Summary: Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme did not expect to find themselves in an entirely new Galaxy. All they knew was they saw something strange in a reflection. Now they're being told their lives are a movie and they're on some planet called Earth. Will they be able to get back to their own Galaxy? And will Aria, the girl helping them, be able to find a new life with them?
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10840818/1/Across-the-Universe-Book-1-Pieces-of-Destiny
Word count:73k(BOOK 1 COMPLETE)
Chapters:19
Ch 1: The Puzzle
Aria was sprawled out on her bedroom floor, her ear buddies blocking out the world around her while blaring Eminem. She was focused on the puzzle in front of her, determined to finish it before she retired for the night.
"I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed. Get along with the voices inside of my head. You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath. And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy; well, that's nothing. Well, that's nothing," Aria sang softly to herself as she carefully placed the pieces of the 3D puzzle that made up Anakin Skywalker's face from Attack of the Clones. She'd already branched off and finished Padme and Obi-Wan, though several of the pieces that made up Anakin's face were giving her some trouble.
A light flipped on in the hallway, catching Aria's eye. She pulled out one of her ear buddies just in time to hear her mother's voice.
"Aria, it's almost eleven, go to bed!" her mother said just loud enough so Aria would hear. She didn't want to wake up Aria's little brother and sister by accident.
"In a second mom, I'm almost done," Aria answered.
"Go to bed!"
Aria rolled her eyes and didn't answer, picking up her pace. If she hurried, she could at least finish up Anakin. She didn't really care much to do Dooku and Jango Fett, all she really wanted to finish was the part with Anakin. Even if he became Darth Vader for the original trilogy, he was her favorite character. She had an obsession with star wars, and he was at the top of it all. If Anakin Skywalker or Hayden Christensen had anything to do with it, she was there.
Aria glanced back at the clock on her bookshelf with a grimace. She had to go to school tomorrow, and it was getting late. She was going to regret staying up so late in the morning, that much she was sure of. With a sigh, she fitted the last piece of Anakin into place, smiling a little to herself as she looked admiringly down at the picture. She loved how it looked like Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme would come out of the picture at any moment, especially Anakin. He took up most of the puzzle, right at the center of the entire picture.
She shook her head with a sigh, quickly changing into her pajamas and turning off the light before she crawled into bed. Lazily, she reached for the alarm clock, making sure that it was set for seven o'clock before she let her eyelids droop shut.
As she slept, dreams of Star Wars, Anakin, and daring rescues played through her mind, filled with the flash of lightsabers and a reality where Anakin never became Darth Vader…
Anakin and Padme were taking one of their many strolls through the halls of Varykino, talking about anything and everything to pass the time away. As Padme laughed at a joke Anakin had cracked, he glanced towards the glass of one of the many windows. He would have just kept walking, if he hadn't noticed the strange picture that was reflected in the glass; and it wasn't himself that he was seeing in the reflection.
A peculiar picture of a teenage girl asleep in her bed could be seen, but just faintly. Padme noticed his distraction and tried to get his attention.
"Anakin, what is it?" she asked him. She had not yet seen the strange scene in the glass as he had.
"Do you see that?" Anakin asked, hoping he wasn't going crazy.
Padme sighed in light frustration that he had jumped around her question before following his gaze. Her frustration turned to a gaze of curiosity as she drew closer to the window.
"Do you know—" she started.
"No idea," Anakin responded, drawing closer. The closer he came to the window, the clearer the image became, and the more he could see. Almost self-consciously, he stretched out his hand to see if the image would disappear if he touched it…
Obi-Wan had just gotten out of his Jedi Starfighter when a glimmer of an image out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention. Obi-Wan's hand flew to his lightsaber, ready to ward off an oncoming attacker, before he realized it had simply been a reflection in the glass of the Starfighter. What caused him to pause was the fact that it was not his own reflection he was seeing in the glass.
