YOU GUYS ARE SERIOUSLY SUCH WONDERFUL READERS! DUDE HONESTLY – I didn't post a new chapter and THREE of you sent me private messages encouraging me to write, and telling me how much they love my fic… you guys are honestly the best fans ANYONE could ask for! Thank you all SO much for all your support throughout my story! This was one of the first "serious" fan fictions I have ever written, and it wouldn't have been possible without your love and support!
I know you're probably sorry to see it go, but I'll be dedicating more time to my Kallus-origin-story fic, Through Smoke and Fire, for more Kallus goodness. I'm also going to more-than-likely write a Saw/Kallus confrontation fic, but I'm going to wait and see what Season 4 brings.
You guys really do make my days shine brighter, thank you so much. I open up my emails in the morning, and get positively bombarded with notifications, it gives me such unbelievable joy! Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I would never have expected to get so many fans! And you all helped pull me from a terrible moment in my life, and I'm so happy I got to give back to you and share my story!
I really hope this final chapter do you all justice! Thank you 😊
Lynn Friedman-kinsey – You're in luck because after I dragged myself through last chapter, I wrote an AMAZING amount of Trawn/Eli like, so quickly, now I come back to this one and I can tackle it again!
Rabbit887 – Here it is!
Ahsoka9613 – Thank you! Yes, sorry I didn't update all weekend! I have family visiting me, so it was hard to get away (I had to prioritize for the Star Wars Rebel livefeed panel, but that was about all I could do!) Hope your patience was well worth it!
PrincessCadence2012 – OMG I WAS TWEETING ABOUT HIM BEING GENERAL MADINE AND NO ONE BELIEVED ME! HA! BUT NOW WE ARE TWO! WE WILL WIN EVERYONE OVER!
storyteller2899 – Thrawn fic already written *winks* Thank you deary!
Sunja – I see what you mean! And you are SO right! Thrawn in the books was so wonderful and likeable, but he is COMPLETELY different in SWR! And now I'm kind of debating doing an alternate season 3 where Eli is with Thrawn and it's more like how he was in the book, so still the "villain" but a lot more… likeable in the adorable likeable way that Thrawn was! AND I HOPE THRAWN AND ELI ARE THE NEXT BIG THING IN FANFICTION BECAUSE I SHIP THEM SO DAMN HARD OMG. (please share any recommendations, I would love it!)
Killerkitty641 – Thank you! No, I haven't played that game! And I'll check out your story next time I have a break where I'm not working or using my free time to write!
doodly-squat – You are too sweet, and thank you SO much for your honesty in your feedback! Yes, I was absolutely forcing myself to write (basically I told myself 'if you really want to write this Thrawn/Eli fic you ~have~ to do something for the people waiting on your Kallus fic) so I might go back and try to fine tune it now that it's done. I'll consider your advice on motivation – usually I type out these review answers, and rereading all your kind words is the best motivation I can ask for! Though maybe next time I'll just focus on writing what I really want to write?
JH24 – OMG YOU ARE THE SWEETEST OMG YOUR REVIEW! You make me cry! I can't be that good! XDDDDDDD Well, I was going to wrap it up with this chapter – basically just Kallus waking up and yaaaaaaaaaaaay, but maybe I'll have to do another one? I figured with my fic this would just be like an altered middle ground between Zero Hour and the season 4 premiere. For now, I might let this be the final chapter, and then maybe do a sequel to it depending on how they handle things in season 4?
Molly – HEY! LOL, though I think Kalzeb might end up being canon, when you've got the voice actors themselves talking about how they "didn't get a lightsaber but they got Kallus" LOL so who knows? I'll totally support it if it becomes canon but for now, I just personally don't see it – just like, they always have these 'good bros' signals going but not necessarily romancy? And yes! I have a family, I have kids, too! And I'm the same way – I have loved Star Wars my entire life, but with SWR it has become reignited like never before, and I love that I have gotten back into writing fan fictions because it just really DOES help when the days go bad! Ahhhh, say hello to your brother! ^_^
Guest - #HOTKALLUS YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Midnight Luna - #HOTKALLUS #HOTKALLUS EVERYWHERE! LOL! Hey, I don't care if the hair was expensive! IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY! XDDDD
Mistress Malica - SO MANY SUGGESTIONS! I will try to get through them in time. Right now I'm just happy to wrap this story up so I can move to my next Kallus fic!
XinterestingX - No worries! I'm doing a Kallus background/origins story, called Through Smoke and Fire, you can find it by clicking on my username ;) Hope to see you there!
xCoatl - HA! I bet Kallus is going to get pranked SO much! The Ghost crew may have forgiven him, but that doesn't make him immune XDDDD And yeah, I'm still kind of on the fence with Kallus's style - I KNEW he was going to go full beard, but yeah, he was dead sexy as an Imperial XDDD We'll hve to see!
nameless M - SUCH A MONSTER REVIEW THANK YOUUUUU! And yes, yes to everything you said! XDDDD Thank you sweetie!
Jaki822 - Well, I didn't lose my mojo so much as got completely and utterly distracted by the Thrawn novel! I'm debating doing a "rewrite" of Season 3 but with Eli still as Thrawn's aid, but... who knows. I've got to finish my Kallus origin story fic first!
AU Dreamer - THANKS TO MY FANFICTION OH MY GOODNESS I AM CONVERTING KALLUS FANS! YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS
Kallus opened his eyes, though the effort consumed him. His entire body was drained. He fought against the urge to drift back to unconsciousness.
Wherever he was, it was warm, and soft, and safe. A corner of his mind begged to go back to unconsciousness, and for a moment, Kallus wondered why he was trying to wake up so badly.
