AN: Hope everyone enjoys! Please review!
Chapter Seven
"Atlas"
He looked like he was in a coffin.
Isaac knew it was just something to speed up the healing process, but it honestly and completely looked like death. A casket. Something for mourners to look into a see little Ezra Bridger, his eyes closed and his face at peace, besides the giant bandage on his forehead covering his head wound that would be gone completely after only a few hours in the clear box.
It was new technology, something only the Empire had access to. Isaac had used it before after training injuries…He didn't quite like it. Even though the "coffin" was clear, it still felt like being trapped in a fish bowl. The world going on around you with only your eyes moving back and forth. He suspected Ezra had no clue though. He was out of it.
Isaac would rather just heal the normal way. Which was most of the time. They rarely had access to the machines, so he was careful not to get injured too badly. He didn't always get his hands on medical instruments like this.
The teen could sense when his master entered, but he made no move to turn around and acknowledge him. He just continued to observe the child behind the glass lying flat on the table. He could feel Vader's frustration with the entire situation that had just taken place and with the fact that the Rebels had managed to escape.
The fact his former apprentice had managed to escape more so.
Isaac broke the silence when he uttered, "Well, that was slightly irritating."
He finally turned and faced the elder. The Sith Lord stared at him through the black orbs with a knowing expression. Isaac had a tendency to run his mouth, even when it came to Vader. Most would be terrified to do so. But, he had been Vader's apprentice since childhood…If he was going to kill him; Isaac supposed he would have done it a long time ago.
"I'm sending the two of you remote," Vader said. "I want you to begin his training while I deal with the Emperor. This little…Episode may get back to him. And if that information does, so will the information on yours and his existence."
Isaac shrugged, fighting an amused smirk, "Well, I suppose that's important enough, Master. Can't have the Emperor finding out about the apprentices you plan to kill him with."
Vader sounded less than amused, "You grow more and more ignorant each day."
"I'm growing a brain," Isaac defended. "And this seems…well…stupid."
The Sith Lord's head raised and he grunted in finality, "You will do as you are told."
Isaac grimaced slightly, moving his arms side to side awkwardly. He wanted to argue. Really, he did, but he knew when defeat was at the edge of the sea and it was time to give into the demands of his elder. Shifting slightly onto his other foot, he adverted his gaze to the wall.
Vader was tedious at best.
"Of course, Master," Isaac clicked his tongue. "What should I teach him first?"
"What did I teach you first?" Vader hummed.
Isaac removed his eyes from the wall and looked back at the man…Or the half of a man. He stopped swinging his arms and the air grew thick with hesitation. Isaac's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he pondered. He knew. He remembered. It wasn't like he forgot or could forget that first lesson.
"Shouldn't have asked," Isaac sighed deeply.
Vader turned on his boots and exited the room. Isaac shut his eyes a moment, composing what was left of his nerves from the day. He was straining to stay awake. To stay on course. He just wanted a good night's sleep was all…
But, slumber had evaded him ever since he discovered Ezra.
Isaac looked back at the "casket", placing a hand on the glass and staring at the sleeping boy…
"You will despise me even more when I am finished, Little Brother."
The regret behind the teeth was visible. And it was loud.
The pain jolted him awake.
Kanan sat up fully, not aware of his dream or what it had been about. He knew only panic. Panic growing deep into his core, climbing out like vines in the summer. All the way up the house they had to climb and into the window of the person in distress. Out his throat, a gasp escaped, causing him to wince heavily and grab at his head and then his chest.
"Ezra!"
The shout didn't sound like his own voice. It was hoarse and strained…It sounded weak. Just as much as he felt now…How he felt after Order 66. He felt an empty kind of hopelessness wanting to eat him alive, to the bone. He shut his eyes, trying to sense madly for the Padawan…
He could feel him. He was alive. He couldn't tell where he was…the distance was too great…
But, he was alive.
Kanan's eyes snapped open when he felt a hand on his not pained shoulder. He blinked, looking up at Hera who was staring at him with gentle and kind eyes. She looked tired…Concerned. Worried. She was starting to take up the look Ahsoka always had. Kanan didn't like that. Hera shouldn't look like that. She shouldn't feel that.
"Kanan," She breathed. "You need to rest."
She attempted to guide him back down onto the bed, but he pushed up, standing to his feet and walking across the room away from her. He was in his cabin of the Ghost. He was home and Ezra was reconnected to the Force but…Why did he feel so far away?
The Jedi leaned heavily against the wall, trying to catch his breath. His chest ached along with his head and the rest of his body. He wanted to sleep for weeks…months or even years. He looked down at his body. He wore no shirt, only pieces of his abdomen and chest showing through the bandages that were wrapped around him several times. He thought back to the ship…Ezra swearing his allegiance to Vader in order to save them…
The explosion.
It must have been Sabine who had set it off. She had done what she had to do to save them. But, still…Kanan felt…
"You need to lie down," Hera spoke, breaking Kanan's thoughts. "Several of your ribs are broken and the laceration on your head is serious."
