Different But The Same

Chapter 16

The Sith lords fought one another long and hard; they were both extremely powerful and well trained -  to the point where it was difficult to defeat each other. Kenobi and Depa picked up the fearful twins and rushed out of the room to a safe place whilst Master Mace Windu, Master Shaak Ti, Master Plo Koon followed to evacuate all of the younglings from the temple. Master Yoda, Master Jinn, Anakin, Kanan, Hera, Zeb, Sabine and Ezra all watched as the battle unfolded - bo-rifle, blasters and lightsabers at the ready. "The boy will be mine!!" Vader exclaimed as both weapons clashed once again "and you will fall!!" Maul smirked as he blocked yet another attack, dodging the bucket heads blow "I beg to differ". All of a sudden, Maul somehow managed to get pass the Imperial's defenses....and forced his own weapon into Vader's chest, forcing the man to freeze and gasp out - he smirked at his victory "looks like I win". And with that, Darth Vader fell to the floor as soon as the lightsaber was removed - his lifeless body going down with a thud. All eyes were wide from what they had just witnessed - Darth Vader was....dead. 

Maul turned towards the group, looking straight at Ezra "now you are mine, my apprentice" he stated, still holding his smirk until the boy took a step back, shaking his head; Kanan voiced his thoughts at the same time "no, he isn't!!" he stood in front of the teen, his lightsaber ignited "Ezra is my Padawan and I'll fight until my very last breath before you can have him!!" he exclaimed, snapping at the Sith as he lunged forward to attack. The three Masters hurried to help the man; Ezra followed suit after he turned to his four crew mates "go help with the evacuation!!" he didn't mean to make it sound like an order but he wanted to go help his Master. They were hesitant to leave but soon did, running out the door to do as told - Hera was the one who really didn't want to leave but knew she had to. Minutes of dueling passed by until twenty minutes had passed by; Maul was putting up a good fight, but so did everyone else. "You shall now win" he taunted as he force pushed them away from him "just give up, why do you care so much about the boy anyway?? He's nothing important, not to you!!" Maul yelled; if Kanan wasn't furious before, he certainly was now "because he's my Padawan!! My family!!" he exclaimed as he continued his attack. Each blow was blocked or dodged which was becoming more than irritating, yet Kanan had one more thing to shout out "my son!!". Maul now understood....sort of anyway - the teenager was the Jedi's weakness. Love - such a stupid and pathetic thing. 

Chuckling, the Sith used the force to shove Anakin, Jinn and Kanan into a nearby wall, making them fall to the floor either in a daze or near enough unconscious - they had each hit their heads against either the wall or the ground. Yoda fought the best, of course, so Maul wanted the Master out of the way - or at least injured enough so that he could take Ezra by force. The teenager was stood behind Yoda as instructed. Suddenly, the dark force user threw his lightsaber towards the fallen Jedi's!! Ezra saw this with wide and worry filled eyes before making a B-line for Kanan and the two Masters "no!!" he yelled before jumping in front of the three, the spinning lightsaber hitting the boy and knocking him down. The scream that came from Ezra's throat was one that no one would ever forget, one that was filled with a horrific pain.  Maul glared at the teen as he summoned his weapon back to his hand "you stupid boy!!" he exclaimed before sighing and shaking his head "such a shame, this really is" and with that.....he left?! Maul just left?! After all of that?! Master Yoda was the first get to Ezra, standing by his side as the boy clutched his face, groaning, grunting and moaning in agonizing pain - he was the only one to see the Padawan get hit and fall. He ordered a clone trooper - who had rushed in to the council room only seconds before - to take Ezra to the med bay immediately; the clone, who's name was Rex, did as ordered of course, helping the boy to his feet before guiding him through the temple. 

As soon as he couldn't see the clone and injured teen, the Master went to check on the three fallen Jedi knights - they were slowly sitting up at this point, clearly dazed and most likely with a concussion each. Neither of them had seen what had just occurred. "Uhh...what happened?? Where's Maul?!" Jinn asked, followed by Kanan who was beginning to panic once he had cast his gaze around the room "where's Ezra?!". Yoda raised his hand, signalling for silence "calm yourself, you must. Escape, Maul did" he informed earning two sighs; Kanan's worry was still mounting up however "in med bay, young Ezra is. Need time and rest, he does" all eyes widened; the two young men exclaimed the same question "Ezra's hurt?!" Yoda nodded. Once his vision was back to normal, Kanan hurried to find his crew and tell them what had happened; Hera covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes as soon as she was informed that the boy was injured in some way. Zeb and Sabine's eyes widened before questions began forming in their minds "what happened?! Where is he?!" the Jedi explained the best he could as he took his love in his arms, comforting her the best he could "I was knocked unconscious for a time but Master Yoda said that Ezra was injured before Maul managed to get away" Hera shook her head, holding back the curses she wished to call the Sith "come on, we need to get to the med bay now". 

No one needed to be told twice before they rushed off. Approaching the med bay, the crew noticed a doctor leave with a clip board in hand - his face was full of sadness and sorrow. This didn't help the concern and worry they were feeling. Entering the room, they saw Ezra sat on one of the beds, his back facing the door "hey Ez, you okay??" Kanan spoke gently, not actually sure on what to say, none of them did. The teen turned his head a little, indicating that he had heard the man - but not enough for them to see his face "I....I'm fine" that wasn't too convincing "are em...are the other's with you??" he asked, his voice quiet and soft; Sabine spoke this time "yeah, we're all here Ezra" she reassured "Yoda said that you were injured by Maul". The boy visibly shivered before the group heard him sigh "...yeah....something like that" Ezra hesitantly stood up, his balance a little wobbly - he slowly began to turn around. Each member of the crew gasped at the sight - Hera once again covered her mouth; Ezra had a large lightsaber burn resting across his eyes, the wound bloody, red and raw. The teens eyes themselves her dramatically different; they weren't their beautiful blue, but a dull grey. As if they were lifeless. "The doctor when to get some ointment and bandages" Ezra explained, his arms wrapping themselves around his slim yet slightly muscled frame - it was an act of defense; both Hera and Sabine began to cry, Zeb had to turn away, wiping his hand down his face as he tried to process what he had just seen. And Kanan....Kanan had tears threatening to spill as he stared at his Padawan "no....you....you can't be" he could barely speak - none of them could; Ezra gave a small nod as he sighed "I....I can't see" he admitted for the first time "I...I'm blind Kanan".