Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Shadow felt great. Not so much physically, the Night Brothers had given him a very through beating and that stab wound from Grievous was still healing. But the unease and dread that Shadow had initially ascribed to the trauma of being kidnapped and tortured had departed with Sidious. That damn Sith Lord could no longer track of him meaning he didn't have to wear the blindfold anymore.

Petro on the other hand, had a frown on his face. "Why would Anakin do that? It doesn't make any sense."

Shadow didn't understand it either but was trying not to think about it in order to avoid spoiling his rare good mood.

But as usual, it was only a matter of time before something bad happened.

"We're low on fuel." Petro announced.

"Is there anywhere we can stop to get some more?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. We're about to pass by Kashyyyk."

"Well then, let's land and get fuel."

They landed the ship on a beach with a village built into the massive trees that made up the nearby jungle. Concerningly, the trees seemed to be smoking.

"What happened to this place?" Shadow asked.

"Looks like they've been attacked or something."

"So where do we get fuel around here?"

"I'm not sure, but I think if we ask arou-"

A rocket flew past them struck their ship, blowing up and greatly damaging it. Shadow and Petro were knocked sprawling, ears ringing.

Shadow struggled upright immediately and hauled Petro up as laser bolts and screaming Wookies began pouring out of the forest. Shadow picked Petro up and raced away down the beach, kicking up tall plumes of sand as he ran.

Once they were far enough away, Shadow stopped and put Petro down. "You could have warned me that the locals weren't friendly."

"They are friendly! As long as you don't make them mad."

"What are they mad at us for?"

"I don't know. Wait… isn't that Android still out there?"

Shadow crossed his arms and glared down at the sand. "That would certainly explain it."

"Well then let's go back and tell them what's really going on."

"We're definitely not doing that."

Petro looked at him in confusion. "Why not? They need to know."

"Do you really think they'll believe us when we say it's not me that attacked them but some android that's designed to look exactly like me? And that's if they even let us talk to them at all."

"So, what do we do? Our ship is destroyed, and we're stuck here being hunted by Wookies."

"Maybe we can steal a ship."

"Uh, this place isn't exactly known for its ships."

"There has to be something around here that flies." Shadow insisted. "You go find a ship, I'll distract the Wookies."

Shadow sped back in the direction of the Wookies, spraying Petro with sand in the process. He brushed off the sand and went to look for a ship.

Sidious entered Anakin's room.

Anakin glared. "What do you want now?"

Sidious Force Pushed him. "First, you will address me as Master. Second, I need you to retrieve the Sith artifacts the Jedi were keeping locked away in the Temple."

Anakin picked himself up. "Fine, when do we leave?"

"I will not be going with you on this mission. I have… other matters to attend to."

Anakin rose a brow. "You're sending me on this mission alone?"

"You already know the consequences for disappointing me. You will return, and you will bring all of the artifacts. Now go."

Anakin got out of the ship and looked around at the barely recognizable Coruscant. Large buildings were damaged, droids were everywhere, and the Separatist flag flew from the top of the Senate building. The streets were deserted, implying that everyone was hiding indoors, fearing another attack from that Android.

He approached the Temple, which wasn't looking any better, with all the statues and paintings of the Jedi destroyed. He entered the forbidden rooms of the Temple where they kept Sith artifacts. There were old books and journals written by ancient Sith Lords, there was a neckless with strange carvings in it, and old lightsabers that used to belong to Dark Side warriors.

He collected the artifacts and then proceeded to the holocron vault. He picked up the holocron Petro had opened before and thought that if Petro had opened this holocron and learned from it, why couldn't he? Anakin knew he needed to become stronger in order to defeat Sidious.

He took the holocron and focused. But it didn't open.

"Come on, I need this power!"

Anakin squeezed the holocron tightly. He focused all his rage towards it.

And it opened.

Obi-wan sat in his cell meditating. It was the only thing he could do besides fret over the fate of Anakin. He then sensed a dark, evil presence. He opened his eyes and saw Sidious standing outside his cell, looking at him.

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me."

"You were very foolish to come here."

Obi-wan became serious. "I came to protect Anakin."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"When the time is right, I will be free. And me and Anakin will take you down."

Sidious smiled. "Are you certain Skywalker will be on your side when that time comes?"

"Anakin's loyalty will only last as long as Padme is your prisoner."

"His connection to the Dark Side is growing stronger. I can feel it. His turn to the Dark Side is unavoidable."

Obi-wan's expression hardened. "He will never turn to the Dark Side."

"Your denial is truly amusing. I sent Skywalker out to retrieve some Sith artifacts for me. Do you believe he will not be tempted to study them?"

Obi-wan did not respond.

"You know Anakin will do whatever it takes to win."

"You don't know Anakin as well as you think you do."

