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"ANAKIN!!!!"
Obi-Wan's voice was whisked away by the Coruscant night air as he clung to the side of the commandeered shuttle car, speeders zipping by his ear.
"Yes master?"
It was hard to miss the cheeky lilt to Anakin's voice as he veered the shuttle car sharply to the left and dipped the blue nose forwards, plunging them down Coruscant's levels.
"STOP THIS MADNESS NOW YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US ALL!"
Obi-Wan was flung against Anakin's side and in the main compartment behind them he heard several exclamations of surprise and pain. Complaints rose up, punctuated by Ahsoka's unmistakeable "Fly safely you idiot!" and Yoda's croaky backwards voice muttering something along the lines of "Take his speeder license, I will."
"Relax master, nearly there." Thank the force, he slowed the speeder a little. But he was still overtaking all the other speeders illuminated by Coruscant's never-ending lights in the skylane.
"You're going to pay for all the drinks you realise."
Obi-Wan grumbled, still holding tightly onto the speeder's side. If there was a way to eject a passenger from an enclosed cockpit, Anakin would find a way. And with the way he was flying he seemed determined to try. Anakin grinned and shrugged, pulling the speeder up and sweeping it cleanly around a corner to enter an octagonal tunnel brightly lit from all sides. Hovering up to overtake a slow Bith couple, Anakin shot the speeder out the tunnel, the myriad of orange, blue and green playing over his face like the mists of a nebula. Drifting it to a sharp stop in a parking bay amongst other speeders of slightly less quality, Anakin let out a small laugh and banged his gloved metal fist against the wall behind him.
"We're here!"
Obi-Wan groaned and shook his head, shakily unbuckling himself and climbing out the side. Anakin was already opening the passenger doors with the jubilance of someone completely aware he'd made the ride as chaotic as possible, allowing a ragged group to stumble out. Barriss was clinging to Ahsoka's shoulder as she stepped out in a long deep green cloak trimmed with blue seams, Ahsoka wearing a pilot's jacket over her off-the shoulders black top and wide-legged tunic trousers. Anakin held out his hands to help down Padmé, who was wearing a midnight blue gown with wide cut sleeves over an elegant outfit of similar colours, and Rex who was in simple white and blue tunics with a black vest. Anakin smiled at Rex who rolled his eyes and shoved Anakin in the chest. Wiping off imaginary dust from his all black crop-top, Anakin slung an arm around Rex's shoulders and began walking him to the doors beneath a simple Aurebesh sign that read: 'The Karoake Cuppa'.
Meanwhile Sabé, Sheev Palpatine, Mace Windu, Yoda, Cody and Satine all stepped out after them, looking a little green in the face.
"Oh- oh....R2....that was horrid. Never again. I am never getting into a speeder Master Anakin is flying again. We'll end up molten slag."
The mechanical complaining of C-3PO's golden mouth was accompanied by a series of annoyed beeps and whistles, followed by a few thumps and shouts of pain as R2-D2 dragged C-3PO out of the speeder and onto the street. Stiffly getting to his feet, C-3PO made some noises of disgust and then reluctantly followed the group into the karoake cantina. The dim lighting caused 3PO to bump his head with a 'clang' on the low ceiling as he entered. Everyone else was already inside, Obi-Wan hailing a Cad Bane who was sat at one of the centre-most tables, legs lazily slung over Quinlan Vos' lap. Quinlan raised a hand to the group in greeting then picked up his glass for another large swig of Angry Bloody Rancor, the orange drink disappearing into his throat in nearly one go. Cad Bane shook his head, the wide-brimmed hat tilted at an angle.
The cantina was a large oval space with a bartender droid against the right long-side wall, a DJ droid at the end of that wall where an additional space had been cut out for a raised karoake stage complete with microphones and dramatic lighting. Pulsing lights ran in electrical vines along the ceiling, flitting between turquoise, purple, yellow, red and blue to keep the mood vibrant and alive. Tables were scattered throughout the main space but there were also more private booths cut into the left wall with more cushioned seating.
