Whoops I totally forgot to update this again!

Sorry, I've been a bit distracted these past two weeks with moving and such. But I'll try and start getting these chapters out again more regularly! Hope you're all enjoying it. I promise I'll put you out of your misery eventually ha! May the force be with you, always!

-Superherotiger

…

Tiger Talks

Midnight Luna- Ha yes! I blame you for this whole arc Luna XD But I'm glad you're enjoying it anyways! And that's good. I hope they're gotten better for you. And sorry for forgetting to update again! I try my best to update again but I'm also going to America in a few weeks so… We'll see how that goes ha!

Charm1355- Aha! You see, even though you know how it'll end I'm still going to throw you into the feels in the meantime! And thank you! That's so sweet! Hope you enjoy this chapter too! Next one will be out in a week, maybe in a few days even, I'm not too sure.

…

Kanan's POV

The blizzard was fierce, and the winds were icy.

As I trekked through the never-ending snow, the engine of my bike frozen and my rations all but depleted, I struggled to breathe the crisp, dry air that whipped viciously all around me. I couldn't see further than one step ahead, and my clothes were doing little to protect me against the violently cold temperatures.

With each long stride my head pounded from the roaring winds, like an unseen beast preparing to strike.

My legs wavered under the intense resistance, and it felt as if frost were crystallising within my very bones. Glancing up into the billowing storm, I could see nothing but the pitch black of night. The sun had set, and with it, my only hopes of survival.

I took another step.

Fatal mistake.

Suddenly my leg buckled from exhaustion and I fell to the deathly snow. The fall was hard, and the ice was cold under my cheek. Yet, I had no more energy to fight the winds that pinned me down. So there I laid. My eyes slowly closing. My energy finally diminished. This was it…

This was how I died…

…

Hera's POV

The medbay was still.

All but silent besides the many medical machines that chirped and beeped softly. That, and of course, the long, drawn out wheeze of the ventilator.

I glanced down at the boy in my arms with weary emerald eyes.

His chest rose and fell in rhythmic paces, the hiss of the mask over his face sounding sickly and mechanical. He was completely pale, his skin cold yet sweaty to the touch. And now and again when he inhaled, a small, quivering whimper followed, like a muffled sob.

I had volunteered to stay with the dwindling boy, holding him close to my chest and gently combing my fingers through his fine, loose locks.

Hours had gone by since the near-death experience. And through the long process, Chopper remained dormant at the side of the bed, his power on low, but his mind obviously active. It had been a gruelling experience; one Sabine took with great guilt. She had been brave in that moment. Not even Zeb and I had dared looked when the girl inserted the breathing tube down Ezra's throat. His agony-twisted face was still engrained into my vision, his horrific gagging still playing in my mind like a broken mixtape.

But in this moment I held him close. I knew, deep down somewhere, that these may be the last moments I ever spent with the boy.

A frightening and… painful thought…

I took a deep breath and released it in a tense sigh, my drowsy eyes beginning to slide shut.

"H….ra…"

The voice was raspy and unfamiliar, so much so I almost wouldn't have recognised it if he weren't the only one in the room. But my focus fully captured, I cooed sweetly "Yes dear?"

There was a long pause, the machine releasing a strained breath, before Ezra croaked "I f-fee…feel… num…b…"

"I know you do," I soothed, gently stroking his head. "I know…" There was nothing I could do to help besides be there to reassure him, a task I was willing to take.

But it pained me to watch Ezra slowly deteriorating, his condition worsening with each passing hour. His fingers twitched, but besides that, he didn't move. Sabine had warned me how his vital organs had shut down, and how soon after, so would his nervous system. Which in that case would explain the numbness he was experiencing. At the moment it only seemed to be affecting him from the torso down, but when the poison made its final journey to Ezra's brain…

I shook the thought out of my head and bit my lip. Let's fight that battle when it comes…

"Her…ah…" Ezra breathed again.

"Yes?" I replied softly, shoving away those feelings of dread and defeat.

"D-Di…d, I ev-her, t-tell you…" he started with a hitching voice.

I leant my head on his and hummed lightly, calming "Easy dear… don't talk too fast…"

He breathed heavily, making the mask fog up, disappear, and then fog up again with each exhale. His eyes were half lidded, his gaze vacant, but he whispered faintly "You were… al-… always t-there… when I… nee… needed you…"

My expression softened, and I replied warmly "I'm always going to be here, my little tooka."

"Do you… r-re… mem-ber…?" he sputtered, his fingers curling into the fabric of my sleeve. "W-When I was… li-…ttle…?"

"Of course," I smiled in both joy and sorrow at the memories of his childhood.

"When I… h-had… noth…ing…" he slurred, his words disjointed and rough. "You ta… t-taught me, to read… and f-fly… and lo-ve…" He took a deep breath, before speaking through a sigh "You… made me… w-who.. I am… Her-ah…"

"Ezra…" was all I could say, hit deep by his emotional words. Slowly, I pulled him even tighter into my embrace and buried my face into his mop of hair, trying to hide the tears that threatened to fall.

He didn't stir, but in a meek whisper, he spoke "You were the… t-the mother, I al-ways… needed…"

And suddenly, I was engulfed with grief, the floodgates of my heart crashing down and unleashing a wave like no other onto my soul. I couldn't stop the tears that poured from my eyes, or the hand that clutched onto Ezra's hair and refused to let go. It hurt so much, this sickly cold that had consumed me. But regardless, I refused to allow the boy to realise my anguish. Instead, I bit my lip, and forced back the sobs building in my chest.

This wasn't the time. I had to keep it together. Just a little longer… for Ezra's sake…

And Ezra, unaware of the emotional breakdown I was concealing, admitted with a fearful hitch "I-I… don'… wanna d-die…"

"I-I know dear," I grunted, supressing a sob. "I don't want you to either."

"I can't… go… ye…t…" he rasped, his jaw tightening. "Not… n-not until… Ka… Kan-an… gets… bac-…"

I opened my tear-filled eyes and thought carefully, taking a deep, stabilising breath. What Ezra had just admitted meant something more than it first appeared. It was completely normal for one to be afraid of death, that I understood, but the fact the Ezra was unwilling to die until Kanan returned gave me a strange realisation. He still genuinely cared for his master, as equally as Kanan cared for him.

Over the past years I'd only been hearing it from Kanan's side, and how Ezra's continued hope of his parents had made their bond distant and clouded. That Ezra would never see him as anything but his master.

But quickly I realised in the boy's few words of desperation, that throughout this whole ordeal, the only reason he was still holding strong was because Kanan was yet to return. Whether he had something important to say, or if he just wanted to spend his final moments with the man who had cared and guarded him for so many years, I couldn't tell. But regardless, Kanan was someone important, someone who could heal him, no matter what the boy faced.

And hearing Ezra's soft weeps, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the youth. There was no venom. No antidote. And no Kanan.

The one person he desperately needed, hours away and most likely in danger himself.

All I could do was pray to the force that he'd get back before the sands of time finally slipped through our fingers and we lost the boy forever. Even if he returned without the venom, Kanan would still be the true antidote to Ezra's pain. I had the feeling if the Jedi were present, Ezra's passing would be far more gentle and serene. If not for us, at least for the boy himself.

But for now there was nothing I could do besides hold him in my loving embrace and sooth encouraging words into his heart. 'Come back love,' I thought to myself, hoping Kanan would somehow hear my plea.

…Ezra needs you…