(Matt Saracen POV)

Whipping into the visitor's parking space, I throw it into Park and dash towards the stairs.

I hope he's here.

Ezra said he couldn't make it to practice today. Which is fine, he cleared it beforehand. Everybody has things going on they have to take care of.

Then I leave practice, go to Whole Foods and it's like the apocalypse.

Taking the stairs two at a time as fast as I can, I arrive at—

—

The door to Ezra's apartment just…opened on its own before I can even reach out to knock.

Do I…go in?

"Yes." I hear a chuckle just beyond the door.

Ezra?

Tentatively, I poke my head into the doorway, only to see Ezra wearing a plain grey t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes before he turns to me.

"The world's not ending…yet."

(Ezra Bridger POV)

"Then what the hell is going on?" Matt asks, slipping inside before closing the front door behind him.

Crouching down, I grab the pan I usually use to start marinating things before answering. "I met Organa today. One of the people that saw me went out and leaked to the press that I wasn't in the Temple the whole time. I'm out there. Free."

Even though I'm definitely not free.

"I saw that. I ran to Whole Foods after practice. It's like a natural disaster's coming." Matt relays to me. "Wait, you saw Organa?"

"Yeah." I shrug while standing up and setting the pan onto the counter.

"You've heard JJ, the Jedi don't let you talk to anyone."

"I don't want to talk to anyone." I point out to him. "Are you hungry? I was about to start prepping dinner."

The Force lurches before I glance in his direction and see an uncertain expression on his face. "I—I don't wanna intrude."

"You're not. Company'd be nice." I admit, then smile at him.

My empty apartment is boring. And I need a distraction.

Matt returns the smile. "Then yeah. I can help too, just tell me what to do."

"Well, wash your hands first."

Laughing at my request, Matt strides past me to the sink and flips on the faucet. An awkward silence fills the air between us as I try to resist the urge to catch what Matt's thinking.

No. He's your FRIEND Ezra.

"You can ask some questions, I don't mind. There's just some stuff I don't want to talk about." I say casually before turning to the fridge. "Can you grab me the big clear bowl?"

"Yeah, what were you thinking of making?"

"Just an easy grilled chicken recipe. He—somebody brought me some corn from the Farmer's Market, so I was going to throw that on the grill too." I answer while setting the lemon juice on the counter and shutting the door.

"Who?"

Matt is already eying me as I return to my cutting board. "Hera. She's my niece and nephew's Mom."

"Ahh. Let me guess, she's pulled you into the same treatment."

I laugh and nod. "Yeah…she's getting into the habit of Mom'ing me."

It's nice. I don't hate it.

"Uhm…" Matt says before his signature in the Force spikes.

He's gonna ask about Mom.

"Do you mind if I ask about your Mom? Cause I mean your Dad…"

"Is the most evil man on the planet?" I finish the sentence for him.

"Is he really your Dad?"

I bite my lip while popping the lid on the lemon juice and start making my marinade. "Yeah. He's my father. Met my Mom in the late '80s, early '90s. Two kids, my brother and I."

One small, completely fractured, unhappy family.

"My Dad killed my Mom." I say bluntly, which causes Matt to whip around and look at me. "Secondhand. He did it so that it didn't look like he did. But…he did."

"That's why you left." Is all Matt says.

"It's so easy when you say it like that." I can't help but chuckle. "You believe that, but every other time I say it, they don't buy it."

"Yeah." Matt lets out a single sarcastic laugh. "Who makes something that bad up? She's…your Mom's really…gone?" I nod silently and don't look up before I hear "I'm sorry man."

"Thanks." I manage to get out, just before I feel my throat clench a bit before I cough to clear it. "It happened before I left my Dad. So it's been a while."

"That doesn't make it any easier." He replies right away. "I—jeez. I text my Mom every day. Just asking stuff, not even about important things. I—I can't imagine…"

'And your Dad—'

"I'm fortunate, in a lot of ways." I cut off Matt's thought. "But I've got a support system that I can talk to with stuff like that. So I'm not all that alone."

