Anakin was distraught with worry as his starfighter sped through hyperspace.
He was shaking in his cockpit even as R2 who was in the starfighter's droid socket beeped something to him.
Anakin said, "R2, we can't wait. If I don't get there on time, Padmé will die! Palpatine has no mercy for anyone."
All of a sudden, the starfighter's comm crackled and a hologram of Obi Wan materialized in front of Anakin.
"Anakin," Obi Wan cried out, "Don't tell me you're just rushing there by yourself!"
Anakin cried out, "There's no time! If I don't make it there, the Emperor will kill Padmé!"
Obi Wan said, "The Emperor has declared you to be a traitor. This might be a trap."
Anakin cried out, "I don't care! I lost everything once, including Padmé! I'm not going to lose her again!"
"Anakin," Obi Wan cried out, but Anakin cried out, "No Obi Wan, I love her and I can't bear to lose her! I have to save her, and I don't care if I have to die to do so!"
With that, he shut off the connection.
Obi Wan who was in the cockpit of Boba Fett's ship which was currently in the hangar of the Devastator said, "You were right Boba. We have to go there if we want to get Anakin safely."
Just then, Rex and Fives entered the cockpit along with Plo Koon and Rex said, "Sir, we're coming with you. To extract General Skywalker of course."
Fives added, "If he's going to rescue his beloved, he'll need a quick getaway."
Plo Koon added, "And Palpatine is not going to make it easy."
Just then, another clone showed up saying, "I'm glad to be back with you Plo, and I'm going to help you in whatever way I can."
"I know you will Wolffe," Plo replied.
"As will I," added Aayla Secura.
Just then, there came the sound of running footsteps and a male voice crying out, "Aayla, please let me come with you."
Aayla stepped out of the ship and came face to face with a clone in white and yellow armor, with black hair and a clean shaven face.
Aayla said, "Commander Bly, I know you want to help me, but I can't let you come."
Commander Bly tearfully begged, "Aayla, please, won't you forgive me?! I shot at you and almost killed you! I deserve to be run through but I want to make it up to you! What I did was unforgivable! Let me come with you!"
Aayla placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Bly, you were not yourself. I forgave you already. But this mission is critical and I don't want to lose an experienced commander such as yourself."
Bly said, "But what if you don't come back?! Please at least let me tell you something."
Aayla said, "Tell me Bly."
Bly tearfully said, "The thing is, I'm in love with you. I shouldn't be, but I loved you, and I shot you. I don't know what to do. I lost you once, and I can't lose you again."
Aayla looked at him in surprise and said, "Say that again."
Bly said, "I love you and I…"
He was interrupted by Aayla suddenly pulling him towards her and kissing him.
After the kiss, Aayla said, "I love you too Bly. You were forced to obey Palpatine, and I forgive you. And I know you're a good soldier who wants to do the best possible. You've saved my life several times. And I love you."
Bly asked, "Since when?"
Aayla replied, "Shortly before Order 66."
Bly said, "I was devastated after I realized what I had done. I can't bear to…"
Aayla said, "Then be on board for me. I might need you and your men to come in all of a sudden. Be ready."
Bly saluted Aayla and said, "Alright, but I'm sending some of my boys to guard you."
At that moment, half a dozen clones of the 327th showed up and said, "We're right here General."
Boba came out of his ship and said, "Alright, but we need to load up fast. And no more after this. I can't have the Slave I overcrowded."
Meanwhile on Coruscant…
Padmé and Ahsoka were being led through the Imperial Palace which had once been the Jedi Temple. Even as they were led into the throneroom, Padmé looked around at the surroundings which looked foreboding.
She wondered how Palpatine could have been so evil as to desecrate this place worthy of respect.
What would happen now?
Was it all over?
She was pulled out of her train of thought by a stormtrooper poking her in the back with his blaster behind her calling out, "Hey move it, into the throne room."
And then, she and Ahsoka were both led into the throne room, led by Tyrannus.
And she saw, at the end of the hallway, on a black throne, Palpatine, a man she had once considered to be her mentor, and now nothing more than a monster.
