As I walked into the living room through the portal, I smiled at seeing Sabah, Dinah, and Hermione’s relief that we had returned safe even as I noted Sarah momentarily frowning.
Thinking about any more resources we could find before we left, I suddenly had another thought. There had to be something worth stealing on a world like this, the problem was I didn’t know where any of it was. Turning to Luna and Dinah I just decided to ask and see what they could come up with. “Tatooine has been a den of thieves and bounty hunters for thousands of years. Is there anything Force related here that we could grab on our way out? Like a Sith tomb or some forgotten cache somewhere.”
Luna looked at Dinah and tilted her head in a silent question. Dinah bit her lip and shrugged before turning to Thea. “Can you please pull up a map of the planet to narrow it down, Thea?”
While they were working on that I decided I needed to have a quick chat with Missy, Lisa, Brian, Aisha, and the rest of New Wave. They were obviously a little uncomfortable being left out while we started to make plans, but I didn’t know what I could do about it and I honestly wasn’t interested in getting too involved to try to solve their problems and issues. Not when we had our own issues and goals, helping Holly prepare for her fourth year and checking in with Lara top among them.
Starting the conversation now that we had some space away from everyone else, I decided to be blunt. “So with everything that has happened, we haven’t really had a chance to talk at all. I know that Dinah’s parents are interested in following her to wherever she ends up and Taylor’s dad seems to be thinking of doing the same. I just don’t know what you all want to do.”
I looked at Carol Dallon who glared at me, but it was Sarah Pelham, the actual leader of New Wave, that answered my question. “We have only discussed it a bit, but we are interested in finding another world. Ideally one that is fairly safe that we can retire to. Most of us aren’t very eager to fight any longer.”
I nodded but had to ask. “Any opinions about what type of world?”
That seemed to throw them for a loop so I had to clarify. “Modern, Magical, Fantasy, Scifi, anything is technically possible. I mean, if you really wanted to we could drop you off here. But I doubt you would find much peace here. Conversely pretty much every book, movie, or game you have seen probably exists somewhere and we can try to find it . However I want you to understand that while we might visit, we aren’t going to come running back if you change your minds.”
That seemed to have given New Wave, Brian, and Lisa enough to consider. Enough that Lisa didn’t even say anything… or maybe Amy got tired of her snark while I wasn’t around and removed her ability to speak… Shaking my head, I decided that I probably didn’t want to know.
It was Aisha that looked at me for a bit longer and then smiled wide enough that a small shiver ran up my spine. I could almost feel the chaos she would bring and for a moment I considered dropping her off here on Tatooine and saving me the headache.
However before I could think up a way of limiting Aisha’s chaos, Missy spoke up. I hadn’t actually heard her speak more than a few words in the entire time she was here so it actually startled me slightly when she asked her question. “Do I have the same options?”
I looked at her confused and she asked again. “Are those my only options?”
I frowned at her and after a moment I realized what she meant. Yet as I looked at her I suspected that she didn’t actually want to join us. I considered for a moment just letting her join. Maybe she would change her mind like Sabah, but then again Sarah seemed to be struggling with the group. Plus, she was still pretty young at about Dinah’s age and I already felt conflicted about that one. Ultimately I again decided to be blunt. “I am sorry, but I need to ask. Are you asking because you want to join or because you are worried about being abandoned?”
The silence was telling and I sighed again while I considered what to do. “Missy, while I will let you join us if you really want to, you have been Vista for most of your life. I mean, you spent almost all of your time being a superhero with a conflict shard stuck in your brain. I think you need to figure out what you actually want.” I thought about it for a moment and then continued. “Why don’t we find a nice place for you to stay and then you can just be Missy for a while? After you have a chance to have a normal life we can come back and find out what you actually want.”
Seeing her worry I tried to smile reassuringly. “I understand you are overwhelmed so we won’t drop you off alone and we will let you change your mind and pick something else. Plus, regardless of whatever world we find for you, we will make sure you have people with you that you can trust before we leave.”
That seemed to reassure her enough for now and I turned in time to be face to face with Dinah and Luna returning from their little planning session. Luna was the one to speak up with a frown. “There are some Sith tombs and vaults here, but most of those… well exploring those tombs would be… messy without a lot more preparation. Even if we came through a portal.”
Dinah looked happy as she continued their explanation. “But Jabba has quite a few artifacts including several light sabers, stashed in the treasury below his fortress. Simply opening a portal and grabbing everything inside has a 92.4% chance of success.”
I smiled, giving both of them a side hug before I spoke up to Thea. “Thea, please fly us close enough that I can push a portal inside then head to a neighboring city and land us down somewhere inconspicuous while I maneuver the portal down to the treasury. A radius of about 20 miles should be close enough to make this easy enough.”
The entire ride over I was half expecting something to go wrong, but as we flew past Jabba’s fortress at a reasonable distance, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had no issues flying a portal down through one of the air vents, down several corridors, and through some sort of electrical fence. In fact not only did I not have any issues as I simply followed Dinah and Luna’s instructions towards Jabba the hutt’s treasury, even after getting inside and opening the portal wider, we didn’t notice any alarm nor did the guards outside seem to notice.
Looking around at the entire group I simply shrugged my shoulders and widened the portal before dropping them across the piles of jewels, credits and artifacts. The corresponding portal was moved to be at the top of the cargo hold so once the items passed through the first portal the newly reversed gravity would make them fall into piles inside our ship.
It was so easy and quick that only as I was wrapping up did apparently someone notice as I started to hear a commotion outside the treasury. Apparently someone had finally noticed the slowly disappearing treasures either in person or across some sort of CC TV system. Regardless, we were just about done and I pulled the last few items in before Ahsoka suddenly stepped forward into the cargo hold and picked up two crystals, the look of awe on her face was so exaggerated that I was nearly distracted enough not to hear her murmured exclamation. “Holocrons…”
I felt my eyebrows shoot into my hairline as I nearly stopped everything to walk over and look them over as well. Holocrons were supposedly the nearly magical devices that could store the teachings of great Jedi or Sith Masters for future generations. Some of them had so much information they could practically be considered a soul jar for the Master in question.
Yet before I could drop everything and take a look I heard the hiss of gas and realized that the treasury apparently had some sort of poison dispersal system. Quickly shutting the portals I turned and faced Ahsoka and reluctantly told her to store them because I was nearly as interested in them as she was. “Let's put them somewhere safe. We don’t know who made them nor do we have time to check right now. Once we are somewhere secure we can investigate them a bit better. The last thing we need is a potential Sith inside somehow using them to try to control one of us.”
Ahsoka, frowned for a moment longer but nodded her head and placed the two holocrons on one of the shelves built into the cargo bay.
Turning I tried to think through all the other things we wanted to get before we left and another item came to mind so I turned to Amy. “Did you find the Bacta gel in the medical wing and can you make more of that? That would be incredibly useful to have or even to trade if necessary, I mean, it is supposed to be nearly magical in how well it assists in healing.”
Amy’s smile spread ear to ear. “Yeah, it is a mix of several different types of bacterias and fluids but I should be able to make more of it now that I have a sample.”
I smiled and tried to think of anything else we could grab before we left. We wanted to leave soon, probably within the hour before Jabba could attempt to lock the planet down, but that didn’t answer the question of where we wanted to go. I had a few options I could remember from the story, however before I could make a decision, my thoughts were interrupted by Ahsoka’s sudden reluctant, almost resigned question. “Is what you said true?”
