AN: I AM SO STINKING SORRY. This took so long to update, so much longer than I had hoped. Ugh, I'm sorry. I'm a bad person, I know. But I'm hoping you all enjoy this chapter!

Just a quick NOTE, Darth Vader makes an appearance. He's obviously not in his suit because well...this is an apocalyptic world and you can guess they wouldn't have lava planets and the technology to keep Anakin alive as a human stump. So, he's a whole person in this story! Just wanted to give a forewarning in case people get confused! Enjoy and let me know what you think with a review! I love all of you and thank you for sticking around so long, especially since I'm a crappy updater.

Chapter Thirteen

"Scabs"

Ezra didn't know what to do.

The back of the truck was so dark…Silent and cold. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face and honestly things couldn't get much worse. His shoulders were trembling and he felt ice in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to scream. He wanted to beat on the sides of the vehicle as it drove through the compound. He wanted to kick the walls. He wanted to hurl himself out of the truck. He wanted to do so many things but he did nothing.

He just sat, his knees curled close to his chest in terror.

"Oh my God," Ezra thought. "That was the stupidest thing you've ever done. You didn't even save anyone. You doomed yourself and you doomed your crew."

Ezra bit his lip to fight down tears. He wouldn't cry here. He couldn't cry here because soon they would open the doors and he would have to show a brave face. But he was still a round cheeked fourteen-year-old. He was barely five feet tall. He was stick thin. How could someone like him look brave?

The answer was: He couldn't.

Ezra cradled his wrist. God, it was starting to hurt again. His fingers were swelling and the splint was putting too much pressure. Ezra leaned his head back against the wall, ignoring the way it bounced when they hit bumps. His heart was hammering so hard in his ribs it felt like a jack-hammer. Why had he been so stupid? He didn't understand himself sometimes.

Kanan was going to be pissed.

The vehicle ride wasn't as long as Ezra expected. He had guessed he was going to be taken from the Compound and driven all the way to the Empire's Capitol. But he wasn't. In fact he knew for sure he still had to be within the compound.

Why weren't they removing him…?

Ezra didn't really understand as he was blinded by light when the doors were yanked open. He took a few steps back when he saw the Inquisitor there, his arms crossed over his chest in a waiting form. Waiting for Ezra to approach or maybe even waiting for him to lash out. Either way, it was unnerving and Ezra only swallowed thickly past the lump in his throat.

"Come here," The man ordered and Ezra hesitated. But he knew deep down there was nothing else he could do to disobey him, so Ezra stepped forward. Once he was in arms reach, the Inquisitor snatched out a hand, gripping Ezra by the arm, and pulling him from the back of the truck.

Ezra took in a harsh breath when his wrist was jostled too much. He glared up at the Inquisitor who gave no sort of apology, not that Ezra expected one. It was almost awkward in fact, the silence that had ensued. They were in front of small abandoned bank and he was being dragged inside before he had time to think. There were several troopers around and after being brought behind the counter of the building, he was shoved into a vault.

Instead of closing the heavy cement door though, the Inquisitor simply shut the thick bars instead. Ezra swallowed and tilted his head, mustering the courage to question sarcastically, "Empire too cheap to build a prison?"

"We have plenty of those," The Inquisitor stated offhandedly, stepping away. "Worthless Compounds like this one however are at the bottom of the list for funds."

Ezra narrowed his eyes, "Worthless as in they don't make you the amount of money that compounds like Lothal do."

"Precisely," The Inquisitor didn't even seem to care and that infuriated Ezra slightly. He gripped his fists, but instead of arguing, simply moved back against the wall of the cell before sitting down on the floor and shutting his eyes.

He was tired.

He didn't rest long though. Within the next five minutes he heard the sound of the bank door opening and Ezra lifted his head, waiting as the Inquisitor did also. A trooper entered, escorting Kanan and Sabine forward towards the cell. Ezra pushed himself to his feet, his eyes wide with shock. He didn't think his friends would be brought to the same holding cell as him. Not in a million years.

