Heyo everyone! Sorry for such a long wait. I've been super busy. But I do have the next chapter half done, so hopefully it won't be too far behind. Maybe in the next Super Bomb. :D I hope you enjoy the chapter guys!

Kanan's POV

My whole world seemed to shatter in one swift motion, my heart dropping into my stomach.

"H-He…. He w-what?" I stuttered in shock.

Sabine wiped her eyes, explaining "The p-poison, it's from a parasitic insect that will slowly shut down all his internal organs. H-He… people never last more than 48 hours after being attacked…"

I paced forward, grasping onto the shoulders of the startled girl and barking "There has to be an antidote!"

Sabine stared at me with wide eyes, before murmuring "T-There is none, Kanan. I searched everything but… nothing is able to counteract the poison. And the only thing that can is…" she trailed off into silence, her expression blank.

"What? What can counteract the poison?!" I demanded.

Sabine adverted her amber gaze nervously, her mouth drawing into a thin line. "I… I didn't want to get your hopes up…" she squeaked, her voice unusually high pitched.

My eyes widened slightly, and I pleaded "Sabine, if you know something that could save Ezra, you have to tell me."

Her ghostly orbs flickered back in my direction. It wasn't unusual for the teen to conceal her own emotions, but right here right now, I could see two feelings that were greatly contradicting each other. Care, and fear. With great hesitance, she whispered "There is… one thing, that can stop the poison, but-"

"Oh thank the force! What is it?" I blurted, a heavy tone of relief in my voice.

Sabine replied reluctantly "Venom from a Kreptor creature attracts to the poison from the insects and destroys it, but-"

"Perfect! We need to get that immediately then," I exclaimed triumphantly while releasing my grip on the mandalorian's shoulders.

But suddenly, Sabine's features hardened, and she twisted me around and snapped "Listen to me! The venom won't save Ezra!"

"Of course it will," I replied with a new measure of peace. "You said it would stop the pois-"

"But it destroys the cells of force sensitives too!"

The room went silent, and completely still. Sabine shut her mouth tightly, but the truth had already slipped out. All my previous relief had seeped from my soul, replaced only by the deep concern and fear that shrouded me before. "W-What do you mean it destroys the cells of force sensitives," I asked with a faint, almost non-existent voice.

Sabine sighed, running a hand through her dyed locks as she skittishly replied "I-I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd do this… I was just trying to stop both of you from dying…"

"Sabine," I spoke with a warning tone. "What are you saying?"

"Don't you get it?!" she yelled, tears welling in her fierce, narrowed eyes. "If we gave that venom to Ezra there's the possibility it would destroy him from the inside out! We…" The fire drained from her expression, and she rasped quietly "W-We can't save him…"

I could feel my world fading again. The spark, the sudden hope that Ezra would be okay was stamped out. My gaze shifted from Sabine, to Hera, and finally to Ezra, who lay unconscious on the medical bed. My padawan, my, my closest thing to a son I'd probably ever have was quite literally on his deathbed. He was going to die. And when he did, he'd never come back.

The thought was like sending daggers through my heart, and it was far too much for my brain to absorb. So, instead of accepting it, like always, I chose to fight it.

I turned to Sabine slowly, prying "You said there was a possibility of him dying. Does that mean you're not certain he will if we give him the antidote?"

"Well," Sabine started drearily. "It's never been tested or actually recorded, but every time a force sensitive was bitten by a Kreptor they died within an hour. Why?"

I twisted on my heel and strode for the door, muttering "That's all I needed to know."

"What are you doing?" Hera probed.

I replied in a firm tone "I'm going to save Ezra. Sabine, I want you to download all the information you can find about Kreptors into the Phantom, now."

"Kanan!" Sabine and Hera protested simultaneously.

"You can't go after a Kreptor!" Hera stated. "If it bites you you'll die!"

"Then I won't let it bite me," I replied sarcastically.

Sabine stepped forward, arguing "And even if you do get the venom, what then? If you give that to Ezra and it starts to eat at his insides, he'll go through more pain then he will in the next 48 hours combined!"

