Vulnerable to the Force [Star Wars Rebels]{Wattys 2015}

Breakdown

Kanan found Hera and Sabine in the Bridger family's old house. They had cleaned it up a bit. On the table, there were two letters with imperial stamps, a photo, and a brand new lightsaber along with a note attached to it. Kanan heard their voices and took a step deeper into the home.

"Kanan! We're down here!" Sabine shouted from an underground tunnel. (The one where they found Tseebo.) "You won't believe what we've discovered!"

Kanan descended down the ladder and saw Hera and Sabine in a child's room--Ezra's room. It was cleaner than the majority of the house.

"Whoa, what are you guys doing down here? Doing a little spring cleaning?" Kanan teased.
"Very funny, but we're looking for clues on what happened to Ezra's parents," Sabine said.
"We've found a few interesting things from Ezra's parent's room," Hera said. "It's something that we should just keep to ourselves. I don't think Ezra wants to know what happened until he feels better. What did you want to tell me?"
"Another thing that we should keep just between the three of us," Kanan answered. "Ezra just opened himself to the dark side, again. I'm afraid I'm not teaching him properly!"
"Kanan, you're doing a great job! Just keep plugging away," Hera said.
"I just hope this won't affect him. He passed out during the lesson, so I brought him back to The Ghost with Zeb and Chopper," Kanan said.

Hera and Sabine froze.

"Um, are you sure you want to leave Ezra in The Ghost...alone...with Zeb and Chopper...and Zeb?" Sabine asked.
"Well, where was I supposed to leave him?" Kanan said. "I told Zeb and Chopper to not disturb him."
"I don't trust the three of them alone on my ship. I'm heading back," Hera said with a worried face. "You guys better return to The Ghost within the next hour. I'll be making dinner."

Hera left the home as Sabine and Kanan followed her.

"Sabine, show Kanan what we found," Hera ordered before she left.

Sabine brought Kanan over to the table.

"These letters are from the Empire. Read them," Sabine said solemly.

Kanan took the letters in his hands and read the first one sent to the Bridgers. They were threat notes from the Empire. There was also a note attached to it written by one of Ezra's parents. Kanan assumed it was Ezra's dad. "Hide Ezra and lock the house. I will return with weapons. The Empire won't be taking us. Just make sure, whatever happens, Ezra is safe."

****

Ezra was on his tower when he felt a strange feeling from the force. He turned around and saw the Inquisitor. He backed out onto the balcony as the Inquisitor came closer to him.

"Your master left you," the Inquisitor said as he pulled out his lightsaber. "There is no one to turn to for help, but me. I promise you won't be left again. You won't be...abandoned."
"I would never join your side!" Ezra spat.
"Oh, but you will, and you'll do it by force if need be," the Inquisitor smirked as he approached Ezra.

Ezra pushed himself against the railing as he mentally checked himself for a way of escape or weapons. There were none.

"This is the end of your training of the way of the jedi," the Inquisitor said.

After putting away his lightsaber, the Inquisitor waved his hand over Ezra and then suddenly made a fist. Ezra screamed in agony. He felt a concentrated, burning pain in the center of his head. He fell to his knees and then the pain stopped.

"Are you still not convinced?" the Inquisitor asked as he kicked Ezra and pulled out his lightsaber.

The Inquisitor grazed Ezra's arms and legs with his lightsaber. Ezra could feel the burning sensation from the heat of the lightsaber. He got on one foot and tried to escape the wrath of the Inquisitor. He descended down the elevator and made it to ground level. He heard The Ghost approaching and saw the ramp down and Kanan. Ezra felt a rush of excitement run through him and smiled as he saw Kanan. However, Kanan didn't seem too happy to see Ezra.

"Kanan! Help! The Inquisitor is after me!" Ezra shouted.
"Kid, I'm not your master anymore. We don't need you, we don't want you, Ezra," Kanan shouted back.