And suddenly Ezra was stricken with terror.

Kanan's face was more terrifying than the Inquisitor's.

Through the bars, Kanan was looking at him, his eyebrows drawn downward in a glare and his face red with rage. Ezra stepped back into the wall, regretful by the way he wished Kanan would go away. The doors slid open and the moment Kanan came inside, he made a beeline for Ezra. Ezra put his hands up in a ditch effort to protect himself, but Kanan's hands grabbed onto the boy's upper arms harshly.

Ezra wanted to cry out because of his wrist, but he bit it back. The world started shaking suddenly as Kanan yanked him back and forth uncontrollably, shouting, "Why the hell would you do that!? Why in God's name would you be so stupid?!"

"Kanan stop it!" Ezra heard Sabine order and she attempted to pull him off, but she couldn't.

Ezra couldn't find the words to speak and instead kept his eyes shut as the world shook. When Kanan stopped shaking him, he continued to grip Ezra's arms tightly and asked the silent boy harshly, "Answer me!"

He gave one last rough shake and Ezra felt like the man's fingers were breaking skin. Ezra finally opened his eyes to meet Kanan's that were only inches from his face. Ezra croaked, "I'm sorry…I couldn't…I couldn't do it. I couldn't let him…"

Ezra's breath hitched and he looked down at the ground. He whispered, "I was scared."

"You were scared?" Kanan's voice was different from any other time Ezra had ever heard it. He was truly enraged. He honestly believed Ezra had done something abominable. And maybe he had, but Ezra was selfish. He couldn't watch them die.

Kanan went on, "You should've just closed your eyes."

He made it sound like it was easy, but then Ezra thought…Maybe that's what Kanan had done. Maybe that's how he had handled it when his mother had been put to death. But Ezra wasn't one to close his eyes. He had never been capable of it.

He had watched his parents burn.

He hadn't shut his eyes.

And he couldn't shut them for Kanan and Sabine either.

"No," Ezra growled, bravery creeping into his bones, causing him to look Kanan in the face.

"I won't close my eyes. Not when people are suffering."

Ezra paused, "Especially the people I care about."

Kanan stared with his mouth open, no words escaping him. He looked shell shocked. Utterly at a loss for words. It was obvious he hadn't expected Ezra to argue back or to justify why he did what he did for that matter. Kanan's face contorted from that though and moved into one of seriousness.

He grabbed the back of Ezra's neck and pulled his head forward before leaning over him and whispering quietly in his ear, "You've endangered everything-"

Ezra yanked his head away and looked at Kanan with his eyebrows furrowed together but Kanan pulled him forward again forcefully, "But if I know Hera…And I do…She has a plan. And we won't be here long."

Kanan took a deep breath, having calmed himself a bit.

Ezra pulled back, slower this time. He nodded up at him and fought back a small smile. Sabine appeared confused, wondering how the conversation had gone from dire to quiet in just a few moments. Everyone looked towards the bars however when a slow clap filled the room. Ezra tensed, seeing the Inquisitor smiling and staring at them as if they had just performed a play.

"Bravo, really," The Inquisitor chuckled. "I'm more than impressed with that performance. However, I think you're quite wrong, Mr. Dume. Because we've already contacted the Emperor and he's sending his best to come retrieve the boy."

Kanan glared, "I don't suppose I need to guess who his best is."

"Huh?" Ezra whispered. "Who's his best?"

Kanan turned his attention to Ezra and his face looked grave for only a moment before he reached out and squeezed Ezra's arm lightly. Ezra stared at Kanan confused when he heard the Inquisitor chuckle, "You've never heard the children's tales, boy?"

Ezra glared over at the man, breaking his and Kanan's gaze.

"He can't mean…" Sabine trailed off, her eyes wide.