And then, she noticed something.
On her left side, close to the throne, handcuffed, watched by six royal guards, there stood none other than Queen Jamillia, Governor Sio Bibble, Captain Gregor Typho, her bodyguard, and her handmaiden Dormé.
"Queen Jamillia", Padmé cried out, "You've been taken here too!"
"Padmé," Jamillia cried out, "Is it really you?! Tell me this is not true!"
Tyrannus turned to Jamillia and said, "This is the real Padmé Amidala, whom you believed was dead by Vader's hand."
Typho looked at Tyrannus in anger and said, "She's been through enough! How could you try and murder her when all she did was point out your mistakes? You should have been executed for what you did as a Separatist!"
Tyrannus replied, "The galaxy was torn apart by war and corruption, and it needs a unified empire. And I surrendered and acknowledged my defeat and offered to serve the Empire. Padmé on the other hand, opposed the Emperor's measures which are for the sake of unity and order, and therefore, had to be ousted. And she will not learn to accept and work towards what is best, and therefore, it is sad to say, but Naboo's former queen must be executed for treason."
"Well said my loyal apprentice and enforcer, Darth Tyrannus," the voice of the Emperor croaked, "well done".
Everyone turned to look at the Emperor on his throne, who was smiling evilly at his captives.
Dormé angrily said, "You have made a mistake in bringing her here. Kill me if you want, but leave her alone."
Sidious said gleefully, "I will grant your first, but the second, I cannot."
Meanwhile, Anakin's starfighter dropped out of hyperspace just above Coruscant and detached itself from its hyperspace ring. Even as it hurtled through the atmosphere, a few V-wings came to meet it, but Anakin shot them in a matter of seconds and did not look at them explode even as he leveled out and sped towards the Imperial Palace.
He sped past traffic, and entered the palace hangar at a speed higher than optimal landing speed. Instead of switching to vertical flight mode, he opted for a belly landing, skidding along the floor as he did so.
After having released R2 from his droid socket, Anakin opened his cockpit and leapt out of the starfighter, then proceeded to break out into a run.
Strangely, there were not many stormtroopers watching at first, but then a few came and Anakin had to cut some down.
Meanwhile, Padmé and Ahsoka had been forced onto their knees before Sidious, and Tyrannus was standing right behind them.
Sidious angrily said, "You have been a thorn in my side, Padmé Amidala, and you have lost me my apprentice's loyalty."
Padmé angrily retorted, "Your apprentice's loyalty?! You framed him, tortured him, and then lied to him that Mace Windu killed his mother! You made him believe he had no one to look up to, you made him believe no one would accept him! You don't deserve his loyalty as much as you don't deserve mine!"
Sidious cried out, "You interfered in my plans, and Vader should have killed you instead of letting you poison his mind! I have no doubt that he was behind Lord Tyrannus' failure to kill Kenobi! But now, I shall remove you as a threat to the galaxy!"
"Or rather," Ahsoka retorted, "A threat to your evil, to your unopposed rule, total control!"
Sidious smiled at Ahsoka and said, "Clever girl, if only Vader had obeyed my instructions to the letter, you would have been a powerful Sith apprentice, loyal to me, but you are not."
Ahsoka said, "No I'm not! I'm loyal to the one who took me in, not you, you evil monster."
Tyrannus began to shoot force lightning from his fingers towards Ahsoka, and even as she screamed, the former said, "Such disrespect will not be tolerated."
Sidious turned to him and said, "Enough of this. Amidala must die."
Meanwhile, Anakin reached the throne room and was about to enter when three inquisitors plus four royal guards blocked him.
The lead inquisitor, none other than the Grand Inquisitor, a pau'an male who had once been a Jedi Temple Guard said, "You shall not pass, traitor."
Anakin said, "You will not stop me. Get out of the way if you wish to live."
The Grand Inquisitor sneered, "It is you who will die by our hand, traitor."
