Thanks to DarthEzra, Guest, V, Nerdywriter07, ComparedDread12, Guest and Eznf98 for the feedback!
DarthEzra: Glad you're finally caught up; you've been gone a while. Unfortunately, answering your questions would spoil upcoming chapters, so I'll just tell you to wait and see.
Guest: I think I found a workaround. Turns out if I file this story under MoviesStar WarsCanon, all the characters I want are there. I still can only choose four, so it isn't a perfect system, but it's no longer under crossover. Actually, your advice has caused me to post this story on AO3, so there's that.
V: I have no confirmation that Rex and Ahsoka have a thing, but it certainly seems like there could be. Pity he's now twice her age. Although...in this story...
ComparedDread12: I guess I'm biased on how much I give away in the chapter notes, since I wrote everything, but I do feel as though I hinted towards someone getting possessed. Although (don't tell anyone) my current plan is to use the Revan arc as a stepping stone to something bigger (shhhh!)
Guest: Really? That's actually very interesting. I use LingoJam for Mando'a and Sith. Any similarity to actual languages are beyond my knowledge and are incidental.
Eznf98: The mentions of the Siege of Mandalore Arc are found in little snippets in the previous four chapters. From Chapter 35 onward. I tried not to make it blatent. The biggest one is in Chapter 7. I had to go back and re-edit that one.
Just in case anyone is wondering: This story is focusing solely on Darth Revan. When Revan died, his Light Side was at peace, and his Dark Side stayed behind. That actually happened, it's not something I'm making up for this story. So, Revan here isn't the harbinger of Light he was when he was alive.
Thanks to everyone who is reviewing!
Judge
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"Let me out!" Ezra struggled against the barriers of his own mind. "I didn't want this!"
"You let me in." Ezra whirled to see a reflection of himself, wearing what he now recognised as the mask of Darth Revan. "Everything that happens is on your head."
Ezra shook his head, tears falling unbidden. "I won't let you use me to destroy the Galaxy."
The Mask chuckled. "I'm not here to destroy. I'm here to balance."
Ezra's eyes widened. "What?"
"The Force is out of balance. Surely you have felt this." The Mask gestured, and Ezra watched as the Death Star destroyed Alderaan. Destroyed Mandalore. "Once, there were two Sith, and two Jedi. The Force took away the son of Skywalker, and gave you Cal Kestis." Ezra could almost feel the narrowing of the other's eyes. "But then you destroyed Vader, and brought back Skywalker."
Ezra stared at the reflection, aghast. "You're saying I unbalanced the Force?"
The Mask seemed to nod. "And I am here to correct it."
"You won't." His lightsaber seemed to materialise, and Ezra ignited it. "I won't let you."
"Oh?" The Mask took a step forward. "You seek to keep the Force out of balance? Become an agent of evil?"
Ezra pointed his lightsaber at The Mask. "You are going to destroy me. Destroy my friends. I won't let you."
The Mask chuckled. "What makes you so sure you can defeat me?" He gestured around. "I'm in your head. I know your darkest secrets. I know who you hate, and who you love."
Ezra scowled. "I won't let you consume me."
"As if I would be the first." The Mask pointed to a memory of Ezra's, and he fell to the ground, shutting his eyes against the pain. "Vader nearly destroyed you."
Ezra screamed, the unexpected pain of a lightsaber searing into his face for the second time almost more painful than the first time. So focused on his pain, he was unable to sense the Dark Side surround his counterpart.
The Mask stared at the writhing form of Ezra Bridger. "Pathetic."
. . . . . . . . . .
Anakin grunted as he and Rex were released to the floor, and ran to The Mask, igniting his lightsaber. The other activated Ezra's, and there was a momentary blade lock before Anakin was once again pushed to the wall.
The Mask loomed over him, lightsaber drawn. "I have plans, Skywalker. And you will not stand in the way of them this time."
Anakin's eyes widened. "This time?" An echo of Palpatine's teachings returned. "You're the new embodiment of the Sith."
The Mask nodded. "As you are the Jedi, however unworthy you are."
Rex grabbed his pistol, only to find empty air as they were thrown to the side. "What is your plan!"
The Mask chuckled. "Skywalker lost his wife, and descended further into the Dark." He tilted his head, as if in thought. "Imagine what will happen when Bridger loses his?"
