CHAPTER TWO
"ASHOKA!", Ezra shouted as he shot up from his bed. He had been having a nightmare about Malachor, and Ahsoka and Vader fighting. The black-armored Sith Lord had disarmed the red togruta then stabbed her in the chest. Even though Ezra and Kanan hadn't actually seen Ahsoka killed, Ezra knew she was no match for Darth Vader. She couldn't even defeat Maul, with Kanan's help. They both might have been killed had Ezra not instinctively force-pushed him off the edge of the temple. The evil Zabrak had twisted their sabers out of their hands and was force choking them when the blind boy intervened. If Vader didn't kill her, the explosion definitely would have.
"Why Ahsoka, why didn't you just leave with us? Couldn't you see that that monster wasn't the man you once knew?!", Ezra asked his now presumed dead friend. Suddenly the door opened, and an all too familiar voice asked, "Ezra are you okay?"
"Sabine, is that you?"
"Yes, it is. You were having a nightmare about what happened Malachor. Weren't you, Ezra.?"
"I guess Kanan told you guys all that happened huh?", Ezra asked, to which Sabine nodded in the affirmative. She was struggling not to hug him tightly and shed tears. Not only was he disabled, but his voice didn't sound cocky or confident as usual. He sounded despairing and devastated. The annoying, flirty, street urchin was preferable to this shell of a young man.
"Ezra, I've got some good news for you," Sabine said, trying to cheer him up.
"What's that?"
"Commander Sato is bringing someone to help you with your 'condition'. His name is Chirrut Imwe I believe. He's been blind since birth, but in spite of that, is an extraordinary fighter. Believe it or not he's taken out entire squads of stormtroopers armed only with a stick", Sabine explained to her crippled comrade.
"Is he a Jedi?" Ezra asked incredulously. That would certainly explain such tremendous feats.
"No," Sabine said, shaking her head.
"He's apart of some group called the Order of the Whills. They reside on the Planet Jedha, named after the Jedi as you can probably guess. Anyway they believe the force is with them, can guide them even though they can't use it, and ultimately decides their fate. To them, it's a mistake to use the force as a weapon. They let the Force use them as a weapon, or so they say."
'Interesting group. I wonder why Kanan never told me about them?' Ezra thought to himself. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the Mandalorian female touching his cheek.
"I swear on my Mandalorian blood Ezra, I'll do everything in my power to help you adapt to your 'situtation', and to make him pay for putting you in it", she promised him in an uncompromising tone. Her blood had run cold the moment Kanan mentioned Maul's name. Her mother being apart of Death watch, she knew all about the now former Sith Lord. He was an absolute monster, making Death Watch and House Viszla look tame by comparison. After hearing what he had done to the youngest male member of her family, and what he had tried to do to the only other human Ghost member, she wanted to spill his blood. Immediately, as a matter of fact. But the rational side of her knew that was rash and unwise.
"And before you say 'Revenge is not the Jedi way' let me remind you that I'm no Jedi. I'm not a force user at all."
"That's true", Ezra agreed. "So that means you won't have to worry about turning to the darkside. He's all yours Sabine, though if I know Hera she'll want to help you fry that horned devil."
"Damn straight!", Sabine replied in the affirmative. " You should have heard her. She said "I'll blast that red-skinned, black-tattooed, horned-headed sleemo into oblivion! No one hurts my Ezra!"
'Her Ezra?' the Lothal orphan thought to himself. He had no idea the green twi'lek beauty felt that way towards him. She had spoken as if he was her own son.
"I was suprised too," Sabine spoke up, interrupting the Bridger boy's train of thought. "After getting embarrassed, Hera admitted that you were like the son she never had. She acts maternally to all of her crew, but she's the most protective and caring to you since your the youngest. Seeing you crippled like this, not being able to prevent it, to guard you from him, is just killing her inside. She keeps kicking herself for not going with you and Kanan."
"It isn't Hera's fault, she can't blame herself for what -"
"And neither can you, Ezra!", Sabine said firmly to her sightless comrade. "Maul betrayed you. He exploited your empathy by telling you of his past. He got you to trust him by helping you get the holocron, and open those doors, and jump that gap. Then he stabbed you in the back. Looking for the good in people isn't a bad thing."
