The sun on Coruscant was setting. The gold and red of the sunset was a soothing bath of natural radiance against a cityscape foreground. Anakin sat, taking in the view from his meditation chamber with a deep breath as Master Yoda had told him to. He felt at peace, calm. His fate was with people who he had slowly learned to see as mentors. He loved Master Obi-Wan - he and him would be good friends, he knew it. Even so, things were strange. The Jedi Counsel seemed a bit kinder and less distant now that he was under Master Obi-Wan's official tutelage, but there was still a palpable sense of fear in them since that that Sith had killed Master Qui-Gon. The sun continued to dip as the colours of the sky became more vivid and powerful.

"Hi!" a gruffy but goofy-sounding voice called out from behind. Startled, Anakin swivelled. He caught himself moving too fast again. A Jedi moves with attention and care, not with fear Obi-Wan had said. He had turned all the way around, but saw nothing.

"Over here, boy-oh!" the voice said again. Getting up, Anakin surveyed the room. Seeing nothing, he felt afraid. Fear is the path to the dark side he remembered. He centred himself, and had faith in the Force. He took another deep breath.

"Who's there?" Anakin asked calmly, turning away from the window and towards the room's entrance.

"Over here!" the voice said again, this time sounding like it was coming from behind him. Anakin turned, hearing the ventilation shaft above close and two quick, soft clapping sounds on the floor. Orienting towards the window, he bumped into something soft. "Oof!" the voice called out, sounding now to be right up against him. Anakin fell to the floor. He almost yelled, but again held it in, focusing on his feelings with all his concentration. He closed his eyes and exhaled. He opened his eyes to see a large, fuzzy figure silhouetted against the striking Coruscant sky.

"Oh, so sorry! Maybe I should move to somewhere a little less sunny, eh?" the voice said with a chuckle as the figure moved to the side. Anakin began to pick himself up, but the figure grabbed him by the hand and lifted him up. Anakin could see it now.

"Hey-ya there, Ani!" he said. Anakin paused, more confused now than frightened. "Oh… don't they teach you how to say 'Hi' here?"

"Uh…" was all Anakin could get out of his mouth. A jester...? On Tatooine people would occasionally dress silly for fun, but nothing quite like… this.

"Come on, Ani. Don't tell me you've never seen a clown before?!" the clown said, its eyes popping and its stark red lower lip jutting out. What was this? Anakin couldn't imagine. His face was frozen, blank.

"I know, I know, I'm too silly for such a wise and disciplined place," the clown said. "Maybe I should go…" He lowered his head and whimpered. He trudged forward a few paces. He had such ridiculous shoes. Was he human or some other species? He remembered Yoda's saying: Appearances matter not. If judge we do with our eyes, forever bound to suspicion are we.

"Its alright," Anakin managed to say. "Its just I wasn't expecting you. Who are you?" The clowns face instantly brightened back up as he lifted his head and spun back around.

"Well I'm glad you asked. I, Ani, am Pennywise the Dancing Clown! Nice to meet'cha!"

"Nice to meet you, too" Anakin said. "Why are you here?" Pennywise smiled, radiating a childlike innocence from the glimmer in his eyes. His face was ridiculous - a stretchy ball of energy which would be a stark white save for the orange glow from the planet's sky, and topped with the craziest red hair Anakin had ever seen.

"To see you, of course!" Pennywise's voice sang out. "Wanna play?"

"Master Obi-Wan said that Jedi must control our desires," Anakin said.

"Ooh," Pennywise crooned. "I forgot the Jedi do that. Oh well, I guess it's for the best - gotta protect the Galaxy calmly, right? Can ya forgive me, pal?"

"Sure," Anakin said. The room went quiet. Pennywise just stood there, then swivelled his eyes left, then right, his face looking just as confused as Anakin felt.

"So… what are we doing?" Pennywise asked.

"Um… I'm not sure."

"Oh, come on buck-oh!" Pennywise said. "You've gotta have fun some time!" Anakin looked at him. Pennywise then began to skip around the room, clapping his hands, laughing and giggling the whole way around. He jumped and pushed himself off one of the walls, and used that momentum to propel himself back to where Anakin stood, running right up to him. Anakin kept calm, trying not to get his emotions get the better of him. Pennywise ran right up to him and, stretching out his finger, bumped Anakin on the nose. "BOOP!" Anakin couldn't hold it in anymore - this was too much. He let out a giggle. Pennywise grinned from ear to ear.

"That's the picture!" he yelled out. "I knew you could laugh. It's my job, see?" He reached behind himself and pulled out a piece of paper. "It's a clown degree!" Within an instant, he had swapped out the paper for a long, thin, blue balloon. Beginning to stretch, twist and bend it, he called out "It's a tauntaun!" Letting go of one of the seams, it snapped back into its original shape. Pennywise's face dropped. "Well I guess it's a lightsaber, then." He swung it back and forth "Vwoom! Vwoom!" Anakin's giggling intensified. Pennywise carefully balanced the balloon on the tip of his finger, shuffling his arm around to keep it upright. Then, dropping his hand, he rushed with the other to grab the balloon before it fell to the floor. Accidentally grasping it too tightly, it popped. "OOPS!" A blue ink from inside the balloon splattered all over him. Anakin could now hardly breathe through the laughter.

