A/N: Thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter!

Tuesday, 10:35am; Unknown Place.

Anakin had to wait another ten minutes before Shoan turned up. The silence in the corridor weighed heavily down on him, and he wished that someone would come quickly. He didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts. And the pain.

His leg felt even worse than it had when it first happened. It had been forced relentlessly through things for more than a week, and Anakin was starting to worry that, even if he did receive medical attention immediately, it still would have some underlying issues later on in his life. He bent over to look at it, his stomach having become steely with recent event so he didn't feel as nauseous as he used to. The leg was bleeding anew from a gash down from the knee. The rest of it had purple bruising up it, and it seemed oddly out of shape. Not noticeably so, but if someone looked closely they would be able to see the slight bend, slight wobble where it should've been straight.

Anakin sat up straight, muttering every curse word he could think of at Marius. Of course he had to sell him after torturing him. It was making it so much harder, if Anakin had been in peak condition he knew that he would've been able to escape already. If he could run, fight and think properly, he would have been out of there the second he got a chance. But instead he felt exhausted by the slightest movement, every time he stood the sharp ache throughout his body reminded him what had happened.

Shoan finally appeared, escorted by two men. Anakin smiled sadly at him (it was probably more of a grimace), which was returned. Anakin climbed to his feet, feeling very exposed in just his tunic. Over the time he'd spent away from the Temple it had become slowly more and more destroyed. It barely had sleeves anymore, they reached to just below his shoulders, and the rest of it had multiple small tears. Anakin fell into step beside Shoan at the motioning of one guard, and they began walking down the corridor. When they came to a corner, Shoan and Anakin had to wait to be directed toward the door. That were pointed in the right direction and, Anakin, his heart pounding, followed the direction. At the end of the alley was a door, a black one which seemed overly ominous.

The guards stopped at the end of the corridor, not following them down it. Glancing back to check that they were out of range, Anakin began motioning to Shoan. Even though he'd only known him for a few days, he'd tried his hardest to pick up small bits of sign language. He wanted to be able to communicate with Shoan. By observing Mana, and picking some up subconsciously, Anakin could just about get his meaning across. Sometimes.

Molding his hands in an approximation of what Mana did, he tried to convey his message. Judging by the nod he got from Shoan, he did acceptably. Anakin had found out, from hassling one of the higher up slaves who passed him in the corridor, some basic facts about the heads of the household. It wasn't much, which was why he was able to convey it by the time they got to the door. There was one man, one woman. They were married. She had been born into a rich family, whereas he had built up a trading business from scratch. Anakin hadn't really cared about those facts. He was more worried about why they were being sent to the heads of the household.

Punishments were dolled out by administrators. Not the masters, they were far too important. Anakin could only presume that it was for some sick entertainment. Which did not bode well for him and Shoan.

Anakin's nerves were sky high by the time they reached the door. He knocked, memories of Obi-Wan telling him to always be polite rising to the forefront of his mind. He doubted Obi-Wan would expect the courtesy to extend to potentially fatal confrontations. There was a yelled admittance from within, and with a deep breath Anakin opened the door.

It was very much what he expected. It wasn't their living quarters, but the public space. It gave him horrible flashbacks of his time with the Hutts when he was young. It had very much the same energy, but with a smaller amount of people. There were a few sipping drinks around the edge, a couple standing talking. Then there were the two people at the back of the room, the quite obvious ringleaders of the whole event. Anakin immediately made connections to the Hutt palace he'd served in. It was a fancier, posher version. But it all boiled down to one thing. People wanting some easy entertainment, and slaves were ideal. Everyone who had ever been in the slaving industry had heard about what Jabba the Hutt did to his slaves.

"Ah, they've arrived." The man at the front said. Anakin figured that this was probably the man who had built up his trading empire, or whatever it was, the exact details were forgotten in the moment. The man stepped down from his chair and into the light, and Anakin felt a jolt of recognition run through him. The man bore a small resemblance to Obi-Wan. His hair was the same auburn colour, he had the same eyes. But the similarities stopped there. This man was clean shaven, his hair was shorter and slicked back. His stance was different as well, he stood straighter than Obi-Wan. Anakin also noted that he seemed to have a flair for the overdramatic.

"Leave us." He said, gesturing for his company to exit by the door Anakin and Shoan came in. The people did, taking their drinks with them. The only people that remained were the four armed guards in the four corners of the room, and the man and his wife.

Anakin quickly thought through the different scenarios that he had come up with earlier. The man wouldn't have asked his friends to leave if they were called there for entertainment purposes. Therefore, there was a slightly larger chance that they might make it out alive. It had only enlarged by a tiny amount, but it gave Anakin a boost in confidence. They waited until everyone had filed out, then Anakin and Shoan waited with bated breath.

