Hello readers! This is my first ever fanfiction on this site!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this fic!
Goodbye
"Ezra!"
Time stopped. Kanan froze with wide eyes, gaping at what he'd done. Disgusted he ripped the lightsaber out of his apprentice's abdomen and caught him as he fell forward. He laid him on the ground, tears in his eyes and apologising repeatedly.
"Kid, I-I'm so sorry! Stay awake okay?" Kanan called, holding down on the wound that was gushing freely with fresh blood. His apprentice- his Padawan was dying- bleeding out by his own hand.
He felt sick.
"Ezra, stay awake" he called again, his other hand patting his cheek to keep him conscious then quickly moved back to stifling the flow of blood. Erza moaned in response, feeling the blackness in the corner of his eyes consume his vision.
"Clever Jedi" a dry humoured voice spoke, watching the scene in sadistic glee.
"You-you did this!" Kanan growled, seeing red for a few moments.
"I didn't attempt my Padawan's life. This works out perfectly for me; One Jedi down…one to go" The Inquisitor goaded, moving towards the two. Kanan growled, unconsciously tightening his grip on Ezra.
"Get back!" he screamed and with all his pent up rage, tossed the Inquisitor back a few metres into a wall, where he promptly blacked out upon impact. But he wasn't finished yet.
The Inquisitor rose from the debris and summoned his twin saber, letting it spin and round, the faint red glow highlighting the menacing grin the Pau'n wore. Kanan swore, gently manoeuvring Erza's body to the ground.
With a loud cry he forgot all his senses of the Jedi's code. All rules gone from his mind and let himself be controlled by the thing he swore he would never return to.
The Darkside
He didn't feel any form of remorse as he picked the Pau'n up by the throat as he'd seen the Sith do to Ezra and himself many times. The invisible force that wrapped itself tightly and drained the life slowly like a snakes bite, waiting for the end to come as you know nothing you do will hold off the venom's poison that seeps into your veins and into your blood before it reaches the heart and ends you. That's all the Inquisitor was- a poison, a venomous being that needed the life sucked out of him and that is what Kanan was going against the Jedi Order to do.
He squeezed his fist, watching with content as the being choked and gasped for air. He saw out the corner of his eye, his apprentice slip away and decided he'd had enough of the aguish this- this monsterhad subjected them to.
He tightened the fist and felt the crack.
The cold corpse was released, eyes wide and fading, dropping to the hard ground and falling over the side into the fiery inferno below. He briefly stopped.
What would Ezra think when he found out? What would Hera? , And the others? Would they be glad he was out of the way, But fearful of him? Would they hate him?
Kanan shook his head. No. He deserved it.
"You got the easy way out" he spat, leaving the corpse to rot while he turned back to the boy quickly slipping away in his arms. He saw the pained look across Ezra's face and felt the body go cold suddenly. He panicked, patting his cheek to ensure he was conscious.
"No…" he whispered, after hearing no response.
No kid. You're not dead He tried to reassure himself as he raised shaky fingers to the boy's throat, desperately praying for a pulse. After a long agonising moment he felt the steady an uneven heartbeat beneath his fingertips and sighed in relief.
"Spectre One to Ghost!" he called down his commlink. He shook Erza again, anything to awaken him. To reassure him that pulse wouldn't fail.
"Ghost here, what's-", she was cut off immediately by Kanan's wavering voice.
"I-I've done something terrible! Please Hera Ezra's-"he panicked; Hera sensed his distress and quickly cut him off.
"Calm down. Were on our way" Hera's steady voice responded, although even in Kanan's distress could feel her uneasiness in her tone. He paid no more attention to his commlink and focussed on Ezra.
He was relieved to see that his Padawan was awake and smiling grimly up at him.
Kanan smiled, "Hear that Kid, there on their way now. Stay awake"
"Kanan…m'sorry" Erza said in a hoarse voice. Kanan let out a hysterical sob. He was sorry? Did he stab himself? Did he attempt to send his Padawan on a suicide mission? No. The child had nothing to be sorry for. This was all his doing.
"No, no Erza, I am. I-I'm sorry I did this to you. The Inquis-"Kanan was cut off by Ezra's shaky palm waving him off. Kanan stopped talking immediately and instead took the hand in his, squeezing it in some form of comfort.
"No-Not your fault…" Ezra whispered this time more sternly.
The kid was struggling. Come on Hera.
"Kanan…?"
The quiet voice forced Kanan to return to his Padawan's innocent gaze.
He smiled "Yeah Padawan?"
"M'sorry for-for being a pain…I-I'm really grateful for everything you've done and- tell-tell them…"Ezra coughed, sitting up and choking, every harsh intake of breath felt like a weight was being pressed down, cutting off any hope of oxygen.
