Chapter 19 - Calling Out Your Name
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~ Amina Gila
Anakin knows, logically, there is only so far and so fast they can run. The pathway they were on fades rapidly up to the branch they came off in the first place.
"The safest place should be a central path," Qui-Gon calls.
"What is the central path?!" Obi-Wan yells back. He's scared, too, and it's so jarring to hear him panicking.
"We don't have long to find out," Anakin calls back. The walkways are so narrow it makes it increasingly difficult to make his way around and through everyone. Luckily, they have Wrecker here because he's the only one who can carry Artoo efficiently.
"Shouldn't you feel something?" Padme inquires, "I thought Jedi could feel things like this."
"No one was polite enough to offer us a compass," Asajj snips.
Somehow, Anakin doesn't think they have anywhere to run. Doesn't even know why he thinks that. He just... does. It's more of an instinctive knowledge than anything else. He has no idea how to find a way back to his reality from here. He thought it would look... different somehow.
"We need to find the doorway into the multiverse," Anakin says, and when he reaches out, he can feel his own reality's presence far closer than previously, though still out of reach. Maybe he can...
The doorway into the World Between Worlds was so hard to find. It was hidden, closed off, and Anakin can't imagine the same wouldn't be true about the multiverse. That should be even harder to find. Reality walking isn't something the Jedi have ever heard about. To Anakin's knowledge, it's not something anyone has ever done before. He has no idea how severe the effects are. Anything he could say would just be speculation.
All he knows is that it's guaranteed to be dangerous, and it's not safe here, though Anakin has no idea what is safe anymore.
All around them, paths are fading, portals are shattering.
The entire world is falling apart. Probably, their presences out here are what sped this up. That's just a guess, though.
He has no idea where they need to go now, but they need to keep moving.
Anakin has no idea how long it is. All he knows is that it takes many long, winding twists and turns as the world falls around them. He'd say they're lost, but there's no right or wrong way here, just surviving.
Most of the paths are gone now.
"Are you sure there is a way out?" Crosshair asks dryly.
No. Not anymore, no.
"I'll figure something out," Anakin promises, because he has to. That's all he's ever been good at. Can't fail now.
"You brought us all the way here without a plan?"
"None of us knew this was happening," Fives cuts in, "He didn't know any more than any of us."
"Let it go," Anakin requests, "He has a right to be afraid." Which he does. Crosshair has no reason to trust him, to think there's a chance of survival. He isn't himself anymore and hasn't been for a while. It's not his fault. Anakin wouldn't blame him even if it was. He should have known this before he came. He should have focused on this instead of the Rebellion. How many people could he have helped if he had?
Definitely more than he's trying to now, if he actually knew a way to make it work.
Anakin skids to a stop as the path right in front of them starts disappearing.
"There's nowhere to go back to," Asajj calls from the back.
Force.
No.
This isn't happening.
Not here. Not now. They can't be about to die, about to fall into the void of emptiness below them, about to be ripped apart and fade away with the entire rest of their timeline.
Please, no.
Ahsoka grabs his hand.
He can feel her panic. All of them are panicking, and Anakin has no idea which way – if any way – is out. There's nowhere to go. They're trapped here.
"I'm sorry," Anakin says, because if he's going to die here, he has to say this. "I thought we could do this."
"You tried," Padme tells him, "That's what matters."
It certainly doesn't feel like it. Maybe Anakin should believe her, but he really can't. He failed all of them. He was supposed to figure this out.
"It's okay," Ahsoka tells him, her grip nearly tight enough to bruise. "I already told you. If I have to die, there's nowhere else I'd rather be."
Anakin half expects to hear a snarky comment from either Asajj or Crosshair about dying in a void, but there's nothing.
The pathway gives out beneath them, and they're falling.
Anakin reaches out, still stubbornly trying to fight against the nothingness, trying to create something of a Force-barrier around them to keep them together through whatever's coming. But there's so many people and it's hard.
He feels Obi-Wan reaching for him through their newly forming bond. It's overwhelmingly strong already, much the same way his with his Obi-Wan was when it was first forming. At the time he thought it was because it was the first bond he formed when he understood what was happening, but it almost feels like there's something more. An unnatural strength to it, but either way, it's giving him the strength he needs to do more, so they can shield everyone together.
