A/N:

Hey guys, gals, and non-binary pals!

I hope everything is going well for you. Here is another chapter for the story! I believe there are just a few more chapters now! How exciting!

Happy reading!

Ensnared

It was not long until the experienced pilot made it into Sylvantar's atmosphere and approached the leading flagship. Instantly, he knew through the Force his twins were not there, not even in the system. He could certainly sense Padmé, however. Loud and clear, and her pain. They must have tortured her, or are currently torturing her.

Anakin clicked on his comms, "Obi-Wan! The twins aren't here!" he barked over the comm.

"Understood, we'll find them!" Kenobi stated as he stared into the heavens of the planet. He knew there was no time for chit chat or anything else.

"I'm trusting you with my children, Obi-Wan," he voice cracked at the thought.

"I'll find them and keep them safe, Anakin, you have my word."

Skywalker gave a tight nod to the hologram and turned off the line. Luke and Leia were out of his reach, as much as he swore at the powers that be because of it. He had to stay with what was within his reach. His mind refocused on his life partner.

As he approached the belly of the ship and hanger bay, no arms bothered to track him. It was peaceful, eerily quiet, and sinister. An akrykna's web, eerily calm. Only because a master hunter lurked at its center. A patient, vile creature having craftily spun its web.

The Knight entered prepared to rip the universe apart to protect his family.

Senator Amidala straightened again after the IG-100 Magnaguard punched her down. If she began losing consciousness, they would shock her with their electrostaff.

The proud woman spat out the blood gushing in her mouth from slit cheeks. "Whatever it is you want, he won't give it to you," she said confidently. Sidious' face fell, just a bit, but her people reading skills gained in the senate saw it. She grinned staring up at her captor, her teeth and gums veiled with her blood.

He leaned forward from his palatial and foreboding chair. "Oh, I'm afraid, you are wrong. This has been foreseen for millennia. What an event for you to witness it, my dear girl!" he doubled down.

Padmé spat more blood at him, which sputtered onto his face.

His face fell blank and he slowly pulled back. Age twisted and gnarled fingers raised, and the once oh-so-benevolent face of an old man grinned wider than it should. His once seemingly sympathetic eyes glowed a heinous yellow. From his fingertips, blue strangled blasts of energy were sent cackling her way.

Before she knew what was happening, she was writhing in agony on the floor. She could not control the screams that called into the cold room.

Sidious would stop for a moment, only for his victim to catch her breath, then to resume. "Let's see if we can get him faster, shall we?" he taunted during a pause.

"Kriff you!" she spat at him.

The force lightning resumed stronger.

A gust burst through the space, and the crowd of separatist droids besides Padmé were crushed into a small ball of compact metals and wires. Weapons and crushed robotic pieces crumbled onto the floor.

"How dare you!" Anakin roared, igniting his lightsaber and b-lining it to the Sith.

Sidious wore a smile sick with splendor. The Sith backed away from his victim innocently and focused all his attention on Skywalker. He rose to a standing position and used the Force to lift the twitching senator. Darth Sidious then pushed her towards the Jedi, still out of reach, but allowing a good distance between him and the prey to stop Anakin's determined march.

That froze the Knight in his tracks as his wife was violently shoved towards him with the force.

"Now don't be foolish, boy. Lay down your lightsaber, or she dies."

"Don't do it, Ani! Whatever he wants, don't-" Padmé let out a whimper as Sidious tightened his Force grip on her already tortured neck.

Anakin's eyes darted from Padmé to the Sith, and he quickly dropped his weapon. His gaze stabbed at his enemy with laser focus. The sleek weapon clinked to the ground.

"Very good, Anakin!" he released a near unconscious Padmé without a care, and Anakin dove to catch her.

Anakin caught Padmé just before her head would have smacked into the metallic floor. He hurriedly brought her closer and scanned her over. His hand gently guided her battered face towards him. She gasped and coughed, squirming. He tried to settle her body as it twitched and convulsed due to the previous electrical torture.

The Sith watched delighted, feeling the distress swell within Anakin further. "But I must warn you, try anything, and I'll press this button. Do you know what it does?" Sidious so sweetly asked, as if to a curious child.

Skywalker's eyes darted to where the man pointed.

"It blows up the ship they're on. And there is no possible way your friend, Master Kenobi, will make it in time." He pressed a button, to Anakin's horror, and a hologram projected of the twins. They cried in cold metallic cribs. They were attended by, the the parent's horror, torture droids.

"Those precious children of yours. Lute and Lola?" he taunted, knowing their names. "No, it's Luke and Leia, isn't it?" His finger closely hovered over the control that would self-destruct the ship. He waited to cause more fear to well up within his target.

Skywalker paled further, but Sidious was not finished yet.

His finger moved away and he sat back again. "And if I don't give an order in person, my personnel will destroy the ship regardless. Are we understood?"

Skywalker was instantly flooded with fear, to which the ancient Sith felt. He froze.

All too easy.

"Now, we can talk," he sat in his chair.

Skywalker watched him carefully, Padmé's body still convulsing every few seconds. He sensed, though she was in pain and injured, she was not in immediate medical danger. "What do you want?" he said as evenly as he could.

"Oh, it's not obvious yet? I want you, my dear boy. I want you to be my new apprentice. You see, I have a vacancy, thanks to you, and you're the perfect one to fill it." Darth Sidious' yellow eyes seemed to glow brighter before he closed them. "I can feel your fear, your anger, your hate, and most of all your power," he opened his eyes again. "Your powers are wasted by the narrow minded teachings of the Jedi. Join me, and no harm will come to your family."

