Kanan yawned and sat up in his bed. It was morning, and the sun was just peaking over the horizon. Kanan sighed contentedly. The night before had been quite enjoyable. They had had dinner and talked for a while after that. Ezra talked a bit, adding a little this and a little that to the conversation. He was still shy, but at least he was coming out of his shell; even if it was only a little bit.
But there was something that was bothering Kanan. It was what Ezra had said before he was introduced to the crew. I just.......I don't know if I can trust again. Did something happen to Ezra before they had found him? If so, what could it have been? And more importantly, who did it?
Kanan remembered whenever Zeb started talking, Ezra would only give him a few glances. I don't think Zeb ever met Ezra before we found him on his home planet, Kanan thought to himself. Ezra said Zeb looked familiar. What other creatures look like a lasat?
Before he could think of any options, Kanan felt something through the force. It seemed like fear; as if someone close was panicking. Kanan jumped out of bed. It was coming from one of the rooms in the ship. Kanan quickly closed his eyes and scanned the ship with the force. Hera was checking off the supplies. Nope, not her. Kanan checked on Sabine. She was sketching on a note pad with Chopper next to her. It wasn't her either. Then Kanan tried Zeb, but all he got was satisfied snores. Kanan tried Ezra. He was still sleeping but had a worried look on his face. The fear was coming from him!
Kanan walked out of his room and went two doors down; which was Ezra's room. He opened the door and looked at Ezra. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he gave off a few moans in his sleep. His head turned toward Kanan as he seemed to mumble, "No".
Kanan walked over to him. Is he sick?, he thought to himself. He put a hand on Ezra's cheek, but instead of getting a temperature he found himself transported into a place where everything was black. There was a floor but he couldn't see it, or any walls. In fact, it didn't seem like there were any walls; like everything around him was timeless.
As Kanan looked around he heard someone yell, "No!" He whipped around in the direction of the voice and gasped. It was Ezra. His wrists were tied behind his back with shackles. He was fighting against a cloaked figure who held him by a chain connected to the shackles. Both were pulling and tugging, but neither one was making any progress.
"Join us", the figure hissed.
Ezra only tugged harder. "Go away!", he yelled. "I want nothing to do with you!"
"Your parents wanted this", the figure said, giving a tug on the chain. "Honor them, Ezra Bridger".
"Just leave me alone!", Ezra yelled again, nearly falling to his knees from pulling.
"You can't escape from us, Ezra", the figure replied; no life was in his voice. "No matter what, we will always find you".
As he said this, he began to successfully pull Ezra towards him slowly. "And one day, you will become the sith master you were meant to be".
Ezra suddenly braced his knees, which stopped him from sliding. "Somebody help me!", he screamed.
"You know as well as I do, no one can hear you because you have no one", the figure said. To this Ezra began to slowly stop struggling. "Those people who took you in won't be in your life forever. They will let go of you when they see what you really are. And do you know what that is?".
Ezra didn't answer, but now he had completely stopped fighting the figure; letting him pull him closer. "A monster. That's what you are. It's what your parents were. They were killing machines for the empire. And that's what you are, Ezra. A monster".
That was all Kanan could take. He ran as fast as he could toward Ezra and the figure, anger spread on his face. As he did he used the force in an attempt to pull Ezra away from the figure. But the figure held Ezra back with the force. "You can't have him", the figure said. "He was ours from the beginning. Besides, what could you, a failed padawan, do to stop me?"
Kanan stopped. Those words sunk in like a rock, and stabbed harder than a knife. "You failed to protect your master", the figure continued. "She's gone because you were afraid. If you failed then, what makes you think you will succeed today?"
Kanan couldn't answer that. He had run when his master had defended him from the clones. Even though she had told him to run, he should have stayed behind and fought with her till the end. At least he would have died like a true jedi.
But then, if he hadn't run, he wouldn't be where he was today. He wouldn't have met Hera and helped her start the ghost crew. He wouldn't have saved the people that he had dedicated his life to saving. And.....he wouldn't have found Ezra. Ezra would be all alone; living in fear of everybody in the galaxy.
"What makes me think I can beat you now?", Kanan asked. "I'll tell you what! I'm a jedi. I make mistakes, but my job is to protect those who can't defend themselves!"
He began to walk toward the figure, who took a few steps back. Ezra looked up weakly, his face showing surprise. "Ezra is my padawan! And even if he wasn't, he is my responsibility because I have decided to dedicate my life to protecting him from people like you!"
And with that, Kanan held on to Ezra's shoulder and forced the figure away into the oblivion.
Kanan looked down at Ezra, but now, instead of being in the dark area, they were back in Ezra's room. Ezra was wide awake and staring up at Kanan. Both were on the floor, Kanan with his hand still on Ezra's shoulder and Ezra with his hands still behind him, even though the shackles were gone.
"Are you alright?", Kanan asked.
Ezra let his arms slide to his legs. "I-I guess". He paused. "Why'd you do that? You could've given up, left me there. After what he said about you I wouldn't blame you".
Kanan stared at him gently. "To be honest I almost believed him. This wasn't the first time I'd felt that way. But then I realized that I'm alive for a reason, and that dwelling on my mistakes isn't going to help me......or you".
Ezra looked down to the floor, his eyes welling up with tears. "Th-thank you, Kanan", he choked.
Kanan drew him close and brought him into a hug. "Your welcome, Ezra".
For a while they just sat there, holding each other. Ezra let his tears roll down his cheeks and onto the floor. It had been so long since he had cried. Somehow it felt really good to let them out. Especially with someone who actually cared about him.
"I......I think I'm ready", he said, his voice still a little choked.
"Ready for what?", Kanan asked.
"I think I'm ready to........to trust you", he answered. Kanan gave him one last hug, then stood up with Ezra. "Why don't we go get some breakfast. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry".
Ezra let out a small chuckle. "Okay", he said. He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. Kanan put his arm around him. "Come on. Let's go".