merging | happy father's day

happy father's day - blindrun

[Honestly? He's been here wayyy longer than he planned to be. He knew it'd be hard to escape, but it had to be possible. That's what he kept telling himself. Days turned into weeks turned into months and now? It's been over a year.

The other Inquisitors still don't completely treat him like one of them. Or maybe teasing is their way of doing so? He rolls his eyes whenever they call him "baby brother", thinking they could at least have some sense of professionalism. But everything's been going okay for the most part. As okay as it can be when you're an Inquisitor-in-training.

Except today was... well, it was something else. They were assigned to ambush a small rebel cell that was said to be working with a Jedi. It should've been easy, except for the part where it wasn't. The rebels got away and the Inquisitors had failed. Now Ezra's standing outside the Grand Inquisitor's office while the adults debrief. It's frustrating, being left out like this, but he also knows there isn't much he can do about it.]

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[ she doesn't respond, not right away, and when she speaks again her voice has dropped down. her tone, at least for her, is weighed down by duty. ]

This is no request. The Grand Inquisitor orders it.

[ her head tilts up, looking past ezra and to the door. she clicks her tongue. ]

Consider it a mercy - even a gift - you won't see what happens to him. Third Brother will now be punished for his failures... and yours.

[ she doesn't know what her foolish baby brother did, but it can't be good if the grand inquisitor has the elder one there alone. if it were up to her he would be strapped into that room and made to watch what happens when you disobey. a year later and he is still a wild child. absurd, how third brother has not reeled him in yet. much too soft hearted still. ]

[He doesn't move to go, waiting a moment longer.]

What's going to happen to him?

[Ordinarily, punishment is to be expected. They all know that. He's even faced his own fair share at this point. But you get used to it and move on. If that's all it is, then he has no reason to worry. Third Brother isn't weak, he can handle it.

At the same time... Lord Vader's killed Inquisitors for far less.]

What, indeed.

[ second sister has no clue. plenty could happen when one must suffer for two. however, for all her thoughts on third brother, she cannot call him a fool. he knew well bringing in this boy would tie their fates together. why he would ever take the risk she cannot fathom... and to a degree she is envious. her heart burns with it because no one has ever cared for her that way. certainly not her old master.

she steps forward, standing by his side, and tunes in. not probe, but simply opens herself up. it seems nothing is happening just yet... but she can feel the grand inquisitor's rage. far stronger than she has felt in a long while. if third brother makes it out of this then may he consider himself a lucky man. but in the end they are all disposable and their time runs out the moment they fail to be useful. will today be third brother's day? ]

Staying here will only make it worse for him. [ she decides on a new approach as she speaks, appealing to the boy's obvious attachment. ] Go to your chambers and wait.

[ if he doesn't listen this time around she'll have no quarrels about using force to get her way, but she figures she can take a page from third brother on this one. there might not even be a third brother after tonight. ]

[It's not the response he expected from Second Sister. He thought she'd tease him more, call him weak, really living up to his "title". This is almost... kind? Considering it's her.]

Fine.

[Ezra turns to go, before thinking of something else. It's something stupid, like always.]

If you see him first... can you tell him I'm sorry?

[Not waiting for a response, he takes his leave and walks back to his room, where he sits on his bed, hugging his knees to his face and wondering just what's going to happen to him.]

[ normally yes, she would torment him. tell him it's all his fault. but he already knows that much and she isn't in the mood to test the grand inquisitor's patience at the moment. once he turns to leave she does the same, not bothering to wait for the doors and deciding not to honor ezra's request. she did her job here and that's all she can afford to care about in the moment. dare not hope for anything, for it will be taken away with swift judgment. injustice is no real crime, only a way of life. ]

[ night, or what counts for night on base, comes. most of the halls and decks empty out, a skeleton crew replacing the usual operations, as the many staff members rest in their barracks for the night. even most of the inquisitors by now are asleep, or at least the ones who were not ordered off world as soon as the meeting was over. never a dull moment in the galactic empire.

however deep into night the elevator hums loud and the doors open on the inquisitor's dorm hall. out step two men, one lugging the other one with an arm wrapped around his back, grunting as he leads and the other man barely walks straight. ]

You know - I feel like you should be doing more work here? You're taller than me.

[ the voice, quiet but above a whisper and modulated by a helmet, is that of second brother. he has to be careful as he leads them. not so much because he has to be sneaky, but causing a commotion at this time of night could lead to arguments and pointless saber waving grandstanding. he's tired and doing his favorite sibling a favor here by dragging him back to an empty room. probably a good thing the helmet is on third brother because oof, he can't be a sight for sore eyes under these circumstances. ]

[Sleep doesn't come easily that night. Every hour or so, he finds himself waken up by visions or nightmares, and he has no idea which is which. They could all be one or the other and he'd be none the wiser. He sees the Third Brother dying at the hands of the Grand Inquisitor, his lightsaber going cleanly through his stomach. His master falls to the ground in front of him, and then the Grand Inquisitor turns to face him.

