A is for Arachnophobia

Life has a way to twisting in just the right way at the right moment to ruin everything you'd been working on since the last twist in the road. This time was no different…or at least, it shouldn't have been. Cody, however, thought otherwise. This twist was the worst and possibly the last. You see, this twist involved…spiders.

Cody had lived his entire life being one hundred percent about a few things. 1-the only thing needed to be feared was failure to protect one's General. 2-He was capable of killing anything. Whether he survived it or not was still to be seen. 3-His entire squad should have been locked up in a loony bin. Today, everything he had believed in was going to be turned on its head and he wouldn't know that till after it was all over.

The real problem started a couple weeks prior, when Kenobi was ordered towards the Core to help with negotiations. Along with that order was an order for Cody to take the squad and head towards the Sluis Sector. Not sure why, but they had followed orders. Everything was going hunky-dory up until earlier, when they had been scanning another planet for another Sep base. The remnants of a Separatist cruiser had been picked up and of course Cody had to follow protocol. He'd ordered together a team and headed down to the planet. Biggest mistake of his life.

He'd led Oddball, Echo, Fives, Boil and Waxer into the murky swamp of the planet Dagobah, heading towards where the cruiser should be. Everything had been going just fine as they made it to the clearing where the cruiser was. No sign of droids or Sith or any sort of life form that could pose a threat. That was until they went inside the cruiser….and saw all the darkly glistening silk webs and the unblinking golden red eyes staring back at them. Hisses filled the air as the stare down commenced, Cody calling Hawk to quickly get to their location over a private link. Right about now would be a good time to have a Jedi.

The first spider to move was young and about the size of a small speeder. Cody fired first, slicing the bug in half with a series of blaster bolts. A barked order to run as the spiders surged forward and it went from a scouting mission to a survival mission. Cody stayed at the back, Odds keeping level with him. Echo and Fives were forced to the front with Boil and Waxer right on their heels. Between Cody and Odds and some well-placed shots they kept a good distance between them and the giant spiders from hell. That was until the spiders started shooting webs. Hawk had found a clearing nearby and was just waiting for them. The problem was they had to make it to him and hope the men at the guns could give them time to get inside. With blaster bolts and silken string flying everywhere, things were starting to look a little desperate.

Cody saw Odds go down out of the corner of his eye, a silken web wrapped around the pilot's legs. He skidded to a stop and quickly raced back to his fallen comrade, "BOIL! Get everyone to that ship!"

He didn't notice Boil glance over his shoulder, just at the edge of the clearing. Fives and Echo were already to the ship. All Cody focused on was skidding to a stop next to Odds and kneeling, firing at the darkness surging towards them. Next to him, Odds pulled out his vibroblade, hacking away at the web, "Sir, just go!"

"I'm not leaving you behind, Odds," Cody growled, throwing a detonator at the spiders as Odds finished clearing away the last of the web. He fired a few shots before Cody shoved him away, "Get going, soldier!"

"You'd better be right behind me!" Odds growled before running back towards Boil, who was standing between them and the clearing, providing cover. Cody turned and raced a few steps forward before he felt something wrap around his waist, jerking him back away from his men. He heard Boils' yell of fury and saw Odds hesitate, starting to turn back towards him.

"GO!" Cody roared, twisting in the grip of his captor, his blaster spitting fire into the darkness around him. "THAT'S AN ORDER!"

"SIR!" He heard voices yell in his comlink as he fell for what seemed like forever, looking up at the billions of glittering eyes above and around him, his blaster the only source of light as it kept firing. Something grabbed him again and he was flung into a tree, a sharp crack echoing through his helmet as it was slammed forward. He somehow ended up on the ground, his world fuzzy as his entire body screamed out in pain. He bit back the more vocal versions of this suffering, trying to find his blaster. Something stepped down on his wrist and he could hold it in. A cry of pain escaped him as a very large, very mad looking spider slowly lowered itself towards him, pincers clacking violently.

The men had to turn off their connections to their commander as they raced back towards the cruiser to block out the harsh cries of pain. Back down on the planet, all fell silent, the echoes of pain filled pleas of mercy fading away.

Obi-wan slowly walked through the swamps of Dagobah, moving like a phantom. Nearby, clones moved, blasters at the ready, always in pairs. The only reason that this search was even happening was because Kenobi had ordered it. Not the Chancellor, not the Jedi Council, just Kenobi and none of the men ever disobeyed Kenobi. Ever…except Cody. And Cody was missing. Not dead but missing. Kenobi had said he was missing, that he was still alive. What he hadn't mentioned was the barely part. For Obi-wan, Cody wasn't just another clone but a friend, a brother. You never, ever left a brother behind.

Obi-wan moved away from the men, following what the Force was telling him. He'd be the first to say that he had trouble sometimes trusting the Force, but the one thing he knew was that whenever it came to Cody, it was never wrong. The first day they had met, Obi-wan had trusted in the Force to trust Cody with his life. Over the past few years he'd continued to trust in what the Force told him about Cody and right now it was saying Cody was not dead but needed help badly.

The moment Obi-wan had gotten the call from Boil, he'd left his meeting and headed straight for Dagobah. He'd ignored calls from Palpatine, Mace, Anakin, Bail, everyone. Except Yoda. You never ignored Yoda. He hadn't been mad, just warned Obi-wan to be careful. You never know what could be lurking in the dark. He also gave the ok on this mission, by passing Palpatine and the Council. Yoda rarely did that, which meant what ever he was seeing in the Force involving Obi-wan also included Cody. Which meant Cody was still alive…for now. Obi-wan shook his head, driving away those dark thoughts. Cody needed him to stay focused so the men stayed focused so they could at least get some time to get Cody away from the spiders.

