This fanfiction's plot has been slightly shaped by the songs Get Home by Bastille and Give Me a Sign and I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin. Give them a listen if you'd like some possible sneaky spoilers!

2

KANAN JARRUS glanced aside in surprise as Ezra suddenly darted past him - or tried to. Kanan swiftly caught the boy's arm.

Ezra stopped and stared at him with irritated blue eyes.

"No running," Kanan firmly ordered the boy. "You need to take it easy and you know it."

Ezra threw out his lower lip, but obliged anyway.

Kanan smiled faintly as they walked on. They were heading towards the Ghost's hangar, but Kanan already sensed that Ezra wanted to make a quick stop elsewhere. The Jedi Master waited patiently as Ezra paused in front of a door just a little further down the hall and knocked.

After a moment, a hoarse voice croaked out: "Yes?"

Ezra leaned against the wall. "Hey, Sabine - it's me, Ezra. Kanan and I are heading out. I just wanted to know if you need anything."

Sabine had a cold and was in isolation from the other humans on board.

Suddenly, the door sprang open. Ezra jumped in surprise and stumbled back, instinctively pulling his tall collar over his mouth and nose.

But it wasn't Sabine; it was Tseebo.

The gangly Rodian smiled at Ezra and lifted one finger. "Sabine wants Tseebo to tell you that she is feeling better. Hera has asked Tseebo to give her whatever she needs, so do not worry, Ezra." He reached out with one gangly arm and ruffled Ezra's hair.

Ezra grinned, letting go of his collar. Being a Rodian, Tseebo was unable to catch Sabine's illness. "All right, Tseebo. Thanks."

Tseebo tilted his head suddenly and his smile faded. "But what of Ezra?" He stared at the boy. "How is Ezra feeling?"

He asked this a lot - almost every day. Seeing Ezra after the Empire had turned him to the Dark Side and what that had done to him had shaken the Rodian to the core.

"I'm okay," Ezra promised, his face softening as he looked up at Tseebo.

Tseebo immediately glanced at Kanan for affirmation.

Kanan sighed softly. He'd never had the heart to tell the latest member of their crew the truth about Ezra's... condition.

So he folded his arms and gave a nod.

Tseebo smiled in relief and clasped Ezra in a brief hug before stepping back. The door closed over a joyful image of the Rodian waving.

Ezra grinned again and fixed his hair, then looked up at Kanan.

"Ready to go now, sport?" Kanan queried with a smile.

Ezra nodded, and together they set off.

***

Getting to the market was rather easy when one had a speeder bike. Also, it wasn't too far away from the spaceport the Ghost loomed in, and that sure helped too. It was most certainly a quicker trip on Garel than it was on Lothal.

The Empire seemed to be on their tail even more than normal, so that meant the rebels had to planethop. So far, Garel was Ezra's favorite. He liked the crowded streets lined with flat-roofed houses and apartment buildings - they made for easy getaways and reminded him of Capital City. The purple sky was also pretty cool.

And who didn't love the memories of almost getting killed by Imperials in Bay 7 while stealing deadly weapons?

Ezra and Kanan left their bikes in a designated area (Ezra made sure they were locked in place so no criminals who were less skilled than he was could steal them), then headed into the market.

As the twosome strolled towards the nearest stall, Ezra immediately noticed something amiss that Kanan, whose cyan gaze was fixed on Hera's shopping list, did not.

The wide street, normally swarming with shoppers, was completely empty.

Ezra slowed to a halt, glancing around with narrowed eyes and an uneasy frown on his face.

Kanan, however, continued on, momentarily too focused on the duty at hand to realize what Ezra had.

Something's not right.

"Kanan..." Ezra spoke up warily, glancing ahead at his master. Kanan was surveying the stall's supply of jogans, and didn't hear his Padawan's quiet call. The vendor wasn't looking at Kanan, however; the terrified young farmer kept wildly glancing up at the rooftops.

Ezra's eyebrows met. He followed the vendor's eyes up to the roof of the building just beyond Kanan and the vendor, but saw nothing.

At the same time, he knew something was there.

Ezra suddenly yearned to tap into the Force. It would have told him to move if something terrible was about to happen. But ever since he had been forced into the Dark Side, Ezra had been far too terrified to use it again. His training with Kanan was now almost unheard of, and any attempt to start it up again - like that morning - ended with Ezra becoming even more afraid than before.

Had Ezra somehow accepted the Force to be with him once more before this very moment, then perhaps he could have prevented what happened next.

Kanan suddenly snapped his head up and yelped, but it was far too late. A previously well-hidden figure leapt down from the roof above and landed square on top of the Jedi, effectively knocking him unconscious.

"Kanan!" Ezra shouted, bolting forward. The assailant looked up, and Ezra managed to get a quick glimpse of his appearance: dark gray armor that covered his entire body, and an almost Mandalorian but entirely unique helmet with the jet-black Galactic Basic symbol for S on the front.

Ezra's eyes widened. "You!" he yelled, whipping out his lightsaber and aiming to shoot even as he ran nearer.

The bounty hunter seized hold of Kanan's limp body, then, with his free arm, removed a large blaster from the holster on his back. It shot out a line attacked to a grappling hook and then, in a matter of seconds, both the bounty hunter and Kanan were gone.

"NO!" Ezra stumbled to a halt right where they had just been, the pulse he'd fired a mere moment before hitting only the wall. "KANAN!" He looked up desperately. The vendor was running for his life.

Good. Ezra jumped up onto the stall, slipping on the jogans, then sprang for the top of the stall. His fingers grasped its edge, drastically bending the material down. Ezra yelped, desperately kicking his legs as he managed to yank himself up. He leapt onto the building's roof just as the entire stall capsized, sending purple fruits rolling everywhere.

Ezra immediately broke into another sprint. "STOP!" he screamed, witnessing the bounty hunter far on the other side of the roof as he disappeared.

Ezra scrambled all the way to the edge, barely catching himself before falling past it. He scanned the alleyway below desperately, but they were nowhere in sight.

"Kanan," whispered Ezra hollowly, falling to his knees and pressing his hands to his face in disbelief, shock, and grief.

No...

***

Okay. I'm sorry. I know you're probably all thinking "MY PONYTAIL!" and "NO! ARTY, HOW COULD YOU?!"

But for those of you who may be thinking "Oh, come on. We're losing a crewmember? We just did that in the last one!", don't you worry. I have vowed to make Chasing Your Shadow as different from Ezra Lost as possible! ;D

Bye for now! :D