Chapter Text
Sometimes Obi-Wan really hated Anakin’s so called “plans”.
Watching half the shuttle fall from the grip of the Zillo beast, he took a moment to centre himself before reaching out with the force to catch the falling vessel. He felt Mace reach out beside him, thankful for the assistance. With the speed the shuttle was falling, it took the effort of both Jedi masters to bring the shuttle to a halt. Thankfully, Anakin, Padme, Artoo and Threepio were already away from the wreckage. He scanned the roof, searching for the Chancellor and his man. He spotted no sign of either man, cursing as he realised where they had to be. Hissing a curse, Obi-Wan tried to get a sight on Anakin, hoping to catch his former padawan’s attention. The beast seemed to be returning its ire to them, ignoring the bounding forms of Master Yoda and Aayla on its back, roaring its displeasure at being denied its prey. Reaching for his lightsabre, he stopped, spotting movement out of the corner of his eye. Obi-Wan tracked the figure, dressed in a dark flowing robe, watching as it bounded onto the beast’s head.
“What in the Sith hells…” Obi-Wan glanced at Mace Windu, relieved he wasn’t the only one to see the figure. Before he could respond, the figure had crouched low on the beast’s head, a hand resting between its eyes. Obi-Wan traded a confused glance with Mace, returning his attention to the figure. A movement in the force caught his attention, his eyes widening when the beast closed its eyes, a strange rumbling sound echoing from the beast’s mouth.
“Is it… purring?” the minute Obi-Wan said the words, he felt ridiculous, but it was the best word he could think of to describe the sound. Mace, to his credit, didn’t scoff.
“Do you know who that is? Only a Jedi could tame the beast like that…” Mace asked. Only one Jedi actually, Obi-Wan thought, and he’s dead. He may not have entirely liked the number of life-forms that his former master enjoyed making friends with, but it had given him an education on the fauna of the galaxy no datapad could provide. If any Jedi would have been able to tame the Zillo, Obi-Wan would have immediately said Qui-Gon. Since Qui-Gon’s death years previously, there was no one else in the Order Obi-Wan could think of who would have had the same affinity with the Living Force. The figure remained low, almost caressing the beast’s head. With surprisingly quick movements, the beast reached into the shuttle, picking up the Chancellor. Before any of the Jedi could react, the beast and its new master set off, the Chancellor held tight in the beast’s hand. Anakin joined Obi-Wan and Mace, Padme and the droids following behind. Yoda and Aayla soon followed, disengaging their lightsabres.
“Unexpected, that was. See the identity of the beast-tamer, we did not,” Yoda said. Aayla nodded in agreement, looking as frustrated as Obi-Wan felt.
“We have to go after them, who knows what that maniac will do to the Chancellor,” Anakin shouted. Yoda nodded, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he did so.
“Return to the Senate, you will, Skywalker. Protect Senator Amidala and inform the Chancellor’s guards, you will. Master Secura, Master Kenobi and Master Windu, begin the search they will,” Yoda replied. Obi-Wan nodded, offering Anakin a quick nod before he strode off. They had to move quickly to find the Zillo beast and its new master.
Sheev Palpatine was unused to such treatment. As Chancellor, he was used to his life being threatened on a near day to day basis, but he was not used to being kidnapped by a beast! Soon after the Zillo beast had grabbed him, its master placed a force inhibitor around his neck. A strange move, but he wasn’t about to ask why. The man, Palpatine assumed it was a man holding him, had taken him to an abandoned warehouse, big enough for Zillo beast to fit. He watched as his captor pet the beast, almost crooning to it. Soon, his attention turned to his captive. Palpatine got a good look at his captor for the first time, trying to figure out the best way to get himself out of this situation. The man was tall, dressed in a black uniform similar to the one Count Dooku wore, a black cloak covering his shoulders. A large floppy hat shadowed his facial features, although the mask that covered the lower part of his face did an excellent job of that. It made figuring out his captor’s mood all that harder. Palpatine prided himself on being able to read the current of a room and found it disconcerting that he was already at a disadvantage, current predicament non-withstanding. The man pulled a chair close to where Palpatine had been deposited, gracefully taking a seat.
Palpatine shifted a little, more than a little uncomfortable with the way things were playing out. The man sat in silence, staring at him as though considering a piece of meat.
“Are you him?” The man’s voice sounded harsh and rasped. Palpatine cleared his throat.
