AN: Chapter Seventeen! One more chapter after this in the installment. Whoot whoot! Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Enjoy!

Chapter Seventeen

"Steal Your Light"

The first thing Vader sensed when he entered the boy's room was death.

The bedroom was giving off the feeling in waves, and the Sith Lord soon found out why. A body lay on the floor of the room, a gaping hole in her body that was obviously a saber wound. She was a maid of the household, that much was clear. Vader shook slightly with rage because well…

Even Padme's old home couldn't escape death.

Vader's artificial eyes moved to another part of the room where a torn picture lay. He moved towards it, picking it up and studying it silently. A picture of a man and woman, smiling brightly with enthusiasm and hope.

Two people who were long dead.

Just like the woman on the floor.

Isaac was leaning against the doorframe, still reeling from the breaking of the Binding. Vader turned to look at him when Isaac began to explain, "She's the one who told the Rebels where Ezra was being kept."

Vader gripped the picture so tightly; it crumbled beneath his harsh fingers…

"Betrayal is constant."

Isaac shook at the statement, swallowing thickly. It was rare to see Vader lose composure. He was ruthless, cold…He didn't lose it often. But, here he was, and Isaac could feel the rage seeping off in gallons, making him all the more nauseous. He leaned heavier on the frame, shutting his eyes a moment to regain himself.

"What did the Emperor say?" Isaac whispered, wanting to change the subject.

"I convinced him the two of you were being trained as Inquisitors," Vader hummed, his fist releasing the paper. Permanent lines had made homes across their faces and he sighed into his mask with distaste.

Isaac licked his lips, a question gnawing in the back of his mind. It made him wonder if he had made a mistake when letting Ezra go with the Rebels, but after all it was better to have a setback than have Ezra be dead.

"What are we going to do?" Isaac murmured quietly.

"We wait," Vader spoke, no emotion detectable…

"Everyone reveals themselves in time."

"I think it was the worst thing I've ever seen."

Sabine's voice was quiet from where she was squatting in one of the corridors of the Ghost. Her face looked slightly ill. She was gripping her fists so tight her knuckles where turning white and Zeb was concerned she would vomit all over the place with the green look in her cheeks. He sighed in response, nodding his head in a sort of agreement.

"But, you did say that last time," Zeb put in, giving her a side glance. "When the Reading happened, remember?"

"Too clearly," She whispered, placing her chin on her knee. Her eyes rose to the Lasat who was leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "I've seen some pretty bad things. I think this one hurt because I actually care about Ezra. Some of the horrible things I've seen weren't so personal."

Zeb gritted his teeth, "I know personal. And that was definitely personal."

Sabine forgot sometimes that Zeb had watched his entire family and race get murdered before his very eyes. Sabine had been trained in brutality and lack of mercy, but that had just been life. Killing had just been a part of it and death followed in suit. She lacked that empathy and she couldn't decide if she was happy or guilty about it.

"Think he'll be the same?" Sabine swallowed.

Zeb glanced away, "It'll take a miracle. But, he's tough. He'll pull through."

Both jumped when the door at the end of the corridor slid open and Kanan appeared, carrying a bundle in his arms. The bundle was Ezra, clearly fast asleep off in some land unknown to himself and the world, in a deep medical induced sleep.

The crewmates flew to full attention and came down the corridor when Kanan turned into his own bedroom. They peaked around the corner, seeing him placing the child in his own bunk. Sabine asked curiously, entering the room, "He's sleeping with you?"

"His temperature and breathing need monitoring through the night," Kanan responded, taking a seat on the edge of the bunk and adjusting Ezra's blanket a bit. "I just thought it would be easier."

They stared at the fifteen year old silently a moment. He looked so young. The bags under his eyes didn't seem as harsh and his skin wasn't as pale as it had been before. He was no longer trembling in his hospital gown, but now wore a white t-shirt and dark sleep pants. The blanket around him was loose and he was curled softly between the bed and the wall.

He looked like a normal kid, sleeping without the knowledge of his watchful family over him.

"He'll be ok," Sabine murmured, as if suddenly realizing it herself.

Kanan nodded, "He will. Especially with all of us looking after him."

He glanced back at the pair and continued, "We're going to Klatooine. It's for his own protection and even though I was against going into hiding at first, I know now that I was being selfish. We all have to work together to keep him safe…To make sure the Apprentice doesn't find him."

Both Zeb and Sabine nodded enthusiastically, though Zeb's nose was turned up in slight disgust.

"I hate the desert. But, I think I'll pull through for the kid's sake."

He was awake with a cry on his lips.

It was like so many nights ago when he had woken in the room himself and Zeb shared. When he was still with his family on the Ghost. Before all of those terrible things had happened and the light within him had been dimmed so considerably. It was the start of it all. That stupid nightmare where Isaac's voice had appeared to him.

It was that. It was that, but he didn't cover his mouth to hold in the cry. He let it leave his throat in a rush of air and breath. Tears streaked his face and sweat plastered his bangs to his forehead. The room was pitch black and there was nothing to see. He couldn't even see a hand in front of his face.

