Hey guys this chapter is a little different than the last few. Anakin is his normal self trying to get some fuel to leave Naboo. However things come in at a twist. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 17: Exposed

Anakin wakes up and bangs his head against the cockpit window. "Every fucking time", he curses. He exits the starfighter and takes a deep breath of the nice fresh air. It was beautiful day in Naboo it was sunny with a few clouds and the temperature was warm with a pleasant cool breeze. Anakin took off his beskar armor and helmet and placed them inside the ship. He put on a extra robe and walked to the nearest village.

He was back to his normal self. His Anakin side, not the Nightstalker. "Okay Anakin, you are just getting fuel nothing else. The last thing you want to do is get distracted", Anakin tells himself. He entered the village and walked past a few small shops. He saw a few people walking around greeting each other. Anakin realized that everyone must know one another and probably have formed close friendships. Anakin was a stranger to this new place so he walked around the village profusely looking for a refueling station. Luckily he found the shop that sells fuel for aircrafts. Anakin made his way to the shop and entered. He saw a woman cleaning behind the counter.

"Hello there, may I get some Rhydonium", he says politely. The young lady smiles back at Anakin.

"Sorry sir, but we are closed today. You can come back tomorrow when we are open. I am just here cleaning and preparing the shop for tomorrow", the lady says. Anakin was confused. "What can't she sell me the Rhydonium. I can give less of a fuck if you are closed", he shouts to himself.

"If I pay you extra can you give me the Rhydonium. I really need it", Anakin begs. He needs to get off Naboo and find whoever is behind the attacks Anakin had to deal with.

The lady frowned "I'm sorry sir, I wish I could help I really do. But we are closed the owner isn't here so he can't sell you the fuel."

"Why can't you", Anakin responds.

The lady chuckled "Because I just clean the place and take care of it. Now come back tomorrow the owner will be here and you can get your fuel", she replies.

Anakin knew the lady wouldn't sell him the fuel and the last thing he wants to do is steal it because she would recognize his face. He doesn't want his face to be recognized by anyone.

He heaved a big sigh "Alright I will come back tomorrow. Have a nice day", he says forcefully smiling. Anakin exited the shop boiling with frustration. "God why couldn't that bitch just give me some fuel, I have important things to do", he says to himself. Anakin felt his stomach growl and noticed a diner right down the street. To satisfy his hunger Anakin made his way to the diner. He found a seat by the window and sat down.

"God can this day get any worse", Anakin groans. Suddenly Shmi's words flew into Anakin's mind.

"You can't live your life focused on one thing. Ani you have to have fun and live normal for once".

"Yeah I think your right mom. I guess the force is trying to tell me to take a break from all this madness", Anakin mutters. One of the waitresses walked up to Anakin's table with a holopad.

"Hello sir, what can I get you on this fine morning", the young girl smiles. Anakin looked down at the menu and decided he would get the scrambled eggs with Nabooian bacon. Ever since he tried it at Rako's house Anakin thought it was the best thing he ever had. Almost beating his mother's homemade breakfast.

"Okay so you want the scrambled eggs with Nabooian bacon. What would you like to drink", the waitress responds. Anakin looked back at the menu and didn't like any of the drinks. He wanted something that he liked but didn't have in a while.

"May I get one Jawa's revenge", he says politely. The woman gave Anakin a perplexed look. "Who orders alcohol in the morning", she says to herself.

"Are you sure you want alcohol in the morning sir", the lady says nervously. Anakin folded his menu up and handed it to the waitress.

"Yes, I want one Jawa's revenge", he reiterates. The lady nodded and walked away from his table. Anakin rubbed his hands on his exhausted face. "God being normal is so hard, it is so easy to be a vigilante. You just go around kill people and then come back. While living a normal life you have to deal with idiots, or annoying people who don't understand the meaning of get the fuck away from me", Anakin says to himself. For being alone for years Anakin didn't mind being by himself. To him it was soothing and less stressful, but sometimes being lonely affects his emotions. Anakin sometimes just wants to come home to someone who can love him and show affection.


Padme woke up to Sola lightly shaking her. "What do you want Sola", she says sitting up from her bed.

