Last time: The Trio arrived to a Temple and Sasha went through her Jedi Knight Exam.

Now: It's Viran's turn to become a Knight.

Chapter 3- Viran's Knight Trial

Viran, who was in the middle of another game of Sabacc with Oppie, perked up when he felt a very familiar presence in the Force. Looking over, a smile spread across his face as he saw Sasha running out of the temple, grinning. Standing from his seated position, Viran moved to meet her halfway. Sasha then tackled him in a hug.

"I assumed it went well?" Viran asked with a chuckle as he held her close.

"I passed," Sasha said as she pulled away slightly. "I'm a Knight now."

"Really? Congrats, hun," Viran congratulated before giving her a kiss.

They pulled away after a moment, smiling at each other.

Oppie intruded as soon as their embrace ended and pulled Sasha into a tight hug. "Well done." He said, happily.

"Thanks, Op," Sasha said as she hugged him back before pulling away. "How long was I in there for, by the way?"

Oppie looked at his chrono, "Almost four days." He said.

Her eyebrows shot upward as her eyes widened. "Four days? It felt like maybe a day at the most," she pointed out.

"Yeah." Oppie said, "I'm starting to think that's just a running theme with us." He said, rolling his eyes at whatever Whills were responsible for such things in the galaxy.

"Seriously though, it is strange how often it happens to us," Viran agreed.

"Speaking of which, Viran, I believe it's your turn now," Sasha pointed out as she wrapped an arm around him.

"Sure is, good thing you just had a hearty breakfast." Oppie said, patting him on the shoulder.

Viran looked at the both of them. "Well, can we at least finish our game first?" He asked, stalling a little.

"No stalling," Sasha urged as she started pushing him toward the temple. "Just go and get it done."

"Yep, time is wasting." Oppie said with a grin. "You'll do fine. Viran." He said in a more serious tone. "You are ready for this."

Viran looked up at Oppie and nodded. "Alright. I'm going in then. See you guys soon." He then looked at Sasha as she stopped pushing him. "For luck?" he asked simply.

Sasha rolled her eyes and pecked his lips before shoving him forward. "There, now go."

Viran chuckled and saluted them as he made his way towards the temple entrance.

As he walked away, Sasha glanced up at Oppie. "How long do you think he will be in there?" She asked him curiously.

"Depends." He said noncommittally.

"Fair enough," Sasha said with a shrug. "I guess it would be different for each Jedi that enters."

"No, I meant depends on how much you want to bet." He said with a grin, when she didn't quite get it.

"Oh? Alright, you're on, Op," Sasha chuckled. "I bet ten credits it takes him three days."

He considered for a moment. "I'll take that. I'll bet two and a half."

Sasha held out her hand. "It's a deal then. Shall we shake on it?"

"Aye." He took hold of her hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Alright with that taken care of, do you guys have any leftover food from breakfast?" She asked him as she released his hand and as her stomach loudly growled. "Cause I am suddenly very hungry."

Viran stared at the large stone slab before him that was blocking his way into the temple. He wasn't able to find a handle, control panel, switch, or lever that might make the stone slab move. He knew this was a Jedi Temple and the most logical way in was to use the Force, but it didn't hurt to check. Closing his eyes, Viran reached out with the Force and started lifting the very heavy stone slab. Grunting and groaning as well as breaking a sweat as he continued to push it further and further up it's tracks. Opening his eyes, he noticed that he had opened it to a fairly manageable height. Taking a step back, Viran rushed the entrance and dove into the opening he made just as he released his grip of the slab. Tucking and rolling away safely to his feet, Viran successfully made it inside and the slab slammed to ground with a hard thud.

Straightening up, Viran dusted himself off before pulling out his light torch. He turned it on and shined it down the large tunnel that lay before him. Taking one last look at the stone slab behind him, Viran proceeded down the tunnel. He walked for a long time before he reached an octagonal room. Shining the light onto the walls, Viran spotted several strange symbols that he could not recognize carved into the ceiling. As he looked at each one individually, he noticed that there were only five symbols. However, as he continued to move through the chamber looking at each one, he suddenly stepped on a loose rock.

Viran caught himself as he tripped over the rock and stumbled a couple feet away. Glancing back towards the rock was when he noticed the tunnel he used to get in here was gone. Viran looked around the whole chamber with the light only to see that he was indeed trapped in this room with no way out. Cursing under his breath, he stalked back over to the loose rock and tapped it with his boot. But nothing happened. No wall moved. However, a strange sound started to fill the room.

