Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Pain. Pain. Pain. Vader can't register anything else. All he knows is that it feels like it's never-ending, ceaseless, and he hardly knows where he is anymore except that Sidious found him. The pain is more than he can handle, but he can't give up. He can't.

He has to –

Padme.

His child.

He has to save them. Everything he did, all of it was for them, and no matter how much he wants to give up, he can't. Not until he knows that they survived.

His vision is swimming, and he can't make out anything, not that he's really trying either, but suddenly, the sheer agony ripping him apart feels much further away. Like it's happening to someone else even if he can still feel it.

He can vaguely see a flash of red that soon fades to white. He feels a rush of air against his skin everywhere, as though he isn't strapped down to an operating table anymore, which doesn't really make sense. Not that he can make sense of anything in this state.

The room around him is shifting again, and he suddenly sees Padme's face next to him. She looks bigger than she ought to, but maybe it's because he can't see anything straight right now. He can hear her whispering something, face tensed in pain in a way that reminds him so much of his nightmares, and then the full reality of the pain tearing him apart suddenly comes rushing back again. Whatever he was just seeing is gone, replaced by the medical room again.

***

The name Artoo-Detoo somehow feels familiar, though Luke isn't fully certain why. Just... as though he's heard it before, from somewhere, from another time, but it doesn't really matter.

What does matter is getting their droids situated and cleaned up.

Or, at least that's what Luke tries to tell himself as he works on the astromech. It works until Artoo starts projecting a small hologram of someone. She has dark hair and eyes, but something about her looks... familiar. He knows her somehow. She's safe. She means home.

"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi," the girl in the hologram says, "You're my only hope."

Obi-Wan.

He's heard that name, too. From his dreams. But who is she, and why does she want Obi-Wan's help?

"What's this?" Luke asks, turning to the droid. He feels a little breathless and mind blown. First, he saw a space battle, and then the droids his uncle bought are from the Rebellion? That's where he wants to be. And now, Artoo knows someone who knows Obi-Wan?

Luke doesn't really know anything about him. He just knows what he sees almost every night. Of Obi-Wan and his father in a fight to the death on a lava planet. And he's seen the – how it ends far too many times. It makes him sick every time he sees it, and he doesn't understand what's happening or why he's seeing this again and again. Is it something that really happened years ago? And what happened?

Artoo beeps, as the hologram continues playing on repeat.

"What is what?" Threepio repeats, incredulous, "He asked you a question!"

The droid beeps, almost sheepishly.

"Oh, he says it's nothing, sir. Merely a malfunction. Old data. Pay it no mind."

Old data? That only makes Luke more intrigued. If the droid used to know someone who knew Obi-Wan, then... what if this is a way he could get real answers about his father? But if this is old data, why does he feel such a connection to the girl in the hologram?

Even if it is, he needs to know. He wants answers, wants to know what really happened to his father.

He wants to know who Obi-Wan is, and why he hurt him.

"Who is she?" Luke asks instead, leaning closer to study the hologram. "Is there more to this recording?"

Artoo whistles, dome swiveling wildly when Luke scoots closer to him.

"He says he's the property of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and it's a private message for him. Quite frankly, sir, I don't know what he's talking about. Our last master was Captain Antilles, but with what we've been through, this little Artoo unit has become a bit eccentric."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Luke echoes. Artoo still belongs to him? Then he highly doubts the claim that this is old data. He wonders if there's some connection between Obi-Wan and Ben Kenobi, considering that they have the same last name, but Ben looks entirely different than the Obi-Wan he sees in his dreams. It's too outlandish to think someone who fought his father would be out here on Tatooine, anyway. "I wonder if old Ben could help with that." Though, Uncle Owen is never terribly happy when Ben is around.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but do you know what he's talking about?" Threepio asks.

"I don't know anyone named Obi-Wan, but old Ben lives out beyond the Dune Sea. He's kind of a strange old hermit. Maybe he could help." Maybe. He doesn't know why someone would be asking for Obi-Wan's help. That's the person who hurt his father and maybe Luke knows nothing about his father, but he doesn't know why someone would be going to Obi-Wan for help. That doesn't change that the girl in the recording is important somehow, and she's obviously distressed about something. "You should play back the whole recording. It sounds like she's in trouble."

Artoo beeps again.

"He says the restraining bolt has short circuited his recording system. He suggests that if you remove the bolt, he might be able to play back the entire recording."

It's a little risky, but probably one worth taking. It's not like Artoo has anywhere to go – this Obi-Wan isn't even here – so Luke takes off the restraining bolt.

And then, the hologram promptly disappears.

"Wait!" he protests, "Where'd she go? Play back the recording."

Artoo whistles, innocently.

"What do you mean what message?! The one you're carrying in your rusty innards!" Threepio exclaims, swatting at him.

It must be trying to hide the recording for some reason. If they're from the Rebellion, that probably explains it, but he'd really like to know what it is. And if it's important... There's nothing he can do, anyway. The droids belong to them now, and Owen won't let them go anywhere, whether they have something important to be doing or not.

"Luke!" Aunt Beru's voice calls from inside, "Come to dinner!"

Luke stands up with a sigh. He'll have to get back to this later. "See what you can do with him," he calls over his shoulder to Threepio, as he heads into the house.

***

"I think that Artoo unit we bought might have been stolen," Luke comments, taking another bite of his food, though his mind is entirely elsewhere. This is the first time he's heard of anyone who knows anything about his father. It's the first time it's actually felt like there's a connection to him in the real world, instead of just dreams.

"What makes you think that?" Owen asks, looking up.

"I stumbled across a recording while I was cleaning him. He says he belongs to Obi-Wan Kenobi." Owen's expression twitches slightly at the name. They know about his nightmares, even if they don't know what they mean any more than Luke does. All he does know is that... what he's been told about his father can't be true. He was using a lightsaber in his dreams, and if he was really a navigator on a spice freighter, he could in theory have gotten one on the black market, but that doesn't feel right. At all. "I wonder if old Ben would know something. Maybe they're related."

"That old man's just a crazy old wizard," Owen replies, shortly, "Tomorrow, I want you to take that Artoo unit to Anchorhead and have its memory flushed. That'll be the end of it. It belongs to us now."

"But what if Obi-Wan comes looking for him?" There's a part of Luke that almost hopes he does. He – he needs answers, but he doesn't know how he'd handle seeing his father's killer in person. And it's not like he just killed him, either. It's not something Luke ever wants to think about, but nor is it something he can get out of his head. It's haunted him his entire life for reasons he can't even understand.

"He won't. I don't think he exists anymore. He died about the same time as your father."

Luke can't help perking up at that. He's seen his aunt and uncle exchanging glances whenever the name Obi-Wan comes up, but he doesn't understand why. "You know what happened to him?" Luke asks.

"I told you to forget it," Owen cuts him off. Sometimes, Luke really thinks he does know something that he isn't saying, but Anakin was his brother, and if he knew about the person who killed him... Well, there's no way he couldn't be furious about that, too.

Owen just wants the droids fixed up and the entire situation put behind them, but Luke really doubts it's going to be that simple. It's just a feeling, and maybe he just doesn't want it to be that simple either. If there's a chance that – that whatever's going on with the droids could tell him something more about his father, he hopes that happens.

***

When he dreams, he sees fire. He always sees fire. The flaming rivers are burning all around him, and he can feel the heat as though he's physically here. He sees it, feels it, from his father's perspective every time. He's trapped on the ground now and he can't move. All he can do is look up at the top of the embankment, where Obi-Wan is turning to leave, the same way he does every single night. Even if the dreams usually start before this point.

It always hurts, and today is one of those days where it's a little more, and it burns and blurs over his ability for rational thought, not that there's anything he could do anyway. It's always the same – that Obi-Wan cuts off his legs and left arm, yelling something at him that Luke can never fully decipher, before leaving when the flames start.

Luke hates fire.

He always has.

It's agonizing and it leaves him breathless.

He's expecting to jolt awake the same way he always does, but then the scene starts shifting. A cool hand touches his forehead, though it burns more than anything else, but he's lying on his back on the smoking ground now, with... a hooded figure hovering over him. Everything hurts, and he can hardly breathe, but several armored figures move into view to pick him up.

Everything fades out again, and he doesn't become aware of what he's seen until a jolt of agonizing pain spears through his chest. He's in a room somewhere, blinding bright lights shining over his head and it hurts. But everything does.

He still can't move, but now it's because he's strapped down to a table, and there's medical droids hovering over him, and one of them is cutting into him.

He jolts against the restraints, a strangled scream escaping him, but they don't stop. They don't sedate him either. Not even the hooded figure who rescued him – he's still in the room – does anything. He seems entirely unperturbed.

Luke has no idea how long it drags on. It feels like hours, but it could only be minutes. He thinks he passed out several times during the procedures anyway before the droids start strapping armor onto him.

He can't move enough to get a good look at it, but it's all black and there's lights on his chest area – which was already cut up and replaced with machines anyway. A helmet is lowered over his head, tinting the room red. The hooded figure steps forwards, saying something – Luke can't make out the words. The last thing he does make out is the satisfied look on his face.

Luke jerks awake, breathing hard in the darkness of his bedroom. The phantom pain burning strongest in his chest and limbs is imaginary, but it still felt so real that it takes him a moment to realize he isn't still feeling it. Maybe it wasn't happening to him, but he still felt every bit of what his father went through, as though it was.

His aunt and uncle were never fully convinced that his dreams were real versus something... else, with how strange they were, but Luke knows it's real. And he's never, not once, dreamed of anything that happened after Obi-Wan walked away. It's always ended there.

He thought his father died there. But he... didn't? He must not have, or Luke shouldn't have dreamed about something happening afterwards.

Does this mean there's a chance his father is still alive? Because if that wasn't his death, Luke has no reason to think he's dead, except that it's what Owen's always said. But maybe he doesn't know for sure. Maybe it's just what he thinks. Luke's hardly sure how his father could've survived those injuries, either. But he did. And that means...

Past the sickening horror that always overwhelms him after he has another nightmare, he feels a flicker of hope and almost excitement. Probably, he should stop getting his hopes up so quickly, because just because his father survived that doesn't mean he's still alive, but it's all he's longed for, for years, and if there's a chance – He needs to know.

Luke sits up, glancing out the small window in his room, far enough off the ground that no womp rats or other creatures can try coming inside. It's still dark out, but the horizon is starting to get light.

Maybe, he could just get up now and go after Artoo. The droid took off during dinner. Why he ever thought taking off the restraining bolt was a good idea, he doesn't know, but maybe something good could come of it. Provided it hasn't been scrapped by Jawas by now, it's likely out in the Dune Sea in search of Ben. Unless Obi-Wan also lives out there somewhere. But maybe this will give him the chance to find answers. Maybe Artoo even used to know his father. At least it wouldn't hurt to ask.

***

The sun is already high in the sky when Luke catches up with Artoo. "Master Luke here is your rightful owner," Threepio scolds, as Artoo beeps sheepishly, "We'll have no more of this Obi-Wan Kenobi gibberish."

"You think Obi-Wan is out here?" Luke inquires. They need to get back before Owen realizes what happened, but he's too taken up with his dreams to really focus on that right now.

Artoo beeps.

"He says that he is, and he needs to complete his mission," Threepio replies, "Stop talking about that, Artoo. You're fortunate Master Luke doesn't blast you into a million pieces right here."

Luke wavers a moment, looking between the droids and the skyline. "If Obi-Wan really is here, maybe we can ask old Ben about him sometime. We need to get back before Uncle Owen really blows up." Even if all he cares about is finding answers about his father. Owen has always been very clear in his disproval of Luke searching for answers, but that doesn't mean he'll stop trying. Just... maybe not right now.

Artoo suddenly rolls forwards, beeping and whistling wildly.

"What's wrong with him now?" Luke demands.

"Oh my. Sir, he says there are several creatures approaching from the southeast."

"Sandpeople," Luke realizes grimly, pulling out his rifle. This is exactly why he didn't want to come out this far. He scrambles to the top of a nearby, rocky ridge to look around, and just manages to make out a group of sandpeople a distance off when something steps right into his field of vision. He looks up sharply to see a Tusken towering over him, brandishing a club.

Luke jumps to his feet, swinging up his blaster but the Tusken lunges forwards, hitting him with the club, throwing him off-balance. He lands on the ground before he ducks out of the way, frantically rolling sideways as the Tusken repeatedly swings for his head. A blow finally catches him in the side of the head before he can duck, and the world goes dark.

A hand touches his shoulder, and Luke blinks, half expecting to see the dark hooded figure crouching over him, in a world of fire, but instead it's –

"Ben? Ben Kenobi?" Luke asks, brightening as he sits up unsteadily, rubbing the side of his head, "Boy am I glad to see you!"

"The Jundland wastes are not to be traveled lightly. Tell me, young Luke, what brings you out this far?" Ben is studying him with a look he can't really read. It's almost unsettling, or maybe it's just that Luke can't help thinking for a moment, how much he really does resemble Obi-Wan.

"This little droid," Luke replies, motioning towards Artoo, "I think he's searching for his former master. I've never seen such devotion in a droid before. He claims to be the property of an Obi-Wan Kenobi. Is he a relative of yours? Do you know what he's talking about?"

"Obi-Wan?" Ben muses, something in his expression shifting, "Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time."

"You knew him?" Luke demands, leaning forwards. He actually knew the person who his father fought, who –

"I did, once."

"Do you know where he is?" Luke presses. Now probably isn't the time to ask about it, but...

Ben pauses, glancing around. "You've heard of him before?"

He's not about to explain his nightmares, obviously. "A few times," he brushes it off.

