Hello! Sorry about the mix-up earlier. I uploaded the wrong chapter, and then I lost the file for this chapter, so it's been a crazy morning. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 14 - Run

Hera was usually a very patient person, always calm and collected in the face of danger. But her patience was gone, replaced with frustration. It should not have taken Kanan, Zeb and Sabine this long to rescue Ezra unless something truly awful had happened. And with each passing second, Hera grew more and more worried.

To prevent herself from imagining what could have happened to Ezra, she busied herself with the Ghost. She was messing with wires in the cockpit, trying to increase the range of the ship's transmitters. Her hands were going through the motions, but she remained completely focused. Chopper had picked up on her frustration after she snapped at him earlier, and Chopper had stayed out of Hera's way since.

She looked up for the now one hundredth time, hoping to see the crew. But unlike before, instead of seeing the dark Lothal grasslands empty and bare, minus the occasional Loth-cat, she saw a flash of color and she knew that it could only belong to one person; Sabine.

Hera jumped out of her seat, wanting to rush and meet them at the ramp, but then thought better of it. If it had taken them this long to get back, something had to be wrong. And if something was wrong, which it usually was, Hera was responsible for getting them away from danger.

And that was exactly what she was going to do.

She jumped back into the pilot's seat and began flipping switches that only she knew. Then, after the Ghost was prepared to take off, she gripped the handle bar and waited. She stared at the small lit bulb, desperately waiting for it to change. Finally, the ramp went up, and the light flickered off. Steadying her shaking hands, Hera took off.

Once she had made it into hyperspace, Hera shot up from her chair. She ran to the door, only for it to open before her. She flinched in surprise.

"Hera," Kanan said, as he stood completely still in the doorway. Despite desperately wanting to know what had happened to make the crew so late, Hera no longer wanted to find out.

"Kanan," she said, and ignoring her fears, continued. "What happened?"

Kanan hesitated for a moment, looking at Hera with his green eyes. They were filled with dread and fear, and Hera knew.

"Oh, no…" Hera's legs suddenly felt like they could no longer support her. If Ezra was dead, so was everything they were trying to protect. He was the heart of this crew, whether they would admit it or not.

"He's alive, but…" Kanan shook his head.

And with that, they ran down the eerily quiet halls of the Ghost, their hearts aching for the youngest member of the crew.

Hera came into the Med-bay, still confused and afraid. She did not know exactly what had happened, but with the way Kanan was acting, it must have been bad. She opened the door, and a chill raced through her body. Shaking it off, she looked through the doorway.

But her feet stayed rooted to the ground as she looked at Ezra's yellow eyes.

Kanan was tired.

Ezra was still unconscious, lying on the mad-bay counter. Zeb stood in the farthest corner, not saying a word. Sabine stood in the opposite corner, closest to Ezra. She shook slightly, but her helmet covered her face, making it difficult for Kanan to know if she was angry or afraid.

Kanan sat in a chair, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands rubbing his aching head. Roth's words echoed through his mind.

"How is he resisting it?"

"Bridger escaped once, but he won't escape again"

Something happened to Ezra in his past regarding the school. Kanan glanced over at his padawan, his small body lying still on the counter. Ezra looked much younger now that he was asleep. He looked much too young to be caught up in this mess. Yet he was, and there was no changing that.

Kanan should have known. He always should have known. The past always has a funny way of catching up. Kanan knew this from experience, and it seemed that Ezra did too.

He had patched his padawan up the best he could; a few scratches and rope burns were fairly simple. But Kanan did not know the state of Ezra's mind. It seemed like there was a fight between good and evil inside of him, and evil had the advantage.

"We need to get Hera," Kanan said to Sabine and Zeb. But neither of them made an effort to move. With a sigh, Kanan stood up and walked to the doorway. The door slid open, but before he left into the dark hallway, Kanan looked back at his padawan as a thought occurred to him.

Ezra could die.

After all the impossible missions and all the near death escapes, it had seemed like dying was avoiding them. And they were all grateful. But now, with Ezra on the verge, stuck in some mental battle, death might be stopping by.

Kanan walked out of the door, startled by his own thoughts.

No, no. Ezra would not die.

Ezra connected him to his forgotten past, making him remember the better years of his life. Ezra had brought him joy and taught him more lessens than he even knew.

No, Kanan refused what was happening. Despite the yellow eyes, Kanan knew that he was still Ezra.

And he was not going to give up on him. There was always a cure, always an answer. And Kanan would stop at nothing to find it.

He walked into the cockpit, and told Hera enough for her to understand. They walked back together, Kanan quieting the thoughts that lurked up from behind, telling him that Ezra was as good as dead. He knew this was not true.

Hera reached out to open the door, when Kanan felt something through the force; a warning. It told him to run, to run far away and never look back.

Someone's voice echoed through his mind, screaming for him to run, to take Hera and run.

Confused, Kanan did not stop Hera from opening the door. But as soon as it did, the shouts subsided, and he was met with the yellow eyes of his padawan.

