Title: Star Wars AU Episode I: Return of the Sith

Author: shelivesfree (previous HermioneLunaPotter)

Setting: Prequels AU - based on the fan theory by Belated Media

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own any of this. I just have a solid (and slightly obsessive) interest in Star Wars

Chapter 6: A Reoccurring Dream

Slave Village, Mos Espa

"No - No! Please don't - Mom! NO!"

Padmé sits up abruptly at the sound of Anakin's screams. Horrified that someone is attacking them, that someone has discovered her whereabouts, she reaches for her blaster that she kept underneath her pillow, and quickly draws it, pointing it at the door in an immediate, defensive stance. Through the silver moonlight that spills in through the window, she relaxes once she realises there's no one in the room, and slowly lowers her weapon. Her eyes then fall upon the boy on the ground beside her. He's twitching and thrashing about in his sleep, sweat beading along his forehead and upper lip, eyes fluttering madly beneath his closed lips. Tears leak from his eyes, squeezed shut tightly as though he's trying to stop himself from seeing something horrific, all the while calling out for his mother.

The sight makes her heart clench in pity and she slides out of bed and crouches beside him. "Anakin..." she calls to him softly, trying to rouse him from his nightmare. She rests her hand on his shoulder and gently rocks him, but he's too consumed with his nightmare to even hear her. "Ani... please! Wake up!" she says again, bending over so her lips are at his ear, using the name his mother calls him in attempt to soothe him.

Suddenly, he is jerked awake, those blue eyes wide and terrified as he stares around at his surroundings. Chest heaving, he meets her gaze, blinks a few times and lets out a trembling sigh. "Mom. Is she...?" he asks in a small voice, almost pleading with her.

Padmé gives him a reassuring smile and strokes his damp hair. "She's fine, Ani. It was just a dream."

The young boy closes her eyes at her words, relief visibly washing over him and brings his hand up to his forehead. "Y-yeah... just a... just a d-dream..."

Standing up, Padmé heads into the 'fresher to retrieve a damp cloth, then returns and kneels back beside Anakin. Almost methodically, she dabs at his forehead, drying his perspiration and cooling him down. The boy's eyes fall closed at her actions and he exhales shakily. The poor thing, she thinks to herself as she tends to him. It must have been an awful nightmare to have affected him like this. She lets him be for a moment and they remain silent, until Padme notices him shaking. He's crying.

"Oh, Anakin..." she whispers sadly.

He brushes her aside, suddenly embarrassed about crying in front of her, and rolls onto his other side. His body curls into himself, and he wraps his arms around his limbs, sobbing quietly to himself. The sight of him so helpless tugs at Padmé's compassionate heartstrings. She wants to help him, hold him, tell him that everything is going to be okay, but she doesn't want to embarrass him further. Instead, she just sits by him, offering him silent support, and waits patiently for him to open up to her.

Then, very quietly, he mutters under his breath, "... they killed her..." He's only twelve, but he suddenly sounds a lot younger than his age, his voice is small and vulnerable.

"Who killed her?" Padmé asks softly, reaching out to touch his shoulder again. Anakin freezes at her touch, but doesn't pull away, so Padmé takes this as a good sign.

"The Masters," he spits out the words venomously. "It's always them."

She's more confused than ever, and queries, "Always?" When Anakin just nods his head, she bites her lip. "Ani... have you had this dream before?"

Again, he nods his head. Padmé doesn't know what to say. She can't imagine anything worse than being plagued by a dream about her own mother's death, so she can't blame the boy for being so upset. "It's just a dream," she tells him again, but it's obviously the wrong thing to say, because he growls and shuffles away from her.

"I know."

The only thing Padmé can do is go and find his mother. Shmi is the best person for this situation, as Anakin is clearly too emotional and upset to open up to her about any of this. Rightly so. They barely know each other. As much as she wants to help, Padmé knows that it isn't her place.

