Star Wars: Force of Nature

by General Rage

In a carefully laid trap, the King of Monsters is hit with a devastating super weapon. While the Nations of the World cheer they do not realize they have not destroyed him, only sent Godzilla to a new world. It is here the Atomic Titan shall come face to face with a new enemy, as he walks straight into a war long ago in a Galaxy Far, Far away...

9. I Shall Rise Again

Chapter 8: I Shall Rise Again!

The Ghost came in low as the Juggernaut burst onto the battlefield. The other Rebel forces were already moving up into the fight as the Hailfire droids bombarded the Imperial positions. AT-TEs moved up alongside the AAT-1s, firing into the besieged Stormtrooper lines. It was hard to tell at the moment if any of the explosions were doing anything though. The AT-ATs for their part returned fire, blasting at the Rebels as they approached. The closer they got, the more accurate giant walking death machines would become. With that in mind, the Juggernauts held back. They still had soldiers on board, no sense putting them in more danger than they had to be. Right now, it was probably the safest place to drop off Sabine.

The back doors of the ship opened up and Sabine looked down at the Juggernaut below. For a bulky behemoth of a war machine, it moved pretty fast. The Mandalorian activated her "liberated" jetpack and rocketed down towards the massive vehicle. She eventually managed to match the speed of the Juggernaut and place herself over the main body. Sabine then turned the pack off and let herself roll across the top of the vehicle until she stopped.

"I'll provide what support I can from above," Hera contacted her. "See you and the others inside the complex."

"Yeah, if the retro army we've cobbled together can get us there," Sabine responded somewhat sardonically.

As Sabine scrambled up towards the driver's cockpit for the Juggernaut, she watched the battle unfolding before her. AAT-1s and AT-TEs were pounding the forward positions, but they were taking fire from Imperial AT-MPs. Missiles struck one of the old Federation tanks, blowing a hole clean through the armor. Worse yet, the AT-ATs that were still in play were firing on the Rebels sporadically as well. One AT-TE was struck in the side and set on fire. Luckily, some of Raider starfighters managed to force the giant walker's attention away from the ground troops. That wouldn't last long though, unless they took those giant four legged monstrosities out soon.

Thankfully, the smaller ground troops were doing a bit better, harrassing the AT-MPs and Stormtroopers moving to close off their way inside the complex. One speeder bike raked several shots on a squad of troopers as it raced past them. As she watched that though, she saw two TIE fighters racing towards her from above. Sabine quickly tucked and rolled as a series of green laser bolts strafed the Juggernaut's roof. They missed her by the slimmest of margins. In retaliation, she fired back on them as they flew off. It was just a brief moment of her Mandalorian heritage leaking through, however, and she quickly regained her focus. She at least managed to wing one of the annoying Imperial fighters, that was satisfying enough for the moment.

Moira's Raiders would take care of the TIEs, she needed to find a way to help out with the main battle on the ground. One way, was taking out the Missile Walkers currently hitting the tank formations hard. She saw her chance to help out when a skiff rocketed past the Juggernaut along its side far below her. She activated her jet pack again and chased after the skiff, eventually catching up to it and grabbing onto the railing along its side. The pilot was a bit surprised when she forced herself over it, but he quickly realized she was on his side when she started pointing at the AT-MPs.

"I need you to get me close to one of those things," she said. "We gotta take them down before we lose more tanks."

The pilot just nodded and increased the skiff's speed. They left the Juggernaut behind and raced towards the Missile Walkers. As soon as they got in range, the gunner aimed the skiff's big cannon and fired at the Imperial machines, hitting one in the left missile pod twice. The double blasts punctured the pod, causing the dormant missiles to explode and engulf the cockpit in flames.

As the war machine tumbled down into a heap of burning slag, Sabine looked for her own target to hit. She spotted it when a second AT-MP stomped out into the open to take the place of its fallen brother. As it aimed for the skiff, Sabine tossed a few explosives towards the walker. They blew up in its face, blinding the pilots and giving the skiff's gunner time to hit the machine's left leg joint hard.

The skiff now swerved in and around the crumbled, burning walkers. There was a third one that was still operational, however, which they now sped towards. Sabine slung a stick bomb near the upper leg joint as they passed by. The resulting explosion ripped the leg right out from under the Walker, causing it to tumble towards the fleeing skiff. They managed to esacape the crashing machine, the only incovneience being the volcanic dust cloud it kicked up which covered them with a thin layer of ash.

Said thin layer was knocked off, however, when a missile nearly collided with them and slammed into the ground nearby. The shockwave it kicked up nearly toppled the vehicle, but Sabine managed to stay on. The gunner was not so lucky, as he was flung to the side and smacked his head against the railing, knocking him out cold. The AT-MP that had just taken a shot at them now threatened to fire again. Sabine quickly rushed to take the cannon's controls and aimed it square in the center of the walker's face. She fired one shot and watched as the blast utterly obliterated the cockpit. Fire spewing from the eye sockets of the two-legged war bringer, it finally collapsed to the ground in a heap.

The impact of the defeated AT-MPs gave the Rebel tanks a new lease on life. They pressed on the remaining Missile Walkers, firing their heavy old guns at the highly advanced death machines. The powerful cannons ripped into the sides, blowing their pods apart and their cockpits with them. Slowly but surely, the gap Sabine had created started to widen. She moved to help the gunner up and get him back on his gun, there was still more work to do and she couldn't do it from the skiff.

"I'm heading groundside," Sabine told the pilot. "Keep helping the tanks, stay close to them."

Sabine jumped off the side of the skiff and hovered her way down to the ground floor. Almost instantly, red blaster fire started flying past her. Taking shelter behind the broken remains of an Imperial Walker, she spotted the cause. A small squad of Stormtroopers, firing wildly in her direction. As she watched them, one of their number took out a rocket launcher and fired it on AT-TE, hitting it in the leg joint and forcing it to grind to a halt. So not only were they blocking her way forward, but any Rebel vehicles that wandered into their field of vision. They had to be dealt with quickly.

A Rebel on a speeder bike was shot off his ride by the same squad of Stormtroopers. The bike coasted to a stop just a few feet away from Sabine's position. Seeing her chance, the young Mandalorian raced out into the open, firing blaster bolts at the entrenched Stormtroopers in an attempt to keep their heads low. When she made it to the bike she slid behind it and attached a few remote charges to the undercarridge.

"This would be a bad idea without a jetpack," she thought silently to herself. "Still isn't that great with one, but whatever."

When the last charge was placed, Sabine jumped into the bike's driver's seat and started the vehicle back up. She fired several shots from her speeder as she closed in on the Stormtrooper position. She kept her head low to avoid getting shot like the previous rider, but it made it hard to steer the thing or aim its lasers. When she felt she was getting close she looked back up and saw one of her shots take out a Trooper with ease as her bike was within spitting distance of the enemy position.

Sabine now activated her jet pack again and flew off her seat into the air. The bike collided with the Stormtrooper position as Sabine flew over it. She then detonated the explosives with her remote switch and watched as a huge ball of fire consumed the Stormtrooper position. She landed just behind the inferno, her guns out and at the ready.

As she did, a barrage of hailfire missiles slammed into facility's perimeter. Sabine looked back to see the droids had gotten closer and were now hitting the Imperial positions more frequently. Suddenly the AT-ATs turned their attention towards the big-wheeled rolling droids and opened fire. The old synthetics started getting torn to shreds, as laser cannons ripped through them with ease. Even fixed up as they were, they were no match for the Empire's most deadly walker. The AT-ATs also started firing on the still approaching Juggernauts, hoping to blow them away before they got any closer. The giant war rigs pressed on through heavy fire, but Sabine could see they were taking a lot of damage.

The AT-ATs had made a mistake in taking their eyes off the other Rebel Forces though. The AT-TEs and AAT-1s soon took up positions surrounding the giant four-legged walkers. They pointed their heavy guns skyward, aiming for the head and neck. All at once they opened fire. Sabine watched as the heavy guns tore through the armor of the giant war machine, smoke and fire billowing out of the cockpit. Additional shots made sure the AT-AT fell away from the main attack force.

At the same time, a flight of proton torpedos rammed into the side of a second AT-AT, blowing up its midsection. The entire machine fell with a resounding crash as small squadron of Y-Wing bombers flew past its smoking remains. It was then the Juggernauts finally got into range and started opening fire themselves. The lead Juggernaut let loose a storm of missiles and cannon fire, the sound of which was defeaning to all nearby. The barrage of death easily ripped the final AT-AT to pieces, blowing the cockpit apart with just a few direct hits.

"Sabine, you still out there?" Kanan's voice suddenly asked over the the Madalorian's comm. "What's our damage?"

"The Rebels got hit hard, but they're still pushing," Sabine assured. "Plenty of bucketheads between us and the big hole in the wall though. I'd rather not have to go through all of them by myself."

"We're dropping off the squads we have inside the the Juggernauts to reinforce the attack," Kanan assured her. "I'll send Zeb out to join you. I'll be along in a bit."

"What about Ezra?" Sabine asked, confused as to why there was no mention of him.

Come to think of it, why was Kanan talking to her? Where was Ahsoka? Why wasn't she issuing orders concerning the attack? And why was Kanan hanging back for a bit longer anyway? She quickly realized something was wrong, but Kanan explained it straight out for her instead.

"He took off for the Star Destroyer crash site," he explained growling lightly. "He's trying to see if Godzilla is still alive. Ahsoka went after him and put me in charge of the attack while she's gone."

"What?!"

That was all Sabine could say before a missile slammed into the ground a few dozen feet beside her. More Stormtroopers, desperately trying to hold off the Rebel advance. There was no time to comment or think more on what Ezra and Ahsoka were doing. Sabine was in the thick of battle, one that she suspected wasn't about to let up any time soon. The Empire had no intention of surrendering this facility and its monstrous little super weapon to the Rebels knocking at their door.

---

Klusto was not enjoying his sudden field promotion at all. Not only had it cost him an old friend, he had inherited a problem he wasn't sure he could salvage. If past experience had taught him anything, that probably meant he was next on the chopping block. Or, as far as Vader was cocerned, the choking block.

Avoiding such a fate was growing ever more slim by the second. The Rebels had just destroyed the remaining AT-ATs. Klusto suspected that would happen, they weren't in the best of shape after Alpha Predator One's attack. As powerful as an AT-AT was, if outnumbered it could be destroyed. The old AT-TE's powerful heavy cannons were more than enough to puncture the weakpoint in their successor's neck. Klusto didn't know how they had found so many of the old clunky walkers, but they had enough to cause the damage required to take the bigger and deadlier AT-ATs down. Strength in numbers usually trumped straight up power in the right circumstances.

Klusto had hoped to at least destroy one of the Juggernaut war rigs, thus removing a sizable portion of their attack force. They had caused some damage, but the Rebel tanks had survived the gauntlet of AT-MPs and landed some killing blows alongside the Y-Wing bombers. Now several dozen squads of Rebel soldiers were storming the battlefield as the Stormtroopers fell back to the facility proper. They couldn't hold back the tide, not after all the damage Alpha Predator One had caused.

At the moment, Klusto was just hoping to choke the Rebels in the halls and corridors of the various buildings inside the complex. If they could hold them off long enough, they could get all the data and relevant material out. The Rebels would take the facility, but the Empire would still have enough to rebuild. If they were really lucky, they could even get the prototype to safety. The problem was, Vader didn't seem to want to retreat, he had every intention of winning. Klusto wasn't sure if that was confidence or just sheer ruthless determination. Probably a mixture of both actually.

Bearing that in mind, that victory was the only thing Vader would accept, he racked his mind trying to think of ways to do just that. The Rebels had great numbers, but they were limited in size. If they had more men, maybe they could hold them off, force them to head back outside. If worse came to worse, they could try ordering a bomber flight of TIEs to hit the Rebel controlled portions of the facility from above. Although, Klusto suspected the enemy air support would hinder their effectiveness.

In the end it came back to manpower and they just didn't have enough. Vader had a few more of his 501st soldiers out in the field, but it was a small complement. All Klusto could really do was just increase defences around the main data servers, central cloning lab and the reactor.

As for the prototype, the holding bay was locked down, only the highest clearance could get you inside. Klusto hoped that would be enough, if nothing else they could salvage the prototype. There was the chance Vader would just decide to use it against the Rebels, but Klusto suspected that he'd only do so as a last resort. He himself would not consider it unless Vader gave the order. The Cyber Zillo-Beast was still untested, they weren't sure what would happen when they let it loose.

"We've lost another AT-MP, sir," one of the officers informed him. "And another two squads. Latest reports suggest the Rebels are inside the defensive perimeter now."

"Get some turrets or something up to the line," Klusto ordered. "Lock down portions of the facility and funnel them into kill zones. We have to thin them out and keep them away from the mission critical areas."

"Sir," another officer spoke up suddenly. "We have reports of a larger Rebel craft in the skies, different from the others. Corellian freighter of some kind, hexagon like shape, fights like a demon. It's circling the facility, probably looking to land inside the perimeter."

Damn, more enemy troops behind their lines, just what they didn't need right now. If that thing started ferrying people inside they'd find their defensive postions overrun. Only one thing they could do in that case.

"Send fighters to shoot that ship out of the sky, it is a priority target now," he ordered adamantly. "Do not let it-"

"Belay that order."

The booming voice came from the back of the room. Klusto didn't need to turn around know who it was, but he did it anyway. He saw Vader standing over the entire room, looking down on him.

"That ship is to be disabled only," he ordered. "Not destroyed."

"I see," Klusto was quick to relent. "Is there any reason why you-"

"If my instincts are correct it holds several key Rebel elements I need to properly interrogate," Vader explained. "I need them alive. Keep me apprised of their position and progress, but do not destroy."

Klusto saluted in response to the order. However, he decided to use the moment to voice his other concerns. They wouldn't last without men, surely Vader had more or some kind of reinforcement. His confidence in their victory had to come from somewhere. Of course that assumed it was confidence and not something else, but Klusto liked to hope for the former.

"Sir, we are being overrun at the moment," he tried to inform him. "We can't hold them back. We need more men, more boots on the ground. I'm out of reserves, I've commited everything. If you have anything you can offer-"

"I have commited what small forces I brought with me entirely to the fight as well," Vader informed him coldly. "If your soldiers cannot hold against these Rebels, it is not due to my lack of assistance. Their failure, and yours, is their own."

"They are not failures and they are not cowards, Lord Vader," he stated astutely. "I assure you of that. But we simply do not have the numbers to keep them back for much longer at this rate. We need more men, it's as simple as that."

Vader looked contemplative for a moment. It was a bit unsettling to see him thinking. Klusto had seen how the black armored man thought and dealt with problems. Both with Sakal and shortly after Alpha Predator One. Klusto did not look forward to what Vader had planned now. When he turned, obviously to offer and answer, the recently promoted General felt the unease as Vader looked at him. His gaze one of ruthless calculation and devious thought. It was amazing how much one could tell about someone who's expression was eternally hidden.

"You have one more reserve, General," he assured Klusto coldly. "Perhaps it is time to use them."

---

The first real face to face confrontation with Rebels and Arch was on the losing side of it. He wanted to say that it was all because they weren't playing fair, but given that their big lizard friend was out of the picture and they were using tech from the previous war it was hard to make that claim. No, they were tougher than they looked, that was for sure. The Academy really undersold their capabilities it seemed. They said most dissidents were just fragmented little groups, terrorist organizations that were largely small and insignificant. These guys didn't feel like disparate cells though, they felt like a proper army. An army using outdated tanks and walkers, but an army nonetheless.

They hadn't given them time to set up a signficant defense either. Once the big lizard got squashed, they rushed towards the gap he made. They all moved to try and block their way in, but the Rebels moved before they could set up proper barriers. The AT-ATs were depleted as a fighting force and it took shorter than expected for the Rebels to kill the remaining. At least they had managed to destroy some of the enemy armor before they got scrapped themselves.

