"Ezra?" A third voice chimes in, sounding barely familiar.

Aubrey.

"It is you. I thought it was you." She beams, the moves to hug me. "How are you?"

I stare blankly at her, then shove Sabine's hand out of my chest, sending her phone clattering to the ground. "Aubrey? Hi."

"You do remember meeee." She squeals, then tackles me and wraps herself around me. "Been looking all over for you!"

"All over?" Sabine buts in, brushing off her phone before blowing on it. "He goes here. Who are you?"

"I'm Aubrey, a friend of Ezra's."

Sabine simply crosses her arms at Aubrey. "I can tell that? From High School? Seems like a weird reason to take a flight all the way from Georgia."

Aubrey tenses up, still wrapped around me like a python. "I just missed him, is all. Not weird. Who are you?"

"Sabine, a friend of Ezra's."

Very coy.

Aubrey laughs, then sets her feet down and uncoils from me as I try to ignore how close her torso is to me and take a step back. "Am I interrupting something?"

Because Sabine's mad.

"No."

"Yes."

We both turn to each other, and Sabine scowls at me.

She said yes.

"Would we like to try that again?" Aubrey offers up the chance.

"No." I turn to her. "I can text you later Sabine. How—Why— I texted you the other day, you didn't have to fly all the way out here."

Aubrey smiles widely. "It's not like I'm doing anything."

"Flights aren't cheap though." I play up the lie.

"You're being modest." She smiles at me.

She got really pretty.

I feel myself blush before I glance away from her. "Well, since you're here do you want to go eat?"

"Sure!" Aubrey beams and tackles me before I spot a betrayed looking Sabine, mouth half open while looking mortally wounded.

"I'll…leave you two be." She says awkwardly, scooping up her backpack off the ground. "I'll text you Ezra."

"Bye." I wave awkwardly, not quite knowing what else to do before adding. "Nice seeing you." Sabine doesn't reply, leaving me to look over at Aubrey.

"I interrupted something, didn't I. It kind of looked like you were…fighting."

I shake my head and smile slightly at her. "No, it's a misunderstanding. Anyway, how'd you—"

"No no. I can explain, but not here. You wanna go to lunch with me?"

"Uhh. Sure." I sputter out. "My car's way off in the distance though."

At my apartment. And as good as it is to see her, I'm not thrilled on her getting that close (literally!) to my home.

I don't know anything that's going on. Where she's been, Who she's working for, etc.

"That's okay. I got an Uber on my way. I'll just call it back…" She pulls out her phone and starts tapping on the screen. "It looks like there's like a walkway up ahead?"

Yeah, Sabine and I didn't get all that far from class.

"Yeah."

"I'll call it there." She says, before I nod and start leading the way.

"Twos, turn on your tracker. Keep it in house." I text her subtly before we arrive at the crosswalk as she's digging in a decent sixed purse for…

Glasses?

"You like?" She smiles at me, wearing the black spectacles.

"They're nice. You don't need them though."

Her vision is perfect. 20/15.

She simply smiles at me. "Gotta blend in, look all smart and stuff. Glasses make everyone look smarter."

Oh, it's a disguise.

"Here it is." She informs me as a black SUV pulls up and she opens the door and climbs in.

Oh…kay.

Aubrey rattles off an address to the driver, who nods, smiles and says "There's candy in the middle dash if you guys want some."

"Ooh! Thanks." Aubrey beams again, then opens the dash to reveal a mixed bag of candy with Starburst, little Skittles packs, SweetTarts and tiny AirHeads.

I smile, then add my own "Thanks." Before noticing that Aubrey is on her phone again, giving me the excuse to check my own phone.

"Sure. Done. Why?" – Twos

"Search Temple Database records for 'Aubrey Simmons'." I reply.

Honestly, she hadn't crossed my mind in a couple of years. She fell completely off the grid, never poked her head up once.

"Searching. From what I heard, you're headed to the Olive Garden on Beecher St. which is a mile and a half away."

"The only audio component you're supposed to be listening to is my voice. Not the conversations around me. Disengage." I order Twos.

"Sorry." She replies. "You said you wanted to be tracked. So I listened in and discovered your final location. One mile away now."

"That Sabine?" Aubrey glances over at me.

I nod, then smile. "Yeah."