"We should get indoors. The sandpeople are easily startled, but they will soon be back, and in greater numbers."

Yeah. Luke knows a little too much about them, and they need to move.

***

"You knew my father?" Luke asks curiously now that he and Obi-Wan are safely back at Obi-Wan's hut. He's been pressing for details on Anakin and Obi-Wan himself from the moment they met again. Obi-Wan doesn't understand what's changed, but there's something darker about the boy than when he was younger, and it's only growing steadily worse.

He can't really ask Owen what it is either, but something's not right.

And every time he says the name "Obi-Wan", there's a distinct undertone of anger there. He knows something, and Obi-Wan doesn't know what. (It's not as if Owen knows what happened to Vader. No one did.) Probably, just not mentioning that that's who he is would be best, right now. Maybe he'll be angry about it later, but that's also something Obi-Wan will worry about later.

Luke listens with fascination as he explains they both fought in the war, until Obi-Wan gives him Anakin's lightsaber.

Something tightens in his expression when he sees the hilt, almost as though he's seen it before, which doesn't make any sense. He couldn't have – he shouldn't know anything about Anakin. Owen had made it evident that he didn't want Luke knowing anything about his father or past. He didn't want him to be a Jedi.

"Is everything alright?" Ben asks, when Luke gingerly takes the hilt, as though he's expecting it to blow up in his face.

The boy blinks, fingers tightening on the hilt. "Yeah." It sounds like a flat out lie, and he doesn't understand what he's missing.

"How did my father die?" he asks finally, looking up.

"A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father."

"Who was Obi-Wan?" Luke presses, again.

"Another Jedi who Vader and I worked with," Ben answers, evasively. He doesn't know what Luke thinks of him, or how much is safe to say.

He looks like he wants to ask more, but decides against it, so Ben finally turns his attention to Artoo. He doesn't know what's wrong or what Luke heard, but he's getting an increasingly bad feeling about it.

It's a message of Leia, requesting his help getting the information in Artoo to Bail, on Alderaan. It reminds Obi-Wan jarringly of ten years ago, when he was called away to rescue her. Leia's grown up so much since then; she looks even more like her mother now, but most of all, he can distinctly see Anakin's passion in her.

Thinking about him hurts, but it always does, and he's grown used to it by now.

"You must learn the ways of the Force if you're to come with me to Alderaan," Obi-Wan asserts. He's... wary about training Luke in the Force if he's being honest. He's too dark, and he's hiding something, and Obi-Wan's afraid that it's going to end the same way it did with... Vader. But he's been preparing for this day for the last nineteen years, and it's a risk he'll have to take. Maybe he can train Leia, too, later, but Luke is the one here, and they have to rescue Leia first.

"Alderaan?!" Luke asks incredulously, almost amused, "I'm not going to Alderaan. I've got to go home. It's late. I'm in for it as it is."

"I need your help, Luke," he presses because this is the chance he's been waiting for. Owen is never going to agree to Luke's training, but it's what needs to be done. He needs to get Leia out of trouble – again – and if she's messaging him, it's probably time for him and Luke to stop hiding on Tatooine. It's high time Luke meets his sister, anyway. "She needs your help. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."

"I can't get involved!" Luke protests, "I've got work to do! It's not that I like the Empire. I hate it! But there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's such a long way from here."

"That's your uncle talking," Obi-Wan points out, because it's exactly what Owen would say.

Luke stands abruptly at that, moving for the door. "Right, my uncle. How am I ever going to explain this?"

"Learn about the Force, Luke," he insists, one more time. The galaxy needs it, but Luke wasn't raised as a Jedi. Obi-Wan can't expect him to make the choices they would. (Training Luke isn't something he can risk waiting on anymore. He doesn't know what mess Leia got into but if it's anything like last time, he has no way of knowing if it's something he's going to come back from.)

"Look," he sighs, "I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley, or wherever you're going."

"You must do what you feel is right, of course," he concedes reluctantly at last. He can't force Luke to go – he just thought it would be so much easier to get him off-world. Luke is a Skywalker, and if he's anything like his parents, he wouldn't want to stay. But Obi-Wan doesn't know him, and he doesn't really know what Luke wants. All he does know is that there's something... not quite right that he doesn't really understand yet, but he'll have to be careful.

***

Luke only has more questions now than before he first talked to Ben – his dreams have never shown him anything about Vader. Did Vader kill Anakin later, or is Vader Obi-Wan? Did Ben train someone related to him, and that's why he's being vague about what happened? Maybe because he doesn't want to discuss it?

He needs answers, but he doesn't know Ben, and he doesn't want to be pushy about it, either. Maybe Ben doesn't even know that Anakin survived what happened. If he did, long-term. Luke doesn't want to think about that. He only just got his hopes up.

He's distracted from that line of thought entirely, though, when he sees the destroyed Jawa camp, and realizes the stormtroopers would've tracked the droids home.

Luke doesn't know what the Empire is doing here, but they probably tracked the droids. It doesn't really matter. Doesn't matter, period, actually – all that does, is getting back home. He takes for the speeder, ignoring Ben calling his name.

He sees the smoke from afar, but that doesn't stop him from pulling all the way up to the house.

They burned it.

He doesn't see anyone, except the bodies in the doorway. Burned, the same way his father was in his dreams.

This is his home. What's left of his family, and it's – it's gone. The Empire took that from him.

Everything he's ever had is destroyed, gone. He... has nothing here anymore. Mostly, he just feels numb right now, from shock. When he left home this morning everything was fine, and now it's all gone.

He barely registers how he finds his way back to Ben, who's finishing up burning the Jawa's bodies. Luke hates the smell of smoke and the sight of fire, but he tries to ignore it, approaching him. It's only half registering through the haze in his mind right now, anyway.

"There's nothing you could have done," Ben tells him after he approaches, "Luke, had you been there, you would have been killed too. And the droids would be in the hands of the Empire."

It's not really what he needs right now, but it's... the truth.

If his father's out there, he needs to go find him. He doesn't even know how, but if his father was a Jedi, at least maybe... he can find out what really happened to him. Ben might have answers. The girl – whoever she is, exactly – does, too. She's important somehow, and Luke doesn't even know how he knows it. He just... does.

"I want to come with you to Alderaan," he decides, "There's nothing here for me now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father."

Chapter Text

Escaping Tatooine itself is a bit... tricky, but they make it out uninjured, which Luke counts as a plus in and of itself. Han and Chewie are nice enough, and there's plenty of space on the Millennium Falcon for Ben to start Luke's Jedi training. It's somehow different than Luke thought it would be, and it makes very little sense, but he's catching on, and it feels right.

He can feel the Force awakening inside him, and it's thrilling.

Things are going well until they get to Alderaan, only to discover the planet is missing entirely. And then they're pulled right onto the moon sized battle station that the Empire somehow managed to create.

Luke has no idea how that's even possible, and he doesn't want to think about it, but here they are.

It's when they land in the hangar that he feels it. Something... dark. Cold, but familiar. He knows that. He feels it in his dreams all the time, every night. That's the feeling he always associated with his father, though it's somehow both stronger and darker, even more overwhelming than he thought it'd be.

"You okay, kid?" Han asks, throwing a worried glance in his direction as they climb out of the smuggling compartments.

"Yeah," Luke answers offhandedly, though he doesn't really think so. He doesn't know what this feeling means. "I just think there's something... important here." It's more like someone important here, but Luke doesn't know enough about the Force to have any idea if it's even possible for him to know something like that. It's just a guess, really.

He just wants to know what, or rather who, he's sensing. It's too familiar. To real.

"What is that?" Luke asks a little breathlessly. It's something Jedi, and he's certain of that. Ben should know, even if Luke is admittedly wary about trusting him. "It feels cold."

"That's the Dark Side," Ben replies, standing.

"What does it mean? Isn't it – a person?" My father, he wants to say, but something holds him back. Maybe it's just that it sounds a little too ludicrous to explain. He's never told anyone the details of his dreams before, and he doesn't know how to start, now. It's never been important, and nor was it something he even knew how to talk about.

"It is a Sith," Ben explains, "Those who use the Dark Side of the Force. It corrupts them, destroys them and everything around them."

The Dark Side.

That's his father. It's – Luke is half certain of it, but he doesn't think he can comprehend what that means right now. All he's wanted is to find him, but to know that he's alive and on this space station too, isn't really something he can fathom right now. It's all too overwhelming.

"Better save the lesson, old man," Han cuts in, "Empire ain't gonna be waiting for us."

"Right," Luke mumbles, scrambling for the door. They can talk later.

Ben doesn't say anything else about it, just leaving almost right off to deactivate the tractor beam. Which is when Luke hears that Leia's here and takes off to find her.

Finding her isn't easy, but he senses the strange familiarity when he sees her in person even stronger. She feels like home in a way he can't understand, but it soothes something in him, as if the part of him forever craving for his father is somehow... made less empty.

He likes Leia. Han, too. And Chewie, though Luke can't really understand him. He's never seen a Wookie before.

To be fair, their forced bonding experience in the garbage masher, and then running through halls away from stormtroopers probably helped with that.

They're just making it back to the hangar when Luke senses that same dark, cold feeling again, but now it feels stronger, closer. It's nearby, and he feels the instant urge to go find it. If that's his father, and he's here, Luke has to find him, though that seems too easy. He can't really be here, can he? That's too easy, too convenient. He can't have left Tatooine, lost his aunt and uncle, only to find his father instantly. Everyone said Anakin was dead.

There had to have been a reason for that. It wasn't out of nowhere, so what...?

But Ben said it was a person, and Luke knows him. He knows who he is.

"Luke, are you okay?" Leia asks him this time, watching him worriedly.

"I feel something," he answers, "Someone. Familiar."

Leia's expression is tight with worry, but there's something a little more – a strange sense of haunted familiarity, but it couldn't have the same meaning for her as it does for Luke.

They duck up against the wall together when they reach the end of the hall, and Luke spots Ben standing in a doorway to another hall across the hangar, blue lightsaber drawn. And across from him is someone else, someone clothed in black armor with a red lightsaber.

The familiarity crashes over Luke full force, overwhelming him. It feels like fire, and it burns deep in his heart, warming him inside out. It's not what he expected, but it's still the same. Maybe not quite what he wants, but what he needs.

The darkness is a person, Ben had said, and it's the lifetime he always dreams of.

Luke saw that armor before. He saw it on himself, just last night, a continuation of the never-ending dreams of fire. This is his father.

It's him. He's here. Injured, badly, but he's alive, and that's the only thing that really matters. Not the where he's been all these years when Luke was stuck on Tatooine and wanted him. Not that Ben said he uses the Dark Side. Not any of the warnings he's gotten, or even self-preservation in that he's an Imperial.

This is so similar to his dreams. It's like the same image, just different, later, different faces, different place, but the same.

"Father?" Luke breathes, and he feels the other three staring at him, but he doesn't care.

This is his father. He's – he's here.

Nothing around him matters. Not the stormtroopers that are looking his way, not that Han and Leia are calling him, only that –

This is what – who – he's wanted for so long –

That's his father, and he's standing right in front of him.

Luke doesn't think he can comprehend even that at the moment. It's terrifying and thrilling and exciting at once, and he has no idea what to say to him. That's one thing he's never had a reason to think about before.

He had no idea there was anything to think about, and now that he knows there is, he has no idea where to start. He doesn't even understand what's happening.

But something about the way his father is fighting Ben – It looks familiar. Too familiar. Aside from that it looks like they're both hardly even trying for some reason, it reminds him so glaringly of the duel in his dreams. And the coincidences are way too much to be accidental anymore. Ben knew Anakin, and he and Obi-Wan have the same last name and he –

He is Obi-Wan, isn't he? That – that's how Owen knew who he was. And Ben's been lying about it, this entire time.

The... way he feels in the Force now is so different then the feeling Luke got from him in dreams – it's been nineteen years so that probably isn't surprising – that he didn't even recognize it, but now that he's actually confronting the realization, he can see and sense the similarities.

This is the person who – who tortured his father. He's the one who did that to him, who Luke has seen nearly every night in his dreams. Luke rarely sleeps without dreaming, and the nightmare has never been with less horror.

And he's Ben. The man who claimed to know his father was trying to teach him the Force. He lied to him. He was Obi-Wan all along, and how does Luke know he wasn't planning to backstab him, too?

Luke is only half sure what he's planning to do now, but this is his father, and he's not leaving without him. He sprints across the hangar towards the fighting duo, dodging blaster shots from the stormtroopers.

"Luke, run!" Ben yells to him, slashing at Anakin again.

Probably, he should, because now is not the time for this conversation, but he's not thinking straight right now. He's too angry and too desperate. "You lied to me!" he accuses, "You told me my father was dead!"

Ben pauses for a brief moment at that, though Vader nearly takes his head in his moment of distraction. "He is," Ben replies, shortly, "Now go."

"He's right here," Luke snaps back, throwing a pointed look at Vader, "I know what you did to him." And he'll never stop feeling sick from it.

The stormtroopers are closing in now, though, and if Han and Leia are going to get out of here, they'll have to go soon. But that doesn't concern him quite as much as the fact that he just found his father.

"He destroyed Anakin," Ben retaliates, lashing out and Force-shoving Vader back a few steps before he runs for the ship.

Vader immediately gives chase, and –

Luke suddenly has no idea what to do. He can try to make a run for the ship, or he can stay here, and it's a choice he has to make now.

Maybe he should go – he probably should, but his father is here, and nothing else matters. Luke can't leave without him. He's the only family he has left.

Trying to get past Vader and all the stormtroopers isn't practical anyway. Not anymore. The ramp is already closing, and Luke watches as the Falcon takes off, streaking away into space. He hopes they'll make it out – except maybe Obi-Wan because he'd really like to have some words with him right now – but that's not his focus right now.

