Summary: Events begin to accelerate...

Chapter 20: Puzzles and Arrivals

The night they had reawakened Ood Bnar had been an oddly informative one. Indeed, Izuku was grateful for the years he'd spent improving his memory in aid of his telepathy. If not for that, he was fairly certain he'd have forgotten half of the fascinating history lesson it had turned into. Given the Neti's size, they had decided to bring food and drinks out onto the space between where Fay's yacht and their own Wandering Fate were resting. Izuku and Aayla had put the Infinite Engine to use in the most mundane way possible to make a suitable chair for the man, as well as an equally sized-up cot he could use for the night.

Once those little details had been settled, the Neti had predictably wanted to know just what had transpired since he fell into hibernation. Master Fay had been happy to oblige him, leaving Izuku very aware that he was getting a far less redacted overview of a few thousand years of history than he would likely otherwise have access too. Fay seemed totally unconcerned by that fact, not shying away from topics that he doubted even Aayla would have been allowed access to, if she'd remained at the temple. While much had been lost, even to Fay who had spent centuries traveling the remote parts of the galaxy where less redacted information could be found, Izuku was painfully aware she was barely scratching the surface of what she did know. The story of the Jedi Knight Revan, turned Sith, turned Jedi again was of particular note, given what was in their cargo hold.

That was hardly the only interesting highlight, of course. Despite being at least loosely aware of the conflicts her order had been involved in, even Aayla's head had been left spinning after a night of 'brief' history lessons. Fay had touched on the results of the Old Sith Wars and the Restoration afterward. The Mandalorian Wars, Jedi Civil War, Jedi Purge, the Great Galactic War, the Eternal Empire, and several more wars beyond. Despite barely giving only a brief summary of each, the retelling took hours. That night, she spent significant amounts of detail only on the results of the Old Sith Wars and the New Sith Wars. The latter of which having been the most recent serious clash with the Sith. It was obvious she was attempting to give some context for the current state of the Force, with only the briefest mentions of wars that didn't involve the Jedi and Sith, no matter how large the war had been.

As interesting as all of it had been to them, it was the mention of Revan as a major figure of the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War that had brought Aayla and Izuku to Ood Bnar's campsite late the next morning. The two of them had let the two ancient Masters talk for some time while they ran through their workouts, including some light unarmed sparring…and then collected what they knew about the two artifacts in their cargo hold. Up until now, both of them had been so derailed by Fay's unexpected mental health ambush, that they'd nearly forgotten about both objects. Something that needed to be addressed. Given that she was the Jedi, sort of, Aayla took the lead as they approached their elders…

"Masters? If we may have a moment? Before arriving on Ossus, we were led by the Force to collect two…artifacts, I guess. Not really sure if that's the right word for them. Other concerns have distracted us until now, but Master Fay bringing up Revan last night reminded us that we were most likely here for more than personal reasons…"

Master Fay's eyes sharpened as the mention of Revan, even as Ood Bnar merely looked curious. Fay was the one to gesture for Aayla to continue, eyes intent.

"We know for a fact that one of the…again not sure if artifact is the right word, given what it is. But one of them is called the Infinite Engine. The Force led us right to it in the depths of Nar Shadda. There, a hologram of a dying Ongree explained what the device was, claiming it to have been left in their care by a being they remembered only as 'The Revan…'"

Master Fay's expression was nearly blank as she spoke into the silence as Aayla trailed off.

"Tell me everything you know about it. Revan's work…some of it has turned up over time to very mixed results."

Izuku chose to speak up then, holding up the holocube that they'd collected just for this purpose.

"We can do better than that. The original recording was on a console we didn't bring, but we made sure to copy it. Pretty much all we know, aside from a tiny amount of experimentation we did enroute, comes from what it says."

He set the cube down on the table they'd drug out from their ship the night before, waiting for Fay's confirming nod before he activated it. The recording of Aablu-Nug's last message played out again, with Ood Bnar and Master Fay watching it intently. After it played out, there were long moments of silence, before Master Fay sighed.

"Well, this is certainly a complication. It sounds suspiciously like Revan figured out how to create a fragment of the Star Forge, then set it to simply grow. Given that the Star Forge was powered in part by the Dark Side that is…concerning."

Ood Bnar hummed, speaking for the first time since they'd approached.

"Perhaps. Yet it remains to be seen what the Force wanted done in this case. Somehow, I doubt it would have led you to dig this Infinite Engine up, just to destroy it."

Izuku shook his head quickly.

"It definitely didn't. We could have done that far more easily than bring it along. The thing is a five meters cube! But the Force insisted we take it…or one of them at least. There were actually three of the 'seed' cubes."

Bnar didn't look to be surprised, merely nodding and smoothly shifting to his feet.

