Darkness has shrouded the galaxy. The Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the old Republic for over a thousand generations, have been all but wiped out.
Declaring the end of the Clone Wars, and the Galactic Republic, Chancellor Palpatine has crowned himself the emperor of the first Galactic Empire.
Meanwhile, on a distant moon far away from Coruscant, former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano has barely survived Order 66, and can now only ponder these terrible events...
Below the wreckage of the Venator-class Star Destroyer, the Tribunal, Ahsoka remained standing for a very long time at the graves of her fallen comrades, still trying in vain to comprehend how it had all come to this.
The clones that she had fought alongside through countless struggles had turned on her and the entire Jedi Order, a command they had been programed to execute since their very creation on Kamino. She had just barely survived with Rex's help once she'd managed to get his inhibitor chip removed. But now, everything was gone...
She had felt it all through the Force. The voices crying out in pain, and despair. The death...
Just like Maul had said.
Her friends were gone, and the Republic that she and everybody she'd known had fought so hard for was being overtaken by the Sith.
But inevitably, she found her thoughts drifting back to her conversation with Maul just before their fight, and what the rogue Sith had said about Anakin.
What do you want with Anakin Skywalker?
He is the key to everything.
To bring balance to the Force?
To destroy. He has long been groomed for his role as my master's new apprentice.
You lie!
I'm afraid not! In fact, I was so certain of his fate that I orchestrated this war to lure him here with Kenobi to kill him. Thus, depriving Sidious of his prized pupil.
I know Anakin! Your vision is flawed!
Of course, the young Togruta had refused to even consider the possibility of what Maul was saying. Anakin was her master, and more importantly, her closest friend. He had stood by her side through it all since the very beginning. When she had been framed for the Jedi Temple bombing, and abandoned by the Jedi Council, it had been Anakin who had done everything in his power to ultimately prove her innocence.
He had never once lost faith in her, and had always been willing to do anything to protect her.
He could never become such an agent of evil as Maul had claimed.
Never.
But then, on their way back to Coruscant, just before everything had gone to hell, she had felt a terrible disturbance in the Force.
The vision had not been very clear, but she had heard Anakin's voice, as well as the voices of Chancellor Palpatine, and Master Windu. There had been the sound of a violent struggle followed by horrible screams, and the vision had ended with Anakin crying out in horrified remorse.
What have I done?!
But almost immediately after that, the clones had received their orders to destroy the Jedi, and she'd been too busy trying to stay alive to ponder upon the disturbing vision further.
Until now, that is...
Though Ahsoka still did not, and would not believe Maul's claims, there was now no question that something terrible was indeed happening to her master.
Ahsoka looked down at her lightsabers, remembering how Anakin had returned them to her just before he had departed for Coruscant. She remembered the pride on his face as she ignited the new blue blades...
That was the last time she had seen him.
And now, as she gazed down at his last gift to her, a new resolve filled Ahsoka's being. While it would the easiest thing to just drop the lightsabers next to the graves of her fallen comrades, and allow the galaxy to believe that she had perished along with them, she now found that she simply could not.
Ahsoka had walked away from her master once when she'd left the Jedi Order, and she just couldn't do it again. She HAD to know what had happened to Anakin, and if it was still possible to help him, then she must do everything in her power to do so, just as he had always done for her.
Tightening her grip on her lightsabers, Ahsoka turned away from the graves, and began to walk back towards Rex, and their Y-Wing.
"Ahsoka..." Rex said, walking toward her.
She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Rex, disappear. Everyone will think you died on this planet. Take this opportunity to start a new life."
"Wait... What about you?" he asked with growing concern, "Where are you going?"
"There's... something I have to do." She replied hesitantly.
Rex looked at her intently, "It's General Skywalker, isn't it?"
Ultimately, Ahsoka could only nod somberly.
"I have to know what's happened to him, Rex. And I have to help him if I still can."
"Ahsoka..." the clone captain reasoned, "I know what you're feeling, but it's too risky. You go back, and you'll just be painting a massive target on your back!"
