Disclaimer: See chapter one

Hey people, here's another chapter for you! I hope you people going to enjoy it. I'm really going to finish this story so, don't worry. I already have another SW story played out in my head for so long that I really needed to write it down. If you want more information, see my bio file. There will be a short summary about it.

Anyway, on with this story. This time Anakin will stand for a little surprise and our two Jedi investigators are getting closer to the problem.

Enjoy!!!

By the way: this isn't beta-read, so you know!!!

The rain lashed the city. Below, mighty waves pounded the stilts, breaking almost to the height of the platforms. A large Avian-dragon carried a rain soaked rider who flew above the water toward a floating city. Inside the City, Taun We and the Jedi stood in front of the door of the bounty hunter's apartment. The Kaminoan waved her hand and a muted bell rang. Hadrian looked from side to side while Obi-Wan waited patiently.

As they wait, Obi-Wan noted the door lock entry mechanism. Then the door opened and a ten-year-old boy looked at them. He was identical to the boys in the classroom. Hadrian raised an eyebrow, gazing at the boy.

"Boba, is your father here?" Taun We asked. There was a brief pause.

"Yep." He said.

"May we see him?" She asked.

"Sure." Another brief pause, then Boba stepped aside and let them through. The Jedi and the Kaminoan entered the apartment. Obi-Wan looked around the room. Hadrian stared into an other room and saw some armored gear laying on the floor. He grinned. He stepped pass it and joined his friend.

"Dad! Taun We's here!" The boy shouted. Jango Fett came in from the bedroom. He wore a jumpsuit. He was unshaven and mean looking, his face pitted with scars of old wounds. Hadrian already didn't like him. There were couple of weird tattoos on his muscular forearms. He eyed the Jedi with suspicion. The Kaminoan stepped forward.

"Jango, welcome back. Was your trip productive?"

The man in question nodded to her. "Fairly."

Hadrian and Obi-Wan sized the hunter up. The boy studied the three of them with a confused look.

"This is Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hadrian Phoenix. They came to check on our progress." Taun We explained.

"That right?" Jango replied impersonally. His eyes fixed the Jedi coldly.

"Your clones are very impressive. You must be very proud." Obi-Wan said.

"I'm just a simple man, trying to make my way in the universe, Master Jedi." Jango answered back uninterested.

"Aren't we all." Hadrian said while looking around. Obi-Wan eyed the half-open bedroom door, through which a couple of pieces of body armor could be seen on the floor. He signaled to Hadrian with his eyes and the man nodded? Jango registered their look. He moved in front of them, blocking the view.

Obi-Wan continued the interrogation. "Ever make your way as far into the interior as Coruscant?"

Fett shrugged. "Once or twice."

"Recently?"

The bounty hunter eyed the Jedi carefully. "Possibly…"

"Then you must know Master Sifo-Dyas?" Obi-Wan asked. Jango moved away and turned slightly around toward his son; he said something in huttese and the boy obeyed. He moved to close the bedroom door. Jango smiled thinly at Obi-Wan. Hadrian grinned. Busted!!!

"Master who?"

"Sifo-Dyas. Is he not the Jedi who hired you for this job?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Never heard of him." He said.

"Really." Obi-Wan replied, not believing him.

Jango smiled. "I was recruited by a man called Darth Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogden." He said, calmly. Hadrian eyed him.

"Darth Tyranus? Eldery man, quite imposing, grey hair, beard and strong face features?" Hadrian asked. Jango' eyes winced slightly, but he didn't say anything. Obi-Wan looked pensive, of why his friend would asked that. They were certainly dealing with a Sith. Did Hadrian knew something. The Kaminoan stepped forward.

"Sifo-Dyas told us to expect him. And he showed up just when your Jedi Master said he would. We have kept the Jedi's involvement a secret until your arrival, just as your Master requested." She told the Jedi.

"Curious…" Obi-Wan said, eyeing Hadrian.

"Do you like your army?" Jango asked.

Obi-Wan smiled. "I look forward to seeing them in action."

Jango grinned. "They'll do their job well, I'll guarantee that."

Hadrian didn't like the looks of that. But why not, he knew why the clones were created and Jango Fett would probably knew the plans as well.

"Thanks for you time, Jango." Obi-Wan bowed slightly. Hadrian did the same.

"I'm sure we will meet again." The young Jedi said.