If anything, I don't get enough personal time. But that's not important.

"Does Organa know about all that? Your Mom and that stuff?"

"I tried telling him today. I didn't do a very good job explaining it, he didn't believe me." I confess.

I did a terrible job telling him what happened.

Yeah, Dad poisoned Mom through her favorite mustard. But I can't just…say that.

It sounded ridiculous aloud.

"Is that why Organa's people went out and snitched?" Matt says before gesturing through the gap in the wall to my TV, which is playing on mute in the living room.

"I don't know. Probably they just did it because they all hate me and want me in prison."

Or worse.

To my surprise, Matt laughs before turning with a smile at me. "I…I'm sorry for laughing. But they really do hate you."

"It's not that." I wave away the idea. "They're afraid of me. They don't understand. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate. Fear…can make people do terrible things. I'm trying not to hold it against them."

"Really?" Matt blurts out.

I nod once. "I'm in no position to judge anybody."

I'm Darth Vader.

"Maybe." Matt waffles. "But I don't think they should have said anything. People were already worried. Now they're freaking out! There are bare shelves and it's only been a few hours."

Organa did say there was panic in the streets already.

"They're going to have to protect whoever did," I tell him. "Not all of my father's associates have been captured yet. They'll come for them."

At least the Council agreed with me on that.

"You really think so?" Matt turns to me.

"Yeah." I nod once. "I would almost guarantee it."

I would almost also guarantee that some people come to LA looking for me.

…

I might have to move.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad is that?"

"For them?" I reply. "A ten. They don't know what they've done."

Organa…You'd think for somebody as experienced a politician as he is, he'd have a better handle on his people.

Or maybe this is what he wants. If he can't get me out using words, he'll wrench me out to face justice using sheer force.

And it's not even him. It's the public panic.

"What about you?" Matt asks me.

"I…I don't know. I might not even make it to next week." I shrug before a feeling of hopelessness washes over me.

I might never make it back to classes.

If you would have told me that back in May, I wouldn't have believed you.

"That seems excessive. The Jedi seem to have gone a long way to do all this for you. They must like you."

"They don't like me." I correct him. "For the most part, they tolerate me."

…

"You know, I don't think I like this Ezra as much."

Wha—

"You're way too hard on yourself." Matt continues as something horrible flows directly through my blood, paralyzing me. "There's clearly a lot of people who, if they don't believe you, have put their reputations behind you. The whole Jedi Order is getting pummeled, because of you, and they're not budging! So you're going to have to budge."

"You don't understand." I bite off to Matt. "I did this. All the horrible things they say Vader did? I did them."

I did way more that people at large don't know about.

"And that was six friggin' years ago! We're the same age, six years ago I hadn't kissed a girl yet and was super into Pokémon cards." Matt laughs at himself. "I'm a totally different person, and so are you. People can believe in that, you just have to give them a reason to."

I don't know if that's possible for me.

…

"Have you ever considered talking, like doing an interview?" Matt asks innocently.

"No!" I yelp, horrified.

ARE YOU CRAZY?!

"Why not? Everyone's out there spewing what sounds like a bunch of lies—"

"They're not all lies." I point out.

Matt makes a face. "Tell ya what. How about we let the TV decide, huh? Let's see what they say. Where's the TV remote…" He walks towards my living room. "And what do you want me to do to actually help you with dinner?"

"You can get the corn ready. Wash it, clean it and season it so I can put it on the grill."

Matt calls back to me "I can do that!" before the TV audio reaches my ears.

"—for those of you just getting off work and are just tuning in, there has been a massive break in the story of captured Sith Lord Darth Vader. Vader, who just last week was caught on camera dueling a fellow Sith Lord—"

"He's not a Sith! He's a Jedi now!" Matt corrects the female broadcaster while returning to the kitchen and strolling right past me to the fridge.

