Life uses responsibility attack! It is super effective! Now I have to go to class. I hope you all like the chapter!


This was a strangely horrifying situation that Ezra had never experienced before. Every logical fiber of being screamed at him to move, fight back, run away, do something. And yet, for some reason unknown to him, he remained still under the glowing amber gaze of the Inquisitor. Even though he wasn't physically bound or imprisoned, he felt trapped by whatever unconscious decision was holding him in place. Even though it was confusing and confining, it felt oddly… right. It wasn't right in a way that was comforting or pleasant. In fact, it was far from it, but it was so familiar in a way that he had never experienced before. He reacted on instinct, compliant with some part of his mind that whispered for him to stay still, to submit to the being before him. That this was how it was supposed to be. As these thoughts overtook his mind, he deactivated his slingshot and lowered his arms to his sides, leaving himself completely unarmed.

With this strange feeling overwhelming and erasing every thought of running or fighting, he stood calmly before the approaching man. His mind felt clearer than it ever had before, the pain from earlier just a vague memory that quickly disappeared before he could even attempt to focus on it. None of his thoughts were important in this moment. The only thing that mattered was whatever the Inquisitor desired of him. Even in his empty and almost thoughtless state, he still vaguely noted the glint of excitement and something else he couldn't quite identify flashing in the intense golden eyes locked on his. If he had been thinking clearly he would have felt uneasy, if not outright scared, by what he saw, but in his current state he simply stared back at the approaching figure and watched silently as the Inquisitor stopped a few feet in front of him.

The mocking smile that the Inquisitor had worn during his brief duel with Kanan and morphed into a wide, sinister grin as he stared down at him. Now that he was closer, Ezra could make out more of the emotions playing out in the gaze of the man before him. Excitement and almost child-like glee added a wild ferocity to the intimidating gold, but that wasn't what made a small part of him try to fight back against his strange reactions. The emotion that he had failed to identify as the Inquisitor approached had suddenly become clear to him, and he didn't like it one bit. He could even feel it now, the strong feeling of possessiveness that radiated from the Inquisitor so strongly. It was like the man thought that Ezra was a long lost item, something that he owned.

However, the part of him that protested was too small and weak to do anything, and was quickly silenced and swept away as the Inquisitor spoke to him. His voice was the only thing that seemed to remain lodged in his mind. "How foolish of me to be deceived by the feeble lies of insignificant traitors," the man mused with a low chuckle. "It is by the will of the Force that their scheme has failed. Their interference did nothing but delay the inevitable."

There was movement behind the Inquisitor. Ezra registered it and analyzed the threat of the situation. Whoever was moving was behind the Inquisitor and blocked from his view, but he could hear the uneven gait of the person as they approached and the hitch in their breath every time they took a step. Injured, in pain, struggling to stay on their feet. All of this and the Inquisitor's lack of reaction led him to the conclusion that the approaching person was not a current threat. There was no need for him to act at this time. He would wait for the Inquisitor to give him an order or for the unknown person to attempt an attack. The Inquisitor watched him through the whole thought process with a knowing smirk before turning to face whoever was approaching. "It seems that gratitude is in order, Jedi. You have unwittingly returned a valuable weapon to the hands of the Empire."

"What are you talking about?" The voice of the Jedi rang out, and Ezra added new information to his list of observations. Male adult, probably mid to late 20s. He still had yet to attack, even though Ezra could now see the glow of his blue lightsaber around the Inquisitor's form.

The Inquisitor laughed at the Jedi's question. "A completely obedient soldier with powers beyond your imagination, all contained in an inconspicuous and innocent-looking child that can effortlessly gain the trust of others before destroying them. I see the boy joined your crew easily enough, and you welcomed him with open arms. Trust is such a fragile thing, isn't it?"

With those words, the Jedi appeared to find his strength and brought up his lightsaber to strike the Inquisitor, who made no move to stop him. After all, he didn't have to. Ezra quickly raised his hand and called to the Force, feeling a small surge of exhilaration as it answered him. Now was the time for him to act.