Sola smiled "You want to come with me into the village and get some ingredients for dinner tonight." Even though Padme was tired she somewhat wanted to go with Sola. She never seen her sister in months and wants to know how she's been.

"Yeah just give me a few minutes", Padme yawns. Sola nodded and lightly closed the door. Padme stood up and yawned once more. She walked to her dresser and searched through her wardrobe. Padme decided to wear a long, light blue, pleated under-dress that swept the floor, with an off the shoulder blue, star-shaped poncho over it. This poncho was decorated with bright embroidery in flower shapes on her sleeve with silver along the hem of the sleeve, and an intricate, circular pattern at the apex of the bottom of the poncho. Ribbons decorated with beads hung off the lower hem. Her hair was worn down while wearing this loose dress. She walked to the mirror and touched her hair a little bit.

Then she turned to Sophie who was sleeping peacefully on the bed embracing her stuffed animal. Padme smiled and quietly exited the room. She met up with Sola who was waiting outside the house.

"You ready sis", Sola says nudging her. Padme beams and lightly punches Sola's shoulder.

"Yes I'm ready."

As Sola and Padme began walking through the village they talked about each other's lives. Sola talked about life with Darred and the children which made Padme a little jealous. She always wanted to have a family but being a senator always kept her busy. But now that she doesn't want to be a senator anymore it seems more likely she can have one.

"Hey Padme wanna grab some breakfast quick, I heard they are having a special deal", Sola smiles. Padme sprinted in front of her laughing "Whoever gets there last has to pay." Sola shouted "Oh no you don't."

Padme easily made it to the diner before Sola. She wiped the sweat dripping down her face and smiled in victory. Sola soon met her panting in exhaustion.

"You are so lucky that you are young", she states. Padme smiled and pushed her older sister into the diner. They found a table by the corner of the diner close to where Anakin was sitting. He was currently looking out the window admiring the simplistic view of the village. Everyone seemed so nice and compassionate to one another. While in Tatooine it could be life or death. Bounty hunters, smugglers, and crime lords littered the streets looking for their next prey to kill or steal from. But here there was none of that and it made Anakin feel at peace. Sola was dripping with sweat from the sprint earlier.

"Hey Padme I'm going to wash up quick I will be right back", she says hastily. She gets up and makes her way into the women's restroom. The Naberries were close friends with the owners of the diner and they always gave the Naberries free coffee. The waitress came to Padme and smiled handing her coffee. Padme gave the girl her thanks and proceeded to take a sip from the coffee. She heaved a big sigh and glanced around the diner. It was mostly locals she somewhat knew but one man stood out from the rest. He was definitely a stranger to this area. Intrigued Padme would exchange a few quick glances at the man to see what he looks like. A part of Padme gave her a feeling that she knew the man but wasn't entirely sure. Sola soon returned to Padme who was staring at the man.

"What you looking at", Sola says curiously as she sits down across from Padme. Padme shakes her hand and looks at Sola.

"Oh nothing", she replies quickly. Sola gave her a concerned look.

"Uh huh", Sola muttered but decided to ignore her sister's weird behavior and grabbed the menu.

"Sooo Padme, how did you meet the girl", Sola asks. Padme was looking at the man once more until Sola's face made her lose her focus.

"Oh", she says wiping her forehead. "Well a masked man came to the palace and handed her to us. He politely said that he saved her from becoming a slave and that he couldn't take care of her because of his dangerous life."

"That seems odd for a masked man to hand a girl over to you, don't you think", Sola continues. Padme didn't like her sister asking questions about the Nightstalker. He was a good man, just no one saw it in him. He brought Sophie to them because he knew that she needed a better life.

"I don't think it is that weird because he wants her to live a good life. So he decided giving her to us would make it right", Padme responds. Sola nodded her head and looked back down at her menu. The waitress soon came to both of them and asked "what may I get you two."

Padme told the waitress she wasn't hungry but a refill on the coffee would be great.

"May I have a Nabooian bacon sandwich", Sola says. The waitress nods and takes the menu from Padme and Sola. Padme watched as the waiter brings Anakin his food and her heart stops as she sees who the man was.

