Good afternoon, everyone. How are you on the warm day of June 23, 2017? I am exhausted, as I have worked out at a local gym, and mowed my parents' front lawn, and now I'm ready for a nap, which I can't take, as I've got some homework to do after I write for a while, and I suspect that it will take me a bit of time to complete. Anyway, I've continued to read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, and I haven't been disappointed with the novel in the slightest, and I haven't even read a third of the book yet. So, next week I'll be heading back to the local help center in order to give a portion of my time to those who are in need, which is always a good thing to do. Oh, and, before I forget, how many of you desperately crave more Star Wars Expanded Universe content, as well as Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and The Witcher video games, as those sagas are beyond epic. However, I have to confess that I am falling in love with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe immensely, and, while I will always love the Star Wars Expanded Universe more than any other saga, I feel that Tolkien's saga is just as good, if not better, then that universe, for it derived elements from so many cultures, and, throughout it all, he created a brilliant saga while managing to stay true to his religious views, and he never once compromised his values by selling out his creations for profit, as was evidenced by the Lucasfilm Story Group and its betrayal and eradication of the Expanded Universe (But that's just my opinion, and I have strong feelings regarding the matter, so don't take it personal.) Well, personal feelings aside, I'd better get to work on this chapter, as I have a good idea on what I want to happen in this chapter. Fair warning, it will be fairly dark, as it will have another death, maybe two, if I feel like it, in the Dramatis Personae, and it will be ones that you will never see coming. May the Force be with me as I write the twentieth chapter in this glorious story.
(June 24, 2017 Addendum.) Good evening, everyone. How are you doing on this dreary day? I am well, as I've done some homework, and am ready to resume writing on my fanfiction. But first, I would like to thank Donder1999 and RC1115-06 for taking a little time out of your busy schedules to read and review my stories, as it warms my heart to know that people like my stories, as well as appreciate the original Expanded Universe. So, what are you doing tomorrow, as I am going to church with my mother and sister, seeing Transformers: The Last Knight with my father (which I know will be an epic masterpiece), going to an Italian restaurant with my family, and then finishing my homework for the week? It looks like that I've got a busy day ahead of me, so I'd better get started on writing. May the Force be with me.
(June 25, 2017 Addendum.) Good evening, all of my friends. How are you doing on this warn day? I am well, as I've completed my homework for the week, I saw Transformers: The Last Knight with my father today (Which he didn't like, which I intensely disagree with, as that was the best Transformers movie yet, in my opinion.), and I went to the Italian restaurant with my family, and the food there was delicious. Oh, and I've been plowing through J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion today, and I've been enjoying every page of it. I should be done with it in three days, max. Well, back to the story.
As Edaan slowly got up to his feet, and struggled to stay on his feet due to the further depletion of his strength from transferring a portion of his life force into the former Sith Lord, Zeb came up to him and kept him from falling onto the ground, and said in concern, "You okay, Edaan?"
"Yeah. I'll live, Zeb." Edaan said as he took in several deep breaths and used his newfound Force reserves to replenish the energy that he sacrificed in order to purge the darkness that Sorzus Syn's holocron infected Ezra Bridger for so long.
He then turned to face Sabine, who was helping a spiritually wounded Ezra up to his feet as he mumbled incoherently to himself in regret and pain.
"What have I done?" Ezra brokenly said in horror as the rush of memoires of all of his sins and transgressions that he committed ever since he acquired Sorzus Syn's holocron. "How could I have killed Kanan, Hera, and Rex? They were three of my closest friends, and they were a part of our family."
"It wasn't all your fault, Ezra. The holocron played off of your fears and grief, and warped you into the evil that you fought so hard against for five years." Sabine sympathetically said to one of her oldest surviving friends as she laid an arm around his shoulder in order to prevent him from falling.
"That doesn't offer me any comfort, Sabine. Regardless of what outside forces and circumstances, I chose to become a murderer, and I chose to become a Sith Lord, causing untold strife and chaos across the galaxy for one man's madness." Ezra morosely said as he hung his head down in shame, while Zeb looked on with a look that displayed both disgust for Ezra's self-pity, and sympathy for his friend's predicament.