The situation sank deeply into the Jedi's heart. He gently kept his life partner turned on her side while she seized intermittently on the floor, helpless to truly help her. His mind raced for options, escapes, and ways to save Padmé and the twins. Maybe it was his rage or his fear, but he could not find a way to save both his spouse and his children. Panic started to sink in as he ran out of options.

The Dark Side user grinned, pleased by the internal terror of the man before him. He delicately wormed his way into Skywalker's mind, and left seeds of darkness in. Slowly but surely gaining influence. After decades of grooming and infiltration very little work remained. "Oh! There's more!"

Anakin's eyes snapped to him, horrified.

"The Naberries, such a lovely family, are on a different ship." Sidious activated a hologram and the familiar faces of Anakin's family through marriage appeared.

"Anakin?" Padmé rasped out in the weighted moment, her voice raw from screaming.

He looked down at her, cradling her head and leaning over her. "I'm right here, Angel," he replied as comfortingly as he could.

"Whatever he wants, don't do it… don't…" and she went unconscious.

Skywalker wanted to scream! Scream at the top of his lungs because this was too much stress for the experienced General and Jedi Knight. It was a perfectly crafted nightmare. He walked towards the sinister creature before him, using his body to block his beloved.

"I'm listening."

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. It'll be drawn out, but I don't mind one way or another. I will slowly torture and kill one person at a time. If that's not enough, I'll keep torturing your wife, then children, and eventually kill them if you take too long."

Anakin paled, his options quickly running out. Nine captives in three different locations. Ways for Sidious to kill them with the press of a button. And even if Anakin managed to get the upper hand and kill Sidious before he sent the orders, other orders would be given to destroy the ships regardless. He cannot be in three different places at once, and Obi-Wan could not be in two places at once. Kenobi did not even know about the Naberries.

"No matter how you choose to do this, you're mine. You've been mine since before I knew you. It's been prophesied. It's pointless to resist, my boy," he paused to allow Anakin to come to the conclusion there was no way out of this. "Shall I kill a niece to start?" Sidious' newly blackened fingernail pointed to a button, ready to communicate the order.

Anakin raised his hand quickly knowing Sidious meant what he said. Already, he had tried to kill Leia, and how many more countless times had he tried to kill Padmé? His mind had run seemingly thousands of different scenarios, and none of them ended with all his family surviving. Not one. "That won't be necessary!" he said urgently, genuinely afraid for his two nieces. "Just don't harm my family," he said as tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

"Good! Good!" the Sith bellowed with glee. "Now, bow to me and commit yourself to me."

Skywalker fell to his knees. He was defeated, purely and utterly defeated. So swiftly, so cruelly. Some tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.

"Do you pledge yourself wholly to me? That I shall be your only Master from this day forth until you die? To accept the Dark Side, and all my teachers concerning these unlimited powers?"

Anakin's head hung low, he nodded slowly. "I pledge myself to you and your teachings."

With that, Sidious invaded the young man's soul fully with the Dark Side. Skywalker's power was overwhelming, and it was all his!

Anakin felt a cold, shuddering darkness ooze into his mind. It was from the man before him as he infected him with the Dark Side. He flinched and wanted to fight it, his mental shields automatically began to rise. He forced himself to remain open and allow whatever was happening to happen.

It made him physically ill. It was actually cold, yet somehow it burned him as the infection spread further. His mind stopped making sense.

Darkness and power. Oh, such power! He became drunk with it, he felt invincible!

For my family, for my family! He repeated over and over in his head while pieces of him disappeared.

For my family!

A/N:

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Again, there are only a few chapters left I believe, and things are really coming to the finale!

July is Disability Pride Month. As a disabled individual myself, it's so important to become aware of the only minority one can join at any time in their life. Systematic and internalized ableism is rampant in many countries, including mine. Listen to and engage with people of the community, follow, support, advocate, vote if possible, and just be kind.

An (approximate) estimated 20% of the global population is disabled. The disability flag colors represent: red (physical disabilities), gold (neurodivergence), white (invisible and undiagnosed disabilities), blue (psychiatric disabilities), green (sensory disabilities), and lastly black: the people we've lost. The black color takes up most of the flag, and with good reason. Everyday many people are maltreated, ignored, improperly cared for, and killed due to preventable causes because of ableism, lack of knowledge and awareness, and cruelty. WE MATTER, WE EXIST, AND WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE LIFE.

If you're a fellow disabled, chronic illness(es), and/or spoonie friend:

I believe you.
You're not crazy.
If a mobility aid will help, use it.
Being disabled is NOT a burden on others, it's a burden on you.
You're allowed to take up space.
Aggressively save those spoons!
You're not alone.
Your value and worth is not connected to your productivity.
Visible, invisible, physical, mental, self diagnosed, and getting diagnosed- you're all valid.
Your life is just as valuable as everyone else's.
You are so important and I'm so happy you're here!

Also, a little glimpse into my life. Since my last post on this story, I met the actor Hayden Christensen at a convention. I would highly recommend doing so if able, have the means, and opportunity! He was very kind, accommodating, and a genuine wonderful human to just be around. I was able to say "thank you so much" to him in person. He's someone who has saved my life and doesn't even know it. For almost two decades I've wanted to give him the most sincere and deep thank you, and I was able to do just that.

If someone, anyone, has been a positive light in your life, make sure to tell them. It's so important for the souls of those involved!

Anywho, I hope this chapter was enjoyable for you. If you'd like to follow, favorite, or review, that would be lovely!

Until next time!

Guest Review Response:

Guest: Hello! Thank you so much for your kind words! I hope all is well and the story continues being great for you.

Until next time,
Heaven's Prayers

God bless and many blessings!

July 10, 2023