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Chewie lets out a soft warble as Han returns into the darkness.
"Yeah, the bar," Han replies quietly, before he drops onto the ground and leans back against the wall. His vision isn't any better. He hadn't expected much of a change but at least some light would have been appreciated. "Woulda brought you somethin' if I'd been able to see where the kriff I was walkin' around."
The wookie sighs and then takes a seat beside Han, and pulls him close, large paw stroking over his friend's already messy hair.
"S'okay, we'll get out of this."
"Mmrraff."
"Yeah," he chuckles. "Just like old times, pal."
He's not sure how long it is that they sit there. A day. Maybe longer. Nobody brings them any food and nobody brings them any water, but Han just stays close to Chewie and tries to focus on the far side of the cell. They've been in worse spots before, him and the furball, but they've always managed to get out of it.
This time won't be any different.
The doors to the cell slam open and Han feels himself getting pulled to his feet by gloved hands, and a weapon at his back.
Maybe it will be different.
"Han!"
He knows that voice.
"Luke!"
"Are you all right?"
"Fine." Han tries to look around the room on instinct, he can hear Jabba, and his gang, but he can't see a damn thing. It makes him nervous. "Together again, huh?"
"Wouldn't miss it," the kid replies.
"How're we doing?"
Luke eyes the guards. Jabba. Leia chained to Jabba. The angry looks on the faces of everyone staring at them. "The same as always."
"That bad, huh?" Han comments. "Where's Leia?"
There's a pause, before she speaks up. "I'm here."
+++++
The sand is hot, and Han can feel it whipping against his face as the skiff they're in crosses the Dune sea. Luke is on here too, and so is the wookie.
Great.
Get freed from that carbon freeze and now I'm going to be spending a thousand years in this hellhole getting digested in the pit of a kriffin' Sarlacc's belly. Luke's got it all under control. Of course he does. Jedi Knight. Stupid religion. Stupid oldtimer and stupid kriffin'...
He blinks. "I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big dark blur," he says, voice rough with sarcasm, "I see a big light blur."
"There's nothing to see," Luke admits. "I used to live here, you know."
"You're gonna die here, you know. Convenient."
"Just stick close to Chewie and Lando. I've taken care of everything."
Han is quiet for a moment. Lando. That good for nothing... "Oh. Great."
+++++
It all happens too fast for him to even make sense of it. One minute, he's yelling at Jabba's barge, and then the next, the guards are screaming as the skiff rocks with the shift of someone's weight. He can hear the hiss of a lightsaber and then canon fire as the barge fires at the skiff.
Everything is going to hell and he still can't see.
Another blast rocks the skiff and he can hear Chewie yell as they get hit by the shrapnel from the explosion. His back hurts as he hits the deck, Lando is yelling for help, and his first mate is howling in pain.
"Chewie, you okay? Where is he?"
Another low cry, before he feels a furry hand at his back.
"I'm okay, pal."
"Han! Chewie?" It's Lando, who's clinging to a rope, dangling over the pit of the Sarlacc.
"Lando!"
Chewie barks at him as Han begins to feel around the deck, hunting for a weapon, anything to have Lando hold onto, anything, before his fingers curl around a spear from one of the guards and he hears exactly what the wookie is barking at him.
"Boba Fett?! Boba Fett?! Where?"
On instinct, he whirls around and slams into something.
(It's the jetpack of the bounty hunter and he goes flying off the skiff, out of control, and into the pit of the Sarlacc.)
+++++
They make an interesting group:
Lando, clinging to the sand and trying not to slide into the mouth of the sand-beast.
Han, still blind and dangling over the edge of the pit as Chewie hangs onto his ankles.
Chewbacca, trying to keep from dropping the both of them as the skiff gets fired upon.
"Grab it! Almost. You almost got it!"
"Hold it! Woah!" Lando flails a little as he reaches for the spear again.
"Gently now. All...all right. Now easy, easy. Hold me, Chewie." He stretches out as far as he can towards the sound of Lando's voice. He knows he's got to be close. He's got to be close.
A tentacle flails up and wraps around Lando's leg, causing him to scream as he gets dragged down.
"Chewie!" Han shouts. "Chewie, give me the gun! Don't move, Lando."
"No, wait! I thought you were blind!"
Han grins as he reaches back for the gun that the wookie is handing down to him, carefully. "It's all right," he says. "Trust me. Don't move." The light blur has given way to a dark shadow in the the middle of a white fuzzy patch, and he strains to focus his eyes as he brings the blaster up and aims.