"Well, you can start to redeem yourself for your sins right now, Ezra, because the Shadow Alliance needs all of the help that we can get in stopping Krayt's insanity." Edaan said as he offered Ezra his Sith Lightsaber, and Ezra simply stared at it as if it was contaminated by a lethal disease.
"I'm beyond redemption, Edaan. I can't change the past, or bring back the ones that I killed." Ezra sadly said before he took the lightsaber, and, with a newfound determination that surged throughout his entire being, said he then said, "But, I can at least try to atone for it."
"That's the Ezra Bridger that we know!" Sabine said with certainty, while Chopper went up to Ezra and shocked him, earning a streak of expletives from the reformed Sith Lord,
Meanwhile, Zeb looked at the display with great amusement before he came up to Ezra, and said, "Hey, Bridger?" Ezra then looked up to his Lasat friend, and the elder warrior then said in a challenging tone, "Let's see if old age hasn't slowed you down."
At those words, Ezra then brightly smiled, and said, "Oh, you're so on, Zeb." With that said, the two friends then ran to where the fighting was the fiercest, leaving Edaan, Butch, and Sabine in hot pursuit of the two old rivals before they got themselves killed for their recklessness.
"Were those two always so competitive?" Edaan nonchalantly asked as he saw the two comrades enter the fray and cut and shoot their way through the One Sith's ranks.
"Oh, you have no idea." Sabine annoyingly said as she recalled the first few weeks of Ezra being a Spectre, and ignited her Darksaber in preparation for rejoining the battle.
Five Minutes Later
0420 Hours
8.67 Hours Until Darth Krayt's Rituals Commence
For all of the crimes and betrayals that Sidirri had dealt K'Kruhk during her time under his charge before she fled and became the sadistic and maniacal Sith Lady known as Darth Sedriss, the Whiphid Jedi Council Member could not bring himself to fully commit his efforts to killing Sedriss, as he still held onto a shred of hope that the woman could still be redeemed.
"Sidirri, I can't imagine the level of pain that you've had to endure all on your own in a galaxy that was ruled by Darth Sidious. It must have scarred you even further than you already were, and I am so sorry that I wasn't there to help you." K'Kruhk sympathetically said to the deranged Sith Lady.
Sedriss then snarled in response, and dementedly said, "The pain that I endured gave me the strength to keep going, and made me see that the galaxy needs a firm and strong hand in order to prevent fools from ruining the natural state of things! And the fact that I get to kill a lot of people, including the weak Jedi Order and all of its allies is a bonus." She then maniacally laughed to K'Kruhk, who could only look on in horror as the truth of the depths that Sidirri had sunk to, and that there was truly no way for him to reach her.
Steeling himself for what would soon occur, K'Kruhk then solemnly said, "Then may the Force show you mercy, for I can show you none after all that you've done to so many people. I will do what I must to stop you and your madness."
Sedriss then viciously smirked as she said, "You will try, Master K'Kruhk, but you will fail miserably, and I will make sure that your last moments will be spent in excruciating agony as we slaughter all of your friends." She then saw Darth Snoke running towards her, and her smirk grew even wider as she said, "Well, it looks like your death will come sooner than we expected, K'Kruhk. Say your prayers to the Force, because you'll soon be One with it soon enough."
K'Kruhk then turned to see what Sedriss was smirking at, and he saw Zeb running a few dozen feet behind Snoke, and he sensed the Light Side emanating from both Snoke and Zeb, which made K'Kruhk smile in relief as he said, "Actually, I think that you're the one who is about to be outnumbered, Sedriss."
"What?" Sedriss said as she turned to face a determined and blue-eyed Ezra Bridger, along with an equally determined Garazeb Orrelios behind him with his bo-rifle in its electrostaff mode, charging right for his position, and she insane Sith Lady then realized that she was now the one at a severe disadvantage, and barely managed to fend off both K'Kruhk and Ezra's lightsabers, and Zeb's electrostaff. As she barely managed to evade the follow-up attacks, she yelled to Ezra, saying, "Why you miserable, karking traitor! What gives, Snoke? Did your friends' mushy garbage get to your head, because I'll be more than happy to remove it from your shoulders if that's the case?"
