¡Hola, mi amigos! Specter7 here! I am thrilled with all the support I've been getting:) Thanks, guys! I hope you like this chapter, it's got some funny parts, some serious parts, and some downright sad parts. Oh, the feels, people. The feels! Read and...

May the Force be with you.

"Okay," Ezra said. "Hera Syndulla lives in the Plains Apartments on the Eastern side of Lothal County, in apartment Zero-Three-Dash-One. Right?"

"Right," Ketsu confirmed.

"And her husband's name is Kanan Jarrus. Right?"

"Right."

"And Hera starts work for U.S. Air Force Base Eleven-Point-Eight in two days. Right?"

"Right. So you have the rest of today and tomorrow to get to this Hera Syndulla before she starts work. Once she does, she'll turn in her operating number to her commander and they'll have known someone else activated it."

"And they can trace it back to you," Ezra finished.

"Yes," Ketsu confirmed again. "I'm sticking my neck out for you, kid. So... tell Sabine... we're even."

Ezra was quiet for a moment. "Why don't you just tell her yourself?"

He heard her sigh. "Like you said, Dev Morgan. The past is the past. We've gone our separate ways now."

Ezra frowned. For some reason, what she said bothered him. "Ketsu-"

"I helped you." the lady interrupted. "Don't ask me do anything more."

"...Fine," Ezra said quietly. "I suppose this is it. Thank you. And... and I'll tell Sabine what you said."

"...Wait," Ketsu seemed to say hesitantly. "About Sabine... how much has she told you about her past?"

Ezra narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"She didn't tell you anything, huh? Well, if she didn't want to, I won't tell you either. But a fair warning, Dev... Stay away from her. Sabine Wren is dangerous. She's done terrible things; things people would only have nightmares about."

Ezra was silent. Finally, he coldly bit out, "Well, I guess we have something in common, then."

He looked at the lean girl, watching as she gathered her stuff together.

Ketsu's words rang in Ezra's ears: Stay away from her.

He walked up to Sabine. She was kneeling on the Panel Eight garage floor, gathering her wrenches together.

"Hey," Ezra said.

She glanced up at him, amber-brown eyes reflected the lowering sun.

Sabine Wren is dangerous.

"Back again?" the teen teased Ezra.

"I knew you'd miss me if I didn't see you before you left," he said, only half-heartedly flirting. Ketsu's voice still echoed in the back of his mind.

Stay away...

Dangerous...

Sabine Wren.

"You talk to Ketsu?" she asked, ignoring his statement.

Ezra wanted to smile when he heard a note of hopefulness in her voice, but then frowned when he remembered Ketsu's words.

"Yeah," Ezra answered.

"What'd she say?" Sabine asked.

How much has she told you about her past?

...terrible things...

...nightmares...

Sabine Wren.

Ezra stared hard at Sabine, wanting to speak, but not knowing what to say. He finally lifted his chin. "Ketsu said... you're both even now."

"Do you have an eight?"

"Go fish."

Hera sighed and pulled a card from the deck.

It had been her idea to start a game of Go Fish with her husband to get his mind off of that weird feeling that had been bugging him. No matter what she said, he insisted someone was trying to find them. Hera personally didn't know what to think, but she trusted Kanan's instincts. If he had an odd sense, something was usually about to happen. That sixth sense her husband had had gotten him out of multiple weapons dealing situations. He seemed to have an overabundance of luck.

"Do you have a seven?" Kanan asked.

Even at Go Fish.

Hera handed him the card and he made a pair. "Blast it, Kanan," she muttered angrily. "This isn't even fair."

"Real battles usually aren't," he said teasingly with an arched eyebrow.

Chopper bounded up to them, 'accidentally' slapping Kanan with his helicopter blade-like tail.

"Hey," Kanan growled.

Chopper just huffed at him and then came to sit loyally by Hera's side.

Hera watched as Kanan rolled his eyes and asked for a three.

"Go fish," she replied, relaxing. Perhaps Kanan's luck did have a limit.

Chopper sniffed the cards in Hera's hand and she gently pushed him away. "Trying to play, Chop'," she said.

The dog looked at Hera with big, black eyes and then turned and sat next to Kanan.

"Ha!" her husband said victoriously. "He does like me more!" Kanan tried to pet the rusty-colored dog and Chopper snapped at him, white fangs barely missing fleshy skin. "Yikes!" Kanan yelped, looking angrily at the animal. "Fine, I'm not your favorite."

He turned back to the card game. "You're go, Hera," he said.

She hesitated. She knew Kanan most likely didn't have a six or an Ace... So what other card should she ask for?

Chopper yipped and Hera glanced up. The dog shuffled his paws and licked his his nose twice. Hera cocked an eyebrow and then looked back at her cards. She had a two. Was she just imagining it or...

Hera glanced at Chopper. He whined eagerly and licked his nose twice again.

She shrugged. Maybe she would try it just for kicks.

"Do you have a two?" Hera asked.

Kanan wrinkled his nose and looked at her. He pulled out a card and tossed it to her.