"Always a pleasure to meet a Jedi." Jango uttered politely. The Jedi and Taun We went out. The slid close behind them. They followed the Kaminoan towards there platform. Hadrian and Obi-Wan lingered a bit in the back. The Jedi Master eyed the youngster with questioning eyes. Hadrian shrugged somewhat.

"Eldery man?" He asked. "Who do you mean?"

"I wanted to see Jango's reaction. And I got what I wanted." Hadrian replied.

"The Sith. The one we are looking for." Obi-Wan declared. Hadrian shook his head.

"No, wrong. This one is just the apprentice. And you know him very well."

Obi-Wan looked confused. "I know him?"

"Dooku."

There was a brief moment. Obi-Wan shook his head. He was in denial.

"Sifo-Dyas had ordered the clones army ten years ago, but…" Hadrian looked at his friend. "He was murdered by his friend. Guess who?"

Obi-Wan frowned. "Dooku."

"Exactly. Dooku was ordered to assassinate him by a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious. And that is the one we are looking for. And because of this, Dooku erased those files in the Jedi Archive ten years ago so that no one would expecting something." Hadrian explained.

"You do know a lot, doesn't it." Obi-Wan said indefinitely.

"I did some research… We need to be careful, Obi-Wan. If these clones were masterminded by this Sith, then it only means that it will turn against the Republic in the future."

"You assume to much, Hadrian. Maybe you're right. But I will keep this in mind. Now we need to contact the Council and explained this situation to them." Obi-Wan said seriously. Hadrian nodded. They stood with Taun We just inside the open door when they arrived at the docking bay.

"Tell your Council the first battalions are ready. And remind them that if they need more troops, we will need time to grow them." She told them.

"I won't forget. And thank you." Obi-Wan replied. Hadrian nodded politely toward her.

"Thank you." She answered back.

The Jedi came out from the tower into the driving rain. The door closed behind them. Hadrian pulled his robe, hood over his head and stood bracing himself the gale. Obi-Wan glanced back toward the closed door, confirming that the Kaminoan has left. Below, a huge wave crashed against the stiltls. Spray flew high and whipped acrossed the platform to where the Jedi were standing. Hadrian narrowed his eyes against the incoming rain. His friend walked over to their Starfighter, looked to see if anyone was watching, then addressed Artour, the astro droid.

"Arfour!" Obi-Wan shouted through the rain. R4-P17, Obi-Wan's droid who was still sitting on top of the Starfighter, switched on and beeped. Hadrian came standing next to his friend and watched the droid activating.

"Arfour, relay this 'scramble code five, to Corusant: care of 'the old folks home'."

Arfour beeped and whistled. The panel lighted up inside the cockpit. A transmitter disc emerged from the top of the Starfighter and the message was trandmitted.

SWSWSW

The sun shone late in the late afternoon on Coruscant. Yoda sat with Mace. Between the two Jedi, a hologram of Obi-Wan spoke. Hadrian was standing next to him.

"I have successfully made contact with the Prime Minister of Kamino. They are using a bounty hunter named Jango Fett to create a clone army." Obi-Wan shouted.

"This is the bounty hunter that attempted the assassination on the Senator, Master." Hadrian replied. Obi-Wan nodded.

"Do you think these cloners are involved in the plot to assassinate Senator Amidala?" Mace asked.

"No, Master. There appears to be no motive."

"Do not assume anything, Obi-Wan. Clear, your mind must be if you are to discover the real villains behind the plot." Yoda assured him pointing him with his small finger. Obi-Wan looked at Hadrian then back at the hologram.

"Yes, Master. They say a Master Sifo-Dyas placed the order for a clone army at the request of the Senate almost ten years ago. I was under the impression he was killed before that. Did the Council ever authorize the creation of a clone army?"

Mace and Yoda looked at each other about this revelation.

"No. whoever placed that order did not have the authorization of the Jedi Council." Mace said finally.

"Into custody, take this Jango Fett. Bring him here. Question him, we will." Yoda ordered.

"Yes, Master. We will report back when we have him."

The hologram of the two Jedi faded.

"Blind we are, if creation of this clone army we could not see." Yoda shook sadly his head.

"I think it is time to inform the Senate that our ability to use the Force his diminished." Mace said.

"Only the Dark Lord of the Sith know of our weakness. If informed the Senate is, multiply our adversaries will." Yoda said finally. Mace nodded.

SWSWSW

The hologram switched off. Obi-Wan looked at Hadrian. "We better go and fetch ourselves a bounty hunter."

"You're right about that." Hadrian replied. "He's probably already fleeing. Let's check the controls."