"Okay, first off, my friends do not speak 'mushy garbage'. Second, Edaan purged the accursed Sith holocron's influence from my mind in order to set me free, and now I'm here in order to atone for my crimes while as Darth Snoke." Ezra ardently said as he clashed with Sedriss, allowing K'Kruhk to come in from behind and sever Sedriss's right arm, which held her lightsaber, which went flying across the cavern.
As Sedriss screamed in agony, she soon found herself on the ground as Zeb grabbed her head and threw her onto the dirt, causing her even more pain. She struggled to get back up, only to find Zeb's bare foot stepping hard on her back, which gave her an even greater amount of excruciating pain.
"Stop, Sedriss. This is over!" K'Kruhk severely said as he came up to Sedriss and prepared to knock her out if she tried to kill herself like See-Chok did.
"It'll be over when I'm dead, you miserable sacs of flesh!" Sedriss venomously said as she charged up her energy for one final attack that no one would see coming.
"Don't make us kill you, Sedriss. I got out of the Dark Side's grip, and you can still too." Ezra implored to the wicked Sith Lady.
Sedriss then cackled in an insane manner, which greatly confused the three Shadow Alliance members, before Edaan, Sabine, and Chopper came into view, and the former said, "Everyone, get away from there!" Upon hearing Edaan's urgent voice, and looking confused at his warning, he then sighed in exasperation and said, "LOOK UP!" Once Edaan said those two words, the two Jedi and their Lasat ally saw the stalagmites above them crack as they were about to fall on top of them.
Ezra, K'Kruhk, and Zeb then tried to get Sedriss, but she discharged lightning from her sole remaining hand, which discouraged them from trying to capture her, and then rapidly fled the area, leaving a cackling Sedriss to her doom as she insanely shouted, "LONG LIVE THE ONE SITH!" She was then impaled by a falling stalagmite, and the life quickly fled from her malevolent being, resulting in an explosion of Dark Side energy that blew the six warriors onto the ground from the force of the shockwave.
After a minute of waiting to see if it was safe to get back up, each of the six warriors then got up to their feet, and K'Kruhk, after taking a moment of silence to mourn for the loss of his former charge, then said to both Ezra and Zeb, "Thank you both for your timely assistance. I doubt that I could have defeated Sedriss so easily without your aid. But, Snoke, if I might ask, why did you choose now to come and assist us?"
"Yeah, you can thank Edaan for that, Master K'Kruhk." Ezra said as he bashfully rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment before he continued, saying, "He transferred a portion of his life essence into my soul in order to purify it from the taint of Sorzus Syn's holocron, and left me determined to atone for my sins."
"Well, I suppose that saving my life is a good start in that direction, old friend." Zeb jokingly said as he playfully shoved Ezra, which made him shove Zeb right back for old time's sake.
"Indeed, Ezra Bridger." K'Kruhk said as he smiled at the restored friendship between both Ezra and Zeb before he continued, saying, "In fact, I think that I would like to, at least for the time being, instate you into the reconstituted Jedi Order as a full-fledged Jedi Knight, effective immediately."
All four warriors' jaws fell agape at K'Kruhk's proposition, but none were more surprised than Ezra, who disbelievingly said, "Forgive me for asking, Master K'Kruhk, but, why would you offer me Knighthood into the Jedi Order after all that I did in the service of the Sith?"
"Because, Ezra, like Edaan here, I believe in redemption and second chances, and we need all of the help that we can get in order to stop Krayt and his rituals. If we survive this war, then we can decide if you've earned a pardon for your sins." K'Kruhk earnestly said.
Unfortunately, before Ezra could reply, he saw a shadow move in the darkness, and, as he ran towards K'Kruhk, he shouted, "LOOK OUT! ABOVE YOU!" He then found a wide slash across his chest, and crumpled to the ground as the life within him began to flee from his body.
"EZRA!" Sabine and Zeb distraughtly shouted as they, as well as a panicking Chopper, ran to their fallen friend, while Edaan and K'Kruhk kept their minds in the here and now and searched for the assassin who wounded Ezra, and found no sight of them.
