Dead. She was dead. The only person in Anakin's life that mattered was dead. Gone forever. Dead. Something within him died as well. Dead. At least her spirit was freed from a slave's life. Dead. Dead. . .

Padawan and master stood in the middle of the Jedi council circle. The I'm- sorry's were murmered around the circle. The sympathic glances were cast around the circle. Anakin didn't respond. In fact, he hadn't responded to much since the death of Shmi Skywalker. The dismal scene replayed constantly in his mind.

"Go to bed, Annie. You've been practicing long enough with your new creation." she had said.

"Okay, Mom." Anakin had replied.

She hugged her son and placed a gentle kiss upon his forehead. After ruffling his dark locks, she sent him to his room. She thought she'd heard something outside. She opened the door to be sure everything was alright, but everything was far from alright. She greeted her fate at the door and welcomed it inside. After a few shots from the soldier's blaster, she fell to the floor. Anakin leapt from his bed with his lightsabre in his hand. The soldiers were gone. All the remained was the cold, dead body of Shmi Skywalker.

He snapped after that. First he screamed and cried, but that didn't last long. As soon as Qui-Gon saw the dismal scene, Anakin quickly buried all of his feelings. He bottled up the fear and anger and hatred deep inside his heart, not realizing that eventually it would be shaken within him and explode. Qui-Gon could sense the over-whelming emotions being hidden. Darkness swirled within the boy's haunting orbs.

Watto, despite his cheap nature, provided a proper funeral service. No tears were shed from Anakin's eyes. His face remained completely expressionless. He was cold and distant, but his emotions stirred deep within his heart. Again Qui-Gon could sense the troubled state of things. With Anakin being completely unresponsive, he knew there was only one thing he could do in order to keep Anakin from turning to the dark side.

They stepped aboard the stolen Naboo cruiser and flew across the galaxy to see the Jedi council. Qui-Gon knew he would be in a great amount of trouble the moment he set foot upon the landing platform, but there was no other way. By refusing to form any sort of bond with the boy, he was unable to aid Anakin in controlling his emotions.

The council tried to question Anakin, but he didn't reply. His thoughts were only of his mother. Having another grave matter at hand, they changed the topic strictly to Qui-Gon's disobediance. He was quick to explain why he made his tragic disicions. But, before the interrogations could continue, Qui-Gon changed the subject.

"Have you heard from Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Obi-Wan is dead," Anakin thought, "What is he doing? Even if that damned boy was alive, why would he be of any importance? My mother is dead, you damned jedi, at least act concerned!"

Mace sighed and shook his head.

"We haven't seen him since he left to see you. Why do you ask?" Mace stated.

"As much as I hate to think he's capable of such a thing, who else would know where to find Anakin's mother? The Empire means nothing out there. That's the very reason I took Anakin back to complete his training. The only person who would know exactly where to go is Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon said softly.

"What?! Obi-Wan's alive, and he's the damned one who's responcible!?" Anakin's thoughts exclaimed. Still, he forced himself to seem unresponcive and expressionless. He knew if they sensed his thoughts they would drop the subject.

"Right you may be." Yoda murmered.

"We have heard of him. He's a Captain in the Imperial Army. It's been rumored that the Emperor wishes to have Anakin on his side. With Obi-Wan so emotionally unstable, who knows what lies the Emperor has placed in his head." Mace stated.

"Where can I find Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked.

"He's been stationed on Naboo, but Qui-Gon, it's too dangerous to send you. You could very well be the next target. Their goal is to eliminate those close to Anakin in order to send him straight into the dark side. We'll send another to bring Obi-Wan before us. Let us deal with this matter." Mace said.

"But, I think it would be best if I see Obi-Wan face-to-face." Qui-Gon stated firmly.

"Qui-Gon, you tried to take matters into your own hands already and look at how it turned out. Two are permenantly damanged. Let us deal with this matter." Mace said.

Qui-Gon nodded. For once he had to agree with the council. He had ruined enough innocent lives. Why trifle with the situation anymore?

"In order to keep you safe, we'll be sending you to Alderan. It's a peaceful planet safe from the Imperial Army. It's the best place for you now." Mace continued.

"And what about Anakin?" Qui-Gon asked.

"We shall find out where he'd like to go. As long as it's within reason, we'll send him with the appropiate escorts. We mustn't try to train him now. He needs to go somewhere in order to clear his mind and deal with his emotions." Mace stated.

"Perfect," Anakin thought, "If Obi-Wan is on Naboo, then I shall ask to go to Naboo. I'll kill him myself."

"Anakin.." Mace called. He called the boy's name a few times before Anakin responded. "We would like to send you somewhere for awhile to help you clear your mind. Is there anywhere you'd prefer to go?"

"N-Naboo.. sir..." Anakin stammered weakly.

"Naboo it is then. We'll send the appropiate jedi to deal with certain matters and to watch over Anakin. I'm sure Amidala will be delighted to see you." Mace stated.

"I'm sure Obi-Wan will be delighted too." he thought darkly.

"We'll have the ships waiting for you on the platform. Qui-Gon, we'll be contacting you with further instructions once you arrive on Alderan." Mace stated.

Qui-Gon nodded and bowed before the council. Anakin exited without bowing. The pair walked back toward the platform. Each boarded their ship. No words were exchanged between the two. No goodbyes. Nothing. Anakin and Qui-Gon were both completely expressionless and uncaring. Each was preoccupied by their own thoughts.

Qui-Gon stared blankly into space as the ship flew toward Alderan. This was all his fault. If he hadn't tried to take matters into his own hands, everything would be fine. Obi-Wan would be a wonderful jedi knight. Anakin would've had a happy life with his mother. Everything would have been perfectly fine. But no, he took matters into his own hands and destroyed innocent lives.

Anakin acted as though he was in his own little world. It was all a little scheme he was creating. He would make everyone think he was going mad. Whenever he chose to kill Obi-Wan, it wouldn't matter because they think it an act of insanity. Other dark thoughts danced in his mind, but he didn't pay too much attention to them. All he had to do was kill ObiWan. The other details would come later.

One ship landed. Qui-Gon exited the cruiser and bowed before the royal couple. He explained that the jedi council had to send him away for safety purposes. The Organas, glad to protect anyone from harm, escorted the weary jedi inside without further questioning.

As Anakin's ship landed, another was leaving. It was a lovely ship, and he secretly wished he owned one like it. He exited the ship and wanted to smile from the wonderous sight of Naboo. But, he reminded himself of the plan and kept up his act.

"Anakin," the queen called with her usual smile, "It's been so long since I've seen you! The Jedi council told me you'd be coming. You've certainly changed. What has happened to my funny little boy?"

Anakin wanted to reply, but for the sake of his plan, he didn't.

"They weren't lying about his condition. Well, let's get him inside. Perhaps he'll be more talkative later," Amidala said, hiding any sort of worry she felt.