Now - Nine Years After the Invasion of Naboo

"You're about to have another visitor," remarked a red haired Jedi whose name Vader hadn't bothered to learn.

Vader gave an exaggerated yawn. "Tell them to go away. I'm busy trying to figure out how I'm going to escape." Curse whoever had realized that they should stop gift wrapping lightsabers for him. It made the prospect far more difficult.

The Jedi scowled at him but said nothing. They had clearly decided to play nice since his failed attempt at killing that pain in the ass padawan. It still pissed him off that the padawan had lived. Part of him wanted to break out of his cell and go finish the job this instant, but the logical part of his brain realized that he would not make it far, and another failed escape attempt would only cause the Jedi to tighten security even further.

Vaguely he wondered who this visitor might be. It wasn't as if he had any friends. Perhaps Sidious was getting impatient and felt the need to come by and provide additional motivation. Or maybe it was just someone who considered him something like an interesting zoo exhibit. Hopefully it was only that. Vader couldn't quite stop himself from staring anxiously at the door though.

Quinlan Vos stepped in a few minutes later followed by… Vader almost forgot how to breathe… Mom?

Shmi stared at him, her jaw quivering slightly. "Oh Ani… I can't believe it's really you."

Some shameful childish instinct made him want to cry. He wanted to run up to Shmi and let her wrap her arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. He wanted to feel warm and safe in her embrace just as he once had in a different life.

The bars between them reminded him of the reality of the situation. Shmi Skywalker was just an ordinary woman and quite powerless to fix anything at all. And eleven pairs of eyes were watching him, ready to take advantage of any small sign of weakness.

"That is no longer my name," he told her but without any real venom. If there was one person in the galaxy whom he had no cause to hate then surely it was this woman.

Shmi gave him a stern look that some long since buried part of him still reacted to. "Go by whatever name you like with everyone else. I gave birth to you and chose a name for you. I will not let any master take that away from me, Anakin."

He couldn't really fault her for that. Really it was probably only fair. But at the same time it would serve neither of them if he allowed her any small bit of hope. Shmi Skywalker wanted her son back, but that was not who he was. The sooner she realized that and gave up this impossible dream the better.

He needed to make her realize. Vader immersed himself in the raging torrent of hatred and anger that was the source of his power, allowing it to permeate the force such that even a non-sensitive would feel it. He knew his eyes glowed yellow now and he looked every bit the merciless and dangerous Sith that he was. "I said not to call me that!" he snarled.

She was close to tears. Perhaps he would have felt guilty if he still had the capacity to feel such things. But at least maybe she would go home. The last last thing he needed was her here confusing him with all sorts of unwanted feelings. The last thing he needed was for her to be here, right around the corner from Sidious who would kill her on the smallest whim.

Did he care if Sidious killed her? If he was being honest with himself, the answer was yes, which was one of those confusing feelings in of itself. Vader hadn't felt concern over the thought of anyone dying in years. Mostly he just felt apathy. Occasionally he felt satisfaction or glee if it was someone he really hated. But mostly he didn't feel anything. Certainly he didn't feel concerned.

"I'm so sorry, Ana… my son. I'm so sorry for everything… How can you ever forgive me?" she said shakily.

At that he almost laughed. "For what exactly?" It's not like she'd ever actually had any choice in how his life turned out. She hadn't chosen for him to be taken by Sidious. She hadn't chosen for him to be born into slavery. She hadn't chosen for him to be born at all for that matter. If anyone was blameless here it was the ordinary slave who had never done anything except try to love the sith created abomination that had been forced upon her.

"You are my son. I am supposed to protect you," Shmi said, her voice breaking.

He wasn't though. Not really. He was the product of a sith experiment and Shmi was nothing more than the unfortunate test subject. He'd once read about a particular species of bird that laid its eggs in the nests of other unwitting mother birds, and really that was no different than what the Sith had done to Shmi Skywalker. If she had any sense at all she would have chucked him straight into a sarlacc pit and saved herself a lot of trouble.

He could hardly explain all that to her though, so Vader said simply, "You never had a choice in anything. Now can you leave so I can go back to staring at this wall in peace?"

Her tears did come now though he could tell that she was trying very hard to hold them at bay. Vader stared at her, not allowing himself to be affected by the display.

"I will leave if you want me to," she choked out. "Know that I love you. I will always love you."

He knew that wasn't true even if Shmi didn't know it herself. Darth Vader wasn't worthy of her love, and she would realize that soon enough.

