Hello everyone! I've been looking forward to this chapter, so enjoy!

Also, if you like this book, make sure to go vote on my announcement. If this one wins, it'll get finished before Christmas!

"This is no place to call home, child."

    The voice had no embodiment, yet it felt as human as anything the girl had ever met before. It's tendrils of energy branched out to her, dancing across her skin like a forbidden fire. She tried to extend her fingers to come in contact with the entity, but it quickly latched onto her arm and jerked her forward.

     Confusion etched itself throughout her features as she staggered forward. She closed her eyes in fright, but when she finally opened them, she was suspended in space. A frost began running up her skin from the cold temperatures of her surroundings.

    "These people around you... they aren't like you. How can you call them family when their blood is not even of your descent?"

    Ashley tried to scream, but her vocal cords were silenced. A panic washed over her as she realized that she was drowning. She clawed at her neck furiously in attempts to inhale oxygen, but nothing was working. At this point, she was writhing around and flailing her arms, though she was getting nowhere from the lack of gravity in space. She didn't even have the strength to answer the crystal's question, which she now assumed to be rhetorical.

    "Lost, yet found. Wild, yet calm. What havoc reeks in your life?"

    The girl thought that if she listened to the voice, she would be pulled back to her previous darkness, but she was deceived. She only continued to choke out until she finally passed out from lack of oxygen. However, the second her eyes faded shut, she awoke suddenly on the ground.

    A glimmer of hope ran through her when she darted her gaze around, but it was drenched just as quickly as it had started. She was still not back in the Quinjet.

    The girl grunted as she pushed herself off the stone floor, trying to ignore the streaks of pain that were echoing through her. She immediately pulled herself into a fighting stance, eyeing her surroundings suspiciously. Something was off... she could tell.

    "Do you not recognize your own past?"

    Ashley visibly tensed at the statement. What was even going on? From what she could tell, this place was not of Earth. The air had a foreign scent, as well as the jaw-dropping advancement of technology. Cars and speeders were flying through the air, and the ground of whatever this place was couldn't even be seen from her position. It just seemed like levels and levels of buildings stacked on top of each other.

    "Hello?" She meekly called out to an alien-like figure. Her skin was a pale blue, and two tails replaced her hair. However, instead of even acknowledging her, she simply walked past. "Wait! Please! I'm lost." The teenager ran up to the woman and attempted to softly grab her arm, but her hand ghosted right through her.

    So what is this then? A vision? A dream? Ashley questioned mentally, glancing down at her own hand. It began to materialize back to a solid form, but nothing would make her forget that she was nothing more than a spirit.

    "Can anybody hear me?" She cried out. If this was linked to her past like the voice said it was, then it was vital that she figured out where she was.

    "Your pleas are silent, yet you are heard. You will find your way home, you just have to believe in yourself."

    Everyone simply just walked past her- or through her, even. Ashley was about to sigh in defeat when one man suddenly halted. He had fairly short brown hair, blue eyes, and a tall stature. He turned around, giving everyone a wary glance. As his gaze fell across Ashley, she jumped and shouted as wildly as she could, but he eventually moved on to a different area. There was a certain sadness that echoed throughout his eyes that chilled her straight to the bone.

    "Please don't go," she begged, running after the man as he began to continue on his way. She eventually fell into step with him as they entered a temple of sorts. "You can hear me, right? I know you can. Come on, look at me, I'm right here!"

    The man paused once more, giving the teenager a spark of positivity. She patiently stood with a smile, anticipating him to talk to her.

    "I should've gotten more sleep last night," he instead grumbled, rubbing his eyes before walking off again.

    "No, really. I'm actually here," Ashley pleaded. "I don't know if you can see or hear me, but please, I'm here. You know me, right? You know who I am?"

    The man took in a sharp breath, shaking his head in agony. Finally, as if he had won a small battle inside himself, he turned and stared right through Ashley, then whispered, "Ahsoka?"

    "Who's Ahs-" Before Ashley could even finish saying the name, a tendril of white energy shot up from the ground, then coiled itself around her arm and jerked her forward. She screamed, trying to rip the energy off so she could stay with the man, but she was quickly overpowered. Then, just as she had fallen from the darkness to space, she was dragged into a completely new setting.

