A/N: Previously, this chapter and Chapter 20 were one chapter, but they both ended up being lonbg enough to become their own. So instead, I decided to make you guys wait twice as long while I refined both chapters, and then give you two chapters in one day. Enjoy, and thanks for reading!

Chapter 19

Sabine POV

It was still only early morning on Kalevala, before anyone had even woken up, when Sabine received a call on one of her messaging devices. A faint pinging sound woke her from her peaceful rest, and Sabine groggily moved to the desk in her room to answer the call. It was a communication from her family at the rebel base, the Spectres. As much as Sabine wanted to continue her rest and call them back later, they knew what time it would be in Mandalore Space right now, so whatever they wanted to speak to her about must be urgent.

She placed the comm on top of the desk and tapped its surface twice, which immediately caused it to emit a small blue hologram of Kanan. As soon as she answered the call, Kanan said, "Sabine. I'm sorry to contact you at a time like this, but I need to-"

Sabine waved her hand and cut him off with a yawn, "It's fine. Just tell me what you called about. Do you guys need my help?"

Kanan looked down at that, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and said, "Er… about that… I actually wanted to speak to Ezra, and you were the only person I knew how to contact to reach him. If it helps, I almost came in person rather than wake you up, but we're swamped preparing for the attack on Lothal."

Sabine frowned, too tired to even be angry, and muttered sleepily, "Wait just a minute. I'll go get him."

She slowly trudged her way out of her room and walked directly across the hall to knock on Ezra's door. To her surprise, he immediately answered, "Just a minute!"

Intrigued, Sabine opened the door to see Ezra, wearing only a pair of black long pants, doing a one-handed hand-stand in the middle of the room, seeming to defy gravity with his current positioning. Once again, the sight of Ezra shirtless made Sabine blush, but it was even worse with his muscles seeming more defined by his constant full-body exertion.

Luckily, it didn't last long, as Ezra yelped upon seeing her enter and called out, "Sabine!" Immediately, he seemed to lose his concentration and collapsed to the floor in a heap.

Sabine still stayed frozen in place as he groaned on the floor and told her, "You can't… just surprise me with a sight like that."

Frowning, Sabine looked down at herself in confusion. She was wearing her night clothes, a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt with the Mandalorian mythosaur symbol painted on it, but she didn't understand what he meant. Feeling her hair with her hands and realizing that it was sticking up unnaturally from how her head had rested on her pillow, she grimaced and said, "Sorry, I just woke up. I didn't have time to make myself presentable."

Ezra quickly scrambled to his feet and walked over to her and said, "No, no! I just meant… You look amazing."

Smiling at his compliment but not believing it, Sabine said, "Ezra, it's fine. I know I look like a mess. Like I said, I just-"

Ezra suddenly placed his hands on either side of her head and pulled her in to kiss the top of her head, then looked her in the eyes. "You look beautiful," he told her firmly.

For a moment, Sabine was speechless. They had never done more than hold each other's hands or do a Keldabe kiss to show their affection, once without their helmets on, but Ezra kissing her head and giving her such kind words filled her with a new kind of warmth.

After a moment, she smiled and gently placed a hand on his cheek as she said, "Well… thank you. And you look very nice too, Ez."

Ezra smiled and pulled back before he asked, "So, what's up?" Sabine looked at him in confusion and he prompted, "You came in here, in the middle of the night. Did you want to tell me something, or did you just want to almost give me a heart attack at the sight of you?"

Finally recalling why she'd come in here, Sabine quickly answered, "Oh, right! Kanan called me, said he wants to speak with you. I have him waiting on the comm in my room."

She took his hand and attempted to pull him back to her room, but he didn't budge and instead pulled his hand from hers, causing her to look back at him in confusion. Ezra smirked at her and asked, "Can I… put on a shirt first?"

As she realized that he was indeed still half-naked, Sabine blushed once more as Ezra chuckled before he grabbed a long-sleeved shirt and pulled it over his head before following Sabine back into her room.

They entered the hologram's field of view together and Ezra said, "Alright, Master Jedi. I'm here. What did you want to talk to me about?"

The blue, miniature Kanan looked up at them and said, not answering his question, "Took you guys long enough. Sabine, I was worried that you'd forgotten that you left me here. Now, I don't know where you guys are staying, but I doubt your rooms are far from one another. How's she doing out there, Ezra? We haven't heard much from Sabine since she left."