Anakin can hear whispers, see flashes of things too fast to understand or process, but there's a million voices whispering in his mind, as if he's living a countless series of lifetimes at once.
He doesn't think they're in the World Between Worlds anymore. Maybe they are in the multiverse, but he isn't going to count on that just yet.
Anakin feels something that feels... dark. Empty. Doesn't know who or what it is, but it makes his skin crawl from wrongness. It feels like him, just somehow dead and as void as the air they're surrounded by. It's a version of him who's Fallen, who's lost everything, and he doesn't know why he finds himself briefly thinking of Aayla who he hasn't seen in probably about a year by now. Maybe this... alternate version of him knew her well?
There's something else, one where he feels... similar, and Anakin has to reach back for Ahsoka just feeling it. Doesn't even know why, just...
It feels like she's the only one he has left.
He hears himself yelling a muted "Ahsoka, stop!" and can feel himself grabbing her arm before she snaps somebody's neck, and can't help thinking he's not the only one Fallen in that reality.
There are flashes of something else, and he thinks there's a few realities where the war ended, and he got to stay with his family, and then...
They hit the ground somewhere. The Force feels different somehow. More...
It feels familiar.
It feels like home.
There are voices around him. Someone's saying something.
"The portal's still open." That's Padme. She sounds worried.
Anakin turns a little, opening his eyes. The room is dark, but he sees the painting and the portal. The Son can close it, if the Daughter opened it.
He shifts, trying to push himself up, but the world is swirling and spinning.
Artoo's beeping fades in from far away.
Someone grabs his arm – Asajj, he realizes a minute later – hauling him to his feet. "Y'know how to close this thing, Skykid?" she asks.
"Just get me to it," Anakin requests, stumbling. They're both leaning on each other, but they make it to the portal, and Anakin reaches up, pressing his hand over the Son's.
The colors shift again, fading from gold to red, and the painting slowly starts shifting back into place.
The last thing he sees before everything falls into darkness is that they've shifted back into what they were before he opened it, as if nothing happened at all.
**w**
The first thing that hits Anakin when he slowly opens his eyes is that the Force feels... quiet. It's not screaming, hurting, like it was for so many months. It's dark and chaotic like it always was during the war, but nothing like in the reality he's been in so long. It feels like it did back when he was –
Home.
Wait –
His eyes fly open, the sight of a room in the healer's wing greeting him. Back at the Temple. His Jedi Temple, not the one in the other reality. He's home.
There's a quiet rustling next to him, and Anakin turns sideways to see Obi-Wan sitting next to his bed. His Obi-Wan, the one he's missed so much all the time he's been away. He was so busy constantly he never really had time to think about it, but that doesn't mean he wasn't terrified way inside that he was never going to his Ahsoka or Obi-Wan or any of his boys ever again.
But he's back here, home finally, and the relief that floods him is enough to take his breath away. They made it back. Somehow. They actually made it back. They're here. Force. He can hardly believe this is even real, that he's not about to start falling through a void of nothingness again, or that everything isn't about to start shredding about him.
Everything here looks so bright. He forgot how bright his reality used to be, after getting so used to how dark the other one was. It's even more evidence than he's finally home.
"Obi-Wan," Anakin rasps, pushing himself upright. He's still worn out from the trip through the multiverse. It's almost ludicrous to believe it even happened, to finally be back in a reality that isn't falling apart, where he doesn't have to worry about everything and everyone around him fading into nothing. (Not that it changes that he still let an entire reality die.)
"You're awake," Obi-Wan says, practically teleporting to the side of his bed. He never smiles unless he's trying to be annoying, but he looks genuinely happy now as his hands touch Anakin's shoulders.
Force, he's missed him. Maybe their relationship is complicated, but that doesn't mean Anakin could ever imagine a world where he never saw him again, and he almost didn't. Anakin leans forwards, wrapping his arms around him. Obi-Wan returns the embrace, surprisingly tightly.
"I missed you," Anakin mumbles, voice muffled against his chest.
