Summary

Ahsoka goes through the gate and is greeted by a familiar face.

Ezra helps Jinn plan.

Luke offers them a ride.

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49.

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Ahsoka raised her arm to shield her eyes from the blinding light. There was mist everywhere. She couldn't see anything, but slowly the mist lifted. She found herself standing on a crowded street. She was confused. She didn't know how she traveled back from Exegol to Coruscant. She had to figure out what was going on.

She reached for her wrist comm and contacted Rex.

"Rex?"

Her leku stung as she received static on the line. She put her hand on the side of her head and shook it. She frowned and turned off her comm. However, just as she turned it off, she saw a large holo-image of her face on a projector. It was a wanted poster. It said she was wanted by the Jedi for being a terrorist and for having ties with the Sith.

Ahsoka raised her brow in confusion. "What?"

She stared at the closeup of the wanted poster. She was wearing all black and had dark shadows around her yellow eyes. Ahsoka was shocked. She didn't look like that, and she certainly didn't have ties to the Sith. She suspected she was in another timeline. One where she had walked down a different path.

Suddenly, the people around her turned to her and gasped as they recognized her. She started to run. It would be long before the authorities were sent after her. She didn't want to face anymore clones. She had to think of a place to lay low. However, she didn't anymore allies on Coruscant. She didn't even know if they even existed in this timeline. She would have to go it alone. She decided to go off world. She knew it was better than being concerned on Coruscant.

She made her way to a dock and looked for a ship she could steal. She noticed that the Coruscant Guard were searching for her. She grabbed a cloak in a nearby stall and did her best to remain unnoticed through the Force. She cautiously slipped through the dock security. She made sure she wasn't seen. She entered the dock and saw an open ship. She looked around and carefully rushed towards it, but unexpectedly a man stepped out from under the landing gear.

Ahsoka was stunned. She recognized the man. It was Count Dooku. She was sure Maul killed him on Exegol. She the paused and remembered that this wasn't the Dooku she knew. This was a different timeline.

He approached her and said, "You'll answer for your crimes against the Republic now, Miss Tano."

Ahsoka reached for her lightsabers and ignited the white blades and bent her knees into a fighting stance and said, "You've made a mistake. I'm not who you think I am."

The elder man frowned. He observed her white lightsabers and her lack of Darkness. He said, "Perhaps you are. You are not the dark acolyte that I remember."

Ahsoka raised her marked brow and said, "So, does that mean you'll let me go?"

Dooku rubbed his beard and said, "I am curious about who you are. I think it would be best if you came with me and spoke to my master."

Ahsoka frowned and said, "Which master? Yoda or Sidious?"

The elder man paused in surprise, but then his eyes darkened as he narrowed his brow. He said, "I don't know who Sidious is, but it is true that Yoda was once my master. No, my master is either of the two you mentioned."

The Togruta teen deactivated her lightsabers and clipped them back onto her belt. She then lowered her head and placed her curled index finger under her chin. It was strange. If Yoda wasn't Dooku's master and Sidious wasn't his master either, then that meant this was a completely different timeline. She wondered who his master was. She wasn't sure if she could trust alternate-Dooku. She briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath and let the Force guide her.

When she opened them, she said, "Very well. I'm agree to speak with your master under the condition that I may safely take my leave after we're done."

Alternate-Dooku bowed his head and said, "I shall see to it personally that you remain unharmed. Now, if you follow me, we can take my transport."

XXX

Meanwhile, across time and space, Ezra was curious about Jinn's idea. He knew that Jinn was full of crazy ideas. It was the reason why Ezra thought he was a great master.

"So, what is your idea?"

Luke said, "Yeah, I want to know too."

Jinn sighed and placed his empty glass on the table and said, "I have a Force bond with some of our friends. I think I can locate them with it."

Ezra excitedly said, "Of course!" He then sat back and counted off on his fingers. "Let's see. You have a bond with Obi-Wan, Ventress and me. Though, how are you going to find the others? You don't have a bond with Ahsoka, Rex, Anakin or Padme."