Worse still were the Speeder bikes and those mini-walkers they rode on. They were fast, mobile, they struck quick and darted off before you could shoot them. He even saw one of the little mini-walkers leap a small barricade and crush some fellow Troopers. Mobility, numbers and speed, that was the enemy's strengths. It made holding them off nearly impossible, and once the infantry joined the charge proper it became even harder.

Just a few short minutes ago, Arch had been overjoyed at the sight of the Star Destroyer crushing the big grey lizard that had tormented him for so long. He felt he and the friends of his who had died by the creature's hands were avenged at last when the nose of the starship crashed into the beast's head. He wasn't the only one who started cheering at the sudden turnaround. Morale spiked up high, they had beaten the ace up their sleeve and the Rebels now held no cards. Now, as he crouched behind makeshift cover near the edge of the facility's main perimeter, Arch realized they had celebrated far too early.

Laser bolts cut into his cover, as he clutched his blaster tightly. Arch returned fire and managed to hit one of the attacking Rebels. The kill was little consolation, however, once he saw one of the Rebel AT-TEs lumbering into view. The walker's four pointed laser turrets started scanning the area, blasting away at any Stormtrooper nearby. This place was no longer safe, it was time to move back.

Arch picked up his gear and ran further into the facility, following other fellow Troopers who realised this was a futile effort. A few of the Troopers with heavy weapons, like rockets, stayed to fend off the AT-TE, but the Rebel infantry were too quick on the draw for a lot of them. The rockets that did hit, only did minor damage to some of the laser turrets.

At least the AT-TEs wouldn't be able to follow them into the facility proper. The Rebels would be on their own then. Maybe without their little retro army of war machines, the Troopers would stand a better chance. For now, Arch just kept watch behind the corner of a building, firing quick bursts at the Rebels as they poured into the facility's perimeter.

Among the Rebels he suddenly spotted a large purplish alien. It kinda looked like a wookie but it clearly wasn't. He bounded out of the crowd of Rebels and began assaulting the Stormtroopers directly. He had this peculiar staff like weapon that he swung and parried around with relative ease. The tips were electrified and he managed to shock several nearby Troopers with them within moments of each other. He even used his foot to grab onto one Stormtrooper's face and throw him into a wall before turning and punching another.

There was another Rebel with him, wearing Mandalorian armor colored in hot pink with orange. She was smaller than her big brute of an alien friend, but her dual pistols were wielded with just as much skill as his staff. She picked off Stormtroopers one by one with devastating accuracy, switching targets on the fly. Then she pulled something from her belt, tossed into the air and shot at it as it fell towards a squad of Troopers. The airburst utterly devastated the small group of Imperial Soldiers, sending out a brillant flash of crimsons and blues that engulfed them.

Arch raised his blaster to fire on the Mandalorian girl, hoping to get a clean shot. As he pressed the trigger though the girl spotted him somehow and rolled to safety. She pointed his position out to her bigger companion, who tossed one of the Stormtroopers he was pummeling away to turn to him. His staff suddenly retracted into a rifle and the alien now began firing on Arch.

The Scout Trooper found himself pinned behind his corner as several laser bolts pelted his position. With no other alternative, he looked for a way out and spotted a doorway leading into the facility proper. He picked up his rifle and ran like mad towards the entrance, firing some sporadic shots before throwing himself through the doorway as it opened.

He wasn't about to go back out there. The perimeter had been lost. He had to get to another defensive position inside the facility itself, one with better cover and more people to back him up. Luckily, he spotted a squad of Stormtroopers heading down the hallway with that same idea. He picked himself up and followed them best he could.

He hoped to find Kamo among the regrouping soldiers. The way things were going, they desperately needed him now. But Arch had a feeling in his gut that he wouldn't be. Part of him wanted to go after the old Clone, figure out what he was doing, what exactly had come over him. The other part of him told him that idea would be a waste of time. The only person who was going to find Kamo was whoever he was after now. All Arch could do realistically was try to survive this assault and hope his fire-forged friend would be alright without him.

"Of course he'll be alright," he said aloud, trying to reassure himself. "After everyhting we've been through, how can't he be?"

But at that moment, Arch remembered the look the old soldier had given him, the words he had spoken. Something had shook the old clone up, something that seemed worse than the big lizard they had been fighting. Arch couldn't help but think, what in the galaxy could possibly do that to a former Clone Trooper like Kamo?

---

The thick jungle brush was hard to navigate, but Ahsoka pressed on. If she was having this much trouble moving through the trees on a speeder bike then so was Ezra. She knew he couldn't have gotten much farther at this point. She didn't know how close she was to the crash site by now, she couldn't even see the smoke through the thick canopy. She imagined that she was more than halfway there at least by now. Which meant Ezra was probably just a bit further than that.

Sure enough, Ahsoka found she couldn't go any further. The twisting roots and tangled vines soon closed her way off. Just as she suspected, when she found she could move no further she discovered Ezra's speeder bike not too far off from her. Powering her vehicle down and sliding off the seat, she walked over to the vacant ride. Crouching down, she scanned the forest floor, finding footsteps and broken twigs heading off into the brush. Her nose suddenly picked up the scent of burnt vegetation and she trailed her gaze up to a group of vines and branches that had been sliced clean through. It was the telltale sign of a lightsaber being used as a bushwhacker.

At least Ahsoka wouldn't have to waste much energy cutting through the brush to follow after the wayward Padawan. She walked along the path the boy had cut for her, tracing his footsteps through the dirt and mud. It reminded her of her time on similar planets in the Clone Wars, although these jungles weren't nearly as colorful and inviting as Felucia. Here there were no strange fern-like trees, just burly giant twisting trunks that stretched up high for miles. It was all very dark and disorienting.

She kept wondering how Ezra even knew where he was going in all this and concluded he was probably navigating through the Force and his instinct alone. The same instinct he claimed that had convinced him Godzilla still lived. Part of her wanted to believe he was right, that the great monster was still living and that they had not gotten him killed for their war. For all she knew though, Ezra's mind was clouded, probably by a sense of guilt. It was easy to lose yourself to your emotions, a lesson she learned the hard way many times before.

After another good ten or so minutes of walking, she finally started to hear the sound of a lightsaber slashing through the underbrush. She rushed along the makeshift path now, the sounds growing louder with each step. Finally she came to a stop as her eyes beheld the wayward Apprentice slicing away at vines and thick branches haphazardly. Ezra himself was grunting with every swing, he had been at this for awhile now.

"Seems your form could use some work," Ahsoka suggested aloud, catching Ezra's attention.

The young boy looked back for a brief moment before turning back to his work.

"I thought Kanan would've chased after me," he stated tersley.

"He wanted to, but I did not want your team down another man," she explained. "Hera and the others will need him more than the assault will need me at the moment."

She approached Ezra now, just as he cut through another thick group of branches and forced his way forward. Ahsoka kept in step behind him as he continued to march through the jungle. He didn't bother looking back at her as he continued talking.

"You can forget dragging me back," Ezra declared harshly. "I'm going to that crash site and you can't stop me."

"I could order you," she reminded him snidely. "I may not be your Master, but I am a Superior Officer."

"So why aren't you then?" He asked, furrowing brow as he looked back.

Ahsoka just shrugged.

"Well I know you won't listen for one and I'll be forced to keep running after you," she explained rather plainly. "We're already pretty deep into this jungle anyhow so it's going to take us awhile to get out of it either way. So we might as well push on to the crash site at this point. That way there will be no doubt you wasted a lot of time."

Ezra just huffed and started once again hacking his way through the thick trees, his lightsaber pointed out in front of him. Ahsoka followed close behind, arms crossed as she did. The kid was stubborn, that was for sure. He had an idea in his head and he wasn't about to discard it until it had run its course. A bit like a young her in someways, a very green, very impulsive her.

"You're putting a lot of effort into saving a dead monster you barely know," Ahsoka informed him.

"Jedi are supposed to help people, right?" He asked growling as he cut through more vines. "Does that not include giant monsters from other galaxies?"

"All life is sacred to a Jedi," Ahsoka quickly countered. "I still believe in that. But I'm not really a Jedi anymore and you have a long way to go. And as much as I share your hope that Godzilla survived somehow-"

Ezra turned with a growling look.

"It's not hope," he stated firmly. "I know he's alive. I told you, I feel it."

"Forgive me if I find it a bit difficult to believe you have that strong a connection with the creature after a very brief time conversing with it. And I use conversing in the loosest of terms," Ahsoka argued as she rushed to catch up to the young boy. "My point is, I want him to be alive. However, I have to look at the reality, Ezra. A starship crashed into him and exploded. He was weakened from the fighting. The chances are not high."

"Considering all the things Kanan, me and I'm guessing you've been through, that isn't very convincing," Ezra was quick to counter. "I felt it when we were connected through the Force. He's a survivor and he's been through worse than any of us."

Ahsoka did admit to herself that Ezra had a point. She had survived far more trying events. Well, maybe not more trying but certainly similar in fashion. Her memories of the Second Battle for Geonosis flashed before her mind. She had been trapped inside an experimental Separatist Tank after blowing up a factory around her and Barriss Offee. They survived by the slimmest of margins, but only because people were even looking for her, that her Master had been looking for her.

She pushed that memory aside, it only hurt and it did not matter in the grand scheme of things.

"Ezra, I admire your devotion to an ally, I do," she insisted. "But sometimes, even the best Jedi Instincts can be wrong. Your judgement can be clouded, it happens to all Jedi. It did happen to all Jedi in fact, it's why there are barely any of us left."

"If they're right, then he needs our help," Ezra steadfastly replied. "I'm not going to just abandon him. We owe it to him after we got him involved."

"If they're wrong, then you've abandoned your crew for nothing," Ahsoka warned. "Do you see how contradictory this is becoming?"

Ezra sliced through another thick layer of brush and then suddenly turned off his lightsaber. He turned to Ahsoka, finally dropping his scowl.

"He trusted us," He said sincerely. "We told him about the facility and the weapon. We gave him our word the planet would be his and we'd leave. He put trust in us, it wasn't much but it was something. We even helped him out a bit during the actual fight. That had to raise his expectations a bit. We can't just betray that. Not when it was the first bit of faith he probably ever had in our kind. That's important, isn't it?"

Trust was important. Ahsoka remembered a time when she wasn't certain of who or what she could trust. Her friends, her cause, the Order, her government, even herself, all cast into doubt. She had felt betrayed and it took a long time before she stopped feeling like that. She took a deep breath and sighed, the Padawan had a good point.

"Trust is hard to earn," she admitted. "Moreso if it feels as if the galaxy is against you."

Ahsoka moved in past Ezra, facing towards the next thick section of brush. Raising her hand up, feeling through the Force, she reached out to the vegetation before her. Soon it began to shift and bend, parting away from itself, clearing a path ahead of them. She motioned Ezra to her front with a nod of her head, his instincts had led him this far, it would lead them the rest of the way.

"For the record I still think this will not end how you hope," she cautioned him. "But that's no reason to make it harder than it should be. You deserve answers, if nothing else."

Ezra silently walked ahead, directing Ahsoka through the vines and underbrush. With her Force powers, the Jungle floor became more like a walk in the park. Much less cumbersome than using a Jedi's weapon like a machete for the majority of the trip. It wasn't that much of a strain, not for her. When you attuned yourself to nature and life itself, moving through it was as simple as falling off a speeder.

"Was this the kind of stuff they taught at the Jedi Temple?" Ezra asked her as they walked.

"There was little time in those days to really think about anything other than war sadly," Ahsoka sadly admitted. "When you're on your own though, hiding from an enemy that seeks your utter destruction, you have to learn other ways to survive. And in doing so, you remember what it was supposed to be about."

She recalled those days with a sense of bittersweet melancholy. Alone, with no temple to return to and few friends to fall back on. Places like Coruscant weren't safe, neither was the Togruta homeworld. Returning to her old family had crossed her mind, but she doubted they'd remember her or if she'd be able to do the same. Besides, no sense in placing them at risk for safe haven.

So she initially went to ground in the wilderness, recalling her days she spent on the run from Trandoshan hunters. If she could avoid those bloodthirsty lizards, Stormtroopers would be no problem at all. In doing so, she became more adept with parts of the Force she hadn't experienced during her long years as a soldier for the Republic. Being Self-Taught didn't make her an expert, but she had a good original teacher and therefore at least some kind of base to start off from.

"What exactly happened to you?" Ezra suddenly asked sheepishly.

Ahsoka looked at him surprised, cocking one of her eyebrows.

"Kanan didn't tell you?" She asked confused.

"He wasn't exactly up on all the news back when he was a kid," Ezra admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I got the general idea, but I want to hear it from you."

Ahsoka looked back ahead, watching the vines and branches part for them as she followed the young boy.

"There's not much to tell," she informed him stoically. "If you want some angry tirade about the Council betraying me, that's faded into disillusionment more than anything. The Temple was my life, my home. I looked up to the Council and those close to it. I believed they were capable of anything and everything. That I could always trust them and any other Jedi with anything."

"So, what happened?" Ezra asked, sounding like he somewhat already suspected what.

"The war dragged on and that belief became harder to sustain," Ahsoka replied with a slight growl. "Jedi compromised their principles, some turned dark or rogue. Public opinion shifted against us as we became the face of the war itself, the reason it dragged on. Things became less black and white, more muddled. I didn't even see what was happening until it was too late."

Ahsoka stopped briefly, as did Ezra. He turned back to her, seeing her gaze staring off into the distance.

"I was blamed for someone's death and no one believed I was innocent save for a few," she continued thoughtfully. "I did my best to prove my innocence, to the Council and to the Republic. No one believed in me though. They stripped me of rank, tried me for treason, almost sentenced me to death. Were it not for my Master finding the real culprit, I would not be here. But even being proven innocent did not make the hurt go away, not when you find out you were framed by someone you considered a friend."

Barriss, even now Ahsoka kept thinking of the why? Was she just in the way? Was it just convienent? Did she even feel sorry? Did she fall that low that fast? It was hard to believe and still was.

"The Council admitted to their failure, admitted they were wrong," she continued mournfully. "I think they would've even made me a Knight shortly afterwards for my resolve, for facing the trial before me. It just wasn't enough though. I couldn't go back, not after that."

"But they said they were sorry," Ezra noted, sounding a bit sorrowful as he did. "They made a mistake."

"Exactly, the Council made a mistake," Ahsoka reiterated firmly. "The most powerful Jedi in the Galaxy couldn't tell I was innocent. They saw me as a traitor first. If they could be so easily fooled, so misled, then what did that say about them? They couldn't trust me, it was a foreshadowing of what was to come. The Jedi weren't what I believed they were and because of that I couldn't stay."

She suddenly looked straight ahead, her eyes narrowing towards a part of the brush.

"Sometimes, you need to follow your own path," she explained. "It's not always clear to you what that is at first, but when the moment comes, you know it."

She raised up both her hands and in a sweeping motion, a wave of Force Energy rippled across the brush. Trees and vines bent away, forming a long winding path through the remainder of the jungle before them. When the wave subsided, Ahsoka let her arms fall to her side and she sighed.

"The biggest moment of my entire life as a Jedi was leaving it behind," she concluded.

"Do you regret it?" Ezra asked curiously. "Being a Jedi, I mean."

That was a new question for sure. She thought he meant it in reference to her leaving at first. That query was a complicated one. Leaving a life behind rarely had clear-cut emotions surrounding it. She had no problems with expressing her feelings on said former life, however.

"Never," Ahsoka assured him, motioning her eyes to the sky. "I have many regrets, but that is not among them. I am no longer a Jedi, but every lesson that life taught me I've kept close since. You can't ever really leave the life I guess. Look where I am now. It's almost like it's a second chance, another opportunity to be the person I wanted to be when I was still idealistic and young."

