Bring Him Home

An:don't own rebels, if I did we wouldn't have to wait so long for the next episode.

Ezra's pov

How could she say that! how could Hera just call Kanan just one man...just a soldier. He is more than that, well to me he is any way. Also I know he is more than that to the others, okay I might not know how they feel about him and how he feels about them but I know my own feelings about Kanan, about my master, about my friend. All of a sudden I just couldn't be in the same room as Hera,I can't even look at her, it hurts too much.

I walked away from the others,from Hera. I know she tried to make me feel better but they just don't understand...I decided to go to Kanan's room. I had been staying in there, just to feel closer to him in any way possible. It was as if my heart needed to feel him and in someways I think by staying in his room he can feel me too. As my walk continued I began to think through the possibilities that would get us the information we would need...that I would need to find out where they were holding Kanan. Only to find I didn't, it was like all the street smarts that would have helped me find a way were gone.

Our first plan to capture a walker and hack its hardware to find the information, didn't work. The network was down and as we found out later they had other ways of getting their information out to their troops. It hurt me that knowing that Kanan had to be in their clutches, doing who knows what to him. Then it occurred to me that who would know better than us about all of this. The one person that dealt with that side of life daily...Vizago.

Vizago has contacts that must deal with the empire, or have seen something, maybe going to him would be the next step. I have to believe that because if he doesn't have what I need, I don't know what else to do. Please let him have what I need.

Now how do I get to him without the others finding out what I am doing because if I...when I go through with this it is in direct violation of Hera's orders and she would take it out on me but I didn't care, I had to do this...I needed to do this, something told me that Kanan didn't have much time left to live.

Each time I felt a stab of pain, I knew it was not something that was happening to me, it was happening to Kanan. I tried and failed to tell them about it but its like I am talking another language, maybe to them I was and that is why I need...needed... Kanan.

I need Kanan, no one else understands what this is like, not even Hera and she has been around Kanan a Jedi for a long time now, six years I had been told, but not even she could ever understand this. He knows, Kanan knows, I know he knows, but does he know that I am feeling what he is feeling now. Somehow I think he does and is blocking the majority of that pain from me. Didn't he think I could take it? does he see me as a child?... its probably his way of protecting me.

I didn't realize that I was still walking until suddenly I am in front of Kanan's room and I hear a soft beeping inside. The door opens and I find Chopper inside, and even though the thoughts were not clear as they would be with a organic being, I still got the feeling that at least someone is feeling how I feel about Kanan being taken. Then I think of something, something that might work but I would need Chopper and Sabine to make this work.

I make my way over to the little droid,who then on seeing me tried to push me out of the room. "Yeah,yeah I miss him too but I do have a plan, now are you in?"" I inquired of the droid. Chopper made some soft sounds like he was thinking it over then he starts beeping all jumpy like, and while I may not understand all of the droids language but I knew this, he had said "you bet I am in".

Now I just needed one more person to help me to make this plan work and she might be hard to convince that we needed to do this, that it might be our only shot,but before I even got to talk to her, Sabine has found me with Chopper. She must have heard us... great would she stop us or would she join us, I hoped she would join us or this plan could be over before its even started. I look at her and I could see she was thinking of something. Maybe like I hoped she was thinking of whether to take the risk with us.

"Ezra, I know what Kanan means to you but he wouldn't want you to put yourself in danger, not for him"she said softly.

I sigh. she knows I am hurting, that if Kanan died..., I shook my head to get rid of the thought, no Kanan wouldn't die, I wouldn't think like that. I wouldn't let him and if that means going it alone I would. I would risk my life to find him and somehow I knew Kanan would do the same if I was taken. Is that what they are trying to tell me? am I likely to be taken and that is why they didn't want me going after Kanan?...it didn't matter, none of it mattered.

"Sabine, if you had the choice between maybe dying trying to save someone you cared about and living in regret knowing that he died because you did nothing...what would you choose?" I said not looking her in the eye, but then I really look anyone in the eye if I didn't have too.

She thought for a bit "I would take the first choice, because living with the kind of regret that your talking about...its not something I would wish on anyone"she finally told me.

"Good now this is the plan...".

As I told her and Chopper the plan I could tell that they liked it. It would help us in finding out where Kanan was without putting myself or them in too much danger, but then I had a thought, what about Zeb.

"I think Zeb should come with us and before you protest, please hear me out Ezra. If something happens, if Vizago turns on us, we will need his strength. You and I are too small to be much of a threat to someone like Vizago. With Zeb there we might stand a chance" Sabine said thoughtfully.

I nodded "we have to go now, the sooner the better. Chop, you know what to do" I said as we watched the small droid give a soft beep and then take off out of sight.

"I will get to the cockpit with Zeb and keep Hera occupied until you call for us and then it will be up to Chopper" Sabine said walking away.

I drop to the ground as I feel more pain, it looks like Kanan couldn't keep this torture from me, it felt like I was being fried from the inside...it felt like a bigger version of my electric slingshot, was that what was happening to Kanan now? was he being electrocuted? the pain it seemed to be going on forever or it might have in minutes. Then the pain stopped, leaving me breathless, slowly I calmed down and I could continue what I was planning.

I move out of the room,it still feels like Kanan is here with me, telling me what to do, helping me to plan,telling me that I could do this. Just like he did when I didn't believe that we should have attacked that communication's tower, just to send out a message...a message that I still didn't know whether it got out or not.

