"So, how do we get to this temple?" Ronin asked from the back seat of the A-Wing trainer.

"That'll be up to you," Ahsoka answered. "Finding a temple is part of the test."

"A test to see if I should be a Jedi?"

"A test to see where your future lies."

Ronin closed his eyes and reached out to the Force, as Ahsoka had taught him earlier. After a while, he saw it: a hill with a cave going through it. "I see something," he said.

"That's good," Ahsoka praised him. "Can you guide us there?"

Ronin continued to concentrate on the hill. He could still see it. He also felt its location. Continuing to concentrate, he started steering the A-Wing in a specific direction. After he felt he had angled the ship correctly, he pushed the lever, and the ship jumped into hyperspace.

As the transmission cut, Akiris sighed. Other inquisitors were a pain to deal with. Especially for her, since she was much younger than the rest. They all looked down on her, as was once again evident from the call she'd made to the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother. She had called them to inform them of the sighting of Kanan Jarrus, who she figured out was the Jedi in the recording. They'd mockingly thanked her, and then told her to stay away from them.

She didn't have any problems with staying away from Jarrus, as he had allegedly defeated the Grand Inquisitor, leading to the latter's death. The Fourteenth Sister knew she'd never stand a chance against such an opponent. The only problem was that the boy she was hunting was probably with the Jedi. So now her plan was to let the other Inquisitors deal with the Jedi, and then swoop in and claim the cadet as her prize, before the other Inquisitors realized what he was. Which was also why she had not told the other Inquisitors about her own mission.

At least, that was what the Fourteenth Sister would say if anyone asked.

Right now, in the shuttle traveling through hyperspace, Akiris felt safe to let go of her role as the fourteenth sister.

Inquisitors were encouraged to let go of their former identities, and only use it as fuel for their hate. And while Akiris did that most of the time, she still held on to her old name, and allowed herself to be her true self in isolated moments like this. Her inquisitor side was merely a means to survive, as there was nowhere else for her to go.

In truth, Akiris wasn't sure why she hadn't told the other inquisitors about the cadet. The only thing she knew for certain was that while talking to them, she had this tingling feeling that she had to keep that part of her mission quiet. She hadn't been able to figure out quite what that feeling was.

A beeping alarm, alerting her that the ship was about to leave hyperspace, distracted her from her musings. As she made her way to the cockpit, she quickly fell back into her role as the fourteenth sister.

"Curious," Ahsoka murmured as they observed the planet in front of them from the cockpit of their A-Wing.

"What is it?" Ronin asked.

"Kanan's Holocron has a map of all Jedi temples in the galaxy," Ahsoka answered. "I looked at it before we left, but this location wasn't on it."

"Oh," Ronin said, "perhaps it was forgotten?"

"That's possible," the Togruta murmured, before looking at the navicomputer. "This planet doesn't appear to be on any star maps at all."

As the A-Wing descended through the atmosphere, Ronin and Ahsoka were able to get a good look at the forest-covered surface of the planet. Ahsoka turned to Ronin. "So, where are we landing?"

Ronin closed his eyes and focused, until he saw the hill again, and then steered in its direction.

They flew for an hour over the forest, until Ronin pointed ahead. "Look."

Ahsoka looked at the hill they were approaching. "Is that it?" Ronin nodded in response. They landed and then approached the hill on foot. As they got closer, Ronin started noticing small patterns in the greenery. Several plants had their branches pointing in the same direction. He motioned to Ahsoka. "This way."

They followed the branches for a while, until they found a small waterfall falling out of a stone wall. "Look," Ahsoka said, pointing at the rocks next to the waterfall. The rocks were covered in symbols, none of which Ronin recognized. Ahsoka approached the wall and studied the symbols. "I don't think it's a language," she said after a while.

"Then what is it?" Ronin asked.

"I'm not sure," Ahsoka answered. "Each one looks different. And some look like they're only half-finished."

Ronin also took a closer look at the symbols. "Looks like all of them have a circle around it," he pointed out, "even the unfinished ones."

"You're right," Ahsoka murmured, leaning forward, "looks like something crystallized the surface of the rock to create this."

"Do you think it has something to do with how we get inside?" Ronin asked

Ahsoka shrugged. "It's possible. These temples sometimes have very unique ways of opening up."

Ronin touched the rock with his finger, causing some dust to get stuck on his hand. He dipped his hand in water to wash it off. When he took his hand out, he froze. "Ahsoka, look!" he said, showing the top of his finger. The dust had turned into very small crystals.

Ahsoka squinted to get a better look at them. "Perhaps that is how you get inside. Drawing a symbol on the wall with water."

Ronin dipped his finger in the water and then touched the stone. He instantly felt the stone underneath crystallizing. He moved it slowly in the shape of a circle. The instant he finished the circle, they heard something rumbling, and shortly after, the waterfall stopped, revealing a stone slab slowly moving upwards. Ronin stepped towards the opening and hesitated when he noticed Ahsoka wasn't following. "Are you coming?" he asked.

