Hello! This prompt was submitted by Midnight Luna. I hope you enjoy!
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Run
Kanan ran.
He ran faster than he ever thought was imaginable. He had to run, he had to get back to the Ghost, before it was too late.
Because in his arms was Ezra, his blood seeping through his shirt and onto Kanan's. But Kanan did not feel it. He did not feel anything, only the need to go faster, and faster.
It had all happened so fast.
He knew that this op was not going to be a breeze. Breaking into an Imperial ship yard with maximum security was not a walk through a Loth-cat field. But Kanan thought they could handle it.
He and Ezra had one job; sneak in, get the part from the ship they needed, and get out. The Ghost needed it so they could cloak the Ghost to be unrecognizable to the Empire's scanners. It would help them out a lot.
So they had done just that. They had snuck in fairly easily, minus a few guards here and there. It was easy to take them out with the help of Kanan's force pull and Ezra's electric stun attachment to his lightsaber.
It started going downhill when they got into the ship.
"Ezra, hurry up," Kanan whispered, looking down at the kid. He was crouched underneath the control panel, his nimble fingers working on the wires and bolts that were intertwined.
"Patience," he mockingly scolded. Kanan just rolled his eyes. "Relax, Kanan. We've got time."
"Yeah? Tell that to the approaching bucket heads." He glanced out the window, watching the troopers race into the ship. He estimated that they had mere minutes.
"Got it," Ezra finally said, pulling himself up, holding a small metal device. His fingers were covered in grease and his hair was messier than usual, but he was smiling.
"Nice work," he said, patting the kid on the back. Ezra smiled even more. It had taken him a while to get use to physical contact that was not intended to hurt him, but once he did, he yearned for it. And Kanan was more than happy to give that to him. "Come on, let's get out of here."
They raced out of the cockpit and down the polished Imperial halls. Warning bells went off in Kanan's head just before they turned the corner, and he skidded to a halt. Sticking his arm out, Ezra ran into it, half-grunting before he caught himself. Kanan pushed him back into the shadow of the wall while troopers raced by.
"We'll never get out of here if the only exit is swarmed by bucket heads," Kanan grumbled. Before Ezra had a chance to respond, more warning bells went off in both of their heads. Without speaking a word, they raced across the hallway and into the closest door. The sound of more footsteps raced by; the only sounds coming from them was their heavy breathing.
A voice peaked through the footsteps.
"Sir, there are no signs of the insurgents on the ship."
"Well check again," the voice spat, and the two Jedi recognized the voice as Kallus. "Leave no room unopened."
"Yes sir!" the trooper said, and ran off.
Kanan and Ezra held their breaths, not wanting to risk it. They took a few steps back into the room, but with all of their attention on remaining silent, they did not notice their surroundings. Kanan's leg rammed into a chair that scratched the floor. They both flinched.
The door flew open, revealing Kallus and his ignited bo-staff. Kanan was frozen to the spot.
"Well, well, well," Kallus said, pleasure dripping from his tongue. "Look what we have-" Kallus flew backwards and rammed into the hallway wall. Kanan turned to Ezra, whose arms were outstretched.
"We don't have time for this. Let's go!"
He raced out of the room, and Kanan followed, leaving a moaning Kallus behind them. He was surprised he had frozen back there. If Ezra had not done what he did, there was no telling what Kallus would have done. Kanan shook his head. Something was bothering him, but he could not pinpoint what it was.
Oh well. He would have to figure it out later. Now, he needed to focus.
They raced down the hallways and down the ramp, blasting as they went. But as soon as they stepped off, they realized how much trouble they were actually in.
Troopers surrounded them in a circle, all of their weapons locked and loaded. Kallus and more troopers were walking off from the ship and towards them. Kallus looked less than pleased. There was no way out.
"Kanan," Ezra said.
"What?" he asked, a bit annoyed. He had to figure out a way out of here – there just had to be. He just needed to think.
"I have a plan," he whispered.
"What is it?" he asked, trying to get it out of the kid before Kallus arrived.
"You're not going to like it."
"Spit it out already!" Ezra turned towards him and handed him the device. Kanan looked at it, confused. Looking back up at the kid, he had a look in his eyes that Kanan had never seen before – and it made him nervous.
"And just what do you think you're doing with an Imperial scanner?" the man questioned. Ezra took a deep breath, sending some message that Kanan did not receive with his eyes, before turning around. He ignited his lightsaber.
"I'm not going down without a fight," he threatened.
"What are you doing?" Kanan interjected. Kallus raised his eyebrows.
"Very well," he responded, and ignited his bo-staff. The sound of yellow electricity shot through the air.
What was the kid thinking? There was no way that they could face off against this many troopers at once.
Ezra stepped forward, and again something began nagging at Kanan. He was frozen to the spot, just watching as the kid stepped forward to face off against Kallus.
But before the blade met electricity, Ezra spun and force pushed the troops to the ground.
"Kanan! Run!" he shouted, as Kallus charged forward.
No. The kid was sacrificing himself. To save him.
"I'll be right behind you!" He pushed Kallus off of his lightsaber and blocked incoming blaster fire. He turned and looked at Kanan. "Run!"
But he was not Kanan anymore. He had traveled back in time to when his Master had spoken the same words to the padawan Caleb.
His legs started moving without having to think. Why wouldn't they? He had done this before, all those years ago.
The blaster fire continued on behind him, but he was numb. Kanan had hidden himself into a shell, letting the young and afraid Caleb take charge, and follow his Master's orders.
No, no, no! Kanan stopped running. This was not happening. One person had already sacrificed their life for his; he would not let Ezra do the same. He turned on his heel, shooting forwards, letting the force flow through him.
If they were going down, they would go down together. He pushed Ezra's words out of his mind; he could not let Caleb come back out. He could not run away again.
He had just turned the bend, and the ship came into view. Ezra was still fighting, deflecting blaster shots this way and that. Kanan raced towards him, holding the device in one hand and igniting his own lightsaber.
He was almost there when it happened.
Ezra screamed in pain as Kallus shot him in the back. His body jerked forward, his lightsaber falling from his hands and his knees hitting the floor.
"No!" he yelled, letting anger chew him up. He jumped up and slashed, his blade hitting the armor of troopers around him. Force pushing Kallus away, he raced up to Ezra, who was now lying down. He flipped the kid over to see glassy blue eyes looking back at him. They were closing.
"No, no, Ezra, look at me! Ezra! Stay awake, it's alright. Ezra!" The blue orbs rolled to the back of his head, his eyelids closing. "No, no," he breathed. He scooped the teen into his arms, pocketing the device.
He looked around and made eye contact with Kallus, who was slumped against a cracked concrete wall. Kanan knew that his anger was getting the best of him, and that there was no time to hurt the man who had done this to Ezra. So he settled with a death glare and made a promise to himself, before racing into the night.
Then he was running, and running, and running. Kanan was numb. He should not have run away the first time; he should have stayed with the kid. This was his fault. This was all his fault.
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| To Be Continued |
R & R
~ Kavella ~
