AN: Finally, after all this time I've finished the last part. I hope you all enjoy it! This story was meant to be a short little four shot that would only take a few weeks but turned out to take several months. Who knew college would be so rough? xD Enjoy!

Part Four

"Conclusion"

Ezra's head was pounding.

The little space in the air vent was not helping with the matter, and in fact was making it all the worse. It was too small, too petite, and even though Ezra himself was small, it wasn't a good place to be when your stomach was churning from a settling concussion. Trying to relax into it wasn't going to happen at all.

Ezra tried to focus on sensing the Holocron.

He crawled slowly, mind weaving through the measurements of the ship. He hadn't felt any sign of the Holocron yet and it was making his anxiety spike. The sirens outside of the vents weren't making the job easier as he sensed and sensed, and yet couldn't seem to find anything to latch onto in the dimness.

Ezra wasn't even positive if the guy he was doing this for was still alive.

There was no time to question that though. He knew the sooner he found the Holocron the sooner he could get out of this Hell hole of a ship. He'd find Cassius and they'd take an escape pod back down to the moon. They'd land and he'd somehow get in contact with the crew. End of story. Happy ending. Ta-da!

That was when Ezra felt it through the blaring alarms.

It was small. Smaller than when he had felt Kanan's Holocron for the first time, yet it was there. It was seeping into the light and his trembling fingers could almost touch it in the distance. Ezra's eyes snapped open wide and he took a left beside him to move towards the feeling.

The feeling of Light.

Of hope.

Cassius' hope.

The boy crawled and crawled, trying his damn best to get to the source of the feeling. Everything was still buzzing though and the after effects of Cassius' drugs were nothing good. Nothing good at all honestly and he wanted to break through the bit of glass that still seemed to be shielding him from the Force.

That was, until he stopped over one particular grate in the vent.

He peered down, feeling through the Force for what had stopped him. Something had…Something loud. A sharp slice through the haze and it had been so sudden, Ezra had to grab his breath. It was different from Kanan's holocron, but also, so similar. He felt that same warmth, that same calling.

He pulled the grate back, poking his head down into the room that appeared to be a storage room filled with sealed containers. It was dim, and looked to be empty of any personnel. The sirens from earlier had stopped and Ezra couldn't help but feel that wasn't a good sign.

Ezra decided not to worry too much about Cassius and instead slipped down into the storage room, landing with a quiet thump. He crouched down, pressing against one of the containers before shutting his eyes and focusing.

He felt…It was so loud. As if the clouds had been lifted, and the world was suddenly clear again. The drugs dripped through his blood still, but it had parted enough for him to slide the fingers of his subconscious around the crates, searching and listening.

It had to be there.

If he had found Kanan's that first time without even looking, he could find this one. He could hear the whispers. He could feel the power within it. The knowledge and the good. The light. It called to him and begged him to save it from the grasp of the Empire and its darkness.

Its storm.

Ezra's eyes snapped open and he realized he was no longer crouched beside one of the crates, but rather standing above one. He had moved across the room without even knowing, causing him to put his palm over the cold metal surface on a small crate in particular…

Just big enough.

Ezra didn't hesitate to pry it open and as soon as he did he was hit with a wave. He smiled brightly, reaching in to pull out the holocron that was nearly identical to Kanan's. It was so similar; his fingers shook with the same nervousness that he had felt whenever he held Kanan's. Sliding his gloved hand over it, he whispered, "Got you."

Then he heard the shouting.

Ezra was quick to slide the object into his pocket before slamming the container shut. He knew without a doubt the shouts belonged to Cassius from down the hall. Ezra rushed to the door, pressing the button to slide it open before poking his head through.

He couldn't say he was surprised when he saw Cassius there, struggling against several other bucketheads. Ezra rolled his eyes, running out of the room and towards the quarrel. Of course Cassius would be the one to mess up the plan and Ezra, the kid, would be the one who managed to get the job done himself.

As he approached them however, he saw one of the troopers land a good hit on the back of Cassius' head, sending the man sprawling unconscious on the floor. Ezra's eyes widened and he shouted without thinking, "Hey!"

The men turned their heads and Ezra instinctively reached for his lightsaber, only to find it wasn't there.

The idiot had forgotten to give it back like he said he would.

