Chapter 1 - Thrown Through Time
Plot: It was an ordinary mission... until it wasn't. Anakin finds himself in a parallel universe where everything is the same... except everyone he knows are Sith. And in another time, in Anakin's time, a Sith-raised Anakin opens his eyes to a world of Jedi.
Author's Note: Just so it's clear from the start, the first scene is going to be with Jedi Anakin thrown into the Sith reality, and the second will be with Sith Anakin into the main reality, and it's gonna alternate, so hopefully no one will get confused. :D
~ Tirana Sorki
This is for the Obikin 2023 bingo. ^-^
PS. This will be updated every week. :)
~ Amina Gila
Sith Reality
The Force feels... wrong. It's the first thing Anakin realizes even before he opens his eyes and consciousness slowly fades back in. It feels dark. So dark that the sensation is enough to take his breath away. It's – what in the galaxy happened?
A familiar presence brushes against his, and Anakin looks up from where he lies on the ground – he was knocked out in an explosion, he thinks – spotting the figure instantly. Except... instead of the brilliant light in his padawan's presence, she feels dark. It's not like she was on Mortis, either. It's something entirely different.
"Master, are you alright?" she asks, crouching beside him. The golden of her eyes freezes him in place, an icy dread washing over him.
"Wh – Ahsoka, are you – what's happening?" He pushes himself upright, looking wildly across the battlefield.
"Why are you..." Ahsoka frowns. "Why can't I feel the Dark Side in you?"
"Why do I feel it in you?" he retaliates, scrambling to his feet and backing away. This feels like something out of one of his worst nightmares. Maybe it is, but the darkness in the Force is too real.
He senses the concern pouring off her in waves. "I don't understand, Master," she admits.
Anakin's gaze is drawn to where his lightsaber hilt lies on the ground and calls it to him with the Force. The kyber crystal in it feels strangely wrong, as if it's crying. Oh, no. Hesitantly, he ignites it, flinching when a blood-red plasma blade shoots out the end. "Why's it red?" Anakin blurts out half hysterically. "It's supposed to be blue!"
"Blue?" Ahsoka asks, her expression one of almost-disgust. "Don't be silly, Master. Blue is a Jedi's color."
"You're a Sith?"
"Master, are you alright?" Her yellow eyes are filled with a mixture of confusion and concern.
"No!" he exclaims frantically. He's never been so lost and confused in his entire life. Is he dreaming? "What in the name of the Force is going on here?!"
"A battle?" she asks, eyeing him. "You were knocked out in the explosion. You know what? I'll just call Lord Kenobi."
"WHAT?" Anakin all but screams.
His not-padawan spares him a curious glance, pressing a button on her comm. "Lord Kenobi, something's happening to Anakin. You might want to get over here."
The very familiar voice crackles over her comm with an, "I'll be on my way", but something about his presence, too, is wrong. It feels dark. Obi-Wan's never dark, and – and if Ahsoka is a Sith, and he might be too, and where in the world is he? This isn't the galaxy Anakin knew, and it's not where he belongs. It's... a different reality?
He only has a few minutes to ponder it, during which Ahsoka studies him warily, before Obi-Wan arrives. He's dressed in black, which looks jarringly out of place. What hits him hardest is the darkness swirling around him, in stark contrast to the light Anakin is so used to. And his eyes are golden.
Anakin is hit by the sudden urge to run, to get out, because this is so wrong, and he doesn't know how to react. His hands tighten on his lightsaber, but he doesn't back away; he's long since learned it's considered a sign of weakness.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan greets him, warily.
The instinctive part of him wants to reply with 'Master' but he refrains, because this is a Sith. He shouldn't call a Sith that.
"He's half out-of-it," Ahsoka declares flatly.
"I'm in the wrong place," Anakin snaps back.
"Calm yourself," Obi-Wan instructs, stepping forwards. It only serves to further his panic, because it's such an Obi-Wan-like thing to say, but he's a Sith. He's – how is it even possible? "Are you injured?" he asks.