"—today, Organa's itinerary showed a scheduled meeting with the Jedi Order. And according to multiple sources inside the Organa campaign, the Jedi used the opportunity to introduce Organa and Vader. And according to multiple sources, the meeting went quite poorly."

Great, so multiple leaks have sprung.

"—panic has now seized people all over Los Angeles. Shelves are being stripped bare, fights breaking out over basic necessities…Mayor Garcia has appealed for people to calm down saying in a statement quote: 'I have spoken with the Jedi multiple times in the last few weeks and days and can say confidently that people should remain calm. Vader poses no threat to the general population.'"

"That message is falling mostly on deaf ears Jessica, and who can blame them? Without going into the entire, extensive history of the Sith and Jedi, which would take way too long to properly explain—" A new male voice takes the reins of the broadcast. "—we, in general, know little to nothing about Vader personally. No name, no face, only the terrible and horrific deeds to his name and a truly iconic look with his helmet."

"We don't even know why he uses that." The female newscaster, Jessica says.

It's to protect my identity. Dad added the breathing for terrifying effect, which has always worked.

People have stopped resisting just by hearing it.

"Precisely. He could need it for a medical condition, it could all be for show, we just don't know. We know more about his father, the infamous Lord Sidious than we do him or his brother, the rumored Tyranus."

"Sidious, who pulled off the greatest massacre of Jedi in recorded history in 1968, code named 'Order 66' was captured six years ago and is widely believed to have been influencing events on a global scale prior to that. Sidious remains captured and held in an unknown, secure location in Jedi custody according to Senior sources in the White House and Justice Department."

The Force twinges with Matt's curiosity before I say quietly. "That's true. He's locked up tight."

For right now. Maybe that'll be what Organa comes out with next: A plan to free my father.

"—undoubtedly clear is how much we simply just do not know." The male voice concludes his point.

"For the most part Chris, this is the stance that the Jedi Order has taken since their massive defeat in Vietnam at the hands of Sidious. The Jedi retreated from world affairs following Order 66, presumably to lick their wounds and regain their numbers. And since then they have mostly only shown up when called upon, such as when the USSR collapsed in 1991 and the Baltic and Mandalorian states that were controlled or supported by the Soviet regime collapsed and descended into civil war."

"We are still awaiting statements from the Jedi Order as well as President Palpatine, who was traveling from Washington to a planned campaign stop in Florida tomorrow—"

Awesome. Fantastic.

They have to love that.

"In addition, our own Hailey Reneé is attempting to secure more information from the White House, which has, for the most part, stood staunch behind both Vader and the Jedi, citing their vast expertise and capability in handling an individual such as Vader."

"Reports continue flowing in Jessica, from our NBC affiliates across the country that panic is largely setting in across the country. We have it on good authority from some online sleuthing that has been done that the Jedi regularly move Vader, so we cannot assume that he is bunkered down in Los Angeles, or anywhere for that matter—"

Matt chuckles before I catch "—which is certainly why people are concerned. They don't know where exactly he is."

And they're afraid of me.

"There's going to be a lot more information coming in over the next few hours, so stick here with us as we stay here and try to digest yet another bombshell regarding Darth Vader." The female broadcaster, Jessica says.

"Yeah Jess, if nothing else it's certainly been an entertaining summer for him. First, the leak that he met with the president back in March, followed by the surprise attack here in Los Angeles by the Sith Lord Darth Maul and successful theft of items unknown. That attack seems to have brought on Maul's return for more, resulting in last week's brazen attack in Riverside, a Los Angeles suburb that was thwarted not only by Vader and the Jedi but multiple arms of the intelligence community."

"Okay," Matt says quietly, pulling my attention to him. "I think I got all the silk out of the—"

My front door bursts open, and without a moment's hesitation I snatch the knife out of Matt's hand and whip around—

"Oh good, you've already got it on. Hi." JJ busts right in before seeing me. "Whoa!"