Frowning, Obi-Wan drew closer, studying the strange scene in the glass. He drew ever closer to the picture, taking in the image with sharp eyes. As if to see if the image was real, Obi-Wan stretched out his hand to touch the glass…
A quiet thud and a soft spoken curse woke Aria from her slumber. She blinked owlishly, rising up in her bed and glancing around the dark room. Was her mother trying to find something hidden under the pile of junk on her desk..?
Aria stiffened when she caught sight of a silhouette that did not belong to her mother, nor her father, nor anyone else that lived in the house. Suddenly wide awake, Aria reached over as silently and inconspicuously as she could towards the nightstand on the other side of her bed. She quietly opened the drawer, taking in the fact that there were three strange silhouettes in her room.
Doing her best to keep her erratic heartbeat in control, Aria got a firm grip on the barbeque skewer in the top drawer. Suddenly she was very glad she'd kept the extras from her science experiment in the drawer, even if she'd only put them in there because she had nowhere else to put them.
The skewer in her hand chinked against something else in the drawer—possibly the edge of the nigh—and she froze.
Several things happened at once.
All three silhouettes moved, as did Aria. She held the skewer out in front of her in a defensive position, sitting up in bed and ready to fight tooth and nail against the intruders for her life, whether it was a lost cause or not.
There was a snap, hiss sound Aria had only ever heard in movies, and two brilliant blue lights suddenly illuminated her room, blinding Aria for a moment. However, she didn't lower her defenses, even if she couldn't see anything.
When her eyes adjusted to the new light in the room, Aria stared, unbelieving of what she was seeing. Her brain seemed unable to process what was right in front of her.
As if acting in confirmation of what she was seeing, the barbeque skewer flew out of her hand and into the outstretched palm of…Obi-Wan Kenobi? Ewan McGregor in his Star Wars get-up? She couldn't decide which one was more likely.
Still frozen, Aria stared at the blue…blue lightsaber blade that was pointed at her, a few inches away from her in fact. The brilliant light lit up…Anakin Skywalker or Hayden Christensen's features in an eerie way.
The hum of the blade and the heat that came off of it caused Aria to be even more sure that this wasn't the actors she was staring at. But at the same time…it was too hard to believe it was the characters. She blinked a few times, trying to see if they would disappear.
They were still in her room, right in front of her, and now they seemed to be talking too.
"Who are you?" Anakin/Hayden asked her.
Aria was at a loss for words for a few moments as she very slowly got out of bed, trying not to think of the fact she was in her blue sweatpants and a volunteer t-shirt from two years back. Hesitantly, she pointed a finger at Anakin/Hayden.
"Anakin?" she said, half asking, half stating. Shock graced his features instantly, but Aria kept going. She pointed at Obi-Wan/Ewan next. "Obi-Wan…"
Obi-Wan had a little more control over his expression, though Aria could tell that he was still surprised from her knowing who Anakin was. Aria turned to the third figure, now positive these were not actors she was facing.
"And Padme?" Aria asked softly.
She heard the sound of a lightsaber deactivating behind her and stiffened as…Anakin (She was going to have to get used to that) grabbed her arm and spun her around. "How do you know us? Who are you?"
"I think the real question is what are you doing here?" Aria shot back. She was still reeling from finding the characters of Star Wars in her bedroom. Yet somehow she still managed to ask questions. Figures. Even if she wasn't capable of giving answers, she could still ask plenty of questions.
"Who are you?" Anakin asked again. She should have known better. Anakin always was stubborn. He wouldn't give answers unless he got answers in return.
"Aria. Neads," she replied shortly. "And I would much appreciate it if you would lower your voice considering my one year old sister is asleep in the room next to us."
Obi-Wan stepped forward, shooting Anakin a look that must have signaled him to let go of her. "Could you tell us where we are?" he asked her. "And how you know us for that matter."
Aria bit her lip. Should she really tell them…
"Well…first of all…I have no idea how but you three are in the wrong Galaxy," she started.
Padme stepped forward. "Excuse me; the wrong Galaxy?"
