Disclaimer: I own nothing. Least of all this.
"Some say the Devil is dead,
The Devil is dead, the Devil is dead;
Some say the Devil is dead
And buried in Killarney!
More would say he rose again,
More would say he rose again;
More would say he rose again
And joined the British Army!"
- The Wolf Tonnes
1) THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIE
"The Jedi preach non-attachment with a self-righteous ferocity, my young Apprentice. They delude themselves into believing that the only way to truly hear the will of the Force is to cut oneself off from all other 'distractions'. Of course, in the doing, they by proxy cut themselves off from the Force itself; for the Force is in all things. And so, when they have at last attained their absurd goal, and strain to catch the whispers of the Force's will, they will hear naught but that which surrounds them: which is to say, nothing. It is this nothing that the Jedi seek, for to them, it is peace, and an indication that all is proceeding in the galaxy perfectly according to the will of the Force; no matter how horrible. The ultimate form of self-delusion: the sweetness at the bottom of the lie.
A poison may be among the sweetest things in the galaxy, my Apprentice; yet it is a poison still."
- Darth Tyranus to Asajj Ventress
"The power to destroy life is now in your hands."
The voice might as well have been a droid for all the emotion it held. In fact, the words were said so coldly, and so clinically, that Ezra couldn't help but shiver under the weight of their freezing indifference.
And then the words themselves sank in, and his shiver became a gasp of horror.
Kanan had been right. Maul had tricked him; tricked all of them. And now it was too late to do anything about it.
"No…" he breathed, "No; No, stop! I don't want it! Turn it off!"
He rushed forward to yank the holocron from its place, only to be hurled back by a wave of energy.
The voice rang out again. "Only a master and a student together may end this."
Master! He had to get to Kanan; had to get him and bring him…
A searing pain shot through his head; his vision went white, and then black. And somewhere in the back of his mind, the small part of him that was connected to Kanan was screaming.
Because Kanan was screaming too.
Maul.
Maul was killing his master.
And now there was no way to stop what was coming in time.
"Only a master and a student together may end this." the voice repeated.
"I KNOW!" he screamed (he shouldn't have. His head still hurt.) "I heard you the first time, OKAY! But my master is dying! I've got to stop this alone, do you understand?!"
The voice shifted to a masculine tone, with a touch of derision in it. "One is never alone, so long as you have the Force."
"But the Force is not MY MASTER!"
The voice said nothing. Fear that he'd said the wrong thing began to crush down, and was just beginning to considering begging for forgiveness when:
"Well spoken, young Jedi. The Force is not your master." A blue figure flickered into being between Ezra and the holocron. "But I could be."
The figure was tall; imposing. Hooded and cloaked, with a T-slit helmet that reminded Ezra of Sabine's. Two lightsabers hung at his belt, both clearly battle-worn. The chill of the previous voice's indifference was nothing compared to the cold blanketing the area now.
"A Sith master?" Ezra finally managed to croak out. "Don't think Kanan would take too kindly to that. 'Fraid I'll have to pass."
The Sith (if it was a Sith) did something then Ezra could never have seen coming in a million years: he laughed. "Always a pleasure to meet a kid with spunk. So, Kanan; that'd be your Jedi minder, then?"
"He's...he's my master."
"Yeah, I figured that; but is he your minder?"
Confusion. "...What?"
"Does he mind you? Mind what you say, mind what you do, and learn from it just as much as you learn from him?"
"...Yeah, I guess…"
"Boom, there you are. And since this Kanan seems like a fairly tolerable guy, I'll throw in saving him for free as well as shutting off this here Temple."
"Provided I become your...Apprentice."
"That's about the size of it."
"...Can you save him?"
"Don't know yet. But I'll certainly give it my darndest try."
Ezra wanted to say yes. He wanted to say yes with every fiber of his being. He just needed to know one more thing. "Show me your face."
For a moment, he was afraid he'd pushed too far. But then the figure reached up, and with a twist, removed the helmet.
The man's face was angular; angular and harsh. Long dark hair flowed down the back of his head, in much the same way Kanan's did whenever he let it down. Old eyes stared back into his; brown, with hundreds of regrets swimming in their depths.
Not the eyes of every out-of-control Dark-Side user he'd ever met.
"Satisfied?"
"...For now. Mind if I ask the name of my new teacher?"
"Not at all, brother. Name's Revan. You?"
"Ezra. Ezra Bridger. And you've got yourself a deal."
He reached out his hand; the man took it. And was it his imagination, or was there something solid beneath that pale blue light?
The hologram vanished; and with it, a hum Ezra hadn't even noticed until it was gone. Gingerly, he slid his fingers ever closer to the holocron. A sigh of relief when the energy from before failed to reappear. He slid the eerie object free, and then into his tunic. Now, back the way he came. Back to save his…
His train of thought ground to a shrieking halt as his mind fought against the image it was confronted with. An Imperial TIE Fighter, somehow suspended mid-air without a pilot. He looked up...and found the answer to his unasked question.
