CHAPTER TWELVE

Christen saw a sudden flash light up the desolate rocky world around him. He hopelessly watched as a fireball as tall as a Republic Cruiser suddenly appeared and was growing rapidly before it imploded and became a ball of electricity that shrunk to a smaller, concentrated sphere. Suddenly it exploded, rippling quickly, covering the distance between him and the point of origin. Down below, waves of Separatist droids fell to the ground before a field of electricity washed over him. He felt nothing but a tingle.

The air around was as quiet as death just before a huge, circular crack appeared in the ground where the fireball had originated, then another around that circle, and another, and another… The ground was caving in. Droid remains fell deep into the hole widening in the planet's earth, while troopers were also getting sucked into the carnage and falling to their deaths. A huge dust cloud was rising high into the air, covering the true extent of the damage and hiding how deep this destruction truly was to the planet.

The air all around trembled in apparent anticipation, the Force shifting in unease… Then, an ear splitting, solitary, furious screech pierced the air as blaster fire suddenly erupted in the newly developed sinkhole. Christen watched, right under the Jedi's nose, using the force to cloak himself. To be honest he wished he didn't need to at all, all he wants to do is get to the point, but sometimes the fastest way possible, is not the best way of action. He grimaced as bombs were dropped into the sinkhole, followed by fuel. From the green fumes, a huge shadow emerged. Large, glowing eyes suddenly appeared through the fumes, and another roar shook Christen to his very core. From the rumble of the earth, as he levitated tyhon boulders that surrounded his temple, he could hear echoes throughout the force of gasps of surprise from his new students or rather freed slaves.

However, he did not open his eyes; just simply stretched out his senses, as he felt his children. All five had happily taken his side in the fight, his youngest son Damian, not surprisingly, now hated him and his sweet little Julie. Just as he had suspected, his daughter Emma, his second oldest girl, silently entered the room; and she seemed to be wanting to talk about something important. Still, she respected him as grandmaster, as she calmly leaned against the wall, waiting for him to acknowledge her. Christen gave a small sigh, cracking an eye open to look at her. "Good morning padawan Emmagine," he said smoothly, popping his neck and standing up. "Good morning father," she responded automatically by hitting him softly in the arm. "How did your early morning meditation go?" "Interesting…" Christen said with a slight frown. He waited till they both had stopped laughing; it was rare times like these where he was happy. They were silent as he began to speak

"I had a vision, though…I don't know what it was about. There were massive amounts of destruction, and from the destruction came some great creature I recognize."

"That does sound unusual," she mused. "Though I think I might have an answer for you."

"Really?" He asked curiously. Emma nodded, turning to walk out into the living area of the family palace within the Skywalker temple "Remember last week clones x1and x2 informed us of the mission that Master Windu and General Skywalker went on to Malestare to secure the treaty for their fuel?" Christen frowned as he followed his daughter. "Yes, I remember, since the dominant species there is the Dug and we have, ah, past experiences with Dugs."

Emma nodded. "Well, they secured the treaty, but in the process discovered a creature known as a Zillo Beast. It's the last of its kind, and Chancellor Palpatine has ordered the creature be brought to Coruscant for scientific study. I think you should go to meet them down there to see this Zillo Beast for yourself." She ended quickly, Christen perked up knowing it was about Abigail. He sighed as he looked into her eyes. "Of course; it seems like this Zillo Beast is quite a sight." He strode out of the room to set off towards Coruscaunt he wanted to let off some steam before he met this zillo beast.

A few days later…..

Outside the lower levels of Coroscaunt close to the northern industrial part of the city, a cargo ship appeared and headed towards the loading dock. Nearby several thugs from one of the last remaining Hutt gangs were covered in cheap and bulky armor. Christen kept an eye out as the shipment began to land. An expensive Corrilian cruiser flies by. The driver walks around and opens the door as the passenger, Christen's target, Salvatore Wolf appears. Salvatore is the street leader of a gang called Black Sun. The mobs were gaining strength but were still dominated and controlled by the Hutts who is a family criminal ring that controls all of the criminal underworld. His family usually only sells alcohol, drugs, weapons, but Christen found that they have decided to join in the slavery business.

