Energy cracked and sparked violently, between the Sith Holocron and the obelisk and around the structure itself. It seemed to nearly echo the storm of emotion inside Ezra as he struggled closer to the artifact. Maul had betrayed them, they never should have come here, it was all a trap. He had to get the holocron, he had no idea how long Ahsoka would be able to keep Vader at bay. He'd seen her easily overpower the inquisitors, but Vader was something else entirely.
His hand still throbbed painfully from the energy surge where Vader had broken his saber. Ezra didn't know how badly it was burned, he didn't have time to peel back his glove and check. Not when they could die at any moment. He tried to tune out the sound of plasma blade impacting plasma blade and pushed closer.
"So persistent," The voice spoke to him again. It sounded ordinary enough to his ears, for all that the vaguely feminine voice managed to somehow fill each word with a mix of amusement and disdain and condescension all at once, but it seemed to echo inside his skull and urge him to flinch away. If the voice was food he would have spat it out as tainted no matter how desperately hungry he might be.
"Yeah, well, I'm not going to let this be used to kill anyone." Ezra gritted his teeth, pushing just a little closer. The voice laughed and Ezra shuddered, swallowing back the urge to gag.
"I could kill him for you, the one you fear. Wouldn't that make things easier? Well, I likely will anyway you know. This much power, either it finds a target or…." The voice of the holocron trailed off and Ezra could suddenly see it, the power building up until it overloaded and everything around the Sith Temple evaporating. Him, Ahsoka, Kanan, even Chopper wouldn't be safe from the blast. "Tell me what you want."
"I…" Ezra hesitated.
"Ezra!" Kanan's voice cut through the crackle and whine of the energy around him.
Even before Ezra turned he somehow knew it was going to be bad. Some echo through their tentative training bond, some vibration of the Force. Kanan's face was covered with some sort of white mask and he clung to Chopper in a way that made Ezra's heart plummet to somewhere below his stomach. Kanan had to be hurt badly, he needed him. If Vader saw him, vulnerable, if Maul reappeared…
"I need to help them!" Ezra forced out, turning away and finding the strength to shove close enough for his fingers to brush the holocron and then grip around the hard edges. It burned with cold, a sick sort of pain when skin goes from cold to numb and then beyond. He would have thought it would have been enough to distract him from the pain in his burned hand, but it only seemed to magnify the sensations.
"You want to help your friends? Are you sure? You think you can make a difference?" The voice mocked him.
"I'm sure! Give me the holocron so I can go back and help my friends! I need to go back and help them." Ezra wasn't sure if he was screaming or barely forcing the words out. He thought he heard Kanan yelling something from behind him, but it was drowned out by the terrible voice.
"Then go." Ezra felt the holocron suddenly come unstuck from the energy field, the sudden silence roaring in his ears as he fell backwards, the world around him going black.
.
.
And then there was nothing.