After informing her master about the change of plans and getting yelled at for allowing this to happen, Padme and Anakin borrowed a ship for the Queen and made there way to Tatooine to find out the whereabouts of his mother.
After arriving, they left their ship and got a ride from a Droid with a carrier. Anakin told the Droid to go to the only person who would know the whereabouts of his mother.
He tells the Droid to wait and they went to Watto's second-hand's good store looking for him. They noticed him outside sitting under an awning trying to fix a Droid.
"Chut-chut Watto," Anakin greets him in huttese. "Let me help you with that." He takes the Droid from Watto and attempts to fix it.
Watto looks at him clearly annoyed with his presents. "What? What do you want?" He looks at him more closely and notices Anakin's lightsaber. "Wait! You're a Jedi! Whatever it is I didn't do it!"
Anakin still working on the Droid tells him, " I'm looking for Shmi Skywalker."
After looking at him for a few seconds the toydarian seems to remember who Anakin is "Ani?" He's asks. "Little Ani? "
Anakin puts down the now fixed Droid.
Still in disbelief he shakes his head. "Nahhh." But upon looking at the fixed Droid he finally believes. "You are Ani! It is you." He laughs. " You sure spouted huh? A Jedi! Whattaya know. Hey... maybe you can help me with some dead beats who owe me a lot of money."
Padme senses Anakin was clearly getting annoyed with Watto for not answering his question. "My mother," he asks again.
"Oh..yea...Shmi," he scratches his head. "She's not mine-a no more-a. I sold her."
This angered Anakin more, " You sold here?".
"Years ago," he says afraid of upsetting the Jedi even more. "Sorry but you know business is business huh?." He chuckles. "Yeah I sold her to a moisture farmer named ,uh, Lars? At least I think it was Lars. Believe it or not I heard he freed her and married her! Can ya beat that. Eh?"
Slowly calming down a bit. " Do you know where they are now?"
"Oh long way from here. Someplace over on the other side of Mos Eisley I think."
"I'd like to know."
"Ehh. Sure. Absolutely!" He chuckles. "Let's go look at my records huh?" He starts to guide them into his store.
After waiting for Watto to finally find the records, they made their way over to the location of Lar's home. They landed the ship and started to walk towards the little hutt. They noticed a protocol Droid outside working on something.
"Oh. Um. Hello. Um. How might I be of service. My name is C-," the droid started to say before Anakin cut him off.
"3po?," He asked the droid. Padme was clearly surprised that he knew the droid.
"The maker!" The droid cheerful says and that's when it hit Padme that she has seen this droid before. The last time she was here, but he wasn't finished at the time. This was the droid Anakin was starting to build for this mother before he left. His mother or someone must have completed him.
"Oh Master Ani! I knew you would return. I knew it. And Miss Padme, oh my!"
"Hello 3po," she greeted him.
"Oh bless my circuits! I'm so pleased to see you both."
"I've come to see my mother," Anakin asks 3po.
"Oh. Um I think perhaps we'd better go indoors."
3po leads them into the little hut where they are greeted by two strangers.
Is this Lars? He looks awfully young to have married Anakin's mother.
"Master Owen, might I introduce two most important visitors." 3po says to the strangers.
"I'm Anakin Skywalker." He says to them.
"Owen Lars. Uh, this is my girlfriend, Beru." He says indicating to the other stranger.
"Hello." The girl greets then.
"I'm Padme." Not sure what to call herself in relationship to Anakin.
"I guess I'm your step brother. I had a feeling you might show up someday " Owen says to Anakin.
"Is my mother here?" Anakin asked. Padme could tell he was starting to get annoyed that no one was answering the one question he cared about.
"No shes not." A voice answered from behind them. She turned around to see an older man in the wheel chair roll up to then.
"Cliegg Lars." He extended his hand. "Shmi is my wife. We should go inside. We have a lot to talk about." He turned around and guided them to the kitchen area.
They all had a seat at the table and Beru brought them all something to drink.
"It was just before dawn. They came out of nowhere," Cliegg starts to tell them." A hunting party of Tusken Raiders. Your mother had gone out early, like she always did to pick mushrooms that grow on the vaporators. From the tracks she was about half home when they took her."
Padme gasped looking after at Anakin seeing he was shaking. She went to grab his hand and he shook her off.
"Those Tuskens they walk like men," he continued telling them. " But they're vicious, mindless monsters. Thirty of us went out after her. Four of us me came back. I'd be out there with them, but after I lost my leg, I just couldn't ride anymore un-until I heal. I don't want to give up on her, but she's been gone a month. There's little hope she last this long."
Anakin shot up almost knocking the drinks over and started to leave.
"Where are you going?" Owen asked.
"To find my mother." Anakin answered.
"Your mother's dead son, accept it." Cliegg told him.
