Athena didn't even remember the flight back to the Ghost. The next thing she knew was that she was lying on the common room couch, Hera crouching down next to her.
"You feeling okay?"
Athena couldn't even answer. She opened her mouth a little, but couldn't muster any more words. All the air she had was used up back there on that volcano.
Hera shook her head and turned to Kanan and Ahsoka. The four of them were alone now in the common room.
"How did...how was it even possible?" Hera couldn't even find the right words. It was so mind-boggling. "The radars showed some storm - like a hurricane - circling the volcano. Then...it just vanished."
Kanan gulped, "There's...more."
"What do you mean more?" Hera let out a breathless, worrisome sigh. "How could there be more?"
"You'll have to see it for yourself," Ahsoka solemnly said. "We may need to leave this planet. This was too big."
"If the Empire ever found out she can do this-" Kanan closed his eyes as he shook his head. "I don't want to imagine the typhoon of troops sent out for us."
Athena blankly stared at them. She couldn't move a muscle; it was as if she were paralyzed. Motionless. Dead but alive.
Her mouth felt dry and her vision was barely any less blurry than it was when Ahsoka woke her up.
She couldn't remember those last few seconds of the storm. It was all blacked out.
What did she even do at the end? What happened to the lava?
"She fought…" Hera looked to Athena with disbelief in her eyes. "I can't even fathom it. I just can't."
"We think we may have to go to another planet," Ahsoka stated. "Athena's powers were exposed to this entire planet and the proof of her feat is still back there for all of the capital city to see."
"How long do you think until the Empire comes here for her?" Hera questioned, petting the side of the girl's head.
"We don't know. The Empire abandoned the planet out of fear for that volcano, but who knows how long until word gets out to them about her?" Kanan said.
Hera sighed, "I'm not exactly sure where else we can go at the moment. I'd have to contact Commander Sato."
"We don't know if the Empire will return at all," Ahsoka pointed out. "They only used this planet for its crops. They didn't provide too many resources other than a little bit of food. The effort to return all their forces may not be worth it in their eyes."
"You saw that thing, Ahsoka," Kanan said. "There's no way the Empire wouldn't find that suspicious of rebel activity."
"We'll need to wait and see what Sato says," Hera stood now.
The three adults turned to the girl on the couch as she mustered a small sound out of the back of her throat. She could barely even move her eyes.
"Hey, can you hear us?" Ahsoka knelt down in front of the girl now, looking into her fiery colored eyes. A glow of warmth still swarmed around her body.
She blinked - the closest thing she could muster to a nod.
Ahsoka looked back to Kanan, "She's not nearly as warm as she was yesterday with the fire. She may have learned some restraint."
"After that whole thing, I'm just happy she's alive," Kanan admitted. "She could have died."
"But she didn't." Hera looked down to the girl. "You did good, kid."
"I-" the girl with grey smoke still plastered onto her face managed to croak out a single syllable. It was met with a harsh fit of coughing. Ash. Her lungs were full of ash.
"She inhaled too much of the debris," Ahsoka shook her head as she cupped the side of Athena's face. "This is not good."
"Do we need to bring her to a medic?" Hera questioned, hand on her hip as she worriedly looked down to the girl.
Ahsoka looked back to Kanan.
How would this work out? Could she heal herself? Would Daughter help her? Will the Ones take her in their care once she falls asleep?
"I say we wait 'til morning," Kanan said. "If it doesn't clear up by then, we'll take her to an in-town doctor."
Athena coughed some more. Specks of grey now stained her mouth and the couch under her.
"She was a smoker, so hopefully that means she has some resistance to this," Kanan shrugged.
Kanan couldn't help but smile as he saw Athena's eyes finally show some emotion. She glared at him. That was okay. As long as she was okay.
Ahsoka stepped back in shock as she laid eyes on the girl once more. Her red and orange strands of hair began to float - waving in the air like a flag in a gentle breeze.
The three adults backed up as they watched the girl with curious eyes.
Her hair danced like flames but emitted almost no heat.
"I-...what…happened..?" the girl's voice creaked like an old wooden floor. She felt some sort of energy begin to seep back into her muscles.
