Infinite paths and infinite possibilties

[ezra_of_lothal]

WHO: Ezra and you!
WHERE: The City, anywhere Ezra might run into someone he recognizes
WHAT: Ezra has some concerns and would like some answers
WHEN: May
WARNINGS: None yet


Waking up to a whole new life

When Ezra wakes up with two sets of memories in his head, he has no idea how that happened, but neither does he have immediate doubts about which of them existed first, either. It helps that while his connection to the Force feels...muted and narrowed, it’s not entirely gone.

Or rather, while he’s lying here in his bedroom, he can feel Ben awake, bright and early, as usual, puttering around the kitchen getting breakfast ready. And that’s when uncertainty begins to bubble up. He has an entire lifetime of memories of his big brother- steady and always there for him. His memories of Master Kenobi, while important, are comparatively very few.

It’s the contrast in emotions between his memories of Obi-wan and Ben that resettles the question in his mind. Ben was sad sometimes; who wants to be orphaned and responsible for their baby brother, as a young adult? But there’s no time Ezra can think of that Ben Bridger came close to the staggering grief and self-blame he’d seen Obi-wan Kenobi struggle to keep at bay.

No part of himself could possibly wish that kind of pain onto Ben, of that Ezra is sure. So it can’t be something he’d made up just in his own mind. The Jedi, the Empire, Lothal, everything that followed from that, that was real. With that truth fixed in his mind, Ezra gets up to meet the day.

He needs a lot more information before deciding what to do about whatever this is that’s going on. First things first, test other parts of his connection to the Force. It doesn’t take long to work out that telekinesis is a no-go. Maybe all he can do is sense mental presences a little? Well, it’s something.

But for now, there’s breakfast.

At school and after

His plan at school is mostly to watch and listen. Not so much to pay attention to class but to see if there’s any discrepancy between these ‘new’ memories and what’s actually going on around him. Mr Riley’s the only person he can think of that he’d run across at school that matches up to his memories of the residents of Temba. And that’s weird, because it’s not like he’s ever really had a conversation with either version of the man.

After school, he heads to the city library, keeping his eyes open for familiar faces as he goes. Ostensibly, he’s heading that way to find sources for his senior term paper in history, but really he’s just doing more of the comparing past events to his memories. Some of that is looking at newspaper articles and some of it is checking social media.

He should really figure out how to build a radio scanner while he’s at it. Ooh, and make that count for his science fair project somehow!

Cutting classes/wildcard

Waiting and watching and thinking is just bringing more and more questions, and very few answers. Sticking to the routine of Ezra Bridger, ordinary high school student, isn’t getting him very far.

He has noticed some of the heroes, villains, and other more public figures of the City look familiar. Actually getting himself in the position to talk to some of them may require skipping some classes and otherwise ducking his mundane responsibilities.

He can just picture the worried and disappointed look Ben is going to give him.

Master Kenobi and his other fellow Jedi would understand, he tells himself. There’s too much that’s unknown, too much potential for very real danger, for him to keep playing it safe.

Comments

Cutting class

[mrsklover]

It's been a rough day. Burglaries and long lines at the bank and then a date and then two hours at the DMV? Richie is tired. He's just about ready for the day to end, now, but he still has a laundry list of things to get to. All in the life of the mildly heroic, he supposes.

But first, coffee.

He uses his little paper pad to order himself a frappachino from Starbucks and can't help but look at the name for a bit once he's outside. Starbucks....Starbucks.... Star...ducks? Why did that sound familiar?

He is staring at the label as he walks which is not useful for his thirst nor for his safety as he collides right into a kid on the sidewalk.

"Ack! Sorry," he says before he can help himself. Hopefully that doesn't put the guy into a nap.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra shakes himself to both regain his balance and shed the strange wave of drowsiness, before he squints at the guy who just collided with him.

He doesn't really know the man, but Ezra remembers him from town meeting, and knows his name from regularly checking the directory of he rows on the Agrii supplied communicators.

"...Tozier?" he tests.

[mrsklover]

Richie pauses and looks at the kid with a suspicious expression. He nods instead of risking more words and making him pass out. How did he know his last name? Richie was sure they hadn't met before, right?

He pulls out his pad of paper and pen, scribbling something down.

