Hello! I'm so sorry for not updating recently - life has been hectic. I'm hoping to get back to updating once per week now. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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"We need to get out of here."

"I agree," Ezra replied, and the three of them raced towards the door.

"Leaving so soon?"

They froze in their tracks. Turning around, they saw the bounty hunter standing in the middle of the six tables. His black helmet reflected their faces, and he drew his blaster, pointing it right at Ezra's own chest.

Chapter 8 – Frozen

Ezra stood frozen in his spot, fear spiking through him. Kanan's one hand stuck out in front of him while the other rested on his blaster hilt.

"Who are you?" Ezra interrogated, trying to keep his voice confident, but failing.

"The man who was supposed to keep you from finding out about this place." He took a step forward, and Kanan took one back.

"Yeah, and how's that working out for you?" his teacher mocked.

"Very well, considering that now, I get to kill you." Fear raced through Ezra's veins, rooting him to the spot. He wanted to run, he needed to run – to get out of here. Kanan had taken a few more steps back, and was now standing next to him. His outstretched arm pressed on his chest, and Ezra began stepping away with him.

The bounty hunter moved the gun to the left and fired. Ezra flinched, and he felt Kanan do the same. But he had not been shot; he felt no pain. He turned to see the bounty hunter's target: the door's control panel. It sparked and fizzed as loose wires came into contact with each other.

"There's no escape," he threatened. Kanan drew his blaster and shot rapidly, and the man dived behind one of the medical tables.

"Ezra, get the door!" he shouted, continuing to fire. Ezra ripped his feet out of the roots that were holding him and ran to the door. Igniting his own blade, he stabbed it into the metal, and began to create a circle.

He bit his lip, trying to keep his mind focused; but all of his focus ended when he heard Kanan yelp in pain.

He whipped around, pulling his blade out from the door to see him lying on the floor, and his gun sliding away.

"Kanan!" Ezra rushed forward, falling to his knees next to him. He groaned as Ezra inspected his body. His dark green armor had saved his life. Without it, the blaster shot would have gone straight through his chest. Ezra let out the breath he was holding, now knowing that his teacher was alive. The problem was, Kanan was not waking up.

Footsteps approached them, and he looked up at their reflection in the black helmet. Ezra fell back, using his hands and legs to push himself away.

"Stay back," he threatened, but the bounty hunter said nothing as he continued approaching. Ezra kept on pushing his body away, his whole body shaking as he did so. His back banged into the metal wall, the cold seeping through his shirt, as he tried to phase into the wall. The bounty hunter stood in front of him, looking down.

The man reached down, and Ezra froze; the bounty hunter grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked him up, the wall still pressing into his back. His feet dangled beneath him as he struggled to break free, with no avail.

The wall left his back and the man carried him back towards the center of the room. Ezra's hands were wrapped around his wrists, struggling to weaken the grasp.

With one quick shove he was rammed onto the closest medical table. His lungs screamed for air, but before he took a gulp of it, the hand was on his neck, pulling him up again. He was slammed onto the table again, and this time he felt the air in his lungs leave him. Gasping for breath and his vision blurring, he was unable to move.

Once the air started to return, he moved his hand in an attempt to fend off the man – but it would not budge. Looking down at his wrist he saw it was bound to the table. He tried to move the other one but it had the same band around it, as well as his ankles.

He jerked and thrashed his body on the table, desperate to escape, desperate to do anything to get out; but the wraps that bound him held.

The man appeared in his now clear vision and his hand slapped him across the face. He cheek stung and his eyes watered as his head was whipped to the side.

"Stop. Moving."

Ezra turned his vision to him, eyes narrowed in defiance, but he dared not move. Instead, he spoke.

"Let me go," he softly said as his hands turned to fists. The man grabbed his chin, and jerked his head off of the table.

"You're in no position to threaten me. You're but a child; weak and foolish." The man released his chin. "And I've been waiting a long time for this."

He walked away, and Ezra allowed himself to let out a gasp of fear. The sound of the man's voice, with the modification of the helmet, sent spikes of fear through him. He was way out of what he usually dealt with; bounty hunters who only wanted a profit. This man wanted nothing but his death.

And is his experience, bounty hunters usually got what they wanted.

He turned to the other side to see Kanan, still lying on the ground. He screamed at him to get up, get up, get up, but his lips never moved. He could not get out of this on his own; but with Kanan unconscious and Chopper stuck on the other side of the busted door, there was no one left. His breathing became shallow as he heard the man's footsteps returning.

Appearing in his vision again, the bounty hunter was holding up a long needle. Ezra's eyes widened and his instincts to run stopped. He was frozen.