"You don't remember anything?" Ahsoka questioned.
Athena spat some ash out of her mouth and coughed before she spoke in a weak voice.
"Are - are they-" she paused, trying to remember to word. "Safe? Safe?"
The togruta smiled and chuckled. "Yes. Everyone is safe. The city saw no damage."
"They sure saw something else, though," Kanan reminded them.
"What…" she tried to regain her voice. The energy floating around her tried to seep back into her bones. The Force tried to heal the girl. "I want to see. I want to see the-" she let out a violent fit of coughs. She was near falling off the couch until Kanan went over to her.
He grabbed onto the girl, sitting her up. You can't work that stuff out of your lungs lying down.
"I'll get a glass of water." Hera turned and quickly entered the kitchen.
Kanan sat beside her on the couch, patting her back as more and more ash worked its way out of her lungs. "Come on, cough it out. Just let it out."
Her hair still floated around her, standing on its ends in a loose manner. Her roots were as dark as coal, fading to a fiery red, orange, then yellow. Her amber eyes glowed with energy.
Her muscles finally began to work again.
She felt so itchy. The grey stuff all over her skin made it so dry and brittle. She felt like one of those stones at the top of the volcano that wasn't cooled off long enough.
Lava that dries the fastest tends to break the easiest.
The girl nearly downed the whole mug's worth if it weren't for the other's warning her that she could choke. Kanan had to regulate the angle at which she tipped the mug of water into her face as she guzzled the water like there was no tomorrow.
Her nose burned now as she felt the pain ring across her body. Her nostrils stung as snot dripped out of them.
Kanan let out a sigh of relief as her hair slowly began to settle back down onto her back, no longer sticking up in the air.
She let out a huge sigh as she took the refreshing cup of water away. "Holy crap I was thirsty."
"You can talk," Hera smiled.
Athena shook her head, "I'm amazed too."
Hera had never seen eyes that glowed like that. The fiery colors flashing in the girl's irises acted as if they were tiny flames of light dancing in the wind.
"Do you feel okay?" Ahsoka asked.
The girl gave a small nod, "I've had worse. Like Kanan said, I was a smoker. My lungs are used to being put through crap like this."
Kanan patted her back, "Well, at least you're alive."
"Don't know how," she let out a chuckle of disbelief, voice still hoarse. "I completely blacked out. All I remember is screaming."
"You...don't remember what you did?" Ahsoka's eyes were wide.
"You're telling me you saved an entire planet and you're unsure how you did it?" Hera questioned.
"What'd I do?"
Kanan laughed, "You're joking, right?"
"I'm not joking! What happened?"
Kanan looked to Ahsoka. "Should we take her back and show her?"
Ahsoka shrugged, "We might as well."
"What about the Empire? You two said yourself that this was too big for them not to notice," Hera said.
"The Empire probably won't be back for at least another rotation, seeing they thought this part of the planet would be in orbit from the blast," Kanan said.
Hera bit her lip in contemplation and looked to the Jedi around her. "You guys really think we should go back to show her?"
Kanan smiled, "Hera, I think we should all see this."
Athena didn't know what he meant by that. Soon, all she knew was that she was wrapped in a blue cloak and sat in the Phantom beside the rest of her crew as Hera flew back to the capital city.
Rain still poured onto the city, but all they could see were the bright yellow and orange lights strung across the town. The cheers of celebration. The joy.
Hera parked the Phantom on the outer edges of town this time, but that didn't mean they couldn't see the biggest site of them all.
Athena was the last to exit the Phantom, but the first to nearly collapse once her eyes looked up towards the mountain once filled with flames.
Ahsoka kept the girl on her feet with a sturdy hand on each of her shoulders. Though, that didn't mean Ahsoka's breath wasn't stolen as well as she looked up to the magnificent sight. The togruta had a black bookbag strapped against her back this time on top of her grey cloak.
The girl felt so puny in comparison to the structure kilometers away from her. Even being shrunk with the distance in between the two, it still made her head spin.
At least 200 meters of black obsidian erupted from the already monstrous sized mountain, stretching up into the sky. Its wings spreading upwards into the sky, as if ready to take off into flight. The beak of the rock pointed to it's right, looking up into the cloudy sky.
