"You're not gonna tell me what you did with the Sith holocron, are you?" Ezra asked Kanan as they along with Sabine walked into the bridge of a CR90 corvette with its door sliding open as it traveled through Hyperspace with both Mandalorians having their helmets under their arms.
"I told you it was safe," Kanan assured him.
"But what if there are secrets we can learn from it that'll help us destroy the Sith?" Ezra asked him.
"Ezra, the secrets in that thing almost destroyed you," Kanan reminded him.
"He's right, Ezra," Sabine said, agreeing with their master, "Besides, if you fell to the dark side, I don't think I could cope with that."
"I know," Ezra told them, "But if not to get the Sith holocron, why did Master Yoda send us to Malachor?"
"We asked for a chance to defeat the Sith, and we failed," Kanan answered.
"I suspect that you're right, Kanan," Sabine said, agreeing with him.
"Coming up on the rendezvous point, Commander, but the transport's not responding," one of the rebel troopers that were piloting the CR90 corvette reported to Ezra as the CR90 corvette jumped out of Hyperspace as the five of them saw a heavily damaged Hammerhead corvette in the distance away from the CR90 corvette.
"It looks like it was attacked," Ezra said as he looked at the heavily damaged Hammerhead corvette.
"It's more than just an attack," Sabine told her husband, "Look at the blast patterns, the angle of the debris… this was a calculated strike."
"Sabine's right. This wasn't a random skirmish. It was strategic, meant to incapacitate, not to destroy," Kanan said, agreeing with her, "We need to be careful."
The CR90 corvette then began to approach the heavily damaged Hammerhead corvette as it extended its docking tube out towards the airlock of the heavily damaged Hammerhead corvette.
"There must have been one heck of a fight," Ezra stated as he, Sabine and Kanan walked into one of the corridors of the heavily damaged Hammerhead corvette as the door slid open with Kanan leading them as the three of them saw that crates were not stacked in place and organized, but were scattered across the floor.
"Yeah, it looks like there was a battle here, Ezra," Sabine said, agreeing with her husband.
"I can see the carbon scoring," Kanan said as he looked around the corridor and his surroundings when he suddenly heard the electrical chirp of an astromech droid from behind a door in front of him, causing him to stop walking, "Over here."
Ezra then ran towards the door and placed his hands on both sides of it and forced it to slide open. The three Force-wielders walked through the doorway, where they saw a rebel trooper lying on their back behind a container, groaning in pain. A Lothal astromech droid stood behind the rebel trooper, chirping anxiously as Ezra walked towards the injured rebel trooper.
"Hang on, all right? We'll get you help," Ezra assured the rebel trooper as he lifted him up a bit from his back as he placed his right hand behind the rebel trooper's neck and held him up by his left armpit with his left hand, "What happened here?"
"Red… Red blade," the rebel trooper answered as Kanan and Sabine walked into the room, "After you… Made me tell… The Ghost is in danger."
"Another Inquisitor?" Ezra said with disbelief in his voice as the rebel trooper groaned again.
"I thought they were all killed on Malachor," Sabine stated, "But it looks like one survived."
"We gotta warn Hera," Kanan told them.
"Got the Ghost for you now, sir," one of the rebel troopers that were piloting told Kanan as he, Ezra and Sabine walked back into the bridge of the CR90 corvette as the door slid back open before it slid back shut as a hologram of Hera appeared from the holoprojector of the CR90 corvette with her arms behind her back.
"Hera! Am I glad to see you're all right," Ezra said with relief as he, Sabine and Kanan looked at the hologram of the Twi'lek.
"Yeah, we thought something bad happened to you," Sabine told her, agreeing with her husband.
"Kanan," Hera said, greeting the Jedi Knight.
"There's another Inquisitor after us," Kanan told her, "He knows where the Ghost is."
"Kanan, it's not an Inquisitor," Hera corrected him.
"Oh, no," Ezra muttered as he, Sabine and Kanan saw a familiar Zabrak pushing Hera out of the way with their right hand, but was wearing black colored Nightbrother heavy robes, unlike what he wore when they met him on Malachor as he had his left arm behind their back.
"I thought he was killed on Malachor," Sabine said as she stared at the Zabrak.
"Yeah, I thought the same, Sabine," Kanan stated, agreeing with the female Mandalorian.
"Hello again, Master Jedi," Maul said, greeting the Jedi Knight.
"Maul? You broke our temporary alliance!" Ezra snarled at the Zabrak with anger in his voice.
"No, I broke the temporary alliance with your wife and friends," Maul corrected him, "But I would have remained loyal to you."
"What do you want?" Kanan asked the Zabrak.
"The Sith holocron that our apprentice and I acquired on Malachor," Maul answered.
"We don't have it," Kanan told him as he crossed his arms.
"How unfortunate, because if that's true, then your friends and family have no future," Maul stated as Hera reappeared on the holoprojector, but on her knees with Zeb, Mira and Ephraim appearing on it next to her and were on their knees with their arms behind their backs as well along with Chopper, who was standing next to the Lasat with two repurposed RIC-1200 tour guide droids aiming E-5C blaster rifled at them as Hera, Zeb, Mira, Ephraim and Chopper were all being as hostages by the former Sith Lord as he ignited one of his lightsaber's crimson red blades from behind Hera, Zeb, Mira, Ephraim and Chopper.