"All right! A little higher!" Lando shouts. "Just a little higher!"
Then, he ducks.
Han fires, and he can hear the sound of flesh being torn apart by the blaster fire. Lando reaches up and grabs hold of the spear, and Chewie pulls them up towards the skiff.
He can't help but grin. Even blind, he's still a hell of a shot.
+++++
Han has his arm around Leia's shoulders as they walk through another white blur, wind whipping around them. The droids are in the front of their line, and Luke and Lando each have an arm of the wookie, who's hobbling, still wounded. The sand makes it impossible to see anything. His goggles are coated in it. His clothes are coated in it.
Chewie warbles, sadly, as they trudge on.
"I don't know. All I can see is a lot of blowing sand!"
Leia keeps her arm around him. "That's all any of us can see."
Han blinks a few times, as a dark blur looms above them. "Then I guess I'm getting better."
The Falcon is above them, and once they're underneath the ship, the sandstorm dies down a bit.
"I've got to hand it to you, kid. You did pretty good out there." He turns towards Luke.
"I had a lot of help. Think nothing of it."
But he's not about to let him off that easy. "No, I'm thinking a lot about it.That carbon freee was the closest thing to dead there is. And it wasn't just sleepin', it was a big wide awake nothin'!"
"I'll see you back at the fleet," Luke says, before he turns to head for his X-Wing, with the R2 droid already loaded up.
"Why don't you leave that crate and come with us?" Han asks, as he moves a step closer to the walkway of the Falcon.
"I have a promise to keep, first. To an old friend."
After Luke takes off in the fighter, Han glances in the direction of Lando. His vision isn't back but it is enough to see the shape of the man, who's standing next to Chewie. "Guess I owe you some thanks, too, Lando."
Even if you got me frozen in that carbon-block in the first place.
"Figured if I left you frozen like that you'd just give me bad luck the rest of my life," Lando quips. "So I might as well get you unfrozen sooner or later."
Leia rolls her eyes and puts her arm around Han. "He means 'you're welcome'."
"Come on," Lando says, as they all head up the walkway into the ship. "Let's get off this miserable dust ball."
"Yeah, the bar," Han replies quietly, before he drops onto the ground and leans back against the wall. His vision isn't any better. He hadn't expected much of a change but at least some light would have been appreciated. "Woulda brought you somethin' if I'd been able to see where the kriff I was walkin' around."
The wookie sighs and then takes a seat beside Han, and pulls him close, large paw stroking over his friend's already messy hair.
"S'okay, we'll get out of this."
"Mmrraff."
"Yeah," he chuckles. "Just like old times, pal."
He's not sure how long it is that they sit there. A day. Maybe longer. Nobody brings them any food and nobody brings them any water, but Han just stays close to Chewie and tries to focus on the far side of the cell. They've been in worse spots before, him and the furball, but they've always managed to get out of it.
This time won't be any different.
The doors to the cell slam open and Han feels himself getting pulled to his feet by gloved hands, and a weapon at his back.
Maybe it will be different.
"Han!"
He knows that voice.
"Luke!"
"Are you all right?"
"Fine." Han tries to look around the room on instinct, he can hear Jabba, and his gang, but he can't see a damn thing. It makes him nervous. "Together again, huh?"
"Wouldn't miss it," the kid replies.
"How're we doing?"
Luke eyes the guards. Jabba. Leia chained to Jabba. The angry looks on the faces of everyone staring at them. "The same as always."
"That bad, huh?" Han comments. "Where's Leia?"
There's a pause, before she speaks up. "I'm here."
+++++
The sand is hot, and Han can feel it whipping against his face as the skiff they're in crosses the Dune sea. Luke is on here too, and so is the wookie.
Great.
Get freed from that carbon freeze and now I'm going to be spending a thousand years in this hellhole getting digested in the pit of a kriffin' Sarlacc's belly. Luke's got it all under control. Of course he does. Jedi Knight. Stupid religion. Stupid oldtimer and stupid kriffin'...
He blinks. "I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big dark blur," he says, voice rough with sarcasm, "I see a big light blur."
"There's nothing to see," Luke admits. "I used to live here, you know."
"You're gonna die here, you know. Convenient."
"Just stick close to Chewie and Lando. I've taken care of everything."