Sabine saw Ezra look over at her as he answered, but she didn't meet his eyes. "She's doing great, Kanan. We're nearly ready now. Just another couple months to gather support and weapons and we'll launch our initial attack."

Kanan nodded and said, "Good. We should've already completed our attack on Lothal by then, so we'll see if we can send you some support. In the meantime, I thought there's something you should know."

"What is it?" Ezra asked. "Earlier today, I felt a tremor in the Force. I looked further, and I sensed Maul. He's on the planet Tatooine, and I think he's looking for an old Jedi Master that I previously believed was dead, one of the strongest and wisest in the Jedi Order: Master Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Next to her, Sabine saw Ezra tense at the name. Clearly, he recognized it, and it meant something to him. He remained silent for a moment, then asked, "And now you think that Kenobi may be alive?"

Kanan shrugged. "I don't know if I believe it, but Maul certainly seems to. I'm telling you this because… Well, I think Maul is having trouble finding him. In the Force, he felt… frustrated. A different kind of anger than usual. I thought the Mandalorians might want to know that their enemy may be wandering one of the biggest, hottest, and most barren deserts in the galaxy."

Sabine understood what he was saying and commented, "You mean to say that Maul's lost, alone, and tired, weakened by the desert. If we bring an army, we could take him down."

Kanan nodded but added, "But remember, even weakened, he won't make it easy. And if you can… Make sure there's a body. If the past has taught me anything, it's that Maul is a survivor. Spectre-1 out."

And with his message delivered, Kanan's hologram quickly disappeared.

Ezra POV

After Kanan vanished from sight, Ezra immediately strode quickly back to his room and began to remove his armor from its display stand and lay it out on his bed. He heard Sabine enter the room behind him and say, "Ezra, are we-"

"You may want to turn around, I'm going to be changing," he cut her off as he pulled out his black bodysuit. He heard Sabine shuffle a bit and exit the room quickly as Ezra continued to get into his bodysuit and armor at top speed.

As soon as he had it all on and put on his helmet last, he grabbed his belt of weapons and exited the room, walking out of the castle to his ship as he clipped his belt around his waist. He would leave a message for his mother to find in the morning, explaining where he'd gone. For now, he needed to be on Tatooine.

He entered the Absolution and closed the ramp behind him, not wanting to be followed, then went to the cockpit. He began the start-up sequence and input Tatooine as the destination, but suddenly he heard the cockpit door open behind him. His Mandalorian instincts immediately kicking in, he spun around, drawing and aiming one of his pistols at the doorway, but quickly lowered it as he saw Sabine standing there in her full armor, her arms crossed over her chest.

Confused, Ezra asked, "Sabine… how did you get on board? The ramp was closed."

Sabine tapped one of her vambraces and said, "These were yours. I have your secret codes."

Groaning as he got to his feet, Ezra responded, "Of course you do."

"What were you thinking, Ezra?!" Sabine asked angrily as she stepped forward, getting right in his face. "You were going to leave without an army? Without me?! You were going to face Maul all by yourself?"

Ezra nodded firmly and grabbed her by the shoulders, beginning to push her back out of the ship. "Yes, and I still am. Kenobi needs saving, and I'm the only one here that might not die in a fight against Maul."

"Sorry, but saying that you might not die isn't enough for me," Sabine responded as she planted her feet in place, refusing to let Ezra keep pushing her out. "Even if no one else does, I'm going with you."

Ezra scowled and said, "Absolutely not."

"What, you think I can't handle myself?" she questioned heatedly.

Ezra suddenly froze and looked down into her helmet visor, trying to meet her eyes, and explained, "I know you can. And so do you. That's what worries me. If anything would get either of us killed fighting Maul, it would be us underestimating him because we thought we could handle him when we couldn't."

Sabine reached up and removed her helmet before saying, "I can't let you get yourself killed, Ezra. We should just bring the rest of your clan."

He shook his head and said, "No. This is between him and me."

"And Kenobi," Sabine added.

Ezra winced at the name and Sabine added, "I saw how you reacted when Kanan said his name. How do you know him?"

Ezra growled out, "It doesn't matter. But Maul must not reach him. Last time… It doesn't matter."