He walked out of the Ghost, and Anakin slid to the ground. "We have to warn Sabine."
Rex nodded, trying his comm. A moment later, he sighed. "Comms are down. We'll have to reach her before he does."
. . . . . . . . . .
"Ezra?"
His head shot up. "Sabine!"
"Where are you!"
Reaching in to the Force, Ezra followed her Signature. In to Echo Base. He watched in horror as Vader threw her against the wall and ignited his lightsaber.
Ezra surged forward, activating his own. "No!"
With a single cry, Sabine slumped to the ground, and Vader disappeared, leaving Ezra alone to cradle her lifeless body.
You could have saved me.
Ezra turned his tear stained face to the Lothal night sky. "I…I tried!"
Why didn't you do more?
"Ezra!"
That voice…he knew that voice… "Kanan?" Glancing down, he was somehow shocked, but not surprised to find Sabine's body had vanished. "Kanan!"
Where's Ezra?
The urgency in Kanan's voice, Ezra believed he knew what this was, and ran towards the sound of his voice.
You mean my apprentice?
Spurred harder, Ezra raced to his Master's side, in time to see Maul slam his lightsaber into Kanan's head. Igniting his own, Ezra tried to attack the Sith but, like Vader, he vanished. Along with Kanan.
Again.
Hey, enough of that. Time to go!
Ezra started, closing his eyes against the memory. He didn't want to relive that night. "No…"
Kanan!
Ezra folded against the wall, trapped in his memories. "Kanan…"
. . . . . . . . . .
Sabine smiled as she saw the form of Ezra enter the Ghost, but it quickly slipped off. Something about Ezra's posture had changed. His gait had become more jerky. And the fact that he was wearing a bucket.
Sabine slowly slid one of her pistols out of their holsters. "Ezra?"
There was a raspy chuckle. "Ezra Bridger isn't here currently."
Sabine stood and tried to fire, but her arm felt like it was frozen. Just…suspended in air, still pointed at The Mask.
The Mask seemed to smile, and Sabine could feel the malicious intent behind it as her arm-still holding her pistol-was slowly raised of it's own accord and pointed at her own head. "Your death will be the last boulder in Bridger's tomb. He will fall to the dark with you gone, and the Force will be balanced."
Sabine's eyes widened as she realised there was no escape this time, and let out a small gasp as The Mask's fingers tightened, and the trigger on her pistol began to move back.
"General! Now!" With a shout, Rex jumped onto Ezra's back and grabbed the mask, throwing it to Anakin, who slashed it in half with his lightsaber. In that same moment, Sabine's arm fell, and a blaster bolt was fired into the floor. Seconds later, Rex was at her side. "You okay?"
Nodding minutely, Sabine regarded Ezra, who was lying unconscious on the floor. "Will he be okay?"
Anakin closed his eyes, connecting to the Force, and grimaced. "I'm not sure. Revan's spirit was brutal in suppressing him." He opened his eyes. "We'll just have to wait and see."
. . . . . . . . . .
"Ezra?"
A touch of his arm drew him out of despair, and Ezra looked up, to see Kanan's worried face. "Master?" He murmured. Then he shook his head. "Just another trick."
"Karabast, Kid." Kanan grabbed his arm and helped him up. "Whatever's going on with you, you have to snap out of it. You're no help to Sabine and the others in this position."
Ezra's eyes narrowed. "And how am I supposed to help them?" He gestured around to the dark space. "Revan's in control of my mind. I can't fight him!"
"Ezra." Kanan smiled. "In the heart of a Jedi lies his strength. Maybe you can't defeat Revan alone, but you have allies in the Force."
Ezra pondered this, then nodded. "So, how do you propose I get out of here?"
Kanan's smile dimmed. "To escape, you have to go through your darkest memory."
Ezra looked down at the ground. He had a fairly good idea what Kanan was asking him to do. "I-I don't want to."
"What is your darkest memory, Ezra?"
Ezra knew instantly which memory that was. Anxiously, he looked for Kanan. "You'll be here with me?"
Kanan nodded. "Every step." He affirmed.
Taking a deep breath, Ezra closed his eyes. "Then let's go."
. . . . . . . . . .
Sabine watched the comatose form of Ezra as he lay on one of the cloning tables inside the base on Kamino. It was the best location for him at the moment. Then she looked up at Anakin. "How did this happen?"
