Chapter Text
Din Djarin just could not catch a break.
Honestly, it was mind-blowing how much his life went off the rails in the last couple of years. He was a simple bounty hunter (one of the best, sure, but still), and since that little package with large green ears and brown eyes came into his life, things were never the same. Of course, it was unfair to blame the kid, he was a victim in all this grand scheme of things. Hidden, chased, and more times than he could count, almost killed too. Din was thankful every day for saving the boy. His own son now, he could hardly believe it! No regrets on that front.
Thankfully, the little gremlin was smarter and a lot more capable than he looked, otherwise, Din would be in far worse shape than he was right now. And the shape wasn’t good at all, to begin with.
He knew that coming to Mandalore was a gamble. But something inside told him to try, to believe that there was still hope for him to be redeemed. Otherwise, how could he ever hope to raise Grogu in the creed that saved and guided him in every step of his life? Grogu was a Mandalorian foundling and since he came back from the Jedi (and isn’t that a thought he hadn’t touched yet?), he deserved to become a Mandalorian too. Being an apostate, Din would never be able to raise his son the same way he was raised.
His head was spinning, and he had little idea of how long he had been stuck in this iron cage. His muscles were locked and trembling, his breathing shallow. Thank the Manda that Grogu managed to escape this droid creature. Din should have been more careful, of course the caves had more dangers hidden within. Maybe his mind had been a little overwhelmed about being in such sacred and mystic grounds for the first time in his life, with his son alongside him no less.
With a pang in his heart, he could only hope that Bo-Katan would stay with the boy. Just thinking about his little son alone again… it made his heart ache. In the last case scenario… perhaps the Jedi could take him back? He felt his eyes begin to water and cursed the drugs that were running through his body for making him so useless.
Grogu was smart. He could make it to safety. The little crib was brand new, he made sure the Anzellans checked every system on it before they left Nevarro.
Din hit his helmet in the iron cage in front of him, frustrated and angry. The loud metallic sound echoed in the cave and he thought he heard a grumbled curse from afar, but couldn’t be sure. Couldn’t hear much beyond his foggy brain.
That creature was gonna kill him, that was certain, and not even for his beskar. He could appreciate the irony there. He tried to make note of its whereabouts, but it was useless, the spidery thing crawled his way in and out of sight, each time with a new wave of sickness washing over him. He could see his gun and the dark saber from the corner of his eye, thrown to the side in the dirt. Dank Farrik… that weapon was meant for the leader of Mandalore, and now it would be lost forever in this dump. No one was coming, it would never be found again.
He really hoped Bo-Katan would come looking for him, even if only to retrieve his corpse. He hoped she would find the saber and finally take it for herself. Take his armor and save it for his foundling, when the time comes for him to use it. Grogu would be safe with her, she would become a queen after all. Thinking about Grogu gave him another pang in the chest. Kriff… He couldn’t even say goodbye.
“Mandalorian!”
A harsh whisper from somewhere. His body locked, surprised. Was he starting to hallucinate now?
“Mandalorian… Can you hear me?”
Din turned his eyes as far to the right as he could, but could not see much. Not a chance of turning his head. But looking at the patch of dirt under him, he saw a pair of dark boots and a cape stop close to his side. Where have I seen those before?
“The kriff is this…” someone mumbled. And he grunted as he felt all the needles that were placed in his neck and arms being ripped off. “Sorry, I’m sorry!” A moment of silence, then the boots walked to the side and he felt the cage turn sideways, and his whole body turning with it, not unlike those barbecued critters in Nevarro. Ha. He did feel as bad as they seemed to taste.
Taking a breath to try to get some focus, Din saw a dark figure leaning over him, it was hard to make out who it was.
“Can you hear me?” they asked. But something was crawling around his vision again, and he could see the creature coming at them silently from behind. He tried to make his tongue work, and something must have come out, as the figure moved closer, “What is it?”
“Behind you..” he rasped, voice barely out.
Many things happened at once then.
