Author's Note: Enjoy the revelations about this reality! :D I'd love to hear y'all's thoughts! :)
~ Amina Gila
The last thing Anakin wants is to be trapped in here with a Sith. Even if that Sith is apparently Obi-Wan. Actually, especially if that Sith is somehow Obi-Wan, because this isn't his, and he has absolutely no idea what to expect. Does this Obi-Wan even know him? What does he want with him? What's he planning to do to him?
The sheer familiarity of that voice hurts when he has no idea when he's ever going to see his Obi-Wan again. This one is Fallen, and absolutely nothing like Anakin's. He knows his master isn't perfect, but he can't imagine anything that would make him Fall.
"Do you know me?" Anakin ventures, desperately hoping for a yes. If he does, then that means that – that there is another Anakin, and that at least Obi-Wan knew him. (And maybe, it'll affect whatever the Sith has in mind to... do to him. He doesn't know how to face Obi-Wan hurting him. Not physically, not like this.)
"You're... familiar," Obi-Wan replies, studying him intently. Right now, the look is only making him uncomfortable, especially when he can't move. "But no, I don't know you."
No one knows him. No one. Would it even matter if he was gone? If he disappeared, and – Not that he can say this universe is better at all, but that doesn't have anything to do with the fact that he might not even exist here. Or maybe, he died or... something. But he can't imagine a universe where he didn't know everyone in his family. Doesn't really want to think about it.
It's hardest to look at Obi-Wan, who he's known for over half his life, and be the only one who even remembers. He doesn't know what to say to him, to – anything.
"But you know me," Obi-Wan says, moving closer. He's standing only a couple paces in front of him now. "You were asking me for help."
That.
Right.
"I thought you were someone else," Anakin replies, looking away from Obi-Wan's gaze, unable to hold it.
"Did you?" he muses, "No one knows the name I had before. How do you?"
He can't tell him that. He probably shouldn't, at least, because he doesn't need the Sith knowing about who he is. Because right now, Obi-Wan is the enemy. He can't even – begin imagining that. But there's no reasonable way he can lie his way out of answering that question, either. "I – I've heard of you before," he responds, scrambling for something to say.
Obi-Wan doesn't look particularly impressed with the answer. "Let's start at the beginning," he replies, and it's not exactly cold, but something about the tone still makes Anakin's skin crawl, "What were you doing in the Chancellor's office? And how did you get there?"
"I don't know," Anakin tells him, and it's the honest truth. Doesn't mean Obi-Wan believes him, and he has good reason not to.
Obi-Wan crosses his arms, giving him an unimpressed look. "And where were you before then?"
"Elsewhere."
"Where, specifically, is elsewhere?" Obi-Wan presses.
Anakin doesn't know how to answer that, but he needs to think fast. "Elsewhere."
"As a Jedi, I should think you're well aware of the dangers of showing up on Coruscant. What's your aim?"
"I wasn't there to fight the Empire. I haven't done anything against it," he objects, which is true, but he's just stalling. Obi-Wan's never going to believe him.
"Right," he agrees, flatly, "I take it that's how you also chanced upon the Malevolence entirely by accident."
"I... I got lost," Anakin supplies, and he knows it sounds insane, but right now, he doesn't even care. He has to say something.
"You are an anomaly in the Force, one I have never sensed before. Until after a... massive disturbance. Did you cause that?"
"No." That, at least, is entirely true.
"I find it difficult to believe that both occurring at once was a coincidence."
"I don't... know what happened," he defends. But he should probably stop, before he says too much.
"So, it's true that you just appeared in the Chancellor's office, like he claimed?"
"I don't know. I woke up there. That's not where I was before."
"And where were you before?"
"... Elsewhere." There's nothing else he can say.
"I gave you the chance to talk about this in a conversation, Anakin," Obi-Wan says, something warning in his tone.
Anakin doesn't know what throws him more – the unexpected use of his first name or the obvious threat in those words. He – he's threatening to hurt him. And he's a Sith, so of course he is, but that doesn't make it any easier. It's not his Obi-Wan, and that's the only thing that helps, even if it does little to dampen his spiking fear.
