Another chapter complete. I hope this chapter came out okay. Once again, I am not that perfect at fighting scenes. And I hope the latter portion of the chapter doesn't sound too cheesy (writer's concerns here).
Kanan was instantly taken off guard by his padawan's remark. Never in Kanan's life had he wanted to hear Ezra utter those words in regards to the Zabrak. It broke his heart to hear it, not that Kanan allowed himself to show it, and he couldn't dwell on it long, because Ezra lunged at him.
Igniting his own lightsaber, Kanan deflected Ezra's first strike. That didn't stop Ezra from throwing another angered attempt at his former master. Kanan continued to block Ezra's blows, taking note of the change in Ezra's fighting style and form. Gone was the form he held onto when training with Kanan and gone was the style Ezra fought with. Ezra traded it in, in exchange for a more Dathomirian styled form.
Kanan was able to get the two at a standstill, both of their lightsabers clashed, not moving an inch. Kanan took the opportunity to try and talk some sense into Ezra.
"Ezra, it's me!" Kanan called out. "Snap out of it."
"I know it's you Kanan and there's nothing to snap out of. Who do you think you are? You cannot tell me what to do. You are no longer my master."
"What are you talking about? Of course I am."
"Not anymore."
Ezra pushed Kanan away. Ezra was growling with anger.
"You've abandoned me. Allowed me to be tormented. You let me rot, and have only come here to end me."
Each sentence that Ezra uttered jabbed Kanan in the heart, leaving the Jedi stuned. He could not believe that Ezra was saying those words.
"If you really wanted to save me, you would have rescued, me after the first two weeks of me being here, when I communicated with you. Not when I was desperate, leaving me open to Maul's influence."
Ezra didn't give Kanan a chance to reply, attacking him once more. Kanan didn't want to fight back, but he forced himself to, due to Ezra's current state. As the two battled, the each received cuts from the other's blade. Kanan couldn't help but feel terrible for each time his lightsaber struck Ezra, but his guilt turned to rage. Rage that was firmly directed at Maul, who Kanan at one point could sense was smiling in the background.
Eventually, Kanan decided to try a second attempt at persuading the teen. He found himself tackling Ezra, pinning him down.
"Do you honestly believe that we didn't want to come for you sooner?" Kanan asked. "We did, but we wanted to trust in the decision that you made. We believed you knew what was best given the situation that you were currently in. We wanted to save you when you told me you were on Mustafar, but you were right, rushing over wouldn't have been wise."
Kanan hoped that Ezra wanted to hear his words. Hoping that hearing that they trusted him would be significant, even though Kanan knew they should have stepped in sooner. At first it almost looked like his words fazed Ezra. Unfortunately, that would not be the case, as Ezra kneed Kanan in the stomach out of the blue, before knocking Kanan off of him.
Ezra and Kanan both got up and round three of their fighting began. It didn't take longe before Kanan soon found that Ezra was running out of steam. Kanan took advantage of his decreasing stamina to give getting through to Ezra one last time. When Ezra got close enough to him, Kanan quickly deactivated his lightsaber and threw his arm around the teenager. Ezra froze in shock, before attempting to squirm out of Kanan's grip.
"Ezra! I'm sorry!" Kanan shouted, startling the teen. "I'm sorry, okay? I wanted to save you. When you told me you were on Mustafar, I wanted to come for you, but I was afraid. When I heard that you could be spirited away to who knows where, I was afraid to lose you. So I had to listen to your request, even though it would put you at risk. But when you told me that you killed someone, all of that fear turned into guilt. Guilt that I let this happen. Guilt that I didn't come for you sooner. Guilt that I could not protect you. I felt like I had condemned you. Abandoned you and placed you in the manipulative hands of this monster. And for that, I am sorry."
Ezra was silent, not moving in the slightest. Time stood still until Kanan felt Ezra start to tremble. The lightsaber in Ezra's hand deactivated and Kanan knew that his words had finally gotten through to him.
Kanan loosened his grip, allowing Ezra to get some space. Kanan didn't need his sight to know that Ezra was on the verge of tears.
"I'm sorry." Ezra whispered.
"It's okay." Kanan comforted. "It's okay Ezra. It's not your fault."
Kanan stood there, allowing Ezra to calm himself down. Once Ezra did, Kanan fully released him from his embrace. Kanan grabbed Ezra's arm, and started to guide Ezra towards the Phantom.
"Let's go home." Kanan guided.
A once calm Ezra was suddenly horrified at the notion, quickly pulling his arm out of Kanan's grasp. Ezra slowly started to back up, while Kanan's attention returned to the boy, concern and confusion taking over.
"Ezra?" Kanan questioned. "What's wrong?"
"I can't go back with you Kanan." Ezra declared, horrified. "I can't go back. I'll only be trouble. I have to stay here."
Didn't expect that for the end, did you? That's how I wanted it to end. Just wait to see what I have planned for the next chapter.