"You guys dating? She is really pretty."

"No, no we're not dating. She's…"

Banging random guys and claiming to not really recall. Which is convenient.

"She's searching the market her own way."

"One mile away." – Twos

Aubrey's eyebrows drop. "What's that supposed to mean? What are you trying to say but not saying it exactly?"

"She's sleeping with other guys." The driver chimes in.

"Shut the hell up." Aubrey snaps at him, shaking her finger strongly at him. "Drive."

Just as authoritative as I remember.

"Pulling in now ma'am."

Aubrey shakes her head while gathering up her purse as we halt in front of a restaurant. "Meet you inside." She tells me, then turns to the driver.

Well, he's not getting a big tip.

I slide a smile onto my face before letting a family of five walk thru the doors on the left hand side, then grab the door myself and slide inside. "Two, please." I ask the host.

"In a booth, please. If there's one open." Aubrey adds, walking right up beside me and smiling in a friendly manner.

"Right this way." he says, then leads us weaving thru the restaurant before seating us at a booth that's right by a window and asking us for drinks. I ask for a tea, Aubrey asks for wine, then hands her ID over before it's handed back.

"I'm sorry." I say quietly, keeping my eyes on the table.

Feeling Aubrey's eyes snap to me, I then hear her laugh. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"Yes, I do." I frown at her. "Dad said to stay away from you, or he'd do something about you. I didn't listen, and he kicked you out."

She was just 14. I was 13. Around a year before I left.

"That's not you. That's your father. I didn't stay away either." She smiles gently, then kicks my foot with hers. "Your dad was scared of losing you. To me."

"That's dumb, I would have just stayed instead of leaving. He hurt himself." I admit, then see her smirk.

She twirls her silverware, wrapped in a napkin in between her fingers. "I was going to ask about that. I've only heard rumors."

"I can't really say unless you tell me who you're working for." I lock eyes with her.

"I work for me. I might…take a job here and there to pay my rent, buy a new purse, see the new movie on the holo." She shrugs. "I don't really care who it is."

She's a bounty hunter now.

Biting my lip, I drop my head back and glance up at the ceiling. "You deserve better than that."

"I've got too much blood on my hands to be normal. This is the closest I can get. But, answering your question, nobody has leverage on me. What happened?"

I hate this story. She probably won't like it.

I sigh, then glance down at the table. "I turned them in. Everyone. Switched sides."

"You look like you're a hundred years old." She comments after staying silent for a moment.

"I'm tired of telling this story. I feel like it's branded on my back." I frown. "The story's gotten out, I'm sure. The details don't matter."

"You're a Jedi now."

"Not if you ask them." I disagree. "They can't stand me. They only see me as Ephraim's son."

"You are his son. So? That doesn't mean you have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders anymore."

Yeah it does. I might be the strongest person on the planet. It comes down to me.

"You always had that weight. I hated that you did, always. Your dad pushed that burden on you by experimenting on you. And it weighs you down. Beaten down all your personality. You can't be you."

I counter. "I barely know who I am. I was trained to be a social butterfly, to adapt and change in an instant. Even now, I find myself flicking between people from day to day, class to class."

"Well then, focus on what you like. What makes you happy?"

Playing with Mira. Helping Jacen repair his bike or make him a sandwich. Training with his dad or pouring over an intel brief with his mom. Training in the Temple, getting lost in the details and coming out, hours later, better. "That." Aubrey cuts me off before I can start talking. "Whoever that is, that's you. Try to be him. Eventually, it'll work."

"Doesn't exactly work. My backstory to go to school there is based on a lie."

"Which is…?"

I shake my head at her smile as our drinks arrive. "My parents and I come from Georgia. They work in TV."

"What can I get you guys to eat?" Our server asks us.

Aubrey seamlessly transitions. "Can we get some salad and breadsticks to share, then I'll have your tour of Italy."

I didn't even look at the menu. Oops.

"I'll have the same." I smile at the server, who takes my menu.

"We'll get that right out for you guys, and I'll grab the salad."

"Thanks." Aubrey smiles, then looks right back to me. "TV?"

"Explains them not being around."

Aubrey sighs, then leans back on her side of the booth and sighs. "I never did get to really say sorry. For your Mom."

"It's okay." I smile, grateful.