Ezra cursed, looking back up just in time to see a blast heading towards him. Not having time to move, he screamed when the burning sensation made contact on the same shoulder where he had been burned just before with the brand. Ezra covered the burn immediately with his hand, starting to dodge more shots as the pain began to radiate throughout his body.

He held out a hand towards Cassius' unconscious form, pulling his confiscated lightsaber from the man's belt. It landed in his hand perfectly just as several other storm troopers arrive, beginning to fill the corridor…

He was outnumbered…

His vision began to blur from the pain in his shoulder and he came to the conclusion it hadn't been set on stun. He was definitely burned, and it definitely was effecting his ability to fight. Ezra knew if he was going to be able to free Cassius later, he was going to need to get away from the giant group.

Ezra backed into the room he had been in before, shutting the door and using his lightsaber to destroy the access panel. He then rushed to his vent, returning to his place within it and putting the grate back over the exit.

He crawled.

Most of Ezra's thoughts were centered around how stupid Cassius was and how badly he sucked at this. He had been so concerned with Ezra's abilities, but then he goes and gets his dumb self captured in the first five minutes they're on the ship.

Ok, five minutes is a lie.

But, close enough.

Ezra wondered how he could have even thought that Cassius was more of a pirate than Hondo. Hondo could have lied himself out of that situation, but nope, not Cassius. Not Cassius at all.

Ezra crawled for what felt like hours, before he came to a stop where he could see he was near the refresher room. Ezra slipped inside, finding the stalls all empty. He went towards the sink, grabbing several hand towels before sliding his shirt from his shoulder and inspecting the damage in the mirror before him.

Gross.

Ezra dampened one of the hand towels before pressing the cool rag over his wound. He gritted his teeth to subdue a threatening scream. It was bleeding, and Ezra was slightly confused because most of the time being hit with a blast didn't induce bleeding.

His eyes watered and Ezra used every ounce of his self-control not to let himself cry. Of course he knew he had been hurt worse than this before, and the fear in him was mostly produced from not having his master there with him to help. He had grown so used to having Kanan there that this being alone thing was reborn. He couldn't remember what it was like before.

Ezra kept the pressure there, removing the wet rag before replacing it with a dry one. The lack of sirens had been answered. They had caught Cassius and had thought he was the only culprit in the crash. But, now they would be looking for Ezra too.

And they had seen his lightsaber.

Great.

Ezra groaned, moving back into his vent and shutting it before lying down and shutting his eyes. He kept the pressure on his shoulder, bringing deep breaths in and out of his lungs to control the stinging sensation.

His head hurt.

This was all Cassius' fault.

These guys meant business if their stun was turned off…

It didn't take long for Ezra's eyes to begin to roll into the back of his head, the pain taking him to the edges of his mind. The world around him silenced for a long moment, being replaced with darkness and flashes of light every once in a while. He couldn't think. Nothing would process. Just pain and burning. Just trying to fight it down. That was all he could think.

Don't cry.

Don't show weakness.

But, there was no one watching. Still, he didn't let the threatening tears drop. He knew the pain would subside eventually. His body would numb it out and he would be able to find Cassius and they could get out.

Unless they couldn't.

Then he would die here. He would die here with Cassius. They would be executed and Kanan would feel it. He would know and it would break him. Ezra knew it would. He would get himself killed, selfishly. Because he hadn't been more careful. He should have been more careful.

He shouldn't have been so stupid.

"Get up, Ezra."

Ezra startled at Kanan's voice in the back of his head. He sounded…mad. Ezra's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes snapped opened. He whispered through a parched throat, "I'd like to hear you say that if you had been shot in the shoulder."

"Get up."

"Don't give up. You have to move."

"You have to move!"

Ezra groaned, arching his back in resistance as he tried to roll over. He managed it, beginning to drag himself through the vents, sensing for Cassius. Kanan was right…He had to move. He had to get Cassius and they had to get off the ship. Or else they never would.

It was now. Or it was never. And never was such a long time.

Ezra huffed out breaths of protest as he body tried its best to keep him going. He wanted to throw up, but he soon became adjusted to the aching and his movements started to speed up. He pushed, and pushed, feeling for Cassius' presence within the ship.

And he felt him.