"Whatta're ya'll here for?" Cad drawled, large red eyes unblinking.
"A good time." Ahsoka answered with a smirk, nodding at the raised karoake stage where a group of 3 Rodians were just finishing. "Anakin said he has a song he's been preparing with them," she gestured to Mace Windu, Yoda, Obi-Wan and Palpatine, "and wants to perform it."
"I did not agree to this willingly." Mace Windu grumbled, folding his arms sternly.
"Lost a bet, Master Windu did hmm?" Cackling, Yoda tapped Windu's leg with his cane and then hobbled over to the bartender droid to order some drinks. "On Skywalker's tab put these drinks."
"I don't want to be broke after this!" Anakin warned as everyone began making their way to the bar.
With so many orders flying at it, the bartender droid was put hard to work meeting all the demands but eventually everyone had their drinks and the cantina had been completely taken over. Sabé and Padmé sat in a corner booth, leaning against each other and holding hands. Anakin, Palpatine, Mace, Obi-Wan and Yoda were setting up on the karoake stage.
"Hey Artoo, c'mere. I need the audio file." Anakin waved over the blue and silver droid who happily chirped, sliding out a small data-chip into Anakin's hand. Anakin handed it to the DJ droid at the nearby wall. Cody and Obi-Wan were talking quietly as Obi-Wan made sure his microphone was working next to Anakin's and Mace Windu adjusted the lighting around the edge of the stage. Yoda simply sat and crossed his legs, occasionally using the force to move a wire just out of Mace Windu's reach. Sheev Palpatine, dressed in an elaborate red gown with poofy shoulders and patterned in the deadly tentacles of a rathtar, cackled in delight at Yoda's antics; occasionally adding to the fun with little sparks of lightning from his fingertips. Mace Windu groaned and scowled at the two of them.
"Do you both have nothing better to do?"
"Not at all, Master Windu.
"No."
C-3PO in the meantime was having a seemingly invigorating conversation with the bartender droid in binary, occasionally glancing back at the organics of his group. Satine was sat at a table near Sabé and Padmé talking about the latest developments in hyperspace exploration attempts to the Unknown Regions.
---
Eventually everything was in place and the 5 force users took their positions on the stage. Everyone in the cantina stopped talking and the lights around the stage went dark. A piano tune began to filter from the DJ droid's speakers softly into the air. Anakin shuffled on his feet for a moment, gathering himself with his eyes closed and rolling his shoulders. All eyes, and the spotlight, were on him.
"Fire glows bright on this planet tonight, not a jedi to be seen"
Soft and soothing, Anakin's voice held a hint of resignation to accompany his facial acting, highlighted by deep red lights around the stage. He ran his still-human hand through his hair, mussing it.
"A galaxy gripped in turmoil and I've knocked up the ex-queen"
Sweeping his arm wide, Anakin made a vague gesture to Padmé who rolled her eyes while Sabé booed him and quickly interjected with "She's not pregnant anymore!"
A smile fought to get onto Anakin's face but he frowned it away and projected his voice a little more,
"The force is howling like this swirling storm inside," and held his clenched hand over his heart, bowing his head under the newly deep blue light.
"Couldn't keep it in, not since mother died."
Cad Bane covered his mouth with the brim of his hat in shock, and if he had pearls to clutch he would've but instead held onto Quinlan's biceps. The piano chords renewed their pace.
"Ignore the fear," Yoda's croak sent a small scatter of laughs rippling through the room as a green light shone on the Jedi Grandmaster,
"Ignore the hate," Mace Windu's deep voice followed as he circled Anakin in a purple glow, a hand on his shoulder,
"No relationships!" Obi-Wan scolded, also circling Anakin, then immediately blushed when Cody raised an eyebrow at him from the front row.
"It's not so great!" Anakin complained, hands on hips, trying to ignore Rex's eyeroll. "Conceal don't feel-"
"Don't try to h-i-i-i-de," Palpatine interrupted, appearing from the dark behind Anakin with a wicked smile, "from the dark s-i-i-de...." his serrated voice made Barriss and Ahsoka chuckle from where they'd moved to the bar to vibe with Threepio and Artoo. "Let it flow!" With almost a tender whisper, Palpatine spun away and pushed Mace Windu into Anakin's path with a sparkle of lightning.