Anakin raised his red lightsaber and rushed the Grand Inquisitor. The inquisitors began to fight him with their double bladed lightsabers, and the royal guards began firing at him with blasters, but Anakin deflected the bolts quickly and killed the guards with amazing precision, and then proceeded to split the lightsaber of an inquisitor before turning to the other two.
Meanwhile, in the Throne room, Sidious ordered, "Execute her now Tyrannus, inhumanely, no mercy."
"So be it," Tyrannus replied, and grabbing Padmé by the hair, he snarled, "Prepare to die, traitor." and in the midst of cries for mercy from Jamillia, Typho, Dormé and Sio Bibble, the Sith Lord hit her on the head, threw her down by the hair so that she was lying face down, then much to Sidious' glee, placed a foot on her back despite Ahsoka crying out, "NO STOP IT!", ignited his lightsaber, and raised it for the execution.
Sidious encouraged Tyrannus saying, "Good, good Lord Tyrannus, step on her, show her what a weak woman she is, show her what a slave shall face as punishment for disobedience."
Ahsoka yelled out, "THIS IS MONSTROUS! LET HER GO!"
Sidious snarled, "I feel your anger, your worry, child! Go on Tyrannus, place your foot on her neck, kick her, do what you wish."
Tyrannus smiled evilly as he kicked Padmé in the middle causing her to scream in pain and the other captives in horror, and then, placing his foot on her neck, held the lightsaber ready.
"On my Command," Sidious stated.
And then, all of a sudden, there was a loud cry of, "NOOOOO!" even as two inquisitors fell to the ground, dead by a red lightsaber.
Anakin, who had managed to kill the two inquisitors and had just managed to cut off the grand inquisitor's arm, had seen what was going on and was running towards Tyrannus.
Before Tyrannus could swing his blade down, Anakin met the blade with his own, parried a few strokes against Tyrannus, kicked him in the groin, and force pushed him away with so much force that the latter fell down on the floor right in front of the throne and had to struggle to get up.
Anakin quickly cut Ahsoka's handcuffs and force pushed away four of the royal guards guarding the other prisoners, and then turned to Ahsoka, gave her a stolen inquisitors' lightsaber and said, "Ahsoka, free them."
Even as Ahsoka ran to face the remaining two guards, having split the lightsaber into two single lightsabers, Anakin helped Padmé stand up and even as Padmé gasped, "Anakin," he kissed her and asked, "Padmé are you alright?"
Padmé replied, "I'm shaken but I'm okay, now that you're here."
By this time, Tyrannus had managed to get up and was now standing, his mouth wide open with shock.
Ahsoka by this time, had managed to kill the guards and had freed the other prisoners, who had taken the blasters of the dead guards.
And Anakin was standing, glaring at the two Sith Lords, with his lightsaber ignited and pointing towards them.
Anakin yelled, "I'LL TEAR YOU APART FOR WHAT YOU DID YOU PADMÉ!"
Sidious angrily said, "You have forgotten your place Lord Vader."
All of a sudden, at that moment, Anakin loudly and boldly declared, "DARTH, VADER, IS, DEAD!"
Sidious was aghast at this statement.
His mouth hung open for a few moments before finally speaking in a soft and shocked tone, "What did you say?"
Anakin declared, "I said, Darth Vader is dead!"
Padmé was looking at Anakin with her mouth open, in amazement, and Ahsoka and Jamillia were looking at him with wide eyes.
Anakin continued, "I am Anakin Skywalker, son of Shmi Skywalker, Jedi student of Obi Wan Kenobi, and I will tear you apart for what you've done to the galaxy, what you did to the Republic, for what you did to my mother, for what you did to Obi Wan, for what you did to the Jedi, for what you did to Padmé, for what you did to Ahsoka…"
And then, he ended hissing, "And for what you did to me."
Even as Padmé beamed, Sidious' expression of shock turned into one of anger and he said, "So you know that I was the one who had your mother killed, do you?"
Anakin said, "You're wrong. My mother is alive. Obi Wan never did anything to my mother, nor did Mace Windu. Obi Wan saved my mother."
Sidious was shocked at what he had just heard.
