AN: Alright! Chapter two for all the lovely reviews! :)

Chapter Two

"Power"

There was something unnerving about him opening his eyes.

Something in his gut told him he was safe. That he was in the Ghost and with the crew. But, then again, it wasn't like how he usually woke. It wasn't peaceful, if anything it was like waking up after a bout of being drugged. Like he had been forced into sleep. Which in all actuality he had.

Ezra blinked hard, focusing his eyes. What was left of the darkness inside of him caused him to sit forward quickly, trying to fling himself from the bed and run. He wanted to outrun the fear that was still living in his core. He wanted to get away from it.

But, he was stopped by a pair of hands gently pushing his shoulders back towards the bed. Ezra looked up, seeing of whirl of colors before his eyes focused on his master. Kanan looked calm, so Ezra thought…Maybe he should be too. If Kanan seemed to think everything was alright, maybe it was. He was in the Ghost after all; he could feel Kanan's warmth. All had to be well.

Kanan's voice managed to cause Ezra to relax even more as he said, "Calm down, Ezra. You're safe."

That was what he needed. That reassurance that he was alive and so was everyone else and that the figure was gone and had dissipated into a distant memory.

"He's gone?" Ezra croaked, realizing his throat felt like sandpaper from all of his screaming earlier.

Kanan gave a nod and Ezra continued, "I was scared."

"It's alright to get scared sometimes," Kanan reassured, squeezing his Padawan's arm lightly.

Ezra shook his head and gave a grave look, "You don't understand, Kanan. I was terrified."

The boy looked away a moment before meeting the elder's eyes again. He whispered, "What happened to me?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that," Kanan sighed, pressing his thumb to his cheek as if the question had stumped him. The question seemed to disturb him and Ezra felt his heart leap at the thought that maybe Kanan had no freaking clue what was going on. "After you were attacked, your temperature dropped dramatically. We thought we were going to lose you."

He couldn't help but feel guilt. He had scared them just as much as the shadow teenager had scared him. Ezra swallowed thickly, gripping his fists, "H-he put his hands on my face and it felt like…It felt like he was emptying me. As if he had entered my head like you do sometimes, but it was a lot different. Like he hadn't really entered my mind so to speak…But, my being. My existence. It felt…Intrusive."

Ezra paused, crossing his arms over himself, "It felt cold."

Giving Kanan a sideways glance, he could see a pondering look on his face. Ezra asked, "You know what he did to me don't you?"

Kanan did look like he knew, but something was wrong with the conclusion he had come to. Like a math problem with an answer that doesn't add up, no matter how many times you do it over and over again.

"I think he performed a Reading," Kanan sighed, rubbing his forehead. "It doesn't make much sense though. A bond has to be formed for someone to perform a Reading on another. Some kind of connection has to be made."

Ezra looked defensive, "You think I made a connection with that shadow-wanna-be-creep?"

"I'm not saying that, I just don't understand how a Sith could do it. Especially one who didn't even look like he was out of his teens yet," Kanan insisted.

"Young, but trained," Ezra added.

Kanan nodded in agreement. There was no denying the Sith's strength, it had been apparent. He was strong in the Dark Side. Enveloped in it actually. It worried Kanan greatly, especially with his ability to do a Reading on a Jedi. Kanan had never heard of such a thing…

"I'm sorry," Kanan's head snapped up when Ezra began to speak. "I'm sorry for being such a coward."

"You're not a coward, this is something neither of us has faced," Kanan murmured.

Ezra didn't get the chance to respond. Instead he gasped loudly, grabbing both sides of his head. A pain shot through him and up his spine, causing him to grip at his hair as he gritted his teeth. An image flashed across his subconscious, grabbing at his heart and pulling it down into the pit of his stomach…

Lothal…Burning. The entire city.

Ezra opened his eyes, gasping loudly as Kanan gripped his wrists to keep him from flailing. Kanan ordered sharply, "Ezra calm down, what happened?"

Ezra made eye contact with the other, his chest heaving and his heart slamming into his ribcage. He was doing his best not to panic. Not to cry. But, instead the tears streamed through and he nearly whimpered, "Something is wrong."

In that very moment, Hera's voice called loudly, "Kanan!"

Kanan hesitated before jumping from the bed and running from the room, pausing just long enough to tell Ezra, "Stay here."

Hell no. Ezra followed his master, jumping out of the bed also. He had to take a moment to steady himself against the wall when the world spun and decided to turn different colors right before his very eyes. Once he gathered his bearings though, he was running from the room, towards the exit of the Ghost.

Before he was even out of the ship, he could see the crew standing in the Lothal grass, staring up at the sky. Concern flooded him. What was up there? And why was it so interesting? Why did it feel so wrong?

