Hello again everyone! Welcome to this collaboration :D
I hope you will enjoy reading this first chapter as me and Sins007 enjoyed writing it!
I'm happy and honoured to write with an amazing author like her, and still I can't believe it. I love reading her stories and I asked her if she wanted to develop this plot with me, and she kindly accepted, my heart touched the sky when it happened.
Sins007 -"And I can't describe how much your words makes me happy. Being contacted to write this collaboration already made me so excited, but what you say now makes my heart touch the sky :3"
And I take the opportunity to thank all of you that have reviewed, favourite and followed my first story "Reduced to Vermeil Ashes". I'm flattered and overjoyed by all your support! * Big big hug*
And don't worry, I'll update next chapter very soon, maybe next week if everything goes south.
-"We hope you'll enjoy your reading :D"
Good reading time :D !
Disclaimer/warnings: We don't own Star Wars Rebels, we do apologize for grammar mistakes and typos ( both of us aren't native English speakers).
Do you have any questions? Ask us in the review section or in a Pm :D
We can understand Spanish, French, German and also Italian.
May the Force be with you all!
CHAPTER ONE
The door hissed open. The sound made Kanan raise his head to look despite the soreness of his body.
-"Who is this?" He managed to say.
-"Turns out you taught me pretty well."
Ezra's voice made him the effect of a warm shower. -"You shouldn't have come here, but I'm glad you did."
The kid smiled. -"You would've done the same for me." Then grinned. "In fact, you have."
He helped his master walking, opening the door and rushed outside of the cell... Alas, their course was interrupted by the presence of the Grand Inquisitor.
They froze, looking at their enemy with apprehension, and Kanan rose on his own two feet, taking Ezra's lightsaber in hands. -"Let me borrow that."
-"Yeah, no problem." Agreed the kid, moving behind his mentor.
But the Pau'an smirked evilly, Force pushing Ezra back in the cell! He hit hard the torture table, the locks closing around him!
-"Ezra!" Shouted Kanan.
-"I'm okay!" Answered the boy, wrigling in the restraints. "They were ajusted for you, I can... work my way... out." He was contortionning his body to slide under the metallic bonds.
Kanan nodded and rushed at the Inquisitor, shooting with the canon and alternating with the blade whenever he could.
The Grand Inquisitor dodged the shots with ease and swiftly lunged his crimson blades toward Kanan. The Jedi promptly parried while recoiling, gritting his teeth.
" You knew they would come." Shouted Kanan, fencing back. "You used me as bait!"
The Pau'an's sinister voice followed, smugly. "And, soon, you'll wish I had taken your life instead."
The glowing blue blade dashed against the red one, the contact creating flashing green flames while nearing the dangerous lights closer to the Inquisitor's smirk.
He replied, hissing. " You really thought for a second they could help you? Free you?"
The Pau'an swiftly kicked the man's gut, making him fall onto the ground, and blew a frontal slash. Kanan parried at the last second, the crimson blade just above his head, and both blades flashing green again.
-"The moment I caught you, it was already too late to hope for salvation. Everything was planned from days, no weeks ago!"
Kanan widely opened his eyes, glancing the golden red-rimmed ones of his dark enemy.
" I can feel your fear, Jedi... And now, die!"
But, as the Pau'an rose up his weapon, Kanan took advantage of the opening and Force-pushed the Grand Inquisitor away from himself, knocking the slender frame into the metallic and cold wall of the empty corridor.
Quickly, Kanan stood up on his feet, shouting. -"Not this time!"
Ezra finally escaped the table, rushing outside of the room. He appeared just in time to see Kanan running as fast as he could toward his opponent, but, suddenly, the man felt his entire body being abruptly grabbed by the Force and shoved far into the other side of the corridor, hitting hardly his head against a grayish wall just beside the boy.
