Parker watched in silence as he was escorted by the Rakata soldiers to a village with smooth stone walls wrapped around the houses and buildings, making it look primitive, but also elegant. There was even a spot in the village square for a stone fountain, billowing with water. He smiled, glad to see some tiny details hadn't been tarnished.

His eyes widened just as the Rakata soldiers led him over to a wooden cage with very few openings and a roof just wide enough to give him some sunlight. This was his cell? This was where they were holding him? Oh, how he wanted to fight these Rakata as a dragonoid! He wanted to do that so badly! Except these soldiers had already dealt with a wolf. He couldn't risk changing form on them, in order to cause more chaos. These aliens probably hadn't even seen a dragonoid. Had they heard of dragons in their galaxy?

"Get in there!" one Rakata soldier hissed.

"I trust this won't take too long. My friend will be here. She'll bail me out," Parker said, calmly. That was good! He was already taking the first steps towards the light.

"Go on!" the Rakata soldier pushed him in, but not before unshackling him first, before shutting the cage door.

Parker relaxed on the dirt ground, playing with some pebbles. He hoped Qua'ra didn't forget him, hoped she didn't take his ship. But how could he know what she wanted? All he knew about her was her family and that she was the daughter of Helen the Shapeshifter, his enemy who had been killed by his brother Mordru. Oh, how he wished things were different.

He trusted Qua'ra. There was no way she would betray him now. Or would she?

~o~

Qua'ra entered the Rakata village, intent on getting this job done. She had to find Parker, had to find a way to release him. There were the soldiers, locking him away! She ran towards them, right as they locked the wooden cage. She stopped, grabbed her grey device and turning it on. There! Now she could understand the Rakatan language better.

"What is that?" a Rakata soldier asked, ready to take the device from her hands.

"Stop! It's so I can communicate with you a lot better," Qua'ra said, pointing out.

"Oh. Okay," the Rakata soldier said, suspicious of her.

"Why have you locked my emperor away? He's not Tobias. His fate is uncertain," Qua'ra explained, confused.

"This hobbit killed our people! And for that, he must be punished," the Rakata soldier said, gruffly.

"But you don't know if you've captured the right hobbit," Qua'ra admitted.

"Hmm," the Rakata soldier eyed her warily.

"Please, let me speak with him," Qua'ra said, concerned.

She turned upon seeing a youthful Rakata approach the soldiers, giving to them a worded message. A holorecording played, revealing a hobbit turning into a wolf and fleeing through a portal. The Rakata soldier was suspicious, turning on another device and scanning the cage. He scanned the cage using the device, discovering it wasn't the same hobbit they were looking for. The Rakata soldier turned off the device, screaming in frustration and annoyance.

"We've captured the wrong hobbit! Release him!" The Rakata said, annoyed.

Qua'ra waited until the cage door was opened, before joining Parker. The hobbit looked positively confused.

"What happened?" Parker asked, warily.

"You're free. We can leave this place!" Qua'ra said in delight.

"Not until we make this alliance," Parker told her, serious. Slowly he crept out from his cage, grateful to see lush green grass and the village again. Glad to be free because of a mistake. He nodded to the soldiers, intent on asking them where their leader was.

"You'll find him in there! Speak with the Elders. They'll tell you," the Rakata soldier said, walking away without another word.

"Thank you!" Parker said with a smile, before taking Qua'ra's hand and leading her to a large brown building with open windows.

~o~

The interior of the building was blissful. Urns and baskets strewn along the walls, while a tan tarp covered a circular area. Here, there were Rakatas donned in tan robes. They looked worn with age, as if they lived out their lives, intent on seeing the safety of their people.

Parker approached, hoping to get answers. "Hello." One Rakata Elder looked up at him. He nodded, telling them, kindly, "Qua'ra and I come from the Shadow Empire, on the planet Zafna. We wanted to discuss an alliance with you, to grow our empire."

"It's important that we do this, kind sirs," Qua'ra said, hoping to help her emperor out.