He felt a blanket around him though. Soft. Warm. Inviting. Something that would have called him back into a world of sleep had he not been so panicked. His legs wound in the blanket, trapping them and making him feel like he was restrained. Maybe he was and the fog of sleep was confusing him greatly.

Another cry left him as he kicked his legs desperately, a foot coming in contact with something that grunted in pain. He didn't stop though. Not even when hands wound around his wrists and pinned him against the wall to his left. He twisted desperately; whimpers leaving his mouth like a wounded animal in the darkness.

"Let go. Let go," He grunted, pulling and turning.

A hand let go of one of his wrists and he began to beat on the chest of the unknown thing that had grunted at the contact of his foot and was trying so hard to restrain him. Suddenly, bright light erupted in the room and he let out a shout, his pupils shrinking and becoming quite blind a moment.

Bright. Bright. Too bright.

Maybe he preferred the terrifying darkness to this.

He heard someone shushing him, but he was still too stunned by the sudden flood of light to process it. However, he froze in shock when he heard a voice order quietly, "Calm down, Ezra. Stop fighting me. You're safe."

Ezra felt a tug in his mind. A tug of comfort, like a warm blanket on a cold night. He blinked, blue eyes adjusting to the room and he looked around quickly, taking it all in. The Ghost. The bunk…He recognized it. It matched his bunk that he shared with Zeb, except it was shaped differently.

Then his eyes found the source of the voice.

Kanan.

Ezra's eyes widened in shock as things came flooding back. He only vaguely remembered being in the med-bay. He could only recall certain moments of them fixing his wound and Kanan entering his mind to compensate Isaac's Binding with his own.

His shoulders shook, staring up at the exhausted looking man with eyes of bewilderment.

Ezra looked at Kanan's hands that were no longer holding his wrists, but holding his elbows now instead. He poked the man's fingers. Tangible. Real. So real. He almost couldn't take it. It had to be a trick. It had to be but…

It didn't feel like one.

"Kanan?" Ezra whispered, his voice weak.

"Yeah, Kiddo," Kanan chuckled. "Who'd you think?"

Ezra could answer that with a million words, but he didn't. Instead he threw his arms around the man's waist, hugging him fiercely. His arms trembled as more tears began to fall and his heart swelled with relief.

Safe.

"Hey, hey," Kanan muttered worriedly, pulling Ezra tight. "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

Ezra laughed. He genuinely laughed, pulling away from Kanan to look into the man's face as if he would disappear if he looked away. Ezra whispered through his sobs, "I'm so happy. So happy."

Kanan's face left worry and went to softness, pulling Ezra into a hug against his chest. The boy held on tightly, allowing Kanan to rock him back and forth like a squalling toddler. Kanan gently reached through the Binding, inducing the tired child into sleep.

The Jedi's voice was the last thing Ezra heard…

"I'll keep it that way."

Hera and Ahsoka sat in the common room of the Ghost. Ahsoka could feel the episode between Ezra and Kanan in the nearby bunk, but she gave no indication that she could. She simply sipped at the hot chocolate Hera had offered her, enjoying the comfortable silence between the too. It was almost nice enough to sleep, the relief of finding Ezra pooling into both.

"We're leaving tomorrow," Hera breathed, breaking the quiet between the two. "The plan is to go to Klatooine."

Ahsoka laughed quietly, "Hutt territory. Sounds like an adventure."

"Not as densely packed as Tatooine, luckily," Hera agreed. "Lacks Imperial control. I prefer the Hutts over Imperials any day. At least the Hutts can be bribed into silence and cooperation."

"Which means they can also be bribed into talking," Ahsoka provided. "Just, be very careful about who you trust."

Hera smiled, nodding, "Of course."

Another few moments of silence fell over them before Hera sighed, "Ahsoka…I just want to thank you. Thank you for helping us get him back. I know you were wary of Ezra's power at first, but…You helped us. You sided with us when no one else would and I'm so thankful for that."

Ahsoka watched as small tears pricked the other woman's eyes and Ahsoka smiled softly, "You owe me no thanks, Hera. I should be thanking Ezra. He has…Made me rethink quite a bit."

She stood slowly, Hera following in suit. The two shared a momentary embrace before pulling away. Ahsoka's face became very serious and she began to speak lowly, "Hera, the boy is important. I can feel something inside of him…Something very powerful and…Well, it has been some time since I've felt something to this magnitude."

Hera nodded and Ahsoka continued, "He must be protected. He must have you and the others watching over him and his training. He could one day lead this rebellion into victory. I know this to be true."

"How?" Hera asked in awe.

Ahsoka bit her lip, "I had a dream…One that showed me his true power. But, along with that dream of beauty, a dream of darkness followed. I do not know which is the truth…Which will happen. But, I do not wish the second to be it."

Hera swallowed thickly and said, "We won't let it."

Ahsoka glanced away…

"I pray you don't. He is our glimpse of hope. I don't want it to slip through our fingers."