"No, it's not." She fires right back, popping up off the cushion. "It sucks. It fucking sucks. The wrong parent died. I never understood why she loved your Dad."

"I don't either." I confess. "But they loved each other."

"Not as much as they loved you."

I laugh dismissively.

Dad doesn't love me. He hates me.

"No, they do. Even your Dad. Who apparently, is in a top secret prison in the northern Atlantic?"

What?

"How'd you know where he was?" I blurt out, then pull out my phone.

We have to double security.

"Rumors."

"Do better than 'rumors'" I order her, sarcastically air quoting 'rumors'.

"Okay, my Lord." Aubrey rolls her eyes at my, causing me to wince. "Hah, knew that'd get you."

"Your salad…and breadsticks…" the waiter pops up. "Cheese?"

"Sure." Aubrey nods, then tells him to stop after a moment, before he asks us to enjoy and flag him down if we have any questions or need anything.

My Lord…

"It's just word around the underworld. We know there's a super-duper, uber-max prison somewhere out there. It would make sense that he's there."

Who do I even text? Kanan? Master Kenobi? Cayle?

I sigh, then grab a breadstick. "Knowing puts you in danger."

"I kick danger's ass regularly." She counters. "You look 18 going on 1800, relax."

"That's not easy for me." I remind her.

"I know. Just try. I'll switch subjects. How's your brother?"

I immediately groan loudly. "Now why would he make me relax?"

"He might be the 'Liar, but he's your brother. And he also loves you."

"I don't think he loves anybody but himself." I counter. "You used our nickname for him."

"Elias was always the 'Liar. Getting you in trouble for things he did. Like scattering that poor bunny rabbit across the compound. He's sadistic."

"Compulsive. Just what Dad wanted."

"Do you know where he is?"

I shake my head. "No. The Council didn't find him when they invaded the Compound."

"They invaded the Compound?" Aubrey repeats, looking surprised.

I nod. "I gave them everything."

Aubrey bites her lip. "You know you have a two billion dollar death mark on you, right?"

"Of course." I smile.

"You don't seem scared."

I smile at her. "You know I can get out of any situation without too much trouble."

"Like that party?" Aubrey asks coyly.

How'd she—

"The story didn't add up. And I've been looking for you for years Ezra. Whatever the Jedi did to hide you from everyone, it worked. I barely found you online, before the story went out about all these players suspended from USC and a student injured. From what it sounded like, a normal person would be dead."

"I'm not normal." I laugh.

"I know." She laughs back.

We both fall into silence for a moment. "You're not here to kill me, are you?"

"No, I'm not that dumb. I can't win. Nobody can."

Elias can. Dad can. Maybe Maul. Probably Maul.

"You really have no idea or suspicion where Elias is?" Aubrey asks.

I drop my eyes again, then grab the salad tongs. "I have suspicions, but nothing else. Nothing to base it on."

"Your instincts are perfect. Let's hear it."

I hesitate for a moment, salad in the tongs.

I haven't told anyone this. Not the Council, not Cayle…nobody.

"I think he's in Asia. He was on a mission when they burned the Compound to the ground. Some thought he died there. Most don't. I don't."

"A mission?"

"I think, a mission." I rephrase. "Whatever it was, he wasn't there. Otherwise they would have needed triple the troops they did."

Aubrey takes a bite of salad, then sips her wine. "Lot of thinking for somebody in college."

"Classes aren't hard yet. And I like staying in the loop."

"Things are brewing in Asia." Aubrey shifts slightly. "It's been a slow build. Lots of arms, high paying jobs."

I ask "Have you been over there?"

"Corporate sabotage." She confirms. "Never fired a shot. For the Rising Tide."

The worldwide hacktivist group that split from WikiLeaks.

"You're wrong. I can be beaten." I smile, then show her my hand, slice still visible, but healing.

"How'd you do that?"

"Broke off a knife blade in my hand." I laugh/

She cringes, then sips her wine. "54,000 psi. That's a hell of a grip."

"They activated him. Slightly. I tried keeping him bottled."

"The berserker." She reads into it correctly, allowing me to just nod. "So you control him."

"It's more 50/50 now."

"Better than the 100/0 that I'm used to. Used to be you got mad, and people just died."

Yeah…

"I'm trying to be better." I smile nervously.

