"Dev…are you sure about this?" Caleb asked. He wasn't really used to being this far away from the Temple without his master with him. It wasn't exactly against the rules to travel into Corusant unchaperoned, but it wasn't exactly encouraged either.
The two stood at a tall door, leading into a dark night club that was barely lit. The nightlife of Corusant, Dev had heard, was legendary. There were all types of girls, and vendors whose merchandise was…less than legal.
Ezra just shifted his eyes from one side to the other, "Of course. Look, it won't hurt to get a little culture into our education, would it?"
"Dev, I wouldn't count a night club as 'culture'."
Ezra just rolled his eyes, and shoved Caleb through the door. "Come on, you need a good time, and I'm just the guy to give it to ya'."
"H-how did you even find this place?" Caleb asked as he dug his heels into the asphalt. It wasn't like him to just blindly go into the unknown with no knowledge of the place. That was one of the biggest mistakes anyone could make. "A-and not all places are fond of Jedi, Dev."
"And that's why I had you change into something less conspicuous." Ezra gestured to the wrinkled shirt, and faded pants that Caleb now wore. It wasn't going to win him any fashion accolades, but it served their purpose. "And as long as we keep our weapons hidden, no one will know."
"But that still doesn't explain how you heard about this place," Caleb said.
Well, it didn't. To be honest, Ezra knew nothing about Corusant, let alone its bars and nightspots. When he concocted this little plan of his, and pushed Caleb out the Temple gates and into the wider array of the city, he had no idea where he was going. He had just wandered through the city (with Caleb in tow) and came across the first non-shady club he could fine, which just happened to be this little establishment. The Cosmic Belt.
"Just trust me," he told Caleb. Frankly, Ezra was just trying to convince himself way more than he was talking to Caleb. But luckily, as Kanan would say, "The Force will guide you."
Ezra pushed Caleb inside. There was no turning back now. On Lothal, most people didn't really care too much about children in clubs, or bars. As long as they didn't get in the way, no one said anything. And, what was most important was the attitude that you presented. If you acted like you were supposed to be there, most people left you alone. However…if you looked like you just escaped a cloud-car crash (like how Caleb looked now) then things could get a little troublesome. But no matter, Ezra took Caleb here to get him to loosen up.
The club was dark on all sides. Lights flashed from point to point, lighting up the floors in rhythmic sequences. Red after blue after green after yellow. If Ezra looked too closely, he might have been placed in a trance. There was so much energy here. Dancers, drunkards, gamblers, soldiers, all huddled together hoping to forget their lives for one night.
"Check it out," Ezra said pointing to the far end, a large bar was situated right in the center of the wall. "We should get a drink."
"Dev, we're not old enough."
"I didn't mean an alcoholic drink. I meant like…juice." Ezra shrugged. "You know, I have this one Lasat friend who loves this kind of Caf that's only found on Corusant. I've been dying to try it."
Caleb only looked on, "Alright. B-but we can't stay long."
Ezra patted Caleb's shoulder and smiled, "Right, right. We'll just dance a little, maybe have a few—non-alcoholic—drinks, and we'll be on our way. No problem." Ezra pointed out to one of the empty tables, "Just sit right there and I'll be back."
Caleb shook his head, "Alright fine. But just for a little while." He stood back as his friend disappeared into the crowd. He didn't like this. His hands kept shrinking back to his lightsaber hilt. He walked over to the table, and sat down.
Just relax. There was no reason to be nervous. It was just a dance club. Caleb had never been to one, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least try to have a good time. He tapped his fingers against the table, and perused the club. The music was nice, he had to admit. And it would be nice to eat something that wasn't Temple food. Maybe Dev had the right idea.
"Hey there cutie."
Amidst the bad dancers and artificial fog, stood a tall woman with blonde hair that fell down to her shoulders. Caleb looked to his left, then to his right, and finally pointed to himself. "Are you talking to me?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded. She leaned in, her lips as full as his book full of notes. "I don't think I've ever seen you around before."
Caleb tried not to let his face turn red. He was a Jedi and Jedi know how to keep cool under pressure. "I'm just visiting with my friend."
She looked around, "Really? Is he as cute as you?"
Was she flirting with him? That couldn't be right. No one ever flirted with him, mainly because at the Temple romantic attachments were forbidden, but even if they weren't, Caleb still doubted any girl would find him interesting. Not with his pointed ears and sharp nose.
"I…uh…" Caleb heard himself stammer. This was more nerve wracking then practicing in front of Master Billaba.