Atop the ship stood Darth Vader.
"Well," came the muffled voice of Revan, "This was bound to happen sooner or later. Sorry brother; wouldn't normally do this, but like the man said, time's a wastin."
A massive wave of ice rose in the back of Ezra's mind, and then crashed down, sweeping everything else away. He had just enough time to wonder how bad of a mistake he'd made before the glacier engulfed him and everything else faded to black.
Ahsoka had felt the moment two new presences flared into being: both Dark beyond anything she'd ever felt before. One was the burning rage she was familiar with from the likes of Ventress, only ramped up to unimaginable levels. The other...the other was like the cold, forbidding ice mountains of Illum. Not a trace of emotion to be found within; only calculating indifference.
And they were both standing practically on top of Ezra.
Apparently, Kanan had felt them too. "Ezra…"
And then the man was gone, abandoning her to face Maul alone.
"Such a shame," Maul sighed. "I was so hoping to continue our conversation."
"Shut up." Ahsoka spat.
"Now now, Lady Tano; such behaviour is unbecoming of a Jedi."
"I'm no Jedi." she stated firmly. "But fortunately for you, I have more pressing concerns."
"Ah yes; the arrivals. I must admit, I was not expecting a pair of them. I had heard rumors of Vader's apprentice; perhaps the man was wise enough to realize it requires two to operate this weapon."
A sudden stab of fear that she immediately brought under control. "...Weapon?" she asked, as calmly as she could.
"Indeed." Maul purred. "A relic of the ancient Republic; a trap set by the Sith for both of their greatest enemies at the time. A trap I had intended to spring upon Vader; but it appears my choice to attack your companion has now left us both at a disadvantage. I cannot face both Vader and his apprentice; and you will not trust me again."
"I trust you." she said. "I trust you to do whatever you think is necessary to retake your place at your Master's side; up to and including killing his attack dog."
"You think I intend to rejoin Sidious?" Maul asked incredulously. "No; I intend to see him destroyed. I had intended to start at the bottom and work my way up, so to speak; but if Vader has an apprentice, perhaps he is not as loyal to Sidious as I imagined. And small wonder. I think my work here is done, Lady Tano. Either Vader and his pet will win this fight, or Jarrus and young Ezra. If you wish to sway the outcome, I suggest you hurry."
Damn but he was right. Ahsoka deactivated her lightsabers and hurried after Kanan. Blind, he would be no help to Ezra. He'd barely been able to hold his own against Maul, even with her help. If Vader and his...companion were as strong as they felt, he'd stand no chance at all.
Maul's crazed laughter echoed behind her as she sped towards the fight.
Darth Vader was not often surprised.
Some of that had to do with the Force, naturally. A certain level of prescience was to be expected there. But mostly it was because Anakin Skywalker had thrown himself recklessly into the nearest danger without bothering to learn all the pertinent facts. A tendency that had gotten him killed. Darth Vader was not Anakin Skywalker.
So, when the source of the Temple's activation turned out to be a mere boy, a boy he knew for a fact had been a mere candle in the Light Side at their last meeting but was now practically drowning in the sub-zero temperatures of the true power of the Dark Side, Darth Vader may have been slightly...perturbed. But on another level, the boy's age mattered not a whit. He had known the power here could only be wielded by the exceptionally strong. That said strength belonged to a mere child was not unheard of; and perhaps the Force had led him here for that very reason. Starkiller had proven a disappointment; maybe this new Dark power would prove more useful.
"The Force is with you, young one;" he thundered down at the boy, "But you are not a Jedi yet."
The boy grinned. For a moment, Vader was suddenly looking down at the hungry jaws of a nexu, smiling in anticipation; then the moment was gone.
"On that we can agree." laughed the child.
Vader frowned behind his mask. Such nonchalance should have at the very least piqued his anger; instead, it felt as if he were a mere distraction for some unfathomable monster swimming below. "There is a place for someone of your ability with the Empire; join me, and I will see you learn the control necessary to harness your newfound power."
"Newfound? Hardly, brother. As for your oh so generous offer…'fraid I've already made a teensy promise to the opposition. Have to pass."
The rage was building now; patience had never been Vader's strong suit. "It would be wise for you to reconsider."
"Probably." the boy shrugged. "But I've never been one for the wise option. Best get outta my way now, brother; you're way outta your league here."
Vader scoffed and ignited his lightsaber. "I am unafraid of a mere boy."
A blue saber snapped to life in the boy's hand. "Then you will die braver than most. Dark and sinister man...have at thee."
Vader gathered the Force to his will...and jumped.
