5 | Hope Isn't Lost

Chapter 19 ༄ Masks

"Mom worries about you." Freedom stated with his arms crossed, trying to stand up to his father. "Amber misses you and I'm sure Kay would too." Freedom began to walk to the door. "I'm not talking with you here I want a hot coco and somewhere to sit." He tried to mask his fear with confidence.

His father?, Ezra?, Tekara? Freedom didn't know who it was standing in front of him anymore. His father cast a soft look his way and nodded.

"One hot cup of coco coming up." He said and began to follow Freedom to the door. "Just stay close behind me and put these on." He tossed Freedom a pair of binders.

"Why?" Freedom said as he missed the toss and the binders clattered to the floor. He bent over and picked them up. Holding them, he felt a sight buzz coming from the metal handcuffs. They were force dampeners as well, he deducted.

"I'm not the only force user on this base." He said as Freedom filled in the blanks.

Tekara knew that he could use the force, maybe even more so than Kay could and other force users could sense that power, especially dark siders and if they found that out- Freedom cut off his own scary thoughts and snapped on the binders. He was rewarded with a small, thin smile from his father and an odd feeling of losing a part of himself. The two then walked into the halls of Starkiller.

They passed maybe one or two troopers on their way, the more people they passed the more stiffer Tekara became.

༄

"You wanted an explanation?" Eights reinforced as he put his hands on his hips and stood with Mouse in a small office room.

"That would be nice." Mouse said as he rubbed his duct taped arm.

"There is something going on with Ezra, something I don't fully understand either, but I can try to explain this situation the best I can." Eights sighed and Mouse nodded. "Whatever it is going on with Ezra-er Tekara isn't good." Eights began to explain.

"So basically to begin with Ezra was kidnapped by our old, I honestly don't know what she is to us, Sebrin and new comer Mona. They did something to him, I don't know exactly what, but it isn't good. Then Ezra kidnapped me per say back on Lothal, bringing me here. He also is doing something to my mind, but that isn't important."

"Why isn't it important?" Mouse asked.

"Something about being loyal to the First Order and treacherous thoughts. If you ask me he's just overprotective." Eights replied, as he watched Mouse hop up and sit on the office desk. "So may I continue or will you continue to interrupt me?"

"Keep talking." He rubbed his arm again. "I don't think duct tape was the best idea."

Eights shook his head and continued. "Where was I? Yes. I was kidnapped and brought here. Now this is where things get complicated, you still listening?"

"What? Who ate a computer?" Mouse smirked, joking around with his friend. "No go ahead I'm listening."

"Roe's here and she's working for the first order, helping them build something here on the base. Even I don't know what it is, I've been kept in the dark and I've been trying to get all of us out, but that's kind of hard when Roe's fiancé is kidnapped and they threatened to kill him if she doesn't work." Eights took a breath. "And that's about it."

"Wow." Mouse said, heart breaking slightly at the word 'fiancé'. "And I thought I had problems."

"You do."

"But I don't have the fiancé is kidnapped kind of problems." Mouse masked his heartbreak as he did most of his problems with humor.

"You kind of do."

"How?"

"You are kind of married to cheese."

"No I'm not I just like it."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

"Fine!!"

"So what's the game plan? You can't just tell me all of this and have no plan." Mouse tried to change the subject from his cheese obsession.

"That's just it, I don't have a plan..." Eights trailed off, looking down. "I just don't know what to do." His voice cracked. "I'm trying here."

Mouse went over to his friend and put an arm around his shoulder. "Hey Eights, remember that time back in the Empire when-"

"Now is not the time to reminisce about the past." Eights protested. "As you know we need a plan."

"Just hang on." Mouse rolled his eyes and sighed. "You know that one assignment me, you, Vent and Circuits had."

"Which one there was a ton." Eights interjected.

"Now you're the one interrupting." Mouse rolled his eyes. "The one where we were assigned bathroom duty after chili and beans night at the cafeteria, because I just had to be stupid as always and screw up the files."

"Mouse, you aren't stupid."

Mouse ignored his friend's interjection. "You were all so mad." He chuckled at the thought. "But somehow you pulled us all together and we had one of the best nights of my life, just cleaning toilets."

"Yeah I do remember that, Vent actually was smiling for once." Eights thought out loud, missing his friend.

"You did it then, you can do it now. Eights I believe in you." He smiled at Eights.

"Thanks Mouse." Eights smiled back, feeling his hope return. The hope of getting out.

Both of their hearts skipped a beat when they heard a slow clap coming from the doorway.

"Great speech." Sebrin smirked still in Kanan's form, rolling her eyes at their surprised faces. "I heard you are trying to get out of here?"

They both gulped.

"I can't have you two messing with my plan, just yet." She pulled out the stunner and before either of them could react, she fired.

Eights fell first and Mouse was able to catch him before he hit the ground, sitting him down safety.

"That isn't nice." Mouse said as she shot him with the stunner.

Sebrin shook her head when Mouse didn't fall, unconscious. She shot him again and this time he did fall unconscious, next to Eights.

"It's almost time." Sebrin said to herself, hoping this time her plan would work out.

༄

Sitting in a suspiciously cozy lounge, Freedom sipped hot coco, sitting across from his father. "Ok now we can talk." He messed with his bandage that Ezra whipped up for him on his arm. "What do you want, Dad? Why are you here and not home?"

"You want to know why I'm here..." He trailed off, looking through a window as the snow fell. "I'm here because I'm trying to save you. I'm trying to save Sabine. I'm trying to save Amber and Kay." He looked back at his son with pain in his eyes.

Freedom took another sip of the coco, resulting in a hot coco mustache. "From what?"

He glanced away from Freedom again and looked out the window. "From the First Order and..."

"From me."

"Why you?" Freedom tilted his head and looked at his father, with confusion in his eyes.

And then suddenly with no warning, Tekara lashed out and grabbed Freedom by the neck, eyes burning a hole in his skull.

"From me."