And he knew the warning had come not from the Ezra that stood before him, but the Ezra that was buried deep inside.

Ezra's eyes shot open, he sat himself up, and he looked at Zeb.

But that was not the real him. The real Ezra just sat, watching him through his own eyes, having no control. But he had no idea how to take over. He could only watch as the medical shelves above Zeb crashed onto him. He looked over to where Sabine was, but she was no longer there. The doors slid shut behind her.

Ezra stood, stretching his back. He could feel a dull throb in his shoulder, but dark Ezra felt it more. Ezra could feel his dark-self and what he was thinking. He was confused by the pain. Instantly, a memory popped into his mind; the memory of how he got the scar that runs across his shoulder blade.

His dark-self smiled at the pain.

But a presence snapped him out of his thoughts, and Ezra was glad that the memory faded away. It was painful enough to live through once. The presence was the once he had felt earlier, Kanan. He was nearby, he was close. Ezra needed to warn him.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, he shouted and shouted at Kanan. He did not remember what he said, but he yelled at him until he could not anymore.

But Kanan did not listen to his warnings. The door slid open.

He saw Kanan and Hera looking at him in horror. He saw them glance to an unconscious Zeb. The looks of horror in their eyes were mixed with worry.

He could feel his own lips moving.

"Hello, there. Glad you could join the party." He smirked.

"Leave him alone," Kanan said with his voice strong and firm.

"Why, Kanan, right?" He scoffed. "I know what Ezra really thinks of you." He moved forward to a frozen Kanan.

Ezra could feel someone poking around in his mind, searching for the dark. But Ezra was confused. What were they searching for?

But whatever it was, they found it.

Ezra saw Kanan, yelling and shouting at him. He recognized it to be when he had fallen of the Ghost, and Kanan had used the force to save him. They were both frustrated at each other, but that was pretty typical. Ezra was confused why his dark-self would use this memory to-

"Why, Ezra here thinks you don't want him." No. "He thinks that you'll get so upset that you'll kill him. And hey, I wouldn't blame you. It can be frustrating, taking on an apprentice who has killed before." No. Ezra saw the confusion, the hurt in Kanan's eyes.

But it was not true. At least, not all of it.

"Oh, didn't you know?" He felt himself smile.

"What are you?" Hera asked. Her voice was stone cold.

"Why, can't you tell? I'm Ezra." He gestured to himself. "Just little Ezzy."

The crew remained silent, his dark-self getting the center stage. But all the things he had said, they weren't true. Didn't they know that? They had to, they were-

"Shut up!" He shouted, and Ezra had no doubt that it was directed at him. He saw Kanan and Hera exchange a worried glance. He took in a deep breath.

"Ezra, you can fight him." Kanan looked right at his eyes, but his view was quickly taken away. "I know you're in there."

"Shut up! He's gone by now!" His dark-self was slipping, allowing Ezra to slowly seep in. It was small, but it was there. But before he could act, Ezra was thrown back. He heard himself laugh, helpless once more.

"He won't come. There's so much…fear to keep him busy." He took a step forward, but he was not in control. "There are even some places where I would not dare to go. I'm surprised he is resisting, even now. He hates you all." He spit the words at his crew.

Kanan was floating above the ground, and he was thrown into a glass cabinet. He heard the glass shattering, and the thump of a body hitting the ground. His gaze turned back to Hera, who stood there in shock.

"Ezra, you have to fight it!" But Ezra did not know how. And his dark-self knew.

"It's too bad that he doesn't know how to." And with a flick of his wrist, Hera was thrown against the wall. Yet even as her breath ran out, she continued speaking.

"Ezra, fight it. You're stronger than him. You have to fight."

The door slid open, and in shock, his dark-self dropped Hera. She gasped for breath as Kanan, and finally Zeb were waking up. But in the doorway, Sabine stood with a vile filled with bright blue liquid. And suddenly, Ezra felt afraid. But he was not afraid, no, it was his dark-self who was afraid.

"How did you- Where did you-" he stuttered.

"Yeah, I thought so," Sabine said, and she splashed the vile onto him. Instantly, relief swept through him. But his thoughts were drained by his own scream.

And with a gasp, he was in control. Ezra felt his hands on the cool tile floor, and his lungs ached from the screams. His head throbbed, his throat burned. But he could feel. He turned his head up, and saw Hera and Sabine looking back at him. And if he turned his head to the right, Kanan was looking at him too.

He controlled his breathing, he controlled his thoughts.

"Ezra?" Kanan asked, and Ezra turned towards him, and nodded.

He was free! Finally, free from the prison inside his own mind, the-

I will be back.

No, no. Ezra started breathing faster. He could feel his dark-self, his presence was indisputable. He was not free. He was still here. There was no way to get rid of his darkness.

"Are you alright?" He looked at Hera, and then back at the floor. He shook his head. Kanan had come closer to him, but before he could speak, Ezra turned to him.

There was only one way to get rid of his inner demon.

"Kill me."

The world went black.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~