Ezra looked around the jungle. He was tired, hot, and cuts and bruises littered his body. He didn't care. He had to find it. He had to find that Sith.

Ezra jerked awake, not realizing that he had lost consciousness. He looked around at his surroundings, trying to figure out where in the galaxy he had woken up. All he could see was darkness. That's when he felt it. It was something cold that touched his mind. He could feel anger, hate, fear, all that of a Sith. Unconsciously, he stiffened. If there was a sith here then he—and the crew of the Ghost could be in trouble.

"Apprentice," a dark and emotionless tone purred. "So good of you to come."

Ezra whirled around, lightsaber ignited, to face his opponent. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the tall form of a familiar Zabrak. "Maul," he gasped.

Maul laughed, a sinister sound, and eyed Ezra's drawn weapon. "I am…disappointed that your lightsaber is not red, yet."

Ezra glared. "Never liked that color. Green suits me," he told the former Sith, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

All humor vanished from Maul's face and he slowly raised up his hand, clenching it into a fist.

Ezra felt a cold, invisible hand wrap around his throat and tighten its grip. Ezra gasped in surprise, fear gripping his heart.

"You are my apprentice and you will obey my orders. Or else." Maul paused, watching Ezra's legs idly kicking the air and he clawed at his neck. In some ways, it was satisfying to see such a powerful apprentice so helpless.

In time, he made his way to a small holoprojector in the center of the room and turned it on to one of the local news stations. Almost immediately, a rodian in a suit filled the area as he reported the latest news.

"Update on Lothal's rebels: ISB agent Kallus has been found and has offered a bounty for information on the location of the Ghost. Imperials eagerly agree. Kanan Jarrus, Sabine Wren, Hera Synduly, and Garazeb Orrelios reported dead his morning, Courasaunt time. Ezra Bridger reported missing."

Maul turned his yellow eyes back to Ezra. "Now do you see, Ezra Bridger?" he asked in a sharp tone. "I saved you from the Imperials. Everyone else is dead. I am your master."

Ezra didn't answer, though it was clear that he was distressed about the news. He couldn't believe it. Hera, Sabine, Zeb, Kanan, gone? Kallus betrayed them? After all they did?

Maul flicked his wrist and the boy flew into his hand. The Zabrak got a firm grip on the teen's throat and whispered something in his ear as he choked: "I am all that you have left. You will obey me."

Ezra sighed to himself as he trekked through the jungle. Why did he believe Maul?

The teen stepped over a large root and maneuvered around a tree. Why was he even here? His min drifted back to what Maul had told him.

"I…will…not," Ezra bit out, his voice quiet and strained.

Maul glared.

"This…is a…trick…right? It has to…be. If Kanan…was dead…then…I…would…have…felt something."

Despite himself, Maul let himself smile. "Very smart. You are correct. Your master is not dead, and neither are you crew mates…yet. This is something that is bound to happen. The only way you can stop it is by finding me. I will be in the jungles of the planet of Skammask. Find me. save your friends. Good luck, my apprentice."

Ezra slapped at a misquote. Sweat was beading on his forehead and he was starting to wonder why he came to the jungle alone. Why he even snuck on to this Skammask planet anyway. Maul's voice—his last words—rang in his ears.

"Find me. Save your friends. Good luck, my apprentice."

A thought popped into Ezra's head. was he really Maul's apprentice? Part of him said no, reminding him that he was Kanan's Padawan. The other half planted seeds of doubt. Am I really Kanan's Padawan? What about all the time Kanan got angry at me? would a real master do that? Wouldn't I be more powerful as Maul's apprentice? Then I could destroy the sith, couldn't I? what about all those times I used the Dark Side? a real Padawan couldn't do that. The thoughts kept coming, distracting him from his surroundings. Ezra unintentionally walked straight into a tree.

The teen backed up from the large trunk his had hit head-on, rubbing his head, and looked. A buzzing sound could he heard from a hive hanging on a branch. Ezra gulped. He hoped that the hive wasn't full of Oudja Wasps. A single sting could hurt as much as twenty bee stings, he knew. not to mention the female's stingers were laced with poison. Problem was he didn't know what the females even looked like.

As if to confirm Ezra's fears, several Oudja wasps flew out of the trunk, each the size of a small lothcat. They quickly spotted the teen and charged. Ezra tried to run, but he was constantly tripping on roots and getting grabbed by branches. After the first few feet, Ezra couldn't tell whether tree branches were grabbing at him or the wasps were stinging him. He tripped over a particularly large branch and fell feet-first into a mudhole.