As the war progressed the Hutts, along with other criminal organizations have been taking advantage of the chaos the war has brought. Some have even begun assisting Count Dooku and his master to remain in control. They ask them to deal with anyone who they feel is in their way, hunt down anyone that is a threat, and make sure nothing happens until the war is over. In exchange for doing this they were given immunity from the Republic as long as they do not interfere with any affairs from either side and they do not get caught in a crime that will put them away for life. An agreement they excepted so they can gain newfound freedom and spread their business across the galaxy.

With the Jedi and Republic focused on the war, the Hutts along with the Wolf family have been able to use this chance to make more money in the slave industry. Wolf came to the docks to see the shipment that he planned to sell to the Zygerrian Empire for money.

"Welcome Mr. Wolf sir," greeted one of the thugs. "We have the new shipment as promised." "Good," replied Wolf as they walk towards the crate. Inside there is at least a hundred female Twi'lek and Togruta women. All appeared to be around 10 years old. Christen, standing in the shadows, has to grind his teeth to stop himself from killing everyone.

"Perfect, my new clients will love this new shipment. Get them to the warehouse and make sure their ready for the auction." "Yes sir," replied the thug as he motions for the men to get the crate ready to move. As Wolf heads back into his vehicle one of the men hears something nearby. Walking over to investigate he sees what appears to be an armored figure standing nearby. "Hey, what are you doing here?" the thug asked. As the thug approaches the figure he is suddenly grabbed and pulled into the darkness letting out a scream. One of the thugs hears this and notices his friend is gone. As he calls out for his friend, the lights are suddenly broken by the force causing them to go out. Leaving the gang in darkness. One of the men kneels down in panic and fear from the darkness and the other guard follows suit.

He looks up to see a dark figure hanging upside down from one of the cranes.

2. Christen drops down and attacks both men taking them both screams attract the attention of the other men as they begin regrouping with armed weapons. Wolf remains in his vehicle waiting to find out what is going on, while the women in the containers huddle together hoping someone has come to their rescue. A lone man, who didn't regroup, notices something fly past him causing him to open fire. He sees one of his friends running nearby who is swiftly decapitated by the lightsaber wielding dark figure. The thug panics when he sees what happens. He continues firing blaster bolts until the gun over heats and he begins backing away afraid. "Where are you?!" "Here," the dark figure whispered standing behind the thug as he grabs his head and rips it straight from the mans shoulders, flinging the body over the edge. The other thugs look on in horror as they start creating a circle looking for whoever is attacking them.

3. Christen appears right in the middle lighting up the dark surroundings with the glow of his light sabers. The lava hue of his weapon is the same as his angry eyes . In seconds he begins hacking the men into pieces. Despite having him outnumbered, they were unable to take him down. All they saw was the light of his eyes and the sound of his lightsabers before they died.

Wolf leaves the safety of his vehicle where he sees the hulking man taking down his men like they were nothing. He takes off running back to the safety of his vehicle as he pulls out his blaster. "Drive, now!" he ordered his driver. He finds his drivers face is torn from his body and his heart has been forcibly torn from his chest, as he starts to grow frightened by what is happening. "What the hell are you?" Suddenly something lands on the hood of his vehicle, breaks through the glass of the sunroof, and pulls him through it revealing a man dressed like a creature of the night. "I'm lord Savior," the dark figure replied as he delivers a head-butt knocking him out.

Looking back as his men are freeing the slaves, he boards his shuttle with a smile, knowing that this was the start of something so much bigger. He saw three of his military shuttles picking up the children. Now he needed to take care of what he came here for. He needed to save that damn beast. No matter what the cost. Even if he had to be around the Jedi.

Hours later...

