A hiss escaped from Maul's lips. "Jedi Scum," He growled. In the glow of the lightsabers, his face looked twisted and unnatural, awash with pure malice.

"Game on, Sith,"Anakin smirked, as he and Obi-Wan pressed their full weight against their sabers now locked in a scissor formation with their opponent's blade, trying to overwhelm Maul, but the Sith was a strong man, even in human form. He was immersed in the power of the Dark Side, which only added to his prowess. Maul, with a snarl on his face, leapt away in a backward roll with ease, breaking contact with the Jedi, landing perfectly at the other end of the hallway.

Anakin advanced slowly, cautiously, and even though he no longer felt the Dark Side of the Force pulsing through his veins, he instinctively began to look for openings, weaknesses in the Sith. On the drive over, Anakin had worried that he would lose control without the full effect of the Force. But now, even though the Force was not as strong with him as it used to be, he could feel himself slipping into the routine of facing down a foe. Old habits die hard, he thought to himself with a dark smirk.

He was a Jedi, a Jedi who used to be one of the most powerful Sith to ever exist. He wasn't sure what sort of fighter that made him now, but he had a feeling he was about to find out.

It was that warrior's instinct that told him that Maul was not going to be an easy enemy to bring down, even with Obi-Wan helping him. Maul's defenses were tight, at least physically, and Anakin knew Maul already had a strong offense. The narrow hallway wasn't going to help matters either.

Maul's bloodshot, golden eyes, glinting with hatred, slid from Anakin to Obi-Wan, and his lips curled back into a snarl, baring his teeth. "You," Maul muttered to Obi-Wan, and his voice held so much rage that Anakin had to wonder if he'd ever sounded like that while he was a Sith. Somehow, he suspected he had, and it wasn't a comforting thought.

"Yes, me," Obi-Wan said dryly, cocking an eyebrow. He was close by Anakin's side, taking up the defensive position. "Do you remember me, because I certainly remember you." To be honest, Anakin was curious to know that answer himself. It might change his tactics in this situation.

"That's none of your concern," Maul hissed, taking a threatening step towards Obi-Wan. There, Anakin thought—he could clearly see Maul's weakness in that moment, and Anakin knew all too well how to exploit his foe's weaknesses. Maul was blinded by his raw hatred for Obi-Wan, and by the flicker of confusion that Anakin glimpsed in Maul's eyes, he suspected that Maul didn't remember why.

If he were still Darth Vader, he would exploit that weakness in such a way that Maul wouldn't just be defeated, but humiliated as well. He would have made Maul suffer first before killing him. It was the way of the Sith.

But now, as a Jedi, Anakin saw it only as a way to possibly defeat Maul with minimum casualties. He shifted himself so that he now stood slightly behind Obi-Wan, taking up the defensive position. Obi-Wan didn't even need to ask why. Years of fighting together made Obi-Wan instinctively move into the offensive.

"I don't think you do remember," Obi-Wan said, eyebrows cocked, the edges of his mouth twitching with dry humor. "I suppose that will make killing you again that much easier."

His words had the intended effect. Maul growled angrily and lunged for Obi-Wan, swinging his lightsaber with incredible force, but Obi-Wan was ready for him, quickly blocking the blow with his saber. Anakin took the opportunity to attempt to strike at Maul from the side.

The hit did not meet its target, for Maul was as prepared for battle as he had been in their old galaxy. Swiftly, Maul activated the other end of his lightsaber, and another blade shot out and blocked Anakin's blow.

"You'll have to do better than that, Jedi," Maul sneered at Anakin, a feral grin spread over his face, before he lunged forward again, attacking both Anakin and Obi-Wan with a barrage of violent slashes and jabs, his dual saber whirling in his hands at lightening speed. The Jedi met each strike with equal force, the sound of the striking blades crackling and sizzling in the air, as they maneuvered back down the hallway in grim determination.