"Then I suppose we had best take a look. I was considered something of an expert on the Dark Side, gifted with the ability to study it without being consumed by it. Between Master Fay and I, I feel confident we can learn if it is corrupted."

Izuku blinked, just now noticing that the Neti had apparently managed to compress himself again. He was still quite oversized, but was now closer to two and a half meters instead of three. Shaking the observation off, he began leading the way to the ship as the others followed. He did need to bring up something else, though.

"There's still the other artifact, too. One Master Fay already knows we have. It might actually be more concerning, as I believe it to be some sort of ancient stasis chamber. An occupied one. It's also completely blank in the Force, somehow."

Ood Bnar's step faltered for a moment at that, though his long legs meant he didn't fall behind from the momentary pause.

"That sounds suspiciously familiar and potentially concerning. But we will deal with things in order, as it were. The Engine First."

Izuku nodded, leading the group up the entrance ramp of the Fate and waving at the half of the cargo hold that had the engine practically wedged into it.

"As you can see, it only just barely fit. Height wise, at least. There's a reason we only took one of them."

The who ancient Masters nodded absently, even as they both stepped closer to it, senses reaching out. It was a nervous hour and half as he and Aayla simply watched the two go over the Infinite engine, twice breaking to confer with each other. Eventually, the Neti Master returned his attention to them.

"Master Fay and I can find no corruption. It is, indeed, drawing in a trickle of the Force for power. But it seems to be entirely neutral Force that is being drawn in. I suspect this to be a case where the user was at fault for the corruption, not the artifact itself."

Fay nodded, yet looked far more worried than the Neti master had.

"I agree. Yet, the mere fact that you were led to it at all is concerning to me. As is the fact that, when I attempted to ask the Force what it was for, I got a firm sense it was to remain with you, Izuku, to be…used. For what, I have no idea."

Izuku snorted.

"Well, so far, we've mainly used it to make an Ood Bnar sized chair and bed."

That comment startled Bnar, who let out a rumbling chuckle.

"I had wondered where those came from, but my thoughts were rather too distracted to ask."

Master Fay's face shifted to a small grin at the interaction, before turning serious again.

"And the other artifact, the infamous Jebble Box, yes?"

Aayla piped up at that, waving off to the other side of the cargo bay, where they'd covered the Jebble Box with a sheet.

"This way! It's only because of Izuku's weird pseudo-psychometry thing with the Force that we suspect it of being a stasis chamber. What did you say about it, Izu?"

"That its old, unimaginably old. Created for evil, yet containing both evil and good. That and the stasis chamber thing. The unimaginably old part is why I…"

He paused as Ood Bnar swept the cover off the Jebble Box and immediately radiated understanding.

"You know what it is, don't you?"

The Neti nodded, even as he moved around the free-standing relic.

"I do. Indeed, I suspected it when you mentioned a stasis chamber that blocked the Force. This is one of one of Dreypa's Oubliettes. A Dark Jedi named Remulus Dreypa created a handful of them after being exiled…and conquering the original Sith Species. He was one of the most important figures in the founding of the original Sith Order."

Everyone, even Master Fay, gaped at that. The Neti chuckled at their reaction.

"The Oubliette's were created by him to capture and imprison his foes for all time. Made to be nearly indestructible and, beyond that, notable as being some of the only artifacts ever found that can outright block the Force. No one is quite sure how he did that, but it was what sounded familiar to me when you mentioned it."

Izuku blinked.

"Wait, so…what? This might have some ancient foe of the Sith Order in it?"

"Possibly. But possibly not. Dreypa himself was eventually imprisoned in one of them, after all. Though that one was clearly marked. Unless the markings have simply faded, it is unlikely to be this particular Oubliette. Assuming it is occupied at all, it's hard to say who or what might be inside."

"Do we…open it?"

The moment Aayla asked the question, all of them gasped. The Force had a strong opinion about that. But a divided one. It wanted them to open it…but it also wanted them to be very, very cautious when they did so. Master Fay was the one to break the silence.

"Well…that was unequivocal. And I can see what you meant, Aayla, that the Force acts unusually around Izuku. I have a…more direct connection, one could say, to the Force than most. Yet even I've never felt if feel quite that…"

Master Fay trailed off, but Ood Bnar and Aayla just nodded as she did.

"Yeah. Impossible to properly describe, right?"

Izuku simply looked put out as they all nodded. It was not his fault that the universal cosmetic power got weird around him, okay?

... ...

They had decided to act upon the desires of the Force, of course. With three of the four people present being Jedi, it was never really a question. They did, however, take the precaution of removing the Oubliette from the Cargo Hold. At the Neti Jedi Master's suggestion, they moved it to the landing pad where he'd been in hibernation, well away from the ships. The area had been left heavy with the Force by his long slumber there, and the Neti directed Master Fay in how to open the Oubliette with the Force. He himself knelt nearby and did something that surprised all of them, Master Fay perhaps most of all. He dropped into meditation for long moments, lifted one hand…and brought a radiant light forth from his palm with a pulse of the Force. Waves of serenity, contentment and peace radiated off of that light and into all of them. There was shock in Fay's voice as she apparently recognized it.

