anakin (anakin) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2015-02-21 16:55:00 |
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At the back of Anakin’s mind, his friend’s familiar presence beckoned like the gentle tug of a string. Unfamiliar faces had prodded with medical examinations and strange explanations for why a blinding pain had snatched him suddenly from his ship -- a ‘tesseract’, this ‘SWORD’ had called the offending object -- but when Anakin was set free to explore the new amenities, it was not his new apartment that he sought, nor did he set himself to exploring the surrounding areas, however important it was to acclimate in situations of uncertainty. Tossed about in a sea of the unfamiliar, the print of his former master’s presence offered an anchor, and knowing that he was not on this strange planet alone was in itself a security that bolstered his confidence. They were a team, better for the times their missions crossed paths, and they would cross in this. (A quieter voice wisped in his mind -- if this tesseract had drawn in Obi-Wan, as well, maybe the Council would be a little more understanding about his failure to rendezvous in a timely manner. These ‘SWORD’ greeters sounded as though they may well be in this place for awhile.) Pinpointing the precise location of his friend was muddled by a flood of of people -- a small handful clearly strong in the Force, however curiously unfamiliar they were -- but finding an elevator, Anakin went down and down and down, quickly reaching the basement level. Sparring, meditation, a place of mental and physical conditioning: It struck Anakin as an appropriate place to start, and no sooner had he stepped out from the elevator that he became unshakably certain that Obi-Wan was nearby. (Of course he would be meditating.) Satisfaction settled on Anakin’s face as his eyes raked the gymnasium, attuning to the various machines and various strangers using them, but when he reached The Door, his unceremonious entrance paid little tentative respect to the fact that Obi-Wan may well have been concentrating. Part of Anakin wondered whether his fellow general had heard about the fates of Tup and Fives, with how hectically the war had them zipping about, but he couldn’t help the somewhat selfish delight that, if some strange dimension-affecting object had grabbed them from their missions, it had at least grabbed both of them. Obi-Wan had come to find a peace in his daily meditations that had long eluded him in his early months on Tatooine. Perhaps it was the certainty of his final and complete separation from the former Jedi Order. Perhaps he had finally come to terms with being one of the last of the old Jedi. Or perhaps, as he had often suspected during his unintentioned adventures on the desert planet, he simply needed a focal point for his energy -- that point being, on this planet, his operations with SHIELD. He had hoped that this renewed focus might make contacting his former master easier, but if he had been hoping that a successful SHIELD search-and-seize would bring out the wisdom of Qui-Gon from the Force, he was to be sorely disappointed. It seemed that as soon as he slipped into the meditative trance he felt the tug of a familiar presence. A presence separate from the many tendrils of the Skywalker/Solo clan, a presence that he thought he might never feel again. His eyes opened just as Anakin walked through the door, and as he reached into the Force, Obi-Wan knew that this was Anakin, his friend, and not Anakin, the man he'd left behind on Mustafar. He felt at a loss for words, surprised at how little he felt the pain that he now associated with his memories of Anakin. As though the reappearance of an old friend, one that he suspected -- from the looks of him -- came from a time before everything had gone wrong, could erase all of the wrongs that might come later. "You're late." (And there it was. The familiar smile crossed his face. He might have been slightly older now, but his penchant for banter hadn't dissipated in the least.) A smirk pulled taut the muscles around Anakin's mouth, a telltale glint that rose swift to his eyes, and however bizarre these circumstances, there was nothing more familiar or likewise heartening than the jests of his former master, not unlike some comfort food that near burned the tongue, but in a good way. "I thought I'd go the scenic route. You know, take my time, test some new thrusters," he quipped with arms crossing loose across his chest, and against the door frame he leaned with a casual sort of confidence. "They must have been some thrusters. Those SWORD people said we're on a planet called Earth?" Anakin's mind had blazed through any number of destinations, planets seen in the war, planets from various wayfaring space stories, planets indexed in the Jedi archives, and yet... "I've never heard of it. I have to admit the whole dimension thing sounds a bit crazy, but this place doesn't feel particularly sinister. Have you had the chance to look into their 'tesseract'?" His brow lifted then, wondering how much earlier Obi-Wan had arrived -- they hadn’t seen much of each other since the mess with Ahsoka, but neither had any news of a disappearance reached him. (The Council would tell him, wouldn’t they?) He wondered, too, just how long it had been happening if a dedicated apartment building was constructed to provide housing. Organizations didn't do something like that for a small glitch akin to a tractor beam malfunction, and if it were some scheme, it seemed like an excessive one. "I didn't sense any deception in them, but it's pretty weird." Obi-Wan climbed to his feet, brushing off the robes that he still wore on occasion, even here. He didn't know what to tell Anakin. Of course, he suspected that telling your best friend that you came from a fictional universe (according to the laws of this planet) was an insurmountable task under normal circumstances. And considering their future paths, this seemed to be far from normal circumstances. "I'd expect nothing less from the hero of the galaxy. You just had to make an entrance… I hope you didn't scare the SWORD personnel. They're only doing their jobs -- as far as they understand them. Which I'm aware isn't at all comforting, but they do mean well." He hid his emotions well, as he always did, but that didn't stop the inner debate over how much to say, and how much was too much to know right now. Wasn't it enough they all found out eventually, in their own time, how the future played itself out? This, he agreed, was for the best; though, he doubted, that Anakin would see it that way. "The Tesseract seems to be able