A phoenix.
The people shun bright orange and red lights onto the enormous statue, illuminating its darkened shell. The lights sharply contrasted with the dark rain clouds looming over.
The crew was speechless.
"You...you…" Sabine could barely muster any words as she gazed at the colossal work of art, unable to take her eyes away. "Did this?"
Ahsoka's grip on her Padawan's shoulders had to be tightened as the girl tried to find her balance.
"I…" Athena could barely breathe. "...did it? I did that?"
"Please tell me I'm dreaming," Zeb's wide eyes looked to Kanan. "You're seeing the same thing, right?"
Kanan met his eyes as he let out an apprehensive sigh, "Yeah, Zeb. I see it too."
"How - how is this even possible?!" Rae screamed out as she gestured to the gargantuan phoenix made of lava. "You did this? What in the universe?!"
"You guys should've seen it!" Ezra exclaimed as he stood in front of the crew. "It was insane! There was like this tornado of ash, then the lava just kept bubbling out! Then- then- woosh! The whole volcano erupted! There was lightning! Thunder! Everything!"
Ezra rambled on about the feat as if describing a gladiatorial battle. He could barely believe it himself and he watched the whole thing go down with his own eyes.
"Oh...this is beautiful," Sabine let out a chuckle of disbelief. "A phoenix! I never imagined seeing any art this huge for one!" she looked at Athena. "You really did all that?"
She let out a chuckle of disbelief, her eyes glowing with fire shun bright under the shadow of her cloak. "Yeah, I guess your artwork inspired me."
"The Empire stands no chance now!" Zeb cheered with a laugh, soon scooping Athena up, a hand under each of her arms, and held her up. "We got a little volcano slayer on our side!"
Athena laughed as she felt like the iconic "Simba" character being lifted high into the air.
Music played all across the city so loud, the crew could hear it from the outskirts of town. People cheered and danced in the streets. Cheering for their lives being saved. For the Empire leaving.
For the moment.
Hera, who hadn't said a word, finally shook her head and mustered the ability to speak again.
"You...really are one strong kid."
"I'd say!" Rex cheered. "I've never seen a Jedi take on such a colossal foe!"
"Whomp whomp!" Chopper yelled from the top of the Phantom.
"Chopper, no. We aren't going into the city to buy you oil! We just got you some." Hera glared at her droid.
"We should at least go check out the celebration," Rae suggested. "It sounds fun!"
"There are no Imperial forces left on the planet at the moment," Ahsoka said. "This would be the best time if ever for us to all be out like this."
"Keep Athena's hood up," Kanan looked to Zeb as he lifted the girl so sit on his shoulders now. "That red hair and glowing eyes really give her away. I don't think it's a good idea if they see her like that."
"Hey, does that technically really make you Goddess Inferna?" Sabine joked. "You technically did fulfill their prophecy and save them."
Ahsoka and Kanan glanced at each other, realizing keeping this girl's secret would be harder than they thought.
"All hail Goddess Inferna!" Ezra cheered in a joking manner.
Athena coughed with the laugh erupting from her chest. She rested her chin on top of Zeb's head as her feet dangled in the air, sitting high up on the lasat's shoulders. Zeb's eyes were wide as he saw the ash float down.
"You inhaled that much ash, kid?"
"Yeah," she slowed down her coughs. "I'll get it all out by tomorrow. Don't worry."
"Come on, I wanna see the festival!" Ezra begged his captain.
"Alright, but we need to make sure no one sees Athena's crazy hair or eyes," the twi'lek gestured up to the girl. "And no mentioning it in front of others, either."
"Yes, captain," Ezra nodded.
"Come on, then." the captain waved for the others to follow her into town.
The rain slowly began to let up as they walked into town. The skies got lighter as Athena's small smile grew on her lips.
Ezra looked up to the sky in wonder as the dark clouds opened up to a bright blue sky. The sun brightly shining on the town now. The warmth from its rays seeped into their dampened clothes from the rain.
"Look, a rainbow!" Sabine pointed up to the volcano.
