Hello, lovelies. Sorry for being MIA for some time. College prep and what not has been killing me. School's driving me nuts, I'm so very done with being in high school. Anywho, I'm back and I've done a lot of rewriting on my phone while I've been in classes and what not so updates will be coming sooner :D Excuse me if this chapter's a bit short on the grammar/spelling mark, it's rather late in NYC and my proof reading would be near drunken at this time. I'll get around to it sooner or later though. Enjoy!
"I want you to bring me to your spaceship the moment the race is over" Watto spoke coyly, staring out into the stadium hangar.
"Of course, what else would I possibly do. Besides, you know hand you your winnings and be far away from here before the suns set" Xanatos replied with a bite to his tone.
"Not if your ship belongs to me. I warn you, no funny business, Jedi" Watto warned with the wag of a finger. "I hasa great faith in the boy, of course. He's a credit to your race, but Sebulba there is going to win, I think."
"And why's that?" Xanatos raised a brow.
"He always wins. I'm betting heavily on Sebulba beacausa that" Watto laughed. Xanatos was silent for a moment before deciding, "I'll take that bet." Watto suddenly halted his laughter, "What? What do you mean?"
"I'll wager my fully functioning astromech droid for, say the boy and his mother" Xanatos shrugged, doing his best to appear as the one with the upper hand in the situation despite him needing Watto's cooperation rather than the other way around.
"A droid for slaves? I don't think so. Well, perhaps. Just one. The mother, maybe...the boy isn't for sale" Wattoo contemplated the deal heavily.
"The boy is small, he can't be worth much" Xanatos furrowed his brows. While he wanted Anakin to be taken from the terrible life he'd been given he knew that either Skywalker would be useless without the other. Tearing a boy from his mother would be asking for a disaster and Xanatos knew it all too well whereas bringing simply Shmi would evade his goal entirely.
"No pretty droid is worth two slaves, not by a long shot" Watto shook his head. Well if that was the problem, Xanatos thought, quick to step up to the challenge, "Alright then I'll wager the droid along with all of the belongings within my ship, including crew, pilots, captains and thirty odd astro-mech and protocols droids that mind you, will do your bidding without a single question or any need for food, shelter or clothing expenses. For Anakin and his mother and nothing else but the parts I need." The Jedi Knight was aware that he was putting a lot on the line and not just his own and Obi-Wan's lives, but the lives of the Queen and her people as well. He however was quite used to taking risks as great as these with less surety as he had here. He felt it deep within himself and the force that Anakin would not let them down and despite how reluctant Obi-Wan seemed to agree And after all, Xanatos reasoned, the intuition of two exceptional Jedi couldn't be wrong, could they?
"Deal!" Watto announced, much to Xanatos' relief, "You're out of your mind, Jedi, you definitely are."
Xanatos rolled his eyes, for once in agreement, "My friend, you don't even know the half of it." With that he shook on the bet and took off to find Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme and Shmi, who were just arriving in the hangar.
Of the large semi-circular amphitheater that could hold at least a hundred thousand people, Anakin and company were on the track where all the racers were preparing themselves. In the background a two-headed announcer was booming quick words that not many people on the track kept their ears on. As Obi-Wan touched up a few final things on Anakin's pod, Xanatos looked above to the royal box where Jabba the Hutt had just entered, several slave females chained to him. Xanatos frowned in disgust and turned away.
As Anakin's name was spoken by one of the announcers, the boy looked up and around the arena. "Anakin, be safe, please" his mother's voice distracted him.
"I will, Mom. I promise" Anakin said routinely and was rewarded with a hug and kiss to the forehead. When he was released he took off to check on his pod and Shmi stepped aside. Once she did Padme and R2 approached Anakin to wish him well. Xanatos, who had been observing from a ways off, looked away towards the back of the pod to see what his apprentice was up to. Instead he caught sight of the creature he recognized as Sebulba poking around on the other side of the pod away from Obi-Wan and Anakin. Xanatos walked quietly over and tapped the intruder on the shoulder. A startled Sebulba jumped up and faced the Jedi.
