p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-top: 0px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""One must let go of the past to hold onto the future." -Clone Wars Season 4, Episode 19/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"~~~~~~/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""There was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable people..."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""It's always you."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""... One day you'll know who you are meant to be..."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Kanan!"/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""What do you want with Anakin Skywalker?"/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""He is the key to everything."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Then you will die."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Save them."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""That up there– that's the endgame." /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""We'll lose."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Then we'll do that together too."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle sat up with a gasp. All she had heard were voices when she entered the Jedi Temple. Some she recognized, some she didn't. But there had been nothing but blackness, and there was still nothing but blackness. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"No, wait. She could see Ezra sprawled on the ground beside her. He didn't appear to be conscious. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Ezra!" She gently shook him. "Wake up. We're inside the Temple… I think." /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The young Jedi moaned slightly and sat up with a hand to his head. "Noelle?" he said groggily. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Yeah, I'm here. I don't know what happened. What's the last thing you remember?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ezra frowned. "The Empire found us."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle nodded. "And we jumped into the portal the Wolves made."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Uhhh." Ezra seemed to be more aware now. "Where are we?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""I don't know." Noelle sighed. The voices wouldn't em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"stop. /emThere were only stars. It was as if they were in space itself, but there were also glowing pathways like the ones Sabine had described. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"A gateway between planets?/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle just hoped one of them was hers. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The "pathways" appeared as long white bridges floating in the void of space. But this…This place didn't em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"feel /emempty./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Hello? Master Yoda?" Ezra shouted into the darkness. They had heard multiple familiar voices, ranging from Yoda, to Kanan, to Obi-wan to Ahsoka. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle had even heard Gandalf's voice, which made her heart ache. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"She even thought she had heard em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Legolas's/em voice… Swallowing, she pushed him out of her mind like she always did. That time was past. She was never going to see him again, she knew that, deep down. In fact, she wasn't even sure she was still in love with him./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"There! She heard him. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""We will find a way. We will make it work– I promise."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""I love you."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"It was coming from a portal on her left. Noelle stopped, as Ezra continued on, shouting the names of the people he heard. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Her throat tightened, and the black of the portal began to morph into a vision. She saw the day she left Middle-earth, the same day Legolas had left to sail to the West. The day she had left him to return to this galaxy and try to save Anakin Skywalker. She em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"had/em loved Legolas, and she had left him for what? /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The temptation to enter that portal and return to him was strong. So strong. But Noelle didn't know. If she went back… /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Noelle!" Ezra called. "Are you coming?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Swallowing, she gave the portal one last glance and ran to catch up with Ezra. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Those voices, where are they coming from?" he asked. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""The portals," she answered breathlessly. "The voices are those of past and present. I heard, I em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"saw/em people I once knew."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ezra looked at her for a very long moment, and Noelle couldn't read his expression. But then, he continued walking forward as if he was following someone's voice. His head moved different directions, trying to locate someone's voice. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Ezra? Who are you looking for?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""The Loth-Wolf told me 'restore past, redeem future.' I, em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"we /emwere meant to come here to save someone, Noelle."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Kanan? /emNoelle wondered, but she didn't say it aloud. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Then she heard the familiar hooting of a convor, but not in the echoey, distant way like the other voices. This voice was em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"here /emwith them./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""You never would have made it as Obi-wan's padawan, but you might make it as mine."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle and Ezra had stopped in front of a triangular-shaped portal. Perched on top was the same green and white convor from the mural./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Hey, I've seen you before," Ezra said to it. "Yeah, whenever Ahsoka was around. You were always close by. How did you get here?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The bird hooted and flapped her feathers enthusiastically. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Can you help me?" Ezra asked. "I-I was sent here, but I'm not sure why."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The convor continued to softly hoot, and she turned her head downward to look at the portal below here, which was beginning to go from black to a dark crimson. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle frowned. Was it opening? Or was this her path home? /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Something felt… off. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Looking into the red darkness felt like looking into a mirror somehow. The image began to clear. Noelle heard voices and saw shapes, familiar shapes. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""I won't leave you! Not this time."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Then you will die!"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""NOOOO!"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Ahsoka!"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Darth Vader ignited his lightsaber, poised to strike down his former apprentice. Behind them, Noelle and Ezra from two years past could be heard screaming for Ahsoka. The gate of the Sith Temple slammed shut behind them, leaving Ahsoka alone with Vader./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Why are you showing us this?" Noelle asked the convor in what sounded more like a low growl even to her own ears. "I'm not here to em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"watch /emher die!"