"Whoa!" I echo right back at him. "Thanks for knocking!"

SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME!

"Sorry, my bad." JJ apologetically smiles. "I texted, seeing if I could come over. Jaicey's not in the mood, something about a shitty practice. You mind if I come chill out?"

"Sure." Matt volunteers me before deftly taking his knife back. "You hungry?"

"Yeah, but if you don't have enough it's all good. When'd you get here?" JJ asks him.

"I went to the store to pick up something and it was madness. Checked Twitter, and—"

JJ's Force Signature erupts in glee before he smiles. "Can you believe this?! Vader! Out! In the world! And nobody knew it!"

"Why are you so happy about it?" I play dumb as the TV keeps going. "And soccer had a bad practice?"

"—staffer went rogue, spoke off the record to a pool reporter, who obviously did not keep the information hidden for very long—"

"I'm not, I—I just can't believe it." JJ gushes. "It's never as it seems with him. Clearly there's a lot more going on. And yeah, I wouldn't text her if I were you. Or Sabine. Jaicey's still on the warpath."

"What for now?" Matt asks before turning and giving me a wink.

Not helping!

"She was bitching about Alena. And raging at Sabine's stupidity with you—" JJ motions to me. "I think she's still on the second team, which is the root of the problems today. So…yeah. How can I help?"

"Ezra's prepping the chicken and I got the corn. Can you help with like a salad or something?" Matt invents on the fly.

I…do have salad stuff.

Nice Matt.

"I can do that, lemme go wash my hands…" JJ vanishes back towards my bedroom and bathroom before the TV audio cuts through to us again.

"—now, finally, we're delighted to welcome Quinlan Vos, a former member of the Jedi Order and Author of: 'Duplicity: How the Jedi Order's Goals Are Not As They Seem'. Quinlan, we know you've been very, very busy this week so thank you so much for joining us."

I turn back in time for the camera to cut to Vos and for him to smile. "Thank you for having me." He laughs. "It's been a week hasn't it?"

"It has been. Now I assume you've caught up on the latest news, so give us your initial first impressions." The male broadcaster tees him up.

Vos nods, then shifts in his seat. "Well first off, I want to turn the focus slightly to Organa's camp. For all the problems I have with the Jedi Order, I have always agreed with them on the fact that information, when not properly shared, is very dangerous. In many of the Jedi's affairs, a controlled situation can look quite messy due to the delicate nature of their dealings. This—'leak'?" Vos uses air quotes around the word 'leak'. "Cannot happen. Can't happen. I have serious concerns about Senator Organa's capability to keep his people quiet."

"Elaborate for us, please."

Vos nods and continues. "If I know the Jedi, they likely already have the leaker in their custody and are explaining to that individual that their life is now in danger. Along with countless others, on both sides of the campaign and otherwise. Whether we like it or not, Vader and his intel have not gotten all of the Sith or their supporters. And we don't know where they are, so this staffer just put a massive bullseye on themselves and everyone around them. Because you know, the Sith are dying for a chance at Vader. We're seen that twice with Maul."

"So you think they shouldn't have spoken up."

"Not like this." Vos clarifies. "It's reckless and dangerous. And on my way in today, I had to navigate all sorts of side streets just to get here. People are driving like maniacs on the highway, and from what I heard as I was getting ready, people are wiping out grocery stores?"

"Yes." The male broadcaster confirms.

"So now on top of all of this, we have panic in the streets. Which is the last thing we need right now. I would fully expect the President to speak shortly and appeal for people to remain calm."

JJ reappears in the doorway, clearly listening to the TV before I say. "I'll go start the grill."

I think I'll use the charcoal today.

"Sounds good," Matt says as I pass him before JJ claps me on the shoulder and smiles. "Good to see ya, buddy. Thanks for letting me stay."