Anakin angerly left them and went outside
Padme excused herself and went out to follow him.
"You're gonna have to stay here, Padme. These are good people. You'll be safe."he told her.
"Anakin please if you are going to do this please let me come with you." She said worried he was going to get himself killed.
"You know i have to do this alone "
Understanding without using her lightsaber and exposing who she was, he was right she was going to have to stay here and wait for him hoping he doesn't get killed. She hugged him goodbye and he grabbed a scooter and went to go find his mother.
Padme watched him ride off until she couldn't see him anymore and prayed that he wouldn't do anything too stupid and get himself killed.
This was definitely a bad idea to come here. How am I going to explain to master that she just watched and let the chosen one leave to get killed by Tusken Raiders.
After waiting for what felt like hours, Anakin finally returned. She ran outside to find him alone on the scooter. Oh no she thought as he hoped off the scooter and grabbed what looked to be a body wrapped in a blanket off the back of the scooter and walked past everyone into the house. Not knowing what to do. Padme waited a few minutes before going inside looking for him. Thinking maybe he was hungry, Padme grabbed him some food before finding him in the garage trying to fix something.
"I brought you something. Are you hungry?" She asked him.
" The shifter's broke." He said still trying to fix whatever he was working on. "Life seems so much simpler when you're fixing things. I'm good at fixing things. Always was." He pauses. "But I couldn't." He stops working on the machine. " Why'd she have to die. Why couldn't I save her? I know I could have!" He walks away from her.
"Sometimes there are things no one can fix. You're not all powerful, Ani "
"Well, I should be! Someday I will be. I will be the most powerful Jedi ever! I promise you. I will even learn to stop people from dying."
"Anakin." She says worriedly.
"It's all Obi-Wan's fault! He jealous! He's holding me back!" He throws the tool he was using causing a loud crash startling Padme.
Sensing he was holding something back she asked hoping he would answer"What's wrong, Ani?"
After a couple seconds he finally answers. " I-i killed them. I killed them all. They're dead. Every single one of them." He's turns back and looks at her holding back tears. "And not just the men but the women and the children too. They're like animals and I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them!"
He's sits down unable to hold back his tears.
After processing everything he just told her, she sits down next to him." To be angry is to be human." She says trying to comfort him.
"I'm a Jedi I'm know I'm better than this."
Unsure of what else to say, Padme hugs him trying to comfort him and thinking of when she is going to have time to tell her master of this new information . He will definitely be pleased to hear about this
Before they decided to leave, Anakin wanted to say one last good-bye to his mother. He dug a hole outside and placed her body in there. By the time he finished covering her up her noticed everyone has come outside.
"Do you mind if I say something?" Cliegg asks.
Anakin shakes his head.
"I know wherever you are it's become a better place. You were the most loving partner a man could ever have. Good-bye my darling wife and thank you."
Anakin walks over to her grave and kneels downs. She over hears him say "I wasn't strong enough to safe you mom. I wasn't strong enough but I promise I won't fail again. I miss you so much."
At this moment r2 comes back from the ship saying there is an important message from Obi-Wan. After saying there good-byes, they had back to the ship and play the message.
"Anakin, my long- range transmitter has been knocked out. Retransmit this message to Coruscant." Padme hits a button to redirect the message.
"I have tracked the bounty Hunter, Jango Fett, to the droid foundries on Geonosis. The Trade Federation is to take delivery of a droid army here, and it is clear that Viceroy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala."
Of course he is she though. He can still manage to hold a grudge after all these years even after learning that we are on the same side.
"The Commerce Guilds and the Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming a-" the messages ends there with the last image being of Obi-Wan being attacked by a battle droid and him trying fight it off with his lightsaber.
"Anakin, we will deal with Count Dooku. The most important thing for you is to stay where you are. Protect the senator at all costs. That is your first priority. " Mace Windu tells him.
"Understood, Master." Anakin's says before disconnecting.
Oh no. I want to speak with Dooku myself. I'm tried of this jealous game he plays just because Master trust me more. We are going there and if Viceroy is there as well perfect.
"Theyll never get there in time to save him. They have to come halfway across the galaxy. Look." She turns on the maps to show him. "Geonosis is less than a parsec away."
"If he's still alive."
"Ani, are you just gonna sit here and let him die?" She angrly says "He's your friend, your mentor. Hes-"
"He's like my father! But you heard Master Windu. He gave me strict orders to stay here!."
Yea well Master Windu doesn't control me.
"He gave you strict orders to protect me, and im going to help Obi-Wan." She turns around to put the coordinates for Geonosis in.
Well mainly we are going to talk to Dooku, but if we save Kenobi in the process great.
"If you plan to protect me, you'll just have to come along." She smirks as she powers up the engine.
She noticed Anakin chuckle to himself as he sits down in the copilot's seats and they take off.