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ashlan-zeal · 4 years

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"He wondered if sanity had completely forsaken him in a land where nightmares and reality existed side-by-side."

Everything was wrong.

Ezra stumbled into the Ghost's cargo area. Ahsoka had left him there as she ran to the cockpit.

Ezra's legs gave out and he fell to his knees. His heartbeat was erratic and he could feel it hammering on his ears. He couldn't breathe. An oppressing overwhelming despair was drowning him. He barely felt the ship shaking as it took off. He stumbled forward, supporting himself on the walls, blindingly moving towards the cabins. Everywhere he turned to look hurt him. Everything was different in a way Hera would have completely disapproved of. He somehow managed to get to Kanan's room, which also was decorated differently. Ezra's body was trembling as he approached the bed and kneeled. His shivering hand opened the secret compartment and...

Kanan's lightsaber and the holocron rolled into the view.

Ezra covered his mouth with his hands, choking back a sorrowful sob.

Ezra.

He failed him.

Ezra.

He was supposed to be there for him.

EZRA!

Ezra snapped out of it and gasped at the strong urging through the Force.

"EZRA! THE TURRETS! NOW!" Ahsoka's voice ordered through the comms.

He tried to swallow but he couldn't, and forced himself up and out of Kanan's room. Ahsoka needed him right now.

"I'm... I'm coming," he said as loudly as he could but came out barely as a strained whisper.

He sat in the turret and... he couldn't remember the rest. He couldn't remember how many TIE fighters he shot down or if he actually hit any. He just allowed instinct and the Force to take over until he noticed the stars and the blue lights of hyperspace. He stared in silence for a second, his hands still tightly gripping the controls of the turret.

Ezra slowly returned to the main corridor where Ahsoka was already waiting for him with a worried look on her face. She said nothing, just staring at him for a long moment. She bit her lip, grabbed a first aid kit on the wall and approached him.

“Let me see….” She gently grabbed his right hand and looked at his arm. Ezra frowned confused until he realized a shot had grassed him and had burned a part of his sleeve. On any other circumstance the pain would have bothered him, but not now... The way he was emotionally hurting was numbing, overwhelming, crushing. This wound was nothing compared to it. He wordlessly stared at the floor as Ahsoka cleaned the wound.

Tears welled in his eyes and he shook his head. The image of Kanan’s yellow eyes wouldn’t leave his mind.

“He wouldn't fall... he would never join the darkside... not Kanan. Not him. He was... he was better than me. He wouldn't be tempted…” Ezra sobbed in denial.

“…” Ahsoka said nothing else as she finished treating his arm, but then Ezra’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“... You said he was dead,” he said, feeling slightly betrayed.

“I thought he was,” Ahsoka said with honesty. Ezra’s lips trembled.

“M-maybe Hera and others are alive too,” Ezra looked up to her with hope.

“Ezra,” Ahsoka said gently but firmly.

“Maybe they are-”

“Ezra... they are gone,” she shook her head. And she was right. Ezra hadn’t even considered until now that the coldness he had felt when reaching out looking for Kanan had been in fact the darkside in his heart instead of his death. The others absences didn’t feel like that. He gritted his teeth trying his best not to break down again.

“I have to save him!”

“He doesn't need saving. He made a choice by joining the Darkside,” she said sadly, trying to make him see reality. “You cannot save someone who doesn’t want saving.”

“NO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I know the pull! He was there for me when I needed him the most! He brought me back into the light! I have to-!”

“How? How do you expect to save him?” Ahsoka asked, her eyes hardening. “Talking? Changing his mind? He is something else. He just tried to murder you just like any other Inquisitor would. Ezra, he doesn't know you. This is not the same Kanan you met!”

“He was. He still can be,” he said turning to her. He was not crying anymore. “I'll reach to him. I'll show him.”

Ahsoka’s mouth opened in disbelief realizing what he intended. “You want to get into his head to show him?? Ezra, What you want to attempt is dangerous. He can overpower you and you will be vulnerable instead! You barely have control of your powers.”

“You saw what I did back there... that's how I was! That's how I used to be until I woke up here! I- I just need practice again!”

“You need to let him go. Getting too attached is not the Jedi way,” she carefully warned him, placing her hand on his good shoulder.