The Zillo Beast was definitely a sight to behold. It had been fifteen since Christen had snuck on a republican shuttle with his brother and some other jedi. It was hard to hold in his laughter, knowing the Jedi's were fools for not realizing he was there. He had to use the force to physically cloak himself so he would stay undetedcted. He still did not want to talk or deal with his cheating wife and Padme who were standing close to his brother along with the outher Jedi and the supreme chancellor. He stared at the ginormous, scaly, green/gray three armed creature as the shuttle slowly descended towards the facility that the Zillo Beast was going to be kept in. Christen bitterly eyed the domed structure skeptically, not sure if the Zillo Beast would really be comfortable in the building. Considering the size, it was probably going to be cramped in the facility. Even now it looked pitiful restrained and weak as the troopers wheeled him towards the facility at gunpoint and loaded cannon. He could feel the feelings of this creature.

The poor thing, he couldn't help but think as the shuttle finally touched down. Odd that he cared for for animals life more then human life.

Stepping off behind the jedi knight Aayla, he could see Palpatine and Mas Amedda standing in front of the Zillo, Anakin and Windu arriving on the other side of the Chancellor with R2 trailing behind. Christen couldn't stop glancing at the giant creature. "So this is the whispered Zillo Beast?" Aayla asked without any formalities. Christen didn't even look at the reactions, just stared at the creature. The force was strong with the creature. "Yup; just be glad it's not awake," Anakin muttered, arms crossed over his chest. "Such size…such power…" Christen heard the Chancellor say in a low tone. The tone of the voice caused a shiver to go down his spine and he glanced at the Chancellor uncomfortably, subconsciously taking a small step away from the jedi and others and moving closer to the Zillo Beast.

"With respect Chancellor," Windu said. "I believe this creature could pose any number of dangers. Bringing it here to Coruscant is a mistake." "Oh, I assure you I did not make this decision lightly Master Jedi. The sooner we unlock the Zillo Beasts secrets, the sooner we can end this terrible war!" "I hope you're right Chancellor," Windu said begrudgingly as the Zillo Beast came closer. Windu stepped up to the woman that was walking beside the Zillo while Christen stepped closer to the Zillo Beast. "I'm turning the Zillo Beast over to you Doctor; I trust it will be given good care." "The Beast is a priceless resource Master Windu; it will be well treated, I assure you," the Doctor replied. Windu nodded then moved to leave with Anakin. Christen , however, drifted over to the beasts other side.

"I might just stay a little longer, linger and see what the creatures like, see what I can learn," Christien murmured softly to himself so that only he could hear. "I have the feeling there's more to this than I know…" Being reckless as he was, he even dared to jump up on the platform that was holding it, putting a gentle hand on one of its large scales. It was warm to the touch, and slightly moved under his contact. Christen stretched out his senses slightly to the Zillo Beast's still mostly unconscious mind, probing how it felt. It was definitely in a lot of distress, but passive and accepting at the moment. Fully willing to cooperate. I need to bring this to Tython he thought.

He walked the length of the Zillo, coming to a stop at its massive head. He ran a gentle hand over the length of the scale over the creature's eye, taking it in with a sympathetic eye.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure that you get what you deserve. I'll do everything I can; you'll get fair treatment, and hopefully soon we both will get off this crowded planet too." Perhaps it was just his imagination, but for a second he thought he saw the Zillo's head incline towards him slightly, as if it had heard and understood his words. Once the platform came to a sudden stop, Christen was forced to move away. He casually left the Zillo's side as he strolled over to the wall. Once he reached the shadows near the wall, he climbed up high into the rafters of the domed building, balancing carefully on a beam above the large contraption they put the beast in before it could regain consciousness. He crouched down on his knee up above, leaning down slightly to get a better view as they propped the Zillo's ginormous chin up on one of the high metal beams, securing it's neck and head before moving on to its appendages. Christen frowned. It didn't look like the Zillo was being made comfortable.

Droids and troopers were suddenly moving everywhere once the Zillo was secured, and Christen watched as the Doctor and the Chancellor got on separate pods that would allow them to come level with the Zillo Beast, which was starting to wake up and make cries of distress. Christen growled, feeling his disapproval heighten immensely as droids roughly lifted the scales on its neck and took a blood sample, causing the Zillo to cry out in pain. Its glowing green eyes drooped tiredly though, and it did not move to escape. Christen gazed at it sympathetically. This Zillo did not belong here; it belonged out in the open, and left alone, and Tython was the perfect place, since he made the whole system a shelter for force sensitives.