Vader watches the ship go, giving orders to send TIE fighters to intercept, before finally turning to face him.

And now, he has some very awkward explaining to do.

***

"Who are you?" Vader demands, turning to the boy. He stayed behind of his own free-will, which is... odd. He doesn't know what to make of him, or the fact that he has... Anakin's old lightsaber. Obi-Wan must have given it to him.

And his former master escaped again, though Vader will concern himself with that after he finds out who this boy is. There's something familiar about him, though he can't quite place what.

"You're my father," the boy says, staring back at him, still wide-eyed.

His – what?!

"And why," Vader asks, hopelessly confused, "Would you believe that?" His child died. He killed Padme. It's not possible. Sidious wouldn't have lied to him – or would he? Vader wouldn't hold that above him, to be sure, but it still makes no sense.

"You're Anakin Skywalker," he says, still staring, "He's my father."

What?!

He doesn't know how the boy knows his former identity, but that's hardly what's important right now. If his father is really Anakin somehow, then – then, his child survived. Somehow.

Obi-Wan had called him "Luke". That... was one of the names Anakin and Padme had chosen for their child. It can't be a coincidence, even if Vader doesn't understand how this is possible. He's the one who killed Padme. Her child couldn't have survived, unless that's somehow not true, right? But it must not be, because the boy isn't lying.

That's... not something someone would lie about, and he can see Luke's honesty. It's what he believes, and when Vader looks at him, he can see the similarity. He looks so much like his mother, but he has the same hair and eye color that Anakin used to, or at least Vader thinks he does – everything is red-tinted, and it's hard to tell. He can't make out colors very well anymore, but they're lighter than Padme's was.

"What is your name?" he asks, just to be sure. Obi-Wan obviously knew what the boy was talking about. All this time, he must've been with Obi-Wan. All this time, Vader's child was alive, and he never knew.

"Luke Skywalker," he replies, studying Vader's mask almost curiously. He doesn't seem particularly fazed by the armor. "I thought you were dead," Luke goes on, after a moment, "Everyone said you were dead."

"How did you find me?" he asks instead of the many emotional things he wants to, because Vader doesn't really know how to be emotional anymore. He hasn't had anyone for years, and he doesn't know how to change that, or even what it would mean to change that.

"I was here with Ben to..." Luke hesitates, trailing off. Maybe he's just not too keen on saying that he was here to assist with rebel activity, even if it's obvious already. "I didn't know you would be here, but I could feel you, and... I knew that's who you were."

Their meeting was entirely accidental, then. It... was the will of the Force. "Why did you choose to remain here?" he asks. His family once meant everything to him (it still would if he had one) and he doesn't know how or where his son was raised, but for him to have stayed here willingly...

"I've always wanted to know you. I never thought I would be able to, but then I realized you were still alive."

What Vader really needs is a moment to process this. He has a child. He was dreaming for that day once, and... apparently all this time he had a child and didn't know it. But now, his son is here. And he... wants to stay with him. That thought is... more mind-numbing than the rest of itr because no one has wanted to be around Vader in years, except Sidious.

"Where were you?" Luke asks, "Everyone said you were dead!"

"And I was told the same of you," he replies. He needs – a moment to think and figure out what this means, but he won't have that until he can get Luke somewhere safe.

"Why weren't you there when I was born?"

"I was led to believe your mother died before your birth," Vader answers slowly. He doesn't quite know how to explain it – he's never talked about what happened there before. It never really mattered. "Where were you?" He doesn't know anything about his child, except his name, and he's already nineteen. They've already lost so many years with each other.

"Tatooine," Luke replies, a shadow crossing his face. Vader senses a sharp flare of grief. "My aunt and uncle raised me."

The... Lars.

Vader hasn't thought of them in a long time. Hasn't had a reason to. But he knows they were good people, and he knows they would've raised Luke well. "Why were you with Obi-Wan?"

"He was going to train me as a Jedi." The tightness in Luke's expression only grows. "I had nowhere else to go. My aunt and uncle were... killed."

What? They're dead? Vader is mostly numb to the knowledge, but he still cares because they were important to his mother. And apparently, to Luke. "What... happened?" he asks. On Tatooine, it could have been anything.

"Stormtroopers. They were looking for the droids. We didn't even know where the droids were from. Uncle Owen bought them from the Jawas, and the astromech took off looking for Obi-Wan, and I went looking for him, and when I got back –" Luke trails off, voice layered with grief and anger.

That... was not what Vader expected to hear. The rest of Luke's family is gone, because of the Empire. Because of his search to find the Death Star plans, even if he would never have told the stormtroopers to do what they did.

It's – it's standard procedure, but he still – he doesn't know how to feel about it. Owen was... Anakin's stepbrother, and he took care of his mother while Anakin was gone. He gave her everything that Anakin should have but never did. He did the same for Luke.

And now? He's gone. Vader will never be able to thank him for taking care of his son, the one he never knew existed. The one that he was willing to do anything for.

"What were you doing near Tatooine?" Luke asks, glancing around the battle station, "And out here?"

"The Rebellion stole... critical Imperial data that must be retrieved," he replies. (It was something he could have done more to stop, but while he well understands the necessity of showing the Empire's strength, the Death Star is... too far. It's not just being used to deal with the Rebellion, but there's nothing Vader can do about that. That doesn't stop the self-loathing, constantly burning inside of him. The guilt that never stops smothering him.)

Luke doesn't look very happy. "How can a space station even be this big? Is this really what destroyed Alderaan?"

Word of what really happened there is something Vader's certain Sidious won't want spreading, but Luke is with the Empire now, anyway. (It's not as if he agrees with what happened to Alderaan, either. There were countless rebels there, but not all of them. He can still remember every moment of the screams and turmoil in the Force that followed.) "It is," he confirms, because whether he wants to admit it or not, it's the truth, and his son deserves to know.

He feels Luke's flare of horror and incredulity. "What – why? And how is that possible?"

"The Emperor ordered it, to put an end to the Rebellion."

Luke looks no less appalled. "How can you support the Empire?" he demands.

"I helped create the Empire," Vader replies bluntly, "I saw the corruption in the Republic. The galaxy would have fallen entirely, if not for strong leadership." Even if when he supported the Empire once, this wasn't entirely what he had in mind. (He didn't want to become what he is now, but it doesn't matter, because that's just what he is. A weapon. Formerly the Jedi's, and now Sidious'.)

"I don't see how the Empire is any better than the Republic," Luke objects.

"It... was intended to be, but it has fallen short of that." He can see the failures in the Empire more and more. It's nothing like he was hoping it would be, even if it really isn't that different than the Republic. The corruption is simply more... open.

But right now, he needs to focus on what's going to happen to Luke from here. He wants to train him in the Dark Side. (But there can only be two Sith, and that would mean –) There's not time to discuss any of that right now, though. He needs to send him somewhere safe. "We can speak of this more later," Vader says, finally, "We are in pursuit of the rebels, and it is not safe for you on board."

(He also doesn't want everyone finding out who Luke is. Most of all, he doesn't want Sidious to find out who he is, but that... might not be something he'll be able to hide. But he can't focus on that right now when he has to deal with the Death Star, even if he cares about his son far more than any of that. This – this is what he's wanted for years, and he hardly knows what to think now that it's apparently reality.)

"This place is huge. Why wouldn't it be safe?" Luke objects.

"The plans the rebels have may enable them to destroy it." Even if Vader doubts they'll get that far, though there's a part of him that wouldn't... have a problem with that. Except, it would mean the deal of the millions on board, and he can't allow that.

"... Oh." Luke doesn't look very perturbed by that, either. Vader can't help thinking it's probably not something that upsets him at all, considering how he was working with the rebels not too long ago.

"I will send you somewhere safe until this is... over."

His expression immediately dims with disappointment. "But I want to stay with you," Luke objects.

Vader still has no idea how to... feel, that someone wants to be with him. He hardly even understands why, but he wants that just as desperately. He had wanted Ahsoka to feel that way, too, but she didn't. She... was a good Jedi, and that is always what she was, first and foremost, as Anakin trained her to be. (He didn't mean anything to her, and he doesn't understand why he means something to this... child who doesn't know him at all.) "And you shall," Vader promises, "Once the battle is finished. I will send you to my fortress until it is safe."

It's far from ideal, because Luke won't know his way around or anything, but there's nothing else he can do.

***

Obi-Wan is no less confused now than he was when this all started. How would Luke know who Vader is, much less anything about what happened between him and Obi-Wan? It doesn't make sense; he shouldn't have a way to know because Owen certainly didn't. He never had the time to make the point to Luke, that Vader is not Anakin.

But to be fair, the boy is probably about to discover that himself. Except, now it's going to be too late. He didn't have a choice but to leave him behind since he wasn't planning to come willingly anyway, but now Luke is... gone. He's the one Obi-Wan watched over for the past nineteen years, even if Leia was the one he really got to know. And now Luke is gone, and if he doesn't end up dead, he could very well end up Fallen, especially with how dark he is.

So much for training him as a Jedi. It's... probably too late for that, now.

The only one left for him to train is Leia. He only has one of Anakin's children left now, and he can't fail to keep her safe, the way he did Luke. He can't fail in keeping her from Falling, either. Which... could be hard, when Alderaan was just lost.

"Why isn't Luke coming?" Leia demands, as she and Ben scramble to the cockpit.

"He... evidently was acquainted with some Imperials in the past." It's the closest to the truth he can really give her.

Leia looks stunned, maybe a little hurt. "He knew some of them? And he left?"

Ben nods, curtly. "Yes."

And he still doesn't understand why.

"That doesn't make sense," Han objects, sparing them a brief glance, though he's mostly focused on flying, trying to escape the TIEs pursuing them, "The kid was fine with helping us right before."

"I don't understand the... choice, either," Ben replies, shortly. Luke was just lost to the Empire, and he has no idea what that's going to mean.

Leia still looks mind-blown and hurt. "There wasn't some way to convince him to come back? I didn't understand what he was doing. He just... ran."

"There may have been, but there wasn't time," Ben answers, "And by the time we may be able to reach him again, it will likely be too late." He's not going to get his hopes up for anything to change now.

"I... can't believe that," Leia argues, stubbornly.

She doesn't know Luke, though, or the dangers of the Dark Side.

"We need to focus on getting out of here, right now," Ben supplies, finally. Because with how few TIEs are actually chasing them – and considering how much Vader probably wants him dead – he can't help suspecting that they're being followed somehow. First of all, they need to deal with the Death Star. He can think about what to do about Luke afterwards.

Chapter Text

The Death Star is gone, thankfully, courtesy of Ben. The space battle to destroy it was by no means easy, and it nearly took out Yavin by the time they were able to get in range – especially with Vader leading the space battle against them – but it's still done.

Han came back, too, and Leia is admittedly a little overjoyed about that. She already misses Luke. Being with him was calming somehow, and it made her feel at home. It distracted her from the enormity of everything else that's happened, though Alderaan still isn't something she's even begun to be able to think about.

It still hasn't sunk in, though she leaves the festivities as soon as possible to just... something. She doesn't want to be around anyone right now. It feels wrong to be celebrating, no matter if this is the greatest rebellion victory so far. Her parents are gone, and Leia has no idea what to do now.

She's still alone when she hears Ben approaching. He's the only person she has left right now who she used to somewhat know. Everyone else is gone. It still doesn't feel real; she keeps thinking that once her present mission is over, she can go home.

There's nothing he can really say to her, because there's no way for this to get better. It's something that'll always be here, lingering in her mind and the essence of her being. When Leia made the choice to help the Rebellion years ago, she knew Keir wouldn't be her only loss. She knew there would be more. She just didn't think it could ever mean her parents, her entire planet, and her people.

"Are you... alright?" Ben asks, settling next to her.

She gets the feeling there's a lot more on his mind than that but having anyone here still... helps. "No," she tells him, honestly.

"Do you remember what I told you about your parents?" he asks after a few heartbeats of silence, "Your... real parents?"

Her adopted parents are her real parents, and the only ones she's ever known, but – but yes. Ben knew them, and she... She tried to tell herself it didn't matter, but sometimes... "Of course. I could never forget."

"Your father was a Jedi," Ben tells her, and Leia blinks at him, staring. She expected him to say something about them, some sort of revelation, but not that.

"A Jedi?" she repeats. That means he's probably dead, too, just like her adopted ones. Leia knew that, or at least assumed, but she's really not ready to hear about this right now. It feels like everyone she knows is dead.

"He was," Ben confirms, a little wistfully, "He was one of the best of them."

"I thought Jedi didn't have children?" Leia asks. She could be wrong, but she could swear she'd heard that before.

"They weren't, but he was never the best at following rules. Not too unlike you."

Leia cracks a smile, remembering their previous interactions. On hindsight, she was probably giving him the worst headache imaginable, and she feels a little bad about it, but she was genuinely freaked out on Daiyu.

Leia doesn't know why it piques her interest so much. The fact that her adoptive parents are dead doesn't mean that she needs anyone else. It doesn't change anything, but she – she wants to know. "Who was he?" she asks quietly.

"His name was Anakin Skywalker," Ben answers.

Skywalker.

"That's Luke's last name," she remarks, "Are we related?" She just wants to know. Luke felt important to her. "He seemed familiar."

"The Force allows you to sense the importance of those close to you," Ben replies mysteriously. It's not a yes, though it's not a no, either, and Leia doesn't know what to think of it. To be fair, if Luke is related to her somehow, she'd rather not know. He had some relation with someone in the Empire, and that's the last thing she wants to think about right now.