As quickly as the sound entered the room, Viran started to feel something wet pooling up at his feet. Shining the light downward, he gasped when he saw that water was seeping in. But how was it getting in? Viran quickly looked around for the opening where the water was coming from to see if that might be his way out. After a moment of searching, he found the opening. It was a tiny little square hole that looked like it used to house a rock of similar size. Viran knelt down, trying his best to not get his leggings wet in the water as it was just above the tips of his boots. Viran then rolled up his sleeve and reached into the hole with one hand while shining the light on it with the other. His hand searched and felt for anything that might help him get out of there. But no luck, it was just a hole with running water.

Pulling his hand out, Viran stood back up and looked around at the chamber again to see if he had missed something. There was nothing else in there and the water was starting to rise just past his ankles. Thinking fast, Viran started feeling around in every nook and cranny of the chamber to find a way out. As he felt around the chamber, water rose to just above his knees. Suddenly, Viran tripped once again over that damn loose rock. This time he didn't catch himself. Viran fell right into the small pool of water getting completely soaked. Scrambling to his feet and splashing around, he stood up in the waist high pool.

Brushing his hair from his face, Viran realized in that moment that he was no longer holding his light as the room was pitch black. Panic was now starting to set in as he felt around with his foot for the torch. He couldn't feel it anywhere and water was getting higher. Grabbing his lightsaber, Viran thumbed the switch and allowed his blue blade to shine in the chamber. As soon as the saber was on, he was able to find the torch. Reaching down into the water, he plucked up the light and tried turning it back on. It flickered then died.

"Kriff," Viran cursed as he shoved it into his belt.

Suddenly something caught his eye as he looked up from the water. On the far wall was writing scribbled into the stone. Viran trudged through the water towards the writing. He was sure that it wasn't there before or else he would have seen it. Taking it as a sign, Viran read what the words said.

I can be warm and cold.

I can be large and small.

I wave and sit still.

I bring life and death.

What am I?

A riddle? Really? He thought as he looked at the words. He stood there for a moment trying to figure out what the riddle was referring to. However, the longer he waited the higher the water got. It was now about at his armpits.

"Damn this water," Viran said out loud as he was now floating in the rising pool. Suddenly it hit him like lightning. "Water…" he said again out loud. "It's water!"

But nothing happened. No walls moved. No doors opened. And the water kept rising. Now he was floating upward towards the ceiling of the chamber. The ceiling! He suddenly remembered the symbols on the ceiling. Maybe the solution wasn't saying the answer out loud, but finding the right symbol. But which symbol was it? He growled as he wished he had paid more attention back at the Jedi Temple, but also when Sasha would teach him about the other languages of the galaxy. However, now was not the time to bring himself down. Now was the time to find a way out or else he would die in here.

Viran swam around and looked at each symbol again. One symbol looked almost like a bird creature. The one next to it looked like a creature digging through the ground. Next to that one was a creature burning to death. Then there was one that had a creature floating. And the last looked like a creature lifting something with the Force. It then struck him as he realized what the symbols were for. They were representations of the four elements and one of the Force. So he just had to find the one for water.

Speaking of water, it had risen to just mere inches from the ceiling. Viran did his best to keep his head above water, but that was easier said than done. Soon he was completely submerged. Looking upward through the water, Viran swam over and placed a hand over the symbol of the floating creature as he was sure that was the right one. But nothing happened. He hit it again and again. Nothing. His lungs were burning now as he was losing his breath. He closed his eyes and placed his hand once again over the symbol and called out with the Force for something that could help him.

Then a clicking was heard. Suddenly all of the water rushed out of the chamber and Viran felt himself being pulled away with the flow. Panicked, Viran started swimming in the opposite direction in the hope of trying to stay in the chamber and not get sucked into whatever void the water was disappearing into. After a moment, the water was gone and he flopped onto the hard chamber floor. Coughing and sputtering, Viran laid on the stone floor, dripping wet.

He lay there in the dark for a while before pulling himself off of the ground. Looking up to where the water had drained to, a wall disappeared and revealed a new tunnel that led further into the temple. He reactivated his saber just to make sure he was seeing the exit correctly. Once he was sure he pulled himself to his feet. Viran then started wringing out his wet clothes as he started walking out of the chamber and into the tunnel.

