Last time: Viran journeyed through the World Between Worlds to fix the past and he did in fact change it.
Now: We return to the present day and see what happens after Dracul escapes.
Part 4 Chapter 1- Viran Zeb
Oppie, who had gotten up and walked to the vanished portal, just stood there, looking at it where it had once been. "I don't know." He stood there trying to recover for a moment before turning to the others, Viran attending to Sasha, and Kyr helping Cien. "Are you all okay?" He asked worriedly, feeling his own injuries that were making their presence known with aches and shooting pains as he walked over to join them.
Viran looked up from where he sat on the ground and shrugged, wincing slightly at his own injuries. "I'm okay, but I think I can speak for the whole group when I say we just got out butts handed to us."
"I'm sorry," Sasha continued to sob into Viran's shirt as he held her on the floor. "I just couldn't lose you all again. I'm sorry…"
"No, please don't apologize," Viran soothed her as he cradled her close. "You did what you thought was right. Please don't beat yourself up."
That seemed to calm her down, but the crying didn't cease just yet.
Kyr spoke up. "Things weren't going too well outside either. I came in to see if we could hurry things along, but we were getting a little overrun out there." He said as he felt for Cien's pulse on her wrist. He pulled another bacta ampule from his kit and tossed it to Viran, who immediately administered it to Sasha.
"Well, thanks for showing up when you did," Viran responded. "You saved Sasha and Cien's life because of it."
As the bacta settled in and the taste of zherries filling her senses, Sasha slowly moved from her place in Viran's arms and looked over at Cien, a frown written on her tear stained face. "How is she?"
"Okay." Kyr said noncommittally, "stable." He added.
Sasha nodded and reached over to place a hand on Cien's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze as she looked over Cien with a worried gaze.
Suddenly a flash of light and a sound like a small thunderclap rang through the space from the dias. Oppie's hands immediately went back to his sabers. Viran turned on a dime and staggered to his feet, his saber at hand, while standing protectively in front of Sasha. Looking around from behind him, Sasha tried to catch a glimpse of what was happening, her hand summoning her discarded saber as a just in case. Kyr got up and into a fighting stance, holding his gauntlet with the flame projector and the blaster at the ready, while he used his left arm to unsheath his knife.
The light flashed again, this time looking more like a tear in space, beyond which was the all too familiar starscape of the void. Then a figure emerged from the tear. He was dressed in a ragged tunic and cloak, and his face was hidden behind a hood. As the figure stepped into the cavern, he removed his hood to reveal an older man, probably early fifties, standing before them. A smile appeared on the older man's face. As he stood there smiling, Sasha and Viran felt like he looked very familiar, but they couldn't place from where.
"Hey, everyone," the man responded. His voice was very familiar despite the age. "It's good to see all of you again."
"Uhh..." Oppie said, uncertain about this new figure. And then the image clicked in his mind, only a few weeks old for him, a face that had been burned in his memory as they had fled. "You're the Jedi the Empire dragged away on Vestora."
Suddenly it dawned on them. Oppie was right. This was the same man from Vestora. Sasha and Viran's mouths went agape as they stared at him.
"No way… We thought you would have been killed by the Empire," Viran said surprised. "How are you still alive? In fact, how are you here? And who are you anyway?" He then spewed off the questions as they came to him, seriously wanting answers in this moment.
The Jedi rubbed at his neck as he chuckled. "I'll give you a hint," the man teased. "I occasionally go by 'Sport'. Isn't that right, Kyr?" He asked the Mandalorian.
Viran's jaw dropped to the floor as he stood there dumbfounded. "You're me?" He exclaimed in pure shock, pointing at the older man.
For once, Kyr was at a loss for words.
Sasha grabbed her head as she collapsed back onto her heels. "I think I hit my head a little too hard because I'm seeing things," she mumbled under breath as she tried to gauge what was happening.
"Sadly, this is not a dream," the old man or Jedi or Viran said. "I really am here and I don't have much time to explain. If you want to defeat Dracul then follow me."
The words from Master Redika returned to Oppie; When the time comes, when everything is darkest, listen to Viran, follow what he says. "Follow you where?" He said, looking behind him towards the portal. "Through there?"
"Yes," Older Viran said simply. "It's the only way."
"Okay, I have to ask, but if you are me, why… how are you so much older?" Viran asked as he approached his older self.
"I'm from the future," Older Viran said with a slight shrug. "That's the long story short of it all. But like I said, you need to follow me if you want to defeat Dracul and save the galaxy. Save the future."
Cien awoke blearily at that moment, looking between Kyr's helmet, then up at old Viran. Then she looked over at Kyr. "How long was I out…?" She asked.
Sasha looked down at Cien. "Only a few minutes."
"Oh…" Cien murmured as she tried to keep her eyes open.
In that moment, Older Viran looked past Viran and towards Sasha. Viran followed his older self's gaze.
"Hello Sasha," the older man said.
