Ezra's POV:
It was a dark and windy day back at base. Even for the hot and dry desert that was Atollon, the changes in the weather surprisingly made itself known from time to time. But the winds of war were changing rapidly. Not because the Rebellion has dealt a major blow to the Empire, but because the Empire seemingly had a secondary objective. Both of Thrawn's projects needed to be stopped, and the only way to set his progress back was to strike at the heart and destroy the Imperial factory on Lothal. Hera had the same idea as she proposed a recon mission. I was delighted that the attack was growing closer. I was finally getting the chance to help my people back on Lothal.
"We still have some preparation to do before we launch the strike at the factory. Our intel needs to be updated," Hera began. Ezra. The voice calling my name averted my focus. "We don't need the full squadron, a small unit should be enough." Ezra. I heard the voice again and glanced in the direction where it was coming from. "I'm assigning you the mission, Ezra." Ezra. I see something. Is that Maul? "Ezra?" Hera said, getting my attention. I gasped, a little embarrassed that I wasn't in the moment. "Care to join the briefing?" she questioned me. "Yeah, sorry. It's just that...I thought I saw something," I stuttered. "This is your mission, Ezra. I need your full attention," Hera scolded. "Yeah, you've got it," I said. "So first you'll slip into the system and study the Empire's orbital defenses," Hera continued. Ezra. The voice returned. I swiftly looked over, but still nothing. "We'll keep our distance, but gather all the data we can. I want Destroyer positions, TIE patrol routes, transport schedules," Ezra. That's him! I know it! I gasped again, but Maul was gone. A hand touched my shoulder. I quickly spun around and saw Kanan. "Something wrong?" he asked. "No, I...I thought I saw something, or someone," I answered, just as jittery as before. "The recon team leaves as soon as we're loaded up. Questions?" Hera finished. "Is Thrawn there?" Sabine asked. "We have reports of an increase in capital ships, but no confirmation-" Ezra. Hera's words were cut off in my mind as I saw Maul again. This is getting scary. I backed up in fear and bumped into Kanan. "What is it?" he asked again. I saw Maul peek around a corner and backed up into Zeb. "Kid, you feeling alright?" Zeb wondered. Ezra. I saw Maul again at a holoprojector. "There! Look!" I exclaimed, pointing behind the Lasat. "What am I looking at?" he questioned. I looked around frantically, sensing Maul's presence somewhere close. "You don't look very good," Hera said. "Ezra, what do you see?" Kanan repeated. "EZRA," Maul said. I turned around and saw his face right up against mine. I screamed and passed out in shock.
"Ezra, wake up," I heard a voice say. "Ah!" I shouted, thinking Maul was still there. "Woah, woah, hey! It's okay, you're safe," Kanan said. I breathed a sigh of relief. "You want to tell us what's going on?" Hera asked. It was the least I could do to explain my erratic behavior. "It was Maul," I said. "You mean, at the briefing?" Sabine questioned. "I saw him. He said my name, I- he was right behind me! I mean, he was right there," I stammered, struggling to form coherent thoughts. "Kid, I was standing next to you. There was nobody else there," Zeb remarked. "Maybe it's some kind of Force Vision," Hera suggested, trying to make sense of the situation. "Maybe," Kanan said, unable to explain what could have happened. "Ah, if you ask me, I think he's been working too hard," Zeb replied before leaving the room. Chopper grunted back that I was lazy and unproductive. "Chopper, stop it!" Hera reprimanded. "No, Chopper's right. Naptime is over. I should get back to work," I said. "Ezra, are you sure you're alright?" Hera asked. I appreciate the concerns, but nothing bad happened yet. "Hera, I feel fine. No reason to stop the rebellion, right?" I answered, getting up from the bed. "Come on, Sabine. We gotta get ready for our mission." I left the room and walked toward the storage unit to load up the Ghost with all our supplies.
After moving a few crates of proton torpedoes on a portable platform, I pushed them back to our ship, only to be interrupted by AP-5. "Stop. We have all the proton torpedoes we need for this mission," he said. "Not according to the weapons expert, which is me. I want these cases loaded up now," Sabine ordered. "Why am I the last one to know about supply changes? I cannot work under these conditions," AP-5 complained. I smirked at their little argument, but that was quickly wiped off my face when I saw a suspicious body moving toward the A-Wings. I blinked twice and saw Maul. Not this time. "It's him! It's Maul!" I said, running off to catch him. Sabine tried stopping me, but I was fixated on catching the darksider. "Out of the way! There he is! I see him!" I shouted, pushing past a couple soldiers. Unfortunately, I lost Maul, but I could still sense his presence. I looked behind me to meet the gazes of the soldiers in the area. "Ezra, stop!" Sabine's muffled voice called out. I ran away from her. No distractions. I went behind an A-Wing and heard some laughing. Looking under it, I saw those familiar robotic legs. I leaped over the hull and saw the former Sith Lord. "I knew it!" I snarled, kicking him back. It did little to no damage, so I Force pushed him into some nearby crates, crippling him. I took out my lightsaber and was about to ignite it until Sabine pushed me back. "Ezra! Wait!" Sabine shouted. Nothing was going to derail me from this opportunity to kill Maul. "Let me go!" I barked, pushing her and Kanan away. I turned on my lightsaber and got ready to strike him down. But some Force prevented me from bringing my arms down. "Kanan, what are you doing!?" I yelled. "Ezra! It's not Maul! Look at him!" Kanan pressed. I blinked and saw Y/N. He looked traumatized. He stared back at me in silence before slowly getting up and sprinting away. I don't believe it. I was about to kill him. I dropped to my knees and the tears started streaming down my face. "What's happening to me?" I croaked out. I'm so sorry, brother.
