I'm sorry y'all, but the brain juice is not flowing rn. I'm having trouble finding motivation to update, and school has made me so tired. I'll update next week, but I got broken up with like three days ago so that still hurts, and my teachers keep giving us work. Trying to write 4000 words a week (bc I have that other fic too) Is exhausting on top of other stuff, like running an instagram art account (bicycle_creates) and keeping up with hw. I just needed to vent here because I am so tired. Enjoy the chapter tho lmao

Disclaimer: can i stop doing these pls we know i dont own it

Chapter Eight: Hypnosis

Ahsoka scanned the crowd, posture deceptively casual. She and her Master appeared to be two average spectators at this magician's show, but in reality they were Jedi on a mission. They had heard of spice dealers congregating here, and that was something the Republic did not tolerate. That was why they had sent two Jedi to match some names to faces for arrest at a later date.

The duo were dressed in civilian clothes, sporting baggy shirts that would hide their lightsabers. They occupied a table in the center of the room, a perfect place to look like they didn't care if they were noticed and be completely ignored. Neither had ordered any drinks, claiming that they simply were not thirsty. The server that had approached them had stalked off, annoyed that they would not get their tip. Anakin didn't exactly dislike drinking, but he was on a mission. He had a strict no drinking policy when on missions, only to be broken when a cover required it.

They had gotten a couple of odd glances, seeing as a human man and a togruta girl would usually be lovers but she was far too young. The idea of them being together disgusted both of them; their relationship was like that of siblings, albeit with a wide age difference. Most people only gave them a quick once-over, however, so they were safe from being perceived too heavily.

The magician had entered the stage not long ago, bringing a life and personality to the otherwise boring lounge room. He had flounced into a dramatic spotlight, glittery makeup drawing attention to his human features as he shouted out to the dull room. The response he got was truly astounding for such a subdued audience, their voices filling the air with cheers in moments. Kriff, Ahsoka had even joined in a little. By now the first act had started; an array of hidden holoprojectors making it seem like he commanded objects with the Force as they swirled in the air about him. If she was being honest, Ahsoka thought it didn't even look fake. She could barely take her eyes off the show at this point, only a discreet nudge from her Master getting her to go back to paying attention.

The padawan once again stealthily scanned the room, searching for hands subtly exchanging credits or heads pressed too close together in discussion. One group had caught her eyes a bit, looking all too serious for this lively performance. She moved to alert her Master when-

"You there, why don't you come up and join us?" The magician's voice rang through the room again, and the teen realized all eyes were on her. A spotlight moved to land on her table, shining bright in her eyes. She looked up at the stage in surprise to see the magician beckoning to her, rhinestoned gloves urging her on. He realized she might be a tad confused, so he repeated himself.

"Why don't you come be the volunteer for my next act?" She couldn't refuse now, and something about the man made her not want to. She felt herself standing from her chair and walking up to the front of the room. She belatedly realized he had probably chosen her because she was a togruta, a highly fetishized species and the type to have "magician's assistant" style jobs. Oh well, she would just have to grit her teeth and get over it, hoping he didn't tell her to "smile more".

The togruta hopped onto the stage rather nimbly, noting her Master's semi-worried glance. He knew she could take care of herself, but this could jeopardize the mission. Also, he could be rather overprotective about this sort of thing. On the raised platform stood a single chair and a small table with a tiny box placed upon it. The magician grabbed her hand almost the second she arrived and she ground her teeth together in an effort not to snatch it away immediately. He led her over to the chair and didn't even wait for her to seat herself, wasting no time in pushing down on her shoulders rather harder than needed. A short glance into the audience revealed many of the men still entranced with the show as they wondered what would happen, while a few of the women had empathetic expressions upon their faces. It was mainly the twi'lek women; there were no togruta at this show.

She was distracted from that when the magician opened the box on the table with a flourish, smoke pouring out of the wooden chest. The audience oohed and aahed, watching with rapt attention as this annoying as all kriff magician pulled out a little crystal on a chain. It felt familiar… Force, was that a kyber crystal? The teen barely hid her shock, keeping her face carefully neutral as she studied it. It had all the characteristics of one, how in the galaxy did this man get his hands on one? More importantly. How was he not incredibly rich or incredibly dead? Kyber crystals went for an insane amount of credits on the black market, was he stupid enough to not have realized or smart enough to hide it?

The whole room felt bathed in silence as he began to swing the crystal like a pendulum in front of her face. "My next trick will be to hypnotize this young woman!"

Well that was just ridiculous. Kyber crystals did not have that power, and the swinging of objects in front of one's face could not compel them. She also didn't appreciate being described as a "young woman" in this way, this man gave her the worst vibes. She just knew he referred to women as "females". Her disgust was barely veiled as he stood in front of her, but it began to fade as her eyelids grew tired, fluttering closed without her permission. There was a moment of panic, of the terror at something not being quite right here, but it was quickly squashed by a calming voice in her head.

Shh, it said. Do not be afraid, young one. Be calm, the Force wills it to be so.

She heard muffled stalking, montrals vaguely registering the magician speak. A small part of her realized that the Force was somehow doing this, but it was too insignificant in the face of the urge to do as she was ordered.

Anakin watched from his place in the audience as his padawan was manhandled, not pleased at those in the audience enjoying her discomfort. He could tell she was not very pleased, could see the set of her jaw and rigid way she held herself. He had to clench down upon the rail of his chair when he referred to her as a "young woman", the way he said it was so creepy. He knew his student could handle herself, but it was just infuriating to see the way she was treated because of her gender and species.