"I guess I know what that feels like," Ezra responded with a shrug. "For the record, I'm glad you're with us. It's nice to have someone else who remembers being among the Jedi."

She looked over to Ezra, offering a small smile.

"It was certainly something to be among legends," she admitted with a light laugh. "Hopefully one day, we'll be able to walk the old Temple's halls once again. For now, we have a job to do."

They kept moving forward along the newly created path until they finally reached its end. The jungle vanished and was replaced by a clearing of burnt trees and exposed earth. Dotting the landscape before them were several metric tons of metallic debris scattered across the blacked dirt forming around a wide crater. At the center of the carnage was a mountain of smoking metal, all that remained of the massive Star Destroyer that had crashed here. And somewhere, beneath all of that, lay Godzilla.

"Well, we're here," Ahsoka noted, taking in the destruction around them. "I guess the next order of business is to dig through all this wreckage then?"

She noticed that Ezra was already taking off towards the large towering heap of scrap that was once a starship.

"Yep, right again," she sighed, following after him. "Typical, Ahsoka. Even when you're not the Padawan, you're still getting dragged around everywhere."

---

Hera didn't know why she was suddenly so popular with everyone, but the TIE fighter tails she picked up were most unwelcome. There was no way she was going to be able to land with these Imperials hounding her, but losing them wasn't as easy as it should've been. Chopper continued to fire back at them from the rear gun, but after the initial kill the rest were avoiding his crosshairs. Jetty wasn't faring much better as the TIEs stayed away from the top of the ship. Hera wasn't sure what they were trying to accomplish, but a lot of the hits she was taking seemed focused on her engines. Were they trying to disable her and not outright take her out? Whatever the case, she realized there was only one way to give Jetty a chance to hit something.

"Boys, you better hold onto something," she warned. "And Jetty, keep your digits on those triggers!"

Hera turned the Ghost a hard roll, turning the ship upside down as it flew. In the top turret, Jetty clamped his fingers down hard on the triggers and let off several blasts. The sudden roll caught the TIEs in pursuit off guard, as did the sudden second spray of fire. In a panic, the TIEs moved to avoid the shots and forgot about Chopper in the rear gun. The more seasoned astromech kept his cool, despite the vertigo, and targetted the TIEs as they moved in front. His shots killed two of the fighters as Hera turned the ship back right side up.

"Are everyone's bolts still attached to them?" She asked her droid companions.

"Mostly," Jetty replied groggily.

Chopper just whirrled and grumbled. As he did, more of the TIEs got hit from an outside source. Laser bolts cut into them from above, setting them ablaze. They tumbled down to the facility below, crashing into some of the buildings. Hera soon realized who their savior was when an ARC-170 coasted along side her.

"Thanks for the cover," the twi'lek told her.

"No big deal," the Raider leader insisted over the radio as she leaned towards Hera in her cockpit. "Extra kills on my scorecard either way. Now let's get you groundside. There's a pad over there I can clear for you. Follow me in."

Moira turned sharply to the left and started raking fire across the landing pad where a small squad of Stormtroopers stood. Fire crashed across the pad, cutting the soldiers down as they fled. Moira then quickly shifted targeted and fired a missile into a nearby Turbolaser tower. It slammed into the magazine and sent the gun up in flames.

The pad clear of potential hostiles, Moira peeled off and let Hera come in for a landing. The Ghost halted above the pad and slowly descended towards it, the landing gear extending as they closed in. The ship touched down with a slight thump and Hera quickly jumped out of her seat. They had already been delayed enough, they couldn't afford to waste more time. Her crew was in this chaos somewhere and she had to link up with them. Grabbing her pistol as she rushed to the off-ramp, she found Jetty and chopper already waiting for her on the pad.

"Alright, we may be inside but we're only half done," she reminded the two droids, mostly to Jetty though. "We still need to erase all the data related to the project and destroy the prototype. Fulcrum gave me the location for her contact inside the facility. If they're still alive, they can help us accomplish both tasks while the main task force blows the reactor core."

"Roger, roger," Jetty responded, giving a thumbs up. "How far do you think your crew got inside?"

"Depends on whether or not Kanan has activated his lightsaber yet," Hera admitted. "With any luck they're not too far from here."

Just then, Moira's ARC-170 flew past them at a low altitude. She waggled her wings and then contacted Hera.

"I'll have my boys run overwatch and remain on station for a fire mission," she stated. "If you find this freaky monster cyborg clone, radio them up and they'll level whatever building it's inside."

"Appreciate it, Moira," Hera contacted. "Stay sa-"

Suddenly, a laser-bolt slashed into Moira's left engine. A small fire started and smoke started trailing from the Raider Leader's backside. The fighter itself start uneasily coasting through the air.

"Moira!" Hera called back up. "Moira, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not," the pilot replied with a frustrated growl. "Imps caught me with a lucky hit and now my engines are burning. I gotta set her down somewhere or she's gonna blow. Don't worry about me, I've crash landed in worse places. Just find your team and get this done! Over and out!"

Moira's ARC-170 banked left and started heading for the ground. Hera hoped she'd land safe and that she'd be able to handle herself. She turned to Jetty, wondering if he wanted to go and help her. He guessed her question before she asked.

"Moira will contact me and the other Raiders if she needs help," he said somewhat reluctantly. "We should do what she says, continue the mission."

"Okay, follow me," Hera nodded, motioning to the ramp that would take them to the ground floor. "Stay together and watch out for Stormtroopers. They could be anywhere in this mess."

Hera tried to keep her thoughts on her own crew and not Moira. Kanan was already in the middle of this chaos without Ezra, she couldn't afford a side-mission right now. Regardless, if Moira did call for help, she was already thinking of ways to get it to her in time. Until then, they had a Rebel Contact to find somewhere in this hellhole and a cybernetic abomination to destroy.

---

The turbolaser cannon fired a constant stream of bolts, pinning the Rebels down in the choked hallway. Arch kept himself hunkered down just a few feet from the chattering rapid-fire weapon. He wished he was behind it instead, as even here he felt too exposed. Every now and then he saw a Rebel go down trying to take shots at the gunner. Just as quickly he saw someone else rush to take his downed friend's spot. Arch fired a few sporadic shots of his own, but to little avail. They weren't retreating and they were hardly firing back.

Arch wasn't sure what they were waiting for, most of the building had been overtaken by now. The Rebels knew they were still disorganized in the wake of the previous battle and were using it to their every advantage. They rushed inside after fleeing Stormtroopers and then blasted their way into neighbouring buildings that were better defended. They swarmed every hall, making it impossible to set up any real defence and if they couldn't take your building they seemed to just go around you, risking you getting cut off if you didn't abandon your position anyway. Was that what these guys were doing now? Just waiting for their friends to flank them or get the call to press forward? Both of those possibilities did not ease Arch's mind.

As soon as he thought of them though, they were both proven wrong. He spotted a Rebel soldier down the hall using some kind of large metal plate as a shield. Arch opened fire on it, only for his bolts to bounce off. Then a Rebel with a rocket launcher popped up from behind the shield and fired his payload at the turret itself. Arch ducked his head low and into cover as the projectile flew past him and collided with the turbolaser. The gunner screamed in pain as the fireball consumed him and the blast ripped his weapon apart.

With the smoking remains of the turret's position staring him dead in the face, Arch jumped to his feet and scrambled over the debris. Laserbolts chased after him as he fled, rushing down the hallway and through a door that led to a larger courtyard. He could see other barracks quarters across from him, with fellow Stormtroopers already firing at the Rebels that were pushing towards them. Arch threw himself behind a barricade as he neared friendly lines and then turned to open fire on the enemy once more.

The barracks section of the facility had almost been entirely overrun by now. It was the first stop in a steady push towards the Command Center. Arch could only assume that was where they were headed. Without their leaders, the Stormtroopers would remain in disarray, their various squads spread out with no unifying strategy. Not that there was one beyond desperately trying to hold the line. The Rebels just weren't giving them a chance to breathe or time to think. It was a pretty simple strategy and so far it seemed to be working.

Arch had to stop firing when a barrage of laserbolts slashed into his barricade. Rebels advanced on his position in a pair of Speeder bikes that had somehow snaked through the streets of the complex. As suddenly as they showed up though, their riders were struck by a stream of electricity that blasted them off their machines. The drivers fell to the dirt twitching and sparking as Arch's savior landed right next to him and pushed his head down.

"Devo, am I glad to see you," Arch declared jubilantly. "Any sign of Kamo?"

"No, and sadly we don't have the time to look for him," the Jumptrooper told him frantically. "Listen, this main push we're facing isn't the real problem. My fellow Jumpers are reporting that these guys are just pinning us down. They know if we scatter they got an open path to the Command Center and we can't lose that. I don't think Command is what they're after though."

Of course it wasn't, they were after the reason this place was built, whatever that was. It was just that before, Arch figured they were intending to take the Control Center first. Then they'd secure the site and grab what they could before leaving. Devo was suggesting they had another plan entirely though. If they weren't after Command, they weren't here to secure anything.

"Whatever they want here, they know they can't cart it away," Devo reasoned. "I wager they plan to destroy the whole compound. That's why a lot of forces got diverted to key areas of the facility."

"Like the reactor," Arch concluded for him. "That thing goes, the whole complex follows."

"And while we're here preoccupying these guys, smaller strike teams are bypassing us and heading deeper into the facility," Devo continued. "We just don't have enough people to cover this complex, Arch. We've got too many places to defend and they only got a few specific places to hit!"

Not a good situation for them and all for a giant science lab with a purpose that still alluded them. Arch was hating this whole operation more and more by the second. They needed a new plan and fast.

"What do we do?" He asked Devo.

"I got my Jumptroopers securing the path to the reactor," the Lieutenant explained. "Meanwhile, I think it would be best if we fell back to the Command and Control station. We need better ground and that structure has better defences than these barracks at the moment."

"What about their main objective?" Arch asked again. "Did Command tell you what it might be? Where it's located? Maybe we can help defend that."

And maybe Kamo was already there and they could help him. It was a longshot, but where else would the old timer be? He looked like he knew something they didn't. Maybe he got special orders and was told to come alone? It would certainly explain a lot.

"Command hasn't told me anything," Devo answered regretfully. "I keep calling them up and all I get is silence. Not static, silence, they're just not responding. No idea why."

"Damn it," Arch growled. "How the hell are we supposed to defend this place if we don't know where to go or what we're defending?"

An explosion stopped the conversation cold, as a large chunk of a building blew apart from the inside. Stomping out from inside was a lumbering old AT-TE. It trained its weapons on the Imperial positions and fired away. A whole squad vanished in a fiery explosion. Arch looked towards the old walker and saw a number of figures moving with it. As he peered through his macrobinoculars he recognized one of them, the large hairy alien with the bizzare staff weapon. He looked towards Devo, who also had his eyes on the AT-TE's position and the very same alien.

"Hold up here, get ready to move," Devo told him as he started up his jetpack once more. "I got some unfinished business."

The Lieutenant roared up into the air, fire spewing from his thrusters as he did so. Arch wasn't sure what had made him jet off into the sky and seemingly towards the enemy lines. All he knew was that he was alone again and still no closer to figuring out what any of this was about. He was starting to wonder if he ever would.

---

Despite its age, the AT-TE was still as tough a machine as ever. The driver powered through three structures, creating a new avenue for the Rebels to push up through. Now that they had some heavy guns up at the frontline again, they had these Stormtroopers dead to rights.

Kanan used the machine's giant foot for cover as he fired at the Imperials from across the way. He managed to score one in the shoulder, but taking down Bucketheads didn't really matter at the moment. They had the bulk of the Stormtroopers tied up fighting their main force, just as Ahsoka had hoped. Their smaller squads were already bypassing the main fight, heading towards their real objectives. Once Hera got here, they'd join them and help destroy everything related to the Cyber-Zillo Beast program. For now, they just had to keep beating back the Imperials.

The AT-TE began to move out of the wreckage of the building and into the courtyard slowly. Kanan kept in step with it, as did Sabine and Zeb. The leg Kanan was standing behind started taking fire from a Stormtrooper sharpshooter behind a barricade. With careful aim, Kanan targetted the enemy sniper and fired as the sniper was about to pull the trigger again. The Stormtrooper went down a split second later from a shot to the head.

As their walker lurched past a demolished building, destroyed by what Kanan could only guess was a hailfire missile, the three crewmates of the Ghost rushed into its ruins and rook up positions within. Their fellow Rebels weren't too far behind as the Stormtroopers again began to fall slowly back.

"At this rate we'll take down their Command Center before we blow up their cyborg monster," Sabine noted as she fired her dual blasters at the enemy.

"Don't count on it," Kanan warned. "The Empire is going to stabalize this mess eventually. We need to be sure our people can keep them tied down long enough when they do. Priority still remains the Zillo-Beast."

A furious barrage of laserbolts struck their ruined building. The trio ducked down as green tracers perforated the area. Kanan looked up briefly to see the source, a turbolaser turret in the window of one of the soldier barracks still standing. He ducked his head back down and looked to Sabine.

"Can you toss a grenade in there from this distance?" He asked.

"Of course I can," Sabine replied, feigning an insulted tone. "We'll need to wait for his gun to overheat first."

"If I know my Imperial hardware," Zeb started began slowly. "That should be about... now!"

The gun stopped firing, Sabine pulled out a grenade, activated it and chucked it at the window. It flew into the open hole where it exploded mere seconds later. The gun did not fire again. Before they could revel in that victory though, something came speeding at them from the side. It rocketed into Zeb and carried him into what little remained of the ruined structure's wall. They both crashed into it, smashing through the ruin before falling back to the ground outside. Kanan and Sabine moved to get a look at what had happened. Zeb had quickly got back onto his feet to face his attacker. It was a Jumptrooper armed with an Arc Caster.

The Imperial suddenly fired at Zeb, but the Lasat moved just a bit quicker than his trigger finger. Zeb dove to the side and forward, extending his bo-rifle as he did. He struck the Jumptrooper in the head and then knocked the weapon out of his hands. The Imperial was now unarmed, but still prepared to fight. He punched Zeb in the face once and then twice before the Lasat managed to kick him away.

As this was going on, Kanan saw a small squad of Stormtroopers approaching the brawl. Sabine noticed them as well and they both ran out of the ruins as fast as they could, firing furious shots at the incoming Bucketheads. Two went down in quick succession from Sabine's Dual Blasters while a third went down from a well-aimed shot from Kanan.

Zeb now spotted the charging Stormtroopers as well. When the Jumptrooper came at him again, he grabbed the Imp's head with his foot and struck him in the chest with the end of his bo-rifle's shock stick. He then retracted the staff and let loose with several shots at the remaining Stormtroopers. As he did though, the Jumptrooper got back on his feet. In a run, he scooped up his Arc Caster, slung it over his back and rocketed into Zeb to grab him from behind.

Once again, the two of them were airborne. Once again, it did not last long. As both Zeb and his attack crashed into a nearby barracks. Although this time Zeb managed to force the Imperial to collide with the building first. It was mere moments later when Sabine and Kanan saw Arc Caster streams blasting out of the ruined roof. The struggle was already starting a new.

The pair rushed to the back door of the barracks, only to find two Stormtroopers already waiting there. They opened fire on the pair, forcing them both to hit the dirt and get behind a small barricade. However, their interference didn't last long, as the bucketheads were struck with several shots from behind. Kanan looked to where the shots had come from and saw the very welcome sight of Hera, Chopper and the Raiders' Battledroid rushing towards them across the battlefield. Both he and Sabine got up to meet them at the barrack's back door.

"Zeb's in trouble," Kanan stated.

"Yeah, we saw," Hera replied hurriedly. "Hard to miss actually. Let's move!"

Hera slammed her fist on the door switch, forcing it open. They then all rushed inside, guns at the ready. It didn't take them long to spot the Jumptrooper and Zeb pounding each other against the walls. The Jumptrooper had lost his Arc Caster again and he was trying to force his way past Zeb to get to it. Suddenly he activated his jetpack and forced Zeb out of the way, just as the others reached him. The Jumptrooper landed, grabbed the caster in a roll and pointed the weapon at the band of Rebels.