One advantage to cybernetic limbs: they allowed him to push his body beyond normal physical limits while preserving his strength in the Force for true combat. He fully expected the boy to falter beneath the weight of his blows; Djem So was a punishing Form to face at the best of times, much less when mixed with the aggression typical of Juyo. So when the boy struck back with blows as powerful as Vader's own…
Darth Vader was very, very surprised.
The boy was doing something extremely unusual: he was counterattacking using the Sixth Form, Niman. It was a Form designed to give oneself the time to study one's opponent and decide how best to undermine their strengths. Practically no one ever relied on the Form itself for defense; and to attack effectively with it was all but unheard of. The last Master of the Form, Depa Billaba, had perished long ago. Which was why Vader had never bothered to train against it.
He was severely regretting that decision now.
Niman had no obvious weaknesses; but neither did it have any true strengths. Except, ironically enough, the one way to truly match Vader's cybernetic prowess: Force-enhanced physical exertion. All other Forms (save the Second) relied on the Force intrinsically to gain an advantage: Niman could theoretically be taught to a non-Force sensitive. But if one had the Force, one also had a multitude of ways to begin prodding the enemy's defenses.
Vader could only be grateful for the lack of debris: Niman users were all too capable of fighting while directing a barrage of Force-accelerated ammunition. He opted to fall back into true Djem So; the counter-attack Form. If his opponent wished to study him, he would take the opportunity to do the same.
"Hmm," the boy's brow furrowed behind his flowing blade. "Thought you'd be easier than this."
"You will find," Vader growled from behind his mask, "that I am full of surprises."
Vader angled his next deflection to be successful with the application of a single hand; the other reached out through the Force...and squeezed.
The boy's eyes widened as he felt the grip on his throat...and that was all Vader saw before Force lightning filled his vision.
He was forced to abandon his attack in favor of deflecting the strike. Even with both hands on his hilt, his boots began to scrape along the stone floor as he was pushed back. Then, abruptly as it had come, the lightning vanished.
"Huh," said the boy as he reignited his lightsaber. "Guess you are full of surprises, brother. Time for a few of my own, then."
When the attack came, it was in the Form of dirty Makashi: the Second Form. But the Second Form as Count Dooku himself would have despaired to see. Precise strikes from the boy's hands, feet, knees, and elbows came as fast as ones from his lightsaber.
"Learned this fighting cyber-pirates with Force pikes," the boy grunted mid-kick, "Never thought I'd get the chance to use it elsewhere."
Vader's blade came up and caught the boy's in a lock; once he was secure in his position, he reached out and caught the flying fist headed for his throat. "And now, you shall never have the chance to use it again."
The boy just grinned once again. "Let's agree to disagree."
Vader stumbled as the boy's blade retracted; it was that stumble that saved his life. How could he not have noticed: the boy's lightsaber doubled as a blaster.
His respirator was now sparking heavily, and the boy had taken the opportunity to rotate his once again active blade and sever Vader's left hand just below the wrist. Vader could only stare cluelessly at the miniature demon standing before him. "...Who are you?"
"No one of consequence."
"I must know."
"Get used to disappointment."
And now that blue blade was crashing down on his in ferocious Juyo the likes of which even his Master would be hard pressed to match. The duel was over from that very moment; all Vader could do was prolong the inevitable.
Kanan felt it the minute one of the Dark presences attacked the other. So, there was infighting among the Sith. Typical. For some reason, Ezra's Force signature seemed to be moving in sync with the Cold One; the one that had attacked first. Perhaps Ezra had felt they were the more reasonable of the two and decided to help?
He snorted at that. A Sith, being reasonable. Sure. When Mustafar froze over. Still, Ezra must've thrown in with them for a reason. Perhaps one wished to open the holocron, and one wished to destroy it. But which one would Ezra have chosen?
Probably the one in favor of opening.
He put on an extra burst of speed.
A flash of pain came from Vader (he'd identified the other Dark presence now); the other Sith had somehow managed to hurt that monster. Good; Sith hurting each other was always a good thing. So, Vader must be the one against opening the holocron. Kanan never thought he'd say this, but the Sith had the right idea: messing with Dark artifacts never ended well.
He might not have been able to see when he came around the corner, but he could certainly feel it. The Dark was battering everything here; if there'd been debris, he had no doubt it'd been cleared out early into the fight. The storm of Force around the three (two?) fighting presences would never have let it stay without grabbing it for ammunition.
Ezra was...doing nothing. Well, not nothing. He was moving; and moving aggressively. Ezra's lightsaber was certainly battering against Vader's: he could hear the familiar sizzle. But Ezra's signature itself was strangely...aloof. As if watching from above.
And another odd thing; the Cold One appeared to be battling without a lightsaber. At least, he could only hear two blades clashing: Vader's and Ezra's. Had the other Sith not brought one? Were they the Master, and thus considered their apprentice so far beneath them it was unneeded? Or was the Sith merely assisting Ezra through Battle Meditation, dampening Vader's Dark power to protect the kid?