She doesn't want to have to care about an Imperial. Not – not right now.

"Your father was strong in the Force," Ben goes on, after a pause, "And you have inherited that from him."

"Did I?" Leia asks. She doesn't doubt it, exactly, but she thought, if she did, she'd have been able to use it already. That she'd automatically be something like the Jedi who hardly even exist anymore, that it would make her better able to help. If it has, it certainly doesn't feel like it. She nearly fell to her death right after meeting Ben. That certainly doesn't feel very Jedi-like.

"Yes, you have," Ben assures, "Your father was the most powerful Jedi I have ever known."

Ben is fond of him, she realizes. They must have been close a lifetime ago, and Leia doesn't know what this will mean for her future. "Why are you telling me this now?" she queries.

"I can... train you in the ways of the Force," he replies, "The Jedi are few in number now, and I cannot let their ways be entirely forgotten. And if you could use the Force, it would be a great asset to the Rebellion. Someone of your strength may be the only one able to defeat Vader and the Emperor."

She could train to use the Force? It's never something Leia had a reason to give thought to. At least not until right now, and it's almost mind-blowing that she can be a Jedi if she wants to be. Leia doesn't know much about Vader except that he's deadly because he can use the Force, and she's had personal enough experiences with him already. And defeating the Emperor is the only way this conflict is going to end. If learning to be a Jedi would help with that...

"Could I?" Leia asks. She wants this, but she doesn't know if she's capable. "I could try, but after what happened..."

"What happened to Alderaan was not your fault, Leia," Ben argues, "Had you stayed on-planet, the Empire would have found another reason, and you would have died, too."

If she's being honest, that doesn't sound too bad right now, but she still concedes the point with a slight nod.

"For years, I have believed you to be the best hope at defeating the Emperor and bringing the Rebellion together," he continues, "Perhaps even of restoring the Republic."

She certainly doesn't see that in herself. She doesn't really see anything in herself, actually, but Leia still trusts him, even if there's something distinctly different about him now as opposed to years ago. He's darker somehow, colder, and she's... worried. "Okay," she agrees finally. "I want to be trained. If it means helping the galaxy, that's what I'll do."

That's what her parents would have wanted. All of them.

***

Luke still wishes he could stay with Vader – he doesn't get why he's suddenly going by a different name – but his father promised he'd come to this... fortress as soon as the battle was over. Luke's waited nineteen years for this day, he can wait a little longer if he really has to.

He's admittedly bouncing with curiosity to see the place his father lives in – or at least he is until he comes out of hyperspace. Even from up here, he can clearly tell the planet's surface is covered in lava. And that is way too familiar. It hardly even looks hospitable. How does his father live here?

Luke flies down for the coordinates he was given a little more cautiously, and it's not until he gets through the atmosphere that he realizes...

This place is exactly the same as the one in his dreams. It has to be. The rivers of lava are too familiar, and so is the sensation the planet gives him. He never knew planets had different sensations, but he can feel it clearly now.

Mustafar, Vader had said this planet was.

Luke just feels sick, desperately struggling to blink back the memory of the flames, of the screams and – even reminding himself that it didn't happen to him make it still hard to see the lava. Why in the name of the Force does his father live here? Shouldn't it bother him a million times worse than it does Luke?!

He needs answers about that as soon as Vader gets here.

No one's supposed to know Luke is here apparently, so he lands in Vader's private hangar.

Finding his way around in the fortress alone is... difficult, and maybe he's not supposed to go exploring, but he does it anyway. How couldn't he? No one's around to see, and he's desperately curious to know more about his father. He... really doesn't know what to think of him. He's Imperial, and he apparently at least somewhat believes in the Empire, but especially after Alderaan, Luke doesn't understand how. What he seems to believe in are things Luke can't, and yet...

He doesn't care all that much, not really. Maybe, it's partly out of spite to Ben and out of horror of – of knowing what his father has been through, but he just doesn't.

Most of all, he just wants to know him as a person, know him as a parent, regardless of what the sides of the galactic conflict have to say.

Besides, exploring the place is a good distraction from thinking about where he is.

Vader's office is... cool, but he probably shouldn't mess anything up in here.

The spherical black... machine of some kind in another room is something he very badly wants to poke at since he has no idea what it is, but he doesn't want to break anything.

There's a bacta tank in another room, full of... machines that look too complex to just be needed for lowering him into the tank. But to be fair, Luke has no idea what his condition was. Only last night, he was dreaming of – The droids were cutting him apart and it makes him sick to even think about his nightmare last night. He has no idea how much of his father is metal, or rather, how much of him isn't. And this is... all because of that what happened on Mustafar.

For a brief moment, he almost wants to join the Empire just out of spite, but – Well, he has no idea who that man was who rescued Vader, but he's pretty sure it was someone with the Empire, and considering that that person actually cut his father up while conscious for no reason either, he can't say the Empire has treated him any better

He just... needs to talk to Vader.

Once Luke finishes going through the floor, he retreats to the presently mostly empty room Vader said he could stay in – he'd like to look around the rest of the fortress but apparently, there's other people down there, so he better stay up here.

It's hard to keep track of time in a place like this, but it's getting late enough that he finally has to settle for going to sleep, much as he doesn't want to, especially here.

Luke's expecting the nightmares to be worse, and yet, he sleeps better that night than he has in a long time. Except that he can feel traces of pain lingering throughout his whole body when he awakens, though it... doesn't really feel like him, and it fades once he fully awakens. He can't help wondering if that has something to do with whatever Force connection he has to his father, if such a thing is even possible. But something has been causing him to have those dreams for years.

Luke doesn't know how long it's been, but it's somewhere over a day by the time he finally sees Vader's shuttle flying in.

He waits eagerly right inside the entrance, until Vader comes in. "Hi... Father," Luke supplies. It's weird when they don't even know each other.

"Son," Vader replies, in greeting. The vocoder is toneless, but he's almost certain there's a buried affection in the way he says the word.

"What happened with the Rebellion?" Luke asks, because despite everything, he still really hopes they weren't entirely destroyed. Most of all, he hopes Leia, Han, and Chewie are alright.

"They were successful in their attempts at destroying the Death Star." He doesn't sound upset, but he still seems... bothered by something.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asks outright because he can't fathom how anyone could think so, after seeing what it did to Alderaan. It destroyed a planet, and it doesn't matter what the excuse was. That is not alright.

"Perhaps not," Vader replies slowly, "But the rebels will see this as a victory, and it will only insight more chaos throughout the galaxy."

Oh. Maybe it's not quite such a good thing, then. "Why did you decide to have a home here?" Luke asks, looking around.

"It is a Dark Side nexus," his father answers, though Luke doesn't understand what that means. "It is adequate for what I require."

"But why here?"

His father is quiet for a few moments, studying him. "Being here upsets you?"

"I see it in my dreams," he explains. He's not ready to explain that he knew what happened there, but his father should probably know, anyway. "I saw what happened to you."

Vader stills somehow, not as though he'd been moving before, but it still feels like he stopped. Maybe it's in the Force, too. "Many things have occurred on this planet."

"Doesn't being here... bother you?" he can't help asking.

"It gives me strength in the Dark Side," Vader replies, however that's supposed to work, "I will teach it to you, if you desire."

He could... learn the Force from his father? It's everything Ben taught him not to, and Luke frankly wants to do it just out of spite. Aside from that the Dark Side sounds a little dark, he doesn't see what's wrong with it, anyway. "I do," he agrees. He does want to know more about the Force, and if he can learn it from Vader, why would he ever say no?

"The Emperor is coming here," Vader says, unexpectedly.

Luke blinks. "The Emperor? Why?"

"He is my master and he... desires to speak with me personally. He will want to meet you."

The Emperor? The one in Luke's last dream, and also the one who had Alderaan destroyed. Luke has no respect for him whatsoever. He doesn't like him. He definitely doesn't want to see him after what he did to his father, even if he did save his life. "Isn't he the one who... put you in that?" Luke can't help asking.

"He rescued me and kept me alive," Vader answers, tonelessly.

"But he..." He hurt him, and he can't imagine Vader is fine with that.

"The Dark Side is fueled by pain. That is the way of the Sith," Vader assures, as though that's supposed to make him feel better about anything. Luke really does not like the Emperor at all. He's definitely not looking forward to meeting him.

***

Vader may have little regrets about the Death Star's destruction, except for all the people lost onboard, but Sidious will not be happy. Vader already knows he can't keep Luke hidden from him – he was still considering if he should, because he doesn't know how his master will react. If he'll see Luke as threat or... something else. (He doesn't want his master training Luke. Vader knows far too personally what that's like, and he's not letting his son go through the same.)

But there's nothing he can do now but hope his master will... give him permission to train the boy himself. He still doesn't understand how Luke could be alive, and that's something Sidious probably has answers to, but he... can't really ask him. No matter how upset he is that his master was likely lying to him all these years, about what happened to Padme.

He also doesn't understand why Luke would be having nightmares of Mustafar. Picking up on impressions of another's memories is possible through a Force bond, but his and Luke's shouldn't be that strong, when they were only around each other for a few days before Luke even born.

But the connection between them is strong already, stronger than it ought to be. He doesn't know what to think of that. There's something different about it, and the rate it's forming at reminds him a little of his own with Obi-Wan years ago.

"Lord Vader," Sidious greets neutrally when Vader kneels at the ramp of the shuttle. He can feel his master's gaze boring into him, and the instant fear that always evokes floods him. "Rise," Sidious says, finally, "I am most displeased with the report on the Death Star."

He doesn't sound angry, but that can sometimes be worse. "My... apologies, Master," Vader intones, "The flaw in the design was not one I was aware of."

"Perhaps not," Sidious agrees, so maybe, it's not that which has him particularly displeased, "Yet I heard Kenobi was on the Death Star. Did you finish him?"

"Perhaps your feelings for your old master have left you weakened."

He remembers their last conversation about this far too well. "I was... distracted, Master," he replies, bracing himself anyway for... whatever Sidious may decide to do to him for this failure. He tried to shoot him down again over the Death Star and had failed that, too. "With another matter of great importance."

"Is that so?" his master muses. Does he already know about Luke? Is he just waiting to see what Vader is going to say about it? It's often so hard to tell with him.

"The offspring of Anakin Skywalker lives," he says slowly, "I have brought him to Mustafar to begin his training, if you permit it."

"You believe him to be an ally?" Sidious murmurs, and Vader can't shake the gnawing fear inside him. He has no idea what his master's orders will be, and Vader can't hurt him. Luke is an ally. He's his son. He's – he's everything, and he could be far more than Vader ever was.

"Yes, Master," he confirms, "He will be easy to turn." Luke seems... upset by what happened to him on Mustafar, so Vader doubts he has much liking for Obi-Wan, either.

"The Force is strong with him," Sidious replies, "See to it that he does not become a Jedi, or he could destroy us. If he is turned, he could be a... great asset." The words probably have more meaning than is readily apparent, like they always do. (Sidious could very well try to... replace him with Luke. But Vader doesn't think the boy would ever be loyal to the Sith if he tried, though Vader can well understand why someone would want him dead. He does too, or... He did, until he met Luke.)

"It will be done, my master," Vader promises.

"Bring the boy to me," Sidious requests just as he expected.

Vader leaves to get him, though Luke looks more defiant and upset than anything, which... is probably not a good thing. If he upsets the Emperor at all, that could be bad. He can only hope his son will understand the importance of the situation, no matter how he truly feels about Sidious.

Sidious could have him killed, or he could take him to train himself, and neither option is something Vader wants to handle.

"Welcome, young Skywalker," Sidious greets, as they enter, "I have been expecting you."

"Father told me you wanted to speak with me," Luke replies, evenly. That he doesn't even use a proper greeting makes Vader uncomfortable enough.

"Yes," he agrees, "Lord Vader mentioned your desire to learn of the Dark Side."

Luke's gaze darts between Sidious and Vader, momentarily. "I do."

"I have seen few so willing to embrace its power." The comment feels somehow pointed. (Sidious really is considering replacing him, isn't he? Not that Vader's surprised about that, but it doesn't stop the simmering sting of betrayal, because he's always been loyal to his master. Well, briefly when chasing Obi-Wan he'd entertained something... different, but he still never acted on it. And Luke... what would Sidious do to Luke? The boy might want to be a Sith, but he's not dark. He doesn't want to think about what the Sith would do, to break him to that point.)

"I want to learn more about the Force," Luke replies, "I don't like the Jedi."

Sidious seems satisfied, at least for now. "Lord Vader will show you the power of the Dark Side," he answers, "That is your destiny."

Respirator or not, Vader hardly feels like he can breathe freely until his master is out of the room. And he can already guess where Sidious is planning for this to go. Does he plan to have Luke kill him the way he had Vader kill Dooku? (Vader can't wait until his master has had time to get his hands on his son. He has to act. With Luke's help, maybe he can overthrow him, and they can rule the galaxy together instead, as father and son. He can't let go of this chance. He can't – have his son kill him, because he has no doubt Sidious would find a way to make it go that far. Ahsoka tried. Would have. Why wouldn't Luke?)

***

Luke feels bad about changing anything of his father's, no matter if Vader said it was fine, but this is what it means to be a Sith. That's more important than his own worries about bleeding his father's former lightsaber crystal.

He disassembles it first, the way he was shown to. Seeing its countless pieces is intriguing, to say the least.

The kyber crystal is blue, the same color as the plasma blade. It vibrates a little in the Force, like an inaudible song. It feels of the same vibrant intensity of his father. He sort of wants to keep it that way, but Vader told him specifically that Sith have to bleed their crystals, so he will.

Luke takes it in his hand, turning it over.

