DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.

Sorry about the boringness of the last chapter and I apologise again for the shortness of this one. It just felt necessary to end it there. It should pick up again after this one... Thanks for all your support!

Exactly three months to the day after the Skywalker's were captured, Anakin was pulled back into the virtual room. He was nearly unrecognisable. He was unhealthily thin and he walked hunched over, the leash from his collar held in Palpatine's hand. His usually bright blue eyes were haunted and his skin was pasty white. But these weren't the biggest changes. No, they were the mental ones.

After three months of ruthless and gruelling conditioning, Anakin had given in completely to the Emperor. His body didn't show any signs of the endless torture apart from the occasional muscle tremor but his eyes gave a clue to how deep the internal scars went.

He never raised his eyes from the floor unless he was positive the Emperor wasn't in the room, dropped to his knees whenever the Sith Lord entered the room, obeyed Palpatine's every command without hesitation and never thought anything bad about his new Master. He feared the cuff's power more than anything in the galaxy and because Palpatine controlled the cuff, Anakin in turn feared him.

But it didn't end there. After witnessing how well his conditioning worked – in particular, with Anakin not even being able to look at a weapon without his stomach revolting – Palpatine had then began training Anakin further. He had worked first at removing any thought of escape and then moved on to the much harder task of convincing Anakin that Palpatine's life was worth more than either his or Padme's lives. That particular conditioning had taken up a good month of intensive training. Overruling a human's natural instinct to protect themselves above others is a difficult task, but with Anakin, Palpatine had also override Anakin's powerful feelings for his wife. That had been the hardest part but he'd done it. Or so he hoped. He was about to find out.

With the gear on his head again, Anakin waited. Again, he was shown a different setting than the first two attempts. This time they were on Naboo on a small island that he and Padme had found one day while exploring. He was standing on the beach. A hundred meters to his left was Padme, again in the hands of Aayla and her deadly lightsaber. A hundred meters to his right was Palpatine, standing shoulder deep in the ocean. Holding onto him were two new familiar figures. Obi Wan and Ferus were holding the Emperor by the arms and shoulders, about to push the Sith Lord under the water.

He didn't hesitate. He just ran. His footsteps kicked up sand as he flew towards the Emperor, his eyes hard and determined. He didn't want to hurt his two closest and oldest friends but the Emperor's life was on the line.

"Anakin!" Padme cried.

He didn't slow down or look back. He just pushed down the painful thought of her in danger and ignored the agony lancing his heart.

Obi Wan and Ferus had Palpatine under the water now. Anakin sped up, even as Padme called out to him for his help. He thrashed through the shallow water until he reached Ferus, the closer of the two.

Without thinking or slowing down, Anakin slammed his metal right arm into Ferus's face. With a spectacular burst of blood, Ferus's nose broke and his head whipped to the side. He cried out, releasing the Emperor and clutching at his face as he fell into the water, his eyes rolling back in his head. Obi Wan was on the other side of the Emperor who was still under the water. Anakin was starting to have trouble breathing. It felt like something was stuck in his throat, blocking his airways.

Understanding that it was Palpatine starting to drown, Anakin became desperate. He hated the thought of attacking Obi Wan but he had to save Palpatine. He reached out and grabbed Obi Wan's left hand, the one on Palpatine's shoulder. Using the extra strength his mechanical arm gave him he ripped Obi Wan's grip off the Emperor. Then, with one swift callous movement, Anakin broke Obi Wan's wrist. His other hand loosened its grip and Palpatine was able to surface for air. The tension in Anakin's throat instant eased as the Emperor greedily gulped at the air.

Knowing how determined Obi Wan was – even a simulated version of his old Master – Anakin knew that Palpatine wasn't out of danger yet. Anakin grabbed the Emperor and pushed him behind him, so Anakin now stood between the two.

"Anakin, what are you doing?" Obi Wan demanded as he drew his lightsaber.

Anakin averted his eyes from the weapon, choosing to focus on his old Master's face. It was so familiar it was almost painful.

"I'm protecting the Emperor," he replied simply.

Then, without waiting for Obi Wan to initiate the fight, Anakin pounced at him. Obi Wan's lightsaber instantly ignited and Anakin just managed to dodge its burning light. The sight of the blade caused Anakin's stomach to heave and his throat to start closing and Anakin knew he had to get rid of it before it crippled him.

Coming up behind Obi Wan, he landed a heavy punch to his kidneys. Obi Wan was in the process of turning to meet him so the punch glanced off his hip bone. This didn't deter Anakin though; the punch had only meant to be a distraction. Obi Wan staggered a little and Anakin used this to press his advantage. He threw a flurry of punches and kicks that forced Obi Wan to back up. Neither man seemed hampered by the ocean's rolling waves, both ignoring the water clogging their clothing. One glancing kick landed on Obi Wan's right hand, loosening its hold on the weapon's grip. This kick was followed by a much faster one that was nothing more than a blur. Obi Wan seemed stunned as his lightsaber flew out of his hand and landed somewhere in the ocean.

"Anakin, don't do this..." Obi Wan started.

Anakin ignored him and simply moved forward to keep attacking. But then Obi Wan raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender and stepped away from his old padawan.

"I won't fight you," Obi Wan stated.

The honesty in his words was blatant so Anakin backed off. Keeping a wary eye on his old Master, he rushed over to his new one. Palpatine was sitting on the shore, an evil smile on his face. Anakin dropped to his knees in front of the man, his eyes staring at the sand, waiting for his next order.

"Ani!"

His gaze snapped around to Padme but he didn't move. Aayla had her lightsaber pressed against Padme's throat, smiling evilly and as Anakin watched she sliced it slowly across his wife's neck. Anakin flinched but didn't make any move to go to her. He simply turned his head away and stared at the sand, tears streaming silently down his cheeks.

What had he allowed Palpatine to do to him?

The Emperor stood, towering over Anakin triumphantly.

"Good pet."

Anakin couldn't help the sudden satisfaction of having served his new Master well from flooding his system.

He was taken back to his cell and left there with a small meal and a pitcher of water. Anakin gobbled it down greedily before crawling to his corner to sleep. That was the last night he spent in the cell.