    "What have they done to you, child? Your mind... all the gaps..."

    Ashley scowled at the words. She knew plenty well about her memory loss, she didn't need to be reminded. In fact, both of their questions would've already been answered if the crystal had just let her be. What struck her interest though was the first statement. Who was they? And what could they have done to her?

     The teenager's head started to race with all the possibilities of what her previous life was like. Was she experimented on? Enslaved? Rich? Was she a magic-wielder? Shoot, were her powers even natural? Or had the been given to her?

    Grass softly brushed against the girl's ankles as she walked forward. Small, rabbit-like things scattered at her presence, and the sun shined brightly. It reminded her greatly of Earth, but some small, tiny instinct in the very back of her mind told her otherwise. Even though she appeared to be in a calm environment, she was still overly edgy and watched everything keenly.

    The teenager continued to walk forward, but she was suddenly thrown into a flashback of sorts. Her vision was disoriented and her mind was dizzy, causing her not to be able to tell what was going on very well. However, after a few seconds, she was finally able to make out a small alien girl looking up at another alien that had his hand extended towards her. She was hesitant, but eventually a small smile and took it. The second their hands made contact, a bright, obnoxious flash occurred and she was stumbling into the next vision. Now she was watching as the same alien girl, albeit a bit older, sitting in a meditation pose. Her eyes fluttered shut and she rested her hands upon her thighs with her palms up. Then, using the same magic that Ashley had, the girl caused small pebbles around her to levitate.

    Ashley tried fighting whatever was holding her in place so she could run to the girl, but her attempts were futile. Just as quickly as she had come into the flashback, she was ripped out of it and thrown back into the field. She staggered around, eventually falling to her knees in the grass. Her mind was swarming with dizziness and aching from the bright flashes, but she forced herself back up. "No... no... take me back! Take me back!"

    A small sense of relief washed over her as she was jerked forward again, but it was quickly lost when she noticed that she was once more in a different place. After rubbing her eyes for a moment and adjusting to the dark, she noticed that standing in the dimly lit area were two men, one of which the person she had seen before. So I did know him? Whoever he is...

    "You know this is a dangerous move," the one who she didn't recognize warned. "It could get her killed."

    "She's got grit. You know that just as much as I do. She can handle this. Between us two, Master Luminara, and her padawan, we'll get the Separatist factory destroyed," he confidently returned.

    "Just be careful, alright? Keep her safe- she's just a teenager. She's too young for all of this."

    The two men shared a solemn look and sigh, then walked out of the room. Knowing that the flashback was over, Ashley braced herself for the rough transition. Sure enough, it came, tossing her right back into the field. She lied on the ground breathing heavily, eventually pushing herself back up and preparing for what was to come.

    "Really? You still have nothing? No bells have been rung yet?"

    Ashley bristled at the voice. What was she supposed to remember? So far, she hasn't even seen herself in any of the flashbacks. How was she even supposed to know that the people she had seen were related to her past life? This time, when the flashback came, it instead opened a portal in front of her. Ever so cautiously, Ashley walked through the ring and stepped foot on the hard ground of the other side.

    A quick look around told Ashley that this was no good place to be. It was exactly what one would envision of a pure-evil fortress. The ground was hard, vegetation-barren dirt, and all the buildings and walls around her were made of eery, faded black stone.

    "You must help her!" A masculine voice shouted. At first glance, one would think that his tone was fury, but the more you looked at him, the more you could realize that he was simply in unbearable pain.

    "I can not undo what is done," this time, the voice was extremely raspy. It had to be a much older man. "There is no hope."

    Ashley crept around the side of a wall and finally spotted where the voices were coming from. There were a total of three men: two of which she had seen in her previous vision, and the other some old sorcerer-looking guy. Then there was a glowing, goddess-like woman laying on the floor. She looked as though she was dying. However, the previous two men were huddled over some other body that she couldn't see very well.

    "Yes, there is! There's ALWAYS hope!"

