"I can't be with a woman who has lied to me my whole life," Anakin said, throwing her his wedding ring, the one they could never wear.
"Ani, please don't leave me," Padmé said, weeping bitterly.
"Goodbye, Padmé," Anakin said, closing the door.
"Ani!" Padmé cried, but she couldn't move. "Anakin, please," she sobbed.
But when the door opened again, it wasn't Anakin who entered, it was Darth Vader, the monster her children had spoken of.
"Ani!" she sobbed as she felt him choke her with the Force. She tried to whisper, but her lungs began to run out of air; she was going to die.
And suddenly she woke up.
"Ani!" she cried, sobbing, tears immediately streaming down her face.
"We're here," Anakin said, looking at her harshly from the doorway, and she choked back a sob.
"Good," she said when he left.
She hugged Anakin's robes that still covered his body.
Han was piloting the ship; they had left the bounty hunters on a neutral planet since they didn't want to return to Mandalore.
When they landed, Anakin and Luke took Jabba down. The Hutt didn't seem as arrogant as usual; he looked almost scared.
Satine had been informed of the situation, and she reluctantly agreed to have two prisoners on Mandalore, although Padmé honestly no longer saw Mara as a prisoner, even though they had put the handcuffs back on her. Leia, Ahsoka, and Han took charge of piloting the ship to another location. Obi-Wan led Mara by the arm, making her walk.
"Can you let go of me?" the woman asked, annoyed.
"Fine, just don't try to escape," Obi-Wan said.
"Very funny," Mara said irritably, reluctantly watching Padmé look truly miserable as she walked behind.
"You don't look well," Mara said.
"It's all over," Padmé said with a shy smile. "I didn't expect anything different."
"Your rebellion has only just begun. Do you think it's all over because of a man?" Mara asked, trying to cheer her up. She liked her.
"You gave up your freedom to save my son," Padmé smiled. "Don't try to lie to me. I know you love him."
"I wasn't going to deny it," Mara said, looking away.
"Why are you continuing this fight?" You were sent to save the Empire. Why are you doing this? - Padmé asked.
Because it's all I have, - Mara replied.
You could have more. You could be happy.
Do you think someone like me deserves someone like him? - Mara asked, and Padmé knew she had gotten to her. - I've only ever wanted to kill my master's enemies since I was old enough to understand, until the only one I couldn't kill came along, the son of my greatest rival for power. They sent me to the future, and I was ready to kill them. Do you know what happened? - Mara asked, annoyed.
You couldn't, and you saved them, - Padmé smiled.
I couldn't because that man is kind, and he got that kindness from you. And although I consider it almost impossible, he also got the kindness from Anakin Skywalker, - Mara said, calling him by his name for the first time.
Don't you think Anakin is just Vader anymore? - Padmé asked.
Anakin wasn't the one who killed everyone last night, - Mara said, feeling the same as Padmé. - We were We, later when they were arguing, I felt their anger in the Force. Vader would have killed you for less.
"Now we're monsters," Padmé smiled wistfully.
"I always have been. But do you think that decision makes you a monster?"
"Padmé," Obi-Wan said, joining the conversation, "As Jedi, we've made much harder decisions. We haven't just killed droids, we've killed living beings too. What you did was one of the things we have to do on our missions. I don't judge you, and I know Anakin doesn't either."
"I've done terrible things to him, Obi-Wan," Padmé said, on the verge of tears again.
"He'll forget," Mara smiled, walking ahead, her mind too confused between good and evil.
"I've done terrible things to him, Obi-Wan." "Everything will be alright," Obi-Wan said, embracing Padmé. "You must take care of yourself, now more than ever. By the way, excellent lightsaber technique," Obi-Wan complimented, and she blushed.
"I don't know what possessed me to do that," Padmé said, laughing, and Obi-Wan smiled. At least he had made her smile.
"Padme," Satine said after greeting Obi-Wan with a kiss, "What happened?" she asked, worried.
"Oh, Satine," Padme said, throwing her arms around his neck, and Obi-Wan stepped back.
"Come on, let's go to my room," Satine said, leaving everything in Obi-Wan's hands, which he accepted with surprise.
Padme had changed out of her ballerina costume and into a dress Satine lent her, but she refused to take off Anakin's robes. She told Satine everything: what she had discussed with Cliegg, as well as what had happened at Jabba's palace.
"Padme, I don't condone violence, but you had no other choice," Satine said, making her understand that just as she accepted Obi-Wan, who acted like a soldier, she could accept her friend without judgment.
"I don't agree with violence, but you had no other choice," Satine said, making her understand that just as she accepted Obi-Wan, who acted like a soldier, she could accept her friend without judgment.
"I don't agree with violence," she said. "Anyway, he's left me, Satine. My marriage is over, in the middle of the war," Padmé sobbed, lying on Satine's bed.
"He would never be capable of leaving you," Satine said, smiling. "He must just be upset."
"I lied to him too much. Cliegg warned me. I should have told him the day his mother died, or even before, but I married him and kept lying."
"I can't believe this happened," Satine said, barely able to comprehend how Anakin Skywalker could have left Padmé.
"I don't know," Padmé said, weeping bitterly.
Satini, now happily engaged to Obi-Wan, was tempted to do something, to prevent this from happening. She needed to talk to Obi-Wan; he would know what to do. She ran into Leia and Ahsoka on the way. Leia rushed to her mother, while Ahsoka stormed toward her master, who was emerging from his interrogation with Jabba.
"I can't believe this happened." "Not now, know-it-all," said her master, seeing Ahsoka's eagerness to argue.
"Oh yes, Master," Ahsoka said, stepping in front of him. "Now."
"What did you want me to do?" Anakin shouted, feeling terrible for what he had said to Padmé. But she didn't trust him. She herself had said that a relationship without trust didn't work. How was he supposed to be by her side if she didn't trust him? It was for her own good.