"Let it fl-o-o-ow" Anakin repeated a little too enthusiastically, throwing his arms wide and knocking Mace Windu back seemingly accidentally, "can't hold it back anymore!"
Sunny yellow light poured across the stage, illuminating Anakin in a halo.
"Let it flow, let it fl-o-o-ow!" Anakin spun on his heel then held out his hand to Rex, "I'll save my wife and end this war!" Rex huffed and turned to mockingly glare at Padmé who raised an eyebrow back then her glass to him with a cheeky smile.
"I pledge myself," Anakin turned to Palpatine who was steepling his fingers together and cackling quietly in tune with the building piano from the half-remaining shadows, "to you this day" Anakin bent to his knees and clenched his fists. Everything in the cantina from the droids to the chairs with persons on them levitated just a little, "let the force rage o-o-o-n" then he got to his feet and turned back to the audience, the lighting changed to orange again and Palpatine stepped forwards as Anakin said with a cheeky shrug of his shoulder, "the Jedi only held me back anyway."
With that declaration the piano picked up its pace again and the jedi left the stage, with all but Obi-Wan going to their seats. Palpatine's raspy voice spoke up over the piano as his fingers played over Anakin's shoulder.
"Good, Execute Order 66."
Anakin bowed again to Palpatine and then began to march back and forth across the stage with a purposeful sway in his step to the time of the regular piano beat. "It's funny how the dark side makes everything seem small, and the younglings that I've murdered" Sabé's brows shot up and she stared at Padmé in disbelief. Padmé had the grace to look bashful. Obi-Wan settled for putting a hand over his chin and shaking his head,
"can't get to me at a-a-a-a-all!"
Anakin spread one arm wide, the other still holding the microphone while the piano beats softened into a more blended melody, "It's time to see what I can do" R2 and 3PO began to float from across the cantina towards the stage, "the Empire's here, the Republic it is through!" Rex and Cody made a show of swapping cutouts of their clone helmets for that of stormtrooper ones and marching around the area jut beneath the stage.
"No right no wrong, no rules for m-e-e-e-e-e-e-e! I'm free! Let it flow!" Anakin's voice constantly filtered between soft and full to rich and deep, the lighting playing off his wavy hair in white and red.
"Let it flo-o-w! I am one with the dark side!" Now Obi-Wan leapt back onto the stage, igniting his lightsaber's vibrant sky-blue plasma blade and bringing it across Anakin's in a display of flashy, playful choreography. Anakin responded in kind, making grand sweeps that meant nothing while he sang, "Let it flow, let it flow, this is the end of the jedi-i-i!"
Pouting, Obi-Wan shook his head and wagged his finger at Anakin who scowled back and took a deep breath to project his next lyrics into the cantina, "If you're not with me, then you're my enem-y-y-y!" Anakin's foot planted itself firmly to the ground.
And from the crowd, especially Quinlan, Ahsoka and Yoda, came an answering heckle of "only a sith deals in absolutes!" Anakin flipped them off and continued while Obi-Wan mock applauded.
"What do you ask of me-e-e-e?" Anakin turned to Palpatine who had, in the last minute, acquired a pair of sunglasses. He was an elderly man after all. Palpatine cleared his throat, opened his mouth and-
A screeching noise, like that of nails on a chalkboard but not quite as ear-bleeding, began to pulse in the middle of the room. Everyone, including Anakin and Palpatine, stopped to stare at each other in confusion. Mace Windu flicked his wrist and the music cut off. Within a few seconds, a large blue box began to fade into existence in the middle of the room, tall and windowed but with no way of looking inside. The Jedi in the room took their lightsabers in their hands while Cody, Rex, Bane and Padmé procured blasters from an unknowable place. All stared at the box as it finally materialised in the middle of the cantina, so tall that the tip nearly brushed the ceiling, more than a little surprised and definitely suspicious. Once the awful whirring sound had stopped, everyone held their breath, waiting for something to happen. And something did.