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The convor hooted even louder. Noelle didn't understand. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka parried Vader's blows, and dodged them as best as she could, but it was clear she was losing. The Temple was about to collapse, and Darth Vader was a much larger opponent, and also stronger in the Force. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Angrily, Vader let out his hatred on her, striking his saber on hers blow after blow and forced her into a corner. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The convor was practically frantic at this point as she hopped up and down wildly. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""What!? What can I do?" Ezra demanded of her. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka knew she couldn't hold Vader forever. Using the Force, she pushed him away from her and struck her two white lightsabers into the ground in a flash of white, blinding light. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"We were sent here to save someone. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Vader was taken by shock, but not so much that he didn't have time to swing his lightsaber at Ahsoka's head as he fell through the cracked ground. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Ahsoka!" Ezra screamed. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Together, a pair of hands reached inside the portal and pulled Ahsoka Tano into the world between the worlds./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"~~~~~~/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle found herself and Ezra laying on the ground again. Simply sticking their arms into the portal had knocked the wind out of them. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The first sound she was aware of was the convor hooting quietly. That was also the first thing she saw, then she remembered what they had done. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"They had just changed the past and saved Ahsoka Tano's life. She and Ezra turned around. Ahsoka's back was to them. She was leaning forward on her palms, and neither of them could see her face. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Ahsoka," Noelle whispered, more in disbelief than to get Ahsoka's attention. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Slowly, Ahsoka got to her feet. Her face looked more bewildered than anything, but underneath it, Noelle saw her grief./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""N-Noelle? Ezra?" she asked, blinking through her tears. "You look– Wait. Where am I?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The first thing Noelle did was envelop her in a hug, taking Ahsoka by surprise. "It-It's good to see you, Ahsoka. You died," she whispered, practically choking it out. "We couldn't save you before, but now we did."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"She pulled back, and Ahsoka smiled slightly. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Are those… my lightsabers?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle felt her face go red. This was extremely awkward. She still felt like they weren't hers, like she didn't deserve to wear them. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Rex and I found them at the wreckage of Malachor."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka nodded. "I'm glad you have them," she said. "Keep them. You will need them." Her hand moved to her own lightsabers on her belt, and a look of confusion crossed her face. "What happened again?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""You were fighting Vader." Ezra stepped forward. "I saw you in there," he said, gesturing to the portal. "He was going to– Ahsoka, I-I grabbed you and I pulled you out of there."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"You don't know the power of the Dark Side. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Anakin," Ahsoka said quietly in realization. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The convor hooted again, diverting their attention from the memory of Anakin Skywalker. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Morai," said Ahsoka. "You're here!"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Morai?" Ezra asked, puzzled. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Morai flew down to them and landed on Ahsoka's arm, gently pecking her hand. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""She's an old friend," Ahsoka explained. "I owe her my life, and now I owe you both that as well." /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""You don't owe me anything Ahsoka," Noelle said sincerely. "I'm just glad I was able to make this right before…" Her voice faltered. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Before I go home. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka gave her a questioning look. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""I am not going back with you guys," she answered. She lowered her voice. "I carry important information and I em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"cannot /emlet the Emperor get his clutches on it. I need to be somewhere out of his reach."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka nodded in understanding, even though Noelle could see sadness in her eyes. Yes, attachments were forbidden, but she and Ahsoka had practically loved each other as sisters. Noelle could sense her sadness, and Ezra hung his head. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Noelle, we need you, em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"please,/em" he pleaded. "The Rebellion needs you."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle shook her head. "I can't," she whispered. "I'm not safe anywhere in this galaxy, and Palpatine knows I'm here. I have to go, Ezra."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"He gripped her arm. "Will you ever come back?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle was silent for a long moment. "I don't know. I still need to figure out my place and my purpose in this universe. I've tried all my life to figure out what that is, and I think… I think I'm finally getting close." She placed another hand on his shoulder. "It's all going to be ok. I know it. You will beat Thrawn, and the Empire will fall."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka stepped forward, with Morai still perched on her arm. "And where will you go?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Before Noelle could answer she spotted a portal several yards away. She could hear… sounds that she hadn't heard in years. The sound of beeping car horns, trucks driving down the road, pigeons cooing at pedestrians feeding them. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""I'm going home," she said. A smile grew on her face, and she looked one last time at her friends. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"She remembered the advice Gandalf had given her way back in Middle-earth under the shadow of Erebor when she had just been learning to use her Force-powers. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Always move on, and never go back."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"She knew she couldn't. She had spent nearly eight whole years away from her home trying to figure out her place in all this. What she was meant to do, and who she was meant to be. Whatever Gandalf had been trying to show her, she hoped she had found her courage. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Her time in Middle-earth had taught her many things. Her time with the Jedi had taught her even more, not just about the Force, but about life, and about love. