Star Wars Rebels: When Hope Is Lost

Chapter 17: The Dark Side Of The Force

"The Force is your greatest asset," Darth Vader said. "Use it to destroy the droids."

A dozen probe droids surrounded the two teenagers in the middle of a docking bay. One had blue eyes and navy hair. The other had green eyes and brown hair with a gold streak in it.

Ezra thrust out his hand and rammed a droid into the wall. Dev stretched out both of his arms and then brought his hands together, eyes closed in concentration. Two of the probe droids smashed into each other and crashed to the ground, sparks flying. 

The two continued fighting, back to back, working together with the Force against the droids.

It had been a week since the black-armoured Sith had offered them the deal to train with him. Dev's wounds had been treated, but sparsely. Many of them would now scar, and most were not fully healed yet. But the Sith had not seemed to care, instead deciding that the pain would motivate Dev to be less rebellious, so Dev gritted his teeth and bore the pain daily, with little treatment.

Another droid fell to Ezra, and another to Dev. The two boys had not been given lightsabers or weapons of any kind, they were to rely solely on the Force. And of course, instinct had a way of slipping into their fighting styles as well. After all, both teenagers had grown up partly on the streets, working with hardly any others to survive, instead relying on themselves and unknowingly, the Force. This made them very skilled fighters, in more ways than one. Speed, agility, strength–all of these were traits that both boys possessed in great confidence, because of their lifestyles.

Ezra leaped onto one droid, while Dev grabbed the bottom of another. The blue-haired teen crouched on the dome of the droid as it moved, frantically trying to shake him off. The other was doing the same to Dev, who was holding on to the sides of the droid as it flew.

"Now this is pod-racing!" Dev yelled, a slight grin on his face despite the situation. The probe he was holding onto desperately weaved, trying to knock his rider off.

"You've pod-raced?" Ezra shouted, still sitting on his droid as it flew around the room.

"Once!" Dev called back. "On Tatooine a few years ago. I just meant that riding a droid is actually pretty fun!"

Darth Vader listened to the boys' banter, and hearing the words pod-racing and Tatooine made him decide to stop the conversation right then and there. "Focus."

Ezra looked over at him from his perch. "That's what the Jedi say."

"Yeah!" Dev called, steering his droid into a wall and leaping off of it just as it exploded. "Are you a Jedi now?"

The two boys would both be worthless if he could not get them to cooperate. It was time to end this. "Enough of this banter. You are both un-disciplined and un-focused. This rebellion must end."

Within seconds, both boys had hit the far wall and were on the ground. Vader leaped, landing in front of them, cape floating in the air, then settling around his shoulders.

"How long will it take you to bow to me, the Dark Lord? What and who else must be lost in order for you to understand that your rebellion is pointless?"

"How are we rebelling?" Ezra groaned. Both boys stood up simultaneously. "And who else do we have to lose, beside each other? And you've already told us what could happen to each other."