Hey guys, sorry for taking so long with this. Turns out my first few drafts of the prologue wasn't something I liked, and I had to rewrite it several times to get it to a point which I liked.

Anyways, hope you enjoy it! Do leave comments or concrit telling me what you liked or disliked.

The ride on the Phantom was not exactly what one would call smooth. Maybe it was because of Kanan's piloting skills, but there were definitely a lot more rough turns compared to when Hera was the pilot. It was not like Ezra could complain though, among his companions, Kanan was the only one who was qualified to fly the Phantom. Ahsoka was not feeling up to the task of flying one of Hera's prized ships, and Ezra was still having trouble figuring out what each of the buttons did.

Despite all that, the bumpiness of the trip did not provide a sufficient distraction for the blue haired teen. He watched with wistful eyes as the familiar sight of Lothal came into his view. It had been about a year since he left the planet, but the memories he had there still felt fresh, and thinking about returning to where it all began only made them all the more painful.

HIs two companions in Ahsoka and Kanan could very clearly sense the distress in Ezra's mind. But they stayed silent, giving Ezra the space and time to deal with his emotions. It wasn't like they didn't care, more like their previous attempts to get him to open up didn't go over so well. Ezra was feeling closed off, especially once he saw Lothal. Memories of her became more frequent in his mind. He knew talking about it would be the quicker way to deal with his emotions. But just the thought of her made Ezra feel sick. He couldn't find it in himself to forget about her, but sometimes Ezra wonders if forgetting everything about her would make his life easier.

"Transmitting codes now," Kanan called out as they neared the garrison of Star Destroyers.

Lothal had only attracted even more Imperial attention these days, partly thanks to the Spectres previous debacle. But it wasn't all their fault if anyone was being honest. The Empire was already interested in Lothal from the very beginning. It was a unique planet after all. Not only was it rich in raw materials, but it also had a strong connection with the Force. Which was one of the reasons why Ahsoka had suggested going to this place for what Ezra wanted to do.

"I'm not seeing any signs that we've been found out," Ahsoka replied, checking through the scanners. "I think we're in the clear,"

Kanan subtly nodded to himself before angling the small ship towards their intended coordinates.

A large empty land met their eyes as they entered the atmosphere. The bustling cities of Lothal were far from the sandy plains they were headed to. There would be no need for them to worry about the prying eyes of the Empire here. It was desolate of anything interesting to them, but not so much to these three Rebels.

"This place feels… different," Ezra said once the ship landed. He stepped off the landing ramp, taking in the sight before him.

Kanan and Ahsoka followed shortly, mirroring Ezra's sentiments.

"It is strong with the Force," Ahsoka explained. "We must be in the right place"

"Are you sure about that?" Ezra asked as he glanced around. "I don't see anything around us resembling a Jedi temple,"

"The temple only shows itself to those who are worthy. You will be given a series of tests in order to prove that your intentions are noble," Kanan said.

A small frown formed on Ezra's lips. He had expected this to be easier. It was hard enough for him to come to the decision to remake his own lightsaber after so long, but now he had to prove to the temple that somehow he was worthy. The Force works in mysterious ways, but sometimes Ezra wished the Force would just stop working.

"So where do I start?" Ezra asked, hoping for some kind of a hint.

But Ahsoka and Kanan stayed silent, only giving him an amused smile.

"That, I believe, is your first test," Ahsoka said cryptically.

The frown only deepened on Ezra's face, but he got to work.

Ezra sat cross-legged on the ground. He let his hands fall to the sand, hoping to get a feel for the Force around him. It was hard. Having intentionally disconnected himself from the Force for so long meant that he was out of practice. But Ezra wasn't one to give up so easily. With stubborn determination, Ezra immersed himself deeper into his meditation. The lingering embers inside of him were slowly burning brighter. Gradually, Ezra could feel that his mind was slowly reattaching itself with the Force.

Like tiny threads surrounding him, every moment Ezra spent in meditation he could feel himself being reaffixed back to the Force. He was slowly being eased right back into it, and little by little, he could start to feel its pull. It was guiding him somewhere, directing him to a specific location. And Ezra only needed to follow.