Kanan had had quite enough of the Inquisitor's smug, triumphant voice. He didn't know what he was talking about, but he knew that something was wrong with Ezra and the man before him was the cause of it. If he took him down, or at least got him away from Ezra, he might be able to try to help his padawan snap out of whatever was affecting him. He raised his lightsaber to strike and was confused when the Inquisitor didn't move to defend himself. What was he doing? Why would he-

A sudden very strong push in the Force sent him flying back into a nearby stack of crates. He cried out in pain as his injured leg impacted painfully with the ground. Luckily, there was no sound of bones breaking, so he assumed he was mostly alright. He pulled himself up from the ground and eyed the Inquisitor warily. He hadn't even seen the man move! How had he managed to Force push him without using his hands? And the strength behind the push had been immense, much stronger than anything Kanan had ever felt before. Just what was this man capable of?

However, the Inquisitor was quick to end his train of thought by moving to the side to give him a clear view of his true assailant. Ezra was still standing where Kanan had last seen him, thankfully unharmed. Kanan had been sure that the Inquisitor would simply cut him down when he saw his chance. His growing relief quickly turned to confusion and concern when he took a closer look at his padawan. Ezra's eyes, always a bright and vibrant blue that reflected the happiness and light within him, were dull, vacant, and void of all emotion. One arm was still outstretched, as if he were ready to attack him again. "Ezra! What are you doing?"

It was the Inquisitor who answered instead. "He is doing what he was trained to do," the man stated, moving to stand behind Ezra and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. Kanan waited for Ezra to react, to pull away, to do something, but he didn't even flinch at the sudden contact. Instead, he kept his empty gaze trained on Kanan as if daring him to make another move. The Inquisitor smiled as he enjoyed their tense interaction. "He is eliminating a threat to the Empire."

No, that couldn't be. This was Ezra they were talking about! The kid had fought against the Empire at every chance he got. His own parents had been taken away by Imperials, forcing him to live on his own! There was no way that he would ever willingly side with the people who had brought so much pain and suffering to his life. The Inquisitor had to be controlling him somehow, right? He tried to ignore the nagging doubts growing in his head, but he couldn't quite push away the thought that Ezra may have been lying to them all along and had planned to betray them from the beginning. He shook his head and quickly shifted his doubts to the back of his mind. Ezra had only started acting this way when he met the Inquisitor, so it had to be caused by his influence. He needed to get through to Ezra and snap him out of it. "Ezra! I don't know what he's done to you, but you need to fight it! Don't let him control you!"

Once again, it was the Inquisitor who responded with an amused chuckle. "You're far too late for that, Jedi. The boy is mine." He took a step back from Ezra and thoughtfully considered the scene for a moment. "As much as I would enjoy killing you myself, I would hate to waste a powerful resource at my disposal." A chill went down Kanan's spine as he realized what the man was planning to do. He watched in horror as the Inquisitor turned back to Ezra and ordered, "Kill him."

"Don't listen to him!" His desperate cry went unheard by his padawan. Kanan felt himself being lifted into the air. "Ezra, stop!"

The boy ignored his pleas and continued to follow the Inquisitor's command. Kanan had a moment to register that Ezra's clouded blue eyes had changed to amber before he felt the grip on him through the Force tighten and begin to crush him. He gasped in pain and frantically called out one last time. "EZRA!"

The pressure around him vanished abruptly, dropping him back to the floor in a heap. His chest heaved as his lungs tried to recuperate from being so constricted. Groaning in pain he lifted himself up to see what had happened. The Inquisitor appeared to be just as confused as he was, staring down at the small, kneeling form at his feet. The boy had silently fallen to the ground and was now clutching his head as if in immense pain. "Ezra?" Kanan rasped, unsure of what to do.

Without warning, the Force seemed to explode around Ezra. It was a wild and uncontrolled blast that was indiscriminate it it's destruction, taking out crates, Jedi, and Sith in its wake. Kanan crashed into a wall, his head smacking the solid surface before he slid to the floor.

The last thing he heard before everything went black was the sound of Ezra screaming.