"Anakin", she murmurs. Her eyes were wide open staring straight at him. His beautiful complexion, laugh and smile made Padme's heart jump to abnormal rates. Sola noticed her sister's odd behavior and saw that she was staring at the young man that was two tables down from them.

"I can see you are into him", Sola teases. Padme's cheeks turned bright pink.

"Shut up Sola", she grunts back. Sola was getting annoyed that Padme kept staring at the man and decided to take initiative.

"I will be right back Padme", she tells Padme. Padme nods and Sola lets out a little chuckle. She walked over to Anakin's table and Padme's face grew pale. "What is Sola doing? She better not bring him here. God Padme stop acting like a girl, you are a strong woman cmon", she yells to herself.

"Hello, I'm sorry to bother you but do you want to sit with us. My sister felt bad because you seemed lonely", Sola says softly. Anakin looks up and stares at the woman. He didn't know what to say. "Should he go to the table or no", he says to himself.

But for some reason Anakin says "sure" without a thought. The woman happily replied "great", as she returned to the table Padme was sitting at. Anakin mentally punched himself "Anakin what the fuck are you thinking. Stop getting yourself distracted. You need to focus on the mission", his thoughts keep telling himself. But his mom's words keep coming back into his head.

"You can't live your life focused on one thing. Ani you have to have fun and live normal for once".

"Ahhh, what's the worst that could happen", he says comforting himself. Anakin takes a deep breath and brings his tray over to their table. He kept his head slightly down so his eyes didn't meet with their gazes. As he sat down he glanced up and immediately stopped. It was Padme, he never talked to her in his normal form in a while. Anakin only saw her when he was the vigilante.

"Pa...Padme", he chokes expressing a weak smile towards her. Padme lightly chuckled and she began blushing uncontrollably. She always dreamed of seeing Anakin again and here he was sitting right in front of her.

"Oh so you two know each other", Sola questions watching the two of them blush at each other.

"Yes", Padme mutters. Anakin reached his hand over and touched hers. He felt her body twitch but quickly went back to normal. His soft touch made Padme feel warm. She had the same feeling when the vigilante hugged her.

"Yeah we met each other before all this lockdown madness. Padme and Queen Sabe took me to dinner and it was pleasant", he says wholeheartedly. Anakin honestly didn't know what was spewing out of his mouth. It just came out like it was nothing. Soon the waitress came back and noticed Anakin sitting with Padme and Sola.

"Here you are one Jawa's revenge", the waitress says trying to hold in her laugh. Never before in her whole time working has someone ordered alcohol in the morning.

"Thanks", Anakin says grabbing his drink and taking a sip.

"You drink alcohol in the morning", Sola questions. She was confused but rather curious as to why he does it.

"Uh no not really, I just felt liking drinking because I never had it in a while", Anakin lies. He knew his day was going shit ever since the lady denied to give him fuel. Anakin got alcohol to help soothe his anger but now being in front of Padme who looked absolutely gorgeous, there was no need for the drink.


Padme and Sola grabbed their bags of ingredients for the dinner they were going to make for the others. They stood up and Sola tapped Anakin's shoulder.

"Do you want to have dinner with us tonight", Sola asks warmly to Anakin. He sat there thinking if he should or shouldn't. A part of him thought it was a good idea because his mother wants him to have fun, while another part of him told Anakin not to bother and to leave the girls alone. But without any hesitation he gladly accepted Sola's offer. Padme's eyes lit up at his answer, she was beyond excited to see Anakin join them for dinner. Anakin smiled back at her, she looked even more beautiful then the last time he saw her. It's like everytime Anakin sees her she gets more and more stunning. As they left the diner Padme whispered something to Sola. Anakin tried to use the force to hear what she was saying but by the time he called to the force she was already done whispering. Sola nodded and Padme turned back to Anakin.

"Do you want to take a walk with me", she announces placing her arm out so Anakin can wrap his around hers. Anakin agreed and locked his arm between hers. Padme waved back to Sola and she took Anakin down to a field which sat below a beautiful waterfall.

"So how are you Anakin, long time no see", she says embracing him. Anakin was caught by suprise by her quick affection towards him.

