Chapter Text
If there was one thing Obi-Wan did not expect on their simple recon mission to Malastare, it was a supposedly haunted forest.
Apparently, the area happens to contain a significantly large Malastarian fuel reserve which could really boost the planet's economy. Unfortunately, reports from the local populace mentioned a "demon" that lurks within the forest, preying on those who enter its territory. The Dugs were too afraid to enter the "haunted" forest for fear of death. Ridiculous as the statement was, something was attacking and killing people who enter the forest, which still makes it cause of concern. Evidence of mangled and half-eaten bodies were enough to prompt some investigating.
Anakin and Obi-Wan landed not too far from the forest with a squad of members of Ghost Company and some shinies so as to not alert whatever lurked in the forest. They walked the whole way to the entrance of the woods, now scanning the perimeter for any heat signatures or clues as to what their mystery demon could be.
"Do you think it’s just some wayward wild animal or something?" Anakin asked, eyebrow arched towards the forest. He stood next to Obi-Wan on his right, scanning the forest for any sign of movement.
Obi-Wan kept an eye on the tree line as he checked his datapad. "The ship's sensors couldn't detect any heat signatures from the forest so whatever it is it's either cold blooded or dead." Obi-Wan replied. He then looked up towards the trooper standing to his left with a pair of macrobinoculars.
"See anything of note, Waxer?" He asked.
Waxer shook his head as he looked through the macrobinoculars. "Nothing but a bunch of trees, sir." He answered back. Boil was keeping to the edge of the tree line to see if anything would pop out from the woods while Wooley got the other troopers ready to enter the forest.
Obi-Wan sighed and passed his datapad to Waxer to store away. "Well, it seems we'll have to enter the forest and see what the fuss is about. Remember to not drift too far apart from each other, we don't know whether this creature of ours is smart enough to pick us off in its own territory." He called out before heading into the woods with Anakin, lightsabers unlit but ready in their hands.
The troopers went into formation with the Jedi taking point while the troopers combed through the forest looking for any signs of their mystery creature.
As they walked deeper into the forest, the unnatural silence of the forest kept everyone on guard. Normally, forests would have sounds of insects or signs of other life, but this forest was too still with only the trees and plants as the only source of life. He shared a look with Anakin, they both silently agreed something was very wrong with this place.
The foliage got denser as they continued on, with barely any of the meagre light they had from the clouded sun penetrating through the leaves. The trees grew thicker and taller as they journeyed deeper into the woods. Their footsteps on dried leaves the only sound echoing in the forest.
Suddenly, they heard the loud crack of a broken branch.
They immediately stopped, the troopers with their blasters up while the Jedi kept their senses on alert. Whatever made that sound did not have a presence in the Force, which worried Obi-Wan as they could not sense anything of note.
A shadow moved in the corner of his vision and he turned just in time to see a shinie getting dragged away screaming. The troopers immediately opened fire at the direction he was being taken. Anakin ran ahead to try to save the shinie from getting eaten, with his lightsaber lit. Obi-Wan managed to run and grab onto the trooper's arm, preventing him from getting pulled further.
A roaring screech suddenly filled the woods and then a young Zillo Beast appeared from the shadows of the trees, heading towards Anakin who was closest. Anakin managed to block its claws but had trouble keeping it back. "Could really use some help here!" Anakin yelled as he grunted against the strain. While the beast was smaller than the adult version of its species, it still towered over them and had quite considerable strength.
The troopers kept firing on the beast to no avail due to its heavy plated armour. Obi-Wan managed to get the shinie away from the beast as Anakin fended it off. The beast roared again before it used its third arm to swipe at Anakin's side.
Anakin managed to block it in time, but the force of the blow smashed him into a nearby tree. It then started going for the nearest troopers, annoyed by the blaster shots. Before it could reach them, Obi-Wan leaped onto its back and used the Force to help him pull the beast back from rushing forward towards the troopers. The beast screeched again, and it tried to get Obi-Wan of its back but his lightsaber kept the its claws and tail at bay.
"Anakin! Aim for the gaps in its plating!" Obi-Wan called out, while struggling with wrangling the young Zillo beast. Anakin gritted his teeth in pain but managed to get up and properly observe the Zillo. It was still young so the gaps between its armour plating were wider, wide enough for a lightsaber to pierce through. "Got it!" Anakin answered back, charging towards the beast with his lightsaber ready to pierce through its body.
The beast then suddenly stopped struggling against Obi-Wan, to their surprise. The beast then reared its head towards Obi-Wan and what he saw astonished him. Its eyes glowed with an eerie green colour different from a normal Zillo before he felt something wrap around his middle and threw him off the beast's back. He landed on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. Obi-Wan kept staring at the beast in shock. What was that?
It then stopped Anakin's charge with its claws, keeping him on the defensive again. A tendril of what looked like darkness then grabbed his leg and threw him into a nearby trooper. The beast then swung its tail, taking out a few troopers at the front. It did not roar but hiss this time as it made its way towards them. Tendrils of darkness suddenly grew from the beast's own shadow, absorbing the blaster shots as the beast calmly tore the troopers apart.