Anakin shakes his head. He doesn't think he is, anyway, at least nothing notable.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"The battle?" Anakin glances around the area again. It's the same as he remembers, so why...?
"Yes," he confirms, shooting a questioning glance at Ahsoka.
The Force feels so dark, and in the moment of silence it overwhelms him again. "This is crazy," Anakin groans. "It's impossible. You –" Suddenly, it occurs to him that both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka are Sith, and the Clone Wars is still clearly going on. There were only two Sith before, and... here, it seems like there's more, which means... No. Absolutely not. It's too outlandish. "What's happening?" he demands. "The Clone Wars is happening... right?"
"Told you so," Ahsoka sing-songs, smirking when Obi-Wan glares at her.
"They are," he confirms.
"I'm in the wrong universe," Anakin states flatly. "You're not supposed to be Sith. This is insane."
"Of course, we are." Ahsoka gives him an odd look. "We always have been. Well, you weren't always, but we were."
No. This cannot be happening.
"We should return to Coruscant," Obi-Wan states. "The Council can figure this out."
He doesn't know if he should laugh or cry; maybe a bit of both. The Council are Sith now? And Obi-Wan wants to take him back there to face them. "No," Anakin objects sharply, backing away. "They – they're Sith?" He tries to imagine Master Yoda as a Sith and can't quite manage it. He can't say he'd be terribly surprised about Windu, but...
"What was it like in the place you're from?" Obi-Wan asks.
"You were my Jedi Master," Anakin answer slowly. "Ahsoka was my padawan. Dooku is the only known Sith of my time."
"And one of the only known Jedi of ours," Ahsoka chirps. "Ventress is the other."
No way. This cannot be possible. Anakin stumbles backwards, mind whirling. This cannot be happening to him. Everyone he knows are a bunch of Sith? How is he supposed to get back home? And what happened to this world's version of himself? Hopefully, he didn't land back in Anakin's reality.
"I would recommend sitting down for this," Obi-Wan states dryly. "You have nothing to fear, Anakin."
They're Sith. Obi-Wan is a Sith Lord, apparently, and it would maybe help a little if he was able to trust them, but he can't. Not after the Hardeen incident only a month ago. If Obi-Wan is a Sith that means they're enemies, and – and they're on opposite sides of the conflict, and Obi-Wan won't hesitate to hurt him, and Anakin really, really doesn't want to fight him again, not now, not ever. And the Council... "No!" he protests, "You can't – I can't go back there."
"They can be reasonable," Obi-Wan promises. Anakin gets the feeling he's trying to be gentle and soothing, but it's having the opposite effect. It doesn't help that this isn't his Obi-Wan, so he has no idea if his not-former master has other intentions.
"Like Dooku was reasonable every time I ran into him?!" Anakin yells.
"You're not our enemy. You're my apprentice." Obi-Wan approaches him. "No harm will come to you."
"I once thought that about the Jedi Council," Anakin retaliates sharply, "And I was wrong."
"They may be highly unreasonable," Ahsoka interjects, "But they will listen, Master."
It's unsettling to hear a Sith call him that. "How do you know they won't decide I'm their prisoner?" he asks bitterly.
Obi-Wan's expression darkens. "The Jedi have harmed you, haven't they?"
"What? No, they – they wouldn't."
"What are you afraid of?"
His first instinct is to deny it, but it's too obvious. His heart is pounding, and his breathing quick enough there's no way they couldn't notice. "I don't know how I ended up here."
"The Force brought you here," Obi-Wan replies. "What we don't know is why or how."
Great. So, this mess is the Force's fault, apparently.
There's something... knowing in the other's eyes, suddenly. "May I touch you?"
Anakin narrows his eyes. It's a strange question, and most of all, he's being asked it by a Sith, who likely has ulterior motives. He has no idea what he means by this. "Why?" he asks, sharply.