It took longer than it usually did for her to unlock the door, and Padme silently vowed to do everything possible to avoid having to unlock something like that again. She pushed the door open with her good hand and almost fell over into the hallway, but she managed to catch herself on the door frame before she fell, causing another shaft of pain to radiate up and down her left arm.

The hall ahead of her was narrow and dark, and it smelled of dust and mold. The combination caused her to sneeze, sending a wave of pain through her body. She groaned, tempted to just keep kneeling there until rescue came, but she remembered Darth Maul and the trap he'd set for her beloved Ani, and she knew she had to get up and get moving. Come on, you can do this, she silently urged herself.

Using the door frame to help support her weight, she gritted her teeth and began to inch upwards, pulling herself with her right hand, until she was on her feet. Pausing for a moment to catch her breath and steady herself on her trembling legs, she carefully put weight on her left leg to test it, hissing in pain as she did so. Bad idea. Nothing felt broken, but she had certainly sprained something at least.

Not good, she thought grimly as she slowly began to inch forward along the hallway wall, trying to keep as much of her weight off her left leg as possible. She was careful to keep an eye on the floor to avoid tripping over anything—if she tripped, she had a feeling that she wasn't going to be able to get back up, and yelling, "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!," wasn't going to be an option, the irony of that causing her to smirk in dark amusement.

It took longer than she would have liked to reach the end of the hall. With every doorway she passed, she expected someone, like a guard...or worse...perhaps even Palpatine himself, to see her and stop her before she could escape. But it became apparent that, at least on this floor of the building, there weren't any guards.

She reached the end of the hall where a lone door stood, a broken EXIT sign hanging by some wires above it. For a moment, she worried that this door would also be locked and she would have to turn around and go back to try and find the hairpins she had carelessly tossed to the ground when she'd unlocked the last door. But, thankfully, when she tried the knob, the door swung open easily, and she stepped out into a darkened stairwell. There were no windows and no lights. Perfect….just perfect. Padme sighed and opened the door a little more to try to see if there were any obstacles that might cause her a problem, counting the number of steps to try and gauge the difficulty of the task, but she couldn't see much past the dim glow from the doorway.

"Well, here goes nothing," she mumbled as she hurriedly hop-stepped away from the door to grab the railing of the stairs. The door slammed shut with a bang, and darkness surrounded her. She strained to hear anything, but it was eerily silent except for her labored breathing. Inch by painful inch, she began to feel her way down the steps. Each step was agony as she hopped down on her good leg because it jarred her injured leg, but she forced herself to ignore the pain and keep going.

Pain means living, she thought, so suck it up and keep moving! With that thought in mind, she squared her shoulders and continued down the stairs. She didn't know how long it took, but she finally reached another door. Using the dim light at the edges of it, she grabbed hold of the knob, twisted it open, and entered a new hallway.

At first, there didn't appear to be anything of interest in this hallway, and Padme was about to turn back to keep searching for a way out or, at the very least, a way to Anakin. But, just as she was slowly using the wall to turn herself around, a welcome voice pierced the silence.

"Padme! Oh, thank the stars!" A familiar cry echoed through the hallway. Padme blinked, her heart racing as she turned to find Ahsoka racing towards her, a relieved expression on her face until she drew closer. She skidded to a stop, her face blanching as she took a good look at Padme. "Oh Padme, you need to get to the hospital…" She began, but Padme cut her off.

"Ahsoka, where's Anakin?" She didn't know how Ahsoka got there or even why she was there. Normally, that would have been her first question. But, seeing as her husband was walking into a trap and they were so close to properly reuniting, she couldn't help but be solely focused on getting to him.

"He's distracting the Si-…uh, kidnapper… so we can get you out of here." Ahsoka said, her voice firm, and she crossed her arms, as if she were getting ready to shoot down any argument Padme threw at her over the matter.

And, she was right to get ready for that. Padme's temper flared, and she shot a glare at her friend, using the wall to attempt to stand up straighter. It didn't really work, but it made her feel more in control of the situation. "I have to go to him, Ahsoka." Her own voice was commanding, the same tone she had used countless times whenever Anakin had tried to convince her to stay out of a fight she fully intended to wage. Ahsoka blinked in surprise, obviously not expecting the intensity of Padme's statement, and Padme realized she'd probably never spoken to this Ahsoka that way before.

