World between Worlds
Moments after he traversed the portal found in the Lothal Jedi Temple, Ezra Bridger cautiously advanced in this strange world. As he gazed around, he could see many paths leading to various portals. Where would they lead ? He didn't know. And during his first steps, he also heard a myriad of voices. Some familiar and some not.
"Hello ? Master Kenobi ? Master Yoda ?" He called out.
He moved to a chosen portal, not knowing where it could take him. His focus was broken slightly when he heard a small voice. "Hiii !"
Looking up, Ezra saw a familiar looking bird. White to peach coloured feathers, with a large crest it could raise, revealing reddish feathers on the back of its crest. "Hello ? Hey ! I've seen you before ! You're that bird that's always nearby when Ahsoka was around."
The bird happily chirped while flapping his wings. He used his beak to knock into the border of the portal, somehow activating it. To his shock, Ezra witnessed the last moments he had seen Ahsoka. Back two years ago when she stood her ground against Darth Vader on Malachor.
"No." Ezra dreaded as he watched the battle unfold. Ahsoka was holding her own for a while, but Vader was quickly breaking through her defenses. When he was distracted by the exploding device that contained the Holocron, she Force-pushed him several feet away and plunged her lightsabers into the ground, in an attempt to make the ground unstable.
The bird loudly squawked while tilting his head side to side. "What do you want me to do ?!" Ezra looked in horror as Vader recovered from his distraction and moved in for the killing blow. Ahsoka had not made any moves to avoid it. Moments before the unthinkable happened, Ezra reached into the portal, grabbed Ahsoka by one of her shoulders and yanked her out to safety. For Vader, all he seen was Skywalker's Apprentice vanishing into thin air before the ground gave way and sent him plummeting in a pool of light.
Moments later, Ahsoka woke from her shock of Force Time-Travel. "Uh ? W-what… ?"
Ezra couldn't believe his eyes. "A-Ahsoka ?"
Her montrals couldn't fool her. She turned her head. "Ezra ?" He quickly regained her bearings and looked around. "What happened ? Where is this ? Why are you… ?"
Ezra pointed to the portal. "I saw you… in there. You were fighting Vader. He was about to… So I pulled you out of there !"
"Anakin…" She muttered quietly. Looking back at Ezra, the boy definitely looked older. She then realized that he was alone. "Where's Kanan ?"
A pained expression appeared on Ezra's face. "You… you've missed a lot."
"Hiii !" The voice caused her to look upwards. "Max ?! You're here ?!" She offered her arm, prompting the Moluccan Cockatoo to fly and perch himself on her.
Ezra raised an eyebrow. "Max ?"
"He's an old friend. He saved me when I was cornered by some Imperials years ago. I owe him my life." She explained, stroking his belly.
"How ?"
She let out a soft chuckle. "Let's say his antics confused the heck out the Imperials."
Max reacted by chirping and beating his wings. "Hiii ! Little boy !"
She brought him closer to him. "You're a good little boy, aren't you ? You sure are !"
Max climbed down and strutted towards Ezra, giving him a curious look. "Hello !"
Ezra was about to pet him, but the bird had other ideas. Sensing he was about to take a nip at Ezra, she raised her voice slightly. "Get your bird lips away from Ezra, Mister !"
Max swerved his head and turned around, saying "Hiii !" over and over.
"He's a strange one !" Ezra joked.
"It's one of his many quirks. Trust me, you'll come to know them all soon enough." As Max strolled further on the path, Ahsoka looked at the emptiness of the place. "This place looks ancient, like a world between worlds. How did you get here ?"
"A… after Kanan died, I came across a huge Loth Wolf that called itself Dume. He told me that this place had the key to save the future." Ezra began.
"So Kanan is part of the Cosmic Force now… Perhaps he channeled his consciousness into Dume ?"
Suddenly, something dawned on Ezra. "Hey… maybe that's why I've been sent here ! I can save him, just like I did with you. It must be one of these portals."
Ahsoka had a bad feeling about his intentions. "Ezra, wait ! You don't know what you're asking !"
He turned over to her, slightly angry. "I know what I'm doing !" He walked over to a particular portal. As the image materialized, he witnessed Kanan's last moments again.
As Ezra was about to reach out, Ahsoka grabbed hold of his shoulder. "You can't save him, Ezra. He was needed at that time. If you take him away from that moment, you'll all die and the Rebellion would suffer greatly at a result. I know you're hurting. You couldn't save your Master, like I couldn't save mine. You need to let go."
As Ezra witnessed Kanan's end, he made no move to rescue him. "I understand now. Kanan sent me here… for one last lesson."
Thunder crackled in the background. "We should be heading back. We can't stay here any longer." Ahsoka looked around and found her bird, strutting along. "Max, come on ! It's time to go !"
"Eeeeeeeeeeee !" Max raced to the Togruta, quickly using his beak and talons to climb to her shoulders.
"Leaving so soon ?" A voice called out.
The trio turned around to see Emperor Palpatine on the other side of the portal. "Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano ! Mine, at last ! He he he he !" He let out an evil cackle.
Ahsoka stepped in front of Ezra, wanting to protect him. Max, not liking the sight of Palpatine, fluffed his feathers and flew over to the Sith Lord. "Hiii !"
"Stupid bird, out of my sight !"
That caused Max to raise his crest. Ahsoka knew what that meant. "Oh, no. Palpatine's done it ! Ezra, better cover your ears ! Max is about to throw a tantrum !"
Before the Sith Lord could unleash his sorcery unto the heroes, he was hit full blast by Max's loud screams, 80+, one following the other. The 135 decibel screech was more than enough to break Palpatine's concentration. "Blasted bird ! I've gone temporarily deaf ! I won't forget this !" He covered his ears, breaking his hold over the portal access.
Ezra shook his head and checked his ears. "Thanks for the warning ! That had to be the loudest and most annoying noise I ever heard ! My ears hurt, ow !"
Max raced back to Ahsoka and climbed back to her shoulder. "Pretty bird ! Hiii !"
She petted the Moluccan Cockatoo on the head. "Good job, Max ! You saved us from the most powerful man in the Galaxy !"
"Everyone is going to be so happy to see you again ! I'll bet Rex is gonna be crazy about it ! We all thought that the explosion of the Sith Temple took you and Vader out for good."
Ahsoka closed her eyes, still feeling her old force bond with Anakin. "Vader didn't die, I'm afraid. I can still feel his Force signature."
They all went back through the portal that linked to the Lothal Jedi Temple, just in time to escape with the rest of the Ghost Crew. Both Ezra and Ahsoka made sure to close the portal by placing their hands on the Son's image. Stormtroopers were about to capture them, but Chopper used a large drill machine to scare them off. Everyone hopped onto the drill and watched in the distance as the Lothal Jedi Temple crumbled to pieces, taking Minister Veris Hydan along with it.
In the following morning, Ezra and Ahsoka stood outside, seeing the giant Loth Wolf Dume, looking back at them.
As it left, Ezra knew that his late Master had a hand in the adventure. "Goodbye, Kanan."
And another story has begun. This might be a first on this site. I'm not sure if anyone attempted to have "fun" with Max the Moluccan Cockatoo and include him in a fanfic. If you haven't checked out his YouTube channel, Mr. Max T.V., go on and have a look. If his antics don't cheer you up, I wouldn't know what will :P. I have to tip my hat to his owner, Dan. He seems to be quite a handful. Ahsoka will leave Max in the care of the Ghost Crew while she goes to catch up with Rex. Will they be able to endure Max's zany antics and attitude ? Only time will tell. Feel free to leave a review.