Rather, he felt a presence around him.

It was like a spirit of some kind, directing him. Guiding him towards the pirate that had captured him and put him in this situation in the first place.

Ezra paused, coming to a realization.

"You're his dad."

And the Force only wavered in the slightest, giving Ezra his answer.

Who was Ezra to argue with a dead Jedi?

It wasn't long before he came upon the pirate that was swaddled in his father's embrace. The pirate whom Ezra had hated, but the pirate that was loved by something so strong. Something that was not death. Because there is no death, there is only the Force. And the Force was protecting Cassius, even if Cassius wasn't a wielder.

Ezra landed down from the vent in front of the cell that the Force had led him to. He didn't hesitate to knock out the two troopers in front of it, the pain in his shoulder having subsided almost completely.

The boy pressed the access button, causing the cell door to slide open simply. Cassius was sitting on the bench, his hands folded and his elbows on his knees. His head popped up from where it was bowed in defeat as he took in Ezra's appearance.

His eyes widened and he stood hurriedly, obviously causing himself to sway a bit from the sudden movement after being knocked unconscious. Cassius said quickly, "Holy hell, Kid. You look terrible."

"Well," Ezra huffed. "I did get blasted in the shoulder while you were getting yourself knocked unconscious. I think that was a new record when it comes to getting captured."

Cassius glared, "This isn't exactly my specialty."

"Sure," Ezra said, backing towards the door. "Come on, let's get out of here."

He patted his pocket and Cassius' eyes widened in realization before he smiled and began to follow Ezra from the room. However, before Ezra could process what was happening, he was being ripped around the corner and Cassius was being shoved to the ground, a bow staff being shoved into his throat.

Ezra knew…

"Zeb!" Ezra shouted in shock, looking at the Lasat as if he had grown two heads. He smiled brightly, jumping around to get a good look at his friend's face. Zeb wasn't looking at him though, rather glaring down at his captive. Ezra continued his childish excitement, "I've never been this happy to see you, Buddy!"

"Yeah, we'll have a reunion later," Zeb ground out, his eyes narrowing even more. "Right after I beat the daylight out of this useless piece of-"

"Wait!" Ezra intervened, pushing the staff away from Cassius' throat. "Don't hurt him, just let me explain on the Ghost. Where are the others?"

Zeb looked shell shocked by Ezra's actions, pulling his weapon way from the boy. Zeb pointed sharply behind him before growling, "They're looking for you! Because this guy took you!"

"Again, I'll explain on the Ghost," Ezra said, helping Cassius to stand. Ezra paused, looking up at Zeb's enraged face. But, all the boy could do was smile. He smiled because…His family was here. He could feel them. He reached out, touching each of them before pulling away and returning his attention to Zeb. Zeb jumped in shocked when Ezra suddenly wrapped his arms around the Lasat's middle.

"Uh…Kid," Zeb muttered awkwardly, putting a hand on Ezra's back until the boy pulled away.

Ezra shook his head, continuing to grin, "I promise to never complain about your shedding again. This has been a really sucky experience."

"Thanks," Cassius grumbled, rolling his eyes, only to hold up his hands when Zeb glared.

Zeb put his finger on his com, speaking, "Meet back at the Ghost, I've found Six and I'm bringing him back."

Then they moved.

The run to the ship wasn't nearly as bad as Ezra thought it would be. There were a few bucketheads here and there, but the most annoying thing was the fact that the sirens had returned to their screaming from before. It must have been noticed that another ship had docked.

Ezra was giddy when he saw the ship. He was even more giddy when he saw Sabine and Kanan standing on the entrance, shooting at the troopers that were following them. Ezra's shoulder ached again, but it hardly mattered now because as soon as he was running up the ramp, he was met with the familiar glow of his family.

It swallowed him up as soon as the doors sealed shut and the Ghost was flying away. Ezra looked back to see Cassius staring at them with a wary look. Ezra didn't know why he was surprised when Kanan yanked him away from the pirate forcefully, putting himself between them. Sabine pointed her blaster at the man, causing him to hold up his hands in surrender, but also with an annoyed look crossing his eyes.

"Wait!" Ezra ordered, trying to move around Kanan who was looking too closely at his injured shoulder.

Kanan spoked softly, "It's ok, Ezra. You're safe, let me see your shoulder."

