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[oratorical]

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[lothrat]

[Just after this...]

[There's no words, just a sense of pain and something dazed, lingering fear and anger, and an impression of the world spinning, spinning down.]

[oratorical]

[To say that's an alarming message is an understatement. It almost makes Leia feel sick, feeling that fear, anger, and the dizziness along with it. But, she ignores that as best she can, because the important thing behind those feelings is that it's a familiar presence giving those feelings off.]

Ezra? That's you, isn't it?

[Despite the alarm caused by the emotions in his contact, Leia does what she can to project a sense of calm with her words, in hopes that it may help.]

audio

[lothrat]

[Maybe it does help. Or at the least it gives him something to try to focus on. That voice. He knows that voice.]

Leia...

[He can't manage the words out loud, so thank goodness that's not necessary here.]

Leia, Vader...

[oratorical]

[That doesn't help reassure her any, and in fact only makes the previous message worse.]

Ezra, what did he do? Where are you?

[lothrat]

[Sorry, Leia. He's not really thinking clearly here, or he'd try to do a better job at not making her worried.]

He's here. Thought he was...

Anakin Skywalker...

[oratorical]

[she's worried about Ezra, there's no denying that, but a heavy feeling of guilt settles inside her at Ezra's next words. Because she knew Anakin was Vader, and she knew he was here now too. But she didn't warn Ezra of this, didn't even think to, and somehow she feels part of this could have been avoided if she had been more upfront about things. There was time to worry about and apologize for that later though, since for now, she has to make sure Ezra is alright.]

I know. I know he's here. What did he do, Ezra?

[lothrat]

[Another dizzy blur, and Leia can probably feel Ezra's sluggish attempt to focus here. What did he do? What did he-?

Anger bubbles up, thick and hot.]

Killed the Jedi. How could he do that? How could he...?

...hero...

[oratorical]

[well. It's not that that's not an answer, but it's not the answer she wants. This is something from in the past, something she knows already happened, and it's not what she's most worried about now.]

What did he do to you?

[shes trying to sound calm and patient, but there's an edge of impatience in her voice, worried more about Ezra's safety and current whereabouts than anything, and he's not giving her much to work with here.]

[lothrat]

[If not for the emotions still leaking through the connection, Ezra's silence there could have been ominous. But he's not gone, hasn't passed out. It's just taking him time to work through her question.]

...couldn't breathe...

[No, wait. That's not what he wants to say.]

He's gone.

[Good luck figuring out the jump in his train of thought there.]

[oratorical]

[it's a jump in logic, sure, but she gets the gist of it, having been on the receiving end of a Force choke herself during her time here. There's a chill of fear and worry from her side, but it's shoved aside quickly in favor of returning to an attempt at projecting some level of calm to help Ezra try and focus. The important thing here is that, though Anakin is still out there somewhere, he's not near Ezra. And despite the alarming bit of silence before his recent response, Ezra is still alive. The rest could and will be figured out later, if she has anything to say about it, but for now this is enough.]

Don't look for him. Stay where you're at.

[lothrat]

[Sluggish silence again, then a sense of distraction before the connection begins to fade out. Sorry, Leia, looks like Qui-Gon's here. Time for Ezra to make more mistakes.]

[oratorical]

[and as with the rest of the messages, his silence is just as alarming to Leia. So, even with the silence, and even while she's busy with tackling this Anakin problem from her side, Leia continues to try reaching Ezra, in hopes he'll respond.]=

[lothrat]

[It isn't actually until the next day that Ezra finally gets back to her. Sorry about that, Leia.

On the bright side, he's sounding a lot more coherent now.]

Leia. Sorry, fell asleep.

[oratorical]

[she's relieved to hear (in a way) his voice, in a much less alarming fashion than before. She may have been told Ezra was fine in her conversation with Qui-Gon, but having a reassurance from him is different than hearing Ezra himself confirm it.]

I noticed. I spoke with Master Jinn, and he told me he was taking care of you.

[lothrat]

[He's a little relieved to hear that Qui-Gon told Leia that he was alright. Better than Leia having to sit and wonder all night if Ezra was lying in a ditch somewhere.]

Yeah. It's a little blurry, but he found me after I got hurt.

[Ezra's tone becomes a lot more serious now. And with what he has to say, he's sure Leia will understand why.]

