Space, en route to Atollon:
The couple watched the Jedi training from the small balcony in the cargo hold before Hera descended the ladder, joining the two older teens. "Keep your blade up. It's easier to drop it than it is to raise it." Kanan instructed as they clashed sabers.
After breaking a saberlock, he Force-pushed his Padawan to the wall before attempting to slash the spot his head was at. The youngest teen dodged to the side before extinguishing his blade then trying to shoot his master. "You know, that's my move." he said that while effortlessly blocking them before deflecting the last one towards the kid.
"I steal from the best." he replied with a smirk after blocking the shot. The two started at each other for a few seconds before Ezra charged him. The older man jumped over the kid before the teen slid along the ground.
Just as he landed, his Padawan ran up the wall before backflipping over his master as the older man turned around with a swing of his saber. Immediately after landing, the teen turned around before holding the saber at Kanan's neck.
"Gotcha!" he said with smirk, unaware of the saber pointed at his stomach. "And I got you." the older Jedi replied before Ezra looked down to see the saber. "Tied again!" the kid complained as he and Kanan extinguished their blades.
"Tied again? There's no such thing as a "tie." You lose, you die." the older man said sternly with a frown. "Yeah, and you win by killing an Inquisitor." the kid argued. "No. You win by surviving." he replied.
"You two are getting pretty good." Sabine said. "Getting? Are you saying we weren't good before?" he asked, sounding annoyed while glaring and placing his hands on his hips. "I think she just meant you're even better now." Hera said, trying to reassure him before he exhaled.
"I'll take it." he replied before being forced to block a sudden attack from Kanan. "Hey!" he protested at the sudden attack. "You never turn your back on an enemy." his master warned before breaking the saberlock and relaxing his stance.
"Okay. But since when are you my enemy?" the youngest teen questioned before Kanan sighed. "Let's go again." he replied before they started sparring again.
Atollon, rebel base:
After Hera landed the ship, she and the others minus Chopper, made their way towards the command center. "The site doesn't look like much, I'll admit. The good news is our scouts found a fresh water source deep underground." Rex explained.
"We're placing sensor markers around the perimeter. We'll know if anyone drops by unannounced." Sabine informed the others before they heard chirping and saw one of the planet's native wildlife on the crate behind Zeb.
"Hey! Get away from that! How I hate those little bogens." he grumbled after shooing it away. "This planet may be hot, dry, and unpleasant. But at least there's nothing trying to kill us." the clone said with a smile and while crossing his arms.
"All sensors on the Eastern face are in place." a pilot informed the couple and clone before they turned to face him. "Good. Have all the pilots checked in?" Sabine asked. "Lieutenant Dicer hasn't come back yet." he replied.
The two teens then turned to the console behind them before Anakin attempted to contact Dicer. "Phoenix-6, report. Dicer, do you copy?" he asked, only to get static in return before he and his girlfriend shared a worried look.
"She was on the North face. We'd better go check on her." the Mandalorian girl said as Hera and Kanan walked up to the back of the console. "Take the Phantom." she suggested, getting a nod from her before she, her boyfriend and Rex made their way out of the command center.
Atollon, somewhere in Northern perimeter:
After landing near the A-wing, the three exited the shuttle before Sabine tried contacting the pilot. "Spectre-5 to Phoenix-6, where are you? Dicer, come in." the ex-merc's girlfriend ordered over her comlink before they heard chirping coming from under the helmet on the ground.
Rex picked it up and one of those little creatures from earlier looked at him before running off. "Looks like whatever happened, happened right after she placed that sensor." he said while walking over to the couple with the helmet.
Sabine crossed her arms as a worried look made it's way onto her face before her boyfriend started looking around rapidly. "What is it, kid?" his godfather asked. "Something's here. Something hostile." he warned before the 'boulder' behind them started to stand up.
The creature hissed at them before the the three opened fire on it while retreating back towards the shuttle and ship. "More incoming!" she warned as two more appeared behind before turning to shoot them.
"Get to the shuttle." Rex ordered the teens before they headed for it. The couple was forced to stop as one of the creatures suddenly appeared on top the Phantom before they tried killing it.
The two quickly retreated back a few feet as it jumped off the shuttle before Rex finally managed to kill one. "This is Spectre-5. We're under attack! We need backup-!" the Mandalorian girl started to say over her wrist com before one of the creatures suddenly bashed into her.