Kanan turned swiftly, asking, "Where is Ezra?"
Hera swallowed and her eyes fell sideways. It was split second, but Kanan saw it. She always did it when she wanted to say something other than the first thing that came to mind. Her lie stare. It was real. And it was dangerous.
"I'm sorry," She uttered.
Kanan let out a scream of anger, turning towards the wall and ramming his fist into the metal several times. He choked on air, gasping in pain, but he continued to do it over and over again, ignoring the burning in his hand.
Hera's hands were soft when they finally urged him away from the wall, her voice whispering lowly. She stood between him and the assaulted object, saying, "It's going to be ok, Kanan. We're going to get him back."
"How!?" Kanan's voice cracked under the pressure of the scream, and he winced as his ribs twitched. "The ship is probably long gone and we have no clue where they're going to be taking him next!"
Hera was adamant, "We'll do what we have to in order to get him back. We're a family."
Suddenly, the door slid open and Ahsoka appeared, causing Kanan to blink away any tears that had threatened to fall. He stood silently, staring at the woman as she stared at them, realizing the intimacy of the moment she had interrupted. Hera stepped back and Ahsoka said, "I heard beating on the wall…I was just making sure everything was ok…"
"Is the ship gone?" Kanan blurted, unable to keep not knowing inside any longer.
Ahsoka nodded briskly, "Yes…It is."
"Hera, give us a minute," Kanan said through gritted teeth. Hera looked at Ahsoka questioningly, but the other simply nodded her head that it was ok. Hera gave Kanan's arm one last squeeze before walking out of the room completely.
The two sat in silence before Kanan said, "You have a lot to explain about the apprentice thing with Vader. Did you train under him?"
"I did," Ahsoka said. "But…Not while he was Vader. I trained under him while he was Anakin Skywalker."
Kanan's face paled and he steadied himself against the wall. He had never met Anakin Skywalker, but growing up in the Temple, he had heard rumors of his power. The rumors that he was the Chosen One, born to defeat the Sith. The Stories were long gone now from childhood memory, but the name remained. And it felt like someone had punched him in the gut…
The Sith…Had managed to corrupt the Jedi's savior.
"How do you know for sure?" Kanan croaked.
Ahsoka rung her hands together and she looked nothing like the adult she was. She looked like a child, caught stealing from a cookie jar. She explained, "I sensed it a while back. I hadn't said anything because…Well, I had hoped if I pretended it didn't happen it wouldn't be true."
Kanan asked, "What happened to him?"
She shook her head solemnly, "I don't know…I thought…I had hoped he had died a Jedi's death."
Another pause of silence and Ahsoka straightened her shoulder and raised her chin. Kanan thought she looked like some kind of graceful statue, standing firmly in front of a mourning world. She breathed, "But, I will not let Ezra fall victim to him. You have the Rebellion's support in the search."
And Kanan suddenly realizes…She was not longer concerned with Ezra's power…
But, with finding Ezra. His safety.
Kanan swallowed thickly, "Thank you."
So much.
Ezra's eyes snapped open to find himself in a glass coffin.
His hands flew out almost immediately, slamming against it several times. He was lying on his back on a metal table, staring up at the ceiling. He squirmed, hearing his breath gasp in and out of his chest. It was painful…But, it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would…Especially after the explosion.
Explosion.
Kanan.
Ezra threw his hands out again, screaming. He hit the glass, just like when he had been in the tiny cell of the wall, waiting for them to come and take him away. It was all the same now. And he was just a prize for the Empire to take when they pleased.
That pissed him off.
He wasn't that. He was a kid from Lothal. Not this Sith or Jedi or whatever they thought he was that had an unlimited amount of power the could succeed Vader's.
There had to have been people with higher counts…
Ezra continued to shout and slam his hands on the glass until Isaac's face appeared over him. He looked slightly concerned, though it was shrouded under a face of annoyance. Isaac ordered, "Rest. You are healing from the explosion."
Ezra watched him press a button that was beside the coffin and the slight smell of medicine filled the coffin in the form of a mist. Ezra didn't have to be a doctor to know it was a sedative. His mind began to cloud and he felt Isaac's prodding into his head…Ezra tried desperately to push the teen from his mind but he was invading, taking advantage of the sedative's effects.
"You need to sleep," Isaac's voice ordered, but Ezra stared at Isaac's face in confusion. His mouth wasn't moving…
He was in his head.
"Where is Kanan?" Ezra growled aloud, refusing to acknowledge the presence in his mind.
"Stupid thing to be concerned about."
Ezra felt anger bubble in the pit of his stomach, causing him to throw out his hands quickly in the small space. He could feel the reconnection with the Force complete itself when the coffin's lid flew off of its hinges and across the room. Ezra sat up in surprise, looking at the damage he had done. Isaac was a few feet away, his facial expression blank, yet frustrated.
