7

Author's Note: This is a longer chapter to make up for all the shorter ones and the cliffhangers! This chapter contains the first lightsaber battle I ever wrote, so please be kind! It was hard, but I hope I did a good enough job! (-Star Wars fanfic comes with its own challenges-) One other thing: I read some sort of internet article about Malachor and D. Fiorlini described the presence on Malachor that we hear talk to Ezra in the battle-station. That's where I got my idea for the dark side/presence that speaks to Ezra here. I only mention it b/c I was worried about it possibly being confusing.

Again, thanks to everyone for the comments. This should take about two more chapters to wrap up, but you're about to read the climax of my story. Hope it's as much fun for my readers as it was to write it. :)


"The Phantom." Hera pointed out as Sabine and Zeb peered over her shoulder. "It's here." She soared through the opening in the planet's crust and landed near the smaller ship. The party armed themselves and cautiously went out, leaving Chopper behind to keep the ship on standby.

"This place is just...wrong." Sabine murmured, looking around at the bleak landscape.

"No kidding." Hera replied, feeling the same way.

"It's strong with the dark side," Kanan replied, taking up a position next to Hera. He held out his hand, searching with the Force. "This way," he said, drawing his lightsaber and moving over the uneven ground. Hera didn't fail to notice how graceful his movements were, despite being blind now. She'd been watching him the past few days and each day he'd seemed to grow more sure of himself in his movements around the base. She knew it must be the Force; strengthening his other senses maybe, or guiding him in some way. Perhaps he wasn't even aware of it, but she'd noticed.

They made their way toward a still-standing structure whose door was carved into the side of the rock. It looked like part of the original Sith Temple, with a pyramidal shaped entrance.

"It feels different this time," Kanan turned his head to Hera. "There's something here. Something more dangerous."

"It's gonna find out that we're dangerous too," Zeb growled, tightening his grip on his bo-rifle.

The talk stopped the nearer they were to the entrance. Hera gave the signal for a flanking move on the doorway. Hera and Kanan entered the room first, followed by Zeb and Sabine. The light from Kanan's weapon was enough to light up the room; what it revealed caused them all to stop in their tracks.

"Oh Kanan," Hera breathed. "It's Ahsoka."

Hera and Kanan knelt beside her body while Sabine and Zeb covered the room and entrances. Ahsoka's many injuries were plain for all to see and Hera feared the worst.

"She's dead, isn't she?" Hera asked, her voice catching in her throat. Ahsoka was cold and pale. She wasn't breathing, at least as far as Hera could tell.

Kanan placed his hands on Ahsoka's arm and shoulder gently. He bowed his head and searched for her consciousness with the Force. He shook his head. "No. She's in a hibernation trance; she's still alive."

"What do we do?" Hera whispered.

"I'm not sure," Kanan said. "I've never seen someone do this for this long before; I've only heard stories. If she's been like this since after her fight with Vader, then she's gonna need medical attention. She could die of dehydration."

"Someone's bandaged her up," Sabine said, moving around to a better position to watch the darkened doorway. She kicked Ezra's backpack with her foot. "Ezra. His pack's here."

Kanan's brow furrowed in concentration. If Ezra had bandaged her wounds and took time to care for her, wouldn't that show that he hadn't fallen to the dark side? It was a small sign of hope. "Zeb, Sabine," he said, "I need you to get her back to the Ghost. Take her to the med bay and start IV fluids."

Zeb and Sabine looked at each other, but got moving when Kanan ordered, "Now." The note of command in his voice was unchanged and, as they had promised, they followed orders. Ahsoka's body was stiffened, but not locked, and Zeb was able to lift her up in his arms easily and carry her back toward the Ghost, with Sabine covering him.

"Use the com if you need us. We'll come running."

"You bet." Kanan said, with no intention of calling them. Whatever happened, Zeb and Sabine would be safer on the Ghost than with him.

"Ezra's in there, isn't he?" Hera asked, shivering.

"Yeah." Kanan stood, turning instinctively toward the opening that led deeper into what was now the ruined temple. He could feel the dark side...a malevolent current that flowed in everything here. It even seemed to be trying to press in upon his mind. Scrabbling to gain purchase in his very soul. He shook it off as best as he could.

"There's no use asking you not to go, is there?" Kanan said, reaching out for Hera's hand with his free hand.

"Nope," she replied. He could see her in his mind, raising an eyebrow at him, a half smile brushing her features. For a moment it banished all his fears. "Let's go get our kid."