"I been fine, some days can be rather interesting but usually normal", he lies to her. He knows what he does for a living and it isn't normal. Anakin goes around killing criminals for a living and somewhat enjoys it. The irony is that Anakin knows about Padme, while she doesn't know what he does. He knows that he saved her, that she is a senator, and clearly remembers her kissing his mask back at the palace.

Padme carefully looked into his blue cerulean eyes but as she glanced to the right of his face she noticed a rather large scar by the right of his eye. "How did I not notice this", she yells at herself. She lifts her hand and softly traces her finger on Anakin's scar. Her soft touch was so gentle that Anakin wanted her to keep touching it. Padme's presence made Anakin feel different, he felt more vulnerable and affectionate. He couldn't understand why, because around others he can act menacing and strong but around her he was the opposite.

"Anakin what happened", she says concerningly. Anakin grew tense as he recalls how he received the scar. He clearly sees the lady slicing his face with her knife and kissing him on the cheek.

"Oopsie", she says laughing.

Anakin clenched his fists, his anger raged through him as he revisited those thoughts of torture and his near death experience. But as he glanced back at Padme those thoughts and the anger that was building inside of him quickly vanished. She looked like an angel who stood right in front of him. She was wearing a hot dress and her warm brown eyes made Anakin easily blush. Her soft voice and smile made Anakin's heart groan.

"Oh I stumbled on a rock and my face hit a crate. Nothing too serious", he chuckles. Padme smiled weakly at him and intertwined her fingers between his. They slowly walked to the dock overlooking the beautiful lake. The sun glistened over the still water.

"Beautiful isn't it", she remarks staring at the water. Anakin nodded

"Yes way better than anything on Tatooine", he responds. Padme turned to Anakin and faced him.

"Anakin may I ask you a question", she says suspiciously. Anakin was silent for a moment. He felt that it might have been a mistake to come with her. But his heart was thinking otherwise.

"Yeah sure", Anakin says rubbing his hair with his hands.

"Did you ever meet the Nightstalker? It's just it would be cool to see you guys talk you know. You guys both have similar upbringings and it seems you have a lot in common", Padme says staring straight into his eyes. Anakin faced towards the water. He tried his best to keep his composure.

"You should just tell her"

"No you can't she doesn't know yet"

"It seems she is close to finding out. It will be much better if you tell her then if she finds out herself"

"No don't say anything she won't figure it out. Just quickly get through this and leave after. She can't know your true identity"

Anakin's thought were at a constant battle with one another. He could never have them working together. He didn't know what to do. Should he tell her or shouldn't he? Anakin didn't know. He ultimately made the decision not to because it seemed that she felt they were two different people with some things in common.

Anakin paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

"No I haven't met him. But I would be glad to meet him", he lies once again. He didn't like lying to people. His mother always told him to not lie and always tell the truth but in this situation lying was the appropriate course of action. He couldn't tell her, it would cause problems. Problems that would distract him from the mission. The mission is right now the most important thing to Anakin. He wants to make his mother and Rako proud by fulfilling his mission and cleansing the galaxy from the corruption that enslaved it for years. If that meant he needed to lie then Anakin will lie no matter what.

Padme smiled at Anakin, which gave him a quick sense of relief.

"Yeah he seems like a good man. He is always bashed by the republic as a psychopath but to me he truly isn't. If he was then why would he hand Sophie to me. I know for a fact there is good in him behind his traumatic past", Padme says playing with her hair. Anakin felt happy inside that Padme was saying nice things about him. He wanted to tell her so bad that he was the vigilante but quickly stopped himself.

"Sophie", Anakin says confused. He tried to convince Padme that he doesn't know who Sophie is but in reality he knows. He was the fucking one who saved her and brought her to them.

"Oh sorry I forgot you probably didn't know. Well the Nightstalker entered the palace one night and shocked us all. He brought us Sophie and told us that she was a slave and that he saved her from a life of torture. The man said that he brought her to us because he couldn't take care of her because of his rough life. That he didn't want her to live a life that was dangerous. After everyone had left I asked the man to stay but he refused. He cares deeply about his mission, and gave me a blaster to protect Sophie. He said that I am a bright and strong woman. The man believes I can protect Sophie", Padme explains to Anakin. Anakin was silent for a moment as he saw Padme shed a tear from her face.