“I would gladly give up being a Jedi if that means I can save him,” he glared stepping away from her, but then… his expression softened filled with sadness and looked down, all his anger suddenly gone. “But I know that’s not what Kanan would want,” he bit his lip, tears streaming down his cheeks again. “I know… I know I would have to let him go. I know that’s what he would want. But I’m not ready to do that. I’m not ready to let go. Not yet.”

Ezra looked up at her with begging eyes. “Ahsoka, please, I have to do this. I have to do this or I’ll never forgive myself for not helping him and wondering if I ever could.”

Ahsoka was silently looking at him with worried eyes. She felt her own heart hurting… as if this was too familiar.

“... Even if you show him the man he was, the man he can be, he might still refuse you and attempt to kill you,” she reminded him.

“I know,” he nodded with understanding and a determined look in his bright blue eyes.

She sighed in defeat.

“Were you this frustrating with him too?”

“All the time,” he said with a bittersweet smile.

“Fine... we will practice. But if this doesn’t work out (and you don’t get killed in the process)… you will move on,” she looked at him intently.

“I will,” he said. Or at least he would try.

---------

“I see. You did well on reporting the presence of the Apprentice immediately,” the Grand Inquisitor said turning from the window looking down at the base’s courtyard.

“I do as you command,” the Inquisitor, the Tenth Brother, the man who used to call himself Kanan Jarrus said almost mechanically. He was kneeling in front of him.

“Now, why would two Jedi want to steal a simple light freighter?” The Grand Inquisitor questioned with interest and was amused at the ripple of concern from his minion.

“I don't know, my Lord.”

The Grand Inquisitor calmly ignited his lightsaber and placed it close to the Tenth Brother’s face. “You dare to lie to me? You know this ship,” he said coldly.

“I thought it was destroyed,” the Tenth Brother said with honesty. “If these two Jedi are working for the Rebellion, it might have an emotional value for them… for what it represents. Perhaps recovering it was to boost their morale?” he offered. There was no way anyone else alive had known about his stuff, so he honestly didn't know what other reason they would have to steal the Ghost. He had assumed the holocron had been destroyed with the Ghost so he never mentioned it to the Grand Inquisitor either.

“Perhaps,” the Grand Inquisitor narrowed his eyes. “The Rebels have been eradicated on most sectors. Tell me, who is this young man?”

“My Lord?”

“The young man,” he hated to repeat himself. He would have to punish him later, but now it was not the time. “I saw the security holos and read the reports. The closest troopers heard him say the name of a dead man as he was dragged away by the Apprentice.”

“I don't who he is. I had never seen him before,” Tenth Brother said tensing, his tone and expression hardening. The Grand Inquisitor stared at him for a few seconds and nodded.

“I believe you. Yet, you failed to stop them. You were defeated so easily,” he sighed in disappointment.

“That was-” the Tenth Brother tried to object but the Grand Inquisitor slapped him. The Grand Inquisitor felt a surge of fury on the Tenth Brother but he knew he couldn’t fight him.

“You let your guard down and he got you beaten in a swift move… tsk tsk. You couldn't do anything about it. You are weak. Pathetic. And here I thought you might have some potential.” He shook his head but grinned showing his sharp teeth. “You know why I sent you here in the first place.”

“To test me,” the Tenth Brother seethed. The Grand Inquisitor nodded and leaned closer to him to whisper something.

“Tell me... Do you want to kill him? The urge must be strong.”

“Yes.”

“And yet, you are forbidden to strike him. Good,” the Grand Inquisitor chuckled and moved away. “Use that hatred. Embrace it and channel it to destroy the Jedi. This is your first test, and so far it is not going well for you.”

“I won't fail you.”

“You better not. So far you have been worthless. I will send the others to search in the neighboring systems. These Jedi shouldn’t be too far away. Stay here. If they have some kind of sentimentality with this ship and that old name… they might return to Lothal. Wait for them and catch them. Do you understand?”

“Yes, My Lord,” the Tenth Brother bowed his head and the Grand Inquisitor left the room.