And he snarled in rage even as Anakin continued, "Padmé told me everything."
But then, a viscous smile formed on Palpatine's face and he cried out, "Do you think your mother will forgive you, after all you have done? Does she know how you so willingly murdered even children when you stormed the Jedi Temple?"
Anakin cried out in response, "My mother knows everything I did! And she has forgiven me!"
Sidious' expression turned into one of utmost horror.
Anakin continued, "I was wrong, I gave into my desire for revenge over a lie, and it drove me mad with rage! I regret every atrocity I committed, and I accept responsibility for what I've done, but you were responsible for it all! You turned me into a monster, and I let myself fall for your ways, and I was a monster, but thanks to Padmé and Ahsoka, Obi Wan and my mother, I am no longer a monster."
Jamillia's face clearly wore an expression of shock, but she nodded her head in respect.
Sidious' expression turned into one of rage and he declared, "So it is, you have chosen the path of the weak, and in doing so, you have disgraced the Sith."
Anakin retorted, "The Sith are the real disgrace."
Sidious said, "Love is a weakness, and you have allowed it to poison you."
Anakin declared, "It is not! Love is my greatest strength. Without it, I would be dead already."
Sidious said, "And with it, you shall die anyway. Now Skywalker," with as much venom as possible, "you shall die!"
Turning to Tyrannus, he said, "Tyrannus, finish this boy off!"
"With pleasure my master," Tyrannus replied as he ignited his lightsaber and slowly walked towards Anakin.
Just then, Typho pointed towards the entrance and cried out, "Look out."
Right at the entrance, a group of clones of the Coruscant Guard were entering the room, led by Barriss Offee, who ordered, "Kill them all."
Even as the guards rushed towards the other Nubians, the remaining four royal guards who were guarding Palpatine joined in and rushed towards Padmé and Ahsoka.
Anakin used the force to pull away a dead guards' pike and blaster and hand them to Padmé. Even as Barriss and the guards closed in on Padmé and Ahsoka, Tyrannus neared Anakin and the two began to duel.
The guards attacked first, but Ahsoka managed to block two of them even as Padmé began to fight the other two with her pike.
Barriss called out, "Don't spare them because they are women and one is a girl, kill them."
Tyrannus sneered even as a blow of his own was parried, "Your apprentice shall fall and so shall your beloved."
Anakin replied, "My apprentice and my beloved are strong women, not weak like you think."
Tyrannus sneered, "You never learn. You are a failure."
Anakin coolly replied, "I am a slow learner", even as he and Tyrannus parried each other's blows in rapid succession.
Meanwhile, Ahsoka managed to land a kick on one of her opponents, and Padmé ducked under a swing of a guard's pike and managed to pierce another one in the stomach, causing him to be electrocuted and collapse even as Padmé pulled out her blaster and swiftly shot the other one in the chest from below.
Barriss' wrist commlink suddenly buzzed and when she answered it saying, "yes,", she received a response and cried out in anger, "What?!" before rushing out of the throne room and saying, "I'll deal with you later Ahsoka."
Meanwhile, in the hangar of the Imperial Palace, even as a few stormtroopers rushed into the hangar, they were forced to take cover as heavy shots rang out at them from the Slave I which had landed there.
The ramp door opened and Obi Wan was the first to step out.
He saw Anakin's starfighter lying nearby and R2D2 taking cover near a shuttle.
And then, he rushed forwards.
Anakin and Tyrannus were still exchanging blows, and Padmé and Ahsoka were dueling the remaining two guards, and Jamillia, Typho, Sio and Dormé were taking cover behind the pillars, shooting at the clones.
Meanwhile, at the top of a staircase, a clone was shot and the next moment, Boba and Obi Wan were at the top.
Even as Plo Koon, Aayla and their clones caught up, Obi Wan said, "I can sense Anakin. This way."
But before he could take another step forward, there came a snap hiss and everyone turned to see none other than Barriss Offee nearing them, lightsaber ignited.
Boba raised his blaster, but Obi Wan pushed his hand down gently even as he calmly said, "Barriss, stay down, you do not want to do this."
