Ezra couldn't move as he looked at his dragon in disbelief. Whiplash was talking to a dragon of his Squadron, face serious and nodding curtly. The dragon then moved away to get cleaned up and Hurricane moved forward. He whistled to his brother who'd head turned.

"How'd it go?" Hurricane asked.

"Hurricane, hey, yeah it went well. However, Narkene got pretty scratched up" the reptile rumbled, voice firm and had a lot of strength behind it.

Hurricane glanced over to where Whiplash was looking. A large, red and gold dragon was getting treated by some Tweliks nearby. Narkene indeed had some pretty nasty marks but didn't look too serious.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Whiplash turned back to his brother.

"What? I can't see my own sibling after he gets back from a mission?" Hurricane asked innocently.

"I know you better than that."

"Yeah, you do" Hurricane nodded and moved aside.

"Some old friends have arrived."

Whiplash's eyes slid to behind Hurricane and his jaw opened slightly.

"Sabine? Hera? Zeb? Chop? Kanan?" He stared then his eyes moved to beside the older Jedi.

His eyes grew wider and he froze.

"Ezra?" He said in disbelief.

Ezra cracked a smile.

"Hey buddy" he greeted.

Whiplash blinked, his legs stiff and body rigid. Hurricane moved back further as the dragon slowly approached the teen. Ezra did the same, walking forward cautiously. They stopped at least ten meters away from each other, eyes gazing into one another's. Not entirely certain on what to do.

"You've grown up" Whiplash said.

"So have you" Ezra replied.

Whiplash took in Ezra's new features and gave a small chuff of amusement.

"What have you done to your hair?" He asked.

"What? You don't like it?" Ezra inquired with a smile.

"It's......interesting" Whiplash answered.

He then looked up at the others.

"When did you guys get here?"

"About thirty minutes ago" Hera replied.

"We have a lot to tell you all."

"I'm sure you do, but maybe it's best if you explain in private?" Whiplash looked at Fawn who nodded.

"That's probably the best idea. Come on, we'll go up to the Great Hall" the Gray Jedi nodded.

The Ghost Crew and dragons followed Fawn outside but Ezra lingered back for a moment.

"Hey."

A hand on Ezra's shoulder made the boy look up. Logan gazed down on him, concern lining his face.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright" Ezra replied.

Logan hesitated before nodding and taking his hand from Ezra's shoulder.

"Come on, we'd best catch up to them" he said.

Ezra nodded and he and Logan walked from the Armoury. The teen and Togruta walked side by side, following the group a few paces behind.

"So, how long have you spent on Kabera?" Ezra asked.

"About fourteen years. Fawn rescued me from my village after the Empire burned it" Logan replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that."

"It's the past, and I can't change it. But besides, at least I have a home and a great friend" Logan gazed admiringly at Chaser who was walking beside him.

The dragon gave a happy rumble and held his head high. Ezra couldn't help but snort at the animal's antics. Chaser reminded him of Whiplash in a lot of ways. Speaking of said dragon, Whiplash was talking to Hurricane a small way ahead. Ezra felt a little hurt that Whiplash wasn't walking with him. Logan noticed Ezra gazing at Whiplash.

"Whiplash has really grown over these last few months" he said.

"He's become more powerful, aware, and responsible."

"I know, and that's what's bothering me. He's just too...mature. What happened to the fun loving, energetic dragon that I bonded with?" Ezra asked.

"Whiplash is still the same dragon Ezra he's just..."

"Grown up" Ezra finished for the Togruta.

Logan nodded. The group reached the Great Hall and it had definitely changed since the last time the rebels had seen it. It was made of thick white marble with spiraling collums holding up the overhanging roof. and Fawn opened the doors.

"Hey Fawn?" Logan said.

"Yeah?" The Gray Jedi looked over.

"The boys are expecting me, we're rehearsing Alex's song. So do you mind if I...?"

"Oh yes, of course go ahead" Fawn nodded.

"Thanks Fawn, see ya guys!" Logan mounted Chaser and the dragon took off.

"Alex?" Sabine repeated, looking at Colour Fly.

"Who's that?"

"One of Logan's friends. There's also Kori, Shane, and Connor. All rescued from destroyed villages" Colour Fly replied.

"Are they all Togrutas?" Ezra asked.

"Well, Kori and Shane are, but Alex is a Twe'lik and Conner is a human. Connor's also the youngest of their group."

"And what did he mean by Alex's song?" Ezra added.

"They write songs and sometimes preform them. They're all very talented musicians" Hurricane told him.

As this was being explained, Fawn had crouched beside Plex and patted her dome.

"You can go too if you want Plex" she offered.

The droid whistled and shook her head.

"Alright then, this way you guys" Fawn strode into the hall.

The Great Hall had definitely changed since the last time the rebels had seen it. Dragon paintings lined the walls and Jedi tapestries hung from hooks. The floor had been redone and so had the walls. Everything looked perfect. Fawn took them to the room where they talked to Fawn about recruiting her to the rebellion. It was almost exactly the same. The only difference was the framed painting of the Dragon Guardians. It looked both amazing and intimidating. The picture caught every detail of each dragons features and power. Fawn sat at the head and the Ghost Crew sat on either side of the table. The dragons chose spots round the table while Chopper and Plex sat near their owners.

"So, how did you find your base?" Hurricane inquired.

"It was Chopper who found it" Hera replied.

"Chopper? How did he find your base?" Kyber asked in surprise.

Hera gave her astromech a glare in which the droid quailed under.

"He got too overwhelmed by wanting a new leg when he saw one for sale. He left his post that we gave him for the mission and went to check it out" Sabine explained.