    The older man still looked unconvinced, but the glowing woman reached up to touch his face with a shaky hand. Then, using her other, she pointed at the body that was being crowded. The younger man that had recognized Ashley in her first vision wordlessly left his position and kneeled between the two lying bodies. Ashley's eyes widened in shock as she was finally able to catch a glimpse of the other person. It was the same alien girl from before, except she had matured some and had dark, sickly-looking veins. Her eyes were rolled back into her head, signaling that she was dead.

    "Oh no," Ashley whispered. What had happened? What could possibly make someone die such an awful-looking death?

    The sorcerer was now standing behind the kneeling person, lifting his arms up widely. "Then let my daughter's last act be to breathe life into your friend."

    The man from before gently placed one finger on top of the woman's forehead, then reached over and placed another on the girl's. Almost instantly a bright light began to radiate between the three of them and started to make them levitate. Ashley had to use an arm to shield her from the painfully sharp glow.

    (I know this is slightly different than what happened in the episode, but just bear with me.)

    After a moment of this, a strong surge of energy rippled through the woman's body, traveled through the man's arms, then resided in the alien girl's body. After this transition was complete, the woman's glow dimmed and she dropped dead. The man retracted his arms and fell to the ground in exhaustion as well, but the girl remained floating.

    The alien girl's skin was turning translucent from the increasingly bright glow that was being emitted from her. Her previously dull, white, and lifeless eyes now resembled miniature suns, and her previously limp body now appeared to be full of life.

    The teenager tried to shield her eyes from the impossibly vibrant light, but it eventually took over all of the lands and enveloped her as well.

    ~

    Ashley shot up from the bed she was laying on, a white light still piercing her vision. She instinctively raised a hand to cover her eyes, but she found it to restricted by IVs and other tubes. The teenager hissed as she gently slid the needles out of her arm, still being blinded by the room's lights.

    A moment later and the icy-haired girl was adjusted to her surroundings. She was in a pristine, and if you ask her, much too white room. White tile, white paint on the drywall, white drapes over the windows that did absolutely nothing, and white counters. Everything about it was iconically hospital-like. With a grunt, the teenager rolled herself onto her side.

    Despite how disoriented and light-headed Ashley felt, she pressed herself to get out of bed. She still had no clue where she was at. At first, she had speculated that she was back in her real-life on Earth, but she wouldn't put it past the crystal to play games with her mind again. For something that seemed so determined to 'help' her, its motives were incredibly questionable.

    "Hello?" The girl called out, instinctively reaching down to her belt for some firearms. A frown tugged at the corners of her lips when she found that not only were they not there, but there was incredible pain that was reverberating throughout her right hand. She glanced down at it in concern, only finding that it was wrapped in white gauze and cloth. Of course, save for the deep red stain that she was guessing was created by blood.

    Still not wanting to be left defenseless, Ashley reached down into her left boot and pulled out her last dagger. Even though her coordination skills with her unharmed hand were mediocre at best, she still wasn't about to walk into whatever dangers the galaxy prepared to throw at her without at least some form of protection.

    The teenager, albeit wobbly and unbalanced, walked over to the door and sucked in a deep breath. Then, leaning against the wall in case there were enemies on the other side, she opened the door. However, instead of finding trouble and chaos, she found halls that matched the same serenity as inside her medical room. In fact... the closer she looked...

    Ashley's previously rigid frame sunk in relief. She was in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

    "Which means one thing," she pondered to herself as she slid her dagger back into her boot. "Fury's here."

    The teenager tried taking off at a sprint, but a quick stumble and fall into the hard tile of the halls checked her back into reality. Ashley couldn't help but flush in embarrassment as she scrambled her way back up, pivoting her glance around to make sure that no one had seen. Her eyes landed on a camera that was not-so-innocently aimed right at her. She scowled into the reflective black of the lens, knowing that whatever idiot was on the other end was probably laughing their butt off at her fall.

    If Ashley had been any older, she would've already been pulled aside to take a breathalyzer or an EtG. Her half-walk, half-stagger gait was certainly more than enough to pique the interest of all of the other agents that she passed in the halls. All of the staring got on her nerves, but she forced herself to shrug them off and keep walking. What she needed to get answered was much more important than preserving her ego.

