She could feel it. The Force was screaming at her. Time was quickly running out, and the ever present drone of "Hurry. Faster. Save HIM!" continued to drive her onward. There was no doubt in her mind who 'him' is. She could feel his grief, mixed with a sense of betrayal. The Force had shown her everything. Now she rushed to save the soul of the one she loves.

She is close now. The exhaustion of the combatants resonated to her through the Force. She could see them; however, something was off. There was a great deal of satisfaction in the eyes of the man she once called a mentor and friend. As she gathered the energy to rip him away from the edge, time slowed to a crawl. She could see the man she loves leaping up from somewhere over the edge, and her mentor smirking in self-satisfaction as he prepared to strike. Desperation fueled her. Grabbing Obi-Wan with the Force, she threw him backwards. The unexpectedness of it sent his light saber through her love's mechanical arm.

Instinct caused her to grab him before he fell back over the edge. A cold, sharp tingle traveled down her spine as she stared into his yellow tinged eyes. Whether from fear, or some other base emotions, she was uncertain. A quick glance assured him of his rescuer's identity. Stretching out his senses, he scanned for his opponent and found him moving rapidly away towards…

"Padame," his voice was the barest whisper, but the fear was easily heard.

Ahsoka started lightly, guilt flashing through her for forgetting about her friend. "Threepio was taking her on board her ship when I ran here. C'mon. If we don't hurry, he'll disappear with her."

Without another word, the two friends raced back. When they arrived at the landing pad, they could see the boarding ramp closing. Their fear added strength to their speed, but they were too late. The Noobian craft lifted off and vanished into the stars.

"NOOOOooo!" Grief and rage rolled off both of them. Light years away and in route to Mustafar, Sidious smiled. His new apprentice was ready. Time to retrieve Lord Vader and begin his reign of terror. The galaxy now belongs to the Sith.

Anakin wanted to kill. Ahsoka could feel his rage building so she did the only thing she could think of, she hugged her former master and best friend and kissed him full on the mouth. Shocked at the sudden gesture, Anakin's thoughts stopped in their tracks. He returned the hug and pulled back enough to speak to her.

"Soka. Track them down. Do what you must to protect Padme and our child. The Emperor is coming. If I should fall to him, I need to know they will be safe."

Ahsoka opened her mouth to protest, but Anakin placed his index finger over her lips. His pain and fear filled the look in his eyes. She closed her mouth, tears threatening to fall. Turning away, she ran for her ship and prayed to the Force that her tracking beacon was not out of range.

Anakin knew he needed a plan. He was too tired from his fight with Obi-Wan for a drawn out battle with Palpatine. Face it. Unless you take the old man by surprise, he could kill you. Or worse. A questioning twitter from R2-D2 gave Anakin the inspiration he needed. After issuing R2 his orders, Anakin walked over to the landing platform where Palpatine's ship was landing. Anakin allowed his annoyance at Kenobi's escape and feeling of betrayal to leak through his shields. Kneeling, he waited for Palpatine to acknowledge him. He did not have to wait long.

"Ah, Lord Vader. I am pleased to see you are well. Tell me my young apprentice, what vexes you so much?"

"Kenobi has escaped, and he took my wife and child with him." Despite the attempt to control his reaction, bitterness still colored Anakin's voice.

Palpatine could barely contain his glee at this situation. Oh, Kenobi. I must find a proper reward for you. I couldn't have planned this any better. Outwardly, he expressed sympathy and concern. "Worry not my friend. We shall find them, and they shall pay for their betrayal."

Anakin scowled. "They? There is no they," he practically spat the last word. Angrily he lashed out with a wave of the Force. He did not expect Palpatine to be affected, and was not disappointed. He watched, dispassionately, as the Red Guards flew over the edge and into the lava below.

"Lord Vader. Try not to kill so many of my guards. They have not wronged you." Palpatines hissed, angry at the effort and time that was lost in training them.

"You're right. I should save my anger for the one who truly deserves it." With speed available only to the Chosen One, Anakin ignited his light saber and severed Palpatine's right hand from its wrist. The light saber Palpatine kept there sparking as it was destroyed. Palpatine did not cry out, but looked at the young man with fear and pure, dark hate.

"The Force decrees that you should live. For now." Anakin's eyes grew dark with fury as he continued, "but know this. I will be watching. And if you come after me or mine," his smile was dark enough to make any Sith proud, "I will remove more of your pathetic hide."

Palpatine fumed as he watched Anakin walk away. I will have my revenge! Yes, Skywalker will come to regret not killing him while he had the chance. Palpatine walked back towards his ship cradling his wounded arm and envisioning all the different forms of torture that he would inflict on the traitor. He was so preoccupied with his day dreaming, he failed to notice the approach of a Jedi Starfighter until it opened fire on his personal yacht. Anakin's laughter was matched my R2-D2's chirping as they wiggled their wings before taking off for deep space.

A/N: So here it is. The first real chapter. Whatcha think? I like reviews. Especially ones that find grammar issues. It's an AU with EU elements, so please do not try to fix any perceived error's in personality or tell me "that's not how it happened." I know, I changed it. That's why it's AU (alternate universe). I had thought to explain this in later chapters, but given the nature of my AU, I thought I better explain this here. Ahsoka is older here that she was in the Clone Wars T.V. show. She was never taken to the Temple as a child. Anakin found her on a mission as a slave (and his history up to and including AOTC is cannon in this AU), and she helped him succeed. She never left his side since. He taught her as his unofficial Padawan, which the Council allowed as it seemed that her presence put a hold on most of his more suicidal plans. At the time of this story, Ahsoka would be about 19 years old. -K