Disclaimer: It used to be George's sandbox. It is now Disney's. I just play here in my own little AU corner. :)

AN: Here's chapter 41! Thanks for all the great reviews! And sorry for the long delay.

Force Jumper

Chapter 41: Ill-Fated Rescue

Padme Amidala Skywalker was not easily frightened. She had faced grueling opposition, multiple death threats, many assassination attempts on her life, kidnapping, and more close calls than she cared to think about in her relatively short life.

Even now, as she was led to a prison cell, she was less afraid for herself and far more frightened for her husband and children. The leers of other prisoners were ignored. They weren't bothering to separate her from the male prisoners, but she was put into a cell by herself, so that offered some relief. But she knew her husband. He would come here to break her out...and this was likely just a huge trap for him and their son. He probably knew it too, but it wouldn't stop him. She just hoped that he brought enough back up.

Palpatine gazed out of his office window with a gleam of satisfaction. It was finally time. His years of hard work and planning would finally culminate to his victory. He raised the comlink to his lips.

"Commander...execute Order 66," he said coldly. As he clicked the device off, he heard a scuffle outside his office. The doors flew open and he spied his red guards unceremoniously unconscious on the floor, as Master Yoda hobbled inside. He grinned wickedly and drew his weapon.

"Welcome Master Yoda," he greeted.

"Win today, you will not, Sidious," Yoda stated, as his own weapon floated into his hand. Palpatine cackled.

"Oh, but I already have," Sidious sneered, as red and green blades extended and they rushed at each other. But Yoda somehow knew this was a battle he could not win; that if he survived, he would be forced to flee. His time on Coruscant was coming to an end...

Jake whistled low, as he crouched next to Anakin. They surveyed the prison grounds before them. It was normally a fortress on its own, but security had been tripled today.

"How do you plan to get in there without Force jumping? You know they've probably got sensors all over this place," he said.

"You're right...none of us can jump. But that's why we brought the kids," Anakin replied. Ariana and Sky smirked.

"You need a storm," the male teen said. Anakin nodded.

"The works. Flooding, twisters, quakes...all of it. Don't worry about Hunter and me. We'll manage," Anakin replied.

"How are we going in and please don't say the sewer," Hunter pleaded. Anakin smirked.

"Fortunately, not this time. We're going to scale the back wall and go in through the air shafts," Anakin replied. He nodded. Cramped, claustrophobic air shafts were better than the rancid, smelly sewer, but not by much. Hunter's friends were already at work, as the ground shook beneath them and a large wave wiped out many of the Clones on guard. Sky's twister caused massive chaos, as Anakin and Hunter ran through it all. The Clones and guards were too busy to stop them. With an ascension gun in each of their hands, they successfully scaled the prison and climbed up to the roof. Anakin easily found the air shaft opening and they ducked inside.

The sound of footsteps approaching her cell made Padme nervous, but that turned to sheer annoyance, as she saw that it was only Gavin again.

"It pains me to see you like this, Padme," Gavin said regretfully.

"Surrounded by this scum. A woman like you doesn't belong here," he stated.

"And yet you put me here," she retorted, her brown eyes piercing him like daggers.

"Oh no, I'm not responsible for this. Your vigilante lover put you here, my dear," he replied. If looks could kill, then Gavin Jothra would have been burning alive right then.

"My husband will not stand for this. You'll regret even touching me when this is over," Padme hissed. Gavin smirked and caressed her cheek through the bars. She shrugged him off in revulsion.

"Oh no...I shall never regret meeting you and pursuing you, my darling," he responded.

"I'm not your darling and I never will be," she spat.

"That's really too bad. If you were with me, you wouldn't be in here," he goaded. She smirked.

"If it's between you and prison, then prison it is," she hissed back. He frowned.

"I know you think he's coming for you. But he'll never get near you. They're ready for him," he warned. But Padme's smirk unnerved him.

"You really think he'll just come barreling in here like a raging Reek, don't you?" she questioned, enjoying the worry that flashed in his eyes. She smiled.

"Contrary to what you might believe, you scum sucking bottom feeder, he can keep his cool, especially in battle. He's a brilliant strategist, the best in fact. So, I think the question is who will outsmart who?" she said smugly.

"And my credits are definitely on my Anakin," she purred.

"We'll see," he said, as he hurried off, probably to warn whomever he was working for. She sighed in relief and watched her husband drop to his feet from a hatch in the ceiling.

"You are good...I have chills," he complimented, as he took a tool from his belt and picked at the control panel.