"If you say so Sabine," Ezra said in a defeated tone, which increased Sabine's desire to embrace him.
"You didn't make Ahsoka stay and fight Vader. That was her decision. She knew how dangerous Vader was, but she stayed anyway."
The teenaged Mandalorian gripped the Lothal orphans hands gently but firmly, and said, "Nothing that happened was your fault, do you hear me Ezra Bridger?!
"I hear you loud and clear Sabine Wren, though I really wish I could see you."
Sabine's heartbreak increased with these words. Her poor companion would never be able to see her dazzling face , her beautiful art, or her noble actions , or praise them. His flirting, while annoying, made her feel good. She knew he wasn't just trying to get with her, but was expressing genuine admiration for what she said, did, and how she looked. The female warrior gently reached up to his face and removed both his bandage clamps and bandages. As did Hera, she gasped audibly when she saw his pale blue eyes and red slashed skin. Unable to contain herself any longer, Sabine wrapped her arms around Ezra and wept silently. She wasn't sure if she was trying to comfort herself or him.
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"Hera, I have a confession to make", Kanan said to his female Twi'lek companion. They were in the cockpit, doing a ship diagnostic check on the Ghost. Working was the only thing stopping them both from breaking down.
"And what might that be Kanan?", Hera asked her right-hand man and lover.
"I am devastated about what happened to Ezra. But I can't help feeling relieved that it isn't me blinded. I couldn't imagine not being able to see your face ever again."
Hera turned in her seat to face Kanan, smiled and touched his chest.
"I'm happy you weren't blinded either Kanan. I'd be destroyed inside if you were no longer able to see the woman and ship you loved, and had been through so much together with."
She stopped smiling, looked down, and sighed miserably, stating "I just wish that my baby didn't lose his sight either."
Kanan grabbed Hera's hands and pulled her up from her seat.
"You know, I dont think that I'll ever get used to you calling him yours. Not that I'm suprised; he is young, and you are a woman with maternal instincts. As for me, Ezra is a family member, and I do feel paternalistic toward him at times, but I never thought of him as my child. To be honest, I was afraid to."
"Because you'd have to protect him, be responsible for him, and have to worry about him all the time?", Hera inquired.
"That, and the fact that I'd be tearing myself apart with guilt if something happened to him, like you are now."
" Being a parent does a lot of baggage, and I know not everyone can handle it", Hera acknowledged.
"But I'm willing to bear the burden, especially after this incident."
"I honestly wish we had found him sooner", Kanan stated sadly.
"He was so young when he lost his parents, and had to live on those treacherous streets. Who knows what terrible things he went through. I'm suprised that he didn't become crazy or bloodthirsty"
"That just goes to show what a strong will Ezra has. I could see that the minute he came onboard," Hera remarked, smiling proudly. Then, getting serious again, she said, "But his willpower alone won't help him with this newest hardship. All of us will have to be there for him." As if sensing Kanan's yet-to-be-spoken warning she quickly added, "I'm not going to baby him, or become an overprotective mother hen Kanan. I know that doing so will hurt him in the long run."
"Mother Hen? more like Mother Bear", Kanan thought out loud.
"Shut up!" Hera said in mock anger, slapping her lovers chest.
Briefly smiling, Kanan frowned again.
"I can still remember it as clear as if it were seconds ago. Maul's lightsaber coming toward my eyes. Ezra floating down out of nowhere. His cry of agony as the blade connected. It's scary to know how close I was to losing my vision, and heart wrenching to hear the pain in his voice."
Hera got out of her seat and patted his shoulder and said, " Ezra isn't the only one scarred is he Kanan?"
Before Kanan could answer, Sabine's voice sounded on Hera's com-link.
"Ezra is hungry Hera, could you bring him something?"
"I'll do more than that Sabine," Hera responded.
"I'll make him something, he deserves more than rations after what he's been through."
Sabine agreed and ended the call, while Hera turned to Kanan and said, "I'll be back love." She kissed him on the cheek and departed. Kanan watched her go with a smile on his face and touched the spot where she kissed. Then he got a worried look on his face, reached into his pocket, and took out the sith holocron. He had to keep this away from his Padawan. With his condition, the boy was more susceptible than ever to the darkside.