"She loves you, Master," Ahsoka said angrily. "I don't care what she did. She disguised herself as a ballerina to rescue your stupid, stubborn ass because our plan failed. She had to resort to the enemy to rescue you, and she risked everything."
"She loves you, Master," said Ahsoka angrily. "It's not just that, know-it-all," Anakin said, a little calmer now.
"I don't care about the rest. Whatever she did, she did it for you, did you hear?" Ahsoka asked, looking up at him. Sometimes she hated how tall he was.
"And what if I don't want things done for me?" Anakin asked. "What if I want her to stop seeing me as the weak kid who was a slave on Tatooine?"
"Are you an idiot, or has all that fighting messed with your brain, Masterbrain?" Ahsoka asked. "You judge her for doing something for you? Did everything you've done for her just because you think she's weak?"
"Is everything you've done for her?" "Padmé isn't weak, she's an admirable woman," Anakin said.
"And she sees that in you, not a slave boy from Tatooine. She married you, she admires you, she cares about you—that's what people do for love!" Ahsoka shouted, causing some to glance at her discreetly, but it didn't matter.
"It's more than you think, Ahsoka," Anakin said, remembering his mother and her secrets.
"Padmé is waiting for your children, who, by the way, came from the future to save you. Because of your stubbornness and making decisions without consulting anyone, as you always do, you were turning into a monster. And guess who tried to stop you, even changing your damned future?"
"Is it because of this?" "Ahsoka," Anakin said, starting to get annoyed.
"Fine, get annoyed because someone's telling you the truth. She didn't judge you when she found out. I was one of the first to know, then she found out, and all she wanted to do was save you, not because of the harm you'd cause, not because of the horrible things you'd do, but because she didn't want to see you suffer that damned fate," Ahsoka said, breathing heavily.
"Know-it-all, if you were in my shoes," Anakin said, and Ahsoka silenced him again.
"But I'm not in your shoes. I don't have someone who loves me the way your wife loves you. Don't be an idiot, and don't ruin the perception I have of you, Master."
"What perception do you have of me?" he asked, confused.
"That of an extremely intelligent person who does extremely stupid things," Ahsoka said, leaving.
"No one could understand," Anakin whispered to himself. He loved Padmé in a way no one could imagine, but how could he stay by her side if she only saw him as a boy from Tatooine? Had she ever stopped seeing him that way? "You'll always be the boy I knew," she had said the first time he saw her again. That was probably all he was to her.
They spent two days on Mandalore until the situation became unbearable. Anakin ignored Padmé and avoided her whenever he could, but everyone could see how much he cared for her.
Padmé, for her part, to stop thinking about her breakup, had thrown herself into her work. Despite the insistence of Leia and Satine, who worked alongside her, she hadn't rested.
They had managed to uncover everything about the impending Order 66. Padmé couldn't allow the Jedi to be killed; she had to change those codes.
"So you'll go to Kamino?" Satine said, looking at Padmé.
"Father won't allow it, and I don't agree with it either," Leia said, worried.
"I've obtained the Chancellor's authorization for a diplomatic visit," Padmé smiled. "Now that I'm supporting him with the project to create more clones, he's entrusted me with the task of overseeing their creation."
"Wasn't that the Jedi's job?" Satine asked.
"Not in financial matters," Padmé said. "That's my job now."
"Padmé," Satine said, knowing it was the only solution, "Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?" "It's the only option," Padmé said, biting her lip.
"If you leave now, what will happen to your relationship?" Satine asked, and Padmé looked at her nervously.
"Mom," Leia said, hugging her mother. She still couldn't understand how everything had gone so wrong for them. Anakin hadn't spoken to her again, not even when Padmé had tried.
"I won't think about that now. Anakin once said that duty comes first, and I will fulfill my duty. I will save the Jedi, no matter what it takes," Padmé said, and the three nodded.
"Please be careful. I know you have the Chancellor's authorization and protection," Satine said, "but what if they find out?"
" "She won't be going alone," Leia said, and Satine looked at her, confused.
"Mara will be with me," Padmé said, and Satine looked at her doubtfully.
"Why are you taking a prisoner with you?" Satine asked, already knowing the answer.
"Because she'll be brought before the council tomorrow, and they'll take her to the Citadel," Padmé replied.
"Is it because of Luke?" Satine smiled.
"I can't bear to see my son suffer. If she escapes, I'll take the blame," Padmé said, knowing it was a great danger.
"She won't," Leia smiled. Mara had had plenty of opportunities to escape and hadn't taken them.
"I can't bear to see my son suffer. If she escapes, I'll take the blame," Padmé said, knowing it was a great danger.
"She won't," Leia smiled. Mara had had many opportunities to escape and hadn't.
"I can't see her suffer." "Remember, Leia, you must be my voice in the meetings with Bail Organa," Padmé said, and Leia nodded.
"More and more systems are working in our favor," Satine said. "I obtained diplomatic authorization to speak with him."
"Does Obi-Wan know?" Padmé asked.
"Of course not, no Jedi knows, maybe only one," Satine said.
"Ahsoka," Leia said, and Satine nodded.
"When are you leaving?" Padmé asked.
"Tomorrow," Satine said, who actually had no idea how she would manage to escape her own planet without anyone noticing.
"We'll return to Coruscant. We must bring Jabba before the council without the chancellor noticing," Leia said. "We'll split up to smuggle him onto Coruscant in the Millennium Falcon." Padmé nodded.
"Please be careful," she said, kissing her daughter's forehead. "Take care of Luke," she pleaded. "Take care of Ani," she added, almost whispering.
"Mom," Leia said, hugging her. "Please take good care of yourself."
"I will," Padmé said, smiling.