This was quite the turn of events. The Apprentice and an unknown Jedi had been sighted in Lothal. Lord Vader would want them to focus on finding her. The Grand Inquisitor saw Agent Kallus on the way out and gave him an evil smirk. The human looked pale and doing his best to keep his composure now. The Grand Inquisitor knew why. Four years ago, Kallus’ trap for the Rebels had costed the lives of the Lasat and the Twi’lek. He had sent the Mando girl back to his planet for trial only to learn later she had been executed at arrival. In response, Clan Wren had risen up without any support from other clans and were completely obliterated. The Grand Inquisitor had informed all this to Kanan as he tortured him and saw with extreme pleasure how the last of his will was snuffed out. He wanted to die, but this was not to be. He didn’t deserve to be freed of this torture. This was his fault. Bringing him to Lothal again served to fuel the self-hatred. The Grand Inquisitor wondered if Agent Kallus would ever sleep again now that he recognized the Tenth Brother’s previous identity and gave a small chuckle as he left for his ship.

----------

After getting rid of anything that might have help to track the ship, Ahsoka and Ezra decided to stay low and train on the ship while things calmed down. Ahsoka knew that they would be hunted so she didn’t want to risk attracting any attention back to Garel.

“Alright,” Ahsoka sighed and sat cross-legged in front of Ezra. “I guess we should start with what you want to show him. I don't think he will ever expect a strong mental intrusion but you need to show him something that he won’t be able to counter easily. Something that takes him completely by surprise.”

Ezra nodded and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“Hera,” Ezra nodded with a sad smile. “He loved her. I don’t know much of his time before… but I know Hera was the one who pulled him back into the fight. I can only imagine that losing her was the reason he-...” Ezra couldn’t finish the sentence. He felt his own heart wincing in pain.

“Hn, I understand. It’s a good choice,” Ahsoka offered a small smile. “They were close. He might not have a link with you, but perhaps reminding him of his bond with her might stir something within.”

“Yes, maybe he still has a bond to those memories. He came immediately when we were trying to get the Ghost,” Ezra said hopefully.

“But… he might have thought the ship was destroyed just like I did and now just wanted the Holocron inside,” Ahsoka said pointing out the possibility.

“...Maybe, yeah…” Ezra said with sadness.

“You need to hope for the best but… prepare for the worst,” Ahsoka reminded him touching his shoulder.

“I know,” Ezra looked down, avoiding her eyes. She sighed.

“We will start easy. Clear your mind and try to bring forth a memory of Hera. Once you have master that clarity, the next step would be to try to show it to me without me having to rummage through your mind. Ready?”

“Ready,” Ezra said with resolution.

Weeks passed. Every morning Ezra would wake up with tears on his eyes, barely rested, a pressure on his chest and heart. He couldn’t remember the dream… the nightmare. It all blurred with reality. Ezra could only get the feeling he had been calling to him.

Ezra managed to improve greatly his Force abilities. His mind was focused like he had never done before. He could now prompt the images of his memories to Ahsoka with enough clarity. The last week of training had been to improve against her mental defenses. He needed to be strong enough to bypass them but not so forceful to hurt her mind. Ezra needed to be careful with that.

“We have a problem,” Ahsoka said one day looking over at their plans. “We can’t use the Ghost to return to Lothal to search for him. Even if we change the identification codes, he knows the ship too well. You identified it just by hearing the engines so we have to assume he will do the same. We will need to find a fast ship with enough firepower to break through the blockade if when we have to leave or get discovered.”

“A fast ship with enough firepower?” Ezra blinked realizing something. He had completely forgotten about it until now. “I… I think I know where to get one.”

“We have limited resources, so we will have to steal it,” Ahsoka said crossing her arms a little concerned.

“No. I don’t think we need to steal it. It should be right there for the taking,” Ezra smiled for the first time in weeks. “The Gauntlet. The Nightbrother.”

“Maul’s ship?” she breathed in disbelief. “You know where it is?”

“Yeah… I got it after he-…” he cleared his throat. He didn’t know if Obi Wan was alive here, but he better not lead anyone back. He had the feeling that even here he wouldn’t want to get found out. “When I acquired it, we checked the nav records. The ship had been left on an abandoned base all the while Maul had been stuck in Malachor.”

“He was in Malachor too?”

“Yeah… he was the main reason everything went wrong-... but never mind that,” he shook his head. The least he wanted to do was set a foot on Malachor ever again. “The Inquisitors were hunting him there. If we are lucky, they dealt with him already or… at the very least he’s still stuck there. We should definitely check if the ship is still at that base and just make sure he never gets it back,” he said with a smirk.