He quickly wiped it from her soft face and she embraced him tightly. Tears began to fall down her face.

"Sophie calls me mommy and the man daddy. She told me that he has no wife and wants me to be with him. She tells me how she loves both of us and wants us to be her parents", Padme sobs. Anakin was in utter shock. Sophie wanted Anakin and Padme to be with each other. He couldn't believe it, but Anakin realized that it couldn't work out. Him being the Nightstalker and her being a senator would ruin her reputation. He can't marry Padme, that can't happen. Anakin doesn't want to ruin someone's life because a little girl wants them to be together.

"It's okay Padme", Anakin whispers rubbing his hands slowly up and down Padme's small curvy body. She broke off Anakin's embrace and wiped her tears.

"Do you want to come back to the house with me", Padme says desperately. He can sense through the force that she wanted him by his side. He pushed his other thoughts away and agreed to Padme's request.


They entered the home and Anakin looked around the room to see multiple people chatting with each other. Suddenly he saw Sophie playing with Bail. His heart began to race "SHIT", he screams to himself. "How can I be so stupid", he continues shouting to himself. Sophie is there with them. If she notices Anakin he is fucking screwed. She is the only one that knows the true identity of the man beneath the mask. Anakin knew that he should leave but his heart kept him there for some reason. He didn't understand why, no matter how hard Anakin fought with himself to turn around and leave it wasn't working.

"God fucking please help me", Anakin says internally praying. He secretly used the force and tapped into Sophie's head. He tried to manipulate her brain to make Anakin look different so she doesn't recognize him. Sophie turned around and began to run towards Padme.

"Mommy", she shouts but abruptly stops. She stares deeply at Anakin who was sweating profusely.

"Daddy", she mutters. Everyone was silent and gave a suprised look at Sophie.

"Daddy is that you", she says slowly walking towards Anakin. He knew this was not going well and tried to keep his composure.

"Um hello there, Do I know you", Anakin lies. He tried to play it off. He felt a sense of relief when he saw Sophie easily falling into his lie. "Thank God, she stopped", Anakin sighs under his breath. Padme knelt down to her knees and looked at Sophie.

"Sophie this man isn't your daddy, his name is Anakin", she says softly. Sophie's eyes lit up and she ran to Anakin tugging on his legs.

"Daddy, Daddy Anakin. You didn't leave me you came back", she shouts jumping in joy. Anakin's face grew pale, he glanced around and saw people giving him awkward stares.

"Sophie stop harassing the man, he isn't your daddy", Bail says forcefully. He noticed the man's worry and came to his aid.

As Bail tried to grab Sophie she pushed him back.

"No, he is my daddy. He is daddy Anakin, he saved me from the slavers on Tatooine he brought me to the palace to keep me safe", she grunts at Bail. Obi Wan and the others gasped. Obi Wan finally realized now, when he met Anakin he sensed a strong connection to the force just like the Nightstalker. Anakin told Obi Wan who he despised Jedi and it makes sense that he is the Nightstalker. Padme slowly walked backwards a bit and sat down in utter shock.

"Anakin", she softly mutters. Anakin knew his cover was blown he softly pushed Sophie from him and quickly ran out the door.

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK , FUCK", Anakin shouts. Sophie ran out the door "DADDY COME BACK", she screams crying. Padme chased after Sophie "Sophie get back here".

Anakin couldn't think straight, how could he be so oblivious. He knew it was a bad idea but refused to believe it. Now they fucking know, Padme fucking knows who the Nightstalker truly is. Anakin didn't have the courage to stay in the house he needed to run and be alone.

Padme catched up to Sophie and grabbed her arm. Sophie tried to escape Padme's hold but couldn't.

"DADDY" she screamed several times. She finally stopped and fell to the ground crying. Padme grabbed her and bundled Sophie into her arms. Padme couldn't let out any of her emotions. She was dazed by what had just occurred. She then mentally scoffed herself.

