So I watched "Call To Action" again today and I guess I just wanted to make myself extra sad so I wrote this...
I read a lot of Star Wars Rebels fanfiction and there are so many amazing authors and stories, I'm a little nervous to be putting this out there, but I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!
(Lastly, I do not own Star Wars Rebels or any of its characters!)
It all seemed too familiar.
The fear, the pain, the ache of hopelessness.
Everything came back when Ezra realized Kanan had lied.
Kanan ordered him to go with the others, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to leave Kanan. He faltered, and stopped to look back at his Master, his teacher, his friend.
"Ezra. I'll be right behind you."
There was something that stirred in Ezra. An overwhelming amount of anxiety that screamed at him. That warned him, but he pushed it down. Kanan wouldn't lie. This wasn't like when his parents had...
Kanan promised. And Ezra had believed him.
Just like he had believed his mom, promising him they had everything under control as she quickly hid him in their safe room.
Just like when his dad had kneeled down and promised him that everything would be okay.
Ezra believed what they had said even as he heard the sound of banging on the front door.
Ezra believed even when he heard the blaster shots.
He just tucked further into himself and whispered that everything would be okay. His parents had promised.
He believed even when the sound of his mother's scream pierced the air.
He blocked everything out except his parents last words, and waited until all he heard was silence.
He thought everything was over, so he ran up the ladder and into the the main room.
The storm troopers were gone. Everything was okay. Just like his dad had said.
He believed until he realized his parents were gone too.
After screaming for his mom and dad until his throat was raw, Ezra realized they had lied to him.
It wasn't until years later, when he was older, that he registered they had lied to protect him. But that didn't make the pain lessen any.
So as he ran up the communications tower, as he ran away from Kanan and his promise, he started to doubt.
When they reached the top, he ran to the edge, to make sure.
"Where's Kanan?!" He asked to no one in particular.
Kanan was still down there. By the door, with the Empire closing in on him.
This was not happening. Not again.
His mind seemed to numb. And he couldn't recall much of anything after that.
He vaguely remembered being shot at, ducking for cover. Sabine throwing miracles at Imperial ships, and explosions.
He did remember though, clear as day, the Inquisitor slamming Kanan against the door with the force. Ezra screamed. He cried out Kanan's name.
For a brief second, Ezra did not see the Inquisitor and His Master.
For a brief second he saw his father, cornered by a storm trooper.
For a brief second, Ezra was seven again. Young, confused, and grief-stricken.
But it was over quick, and Ezra was back.
He jumped into the Phantom and ran to the front, trying to push past Zeb and Sabine for a look at Kanan.
"Specter 2! Get out of here!" Kanan ordered over the comm. He sounded like he was in pain.
Hera voiced Ezra's thoughts "Not an option Kanan!"
"No time! GO!"
Ezra fought at the lump in his throat. He didn't even try to be strong or sound confident.
"We can't!" Desperation dripped from his words.
He had already lost his mom and his dad. He could not lose Kanan too...
"HERA!"
Ezra pleaded with her silently, begging her with his eyes not to do this, but she couldn't dodge shots from the Empire forever. Ezra watched in horror as she reached forward to shut the hatch.
And then he ran, he ran just in time to see the door of the Phantom closed. Closed on Kanan.
He turned back to Hera immediately, giving her the most incredulous look he could muster. She didn't see it. She was looking at the sky through her own tears.
Ezra sank to the floor. Betrayal causing Ezra's eyes to burn and his chest to heave.
Because Kanan lied.
Ezra managed to keep it together long enough to speak. Long enough to do what Kanan had taught him, trust in the Force, and accomplish what his parents had once done in sharing his message of hope. The message Kanan had sacrificed himself for.
But once it was over, everything came rushing back. It all seemed too familiar.
The fear, the pain, the ache of hopelessness.
"Was it worth it? You think anybody heard?" He wondered out loud, hoping someone had an answer. Hoping someone could tell him why he always lost people. Why he always ended up hurt.
Hera looked at him, the way a proud mother would look at their child. It reminded Ezra of the way his mom used to look at him.
"I have a feeling they did."
"This isn't over." Ezra declared.
Hera's expression hardened. "No it isn't." She promised.
And Ezra believed her.