Chapter 2 - Echoes
"Hello?" a familiar hollow voice asked, "Who are you?"
"Who's there?" Ezra asked the voice, "My name's Ezra, and this is Kanan and Ahsoka. We came here looking for someone."
"Why?" it answered, "Are they a friend of yours?"
"Not right now, but I hope we can help them," Ahsoka interjected.
A figure suddenly came into view. It was the same girl that Ezra had seen in his vision. She narrowed her eyes at them, before sticking her hand out, causing the three Jedi's lightsabers to fly to her.
"Are you three Sith?" she asked, tilting her head questioningly at them.
Ezra shook his head.
The girl frowned, "Are you Jedi?" she snapped quickly.
"Yes we are," Kanan said before Ezra could respond, "But we mean you no harm."
The girl scoffed, "That's what the Jedi said the last time. And they definitely meant harm."
"I had a vision," Ezra interrupted, "You were in trouble, and a Sith Lord said that you were his."
The girl flicked her hand dismissively, tossing the lightsabers back to the trio.
"And you came all the way out here for me?" she asked, "Haven't you ever heard the stories? It's dangerous out here, and there's no one to protect you."
"We don't care about the stories," Ezra answered, a bit unnerved by the change in behaviour, "Someone needed help, so we came to help."
The girl was silent for a minute, looking thoughtful, then she gestured behind her. A series of torches lit up, revealing a familiar sight.
"A Sith temple," Kanan murmured.
"Come," the girl said, turning and motioning to the stone slab that was the door. It opened, as well as all the other slabs that came after it. The three Jedi gaped at her in shock: she shouldn't be able to do something like that, not even a Sith can do that.
"We have much to discuss," the girl said.
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"My name is Elena, and this is my home," Elena said as she led the travellers into the temple.
"How long have you been here?" Kanan asked her.
"I've been living here a long time," she answered, "I couldn't say how many years, but as the years continue to pass on, I will always remain."
Her words sent a shiver down Ezra's spine, and he nearly tumbled off the cliff in the next room as he was lost in thought.
The floor in this room had caved in, and the gap was too wide for any of them to cross.
Elena held out her hands, a pair of silvery membranous wings unfurling from her back that quickly glossed over with dark purple feathers.
"Don't be afraid," she said with a kind smile, "I won't let you fall."
The trio glanced at each other before nodding slowly. Elena told Ezra to climb on her back and wrap his arms around her neck. She then caught up Kanan and Ahsoka in each of her arms, jumping off the cliff. The Jedi flinched, but relaxed when they saw that she was flying them across the gap to the other side of the room. Once they got to the other side, Elena put them down. As Ezra got off her back and Elena folded her wings back up, her hand brushed Ezra's. His eyes widened.
Elena started walking again, but stopped when she noticed that her guests weren't following her.
"What's wrong?" she inquired, looking at their shocked expressions.
"You're cold," Ezra answered, "How and why are you so cold?"
Elena's expression grew distant, "I haven't felt warm for years," she said, "Not since...." she choked up for a second, before swallowing and staying silent.
"Let's go," she said, starting off again. This time, the guests followed her, thinking about what she had said.
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At last, they reached the central chamber. This one was the only one that seemed to have anything living in it, as it had a large number of mattresses and blankets set up to form beds. Underneath a large hole in the ceiling, was a ship, meaning that Elena could leave this planet at any time if she wanted to.
"Why are you here?" Ahsoka asked her.
"People have never thought of me as a person," Elena explained, "For anyone with a lot of power, they always want more. I'm just a weapon to them. Jedi or Sith, it's all the same."
"So you've been living here all on your own?" Ezra asked, sounding a little awed that she had survived in such a desolate wasteland without any form of contact with the rest of the galaxy.
"Who said I was alone?" Elena answered with a smirk. She gave a loud whistle, and a group of children who also seemed to be her age dropped down from different places all around the room. They didn't have any obvious weapons, but they all seemed to be using some form of magic or natural gift.
Elena grinned at the shocked looks on the faces of her guests, "You wanted to know how I can live in such a dangerous place? Because we're the only danger in this place."
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