A/N: Hey, guys. So, um... sorry? I got a serious case of writer's block on this story and it has been on the back burner for quite a while until a couple of days ago, where I suddenly rediscovered my inspiration. Yay! This chapter has a lot of action, as it's from Ezra's point of view.

Trigger warnings for physical, mental, and emotional abuse/manipulation, injury to a major character, and animal death. Reader discretion is advised.

As always, comments, questions, reviews, and helpful criticism are highly appreciated.

The air sizzled as a flash of red cut towards the child. If it wasn't for his quick reflexes, he would've gotten another scar to add to his growing collection. As it was, the miss was such a close one that the child could feel the heat of the blade pass in front of his face and smelled the acrid scent of burning hair as he received yet another impromptu haircut.

"Foolish child!" his Master snarled. The teen whimpered and bowed his head, squeezing his eyes shut in shame. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him today, but his performance was not up to his Master's expectations.

The all-too-familiar grip of his Master's fingers circling his throat made the child gasp and his hands fly up to tug weakly at the hand cutting off his oxygen supply. The pressure grew as the child's feet left the ground and he wriggled slightly, gasping for air.

"I feed you and give you shelter," the Master said quietly, his eyes sparking with fury. "I saved you from your pathetic life on the streets, and this is how you repay me? You owe me your life, child! You are mine to perfect and to control, and to be rewarded or punished as I see fit."

"I-I'm sorry… Master…" the child managed to choke out, tears rolling down his cheeks. "P-Please…"

"You dare plead for mercy?" his Master whispered. The child tried to let out a cry as the pressure on his throat increased, but he couldn't draw a breath. He choked, trying to gasp and getting nothing. The child struggled harder, but his limbs were heavy and he was too weak and there was black gathering at the edges of his vision.

Just as the child was sure he would pass out, his Master suddenly released him. The teen fell to the floor in a heap, the impact forcing any remaining air out of his lungs. He lay there, gasping, choking, and trying not to cry as his Master stood over him and sneered in contempt.

"Get up, you sniveling, wretched thing!" he snapped. The child let out a weak sob as he tried to maneuver his arms underneath him, but they just couldn't support his weight and he fell back to the floor, hitting his cheek against the cold metal ground painfully. His Master growled angrily, grabbed his arm, and yanked him roughly to his feet. When he let go, the teen wobbled but somehow managed to stay upright.

"Now we will try something new," his Master said quietly. He strode over to the panel near the door and pressed a button. Almost instantly, a trooper entered, carrying a crate. The trooper placed the crate on the ground, saluted, and left, the door sliding shut behind him. The child watched as his Master strode over to the crate and kicked it. Whatever was inside let out an angry yowl and the crate shook. "Come, Weapon."

The teen instantly went to his Master's side, anxious to avoid the punishment for disobeying a direct order. He eyed the crate nervously; whatever was in it couldn't be very big, but it didn't sound friendly.

"Inside this carrier is a loth-cat," the Master said. The teen frowned; he recognized that name, although he wasn't sure from where, exactly. "Once I open it, your task will be to tame the creature. Once you achieve this, I will set a number of tasks for you to complete. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Master," the child responded; his voice was rough and hurt in his throat, but he dared not acknowledge it. His Master did not respond, as the teen had expected he wouldn't, and used the Force to unlock the crate. Almost instantly, a tan loth-cat with black stripes burst out, landing on the hard ground and baring its teeth in a snarl. It narrowed its eyes at the child and tensed, preparing to jump.

The teen stumbled back a step and glanced at his Master. He had never been asked to do this kind of training before and wasn't quite sure how to proceed. In the brief moment where he took his eyes off of the animal, it let out an angry yowl and leapt through the air, aiming for the child's face. The teen yelped in surprise and made a violent shoving movement; the Force was quick to respond, halting the loth-cat mid-air before sending it tumbling backwards.