"You're always welcome." I say casually, then smile before drifting towards the sliding glass door.

"—news that Vader is spending time out in the real world, with everyday people?"

Vos gives a pitying look to the broadcaster as I pass by the Tv and open the door. "It's naïve and unrealistic for people to expect the Jedi Order to keep Vader in a cage. It's against the nature of a Jedi to confine anyone unless it's a last resort. Negotiations, as we all know, are a hallmark of the Jedi."

I crack the sliding glass door and try to bury my irritation at Vos' near mocking tone. "Quinlan, although you have left the Order I'm sure you can count on friends that remain in the Order. Have you spoken to any of them about Vader?"

"I have." Vos nods. "Most of what I've heard is months old now, back from the start of the new year when the Jedi conducted their normal dueling tournament."

Of course you did.

I flip up the front cover to my grill and see that I've kept disciplined and that I don't have to clean the grates before turning to the small storage closet to my right. "—not that they invited me. But those I spoke to actually had positive things to say about him. Which, I caught a little of your monologue before joining you; I'm afraid it's even more confusing."

"Confusing how?"

"To your point, we know basically nothing of him outside of horrible first-hand accounts from the survivors of his slaughters and closed-circuit footage: To clarify one point: I agree with my former colleagues on this point, that Sidious was very tactical and deliberate in where he deployed his sons."

He put us into positions where we could succeed. We had our missions, which were never easy. But he never threw us into a situation he didn't think we could get out of.

"—why?"

"Well, first off because they are his children. As horrible and vile as Sidious undoubtedly is, to him they are his sons. The fact that we know so little is a testament to his protection. The masks they both wore in the few shots we do have of them?"

"More protection." The male host understands.

Heavily, I drop the bag of charcoal onto my porch and prep to pour it into the basin. "—in his own, demented way, he loves them."

"Loves them enough to turn his children into weapons for his cause." The woman, Jessica fires off.

Damn.

The sound of Vos chuckling is drowned out when I tip the bag over and pour in the charcoal. "—actually that he is nothing but pleasant and polite. The word that's come to my mind after all these conversations is subdued."

"Like he's restraining himself." The man interjects.

"Perhaps. I know it's bad TV but I'd hold off on reading into his intentions. But all of his documented behavior that we have learned about, from Sacramento to Washington DC, to the sources I know, all collaborate that fact. It is much different than what you'd expect."

"To your point." The man jumps in as I grab the lighter fluid. "Sources from within the White House in the days after the news that Vader and Palpatine met in March all back that up."

Vos' voice cuts in. "Wouldn't you be on your best behavior if you were invited into the White House?"

"YES!" JJ yells at the TV as if it can hear him.

"—instance that the public deserves to know more." Vos continues. "He has been hidden from reach, tucked out of view. He's been coddled and cocooned from justice for six years now. Now I ask you? How much unnecessary harm has been wrought from the Jedi's unilateral decision? It's almost worse than what I feared before departing the Order."

"For those of you joining us who are unaware, sorry Quinlan—" The man says.

"No, no." Vos agrees. "Context is key.

"Quinlan Vos left the Jedi Order weeks after Vader's capture in protest of the decision not to hand him over and have him face justice."

Matt's voice drifts to me. "I didn't know that. I just thought he was a podcast guy."

I didn't know what he was doing. He has a podcast?!

Glory hound.

"Do you have any further thoughts on your decision to leave?" Jessica tees him up.

"No, I've been able to do more good helping people every day since I left the Order. I do miss it though, but my faith in the Force continues to not lead me astray."

Yeah, right to the nearest camera to talk about everything…

"—said, done press all week, but also you've had time to really dig into the compilation of the Riverside fight last week. We're loading up the interactive board for you, but as it warms up, tell us a little more about that."

YOU'RE PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS! ON LIVE TV!

Saying "Tell us about" IS NOT A QUESTION!

"It's bad," Vos says bluntly. "It's…really bad."

