Star Wars the Clone Wars - One shots

Powerless

Anakin is used to Force-suppression.

Ahsoka is not.

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Content warning: Accidental self-harm

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As soon as the scumbag pirates clicked a pair of cuffs around Anakin's wrists, he immediately felt the effects of Force-suppression.

The sudden pit in his stomach, a lump in his throat, and the sensation of being utterly powerless could only mean one thing.

Being cut away from the Force was always an odd experience. The first time it happened, Anakin had been seven. He hadn't even known that he was Force-sensitive.

A virus was infecting the slaves across Mos Espa. His mother was ill too, although she could still work. Anakin, on the other hand, couldn't open his eyes or sit up in bed. His mom was feeding him a mixture of water and sugar off a spoon just to keep him alive.

He had later learnt, from the medical he underwent on his arrival at the Temple, that the particular virus he'd caught was known to cause Force-suppression amongst Jedi. It was likely the reason he fell so violently ill compared to his mom.

He'd been exposed to Force-suppression enough times since then to recognise the feeling, and although it sucked to not be able to access the Force like he had every other day of his life, he could cope with it being temporarily stripped away from him.

A sharp gasp on the other side of the cell reminded Anakin that his Padawan was not so familiar with the sensation.

"Snips," Anakin whispered, shifting onto his knees the best he could with his wrists clamped together by the cuffs.

The pirates' laughter was distant as they left their prisoners alone. Even if they had stayed- even if the entire audience of the Galaxies Opera House were watching, Anakin still would've gone to his student's side.

Ahsoka was facing away from him, slumped against the wall of their cell with her bound hands close to her chest. Her knees were tucked under her chin. It was as if the girl had tried to become as small as she could manage.

Being stripped from the Force messed with everything. Emotional regulation, space perception, and interoception, just to name a few. Ahsoka was the same person she was before the cuffs went on, but she likely felt ten times smaller now.

As Anakin got closer, he could hear her pained gasps, like it physically hurt to breathe.

"Ahsoka," he nudged her shoulder with his own, just hard enough to get her to look in his direction.

It worked, although the Togruta's eyes didn't look focused, like she didn't fully know what was happening. Being cut off from the Force could disorient even the most experienced Jedi. There hadn't been enough data collected on how it affected Padawans.

Force-suppression as a form of torture had increased as the war waged on. It was arguably one of the most successful ways to get a Jedi to submit. Even Anakin could be significantly weakened by the unnatural suppression of his abilities.

Before Ahsoka had been assigned to him, there had been a debate amongst the Council whether they should introduce simulated Force-suppression to Padawans to better prepare them if it was to happen to them as adults.

Without a student under his care, Anakin felt rather apathetic towards the whole debate. He disagreed with the controversial opinions of some Jedi who believed it should be simulated on the youngest members of the Order.

However, he also knew that having been exposed to Force-suppression as a child himself, he coped an awful lot better with it as an adult than most Jedi did.