Suddenly he realized that the Chancellor was speaking to the Doctor. Laying on his stomach on his beam, Christen strained to hear what was being said. The Chancellor's words floated towards him, and found himself very unhappy with the conversation that followed.

"We need to remove the scales first; it's very difficult, and painful," the Doctor was saying.

"Would it not be more efficient to simply kill the beast?" Palpatine asked bluntly.

"Kill it? Are you sure?" Mas Amedda asked Palpatine. "Chancellor! I must protest!" the Doctor said worriedly, rushing to the side of her pod to lean in closer to Palpatine in her insistence. "Besides being the last of its kind, this creature may be intelligent!"

At the doctor's words, Christen reached out with his senses and probed the Zillo's mind. It hadn't made a sound throughout the entire conversation, and Christen could sense rapt attention emanating from the creature. "I find that hard to believe; it is, after all, just an animal," Palpatine said carelessly. The Zillo's glowing eyes—eyes that Christen realized with a start were from his dream—narrowed at the Chancellor and it growled threateningly at him.

Just an animal my fucking— Christen started to think, but was cut short as the Doctor spoke.

"It didn't seem to like your comment," he said pointedly. "I applaud your high moral stance Doctor; after all, principle is in short supply these days. However, every passing minute of warfare brings countless deaths, deaths that could be prevented once the beast's secrets are unlocked. If there is any way to hasten that process, it is our moral duty to explore it." "I serve at your pleasure, Chancellor," the Doctor said moodily. It seemed he did not agree with Palpatine; good. "I'm just not sure where to begin; the fact remains that the beast is indestructible!"

"Nothing is truly indestructible Doctor; wasn't there something in Malestare fuel that affected the beast?" "It weakened the Zillo, yes, but—" "Excellent. I suggest you start there. Doctor, you need to find a way to kill that beast; or we shall replace you with someone who can."

Christen felt fury rush through him at Palpatine's words, his eyes began glowing uncontrollably for only a few seconds before he calmed down, he felt a similar feeling coming from the Zillo Beast just below him as Palpatine's pod slowly traveled to the floor. For a few moments, Christen struggled with his anger up on the beam, doing his best to get a hold of his emotions before he did something very stupid. The roar of fury and pain that the Zillo released as the experiments continued and Palpatine left didn't help his anger at the moment though. Still, he managed some amount of control as he stood from his hiding spot, staring down at the beast. I wonder… he thought to himself before letting out a sharp, high pitched whistle he'd use to call to force sensitive creatures that only heard high frequencies. The Zillo stirred before arching its head up as much as it could to see the source of the noise, its glowing eyes locking with Christen 's own.

As he stared into its eyes, he could see a beaten and broken soul in the Zillo and decided then and there that the creature was purely sentient; it only lacked a voice. He wasn't going to let it die; there were other ways that Palpatine was refusing to look at. He knew there was. Glancing around, Christen suddenly dropped from his spot on the ceiling beam before landing lightly on the Zillo's head, right on the scale plating between its eyes. He put a gentle hand just above its eye, staring intently into the glowing greenish yellow orb. His eyes glowed at brightly at the beasts. "I know you can understand me," he said softly. "I promise you I won't let this republic kill you. I'll do what I can to the best of my abilities. If I can I'll even get you out of here," Christen assured him, putting his entire heart and soul into his words. The Zillo's hard gaze softened slightly; he could see it in its eye even as it rumbled deep in its chest. Christen rubbed its scale lightly before he kicked off, running the length of the beam that held the Zillo's head before anyone could spot her and sliding down the long shadowy pillar. As he slipped out of the domed building, he already had his destination in mind. Now just to get his capital ship.