Sabine finally seemed to reach her breaking point and shoved Ezra backwards from herself, pushing him into one of the deployment bay seats, and leaned down to tell him sternly, "Ezra, you'd better tell me who this guy is, or I swear…"

"Alright, alright!" Ezra said, putting his hands up in surrender. Sabine stood up straight and folded her arms, raising an impatient eyebrow at him, and he muttered to himself, "And I thought her mother was scary."

He looked up at her and took a deep breath before beginning, "Obi-Wan Kenobi." It was difficult for Ezra to even say his full name, but he pushed on, bowing his head as he said, "Master Kenobi was my father."

Sabine's eyes widened, and Ezra continued, "Last time Kenobi saw Maul, Maul got… angry, so he killed my mother in front of him. I would almost feel sorry for Kenobi's loss, except that Maul killed her a foot away from him, and he did nothing. Just… sat there. Kenobi let himself be taken prisoner after that, and my adopted mother Bo saved him, and he left Mandalore. And he never went back. Never tried to avenge my mother."

Ezra then looked back up at Sabine and determinedly said, "That's why you can't… go there with me. I'd take anyone else before I took you. Force-wielders can sense… feelings. Attachments. And I don't care what happens to Kenobi, but I can't let Maul hurt someone I… care about. Not again."

He continued to stare unwavering into Sabine's sympathetic face, but then she brought her hands to rest on either side of his helmet. Ezra quickly placed his hands on top of hers to stop her, but she continued to look at him until he relaxed his grip, and she slowly pulled off his helmet to reveal the tears running down Ezra's face.

He looked away, trying in vain to hide his tears, his weakness, but he couldn't stop them from flowing. The memory of his mother, the stress of his father possibly being alive, the unbearable thought of Sabine possibly getting killed. Ezra could feel only mixed emotions, sorrow, rage, and fear. He could only imagine what Sabine must think of him. It was unbecoming for a Mandalorian to cry, and she'd seen him break down twice now. Not to mention, he was supposed to be the strongest member of his clan, meant to be an example of strength, and he tried to be at all times. But being strong all the time… It was the hardest thing of all.

Sabine laid his helmet to the side and sat in the chair next to him, gently pulling him in to lay her head on his shoulder, and he laid his head on top of hers. He appreciated her trying to comfort him, but he wished she didn't have to see him like this.

From her place on his shoulder, Sabine quietly said, "I get that you want to protect me, and I'm grateful that you care about me that much. But as strong as we are individually, Mandalorians are stronger together. If you don't want to take anyone else, fine. But I'm going with you."

Ezra opened his mouth to protest, but Sabine pulled her head away from his shoulder and quickly stopped him by saying, "If you go out there and die, and I wasn't there to at least try to save you, that would hurt me worse than anything else could. I'd rather die fighting beside you than live without you, Ez."

Ezra wanted to continue arguing, but he just paused for a moment and ultimately just nodded silently to her. They both stood up and walked back to the cockpit.

As they entered, Sabine turned to offer Ezra his helmet, but he quickly surged forward and grabbed her by the shoulders before pushing her into the wall. He glared into her eyes and firmly ordered, "You need to promise me one thing before we go. You need to promise that you won't die."

Sabine, who had gotten a look of surprise when Ezra pushed her into the wall, now smiled at him with humor and said, "I promise. Now you promise me the same thing, Kryze."

Ezra hesitated for a moment, then said, "I promise."

Sabine nodded at him, but Ezra knew that both of them were aware that they may not be able to keep their promises if they were planning to face Maul.

Suddenly, as if on instinct, Sabine quickly leaned her head in closer to Ezra and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, then immediately pulled away, looking shy. "Sorry," she told him, "but I didn't want either of us to die before I did that."

Ezra remained frozen in place for a moment, processing what had just happened. Sabine had kissed him. A real kiss. On the lips. He had kissed her head this morning and nearly died from the nervousness rushing through him. But this was… so much more. Seeing that she was starting to look worried, when he didn't respond, he quickly said, "No! It felt… That was just… Wow."

Sabine giggled slightly at his reaction, then handed him his helmet and went to sit in her seat. Ezra stayed in place for a minute, his eyes following her, and before he could lose his nerve, he asked, "Are you sure I can't marry you yet? It'd only take a few seconds!"

Sabine didn't even look at him as she answered, "Not yet, Ez. But if you behave, I might give you some more kisses every now and then to keep you content in the meantime. Now, get over here and get us to Tatooine before I do it for you."