There were so many questions at once. What happened? Why is the pirate here? Orders to see his shoulder and Ezra wanted to kick and scream and he wished Hera was here to listen to him because she would. She would listen. But, no, she was too busy flying them away.

"Stop, stop," Ezra slapped at Kanan's hands as he pulled down his collar and revealed the injury, along with the slave brand from before…

Kanan's body tensed and the world began to shift beneath Ezra's feet as Kanan moved away and began to land punches into Cassius' face. Ezra stumbled, his vision blurring with the pain of his injury as adrenaline began to melt away. All he could hear was Kanan's fist colliding with Cassius' face and for some reason Sabine and Zeb weren't stopping him.

Ezra stumbled forward, throwing himself into Kanan who was now on top of the pirate, landing painful punches into the other's left cheek. Ezra cried out in pain when he and Kanan landed before he began to scoot back over to Cassius in order to cover him from Kanan's bombarding hits.

Ezra held up a hand as Kanan stood and Ezra almost shrieked, "Ok, I know! I know it looks bad, but you have to listen!"

"Ezra he branded you!" Sabine snapped. "He deserves worse than that!"

"You're not listening to me," Ezra gasped, putting a hand over his injury and looking up at his teacher. It was the brand. The brand that had caused Kanan's face to change into something Ezra had never seen before. Cassius groaned behind him, holding his bloodied face with a careful hand. "Just listen to me. Listen to me, Kanan."

Kanan narrowed his eyes before crossing his arms over his chest, "I'm listening."

His knuckles were bleeding, Ezra noticed. He had been brutal. How…weird. How out of character. Kanan never…He never did that sort of thing. Ezra's stomach and shoulder ached terribly and he wanted nothing more than to sleep on this and contemplate it when he didn't feel like such shit.

Ezra dug through his pocket, pulling out the holocron. No one seemed to see it…Really see it or its importance besides Kanan whose eyes widened in shock. Ezra swallowed thickly and said, "He needed help. The Empire took this from him…It was his holocron and they took it. He needed to get it back, Kanan. It's his prized possession-"

"He probably stole it," Kanan hissed, stepping forward, but Ezra pushed a hand into the man's shin from his place on the floor to stop him from approaching any farther as Cassius lay silent, his eyes half-lidded.

"He didn't!" Ezra insisted. "He didn't, I swear. I know…I felt it…It was his father's."

Kanan opened his mouth, but Ezra cut in, "I know, Jedi couldn't have children, but his father did. He broke the rules and he gave this to him when the Jedi Purge happened."

Ezra knew he was stumbling over his words, but he really couldn't think straight at the moment. Right now he was focused on stopping Kanan's wrath and saving Cassius from anymore cruelty on his behalf.

Kanan's face began to melt slightly, turning less into rage, and more into shock. Ezra turned his head to Cassius before saying, "I can open it. I can open it now if you want me to and you can see the hope that your father was talking about."

Cassius said nothing, only stared in shock. In shock that Ezra was offering to open it for him. That even after all he had done to him, he was willing to let Cassius see the hope inside. See the faith his father had. What the holocron had to offer.

Cassius only whispered…

"Please."

Ezra nodded, turning to look up at Kanan who was stark still. Ezra shut his eyes, reaching out into the Force and into the holocron itself to grab the entrance. It swung open, like warm water over his body and when he opened his eyes again the object was floating before the group, a figure standing in the hologram before them.

It was a man. A man Ezra didn't know, but he was wearing robes much like Obi-Wan had been wearing in Kanan's own holocron. He looked concerned and Ezra looked back at Cassius, not having to ask to know that this was the man's father.

He was a spitting image.

"Cassius," The man spoke, almost regally. He sounded kind, but strong. He sounded educated. Ezra wanted to smile, but he fought it down. "My son…If you're seeing this…Maybe things aren't as bad as we feared they would be. Because if you're seeing this…A Jedi has accessed it for you. And if there are still Jedi, then the world's balance hasn't completely been turned."

The man paused, clearing his throat, "I am sorry I can't be there. I'm afraid that it is not safe for you if I am around. They're hunting us. We're losing Jedi in devastating numbers, but I want you to know that…There is hope, Cassius. You are our hope. Children. Children to be born after you. Our future is our hope. I know you will grow into a strong young man. I know you will become something great for the galaxy. I've seen it."