"Yup."

She stared at the card and then at Chopper. His tail was whipping side to side furiously.

"You okay?" Kanan asked.

"What?" Hera said distractedly, trying to keep from smiling from ear to ear. "Yes, I'm fine, love. Do you have a..."

Chopper licked his nose once, twice, tree times, four times... and stopped.

"A four?"

Now Kanan was frowning. "Yeah," he said. "More then one actually."

He handed her two fours and Hera made the pair.

Hera slowly smiled a knowing, shifty smile.

Kanan, Kanan, Kanan... she thought. It looks like your luck's run out after all.

Six rematches later, Hera watched as Kanan threw down his cards in a fit. "I give up!" he yelled. "You're unbeatable. It's...It's not even humanly possible to win this many times! It's-It's-"

"Not fair?" Hera suggested.

"Yes!"

"Real battles usually aren't."

Kanan stared at her, his aquamarine eyes wide. He finally sighed. "You got me," he admitted.

Kanan suddenly frowned. He stared hard at the ground.

Hera tilted her head and took his hand. "Dear," she said confusedly. "It's-It's just a game-"

Kanan put a finger to her lips. "Shh," he said gently. "It's not that... 'Member that feeling I've been getting?"

"Yeah..."

"It just came on strong. Whoever's been looking for us is almost here.

Ezra sprinted across a roof top as the sun set, casting strands of color all across the evening sky.

He sprang across a huge gap between buildings and landed with a roll. He kept running.

There was a good chance Social Services were looking for him here in Lothal County. So, as a way to avoid detection, Ezra traveled along the rooftops. He was betting no one would even notice him up there. People nowadays were always so concerned with their phones and text messages and apps and a bunch of other nonsense to look up. Ezra couldn't comprehend how people his age were so worried about what everyone thought about them. Honestly, the thought hardly ever even crossed Ezra's mind. If people thought he looked trashy and wished he would take better care of himself...

HA!

Keep on dreaming, people, Ezra thought, shaking his head in amusement as he ran.

He was an orphan and homeless! He ate out of garbage cans and stole to survive. And people thought he should be worried about his appearance?

Ezra suddenly stopped. It was getting too dark to keep on traveling on the roofs. One wrong slip and he would plummet thirty feet.

Ezra carefully made it to a building's fire escape and walked down. He paused when he reached the ground. Ezra had wanted to find Hera Syndulla Jarrus before nightfall but it looked like that wouldn't be an option. He still had a while before he reached the Plains Apartments.

"I guess I'll just walk until I find a place to sleep," Ezra muttered and started traveling in the general direction of the Plains Apartments.

All the while, he mumbled to himself. Not having any companion to talk to for most of his life, Ezra had become very good at keeping himself occupied. So, Ezra talked to himself all the time.

"What'd you think about Sabine?" he asked himself.

That one caught him a little of guard. What did he think about Sabine?

"She doesn't seem dangerous," Ezra muttered. "And I sure enough don't want to stay away from her like Ketsu said."

But Sabine did seem different. A whole lot different than the other cute girls he'd flirted with before. She was guarded and seemed awfully secretive.

He pictured Sabine as... more of a loner than anything. A lone wolf. Someone completely capable of taking care of herself. Independent.

Ezra had been forced to be independent. With no one to turn to, he had grown up real quick. Out on the streets, Ezra learned to trust no one. He learned that he could only take care of one person; himself. That was part of the reason why he never stayed in one place: so he didn't rely on anyone or anything else except his wits.

Ezra stopped. He must have been walking for along time; the moon was already high in the sky. He might've even passed up the Plains Apartments.

Ezra spotted a run-down donut shop and right on cue, his stomach growled. He hurried to the shop and hid behind a dumpster. A single lightbulb was on in the shop yet the door read 'CLOSED.'

Ezra watched as the donut shop's manager swept the floor one last time. He then took all the left over donuts on the racks that hadn't sold that day and tossed them in a trashcan.

Ezra's eyes bugged. All that food? Being thrown away?

Suddenly, without warning, the shop manager flung open the door, dragging the trashcan behind him.

Ezra scrambled away, hiding behind the dumpster.

"Hey!" the shop manager shouted. "Who's out there?"

Ezra swallowed. His stomach growled again, but this time it was so loud, it was more like a roar than a growl.

Ezra poked his head out behind the dumpster. I haven't ate food since last night, he thought. And even that was just a half-eaten banana I found on the ground.

The shop manager had scruffy hair that was somewhere in between white and blond. He had a short mustache and surprisingly kind green eyes underneath heavy brows.

Ezra slowly crawled out from behind the dumpster.

The man's surprise was obvious. "Hello, there!" he exclaimed. "Who are you?"

Ezra warily looked at the man. "I'm no one. Just hungry."

"I'm Morad Sumar. You can call me Mr. Sumar," the kindly old man said. "And I don't have any food except for the old donuts. Not sure how good they'd taste, but-" he broke off when he saw Ezra's expression.