Do you know me?

[ezra_of_lothal]

Huh. Why write it down? Well, Ezra just rolls with it for the moment.

"Kinda?" he offers. "You came to the community meeting I called." After a beat of silence he adds, to check for a reaction. "In Temba."

[mrsklover]

Temba. That's the second time he's heard that. Which means this kid is either in on a pretty elaborate prank with Cayde or it's all true and he just found another kidnapped person.

You remember Temba? And the ruined planet place?

He forgot the name. Something with numbers.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra lights up. "Agra-10. Yes! You do rememeber?"

[mrsklover]

"Holy shit..."

He does remember. He claps his hand over his mouth, ready to curse at again mumbling out words without meaning to. But yes. Yes, that sounds familiar. Quickly, he scribbles down on his paper:

Yeah. I mean, I don't remember everything but that sounds familiar. It sounds real? I don't know how to explain it. But yeah. Yeah, I think I remember.

After School Special

[kyley_b]

It's really hard to miss Kyle. It's all the red hair - an easy signpost to pick him out of any crowd. The crowd in question this time is the pedestrian flow of traffic; office drones moving from the hive to catch the bus or walk back home. Kyle is dressed much, much nicer than he ever was on Agra 10, carrying a briefcase and looking for all the world like he belongs in this city.

He stops at a red light, checking his phone quickly as he waits.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Kyle is indeed easy to spot and Ezra cuts through the foot traffic to slide up next to the familiar face and lean to give him a closer once over.

"Please tell me your name is Kyle," he says, in a rush.

Obi-wan is, after all, Ben here, so clearly there are other options, name wise.

[kyley_b]

Kyle blinks. "Uh, yeah," he says. "Broflovski." He searches his memory for any idea who this young man might be and comes up short. Still, he smiles. "I'm sorry, are you one of the interns? Oh shit, did I forget to get that send the files for that intellectual property suit?" He's already half turning from the sidewalk, apparently ready to jog back to the office

[ezra_of_lothal]

Last name sound right, too. That seems like a good sign. On the other hand -

"You don't recognize me," Ezra says with a sigh. "No, I'm in high school. Not an intern. I'm Ezra Bridger and...you said you'd teach me basketball."

It's worth a try he figures, to see if he jobs anything at all.

[kyley_b]

Kyle stops, looking at Ezra curiously. "Oh. I did?" He tries to remember the last time he'd have been anywhere a high schooler might have frequented and can only come up with the YMCA - he has a gym membership there. Maybe they'd shot a few baskets together?

"Jeez, I'm awful sorry, I don't really remember," he admits. "But I mean, if you're gonna be at the Y tomorrow I could take a bit of time."

[ezra_of_lothal]

That sounds like a way better venue for trying to figure what Kyle does and doesn't remember than a street corner, actually.

"That...would be perfect, actually. If you don't mind?" He gives Kyle a sunny smile.

Cutter cutter peanut butter (le~t's go midmay for this)

[deal_me_in]

After his stunt with the fiery 'HE ROW' message Cayde had laid low for a little. Wouldn't do him much good to get arrested or something when he was trying to find people, and it wasn't like robots were very common around here, aside from anything Stark-made. It isn't a routine he sticks with for long, as the Exo was never one for waiting on the sidelines. Sitting at Echo's apartment only gave him more time to think about things, and obviously it wasn't solving anything.

So how often does one see a robot in a hooded jacket walking along with a box of donuts under one arm? Cayde heads along towards the edge of a park, commandeering one of the little spring-mounted horses in the playground so he can munch on his freshly glazed acquisition while perusing a newspaper.

excellent

[ezra_of_lothal]

Cayde is another being Ezra hasn't had a chance to spend much time with yet, but he sure is distinctive. The teen doesn't waste time crossing the park to walk right up to him.

"...Cayde?" he asks.

[deal_me_in]

The Exo's head jerks up at that, glowing optics blinking. He knows the face. He popped up on the network. He's sure Obi-Wan mentioned him. What was his name? Ephraim? Edward?

The springy horse goes bouncing around a bit as he quickly dismounts, nearly dropping his box of donuts in the process. He tosses it on a nearby bench along with the newspaper as he closes the distance between himself and the teenager, dropping metal hands onto his shoulders.