But Ahsoka would not be swayed, "I don't have a choice, Rex. Anakin is my master, and more importantly, he's my friend. I walked away from him once before, and I can't do it again. I just can't..."
Rex opened his mouth to argue further, but in the end, he found himself unable to get the words out. He knew that it was useless, for he knew Ahsoka too well.
At last, he let out a massive sigh, "There's no talking you out of this, is there?"
Ahsoka didn't even need to reply. Stepping forward, she put her arms around Rex, and he sadly returned the embrace. For a very long moment, the two of them just stood there in each other's arms, until Ahsoka finally pulled away. She couldn't delay any longer.
"Goodbye, Rex. May the Force be with you." she said, trying very hard to put on a brave face.
"You to, kid." replied Rex.
Giving her friend, a sad, but reassuring smile, Ahsoka turned and began to make her way back into the wreckage of the Tribunal, hoping to find another starfighter still in working condition.
A short time later, Rex sat motionless in the cockpit of his Y-Wing. Keeping his gaze fixed on the wrecked Tribunal, he silently watched, and waited.
Finally, the former clone captain, saw a lone starfighter emerge of from the hull of the destroyed ship. Despite himself, Rex actually found himself smiling slightly as he fired up his own starfighter, and took off as well.
As the two starfighters ascended towards the blackness of space, Rex pulled his ship alongside Ahsoka's, and the two them exchanged one last look at one another through their cockpit windows. As Rex gave his former Jedi commander a final salute, Ahsoka returned the gesture with a wave farewell. At last, they began to steer their starfighters in opposite directions, for the time had finally come for the two of them to part ways.
As Ahsoka watched Rex soar off into an unknown future, she wished him luck one last time, before finally turning back to her own task, and punching in the coordinates for Coruscant.
Taking a deep breath, Ahsoka pressed the lightspeed throttle of her starfighter, and watched the stars turned into bright streaks of light as the ship jumped into hyperspace.
As her ship soared towards the Republic capital, Ahsoka sat silently in the cockpit in deep meditation, trying her best to quiet the emotional turmoil swirling in her mind, knowing that she had to be clear-headed for whatever was to come.
But then, a loud beeping sound shocked Ahsoka out of her mediation as the cockpit's holoprojector suddenly activated, and the familiar figure of Anakin's old master materialized before her.
"Master Obi-Wan..." she breathed, shocked, but also relieved that he was alive.
"This is master Obi-Wan Kenobi." said hologram of Obi-Wan, "I regret to report that both Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen. With the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in the force. Do not return to the temple, that time has passed. And our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged, our trust, our faith, our friendships. But we must persevere. And in time, a new hope will emerge. May the force be with you, always."
With that, the holographic image disappeared.
And only moments later, Ahsoka's ship emerged from hyperspace in front of Coruscant, the very planet that Obi-Wan had just warned her not to go to. As she gazed upon the city-covered planet with Obi-Wan's message still resonating in her head, Ahsoka briefly considered heeding his warning and getting as far away as she possibly could. But only for a brief moment.
Once again, she thought of Anakin, and her doubts quickly melted away. She owed him so much, and she was fully prepared to enter a nest of gundarks for him.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Ahsoka began her descent into Corunscant's atmosphere. But she quickly decided that she would indeed not return to the Jedi Temple, knowing that it would surely be swarming with clones, a suspicion that was almost immediately reinforced when she saw the huge plume of smoke rising from the massive structure.
But Ahsoka did know of one place where she could go. She knew of one person who had helped her before, and would surely help her again now, for that person was not only a friend, but they also cared about Anakin as much as she did.
Trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, Ahsoka quickly searched for a place where she could set her craft down somewhat out of sight. Once she had landed, she discreetly began to make her way towards a certain apartment occupied by one Senator Padme Amidala.
At last, the turbolift doors opened, and Ahsoka cautiously stepped into the lobby of the apartment, only to find that a security curtain blocked her path.
"Hello? Padme?" she called out.
