Shattered Galaxy Chapter 6

Things grew tense as Vader, Anakin, and Qui-Gon observed one another with searching looks.

There seemed to be some kind of doppelgangers at work. And for all they knew, any of them might not be who they appeared to be.

"Wait a minute....," Anakin said with a thoughtful look. "Master, Vader? Pull out your lightsabers."

Both were skeptical of the request but interested as Anain pulled his own weapon out, igniting it.

Vader beheld the green saber of Anakin with interest but decided not to well on that. "What is your point, Padawan?"

Anakin nodded to the lightsaber. "We can't trust the force to tell us who is who right now, but faking a lightsaber isn't easy."

Qui-Gon smiled, ignoring his own. "He has a point."

Vader's red lightsaber shone alongside their green ones. "That is only true if you assume this isn't an illusion brought on by the Force itself."

"Yes, but it's worth a try," Anakin mused.

Vader looked to his blade in consideration before turning, slashing a mark deep into a tree trunk.

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "Are you testing something or just marking our location?"

"Marking," Vader answered, deactivating his weapon. "In hindsight, I believe I have passed through here."

"You got that feeling too," Anakin observed. "How did we go in circles without ever getting near the canyon again?"

"I believe we have a bigger issue at hand," Qui-Gon called out with a grim voice, standing near a tree and looking around it.

"What did you find?" Vader questioned.

Qui-Gon didn't answer, just waving him over.

Vader approached and didn't require the Force to know Qui-Gon was tense. He looked around the tree and saw what had spooked the Jedi.

Every tree they could see now bore a slashing mark into its trunk, freshly made with smoke still on the scorch marks.

Vader took in every tree, every repetition, and knew that each of those slashes was from his lightsaber. No, each of these uncountable marks was made from the same single slash.

"This has ill implications," Vader remarked.

"You've been here before? Was there ever anything like this?" Qui-Gon questioned.

"Once, and no. Nothing like this," Vader answered honestly. "Whatever has us trapped, is new to this world."

And a new change in the timeline. Vader almost suspected Plaguis was playing such a masterful mind game, but even with the Muun's mastery of illusion, he could never hide his presence completely from another Sith Lord. Nor did such illusions have such influence over one's ability to sense the Force itself.

"We need to find the others and figure this out," Qui-Gon said as he turned around. "Anakin-"

The padawan was gone.

And all around them was an endless forest of trees barring identically slashes on their trunks.

"Ill implications indeed," Qui-Gon mused grimly as he came to where his padawan had stood, Vader following alongside him.

They both looked down at a pair of smaller footprints, following their path. "He went to the same tree as us, but the other side," Vader observed.

"Or, he was going to," Qui-Gon countered as they reached the tree.

The tracks didn't stop. That would make more sense if they had. Instead, Anakin's footprints split off into at least four different locations. As if he had seamlessly backtracked and changed directions multiple times.

Qui-Gon and Vader shared a look at that. "Neither of us is naive enough to say this is impossible," Vader stated cautiously. "But I can't claim to have an explanation."

"Neither can I," Qui-Gon agreed, stroking his beard. "It'd be one thing if we were moving irregularly through the forest, like spacial distortions, but this is...." he paused, glancing at the tree and the tracks. "I have an idea. Follow me."

Vader, having no better idea yet, humored the Jedi, but noticed instantly that all they were doing were circling the tree. He suspected he knew Jinn's theory now.

When they circled back into the clearing, it almost looked the same. Yet, staring at it intently, Vader knew there were any little things off about it.

"His footprints are gone," Qui-Gon informed, walking towards the middle. "But...."

Vader narrowed his eyes behind his mask as she reached the center. "Those are mine, and another's."

"The Dark Woman's, I think," Qui-Gon observed. "This is not a simple case of doppelgangers or shapeshifters."

"How did you know this would happen?" Vader questioned.

"I didn't. But Anakin's footprints didn't split off until when he would have been out of sight of us," Qui-Gon answered.