"It's vital that I see him now. Besides, he needs to understand that he's walking into a trap."

"He knows the dangers, Padme," Ahsoka assured her, reaching out to place a hand on Padme's good shoulder. "You need to trust him. It will help him if he knows that you're in the safe hands of doctors, getting your injuries treated. Listen to me. The longer we're out here, the more stressed he's going to be, and that's not going to help him, if he's fighting the...um, kidnapper." Padme raised an eyebrow, considering telling Ahsoka that she remembered everything so she could drop the act. It didn't feel right though to tell Ahsoka when Anakin didn't know yet. No, she decided as Ahsoka continued on, she wouldn't say a word until she got to tell Anakin first. "He can't be stressing out about your safety. Ok?"

Padme could see the logic in her argument, but Ahsoka didn't understand. She didn't understand what it was like to be separated from the love of her life by death for so long. If Anakin died now at Maul's hands…

She couldn't even consider it.

"I. Need. To. See. Him. NOW." Padme didn't mean to shout the last word, but it came out that way, and again, Ahsoka blinked in surprise. Yelling was not something Padme often resorted to, in this life or her previous life. But, Padme was in extreme pain, and she was desperate. That was a combination that would tend to put most people in a yelling mood to be sure.

However, Ahsoka, a Jedi at heart, was not ultimately phased by Padme's demands. Instead, she shook her head, her braids whipping about her shoulders. "No. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to insist on taking you to the hospital. You aren't thinking clearly, Padme, and you are not in a position to get anywhere near a fight, especially a fight between…uh…Anakin and the kidnapper." Padme began to protest, but Ahsoka moved to place her own arm underneath Padme's good arm, slinging it over her shoulder, and began to drag Padme the same way she'd come.

"Ahsoka," Padme snapped, "You aren't even going the right way, the stairwell is…"

"There's another one this way, closer to the car." Ahsoka interrupted, her voice clipped. "Now, be quiet before anyone hears us."

"Have you seen any other guards?" Padme asked, keeping her voice down, worried that any guards would interfere with Anakin's fight against Darth Maul. Maul was enough of an opponent himself…to fight more than one person at a time…even for Anakin's skill level, Padme didn't want to think about it.

Kriff, she hoped that Anakin had Force abilities still.

"Not yet." Ahsoka paused, taking a few deep breaths. "No offense, but you're heavier than you look, Padme," she huffed.

"Sorry." Padme glanced towards one of the open rooms, wondering if she should ask Ahsoka if she felt any other presences in the building, but that would give away what she knew…

Wait a sec….She stopped, squinting into the darkened room they stood next to. The door was open just enough that Padme could see that unlike the other rooms, which were filled with dust and debris, this room actually looked used. "Ahsoka, wait," she said.

"What?" She felt Ahsoka look the same way Padme was looking, and it didn't take but a second for her to tense up. "Well, well...What do we have here?" she asked, and Padme didn't even have to ask her before she began to help Padme hobble towards the door.

"I don't know, but why is this room used and the others aren't?" Padme mused.

"Exactly." Ahsoka nudged the door open fully with her foot, and both girls stared at the contents of the room with puzzled expressions.

It wasn't much, but there was a clean office table and a worn black leather chair. The room was rather warm, and it didn't have the musty smell that the rest of the building had. In one corner sat a cot with gray covers, neatly made. On top of the desk was a laptop computer, a screensaver with a picture of some type of gun blinking in the darkness.

"Someone's obviously been hanging out here." Padme stated the obvious.

"Yeah, looks like it," Ahsoka agreed, and she looked around the room like someone or something was going to jump out and attack them. "I think we should leave. This place…just doesn't feel right."
Padme was sure that if she was Force sensitive, she might have felt the same thing. But instead, Padme looked at the computer and saw an opportunity. "Not yet." She began to pull away from Ahsoka, but Ahsoka moved to keep a hold of her. "I want to know why this is happening, Ahsoka."