He hasn't been held by him in a very long time – it only happened a few times when Anakin was much younger, when he'd hugged Obi-Wan first. He... felt less comfortable about doing that as he got older, though.
Obi-Wan's hand trails down his back, pressing him closer, which... pretty much says that the feeling is mutual, because he doesn't do that. "Never do something like this again, Anakin," he replies, fiercely. "I didn't know when you were going to make it back."
He's... afraid.
It's one of those times Anakin can actually see that he... cares, even if he rarely seems to show it. "I won't," he promises, grip tightening, "I'm not going anywhere again." He doesn't ever want to tumble into a different reality again. Not as if he did a good job helping the last one, anyway even though that's what he was there for in the first place.
"You had better not," Obi-Wan replies, sounding decidedly grumpy, though there's definitely far more emotion behind it than that, "Or I will come to track you down, regardless of what it takes."
"You would have been lost," Anakin replies flatly, even if that fierceness, protectiveness, isn't something he's really ever heard from Obi-Wan before. It warms something inside of him to hear it, anyway.
"Where have you been?" Obi-Wan demands.
"... Lost in the multiverse."
He huffs. "I take it that's why you appeared out of nowhere in the Jedi Temple along with a dozen... lookalikes of people from here?"
Oh. Right. Force. "Are they alright?" Anakin asks, pulling back. Everyone made it through, he's certain, but he doesn't know if they're okay. He doesn't even know how long he's been unconscious or anything.
The way Obi-Wan hesitates for a moment only makes him instantly on edge. "They're alive," he assures, finally, "But they are..."
"What?" Anakin demands.
"Is one of them really a... version of me? As a Sith?" He sounds entirely disbelieving.
And that's when Anakin realizes he never even thought about it until right now, that the Jedi wouldn't be very happy to see him or probably Ahsoka. Maybe not even Asajj, considering who she was in this reality. Complicated is an understatement for what that's going to mean. They're technically Sith, enemies of the Jedi, and that's not going to go over well. But they're all also Anakin's family, and he's not going to stop taking care of them just because... the Jedi won't approve. "Yes. It's... a long story. I know he's a Sith, but – is he okay?"
Obi-Wan doesn't look overly appreciative at the question. "He's in the healer's wing, under watch." Something flickers in his expression, a distant longing Anakin's seen sometimes when he knows Obi-Wan's thinking about Qui-Gon. "... Qui-Gon and former Queen Amidala are recovered and waiting for you. The others have been... detained."
Wait – "Why?" he demands. He can very grudgingly understand Asajj and Ahsoka, but why the others?
"We have little reason to trust Ventress and Ahsoka appears to be a Dark Sider. Clone Force 99 has recently deserted the Republic."
They... what? Why? "I want to see them," Anakin says, moving to stand.
Obi-Wan catches his shoulder, pushing him back down. "You've been out since yesterday, Anakin. I don't believe you're in the condition to be going anywhere."
He deflates a little, even if he has no intention of backing down. It's... hard to stand up for himself here. He almost forgot what that was like in the other reality. Things were so different there, and it's relieving to be home, but there's so many things about this place that he just... wishes were different, but he already knows they never will be. But this is for his family, not himself, and he's not leaving them locked up for no reason. "I'm fine, Master. They're... I know you have reason to be suspicious of them, but I know them. They don't have any ill intentions towards any of you."
"Lord Kallous certainly implied otherwise when he awakened." The way he says the name is nearly enough to make Anakin laugh.
"You are holding him prisoner. He's not going to be happy about that."
"He's still a Sith."
"I know, but this isn't even his time. He... already killed his master in his reality to save my life. I don't think he would do anything against the Jedi here."
Obi-Wan's expression tightens. He doesn't seem very happy. Actually, he's radiating something that feels very much like... jealousy. "He is not me, Anakin. You don't know that you can trust him."
He very much just wants to facepalm right now. Instead, he reaches out hesitantly for Obi-Wan's hand. He doesn't usually do that with Obi-Wan, but he's missed him.and he's beginning to think he knows why he seems to be in a such a mood about the Sith version of him, even if Anakin can't really understand why. If he met any other version of himself, he'd... it would be weird, but it would also be freeing to have someone understand him so personally.
