POV: Ahsoka Tano

"Ahsoka… why?"

It broke my heart to hear that much sadness in his voice. I cut the link and closed my eyes. Well, my change wasn't willingly. I was forced. The dark lord had threatened to kill Anakin and my unborn child. I couldn't lose either of them. I loved Anakin unconditionally and I even loved my unborn child.

"Good work, my dear," Dooku said.

"Trust me; it wasn't because of you…" I said, turning toward him.

"But the threat from my master seemed to be a good motivator."

I walked away from him and entered my new quarters. There was one bed, dark lighting, plenty of cement on the walls, and a dresser by the refresher. This would take some getting used to. Anakin wouldn't be here…

I was curious as to what my attire would be while here. Obviously it wasn't my Jedi robes. I walked over to the dresser and saw a long black robe with a hood. There were two matching red sabers next to it. Their hilts were clearly Sith.

I took the clothes into the refresher and changed. I walked out to grab the lightsabers. After igniting them, I looked at the mirror. I looked… scary. Anakin would be disappointed in me. I frowned; he probably is right now… Dooku came in, interrupting my thoughts. "Ah, you look superb."

"I'm not particularly your best friend right now after all that you put my master through," I said through my teeth.

"And what might that be?"

He was really beginning to get on my nerves. Was he losing his memory as he aged? "All the torture you dealt."

He laughed maniacally. "Ah, but that was only a meager amount compared to what I could have done. You and Ventress will be going on a mission, so be prepared."

Ventress… the bald harpy who scarred Anakin's right eye… I find myself resenting the choice to become a Sith because of her…

POV: Anakin Skywalker

It's been three hours since I spoke with Ahsoka. How could I let this happen? "Anakin," Obi-Wan began again, "There was nothing you could do. You were a fine master for her. It's not your fault."

"That isn't good enough, master. I could have stopped this…"

Obi-Wan insists on telling me that the choice was Ahsoka's, but I can't help feeling as if I somehow influenced her. "Anakin, calm down or your emotions will lead you down the wrong path. We can't lose you, too."

"I feel… as if my heart is dying and my life is… draining along with it…"

He sighed, "Anakin, you won't die because we are going to bring her back. We will save her. We'll stop at nothing. Do you understand me?"

I nodded. We were just coming up on Mustafar according to one of the clones. I could see the lava flowing already. Another clone came from the cockpit. "Generals, a ship has just left Mustafar's atmosphere."

"Track it," Obi-Wan commanded. "Lock in its flight coordinates and let's see where it goes."

I felt this tremendous amount of unease suddenly. "Master, I have a bad feeling about this…"

"As do I, Anakin," he said, stroking his beard.

The other ship jumped into hyperspace and we did soon after them. "What if Ahsoka is on that ship, Master?"

His eyes met mine. "We will take care of her without hurting her. She'll be safe. Don't worry, Anakin." Right, don't worry. How could I not…? About ten minutes later, we came out of hyperspace. I looked out a window to see the planet Naboo. "Be ready, Anakin. For all we know, we may be entering a trap…" We landed after another ten minutes and began leaving. Obi-Wan pulled up a holomap of Naboo. "The other ship seems to have landed here," he said, pointing at an open clearing. "They may head for Theed. Anakin, you sneak around – as you do best – and find the ship. The clones and I will take a… stroll through the city."

I laughed, "Sounds good." The ramp lowered and we ran out. Obi-Wan left for the city while I walked cautiously away from the ship. I slowly examined all my surroundings.

"Anakin…"

It was Ahsoka's voice in my head. "Are you on Naboo?"

"I told you not to come after me, Ani."

"And I told you that I'd save you. What about the baby?"

"You should leave. The baby is fine. Please, Anakin, leave before I have to hurt you…"

"Why would you have to hurt me?"

"Ventress will make me kill you. She'll do it herself if I don't. We split up, but I get the feeling that she's watching me." I was beginning to sense a slight essence of dark energy. It wasn't Ventress, so it must be Ahsoka. I saw a cloaked figure in black standing in the clearing near the ship. I couldn't see their face until they turned. It was Ahsoka… "I can feel you near me." I jumped into a nearby tree and began to walk along a branch. I was curious. This was Ahsoka's first day as a Sith. What would she do? "I know you're here, Anakin." All of a sudden, Ventress appeared. She whispered something to Ahsoka and Ahsoka nodded. Ventress left and Ahsoka took out two sabers to ignite their red light. "Leave. I don't want to hurt you."

"Give me your best shot, Ahsoka."

She turned around quickly and I had enough time to leap before her saber sliced through my legs. So she had finally mastered throwing her lightsaber with the Force… I stood in the clearing facing my lover. "You still have time," she pleaded.

"I'm not leaving."

"Then I will be forced to kill you," she said darkly. She lurched at me, giving me a few extra seconds to ignite my single blue saber. I blocked her easily. She uses the same techniques when we're sparring in the temple. This should be easy… "Master," she said, angrily.

