[Anakin Skywalker – POV]
Darkness.
Silence, but not the kind that feels peaceful. This is different. As if the entire universe is holding its breath.
"Where am I?" I murmured, barely conscious.
I remember… smoke and fire. I was on a mission. A routine patrol along the borders of the Outer Rim that, fortunately, turned out to be more interesting than just walking.
Obi-Wan had told me not to be impulsive. Again. And I didn't listen, chasing after the criminals. Again.
I was thinking about everything and nothing. About the slaves we couldn't free because "it's not part of our mission." About the Council's absurd diplomatic rules that tied our hands. About my mother… whom I still couldn't rescue. Whom they wouldn't let me rescue.
The Council. Always watching. Always doubting. As if being the Chosen One weren't enough. As if I had to prove it every second.
Thinking about it stirred up ugly feelings, anger, sadness, rage… I quickly pushed those thoughts away.
And then something happened. A shift in the air. A sensation impossible to describe. As if the Force opened beneath me, like an invisible crack that swallowed me whole. I didn't see it coming. I couldn't see it coming.
I slowly opened my eyes. The light of a star hit me directly.
"Annoying," I muttered, shielding my eyes from the glare.
At first, everything was blurry. Just light, shadows, and noise. Then the image sharpened. Trees. Tall and lush. I've seen many species of trees on different planets, but these… they tell me nothing. They don't look exotic, yet they aren't familiar either.
My lightsaber.
My gaze found it immediately, lying on the grass a few meters away. The metallic cylinder gleamed under the sunlight. A small wave of relief passed through my chest. I exhaled through my nose.
I extended my hand, and the saber flew to me with perfect precision, as always. But something was different.
I caught it midair and couldn't help but frown.
"What the hell?" I muttered, confused. Noticing it, I began to feel the Force, and it was different. It was there, denser somehow, but different.
It was hard to explain. This has never happened to me before, and I'm the Chosen One.
I'll have to talk to my Master about it. Though he'll probably say something like, "Focus, Anakin. Don't let your emotions control you." Which, frankly, doesn't help right now.
I ignited the blade. The blue hum filled the silence of the forest. A familiar sound that almost made me smile.
I deactivated it with a slight twist of my wrist and clipped it to my belt. The metallic click was comforting.
I reached into the side pocket of my tunic and pulled out the small holographic communicator.
I pressed the activator.
Nothing.
I tapped the opposite side. Adjusted the frequency. Waited. Silence. No static. No interference.
I frowned and tried again. Once, twice, three times.
"Great," I muttered, turning the communicator in my hand as if hitting it might help. "Of all the useless Outer Rim planets, I had to land on one with no signal."
I put the device away with a frustrated sigh. I wasn't worried. But this was strange. Strange even by Jedi standards, though I've been in worse situations since I started training with my Master at nine years old.
A slow smile formed on my lips.
Maybe this isn't so bad…
Stranded on a planet with no signal, no orders to follow, no elderly Jedi demanding a report every five minutes.
"Could be fun," I murmured with a half-smile, adjusting my belt and letting the forest breeze brush against my face. "A little action without supervision."
I leapt onto a nearby rock, then higher onto a thick branch.
My body moved with precision, propelled by the Force, with that fluidity that only comes from years of training, and natural talent, of course.
I picked up speed, running between the trunks, leaping over roots and branches like a swift shadow. Each stride carried me farther from where I had awakened. The Force guided me, even if it felt different.
I kept moving.
The forest began to change. The trees grew less dense, the ground more even. Soon the vegetation gave way entirely, and the air filled with a hum… artificial. Like thousands of small ships emitting constant noise from every direction.
I made another leap, propelled by the Force, and landed softly on the ledge of a rusted metal structure. I lifted my gaze.
And froze.
Before me, a swarm of steel and glass towers rose high enough to tear at the sky. Concrete giants. Tall buildings, but without the elegance or clean verticality of the galactic capital. These had a harsher aesthetic, in my opinion, though I've visited planets with far worse infrastructure.
Smoke poured from pipes on some rooftops. Bright screens hung from the sides of buildings. And vehicles, thousands of them, moved along paved roads.
But they didn't fly.
How are they not flying?
I blinked, confused.
It was like looking at something primitive. Vehicles with four wheels?
"What the hell…" I muttered with a grimace.
I descended from the hill, and soon my boots touched concrete. I entered the city with a firm stride, not hiding. I'm a Jedi, defender of the galaxy. Well… still a Padawan. But I can already defeat more than one Jedi Knight, so it hardly matters.
The streets were filled with humans. Normal ones. They walked quickly, many holding small devices in their hands. They wore clothing that seemed strange to me, no symbols, no armor, no robes. Apparently all civilians, at first glance.
And me. I was dressed like a Padawan. Brown trousers, tall boots, hooded tunic. My lightsaber hanging visibly at my belt.
The stares began immediately.
At first subtle. Then more direct. Some frowned. Others whispered among themselves. A couple even stopped entirely to look at me, as if I were part of some kind of parade. A woman laughed, murmuring something to her partner. I caught the word "cosplayer."
Cosplayer?
I didn't understand the word, but the tone was clear. Mocking. As if I were some kind of costumed clown.
"A little respect," I muttered under my breath without slowing down. "You don't cross paths with a future Jedi every day, ma'am."
I ignored the looks and kept walking, observing everything with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism. Then I caught a scent.
Greasy. Salty. Almost offensive, but tempting.
My stomach growled loudly. I turned my head and saw it: a building with a bright golden symbol shaped like an M.
McDonald's, the sign read.
The smell came from there. Strong and persistent.