But ultimately, it was the protocal droid C-3PO who stepped into view to greet her.
"Hello, may I help you . . . " the droid started to say, before finally recognizing her, "Oh, it's you, Mistress Ahsoka. Come in, quickly. You may be seen."
The droid quickly deactivated the security curtain, allowing her to step inside.
"Has Anakin been here . . . ?" Ahsoka asked, lowering her hood.
"Yes... He arrived shortly after the attack on the Jedi Temple." the droid replied, "But I'm afraid he departed again soon after that."
"And where's Padme?" inquired Ahsoka further.
"She's been lying down. After the grand hearing in the senate this morning, she's been feeling somewhat unwell, and so..."
Then, before the droid could elaberate further on the matter, Padme suddenly came into the room belting a soft robe over her dressing gown. The senator's eyes lit up with joyous relief when she saw Ahsoka, and she rushed forward to embrace her.
"Ahsoka!" Padme threw her arms around the young togruta, "Oh, Ahsoka, thank goodness...you're alive."
Ahsoka eagerly returned the hug, "Padme, I'm so glad to see you..."
"I'm so sorry about the security curtain, but..." the senator started to say, but soon began to break down, "Oh, Ahsoka, such terrible things have happened..."
Ahsoka nodded gravely, "I know. My clones turned on me; I barely made it out alive."
Padme quickly began pulling Ahsoka further into the apartment, "Come on."
Heading out onto the open veranda of the apartment, they quickly began to fill one another in on the terrible recent events that they had both experienced.
"It's been awful, Ahsoka." Padme breathed, "Last night there was an attack on the Jedi Temple; you could see the flames from here. Then, Anakin came back and told me that the Jedi had tried to overthrow the Chancellor. That he'd seen Master Windu attempt to assassinate Palpatine himself..."
As Ahsoka listened, she was again reminded of the terrible vision she'd received of Anakin on the way back to Coruscant.
"That may not be entirely false. But it's definitively not the whole truth either." she said at last.
Padme looked at her intently, "What do you mean?"
"The attack on the Jedi was not spur of the moment, Padme." Ahsoka revealed, "The clones had been programmed from birth with inhibitor chips in their brains to execute the entire Jedi Order whenever the order was given."
"What?" a shocked Padme asked, "How do you know this?"
Ahsoka then told her about how Captain Rex had managed to resist the influence of his inhibitor chip long enough to tell her about his report on the clone trooper Fives, and how he'd returned to his senses, and helped her escape once she'd been able to remove the chip from his brain.
Stunned, Padme nearly took a step back, "I... I can't believe it..."
"Padme, what about Anakin?" Ahsoka asked, trying to keep her friend focused, "Where is Anakin now?"
"He... He left on special mission. He said he was going to Mustafar to end the war." replied Padme, "And then after that, Palpatine declared at the senate hearing that the Republic would be reorganized into the Galactic Empire and crowned himself as emperor."
"It's just as Maul said..." Ahsoka mused, remembering what the Zabrak had told her.
With your help the Jedi can stop Sidious before it's too late!
Too late? For what?! The Republic to fall? It already has, and you just can't see it! There is no justice, no law, no order, except for the one that will replace it!
Padme stared at her, "What?"
But before Ahsoka could say another word, both her and Padme attention was arrested when a DC0052 Intergalactic Speeder suddenly pulled up to veranda landing, and the cockpit opened to reveal a hooded figure. To Ahsoka and Padme's surprise, the figure stepped onto the veranda and lowered it's hood to reveal the face of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Obi-Wan!" they both gasped, immediately darting forward to embrace him, which the Jedi Master tenderly returned.
At last, Obi-Wan ended the embrace, "Padme, Ahsoka, thank the Force you're both all right."
"I got your message, so I didn't go to the temple." Ahsoka replied, "But I thought it would be safe enough to come here."
In the end, Obi-Wan just nodded slowly; despite himself, he fully understood why Ahsoka would come to Coruscant in spite of the risks. She came looking for Anakin, he thought with a sense of dread.
