I know I know! It's very confusing! Now there are two Ahsokas and two Ezras existing in the same timeline! In order to avoid any confusion, from now on, original timeline Ahsoka and Ezra will be referred as Fulcrum and Older-Ezra respectively until further notice. Sorry about that! :P
And... Hint hint. Ezra has fangirls.
Ezra glanced up in fear at the Jedi, who crowded around him. This wasn't what he signed up for.
But he should have known that this could happen when he jumped into that green portal.
He was leisurely strolling down the corridors after his duty in the archives, when he spotted Temple Guards with ignited yellow lightsabers sprinting down the hallways. He asked the nearest Temple Guard about the situation, and he told him that prisoner Ben Solo had escaped from his room. Once the Guard ran away to continue on his chase, Ezra decided to find his Master.
He spotted Ahsoka dragging a reluctant Anakin while he walked past the Council Chambers.
' That is weird,' He said to himself. ' What's going on?' So he decided to follow them. He peeked from behind a pillar, and to his surprise, Ahsoka and Anakin literally vanished after walking through a second corridor.
Something fishy was definitely going on.
He hurried to the area where he last saw them, and examined the place. He cautiously experimented by walking through it. Immediately, once he passed through the entrance of the corridor, a large swirling green portal appeared in front of him. He was sure he saw Ahsoka jumping through it.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes. It was still there. He pinched his cheek even, but yet, the portal still existed. He wasn't hallucinating.
Huh.
Without thinking of any possible consequences, he jumped through after Ahsoka.
Currently, he wasn't entirely sure whether he regretted following Ahsoka, because all of them peered at him as if he was some kind of exotic animal that had appeared out of the blue (well he did appear out of the blue). Oh, and there was Kylo, sprawled on the floor and out cold.
' Well,' The old man who kind of looked like Luke was the first to speak. ' This was unexpected. But it's good to see you, Ezra.'
His Master coughed loudly, ' I didn't expect you to come after me, my young Padawan.'
They made Ezra sit on a chair, in case he collapsed after hearing about the entire story from Ghost-Anakin. Fulcrum and Kanan started dragging Kylo into a more comfortable position, in case he suddenly woke up.
' So...' He said with much difficulty, and gestured to the unconscious body of Kylo. ' This... Kylo and Ben's bodies have been switched.'
' Mm-hm,' Ghost-Anakin nodded encouragingly.
' It wasn't Ben Solo I have been talking to and working with all these time... It was Kylo Ren,' He said to himself. They could literally see the cogs working furiously inside his head. Then, he sighed deeply in relief, ' Thank the Force. I knew that Ben wouldn't be like that. I was so worried when rumours of him Turning started to circulate the Temple. '
Luke said, ' Now, Ezra, you could choose to leave if you want to. I know you didn't really sign up for this.'
' Nah,' He shook his head. ' I'd be willing to stay here and help. Besides, I don't want to face any enquiries when I get back. Obi-wan the Negotiator should be able to hold back the Masters by himself.'
' Excellent, we really appreciate it,' Fulcrum said.
At the same time, Caleb started nudging Kylo, ' Oi, when is he going to wake up? He has been sleeping for a long time like the Sleeping Rancor.'
' Uh, I'm 99.9% sure it's the Sleeping Beauty,' Anakin said.
' I'm 100% sure it's the Sleeping Rancor,' Caleb insisted.
' Listen here kiddo, I've been listening to tales from space pilots at cantinas since I was a kid, and the Sleeping Beauty was one of them.'
' The Sleeping Rancor!'
' Fine!' Anakin growled in frustration, not wanting to argue with him.
Luke said, ' Uh, he's just in shock, he'll be fine. Kanan, would you mind looking after Kylo? Give me a call when he wakes up. I'll need to talk to Leia about what to do with all of you. For now... It's about dinnertime, I guess. You could get ready and go down to the mess hall in ten minutes. I'll have one of the cooks deliver Kanan's meal up here, but I won't be joining you guys for dinner..'
' But... How do you explain the sudden appearance of so many Jedi?' Ghost-Anakin asked.
' Yeah, good question,' Older-Ezra said.
' Just say they were former Padawans in your Order,' Fulcrum instructed. ' They have been in hiding since the Yavin Temple was destroyed, and we have recently found them in hiding on some backwater planet.'