Once they made sure that they were safe from any imminent danger, the two Jedi Masters quickly made their way to the four Spectres, and, once Edaan saw the extent of Ezra's wounds, sadly said, "I'm so sorry, guys, but Ezra's wounds are too extensive, and there's not enough time to get him to a medic."
"Then you guys have to do your best to heal him, because we are not losing anyone else to the Sith's hands!" Zeb ardently said in denial as he gently held his former bunkmate.
"N-no, Zeb. They have to save their strength for the fight ahead, as Krayt, Wyyrlok, and my killer, Wyyrlok's daughter, Sorzus, are still out there, and if even one of them escapes, they can restart the One Sith, and this war will eventually start up all over again." Ezra said as he fought through the excruciating pain that coursed through his numbing body. "Besides, it's too late for me. All I can do now is await whatever judgment that the Force has in store for me, and hope for the best for the Shadow Alliance and the galaxy." Ezra solemnly said as he felt his life force rapidly bleed out of his body. Then, with the last of his remaining strength, he said, "Sabine. Zeb. Chopper. I don't deserve your forgiveness, so all I ask of you is to tell the galaxy my story, the good and the bad, and let the rest be judged accordingly. The rest… is silence. May the F-Force be with you all, my friends…" With his final words uttered, Ezra allowed his hold over his body to end, and he breathed his last, with a tearful Sabine and Zeb, as well as a sorrowful Edaan, K'Kruhk, and Chopper looking over him.
The five remaining warriors then saw the last thing that anyone expected: Ezra's corpse began to dissipate into nothingness, and, after a handful of seconds, nothing was left behind but his Sith lightsaber and his robes. All of the Shadow Alliance members looked on in shock as they took in what had just transpired, and Sabine looked to Edaan and wondrously asked the Jedi Master, "This is what happened to Ulic Qel-Droma after Hoggon killed him after his redemption by Vima Sunrider, isn't it, Edaan?"
"Yes, Sabine. Almost exactly the same." Edaan said as the shock of what had just happened began to wear off, and he realized that there was still a war to win. He then sympathetically said, "I hate to seem to be the coldly unsympathetically one in this tragic situation, but we have an army of Sith to deal with. We can mourn Ezra's death after we take down Krayt and his remaining followers."
"Yes. You're right, Edaan. We'll have all the time to mourn Ezra's death after we avenge him and eradicate Krayt's demented Sith order." Sabine solemnly said as she gave Edaan Ezra's lightsaber, and said, "I think that you'll need this in order to kill more of those Sith bastards."
"Yeah. Thanks, Sabine." Edaan numbly said as he took the lightsaber, and stood up from where he was sitting in order to prepare to return to the battlefield, with K'Kruhk and Sabine standing up as well while Zeb and Chopper were still in shock over the death of their beloved friend and fellow Spectre.
"Zeb, Chopper? Come on, we have to go, or we won't be able to honor Ezra's last moments." Sabine said in great sympathy towards her old comrade.
"Yeah. I know, Sabine." Zeb said as he let go of Ezra's robes, and shed several heartbroken tears from his eyes in pain and sorrow as he readied his electrostaff. Chopper said nothing as he followed the four other warriors, ready to kill every single Sith who stood in-between him and his vengeance.
Well, that ends the most heartbreaking chapter of my story yet. So, what did you think of this gut-wrenching chapter? Before you say anything, let me explain a few things: Yes, I had Ezra Bridger and Darth Sedriss killed in the same chapter, but I had good reasons for doing so. First off, I wanted to kill off Darth Sedriss in a battle that involved K'Kruhk, as it would be symbolic in a way for reasons that I am sure that you can figure out. Second, I hated Darth Sedriss, as she was a vicious sociopath that deserved death. Third, and finally, Ezra, even if he was redeemed, needed to die, as he couldn't be allowed to reveal Krayt's true identity to K'Kruhk before the Legacy comics. Now then, the action will greatly escalate in the next chapter with the introduction of Krayt's reinforcements. Whether or not all of our heroes survive, that's another thing for you guys to debate about. Well, I guess that that's it for a very short chapter of my story. I can't believe that I wrote this in just three measly days. If only that this chapter was longer. May the Force Be With You, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!