*sorry about the long wait, I have had serious writer's block for this story and I must confess I am terrible at tying up a Star Wars story xD I am bringing in a character who I know was brought alive in books, but all I am only using is her name and maybe description, any other details I get right about her are highly coincidental (heck even her description might be since I will be going off purely my memory)*
Leia and Han had been needed elsewhere in the galaxy by the remaining Rebel forces, so it was only Kanan, Ezra, Ahsoka, Sabine, Hera, Zeb, Chopper, Luke and R2 that went to Coruscant. Once they arrived, Hera stayed with the ship along with Chopper and R2 while the rest went into the city. Zeb and Sabine split off from the others, heading towards the Jedi temple to get as many more holocrons as they could.
Ezra led his fellow Jedi deeper into town, finally stopping before a creepy building. "This is the place." he said. He stepped forward and knocked a certain pattern. A female voice, soft yet deadly, came over the speaker, "Ezra, you have finally returned. And you brought guest. You know how I feel about guest Ezra." Ezra visibly gulped before saying "I know, but they don't want to talk with words."
The female laughed coldly and said, "I always did like your sense of humor. Very well, they may enter, but they best know that they will never exit." With that, the female signed off and the doors slid open. Ezra swept his hand towards the door and said, "After you Kanan." Kanan rolled his eyes, but went first anyway, followed by Ezra and Ahsoka, with Luke bringing up the rear.
They all walked cautiously through the building, following the path to their destination by going through the doors that actually opened for them. Luke could sense her presence, she was using this time to see who she was dealing with and if she could take them with no problem. Luke closed his mind to her and he could sense her both aggravation and a bit of grudging respect for having noticed her. Once she moved on from him, he once again opened his mind to her, so that he could sense her next move.
Not surprisingly she made them sweat it out until they reached a throne like room. To call it a true throne room would be false, but its description was as close to one as it could get. There she sat in a chair, waiting for them. She stood as they entered and began an almost cat like walk towards them. "Welcome back Ezra Bridger, I see you have brought your old master, Kanan, with you. And Ahsoka Tano, apprentice to Anakin Skywalker as well. I have to admit I don't know who your other friend is, and frankly I don't care, it won't matter since you will all soon be dead."
Kanan and Ahsoka showed surprise at her having known their names, they hadn't felt her presence as she had studied them earlier. Luke, who had been quietly feeling her mind in the Force, took a step forward and said, "It doesn't have to be this way Mara, the Emperor is dead and Darth Vader as well. Why join them in their fate when you have so much to offer?"
Mara's eyes showed shock and a sparkle at amusement for getting outfoxed in her own trick by this, intriguing Jedi, but she laughed as he said the last part. "I will not be joining them so soon, but you shall!" With that she ignited her lightsaber and started the attack. Luke leaped back out of reach as Ahsoka and Kanan raised theirs to meet hers.
Ezra and Luke started to circle behind her, causing her to smile wickedly before pushing both with all her might and the Force to push Ahsoka and Kanan back before turning and meeting Ezra and Luke's blades. She pushed them back, much the same way she had with Ahsoka and Kanan, before positioning herself so that they were all in front of her.
Once that was accomplished, she smiled as she raised her red lightsaber straight out in front of her and, with a click of a button, revealed it to be a double blade. Ezra and Luke were in awe, while Ahsoka and Kanan raised their sabers, ready to defend themselves. Ahsoka also pulled out her shoto, ready to use it as well. Then Mara came at them, red blade meeting first the green of Ahsoka's blades and then the blue of Kanan's.
When Ezra and Luke tried to get in back of her again, they quickly had to raise their sabers as Mara swung hers behind her back, the red bounding off of the green and blue, before racing to the front to meet with Ahsoka and Kanan's again. Ezra darted in to take a quick swing, but all he managed was to slice a bit of her red hair before he was pushed back with the Force.
Mara effectively removed Kanan's lightsaber from him by pushing and pulling at the same time with the Force. When it was in her hand she ignited it, keeping her double blade on while swinging in a circle by her side. The sparks flew up from the ground blinding Ahsoka, who was then pushed back with the Force into the wall. Upon impact there was a sickening crack and she went limp.
Kanan pulled her lightsaber to him and rushed in on the front while Ezra went for the back, Luke keeping the side with her double blade as busy as he could. Ezra shortly joined Ahsoka on the ground, Luke pulling his lightsaber to him, though he had never used two before together, he wanted the extra weapon on their side.
Kanan rolled to Luke's side and said, "Switch lightsabers with me, give me Ezra's." Luke didn't ask why, he just followed the instruction, taking Ahsoka's blade. They split apart as the double blade struck right directly in between where they were seconds ago. Kanan turned off the saber and shot a few shots off at her, throwing her off guard before reigniting the lightsaber and getting the first blow for their team on her.