The ex-merc's girlfriend grunted in pain as she was launched into a small dune. "Sabine!" he exclaimed in concern before turning to glare hatefully at the creature who attacked her.
Tapping into the Dark Side and letting it guide him, the son of Ahsoka and Revan raised his left hand with fingers outstretched before a burst of lightning shot out towards the creature.
The creature wailed in pain as it was being electrocuted before it's cries got louder as the teen increased the voltage. Since he was so distracted by getting revenge on it, the ex-merc didn't even see Rex getting swarmed until he heard the clone yelling.
"Get off me, you lousy crawler!" he demanded as the creature started carrying him away. "Rex!" the couple exclaimed in horror as the male teen stopped his attack on the other creature now that it was reduced to ash.
Before he could even think about saving the older man, the last two remaining creature charged towards him. The ex-merc quickly turned around before making his way over to Sabine.
After helping her up they turned their attention back to the creature before opening fire again. A few seconds passed before his girlfriend managed to kill one by shooting it in one of the eyes.
Unfortunately all this noise seemed to attract another one and the teen were forced to retreat towards the beacon Dicer had planted earlier. Just as the two remaining creatures got near the couple and beacon, they suddenly started screeching in what appeared to be pain before backing away a few feet.
"What are you waiting for? Come on!" she taunted before the Ghost appeared behind them, ramp down with Zeb and Kanan providing covering fire. The creatures seemed to realize they were outnumbered before retreating as the ship circled around then descended.
"I hate multi-leggers." the Lasat growled in disgust as he and the others walked down the ramp. "Where's Rex?" the younger Jedi asked. "Those creatures took him. I think they got Dicer too." Sabine replied as she and Anakin holstered their blasters.
"Chopper, locate Rex's position!" Hera ordered before the droid warbled and did as ordered. A few seconds passed before he warbled again. "He says this way." the Mandalorian girl said before taking off towards the cave nearby, Anakin and the two Jedi following behind.
"Stay sharp and stick together." Kanan ordered, using his lightsaber to illuminate the cave as they made their way in. "They have tough armor. Aim for the eyes." Sabine told them as she and Hera turned flashlights on.
Ezra coughed a bit from the kicked up dirt in the cave as he ignited his blade at the same time Zeb turned his flashlight on. Anakin meanwhile stuck to the Force to guide him. After a few minutes of walking they stopped as the older Jedi grunted in frustration.
"We need to split up." he said quietly while turning to face the others. "Ezra go with Hera." he said to his apprentice. "No. Ezra, stay with Kanan. Zeb, with me. Sabine, Anakin. You two together." the Twi'lek ordered. Kanan nodded before addressing his Padawan. "Let's go." he said before they headed down one tunnel.
"Shouldn't we have someone who can use the Force on each team?" Zeb asked Hera. "We've gotta get used to not having them around." she replied before they and the teens slit up.
As the couple made their way down the tunnel, Anakin ignited his green blade to give them extra light. "Are you alright?" Sabine asked her boyfriend softly after noticing the look of guilt on his face.
"No. No I'm not alright. If hadn't been so focused on making that thing pay for hurting you, I could've prevented the other one from taking him." he replied, angry at himself. The Mandalorian girl stopped him before cupping his face with one hand and turning his head to face her.
"It's not your fault." she said gently before continuing as the look of guilt on his face hadn't disappeared yet. "I don't blame you, okay? And I know Rex won't either." she said before giving him a gentle kiss.
"Again, it's not your fault. You're not all-powerful after all." she added after pulling away. Unfortunately those words seemed to turn his guilt into anger before he started pacing.
"That's just the problem. I should be! I'm descended from one of the strongest Force-wielders who ever lived, yet so far I've been unable to keep not only you safe, but now Rex too!" he snapped before rubbing his face with his mechanical hand.
"It's all my mom's fault! If she hadn't kept stopping my dad from teaching me more Dark Side abilities other than Force Choke, I could've prevented you from getting hurt all those times! She's always holding me back!" he snarled before throwing the saber away in anger.
Sabine watched in concern as he started calming down while releasing a shaky sigh. The Mandalorian girl walked over to him before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a comforting hug.