When the wasps saw Ezra in the mudhole, they turned around and flew back to their home. Ezra breathed a sigh of relief tried to move his feet. He frowned when he couldn't lift them out of the mud. His breathing quickened and he started to panic. Slow realization sank in that he was stuck. Worse yet, he was slowly sinking!

"Sabine?" Hera called form the cockpit of the Ghost.

Sabine peeked her head in the doorway.

"Have you seen Ezra?" Worry could be heard in the Twi'lekk's voice.

Sabine shook her head and ducked back out.

Hera groaned. Her best guess was that Ezra had gotten bored, snuck out, and was still exploring the new planet they had been forced to land on after TIEs had damaged their ship's system. Frustrated and tired, she stood up to go find Kanan.

Ezra was up to his waist in mud, by now. His panic had not subsided and he frantically searched for a way out. Finally, he saw a large, outstretched branch, just within arm's reach. He grabbed it and pulled, struggling to free himself. The branch groaned under stress and eventually snapped, flinging Ezra deeper into the mud. It was up to his shoulders, now.

"Please, someone," he whispered. "Help me."

"WHATDOYOUMEANHE'SNOTWITHYOU?!" Hera yelled.

Kanan took a step back, which was admittedly hard since his room was so small. "I mean," he explained in a calm voice, "I haven't seen him since last night. He's probably hiding in the vents or something. Did you check those?"

Hera sighed but shook her head and headed out of Kanan's room.

Kanan sighed. She's just overreacting…again.

Ezra drew in a shaky breath. The mud was up to his chin, now, and he was still sinking. this isn't good this isn't good this isn't good! Ezra thought. He had to get out of there. He felt mud lap against his lips. Terrified, he reached out with the Force, trying to contact Kanan.

Kanan felt Ezra reaching out to him with the Force. The emotions that leaked through made Kanan's blood run cold. Fear, pain, regret… that was all the prompt the older Jedi needed. He rushed out of his room and to the Phantom II. He had to get to Ezra. He just hoped he wouldn't be too late.

Ezra held his breath when the mud engulfed his head. he was scared—so scared. He waited to be lifted out—waited to be saved—by his master, but no one came. His lungs screamed for air. He wanted to let go and just give up, but his body wouldn't let him. He was feeling dizzy, now. Black spots filled his vision and he felt himself slowly slip away. He quickly passed out.

Kanan stopped when the connection Ezra had forged abruptly was cut off. He looked around the jungle, trying to find any sign of his Padawan. That's when he saw footprints. Worried, he followed the prints to the same pit full of mud. He saw a jumble of footprints near the edge and found Ezra's lightsaber. Kanan's heart stopped. No. he couldn't be. Was he… The Jedi sank to his knees. He didn't believe it—he couldn't believe it. But it was all so clear. Ezra was dead.

Ezra's eyes fluttered open, then quickly shut in the blinding light. He heard voices. They were all talking at once, echoing in his skull, giving him a headache. He desperately tried to remember what happened, his mind racing with fear. It didn't take long for him to remember. His stomach flipped and he coughed up some mud. The voices slowly faded away, leaving one whispering in his ear.

Ezra groaned and rolled over on his side, his stomach threatening to empty all its contents.

"Ezra," a voice whispered in his ear. The voice was soft, calm, and sounded strangely familiar.

Ezra squeezed his eyes shut, trying to drown out all noise.

"Ezra, wake up."

Ezra tried harder to ignore the voice whispering in his ear. A scent wafted past his nose, causing him to sit up slightly. A bowl was place next to him and the person whispering sat next to him, placing a cold, wet rag on his forehead. Ezra was confused. Why did this stranger seem so familiar? Why did she care about him like she was?

The woman seemed to read his thoughts and smiled as she gently stroked his muddy hair. "Do you trust me?" she asked in a sweet voice.

Ezra shook his head.

The woman smiled and gently brushed his cheek. "I understand. It's been a long time since I saw you. Your so grown up. You look like your father."

Ezra pulled away. "How do you know my father?" he demanded.

The woman smiled. "Oh, Ezra. Didn't you learn anything?" she looked him in the eyes. "A mother never forgets a face."

Please review and tell me what you want to happen! I will probably leave this story as is for a bit. Thanks for reading!

-Spector7 out!