shieldmaidenofeorlingas: I AM torturing him...

Cowgirl4Christ: Sidious...hmmm...that might be a possibility...I'm not EXACTLY sure of what I'm going to do with my plot...the whole plot is subject to change at present.

Chapter 6

My day in the dark, lonely word of being unconscious was, needless to say, enjoyable and very freeing, even if my mind was unable to grasp how wonderful that time was. However, when I woke up, I found a sight that I'd rather have never seen again.

Allie. Leaning over me, looking "worried", supposedly. Not that she cared anything about how crazy she was driving me. "Oh, Anakin! Finally, you are awake!" She clasped a fist to her chest and patted my cheek. "I am so glad that you are okay!"

She turned to pick up a tray with something resembling food on it. "Are you hungry? I had them send up some food. I knew you would be waking up today." She smiled. I groaned. Of course she would know...Padme could probably look into the future and give her hints about my reaction to things.

The teenage girl popped a bit of fruit into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully, staring at the ceiling. "Tastes like cherries. Would you like one?" She proceeded to hold a bit of fruit near my head.

I shook my head and sat up. Something wasn't right...I looked around the room. At the ground, ceiling, walls, then Allie. Something was definitely different...my helmet! My helmet was gone!

I slapped a hand to my face, hoping to find that it was actually there. My hand touched my skin. I gasped. Now, normally I'm not the gasping kind, but when you find out that you are missing the mask and respirator that you need in order to breath, believe me, you gasp.

"Don't worry, Anakin. Padme is protecting you. You can breath without your mask. We've decided that you are self-conscious about your looks, so we have decided to remedy that. Okay?" She said in a perky sort of voice.

"Self-conscious about my looks?" I growled, shooting a murderous glare in her direction. "I am one of the most evil people in the galaxy. I am also one of the most powerful. Why, I ask you, would I have ANY REASON TO BE SELF-CONSCIOUS ABOUT THE WAY I LOOK?" I had ended in a shout.

Allie was smiling. Again. I swear, that smile is a permanent fixture on her face. "Oooh, guess we hit a nerve there, didn't we, Anakin? That only proves us right, doesn't it now?"

I listened carefully to her speak. Why was she using 'we' and 'us', when she and I were the only ones in the room?

"Because, Anakin, I am working on my Smeagol/Gollum imitation. Apparently there is somebody from Middle-earth who wants me to go work on some poor little creature after I get done with you." She was beaming. "I'm getting paid double what Padme is paying me to fix you. Anyway, that is the way the poor thing talks, and I have to have him be able to understand me."

Smeagol? Gollum? Middle-earth? This was too much stuff, jamming itself into my brain! So much information, so many questions...I had just been unconscious for a day! Didn't I deserve a break?

"No, Anakin. No breaks. We need to fix you. I daresay I've done very well with you so far." She began filing her nails. "But today I'm going to go a bit easier on you, simply because you've just had that little accident. So, you are going to have a psychiatric evaluation done by yours truly!" She ended with a triumphant wave of her hand, and a pad of paper and pen appeared in her lap.

She leaned back in her chair and scribbled something at the top.

"Okay, Anakin, I'm going to ask you some questions, and all you have to do is answer them. Alright? Now, I understand that some of these are very personal questions, and that you might get a little emotional, but never fear, I have brought something to solve that little problem."

She whipped out a small rectangular box labeled Kleenex from under her chair. I groaned again.

"Here we go. Number 1, why did you decide to turn to the Dark Side?"

This is not happening...this is not happening...I began to chant in my mind while giving her some sob story about how when I was a child nobody would ever play with me so I decided to become evil to make them play with me. Allie, of course, didn't write any of that down, as she didn't believe a word.

"No, Anakin. The truth, this time, okay? I have to see how badly being evil for so long has damaged you." Allie scribbled something else on her paper.

"Because I'm easily convinced? Palpatine made a very good argument..." I murmured. There. That was the truth...sort of...

"We'll continue with this later. I have to make a call." Allie swept up her items and left the room. Probably to go talk to Padme and get the truth out of her. Padme probably would have seen my corruption, and the reason for it...

I laid back down on the bed and closed my eyes, trying to rid myself of the memories, trying to figure out how to get rid of Allie once and for all...