Kallus rushed into the room suddenly, drawing the attention to himself. He looked at the Inquisitor and said, "Darth Vader's ETA is about fifteen minutes."

Ezra watched at Kanan shut his eyes and Sabine's face went slightly pale. The boy felt confusion and worry bubble in his gut. He hadn't ever heard of someone named Darth Vader, but for some reason the name made him frightened. Maybe it was just the expressions of his friends, but it was still terrifying.

The Inquisitor looked smug. Kanan's eyes opened to show concern. Sabine looked like she had just been slapped. And Kallus looked unfalteringly stoic.

"Who is that?" Ezra asked, looking at Kanan.

Kanan replied quietly, "Essentially…The Emperor's right hand guy."

Ezra's heart dropped. Ok…That was scary. Scary because the Emperor probably didn't hire just anyone to stand beside him. Ezra swallowed thickly and looked down at the floor, trying to let the graveness sink in. Maybe Hera and Zeb could still find a way to rescue them…But if Kanan's face meant anything, it meant that things were about to be very, very bad.

Bad and messy.

"Well," The Inquisitor hummed. "I suppose that answers your questions, hm little one?"

Ezra couldn't muster the energy to glare. Dread was taking that place in the pit of his belly and he leaned against the wall behind him, thinking hard. He felt trapped and slowly but surely the hope from before was turning into thoughts of 'what if'. What if they got transported from the compound? What if they were brought to the Emperor? There was no telling what kind of security that would entail.

"I think you two have gotten him worried," Kallus hummed, aiming the statement at Sabine and Kanan. "Aren't the elders supposed to put on a brave face?"

Kanan snapped, "Oh shut up."

Kallus didn't reply, but simply turned on his heels and exited the room. The Inquisitor stayed, much to Ezra's dismay and tilted his head at the three rebels. He questioned, "I don't believe I ever got to ask, boy. But how is it that you haven't…Changed?"

Ezra shook his head, "Even if I knew that, I wouldn't tell you."

The Inquisitor nodded slowly, "I suppose we'll find out soon enough. When they decide to slice you into tiny bits and test what remains-"

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," Kanan interrupted. "Quit spewing bullshit."

The other man just shrugged, "I'm only giving off theories of what they may do with the boy. It's a fascinating situation, do you not think? That someone so young and seemingly so…unimportant would be the one to carry the cure to the virus that destroyed the planet. Almost…Biblical, don't you think?"

Kanan was silent and the Inquisitor continued, "And we all know how it ended up for that seemingly insignificant savior, do we not?"

Ezra looked at the floor and everyone was quiet. He rubbed his pained wrist that was now constricting against his splint. He was afraid, but he didn't want them to know that. Because he was willing to die for a cure. But not a cure for the Empire. He didn't want to die for that cure. He wanted to die for the Rebellion's cure. For the people's cure.

He didn't really want to die in general…But if it meant for the better of the world, then he would.

Ezra stared blankly ahead as he let everything sink in. He wished everyone would go away because he was border lining a mental breakdown. But with all the eyes in the room he was forced to block it out. To allow a numbness to take hold and drown him.

No…No this wasn't fair.

Ezra looked up into the Inquisitor's eyes and he growled, "But we all know who really wins at the end of that story, right?"

The Inquisitor said nothing and Ezra shook his head, "You're so…you Empire Supporters are all so damn confident and it pisses me off. You're too confident…Too proud. And it's going to get all of you killed. That's why you'll lose against the rebellion. You're too busy admiring your work from the outside to realize that we're ripping it up from the inside."

Ezra jumped when the sound of a helicopter whirled overhead and he felt a shiver run down his back. The Inquisitor allowed a grin to spread over his face and he questioned, "That doesn't sound like being too proud, child. That sounds like power."

Kallus reentered the room and he nodded his head in the Inquisitor's direction, "He's here. They just landed in the abandoned car lot next door."

A few troopers came in as well, their guns at the ready. Before Ezra had time to process what was going on, he was being yanked to his feet and they were all being led out the door like cattle.