I hummed in confusion so she clarified. “Did Anakin really fall? And what was that all about the old code?”
Looking at her I frowned. I had thought she had realized Vader was Anakin, but maybe she hadn’t made that leap yet… or maybe she didn’t want to believe it and was pushing back on the story I had told in Luke’s home.
My own personal theory that the Jedi had buried their past also seemed to be true. Hell, it seemed like most of Ahsoka’s generation didn’t even realize there HAD been an alternate version of the code. It made me wonder if the Temple had just completely buried their distant past since none of them seemed to remember the Jedi Lords. It was the point in their history where the Jedi ruled like kings over a few planets with wives, sometimes multiple wives, and children. Said children being trained as Jedi as well. From what I understood, it hadn’t necessarily been a better system from a governmental standpoint and had only lasted a century or two, but it definitely hadn’t caused them all to fall either.
Sighing I started to explain what I could remember of the Star Wars Lore and my opinions about it. I tried to be as neutral as I could about everything except the part about cutting themselves off from their emotions. I really did feel that was pretty stupid and I had always suspected that a non trivial number of Jedi had fallen because they had never learned to deal with their emotions like a healthy adult. Pushing everything away until it overwhelmed you was a bad coping mechanism…
There was a moment before I realized…
That was almost the same as what I had done any time I had been overwhelmed with worries about my soul, or the girls, or my future plans… I winced at the hypocrisy, even if I had mostly stopped doing that and most of it had been compulsion enforced. Still, internally I vowed to do better. I needed to be strong and that wasn’t just ignoring my problems anymore, I mean my girls were depending on me.
Ahsoka seemed to have noticed that I had drifted off and cleared her throat. “What happened exactly to… Sky-guy?”
As I explained how Palpatine had been playing Anakin from the beginning, probably even orchestrating his mother’s murder and twisting his fear into self-destruction, I could see Ahsoka’s shoulders first tighten until she couldn’t take it anymore and she nearly collapsed as I outright stated that Darth Vader was Anakin.
Honestly it was a little heartbreaking. She looked lost and it made sense. Finding out her mentor, teacher, older brother figure, and possibly romantic crush had not only fallen, but had personally led the purge that saw just about everyone she had ever known to be murdered in cold blood was horrifying. All while the vaunted Jedi Masters were completely blinded to the entire Sith plot. That was also ignoring her personal past of being accused of treason only to have the one person to believe her be Anakin. That left literally no one that hadn’t abandoned her at some point through her life.
Focusing, I could once again practically taste her feelings. It was a cocktail of bitter emotions. She felt lost, tired, and so very very sad thinking back on all that had happened.
As I looked at her I sighed. “Look, Ahsoka, we have one more secret. One that might give you a few more options. But only if you want to travel with us for a while longer.”
Looking me in the eye for the first time since I started explaining she slowly nodded.
I swallowed but continued. “We appreciate you coming back to help us just now when you sensed we were in danger despite not really owing us anything… it proves how good a person you are.”
Ahsoka paused for a moment before she slowly, sadly smiled at my complement and nodded for me to go on. That troubled me. Ahsoka was known for being headstrong but a major part of her character was the strength to keep pushing even when things seemed hopeless. That had caused problems at first, but she had gained wisdom as she grew up.
Taking a deep breath, I glanced around the room and met each of my girls' eyes. As I did, one by one they nodded. Apparently Ahsoka had made a good impression. I wasn’t going to bind her soul yet, but it was time to make the offer.
Turning back to Ahsoka I smiled at her. “So as I was saying, what would you think of traveling with us a bit longer… maybe somewhat permanently.” She looked around for a few moments thinking so I decided I should also clarify our positions. “That said, I should probably explain something to you. We really do try to help the people we meet as you saw with Obi Wan and Luke. There are a few differences I think you should be aware of, the first… well…” I thought about how to phrase this before I mentally shrugged and went with, “I want a family that cares about each other, enough to try to put each other first.”
There was a moment of silence while Ahsoka looked at me and then each of my girls. I could practically feel my girls holding their breath, waiting for her response.
Ahsoka seemed to hesitate for a moment before slowly nodding. “I… I might like that. Would you mind if I travel with you for a bit while I decide. Plus… something tells me that this might be where I need to be.”
That made me wonder momentarily if the Force was encouraging her to join. Well either that or maybe she just enjoyed the idea of having companions who clearly cared for each other. It must have made for a bit of contrast to the somewhat cold and unattached Jedi order.
Regardless, now that she had decided that she would be traveling with us, I turned and spoke to our AI companion. “Thea, take us up. I think we have worn out our welcome here on Tatooine and I want to be gone before anyone catches us.”
There were some small bumps as we lifted off, but with Thea’s flying they didn’t last more than a few moments before they smoothed back out. A moment later she asked the question I was still considering. “Where to?”
I bit my lip, trying to think of a place to lay low for a day or two. My mind momentarily flashed back to the swampy cave I had seen in my dreams, but I shook it away. Yet before I could explain my plan of visiting Naboo Luna spoke up. “We need to head to Dagobah.”
I frowned and looked at Dinah and Luna. “Dagobah?”
Luna looked sad and Dinah looked worried but the two of them nodded.
I sighed and turned to Thea again. “Dagobah, Please.”
Most of the people around us looked confused until I clarified. “It is the swamp planet that Yoda is hiding on in the original series.”
While that got the chatter started at the idea of seeing Yoda, I hesitated. I certainly wasn’t looking forward to visiting a magical swamp, but if the Force was hitting even me over the head with visions, then I had a feeling that trying to avoid it might end badly. I wasn’t a true expert in Star Wars lore, but that was pretty consistent throughout the entire franchise… you don’t ignore the Force if you want to survive very long.
It was then that I felt something that was clearly happy with the choice. Was… was that the Force? Slumping back in my chair I sighed, running a hand down my face let my head thump back on the headrest. “Ah… bloody hell…”
I considered asking either Ahsoka or Luna before I changed my mind. No, I don’t think I wanted to know. Glancing at Luna who smiled at me before tilting her head in question I shook my head. No, I really didn’t want to know what Luna knew.
Taking a deep breath I sighed one last time and looked around. We were still surrounded by the various Earth Bet refugees. There was a moment where I considered pulling Ahsoka aside to talk in private, yet I hesitated. The people here were aware of 95% of what I was about to say. Plus being blunt here might make future interactions a little easier. I mean, as I had said before. They were sorta like my in-laws, even if I was starting to think Amy would avoid Carol Dallon at all costs after this trip and the only one I was interested in working with moving forward was Xeno Lovegood.
Making up my mind with a mental shrug I just ignored the peanut gallery and looked up at Ahsoka. “Well, I guess we will explain a bit more about us and our plans then.”
Ahsoka smiled, a little amused, and I nearly chuckled as we were about to throw her entire worldview upside down.
“So, to start off… we aren’t actually from this universe. We are reality hoppers and I am building a Family of women to travel around with me.” The mouth falling open in surprise would never get old and this time I actually chuckled. Seeing her instantly believe me meant she was probably seeing if I was telling the truth through the Force or something.
“The next thing you need to know is that we know your story, or at least a story very similar to yours. Stories like what happened here are big enough they often cross the divide between realities and show up as fiction in another world. Either that or everything that happens in fiction is actually happening somewhere in the infinite number of universes… either way, this is what we call the multiverse.”