Once outside, Ezra peered up at the sky, mimicking the others…

Flying towards the city were at least twenty Empire ships.

The largest in particular caught Ezra's attention. As soon as he zeroed in on it, the pain from the night before came back with vengeance. Ezra gripped his wrist and dug his nails in to keep from screaming. He hissed through gritted teeth, "Kanan, he-"

"I told you to wait inside," Kanan snapped suddenly, but Ezra ignored it.

He shook his head hard, looking at his master with wide eyes. Bile was rising in him. He wanted to puke. "He's on that ship. He's on that ship."

Ezra was swaying on his feet. Sick. Sick. He felt awful and afraid. The darkness and cold were finding their way home inside of him and he just couldn't seem to get away from it. He couldn't escape the feeling of hate and fear crawling into his bones and nesting.

The image returned, the city burning. Ezra screamed, grabbing his head as he fell to his knees in the grass. Sabine was there in an instant, gently touching the younger's arm as she asked, "Ezra, what's wrong?"

"Get back," Ezra mumbled, holding his head as the fire in his mind grew and spread to building after building. Definitely a vision. The future. Lothal would burn.

"Ezra," Sabine insisted, gripping his arm. "You have to tell us what's going on."

"I said get back!"

None of them saw the pulse coming, but it knocked them all to the ground and a few feet away from the boy. The force even knocked the Ghost from its suspenders, causing the ship to crash into the ground completely. When Kanan sat up, he saw Ezra curled forward, his forehead pressed into the ground. A force pulse? How did he manage to muster that…

Kanan jumped to his feet as the others began to sit up. Ezra looked up long enough to whisper, "Kanan…Help me."

Kanan came forward in an instant, hesitating before kneeling in front of the boy. Kanan whispered, "You're safe here, Ezra. You're with us."

"No," Ezra cried, tears streaking his cheeks. "He's here, Kanan."

"We know, Kid," Zeb grunted, sitting up completely from where he had been thrown onto the ground. "He's on the ship. You didn't have to knock the entire Ghost down."

Sabine glared back at the Lasat, giving him a warning look. Immediately Zeb swallowed back his annoyance and silenced himself.

"No!" Ezra shouted again. He pointed at his head and continued, "He's here!"

Kanan understood almost immediately. Hurriedly and gathered the teen into an embrace and ordered, "Let me in, Ezra."

It didn't take long. Ezra's mind welcomed him without a second thought and soon he relaxed against his master's chest. Kanan closed his eyes and felt around in his Padawan's mind, finding the feeling of darkness. It was there, enough to drive anyone insane. It clashed madly with Ezra and Kanan's minds, making it stand out all the more in the boy's head.

Kanan opened his eyes when Ezra hiccupped into his shoulder. He could feel Hera standing over them as they studied the damage Ezra's pulse had done. The ship was knocked off its legs, but otherwise it would be an easy fix. Everyone seemed ok…No one seemed injured by the fall.

Hera asked quietly, "What was that, Kanan? I've never seen a force like that."

Kanan looked down at Ezra, who seemed to be in a state of exhaustion. His eyes were closed tightly, his eyebrows furrowed. However, he looked completely oblivious to the world around him. Kanan shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the boy, "I don't know. I guess we're just lucky it only knocked us down."

"Uh…Guys…" Sabine murmured, grabbing everyone's attention.

Around them in a perfect circle, where the grass once stood tall…It all lay wilted and dead.

Kanan swallowed thickly, worry slamming into his heart like a blade. Silently he placed his chin on top of Ezra's head and shut his own eyes…

The dark figure moved through the corridors of his master's ship, his cloak trailing behind him silently. His hood was down, amber eyes staring straight ahead as soldiers moved out of his way left and right. They feared him...Good. The Dark Side was something to be feared. It was something to be respected.

However, his confidence wavered into a contortion of pain. The Reading on the Padawan earlier had been…Painful. For the both to say the least. Discomfort was a better word. He had, had a headache ever since and it was becoming more annoying than the thought of the boy himself. He had regretted doing the Reading as soon as it was finished. All had been better off not knowing.

Once reaching his desired location, he paused in front of the sliding doors. A feeling through the force told him to come in and he did so, kneeling onto one knee as soon as he entered the room.

The first thing that reached his ears was the sound of his Master's artificial breathing and a stab at the outcome of his mission…

"I assume you were unsuccessful in the capturing of the Rebels."

The teen swallowed and responded, "Yes my Lord…But, I found something rather fascinating having to deal with the Padawan that is traveling with them."

Luckily, this seemed to divert the attention away from his failure as his Master stepped from the shadow into the light, his own cloak sweeping the floor.

Darth Vader.

