A mystical plane far removed from both time and space….
"Truly wonderful the mind of a child is…"
"What is this place?"
"A conduit through which the entire Force in the universe flows…."
"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter…."
"Just when you think you understand the force, you find out how little you actually know…."
"Train yourself to let go of everything to fear to lose…."
"What you need, you already have. Unfortunately, you seem to be letting it all go…."
"I won't let him lose his way. Not like I did…."
With a flash and a ripple of energy, Ezra burst through the portal, falling flat on his face. He let out a grunt of pain as he bounced on the solid ground beneath him. He lay on the ground for a moment, panting until he slowly regained his breath. Slowly rising to his feet, he looked around.
All around him lay a massive expanse, a set of many paths set against a backdrop of stars that continued into infinity. As he slowly walked forward, all the time panning his head from side to side, he heard a voice, echoing slightly…
"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together…"
Ezra continued forward along the path in front of him. As he walked, he noticed paths branching off at seemingly impossible curves. Gates like the one he had emerged from dotted many paths on either side of him. All the while other voices continued to speak, the words overlapping and varying in intensity as he continued forward.
"...Rejoice for those around you that transform into the Force…"
Ezra grew more concerned with every voice. "Master Yoda? Obi-Wan? Where are you?" he called apprehensively.
"...I see your eyes. They know the truth..."
"Those voices," Ezra remarked, "Where are they coming from?" He continued to walk forward, each step disturbing the path beneath him, the ripples of each footstep quickly decaying as he moved onwards. Something about this place made the back of his neck crawl.
"The time to fight is now!"
"We'll see each other again. I believe that…"
"...I will finish what you started…"
"Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong. The Rebellion is reborn today…"
"We are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order Down…"
Ezra turned onto a branch on his path. As he passed a certain path that had been parallel to his, he paused. The path was cracked and split along the middle, the split widening as he looked backwards along it. The voices here seemed faded, but had a power to them he could not fathom.
"Master, what do you wish of your servant?"
"...by birthright, Han Solo is the king of Corellia!"
"Hatred of the Jedi ran deep, and few mourned them when they were gone…"
"...There's only one Hand in the Empire, and I'm it..."
"My grandfather was Anakin Skywalker. He became Darth Vader, the last Sith Lord…"
Shaking his head, Ezra moved forward, and the voices fell silent. He approached a curved section of the path, where a gate loomed alongside him. He gave it little more than a sideways glance as he continued on his way.
"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope…"
"You never would have made it as Obi-Wan's padawan…"
The voices faded into silence. Coming to a new gate, Ezra heard the hooting of a convor. He turned his head towards it, then slowly approached the gate beneath the owl-like bird.
"Hey," he exclaimed, "I've seen you before." His face shifted from confusion into recognition. "Yeah, whenever Ahsoka was around, you were always close by". He gestured with his hand. "How did you get here?"
The convor hooted.
"Can you help me?" Ezra questioned, his face displaying confusion once again. "I was sent here, but I'm not sure why."
The bird stared at him with an otherworldly wisdom in its eyes. It blinked. It hooted again, and seemed to gesture to the gate beneath it.
The gate seemed to come alive at that exact moment. With a resonating rumble and otherworldly sigh, a red fog spread from the center, obscuring the backdrop of stars.
Ezra squinted, trying to see anything at all within the fog. "What is this? What are you showing me?"
With an ethereal gurgle, the image in the gate shifted into focus. Purple lightning raced across the image, and red blade ignited with a heavy hiss and deep hum. A dark figure occupied the foreground of the image, with a Togruta across from it.
Ezra's face quickly morphed into one of fear. He knew that silhouette. He didn't need to hear the mechanical breathing to confirm it. Vader. And he was facing Ahsoka. This was in the Sith Temple on Malachor.
"No," Ezra denied, "it can't be."
But it was. He watched as Ahsoka pushed his past self out of the temple while Vader approached. Vader swung his saber, and Ahsoka ignited her own pale white blades with a hiss to counter, catching the blood-red blade between them.
This was the portion of their duel that he had not seen. Ahsoka spun behind Vader, and Vader turned to face her. Their blades clashed, the electric noises of colliding blades echoing. Vader pursued Ahsoka relentlessly, with aggressive swings that Ahsoka desperately blocked.
Hearing Ahsoka's utterances of effort, Ezra's face contorted in worry. The convor jumped and squealed.
"What?" Ezra demanded, turning his face upwards to face the bird. "What can I do?"