"What? No, Padme, we need to get outta here! You're in no condition…"

"To get into a physical fight? I agree. However, if there's information here that could bring whoever is behind this to justice, we would be fools to leave it. This could be our only chance at this!" She shot a pleading look at Ahsoka. "I promise, after I at least look, I'll go with you to the hospital without complaint."

Ahsoka's eyes narrowed as she considered her plea. Padme held her gaze steadily, willing her friend to see that Padme was dead serious about trying to walk away with at least having been somewhat useful, and not just be the proverbial damsel in distress. Finally, she sighed. " Ok. Fine. BUT be quick. Seriously, we need to get outta here."

Padme sighed in relief and nodded her head. "Thanks. I will," She said as Ahsoka helped her over to the desk, settling her down in the leather chair.

"Don't mention it. I mean seriously, don't. Anakin would have my hide if he knew I was letting you do this." Ahsoka turned and glared at the door, her entire body tense, her hands at her sides as if she were getting ready to grab lightsabers she didn't have.

"Keep an eye out and let me know if someone's coming, would you?" Padme said before she turned her attention to the computer.

Naturally, it was locked. However, Padme had broken into computer systems before on many occasions. While Anakin excelled at combat on the field, Padme excelled at combat behind the scenes, and that included at least some rudimentary hacking skills.

Rudimentary was enough to bypass the password to get into the computer. "I'm in," she whispered, as she awkwardly maneuvered her one good hand between the keyboard and the mouse.

"Since when do you know how to hack into a computer?" Ahsoka asked without turning around.

Since I got my memory back, Padme wanted to say, but she opted to remain silent, as she continued to look through the computer's files. Some of the systems she'd broken into before were much more complex than this computer (the Trade Federation had been one of those, although that particular incident had almost cost her, her life).

But, as she began to search through this computer, it became clear that rudimentary hacking skills weren't good enough for whatever was stored in it. "Hmm...It looks like this computer is connected to a larger network," She muttered, not necessarily just for Ahsoka's information, but because talking through things sometimes helped her process and think.

"Found anything interesting yet?" Ahsoka asked.

"Nope, although I haven't…oh, hang on." There, on the screen, was a folder entitled, "From Sidious."

She remembered Obi-Wan telling her that Chancellor Palpatine was the Sith Lord they had been looking for. He had never said his name, but…

She clicked on it, her breath catching.

Files. Lots of them. Files with names of people and places. Padme squinted at the screen, rereading the names multiple times over. Why did these names seem so familiar to her? She was certain she had heard these names before…

Then it hit her.

Sarah Snyder. She was a senator from Florida. She had been murdered in her sleep about a year ago. Padme had been interested in some of the bills she was trying to push through, but those bills had died with her.

Meridian, Idaho. There had been a nuclear power plant there up until two years ago, when the plant had a sudden, unexplained meltdown and a good portion of it had exploded, killing workers. Thankfully, they were able to keep the nuclear materials contained before it harmed anyone else, but Padme remembered the panic in the media when it happened.

The more Padme looked at that list, the more she realized that many of these places or names were associated with some sort of tragedy. Some of them were obviously intentional, and some of them had been written off as an accident. But looking at those file folders, Padme had a sinking feeling that they weren't accidents at all.

Oh Man. A sick feeling permeated her gut.

"Padme, what is it?" Padme was brought back to reality by Ahsoka's voice, and she realized Ahsoka had been waiting for her to finish what she'd been saying to her.

Padme took a deep breath. "Does the name Sidious mean anything to you?"

"What?!" Ahsoka whirled around on a gasp, leaning over the desk so that she could look at the files. "Have you opened those? Can we get them off somehow? I can't believe…you have no idea how long Ben and Anakin have been looking for information like this!"

