WHO: Poe Dameron and Finn WHAT: Poe arrives! WHEN: Recently WHY?: Because Poe F-ing Dameron is here! WARNINGS: Spoilers for The Last Jedi STATUS: Closed and Complete
Looking around the Millenium Falcon really made it hit Poe how decimated the Rebellion was and how a significant chunk of those losses was his fault for leaping into action without thinking through the consequences. He hated that he’d disappointed his General and that he’d made it more difficult for them to take down the First Order. It would always be his first instinct to act, but Leia was right when she told him that not every problem could be solved by jumping in an x-wing and blowing something up.
She still looked rather fragile and that had him worried. They needed her guidance, especially now, and he didn’t even want to consider what would happen if they lost her. He wasn’t ready to take on the mantle of leadership nor did he really want to.
Poe was glad that he finally had a chance to meet Rey after hearing so much about her from Finn and BB-8. Hopefully she would let him explore the ship a little more and familiarize himself with their resources. He was walking towards the bridge in search of her when he ended up standing on an unfamiliar planet in the freezing cold.
“What the... “ he muttered, looking around to try and get his bearings as he folded his arms across his chest and wished he had his leather jacket. This didn’t look like any planet he could remember seeing before.
***
Finn had been out walking in a heavy coat over the coat he wore most days, the coat from Poe. He walked to clear his head and he walked to wonder what he was doing here in town. He had really kind of just lost his head, these days, and was not certain what was going on. He felt like he needed to be grounded, recentered., and refocused.
He had woken recently with new memories, confusing ones, of Rey and Poe, of Rose and the General, of the First Order, and of Master Luke. And it all seemed confusing to him. Mixing with his memories here, it had really sent his head for a spin. And today, he was sick, probably with a flu, whatever that was, and headed to get some medicine. With the cold weather and crazy clouds, he felt a little like he was losing his mind. When he spotted Poe, shivering in the cold, he was pretty sure he was right. Poe wasn’t here. How would he be?
Still, he trudged across the street to the man and gripped him by the arm. “Man, I wish you were really here and not a hallucination. I could really use a talk with you.”
***
Poe was startled when Finn walked over and grabbed his arm. “Finn! Man, it’s good to see you!” He automatically pulled the other man into a tight hug. “What the hell is going on? Where are we? Where’s everyone else?”
Mostly, he was concerned about the General, but with how low their population was right now, they couldn’t afford to be without him and Finn. Especially if the First Order somehow managed to follow them.
***
Finn hugged him back, and realized… it was him! Holy stars! “Poe? You’re really here? Alright!” Maybe Rey would follow soon after. Maybe not. But for now, it was Poe! “Dude, this is not our universe. This place is insane. Come on, let’s get inside, somewhere and I will explain.” he looked around as he shucked his overcoat and handed it to Poe as he pulled his other coat on tighter.
“Come on.” He spotted a cafe, and led the way.
***
The coat was warm and smelled like his friend, which made Poe smile almost as much as the fact that Finn was even here, wherever here was. “I need to get back,” he said. “Leia needs me.” He didn’t want to voice his concerns about her well being because that would mean he had to acknowledge them and with all the other losses they’d faced recently, that was one he wasn’t prepared to consider dealing with.
Still, he followed Finn towards the cafe. Maybe his friend knew how they could return home.
***
“That’s harder than you know. We don’t control how we come and go. This place, it’s outside of time and space.” He took a long breath. “I’ve been here for six months, Poe.”
He led him into the cafe, and the warmth there as he said it. He knew it would seem impossible. But it was true, and he had to convince his friend. “Maybe the General will come here.”
***
“What? That’s not possible. I just saw you,” Poe said. It hadn’t even been six months since he first met Finn and they escaped the First Order together.
Maybe this was some sort of dream. Had he hit his head? Been in a fight? Was he dead? Those would all be more logical explanations for this. Except that he had never seen a planet that looked quite like this one before and he wasn’t sure that his imagination was this good.
Once they were inside, a pretty young woman escorted them to a booth and Poe waited until they were seated to say, “I don’t understand what’s going on here. At all.”
***
“We’ve come through a portal that took us to a new world. This world is called Earth, and this town, which is trapped under a dome, is called Madison Valley. People are drawn here from multiple alternate universes, Poe.”
Finn groaned, because he barely understood most of this himself and here he was, trying to explain it to Poe, who was, by far, smarter than he was! Still, he had to try.
“When you come through, you are brought from a fixed point in time, and when you go back, you go back to that exact second. There is no way to tell if you will ever go back, but if and when you do, no one will know you were gone and likely you won’t remember this place.”
Finn took a deep breath. “I know, because I was brought here first when I fell into a coma, after Kylo Ren attacked at Starkiller Base. I was here for months, and then just last week, I went back to our world, not remembering any of this, and lived through everything up to when we escaped from the planet on the Millenium Falcon together with Rey.”
.He nodded.
“I know it’s hard to believe man, but I am telling you the truth.”
***
Maybe his friend was the one who’d gone crazy. It was hard for Poe to believe everything that Finn was saying, but there was such an earnest sincerity in the words that he had a strong feeling it was all true.
“What are we supposed to do here?” he asked. “Are there ships? X-wings? Anything I can fly?”
Poe was made to be in the sky, not on the ground.
***
“There are… planes. Air-flight ships. No spaceships, and we can’t get high enough to enter the atmosphere, because of the dome.” he waved upward. He called to the waitress for coffees and waters, burgers and fries.
Then he turned back to Poe “So… limited flying. I only just got a job with construction here. Something to channel me to work hard and help people, to build things instead of tearing them down.” He nodded.
***
The idea of building things instead of tearing them down was a nice one, but Poe hated the idea that he was stuck here without the ability to fly. And without being able to contact his General.
“Well, I guess there’s nothing I can really do other than try to make the best of it, right?” he said. “So tell me everything.”
***
“Alright.” Add food and drinks came, Finn launched into it all, interrupted only by the welcoming committee. Once they were gone, he also explained how to use the devices. And to escort Poe to his apartment to show him how to use the primitive appliances he would find there.
“Trust me. Some of these tHings are weird. But the people here are friendly, they throw parties with free food all the time, and there are a lot of people here just add list as we are.”
***
It was a lot to process, but at least the food was decent. Poe appreciated Finn showing him how to use the communication device and helping him find his apartment. There was going to be a lot he’d need to get used to here and he was grateful he didn’t have to try to figure it out on his own.
“Thanks, man,” Poe said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
***
“It is so good to see you, man.” Finn smiled at Poe, glad he was there. This was a lot, he knew. He had had his entire hospital stay to get used to it, but this was different.
“You would find a way through. Its what you do. You always find a way.” Finn admired the man a lot. “I’m just down the hall, in [room #]. I’m sure we’ll be going back and forth a lot.” No way was Finn going to let Poe alone, now that he was here.
***
Poe grinned and gave his friend another hug before slipping out of the overcoat he’d been lent. “Here’s your coat back,” he said. “I guess I’ll have to go out and get some clothes and whatnot.” That would be an adventure for sure.