A/N: Sorry for not updating for so long. To make it up to you here is a nice long chapter.
Enjoy.
*******************************************************************************************************
Padmé walked along the eternal hallways of the Jedi Temple. She was looking for the one person that could end her agony.
"Anakin!!", Padmé cried out when she saw her husband around the hall. Anakin's face turned white with surprise and then a smile crept on his lips in anticipation. She was there, just a few feet away from him. They ran into each other's arms and joined in a crushing embrace, never wanting to let go. Anakin felt Padmé's tears roll down his shoulder and felt his own eyes well up with tears. He closed them and a drop rolled down his face.
"I can't believe you are here", he whispered huskily against her shoulder. Padmé smiled and a sob escaped her lips. She brought him even closer, if possible, and kissed his neck.
"I can't believe it either...", she replied. Anakin smiled back and cupped her face.
"Now we can be together". With that out of his system, he leaned closer and softly brushed his lips against Padmé's. She sighed her relief against his mouth and trailed her fingers through Anakin's hair.
Padmé woke up with a start. She had been having this kind of dreams for weeks now, and it tormented her that they were just images inside her head and not reality. She remembered that she was a Jedi, and that Jedi had prophetic dreams and visions. Maybe this was one of them… She searched underneath her pillow and pulled out a white shirt: Anakin's favorite. He always wore it on his days off, and he had given it to her so that she had something to remember him by, something that she could hold on to when she felt lonely.
Padmé went back to sleep carrying a little hope within the tired walls of her heart.
*
The Courasant traffic was getting to Anakin's nerves. Was it always this annoying? Maybe the fact that he was going to find Padmé had something to do with it. He and Obi Wan had met at Dex's diner earlier that day to discuss Padmé's situation. What he learned from the Jedi Master startled him. The Jedi order had had no news of Padmé in a while, and they were starting to lose hope on getting her back.
Anakin was furious at this. First, the order broke their promise of letting Padmé rest for a couple of months after Seth's birth by sending her to a dangerous mission. Then, they leave her alone with no other Jedi to help her inside the dark sect, knowing perfectly well how hard it had been for Padmé to stay in the light side. And finally, they start "losing hope" and doing nothing about it.
//If they think that they can put my wife in destiny's hands, they are crazy. I'm not having that!!//, Anakin thought, rage running through his veins and threatening to explode at any minute. //If they don't get her back for the order, then I'll get her back for her family. Our family//.
Once again checking the address Obi Wan had given him, he stepped on the gas and frowned, determined to fly pass the traffic. If the authorities stopped him, he still had his Senatorial Pass from almost a year ago. Being former Senator had its advantages, Anakin remembered with a smile.
After two hours of driving Anakin finally spotted the district where the street was located. The smell hanging in the air forced him to close the windows and turn the air purifier on. He flew at a small distance from the ground, trying to see if there were any Jedi in the area. The sidewalks were covered in dirt and garbage, and the only life forms looked like street workers, male and female, and not-to-be-trusted people.
This was no place for Padmé. The thought of how she had gotten there by herself caused Anakin's anger towards the Jedi order to grow. But then he realized that this was the life of a Jedi, that all of them had to face bigger dangers than walking through a low-level street. Maybe he wasn't angry at the Jedi but at the fact that his wife was a Jedi, and one of the best. She was the Chosen One after all...
During their marriage Padmé had always accepted the fact that Anakin was a politician and that most of his time would be dedicated to the service of others. She respected him for what he was. Anakin realized that he had never really gotten used to the fact that his wife belonged to an order older than Nubian monarchy and that fought for justice and good. And yes, her services stole a lot of their time together. He still hadn't processed this information. He guessed that he always gave Padmé's time with him for granted, while he was the one who determined when and where they were to meet.
Driving through a dark and dirty alley did he realize all this. He sighed and squeezed the wheel, determined to improve as a husband. But to do that, he first had to find his wife. That was when he saw it. The door. He parked the speeder across the street and walked towards the door, never moving his shoulder from the secrecy of the alley's wall.