Obi-Wan's expression doesn't change, though Anakin definitely feels a flicker of... something in the Force. He steps forwards, slowly. Anakin stands his ground, stubbornly refusing to move away, even as something inside him twists with apprehension. Obi-Wan's hand lays on his shoulder, his touch surprisingly gentle.
Anakin flinches, anyway, suddenly unable to shake the memories of what happened not so long ago. He'd only recently gotten out of the medbay from... Orondia and the Festival of Light, after all. He tries not to think about it, because it hurts too much, but it doesn't change how this isn't his Obi-Wan, and it's really someone Anakin doesn't know.
"Sit," he orders, guiding Anakin to some nearby rocks.
He complies, reluctantly, simply because he doesn't have the energy to keep standing. He's exhausted from the battle – it must have taken longer than he thought – and this situation is not helping.
"There must be some reason the Force brought you here," he says, which... yes, there must be, but Anakin can't begin to fathom what it is. "I will speak with the Council. They may be able to help."
Sith don't help, but Anakin doesn't dare point that out. He can't think about anything except how Obi-Wan is too close, and he feels too dark, and he just wants to get away from that, to go back home and get as far as possible from whatever in the galaxy this is.
"You should come back to the ship," Ahsoka suggests. He doesn't want to go anywhere with these Sith, but... he doesn't have anywhere else to go.
**w**
Jedi Reality
Something is not right. Anakin can feel it in the Force, pulsing around him. The Dark Side always answers strongly to his call – especially now with the war going on, when there's so much constant death and destruction – but right now, the Force feels Light. Far Lighter than he's ever felt before, than should even be possible, especially since he can still feel the chaos of the war surrounding him.
Maybe he really did hit his head a little too hard this time, in the explosion he was caught in.
Anakin opens his eyes with a quiet groan, gaze promptly landing on Ahsoka. But... something's very, very wrong with her, because why are her eyes not golden? Why does she feel so Light, instead of Dark?!
"Master?" Ahsoka calls, a touch of wariness in her voice, "Are you... alright? Why do you feel so..."
"Ahsoka?" he queries, studying her, equally wary. Why are her eyes so blue? It's not that he hasn't seen her eyes blue before. He has, but only when they spend one-on-one time together with each other. And sometimes... with Rex and the boys, though that's not something they ever talk about.
"Why are you – you're... using the Dark Side?" she asks, almost incredulously, taking a step back when he slowly pushes himself into a sitting position.
"Why aren't you?" Anakin demands. This doesn't make any sense. What's going on?!
"... are you alright, Master?" she questions, crossing her arms, "Did you hit your head? Because this isn't funny."
"I don't know. What's happening here?" he asks, desperately scanning his surroundings. The battle looks exactly the same as it did when he was thrown down in the explosion, so he doesn't understand at all.
And that's when something else occurs to him. His lightsaber feels strange. It's humming with a strange sense of serenity that he's never felt before, and he pulls it out, activating the blade.
Except, instead of being red, it's blue. What?!
"A battle?" Ahsoka asks, raising an eye marking, "What are you... doing?"
"Why is this blue?!"
"Why wouldn't it be blue?" She's starting to look as freaked out as he feels now himself, and that inexplicably makes him feel bad. Sith aren't supposed to feel bad about those things, or really anything, but Anakin has never been like most of them. Even if he tries.
Reaching out with the Force, he can tell Ahsoka's crystals feel of the same serenity too, and that means... The only crystal he's ever felt like that was Dooku's on Geonosis – the traitorous Sith turned Jedi. Wait –
"Why don't I just call Master Kenobi," Ahsoka decides, pushing a button on her comm.
"What?" Anakin demands, voice rising, "What do you mean 'master'?"
"Master Kenobi, something's happening to Anakin. You might want to get over here," she calls, before looking up at him again.
"I'll be on my way," Obi-Wan's familiar voice replies, except he feels strange, too. He feels of rain as always, but it's not dark. It's strangely light in a way it definitely shouldn't be. What's happening?!
"...Why are you calling him that?" That is not his title. Not unless –
"What else would I call him?" Ahsoka replies, looking hopelessly confused, and even more freaked out than before.