Hours later upon sneaking into the chancellors office, Christen came around the building sneaking into the room at the right time. A beep sounded at the Chancellor's desk, and Palpatine activated his communication's device implanted into the desk. The doctor in charge of the Zillo Beast appeared. "Doctor, were you successful?" Palpatine asked. Anakin started a little; had Palpatine ordered the Zillo Beast killed while they were busy arguing in hushed tones about the lack of the savior's army's behavior? "We have a problem sir…" the doctor said grimly. Anakin felt a shiver of warning ripple through the Force and along with Christen, who had just came in, turned their head towards the window, staring out over the city of Coruscant with identical frowns. What in the name of the Force was happening? Christen suddenly felt the bussing of his private com to his personal droids. "The Zillo has escaped."

Alarms suddenly started going off, blaring all throughout the planet in a shrill and intimidating tone. Christen tensed slightly, eyes unfocused as he stared over the expanse of the city. "We need more time to convert more Malestare fuel into toxin Chancellor," the Doctor was saying to Palpatine. So Christen unfortunately had been right; they were going to poison the Zillo Beast just as the Dugs had wanted to in the first place. "I suggest you hurry doctor," Palpatine said grimly. His words snapped Christen out of his apparent trace, and he scowled, turning away from the Chancellor. "Evacuate the staff to the underground shelters," Padme said sternly to 3PO. Christen stood tense by the window, peering as far into the distance as he could in search for the rampant Zillo. Anakin, however, had his attention focused on a communication with Rex he was opening. After hearing Rex's rushed explanation of what was happening with the Zillo and what Obi-Wan was doing about it, Anakin spoke. "Stay with General Kenobi; I'm on my way." "You better hurry sir, you're missing all the fun," Rex said, causing Anakin to smirk a little.

Suddenly, Christen spun from his spot by the window, his steps rushed as he quickly crossed the distance between him and the door. "He was going after the Zillo, of course; no one's gassing it today if I have anything to do with it," he said firmly as he broke his force cloak, gaining the attention of his brother. Before Anakin could respond to seeing Christen , Padme gasped. "It's coming this way!" He wanted to stay with his family but he knew what needed to be done.

Christen wasted no time in exiting the Senate Building; he had seen the Zillo's distinct form on the horizon and, considering it was at least semi-sentient and knew that Palpatine wanted it dead, it hadn't taken much for him to figure out where it was headed or who it was after. Perhaps he hadn't shared that little bit of important information about the Zillo's most likely target out of spite. Still, it wouldn't take long for the other's to figure it out. Or at least he hoped they were smart enough to figure it out. Christen really hadn't spent time on getting a speeder; instead, he had latched onto the Force and used it to propel himself from building to building. Sometimes he landed on a roof,sometimes he landed on the side of a building he had to climb up, and sometimes he landed on a sidewalk around a building. Still, so long as he was moving towards the Zillo Beast he would be making progress towards his goal. He suddenly felt the force grow tremendously, he smiled as he barly made a jump from one of the buildings, his kids had come to help, his capital ship is here.

His com link went off, and Christen tapped the frequency on his com before making a rather large leap to the side of the building. He grunted as he curled his fingers onto a window pane before starting a grueling ascent up the side of the building to the roof high above.

"Punisher here," he grunted, launching himself up a few stories with the help of the Force. It was Padme. "Christen , where are you?" For the first time in a long time, Christen felt a pang of resentment at her calling him Christen". Still, he gave himself a moment to calm down knowing that he was just still riled up after the argument with Palpatine. He didn't have the audacity to call it a conversation. "I'm…climbing up the side of a…really tall building. What about you?" he said in between his endless efforts to make it to the top.

"I'm with the Chancellor and Anakin," Padme said. "Why are you climbing a building? Where have you been?" "Um…I'm going after the Zillo too…but for different reasons…" Christen said sheepishly. He gathered his strength and force jumped off, launcing himself up to the roof.

"Why are you after the Zillo?" Padme asked suspiciously. "Padme, while I was in the building they were keeping the Zillo in, I learned a few rather important details. First of all, the Zillo is sentient, it just can't talk…I guess it's semi-sentient…but it understands what we say and do, it understands intents. Second, it didn't break out for quite some time because it saw no reason to; it was letting itself be contained. I'm sure of it. However, I overheard Palpatine specifically instruct the Doctor to kill the Zillo because it was nothing more than an animal that needed to die for the good of the Republic. There are other ways to conduct the research that he wants to without killing the Zillo. Besides that, the Zillo was right there when he said it, and it didn't like what he heard at all. Palpatine gave the okay to kill it and, well, I believe that the Zillo is after Chancellor Palpatine for ordering it to be executed."

