AN: A bit of a Christmas present to all of the beautiful readers. I hope you all enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas! And if you don't celebrate Christmas then have a very happy holiday! :)
Chapter Eleven
"Treason"
Kanan had come to the conclusion…For all rage there is despair.
The Ghost crew and Ahsoka stood before the officers of the Rebels fleet, Commander Sato in front. Eyes were peeled and there was something dangerous in the air. Desperation. Fear. The will to do anything in order to get one's way. It felt like trying to breathe in space.
Impossible.
They had given their argument and showed the files from the Courier Droid stating that a blockade had been formed around Naboo, but still…
The Rebel fleet remained unaltered.
"Well?" Zeb asked in an irritated tone, the silence making it nearly unbearable. Kanan gripped his fists tightly, waiting for Sato's response and when it came he nearly threw a punch at the man…
"You must understand our…unease about the situation. If there was just more proof that the boy was on the planet-"
"What are you saying?" Sabine snapped. "Are you saying you're still not going to help us?"
Ahsoka grabbed the girl's arm to keep her from stepping forward. Ahsoka said calmly, "What Sabine is trying to say is…Does this information still not convince you of the boy's presence on Naboo?"
Commander Sato sighed, "It would be risking too much. We need solid information before executing a rescue mission, Commander Tano."
"Then we'll get it," Kanan growled suddenly, stopping the conversation immediately. Hera touched his shoulder, but he shrugged her hand off and approached Sato, getting inches away from his face. He continued, "And when we get the proof, you're going to help us get that boy back. Or you can forget having any sort of Jedi helping with your rebellion."
Sato nodded his head, not faltering in the slightest…
"I do pray you find it."
It was like searching for a god's weakness.
Or more like a devil's.
Ezra had been peeling through the floors of the Naboo manor for hours and still he had found little evidence of why it seemed to be important to the Sith Lord that had come to torment him and make him miserable over the past several weeks. Isaac had done it physically…But, Vader was the inspiration for such demented things.
It was no excuse. His pretend brother was lacking his own conscience and there was no excuse for that.
He had started on the third floor and worked his way down, now sliding down the halls of the ground floor. The corridors were darkened with sleep, though Ezra made sure to stay clear of the West Wing where he knew Vader and Isaac were located. He could feel them through the Force and he prayed they didn't feel him too.
The last thing he needed was to be caught and punished.
Ezra winced slightly as pain radiated from his back when he kneeled down to peer around a corner. Even with Aylo's help, the wound was festering and it itched, aching with a dull sting. He looked around the corner, seeing no one and standing, rushing towards the door that led to the basement.
He had come to know the manor in the past few weeks, despite not having explored it extensively like this. The manor was unnerving at night. The walls talked, and they didn't exactly have nice things to say.
It was a child's thought, but Ezra had come to the conclusion that as long as he remained fifteen he could think it without shame, especially because of the circumstances.
Ezra turned the knob, flinching as the door squeaked and opened. He looked down the stairs, seeing nothing but darkness below. Carefully he reached into his belt, pulling out the flashlight he had been using throughout his adventure in the manor. It was small and dim, something he had found in the broom closet on the third floor. Helpful nonetheless.
Once his feet hit the bottom of the stairs he immediately felt something warm run up and down his back. A presence of something he had never felt before as it filled his aching and miserable chest.
Ezra whispered to himself, "It's here…"
He wasn't sure what was there. He hoped it to be his advantage, but he couldn't be positive through the vague feeling. Slowly, he began to move about the basement, his eyes scanning several boxes that lined the wall.
The feeling returned, settling in his stomach and causing his eyes to dig into one particular box. It was set aside on its own on the far left, a few feet from the other boxes. Ezra moved towards it, swallowing thickly with anticipation as he kneeled down, ignoring the pain in his back.