' Good idea, Ahsoka,' Luke said. ' I'll tell Leia to relay this message to the Resistance officials.'
He glanced awkwardly around the room, ' So... I'll get going then.'
Apparently Leia had announced over the intercom that they would be joined by a group of Jedi. So by the time they got down to the mess hall, almost all the members in the Resistance knew of their arrival. They jostled at each other and crowded around them, so that they could get a good look at the group of Jedi.
But Leia had also decided that Rey, Finn and Poe needed to know of the truth, so she summoned them to her quarters immediately after Luke had left, and briefed them on the situation. Poe immediately took it upon himself to protect the Jedi wherever they went, and started shooing the nosy people.
With much difficulty, the navigated through the mob of people, and found empty tables to sit at. Ezra and Older-Ezra sat together, while the rest sat in one big bunch.
Poe passed out bowls of hot soup and plates of food. While Finn watched them eat, he said anxiously, ' Look, I'm really worried about Ben. Please do save him before the First Order does anything to him.'
' Yeah,' Rey clasped her hands together. ' Besides that... I heard Kylo Ren is-'
' Shhh!' Poe said sharply.
She grimaced and dropped her voice to a whisper, ' Sorry. I heard Kylo Ren is here, right?'
' Yeah,' Caleb whispered back. ' He had been unconscious for a long time, but he'll be fine. Kanan is looking after him.'
The Jedi Masters that came from the other timeline still couldn't believe the cute little girl that tottered around the Temple was a beautiful, grown lady in this time.
' Soooooo,' Ezra said. ' S'up?'
Older-Ezra glanced at him, ' Huh?'
' What's up? How's life?' Ezra asked.
' Fine, I guess,' Older-Ezra chased the food on his plate with a fork. ' How about-'
There were rudely interrupted by loud giggling. Yes. Very annoying giggling. Female pilots and technicians kept throwing coquettish looks across the room at Ezra. They started giggling and talking in high-pitched voices.
Rey observed Ezra. Well, she had been living on a sand planet with ugly scavengers for half of her life, but she knew that Ezra was handsome, or according to other girls, hot. She had a lot of trouble communicating with girls here, because they always conversed in this strange giggly language (Finn dubbed it 'Girlish'). Probably Jessika was the most normal out of them all.
Ezra resembled Older-Ezra in many ways, except he was younger and yes, he didn't keep a beard. Also, he kept his dark hair long and tied all of that back in a high ponytail, like how Kanan used to.
' Oh man,' Ezra face-palmed.
' Look here, Blueberry's got fangirls,' Caleb snickered. ' Blueberry fans everywhere!'
' Whaaaat,' Older-Ezra panicked.
Ahsoka laughed, ' Oh yes! The Holonet reporters dub Ezra as one of the hottest in the Jedi Order.'
Ezra looked as if he was about to faint, and Older-Ezra was so mortified. He wanted to dig a hole in the wall and just hide there for the rest of his life.
' We should stop teasing him,' Fulcrum smiled. ' We shouldn't make him any more uncomfortable.'
' Yeah we should,' Caleb stifled a grin, but he still looked rather gleeful.
It took every muscle and all the willpower in Ezra's body to stop himself from slamming his head onto the table. The situation really was frustrating.
The Holonet gave everyone very respectful and honourable titles.
Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear.
Obi-wan Kenobi, the Negotiator.
Caleb Dume, the Delightful Master (well, it's honourable, according to Caleb).
Ahsoka Tano, the Youngest Knight.
Luke Skywalker, the New Hope.
Leia Skywalker, the Warrior.
Everyone got nice titles. But what did he get? The Hottest Jedi. Yes. Life is unfair. It has always been unfair. Worst of all, he had fangirls. And they proudly called themselves the Blueberry Fans. Anakin sometimes complain that he was stealing away his fan base, as if the entire thing wasn't embarrassing enough. Hera, Zeb, Sabine and even pesky Chopper teased him endlessly about it.
Fortunately, the clones were there to rescue him from his bubble of embarrassment and humiliation.
' Hiya, we heard of your arrival,' Rex winked, carrying a tray of food.
' Oh hey Rex,' Anakin said. ' I hope you are doing well?'
' Yes I am,' Rex squared his shoulders. ' Can't be any better.'