"Okay, we have it. Just not with us," Ezra stated as he didn't want Hera, Zeb or Chopper to die from Maul's hands and didn't want to lose his parents to him either.
"We'll give it to you, as long as our friends and family remain safe," Kanan told him as he lowered his arms.
"And don't you dare kill them," Sabine added.
"Agreed. Good," Maul said as he deactivated his lightsaber and placed his right arm behind his back, "Oh, and one more thing, your Jedi holocron, give me that as well."
"Kanan, no," Hera said, pleading with the Jedi Knight.
"Fine," Kanan relented.
"I shall be in touch with coordinates," Maul told the three Force-wielders, "Don't disappoint me."
"I can't believe you told Maul I have a holocron," Kanan said as he looked at Ezra with disbelief in his voice as he crossed his arms again.
"I didn't tell him that you had a holocron, Kanan," Ezra told him, "He must have known that you have one because, like Markus, you're a Jedi who survived Order 66."
"He does have a point, Kanan," Sabine said, agreeing with her husband.
"You both might be right, kids," Kanan muttered as he realized that they had a point.
"Is it still on the Ghost?" Ezra asked him.
"Where else would I keep it," Kanan answered as he lowered his arms and sat down on the seat next to him.
"Well, what about the Sith holocron?" Ezra asked him.
"Yeah, we need to know where it is if we are to save Hera, Zeb, Mira, Ephraim and Chopper," Sabine said, agreeing with her husband.
"Yeah, that's not gonna be easy," Kanan told them.
"I thought you said it was safe," Ezra recalled.
"Yeah, how will it not be easy if it is safe?" Sabine asked him with confusion in her voice.
"It is safe," the Jedi Knight confirmed, "That may be the problem."
"I assumed that this ship was merely a transport, but I realize it is much more than that," Maul admitted as he stared at Sabine's large Starbird on one of the walls in the common room that Lando was admiring when he met them as the Ghost traveled through Hyperspace as Hera and Zeb sat around the holotable's couch, while Mira and Ephraim sat on the stools surrounding the holotable with Chopper standing next to Zeb as his RIC-1200 tour guide droids rolled towards them as they aimed their blasters at them, "This is your home."
"We're not here because this is our home," Ephraim corrected the former Sith Lord, "We're here because we were on a mission for the Rebellion when you commandeered the ship."
"You looking to move in?" Zeb retorted as he looked at the Zabrak in a tone that sounded like he was mocking him.
"Captain, would it be rude of me to request a tour of your ship?" Maul asked Hera as he turned around and approached her.
"Well, the airlock is down there, if you want to see yourself out," Hera told him in a bitter sounding tone.
"Show me around. I insist," Maul said as he aimed his lightsaber's hilt at her neck as he held it in his right hand.
"No!" Zeb growled at the Zabrak.
"Don't do it, Hera," Mira pleaded with the Twi'lek.
"Yeah, don't go with him," Ephraim said, agreeing with his wife.
"Mandalorians, you two should trust me," Maul told Mira and Ephraim, "For did I not once rule your people?"
"You may have claimed the title, Maul, but you were never a true ruler of Mandalore," Mira stated as she stared at him with anger on her face, "You're not a Mandalorian, and you don't follow the Resol'nare. Your rule was imposed, not earned."
"I agree with her. As a former Protector, I know the importance of the Resol'nare and what it means to be a true Mandalorian," Ephraim said, agreeing with his wife, "You, Maul, were never that."
"Ah, Mira Bridger, isn't it?" Maul asked the female Mandalorian as he recognized her when she was a Nite Owl as a part of Death Watch, "I remember you. A Nite Owl, always so loyal to Bo-Katan Kryze. But tell me, how does it feel to see your people led by someone who doesn't even follow your Resol'nare?"
"You're mistaken, Maul. Bo-Katan does follow the Resol'nare," Mira corrected the Zabrak, "She proved her loyalty to Mandalore when she left Death Watch with me and my daughter-in-law's mother, Ursa after you defeated Pre Vizsla and took the Darksaber from him. Unlike you, she earned her leadership."
Hera then stood up and walked towards the door that leads to the hallway that contained everyone's personal quarters with Maul following her as he placed both of his arms behind his back as the door slid open before they left the room.
"So he ruled your people?" Zeb asked both Mandalorians.
"Unfortunately," Ephraim confirmed.
"Yes, Maul did rule Mandalore for a short time," Mira confirmed, "But me, Sabine's mother and most of us Nite Owls defected from Death Watch once he took control of our homeworld and fought against him and those members of Death Watch who pledged their loyalty to him. This included someone named Rook Kast and Governor Gar Saxon of Mandalore, who later orchestrated the Massacre of Clan Bridger when Ezra turned five. We've always stood up against those who threaten our people and our values."
"Where does one who hides his identity hide his legacy?" Maul asked as he and Hera entered the hallway that contained everyone's personal quarters before he stared into Zeb's cabin, where the Lasat's bo-wife was as it was laying on a desk as the Zabrak sniffed the smell coming from Zeb's room, "That is a curious smell."