Soon, the plasma bars disappeared. He took her arm and pulled her flush against him, kissing her passionately for a small moment, tuning out the voices of the criminal scum around them.

"We should stop him. He's going to warn whoever he's working for," she said, as their lips parted. But he only smirked, as she saw someone approaching.

"This guy is heavier than he looks," Hunter complained, as he dragged an unconscious Gavin into the cell, tossing him in. Anakin reactivated the plasma bars, as Padme hugged their son and kissed his cheek.

"Mom…" he complained about her doting. Anakin smirked and motioned to his son, who gathered the Force around his feet and jumped into the shaft his father had traveled through to get to his mother's cell. He reached down and pulled her up, as his father lifted her up. Gathering the Force around him and levitated into the shaft right behind them.

The sight was something Obi-Wan had hoped he would never see. Their warning had almost been too late. Ships and shuttles full of Jedi and younglings poured from the landing bay of the Temple, each with a different destination. Jedi were enemies of the Republic now. Hunted fugitives. There were casualties, but fewer than there would have been had they not transmitted their message to those in the field and at the Temple. The Clones swarmed the Temple and acrid, black smoke pillowed in the sky from his burning home. They were trying to stop escapees, but Obi-Wan would not let them continue this slaughter and perhaps he would deliver a little justice in return. As they were spotted, Ahsoka, Scout, and Whie flanked him, four lightsabers igniting. Their weapons flashed and whirred, as they attacked amongst a barrage of blaster fire.

Once they scaled down the building, they found the prison courtyard littered with debris and mostly deserted, except the ominous, hooded figure that stood in the their way. Once the distraction was complete. Anakin had told Jake to get his team off Coruscant. The other man had been reluctant, but did Anakin had asked.

The cloaked figure turned at last revealing himself to the three of them.

"Mace Windu's replacement, I presume," Anakin said.

"Kar Vastor...a name you will fear. Just before I spill your blood," he replied.

"Not likely," Anakin hissed, as he and Hunter ignited their lightsabers. Vastor followed suit and charged first, going for Hunter, blades clashing in a deadlock. Hunter struggled under his oppressive strength and red lightning crackled along his arms, as he called on his powers to help.

"A freak among freaks, you are, aren't you boy?" Vastor growled, as he shoved the boy away. Anakin stepped in and their blades clashed and spun rapidly almost faster than bystanders could see. Vastor's muscles burned in protest and the battle raging thrilled him. It had been a very long time since he had fought such a challenging opponent. Skywalker's raw Force power and his skills with a lightsaber were extremely impressive. It was unfortunate that such power and potential was polluted by the other ability he had.

Anakin spared a glance at his son. He had done as asked and found a patch of duracrete where all the sensors that were set up to stop their jumping would be just out of range. He waited, saber ready, while Padme shifted impatiently beside him. She didn't have a blaster and didn't like it. But it wouldn't matter since he planned to get them out of there. He would then return and be better able to deal with Vastor, perhaps even lure him to a more neutral location. They saw Clones begin to surround them and Republic gunships now looming overhead. Anakin used the Force to push the Sith Lord back. Vastor outstretched his hand, fighting against him, an invisible resistance between them.

Anakin's raw power won out and sent Vastor flying, using that momentary distraction, he gathered his family and disappeared. Vastor got to his feet, as his people swarmed the landing pad, setting up their equipment, as the jump scar slowly closed.

"Open it," Vastor ordered. The machine hummed to life, glowing with green light and the sliver of an opening slowly became larger…

The three of them arrived home on Yavin IV and were greeted by their family. Anakin and Padme hugged Blake and their babies. Blake wriggled away from his parents and tackled his big brother in a hug too.

"We were getting worried," Sifo said.

"Vastor is definitely powerful. He won't be easy to take down, even if I manage to get him somewhere that we can actually have a fair fight. He's got not only his people behind him, but now Palpatine and the Republic," Anakin said gravely.

"Empire," Quinlan corrected.

"What?" Padme chimed in, as she put Luke down to play. Anakin did the same with Leia who squirmed to join her brother.

"Thirty minutes ago, Palpatine was on the Holonet, declaring himself Emperor," Quinlan explained.

"He can't do that!" Padme cried.

"He did...it was his plan all along," Dooku stated.

"Oh, so now you speak up?" Anakin roared.

"What about Master Yoda?" he asked.

"He's with us, Anakin," Obi-Wan interjected from his hologram.

"We barely escaped, but we're headed that way," Obi-Wan added.

"As are we," Jake stated, his hologram flickering.