He was going to lose his memories and become a mindless slave to the Empire. The same Empire that had taken his parents away; the Empire that had made his time living on the streets living hell; the Empire that had killed Sabine's parents; the Empire that had killed Kanan's master; the Empire that had almost wiped out Zeb's race.

The man pressed Ezra's head to the side, away from Kanan, and aimed the needle towards his neck.

No, no. Tears spilled down his face, his mind racing but frozen at the same time. He did not want to lose his memories. Ever since joining the crew, memories were a good thing. They were not filled with pain and regrets, but happiness and love. He did not want to give that up for anything.

He wished he could see his parents one last time, even if they were dead. He was going to die without knowing if they were alive or not. The uncertainty over all the years had torn at his mind each and every day. If they were alive, maybe he could have saved them.

He wished he could say thank you to Kanan and the whole crew. They had taken him in, even when he was annoying and reckless and brash, and they had helped him become someone his parents would be proud of. He—

He felt the pressure of the needle on his skin. He swallowed, the tears still flowing and his eyes closed, bracing for the pain.

"No!"

Ezra's stomach clenched as he heard a blaster shot fire. The needle that was poised above him shattered, the liquid spilling onto his face. Ezra tightened his closed eyes and held his breath – he was not taking any chances. He heard the man above him grunt in pain as another shot was fired, and then his name.

"Ezra, Ezra!" he felt a piece of cloth wiping away the substance. Once the cloth was removed, he opened his eyes to meet the stormy green ones of Kanan.

He let out the breath he was holding as Kanan unlatched the bindings around his wrist. While he moved to the end of the table to remove the ones on his ankle, Ezra unlatched the one on his other arm. Leaning over the side of the table lied the bounty hunter.

Kanan had shot him right in the helmet.

Unfortunately, he was still alive, and likely to wake up soon. Fortunately, his helmet has succeeded in knocking him out for the time being.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Kanan was back at his side again, helping him off of the table. Ezra was shaking in fear, having come that close to losing everything.

"I was so afraid," he wanted to say, but it came out as "I'm okay." But he could not help it when he grabbed onto Kanan's arm for support. His grip was tight, and with it, he was able to slide off the table onto shaking legs.

"It's alright. I'm getting you out of here," Kanan assured, and holstered his weapon. Kanan began to walk away, but Ezra's grip tightened. Turning back to face him, he spoke.

"Ezra, it's all going to be okay. I'm not leaving you – but we need to get out of here." With a gentle hand on his shoulder, Ezra nodded, and let Kanan's arm go.

The door slid open as they approached it, and Chopper beeped in worry as he backed away from the control panel. Ezra noticed that the droid had to break it open and rewire the whole system to get the door open.

"No time to explain, Chop!" Kanan shouted, and they broke into a sprint for the turbolift. He ran next to Kanan, only being able to keep up with the leftover fear and adrenaline.

The turbolift opened and they raced inside. The doors shut as Kanan pressed the button, and collectively, they all let out a breath of relief. Kanan turned towards him again, resting his hand on his shoulder.

"What happened? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine," he said, but he knew Kanan was unconvinced. He rubbed his cheek that the man had slapped, surprised that it still tingled. Ezra took in another breath, knowing that no matter how terrified he was, if he told him, his worry would take over. "We have to stay focused on the mission, Kanan. Let's get out of here, and then we'll find out who the bounty hunter is."

Kanan nodded, and gave his shoulder a squeeze before releasing it. Pulling out his comm, he spoke into it.

"Spector two, come in."

"Spector two here," Hera answered. "What happened to you two?"

"We ran into the friendly bounty hunter. What happened to you?"

"We got pinned down in the main hanger. Are you alright? What about Ezra?"

"We're both alive," Kanan said. Ezra knew he was avoiding the question she asked as Kanan himself did not know if he was really alright; which he was not. "And we're on our way. Spector one out." Kanan turned towards Ezra.

"My parents aren't here," he stated.

"Hera didn't say that," Kanan argued, but again, Ezra felt that something was off.

"But she didn't say that they found them. And we both know that she would have told us." Kanan sighed.

"Ezra, I'm sorry." He nodded, and a silence came over them. Ezra knew that he was closing him off from Kanan, but the odd feeling he was detecting was confusing him. And now knowing that his parents were not here put a damper on his hope. Ignoring his fear, he focused in on the strange feeling Kanan was emitting. He searched his mind for the word that described it –

Unease? Sort of. Guilt? There was only a hint of it. What was it? Anxiousness. Definitely. But that still was not the word for it. Giving up, he waited until he felt the turbolift coming to a halt.

The doors slid open, revealing the warzone that had overtaken the hanger.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~