"Sherry?" And out of the darkness came another voice. A man's. Deep and powerful. "Who's this loser?" The man, now out and in full view, had short dark hair that sat atop his head. His shoulders were heavy and his boots stomped against the floor so loudly that they almost drowned out the music.
It only took a few seconds for Caleb to register that this man, while physically intimidating, wasn't nowhere near as tough as he looked. He breathed heavily, which meant his stamina was weak. He shifted from one heavy-booted foot to the other, which meant his balance was minimal. All he had going for him was his loud voice and stupid hair….and even that wasn't really an advantage.
"You talkin' with my girl, kid?" he asked.
Caleb didn't answer. Why bother? If he said anything it would only lead to a fight. He simple leaned against the table and said nothing.
"Answer me kid," the man said with a scowl.
"Hey," and out of nowhere, Ezra came forth with two cups of Caf, "What's going on here?"
"It's nothing Dev," Caleb said. "We were just talking."
"This your little friend kid?" The man asked, jabbing his thumb towards Ezra. "You two out on a little play date?"
Ezra gently put the two cups down on to the table, and smiled. "And what if we are?" He moved closer, until his and the man's noses were practically kissing. "You wanna make something of it?"
"Step away kid," the man said.
Caleb leapt from his seat and placed his hand on Ezra's shoulder, "Dev, this isn't worth it. Let's just go."
But Ezra didn't listen. He had known men like this all on Lothal. Big, stupid blowhards who did everything they could to pick on others. When he was younger, Ezra might have run away, but not now. Not when he had someone else to protect. Not when he had faced Inquisitors, Storm Troopers, and monsters of every creed.
"Step off kid," the man said again.
But Ezra didn't budge.
The music pulsated, the lights blazed and in one shot, the man lunged. His arm swinging a wide arc towards Ezra's head.
And Ezra ducked, and shoved with all of his might, sending the man sailing backwards, and crashing onto the ground.
"You were saying?" Ezra said with a cocky grin.
The man slowly stood, wiped the blood from the side of his mouth, and grinned. "You're gonna pay for that."
Caleb stood by Ezra's side, "No one's threatens my friend."
"Really?" The man lifted his hands, and more men (members of his gang perhaps?) stood by his side, "If you get to fight with your friend…then I get to fight with mine."
In minutes Caleb and Ezra were surrounded, they stood back to back, their hands at their sides.
"Alright," Caleb whispered, "These guys won't be too big a problem."
"You're right about that," Ezra agreed.
Neither boys had been in such a situation before. They had fought, but never in a club with so many distractions, and variables that could go wrong. They could slip. They could be blinded by the dancing lights. One of those thugs could have a weapon. Still, they never feared anything. Not with the other standing beside him.
The attackers lunged, all at once. Ezra dodged. Caleb kicked. Bottles smashed against the ground, and people shouted louder than even the music could overpower.
"Dev, watch your back!" Caleb yelled.
"No problem," Ezra said as he dodged a stray punch to his forehead. These guys weren't even good brawlers, let alone good fighters. It was almost too easy.
"Get those little brats!" someone yelled. And before long, it seemed like the whole club (dancers, drunkards, and patrons) were all shoving and pushing and trying to knock each other's heads off. Ezra and Caleb didn't need their force-sensitivity to know this ordeal had spiraled out of control.
Caleb looked around him and knew that it was time to go. "We've gotta get out of here Dev."
And for once, Ezra didn't argue. "Yeah. Let's go."
The boys pushed and shoved their way through a violent crowd, trying to move as quickly as possible.
"You little brats aren't going anywhere!" The man said. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a shiny black blaster. "No one disrespects me!" He pointed it straight at Ezra's head.
In one shot, a blue bolt of flare ran from the blaster's barrel and charged forth. Caleb, with all the instinct his training had prepared him with, shoved Ezra to the ground and pulled out his lightsaber. He flicked it on, and its light bathed his face in a blue hue. The bolt bounced off of the saber, and careened towards an off-kilter curtain that hung too low to the ground.
And it caught on fire.
The small blaze turned into a huge inferno. All the brawlers stopped, looked towards the flames, and screamed.
"We need to get out of here."
"Let's go. Let's go."
They all rushed the door at once. Caleb grabbed hold of Ezra's arm and yanked him from the ground. "We've gotta get out of here," he said.
Caleb and Ezra, along with the rest of the patrons, ran from the burning building. And as they filled the streets and watched the flames reach towards the sky, the boys could only utter one word to sum up their entire evening.
"Oops."