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.
"Ezra, you are NOT doing this!" I scolded quietly. "He's going to expose Chopper base," Ezra said. "We'll move, build a new base!" I countered. "Maul won't hurt me, Kanan. He needs me. Besides, this might be our last chance to learn the secrets of how we can destroy the Sith," Ezra disagreed. I thought for a little bit. Even with my unconditional distrust of the darksider, Ezra was right. Maul kept trying to make him his apprentice but wouldn't lay a finger on him. That restraint could be exploited, despite how difficult it might be to break their co-dependency. "I don't like this at all, but I'm gonna trust you on this," I conceded. "Alright, Maul. We have a deal," Ezra confirmed. "Excellent," Maul said proudly. A ship flew in from the distance and its ramp opened. "After you, my apprentice." Ezra walked to the ship, Maul lagging behind him. It closed once they were both inside, and they took off, away from Atollon. I sprinted to my bike and raced back to base. I hadn't even realized that Bendu disappeared, but it was not in his nature to cause a conflict. Eventually, I got to the Phantom, where Sabine was almost finished matching the ship's frequency with the tracker she inserted into Ezra's wristcom. "Sabine, how's it looking?" I asked. "Just got it. I'm tracking Ezra's signal. They just made the jump into hyperspace," she reported. "Let's go. I don't want to lose them," I stressed. We ran inside the ship and started up the engines. "Y/N, are you sure you want to come along?" Sabine asked her distraught partner. "I don't know...." Y/N said hesitantly. "I need a straight answer," she pressed. "Sure, I guess," Y/N answered. "Okay. Strap in," Sabine said. The Phantom soared through the skies and made the jump to hyperspace. Let's go save our friend.
Y/N's POV:
I don't think I've said a word to anyone. I was battling my inner conflict about Ezra the entire ride. He almost ended my life, and it was so sudden too. His unstable actions over the past few hours felt like a horrifying revelation. But I couldn't have known what he saw. He wouldn't mistake me for someone who's a known killer. No one turns dark that quick, though Maul is certainly accelerating that process. As we emerged from hyperspace in front of Dathomir, everyone was thinking the same thing. "Why is Ezra so willing to trust Maul again and again?" Sabine wondered. "I don't think he is. But I do know he's taking a big risk for all of us," Kanan replied. "And what exactly is this risk?" I chimed in, speaking for the first time on our journey. "Weren't you paying attention at all?" Sabine teased. "Please, be serious. I don't know what's true and what's false," I retorted. "As much as I don't like this relationship he has with Maul, he's trying to keep us safe," Kanan explained. "He can keep us safe without him. Maul has brought nothing but trouble, and that's putting it nicely," I said. "So let's stop him before Maul causes more," Kanan replied as we descended to the surface, landing right outside a cave. "The tracker says Ezra is inside. Let's hurry," Sabine stressed. We ran quickly through the dim cave until we found a door leading to a dimly lit room. "Ezra!" Kanan yelled out upon sensing his Padawan. But what caught my eye were the ghoulish, green spirits that floated in the room we stood in. "Pay our debt," they chanted. "All of you, stay back!" Ezra warned. Kanan and Sabine fired at the spirits, but their lasers simply passed through them. I ran with them but refused to fire after seeing the spirits untouched. They ignored me, but Sabine and Kanan weren't as lucky. They both cried out as the spirits immersed themselves within their bodies. They stood motionless in front of the altar in the center of the room. "Kanan? Sabine?" I asked, hoping they were okay. They opened their eyes, revealing a solid green color where their pupils were supposed to be. They smiled devilishly. Nothing good would result from this, but what?