"Have at it, kid," he said, leaving the trashcan on the steps and going back inside.

As soon as the door closed, Ezra leaped forward for the trashcan. He grabbed a chocolate-iced donut and took a ravenous bite out of it.

Amazing.

It tasted just as good as food bought from a store!

Ezra ate and ate until his stomach was stuffed.

He glanced back at the the store manager, Mr. Sumar, silently thanking him and took off.

Morad Sumar frowned as he wiped off the counters. Was it just his imagination or did that kid look like...

No, no. It couldn't have been him.

Ezra Bridger had been taken to an orphanage far, far away from Lothal County where he was born. It was impossible that he would end up back here. ...Right?

Mr. Sumar walked to his office in the back of the shop and opened one of the junk drawers. Three people stared back up at him. The photo had Ephraim Bridger, big, strong, and broad-shouldered. And then Mira Bridger, beautiful, young, and bright-eyed. And then there was the little boy in the middle. He was seven, with copper-colored skin, huge blue eyes, and a mop of black hair.

Mr. Sumar's eyes widened. It was. The kid he saw and the kid in the picture was the same person.

Ezra Bridger lived.

Mr. Sumar ran to the back door and stumbled out. "Ezra?" Mr. Sumar called, but it was to empty air.

He was gone.

Ezra had found a bench just outside a playground that looked comfy enough to pass for a bed.

Ah, who was he kidding?

The bench was hard, the metal rusted, and the trashcan next to it stunk something awful.

"Think positive," Ezra chided himself aloud. "I'm full. And a full Ezra is a happy Ezra."

He nodded and curled up on the bench, zipping his jacket all the way up and pulling the hood over his head. Ezra tucked his hands into the sleeves as the cold started to creep into his fingers. Yet he was happy. His belly was full and that was a great thing in itself.

"Goodnight," Ezra told the empty air, wishing, not for the first time, that he actually had someone to tell goodnight to.

"Look what we have here!" a voice said mockingly.

Ezra's eyes flew open as he felt a strong hand grab him by his jacket and pull him up viciously.

It was a teenager. Probably seventeen or eighteen with two other buddies.

"Awe," one of the other teens said. "It's just a little kid!"

Ezra looked up at them with wide blue eyes.

"What's wrong little kiddy?" the boy who was holding him said, sneering. "You gonna cry?"

Ezra suddenly kicked the teen's kneecap and the boy let out a cry of pain, dropping Ezra. He landed on the balls of his feet and took of running.

"That's right!" one of the teenagers yelled after Ezra. "Run away little kiddy! This is our part of Lothal County!"

"And don't come back!" another one hollered.

"Don't worry," Ezra muttered as he ran. "I won't."

After several long minutes of sprinting, he finally came to a stop. Where am I? Ezra thought wonderingly. He was walking down the sidewalk, with nothing but the occasional lamppost to light his way.

The sky was still dark but was slowly getting lighter and lighter. Ezra guessed it was about five A.M. in the morning.

He yawned and stretched. "I'm lost," Ezra said glumly. "Aren't I?" He sighed and sat against a building's wall. There was nothing to do but to wait until the sun was fully up and ask for directions.

"Maybe trying to find Hera wasn't the best idea," he muttered to himself. "I mean, what would I even do when I saw her?"

Ezra shrugged. He... well, he didn't know what he was going to do when he finally found Hera. It had been a half-baked plan, based on his feelings.

"You can't trust your feelings," he told himself. "You should know that by now."

Ezra hung his head. Yeah, he was right. Maybe he should just go back to Sabine... What if she fixed his dirt bike while he was gone? He could be on the road right now!

"But I don't want to be," Ezra breathed.

...Blast it! Why was he so conflicted? He needed to leave Lothal County before Social Services found him! The sooner the better!

Ezra curled his fingers into a tight fist.

But Sabine... well, he'd grown to like her a whole lot. Yeah, she kinda shrugged him off, and, yeah, she seemed sorta distant... but there was something so different about her! Something Ezra couldn't shake.

And what about Hera Syndulla? And Kanan Jarrus?

Ezra was going to go crazy if he didn't find faces to associate with those incredibly familiar names. And if Ezra just walked away from this opportunity, especially when she was so close, how could he live with himself? How could he go throughout his life, knowing he passed up the one place he felt he truly belonged?

That did it.

Ezra would find Hera today. As soon as the sun came up, he would get directions to the Plains Apartments, find the room 03-1, and see Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus with his own eyes.

And if they aren't in the apartment? he asked himself cynically.

"Then I'll wait on their doorsteps!" Ezra answered. "But I'm finding them. Hera and Kanan.

"Today."

Yeah, go Ezra! Find 'em!

So, sorry to keep on leaving you guys off on an almost-cliffhanger, but I gotta keep the audience on the edge of their seats! Stay hungry for the next chapter and don't forget to Follow/Fav and review!

P.S. Little side note here, but did anyone see the midseason trailer for Season 3? It's AMAZING!

Ahem. Sorry. Just had to get that off my chest.

Specter7 out.