Ahsoka shook her head. "This part you have to do on your own."

"Then, what about you?"

Ahsoka sat down to meditate. "I'll wait here," she said.

Ronin turned back towards the opening. He took a deep breath before stepping inside.

As soon as he was inside, the rumbling began again, and the stone slab came back down. Before he knew it, he was engulfed in complete darkness.

…

As Ronin's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he started noticing a faint glow coming from the walls. There was no clear light, but the blueish green glow showed him in which direction he had to go. And so he started descending into the cave.

As he walked deeper into the cave, he started noticing patterns on the walls. They looked different from the symbols outside the entrance, as if they had all been made at the same time, rather than at many different times. It didn't take long before he found an intersection, where the cave split into three separate directions.

"Which direction to go?" Ronin murmured to himself, as he checked out the three tunnels. The one on the left felt cold. It wasn't literally cold, but had this feeling to it that made him shiver. The tunnel on the right was the opposite, rather than an uncomfortable cold feeling, it had a comfortable warmth to it. The middle one seemed to be a mix of the two. That somehow caught Ronin's interest. He chose the middle tunnel.

It didn't take long for the tunnel to open up into a wider area, some sort of room. It was much better lit than the tunnel Ronin had just walked through, although there still seemed to be no clear light source.

In the middle of the room, a man sat in a meditative position. Ronin could immediately sense that he was somehow different. There was some presence, but it wasn't the same as with any other person.

Then the man suddenly spoke. "Welcome." When Ronin wasn't sure how to answer, he continued. "What brings you here, young one?"

"I'm… I'm looking for an answer," Ronin stammered.

The man remained seated, his eyes closed. 'To what question?'"

"I only just found out that I have the Force, and now, now I'm told that I could be a Jedi," Ronin answered.

"So you want to become a Jedi."

"I-", Ronin lowered his head, "I'm not sure."

The man finally opened his eyes and looked at Ronin. "So you came here to find the answer." Ronin nodded. "This temple does not hold the answer. Only you do," he continued, gesturing to a small opening in the wall behind him. "Go in there, find the answer in yourself."

Ronin approached the opening. Before entering, he turned to the man. "What's in there?"

The man smiled. "Only what you take with you."

As soon as Ronin entered the new cave, everything became pitch black. There was no more light coming from the room he'd just been in, and there was no glow coming from the walls here. The only thing he could see was a small point of light in the distance. He carefully took a step towards it.

As soon as Ronin's foot hit the floor, a vision flashed before his eyes. He saw his mother, standing in front of his old house. He saw another person, wearing brown robes, standing in front of her, and in her arms was a young child. He almost immediately recognized himself in the almost-baby face, and then realized what memory he was seeing. When the child raised his finger, Ronin did not need to hear to know what his younger self was about to say.

"Jedi bad!"

Right as that sentence echoed in his head, Ronin found himself back in the cave, just one step further than before. As soon as he took another step, another vision hit him. This time it was a vision he had seen many times in his dreams, of his parents dying.

Every time he took another step toward the small light, he saw another vision. Almost every vision seemed to be of memories from when he was younger, moments that had some sort of significance to him. Unfortunately, most of those moments were ones he'd rather not remember, and every time he saw one, part of him wanted to turn around and run away.

But every time a vision ended, he would see the little light again, closer with every step. He could feel it calling out to him, as if it wanted him to get closer. Every time he felt that, it helped him resist the urge to turn around and run out of the cave, and instead continue towards it.

Right as he was almost at the little light, the visions changed. Rather than seeing something that happened to him in the past, he saw himself, looking a bit older, sitting in a meditative position in a swamp, as a small green creature hobbled around him. This creature was speaking to the older Ronin.

"Fear and anger, control these emotions you must. Seek revenge, you must not. Hate, you must not, if a Jedi, you are to be."

This confused Ronin. Was this the future? Was he going to be a Jedi? Somehow, the idea felt wrong as soon as he thought about it.

The next step Ronin took threw him into another unfamiliar vision. This time he found another older version of himself, in imperial armor, kneeling in front of a throne. On the throne sat an older man, with a wrinkled face. Ronin almost immediately recognized him as the Emperor, whom he had seen before on holos. The mere sight of him was already enough to make his blood boil.

"Rise, inquisitor," the emperor spoke. "Find this Jedi and bring them to me."

"Yes master," the older Ronin answered, as he stood up.

Merely looking at this version of himself somehow made Ronin feel sick. Was this also his future? Was he going to serve the emperor? It felt entirely wrong as he considered it. Right then, the vision ended, and he found that he was very close to the little light now. Only one last step.

This final vision was once again completely different from the rest. Rather than watching another memory, or what was possibly his future, Ronin found himself sitting on a couch in his old home. His mom sat on a chair next to the couch, looking straight at him.

"Mom?" he whispered.

