I KNOW PLACES ➶ STAR WARS

Part II // The Past

"I saw your ship. Is everything alright?" Anakin placed a hand on Padmé's cheek.

"I'd heard terrible things, Anakin."

"What things?" He asked. His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable storm in his eyes.

"I heard that you- you'd killed younglings, that you crossed over to the Dark Side!" Her pleading brown eyes looked at him, begging him to tell her it was all a lie.

"Who told you these things?"

She hesitated to sell out one of her closest friends, but out of sheer love for Anakin, her mouth opened anyways. "Obi-Wan did." Her eyes darted around guiltily. "Anakin, I'm scared."

"Obi-Wan is trying to make you turn away from what is right."

Relief exploded in her chest- or maybe that was a heart palpitation- and her fear swam away. "I knew you couldn't have done those awful things-"

"Come with me, Padmé. Experience my new powers. With these, I can overthrow my master and we can rule the galaxy! And I can finally save you." He ran a finger down her cheek.

Padmé's hope shattered like a dropped mirror as she pulled away from his cold touch. "Rule the galaxy? Anakin, what are you talking about?"

"We can make it our empire, make things the way we want them to be!"

Padmé started to cry, knowing that after all the times she'd been told, she still had no idea what Anakin was up to. "Obi-Wan was right! You've changed; I don't know you anymore!" She began to back away, towards her spacecraft.

"Don't tell me you've turned away, too." Anakin's voice held ominous danger.

"You're going down a path I cannot follow. But I still love you, Anakin! Come back with me; help me raise our child!" The former queen's hands folded together in front of her stomach, her large doe eyes swimming in despair.

"Liar!" Anakin bellowed. He then sensed another, much stronger, presence. He slowly turned his head towards the entrance of Padmé's ship. There he saw Obi-Wan, standing with his feet spread apart and hands on his hips.

"No!" Padmé pleaded, though for what she did not know.

"You turned her against me!" Anakin roared, pacing the stone ground.

"You have done that yourself!" Obi-Wan declared gallantly, placing his hand on his hips defiantly. Inside, his emotions were humbled and a hint of nervousness pecked at his very soul.

His Padawan's voice snapped him back into reality. "You will not take her from me!"

"Your greed and lust for power has already done that." The Master's voice and hands shook, and he didn't like the feeling.

Padmé started towards her husband once more. "Anakin, come back-" But Anakin cut her off, using the Force to choke her.

"Let her go!" Obi-Wan shouted. "Let her go, Anakin!"

Anakin only glanced at him, knowing that this was breaking the both of them apart. Padmé's face began to go pale. Obi-Wan knew he had to do something, and quick.

"Let her go!"

Anakin heeded and obeyed. Padmé fell to the ground, unconscious.

"No!" Obi-Wan yelled. He knelt by her body, laid a hand on her cheek, and made sure she was still breathing. "This is unacceptable, Anakin!" He informed his apprentice loudly as he stood up.

"The Council sent you here to kill me. They would not allow me to become a Jedi Master. That," he spit out, "was unacceptable! I was the Chosen One!" His face red with rage, Anakin drew out the hilt of his lightsaber from his belt.

Tears in his eyes, the strawberry-blond Jedi shouted back at his Padawan. "You were supposed to bring order, not destruction!"

Anakin bellowed again and ran at Obi-Wan, illuminating his now deep red lightsaber. He kicked Obi-Wan in the chest, flinging him backwards, but Obi-Wan caught control, flipped around, and landed on his feet, also illuminating his blue lightsaber.

He flung a strike at Anakin, who dodged it.

The yellow-eyed Sith apprentice threw three swings, progressing towards Obi-Wan more and more. The last one sliced right through a corner of the Jedi's cloak.

Obi-Wan ran towards a crumbling stony entrance, luring his dangerous Padawan away from Padmé. His trick worked, as Anakin had murderous eyes only for him. Lightsabers clashed again, sending sparks of fire towards both opponents. Each fought against the force the other was exerting, teeth grinding and synergy building.

Anakin was the first to break away, running toward and leading Obi-Wan to the main stream of lava which all but covered the planet Mustafar. They battled fiercely, neither giving up. Then, after hovering on broken pieces of the plant, Obi-Wan leaped a great height to the nearest land mass.

"Give up, Anakin. This is the end! I have the high ground."

"It's not over," Anakin said grimly.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened in realization. "Don't try it!"

Suddenly, Anakin leaped off the plant piece and started to come down just above Obi-Wan.

An unforeseen hand shot out in front of Obi-Wan, wielding a bright blue lightsaber. The blue beam continued up and expertly sliced through Anakin's left arm and both of his legs. Anakin's dismembered body landed with a thud. He groaned in pain.

Obi-Wan looked behind him to find the character that held the unforeseen lightsaber. He saw only Padmé, shaking and gasping. "Padmé?"

"He was- He was going to kill you..."

Obi-Wan took her by the shoulders and merely looked in her eyes for any hint of insanity.

"I hate you!" Anakin screamed, still writhing in pain. "I hate both of you!"

"What- what have I done?"

"It was for the best," Obi-Wan admitted quietly, watching her sob, helpless.

"How could I have done this?" She sank to her knees, dirtying her gown in the soot and ashes.

Obi-Wan scooped her up. "We must leave now. Quickly, before Darth Sidious arrives, looking for him. Surely he will die before-"

"No! No, I have to stay! I must stay with him!"

"We are leaving, Padmé." He shook his head. "There is no going back." Tears flowed, drenching both of their faces as they listened to Anakin's searing groans. "We must leave it in the past and look to the future now." And with that, Obi-Wan silently carried a screaming Padmé back to her ship and flew away, hoping to forget everything that had happened.