Just as he'd done before, he began drawing the light side of the Force to him, calling upon its increased presence. With every breath it grew stronger and stronger, until it gathered within him to such a point that he felt blinded anew from the glow. Hera watched in amazement as some of the small rocks around them began to levitate. "Kanan..." she began.

"I know." He replied, feeling the Force surge inside of him as he began to walk forward. "No matter what happens, stay behind me."


Ezra had cut through several large webs on his way down the dark hallway. The chittering of the fist-sized spiders as they retreated had made him uneasy, like the spiders on Atollon. By the time the hallway had opened out onto a large chamber, the barrage of darkness against Ezra's mind had become unbearable. He looked around, as far as he could see in the darkness for the source, but saw nothing.

The room looked like a burial chamber. There was a stone sarcophagus in the middle of the room with a carved figure on the lid. The figure was female, and she wore robes, but her features were obscured, chipped away by time into only the blunt likeness of a human. He wondered if the voice he heard had belonged to this woman, or whether it was simply the dark side.

Slowly a blacker than black human-shaped shadow formed in the center of the room. It seemed to devour the light from Ahsoka's lightsaber as it grew.

You should kneel before your betters, apprentice. If you do, I shall let you survive so you can serve the dark side.

Ezra shook his head. "Never." He held Ahsoka's lightsaber protectively in front of him, trying to beat back his fear with sheer force of will.

So innocent. The dark side will take all you love from you.

"You said...you said I could save them." He didn't believe it, but it was all he had to cling to.

The blackness came on lightning fast. It was a shadow, insubstantial, passing around and through him. He could feel it batter his mind. Serve the dark side and I might allow your crippled master to live, boy. Swear your loyalty to me, if you care about them. It is the only way you'll save them.

Ezra shook his head again. "I will never turn to the dark side." He slashed at the darkness, but it was like trying to cut through the air—ineffective.

Ezra was lifted into the air; he felt the ebony coldness burn him as he was tossed against the rocky wall and then fell to the floor. Then he was subjected to another mental attack. Something was trying to tear its way in.

Give in or you will die.

NO! He wasn't sure if the scream was out loud or only in his mind.

Give into your anger and fear. The dark side will give you the power you need to save them.

"You lie!" Tears streamed down Ezra's face. He wouldn't fall for this trick. When he'd come here, all he'd wanted to do was to save his family. To make their sacrifice mean something. To find a way to defeat the dark side. Now it seemed there was no chance of any of it.

I could make you powerful enough to defeat Vader. You could take his place. The dark side was holding it out like a lure. For a moment, Ezra tried to imagine what that would be like. He, having the same power as Vader or even the emperor. He hated what they stood for and if he was in control, things would be different. But he knew that was the trick. He would take the power for good, but it would be perverted to evil. Nothing the dark side touched could ever be clean.

"Never." Ezra dropped to his knees as he felt pain cripple his mind, Ahsoka's lightsaber falling from his numb hands. Not being able to intimidate or frighten him into falling to the dark side, it was using its last, worst weapon. Pain. Escape was impossible. Yielding to the shadow of the dark side was impossible. Endurance of the pain was impossible. It poured in upon his consciousness, trying to break him. He screamed wordlessly until his voice gave out, curling in upon himself and gratefully embracing nothingness when his body could take no more.

Maul entered from the opposite side of the room. The boy was on the floor, a small huddled mass. He could feel the satisfaction of the dark presence in the room as it withdrew, and was sure if the child hadn't been broken, it wouldn't take much more from him to do it.

He walked across to the would-be-jedi-padawan and knelt down. Ezra was powerful, but the dark side's presence here had been stronger. Upon first seeing the padawan, Maul had sensed the chaos, the anger, and the pain that was hidden within. He knew it would serve the dark side well. He reached out, his black gloved hand stretched out in front of Ezra's face. The boy's consciousness shrank back from the touch of the former Sith lord's mind. He stood, satisfied. "Get up." He snarled. "Get...up." He stood up and kicked the boy hard with his foot. Still no response—not even a whimper. "You're coming with me. You will be my apprentice—one way or the other." He started to reach down to snatch Ezra to his feet when someone interrupted him.

"I thought I told you we come as a set," Kanan's voice, full of anger, sent a visible shock of surprise through Maul. Kanan had both heard and felt Ezra's scream as soon as he'd passed the curtain of darkness at the hallway's entrance, and they had come at a run. Maul turned his yellow gaze toward them and drew his double edged saberstaff.