"... Lord?" That's his title, after all.
"What?!" Ahsoka huffs out a breath, taking another cautious step away from him. "Okay, why don't we just wait until he gets here."
None of this makes any sense. Even the Force itself feels entirely different, and it... shouldn't. It should never feel this Light, and for a terrifying moment, he has to wonder if he's in... another reality. He must be. That's the only way of explaining how any of this is possible, because it shouldn't be. These things couldn't have changed, especially not so fast, without him knowing.
It feels like both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka are Jedi, after all, a theory that's only proven further when he sees his former master approaching, except instead of the usual dark robes, he's wearing a lighter tan.
And it looks so wrong.
Obi-Wan's eyes are blue, too, weirdly enough – it's not that he never saw his master's eyes as anything other than yellow before, but it was rare. He can't actually remember the last time it happened. Maybe sometimes, when they were both a little younger, before Obi-Wan started becoming so well-known among the Sith. Maybe, if there was a time he looked at Anakin with anything other than possession.
But Ahsoka called him master. How can Anakin know this version of him won't be... worse?
"Anakin," Obi-Wan states, an obvious note of wariness in his voice.
"He thinks we should be calling you Lord. I don't know what happened to him," Ahsoka calls.
"I'm in the wrong place," he snaps, heartrate picking up as Obi-Wan moves a little closer. He has no idea what's about to happen now. He doesn't know how Jedi would treat a captured Sith, and he doesn't want to.
"Are you injured?" Obi-Wan asks, crouching in front of him.
"I – don't know." Because he has no idea if he's hallucinating all of this and has completely lost his mind, or if he's actually... somewhere else somehow. But this is so confusing, and he doesn't see why the battle had to get even more complicated, when they were having a hard enough time fighting as was.
Obi-Wan frowns, looking as though he's considering moving closer, but then decides better of it. "What happened?"
"I don't know," he bites out. He has no idea, and –
"He woke up acting crazy," Ahsoka replies, flatly.
"You're both Jedi!" he yelps, "We're supposed to be Sith!"
Obi-Wan and Ahsoka share a glance. "I see what you mean," his master says, dryly, before turning back to him, "What's the last thing you remember?"
"The battle?"
"Then why are you suddenly a Sith?" Ahsoka demands.
"I believe... I'm in the wrong reality?" he guesses, gaze darting around again. That's only thing that could explain this, as outlandish as that is. But it makes more sense than... everyone he ever knew randomly becoming Jedi.
"We should take this to the Council," Obi-Wan decides, "They can determine what to do."
The Council. The Jedi Council? Because apparently, somehow, in this reality, they have enough members for a Council? He can't – can't – let them know he's here. The Sith Council were so wary about him in his reality, and if he's outright on the opposing side here, he doesn't want to know what will happen. "No," Anakin objects, standing sharply.
Obi-Wan stands as well, taking a step back. "Anakin, the Council will know what to do."
"No," he repeats, panic clawing its way into his chest. "They can't know."
"They can find a way to... reverse this."
There's nothing he wants more than that, but it's not a risk he's going to take. How would the Council know how to do that, anyway? It's not like something of this nature has even been heard of before. "They're Jedi," he retorts, "I am what they've always hunted."
The Jedi nearly wiped out the Sith in his time a thousand years ago, but eventually, the Sith had been able to gain the upper hand, completely destroying them instead. Only ten years ago they found out that apparently some Jedi were still around, likely still bent on destroying them. He can't imagine a galaxy where everyone he knew as Sith are Jedi now, and –
"You're not our enemy, Anakin," Obi-Wan replies, in what sounds like an attempt to be soothing, but Anakin knows better than to trust it. "None of us understand what happened here."
"That won't matter," he snaps. Not if the Jedi here are anything like Dooku, and he doesn't want to find out.
And even if they're not, he knows better than to trust them. He doesn't trust anyone anymore. He trusted the Sith one time, long before he had any idea what they were really like. He was a child, blinded by rumors. He didn't... know.