"Drop it!" Kanan ordered, their blasters pointed at him. "We've got you covered!"

Suddenly the door behind the Jumptrooper burst open and four extra Stormtroopers rushed in with their own weapons at the ready. The jetpack-wearing Imperial looked around briefly, probably smiling under his helmet.

"I say that makes things a bit less one-sided, don't you?" He asked.

The Stormtroopers of course fired first, forcing the Rebels to scatter to the cover of nearby overturned beds and bits of debris kicked up by the brawl with Zeb. Jetty kept his head low, still not much for combat anymore, while the others shot laserbolts back.

However, the firefight didn't last very long. Suddenly, everyone started hearing the sound of panicked and terrified screaming behind the Stormtrooper squad. Even the Jumptrooper's guard dropped as he turned to see what was going on. Through the open doorway, they spotted the source of the commotion first. Rampaging from within the Imperial Lines, forcing their way through, came a sizeable small army of inhuman looking creatures. Brownish scales, lanky arms, rounded mouths lined with sharp teeth. They swarmed over the Stormtroopers, charging forward in a screeching horde.

Soon they were inside the barracks themselves, leaping at the Stormtroopers first, grabbing onto them and beating them into the ground with their many arms. Kanan now got a better look at some of them. They were like the Zillo-Beast from the old footage, but they were smaller and different. They were deformed reflections of their much bigger ancestor. Some had an extra fourth arm, another had the correct number of three but they were all in the wrong places, still another had no legs and slithered about on its tail like a snake. Kanan guessed right away these were clones, reject ones no doubt that were simply mindless vicious killers.

The Jumptrooper fired on one with his Arc Caster, shocking it with the full power of a thousand volts. The creature looked in pain, but shrugged off the voltage eventually. It lunged at him, barely missing him with its fourth misshapen arm. The Jumptrooper continued firing on the other deformed clones, trying to get them off his men, while still more bypassed the Imperials altogether and followed the four-armed attacked towards new meat, the Rebels.

"Just what we needed, another damn surprise," Sabine growled, unloading both her blasters into the fast of one of the abominations.

The Rebels quickly began to fall back, firing their blasters at the approaching horde. Before long they were running out of the barracks like mad. Jetty was among the first out, not willing to be torn apart by the vicious creatures. Chopper followed after him, hollering a series of angry worts and whirls.

Zeb hung back a bit and swung his Bo-rifle in its staff mode at their mutated assailants. The shock power of the weapon seemed to force them back, but one got close enough to grab the staff along the midsection and started a small tug of war with Zeb. It's three disgusting misshapen eyes locked with the Lasat's and then it suddenly unfurled its mouth into a multi-hinged mandible fringe. Zeb quickly butted the beast in the third eye with his forehead and forced the mutant back. He then shoved his staff into the monster's mouth and let it electrocute the abomination until it started to smoke. As soon as he was able, he high-tailed it out of there.

Hera covered Zeb's back with Sabine, blasting laserbolts into the doorway as the Lasat ran out. Sabine tossed a short fused explosive into the barracks. It detonated just as the monsters tried to push their way through the exit, setting the entire back end of the barracks ablaze.

However, the sad misshapen creatures they had just exterminated were only a fraction of the full force. Looking around, they saw several hundred more charging into the Rebel lines. They tackled their dissident comrades, pulled them from their speeders, shrugged off their blaster fire with ease and began ripping and tearing at them. Further back, Kanan could see the same was happening to the Stormtroopers. These things had no allegiance and no preferred targets. They were all fair game.

"As if the risk of fighting the big one was bad enough," Zeb panted worriedly. "Where did they all come from?"

"Doesn't matter," Kanan stated. "We still have a job to do. Hera and me will go find Fulcrum's contact and destroy that data. The rest of you hold the fort here until further notice. Fall back to the buildings, do not engage these things out in the open. Our only hope is clogging them up in the hallways where their numbers won't matter."

"We'll do what we can," Sabine promised. "Just stay safe you two."

The group split off now, Hera and Kanan going one way and the others headed back to the Rebel lines. As they ran, Hera looked to Kanan and then his belt.

"I think you may need your lightsaber today after all," she told him worriedly. "It's the only thing we got that will probably cut through these things."

"Worth a shot," Kanan replied, taking his saber and assembling it mid-run.

As he got the pieces in place, they reached the end of the Stormtrooper barracks area and entered the mess of buildings of the facility once more. One of the reject creatures, missing a tail and only sporting two arms that it used to walk, lunged at them from above. Kanan activated his lightsaber and sliced at the creature as it descended. He cut it in two with ease and let the body drop to the floor.

"Let's keep moving," he told Hera. "That contact's chance of getting killed just doubled with these things around."

---

Arch could see the Rebels falling back, but that wasn't much comfort now. The cause of their retreat was also what was currently imperiling him. He had no idea where these strange creature came from, but they were not friendly. He watched as squads of men were swarmed by these insane deformed mutants, tearing them apart as they engulfed positions. Laserbolts just bounced off their scales, taking multiple hits to finally take one down. Many Stormtroopers didn't get that opportunity.

Those who didn't scatter or run towards Command, tried to get to high ground. Not that it would do them much good, the creatures just climbed after them. It was what was currently happening to Arch himself. He had scrambled onto the top of a barracks building, as everyone else ran for cover. The problem was, now he had no place to go.

He fired a few bolts at the encroaching horde to keep them back. He aimed for ones with open mouths when he spotted them, hoping their lack of protection there would make it easier to kill them. The swarming little mutant creatures were legion though. One getting shot in the mouth and tumbling back to the ground did little to stop the others.

Arch started to panic as his mind raced. Were these the things he had been protecting? Was this what the Empire was trying to stop the Rebels from getting? He was going to die here so these things wouldn't fall into Rebel hands? Why had they created these things in the first? How did they get loose? And why was any Stormtrooper's life worth any of these things?

The fear of death turned to anger and rage. He continued shooting at the vicious little monsters swarming the roof, intending to take as many with him as he could. If these things were so important to the Empire that he had been sent here to die protecting them, fine. He's kill a few, just to spite the leaders in charge who got him stuck here.

Then suddenly, he heard a rocketing sound. Bursting from a nearby barracks, speeding through the skies, a battered and beaten Lieutenant Devo raced towards him. Arch saw his chance and waved the speeding Jumptrooper towards him. Devo spotted him and ducked low. He stretched out his hands towards the Private and Arch reached up in kind. He grabbed onto the Jumptrooper's hands and was carried clear of the barracks' roof as one of the creatures leapt for him.

"I thought for a minute you were dead," Arch said looking up to the officer as they haphazardly flew through the air.

"Not... yet," Devo groaned.

Arch got a better look at the man's armor now, noticing it was scratched and chewed beyond belief. Those things had done a number on him for sure, but it wasn't the only damage. A lot of his armor was also singed, like it had been caught in a backdraft blast or something.

"We gotta get to higher ground," Devo claimed. "Get to the Command Center. Regroup with whoever is left."

It sounded like the only real option they had. Devo flew low over the buildings, unable to get them much higher off the ground. As they rocketed along though, they could hear the roaring and growling of the monstrous creatures below. They were all over the facility now, saturating the area.

"At least the Rebels will have to deal with them too," Arch noted.

"Small comfort," Devo added.

Then, as they passed a large communications tower, closing in on the Command Center, something jumped from on high. It was one of the vicious little mutants. It grabbed onto Devo's back and started biting into him. Screaming in pain, Devo lurched and turned in the air. Arch tried to hold on but was wrenched free from the Lieutenant's grasp by all the tumbling.

He fell onto the roof of a building below, hitting it hard and rolling a number of feet before stopping. He quickly got to his feet after his fall and shook it off. He then scanned the skies and soon spotted Devo once more. The Jumptrooper was beating back the abomination biting into him, but it was of little use. The monster had a tight grip on him, refusing to relinquish it.

Then, they went in. Either the monster damaged the jetpack or Devo got knocked out, Arch couldn't tell. All he knew was one second they were flying, the next they started falling. They slammed at freefall speed into the side of a building, the pack exploded on impact.

Arch fell to his knees in disbelief. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He was all out at this point. Devo was gone. He was alone again. And he still had no idea why.

---

Klusto watched the screens display the holographic images the probes were catching. He bared witness to every horror he had just helped unleash. Stormtrooper and Rebel alike were prey to the Rejects, meat to satisfy their hungry or psychotic urges. Those who weren't torn apart or mauled were beaten to death. Klusto turned to Darth Vader, his face one of abject self-disgust.

"I am not at all... confident in this course of action, sir," he stated.

"It is too late to back out now, General," Vader decreed.

Klusto pointed to the images on the holo, the horror still visible on his face.

"We're killing just as many of our people as we are the Rebels," he stated. "At this rate we'll be stuck dealing with the Rejects entirely. Not much of an improvement to be honest."

"If the soldiers still alive out there are unable to survive a pack of mindless creatures, then their deaths are simply culling the weak from the ranks of the strong," Vader declared adamantly. "When the Rebel numbers are sufficiently halved in a similar manner, we shall initiate the second phase of my plan which will wipe out what remains of both them and the Rejects. I will activate the prototype."

Klusto looked wide-eyed, had it really come that that now?

"It could be damaged, sir," he warned. "The Rebels still have a lot of heavy weapons out there."

"They will be crushed easily enough," Vader assured him. "Think of it as the field test I originally intended to conduct. I have already spoken with Doctor Boll, the control terminal is prepared. I shall direct the prototype myself and see to it that the cyborg finishes the job its lesser versions started. Once that is complete, we shall move all relevant data and material, the prototype and critical staff included, off planet. This location has been compromised already, production must be moved."

"I see," Klusto concurred, sounding more defeated than anything. "Is there anything more I can do at this point, sir?"

Vader just stared at him for a long time. Klusto worried what he was about to say. Had he outlived his usefulness? Was he about to die as well? He waited for a death sentence, but instead nothing came. Then Vader finally spoke.

"You will be attached to the new production facility," the Dark Lord assured. "Your... experience may be useful. Consider it a chance to prove your worth by your own merits, General. Now, excuse me. I must prepare."

With a swish of his cape, Vader started walking out of the room. Klusto waited for him to be gone before he allowed himself to think again. Maybe it was the paranoia talking, but he no longer felt safe around the Emperor's right hand. He could very well be capable of sensing what resided in the forefront of your mind. Considering his first fleeting thoughts revolved around him hoping a few of those creatures attacked Vader while he was out there, perhaps it was best he had erred on the side of caution.

He quickly shook the negative thoughts away and thought of what options were left open to him. The Command Center was probably the most secure building left in the facility. If only he could get more people in here, they'd be safe from the rampaging monsters outside. He suddenly thought of Sionver, still out there, probably in her office or lab. She had probably just concluded final checks on the prototype not long ago. He hoped she was safe from the Rejects, but another thought crossed his mind.

The Rebels would probably be after scientists, people who worked on the Zillo-Beast project. They could use that knowledge to their advantage. Force people like Sionver to build them their own version of the Cyborg Zillo-Beast. The thought of them succeeding in creating one was unlikely, but if they wanted to try then kidnapping Doctor Boll would be a good start.

Quickly, Klusto activated a terminal, he ran the personnel locator program and quickly found that Sionver was still in her personal lab. Not at all secure from the Rebel strike teams moving about in the chaos or the Rejects. He turned off the terminal and checked his blaster. It probably wouldn't be much against those mutant clones, but it was better than nothing.

He had already lost one friend, he wasn't about to lose someone else he cared for today too. Sionver could probably handle herself against the Rebels, but those Rejects were another matter. Either way, he wasn't going to take the chance. He'd find her, get her to a secured area and lock it down. Whatever happened after that, he'd make sure she at least got out of here.

"Officer," he suddenly shouted across the room to one of the Lieutenants. "I want you to send out a command to all Stormtroopers not actively guarding critical areas. Fall back to the Command Center, keep it secure from both the enemy and the Rejects. We must hold this position at all costs."

"Understood, Command... uh, I mean, General, sir," the Lieutenant awkwardly replied.

With that, Klusto left the room, leaving his officers to take charge. There wasn't much to do here anyway, he wasn't running this facility anymore, Vader was. He didn't care about being able to command the Cyborg Zillo-Beast when deployed. He didn't care if he was now a General. He had to reach Sionver, he had to save her at least. Nothing else mattered until he had accomplished that.

---

The Star Destroyer had exploded on impact with the ground, but its main body was relatively intact. Sifting through its wreckage was difficult, even with the Force. This was especially the case with Ezra, who simply did not have as much experience lifting heavy objects without assitance from Kanan. Ahsoka found she needed to help him out just to keep the search going at a steady rate. They hadn't found any trace of Godzilla's body anywhere else within the crash site. They could only assume he was buried under the dead spaceship's remains. Ahsoka still did not have high hopes they would find anything, she could sense nothing even this close to ground zero.

"You think we'd have found something by now," Ezra grumbled as they moved another piece of metal bulkhead. "Like a finger or a foot."

"He may be half buried in the ground," Ahsoka suggested. "The Destroyer did hit him pretty hard."

Ezra didn't seem deterred by that, as he kept removing debris best he could. At this rate though, even with Ahsoka helping him, it would take weeks to get through the rubble. They had to find a way to speed this up. For a moment, Ahsoka thought of just dragging the young Padawan away instead of wasting more time. She decided against it though. Ezra wouldn't leave until he saw a body and that meant finding it. There had to be a better way though.

"We're not going to Force Push our way through all of this in the next hour," Ahsoka stated as she scanned the wreck. "We need a new strategy."

"What are you thinking?" Ezra asked out of genuine curiosity.

"That this ship, for all the damage it has sustained, still has asuper structure looks relatively intact," she suggested. "If we could find an entrance we could follow one of the corridors deeper into the wreck. As long as there isn't a dead end, it should get us closer to where Godzilla is."

Ahsoka began walking around the outer structure, looking around for a weakpoint or some kind of opening. Ezra followed after her, doing the same. She figured they'd come across an airlock or an exposed hallway. That was their best ticket in. She didn't know how deep they'd have to walk to actually find Godzilla, but she imagined it wouldn't be too far. He was a pretty big animal. At least they wouldn't have to dig for another week.

Before long, Ahsoka started tapping on the crumpled boilerplate, hoping to hear something hollow. No avail, they just kept hitting solid bulkhead. She considered just cutting their way through, but with no guarantee they'd find a shaft or hallway on the otherside. It was too risky. They could end up walking into a vacant turbolift or gash. Then they'd fall through who knew how many jagged bits of metal on the way down. She suspected she'd find something eventually though, it would just take awhile.

As they traversed the broken exterior of the wreck, Ahsoka looked back at Ezra. He was searching just as hard for a possible entrance and getting a bit frustrated as he did. She suspected he was about to get impatient and start digging through debris again. To counter that, Ahsoka decided to ask a question that had been bugging her in the hopes of easing his thoughts.

"Tell me," she asked. "Why are you so eager to find Godzilla alive?"

"I thought I explained that before," Ezra questioned back. "We owe it to him."

"And yet I sense there is more to it than that," she answered in kind.

Ezra just sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't know," he began. "You would probably just think I'm being a stupid kid or something."

"We were all stupid kids once, Ezra," Ahsoka informed him dutifully. "If I criticized you for that I'd be a hypocrite. Now please, share."

Shrugging, Ezra caught up to Ahsoka and walked beside her.

"When we were in contact with him, I felt something," he forlornly admitted. "A lot of pain, mostly. He's suffered a lot and he hurt a lot of people in retaliation. He didn't care about anything, he just reacted to what was around him. It was about survival first and everything else second. But there was something else, deeper in there that I could sense."

