A/N: Hey again everyone. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, Anakin finally gets to talk with Palpatine...grins evilly And just so you know, the last chapter of this story is being written. only 3 more chapters for me to post now and then this will be the end of this story! cries Enjoy and May the Force be with you always. :-)

I curse silently as I stumble, but manage to pull myself together again as I reach the door to my room. I muse uncomfortably that this will be the first time I attempt to walk in another room on my own. Usually I have Obi-Wan, Padme or Bant hanging off my arm walking me around my room, but now I'm alone, with only the wall for support.

I grip it as I step into the living area of Obi-Wan and I's apartment and spot Palpatine seated on the couch. He rises and, seeing my discomfort and nervousness, takes my human elbow gently, supporting me but letting me do the work, to achieve this on my own. I smile gratefully as he helps me ease into a chair. I quickly hide my false limb underneath my night robe, still unprepared for anyone else to see or comment on it properly. He sits across from me and leans forward, gently looking at me with soft, knowledgeable eyes.

"How are you feeling Anakin? I must say you are looking far better than the last time I visited."

I remember that day with a slight wince, still ashamed that I was too weak too fight of a dark that I had been fighting back since my mother's death, but I hide it from Palpatine, although by the look on his face I think he may have noticed.

"Yes I am doing much better according to Bant. I still stumble occasionally when I walk but Bant says that could be from when I…urm…had a visit from the healers."

"Yes I did hear about that, and I got my people on it straight away. Needless to say the perpetrators were quickly discovered and were instantly removed from their positions."

"Do you have any idea why they did what they did?"

"Well according to them, they received orders from a higher authority and were unwilling to say what those orders were and why they were given. I wish I could help more."

I take a deep breath in and let it out with a sigh, still a little angry at them for what they did to me and to Obi-Wan, but I know that getting mad at them won't help me.

"Don't worry; it's not your fault. Thank you for everything that you did."

"It's nothing Anakin. I must say though, I am surprised that Master Kenobi has allowed you to walk so soon. I would have bet that he wouldn't let you stand up for another month yet."

"Oh he didn't exactly let me. I practiced in my room while his back was turned nearly all the time. I was fine for a while until one day when he came in with dinner early to find me walking…well more stumbling around my room. When he finally found his voice again he nearly shouted the roof off the temple. He's been determined to stay by my side ever since."

I see him chuckle softly and smile at my determination and stubbornness that he has often told me is my best feature.

"Master Kenobi is merely concerned for your well being I'm sure."

"I know, I know and I appreciate all his help. I don't think I would have survived this without him; but he's stifling me. I just need to do things at my pace, which is a damn sight quicker than his."

Palpatine nods gently, eyeing me again with kind, wistful eyes that seem to search my very soul, through my deepest darkest secrets, promises and fears.

"There is something troubling you my boy."

It wasn't a question, but a statement, and it caught me off guard. If I'd had known he was going to ask about this, I would have quickly denied it, despite the fact the whole reason he is here is because I finally managed to persuade Obi-wan to let him visit me, because I need to talk to him.

But now I begin to worry as I stumble over my words, trying to find something to say. Is my anxiety really that obvious to others? If so, why hasn't Obi-Wan noticed and questioned it? I suppose it's because he thinks he knows. But he doesn't know, not really.

"Please Anakin. It's not hard to recognize when one of your best friends is in need of some help. Tell me what is troubling you."

I lean against the back of the sofa, suddenly feeling extremely weak and vulnerable again…feeling the dark crawling back into my head and chest. My human hand finds my mechanical one in its hiding place and trembles there. What is the matter with me? I have always been so relaxed around Palpatine, so sure that I can trust him with anything…..but now I'm worried about him discovering my awful secret. What will he think of me now?

He moves gently from the opposite couch to the space next to me, placing a gentle, calming hand on my shoulder. I let out a shaky breath and fix my gaze on the opposite wall…anywhere away from his gentle gaze.

"I…something happened before Geneosis…I's been having nightmares about my mother. While I was on Naboo with Pa…Senator Amidala, I had a dream that….well it frightened me. I had to know sir, I had to! I didn't have a choice!"

"Anakin clam down. Everything's alright, just explain what happened."

I lean forward and put my head in my hands, shuddering as cold durasteel meets flesh, something I still haven't been able to deal with.

"She…She'd been taken by the Tusken Raiders. They were…they had hurt her just like in my dreams. When I got there…she was dying and…she died in my arms. I was holding her…she wanted to tell me she loved me and….she died. I was so angry sir. I just….I blanked and….everything happened in a blur."

"Just recall what you can."