“I can get behind that,” Ahsoka smiled back.

Luck smiled them too.

The base was almost completely abandoned, sans a few old security droids. The Gauntlet was not in the best conditions, but Ahsoka was sure they could fix it up in a few days. When that was done, they were ready for their plan. The stealth capabilities of the ship allowed them to slip past the blockade easily and landed away from the city. Ahsoka programmed the ship to come for them at the touch of a button of her comm. Whether they succeeded on bringing Kanan back or not, they would need to run to escape.

“Hide your presence as best as you can,” Ahsoka reminded Ezra, but he had already started to minimize his ripple in the Force. They approached the base and were a little surprised they found Kanan really fast. He was walking around in the open around the perimeter.

“It’s a trap,” Ahsoka whispered. “Somehow they hoped we would come back.”

“It doesn’t matter. He won’t expect what’s coming,” Ezra pressed. He couldn’t turn back now.

“Alright, we will follow the plan,” Ahsoka said. “They will likely have more troopers on the lookout, so I’ll cover you,” she said and left to the opposite side of the courtyard to create a distraction. Ezra waited anxiously. His hands were sweating, shaking. His heart was beating so fast and he could hear it on his ears. He could barely-

Ezra heard the blasters shots some distance away. Ahsoka was up. He peeked behind the crates he was using and immediately saw Kanan igniting his red lightsaber and turning to where the sound was heard.

This was it.

Ezra came out of hiding and called to him.

“KANAN!”

The man glared back and narrowed his eyes. Ezra’s whole body tensed and he felt sick. He had in fact improved so much with the force that now he could easily sense the self-hate and the pain on him. Kanan was destroying himself. He held back a sob in his throat.

“You won’t get away from me this time. I’ll have your head,” the Tenth Brother said with gritted teeth. He half expected the young Jedi to bring up his lightsaber but just like last time, he just stared at him with that helpless expression that bothered him so much. Then, he simply closed his eyes and relaxed while a few tears rolled down. The Inquisitor rushed. “Fine. I’ll just kill-”

Hera looks back with concern. “Kanan?”

“What-?” the Tenth Brother froze in complete bewilderment at the image in his mind.

“Kanan, please,” Hera stops Kanan in the corridor of the Ghost and looks at him intently. She’s worried about something.

His lips trembled. An illusion. IT HAD TO BE AN ILLUSION. He was messing with his head! He attempted to pull up his mental walls, to cut the mental link, but the Jedi had already been expecting that and countered it with more images.

Hera, Sabine, Zeb and even Chopper gather around for a meal in the Ghost with Kanan. They laugh and smile. Hera leans on Kanan’s side. He casually places his arm around her shoulders pulling her closer.

“NO!” the Tenth Brother screamed bringing up his hands to his head trying not to feel, not to feel THIS.

Sabine, older, a woman on her own right, hugging him deciding to stay in Mandalore to help her family. She wouldn’t have come this far without him.

Zeb and him having a laugh, watching each other’s backs during a fight.

Lies. ALL LIES. They had to be illusions! No. This wasn’t real. NONE OF IT!

“Oh no,” Ahsoka’s voice could be heard in the distance. “Ezra! EZRA! WATCH OUT!”

Ezra slipped out just enough of his trance to be more aware of his surroundings and gasped as he saw a red lighstaber swirling towards his face. He leaned back just in time… and just like before, it singed his left cheek. A flare of the memory flashed through his mind, unleashing a flood of images that he was still showing to Kanan.

“NO!” Kanan reached for him as he fell being struck by the Inquisitor on the catwalk.

“I want to be the Jedi you see in me.”

“You’re always there when I need you the most.”

“It’s over now,” he holds him.

“I’ve got you. Go ahead. Let go.”

“KANAN!”

“I’ll always come back.”

He hugged him in the darkness of the cave.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Both of them fell back stunned by the sudden emotional overload and mental strain. At Kanan’s side, two dark figures approached. The other Inquisitors had been in the base too.

“Tsk… get up,” the Seventh Sister scoffed at the Tenth Brother who was still holding his head in pain trying to clear his mind from the images. He grunted and got up, rage in his eyes and the lightsaber on his hand.