Sabine drew her pistols and shot first. I dodged the lasers as she refocused her fire on Ezra, who ignited his lightsaber and deflected the bolts away. Kanan turned on his saber and dueled with Maul. I switched my weapon to stun, firing at Sabine. My shot connected, but nothing happened. She redirected her fire onto me, but Ezra stepped in, blocking the bolts from hitting me. "You better not hurt them!" I threatened Maul amid our battle with our possessed crewmates. "We cannot defeat the spirits! Come on, I will show you how to save your friends," Maul shouted. Ezra, Maul, and I sprinted back to the cave entrance. Sabine and Kanan gained some ground, barely missing me as I dove outside and backed away. But they stopped and took a few steps backward. "Wait, why aren't they coming after us?" Ezra wondered. "The altar is the source of their power. They cannot venture beyond the cave. It is unfortunate about your friends, Ezra. But this is your opportunity to embrace your destiny. You will be an excellent apprentice as we traverse the galaxy together. No one will be able to match our combined power," Maul offered. I wasn't buying it, however. I raised my pistol at Maul's head, extremely unsatisfied with the darksider's proposal. "I can't let you do that," I said gravely. This was a costly mistake, as I felt myself being Force choked yet again. "You are irrelevant, a pawn in my grand plan. Drop your threats and let me speak with my apprentice alone, or you will be my first victim of this new chapter," Maul threatened. "Okay...okay," I choked out. Maul released me, and I was gasping for breath. I walked away but stayed just within earshot, praying that Ezra would decline the offer.
"Like Y/N said, that is never going to happen!" Ezra scoffed. "Forget your past! Forget your memories! Forget your attachments! We can walk this path together as friends, as brothers," Maul shouted. "Friends? My friends are trapped in there because of us! I can't just leave them in there," Ezra yelled. Maul was visibly infuriated at this rejection. "You disappoint me, Ezra Bridger," Maul said, chuckling as he walked away. He entered his ship and flew away, leaving me and Ezra alone on the unpleasant planet. "Y/N?" Ezra said, getting my attention, "Yeah?" I replied. "I wanted to apologize, for real this time," Ezra atoned. "Save it. Right now, the important thing is getting our friends back," I responded. He nodded and we re-entered the cave. "So the altar is the source of their power, which means they can't leave the cave, which means we have to get Kanan and Sabine outside," Ezra said. As soon as we uttered Sabine's name, she jumped down behind us. "You are unwise to return to our sanctum," she said, igniting a lightsaber with a black blade. She immediately swung at Ezra, who drew his own saber and clashed with the possessed Mandalorian. "That doesn't belong to you," Ezra pointed out. "Then take it from me, Jedi," Sabine challenged. I shot a few warning shots, missing Sabine on purpose, but close enough to where she faced me. "Come and get me!" I dared, running to the entrance. I glanced back to see her following me. I was too slow, however. I knew I wouldn't make it out of the cave. Sabine pounced toward me, but just before she could strike, she levitated in the air. Ezra held her up with the Force and pushed her toward the cave's entrance. She screamed in defiance as she touched the lighter part of the ground. "You cannot destroy us! You'll never save your friends!" the spirit taunted as it left Sabine's body and traveled back into the cave.
Sabine coughed, still trying to shake off the unwelcome experience of being possessed. "Ezra, whatever you got out of Maul, I hope it was worth it," she said. "It was. Don't go back in there. The spirits will possess you again," Ezra cautioned before running back inside the cave. "Wait! Won't they possess you too?" Sabine asked, but Ezra was in too deep to hear us. "He'll be okay. Trust him," I said. Sabine was taken aback at how cool I was right now. "I don't agree. Get ready to fly us out of here," she said before sprinting after Ezra. I was about to chase after her, but I trusted that they'd be fine. I strolled to The Phantom and started the engines, getting the hyperspace coordinates on standby. I waited for a little while until Ezra and Sabine returned with Kanan, who seemed to have recovered from the spirit's influence. "Good to see you all in one piece. Buckle up," I announced. I flew our ship back into space and plotted our jump, entering hyperspace to close this rotten chapter of our lives. "Hey, you feeling alright?" Ezra said, sitting down in the copilot's seat. "A little. Hopefully, we won't see Maul again," I replied. "I'm sorry, I mean it. I shouldn't have mistaken you for him," Ezra apologized. "Listen, I don't know anything about this Force stuff, but I wouldn't know if you couldn't tell me apart. Whatever nasty things it did to your head, it's over," I explained, brushing off his sorrows. "We're all still alive, aren't we?" Ezra said, putting things into a much-needed perspective. "Yeah, Thank God for that," I said. "Take over for me." I joined Sabine and Kanan in the back.
They were investigating something. It looked familiar, even though I only saw it once. "Kanan, is that what I think it is?" I inquired. He said nothing, instead turning on the weapon, and revealing the black blade. How did this get on board? I was mesmerized by its shape. It looked like a sword from the medieval times. And it was just sitting there on Dathomir. I looked toward Sabine, who bore a frightened expression. I made a confused face, wondering why a simple weapon could trouble her so greatly. "Please keep this safe," Sabine pleaded. Kanan obliged, retracting the saber and joining his Padawan up front. Even as things became more clear, they also became more cloudy. Maul cut his ties with Ezra and went to who knows where in the galaxy, but that could be an issue. No one aside from Ezra and Kanan knew what his allegiances were. And this new weapon that Sabine apparently had history with was just lying somewhere in Maul's old home. At this point, I had to accept that something foreboding would be in our path. Something would emerge soon. If only we knew what it was or when it would happen.