The Perils of Death (Star Wars Rebels)

Awakening

Ezra Bridger shook himself awake. He couldn't remember what had happened to him, where he was, or how he had gotten there. Glancing around he realized that he was in what appeared to be a battle ground. The hallway walls were scorched with blaster marks. Several storm troopers were lying on the ground. He saw his jacket nearby on the ground. It must have fallen off. Ezra put it on, stood up, and walked out the door, into the outside world.

The landing platform was in shambles. There were several fires still burning from a previous battle. Smoke filled the air. More dead storm troopers were on the ground.

"What happened here?" Ezra asked himself. "And where is the rest of the crew?"

Ezra's communicator beeped. He lifted it to his ear, struggling to make out the voice behind the static. He could only catch a few words.

"Did you finish deliv . . . supplies?" Hera's voice asked.

"It's all taken care . . . " Sabine's voice replied. "We'll be . . . rendezvous."

"Bay seven. Don't . . ." Hera told her.

"Got it. How's Kanan . . . up?"

"How . . . expect?" Hera asked. ". . . telling him not to . . . hope. Just because . . .  find him doesn't mean that . . . the worst."

"I'm . . . the kid . . . alright," Sabine said. She didn't sound like she believed her own words. Or perhaps that was just the bad transmission signal. Ezra realized with a start that they were talking about him. He attempted to turn on his communicator.

"Hey, guys! I'm alright!" he said into the communicator. Only static answered him. "Guys?"

The communicator must have stopped working, Ezra thought. I'll just have to meet them at the rendezvous. Bay seven.

He left the fiery ruins behind him and pressed on into the nearby settlement. It was silent, which wasn't unusual for this time of night. When any citizens spotted Ezra, they gasped in fear and quickly shrank back, melting into shadows or vanishing behind closed doors. Ezra figured he must look pretty beat up. After all, he had just come from a battle ground. He probably looked like a ghost.

Ezra reached the doors of Bay 7. It was the only doorway with functioning lights. He hesitated a moment before opening it.

Hera, Sabine and Zeb were speaking in low towns near the Ghost. Chopper and Kanan were nowhere to be seen. When the door closed behind Ezra, the rebels turned to confront the newcomer. They blinked in astonished surprise.

"Ezra?" Sabine asked.

"Ezra! I'm so glad you're safe!" Hera declared, running forward. She paused a foot away from him. "Although you do look a little worse for wear."

"Why? What's wrong with me?" Ezra asked.

"You just . . . look like you've been through a war zone, that's all," Hera said.

"I can't remember anything. What happened?" Ezra asked.

"Come inside," Hera told him. "We'll tell you there. And I'm sure Kanan will want to see that you're alright."

They escorted Ezra onboard the Ghost, where they sat him down on the couch in the lounge. Sabine left to fetch Kanan.

"Where were you all this time?" Hera asked. "Why didn't you answer your communicator?"

"I just woke up a little while ago at some sort of place where a battle happened. My communicator wasn't working," Ezra explained. Kanan entered the room, followed closely by Sabine and Chopper.

"You're alive!" Kanan said. "Don't you ever not answer your communicator again!"

"Why did everyone think I was dead?" Ezra asked. "All I know is that I woke up in a battleground and my communicator was malfunctioning." Kanan glanced at Hera in a questioning sort of way.

"He doesn't remember any of the battle or what happened to him," Hera said. "I was just about to explain it to him."

"It would be really helpful. Maybe I'll be able to remember what happened to me," Ezra said.

"We were raiding an imperial communications tower," Hera began. "We had to cut off communications so we could get supplies to the planet's surface. During the attack, we all got split up. You suggested that you continue on alone and take out the communications while the rest of us smuggled the supplies. We reluctantly agreed. You took out the communications, and we hadn't heard from you since. We couldn't search for you yet because too many stormtroopers were swarming the area. We had to hope you were ok."

"I can't remember any of that," Ezra said.

"He's here now, so we should probably get going before the Empire shows up," Sabine reminded everyone.

"Right," Hera said. "We're together again, and that's what's important. We can worry about Ezra's memories later."

"But they will come back, right?" Ezra asked.

"We'll work on it," Hera promised.