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"But it was time to go home now, and she was never going back./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"~~~~~~/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""There was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable people..."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""It's always you."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""... One day you'll know who you are meant to be..."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Kanan!"/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""What do you want with Anakin Skywalker?"/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""He is the key to everything."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Then you will die."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Save them."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""That up there– that's the endgame." /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""We'll lose."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Then we'll do that together too."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you."/em /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle sat up with a gasp. All she had heard were voices when she entered the Jedi Temple. Some she recognized, some she didn't. But there had been nothing but blackness, and there was still nothing but blackness. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"No, wait. She could see Ezra sprawled on the ground beside her. He didn't appear to be conscious. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Ezra!" She gently shook him. "Wake up. We're inside the Temple… I think." /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The young Jedi moaned slightly and sat up with a hand to his head. "Noelle?" he said groggily. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Yeah, I'm here. I don't know what happened. What's the last thing you remember?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ezra frowned. "The Empire found us."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle nodded. "And we jumped into the portal the Wolves made."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Uhhh." Ezra seemed to be more aware now. "Where are we?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""I don't know." Noelle sighed. The voices wouldn't em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"stop. /emThere were only stars. It was as if they were in space itself, but there were also glowing pathways like the ones Sabine had described. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"A gateway between planets?/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle just hoped one of them was hers. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The "pathways" appeared as long white bridges floating in the void of space. But this…This place didn't em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"feel /emempty./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Hello? Master Yoda?" Ezra shouted into the darkness. They had heard multiple familiar voices, ranging from Yoda, to Kanan, to Obi-wan to Ahsoka. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle had even heard Gandalf's voice, which made her heart ache. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"She even thought she had heard em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Legolas's/em voice… Swallowing, she pushed him out of her mind like she always did. That time was past. She was never going to see him again, she knew that, deep down. In fact, she wasn't even sure she was still in love with him./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"There! She heard him. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""We will find a way. We will make it work– I promise."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""I love you."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"It was coming from a portal on her left. Noelle stopped, as Ezra continued on, shouting the names of the people he heard. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Her throat tightened, and the black of the portal began to morph into a vision. She saw the day she left Middle-earth, the same day Legolas had left to sail to the West. The day she had left him to return to this galaxy and try to save Anakin Skywalker. She em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"had/em loved Legolas, and she had left him for what? /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The temptation to enter that portal and return to him was strong. So strong. But Noelle didn't know. If she went back… /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Noelle!" Ezra called. "Are you coming?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Swallowing, she gave the portal one last glance and ran to catch up with Ezra. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Those voices, where are they coming from?" he asked. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""The portals," she answered breathlessly. "The voices are those of past and present. I heard, I em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"saw/em people I once knew."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ezra looked at her for a very long moment, and Noelle couldn't read his expression. But then, he continued walking forward as if he was following someone's voice. His head moved different directions, trying to locate someone's voice. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Ezra? Who are you looking for?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""The Loth-Wolf told me 'restore past, redeem future.' I, em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"we /emwere meant to come here to save someone, Noelle."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Kanan? /emNoelle wondered, but she didn't say it aloud. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Then she heard the familiar hooting of a convor, but not in the echoey, distant way like the other voices. This voice was em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"here /emwith them./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""You never would have made it as Obi-wan's padawan, but you might make it as mine."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle and Ezra had stopped in front of a triangular-shaped portal. Perched on top was the same green and white convor from the mural./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Hey, I've seen you before," Ezra said to it. "Yeah, whenever Ahsoka was around. You were always close by. How did you get here?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The bird hooted and flapped her feathers enthusiastically. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Can you help me?" Ezra asked. "I-I was sent here, but I'm not sure why."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The convor continued to softly hoot, and she turned her head downward to look at the portal below here, which was beginning to go from black to a dark crimson. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle frowned. Was it opening? Or was this her path home? /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Something felt… off. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Looking into the red darkness felt like looking into a mirror somehow. The image began to clear. Noelle heard voices and saw shapes, familiar shapes. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""I won't leave you! Not this time."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Then you will die!"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""NOOOO!"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Ahsoka!"/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Darth Vader ignited his lightsaber, poised to strike down his former apprentice. Behind them, Noelle and Ezra from two years past could be heard screaming for Ahsoka. The gate of the Sith Temple slammed shut behind them, leaving Ahsoka alone with Vader./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Why are you showing us this?" Noelle asked the convor in what sounded more like a low growl even to her own ears. "I'm not here to em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"watch /emher die!"