Searching into his belt, he pulled a laser device to detect any movement from behind the heavy door. Scanning the little blue screen he learned that there was no one guarding the entrance. Suddenly, the gadget beeped, announcing someone's presence nearing. Anakin quickly hid behind a metal box and waited for the stranger to open the door, keeping as quiet as possible.
It was human. Just like Obi Wan had confided him, all the members of the sect were human. Anakin watched his every move carefully. He was carrying a bag of some sort and all of the sudden he threw it against Anakin. The next thing Anakin knew, the stranger was grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. He was young and had dark eyes, even darker than Padmé's. A nasty scar covered part of his face.
"Who are you?", he asked half closing his eyes, as if he knew whose collar he was grabbing. There was something awfully familiar about the man... not physically, but spiritually.
Anakin decided that it wasn't for the best to give out his identity. He swallowed the lump in his throat and shook his head.
"I... I..."
The young man held him closer and pressed his forehead against Anakin's to then close his eyes. Anakin was, to say the least, shocked. What was the stranger doing?
"Relax, I'm not attracted to you...", he muttered through clenched teeth, sarcasm joining his words. His statement didn't calm Anakin in the least bit. In another day, he would've laughed. "You are the one..."
"Who?", Anakin asked, confused as he had never been. The young boy released him and Anakin fell to the floor with a thud. He looked into the dark eyes of the stranger, puzzled by his bipolar behavior. One minute he was almost attacking him. The next he was letting him go. The young boy smiled patiently at Anakin.
"The one that haunts her dreams every night". Anakin looked startled at the young man and raised a questioning brow. The boy smiled again and extended his hand. "I'm Skyus, and I'm a friend of Padmé's".
Anakin stared at Skyus, skeptical at his answer. What if he was lying? But then again, what if he was telling the truth? His only choice was to trust him. It was the only way.
"I'm her husband. My name is Anakin".
*
That same night Skyus visited Padmé's room like any other night. He found her lying on her bed and clutching a white shirt close to her. As soon as she heard the door opening, Padmé hid the shirt under the pillow.
"Cruelius, is that you?", she asked.
"No, it's me. Skyus", he replied with a smirk. Padmé returned the gesture with a weak smile and sat up. "You better stay there and ready yourself for what I have to tell you", he advised. Now Padmé was really curious. And nervous. What was her friend going to tell her? Skyus took his time and sat next to her.
"Please, Skyus... just tell me", she pleaded. Her friend took her hand in his and looked at her.
"I met someone today"
"Who?", Padmé asked growing impatient. Skyus sighed and squeezed her hand in reassurance.
"Anakin".
Padmé's world seemed to make a 180° turn. Everything was different now. At last she had found the hope she had been looking for over months of searching. Her husband was there to help her and to take her home where she belonged; next to her child and next to her husband. Her family.
"Padmé, are you okay?", Skyus asked after seeing the expression in her face. Padmé's eyes met his and suddenly she started crying. Tears fell down her face after being kept for far too long in her tired eyes. Tears of joy, of anguish, of sadness, of expectation for what was to come. She wrapped her arms around Skyus' neck and cried, her only comfort the friend holding her.
After a couple of minutes, Skyus stroked her back and gently pushed her away so that they could look into each other's eyes. They smiled at each other and an excited gasp escaped Padmé.
"Okay: this is what we are going to do".
It was crazy. How would they be able to pull off something like that? It was extremely dangerous and risky. But then again, they had no other choice. It was their only chance to get out of there and finish with the sect for once and for all.
*
Meanwhile, Anakin waited inside the speeder for Skyus to come outside. If only Padmé could join him... But it was too risky. Between Anakin and Skyus they had created a plan to terminate the sect and be finished by the next morning. After all, Anakin was ruling an entire planet and he couldn't be absent for very long. In fact, he couldn't be absent at all. He had to leave a trusted decoy in his place. Still, he preferred to rule the planet by himself. But this was a special occasion.
Anakin's attention returned to the building's entrance. A light blinked five times. That was his cue to do his part of the plan.
*
"Sadicous, I must speak to you", Skyus, this time acting like Cruelius, said. Sadicous interrupted his dinner and motioned for the young man to sit next to him. He did as asked and stared at Sadicous.
