A/N: I'm literally horrible at math and keeping to Star Wars canon dates so I'm not going to bother with how many years ago flashbacks take place because honestly I know I'd just dig myself into a hole

y e a r s  a g o

"You're shipping out?" Vyi's eyes were wide as he looked up at his older brother.

Waylen had his arms folded as he stared out the port window. They were in their father's office where Vyi worked and hid from the rest of the world. Unlike Vyi, Waylen didn't have to hide. He was special. He had a gift.

"I'm going to become one of their Inquisitors," Waylen finally faced him, a smile on his face. "I'm going to become the best and then I'll show them. I'll prove that it doesn't matter if I'm half alien or not, I can still be better than everyone else. I'll make the Empire a better place for people like us, and then you won't have to hide anymore."

"Really?" Vyi whispered. He was young at the time, innocent and able to believe that things could change.

"I promise," Waylen set a hand on his half brother's shoulder. "Father won't have to be ashamed of you anymore, and you can live your life."

That made Vyi smile. "Will you visit?" he asked next. His brother was the most important person to him next to his father. He couldn't imagine life without him. Waylen was the reason he was able to put up with hiding away. 

"Of course," Waylen scoffed. "And then when I'm done, you'll visit me, yeah?"

"Deal," Vyi stuck out a hand, and Waylen laughed and shook it.

"I'll see you around," Waylen promised. "The Empire has no idea what's coming."

*

Waylen stopped writing letters a year after he left. Vyi tried to reach him but could never get a hold of him.

Then one day his half brother visited. There was a different feeling around him, but Vyi couldn't place it. His eyes looked different too, but Vyi thought maybe it was just the lighting. Vyi didn't care, he was just happy his brother was back.

"Waylen!" he cried. "You stopped writing, I thought maybe something had happened."

"I didn't have time," Waylen replied. There were dark bags under his eyes, Vyi now realized. He looked tired. Drained. "I got a day off so I thought I'd just drop by."

"Okay," Vyi said. Again he felt the different aura around his brother. There used to be light, but now it just felt cold. 

"I'm close," Waylen promised. "I'm so close to being the best." 

"I know you can do it," Vyi smiled, wanting to encourage him somehow. He just wanted his brother to not look so defeated, so dark.

Waylen looked down at him, a heartbeat passed, then he offered a small smile in return.

*

Waylen didn't visit again. Years passed. His half brother became only a memory, but Vyi still held onto the hope that he'd write or holo or visit or anything. 

He got one message before everything went to hell. I've done it. I've beaten them. I'm so powerful, and I've never been closer. I'll see you soon.

The next message they received was that Waylen had died.

There was no way to describe the feeling that took hold of Vyi. His brother couldn't be dead, he couldn't. He was supposed to be the best. He was supposed to make the Empire a better place. He wasn't supposed to die. Now Waylen was gone, and Vyi was all alone.

More years went by. Vyi stumbled through his work. Then the Empire fell, his dad died, and he defected. Always hiding, always running.

And now he really was alone.

I m p e r i a l  P r i s o n  2 2 3 ,  h a n g a r  f l o o r    

Except now his brother was still alive but corrupted into whatever this thing was. But Vyi wasn't alone anymore. He had Jai and the rest of the team. And he wouldn't let them down.

"You think you can stop me with a gun?" Waylen scoffed, looking disinterested.

"I dunno," Jai shrugged. "I'd like to try though."

He fired, and Waylen pushed his hand out. The laser froze in midair. 

"Run!" Jai yelled, and Vyi scrambled to his feet. He had barely taken a step forward when the laser bolt struck the wall right where he had just been.

Jai seized his arm and pulled him from the room. "Who the hell is that?!" Jai demanded as he dragged Vyi forward.

"That's my half brother," Vyi replied. When Jai made a wheezing sound, Vyi added, "Its a long story. Even I'm not sure what's happening, but he's trying to kill us, so just run."

"You're trapped here," Waylen's voice yelled from behind, "You can't escape this prison."

"Oh, speaking of," Jau added, yanking Vyi around a corner, "What happened with the virus?"

"Waylen destroyed my code cylinder. The virus is out," Vyi shook his head.

Jai let out a low curse. "Then we really are trapped here."

"Not really," Vyi stumbled to a halt, forcing Jai to stop too. "There's another way."

"Well, spit it out!" Jai threw his hands in the air. "Its not like we've got a madman chasing us through a prison."

"There's another way," Vyi repeated, biting his lip. "But... its not ideal."

"Not ideal is in?"

"Not ideal is in someone has to die," Vyi said. 

"Oh." Jai blanked. "What?!"

He didn't like it one bit, but now it was the only way. There was no time to program another virus, there was no time to think of anything else. This was the only way, and as long as there was a way, there was hope.

"Listen," Vyi urged quickly, "If we could destroy all the generators on the prison, everything would shut down. Its like a more destructive version of the virus."

"That would destroy the prison," Jai frowned, "And we could escape. Two in one, its genius. I don't see how that involves death, though."

"The thing is we'd need something powerful enough to cause a blast that would properly knock out everything," Vyi said. "We can't do that by ourselves. But if we could crash something big enough into the station..."

"Oh no," Jai evidently realized where he was heading.

"Someone would have to ram Kalar's Star Destroyer and take out the generators and the prison," Vyi looked up at Jai. "Its the only thing big enough we have. There's no time to find another way. If I can get onto the Destroyer-"

"Wait, you?!" Jai interrupted. "When you said death I was picturing a heroic sacrifice, maybe by me. I think I'd be good at a heroic sacrifice. But you're just a kid. You don't even have a connection to Ezra. You have no reason to be on this mission. You're not going to die because of it-"

"Jai, please," Vyi whispered. "Waylen meant everything to me. I've thought he was dead this whole time, but now he's still alive. But whatever that is... that's not my brother. I can't live like this, knowing he's out there. Its my fault that the virus didn't work. This should be me."

Loud footsteps echoed through the hall. Waylen. "We can argue about this later," Jai grabbed his arm. "Lets just get to the Star Destroyer before your evil brother murders us both."

"Okay," Vyi breathed. That was the best answer he was going to get. So he allowed Jai to drag him down the halls once more, all while steeling himself that these were going to be his last few moments alive.