She then walked over to the other side of the hallway and towards Sabine and Ezra's cabin, causing its door to slide open as Maul saw artwork around the room's walls as he realized that it was Sabine and Ezra's room from the colors around the cabin's walls and that Sabine paints her armor.
"How colorful," Maul muttered as he rolled his eyes before they walked away from the room as she led him to the cabin next to the Mandalorians' room and stopped in front of it before the door slid open before Maul saw that the room had nothing in it, but was just gray with a bed and a drawer underneath the bed, "Ah, yes." They then walked into the room, "This is it. A dull and dour chamber. These are the quarters of a Jedi." He then looked around the room a bit, "Show me where he keeps the holocron."
"I don't know anything about him," Hera lied.
"That's not true," Maul said, seeing through her lie, "You know all about Kanan Jarrus. Or should I use his real name? Caleb Dume." He then extended his right hand out towards her as he used the Force to reach into her mind, causing her to grunt in pain, "Yes, it was your idea to recruit Ezra. And it was here that the boy found…" He then lowered his right arm as he turned towards the drawers, "No, he stole the holocron."
He then bent down and extended his right hand out towards the drawer as he used the Force to open it before he laughed as he picked the holocron up from the drawer with his right hand.
"That wasn't so difficult, was it?" The former Sith Lord asked the Twi'lek as he stood back up and turned back around.
"So, you hid the holocron down there?" Ezra asked Kanan as the Jedi pilot piloted his speeder bike as he sat on the back of the speeder bike with Sabine piloting her jumpspeeder as they stopped their speeder bike and jumpspeeder near the area where Kanan met the Bendu as there was a sensor marker attached to the side of the speeder bike.
"More like I left it with someone," Kanan explained.
"Someone? Who?" Ezra asked him before Kanan accelerated his speeder bike down the hill before Ezra hopped off with Sabine doing the same with her jumpspeeder before she hopped off her jumpspeeder bike as well with Ezra grabbing the sensor marker with his right hand and stabbed it into the ground.
"Bendu?" Kanan said, calling out to the Bendu as he also got up from his speeder bike and began to look around for the Bendu, "Bendu, where are you?"
"Bendu?" Both Mandalorians repeated at the same time as they looked at each other for a second.
"Who's Bendu?" Ezra asked Kanan as he and Sabine followed their master as unbeknownst to them, the Bendu quietly grabbed the sensor marker with his left hand's thumb and index finger from the ground, "There's nothing here."
"Ezra's right, Kanan," Sabine said, agreeing with her husband, "Nobody is here."
"He was here," Kanan assured them.
"Maybe you're just seeing things that aren't there," Ezra said, not believing him.
"Yeah, maybe Ezra is right, Kanan," Sabine said, agreeing with her husband, "Besides, I doubt that anyone would want to live here."
"Bendu! I need the holocron!" Kanan said, calling out to the Bendu again, "Bendu!"
"Mmm, Kanan, your friend isn't here," Ezra told Kanan.
"Yeah, I don't see him either," Sabine said, agreeing with him before they gasped as they saw one of the krykna begin to approach them.
"Oh! Oh, but I do see crawlers!" Ezra said as more of the spiders began to approach them, "Lot's of 'em!" He then noticed that the sensor marker was missing, "Hey, where's our thumper?"
"Yeah, it just vanished without a trace," Sabine said, agreeing with him.
"If you both stay calm, they won't attack," Kanan warned both of his Padawans.
"Right," Ezra muttered as he grabbed his lightsaber from his armor's belt and ignited one of its blades as Sabine did the same with hers.
"Ezra, Sabine, you both are making it worse!" Kanan told them, "It's possible to get along with them."
"Mmm, I tried that, remember? They almost ripped my face off," Ezra reminded him.
"And I tried connecting with them with the Force after they kidnapped Rex," Sabine recalled, agreeing with her husband as the spiders began to surround them for a second before they scattered away, "What's going on? What are they running from?"
"He's here," Kanan explained.
"What?" Both Mandalorians asked with confusion in their voices before the sensor marker that they brought with them was thrown onto the ground in front of them and saw that it had been snapped in half like what the Bendu had done to the one that Kanan had when he met him before they turned around and saw the large coral plant in front of them slowly rise up from cover with it groaning as it turned around towards them, revealing it to be the Bendu.
"The Jedi returns, and with his students, whom I see are Mandalorians, a rarity for your kind to be attuned to the Force. Perhaps you've come for a talk?" The Bendu said before he laughed.
"I don't believe it," Ezra muttered as he and Sabine looked at the Bendu.
"Care to introduce us, Kanan?" Sabine asked her master as she looked at him.
"Ezra, Sabine, this is the Bendu. Bendu, these are my Padawans, Ezra Bridger and his wife, Sabine Wren," Kanan said, introducing both Mandalorians and the Bendu to each other, "Unfortunately, we don't have time to chat, Bendu. We've come for the holocron."
"Ah, yes, the keeper of the shadow lore," the Bendu muttered, referring to the Sith holocron, "Why do you want it?"