A sharp gust of wind shot through the room, as the spot where they had returned tore open into a swirling vortex.

"What the hell?!" Quinlan exclaimed.

"My jump scar...they're opening it!" Anakin cried. Unexpectedly, a cord shot out through the opening and wrapped around Anakin. It came alive with electricity and Anakin fell to his knees, shrieking in pain. Chaos erupted in the room, as the twins started wailing.

"ANAKIN!" Padme screamed and to her horror, she saw the slackened cord go tight. His eyes locked with hers, as a million things passed silently between them.

"I love you…" he said, just as he was pulled through the scar.

"NO...NO! I'M NOT LOSING HIM!" Padme screamed.

"PADME...NO!" Quinlan cried, as he moved to stop her, but it was too late, as she threw herself into the opening.

"MOM! DAD!" Blake and Hunter cried. But the scar closed, cutting them off.

"NO!" Hunter screamed.

"What just happened?" Obi-Wan asked over all the commotion.

"They opened his jump scar and pulled him back through," Quinlan stated in disbelief.

"And Mom jumped in after him," Hunter added, feeling like he had failed.

"So...they're back on Coruscant?" Jake asked.

"Yes, but I doubt for long. They'll want to take them somewhere they think we can't rescue them," Quinlan replied.

"Then how are we going to find them?!" Hunter panicked.

"What's the only place he could take them that's almost impossible to infiltrate, let alone escape from?" Sifo-Dyas asked.

"You can't mean…" Quinlan refuted.

"I'm afraid so…" Sifo replied.

"Where?" Hunter asked impatiently.

"Haruun Kal," Quinlan said with dread. Hunter's heart sank, as everyone was silent.

"Are you absolutely sure that's where they will take them?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Palpatine just declared himself Emperor. Anakin is a huge threat. He'll want to neutralize him. Without help, not even Anakin can escape a place like that," Quinlan stated.

"So that's it! My parents are as good as dead? We're not even gonna try?!" Hunter screamed. Quinlan caught his thrashing form and gripped his shoulders powerfully.

"That's not what we're saying, kid. We just need a plan and it has to be a hell of a plan," he stated.

"I think I may know how," Obi-Wan said.

"Do tell," Sifo-Dyas prompted.

"It will require going to Tatooine first to get what we need, but it may be the only shot we have," he stated.

"What could we possibly need from that wretched sand ball?" Quinlan asked.

"A supply freighter," Obi-Wan stated. No one else seemed to get it, except Quinlan, who chuckled.

"You've been hanging out with Anakin too long!" he joked.

"Will someone let us in on this joke?" Jake asked.

"Obi-Wan wants to acquire a freighter and smuggle us onto the planet in the secret compartments," Quinlan clarified.

"Will it work?" Jake asked.

"If it doesn't, then nothing will," Obi-Wan responded.

"No...it will work. It has to. We just need a ship and a pilot crazy enough to take us there," Quinlan said.

"Not crazy...just greedy," Sifo mentioned, looking to his former friend.

"You don't really expect me to fund this little suicide mission, do you?" he asked incredulously.

"You'll do it or I'll take you with us and leave you in that sand pit. How long do you think you'll last in Mos Eisley with Palpatine's five million credit bounty on your head?" Quinlan asked. Dooku glowered at him.

"Fine...you'll have the money you need," he grumbled.

"I'm changing course to Tatooine," Obi-Wan said.

"Me too," Jake chimed in.

"We'll meet you there," Quinlan said. He and Hunter said their goodbyes and boarded a ship with Artoo and Threepio. Sifo and Ariana's mother remained behind to care for Blake and the twins. Dooku remained behind as well, having only agreed to provide the funds they needed.

"We'll save them, kid," Quinlan promised, as he let Hunter take them up and pilot them into space, before initiating the jump to hyperspace.

Padme awoke to a world of darkness, except the glowing plasma bars in front of her. She gasped, as a dark figure appeared suddenly in front of her cell.

"Greetings Senator...or should I say former Senator?" Vastor asked.

"Where is my husband?" she hissed. She received her answer in the form of tortured screams that she knew belonged to Anakin. Her heart hammered in her chest.

"What are you doing to him?!" she demanded to know.

"My apprentice is a bit sadistic. She gets a little carried away with the plasma pike," he replied with a shrug.

"Where are you taking us?" she asked. He smirked.

"Somewhere where you and most importantly your husband will never see the light of day again," he said coldly. Tears clouded her vision, as every scream from her beloved cut into her heart like a vibro knife. She had never felt so helpless...