"Unfortunately, the mission went down hill and we had to race to escape. Chopper was still checking out the leg while this occurred so he got left behind."

"He stole the leg and boarded an Imperial Fraiter when he was being chased by Stormtroopers. Chop met a protocol droid called AP-5 who became friends with him" Kanan added.

"Together they beat up Stormtroopers and the commander before giving us coordinates to a safe star system. There we found Attalon and named it 'Chopper Base'" Zeb finished.

Fawn couldn't help but laugh.

"It's a fitting name" she agreed and grinned at Chopper.

"You're never going to change, are you?" She asked.

Chopper shook his head with a warble making Fawn chuckle. She turned back to the crew.

"So, how's Ahsoka doing?"

The crew looked down sadly and a twisted expression of guilt and pain crossed Ezra's face. Fawn's smile faltered and she looked at Hera.

"Hera?" She asked.

"Where is Ahsoka?"

The Twe'lik sighed heavily and gazed at Fawn with eyes that shone with sorrow.

"Fawn, Ahsoka's...Ahsoka's gone."

Fawn's eyes widened, and her face went pale while the dragons exchanged shocked looks.

"Gone?" Fawn repeated.

"What do you mean gone?"

"It happened on Malacore" Ezra answered quietly, voice tight.

"Vader took her life."

Fawn fell silent, gazing at her hands for a few moments before looking at the crew seriously.

"Tell me exactly what happened on Malacore" she said firmly.

The crew looked at Kanan and Ezra who both let out a breath before explaining the story.  Arriving on Malacore, seeing the Sith Temple, being attacked by the Eighth Brother, Ezra meeting a hooded stranger who later said was Maul. Fawn made a noise of what sounded like anger and slight fear but didn't interrupt. Then came the retelling of retrieving the Sith Holocron and facing down the Inquisitors. Maul's treachery against Kanan and Ahsoka, blinding the male Jedi in which Kyber snarled softly to. Ezra putting the Holocron into the Temple and activating it, Darth Vader's arrival and Ahsoka's fight with him. The Temple collapsing and Ahsoka staying behind to face Vader. When Ezra and Kanan finished their story, they both felt tight in the chest and Ezra felt tears prick his eyes but quickly brushed them away before anyone could see them. Little did he know, someone had seen them.

"Maul" Fawn hissed and Hurricane growled in his throat.

"You know him?" Sabine asked.

"Oh I know him alright" Fawn glared.

"He's one of my greatest enemies, and an old one too. My Master and I faced him a few times back in the Clone Wars, I hated that piece of Dark Side filth everytime I saw him. Can't believe he's still alive."

"Fawn" Bludgeon said slowly.

"You don't think Maul was the one that took those eleven dragons a few years ago do you?"

Ezra remembered the conversation he had with Fawn a few months before about Malacore.

*Flashback*

"Malacore isn't a person" Ahsoka said darkly.

"It's a place." 

"And a bad one at that" Fawn muttered, clutching Hurricane who was in her arms.

"I once sent fourteen dragons there for a mission."

"And?" Kanan asked.

"Only three returned" Kyber said from his place on Kanan's shoulder. 
________________________________

Ezra and Fawn sat side by side outside the Ghost, mediating with their dragons beside them.

"Fawn?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you send those fourteen dragons to Malacore in the first place?"

Fawn sighed and opened her eyes.

"It was to collect knowledge about the Sith. Legend says the Dark Side is strong there. I sent the dragons there to see if the rumours were true. Those fourteen dragons were my strongest and most powerful ones I had."

Fawn exhaled.

"The three that returned were all scarred and mentally affected. They're still not the same. They told me they'd seen their friends had been taken by something or someone. But I refused to let any dragon go to search for the eleven of them. I didn't want to lose anyone else."

*End flashback*

Ezra shuddered, a horrifying image of Maul eating raw dragon flesh entering his mind. He quickly pushed it out and shook his head. Thinking about his winged friends getting devoured by Maul was too disgusting to picture. But it kind of made sense. Those eleven dragons disappeared for some strange reason and the other three came back mentally broken. Seeing your friends being dragged into the darkness by a red and black tattooed freak with horns coming out of his head and having yellow eyes would've been terrifying. Maul must've eaten one of the dragons on the spot because the three dragons that returned definitely looked like they'd seen something gruesome. A new feeling of pure hatred towards the Zabrak flooded Ezra. He balled his hands into fists underneath the table, forcing himself to calm down.
_________________________________

The Ghost Crew must've spent a few hours exchanging stories with Fawn. Listening eagerly to stories of both good and bad memories. It felt like nothing had changed over the last six months. After Fawn finished telling them about how well Raxia had recovered, she then became serious. 

"There was a true reason why you came here isn't there?" She asked.

The crew looked at one another before nodding.

"Let me guess, you want me yo rejoin you?"

They all nodded again. Fawn glanced at Hurricane who gave her a look that clearly said: This is your decision. Fawn glanced outside the large window near them, seeing Kabera happy and like it was before the Empire's attack. With a small nod, she turned back to the crew.

"If I were to join you, I'm guessing some of the other dragons are required to come too?"

"That would be much appreciated Fawn" Kanan told her.

Fawn looked at Hurricane and smiled.

"I won't be able to bring as many dragons as I did last time, I need them protecting Kabera. I'll be able to recruit fifteen at the most. But yes, without a doubt. I'm coming back."

Sorry this took so long. Suggestions are open, (PLEASE SEND THEM IN, I NEED THEM)

Star-Wars-Dragons out 🐉