A/N: This chapter of the story was really giving me trouble, but I guess I got it worked out. We are nearing the end of this tale, and I'm sad to leave it. There's probably 2 or 3 more chapters left to write, which I have sketched out. I hope you are still enjoying this! I have some very wonderful reviews and readers and, to them, I am sorry it took me so long to get this out. I had a few work trips over the summer which have really slowed me down!

Chapter 21

A few weeks later, they were on Lothal, waiting to pick up a shipment headed to Garel. While they waited, Kanan asked Hera if she would land them somewhere quiet, instead of in the busy city. She had set them down on one of Lothal's wide plains at night, and all of them had gone up to lie on the warm hull and look up at the stars.

"This is really nice." Zeb murmured, reclining back with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Yeah." Kanan nodded, glancing to Ezra, who was in a meditation position, with the holocron on the hull in front of him.

"He's been working on that thing for two weeks straight." Sabine said, as she laid face down on the hull, propping her chin on her hands.

"He'll get it." Kanan could feel the kid working the Force around the Holocron's square shape. He would move the Force along with his fingers along the side of the cube, feeling for any give or seam. He'd tried almost everything. He'd levitated it, pulled at it, meditated with it and even slept with it clutched in his hand, but nothing had worked.

Kanan felt Hera's bright presence at the upper hatch as she crawled out. "Wow," she murmured, turning in a full circle looking up at the stars. "Great view." They'd been steadily working the past few weeks, banking some creds and spending most of their times in spaceports, so the opportunity to slow down and relax was a welcome one.

"Yeah." Kanan held an arm out for her and she sat beside him, laid back and snuggled into it.

"I see the stars all the time, but there's something about seeing them from Lothal." Hera murmured.

"Maybe it's the company?" Kanan grinned.

"That's probably it," Hera turned her head and placed a kiss on his cheek. As they'd worked together over the past few weeks, she'd sensed their all their bonds deepening. Her crew was slowly becoming a family, and that made her extremely happy. She hadn't had that feeling since before her mother died, and she was surprised to find out that she missed it.

They remained in the darkness, highlighted by Lothal's two moons, as the stars wheeled above them. After a long time, Zeb took a deep breath. "You can really feel the Ashla here," he said, in a relaxed voice.

"What's the Ahsla?" Sabine asked.

"The Force. Lasat call the light side of the Force the Ashla. It can be felt flowing through all living things."

"So can Lasat use the Force too?" Hera asked.

"Not like a Jedi, although some have that gift." Zeb whispered, then corrected himself. "I mean, had that gift." His voice dropped a little, and Sabine noticed.

She moved so that she was lying closer to Zeb. She looked up into his green eyes with empathy. "I'm sorry, Zeb."

He reached out and laid a gentle paw on her forearm, "Thanks, kit."

"Loth-rat, Loth-cat, Loth-wolf run. Pick a path and all is done." Ezra whispered as he chose two sides to depress on the cube. This time, however, he visualized the cube opening with the Force. The box levitated in front of his eyes, casting blue light all around like a star. He scrambled to his feet and took a few steps back. A warm gentle wind blew his too-long hair out of his eyes, and the corners of the box flew out as it seemed to disassemble itself. The first thing he thought was that he'd broken it, but the little pieces were spinning around the floating object as if they were meant to do it. It was quite beautiful.

Kanan sat up with Hera. "You did it," Kanan said proudly, a half-smile on his features.

"Yeah." Ezra glanced at him through the blue light. "What…what do I do now?"

"Ask the Force to show you the way to the temple." The Jedi said as he got to his feet. Ever since they'd spoken about his initiate trials they'd been working hard to get Ezra past his brush with the dark side. Ezra had meditated every day under Kanan's watchful eye, working hard to release his fear into the Force. This was just one more sign that everything was going to be okay. As Ezra concentrated, the blue holographic light coalesced into a star map of the Outer Rim. Little planets and systems made themselves clear as the hologram unfolded itself under the starry Lothal sky. "These are Jedi temples." Kanan pointed out the tiny dots that appeared on some of the planets.

As Ezra began to walk around the map, one of the temples appeared a brighter dot than the others. It seemed to glow with a roseate light. "Kanan? Why is this temple brighter?'

Kanan's brow furrowed. "It's not, but the fact that you perceive it that way says something very important. That planet is…" He read the aurebesh next to it. "Alora. The Force must be calling you there."

Ezra looked through the haze of blue to Kanan, then to Hera. "So, we'll go there?"

