Holy crud! I started a war!

To those of you who have sided with the Angry Mob™: It's not too late! Join the Dark Side! The benefits include cookies because we all know darksiders make the best cookies.

This is the last installment of the To Atone arc. Enjoy!

Edit: I bumped up Ezra's age from fifteen to sixteen because he is apparently seventeen in the new season. *mind explodes*

Summary: As Ezra recovers, Kanan hears something he never thought he'd ever hear again.

Kanan groaned as consciousness slowly returned to him. He felt better than he did when he blacked out, but that raised a question. How long was he out?

"Kanan?"

Kanan saw the outline of Hera next to him and smiled, knowing his Force sight was back. "Hey."

Hera chuckled. "You alright dear?"

"Better than I was before."

"That's good to hear. You scared me to death when you passed out. Luckily the medical droid told me it was only exhaustion."

"Well, I did break a Force bond..."

"You told me you broke Maul's bond. Does that mean-"

Kanan nodded. "Maul's not getting back into his head." Upon remembering the kid, he quickly sat up. "Is Ezra-"

"He's alive and stable," Hera reassured.

"How bad was it? I know he went into cardiac arrest but I don't know anything more than that."

Hera sighed. "It was bad. He was lucky he didn't die before we left the base let alone before we got back to Atollon. When I told the medical team that his heart stopped, they weren't surprised at all. Maul pretty much crushed his windpipe. They had to completely replace it. His wrists were also badly bruised and he got a concussion. They aren't counting on him on him waking up for at least a week."

"A week? Wait, how long was I asleep?"

"About a day."

Kanan nodded. "So six more days... Can I see him?"

Hera stood and helped Kanan out of bed. He quickly noticed that his utility belt, boots, and armor were gone. Kanan put his boots on and turned to Hera. "Where am I anyway?"

"After the medical droid cleared you, I had you brought to your room on the Ghost."

Kanan nodded as they walked to the Liberator. "I guess that's reasonable. How long until Ezra is back on his feet?"

"His throat and neck were pretty messed up by the injury," Hera explained. "He also has some pretty nasty bruising. His vocal chords are already weak from disuse, and this hasn't helped at all. His wrists are expected to heal in about three days and his concussion already cleared up. His throat should be back to normal in a few days thanks to the bacta. The reason why they aren't expecting him up for a week is because his body is too damaged from lack of air and needs to sort itself out."

"Hera," Kanan forced his mind off of Ezra for a moment and onto another problem. "What does Vartoc think of all this?"

"He's pissed about the supplies. He's also not happy about how we put Ezra in surgery without his approval. Both Commander Sato and I are in pretty hot water because of that. I never thought we needed approval in order to save a critically injured sixteen year-old's life."

Kanan shook his head in disbelief. "Do you think Vartoc would have allowed it if he had known?"

"He questioned Commander Sato as to why Ezra hadn't been tried and executed because of what happened on Malachor. Who knows? Ezra is valuable to this rebellion. If Vartoc doesn't see that soon..." Hera's voice trailed off.

The trek ended just outside the door to where Ezra was. Kanan took a deep breath and entered.

He couldn't see Ezra's face, but he saw Ezra's stagnant signature and knew he was unconscious.

With a sad sigh, Kanan sat next to his charge and ran his hand through his hair. "His hair's gotten longer..." Kanan mused. "I just realized."

"It has," Hera replied.

"I can't see what he actually looks like Hera. What does he look like now? I mean, not now but before the mission?"

"He's gotten taller," Hera began. "He's almost as tall as Sabine, but he's lost weight. His eyes are still blue. They're duller than they used to be, but still blue."

"I just...don't want to forget what he looks like. What all of you look like..."

"You won't Kanan," Hera reassured. "We'll get you prosthetics as soon as we can and you'll see him again. You'll see everyone again."

Kanan nodded. "I hope so."

Hera watched the two of them sadly. Ezra looked frailer than ever. His skin was a chalky white, making the bags under his eyes more prominent. He had a brace on his neck and his wrists were bandaged tightly. He had a bruise on his temple as well.

Why?

Why did this happen?

Hera wanted to scream. Hasn't her crew suffered enough? Hasn't Ezra suffered enough?

Hers sighed and left the room, turning just in time to see Kanan lay a hand on Ezra's forehead.

Ezra was awake two days early.

Kanan woke to the Force flaring and the heart monitor beeping rapidly. Kanan followed his outline to his hands, hand that were grabbing at his neck. The brace...

"Ezra!" Kanan grabbed Ezra's hands gently. "Ezra, it's okay."

Ezra seemed to relax at the sound of Kanan's voice.

"Kanan? Is everything alright?"

Kanan turned towards the sound of a nurse's voice. "He's fine. Tell them he's awake."

The nurse left and Kanan turned back towards the bed. "You scared us to death, you know that?"

Kanan laid a hand on the side of Ezra's face, where he felt something wet. Ezra was crying.

"Ezra?"

Kanan wasn't expecting a reply, but he heard something he hadn't heard in months. It was raspy. It was weak from both near strangulation and months of disuse.

"Why?"

Kanan let out a small gasp. Did Ezra...just speak?

After recovering from the shock, he replied. "Why what?"

"Why...d-didn't...you...just...let...me...go?"

"Ezra? What do you mean?"

"Why didn't...y-you just...let me...die?"

Kanan felt a pang in his heart. He was right. Ezra had given up back there. If Kanan hadn't intervened, he would have died, bond or not...

"Ezra, why would we let you die?"

"Because..." Ezra coughed. "Because...I messed up... I trusted the...wrong person... I killed Ahsoka... I...ruined your life..."

"You didn't ruin anything," Kanan reassured. "And Ahsoka's death wasn't your fault. Vader would have shown up, Maul or not. And Maul played you. None of this was your fault."

"That's what...everyone...says...but the Force...I think...said otherwise... That's...That's why I...nearly died...right?"

"No," Kanan sighed. "Again, that was Maul. Maul made a bond with you. You didn't know this, because I didn't want you to panic. I broke it while you were asleep."

Ezra was silent for a moment, then spoke. "I'm...never...going to forgive myself... Nothing...you say...can change that... But I-I...can try...to...live...and...make it right..."

"Ezra, you have nothing to atone for, and I'm not sure I like your definition of atoning. We're going to get through this kid. Like it or not, you're going to live a long life."

"That's...what we do..." Ezra mumbled. "R-right? We...look...after each other..."

Kanan gently pulled Ezra into a hug, smiling. "Now and forever."

So sorry Midnight Luna! I know you liked Mute!Ezra, but it had to be done. I have tons of requests that I am going to knock out now that Ezra is speaking again so look out for that! Now, if you'll excuse me, I must bribe the Angry Mob™.

One other thing: I have started a forum! It is called the Dark Side and we can discuss predictions, headcanons, and ideas for fanfictions. If you can't find it, don't hesitate to PM me and I can get you the link. Please, please, please check it out.

To all you Fire Emblem fans out there, (this is not a guarantee, just an idea) would you be interested in a Fire Emblem Star Wars Rebels crossover?

See you next week!