The two ran back to the door which slid open at their approach. They pulled back their hoods and looked around. Hadrian saw a control center not far from where they were standing. They dashed towards it. And lucky for them, nobody was using it. Hadrian ran to a chair and let his fingers dance over the keyboard.

"Well." Obi-Wan asked hurrily.

"Patience is a virtue…" Hadrian told him while he typed away on the consoles. "There! Dock 17B. It's just around the corner."

"Let's go!"

The setting sun touched the mountain peaks. The lake glowed in the rose-tinted light. Floating lamps gleamed softly like jewels at the lodge. Nandi, a maiden, placed dessert in fromt of Padmé. Teckla did the same for Anakin. The dessert was some kind of fruit. The two were sitting opposite each other. They were talking. Anakin was explaining one of his mission he had with his Master.

"And when I got them, we went into… aggressive negotiations." He turned to Teckla. "Thank you."

" 'Aggressive negotiations', what's that?" Padmé asked.

"Uh, well, negotiations with a lightsaber."

Padmé laughed. "Oh!" She picked up her fork and went to spear a piece, but it moved. She frowned and tried again – the fruit moved. She looked up at Anakin. His eyes were on his plate.

She eyed him. "You did that?"

Anakin looked up – wide-eyed-innocence. "What?"

Padmé scowled at him. She jabbed at the fruit, Anakin subtly moved his hand and it lifted up from the plate and hovered in front of her.

Padmé shouted. "That! Now stop it." She giggled and Anakin burst into fits of laughter. She reached out for the fruit – it looped.

"Anakin!"

Anakin moved his fingers. The fruit flew into his hand. "If Master Obi-Wan caught me doing this, he'd be very grumpy." He was pleased. He cut the fruit into several pieces and send one back to her. She bit it out of the air and laughed. There was more laughter following until the sun was setting behind the horizon. They moved on to the living room. A fire blazed in the open hearth. Padmé was very content to be back here. Only she missed something. She was gazing into the flames. It danced before her eyes and she thought about her love who was somewhere trying to find out about her near dead experiences.

She looked up and gazed at her friend who was staring back. She felt it again and this needed to stop. She couldn't live in denial or in a lie. But how can she say something like that. Anakin would be shocked not to mention heartbroken. She didn't actually care about this, she loved Hadrian. She looked back at him as Anakin leaned in to kiss her. Padmé leaned back, panicking.

"Anakin, no."

He was looking at her with his eyes full of love but also desire. His heart was in turmoil. And he needed to know if she loved him or not. But there was something, something he couldn't decipher. "From the moment I met you, all those years ago, a day hasn't gone by when I haven't thought of you. And now that I'm with you again, I'm in agony. The closer I get to
you, the worse it gets. The thought of not being with you makes my stomach turns over - my mouth goes dry. I feel dizzy. I can't breathe. I'm haunted by the kiss you should never have given me. My heart is beating, hoping that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me. What can I do? I will do anything you ask..."

Silence. The logs flamed in the hearth. Padmé met his eye, then looked away.

"If you are suffering as much as I am, tell me…" He continued.

"… I can't. it's just impossible." She told him.

"Anything's possible. Padmé, please listen…"

She stood up. "You listen! I can't do this. I love you." Anakin looked up in hope. "… As a friend. Nothing more."

Anakin looked down, swallowing the words he wanted to say. His heart was breaking slowly. Padmé paced back and forth in front of the hearth like a caged lioness. Anakin couldn't meet her eyes. She was even in turmoil. Then she picked up her courage and faced her friend.

"Anakin…" He looked up. Padmé took this slowly. "There's something I need to tell you."

She gulped. This wasn't going easy. Anakin looked at her in confusion. Padmé stopped pacing and sat back on the couch in front of Anakin. She took his hand in hers and looked into his eyes.

"I'm… I'm married."

You could cut the tension with a knife. Anakin was so stunned and horrified then when he faced a herd of Bantha's. Married? Padmé was married? Without telling anybody of this? Anakin looked up, meeting her eyes. Now he understood why she was hesitating. She already loved someone and it wasn't him. His world crumbled and he held back the tears. Then he heard some footsteps. Anakin turned around and faced a new revelation.

"Mom?"

Padmé looked up in shock. A small boy of four years old lingered in the doorway wearing only his Pj's. Dark messy short hair framed the boy's face and blue eyes looked in fear at the scene. Padmé stood up and walked to him. The little boy ran up to her. She scooped him in her arms.