Hera stepped forward and put a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "If that's where you're meant to go, we'll leave tomorrow." Hera said, holding a hand out to Kanan, then leading him back to their place on the hull.

"How…how do I get it closed?" Ezra said.

Kanan smiled. "You'll have to figure that out for yourself."

Ezra glanced to Sabine, who smiled at him, then he closed his eyes. He tried several things, then he pushed with the Force, imagining his hand squeezing the cube. It collapsed to its previous form. "Good job." Kanan called to him in the semi-dark.

Ezra and Sabine sat back down on the hull and leaned back to see the stars.

"When I was little, my dad and I would look up at the constellations. There's the Tooka." He pointed out a group of stars that had just risen over the horizon. It did sort of look like a Loth-cat, Sabine thought. "And there, that's the Great Wolf constellation." Ezra told Sabine, pointing her toward a collection of stars in the sky. "See the bright one?"

"Yeah."

"That's his eye. He's watching Lothal to protect it. That's what my dad um...al…always said." Sabine looked up when Ezra's voice caught. His face twisted as he tried to fight the grief that had taken him by surprise. Even though he had closed his eyes, a tear still seeped out to track down his face.

"I'm so sorry." She pressed closer to him and felt his arm go around her in a sort of hug. He buried his face against her hair. "It's gonna be okay."

"It's just that…Lothal needs someone to protect it." Ezra said, his voice rough but coming back under his control. "My parents tried…but then the soldiers came for them. Arson tried…and died."

Kanan's voice came across to them in the dark. "We're Lothal's protectors now, Ezra. I promise we'll do everything we can to protect Lothal and its people from the Empire." He could feel Ezra's grief over the loss of his parents in the Force, and he sent back care and reassurance.

"I second that." Zeb said softly, from his corner of the hull.

"We might not be able to defeat the Empire right now," Hera said softly. "But we can do everything we can to save the people of Lothal and change things for people out here. And when the time is right, we'll do what we can for all the people of the Outer Rim."

"Thank you." Ezra managed, feeling Sabine's hand twine into his own. "Thank you, guys."

"Thank you, Ezra. For showing us the way." Kanan replied.

The kids had gone in to bed, and Zeb had followed not soon after. The light from the hatch faded and Hera and Kanan were left in the dark, to look up at the star-studded heavens above them. She'd almost drifted to sleep, lulled by the soft wind and the gentle moonlight shining down. A gentle touch on her cheek made her open her eyes and look up. Kanan was on his side, resting his head on his hand and looking down at her.

"I thought we were looking at the stars, love," she said as she caught his intense look.

"You're more beautiful than any star."

She smiled up at him in the darkness. "I don't know how you can see me in the dark, but thank you."

"We've got the moons, and I don't have to see you with my eyes anyway." He closed his eyes, tracing one finger over the curve of her cheek, down to her neck.

"You're peeking." She smiled as he ran his fingertips to her shoulder.

"Nope." The gentle pressure moved up her neck to the base of her skull. She sighed as he massaged away the stress in the back of her neck, wringing a groan from her. Toward the end, the back of his hand brushed down the underside of a tattooed lek and she gasped. He immediately stopped, his eyebrow quirked with a question. "Was that ticklish or something?"

She rolled on her side, now facing him. "Um…did you ever…were you ever with a Twi'lek before?" He certainly knew how to touch her, she thought, as she struggled to calm her beating heart. She could still feel the ghost of his hands on her skin, and she was surprised to find she wanted more.

Kanan shook his head. "No. Did I hurt you?" He looked worried now.

She shook her head no. "The underside of a lek…it's a bit…intimate," she explained, actually blushing. "I mean if you're trying to get something started…it's definitely working…"

Now it was his turn to blush. "Oh…OH!" He said as it dawned on him. He hadn't slept with a Twi'lek, but he'd heard stories. He just hadn't been thinking about that when it came to her. "Okay, I think we can both agree that I'm officially an idiot." He paused, happy to hear her laugh softly as she shook her head.

"Oh, I didn't mind it, love," she breathed, "I just wanted to make sure you knew…what you're getting into," she reached over and took a strand of his brown hair between her fingers. It was soft, like spun synthsilk. Against her better judgement, she tugged at his hair tie and then wound her fingers into the slightly wavy brown hair. He seemed to like that.

"I never stayed with anyone more than a week or two, but now...I…I can't imagine being without you." He leaned over and kissed her, his hand sliding to the back of her head to pull her in.

