Alone. There he sat, with only his thoughts to keep him company. Curled up in the corner of the cold cell was all young Ezra could do to keep himself warm. As he rubbed his arms in a futile attempt to keep warm (though not too much or he would agitate his many cuts and bruises), he looked around the cell for the thousandth time, only seeing the dark gray walls that trapped him in that retched cell on the horrible imperial base. He looked around and considered for at least the hundredth time that everywhere else would be better than this place. Surviving on the streets didn't seem nearly as bad as this wretched place, at least he had been free; even if he starved and was constantly cold on the streets with nowhere to sleep and no one as a companion.

In this imperial base he was forced to go through torturous training sessions, was beaten by not only the troopers who were 'training' him, but also by other inquisitors who were ordered by the Grand Inquisitor to show the child no mercy. If Ezra resisted training then he was restrained tightly and painfully in cuffs, in chains, or was stuffed in a cage that he could barely move in. The poor kid especially hated when they strapped him to a torture table, it always meant they would not just punish him by restraining him, but also meant torture for him with intense electroshocks, like they thought it would break him, but he wouldn't .

Sometimes they also restrained him to test new drugs. Ezra hated that, he could never predict what effect it would have on him. One day it felt like he was on fire, while another day he kept seeing different swirling colors that made him dizzy.

The prison barley fed Ezra; sometimes not at all as a form of punishment. Ezra felt skinnier, weaker than he had been on the streets. Ezra's stomach rumbled at the thought of food and water; he was so thirsty, and hungry that it was giving him a massive headache. When not being tortured or forced to train. Sometimes he was left for long periods of time to freeze in the lonely cel he was in at the moment. The isolation seemed to do the worse to Ezra mentally. No noise, no one talking, it was enough to make someone mad. Not that it mattered anyways. Ezra could go mad, could just crock from the torture and training anyways; because the next day he was to be sent to Mustafar, to be executed.

Death, it frightened him. Ezra couldn't suppress a shudder of just thinking of what was waiting him, Mustafar. The aching pain he was feeling now from the wounds, from "training" would probably be nothing compared to the pain he would experience there. The threat of going to Mustafar was something the Inquisitor used to try to keep Ezra in line and now he was being transferred there. This was all his fault. He could feel the fear turn into burning hatred when he thought of him.

Flashback

Ezra ran down the street with several stormtroopers in pursuit. Ezra quickly scarfed down the fruit he had managed to steal; so he at least they could not take it from him. Ezra hated stealing but what choice did you have as a street rat? The empire had been trying to arrest him for two years now.

"Come back" shouted a trooper.

"Yeah right like I would wait for you to arrest me!" Ezra thought as he ran into a small alley with a wall at the end.

Ezra ran to the wall and started climbing on the pipeline, hoping it would throw them off his trail, as it had before.

"Come back here you little dirty street rat" snapped the angry troopers from below, but none of them seemed too eager to climb after him. Ezra reached the top and started to climb down on the other side of the building; His feet had barely touched the ground when he felt something cold was wrapped around his neck.

"You've tried that trick before, now hold still unless you want me to strangle you, street rat" said a voice he despised beyond anything else.

Agent Kallus, the man that first had tried to arrest him. Ezra's mom and dad had told him it was because he was force sensitive, a term he did not know at the time. It was because of this man that he had lost his parents, because they had resisted his arrest and helped him escape, at the cost of their own freedom. The empire had found his parents broadcast equipment and arrested them on the spot for helping a convict escape and for speaking against the empire. For two years, the empire had hunted him, trying to capture the force sensitive child and now they had him.

Ezra kicked and screamed in protest of being taken which made Kallus wrap his arms tighter around Ezra's neck, causing the boy to begin to blackout.

"This is Agent Kallus, we have him. Alert the Inquisitor immediately" reported Kallus in his commlink.

"Now street rat you we will go to see the Inquisitor and if your behave we might let you see your parents" Kallus sneered at Ezra.

It pierced his heart to be reminded of his parents like that, he hated Kallus so much for taking them. Ezra struggled in futile to get away, which made Kallus tighten his hold even more.

"Such a reckless animal. Let's see if a street rat can be tamed." With that Ezra lost consciousness.

End of flashback

When Ezra woke up later he found himself in the very cell he was in now, trapped by the Empire and forced by the go through torturous training and it was all because of that stupid man.

"Stupid agent Kallus", Ezra thought to himself bitterly, as it was that foul idiot who sent him here, his fault Ezra was in the situation he was in now, how much he hated that man. If he got was just a little stronger, then he would strangle him, he would use the force to...

"NO!" quickly snapped out of his anger, that was not what his parents would have wished for him, that was the reason he kept resisting. His parents would not wish that, they had always warned him against relying on hatred and anger. His eyes suddenly filled with tears as he thought of his parents.