The door opened.
From within, out popped the head of a jubilant but confused pale man, brown hair messy over his eyes. "Hello everyone- oooh this looks like a party. A party we've crashed. I love parties! We love parties! Hello party, I'm the Doctor."
Threepio and Artoo exchanged exclamations as best they could but everyone else was staring a little dumbstruck at the man known as the 'Doctor' who was stepping out of his box, followed by 3 others. Obi-Wan blinked at the 4 of them, then at the box.
"All of you fit in there?"
"Bigger on the inside." Nodded another tall, slender man with lighter brown hair and a pointed face, holding onto the redheaded woman next to him. She had a rounder face, and freckles, and was wearing a sequined red top over a short black skirt. She smiled and nodded an affirmation for what the man had said.
"Called a Tardis," she added, her accent quite different, "Space travel and all that."
"And time. That's an important part!" Added the fourth member of this new party. She had a splendour of blonde curly hair and wore a black button-up vest over a tan shirt with platformed boots and smuggler-esque trousers.
Anakin stared, mouth open to load a reply but it was Ahsoka who spoke first. "What?"
The Doctor turned to Ahsoka and his eyes widened in delight. "Oh! I've not seen someone that looks like you before. What planet are we on? I seem to have messed with the Tardis a bit much-"
"A bit?" The woman with curly hair smirked, surveying the cantina and the bar especially with interest.
The Doctor sighed and continued, "We're a bit lost."
Ahsoka glanced at Anakin then at Barriss, then shrugged. "Coruscant."
"Excuse me?"
"You're on Coruscant."
"Never heard of it." The Doctor grabbed his chin thoughtfully, constantly turning to look around the cantina. He studied Cad Bane very carefully, ducking and weaving about the area with the manner of an archaeologist trying to keep their hands to themselves.
"You haven't?" The redhead spoke up, turning to the Doctor in surprise. "Then we're really lost."
The curly haired woman laughed, smirking at the Doctor. "Maybe even different galaxy lost. If anyone's capable of that, it's the Doctor."
"Yes....." The Doctor mumbled, stroking his chin. The slender man looked between the Doctor and the curly-haired woman before finally, nervously, asking "So we're in a different galaxy? Completely? How do we get home?"
"Oh Rory don't be a spoil-sport!" The redhead chided with a grin as she looked around. "We're in a different galaxy! And!-" she winked and made her way to the bar "it seems they know how to party. Coming, River?"
"Oh absolutely." The curly haired woman responded with a wide smile, joining the redhead who soon made herself known as Amy. "Carry on." She waved a hand to Anakin at the stage.
After a few more moments of slightly confused silence Anakin nodded and gestured to Rex to turn the music back on. Rex flipped a switch, ran back the audio a little to give Anakin some space to get back into his performance and Cody set the lights to orange.
The piano build up replayed and Anakin once again turned to Palpatine, bowing.
"What do you ask of me-e-e-e?"
Palpatine grinned a politician's grin and folded his hands calmly in front of him.
"Go to the Mustafar System." He commanded in his tight, raspy quality. Amy's head whipped around to stare in delighted shock. "Wipe out Viceroy Gunray and the other Separatist leaders."
Anakin nodded and then marched rapidly across the stage, reigniting his saber to the hooting delight of the Doctor who sprung to the front area right before the stage to stare in amazement. Anakin grinned, slightly confused and glanced at Ahsoka who was stifling her laughter. As the piano sound ran to a point, Satine downed another drink for sanity with Mace Windu.
"My power passes through the air to close the do-o-o-o-or!"
Anakin sung, his organic hand sweeping across the cantina to make the lights flicker. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka jumped up onto the stage, sabers ignited in a vibrant clash of blue and green, staging a fake fight. Anakin engaged.
"My deadly lightsaber will help your body meet the flo-o-o-o-o-or!"
