The Day of Disaster/Day of Hope: Part 2
Sabine had caught up with Triston and Rau, finding out that they were checking the overflowed Rivers that ran from the Lake and so far, they had not found a trace of Ezra. Picking a River, Sabine soared down it searching, the banks and the catches. After several hours she landed to rest and recharge her Jetpack. Sitting on the bank, she removed Ezra's lightsaber from her belt. She knew that if he had not given it to her when she fought Gar Saxon, he might be alive and well. He could have used it to block the Sniper Shot with it and would not have had to do what he did. After removing her helmet, she stared at the rushing water. She had wasted time with him, always believing that somehow with his reckless behavior, he would always be there. That she could wait and eventually have the time to be with him. Hera had told her that; men were stupid, that she needed to be more succinct, not so subtle. But she did not know how to approach him and let him know how important he was to her. Maybe if she did then he would not have been so reckless, or so willing to do things that always made her worry. Checking the charge, she frowned then stood. Another twenty minutes before her Jetpack could be used again. So, she started to walk down the river. Believing she could not waste any more time, soon the others would quit and no other searches would be made.
Then Sabine saw the fishing nets, someone was here. Maybe they have seen his body. She thought as she ignited her Jetpack to fly across the river where the nets were anchored.
Kanan arrived at the base and immediately landed the small ship. He was not looking forward to informing the others that Ezra was gone. As he stepped down the ramp, he sensed Hera and Zeb approaching. Not watching as Chopper ignited his rocket and disengaged from the Phantom.
"Where is the kid?" Zeb asked as he peered into the ship. "Has he decided to stay on Mandalore with Sabine for a while?"
"He is gone." Kanan stated then looked down to the ground. Feeling tears sting his eyes.
"What do mean he is gone?" Hera asked in despair. "Where is he?"
"He was shot and fell into the water, he is dead." Kanan replied as he enveloped Hera into his arms and held her tightly as she started to cry.
"No, it cannot be." Zeb blurted out. "How? I mean he was good at blocking blaster shots with his lightsaber. There is no way one could get him."
"He threw his Lightsaber to Sabine, when Gar Saxon was able to get the Darksaber from her. She did not have time to return it to him. He took the shot that was meant for Sabine or her mother, I am not sure." Kanan informed them as he continued to hold Hera as she wept.
Sabine walked over to the old woman that was tending the nets, she knew who it was. Milonis Ost has been fishing and living there for the last twenty years. Approaching Milonis did not even look over at Sabine. "Milonis Ost."
"It is not time for my tribute for being here yet." Milonis stated as she pulled the net from the river, continuing to pay little or no attention to Sabine.
"That is not why I am here, I am searching for a body that may have made its way here." Sabine replied as she removed her helmet.
"If he is in this river then you may never find him." Milonis stated then paused, she just made a stupid mistake, Sabine did not state that it was a man. She silently hoped that the young woman would not catch it.
"How did you know it was a man?" Sabine asked staring at the old woman with slight hope and dread. "Please I just want to find him. I need to find his body."
"How important is this young man's body to you?" Milonis decided that she had already blundered so there was no point in denying that she had seen Ezra. Standing from her bent position she dropped the net and turned to look at the young woman. Seeing the hurt and despair in Sabine's eyes.
"He is vastly important to me. I need to bury him with full honors. Then I can finish grieving." Sabine replied feeling tears start to sting her eyes.
"Well Sabine Wren that might be a problem, yes I know who you are." Milonis smiled seeing the young Sabine come close to breaking down right in front of her. "Since Ezra is not dead, burying him might not be appropriate."
"He is alive? Ezra Bridger is alive!" Sabine burst out seeing Milonis nod, not being able to control herself, Sabine grabbed the old woman and hugged her. "Where is he? I have to see him." Following Milonis, Sabine could barely contain herself. Entering the cave, she saw Ezra laying on a pad, sleeping soundly. She ran by Milonis and dropped to his side, grabbing his uninjured hand she pulled it to her face and held it with both hands against it. Crying huge tears. "Ezra, thank the Gods." She said barely audible.
Hearing his name Ezra awoke, his eyes could not focus completely but he knew who was holding his hand. "Sabine. Am I delirious again?"
"Oh, Ezra." Sabine said as she dropped his hand and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Not caring how he was alive, all she cared about was that he was here and not dead. Crying uncontrollably, she put her head against his shoulder and wept happily.