Barriss retorted, "You are all fools if you think you can stop me from becoming more powerful."
Plo said, "Barriss, this isn't you. At least give us a chance to help you."
Barriss said, "Once you start on the path of darkness, there is no coming back. Even your grandmaster believes this."
Aayla said, "It's not completely true. You can still come back. If Anakin could, so can you."
"Lies," Barriss cried out, "Anakin Skywalker is dead! You all killed him! You expelled him from the Order and did nothing about him! That was when I started to see you all for what you truly were. An army fighting for the dark side. Mace Windu, Pong Krell, all of you. And my attack on the temple, framing Ahsoka, it was all an attack on what you had become. The Republic, the Jedi, they failed and turned on their own! What was I supposed to do about it? That's why I became an inquisitor, because I myself committed those acts of darkness, and I know that there is no coming back."
Meanwhile in the throne room, Jamillia and her supporters had almost finished gunning down the last of the clones.
Out of the two remaining guards fighting Ahsoka and Padmé, one was slashed across the chest by Ahsoka's blades and fell.
However, the other one, seeing an opening, dashed past Padmé and knocked her down from behind.
Ahsoka lost her grip on her single lightsabers and before she could grab them, the guard grabbed one, used it to destroy the other, and was about to kill Ahsoka with it but just then, he was struck from behind by Padmé's pike and dropped the lightsaber to the ground. It missed Ahsoka by a couple of inches and deactivated itself. In a matter of moments, the guard dropped down to the floor, dead.
As for Anakin and Tyrannus, they were still fighting back and forth across the throne room. Now, they were in front of the Emperor.
Tyrannus held his blade against Anakin's and taunted, "You are weak, just like them."
Anakin smirked and replied, "Every word of that sentence is wrong."
With that, he slid his blade down his enemy's blade, swung upward, and in one swift single stroke, he cut off both of Tyrannus' hands. Even as Tyrannus collapsed to his knees in shock and terror at what had just happened, his own lightsaber flew into Anakin's left hand.
Crossing the blades in a scissor like manner, Anakin held Tyrannus at blade point.
All of a sudden, everyone heard someone clapping and turned to the Emperor's throne.
Palpatine was clapping his hands and calling out, "Good Anakin, good."
Everyone in the room was perplexed and suspicious at this behavior.
Jamillia turned her blaster towards the Emperor and glared at him.
Sidious said, "Good Anakin. Now, kill him."
Tyrannus looked at his master in shock at this betrayal even as Anakin looked at him with anger evident in his eyes.
Sidious said, "Kill him. He stepped on your beloved with his own foot and kicked her, did he not? Kill him."
Meanwhile, the other Jedi were still trying to get through to Barriss.
Obi Wan said, "What if I told you that Anakin is alive, and is probably fighting Sidious right now? What if I told you that Palpatine was the one who orchestrated all this? What if I told you that he forced Anakin into becoming Vader by trying to kill his mother and lying to him that Mace Windu had done it?"
Barriss couldn't believe what she was hearing and she asked, "Are you saying Palpatine planned all this? Framing Anakin and deceiving him into being Vader? How do I know it isn't true that you killed his mother?"
Plo Koon replied, "Because Obi Wan saved his mother twice, first from raiders, and then from Palpatine's bounty hunter. Palpatine used him and forced him to be Vader, and just like that, he is using you right now."
Barriss cried out, "It can't be!"
Aayla said, "I agree that the council was arrogant, but Sidious is much worse than he claims to be in your eyes. If he used Anakin, what's to say he isn't just using you? He declared Vader to be a traitor. What's to say he won't do the same to you?"
Meanwhile in the throne room, Anakin was still holding his blades at Tyrannus.
Sidious once again said, "Kill him."
Anakin looked at Tyrannus, then at Padmé and Ahsoka, and then at the Emperor and firmly said one word, "No."
Sidious sounded shocked even as he exclaimed, "What?! But…"
"I said no!" Anakin said loudly.