Sasha sat on the edge of her bunk aboard the Forerunner as night fell on the planet. She was taking her hair out of the braid she had placed it in and was running a brush through her long locks of hair. Oppie walked up the ramp, closing it shut behind him.

"Alright, we are all cleaned up out there for the night," Oppie said as he walked over to his bunk.

"That's good," Sasha said as she continued to brush her hair. There was silence between them as Oppie sat down on his bunk and started removing his boots and belt. "How do you think Viran is doing in there?"

Oppie chuckled. "He asked me the same exact thing when you were in there."

Sasha laughed as she set the brush down. "Did he really? That's hilarious."

"It is," Oppie nodded before laying down onto his bunk. "I'm sure he is doing great in there. We've just got to be patient, but he should be done soon."

Sasha narrowed her eyes at him. "You just want to win the bet."

He flashed a smile at her. "I said no such thing."

Sasha stuck her tongue out at him. "Good night, Oppie." She said as she laid down in the bunk and turned her back to him.

"Night, Sasha," Oppie said to her with a chuckle as she closed the curtain to her bunk to get to sleep.

By the time Viran reached the next large chamber, he was dry. Viran had walked for several hours straight until he reached the next chamber as he knew that if he kept moving his clothes would dry and they did. Now entering into it, Viran took one last swig of his water before returning the pouch to his belt. Surveying the room, he noticed he was in a large room with a vaulted ceiling and nothing else in there. He moved further into the chamber and looked around in confusion. The chamber was well lit and yet it was completely empty. What part of the trial is supposed to be? He wondered. Turning off his saber, he placed it on his belt and continued to look around the room.

"Viran!" Sasha's voice suddenly filled his ears.

Whipping around on his heel, Viran spotted Sasha at the far end of the chamber before the exit. She was tied up in a laser rope and was dangling several meters before a gaping hole in the floor. He could smell smoke coming from the hole as it seemed like something was burning down there. Viran felt his heart race as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing. He was sure she was outside of this temple with Oppie, probably playing a game or sparring or meditating. Not in here, in peril. Taking a step forward to rush to her, a wall suddenly jutted up from the ground before him and blocked his path.

"What the…" Viran started to say as he came to a halt.

"VIRAN HELP!" Sasha's voice cried out in fear and terror.

Feeling his blood boil at whoever thought this was a good idea for a test, Viran moved around the wall and started to run for Sasha. However, more and more walls kept appearing before him, blocking his path. And before he knew it, he was stuck in the middle of a large maze with no sense of direction.

"Blast it!" Viran cursed before raising his voice. "Sasha! Hun! Where are you? I'm coming!"

"Over here! Help!" She cried from his left.

Viran turned and ran in that direction, following the maze path to the best of his abilities. After a few turns, he stopped and looked around to see if he could find her, panting.

"Keep talking, hun! I can't figure out which way to go if you don't talk," Viran called out to her.

"Viran! Help! AHH!" She screamed from behind him.

So he turned around and rushed off in that direction. This had become a vicious cycle as everytime he would stop or call out to her, her voice would come from a different direction in the room. Coming to a stop after another few moments of this, Viran leaned against the nearest wall, winded from all the running and yelling.

"Viran!" He heard her scream again.

Slamming his eyes shut, Viran rubbed at his head as he tried to figure out how to get to her, because she was surely running out of time. She was going to fall into that fiery hole and die if he didn't figure out how to get to her. Taking a series of breaths, Viran thought about what would Sasha do if she was in his shoes. Then it hit him.

Patience. She would be patient and take the right amount of time for this.

And if he was patient and just used the Force, he could find her. That might work better than running around like a Batuu hen with its head cut off. Viran stood up straight and took one more deep breath before opening his eyes.

"I'm coming, love," Viran called out again. "Just be patient."

Then suddenly the path was clear to him as if projected into his mind. Viran followed the path as the maze seemed to guide him in the right direction as he took his time and thought about which way would be the best way to get to her. After about ten minutes of this, Viran turned a corner and found himself face to face with his beautiful wife. She wasn't dangling over a fiery pit or in any danger at all. Instead she was just before another tunnel, smiling at him.

"Well done, babe," she said simply before turning and walking down the tunnel behind her.