WHAT?!

I can't help myself and poke my head in through the crack of the door. "—how so?"

"Returning to my conversations with my Masters, He is every bit as advertised. Just as gifted and natural using the Force and his abilities as anyone in the order at his age. I say that to say this…" Vos pauses while standing up and begin drifting towards a white board. "From what we can see from the Riverside duel, his development has either stagnated or regressed."

"Really?" The man named Chris looks astonished in the spilt second cut of him before the camera returns to Vos.

"Absolutely. I've compared the video we just got, to the limited footage available we have of him, and really, it's more of the same."

More of—

"It's all power. There's no grace or touch to it at all. His pace is breakneck, his mentality is one of pure violence. Yes, he did protect those at that party but I wouldn't give him credit for that: I believe he made a business decision of Maul over all those innocent college students."

That's not fair.

The Force rings behind me with Matt and JJ's emotions, and I respond by drifting back outside.

More lighter fluid. It'll help the flame catch here in a moment.

"—reports are that he did kill at least six of Maul's associates. And that number belies the savagery of his tactics."

"He caved one of their heads in." Vos agrees.

I shouldn't have stomped him out. I could have just knocked him out.

"And in addition to that, when Maul had very clearly surrendered, he sliced his hand clean off!"

"That," Vos replies definitively. "Is not the Jedi way. The Jedi way is to have compassion and mercy. I believe everyone's heard Vader's thoughts on that."

There is no mercy.

Mercy…

Is very dangerous.

…

Grab the matches, Ezra. Get going.

"—now I believe we have here is a portion of the duel between Maul and Vader. Quinlan, walk us through this."

"Sure Jessica." I hear Vos say before I grab a match and strike it against the box. The resulting fire demands my full attention, and I hold the lit match for a second before tossing it into the charcoal pit, igniting the primed coals before the entire pit leaps to life in flame, licking the metal enclosure.

"—blade is way too low. You open yourself up to an attack from any number of angles by holding your blade that low. If I saw that in a duel, it tells me that I'm dealing with a novice, or at the very least, one whose training is not complete."

I know this. Dooku lectured me on this the morning after and he is right.

I fought a bad fight.

I'm lucky to have come out on top.

"—footwork is sloppy. He almost trips—here—back that up if you can—thank you." Vos says to an offscreen figure. "See? His feet stutter, his base is shallow. If not for his considerable power, he would have had nothing going for him."

"And he was known for his brute strength before his capture, correct?" Jessica asks him.

"Indeed. He outmuscled multiple Jedi years ago. So one could only assume he's even stronger now."

Yeah, it was all raw power then. Now I'm on a strength and conditioning plan. I've actually got the physical strength to put even more behind my strikes.

Although I don't use it as openly now. I—

"Now here's perhaps my biggest concern, if you will." Vos pauses.

Oh boy.

"He's got more?" I hear Matt say as I return to the apartment and slip the door shut behind me.

That grill will need a minute anyway.

"—please." The newscaster prompts Vos.

"From the multiple sources I spoke to, they all directly contradicted what we all see here. Here he fights just like he used to, all power, nothing else. You can beat that, you can find ways to get around raw power. From what I've heard, the Jedi know this and have been teaching him to use other aspects of lightsaber combat."

"There are other forms of lightsaber combat?"

You should not be saying this on live TV.

"Yes, honed over the thousands of years the Order has existed. Apparently, he's been learning them and putting them into practice. Successfully, I might add."

"I thought you said he fought just as he did before?" The male broadcaster pipes up.

"I did, and that's the point." Vos spells it out. "All that teaching, the last few years of drills and practice? Even a few live-action duels from what I've heard? None of that is apparent in this fight, anywhere. When I turned on the tape I came into it expecting to see a more refined Vader if nothing else. Instead, it's the exact same version, only much sloppier."