"Tell him, kids," Kanan requested both Mandalorians as he placed his right hand over the left pauldron of Ezra's armor for a second before he lowered his right arm.
"Uh… Okay. We need it to save our friends and my parents," Ezra said as he began to explain their situation to the mysterious Force-Wielder, "A Sith, Darth Maul, has them. He wants it."
"He also once ruled our people for a few months when we were toddlers during a galaxy-wide conflict known as the Clone Wars," Sabine added.
"I do not know this darksider, but I know his kind and I have heard of this conflict known as the Clone Wars," the Bendu told them, "Why does he want it?"
"I don't know," Kanan answered, "But he also wants my Jedi holocron."
"Oh. He would bring them together?" The Bendu said as he realized what Maul wanted with both holocrons, "Such a vergence carries grave danger."
"Why?" Ezra asked him, "I thought the holocrons were just libraries of information."
"Yeah, aren't they libraries with information stored within them?" Sabine said, agreeing with her husband.
"They are that and more," The Bendu stated before explaining what he meant to them, "If two such powerful sources of knowledge are united, they will grant a clarity of vision beyond your kind."
"What does that mean?" Kanan asked him.
"When joined, any secret, wisdom or destiny can be seen through the Force," the Bendu explained, "One could bring much chaos with such hidden truths. I have seen it before."
"Well, we can't control what Maul will do," Ezra told Kanan.
"Ezra's right," Sabine said, agreeing with her husband, "He could cause something terrible to happen."
"That's his point, kids," Kanan told both of his Padawans.
"Well, we still need it to save our friends and my parents," Ezra reminded him.
"He's got a point," Sabine said, agreeing with Ezra.
"So, are you gonna give it back, or not?" Ezra asked the Bendu as he turned back around towards him.
"Hmm. The object you seek is a source of imbalance between you and your teacher," the Bendu told him, "If you want it, you must seek it out with him."
"Where is it?" Ezra asked him.
"Somewhere safe," the Bendu answered as he turned towards a cave to his side.
"All right, I'll go, but Sabine will be the only one that is coming with me," Ezra said as he began to walk towards the cave.
"I was going to go with you no matter what, Ez'ika," Sabine told him as she followed him.
"The cave runs deep, with many twists and turns," the Bendu told them, "How can either of you be sure where it is now? Huh?"
"I can hear something," Kanan told them.
"If you listen, you can hear it," the Bendu stated as he leaned towards the Jedi Knight's left ear.
"I'll hold onto these," Kanan told his Padawans as he extended both of his hands towards their lightsabers as he used the Force to pull the lightsabers into his hands, "You'll also have to take off your vambraces as well, Ezra."
"Kanan! The spiders…" Ezra began to say.
"Will attack as soon as you both turn on your lightsabers and use your vambraces on them," Kanan explained.
"Fine, I'll hand you my vambraces," Ezra said as he removed his vambraces from his wrists and handed them to Kanan.
"Use your comlinks instead," Kanan told both Mandalorians as he clipped both lightsabers onto his belt, "I'll try to guide you both from here."
"I'd rather have my lightsaber and vambraces," Ezra muttered as he sighed as he continued to walk towards the cave.
"Me too, but only with my lightsaber," Sabine said, agreeing with her husband as she continued to follow him into the cave.
"Why take their weapons?" The Bendu asked Kanan.
"They've gotta learn how to solve problems without them, despite their heritage as warriors," Kanan explained as he looked at him with the corner of his eye.
"You will yield to my power," Maul told Kanan's holocron as he sat on the bed in the Jedi Knight's cabin, trying to open the holocron with both of his hands as he tried twisting it, only for it to not budge, causing him to grunt as he began to get frustrated.
Meanwhile back inside the Ghost's common room, Hera was sitting back around the holotable and next to Zeb as they along with Mira and Ephraim heard Maul shouting frustratedly from Kanan's cabin and a crashing sound from outside the room as two of the Zabrak's repurposed RIC-1200 tour guide droids reentered the room from the hallway that contained everyone's personal quarters as the other two RIC-1200 tour guide droids continued to aim their E-5C blaster rifles at the rebels as they rolled towards them.
"Wow. Someone's not happy," Mira muttered to herself.
"Yeah, let's make his day worse," Hera suggested as she watched as the two RIC-1200 tour guide droids that just entered the common room roll towards the ship's kitchen as the door slid open and entered the Ghost's kitchen with its door sliding back shut behind the RIC-1200 tour guide droid, "Ready?"
"Ready," Ephraim answered as Zeb kicked Chopper with his right foot, causing him to grunt as he was pushed towards the wall with the large Starbird as he rolled past two of the tour guide droids before Mira jumped upwards and towards one of the tour guide droids and landed in front of it and grabbed its E-5C blaster rifle from it before she stabbed it into its head as the door to the kitchen slid back open as the two tour guide droids that left the room rolled back into the room as Ephraim did the same to the one of tour guide droids that just reentered the room with Hera as she grunted before Zeb pounded his fists onto the head of the last remaining tour guide droid.
"Get to the engine room," Hera whispered to Zeb, Mira and Ephraim as she stood up and approached Chopper as Zeb picked up the E-5C blaster rifle of the tour guide droid that he disabled before the astromech used his spark projector to unlock her stuncuffs, causing them to fall off her wrists, "Quietly."