So, it likely did have to do with Palpatine then. She remembered that Anakin had tried to warn her about Palpatine after their trip to Disneyland, but she hadn't believed him. If she had, perhaps she wouldn't have ever gotten into this mess to start with. Padme let out a shaky breath and began trying to open the files. "Crap! They're encrypted," Padme muttered after a few tries.

"Can you hack into them like you did the computer?"

"Getting access to a locked computer is one thing," Padme said, "Decrypting files is a totally different ballgame, unfortunately." But, Ahsoka was right: If this was proof that Palpatine was behind not just her kidnapping and sending Finn after her, but also all of these other bigger events, then this had to be made known to the public. "I'll see what I can do," She said after a pause, and got to work.


As Anakin anticipated, Maul concentrated most of his aggressive attacks against Obi-Wan, attacking him with a fury that would have overwhelmed any other inexperienced Jedi. Not Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan parried the blows as they came, seemingly with ease, but Anakin could see the sweat dripping down his face, his hair askew as he ducked, twirled, and blocked each frenzied blow. Anakin continued the defensive position as well, concentrating on keeping the second half of the lightsaber from connecting with either of them.

He had always been able to detect other's emotions through the Force—on many occasions, that ability had helped him turn the tide of battle. But, Maul's anger was so potent, it seemed to call to him, and he could feel the Force within him pulsate in response. Perhaps it was because Anakin had once been a Sith, and the Sith still within him wanted to show Maul what it meant to be a true Sith Lord—furiously angry, but in absolute control. Maul was all anger and hate: He used brute force to his advantage. But he was not in control.

The three fought on through the narrow hallway, the blades of their sabers slicing through the thin sheetrock walls with almost every swing, leaving scorch marks that smelled like rotted wood. Maul advanced on them, pushing them back towards the stairwell. Not good, Anakin thought—if he backed them into a corner, there would be little they could do to turn the battle around in their favor.

Anakin ducked under a ferocious swing, rolling over the ground so that he came up on his feet behind Maul. As he rolled to his feet, he heaved his saber upwards. Maul twisted sideways, using the other half of his lightsaber to block Anakin's thrust. Obi-Wan took that opportunity to switch from defensive to offensive, and soon Maul was forced to hastily block both men.

Even with a Jedi on either side of him, Maul did an excellent job of keeping up. It didn't matter how fast the two Jedi moved, Maul seemed to anticipate their every move. Still, Anakin could feel his frustration building—Maul wanted to attack Obi-Wan and take him down. He didn't want to deal with Anakin, who he assumed was the weaker of the two Jedi and therefore unworthy of his attention.

Wrong assumption. Anakin drew upon what Force powers he could and shot his hand out, willing Maul to be pushed back.

As Darth Vader, he had used that move to push opponents so hard, the strength of the push alone had often killed people. But in his current weakened state, Anakin could only manage enough force to push Maul backwards into an empty room.

Obi-Wan immediately followed, thrusting his lightsaber over Maul's head. Maul managed to block it, but the force push had knocked him off balance.

Anakin followed Obi-Wan, but instead of immediately attacking with his lightsaber, Anakin instead began a different strategy. The room was full of knocked over chairs and broken tables, as well as various discarded office supplies. Concentrating, Anakin managed to pick up a stapler and throw it at Maul.

Maul ducked, and the stapler went flying over his head and crashed into the opposite wall. Maul growled, whirling to face Anakin, his eyes narrowed, but Obi-Wan was there, his green saber colliding with Maul's red one in a high arc overhead.

At the same time, Anakin was using his Force energy to focus on picking up a discarded chair. After a few tries, he finally managed to do so, throwing it as hard as he could at Maul.

This time, Maul was unable to duck, and the chair smacked him square in the back with a thud. Maul roared, stumbling forward some with the blow, and Obi-Wan used that as an opportunity to begin attacking Maul rapidly, his green blade flashing left and right in a rapid fire succession of blows. The Sith continued to roar in fury as he barely managed to block Obi-Wan's barrage. Still, Anakin could feel Maul's rage directed at him now, and he kept trying to move past Obi-Wan to get to Anakin.