Movement up ahead caused him to tense, holding up a hand to signal the men to fall still. Silence filled the air, not a single beast or man moving, all holding their breath. Suddenly, echoing from nearby, came a strange clacking sound. It started off soft, Obi-wan only just picking it up. Then it grew and grew and grew till it echoed around them. It sounded angry. It sounded deadly. It sounded bad. The worst part came soon after the clacking noises' crescendo. A sharp cry of pain, weak and pitiful, reached their ears before there was a roar of fury followed but a plea for mercy. The pain-filled screams ripped at Obi-wan's heart and he raced forward on silent feet, knowing he didn't have much time. He leapt upward and came to rest on a branch, carefully hidden by the native foliage. From his perch he had a good view into the clearing beyond. Dark, glistening webs, holding at least a hundred of the giant arachnids, surrounded it. Down in the middle of the trampled grass making up the floor of the spider kingdom was the Lord of all spiders. A giant black beast, pincers clacking in fury at the squirming figure it held down with four of its legs as the cries of pain faded away. Obi-wan could make out smaller spiders making their way hurriedly back into the darkness, the last few just leaving the tortured body. To see that Cody was still fighting gave Obi-wan hope, even though he probably didn't have much time. He could worry about the damage done to Cody after Cody was safely away from his captors.

Obi-wan quickly collected his thoughts, looking over the clearing. First things first. Get himself between Cody and the giant spider. Hopefully by then back up would arrive. Obi-wan gripped his lightsaber tightly before leaping off his perch, using the Force to propel him forward and onto the spider's back, slashing at its back. It roared, rearing upward, which gave Obi-wan the opportunity to jump down and quickly drag Cody away from the spider. It came back down, its many eyes glaring at the Jedi as he set his injured commander down and stood, lightsaber hissing.

"Sir?" Cody's soft, pain filled voice cut right to Obi-wan's heart and he spared Cody a glance, nodding, taking the man's appearance in. He looked horrible, to put it nicely. The tattered remains of his body glove was all that covered Cody's abused frame. Cuts, puncture wounds, and bruises were the only physical signs Obi-wan could see of the man's suffering, but he had no doubt of the internal and mental injuries he was also suffering from. Just by looking into Cody's eyes, Obi-wan knew the amount of fear he was feeling right now.

"We'll be out of here before you know it," Obi-wan tried to make his voice sound normal as he focused back on the arachnid, but it didn't quite sound right. A little rougher than normal. The spider hissed at him, clacking its pincers as he moved closer, jabbing a leg at Obi-wan. He dodged, slashing down at the leg, severing the end of it. The spider roared in pain and moved back, watching Obi-wan warily. Obi-wan stayed close to Cody, ready for the next strike, "The men should be here soon."

All he got in answer was a soft groan and he felt a hand grip his ankle. Obi-wan looked down to see that Cody had curled up slightly, one hand clinging to Obi-wan's ankle as though it was a lifeline. Obi-wan slowly knelt, one eye on the spider, one on Cody. He rested on hand on Cody's shoulder, gently rubbing it, feeling the tension in his commander's muscles, "Cody, I am not leaving you. I will not let it hurt you anymore."

"There were….were so….so many," Cody moaned, a few tears escaping from closed eyes.

"I know, Cody, I know. Its over now, I promise," Obi-wan murmured, scanning the clearing. He could see the men taking up positions around them, watching Obi-wan silently as the spider circled them. Obi-wan shifted slightly so he had one foot on either side of Cody, still in a crouched position, Cody's hand still gripping his ankle. He kept his hand on Cody's shoulder, eyeing the spider with contempt. It hissed before launching a web at him. He brought his saber up and slashed through it, angering the spider. It lunged at Obi-wan, pincers wide. He slashed at its two front legs before ducking down, covering Cody as the spider tumbled over them. He quickly stood, his saber now on his hip as he quickly scooped Cody up. He nodded to Boil as he raced towards him, giving him the go ahead. He could feel Cody's hand twisting into his robe, anchoring himself to the Jedi. He didn't mind, didn't care even as long as it made the commander feel safe. All around him the men opened fire, driving the spiders away as they moved to surround Obi-wan as he raced back towards the gunships. None of them relaxed until the ships were in the air and racing back towards the cruiser. As soon as the green light came on, signaling they were clear, Obi-wan sat down, setting Cody down so the man's head was in his lap. Cody still clung to his robe, now with both hands. He curled up against the older man, looking very much like the 13 year old he truly was. Obi-wan carefully slipped off his robe and wrapped it around the distraught man, running a gently hand over Cody's shoulder, feeling him slowly relax. Boil can and knelt next to them, running his hand through Cody's hair as the others watched silently, slowly removing helmets, eyes filled with concern for their commander.

"Ner vod, its alright," Boil said softly, placing his other hand on Cody's side as Obi-wan continued to rub Cody's shoulder. "Udensii. We're here, nothing is going to hurt you."

"They… they wouldn't…wouldn't stop," Cody curled tighter against Obi-wan, his body shaking. "There…there were…so many."

"K'uur, vod, k'uur," Boil said softly, meeting Obi-wan's eyes, looking sad.

Obi-wan nodded and placed his other hand on Cody's forehead," Relax, Cody, relax."

Obi-wan's hand glowed slightly and Cody's body went limp, his breathing evening out. Boil sighed as he sat back, looking his brother over, "What are we going to do?"

"Be there for him, like we've always been," Obi-wan nodded slowly. "Master Yoda will make sure we have some time off, I'm sure. We'll be strong for him, just like he's always strong for us. Until he is better, we won't do anything less."

Boil and the others on the gun ship nodded, moving so they could all see their commander as they sat down, waiting to arrive on the cruiser. Cody may be a hard man sometimes, but no one could deny he was also a good brother. They would be there for him, no matter what.