Open your eyes…

A voice suddenly whispered in his mind. The loudness of it caused Ezra's eyes to snap open. But instead of seeing the sandy plains of Lothal, he was instead met by ageing cavernous ruins.

Ezra had somehow found himself in the temple. The feel of it was unlike anything he had ever felt before, but the way it was presented to him made Ezra doubt if it was even real.

As Ezra's eyes explored the foundations of the temple, he took note of the intricate symbols which marked its surface. It looked as if the symbols were actually some form of ancient writing, depicting the ancient trials the Jedi of old would undertake. Ezra was able to translate some of the writing, mostly thanks to his previous experiences. But the complexity in the remaining symbols only meant that he wasn't able to decipher more of them in detail.

Turning his attention away from the symbols, Ezra took note of the lighting in the halls. There were no obvious signs of any light sources around him, yet the walls were brightly looked as if the walls itself were alive, shining when a presence was detected nearby. As if to prove its point, the lights flickered when Ezra placed his hand on the wall. It was reacting to his touch, and it seemed to be guiding his steps.

The path that the lights were showing him only seemed to be getting longer. Each step he took made the end of it seem even further. Only an ominous darkness could be seen at the furthest point of his vision. Something was there at the very end of his path, but Ezra could not tell what it was.

Suddenly, the lights shifted all around him. The darkness which seemed to be so far away rapidly approached Ezra's position. The lights flickered out in tandem with the moving darkness. Ezra's vision was completely taken from him. He could not see, nor hear anything around him.

The presence which Ezra felt earlier rushed directly towards him. It stopped right in front of him, staring Ezra down. An involuntary shudder ran down his spine as he braced himself for whatever was coming next. But before he could even do anything, he heard a voice coming from behind it.

"Ezra help me!"

The voice in the darkness was calling out for him. The familiarity behind the voice made Ezra's heart stop. He had longed to hear her voice again, but hearing it now only made him freeze up.

"Ezra, they're hurting me!"

This time, the voice in the dark was even louder. It sounded more pained, more tortured. Whoever it belonged to was

as if whoever was screaming out for him was being tortured. He could feel the presence quickly moving away from him, and Ezra didn't waste another second chasing after it.

"Sabine!" He called out, running straight into the darkness. His worry was palpable, it overtook his mind, and he didn't even stop to think whether or not she was even here. All he wanted was to make sure she was safe.

"It hurts, Ezra please help me!"

He heard her scream again, and he only moved even deeper into the darkness.

But the darkness wanted to hold him back. It grew thicker as Ezra pushed his way through it. Ezra could feel his body struggling against the dark around him, but Sabine's distressed voice only made him push even harder.

Eventually he made it through. The darkness around him retreated away, causing Ezra to fall on his face. He lifted his head, ready to push himself up to chase after her once more. But he didn't have to. Right in front of him stood Sabine, and she was staring right at him.

She looked hurt, Ezra could tell that much. Her lips were bruised, her eyes were swelling and her arms were bleeding. Even her legs weren't free from any injuries. She was leaning mostly on her right leg, trying to keep any pressure off of her left. She looked badly hurt, and Ezra nearly broke down at the sight of her.

"Sabine?" He whispered out shakily to her.

She looked at him painfully, lips curving up into an unsteady smile. She opened her mouth to speak, but only coughed out blood.

Carefully, Ezra approached her. He hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder, still not quite believing that she was right there.

"Sabine…" Ezra trailed off. "What happened to you?"

Slowly, she lifted her head. "Please, you need to help me," She coughed out.

Ezra was even more worried now. The strain in her voice made her sound like she was dying, and he had no idea how to help her.

"Tell me what I need to do," Ezra pleaded.

"You have to help me Ezra, please," She said again instead of giving him an answer.

"How?" Ezra pleaded again, begging her.

Sabine turned to meet his eyes. Her brown eyes pierced his blue ones as she leaned in and whispered into his ears.

"Find me," She said to him.

Ezra blinked his eyes in confusion.