"What?" Ahsoka prodded.

"Loneliness," Ezra offered back. "He's the only one of his kind, the last of them. When he was reawakened, it was into a world he didn't understand. One that didn't care about his pain and he lashed out against it. He knew he was alone, that he was the last and that no one cared. They just wanted him gone and forgotten. That fed his anger more and it led him down a darker path."

Ahsoka raised a brow, curiousity piqued by the Padawan's words.

"Are you saying he could've been something else?" She asked. "One of his titles he professed to was the God of Destruction."

"Yeah, but he wasn't strictly tied to that one," Ezra argued. "We saw him do more than just destroy. He stopped enemies that threatened the whole planet. He attacked far worse monsters than him. That's probably not much of an excuse for the other things he's done, but he's not evil. He's just... lost I think."

"I doubt he would agree with your assesment," Ahsoka warned. "He doesn't strike me as someone who admits to being in the wrong. Then again, he is still an animal and it's hard to place our morality onto a creature of nature. I'm just saying, he'd probably deny all of this."

Ezra nodded pretty quickly at that, accepting that this wasn't an easy case of black, white or even grey morality.

"It doesn't make it any less true," he added suddenly. "I think deep down, there's more to him than a desire for vengence and destruction. This is just all he knows, all he expects. Maybe if someone on his world bothered to help him, showed him another way or gave him a chance. I don't know, maybe things would've been different. Maybe... he could find that part of himself he forgot."

Ahsoka nodded her head, finally understanding this sudden obssession.

"He reminds you of yourself, doesn't he?" She asked, stopping Ezra in his tracks.

The young Jedi to be turned to her, a serious expression across his face.

"I was selfish," he admitted. "When my parents were taken, I didn't care about anyone but me. I liked sticking it to the Empire, getting a bit of revenge now and then. But it didn't matter to me if they left Lothal or stayed until the sun exploded. I just wanted them to hurt and for me to survive. I didn't realize I could do more, be more."

"And then you met Kanan and the others," Ahsoka continued.

"I saw what helping people worse off than me could be like," he explained. "Fighting for others, standing for something other than myself, being a force for good, I discovered what that felt like. It felt like I was alive, like I wasn't alone. I had a family again, people who cared about me. I forgot what that was like, maybe Godzilla has too. Maybe if he let down those walls, let himself trust again, he could be more than he is. Someone just needs to show him the way, like my new family did for me. He could be a defender and not some angry monster clawing for survival. He could be more."

So long as he was alive, of course. The reason for all of this was suddenly much more clear to Ahsoka now. Ezra sighed as he finished, looking despondent as he turned his head slightly away.

"I know," he admitted. "It sounds really stupid, but that's what I sensed."

"It's not stupid," Ahsoka assured him. "Having empathy is important for a Jedi. We lost sight of that during the Clone Wars more than once. If you can understand others, learn from them, you better yourself. Never doubt yourself in this regard, Ezra. You cannot afford to forget it."

That was easier said than done, as she had learned all too well. Being a Jedi meant fighting those who wished harm on others, battling injustice and sometimes seeing the worst of the galaxy in doing so. It was hard for some Jedi to remain impartial and objective in the face of that. Ahsoka recalled how true that dilemma was in regards to both her Master and his. Where Obi-Wan could remain a rock and a beacon of self-discipline, Anakin was more controlled by his emotions.

Finding a balance between the two was what she strived for. She couldn't detach herself completely from her emotions, but she saw how dangerous it was to let them take over in Anakin. More than once he had gotten close to killing in anger and it had scared her. She wondered if either he or Obi-Wan would agree with Ezra's judgment concerning Godzilla. Obi-Wan would probably sympathize, but worry about the young boy's emotions clouding him. Anakin more than likely would just dismiss them and think caring about a dumb violent lizard was pointless.

Ahsoka did not subscribe to either side of the coin. No, she understood what Ezra meant. Everyone, no matter how dark or lost, deserved a chance at redemption. After all, given the opportunity people could surprise you in more ways than one. Hondo Ohnaka, despite his greedy pirate ways, had proven he could be an ally on a number of occassions. Certainly never fully trusted, but he was more than your average thief. Asaji Ventress, a mortal enemy of hers, proved to be more than just some vicious killer that Ahsoka had once thought her as. Kanan himself had been lost once, driven to self-interest and pure survival, blocking out his inate Jedi instinct to help. He had certainly changed greatly over the past few years.

Who was to say Godzilla was any different? Who was to say Ezra was wrong this time? Ahsoka knew she couldn't, it wasn't her place to judge given all she had seen. All people had the capacity for good or evil, light or dark. She had seen it as a Jedi and as a Rebel. Ezra had learned that lesson himself, a lot faster than she had it seemed.

Returning to the search, Ahsoka felt against the exterior walls close to them. As she did, she felt something behind one bulkhead. It was faint, barely there, but she could feel it. She pulled the bulkhead away suddenly and at last found what they were looking for. An airlock, broken and busted, but it was still a way in. Ahsoka wasted no time using her dual lightsabers to cut clean through the doors. As the metal clattered to the ground she looked to see a large chasm heading straight down into the crater at an angle. It was a bit steep, but they could walk it.

"Follow me closely," she told Ezra, holding one of her sabers high.

The two Force Users moved into the newly discovered shaft. Slowly but surely they descended into the dark bowels of the wreck, with only Ahsoka's white lightsaber to guide their way. As they did, Ahsoka's sense locked onto the faint feeling she had felt before. She looked to Ezra and sensed he felt the same. They were getting closer.

Before long they were finally at the bottom of the ship. Several metric tons of steel were now above their heads. Their feet, in the meantime, touched the blackened earth of the crater the crash had made. They walked cautious through what looked to the be the remains of the Star Destroyer's hangar. All the while they honed in on the faint feeling they both had.

Then at last, they saw it. A black, dark figure covered in debris and half buried in the dirt. It lay on its side, broken and beaten. The only light was a few scant holes that let the sky shine down on the grey scales of the monster. Godzilla, the once proud reptillian titan, now lay sprawled out before them beneath the ruined remains of the instrument of his defeat.

"Is he alive?" Ezra asked Ahsoka tepidly.

She approached the downed creature, illuminating the monster's face as she drew near. It was massive next to her, his giant eye closed and unmoving. She placed a hand on the monster's face and let the Force flow through her. Her meditation against the enormous lizard soon ended and she turned to Ezra with astonishment.

"He's alive," she declared. "Just barely, but he's alive! You were right, Ezra!"

The boy didn't show any pride in being proven correct, but he did smile at knowing Godzilla's life had not been cut short. He raced up to Ahsoka and looked up at the beast, his smile evaporating into a look of contemplation.

"How are we gonna get him out of all of this?" He asked her.

She couldn't answer, she honestly had no idea. Best she could tell the poor big lizard was in some kind of coma or unconcious state. Perhaps a last ditch defense mechanism. They'd have to try and wake him up, maybe he could dig his way out of this wreck. There was only one way they could do that though.

"In his weakened state his mental defenses won't be nearly as strong as before," she slowly reasoned.

"You wanna go back in?" Ezra asked, slightly put off by the idea.

"Not really," Ahsoka admitted. "But if we want to get him back into the fight, it may be our only shot."

---

Moira sat in the cockpit chair and waited. Finding a big enough roof to crash onto was the easy part, as was the actual landing. She managed to set her down alright, she imagined the roof and underside of her craft were ruined. The real problem for her, as always, was the aftermath. The Imps knew her position, they saw where she went down and they were probably already on their way. Normally she'd just abandon the fighter, beat feet for the nearest hiding spot and wait for pick up from the rest of the team. Problem was this wasn't some isolated field or forest or desolate moon. There she had the advantage, the Imps didn't know the terrain or they were too busy with other things to care about searching for her.

Here though? She was inside their damn compound and it was swarming with a ton of jerks in white buckets looking for payback against any Rebel they saw. They'd surround the crash site and start closing in, cutting off all avenues of escape. Running wasn't an option here, she'd have to fight their search parties sooner or later. So she figured, "Might as well be sooner so I can thin them out a little."

As predicted, it didn't take too long for the first group of Stormtroopers to arrive and start prodding at her ship. She had activated her cockpit's windows tint function, making sure the Stormtroopers couldn't see inside. She could hear and see them though, slowly climbing onto her damaged baby. She thought she heard a few comments about how it was an old rustbucket, a relic, how the pilot was just an overly nostalgic terrorist. She took slight offence to that last part, she'd have preferred pirate, sounded cooler. Calling her fighter a rustbucket was worse though, totally uncalled for and rude. This old craft had been kicking their sorry white-clad behinds, the least they could do was acknowledge it.

When she saw the first Stormtrooper approach the cockpit, pointing his gun down at her, Moira saw her chance. She grasped at the release controls and pulled them. The cockpit suddenly exploded off the ship, its window smashing into the face of Stormtrooper and throwing him clear. Moira popped up from her seat, blaster pistol in hand and aimed it at the surprised stormtroopers.

"Rustbucket, eh?" She growled as she fired on them. "Relic, eh? Still better than your flying tin cans!"

Her first few shots took out one of the four Imps staring at her. The other Stormtroopers then scattered, running for cover behind some ventilation units close by. Using one of the ARC's wings as her own cover, Moira fired back on the Stormtroopers to little avail at first. As another burst of laserbolts from the imps hit her cover, Moira ducked her head behind it more deeply. Then she spotted one of her hardpoints on the wing still had missile attached to it. Thinking quickly, she wrenched the projectile free and placed it carefully against the ground. Peering out slightly, she spotted the position two of the Stormtroopers were hiding behind.

"Only got one shot at this," she told herself. "Better make it count."

Carefully she jury rigged the warhead on the missile, arming after a few seconds of rewiring and slicing. She then rushed into the open and chucked the warhead towards the Stormtrooper position. Just as Moira ran back to hide behind her wing, the projectile hit the ventilation unit and exploded. The Stormtroopers screamed as they were flung backwards by the blast. Their comrade near the other ventilation unit was thrown backwards too, but he wasn't dead, just knocked away.

"That'll teach you a thing or two, ya lousy nerfherders!" She shouted over to the Imps.

The Stormtrooper that had been thrown to the ground was soon back on his feet. He began firing on Moira again. The Raider Leader poked her head out to get a good shot at him before he reached cover, but saw something else happen to her remaining attacker instead. Some strange creature charged up behind the Imp and grabbed him. It dragged him to the ground where it began to rip and tear at his armor while beating the soldier with a bizzarely shaped arm that looked like the animal's tail.

"What in the world?" Moira asked, looking on in complete shock.

While the creature continued to play with its victim, more of misshapen and bizarre monstrosities crawled up onto the roof. They soon spotted her and began clawing their way towards the crash site. Moira leapt up from her position, firing on one of the creatures as it closed on her. Her bolts just bounced off its thick armor to little effect. In a panic, Moira grabbed at the one thing that had a bit more punch than a blaster in her arsenal, her distress flare gun. As the weird mutant monster lumbered towards her, roaring a blood curdling screech, she fired the flare into its mouth. The shot travelled to the back of the mutant's throat and the creature began to choke, sputtering bits of flame from its maw.

Moira suddenly had another idea. She dashed to her cockpit, while the other freaks of nature stared in confusion at the one that was still choking to death on fire. There, Moira grabbed her spare flares. She tore off their tops, activating each. One of the creature's approached from behind suddenly and Moira turned to strike him with the blazing end of her makeshift torch. The mutant screeched in terror and ran away to safety. Moira retreated to the top of her fighter in the commotion and started tossing the flares all around the crash site. Before long, she was surrounded by little points of burning fires. The mutants seemed put off by the little licking flames and halted in their tracks.

But she knew they wouldn't last long, they were just there to keep them back until she had something better. She went for her survival stash and extra fuel canisters. You never wanted to run out of gas while on patrol after all, that left you a sitting duck.

She raced out to the flares surrounding her craft and began pouring the spare fuel out, using the outline of the little fires to create a perimeter around her fighter. When it was done, she tossed the rest of the canister into the screeching horde of mutants and shot at it with her Blaster. The explosion set several of the beasts ablaze and scattered others. She then raced back to the top of her fighter and fired her flare gun at the line of spilled gas. In seconds, an infernal burning wall sprouted up on the roof, seperating from the ravenous throngs of killer mutants.

But even this she knew would not last forver, so she activated her commlink.

"Jetty, I'm in a bit of trouble here," she informed her droid companion. "Someone thinks I'm their dinner. A whole lot of someones, actually."

---

Jetty's firing became more sporadic as he tried to talk to his master and help hold off the group of Zillo-Beast mutants that were attack. Kanan picked up the slack by using his blaster pistol in tandem with his lightsaber against the monsters. The laser bolts didn't kill the mutants, but it did give them pause long enough for Kanan to strike back. As one of the monstrosities lunged at him, Kanan ducked below a swipe from it's misshapen arms. He then raised his lightsaber and lopped the limbs clean off before stabbing the beast through the heart.

"What's going on, Jetty?" He shouted back to the droid over the fighting.

"Moira's in trouble," he said, as he resumed firing on the horde of mutants. "She's stuck on a roof surrounded by these things. She needs help fast!"

Jetty then pointed to a building a few blocks away from them. It's roof was smoking, as if a fire was raging upon it. A clear distress signal if Kanan ever saw one. Thing was, while it wasn't too far away from them, it was nowhere close to their final destination. They couldn't all go to it and still reach the contact.

Kanan turned to Hera for advice, just as the twi'lek was using her blaster to take out one of the mutants. The scales were too tough to shoot through, but Hera's percision aiming was sufficient enough to score a hit on one of the creature's eyes and blow out its brains. A difficult shot for some, but not her.

"We can send Chopper with Jetty and link up with them later," she suggested. "Probably our best bet to save Moira."

Kanan then threw his lightsaber at the mob of monsters before them. It spun through the air sideways and cut two of the abominations down, slicing clear through their torsos, cleaving them in two. When the blade returned to Kanan's hand, Chopper fired on the horde himself. Using his stun gun, the little droid fired three shots into a roaring mutant's mouth. In shrieking pain, it retreated and the other mutants followed.

"They probably used shock sticks or something to keep them in line," Kanan reasoned as he watched them retreat. "They'll be back though, so we better get moving. Jetty, you and Chopper find Moira and get to the main servers to erase that data."

"If we can't meet you there, head back to the Ghost," Hera added. "Wait there as long as you can. We'll try to stay in contact."

With that, the group split apart, the droids going one way, Hera and Kanan the other. The roars of the mutants and screams of beseiged soldiers from both sides of the conflict raged around them. As the chaos raged it became harder and harder to discern which way the battle was going. All that mattered to Kanan though was finding this contact. These mutants were just a distraction from the real Zillo-Beast clone of concern, the one that was going to make life hell for the Rebellion if it got off world. The one they were actually sent here to kill. He hoped this contact would be able to show them how.

---

Sionver Boll was going over her computer files, doing her best to ignore the madness outside her lab. That was when the door suddenly opened wide. She reached for the small stun gun she kept at her side and raised it towards the entrance, only to see it was just Klusto. She lowered the weapon in relief.

"Oh thank goodness," she said relieved. "For a moment I thought you were one of the Rejects. Using those things as reinforcements is insane. I can't believe Vader ordered them loose!"

"I can," Klusto grumbled as he looked about the room, his blaster held high. "Nothing that man does surprises me anymore. He's capable of many things, terrible things."

Boll looked at Klusto in confusion. His demeanor was a lot more agitated and panicked than she had suspected when he arrived. He suddenly rushed over to her anxiously.

"What's going on, Klusto?" She asked curiously.

"We don't have much time, Sionver," he told her. "I need to get you somewhere safe before the Rebels arrive."

He grabbed for her hand and tried to lead her away from her desk.

"Klusto, don't be absurd," she said resisting. "I'm perfectly secure here. I just forgot to lock the door is all."