Aria nodded. "Yeah…you're on Earth, in the Milky Way Galaxy. Though, I know you have no clue about us, I mean, I have no clue where in the universe your Galaxy is. I just know it's far, far away from here."
Aria smiled inwardly at the irony of what she had just said. Though apparently not a long time ago…
"I highly doubt we're in another Galaxy," Anakin scoffed.
"Use your instincts Anakin, she's not lying," Obi-Wan reprimanded him.
"No, I'm not," she chipped in. Aria was doing her best not to openly stare at Anakin, not sure what she was feeling as she stared at him. "I mean, look at what I'm wearing: there is no way we are from the same Galaxy."
"You still haven't answered how you know us," Anakin shot back, his eyes mistrusting. Aria didn't miss the fact that he still hadn't let go of his lightsaber, apparently ready to draw it at any moment.
Aria hesitated. "Because I'm not so sure if I should…" she said slowly.
Anakin scowled while Obi-Wan turned away to examine the room. Aria did her best not to blush as he examined her Vampire Diaries posters, her Chuck Norris poster, her random pop star posters…
Suddenly she remembered what was sitting on her dresser, in the open, where they could all see.
"I'm sorry, excuse me, I need to…" she mumbled hastily, fading into in coherence as she scrambled to pick up the star wars stuff she had spread out across the surface of her dresser. Of course that only drew their attention as she nimbly sidestepped Obi-Wan. The only ones she was seriously concerned with picking up was the Emperor Palpatine labeled action figure and the Anakin Skywalker from Episode IV figure that had Vader's story on it. Those where what she was the most concerned about.
Those and the box set labeled Star Wars with both Luke and Anakin on it.
As Aria shoveled those three items into her arms, Obi-Wan snatched up the action figure of himself from Episode III.
"Chuba!" Aria whispered under her breath as she shoveled away what she had managed to snag. There was still an Episode I Yoda and Episode III Anakin on the dresser. Anakin was currently picking up the action figure of himself while Padme carefully picked up the action figure of Yoda.
"Do you care to explain this?" Obi-Wan demanded, sounding much as he did when he scolded Anakin. It caused Aria to flinch.
"Right, that…" she said evasively.
"Anakin Skywalker: Saga Legends—Star Wars Revenge of the Sith! Anakin Skywalker undertakes a daring rescue mission in his Jedi Starfighter. Anakin blasts attacking Separatist Droid fighters as he and Obi-Wan Kenobi battle their way to General Grievous' ship to free the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine," Anakin read off the back of the action figure of himself. He immediately turned on Aria. "I want an explanation! What is this? What is going on here?"
"I'd like an explanation too for the matter," Obi-Wan said, waving around the action figure of himself in her face.
Aria ran a hand down her face, rubbing her eyes as she tried to figure out what to say. What could she say? 'Hey, you guys are fictional characters in a movie in my Galaxy! What do you know!'
It was amusing how they were all having such an intense conversation in hushed tones though. No one had forgotten the fact that there was a sleeping infant in the room next door.
"Listen…I know this is going to sound really strange…" Aria started slowly.
"I don't think it can get any stranger than it is already. Another Galaxy? A girl who mysteriously instantly recognizes us though we've never seen her in our lives? Little…mini-figures of us! What's going on?" Anakin demanded.
"In my Galaxy your lives are a movie! A series for entertainment! No one thinks you're real, they think you're all just fictional characters!" Aria shot back at him.
"What are you talking about?" Anakin exclaimed.
"Your lives are a story for us! You know, entertainment. Like a…a…ah kriff what's the word…" Aria muttered, snapping her fingers as she wracked her brains for the word. "Like a Holodrama! Like a Holofilm! Except we don't have hologram technology, and it's just movies, films. But it's basically the same thing."
Understanding flickered across their features for a moment before the questioning resumed. "Well then how—"
Aria held up her hands in surrender, cutting off Anakin. "I don't know! Like I just said, everyone thinks this stuff is fake, no one knows you're real!"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Do you have any idea how we got here?"