He glanced down at the two halves of Revan's helmet. "Something called Ezra. He took control of the Ghost, and started speaking Sith."
Sabine narrowed her eyes. "And, even after all that, the idea didn't occur to you that you were making a mistake?"
Anakin sighed. "We needed an edge." He said quietly. "Or else we're going to lose this war."
She let out a bitter laugh. "And now we're down a valuable member. And definitely going to lose the war." Sabine stood, and Anakin could hear her pistol cock. "I knew you hadn't changed."
He took a wary step backward, hand on his lightsaber. "Sabine, I'm not your enemy!"
She raised her pistol. "I warned you," she hissed, "that if you made one mistake, I would end you."
Anakin activated his lightsaber and raised it in a defensive position. "Sabine, retrieving Revan's Mask wasn't the only reason we went on that mission."
Her pistol lowered ever so slightly. "What was the other reason?"
Anakin used the Force to call something out of one of the bags on the Ghost. He offered it to Sabine. "This."
A moment later, it was sent sailing out of his hand, and Anakin ducked underneath a blaster bolt. "You brought us a Sith Holocron?" Sabine fired again, and Anakin deflected it into the sky. "You have no idea what that thing did to Ezra last time!"
Anakin's eyes widened. "Ezra kept that Holocron from Malachor?"
Sabine nodded, tears threatening to break. She hated thinking of those six months. "Kanan could sense its presence, I think. That's why he didn't do anything after Maul blinded him."
Anakin nodded, taking it all in. He knew Imperial sightings of Kanan had reported him with a mask on, the same mask Ezra had worn, but he hadn't known the cause of the blindness, or that Maul had escaped the 332nd Company after Ahsoka captured him. "What about Ezra?"
Now a tear did slide down her face. "He was using it." She whispered, pistol falling lower. "Because he believed he was alone. That we blamed him for Kanan's blindness." She closed her eyes. "He was so afraid that Kanan would yell at him, they hardly ever saw each other for months."
I can't take another step.
Ezra's admission after Alderaan hit her, and she nodded to herself. "The Sith Holocron told him that he had to cut the people he loved out of his life, in order to protect them."
Anakin deactivated his lightsaber and returned it to his belt. "Did he listen?"
Sabine nodded. "He tried. Pushed Command to give him more missions, avoided us during meals, got briefings ahead of time so he could skip group briefings. All of that was because of the Holocron. Because of the Dark Side." She narrowed her eyes at Anakin. "And you say the Dark Side is necessary for balance?"
He sighed. "It's…complicated. Balance doesn't mean using only the Light. The Jedi used only the Light, and the Sith only the Dark. That's why there is always conflict between them."
Sabine turned back to Ezra, holstering her pistol. "Find out how to fix Ezra."
Anakin used the Force to grab the Sith Holocron and nodded. "I will."
. . . . . . . . . .
"Ezra." Kanan could probably sense the turmoil in him as he mentally paced. "What is your plan?"
He sighed. "You said that, in order to free myself, I have to journey through my darkest memory." He watched as Kanan nodded. "That means going back to a very bad day."
Kanan gave a small smile. "Most people's darkest memories are their worst days. Which memory are we going to?"
Ezra closed his eyes, lowering his head. Then he turned to Kanan. "The night Luke died."
. . . . . . . . . .
Chapter Notes!
I). For some reason, I have this idea in my head that Force Possession is the one who got possessed relieving their darkest memories, and the Sith twisting their mind with visions to keep them unaware of the horrible acts that are happening, thus preventing them from fighting back. I don't know how canonically Possession works, so I'm operating on my own.
II). If anyone's assuming Anakin and Sabine are okay now, you're wrong. I have at least one lightsaber fight planned.
III). In that same vein, Revan's arc isn't over either. That may be spoilers, but I'd rather not get upset readers who were so excited to read about him yell at me for this chapter.
IV). I wish I could say that when I killed Luke and Han and didn't show it, I had this planned. But, I didn't. I'm without a cohesive plan, all I have is an ending that is getting pushed back more and more.
V). If anyone wants to talk Star Wars, I'm found on PlayStation under Judge-1964. Because FF's messaging system is glitchy, and I don't get e-mail's about PM's
Thanks for reading!
Judge