Unfortunately she recovered enough to almost move out of the way, so it was just a slightly deep scratch on one arm. She glared at Kanan and it was clear to see who the next target she had in mind was. She attacked Kanan with everything she had, just barely blocking every attack Luke sent, but still blocking them. After she had struck first her double blade, then her regular blade, follow again by the double blade, she had removed his guard enough to force push him into the wall, where he too hit his head and was out for the count.
She turned to Luke, the last remaining Jedi her path, and said, "Prepare to join your friends and then the Force, Jedi." Luke took in a calming breath and said, "Mara, listen to me, you don't have to be on the dark side, come to the light, there is good in you I know it." "Lies Jedi, there is no good in me!" she spat.
"You're forgetting, I got past your guard. I know the reason you sent others to do your dirty work when you could, it's because you couldn't stomach it. The "special" cases you took on, you only pretended to maim and kill them, you really helped them get off world. And though you could have at any moment, you haven't killed any of my friends, even after they were unconscious. You live in fear that your master will either show up or send someone who will report to him what you do here."
"You didn't even give Ezra and Sabine any of the bad ones while they were here, you didn't want to make them evil. No Mara, what I tell you is the truth, that you are just running scared and you don't even know if you can trust us for sure, after all we could be dark Jedi in disguise sent to test you." Luke could see she was on the edge of breaking, so he first lowered and then disengaged his weapons.
"I have seen who you are Mara, and a killer is not it. Come with us and we will protect you from your master." The last part he said while stretching out his hand, though it was his robotic one, just in case. Mara just stared at him for a minute, the hum from her and Kanan's lightsabers the only sound to be heard in the room. Suddenly, with a sob, she disengaged her weapons. She didn't care if this was a trick, she was done hiding in fear from her master.
She reached for Luke's hand as she felt the strength leave her body. Luke caught her and gently lowered her to the floor, cradling her as she cried tears of relief. This is what the others slowly woke up to. When they finally regained their senses and looked towards the sounds of the sobs, they couldn't believe their eyes. The Jedi who had knocked them all senseless was sobbing in Luke's arms. Luke looked up at them as they walked over, smiling at them.
Then he lowered his head and whispered something to her, causing her to slowly raise her head. When her eyes met theirs, they could see what Luke had sensed during the fight, this was just a scared girl, trying her best to keep up appearances to keep her life. They all knelt on the floor beside Luke and Mara, waiting for her to tell her story.
After she calmed the sobs down, she told how she had caught the attention of the Emperor when she had unwittingly used the Force, not realizing that's what it was, on a Stormtrooper to get him to give her his money. She had been on the streets for quite some time, having run away from her adopted parents, and she had only wanted a good meal.
The Emperor had promised her this, and brought her here, where he introduced her to the man who would become her master, Darth Eterness. He trained her how to use a double blade and once that was done, he had returned her to the Emperor, telling her to obey his every command or else. The Emperor had set her up here and would send her a list of those to exterminate.
"But, as Luke guessed, I couldn't do it. I would hire those I knew couldn't either, unless they were a real criminal in which case I would hire a bounty hunter and told him go with whatever he wanted to do, but that I paid top dollar for their arrival at a prison, etc. I never had one not bring them in alive. For high profile cases, ones I couldn't trust to anyone else, I personally helped them escape." She finished her story.
"This Darth Eterness, how dangerous is her?" asked Ezra, "I mean is he still around?" She nodded and said, "He checked up on me a few weeks ago, making sure I was keeping up with the task the Emperor and then he himself after the death of the Emperor had set before me. I expect him back in a week or so, and I know I can't stay here pretending anymore, he would see right through me in an instant."
Luke, Ahsoka, Ezra and Kanan all exchanged glances over her head, and all nodded in agreement. They would take her back to Edjei. Luke nudged her and said, "Come with us." She looked up in surprise from where her head was hanging and said, "Wh..what?" Ahsoka reached out a hand and said, "Come with us Mara. Once we grab some holocrons at the old temple, we are heading back home."
"I..I..I don't know." Mara said, "I have already caused you enough trouble and once my master comes and finds I have left…" she shudder at that last bit, before continuing, "It would be best if I went my own way." "We can handle him, especially if we have you on our side." Ezra said, "After all, look what you could do to us, imagine if you worked with us."
She chuckled a little bit, but they could still see the uncertainty on her face, so Kanan said, "We would feel a lot better knowing you were safe with us. We can even get you a new crystal for your lightsaber on the way home." She smiled at him and they saw a decision had been made by the look on her face. "Alright, I will go with you, I owe you my freedom and life, for this was not living." She said.
They all stood up and headed out of the building, Mara taking nothing with her as there was nothing she wanted to remember of her time there. They joined Zeb and Sabine, who were on their second trip to the temple and had brought the droids with them to help, and gathered as many more holocrons as they could, though they knew it would take several trips to this planet before they had them all. Once they reached The Ghost, they got everything situated and everyone introduced, before heading to Edjei.
*And that was my attempt at describing a lightsaber battle XD forgive me!*