"Explain yourselves." The man said, sitting back down and crossing his legs. Anakin glanced at Shoan before opening his mouth, trying to think of a way to phrase it that downplayed what happened, but was still a truthful account.

"I was collecting something for my job in the kitchen, Sir. And I was accused of stealing something. When I denied the claims, I was struck about face. Um... Then my roommate tried to defend me." Anakin said. He winced. It still sounded like they were both pretty guilty. Even though they weren't, not to any sane person.

"Interesting. Any reason in particular you were sent up here?" The man asked thoughtfully.

"I- I could ask the same question." Anakin replied. Shoan shuffled beside him. Anakin didn't have time to try to translate the whole conversation for him, but hoped that he was able to lip read enough to get a general gist.

"I like to give everyone an equal chance when it comes to their fates. Besides, it's my house. I want to be involved in everything that goes on under my roof."

Anakin had to admit, he was impressed. Not many people took a hands on approach when it came to managing their own staff. Anakin couldn't even imagine being so privileged that you didn't have to do anything all day. It would drive him stir crazy.

"Not many people under me misbehave. So, when it happens, I would like to know the reason why." The man continued. Anakin fidgeted anxiously. He wasn't quite sure if it was a good or bad thing that they had been brought up for judgement. At least they were being given a chance.

"He tends to obsess over the details." His wife said. Anakin jumped. He'd forgotten that she was there, hidden in the shadows.

"Details are important, dear one." The man replied.

"I still don't see why you have to be so intricately involved with everything."

Anakin and Shoan waited silently. It seemed that this was a recurring argument, and Anakin knew that it wasn't his place to be butting in. But his leg was throbbing, and he was beginning to feel unsteady on his feet once more. Shoan must've felt him wobble, as he put a supporting hand on his back. But the movement caught the eyes of the arguing couple, and their attention turned to Shoan.

"What about you?" The man queried, pointing his fork at Shoan. "Got a side of the story?"

Anakin swallowed. He knew that he would get nowhere from lying. Besides the secret was out now anyway. He was certain that if he didn't tell them now, then they'd be found out later. Then they would be in a worse mess.

"He can't hear you. He's, um... deaf." Anakin explained.

"Interesting. I presume you let this slip earlier, rather than you are voluntarily telling me."

"Uh... Yes Sir." Anakin replied sheepishly. Was he that easily read? "In his defence, it was due to the poor judgement of someone else."

The man tilted his head, thinking. But his wife glared at them.

"Let me get this straight. Your friend attacked one of our personnel." She said. Anakin nodded hesitantly.

"He was doing it to defend me -"

"Slaves have no right to have any emotional connections. He should've continued with his work."

"And let me be punished for something I didn't do?" Anakin asked incredulously. The disgust was evident in his tone, and he didn't even try to hide it.

"It's your own fault, you should have -"

She was quietened by her husband holding up a finger. He rubbed his head, then looked at Anakin and Shoan.

"I was just going to shoot you both. But I guess this will serve as a warning." He said. Then he pointed at Shoan.

"Shoot him."

Anakin's pain was forgotten as he threw himself in the way of Shoan. Shielding him with his body. He scrambled to put himself in a proper defensive stance, but before he could he felt hands gripping his shoulders and pulling him away. He thrashed, desperately fighting. Adrenalin flooded into his blood. But Anakin stopped and took a split second to calm himself. He knew that it would be a lot easier, even without the Force, if he grounded himself. Once he had done so, his head felt minimally clearer. Reaching behind him, he aimed a punch at the face of on of the guards. It landed, Anakin feeling his knuckles bruise as he hit the hard metal faceplate. The man staggered back, releasing his shoulder.

Anakin used the new maneuverability to spin himself out of the other person's grasp. Wasting no time, he launched himself forward, nearer to the man holding a gun towards Shoan. He grabbed the weapon struggling to fight it from his grip. He was making reasonable progress when the man aimed a fist towards his face. He took an instinctive step back. But when he placed weight on his leg, he collapsed to the floor, letting out a cry. The pain flooded back, renewed. The two people he had momentarily stunned surged forward and grabbed him, dragging him back. Anakin let out a weak moan at the friction of his leg on the ground. He shut his eyes to regain some clarity.

But then there was the sound of a blaster.

The shot rang in his ears, Anakin never having become accustomed to it, even after years of being a Jedi. He opened his eyes quickly, climbing onto his knees. He almost wished he hadn't.

He let out a dry sob, crawling slowly over to the unmoving body on the floor. He paused when he reached it, eyes tracing the scorch mark above Shoan's stomach. Anakin reached out and put a hand onto his chest, feeling most of his hope slip away when he felt no movement. There was no sound of his breathing, no heartbeat. Shoan remained lifeless and unresponsive.