"They will not... harm you, if that is what you fear," his not-master assures. It does very little to help. "The Jedi are not like the Sith."
"That doesn't make them better," Anakin retorts. Instincts are dangerously close to kicking in, to just do what Obi-Wan tells him to and let him... take control, the way he was always so instant on doing, but considering that this is a Jedi, Anakin can't do that. He has to... fight him. He should have already.
Obi-Wan in this place would have already. He would have known what to do.
He wouldn't even be thinking about letting the Jedi take custody of him, because it seemed easier than the alternative. But... Anakin can't leave, can he? It's not as if he has anywhere he can go, unless he can find the Sith of this reality. But he has no reason to trust them, either.
"Is there a war here?" Anakin asks finally, bluntly.
"The Clone Wars," Ahsoka answers.
"The Separatists are – is Dooku their leader?" he asks, warily.
Ahsoka nods. "He's the only known Sith here."
Dooku's the Sith. Of course – it would make sense. If he's the only Jedi in Anakin's time, he'd be the only Sith here, and there's no way Anakin can go to him. It doesn't matter if they're both Sith. He could never trust Dooku, and that leaves him with no idea what to do.
"There must be some reason the Force brought you here," Obi-Wan points out, "Even if we do not know why or how. Likely, there is a way to reverse it, but we must return to Coruscant."
"No," he repeats again, sharply, even if the argument feels pointless because this Obi-Wan isn't going to change his mind, "I'm not going there."
"The Council is reasonable, Anakin." He's visibly annoyed now, and Anakin can't help flinching back from him. Not even his Obi-Wan would outright hurt him, but he... can't help it. He can't stop being afraid he might. Was that true here, too? "There's nothing to be afraid of."
Anakin's eyes narrow. "They'll kill me."
"This is a different situation," Obi-Wan objects, "And regardless of whatever was true in your reality, the Jedi don't execute people."
How can I know you're not lying, Anakin doesn't ask. "They'll still imprison me," he protests, even if he knows that... that arguing is pointless at this point. If he's not going to give in, he needs to fight or run now. Not keep talking.
"Not if you're cooperating," Obi-Wan argues, "It is already quite apparent you do not know how ended up here."
"Why don't we go to the ship?" Ahsoka advises, gaze darting between them.
Right. Because it's not like they'll let him go anywhere else. For a moment, he finds himself contemplating lashing out and running, but that's not realistic. He has to go with them. And... he can't leave them, either.
Yes, his attachment to them is a weakness, but he can't stop it.
"Come," Obi-Wan orders. The commanding note in it makes it hard to even consider refusing, even if he tries reminding himself that this isn't his Obi-Wan, so he doesn't have to listen to him. Still, it feels like there's little he can do but follow as they head for the shuttle waiting nearby.
**w**
Sith Reality
He isn't feeling any better than he already does when he arrives on Coruscant. Worse, actually, because the Dark Side hits him full force only when he sees the Temple. All he knows without a doubt is that he does not want to be anywhere near there if his life depended on it.
He just wants to – to run, but he can't because Obi-Wan and Ahsoka are already there with him, hovering far too close. "They want to speak with you in person," Obi-Wan tells him – as though he hadn't already guessed that.
But somehow, he doubts there will be much talking worth speaking of. He's going to see a Council of Sith, when the Jedi here are the ones hunted. He can't imagine that, and he can't deny that he's terrified of what they're going to do to him. He remembers with far too much clarity everything Dooku did to him – all things he wishes he could un-remember.
He can't bring himself to respond; it feels like he can hardly breathe.
"Anakin, it'll be fine," Obi-Wan assures, "We're not your enemies."
"You're Sith," he grits out, "I'm a Jedi. There is nowhere here that we are not enemies."
"You are still my apprentice."
"I am not. I am not even from here."
Obi-Wan stops walking, turning to face him suddenly enough that his heart nearly stops. "You're still Anakin, either way."