No. Don't you dare kid. He wasn't going to die. He was too young and they'd grown very fond of their sixth member. He couldn't die.
"...tell them m'sorry and that I..I'm glad to have been Spectre six… I love you guys…your like my-my...new family…"Ezra whispered, voice now barely above a whisper. He fell back into Kanan's arms, holding his aching chest.
"We are happy to Ezra. You're not giving in this easily" Kanan told him sternly, his own tears reflecting in his Padawan's eyes. Ezra took a deep shuddering breath, swallowed forcing his fear down.
"You're scared" Kanan said suddenly. Ezra shifted and nodded, eyes asking a silent question.
Can you sense it?
Kanan smiled lightly and nodded, wiping a stray tear from his eye. He didn't even need to question why his Padawan was scared.
"I don't want to…die" he gasped, tears flowing down his face. Kanan shook his own away in an attempt to be strong for his apprentice.
"You're not going to"
"Kanan…"
"Please Kid"
Kanan was begging him now? It was too real, too sudden, too soon.
"Don't do anything…stupid...Promise…?" Erza suddenly spoke, coughing.
The kid was worried about his health? That brought a fresh wave of tears to his eyes but he blinked them back, not allowing him to break down in front of his Padawan. Not for his sake, for Ezra's.
"No Ezra don't!" he almost pleaded.
"Promise?" Ezra asked again, looking him straight in the eye.
"I promise…"Kanan relented.
"Look after them all…goodbye…Master…Kanan…" Ezra whispered, falling limb in his Mentor's safe embrace, his eyes staring up at his Mentor's heartbroken face before everything stopped and he breathed no more.
Kanan held the body in his arms tight to his chest and cried. He, Kanan Jarrus the leader of Ghost and the one that stood strong for his team cried. Let everything- every frustration leading to the anguish of how a child- the one he thought of as his own son was lying dead in his arms.
He looked down at the body; his only ease was that at least he looked like he was at peace. All the hardships the poor boy had gone through- and at the age of seven! He was strong till the very end. Kanan was glad to have found him.
"Spectre Two to Spectre One, were here!"
"It's too late"
The commlink cut off. The realisation, his own voicing confirming it broke him down, tearing the tiniest bit of light dead. In a manner of speaking his light was dead. He felt Hera run up to him, the first of them to see the chaos that had happened. He felt her gaze turn to the Inquisitor and his lifeless form.
He didn't want to see her reaction.
She was shocked but at the same time, she knew it had to be done. I only wished it wasn't by his hands. Hera knew deep down that if she had any hope of getting her Jedi back it was going to be a long road. He'd gone against the Jedi's code- for them- for Ezra- for what he thought was for the good of humanity.
To protect them all
She wasn't angry with the man. All fear of him had diminished. She knew what it was like and she knew that she would have done the same thing in his situation. She shook her head away, leaving the corpse as Kanan had and wasted no more time in sprinting to the huddled group in the middle of the floor. She reached them and stared in shock and worry as the team broke down one by one.
Sabine was gasping falling back into Zeb's strong embrace, crying into his shoulder. Zeb holding her and letting his own tears fall.
Chopper was confused, angry and emitted mournful beeps and cries as he spun around the team, comprehending what had happened and why the team were broken down.
Hera in all her shock turned to see Kanan's shaking form- the usually so strong man she'd grown to love, holding their youngest member who she had thought of as her own son.
No…he wasn't…
But the mournful gazes and lack of rise and falling to the boy's chest told her otherwise. She steadily walked over to the group and they watched patiently as she knelt down and felt the boys pulse.
It sunk in quickly
She gasped, feeling as though a knife had been rammed through her heart and twisted so deeply that she felt her body go numb. Hera gasped, letting her tears cascade freely down her face and moved closer to the two. She stroked back the boys navy bangs and planted a motherly kiss atop of the boys head.
"He-he said. Thank-you and that he was glad to be pa..part of his new family" Kanan told her under his breath, he bit down hard on his lip, not taking his eyes off his Padawan for a second.
She smiled and her strong expression faltered and she found herself suddenly crashing into Kanan's shoulder sobbing, soaking his armour but he didn't care. None of them did.
They reminisced of the times they had with the boy- both the good and the bad and the victorious and the trying, their first meeting to their last, their pranks, laughter, joy, their sadness, anguish and strife.
Ezra Bridger
The Lothrat and thief
The prankster and once lonely child
The strong fighter
Their Sixth member
Their friend
Their brother
Their son
Their family
It was an unfair world they lived in, constant sacrifices but this was by far the biggest sacrifice any of them have ever had to make.
"Goodbye friend"
"Goodbye brother"
"Goodbye son, we will forever miss you"
"Goodbye Ezra Bridger"
Annnd there we have it! My first fanfiction! I would appreciate it if you could read and review! Thanks for reading!