Obi-Wan takes his hand, lightly tracing his thumb across it.
"Master, I – I know he's not you. I wanted to help him because of who he was, but I know you two aren't the same. Are... you alright? I know I've been gone a long time, and –"
The grip on his hand tightens slightly, and Obi-Wan reaches up to his shoulder with his other hand. He's rarely this touchy. It's weird, even if Anakin... certainly prefers it. "It's been... unusual to not have you here, Anakin."
"You didn't need too much rescuing while I was gone, did you?" Anakin asks, cracking a smile.
He huffs. "I'm perfectly capable of rescuing myself, Anakin."
"I saved you ten times, Master –"
"Nine times. Cato Neimoidia doesn't count."
"I saved you from Sidious," Anakin objects. Well, Sidious might not have been about to kill Obi-Wan, but Anakin knows he was going to find a way to if he escaped. He'd have found a way to hurt all the Jedi. All he wanted was them dead.
"You didn't need to do that by sucking yourself through a hole in reality," Obi-Wan grumbles.
"I'm not the one who did that," Anakin protests, "Sidious opened the wormhole."
"My point still stands," he insists, "But I would like to hear the story of what happened in this... reality. Are you alright?"
"That would be a very long story, Master. It was... a long time to be away. I... didn't know how I would make it back for a long time, but I... was not going to stop trying. I'm fine." The reality is not, though.
"We have plenty of time to catch up."
Do they? There are probably countless things going on with Obi-Wan on the Council, but it's obvious that he wants to be around him right now and Anakin couldn't say no to that. At least not when he's not being... exhausting. That became far less frequent during the war, once Anakin wasn't a padawan anymore. "I'll tell you all about it later," Anakin promises, "But I – I need to see the others. Are they okay?" They were falling for a while. Ahsoka was panicking. They all were. He can sense them, but he needs to see them.
"I'll take you there," Obi-Wan concedes, "I can't speak for what the Council will want to do with them long-term, but there's no reason you would not be allowed to see them."
That doesn't bode very well, and he needs to... explain everything about them quickly.
"The entire Jedi Order was destroyed in that reality," Anakin starts, and Obi-Wan stills.
"What? How is that possible?"
"I don't know, but it... happened. All the young Jedi were raised as a Sith. Ahsoka was, too, but she never wanted it. She was getting Lighter. We can't treat her like a criminal when she hasn't done anything." Maybe he sounds a little desperate, but he is. "Asajj was never a Sith at all. She hasn't done anything wrong either. And why would the clones be held there? They never served the Empire. There isn't an Empire here, is there?"
"Empire?" Obi-Wan repeats, dubiously, "No, but they deserted here. The Council didn't want to take any chances, but I'll speak to them about it."
Anakin would like some serious answers about what happened, because that sounds very out of character for them. Now isn't really the time to ask, though. He wants to see everyone else, first.
"What happened to your lightsaber?" Obi-Wan asks abruptly, almost as an afterthought.
Oh. Right. "I might have –"
"Lost it again?" he asks, exasperated.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault. You cut my hand off."
"I – what?!"
Oops. Maybe he shouldn't've mentioned it. "I... was fighting with Kallous," he explains, "And it... got out of hand."
"That is not amusing," Obi-Wan says, nearly aghast, "If he hurt you that much, what makes you believe he won't do it again?"
Honestly? Anakin doesn't know that, but he still wants to give him a chance. "He... apologized. And he saved my life."
"That hardly makes it better."
"Really, Master, it's fine." No, it isn't but he doesn't know how to handle Obi-Wan being... protective like this. It's just not something he ever normally does.
"I cannot believe you're defending him after he hurt you."
(As if his Obi-Wan hasn't, even if he would never do it physically? Not that Anakin would ever say that.) "He deserves a chance, Master," Anakin replies, with a firmness he might once not have been able to argue with Obi-Wan with, but now... things are different.
Qui-Gon, Padme, and Artoo are waiting in the hallway outside when he leaves the room. There's something distinctly darker about the three of them, as though they're absorbing some of the light around them, almost. The frequency of this reality has yet to make them brighter. Now Anakin really understands what Asajj meant about him glowing.