The screech of the creature made his ears ring and his head explode in a headache. But it was a burst of bright green light and a buzz of static that made him reel. The fight was noisy, metallic crashes echoing in the walls and each zooming sound went straight to his brain. Thankfully it was right then that he lost consciousness.
Blissful silence.
**********
“I am quite sure it must have been a beautiful city.”
A gentle voice made Din start his way back to the waking world. Thankfully his headache wasn’t as bad as before and he kept his eyes closed for a moment, twitching his fingers and toes, trying to get sense back into his body. He desperately wanted to stretch his muscles. His brain started to take account of the weight of beskar on his chest, and his leather gloves cracked a little as he moved his hands. His head though… strange… seemed to be over a pillow. It smelled like river water and fresh leaves.
“Awah?” a little voice sounded, and he felt his heart jump like a skyrocket. Grogu! Forcing his eyes to open, he tried to come completely awake.
“I mean,” the other voice answered, “Look at the size of this place… so many people must have lived here. So many Mandos.”
“Eh?” a little question.
“Of course… did you think your dad was the only Mandalorian?” the voice chuckled.
What was happening here? Finally opening his eyes, Din saw the rock ceiling above him. It seemed so far away… and so… wait a minute. With a gasp, his hands flew to his face and were met with his scruffy beard and nose.
His helmet! He wasn’t wearing his helmet! He gasped loudly, and sat up suddenly, making the two others close by gasp in return.
“Patoo!” a loud cry and suddenly his arms were full of a small child that had jumped at his face.
“Grogu!” He immediately held the kid close, his helmet momentarily forgotten as relief washed over him as Grogus's wrinkled head rubbed under his chin. “Good job, kid!” he said, relieved, hugging the small body close to his chest.
The kid’s purring filled the air, content. Opening his eyes, Din looked straight ahead at the third person in their company. At first, he had trouble seeing in the half-light, but they got up from a small campfire and walked towards Din and Grogu. No way…
“Skywalker?” he asked, disbelief in his voice.
The man was smiling softly and came closer with a nod. “Mandalorian, it’s good to see you awake.” He looked composed and serene, just like the first time Din met him, even if his clothes were somewhat less fancy, in a black tunic. His hair was a bit messy too, which for some reason made Din feel a little better about his own terrible state.
“What…” he cleared his throat, “What are you doing here?”
The blond man kneeled next to them, making Din recoil a little. Big and bright blue eyes looked surprised at him and pointed to his head. “I just wanted to check your wound.”
“What?” his own hand went up and he felt a patch of bacta on the side of his head, over his ear… which reminded him, “You took my helmet off,” he said in disbelief.
The Jedi just blinked. And looked a little sheepish. “Well… when Grogu and I took you off that metal bed, you bumped your head really badly. Grogu was positive the helmet had protected you, but there was blood on your neck. Turns out your ears were bleeding. Might have been something on the drugs or the time you spent suspended, but Grogu took care of it, and we can remove the patch now,” he made a move to touch Din's ear, and the man recoiled again, making the blond pull his hand back, confused.
“You can’t remove a Mandalorian’s helmet,” he said, anger slipping through his voice. “It is not the way! It is forbidden!!” he snapped, removing the bandage with an angry gesture.
“Abrgh,” Grogu leaned back, looking at his father in irritation.
The blonde just looked between them, like a deer in headlights. He shook his head a little bit and furrowed his eyebrows. “But… last time we met….”
And that was exactly the whole point of them being on Mandalore.
Din closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “That… that was not for you, Jettii.” he said, trying to stay calm.
“Of course, it wasn’t.” the man agreed, “But you removed it anyway, didn’t you? What was I supposed to do? Let you bleed to death?” he asked back, his own irritation coming through.
Yes. Din thought. Just like he was supposed to die that day in Nevarro, when the G1 saved his life. No living thing should have seen his face.
“Abah!” Grogu complained and hit his claws on his father’s chest. An irritated thrill and his little finger pointing accusingly at Din.
