Author's Note: This chapter deals with the same events as the original chapter 2, but hopefully presents them in a more exciting way. Obikin shippers might be disappointed that Obi-Wan isn't in this chapter, but Anakin does think about him and it hopefully establishes why Anakin needs him, haha. A big thank you to the one person who left a review. I really appreciate it :)

Chapter 2: The Aftermath

The foolish Jedi should have killed Obi-Wan then, not twenty-two years later after the traitorous Jedi had taken everything but his life.

Then the Sith Lord would not be alone in his shuttle, pursuing Luke and Leia Kenobi through Bespin's orbit. His son would be piloting them towards the Executor and his daughter would be learning the finer points of ruling the galaxy. According to accounts extracted from the rebels on Hoth, she had her mother's gift for leadership.

Moreover, he would have his natural body, in its entirety, for he had lost his first limb protecting the man who would destroy him. He would be able to hold his children close, kiss their foreheads and whisper words of comfort to them, if ever they doubted the righteousness of the Empire. It would be theirs already for he would have defeated his Sith Master and claimed his title decades ago.

Why had Anakin let Obi-Wan live after he confessed to falling for his student? Why had he lowered his weapon and followed him out of the Temple, as if nothing had changed? Were the pervert's looks and charm to blame? Had his foolish trust moved him? Or had it been his own weakness? He had been a different man, after all.

Well, not completely different.

Anakin thrust his lightsabre through the neck of the last Tuskan Raider. The young female let out a shrill cry and collapsed. The valley fell silent, apart from the sizzle of the murderer's weapon. He extinguished it and returned it to his belt.

His eyes stinging from exhaustion, Anakin flopped onto the hard sand. It had taken him an hour to find and eliminate every Tuskan in the camp, long enough for his first kills to start rotting. The stench made him gag.

Beside the dead child, an adult body lay, bathed in the glow of Tatoonie's moons. She had thrown herself in front of Anakin's blade to shield her daughter, the way his own mother would've for him. In the heat of his fury, he hadn't registered her intentions. She'd been nothing but an easy target.

The Tuskans weren't mindless monsters. He was the monster. He'd slaughtered them without mercy and — worse still — he'd enjoyed it.

Their terrified squeals, the crunching of their bones beneath his boots, the hiss of his sabre charring their flesh — they'd thrilled him. Nothing compared to it, not the rush of Coruscant's fastest speeders, nor the triumph of besting Obi-Wan in a sparring session, not even the soft touch of Padme's lips.

Anakin rose to his feet. His right hand trembled and formed a fist. Had that same hand stroked his mentor's cheek? Had it, only a day ago, caressed the woman he adored? No, it couldn't have. It was and would forever be, the hand of a killer.

He strode toward the hut where he'd found his mother, sidestepping the corpses that littered his path. He needed to bring her to the Lars homestead. It was all he could do for her now.

He bent low to pass through the hole he'd carved in the woven canvas and knelt beside her decaying remains. The foul odour was heavier within the enclosed space. It made his stomach churn and his throat clench. Had he not wasted his time on revenge he could've brought her home in a dignified condition.

Then again, he wasn't the one who'd burnt her pale wrist and sliced deep gashes into her forehead and cheek. He shuddered to think of what the Tuskan males had done to the rest of her.

His heart raced as he reached for his lightsabre, but there was nothing to kill. Even the banthas were long gone. He'd have to travel far to find more victims, but what choice did he have? The Tuskans had to suffer. It was the only way to send a message to race that couldn't reason. He'd sterilise every primitive settlement on the planet if it meant he'd never lose another loved one.

His lips curved with anticipation. How long would it take to complete his task? No more than two months if he didn't stop to rest and he didn't want to. The mysterious power surging through his veins revitalised him more than nightmare-ridden sleep ever could.

Surely Padme would forgive him for being away longer than he'd planned. She'd have nothing to fear once the vermin were dead and until then she'd be safe — or would she? How could he trust Clieg Lars to protect a stranger when he'd failed to protect his own wife? And what if Padme insisted on leaving the homestead to search for her Jedi guardian?

Anakin froze, his hand still resting on his sabre. Was he a Jedi after what he'd done? After what he'd intended to do?

