Anchorhead was a sand blown graveyard of a town, barely a spit on the vast wide landscape of Tantoonie, it had also been abandoned for thousands of years. The dock however still stood enough to shield the Edon Hawk from the desert sands.
Kanan wore his temple guard mask as he and Ezra made their way out of the Hawk. Kanan had chosen a grey cloak to cover his new armour, that he felt more comfortable in the more he wore it and Ezra chose a brown cloak.
Ezra followed his master down the gangplank the wind picked up and sent their cloaks dancing. He boy couldn't help but admire Kanan in that moment he oozed a confidence he had been lacking. The Sith armour suited the man, and Ezra had no doubt it would stop blasters and sabers alike. The looked around the old docking bay, bits of long forgotten crates, moister gathers, the batter remains of a protocol droid.
Revan didn't chime in as the two Force sensitives made their way into the wore town. She took note when Kanan called up her memories of the place but otherwise let him be.
"This way." Kanan said, using the Force to force an old door open.
"Creepy." Erza said as they walked through the town, the sand had blown the white buildings smooth and some had the corners completely eroded away.
Kanan agreed with him, seeing through the Force his picture grew clearer with every use. It would never be as human sight, but he got details now. The grey light surrounding Ezra didn't completely hide the boys features, now he could see the scar on Ezra's cheek and that he had cut his hair. He didn't look to his own aura, he didn't want to face that.
A cool sweat dripped down Ezra's back though not because of the heat. He pulled up his own much weaker and unrefined Force sight, and near jumped out of his skin.
Kanan's aura was red, bits of grey light leaked from around him but the wall of pain he used to hide his force signature also made him appear to be aligned with the dark side. Ezra focused because he was so close to Kanan he could see beyond the wall. The armour added to Kanan's aura, it was grey for the most part but would glow red, feeding and reflecting Kanan's own aura.
Ezra touched his new sabre, its blade was purple as it turned out all three of his chosen crystals had different colours but for some reason the colour of the Lorridian shined through. Ezra was worried before he could see the bonds between Revan, Visas and Kanan. Now he just saw Kanan, Revan's distinct other aura was completely blended in with Kanan's.
"Ezra." Kanan drew the boys attention away from his analysis, he really didn't want to know what was happening to him.
Ezra looked away from Kanan, the man was watching a Force echo play out.
Revan, Bastila and Carth were fighting four Sith. It was easy to see they were winning, Ezra could see the bond between Revan and Bastila then the one Revan had to Carth. They fought as a single unit without the need for Force powers, the battle was short and concluded quickly.
They walked out into an open area that would have been the market a very long time ago. Huge heavy brown metal doors still shield the area from the sand.
"How do you want to get out?" Ezra asked.
"Why not go over?" Kanan said. "Can you jump that?"
The wall was easily two and a half stories high, while he did know how to improve his jump he figured he could only do a story not almost three.
"No." Ezra said.
"Hmm." Kanan muttered then knelt. "Climb on."
"What?" Ezra was not a kid he did not need a ride. "I can-."
"Ezra." Kanan grumbled.
Ezra sighed. "Fine."
He carefully climbed on Kanan's back and locked his legs around Kanan's waist.
Kanan remained kneeling, coiling his strength gathering the Force to him. Revan's memories reflected not in his mind but in his muscles and with a snapped they were soaring up into the air much higher then necessary.
Ezra looked around as he could feel the Force swelling in his master, all the could see for miles around was sand.
Kanan used the Force to slow their fall, almost as if they were gliding, they hit the sand and Kanan absorbed the shock lowering himself back to the ground.
Ezra jumped off and watched his Master rise back up, he pursed his lips, Kanan seemed very fluid now. Despite the darkside aura, Kanan seemed just like, Kanan always had.
"This way." Kanan said setting off, Revan giving him a poke in the right direction.
Ezra followed stretching his sense out as Meetra had taught him, he could feel lizards and other small animals under them. Kanan's towering presence, but very little else in this land of death the Force was a softer thing.
Kanan knew this was going to be a very long walk and asked. "Have you managed enhanced running?"
Ezra beamed "Yes!" and took off at an enhanced run a blur across the sand.
Kanan let out a laugh called up the Force and followed his padawan, this came easily to them both, even the last generation of Jedi could enhanced their speed and strength if not to the same level that came so naturally to the two students of the old Jedi.
Kanan quickly caught up with Ezra and tapped the boys shoulder. "Tag." He said with a smile.
The padawan jumped after his master with a shout of delight, but Kanan side stepped out of the way letting Ezra give chase.
They zigged and zagged across the dunes, Kanan letting Ezra catch him every now and again but mostly to keep them on track to were they were going.
Even at their accelerated pace it took the better part of the day get reach their destination.
