5 | Hope Isn't Lost

Chapter 21 ༄ A Little Is Enough

Freedom looked back into the biotic eyes of his father. "I am afraid of you." He stated back. "I am afraid you'll hurt me, but..." Freedom took a moment to find his point.

He started thinking about his nightmares he had about his father when he was younger. All the blood shed, all the death, all the pain.... "You're my father, if I have to take on the whole First Order to get you to come back, so be it." He wanted to do something good for once with his life for his family.

"If I have to suffer, then I should, Kay has taken enough of my pain and since she's not coming to my recuse this time I have to do this myself." He tried to push back the thought of actually doing that, trying to calm himself from having a panic attack.

"You know so what if I'm afraid of you, so what if I'm afraid of the First Order. Being brave means being afraid and doing it anyway." He wished he was taller so he could be more intimidating to his father. Freedom continued to speak a lot more confidently than he felt.

"I never wanted to be a Jedi, I never wanted anyone to know because I didn't want this, I didn't want this gift, because I knew what it did to you, I knew what it might do to Kay. Do you ever think about what life would be like if you never had the force?"

Tekara stared at his son, surprised at his words and thought about his question for a moment, something flickering in his eyes. "I would of probably of died alone on Lothal." He answered, knowing if he never had the force he was good as dead on his home planet.

Freedom bit his lip. "Would that fate been better than this?" He gestured around them, trying to forget that this fate included his birth too.

"No." Tekara answered.

"Why?"

"I would of never met Hera, Zeb," Ezra let a sad smile slip through thinking of his long gone friend. "Chopper, Kanan" He felt a hole in his heart that never had quite been filled since his master had died. "Sabine." He smiled thinking about her. The one person he could always count on.

"What about all those people you killed?"

"How do you know about that?" Tekara countered, snapping slightly.

"I had nightmares... I hoped they weren't true, but now I know they are." Freedom scooted back into the chair. "Stop changing the topic." He squeaked out. "Was meeting them worth all that death you caused?"

"I-I don't know."

For the first time in a his whole life with those three words Freedom noticed that his father looked truly broken.

"Then make it worth it and come home now." His voice cracked, boy was he scared.

"I can't-can't." Tekara stammered out and looked like he was about to snap. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed after a moment.

"If you're scared of hurting me, Sabine, Kay or Amber, don't." Freedom said, feeling a bit of confidence return. "You already have."

Ezra bit his lip and leaned back in the chair, with a sigh. "I'm sorry..." He trailed off. "I've tried so hard." He held his head and grimaced for a few seconds.

Freedom wasn't about to comfort his father, he didn't deserve that. "You better be sorry, now get your kriffing butt up and come home." He crosses his small arms and looked back over at his father.

"Language!" Ezra scolded his son.

"I understood that reference." Freedom said, momentarily breaking the fourth wall.

"I understood that reference." Ezra countered. "Wait what were you saying about my kriffing butt?"

"To get it up." Freedom half-yelled at him and stood up, uncrossing his small arms, waving them in the air for drama. "Like this."

"Shush." Ezra scolded and stood up, looking a little dizzy. "It would be nice to leave here alive."

"Sorry- wait does that mean we are leaving?" Freedom asked, dumbstruck. He didn't really expect to win. I wish I had Kay's confidence.

"Yeah we are." Ezra smiled at his son. Freedom tilted his head at his father confused, wondering if this was all some elaborate trick.

A few seconds later Ezra immediately collapsed to the ground, gripping at his hair and screaming.

"Dad! Dad!" Freedom yelled and went over closer to his father. "Dad!" He tried to get a view of his father's face.

For the next few moments Freedom felt the most scared he had in the whole time he was at the First Order base. What was happening to his father?

After the few moments ended Ezra paused and looked back up. "What's going on?" He said in a surprisingly soft quiet voice, looking around. "Freedom?" He paused at his son. "What's going on why are we-" he cut himself off as it all came flooding back to him. "No... no no no no." He said weakly and when Freedom half expected Ezra to go attack the wall in anger, but Ezra ended up sinking more into the floor. Freedom paused before weighing his next move.

He stared at his father for a moment, trying to use the force to see his mind, but Freedom's powers didn't work exactly like his father's. It only occasionally worked and only at the worst times. He shuddered thinking about that one time. "This isn't a trick, is it?" He decided to use his words. He felt bad asking it his father looked so-so broken.

Ezra looked back up to him. "Oh Force I really screwed up this time. I got myself in yet another mess. Someone was controlling my mind... again." If Ezra could still cry, he would of been. "If you don't believe me I understand. I'm sorry."

A million and one thoughts ran through Ezra's head. He couldn't believe it happened again.

Freedom went and sat down beside him on the floor. "I don't know what to think... I just want to get everyone and go home."

"Then we'll do that..." He trailed off. "I'm just so sorry."

"Somehow I know. I know you are." Freedom sighed and caved in, leaning against his father.

Ezra slowly wrapped his arms around his son and held him close. "Let's go home. Let's all go home."