Chapter 5: Ahsoka Wakes Up

"Ugh..." Ahsoka moaned as her eyes fluttered open. Her head was pounding. "Where am I?"

"Oh, good. You're awake," a female voice said.

"What..." Ahsoka's voice trailed off. Her vision had not entirely cleared up yet.

"You fell from the sky," the voice said. "Suffered a pretty heavy blow to the head by a rock. You weren't moving at all. I personally thought you were dead, but look who's talking to you right now!"

The voice chuckled. Now Ahsoka's vision was starting to clear up. She was in a little clearing in a forest, and it was scattered with material items such as food, clothes, and other things natural to the environment she was in, like leaves and branches.

She also saw a short, blonde-haired figure standing before what looked like a bowl on a stand, but there was steam coming out from the top. That was the part Ahsoka didn't understand.

"But seriously," the girl said. "I was worried about you. You feeling alright?"

The girl turned around and looked at Ahsoka. "Yeah, I-" Ahsoka tried to sit up, but felt a searing pain where her head had hit the rock, screamed in pain, and her injury kept her pinned to the sleeping bag she had been placed in. The girl stopped what she was doing and ran to Ahsoka's side.

The girl pulled out what looked like an icepack seemingly out of nowhere, and handed it to Ahsoka, before retreating back to the strange bowl contraption she was standing at a moment ago.

"It's an icepack, in case you couldn't already tell," the girl said. "Just place it wherever your head hurts."

"Thanks," Ahsoka replied, and she did just that, waiting a moment before she said, "Who are you?"

The girl stopped again, and turned to face Ahsoka. "Me?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, and what is this place?"

"What are you, an amnesiac or something?"

"No," Ahsoka replied. "What are you talking about? I haven't seen any place that looks like this before."

"Wow, you really don't know California too well, do you?"

"California?"

"Jesus, you act like you came from another galaxy or something!"

Ahsoka began to get frustrated. "Well, I'm just trying to find out where I am and if you're trustworthy!"

"Of course I am!" the girl snapped.

Ahsoka took a deep breath. "Alright. I'm sorry," she replied. "It's just... I don't remember anything that happened after I crashed into that rock. I thought maybe you were a threat."

The girl paused. "...No," she said. "Just plain old, nice old me"

"I see," Ahsoka replied. "Well, I'm obviously in no condition to go anywhere, so I guess I could stay with you for a while."

"Sure," the girl replied. "I mean, I've been out here for months, and I could use someone to talk to."

"Okay," Ahsoka said. She tried to sound official, like her Master.

"But if you're going to be taking care of me, I'm gonna need to know your name."

"Oh right! DUH!" the girl said. "I'm Mindy. Mindy Harris."

"I'm Ahsoka Tano," Ahsoka replied.

"Weird name," Mindy replied. "But a cool one! Nice to meet you, Ahsoka!"

Ahsoka smiled. "So, Ahsoka," Mindy said. "Where're you from?"

"I'm Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker's Padawan, from the planet Shili."

"Pada-what?" Mindy asked.

"Padawan," Ahsoka replied. "You know, Jedi-in-training?"

"What the heck is a Jedi?" Mindy asked.

"Oh boy, we have a lot a lot to talk about," Ahsoka said.

Mindy stood up and turned back to the grill. She did not really know if she could trust Ahsoka yet. What if she was just another traitor? Another person in her disappointing life that would only end up hurting her?

Not this time, Mindy thought. Not again.

The food looked about ready. A couple of salmon fished from the lake from earlier that day. Mindy personally didn't like eating meat because she didn't like the idea of killing innocent animals, but if she was going to survive, she was going to need to fry them up from wildlife. She lifted one salmon up with her spatula and transferred it over to a paper plate. She walked back over to Ahsoka and handed it to her.

"Want a salmon?" Mindy asked her.

"Sure," Ahsoka replied. She reached for the plate before stopping to ask, "What's a salmon?"

"It's a kind of fish," Mindy said.

Then Ahsoka took the plate and tried to sit up, but the pain reared its ugly head again. Instinctively, Mindy rushed over to Ahsoka, placed two fingers on her arm, and Ahsoka felt a healing sensation in her back, allowing her to sit up. She looked puzzled as Mindy backed away.

"What was that?" Ahsoka asked.

After a short pause, Mindy replied, "I don't know yet."

Over dinner - the sun had started to set - Mindy told Ahsoka all about her strange abilities.

"I don't even know where it came from," Mindy said. "But just one day, I felt something forming in my mind. Something powerful. Something massive. Something... other-worldly. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't know if I wanted to. But I spent my time out here learning to use it, and I've discovered some of the powers it has."

"Like what?" Ahsoka asked.

Mindy thought for a moment. "Name it," she said.

"Okay... um.." Ahsoka tried to think of a specific power. "Strength."

"Got it," Mindy replied.

"Speed."

"Got it."

"Invincibility."

"...Got it."

"You paused," Ahsoka said.

"No, I didn't!" Mindy replied. "Anyway, I still have no idea what this thing is, or of all of its powers. I think I've only discovered a few so far."

"A few of its powers?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes," Mindy replied. "And I've been calling it an 'ability tumor' for these past few months. Yeah, I'm sure it's called something WAY cooler in an alternate universe, but I'm calling it my ability tumor, because that's the kind of sick, twisted person I am."

"You're not sick, and you're not twisted," Ahsoka said, trying to re-encourage Mindy.

"I know, Ahsoka," Mindy said. "It was just a joke!"

"Oh," Ahsoka said, embarrassed.

"It's fine," Mindy said, sensing her embarrassment. She took her last bite of the salmon, and, not knowing what else to do, tossed its skeleton into the fire. It was now fully dark out, and Mindy was exhausted.

"Well," Mindy said. "I'm going to bed. You should, too. You're gonna need your rest for tomorrow."

"Why?" Ahsoka asked. "What's tomorrow?"

"Well," Mindy said. "I thought we could go looking for your 'ship'."

Ahsoka gasped. "Yes! Thank you!" She resisted the urge to hug Mindy. Jedi were not supposed to form attachments.

"Well, then, let's get some rest," Mindy said. "Here, help me lug your sleeping bag into the tent."

After Mindy had cleared off some space in the tent for Ahsoka, and gotten ready for bed, the two girls settled down for bed. Ahsoka fell asleep pretty quickly, but Mindy still had so many questions burning within. Who was Anakin Skywalker? Where did Ahsoka come from? And, more importantly, what was a Jedi?

There were a million other questions, but Mindy could feel her eyes closing more and more, and so she let sleep overtake her, and bring an end to her strange day.