Ezra put his good arm around her and held her, he smiled weakly as she cried. Softly saying comforting words to her as she replied with sniffles and small choking sounds. When she finally was under some control she leaned back and gazed down at him. Seeing him smile back at her, she moved down and put her lips on his. She was not experienced in kissing a man and was sure he was not with a woman, but she did not care and she could tell he did not either. Slipping her tongue into his mouth automatically she twirled it around his tongue. Breathing hard from their noses as they kissed passionately. Parting slightly after a few moments she put her forehead against his and smiled in wonder at him. "I thought I lost you." She muttered as she reached up to touch his face again.
"Wow, that was worth getting shot." He exclaimed as he gazed into her eyes. She sat back and retook his hand.
"Sabine, I have a question. I know this sounds strange, but I am being completely honest." Ezra said as she nodded for him to continue. "I am having problems remembering things, not you. I remember a lot about you and minor things about myself. But only figments and fragments of other details. Like I have no idea where we are?" He looked over at his wounded shoulder and frowned. "And I have no idea how I got shot or why someone would shoot me?"
Sabine stared at him and suddenly felt worried. "Do you remember Kanan?" He shook his head, no. "How about Hera?" Again no. "Zeb or Rex?" Blinking she could not understand. Then she went through other names, then places. He did not even remember much about Lothal. "Right now, you are on Mandalore, near my family home of Knownest. You were shot because a sniper tried to shoot me and you pushed me out of the way. Later we can discuss what you do remember and what you don't." Looking seriously at him she had to know. "What do you remember about me?"
"Let's see, when you are upset or deep in thought you wrinkle your nose and bite your bottom lip. Your art is outstanding with elaborate mixtures of colors and shapes. Whenever you change your hair color, no matter what color you look beautiful. We met almost three years ago, at first I did not impress you that much. But I had a serious crush on you all of that time and later the crush turned into real affection and caring about you." Ezra said as he gazed at her, seeing her smile and squeeze his hand affectionately. 'Oh, and I can for some reason feel you here." Tapping his heart with his slung hand. "I think that is why I remember a lot about you and not much of anything else."
Sabine melted inside, as she had an overwhelming desire to kiss him, so she quickly did then as they parted. "I need to get you to Knownest. Have a Doctor check you out make sure that you are alright and get you healed." Tapping her comm unit she called Triston to have him bring a transport. Turning towards Milonis. "You should come too, that way I can thank you properly."
"I would be honored." Milonis replied, still hoping that Ursa Wren would not banish her for helping the young man.
An hour later, Triston flew the small transport back to Knownest. Glancing over at Rau they both were slightly worried. Ezra Bridger could not remember either of them and that led to concern. "Do you think he might have some type of brain damage?" Triston whispered to Rau, looking back at the Ezra, Sabine and Milonis Ost.
"Could be, of course I have never heard of someone being under water for almost half a day and still being alive." Rau whispered back. "Of course, it might be a Jedi thing. So, anything is possible. I have personally seen Jedi do things that would be classified as miraculous." Returning to piloting the transport they headed for Knownest at top speed.
Meanwhile Ezra tried to think to remember about what Sabine had asked him about, people that he was supposed to know, places that he had been and things he had done. He felt empty, like most of his life was a blank slate. The only he could remember with clarity was Sabine. Other details about her came to him without even thinking hard. It was nice but it also frustrated him.
Watching him closely, Sabine knew he was trying to remember about what she had asked him. She was happy beyond words that he was alive, but she was also worried that he may never remember the others or about his own past. That he was a Jedi, she reached down to touch his lightsaber and wondered if she should give it to him. It could help for him to remember. When the transport landed, the four carried Ezra out on a stretcher and headed inside the large Fortress. One level down they entered a clean white room that assaulted Sabine's artistic flare. A much older man stood behind a medical scanner and had them set the Stretcher on the table. Taking out an instrument he began to scan Ezra.
"Hmm, the wound on his back is healing nicely. Some Bacta Bandages should accelerate the healing. Uh oh." The old Doctor said as he looked at Sabine and the others.
"What?" Sabine demanded stepping closer. Hoping that whatever it was it was not serious. But she knew something had happened to Ezra to erase or fragment his memories.
"It seems that there are indications that he has some brain immoralities. My guess loss of oxygen to the brain has caused some impairment to his left cerebral cortex that holds memories. It will not affect him physically but mentally he will experience gaps." The Doctor replied and Sabine looked down at Ezra as he exhaled. They both suspected that something was wrong.