"Leave the Rebellion, and look for me," Her voice was even clearer now. "Leave everything behind and come look for me," The strain in her voice magically disappeared as she practically stood up straight.

"I… I can't," Ezra stuttered out.

The strength Sabine previously had disappeared as quickly as it appeared. She reverted back to her injured state, coughing out blood and straining to speak.

"They're going to kill me!" She choked out.

Ezra stumbled back, the image of a dying Sabine made him feel sick. He wanted to help her, but he knew he couldn't. She was like the whole world to him, but he couldn't find it in him to leave his parents again.

"Don't…" Ezra started to speak. "Don't make me choose," He begged.

But the imitation of Sabine in front of him did not listen. "Leave them or I die!" She screamed at him.

Ezra closed his eyes, trying to blink away the tears. He knew this wasn't the real Sabine. Knew in his heart that she wasn't actually here. But he hoped that this one time he was wrong, that maybe she was here and not just some trick of the Force.

"I can't," He choked out.

The figure of Sabine glared painfully at him. "Why?"

"Because it's wrong," He said with teary eyes. He wanted to look away, but he forced himself to keep his eyes on her. "And because you're not Sabine," He said firmly.

As the words left his mouth, the impersonation of Sabine faded away. She disappeared from his sight, and Ezra collapsed into a heap of his guilts and sorrows.

He stayed unmoving as he crumpled to the ground. The weight of his decision held him down. It may not have been the real Sabine, but Ezra still felt like he had just abandoned her again, just like that day on the Reaper. He had chosen his family and his duties over her. And it still hurt the same.

After what felt like an eternity, Ezra pushed himself back up. He looked regretfully at where the image of Sabine stood, wondering to himself what would have happened if he had just gone with her. But he forced himself to look away. He still had a job to do, and he was going to see it through.

"Done well you have, in your trial, Ezra Bridger," A quirky voice suddenly called out from behind Ezra.

Ezra nearly fell to his feet. He quickly swivelled his head to look behind him, and found himself staring at a green midget with pointy ears. The green figure sat himself on a rock, looking gingerly at Ezra with a staff in both his hands. He tilted his head, a look of genuine interest forming on his face.

"Who… Who are you?" Ezra asked, confused.

The creature snickered to himself, tapping his staff in his hands. "Yoda, I am called. Here to help you, I am,"

Ezra arched his eyebrow, still not fully trusting the mysterious person in front of him. "How do you know my name?" He asked accusatory.

"Our first meeting, this may be, but know you, I have. Watching you, I have been. Ever since you joined the Inquisitorius, in my sight, you always are,"

Yoda may have meant well, but it was hard for Ezra to not feel creeped out at the revelation that he was watching him ever since then. Glancing around awkwardly, Ezra slowly inched away from Yoda.

"Ok… uh it was nice meeting you Yoda, but I have to go now,"

"Leaving so soon, are you?" Yoda asked as he watched Ezra slowly turn away from him. He halted in his tracks, reluctantly listening to what Yoda had to say. "Searching for Kyber Crystals, you are. Help you, I can. Only need to ask, you do,"

It seemed too good to be true that this Yoda fellow would know how to find what Ezra needed. But he didn't really have a better choice.

"How do you know what I am here for?" Ezra asked suspiciously as he turned back to him.

But Yoda only tilted his head, giving him the same smile as before. He beckoned Ezra to come closer, tapping his staff on a nearby rock, inviting Ezra to sit on it. Feeling a little bit apprehensive, Ezra walked back into the room, accepting Yoda's invitation to sit right across from him. Ezra sat himself on the rock, the smaller size of it meant that he was sitting at eye level with Yoda. They weren't too far from each other, but despite that, Ezra had a nagging feeling that Yoda was much further from him than it would seem.

"So… what now?" Ezra asked.

Shaking his head at the question, Yoda let out a disapproving tsk. "Impatient, the young ones always are. Eager they are, to get to the next step. Miss out, they will, on the important lessons that the Force will show us,"

It took everything in Ezra to not roll his eyes.

