The Force Within

Chapter 6

Ezra sat curled up in the little storage compartment he sat in a lot. What was wrong with him? It was like his anger overtook him. It was all because Kanan had restricted him from Sabine. His hands clenched at the thought, and his eyes flashed yellow. The compartment he was in pulled itself inwards with a crunch, and made someone outside tell. Ezra, scared, Force-pushed the walls back out. Zeb opened the door, looking scared.
"Was that you?" he asked. Ezra nodded.
"Uh huh," he said. "Sorry." Zeb sighed, sitting down cross-legged in front of him.
"What's up, kid? You haven't been yourself."
"Nothing," Ezra said, looking away. "Im okay." Zeb sighed, standing up.
"Well, you need to eat. I'll bring you something."
"Don't bother," Ezra said dryly, pointing to some splatters on the wall in front of him. "I'll just use them for practice." Zeb shrugged, closing the door and walking away. He glanced back before he walked out, worried. He had to talk to Kanan.
"Kanan!" he called, walking into the cockpit.
"What?" Kanan said, looking back at him.
"Just wondering if you know what's up with Ezra," he asked. "He's not eating and spending all his time in that storage compartment. Just thought that since you have the force and all, that you'd know what's up." Kanan sighed, looking back at the endless stretches of space.
"I wish I did," he replied, but not very convincingly. Zeb growled, then spun Kanan around, glaring at him.
"What is it?" he asked. Kanan sighed.
"Fine. I told him that to be a Jedi, that he had to break up with Sabine."
"What?!" Zeb and Hera snapped at the same time.
"I know it was mean," Kanan yelled. "But it's the Jedi way!"
"Doing a heck of a time following that," Hera hissed.
"Fine," he said, setting his head in his hand. "Fine. Want me to tell him that it's okay? Then you get to watch him screw up a mission."
"He loves her," Hera snapped.
"Remember Skywalker?" Kanan replied. "The only reason he's dead is because he thought Padmé was going to die." They fell silent, thinking about what he had said.
"She did," Hera replied. "His Force levels were dangerous. You know that. He broke down because he couldn't hold on to who he was."
"I don't want it to happen to Ezra," Kanan said. "I know his midichlorians aren't as high as Skywalker's-no one's are, were, or will be-but they are very high."
"Well," Zeb said. "I think that the only thing keeping him focused in the first place was Sabine. Now, since he's all depressed over it, that's all he can think about." The three mulled over it for a minute, then Kanan nodded.
"I'll talk to him," he said, standing up and walking out.

He walked towards the cabinet that Ezra was in, opening it up. Ezra flinched away from the light, blinking a couple times before realizing who it was.
"Go away," he growled.
"Ezra," he said, squatting down in front of the doorway. "I just wanna talk."
"I don't wanna talk to you," he snapped.
"I know," Kanan said, reaching out and setting a hand on his shoulder.
"No!" Ezra snapped, Force-pushing Kanan backwards. Kanan slammed into the wall, but fell down right away. Ezra's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed. Kanan got up and walked over to him. He sat down beside him and pulled Ezra into an upright position on the wall, resting his head on his shoulder.
"Hey," he whispered, gently slapping the back of his hand onto the boy's cheek. "Ezra."
"Huh?" Ezra mumbled, his eyes slowly opening. He shuddered and curled up. "It's cold."
"I know," Kanan said, picking up a loaf of bread from nearby and handing it to him. "You'll feel better if you eat." Ezra nodded and began nibbling on the bread, not looking at Kanan. They sat in silence until Ezra finished his bread.
"I'm sorry," he said, setting his arms on his knees. "I was mad. I don't know what happened."
"It's okay," Kanan said, looking over at him. "The Dark Side is hard to ignore when you're that lost." Ezra shoved his fingers into his hair, pushing it back out of his face.
"I understand why you told me that," he said, pulling his fingers out. "About Sabine. I overreacted."
"No," Kanan said. "I did. It's okay if you and Sabine want to be together, Im fine with it." Ezra's face lit up, and he laughed.
"You're serious?" he asked.
"Yep," Kanan said. "Just something of you two together reminded me of something from the Clone Wars."
"The Clone Wars?" Ezra asked. "What? How do you know about it?"
"It's...influential," Kanan said. "It's how the Empire rose up." Ezra nodded, enthralled.
"Can you tell me?" he asked.
"Okay," Kanan laughed. "I'll tell you.
"Once upon a time, before the Clone Wars-"
"BEFORE the Clone Wars?!" Ezra asked, eyes wide.
"Yes," Kanan replied, "now be quiet. I want to tell this story as much as you want to listen to it." Ezra shut his mouth and nodded. Kanan continues.
"Once upon a time, before the Clone Wars, two Jedi happened upon a boy. He had a head for mechanics and was an amazing pilot. They checked him for Force ability and, sure enough, he was overflowing with it. They took him to the Jedi Council-"
"The what?" Ezra asked.
"What did I tell you?" Kanan replied. Ezra nodded. "The Jedi Council was made up of the most powerful Jedi at the time, by the way.
"So, the Jedi took him to the Council, and they tested him. In the end, they told the Jedi that he could be the Chosen One, the one to bring balance to the Force. But they also sensed much hatred in him, so they forbade the Jedi from training him. Now, the Master disagreed with them and said he would take on the boy's training himself. He died a couple weeks later. His Padawan took on the boy's training and they grew up as the most inseparable of friends. Later on, the boy grown into a man, he was worried. His Force powers were letting him foresee the future and he was scared. His wife-which was illegal back then-was supposedly going to die. He had to resort to desperate measures to make sure it wasn't going to happen. The Dark Side took him in.
"So many Jedi were killed the day the Empire took over. No one was safe. They killed anyone with Force ability, young or old. Only a few of us escaped. Now the few Jedi who remain are scattered across the galaxy, hoping for someone to stand up and waiting for the right time to strike back." Ezra slowly took it all in, in slight disbelief. He nodded slowly.
"What happened to the wife?" he asked.
"She died right before giving birth," Kanan replied. "Like the man had seen." Ezra nodded.
"I can see why you didn't want me with her," he said. "That's...scary."
"I know," Kanan replied. "But I trust that you can control yourself." Ezra nodded.
"I'll definitely try," he said. He thought for a couple seconds. "Do you know for sure if there any other Jedi out there?"
"No," Kanan replied. "Luminara was the closest we've ever come." Ezra nodded, looking at Kanan. He looked tense, but clearly was trying to hide it. Ezra felt the same. Suddenly Sabine ran in, a huge smile on her face.
"You guys have to see this!" she said breathlessly, grabbing their arms and pulling them up, dragging them into the room with the Holonet.
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And everything works out in the end! Yay! ^•^ Lets see how long it all lasts!
-Rune