The clouds tore apart like a bundle of stuffing and let the light shine onto the town - the phoenix made of hardened lava now brightly shun with the rays. The black shell of the mythical bird sparkled with the sunlight. An arc of colors stretched across the sky behind its gargantuan wings.
Kanan looked up to his sister still resting on top of Zeb's shoulders, a smile on her face barely visible under the cloak she wore. He remembered how on Earth the rain became harsher with every tear that fell from her eye. Now, with a smile on her face, the dark clouds began to dissipate into blue skies.
The girl seemed to suddenly remember something as they entered the town and looked down at her dirty and ashy feet in worry.
"I forgot to wear shoes!" she hissed.
"What about it? I'm carrying ya anyway," Zeb said.
"The prophecy said Inferna had bare feet," Athena said in a hushed voice. "I need shoes so I'm not recognized."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes and took the black bookbag off her back. She opened the top, pulled out Athena's old sneakers and socks, and handed them up to the girl.
"Thanks, Master," Athena thanked, taking the shoes into hand. She quickly slipped them onto her feet as best she could while sitting on Zeb's shoulders.
The togruta nodded and zipped the bag shut before putting it back on her shoulders again.
Athena basically napped for most of their trip into town. The loud and festive music no longer bothered her as her eyelids slowly closed. She folded her arms up and placed them on Zeb's head, soon resting her head on her arms.
Rex smiled as he looked to Ahsoka. "You sure are training her well."
The togruta nodded and they continued on their way. She couldn't take all the credit for her training, but for the moment she had to.
Ahsoka couldn't help but look up at that phoenix in apprehension and unease.
If this is her after just three nights of training with the Ones and several weeks training with the Jedi, what will she be able to do in just a year from now? Two years from now?
Would there be any limits?
Would there be any way to stop her, if necessary?
"Hey, look!" Rae pointed in front of them.
Athena slowly opened her eyes and followed the direction her friend was pointing.
Ahead of them, a mural painted on the side of a wall.
A girl with long, floating hair and glowing eyes. She wore armored plates all over her body and lacked shoes on her feet. She had a child-like face and stature as she held her arms out to her sides, controlling the lava around her body.
They got the nose wrong, though.
It was painted in all fiery colors - the canvas behind it being the grey wall.
"They got my nose messed up," Athena grumbled.
"It's a beautiful painting," Sabine commented, walking closer to the painting to inspect it. "It uses variations of red, orange, and yellow to contrast against the grey wall."
"Hey look, she even has a black ring!" Ezra chuckled, pointing to the painting's finger.
"Look's freshly painted. Someone probably painted it today," Sabine shrugged.
"They should've painted a phoenix behind it," Athena chuckled. "That would look cool."
Sabine had wide eyes as an idea popped into her brain. She turned to the girl, "Hey, that's a great idea. I'll have to use that back at the ship. Chopper, take a quick picture of this so I can have a reference for when we get home."
Chopper complained as he did so.
"Yay, I get two paintings of me," Athena jokingly cheered. "Make sure my nose isn't ugly like Kanan's, though."
"Hey! You look just like me!" Kanan complained.
"I'm way cuter," Athena joked with a smug smile.
"She's not wrong," Ezra jabbed.
"You be quiet," Kanan warningly pointed at his Padawan.
"Aw, you're both adorable in my opinion," Hera said, placing a hand on Kanan's shoulder.
"Bleh, get a room," Athena faked gagging.
"You shut up," Kanan warned his little sister.
Athena chuckled, "Or what? You'll kick my ash?"
The others couldn't help but laugh at the play of words. Kanan rolled his eyes.
The crew then continued on to enjoy the sights and sounds of the town's celebration. Children ran about with glittering red and orange streamers that mimicked fire. Merchants sold their goods with a smile on their face. Families danced in the street as the sunlight poured down on them for the first time in a long time.
Athena's sleepy eyes smiled at the sight. Especially when she saw the human teenage boy with scraggly brown hair dance with his toddler of a baby sister.
They were safe.
They were alive.
They were happy.
She could've let them all die. She could've followed her wants and gotten on that ship off the planet. But she didn't.
And they were alive. All thanks to that little whisper in the wind guiding her up the mountain.