With a flourish and an overly dramatic swoon, Ahsoka fell to the stage and rolled off the edge where she promptly scuttled back to Barriss at the bar.
"My super reflexes deflect your laser blast!"
Anakin's voice rose. Bounding off the wall, he somersaulted over a light hail of low-charge blaster bolts from Rex, deflecting others safely into the walls which was quite a feat considering how crowded the cantina room was.
The piano beat dropped. Anakin sprung up from where he'd landed on his knees. The Doctor was still watching in fascination.
"I'm never going back!" Anakin cried, lightsaber put away and fists held to his chest. "The Jedi are the pa-a-a-a-a-a-st!"
In a series of flourishing lightsaber moves, Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber past Anakin's body and Anakin fell to the floor. Rex flung a black cape onto the stage and in the next moment when Anakin rose, he also sported a dark mask over his face, sharp lines glinting in the red light.
"Let it flo-o-w, let it flo-o-w, and I'll rise with my new limbs o-o-o-n!"
The whole cantina gasped. Artoo emitted a series of excited beeps while in the corner Padmé burst into laughter that she quickly stifled. Anakin's voice had delved several tones deeper and taken on a more mechanical quality without losing a note.
"Let it flo-o-w, let it flo-o-w, that Jedi Knight is g-o-o-ne!"
Anakin spread his arms wide, hips swaying to the upbeat music as he walked around the stage in that crop top, cape and mask.
"Here I stand, on this darkest d-a-a-a-a-ay,"
With a swish of his hand all the lights, even those running across the ceiling, went out except for one singular white light illuminating the dark figure onstage.
"Let the force rage o-o-o-o-o-o-o-on!" Anakin threw his arms up, feet planted wide. "Vader is a better name anyway."
And with that the singular light went out, plunging the cantina into temporary darkness to allow everyone to process the magnificent performance that had just graced their eyes. It was Amy, Quinlan and Ahsoka who first cheered rather enthusiastically with shouts of "Encore! Encore!", quickly followed by very loud applause. Slowly, the ceiling lights pulsed back into existence with purple and blue, and there came calls for more drinks.
---
After about an hour of more drinks and karaoke, the group was still going strong with their song choices, with Cad Bane and Quinlan duetting 'So Far So Fake' together. They were just coming to the end of the song, the last few notes tapering off, when a thunderous rumble swept across the room followed by a stormy blue cloud that appeared and dissolved within an instant.
"What could that possibly be now?" Satine groaned, hands to her head trying to drown out the noise.
Mace Windu wrinkled his nose and felt out into the force. "There's a disturbance in the force." He murmured, glancing around. He was wearing his regular Jedi robes, if a bit messier than usual. The Doctor spun on his heel and approached Mace Windu like a giddy boy on Life Day.
"The 'force'? What's that? Some sort of electromagnetic field or perhaps supersonic waves in the air?" He grinned, running a hand back through his hair. "Don't tell me. I'll get it." Whipping out his sonic screwdriver, he pointed it around the room and let it emit a high pitched buzzing noise for a few moments before bringing it back up to his face. The sides of the screwdriver opened like flaps and he stared at the readings. "Well," he turned back to Mace Windu with a raised eyebrow, still smiling, "maybe you will have to explain it to me. There's a lot of very advanced tech here but nothing I could equate to being some kind of 'force' so what is the force, how does it work?"
Mace sniffed and tilted his head, glancing at Amy and River momentarily. River nodded "Yes he does talk this much, and if he talks without knowing what something is then he's really lost."
"The force is an energy field created by all living things. It binds the galaxy together."
The Doctor blinked and then glanced around. Amy, who was frowning, raised her hand hesitantly but spoke anyway. "So it's a life energy?"
Mace Windu turned his head slowly towards her. "Yes."
Amy nodded, lips pursed, rocking on the balls of her feet. "Right. Well, space magic. Lovely."
"Don't be ridiculous there's no such thing as magic." The Doctor snorted but upon making eye contact with Mace Windu's firm frown, he nodded. "Not in our galaxy anyway. Maybe this one."