They were led from the bank parking lot through an alleyway and over to what Ezra theorized was the next-door car lot that Kallus had mentioned. After walking under a fence separating several buildings, his theory was correct as he saw a large open space with run down vehicles and a large empty space in the middle where a helicopter was. It wasn't currently spinning, but rather the pilot was standing outside of it, pulling open the sliding door.

They were placed in a line a few feet from the helicopter as the troopers stood behind them, guns pressed into their backs as a man stepped off…

The first thing Ezra noticed about him was that he was painfully tall. So much taller than everyone else around him. He bore a scar over one of his eye and his hair was sandy blond and curly. He looked to be in his late thirties to early forties, small wrinkles around his eyes. Tired eyes that were staring at them hard, showing hardly any emotion as he approached.

The troopers, Kallus, and the Inquisitor all gave salutes before dropping them. Ezra was under the impression that this must be the Darth Vader everyone was talking about earlier, because Kanan and Sabine had gone awfully pale.

Darth Vader stopped in front of them, studying them all hard. But his eyes stopped on Kanan in particular and the Inquisitor whispered something to Vader in a tone so low they couldn't hear him. Vader nodded his head and hummed, "Caleb Dume…I remember your mother."

Kanan said nothing as Vader went on, "She was a former CIA agent…Before the virus of course. She was a very good asset to the Empire, until she decided she didn't believe in our purpose anymore."

Kanan snarled, "You'll have to excuse her for being against the mass murder of millions of innocent people."

"Why would I excuse her?" Vader said in a monotone voice. "The dead do not need excusing."

Kanan looked ready to pounce but much to Ezra's relief, he didn't move. Vader's attention then turned to Ezra who almost cringed beneath his cold eyes. Vader stepped forward, his boots hitting the concrete heavily. Ezra backed up instinctively until he felt the barrel of a gun push the small of his back, making him step forward.

Vader said, "I'd like to see your wound, child."

Ezra trembled, but did as he was told. He held out the splinted arm, being sure that the scar wasn't covered. It was like it snapped something in Vader, causing him to step even closer and take the arm, surprisingly gentle. Vader didn't look frightened at all, and actually touched the wound, shocking Ezra.

Vader then released him and stepped back.

His eyes moved to both Kanan and Sabine and he ordered in a low tone…

"Execute the two rebels and put the boy in the helicopter. We're going back to the Capitol."

"What!?" Ezra shouted as someone grabbed his arm harshly. "No! You can't!"

Vader looked at him, "And why not?"

Ezra fought hard against the hold on him and he went as far as trying to sit on the ground like a three-year-old throwing a tantrum. They dragged him to his feet and he kicked out, making contact with a man's stomach. Kanan was yelling at him to stop, but Ezra reached for the trooper's belt and yanked out his hip pistol.

The troopers all lunged for him but he was quick to throw himself back and put distance before pressing the gun to his temple.

"Stop," Vader ordered harshly, causing everyone to freeze. His voice wasn't panicked. It wasn't a shout. It was just raised and harsh. Kanan and Sabine watched on with shocked expressions as Ezra pressed the barrel harder to his temple.

Ezra felt his eyes burn and he said, "If you kill them, you have to kill me too."

"You're being ridiculous," Vader was speaking evenly. "We'll kill them even if you shoot yourself."

Ezra was trembling, "If I die then the cure dies with me."

"And what makes you so sure?" Vader questioned. "We could just as easily run tests on a dead body."

Ezra raised an eyebrow, "Do you want to test that?"

"Ezra stop," Kanan growled. "It's ok. We're going to be fine. Put down the gun."

Ezra clenched his teeth and shifted, "Why're you always trying to save me? Stop. Stop trying to protect me. I don't want to live if all of you die. I don't want to be alone again."

"You're not going to be alone again," Kanan whispered. "Put down the gun…You're never going to be alone again. No matter what happens to us, you're not going to be alone."