As if sensing his irritation, Yoda lifted his head to face Ezra.

"Help you, I will, but first, a favour, I want to ask,"

Ezra let out a heavy sigh. Of course it came with a price. There didn't exist a soul so kind that they would offer to help without asking for anything in return.

"Alright," Ezra resigned himself, crossing his arms. "As long as it is not asking for too much,"

Yoda chuckled to himself as he felt the teen's frustrations. "Worry not, you should. Only a few questions, I will ask. Answer, you will, and help you, I shall,"

A little taken aback by the simplicity of the favour, Ezra once again stared at the green creature with disbelief. Such a cheap price to pay for something so valuable, but Ezra wasn't one to walk away from such a great deal.

"Alright then," He decided. "Ask away,"

"Tell me, young Bridger. About your family and your friends,"

"My family and friends?" Ezra asked, arching his eyebrows. "That's quite the personal question you're asking," A frown formed on Ezra's lips. "I don't know if I'm comfortable with talking about them with a stranger,"

Yoda chuckled to himself again. "Nothing personal, I ask. Only your time with them, I am interested in. Your experiences with them, I would like to know,"

Hesitation still gripped his heart, but Ezra didn't think that anything he told Yoda would come back to hurt him. Or at least he hoped it wouldn't.

"Well I guess it's ok," Ezra decided while Yoda shifted eagerly in his seat. "But there isn't much to tell,"

"Look down on yourself you should not, young Bridger. Much about your life, there is to know. Reveal yourself and your desires, it will,"

Casting a sideways glance at Yoda, Ezra took his advice to heart. He may be suspicious, but

from the way Yoda spoke to him, he seemed to be very wise.

"I guess we can start off with my parents," Ezra decided. He shifted in his seat, recalling his memories with them. "My parents and I don't get to spend a lot of time with each other these days, thanks to the whole war with the Empire and such. But whenever we can, we try to take time out of our busy schedules to catch up. We try to match each of our off days so that we can be together. It's nice to be able to spend some time with them after the stressful missions. My mom tends to worry about me more than my dad, especially after I decided to join the Spectres instead of being with them on their fleet. But she understands my decision, although that doesn't really stop her from nagging,"

A warm smile formed on Ezra's lips as he thought about them.

"On the other hand, Kanan, Hera and Zeb act sort of like a second family to me," Ezra continued. "Since I'm with them most of the time, we end up spending a lot of time together. Whenever he can, Kanan teaches me more about the Light Side. Stuff that I usually won't learn in the Inquisitorius. Hera, on the other hand, would sometimes teach me how to fly her ship, although I'm still not really good at it. Zeb is mostly just there to teach me how to prank Chopper. I think he's the reason why Chopper is always so cranky. Ahsoka helps me out a lot too. She's like an aunt to me, and whenever she's here, she tells me about her time in the Clone Wars,"

"Besides them, I also have friends on the base. Kallus and Tseebo are kind of like old colleagues in a way? Since we're all ex-Empire, we find a lot of things in common with each other. We tend to get together when our schedules line up, help each other to deal with some of our guilt or anxieties from our time working with the Empire"

"And then there's Dev," Ezra said with a smirk. "Dev is part of another Rebel cell. He joined the Rebellion a few months before I did, and is about a few years older than me. We hang out whenever we can, mostly just for target practice, or just to spar. He's one of my closest friends, and he's like a brother to me,"

Ezra finished his descriptions with a light huff, turning back to look at Yoda. "And that's about it,"

With a dissatisfied tap of his staff, Yoda shook his head. "Told me, you have. About your friends and family. But left someone out, you did," He looked sternly at Ezra.

Biting his lip, Ezra breathed in sharply. Yoda didn't have to say it, he knew who he was referring to. "I… she's not with me anymore," He said solemnly, lowering his head.

"But your friend, you still consider her to be, do you not?" Yoda pointed out.