to draw people from wherever they are in the universe and bring them here. As far as I can tell, it's been happening for years. I've only been here a month, but there are others from our universe… They may not be familiar to you. The Tesseract can rewrite time as well as distance…" As, thought Obi-Wan, evidenced by the man standing before him. "But it doesn't matter where, or when, or how we arrived here. The Tesseract itself seems harmless; a tool used to draw people into a single dimension… Though for what, I couldn't say. I haven't had time to launch a full-scale investigation." "Rewriting time as well as distance," Anakin echoed, "I guess that explains why I haven't heard anything about you disappearing, when you've been here a month." Would his own go unnoticed, Anakin wondered? Had anyone made it home, or did those pulled in grow and grow in number, uncontrolled by those who possessed the Tesseract? (Or could they control it?) A device that could gather anyone from anywhere to a single location sounded dangerous in the hands of the wrong people, the sort of artefact that might be used for some mass extermination, yet Obi-Wan did not appear concerned, and there was something disarmingly relaxed about their environment. If the residents were displaced refugees, it was unlike any refugee camp Anakin had ever seen, with well-constructed housing, recreation, even a decent stipend. (Surely people who wanted to kill them wouldn't hand out fistfuls of money.) The general in him relaxed in turn, concluding that it may actually be as it seemed. In war, that was always a relief. "I take it this 'dimension' causes too much interference to contact the Temple." He looked around the gymnasium, to the scattered residents at their work-out routines, then back to Obi-Wan. "Have you been keeping busy without any Separatist battle droids to dismantle?" "Oh, I think I've managed well enough." He allowed himself a small smile. "They've an organization here called SHIELD that's kept me busy." He called it his coming out of retirement position, but that wouldn't make sense to Anakin. As far as Obi-Wan could tell, Anakin came from the height of the war, a time that seemed much farther now than it was. Had it really only been a year? He glanced at the other residents in the gymnasium area, and then started towards the door. This was perhaps a conversation best to be had while walking. "You won't be able to reach the Temple." He hadn't tried, but he suspected that it'd be a futile effort. Even if the Jedi Order wasn't fictional, or -- well, gone. "We are --" And where was his Jedi training on explaining complete isolation in a fictional universe? That must have escaped Master Qui-Gon during their many years together. He only wished that his old master were here to guide him through these moments. "There's no easy way to say this. But we're essentially isolated from our home 'dimension,' and while we're here, what we do doesn't appear to have any impact on our futures back home…" Falling into step beside his friend, Anakin's gloved hands burrowed deep into dark brown robes, a loose fold across his chest. No Temple, no effect on the future, like being caught in some suspended bubble. Too long it had been, since last they could just relax without care for the missions clashing around, or looming on the horizon. "It's not the worst situation we've faced on our own," Anakin remarked easily as a broader grin spread swift over his face, lightening the wartime weights from his shoulders. They were a team in this and everything, as they had long been, and if the Tesseract offered no true threat, it might even be like an involuntary vacation. Never had Anakin been very good at sitting idle, but from the sound of it, even here there was room for productivity -- and at least it wouldn't be lonely. "No, it's not," agreed Obi-Wan. He led them through the lower levels of the Tower, his thoughts not entirely on the task before them. He was aware that he needed to at least touch upon some of the difficulties of being here. But right now, he was simply enjoying being in the presence of an old friend, someone he'd thought lost to him forever (and in truth, someone who was lost to him forever, at a different time, in a different place). "You know, Anakin, I'm really glad that you're here." He stopped walking as they reached the elevator to the upper levels. "New York isn't always the easiest place to be. It's got awful transit, and the people are well aware of who we are…" But it was a great second chance. He couldn't say that, of course. Not without sparking inquiries that he didn't wish to answer. "But we have friends here." "I'm glad you're here too." With an air of contentment, Anakin felt the security in his friend's words, that reliable reassurance that between the two of them, nothing was insurmountable. Awful transit, prying eyes, separation from the raging world that had become their reality -- it was people who mattered, not the location or the state of their operations. On some level he knew it should matter less that it was Obi-Wan and not a different Jedi he found waiting here, that every ally in the Force was meant to be equal, but that bond was a strength, he knew, not a restraint. The 'right answers' could not account for the fluidity of their teamwork, but if unflagging loyalty was beyond the masters, Anakin felt it was their loss, not his own. Without warning his thoughts drifted to Ahsoka, a prickling pain that spread in his chest like a ripple of tiny needles, but even as he stamped the bitter edge from his mind, it hurt no less. (Would they ever believe in him?) The question was like a soft echo in his mind, rippling with endless reverberations, even here. Sharp light framed the elevator button as Anakin thumbed it, one in a sea of floors that would serve as a new home for however long they were to stay here. A home. Lodgings were temporary, and a Jedi was meant to live with sparse impermanence, but some private delight leapt in his chest at the thought of having a place to be, if only for awhile. He thought of Padme then, of her apartment where he spent every possible moment of his leave from Jedi business. Padme was his true home, and he ached to have her near, but if it was hard to pretend in normal circumstances, it would be harder still without the Council's eyes boring into him. 'Anakin, every padawan on Coruscant knows where to find you,' Obi-Wan had once told him upon interrupting a private breakfast, and unbidden a fresh smile rose, small but warm, despite guilty undercurrents. Selfish though it was, he missed her already, missed her every day. "It will be an adventure." |