"It couldn't have been more obvious. Anakin literally had the same upbringing as the Nightstalker. Hell they even came from the same planet" Padme says to herself. Anakin's embrace and the Nightstalker's embrace gave her the same feeling but she could never figure it out. But now she knows, she realized he tried to hide it from her. He doesn't want Padme to know what he truly does. Padme couldn't believe that the masked man she kissed was Anakin. She always wanted to see Anakin, but now he is gone. Padme guesses that he couldn't control what he was feeling, his identity that he tried to keep hidden was finally exposed. Sophie looked up at Padme who began to shed a few tears.

"Why did daddy run away", she asks curiously. Padme didn't know how to respond to that. She never knew Anakin was the vigilante. She thought it was a different person.

"I don't know", Padme chokes. She looks at the necklace Sophie was holding and closely examined it. It was a figure of a fully suited Mandalorian

"Sophie what is this", Padme says curiously. Sophie looks at the necklace and back at Padme.

"Daddy gave it to me, he said I should keep it to remember him and that it will bring good luck and keep me safe", Sophie says gripping the necklace tighter. Padme had more tears drop from her eyes, seeing how connected Sophie was to Anakin made her feel sad. They both had rough lives as kids and Sophie wants to see him and he just ran away from her. Padme decided they should go back inside.

She grabs Sophie and brings her back into the home. Obi Wan, Bail, and Sabe were shocked. They all met Anakin once but never realized that he was the vigilante. He seemed nice and caring they couldn't understand how he could kill criminals then act nice just like that. Padme looked at Dormé and her family and noticed they were confused. They didn't really know Anakin and they never met the Nightstalker either so they don't know the importance of this discovery.

Padme lightly placed Sophie on the ground. Padme then hastily went to her bedroom and closed the door behind her.


Anakin kept running and cursing at himself. All he wanted to do is die. He tried his best to hide his identity but got exposed due to his own wrongdoings. He should've known that Sophie was in there and that he didn't have his mask on. But his heart made him follow Padme and enter the house unaware what was going to happen.

Now Anakin believed he shouldn't return to Sophie. Not until he finishes the mission. He can't go back to them, it would be useless to wear his mask and beskar armor. They already know who is behind the mask. Even if he wears his mandalorian helmet they will still know it's Anakin because he is coming there for Sophie.

He went back to his starfighter and hopped inside the cockpit. Anakin began punching himself for his stupidity. He just shocked Padme and the others with this revelation. Anakin believed before this incident that he could finish the mission then return to normal life and meet again with Padme as his normal self but he knew that wasn't the case anymore. Now he is going to face the fact that they know the true man beneath the mask. His ruthless tactics of killing criminals. Everything he has done as the Nightstalker they will all know. Anakin can't bare to deal with it. A part of him felt that now that he is exposed he can go and talk to them without his mask. But the other part of Anakin told him that he should leave and focus on the mission. "You can't change what just happened. You have to focus on the future not the past", he tells himself. Anakin looked back at the sky. It began to rain and he heard the sound of rain drops hitting the cockpit window.

"Mom I have failed to hide my identity. I'm sorry. Now I just ruined a relationship with Padme. She now knows the true horrors of what I've done. She only saw my normal side as nice and caring, not cold and ruthless", Anakin sobs banging his head against the ship. He couldn't stop blaming himself for his mistake. Anakin wanted to plunge his lightsaber straight through his heart at that moment but knew he couldn't.

Shmi's voice soon came into Anakin's head.

"Ani, don't blame yourself for exposing your identity. It was going to happen sooner or later, it isn't a big deal" Shmi says calmly. Anakin can feel her softly touching his hair which soothed his pain a bit.

"But mom they know my true horrors. They know my ruthless tactics, the love that I feel Padme is now broken. She would never want to be with a psychopathic murderer. I am the most dangerous man in the Republic, that is the last thing a woman would want to date", Anakin cries. Shmi was getting frustrated at Anakin's persistence to blame himself.

"ANI, stop blaming yourself. They know there is good in you. Just because they now know who you truly are doesn't mean they hate you and want to avoid you. It is a good thing. Padme and the others now realize there actual is someone good beneath the mask not a ruthless killer but a good man. You saved Sophie for goodness sake. Doesn't that tell you enough", Shmi says forcefully to Anakin to make sure he is hearing everything that came out of her mouth.