He then softly said, "I'm not like him, I'm not like you. I'm not Darth Vader who was consumed by revenge. I have defeated Darth Tyrannus already, and I will not kill an unarmed enemy. You've failed your highness. I am a Jedi, like my master before you."
Padmé and Ahsoka beamed at Anakin even as he turned off Tyrannus' lightsaber, threw it away to the side, and held his own at the ready.
He said, "You're the real enemy here. Tyrannus is nothing but a tool in your hands, just as I was."
Meanwhile, Barriss was still standing with her lightsaber at the ready, but was definitely waiting to hear more.
Plo Koon said, "Anakin lost everything to darkness, and you have as well. You lost your master, your best friend, everything only to end up as a servant for a power hungry tyrant."
Barriss said, "Says the ones who have lost their way."
Plo Koon said, "I don't deny that we had lost our way. But this way that you have chosen will not give you any peace in the end. The Sith destroy everything that they consider to be abnormal. Look at yourself. Look at what the Sith have done."
Barriss said, "The Jedi did nothing but listen to the Senate! The Jedi ignored the needs of the people and allowed war atrocities! There were times when I saw clones brutally arrest or murder innocent civilians simply on suspicion and I could not do anything about it! No one listened to me!"
Obi Wan said, "I admit, we were wrong. We were too blind and arrogant, and we lost our way, but so did you. You allowed the dark side to cloud your judgment, and not all of us are bad. Not all the clones were bad. Did you know that the clones were being controlled by bio chips?"
"What?!" Barriss cried out, "Are you suggesting that Palpatine made the clones do this?!"
Aayla replied, "It was Order 75 that must have been activated at those times. And the Chancellor was the only one who could have done it."
Barriss broke down in tears at this point and collapsed.
She was just so angry, horrified, confused, lost.
Obi Wan deactivated his lightsaber, moved towards Barriss, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Meanwhile, in the throne room, Anakin said, "You will pay for all that you have done Sidious."
Sidious said in a sickeningly, rather contrivedly sweet manner, "Anakin, my boy, all I wanted was for you to become the most powerful force user that the galaxy has ever seen. I admit, I was harsh on you, but such is the way of the Sith. I don't deny that I wronged you and used you. Who chooses the chosen one, after all? But we can surely make a deal."
Anakin raised an eyebrow in response.
Sidious continued, "You will be considered my equal. You can take the throne as the Emperor of the galaxy and I shall abdicate."
"What about Padmé?" Anakin asked.
Sidious replied, "You are free to pardon her and wed her as your lawful wife and Empress. She clearly loves you."
Anakin asked, "What about Ahsoka and Obi Wan?"
Ahsoka cried out, "Don't listen to him, Anakin."
Anakin turned to her and said, "It's okay Snips. Trust me."
He then turned to Sidious and said, "Go on."
Sidious said, "Ahsoka shall be your enforcer, and you may also make Obi Wan Kenobi your adviser and enforcer, should he accept. You may do with the other Jedi as you wish. With Padmé Amidala, Kenobi and Tano by your side, you will be unstoppable."
Anakin asked, "And what about you?"
Sidious said, "You may even have me executed, if you wish. All of this shall be yours if only you do me one small favor and kill Darth Tyrannus here. All I need is that one favor. Do it, Anakin."
Padmé looked fearfully at Anakin, hoping that he would not listen.
Anakin looked at Sidious and said, "You're lying."
Sidious once more seemed to be shocked as he said, "What did you say?"
Anakin declared, "You're lying. I've fallen for your lies more than once. I fell to the dark side once because I listened to you. I will not fall to darkness and be consumed by it ever again. I won't fall for your lies ever again."
Sidious snarled, and standing up, he summoned a lightsaber hilt to his right hand and ignited it, revealing a crimson red blade.
He said, "Clever boy, but foolish as well. You shall meet your demise in this very throne room."
Anakin held his lightsaber at the ready and said, "It is you who shall meet your demise."
Sidious said, "So you say my dear boy, but you are nothing compared to me, and you shall fall and your loved ones will all die."
Anakin held his lightsaber at the ready and slowly started to advance forward.
