When the Light Goes Out

Okay, this is my second story, and it will probably be finished before my Harry Potter story, as this is just a story, and I want my Harry Potter story to have 200,000 words and at least a hundred chapters.

I do not own anything Star Wars, but I might someday.

If you're reading this, please review. If I get no reviews, I'm deleting it off the entire web, and I will never think about it again.

This story has adult-oriented themes. I will tolerate (even enjoy) flames, as long as they have nothing to with the themes.

There most likely will not be any slash in this story, but some of my other stories will have slash, as you might have guessed by my penname.

"Boy!" Watto yelled angrily, because his slave had been, for the third time today, taking apart items Watto intended to sell. "You are making me lose money by doing that; if I catch you one more time, I will sell you to an off-worlder and not tell them about your explosive implant."

Watto was a Toydarian, very small, with bat-like wings on his back. He also had a case of great stupidity. The boy in question, Anakin Skywalker, was short and skinny for a ten year old. He had brown hair and brown eyes.

Anakin Skywalker's dark eyes were burning with barely managed fury and contempt. "I doubt that, because is the only planet that allows slavery, and the explosive implant thing is famous across the galaxy."

Watto was taken aback. 'The insolent brat thinks he can get away with backtalking me…'

That's when a Zabrak entered his shop.

Watto knew very little, but he definitely knew that the home planet of the Zabraks had no laws against slavery.

"Sir, I have a question for you. Would you happen to desire to buy a slave? I'm willing to sell him cheap…" Watto said in what he assumed was an enticing voice.

"You will sell him for nothing, one way or the other," the Zabrak said.

"What do you mean by that?" Watto asked, "Is that a threat?"

"Yes, and no. A Jedi is, even now, heading toward this shop. He's coming to buy parts for his spaceship. You are to refuse to service him," the Zabrak said.

"What makes you think that I will?" Watto cried out belligerently.

The Zabrak held out his hand, and lightning came forth and struck Watto in the chest. "Do not tell him about my presence here, Watto, or you will suffer a death far more painful than what I just demonstrated to you."

The Zabrak went to the back of the shop, and Watto was practically sweating bullets. He did suffer from massive stupidity, but he, like all beings, knew a death threat when he heard one.

Then two or three people entered the shop. Anakin couldn't tell which because he was in the back with the Zabrak. The Zabrak had said, "For protective means." Anakin figured that meant that Watto was going to lose his favorite slave if he revealed the Zabrak's location to the Jedi.

"We would like to purchase new hyperspace parts for our ship," someone, a male; humanoid, definitely, said.

"Yes, I believe that we have the parts here, unless my slave vandalized them like everything else of worth here.

Yes, we do; they're in perfect condition, too! That will be five hundred credits… No, sorry, we don't take Republic credits here."

"You will accept these Republic credits," the man's voice said, slowly, as if making a threat to Watto.

"We don't take Republic credits here," Watto said again.

The unseen man said again, "You will take Republic credits."

"Are you trying to use a Jedi mind trick on me? Toydarians are immune to them."

Both Watto and the man laughed, as if sharing a private joke, and then there was a peculiar sound. Snap-hiss.

The man's voice said, "You will give us the parts we need, my dear Toydarian friend. Whether or not you will get paid is up to you."

Watto said, rather hurriedly, "There's another shop, two kilometers away from here, with better, newer parts, and much lower prices!"

The humming sound died away with another snap-hiss.

After five minutes had passed, Watto came to the back with his "customer" and his slave. Sweat was streaming out of his every bodily pore.

"Okay, Master Whoever-You-Are, they're gone."

"Maul; refer to me as Maul," the self-proclaimed Maul said.

"Now what do you want?" the Toydarian said resignedly.

"You will deactivate the explosive implant located in this boy's neck, or I will remove it, force you to swallow it, and then put you onboard the next flight off of here."

Watto gulped, then rushed over to his counter and pulled a strange device. He flew over and handed it the Zabrak and said, "Do it if you can."

Maul said, "You will do it, and you will stand closer to him than I stand now."

Watto gulped again, then flew back over to the counter, got another device, flew back, then, hovering in the air barely a foot from Anakin, he pressed a series of buttons. "Done," he said in fear.

Maul yanked the device out of Watto's hands. "Okay, then, it can't reactivate the explosive. It's your lucky day, Watto; I won't be killing you," he said as he handed Watto the device back, along with a hundred Tatooine credits.

Watto was once again taken aback.

Together, Anakin and the Zabrak walked out the front door of Watto's shop, with Watto practically in tears. 'He just gave me a fortune for gambling,' Watto thought.