“And now you irritated him,” the blonde man said with a shrug, getting up and going back to the fire.
Manda give me the strength, Din thought, to deal with two Jedi.
Din looked at his son, his whole face wrinkled in anger, his ears pointing back from his head and felt his anger melt away. “I am sorry, adi’ka, you saved my life,” he said and saw the baby’s face stare at him stubbornly, “Thank you, you were very brave” and touched his forehead to Grogu’s, making the boy grab his mustache with a coo.
Looking back at the Jedi, Din saw he was collecting his things from the ground, his movements fluid and sure. A wave of shame fell over Din. Kark, the man saved his life too, he should be more grateful than to jump on his throat like that. And besides, he thought with a chill down his spine, the Jedi had already seen his face before anyway.
Looking down at Grogu again, he spoke under the foundling’s little hands. “I told you to find Bo-Katan” he said to the boy.
At once, Grogu’s claws left his face and he thrilled and babbled, gesturing and complaining in his own little language. His ears jumped in irritation and Din was lost. Looking back at the Jedi with a frown, he saw the man looking at Grogu with his eyebrows all the way up his forehead. He blinked a couple of times, more and more alarmed at Grogu’s ranting. He snickered.
“Whoever that is… Grogu doesn’t seem to like them very much. He’s got some… interesting choice of words.” he chuckled. “What have you been teaching him, Mando?” the blond teased.
Din felt his face heat up, and looked back at Grogu, who was now silently fuming, big eyes thinned into 2 lines, little arms crossed. “Grogu!” he shook his head at the child, but only got a stubborn purr in return. Looking around, Din saw his helmet right next to his… pillow? Reaching out, the fabric unfolded into a cape… the Jedi’s cape.
“Can you walk? I can help you back to your ship.” the man in question came back to him, a backpack over one shoulder. Din stood up and only felt a little lightheaded before he felt his balance back. He extended the black cape back to the other man and saw him duck his head a little, before taking the black fabric back.
“Thank you, Jedi. You saved my life twice now.” He said, subdued and a little ashamed of his reaction to the other man.
Not even the low light could hide the blush on the man’s cheeks now, and Din was intrigued. He saw a gloved hand put some blonde hair behind his ear, and blue eyes looked straight through him. “You don’t have to thank me. Grogu needed my help, and I’ll always be there for him.”
Now would be the perfect time to ask. Why did you send him back to me? Who knows when or if he would see the Jedi again? But Din was on a tightrope, and now that his helmet had been removed once more, he had to find the living waters, no matter what.
“We should get going.” the blond said and started to turn away.
“I can’t go.” the Jedi looked back, surprised, “Not yet,” Din said.
“Why not?” he asked, confused.
Looking around, Din saw the baby’s crib floating next to them and put Grogu inside. Turning back to the Jedi, he took a breath, before saying, “I came all the way here to redeem myself for removing my helmet that one time. I didn’t think I would see him again, but now that he’s back… I have to redeem myself so I can raise him as a proper Mandalorian.”
The Jedi was quiet, absorbing all the information Din dumped on him. He looked at the helmet on the ground. “The helmet… removing it, made you lose your creed?”
“I was exiled from my covert,” he said, a familiar pang in his chest. The Armorer’s indifference to him, when he last saw her… it was like she was sure he would fail.
The blond man looked at Grogu, who was paying close attention to the conversation. “And how will you redeem yourself?”
“Beneath the city, there are the ancient beskar mines and the living waters within. I need to bathe in them.”
The other man nodded. “Okay, sounds simple enough.”
“I could not find the entrance, I was grabbed as we were looking for it.”
“I’ll come with you then.” the man said with a nod, turning and kicking some sand into the campfire, putting it out.
“What?” din asked, surprised.
The Jedi faltered. “Is that not allowed?”
Din had absolutely no idea.
“I don’t know. All I know is that I must bathe in the waters and bring back proof.”
“I will help you find the entrance, and I will be your witness,” he said, confident. “I removed your helmet and saw your face twice, when I shouldn’t. Let me help you.”