"You and all of the other children are the future. They are the only ones who can save the Jedi. The ones who stop this…Empire from seizing power. Fight back…Be our hope. Grow up and be strong and brave. Fight back…You kids…You're the future of our republic."

"Save it. Revive it."

"I love you so much, Cassius."

"I love you so much."

When it cut off, Ezra's heart clenched painfully. He looked back at Cassius, seeing the man's eyes brimming with unshed tears. Ezra reached out, grabbing Cassius' arm gently and squeezing.

There was his hope.

He had seen it…

And he could feel it.

Ezra kicked the sand below his feet, shifting his injured arm in its sling. He looked up, squinting his eyes as he stared out at the barren expanse of desert before him. The barren desert that he had no desire to ever see again on this insane moon.

Ezra sighed, his chest tickling slightly from the sand that he was still coughing up. The pain medicine Hera had given him a few hours after opening the holocron had been something strong and he had slept for hours afterward. He had tried to fight off the sling, but Hera had been…Insistent. And there was no arguing with an insistent Hera.

In the distance he could see the town that had been the hell hole he had unintentionally stepped into sometime earlier. He rolled his eyes. Next time he had a bad feeling about a place, he wasn't going anywhere near it. No way.

Ezra jumped when he felt a pat on his back and he turned hurriedly to see Cassius standing beside him. His head had been stitched by Hera personally. A sort of apology for Kanan's behavior, but also so she could inflict her own sort of torture upon the man. They hadn't exactly excused the branding, even if he was the son of a Jedi.

"Thinking about joining my own crew?" Cassius questioned, quirking a smirk. "I'm a lot more interesting than these guys anyway."

"Funny," Ezra scoffed. "I think I'll pass; you know to avoid any future incidents."

He held up his sling for further emphasis and Cassius laughed. He turned his face towards the town before he shrugged, "Maybe I'll get out of here one day. I'll find myself another ship and find something productive to do."

Ezra nodded…Cassius' father's words were still ringing in their ears. They were the future of the fallen Republic. They were meant to revive it.

And Cassius wasn't going to do any reviving swindling on a desolate moon full of pirates and thieves.

"Thank you."

Ezra's eyebrows furrowed and he looked over at Cassius in confusion. The pirate was looking down at him before he explained, "Thank you for opening it."

"Well, you didn't expect to just get it back without even trying to open it, did you?"

Cassius sighed, "It wasn't a part of the deal. So, thank you."

"Not everything is about deals," Ezra sighed. He turned and looked at the elder fully. "Sometimes…Sometimes it's important to just do good things for people. It's important to take care of others who need it. It proves we're different."

"Different from who?" Cassius questioned.

"The Empire," Ezra said simply. "Because, at the end of the day, our enemies aren't pirates, or thieves, or anyone like that. Our enemy is the Empire. They're the ones who make us this way. Who make us desperate."

Ezra watched Cassius' face contort into curiosity. Then it melted into realization. Cassius reached out, squeezing Ezra's good shoulder before whispering, "You're what he was talking about. You're the hope."

Ezra opened his mouth to argue, but Cassius was hugging him. Ezra was surprised slightly, the hug ending just as soon as it started. Cassius ruffled his hair, beginning to walk away towards the town in the distance.

"Wait!" Ezra called, causing Cassius to pause and turn. Ezra bit the inside of his cheek anxiously before continuing, "Keep freeing them. As many as you can. That's hope. That's what he was talking about."

Cassius smiled. He really smiled…

And then he was gone.

Ezra wasn't sure how long he stood there. It was long after Cassius' form had disappeared into the distance. It was long after the heat had turned to bitter cold and the sun had set in the background.

Ezra only blinked when he felt Kanan's gentle hand on his arm, tugging on him slightly.

"You need to sleep," Kanan said. "You've had a long day."

Ezra looked back over his shoulder, taking a moment to stare at his master before smiling brightly up at him. He wrapped his good arm around his middle, squeezing tightly.

Ezra whispered, "Thanks for coming for me."

The boy felt Kanan's arm wrap around his shoulders before he whispered…

"Always, kid. Always."