Kanan came to a skidding halt its boots creating trenches in the sand. Ezra used to the game slammed rather unceremoniously into Kanan's back. His mentor caught him before he fell back into the sand.
"You okay?" Kanan asked.
"Yeah." Ezra rubbed his battered nose. "Why did you stop?"
"This is the place?" Kanan said, stepping to the side and turning back to look out.
Sand, sand and more sand, that was all Ezra saw but he was a smart boy. "Its below us isn't it?"
Ezra could feel Kanan smile under his mask. "Just great." he grumbled.
"We'll have to move the sand." Kanan reached out a hand and spread his awareness into the earth. This was going to be tough, normally he would just move the objects the problem was there was easily several billion objects between him and his target. Arguably this was considerably more difficult then lifting huge slabs of rock.
Ezra paled, thinking on much the same lines as Kanan, unconsciously he reached out over there thin bond and took support from his master.
Kanan felt the tug in his chest and 'looked' down to Ezra, what the boy had done was the mental version of hold his hand. Kanan tried to adjust his shielding so it would not be so toxic, after some struggle he ended up extending it over Ezra while keeping the feeling behind it away from the boy.
Ezra felt a cool force ripple over him, then a warm feeling extend over their bond. He smiled up at Kanan and reached out with his left hand, the comradery was strange. For some reason he felt like a true padawan now, like this was to be their first true action as master and padawan. This wasn't training, this was different, finally they were standing together, it wasn't perfect but it was a start.
Kanan took a deep breath and visually relaxed, he thought about trying to grab the sand in handfuls, but knew that wouldn't work. In the end he went with his gut feeling and let the Force and his new aspect of Revan guide him. The sand started to lift into the air like a cloud.
Using the bond Ezra copied Kanan, not only the action as he didn't understand the how but the feeling of it. He closed his eyes and felt the sand through Kanan and lifted it with this master.
They moved together through the Force, the sand spiralled upwards like a slow tornado, before them a path opened, pound after pound of sand flowed up into the sky. The upper ridge of a cavern appeared, they grew to a strange harmony of motion. Drawing the sand away from the cave, holding it up in the sky, slowly the cavern emptied only then did Ezra open his eyes. He and Kanan still held the tones of sand above them.
"I'll hold the sand." Kanan said.
Ezra relaxed his grip and Kanan took up the slack, also lowering his hand but the sand remained floating. Ezra couldn't help but feel a little bit of awe for his master.
Together they walked down into the cool cavern, they could see the ghost of a Kryat dragon that had once lived here to protect the Star Map.
The map was the same as the one on Dantoonie and with a wave of his hand Ezra opened the map and pulled his scanner from his pocket, scanned the hologram into it and closed the map again.
The weight of the sand pressed on Kanan and was a constant drain on his pool of Force energy but he felt his training pay off as it did not exhaust him. Together the pair harvested the sparse collection of Force crystals and returned to the surface.
This time Kanan acted alone, raising his hand and sending the sand tumbling back into the cavern. It flowed like a great wave till the last grains lay back where they belonged.
"That is one good way to hid something." Ezra said as Kanan dropped his hand to his side.
The dune looked exactly the way it had before they moved the sand. Kanan had to agree this would be much harder to find then the typical Jedi temple. Revan and Meetra watched silently with smiles, one bonding exercise down!
"Yeah, it also helps that this place looks the same for kilometers around. Lets head back, I don't know about you, but I am getting hot." Kanan said, turning back the way they had come.
Ezra followed him and they resumed there force speed run over the sands. It took less time to return to Anchorhead as they did not play tag but Ezra felt a bit better about Kanan's changes.
Kanan leaped up to the metal gates this time alone and landed on the top. "Jump up!" He called down. "I'll catch you."
Ezra did a small hoe to coil himself and then launched himself up into the air, the extensive use of the force helped it come a bit more naturally.
Up Ezra leaped and managed almost two stories but before he could start to fall, Kanan grabbed him with the force and levitated him to to the top. "Not bad." Kanan said.
Ezra grinned. "Thanks better then I thought I would manage." Ezra peered over the side of the wall, the ground was very far away. "How did you do that glidy thing?"
Kanan scratched behind his ear, sand was getting everywhere. "Not sure, it just felt right." He was pretty sure Revan's instincts had been guiding him so he didn't really know how to explain it. "I'll just jump down and catch you again."
Ezra nodded. "Okay."
Kanan jumped down and again slowed his fall half way through, he landed lightly and reached up to Ezra.
Ezra leaped off the wall and almost instantly Kanan wrapped the Force around him and lowered him slowly to the ground. It was a nice feeling, almost like flying, gently Kanan set Ezra and the ground. His heart did a little flip at the emotions rolling off the boy, he couldn't see the smile but he was sure it was there.
