"Ow! Let go of me!" Padmé Amidala cried, kicking one of the thugs in the face. Maybe taking a walk by herself in Lower Coruscant wasn't such a good idea. Especially when she looked so rich, and such a good target for thieves and muggers.
The man stumbled back, then raised his fist angrily, snarling. His four friends gathered around him, ganging up on Padmé. She moved into a fighting stance, wishing she had a weapon, or at least knew a bit more how to fight these gangsters.
She heard a noise from behind her, somewhere between a zap and a buzz, and the men's eyes widened. "Leave this woman alone and you will not be harmed," a soft, dangerous voice said from the same position as the noise. The thugs scattered.
Padmé stood her ground, refusing to turn and acknowledge the new person behind her. Putting on a brave face, she tried to hide her internal fear. What did this man want from her? Had he saved her because she was in danger, or because he was about to start on her?
"Senator Amidala, you should not be this far from your apartment," said the voice, sounding less dangerous now. Padmé started, wondering if she recognized the voice correctly, and forced herself to turn around.
"Padawan Skywalker," she gasped, trying to regain her composure.
Anakin grinned. "Surprised to see me?" he asked cheerfully.
"No! Well, yes." Padmé finally calmed herself down. "Thank you for your assistance," she began, but Anakin waved her gratitude away before she could finish.
"It is what the Jedi do. It's part of our lifestyle, part of our trade. I'm glad I could help, but you still shouldn't be this far away from home and by yourself as well."
Padmé gasped indignantly. "Don't think I can't take care of myself, Anakin Skywalker!" she exclaimed.
"Of course, you were doing just fine before I arrived," retorted Anakin sarcastically.
"I was! You can't have known what would have happened!"
"I'm a Jedi. We're supposed to know what is about to happen. It's why we have such good reflexes."
"I know that!"
Anakin looked surprised. This wasn't common knowledge. "How?"
Padmé fidgeted, unsure of what to say, but finally admitted, "I… overheard Master Jinn talking to your mother, before you left Tatooine. He said it was a Jedi trait."
"I see," Anakin muttered. Padmé tried to take his mind off it.
"It must be hard, living with the Jedi, following their lifestyle."
"Yes," admitted Anakin. "But I try to do things the way other Padawans do. I have to, more than anyone."
"Why?" asked Padmé curiously. Her interest was only heightened when Anakin fidgeted for a moment, and glanced away before answering, "It's a long story."
"I'd like to hear it," answered the Senator.
"Well," Anakin began. "I… promise you won't tell Master Qui-Gon I told you? Or Obi-Wan?"
Padmé was even more intrigued now. "I promise."
"Well, as it turns out, this isn't exactly reality. Obi-Wan's been having these visions, you see, about the way things 'really' happened, except I'm not sure what they mean by real anymore. Apparently, all that stuff that happened with the Federation ten years ago? With them blocking trade from Naboo?"
Padmé nodded, remembering that period in history all too well. Anakin, seeing her comprehension, continued.
"Well, that was supposed to have happened one year later, and apparently, something would have happened to during that one year that would have stopped me from shooting Darth Maul. Maybe there wouldn't have been a blaster there, or I would have learned not to shoot people. But whatever it was, Qui-Gon died a few days later when we tried to retake Naboo."
As Anakin explained about the 'true' story, Padmé found a relatively clean place in the alleyway to sit down. Unaware of her confusion, the Padawan continued to tell her about the clones and Jango Fett, the incident on Geonosis, their secret marriage (both Anakin and Padmé turned very red at this point) and Anakin's eventual turning.
"So you see, I have to stick very closely to the Jedi Code, or else I'll end up on the Dark Side. And that would be very bad."
"Yes, I noticed," muttered Padmé. Anakin grinned. "I suppose you would have. Sorry."
"How does Obi-Wan know all of this? I mean, it seems an awful lot to digest."
"Well, he's had Qui-Gon and I to help him understand it. We know the visions almost as well as he does by now. And he was having them for over a year. He just suddenly started getting them five years after the thing on Naboo, and had them for a year. Then they stopped for four, and started up just recently."
"I see," muttered Padmé, utterly confused. Then she added, "so this isn't reality, what should have happened was, right?"
Anakin nodded. "Right."
"So if this isn't real, then it doesn't matter what happens, does it?"
"We're not sure," admitted Anakin. "If this is just some sort of trick, then it could shut down any minute and we wouldn't exist anymore. But if it completely isn't real, then how can we think and feel?"
Padmé shrugged. "Well, whether this is real or not, we've never known anything else. So if it's not real, then how do we know thinking and feeling isn't the product of something that is fake?"
Anakin seemed a bit surprised by her reasoning, but only said, "Master Qui-Gon thinks that this is sort of a second chance for us, to stop all the horror that could have happened. He thinks that this is just as real as anything else, to us, and that's what matters."
"Second chances are good," answered Padmé, at loss for anything else to say. Then she added, "Master Qui-Gon seems very wise."
"Oh he is," answered Anakin happily. "I've never known anyone wiser, even Master Yoda."
Padmé smiled a little at the Padawan's eagerness. He obviously cared a lot about his master. "Anakin," she said as a sudden thought occurred to her. "If I shouldn't be away this long, what are you doing out here?"
"Rescuing you," Anakin responded dryly. Then he grinned and added more seriously, "Master Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Taun We and I were talking to Dex about the incident on Kamino. He knows more about the universe than anyone I know, and if anyone can find out who was on Kamino who shouldn't be, he will."
"And that explains what you're doing here?" asked Padmé skeptically.
"No, not really," admitted Anakin. "I got bored and wandered off, when I found you. So now the question is: what are you doing here?"
Padmé smiled sheepishly. "I got bored too. After the assassination attempt that you saved me from (I suppose that was because of Obi-Wan's visions too) I've been under more security than ever. It's a little stifling, to tell you the truth. I ended up slipping past the guards and taking a walk. Not the best idea I've ever had, as you can see."
"Yes, I noticed," muttered Anakin. "Would you like me to escort you back?"
"No, thank you," answered Padmé. "As I said before, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
Haha! I did get two out today! Hahaha! Okay, I'm sane again. Mikey15 reviewed in the three hours since I last posted. Well, now Padmé knows what's going on as well. Maybe the responsible one in their marriage knowing what'll happen if they do marry will make it a bit more likely that they'll survive? Or will she just make this more confusing? After all, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and the council all chose not to tell her. Was there a reason, or did they just forget about her? Find out in the next installment of… The Story Who's Title Has Nothing to do With the Plot! Okay, I'm sane again. By the way, in case anyone cares about random facts, this was originally supposed to be a one-post. Yeah, didn't work the way I thought it would have. What? I needed a plot!