"Nate… what are you ding here?" She asked her son. The boy looked at her.

"Grandma brought me here late afternoon. She said that you were here too." The boy said innocently. "I missed you." He buried his face against his mother's chest. Padmé smiled and kissed his hair. She turned around and faced Anakin.

"Sweetheart, I want you to meet a friend of my." The boy looked at Anakin. "this is Anakin Skywalker… Anakin, meet my son, Nathaniel."

"Please to meet you, sir." Nate said shyly. Anakin recovered from his shock and nodded. His throat was too dry. Padmé understood and lowered her son on the floor. Nate jumped into the other couch and lied down. Padmé sat next to him. There was a brief moment when mother and child hugged and kissed. A small smile crept on Anakin's face, but he didn't show it. But there was something striking about this boy. He looked familiar.

"Who's the father?" He asked after a long silence.

Padmé looked up. She didn't answered right away. She looked back at her son then back at Anakin, trying to decide whenever she told him or not. The truth will come out eventually. But not without taking some precautions.

"Anakin, promise me you wouldn't tell anyone about this." She asked. Anakin was quiet. "Promise me… please."

Anakin nodded. "I promise."

Padmé let out a long breath. She looked at her son who has found a toy to lay with. She smiled. "Hadrian is the father. We got married four years ago, here on Naboo. I fell in love with him when we first met. He was always there for me and…" she laughed. "He knew I was the real Queen. He just told it to me right into my face. But I would never forget his loving eyes."

Anakin was very quiet, actually very shocked to hear that his best friend was Padmé's husband. And they have a child. That was against the Jedi Code and Hadrian broke that one. If anyone would figure this out, Hadrian would be kicked out of the Order. But thinking back, he was going to do the same thing, only Hadrian was faster. He looked away. He was jealous suddenly… What will happen when he had to face his friend?

Padmé noticed that Anakin was battling his own emotions. But she didn't care. He was her friend and not to mention Hadrian's best friend. She looked back at her son who was playing silently. At least she had something to remind her of her husband. Nathaniel yawned. She scooped her son in her arms.

"Do you want to sleep with me?" she asked her child. Nate lighted up and nodded eagerly. She smiled. "Hurry then, up to bed with you." She patted on his behind and the boy ran in the direction of her bedroom. She stood up. "I too will retire for the night."

She passed him. She lied her hand on his shoulder out of kindness. "Thank you." He let go and disappeared in the shadows. Anakin kept looking into the flames. His mind was in chaos. He sighed and leaned back. He started to meditate before he went to sleep himself.

It was morning. The sun was creeping higher and higher into the sky. Anakin was on the balcony overlooking the gardens. After a moment, Padmé came onto the balcony behind him. She saw he was meditating and turned to go. Anakin's eyes were closed. There was a presence behind him which soothed his spirit slightly. After the dream he had last night, he could use some company.

"Don't go."

"I don't want to disturb you."

"Your presence is soothing." He clarified. Padmé nodded to herself. But there was something about him. Again he had a nightmare last night. She woke up hearing a voice in the darkness calling out for someone's mother; She knew it was Anakin. But he didn't want to talk about it. This frustrated her.

"You had a nightmare again last night." She started, drawing him out.

"Jedi don't have nightmares." He said bluntly. Padmé shrugged.

"I heard you." She said. Anakin opened his eyes and looked at her.

It was hard for him. "I saw my mother. I saw her as clearly as I see you now. She is suffering, Padmé. They're killing her! She is in pain... I know I'm disobeying my mandate to protect you, Senator. I know I will be punished and possibly thrown out of the Jedi Order, but I have to go. I have to help her! I'm sorry, Padmé. I don't have a choice."

Padmé took pity on him. She would have done the same thing. Even Hadrian. But he already did break the Code and he didn't care. But his mother was the only thing he had left. She nodded, understanding.

"I'll go with you. That way you can continue to protect me, and you won't be disobeying your mandate." She told him. Anakin looked surprised.

"What about Master Obi-Wan… Hadrian?"

Padmé smiled and took his hand. "I guess we won't tell them, will we?" They went back inside. Unbeknownst to them a small boy heard everything. The famous Phoenix grin lighted up his cute little face. He looked around if anyone saw him and ran back to his room. This time he wasn't to be left behind. The four year old changed into a dark jumpsuit and took off. Trying to find a good hiding spot.

See you by the next chapter!!! Don't forget to review!!!!

Cheerio

Jessie