I entered without hesitation. The interior was lit in warm tones, and dozens of people sat at tables with trays full of food I didn't recognize, but honestly, it looked incredible.
I approached the counter. A young woman in a red cap, wearing an expression of resignation, looked at me with boredom.
"Welcome to McDonald's. What can I get you?" she said without lifting her eyes from the monitor.
I examined the list displayed on a screen. Big Mac. McNuggets. Large Fries… Coca-Cola. Strange words, but the images were clear. Greasy, abundant food.
"I'll take one of those," I said, pointing. "The… Big Mac. With large fries. And that black fizzy drink."
"Combo number one? With a large Coke?"
"Yes. That."
She typed for a moment and finally looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "That'll be 9.47."
I blinked.
"Excuse me?" I asked, confused.
"Nine dollars and forty-seven cents."
"Oh. No, no. You see, I'm a Padawan of the Jedi Order," I said with a slight smile, giving a subtle nod. My confidence was absolute. "Defender of peace in the galaxy. Look, this is my lightsaber."
She processed that for a few seconds, then let out a dry laugh. "Uh-huh. Is that like part of a convention or something?"
"Convention?" I repeated, confused. "No. It's my official rank."
"Your official rank doesn't pay for the combo. Are you paying or not?"
I frowned, bewildered. The lack of respect was astonishing. On any civilized world, simply mentioning the word "Jedi" would earn me a table, a drink, and a full report on local affairs. Here, they couldn't even recognize a kriffing lightsaber.
I glanced around. No one seemed surprised. They just ate, laughed, and carried on with their lives as if it were perfectly normal to treat a Jedi this way.
"May I speak to your supervisor?" I tried, keeping my composure.
"Sure," she replied, turning around. "Mark! Some crazy guy wants free food!"
I frowned again.
Crazy? you're the crazy one, you pathetic girl with dark circles and that ridiculous cap.
I sighed in resignation and turned to leave. But just as I was about to step toward the door, I felt it.
A stab. A flash in my mind. Precognition. Imminent danger.
I snapped my head to the right.
In a fraction of a second, I opened my left palm and unleashed a precise, swift telekinetic wave. Several people were hurled backward violently, thrown away from the glass window as if an invisible force had yanked them aside.
One second later, a figure burst through the glass at full speed.
Crash!
The body slammed into the exact spot where those people had been eating moments before. Glass exploded outward, tables shattered, screams filled the air. The impact shook the entire restaurant.
The scene descended into chaos. Customers ran, shoving each other, screaming, tripping. Some fled through the main door, others vaulted over the counter searching for another exit.
No one had noticed what I'd done, I had barely moved my hand.
My focus was on the figure lying among the wreckage of broken tables.
It wasn't human.
Tall. Massive. Covered in greenish scales. Its unnatural musculature looked ready to tear through its own skin. Its face was a grotesque hybrid of reptile and man: yellow eyes without visible pupils, jaws lined with uneven teeth, and a thick neck that flexed with each heavy breath.
A peculiar creature, but not the strangest I've encountered.
It shifted among the debris with a guttural growl, more animal than human. A long tail twisted behind it, slamming against the floor.
Fear in the restaurant rose like a tide. People shoved each other. Screamed. Some children cried. Others stood frozen in terror.
The girl who had been serving me seconds earlier was crouched behind the counter, her eyes barely visible over the edge, trembling.
The monster lifted its head. Its breathing was irregular. Wild. But its eyes held intelligence. I noticed that.
"Subtle entrance," I muttered, my thumb sliding to the activation switch of my saber.
Click.
The blue hum sliced through the noise.
The Lizard slowly turned its head toward me, as if finally registering my presence. It stared, and hissed. Not like a snake, like someone about to speak.
"Another kid playing hero?" the Lizard asked, baring its fangs.
I smiled. Finally, something interesting.
Adrenaline began to flow through me, familiar, like an old friend waking my reflexes. I wasn't excited. I didn't need to be. This was what I'd trained for every day since I was nine years old.
This is what Jedi do.
Maybe this planet doesn't know the Jedi Order…
But that changes nothing. Civilians are in danger. A creature threatens innocents.
A Jedi acts. Always.
"I'm not playing, lizard," I said firmly.
I raised my left hand.
With a sharp gesture, I channeled the Force and released a brutal push. Invisible, but relentless.
The Lizard barely had time to snarl before his massive body was hurled like a rag doll, blasted back through the very hole he had made.
He flew several meters, skidding across asphalt in a shower of sparks, chunks of concrete, and screeching cars slamming on their brakes.
Screams outside. Horns blaring. Urban chaos.
I stepped quickly through the shattered opening in the wall, the blue glow of my saber illuminating my silhouette beneath the lowering sun. People fled in every direction, and through the dust and shouting, something caught my attention.
In front of the restaurant, just about to enter, stood a girl, judging by her figure.
The strange part was her outfit: a tight white-and-black suit, with a mask featuring large white eyes. She was tense, as if she had just landed in a hurry. Her breathing was heavy. Her fists clenched tightly.
She froze when she saw the scene. It looked like she had been about to enter McDonald's, but she stopped when the Lizard went flying, and then her gaze locked onto me.
I studied her as well, tilting my head slightly.
What in the galaxy is that?
Not a clone. Not a droid. The suit had an odd design. A spider?
Why?
"Are you some kind of local creature?" I asked cautiously, not lowering my saber.
The creature quickly raised her hands.
"Creature? Whoa, hey! No, no, I'm a vigilante. I'm very famous. Spider-Woman!" she said, clearly annoyed at being called a local creature.
I blinked.
"Spider… what?"
...
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