"He's right Ezra," Sabine agreed. "You still have people who love you."

Ezra shook his head as a tear managed to slip through. He was bordering on pulling it…Just ending it right there. Because he wasn't going to watch them die. He wasn't going to watched them be fired on. But before he got the chance, there was the sound of wind moving through the air and suddenly the helicopter to their left turned into a ball of flames and everyone was thrown onto the ground in a simultaneous movement.

Ezra felt his head smack into the concrete of the car lot and the world was sliding back and forth as smoke filled the area and the sounds of helicopters whirled around his head. But he couldn't understand how that was possible if he had just seen the one beside them turn into fire…

His hand slid across the ground as he tried to stand, but he couldn't push himself up. His body had gone completely weak and he felt like the hair on his right arm had been singed off. Ezra coughed, looking around and hearing screaming as people ran back and forth.

And suddenly he was ripped from the ground and into someone's arms that began to drag him.

What sounded like firecrackers were going off around him and he was moved to a place where it was easier to breathe. His eyes peered above him and he was delighted to see a blur that was Kanan's face.

"K-Kanan?" Ezra rasped out. He saw Kanan slip off his jacket and he was suddenly pressing it to Ezra's forehead, causing the teen to cry out as a sharp pain shot through him. It was so loud though…He knew what he was hearing now had to be gunfire.

"Sabine, flag them down here!" Kanan shouted in front of him and Ezra was so confused.

He attempted to sit up, but Kanan pushed him back down. The man leaned down and spoke into his ear so he could be heard over the explosions, "We're leaving. We're leaving, ok? Stay still for a little bit."

Ezra wanted to argue that he didn't feel good and he wanted to sit up to vomit, but he couldn't speak. He grabbed Kanan's wrist, just to be sure he wasn't going to leave him. When Kanan pulled the jacket back, possibly to check the head wound, Ezra saw the piece of clothing was now bloody. Kanan pressed it back down and the wind was picking up, signaling that a helicopter was getting very, very close to where they were pressed to the side of a run-down car for protection.

"Ok, we're going!" Kanan shouted and Ezra nodded as he was lifted from the ground and Kanan was suddenly sprinting towards where the wind was coming from. Ezra didn't have to be completely aware to know that bullets were shooting past them. He craned his neck enough to see Sabine running in front of them, jumping into a helicopter that was hovering inches from the ground.

Then Kanan was reaching Ezra up into someone's arms and Kanan was jumping in behind them.

The helicopter door slid shut, pinging bullets slamming into it and an unfamiliar male's voice shouted, "Go! Go!"

Ezra felt them lift and he was being yanked from the unfamiliar arms into Kanan's. The jacket was back on his forehead and without the sounds of the gunfire, he was able to focus a bit better on what was going on around him.

Sabine was over against the far side of the helicopter…There were two people flying and there was a man in front of them, his eyes staring hard at Kanan. Ezra looked up at his guardian to see that Kanan shared the same expression.

"They sent you of all people," Kanan growled.

The other man shrugged, "You'd think you'd be thankful for any kind of help."

"She should've sent help sooner," Kanan snapped. "He was about to blow his head off."

Ezra managed to croak, "I wasn't really."

That was a lie, but he didn't want Kanan to know he was actually about to kill himself right then and there. They would surely think he was out of his mind and try to lock him up or something and Ezra wasn't willing to risk that happening. And he didn't want Kanan to dwell on it…He didn't want him to worry about it. Right now though, Ezra was worried about who these people were. He had deduced they were probably from the Alliance…But Kanan didn't seem to appreciate that this guy was here.

Kanan said nothing in response to the lie and simply shifted Ezra to lying down on the floor. The unfamiliar man moved forward, grabbing a red box off the wall. Kanan hissed, "I've got it, Rex."

Rex…Ezra had never heard of a Rex but the man simply sighed and said, "There's gauze in the box. Clean up his head and put them on for the bleeding. We'll get him checked out when we get back to the Alliance."