Ezra quietly nodded. He let out a shaky sigh as he began thinking about her. "We met on Lothal when we were both assigned to the same squad. At first I didn't see her as someone special. I thought she was just another Imperial grunt I would have to work with. Just another mindless puppet in the Empire. But she was different, and it showed. Once we started spending more time with each other, I realised that she was more than just someone from the Empire,"

A pained look formed on Ezra's face. The memories he had of her were one which always stung his heart.

"She rescued me from the Empire when I was captured. But after I defeated the Grand Inquisitor, she chose to leave me," Ezra bit his lip, trying to will away the tears. "She saw me use the Dark Side, and it scared her. But she wasn't afraid of me. She was afraid of what she did to me. She blamed herself for making me use the Dark Side, blamed herself for bringing out the worst in me. And ever since then, I've been afraid to even use the Force"

Yoda hummed in understanding as he felt Ezra's pain. "Cut yourself off from the Force, you have. Yet come here, you do,"

Wiping his eyes, Ezra slowly lifted his head. "I want to protect my friends and family," Ezra said with a determined look. "I need a lightsaber to be a better fighter. Someone almost died on my last mission because I wasn't able to do much with just a blaster. I need to be the best version of myself if I'm going to protect those who are important to me. I don't want to lose anyone ever again"

"But hesitation, you still feel," Yoda pointed out. "Distracted, your mind is. Not just by your friend who left you, but by your fears of the Dark Side,"

Ezra didn't even bother hiding his worries.

"I am afraid that I will fall back to it," Ezra admitted. "Every time I think about using the Force, I get nightmares about the Dark Side. I'm afraid that if I build my lightsaber, I won't use it for the Light. I'm afraid that I'll only use it for evil,"

Yoda shook his head. "Your fears, misplaced they are. The Light and the Dark, two sides of the Force they are, but represent good and evil, they do not,"

A confused look formed on Ezra's face, but Yoda ignored it and continued with his teachings.

"Tools they only are, the Light and the Dark, to the Jedi and the Sith. But those who use the Light, are not all good. And those who use the Dark, are not all evil," Yoda pointed his staff at Ezra. "Strong, I sense you are. Not just in the Light, but in the Dark. Posses the calm of the Jedi you do, but the aggressiveness of the Sith, you also have," Yoda reached behind him, grabbing in his hands a small crystal.

"A part of you, the Force is. Sense in you, both Light and Dark. But neither overpowers the other. Equal they are in you, a part of you it is, accept it you must, only then, can you protect your friends and family,"

Yoda extended his hand to Ezra, revealing a glowing white crystal. "Clouded, your future is, yet bright it also seems to be. Eager, I am, to see your part in the galaxy. Great things, I foresee you will do,"

Ezra took the crystal in Yoda's hands, looking at it in bewilderment.

"Who… Who are you?" Ezra asked once again.

An amused smirk formed on Yoda's lips. "Yoda, I am. GrandMaster of the Jedi Council, I was,"

And just as suddenly as he appeared to Ezra, he disappeared.

The transparent image which was apparently the GrandMaster of the Jedi Council faded. And with his disappearing image, the room started shaking. Small pieces of debris fell from the ceiling. Whatever it was that was happening, it was causing the whole place to fall apart. And Ezra did not want to be here when that happened.

With the Kyber Crystal in his hand, Ezra immediately turned to leave the way he came. Except he couldn't, the door which was there a moment ago had been replaced by a sturdy wall. With a confused look on his face, Ezra quickly returned his gaze back to the centre of the room. But the room had disappeared too, the stone which he and Yoda had sat on previously had disappeared, and the walls were slowly following suit.

All that was left was the ground that Ezra stood on, but even that was slowly shifting.

The floors suddenly reached up to him. Slowly swallowing him whole as it dragged Ezra to the depths below. First his leg was consumed, then his body, and before long, Ezra could feel the ground up to his neck. Ezra tried to scream, hoping to chase away the consuming dirt. But it only pulled him even deeper.

And then his eyes snapped open.

With a jump, Ezra lurched to the front. He jumped up from his position only to land on sand. He glanced around frantically, realising that he was out of the temple, and back on Lothal.

"Ezra!" Kanan called out as he ran beside him.