—

JJ makes a hyped-up sound in the kitchen as Vos goes on. "—examined cases like this of students that were reassigned to other parts of the Order. A Jedi's lack of growth lies at the feet of their Master in most instances."

That's my fault, not Kanan's.

Or Dooku's, or any—

"If I were the Jedi Council and I see this footage? Which, by the way, I guarantee that they have." Vos says darkly. "They cannot be pleased to see six years' worth of training amount to nothing shown in the heat of battle."

…

Dooku was most upset.

The newscaster asks Vos another question as I come to and see that I'm just standing here, watching the TV.

Get moving Ezra.

"They're really laying into him aren't they." I say as I walk back into my little kitchen.

"Yeah." Matt laughs once.

He doesn't think it's funny at all.

"I mean, he's not wrong." JJ points out. "I'd be pissed too if I covered for somebody for six years and then they completely let me down."

"Is the grill ready?" Matt redirects us helpfully.

I answer "I just started the fire. Give it a minute then I can start putting things on."

As soon as I'm done talking, I hear a vibrating sound just before JJ digs into his pocket for his phone. "Oh—excuse me, that's Daisy…"

JJ exits the room and answers the call, leaving Matt and I alone in the kitchen. Matt stops what he's doing to look at me, only for me to be unable to meet his eye.

Vos is right.

It was a complete debacle.

(11:51 PM)

Two probe droids. That's plenty.

I'll drill myself like I do my younglings. All on air. Step, step, step.

Because even to a Jedi whose been out of the game for years, that fight was a disaster.

All of his points were valid. From my blade level to the footwork, to my center of balance and method of attack.

Bad, bad, bad—

"Remember to take criticism and praise in equal measure, young one." I hear Master Dooku behind me.

Turning with a probe droid in each hand, I spot Master Dooku, still fully dressed in his standard Jedi Robes in the doorway. "Master." I bow quickly.

"I see Vos' words have gotten to you?"

"I—" I sputter. "You heard about that?"

"Oh yes." Dooku nods once. "Vos proved his own point by handing our enemies far more intel than they ever could have asked for."

"I thought about that on my drive in." I answer him.

He started off that interview by criticizing Organa's ability to control his people. And he wasn't even able to control himself.

"Vos, while he did have a seat on the Council was considered a rogue, much as Master Jinn is today. He was unafraid to go against the Council if it meant getting things done."

That's great.

"His words come from a place of wanting to help. Although, his methods are in dire need of changing. Broadcasting them to the world on television is hardly the manner in which to do it." Dooku explains to me.

Yeah.

Opting to stay silent, it stretches for a moment before Dooku speaks again. "Leave the droids here, you do not need further practice against projectiles."

Ehh—

"I'll keep one." I compromise, sticking one of the drones into the deep pocket of my robes before setting down—

The droid is ejected from my pocket as I'm setting the other one back in its place. "No." Dooku contradicts me firmly. "What you seek, and what you need, are one and the same. But they cannot be accomplished with that drone."

"Then how will I accomplish them?" I ask Dooku.

Dooku doesn't verbally respond, only placidly placing his hands in front of his belt, his own polished lightsaber gleaming in the light of the hallway behind him.

Him.

"Master, it's late—" I argue.

It's almost midnight!

"I believe you, like me, would find sleep difficult after hearing Vos' words." Dooku explains himself.

Yeah…

"I had to get down here. Do something about what he said." I admit and cast my gaze to the ground beside Dooku.

"And in doing so, you have addressed the worst of Vos' concerns and moved past them. Now…" Dooku motions for me to lead us through the doorway he's standing in, out to the Temple beyond.

(A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who has gotten this far in this story. I can't believe that I've written 99 (almost 100!) chapters and only covered Ezra's Freshman year. I don't want to apologize for the pace, only to thank you for sticking with the story. In my defense, the world-building I had in mind for this story was much bigger than I thought it was when I returned to this story. See you next week for Chapter 100 and the start of Ezra's Sophomore year!)