"Ahsoka, Padme..." he addressed them both, "The Republic has fallen. The Jedi Order is no more . . ."
"I know, I can't believe everything we've dedicated our lives to is gone." reflected Ahsoka.
"Obi-Wan..." Padme said, "Ahsoka said that the clones had inhibitor chips implanted in theirs brains to make them kill the Jedi!"
Obi-Wan listened intently as Ahsoka proceeded to explain what she had told Padme. Again, he just nodded slowly once she'd finished.
"I believe we have been part of a plot hundreds of years in the making."
"The Senate is still intact, there is some hope." Padme reasoned.
"No, Padme... It's over... " insisted Obi-Wan, "The Sith now rule the galaxy as they did before the Republic."
Padme stared at him, "The Sith!?"
"I'm here looking for Anakin..." Obi-Wan continued, "When was the last time you saw him? Do you know where he is?"
Padme lowered her gaze, "No..."
Ahsoka opened her mouth to contradict Padme, for Padme had just told her a few moments ago that Anakin had left on mission to Mustafar, but something, she wasn't exactly sure what, stopped her, and the words died in her throat.
"Padme, I need your help. He's in grave danger." Obi-Wan implored.
"From the Sith?" asked Padme.
"From himself..."
Obi-Wan paused for a very long moment, until at last, he took a deep breath, and address both Padme and Ahsoka with a very grave look on his face.
"Padme, Ahsoka..." he said, struggling to get the words out, "Anakin has turned to the dark side..."
Padme was horrified, "You're wrong! How can you even say that?"
Ahsoka immediately wanted to say the same thing, but as Maul's words once again rang in her head, she found that she couldn't make her mouth work.
Obi-Wan covered his mouth, and turned away from them, "I have seen a security hologram of him killing younglings."
"Not Anakin!" Padme insisted, "He couldn't!"
This time, Ahsoka did speak out, "No! Th-That's... That's insane!"
More than insane, it was completely impossible. Even if Maul had been on to something about Anakin, Ahsoka absolutely refused to believe that her beloved master could possibly do something so vile. So evil. There was no way. There was no possible way...
Obi-Wan turned back toward them, "He was deceived by a lie. We all were. It appears that the Chancellor is behind everything, including the war. Palpatine is the Sith Lord we've been looking for. After the death of Count Dooku, Anakin became his new apprentice."
That's exactly what Maul said... Ahsoka thought with growing apprehension.
Padme almost seemed to crumble as Obi-Wan's words sunk in, and she slowly made her way over to a couch to sit down.
"I don't believe you ... I can't." she finally said.
Obi-Wan looked at Ahsoka, his face swimming with torment. Unable to meet his gaze, she just shook her head. She clearly could not believe him either. She WOULD not.
Letting out a low sigh, Obi-Wan walked over to Padme, and sat down next to her.
"Padme, I must find him." he entreated.
Padme stared at him, "You're going to kill him, aren't you?"
"No..." Ahsoka breathed, also staring at Obi-Wan.
This COULD NOT be happening, the young Togruta thought. It wasn't real. It wouldn't POSSIBLY be real.
"He has become a very great threat..." Obi-Wan pressed, but it clearly sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as them.
"I can't..." Padme croaked, placing her hand on her belly, revealing her pregnancy.
Ahsoka felt her eyes widen in amazement, "Padme... You're..."
She should've have noticed it when she first saw Padme before. Why hadn't she? HOW hadn't she?
"Anakin is the father, isn't he?" Obi-Wan asked simply.
Padme could only look away.
"I'm so sorry." was all the Jedi Master could say.
Sharing a last mournful look with Ahsoka, Obi-Wan finally turned back towards his speeder, and left the two of them alone on the veranda.
As Obi-Wan's speeder disappeared off into the distance, Ahsoka felt herself go completely numb as his and Maul's words continued to resonate throughout her head. At last, she looked at Padme, who stared transfixed, clearly worried, and not knowing what to do.
Slowly, Ashoka walked over, and took a seat on the couch next to Padme. Taking the senator's hand in her's, she began to speak calmly, and soothingly.
