previously on Superweapon: help sometimes comes in the most unlikely forms. When the LSF arrive to help the rebels, the truth is revealed that The Chief is one of the last remaining Jedi. But who exactly is he? And what will happen when he is pitted against the Clone Wars legend, Asajj Ventress?
The whole room fell silent. Everyone stood quite still. It was almost as if space itself had stopped, waiting to see what would happen next.
"I do not deserve this weapon anymore." The Chief spoke, shaking his head. "I shame it. But as much as I failed," he continued, pointing the tip of the bright-blue blade at Ventress. "You failed even more, Sith assassin."
Kanan felt a great rush of sadness all of a sudden. As though he was responsible for this man's suffering, even though he knew it was impossible. He was snapped out of his thoughts, when, with a loud scream, Asajj charged the Jedi.
The whole room shook as the two clashed. Ventress aimed a double-saber slash at the Jedi's head, but the man blocked it, responding with a counter-slash that the Sith barely parried. Screams and crashes echoed around the hall as Jedi and Sith fought, desperately trying to gain the upper hand. Their sabers locked and swung in a deadly contest of strength, where it took every ounce of skill to stay in the fight. Kanan watched, horrified. He knew one of them wasn't walking away from this fight, and he wanted nothing more than to join.
But he couldn't.
It seemed as though something was keeping him in place, like his body was utterly unwilling to cooperate. He could only watch as the two clashed, and stray blows destroyed computer consoles, power reactors, and two dumbfounded stormtroopers.
The Jedi parried. He was afraid. Not of death. He had never been afraid of death since Ezra died. He was afraid of the truth. Of what would happen afterwards. What would he say, if the rebels knew his secret? If they knew who he was? Or even if-
His thoughts were interrupted as Ventress locked his lightsaber between hers, and smashed them into the main power console for the superweapon. At once, the power conducts began shutting down, clearing the circuit of pressure and allowing the reactor to flood.
The collapse of the weapon had begun.
Such an immense weapon required every system to run like clockwork, and the slightest mishap was deadly. As it happened, a more-than-slight mishap caused the power conducts to shut down, and the chain reaction the followed would be enough to rival that of the later Death Star. By destroying one console, the entire fortress was about to implode.
But a far more surprising outcome was on its way.
In the resulting shower of sparks, neither of the combatants saw their grave mistake, until the ground shook below their feet.
The mysterious Jedi, realising his mistake, looked down at his feet for a fraction of a second.
The Sith assassin, instantly rallying the moment, swung both lightsabers up into the air, and brought them crashing down, right next to the Jedi's face.
There was a moment of blinding confusion.
A shower of sparks.
The sound of cut metal.
The Jedi stumbled back. Sabine looked at his face.
The mask.
Half of it was completely blown off, and the rest was badly burnt and broken. A small beeping noise was issuing from the mask, and smoke poured from it.
He covered his face for a moment, and then reached under what was left of the mask, and pulled it off.
It hit the ground with a loud clang, and everyone stared at his face.
Even after three years, his form was still instantly recognisable. He had grown a bit taller, not much, and was considerably more muscular. His hair had stayed roughly the same, but was flecked with dirt. But Sabine was drawn to his eyes. The same eyes she had fallen in love with, years ago. The eyes she thought she would never see again.
So many emotions clashed inside Sabine at that moment, she felt as though she was going to hurl. Everything changed, at that moment.
For everyone.
"Ezra Bridger. Lothal's Most Wanted, risen from the grave." Smiled Ventress. "You were a fool to come back here."
Ezra sighed. He had failed.
"Not grave. I never died. They didn't either. But you WILL!"
He jumped. Lightsaber out, he charged the Sith, who was forced into a defensive, getting pushed back and back, towards the pit, that Vortex was drilling. Then, there was a terrible gut-wrenching yell, as Ezra brought his lightsaber back, and stabbed it forward, as it went straight past Ventress's block, and into her shoulder.
The sight was one none would forget. Ezra had brought his lightsaber right through the assassins shoulder. The Sith yelled, and then crumpled up on the floor, shivering from the wound.
Ezra stumbled backwards, and turned to the crew.
"There. You know. I'm sorry, I-"
"Why?"