He doesn't know how to do this, exactly, but he delves into the Dark Side as best he can anyway. He remembers the emptiness of coming back home to see it burned, to finding his uncle and aunt's bodies. He remembers what happened here, on Mustafar, the dreams that haunt him every night.

The crystal whispers a silent protest, and he feels himself meta-physically falling into something.

When he opens his eyes again, it's to see someone – someone familiar. His eyes are blue, the same shade as Luke's, and his hair is a similar shade of blond, though it's darker, longer, and a little curly. He looks happy. That's the thing that throws Luke a little because he knows who that is.

This is the person in his dreams, the father he always wanted. It's not that Vader isn't, but this is Anakin, and he's still full of life. He's still everything that Luke always thought his father would be.

"Father?" Luke asks, stepping closer to him. This is what he'd look like now, if not for Mustafar, if not for... whatever happened that made him Fall in the first place.

"Come... padawan," he says, a smile on his face that is so unlike everything Vader is now.

Which is when Luke notices something else. He's wearing Jedi robes too. Does padawan mean Anakin's training him as a Jedi? In a time where he actually got to raise him?

This... it's what Luke wants more than anything if he's being honest. For a world where his father actually raised him.

He already has his father, though. He has Vader, and for as much as he wants this, he doesn't need anything more than what he already has.

Luke keeps his focus on the crystal, pouring the Dark Side into it, making the crystal hurt. Even if he still feels bad about that since this used to be Anakin's crystal. When he opens his eyes, the crystal is red, and it vibrates almost mournfully now.

Trying not to think too hard about that, he focuses on reassembling the lightsaber, and a red blade hisses to life in his hands.

The lightsaber really is his now, and he's ready to begin his training as a Sith.

Chapter Text

"What was my father like?" Leia asks as she and Ben sit in the front of the shuttle that they're taking to Ilum, so she can get a kyber crystal. She couldn't practice with his lightsaber for very long, and being a Jedi means she needs to have her own. Leia knows a bit about swords, and lightsabers have a similar concept.

Whenever she doesn't have the Rebellion to focus on, she finds herself just... brooding, and that helps no one. She'd wanted to know her biological parents for so long. She's a war orphan, and it wasn't a guarantee they were dead, though Leia always assumed they were. Or at least, she told herself that every day after she met Ben.

Ben's expression shifts to something almost distant. "He was the strongest Jedi I knew, and he was a cunning warrior."

"You... knew him well?" Leia ventures.

"He was a good friend," Ben replies, something fond and strained in his expression at once. Somehow, she gets the feeling they were closer than simply 'friends'.

"I'm sorry," she supplies, quietly. There's nothing she can say to that which would actually... help. It's been a long time, but Kier's loss has never stopped hurting, not truly, and she knows Alderaan's never will, either.

"Me too," he answers, expression distant.

"What... happened to him?" Leia asks, tentatively. She's curious, and she really wants to know, but she knows it couldn't be an easy topic. "If you're alright with talking about it."

"He was betrayed and murdered by a Fallen Jedi," Ben explains, "Known as Darth Vader."

Vader. The cyborg she saw on the Death Star? Him? She can't quite imagine him ever having been a Jedi, but her father has always said that even good people can do... terrible things, and she knows people are more than their actions. They can change, as he must've.

He felt so empty when she saw him, and it made her feel the tiniest bit bad for him.

She feels like that now.

She lost everyone she loved.

But he killed her father, and Leia has no idea how to feel about that. Having the name of his killer somehow makes the entire thing seem far more real, and she doesn't want to think about it anymore.

She's going to get her kyber crystal, and that's more important than anything else. She needs to stay focused.

She's going to become a Jedi, and Leia doesn't entirely think she's fit for this, but it's what her father was, and she thinks that's what he would have wanted her to be.

***

"Did you stop Kenobi's escape from Ilum?" Sidious' hologram looms over Vader, who's kneeling on the floor in front of it.

"He escaped the planet before I had time to locate him, Master."

There's an almost agonizing pause of silence. "How many times will you fail to stop him, Lord Vader?" Sidious hisses, "He is already training a new apprentice, one who could prove a threat to us."

Vader twitches. "I will hunt them down, my master."

"You are distracted. You have failed enough times." Sidious raises his hands, unleashing a blast of lightning on him.

Luke jerks awake, gasping. Except, an overwhelming agony is still burning through him, so much like the fires on Mustafar but not quite as bad. He hardly registers that he was screaming in the first place until it stops. It feels like hours, but he can't imagine that – that was more than a few seconds.

But that was – What –

For a few moments, he just lays there, struggling to catch his breath, mind racing wildly.

What he was seeing in his dream felt like it was really happening right now. That Sidious was hurting Vader, torturing him. And – Force. Vader was just called away on an emergency mission to Ilum. That – what he just saw must've just happened.

And unlike in Luke's dreams, the lingering ache in his body still isn't fading. He forces himself upright with a quiet groan, wincing at the ache that flares through him. Looking down at himself, Luke sees the faintest red marks tracing across his skin.

Lightning burns.

Like... what Sidious was just doing to Vader. For some reason, Luke was feeling that, through their bond. It was... physically affecting him for real. He finds that far less mind-numbing than the knowledge that his father was just being tortured. How often does this happen? Or is this the first time it has? He has no idea, but he does know that he's never been quite this angry before.

Mustafar was entirely inexcusable, but it was a battle, and he has no idea what all the circumstances were. This is – this was literal, outright, senseless torture and it's happening now, not twenty years in the past, and he has no idea what to do. But he's going to be demanding answers from his father as soon as he gets back.

He'd deal with the lightning burns while waiting but he doesn't know his way around well enough to get medical supplies for himself, and it's not an injury he's ever had to deal with before. He just hopes Vader will be back soon.

***

The lingering pain from the lightning – in addition to how much he's always hurting – does little to help Vader focus on anything, as he flies back for Mustafar. He's bitter and angry and – and afraid, not as if any of that is unusual.

He knew Sidious would be angry by his failure to get to Ilum, even if he hardly had time to get on planet before he sensed Obi-Wan and the new apprentice leaving.

It's hardly a surprise that Obi-Wan decided to take on a new apprentice, to train someone else to fight the Sith, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. That doesn't mean it doesn't cut a hole through him as deeply as the medical droids did when he was getting his suit on in the first place. Even if it really shouldn't, because he already knows he means nothing to Obi-Wan anymore. If he ever did. He realized that much on Jabi'im. At least, he means nothing to whatever Obi-Wan's become since the Jedi fell.

But Sidious is angry with him now, and he gets the feeling that this... isn't over yet. Sidious probably won't let it go until Obi-Wan is dead.

Considering who Obi-Wan is, as the last surviving Jedi Council member, and considering what he's capable of, Vader can understand that. He needs to... he knows what he needs to do, and Obi-Wan isn't what he used to be anymore, anyway, so it doesn't matter. That doesn't mean Vader wants to kill him.

He – doesn't. Not anymore. He doesn't want to see him again at all, and doesn't really want to think about him, either. Doesn't mean he can ever stop, though.

But no matter how tired he is, how much he desperately wishes out suddenly – it wasn't until he met Luke that he even had reason to entertain such a possibility again – his still burning skin from the lightning is enough of a reminder that he has to do whatever he must to appease his master.

Sidious doesn't electrocute him often, but the times he does aren't times Vader ever forgets. Though, something about it this time didn't seem as bad as it ought to, but maybe he's just grown too used to it.

He's still brooding – not that he's ever capable of doing anything else – when he finally arrives back at his castle.

Luke is waiting for him, unsurprisingly, but what catches Vader's attention instantly are the minor lightning burns he has. "Who harmed you?" Vader demands, stilling.

Sidious wouldn't have had any reason to hurt Luke. That doesn't mean Vader would put it past him.

"I felt what was happening to you," Luke replies. He looks as sick as he feels about it, and Vader's dread grows even farther. "It was... affecting me, too. I don't understand how."

Their connection is that strong? He didn't know it was possible for that to happen, even if he can understand in theory how that could happen with such a strong Force bond. With how much Jedi shun attachments, it's not as if he would ever know if his... bond with Obi-Wan could've become anything like this or not.

"You should not have been able to feel that," Vader supplies finally. He needs to try harder to shield him the next time that happens – because it'll be again, even if it's not for a while. Sidious doesn't electrocute him frequently. It takes a lot for his master to get that upset, like... right now. This is the fifth time Obi-Wan escaped him, to be fair.

"He shouldn't have been able to do that!" Luke half-yells. "He can't just hurt you and get away with it!"

"I failed his mission," Vader replies, "There is now another powerful Jedi in training by Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"I don't care what excuse he had!" Luke yells, "That doesn't give him the right to hurt you."

Vader just stares at him, awkwardly, because he genuinely has no idea what to say to that. It's just a fact of life, even if it's not something Luke understands yet. It has always been a part of Vader's life, and it was central to it, even when he still went by the name Anakin Skywalker. Nothing, in that regard, has really changed. "It is... expected," Vader supplies, finally, "Sith do not fail their masters."

He's not used to people anymore. Anakin was. Vader is not. He doesn't even understand Luke's horror enough to address it. What is he even supposed to say to him about this? There's not anything he has to offer. It's who he is. Everyone does it. Obi-Wan did it when he failed. All his masters have.

"I didn't know Sith Master meant he was your master," Luke says finally, a little quieter, though his horror is certainly no less, "I didn't know it meant you were a slave."

"I am not," Vader argues instantly. ... He can understand why Luke would think that, though. It does feel like it, far more than he wants to admit or even think about. But that's never mattered, because he's always had things of far more importance to worry about than himself.

"Then how could he do that?"

"It is complicated," he answers. He didn't want Luke to understand any of this. He wanted... Luke saw him as a hero, which he is not, and it would be unfair to make his child see him as anything other than exactly who and what he is, but he still wishes that illusion didn't have to be shattered so soon.

"I don't see how," Luke scowls, "He's awful to you for no reason. That's not how you train me."

As if he could ever dream of hurting his child. (He could never have hurt Ahsoka on Malachor either.) "That is... different. You are my son."

"I don't care if that's the normal way Sith are trained. That doesn't make it okay."

Vader has... no idea what to say to him. He's used to it, and he would be furious if someone was treating someone in his family that way, but it's different for him because it always has been. He's used to it. He doesn't really... see why Luke is so upset about it. (Especially when he deserves no less, after everything he's done. Even if he sometimes wishes for – for what his relationship with Palpatine used to be like before everything fell.) "Your... injuries must be treated," Vader says, opting to change the topic entirely.

"What about yours?" Luke objects, "You're hurt worse than me."

"It is of little consequence," he brushes it off. He's used to it. It's fine. "There are matters I must attend to right now." Like actually trying to find a way to track down Obi-Wan in the first place, when they don't have any leads on where the rebels are right now. (It would help if it was something he actually wanted to do. Not that so many of the things he does are. But his wants are immaterial. They always have been.)

"That are more important than recovering?" Luke demands, dubiously.

Vader can't remember the last time someone asked him something like that. Probably, it was Kix, years and years ago when he was getting tired of Anakin never resting, no matter how injured he was. "Yes."

"I don't see what could be," he says, a little sullenly.

"The galaxy is at war, Luke." And that chaos is something he does intend to bring to an end.

"Fine," Luke huffs, still scowling fiercely, "I can go first only if you're actually going to treat it after that, regardless of whatever important matters you need to deal with."

He doesn't really know how to feel about someone... acting like this towards him. It's been so long he no longer remembers what it was like. But he doesn't want Luke to worry about him needlessly, no matter how used to the constant pain he is. "Very well," he concedes, finally. He'll do as Luke asks, if it's still an option by then.

***

Luke is still angry when he's taken out of the bacta tank some hours later. Whether Vader denies being a slave or not, he obviously is, even if it's not in name. He knew Sidious was horrible, but he never realized it was quite this bad. It reminds him far too much of the slaves he's seen on Tatooine, and he doesn't think he'll ever stop feeling sick.

He feels fine physically now, but he can still feel lingering traces of pain that aren't his own. Presumably, it's just a small amount of what his father is feeling right now, and it doesn't even seem to bother him.

He needs to find some way of getting Vader away from Sidious, but he doesn't know how. He doesn't know much about his father's situation, period. He's very obviously not staying here willingly, more because he has nothing else, and while Luke's tempted to suggest they just walk out, he's pretty sure it's not that easy. Might be worth trying, though.

If they left, Luke doesn't even know where they could go. There aren't many viable options, to say the least. The Rebellion? Vader is no doubt a wanted person there. That's the last place they should go, and he doesn't want anything that could lead them back to Ben. Especially not now.

It's not improving his mood in the slightest that he can sense Vader seems... upset about something when Luke goes to find him.

"Father?" Luke asks, hovering in the doorway of his office.

Vader stands immediately, approaching him. "Are you well?"

"Yes. But you –"

"Sidious called while you were recovering," Vader interjects, and Luke pauses, a rush of fear and anger flooding him.

"What did he want?"

"He desires that you come to Coruscant immediately so he can aid with your training."

What?! Of all the things he expected to hear, that wasn't one of them. "Why? I don't want him to train me!" He didn't stay so Sidious could teach him anything. He stayed because he wanted to be with his father. Learning about the Dark Side is entirely secondary.

"He believes you are distracting me from my... duties. This is the only way he will allow your training to continue, for now."

"I don't want to go," Luke says stubbornly, and he knows he's being childish, but he really doesn't care. He doesn't want to be around the person who hurt his father, unless it's to kill him for it, and he has no idea how to deal with this.

"We must do as he asks, Luke. For now," Vader replies.