Hera stepped back, drawing her blaster. So this was Maul, the creature that had so terribly wounded her boys. She fired, three center-body shots that Maul deflected with his lightsaber. The creature opened his fist and the blaster flew from Hera's grip into his hand. The red-and-black-skinned monster slung it away into the darkness with one motion and threw Hera back against the wall with another. Satisfied that the Twi'lek would be no more trouble, he turned his attention to the more immediate threat.

"You again? Really? The blind Jedi?" he sneered as he faced Kanan.

"You thought you struck me down, but you only made me stronger." Kanan found that he could see Maul, in a fashion. The red pulse of his evil soul was outlined in front of him. Below him was a faint murky light...Ezra. The motionless form worried him, but he couldn't allow himself to be distracted. He centered his attention on the Zabrak. "Let's get this done."

Maul feinted to the left, then attacked to the right. Kanan blocked it easily. It was slow at first, with Maul trying different attacks to see how Kanan reacted. The Jedi anticipated each before it happened and parried the blows, letting the Force guide his actions.

"Surprising," Maul commented as he sped up his aggressive attack, using Juyo and both ends of his saberstaff to force Kanan to respond more quickly in hopes of tiring him out or seeing him make a mistake.

Hera slowly worked her way around them toward Ezra, who was slumped onto the floor. As she did, however, her eyes never left Maul and Kanan's battle: the blinding speed back and forth across the floor—Kanan, blocking his opponent's aggressive attacks and Maul, never letting up for a moment. Sensing an opening, Kanan slashed Maul across the chest and then retreated, his saber held over the head in perfect Soresu position to parry any attack his opponent might make.

"Form three. Very effective." Maul commented casually, gathering himself for another attack.

"Shut up and fight." Kanan replied, drawing even more on his new connection to the Force. Pebbles and smaller rocks began to levitate upwards again due to the incredible amount of Force energy in the room. The very air itself seemed to vibrate.

It wasn't like this last time he fought the Jedi, Maul realized. He WAS stronger. It was distracting enough to Maul for Kanan to cut him again, this time along the arm. The creature growled in pain, then used his pain in a blitz, a relentless flurry of advances, that left Kanan no room for another attack.

They were in close quarters, now, and Maul's tactics were growing increasingly chaotic. After taking a wound along his swordarm, Kanan used a Force push to gain some distance and a respite.

"Are...we getting...tired?" Maul asked.

"I can go...as long as you can, Grandpa," Kanan replied. Maul shoved the Force at Kanan and the Jedi went flying through the air. He slammed against the wall, hard, then went down on one knee. As he slid down the wall, the dressing covering his eyes had come loose and he pulled it away angrily. He got to his feet and his ready position, trying to push the distracting anger away.

"I sense...fury...and revenge? For shame...That's not the Jedi way." Maul smiled, showing his pointed teeth as he and Kanan crossed saberstaff to lightsaber, each pushing on the other. With a tiny movement on the hilt of his saber, Kanan caused his blade to drop down and slice Maul's arm once more. It threw off the former Sith and he started to retreat quickly, but stumbled over the uneven ground. Kanan took his chance and stabbed Maul through the chest, point first. Maul fell to his knees, his disengaged weapon rolling harmlessly away.

"I'm Jedi enough to defeat you," Kanan replied, teeth clenched. He growled, raising his lightsaber to sever the creature's head from the neck, but he stopped short. Maul was now unarmed. The dark side, the pervasiveness that filled the very air on this hellish planet was starting its work on him. The fury he felt began to melt. He deactivated his lightsaber, knowing Maul was finished. The Zabrak's body lurched and fell to the ground. As Maul died, Kanan felt the dark side's presence reappear and grow stronger.

Your apprentice will fall and he will be ours. Anger and pain will be his undoing.

"People keep telling me that, but they've been wrong so far." He muttered, shoving the presence out of his mind and drawing the light side of the Force closer to him like a cloak.

"Kanan..." Hera's soft voice startled him, and he turned toward her. She was kneeling by Ezra's crumpled form. Placing her hand against his pale cheek, she received no response. His skin was cold and clammy.

He knelt beside his padawan. "Ezra. C'mon kid. Wake up." He reached out with his hand and smoothed back the dark hair. When there was no response for him either, he turned to Hera. He still sensed the rising presence of the dark side on the planet and he didn't want to be here any longer than he had to. Maul was dead, but there was something else here. Something stronger and more evil. "We've got to go." He drew his blaster and handed it to her, then he gathered Ezra into his arms. "I'll follow you back to the ship. Don't stop, no matter what."