Jinn said, "You're forgetting Maul."

Ezra frowned. He didn't like Maul. He was a Sith. He was bad. Yet, he was the one that saved him from Dooku. Maul came out of nowhere and stabbed Dooku from behind just as he was about to slash him with his lightsaber. Ezra wasn't sure if he could forgive Maul for the things he did, but he knew that Jinn helping him was a good thing. He supposed that everyone deserved a second chance.

He reluctantly said, "Yes, Maul too."

"Well, I can tell you that locating Sidious won't be a problem. He took my sword and that's the one thing I can always find. The problem will be finding everyone and facing him. I had hoped that we could combine our strength into a single champion through our Force bonds. If Anakin hadn't sided against us, then I would have nominated him to do the job. However, that option is no longer available to us."

Ezra narrowed his brow and said, "What about the portal world? Can we find everyone using that?"

Luke said, "What's a portal world?"

Jinn turned to Luke and said, "I have no idea."

Ezra said, "It's a weird place with lots of doors. Each door leads to a different place in time. It was how I saved my Ahsoka from Vader. Just like how Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and your mother saved me in my timeline."

Jinn stroked his beard and said, "Interesting. Do you happen to know where we can find this portal world?"

The teen said, "Yes, there's a Jedi Temple on Lothal with a giant mural on it of the Father, Son and Daughter. I didn't know who they were at the time. The Loth-wolves on the mural opened the portal."

Luke was skeptical and said, "Loth-wolves?"

Jinn said, "I'm not surprised. Bridger excels at animal friendship. Though, I must admit that a magical portal in a mural led by Loth-wolves is new to me. Luke, can I borrow a ship?"

Luke replied, "No, the last time you borrowed a ship, you disappeared for 30 years. If you're going to Lothal then I'm coming with you."

He then got up and patted Jinn on the back and said, "Come on. I'll be your pilot."

Ezra looked at Jinn and said, "Wait, are we really taking your older brother with us?"

Jinn got up and started following Luke and said, "It's either that or he follows us there. Let's go Bridger."

XXX

Ezra followed the two masters to a ship dock. There were a lot of fancy ships inside the dock. He wondered what kind of ship Luke owned since Coruscant was so wealthy. However, Ezra pressed his lips with unease when he saw Luke's ship. It wasn't what he expected.

"What a piece of junk."

Luke turned to Ezra and said, "Hey! This the Millennium Falcon. She's the fastest ship in the galaxy. She's the first ship I ever flew in."

The Jedi Master then proceeded to lovingly caress the hull of the ship.

Ezra stepped closer to Jinn and raised his hand up to cup his mouth to whisper to him. "Is your brother crazy?"

Jinn smiled and said, "No, just sentimental."

He then walked up to Luke and said, "You must have had a heck of a time getting that ship away from Solo. I thought he'd want to leave it to Ben."

Luke smiled to himself and said, "No, the kid wanted something of his own."

"Did you take him as your apprentice?"

The Jedi Master lowered his gaze and said, "I wanted to, but we're too close. He got into a rebellious phase when he was a teenager. Kiya's husband trained him instead."

Jinn placed his foot on board the ship's ramp and stopped. "Wait a minute, Kiya's married?"

Luke laughed and said, "Yeah, has been for a while. You two have similar taste in spouses. He was a former Sith too."

Intrigued, Jinn asked, "Can I meet him?"

Luke paled and shook his head and walked up the ramp and shoved Jinn's back to push him in. "No, if he knew I was taking an unscheduled trip off planet then he'll try to stop me. Let's go before he finds out."

Ezra narrowed his brow and said, "Why?"

Luke turned to him and said, "Because he's in charge of the Temple when I'm away."

Jinn clicked his tongue and said, "Luke, it's not like you to run away from your responsibilities."