He could say something, try to distract him, but at this point it would probably only make him more upset.
Obi-Wan lifts a hand towards him and Anakin only has half a second to realize what he's about to do before the Sith's presses sharply against his mind. His shielding is too strong for Obi-Wan to break through, but it still sends a sharp stab of pain lancing through his head.
He – he's trying to invade his mind. The only thing that's always been his. The only thing no one can take from him.
It would be easier, if he wasn't looking into Obi-Wan's face, because how – how could any version of him be like this?
He can feel the rainstorm the Sith is in the Force pressing hard against his mind, trying to break through.
Obi-Wan who raised him, who took take care of him, whose bed Anakin slept by for months after first coming to the Temple when he didn't want to be alone. And for all their conflicts, he would never hurt him.
He feels their minds link for the briefest moment, long enough that Obi-Wan definitely saw something, probably about his counterpart.
Pain lances even more sharply through his mind, and Anakin shoves back against the mental attack hard.
Obi-Wan stumbles away from him physically, looking too momentarily thrown by what happened to say anything, or maybe his head is hurting as much as Anakin's right now.
The Sith's comm beeps suddenly, and he turns away, answering. "Yes?" he asks, tersely.
"Intruders have been spotted on board, sir," a clone's voice replies.
That's not good.
Unless they've already got Padme out. Hopefully they have.
Obi-Wan pauses a moment, turning to look back at him, almost as though he's looking at seeing him for the first time. He doesn't say anything, though, pulling his helmet back on, and disappearing out the door.
His head is throbbing. Anakin doesn't fully think it'll be stopping, but he's not going to worry about that right now. He needs to find a way out, and distantly, he senses Ventress's approach. It's so strange to feel her and not expect an enemy or violence, though her presence does feel significantly lighter than he's used to. No matter how dark the universe here itself may be, Ventress is light.
Maybe it's time they be on first name basis. Maybe.
"Hey, kid," Ventress's voice says, and he looks up. She's standing in front of it, smirking a bit. "You okay?"
"Couldn't be better," Anakin shrugs a little.
"Good to hear," she replies, "I'll go find our lost queen."
It's a few minutes later when the ray shield comes off, and Anakin blinks a few times when he sees a very familiar figure, so similar but so different. Senator Amidala. Padme. She looks... exactly the same as his own, but there's something... softer about her.
His heart skips a beat or two anyway when he sees her. "Padme?"
"You're Anakin Skywalker," she says, "Ventress told me."
"Where is Ventress?" Anakin queries and Padme comes in, trying to free him from his restraints.
With the ray shield off, and probably even without, he can hear the chaos outside. "Be free, my horned friends!" Ventress crows in the hall, and Anakin has no idea who she's talking to, but it's definitely not him. "Be free!! Burn the ship while you still can!"
Anakin steps into the hall, watching as a group of people she just rescued from the prison run for the doorway. Two of them are Zabraks, and oh, Force, someone tell him those are not who he thinks they are. He knows those markings, and they're a little too...
"Did you seriously set a whole group of gangsters free on the clones?" Anakin asks incredulously.
"What?" Ventress shrugs, "At least they'll be shooting at pirates, not us. Come on!"
"Was that Darth Maul?" Anakin asks, because he will never forget what Maul looked like, even if he's only seen him a few times.
"I don't know who that is, but let's move. Qui-Gon is probably playing with half the boys on the station, so we better go pick him up before this goes downhill."
Anakin's heart lurches. "Where is he?"
"Deactivating the tractor beam," Ventress answers, moving to the end of the hall and peaking around it.
Anakin glances at Padme again. He doesn't have time to dwell on the fact that he's with her again right now. She's not the one he knew, but she somehow... looks even more like the fourteen-year-old that Anakin knew than the Senator version of her was. This isn't the one he gave the japor snippet to, but it's still... her.
And Anakin is so, so glad to see her again.
