FOUR.
Anakin immediately regretted climbing into the sewer once he got in. The icky mud and putrid smell are unbearable. He keeps reminding himself it's for the good of the galaxy, and so keeps going onwards, underground, into the palace of Naboo.
He is completely aware it is dangerous and risky going past the walls. He'd be wanted throughout everywhere now. He can sense it.
Moonlight breaks through from a drain in ceiling. That's my way up. Anakin decides. He stands under and closes his eyes, using the force to very carefully open it and quietly move it to the side. After that he bends his knees, then, jumps through it landing safely to the side. Anyone will smell me coming from miles away. He jokes.
The air is cold. The streets are empty. The sky is clear. No sounds are heard. Quiet. Too quiet. He sees a light coming from around a corner and he ducks into an alley way. He watches as a pair of walkers stroll past with spotlights and soldiers manning them.
Great, they have scouts. Anakin is annoyed. Just before he steps back out of the ally he spots a gunship fly overhead with spotlights, that fortunately for Anakin, miss him. He needs to be extra careful now.
He rushes past the open way into the dark behind a building. He slowly makes his way, sticking close to the walls. Before too long he hears voices. He ducks behind a flower pot. Two soldiers are walking down the street, blasters in hand.
Anakin shows no mercy as he raises both his hands, one for each soldier, and focuses on chocking them with the force. Before too long both bodies lie on the ground dead. When Anakin passes them he picks up a blaster. This will be useful.
In a clearing of buildings he sees the Royal Palace. There is a hanger in there, and that is where he must get. He picks up the pace to reach it, and undoubtedly forgetting his discreetness. He passes a street and is thrust forward from an explosion. He rolls over, pulling the blaster close to him. He sees a smouldering blast that must've been shot at him. Lucky it missed.
He sees spotlights approaching from the corner of the street. He rolls until he is on the wall of a building, pressing his back against it and holding his blaster close, to avoid the spotlights, hopefully.
A pair of walkers turn into the street Anakin hides in with bright lights streaming forward in search. "I swear it was him!" A man exclaims.
"Well, he's not here is he?!" Another yells.
A gunship appears overhead with its searchlight in Anakin's eyes, he squints and raises his hand to block the light. From his now limited vision he sees the walkers looking towards him. Great.
Anakin rolls to where the light won't blind him and quickly sends a shot into each soldier on the walkers. Before the gunship can react Anakin is quickly on his feet, running towards to the Royal Palace.
Pacing his steps fast, rapid breathing, letting the force guide him. Instead of hearing one gunship, he's now hearing multiple, with blasts landing on all sides of him. They're not doing much damage other than causing him to go deaf and getting smoke in his eyes.
Ahead he sees more danger. A line of soldiers and walkers, blocking the gates of the palace, and turrets on the gates, all aimed at him. But he cannot stop now or he'll be caught.
A sharp right turn through someone's window, glass breaks, and Anakin crashes onto the floor. He sucks up the pain of cuts and bruises for now. He has to keep moving. He also ignores the screaming of a woman upstairs. He runs through the house, jumping through the window at the back.
The next road he's on doesn't remain quiet for long. The gunships overhead aren't slowed down by the buildings below. Anakin ditches the blaster – weight reduction. He needs to find a way out of this. He focuses calm, and he remembers something his lord taught him long ago. He never mastered this trick of the force, but it may be his only shot.
Another explosion behind him worsens his hearing. He stops running. The gunships don't stop quickly enough and fly ahead for a short distance. They start to slowly turn around, their guns readying to kill Anakin.
He sucks in a powerful breath and feels the power flowing in his veins like static electricity. He stares down the targets. The sense that a soldier was a millisecond away from pulling the trigger to Anakin's death is Anakin's trigger. He unleashes powerful, blue bolts of lightning from his palms into the gunships.
The gunships lights and controls flash, the engines cut out. They spin hopelessly, suspended where they float, lighting damaging the body, electrics, and killing any life inside. It is then that Anakin stops, watching as the gunships drop to the ground. Explosions illuminate the plain area.
Anakin feels the need to stop for breath. He paces his steps to a house and goes inside, after unlocking the door with the force. He watches through the window as several walkers that made their way around the road blocking houses pass. They're searching for him, not going to find him.
Anakin goes to a tap in the kitchen and turns it on. He gulps down mouthfuls of water.
"Stop." A voice sounds.
Anakin stands alert, water dripping down his chin, hand raised ready to spit more lightning. A little boy stands, no older than ten years old, with a tiny, toy blaster in his hand aimed at Anakin. At least he thinks it's a toy.
The sight of the young boy reminds Anakin of himself when he first met Padme all those years ago. The little boy who dreamed of a better world. The little boy who thought Padme was an angel. The little boy who left home to become a Jedi.
He catches himself with these improper thoughts and forces them out. His mother died, the Jedi are evil, and they're trying to kill him. Padme is dead. He isn't that little boy anymore. He's facing reality.
When Anakin wakes up to the world around him, he sees the boy's father guiding the boy behind him. The mother picks the boy up and holds him tightly, starting to walk back up the stairs getting away from Anakin.
The father looks the most scared out of them all; possibly because he's the one that's about to go face-to-face with the most dangerous person in the galaxy.
"You will return upstairs." Anakin waves his hand, sparing the family's life. The man obediently follows Anakin's instructions.
"I'm going to go upstairs." The man says as he disappears.
Anakin wastes no time in getting away from that house, sticking to the dark shadows. He still needs to get to that hanger, he still needs to get out of here. The secret tunnels are his only hope now, with all these soldiers after him. The problem is he's struggling to remember the secret entrances to the secret tunnels – the ones designed for the queen long ago when there was a queen. Is there a queen still? Anakin had been locked away for too long to know.