To his surprise, she answered, "Yes, sweetie?"

He could feel the tears welling in his eyes as he looked at her. "I've missed you."

"I've always been with you, sweetie," his mother smiled. After a short while, she continued, "What's on your mind?"

A thousand questions came up in his mind, but only one came out. "Why did you and dad..." He couldn't finish his sentence as he felt a lump in his throat, but his mother seemed to already know what he was trying to ask.

"Because we love you, sweetie," she said, "we wanted you to be free to make your own choices. That is worth everything to us."

Ronin nodded silently, tears still on his cheeks. "Is that why you never gave me to the Jedi?" he finally asked. His mom nodded. He continued, "People told me I could be a Jedi, if I wanted to."

"And do you want to be one?" she asked.

"I- I don't know," he answered. "Having their abilities seems nice, but it doesn't feel…" He fell silent, trying to search for the words.

"What do you feel about it?" His mom prodded.

Ronin suddenly thought about his previous two visions. The green creature, which had talked about being a Jedi, had said something about not hating. During the very next vision, the one with the emperor, that was all he'd felt. "I don't think being a Jedi is for me," he finally said.

His mom nodded and said, "No matter what decisions you make, know that your dad and I will always support you."

Ronin looked up at her. "Thanks mom." She gave him one last loving smile before the vision faded.

Ronin now found himself right next to the little light. When he looked closer, he saw it was a little crystal, stuck in a small rock pillar that rose from the ground. As soon as he touched it, he felt some sort of connection with it. As soon as he pulled it loose from the rock, the light from it disappeared. The walls started giving off their blueish green glow again, allowing him to easily find his way back.

Back in the larger cave, he found the same man from earlier sitting in a meditative position again. As soon as Ronin exited the opening, he looked up. "And?" he asked.

Ronin held up the crystal. "I got this."

The man examined the crystal. "So you found your answer." He concluded.

"I did," Ronin answered. A moment later, he added, "I… spoke to my mother. But she died years ago. How was that possible?"

"When beings pass, they become part of the living force," the man said. "For as long as you remember those closest to you, they will always be with you."

"Oh," Ronin contemplated this. "Does this mean I'll be able to talk to her again?"

"Perhaps," the man answered cryptically. He then gestured towards the cave Ronin had initially entered the room through. "Do not forget to finish the symbol that let you in. May the force guide you on your path, young one."

Right as the man finished talking, he started to fade. Ronin was quick to ask one last question that burned on his mind: "Wait, who are you?"

The man fixed him with one last look. "A guardian." And then he was gone.

Ronin stared at the place where the man had stood for one more moment, before looking at his crystal. He put it in his pocket and turned towards the tunnel that led back outside. As he reached the end of it, he found that the stone slab had already opened, and Ahsoka was already standing there, waiting.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked.

"Yes," Ronin responded, but did not immediately elaborate. Instead, he turned to the wall and found the circle he'd drawn to get in. He dipped his finger in the water again and drew a symbol inside the circle, resembling a small flame. Right as he finished, they could hear and see the stone slab move down, and the waterfall return to its natural flow. Ronin then turned to Ahsoka to answer her unasked question. "I don't want to be a Jedi."

He half expected Ahsoka to say something to convince him otherwise. Instead, she said, "I can understand," before turning towards the path they had come from.

They sat in silence as the A-Wing ascended through the atmosphere. Once they were in hyperspace, Ronin spoke. "Ahsoka?"

"Yes?"

"Are you mad about me not wanting to be a Jedi?"

"I'm not."

"Why not?"

Ahsoka sighed before answering. "I used to be a Jedi," she said. "I left because I disagreed with what the order had become. So I can understand why people would reject them."

"What do you mean?"

"The Jedi were always supposed to help the people in the galaxy. The order I grew up in was more focused on politics and rules. That is what caused their downfall." Ahsoka explained.

"Aren't Ezra and Kanan also Jedi?" Ronin asked.

"They are," Ahsoka responded. "They're among the last." She chuckled. "And perhaps closer to what a Jedi should be than what they were before the Empire."

They travelled the rest of the journey in silence again, each lost in their own thoughts. As they went their separate ways, Ronin called after the Togruta. "Ahsoka!"

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Thank you for taking me to that temple," Ronin said.

Ahsoka offered him a small smile. "You're welcome."

"Also," Ronin hesitated, "even though I don't want to be a Jedi, would you still be willing to teach me more about the Force?"

The Togruta nodded. "Of course. I'll be in touch." before turning back and continuing on.

Author's note: thanks to my studies, this took way longer to write than I had hoped. But fortunately I was able to write most of this chapter in the past week (partially thanks to a really nice review I received as a pm giving me motivation). Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up.

One other thing: Later this week I plan to release the first chapter of another fic in the "Roninverse", Across the Stars. This will mostly be a separate story, although it might become relevant for future Ronin stories. So if you're interested, make sure to keep an eye out for that.

Anyway, thank you all for reading!