He can sense she was injured, though. She was hurt. Was Obi-Wan torturing her, too? That's not something Anakin wants to think about. He already can't think about how Obi-Wan hurt him. It – it wasn't bad. He wasn't just hurting him – he was trying to find answers, and Anakin understands that he was angry. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
Clones are passing by on patrol, but the moment they're out of sight around the corner, the three of them dart out, sprinting down the hall.
Dodging patrols is going to be much harder when they're clones, not droids, but they'll have to manage it. Somehow.
They make it through a few more halls before coming face to face with two clones. Ventress flicks out a hand before they can react, throwing them into the side of the ship. It's sheer instinct to want to defend them, and it's hard to remind himself that they have to hide from them. At least they're still alive, but that doesn't mean Anakin likes this. He wants to be able to help them, but he doesn't know if there's a way to. Not on such a massive scale, at least.
Now's not the time to dwell on it, though, when they're trying to stay alive. And when Qui-Gon needs their help.
Except, when they finally find him, he's near the hangar, and Qui-Gon is approaching a familiar masked figure up ahead, who's blocking their path.
"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon calls.
Anakin stills, watching as the hooded figure slowly turns to face him. He has no idea what happened between the two of them. He wants to know, as much as he's almost afraid to. What could've happened to make Obi-Wan Fall? What –
He doesn't understand. It can't – Obi-Wan has always been Light. Yes, he might have had his... moments, but he never... It would be wrong to say he never hurt people, but Anakin can't understand how he could've reached this point.
"I've been waiting for this," Obi-Wan replies, slowly moving towards him.
For what? To meet him again? Anakin can't tell if he's happy to see Qui-Gon. He knows they were fairly close in his time, but he has no idea here, no idea what he's about to see.
"You don't need that mask," Qui-Gon says, something pained in his voice.
"What do you think you'll see if I take it off?" Obi-Wan retorts, but there's something slightly less rough about how he's talking. He... still cares about Qui-Gon. Anakin can see that now. (It hurts an unreasonable amount, that the same isn't true for him. But that isn't fair because it's not like this Obi-Wan even knows him.)
"My padawan," Qui-Gon replies, quietly.
For a long moment, neither of them, but then Obi-Wan reaches up, taking it off. "I haven't been your padawan for a long time. Back then, I was weak and foolish. I've become far more powerful since."
"He's using you, for your power," Qui-Gon replies, firmly. Anakin doesn't know who the 'he' is, but it... must mean Obi-Wan isn't the master. He didn't think so, but it's still relieving to know that he's not the one directly inciting this conflict senselessly. "He'll destroy you once he has what he wants. You know that."
Obi-Wan hesitates. "It's too late."
"No, it isn't," Qui-Gon objects, "You can leave here with me. You can come back. It's never too late for that. There is always hope in the Force."
"The Light is weak. It fails everyone who relies on it."
"It matters what side we choose. Even if there will never be more light than darkness, more joy in the galaxy than there is pain, every action we undertake, every word we speak, every life we touch, it matters. I don't turn to the light because it means I'll 'win' some sort of comic game. I turn to it because it's the Light."
"Then what good is it? I've seen what the Light has done to the galaxy, what it did to Mandalore. And I'm going to end that," he replies, hand closing around his lightsaber. Anakin's heart lurches at the sight. Is he – about to attack Qui-Gon? And what about Mandalore? What... happened?
"Obi-Wan –" Qui-Gon starts.
"That's not who I am anymore," he replies, taking a step away from him, igniting his lightsaber.
Anakin doesn't wait, sprinting out of the shadows into the hangar, drawing his own blade. He has no idea what Obi-Wan's about to do, but they have to get past him. Besides, clones are approaching. Anakin can sense it suddenly, and they need to get out before they show up.
Obi-Wan spins towards him sharply, starting forwards. Anakin lashes out, throwing him across the hangar.
He loathes himself for it, for fighting him, but it's something he'll worry about later. Deal with later. Protecting Qui-Gon – saving him – is far more important than whatever the chances of him hurting a Sith version of Obi-Wan.