“You didn’t know.” Din tried to argue.
“Nonetheless, I am here now, and I can help. Please.”
Something heavy and warm took space in Din’s chest. The Blond man’s face was open and sincere, his eyes wide and trusting. Din was glad now that Bo-Katan wasn’t the one here with him.
“All right.” he nodded and the Jedi smiled. Another pulse of warmth made his chest lighter.
The man wrapped up his cloak around his shoulders and pulled a hood over his head, just like the first time Din saw him. Bending at the waist, he smiled at Grogu.
“Ready for an adventure?”
If Din’s heart jumped at the deja vu, no one but he needed to know.
**********
The ruins of Mandalore were definitely not the worst place Luke had ever been to. Han once took him to a planet that was basically a whole garbage dump, a mixture of putrid smells that took days to get off his nostrils. Mandalore, for all its destruction, smelled like cold clear running water and stone after the rain. A critter here and there got their bright eyes on them from time to time, but Luke was sure to use a little force suggestion to send them back into their lairs. Grogu complained a lot about one of them trying to eat him, so, better not to tempt any more accidents.
Looking ahead he saw the Mandalorian light the path using a flashlight on his helmet. Grogu’s crib floating behind him, and Luke coming right after. These two were so intriguing. Not that Luke expected to ever see any of them again, but now he was glad he did. There was a story here he would like to understand.
And he was curious. Ever since he had first seen the man in full Beskar armor on the imperial ship, the strong bond between him and Grogu was impossible to ignore. Luke could sense their strong attachment, but could also sense Grogu’s need for help. He was unstable in the force, he needed to connect properly with it again. Ashoka had been beyond surprised to see the little one with Luke, and when the blonde asked about their story, she wasn’t too keen to explain. She warned him that it would be dangerous and hard to separate them.
Well, to be honest, he was a little angry at her, for not letting him know right away that the Mandalorian had been on Ossus to visit Grogu. Luke didn’t know much about the Jedi Order as she did, and he understood that she had an old fear of attachments, the same one that took his father away from them. But once he saw the little gift the Mandalorian left for Grogu… his heart broke for the man, and wished Ashoka hadn’t intervened. He only saw the silver ship leaving, and it was too late.
Ahead of him, Grogu was grumbling and babbling about being too dark in there, and that he was hungry. Luke took a chocolate ration bar from his backpack and gave it to the child, placating his complaints.
“Do you know if the entrance is still standing at all?” the Jedi asked the man, while watching his feet.
A sigh. “No.”
Luke nodded. After his anger melted away, the other man was quiet, speaking only the essentials. “What if they are inaccessible?”
“We find another way in.”
“What if there isn’t another way in?”
“Jedi.” he clicked his tongue.
“All I am saying… is that we need to think of all possibilities.”
The man stopped and looked back, shining the light straight into Luke’s face, making him squint. “I thought Jedi were supposed to be more positive. And less talkative.”
Luke smirked. “Met many Jedi, have you?” Luke could not see his face, but could bet his lightsaber that the man was glaring at him.
“You seemed a lot quieter the first time we met.” he grumbled and started on the path again.
Relieved that the light got off his eyes, Luke blinked and started after him. “I’d like to think we are friends now, since you are Grogu’s father and I am… his former teacher, I guess. That, and the life-saving thing as well.”
“You make friends with everyone you save?” Mando asked, feeling heat up his cheeks.
“My sister always says that you can never have too many friends. She constantly tells me I tend to become too isolated sometimes.”
“Sister?” Luke felt the light in his eyes a second time, as the Mandalorian looked back at him again. “I thought… that Jedi did not have families.”
“Oh, well. The old Jedi Order had a lot of rules about attachments, sentiments… I suppose most of them lived as monks or something. One with the force, is the saying… but, look where it got them. Only one Jedi remaining.” he shrugged.
“Isn’t your sister a Jedi as well?”
“She is force sensitive, yes, but chose to not become a Jedi herself.”