Luke rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not. Running the Temple is important to me, but it's those politicians that tick me off. They think the Jedi are their personal bodyguards."

Jinn entered the ship and followed Luke to the cockpit and said, "Sounds like an old problem. Isn't there a protocol for that sort of thing?"

Luke started flicking on the switches and turning on the engine and said, "Yes, only politicians with a high threat risk are allowed to request a Jedi escort, but you have to present your case to the High Council for approval."

"Sounds like you need someone to review cases."

"Ah! Someone? I need a whole team." He then looked behind him and said, "Take a seat, kid."

Ezra sat down in the pilot's seat and smiled as he reached for the controls, but Luke glared and said, "Hey, that's my seat, kid. Move over."

Ezra said, "Oh, come on. Let me pilot the ship." He then turned to the amber Jedi and said, "I'm a great pilot. Jinn, tell him."

Jinn sat in the co-pilot seat and said, "I'm calling shot-gun. Bridger, you're in the back."

The Padawan was flabbergasted. "Wait! No!"

Luke winked and said, "Better luck next time, kid."

XXX

The journey to Lothal was uneventful. As they flew over the surface of the planet, Ezra saw that Lothal had completely changed. It wasn't war torn like he remembered. It wasn't even intact pre-war Lothal like he had seen when he traveled with Jinn. Instead, this version of Lothal was beautiful and grander than he had ever seen. The city below them sparked and the buildings reached up into the sky. The plains had been restored and patches of wilderness cropped up in the horizon.

"Is this really Lothal?"

Jinn replied, "Yes, but it's not the Lothal you know. This is Lothal in another time and another place."

Luke brought the ship as close as he could to the coordinates of the Lothal temple. He powered down the ship and got up from his seat.

"Come on, you two. It'll be dark soon."

Ezra followed Jinn and Luke out of the ship. He was that the Lothal temple was in ruins. The last time he was here, the Empire was trying to discover it's secrets. The mural was buried in the ground. Time and weather had covered it up. Ezra reached out to brush away some of the dirt and saw the very time of the mural that was still exposed.

"It's here, but it's buried. We should use the Force together to raise it up."

Jinn nodded his head and replied, "Alright, together."

Luke turned to Jinn and said, "How about we show the kid how it's done?"

The amber Jedi smiled and said, "Of course. I'd like to see how you've improved."

Ezra watched as Jinn and Luke both raised their hands and slowly the ground beneath their feet began to rumble and shift. The ruins of the Lothal temple began to lift out from the ground. Pieces of stone and dust began to raise with the temple and float around it. It was like gravity had been turned off. Though, once the mural was full exposed, they two Jedi released their Force-hold of the temple and set it gently in place. Instantly, the stones and dust dropped to the ground around them and rattled as it fell.

Jinn turned to Ezra and said, "Well, let's go find your wolves, Bridger."

"Not so fast," said a voice behind them.

The three turned around and saw a group of officers. They were led by a woman who was wearing a helmet and was pointing a blaster at them.

She said, "This place is a national landmark of Lothal. Why are you Jedi disturbing this landmark?"

Luke glanced at Jinn and whispered, "Let me do the talking." He then turned to the woman and said, "There's no need for violence. We sensed a disturbance in the Force and came to investigate."

The woman said, "Well, as you can see there isn't anything but rocks here, so I suggest you and your friends leave."

Jinn approached Luke and said, "We ought to do as the lady says. Come, Bridger."

The woman paused and said, "Wait, did you say Bridger?"

The woman gasped when she saw Ezra step into view from behind Jinn. She instantly dropped her blaster and rushed forward to give him a hug. Startled, Ezra stiffened in her embrace.

"Ah, hello? Do I know you?"

The woman pulled back and removed her helmet. She placed her hand on Ezra's cheek and said, "Oh my gods, you haven't changed. How?"

Suddenly, Ezra recognized her when he looked into her eyes. He reached up and took her hand on his face and said, "Sabine."

XXX

TBC

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Thank you for reading.

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