Sidious's smile widened. "Is that so? Did he ever tell about how he butchered an entire camp of Tuscan Raiders? Or about his marriage to Senator Amidala? I don't believe he did. He didn't think you'd understand. He feared what the Jedi Council would do if they found out. You were practically doing my job for me in pushing him to the Dark!"

Sidious began cackling with glee while Obi-wan began second-guessing every Anakin related decision he had ever made. Padawans were supposed to be able to come to their Masters with any concern. Could he really have failed so badly?

While the Wookies chased Shadow through the jungle, Petro searched the village for a ship. He was hesitant to be walking around all the smoking trees, but it unlikely he would find a ship anywhere else.

He ears then picked up a small humming sound off in the distance. The sound grew louder as whatever it was grew closer and through the thick wall of smoke came a ship. It landed on a wooden platform a little way above and ahead of Petro. Petro couldn't believe his luck as he approached the ship. It was small, but he and Shadow didn't take up that much space.

The cockpit opened, and Shadow jumped out!

Petro ran forward and used the Force to boost himself up onto the platform. "Hey Shadow, where'd you find that?"

Shadow just looked at him with an empty stare.

Petro hesitated. "Uh, Shadow?"

He then heard the sounds of blasters being fired off in the distance along with Wookies roaring. They were still attacking someone. Petro put two and two together and drew his lightsaber.

"You're not the real Shadow."

The Android observed the child in front of it. The lightsaber gave clear indication that he was a Jedi. The Androids programing dictated that any Jedi found needed to be eliminated. It shot forward and Petro could not react fast enough to prevent its fist from connecting with his face. He was flung backward off the platform.

Shadow shot by as Petro hit the ground and skidded to a surprised halt. He ran back to boy and saw his arm bent at a weird angle. Then the Android dropped down.

Shadow growled at it. "You're gonna pay for that."

He charged the Android and they began exchanging blows. The angry mob of Wookies caught up and were momentarily confused by the sight of two black hedgehogs attempting to pound each other's faces in. They got over it quickly and decided to shoot at both of them.

The two Shadows were forced to break off their engagement in order to avoid the incoming blaster shots. They were fast and hard to hit, but eventually, one of the Wookies got lucky and managed to tag one of them.

The Android's body hit the sand, while its arm went flying off in another direction. Shadow capitalized on this opportunity and ripped its head open with a spin dash. It became obvious then that the Android was a machine and not a living being as wires and circuitry spilled out of the wound.

The Wookies were again momentarily surprised but nevertheless continued to fire at the remaining hedgehog. One of the Wookies then noticed Petro laying on the ground, bleeding. A couple of them ran over to check out his injuries. Shadow saw this and quickly formulated a plan.

Petro moaned as he started to wake up. Only one eye opened, the other was swollen shut. "What…? What's happening?"

Shadow rushed over to Petro, snatched him away from the Wookies, and held him up as a human shield.

"Okay, everyone back off or you'll all get to see what the inside of this kid's brain looks like!"

The Wookies roared in anger but stopped shooting. Shadow began to back away towards the jungle.

He whispered into Petro's ear. "Petro, can you hear me?"

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure you get medical attention. Now here's the story: you're another one of my victims. I've been keeping you as a slave for days."

"But none of that's true at all!"

"No, but it's a story they'll believe and it's a story that'll make them take care of you. Now when they're finished patching you up, take the ship the Android came in on. There's another beach a few miles to the east that I found while I was being chased by Wookies." Shadow explained.

"Why can't we just tell them the truth? The proof is right there that wasn't you who attacked them! If we just explain it to them-"

"All they understand right now is just that there's more than one of me. And they aren't going to be willing to help you if you take my side. Just stick to the story and you'll be fine."

They reached the edge of the jungle. Once inside the trees, Shadow put Petro down and ran off. A large chunk of the Wookies pursued Shadow while a few stayed behind to help Petro.

Petro cried and told them the fake story Shadow made up for him. The Wookies hugged him and promised they would hunt Shadow down and rip his arms off. They took him into one their hunts and began treating his wounds.

Once night fell and the Wookies were asleep, Petro snuck out and headed over to the ship. Flying with one hand was awkward but doable. He took the ship over to the eastern beach where Shadow was waiting.

"Telling them the truth could have worked you know." Petro snapped, annoyed.

"All the actual evidence is against me. The only way telling the truth would work is if they chose to just believe what we told them. And since the first thing they did when we showed up was shoot at us, I don't think they would. Plus, have you seen yourself lately? You look at lot like an abuse victim right now."

Petro winced as he remembered the Wookies' righteous but misplaced anger when they had seen the wounds the Night Brothers had inflicted. Still, lying didn't sit well with him. "But now they're even more convinced that you're a monster! How does that help us?"

"I don't care what they think of me. I'm not staying in this galaxy. Once this is all said and done, you can come back here and tell them whatever you want. But for now, it's back to finding the Chaos Emeralds."