Now isn't a good time to point out that this is exactly what he meant about Vader being Sidious' slave, but it's perfectly obvious now, if they really don't have a choice in this. Sidious shouldn't be able to take them apart just because he wants to, Emperor or not. But he does have that power, and until he's gone...

"If you intend to betray him, he will know," his father adds, ominously.

What?

"How?" Luke demands.

"He will sense it. Always."

Well. That makes things a lot more difficult.

***

Luke keeps the comm from Vader concealed, just in case Sidious isn't happy about it, though he can't imagine what excuse the Emperor could have for that. He's probably expected to ask respectfully, but he's very much feeling the opposite as he's escorted to where Sidious is waiting, in the Imperial palace on Coruscant.

Also, the Imperial palace is not somewhere he wants to stay. It might be fancy, but it also looks plain creepy half the time. It's also so different from Tatooine. There were large towns there, but nothing like the endless skyscrapers on Coruscant.

"I have been waiting for you," Sidious greets, hood pulled so low over his head Luke wonders how he even sees.

"Why am I here?" Luke demands, his hatred welling up instantly. Maybe he's not supposed to think about that in Sidious' presence, but just seeing him, he can't really help it.

"Did Lord Vader not inform you?"

"His failed mission didn't have anything to do with me." And even if it did, who cares? He's expecting Sidious to get angry, but the Sith merely studies him, contemplatively.

"You will learn more of the Dark Side here," Sidious replies, instead of addressing that point, "Lord Vader is still an apprentice." Is that some way of prodding him, to see if he's loyal to the Sith or just to Vader? It... probably is, so he should probably watch his tongue even if he doesn't want to.

"And what will I be, if you're training me?" Luke objects, "I thought there can only be two Sith." He can't be the apprentice, too. Unless... Sidious is planning something else entirely, and he's not fully sure what.

"Yes," the Sith agrees, "The apprentice is always loyal to the master unless they show weakness, and the apprentice must give all their loyalty, in return."

Is that what this is about? If he's hoping either Luke or Vader will give all their loyalty to him over each other, he's entirely wrong.

"But times are different now," Sidious goes on, "You have much potential, and your power will be a valuable asset to the Empire. I am aware of your... importance to Lord Vader. If you are both apprentices, you should have no conflict with one another."

... He really feels like Sidious is saying two things at once here. It feels like more than a simple agreement to have them both as his apprentices. Luke doesn't follow his meaning, but he doesn't like it. He's always been straightforward, and Luke doesn't like it when people aren't.

"You hurt him," Luke accuses, instead of answering. He still remembers every second of how much the lightning hurt him, and knowing Sidious could... easily do that again is unnerving, but he's too angry about the whole situation to care. Sidious hurt his father.

"I have never hurt him, my boy," the Sith replies, and Luke really wants to throw something at him.

"I know what I saw." Though, he would've expected Sidious to be more annoyed with how he's talking to him.

"Pain leads to strength. Fear leads to anger, and anger to hate, and hate to power," Sidious replies, "You must have seen this already, if Lord Vader has truly been instructing you in the Dark Side."

Well, his anger at how Sidious and Obi-Wan certainly has led to hate. Vader hasn't had time to train him much, but he's meditated while reaching for the Dark a few times, and it always answers easily, its strength rushing to him.

"I have," Luke replies, eyes narrowed, "But I don't see how that means you have to hurt him."

"In time, you will understand. His pain is what has made him as powerful as he is. It makes him stronger. I have no desire to harm him, but there are times he has made it... an unfortunate circumstantial necessity."

An unfortunate necessity that he's torturing his father. Riiiiight. How, precisely, is he just expecting Luke to be perfectly okay with that? But evidently, he expects Vader to be perfectly okay with that and he... doesn't really resist it, even if Luke doesn't fully understand why. All he does know is that this entire thing is making him sick.

"I look forward to completing your training." The feelings are not mutual. "You will address me as master, as you will become my apprentice as well," Sidious adds. What if he doesn't want to? Now is probably the time he should shut up, though.

"Aren't you busy?" he asks, thinking fast though it's obvious Sidious already made up his mind, anyway. "How do you even have time to train me?"

"With Kenobi and his new apprentice on the loose, there is great risk to the Empire, and evidently Lord Vader requires assistance in destroying them."

Will he stop making it sound like this whole situation is either Luke or Vader's fault? It's entirely Sidious', through and through, and it's getting very upsetting. He lets that fury burn to hatred, lets it fuel him. That's what he is supposed to do after all, isn't it?

... Do Sith normally hate their masters? Because that seems like a very ineffective way of having any kind of relationship.

"Maybe there wouldn't be a rebellion if everyone didn't believe they needed to fear you," Luke snaps back, and he should probably be careful, but he is so, so angry. He wants Sidious dead, and he doesn't think he'll stop until he is.

"You will find it is you who are mistaken about... a great many things," the Sith muses, "You did not see the corruption of the Republic. I would have expected Lord Vader to speak to you of this."

"He did," Luke shoots back, "But I don't see how the Empire is any different."

"The corruption of the Republic ran far too deep to root out quickly. You know very little about politics, my boy. The Rebellion has made bringing any order to the galaxy impossible." Even if that is true, that's not really what Luke cares about. He probably shouldn't make that more obvious than he already has, though. "Much of this dissidence was instigated by the Jedi."

It... was? He doesn't know much about the Jedi, except about Obi-Wan, so he doesn't have a very good opinion of them.

"I can feel your anger at them," Sidious muses, studying him. How does he know that?

"I met one once. I didn't like him." Not as if what Obi-Wan did is different from how Sidious has been treating Vader, though.

"Kenobi?" Sidious asks, and he nods. "Ah, yes. He has harmed Lord Vader repeatedly over the years. How much do you know of the Jedi?"

"Not much," Luke admits. Just enough to know he's not impressed.

"You may... question my methods of giving Lord Vader strength, and but you must know that I am the only one over the years who has never betrayed him."

Apparently torturing him isn't betrayal? ... Sure. And the fact that he says it, and that Luke is certain his father actually believes it, makes him even more sick.

"Perhaps we should start at the beginning," he says, "When I first met Anakin, he was a padawan at the Jedi Temple. He was mistreated by everyone. He had no one, least of all Kenobi, who claimed to care for him. I wanted to help him. As a Jedi, he was never allowed to love or show attachment to anyone, no matter how much he craved it. I offered him the support he needed. I saw that he would never find peace as a Jedi, but he was practically forced to remain in the Order even when he wanted to leave."

He didn't realize the Jedi treated him that badly. It... only serves to make him angrier at them, but he doesn't believe a word about Sidious' so-called caring for him. And if this is some Sithly way of showing affection, his father would be much better off without it.

"When he could no longer handle living within their ranks, I offered him somewhere to go. I was the only one who offered to help him when he needed it most. Shortly before your birth, he began having visions of your mother's death. The Jedi told him to let her die."

They – "What?!" he demands, incredulously.

"Unless someone is fighting for the cause they currently deem right, their lives are insignificant. I am sure you have seen this yourself." Considering what he's seen in his visions every night for years, he doesn't doubt that. But –

"I offered him a way to save her, so he joined me," Sidious continues. His father Fell to save him and his mother? He... never would have expected that. It doesn't really surprise him, though, not from what he's seen of him in the short time they were together. Does that mean Luke is only alive because of Sidious? That – frankly, he doesn't care if he ought to be grateful to the Sith for that, because he's not.

"Then why didn't my mother live?" Luke demands.

"I am afraid that... was because of your father's own actions," Sidious replies. "She disagreed with some of his actions, and in his anger, he strangled her with the Force. She died as a result of the injuries."

... What?

His mind short circuits entirely at the words. "I don't believe you," Luke denies. Sidious has to be lying about that, because there's no way from what he knows of Vader, he would ever hurt someone he cared for. Not over a mere disagreement.

Luke's never really thought about what happened to his mother before. He wondered about her sometimes, but it was always his father he cared to know. He never thought about how she might have died. Until now. But he... does not believe what Sidious is saying is true.

"Ask him yourself," Sidious replies, "With her injuries, there was nothing I could do to save her."

"If that was true," Luke demands, mind whirling furiously, "Then how did I survive? Why wasn't I raised by him?"

"The Jedi took you by force. We both believed you had died with your mother, until now."

Luke doesn't want to believe this. It can't – He has no idea how to feel about it or what to think of it. He needs to talk to Vader himself. Sidious is obviously twisting something, but that doesn't stop the horror and confusion gnawing at him. His father wouldn't...

Ugh. He just needs to talk to him.

"When do I start training?" Luke asks. He doesn't want to continue this conversation at all, right now.

"When I have time, beginning tomorrow," Sidious replies. He seems... pleased, though Luke has no idea why. That's probably a bad sign. It's Sidious. How could it mean anything good?

Chapter Text

The fortress suddenly feels unbearably lonely without Luke. It was jarring to come back to that place, knowing there was someone actually waiting for Vader, someone who actually wanted him. He got... too used to that. He clung to the hope that he'd actually be able to have a family, far too quickly.

Of course, Sidious would take that. Because in the end, Vader is his. Sidious never fails to remind him of that.

But Luke is gone, because Sidious took him to Coruscant, and that won't stop circling in his mind on repeat. If Vader was distracted before, he definitely is now, but he needs to focus, to – to do whatever he has to, so that he'll be able to see Luke again.

Except he already knows with a steadily growing, overwhelming fear that he has no idea what his son is going to be like when he does see him again. Sidious is training him now, and that could mean anything. He could be remade into someone else entirely by the time Sidious lets him go for a while.

And he doesn't want to see his son... broken, the way Vader has become.

And he – if Sidious is truly planning to replace him with Luke, he has no idea how he'll go about that. What he's going to... say to him. There's nothing Vader can do, and when it's Luke instead of just himself in this situation, it angers him far more than just an underlying helpless rage.

He has to do something about it. But he doesn't know what. He tried killing Sidious once, and failed. If he tried again –

His comm beeping pulls him from his thoughts, to see that it's... Luke.

"Father?" Luke asks, when the hologram materializes in front of him. He wants to be with him in person again, so much. Something about Luke already feels different, Vader can tell. His Force presence feels more stormy and lost – he's upset about something. Probably, about many things.

"Are you well?" Vader demands, instantly. Because of their bond, he's... picking up minor feelings and physical sensations from Luke's end too, and he hasn't sensed Sidious actually hurting him, but –

His son hesitates for a pause. "Yeah, physically. I don't like being here."

"Once your training progresses, you will require... experience on real missions." Hopefully, along with Vader but he has no way of knowing that.

Luke makes a face. "I can't stand him."

He fights the inexplicable urge to smile. "Do not speak disrespectfully of the Emperor." He doesn't know that the transmission isn't being monitored, after all.

The boy looks this close to rolling his eyes. "Whatever. But I... have a question." He seems almost nervous.

Luke doesn't seem to get nervous about things. That mere knowledge makes Vader uneasy. "What is it?"

"About my – my mother."

Oh. Vader's unease skyrockets to something far beyond that, at the mere mention. Thinking about her at all evokes too many tangled emotions which is why he rarely does. A ceaseless, uncontrolled grief over what he did – even if that doesn't make sense if Luke is alive – and a constant reminder of the life he once wanted, of... So many things. (Including that after everything he did for her, she turned on him, tried to kill him. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka he can understand. It was their duty as a Jedi, after what he did. But he didn't do anything to hurt Padme. So much of what he did was for her, and she turned on him and he'll never understand why.)

"What of her?" he asks, grateful that the vocoder keeps his tone level, when he's fairly certain there would be an obvious tremor there if not for it.

"Sidious told me that you..." Luke's expression twitches, "That you hurt her."

He –

Of course he did. He's doing this to turn Luke against Vader, isn't he? That's how he's planning to go about replacing him. (It's not as if he deserves his son to care about him, anyway. It's not as if Luke shouldn't hate him, want him dead like everyone else in his family has, no matter how much it hurts. Why would anyone want him around? If all of that weren't true, it wouldn't terrify him so much.) "Yes," Vader answers evenly, "I did."

Lying about it would serve no purpose. It won't change where this will inevitably go. Luke deserves the truth, anyway.

He can feel Luke's flare of horror and confusion. "Why?" he asks faintly, "Why would you..."

He never thought he'd have to explain it to someone, and the overwhelming self-loathing he feels every single time he thinks about it is back in full, drowning him. "I believed she had betrayed me," he admits, "It may not have been my intention, but that does not change what I did, or what I caused."

He can see the horror in Luke's eyes, and he can remember is –

"You're going down a path I can't follow."

"What have you become?"

"I was beginning to believe I knew who you were behind that mask, but it's impossible. My master could never be as vile as you."

He is a monster. He already knows that. It's only a matter of time before Luke turns on him, too. (It's not like he doesn't deserve it. It's not like he deserves anyone.)

"How did she betray you?" Luke asks finally.

"She... brought Obi-Wan to kill me," Vader replies, numbly. And he still doesn't understand why.

"She – what?!" he demands, voice rising. "Why would she do that?"

"I have done much," Vader answers. There's probably few who don't want to kill him. That doesn't mean the betrayal will ever truly stop hurting.

Luke is silent for a long pause, which Vader is... fine with. He's dreading what he's going to say next, more than anything.

"I don't know when I'll be able to see you again," he says finally, and it takes him a few moments to process the abrupt change in topic, "Are you... okay?"

... What?

No one's asked him that in... a long time.

"Yes." Not at all.

"Maybe if I train faster, he'll send me on a mission sooner," Luke suggests.

Maybe. They can hope.

Vader's just glad the conversation moved away from... what it was about before, though he doubts its implications are anywhere near over.