"You see," Parker continued, "the Shadow Empire is in the grey, between the light and the darkness. We seek to make change and show everyone our empire is the best." He paused, while the Elders debated. "Don't you think?"

The same Rakata Elder shook his head. "You do not your history. Do you, Parker Dooley? Maranguan? The red dragonoid that was whipped many times by many different people and a cat." Parker's smile faded, feeling each word the Elder said like a wound. This elder knew all about him.

"What do you know about me? How do you my name?" Parker asked, concerned.

"We know all about you and the others in the galaxies," the Rakata Elder answered. "We, the Elders, were amongst those that were first created by Aslan, spanning all the way back to the First World. If we die, our history will be lost. I recognized your scent. You were an egg back when the First World was young, one of the first children that never got to hatch on your original home world."

"Parker, we should leave," Qua'ra asked, suspicious.

"Qua'ra," the Rakata Elder smiled, "it's been a long time since you crossed this land. How is your mother doing? Your father? Your family? When the First World was destroyed, your family was torn apart. Your father died in the First World, trying to save you. Your mother died shortly after meeting this dragonoid." He gestured to Parker. "Is that also not correct?"

"How do you know about me?" Qua'ra said, serious.

"You were living in the First World," Parker asked, cautious.

"It's a long story," Qua'ra said, annoyed. "The scarred lions and lionesses were a failure back on the First World. Aslan didn't create us. Morpheus did, the God of Dreams. I'm his creation. Shortly after my mother gave birth to me, Morpheus blessed me with life. I should have known what was going on in the worlds."

"Ah yes, the worlds," the Rakata Elder smiled. "The worlds are now split up and separated into their designated galaxies, no thanks to the destruction of the First World. Why do you think we were all split up after the explosion that destroyed the planet, bringing life to millions of other worlds? This is not the only troubling matter. We were all united, governed under one timeline back then. Thanks to the First World's destruction, the timeline has all but skewed. Why do you think we're allowed to travel to different points in time until we, those that are born from the First World and who lived there, are cursed to a fate that involves death and fading, a death more peaceful than anything we've seen before?"

That got Parker's attention. The Rakata Elder nodded.

"That doesn't make sense. If we're all in different timelines, then what is our timeline. How do we know whose a part of it?" Parker asked, confused.

"Ah, that is the tricky part." The Rakata Elder pointed out, "You see, time may have split us up, even allowed us to live in different time periods, but those who came from the First World will never be separated. You know Janet and Tobias? They've been here recently. They're a part of our same timeline. Why do you think that is? Haven't you known you've been living in the same timeline as those two and their daughter?"

"What?" Parker asked, stunned. "They're in our same timeline? How is that possible?"

"You will know soon enough," the Rakata Elder said. He asked, extending his hand, "Now, would you like for me sign that treaty? I am the Eldest Rakata in this village. That is why I remember the First World, our original home world."

"Parker," Qua'ra whispered in her emperor's ear, "this Rakata knows too much about us. How do we know we can trust him?"

Parker whispered back, "We'll have to." He pulled out from his trousers' pocket a treaty, passing it onto the Rakata Elder. He waited patiently until the Eldest Rakata signed the paper, using a quill and an ink bottle. Parker sighed, grateful this transaction was done. He took the paper back, rolling it up again and stowing it in his trousers' pocket. "Thank you. This will be much appreciated."

"Think nothing of it." The Eldest Rakata said, pleased. "And should you need my help again, you know where to find me."

"Right," Parker said, gesturing to Qua'ra to step outside. "That was easy."

"Are we allowed to go?" Qua'ra asked the Eldest Rakata.

The Eldest Rakata nodded. Qua'ra sighed, bowing to him. She followed Parker out the door, her mind full of questions. How was it that her timeline and Parker's were aligned with Janet and Tobias', the two famous people whose parents were a part of the Order of Seven, the evacuation team who saved the citizens of the First World? It didn't make sense, but she was ready. Ready to face the world, with nothing more than her wits and her master's charm.