Kanan hardly stood up again, helping himself with the cold wall, while Ezra picked up his fallen lightsaber on the floor. The Inquisitor cut the Rebels' escape route by closing and sealing the door. Smirking evilly, he used his red blade to melt the command panel, copying the gesture Kanan had made when he locked the communication tower, preventing the Grand Inquisitor from capturing the other rebels too.
The Pau'an turned to face again the Jedi and his Padawan. He was now in a defensive position and widely smirked toward him, hissing.
" Well, you've been practicing, but..." His smirk widened. "you'll die here anyway."
Then, he rose the glowing red blade up and twitched forward, dashing the blade toward the Jedi's gut, but Ezra was ready to block while Kanan tumbled above them and reached to grab with the Force his own Lightsaber hanged on the Pau'an's belt. He swiftly attacked in turn, but the Inquisitor smiled and easily blocked it, not agitated nor surprised.
-"At last, a fight that might be worthy of my time."
This time again, he Force-pushed the Jedi against the far end of the wall before swiftly making the Padawan follow the same path on the other side of the corridor, this one, hitting his head so hard, he sagged to the floor like a rag doll.
As Kanan was being thrown against the hard surface of the wall, he lost the grip over his lightsaber once more, dropping it on the floor.
The Pau'an immediately took the weapon, switching his own off and scrutinizing the one of Kanan while keeping him immobilized on the wall as he approached him with an intimidating pace.
-" What a shame, I was starting to enjoy this duel... How pathetic."
The Pau'an ignited Kanan's lightsaber to drive it toward the Jedi's throat, it's hot blade nearly touching the skin.
Kanan realized that there was no escape, the Grand Inquisitor had cut off their escape, Ezra wasn't moving and now he was cornered with his lightsaber pointed against himself. But, strangely, right now he didn't think about himself. All his thoughts were directed to his friends, hoping for his crew's safety after his death.
-"Your little crew will die here, along with your Apprentice. None will survive." And the Inquisitor rose up again the blade, ready for the mortal blow!
Kanan ignored the Pau'an's threats and the blue sabre, hoping that his sacrifice would give extra time to his crew for their escape, finally accepting to become one with the Force.
-'Master, I'll be again with you...' Thought Kanan as he saw the blade starts to slowly swing toward his head...
But, just before that could happen, the hands of the Grand Inquisitor stopped, trembling. He was struggling against an invisible hand, stopping the fatal blow to be executed. The Pau'an turned back and glanced the source of this disturbance, surprised to see the Padawn standing, his arm moving before him to maintain his distant grip.
Ezra glanced at the Inquisitor and rose up his weapon, shouting;
-"Did ya miss me, baldy? Forgot I had a hard head?"
The Inquisitor was taken aback by the sudden reappearance of the Padawan and Kanan took advantage of the distraction, Force pushing him away from himself and taking back his lightsaber, dropped in turn by the Inquisitor while being thrown.
Kanan ran again toward his Padawan, dragging him along with him forward their last way out. The two rashly ran across the wide hallways, the Master leading the way, Padawan strictly following him while taking his comlink into his hand;
-"Spectre six to all Specters: It's a trap! Return to the Ghost!"
-"We won't abandon you!" Answered Hera. "What about Kanan?!"
Hearing the Twi'lek concerned voice made Kanan smile, exclaiming
-" Will you just listen to the kid? Don't worry! We're taking another route. We'll meet you at the bay. I've got him!"
- " You mean, I've got you!" Retorted Ezra.
Behind them, they heard the sinister voice of the Grand Inquisitor. -"It's too late, this place will be your tomb."
Nonetheless, they kept running as fast as they could.
-"So, I suppose it's not the time to write a testament?"
Sarcastically spat the boy, gaining a glance from his master, that responded;
-"If you have enough breath for making sarcastic comments, then put more energy in those legs!"
Ezra was almost replying with another sarcastic sentence, grinning, but Kanan's glare made him decide to keep it for himself.