A harsh wave of pain swept through the child's head and he collapsed to his knees, biting back a scream. It was gone in an instant, leaving the child breathless and trembling.

"Ignorant child!" The Master snapped, using the Force to once more wrench the child to his feet. "Are you so simple you cannot follow such straightforward commands?"

"I-I'm sorry," the child whimpered. His Master snorted.

"Again. This time, do as I bid you, or there will be a worse punishment." The Master said. The child nodded and turned back to the recovering loth-cat. Its brief flight through the air and subsequent crash into the far wall had not cowed it; quite the opposite, in fact. It regained its footing rather slowly, but once it was standing it faced the child again and screeched angrily. The loth-cat stalked towards the teen, its tail lashing, and it prepared to launch itself at the teen once more.

This time, however, the child was ready. He reached out with the Force and felt for the spark of life that belonged to the loth-cat. Once he found it, he carefully grabbed it to keep the loth-cat in one place. The child took a deep breath and sent out feelings of calm and safe and peace along with vague images of wide grassy plains under open skies. The child wasn't quite sure where these thoughts were coming from, but they seemed to be working, so he kept going.

He sent the warmth of the sun on an upturned face, the feel of a breeze tangling hair, and the sight of twin moons shining bright among thousands of stars. The child could feel the loth-cat relaxing and even heard it begin to purr, but something urged him to keep going, to dive further and deeper into what he now suspected were memories, so he did.

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and slowly, ever so slowly, he began to remember.

He remembered his mother's warm smile, her rich laughter filling his home, the kisses she pressed to his forehead each night as she tucked him in; he remembered his father's deep voice, his soothing presence, his strong arms circling him as he hugged him good night.

He remembered joy, and laughter, and fun, and happiness.

He remembered pain, and darkness, and screaming, and fear.

He remembered the night his parents were taken from him, the terror he had felt, the confusion as he was quickly helped into his parents' secret room beneath the floor, his mother's breath on his cheek as she kissed him goodbye, the shine of the tears in her eyes; he remembered his father's tense arms carrying him down, his warm hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently, reassuringly; he remembered them whispering, promising they'd be back, telling him they loved him. He remembered…

"We love you so much, baby. Don't you worry. Everything will be okay."

"Just stay here, okay?"

"Be strong, Ezra."

"…Ezra…"

The child wrenched his eyes open to see his Master's furious face inches from his own. He let out a gasp and tried to stumble backwards, only to trip over his own feet and fall hard. He sat there panting, staring at his Master without really seeing him, replaying the newly-found memories over and over and over again.

"Weapon!" his Master's snarl snapped him back to reality with a jolt and the child shot to his feet, his head bowed submissively. "What were you doing?"

"I-I was… um… I…" the child- no, he thought. Ezra. My name is Ezra. - stammered. He glanced up and saw his Master narrow his eyes in suspicion, but it only lasted a heartbeat before his Master shook his head and motioned for him to be silent.

"No matter. Now that you've tamed the loth-cat, I want you to make it roll over," the Master commanded. The child- Ezra gulped but nodded. He reached out and gently prodded the loth-cat's mind, urging it to roll over as his Master had commanded. The loth-cat did happily, purring and rubbing its shoulders against the ground.

"Good. Now, bring it over here," his Master said, a pleased smile stretching across his face. Ezra nodded. It was getting easier to think of himself as being Named, but it felt good and besides, maybe it would bring back more memories. His Master did not need to know.

The loth-cat came with hardly any prompting and wound around Ezra's legs, still purring loudly. Ezra smiled and carefully pet its head. The loth-cat seemed to enjoy that, as it rubbed its head against Ezra's hand and began to lick his fingers. Ezra laughed at the feeling of the rough tongue on his skin.

Ezra's Master instructed him to make the loth-cat do more tricks, and Ezra followed his Master's commands flawlessly. He was very happy; the loth-cat seemed to like him, and his Master seemed pleased, which was always a good thing for Ezra: a pleased Master meant less punishments.