The droid rolls up to him, beeping.
"Yeah, we made it out of there. It's good to see you again," Anakin says, patting the droid's dome. He'd shut down in the World Between Worlds, after all. Not that he'd missed much. "And there's another version of you here I have to take you to meet."
Artoo whistles, eagerly.
"Two of them now?" Obi-Wan repeats, "That is at least one too many. You don't need two droids to fly your fighter, Anakin."
Artoo beeps something unrepeatable that Anakin opts to ignore.
"Hey, at least that way I can have an extra one to keep an eye on you."
"What if –"
"No loose wire jokes," Anakin interrupts.
"I didn't say anything," he whines.
"It's good to see you awake," Qui-Gon says, approaching.
Anakin looks up at him, smiling faintly. "I hope you two are –"
"We're fine. We didn't pass out like most everyone else did," Padme interjects.
Qui-Gon exchanges a glance with Obi-Wan, though neither of them says anything. They probably already talked to each other, though Obi-Wan just seems to be feeling... almost awkward. To be fair, this isn't his version of Qui-Gon, and he knew Qui-Gon far longer than Anakin did, so he probably does feel like a totally different person to him.
He wants to say something to him about it, but now isn't really the time.
The room Sith Obi-Wan is being kept in is unmistakable, considering the Temple guards standing outside the door. They step aside to let Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Qui-Gon inside, though. Padme settles for just waiting in the hall.
The other Obi-Wan is sitting up in his head, looking exceedingly bored.
There are more Temple guards inside the room, too.
Anakin approaches the bed, relief flooding him at seeing in person that he's okay.
"I could be offended," Obi-Wan says flatly, something unsettling in his yellow eyes as he glances pointedly at the Temple guards.
"You are a Sith, and they don't know you," Anakin points out, approaching.
"That they only have twelve of them here. I could kill them if I wasn't even trying."
What?! "No, don't kill anyone," Anakin protests. Did he really need to say that in front of everyone when that's just going to make the Jedi that much less likely to let him out?
The Sith scoffs. "That will be up to the Jedi."
"This is what I mean," Anakin's Obi-Wan says, arms crossed.
"What? Disappointed that there was a version of you who could see past the weakness of the Jedi?"
"Perhaps disgusted there was a version of me who could fall this far," he shoots back.
"This... debate will solve nothing," Qui-Gon thankfully interrupts, "I offer to take full responsibility to the Council for... anything that happens if you let him out. Finding faults in one another will not help either of you."
Both of them look almost sullen at that, but Sith Obi-Wan turns his attention to Anakin.
"Are you alright?" Anakin asks quietly, before anyone can start a fight again. Though he doesn't feel comfortable talking to him with all the Jedi watching him. Everyone already knows he isn't a good Jedi and what he's doing now is only making that more obvious.
"Yes," he assures, "You're the one who strained yourself the most."
"Nothing more than what I'm used to." Maybe he's never done anything quite that extreme before – shielding a group of people while falling through the multiverse – but he's always pushed himself past exhaustion countless times before. "I need to check on the others, and I'll... be back later."
"Very well," the Sith agrees, a burning possessiveintensity in his gaze as he watches him go. Hopefully, he's not still entertaining the idea of getting Anakin as his apprentice.
**w**
Fives and Crosshair's voices are the first to reach him when he enters the prison level. They're right by the exit, and neither are they guarded – not that there's a lot to guard with the ray shield keeping them in.
They freeze up the moment they see Anakin though.
He pauses in front of the ray shield, taking them in.
Hunter's curled up in Fives' lap, and it'd be adorable if it weren't so worrying. The clones don't do that, or at least Hunter certainly didn't. His Force-presence is dim, a clear sign he's either sleeping or unconscious.
Tech is sitting right beside them, expression tight and tense. He's... unhappy. Unappreciative, anyway.
Omega's leaning on Wrecker, her eyes mostly closed, and he's at Fives' other side.
Crosshair is sitting a distance away from them, his dark armor making him look glaringly out of place. He's sitting with his arms crossed, glaring.
"Hey," Anakin says, stepping up to the ray shield.
Fives gives him a lazy wave.
