"Disconcerting, this information is," Yoda finally said after Anakin told his story. The small Jedi Master had his fingers steepled, resting under his chin as he exhaled in thought. Obi-Wan sat next to Anakin as they were situated across from Yoda in one of the meditation rooms.

Usually, these rooms would have no lighting, except for the open blinds that would allows in slivers of light. But this time, the room was needed for privacy and the importance of the subject, Obi-Wan had emphasized.

So the lights were on, and the only furnishings inside were three cushions that the two Jedi Masters and one Senator sat on. The mute grays of the walls seemed a bit off-putting to Anakin in a way that he couldn't quite explain. He mentally shook the thought from his mind.

Back to the subject at hand, Anakin nodded, agreeing with Yoda's assessment. He idly studied the gray paint of the three walls in his line of sight. "Before yesterday, I was a Jedi Knight, preparing to meet with the Chancellor after the Temple debriefing," Anakin said rubbing his eyebrows. "I don't know a thing about the inner workings of politics."

Yoda and Obi-Wan watched him with a mix of curiosity and sympathy. Kenobi looked to Yoda. "Is there a method for a person to reconnect with the Force?" Obi-Wan asked him. Yoda could read between the lines.

"Is it possible to gain Force-Sensitivity, you are asking," Yoda replied with a grunt subtly laced with amusement. While it may be true that Anakin hailed from a different reality, the fact of the matter was that the Anakin native to this timeline at least, was not Force-Sensitive.

"Delves into theory, this line of thinking goes," Yoda admitted. "Tales of events such as these, nearly lost to time, they were," he said. He hopped down from his seat, calling his Gimer stick to his hand. Contemplating, he stared through the open window where the blinds were normally set up.

Even with all of the light shining through the window, Anakin couldn't help but feel that the room seemed more devoid of light than ever. Anakin felt a chill in the air, thought that couldn't be. He wasn't Force-Sensitive.

Yoda turned his eyes to the should be Jedi.

"With the Chain Worlds Theorem, familiar are you?"

"Chain Worlds Theorem?" Obi-Wan repeated, curiosity in his tone.

Anakin could only shrug helplessly. Even as a Jedi, he'd never heard of such a thing. "Im not really into theories. This war has just been missions back to back, as far as I can remember."

Yoda nodded in understanding, as if expecting such a response from him. Obi-Wan stroked his beard deliberately. Anakin knew he was about to explain.

"One of our associates on the council, Jedi Master Eno Cordova, wrote a substantial dissertation on the subject," he said. Anakin had never heard of the man, but it wasn't strange. There were a lot of Jedi Masters Anakin simply hadn't had the pleasure of meeting. Obi-Wan continued.

"He wasn't the one to form the initial theory...but he's expounded on the idea of pathways through time and space," he added. "Unproven as of yet," he amended, seemingly in response to Anakin's intrigued expression.

"You're talking about time travel," Anakin cut in. It wasn't a question. Yoda grunted in acknowledgement.

"Much of this information, found in the Jedi Archives, it is."

Anakin leaned forward, confused. "I know the archive has information on esoteric force abilities, but I'm sure I would have noticed something as outstanding as teleporting or time travel."

Yoda and Obi-Wan shared a look, and the diminutive master nodded at Obi-Wan, as if giving him permission to explain.

"That's because that particular information is in the restricted section of the archives."

Anakin's brows rose as he parroted the location. "Only Jedi Masters or those given permission by the Grandmaster can enter," he stated, as if pulling the rule from memory. Neither Yoda nor Obi-Wan were no longer surprised by the private details he knew of the Order.

"And to learn more about this disturbance, permission I grant," Yoda replied with finality. Obi-Wan didn't object, but his face betrayed his reservations.

"Concerned are you, Master Kenobi, hm?" Yoda asked, craning his heading to regard the bearded Jedi.

Obi-Wan blinked, regarding Yoda and Anakin. Anakin, who in another reality, may have well been his Jedi Padawan. "Im not sure if we should leave Padme out of the loop on this," he admitted. He turned to Anakin. "You said that in your reality, you and Padme have switched roles?"

Anakin cleared his throat, a bit uncomfortable at the focus being put on Padme along with him. He nodded, afraid to actually say anything, lest his voice betray something, as irrational as the thought was. Did Obi-Wan know about the marriage?

"Then there must be a connection between him and Padme that we don't have a comprehensive understanding of." Obi-Wan frowned, but didn't add anymore onto the subject.

Fierfek, he probably does know. Anakin's thoughts were racing, and he wondered if Obi-Wan, the one that he knew from his own world, actually knew about his and Padme's relationship. Trying to piece it all together was making his thoughts loop in an unending circle. Thankfully, Yoda spoke up.