"Padme, listen to me. Obi-Wan is wrong. He HAS to be. There MUST be some other explaination for this. We'll figure this out together. I promise."
Padme looked up and gave Ahsoka a grateful, but sad smile.
"Ashoka, do you know what this is?" she asked, holding up the pendant that hung from the cord of leather she always wore around her neck.
"A snippet of jabor." Ahsoka anwsered, "Anakin once told me that younglings on Tatooine would carve tribal runes into them to make amulets. They are supposed to bring good fortune or act as love charms."
"Anakin gave this to me after we first met on Tatooine." explained Padme, "I was just reminding myself of the boy he was."
Ashoka looked deep into Padme's eyes, "I know Anakin just as well as you do. He has always been there for me. But so have you. You defended me before the whole Republic when I stood accused of terrorism just as Anakin did. Now, I am here for you. For both of you. Please, let me help."
Padme return Ahsoka gaze for a long moment. At last, she nodded firmly.
"Threepio!" she called out.
"Yes, my lady?" the protocol droid asked as it stepped back out onto the veranda.
"Contact Captain Tyho." the senator instructed, "Have him ready my Skiff."
"My lady? Are you going somewhere?" the droid asked.
"We are. We're going to Mustafar." declared Padme.
Padme, Ahsoka, and C-3PO all walked toward the small Naboo Skiff resting on the landing platform as Captain Typho, head of Padme's security team, came up behind them.
"My Lady, let me come with you." requested the captain.
"There is no danger." Padme insisted, "The fighting is over, and... this is personal."
Typho bowed, "As you wish, My Lady... but I strongly disagree."
"I'll be all right, Captain." she assured, "This is something I must do myself. Besides, I have Ahsoka and Threepio to look after me."
Accepting the senator's wishes, Typho began to make his way back to his speeder. With that, Padme, Ashoka, and C-3PO began to make their way up the entrance of the ship.
"Oh, dear." the protocol droid said.
Settling into the cockpit, Ahsoka took the controls as Padme slumped into the passenger seat, and finally began to break down into tears, crying from the relentless, mind-shredding dread.
Seeing Padme's torment, Ahsoka again reached over to take her hand in spite of her own fears of what was to come, knowing that she had to be strong for her friend. Feeling the same, and grateful for Ahsoka's support, Padme hastily dried her eyes before forcing herself to give the young Trogruta a reassuring smile, which Ahsoka returned. They were in this together, and whatever awaited them at the end of their journey, they would face it together.
But as their ship took off from the landing platform, and they began to make their way towards Mustafar, neither Ahsoka nor Padme realized that they had a stowaway on board.
For just as the Naboo Skiff had been taking off, Obi-Wan, who'd been hiding nearby, quickly jumped up onto the retracting entrance ramp, before concealing himself in one of the ship's storage compartments...
The trip to Mustafar seemed to last an eternity. Neither Ahsoka or Padme had spoken a single word during the entire flight, for neither wanted to talk about the terrible recent events or what possibly awaited them once they'd arrived at their destination. It would only remind them of the terrible things that Obi-Wan had said, and they couldn't bear to even consider the possibilities.
Finally, their ship emerged from hyperspace, the fiery, volcanic planet looming before them. Almost robotically, Ahsoka guided the ship down through the planet's atmosphere until at last, they came to a large mining facility with a starfighter perched on the landing platform. Gently setting the sleek Naboo Skiff down next to the starfighter, Ahsoka took a deep breath, and looked over at Padme.
The senator was paying her no mind, seemingly lost in a world of her own. But before Ahsoka could reach out to her again, Padme suddenly saw something off in the distance. There, directly across from the landing platform, a hooded figure stood near the edge of the mining facility. Lowering its hood, the figure quickly began to make its way towards the ship.
Anakin... Ahsoka thought, instantly recognizing her master.
Padme was already scrambling out of her seat and rushing towards the entrance ramp of the ship. Ahsoka was barely a second behind her.