Grumbling unhappily, Ezra obediently went to his seat and guided the Absolution upwards and into space. He brought them to the jump point and launched the ship into hyperspace, heading towards Tatooine.

As they flew, Sabine leaned back in her seat and said, "Can I ask you something?"

Ezra paused for a moment and asked, "Am I allowed to say no?"

"Yes."

"Clearly you don't understand the power you have over me, because there is no way I can tell you no," Ezra sighed. "Go ahead."

Turning her head to face him, Sabine asked, "What were you doing in this room this morning? It didn't exactly look like sleeping."

Ezra cleared his throat and answered, "I was… practicing using the Force."

Sabine leaned forward once again, interested, and questioned, "Really? You've been using your powers?"

"It's preparation for the war," Ezra explained dismissively. He didn't like to talk about his use of his mystical abilities, but he could not deny that they had their uses. He'd found that he could make himself stronger and faster in addition to moving things with his mind, and this morning, he'd been experimenting with using the Force to do otherwise impossible gymnastic tricks, which had been to great success. He shouldn't have been able to lift his whole body with one arm like he had, but he had yet to face an obstacle that the Force couldn't be used to get around. Then again, such power required great concentration, and Sabine tended to draw his attention. But it was getting easier with practice.

Frowning in thought, Sabine asked, "Can you… see things the way Kanan does?"

Surprised, Ezra asked, "He sees with the Force? Well, that explains how he can still fight so well."

"So… is that a no?" Sabine asked hesitantly.

Ezra shrugged and decided to try it. Closing his eyes, he extended his senses in the Force. Another thing he had found during his experimentation was that after years of being shut up inside him, his powers were eager to reach out, extending quickly when he willed them to. However, this time he had no idea what he was doing, and his abilities seemed to know it, because he saw absolutely nothing. As usual, he could still feel the surrounding presences and feelings, particularly those coming from Sabine, but he definitely wasn't seeing anything.

Slumping in defeat and opening his eyes again, Ezra said, "I… Not yet, it seems. I can sense feelings and sometimes even read or control minds to some extent, but I guess Jarrus gets to keep his own thing for now. I don't know how this stuff works yet."

Sabine looked over at him and asked, "You can read and control minds?"

"Only if the mind is weaker, usually some grunt who's used to mindlessly following orders. Or just stupid," Ezra answered. "If I tried to control, say, you, I'd probably break your mind before I convinced you to obey me. Reading your mind would be easier, but it'd hurt if you fought it, though you may be able to keep me out by fortifying your mind and giving me pointless thoughts that I'm not interested in."

Sabine nodded in understanding, but Ezra thought that she still looked uncomfortable. Trying to ease her nerves, Ezra said, "Don't worry, Sabine. I would never pry inside your head. Even if I did, you'd feel it. I only tell you this because the Empire has their own supply of Force-wielders."

Sabine nodded once more and said, "Inquisitors. Kanan's met some of them. He even killed their leader."

Ezra nodded. "So I heard. The Grand Inquisitor's death was… surprising, to say the least. I didn't really know him too well, but everyone heard about it when he was killed."

"And of course, there's… the other guy. The Emperor's personal guy," Sabine said, paling at the memory of the only time she'd ever met the one that Kanan had called a Sith Lord.

Ezra shuddered and responded, "Oh, yeah. Everyone knows that one. I only ever saw him once, and his presence made me just... really uncomfortable. I'm just glad I didn't have to actually meet him."

Sabine shook her head, saying, "I keep forgetting that you were with the Empire. What else did you do with them?"

"Luckily, my assignment was personal, so I rarely got involved with the other Imps, soldiers or officers," Ezra answered. "But I followed everywhere you had gone, always one step behind you, just trying to gather enough information to predict your next move. It wasn't until you attacked Naraka Prison that I was successful. I waited at the prison, keeping an eye on Hondo Ohnaka, and watched your breakout."

Sabine raised an eyebrow. "You were at the prison?"

Ezra nodded an affirmative and said, "Yes. Your escape methods were… desperate, but also impressive. You took down an AT-DP with only one small external detonation and your Lasat friend's body weight. Most impressive, and I expected no less."

Sabine beamed at his words of praise, and Ezra smiled in response. They both did an excellent job of distracting one another from their impending confrontation with Maul.