The magician removed a crystal on a chain from a box, smoke pouring out of it to capture attention. The crystal felt odd, but he brushed it off in favour of watching his padawan to ensure her safety. The crystal was swung in front of her face and she slowly began to close her eyes, setting him on edge. He had no clue if she was acting or not, but something did not feel right. He felt the Force whisper through the room and then collect around her, linking her and the magician. The General debated blowing their cover right there, but something told him to wait.

The magician began to speak. "She has gone into a deep trance, only to be awoken when I am finished." he turned to her. "Every time you hear someone snap their fingers you will admit a deep secret about yourself that you would rather not say. You will exit this trance once my hands clap."

This was an invasion of privacy. The Jedi was truly livid by now, his muscles tense as he fought to seem unbothered by the obvious humiliation of his padawan.

"Are you ready?"

The audience cheered at that, hands clapping together as they awaited the test of this trick. He smiled and turned to the togruta, deliberately and slowly, and did a precise clap.

Ahsoka felt a thought tug her partially from the murky waters of her trance. Listen to me, child, it said. You must obey. At the snap of fingers reveal from within a secret you wish to hide, something you do not want others to know.

She wanted to ask why, but the voice of the Force was so comforting. It was not truly the Force speaking to her, rather the Force was working as a conduit for the magician. She understood this on a base level but did not care, for she was merely to obey, not to think about it. If she could she would nod, a show of agreement to do what was asked of her. At that moment she heard a clap, crystal clear and shattering through her haze.

The teen jerked as if a bucket of ice water had just been dumped on her, coming back to reality at lightspeed. She looked up at the magician, having completely forgotten that whole trance. She felt as though she had blinked once and minutes had passed. She looked around a little confusedly, noticing her livid Master in the crows. Had she just been hypnotized? How in the galaxy…

The magician gave her a smile and snapped his fingers. She felt as though something possessed her, taking over her body and shuffling through her thoughts like a careless librarian. It took mere moments to search the most secretive area of her mind, carelessly selecting a highly confidential detail. Through possessed lips she heard herself utter, "I am a Jedi."

The magician stepped back, shock clearly written on his face, and she heard commotion in the audience as viewers scrambled from their seats, fleeing. She looked out to see people running, to see her Master's bone-white face. He was clearly as shocked as her, a hand coming to her mouth as she realized what she had done. The mission was shot, her cover was blown, and the people she had noticed before were aiming blasters at her head.

The Commander was finally spurred to action, unsheathing her lightsabers to deflect the shots aimed her way. The magician long gone with his box and crystal, she was alone on the stage to defend herself against the group of seasoned spice dealers, barely keeping the barrage at bay. All remaining civilians had fled at the sight of weapons, but her Master had finally unsheathed his own blade, drawing some of the blaster fire. Noticing they were not only facing some young girl they began to retreat, an extra aggressive volley of blaster bolts forcing the padawan to dive to the side, rolling out of danger on the tiny stage. Being too far away, Anakin was unable to catch them as they escaped.

He leveled her with an incredulous stare and she winced, knowing the lecture for this would be long.

Ahsoka held in her sigh as her Master berated her, ranting about how she should have found a different thought or simply resisted the hypnotism. She was close to snorting, she knew she could not have stopped it if she tried. There had been some sort of Force-Suggestion at work, the magician was likely Force-Sensitive. She had not been expecting it, so her guard had been down. That was what had allowed the hypnotism to go into effect, and she would never make that mistake again.

He was calming down now, starting to try and think of how to best make her understand she had made a mistake. She really had done nothing wrong, but the padawan allowed him to keep going. It would be best to just let him tire himself out.

Anakin stopped pacing, brainstorming. After a moment he got an idea, snapping his fingers as he prepared to tell his padawan her sentence. He realized what he did a moment later, eyes widening as she stiffened and became possessed once again. The teen tried desperately to keep her mouth shut, but it was forced open and she heard herself utter, "I am in love with Barriss Offee."

She immediately exited her trance, slapping her hand over her traitorous mouth. Wide eyes met her Master's, and he had no idea how to respond. He shook himself, collecting his thoughts before he said, "Attachment is forbidden, and I know you know that. I understand how difficult it can be to put it aside, and how sometimes you don't want to. But you must be able to see the bigger picture, to look past your attachment to padawan Offee."

The Commander nodded, immensely grateful for his understanding. She understood one must not prioritize attachments over all else, had accepted that as soon as she realized she had fallen for Barriss. Fortunately for her status as a Jedi, she had never told the mirialan about it and therefore had no idea if the feelings were requited. It was for the best, these things were forbidden amongst the Jedi.

This sudden surprise seemed to have at least distracted Anakin from the lecture, and put his mind onto getting this hypnosis removed. The best option was to go see the magician directly. This would be an interesting visit.

End of chapter!

Notes:

-KoalaTakingNotes: I hope u enjoy lol I did change and add a couple of things but here u go

-Me, projecting my intense dislike of sexism and misogyny onto my writing? Whaaaat?

-Also me, projecting my gayness into my ships? Whaaaaaaaaaaat?

-I did some research and kyber crystals aren't just like, space uranium. They can actually channel the Force as I and probably most of u suspected. So ig hc they can help with force-suggestions?

-I didn't really like writing anakin get all mad like that but i was too tired to write something else lmao

-im too tired to read it again for more notes lmao so these are all ur getting

Tune in next week for chapter nine!