The teen stared at him. He had never been sure if his Master were more human or machine. He had a mind, he could feel that through the force, but nothing about him other than that seemed organic. He had a theory maybe they had taken a human brain and somehow worked it into a droids programming.

It had to be something. Droids were not force sensitive.

"And what would that be?" Vader asked, standing over his apprentice.

The younger breathed, "He is very powerful. I performed a Reading, and I feel if trained in the right hands…He could even overpower the Emperor."

He could feel his Master becoming quite intrigued. Good, that's exactly what he needed. He needed his failure to be ignored in some way, somehow. His Master was ruthless, failures were unacceptable, which is why he had been assigned to find the Rebels in the first place after the Inquisitor's failure.

"There is something else on your mind that you are not speaking."

The Apprentice glanced away quickly, "He is significant. In more than just his power. I believe him to be…A son of Mira and Ephraim Bridger."

There was a long pause and the younger felt his nerves getting the better of him. Still he did not falter in his kneeling position. Maybe Vader was doing this on purpose, to test his patience or maybe it was punishment for not capturing the Rebels when he was supposed to. However, it was painful.

He was almost relieved when the other finally spoke…

"Then there is no denying his strength is there? If the two of you share the same parentage."

He swallowed thickly, "I believe we do."

"Then these are your orders," Vader spoke, his tone even. "You will travel to Lothal and find the Rebels. You will subdue the boy and bring him back here to me for evaluation. If I feel he is worthy, he will train with you as my apprentice."

"But, Master these Rebels have managed to evade our troops many times before," The younger seethed. Another stab.

"Then, Isaac, you will burn the city to the ground," Vader replied. "I've grown annoyed with the Rebel pests of Lothal. If they cannot be captured, then they will force suffering upon everyone in their path."

Isaac nodded and bowed his head.

"Yes Master."

The sedatives were heavy.

Kanan sat at the boy's beside, watching his chest rise and fall. They had given him something to help with sleep…To keep him under until they could figure something out. They needed help, Ezra needed help. The darkness in his mind could grow. It could feed off of him for all they knew. It could be killing him.

Every once in a while Kanan would send a calming feeling through the force, just to let Ezra know he was ok, even in his slumber.

Kanan didn't flinch when the door beside him slid open and Hera's voice said, "Kanan, Ahsoka is here."

Kanan turned in his chair, seeing Ahsoka and Hera standing in the doorway. Ahsoka entered, a small greeting on her lips. Hera stepped back, closing the door and exiting the room, leaving the two Jedi alone. Kanan pushed himself to his feet and asked, "Can you do anything?"

Ahsoka breathed heavily, entering further. She approached the boy's bedside, stopping and staring down at his face. He looked peaceful. It was almost painful to imagine the kind of turmoil he was feeling that they just couldn't see. Gently, she placed a hand on his forehead, closing her eyes. It was only a moment later that she hissed in pain and jumped back.

Kanan held out a hand to steady her, but she waved him off saying, "I'm surprised you could enter. But, Ezra may have been so desperate for your presence he forced the darkness to make room."

"Can you fix it," Kanan asked again, this time more desperate.

"I don't know," Ahsoka answered truthfully. "The Sith who did this entered his mind without permission."

Carefully she took the boy's had into hers and continued, "Hera showered me the damage he did outside."

"He was distressed because the Sith who did this was on an incoming ship," Kanan defended, glaring at the woman.

Ahsoka was silent a long moment before responding, "Kanan, I'd like to perform a Midi-Chlorian test on the boy."

Kanan looked shocked as he shook his head, "Jedi used to use that to find force sensitive children…Now the Empire is the only people to do it. Why would you need to? We know he's a force sensitive child, Ahsoka."

"It will give us an idea just how dangerous Ezra is," Ahsoka said calmly.

Kanan gripped his hands into fists, "He's powerful, but not dangerous."

Ahsoka silently pulled a device from her belt and used it to prick the boy's finger. As much as Kanan didn't want her to, he knew she'd find a way to get it done or to convince him. So he allowed it without argument. She drew the blood, humming, "But…Power can be dangerous."

When she pulled away, Kanan watched as Ezra's face contorted into one of discomfort and he moved his finger in his sleep. Slowly, Kanan reached down, taking the finger between his own. A gesture of comfort. Something to give the boy reassurance.

Suddenly, Ahsoka gasped, causing Kanan to look up worriedly. She was staring at the device with a shocked expression, causing Kanan to ask, "What is it?"

"I've…I've never seen a count this high," Ahsoka whispered.

Kanan swallowed thickly. It felt like a punch in the gut…

"Kanan, Ezra has over twenty-thousand Midi-Chlorian."

So I realize not everyone enjoys the idea of Midi-Chlorian being a thing, but I felt it was one of the best ways to go about this plot. So, I just went with it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Please review!