Hello! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 5 – Drip

"Ezra!" Kanan shouted, as if this could miraculously bring his padawan to his side, unharmed. The rational part of his mind told him it was impossible, and Ezra had to be dead. He would have ignored this voice, if not for the blood.

Blood. There was blood everywhere.

Kanan's eyes widened, taking in every pain staking detail that was caught in his sight. It was smeared on the control panel, some of it still fresh, while a dry pool coated the floor. Dim light reflected off of the blood, giving the room an eerie feel. It had all the makings to be something out of a horror tale that smugglers told of finding partners murdered by other gangs; except, Ezra was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?" Ahsoka snarled, her grip tightening on her sabers. Kanan, despite the feelings of shock overriding his mind, was still surprised at the venom that dripped from her words. She was always cool, collected, and steady in the face of danger; he supposed he was seeing a whole new side to the ex-Jedi, one that was bold and fierce. He made a note to look out for it in the future.

"You'll find out soon enough," the female inquisitor said. Her taunting voice could be heard, but Kanan sensed something that lied underneath it, something more… worried. Realization dawned on him.

"You don't know where he is, do you?" Kanan asked, raising an eyebrow and pretending, if only for a moment, that there was not so much blood, blood-

Turning to look back at the inquisitor, he saw a flash of surprise dance across her eyes. He could not help but smirk at the thought of Ezra, injured, still being able to escape. His comment was completely correct, and Ahsoka knew it too.

"And since you don't know where he is," she said, slipping back into her calm persona, "You have nothing to bargain with." Her arms twisted her blades, showing off their vibrancy and power as she shifted into a fighting stance. Kanan, not one for the theatrics (and knowing that he could never pull that off), just shifted into a fighting stance, gripping his blade tighter.

"Don't bet on it," the inquisitor snarled, before three probe droids came up from behind her. Their red eyes glowed as their long claws pinched together. "Find him," she ordered, and the droids went racing off, all in three different directions.

Kanan's face fell. Ezra was injured, alone, and now he was being hunted.

Things could not get much worse than this.

A beeping light lit up on the female inquisitor's wrist, and another smile shifted into place.

"Well, fifth brother," she said. "Looks as if our reinforcements have arrived." She ignited her red blade and charged, rage filled eyes looking only at Ahsoka. She easily blocked her attack and turned towards Kanan, shouting over the sound of their blade's sizzling.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" Kanan did not need to be told twice. Turning he raced off after one of the probe droids, his blue lightsaber moving up and down with his hand. Behind him, he heard more lightsaber clashes, and a wave of uncertainty flowed through him. However, he shook it from his head; Ahsoka was more than capable of holding her own.

Besides, it was time for their own reinforcements to arrive.

Taking out his comm and activating it, he spoke.

"Ghost team, this is Spector one."

"Kanan!" Hera said, her voice sounding both relieved and concerned simultaneously. "Are you alright? Where's Ezra?"

"He escaped," Kanan explained in between gasps. "And we need to find him before the Empire does. Their reinforcements have-" He heard Hera grunt over the comm and slid to a stop. "Hera?"

The only answer he heard was static. "Hera!" he shouted again, hoping somehow that she had just dropped the comm, or Chopper was messing with the signal – but still, Hera's voice did not answer his call. Muttering a curse under his breath, he put the comm away. He was no help to Hera on the base, and he was no help to Ezra if he was worrying about Hera. He had to focus on the task at hand.

Breaking back into a sprint, his legs raced across the desolate base, jumping over stray ruble and crouching under fallen beams. He almost hit his head on a particularly low beam that was just about Ezra's height, but managed to avoid – only barely. The next thing he knew he had tripped over a jumble of fallen crates, his head smacking into the ground.

Groaning, he slowly stood up. Shaking off the ache, he turned to look to his right, only to find the droid he was looking for.

It beeped as it scanned the walls for any trace of life, its red eye shifting left and right. So far, it was oblivious to Kanan's presence; but that would not last long.

Kanan ignited his blade and charged forward. The droid whipped around, just in time for him to slice his blade through the metal. It clattered onto the floor in two pieces.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of another probe droid. Assuring himself that there was no way the one on the floor was still operational, he glanced up, seeing the source of the sound. The second probe droid raced across the hallway, not paying any attention to him at all.

He bolted, not wanting to lose the droid. Turning down the path that it had taken, his eyes narrowed at the sight before him.

Both of the protocol droids were in the hall, beeping quickly at each other. Kanan was not sure what was going on, but he was sure that he did not like it.

"Hey!" he shouted, and the droid's attention diverted to him. He pulled his blade up so its light shined on his face. The droids raced towards him, but Kanan stood still. It was not until the last second when he acted.

Ducking under the droids, they flew by, not expecting the move. As they flew overhead, Kanan slashed his lightsaber up, the satisfying noise of cutting through metal sounding in his ears. It clattered onto the floor, still sparking.

The second one, however, was faster than he had expected. It latched on to Kanan's hands and lightning shot through his veins. He let out a shout of pain, before taking his hands and slamming them into the wall.

Dazed, the droid detached, and Kanan took a few steps back. His lightsaber was lying on the ground, right underneath the hovering droid.

Said droid was advancing towards him, electric sparks sizzling every so often as a threat. Kanan, his mind still dazed, had no choice but to back away.

The droid, however, grew impatient. It lunged at Kanan, hoping to latch onto him and stay there for good. Kanan, however, just came out of the haze. His eyes widened, and thanks to his fast reflexes he ducked underneath the droid, using the force to pull his lightsaber to his hand. Standing back up again, the droid was already advancing his way – but with a swipe of his blade, it was advancing towards the floor.

Kanan retraced his blade, panting. Now that the probe droids were not hunting Ezra anymore, he had the upper hand. He just needed to hope that he would find Ezra before the Empire's reinforcements—

A clang sounded down the hall, echoing off of its rusting walls. It sounded like something clanging against the metal, but Kanan could not be sure. However, he was sure that there was another noise that he had not noticed before: a drip, drip, drip.

Eyes narrowed, he advanced forward a few meters, before stopping. The noise had ceased, but he could sense that something was off. Whatever was making that noise was trying its hardest not to be found.

This time, instead of hearing the drip – he felt it.

Looking at his shoulder where now a small drop of liquid rested, Kanan looked up; he was standing underneath an air vent grate.

Realization dawned on him.

He quickly reached up with his hand, and with the force closing the gap, he pulled the grate down. It was far too narrow for him to fit through, but that did not mean it would stop him.

He was about to jump up when the first noise began again; he realized he was correct in his first assumptions. This time, however, it continued on. It was a clang, clang, followed by the sounds of the metal groaning.

"Ezra?" Kanan whispered, hoping that his padawan's bright face would appear in the grate, eyes wide and filled with energy. Instead, the noise stopped – and a voice replaced it.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~