“You can choose?” The man looked at Grogu, who was happily munching his snack in the crib.
“Of course.” the blond answered sincerely. “Grogu chose to stay with you.”
“What?” the man looked back at him.
Luke felt shame wash over his chest. “I can explain everything to you, once we leave this place, ok?” He knew he had handled the whole issue with Grogu the wrong way. It was the first time he had found a youngling, ok? But in the end, he knew it was best for Grogu to be with the Mandalorian.
“Okay.” Mando answered, a little suspicious.
“Oh, and by the way, here.” Luke opened his backpack and looked for something inside. He extended to the other man his pistol and the saber hilt. “I think you dropped these.”
The Mandalorian was frozen, staring at the saber in Luke’s hand. Slowly he took it, and his pistol back. Would there be any ramifications, of Luke taking claim of these while he was down? He hoped not.
“Thank you.” The man nodded at last, and started walking again. “We should follow the water, it might lead us to the entrance.” He said, pointing to the ground where small water currents were flowing in one direction.
They went down some pathways and broken stairs, Luke lighting up his lightsaber for extra light. The sound of water became louder and louder, and they came upon a big caved-in stone hallway with a huge pile of rocks on one end. There was no exit, and they sighed, thinking it was a dead end.
“Is that a door?” Luke pointed at what seemed like a door seam in between the rocks.
Din walked closer and peered inside the rocks, light dancing in between them as he tried to find a passage. “I think so. But it’s all blocked.” He sighed. The rocks had to weigh tons, no way he could move them without machinery. Now, how to bring any machines down here?
A sudden movement at his side startled him, and he looked up to see the Jedi climbing the rocks swiftly. He tried not to notice how his pants hugged his legs. He cleared his throat. “What are you doing?” He complained, agitated.
The other man just hummed, sticking his head in between the rocks on top, and nodded. He looked down at Din with a smile. “This will work.”
“What?” And Din barely said it as the man simply jumped down from all the way up to land smoothly on his feet. Crazy Jedi sorcery…
“If we move them from the top first, we can clear the way.” He said, clapping his hands to remove the dust from them.
Din stared at him and looked around. “How?”
The Jedi looked at Grogu and Din saw them exchange a secret smile that clenched his heart. “Let’s just step back. I’ve got this, Grogu.” He said, before they walked back to the entrance door.
Grogu babbled, and grabbed the edges of his crib, looking expectantly at the rocks. Din waited with bated breath.
The blonde closed his eyes for a moment and raised his hand. A rumble echoed in the room and dust started to fall down as Din watched the rocks, that were at least the size of his ship, slowly start to rise and move forward. He held his breath, unable to look away.
As if they were underwater, they floated to the sides of the large room, smaller ones following after like little puppies. Grogu clapped and laughed, delighted. Din had the urge to do exactly the same as he saw a big and dark hallway be revealed behind the rocks. The runes above the door had to mean that these were the fabled Mines of Mandalore. With a helpless smile he looked at the Jedi… and was stuck.
His face was serene, a gentle smile and a look of concentration of someone in meditation. His blond hair was moving a little, as if underwater too, the long strands brushing his eyes and nose. The only light available in the room was a low luminescent blue, coming from the walls and rock themselves, and strangely, it seemed like the man was bathed in moonlight.
Only once the noise stopped and the man opened his eyes, was that Din snapped out and felt heat wash over his face. What was he doing, staring at Skywalker like this? Thank the Manda that his face was covered.
The blond smiled at him and Grogu. “No need to find another way in.” He said, cheekily.
Grogu’s excited breaths filled the room, and no one needed to read his mind to know he wanted to just go, let’s go now!
Din and Luke chuckled and stared at each other. The blond blushed and Din had to unglue his tongue from the top of his mouth.
“Thanks, Jetii, that was amazing.” He said, heartfelt.
The man blushed again, and ducked his head. “It was nothing, don’t worry about it.”