"Padmé is an impostor"
*
"Force, I hope this works...", Padmé pleaded. She impatiently waited for Skyus to return. What was taking him so long? They had agreed to meet in her room, hopefully with Sadicous. She checked her chrono for the sixth time. Eight minutes since the plan was put into motion.
*
"She's in her room, you'll see that I'm right..."
Sadicous nodded and followed Cruelius to Padmé's chambers. He couldn't believe it. A young girl who turned out to be a Jedi had fooled him. She would pay.
*
Anakin parked his speeder behind the giant metal box in the alley and quietly stood by the entrance of the building. He dialed the secret code Skyus had given him earlier and entered. He followed the stairs and walked through the small hall, always close to the wall. When he saw the utility closet's door he opened it and hid in the small compartment. Now he had to wait.
*
No knock came before the door to her room opened violently. She watched how Sadicous' hand lifted in her direction. The inevitable outcome was before her eyes.
"Nobody fools me", Sadicous simply stated before he threw lightning bolts at Padmé. The shocks pushed her against the wall where she squirmed and jerked in pain.
Skyus watched with a broken heart as his friend was being tortured. He desperately wanted to help her but he had to wait. Padmé's eyes rolled back in her head and her chin started trembling uncontrollably. She didn't have much time left. Skyus left the room and walked towards the entrance.
*
Anakin heard footsteps coming from the hallway. His chest contracted in awareness. Three knocks on the door let him know that everything was going as planned. The thumps of the footsteps came back to life and faded in the background. The only thing left to do was wait.
*
Skyus re-entered Padmé's room and found her lying on the floor, still receiving light bolts from Sadicous. Skyus noticed that Skyus was weakening. Now. It was his only chance. He closed the door and concentrated.
Skyus lifted both his hands and threw light bolts at Sadicous. He turned around and an angry expression on his face told Skyus that he wasn't pleased.
*
Anakin checked his chrono and stood up in a jump. He left the closet and followed the sound of tortured screams along the hallway.
*
Padmé opened her eyes and saw Skyus and Sadicous in the middle of a light bolt fight. They were both relatively even. She tried to stand up but her weakness kept her from achieving her goal. All of the sudden the door opened. A tall, lean figure stood in the doorway. Padmé tried to get a better look but the light from the hall just showed a shadow.
As the figure came closer to her she recognized who it was. Her eyes popped open welcoming the sight of her husband. She tried to say his name but her vocal cords were paralyzed. Anakin kneeled by her side and cupped her face, moving it to his lap so that she could rest.
"Padmé...", he managed to say. Padmé noticed that his eyes were bright with tears of fear. She managed to smile at him, letting him know that she wasn't all that bad. Suddenly Anakin's face contracted in pain and Padmé realized that Sadicous was now throwing light bolts at her husband. She tried to do something but she was physically weak. Closing her eyes she tried to concentrate on the Force.
Being separated from the Force for as long as she had, it wasn't an easy task to use it, especially if she was weak in body. Finally accepting that she couldn't use the Force the way she wanted she sent a desperate help call to Yoda through their bond. Two seconds later she received a reply.
//Felt the disturbance, I already have. A block away from there, I am//
By the time Padmé had processed the information Anakin had collapsed to the floor next to her, Skyus was trying to recover from the shocks he had thrown and received and Sadicous was panting, clearly exhausted. When he recovered he sat next to Anakin's unconscious body and grabbed his left arm. Padmé watched as Sadicous smiled sadistically at her and broke Anakin's arm, showing no mercy.
Padmé's mouth fell open but no words, no screams, no cries came out. She still couldn't talk. Tears traveled angrily down her face and neck, the despair in her panting breaths evidencing her fear. Just when she thought everything was lost, a small figure appeared on the door.
Yoda.
Reaching for his lightsaber, he swirled in the air and landed in front of Sadicous. Before the Sect leader could make a move in self-defense, Yoda slashed him in half and watched as his upper body fell, his legs numb. Satisfied, the Jedi Master cleared his throat and turned to look at Padmé. He limped towards her, always supporting himself on his stick. Certain that she wasn't in danger anymore, Padmé collapsed next to her husband.