Sidious then smiled evilly and said, "Or perhaps, not all need to die. After all, Padmé Amidala is a beautiful woman, and after I have killed you, I could perhaps take her as my concubine."
"NOOOO!" Anakin suddenly screamed in rage upon hearing that last word and leapt towards Sidious.
He started clashing blades with Sidious, striking with ferocity, but Sidious was expertly defending himself even as he was seemingly being forced back.
Padmé who was watching noticed Sidious laughing evilly and realized something.
Sidious was goading Anakin.
In desperation to stop Sidious from winning, Padmé cried out, "ANAKIN, NO, NO, NO!"
Anakin heard her voice and realized the same thing, and he hesitated as he realized that he was about to give in to his rage.
And in that moment of hesitation, Sidious struck.
And the next moment, Anakin was screaming in pain, holding a stump above where the right elbow should have been, all that remained of his arm.
And he fell to the ground on his knees.
Jamillia, Dormé, Typho and Sio Bibble along with Padmé let out cries of horror.
Even as Anakin cradled the stump and Sidious menacingly laughed, all of a sudden, everyone heard a female cry, "MASTER NO!"
And Anakin and Sidious turned, to see Ahsoka, worry all over her face, charging towards Sidious with the remaining lightsaber and Anakin's lightsaber in her hands.
And Anakin looked on, stunned.
Had Ahsoka just called him 'Master'?
He was brought out of his amazement by Sidious suddenly lashing out with the force and throwing Ahsoka sideways into a pillar nearby so hard that Ahsoka was injured upon impact and she fell to the ground.
"AHSOKA NO!" Anakin cried out.
Jamillia turned her blaster upon Sidious and tried to shoot him, but the Sith Lord just extended his hand and summoned all of the Nubians' blasters using the force.
Meanwhile, Barriss was still sobbing, and Obi Wan and Plo Koon were trying to comfort her.
Obi Wan said, "Barriss, it's alright. Everything will be alright. It's not too late to redeem yourself."
Barriss cried out, "I've been a fool. You were right. Ahsoka will never forgive me."
Plo Koon said, "Ahsoka is not a cruel person. I am sure she will forgive you. Actually, Anakin did worse than you as Vader, and if he could see his faults and redeem himself, so can you, and if we can forgive Anakin, then of course we will forgive you."
Barriss asked, "But what about Anakin? Doesn't he train Ahsoka now?"
Obi Wan replied, "Anakin is a good man, and if I could forgive him for what he did, I am sure he will forgive you when he knows what pushed you to do what you did."
Then all of a sudden, Aayla said, "I sense danger."
Obi Wan hurriedly stood up and said, "We'd better hurry. I sense Anakin and Padmé are in danger. Run!"
Everyone assembled in the area broke off into a run, towards the throne room, with Barriss saying, "Follow me. The throne room's this way."
Meanwhile in the throne room, Sidious, not holding his lightsaber, was menacingly advancing towards Padmé, who was being backed into a pillar.
A few more inquisitors had entered, accompanied by two dozen stormtroopers, and a few were blocking the entrance, cutting off any chance of escape.
Sidious used the force to pin Padmé down, and she could only support herself on her palms and knees, and she was facing the Sith Lord sideways.
Sidious snarled, "Former Senator Padmé Amidala, and traitor to the Empire, for years you have been a thorn in my side. I used you to remove Valorum and install myself, but then you had to become a rebel to my policies. I should have killed you and Skywalker long ago when I had that vision!"
Padmé asked, "What vision?"
Sidious explained, "I had a vision where you two were married, and I used it to turn Skywalker to the dark side, into Vader. Then I siphoned your life force to preserve Vader when he was burnt nearly to death. I lied to him that he had killed you and it drove him down the dark side, into my loyal servant. But then, years later, he betrayed me in order to save your son, Luke Skywalker!"
Padmé was shocked at what she had just heard.