What would his master say if he saw him now, spluttering and choking back his vomit? Anakin didn't know if he was more disgusted by the putrid taste in his mouth or by his own genocidal ambitions. He needed to leave the camp before he committed an even worse atrocity and further disappointed Obi-Wan.

But what right did his master have to condemn him? He'd lied to him, held him back to appease his own twisted desires and made him ignore his visions. If he hadn't listened to the foolish man or let him Padme distract him with her beauty, his mother might still be alive. When he had the chance, he'd make them both pay.

But as he pictured what he'd do them a chill passed through him. Did he really want to murder his closest friends? No, but he had to get away before he forgot that.

Resisting the urge to unwrap her robes and discover the full extent of her injuries, Anakin carried his mother outside. As his nausea subsided in the relatively fresh air, he focused on the cliff where he'd parked the Zephyr-G swoop bike he'd borrowed from his brother-in-law. He'd ride straight to the Lars homestead without stopping. It was the only way to protect his friends from the most dangerous creature in the galaxy.

Aboard the parked Nubian yacht, Anakin, along with Padme, C3PO and R2-D2, watched Obi-Wan's transmission. The Padawan's eyes flickered up and down, as the projected droideka advanced. First his mother, now his master. What other bad news would he have to endure?

Mace Windu appeared in place of the droideka. Anakin bowed his head as the holoimage instructed him to stay on Tatooine and guard the Senator. "Understood Master," he said, in a cold voice that didn't suit him.

"They'll never get there in time to save him," said Padme, as the projection disappeared. "They have to come halfway across the galaxy — look." She swivelled her chair to face the navigation display and switched it on. "Geonosis is less than a parsec away."

"If he's still alive." Anakin averted his gaze from the screen and strode to the console opposite Padme.

"Annie, are you just going to sit here and let him die? He's your friend, your mentor."

"He's like my father," he said, turning to face Padme again, "that's how I've always seen him, but he doesn't see me as a son. At least, I hope not." Obi-Wan's feelings seemed even more absurd given his Padawan's recent actions.

"What do you mean?"

"He's in love with me," said Anakin. "He wants to marry me." His chest twinged. Should he have revealed that? His master hadn't explicitly ordered him to keep his desires secret. Then again, not sharing that sort of information with a senator was common sense, even if she was above petty gossip

"He does?" said Padme. "That is shocking." She shook her head. "But he doesn't deserve to die because of it."

"No, but you heard Master Windu. He gave me strict orders to stay here. He knows both sides of the Force. He must sense it — what I did when I found my mother." Anakin avoided mentioning the specifics in front of C3PO, so as not to frighten the sensitive droid. "I can't let myself get that way again. If we find Obi-Wan's body or see him get killed…"

"You can do whatever you want to Count Dooku and his cronies. I'm not trading Obi-Wan's life for theirs."

"You'll be there too. I can't risk hurting you. Go without me."

Padme rolled her eyes. "Windu gave you strict orders to protect me and I'm going to help Obi-Wan. If you want to obey him, you'll just have to come along." She pulled her chair toward the flight controls.

Anakin grinned to himself, relieved Padme still wanted his protection and amused by the way she'd turned his words against him. He should've known not to argue with a politician. His heart lightened as he sat beside her.

"I'm glad you're coming," said Padme, once they were safely in hyperspace and C3PO's panicky voice had quietened. "I'll be safer with you there and you're not what you think you are. Obi-Wan wouldn't have fallen for you if you were."

"That's what I'm afraid of," said Anakin. He was no longer the Jedi his master longed for. That man wasn't coming back. Obi-Wan was in love with a lie — a deadly one.

Padme turned to the droids behind her. "You'll keep Master Kenobi's feelings to yourselves, won't you? If the press discovers a notable Jedi diplomat wants to marry his student, it'll be all over the Holonet for weeks."

"Certainly," said C3PO, as R2 chirped in agreement, "though I must say such attractions are most distasteful. I'd reprogram myself if I were him."

"If only that were an option," said Anakin, with a heavy sigh. Though it wasn't Obi-Wan who needed reprogramming.

I'm sure we can all agree with that, LOL. Stay tuned for the next chapter.