Han is quiet for a moment. Lando. That good for nothing... "Oh. Great."
+++++
It all happens too fast for him to even make sense of it. One minute, he's yelling at Jabba's barge, and then the next, the guards are screaming as the skiff rocks with the shift of someone's weight. He can hear the hiss of a lightsaber and then canon fire as the barge fires at the skiff.
Everything is going to hell and he still can't see.
Another blast rocks the skiff and he can hear Chewie yell as they get hit by the shrapnel from the explosion. His back hurts as he hits the deck, Lando is yelling for help, and his first mate is howling in pain.
"Chewie, you okay? Where is he?"
Another low cry, before he feels a furry hand at his back.
"I'm okay, pal."
"Han! Chewie?" It's Lando, who's clinging to a rope, dangling over the pit of the Sarlacc.
"Lando!"
Chewie barks at him as Han begins to feel around the deck, hunting for a weapon, anything to have Lando hold onto, anything, before his fingers curl around a spear from one of the guards and he hears exactly what the wookie is barking at him.
"Boba Fett?! Boba Fett?! Where?"
On instinct, he whirls around and slams into something.
(It's the jetpack of the bounty hunter and he goes flying off the skiff, out of control, and into the pit of the Sarlacc.)
+++++
They make an interesting group:
Lando, clinging to the sand and trying not to slide into the mouth of the sand-beast.
Han, still blind and dangling over the edge of the pit as Chewie hangs onto his ankles.
Chewbacca, trying to keep from dropping the both of them as the skiff gets fired upon.
"Grab it! Almost. You almost got it!"
"Hold it! Woah!" Lando flails a little as he reaches for the spear again.
"Gently now. All...all right. Now easy, easy. Hold me, Chewie." He stretches out as far as he can towards the sound of Lando's voice. He knows he's got to be close. He's got to be close.
A tentacle flails up and wraps around Lando's leg, causing him to scream as he gets dragged down.
"Chewie!" Han shouts. "Chewie, give me the gun! Don't move, Lando."
"No, wait! I thought you were blind!"
Han grins as he reaches back for the gun that the wookie is handing down to him, carefully. "It's all right," he says. "Trust me. Don't move." The light blur has given way to a dark shadow in the the middle of a white fuzzy patch, and he strains to focus his eyes as he brings the blaster up and aims.
"All right! A little higher!" Lando shouts. "Just a little higher!"
Then, he ducks.
Han fires, and he can hear the sound of flesh being torn apart by the blaster fire. Lando reaches up and grabs hold of the spear, and Chewie pulls them up towards the skiff.
He can't help but grin. Even blind, he's still a hell of a shot.
+++++
Han has his arm around Leia's shoulders as they walk through another white blur, wind whipping around them. The droids are in the front of their line, and Luke and Lando each have an arm of the wookie, who's hobbling, still wounded. The sand makes it impossible to see anything. His goggles are coated in it. His clothes are coated in it.
Chewie warbles, sadly, as they trudge on.
"I don't know. All I can see is a lot of blowing sand!"
Leia keeps her arm around him. "That's all any of us can see."
Han blinks a few times, as a dark blur looms above them. "Then I guess I'm getting better."
The Falcon is above them, and once they're underneath the ship, the sandstorm dies down a bit.
"I've got to hand it to you, kid. You did pretty good out there." He turns towards Luke.
"I had a lot of help. Think nothing of it."
But he's not about to let him off that easy. "No, I'm thinking a lot about it.That carbon freee was the closest thing to dead there is. And it wasn't just sleepin', it was a big wide awake nothin'!"
"I'll see you back at the fleet," Luke says, before he turns to head for his X-Wing, with the R2 droid already loaded up.
"Why don't you leave that crate and come with us?" Han asks, as he moves a step closer to the walkway of the Falcon.
"I have a promise to keep, first. To an old friend."
After Luke takes off in the fighter, Han glances in the direction of Lando. His vision isn't back but it is enough to see the shape of the man, who's standing next to Chewie. "Guess I owe you some thanks, too, Lando."
Even if you got me frozen in that carbon-block in the first place.
"Figured if I left you frozen like that you'd just give me bad luck the rest of my life," Lando quips. "So I might as well get you unfrozen sooner or later."
Leia rolls her eyes and puts her arm around Han. "He means 'you're welcome'."
"Come on," Lando says, as they all head up the walkway into the ship. "Let's get off this miserable dust ball."