Ahsoka was staring at Rex's snowy white beard with mixed awe and surprise.
' Hey there... Er, Commander Tano...' Cody nodded awkwardly at the two Togrutas. ' And... Commander Tano.'
' Hey Cody,' Fulcrum said brightly. ' Hey Wolffe! Hey Kix! Hey Dogma! Hey Fox-'
' Are you going to greet them one by one?' Older-Ezra groaned.
' Yeah. Why not? I have to greet all of my friends! Hey Bly! Hey Gregor!'
' Hey, Commander,' Gregor answered brightly.
Rex bent down, and his gravelly voice dropped to a low whisper, ' General, I just want to let you know that we are really worried about Ben. Please do your best to rescue him.'
' Of course I would!' Anakin exclaimed. ' He's my grandson.'
' I know, Sir,' Cody nodded. ' We wish we could help.'
' Leia will be planning on how to get him out,' Fulcrum said. ' I'll ask if she can put you guys into her plan as well.'
' Thank you Sir,' Wolffe said brightly. ' We'll get going then. We have to finish our dinner quickly and go to have a meeting with Lieutenant Draya.' They bowed slightly, and left to find a table.
' I wonder what is Older-me doing right now,' Caleb said thoughtfully. ' Kylo should have woken up from his slumber by now.'
' Let's find out when we finish our dinner,' Ahsoka emptied her bowl.
There was a green and golden bird in his vision.
It was hovering delicately right in front of him, hooting softly to catch his attention. Instinctively, Kylo held out his arm and let the bird rest on it. The bird ruffled its feathers, and at the same time, more mint green light engulfed him.
He gasped and sat up abruptly. The light and the bird were gone, and he was lying on a bed in a gloomy room. He squinted, and assessed the environment around him. In the dim light, he spotted someone sitting at a table. The person was eating, with a bored expression though, and with his arms propped onto the table.
Hmm. He looked like Caleb. Only his face sported faint battle scars, and he had this very prominent looking beard.
He coughed loudly to get the man's attention.
The man immediately tossed away his fork, and hurried over to check on him, ' Oh hey, you're awake? You have been unconscious for so long. Man, I was planning to send you to the healers' after I finish my meal. How are you feeling? You know what's going on, right?'
Kylo was slightly overwhelmed by the flurry of questions, and he just blinked at the man as response.
' Right,' The man tapped on his forehead. ' I almost forgot. My name is Kanan Jarrus, formerly known as Caleb Dume. You may or may not remember me from your childhood, but I am, well, used to be part of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order.'
' I do, yes,' Kylo said quietly.
Kanan paused for a moment, before saying, ' I know, it's a sore subject. Are you hungry? Do I need to send for any food from the kitchens?' Kylo shook his head.
' No? In that case, I had better call up Luke,' Kanan brushed up his sleeve to reveal his wrist com.
' Do I have to see my Uncle?' Kylo said, terrified at the very thought. Even though he was starting to embrace the Light Side again, he still wasn't ready to see his Uncle again. His Uncle must be extremely furious and disappointed at him for destroying everything he had worked so hard on creating.
' You have to,' Kanan said. ' Leia wants to see you as well.'
' Oh, no,' He groaned. He knew his mother went at great lengths to get him back to the Light. But he knew even motherly love had its limits. He had no idea whether his mother would be that forgiving and loving after he had brutally murdered his father in front of Rey, Finn and Chewbacca. Oh, he also hated to know what would happen to him if Chewbacca saw him. Strangled to death, perhaps.
' They want to see you,' Kanan said again, gently. ' You'll be fine. I promise.'
He nodded jerkily, and allowed Kanan to comm Luke.
Thanks for reading, lol. XD Ezra has fans...
I've been binge-watching Korean drama these few days, thanks to my classmates (*cough*) for influencing me. I'm slightly emotionally drained from the 'angsty' open-endings (especially in the drama 'Scarlet Heart Ryeo'), but I keep telling myself that I am fine and the ending is not the worst, since the ending of Twilight of the Apprentice totally left me drained and depressed for months, and I was sitting there, pondering over the meaning of life when the SWR logo finally popped up at the end. XD This explains why I recovered in a few days, while my friends were still crying buckets of tears and getting the feeeeeels. :DDDDD
So excited for the new SWR episode! Whoohoo!