Pennywise continued his charades for a while. Soon, however, Anakin realized that Master Obi-Wan would be disappointed seeing him out of control like this. Was this a test? he wondered. If he had, he had certainly failed miserably, and Obi-Wan would be very grumpy. He centred himself again, trying to ignore the clown. He looked down. His padawan's robes had blue ink all over them. Obi-Wan would definitely give him a lecture after this. His smile faded.

"Am I not funny anymore?" Pennywise asked. He pursed his lips and made a sad face.

"No, sir. I just have to control myself," Anakin responded.

"That frown can't be just from control," Pennywise said. Anakin did not respond. "Come now, buddy. What's the matter?"

"Nothing, sir," Anakin replied. Pennywise crouched down before the boy, looking him in the face. His smile turned to the image of genuine concern. The two were silent for a while. Pennywise sighed.

"It's your mother, isn't it?" Anakin was stunned that he knew. This must be a test, he thought. He decided to play along; this was probably a dressed-up Jedi Consular on a training routine.

"I miss her," he responded. His shoulders and head drooped.

"Aw. Love is the best thing a child should feel for their mother, right?"

"Master Yoda says that we must learn to let go of everything," Anakin said, his voice growing weaker. He did believe Yoda, but to follow on this path of peace was more painful than he could have imagined.

"Mm. You can love someone without them being right there, right?" Pennywise's voice was now soothing; not quite in the way that Qui-Gon's or Yoda's was - it was smoother, more carressing. "But you can always have them there in your heart."

"I guess..." Anakin was close to crying.

"Come here," Pennywise beckoned. He seated himself in front of the window, looking out at the sunset which was now growing darker by the minute. Anakin followed. The two sat looking out for several minutes.

"It's a big world out there, ain't it, Ani?" Pennywise said.

"Yes."

"You've got a lot of love in you, kid. For your mom, your friends, for the world."

"Yes, sir."

"See, love ain't so bad. And you've got a crush on someone, don'tcha?" Anakin blushed. He couldn't tell him about Padamé, the Counsel would go nuts if they knew. Pennywise scrunched a sidewise smile and giggled.

"And if you come with me, I can take you anywhere in the Galaxy!" he continued. "Anywhere! Mandalore! Ryloth! Or even… Naboo?" Anakin hesitated. Something still didn't feel right. He searched his feelings.

"Master Yoda said that I am to stay here," Anakin replied.

"A Jedi can learn about the Force wherever he is, right?" Pennywise said. "Come on, I know you wanna get out of here." Anakin began to feel nervous. This was going far even for a training exercise.

"Everything I know is here," Anakin said.

"You know this place gets boring," Pennywise insisted. "Follow me." He stood up and beckoned the boy.

"No," Anakin said, more firmly. Pennywise grabbed Anakin's arm and began to pull. Anakin's fear burst to the surface. Anakin pulled back, and as he did, he sensed Obi-Wan's presence as he had learned to identify it. He must have sensed Anakin's fear, and was now approaching the room.

Anakin's fear was delicious. Pennywise felt it tear through the boy as he began to more frantically try to free himself. Pennywise grasped even harder, pulling the boy close. As he did, he felt something else in the boy, something powerful. He pushed the boy to the ground and pinned him down. Anakin was now screaming.

"Oh you'd better be afraid, boy," it said. "I'm a kind of evil you've never even DREAMED of!" The clown was biding its time, seeing just how far the boy's fear could go.

The door to the room slid open and Obi-Wan rushed in to see Anakin on the floor, screaming to an empty room. He hurried to the boy's side.

"Anakin!" he yelled. The boy continued to struggle against the empty air. He grabbed Anakin's arm, letting the serenity of the Force flow onto him in the hopes of calming him down. Anakin, now with both his arms captive, one to this monster and the other to his master, began to feel a rush, as if the Force was present within his muscles. Pennywise, unwilling to let the delectable fear slip away, grabbed ahold of Anakin's throat, and squeezed. To his left, Anakin saw the image of his mother, mutilated and dead, soaked in her own bowls and blood and slumped on the temple wall. Her eyes were entirely lifeless. The clown opened his fanged mouth, preparing to take the first bite of the boy.

The feeling Anakin felt now solidified as rage. The hate flowed through him. As the clown's mouth approached, Anakin let out a burst of energy which sent the clown flying backward, slamming into the opposite wall of the room. Obi-Wan was also thrust backwards, slicing himself on the sharp corner of the open door.

"Oof!" the clown said it said as it impacted. The thrust knocked the clown into a momentary daze. He looked down to see his arm missing, and back up to see it firmly in Anakin's hand, white-knuckled into a fist. This was clearly not going anywhere. At least not yet. Pennywise could not turn down a meal like this, but maybe it would take a few more years than he had anticipated. The clown moved and slipped out of sight. At once, Anakin's vision cleared. Obi-Wan was back over him, with part of his robe wrapped as a tourniquet around his arm.

"Anakin! Anakin!" he called out. He sensed the boy calming down, but still incredibly shaken. "Are you alright, Anakin?" Anakin passed out. Obi-Wan exhaled a breath that he had been holding for too long, and picked up the boy with his good arm. He was going to have some real explaining to do to the High Counsel.