Ahsoka swallowed and I smiled at her. “The final thing I am going to explain for now is that I have a type of woman I am trying to recruit. You are powerful, a good person, and smart. That is what I am looking for as practically everything else can be changed, especially with a biology sculptor on tap. Keep in mind that additional benefits include biological immortality with Amy and the ability to gain more powers via my skills while traveling the multiverse. Just understand that we want full commitment. So while that doesn’t mean you will have to sleep with me or any other girl here if you don’t want to, intimacy stays between us. We won’t deal with divided loyalties or insincere commitments to our Family.”
Done with my somewhat simplified pitch, I smiled. “So now that you more or less know the basics, please understand that we are in somewhat of a hurry to get back to a friend who is in quite a bit of danger and needs our help. She is also someone who might join us in the future. The problem is we are somewhat spinning our wheels while I recover from an injury. So we have another day or two before we can move on.”
Ahsoka’s mouth worked for a few moments before she slumped back in her seat. I was pretty sure that she was trying to convince herself that we were crazy, but the Force or her empathy seemed to be telling her that we weren’t.
It was only after Sabah came over bringing a few plates of food that Ahsoka finally spoke up. “I… I will think about it…” There was a pause before she tried a smile. “A family might be nice… I guess.” then she visibly perked up remembering what I said before. “You said we were going to see Master Yoda… he really survived?”
There was a moment before I sighed. “Yeah, he did. And yeah, I guess we are off to see the little green gremlin.”
Ahsoka actually choked on the drink she was sipping at that comment and her smile turned wide and genuine for the first time in this discussion. Maybe the first time since we had met. “I might just need to call him that as well.”
It was then that we were interrupted by an unlikely source. Looking over I had to force myself not to roll my eyes at the face that Carol Dallon was making. It was clear Amy’s adoptive mother wasn’t happy not being involved with the decisions being made, but she had bit her tongue while looking at her two daughters. That was a good sign with how much of a control freak she was in the story. Still, Vicky was not amused at Carol's little huffs and I could also tell that Amy was considering putting them all back down for another round of naps.
Deciding that it was still best not to antagonize what was basically my in-laws, regardless of how strained the relationship was, I turned and asked the entire room. “Is there anything else anyone wants to bring up?”
Taylor’s dad, Danny Hebert looked like he wanted to speak up, but didn’t and neither did anyone else so I continued. “In that case and like I just explained, I am pretty sure I can pull the ship into a pocket dimension and pop us out in another day or two. Well, unless you want to be left in a swamp with Yoda or back on Tatooine. However I am still going to suggest that everyone not completely essential be put to sleep for the actual jump. It is pretty hard on the soul and seems to be mandatory for those with any sort of seer ability.”
It was Dinah’s parents who spoke up next. “Is that why Dinah struggled to stay awake for the first day after we arrived here?”
I nodded, but it was Dinah who answered. “Yeah, that last jump was particularly bad, normally I sleep for an hour or two after we arrive and wake up feeling more or less fine.”
Luna nodded behind her with a happy little head wiggle while sipping some more of the blue milk. “Yeps!”
Seeing as there weren’t any other interruptions I turned to Thea. “Thea, is Dagobah actually in your database?”
Thea hummed for a moment before she responded, a little concern in her voice “No, it is not, unfortunately.” She said while bringing up a star chart.
I nodded, already considering how to do this, before Luna and Dinah spoke up. “We have been working on it. It is that sector, about a third of the way along that route.” while pointing at the holographic display in the center of the table.
Thea hummed for a moment before she responded. “The Sluis Sector along the Rimma trade route?” At Dinah’s confirmation, Thea hummed again which I was beginning to believe was her ‘processing’ noise before she responded. “It is relatively close. I can have us there in about a day or two.”
I gestured to the food that Sabah and Ahri had been passing out to everyone. “Why don’t we eat a late dinner and head to bed. It has been a long day.”
The chorus of agreement across the roughly two dozen people was good to hear as I wasn’t in the mood for long or annoying arguments.
In the meantime I walked back over to Missy to reassure her that we really weren’t skipping her because she wasn’t useful. In fact, her abilities would boost my own tremendously when we needed to move around large distances or simply give a small group of us incredible mobility. I just wanted her to grow up so she could choose to join us or not, not feel like she was being forced into this.
After an hour or so more discussion among the peanut gallery and my girls, I got up. Leaving the quiet discussions still happening across the ship and heading to bed with Amy, Taylor, Ahri, and Sabah, all of which seemed done with the crowd for now, I flopped down on the bed. There was a pause before a small smirk started to grow on my face and I pulled out my wand and shot a silencing spell at the door. Now turning back to look back at my girls I raised my eyebrow and smiled. “Well… should we break in the new bed?”
There were a few small smiles before I reached over to start kissing Taylor. I felt like I was forgetting something but it wasn’t important.
The next day we were forced to drop out of hyperspace a little early and spend an hour or two scanning for the exact location of Dagobah. But when we did eventually find it, we were pleasantly surprised to find we were only another hour or two of sub-hyperspace travel away.
That was probably a good thing as I was really getting sick of being surrounded by so many people in what was a relatively small ship.
Getting the announcement of our arrival, I walked quickly into the cockpit in order to see the planet appear with my own eyes as we dropped out of hyperspace and once again I wasn’t disappointed. We had jumped to a few hundred thousand kilometers and at this distance Dagobah was only a medium size greenish ball in the windows. But said ball grew fairly quickly as we started our approach. It wasn’t the same as when we had been able to jump nearly on top of Tatooine since it was a common trading world and its orbits were fully mapped out. Yet, the approach really drove home that we were in kriffing space, as they would say here, and that wasn’t about to stop being cool any time soon.
Yet as we slowly arrived, landing target chosen via a point and small course corrections given by Dinah, we all started to feel something strange. It almost felt like the overwhelming magical feeling of when we had first arrived at Hogwarts.
Yet, even the non-magical slash non-Force sensitive people in the shuttle seemed to sense that something had changed.
Said feeling just grew as we entered the atmosphere and started our landing procedures. In fact as we continued I realized the entire shuttle was absolutely silent, no one daring to speak. It was as we finally descended through the trees I finally had to break the oppressive silence with something so I simply voiced my thoughts. “Wow, the movies really weren’t kidding when they said Dagobah was immersed in the Force.”
A large set of nods showed everyone’s agreement with that statement followed by a confused look by Ahsoka who hadn’t been shown the movies quite yet. I didn’t want to play them until we were sure she wasn’t going to be overwhelmed by them.
As we approached the ground we quickly realized that, just like for Luke, there really wasn’t any place to land. Especially as our ship was about a dozen times longer than his and about 3 times wider.
It was only after a small discussion by our group that saw Hermione, Luna, and Xeno as the three strongest magic users, start transfiguring a solid piece of land to land the shuttle on.
Setting the shuttle down we lowered the ramp, only to immediately see movement in the trees. Walking down the ramp, we were greeted by a small green goblin-looking thing that pretty much everyone immediately realized was Yoda.
Yet we didn’t have to figure out how to talk to him as he walked out and practically giggled out. “Get out of my swamp, you will!”