The others run for the ship. Qui-Gon lingers for just a moment, watching Obi-Wan, before he jumps onto the ramp. Obi-Wan's already getting up, and they need to move.
The trip to Lost Familiar is long. Too long. Even without the tractor beam, they have a high chance of getting caught. Anakin climbs into the pilot's seat, ignoring Ventress's "hey, it's my ship!". He fires up the engine, putting full power to the engines as he sends them out, spinning away into the vacuum of space.
Ventress is in the co-pilot's seat, and Padme gets on the guns, firing back at the fighters following them.
"We don't have long before they fire the ion cannons," Anakin says, "Artoo, program the hyperdrive. We gotta get out of here."
He escaped once before, and while that doesn't guarantee he can again, this ship is fast. The one thing he has to compliment Asajj about is her taste for fast ships. She's a bounty hunter, though. Of course, her ship is fast.
Artoo beeps in confirmation, plugging in.
Anakin senses the danger before it even fires.
"Cannons are off-line," Anakin calls to the back, "I'm diverting full power to the engines." They won't have any cover, but it's better they escape somewhat damaged than not at all. At least out here, there's no debris field, though that also means no cover.
He keeps his eyes on the hyperspace route just up ahead.
"There's an energy pulse closing," Asajj confirms.
"I see it," Padme calls from the back, "It's worse than I thought. There's no way to avoid it."
"Anakin?" Asajj asks.
Anakin lets their voices fade to the back of his mind, drawing on the Force, letting it guide him.
Artoo beeps. Coordinates calculated.
Anakin yanks down the lever only milliseconds before the ion blast would have fried them.
They jolt out into hyperspace, heading back for Mustafar.
Anakin slumps back in his seat a little, heart hammering as the rush of adrenaline slowly fades.
"Huh. You actually did it, kid," Asajj says, lightly punching his shoulder. "I didn't think you'd make it."
"I've been a pilot all my life," Anakin replies, shrugging a little. "I trained for flying and mechanics when I was a padawan."
"You did well," Qui-Gon praises, briefly touching his shoulder, and Anakin's heart warms instantly. It hurts, because he wanted this so much, years ago, and he never got it, but what counts is that he's here now.
Well. It's far more complicated than that, but at least he's here. Anakin never thought he'd get this. Qui-Gon was supposed to be dead. Anakin thought he'd never see him again. That the last time he saw him, it'd be when Qui-Gon went to fight Maul, and he never came back.
He still remembers the funeral, the crushing grief that smothered the room, and how it was something he couldn't let go of even for days afterwards.
Asajj excuses herself from the cockpit, heading out to the back where Padme is. It leaves Anakin momentarily alone with Qui-Gon, and he's grateful for that, because he has so many questions, and he doesn't think it's something that will be easy for either of them to talk about.
"What... happened to Obi-Wan?" Anakin asks, finally.
Qui-Gon turns to look at him, something thoughtful and pained at once in his eyes. "You knew him, in your reality?"
"He was my master." That comes with so many emotions, so many things that Anakin really doesn't want to think about right now. He wants Obi-Wan back. He wants to see his master again, and he doesn't know how Obi-Wan could become... what he is here. It doesn't seem possible.
"When the Order fell, Obi-Wan didn't take it well. None of the surviving Jedi did," Qui-Gon begins, a barely veiled sorrow and longing in his eyes. Anakin can't begin to imagine what that would be like if it happened in his reality. He can't imagine the Order being gone. Can't imagine how much Qui-Gon – or, apparently, Obi-Wan – must've lost when it fell here. How did that even happen? "Many were slipping closer and closer to the Dark Side, including him."
Anakin can understand that, to a point. Being balanced after all that would be hard, especially with how dark the Force feels here. "But why would he join the Sith?"
"I Knighted him myself when I believed him ready," Qui-Gon says, "We parted ways after that. He wanted to fight the Empire, and I... wanted to learn more of the Force, to understand why it allowed the Jedi to fall."