"....We both took our sights off you briefly, yet you are still here. Implying its not actual sight, but merely it being possible to see someone,' Vader noted thoughtfully. He suddenly reached out an arm and with the Force in his grip, crushed the trunk of a tree. Not enough to topple it, but enough to splitter and crack the bark.

Qui-Gon furrowed a brow. "You expect that that will have a different outcome than slashing a tree?"

Vader said nothing as he traveled to another tree and looked beyond it, Qui-Gon right behind him.

Qui-Gon blinked at what he saw. All of the trees were still slashed and some had now suffered a force-crush to the trunk. But there were many more variations. Some had a brank broken off or a rock dislodged into them, others had another slash mark or a stab from a lightsaber being embedded in them.

"What did you do?" Qui-Gon questioned, eyes trailing over the now-less-uniform trees.

"I  decided how to mark the tree on a whim this time," Vader answered. "Have you ever heard of Nentlinger's Tooka, Jinn?"

Qui-Gon was surprised by the question until the subject made him grow dour with unease. "Hypothetically, every possibility is true until it is observed."

"Or, in our case, any version of us is real until unobserved," Vader remarked.

"That's a great way of putting it, Vader!"

Sith and Jedi turned around in surprise to see Anakin. Or another Anakin. This one was grinning and covered in more dirt.

"Skywalker/Anakin?" they both called in sync.

"That's my name," he said, letting out a breath of relief. "Sorry, I'm just glad you're both already past the "are there doppelgangers" phase."

"What do you mean, Phase?" Qui-gon asked with a frown. "Are you-?"

"The Anakin that was with you however long ago? No, you wouldn't be surprised to see me if we had already met," Anakin answered.

"Than which Skywalker are you?" Vader questioned suspiciously. "Because you seem to be aware-"

"Lake Country, Geonosis," Anakin said instantly.

Vader went instantly still and silent, only his tell-ale breathing remaining.

"Another you told me to tell every Vader that if I wanted to skip past the suspicion," Anakin elaborated.

Qui-Gon frowned in thought. "And it's worked?"

"Yes, it does," Vader answered bluntly, if reluctantly.

Lake Country, the place he and Padme had stayed before the Battle of Geonosis. And where they married after said battle. It was something only he would understand, as there were thousands of places termed "Lake Country" across the galaxy. It was a clue only he would think to give to himself- personal, but also not revealing enough to expose or hint at anything.

"We can trust him, Jinn, for now," Vader remarked.

"Every time, it's "for now" with you," Anakin said in mock annoyance.

"Anakin," Qui-Gon scolded, giving him a pointed look.

"Right, yes, explaining. Sorry, I've done this so many times now my brain is going numb from repetition," Anakin answered in apology. "So, long story short, there are multiple versions of us in this forest. Maze. Whatever it is."

"You have made that rather obvious," Vader said idly.

Anakin nodded several times, possibly not really listening. "Me and some of the other Anakins managed to get the idea out that we'd be the one to spread information around, try and let everyone know the....well, the rules, for lack of a better word."

"Rules, Anakin?" Qui-Gon questioned. "You mean, how this all works?"

"Basically, Master," Anakin answered, rubbing his head. ""There's not an...unlimited number of us. I've run into one version of everyone twice.....I think  I worded that right."

"How many?" Vader questioned.

"Obiwan figured that out, actually," Anakin answered, waving them over to a tree, "It looks like there can only be one version of every group. But it doesn't matter which version of any of us is in each group. And yes, I know you don't get that. Come over here."

The Jedi Master and Sith Lord watched Padawan with suspicion and concern. "Anakin, how many times have you-"

"I stopped keeping track," Anakin answered as he took some stones and arranged them on the ground. "Sometimes I show up and these are already set up," he commented in disappointment.

".....How long have you been doing this?" Vader questioned. "We haven't been in this situation for more than two hours."

"I think there is some time dialect when I'm on my own," Anakin answered vaguely.

"Time dilation?" Qui-Gon corrected questioningly.

Anakin stopped and groaned. "Why do I make that mistake every time?" he muttered, shaking it off as he finished. "Okay, just...look at these.