I don't remember if I warned you. Leia, Vader's here. He doesn't look the same at all, but it's definitely him.

[oratorical]

[there's an intense feeling of guilt before Leia's response, because she knew. She knew Anakin was here, and regardless of where in time he came from, he will always be Vader to her. And Ezra's warning only serves to cement the fact that this time, Anakin actually is referring to himself as Darth Vader. She doesn't like having Anakin around in the first place, but having Anakin as Vader around is much worse.]

...I know. I knew he was here. I should have warned you earlier, Ezra, but with the Jedi around, I didn't think.

[because after all, Obi-Wan had promised her that Anakin was his responsibility.]

[lothrat]

[...it is still so weird being able to feel Leia's guilt like this. It kind of makes him feel awkward. Even if it means he knows she's genuinely apologetic.

Because, uh, yeah, a little warning would have been nice before running into Anakin-Vader!]

With the Jedi around- You remember he killed the Jedi, right?

[oratorical]

Obi-Wan Kenobi promised me that Anakin Skywalker was his responsibility, that he would ensure he wasn't a danger here. I've already made him aware of this.

[even if Obi-Wan had meant a different Anakin at the time, Leia sees no reason it shouldn't have applied here. Anakin was and is his responsibility, and she expects him to do something about it.]

[lothrat]

[A sense of grimness fills their connection.]

That's not going to mean anything if he kills Master Kenobi, too.

[After all, how many Jedi in the past thought they could handle Vader and were proven horribly wrong?]

[oratorical]

It's something I've worried about, as well.

[because as mad as she may be at Obi-Wan at the moment, she doesn't want him hurt or killed, and she knows full well that's exactly what will happen to him in her time.]

I've spoken with Master Jinn about him, too, and I also mentioned this to Luke. Between the three of them, I have faith that at least one will be able to do something about him.

[lothrat]

[Ezra wants to argue that his presence could make a difference, too, but after how easily Anakin had wiped the floor with him, his pride's been about as bruised as his head and is lying pretty low right now.]

I wish Kanan was here...

[Whoops. He hadn't meant to send that thought. Ezra runs a hand over his face.]

Even with three Jedi Masters, I'm still worried. It's Vader. And... Leia, he's Anakin Skywalker. I don't know if you've heard the stories about him, but he was a hero. He was the best.

[An echo of pained betrayal there. Anakin had been one of his heroes.]

I've even studied some of his lightsaber training. I don't know if anyone here's good enough to stand up to him.

[oratorical]

[She feels bad for Ezra, she does. It's not so much that she feels he's useless in a fight against Vader as it is that she doesn't want him to fight against him. Granted she doesn't want Luke to fight against him either, but she knows full well that Luke will do what he wants and go after Vader anyway.]

I've heard enough stories about him. [she's trying to be patient and understanding, but there's a obvious note of restraint to her tone. Because listening to anything remotely positive about Anakin Skywalker is not something Leia likes to do. But Ezra is in a delicate state, and he's still her friend (she hopes), and she doesn't want to upset him further.]

I don't know if they'll be able to beat him in a fight, but I know if there's even the slightest chance of getting through to him [not that Leia thinks there is, but that's not the time for that] then Luke, at least, will be able to do something.

[lothrat]

[At least Ezra's positives are all past tense?

But yeah, he's feeling crushed about this enough as it is. Just as well Leia's trying not to add to it.]

Is Luke really that powerful?

[If he has a better chance than Master Kenobi or Master Jinn, that seems to imply that he is.]

[oratorical]

[As far as Jedi went, she's not sure where Luke's skills would stack up with any of them. She assumes not as strong only based on Luke having nowhere near as much training as the others. But naturally that's not her reasoning for why Luke would be best. She sighs, hesitating momentarily before giving her answer. Because it's not like Luke is quiet about it, and with their last names being the same, he can't hide it the same way Leia can.]

...Luke is his son. I'm sure Vader isn't aware of that yet, but I trust Luke to do what needs to be done.

[she still thinks he's wrong to believe in Anakin as much as he does, but that doesn't mean she doesn't trust him.]

[lothrat]

[...what.

Sorry, Leia, Ezra's brain just screeched to a halt. You didn't say what he just thought you did.]

Vader has a son?!