"Snips," I laughed, trying to hold my grip on my lightsaber while we were still in our block stance.

She withdrew quickly and launched another strike at me. I dodged it and managed to do a back flip just in time for another strike to miss. Our lightsabers crossed again and she was beginning to push down on me. "And now, the student kills the master."

"You're getting ahead of yourself, aren't you, Snips?"

As her power began to overtake mine, I used the force to push her back. She jumped back toward me and leapt over my head. I turned just in time to block. "Why can't you just listen to me? Do you want to die?"

"I want to help you, but… you won't let me." I was definitely beginning to struggle now.

All the dark force was building up inside of her. She pushed me down harder and I inched closer to the ground. She finally pushed me down and took my lightsaber. "Anakin," she whispered. I felt fear seeping into me as I realized that Ahsoka might actually kill me. Her eyes softened for a moment and then they hardened again. "I… I have to do this. I have no other choice."

"You don't have to do this. There's always another choice, Ahsoka. I love you. Does that even mean anything to you?"

A single tear slid down. "Of course, but I can't be with you. I want to… I really do."

"Come back with me to Coruscant, Ahsoka." I put my hand out for hers.

"Anakin…" she almost took it.

I heard something to my left and then I was in agony.

POV: Ahsoka Tano

I was about to grab Anakin's hand to leave with him, but lightning got in the way. Ventress had been watching me! She saw what I was about to do and took things into her own hands. "Ventress, stop!" I screamed. Anakin's cries were beginning to die out because he was trying to be strong, but I could tell that he was in a lot of pain. "Ventress!" I begged.

She stopped momentarily. "What? Is your pet your first priority? I thought you wanted to save him and your spawn. By leaving with him, you will all perish. My master and the dark lord will destroy you all."

"Just… don't hurt him. I still love him. Please…" I hated begging this witch, but I had to for Anakin's sake.

"We're taking him back to Mustafar. This was our real mission. We weren't to attack Theed. It was a cover up so we could lure him here."

"Will you hurt him?"

"Not unless my master commands me to do so, or he does so on his own account."

She turned and began to go to the ship. I wrapped Anakin's arm around my shoulder and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Ani. I had no idea that she would hurt you…"

I needed to leave some clue for Obi-Wan. I knew he'd come looking for Anakin eventually. I grabbed Anakin's comlink from his mechanical hand and ripped it off, tossing it onto the ground. Obi-Wan would know it belonged to him and he would hopefully go looking for him. Otherwise, I'd have to contact him myself and risk getting into trouble… "I… I love… you…" he moaned. I could sense how much pain he was going through – physically and emotionally.

"Anakin, I'm really sorry that I dragged you into this…"

Ventress came from the ship and yelled, "Hurry up, you little brat! We don't have all day!"

I managed to get Anakin onto our ship and lay him down on a bed in the back. Ventress was piloting so I decided to stay with Anakin. I cuddled up next to him and touched his face softly. I missed being with him. His eyes opened slightly and he smiled. "Ahsoka…"

I smiled and moved his hair from his face. "Relax, Anakin. You're safe for now. Go to sleep. Okay? I love you."

He nodded slowly and drifted back into sleep. He desperately needed it. He must have been worrying about me constantly… Why did I have to be the sunshine in his life? All I had done was ruin things… I'm hoping that our baby will bring us together. I just keep reminding myself that only a few months are left before I have to undergo a major responsibility.

Although, I think that even without a baby around, Anakin and I can go back to the way we once were…

POV: Obi-Wan Kenobi

"Blast," I said. "It appears as though they weren't going to enter Theed. All right troops, back to find Anakin…"

We began leaving the city. All of the inhabitants watched us go as if we were here to overthrow them. The Jedi were peacekeepers and we would not overthrow anyone. Rex walked up to me, "Sir, if you don't mind me asking. What if we don't find Skywalker?"

"I think we –"

I just felt Anakin's presence leave the planet. Always on the move… Although his life was weak… I wondered what had happened in our absence. "Sir?"

"Anakin's not on the planet anymore. It appears we'll have to search for him…"We made our way back to the ship and left Naboo after ten minutes of preparing. The original pilots took their seats in the cockpit and asked for coordinates. "Let's try Mustafar again. I think they may take him back there. If not, then we'll go back to Coruscant."

POV: Ahsoka Tano

It was late at night now, but on Mustafar, the lava raged all the time.

Anakin was being held in a cell like an animal. He was in force bonds and Dooku would occasionally go in there and question him. I was never around when this happened, but Anakin hinted at what Dooku did to him. I didn't like this. I never wanted Anakin to be brought into this. I wish I could get him out of here. I hate to see him suffer…

I'll try my best to get him out of this cell and off of this planet. I'd get him back to Coruscant and allow us to resume our life where we loved each other and were excited for our baby that would be arriving in a few months. "I love you, Anakin," I whispered to him. He was asleep, but saying those words made me feel a little better. I did love him and I wanted him to know that.