"-oh man I'm having a Banshee moment, is it Ethan? Just- never mind, but please tell me you remember Temba."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"It's Ezra. Both Temba and here, Ezra Bridger," he says, spreading his hands and talking rapidly.

"And no, not everyone does have the same name here. My brother's name is Ben Bridger. Except that's not his name; he's Obi-wan Kenobi." He gestures downward, definitively. "I know it is. I knew him before I even got to Temba. But I remember him being my brother Ben who I've known my whole life, too."

He sighs out, heavily, slumping against Cayde's hands a little in relief that finally, someone one else actually remembers. "It's pretty confusing."

[deal_me_in]

"Ezra! I was close!" No, not really, but he doesn't care because he's finally found another person operating on the same wavelength aside from Lark.

"Yeah, kinda noticed with the name things- wait, your brother? That's not...that wasn't thing before all this?" He shakes his head. Confusing is an understatement. Someone had went through a lot of trouble to piece everything together like this. "You remember a whole different life...but can you remember the name of this city?"

Not that it's important, not when Ezra clearly is aware of Temba. That much is a relief in itself. The Exo's been getting a little antsier the longer things have stretched, so he can't help himself as he suddenly moves to wrap Ezra up in a hug.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ok, hugs. He very much does not mind a hug, at this point. Even the robot part doesn't feel particularly strange to him, because he's hugged people in armor before.

"Obi-wan and I agreed that we're family, but it's not - I've never had a brother before," he tries to explain, without backing out of the hug quite yet. "In any sense." He can't imagine Obi-wan is eager to call anyone his brother again, not after that Ezra saw of the horrible duel with Anakin on Mustafar.

But something about this place had picked up on the family part and woven in into the narrative.

"Before being here, in the City." He pauses and pulls back. "That is weird, isn't it? And that in this life memories, I can't remember ever leaving it, or what's beyond it?"

Wake Up

[hadthehighground]

When Ezra comes down for breakfast he will find Ben making pancakes, or at least attempting to. He’s getting better at it! He never had much of a knack for cooking but had to learn over the years. It’s a skill that’s slow in the making. There’s also and eggs and toast and a glass of milk set out at Ezra’s usual spot. The older of the two siblings sliding a misshapen pancake onto his little brother’s plate when he walks in.

“There you are, a little slow to rise today? Don't tell me you were up late playing games again.”

There’s a mild scolding there but still Ben flashes his brother a grin before he goes back to making himself a plate of food. A sparkle in his blue eyes as he seemed genuinely content and happy in this life. Not having any inkling of what there had been before.

Also... his face is completely shaved. Not a single hair found where his beard usually was as Obi-Wan. He almost looks like a completely different man.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Nah. Not really late." He slides into his seat at the table and looks back up at Ben, studying the differences in appearance and demeanor.

That grin's...nice. Carefree in a way even Master Kenobi's brighter smiles weren't.

"Just didn't sleep well. Wierd dreams. Not all bad, just wierd."

[hadthehighground]

He’s a much more pleasant man when not bogged down by pain and misery it’s true.

Ben pauses though, his brow creased slightly as he looks back at Ezra. “Dreams? Is everything all right?”

There’s that brotherly concern of his. Always rearing it’s head at even the slightest implication that something might be wrong. Plus it wasn’t like Ezra to have strange dreams.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I'm sure I'm fine," he tries to reassure while he grabs the syrup jug to spread some across his panacakes.

"It was really vivid though. There was uh...I was fighting soldiers in white armor with a glowing sword. I mean, I had the glowing sword, not them. And there were evil sorcerers too."

[hadthehighground]

“Evil sorcerers and laser swords, huh? Sounds to me like you’ve been watching too many movies. That’s definitely some science fiction stuff there.”

Ben is amused by Ezra’s imagination as he sits down at the table with his own pancakes.

“At least tell me that you beat up the bad guys.”

[ezra_of_lothal]

He'd said glowing. He didn't say laser. It's hard to tell if Ben is guessing or if that's a little bit of memory popping up.

"Seems like sometimes we won, sometimes we didn't. Still the biggest bads, out there," he admits, as he cuts off a bit of a panacakes to and takes a bite.

"Did you add some vanilla this time? Something a little good different."