His fingers slide under the lid as he lifted it, dust filling his nose. He wiggled it, peering into the box to find one lone photograph…
Ezra's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It was a rather large box for just one picture. Ezra reached inside, pulling out a picture that appeared to be of a couple on their wedding day…
The teen began to shake heavily as he stared at their faces, remembering his vision…
The woman choking…Held tightly in a Force grip like Ezra's own…
Tears falling down her face.
"Anakin."
The boy gasped, his eyes shutting as a vision slammed into him at a thousand miles per hours. He saw the man and woman, happy…Hugging…So much different from the scene he had seen just a few moments before. His hands tightened on the picture instinctively as he knew the pain was bound to come to the young couple…
"Something wonderful has happened…"
"Ani…I'm pregnant."
Ezra let out a sob, releasing the picture in his hands. When he opened his eyes, he felt his body trembling heavily. He stared ahead in shock, processing what his eyes had just seen through the eyes of someone else. He quickly tried to compose himself, rubbing his eyes dry with his sleeve as he slid away from the photo and the box.
If what Ahsoka had said about her master on the ship was true…Then Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker.
Darth Vader had loved someone.
He had married someone.
He was going to be a father.
Ezra shook. How could someone so happy lose everything and become a machine? Something so nonhuman…It was terrifying because…
No matter the amount of love you have in your life…It seemed the Dark Side could still overpower it.
Which meant no hope for Isaac.
Ezra shook his head. He wasn't concerned about Isaac. Slowly, Ezra reached out and picked up the picture once more, staring at the wedded couple. They were the only ones there it seemed. All alone besides the unknown person behind the camera.
Pushing himself to his feet, Ezra decided it was best to go back to his room.
He had seen enough nightmares and dreams for one night…
Isaac stood in the silence waiting for Vader to speak.
He had found his master brooding alone in the study of the manor, staring out the window with only the sounds of his ventilator showing life. He did not move, his hands folded with his face and his neck straight under the metal. Isaac shifted uncomfortably, deciding he would have to be the one to speak.
Isaac asked quietly, "How was the meeting with the Emperor?"
Such a long silence stretched out that Isaac worried that maybe there would be no response, which meant he was wanted out of his master's presence. However, after a time, Vader turned slowly and faced the apprentice.
"I led him astray," Vader said. "But, I fear he is near finding out about what I have been executing behind his knowledge. And that in itself would be detrimental to all of the work we have accomplished."
Isaac stiffened, "You believe he knows?"
"Not yet," Vader answered. "But, I believe he is near knowing. He is putting the pieces together."
Isaac didn't respond and Vader continued, "He is not dense or blind. He is very perceptive and unfortunately has come to be able to read me."
"Then what do we do?" There were few times Isaac sounded like he desperately needed the guidance of his master. It was a Jedi's way to beg for companionship and reassurance, not a Sith's. But, despite Ezra's opinion, Vader had been good to him. He had been giving and patient to the extent Vader could be. And he tried…He seemed to try his best while also following the rules of the Sith.
Vader struggled with those rules. He could feel it in the Force every time Vader would punish him when he was younger. He could feel it when he punished Ezra…When he fought the Woman Jedi…
Vader had an attachment issue, which is probably why he failed at being a Jedi.
His master answered his question simply, "We wait. I want you to do something however in preparation."
"What?"
The Sith paused heavily and Isaac didn't like that. Vader rarely hesitated. Slowly, he stepped forward, explaining, "I want you to form a Binding between yourself and the boy. You must make him accept the Binding, or else it will be fatal to him."
"A Binding?" Isaac breathed in disbelief. "Master…A Binding is agonizing and Ezra will fight it to the bitter end."
"Then make sure he doesn't," Vader snapped. "We need it as a precautionary in case the boy does end up being separated. It will make tracking him much easier."
Isaac stared into the black orbs, his shoulders shaking slightly with anxiety and frustration. It was an order, not something to be argued with. But, he knew what the outcome would be. Ezra would deny the Binding and he would kill himself in the process. He had only read about Bindings and even with his extensive mental training, he feared he would be unable to do it.