He doesn't really know what to think of the look in his master's eyes when he says it. There's something... possessive about it that he's never once seen in Obi-Wan before, and it's terrifying to see it now. It's hard to look at him and see the way his eyes burn yellow.
"They will not... see it that way," he says quietly – it comes out more of a whisper than he intended. At least not if they're anything like they were in his time. He still can't imagine them as Sith. He can't help flinching again when Obi-Wan makes a move towards him.
"Go on," he commands, "I'll be right with you."
That does little to nothing to calm his racing heart, but Anakin can do nothing except step inside, keeping his gaze down at the floor. He does it every time he's in the Council chambers. It's instinctive, but... it's much worse now.
He doesn't dare look to see if the Masters are the same. He doesn't want to know if Yoda's here. Somehow, that would be far more shocking than Windu.
"Lord Kenobi told us what happened." Oh, yes, it is Windu. Anakin almost thinks that's worse, because he really doesn't want to be dealing with the said Jedi Master now Sith Lord. He, least of all, will be understanding of the situation.
Anakin nods, gaze down. He doesn't look up from the spot on the floor. He can't help thinking it looks disturbingly similar to the one in the Jedi Temple.
"Explain this to us, in your terms, you should."
He bites his lip to withhold whatever sound nearly escaped him at hearing Yoda's voice. "I have nothing to add. I appeared there. I – I don't know how."
"Appeared?" Windu repeats dubiously.
"I don't understand what happened." He wishes he could somehow pull himself together and... something. Anything, except just stand here and panic while knowing how pathetic it is and how much it's like what the Sith want.
"You say you're from a reality where all of us here are Jedi?" It's Mundi this time, and he sounds suspicious.
"Yes –" He hastily cuts off the instinctive urge to add "master'. He will not address Sith like that.
"How do we know they didn't send you here intentionally?" Windu demands.
"Why would I choose to be here?"
"That is the question we are asking you."
He knew this would happen. They aren't listening – they never did as Jedi either. "I do not wishto be here. I belong where I came from."
"And," Windu repeats, "You expect us to believe that a Jedi came here accidently?"
"How would I have found a way through... realities?! I did not know it was possible!"
"You are – were the Sith'ari," replies Mundi, "If anyone were powerful enough to do it, it would be you."
Sith'ari –
That – is that the word for Chosen One for the Sith?!
"Sith'ari," Anakin repeats slowly. "We don't have that where I'm from."
"Then what do they call you?" It's Obi-Wan this time.
"The Chosen One," he replies numbly.
"Destined to destroy the Sith the same way the Sith'ari is the Jedi?" Windu asks coldly.
No, this is bad. Suddenly, he has a very, very bad feeling about where this conversation is going. Even so, he can only nod. If he lies, that's going to get much, much worse.
"And you still expect us to believe you're coming here was an accident?"
"I am not here to fight you," he protests.
"Yet you have not given us any proof of that."
"What proof can I give you?" He can't help his desperation now. It feels like they've already decided one whatever it is they're planning to do to him, and he doesn't want to know what.
"The truth," Plo advises, and Anakin can't believe he's a Sith, too. Plo was... kind. Anakin can't imagine him being dark.
"I already told you –"
"You expect that will be enough for us to let a Jedi walk out of here?" Windu demands.
No, no – He knew this would happen, and what are they planning to do?! He looks up instinctively to Obi-Wan, as he... often does in the past in such situations, only to remember that this isn't his Obi-Wan – especially not when all he can see is twelve pairs of yellow eyes boring down on him.
"We should interrogate him," Mundi suggests.
"I do not believe he knows more than he has already told us," Obi-Wan objects.
"You will always speak in his favor," Mundi retorts.
"Unclear on this matter, the Dark Side is," Yoda interjects. How many times has Anakin heard Yoda say things like that?
"We will take him to the interrogation room," Windu says, and they all stand.
Anakin flinches back – it's the first time he hasn't been able to reign it in, but he knows there's nowhere he can go to hide. There's nowhere he can go that's safe. The Sith will find him there, and it's not as if he'd make it far, and all he'd do is make them angrier.