Sabine stood up, and stared at Ezra.
"How are… You DIED."
Ezra sighed.
"No." He said. "I woke up, surrounded by debris, no you, no imperials, nothing. I thought… I thought you were dead."
Kanan flinched, and Sabine covered her mouth with her hand. Zeb said nothing, as he was too busy being sick into the corner of the room. Ezra fingered his lightsaber, and carried on with his story.
"It tore me apart. Everything I had known, seemingly destroyed. I felt as though I would never feel again."
"I started the LSF. Gathered a few like-minded souls, and created the best police force Lothal has ever seen. I was determined to serve the justice I thought you had never received.
But I couldn't let them see me. I hated everything about myself. I felt ashamed. Like I had failed you. Let you all down. I hid myself from the world, controlled the LSF through an anonymous leader."
"I kept the lightsaber. It saved my life many times. But I was no Jedi. *chuckle* I was just a fool waving a laser sword who had lost everything."
"But then, years later, I saw something that changed everything.
Imperial Safehouse 57 radioed. They were under attack, and needed reinforcements. He sent me surveillance photos, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
You. You were alive. I had to help you.
But I couldn't let you see me. I was worried that, through everything I had done, you wouldn't want to see me again. I had given up on you. I had left you for dead. And, in the Despair, I nearly killed you all! I… I… and now it's too late. I was worried you would think I was… A monster."
Ezra finished his story, and the room fell silent. Only Sabine showed any signs she had even realised he had stopped speaking. She stood, and walked slowly towards him. She stared at him for a minute, and then hugged him. She tried to put a lot of unsaid things into this hug, and maybe he understood, because he patted her back in a sort of awkward way, when a voice made them all jump out of their skin.
Ventress was back on her feet, clutching the wound in her shoulder. Ezra stood up, and whispered out of the corner of his mouth:
"Get behind me."
But Ventress hadn't any interest in fighting. She had lost, and she knew it. She simply stared at the rapidly collapsing machine.
"You rebels won." She said. "But you will lose. We lost the weapon. But you won't leave this base alive."
Her fingers were ablaze with Force Lightning, and she stepped back slightly, towards the pit.
"You will die here. Goodbye, Rebel scum."
And she jumped. Giving no sound, she fell, backwards, into the pit that led straight to the planet's core. Ezra extinguished his lightsaber, and jumped backwards, pushing Sabine out of the way as a cold wind whipped through the room, seemingly coming not from the door but from the pit itself.
The base began to fall apart in earnest now. Ventress had jumped straight into the already-unstable core, and the whole part of the planet was now in danger of collapsing.
"Go go go! We have to get out of here! Come ON!"
An LSF trooper was standing at the door, shepherding everyone out. Sabine ran after Kanan and Zeb, then stopped as she realised Ezra hadn't moved.
The whole place was falling apart, debris were literally falling inside the room itself now, but Ezra simply stood, staring at the machine as it pulled itself apart.
"Ezra?"
"There isn't enough time." Said the boy. "The machines too unstable."
Without another word, he reached out his hands, and grabbed hold of the machine using the Force.
"Hurry! I can stabilise it long enough for you to get out! Go GO!"
"Ezra- No! NO EZRA!"
Sabine tried to run to him, but a strong hand descended on her shoulder and before she knew it, she was being pulled along through the corridors, struggling to get free.
"No no! Let me go, Ezra's still there!"
"It's too dangerous! We have to get out of here before this machine tears us to bits!
"BUT EZRA'S STILL THERE! HE'LL BE KILLED!"
Suddenly, she was being dragged through the courtyard, and everywhere she looked there were stormtroopers fleeing the explosions or flying through the air. None tried to stop the rebels. They were too busy trying to escape the doomed project. And all at once, the all-familiar plains of Lothal were all around Sabine. They all kept running, but had only made it about 15 feet when a deafening explosion knocked them all off their feet. Sabine wrenched herself free, and turned to watch as the entire base went up in one, massive explosion. She might have been quite proud of it, once upon a time, but she didn't now.
Sinking to her knees, she watched as everything went up in flames.
"Ezra… Ezra…" She whispered, tears running thickly down her face.