"Those things don't care about doors, nor do the Rebels," Klusto argued back. "The Command Center is the only place I can protect you. It's already on lockdown, if we hurry now we might be able to get there before the Rebels do."

He finally forced her away from the desk, but Sionver managed to get herself free before they reached the door.

"I don't need protection, Klusto," she assured him. "The Rebels aren't going to find me, I doubt they even know I'm here. Besides, I still have work to do before-"

"The Rebels are here for the prototype, Sionver!" He shouted at her. "That's the only reason they could be here! Maybe Vader was right, maybe Nulon was a spy! Either way, someone leaked information to the Rebels about the project! They'll be after everything and anyone that could reveal its secrets, that means you!"

"You're overreacting, Klusto," Boll said, trying to calm his nerves. "This whole thing has gotten you worked up. I heard about Sakal's death, I'm sorry. But that's no reason to get-"

"Vader killed him, Sionver!" Klusto screamed at her. "He killed him because he wasn't satisfied! He killed him because he could! Because we're expendable to him! Don't you get it? If I leave you here and somethings goes wrong, he won't save you! He'll leave you to the wolves or probably just blow up whatever ship the Rebels try to cart you away on!"

He grabbed the Bivall's hand affectionately, his tone turning to pleading.

"Please, Sionver," he asked again. "You have to come with me. You're... you're the only one left I care about here. The only one I know I can trust. I can't lose you."

Boll looked at the Imperial Officer's hand and then at him and she saw how truly sincere he was. He was here for one reason only, for her. It was touching and somewhat sad, to know that she was all he had left now.

"Klusto, I-"

The door suddenly opened again, two people who were certainly not Imperials stood in the doorway. One was a beared man in ragged clothes and armor. The other, a Twi'lek women with brillant green skin wearing a flight suit. They were both armed with blasters and their gaze was on the pair of them. Klusto quickly jumped between them and Sionver, shielding her from the two Rebels as he aimed his blaster at them.

"Get back, Rebel Scum," he ordered. "I won't let you touch her, you hear me. Not a finger."

"Put the gun down," the man ordered. "Now."

Klusto didn't break his gaze as he spoke to Sionver once more.

"Quick, run, take the emergency exit," he frantically pleaded. "I'll hold them off as long as-"

A painful shock struck Klusto in the back and he suddenly went limp from the burst of electricity. He fell to the floor unconcious, Sionver now standing over him with the sparking stun gun in her hands. She looked remorsefully down at the General.

"I'm sorry, Klusto," she said sadly. "It wasn't supposed to end like this. You were supposed to think I died. Everyone was."

She stepped over the unconcious Imperial and over to the confused pair of Rebels.

"You're Fulcrum's people, I presume?" She asked.

"Yes," the Twi'lek replied, lowering her blaster alongside her companion. "I'm Hera, this is Kanan."

"Doctor Sionver Boll, project lead," she said gratefully. "I was wondering when you'd show up. I was concerned the Rejects would give you trouble when they got released. Glad to see I was proven wrong."

Heading back to her desk, Sionver continued with her previous work after being interupted. Deleting the last of her personal files concerning the Zillo-Beast project and transfering relevant copies of other material to her personal drive. She pulled the disk out once everything was finished and stowed it away in her belt. She then aimed the stun gun at the terminal and fired, frying it completely.

"Alright, that's everything on my end," she said confidently. "Have you taken care of the main servers?"

"Working on it," Kanan assured her. "Better question, why are you, of all people, helping us? This is your project."

"No, it's the Emperor's project," Boll sternly answered back. "One he forced on me and has been pushing me to complete for years since. He got his damn armor after killing the original creature, but that wasn't enough for him. He wanted more slaves to do his bidding and to kill his enemies. He was impressed by the Zillo-Beast's power and he wanted it for himself, no matter the cost."

"Why'd you help him for so long if you were opposed to it?" Hera asked, trying her best to be understanding.

Boll could only sigh in despair.

"I felt guilty over my role in the original Zillo-Beast's death," she explained, sadly at first but her anger slowly rising within her. "It was my bomb that awakened it, my gas that killed it. I wanted to at least bring it back, undo the damage. I didn't realize until it was too late that I was fooling myself. I was just making another damn weapon of war. That's all my career as scientist has been, helping the powers that be make new ways to kill people. I'm sick of it. When I heard of Fulcrum through the underground network, I made contact. I fed all relevant data on Tsuburonda and its defenses to the Rebels, hoping it would be enough to help them end all of this."

"Well mission accomplished, almost anyway," Kanan informed her. "We still need to destroy that prototype you made and get you out of here."

"Yes, but there's one last thing we need to do before I can leave," Sionver explained.

She walked over to a panel on the wall as Kanan and Hera looked at each other somewhat perturbed. This was obviously not what they were expecting to hear. They were after a quick extraction, sadly, Sionver would have to disappoint them.

"What exactly do we need to do?" Hera asked curiously.

"We have some cargo to pick up," Sionver replied plainly. "Fulcrum informed me she'd send someone with a sufficiently sized ship so I'm assuming you can carry it."

"Wait a second," Kanan said approaching her. "Fulcrum didn't say anything about cargo. She just said we were picking up you and anything relevant you might need when you go into hiding."

"Well this cargo is relevant," Boll angrily shot back. "It goes with me or I stay here, it's non-negotiable."

After pressing a few buttons on a keypad next to the panel, a secret entrance in the wall opened up. Boll stepped in and ushered Hera and Kanan to follow.

"This will take us to the primary lab," she stated. "It's where the prototype is. My cargo is in my personal storage area close by, next to the assembly area. We get there, we grab it, we leave, easy."

"What is this stuff anyway?" Kanan prodded.

"I'll explain when we get there," Boll promised.

"And what about him?" Hera asked, pointing towards the still unconcious Klusto.

Sionver lowered her head and exhaled slightly.

"He's... he's not a problem," she said, forlorn and distant. "Don't worry about him. He'll wake up, he'll be hurt, he'll move on. Now come on, we've wasted enough time as it is."

Hera moved in after Boll and started walking down the darkened shaft. She looked back and waved Kanan forward aggressively, as the man was just standing there with his arms crossed and doubting look on his face. He finally growled a long annoyed sigh and walked into the shaft.

"Fine," Kanan said with a grumble. "But for the record, Hera, I got real bad feeling about all this. So don't say I didn't tell you so when it blows up in our faces."

"Wouldn't dream of it, love," Hera assured him jokingly. "Now come on, before the poor Imperial wakes up and realizes he's been had."

The tunnel closed back up as the trio left, leaving an unconcious General Klusto alone and abandoned on the cold hard floor.

---

Darkness was all he felt. A pitch black deathly silence that purveyed every thought. Failure. Defeat. Weakness. Things he had never experienced before. No, he had experienced them, he just refused to admit he had. He used too much of himself, wasted too much power and energy. None of it had been enough. Behind the darkness he could feel the sensation of pain lurking. All he could do was shelter himself off from it now and hope eventually it would subside.

He had been so close, one final effort and he would know peace in this world. Now there was only the dark, the lonely unforgiving totality of eternity. His tomb, far from home, buried beneath the very technology of war he had railed against for so many years. In a way this should've been peaceful, but it wasn't. The sense of failure ws fresh in the mind, burrowing into him, never letting go. An open wound that would not heal. Defeat offered no release. Surrender did not bring an end. It simply weighed upon him, shackled him, embedded itself deep inside and he had not the strength or will to fight it anymore.

This was it, the end.

"Can you hear me?"

A voice, some strange voice echoed in his mind suddenly. It felt familiar somehow.

"Can you hear me?"

Yes, he could hear this voice. What was it? Who was it? Why was it here?

"It's us, we spoke before, remember?"

Now he did, the ones who had asked of his help. The Rebels, those who stood against the Empire. Who revealed the true threat to his new Dominion and set him against it. Anger rose, subsided, there was no point. Why were they here? Why were they speaking to him?

"We came to help, we led you here. It's the least we could do."

Blaming themselves? As if they could place this burden on their backs. No, that was not their place to do. This failure was not theirs, this fight was not theirs. They had merely shared it with him. To suggest his defeat was on their shoulders was insulting. He knew why he lost and it wasn't because of them.

"It doesn't matter who's fault it was, we're here to help. Isn't that enough?"

Why would they help him? They were small and frail, selfish and arrogant, destructive and ignorant. They were not friends, they were not companions. This whole thing was about each side getting something they did not have. It was a alliance born of self interest, he admitted it yet they didn't. That's what separated them, he was honest about what he was. Well, what he once was anyway.

"We help because that's what we're supposed to do. It was what we once were before the Empire destroyed us. We want to be that again, for the Galaxy to be like that again."

Noble intentions, always the stated reason behind any actions their kind gave. He still did not believe in them. Everything returned inward and selfish eventually.

"You can think that, but it's not true. We're here to help you because we're Jedi. We're born to understand nature, to be part of it because it is a part of everything. It's something that binds us together, we call it the Force. It's why we can speak to you, before and now."

The Force? An interesting name, very simple, direct. Acceptable. What did that have to do with him?

"We can't deny our place in the Force, for we deny ourselves if we do. Even for those who are not Jedi are still a part of it. You are a creature of nature, a primal part of it and thus part of the Force. To turn away from something in need, in pain, is not our way. We exist to bring balance within ourselves and others. Whatever external motivations you think we have, we're here because a sentient creature is in trouble and needs us. What you do after that is up to you."

As if it mattered even if he believed them. He has no power left, nothing to sustain him or heal him. The power was gone. In the moment he needed it most, his strength had failed. Now there was nothing left to draw on. He was drained, what little power he had left was keeping him alive now and only just.

"What kind of power do you need?"

The same that awakened him of course, the same that sustained him against every foe. What he had drawn on all his life. The energy of the invisble, the power of the atom, the very resonance of power's aftershock.

"Radiation, of course, that explains it. This planet is basically bathed in it everyday. You can sense it. Did you feel it in the air?"

Well of course, but it was too spread out and dispersed to be of any significanct source of power. He could not draw from it large berths and beneath this tomb it was now impossible. Too much was in the way. Besides, he did not have strength to push on, it no longer resided in him. It was gone. He was beaten.

"You can't honestly believe that. After everything you've been through, you're just giving up?"

Accepting an end, that was what this was. That he was not strong or powerful enough to withstand his enemies. That was how it was. His anger and rage had served him well and in the end it was not enough against these new foes. What else did he have? What else was there? That strength was buried too deep and it was not enough to overcome this dark fog.

"But that's not the only strength you have. It never was. You have more. You can be more. Your anger, it's not going to go away. It's always going to be there. Believe me, I know. But if you rely on it too much, you'll never be more than what you think you are and never what you can be. I learned that myself not too long ago. I had people who helped me, who cared enough to show me another way"

And what could you be, little organism? What could you be more than them selfish little flesh thing wandering through life only caring about his own precious needs? What made him think he understood pain or anger or anything? What made anyone think they understood anything beyond feeble perceptions?

"I won't pretend I can know everything about you, but I do understand. I was lost, a lot of my friends were. But we found something else to draw on. Something else to drive us beyond our anger. To be something greater. For ourselves and for others. My parents found that. My Master found it. I found it. You have that chance too, you can be so much more!"

What more was there? What other power could there be? What fool notion was this?

"If you want to know, you'll let us help. I can get you the power you need, but I think it's going to work unless you do what Ezra says. You need to draw from something else, something stronger than your rage. True power does not come from it, it come from something else, something you've forgotten through all the pain you've suffered and returned in kind."

Do what you will, he thought, burying deeper into the black. Get the power and perhaps he'd listen. Perhaps he'd even care. He could tell they were different, that were honest at least as far as their desire to help. But that didn't mean they had anything of value to teach.

"We'll see, we'll be back as soon we break through the ceiling."

And with that the voices were gone and the darkness returned. He wondered if they'd succeed. He wondered if they could surprise yet again. And he wondered if the Ezra creature was right. If there was something he had forgotten deep inside. Something he had buried under the rage. What could it be?

---

Sabine fell back, firing shots as she went. The Mutants were a lot tougher than she thought they'd be. Despite missing limbs or having extra parts, they were just as mobile and as fast as anything. Rebels who didn't get to cover quick enough found themselves getting thrown or tackled and torn to bits. The relentless assault never seemed to let up. Even the AT-TE faced problems as the mutants continued to pound on the machine incessantly, trying to get inside. Other Rebels tried to shoot them off and only succeeded in becoming the new targets.

As Sabine fell back, she saw Zeb doing his best to hold off the rampaging creatures. The Lasat was strong, but he was facing overwhelming numbers. As he punched or swatted the creatures away with his Bo-Rifle in staff mode, one managed to get by his swings and land punch using its third arm. Zeb was tossed to the ground, but he managed to get retract his Bo-Rifle to gun mode just as the creature attacked him directly. Zeb fired several shots at point blank range into the beast's maw, killing it with relative ease.

That was when a second creature with a snake-like body and two arms wrapped itself around Zeb's leg as he tried to run. Zeb tried to pull away, but the creature pulled back and snarled viciously at the Lasat. In respone, Zeb used his Bo-Rifle's staff function to repeatedly smack the creature in the face. Each blow made the mutant loosen his grip until one final blow struck him in the eye and the monster slinked away in pain.

Sabine's momentary concern for her friend made her forget about her own problems and that gave one creature the chance to tackle her. She found herself headbutted into a wall by a monstrosity with a single arm and two legs, said arm portruding out of its back. The monster now grasped for her throat and forced her up along the wall, roaring at her in a mindless rage with a screech that pierced ear drums.

"I've heard scarier," she managed to choke out, before grabbing at one of her grenades.

She stuffed the explosive into the abomination's mouth and punched the back of its throat for good measure. The mutant released her and Sabine ducked away just before the explosion blew the creature's head into bits. Slightly covered in the reject clone's gore, Sabine ran to better ground among her fellow Rebels. She was really starting to wish Ezra was here right now, they could use a few extra lightsabers. It was about the only weapon at this she believed could effectively kill all these things before they were completely overrun.

---

Jetty was just not up for fighting as much as he used to be. Moira's reprograming had really done a number on that subroutine. He could still shoot, but in the face of a bunch of ravenous mutant alien monsters, he preferred to leave that task up to the smaller Astromech currently accompanying him. Jetty, for now, just ran. From what little he could remember from being a Separatist Battledroid, he had done a lot of this so nothing had really changed.

Chopper's stun gun blasts were more effective against the Zillo-Beast mutants anyway, as their shocks forced the ugly beasts to fall back every time they got close. It helped they were in such a small space at the moment, a very tight maintenance corridor that didn't give the ugly deformed critters much room to move. Jetty still wished he picked up a better gun before he left the Ghost, then he would at least have a fighting chance when they ran out of places to go. Knowing their luck, that would probably happen eventually.

Suddenly, one of the Mutants burst from out of a vent. It was too big to get itself through, but its arm continued to swipe and slash in a desperate attempt to get at the Battledroid. Jetty fired repeatedly into the open vent until the creature finally backed off. This was getting ridiculous, they needed to get to the roof already and they couldn't do that with all this things chasing them.

Rounding a corner, the two droids found a way out. At the end of the tunnel they found a ladder that seemed to lead up to the roof. Problem was, they still had a ton of mutants following them.

"We can't climb up in time!" Jetty panicked. "We're as good as scrap now!"

Chopper grumbled something out of sheer annoyance, bumping into his leg. It then made a grab for Jetty's rifle with his little metal clamps, forcing it from the battledroid's hands. The astromech then aimed the weapon and fired on one of the pipes in the wall near the corner they had just come from, releasing a blast of gas from within. He shoved the gun back into Jetty's arms and fired his stun gun again. As the mutants rounded the corner, the blast from Chopper ignited the gas. The small explosion forced the mutants back, as fire spurted forth from the pipe.