Viran smiled, not only in relief that she was alright, but also at just the mere sight of her. He followed after her, leaving the maze behind and also not even realizing that he had just passed another test. However, part way through the tunnel, he lost sight of her. He had no idea which way she went so thought it best to keep going forward. Viran continued forward until he reached yet another chamber. This one was filled with a thick mist and he could hear the distance sound of running water into a small pond. Normally, Viran would go over to the small pond and splash water in his face. But after the first chamber, he really wasn't up to the idea of getting wet at this moment.

As he entered further into the chamber, Viran suddenly noticed that he was not alone in here. Three figures immediately circled him out of nowhere. Grabbing his saber, Viran activated it and moved into a battle ready stance. However, the moment his saber illuminated their faces, Viran froze in place. All three of them were… him. One of them was dressed in his bomber jacket and pants, and appeared to be pissed off about something. The one next to him was in all black with sharp yellow eyes. And the third was dressed just like Viran was now, but his body language made it seem… dead. Viran felt his throat go dry.

"Hello, Viran," The one with the yellow eyes said.

"Who are you guys? Are you me?" Viran asked, confused.

"Of course we're you, idiot," the grumpy one said.

"What do you want?" Viran asked them, now feeling insulted by the grumpy one.

"We want you to join us," the third said. For some reason, this one in particular reminded him of Kopesh when he was a thrall of Dracul just based off how he spoke and stood there.

"Join you?" Viran asked.

"Yes, join us," yellow eyes said. "Your anger and power would make you a wonderful Sith."

"What are you talking about?" He was now freaked out by the three versions of him and what they were possibly alluding to.

"You know exactly what we are talking about," grumpy said. "Don't lie to yourself and say you have never felt anger before. Remember your outburst about Cien? How much you hate her?"

"But that was so long ago…" He tried to explain.

"Well if you join us, you can forget about all the pain and anger you felt for her. You can just have peace," the thrall version said.

"But I don't want to forget…" Viran kept trying to say.

"Don't lie to yourself, Viran," yellow eyes continued over him. "You know deep down inside what you truly are."

"A hot headed."

"Weak minded."

"Power hungry monster."

The three of them each read one line off at a time at him. Viran shook his head and used the Force to send them away.

"NO! Stop! Please!" Viran pleaded as he looked away from them as they regained their footing rather quickly. "I'm not like that. Yes, I have been angry before, but I have never wanted to forget the people I love or the memories I have made. Being angry is just part of being human. Of being alive. And I don't want power. I just want to be with my wife and the others. And I'm not weak either. I am stronger than I ever have been before thanks to them. So you can fill my head with these lies, but my heart knows the truth. Now leave me alone."

With that, the three different versions of Viran disappeared into the mist. As soon as they were gone, Viran sighed and sank down onto the ground, exhausted.

"Good job, Sport," a familiar voice said.

Viran looked up to see Older Viran from the cursed future, standing before him in a ghostly form.

"Viran… What happened to you back at the void? When you pushed Dracul through?" Viran asked eagerly for answers as he looked up at the older man.

"Oh yeah… I passed on," Older Viran explained. "The portal we went through took us to a place that had no air."

"Does that mean Dracul is truly gone?" Viran asked, surprised.

"Most likely," Older Viran said with a shrug. "I mean the galaxy is still intact and not on fire, so I'd assume so. Anyway, I didn't come here to discuss what I did back in the World Between Worlds. I'm here to congratulate you."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You passed, kid," Older Viran said with a smirk. "Congrats! You are now a Jedi Knight. A feat I only wished I had gotten the chance to accomplish in my time."

Viran scrambled to his feet and wanted to grip the older man by his shoulders, but didn't as he wasn't sure if he could actually touch the man in this form. "Are you serious? I passed? I'm a Jedi Knight?"

"Is there an echo in here?' Older Viran asked before chuckling. "Yes, you passed!"

Viran let out a loud yahoo that echoed through the chamber as he pumped his fists in the air.

"Now before you go because the exit is now open for you that way," Older Viran said, gesturing to the tunnel that appeared behind him. "Be mindful of what the future holds. Don't let your anger drive you. And…" A smile appeared on the older man's face as if he knew something Viran didn't. "Enjoy what is to come, because I never got the chance too."

Before Viran could ask him what he meant, he disappeared into the mist. It took him a second to realize that he should probably go after Older Viran left. Shrugging and rolling his eyes, Viran made his way down the tunnel and out the exit of the temple.

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