"Is there a problem?" Xanatos asked briskly in Huttish. Sebulba muttered a quick no before sizing Xanatos up, realizing it wasn't worth picking the fight and stalking off. Xanatos eyed the creature all the way back to his pod before calling over to Obi-Wan.
"That little slimeball over there was poking around on this side and I get the feeling he wasn't just here to admire the pod. Take a look at it if you can." Obi-Wan nodded and returned to his touching up on the pod.
Xanatos walked over to Anakin and smiled when the boy looked up at him, "Are you ready, kiddo?" When Anakin nodded half heartedy and Xanatos hoisted the boy into his pod before asking tentatively, "Is everything alright?"
"I..." Anakin began nervously, fidgeting with the hem of his tunic, "I'm a little scared."
"Oh, nonsense, you seemed so excited just the other day!" Xanatos cried, doing his best to lift Anakin's spirits with his child proofed tone.
"Pod racing is easier said than done and there has to be a reason why no other human's been able to do it, right?" Anakin confessed his fears.
"Right, but you're special. I know you know it and I definitely know it. Obi-Wan knows it too, you want to know why?" Xanatos spoke quietly, leaning close to the boy. "Because we see a light in you the way you see a light in us. We're special because this light guides us, shows us the way through life and will certainly show you a way through this if you have faith in it. Us Jedi call that light the Force." Xanatos paused to gauge the youngster's reaction and noticed his hands tighten around the handles. "Use the force, Anakin. Let go. Trust me, you'll be alright, you can do this" he suggested, knowing that the boy probably didn't have a very strong grasp of what he was talking about just yet, but figuring he could use the push of encouragement anyway.
Anakin let out a deep breath through his nose and looked up at Xanatos, Ok, I trust you-I trust the force."
"Atta boy" Xanatos beamed, "Good luck, buddy. And may the Force be with you." He gave the boy a pat on the back and before walked away from the pod as Anakin strapped himself in.
Heading back toward the sidelines, Xanatos peered up to the viewing platform where Padme and Shmi stood. He, Obi-Wan and R2D2 had decided to stay near the track as they would be serving as Anakin's pit crew. However, seeing the clear worry on Shmi's face, Xanatos walked over to her before the platform could rise to reach full viewing potential. Shmi seemed to appreciate it as she began speaking to him the moment he was close enough to hear her, "Is he nervous?"
"He's as confident as ever" Xanatos reassured, and then with a hand to the much older woman's shoulder he added, "He'll be just fine, I'll make sure of it." Padme looked as though she wanted to say something but remained silent.
"I'll make sure this pans out for all of us well, trust me" Xanatos looked to the younger woman this time.
"We do" Padme's voice lacked conviction but Shmi nodded along with her. Xanatos offered them a small smile that perhaps read a bit of thanks for the faith in him as well, before heading back to Obi-Wan.
As he approached his apprentice, Jabba bit off the head of a frog and spat it at a gong beside him, signaling the start of the race.
"Here goes nothing, huh?" Obi-Wan muttered as Anakin shot off after the others. Xanatos could only nod in agreement, tensely looking down at the monitor he had been given so he could see the happenings of the race even when the pods were out of sight on the other side of the track. Obi-Wan looked along from beside him as Anakin tore through the course, allowing Sebulba to deal with the others before getting too involved with his competitors. It was a rather intelligent technique as far as Xanatos was concerned, one that would keep Anakin in the race for sure.
Xanatos juggled the options in his head in the event that Anakin did lose the race, highly unlikely as it was. He could always subdue Watto, steal the parts he needed as well as Anakin and his mother. That was rather un-Jedi like and would have to be kept as an absolute last resort. He could send a transmission to the council requesting help if by some miracle a transmission made it that far. He could steal a ship. Also very un-Jedi like. He could try to bargain with every parts dealer on the planet though that would be rather time consuming and the situation on Naboo could not be held off for that long. He could always use a force suggestion on the right kind of creature to get what he wanted. It was all kinds of thievery and while Xanatos wasn't above most of it he was sure that neither the Queen nor the council would approve of such methods. He sincerely hoped Anakin would win this solely so he wouldn't have to do something to lose the council's trust again.