I hesitated at that. I wouldn't never purposefully inflict pain on Ezra. It was agonising enough to watch him go through the pain, let alone be the one responsible for it.

But, if there was the slightest chance that he could make it, that he would survive, than I was willing to do anything to get it.

Taking a deep breath, I turned around and stared at Sabine and Hera. They watched me intently, as if waiting for me to make the first move. "What if the solution was diluted?" I suggested. "What if we only gave enough to destroy the poison? Would he survive then?"

Sabine bit her lip in concentration, her gaze falling to the floor as she became engulfed in thoughts. "I… don't know, Kanan. It could take days to perfect a formula that wouldn't be lethal. And Kreptor venom is extremely rare, and you probably won't find it on any markets or from any smugglers."

I sighed deeply, glancing over at Hera for some kind of support. But she seemed lost herself. It wasn't a comforting sign when Hera was at a standstill.

Slowly, my gaze fell on Ezra's limp body, wrapped neatly in the white blanket. I walked over towards the medical bed and grasped onto Ezra's cold hand. He remained still, practically lifeless besides his shallow breathing and scratchy wheeze. I clasped his palm in mine and rubbed his ghostly-white fingers, as if the action would bring him any warmth at all. "I will save you," I whispered. Tears were burning my eyes, and I could feel my chest constricting under an intense weight.

"You hear me, my little Tooka?" I cooed softly, combing my fingers through his scruffy, blue locks. "I'm going to fix this. I promise…"

A warm hand rested gently on my back, and I glanced at Hera from the corner of my eye to meet her clouded gaze. "This one," she spoke quietly, her eyes flickering from Ezra, to me. "Is your call."

I straightened slightly, weighing my options with a heavy heart. I could stay, be there for Ezra in his final hours and ease his passing into the next life. Or, I could go, and try to get Kreptor venom for an antidote that would either save him, or kill him.

"The venom is a risk," Sabine pointed out sadly. "We don't know how he'll react, we don't know how long it will take to perfect, we don't even know if you'll make it in time. And if these really are his final hours…." The girl winced slightly, before finishing hesitantly "Then he'll need you, Kanan."

Turning around slightly, I exchanged a steady gaze with both Hera and Sabine. "I know," I murmured as I squeezed Ezra's hand for reassurance. "That's… that's why I'm going to go and find an antidote."

Hera nodded in agreement, while Sabine just stood there blankly, thankfully with no intent to protest any longer. "We support your decision Kanan," Hera smiled as she patted my shoulder. "But, maybe it would be wiser to let Zeb and Sabine go after the Kreptor. They at least won't die if bitten."

"No," I replied sternly. "I'm going alone. I'll be able to find it faster, and you guys need to be here to support and reassure Ezra until I get back, understood?"

Hera looked like she was about to protest, but hesitated, and nodded reluctantly. "No point in arguing. You're obviously set in your decision," the Twi'lek murmured as she retracted her hand. "Sabine, go prep the Phantom."

The mandalorian snapped from her absent state and twisted on her heel, swiftly exiting the room. I could sense deep down that she was slightly relieved, and she obviously wanted to save Ezra as much as we did. I turned to Hera, her face a mixture of emotions. "Please be careful Love," she sighed, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around me in a warm embrace. "We need you too."

The tension released from my muscles slightly, and I relaxed into her arms while still keeping a hand resting gently a top of Ezra's. After what felt like forever, we pulled away and glanced down at the sickly teen. "Take care of my bo-" I froze, almost letting the sentence slip entirely.

Take care of my boy.

He wasn't technically my boy… he was my padawan… but… it sure felt like he was my son sometimes. He meant everything to me… and I'd like to think I meant everything to him, but… I wasn't so sure these days…

Hera smiled warmly, stroking Ezra's cheek with the back of her fingers and replying "I will, Kanan. I'll keep our boy safe."

I questioned whether or not to object to her statement, but decided against it. It wasn't like Ezra was awake to hear it anyway. Bending down slightly, I squeezed his cold hand and whispered "I'm not going to let you go Ezra. And I won't stop until you're back here with us… with me…"