“We gotta go. Ezra,” Ahsoka was already over Ezra in a defensive position as he started to get up. “You promised,” Ahsoka reminded him.

Ezra’s heart was breaking. “Yes,” he barely managed to say and it felt like a stab on his chest. He was too weak to fight, he knew they would try to kill them. Ahsoka called the ship with the comm just as the three Inquisitors attacked her. He held her ground and kept them off Ezra until the ship appeared.

“Now!” she shouted and her and Ezra, who had finally regained a little more of his strength, pushed them back with the Force enough to jump into the open ramp of the gauntlet.

The Tenth Brother noticed how the Jedi looked back one last time at him. Some kind of hope in his eyes.

“I know what it's like to lose someone close and not have anyone.”

His own words. His voice. But he had never said that. This time he managed to shut down the mental link. He saw the tears on the Jedi’s blue eyes as he looked away in pain and disappeared into the ship.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15618783

#Star Wars #Star Wars Rebels #Ezra Bridger #Kanan Jarrus #Ahsoka Tano #Inquisitors #Grand Inquisitor #Fifth Brother #Ninth Sister #fanfic #Chapter 5

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ashlan-zeal · 5 years

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"Who says that dreams and nightmares are not as real as the here and now?"

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Ahsoka asked Ezra while they took to orbit. Her small ship had a cargo ID in rule and didn’t have any problems crossing the tight security of the several Imperial ships around Lothal.

“I… We were returning to the base. To Yavin,” Ezra explained staring blankly at the stars.

“Yavin, huh?” Ahsoka’s eyes lit up with interest. “We have prospected the area before but we were still thinking of our options. Most of the other cells refuse to work together.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Ezra remembered there hadn’t been any transmission from his part or… “Wait. What about Mon Mothma? Is she still alive?”

“Oh… She got captured a while back when she left the Senate,” Ahsoka bit her lower lip. That had been a morale blow for everyone. They hadn’t gotten to her on time. Ezra sunk on his seat. Something in the back of his mind told him that maybe if his parents hadn’t heard the transmission they might be still alive in prison, but Azadi was also missing and… he couldn’t sense them. Just like the Ghost crew… all he could feel was either a void or coldness. They had died. He closed his eyes as a few tears rolled down his cheeks, but he hurried to dry them.

“Just before returning to base, we had saved a few engineers and destroyed a huge kyber crystal. Gerrera wanted to-”

“Saw Gerrera?” Ahsoka frowned. “You were working with Saw Gerrera??” she said with disgust and anger.

“A couple of times… we didn’t part in the best terms,” he said a little nervous. “Why?”

Ashoka was scowling looking ahead. “We lost Lothal because of him.”

“What!?”

“After the Ghost Crew disappeared, no other group took their place… things went downhill pretty quick,” Ahsoka explained and took a deep breath. “When they opened that TIE fighter factory in Lothal... a lot of people didn’t have another option and started to work there. Then, it seems Gerrera caught wind they were doing some kind of secret project there and… he used a service droid to blow the fuel depot… on rush hour.”

Ezra’s jaw dropped. “How many dea-?”

“Several hundred workers died. Thousands were injured. He said that whoever was helping the Empire in any way deserved to go down with them. The people of Lothal lost all trust in the Rebels… Several sympathizers were arrested snitched by locals. They didn’t like the Empire but at least they wouldn’t blow their own, they said.”

A ball of anger started to grow on Ezra’s throat. That’s why they were contracting people instead of droids to do menial tasks at the port. He regretted not looking up further when he was back there.

“Gerrera was… not good… but we had managed to talk to him out of doing a bunch of stuff before,” Ezra said in low voice. “But yeah… he was certainly going on that direction”.

The travel through hyperspace to Garel was short. Surprisingly, Garel didn’t seem too different from what Ezra remembered from his early time here. Ahsoka took Ezra to present him to Sato as Jedi-in-training and left it at that. Seeing Sato was… a shock too. His eyes didn’t have that passion he used to have working for the Rebellion. He looked sad and somewhat bitter.

-Oh no...Mart.- Ezra thought. Mart must have been either killed or taken prisoner over Mykapo. -Dammit...the rest of my friends… Zare, his sister, Jai...- they were gone. Even if he was visibly upset he shook Sato’s hand and promised to do whatever it was possible to help them. Ahsoka and he obviously left out the issue of Ezra coming from another reality… no one else needed to know.