He dies, he presumes, after that. Visions, dreams, whatever they are, they're weird and hard to make sense of. Another time he sees his parents, cowering but alive. At least he knows that one's a dream.

Eventually, pure exhaustion wins and he knocks out, fast asleep in his room and finally free from his thoughts.]

Ok, keep it up. Almost there -- oh!

[ and just before they get to the first open room, third brother's sluggish legs buckle and he slips to the ground on his knees. second brother goes down with him and he grumbles quietly. this is annoying. third brother totally owes him for this... well, as soon as he's not near death! he's really pulling for him to not die overnight because then he just dragged his body from the torture chambers all the way up here for nothing.

he breathes in, tries to get them up --- no dice. he breathes out and groans, annoyed. ok! not happening. not alone.

he just... carefully props third brother up against the wall and stands up and takes note of who is around through the force. ninth sister is huge and could do all the heavy lifting, but is he going to wake her up? absolutely not. seventh sister, no. second sister? ...nah, she'll want a favor and he isn't willing to trade for this.

which is how he settles on ezra's door. well, it is his fault this is even happening at all. G.I. was going to rough everyone up for that bungled mission but the kid decided to stamp a target on third brother's back with that stunt seventh sister gloated to them about. he feels bad for the kid, but not too bad. he's more annoyed third brother is potentially going to die because this brat couldn't mind his business.

which is why he forces the door open with a wave of his hand and walks forward, putting his hands on the boy and shaking him. ]

Hey, get up. Kid, wake up!

Wha- huh?!

[He sits straight up, pushing back against the hands shaking him. Then he opens his eyes a little more and realizes what's going on. He glares down Second Brother. Teenager who just woke up.

But then he realizes something else!]

Where's Third Brother?

Outside, half-dead. [ a beat, then- ] Might be full dead soon, who knows.

[ humor is his weapon, always has been. he steps back so ezra can get out and shrugs. ]

Need help getting back in a room. Figure he's your problem more than mine. C'mon.

[As soon as Second Brother steps back, he rushes out of his bed, falling over and then getting back up and running outside to his master.]

Third Brother!

[Ezra's not good at being quiet. He goes to prop Third Brother up, though it's kinda hard given he's 16 and still tiny. But as he does place his arms around him in order to lift him, Third Brother will feel his strength returning to him, oddly enough. In the Force, there's a sense of warmth and calm emanating from Ezra, who doesn't seem to notice it at all.]

Whoa, hey!

[ ugh, dumb kid. he better not wake anyone up with that. second brother follows him out and looks over them both. he's going to step in and help because the kid is too scrawny to lift a big guy like third brother alone, but that isn't what he notices. it's the warm hum of something peaceful in the air. it's the force.

second brother's hands tighten into fists, instinct telling him to clock this kid in the head, but he lets it go. he'll have to let third brother know about this later - ezra is his problem after all. second brother steps forward and wraps his arm around third brother, and with ezra's support they both manage to get him back on his feet together. ]

Ngh... Ezra...

[ third brother's voice weakly gravels past his helmet, making second brother cant his in surprise. not so dead after all. ]

Ok kid, help me walk him a couple doors down to the next free room. We'll drop him in bed.

[He feels a chill run down his spine when he hears his name, but... in a good way. It's hard to explain.]

I've got you. Don't worry.

[That warm, bright presence in the Force continues to grow as they carry him to the empty room and drop him. Once he's in the bed, Ezra looks to Second Brother.]

I can take it from here. Thanks.

[ second brother stretches once third brother is in the bed, sore from the carrying but thankful it's over. however... ]

I don't know what you just did... but I recommend not doing it again. Got it?

[ he doesn't bother waiting for an answer. he turns and heads out, shutting the door behind them. in bed third brother groans, body in shambles and exhaustion flooded through him. he doesn't remember entirely how he got here, or most of the day at all. but he is strangely starting to feel better, stronger. the energy he feels is warm and inviting and he feels his body calm with it. ]

Ezra...

[ his voice is weak and faint and the modulator helps give it volume. is this his doing? ]

["Do what?" he's about to respond, but Second Brother's already gone. He doesn't get it, though. He didn't do anything this time, other than follow orders.

Third Brother stirs and he sighs, reminded of all the trouble he caused earlier.]

I'm sorry.

[Ezra goes to remove his helmet, looking to treat any wounds he might have there.]

[ when the helmet is removed the most noticeable injury are the stark veins around his eyes, which fray off down the sides of his face. his eyes open slowly to a blur and the normally sclera is turned a murky black. it serves to highlight the copper yellow of his eyes further than normal, the corruption of the dark side strong.

third brother breathes weakly, still not recovered, but at least he can find the willpower to speak through his pain. ]

It's... not your... fault. It's mine.