But then she steeled herself and said, "So you tried to murder everyone he loves, and turn everyone against him. Well Palpatine, you failed, because I'm not a cold hearted monster like you! You framed him and tried to murder his own mother, and then lied to him and drove him mad. But you failed, because Anakin has something in him which you can never destroy, love. I love him and I have faith that there is and will always be good in him. He's not your slave anymore, he's not a slave of darkness anymore. You've failed your highness."
Sidious snarled and with force lightning crackling at his fingertips, he said, "You turned him against me. You loved him when you should have hated him, and in doing so, you sealed your fate. Now, Padmé Amidala, you shall die."
And he unleashed a powerful barrage of force lightning.
Padmé instantly closed her eyes, expecting pain and death at that very moment.
But a few moments later, she realized that she wasn't feeling any pain.
Was she dead already?
She could hear someone screaming, but it was not her.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked up.
And the sight that she beheld made her scream in horror.
Anakin was shielding Padmé's body from Sidious' force lightning with his own body. Somehow, he was standing, facing Sidious' rage, but was screaming in agony as he fought on.
And Palpatine was laughing maniacally, even as Jamillia and the other Nubians, and Ahsoka who was half dazed screamed in horror.
All of a sudden, shots rang out and Sidious got distracted even as he muttered, "Now what?"
Stormtroopers at the entrance were falling to blaster shots and lightsaber strikes and a few moments later, Obi Wan, Plo Koon, Aayla, Barriss, Boba, Rex and Fives without their helmets, and the clones that had come with them were rushing into the throne room.
Sidious was distracted and had to stop his barrage even as Obi Wan rushed at him. Before he could attack, Obi Wan used the force to push Sidious back and away from Anakin.
Sidious was thrown into his own throne, but then he got up and started to shoot force lightning at Obi Wan in rage.
Even as Obi Wan held on, defending himself with his lightsaber, Anakin collapsed and Padmé and Jamillia rushed towards him to support him.
Padmé asked frantically, "Anakin, are you alright? Say something!"
Anakin looked at Padmé before his head fell back and he lapsed into unconsciousness, weary from the intensity of Sidious' attacks.
Even as Padmé cradled Anakin's body, Plo Koon rushed over to Ahsoka and placing his arms around her, he asked, "Ahsoka, are you okay?"
Ahsoka cried out, "We have to help Anakin!"
Plo Koon said, "We've got him. But we need to know if you're okay."
Ahsoka said, "I'm a little shaken but I'm okay."
Obi Wan was trying to hold out against Sidious, and Aayla and the clones on Anakin's side, along with Boba were fighting the inquisitors and stormtroopers.
And then, Obi Wan heard none other than Qui Gon's voice calling out, "Run Obi Wan, run. Take everyone and rush out of here. Save Anakin and the others. Run Obi Wan, run."
Meanwhile, Sidious had broken off on seeing Plo Koon igniting his lightsaber and before he could do anything, he was thrown back with the force by Plo Koon.
Obi Wan cried out, "Retreat, everyone fall back! Back to the ship!"
He then ran to Padmé and asked, "Padmé, can you carry Anakin? We need to rush him out of here."
Padmé was about to reply but Typho rushed over and said, "I'll take him. The rest of you, just run ahead." and saying so, he picked up Anakin and with great difficulty, held him on his back.
Anakin was quite heavy, but manageable.
Obi Wan cried out once more, "Come on, run!"
With that, the whole group rushed out, with Boba staying by his side and helping him protect Anakin.
They did not stop until they had reached Boba's ship.
R2 was waiting near Anakin's starfighter, and when he saw Anakin being carried, he immediately rushed towards the ship out of concern and got in.
A few moments later, Slave I lifted off, blasted out of the hangar and flew off into Coruscant's atmosphere and into outer space, where there was a Venator Star Class Destroyer waiting, none other than the Devastator.
A few Imperial V-wings pursued them, but Boba managed to outmaneuver them well and reach the hangar of the Devastator.
Even as the Slave I parked in the hangar of the larger ship, they heard Admiral Piett's voice over the comm, "Glad to see you're safe. Shall I take us into hyperspace?"
Obi Wan responded, "Set course for Alderaan."