"What can be done to restore his memories?" Triston asked the Doctor and saw the old man just shake his head.
"Nothing Medically can be done, some of the memories might return in time. Others are lost forever." The Doctor replied then went to get some antiseptic ointment cleaning solution and Bacta Bandages.
"Well at least I remember you, that is what is important to me." Ezra said as Sabine took his hand and smiled down at him.
"Yes, to me as well. Now rest. Let the Doctor fix you up." Giving his hand a gently squeeze she leaned down and kissed him lightly. "I will be right back, I need to discuss something with my mother." Giving the other three a look they followed her out.
"What are you going to do? I mean should you let him know he is a Jedi." Rau asked as he looked down at the lightsaber that hung on her belt.
"Later, when he is better I might. Right now, I do not want to push him unless he is ready." Sabine stated. "Come with me Milonis." Walking down the hall she went to inform her parents that Ezra was alive and suggest that they reward Milonis Ost in some manner.
"How do you suppose that he survived that long under water without oxygen?" Triston asked as he glanced into the medical room.
"The loss of oxygen is the clue, I have heard a Jedi can put themselves into a hibernation trance. He must have held his breath then entered that state. While in that the Force must have healed him so it did not harm him to badly. When he finally resurfaced and was able to breathe again the damage had already been done and could not be restored or healed." Rau informed him as he thought it over, he was right. That had to be the explanation of why and how Ezra was alive and not a swollen corpse. It was a miracle that he was trapped in the net and pulled to shore, another hour and the damage to his mind and brain would be too extensive. Basically, he would be brain damaged or dead.
Sabine strode into the main hall and informed her parents the good news, then she told them the bad. Ezra had forgotten a lot about his life, but thankfully not about her.
"What can be done?' Alrich her father asked as he gave her a concerned look. "As your intended we will do all that we can to help him."
"That is if you still want to have him as your intended now that he is alive. We had listed him as your intended so that we could honor him and place him within our family burial grounds." Ursa said as she gave a subtle smile. "We of course will still help him if he is not your intended. We still owe him a debt."
"Of course, I want him as my intended. Him and no other." Sabine replied, deciding not to tell him that they were basically engaged. Not until he had some of his memories back. "He told me that he has fragments of memories, later when he is healed from the blaster wound. I will help him explore them and maybe piece back together his memories."
"Good. Now Milonis Ost please step forward. We would like to thank you for pulling Ezra from the river and providing him medical aid. So, from now on you may live on our lands without paying us any tribute except as being a friend to our family. You will always be welcome to visit or stay." Ursa said as she saw the old woman almost weep herself. To be officially welcomed was more than she could hope for.
"Thank you, Countess. I am honored." Milonis replied bowing and smiling broadly.
"Please stay one more day so that you may dine with us tonight. Then you can come and go whenever you like." Alrich added. "Until then, perhaps you would like to go to one of the guest rooms to refresh and clean yourself."
"Yes, that would be wonderful." Milonis said as a servant led her from the room to go to a guest room. After she left Ursa looked down at Sabine.
"Are you going to contact his and your friends and tell them that Ezra is alive." Ursa asked as she saw Sabine start to ponder and think about it.
"No, not yet. Not until he is ready and I am ready. I do not want them trying to force him to remember things that he might not be prepared for." Sabine replied. Knowing that there were details that he might not want to remember, like when he faced Darth Vadar, or the Inquisitors or even the time with Maul. Some of those times were not something that she herself wanted to remember.
Kanan sat on the edge of the Landing Field and sensed the Arachnids outside the sensor line. He had not moved in hours as he thought about what had happened, as Hera approached he did not move or respond to her presence.
"Kanan, you have been here for hours. You need to eat and sleep." Hera said listlessly as she sat next to him.
"It is my fault. I should have done something." Kanan said as he continued to stare ahead.
"No, it was a random unforeseeable incident something that could have happened no matter what you did or did not do." Hera told him as she put her arm around him. "You said he pushed Sabine out of the line of fire and protected her mother. It was like him to put others first above himself, especially Sabine. We both know or knew that he liked her."
"He had come a long way from what he was when we met him." Kanan stated, smiling slightly.
"Yes, he changed from being an opportunist self-centered Loth-Rat that only cared about himself into a person that could be admired." Hera said as she also smiled.
"So, we are going to miss him." Kanan closed his eyes and knew that they had changed him into the person that would have done the same for anyone. A true Jedi. Standing he held out his hand to Hera and helped her stand. "Let's go get something to eat."