Collapsing onto the ground, Ezra was panting, his lungs and legs burning from the amount of running. He didn't know how far and how long he ran, but it was enough to leave him exhausted.
Looking up, he noticed an abandoned house just a meter or two away from him. Using his anger and pain as strength, he managed to crawl to the door. He opened the door with some struggle, and collapsed inside, the door shutting swiftly behind him.
He stayed where he was for what felt like an eternity, and took the time to look around. Dust covered every inch of the place, making his nose itchy and he sneezed. There was a couch near him.
Groaning in annoyance on having to move again, he crawled to the couch, clambering onto it, and was satisfied to go through all the effort for something more comfortable to lay on.
"Why," Ezra whispered heartbrokenly, his eyes fluttering shut. "I… I can't believe I actually thought that the Inquisitor returned my feelings…"
Doesn't matter right now. I'm safe… And tired. Maybe it won't hurt to just take a quick nap. Just long enough to regain all my strength…
That was the last thought he had before he fell asleep.
But little did he know, a certain Seventh Sister was sitting at the table, looking very much amused. Standing up, she picked the exhausted boy up who didn't stir when she walked to her ship. Oh, how fun this shall be…
"We're not leaving," Kanan snapped. "Not until we find Ezra. He couldn't have gone that far! Where did you last see him?"
"We told ya," Zeb said in annoyance, "we were busy getting the crates. We didn't see him, and we didn't hear him either."
Kanan groaned in frustration. "Well, we better start looking. Hera goes north, Sabine south, Zeb west, and I'll go east."
"And I'll stay here in case he comes back," a voice said from the right.
The others turned around, instantly pointing their weapons at the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor put his hands up in surrender, saying, "I mean you no harm. And I can't kill you anyway; Ezra and I had made a deal, but that doesn't stop me from hurting you. Now, you either allow me to help you, or I'll just tag along."
It was quiet for a moment until Hera said, "I'll stay here in case we need a quick getaway. Inquisitor, you can go with Kanan to the east. I'll take the ship to the north, while Sabine goes south and Zeb west."
"What?" Kanan snarled, glaring at Hera. "I am not going with that kriffing sithspit!"
"Shut that mouth of yours, you Felek," the Inquisitor snarled back, baring his teeth slightly.
"Frag you!"
"Jedi scum!"
"Kriffin force-forsaken hut'uun!"
"Moronic kriffing rebel scum!"
"Go to hell!"
"ENOUGH!" Hera yelled. The two Jedi stopped bickering, staying quiet as they glared at each other. "The pair of you are wasting time that could be used to find Ezra. For all we know, he may be in danger! You two start heading east, while the rest of us go our ways." With that, she turned on her heel, storming into the Ghost.
Zeb and Sabine looked at each other, shrugged, and went their respective ways.
Kanan sighed, turning to the east and walking, looking around for any signs of Ezra. The Inquisitor walked quietly behind him, not saying a word.
It was quiet for five minutes, the whole time tense until Kanan asked, "Why do you want to help us? So you can hurt Ezra again?"
Before he could stop himself, the Inquisitor snarled, "I never meant to hurt him, and I will never hurt him again. He means too much to me." The Inquisitor looked at the ground now, his steps not as light from the anger and hurt inside him.
"Means too much to you?" Kanan snorted. "The only reason he would mean too much for you is because you just want to turn him to the Dark Side so you can please your Master."
Something inside him snapped. Since he was walking next to Kanan now, it made it easy to round on the Jedi. Glaring at Kanan, the words left his mouth before he could stop himself, the emotions too powerful. "I DID WANT TO TURN HIM TO THE DARK SIDE! I WOULDN'T DARE DO THAT TO HIM NOW, AND YOU KNOW WHY, YOU STUPID REBEL SCUM? BECAUSE I LOVE HIM! I DON'T CARE IF MY MASTER TORTURES OR KILLS ME BECAUSE OF IT! AS LONG AS EZRA IS SAFE, I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME!"
The Inquisitor took a deep breath, his breathing now heavy. He stared at the ground, feeling the tears burning in the back of his eyes as he whispered, "And now… Now I could have lost him. I…" He looked away and he snarled, turning on his heel and marching east. "Forget what I said. We better keep looking; we're wasting time standing around."
Kanan was staring after the Inquisitor in shock, not sure on what to think. Suddenly, before he could stop himself, he jogged up to the Pau'an. Grabbing the Inquisitor's shoulder and turning him around so they faced each other, he said, "Being Ezra's Master and viewing him as my own son… Seeing him with the enemy makes me want to kill you. But… I trust Ezra, and if you make him happy and he makes you happy, then that's all that matters. The age difference does make me feel uneasy, but then again, some relationships are like that. And I can't exactly say anything on a human and non-human relationship, cause hell look at me and Hera, we're happy with a mutual kind of love between us. But if you so much as step out of line and hurt him…" He trailed off, his eyes saying everything else.
The smile the Inquisitor gave was sincere, slightly shocking Kanan. "I would never hurt him; not again, anyway. I… Thank you, Kanan. Truly, thank you."
Kanan smiled. "No need to thank me. But that leaves one thing… The Empire."
"I think it's time I leave them," came the reply, "I can't risk Ezra being in trouble. But as with the Dark Side… Maybe, maybe there might be a chance to redeem myself."
"As Yoda once said, 'the dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see the future it is.' Or something like that. I guess you aren't one hundred percent Dark Side, huh?"
The Inquisitor's smile grew slightly bigger. "Yeah, I guess I'm not."
They stayed like this for a moment, and the peaceful quiet was broken by Kanan drawing his hand back to his side, laughing as he said, "We best keep searching."
The Inquisitor nodded, and they kept searching, the whole time the sincere smile still on the Pau'an's face.