"Feeling better now?" she asked with a gentle smile after pulling away. "Much. I don't really blame my mom, she was just being what she is: a loving and caring mother." he replied with a small smile. "I guess I had a lot of pent-up aggression that needed to be let out." he added while looking into his girlfriend's eyes with a thoughtful expression.
The ex-merc's eyes widened when her smile changed into a smirk and she gave him half-lidded bedroom eyes. "Oh, that's too bad... I was hoping you had some more pent-up aggression that needed to be released..." she whispered teasingly while pressing flush against him.
Anakin swallowed thickly after hearing those words. "Well, I might have some pent-up aggression that still needs to be released." he teased back while wrapping his arms around her waist.
Just as the couple were about to kiss again, Hera's voice over Sabine's wrist comm broke them out of their moment. "Guys, we found Rex." she said before Anakin sighed in relief. "Good work! We're coming to ya!" Kanan replied before the couple heard screeching on the comm.
"Actually, I think it's time to go." the Twi'lek said, worry creeping into her tone. The teens shared a worried look before screeching was heard around them. "I think we should do as she says." Anakin said as they slowly backed towards the way they'd came before summoning his saber.
"Good idea." his girlfriend replied before they both turned and bolted for the exit.
The couple soon ran into Zeb, Hera and Rex just as the two Jedi joined them. "Glad you could drop in." the Twi'lek remarked after Kanan stabbed one of the creatures in the head. "I wouldn't stand there if I were you. Come on, we'll clear a path." Ezra said before he and the older Jedi ran in the direction the other three had just come from.
Anakin handed his DC-17m to Rex before igniting his green blade and helping the Jedi clear the tunnel of those creatures. With the three saber-wielders cutting down the creatures whenever they tried to block the path, it wasn't long before they reached the exit.
The group ran as fast as they could away from the cave and towards the ship. "Chopper, open up! Chopper!" Hera ordered urgently as the creatures chased after them. Once the ramp lowered, everyone quickly ran into the ship.
"This whole place is infested!" Zeb growled before the ramp closed.
The two Jedi and Lasat headed for the guns after the creatures had webbed the ship to the ground. "Hungry, are ya? Well, eat this!" Zeb growled. "They're all over us!" Kanan warned before the one he was shooting landed on the cockpit's viewport.
"Route auxiliary power to the hull. That should knock 'em off." Hera said to the couple as the two pressed buttons on both side consoles. "It's not working. Hit 'em again!" the older Jedi exclaimed a few seconds after they finally routed auxiliary power.
"No. If we drain too much power we won't be able to lift off." the Twi'lek replied. "I hate to break it to you, but we're not goin' anywhere." the Mandalorian girl pointed out before Ezra popped his head up from the ladder.
"We have to go outside and cut the ship free." he said. "Fat chance of surviving that." Zeb replied.
"Oh, that's great, Zeb. I'm gonna get eaten, the last Jedi in the galaxy, chomped up by some crawlers because you were too afraid to go outside." the kid said, sounding annoyed before said Lasat and his master entered the cockpit as the latter grunted in frustration.
"We're missing something. Why didn't these things attack us before?" he asked while sounding frustrated. "You're right. They could've overrun the base, they didn't come near it." Hera replied before holding her chin in thought as the ex-merc's eyes widened in realization.
"Sabine, the sensor marker!" he said as her eyes widened too. "You're right! Kanan, we know why they didn't attack the base... Look! See that marker? When we were looking for Dicer out there, the creatures wouldn't come anywhere close." she replied to her boyfriend before explaining to the older man while pointing to the beacon outside.
"They don't like the markers. And the base is surrounded by them!" he realized as they all looked out the viewport. "If we can get it, we can use it to hold them off while we clear the ship." the Twi'lek said.
"Only problem is, how do we get to it?" the ex-merc's girlfriend asked before Rex called out to them from behind. "We got a breach! They're coming in the airlock!" the clone warned before he and Zeb ran towards the airlock. "I'll hold 'em here. Get out and cut the ship loose!" Rex said as the others heard screeching coming from that direction.
"We need a plan to get to the sensor." Anakin said. "Well, I think I have an idea." Ezra said as he turned to face them. "Figure it out on the way." Hera replied before she and the others, minus Chopper and Rex, made their way to the cargo hold.
After lowering the ramp, the group opened fire on the creatures. "Okay, kid, quick! What's the plan?" Zeb asked as he kept shooting. "All right. Zeb, you, Anakin and Hera, out front laying cover fire. Sabine, you're on the ramp. Kanan, you're with me." he explained.