Shmi stepped out into the hall. A moment later he could hear her sobbing, though he doubted she knew it. One of the earliest lessons his master had taught him was how to use the force to enhance his other senses.

Vader startled slightly when he heard his master's voice. "Hey now… please don't cry Ms. Skywalker," Sidious said. It was the softer fake voice he used when putting on the whole Honorable Chancellor of the Republic act.

There was more wailing.

"I know… It's just awful," Sidious declared softly. "No mother should have to see this, but your son is alive. That is a good thing."

"They're going to kill him," Shmi said, her voice shaking.

"Hey… look at me. I simply won't allow that to happen," his master responded. Vader saw one of his Jedi guards raise an eyebrow at that.

"This whole situation is just so awful," Sidious continued in his fake politician voice. "And while there's no denying that the crimes your son has committed are terrible, we have to consider the circumstances. To the best of our knowledge, the Sith abducted Anakin when he was only a child and an enslaved child at that. I do not believe Anakin is a bad person. I believe he is a victim of this Sith Master - just a child who was never given a choice… Of course, legally speaking, that is no excuse for murder, but surely there is at least some degree of diminished capacity. I will make sure the senate takes that into consideration."

"Thank you, Chancellor," Vader heard Shmi say.

Vader smirked at his Jedi guards who were clearly all eavesdropping now. "Well there's a load of bantha fodder if I've ever heard one."

"Yeah, just leave it to the politicians," Vos said, rolling his eyes. "You'll be out of here in a couple months and selling the rights to the holodrama."

Vader laughed. Vos wasn't the worst, he decided. He had no intention of spending two months in this cell though.

"Chancellor," Vader heard his mother's voice, "If you don't mind me asking, is there any sort of transport available here to the lower levels? I've booked a room for the night - only it's down a few levels and…"

"Nonsense," his master said, now speaking louder as though he wanted to be extra sure Vader heard him. "I have a spare room and you can stay there as long as you need. It's on the penthouse level and the view is truly spectacular."

"Oh, well…" Shmi hesitated.

"I won't take no for an answer Ms. Skywalker. Now I have a little business to wrap up with the Jedi, but I will be along in oh… say, an hour or so. Perhaps you might get a tour of the temple in the meantime. It truly is a wonder.

"I… can't thank you enough, Chancellor," Shmi said though Vader sensed her uncertainty and fear as she said it. "And… Well, it's actually Lars now. I married a few years back."

"Well congratulations are in order then, Mrs. Lars!" Sidious exclaimed. Then in a lower voice, "It's really the least I can do. I really feel terrible about what happened to your son in the very Republic I lead… and all the more so considering he was originally abducted to my own home planet. I've been in politics for a long time and have had to come to terms with the fact that I can't single handedly end all suffering in the galaxy, but still… I just can't help but feel a little bit personally responsible for what happened to Anakin."

Vader barely managed to suppress his laughter at that. Well as long as the man who meticulously planned and engineered every aspect of his life felt "a little bit personally responsible". As for Shmi staying in his master's apartment, the threat was unsubtle but also quite unnecessary. Vader was well aware that Sidious could and would kill Shmi the moment he screwed up and equally well aware that his master did not need to be in the same apartment to do so.

Vader sensed his master moving down the hall towards his cell, and he braced himself, knowing this performance would have to be nothing short of perfect.

Sidious exchanged a few words with the Jedi which Vader didn't really hear then turned to face him. "Well, Darth Vader. It's a pleasure."

Vader couldn't suppress the shudder that came over him as he attempted to meet his master's eyes. Sidious was furious. Perhaps more furious than Vader had ever seen him before. How could the Jedi not see it? The raised brow, the slight curl of the fingers… all of a sudden Vader couldn't breathe. He flailed against invisible tendrils that closed around his neck, staring into those merciless eyes. Then came the lightning and he was on the floor screaming, feeling like every bone in his body was breaking.

"... happens sometimes," he heard vaguely as the pain abated. "The healers say he's dissociating. You almost feel bad for him."

Vader felt his master's gaze on him and looked up in shame. Not only had he shown weakness in front of his master; he'd shown it in front of the Jedi too which was absolutely inexcusable.

"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Sidious lied.

Vader managed a shrug though he wasn't sure it came off quite as unbothered as he had intended.

"I just wanted to come by and check on you, make sure you're comfortable," Sidious said with the most practiced of fake smiles.

Vader said nothing, not entirely trusting himself to speak.

"Though perhaps you shouldn't get too comfortable," Sidious continued on. "You do have a trial coming up, and you won't be able to stay here during that." He raised a hand to his chin as he said it, and there - Vader saw it, right between two of his master's fingers, out of sight of the Jedi and the holorecorders alike.