Omega jolts to wakefulness, jumping up and running up to the edge of the ray shield. "Are you okay?" she asks worriedly.
"I'm fine," Anakin brushes it off, "Falling through realities was a little disorienting, but I'm fine. What's happening here?"
"Apparently," Fives says – he's furious, Anakin knows, even if he's hiding it well – "Since we're clones and the Jedi deemed our alternate selves evil, they threw us down here."
"And Hunter?" He's the one Anakin is most worried about. He's not the kind to sleep through arguments, or at least Anakin didn't think he was – considering how argumentative his brothers are, he could be wrong about that.
"The... reality warping was difficult for him to handle," Tech replies.
Anakin still doesn't follow how his senses work. Never asked. They're certainly useful, but they must be stressful. Overwhelming. Humans aren't supposed to feel that. That can't be easy, especially to fall from a dying reality into a place like Coruscant with so much electricity. "It overwhelmed him?" Anakin guesses. He had the same issues with the Force sometimes, after he started opening himself to it.
"Yes," Omega answers for her brothers, face falling a bit, "I didn't know he still struggled with that."
"Falling through reality really isn't something people are made for. Is everyone else alright?"
"Y'know," Fives replies, rolling his shoulders, "After we met you, I thought, maybe our orders were wrong. Maybe the Jedi weren't so bad. But then we come here, and the first thing they do? Is throw us down here because we're not worth their time."
Ouch.
Okay, maybe it's a bit brutal, but fair.
Crosshair is glaring at them both so hard Anakin is half certain he's going to turn the nearest object into a lethal weapon, but he doesn't budge.
"You can come out now," Anakin says, hoping that be true, "You don't deserve to be in here. The Council was just being careful." Speaking of the Council, actually, he used to have a seat on the Council. He actually doesn't know exactly what happened to it.
"Well," Fives replies, a bit snippily, "I guess I'll have to trust you on this one. The Jedi still haven't earned our respect, though."
"That is fair," Anakin agrees, "Is Hunter... able to move? Where do you want to go?"
"We have nowhere to go," Tech replies, "Where are our, how should I put this..."
"Us?" Wrecker supplies.
"I don't know," Anakin admits, "I'll have to contact Cody and see what I can find out. My master said they deserted, though that doesn't really make sense."
Fives waves a hand. "We deserted from the Inquisitor Purge and the Empire sending us after civilians. Unless the Republic here is exactly the same, it sounds like there's more to it."
No doubt there. Anakin can't imagine their desertion is one thing destined to happen in every universe. That seems far too convenient, and not in a good way.
"I'll talk to Cody, and see what I can find out," Anakin replies. "How's Hunter?"
"He'll sleep it off," Fives assures, "He always does."
That's good to hear, at least.
Before leaving the prison levels, Anakin stops at the end where Asajj and Ahsoka are being held on opposite sides of the hall, arguing non-stop about what sounds like something completely stupid, though they brighten the minute they see him.
"Can't say I like these Jedi's accommodations," Asajj says, stretching her legs in front of her, "It's a little unthankful. I'm one of them, too."
"The alternate you was a Sith," Anakin points out, "They didn't know if they could trust you."
She waves a hand. "Jedi, Sith, hardly a difference anymore. Equally inconsiderate."
"Can we leave?" Ahsoka asks.
"If you're ready, I – I think the Council would be willing," Anakin replies, "Yes."
"'bout time," Asajj huffs. Anakin has to give her a pass on her grumpiness, considering what memories being imprisoned must bring her. Definitely nothing good. Obi-Wan hurt her, and that's still not something Anakin wants to think about.
He feels better with the two of them beside him again, and he goes to call Cody first thing, because he needs to figure out what really happened to the Bad Batch in this reality.
"I can't say where they are," Cody replies once Anakin finishes explaining it, "They did desert, though we don't know why. Echo told me they were given orders to execute a Separatist, and they refused."
That definitely doesn't sound like it's the full story. "Well," Anakin sighs, "I guess I'll have to track them down myself." It's not ideal, and he needs to make sure they'll... stay safe but finding them could be a little harder than he thought.
... They do have Tech, though. He could probably figure something out.
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