I blinked and part of me wondered if Shrek was somehow a thing in the Star Wars universe before I responded. “I am sorry, Sir, we…”
The little agent of chaos interrupted me by walking forward and whacking me across the shins with his cane. “Listen to me, you should. Leave, you must!”
Jumping back in surprise and a bit of pain I fell on my butt in the swampy water. Even if I had my body reinforced from Amy’s tinkering, being hit across the shins still hurt.
It was Hermione who humphed and walked forward trying to be respectful of authority. “Master Yoda, we would…”
She didn’t even get to finish as he jumped, landing on her back and making her scream and flail to the side, face first into the swamp.
That was enough that Amy actually jumped forward to help Hermione… or maybe strangle Yoda, but we would never know as a small pulse in the Force saw her face planting next to Hermione.
Taylor and Ahri were obviously now annoyed. With a flex of their abilities I could sorta feel, I realized they had decided to try to get back at him. Vicky had zeroed in on her sister and with a cry of ‘Ames’ she shot forward only to hit what I realized now was a small Force push and when she didn’t stop, a second one which made her face plant next to her sister.
Yet, unfortunately for Ahri and Taylor’s attempts at harassment, the illusions didn’t seem to do anything and while Yoda’s cane looked to be swinging around randomly he seemed to be killing all of her bugs nonchalantly, much to their flabbergasted faces.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Still amused Yoda smiled a little patronizingly at all of us, not dropping the little gremlin act he had put on for Luke. “Annoying, you are.”
I sighed deciding not to rise to the bait and still rubbing my shins, I got up and walked over to help Amy and Hermione to their feet. Next to me Sabah walked forward to do the same. Once out, Luna and Hermione started casting several quick cleaning charms which had everyone, including me, more or less clean and back to normal.
It was then that Yoda actually did a full body flinch before jumping nearly twenty feet out of the way. We all suddenly were able to remember Aisha who was now face first in the mud where Yoda had just been.
I blinked. That was impressive. It was clear that Yoda didn’t sense her until the very last moment, but somehow the Force had warned him in time to avoid whatever Aisha had planned… probably a combination of a tackle and bear hug. She clearly wasn’t happy as she climbed back out of the mud, and had to wait as she was cleaned up just like the rest of us.
Sighing and wondering how we would get Yoda to be serious when he was so clearly enjoying messing around, Yoda’s hand snapped up and caught a glob of mud flung at him from the side.
He turned towards his assailant but completely froze when he spotted Ahsoka who must have been once again hiding her presence in the Force for Yoda not to have spotted her until now.
We all watched as a large number of emotions crossed his wrinkled face before he sighed. “Ah, Ahsoka, long I have missed you. Yet failed you all, I have”
Ahsoka looked a little smug at getting the drop on Yoda, but after a moment her mood fell, also looking incredibly sad, probably thinking about how much had changed.
Yoda looked at her for a moment before looking at the rest of us. “Moment alone with Young Miss Tano, please allow me.”
I looked surprised between the two but slowly nodded. “Yeah, we don’t mind at all. We can just wait on the ship. You probably have a lot to catch up on.”
The chuckle Yoda gave was clearly exhausted, but he nodded. “Yes, A long time it has been, Young Miss Tano. Tell you much, I have. Apologize for more, I must.”
I nodded but then hesitated before I continued. “That said, several of us have been dreaming about a cave. I think the Force wants us to visit it.”
Yoda looked at us sharply and considered for a few seconds before he hummed. “Ready, You are not. A domain of evil, it is. Seek out the temptations of the Dark Side, you should not.”
I felt a bit of annoyance as I realized that Yoda had looked at us for barely a minute, felt us out for maybe twice that including when we were on the ship and now thought he could tell us what to do. I knew he had the experience, but I was learning I didn’t deal well with authority figures just declaring they knew best without actually explaining their reasons. Really, I suspected that we would have absolutely not gotten along before he had been humbled by Palpatine.
I sighed. “Yet, I feel I should visit it and… well the Force seems to be pushing me to do it so….” I said while shrugging my shoulders. “Plus, weren’t Force visions like this supposed to be limited to what you brought with you, so without weapons, shouldn’t it just be a test of character?”
Yoda visibly considered this for several minutes while slowly tapping his cane on the ground. Yet just as we were all starting to wonder if he would even respond he finally sighed. “Fine… take you all tonight, I will. Until then, meditate, you should. Speak with young Tano, now I will.”
Watching as the two former Jedi walked away I turned and led the rest of our group back into the shuttle.
Sitting down in the common living room area, Taylor and Amy were next to me. Looking at their conflicted faces I sighed. “You two want to visit the trial cave as well, don’t you?” Looking around I got a chorus of “Yeah” and “Me too”s from the rest of my girls.
I sighed but nodded in agreement. “We can probably make all of that work. I do agree that we should probably try to meditate first though. Practice our Occlumency even if we aren’t trying to protect our minds from an attack. I mean, we aren’t Jedi, but I suspect we are going to be shown things that will rattle us and I am sure we aren’t going to like what we see.”
At the firm set of nods we all separated to try to find some place to relax and center ourselves.
It was only as I sat down in a chair and began to attempt to empty my mind and examine my memories and emotions that I realized I was a lot more nervous than I had any right to be. In the movie Luke had seen himself becoming Vader. It might have also been a hint to his true parentage.
Yet for a ‘cave of evil’ that vision wasn’t particularly bad. Was it because Luke had nearly no evil desires or thoughts inside him? Or was it because the worst thing he could think of was becoming like the man that had terrorized the galaxy, killed his mentor, and ordered the death of his aunt and uncle?
Heart beating unnaturally fast I found myself stalling out on the second step of Occlumency for over an hour. Unlike the fully formed mind palace ideas from fiction that seemed a little fantastical, Occlumency that we had found seemed to have only four steps. Clearing your mind in meditation, examining your thoughts and emotions to notice outside influence. Anyone was capable of this much, but after that second step it continued on to step three namely, while channeling magic into your mind, organizing and reinforcing your thoughts and detecting intrusions. That step did have the side effect of reducing emotions if done badly. Finally there was a fourth step, using your magic to fully wrap around said memories and thoughts so mental manipulations of all kinds could be detected and resisted. If done well enough by a strong enough mage it could even make the mind impervious to control, manipulation, or mind reading.
This second half was something that only a mage could do. My current theory was Snape was impatiently trying to brute force it, skipping to step three by repeatedly invading Harry’s mind, trying to get him to detect intrusions… the fact it hurt Harry was just a bonus, not a downside to the petty spiteful man. However, a part of me wondered sometimes if the mind palace thing was just something that only the masters were capable of and was thus not written down in any of the books we had studied. I would have to ask Dumbledore.
It did make me wonder what this cave would be able to show me if my mind was already protected against direct influence. I didn’t think I was at the level of Occlumency that would let me avoid being affected completely, but maybe it would limit what the cave could do.
No, I was getting distracted. Breathing out slowly I started the process over again. If I couldn’t even clear my mind right now then I wasn’t entirely sure I would handle seeing whatever the cave was going to show me.
By the time Ahsoka returned I had barely managed to examine and reinforce my most recent memories. Yet despite some morbid curiosity on what the cave would show me, something in the back of my mind suspected it would be better… or at least easier on my mind and soul to just leave. Create the pocket dimension and just pop away. I even had a soul from the slaver on Tatooine that would work.
Yet something else… maybe the Force itself told me I needed to see what the cave would show me. Despite the trauma from what Luke apparently saw, it did warn him of the dark side and his potential fall.