She goes to find Shmi, only to run into Master Qui-Gon. The Jedi Master is sitting pensive at the small table in the kitchen, his eyes closed, his chin resting on his clasped hands. Once he senses her presence, his eyes snap open and he twists his head to look at her. Jedi confuse her. Their knowledge of the Force and their intuition make her a little nervous to be around them. She's heard of Jedi mind tricks before, and whilst she's confident Master Qui-Gon would never use one on her, there's something in the back of her mind that is paranoid at the thought.

The way he looks at her make her wonder if he already knows why she's out here. There's this sadness in his grey eyes that she can't quite place. "The boy had a nightmare."

Padmé frowns. "Yes," she says, suspiciously. "How did you know?

With a deep sigh, the Jedi Master turns in his chair and places his hands in his lap. "The Force speaks to me, child. I also know that you are not who you say you are."

It takes all of Padmé's training not to react to his remark. "I do not know what you mean, Master Jedi." Her voice is cool and composed, a facade for her rapidly beating heart that pounds anxiously in her chest. Her use of decoys is her highest level of security. No one can ever know.

He smiles kindly at her, like a father would to his daughter, and merely says, "Yes, I'm afraid you do, Your Majesty." She reaches for her blaster, when she remembers that it is back in Anakin's room, and then takes a step back, palms raised. "Relax, child. I will not reveal you. Not even to my Padawan."

"Does he not know?"

With another heavy sigh, the older Jedi just shakes his head. "Obi-Wan is young and impatient. He does not see things like I do. He has much still yet to learn."

Padmé nods her head respectively, and then goes to find Shmi. She rouses instantly once she hears about Anakin had a nightmare and hurries into his bedroom, falling to her knees beside her son. They embrace tightly, the boy nuzzling into his mother's neck as she softly strokes his hair and whispers soothing things to him in her soft, calm voice. Padmé watches the interaction fondly. Despite the hardships that they have both faced and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding both their lives, there's this aura of joy and love and happiness that radiates out of them. It's beautiful to behold.

Master Qui-Gon taps her lightly on the shoulder and beckons her to leave the pair alone, and so Padmé follows him. "I am going to contact my Padawan. I won't be long."

Padme chews on her lip as the Jedi Master strides out of the hut into the sweltering night with an elegant sweep of his robes.

Naboo cruiser, Tatooine

Even in the dead of night, this blasted planet still swelters with a relentless heat that puts Obi-Wan in a foul mood. He waits in the cockpit, legs up with his boots resting on the control panel, staring blankly at the ceiling. It's too hot to think, let alone sleep. He'd thought, by closing off the ship to keep out the humidity that it would have made the interior cooler, but alas, he was horribly wrong. A scowl forms on his face as he thinks about his Master and Padmé, seeking refuge with Anakin, and wonders if they are having as restless as night as he.

The Queen is in her quarters and hasn't made a sound the entire night. He wonders how she's coping in her thick, heavy royal garb, when he is slowing expiring in his Jedi linen - having discarded his thick robe long ago. In other circumstances, he'd remove his tunic and boots, but doesn't want to be indecent around the Queen. Besides, if anything were to happen, he'd rather not waste time in redressing himself if unnecessary. So, he just has to deal with the uncomfortable heat. At least he's alert.

As he closes his eyes and tries, for the fourth time, to fall asleep, the comm signal on the control panel blinks with incessant blue beeps, jerking him awake once more. Grumbling irritably, he answers the call, and a small hologram of his Master rises up before him, shimmering blue in the darkness of the cockpit.

"Greetings, Padawan. I apologise if I woke you."

Obi-Wan laughs darkly. "I assure you, Master, I was not asleep. It's impossible to do so on this wretched planet."

The Jedi Master sighs, his expression grave. "Fear not, my young Padawan. We will not linger here longer than necessary. I feel a great disturbance in the Force. Something draws near. It unnerves me."

A sense of forboding overcomes Obi-Wan as he ponders his Master's words. He too has sensed a disturbance in the Force. "So have I, Master."