Mira then approached Chopper before he used his spark projector to unlock her stuncuffs, causing it to fall off of her wrists as well before Ephraim walked towards him as Chopper unlocked his stuncuffs with his spark projector as well before the astromech droid did the same with Zeb's stuncuffs. The Lasat then picked him up as Hera placed her E-5C blaster rifle over the back of her flight suit's belt as she lifted up a hatch in the room that contained everyone's personal quarters and climbed down a ladder. Mira and Ephraim then did the same and climbed down the ladder as well, while Chopper descended down the hatch with his rocket booster as Zeb climbed down the ladder and closed the hatch.
As Zeb closed the hatch back up, the door to the hallway that contained everyone's personal quarters slid back open with Maul walking through the door and reentered the common room and saw that no one was in there and realized that the rebels were staging a mutiny against him.
"Here he comes," Zeb stated from the deck below the common room as he heard Maul's metallic footsteps from his cybernetic legs, "He makes an awful lot of clanking."
"He is part droid," Hera reminded him.
"Part B2 battle droid, to be precise," Mira added, "Maul had those legs fitted after his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Florrum. They replaced the crude ones he initially had. I remember when Pre Vizsla, Bo-Katan, Ursa and I found him and his brother drifting in space. It was a sight I'll never forget."
"From what I heard, Maul didn't just drift into their lives," Ephraim stated, "He infiltrated Death Watch, which he helped overthrow Duchess Satine's government with his brother. Then he challenged Pre Vizsla within the Throne room in Sundari after he had them imprisoned as they broke out of their cell. After a trial by combat, he defeated Vizsla and took control. I was on Tehron looking after Ezra at the time as he was just over a year old when it happened."
"And with him being part droid, we can use that against him," Hera muttered as she, Zeb, Mira and Ephraim backed away through a door behind them as it slid open as they approached it before it slid back shut as they walked through the door as Maul slid down the ladder and began to walk towards Chopper, who was standing next to the cargo hold's astromech port, "He's in the hold. Chopper, magnetize!"
Chopper then grunted a response as he rotated around towards the astromech port and plugged his scomp link into it and rotated it around as Maul grabbed his lightsaber from his hip with his right hand when the room's artificial gravity suddenly turned off as he and three crates were flown upwards towards the ceiling.
The Zabrak then reignited one of his saber's blades as the door slid back open with Hera, Zeb, Mira and Ephraim rushing back into the cargo hold and fired their E-5C blaster rifles at him, only for Maul to deflect the blaster bolts with his lightsaber before he redirected one of the blaster bolts back towards the astromech port, causing him and the crates on the ceiling to fall back down onto the floor with two of the crates falling on top of Zeb and Ephraim.
Mira then ran towards the former Sith Lord as she grunted before he held his left hand out towards her as he lifted her up with the Force before he threw her towards Hera as she landed on the floor in front of the Twi'lek before he extended his left hand out towards Chopper and used the Force to throw him backwards and into the room behind them with the door sliding back shut behind him.
"You will remain alive only as long as you're of use to me!" Maul yelled, angrily at the female Mandalorian and Twi'lek as he approached them.
"Ezra, Sabine, keep to the left," Kanan told both of his Padawans as he held his comlink in his right hand and had his left hand outwards with his eyes closed as he sat next to the Bendu with his Padawan's lightsabers and Ezra's vambraces on the ground next to him.
"Left? You sure about that?" Ezra asked Kanan as he and Sabine were traveling through the caves as they had their flashlights in their left hands and were activated, while they held their comlinks in their right hands as well.
"Yeah, are you sure about that, Kanan?" Sabine said, agreeing with her husband.
"Trust me, kids," Kanan assured them before both Mandalorians walked forward as they continued to walk through the cave's tunnel when one of the krykna climbed down from a hatch around the tunnel's walls before another one did the same from a hatch in front of them as Ezra aimed his flashlight at the one in front of him before he turned around towards the spider behind them as they gasped before both spiders damaged their flashlights with their legs, "Ezra? Sabine? What's happening?" Their flashlights then flickered a few times before completely switching themselves off.
"Ezra? Sabine!" Kanan said into his comlink as he reopened his eyes and stood up before he turned around towards the Bendu as he grabbed his lightsaber from his belt and placed it on the ground next to his Padawans' lightsabers and Ezra's vambraces, "Keep an eye on those, will ya?" He then began to walk towards and entered the cave.
"Perhaps master and one of the apprentices will rediscover their balance," the Bendu muttered as he looked at a dokma as it stood near the three lightsabers and Ezra's vambraces on the ground, "Or perhaps they'll be eaten along with the other apprentice. Such is the way of things."
Back inside the cave's tunnels, Ezra and Sabine tried avoiding the krykna as they began to surround them on both sides.
"Ezra, Sabine, jump!" Both Mandalorians suddenly heard Kanan say from above them as they looked up and saw him standing over a hatch above them as he saw that they were being surrounded by the spiders with his left hand extended out towards them before Ezra grabbed his hand as he pulled him up before he extended his left hand back down the hatch for Sabine as she also jumped up and grabbed his hand as he pulled her up as well.
