Chapter 7: The Truth Is...

Obi-Wan never wanted to see a pod race ever again.

After watching one pod after another explode, Obi-Wan only pleaded with the Force to protect Anakin. Each lap Anakin made brought a great sense of relief, but then a new rising terror. Padmé kept snatching Obi-Wan's tunics any time the announcer revealed a crash, but loosen when it wasn't Anakin's name being called.

Anakin was doing quite well. His faulty start kept him back, but each lap he rose higher on the rankings. From twelfth to sixth to now battling for first place. There was an uproar in the crowd. The announcers kept yelling that they couldn't believe that a human was in contention for first place. Let alone an unknown pilot! People around them chanted Anakin's name as he rounded onto his final lap against Sebulba.

When the final stretch came, Obi-Wan and Padmé watched, their faces framed with worry. Sebulba had personally killed three other pilots and his next target was none other than Anakin. Padmé peered out into the desert in hopes to see him, her worries trickling out into the Force. Obi-Wan too looked out at the desert landscape, searching for Anakin through the Force and sending encouragements through their bond. Yet, his own anxieties drained him and Obi-Wan found himself repeating the Jedi motto once again: There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge…

Anakin's pod came into view, tying up next to Sebulba. In fact, they were neck to neck and Obi-Wan sensed the reason was that they were hooked together. Obi-Wan reached out to Anakin through the Force and felt the boy's nervous energy flare through their shared bond. He was scared. He didn't know what to do. Obi-Wan sent a calming vibe, quelling the turmoil in Anakin's mind.

Think Anakin, Obi-Wan messaged the boy. Trust your instincts.

A second later, Anakin refocused. Obi-Wan and Padmé watched on the verge of devastation. Then, the two pods unhooked and the big orange pod broke into two and lost control. Anakin's pod continued onward and came to a screeching halt just passed the finish line. He won!

The audience erupted in cheers of wonder and shock, but none were as loud as Obi-Wan's and Padmé's cries of relief for their friend. Kitster was screaming madly before he rushed off their platform to join Anakin. Obi-Wan, Padmé and Artoo-Detoo followed close behind.

Anakin unbuckled and stood up in the seat as the swarm of fans rushed to him. Obi-Wan pushed forward in the surge and when Anakin spotted him, the boy leapt off the pod. Obi-Wan had to lunge to catch him, but he did and they embraced.

"I won! Did you see me?" Anakin cheered into his ear. "I won!"

"Of course I did!" Obi-Wan yelled over the crowd. "You did it, Anakin! You did it!"

Finally, Padmé, Kitster and Artoo-Detoo arrived at their side, all bursting with smiles and cheers. Kitster whooped in glee, fist pumping and telling everyone around him that Anakin was his friend. Padmé looked up at Anakin with a wide-eyed amazement. Artoo-Detoo rocked, beeping and chirping in excitement. They were all happy, but not in the same manner as the fans who reached toward Anakin to touch greatness.

They were happy because Anakin was alive and they could finally get off this planet.

Above their little heads, capturing the glory, was a black probe that zoomed in on their faces. It took a picture and then zipped away through the sky, back toward the sandy desert.

A short time later, after Obi-Wan managed to pull Anakin out of the crowd and handed Kitster his earnings, they met up with Watto at his salvage yard. He appeared dejected, wings barely flapping as he stared offside. But, the moment Obi-Wan stepped into the shop, his dejection transformed into an undisguised fury. He nearly rammed his short trunk nose into Obi-Wan's face.

"No!" Watto spat. "I'm not giving you anything! You swindled me!"

"It wasn't me who made the bet," Obi-Wan took a step away. "A bet is a bet. You owe us the generator… and the protocol droid," he added when Anakin nudged him.

Watto's eyes filled with hate. "No! I'm not giving you a single thing!"

Obi-Wan returned with a chilling glare. "If you wish to argue, we can go straight to the Hutts."

Watto fumed, but then an eerily, knowing smile spread across his ugly face. "You won't talk to the Hutts."

"Really? And why is that?"

"Because I know what you are… Jedi."