Where were they? How were they? What was happening to them? Would they even know when he died? He couldn't hold back the tears that fell down his cheeks as he thought of how much he missed them. That was when another thought occurred to the child; were they even still alive?

They were taken almost three years ago, Ezra had no way of knowing if they were prisoner's, or if they were executed, or something way worse. It made Ezra's stomach turn at such a horrible thought, but it was possible. The Empire has executed people for less than talking bad of the Empire. Odds we're that his parents were gone, dead gone. Despite constantly reminding him that the Empire had them, he had never been allowed to see them or learn of their fate. It had made him pretty sure that the empire was lying to him and they were dead and not put away in another prison like Kallus said.

That was when Ezra couldn't help but to let out a little chuckle. If his parents were dead, then Mustafar would be a blessing. At least in death he would be away from the Empire, away from all the pain, and back with his mom and dad again. Yet death still frightened him, with its dark endlessness. Ezra had so many questions in regards to death.

Was it painful? Would his death be worse than the treatment here? He knew that whoever or whatever was waiting on Mustafar it was enough to scare the Inquisitors. When Kallus mentioned it to new prisoner's they all seemed to look away or even give a slight shiver at the name. And now he was going there, how had it come to such a sentence; because like his parents, he spoke his mind.

Flashback.

Ezra fell to the ground and gasped at the new wound in his side, even though it protested at any movement, he hurried to rise. If Ezra failed to get up quickly, he would receive a slash from the Grand inquisitor's lightsaber. The trooper was standing by his side, waiting for him to continue another round in the combat training. Ezra could feel his anger at the trooper boil and struggled to contain it.

"Again and this time attack him, try to hurt him," came the cold voice of the Grand Inquisitor.

The trooper attacked and Ezra avoided letting his anger out; his anger flamed up over the attacks, but he pushed it aside. Ezra ducked as another punch was thrown and he had to fight an impulse to smash his opponent across the floor by using the force, but he refused to do so.

"Do as I say, or there will be no food today," the head Inquisitor threatened.

Unfortunately it distracted Ezra so much that the trooper got another punch at his jaw and he felt to the ground once again.

The Inquisitor stood over the boy with angered frustration on his face, "Ezra Bridger, you useless street rat are incapable of doing even the simplest of task" The Grand Inquisitor sheared in anger as Ezra temperament finally reached its peak.

"That's because I won't do it" Ezra retorted back as he stood up, "I won't ever follow an order from you, or the Empire! I'D RATHER BE DEAD!" Ezra yelled at the Inquisitor, sounding more braver than he actually was, but let his anger guide him so he could stand up for himself.

The Grand Inquisitor with a scowl on his face raised his hand up to smack Ezra, who had held up his hands over his face in defense, only for the Pau'aun to lower it, turn around, waited for Ezra to lower his arms, before smacking the boy hard across the face so he landed on the ground. Ezra began spitting up blood. For hours the Grand Inquisitor had the troopers beating him trying to get to use the dark side, and was close to succeeding, but remained determined not to use the force as the Inquisitor wanted him to. By the end of the day, Ezra was bloodied and bruised all over, everywhere on him hurt. When The Inquisitor dragged the boy back to the cell, he threw Ezra down onto the floor hard, agitating the poor kid's injuries.

"I've had enough of you street rat." The Inquisitor criticized in disgust at Ezra before he told the kid of his decision, "you will be send to Mustafar as soon as the starship arrives in three days. Seems in death, you will escape from me after all."

End Flashback.

Since that happened two days ago (Kallus reminded him of how much time the boy had left), it was only a matter of time before he was to be brought to Mustafar. Ezra had remained in the cell with nothing to eat or drink, even though it had relieved him of the sight of the Inquisitor and troopers that beat him up, it still made him hungry and thirsty. As the familiar sensation of humor consumed him yet again, he wondered what his parents would think of him; proud that he stood up to the monster, or distraught that their only son was to die.

Ezra did not have long with that thought however as his cell opened, revealing old muttonchops.

"Get up boy". Kallus ordered as he got some binders out.

Ezra remained where he sat, turning away from Kallus in defiance. He had to fight an impulse not to kick him in the gots when he came over to him. The Agent though with a short fuse, yanked Ezra's hair up so he would stand, slammed him into the cell wall.

"You really haven't learned anything here." With that he bound Ezra's hands to a chain so Ezra could be dragged along, Kallus seemed to enjoy forcing him to follow him around, chained like a dog.

Kallus then tugged on the chain, forcing him closer, before smirking

"The Grand Inquisitor has a visitor he wants you to meet. If I were you I'd give my full attention, who knows, it may just save you from Mustafar.

Ezra now was actually wondering what the Inquisitor had in mind for him, and if it was worth it, if it meant he didn't get the ultimate punishment.