Chapter 33
A/N. Me: uhhh, I have to update meeting myself! I haven't done it in sooo long! I need to do it before the fanfic nerds riot! They WILL find you!
Sooooo many less spelling mistakes in this one!
….
As soon as Kanan steped through the threshold of the door, it immediately proved Sabine's handy work insufficient as the doors closed behind him as he entered. Now it was just him, and his padawan. Padawans? No. That was one mistake he would not make again. Even without the force. He would find Ezra.
Both were on the ground half lucid. Blood encircled both of them, every burn mark, every bruise. Identical. But there was one different, one unmistakable difference that he would not look past and be blind sighted by again. Personality. And for that key characteristic with Ezra, it was his unmistakable snarky-ness. Just about agent Kallus times ten, and the most annoying thing about the kid? How his charm came out, even in the most inappropriate circumstances.
"Kid?" He asked, voice as strong as it'd ever be, keeping his chin up, and refusing to show weakness, no matter how strongly it pounded at the surface, just begging to come out.
"Kanan?" Spoke…one of them? The one on the right. "H..help." He called out, as if purposely trying to make Kanan's heart break. Maybe he was. Was it the clone? All the thoughts of self doubt and fear making Kanan feel as if he stomach had simply disappeared. Replaced with a ball of sickening lead. The pounding in his head making it hurt more then it already did. But still, his chin remained high.
"No more playing around. Which one of you is the bratty padawan." Spoke Kanan, as nonchalant as he could.
"Here." Spoke the one to the left, raising his hand the slightest.
"Kanan! D-don't listen to him! It's a-" the one to the right tried, but was promptly interrupted by…himself?
"Oh save it. You really going to mix us up again." Replied the left one, coming in for the win.
But Kanan had to be carful. More then he had ever been before. "Tell me something." He said, taking to both. "Tell me something only Ezra would know. Only something I wouldn't know."
"Um, I am not well befriended with the lasat." Spoke the one to the right.
"I lied." The other one spoke. His voice weak, as the red stained the once white floor. "In the message of hope. I said I remembered a better time. I didn't. I don't. I don't remember a time where I was not terrorized by storm troopers. I lied. I gave innocen people false hope. I-I'm sorry Kanan."
"Ezra." Kanan whispered.
"About time." He replied.
The moment cut short by the sound of hands clapping together, startling them both in a quick jolt.
"Well done, Jedi." Spoke the clone, as he was now standing up and well from behind Kanan. It was just at this point when Ezra, the real Ezra, realized, the red lightsaber that the Sith Lord had left in his cell, he hadn't remembered seeing it when his eyes opened. And he was almost sure Kanan would have taken it. Better to destroy of it then let the Empire remain having custody of such a powerful weapon.
It is then when Ezra, in his woozy stat, recognized the beam of red erupting from the clones hand. "Come Jedi. Let me prove to you how useless you are without your presses force."
"Gladly." Spoke Kanan, rising up form next to Ezra, as he made his way next to the clone. "Looks like I'm going to have to kill my own padawan." Grimmest Kanan.
"Not if the padawan beats you to it!" Said the clone, as he struck.
…...
"This is taking too long!" Yelled Marah though the com. "They should be back by now!"
"Commander Tano said this could take time." Said one of the Freedom crew members over the com, for she was down in the engine room trying to prolong the ability to stay docked as long as possible in the small war that was happening right beside them.
"No, she's right." Said Wolf rising from next to Chopper. "I'm going to go look for them! For all we know they could need backup and their coms could be down." He finished, and was soon met by a buzz of aggravated mechanical beeps, that showed Choppers disapproval.
"Uh, anyone get that?" Questioned Zatt.
"He said that if he thought the clone was going to go save his crew without him, then he had lost more screws then we thought!" Translated Marah.
"Oh, are you sure?" Asked Zatt, the worry seeping in.
"Yes." Said Wolf. "Are you able to hold down the ship until we get back?"
"I think we'll manage!" Said Marah.
"We wish you much luck." The other Freedom dew member said.
"And don't make us need to come save your sorry rear when the rust bucket attracts one too many troopers!" Smirked Zatt.
He was met with some, not too please, sounds from Chopper, followed by a laughing clone. "I'll keep that in mind!" He said as he and Chopper made there way out of the ship, blaster at one side, and Chopper at the other. They had friends to find. If only they had a time machine. Oh the things they would do. But the first thing? The first thing they would do, was go back one second. One measly second. Because the second they stepped onto the star distorter, the Freedom behind them, time just, stopped.