Anakin bent his head. He'd seen bodies before. Hell, he'd seen plenty of bodies. But never one of a friend. He'd never seen someone he cared about die in front of him. And the experience was so much worse than he could have ever expected. And it was all his fault. If he'd done things differently, better, been stronger, he wouldn't have needed Shoan to fight his battles for him. He would've been able to fight them himself. But no, because of his weakness, Shoan was dead.

What am I going to tell Mana?

Anakin couldn't fathom how he'd tell Mana. Shoan was her son. The one she'd raised, protected with her life. They'd managed to keep together so long, stayed safe and survived with each other. Of course Anakin had to come ruin that. He'd destroyed the one thing he'd been so desperate to protect. You break everything you touch.

Anakin had messed up so many things. He'd almost got Obi-Wan killed in an explosion. He'd effectively killed Shoan, one of the few people he had started to trust. He'd probably sent the Jedi on a pointless search for him, wasting their time and effort.

And all because of one argument, followed by an irresponsible decision.

Anakin let his hand slip from the body and leaned back, closing his eyes. He felt sick. But rage flowed through him. He wanted to rush at someone, anyone. It would help if they were the person who'd killed Shoan, but Anakin didn't really have a preference. He just wanted to rush at something, then break it into a million pieces. The sound of someone talking brought him back from his isolation, the metaphorical bubble which had formed around him and Shoan.

"I thought you were going to shoot the annoying one." The woman said dryly. Anakin balled his hands into fists, pressing his hands into he floor so he wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Nope. The quiet one was boring." The man said. He sounded almost gleeful at the display before him. Anakin would never understand rich people.

"No loss, I suppose." His wife replied. The thin barriers holding in Anakin's anger snapped. All of his rage flooded out, focused on the nearest target.

He threw himself at the woman, ignoring the fact he felt near to collapsing. His legs were trembling under him, but he pushed himself forward, aiming to get a few hits in before he was pulled off.

But with his recent injuries, he'd slowed down considerably. Add on the fact that he was already tired from the previous fight, and anyone would've been able to see why his reflexes were so slow.

The woman jerked back, holding one arm up to cover her face. The second reached to the table beside her, which Anakin realised had the remains of their food on. She grabbed a knife, a relatively blunt one but it still looked like it would cause considerable pain. Anakin had a small moment of panic as he realised that he'd underestimated his enemy. Again. He'd presumed that because she was quiet, she'd rely on someone else to defend her. Apparently not. He stopped short of punching her, instead reaching to disarm her with a handy move Master Secura had taught him.

But Anakin's reassessment of the situation meant that her husband had had time to gather himself, and he grabbed Anakin's wrist, pulling him back quickly. Anakin stumbled, then found his arm twisted behind his back, and someone else's arm loosely around his throat. He struggled, but quickly found himself being choked. After a moment where he continued fighting, he finally gave in and went limp. The arm loosened, leaving him enough room to gasp for breath.

"Why do they always fight? I give them a chance and they throw it away." The man asked exasperatedly.

"Maybe because you just killed someone!" Anakin said, as forcefully as he could manage with minimal breath.

"He was just a slave."

"One man's rubbish is another man's treasure." Anakin quoted. He was surprised that he remembered it, it was something from one of those Holodramas he enjoyed watching.

The man sighed and released him. Anakin rubbed his neck.

"You do realise I'm going to have to kill you now?" He said. "I can't have you chatting to the others about my leniency."

"I do." Anakin replied.

And he did. He didn't want to die. He wanted to live out his life. He wanted to see his mother again, wanted her to see how much he'd grown, how he'd matured. He wanted to see Padmé again as well. He wanted to be knighted. Wanted to go free the slaves.

But he knew that there was no way he'd be able to fight his way out. He'd hit the lowest point in his life. There was nothing left for him to do. And Anakin didn't want to die denying the fact it was happening. He wanted to accept it at least. So, slowly, he lowered his arms until they were hanging uselessly by his sides. He tried to ignore the pain throbbing through his body.

He felt a small twinge of sadness as he thought of Obi-Wan. His mother. They both probably thought he was dead anyway, if Obi-Wan had taken the time to inform her. They'd never find out that he'd survived longer, travelled so much further. He hoped that both would get on with their lives, live them to their fullest.

He saw the barrel of a blaster pointed to his face. He tilted up his chin, waiting.

And then he heard an explosion. And it wasn't from the blaster.

A/N: I wrote Mana and Shoan knowing that at least one was going to die eventually. Shoan just fell into that category sadly.