With his hands clasped in front of him, Qui-Gon lowers his voice and drops his face towards the ground. "I believe the Naboo invasion was the work of a Sith Lord."

"Master, the Sith have been destroyed," Obi-Wan reminds him.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps not. The Sith have always existed, Padawan. As long as there is a Dark Side of the Force, there will be Sith. It is the nature of the Force. Hopefully the boy will be finished by morning, so we can return to Coruscant. I must discuss this matter with the Council."

The notion is unsettling to the young Padawan learner, but he says no more on the matter. His Master has always harboured these notions about the Sith, and yet none of the other Council Members agree with him, except Master Yoda. If the Sith have returned, they have yet to show themselves.

"The boy has had a Force dream," Qui-Gon informs him, changing the subject. "He has forseen his mother's death."

Obi-Wan narrows his eyes suspiciously. "How can you be sure it is a Force dream? The boy is young. Nightmares are common."

The older Jedi shakes his head and sighs. "Apparently, this particular dream has been reoccurring. You know how powerful the boy is already. It is undoubtedly a Force dream."

The way his Master speaks about the boy irritates Obi-Wan, so though he is a rare gift from the Force itself. Even if Anakin Skywalker is the child from the prophecy, he doubts how a twelve-year-old boy with no knowledge of the Force is suppose to bring about 'balance'. The idolisation of the boy is absurd, but he keeps his thoughts to himself.

"How does his mother die?"

Qui-Gon shakes his head. "That, I do not know."

"Then how can we prevent it?"

The Jedi Master shakes his head again, a solemn look crossing his tired face. "We won't, my young apprentice. If the boy's mother dies, he will have nothing tying him to this place. No attachments. It's crucial for his Jedi training."

Obi-Wan can hardly believe the words coming out of his Master's mouth? Let the woman die? As a Jedi, a bringer of peace and justice, the very notion sets his nerves on edge. It goes against everything he's been taught. Saving the innocent, purging the darkness... it is what makes him proud to call himself Jedi. To know that the boy's mother will soon be killed, and yet do nothing to prevent it... "How can you say that Master?" he cries, slightly outraged. "We are Jedi. We cannot let her just die. That's... inhumane!"

A wry smile pulls at the older Jedi's lips. "The Force works in mysterious ways, Padawan. What it wills always comes to pass, in one way or another. I see it as a blessing. The Force wants me to take the boy, to train him. It is my destiny."

Trying not to roll his eyes, the apprentice says nothing further on the matter, even though his own opinion contradicts his Master's rather pious view of the Force. Instead, he bids his Master goodnight, ends the communication and leans back further in the pilot's seat, trying to fall asleep for the fifth time that night.

The Scimitar, Tattooine System

There was a powerful aura calling to him, drawing him closer, radiating strongly off the isolated, desert planet far on the outskirts of the Outer Rim. Maul could sense it. Something even more powerful than his own Master. Was this the young Naboo Queen? Surely, it couldn't be. From what he'd heard, the girl was only a child still, barely fourteen. And by no means a Force user such as himself.

So, then, who was it? One of her Jedi escorts, perhaps? Maybe the small, green one... Yoda, he was called? Apparently, the Jedi Master from Dagobah was the only being in the entire galaxy that his Master feared. A powerful Force user, he was fabled to be. No match for a Sith apprentice.

Still, Maul had the element of surprise. All he needed was the Queen... alive. He could steal her away from right beneath the Jedi's noses, then flee back to Mustafar, where he would be praised by his Master. Yes, he thought to himself gleefully. He may even let me keep her as a pet.

With a terrible grin, he activated his hyperdrive, the Scimitar soaring rapidly towards his destination.

A/N: Hello, dear readers. No amount of apologies could really do this terribly long wait between updates justice. But, I am sorry. As I've previously stated, I'm doings things a little differently to Belated Media, but I'm following their idea loosely. Please read and review! :) xx