“If Ahsoka vouches for you, then I can’t turn you down. If you are going to stay here you will need some new ID and papers for Garel,” Sato said giving him a curious look. “Please, go to this address with our contact. Give her this code…”

Ezra went on his own, while Ahsoka and Sato discussed the state of Lothal, explaining what she had seen and the increased security. Ezra knew the streets in this city so he had no problem to find the house with the contact. He knocked once, then thrice, then once, just as he was told. The door opened a little and he could see a woman peering through.

“Yes?”

“I need help with a poem. I heard you are a good writer,” Ezra said the secret password too. These Rebels were really suspicious and paranoid, always looking over their shoulders, and he couldn’t blame them. The woman huffed and nodded.

“Fine, fine, I can help,” she said with some reluctance and opened the door. Ezra gasped recognizing her.

“Maketh Tua,” he whispered in disbelief. Tua’s face was washed with fear and pulled him inside quickly and looking outside worriedly hoping no one had heard him.

“Don’t go saying that in the open! I’m not Maketh Tua. My name is Rita Zante. Alright??” she pointed at him shaking with fear. “How do you know me? Have they put a hit on my head? Have you seen wanted posters or something?”

“Oh… no. I… I used to live in Lothal,” he tried to find the right explanation. “I lived in Lothal all my life until recently.”

“Ah… I see,” she straightened up regaining a little of her composure. “I see. Alright… that explains that. You almost killed me from the impression… just… don’t go saying my old name around. Ok, if you come for Lothal making your fake ID will be easier for me… just sit there.”

Ezra sat watching her go through some info on her datapad and comparing it to a stack of papers she had in a desk. Maketh Tua was alive here. She had not been killed when trying to defect when they were being chased by Vader. Ezra remembered Yoda’s words:

Your right, someone’s wrong might be.

If he made things ‘right’ it would mean Ahsoka, Sato and Tua would be gone. Who knows how many other people would be affected. He shook his head.

-Just focus on the problem at hand. Helping the Rebellion. I’m still too weak to do anything about it so there’s no point on worrying on...consequences.-

After an hour or so, Ezra had the best fake ID he’d ever seen. For all intents and purposes, he was now a citizen of Garel. He was also given a tiny private room in an apartment building instead of a shared one on their “base”. It was sad to see this Rebellion so far behind of his own. That night, in the privacy of his room, he cried silently, letting all his pain and sadness out. He knew he couldn’t keep it all in or it would lead him closer to the darkside. Holding at the pillow, he sobbed for his friends and he sobbed for Kanan. He cried for how alone he felt and how much he missed him. But he needed to keep going… even if it hurt. And with that, his new life with the Rebellion started from scratch.

During the following days, Ezra would make small ‘milk runs’, help with scouting, spying and all the normal things he could do without the aid of the Force. On the days Ahsoka returned from some secret meeting or mission they would train and meditate together. As soon as he finished his lightsaber (this time with a regular hilt but with his old blue crystal) he started sparring with Ahsoka seriously. Her training style was very different from Kanan’s, making much more aggressive and dangerous approaches. It was harder than what he remembered, or maybe he was just too far behind? She would push his physical and mental limits with the Force. In any case, Ahsoka was impressed. While his connection with the Force was slowly recovering, luckily, his memories for his fighting techniques were almost untouched.

His nights were restless and every day he would wake up feeling worried and alone. His heart ached, but all he could remember from his dreams was a thick darkness and a sense of hopelessness.

-No, I can’t give in. Kanan wouldn’t want me to...- and that gave him just enough warmth to keep going.

One day, Ezra had been tasked on delivering a package to a group on another city in Garel. He took a bike and headed out by himself. He didn’t expect any trouble… but he also never expected to get his life turned around more than already was.

He was driving down the highway, no other transport on sight, when he heard it. He pressed the brakes so fast he almost thrown ahead from the inertia. He looked around and up almost desperately until he saw it.

The Ghost flew overhead.