"What am I doing on the ramp?" the Mandalorian girl asked, sounding confused while the other's took their positions. "Kanan and I are gonna throw you over to the sensor." he replied while firing off a few more shots.
"Wait, what?!" Anakin asked in surprise after skewering one of the creatures. "Just trust me!" the kid replied. "Times like these, I really wish I had a jet-pack." she said with a worried tone.
"Ready?" Kanan asked after a seconds passed. "Yeah." she replied before the two turned to the side. "One... Two... Three!" the three said together as Sabine ran forward before the two Jedi launched her over the creatures.
Anakin's expression turned to horror as she accidentally passed the beacon and instead kept heading towards the cliff. "Sabine!" he cried in horror after she disappeared over the side.
Both Jedi slowly backed up as they felt the anger rolling off him in waves. "You're extremely lucky she isn't dead, brat, because if she was then you would be dead too." he hissed before Force-jumping over to the cliff. Ezra shuttered in fear after the older teen left.
After landing, he looked over the side and sighed in relief after seeing she was unharmed. The ex-merc pulled her up after he offered his hand before the two turned their attention back to the beacon and creatures.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed in surprise as a creature suddenly appeared behind them. "Get the beacon!" he ordered before igniting his purple blade and swinging it at the creature. Once it backed off, he quickly sprinted over to his girlfriend before they both grabbed the beacon and held it towards the creature.
Anakin reignited his blade and stuck close to the Mandalorian girl who was carrying the beacon before the two carefully made their way past the creatures and towards the ship. "Hera, get us ready to fly." Kanan said before she headed back into the ship while he and the three teens made their way towards the webbing.
"Let's get to work." he said to the two male teens before igniting his blade. As soon as the younger Jedi ignited his, the three Force-wielders started to cut the webbing while Sabine kept the creatures at bay.
"We're clear." Ahsoka's son said after cutting the last web. "Get us out of here." the older Jedi said to Hera over his comm before he and the teens made a break for the ramp. The four climbed onto the ramp while Zeb helped cover them before the ship started to take off.
"Guess we should inform Commander Sato our site... might not work out." Rex suggested, once everyone was now in the cockpit. "No. It took everything we had just to find this place. I'm not ready to give it up." Hera said firmly before Kanan walked up to her and sat down in the co-pilot chair.
"We're not going to. The Rebellion needs this base and we're gonna do whatever it takes to keep it." Kanan said as he crossed his arms. "Don't worry. I'll handle it." she replied before getting out of her chair and leaving the cockpit.
Sabine watched as she left before snuggling back into her boyfriend's embrace and sighing in content as he gave her neck a soft kiss.
Atollon, the next morning:
Anakin stretched and yawned as he Kanan and Sabine watched the rebels finish setting up beacons as a makeshift fence. "I think your fence is gonna hold." the older man said her, arms crossed and with a small smile.
"You'd better go talk to Hera." she replied, her tone and expression one of concern before the three looked to see said woman walking towards the Endar Spire. 'That ship still gives me a weird vibe.'
"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, sounding confused before the Mandalorian girl held placed a hand on her head in exasperation. "Kanan, wake up! She might agree with your mission, but you're still walking out... and taking Ezra with you." she replied before the older Jedi left them to go talk to the Twi'lek.
As the couple watched the two talk, the ex-merc soon noticed his mom out of the corner of his eye. "I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go talk to my mom." he said to the Mandalorian girl, getting a smile and nod in return before he left.
Ahsoka stopped when she saw him approaching and was a bit surprised when he suddenly hugged her. The Togruta instantly returned his embrace. "I love you, mom." he said before pulling away to look at her.
"And I know I've already apologized for this, but once again I'm sorry for leaving you so abruptly. I shouldn't have done that, I was wrong and immature. Instead I should've talked to, tried to work things out. Find common ground." he said softly before she stood on her toes to kiss him on the forehead.
"I know... And you were not being immature, you were only twelve after all." she replied, giving him a reassuring smile before pulling him into another hug. "You're my son and I love you. I promise that will never change..." she whispered as mother and son continued to hug in the sunrise...
Chapter 26 is finally done and the season 2 finale is up next. Who will live...? Who will die...? Twilight of the Apprentice will have your answers.