They did, and began to understand what Anakin was trying to tell them. There was a collection of five stones in the middle. Around it were five more groups, but each only had four stones. Beyond those were another five single stones.

"There aren't enough stones or times for adding in groups of two or three," Anakin added bluntly.

"So, you are saying that there seem to be enough alternate versions of ourselves for every possible grouping of us?" Qui-Gon summarized.

"You two together, Obi-wan with the Dark Woman, me with Obi-wan and you Master, Vader with the Dark Woman," Anakin listed off randomly before picking up one stone from either different group. "But, if one of the group breaks off for whatever reason-"

"They will inevitability be replaced with another version of themselves, and end up with a group that lacked them," Vader summarized.

"Yeah. Or end up being the versions of ourselves traveling alone," Anakin said, nodding to the five single stones around the outside. "Before you ask, no, we don't know why. Or how to get out yet. We're just getting everyone up to speed so we don't have any more fights break out."

"......" Vader stared knowingly.

"No, Vader, you didn't cause all of the fights," Anakin corrected with an eye roll.

"That is more troubling than reassuring," Vader commented. "What more do you have to tell us, Skywalker?"

"Well, all the Vaders know about the "what you do to part of the forest happens to ALL of the forest" things, and I know I heard you figuring out that "all versions of you will only do the same thing if you are certain you want to do it" rule," Anakin ranted off, sighing deeply. "I wish I had something to write this all down."

"I'd offer a piece of my cloak, but that doesn't solve much without something to write with," Qui-Gon said apologetically, leaning down to lay a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "I'm sure you've heard this a few times already, but thank you for doing all of this, Anakin. I can tell you're trying hard despite the situation."

Anakin smiled softly. "It's good to hear it more than once," he accepted. "Now, what else, what else....?"

Vader glanced at the stones on the ground thoughtfully. "Do you know how many of us there are, precisely?"

"Oh, right, that," Anajin realized. "We don't know for sure, but various versions of each of us think it's sixteen? They tried counting how many different versions of one of us would have to exist to be in each possible group. Which I guess is sixteen, but I stopped trying to figure that out. I have enough to remember."

"That would make sense," Qui-Gon said with a frown. "But no two versions of the same person can be in the same place?"

"Yeah, as far as we can tell. No one has ever seen more than one version of another at the same time," Anakin confirmed, tilting his head. "That's...actually the first time you've asked me that. Do you have an idea, Master?"

Qui-Gon hummed while cupping his chin. "Yes, but you might not like it."

"I don't like having more to remember on principle, but I'll take it anyway," Anain answered with a weak smile.

Qui-Gon patted him on the should again. "Vader, Anakin. I need you to both stand here and wait for a moment."

"What are you planning, Jinn?" Vader questioned.

"Something that I'm certain I want to try, even if it doesn't work," Qui-Gon answered cryptically.

Vader remained skeptical but acquiesced to Qui-Gon's request, and Anakin had already moved to oblige the instructions.

Qui-Gon walked towards a tree and placed a hand on it as he began to circle around it until his companions were out of site.

He smiled as he came around to another clearing, and saw the Dark Woman, Obi-wan, and Vader all standing together.

"Master?" Obi-wan called out in confusion. "Did you....figure out a way to avoid getting lost?"

"Perhaps, I'm still testing it," Qui-Gon mused.

"What do you mean, Master Jinn?" the Dark Woman questioned.

"If it works, your Qui-Gon will tell you in a moment," Qui-Gon answered in amusement.

With that, he began to walk backward, his hand still on the tree, looking off to the way he had originally come from until he found himself back in another clearing.

This one with Vader and a dumbstruck Anakin.

"Was another me just here?" Qui-Gon questioned.

"Yes? Wait, are you....?" Anakin asked slowly.

"The one that left before him," Qui-Gon confirmed. "Distance does seem to be a factor. So if you can retrace your path and your party hasn't moved on-"

"You can get back to them instead of winding up in another group!" Anakin realized in amazement. "That- I don't know if that's helpful in the long run, but it feels important.

"Yes, though, I think you have to be very sure that you ARE traveling the same path back," Qui0-Gon said in caution.