"Whoa, nice tric-"

Chopper bulldozed Jetty's feet from under him, forcing the battledroid to grab onto his head. The astromech then ignited his jetpack and blasted up towards the hatch the ladder led to. Jetty braced for impact, thinking they were about to hit it, but Chopper stopped just short and grasped for the ladder with one of his metal clamp arms. It held them in place while Jetty moved to open the hatch. He pressed the emergency release button and the door opened above them. The battledroid scrambled out while Chopper boosted himself up and through. The astromech landed on the floor next to Jetty, who looked at him as incredulous as a droid with unable to make facial expressions could.

"You could've warned me before you did that," he told Chopper.

The astromech ignored him and closed the hatch behind them. He then worped and whirped at the battledroid to follow him. They moved down the hallway until they reached a sealed door. Chopper started cutting through the lock while Jetty maintained overwatch.

"How bad do you think the roof is now?" He asked the astromech.

Chopper just let off a series of annoyed grumbles in response.

"Well, do you have a plan at least?"

Another series of whoops and beeps replied back.

"Make it up as you go?" Jetty said in disbelief. "How is that a plan?"

The door opened with a sudden hiss as the lock gave way. Chopper rolled on through with Jetty following behind. They soon neared another door with the words "Roof Access" displayed atop its frame.

"Well, maybe Moira at least has a plan," Jetty optimistically suggested. "Who knows? Maybe she drove them all off."

Chopper pressed the switch and the door opened wide revealinf the roof of the building. They could see the crash site not too far away, the fire wall surrounding it was getting shorter and all around the downed fighter was a horde of very hungry looking mutants.

"Aw nuts," Jetty groaned.

Chopper moved up suddenly, Jetty raced after him. They could see Moira more clearly now, firing off her flare gun every couple of seconds to scare the freakish beasts away. She spotted the two droids but said nothing, not wanting to tip the mutants off. Chopper looked around for a few moments, assessing the situation. It then quietly chirped at Jetty, laying out a plan of sorts. The battledroid did not like how it sounded.

"Charge in there?" Jetty asked confused. "Are you crazy?"

Chopper suddenly activated his jet thruster again, lifting off from the ground without warning. Jetty ducked away as the little droid rocketed away. The astromech skimmed the top of one of the creatures, scorching his head. The other mutants suddenly backed away, afraid of the fire spewing backside of the little droid. Chopper landed ontop of the fighter next to Moira and ushered her towards him with his clamp arm.

"Alright, here's hoping I ain't too heavy," she said, heeding his command.

She wrapped her legs around the machine's body and grasped onto the droid's head. Although it was a bit harder to take off this time with the added weight, the Droid managed to get off the ground. Once again the mutants backed away from the droid's flaming jet stream. Moira, however, realized that wouldn't last once they landed. They'd be outside the ring of fire and the freaks of nature would be there to greet them. She had an idea though, as much as she hated to resort to it. She looked to Jetty and called out to him.

"Hit the fuel line!" She ordered, pointing to her fighter. "Shoot it!"

Jetty took up his rifle again, struggling to properly aim with it. He looked at the spot Moira was pointing and just began shooting like mad. Eventually one of his bolts hit the target and the fuel line for the fighter went up in a fireball. Moira and Chopper had managed to slink away just in time, but the mutants around it were lit up almost instantly. Those who survived ran like hell away from the raging inferno, while Chopper landed in relative safety beside Jetty with Moira.

"Thanks for getting me off the menu, boys," she thanked them as she got off Chopper and dusted herself off. "Another minute and that firewall would've been down."

"Sorry about your fighter, ma'am," Jetty apologized.

"Eh, I'll put it on Fulcrum's bill," she said shrugging it off. "Call it hazard pay considering I'm now part of the ground assault."

Chopper suddenly cut in with a series of blurps and beeps, outling their next objective.

"The main servers, huh?" She said nodding, before taking out her blaster. "Well assuming it isn't overrun with these freaky science experiments we should be good. Let's move out Jetty.

"Roger, roger," Jetty replied, giving a thumbs up as he did before following dutifully behind his master and Chopper.

---

It felt like forever before they finally got out of Boll's secret tunnel. She explained to them on the way that she had convinced her overseer to build it as a potential escape route in case something went wrong. He hadn't bothered to look into where it ultimately led after that. When they got out of the dark dank corridor they found themselves in a large open hangar bay of sorts.

"Stay quiet," Boll warned. "There could still be Stormtroopers about."

Kanan didn't see any, but he suspected she was right. He kept low as they walked out of the tunnel and moved slowly with Boll. At least until he bothered to look to the left and he spotted their target. A massive creature, asleep but no less threatening. It looked just as it did on the old footage, but far bigger and with a few added bits. Metal comprised many of its joints, chrome and steel covered parts of its body. The tail's tip looked more like a metal club, the creature's face appeared half cast in iron and it sported large weapons pods on its shoulders. All three arms looked weaponized as well, replaced largely with cybernetic prosthetics. This was the Cyber Zillo-Beast clone, what they had been sent to kill.

"You really went all out on that thing didn't you?" Kanan asked, trying to hide his astonishment. "Why'd you make it so big?"

"The Emperor thought it would be more intimidating that way," Boll answered as they kept walking. "I didn't really have much choice but to go along with it. If I tried to leave, they pretty much suggested I'd be blacklisted for the rest of my life. If I lost this job I wouldn't get another one and no one would pay attention to any research I tried to publish. They would've just gotten someone else to finish the work and I couldn't allow that."

"Why not? They probably would've failed without you," Hera suggested.

"You'll see why soon enough," Boll promised. "Keep following."

Kanan looked back at the slumbering mechanical monstrosity behind them as they passed.

"What about taking that thing out?" He asked. "It's the whole reason we're here."

"We can't do it from here anyway," Boll explained. "We don't have access to the main control terminal. The only way we can destroy it is by giving it a specific set of commands that can't be overridden. I'm going to have it head up to the volcano behind the facility and throw itself in. Otherwise it will take forever to kill."

"No self-destruct switch?" Hera asked curiously. "Would've made this easier."

Boll just looked back at her incredulously.

"Please, do you really think the Empire would've let me add that kind of function?" She asked sardonically. "This isn't a holo-vid, that's not a feature people care to add to their super secret war machines. The Empire overlooks weaknesses, it doesn't add them. Like the fact a tow cable could trip up those giant AT-ATs of theirs. You think the designers did that to be fair? No, they did it because, like my Prototype, the Emperor likes things big."

Kanan supposed it was too much to ask for the Empire to be that dumb. Oh well, at least there was a plan to destroy this thing. They just had to reach this control terminal in time. After they secured Boll's cargo they could just head right there. Not too difficult to pull off, so long as they finished this fast.

They left the hangar and entered a large laboratory next door. From the looks of the assembly lines and large metal appendages on the walls, this appeared to be a cybernetics lab. The assembly line wasn't their destination though. Boll led them down to a small area off to the side, pulling out a keycard as they approached a nearby door.

"This is my private room," Boll explained as she swiped the card. "I convinced Nulon I needed it for some personal items required for my work. I turned it into something of a second lab. Only I have access."

The door opened and revealed a small lab with several large incubation tubes, terminals and other assorted science-type stuff that Kanan didn't understand. Slowly his eyes were drawn to a large object in the middle of the room covered by a tarp. Boll pulled it off suddenly, revealing a hover cart with a large tightly secured box atop it. She deactivated the lock, opened the lid and pulled something out of the container, cradling it in her arms.

"This is why I couldn't leave," she stated. "My replacement wouldn't have cared about attempting this."

Kanan looked at the cargo and was stunned. An egg, Boll was holding some kind of brownish-green egg. He imagined there were more inside the box. He didn't have to think about what kind of egg it was, he guessed from the get go.

"You made more of them," he said, trying his best to keep his voice down. "Why would you make more of them? One is enough trouble!"

"They're not for the Empire," Boll insisted. "I found a secluded world, outside Imperial notice or expansion plans. It's the perfect enviroment for the Zillo-Beasts to thrive again. Plenty of food, water, underground shelters to hide and no sentient lifeforms like the Duggs that it can harm or vice versa. I have one hundred eggs already seeded. When they lay eggs I can select some to fetilize with clone embryos I've already created"

Boll placed the egg back in the container, closed the lid shut and walked over to a small case situated on her desk nearby. She picked it up and held it out to the two Rebels graciously.

"No one knows about them but me," she continued jubilantly. "We get them off world and the Empire will never know they exist. That's why I asked Fulcrum for a sufficiently sized ship to extract me."

"And you didn't bother to tell her why? We're here to kill the one Zillo-Beast you made," Kanan reminded her with a scowl. "Not to help you play mama to more of them."

"Kanan, that's not fair," Hera countered with a furious glare. "These eggs aren't going to grow up to be weapons."

"That doesn't change the fact this was not in the plan at all," Kanan answered back, his scowl growing greater. He turned back to Boll. "We came here to save the lives of people that prototype could end up killing if more are made. You are putting that objective at risk so we can help you save these damn things? If the Empire realizes they're out there, they'll start this whole mess all over again!"

"That's a risk we should be willing to take!" Boll insisted. "They deserve at least a chance to be something other than weapons!"

But Kanan did not waver, in his mind this was a waste of time. They were not going to drag this big crate of eggs all the way back ot the ship. They'd be risking their lives and the entire mission for a bunch of stupid unborn monsters. As far as he was concerned, this was incredibly stupid.

"Look, if you wanna take your... embryos fine, they're your baggage," he attempted to compromise angrily. "But these eggs stay here."

"No, I need them," she insisted. "I need as much biodiversity as I can in order to create a sustainable population. Each one of these eggs is an unique genetic organism, without them the species will not be able to survive."

Kanan just groaned, he didn't really care about any of that. He had a mission to do and this was getting in the way.

"I risked my cover doing all of this," Boll steadfastly declared. "Do you know how hard it was concealing a egg breeding program? I had to convince these people that the rejects needed to stay alive to test for genetic weaknesses in the prototype. Because we needed to substitute those failings with cybernetics for the final product and correct mistakes in genome. In reality, I was gathering samples from the rejects to better understand the Zillo-Beast's genetic makeup so I could create eggs and embryos to house inside those eggs! It took years of careful planning and research! I am not leaving without my work!"

Kanan was just about to punch the doctor out and carry her out of here. Hell, he'd probably leave the embryos behind too just to teach her a lesson. Hera, however, stopped those thoughts cold.

"Think for a second, Kanan" Hera pleaded. "We're looking at the fate of an entire species here. We can't just let them all die."

"We did not risk our lives getting here to bring an extinct species back to life," Kanan insisted. "They had their shot and things didn't work out. I'm sorry for that, but it's not our responsibility to fix it. They're extinct, it's over for them."

Hera crossed her arms and looked at him with a snarl.

"Like the Jedi are over?" She asked coyly.

"That is different," Kanan insisted. "The Jedi were-"

"Wiped out by the Emperor in order to achieve his own personal ends," Hera finished for him. "Slaughtered like dumb animals because they threatened his power. That sounds suspiciously similar to what happened to the Zillo-Beast."

Kanan tried to think of a counter, but he just fumed. He then looked to Boll.

"Give me one good reason I should go along with this," he demanded.

"Because we killed it," she replied sadly, her voice practically choking on her own words. "I killed it. I destroyed an entire species because I was too scared and too stupid to try and stop it. Because I let Palpatine get away with it. Because I cared more about my career and the respect I had garnered. The Zillo-Beast was the most unique lifeform I ever encountered and I used it as a stepping stone. This is my chance to fix that, my chance to right that wrong. Don't you see, if I don't do this, if I don't give these creatures a chance, than it's just like letting Palpatine kill them all over again."

Kanan still gramced, this was all so stupid. Hera was on board with it, but he didn't know. In a way, yes, the Zillo-Beast was the victim of one man's lust for power. Just as the Jedi were. And just like Boll, the Jedi had been unable to stop it and actually let Palpatine kill the creature. Now, given the option to save the species, to right the wrongs of the Jedi and the injustice the Emperor had visited upon the poor monster, could he really say no? Could he accept doing something like that?

No, he couldn't turn a blind eye again.

"Alright," he relented. "We'll take them, but we better be fast because those mutant things are still out there."

Boll released a huge sigh of relief and Hera beamed proudly at Kanan. He supposed the smile from her was worth a little extra danger in the end. This was still stupid though, noble but stupid.

"Thank you," Boll graciously replied. "Thank you ever so much. Take the cart, we can get to an adjoining landing pad on one of the other buildings. Then we'll just have to call in your ship."

"That might get complicated," Hera warned. "Our crew is a bit stretched thin. I'll have to check in with them and see who can make it."

"First things first, lets get the eggs out of here," Kanan ordered.

The group got the hover cart out of the secret lab and out into the open. Everything seemed to be going smoothly as they hurried the cart along. Kanan remained on watch as they did so. Then, suddenly, he felt something through the Force. Familiar, angry, and close by. He wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed targetted on him. Within an instant he went for his lightsaber, activated it and moved the blade in front of his face.

A laserbolt bounced off the blade and slammed into a nearby wall.

"Sniper! Boll, Hera, go!" He ordered. "I'll distract him!"

Kanan pulled out his blaster pistol and fired it up into the rafters where he had thought the shot had come from. Hera hesistated for a moment, but Kanan glared at her.

"Go! Now!" He ordered once more.

Hera reluctantly returned to the cart and forced it forward with Boll. They ran towards a large door, which opened and led them out of the assembly area. All the while, Kanan kept blocking shots from the mystery sniper. He thought he spotted him ducking through the shadows up top. With careful aim, he threw his saber and sliced through the catwalk above. The platform broke free and the shadowly form tumbled down to a lower level of the assembly line.

Kanan quickly jumped up to the level the sniper had fell, a secondary catwalk and approached the downed form. He was a Stormtrooper, but his armor was covered in blue markings. Very odd for the an Imperial. The sniper soon got up, aiming his weapon at Kanan. The Jedi simply pushed out with the Force and sent the Trooper tumbling backwards into a railing. The force of the hit made him drop the rifle, but the Imperial caught himself before he went over.

Standing tall, the Stormtrooper brought out a missile launcher from his back and pointed it at Kanan.

"Move that hand again and I'll blow you away," he warned.

His voiced sounded strange, familiar, but older somehow. Kanan got a better look at him, seeing that was packing a lot of serious hardware, more than any Stormtrooper regular he had seen.

"It doesn't matter how many guns you have, this will not end well for you," he warned the Trooper. "Put it down and walk away."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" The Trooper asked frantically. "So you can slink back into the shadows. Kill me later when I don't suspect it. You're underhanded like that. You have to be. Only way you could've survived."

"Buddy I don't even know you," Kanan countered.

"No, you don't," the man answered back, as one of his hands went for his helmet. "I don't even know who you are. Not personally anyway, not as a person. But I know what you are and I know why you're here. And if we're getting technical, you at least remember what I look like."

The Stormtrooper pulled off his helmet, revealing a face Kanan had not seen in a long time. It was a face that was older and more worn, but familiar all the same. That was because it was the face of the soldier he once fought beside. It was the face of every soldier of the Repulic Army. This was a Clone, a damn Clone. Older, crazier obviously, but a clone nonetheless.

Kanan said nothing in response, but tightened his stance. The Trooper put his helmet back on and aimed down the sight of the missile launcher.

"You thought you were going to get revenge, but that's not what's happening, Jedi," he declared. "I'm finishing what I started at the Temple."

"The Temple?" Kanan blurted out in anger without thinking. "You were at the Temple!"

"Good soldiers follow orders," the Stormtrooper declared, not even hearing Kanan's outburst. "And those orders are clear. Execute the Jedi!"

The missile launcher fired and Kanan leapt away from the catwalk. The blast annihilated the area he had been standing in just moments before. He landed on crane for the assembly line and swung himself over to an adjacent upper platform. Laserbolts struck the platform as he landed and he made a mad dash for cover.