Anakin sighed "What am I supposed to do now. I can't go back there to see Sophie, no way. It will just be awkward. I hid my secret from them for so long, Padme was the closest to figuring it out but she still couldn't. But now they know. I think the right thing to do is leave them alone."

Shmi fires back "So you are going to give up on Sophie and a chance to have a relationship with a girl who has feelings for you just because they now know who you are. Ani, please don't push yourself to make wrong decisions. They know you are a good man, the Republic bashes you but they don't. You literally saved them from death, if you didn't warn them about the attack they all would've been captured and killed. Please my son make me proud. Finish this mission and start a family. I hate to see you fight with these emotions all alone. You need someone to be with you to help fight them. I can't be by your side every second of every day. No matter how much I would love to I can't. Please promise me you will take my advice, my beautiful son", Shmi says warmly. Anakin had tears falling down his face onto his robe. He looked up at his mother and nodded. He watched as her figure slowly disappeared into the night leaving Anakin alone.

"Finish the mission, then come back to them. Mission comes first. I know Sophie will be sad but I can't see her or Padme now. Not even if they want to see me and even if Padme says she loves me I can't. It will make me feel weird to be talking with someone who knows everything I have done that I've tried to hide. Ever since I decided to take on this mission, I did it only for you mom. Everything I did was for you. I will finish it just for you. Then I will fulfill your promise by returning back to Sophie after the mission", Anakin says to himself. He looked out the window and saw someone leaning over the balcony in the night. He sensed through the force that they were greatly sad and shocked. Anakin couldn't figure it who it was but he guessed it was Padme. He knew that she loved him, she also liked the vigilante. She literally kissed his mask to show her affection. Now she knows that the two men she had feelings for are the same person, one man, and his name was Anakin.

Anakin began to cry uncontrollably for 10 minutes straight. His emotions finally fought through his mental block. After 10 minutes of nonstop crying Anakin took his mask and threw it in anger. He knew it was useless to wear it. They knew who he was, so there was no point to put it on. Only Sophie knows about the Mandalorian helmet but she could barely see what it actually looked like. So Anakin knew he had to ditch his mask and start using the helmet embracing the true mandalorian heritage. The emotions Anakin felt greatly affected him, he was exhausted. He opened his cockpit and threw the mask to the ground cursing at it. He closed the cockpit window and went to sleep.


Sola saw that Padme wasn't in her room but on the balcony overlooking the lake in the dark. She came up beside Padme and hugged her.

"Dinner is ready, if you want some", Sola asks. Padme shook her head "I'm not hungry right now." She looked straight at water and placed her hands over her face. All she wanted to do is talk to Anakin, she wanted to help him deal with his emotions but he vanished into the darkness.

"I don't know what really happened, but I am here for you Padme", Sola whispers. Padme rested her head on Sola's shoulder and began to cry. Sola patted Padme and embraced her. She comforted Padme as she let her emotions pour out of her eyes. She broke off Sola's embrace and looked into the forest where she saw Anakin run into earlier.

"Anakin", she quietly whispers. Padme then decides she should rest and leaves the balcony and heads to her bedroom. She entered and saw Sophie already sleeping. Padme hopped in bed next to her and turned off the lights.

End of Chapter 17

Hey guys this chapter was different from the last few. We return to Anakin as his normal self trying to get fuel to leave Naboo and figure out who is trying to kill him. But things come in at a twist when he sees Padme who invites him to her home. Anakin was oblivious to what he was getting into and when Sophie spotted him, he knew he was screwed. He knew he couldn't stay because he felt they wouldn't look at him the same way. Padme had feelings for Anakin ever since they met at the children's park. But now she finally realizes that the masked man she kissed was him. Anakin couldn't bare to see that and ran. Hoped you enjoyed this chapter, sorry if my dialogue in the beginning seems rushed. I am not the best when it comes to writing when Anakin is his normal self. I do better when he is fighting or dealing with something emotional. May The Force Be With You.