"Yes Master," Isaac whispered. "It will be done."
And in death.
Ezra had finally fallen into slumber when someone touched his shoulder.
He startled awake, having only been half asleep after his adventure through the manor a few hours before. He blinked hard, noticing no light was coming in through the windows and it didn't seem to be anywhere near morning. Slowly, he sat up, looking into the eyes of the person who had woken him.
Isaac.
Ezra grunted, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he asked groggily, "What's going on? Is it time to train or something?"
The boy paused what he was doing, surprised to see something solemn on Isaac's face in the light of a candle that had been placed on his bedside. Ezra swallowed thickly as the solemn look turned into something fierce and determined.
Something wasn't right.
"Isaac?" Ezra asked quietly. "What's going on?"
The elder pulled the blanket away from Ezra's body and grabbed his ankles, turning him until Ezra was sitting on the side of the bed. The adjustment had been sudden, waking Ezra fully as he gripped into the sheets and looked up at Isaac who now stood directly in front of him.
Isaac spoke, "I'm going to create a Binding, Ezra."
"A what?" The other asked. "What is that?"
Isaac breathed out slowly and only a quiet whisper left his lips…
"I am sorry."
Before Ezra had a chance to question further, Isaac pressed both of his hands to either side of the boy's head. Ezra gasped, instantly feeling a pressure consume his mind and rip through his connection with the Force. He cried out in shock, grabbing Isaac's wrists and attempting to pry the hands away. It was too heavy though.
It felt like hooks digging into his skull.
Fire engulfed his core, ripping apart his person at the seams and foaming out the sides. He no longer felt himself; he no longer felt his soul within him. Not his own by itself anyway, another's was taking over. It was consuming his own with hatred and vile invasion that made a scream escape his lips and tear apart his throat with blood and bone.
He screamed…He didn't know why, because it wasn't soothing the agony he felt…But, suddenly a light consumed him and he was somewhere else entirely, his screams melting away into the background…
Ezra found himself in his old home…Back when it was decorated with pictures on the walls and the couch had throw pillows. Ezra himself was tucked behind the couch, peering around it as two men appeared at the door. Two storm troopers. His mother and father stood in front of another young boy…
"You're not taking him," His mother cried desperately, holding onto the young boy's wrist as she backed away from the door. "He is our son."
The troopers stepped in and slid apart, showing a dark figure in the doorway. Both adults stepped back in shock and the boy seemed to be crying silently, his face pink with tears. Ezra curled farther behind the couch, not in control of his limbs.
Darth Vader.
"I am afraid that is not a choice for the two of you to make," Vader replied. "Your child shows a connection with the Force. A connection that can be useful to the Empire. We have come to retrieve him. I sensed his presence on Lothal some time ago."
Ezra was shivering from his hiding place as Vader stepped forward and held out a hand, "You will forget."
The young boy screamed in shock when his parents fell and Ezra remained silent, too terrified to move his small body towards the elder boy, though he so desired to do it. Vader approached the frightened child and said, "Isaac Bridger. You will come with me."
Vader then turned to the two storm troopers and ordered, "Destroy any remnants of the boy and track down anyone who would be aware of his existence so that they can be neutralized. We do not need rumors that the Empire is retrieving children to spread around Lothal. They still trust the Empire for certain goods."
Then…The boy was dragged away…Kicking and screaming.
And Ezra did not move.
He coward in his space…
Ezra's eyes snapped open and his screams stopped, seeing Isaac stumble back and release him. The boy fell over on the bed immediately, vomiting off the side and onto the floor as weakness consumed him. His blurred vision focused on Aylo staring shocked in the doorway…
Through teary eyes, Ezra looked at Isaac and he whispered, "They stole you."
Isaac was breathing heavily, trying to compose himself after the Binding. Ezra continued…
"He took you away…And you still trust him."
Unacceptable.