Jaicey smiles softly over the table at me, her teeth slipping thru just a little bit. "I can tell. I noticed the moment you started talking."

Really?

As if she heard my own thoughts, she bumps my foot and nods. "I like this Ezra a little more. It's noticeable."

"Breathe for me bubs. Just listen to my voice, keep your eyes closed…and breathe." I say slowly and firmly to Jacen as we sit in the living room, crisscross apple sauce, hands in our laps.

Mira makes a small noise and bumps her stationary toy, which rattles, getting a small laugh out of her. Beside her, close enough for his tail to bump into her is Ghost watching the three of us.

"Good job bud." I smile at Jacen, who looks completely relaxed.

"This is kind of hard. There are distractions." He comments.

Hera laughs in the kitchen before his Dad chimes in. "There are always distractions. You just have to learn to power thru them."

"But I'm still bad at this. I've never moved anything."

I smile, then turn and look at his Dad.

He had it, just for a moment. I felt the Force react to his efforts to reach it.

"You're close. I can feel it. Eyes closed…" I remind him, causing him to squint. "Don't squint. Relax, and breathe. Breathe. In…" Jacen sucks in a breath. "Out."

Jacen breathes out, just before Ghost's ears go straight up in the air.

He's got it again.

"Reach out…" I say softly before he physically reaches out.

That's okay, it's natural to associate thought with action. Still got it too.

"I feel something…fuzzy."

I turn back to his Dad and let out a big smile as both of his parents are looking on, beaming. "Okay. What do you see?"

"Blackness." Jacen astutely points out, then shrugs and loses his tenuous grip on the Force. Ghost's hair slightly droops after standing on end for almost thirty seconds before he looks to me, to see if it's okay.

"It's okay." I say to both Ghost and Jacen, then scratch Ghost behind his ears to get him to relax. "Focus for me. You're close. Keep your eyes closed. Just relax and breathe."

"You're doing great bud. Keep going." His dad reminds him.

Jacen wordlessly obeys, keeping his entire face relaxed and breathes in, then out before I feel him get a grip on the Force again before Ghost visibly reacts again.

Interesting. I didn't know he could feel the Force and be aware of it, even as an energy. Huh.

"Reach out, and tell us what you see."

Mira swings her feet back and forth, lying on her tummy while watching her brother curiously. "I see…dots of color."

He sees us. Hera and Kanan, Ghost, Mira, Zeb and I.

"What do they look like to you?" Kanan asks him, smiling.

"They're like balls of color. Yellow and blue and purple and pink and green." Jacen rambles. "They feel kind of familiar. What are they?"

"Keep your focus, and I'll tell you bud." I smile. Jacen quickly lets out another breath, keeping his entire body loose.

Ghost keenly eyes me, glancing from me to Jacen to Mira and back to me in a matter of seconds before I scratch his ears again. "It's us bud. Our Force signatures. Which one feels the closest?"

"Uhh…the small, pinky one." He says, then stretches out his hands physically. "I feel like I can almost reach out and touch it."

"That's Mira buddy. You feel your sister."

"Hi Force Mira." Jacen smiles, getting everyone to laugh before Mira kicks her feet and laughs late.

"Breathe and focus bud."

"Can I focus on Mira?"

"Of course." I nod, then look to his father for confirmation, who nods. "She's your sister."

"I'm supposed to protect her. This is kind of different though. I think." He rambles again.

I nod, playing along. "It can be. Poke around Mira's Force Signature. Get used to it. You said it looks pink?"

I don't really pay much attention to what the Signatures look like anymore. She feels new and warm to me personally. Master Yoda has told me that Force Signatures can feel different to different people.

"Yeah. It's not that big, all close together. But it's nice. Really warm though. Kind of like a fire. I feel something else by her. Is that…Zeb?"

I reach out to keep everyone quiet on a whim. "No, Zeb's in the kitchen with your Mom helping with the food. That's Ghost."

He's not really helping right now. Everyone's watching him.

"Hi Force Ghost." He smiles before all the hair on Ghost's body stands straight up and he jumps up.

"Easy boy…it's okay." I say as Jacen pulls his arms in to hug himself.

"Breathe and reach Jacen." His dad jumps in.

