Ezra blinked. The stares of his fellow crewmates were scant noticed by the teen. A single, disturbing thought floated through his shaken psyche: Maul was in. Maul had broken him. For two weeks he struggled - and it was for nothing. Relatively speaking, of course. A small part of him attempted to look to the bright side of situation and found nothing. Ezra's mind was at Maul's whim. Now he had to deal with the fallout.

Zeb and Sabine stared at him while Hera took cautious steps toward him. Ezra felt Kanan rising from a slumber of his own. The world had officially came crashing down. Ezra's mind recounted the hours before he fell asleep, looking for where he had erred.

Ignoring the hiss of the cabin door as it slid out of his way, Ezra laid down on his bunk, not even bothering to put away his lightsaber.

That was it. That was his fatal mistake. Now he had to deal with the consequences. Firstly, the crew.

"Zeb...what happened?" Hera asked, shaken. Ezra didn't dare try to read the thoughts of the twi'lek, for fear of what Maul might do. Instead remaining silent as Zeb explained his side of the story. Sabine continued bore her eyes into the youth, worry and curiosity written across her features. Ezra attempted to ignore this, instead closing his eyes and sucking deep gulps of oxygen. A small, cruel chuckle echoed through his mind. Ezra froze again at this, sure that Sabine had noticed. He felt a gentle hand on his forehead.

"Ezra, you're burning up." Hera stated, causing the youth the open his eyes a crack. The twi'lek pilot was peering attentively at him, a green-skinned hand gently placed in the middle of his forehead. Ezra flinches back from the hand, backing slightly toward the wall. Hera's lekku twitched in worry.

"Ezra, Zeb says you've had another nightmare. Is that true?" Ezra paused, considering his response. He was dubious to tell them of the Maul business, as it would only add more questions and draw Kanan back into the picture, something he definitely didn't want. Maul had been bested by Kanan on Malachor, but something in Ezra told him that the victory was a fluke.

Along with this, Kanan was on medical leave, and he certainly wasn't any shape to duel Maul - or, by proxy him - any time soon. He could lie, he had gained a considerable skill in that field over his years on Lothal, and it bought him time to shield himself from the former sith.

"Y-yeah. Nightmare." Ezra took a deep, shaky, fake, breath. "I was...captured. By inquisitors; t-they tortured me. Kanan, you, Zeb…" Hera's eyebrow rose. Ezra felt his breath freeze. The twi'lek had gotten good at spotting his lies, and prayed she wasn't seeing through this one. Hera sighed heavily.

"Okay...what else?" Ezra's mind went into overdrive; the story wasn't complete, and it needed finishing. Fast.

"They invaded my mind." was all he said. That had a little truth to it, his mind had been invaded - but by a much more terrifying being.

"Invaded your mind?" Hera had had Kanan explain telepathy through the force when he first met Ezra, saying that often times if two force-sensitive beings were close enough they'd form a two-way bond through the force. Ezra nodded vigorously.

"They brought up memories; my family, the streets, sometimes they'd give me a happy one, and then they'd just sniff it out." Ezra said bitterly, the memory of what Maul did to him still firm in his mind. The truth in that statement his home harder than the first, and a rapid wave of fear stabbed at the teen, knowing it could happen all over again. Hera shook her head.

"Alright; inquisitors, torture, and mental invasion, have I got that right?" Hera said, the words feeling alien to her. Ezra gave a small, slow nod.

"Yes," he whispered quietly, his hands beginning to wring themselves. Sabine didn't look that convinced, and Zeb looked as if he wanted to just go sleep again. Hera...she was a completely different story. The twi'lek's expression was a complex blend of worry, disillusion, with enough weariness to suggest that she didn't want to pursue the topic further. After a breif silence, Hera sighed.

"If that's all then I think I'll leave," she said, turning on her heel. A small gesture of the hand had Sabine following her shortly after. The mandalorian gave Ezra one final, suspicious glance before following the pilot. Ezra felt a wave of relief spread through his psyche and frame, and a deep sigh saw him flattening his back against the wall in a sitting position. Zeb was already back in his bunk, his furry back facing away from Ezra. The lights automatically went out, leaving Ezra alone to his thoughts. For the time being, at least.

Maul leaned back in the pilot's seat of the Savage, comfortable weariness coloring his emotional state. His apprentice had finally broken, now all that was left was to arrive on Dathomir. A small pang of sentimentality hit the former sith, much to his surprise; he hadn't thought of Talzin for over a decade, deciding to hunt Kenobi instead. Now, the memories were coming back to him in their full volume. Were he a weak being he would've shed a tear, but no longer. Talzin's sacrifice was one he valued no end, but one he would've taken on himself in a heartbeat.

Back then the republic was in its dying days, and when it collapsed and order sixty-six occurred, Maul felt some small satisfaction when the news was cast throughout the holonet. A small part of him felt satisfied that he'd contributed to the organization's fall, but it was shadow of the zeal for the goal he once possessed. He vaguely wondered what Darth Bane would think of these power struggles, since he himself had a similar experience with his apprentice, Darth Zannah. Maul was one of the few true sith remaining, descended directly from the bane line. The sith lord that came before Sidious, one he'd attempted to find information on even during his apprenticeship under the dark lord. That lord or lady of the sith was still an ambiguous conundrum to Maul, as it seemed Sidious was determined to have them erased from the sith's history forever.

Maul was well aware of Sidious's faults - his egotism, arrogance, and zealously. Yet he was also a shrewd politician, and a powerful darksider, rumoured to have even jedi council members. Back when there was one.

Maul yanked himself out of his melancholy thoughts, instead focusing on the present. He had Ezra at his whim, and he had to act swiftly to capitalize.

Ezra sighed heavily, refusing to fall into sleep's embrace. Now that Maul had him cornered, he had to be doubly careful to let as little on as possible - at least to the crew at large. The youth was certain Kanan would sense the shift in his mind, and the faultlines made by him in the force. Even now, they took a darker disposition. It was a matter of time before Kanan would deduce what had happened to his apprentice, and would inevitably act. It was inescapable. He'd bought himself time with his lie, but it wouldn't hold past a week when Kanan got involved. Crossing his arms and rising from his cot, Ezra enacted all the stealth he could muster and headed once more to the cargo bay.

The sith holocron remained in its hiding place in his duffle bag, with its owner holding no intention of letting it out. His gaze fell to the lightsaber hooked on his hip. It wasn't a guarantee. Nothing was anymore. Separating himself from the galaxy would be the most intelligent move, and one that was feeling increasingly natural to the teen. He'd been isolating himself for the better part of a month, and this was the next step. He'd undertake a single mission more for the rebellion, and then he'd disappear. Like his parents had done when they'd died, he'd be gone. After that...Ezra was unsure of what would come after that. Still, it was only a matter of time before Maul took full control, considering his past. And when that moment came, Ezra would do everything in his power to remove himself from the equation.

AN: this story is getting dark, isn't it? Oh well. I won't hold back with this fic - within reason of course. But this is the view I think Ezra would take; he'd accept it, like he did when his parents were gone from his life. Except this would require more...extreme measures to solve. Any reviews/follows/favorites will be duly noted - Raging Celiac