AN: Ta-Da! Another update. Honestly, not a very ground breaking one, just one that is assisting me in tying the strings of the story together. Still, hope you enjoy! Please review!

Chapter Nine

"White Lies"

Vader would always know the feeling.

The Emperor's presence held a certain weight to it. It carried darkness wherever it went and even though he had been serving under the Sith for fifteen years, it was still something he felt every time. It still felt like something raw and cold being pressed into his abdomen. But, he had adjusted and overcome the shock of jumping into the ice.

Darth Vader approached where the Emperor sat silently upon his throne. There was a sense of…curiousness in the air. Something Vader had grown accustomed to. Every time he arrived with news of the galaxy, Vader had to get past it. It was an ominous sort of curiosity. As if he knew nothing but everything at the same time.

Vader kneeled before the Emperor and he heard the man hum, "Ah…My apprentice. Please, inform me of what recent news you carry. What has become of our…Rebels issue?"

The other felt frustration befall him. It was almost as if the Emperor expected every problem to be fixed at the wave of a hand, though Vader sometimes shared that expectation, this was not one of those moment. He had dealt with these pests; this was not something to be exterminated quickly and easily. He had to admit the failures of the Empire were not surprising.

Vader replied, "We had a portion of the Rebels in our possession. But, they managed an escape."

Now he knew how Isaac felt kneeling before himself when the Rebels had first escaped him. He hated feeling empathetic with the teenager, there could be no attachments. But, he had been raised under him and that was enough time to feel something.

Still, he ignored it. The boy was an apprentice, just as Ezra had become. They were his key in overthrowing the Emperor, to create the galaxy he had wanted for Padme and their child…

Isaac and Ezra were his pawns and only he could rule.

"I see…" The Emperor hummed. "These Rebels have made themselves far more than just pests. They are becoming rather…Less tedious and more of a danger to our operations."

Vader insisted calmly, "They will be taken care of, Master. There is no need for you to look into it any farther. You have greater concerns."

The Emperor clicked his tongue, "Is there something you are not telling me, Darth Vader?"

There was a pause before Vader spoke, "No, Master. I have informed you of every step we have taken."

He knew he had left the Emperor unconvinced, but still he nodded…

"The Rebels are now our priority. I want them dead and I want the Jedi and his padawan brought to me alive. Understand?"

"Yes, Master," Vader nodded, standing to his full height. He turned slowly, leaving the room with his cloak trailing behind him. Once out of the reach of his Master's mind he came to the conclusion he would continue raising the bounty on the Rebels' heads and eventually tell the Emperor the padawan was killed by mistake. That it couldn't be helped.

Ezra Bridger must not fall in the hands of the Emperor.

Shivering was a mistake.

It showed a great deal of fear in that one bodily reaction. But, this was not fear…It was left over stress. The stress of the past few weeks. The worst of his life. In his opinion, it was even rougher than those first weeks after his parents had been taken. The confusion. The lost feeling. There was hole in his person where the good should be but it was quickly filling with wet sand.

Curling into himself, Ezra pulled his knees close to his chest from where he sat in the tall grass of Naboo. His body was barely holding him in a sitting position because of the exhausted. Every five days they had a break. It was a day to recuperate from Isaac's constant prodding. Isaac said he was being gracious by giving Ezra an off day every five, but if Ezra had to guess, Isaac was afraid of Ezra snapping.

There was a certain sense of jumpiness and an inability to focus anymore.

Isaac had noticed it.

Ezra tilted his head into the wind and watched the shaaks graze happily in the fields. They were so content; he wished he could be them. A tickling was climbing up his spine and he turned slightly, knowing eyes were trained carefully on him. He hated it…

He saw Isaac sitting on the steps of the manor, watching the younger's every move. Ezra sighed, turning back to face the distance and reaching out for Kanan's distant comfort…

"Come here," The invasive voice ordered in his head. Ezra stood, knowing it would be futile to ignore Isaac's mental demand. After all, it was supposed to be his day to relax…He didn't want to stir anything up if he didn't have to.