His voice sounded so soothing at that moment. It eased the panic and tension rising in my chest instantly…until the screams returned to my thoughts…until my mother's dying gasps brought tears down my cheeks again.

"I killed them all! All of them, even…even the women and children. I killed them all…I made sure that every single one of them bloody well paid for what they did…"

But I can't say anymore because the screams of the young children now pound in my ears and the image of my mother blurs my vision. I keep trying to fight the images and sounds down but nothing is working, it's like someone is making me see these…trying to make me angry again.

But I'm not angry…I've just realized what I truly am…I'm a monster…a murderer…no better than the Tuskens laying dead on the harsh Tatooine Sands. I look down to the floor, trying to compose myself, still trying to look anywhere except Palpatine's face. But sure enough his voice rings through the blur of horrific noises running through my ears and halts everything running through my head instantly.

"Anakin my boy, please stop looking at your feet and look at me."

I look up to him hesitantly, expecting to be met by looks of horror and repulsion that I don't want to see. But Palpatine, as ever, shows no sign of any emotion. Its funny when I think about how alike Obi-Wan and Palpatine are…and yet also how different.

"Anakin…tell me this. Why did you think I would be at all surprised or indeed repulsed by your actions?"

"Sir, with all due respect, I am a murderer! I killed them in cold blood, simply for my own personal reasons, because I couldn't control my emotions and feelings like I should have done!"

"Yes Anakin yes! Feelings. Something that makes you stand out from your Jedi comrades."

He must have gone mad, I don't have a clue what he's on about and I tell him so. He answers me with an exasperated sigh as if it's blatantly obvious what he's telling me.

"Anakin, the fact that even after your many years of Jedi training, you can still feel these emotions means that you can use them to your advantage, that you haven't completely forgotten what it means to be human."

"Sir, murdering people out of anger is not only morally wrong and against the law, but it goes against the code, the order, everything Obi-Wan has ever taught me."

"But did you really murder those monsters, or have you done your duty and brought peace and justice to those that have suffered the same fate as your mother?"

I open my mouth to automatically respond with the teachings of the Jedi, but instead I find that the black fog that had been creeping back into my head since the last incident were slowly being demolished, destroyed by Palpatine's kind words. I slowly close my mouth again and look back to him, hungry for more…hungry for him to keep killing off these black tendrils that creep round my heart.

"Think about it Anakin. How many people have you saved by riding the town of the Tusken Raiders? How many livelihoods have you prevented from being destroyed? Emotion and feelings are not bad things to feel Anakin. Yes, it is possible that we become blinded by them in certain situations, but only if we allow them to be pent up behind walls of political, or in your case Jedi, training. Anger, fear, suffering…these are all perfectly normal human emotions."

"But as a Jedi you have to let go of…"

"NO ANAKIN! Stop thinking as a Jedi and start thinking about yourself as a human again. Because, in the long run, you are only human, a human that knows what its like to have a true family and that is what sets you apart from the rest of the Jedi. By allowing yourself to feel, you draw the strength and unbeatable power you need to fight alongside a great Master like Obi-Wan Kenobi. You are going to need these in the war Anakin. If you cut yourself off from them, you will just become another mindless fighter."

Why…Why oh why do his words seem to make so much sense? Everything that Obi-Wan has ever taught me seems so insignificant when I compare them to Palpatine's words. But how can I ever make myself feel right about what I've done? I can't…the plain fact that I murdered them; monsters or no, in cold blood will always haunt me. But I can ensure it doesn't happen again, Palpatine has given me the key. I need to feel these emotions…I need to in order to stop this happening again.

I look up as Palpatine slowly rises to his feet, and I quickly struggle to do so. Palpatine claps a friendly hand on my shoulder and helps me guide him to the door. But as he exits, he whispers to me.

"Remember Anakin, this is now a war. And in war, the ones that come out unscathed are those who will gain power by any means necessary and use it to their advantage. There are going to be many deaths in the order I fear, I don't want to lose you because of the Jedi's ignorance. Trust you feelings, don't shy away from them."

I nod, an uncertain, but still friendly smile following the chancellor as the royal guards escort him back to 500 republica. I lean on the doorframe as he rounds the corner, and put one hand to my head, trying to ward off the violent headache I can sense coming on. I look out over the brilliant Courascant morning, the sunlight greeting my eyes, the hum of the speeder traffic lighting my childhood spark to get out and get racing.

"Anakin Skywalker! What the hell are you doing out of the apartment!"

I groan playfully and roll my eyes as Obi-Wan's strict voice rings true down the hallway, and I hear the clatter of hurried footsteps on the marble floor. At any other time that would have irritated the hell out of me, but right now, nothing could have sounded more wonderful.