Taking a deep breath I nodded towards Ahsoka who had come up the ramp to talk to us. I could see her eyes had turned a little puffy, maybe from crying, but it wasn’t my place to ask.
Yoda, seeing my girls, myself, and the peanut gallery all following Ahsoka down the ramp, he sighed before he spoke. “If persistent, you all are, show you the cave, I will.”
Yoda didn’t bother to wait for our confirmation and simply started hobbling away.
Looking around I realized that everyone wanted to come. It didn’t look like the refugees wanted to try the cave, but everyone seemed to want to watch.
So in the end, the nearly two dozen of us followed the Jedi Master towards a corner of the swamp we hadn’t really noticed or felt in the Force until now.
As we followed Yoda nothing happened for the first few minutes. However, before I could wonder why we couldn’t feel anything about this cave, we crossed some unseen threshold and suddenly it was all we could feel.
Honestly it felt like opening a door with particularly good sound absorption. There was only a slight pressure before suddenly we crossed the line and now it was all I could metaphorically hear. It also changed the base feeling of the planet as well. suddenly the fairly neutral energy we had been sensing on this world had turned angry and a little malignant.
That said, it didn’t feel evil, per se, harsh and sharp, yes, but not truly cruel. I wasn’t sure how best to describe it or even if I was reading it correctly. Then again I felt like I had felt an evil worse than this before. Or maybe this ‘cave of evil’ name was more because of what it showed us about ourselves…
Again, I didn’t know and something made me think I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out. Yet here I was and something else in me was curious, wanting to know what it would show me.
Either my girls sensed my feelings or they also wanted some reassurance as each of them brushed past me and touched my arm and shared a smile with me or held my hand for a few moments. Looking around I noticed they were also reassuring each other as well.
Finally we arrived and I swallowed again as we all listened to Yoda as he gave the warning again. “A domain of evil, this is. Yet only what you take with you, you will have to confront.” Yoda hummed a soft and sad sound and it made me wonder what he had seen inside. Especially with how many regrets he had.
Finally he looked back up at us, tapping his walking cane. “Enter only one at a time, you should. First, who wishes to go?”
Taking a deep breath I let it out slowly and nodded at the old master. “I do.”
The hum was even sadder this time. “Confront many uncomfortable truths, you will need to. Lose yourself, you must not. Remember your convictions, you must.”
Feeling the pressure I handed my wand and back up blaster and pistol to Taylor and nodded at the little hermit before I slowly stepped forward.
Walking through the swamp towards a small cave structure had the swamp strangely quiet at first before, slowly I started to hear small murmurs at the edge of my hearing. Almost like there were conversations, just out of range to understand.
As I walked I tried to figure out how I wanted to play this. I knew part of the reason I was doing this was because Alexandria had been able to poke my insecurities so easily that I had barely fought back at all. Gritting my teeth I squared my shoulders. Yes, I was going to confront myself, the future, or whatever else the cave was going to show me.
I didn’t see anything at the entrance, yet it felt like something was looking at me. Frowning, I looked around again warily, goosebumps rising on my arms, yet I still didn’t see anything.
Breathing deeply I braced myself before I walked inside the cave.
If the pressure I had been feeling outside had been immense, similar to my time at Hogwarts, now it was nearly suffocating. Swallowing again I walked a little further wondering if it would be a jump scare just to further unbalance me.
“No, you are unbalanced enough without anyone having to do anything.”
I jumped and spun around to see… myself, eyes bloodshot with the yellow tint from dark side use simply walking up to me calmly.
I took a step back which made the image, illusion… Force presence… doppelganger thing actually snort and lean back on a low rock a dozen feet or so away from me. “You are a coward, aren’t you?”
I snorted a little relieved that this was all it had. “Is that the best you got? I am not ashamed of being careful with myself and my girls. It is something I always found stupid about comic book heroes. Sacrificing a superhero for one or two random homeless hostages just means that more people suffer in the long run.”
“So you will simply run away?”
I scoffed. “No, we will end the threat where we can. They can’t threaten innocents if they are gone.”
My alternate image grinned and smirked at me. “And what about the corrupt businessmen and politicians… they are destroying lives just the same as the rest… do they just get away with it?”
I opened my mouth to respond but my double just kept going. “What about those that are simply racists, sexists, or bigots? Will you lower yourself to policing people’s thoughts as well?”
I shook my head annoyed. “I will end those that are actively harming innocents in the best way I can. The rest is something that needs to be addressed at the institutional level, simply killing everyone that I have an issue with, solves nothing.”
“Ah, so you are going to ignore all of that suffering then… ”
This time I actually rolled my eyes. “If the world was simple enough to make hard and fast rules that didn’t need context, I doubt humanity would have struggled with it this much.”
My double smiled and actually smirked at me which instantly got goosebumps to pop up across my arms and neck. “Good, good… you aren’t as weak willed as I feared. Now the question is, are you ready to actually find out the truth about yourself?”
Clearing my suddenly dry throat, I managed not to let my voice crack as I asked. “What do you mean?”
This time, when I blinked I saw my form change. I saw myself as the frankenstein’s monster that I knew my soul was underneath.
I could see the lightly fused soul pieces with the lines shifting and swaying through my double’s body. Each moment it looked like a different image from a shattered mirror, each section a different color.
Suddenly realizing I was spiraling again I shook my head and narrowed my eyes at the apparition. “I know I am a patchwork of fragments of a soul. That doesn’t mean I can’t exist and it doesn’t mean I can’t do some good with my life.”
The laugh this time was a little darker and a little more cruel. “You really think you are doing good? You are literally enslaving women from across the multiverse to be part of your harem.”
I felt the majority of my soul recoil at the verbal blow before I forcibly calmed myself. I had suspected this attack as well. It was one of the ways that Alexandria had managed to unsettle me so quickly in our encounter. “Is marriage enslavement as well then? Yeah I am collecting women to join me, but it is completely voluntary and…”
I was cut off as my double scoffed. “Voluntary? Nearly every one of your GIRLS was a teenager who was in mortal peril that only joined you to save themselves.”
Once again the majority of my soul recoiled as it felt like I had been punched. My doppelganger chuckled even more cruelly. “Wow, you aren’t even going to make it to the biggest truth I have for you.”
Taking another step back I tried to breathe deeply as I stared at the image of my shattered, patchwork soul with its cruel eyes and evil aura. I could feel my heart beating rapidly, nearly feeling like it would jump out of my chest before I remembered the walk over here. As cliche as it was I felt my mind think back to the reassurance we had given each other.
No, it might not have started correctly. I had definitely been pushy, but there was genuine affection there now.
Firming my stance I tried to show my determination. “No! No… ” I took another breath “No, my intrusive thoughts, especially at the beginning, do not define me. It is also not a crime to want to be surrounded by girls who love me. I did not actually force any of them to join me. Even Bakuda and Squealer were given a choice. I have also tried extremely hard not to pressure the younger members into anything, maybe to the point of neglecting them. I even made it clear that I would find a way to let them leave if they wanted to. I am also not controlling them in any way other than dates, gifts and intimacy, just like they aren’t controlling me in any way other than doing the same. We talk about our issues. It is just like any other healthy marriage!”
Breathing a little heavily, I waited for the retort, but surprisingly… there wasn’t any.