Sasha perked up at her name and looked at the older version of her now fiance. She carefully moved to her feet, her head still pounding from the injury, but already feeling better thanks to the bacta from Kyr. She slowly moved past Viran and Oppie towards the older man.
"So you really are Viran, huh?" Sasha asked as she studied his face. "Why didn't you say anything on Vestora?"
He frowned at her. "Because I couldn't reveal myself back then. It would have ruined everything." He then stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her cheek, wiping some of the blood and the remaining tears away. "It's so good to see you again," he said, his voice aching in a way that Sasha didn't understand.
Sasha frowned up at him. It really was Viran, but whatever he had gone through to get there today must have been dreadful, because Sasha could see the pain in his eyes as he looked at her. Viran, younger Viran, stepped closer and stood by Sasha's side.
"What happened to you? To the future?" Viran asked.
Older Viran looked at his younger self and placed his other hand on his shoulder. "I can explain everything, but we need to go." He looked past the two of them as he dropped his hands and looked directly at Oppie. "We don't have much time."
"Master Redika told me to follow what you say." Oppie said, looking at this Viran that was so different from the one he knew. "I'm ready."
Sasha and younger Viran looked back at Oppie before sharing a look with each other.
"Well aside from you and Op, Sash, I trust no one more than myself," Viran replied with a shrug and a smirk.
"Hey!" Kyr spoke up, with an amused tone.
Viran chuckled. "And you too, Kyr."
"Actually I was more mentioning Tac." He grumbled, turning his attention back to Cien.
Rolling his eyes at the Mandalorian with a chuckle, he turned back to his older self, who apparently had done the same gesture.
"Alright then lead the way," Viran said to himself.
Sasha nodded in agreement as she gripped the younger man's hand in her own.
"Be careful, Sport." Kyr said.
"I will," Both Viran's said at the same exact time. They exchanged a glare with each other before chuckling. Kyr chuckled as well since it had worked as intended.
Sasha made her way back over to Kyr and Cien. "We will be back soon. Please take care of each other."
"Go," Cien said fuzzily. "Stop Dracul."
Sasha nodded. "We will." She said as she knelt down and placed a gentle hand on both Cien and Kyr's shoulders. "May the Force be with you both." She then removed her hands and stood once again before returning to the others.
"Ready?" Older Viran asked.
"Let's go," Sasha responded with a determined head nod.
Older Viran nodded and led them towards the tear that still sat open into the world between worlds. Entering first, Older Viran remained by the opening as Viran, Sasha, and Oppie walked through into the void. Oppie taking a deep breath before he entered it again, and checking the chrono on his wrist. Once inside, the portal closed, leaving their friends behind.
With that, Older Viran started walking along the catwalks that stretched out into infinite directions. Sasha and Viran stood there in shock and awe as they stared into the void, taking notice of the many different gates that existed all around them.
Oppie looked around with a grimace, having so recently only escaped from this place. The greatly diminished presence of the Force hit him once again, and he could tell that Sasha and the younger Viran started to feel it as well as they looked around, as if something was missing. "So were you in here while I was?" He asked the older version of Viran.
They started walking alongside Older Viran as he regarded Oppie. "Yeah, I was. Sorry, I didn't stop to say hi, but I couldn't reveal myself to you. Not yet at least."
Oppie smirked a little at that. "Well at least Sasha talked to me."
Older Viran chuckled at that. That prompted his younger self to speak up.
"So what exactly happened in the future that made you come here, of all places?" Viran asked his older self.
The older man frowned as they walked. He looked over at his younger self before turning his gaze forward. "Where I come from, Dracul already rules the galaxy. He has ruled it for about twelve years. The Empire fell and the galaxy fell into disarray and chaos. I came here because I was told by someone very important to me to fix everything," he explained.
"Who said that?" Sasha asked curiously from his right side.
He regarded her. "You did," he answered.
Her eyebrows shot up as he said that. She then looked forward as she thought about her next question. "Then what happened to me? Where am I in your time?"
Older Viran frowned as he looked at her. "You and I were married. We had been for several years. When you told me about fixing everything, it had been because our child reached out to you in the Force and showed you a vision. After that day, you and our child went missing. The bar was the first time I have seen you in many, many years," he told her as he held back tears.
Sasha instinctively placed a hand on her flat belly as if there were something there as she took in what he said. "I was pregnant with our child?" The words seemed so strange leaving her mouth, but also so right at the same time. She couldn't explain it.
Older Viran nodded at her, but didn't say anything else. Even younger Viran was stunned by what he had said. He had literally just proposed to Sasha on the battlefield not even twenty minutes ago and this man before him had already married her in a different life. The mere thought of it made his heart flutter, but it also saddened him as he could not imagine what the older man must be feeling at this moment.
"So why did you come back to Vestora?" Oppie asked, speaking up after a time had passed in silence.
"The Sasha in my time told me to go back to when you were still alive," Older Viran explained.