As he spoke, Christen walked to the edge of the building, looking over the now short distance between him and the Zillo. It sure looked furious. "We still need to contain that Zillo Beast Padawan," Aayla was saying. "Well if you want to get it back under control, I suggest not attacking it. If you attack it you'll only make it angrier," Christen said, frowning as below he saw blaster bolts fired on the Zillo. The creature roared in anger and Christen tensed. "I've got to g0 Padme. I'll see you later, good luck."

He cut the communications before Aayla could protest, backing up to the opposite edge of the roof and keeping his eyes trained on the Zillo Beast that was gradually coming closer. He glanced back behind him at the Senate building that wasn't that far away; the Zillo was getting closer. Soon, it was going to be a little too close to its goal. As pleasing as the thought of Palpatine getting eaten by the Zillo was, Christen highly doubted that it would be a good thing.

Taking a deep breath and praying to the Force that what he was about to do wasn't going to be anything absolutely insane that would get him killed. Christen took off at a dead sprint towards the other side of the building and jumped.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but air and a feeling of alarm through the Force from…Obi-Wan? Before the Jedi could figure out where he was he jumped off the building. Christen grunted and contacted with the Zillo Beast's tail scales. Instinctively, Christen latched onto the first edge that he felt, grunting as him arms were suddenly yanked upwards and he dangled dangerously off its side. He couldn't help but feel dizzy as he stared down at the possible plummet to him death if he Zillo was moving alarmingly fast, and Christen felt sick in his gut as he realized he didn't have as much time as he would like to try and stop the creature. Truthfully, half of his mind was screaming in askance at him, trying to figure out what the other half was thinking.

The Zillo beast leveled out with a furious roar, giving Christen enough time to get his feet underneath him and climb up a little further along the Zillo's back. He felt the Force let out a warning equivalent to a scream for him, and he latched onto the scale ledge in front of him just moments before the creature suddenly threw itself off the building, landing roughly on the street below. Christen held on tightly eyes closed until the Zillo Beast straightened out. Once more he got on him feet and practically ran up its back, taking care to keep him footing and stay light on him feet. Once they got so close to the Senate building, Christen flattened himself out halfway up its neck, teeth grit in determination. He was almost there…

The Zillo was quick to climb the Senate Building, and Christen could feel the fear and even some ripples of anger and protectiveness throughout the building. He was pretty sure that the protectiveness was coming from Anakin, considering the Zillo's head had come to a stop so that its eye peered into the Chancellor's office. He pushed worries of Anakin and Padme aside; Anakin would take care of both of them. It was him job to stop this Zillo. The Zillo reared back the same time he reached up and grasped one of the horns on its head, causing him to lose his footing once again. Still, he clung to its smooth edge as the Zillo moved quickly across the Senate building, reaching out to the next, and the next, gradually making his way across the Zillo's head. He wasn't looking forward to the point where he would start climbing down its head.

Looking down, against his better judgment, Christen could see a small ship trying to get away from the Senate Building and the Zillo Beast. Inside, he could sense three familiar presences; Padme, Anakin, and Palpatine. That fact that the Zillo turned and focused on that small ship alarmed him, and he threw herself to the side, reaching out with both hands and calling out to the Force in the hopes that he would land just right the same time that the Zillo captured the ship.

He connected with the side of the Zillo Beast's head, clinging to and bracing his knees against the scale above its left eye, doing his best to avoid accidentally kicking it in the eye. It turned its attention from the ship in its hand, roaring at him. For a moment, Christen felt like he was going to be sick, and in the back of his mind he actually registered the fact that his com link was ringing constantly. Sorry, I'm unavailable right now, please leave a message at the beep, Christen thought sarcastically. The Zillo didn't seem to recognize him, and he could hear the sound of creaking metal coming from the ship. If it continued to tighten its grip it was either going to break the ship in half or crush it and everyone inside.

