Vulnerable to the Force [Star Wars Rebels]{Wattys 2015}

Giving In

"Worthless!" the Inquisitor shouted at Ezra, lying on the floor. "Pathetic! Weak! Vulnerable!"

What could be worse than this? Lying on the ground, sprawled out for the apex predator to feed, but before to be called negative words that hurt more than anything in the world.

"Bridger, I am going to make you into the ideal imperial general," the Inquisitor darkly spoke.

Again and again and again, the Inquisitor used the force to tear apart Ezra's fragile mind. Every scream from Ezra manifested improvement to the Inquisitor. Each memory Ezra's mind yields was opened to the Inquisitor and flashed in his mind. Ezra was fighting for his freedom from the Inquisitor. He was fighting for his mind to remain sane. The Inquisitor released Ezra again and grinned.

"This is the last time, and you're brain will finally be re-wired!" the Inquisitor told Ezra.

Ezra was coughing and gasping for air. His entire body was a bruise. Everything ached, even his mind was in agony. He was breathing heavily and was in a cold sweat, each time the Inquisitor "re-wired" his mind. The Inquisitor went into Ezra's mind for the last time. However, it felt different. Ezra laid on his back, his new amber eyes wide open, sightlessly staring up at the ceiling. The re-wiring was complete.

"Fantastic," the Inquisitor simply said, then left the isolation cell.

****

Chopper was up and running around The Ghost, happily electrocuting Zeb and sometimes aiding the rebels. The rebels had discussed their plan for busting Ezra out of The Spire and were acquiring supplies for the mission. Sabine was probably the second most excited person to rescue Ezra, other than Kanan. Kanan hadn't been getting much sleep ever since Ezra was taken. Tonight was the night.

"Is everyone ready?" Kanan asked a final time.
"Yes," everyone replied.
"Alright. Let's get going," Kanan smiled.

Hera put the ship into hyperspace and they were in front of The Spire. Hera dropped everyone off at the same platform they used to rescue Jedi Master Luminara. Strangely, there weren't any stormtroopers outside guarding the prison. The doors opened once the rebels were on the platform and the Inquisitor was standing there with a bunch of brown crates, waiting for them. Kanan pulled out his lightsaber.

"There's no need for that, Jedi," the Inquisitor said. "If you're looking for who I think you're looking for, he's right here."

The Inquisitor kicked away a crate and revealed the new and improved Ezra, wearing an imperial outfit.

"Ezra?" Kanan asked.
"Kanan," he replied in a nasty way.
"Ezra., don't do this. It won't do you any good," Kanan advised his padawan.
"I'm not your padawan and you're not my master!" Ezra said. "You all aren't my family or my friends. We're enemies."
"Ezra...," Sabine said with an upset tone.
"You all better leave before Ezra attacks you," the Inquisitor warned with a sly smile.

Ezra walked forward and revealed his new weapon--a red lightsaber. He stepped up to Kanan first and moved into a fighting stance. Kanan moved into his fighting stance as the rebels and imperials watched.

"Attack," the Inquisitor ordered.

Stormtroopers raced out to attack Zeb, Sabine, and Hera--Chopper would be manning the ship because he's still "healing". Ezra charged at Kanan who was thinking over somethings greatly. Kanan knew he couldn't kill his padawan, yet he couldn't be killed by his padawan. He would only make defensive moves. However, who was about to attack him was much stronger and more skilled than he could ever imagine.

****

Fifteen minutes into the mission, Sabine was battling buckets with Hera and Sabine. She couldn't believe Ezra turned against them. She was so distracted. Zeb grabbed her and blocked a shot.