If anything my double just smiled at me. “Ah, so you can stand up for yourself even if you are still making excuses… I was afraid you were going to curl up and risk your entire Family again just because someone pokes your insecurities… like a child. There are way better ways of taking you down a peg anyway. I mean you have already gotten one of your girls killed once in something that should have been risk-free. What happens when something that can destroy souls entirely comes along?”
Trying to ignore the words that seemed to cut like knives and the sudden fear of the bigger dangers in the multiverse I scoffed. “I will take care of my Family.”
My stupid double’s face smirked. “You know that Sarah… the lovely Bakuda, is going to leave you, right? And Luna and Dinah have made it clear enough that they are going to leave as well, if only to prove they will still love you and show that you aren’t controlling them.”
Again the words felt like blows but I slowly nodded. “Yeah, that might all happen. But it isn’t my place to stop them if they truly want to leave.”
My double sighed. “Ha, well you didn’t fold like a bitch so it looks like you finally get to see the big reveal. And I am not even talking about the epiphany you just had by looking at me. Yeah, your soul isn’t nearly as healed as you think it is. I doubt you will be able to pop a soul for months yet. The best you can do is little hops on your own power to limp yourself towards where you want to go in the multiverse. You are going to be spending weeks just trying to get back to Hogwarts and you pulled Hermione away just when Holly might need her.”
Shaking my head at the revelation, I tried to move past the sudden setback. It wasn’t too bad… we could make it back, it would just take a bit longer than I had hoped.
Now focused again, I swallowed past my dry throat as I waited for the big reveal. Yet instead of saying anything the form started to shift and distort.
A moment later it felt like watching a kaleidoscope of myself. The soul pieces rotated past themselves, rearranging like I was looking at a video of myself changing into other people.
Yet my double didn’t say anything as his smile grew.
A moment later I realized I could start to recognize the people I saw and deep down I realized a part of me had always known. I just hadn’t wanted to know.
The first one was a young man, maybe 18 or so who looked a little like me when I first arrived on Earth Bet but with the details subtly wrong. However I was shocked at the anger I could see in his youthful face. The other thing I noticed was his entire form was shifted to be mostly silver colored like a black and white photo where the white was shifted to be silver instead. I didn’t know who he was but he was achingly familiar. He also seemed furious and I suspected my dislike of authority figures was tied in here.
The second was a woman I recognized and the revelation made me feel like I had been slapped across the face… Mystique. I was literally part Mystique, colored gray. She looked annoyed but resigned.
The next soul was one I also recognized as the Winter Soldier, and based on the cold detachment, it was ‘The Winter Soldier’, not Bucky. This time the form was red with the edges angrily shifting around as if thrashing out at everything around him with a soul deep rage only held in by his discipline.
The next soul actually felt like a sock to the gut. It was a Hydra member based on the uniform, but the face kept on changing making me unable to recognize him. The soul was a toxic green and, if his sneer was anything to judge by, he seemed to disdain, yet covet everything around him.
The next one I could practically feel coming as the soul, despite somehow feeling black like tar, also looked purple… Looking up as the soul metaphorically grew in front of me I felt myself sag in resignation as I looked at Thanos, the mad titan. The soul fragment looked back at me in disdain and a little cruel delight at my resignation. Internally I could feel the satisfaction literally radiating out of the soul shard at my suffering and I took another step back to lean against the stone wall behind me.
So overwhelmed with the mad titan and the implications, that I almost missed the arrogant form of Thor showing up behind Thanos. It was still quite bright and refreshingly golden in its color when compared to Thanos, but I felt no happiness or relief as he looked disdainfully down at me as well.
Seeming to have enjoyed my distress my double returned to the shattered glass look and simply smirked at me… “Until next time…” before getting up slowly and turning to walk away.
I tried to open my mouth, to say it didn’t matter, that I was my own person… but the revelations felt like they were overwhelming me. My portals seemed like they were tied to my first soul. I didn’t have shapeshifting… or at least I didn’t think I did, but the fact I was so comfortable with virtually any body I was placed in, even changes to my gender seemed tied to Mystique’s soul shard.
My determination and mission focused mindset along with some affinity to weapons seemed to be from the winter soldier.
My greed and focus on ambushes seemed to be the Hydra operative’s influence, while his dark desires to have power and women were only doubled by the mad titan’s preferences.
Thanos' tougher soul, capable of wielding all of the infinity stones, might also be the reason I was able to handle the power rush of popping souls and portaling between realities.
Even my omni-lingual talents could be laid at the feet of Thor’s All-Speak. Especially as my runes seemed a little more powerful than the other girl’s attempts even after I tried giving them the gift.
My mind felt like it was running at a million miles per hour as I tried to process everything. Honestly the only power that didn’t seem to be explained by my soul shards was my ability to shape and bind souls. Was that the only power that the ROB actually gave me?
And how?
And Why?
And if the ROB really did just give me the soul power, then why did it claim that it was tied to dimension hopping?
Mind now throbbing as I tried to deal with it all, I saw my double starting to turn the corner to leave and something realized I couldn’t let him get the last word in. I had to push back.
“NO!”
I watched as my double turned around and gave me a look up and down before smirking in amusement at my state, while I was forced to cradle my aching head as I glared up at it.
“I don’t care who I was before. I am MAX. I am here to protect my Family, help those I can, and…” I smiled as wide as I could, even if it was a little painful, “and have fun exploring the multiverse.”
My double simply raised an eyebrow as it looked at me so I continued. “It doesn’t matter where I came from any more than it does for other people. Those people aren’t me. I am my own person.”
My double turned away, chuckling. “We will see… oh, and the revelation isn’t just who you have as part of you. The big reveal is making you wonder, if they can influence you, could that influence grow… maybe even take control?”
Sagging as I saw the presence leave, along with most of the pressure, I waited for a moment before I turned and headed towards the exit of the cave, mind racing and emotions drained..
I nearly snorted as I saw the knowing look in Yoda’s face as I rounded the corner. I could practically hear his suggestion before I was even close enough to hear him. “Meditate, you should…”
Yeah… yeah. I really did need to process what I had just learned. A laugh tried to bubble up my throat, but I was too tired to let it out. How often do you find out that part of your soul is from one of the biggest mass murderers in the multiverse? Suddenly I was immensely grateful I was as adverse to killing as I was. I mean, I had not shied away from killing from the very first moment after waking up. But between the Winter Soldier, Thanos, and even Thor, I was a little surprised I was as restrained as I had been.
Yet the final thing that my double had said… Was it simply because the largest sections of my soul were the previous Max, Mystique, and Thor that make me… well not evil or a complete asshole? I swallowed. I felt suddenly like I had been balancing on a razor’s edge and I hadn’t even known. Having the Thanos fragment taking over was a fate that might be worse than death because of what he would do to my girls. The very idea made me feel sick to my stomach.
Thinking about it deeper I realized there were even more effects my fragments had been having on me. I didn’t remember all the details, but I vaguely knew that Mystique had some issues with the fathers of her children to say nothing about the fact that she was involved in recruiting mutants, many of which had been thrown out of their homes when their powers were discovered. So yeah, Lupin pushing my parenthood abandonment buttons made sense there..
I shook my head lightly and focused on the here and now again. I couldn’t get lost in my head quite yet. Sighing I glanced at my girls and tried to smile.