That is not the way that Anakin is going to go out; especially on my watch, Christen thought to himself as he lowered himself a little more so that he could look in the Zillo's eyes better. Its eye narrowed slightly at him and he held him breath for a moment before letting out a whistle identical to the one he had given in the domed room. He felt a ripple of recognition come from the creature through the Force, and noticed it lowered the ship slightly, releasing some of the pressure from the tight grip that it had on it. "Hey…" he said as softly as he could with the loudness of the sirens blazing through the air. "I thought I told you I'd get you out of here? This isn't helping you know," he said seriously with a small smile.

The Zillo growled at him, its eye narrowing a little more. Christen kept him senses acutely attuned to the Beast, ignoring the constant shrill of his com link as he felt its emotions. There was a stirring of anger and suspicion, so he continued and tried to explain himself.

"You've hurt a lot of innocents already," Christen said sternly. "And going after the man who ordered you killed isn't helping at all; if I'm going to get you out of here safely, you can't seem like a threat." The Zillo growled again, but it wasn't so loud, and he saw the shuttle drop even lower out of his peripherals. Gently, he rubbed the scale over its eye. He could tell that it was listening. "I need you to put the ship down," he said soothingly. "Someone I love is in there, and a very good friend and I don't want them hurt. I don't like the cruel man who threatened you either, and I'm going to do what I can to make sure he doesn't hurt you and we get you out of here, all right? But you need to put the ship down." The Zillo's eyes softened and Christen could sense reluctance coming from it. He smiled at it. "I'll protect you, I promise."

Finally, with a gentle rumble in its chest, the Zillo slowly set the ship down. In the distance, Christen could see an army of ships coming their way. He had to act quickly; already there was one ship circling the Zillo at a safe distance, and the Zillo was watching it with growing anger, annoyance, and suspicion. Christen rubbed the scale again to get its attention.

"Get down, slowly," he said gently but firmly, nodding towards the nearby ledge just a few meters away from the Zillo's feet. "Don't let them think you're a threat, don't cause them to attack you out of fear, and it will be all right; I promise you it will," Christen told it. The Zillo growled slightly in protest, but slowly lowered itself to the ledge in a resting position on its front. Christen shifted over to the side and slid down the front of its face, landing back on the solid surface of the Senate Building ledge. The feeling of being back on stable ground sent relief through him and he smiled a little. The Zillo Beast shifted its head, blinking a large glowing eye at him. He felt resignation and trust emanating from the Zillo, and immediately devoted himself to fighting to the very end for this creature. He had its trust, and he wasn't going to betray it.

Behind him, Christen suddenly heard a familiar voice shout at the top of his lungs, "Punisher!"

Christen turned back around and saw his star destroyer floating in the plantes atmosphere , the republics ships ran wildly trying to escape not too far off. Behind it the shuttle that had been circling the Zillo beast was touching down on the ledge, its two occupants radiating tension and concern.

4. Meanwhile, Anakin was rushing towards him, and his movement was making the Zillo uneasy, causing its head to rise slightly with a warning growl. Anakin skidded to a halt just out of reach of the Zillo's third arm, his eyes fixated on Christen in fear. "Christen, get away from it!" Anakin cried out. The Zillo growled a little louder at him and Christen placed a gentle hand on its head. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you, he's just worried; he's my brother, the chosen one" he whispered to the Zillo. The creature settled down just slightly, and for a moment Christen believed he truly had the situation under control. Christen tensed, backing up rapidly as the Zillo rose back onto its feet with a roar of anger. Anakin was suddenly rushing forward, which only served to anger the Zillo further as it believed he was attacking. Christen mind filled with stress held out a hand in warning.

