Invaders of Darkness

Chapter 11 - Back Home

Author's Note: I'm terrible at writing trauma recovery and slow-paced stuff like that so I'm just gonna include important scenes that have to do with that, and not all these tiny little details that I have no idea what they should even be. I mean it's not like I have experience with things like this anyway. :P

So this is basically gonna be Ezra's first week or so with the Ghost crew. ^-^

~ Tirana Sorki

As far as Kanan is concerned, he should have been out of the medbay a long time ago. He may not be totally healed, but it's still manageable, and he's been injured worse before anyway. Besides, it's already been a couple days since the battle on Endor and he hasn't had a chance to go back to the Ghost to see Ezra again either.

He leans back against the bed, feeling admittedly irritated, when a blonde head suddenly pokes into the room. "Luke!" he exclaims, pushing himself into a sitting position, "What are you doing here?"

"Coming to check on you," the boy replies with a shrug, as he slips into the room. "I haven't seen you since the battle of Endor, and I've been hearing rumors..."

Kanan frowns. "What sort of rumors?"

"Some people saying that you found Ezra... who's apparently still alive? And some saying something about us having arrested an Inquisitor... and then there was the fact that you were injured," he explains, eyeing him searchingly.

"I'm fine," he sighs, only realizing in this moment how exhausted he still is.

"Then why are you in the medbay?"

"Because they won't let me out yet," he deadpans, before shifting back to the more serious matter at hand. He really doesn't want to get into this right now, but the sooner the better. "And yes, we did find Ezra. Did none of the others tell you about it?"

"I didn't really get the chance to ask them," Luke replies. Oh. Well. Then this is up to him.

"He's been... with the Inquisitors for the past six months," Kanan explains slowly, guilt and despair twisting inside him as he thinks about what happened to his son. "I don't know what they did to him... but they wiped his mind somehow and forced him to work for them."

Luke winces visibly. "That's horrible," he murmurs, sympathy and regret flashes across his face, echoing into the Force around him. "Is he – stupid question. How is he now?"

Kanan wavers, finally shrugging. "It will take him time to recover, and I'm not sure if the memory damage is permanent or temporary." He doesn't add how tense Ezra is, how he seems to fear them and what they might do to him. It's hard now, and he hasn't even spent any time around him now that he's back with them again. The recovery process will be very hard, and Kanan wonders if he shouldn't ask Obi-Wan for help. The Jedi Master should surely be able to provide some insight or assistance or something.

Luke hums an agreement. "If – if there's anything I can do..."

"I'll let you know," Kanan promises. "There's something else I should tell you," he adds after a moment.

"What?" asks Luke, seeming to pick up on the sudden serious note in his voice.

"Ezra... He was with the Inquisitors there... back on Tatooine."

Luke twitches at the mention, a shadow passing over his face. He clearly understands the unspoken implications; Ezra may well have killed his aunt and uncle. Kanan feels so bad for Luke in this moment, but he knows that it's not his place to help him. He will, no doubt, turn to Obi-Wan which is for the best. Kanan won't be able to give him the support he needs while he comes to term with the realization that his guardians' killer may have been a mind-wiped former Jedi.