"She's not dead." Anakin mumbled to himself distractedly as he made his way out of the Senate building. "She… she is alive. She is on Coruscant." Anakin added shakily as he absently ran his fingers through his hair. He had a lost, glazed over look as he scanned his surroundings.
He did not register the sights and sounds of the bustling city around him. He did not care about the people walking around the capital district; all of his focus was on Padmé. For a brief moment he had felt her. He knew she was on Coruscant, but had not been able to pinpoint her location. The brief glimmer of Padmé he had felt in the Force had suddenly vanished.
Standing outside the Senate building, Anakin closed his eyes and tried to call upon the Force once more. He stretched out with his feelings, looking for any sign of his wife. He sighed in frustrated despair when he failed to locate her again. "Where are you!" Anakin shouted, startling a group of people walking near him. Anakin took a few deep breaths to calm himself, he was losing his temper and his anger would not help him find Padmé. He tried to smile reassuringly at the group of people he had startled. They looked at him like he had a pair of bantha ears and then quickly fled from his presence as if he was bound to attack them at any moment.
Anakin just shook his head as he watched people pass by him warily. They did not know his problems. They did not know that his wife and unborn child were in danger, abducted by an unknown. Or maybe they did know. Any of the people could have been Padmé's abductor. At this thought, Anakin eyed everyone suspiciously and called upon the Force to see if he could feel deceit emanating from any of them.
Anakin was so caught up in his hunt that he did not feel a light tugging to his pant leg. "Mr…. Mr…. Your comlink is chiming."
"Huh?" Anakin asked confused as he looked down at a young girl who was trying to capture his attention.
The small girl appeared to be about five years old. She was wearing a dark blue sundress. Her long brown hair was pulled away from her face with a simple headband. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with youthful glee and she smiled up at Anakin as she repeated, "Your comlink is chiming."
"Oh." Anakin said distractedly and pulled the comlink from his belt. "Thank you." Anakin stated pleasantly as he answered the call. "Skywalker here."
The little girl gasped, "Skywalker… Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Knight." She seemed to bounce with excitement. She had heard a lot about the great Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. How he was a champion of the Republic and a key figure in bringing freedom to the galaxy. She never thought she would meet him in person and she was pleasantly surprised that she was in his presence.
Anakin nodded and tried to calm the young girl down with a gesture as he overheard Obi-Wan's voice over the comm. "Where have you been? Master Yoda and I have been trying to reach you for a few minutes."
"I was in a meeting with the Chancellor."
"Did you find out anything useful?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes, I felt Padmé. Her Force presence was visible for a few moments."
"Really? When was this?" Obi-Wan asked insistently.
"Just now. I left the Chancellor's office as soon as her presence disappeared again."
"Interesting. Master Yoda just felt that dark presence again. It seems that these two events are connected."
Worry crossed Anakin's features again. "We must find it! It must have Padmé!"
"Wait, we should not jump to conclusions." Obi-Wan stated calmly.
"No, I know it. This cannot be a coincidence, that presence has Padmé. There is no other solution to this problem."
"Anakin…" Obi-Wan began. The young Jedi was being irrational; they had no evidence to connect the dark presence except for a coincidence. Although Obi-Wan conceded that Anakin was probably correct, they needed to remain calm and think this through.
"I will be at the Temple in a moment. I want to know what Master Yoda felt. Skywalker out." Anakin ended the transmission before Obi-Wan could finish his thought. He then began a brisk walk, completely ignoring the young girl who had been waiting anxiously for his transmission to end.
"Hey, Mr. Jedi! Is something wrong?" The little girl asked as she ran after him.
"Yes." Anakin stated automatically, not turning towards the girl.
"It's him isn't it?" The girl asked, fear was evident in her voice.
The tone of the little girl's voice halted Anakin and he stopped to look at her. "Who?" He asked calmly, kneeling down so that he was eye level with her.
"The Emperor. He is taking over again." The little girl replied as she shivered at the thought.
Anakin shook his head. He had silently hoped that the little girl could reveal an answer to him, but he should have known better. "No, why would you say that? The Emperor is dead."
"You are a Jedi, only a Sith could cause you problems."
"Lots of things can cause me problems. Rest assured, the Sith are no more. I was there the day the Emperor died."
"I know." The girl added brightly. "You are Anakin Skywalker…"
"Kera! Leave that man alone and come along." A woman called out sharply drawing the young girl's attention away from Anakin. "I am so sorry about this, sir." The woman added to Anakin who stood up as the girl ran towards the woman.
"What have I told you about talking to strangers, young lady." The woman said to the young girl.
"But momma…" Kera began. Anakin turned away from the scene and continued his brisk pace towards the Jedi Temple. Padmé's safety was more important that a squabble between a mother and daughter. He had wasted valuable time in talking to the little girl, but he knew that Padmé would not have wanted the girl to worry needlessly. The Sith were no more, and their threat was no longer a concern of the Republic or its people.
"That man could have harmed you." Kera's mother said as she watched Anakin walk away.
"No he wouldn't." Kera stated. "That is Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker…."
"Stop lying." Kera's mother stated sharply. "Now come along, we will talk about this tonight."
"But momma…" Kera pleaded as her mother took her hand and pulled her away.
Bail stormed into the tiny room holding Padmé under Sidious' direction. Bail's eyes shone with a sickly yellow glint as the Sith Lord took in the disarray of the room. "You dare to stop me!" Sidious had Bail yell at her as he walked briskly towards her and raised his hand ready to strike her.
"I have always defied you, why should things change now." Padmé stated evenly, glaring at her captor. She was standing up straight and proud, using her body language to further proclaim her defiance. A dark purple bruise was evident on her upper arm where the probe droid had injected her with her latest dose of ysalamiri serum. Sidious had stopped her while she was evading the tiny droid. As a result, all her muscles had been tensed which caused the injection to leave a bruise. She had tried to position herself so that Sidious could see it as he entered the room. She wanted him to see evidence that she had almost outsmarted him.
Padmé heard a growl from the Sith Lord; he had not used Bail's voice this time. She also watched as Bail's hand swiftly came towards her in a slap.
"Do you really want to do that?" Padmé stated calmly, arching an eyebrow at Bail. "Would you harm the person carrying Anakin's child?" Padmé smirked when Bail's hand suddenly stopped before it hit her. She knew the Sith Lord would be angry for her actions, but she also knew that he needed her right now. The Sith Lord's ultimate plan might be to kill her, but that would have to wait until after the birth of her child and that would not be for some time. Hopefully Anakin would find her before then and perhaps she could try to help him again.
"Oh I don't think so, Senator." Sidious growled. With the ysalamiri running through her system, he could not read Padmé's thoughts, but he saw the mischievous twinkle in her eye. She thought she could aid her husband's search again.
"Your little stunt did not help. Your husband does not know where you are. And I will not let him find you. From now on you will be under my close watch during your injections. There will not be a repeat performance of this incident. Skywalker's child is mine and neither you or him will stop me." Sidious replied menacingly.
Padmé did not respond to this, but glared at Bail, knowing the Sith would see it.
"There is no escape." Sidious added. This time he spoke through Bail. "Skywalker's child shall suffer a week's worth of Force lightning for this event."
Padmé instinctually placed a protective hand over her abdomen as Bail turned away from her and walked away. She could hear the faint cackle of the Sith Lord echoing around her. When the door closed and the Sith was gone Padmé dropped her hand to her side. Her brow furrowed in fear as she whispered, "Anakin, please. Find us."