"That has yet to be decided," remarked Mace Windu who had just walked in alongside Obi Wan. "We believe it would be more secure for him to remain here in the temple."

"Perhaps we should discuss this at another time," Sidious responded steadily, sounding unperturbed.

Obi Wan turned to Vader. "I talked to some of the folks in engineering, and they said that they always have droids around that need fixing. If you're still looking for something to do."

Vader shrugged. In all truth he very much needed something to do with his hands… or well, hand to keep him from going insane in here, but could hardly show too much enthusiasm right now lest his master decide Vader was getting too comfortable.

"Chancellor, the council is meeting in 5 minutes and would appreciate it if you could join us," Windu announced.

"I will be there, Master Windu," Sidious said smiling. He took a few steps towards Vader's cell, and Vader suppressed a shudder.

"Chancellor, you ought to stay back," Vos remarked, but Sidious waved him off dismissively.

"I must be off now, Vader. I am very sorry we've had to meet under these circumstances, but you should know that there are people out there who care about you." He raised a hand in a wave and once again there it was. "Farewell for now. I hope you will let me help you… Anakin."

Right on queue Vader leapt up, snarling, the anger not at all difficult to muster. Reaching his arm through the bars of the cell, he made as if to grab Sidious by the neck but had only just brushed his master's hand when he was met with the Jedi's invisible restraints.

Vader struggled against it only enough to put on a decent show. He already had what he wanted.

"Well there's one more attempted murder on his rap sheet," Vader heard one of the Jedi remark.

"I'm very sorry about that, Chancellor," he heard Windu say. "But we did warn you to stay back from the cell. Now you and I and Kenobi had better get to that meeting."

"You ought not to use that name. It upsets him," Vader heard Kenobi tell Sidious in an undertone on the way out.

"You are being remarkably kind to the prisoner, are you not, Master Kenobi?" Sidious responded, sounding thoughtful. "It's an admirable sentiment certainly, but I just hope Vader doesn't take advantage of your kindness.

Vader looked down at the small capsule in his hand, recognizing it instantly. It was a fast acting poison, causing cardiac arrest in mere seconds. Not one he generally had use for seeing as it would show up on an autopsy and could be easily counteracted by a shot of adrenaline or an electric shock, but for this… It could work for this.

Vader understood exactly what his master intended for him to do. Now he only needed to wait for Obi Wan to return.

Then - Two Years After the Invasion of Naboo

Anakin Skywalker felt like a stranger on his own home planet. Logically he knew not much had actually changed on Tatooine, but it all felt different. The suns felt hotter than he remembered, the air dryer, and the people more wretched and miserable. He had drained three canteens of water already whereas he used to make it through an entire day on just one. By the time he made it back to the ship, Anakin was drenched in sweat.

Sidious looked up from a data pad. "Is it done?" he asked.

"Yes, master," Anakin answered.

"Hmm," Sidious said indifferently. "Well let's get on with the next one then."

As they approached Mos Espa, Anakin wondered if this might have been a bad idea. He had enjoyed killing Gardulla certainly, but would being back here just make everything harder? He was beginning to accept his new life, to appreciate certain aspects of it even. Dwelling on the past would only make that more difficult.

Sidious for his part had agreed to this easily enough. Anakin had said that he wanted revenge, which was indeed true, and if Sidious suspected any other motive he gave no sign of it. Anakin didn't dare even think about it himself.

Anakin landed in the docking bay nearest the shop, and Sidious followed him off the ship this time. Anakin wasn't altogether surprised. His master generally trusted him enough not to bother following him everywhere, but that trust had limits. Obviously, Sidious thought that seeing her might give him foolish ideas of rebellion.

Really Anakin couldn't say that his master's concerns were entirely invalid. He knew of course that there was no escape from Sidious, that even if he made it halfway across the galaxy his master would still find him, but at the same time Anakin didn't quite know what seeing her again might make him do. The temptation might simply be too much for him to resist. Honestly, Anakin wanted even just to talk to her so badly that he didn't much care what Sidious did to him. If he could see her again just this once and know that she was Free, that would be worth any punishment his master could dream up.

He needed to stop thinking about this. Anakin's shields had improved quite a lot but were still not completely impenetrable, and if Sidious got any hint of what he was thinking… he couldn't let that happen. Anakin tried to think of anything else.

A rodain approached as they walked away from the ship, expecting the typical bribe.

"I already paid you generously. You will see to it that no harm comes to this ship and forget we were here," Anakin said in quick Huttese. The rodaian echoed the words back and then left.

