Critical note. I have not seen the fifth season of The Clone Wars, and now that I think about it, I missed a pretty hefty chunk of the fourth season, too. So I'm heavily guessing this is AU. Anyone who spoils anything for me will have their voicebox torn out. Er, wait. Wrong franchise. Anyone who dares to spoil the series will be Force-choked to the brink of death, but I won't kill you. I'll leave you to slowly regain consciousness, and as you just become aware of your surroundings, I will activate the airlock and wave bye-bye. Then I will preserve all your loved ones in carbonite, and torture their encased selves with daily tea parties featuring the My Little Pony cast, and...and...This may have been inspired by a certain unrelated blockbuster, it's been in my head for so long I can't remember the where, why, and how I thought of it.

Star Wars/The Clone Wars belongs to people who aren't me.

"You can only save one."

His eyes darted between the two feeds. One the first screen, a human woman struggling against the electro-chains she was bound and hanging by. On the second, a Togruta girl lay unconscious, her skin a horrifically pale shade of orange. On both screens, the surrounding explosives were laid obvious.

"When you breach the prison of one, it will send a signal that will ignite the explosives in the other. Attempt to call for help and both chambers will be blown up. Your transmissions are being monitored. The choice is yours, Skywalker. Your Padawan, or your lover."

The initial voice-feed ended, but the images remained. Everything stopped. His breath, his heart, his thought-process, his connection to the Force. Everything became a darkness surrounding Anakin, pressing onto him, suffocating him. He was lost, falling over the edge as his nightmare came to life.

"Ani."

It was always that voice that found him, taking his hand and pulling him back before he fell. Reality came back, crashing as it was, but his eyes focused on the first screen. She had found the recorder, and was looking directly into it.

"Padmé." His voice was rasp, his mouth dry. He could see her but she could not see him. She could, however, hear him.

"Ani. You need to save Ahsoka."

This was a dream, a nightmare. It was impossible. This was not happening.

But it was.

"I know." He said what was impossible, condemning the woman he loved with a passion forbidden but saving the girl that meant so much to him.

Padmé smiled at the recorder, even as her eyes filled with tears. "I love you. These last few years...I never regretted a thing. Save Ahsoka. Save her and train her to be the greatest Jedi there ever was. And know that I'm always going to be watching over you. I love you, Anakin."

Gloved hands trembled with the rest of him as he brought a hand to the screen, willing it to reach through and caress her, to reach out and pull her into a kiss, one last time.

But the Force did not will it so.

"I love you, Padmé."

The Force did allow for the love and pain and guilt to flow from him across the galaxy, and in return he was bombarded with feelings of love, comfort, and acceptance. Anakin Skywalker knew what he had to do.

With one last whispered "I'm sorry," he cut the first feed and turned his starfighter around before flying away. Their prisons were a at opposite ends of the system. By turning around the starship, he was turning his back on his wife.

But Padmé wanted it this way.

Anger and hatred flowed within him. When he found the one who had forced him into this sick game, he would make them pay with every last of his being.

But he pushed the feelings away. He would do nothing until he found his Padawan.

He reached out into the Force, trying to let her know he was coming for him, that nothing would stop him. He tried to send out comfort and reassurance, but nothing came back to him other than the certainty that she was still alive.

And as he ran down the halls, viciously tearing down the droids that stood in his way, he still could not feel her. All he could think about was what he was losing, and what he was saving. With every strike of his blade, his mind chanted, For Padmé. For Ahsoka. Determination and anger fueled him, love and desperation guided him.

And when the doors to the chamber were blown open by his anger, the cuffs holding the woman unlocked, and she fell to the floor.

Horrified brown eyes locked with stunned blue.

"What? Ani, no!"

And through the Force, he could hear a single voice, crying out in terror before it was silenced.