Stowaway: A Star Wars Rebels Story

Struggles

Kanan's POV:

A few hours have passed since the incident. Y/N still hasn't mentally recovered, and Sabine has been tending to him for a while. I briefly heard them talking. It's nice that they're together again, but having a terrifying experience happen right after was horrible luck. I hope he understands it wasn't really Ezra. I sensed Hera and Sabine approaching me from behind. She felt a little disturbed after hearing the reports from earlier. "Maybe we should postpone the mission, wait for Ezra to get right. Nobody knows Lothal better than he does," Hera reasoned. "I can handle it. I have a plan," I said. "Be careful, Kanan," she replied. "I will. Don't worry," I said. She walked up the Ghost's ramp and closed it. Then she took off toward Lothal to complete the mission. "I'm surprised she got on the ship," Sabine stated. Hera was one to worry often, especially with me. "Like I said, I had a plan. Follow me," I responded, leading her to the Phantom. I walked toward the dashboard and grabbed Ezra's wristcom, then handed it to Sabine. "That's Ezra's. Why are you giving it to me?" she wondered. "I need you to place a tracker on it without him knowing," I said. I walked away and saw Ezra sitting on a crate, ashamed of his antics. "Kanan, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. This hasn't happened before, and I don't know what to do," he explained. "I know you don't. But I know someone who does. Come on," I said. We got on a speeder bike and drove back to the Phantom where Sabine heard us, emerging from inside. "Ezra, you forgot this," she called out, tossing the bugged wristcom back to him. Finally, we drove out into the wilderness to seek some advice for my troubled apprentice. Guiding him back to the light hasn't been easy, but nothing ever has been. It's just another challenge we can work through.

We made it to a small valley in the middle of the rocks. Ezra and I got off the bike and neared Bendu, the balance between the light and dark sides of the Force. The ground rumbled as he turned to face us, sensing our presence. "Bendu, you heard us coming," I greeted. "Yes, you aren't exactly quiet creatures, eh?" he joked. "Tell him what's happening, Ezra," I said to my Padawan. "The dark side wielder I told you about, the one who tried to merge the holocrons together, I saw him here on Atollon," Ezra explained. "I warned you, joining those powerful objects together could bring great wisdom and great danger," Bendu replied. "I know. I felt their power. And I did see things, but my vision was incomplete. I let go before I could get the answers I wanted," Ezra continued. "I see. Well that's not good," Bendu said suddenly. "What do you mean that's not good? What can we do?" I said, suspicious of his off-putting tone. "What do you want to do?" Bendu asked. I hate it when he does that. Answering a question with a question. "I want to stop seeing Maul," Ezra stated. "Then don't turn around," Bendu responded. I didn't know what he meant. I looked behind me and saw the Sith standing atop the valley. So he really was here. Ezra and I ignited our lightsabers, prepared to deal with the threat that somehow found our base.

"You think I came here to fight? I came here to speak with my apprentice," Maul said, approaching us. "He's not your apprentice," I said through gritted teeth. "Yet," Maul taunted. "How did you find us?" Ezra questioned. "When you abruptly severed our connection to the holocrons, you mixed up some of the information we wanted. You learned a bit of what I want to know, and I learned a bit of what you want to know," Maul explained. "Like the location of our base," Ezra replied, finishing the Sith's thoughts. "Yes, very good. You are learning fast, apprentice," Maul said. I grimaced again at Maul's persistent efforts at manipulating my Padawan. And it made me angry that those efforts were succeeding little by little. "I can't make sense of what I saw, I couldn't even describe it if I wanted to," Ezra responded, trying to lay the situation to rest. "Which is why you must come with me, so we can both retrieve the answers that are just out of reach," Maul proposed. To my surprise, Ezra folded his arms, seeing this deal as one-sided. "Not good enough. What do we get out of it?" he questioned. "I will keep your rebel base secret," Maul stated. I wasn't buying it, though. "No deal. You're not walking off this rock in one piece," I said, getting into an attacking stance. "That's a shame. If only you knew I had planted a beacon nearby. Strike me down, and it will activate, revealing your presence to the Empire," Maul threatened. "Ok, I'll do it," Ezra accepted. But this wasn't entirely out of fear. I sensed a part of him genuinely wanting the knowledge he lusted for. I pulled Ezra aside and out of Maul's earshot, giving it my all to convince him to back out.