“Am I who?” he asked, wondering where this line of questioning was going.
“The Lord of Darkness, the Master of my Master… the Sith Lord,” the reply was… unexpected. Palpatine frowned.
“And who are you?”
“I am the Apprentice of your Apprentice, sent to kill you. But I find Tyranus… mediocre. Are you the one he is afraid of?” There was a flash of golden eyes under the shadow of the hat, the eyes of a Sith. Palpatine smirked, closing his eyes. So… he was right to worry about Tyranus taking on an apprentice. He opened his eyes, the glow of the Sith looking odd on the Chancellor’s face. Darth Sidious had thought he was so careful, that he had hidden his tracks well enough. Apparently not, especially if Tyranus’ apprentice could find him.
“I am the one you seek, young apprentice. I am Darth Sidious… but you may call me Master,” he replied, a small smirk curling his lips. Although he could not see the man’s face clearly, he did notice the man’s eyes sparkle in amusement.
“Hiding in plain sight at the Chancellor? Very impressive,” the man sounded impressed and amused. Sidious smirked, pleased to see that this man understood the brilliance of his plan. Unknown to the Sith, a holo cam switched off. The man got up from his chair.
“Thank you, Lord Sidious. I shall release you soon. You understand I cannot release you too soon.” Sidious did not like it, but he could understand the man’s reluctance. He nodded his ascent, watching the man walk towards the Zillo beast. With a soft grunt, he shifted slightly to get into a more comfortable position. A looseness around his wrists caught his attention. Sidious smiled. It seemed Tyranus’ apprentice did not know how to properly attach binders….
Searching the warehouses in the seedier parts of Coruscant was going take longer than originally thought. Obi-Wan took a moment to check the map, crossing off another empty warehouse. Beside him, Rex and Cody stood on watch, helmets in place. It wasn’t like the Zillo beast was easy to hide, especially on a planet as heavily populated as Coruscant. Obi-Wan wondered if the beast master was still even on the planet, if he hadn’t just taken the Chancellor and left. He was about to say as much to Rex when he spotted a large warehouse a little further down the street. He caught the attention of the two clones, indicating the building and making his way towards it, lightsabre in his hand. Rex and Cody followed behind, weapons at the ready should they run into the beast master. Cody quickly went ahead, slowly pushing open the door to let the General and his fellow clone through.
There was little light to see by as the trio walked through the eerily empty building. The near rumble of a growl caused the three men to stop, listening closely to see if they could figure out what direction the growl came from. Rex pointed towards the door at the end of the room, indicating he and Cody should go ahead of the General. Obi-Wan nodded, tightening his grip on his ‘sabre. As they passed through the door, Obi-Wan saw the Zillo beast curled up at the far end of the cavernous room. In front of the beast, unaware of the three men who had just entered, the beast master was packing what looked like food supplies into a pack. He could just make out the back of Chancellor Palpatine’s head above a crate, the hair ruffled from its usual neat styling. As though he could sense them, the Chancellor turned, spotting Obi-Wan and the clones. Before the Jedi Master could do anything to warn the other man, Palpatine was on his feet, pulling his wrists free from the binders around his wrists.
“Master Kenobi! Hurry, he’s a…” the Chancellor’s shout was cut off with a strangled cry as a green lightsabre blade pierced his chest from behind. Obi-Wan was unsure what he shouted, but he lept across to where the Chancellor was falling to his knees. The beast master pulled his lightsabre from the body, yanking a chain with three glowing crystals from the Chancellor’s neck. Before Obi-Wan could react, the crystals were smashed under boot. He ignited his sabre, holding it to the man’s neck. The beast master disengaged his ‘sabre, holding his hands above his head. Rex and Cody rushed over, shoving the beast master to his knees. They took the lightsabre from his hands, roughly binding his hands behind his back. For a moment, Obi-Wan considered just killing the man… no, the Jedi who had murdered the Chancellor. He quashed the impulse, keeping his lightsabre in place.
“Rex, remove his mask and hat. I want to see who we’re dealing with,” Obi-Wan’s voice was surprisingly calm, despite what he had just witnessed. Rex yanked off the hat and mask. Greying brown hair tumbled down to fall to the beast master’s shoulders. A pair of deep blue eyes that Obi-Wan never thought he’d see again look up at him. It was impossible… he’d watched the man die… watched his body burn…
“Qui-Gon….?”