Final Blow (Star Wars Rebels)

Battle for the Vault

Ezra exited out of the files he had been viewing. For the moment, the control room was deserted. But that could change at any moment.

According to the Academy database, the rebels were being held in the old holocron vault. Ezra had done his best to memorize the layout of the temple so that he would be able to find his way easily.

Conner and Chopper hadn't returned, which either meant they had found what they were looking for or that they had been attacked. Ezra hoped it was the first option. Either way he would have to track them down later, because the rest of the rebels were in more immediate danger.

Ezra turned and made his way to the library. According to the maps, the library housed the entrance to the holocron vault. Hopefully there would be few guards, if any.

When Ezra entered the library, he was astonished by the large collection of information. Towering bookshelves glowed with blue databases of information. A central command console held various monitors which could be used to find information with relative ease. Ezra walked briskly down the aisles, searching for the holocron vault.

"Is this what you're looking for?" a voice asked. Ezra turned.

Kimble was standing in front of a large circular door. The door looked impossibly thick. The only way to open it was a circular indentation in the wall beside it. Kimble was dressed in a dark cloak. She wasn't smiling.

"Kimble! I'm so glad you're safe!" Ezra exclaimed. "Can you help me open the vault? The others are in there."

"I think you forgot to mention something important," Kimble said coldly. Ezra frowned and thought back.

"Oh, right!" he finally realized. "Conner isn't actually dead! He escaped! He's somewhere else in the temple. He should be here any moment."

"When did you meet up with the girl?" Kimble asked.

"Girl? Oh, Evelyn. She rescued us on Mustafar. She's gone now. She only wanted revenge on Luam Htrad, who turned out to be Darth Maul. She also thought you were evil. Can you imagine?" Ezra asked with a small laugh. Kimble didn't crack a smile. Eventually Ezra stopped laughing.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"They say there's a point of no return," Kimble said. "A point where you can't come back. But I don't want to come back."

"What are you talking about?" Ezra asked nervously.

"The Inquisitor was right. You have changed. She changed you. And you should thank me for taking care of her for you," Kimble said. Ezra had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He was starting to realize that maybe Evelyn hadn't been lying. Something was wrong with Kimble.

"What do you mean you 'took care of her for me'?" Ezra asked.

"I killed her," Kimble said. "She died the same way her mother died. Well, almost the same way. Evelyn was alone when she died, alone and unwanted."

"She wasn't unwanted," Ezra growled. "I cared about her. Conner cared about her. Chopper cared about her. She was an amazing person. She had more spirit than you. She cared about more than just her own emotions."

"She corrupted you," Kimble said. "Now it's up to me to free you."

Kimble activated a red lightsaber. Ezra activated his blue lightsaber. He took several deep breaths. This was it. Kill or be killed. He had never imagined that it would be himself against Kimble. Kimble, the girl who had saved his life. The girl he rescued. The girl that he cared about most in the world until Evelyn. The girl he shared a mental link with.

Mental link.

Ezra felt a stabbing pain in his mind as Kimble attacked, not with her lightsaber, but through the mental link they shared. He closed his eyes and stumbled a step back, trying to throw up mental defenses. The attack lessened. When he opened his eyes Kimble was running towards him, swinging the lightsaber. He blocked the attack and felt another sharp burst of pain in his mind.

"That's not fighting fair," Ezra growled.

"The way I see it is that we share this mental link for a reason," Kimble replied. Ezra pushed her back and launched an attack of his own, swinging his lightsaber. Kimble fell back but attacked mentally with even greater force.

I'll never be able to beat her if I can't attack mentally and physically at the same time, Ezra thought. Otherwise I'll be helpless against her.

Ezra mustered all of the strength he could and stabbed outwards with his mind while slashing with his lightsaber. Kimble winced and blocked the stroke. Feeling more hopeful, Ezra attacked again. His lightsaber locked with Kimble's. They stared into each other's eyes, engaged in a furious battle of wills. Ezra struggled to get the upper hand so that he could shut down Kimble's consciousness. It had worked twice before. Perhaps it would work once more.

"Ezra!" Evelyn's voice called. Ezra's concentration momentarily broke. How could Evelyn be alive? Kimble had said that she had killed her!

Kimble took advantage of Ezra's momentary weakness and threw everything she had at him. Blinded by pain, Ezra felt his strength vanish. Kimble knocked his lightsaber aside and kicked Ezra to the ground. He heard glass shattering and an alarm blare. Kimble lifted her lightsaber to issue the killing stroke. As she brought it down, a blue lightsaber blade intercepted it. Conner grinned at Ezra.

"Found it in a display case," Conner said, referring to the old-fashioned lightsaber in his hands. He glared at Kimble. "Go free the others. I'll take care of Kimble."

Ezra climbed to his feet and made his way to the holocron vault. Evelyn was already standing there, looking pale and weak. She was holding her stomach with one hand and using the other to hold herself up. Conner and Kimble faced off, sapphire and ruby lightsabers held ready.

"It doesn't have to end like this," Conner told his sister. "You can still come back to the light."

"I'm never coming back," Kimble replied. "You're always telling me what to do. But never again. Now, it's my turn to make the demands."