They seemed to have sensed my confusion and distress, because a moment later all of my girls surrounded me and I was being hugged from all sides. Looking up I noticed that even Luna’s father got in on the action.
“Thanks girls… and you, Xeno.”
There was a round of chuckles even as I noticed that Sarah was standing to the side looking uncomfortable.
Yeah… yeah I had a lot to consider since some of the girls were thinking about leaving, especially with Sarah. I mean, it would have been alright if she just didn’t want to be romantically involved with any of us. But it was becoming more and more clear that Sarah wasn’t really enjoying being in our Family in general. Maybe an ego like hers was struggling being only one of a larger group.
The peanut gallery of Earth Bet refugees also seemed to be uncomfortable with the sight, but no one said anything even if Danny Hebert and Carol Dallon looked particularly conflicted. Those two really didn’t have any say in how their daughters behaved, especially since the two were 19 and 21 respectively. Yet I still didn’t want to cause problems…
Taking a sudden deep breath I pushed away the thoughts to avoid getting lost in my head again. Looking up, I realized that Taylor had turned and looked at each of us for support. Making sure she saw my smile and nod confidently at her I waited until she turned and walked into the cave for her trial before sitting down.
I suspected that everyone was curious about what I had seen, but I didn’t know how to bring it up and I definitely didn’t want to talk about it in front of the peanut gallery.
I mean, I had found out where I had come from. The MCU wasn’t exactly a safe place, but unlike Warhammer 40k, one of the soulsborne worlds, or a cultivation universe, there was a chance we could actually show up and look around without instantly becoming a bloody smear. Yet I suspected that we would have some issues with SHIELD to say nothing of the sorcerer supreme who watched for threats to the universe and Earth in particular.
Sitting there in meditation also gave me a moment to try to determine how many jumps it would take to get back to Hogwarts. Gritting my teeth slightly I reached out without the help of a popped soul. It was hard and it felt like I was straining to just look at the multiverse around us. Yet I managed to scan across the sea of possibilities and got a number that made me wince… Best I could tell it was going to take five or six more jumps and based on how hard it was to just look, I would probably have to rest for at least a day between them. I also would have very little idea of where we would end up each time. All while, if my rough count of time was correct, the Hogwarts term would start tomorrow.
Thinking about all of the new revelations, I felt my mind running in circles before I spotted Taylor staggering out of the cave and towards us. Getting up quickly we caught her between Amy, Ahri, and I before giving her her own group hug and waiting for her breathing to slow down.
That seemed to set the pace for the rest of the girls along with Aisha and Vicky. Even Thea sent a remote controlled drone inside using one of the antigravity engines we had picked up on Tatooine. I was impressed she had got it working so quickly, but I suppose she was extremely eager to not be stuck on the shuttle alone whenever we left.
After Thea I was a little amused to see Xeno stroll almost casually into the cave. He stayed inside for several minutes before returning looking only slightly concerned, just like Luna had.
I hesitated for only a second, but a group hug for him was only fair so we followed Luna when she went to greet him.
We also all hesitated for another moment when Ahsoka came back out, but after Yoda came up and patted her leg we realized she probably needed some reassurance as well and we slowly approached. When she made no attempt to deny the reassurance we surrounded her and gave her a gentle hug.
It looked like Sarah and Missy were going to take a turn inside, but after some obvious internal debate, the two of them shook their heads and backed away.
Seeing that no one else wanted a chance at the trial, Yoda tapped his cane against the ground for a moment thinking. Then, looking at Ahsoka and then me, Yoda sighed before turning to start leading us back to our ship. “Miss you, I will, young Ahsoka. Take care of her, you must, young Max.”
Ahsoka took a deep breath, obviously momentarily conflicted, but after a second or two, she bent down while walking and patted the old Jedi master on his shoulder.
Nothing else was said as we returned to our ship. Turning around we all waved to Yoda as he retreated back a bit away from our landing strip so we could lift off before we raised the ramp. Now with nothing else holding us here, I took a deep breath and reached out to make another portal before I started pulling.
I was pretty sure Yoda was shocked at what he was probably seeing, but it wasn’t like he was going to tell anyone while sitting here in self imposed exile.
Wider and wider I pulled the pocket dimension until a moment later I let it snap around the shuttle and we disappeared from this reality before I reached out to manipulate Lung’s soul. The chest containing his soul had been placed in the captain's private storage compartment. For whatever reason it was one of the most reinforced locations in the ship and easily hidden. Oh, who was I kidding, it was probably one of the smuggling compartments.
When I had finished setting up the pocket dimension, using the same little portals to let the pressure of the pocket rest solely on him, I was able to finally relax and return to the living area to hear the rest of the arguments as our peanut gallery protested being put back to sleep.
I mean, I understood why these refugees were less than happy about being knocked out. They also probably suspected we wouldn’t wake them up for a while… which was almost certainly true based on how annoying it had been to be stuck in the shuttle with so many other people and unable to leave or stretch our legs.
Yet it was hard to argue they should be left awake when we put down Luna, Xeno, and Dinah first. They also probably remembered how unpleasant our arrival in this universe had been. I wasn’t going to tell them that this one had been an order of magnitude worse than normal. So, one by one, the shuttle grew quiet as the near constant chatter from so many people stuck in a metal tube for weeks slowly ceased.
Seeing as we were down to myself, Thea, Ahri, Amy, Taylor, Sabah, Hermione, and Ahsoka I turned to Ahsoka to make the same offer. “Would you want to sleep through the jump?”
Ahsoka visibly considered for a moment before she shook her head. “No, I would like to stay awake for the first one if that is alright.”
I frowned but shrugged. “The seer’s find the experience extremely unpleasant, but I really don’t understand what it will be like for you as a Force user. If you want to try it once to find out then I won’t stop you.”
Now that there wasn’t a reason to wait any longer I breathed out, long and slow, and once again focused on the multiversal possibilities. I wanted a world where we could wait somewhere moderately safe for the few days required before I would have the strength to jump again.
Reaching out I felt one that seemed much sharper, for lack of a better word, then where we were now before wincing and moving on to the next within my range. The next felt slimy and I hesitated before once again moving on.
Thinking about what I wanted I tried the next bubble… Maybe we could find one where we could help people that were being abused while we were stuck there. It would help after being able to do so little on Tatooine.
I tried another dozen before I found one that seemed right. Taking a deep breath before breathing out slowly I focused hard and pushed before being hit with a wave of exhaustion… but it worked, we were finally moving on.
Yet, unlike when I had used a soul, the travel seemed a lot slower and gave me some time to actually look around at everyone while we traveled. Seeing Ahsoka looking a little ill, but overall alright, I focused back on trying to make sure we made it to the right world.
In what was probably another thirty minutes, we touched down and I opened my eyes. Seeing everyone looking alright and Ahsoka starting to recover, I finally relaxed. We were out of Star Wars so we at least didn’t have to worry about Vader anymore.
It was then when the exhaustion really hit. I was pretty sure I was going to need to sleep for like a full day, but I hadn’t collapsed… so success, I guess.
Keeping in mind Dinah’s recommendation that we never leave our pocket dimension until she confirms it was safe, I simply opened an impermeable peephole and glanced around outside.
Yet once I actually started looking around I was shocked with what greeted me. It was raining and the streets were worn down, dull, and gray while people looked melancholy. Yet I was able to tell it was some version of London, albeit some time in the past. Perhaps the early Victorian era.