Anakin wonders that too, because he knows the Order has problems – there's so many they don't help – but he knows they're trying. He can't imagine not fighting, but at the same time, it wouldn't be droids they'd be fighting. It's the clones.
He's not going to fight the clones either, but he doesn't know what he is going to do. Qui-Gon's right that the Force brought him here for a reason. He just has to find out why. He's never been without orders to follow, though. He feels lost, really. Can he really take orders from the Rebellion leadership when he doesn't trust them or know that they're entirely right, either? Especially not when Qui-Gon clearly feels similarly. It's something he'll have to think about later.
"The last I heard from him," Qui-Gon goes on, after a pause, "He was on a mission to Mandalore. The Empire was getting involved there, and Obi-Wan went in with another Jedi to help. I don't know the details of what transpired, except there were reports afterwards on the holonet of rebels massacring much of the population. I believe the other Jedi there may have... intentionally instigated conflict with the Empire, to make a point to the galaxy of what they were like. I did not see Obi-Wan again until now, but there were... rumors of another Sith. When I saw him on a holo, I knew it was him."
That... explains, maybe, how that could have happened. Anakin still can't imagine Obi-Wan becoming what he has, though. He's heard of Jedi who have fallen to similar points, even in the war – Barriss and Krell were two – but never to the point of harming the civilians they were supposed to protect.
Considering the entire Order fell, maybe it shouldn't be so difficult to imagine, but he still... can't quite.
"Obi-Wan was never Dark when I knew him," Anakin admits, "He... He was... the best Jedi I've ever known."
"He was a good Jedi, back when he was my padawan," Qui-Gon replies, "I could see him becoming a great Jedi Knight, but the darkness in the galaxy has affected everyone. Your reality is... Lighter than it is here."
There's no question about that, despite how dark things there seemed sometimes. "The war happened there, too, but the Jedi never fell. Some Jedi were losing themselves during the war, but it... was not anything like this."
He nods, expression still troubled. "Are you alright?" he asks, unexpectedly, "How did your capture go?"
Anakin looks away, the memory of the pressure against his mind still lingering. "It was fine." No, it wasn't, but Padme got out, and they're alive, and that's what matters.
He's not really surprised that Qui-Gon seems to see right through that claim, though. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No. It – it didn't get far." Yet. He doesn't doubt that it could've gotten much worse.
"I didn't realize you knew him," Qui-Gon says. "I could have told you sooner."
Not that it would've prepared him for the reality of it, anyway. "It's fine," Anakin assures, "He... doesn't even know me. No one does." And that's still something he doesn't know how to begin dealing with.
"Whatever reason the Force had bringing you here, I don't believe it will forever leave your reality unbalanced, either. This is only speculation, but I imagine there must be some way to return. I will have to look into it further."
A spark of hope flares up inside of Anakin instantly, even if he knows he shouldn't get his hopes up, yet. But he does not want to be trapped in this place forever, with his entire family gone. He doesn't want to leave Qui-Gon again after just getting him back either, but – He'll worry about it when the time comes.
Right now, knowing what he's supposed to do here would be a good place to start, though that's not something someone will be able to tell him.
"Who's the Sith Master here?" Anakin inquires.
"We don't know with certainty. We have reason to suspect it's someone who works closely with Clovis and the Banks, possibly a member of the Banking Clans, but no one is aware of his identity."
"In my reality, it... was Palpatine," Anakin ventures, much as it still hurts to think about him being a Sith, being the one who betrayed the Republic. He ended up in control of the Banks in Anakin's reality, so maybe –
"I don't find it likely," Qui-Gon replies, looking thoughtful, "Here, Palpatine is one of our contacts in the Senate. He has never given us any reason to suspect him."
That's... good to know, though Anakin is still wary. He feels wary to trust anyone here, except for Qui-Gon. He doesn't know this place, and after learning who Palpatine really was in his own reality...
Anakin might trust Padme and maybe Asajj, as strange as that is to think about. Somehow, it feels like nearly everyone he once knew is dark now, and everyone who was dark is somehow light here. He still doesn't know where he's going to go from here, but he'll just... have to take it a step at time.
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