***

Luke's mind is whirling with more questions after his conversation with Vader than before. He has no idea what to think of his mother at all right now, because all he can remember is what he's seen every day in his nightmares and how could she have been complicit in that? To be fair, she probably had no idea how far it would go, but it's not like he knows that.

He doesn't know how to feel about Vader hurting her either, though, so it's easier not to think about the situation at all.

She's gone and he'll never get to know her as a person, but his father is still alive and that's really what matters most to him right now. Even if, no thanks to Sidious, he can't help thinking about it – there's probably a lot of things Vader's done that he'd prefer not to hear about.

He is a slave, though. It's not as if he's doing this because he wants to.

Being angry at Sidious for forcibly bringing him to Coruscant – his quarters here are weird and big, so much more than he's used to, and he doesn't know what to do with all this room. It's lonely here – is far simpler.

The next few days are... far more eventful than any he's had in a long time, when he has to spend so much personal time with Sidious, as he teaches him the Dark Side.

The Sith hasn't hurt him, and Luke is almost confused by that.

The days slowly turn into several weeks, with him constantly training against droids for lightsaber combat, and actually learning the Dark Side when he's with Sidious.

Every day, the constant ache inside of him, missing actually being with his father – he's been away on Coruscant longer than he was with him in the first place – only grows. He just wants to... to go home.

It's also only now that the reality of his aunt and uncle being gone forever is truly sinking in, probably because he's away from his father too now. The grief is steadily bleeding into more anger. It's something he feels constantly now, and it's... nothing like the light though often restless way he used to feel, but at least using the Dark Side is easy now.

It catches Luke by surprise, though maybe it shouldn't have, when one day Sidious calls him to an office of sorts instead of the usual training room. "Your strength in the Dark Side is growing," the Sith says, "It is time that you test your abilities against a true opponent."

Luke's eagerness swells instantly. Maybe that will finally mean – "What's the mission?" he asks, trying to contain his excitement so the Sith can't use it against them.

"You are to hunt down and eliminate Kenobi," Sidious replies.

Luke blinks.

That... was not what he was expecting. Even if his nightmares have stopped, that doesn't mean Luke is any less angry about what he saw. Ben hurt his father, and he lied to Luke to cover it up. Sometimes, it makes Luke wonder what exactly the Jedi was planning, but he doesn't really want to know. Probably, that would just make him angrier.

And of all missions he could have gotten, he doesn't mind this one. He – he wants to do it. He wants revenge on the person who did this to his father. "Will my... father be with me?" Luke asks, carefully.

The Sith studies him, calculatingly. "No. He has been unable to destroy Kenobi before. His... feelings for his own former master have always left him weakened. His presence with you would only be a hindrance."

The familiar, age-old rage lights up inside him, but he's not going to test his limits with the Emperor. He loathes having to hear someone talk about his father like that.

"When do I leave?" Luke asks, instead.

"Now. I have information on his last potential location."

He's still disappointed that he's not going with his father, but he doesn't have a problem with the mission. He's more than ready to leave immediately.

***

It's been weeks since Leia started training as a Jedi. Using the Force came easily to her, and she can really see now how much she always used it subconsciously without really knowing it.

This... is far more chaotic and just different than the life Leia grew up living. She doesn't mind it. It feels natural, but somehow, it always keeps coming back to the same thing: that her family is gone. Her parents and home and planet are gone – all the things Leia thought she could never lose. It doesn't feel like she should be here when they're not.

All she can do is keep her focus on the Rebellion, on fighting for what they believed in. But still, it only helps so much most of the time.

She's been on an extended mission with Ben for a while now. There were... complications, and they're trying to get off the planet discreetly without someone recognizing them. She's sensed a disturbance in the Force for a while though, and Ben said he felt it, too.

But right now, she senses something off. It feels like someone's watching them and she doesn't like it. They're being careful. No one should have been able to track them, but it still feels like –

The Force flares in warning suddenly, right as someone leaps down through the trees – they were hiding out in the forest to lay low for a bit – a red lightsaber activating mid-fall. They're swinging straight for Ben's head, and if he hadn't ducked fast enough, it would've been too late.

Ben and Leia instantly draw their lightsabers – the one she made for herself is blue – as the dark-hooded figure jumps at Ben again. Something about the figure seems familiar in the Force, though Leia can't place where she might've last felt him.

The figure slashes repeatedly at Ben, who blocks his blow, Force-shoving him back a few steps right before Leia can intervene.

"... Luke?" Ben asks, and she freezes.

It's hard to see in the darkness of the trees, but at the right angle, she can finally see the figure's face and it is Luke.

"Why are you here?" Leia demands, mostly scrambling for something to say, to try to understand what's happening. She hardly knew Luke at all, but she... kind of missed him anyway, and now he's attacking them. He's Imperial now, and she doesn't understand why but it hurts probably far more than it should, considering that she never really knew him.

He seemed like a good person when Leia knew him, and she doesn't know how that could've changed. But why is he after Ben?

"To finish my mission," he replies shortly, starting forwards again.

"You Fell," Ben accuses, eyes narrowed.

How well do they know each other? Because the amount of animosity she senses speaks of a... history she doesn't know anything about.

"And you hurt my father," Luke hisses, swinging for his head. Ben blocks him, easily.

So that's the Imperial Luke left for? His father?

Is it someone she's related to, also? She still thinks she doesn't really want to know right now.

"I had to stop him," Ben shoots back, sharply.

"What are you talking about?" Leia demands. Ben knows more about why Luke left than he's said, doesn't he? She... got the feeling he was leaving something out.

"You didn't just stop him," Luke hisses.

"You haven't seen what he's done. You don't need to follow the same path," Ben throws back, sharply.

Luke just jumps at him again, and they trade blows furiously.

Seriously, this is getting ridiculous,and she has no idea what to do. Luke is trying to kill Ben, and she can't let him do that. She doesn't want to hurt Luke either, though. Just seeing him again reminds her of the way he's important to her, for reasons she doesn't even understand.

Luke lashes out, Force-shoving Ben back before leaping at him, but Leia jumps between them, blocking the red blade with her blue one.

"Stop this," she demands, desperately.

"He deserves it," Luke retorts, "Stay out of the way, Leia. I'm not here after you."

She stands her ground, stubbornly. "No. Not until you tell me what's going on."

Ben is standing again, approaching them, lightsaber held ready, and she really hopes she can get some answers before either of them flies at the other again.

"He's not who you think he is," Luke replies, equally stubborn, "He hurt – tortured my father."

There's a flicker on Ben's face, something gone too fast to register, but that he doesn't instantly deny it –

It's not all a lie.

"And your father is Imperial?" Leia guesses.

"If he tracked us here, we have to stop him, Leia," Ben says, approaching her.

"We can also talk about this first," Leia replies, a little heatedly.

"What? You're planning to do to me what you did to him?" Luke bites back, and it's the first time she can clearly see his eyes are yellow under the hood.

"I will do what I must," Ben retorts, steely.

There's clearly way more Feelings here that she's not seeing, and they're both really, really making her want to scream right now. Luke feels like family, and he must be, because of his last name, and she'd like to know what they're fighting about before they try to go at each other's throats again. "Can someone explain what's going on?" she demands, loudly, this close to Force-throwing both of them if they go at each other again.

"My father is Vader," Luke replies, never taking his eyes off Ben, "Who Ben lied about, claiming that he killed my real father."

Wait.

Wait.

Her mind is whirling suddenly, heart pounding. Vader killed Leia's father too, or at least that's what Ben told her. But Luke is –

What.

She is missing something huge here.

"Vader is not your father," Ben retorts, and Luke flies at him.

Why is he denying that if it's already obvious...? If Vader is Luke's father, that must mean... that Vader is somehow related to her, too, because Luke is. Were Anakin and Vader brothers or –?!

Luke and Ben exchange blows furiously, until Leia sprints towards them, lashing out and throwing them in both directions. She doesn't want either of them to hurt the other, even if Luke is Imperial now and that hurts. But if he's this angry at Ben for hurting Vader – she still remembers how empty and broken Vader had felt... and now she knows she was sensing him in the Force. Does that have something to do with Ben hurting him? She'd rather not think about it, to be honest – there has to be some reason for it. "Ben," Leia demands, desperately hoping for a no, "Is Vader related to me?"

"No," he replies, so flatly that it sounds like a flat-out lie.

"Why do you ask?" Luke asks, frowning, turning his attention to her for the first time.

"My father used to know him," Leia answers, carefully. She probably shouldn't just say who her father was. She doesn't need a bigger target on her back, though if Luke gets away now, the Empire will know she's training as a Jedi, anyway.

"Really?" Luke asks, "When... he was a Jedi? Back then he went by the name Anakin Skywalker –"

And the entire world seems to freeze.

... What?!

Vader was... Anakin? But that doesn't make any sense. Ben said Vader killed Anakin, that her father was long dead. Ben obviously adores Anakin, but he seems to hateVader. Or pretty close, at least. That doesn't make sense. And there is no way that Vader is her father. Is there?

"What?" Leia asks, faintly.

"What's wrong?" Luke queries.

"He was my father, too."

Luke stills, eyes widening, staring at her like he's seeing her for the first time.

That explains everything, actually, but it answers absolutely nothing at all – it doesn't make any sense. Her father is dead. He was. He can't be Vader. That's impossible. And Luke – is Luke her brother? That would explain why she felt so connected and drawn to him the moment she saw him. Ben said it was something about the Force, but to Leia, it always felt like it was far more.

Either way, Leia can't think about this right now. Vader is – no. She'll try to deal with that fact later. Right now, they need to stop Luke. She needs to talk to him. Find out if this is real.

Leia wants to believe that one of her parents is still alive, that she still has some family out there, even if her adopted ones are gone, but she doesn't want her father to be Imperial, much less a Sith.

She definitely doesn't want it to be Darth Vader. Not after the Death Star. Before, she might not have cared, but now?

"Ben, is this true?" Leia demands, turning to him. It always felt a little like he dodged the question about being related to Luke, but just assumed maybe he didn't know or... something. But he seems to have known Luke much longer than he knew her, and –

His momentary pause of silence is enough for her to already know. "Your father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force," he replies, evenly. "He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man your father was, was destroyed."

So it's... true. Vader is their father and that means one of her parents is not only alive, but she also has a brother.

She never thought she had any siblings, so she never had a reason to think about it, but she... can't say she hasn't always wanted to have one. She never interacted with children around her age when she was younger. There was her cousin who was awful, and... He's dead, gone, along with Alderaan too, now.

But it also means that all this time Ben was lying to her. Her father is still very much alive, even if she wasn't ready to hear who he was then, and she thought Vader killed him. She was angry about that, and it – it was all a lie. The betrayal flares up white and hot inside of her, instantly. "That's still a lie, Ben. You could have told me."

"It's what he does. What were you expecting?" Luke asks, snidely.

"It was true, from a certain point of view," Ben throws back.

"A certain point of view doesn't change that I have a brother and my father is alive, and you never told me!" Leia bursts out, frustration surging through her. Her father and brother are also both Imperials, and they – Force. Why did Ben lie about that?

"If I was wrong in what I did, it wouldn't be the first time," Ben supplies. He is trying to be placating, she can tell, but it doesn't really help. It doesn't change that she could've hurt both of them someday without ever knowing it. (It doesn't change that Vader tortured her, without ever knowing who she was. He doesn't, does he? She can't believe he does, considering that Luke must matter to him – or Luke wouldn't have gone to and stayed with the Empire.)

"You can say that again," Luke deadpans, and this time Ben ignores him entirely.

"What's this about Ben... hurting him?" she asks, slowly, warily. If Vader and Anakin are the same person, that means Anakin was Ben's former apprentice. Is that why... frequently now and when she was younger, he looked at her as though he was seeing someone else. He once said it was her mother, but now she wonders if he was thinking far more of young Anakin.

And Vader was chasing after Ben for some reason ten years ago. She never did know the details of that. Seriously, what's with them?

"He aided the Emperor in the Jedi's destruction," Ben replies, tone clipped, "I tried to stop him, and I... failed."

"Failed?" Luke repeats, intones incredulously, "Is that what you call it?"

Leia doesn't think she wants to know what the "it" is. At all. She doesn't want to think about it right now either, because they need to focus on the very pressing matter of how Luke is here to kill Ben, and either both sides will have to agree to walk away – what if she doesn't want to just let her brother walk away, back to the Imperials, to where they'll forever be enemies? – or...

"Luke," Leia starts, finally, "I'm not going to deny that all of us in the Rebellion have... done awful things." It took her so long to even get used to fighting, to actually be able to fight, knowing she was hurting and killing people. Regardless of the reasons why. "But you've seen what the Empire is doing. Remember what happened to Alderaan? How can you stand with it?"

"This isn't about the Empire. I don't like it either," Luke replies, after a pause.

Ben did say he left for his father. Leia can almost understand the temptation, to... forget everything and just go be with her family, but she can't do that. Her adopted parents died for this fight, Alderaan was lost for it, because she didn't do... something, anything, differently to protect it, and she's going to avenge her people. That doesn't mean she doesn't want to... reach out to her birth family, to – maybe they don't have to be enemies. She doesn't want them to be.

"It's about our... father," she says, and Luke nods.

"And he believes in the Empire?" Leia asks, consideringly.

Luke hesitates for a moment. "Yes, but... not the way it is now," he answers.

That means... maybe there's a chance of... something, after all. Maybe. "Meaning?" Leia inquires.

"He doesn't agree with what the current Emperor is doing – "

"Then why is he staying?" Ben retaliates, sharply.

"What were you hoping? That he'd go back to you?" Luke snaps, glaring.

Force. Not this again please.