"Stop, brother you dumb shit you're making it worse," he shouted at Anakin. Anakin gave him an incredulous look but slowed his pace as he turned his attention back to the Zillo and issued the same sharp whistle as earlier. The Zillo let out a loud snarl as its head whipped towards him. Christen kept his voice stern and commanding as he gestured back to the ledge with him free hand. "Down!" he ordered the Zillo. It roared at him, and he could feel Anakin's fear go through the roof even as he tried to tune him out. The Zillo was angry; lowering its head towards him in a gesture that probably looked like it was going to snatch him up off the ledge in its jaws. Still, he held firm. "I told you I'd help you but you have to trust me and do as I saw, now get down!" he ordered the Zillo, willing it to understand that he was only trying to help. It roared at him again even louder, but what he sensed the others couldn't see; it was reluctantly complying, getting down on its knees, its head coming even with him. Stretching out his hand, he placed a gentle palm once more on the spot between its eyes, using the Force to send soothing waves through the creature.

"Get away from that monster so that we can gas it!" Palpatine shouted from his spot by the ship. Christen turned in his direction, him hand still on the Zillo's head. He was surprised to find Anakin just a few meters off, staring at him in wide eyed amazement and wonder.

Christen knew he had to put his powers at full blast to physically transport the beast into his capital ship. Christen used to the force to freeze everything around him. The surrounding areas began to steam and glow as metal began melting as a force storm with nightmarish laza lightnig was blast stricking the beast and Christen, both felt no pain, only power. Christen at that point could feel every single lifeform on the planet. He opened his eyes as a loud bright sonic explosion eruped engulfing the two. Outside the large blast forced Christen to lose his grip on the people and they were unfrozen. He stared in horror as a whole district was evapered by the blast. Anakin had been thrown back as he screamed for his wifes friend. When the blast was gone and Anakin stood up to view the area and he saw that there was no ziillo beast or Christen. Anakin now knew for a fact the Punisher and The Savior are both one and the same and he had tricked the Republic this whole time. But he called me brother...

Upon the Punishment Capital Ship

Christen turned his attention to the Zillo, rubbing the scale over its left eye gently. "Did you hear that? You're going to get out of here, just like I promised. We won't hurt you," Christen said soothingly to the Zillo. He dropped him voice to a low whisper so that his kids wouldn't hear. "I'm going to stand right over here and talk to my children I love, all right?" The Zillo rumbled softly and christen stepped back to where he saw his son Galen and daughter Amber were standing. He wasted no time in pulling them into a tight hug. "You really have lost your mind, haven't you father?" She said shoving gruffly into him . He pulled away, holding her at arm's length. "Mom contacted me not long after you were spotted and told me that you had jumped off the top of a building onto the Zillo Beast, and I was sure that she was lying, or had just seen wrong, but then I saw our ships core screen, just to see you dangling from a horn on its head…are you insane? Father you could have died!"

5. He was kinda pissed to know this was the childrens idea in the first place. "Everyone seems to say that to me a lot ," Christen grunted as he pulled them in for another hug. "However, I could die from your hugs too; I can't breathe!" The kids gasped out. Christen released them, but Galen kept a hold on his arm. "You didn't have to put yourself at risk for the Zillo like you did; you didn't have to put your life at such a risk," Galen chided.

"Actually you nerfherder , I can sense that this entire situation would have ended much differently—and much more tragically—had it not been for fathers actions," came Emma's sudden warm voice. Christen smiled as Emma came over to them. She smiled at him worriedly . "You had me worried there for a moment father …but that was incredible of you," Emma said with a slight twinkle of trust and love in her eyes. Christen 's smile and love only deepened and he bowed respectively to his children. "Thank you my young Jedaii; your praise means a lot," he said abashedly.

His daughters smiles widened, as Amber spoke. "Yes, well…I have some important matters to get done when we get back to Tython with the Crechlings in sector 4 now it seems.I will have to leave you with the Zillo for a while." She looked at him sternly as he was the one to give her those jobs, she didnt understand, none of his children did, they are the masters of his order. They are the ones to teach the growing army, despite they're young age. He gave them orders as they would be soon arriving upon Tython. Christen sighed and turned back to the Zillo Beast which was lying complacently on the ground, watching him with its glowing eyes. He smiled at the Zillo, placing a hand above its eye for the hundredth time that night.

"I told you that you'd be safe; I never break my promises."