She groaned again at the roughness of his voice contrasted with the softness of his touches. "Kanan—" she said, leaning in to bury her face against his chest. "I feel exactly the same." She lifted her eyes to his.

"I like the sound of that," he leaned in and began to kiss his way back to her neck again and further back, until he was nuzzling at the base of her lek again.

She shuddered with sensation. "Now you're doing it on purpose." He began moving down her lek, past the barrier of her pilot's cap, until his mouth was kissing gently on her bare skin. "Gods, Kanan. You're coming to bed with me. Right kriffing now," she growled, arching her body against his own.

It was the response Kanan was waiting for. "Yes, Ma'am." Kanan immediately stood up, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her to her feet.

They came down the ladder to an empty common room. It was obvious everyone had gone to bed, and Hera pulled him toward her bedroom. When she stopped to key open the door, Kanan began dropping kisses along her shoulders and she mis-keyed the code. "I'm gonna get you for that," she said, in a voice full of promise.

"I'm just following orders," Kanan said innocently. He wrapped both arms around her in a hug as she got the door open.

She turned in his grip, looking up with clear green eyes. "Wait a minute…Kanan, tell me you're sure about this."

"I'm sure. I can't promise that I'm not gonna kriff this up-Force knows I'm a walking disaster-but…I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. This…you…the kids…Zeb…you're my family. I love you, Hera."

"I love you, too." She whispered with a smile, tugging on his hand. "Now come on."

Two days later, the Ghost set down on the overgrown landing pad on Alora. It hadn't taken long for the forest to retake the complex, and everywhere grass stuck up through the cracks in the duracrete. The Jedi temple site was near the mountains, snugged into a hilly portion of the great woods.

"Wow. It's really green." Ezra said, looking out onto the shaded verdant woodland. He was used to the faded green of Lothal's grasslands, not the brilliant many-shaded greens he was seeing out of the viewport.

Hera had been forced to finesse her way through the trees to land the Ghost; once she'd had to turn it completely vertical to zoom between two trees. The canopy had thickened after the temple had been deserted and getting a ship through was tough. "This planet isn't that populated."

"Maybe that means the temple hasn't been destroyed." Kanan said.

"Would there have been Jedi who lived here during the Republic?" Ezra asked.

Kanan nodded. "They would have left as soon as…they knew what was happening, though, so it should be deserted now."

"Look." Sabine pointed, and they saw the grey of stone peeking through the shadows. "That must be part of the temple."

Hera began flipping switches and powering down the Ghost. "Chopper. I want you to remain scanning for Imperials. If you detect anything, let me know immediately."

Chopper squawked his agreement as they stood up and exited the ship.

Kanan watched Ezra and Sabine explore the overgrown area that obviously used to be a meditation garden before it had become thick with weeds. His padawan was holding Sabine's hand in his own as they talked in hushed tones.

"I think they're good for each other." Hera murmured, twining her hand into Kanan's. "Like us."

"Yeah." Kanan glanced at Hera. "She hasn't had a nightmare since that one last week." It had been bad, leading her to hide in the storage closet on the upper level. She'd been holding a Westar in each hand when Ezra had opened the door. Despite the fact that she had pointed the guns at him, Ezra had crawled into the closet with her, and finally coaxed her into his arms where she broke down and cried. None of them had had dry eyes as they watched Ezra's bond with her bring her back from the darkness of her dreams. Eventually, they'd all ended up piled into the Dejarik booth with hot cocoa, all the lights on and an old holonet movie playing. Sometime near dawn, Sabine had fallen asleep with her head on Ezra's shoulder.

"Think the kid's ready?" Zeb said as he approached with the packs that Kanan and Ezra had packed the previous night.

"He's as ready as I can make him." Kanan replied as they stepped onto the small duracrete stones that comprised a path which led to the Temple. "But this won't be easy."

"Well, if he fails, he can just try it again later, right?" Zeb asked.

Kanan looked grave. "I'm not sure. This…will be different than the testing I went through. Jedi Masters tested me, but Ezra…" he looked across at his Padawan. "Ezra will be tested by the will of the Force. It's a different thing." He could feel the unease of Hera and Zeb as he continued to walk with them toward the entrance.

"Ezra." He called when they drew close. "It's time."

Ezra and Sabine rejoined them.

All five of them regarded the ivy-covered stone entrance in front of them. The doors were covered in ancient script, covered by vines. Kanan walked forward, intending on brushing away the vegetation. There were blaster marks underneath, where parts of the door's surface had been blown off.

"Did stormtroopers do this?" Ezra said, stepping forward to brush his fingers over the chipped stone.