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The convor hooted even louder. Noelle didn't understand. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka parried Vader's blows, and dodged them as best as she could, but it was clear she was losing. The Temple was about to collapse, and Darth Vader was a much larger opponent, and also stronger in the Force. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Angrily, Vader let out his hatred on her, striking his saber on hers blow after blow and forced her into a corner. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The convor was practically frantic at this point as she hopped up and down wildly. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""What!? What can I do?" Ezra demanded of her. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka knew she couldn't hold Vader forever. Using the Force, she pushed him away from her and struck her two white lightsabers into the ground in a flash of white, blinding light. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"We were sent here to save someone. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Vader was taken by shock, but not so much that he didn't have time to swing his lightsaber at Ahsoka's head as he fell through the cracked ground. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Ahsoka!" Ezra screamed. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Together, a pair of hands reached inside the portal and pulled Ahsoka Tano into the world between the worlds./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"~~~~~~/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle found herself and Ezra laying on the ground again. Simply sticking their arms into the portal had knocked the wind out of them. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The first sound she was aware of was the convor hooting quietly. That was also the first thing she saw, then she remembered what they had done. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"They had just changed the past and saved Ahsoka Tano's life. She and Ezra turned around. Ahsoka's back was to them. She was leaning forward on her palms, and neither of them could see her face. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Ahsoka," Noelle whispered, more in disbelief than to get Ahsoka's attention. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Slowly, Ahsoka got to her feet. Her face looked more bewildered than anything, but underneath it, Noelle saw her grief./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""N-Noelle? Ezra?" she asked, blinking through her tears. "You look– Wait. Where am I?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The first thing Noelle did was envelop her in a hug, taking Ahsoka by surprise. "It-It's good to see you, Ahsoka. You died," she whispered, practically choking it out. "We couldn't save you before, but now we did."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"She pulled back, and Ahsoka smiled slightly. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Are those… my lightsabers?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle felt her face go red. This was extremely awkward. She still felt like they weren't hers, like she didn't deserve to wear them. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Rex and I found them at the wreckage of Malachor."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka nodded. "I'm glad you have them," she said. "Keep them. You will need them." Her hand moved to her own lightsabers on her belt, and a look of confusion crossed her face. "What happened again?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""You were fighting Vader." Ezra stepped forward. "I saw you in there," he said, gesturing to the portal. "He was going to– Ahsoka, I-I grabbed you and I pulled you out of there."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"You don't know the power of the Dark Side. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Anakin," Ahsoka said quietly in realization. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"The convor hooted again, diverting their attention from the memory of Anakin Skywalker. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Morai," said Ahsoka. "You're here!"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Morai?" Ezra asked, puzzled. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Morai flew down to them and landed on Ahsoka's arm, gently pecking her hand. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""She's an old friend," Ahsoka explained. "I owe her my life, and now I owe you both that as well." /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""You don't owe me anything Ahsoka," Noelle said sincerely. "I'm just glad I was able to make this right before…" Her voice faltered. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Before I go home. /em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka gave her a questioning look. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""I am not going back with you guys," she answered. She lowered her voice. "I carry important information and I em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"cannot /emlet the Emperor get his clutches on it. I need to be somewhere out of his reach."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka nodded in understanding, even though Noelle could see sadness in her eyes. Yes, attachments were forbidden, but she and Ahsoka had practically loved each other as sisters. Noelle could sense her sadness, and Ezra hung his head. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""Noelle, we need you, em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"please,/em" he pleaded. "The Rebellion needs you."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle shook her head. "I can't," she whispered. "I'm not safe anywhere in this galaxy, and Palpatine knows I'm here. I have to go, Ezra."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"He gripped her arm. "Will you ever come back?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Noelle was silent for a long moment. "I don't know. I still need to figure out my place and my purpose in this universe. I've tried all my life to figure out what that is, and I think… I think I'm finally getting close." She placed another hand on his shoulder. "It's all going to be ok. I know it. You will beat Thrawn, and the Empire will fall."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Ahsoka stepped forward, with Morai still perched on her arm. "And where will you go?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Before Noelle could answer she spotted a portal several yards away. She could hear… sounds that she hadn't heard in years. The sound of beeping car horns, trucks driving down the road, pigeons cooing at pedestrians feeding them. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;""I'm going home," she said. A smile grew on her face, and she looked one last time at her friends. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"She remembered the advice Gandalf had given her way back in Middle-earth under the shadow of Erebor when she had just been learning to use her Force-powers. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;""Always move on, and never go back."/em/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"She knew she couldn't. She had spent nearly eight whole years away from her home trying to figure out her place in all this. What she was meant to do, and who she was meant to be. Whatever Gandalf had been trying to show her, she hoped she had found her courage. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"Her time in Middle-earth had taught her many things. Her time with the Jedi had taught her even more, not just about the Force, but about life, and about love. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; caret-color: #222222; clear: none !important;"But it was time to go home now, and she was never going back./p