"It's okay." I add. "I think Ghost feels you poking around and doesn't know it's you. So he doesn't like it."

Jacen breathes out, then reaches out again. "It's okay Ghost. I'm just exploring. You look and feel big and blue. Like a bubble bath."

"You do like your bubble baths." I joke, keeping him loose. "Keep poking around."

Ghost stands up and starts walking all around Jacen, Mira and I, almost like a predator, but obviously in a protective way while sniffing all around us. "It's okay Ghost." Jacen follows Ghost around, eyes closed but hand out.

He's got Ghost alright.

Ghost nudges Jacen's hand, then licks his knuckles, getting him to laugh. "I feel you buddy. You can sit down." Right away, Ghost goes back to his spot by Mira and sits down.

Huh.

"Keep telling us what you feel, what you see." I say, then look behind me to see Hera and Kanan looking slightly bemused by Ghost listening so easily to Jacen.

He usually does listen. But that felt…different.

"I think Mira's happy. She's brighter than she was just before now." Jacen says as Mira keeps watching him intently, eyes wide.

Then silently Mira and her toy start slowly lifting a few inches off the ground.

WHOA.

I immediately grab Ghost's collar to prevent him from going crazy as I hear Hera quietly gasp. "I'm poking her, but she feels so…light."

"She's small man. That's why you have to protect her until she's big and strong like you."

"I will." Jacen says as Mira and her toy are about eight inches off the ground. Mira silently, curiously turns her head in confusion, then does a full 360 and spots us.

"Hey baby." I beam at Mira, who smiles.

"What?" Jacen asks.

"She rolled over and smiled." I tell him without thinking.

Jacen's eyes pop open. "She did?" before getting a glimpse of him levitating his sister before she starts to drop like a stone, I snatch her up out of the air by her armpits, and Ghost leaps up to protect her. "Oh."

Yeah, oh.

Mira reacts a moment late, eyes bugging out before her arms and legs flail in a panic before realizing that I've got her, she scrunches her face and lets out a wail. "WaaaaaAAAHHHHH!"

"It's okay…" I pull her close and coo in her ear as Jacen looks at me, looking very guilty and terribly sad.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it…" He says, looking like he's about to cry.

Kanan quickly hustles over and puts his hand on Jacen's shoulder. "No, you did great. You acted naturally. It was the surprise of everything that got her. Not you. You didn't scare her."

"WAAAAHAHAHHHH!" Mira bawls, clinging to me before Jacen blinks back tears.

He doesn't like making Mira cry.

"It's okay." I reassure Mira, then smile at Jacen. "She actually liked it. She turned completely around and smiled at all of us before you opened your eyes."

Jacen doesn't answer, then swallows the lump in his throat. "Good job Turbo. That was a great first try." Zeb approaches and smiles at him in an effort to cheer him up.

He did GREAT.

"Amazing first try." I add with a smile, causing Mira to perk up before wriggling around and finding her brother. Right away, she kicks and squirms and reaches out for Jacen.

Oh. That's new. I've never seen her seek him out to be held.

They're always close by, and he's helped her play with her toys before, but I've never seen him hold his sister.

"You want Jacen?" I ask Mira, who kicks even harder and makes an angry noise.

"It's okay Ezra." Kanan tells me as Jacen walk up and reaches out and grabs Mira from me lovingly.

Huh.

"Hey." Jacen smiles. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it." Mira responds to him with blabbering, but what looks like targeted, intended kicks of her legs and swings of her arms.

"She's talking to you Turbo." Zeb smiles widely, looking slightly choked up.

Jacen smiles even wider as Ghost moves to keep his head even with them. "Did it feel funny? Nice? I hope you smiled."

"She did." I nod, then laugh, getting everyone else to laugh before Mira…talks.

"Babababababba." All in a string, but clearly to her, words.

Jacen's eyes drop and he tilts his head to the side. "Sure?" Mira responds by swinging her arms back and forth a couple of times before stopping and staring at Jacen. "Walk?"

As soon as Jacen starts towards the kitchen, Mira smiles and tries clapping, succeeding once or twice.

"Really good job Jacen." I smile at him, getting he and Mira to turn and look up at me.

"You think I did okay?"

"You lifted your sister, and her toy. That's great." Kanan bends down and pulls him into a hug.

He's a natural.