And so did their hope.
For on docking bay D16, under reaper for minor reapers, holding on to the side of a star distorter for dear life with a war going on just behind it. The Freedom ship, with two crew members, and two volunteers. Four lives aboard. One sarcastic Twi'lek. One enthusiastic human. And two brave soles who stuck with their ship until the very end, caught a stray blaster beam. And the world, simply, disappeared.
….
The clone pounced like and angry loth-cat, Kanan blocking the red blade with his own, barley deflecting it, and pushing the clone away.
Oh, how Ezra felt useless. He could barley move, he was losing blood faster then he could replace it, and he fought off the darkness of passing out with all he had, in fear that he would never return from it.
The clone had only one weakness. That he was for the Empire. And the Empire only new one thing when it came to the force. And that was the darkside. And that was their one downfall.
"Don't you know the good guys always win!" Said Kanan.
"Debatable." Called the clone, as he narrowly avoided a swipe to the chest.
"I know your weaknesses." Said Kanan.
"You know nothing of the sort. Even with your presses force."
"Oh but I do."
"Humor me."
"I know that you where made when you captured Ezra on that first day, when you gave us the false Intel. I know that when he was captured, his weapon was taken with him." He said, dodging a saber to the head. "And I know, that no matter how much Intel the Empire piled in you." He said, retracting his blade, and spinning it around as he circled the clone. "You will never." He said, as he plunged the weapon into his chest, watching the confusion and paleness spread across his copied face. "Know how to use it." He finished, as those were the last words he would ever hear, as he retracted the sword.
He ran to the door, and didn't have time to even pretend he knew how to pick a lock! Activating his light saber once more before slicing a hole in the door, his confused crew waiting on the other side of it, as their eyes followed to the dead padawan on the floor, and the other one bleeding out.
Kanan followed their eyes, but Ahsoka need no explanation. "I'll explain later. Right now we need to move! The Empire knew where to put the clone, which means they know where we are!" Said Kanan.
"Agreed." Said Ahsoka as she crawled through the hole, Hera behind her, and the rest scrambling to get through. "How is the padawan doing?"
"Not good." He said, as Zeb, being the last one, hopped through. Kanan, looking to the lasat needing no more then a look of desperation for him to go retrieve the boy. Zeb had only a nod before going to get the boy, not like it was much of sacrifice. He had carried Sabine out of a mission after a chunk of TIE fighter had landed on her leg two years back, and even he agreed that Ezra was lighter.
The hallway was clear, for now. There were no storm troopers so far, but when the heard hustled footsteps coming their way, they call drew their weapons, the battle was about to commence. But instead of being met with an army, all they were met with, was a terrified looking clone. And a distressed looking astromach.
…..
"Chopper!" Exclaimed Hera, as the sad looking droid whirred around excitedly at the sight of the crew.
"What is wrong! I can scene your trouble from a hyperspace coordinate away!" Said Ahsoka, eyeing Wolf.
The clone was pale, and his words stirred. "T-the ship. Wh-where it was docked. It was under for repairs. A-a stray blaster beam from the battle-it"
"It what, Wolf!" Ahsoka yelled, trying her best to keep calm on the crazy its of circumstances.
"It hit one of the vents that was under repair! The oxygen hit the fuel tank, and the pressure, it, well, Ahsoka, the Freedom ship is gone."
Ahsoka froze. She counted one clone. And one droid. "Where are Marah and Zatt?"
She was met with a solum looking clone who spoke not a word.
"Where are Marah and Zatt!"
Still, all was silent.
"Clone! I am your commander and chief! I am asking you a question! Where is Zatt and Marah! You will answer me!" She shouted, completely forgetting the fact that they were on an Imperial star destroyer.
"Gone!" Shouted Wolf. "They are gone Ahsoka! They were on the ship when it exploded! Same with the Freedom pilots! Their gone!" He yelled back, fighting back tears as if they were acid.
Ahsoka was taken back. All word she had forgotten how to form. Stay together, she thought. You can fall apart later. Right now, hold it together.
The Ghost crew just remained quiet, they didn't know what was happening, but understood that they had just lost some people in the field. And they could all respect that.
Until another thought came to mind. They had no way off of the star destroyer. The one docking bay was blown to pieces.
One injured. Many lost. And completely stranded on a ship full of people hunting then in a war that they were losing.
Never before had the rescuers needed so much rescuing.
…..
-Azilia