Obi-Wan said nothing. Being called a Jedi wasn't a dishonorable title or an insult for Obi-Wan. Yet, being called a Jedi on Tatooine knotted his insides. His heartbeat skipped and a cold, knife like precision carved into his side. All the moisture zapped from his throat, giving him a dry spell and unable to speak in defense. Instead, he stood like a petrified child.

Watto saw the fear and twined his talons together in gratification. "I remember a story that took place many years ago," he said, flying closer to Obi-Wan. "About three Jedi who came to Mos Espa and murdered innocent people. It so happens one of the Jedi was described as a young human male with red hair."

Obi-Wan heard the tiny gasps from behind. Either it be Padmé or Anakin, it did not matter. Already he felt ashamed. He had been ashamed of that memory since it happened. Watto was right. He was a murderer, but not in the way he believed.

Watto kept sneering at him. "Jabba will be most pleased to see another one. He's been wanting to have his revenge."

"Then I am afraid he must be kept waiting," Obi-Wan said, calmed and ignoring the confusion that distorted his bond with Anakin. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Besides… I am no Jedi."

Watto flew forward, talon jabbing at him. "You have a lightsaber!"

"From the black market," Obi-Wan swiftly lied. "A Mandalorian was selling it and I thought it to be a neat weapon to own." Obi-Wan stepped up, matching Watto in intensity. "So, please, let us go visit Jabba. I'm sure he would like to know which individuals under his authority likes to swindle. Because, those who cheat once are bound to cheat again.

"And even if I am one of those so-called Jedi who murdered a bunch of people years ago," Obi-Wan added, his voice colder than he ever wanted it to be, "what makes you think I wouldn't strike you down now?"

Watto jerked back like Obi-Wan's words were hot venom. His wings shivered as he looked down at the lightsaber swaying on Obi-Wan's belt. "No! Mercy!" he panicked, backing further away. "Take it! Just…take it and go!"

They obliged. In silence, they loaded up the generator and Anakin's protocol droid. It was an ugly-looking droid. All of its wires were showing and it had a missing eye. As they exited the shop with their goods, Obi-Wan expected to be horded with questions. Instead, neither Padmé nor Anakin said anything. They kept their heads down and Artoo-Detoo didn't even beep at all.

Obi-Wan could feel their burning questions through the Force. Anakin was in extreme denial. His thoughts coming to different and far-reaching conclusions while Padmé grew cautious, her self-defense skills coming to the forefront. Their silent, disquiet anxieties only burdened Obi-Wan. He was tired of the secrets and the dark. He's been running for so long and to be fair, they both deserved the truth.

"You have questions," he said as they began to hook the goods onto the speeder bike they rented. "Go ahead."

Anakin was the first one to speak. "He's a liar!" he said, profoundly, hoping the confidence in his voice made the statement true. "It was all lies."

Obi-Wan looked distraught for a moment. Anakin always had complete faith in him. This was going to break both of their hearts. "Not all of it."

"So you were there," Padmé said, crossed.

Obi-Wan stiffly nodded. "I was."

Anakin gaped at him. First in shock before it twisted to horror. "Y-You killed people?"

Obi-Wan swallowed, but he nearly choked instead. Confessions were harder than committing. "In a way."

That did not satisfied Padmé. It only terrified her. She moved herself to stand next to Anakin, preparing to do what was necessary to protect him and herself. "What do you mean?" she asked for direct clarification.

Obi-Wan twisted the bindings hooked along the generator, cutting circulation from one of his fingers. "I may not have dealt the killing blow, but I… a lot was happening," Obi-Wan ran his hand through his auburn locks. It was time to come clean.

"I came to this planet with two others: my master and grandmaster. We were to meet up with a slave trader. Gardulla the Hutt," Obi-Wan started his dark tale with a tightness in his throat. "Things got out of hand and before I knew it, a firefight broke out. My master and grandmaster pulled out their lightsabers and…"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes to look away from Padmé and Anakin. He saw the scene all over again. He was standing in a small living space, cramped and uncomfortable. Then he heard shouts and screams and cries all at once. Blaster shots going off and the sounds of lightsabers slashing through the cries. Obi-Wan rushed to the pain, but was stopped by Qui-Gon. His master gave him an order. Obi-Wan kept hearing the pleas and screams, but Qui-Gon commanded him to go. And Obi-Wan did what he thought was best at that moment. He left the dwelling of horrors, carrying a crying toddler in his arms.