"Very good, Weapon," Ezra's Master praised after he commanded the loth-cat to complete the latest (and most complicated) trick. "I have one final task for you before you will be permitted to return to your room." Ezra nodded eagerly. Maybe if he did as his Master asked, he would be allowed to keep the loth-cat!

"Whatever you want, Master," Ezra responded. His Master smiled, but it was one a predator would give just before pouncing on its prey, all sharp teeth and cold eyes, and Ezra felt his smile slip off his face.

"I want you to kill the loth-cat. Use the Force to crush its throat," his Master said. Ezra's blood ran cold.

"W-What?" he spluttered, turning his wide-eyed gaze from his Master to the purring loth-cat. Kill it? Why? He had spent the better part of two hours building a bond with it; how was he supposed to just… kill it? "B-But… I…"

"Are you disobeying a direct order, Weapon?" his Master asked, his voice low and deadly. Ezra flinched and opened his mouth to say no, of course not, he would never think to defy his Master, but he didn't. Memories flared to life at the edges of Ezra's mind and a wave of dizziness swept over him, bringing with it voices.

"We have to stand up for what's right, Ezra. We have to fight for those who can't."

"Your father and I are trying to help a lot of people, baby. We have to be a voice in the darkness."

"There's still good in this galaxy, Ezra. Never forget that."

"Your kindness is not weakness. Your compassion can change lives."

Flashes of a life Ezra never knew he'd had were bubbling to the surface, overwhelming his senses as moments from his childhood, locked away until now, flooded his brain, bringing smells and sounds and sights and feelings in a never ending whirl of color. Ezra shut his eyes tightly, but the memories still came, and with them he could hear the distant shouting of his Master's voice.

Suddenly, the visions in his mind faded, and Ezra opened his eyes. He could hear his Master demanding the loth-cat's death, threatening pain if his orders were not followed, but Ezra could still see the faces of his parents and hear their voices telling him to be strong, be brave and good and kind, and Ezra had never felt so alive.

"No." His voice was soft but firm and he did not waver, not even when he met his Master's outraged gaze. "I won't."

Everything froze. Ezra could hear his ragged breathing and felt his heart pounding in his chest, and then pain exploded in his head.

Ezra screamed. He barely felt his body hit the floor. Sharp pain shot all through his body, fire scorching his brain from the inside out. Ezra's voice broke and he tasted blood, but he didn't care, couldn't care because his head was being squeezed and his mind was being torn apart and Ezra just wanted it to stop, he didn't care about the tears streaming down his face or the blood welling up from the scratches he gave himself as he raked his fingers down his own face, he wanted the pain gone!

And just as suddenly as it had started, the pain stopped. Ezra lay where he had fallen, panting and shivering. He heard his Master approach and saw his feet stop in front of his face, and he tried to lift his head. A hand on Ezra's jaw forced his head up and he met his Master's gaze.

"You know the punishment for disobedience," his Master said. Ezra tried to speak, but it came out as a weak moan. Ezra felt himself be lifted by the Force and held, helpless, in the air. He struggled feebly for only a second before going limp, breathing heavily.

The loth-cat let out a pained wail and Ezra's head jerked up. He watched in horror as his Master lifted the animal up by its scruff and drove his lightsaber through its gut.

"No!" Ezra cried. Tears pricked his eyes and he watched as his Master dropped the loth-cat roughly to the floor. It twitched once before going still. His Master turned away from the body and strolled towards Ezra. He stopped just in front of him and Ezra stared back at his Master, terror rising in his chest.

Ezra's Master reached out one hand and made a sharp getsure. A loud snap echoed through the room, Ezra's howl of pain following closely. His Master released him and Ezra dropped to the floor, landing hard on his newly-broken arm. The pain brought with it blackness that Ezra could not push away.

"A Weapon never disobeys its Master," Ezra's Master said quietly. Ezra's world dissolved into darkness and he let himself be enveloped by nothingness.