"Is that Force Light?!"

The Neti smiled.

"It is, indeed. The best defense against the Dark. I suspect, now that you've seen it, you could do it yourself, Child of the Daughter."

Fay blinked, but nodded slowly. She raised a hand…and duplicated the radiant glow. If anything, hers was actually stronger than the ancient Neti's, seeming to have more depth to it somehow. Though how that made sense, none of them could have said. The Neti nodded in approval, regardless.

"With this, we shall be protected from anything foul inside. Open the Oubliette, please. Young Aayla and Izuku, please be ready for any more physical threats."

Both of them nodded, Aayla turning on her lightsaber with a snap-hiss, and Izuku gesturing to lift a dozen pieces of rubble into orbit around him. Fay took a deep breath as they signaled their readiness, then showed off her extraordinary skill by managing to maintain the Force Light even as she opened the Oubliette. There was a hiss of displacing air as the pressures equalized…and for a few moments nothing happened. They all took in the unexpected sight of a young-looking woman, serious-faced even in sleep but beautiful. For those first few moments, she looked dead…only to spring upward after a few seconds with the shout of a name.

"ZAYNE!"

She slumped a moment later, clinging to the side of the stasis chamber even as she looked around at them with wild eyes.

"Who are you? Have you freed…no! I can still feel him! OUT OF MY HEAD!"

There was a powerful burst of Force from the woman, omni-directional but stopped dead by a counter burst from Master Fay. Her own Force Light faltered, but Master Bnar's did not. Instead, it peaked in power and spread toward the young woman. A horrible screech came from the scorpion-shaped talisman around her neck, and she grasped hold of it, wrenching it free as it spasmed. It came alive, lunging away from the Neti Master and toward Aayla…who met it with a fierce blow from her lightsaber. For a moment, nothing happened, the Tailsman suspended in mid-air but seeming to resist the blade…and then Aayla howled and the golden glow of her blade redoubled as she channeled all her power into the Heart of the Guardian crystal at the core of her saber. The talisman cracked…and Izuku saw it.

He dropped his hold on the shards of rock he'd been levitating and instinctively sent his own Force energy down the link to Aayla, who channeled it down into her crystal. With a wail of rage and dread, the talisman shattered. Aayla collapsed a moment later, eyes rolling into the back of her head, even as the unknown woman did the same. Izuku, Fay and the Neti stood on guard for a long moment, before Izuku darted to Aayla, Fay approached the woman, and Bnar trained his Force light on the amulet while carefully approaching it. Each of them checked their targets with varying degrees of haste…with Fay eventually breaking the silence.

"Well, that was exciting."

Ood Bnar chuckled.

"Indeed it was. I believe this is now harmless, as it's radiating nothing at all. Just to be sure I should…what is that?"

Izuku looked up from carefully laying out Aayla, stepping away from her hastily as he saw what had brought the sudden note of alarm and surprise into the Jedi Master's voice. A portion of space not two paces behind Izuku was twisting and warping. Not in the direction the Talisman had been in, but to where Izuku had been standing a moment before. He raised his hands to grab at the rocks again…

…just in time to oof in complete surprise as space cracked and a familiar pink haired missile shot out of the gap. Frozen by the strongest moment of deja-vu he'd ever experienced in his life, he was completely unable to stop from the blur slamming into him, tits-first. He barely missed Aayla on the way down, even as his mind recognized the pair of boobs now smashed into his face. Muffled or not, he couldn't help but shout out a single word in complete and utter shock.

"MEI?!"

"Muscles!"

... ... ...

A/N: I'm not sorry for how I introduced Mei. That was the only right way to do it. It's her traditional entrance, after all...

A/N: Just another 'Hey, I have a Patreon Page,' reminder! Check out my Patreon Page for early access to new chapters of all of my works (including this one). Currently, as of first cross-posting to Scribblehub, 20 chapters of Displaced Hero are public, with 3 more (about 8.5k words worth) currently in Early Access. ALL of my fanfiction content is ultimately free, with nothing stuck permanently behind a paywall. So, while I deeply appreciate anyone willing to help support my writing time...if you don't want to support me, don't :-p. You'll get the content eventually, one way or another, Patrons simply get it sooner! For reference, by the way...Displaced Hero and My Hero Automata both get monthly updates. All other stories get put into a poll for voter tier patrons, with the winner getting an update! Displaced hero typically gets around 8-12k words in its monthly update. While My Hero Automata gets around 15-20k. Poll winner stories get roughly 10-15k, depending on story and time. In total, I currently release between 40-60k words per month :-).