Stumbling down the landing ramp, Padme flew into Anakin's arms even as he ran up to the ship. When he saw Ahsoka coming a short distance behind his wife, a relieved grin at seeing his padawan alive spread across Anakin's face, and he embraced her as well.
Padme burst into fresh tears, and Ahsoka allowed a few to escape from her eyes as well. They were just so grateful that he was alive. Grateful that he'd rushed up the landing deck to meet them. That his arms were still warm around them. That he was still Anakin...
For a long moment, the three of them just stood there in each others' arms, wanting the embrace to last forever, and wanting to just forget everything else in the galaxy.
But ultimately, the embrace ended, and Anakin looked down at them.
"What are you two doing out here?" He asked.
"Oh, Anakin..." gasped Padme, "I was so worried about you."
"We... We had to see you. We had to know that you were..." Ahsoka quickly added before trailing off.
"I'm fine, Snips." Anakin assured, "It's good to see you to."
"Obi-Wan... He told us terrible things..." Padme interjected.
Anakin frowned, "What things?"
"He said you have turned to the dark side..." said his wife, her voice quivering, "That you killed younglings."
Just getting the words out made Padme feel better, and it actually made Ahsoka feel a little better to. Now all they had to do was stand here in his arms, while he promised them that such accusations were completely absurd. That he could never do such terrible things. Never.
But even as they both tried to form a smile up at him, they didn't see the light of love in his eyes, but rather, they saw only reflections of lava. He didn't say "I would never turn to the Dark Side" or "Me, kill younglings? That's crazy!"
Instead, all Anakin said was, "Obi-Wan is trying to turn you both against me."
Ahsoka wasn't sure she'd heard her master right, and new wave of uneasiness began to wash over her. Something was wrong in Anakin's demeanor; she could feel it. And his voice almost sounded a bit deeper...
"He cares about us." Padme spoke before Ahsoka could.
"Us?!" repeated Anakin.
"He knows..." explained Padme, "He wants to help you."
Anakin shook his head, "Obi-Wan can't help. He's not strong enough."
"Anakin..." Ahsoka breathed, "What... What are you saying?"
"Anakin, all I want is your love." Padme interjected.
"Love won't save you, Padme. Only my new powers can do that." Anakin asserted.
Padme stared at him, "At what cost? You are a good person. Don't do this."
"I won't lose you the way I lost my mother, Padme!" declared Anakin, "I've become more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of and I've done it for you. To protect you."
"Anakin, listen to me. I understand what you've been through, but..." Ahsoka started to say.
"No, Ahsoka." interrupted Anakin, "You don't understand. You can't..."
The words stung Ahsoka. Anakin had never lost faith in her before, and she had never before lost faith in him, even when she'd lost faith in the Jedi Council. After all they'd been through, how could he say that she didn't understand him now?
"Come away with me." implored Padme, "Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can."
"Don't you see, we don't have to run away anymore." insisted Anakin, "I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than even Palpatine. I can overthrow him, and together we can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be."
As these words sunk in, both Padme and Ahsoka began to back away from him as they finally began to realize this was not the Anakin they knew.
"I don't believe what I'm hearing..." Padme said with increasing horror, "Obi-Wan was right. You've changed."
At this, Anakin anger flared, "I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me. Don't you turn against me."
"I don't know you anymore." Padme began to cry, "Anakin, you're breaking my heart. You're going down a path I can't follow."
"Because of Obi-Wan?" he asked.
"Because of what you've done!" Ahsoka burst out, "Because of what you plan to do!"
"Stop, stop now. Come back! I love you." begged Padme.
But Anakin was no longer looking at her. He was no longer looking Ahsoka. He was looking at something behind them, and his face suddenly morphed into a mask of rage.
"Liar!" he yelled in fury.
Padme and Ahsoka turned around, and there, standing on the entrance ramp of the Naboo Skiff, was Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Obi-Wan!" exclaimed Ahsoka in shock.
"No!" Padme cried.