"Inform her, we do not. Perhaps later, when substantial information, we do have, in regards to this anomoly."

This answer seemed to satisfy Obi-Wan while Anakin thanked Yoda profusely in his mind.


So Anakin and Obi-Wan found themselves in the Jedi Archives, with the latter having spoken to the elderly Jedi Librarian about Yoda's decision. As the door leading to the restricted section of the archives opened, Anakin had some questions persisting in his mind.

"So what exactly makes this area restricted?" Anakin asked. Obi-Wan stood to the side of the arched doorway, allowing Anakin inside first. He obliged, immediately thinking of how much larger the area was than he thought. Once Obi-Wan stepped inside, the door slid closed. They were the only two occupants, and the dark room lit up as overhanging lights turned on in sequence.

It was a massive space, the ceiling each shaped with shelves on either side containing column upon column of data tapes, holodisks, and even lockboxes with the occasional holocron. Wistfully, he observed these holocrons as they sat inert inside of locked containers, wishing he could open them, but that was impossible right now. From their surface colors, ranging from a dark red to shades of grey, he recognized them as Sith holocrons, which piqued his interest.

Obi-Wan guided him to a section of the room containing datapad files that, oddly enough, were only recently updated, as lately as just a few weeks ago.

"Master Cordova had been conducting research on an ancient race called the Zeffo," Kenobi explained, sliding out one of these data files from the shelf. "He hasn't reported any specific planets related to that yet, except one, which was only indirectly related to what we're really looking for."

He slid the tape onto the desk situated next to them, and Anakin slid it into the kiosk affixed to it. The screen lit up with information only seconds later.

"The Lothal Jedi Temple," Anakin said. Most Jedi knew of it already, but what was so important about it? He asked it aloud.

"It's not necessarily the Temple that we're investigating. It's what was hidden in there, even from the Jedi."

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan curiously as he looked at the data on the screen.

"The painting of the Ones..." Anakin read aloud. An image was displayed next to a short description of the painting and it detailed the hypothesis that it was actually a gateway of some sort. Anakin studied the image of the painting, acutely aware that he felt as if he recognized the figures depicted in the image from somewhere, but couldn't recall where.

The two figures on either side of the old man were the ones who particularly stood out to him. The woman was wearing some sort of headpiece, like a circlet and her skin was pale, but it seemed to emanate light. The opposite figure was also depicted as pale, but somehow, he looked a deathly pale, as if he we were some agent of death. Anakin shook his head and sighed.

"Alright then, we have a destination," Anakin declared, filing away his thoughts for later. Obi-Wan looked uncertain however, as he idly stroked his beard.

"The Jedi Temple on Lothal requires two force sensitives to open the Temple's entrance," he said slowly.

"Yoda can come with us then?" Anakin replied, but he already suspected what the answer would be. Yoda was the Grandmaster of the Order. He couldn't simply go on any mission, especially without an explanation to the Council.

"Even if he could accompany us, that wouldn't work."

Anakin raised a brow.

"That temple, I don't know how the original Jedi architects did it," Obi-Wan began, "But to open the entrance to it requires both a Jedi Master and their student." Anakin could practically hear the sigh in Obi-Wan's voice.

Well, Anakin thought, if he was force sensitive, this would be a no-brainer.

But he wasn't force sensitive in this reality, and it would defeat the purpose of why he was even heading to to Lothal in the first place. He pinched tge bridge of his nose.

"Pad-," Anakin coughed. "Jedi Knight Amidala will have to accompany us," he assumed. His prediction was confirmed by Obi-Wan's nod.

Anakin was tempted to bang his own head on the table. He had already felt like he was walking on eggshells around her, especially with lying by omission to her. He couldn't just walk up to her and tell her that he was her husband from a parallel universe, right? Of course not.

"We could just tell her the situation-"

"That's...not a good idea," Anakin cut in, feeling a weight in his heart. What was worse was that he couldn't even tell Obi-Wan the true reason he felt that way. If Padme of this world knew the truth...

He'd never lied to Padme before, but this was something he was sure would not fly well with her.

Obi-Wan exhaled, mild irritation in his voice, but Anakin knew it was directed at him specifically. "Well, this is your time-space problem," he relented. "I'll think of something. I'll let you know when we can depart," Obi-Wan then pulled the holodisk out from the kiosk, replacing it onto the shelf. Obi-Wan sighed again.

"I have a bad feeling about this."


A/N: Wanted to publish this chapter as it came to me. As a heads up, this story doesn't have a whole plot laid out; I'm just writing as it comes to me.