Kanan snatched the box less than gracefully and Sabine asked, "Where are Hera and Zeb?"

"They're driving the RV to Alliance, we managed to knock down the blockade long enough to get them through and we sent some soldiers with them," The man named Rex responded.

Ezra lifted his head a bit and asked, "And Chopper?"

"The dog?" Rex smiled a little at Ezra. "He's fine."

Kanan pulled the jacket off the wound and opened the box, pulling out a disinfecting wipe. Ezra felt the burn of it when he swiped it over the wound, but it quickly subsided when he put the cream on and pressed a sticky gauze over it.

"He'll probably need stiches," Rex informed.

"I know that," Kanan huffed under his breath and Ezra wondered why Kanan was being so snappy to the person who had just saved them from the Empire.

Sabine spoke for him by ordering, "Stop it, Kanan."

Kanan looked in her direction with a glare but said nothing. Instead he finished putting objects back into the red box and then sat beside Ezra. Ezra began to pull himself up onto his elbows and Kanan reached out to stop him, whispering, "Don't push yourself."

"I'm ok," Ezra insisted, continuing to sit up. He was fully upright when Kanan removed his hand from his arm. His vision whirled only a moment before stabilizing and he was finally able to assess the man in front of him.

He wasn't anything intimidating. He was muscular, but he looked kind of old. His beard was white and his head was bald. He was wearing armor that belonged to the Alliance, apparent by the insignia stamped on the shoulder. He smiled a little at Ezra and Ezra smiled back.

How could this guy make Kanan angry?

"So, you're the famous little boy?" Rex questioned. "You look a lot more grown up than I was expecting."

Ezra chuckled because he knew the guy was just joking. Because it was no secret Ezra was small for his age, but he appreciated the attempt to make him feel better about that. Ezra nodded his head, "You don't look like how Fulcrum sounded over the radio."

A deep-bellied laugh escaped him and Rex nodded, "You're right, I know. Fulcrum is waiting for us back at the Alliance."

"She couldn't come herself?" Kanan sounded bitter and Ezra wanted to sigh. "Had too many papers to grade?"

Rex's face went sober, "You know we can't risk our leader. Not when we've got a stable society being organized."

"Stable society my ass," Kanan said. "There's no such thing."

Ezra looked at the man with pleading eyes. Begging him to stop his tirade. Even though he wasn't sure why Kanan appeared to be upset about Rex, he didn't want it to show in this moment. Because they were safe now. They were going to the Alliance which was only a few miles away. They were finally on their way to being safe.

And that was all Ezra wanted. He wanted everyone to be safe.

Everyone was quiet for a long time. So long Ezra thought the only sound left in the world was the whirling of the helicopter. He stared out the window, watching the horizon in the distance, pretending to be in Lothal with his mother and father, sitting in the living room. A place where things were normal and everyone was happy. They didn't have much…But there was their family. And that was enough. It was always enough.

Until it hadn't been.

Hours passed. Only a few, when he saw the large wall in the distance. There were buildings behind it and they were flying straight towards it. Ezra's eyes widened and he pushed himself up to his knees, staring in amazement at the size of what appeared to be an entire city.

His concentration and glee was broken when Rex said, "It's quite large. Not many citizens yet, but we're getting there."

Ezra looked at Kanan and smiled. Kanan smiled back, though Ezra could see it was quite forced. Kanan wasn't impressed, but he had been here before. And possibly he was worried…He didn't seem to like Fulcrum all that much.

Sometimes Ezra wondered why Kanan fought for the Alliance when he seemed to distrust them to such a degree.

They flew in over the wall, Rex speaking into a walkie talkie, "We're about a minute from the landing pad."

The lower they came to the ground, the more Ezra's stomach did flips. He could see the top of what appeared to be a three-story building, with a large "H" on top, which was the helipad. A few small dots were people below, but they came more into focus the closer they got.