"Padme! Ahsoka! Step away from him!" Obi-Wan warned with an urgency in his voice that sounded closer to fear than they'd ever heard from him, "He's not who you think he is!"
"You're with him! You brought him here to kill me!" Anakin accused.
"NO!" pleaded Padme.
But then, Anakin reached out with the Force, and Padme suddenly gripped her throat as she began to choke.
"Anakin, no!" screamed Ahsoka.
She began to rush towards Padme, but Anakin thrust his free hand out at her, and knocked his former padawan to the ground with a Force Push.
"Let her go, Anakin." Obi-Wan demanded as he stepped down the landing ramp.
"Anakin..." Padme gasped for breath, trying to find anything of the man she loved in his eyes, but saw only an unrecognizable darkness.
"Let. Her. Go!" commanded Obi-Wan again.
Finally, Anakin released his grip on the Padme, and she crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
For a moment, Anakin stared down at her in a combination of shock and anger, before looking up to see a concerned Obi-Wan begin to move towards Padme.
"NO!" Anakin screamed, reaching out again to grip his former master by the throat, "You don't get to touch her! This is your fault! All of it! You made her betray me!"
Obi-Wan clutched at his neck even as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. For a moment, he locked eyes with Anakin, whose fiery gaze seemed to sear right through him. Then, Anakin flung Obi-Wan backwards with the Force, slamming him hard against the metal hull of the Naboo Skiff, and knocking him out cold.
As Ahsoka got back to her feet, she could only stare in utter horror at the scene before her. She looked at the unconscious Padme, then at the fallen Obi-Wan, and finally at her former master.
"Anakin..." she gasped out, "Anakin, what have you done?"
"He turned her against me! He turned you against me!" Anakin seethed.
Ahsoka slowly shook her head, unable to believe that this was truly happening.
"You're doing that yourself. You're throwing away everything that we've ever fought for!"
"The Jedi betrayed us! They betrayed the Republic!" ranted Anakin, "We don't need them, Ahsoka! We never did!"
"Anakin, I of all people know that the Jedi had their flaws, but this... This is wrong. How can you not see that? How can you not see that this isn't you?!"
"This is the real me, Ahsoka." Anakin insisted, "This is the me that the Jedi were afraid of; the one that they tried to control. But I don't have such weaknesses, and I'm nobody's pawn anymore. I will overthrow the emperor, and bring peace, justice, and security to my new empire!"
"Your new empire?" Ahsoka asked incredulously. "Is that what you think this will all lead to? Peace? Your Empire is founded on treachery and innocent blood!"
Anakin glared at her, "Don't make me destroy you, Ahsoka. I'll give you a chance. For old times' sake. Walk away."
"You know I can't do that, Anakin." she firmly replied.
"Why not? You had no problem doing it before." her former master laughed harshly.
The words cut deep into Ahsoka's core. It was true. She HAD walked away from Anakin when she left the Jedi Order. And now, she couldn't help but wonder if all of this could've been prevented if she hadn't. If she had only been there for Anakin...
"Anakin, I'm sorry." she choked out, "Please, come back to the light. Face up to what you've done. I can help you!"
"It's too late for that, Ahsoka. I've made my choice, and if you're not with me, then you're my enemy."
Now fighting back tears, Ahsoka made one final attempt to get through to her former master, desperately hoping that his love for Padme would get him to see reason.
"Let me take Padme to a med center, Anakin." Ahsoka appealed, "She's hurt. She needs medical attention. She's carrying your..."
"She STAYS! You will NOT take her from me! Neither of you!" yelled Anakin in fury.
"Anakin..."
But Anakin was no longer listening, and a bar of blue plasma sprouted from his hand as he ignited his lightsaber. Ahsoka could only let out a low, defeated sigh as she ignited her own lightsabers, and angled them before her.
"Then I will do what I have to do." she finally declared.
"You were warned." Anakin said coldly, and leapt.
Ahsoka met him in the air, blue blades clashing like flashes of lightning as the volcano above began to erupt in an echo of their thundering blows.
END OF PART ONE