Obi-Wan wouldn't let him. Anytime Maul made a move to get to Anakin, Obi-Wan blocked him, either with a lightsaber or with his own body. "MOVE!" Maul shouted at Obi-Wan.

"Oh, I don't think so. Not today," Obi-Wan said calmly as he parried yet another thrust.

Anakin began concentrating on one of the overturned desks. He hadn't been able to lift anything bigger than the chair since he had arrived in this galaxy, and even that had proven to be difficult, but he had to try.

He breathed slowly, focusing his whole will on lifting the table. He let the Force flow through him, and in his mind he pictured the desk lifting from the ground and being hurled at Maul. However, the desk only budged a few inches, and it didn't even lift off the ground. Frustrating wasn't the word.

Maul and Obi-Wan continued to fight, blades clashing, hurdling over the random contents in the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Anakin figured that Obi-Wan was doing well, and so, he continued to try to lift the desk.

But, as soon as he did, he suddenly felt a surge from the Force, and heard something hit the far wall, followed by a yelp of pain from Obi-Wan.

Anakin whirled, his concentration breaking and froze in horror. Curled on the ground against the far wall lay Obi-Wan, his lightsaber no longer in his hands. Maul stood over him, his double-ended lightsaber illuminating Obi-Wan's pained expression. "Now you will die, once and for all, Jedi!" Maul snarled, and he raised his lightsaber to deliver the killing blow.

"NO!" Anakin screamed, and without even thinking about what he was doing, he stretched out his hand towards Maul's lightsaber as the blade swung in a downward arc towards Obi-Wan. Anakin pictured what he wanted to happen, called upon what level of the Force he could, and acted.

The Sith blade suddenly sheathed before it could hit Obi-Wan, leaving Maul with only the other side of his lightsaber ignited. "What the..?!" Maul hissed, looking dumbfounded at his weapon, not understanding what had just occurred. How you like that, Sith?, Anakin thought to himself, pleased that he could still carry out that particular maneuver, seeing Obi-Wan's look of surprise at this capability.

Maul, however, didn't get long to figure out what happened. Anakin was across the room in seconds, swinging his lightsaber quickly and furiously. Maul blocked the swings, but Anakin moved too fast to let him get a hit in, settling into his old fighting style like sliding on a well-worn glove.

Anakin could feel his own rage. Rage at Maul for taking Padme. Rage at Maul for killing those innocent people at the ice rink. Rage at Maul for almost killing his best friend. But, as he attacked, somewhere deep down, Anakin recognized that he was dangerously close to the slipping over the edge of the Dark Side. If he didn't control his rage...and soon...and he killed Maul like this…

He would betray all that he desired to be, and Anakin didn't want that.

Taking a few deep breaths, he began to channel his anger into his lightsaber, making each parry, each strike powerful and violent, but controlled. Maul attempted to ignite the other end of his lightsaber again, but Anakin used the Force to once again turn it off. He considered turning off the other end of his lightsaber as well to cut him down easily, but that was completely a Sith move, and Anakin wouldn't kill an unarmed man again, even if Maul was evil.

Maul roared in anger, and as Anakin brought his lightsaber down for another strike, Maul flipped over Anakin's head, aiming for Anakin's neck as he did so. Anakin ducked, whirling into a crouched position, and as Maul landed, Anakin heaved upright while swinging his lightsaber out in a horizontal move parallel to the floor, slicing Maul's legs off just above the knees.

Maul screamed in agony as he collapsed backward onto the floor, his lightsaber falling from his grasp. Anakin used the Force to push the Sith's blade to the other end of the room, far out of Maul's reach as he came to stand over Maul, lowering the tip of his lightsaber over the Sith's throat. "Surrender," He demanded, his voice firm and commanding.

Maul glared up at Anakin, his hands reaching for what Anakin assumed was his legs, as though holding his now stumps-for-legs would fix anything. "Never," He spat, but instead of his legs, his hands reached into his pockets.

A warning suddenly pulsed through the Force.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan ordered, as he surged to his own feet. "Stop him!"

