The glow was bright enough to see the figure that sat on the ground at the entrance of the tunnel. Tua sat cross-legged on the ground with her eyes closed and in deep concentration as if meditating. Her breathing was evened out and muscles relaxed. I usually saw her like this in the cage on the other side of the room than any other form. It must be how she uses her power.

"Blondie, awaken. We have company!" Cornelius ordered and Tua immediately came back from where ever she was.

"Sir," she greeted blankly like a robot.

"Thanks, Blondie..." Sabine intervened, walking up to us from the shadows of the tunnel.

"Thank you for leading him right to us so we can all be lab rats again."

"Sabine," I warned. She rolled her eyes with arms crossed annoyed that I was taking their side and not hers. She made her way passed me in a huff. Dr. Crazy may have locked us up like animals but didn't mean any harm. Plus, he did just get us out of this tunnel. We would have been wandering in there for days without food or water if it wasn't for him.

   "Well, it's the truth since you're to blind to see it," she replied, annoyed. I sighed and followed Tua and Cornelius to the room where we were locked up.

I glanced over at the table with my family portrait on top. Quickly avoiding the hole, I went over without being noticed, snatched it and stuffed the picture into the bag. My eyes landed on the dismantled Chopper at the bottom of the bag then over towards Dr. Crazy's lab.

"Cornelius," I said, getting the old man's attention. He walked over with the same cheery smile and seemed to skip with ever step he took.

"Yes?" He asked, extending the word.

"Do you have any tools I could use to fix my friend?" I asked.

"I don't think an object can fix Subject Hot Head but maybe some ice cream and her favorite soap opera would do the trick," he answered, wiggling his eyebrows. I mentally face-palmed and rolled my eyes, annoyed.

"No, I have a small robot that is in smithereens at the moment and I need some tools to fix him," I reworded. He gave a silent 'oh' and walked off to his lab with me in tow. Before I entered the room, I checked to see Sabine and Tua silently standing next to each other by the exit.

I entered the lab and walked over to a table with all sorts of tools and gizmos. Cornelius stood off to the side of the table with a blank look drawn on his facial features.

"Thanks," I said, genuinely. I appreciated the kindness from such an odd, old guy even when we pretty much destroyed and snooped on his things. Yet, a thought popped into my mind. Was he purposely letting us snoop for a reason? If so, what was the reason and why am I so important? His words from down in the catacombs still ring through my head.

"...especially you...Ezra Bridger."

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Am I a monkey's uncle?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. You are supposed to say, yes," he said. I didn't want to ask about whatever that was and just continued with what I really was curious about.

"Down in the catacombs, you said something that's been bothering me..." I started. He hummed in a questionable way but continued to listen.

"You said that their stories continue through us but more importantly me. Why is that?"

He seemed to think about the question for a bit. His wrinkles crinkled into more wrinkles and stared at the ceiling in thought. His lips pursed as if he was going to kiss something. Soon, he turned back to me with a normal looking face. Well, as normal as it can get.

"That's something that you are going to have to figure out on your own. But since I am very generous and my good old day's self is kicking into gear, I am willing to join you and Subject Hot Head to help as much as possible," He concluded. I looked over at him with wide eyes but a smile broke out on my face before turning back to begin working on Chopper.

"I will take my leave," Cornelius spoke, beginning to head towards the door. He paused then turned his head to face me.

"And yes, you can keep the picture. I was meaning to return it to its rightful owner once we met." He continued out the door as I froze a bit before relaxing and worked on fixing Chopper. Connecting. Melding. Wiring pieces back into place and replacing others with new ones.

   "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again...." my father read while flipping through the pages of my favorite book.

   "Why couldn't why put him back together?" I asked.

   "Well, he's an egg and eggs can't be fixed once they are broken," my father explained.

   "They could use duck tape...or...or glue?" I asked. My father chuckled before saying, "I don't think they had any."

   I began to think again about another solution but nothing came to mind. My dad ruffled my hair and brought me out of my thoughts. I laughed a little as he smiled warmly.

"Are you crying?"

I jumped back and gasped when seeing Sabine hovering over my shoulder.

"W-What?" I asked.

"Yeah, you are crying," she said in almost a monotone voice. I blinked a couple of times then suddenly wiped my face from any evidence of tears. I hadn't even realized that I was crying until she mentioned it.

My head twisted back down to see Chopper almost done being repaired.

"Alright," she said leaning on the desk that I was using to fix Chop.

"What's wrong?"

I briefly looked over at her then back at the small robot.

"It's stupid. I'm not sure why I'm even still sad about it. It's been years since it happened," I spoke quietly in an almost mumble. My fingers carefully tried to rewired pieces with trembling hands. Frustrated, I growled and started over.

"It can't be that stupid if it still hurts," she said. I paused my actions.

"Well, of course you wouldn't know. It's not like you would know at all so stop getting into my business. It's not like you care about me in the first place even though you say you're going to try," I snapped. She was confusing me so much lately. Honestly, I don't even know if she is still mad or we're friends. I get it, she had a rough life. But haven't we all had our ups and downs?

Now, it's my turn to be mad. Mad about this whole situation between us. About the secrets. The stupid memories that still bring an ache in my chest. Everything. I feel so stressed and pressured like the fate of the world is in my hands. And it seems so or, at least, Cornelius thinks so. Yet, I'm not sure whether to take him serious or not.

"How am I supposed to get it or not if I don't even know what you are talking about?" Sabine questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Then, I guess it's just better left unsaid," I huffed, clicking the final pieces together. Chopper's eyes lit up a soft white glow. He blinked a couple times before floating a bit off the table. He looked around to take in his new surroundings.

I sighed in relief as one of the many weights had lifted from my shoulders. One problem down.

A cold feeling gathered around me and shivered as a feeling like hands began to put pressure on my neck. Something began to choke me.

"Ezra."

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