Upon seeing the strain on his face, Padmé's narrowed eyes eased to concern. "You didn't kill those people."

Obi-Wan shook his head, refusing to look at either her or Anakin. "Not by my hand, no," he said quietly. "I tried to go to them. To help, but… I made a choice."

Anakin picked at the bindings. "What choice?"

"I chose to save a life." He looked down at Anakin with great sympathy and love and sadness and pain.

Anakin stared up puzzled, trying to connect the story when his little eyes rounded and his chest rose and fell in big waves. "Me," Anakin whispered in disbelief. "Y-You saved me."

Again, Obi-Wan nodded as Anakin came to the dawning revelation of his own past. "That place… where we slept. That was my—"

"Your home, yes," Obi-Wan confirmed and he saw the bracelet peeking out from Anakin's pockets. "And that bracelet—"

Anakin reached for the bracelet. "What about it?"

"It belonged to your mother."

Anakin's eyes hurriedly darted from Obi-Wan to the bracelet. Obi-Wan could see Anakin's throat tightened, tears building. He pulled out the bracelet, cradling it in his hand for a moment. "Is she alive?"

The question Obi-Wan hated to answer. "No."

Anakin was breathing hard. He looked away from Obi-Wan and a hushed silence fell upon the group. Obi-Wan wanted to end that insufferable pain Anakin was feeling. To cease it from existence, but he couldn't. All Obi-Wan did was shared his own grief of that night to the innocent boy who had no recollection of that horrid past. Something Obi-Wan was thrilled about for the past seven years, but now he could no longer safeguard the boy from the truth.

Anakin stepped aside from the speeder bike, backing away as he stared at his mother's bracelet. "I-I can feel her," he murmured and when he raised his head up, streaks of tears fell down his cheeks. "She was in pain. And afraid…"

Obi-Wan moved to comfort Anakin as he always did when the boy suffered from a nightmare, but Anakin jerked away. Obi-Wan stopped, disheartened. "I'm sorry, Anakin," he said. "I never wanted to hurt you. Or anyone. That's why I left. The next night after the massacre, I took you and we ran away. Far away so that they couldn't find us."

"You lied to me! You said…" Anakin couldn't finish his sentence. His words cracked and bled from the profound betrayal.

Obi-Wan felt his own tears surfacing. "I never lied to you, Anakin. I kept some things out, yes, but I never lied. You were in danger, so I did what I could to protect you. I figured it was a way to repay your mother—"

"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" Anakin cried and he spun around and stormed off to the shade.

Obi-Wan didn't pursue him. A big revelation like that deserved silence and reflection. He turned to give Anakin his privacy when he saw Padmé and Artoo-Detoo still standing by the speeder. He had forgotten they were even there.

"Let me guess," Obi-Wan said as he returned to fix the last of the bindings. "You think of me as a monster?"

Padmé lifted her brows. "I don't think of people as monsters," she stated, calmly. "And I do not fault you for their deaths. However, I don't understand why you just didn't ask your master and grandmaster to stop or at least tried to get them to stop."

Obi-Wan snorted, but when he saw her furious glower, he retreated. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "If you knew who they were, you would have realized the emptiness in your question. I couldn't have stopped them. They wouldn't have listened to me and even if they heard my pleas, they would have simply told me to do as I was told."

A crease formed between Padmé's eyebrows. "That doesn't sound like a Jedi."

"That's because they're not," Obi-Wan stated. "They stopped being Jedi long ago. Tell me—have you ever heard of the term, Sith?"

Padmé reviewed the word thoughtfully before shaking her head. Obi-Wan figured. It was a very outdated term nowadays. "Sith were once the ultimate enemy of a Jedi. They stood for everything the Jedi was against: power, corruption, terror, etc.," he explained and once he saw that Padmé understood, he did the final reveal. "My master and grandmaster are Sith. Have been for nearly ten years."

Padmé was shocked. "Why didn't you report it to the Council? Or another Jedi?"