The two quickly reached the docking bay where the Rebels were keeping the Troopers away the best they could, protecting the stolen Tie and themselves. Sabine and Zeb were shooting against waves and waves of incoming Stormtroopers while Hera was starting the motor. As the two shooting saw Kanan and Ezra incoming from the far hallway, they increased the cover fire, working harder to let them reach more easily the ramp.
Kanan and Ezra ran with all they had, their breathing beginning to burn their lungs, dodging blasters shots and Ezra returning the fire against the troopers.
Only when the two Jedis had reached their friends, Kanan gave command to Hera on taking off, and the Tie started to raise from the ground, while Sabine climbed the ladder, helped by Zeb to enter faster. Ezra And Kanan jumped to grip the ladder too, the Tie almost ready to fly away... but that's when the irreparable disaster happened.
-"Kanan!"
The frightened shout of his Padawan made Kanan turn his back and he saw Ezra being abruptly dragged down from the ladder!
The Jedi quickly jerked forward and managed to grab only one of the boy's gloves, gripping and pulling it as best as he could, then he searched for the source of this sudden fall, finding it almost immediately:
Just behind them, the Grand Inquisitor stood with one of his arms raised toward Ezra, while the other hand had his weapon firmly clenched in his fist.
Ezra exchanged glances of pure fear with his master, while Kanan focused on pulling the boy inside the Tie. Even Zeb popped out from the Tie's opening, but the Force-pull was too strong for Kanan to hold and too quick for the Lasat to add his help.
Kanan's grip failed and he remained with only Ezra's glove in his hand. Both Lasat and Jedi helplessly watched the boy quickly falling toward the Pau'an.
Ezra was almost near him, falling fast. The Inquisitor ignited the glowing red sabre, raising it with the most sinister smirk he had ever made, and he stabbed the boy, piercing the flesh and perforating the teen's body from the back to the stomach!
The Kid released a loud and racking scream, glancing the sabre that had come from his gut, glancing it incredulous and frightened, the pain crossing all his being while tremors made him contort and squirm under the Pau'an's satisfied glance.
Just to inflict more pain, the Inquisitor looked at Kanan, darting a winning glance toward him as he grabbed the Padawan's shoulder and pushed the blade further into Ezra's body, making him scream and squirm even more.
Kanan's mind became a complete mess, and he immediately shouted. -"Ezra! Nooo!"
Not thinking anymore, he attempted to jump, but Zeb had grabbed him at the last second, and began to drag the Jedi inside the Tie.
The man struggled and exclaimed: -" Zeb, what are you doing? We have to rescue Ezra!"
The Lasat fixed his green eyes in the teal ones of Kanan, saying with a sad and deep voice -"Kanan, it's too late. We can't do anything for him anymore."
But the Jedi couldn't give up. -"I won't abandon him! Ezra!"
The man shouted again and again, managing to free himself from the Lasat's grip, reaching again the border of the ladder to throw a look to find how he could save his Padawan... but when he saw the teen's limp body thrown to the ground by the Grand Inquisitor, he felt his heart crack into a billion pieces. Waves of pain and fear overwhelmed the Bond that the two had created through various difficulties.
As that precious bond was shattering as glass falling on the floor, Kanan felt everything inside him become empty, void. Losing the strength in his arms, Zeb re-grabbed him again and this time he knocked him out, throwing him inside the Tie.
The small engine escaped, regrouping with the Ghost which departed and made the jump into hyperspace, leaving behind their youngest crew member, only his glove remaining as a memento of him... of the hope he had incarnated...
...
The Grand Inquisitor looked at the rebels escaping through hyperspace, not even trying to chase them. He leaned above the young boy, clenching his slender fingers on his jacket to pull him close.
His sinister voice hissed in a whisper to the tan ear; -"I'm not finished with you, boy."
...
*Dramatic music in background*
I hope they won't kill us, Sins007 ^-^'
-"I hope too 0.o But, the probability is low. After all, they need us alive if they want to know what happen after XD"
Thank you for reading this chapter!
HiddenJade Bluerose & Sins007