I climb the ladder upto the phantom and make sure the ship was ready to move. While I wouldn't be flying it(I still didn't know how to fly, something I would have to get Kanan to teach me after I...after we got him back). The ship was ready, I could feel Sabine,Zeb and Chopper all in place...time to go to work.

Pressing the button on the phantom's communication panel I said "Sabine do you know where the spare fuel cells are? I can't seem to find them?".

"Did you try looking in the overhead compartment"she said playing along.

"That's the first place I looked" I answered, now I just had to wait for Sabine to get here with Zeb.

I knew I would have to explain to Zeb what we were doing and whether he would help us out. If he didn't want too, whether he would keep his mouth shut about it until we got back to the ship. I knew I would be yelled at by Hera but if this worked she wouldn't be yelling at me for long,but then she could hold it over me just like she held it over Kanan when he and Zeb bet Chopper in a game of cards.

When Sabine and Zeb got to the phantom and I explained what we were about to do, Zeb couldn't agree fast enough. It was like he was waiting for something like this to happen. Maybe he knew I would do just about anything to get Kanan back.

"Now we just have to wait for the signal"I said and soon we hear a loud ringing alarm. It could be heard all through out the ship, how loud was Chopper going to make that, but then it wasn't going to be worrying us to much longer. "Alright Sabine get us out of here".

And soon we were away.

Flying away from the ghost, I did feel guilt at what we had to do. Going behind Hera's back like this, it did hurt, Maybe I didn't care about her as much as I did about Kanan but still I did care about hurting her.

Soon we were there, and just like something had told me he would be there...standing in the middle of a shipment of what must be stolen goods, was Vizago. he had a data pad and didn't seem to be paying much attention to us until we walked upto him.

I was leading with Zeb on my right,Sabine on my left, both of them ready if something bad happens. I could see that Vizago was surprised to see us but not too alarmed about it. Maybe he thought we would come to him eventually.

So after we explained what we needed, I could see that he needed more persuasion to make him see that we were serious. So I told him about Kanan and I, how we were both Jedi(well I was a Jedi in training but he didn't need to know that). That had him laughing,like he couldn't believe that Kanan was a Jedi, so I levitated a box (thankful that I had spent all that time working on this technique) and dumped it on his head, which soon had him on the ground.

"Fine I will tell you what you need to know but only to you boy. Come inside and let's make a deal"Vizago said leading the way.

With a look back at the others, even though he had said to come alone I still would have liked to take Zeb at least...well no helping that,I just have to go with what Vizago wants. I follow Vizago into his ship,the broken horn, the ship was like its captain full of junk, nothing I would have ever looked at even when I had to steal for a living. Once we entered a room, where I was surprised to see him bow to me, why was he doing this? was it because of what he saw outside or was it something else. I didn't no what to do so I poked him in the shoulder only to have him growl a little at me.

"Kid, first we bow to seal the deal. Didn't that Jedi friend of yours teach you anything about respect of others?"he said.

Oh I didn't know that, and Kanan hadn't had a chance to teach me that either, I mean I was a street kid what did I know of respect. I only respected people I liked but Kanan was counting on me, so I quickly complied but apparently I wasn't doing it right because Vizago waved it off saying that I was making too much of it.

He showed me his Intel in a form of a hologram. In the hologram it showed the form of a droid and the explanation that went with it, that did nothing to stop my excitement. I finally had a lead, a tip and even if it was a long shot and that I had to work for Vizago sometime in the future, it was better than what I...we had before.

I walked out of the ship to find Zeb and Sabine with their backs to me. They were talking to someone that I couldn't see... Well that was until they parted and I saw it was a very very angry Twi'lek. Oh well I knew I wouldn't getting away with this plan for very long and I knew that the others wouldn't want to do anything without Hera.

The look she was giving me, I had seen that look before and it wasn't a good sign. It was a look she gave Kanan every once in a while if she didn't like where his plans were going to take us. Now she was giving it to me, but what did that mean? did she see me as a mini Kanan? maybe, and if that was so, I didn't mind that one bit. I couldn't think of anyone better to be compared too.

"I gave you direct orders and you went against them. I hope it was worth it, because not only did you risk your life but the crews as well. Ezra your just not seeing the bigger picture here"Hera practically growled at me and poked me in the chest before turning away.

I knew she was angry at me for doing this, I didn't need her words to tell me that...I...I could feel it through the force but what she didn't get was like I told Sabine back before we came here, back when we were just coming up with this plan. I was going it for him.

For all them really, because without Kanan, the ship doesn't feel right...it just feels like a hunk of metal that we fly around in, not like it was before. I run after Hera to explain what I had, what Vizago just told me. As she listened, I could tell she had pride in me for how I went about it, even if she didn't like that I went behind her back to get it.

"Hera"I say and before she could do anything I rap my arms around her. I could feel her shaking slightly,or was that me, at the moment it could be both of us, because we were both suffering the most and then I feel her arms go around me. She had forgiven me for what I did, I know she did. I knew there was only one more thing to say "Hera, we will bring him home".

The end

An: hoped you liked that, it was a plot bunny that turned up on it own when I was watching "rebel resolve" and I knew I had to write it. I also want to thank the reviewers that answered my questions about Kanan and Ezra's past. Reading New dawn has given me some great ideas in this area, but still if there is something you think I should include tell me and I will see what I can do. Until next time...

May the force be with you, always