Anakin moved to do so, but it was too late. Anakin heard a beep, and Maul pulled out what was clearly a detonator. It was a small, black controller, with a screen that now had a countdown timer set for five minutes. "This entire building is rigged to explode." Maul began to laugh hysterically, the sound sick and deranged. "I will die before I ever…"

He never finished. Obi-Wan, standing now, reignited his lightsaber and stabbed it through Maul's chest. Maul's words choked in his throat, and he continued to gasp for air for a moment, before his body finally went limp, the light leaving his now dull black eyes.

Anakin sheathed his lightsaber, glancing at Obi-Wan. "I didn't expect you to actually kill him."

"Well, I'm rather surprised you didn't." Obi-Wan replied as he smoothly hooked his own lightsaber to his belt. "Grab the detonator and Maul's lightsaber and let's get out of here. Maybe we can disable the detonator, but I'd rather we did so outside."

Anakin couldn't help but agree. The timer on the clock already read four minutes, but...why grab the Sith blade?, and he asked Obi-Wan just that. "Because, Anakin, we need every weapon we can get...and it's not like we can just build a new lightsaber in this world right now. We don't want to throw away assets when we find them. So, grab it and let's go."

Well, that made complete sense. So, Anakin reached out his hand and called the Sith saber to him, catching it smoothly as it flew into his open palm.

Then another thought struck…"But, what about Ahsoka and Padme?" Anakin asked, looking at Obi-Wan worriedly.

"We have to trust that Ahsoka's already gotten her out safely. If we stay in here, we're going to get blown up. In this case, we cannot help them if we're dead, so let's go." Obi-Wan had already turned around, heading for the door. "If you're worried, call Ahsoka on the way out. I'm sure they're fine and already on the way to the hospital."

Anakin hesitated. Every instinct told him that all was not okay, and that he needed to stay and find Padme, but at the same time, he knew that Obi-Wan was right. He didn't have enough time to search the whole building and escape with all of their lives. He had to trust Ahsoka.

Still, as he began to follow after Obi-Wan, running towards the stairs at the end of the hall, he pulled out his phone and made the call, pleading with the Force that Obi-Wan was right.


"Dang it, I can't break the encryption," Padme growled, "I'm going to have to email it."

"To whom?" Ahsoka asked. "Do you know many hackers?"

"No," Padme admitted as she opened up her Gmail account, "But, I can send it to my father. He'll know who to send these files to." At least, she assumed he would. He hadn't worked in various government offices and not gotten various contacts for nothing. Logically, he would have to know someone who could break the codes.

"Well, hurry up. We need to get out of here ASAP." Padme couldn't help but agree. Her left side was seriously beginning to throb with pain, and it took all of her concentration to open a new email and begin attaching files.

Ahsoka's phone suddenly rang. "Uh oh," Ahsoka said.

"What?" Padme asked without looking at her.

"I knew it. It's Anakin." Padme paused, longing to grab the phone from Ahsoka so that she could talk to Anakin and tell him that she remembered everything.

But, she didn't. She had to finish attaching the files, and there were quite a few. It wasn't easy to do it with one hand, either. "Put it on speaker," She said, and continued with her work.

Ahsoka answered, and Padme heard her switch it to speaker immediately. "Hey, Anakin," Ahsoka said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Ahsoka," Anakin's voice was breathless, and he sounded like he was running. Padme's heart clenched painfully at hearing his voice again, and she longed to stop what she was doing so that she could grab Ahsoka's phone and just talk to him forever. "Did you find Padme?"

"Oh yeah, I sure did." Ahsoka looked over at Padme, as if she needed to confirm that Padme was still sitting there and hadn't disappeared.

She heard Anakin sigh with relief. "Good. Where are you now?"

"Well," Ahsoka slowly said, "Funny story about that…"

A pause. "Ahsoka." Anakin's voice was now dark with warning. "Don't tell me you're still in the building."