"You think I haven't?" Obi-Wan challenged in a snap of his voice. "I tried to tell the other Masters, but no one believed me. My master… they were good at shielding themselves and manipulating situations to hide the truth. When they caught wind of me passing on my concerns to other Jedi, they took me away from the Temple! From my friends! They secluded me so that my only companions were them.

"So, when they murdered Anakin's mother, along with other slaves and masters, I did what I thought was best at the time," Obi-Wan concluded and he gave one last tug on the bindings. "I ran away with Anakin and we've been running since."

Padmé stood silently once more. Her hard gaze moved from Obi-Wan to Anakin, who still sat in the shade and holding onto the bracelet. She seemed almost paralyzed, unsure what she should do or say to either one of them. Obi-Wan wouldn't stopped her if she decided to lash out at him. He deserved it. He deserved everything he got. Didn't matter what Obi-Wan did or what happiness he could obtain, in his heart, he felt an infinity of sadness was always going to be his future.

Suddenly Padmé stepped up beside him and place a hand on his arm. "You're not a bad person," she assured him. "You just had bad things happened to you. To both of you! You may not be a Jedi and you've done questionable things, but deep down, you're a good person."

"Depends on who you speak to."

They both looked to Anakin. Obi-Wan sensed the agony vibrating along his bond with Anakin and a gentle probe of pity coming from Padmé. The young handmaiden didn't deter though. "Anakin still loves you," she said, confident. "He looks up to you. Like a younger brother looks up to an older sibling. He may be upset now, but he knows that you're a good person. He'll know that you weren't the one who killed his mother."

"But maybe he should," Obi-Wan responded. "After all, I didn't save her."

"Could you?"

Obi-Wan thought. "No. Even if I got Anakin to safety and ran back, she would have been dead."

"Then he'll forgive you," Padmé assured him. "People can only suffer for so long before they want happiness again."

Padmé's words and confidence made him feel a little better than he did at the start. He thanked her and went back to inspecting everything. It was all in good order. "Well, I think it's time for us to leave and get your Queen to Coruscant," he addressed Padmé. "Want to get Anakin?"

Padmé walked over and called for Anakin. The boy looked up and when he saw it was Padmé, he removed himself from his spot to join her. They arrived beside the speeder just as Obi-Wan hooked Artoo-Detoo in his seat. Artoo-Detoo gave a low beep and Obi-Wan thought it might have been Artoo-Detoo's way of giving his sympathy. He smiled at the droid and gave him a nice tap on his dome head. "Stay safe, little guy."

Obi-Wan next went to help Padmé up the speeder bike. She accepted his hand and hopped on the end of the speeder bike. She situated herself properly, giving room for Anakin. Obi-Wan bent down to hoist Anakin up, but the boy clambered up the speeder without assistance. He slipped at first, but Padmé grabbed his hand and helped pull him up to the seats.

Obi-Wan sighed, but he let it be. He and Anakin can talk again another time. He only hoped that Anakin could truly forgive him for his involvement in his mother's death.

It was Obi-Wan's turn to hop on the bike and drive them back to the disabled ship when he felt a change in the atmosphere. He paused in his footing, concentrating. It was familiar. He scanned Mos Espa's landscape and saw nothing. Then he scanned the landscape of the Force and he felt… something. It was an intrusion. An unbalanced state of dark matter weighing down the harmony needed to keep a certain balance.

"What's wrong?" Padmé's voice drew Obi-Wan back to them.

"Something's not right," Obi-Wan announced to them. He looked back, trusting his senses to lead him in the right direction. As he eyed the crowd, he spotted a tall, thin figure, cloaked in all black, marching to them. The cloaked person stopped just a short distance away from them, but Obi-Wan knew that it came for them specifically.

Then, the person removed their hood and Obi-Wan looked into the face of a very pale woman with dark eyes and a tattooed head. Her predatory smile was directed at Obi-Wan. "Leaving so soon?" her sweet words dripped with poison. Her hands reached to her waist as she shrugged off the large cloak. Two, curved lightsabers appeared in each hand.

The newcomer poised herself for battle and she sneered. "But we only just met."