"What are you doing in here?" Ezra asked him with confusion in his voice.
"Yeah, you said that you'll just guide us with our comlinks," Sabine said, agreeing with her husband.
"Getting you both back on track," Kanan answered as he helped them back onto their feet before he saw one of the spiders approaching them from another tunnel, while both Mandalorians heard it as they turned around towards it before Kanan placed his left hand over Ezra's right shoulder as he extended his right hand out towards the krykna as he used the Force to calm the spider down before it backed away from them, surprising both Mandalorians.
"How did you do that?" Ezra asked Kanan as they along with Sabine walked through the caves into another tunnel as Kanan lowered his left arm, "I can't do that."
"Nor can I," Sabine said, agreeing with Ezra, "How did you even calm down the spiders with the Force?"
"Well, I've learned to see things in a new light since Malachor," Kanan explained as he walked forward before Ezra stopped and crossed his arms for a second before he continued to follow him with Sabine.
"Kanan, about what happened…" Ezra began to say as they entered another tunnel within the cave, "I'm sorry for it. For everything that happened on Malachor."
"You don't have to apologize to him for what happened on Malachor, Ez'ika," Sabine told him, "Everything that happened on Malachor was bound to happen as we didn't know what would happen to me or Ahsoka."
"Sabine's right, Ezra. It wasn't your fault, we didn't expect for Maul to give Sabine a scar or Ahsoka being killed by Vader," Kanan told Ezra, agreeing with Sabine as he placed his right hand over the left pauldron of Ezra's armor, "I also never blamed you for what happened on Malachor. It's time for you to forgive yourself."
"Yes, Master," Ezra replied as he smiled at him before he hugged him with Kanan hugging him back as Sabine looked at them with a smile on her face, happy that her husband finally reconciled with their master over what happened on Malachor before they stopped hugging as they continued to walk through the cave's tunnels.
Back outside the cave, the Bendu smiled to himself as he sensed both Kanan and Ezra reconciling with each other.
"There it is," Ezra said as he, Sabine and Kanan saw a light emanating from a tunnel as they continued to walk through one of the cave's tunnels before the three of them saw that there were three kykna surrounding another krykna as the Sith holocron was on its back.
"Stay calm, kids," Kanan urged them as the three of them extended their right arms out and began to use the Force to levitate the holocron towards them as the spiders began to wake up, "Steady."
"Kanan!" Ezra and Sabine both said at the same time as the holocron landed in Ezra's right hand as the three of them sensed one of the spiders behind them before they turned around towards the spider.
"Don't be a threat," Kanan reminded them as he extended his left hand out towards the spider, "Go in peace." The spider then began to back away from them as Kanan, Ezra and Sabine began to leave the cave.
"Your conflict has ended," the Bendu told Kanan and Ezra as they left the cave with Sabine, "Perhaps balance is restored."
"Thanks, Bendu," Kanan said as he looked at him.
"Your true struggle has only begun. Be warned," the Bendu stated as Kanan, Ezra and Sabine walked up to their lightsabers and picked them up with their right hands and clipped them back onto their belts before Ezra picked up his vambraces and placed them back over his wrists as they approached him, "The darksider will not be able to open your Jedi holocron. That task will fall to one of you."
"So, that means we'll have the power of both holocrons, too," Ezra said as he knew what the mysterious Force-Wielder meant.
"But we must use it for good, Ezra," Sabine reminded her husband.
"Do what you must, but such power comes with a price," the Bendu told them, "Once a secret is known, it cannot be unknown."
A while later, Ezra, Sabine and Kanan were inside of a stolen Sentinel-class Imperial shuttle with its wings flipped down as it traveled through Hyperspace after they left the Bendu and Atollon with Ezra piloting the shuttle as he sat on its pilot seat and Sabine co-piloting it as she sat on the co-pilot seat next to her husband as hey were in the shuttle's cockpit with Kanan standing behind them as Ezra held the SIth holocron in his right hand.
"You wanted it, now you got it," Kanan told Ezra as the Mandalorian looked at the holocron with the corner of his eyes, "If you think it'll help us against Maul, open it up."
"I'd rather hear what you have to say," Ezra said as he held his right hand back towards him, "What's our plan?"
"I think we oughta play it by ear," Kanan answered as he took the holocron from him.
"I agree, Kanan," Sabine said, agreeing with their master.
"How can you both take this lightly?" Ezra asked them with disbelief in his voice.
"The greatest power Maul has is our fear that he'll hurt our friends and your parents," Kanan answered as he placed his right hand on the back of the shuttle's pilot seat, "We have to control that fear. Stay relaxed."
"I agree, we should stay relaxed, Ez'ika," Sabine said, agreeing with Kanan.
"Okay, relaxed it is," Ezra told him.
"You don't sound relaxed," Kanan stated as he looked at him.
"Yeah, well, I look relaxed," Ezra told him.