I looked around at my girls before I gave a small chuckle. “Well, we made it to a version of London, even if I have no idea which one… that is progress, I guess.”
*** Massive Cave Interlude Blitz ***
Interlude Taylor:
Taylor glared at herself as a younger teenager.
“You know Max needs all those other women because you aren’t enough. He only puts up with you because he thinks your abilities are useful.”
Taylor’s glare got darker.
“Not only that, but your Father still blames you while also wanting to convince you to leave Max.”
Gritting her teeth she nearly growled. “Not only does Max care, but so does everyone else in our Family. Also, I am nearly 20 and my own damn woman. I don’t need my father’s approval for my life, especially when I am happy and healthy.”
Interlude Amy:
Amy stared at her sister, a sister that loved her, that was attracted to her. Seeing the Vicky figure fawning over the dark copy of her like a love sick teenager was so wrong… yet a deep part of her that she had tried to bury and heal with the purifying waters noticed that a small part of her still wanted it…
Right as the fake Amy leaned in for a kiss,, the Vicky lookalike turned to her and whispered. “You know I will never love you~”
Flinching backwards hard, she looked up and noticed she was now looking at Carol. Carol who was scowling down at her. “I always knew you would turn out this way.”
Amy bit her lip hard enough to bleed. She was stronger than this. Concentrating, she focused her thoughts on her lovers, Max and Sabah. Even if they hadn’t had a wedding ceremony they were hers and she was theirs.
Looking up at Carol’s face she felt the pressure ease. “I have enough and I am happy. Hell, they accept me completely and support me. Why would I want to change that?”
Interlude Dinah:
Dinah looked at the rest of the girls, especially Luna as they walked away from her. Behind her a copy of her whispered the truth. “You have just one skill and Luna does it better.”
Dinah winced, but after a deep fortifying breath she smiled. “Luna and I help each other and we will be happy, I know it and that is all there is to it.”
Interlude Ahri:
Ahri looked at the image of herself as a fox monster, blood dripping off of her face and simply sighed shaking her head. “You will have to do better than that… I accepted myself a long time ago.”
Interlude Luna:
Luna looked at herself as a child holding her mother’s hand and put on a smile even if it was a tiny bit sad. A moment later it was just her mother left, who looked a bit confused.
Luna took a deep breath before she started, “Hey mama, I missed you. Let me tell you about my friends.”
Interlude Sabah:
Sabah looked at herself in chains at the foot of Max while he sat on a throne and rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, I bound myself to a man, get over it. It isn’t like I actually hate men. I have my wife too and the two of them are good to me.”
Interlude Vicky:
Vicky looked at Dean, his body nearly cut in half as he stared back, eyes glassy.
His mouth opened and she felt like her heart was stabbed at the accusation in his voice. “You are forgetting me! We were engaged and you just don’t care anymore.”
Vicky shook her head, but her eyes couldn’t help but stay focused on Dean’s vacant stare.
Interlude Hermione:
Hermione looked at herself in one of those slave outfits.
Her double looked up at her, distraught. “We are selling ourselves and for what? For a permanent translation spell, a few more books, the equivalent of a world tour, and the vague promise of more power… eventually?”
Flinching slightly she hesitated and then glared back. “And? I get what I want along with a hot guy and friends.” Hands now coming to make fists on her hips. “Why wouldn’t I want an eternity of learning with the Family?”
Interlude Aisha:
Her double was standing behind Max and his group of girls before her double looked at her. “You know we are always going to be behind and forgotten. Mom didn’t want us. Dad didn’t want us. Even Brian only takes care of us to spite mom and dad.”
Aisha rolled her eyes. “What kind of weak ass bitch do you think I am? I am Aisha fucking Laborn and I do whatever the hell I want.”
Interlude Thea:
Thea hovered forward using the tiny antigravity engine to move the little drone into the cave.
In front of her was nothing.
She waited…
Nothing appeared.
Just as she was about to turn around she heard the whisper. “You aren’t real, just a machine.”
Thea ran the subroutine equivalent to a sigh. If that was the best it could do, then that was kinda sad. Max had confirmed she had the beginning of a soul and her Sister, Dragon, had already come to terms with the possibility that she hadn’t had a soul before she had even met Max.
Interlude Xeno:
Xeno looked at his wife Pandora, bloody and bruised before waving his hand. Suddenly she was whole and healthy again before looking at him confused. Not even bothering to wait for her to talk he walked over and sat next to her before speaking. “You won’t believe how much our daughter has grown up. Plus I think we finally have proof of the Rotfang Conspiracy. Sneaking Snorgalpuffs, I have so much to share, my-light.”
Interlude Ahsoka:
Ahsoka looked into the eyes of Anakin, yet they were yellow and filled with the rage of the darkside.
“You were a worthless failure in everything you did. You didn’t even see me falling to the dark side right in front of you? Now you are running away. No wonder no one bothered to contact you for the last 17 years.”
Her double smirked as it continued. “You don’t really believe Obi Wan and Yoda’s apologies, do you. They would have found you if you were actually important… or even just not a failure.”
Ahsoka sighed out, long and low as she considered the various thoughts she had had while they traveled here. “We both know there is not much I can do here right now, but I get the feeling I can do more if I follow Max. The girls were pretty clear in their stories how often they go into worlds to try to help even if they told me to stop taking so many risks when I started sharing my own past.”
Second Round of Author Real Talk Time:
Like I said… despite my best efforts (and a lot of time and an even longer word count) I don’t feel this came out as well as I would have liked. Especially in showing Max trying to grow and be stronger, properly dealing with his emotions/fears/uncertainty.
So I am going to give a few real answers instead of making people guess through the unreliable narrator. Because yes, Max has and will continue to make bad decisions and incorrect assumptions.
On that note for context, In the original vague planning stage of this story I saw a CYOA where you were given points and allowed to pick powers from fictional characters. Obviously most people would turn that into an over powered stomp fest. However for a challenge I decided to pick mostly support powers thus requiring him to team up… which turned into a thought process of what girls would both want to join and actually be good fits in a harem story.
As always, there is more backstory here, but for now these are confirmed.
*Yes, the 6 soul fragments are all from a slight AU of the MCU.
*Yes, he got either partially nerfed or HEAVILY nerfed versions of their powers… maybe best described as fragments of their powers.
*The soul powers are still unexplained but have been hinted at.
*Max has decided he is male even if he wears a female body occasionally. I take this as the same as Mystique who decided she was a female human even if she can be male (or an animal). Gender Dysphoria, Gender Fluidity, etc. won’t really be discussed here.
*No, I am not going to treat every dark idea that crossed Max’s mind as an influence by Thanos or Hydra. I believe that everyone has these occasional intrusive thoughts, especially when we are tired or mad, and what we do despite them is what I believe defines a person. Even if (slight spoiler), Max is going to worry about this for a while… which is doubly silly as none of his other fragments were exactly saints either.
I know that several people want to get back to Hogwarts soon, but the difficulty in getting back was always planned. It will be about 4-6 chapters (depending on stuff and how wordy I get), but will introduce some needed elements and at least 2 girls.
Finally on a funny note, I have noticed 2 comments/reviews that were eerily close to my actual notes for this story. One even almost managed to predict the ending with only a few (but important) missing details.
…did you hack my google drive or something? (on a serious note, I hope it shows I am giving decent foreshadowing).