The helicopter jolted when they landed and Ezra was suddenly stricken with dread…

What if he wasn't what they were looking for?

What if they ran tests and he was useless?

What if all this was for nothing? Janus dying, risking lives, all the danger…

Ezra gripped his hands into fists and reminded himself to be brave. He had to be brave. For the infected…For those who were going to get infected in the future. For the sake of the people he cared about, he had to be brave and allow them to do what they had to do.

Because whether he lived or died didn't matter.

He was just one life compared to the world's.

The door slid open and the helicopter whirled to silence. They began to file out, Kanan assisting him in the long drop to the ground as the dizziness returned when they entered the sunlight. When he looked up, there was a woman in the distance, along with several other soldiers. Ezra worried because he didn't see Hera or Zeb, but he guessed it would take longer for them since they were driving.

They approached the group, and Ezra noticed when Kanan put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Sabine was smiling brightly, along with Rex, but Kanan looked so cold…So serious. Ezra began to tremble with worry. He was feeding off the man's emotions and right now they were nothing but anxiety.

Once they were in earshot, the woman spoke, "I'm so happy you all made it safely."

Ezra didn't have to be told…

This…This was Fulcrum.

He recognized the voice from the radio instantly and a shiver ran up his spine. He had to fight down a smile because even though he knew Kanan was uneasy, this was exciting for him. He was meeting the woman he had only heard stories about and heard over a radio.

Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and her skin shone in the said, "Hello Sabine and Kanan…"

Fulcrum looked at Ezra next and Ezra felt his ears burn as she continued, "And hello Ezra. I'm so happy to finally be meeting you."

She stepped forward and held out her hand for him to shake. He took it slowly, feeling the way Kanan's hand tightened on his shoulder instinctively. Ezra greeted in response, "I'm happy to meet you too, Fulcrum."

"Please, call me Ahsoka when we're in person," She chuckled. "Fulcrum is simply a code-name."

Her eyes shifted to Kanan. It was like a mother looking at her son who was constantly stepping out of line, but he had finally cleaned his room after three months of being asked. Ahsoka whispered, "Thank you, Kanan, for bringing him so far."

Kanan nodded stiffly, "Well, my crew was just as involved…Have you heard from Hera and Zeb?"

Ezra was surprised Kanan's voice wasn't angry or intimidating. In fact, it sounded exhausted. Like the weight of the past several weeks had just slammed into him like a ton of bricks. Ezra felt the same way, though he didn't know if it was that or the fact that he had busted his head open and his wrist was still broken.

Ahsoka nodded in response, "I spoke with them about fifteen minutes ago. They're still a few hours out, but they have an escort so they'll be fine."

She then looked down at Ezra and asked, "How about we find you a room and you can get cleaned up. Then we'll have a doctor see to your wounds…it appears you've been hurt."

Ezra didn't argue. He wasn't going to lie, getting cleaned up sounded like a wonderful idea. Maybe sleeping…He was so tired and his eyes were suddenly very heavy now that the adrenaline from earlier had worn off.

He was ready to sleep.

They began to walk towards the door of the roof. Both Ezra and Kanan followed close behind the group as Sabine began to chat to Rex and Ahsoka. Ezra turned to Kanan and he questioned quietly, "Are you…ok?"

He had been acting so frustrated since they had gotten to the helicopter…Since he had seen Rex. Ezra worried maybe it had to do with him threatening to kill himself…And if so he wanted to clear things up. That he wasn't really going to kill himself.

Even if that was lie.

Kanan looked at him and nodded, "I'm ok kiddo. Just glad we're safe."

"Then why were you so angry back there on the helicopter?"

Kanan opened and closed his mouth a few times before responding, "It's not important, I'll tell you later. Right now I just want to get your head and wrist looked at and let you get some rest."

Ezra swallowed thickly but nodded.

He definitely wasn't going to let the subject die.