The Imperial shuttle soon jumped out of Hyperspace as it entered the Bright Jewel system and began to approach a large semicircular-shaped asteroid within the system's asteroid belt and was orbiting a celestial body known as the rings of Phelbos with a hangar bay within the center of the asteroid and was a Mandalorian outpost controlled by Death Watch during the Clone Wars known as Vizsla Keep 09. The shuttle soon passed by a red and black colored Gauntlet fighter owned by Maul and called the Nightbrother as it entered one of the asteroid's hangar bays with its wings flipping upwards as its landing gears were extended and landed next to the Ghost as the shuttle's ramp lowered, while Maul walked down the Ghost's ramp to greet both Mandalorians and Jedi Knight.
"Nice to see you again, Master Jedi," Maul said, greeting Kanan as the Jedi Knight and both Mandalorians walked down the shuttle's ramp and began to approach him.
"Easy, Ezra," Kanan warned Ezra as he placed his right hand over the left pauldron of Ezra's armor as he saw that the Mandalorian had an uneasy expression on his face.
"He's right, Ezra, don't do anything drastic," Sabine told her husband, agreeing with their master.
"Welcome, my apprentice," Maul said, greeting Ezra as they approached the Zabrak, "I trust you found the Sith holocron illuminating?"
"I don't see my friends nor my parents," Ezra told him as he looked around the hangar bay.
"They will remain my guests until we conclude our business," Maul explained as two of his repurposed RIC-1200 tour guide droids entered the hangar through a door nearby as it slid open, "I will take you to them now." The two tour guide droids then rolled over to Ezra, "Escort my apprentice to the command center. Uh, if you attempt to escape, or if the droids are deactivated, your friends and parents will die."
"Good to know," Ezra muttered, bitterly as the droids began to escort him to the asteroid's command center.
"Follow me, Master Jedi, you too, other Mandalorian," Maul told Kanan and Sabine as they began to walk into a hallway as two of the other RIC-1200 tour guide droids rolled around Hera, Zeb, Chopper, Mira and Ephraim as they were guarding them within the Ghost's cargo hold, "Truthfully, I was never trying to scar you, Mandalorian."
"Oh, no you were just trying to kill her," Kanan remarked, sarcastically.
"And if I hadn't been there, you would have either blinded or killed Kanan," Sabine stated as she stared at the former Sith Lord.
"Well, if at first you don't succeed…" Maul began to say as he opened a door in front of them with a control panel next to the door with his right hand's index finger before pushing them into the Mandalorian outpost's airlock with his left hand.
"Hey!" Kanan yelled at him with anger on his face as he looked at him.
"What are you doing?!" Sabine demanded as she looked at Maul with anger on her face as well.
"Try, try again," Maul finished as he closed the door with the control panel as it slid back shut before he used to to open the Mandalorian asteroid outpost's airlock as it slid open, causing both Kanan and Sabine to be sucked out into the vacuum of space.
"No!" Kanan and Sabine both yelled as they let go of the airlock as they were flown out of the airlock and into space before they managed to stop flying through space as they managed to grab onto the Nightbrother's left wing with Kanan grabbing on the edge of it before they exchanged a look for a split second as they used the Force to jump onto the side of the Mandalorian ship's cockpit.
From there, Kanan and Sabine used the Force again as they leaped back into the Mandalorian asteroid outpost's hangar as they phased through its shields and landed on the hangar bay's floor, grunting and gasping for breath.
Kanan's face and clothes were frosted from their brief exposure to the vacuum of space with Sabine's face being frosted as well. However, they quickly began to defrost as they regained their footing and caught their breath. Sabine's Beskar plates, which were unaffected by the exposure to space, gleamed in the artificial light of the hangar.
"Terminate the prisoners," Maul whispered to one of the tour guide droids as he entered the command center of the Mandalorian asteroid outpost with his arms behind his back again and held Kanan's Jedi holocron in his right hand as Ezra stood by the window of the room as he stared at the Sith holocron as he held it in his right hand before the tour guide droid left the room as the former Sith Lord began to approach the Mandalorian, "I lived up to my end of the bargain. Your friends and parents are safe. Come, apprentice, sit."
Ezra then began to walk towards Maul as the former Sith Lord removed his arms from behind his back and sat on the ground as he folded his legs.
"The holocron, if you please," Maul requested before the Mandalorian threw him the Sith holocron with the former Sith Lord catching it in his right hand as Ezra sat down on the floor in a meditative position as Maul used the Force to levitate Kanan's Jedi holocron towards him before it landed in the Mandalorian's right hand, "I doubt that you comprehend the power that is within your grasp."
"I know if we open these holocrons together, any question we ask will be answered," Ezra told him.
"So you do understand," Maul said with surprise in his voice, "Well, my apprentice, what is your question?"
"You know what I want," Ezra told him, "I want to destroy the Sith."
"You are as ambitious as ever," the Zabrak stated, "As for me, I seek something much simpler, yet equally elusive."
"What's that?" Ezra asked him.
"Hope," Maul answered, causing Ezra to look at him suspiciously as he was confused on why he would want hope despite being a dark side wielder, "Now, let us begin."
As Maul said that, both Force-Wielders closed their eyes as they began to use the Force to levitate the holocrons before they opened as they collided with each other, fusing together as the room was suddenly bathed in a brilliant purple light.