Sensing deep waves of worry from Shmi, Xanatos set his own thoughts aside and looked back to where she stood on the now elevated viewing platform. While Padme was absorbed in the monitor she was holding, Shmi was looking off distantly and Xanatos carefully sent waves of comfort towards her through the force. He did not wish for her to worry as he sensed she'd done far too much of that in her life already. Xanatos returned his attention to the monitor in his hands as Tusken Raiders became visible above the race course. He brought a finger to his mouth as the Raiders fired their rifles at the Pods in the canyon below them. Obi-Wan looked up at his master as the older man displayed his usual nervous tick, but resumed watching the monitor as one of the Raider's shots ricocheted off the back of Anakin's Pod. If Xanatos had been any less impatient and restless he would have sat down to meditate in that moment and calm his anxieties. However being as he was he simply opted to chewing his nails to the skin and gripping the monitor in his hands much harder than necessary.
"Worried?" Obi-Wan asked quietly.
"No, not at all" Xanatos lied through his teeth, "I'm good. I'm always good, you know that."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, "Of course."
Both Jedi looked up to the track as the racers sped by signalling the beginning of the second lap. The audience around them roared with cheers and shouts and looking back to Padme and Shmi saw that they were joining along.
"I bet their freedom on his win, you know. Their freedom and ours" Xanatos said quietly, turning his eyes from the two women.
"What?" Obi-Wan balked.
The elder simply nodded, "He's strong, he's force sensitive and he's kind. He could do so much good free and with the love of his mother to support him."
Obi-Wan suddenly looked more startled than anything, "You're thinking of bringing him before the council?"
"Yes." Xanatos switched the nail that he'd been chewing to the one beside it. Obi-Wan opened his mouth, waiting for one of his million and one thoughts to make itself audible but none came and he wound up simply licking his lips andturning his attention back to the monitor in his master's hands. He frowned as Sebulba used foul play to veer another racer into Anakin's pod. With the thoughts swirling in his mind of Anakin being brought before the council and then possibly even becoming Xanatos' apprentice, Obi-Wan could hardly focus on the race anymore and even found himself wishing in some dark crevice of his mind that the boy would lose and never be brought to the temple.
As the third lap began Xanatos looked over to where Watto was seated and caught a worried expression on the Toydarian's face. When the dealer looked in his direction Xanatos simply smiled, waved and looked away. Returning his attention to the monitor Xanatos saw Sebulba uses his side exhaust port to try to cut through Anakin's engines. And while Anakin managed to avoid having his engine disabled he was still forced off course. Xanatos exhaled deeply as Anakin turned himself back into the course and the announcer beamed about it.
The Jedi Knight closed his eyes, losing himself in his mind's eye for a moment before sensing something sharp in the force and snapping his eyes open. Looking at the monitor he saw Anakin about to move towards the inner side of the course. Sebulba came around him and rammed into Anakin over and over till the steering rods on the two Pods became hooked together from the repeated collisions. While Sebulba took the time to laugh, Anakin reached to purposely break off his own steering arm. His pod started spinning but the release of tension sent Sebulba crashing into an ancient statue nearby. His engines immediately exploded, engulfing both him and Anakin into a thick cloud of smoke.
Both Obi-Wan and Xanatos' breath caught when this happened but a moment later Anakin sped out of the smoke, dirty and run down, but unharmed. The crowd erupted with cheers and Xanatos let out the breath he wasn't away he was holding. He dropped the monitor to the ground and ran both hands through his hair.
"Thank the force" he muttered, closing his eyes as the relief washed over him. And then it settled in; Anakin had done it. He'd one the race and he'd proved Xanatos' hunch about him to be absolutely correct. He decided right then that there was no way he was leaving Anakin behind as a child with so much sensitivity to the force could only be one person. A person that he'd thought was a myth every time Qui-Gon had tried to give him lessons on the subject, but now wholeheartedly believed to be true. From the looks of it, Anakin was the Chosen One.
As usual feel free to leave me your thoughts, comments, questions, suggestions, what you'd like to see happen next or eventually, constructive criticism or anything of the kind. I love hearing from you guys :)