing them to slip inside.

After sprinting through the halls and taking down numerous droids, they finally reached the hangar. The Jedi moved in front of the group of guards and pilots to deflect the droids' attacks. Behind them, Padmé and Aurora used their blasters to take out as many of the droids as possible.

"Get to your ships!" the Queen of Naboo ordered while continuing to attack her enemy.

It wasn't long after that when the pilots dispersed and sprinted toward their ships. Aurora stayed close to Padmé's side while keeping her eyes on the droids in front of her. All of her shots seemed to find their mark, sending many droids to the ground. The Tinsley girl did her best to keep her attention on what was happening in front of her and not on the ships flying above her head. In any other situation, she knew that they shouldn't have been in the hangar with all the ships taking off. But they all knew that this wasn't any other situation.

After what felt like an eternity, all the droids were taken out, causing an uncomfortable silence to take over the hangar. Aurora let out a long sigh before turning around to face the group standing behind her. "My guess is the Viceroy's in the throne room."

Captain Panaka instantly nodded in response before his attention fell on his fellow guards. "Red group! Blue group! Everybody, this way!"

"Hey! Wait for me!" Anakin shouted from one of the ships after seeing everyone walking toward the exit of the hangar.

"Stay where you are. You'll be safe there," Qui-Gon ordered without an ounce of hesitation. Just as the Skywalker boy was about to argue, the Jedi Master sent him a look, signaling for him not to argue with him. "Stay in that cockpit."

They were just about to reach the exit when the doors slowly opened. Aurora instantly raised her blaster and aimed it at the cloaked figure on the other side, only for her to freeze a moment later. The last person she expected to see on Naboo was the man Qui-Gon fought on Tatooine. But here he was, standing in front of her with a determined look in his eyes. And just like before, Aurora was drawn to him, as if they had met before even though she knew they never did. At least, not in reality.

The dreams she had of the man in front of her chasing her through the forest came back to her. The fear she felt in those dreams washed over her like a tidal wave. He was always after her, shouting words that she could never remember. And her dreams always ended the same. As soon as he was close enough to touch her, everything went black. She'd wake up in a panicked frenzy and the only thing that would calm her was her mother's touch. She hadn't had one of those dreams since her parents' disappearance.

"We'll handle this," Qui-Gon announced, breaking Aurora out of her daze and back to the situation at hand.

"We'll take the long way," Padmé declared before turning toward their alternate route.

Everyone followed the Amidala girl. Everyone except for Aurora, who was still standing in front of the cloaked man with her blaster raised. Her breathing seemed to quicken as she kept her eyes locked on the man in front of her. It wasn't until a hand was placed on her shoulder that she finally broke eye contact with him to look at Qui-Gon. "Go. I will find you after this is all over."

Aurora sent him a quick nod before following the rest of her allies. Just as she caught up with them, three destroyer droids came out of nowhere and started attacking them. Everyone managed to get behind the walls unscathed while the droids continued to fire at them. After a moment of hiding from her attackers, the Tinsley girl popped up from behind the wall and fired back. Only a moment passed before she went back into hiding, knowing that her shots wouldn't penetrate the droids' shields.

It wasn't long after that when the ship that Anakin was hiding in began to move. A wave of shock washed over Aurora as she watched it hover across the hangar before firing at the droids. It only took Anakin three shots to take out their attackers. However, instead of stopping the ship, he took off into the sky. The Tinsley girl didn't have a moment to worry about the young boy as she followed Padmé into the hall that would take them to the throne room.

They barely made it into the next hall when more droids began attacking. That caused everyone to hide behind the large pillars before returning fire. The battle only lasted a few minutes before Padmé turned around to face Aurora and Captain Panaka. "We don't have time for this."

The Tinsley girl let out a long sigh as her eyes scanned her surroundings. It wasn't long before her gaze landed on a large window across from them. She stared at it for a moment before a plan formed in her head. A smile soon formed on her face as she turned her attention back to Padmé. "I think I have an idea. But you're gonna have to trust me."

A matching smile appeared on Padmé's face before she opened her mouth to speak. "I always do."

That was all it took for Aurora to turn her blaster toward the window. After letting out a shaky breath, the brunette girl fired at it until the glass shattered. It wasn't long after that before she forced Padmé and Captain Panaka to run toward it, followed by the other guards. As soon as they reached their destination, the two girls along with the group of guards carefully stepped out onto the ledge.

Aurora did her best to ignore how high they were as she and her allies took out their ascension guns and fired them at the ledge above the next floor. As soon as they knew their tethers were secured, everyone pressed the button on their guns before they were taken to the next floor. Not even a moment after that passed when Aurora used her blaster to break the nearest window, allowing them all to get back inside the building. Once everyone was inside, they sprinted down the hall toward their destination. However, they didn't make it very far thanks to a group of destroyer droids surrounding them.

"Put down your blasters. They won this round," Padmé announced, earning a shocked look from Aurora before her friend sent her a small smile. Everyone hesitated for a moment before slowly placing their blasters on the ground. Aurora was the last to do so despite trusting Padmé with her life. She knew the Queen of Naboo had a plan but she still didn't think giving up their only means of protection was a good idea.

Just as the droids began to surround him, an uneasy feeling washed over Aurora, making her stumble a bit. It made the Tinsley girl's blood run cold, knowing that something terrible was happening somewhere around her. The last time she felt that way was on the day her parents disappeared. But instead of trying to figure out the reason for her feelings, Aurora pushed the feeling aside and focused back on the situation at hand.

A shaky breath passed over Aurora's lips as she walked beside Padmé through the halls of the palace. The group of droids escorting them was much larger than the Tinsley girl would've liked. While there were only two in front of them, there were six walking behind them, and that didn't count the ones on the sides. Just the thought of being outnumbered by robots was enough to send chills throughout Aurora's entire body. It wasn't long after that when they finally reached the throne room, where the Viceroy was waiting for them.

"Your little insurrection is at an end, Your Highness," the man in red said after Queen Amidala and her allies were forced to stop a few feet away from him, "time for you to sign the treaty and end this pointless debate in the Senate."

"Viceroy!" a new voice called, causing everyone to turn their attention toward the sound to find Sabé still dressed as Padmé's decoy. She stood with about a dozen guards behind her as she stared at the Viceroy with hatred in her eyes. "Your occupation here has ended."

As soon as she finished speaking, Sabé raised her blaster and fired twice, taking out the droids closest to her. It didn't take long for the Viceroy to send his droids after the Queen's handmaiden, claiming that Padmé was a decoy. After most of the droids ran after Sabé, the true Queen of Naboo went to her throne to grab the blasters she kept hidden in the armrest.

"Aurora!" Padmé shouted, drawing the girl's attention to her before the former tossed her closest ally her extra blaster. After the object was in her hand, the Tinsley girl didn't hesitate to turn around and take out the two droids standing behind the Viceroy. On the other side of the room, the Queen of Naboo was firing her blaster at the three droids left to guard the rest of their allies. After taking down the remaining droids together, the two girls aimed their blasters at the Trade Federation's representatives.

"Jam the doors!" Captain Panaka ordered, causing his guards to sprint towards the doors and seal them shut.

"Now, Viceroy, we will discuss a new treaty," the Queen of Naboo declared after lowering her blaster and taking a step toward the man in red, knowing that Aurora would protect her if he tried to harm her.

Despite their victory in the palace, the Tinsley girl couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. But once again, she decided to shake it off and enjoy their success of freeing Naboo. Little did Aurora know that she was now the last surviving member of her family.

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