Aria shook her head. "No clue."
"You've got to have some idea!" Anakin exclaimed.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Aria shot back tiredly. "But right now I'm too tired to think. It's…"
She glanced at her alarm clock and groaned. "It's three in the morning and I have to go to school in four hours. I'd like to get some more sleep before then. I have a friend there that might be able to come up with some idea of what's going on, I can ask him about this tomorrow."
"How do we know we can trust you?" Anakin asked suspiciously.
"Oh Ani, I've heard enough! She hasn't done anything to hurt us and she's obviously as confused and shocked as we are! Give her a break!" Padme snapped at him lightly. "I don't like being stuck in another Galaxy either, but we're obviously not going to get all of the answers that we would like right now. She's right, she needs rest."
"And we might be better off seeing this friend of hers that could give us some answers," Obi-Wan added.
"Right now is not the time to see him, just…let me get some rest and we can deal with this when we're all well rested," Aria said wearily.
"I agree with…Aria, was it?" Obi-Wan asked. Aria nodded in confirmation.
Anakin sighed in frustration. "Alright, fine; but where are we going to rest, huh?"
Aria ran a hand through her hair. "I really don't feel like waking up my parents to tell them that you're here so the best I can do is some pillows and blankets on a clear floor," she said sheepishly.
"That's alright," Obi-Wan said gently. Aria relaxed slightly before she quietly excused herself from the room to get the pillows and blankets stashed in the bathroom.
Anakin stared after the blonde girl as she left the room before turning to Obi-Wan. "I don't trust her Master. Really? Another Galaxy? Our lives as holofilms? I just don't believe it!"
"We have evidence right in front of us Anakin," Obi-Wan responded, gesturing towards the girls action figures of themselves. It was a rather disconcerting sight for him to see: a small figure of himself…though right now it wasn't accurate. Though if Anakin didn't have a braid, maybe it was a future form of them…
"Still, why should we trust her?" Anakin asked. "What grounds do we have to trust her on?"
"Padme was right Anakin. You should listen to her. She has a point. Aria hasn't done anything to cause us harm, or revealed any intentions to cause us harm."
"Well if what she says is true about our lives being holofilms than I expect some more proof. That I find very hard to believe."
Obi-Wan frowned. "I just want to see what these…Star Wars movies are like…if only to see if they're accurate…"
"But right now is not the time," Padme reminded them both.
Anakin appeared to agree, wilting a little in submission. "Fine. It can wait."
At that moment, Aria returned, toting an armful of pillows and blankets of all shapes and colors with her. She dropped them on the floor with a sigh, clearing out a large enough spot for the three of them on her bedroom floor.
"I think I can pull off a mattress from my bed, but other than that, this is the best I've got," Aria said sheepishly.
"That's all right, we'll make due," Obi-Wan told her.
Aria quietly pulled off one of the mattresses off of her bed, dragging it onto the floor with as little noise as she could. She started to pass out the blankets and pillows to them before they were finally able to shoo her away, convincing her that they were perfectly capable of making their own beds, and that they would be fine.
Anakin ran through a list of complaints for being stuck sleeping on the floor of this strange girl's floor on the planet called Earth in his head as he lied down on her cold wooden floor, pulling the large patchwork blanket she had given him around himself. The girl was quick to fall asleep again, leaving the other three to fall into sleep gradually and uneasily.
Padme was the first to fall asleep, and not too long afterwards Obi-Wan did, leaving Anakin as the only one awake. Something twisted uneasily in his gut as he stared up at the white ceiling, trying to process what was happening.
Something told him that there were many secrets that this Galaxy held to all of their fates, secrets that Aria. Surely they had been sent here for a reason? And surely the girl knew more than she was letting on?
Before Anakin allowed himself to fall into unconsciousness, he vowed he would find out what Aria knew.
One way or another.
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10840818/1/Across-the-Universe-Book-1-Pieces-of-Destiny