    "Hey!"

    The teenager spun around to face the person that had just walked into to elevator next to her. Sassily throwing her hands on her hips, Ashley started squaring up to her opponent in defiance. However, her movements were halted when she noticed just exactly who had walked in.

    "Oh! Agent 13. Fancy seeing you here," Ashley greeted with fake enthusiasm. Well, she didn't mean it to be fake... she just didn't have the time or patience to pretend to be overly warm.

    "What is it with us and elevators?" The blonde agent chuckled. "So, whatcha up to now? Last time I saw you, you were going to speak to the boss man."

    "Nothing's changed," Ashley absentmindedly noted. "Seems like I always have something to talk to the Director about."

    Sharon opened her mouth to continue, but thoughtfully noticed Ashley's distracted mannerisms and decided against it. Instead, she looked down and fiddled with her hands. "Just tell Nat she better take good care of you, 'cause I know plenty of other agents who would love to take you under their wing instead. I included," Sharon laughed.

    "She better step up her game then," the teenager sarcastically remarked, looking down at her battered body while ironically stumbling to the side a bit. "There were a lot of people staring at me earlier, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just because of my fabulous looks."

    "Oh my God Ashley," Sharon suddenly yelped, catching sight of the girl's hand. Realizing her mistake, she rushed to fix it. "Er... Agent Tanner, sorry. But what on Earth happened to your hand?"

    "It's only a bullet hole," Ashley insisted, subconsciously pulling her hand into her and looking away. Yeah, that candy-red emergency button was looking extremely interesting...

    "Only a bullet hole...?" Sharon echoed, astounded. "Only and bullet are certainly not words that belong in a sentence together."

    "Anyway," Ashley interjected. Could this conversation get any more awkward? She really didn't feel like trying to explain why she was in the current state she was in. "What about you? What do they have the mighty Agent 13 working on?"

    "Nothing spectacularly intriguing," she shrugged. "Just keeping an eye on the Cap and making sure he settles in alright. Don't tell anyone though... I'm supposed to keep this under wraps."

    "My lips are zipped," Ashley promised, mimicking the motion.

    "So, what brings you to Fury this time?"

    "It's... just about my last mission," Ashley sighed, turning to her left and looking out the glass wall of the elevator. From her position, she could see the vast expanse of D.C. A small feeling of uneasiness bubbled up inside of her as she noticed that the only thing keeping her from dropping to her death was a considerably thin sheet of glass, but she pushed the feeling back down and gritted her teeth.

    "Did it go south?"

    "No, it's not that," she shook her head. "Actually, if you're looking at it that way, it might've honestly gone too well."

    Sharon stepped beside her and gave the teenager a perplexed look, but the happy chime of the elevator interrupted her. Perhaps a little too eagerly, Ashley spun on her heel and strode out. It wasn't personal, she was just more-than-ready to confront Fury.

    The teenager half-sprinted, half-stumbled up to Fury's door and was about to charge in when someone practically ran her over. She looked up at the towering body mass and noticed that the face was familiar.

    "Oh! I'm so sorry Miss... er, Agent Tanner. Really, I'm awfully sorry," he apologized profusely, then bent over and helped the girl up.

    "It's alright," Ashley shrugged, though a new pain was ripping through her arm from landing on her injured hand. "Really, it's fine," she hissed in pain.

    "Are you sure? You don't look too well..."

    "I'm fine," Ashley insisted, standing up on her tippy toes in an attempt to see past the super-soldier. She huffed in annoyance as she began to realize just how short she really was.

    "I'll be on my way then," Steve mumbled as he realized that Ashley really didn't care. As soon as he had stepped out of the way, the teenager bolted into the office.

    "Agent Tanner," Fury greeted with a nod. "I was just about to call-"

    Ashley's icy, hard stare was plenty enough to cut him off. Fury paused, then raised an eyebrow at her cold nature. Then, reflecting the same exact aura that her stare, she spoke three words in a gravelly tone.

    "Where's the crystal?"

Honestly, Ashley should be more respectful to her Directors...

but everyone who knows who Ashley was before can agree with me that she's never been that much of a rule-follower 💁‍♀️.