A chill ran down his spine. He was frozen in shock. Even though it was repainted, he could have recognized the sound of the engines anywhere, in this reality or back home. Then, after a second he accelerated chasing it. It was also heading towards the same city, but it was going much faster and quickly left him behind. He reached into the Force, trying to feel if he recognized who was flying it but it was a stranger. A ball of anger started to form on his stomach. Someone had taken the Ghost for themselves. He rushed through the gates of the city and the streets to the spaceport as fast as he could, but by the time he found the right landing pad, the ship was already leaving.

“NO!” Ezra cursed watching it go. He turned around and saw a bunch Troopers looking at him. They were moving some cargo around. Ezra became very still.

“Do you have a problem?” one of the troopers asked, suspicious of him.

“Oh… sorry. I just… I just saw that ship and… I had never seen a VCX-100 modded like that. Wow! I mean, it was a VCX-100 right? I wished I could see it more closely!” Ezra laughed nervously and looking sheepish.

“Yeah, a VCX-100,” the trooper wasn't totally convinced. “You can’t stay here while we load our cargo to the transport. Now scram,” the trooper motioned him to get back.

“Yeah! Sorry! Sorry, sir!” Ezra turned around, his smile immediately disappearing from his face as soon as he was out of sight from them. He went to ask around the port about details on the Ghost, always under the pretense of being a fanatic of modded ships. He even used a few terms he had heard from Hera and Sabine to sound knowledgeable. All he learned was what he feared…

The Ghost, it seemed, was the propriety of the Empire right now. With some more coaxing, he also learned the ship used to make deliveries from Lothal and a few other systems to this port. They said it should be heading for Lothal right now.

Cursing in low voice he delivered the package he was meant to and went back to Ahsoka immediately. She had just left from a talk with Sato when he arrived to their ‘base’.

“We need to talk,” he didn’t even wait for a hello, pulling her aside. He explained everything that he saw and learned. “We need to get the Ghost back”

“Ezra…” she wasn't sure of his idea.

“No, no you don’t get it. If I remember correctly the Holocron AND Kanan’s lightsaber could be still there, hidden away in a secret compartment.”

“The holocron that you said had the coordinates to the Temple on Lothal?” Ahsoka blinked with worry.

“YES! Besides… I have seen what other ships this Rebel cell has in the fleet. They couldn’t hold a candle to the Ghost,” Ezra said with sadness. “Hera would never want the Ghost on Imperial hands. She would have wanted the Rebellion to use it for our cause.”

Ahsoka sighed and nodded. “You are right. Let’s get it back.”

They flew to Lothal that same day, wasting no time. They went into the city taking care to avoid the patrols and went to the edge of the Imperial base. They saw the Ghost on one of the landing pads.

“We can use it to flee. If any ship is capable of crossing the blockade while being chased, it's the Ghost,” Ezra said with resolution.

They both headed stealthily towards the ship… but midway, Ezra stopped in his place, a chill ran down his spine. The Force was trying to tell him something. Trying to catch his attention.

“Ezra?”

“I…” he blinked in confusion, unable to explain what he was feeling.

“HEY!” someone yelled behind him. A Storm Trooper had glimpsed them, attracting the attention of his peers and raised their blasters.

“Dammit!” Ezra barely had time to throw himself to the side to avoid being shot. Ahsoka also took cover, trying not to take her lightsabers out and reveal themselves as Jedi.

Somewhere inside the base, Kallus was tensely reporting to the Inquisitor, who had seemingly lost interest on their talk. Something had caught his attention, but with the mask on, Kallus couldn’t tell exactly what. He dared not to ask because from the moment the new Inquisitor had arrived on Lothal Kallus could feel a great hatred towards his persona from him. Kallus didn’t want to give this man any excuse to cut his head off. At that moment, his comm activated.

“SIR! We got intruders on the west landing port. It seems like they are trying to steal a VCX-100 freighter!”

Kallus blinked. He knew that ship. Before he could say anything, the Inquisitor raised from his seat, igniting his red lightsaber.

“I'll deal will them. Send all available troops to stall them,” the Inquisitor ordered him.

“What-?” Kallus started but the blade came suddenly dangerously close to his throat. He stiffened.

“Do it,” it was the last warning. Kallus felt a chill down his spine and pure hatred coming from the Inquisitor. If he did not comply, he would be killed right there.

“As you wish.”

Ezra was returning fire when he noticed the growing number of Troopers showing up between them and the Ghost… And then they saw a red glow coming out of the doors of the base from their right. An inquisitor was running towards them.