Ezra, despite the effects of the drugs, pushed himself into a standing position. He held himself up, keeping a hand on the bed. He could see his face in the glass wall behind Isaac. A faded face…But, he could see it well enough to observe how pitiful he looked with his bandaged head and his white hospital gown.
Ezra's head spun and he found himself on his knees, trying to hold down vomit. Isaac asked, "Do you always break things that don't belong to you?"
"Do you always kidnap kids who don't belong to you?" Ezra gasped quietly, holding his chest through the hospital gown.
The younger dug through the Force for his master…He was alive…But…Far…
Isaac took a step towards the crumbled boy on the floor, but he held up a hand to stop him. He threatened, "Stay back."
"Are you really in a position to do that?"
"I'll do it," Ezra hissed. "I'll crush you."
"Dark," Isaac smirked. "You're turning a lot easier than I thought you would."
As he guessed, the words caused Ezra to lower his hand slowly. His shoulders began to tremble as he pressed, "I'm a Jedi." He wasn't convinced of it himself, but maybe if he convinced them, then he would agree.
Isaac scoffed, "No you're not. Not even your master is a Jedi in all technicality. The Jedi are dead. Ahsoka Tano and Caleb Dume were never knighted, therefore relinquish that status."
"Who the hell is Caleb?" Ezra asked annoyed, holding his head with the confusion that was filling him.
"Doesn't matter," Isaac huffed, stomping over to the boy and grabbing him by his upper arms. He lifted him, making him sit on the table he had been lying on a few moments before. Ezra held his head in his hands, the aching becoming unbearable…Maybe he shouldn't have broken the machine.
"Ezra, look at me," Isaac ordered.
Ezra opened his eyes, staring into Isaac's face blankly. Isaac gripped his fists, "Are you blind? Can you honestly not see or feel it?"
The boy's face contorted into one of confusion as his head lulled to the side, the exhaustion threatening to swallow him up. Isaac grabbed the child's face harshly, shocking him as he shouted, "Look at me!"
It was probably the first time he had seen Isaac lose his composure. It surprised him enough to bring him to enough awareness to look into the elder's eyes. He was angry…Really angry…
"What am I looking for?" Ezra croaked.
"A memory," Isaac said. "Something buried."
Ezra shook his head slowly in Isaac's grip, whispering, "I don't get it."
Isaac released the child's face, stepping back and asking fiercely, "What is your first memory, Ezra?"
Ezra wasn't sure why…But, he felt compelled to tell him. He shouldn't have…It was all just entertainment, but in the short time Ezra had known him, Isaac hadn't shown much emotion at all. He was always stone cold; walking around like the world wasn't enough to be bothered with. Like he was better. Still…Ezra told him…
"I'm lying in my bed…There are stars on the ceiling."
"How old were you?" Isaac growled.
"As few years…Why?" He was trembling now. He didn't know where the conversation was going, but it was making his stomach turn to ice very quickly. He felt cold surrounding him…enveloping him like it always did when the fierceness of Isaac's power was at its peak.
"Because that was my bed first…The stars on the ceiling were put there by me."
Ezra's throat tightened…He still didn't quite get it, but it was coming together like fire. He could feel his heart speeding up in his chest and he grabbed at the white hospital gown, tugging at it with nervousness. He muttered, "You're crazy."
Isaac must have seen Ezra putting together the puzzle, because he asked, "Do you get it, Ezra? Do you understand?"
"I don't," Ezra persisted. No…It couldn't make sense. The heaviness in his body…the lead in him. It was so awful. He wanted to die in that moment. He couldn't remember the last time he truly and completely wanted death to take him other than now.
Isaac spoke…Making Ezra's world stop moving and his mind go white…
"Ezra, I'm your brother."
Isaac stepped forward, but Ezra stood from the table and moved away. "You're lying," Ezra whimpered, his chest beginning to heave up and down. Tears began to pool in his blue eyes, causing him to advert his eyes quickly. He was shivering so much he thought his legs would stop carrying him.
"I'm not," Isaac stated calmly. "If you'd look inside yourself, you'd know it to be true."
"NO!" Ezra screamed, causing the glass of the walls in the room to crack heavily. Isaac shut his eyes a moment, processing the giant wave of power that had just been pushed out at the wall and through him.
Isaac breathed out slowly as Ezra shouted, "I didn't have any siblings! My mom and dad would have said something, there would have been pictures! There would have been something!"
"I'm not willing to go into detail right now," Isaac said. "Not with you being so uncooperative."
That was when Ezra lunged.
The boy went for Isaac's throat, only for the elder to grab his arm and twist it painfully behind his back, forcing him onto his knees. Isaac kneeled behind him, keeping him subdued as called, "Droid! Bring a sedative!"
Ezra screamed his throat raw as he struggled under Isaac's iron grip. Isaac hissed, "You are but a child. And you will not understand for a time to come."
The droid entered, carrying a syringe. The machine handed it to Isaac who swiftly pricked it into Ezra's neck, stopping the shouting and struggling immediately.
"Ezra, I'm your brother."
Truth…