[ he wheezes quietly and careful, chest injured and respiratory system bruised up. physical punishment is not uncommon for failures, but this goes deeper than that. it was punishment meant for two. ]

No. [he says firmly, almost angry. The warmth recedes for a moment.] It's not. It's mine.

[Ezra gets up, grabbing a washcloth to start because this is a lot and he kinda doesn't know what to do. Even so, he's so unbelievably relieved that he's alive. As he cleans Third Brother's face, the light returns, brighter than before.Third Brother will notice aside from his strength returning, certain injuries are almost... disappearing.]

[ he wants to argue, explain why it's his fault, it's always his fault, but he has no strength in him. he lays in bed still and breathes steadily as he feels the warm glow return. wash over his body and fill him with strength. cool and relaxing, the veins around his eyes begin to heal slowly.

third brother opens his eyes, face faintly twist in confusion, and then it hits him what this is.

on instinct, and with a burst of sudden strength, third brother lifts his upperbody up and shoves ezra away with the force. not so strong that it'll hurt him, but it'll definitely give him the memo to back off. ]

No!

[Ezra slides back, surprised by the sudden movement but able to catch himself before he really went flying. He does back off, but he doesn't get it. What happened?]

What?! What's wrong?

[Still shining bright in the Force, whoops.]

[ in his right mind he would explain what was wrong. whenever ezra made an error of any sort, be it in training or in judgment, third brother would be quick to correct and explain why. he did it because he understood ezra, and how he works, would never just accept "no" for an answer without a reasonable explanation.

reason is absent from him now, mind clouded with blind hate as his body rejects the positive hum of energy enveloping the room. all coming from him.

it may be a good thing he has no weapon to reach for. ]

Get... out.

[ he breathes out slow, quiet, the very small amount of sanity he has in this moment pulling back his violent impulse to strike ezra down. ]

[Usually Third Brother wouldn't get angry at him. Or he would, because dark side, but not nearly as much as everyone else did. And just before this, he'd said it wasn't his fault. So then what had happened now? Did he sense something Ezra couldn't?]

You're hurt. [Unfortunately, he's still awful at following orders.] I'm not... not... leaving-

[Ezra falls to the ground, passing out and extinguishing the light he'd brought to the room. Although he hasn't realized what he's done, it's already took its toll on his body. Luckily, he's just really tired. It could be worse.]

Ezra?

[ ezra drops and third brother's demeanor shifts a third time, panic overwhelming the burst of anger he was just trying to control. he stands--

--no, he tries to stand. the moment he gets his feet over the bed and lifts up his legs buckle back down again. he's begun to heal, ezra saw to it unknowingly, but not enough. still he breathes in and crawls on the floor to the passed out boy. third brother's breathing, shallow, slowly relaxes when he sees ezra's chest rise and fall. for a moment he thought...

...he shuts his eyes and sits on his legs, terribly tired as well. he turns his head back to the bed, a mile away, and he settles for carefully settling himself down on the floor beside ezra. may as well since he's here and unbelievably spent. ]

What are you?

[ he questions quietly as he looks at ezra, truly stumped. does he even know what he was doing just now? unlikely. the boy's potential is so much stronger than he ever first imagined and a fear he's never had before grips him. could he be losing him to the light?

there are no answers as his eyes flutter shut against his will and he swiftly passes out beside his apprentice. ]

[Several hours pass before Ezra begins to stir. As his eyes open up, it takes him a few moments to realize where he is and what led to this situation. It all feels fuzzy, but he tries to add up what he does remember and what he can put together from context clues.

First, he's not in his room and he's fallen asleep on the floor. Third Brother is next to him, also asleep on the floor. He's injured, having been punished by the Grand Inquisitor after Ezra's misstep. Ezra had tried to take care of him, get him to bed, he'd gotten mad, and then... then they knocked out apparently.

He pokes at his master's back.]

Wake up.

Ngh.

[ the poke, even as light as it is, aches into his back. he stirs awake immediately, never being a deep sleeper anyway, and opens his mouth for an extended yawn. his body is sore all over, head throbbing with a dull pain, and - oh yeah he's on the floor. why the hell is he on the floor and not in a bed?

his eyes scrunches in before they open and he turns-- ]

Ugh!

[ --onto his back, which is as far he can get before giving up again. fantastic. he bobs his head to the side, the veins around his eyes last night gone, as he looks to ezra. ]

Bridger. [ he mumbled with a breath. ] What happened?

I don't know!

[The warmth from last night is completely gone, replaced by the familiar cold.]

I just woke up and we were here.

[But Third Brother's response does help him to remember something.]

... you called me Ezra. Last night, I mean.

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