You have to escape.
It was an odd thought, because everything around him argued the contrary. Why escape? How could he be in danger? But it was there all the same, some vague terror deep within his mind refusing to let him rest.
Perhaps another minute dragged before Kallus won the battle, opened his eyes, letting them focus. Wherever he was, it was bright, making it difficult to find something to concentrate on. There was a blob of blue, and Kallus narrowed his eyes, trying to make something out.
"Oh, it's you," Kallus said, surprised to hear how weak his voice was.
"Yeah… hey, Kallus," Ezra answered. There was a different tone on his voice, much more dull from the last time they'd spoken. Subdued. Ashamed? Kallus watched the Jedi padawan, his mind unable to figure out why it was weird he was talking to him.
Kallus blinked a few times, a dull throbbing in his head keeping him from making any concrete conclusions. You have to escape.
That thought kept shouting out, an idea that kept shoving him in the back, urging him forward, to do something. But Ezra was here? What was he doing here? Where was here?
He's here to get you out. Get out of what?
With a sudden jolt, Kallus remembered everything – trying to send the warning to the Rebellion, getting captured by Thrawn, tortured, interrogated, his escape.
"Whoa," Ezra said. "Hey, calm down. You're okay. You're with the Rebellion now."
"I'm… what?" Kallus asked, looking around himself. Well, it certainly wasn't a prison cell.
He was laying in a white room, in a bed with white linens. He didn't know how, but he knew immediately he was on a planet somewhere. On solid ground. But obviously not on Atollon… that base couldn't have survived the onslaught Thrawn threw down upon it. Was there another hidden rebel base then?
"So you… took me in?" Kallus said, holding his head – sitting up so quickly had made him lightheaded.
"Of course," Ezra said. "After everything you did to help us-"
"You think so?" Kallus asked.
He noticed the Jedi look away. Yes, that was certainly some kind of embarrassment. Kallus couldn't easily forget the last time he'd spoken with Bridger.
"What could have possibly convinced you I did everything to help the Rebellion," Kallus asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Ezra said. "You heard Thrawn knew about our attack on Lothal, tried to warn us, got caught, got beat up, tried to get Thrawn to destroy himself, escaped."
Kallus stared back, wide mouthed.
"Yeah, you talk a lot," Ezra said. "You know, while you were recovering. And you weren't in the best shape when they got you. Pretty obvious you didn't betray us."
Kallus found himself smiling slightly. It was probably the nicest thing the Jedi padawan had ever said. But the acceptance, even from a teenager, meant everything to him.
So this was how it would be? He was wearing simple pajamas, the dark wrappings of the Empire already gone. Like he'd been washed clean, made anew. And he woke up to a new dawn, a new life, a new purpose.
"This is better than I ever imagined," Kallus admitted.
"Don't say that just yet," Ezra said, the embarrassment gone, the cocky self-confidence back. "There's a lot of work left to be done."
Kallus nodded, smiling to himself, not knowing what else to say. Ezra had forgiven him, apparently, the big wigs of the Rebellion hadn't seen a reason to throw him straight into prison… he'd redeemed himself. It wasn't even what he'd set out to do, but he'd managed it.
"Welcome to the Rebellion," Ezra said with a smile of his own, standing up.
The Jedi was gone.
Kallus was only alone a moment longer, when another visitor arrived.
"Garazeb," Kallus said, the relief all too apparent on his voice.
"It's about time you woke up," Zeb said, though his words were an attempt to give Kallus a hard time, it was obvious the Lasat was happy.
"Yeah, Ezra already said, there's work to be done," Kallus said, swinging his legs out from under the blankets. But being unconscious for so long had done a number on his muscles.
"Here," Zeb said, offering a hand. Kallus was pretty sure he didn't need it, but couldn't turn down Zeb's help. It was still flooring him. They're even helping me… They really do accept me.
"We didn't really know what to bring for you," Zeb said after he'd gotten Kallus standing, gesturing to a small pile of clothes next to the bed.
"It's been so long since I've worn anything other than a uniform," Kallus began as a way to explain, letting the rest of that statement hang in the air.
"No better time to make a new Kallus," Zeb said with a smile.
Kallus got dressed, not really knowing what to wear but just grabbing things at random. They really did try to give him options, and Kallus's heart warmed at the thought. It was almost too much. But he scolded himself as he thought he didn't deserve it. If the rebels had forgiven him, he had to forgive himself.
He was surprised everything fit.
Kallus felt his recovery room, walking slowly, taking everything in. Rebels were walking up and down the halls of whatever base they were at, some running, no one so much as casting him a second glance.
For a moment, Kallus was lost. Where had Zeb gone? Where was ~anyone he recognized? The people walking around him were all strangers, and there were so many of them. Had the Rebellion really been so large? Was the hatred against the Empire really this intense?
"Hey, Kallus!" a complete stranger called out, Kallus turning around awkwardly, wondering how anyone knew who he was. "They're waiting for you outside."
Kallus wanted to ask who was waiting for him, or what it was that was talking to him, or how anyone knew his name, but the random rebel just turned around and ran back the way he'd come. Towards what looked like a giant briefing room. A pull of curiosity, he took a step to wander into the room, but Kallus subdued it. They were waiting.
Of course, it would be the crew of the Ghost.
Again, the feeling struck him. They had asked for him. They wanted him to be part of their crew. The forgiveness felt almost too complete, too easy – but Kallus had to stop himself again. Would he ever be able to let it go?
As he approached, the crew turned to face him. What had Ezra said? Something about there being a lot of work left to do to take down the Empire? He was ready for it.
"It's time to get to work."
BRING ON SEASON 4!