Ezra made his way through the grass and towards where Isaac sat on the steps. He had gradually learned how to block the elder out, but he still had difficulty when Isaac was being forceful. Once in ear shot, Ezra snapped, "What do you want?"

Isaac smirked, "I sense of bit of bitterness."

Ezra looked disgusted and growled, "You don't say? Answer me, what do you want?"

"We're going for a walk," Isaac said, sobering immediately. He stood, beginning to walk towards a stone path leading to a wooded area in the distance. Ezra swallowed thickly, but followed in step nonetheless. He didn't want to fight today. He wanted it to just be…An ok day.

He longed for those anymore.

They walked in silence a long while and Ezra stared at the ground, watching Isaac's steps. The stones crushed beneath his feet and Ezra couldn't help but relate it to all the times Isaac had stepped on him in the past weeks. Weeks…He had been here so long he could barely believe it.

Maybe they had given up on finding him.

"Don't," Ezra ordered himself. "Don't think like that. They're going to come for you."

Ezra jumped suddenly when Isaac began to speak, "I've been to Naboo very few times. But, every time I come I enjoy it quite a bit. It's different…The noise of cities can become overwhelming. Naboo is…Quiet."

The younger narrowed his eyes and he wondered what that had to do with anything. It was off handed at best and Ezra wasn't in the right state of mind for such topic changes. His mind couldn't keep up and he wanted to curl up and die at any moment because this was it…This was how it was going to end. They were crossing into the trees and Isaac would take him out here and slash his throat.

The end.

Maybe for the best.

"I don't like it," Ezra whispered.

"Why is that?" Isaac hummed, continuing to walk.

Ezra rung his hands together, glancing around anxiously, "The quiet. Lothal was loud. The sounds at night didn't stop. It bustled. It was miserable, but I can't sleep out here away from the city. I can't sleep in the quiet."

It was honest. He had trouble adjusting to the Ghost outside of the city the first several weeks. He still had trouble time to time. Naboo had just started the cycle all over again. Him jumping awake and wondering if he was even still alive through the darkness and silence.

Ezra nearly bumped into the taller when Isaac stopped suddenly and turned to face him.

"Why though? Tell me why?"

The boy's face contorted into one of confusion as he mumbled, "The quiet makes every little sound loud. It makes it hard to block things out."

"But, that is why you fail every lesson," Isaac rolled his eyes. "Your mind is always loud like the city. You're always distracted. You have to make it quiet."

When Ezra's eyes didn't light up with realization and instead burned with a sense of not knowing, Isaac held out his hand, invading the younger's mind. Ezra grunted in discomfort as Isaac ordered, "Quiet your mind, Ezra. It has to be silent. It cannot be Lothal, Lothal has burned."

Ezra pressed a hand to the side of his head, pushing at the foreign person in his thoughts. He gritted his teeth tightly, trying to fight the way his shoulders trembled heavily under the pressure of his task. He wanted to be on the Ghost. He wanted to be on Lothal. He wanted to be with the crew…With Kanan. He wanted to be safe.

He wanted to stop. More than anything in the world, that was what he wanted.

Ezra finally whimpered, "I can't…I-I can't do it."

Isaac lowered his hand, grunting in annoyance, "Then you had better learn soon. Because if you have made no progress by the time Master finishes his business, it will be both of our heads."

The boy shook as Isaac stepped around him, beginning to make his way down the path once more back towards the manor. He swallowed thickly, tightening his hands into fists as rage began to boil inside of his blood. It was so foreign, but so familiar as well that he didn't even attempt to fight off the desire to let it erupt.

Ezra reached down, picking up a stone from the path before he turned and threw it at Isaac's back.

It bounced off like a simple pebble, but Isaac whirled around with rage in his eyes nonetheless. Ezra growled shakily, "I hate you. All you care about is yourself, how dare you say we share any sort of blood remotely. My parents would never have a kid as horrible as you."