Obi-Wan got up clenching at his side with one hand and his lightsaber with the other. This creature is no ordinary Zillo beast. Zillos may be semi-sentient but no way do they use shadows as weapons while showing such calm intellect and sadism. This must be a Zillo turned Sithspawn, mutated and defiled by Sith magic. Kriffing Sith. They had to retreat and call for reinforcements before the beast decimated all of them.
"Carry the wounded and fall back!" Obi-Wan ordered, as he ran towards the beast, hoping to slow it down enough for the troopers to retreat.
The beast then turned towards him and swiped at him with claws and shadows alike. Its claws managed to slash at his arm, ripping one of his vambraces off with his glove. Blood dripped down his arm as he rolled, dodged and blocked what he could. Adrenaline and the Force blocking out his sense of pain and fatigue in order to survive. There was no time to feel his injuries, no time to take a breath. The beast moved swiftly and efficiently, like it knew how to hurt, how to make its prey suffer. He blocked the tendrils of shadows with his lightsaber as they seem to be repulsed by the light.
Wait.
The light.
"Anakin! Flashbangs!" He called out towards Anakin, who was helping the fallen troopers get up and retreat. Anakin looked at the shadows and then got the idea. "Boil! Throw me your flashbangs!" He ordered as he got the last of the injured troopers up.
"Sir!" Boil yelled back in answer, unclipped his belt of flashbangs and threw it towards Anakin. Anakin caught it before running towards Obi-Wan who was getting tired from distracting and evading the beast.
"Hey asshole!" Anakin yelled at the creature as he reached them.
The beast turned and prepared to swat Anakin away before it noticed what he was carrying. Obi-Wan immediately shielded his eyes with his arm.
Anakin dropped the bunch of pins he earlier pulled from the flash grenades. "Flash out!" He yelled, before covering his own eyes. The beast's eyes widened in realisation before Anakin threw the whole belt at it. It could not shield its own eyes in time before the entire forest was flooded in a flash of blinding bright light and deafening sound. For a moment, all the shadows in the woods disappeared. It was the opportune moment for Obi-Wan to strike.
With the beast's back turned towards him, he used the Force to guide his senses and plunged his lightsaber through the gap between the beast's back armour plates, piercing it through its vital organs. As the light disappeared, the beast groaned in pain before collapsing on its side.
Anakin sighed in relief after he uncovered his eyes, wincing as he now felt the aching ribs he got from when he was thrown earlier. The uninjured troopers breathed out in relief but waited for their General to confirm the beast's death. Obi-Wan pulled his lightsaber out from its back and checked to make sure it was properly dead.
He approached its head, checking to see if it was still breathing. Its eyes were closed and its mouth open, but no signs of breathing could be seen or heard. It was truly dead, Obi-Wan thanked the Force. He gave a wordless thumbs up to let the rest know it was truly dead. The troopers then began collecting the bodies of the few that died to the beast while Anakin approached Obi-Wan and the body, sheathing his lightsaber as he limped towards him.
"We really need to report to the Council about this. There could be Sith here experimenting on more of the Zillo." Anakin sighed as he looked at the fallen body.
Obi-Wan sighed and nodded in agreement. "That was only a young Zillo beast. It killed quite a few troopers and injured two Jedi without any effort. It was playing with us before we caught it by surprise. What more if it were an adult and under full control of the Sith." He said as he shook his head.
Obi-Wan peered at the creature's face to see if there was any way to identify any Sith tampering before he glimpsed at something silver and shiny that fell out of its mouth. Curious, he crouched closer and absentmindedly picked it up with his ungloved hand.
Anakin crouched too and peered around Obi-Wan's shoulder, curious. "What's that? A tooth?" He questioned.
Obi-Wan felt a slight itch on the shoulder of his injured arm but ignored it as the throbbing pain of his wound was greater. The small and shiny object was apparently a silver coin with strange markings on it that do not look recognizable to him. He could not feel any disturbance in the Force nor any reaction to it. He let Anakin peer at it, looking at him in hope to see if he recognised anything from it but Anakin just shrugged in reply.
"Doesn't look anything Sith-like we've ever seen before. Maybe the Archives might have something about it?" Anakin suggested, getting up to dust off his tunic. "Well, we better head back and let the Dugs know their demon problem has been taken cared off. Kix is gonna kill me for getting injured again so soon." Anakin sighed, before limping off to help the troopers.
Obi-Wan huffed, thinking Cody was going to get annoyed at him too for not bringing him along and getting injured again too. He took one last look at the odd coin before pocketing it. The Archives might have some information about it. It looked like an ordinary coin the beast swallowed from a poor victim, but it could potentially help identify who made this creature.
As he got up to leave the forest and get medical aid, he heard a soft unintelligible whisper in his ear. He swiftly turned to the source of the sound but there was no one else other than the troopers and Anakin checking to make sure there was no sign of another creature around. He shook his head, maybe he had a concussion from the fight, he thought sullenly. Cody is surely going to lecture him again.
As Obi-Wan turned back to leave, he did not notice his shadow grinning as he walked away.