“We will have to fight,” Ahsoka took her lightsabers. “We need to get to the Ghost, NOW.”

“I'll handle the Inquisitor,” Ezra said suddenly realizing their situation.

“What?”

“I can't block all those blasters without better Force reflexes, you know that. My fighting technique is the best thing I have right now. I can hold the Inquisitor back while you clear off a path.”

She gritted her teeth. He was right.

“Don't get killed,” she nodded and stood in the open deflecting blast after blast towards the troopers, knocking them out.

Ezra needed to buy time and not get beheaded while doing it. Yes, his lightsaber technique was mostly intact... but not having his full Force proficiency back was going to be a problem as many of the forms required almost supernatural precision and timing to pull off.

“Stick to the basics. Mix it up,” he murmured under his breath. This wasn't an Inquisitor he had met before so he had no idea of his fighting style. He had a feeling of apprehension on his stomach as he ran towards the Inquisitor.

-Yeah, this is dangerous, but there is no other way!- he told himself trying to dismiss the emotion. Ezra went all out with an aggressive approach, combining Form 1 and Form 2, surprising the Inquisitor who immediately fell back to a defensive style. Ezra was glad. It seemed the Inquisitor had not expected someone like him to be able to bring that into a fight. This was risky, but Ezra was almost sure he would be able to go toe to toe with an Inquisitor of a similar level. He knew he needed to dictate the terms of the fight and not give him one moment of respite... and yet...

Something was wrong.

The more he fought, the more the feeling of apprehension grew on him. Now that he had a better connection with the Force he could feel the alarms in the back of his mind. He needed to stop. He needed to get away. The Inquisitor sensed his hesitation and countered back. Ezra had suddenly lost the upper hand on their duel. In a desperate risky move, Ezra blocked then swirled around, rising his lightsaber, vertically slashing off the mask from the Inquisitors face. The inquisitor had jumped back just in time avoiding getting his face slashed too.

The mask fell. The Inquisitor turned to Ezra ready for more. Ezra saw him and his eyes went wide with horror as his whole body reeled back on a state of shock.

NO. IT CAN'T BE.

Ahsoka felt his fear through the Force, making her look back with worry.

“Ezra?”

Ezra couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

It was Kanan. Short hair. Tattoo marks on his face. Bright yellow eyes… Ezra's lightsaber fell from his hand and he didn't even notice.

“I can feel your despair. The dread…” Kanan narrowed his eyes with an evil pleased smirk.

“EZRA!” Ahsoka’s scream urged him into action but it seemed so far away and he couldn't look back. He could only see and hear HIM, approaching with the red lightsaber.

“Kanan,” Ezra managed to say. His voice was trembling, his body barely holding up. The name made the Inquisitor stop in his tracks and frown, perhaps surprised to hear the name again.

“...Wrong. Tenth Brother,” he shook his head.

“...No…” tears started falling from Ezra's eyes. He felt the world around him collapsing, the core of his being cracking under despair.

“Strange. You are not afraid of dying. What is it then?” Kanan asked curiously but Ezra just looked at him helplessly. “No matter... it ends here.”

“Snap out of it!” Ahsoka yelled running to him and felt a surge in the Force just like that day in the tower.

“NO!” Ezra cried out just as Kanan raised the lightsaber to strike him. Ezra released a huge Force push sending Kanan flying back in surprise. Ezra collapsed in the floor like last time but Ahsoka was there the next second.

“Stand up! We're leaving!” she picked his lightsaber and grabbed him by the wrist pulling him up. She had finished with the troopers blocking them from the Ghost but soon more would follow.

“No... Kanan!” Ezra weakly resisted.

“I can't fight him and defend you at the same time!”

“Kanan!” he was out of himself but Ahsoka was stronger.

“Move!”

“I have to-” he pleaded.

“He's an inquisitor now!” she was almost dragging him away.

“NO!” he cried out in despair, just as he caught glimpse of Kanan standing up with murderous hatred in his eyes. And that sight made something inside Ezra break and he let himself be guided into the Ghost without another word.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15618783

#Star Wars #Star Wars Rebels #Ezra Bridger #Ahsoka Tano #Kanan Jarrus #Inquisitor #Agent Kallus #Fanfiction #chapter 4

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