Isaac looked slightly dumbfounded and Ezra couldn't stop himself from pressing, "They would never forgive you for what you are."

"That's enough," Isaac quipped frightfully, clenching his fist in the air. Ezra grabbed at his throat, flashes from the ship when Vader had done the same thing running through his thoughts briefly. Ezra sank to his knees, gasping for air as Isaac approached, "You do not know the first thing about me or why I do what I do. And you never will. So, my suggestion to you, Little Brother, is keep your mouth shut on subjects that you are not fully educated in or it will cost you greatly. It may even cost you that makeshift family you've managed to put together."

The grip was released suddenly, causing Ezra to lean forward on his hands and knees gasping. His mind spun, his fingers finding his throat gingerly as he touched where the fingers would have been physically…

Something bright flashed…

A young woman gasping and holding her throat…Tears falling from her eyes onto a porcelain face…

"Anakin."

"Let her go, Anakin! Let. Her. Go."

Ezra blinked hard as the flashes continued…

"You turned her against me!"

The boy's mouth moved before he had a chance to register what he was saying. He whispered, "Anakin."

He heard Isaac breathe in a sharp breath. As if someone had punched him in the gut. Swiftly, he ordered, "Ezra, look here."

Ezra looked up through teary eyes and Isaac continued, "I never want to hear you say that name again."

"Why?" Ezra mumbled, shaking his head as he tried to regain himself.

Isaac approached the boy once more, grabbing him by the upper arm and assisting him to his feet. He explained quietly, "That name is the name of a dead man. And if you say it again…You will more than likely meet his fate."

"Don't say it again. For your own good."

Isaac then turned, walking away swiftly. Ezra began to follow out of instinct, wanting to get away from the wariness of the trees and the shroud of shade. As he walked though…The voices continued…He glanced back into the trees hearing Ahsoka's voice saying…

"You are not my master. He died long ago. You are a machine. Someone using his frame. His force. But, you are no Anakin Skywalker."

Agent Kallus had about decided if he ever got his hands on the Rebels again…He would tear them apart personally.

Standing in front of one of the many windows of his destroyer, he gazed upon the stars, wondering if that was even a realistic goal anymore. They had begun as nothing more than rats and now they were full blown beasts, terrorizing the Empire at every turn.

Of course he would never say that out loud. The Empire was not weak…Maybe.

He had his moments of questions.

A voice from behind him grabbed his attention when it said, "Agent Kallus, there is a transmission arriving from Lord Vader."

Kallus shut his eyes and sighed deeply. He was exhausted. He really didn't have the energy to bother with Vader or the Emperor today. But, needless to say it was necessary to live in this world and to function within the Empire.

Kallus turned, following the Trooper who had come to fetch him. He led Kallus to the hologram in which Vader's face was appearing. Kallus greeted, standing at attention, "Lord Vader, Can I be of any assistance?"

"Agent Kallus, due to your recent failures in capturing the Rebels, possible termination is being looked over," Vader replied.

Kallus felt a shock go up his spine as he swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. He tried to explain, "Sir, I have done what has been asked of me. The Rebels are very-"

"I don't wish to hear excuses," Vader cut in. "Several weeks ago you served one of my assistants, correct?"

"Yes," Kallus ground out. "The teenager. I sent out a transmission for him under your order."

Vader nodded through the hologram, "If consulted by the Emperor no such contact was ever made, understood? If you can manage this I just may look over your failures. I have a new task for you to redeem yourself."

Kallus nodded, relief flooding him, "And what did you have in mind?"

"I need extra security in Naboo's orbit. If the Rebels come anywhere near it, I want them dead. Understood?" Vader ordered.

Kallus responded confidently, "It will be done."

A brief thought passed him as Vader hung up the transmission…

Why did Vader want to keep the assistant a secret?

Kallus allowed a smirk to grace his lips as he turned back, approaching the window of the ship once more…

Knowing secrets did have its perks.