It was not nothing to Din, and one more thing he would owe the Jedi forever. He had saved Din’s life twice now, took care of Grogu and made the boy so strong and confident. He was helping Din redeem himself to his creed. How can one ever repay all that?
“Abrugh!!” Grogu looked at his father excitedly, pointing at the hallway. He started to move his little crib forward, but Luke grabbed it with a gloved hand from behind.
“Patience, little one, patience.” The blond chuckled, and took his backpack from the floor, hanging it from one shoulder and looking at Din. “We should go, or this little monkey here will drag us after him.” He said with humor.
With a chuckle, Din looked back at the entrance, feeling butterflies in his stomach. This was it. It had to be. He was gonna be a Mandalorian in the eyes of his covert again. Taking a big breath, he turned his flashlight on again, and followed the path, his two companions once again walking behind him.
The corridor went down, and they had to watch their feet for slippery patches. For a while Din could not hear the water flowing anymore, and his heart sank a little. But once they arrived at the end, a huge cave opened up to them. And his heart burst with hope.
He walked silently ahead and gazed upon the living waters, the same blue luminescence on the walls allowed him to see the gentle waves on the surface, making the dark depths glitter. He could not see the end of the cave, only this large edge he was in. His breath stuttered.
This was the heart of Mandalore.
He felt a nudge on his leg and looked down to see Grogu’s crib floating next to him. The boy's eyes glittered just like water. Looking behind him, the Jedi was not there and he turned around to look for him. He saw the man on the threshold of the room, a stunned look on his face.
“Jedi?” He asked, and moved closer to the man again. “What is it?”
“This place… it is sacred.” He said, a little breathless. “I can feel something so powerful. I am not sure I should be here. I am not Mandalorian.”
Din stood in front of the blond man. This same man made it possible for Din to be standing in this sacred place at all. He reached out his hand to the man without thought.
“Come. You owned the right to be here. You respect our creed, and you are not my enemy.”
“But I removed your helmet.” The man insisted.
“You had seen my face before, because I removed the helmet myself. You didn’t know.” He said again. When the man still looked unsure, Din insisted “And you are my friend. My foundling’s teacher.”
A strong emotion ran over Skywalker’s eyes, and Din saw him take a breath, before grasping Din’s hand. He took a cautious step into the room. “I am honored.” He said with a smile.
Releasing the Jedi’s hand was a little harder than he expected, and they turned looking around the cave. It was huge, the ceiling was high, and the platform they were standing on was beautifully carved into stone steps that went into the water. On the far left side there was a statue. A tall Mandalorian in armor on a pedestal. Din saw Skywalker walk closer to a stone tablet at the bottom of it.
“I can’t understand the language,” the blond man sighed.
Din walked closer to his side. “It’s Mando’a.”
“Can you read it?” The other peeked up, curious. Din took a closer look and read carefully:
These mines date back to the age of the first Mandalore.
According to ancient folklore, the mines were once a mythosaur lair.
Mandalore the Great is said to have tamed the mythical beast.
It is from these legends that the skull signet was adopted and became the symbol of our planet.
“It must be thousands of years old.” The Jedi said in awe, looking at the statue again. “Mandalore, the great.” He said with a smile.
“Awe!!” Grogu said suddenly next to them, making them jump. They chuckled.
“Like the place, adi’ka?” Din asked, rubbing one of Grogu’s ears.
“He does, he really does.” The blond answered with a smile. “He asks if he can go into the water as well.”
Din laughed quietly, and looked at the baby. “I’ll let you bathe if you want, I’ll go first just to be safe.” A satisfied purring was all the answer he needed. His little boy, would be blessed by the living waters as well.
Turning back to the water, he walked to the edge, to the top of the stairs. Looking back at his companions, the blond man smiled at him, with a nod. Taking a deep breath, he removed his cape, letting it fall to the floor, and started down the steps, into the water.
“I swear on my name and the names of the ancestors…
That I shall walk the Way of the Mand'alor…
And the words of the Creed shall be forever forged…
in my heart.”
Suddenly, his world went black.
**********
Continues...