It was only when he noticed what should've been there to notice and wasn't that he finally put it together:
The holocron's signature was gone.
Somehow, Ezra had opened the kriffing thing. And whatever had been inside it was now inside Ezra.
His horror froze him in place as the battle continued. He couldn't attack his padawan; not even with that, that thing inside him. But he couldn't help Ezra either; this...this was beyond his ability to fix. The holocron must've latched onto Ezra as its only chance of surviving Vader's destructive intent; but the question remained why? Why had Ezra allowed it? Why had his apprentice…
Oh.
Right.
He'd been blinded.
Ezra had felt it; probably keenly. And he had no doubt the kid would've done anything to tear his way through Vader to get to his master. Especially if, as Ezra probably feared, Kanan was unable to help Ahsoka against Maul.
This. This was why the Jedi preached non-attachment. And now, because he had failed as a teacher, Ezra had allied with the Dark.
There was nothing he could do but stand there.
Ahsoka saw the moment when not-Ezra's blade connected with Vader's mask. Kanan had apparently already put things together; why else would he be standing by, despair practically pouring out of him. No matter; they'd deal with the holocron later. For now, Vader was the prior…
No.
No, it couldn't be.
It was impossible.
Yet it was there.
Anakin Skywalker's eye stared out at her from the mask of Darth Vader.
The gold burning in its' center flared up in recognition, and then faded away as remorse clouded the Force between them.
"Snips…"
Not-Ezra's blade flashed out, severing her Master's one remaining hand. A layered voice rumbled from Not-Ezra's throat. "So passeth a worthy opponent. May the Force be with you."
She leapt forward. "NOOOOOOO!"
It was too late.
A beam of blue light sliced cleanly through a black armored-throat.
There was a beat of silence…
And then the Force itself seemed to sigh in relief as the body of her Master crumpled to the ground.
Not-Ezra calmly deactivated his lightsaber, clipped it on his belt, and turned to face them. "Well I'll be. Looks like you did just fine on your own. Kid was worried for nothing. Oh, and you may want to carry the kid outta here before the Temple collapses. Gonna be awhile before he wakes up."
Kanan started. "What do you mean, wakes…"
The cold presence was suddenly gone, retreating back into the holocron. Ezra swayed a moment in a nonexistent breeze...and then promptly passed out on the floor.
"...Up."
Darth Vader was dead.
Maul had felt it, even as far away from the planet as he'd already gotten. Of course, Skywalker was never going to be the sort to go quietly. He only hoped Tano had learned the truth of Vader's identity before the man fell. It would have been the icing on the uj, so to speak.
The apprentice, whoever they were, had lived. They had disappeared from the Force the moment the battle was won, but Maul was well aware of what shielding felt like on the other end. Perhaps they were now working together with Tano and her band; perhaps not. The matter was irrelevant. His main goal in coming to Malachor had been achieved; now it was on to the next.
The Jedi holocron he'd stolen from the Rebels' ship glowed brightly in the dark of the TIE Fighter's cockpit. It was a small affair, and simple in construction, but he would've been able to recognize its' creator from the quality alone.
Kenobi had always been a perfectionist.
With enough meditation, Maul trusted the Force and the holocron together would reveal Kenobi's location. And when they finally met again, Maul would extend the Jedi the same offer he had once made Tano:
Join him, and kill the Emperor.
And Kenobi would agree.
After all, what else could the Jedi possibly want more than that?
Darth Vader was dead.
Alone in his hut on Tatooine, Obi-Wan Kenobi had felt his former Apprentice's passing. It seemed Vader had finally met his match.
Obi-Wan would never have to face him again.
Still, it would not do to dwell on the matter. The Emperor was still alive; and if anything, he would now be searching even harder for a new tool to use against the galaxy. Luke's training would perhaps have to begin slightly earlier than he had anticipated; but other than that, things would continue much as they had.
Provided the Force willed it, of course.
Darth Vader was dead.
The Emperor poked and prodded along the trail his Apprentice had left in the Force, searching for the mistake that had led to Vader's demise far afield.
He found nothing.
And he hated it.
A replacement would have to be selected. Several Acolytes, Inquisitors and Hands were strong enough to fulfill the role (for the time being); he could focus on finding a true successor much later. More importantly, the balance of the Imperial war machine had just shifted dramatically. Without Vader to oppose him, Tarkin would become much more difficult to control.
Thrawn and Krennic would perhaps have to be raised to match him; but not too highly. It wouldn't do for his underlings to begin getting ideas.
Perhaps Endor might suffice...and a reassignment of the 501st...yes...yes, that could work.
And with that, the Emperor put all thoughts of Darth Vader from his mind for what he thought would be the last time.