He turned to look at the duel once again. It didn't look good for Ahsoka. Vader had her in a saber lock, and was slowly pushing her sabers down with the enhanced strength of his suit.
Suddenly, both Vader and Ahsoka turned their heads towards the center of the room. The purple lightning was rapidly growing in intensity, beginning to howl as the center of the room grew brighter.
With Vader momentarily distracted, Ahsoka pushed him backwards with the Force and stabbed her lightsabers in the ground at her feet. Cracks rapidly formed and made their way towards Vader. Glaring at her, Vader prepared a powerful overhead strike.
"Ahsoka!" Ezra called, reaching into the gate and grabbing Ahsoka by the shoulder. With a swift yank, Ezra pulled the woman though the portal barely a moment before Vader's saber would split her in two. At that same moment, the ground beneath the Sith Lord's feet gave way, and he fell into the bright space below. With the sound of breaking crystal, Ahsoka and Ezra cleared the portal and fell back to the ribbon-like ground. With barely a whisper, the red fog faded back into the center of the portal, and silence fell upon the pair.
After some time, the convor hooted, watching as Ezra slowly regained his bearings. He turned his head towards where Ahsoka was, and saw her slowly prop herself up.
"Ahsoka?" he questioned, slowly propping himself upwards on his knee.
Ahsoka turned to look at him in confusion. "Ezra?"
Ezra smiled as he pushed himself into a standing position.
Ahsoka stood as well. "You look, wait." She turned her head to take in their surroundings. "What happened?" She took a breath. "Where am I?"
The voices resumed.
"Obi-Wan once thought as you do…"
"I saw you fighting Vader. In there" Ezra explained, gesturing at the now empty gate behind them.
Ahsoka's face adopted a look that was somewhere between disbelief and curiosity as Ezra stammered.
"He was going to, so I-I grabbed you and I pulled you out of there" Ezra met Ahsoka's eyes.
Ahsoka looked down and to the side. "Anakin…" A troubled look crossed her face.
"You don't know the power of the dark side…"
The convor hooted to get her attention. She turned her face upwards. "Morai," she exclaimed somewhat out of breath, "you're here." The convor hooted and flew over to her.
"Morai?" Ezra questioned as the bird landed on Ahsoka's outstretched arm.
Bringing her arm towards her torso, Ahsoka looked directly at Morai. "She's an old friend." Bringing her free arm to Morai's face, she elaborated. "I owe her my life." She turned her face to look at Ezra. "And now I owe you that as well."
Ezra blinked, taking in the statement.
"How did you get here?" Ahsoka inquired, craning her head upwards, then turning to address Ezra directly. "And where's Kanan?"
Sorrow crossed Ezra's features for a moment. He looked away for a moment, then faced her again. "You've missed a lot." It was all he could bring himself to say.
Ahsoka looked puzzled for a brief moment, then understanding dawned on her features, replaced quickly with a look of sympathy.
She then turned around, stepping towards the main path. "This place is ancient, like a world between worlds…"
"Yeah," Ezra agreed, walking to meet her on the path, "it feels like that dream where I met Dume."
Ahsoka's eyes narrowed in contemplation. "The creature named Dume." She paused, her eyes widening. "It appeared after Kanan died? That has to be more than a coincidence."
Ezra turned to look at her. "I know." He turned away again. "Caleb Dume. A wolf named Dume?" He turned back to her. "What does it mean?"
"Perhaps Kanan's will is still at work through the wolf," Ahsoka suggested.
"How could that be?" Ezra sounded more than a little doubtful. His face betrayed a little of his frustration.
"Well," Ahsoka began, walking past Ezra, "Kanan is a part of the Cosmic Force now." Gesturing at a wolf constellation in the starfield above them, she continued, "There are ways that those that have passed on may still influence the living." She turned back to face Ezra. "It's not impossible."
Shaking his head slightly, Ezra muttered, "But if it was Kanan that sent me here, then…" He fell silent.
"What is it?" Ahsoka prodded.
Steadily gaining in volume, Ezra responded, "I thought I was here to stop the Empire, but I found you!" Pausing for a moment to gesture at Ahsoka, he questioned, "Don't you see?"
Ahsoka looked at him for a moment. "You think that Kanan sent you here to help me."
"Not just you!" Ezra replied.
A voice echoed. It sounded like Kanan. Both of them turned to try and find the source, before turning back to look at each other.
"I can do it!" Ezra's voice dripped with desperation. "I can save Kanan. Just like I saved you."
"Ezra…" Ahsoka reached out to Ezra, but he turned to look at the other gates, searching for one involving Kanan. Hearing another voice, he rapidly headed further away from Ahsoka and her gate. He began to run, panning his head to search for Kanan's death.