He can't run, and he can't fight – there's way too many and they have him surrounded. And Obi-Wan isn't doing anything to... stop them. Not that he expected otherwise. This isn't his Obi-Wan. He's a Sith.
So, he doesn't know why it still hurts.
Obi-Wan is the first one to reach him, taking his arm far too gently considering what's about to happen. "Come," he says, as though it's a request, as though Anakin even has a choice.
His heart is hammering harder as they lead him out of the Council chambers. He can't help wondering what if he just tried running, because even if he might not get far, at least he wouldn't be trapped here.
He wouldn't even make it though, would he? And then it would just be worse –
But seeing as he's probably about to be... whatever Sith do when they want to force Jedi to talk, he doesn't think things could get a lot worse.
**w**
Jedi Reality
The trip to Coruscant goes far too quickly, considering everything. He doesn't say anything to the others on the way, though they're obviously keeping a close eye on him. That doesn't stop how he's dreading every moment of this, especially when he finally arrives on Coruscant, to feel how the Light Side lingers so strongly in the air, as opposed to back... home.
He just wants to find a way back.
And apparently, the Jedi Council are probably his only hopes at that. It's insane. He doesn't even know how it happened – the Jedi are never going to help him. He's a Sith. And maybe it's not all wrong that they hate the Sith, because he... can understand that sometimes, but he's still their enemy.
No, they're not going to be like the Sith Council.
But like he told Obi-Wan, that doesn't mean they'll be any better.
"Are you okay?" Ahsoka asks, pausing and glancing up at him. There's thinly veiled worry in her eyes, and it makes his heart clench painfully. She shouldn't be worried about him. Doesn't have a reason to be. But admitting otherwise is a weakness, and he can't let it show. Not even to her.
"I'm a Sith," Anakin replies shortly.
"You are still Anakin," Obi-Wan reminds, pausing. But he doesn't look anything like the master Anakin knew. He's... somehow colder, and it hurts. "Even if there is something more here happening that we do not understand."
Yeah, tell them that, he wants to snap, but he holds it back. Outright antagonizing Obi-Wan would be the dumbest thing he could do. He already knows that. Same for the Council. That doesn't mean he's not going to make it perfectly clear that he is a Sith, and he won't be ashamed of his beliefs. (He already is, actually.)
Ahsoka stands right outside the door when Obi-Wan leads him inside. Right outside, as he knows he would be if their roles we were reversed, if – but it doesn't matter. This isn't his apprentice, even if she looks the same.
He's careful to keep his eyes down when he walks to the center of the room. Obi-Wan moves to his seat – it's even in the same direction. But he doesn't want to see if all the Sith Lords are Jedi Masters here.
"Told us what happened, Master Kenobi did," Yoda says. Because he's a Jedi, too? "Explain this to us, in your own terms, you should." His voice sounds soft. Too soft, because Anakin can feel the tension and suspicion in the room. He doesn't like it. It feels like their decision is already made.
"I was fighting," he answers. They want the full story from him, don't they? "Then I – I think I lost consciousness. I'm not sure. All I know is that I was waking up here by... my apprentice." What should he call her, anyway? Her name? Her title? Should he give away that they were on first name basis? Probably not? The Sith Council would've been angry. Anakin can't risk her like that, not even this version of her.
"What did the surroundings look like?" Windu. Force. He was literally the darkest of the Sith.
"The same." Do they want more? How much do they want? He has no idea how to read this.
"So, you believe you woke up here?" Windu deduces, and he nods, still not looking up. He wishes he could do something other than being small and unnoticeable and –
"How do you expect us to believe that you were not sent here intentionally, or that you are not collaborating directly with the Sith?" Windu asks, and Anakin's head snaps up.
"I – I'm not. I just came here. I'm not even from here. I don't –" He should calm down. Somehow. Drawing on the Dark Side right now is probably a bad idea. To be fair, whatever he does or says is probably a bad idea.