Without warning, Vader began to walk off into the forest.

"Vader? What are you doing?" Anakin asked in surprise.

Vader didn't pause in his walking. "If we wish to escape, we will need to test the limitations of this prison we have found ourselves in."

"I don't believe this is a situation you can break out of with brute force," Qui-Gon cautioned.

Vader stopped, glancing at Qui-gon before promptly disappearing into the trees.

"Master, you know he took that as a challenge," Anakin observed factually.

Qui-Gon watched where Vader had left. "Then at least he'll feel motivated."

Vader, meanwhile, walked with a combination of determination and blindness. Every now and again, he'd catch sight of one or more of the Jedi. Sometimes far away, sometimes close by. But every time, he turn away and went back into the forest.

The forest, or whatever controlled it, appeared to grow more and more determined to have him meet with any of the other groups. He would turn away from one group, only to nearly stumble into another. But he persisted, as was his nature. And the more he went, the more he felt like he was close to.....something.

The Dark Side, no, the Force entirely became clearer and clearer the longer he spent out here, alone and away from any iteration of any person.

As much like the Jedi as it sounded, the sensation was like finally arriving home and traveling after trekking through a long and terrible storm.

And just like that, it started to click together.

He stopped walking, standing still amongst the trees, and felt absolute certainty in what he was about to do.

His lightsaber ignited, bathing the darkening forests with its crimson glow. With a great heave of his arm, he swung out and threw the lightsaber, sending it spinning and soaring through the air, cleaving random verticle marks into the trees.

He could hear and even see other red lightsabers soaring through the sky, all going in the same direction. He ignored them entirely, focusing only on his own lightsaber, the one he had thrown and still held with the Force.

He called his weapon back, and so did every other version of it pass him by before his own came into his hand.

Only, when he caught it, Vader felt as if he had been hit with all the power of a crashing Star Destroyer. It came without warning or sign, and the Sith Lord was thrown off his feet and hurled through the forest.

He grunted when his back made an impact with a tree before he finally came to a stop.

"Vader!?" Obi-wan cried out in alarm, rushing over to the Sith Lord. "What happened?" Did something attack you?"

Vader said nothing as he pushed himself to his feet once more, shrugging off the pain as he usually did. Looking around, he saw it was just Obi-wan who was there. "I believe I have found a way out."

"Really? How?" Obi-wan asked.

"I was attempting to have it so that all the iterations of me were away and on their own. I-" Vader paused at Obi-wan's confused look. "Skywalker has not found and explained things to you, has he?" he asked, annoyance filtering through the filter.

"No?" Obi-Wan answered uncertainly. "I ran into Qui-Gon once, but he vanished not too long ago."

Vader grimaced as he prepared to convey to Obi-wan the same information that his younger self had given him.

Meanwhile, another Vader stood with the previous iterations of Anakin and Qui-Gon.

"So, you made it a certainty that you were in the forest by just...refusing to join with anyone," Anakin summarized in surprise. "Why?"

"I believed it might be a way to either break the hold this place has or, barring that...... bring all the versions of myself into one," Vader remarked. "It didn't work as I intended, but...."

"What is it?" Qui-gon asked promptingly.

"The reason we cannot use the Force to find our way out is because each of our connections to the Force is being split between all iterations of ourselves," Vader remarked. "We can sense the Force, but we are sensing it from over a dozen different positions and all at once."

"Pits, no wonder everything feels upside down," Anakin said, wiping a hand over his face.

Vader nodded in agreement. "There was a moment when I was certain that I was alone in the forest, that no Vader had remained with any group. When I did, I could feel the Force clearly."

"And the storm of Lightsabers?" Qui-Gon questioned.

"I felt something. The way out, I believe," Vader answered. "I, every "I", threw my lightsaber to mark the path."

Both Jedi rose an eyebrow. "You think that'll work?" Anakin questioned. "And what threw you out of the Forest?"

"I do not know. Most likely, whatever entity or power behind this was not happy with me," Vader answered with a tinge of satisfaction. "And it is not as if we have any better alternatives."