"Alive?" Oppie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, in my time, you were killed on Vestora by one of Dracul's acolytes. They stole the holocron fragment and killed you. After that happened, Sasha and I went on the run as we feared we were next," he said his voice low and sad. "That's why I went back to Vestora, because I knew that if I could save you, Op, then the timeline would be corrected to the way it should be." He then made an annoyed face. "However, I did have to fix it a couple more times after that as Dracul still found other ways to win."
Oppie, Sasha and the younger Viran exchanged a glance, remembering what had driven them from Vestora. Cien had been there to kill them, and thankfully did not succeed thanks to his intervention. "Thanks Vir." Oppie said quietly.
The older man looked at him and nodded, a smile growing on his unshaven face. "Of course. It's just great to see you again, Op."
"Okay, you said that you had to fix the timeline a couple of times," Viran butted back in. "When exactly did you do that?"
"Well after I gave you the data card for Chikara, I returned here and watched how everything played out," the older man explained. "It all went smoothly until you, Kyr, and Sasha got sidetracked with searching for the constellation."
"What do you mean sidetracked?" Sasha asked, confused. "We returned home once we learned there was another 9,000 or so planets to inspect."
"That only happened because I took your data pad," Older Viran said before producing the device from inside of his cloak. "Here you go, by the way."
Sasha took the data pad, her mouth agape. "Why did you take this? I nearly tore Kyr's ship apart looking for it." She asked as she tried to find someplace to put it. She handed it back to Older Viran. "Can you hold on to it for me until we are finished here?"
He nodded, took the data pad and returned it to its place in his cloak before speaking. "Because in the other time when you still had the data pad, you had been looking at it for like the hundredth time that trip before you got the idea of searching somewhere else. Not someplace that saw the constellation, but a planet among the constellation. Because of that, you guys were delayed from getting to Talokore in time to stop Dracul. He figured out a way to open the portal on his own and took control of the galaxy yet again," Older Viran said before he paused for a moment to clear his throat before continuing. "So I took the data pad and that allowed you to arrive on time. However, Dracul still managed to get through."
Sasha lowered her chin as she turned her gaze to the floor. "That's my fault," she mumbled. "But I couldn't let him kill you guys." She looked between younger Viran and Oppie.
Oppie reached out and put a hand on Sasha's shoulder as they walked before letting his hand slide away. Sasha glanced back at him, giving him a slight nod, before returning her gaze forward.
"Well that's why I am here now," Older Viran responded. "Originally, after he disappeared into the void, you weren't able to open the portal back here due to your head injury. It took you almost a week before any of you were able to get here to take him down. But by that point it was too late. So I said screw it and I made myself known to you. This cat and mouse game has to end. That is why I arrived when I did, because I know exactly where Dracul is going, and I need the three of you to help me defeat him once and for all."
As they kept walking along, Younger Viran spoke up again. "Okay, so I still want to know how you got here? As in the void. Because I don't know how to open portals. Only these two do." He gestured to Sasha and Oppie.
"Back in my time, Kyr, Kitsu, Illara and I staged an attack against Dracul's new palace which happened to be the old Jedi Temple," Older Viran told him. "Before our attack, we found some information that Palpatine had taken regarding this place. Then when we broke in, I found a holocron that guided me to a chamber below the temple. This chamber strangely enough was where I found yet another holocron that taught me how to open portals."
"Master Stynrose?" Oppie asked.
"Yep," Older Viran nodded. "She taught me how to do it. I admit it was difficult as that was the first time in a long time I used the Force since my Sasha and I cut ourselves off from it years prior. But I managed to open the portal and enter this place. That's how I was able to return here after being captured by the Empire."
"You mentioned the temple and this hidden chamber," Sasha started to ask. "Did you happen to learn anything about the temples we visited? Is this chamber at the Jedi Temple connected to the ones we saw?" She gestured to herself, Younger Viran, and Oppie. He still visited them even if it was just one.
"Oh yeah, I learned a lot about those temples while I was here," Older Viran said.
"Does that mean you know who made them? Why they depict the future and all?" Sasha asked excitedly.
"Yes. In fact, Talokore is the building site of the first temple. I mean, why do you think Dracul chose it? The weather? Nope. And because it was the first that meant it carried the original instructions on portals. That's how Dracul succeeded the most recent time before I butted in. If you guys had just looked around the corner, you would have found them." Younger Viran face palmed at that. Sasha looked ready to ask him another question about the temples, but he brought his hand up. "But before you ask me any more questions, Sash, I'm gonna stop there," Older Viran said with a bit of tiredness to his tone. "The amount of time it would take for me to break it all down for you so you all can understand it would be years of your time wasted here. I suggest waiting until after we defeat Dracul before you journey down that Lothrabbit hole."
Sasha deflated a little at that, but nodded in understanding.
"Do you know how much further we have?" Younger Viran asked to change the subject.
"Not much further," Older Viran said before producing a blaster from under his cloak. "I suggest you ready yourselves."
The three of them nodded before grabbing their sabers from their belts.
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