At the short burst of thunder rumbling again through the room, the Doctor spun around again, half-crouched and screwdriver held out in front of him. "Well, I might not be able to explain the force but this I can. A portal is opening a rift between universes-"
As he spoke a storm cloud materialised in front of him, circular and flashing with electricity. Palpatine raised an eyebrow and mumbled under his breath "I can do better tricks than that."
From within the storm cloud out jumped 2 human females. One with long blonde hair that curved around the shoulders of her vivid blue suit, and the other with dark curly hair wearing unfamiliar fashion of a dark blue waistcoat over a lightly floral patterned white shirt. The one in a blue suit with red boots and a red cape stepped forwards, hands held out in a sign of peace and smiled brightly. She had a hopeful nature about her, a brightness in her soul that shone through her face and sung of goodwill. The other stayed slightly behind the blue-suited woman even as the storm cloud shrunk into itself and disappeared. Her sharp face complimented cautious eyes that swept the room and made relevant calculations, almost clinically to hide her fascination.
After another brief stint of speechless silence, Obi-Wan spoke first, stroking his nicely trimmed beard. "And who might you be? Visitors from another galaxy?"
One dark brow arched incredibly high and the dark-haired woman stepped forwards, arms folded. "Universe. We're from a," she glanced around again, her eyes settling on the various non-humans and the droids, "very different universe. I've not seen aliens like yours before. Kara?"
The blonde woman, or Kara as she had been named, clasped her hands in front of her and nodded. "I'd agree. Ummm what planet is this?" She asked with a quick innocent gesture of her shoulders.
"Coruscant." Cad Bane lazily replied, tipping the dregs of his fourth glass down his throat, the wide-brimmed hat now sat on his lap where Quinlan was trying to steal it and try on for himself.
"I think it's safe to say we're in a different universe then." Kara nodded to her partner, who she now put an arm around. "Well I'm Kara, this is Lena."
Satine noted a glint of steel bands around the women's fourth fingers respectively and smiled.
"We didn't mean to intrude, we'll be on our way." Kara said, gesturing to a device Lena held in her hands. A black box emitting equations and calculations at impossibly fast paces.
"No please stay!" The Doctor interrupted, jumping forwards. "I- we," he gestured to himself, River, Amy and Rory, "are from a different galaxy. Tardis problems as always." He chuckled and swept a hand through his hair again. "I'd love to find out how you jumped universes. It's been done before where I'm from but at a great cost and this beauty," he held out his hands to the black box Lena carried, "oh I'd love to know."
Lena glanced at Kara and then nodded to the Doctor. "Scientist to scientist then."
"More like traveller to traveller." He grinned delightedly, making way to a small booth.
Kara watched them leave and then looked around. "So what did we crash into?"
"Karaoke." Answered Threepio, hobbling forwards on his gold legs. One arm waved through the air as he made his way to the exit. "And it should never be as exciting or strange as this. Come along Artoo, this is getting crowded."
Kara made way for Threepio, a look of confusion on her face which changed to surprise at the flurry of beeps and whistles that came from a disgruntled Artoo rolling after him.
"Don't go too far you two!" Anakin called out from where he'd cosied up in a booth with Rex, one arm around Rex's waist.
"Of course not Master Ani." Threepio reassured before leaving the cantina.
Obi-Wan made his way to Cody at a table to the side of the cantina and raised a glass to Kara. "Do you sing?"
"Uh," Kara's face split into a sheepish smile and she shifted her weight from foot to foot, "well I have been known to before-"
"She's bloody brilliant but won't say it!" Lena yelled from her booth with the Doctor, hands cupped around her mouth with a wicked grin. "Go on Kara!"
Rolling her eyes with a smile Kara nodded and made her way up to the stage. As terrifying as skipping universes could be, no matter how many monsters she came across, it was comforting to know there was a universe like this every so often that made it all worth it. One full of camaraderie, love, humour and friendship. Clearing her throat, Kara chose her song, locking eyes with Lena once and that unrestricted smile found its way back onto her face.
She opened her mouth, and let the hope sing for itself.