"Ezra, wait!" called Ahsoka. She tried to reach out and catch him, but he passed her before she could. Morai hooted and flew after him. Ahsoka started running after Ezra.
Kanan's voice grew stronger.
"I survived one war. I'm not ready for another one…"
Ezra stopped at a gate. It lay still. He turned away from it and ran onward.
"Battles leave scars. Some you can't see…"
Ezra came to a joining of paths, well ahead of Ahsoka, who was still recovering from her fight with Vader.
He paused for a moment and looked back. "This way!" He then sprinted farther ahead of her. He briefly considered stopping again, but decided he needed to try and find Kanan quickly.
"One of these portals must lead to Kanan," he muttered to himself under his breath. He increased his speed, pulling even farther ahead of the winded Ahsoka.
"Ezra, think about what you are doing!" Ahsoka called after him, worry dripping into her voice.
"I know what I'm doing!" This was more for his own benefit, considering that she couldn't exactly hear him. He just needed to believe that he could do this. "Here in this place, I can change things. I can save Kanan from dying!" With that purpose firmly cemented in his mind, he plowed forward.
He came to the end of the path he was on, Ahsoka still a fair distance behind him. The portal in front of him activated. A pale white light spread from the center, and a musical hum permeated the space around him.
The familiar sound of the AT-AT's guns filled his ears. There was Kanan, blindfold and all, holding back the great wall of fire with nothing but the Force. The dome beneath Kanan's feet started to crack. Ezra's heart pounded. He was so close. He needed to time this just right.
Ahsoka pushed herself. She was too far away. She would never get there in time.
Kanan began to push the gunship holding Ezra and the others away from the flames.
"Now!" Ezra reached in and grabbed Kanan, pulling him into the gate. It dawned on him at that moment that Kanan had had to push them twice. "Oh no."
Ezra fell back as the fire consumed the ship with his past self still inside. His chest burned. "What have I done?"
Ezra and Kanan fell onto the ribbon-like path. As they impacted it, it started to crack beneath them.
"Ezra?" Kanan began to stir. "Whuh, what's happening?"
"Kanan, I…" Ezra got no further as the path beneath them started to shake wildly, and the cracks in it spread like snakes fleeing a fire.
Ahsoka stumbled and fell. Morai began to wail in an otherworldly tone. The space around them seemed to echo the sound. A rumble sounded in the distance.
All the paths seemed to shine with an ethereal glow. Ahsoka was the first to vanish, sinking into the path without a sound. Kanan followed her shortly afterwards. Ezra was left alone for a few moments. As he faded into the path, Ezra swore he saw floating figures in masks, drawing all the divergent paths into one. Then he too sunk into the path, and knew only the Force.
The space fell silent then, paths merging and flowing together into something new. The voices started anew.
"You want me to train him? What, do you think that you just can't handle another Skywalker?"
"They trapped me there for eons! Now they are gone! I am free! Free! Free to go anywhere…"
"You are my apprentice now, child. You should be thankful. The Dark Side will empower you…"
"Welcome to the squadron, flyboy. We have a lot of Imperials to rob, so strap in…"
"Uncle Luke, how did you really lose your hand?"
"I think the state of affairs proves your incompetence Admiral. I am taking command…"
"Sorry my dear, but you are a rival. I will not suffer your existence any longer…"
"This is the Borgathian Heavy Battlecruiser Attan Pon-Shu. Please surrender immediately…"
"If you told me back when I was in training that I would be raising my daughter in a freighter…"
"The Jedi survived a Purge before, and this one will be no different…"
"Your ancestors were Jedi back in the old days. They had your grandfather in secret…"
"My friendship with you is strained, Leia. Why? I am loyal to my oaths…"
"The Sith in the old days yearned for power. They were short sighted…"
"They taught us to fight. They programmed loyalty. We learned brotherhood…"
"So Dathomir really is dead. So be it. I'm beginning to really like bounty hunting…"
"Mother, we have the chance to cripple the dying Empire even further! We must act…"
AN: First of all, thank you for reading this far. Hopefully you thought it was decent at the very least. More details as to what this means will be on my Profile, or in another story. Which you can probably find without much issue if you are heading to my profile anyway. And even though I'm sure this disclaimer is pointless, I'll be putting it in every story somewhere. I do not own anything that is officially part of Star Wars, Legends or Canon. I do not claim ownership of any of the property of Lucasfilm, Disney, or any published authors. I am not making any money from this story.