Anakin drew his hood down low over his face and set off along the oh so familiar route. As they passed the market stalls, Anakin saw a handful of vendors who he vaguely recognized but no one he really knew. He stopped outside the junk shop, just staring at it for a moment. Being back felt surreal.

"This is the place?" Sidious asked.

Anakin nodded.

"Very well," said Sidious. "I will leave you to it."

Anakin took a deep breath and stepped through the entrance portal.

She wasn't there. Anakin knew it instantly, and he couldn't help but be disappointed.

There was a fluttering noise then Watto appeared. Anakin's nose wrinkled as he regarded the toydarian he so loathed. "Where is Shmi Skywalker?" he demanded.

Watto flew closer, scrutinizing him. "Ani? Little Ani?"

"Shmi Skywalker," he repeated.

"It is you," Watto concluded. "You sure changed. But I suppose that'll happen."

Enough of this. Anakin drew his lightsaber. "You will tell me where she is or you will regret it," he snarled.

Watto panicked, flapping his wings quickly in his rush to get to the safety of his nest. Anakin let him make it halfway there before pulling him back.

Anakin smirked at the toydarian, letting him struggle to breathe for a minute before releasing the pressure from around his throat. "Try again."

Watto gulped. "I lost her right after you left. But she's free now anyhow. I heard she married a moisture farmer out near Anchorhead. Name is Lars I think."

She was free. That was really all he needed to hear.

"Thank you," Anakin said as he drove the red blade of his lightsaber through his former master's heart. "You earned yourself a merciful death."

The toydarian fell to the floor, eyes wide open and staring at him even in death.

Anakin clipped his lightsaber back onto his belt and turned to leave when he sensed someone behind him and froze.

He heard a shuffling and then a small but familiar voice. "Ani, is that you?"

Anakin turned and gaped at his best friend. "Kitster… what are you doing here?"

"Watto bought me after he sold you guys," Kitster explained. "How are you back? Are you Free now? Are you like a Jedi or something?"

Anakin shook his head. "No I…" He couldn't think of how to even begin to explain.

At that moment, the door opened and Sidious stepped in. Anakin's eyes snapped to his master, dread suddenly forming in the pit of his stomach.

"There can be no witnesses, Vader," Sidious stated simply.

Anakin shook his head frantically. "No," he begged. "I can't. He's my best friend."

Sidious stared at him, entirely unimpressed. "I do not care."

"Please, don't make me! I'll do anything!" Anakin pleaded.

"Kill him," said Sidious. "I will not ask twice."

Anakin looked at his best friend who stood there, frozen by shock and fear. He would not do it. He could not do it. This was a line that Anakin Skywalker simply could not cross. He turned back to Sidious, unable to stop his limbs from trembling as he uttered just one word: "No."

The lightning came immediately just as he knew it would. Anakin drifted far away from himself as the familiar agony engulfed his body. He heard himself screaming, but it felt like the noise was coming from somewhere else. Anakin couldn't say exactly how long it lasted, but it couldn't have been all that long because he was still conscious when it was over, and his limbs were still reasonably responsive.

He flinched as saw another bright flash of light, but the pain did not come. Instead, he heard Kitster's shrieks of pain.

"No! Please!" Anakin cried, pushing himself upright with considerable effort.

"If you won't kill him, then I will," Sidious said coldly.

Kitster couldn't move, but his eyes found Anakin's, terrified and pleading, and no matter what, Anakin knew that he couldn't let his best friend die like this. With shaking hands, Anakin ignited his lightsaber, slashing at his master's exposed back.

The blade was mere inches from Sidious when there was a crack and then more agony. Anakin fell to the ground, his lightsaber forgotten beside him. The pain was blinding. His stomach lurched and Anakin puked up the ration bar he'd eaten earlier. When he managed to open his eyes, he saw his right arm bent at an unnatural angle.

Sidious rounded on him, Kitster forgotten for the moment. "If you ever try to lay a hand on me again, I will break every bone in your body. Do I make myself clear, Lord Vader?"

"Yes, master," Anakin sobbed.

Anakin saw the bright flash of light and heard Kitster's screams once more, and finally he really did understand. There was one way out of this. He got to his feet, and with a small call to the force, his fallen lightsaber floated to his outstretched left hand.

Anakin Skywalker could not kill Kitster Banai. But he was not Anakin Skywalker. He was a Sith abomination called Darth Vader.

Darth Vader stared into the eyes of Kitster Banai and drove his crimson blade right through the boy's heart.