"You can't run anymore, Jedi!" The Clonetrooper shouted aloud. "And I'm not running from you! No longer! One of us is dying today, you hear me! One of us dies and it won't be me!"

---

Ahsoka stood precariously on the ledge overlooking the unconcious Godzilla. Ezra stood beside her, staring up at the bottom of the Star Destroyer wreck through some macrobinoculars. The hull was the only thing keeping Godzilla blocked off from the radiation he needed. Tsuburonda was constantly bathed in the stuff, it was what kept the skies dancing with colors every second of every hour. If they could break open the wreck's hull, let the sun in so to speak, maybe Godzilla could recharge.

"See any structural faults?" Ahsoka asked Ezra.

"A few of them directly over his back," he informed her. "I think a Force Push could make them collapse. I don't know for sure though. Sabine's the demolitions expert, not me."

"It's really our only option at this point," she reminded him. "What's the biggest thing you've lifted or moved with Kanan?"

"Uh, big steel doors mostly," Ezra shrugged.

"Well, pulling something down is easier than pulling up," Ahsoka assured him. "Just concentrate like always, I'll help you best I can."

The two of them now begun to focus themselves through the Force, reaching out towards the Star Destroyer's hull. The steel began to bend and shift as they pulled upon it from afar. Little by little, the already warped and bent hull began to break apart. Creaking sounds exchoed throughout the chamber as little by little, the metal began to fall away. Ezra and Ahsoka continued to force the crumbling wreck to give way, straining to pull it all down every second.

Suddenly, the hull cracked hard and large portion of it tumbled free from the rest of the wreck. Ezra and Ahsoka broke contact and allowed the avalanche of steel to cascade down from above. Several floors, corridors and rooms tumbled free from their precarious position and smashed against the ground. Some of the debris fell on Godzilla's back but bounced or slid off his side. When dust finally settled, the brilliant light of the outdoor sun shone through, illuminating the injured reptilian titan.

"He has his opening," said Ahsoka with a slight smile. "Now he just needs to take it."

---

Godzilla could feel the energy more clearly now, the blockage was gone. It did not change anything though. Despite the efforts of Jedi sentients, it was not enough. As predicted, they soon returned, connecting to his unconcious mind to "speak" with him. His thoughts answered them before their words spoke to his subconcious.

Valiant but futile.

"It's not futile," one of them, the female, declared adamantly. "The energy is right there! Shining in from the skies above!"

Indeed, but he was not strong enough to reach it and it was too spread out and dispersed to be of use in his condition. There was nothing that could be done now. It was over. This was done.

"So after everything you've survived, everything you fought, you're quitting now? All because your anger wasn't enough to face down an exploding starship hitting you in the face. I don't believe that."

The one called Ezra's disbelief was readily apparent in his voice. It was interesting to see this humsn think so highly of his abilities, but it didn't matter. His strength had failed, the rage could no longer stake his desire for combat. In the critical hour, it had left him and when it had, it left him open and vulnerable. There was not enough power now to actively return that lost strength.

"Because you use the rage to power you, your anger to keep you going, but it's not enough. It never was. I told you before, you need to draw it from something else. Think back, where did the anger come from? Why did you feel hurt? Why did you want others to suffer for that?"

What kind of questions were these? Why did this little human child ask this of him? What was the point and why did he even care? He couldn't even find the strength to eject the boy from his mind for such petty quandries. So he was stuck listening to him and his inevitable response to the feelings Godzilla had just expressed.

"Because I asked those questions to myself. I had to look inside and realize what that anger was doing to me, what that pain had made me become. And I realized there was a better way. To take that pain and anger, use it for something more than my own survival. To fight for something bigger than myself, more than myself. You can do it too. I know you can. I just know."

This human, it honestly believed that. It earnestly laid its emotions out in front of him and tried to compare the pain they had both suffered. Godzilla could sense the anger from him now, the rage that resided inside. But it was tempered, the pain was serving another outlet.

So Godzilla did think back, to at least humor the human for a moment if nothing else. To see if any of this was true. And he remembered, his long sleep, the peace, the tranqulity. Before that, his existence on the surface, in a time before all had changed, when many of his kind roamed the earth. He was different then, not what he was now, before the weapon of man had augmented him. It was a savage world, but pure, innocent, without the strife of decay and rot. Then nature changed and he was forced to go along with it, forced to find another way to survive.

When he emerged, forced from sleep, he discovered a planet vastly different from his own. Continents had shifted, moutains had been mowed down, forests torn up. Concrete replaced much of the landscape. Unliving things had been erected over old stomping grounds. The air was sicker, the planet was sicker. It angered him, that in his abseance, not only had his kind been forgotten, but his world was forever gone. He wanted to fix that, to remove what he saw as a parasite, to make the world better. For sometimes, you needed to tear down something for a better world rise from its ashes. That was the essence of nature, the struggle for survival, the cycle of life. Destruction could breathe new life.

That was why he had subsisted on it, the pain and anger fed him. Beneath that though, his thoughts focused on something else. The times he had chosen to spare a human city. The times he had fought members of his kind who wallowed in misery, death and decay. He fought against them, to defend what was still his home despite how much had changed. To defeat those that wished the world and those he considered allies harm. He fought in those instances, not for the memory of the past, but in the hope of a future. For a return to the peace he once knew.

A defender, that's what Mothra had once claimed he could be. That despite all he had done, all he had destroyed, there was a chance to be more. It was the same as this child claimed now. To fight for survival was a basic need. To fight for something, to have a cause, made you more. And his cause was more than revenge, it was about something he forgot over the course of his countless battles. Balance, a way to right injustice, to teach those who wished harm that they would not go unopposed.

As he thought of this, the cloud began to fade, the darkness retreating. There was more to existence than revenge, more to strength than rage, more to his purpose than he realized. The pain did not control him, the anger did not need to be the only fire he fought with. He could be more, he could be greater.

He felt the energy above him more clearly now, felt the power surging within the skies. It was all there, for him, still dispersed among the clouds, but there and waiting for him. With what little strength he could still feel within, the dark veil now cracked, he reached out for it.

---

Ahsoka and Ezra broke away from Godzilla's mind as the images within began to churn and shift. When they stepped away, they looked to the open sky above the monster and saw a wonderous sight. Cascading down from the heavens in a brillant swirling display, the lights that filled Tsuburonda's sky began to enter into Godzilla. His spines glowed brightly and brillantly as the energy poured into the grey giant. As it did, the mighty beast's limbs began to shake, its body began to rise and its eyes started to stir.

"He's waking up!" Ezra shouted happily. "We did it! He's getting his energy back!"

That was when the ship above them began to shake violently and the crater rocked as if hit by a series of tremors. It didn't take a genius to figure out the epicenter. Ezra himself gulped as everything started crumbling around them.

"It might be a bit too soon to celebrate," Ahsoka suggested. "At least wait until we're not in danger of getting squashed!"

The two Force Users ran for cover as the great monster began to stir. His wounds were healing, his flesh was mending, his bones becoming whole again. The earth trembled with every bit of life pulled back into him. A glorious and terrifying display for all near. Not that either Ahsoka or Ezra could appreciate it given how they were now running like mad away from it all.

---

The darkness had faded almost entirely, his mind returned, his body healed. New purpose filled him, new goals beyond mere survival. The Empire sought to use this world to power their war machine, to destroy all that stood in its way. They dared desecrate nature for their own ends. It was not enough to wipe them out so he would know peace on this world. No, his anger at how they reminded him of the worst of humanity on Earth no longer held sway in his mind. Their destruction was demanded because they thought that nature could be used, that it could be tamed, that it could be theirs. For whatever faults he sensed in the Jedi creatures, they were still a force of balance. They were attuned to Nature, sought communion with it and understanding. The young human, Ezra, had proven as such this day.

The Empire had to pay not for the crimes against him, not because they were more war lusting humans, but for thinking they had the right to be this way without consequence. Destruction did not always serve vengeance, it could serve for a new beginning and an end that which threatened balance. In destroying the Empire on this world, it would serve as a reminder for all time that nature was not theirs to own. For he was Nature, its wrath incarnate, its agent of justice. He could not be tamed or beaten. He was the earthquake. He was the hurricane. He was the tsunami. He was what none could dare challenge and they would not change that. No surrender, no retreat, never again.

It was time to finish what he started.

---

The fighting against the Mutant Zillo-Beasts had been forced towards the rooftops. The Rebels did what little they could to hold back the tide. The abominations swarmed the walls, filled the corridors and pressed forward at every turn. Sabine did her best to hold them off herself, but her supply of explosives was dwindling. She tossed another bomb near the edge to blow another of the monstrosities off the side. She looked to Zeb and saw him pummeling one of the mutants into the concrete roof of the building before swinging the lifeless body into another of its ilk. The other Rebels were fairing no better, fighting tooth and nail with beasts that seemed to feel no pain, who only desired the blood of their prey.

It all seemed hopeless. And then a cry echoed across the skies, low and rumbling, but familiar to Sabine. A "Skree" sound she could readily recall. The Zillo-Beasts Mutants heard it too somehow and for some reason stopped their rampage. They turned to where the noise came from, their eyes fixating on the crash site of the Star Destroyer that buried Godzilla. Swirling above it was a display of multicolored lights that appeared be funneling into the crash site. As if the radiation that filled the air was being dragged down, the lights merely following its path through the air.

Then, suddenly, an explosion of dirt and iron erupted from the crash site. Out from beneath the wrecked hulk of the ship arose the big grey reptilian form of Godzilla once more. The spines on his back danced with a technicolor display that drew the Mutant Zillo-Beasts' gaze even more towards him. Godzilla then released a powerful and devastating roar. It shook every rooftop and building still standing within the Imperial facility. Sabine, Zeb and the other Rebels covered their ears in pain while the Mutants seemed just as agitated.

As the roar died away, the Zillo-Beasts Rejects changed their targets. Something in their primative little brains had been triggered by Godzilla's roar. They snarled and gnashed their teeth back at the giant lizard, growling and bellowing at him. Without warning, they abandoned their assault on the Rebels and took off in a mad dash towards Godzilla in a frenzied pace. The Rebels watched them leave in droves, racing towards the giant reptile in the distance. Did they percieve him as a new threat? Better prey? No one could tell.

Sabine tried to track the rampaging stampede of mutants as they streamed towards Godzilla. The big grey lizard was already on his way towards the facility itself. Through her macrobinoculars installed in her helmet, she focused in on the Zillo-Beasts. They were joined by others of their kind from across the facility, following the same vicious war cry from before.

It wasn't long before they actually caught Godzilla's attention. Suddenly the giant lizard turned, the spines on his back bursting with power as he did. With one swift blast from his mouth, Godzilla burned a swath through the approaching Mutant horde. Sabine covered her eyes as the brillant flash of light filled her macrobinoculars. She pulled her helmet off, her vision trying to adjust to what had just happened. When her eyes could see again, a huge scorch mark across the volcanic earth was all that remained of the Mutants from before. They had been completely incinerated.

A great cheer rose up from the assembled Rebels once they realized what Godzilla had done. almost as if on cue, Godzilla let out another small roar as he closed in on the facility. Some of the Rebels fired into the air in celebration and others started chanting the radioactive saurian's name. He had helped turn the tide for this battle yet again.

As for Sabine and Zeb, they just looked on in astonishment, pleasantly surprised by the sudden turn.

"Heh, so much for the Empire's best shot," Zeb chortled. "Not even taking a Star Destroyer to the brain could take him down."

"He's one tough angry lizard, that's for sure," Sabine added. "I think we just got our second wind."

With that in mind, Sabine, Zeb and the rest of the Rebels charged back into the fight. They descended down from the rooftops and swarmed the grounds. They made their way to the Command Center and every critical objective in between. With the Zillo-Beast Mutants mostly gone and the Imperials still in disarray, they now had a real shot at winning this.

---

Ahsoka and Ezra climbed out of the wreckage Godzilla had left behind in his breakout. It took awhile to scale the edge of the crater, but they finally reached solid ground at last. They could already see Godzilla in the distance, closing on the facility, rejoining the fight.

"I'm sorry I doubted your instincts, Ezra," Ahsoka apologized as they looked on. "You were right after all."

"Maybe, but I just know Kanan is going to give me a lecture either way," he admitted. "And I deserve one, I did just take off and disobey orders."

"I'm not one to judge given my history," Ahsoka said with a shrug. "It was foolhardy to run off like you did, but you did what you felt was right. Feel sorry for going against your Master, but don't be sorry for following what you believed. It's what makes us Jedi."

Ezra looked up at her with a grinning smirk.

"Us? I thought you said you weren't a Jedi anymore," he teased.

"Well, for today at least, I am again," Ahsoka coyly replied. "Now then, young Padawan we best return to your Master. We still have a battle to win."

The two Force Users took off back into the jungle. The plan now to recover their speeder bikes and get back into the fight. They had accomplished their mission, Godzilla, King of the Monsters, was back. Now it was time to finish what they started on this planet.

---

Darth Vader looked out across the vast volcanic plain as the beastly grey monster strode towards them. He balled his fists into a rage at the sight.

"Impossible," he growled in a low tone.

While angered at this setback, it was nothing in the grand scheme of things. There was one last card left to play. Vader turned from the window and moved quickly into the adjacent corridor. He strode up it, not turning his eyes from the door at the far end. As he walked, a few of the remaining Rejects revealed themselves, popping out of the shadows. They had not followed the war cry, they had stayed to find more victims.

Vader paid them minimal attention as he walked past. One of them lunged at him, but Vader's lightsaber sliced the beast's head in two. A second charged next, only for its neck to be impaled on the Sith Lord's blade. The final one rushed from the front, but Vader picked him up with the Force. As it struggled, he brought his blade across its stomach and cut the abomination in two. He tossed the remains away and stepped over lower half. Never once did he break his stride nor look away from the door. These things were inconsequential. He had bigger game to kill.

He entered the room and secured the door behind him. Before the Sith Lord was a large control panel and an equally large viewing screen in front of him. Its layout somewhat reminded him of his personal chambers. At least it would feel famliar. Vader sat down and activated the panel. He took up the controls in both hands and turned the viewing screen on.

It was time to show this dumb reptile a true monster.

---

The massive hangar doors opened wide, but not fast enough for what lay within. Grasping onto the opening, three giant hands forced the doors away from itself. Bursting from out of the dark arose a massive titan of flesh and steel, its giant tail lashing in the wind. It bellowed in anger and stomped over the nearby buildings of the facility, climbing over them towards the volcanic wastes beyond. When it came to the wall it flung itself off the structures, landing with a tremendous thud as it hit the blackened dirt.

It's shoulder weapon pods sprung to life, electrictiy pooled around its tails' spikes and its arms sprouted an array of blades and ranged weapons. The Cyber Zillo-Beast, now at last awakened, fixated on its one singular target, Godzilla. It roared at the opposing giant and stretched its massive arms wide in a display of aggression and dominance. Godzilla merely steeled its gaze and returned the roar with his own blood curdling scream.

A clash of titans was now inevitable. The only question left was, who would remain standing?

---

AN: This is it, the big battle-royale brawl you've all been waiting for! You may have paid for the whole seat, but you're only gonna need the edge! Cause it's Godzilla vs the Zillo-Beast only here at the Kaiju Splatterdome!

Anyway, thanks for reading everyone. This is pretty much the penultimate chapter. Next time is the finale and I hope to see you all there for the epic brawl, not just between Godzilla and the Cyborg Zillo-Beast, but a number of other match ups that I imagine you're just as impatient to see. Well as always you'll have to wait, quality takes time friends.

In the meantime, if you haven't yet, do leave a review and check out the profile for a new link to more notes on this chapter. This one was a prety quick write more or less, but I still got a few quips and thoughts to share. As always, thank you for your support dear readers and for sticking with me. This has been a fun ride and next time we will finally conclude it. See you then.