"And if all else fails, at least we'll have another piece of this figured out," Qui-Gon remarked, glancing at Anakin. "Would you prefer to stay with Vader this time, if we need to continue relaying information?"

Anakin gave a tired smile. "Thank you, Master, but I'd rather not throw any more uncertainty into this mess. Vader, lead the way."

With that, the trio made their way back into the forest, making sure that all three of them were always within sight and never more than a few feet from each other. To the curiosity of the Jedi, they found that the new slash marks were not replicated in mass on all the trees, now indeed marking a path through the forest.

"I don't get it through, why aren't all the trees slashed this time?" Anakin asked curiously.

"Because when he made them, he was certain that they were in the path of the location he sensed," Qui-Gon theorized.

"Indeed, Jinn," Vader confirmed. "If you doubt your actions in this place, you may attempt a different action. Therefore, another iteration of you WILL attempt a different action."

"Oiii, I'm getting sick of this place," Anakin murmured. "Can we all agree to never come back here?"

"If there is one certainty I have, it's that we all share that sentiment, Padawan," Qui-Gon agreed.

Vader stopped, looking back and forth at the area in front of him. Qui-Gon and Anakin quickly noted that the path of slash marks had ended.

"Is this it?" Qui-Gon questioned.

"Do you not see it, Jedi?" Vader questioned, still not turning to face them.

"No? What do you see?" Anakin retorted with a furrowed brow.

That was a good question, Vader decided. What was he seeing now? The forest looked the same, directly in front of him was a strange shimmering that moved and flowed as an amorphous blob. The edges of it shinned at least, but the inside seemed to dim as if the light was being reflected back on its exterior.

He waited for a moment, making sure he was absolutely sure that he was about to attempt this.

He reached out to touch it. First with the Force, then with his hand. It did not react to the Force, but the Force also did not warn him of any dangers here.

The glove of his arm touched it, and the void was filled with red.

"Okay, I see that!" Anakin exclaimed in surprise.

Vader said nothing, his hand moving through- and quickly retracting it. "This is the way out," Vader concluded with certainty. "But to pass through it, all versions of yourselves must be touching it."

"That would be difficult to manage," Qui-Gon noted.

"I think I can get the word out. I'm sure other versions of me already have the same idea," Anakin mused, rolling his arms.

"Do so, Skywalker," Vader stated. "If every "Vader" is at their own end of the path, then most of the others should be there as well."

"Be careful, Anakin. There may be more dangers to this now," Qui-Gon cautioned.

"I will be, Master," Anakin assured with a nod before heading into the forest.

"You know something else, don't you?" Qui-Gon predicted, looking back to Vader.

"Skywalker has already done what I have, and synchronized his various selves," Vader answered. "Purely by accident, I'm sure, from playing messenger for all of us."

"So, you both stumbled into that in your own ways," Qui-gon observed with a hum.

"More importantly," Vader said gravely, finally turning to look Jinn in the eye. "While I have no doubt we will get out of this maze, I am not sure if that is the solution to dealing with there being multiples of each of us."

Qui-Gon snorted. "I don't think that galaxy can handle more than one of any of us. Granted, I'm sure the council would enjoy being able to expel at least one of me while keeping the rest in order."

"If you're done with your humor," Vader said dryly.

"What I want to know is why you haven't tried to leave already, now that we know the way out?" Qui-Gon questioned in confusion.

"If what Skywalker said is true, and there are sixteen of each of us, then that number is determined by the total number of us, and the different combinations we can gather in any amount," Vader reminded grimly. "If I leave, what happens to the rest of you and the excess versions now?"

Qui-Gon frowned in thought. "If the group shrunk from five to four, that would take the total iterations from sixteen to....half that, I believe."

"Precisely. Would those eight excess versions simply become a part of you again? Are they unaffected, and must still meet here? Or do they cease to exist?" Vader pointed out.

Qui-Gon stared for a moment before chuckling.

"What is funny about this situation, Jedi?" Vader questioned, frowning beneath his mask.