"What happened?" Ezra asked almost out of breath.

Ahsoka walked calmly behind Kanan

"That was the temple," She said simply. "It gave you a vision to test you," Her gaze fell to Ezra's hands. "And from the looks of it, it went quite well,"

Ezra's eyes followed her gaze. He stared in awe at the crystal he had managed to get for himself. It blinked back at him in his hands, almost as if it was resonating with his heartbeat. The solid crystal was a manifestation of the Force, and it was a beautiful sight.

However, Ezra's wonderment quickly changed into a look of horror as the crystal suddenly split apart into two, losing its glow.

"Wha-?" Ezra asked disappointedly. "But how? I did everything right!"

Maintaining her calm demeanour, Ahsoka placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "Use the Force, channel your energies through the crystals,"

With a hopeful heart, Ezra did as he was told. He closes his eyes, gently gripping the pieces in each hand. He felt the Force flow from his body into the pieces, and when he opened his eyes to look at them, he was even more amazed than before.

The crystals glowed back at him with the same intensity, but this time their colour was different. A deep red crystal glowed in his left hand, while a bright green one glowed in his right hand. It was just like Yoda had said, the Light and Dark side were equal in him.

"That's…" Kanan began. "Different,"

"Interesting," Ahsoka said while rubbing her chin." I have never seen a Kyber Crystal glow two different colours after being broken from its original stone,"

Ezra wondered to himself about the uniqueness of his crystals before thinking back to what Yoda had said to him. "Master Yoda told me that I shouldn't fear the Dark Side," He explained. "He said that it was a part of me, and it is a representation of me just like the Light Side is," A hint of smile formed on his lips. "He said I should embrace it, that as long as I don't let it control me, I won't have to worry about what it can do to me,"

Ahsoka arched an eyebrow at the mention of Master Yoda, but decided to ignore it for now. "Many have tried to walk the fine line between Light and Dark, but most end up failing," She warned. "Do you think you can handle it?"

A confident smile formed on Ezra's face. "Only one way to find out,"

With their mission completed, there was no more reason for the three of them to stay where they were. So they quickly boarded the ship and took off for Atollon.

"Any ideas what you want your lightsaber to look like?" Ahsoka asked as the Phantom powered up its hyperdrive.

"I was thinking of a dual bladed one, something similar to my older weapon," Ezra replied. "Without the spinning of course. I think it suits my style quite well,"

"A dual colored, dual bladed lightsaber would be something interesting to see," Kanan chimed in. "Not sure if anyone has ever done that before,"

"I once knew a Sith Lord who used a dual bladed lightsaber, although it was only colored red," Ahsoka said. "I fought with him once during the Siege of Mandalore,"

"Is he still alive?"

"I'm not sure," She confessed. "He escaped before we could bring him into the Republic. He could still be alive, but I haven't heard anything of him since then,"

A comfortable silence fell between the three as the ship jumped into hyperspace. Ezra's eyes blinked tiredly as he watched the blue streaks zip by him. The tests drained him of his energy, and Ezra realised he needed to get some rest.

With his mind slowly drifting to sleep, Ezra found that only Sabine filled his thoughts. Unlike before however, he didn't chase her out of his mind. The trial he had faced back at the temple managed to bring some closure to Ezra with his relationship with Sabine. She was someone important to him, Ezra realised. And he did not want to forget about her.

He let the memories of her gently ease him to sleep. For the first time in a long time, he felt at peace. Despite it all, he knew that one day he would see Sabine again. And maybe when he did, she would have already forgiven herself.

As the last of his consciousness slipped away, Ezra hoped that the time of his reunion with his friend would come sooner than later.

Little did he know, his wish was about to come true.

And that's the prologue for part 2 of the ImperialVerse. Now, for some bad news.

As you know, work is starting up soon, so I won't have much time to write. I will still be working on this, but don't expect the first chapter to come out anytime soon. I'm estimating it will take at least 2-3 months before I start posting again, and even then I'm not sure if I will be able to post weekly.

But, I promise that I will finish the story one way or another.

Anyways, that's it from me. See ya