Ezra stared as Kanan and then saw him abruptly collapse after a laser struck him. Kanan was just killed before him. Suddenly a hand pulled Ezra back and he felt the agonizing burning sensation against his neck.

"Pathetic!" The Inquisitor said as he threw Ezra to the dirt. "You're so weak...vulnerable...."

The atmosphere of Lothal disappeared as everything blurred and turned to blackness.

"Join the dark side...there is no better choice...your 'family' is gone...your so-called 'friends' don't want you...join me, Ezra...join the dark side...."

****

Hera walked back to The Ghost and into the kitchen. She saw Zeb and Chopper lying on the floor looking up at the ceiling in front of Zeb and Ezra's cabin.

"Zeb? Chopper? What are you guys doing?" Hera asked as she approached them.
"The kid's in another nightmare or something. Everything's flying around. It's dangerous in there!" Zeb replied.
"What were you even doing in there?" Hera inquired. "Kanan told me that you he told you guys to stay away from Ezra."
"We heard the kid screaming again. We're not rude! We just wanted to see if he was okay. However, we got hit in the head with a bunch of cans and stuff," Zeb answered.

Hera opened the door and kept it open with her override code.

"No!" Ezra screamed as he woke up.
"Ezra!" Hera shouted.
"Wha-" Ezra hazily said as he sat up quickly and banged his head, then tumbled onto the ground.
"Ezra, what happened?" Hera asked, now very concerned.
"Nothing, just another nightmare!" Ezra defended himself as he stood up, feeling fine.

Hera put her hand on his forehead.

"Ezra you're burning up. Are you sure you're alright?" Hera asked.
"I'm fine, really. I'm just a little tired," Ezra replied.
"Alright, well, get some rest," Hera ordered.

Ezra crawled back up into his bed.

"You know we're worried about you, Ezra," Hera said.
"I know," Ezra moaned.
"After the crew and I have dinner, I'll make you some soup," Hera said.
"Thanks," Ezra yawned as he rolled over.

The doors closed behind Hera and she walked back to Zeb and Chopper.

"What's going on with the kid?" Zeb asked.
"I don't know. We have to tell Kanan though. We're going to have a team meeting without Ezra after dinner," Hera said.

****

Ezra was finally up and was eating his soup. He could barely recall what happened, again. He hated how guilt could get to him. It made him so mad, sometimes. Every time he stole from the people of Lothal, he regretted it and felt terribly guilty. Ezra could hear voices from the cockpit of the ship and crept up to the closed doors of the cockpit where the other team members were. He could hear through the door, well.

"Ezra just opened himself up to the dark side again. I'm afraid something will happen to him," Kanan said. "I'm afraid I failed him. I don't think I'm fit to teach him."
"Come on, Kanan, you're a great teacher," Sabine smiled.
"Look, we need to keep Ezra from getting angry, so we need to keep him from getting angry. Right, Chopper and Zeb?" Hera suggested.
"Yea," Zeb rolled his eyes and Chopper beeped.
"Anyway, we need to be honest with him about everything starting after this meeting," Kanan said. "He'll be honest with us too. I can't afford to loose him."
"He also needs to try harder," Zeb said.
"Yea, but things with Ezra aren't so easy. Maybe I should hold the lessons for now. I need to think things over," Kanan thought out loud.
"Well we still need to talk about what happened when Ezra's parents disappeared," Hera said.

Ezra quietly went back to the kitchen and closed all the doors. He paced around the kitchen as he thought about what he had done. His pace quicken as he thought of the nightmare he had. He didn't want to loose Kanan. He had no control over his emotions and Kanan was beating himself up for what he should be able to do. Ezra began to grow angry at himself for not controlling himself. His anger got the best of him. Ezra saw the meal Hera had laid out for him and destroyed it, throwing it to the floor. He stared at the scattered kitchen necessities and left for his room.

Readers,
Please tell me what you all thought about this chapter, so I can make it even better for you. Thanks so much for reading my first Star Wars Rebels fanfiction.

- Minecrafter2098