"Simply imagining the Dark Woman reacting to you saying that, admitting that you haven't left because you're worried about what will happen to us," Qui-Gon explained.

Vader choose not to comment on that, even if he did silently agree with the point.

"....Hm?" Qui-Gon tilted his head suddenly, coming over to Vader's side and looking at, from Vader's own point of view, empty space.

"You see it now as well," Vader noted.

"Yes, which I suppose means all versions of me are in position," Qui-Gon mused. ".....I came out here to find Obi-wan. Getting stuck in a situation like this was not how I expected, even when I knew you were involved."

"Trust me, Jedi, the feeling is mutual," Vader assured idly. ".....Will Skywalker remember to circle back and tell us we are all in position?

"He should," Qui-Gon answered. "Should."

The two stood in silence before Qui-Gon deemed it right to broach another subject. "You do know that others in the Order will not take well to you having an army."

Vader considered that comment before having his own return. "They are welcome to create their own once more. It would be better if you did."

"If I were most other Jedi, I'd think you want to escalate the situation between our orders," Qui-Gon observed.

"Then it is fortunate you are not most Jedi," Vader remarked.

Qui-Gon sighed. "This military force of yours. It has nothing to do with us, does it?" he asked knowingly.

"None. I am doing just as I was years ago, Jinn. Preparing for the fall of the Republic," Vaer answered sagely. "Do you know how many systems I know of have secret alliances prepared for when the galaxy falls to pieces?"

"More than I'd like to think about, I'm sure," Qui-Gon reasoned. "You've stayed out of the spotlight at large. You believe the situation will explode, but you don't want to be seen as the one that ignited it."

"As hard as it is for some to believe, I do attempt to prevent our sides from being enemies," Vader remarked. "Despite attempts to the contrary."

Their conversation came to a halt as Anakin, or "a" Anakin at least, came barreling back into the area. He nearly fell over himself, taking a breath. He looked over at them and sensed the question in the air. "Nothing is wrong. Had to explain everything to one last Dark Woman before she tried to attack another Vader. Again," Anakin explained. "More importantly, all the Dark Womans seem to be lined up now."

"That only leaves Kenobi," Vader noted.

Silence filled the area.

"We might be waiting a while if Obi-wan has gone off and gotten lost," Qui-Gon remarked wryly.

"Yeah, but I thought of something....how are we all going to know when to get out?" Anakin questioned curiously.

"We can feel the Force more clearly now," Qui-Gon answered, glancing off to the side. "I can sense the Dark Woman more potently now that all of her versions are in position."

"Oh. Good to know. Now I'll go find whichever Obi-wans are missing," Anakin said bluntly before running off again.

"I can't tell if he's coping with the situation or unphased," Qui-Gon remarked.

"Skywalker has a unique connection to the force, and it's in his nature to be proactive in any situation he is in," Vader remarked. "He found his way to help, but he wishes this matter over and done with as soon as possible."

It went unsaid that they all shared that feeling, every version of each of them.

They glanced back to the auras floating in the middle air, sensing the presence of Obi-wan. "That was surprisingly fast," Qui-Gon mused. "Now we wait for Anakin."

And so they did, half expecting another version of him to run out of the forest and join them. But none did, even as they felt Anakin's presence more strongly in the Force.

Neither said a word, feeling the air grow heavy as they focused on the task at hand.

They weren't certain what would happen if they did this.

But they had to be certain they wanted to do this.

They felt a pulse, a pull, and a pressure all at once. And they felt it many times over, across every version of themselves, until.....

Their visions were filled with a pale void, a blank nothingness before the world faded back into focus.

They were still on the same verdant planet, but they now stood before an ancient and abandoned city, or temple perhaps. It was made of stone, parts of it broken and crumbling.

"It worked," Qui-Gon said with a smile.

"Perhaps not as we hoped," Vader stated, looking off behind them.

Qui-Gon turned and rose an eyebrow as he saw Vader's meaning. Yes, they were out.

All of them.

He looked out and saw that the area was filled with copies of himself, Vader, Anakin, Obi-wan, and the Dark Woman.