Ezra could feel Kanan's joy with him and they quickly made there way back to the Ebon Hawk, neither wanted to let the ghost town spoil their mood.
After getting all the sand off of themselves. They headed straight for the cockpit and Kanan piloted them up into the sky before asking. "Where to next?"
Revan materialized beside them, it was strange as she still felt within Kanan, but then echos were numerous. "Kashyyk." she said.
Kanan punched in the hyperspace coordinates, comparatively Kashyyk wasn't far so there wasn't much point in leave the cockpit.
Ezra bounced into the co-pilots chair for a moment then bounced out again. "I'll gonna hit the refresher."
"Alright." Kanan said rising as well, he could do with a wash and change of clothes as well. As much as he liked Revan's old armour Kashyyk was much more populated and it wasn't exactly subtle garb.
After a quick trip to the refresher, he still used the force to keep the water away from his scar Kanan retired to his room. It was also Ezra's room but the boy was still glorifying in hot water. He summoned up his old smugglers gear and tried not to think about how second nature using the Force to call times to him had become.
He sat on the edge of the bed, his shirt in his hands, it felt worn and thin, old but still strong. How long had he had this? Years probably, he knew it was green but... Kanan bit his lip there was that feeling again the loss of his sight stabbed him again.
No. He thought he was getting stronger, physically, mentally, stronger in the Force all of it. The life support kicked on to cycle the air, he covered his scar with his shirt.
"Karabast!" He hissed jumping to his feet and throwing the shirt away in fury.
He was not afraid of a damn breeze! Power gathered around him as his anger grew, he was not afraid! Rage swelled behind his breast, he snapped his force sight down and directed his anger into this hands.
Revan's memories and skills directed into the creation of Force lightning, Kanan held the ball of electricity between his hands rather then sending it away. Condensing it and refining, it turned from blue to purple, the life support kicked in and Kanan used the pain to intensify the orb.
Ezra crept into the room, watching his master he had never seen such a blatant use of the dark side. The emotions rolling off Kanan were all negative in nature, mostly self loathing. Ezra silently walked over and put a hand on Kanan's arm.
Shame welled up in Kanan, that Ezra saw this, he clapped his hands together extinguishing the orb.
"Sorry." Kanan muttered.
Ezra smiled. "That is one way to vent."
A smirk tweaked Kanan's lips. "Yeah." He sat back down on the bunk.
Ezra pulled out his old clothes and got dressed while asking. "So why did you do that?"
Kanan's lips thinned. "It was one way Revan dealt with negative emotions, she channelled them into something useful. I didn't think, I just did."
Ezra sat down beside Kanan, the older man still dwarfed him but he was growing. He had Kanan had been training for several months now, theirs masters hadn't given Kanan even one break. Now Kanan had the essence for Revan to deal with too, maybe Kanan just needed a break.
"I'll keep an eye on the cockpit, why don't you take a nap?" Ezra offered.
Kanan almost said no, he didn't look forward to yet more lessons from Visas, but he was exhausted if not physically but mentally and emotionally. "Alright."
Ezra headed off and Kanan rather reluctantly laid down to nap.
In the cockpit, Ezra called on Meetra. "Can you make sure that no one bothers him?"
Meetra nodded in understanding and departed.
"Hi, T3." Ezra said to the little droid.
"Beep-Doo-Beep-woo." T3 responded.
Ezra found it down right weird that he could understand the droid, sure he understood Chopper, but the language this droid was using was archaic. "Uh, Kanan just needs a break, Revan, Meetra and Visas have been pushing him really hard for a long time."
"Dooo." T3 said.
"Yeah its," Ezra looked out into watch hyperspace. "I don't really know what to do. I get the need to grow and change but what has been happening to Kanan." Ezra flopped into the pilots seat. "It's just brutal."
"Beep-Woo." T3 rolled over and sat, if rolling droid could sit.
"If I was in Kanan's place I would be feeling rather used. I get that its a trade, but now... Kanan acted on what Revan would have done without even thinking about it. How much is he gonna change?"
"Deee."
"At least its only skills and memories, or at least Revan's personality was taking a back burner." Ezra was very grateful for that at least Kanan was familiar. "Still its pretty cool see what he can do now."
"Dooop-beeep."
"I hope so." Ezra said softly.
Not a single review last chapter, I can't say I am all that surprised it was a lot of background and stranger stuff. The theme I am working with for this story is the price of power, how much a person is willing to give up for power. Kanan is falling, losing himself in the Dark Side and Revan. I find this most interesting to explore, how far will he go? When will he see what is happening to him? Will he want to change his course when he sees this, I am trying very hard NOT OC Kanan, I want Kanan to be Kanan, but I also want to put him through the ringer. I will admit I have been pretty disappointed with season 3 thus far, so I am trying to do the exploring I wanted for it here.