"Possibly," Kanan murmured, distracted with his own memories of the past. His fingertips brushed over the damaged surface as well.

"It was to get to the Jedi?" Ezra said, his voice dropped to a whisper. Suddenly, the destruction of all the Jedi hit him, all at once. He had known…had heard about the Purge since he was little—had heard the abject sorrow in Kanan's voice when he spoke about it-but being here…at one of the places where the Jedi were destroyed-it underscored how he and Kanan were possibly the last two. He could feel the deep sorrow he'd sensed in Kanan coming to the surface, and it frightened him. Ezra began to feel a heavy responsibility settling about his shoulders. "Kanan…are we…the last two?"

"Maybe. Probably." Ezra could feel him take a tighter hold on his emotions. He looked up at the door. "You have to help with the door. We have to open the temple together."

"It's too big." Ezra murmured, looking at the tall stone doors that dwarfed them. "They'll be too heavy."

"Someone once told me that 'Size matters not,'" Kanan said, hearing the ghost of Master Yoda in his words. "Two are needed to open a temple. A Master and a Padawan. That's us."

Kanan lifted his hand, palm pointing at the door. At a glance, Ezra did the same. They closed their eyes and reached for the Force.

And nothing happened.

Kanan let out a soft sigh. "Stop thinking about what you can't do. Open yourself to the Force and let it flow outwards toward the door."

Ezra tried…in his mind he imagined pushing the door open, just as he moved small objects, but nothing was happening. "I…I can't."

"Yes, you can." Kanan reached out and put a hand on Ezra's shoulder, still extending a hand outward. They tried once more and there was a long scraping sound.

Ezra's eyes went wide in disbelief, but Kanan's hand tightened on him.

"Concentrate." Kanan warned. As Ezra re-focused, there were more scraping noises and the doors swung open, allowing the diffused sunlight to spill into the passage a short way.

Ezra could see the bright blue and green of the tiled floor. "Wow," he said, his voice soft, but full of amazement. Underneath their feet, circles and lines scratched into the stone were glowing a soft gold.

Kanan reached out and ruffled Ezra's hair. "Remember this. Never think about what you can't do. Make a way to get it done. Many things are possible with the Force that can't be taught."

"Yes, Master."

Kanan turned to the three that were silently watching them.

"How long will you be in there?" Hera asked.

"I'm not sure. It could be hours, could be a few days." Kanan approached and took Hera's hand. "But we will come back." He wrapped both arms around her, hugging her close. When he finally let her go, he shouldered his pack and clapped Zeb on the shoulder.

"Ashla be with you, my friend." Zeb said.

Ezra came to Sabine. She hugged him fiercely. "Be careful, Ezra."

"I will."

She rested her forehead against his own for a moment. "You know how I feel about you."

"I do." Ezra whispered. "I love you too."

He reluctantly let her go and moved to Zeb and Hera.

"You're going to be just fine, kit," Zeb said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Be careful." Hera hugged him. When she let him go, Ezra turned to join Kanan.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

They disappeared into the temple darkness together. Hera listened to the sound of their footsteps echoing, then fading. "Okay," she sighed, putting an arm around Sabine. "Now, we wait."

Sabine, Zeb and Hera had retreated to the Ghost, but Sabine sat on the ramp, watching the dark entrance to the temple as if she were on guard duty. All of a sudden, she saw movement through the green fronds of fern and grass. A figure passed behind a tree and she lost sight of it. She drew one of her weapons and keyed her comm.

"Hera," she whispered. "Someone's heading toward the entrance." Her heart was pounding and she'd ducked down but now made her way toward the temple, using the long grasses and trees to hide her approach.

The figure she'd seen was now nearing the temple doors. It wore a cloak and hood in a greenish brown shade, and she couldn't see its features, although she could tell it was probably a man by his height and broad shoulders. He was just standing in front of the pathway to the door, staring inside with rapt attention.

She came up behind him and put the muzzle of one Westar to his head and one to his back. "Stay still," she hissed. "How many are with you?"

"Just me. No one else."

"You'd better not be lying." She jammed the gun into his back.

"I'm not lying," he breathed. "I'm not."

Hera and Zeb came up from behind. Zeb had the stranger covered with his bo-rifle. "We got him Sabine. You! Turn around, slow."

Sabine backed up and the person turned around. "Pull off your cowl," Hera said.

The figure did, and Hera gasped.

Although he was white-haired and a lot older than the ones that Hera remembered, she immediately recognized the clone soldier standing in front of them.