Meanwhile back inside the Mandalorian asteroid outpost's hangar, Kanan and Sabine stood on the Ghost's docking mechanism that the Phantom used to dock with before Ezra accidentally caused it to be destroyed on Yarma. Two of the tour guide droids then rolled into the hangar and began to approach the Ghost's ramp before they rolled up the VCX-100 light freighter's ramp, causing the two other tour guide droids that were guarding Hera, Zeb, Chopper, Mira and Ephraim to turn around towards them.
The four tour guide droids then spoke to each other before they aimed their E-5C blaster rifles at them, causing them to close their eyes as they knew what was about to happen.
Suddenly, Kanan and Sabine appeared on the catwalk in the cargo hold and grunted as they jumped behind the RIC-1200 tour guide droids and ignited their lightsabers, causing everyone to widen their eyes as they looked at them with the corner of their eyes. Kanan then slashed his lightsaber against two of the tour guide droids' heads with Sabine doing the same with the other two before they deactivated their lightsabers.
Kanan then used the Force to unlock Hera, Zeb, Mira and Ephraim's stuncuffs with his left hand as they fell to the floor. They then stood up with Hera, Mira and Ephraim turning around towards them as Zeb went to help Chopper up.
"Where's Ezra?" Hera asked the Jedi Knight.
"With Maul," Kanan answered, "Let's go."
"I see nothing. Only oblivion," Maul said as he and Ezra continued to use the Force on both of the holocrons for the answers to their questions, "I must go deeper. Go deeper!"
"Wait. I see something," Ezra told him.
"What do you see?" Maul asked him before shouting at him, "What is it?!"
"I see…" Ezra began to say.
"Tell me," the Zabrak pleaded, "Tell me what you see!"
"I see…" Ezra said yet again.
"Ezra!" They suddenly heard Hera's voice call out to the Mandalorian as she and the others reached the doorway of the command center as its door slid open before the light from the two holocrons became even brighter than before as she, Sabine, Zeb, Mira and Ephraim covered their eyes with their arms, "It's too bright. Where is he?"
At that moment, Kanan walked past them as he entered the room and closed his eyes as he reached out with the Force. Despite the blinding light, he could sense the presence of Maul and Ezra as he saw their silhouettes within the light from the holocrons through the Force.
"Ezra," Kanan muttered to himself, "I see him! Maul's close. I'm going to get Ezra out. Be ready."
"Wait. You see him in this light?" Sabine said with confusion in her voice as Kanan began to approach her husband, "Kanan!"
"Ezra. Ezra, listen to me! Look away!" Kanan ordered Ezra.
"Kanan?" Ezra said as he looked at his master.
"No! Stay focused, apprentice," Maul ordered Ezra, "Gain the knowledge you desire."
"Remember Bendu's warning," Kanan reminded the Mandalorian,"Turn away before it's too late!"
"But it's so close…" Ezra protested, not wanting to turn away from the knowledge, "The key to destroying the Sith. Just a little farther."
"I see him!" Maul announced.
"Twin suns," Ezra muttered to himself.
"It's not worth it, Ezra. Trust me," Kanan told him before the Mandalorian closed his eyes as he listened to him, causing a shockwave to occur as the two holocrons to separate before Maul shouted as Ezra was knocked backwards on his back and rendered unconscious, while everyone but Maul was just knocked backwards and landed on their backs as the Zabrak quickly left the room.
"Where's Maul?" Sabine groaned as she began to sit back up.
"He lives," Maul muttered to himself as he entered his Gauntlet fighter, laughing as he entered the ship's cockpit and sat down on it's pilot seat before it detached from the Mandalorian asteroid outpost as he continued to laugh, "He lives!"
"Come on. Find your way out, Ezra. Come back to us," Kanan urged Ezra, trying to wake him up as he hovered over him and had his eyes reopened with his left hand over Ezra's back as Sabine stood nearby behind him with Mira as Hera sat in front of Ezra with her legs folded, while Chopper stood next to Sabine and Mira as Zeb and Ephraim stood behind them with the Lasat holding his bo-rifle in his left hand and had its electrostaff feature activated.
"Oh!" Ezra groaned as he regained consciousness and placed his right hand over his forehead.
"You okay, kid?" Zeb asked the Mandalorian.
"Yeah, are you alright, son?" Ephraim said, agreeing with the Lasat.
"Your father's right, Ezra, are you okay?" Mira muttered, agreeing with her husband.
"I think so," Ezra answered before he removed his right hand from his forehead and looked at Kanan, "Kanan, how could you see me through the light of the holocrons?"
"Let's just say it's something Bendu taught him just before I came out of solitude," Kanan explained, "Do you know what happened?"
"I saw images, pieces of something, but I… I can't make sense of 'em," Ezra answered, "I don't know if it's what I wanted to see or what Maul was trying to see."
"What were they?" Kanan asked him.
"Places, mostly. Planets. Some familiar, some not," Ezra answered, "I'm not sure what they mean."
"I'm sure you, me and Sabine will find out together," Kanan assured him as he removed his left hand from Ezra's back as they stood back up.
"I agree with Kanan, Ez'ika. I think that the three of us will find out what they mean together," Sabine said, agreeing with their master.