"You claim to be from a reality where we are all Sith," Mundi replies, "Yet you have given us no reason to believe your words."
"How could I?" Anakin asks, disbelievingly, "I already gave you everything I could. I –"
"If this is true, how can we know that your presence isn't intentional?" Windu asks.
It's stupid and childish how much he wants to cry right now. Obi-Wan usually defends him if the Council is getting too aggressive. He's not now, though. Because he sees Anakin as a traitor, too. "I don't know anything about this – reality jumping, or whatever it was. I would have no way to –"
"We know you are the Chosen One," Mundi replies. Is... that this universe's version of the Sith'ari? Somehow, that just makes his fear grow even more.
"The what?" he echoes, anyway, because he's not fully certain. And these things are too important to guess.
"The prophecy of a Jedi who is said to destroy the Sith," Windu explains, "Though there is much doubt to the truth of this... legend."
He bites his lip. It's not like he'll dare confess the Sith have a similar prophecy of the strongest Sith to live, who will give them more power than ever before.
"If there were any Sith powerful enough to break through barriers in reality, it would be you," Mundi concurs, eyes narrowed.
"We are already at war in my reality. Why would we start one here?" Anakin protests. It doesn't even make sense, and he doesn't understand... Well, yes, he does. He already knew they weren't going to listen to anything he has to say, any more than the Sith Council did. And it's worse when he's actually their enemy.
"Do they have something of this nature in your reality?" Obi-Wan asks. Of course, he just had to ask the worst possible question which will only put Anakin in an even tighter place.
"They... call me the Sith'ari," he answers. Breathe, he tells himself. Don't panic. Nothing will stop that though.
"Meaning?"
"That I am to... destroy the Jedi and make the Sith more powerful." There's no point lying, or they'll feel it. "Though the Sith there do not believe me... strong enough to fulfill it." It's a useless addition – though it's true – in the hopes of calming them, but he doesn't think it helped at all, if they way their emotions flux to greater suspicion is anything to go by.
"And yet, you expect us to believe you're coming here was an accident?" Windu demands.
Tamping down on his fear is pretty much impossible now. "I am not here to fight you."
"We need proof of that." It's Shaak Ti this time, and it's so jarring to see her as a Jedi.
"What proof could I give you?!" Aside from the fact that if they truly believe him capable of killing all ten thousand Jedi in the Temple, they must be truly as weak as the Sith teach. He's relatively certain that will make them all angry if he points it out, though.
"Even so, you must know we cannot let a Sith walk free," Plo replies, apologetically.
Of course,they would do this. He knew it would happen, but that does little to stop his spiraling fear. He has no idea what being imprisoned by the Jedi would be like, and he doesn't care to find out. "I have no intention of... fighting you," he objects, "I only seek to return to my reality."
"Find a way to reverse this first, we must," Yoda state.
"Until then, you will be held in the Temple," Windu replies, and Anakin jolts back when he hears some of them moving. They're going – going to keep him here. The Jedi won't – probably – go as far as hurting him as he knows the Sith would, but they can... do worse. There is always worse they can do if they tried.
They probably already figured out how close he is with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, considering he was willing to come back here, and they will no doubt use that to their advantage. He should've left when he could have. Even now, he could try. But how far would he get? He could cause a lot of damage, sure. But he could never get through all the Jedi here and out. Even if he could, he has nowhere to go.
Still. It feels like he's entirely alone here, and he is. He always has been, but this isn't even his place.
Anakin glances towards Ahsoka as he's led out, though she doesn't outwardly react. Her eyes follow him, but she doesn't move to stop it. Not as if there would be anything she could do, anyway.
There's nothing more he can do either, as the Jedi Council lead him away. (He should've guessed Obi-Wan would let them do it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.) He wouldn't want her to get involved and hurt because of it. But really, now Anakin can only wonder if he's ever going to be allowed out of this place, or if he'll... see his family again. Not that these people are really his family anymore. Not as if they were exactly before, either.
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