"Well…"

"You have to get out NOW!" Anakin suddenly shouted. "Obi-Wan, they're still in the building…." She thought she might have heard Obi-Wan respond with "Tell them to get out!," but she wasn't sure.

"Did you kill Maul?" Ahsoka asked, "Because…"

"Listen to me! The entire building is going to blow up in two and a half minutes!" his voice was full of desperation. Padme didn't blame him—she herself suddenly felt ice cold at hearing those words. She didn't even know what floor they were on, and she was still attaching the last few files to the email. "Oh Force, I'm going back in…."

"NO! DON'T! " Padme cried, cutting him off.

"Padme?!" Anakin sounded confused, but she didn't have time to explain that he was on speaker. He continued on, his voice demanding again. "Padme, listen, you have to get out…"

"No, Anakin." She herself couldn't believe what she was saying. She began to attach the last two files. "I hacked into Maul's computer and found files that could prove that Palpatine is behind a lot of seriously bad terrorist activities in this country." Ahsoka frowned, and Padme didn't bother to stop to explain that she had put two and two together to her. The last file loaded onto the email, and Padme began to type in her father's email address. "There might be information on here that could put him away for good and save lives. I have to send this email before I go. I'm almost done."

"No!" His voice was firm, but she could hear the shakiness in it as well. She could almost see his expression now: his eyebrows furrowed, his jaw set, his blue eyes flashing with determination—and fear. "You have to get out of there, Padme! Ahsoka, drag her out!"

"I have to do this Anakin," Padme said. She finished typing the email and clicked send. Of course, the computer chose that moment to freeze, and she softly let out a curse. "You have to let me do this, Anakin. You need to trust me." She paused, knowing that he wouldn't listen to the words she was about to say. He never would. "Anakin….You have to let me go."

"But..." there he goes, she thought grimly. He was so protective of her. She supposed that would never change. But, that had been what had gotten them into this mess in the first place. Would his inability to let her go destroy him... destroy them... again?, she wondered. She was about to open her mouth to argue again, but a strangled noise came from the phone. "Okay."

She blinked in shock, looking at the phone, wondering if she'd heard him right. "What?!" She breathed. Ahsoka also looked at the phone as if Anakin had just announced that he was going to become a ballet dancer.

"Okay. I trust you." He sounded sad, as if he'd already lost her, but he also seemed sincere. He had said before that he trusted her, but his actions, until that moment, had always told her otherwise. But, now…

Oh, Ani...you've truly changed, my Love, she thought, and a small, sad smile spread upon her lips. You're no longer just my Ani: you're now so much more, and she felt a surge of pride in her breast for her husband.

But, she didn't say any of that. "I love you, Padme. Always, my Angel," He said, and her throat tightened. What did one say to the love of their life right before their possible last moments? She wanted to tell him she loved him, that she was so proud of him, but she had a feeling that if she said those words, it would only crush Anakin more if she died.

So, instead she quietly said, "I know."

Right then, the email unfroze, and a message popped up saying it had been sent. At the same time, something below her exploded with a muffled boom, the noise making her ears ring, and the whole building began to quake. Ahsoka dropped the phone and grabbed Padme. "We gotta go!" she screamed, and she practically threw Padme over her shoulder as she made a break for the stairs, the entire building swaying under their bodies.

They entered the stairwell just as the building began to collapse, and the last thing Padme remembered was Ahsoka throwing Padme against the corner, covering her with her own body as the world came tumbling down around them.


*Dodges angry readers* I KNOW. It's a REALLY mean cliffhanger... I would apologize, but I'm not sorry... this chapter was SO hard to write! I kept texting my beta SW like, "IM DYING THIS IS SO HARD!" She got me through it. Seriously. I couldn't have done this chapter without her.

The songs for this chapter are:

Duel of the Fates By John Williams for the Maul fight scene.

Escape to Danger by Joe Kraemer from the Mission Impossible movie for Padme's hacking scene

Labor of Love by Michael Giacchino from Star Trek for the very last scene that you're all probably really mad at me for

Review! *continues to dodge angry readers*

Love,

Sarah