"I have nothing to do with his present choice to continue staying with the Empire, if he truly doesn't want to."

"Right," Luke practically drawls, though his eyes are still burning, "You also have nothing to do with the fact that he probably couldn't survive if he just walked out."

Ben's expression twitches slightly, and he... doesn't say anything, surprisingly.

What does that mean?! She has no idea what his suit is for she supposes, or – or anything. And now, she almost wants to ask Luke for more details, but she's afraid to know. "I know just... walking out is far harder for many Imperial defectors, no matter how much they wanted to, for years," she replies pointedly. Is that true about her father, too? From what she... felt of him on the Death Star, it might be. She can't quite imagine seeing him again right now, though, and trying to talk him into leaving. Maybe if she convinces Luke to, he'll be able to convince Vader.

A shadow crosses Luke's face, and makes her wonder again, thinking about how Vader felt on the Death Star.

"Sith have masters, right? And he isn't the master."

"The Emperor is," Luke replies, something dark in his gaze.

"You don't like him," Leia realizes, studying Luke. It's not hard to see and it ignites a steadily growing spark of hope inside of her.

"He's worse than Ben," Luke answers, but he goes on before Ben can interpret with something biting or before Leia can ask what does that mean,and does it mean he's hurting Vader? What does it mean about what Ben did to him? She knows people, even Imperials, are... terrified of the Emperor, though she doesn't know all the details as to why. Doesn't need to, either. "And if the Emperor was gone, what would he do then?" she asks.

Luke shrugs. "I never had a reason to think that far. But I want to get Father away from him."

The uncomfortable feeling inside of her grows. Maybe...

"If you're going to ask me to join the Rebellion to help fight the Emperor, I'm not leaving. I'm not fighting with him," Luke interjects, obviously realizing where she's taking this, "But if there was... anything we could do about the Emperor soon, I'd be fine with working together."

Is that even reasonable? Could they seriously go after the Emperor, and take him out after all the years the Rebellion has been trying? Just going to assassinate someone like that feels wrong, and it doesn't inherently guarantee the Empire will come to an end anyway, but...

"You are not ready to take on a powerful Sith," Ben interjects.

"I know, but theoretically, I think it's something we should consider," Leia asserts firmly, waiting until Luke nods before going on, "Isn't this more important than... getting revenge on Ben? Before we... go separate ways, maybe we can talk about this."

Chapter Text

For years, time had been mostly meaningless to Vader. All there ever was, was another mission he had to go on, something else his master wanted from him, and he obeyed robotically. He didn't truly know what it meant to want anything anymore – didn't have anything to want, not after Jabi'im and Malachor – until Luke. It's been weeks that his son has been away from him now, longer than he knew him in the first place.

Vader can't stop wondering what Sidious is telling him, because he has no doubt he's keeping them apart intentionally, trying to tear them apart. And after Ahsoka, after... everyone in his family, Vader doesn't have much hope that it won't succeed.

He can feel through their bond that Luke is fine, but he can also sense now that something is up. Something's... changing.

So, it catches him entirely by surprise when he gets a message on his comm from Luke, asking to come meet him at specified coordinates.

Which is... even stranger than the past several days of silence between them. Luke rarely leaves messages unless he tried calling half a dozen times and Vader was mid-battle or flying and unable to answer. And there's no way he'd just message about a meeting if Sidious finally agreed to let them see each other in person again.

Something is definitely not right, and Vader can't quite figure out what it is.

Outwardly, there was nothing off about it, and if Luke is asking to see him, Vader could never say no to that. Why would he, when that's all he's been yearning for from the moment his master took his son from him, too? If this was Sidious-approved, Luke probably would have said so, so Vader ensures that the men he's presently working with are unaware that he's gone before he takes a shuttle and leaves as soon as he can. He needs to go and be back before Sidious hears something is amiss. No one would question where Vader was for probably one rotation, but any longer than that, and any informants his master has would definitely hear word of it.

But still, Vader can't shake the feeling that something's not right. Maybe, it's simply that Luke's emotions from his side of their unnaturally strong bond are mostly closed-off, to a point that almost feels intentional.

His questions have still faded to mostly as much enthusiasm as he's capable of feeling anymore when he reaches the planet. There's no sign of battles or much life at all, which only furthers his suspicion that this is a... secret meeting.

He can sense Luke close by for the first time in so long. But there's something... another nearby Force presence that's nagging at him.

It's –

Obi-Wan.

He's here?! That – Vader does not want to face him again. He doesn't want to finish his mission either as much as he knows that may be the only a way to... get back on good terms with his master. But if Obi-Wan is here, is Luke in danger? It's that what's happening, or –

His mind is whirling with countless questions when he steps off the ramp. A hooded figure is waiting in the surrounding trees.

"Father," Luke breathes, and Vader's not quite expecting it when the boy rapidly closes the distance between them, wrapping his arms around him.

Vader freezes momentarily – he can't feel it, but he certainly can feel the emotion behind it. The last person to show him affection of that level was... Padme, in another lifetime.

Vader returns it, loosely. It's been so long since he had anyone, he's nearly forgotten what it was once like. "Are you well?" Vader inquires, hands still lingering on Luke's shoulders when his child steps back.

Luke's eyes are yellow now when he meets Vader's gaze under his hood. He feels so much darker now than he did before – he's changing, and Vader may have wanted to teach him the Dark Side, but he – he didn't want to see him like this. He realizes that with glaring clarity now that he's actually seeing him Dark. (Not as if what he wants matters any more now than it ever has. It's up to his master, as always.) "I'm fine," Luke assures, "I missed you."

"I have... missed you, as well." It was another added emptiness, to what constantly drowns him.

Luke's gaze darts to somewhere in the tree line for a moment before looking back to Vader. Reaching outwards with the Force, he can sense... someone else, vaguely familiar.

"Didn't you tell me Sith always... betray their masters?" Luke asks.

His wariness rises instantly. "Yes."

"Have you ever... considered trying?"

Even risking thinking about it sends a sharp stab of fear through him. "I tried once, and I failed. He is too powerful," Vader replies, evenly.

"But we weren't together then," Luke argues, a gleam setting in his eyes.

That's what he called him all the way out here for? As though Sidious can't reach across the entire galaxy to tear through Vader's mind if he desires it. Not that he can blame his son for wanting this, but – But he can't deny how much he longs for that, too. But Sidious probably already knows, and that's why he took Luke from him. "You are not yet trained enough. And he will sense it coming."

"Will he?" argues Luke, "Even if it's entirely unexpected?"

"He has always been... ahead of me," Vader answers, "He sees far more than I... realize."

A flicker of unease crosses his son's face before it sets stubbornly again. (He's still young, still... stubborn in a way a little like Anakin once was. Before he was broken. And Vader can't let that happen to his son. And that means –) "Then we'll find something he doesn't expect. Father, he isn't going to let us see each other anymore. You know that. If we'll ever be together again, we have to stop him."

He wants that so much, but he needs to be realistic, especially for Luke's sake. "Once you are stronger –"

"We can't wait for that!" Luke bursts out, "I can feel what this is doing to you, every day, and besides, we already have something on our side that he could never see coming."

Luke glances into the trees again and hears branches snapping. This was definitely a pre-planned... something. "You are not alone," he observes.

But he wasn't quite expecting the princess to step out of the trees. There's something wary, guarded, but also... something else entirely in her eyes, as she watches him.

Obi-Wan's new padawan. (Vader's replacement.)

"Princess," Vader greets, neutrally, past the rush of wild jealousy and irrational hurt that he's feeling, forever grieving a relationship that was broken decades ago. Though, Luke is clearly at least somewhat working with the Rebellion, and that is... risky. It's something he'll have to deal with, because even if they take out Sidious, he can't let the Empire just fall apart. "This would be why I sense Obi-Wan close?"

Which he really doesn't understand, because he knows Luke hates Obi-Wan, unless... he doesn't even know.

"He insisted on staying, but we aren't letting him interfere," Luke replies, "Leia is... She's my sister."

... What?

Luke's sister? But that would mean –

"We're twins," Leia supplies.

Twins. Leia is his daughter, his child, just like Luke, and he never knew that,and he hurt her because of it. The guilt and disbelief overwhelm him, almost instantly.

Now actually looking at her – the red of his lenses skews everything – he can see the similarity to Padme. He can see that in her passion and determination, too. (And maybe that's a little like Anakin once was too, but he was always too afraid to stand up for himself, unlike Leia.) But she really is his child and suddenly it makes so much sense why Obi-Wan's been watching over her all this time.

And he has no idea what to say to her, what he could begin to say to her, after their relationship is already...

"Luke was convinced you would agree to help us," Leia says, studying him. What their relationship means to her, he can't fully tell. She's... conflicted. "If we had an actual plan to destroy the Emperor."

"Do you?" Vader queries. Whatever happens, he cannot let Sidious find out about Leia. It's enough that the Sith has his son. He's not letting him near both of his children.

"Yes," Luke chirps, almost too cheerfully, "That's why we called you out here."

"Sidious will not come out here, after me," he replies flatly, even if he doesn't want to burst their excitement.

"He might, if he believes you betrayed him," Leia counters.

Now that he did not agree too. "Destroying the Emperor does not mean I will fight for the Rebellion."

"We're not asking you to," Luke insists, "I know what... Sidious could do if he thought you betrayed him, and we aren't going to let him. In case anything goes wrong, we'll make it so he thinks we... captured you."

That... suddenly explains everything about this plan, and he doesn't have a good feeling about it, no matter how much he wants to go along with it. "That is why you called me out here to meet with... no one around." Because there's no traces of any rebel base here, and they could easily pretend to "capture" him.

"Yes," Leia agrees.

"This is a prank, and it is not an amusing one," he deadpans.

"Come on," Luke nearly whines, "We've already come this far. Besides, if we have to keep waiting, we'll have to leave Leia, too. And I don't know when any of us will see each other again."

Vader turns to look at her for a long moment, the child he doesn't even know yet; the daughter that he had first thought he was going to have, so long ago when –

"Ani, I'm pregnant."

He wants to know her too, no matter if he doesn't deserve it. Though he doesn't know if she wants the same. (He doesn't even know why Luke does.)

But they're also not wrong that two of them isn't something Sidious will see coming. And if Vader has to die to keep his children safe from the Sith, he's fine with that. That his children are in danger too gives him a strength he no longer knew he was capable of feeling.

"When we actually know he's inbound, I can call in other rebellion forces to help us," Leia adds.

"Very well," Vader finally agrees, deflating a little. He still doesn't have a good feeling about this, at all, even if – way inside he also thinks it might work out in the long-run. Maybe. He always used to dream for things, but he's been too afraid to do that in so long.

Still, it's almost worth seeing the happiness on Luke's face at his agreement, and the quiet relief on Leia's.

"There's a building nearby we can... wait in, for now," Luke says.

Vader follows them through the trees, to an old, abandoned building that looks like it might once have been a fortress of some kind. Not really somewhere he could be contained if he was trying hard to escape, but he doubts Sidious is going to believe that part of this façade, anyway. He can't believe they're really about to do this, after all this time. And hope that Sidious will fall for the trap.

He can't believe he's doing this. It's risky, and Vader knows exactly what it could lead to. He doesn't want to endanger his children like this, but waiting will not truly change what must happen. He knows that – if they plan for longer, it will give Sidious an even more vivid image of their intentions. Waiting will only prolong the inevitable.

Waiting won't spare Luke from whatever fate Sidious has in store for him. It won't protect him, and it won't help Leia, either.

He hasn't even made it a few steps into the building when he comes face to face with Obi-Wan. He knew it would happen. That doesn't mean he's ever ready for it.

"No fighting, anyone," Leia warns, before either of them can speak. Vader is... grateful for that. Though he doesn't know why she shoots a very pointed look at Luke as they all step inside.

This wait is not something Vader is looking forward to.

***

With Vader here now, Leia only feels more conflicted than she did before. He's her biological father, the one she often wondered about, especially when she was younger. In another lifetime, he could've been the one to raise her; she could've grown up alongside Luke, and she has no idea how to feel about that.

She doesn't really know anything about him, except what he's done for the Empire. (And to her.)

And that Ben hurt him (tortured him, according to Luke, and she can't imagine Ben doing anything like that so maybe he's exaggerating a little but it's not like she would know and she's almost afraid to), and apparently, so has the Emperor.

It's the night after they lured Vader out here now, and Leia imagines it'll take a while for the Emperor to show up – if he does, though Luke is very confident than he will – but if they're actually able to deal with him now, the wait is more than worth it.

Trying to sleep is nearly impossible, so Leia finally gives up entirely, silently making her way out of the building. She's struck with the impulsive urge to go climb a tree the way she used to on Alderaan until she spots Vader standing a few paces ahead in the trees. If not for his respirator echoing in the night air, and the lights lighting up the trees, he's practically as silent and motionless as a shadow.

Leia pauses for a moment, considering turning back, but – They'll have to talk to each other eventually, especially if they'll be trying to work together in a fight to the death, and avoiding it isn't going to help anyone. She's never been one to try hiding from things, anyway. (Except from the fact that Alderaan is gone, and she can never go home, no matter how much she wants to. Luke and... Vader are the only family she has anymore.)

"Leia," he greets, voice surprisingly quite as she approaches.

She stops a few paces away. She doesn't even know what to say to him. This entire situation is... awkward. Vader hurt her, and he's a Sith, and an Imperial, but... he's still her father. It's confusing. And Leia really can't understand how he could have been the person Ben talks about. Everything he said about Anakin was positive, and Leia doesn't really know how they could be the same.

"Thank you for helping us," she says, finally. From what Luke said, it's obviously not... easy for him. He's afraid. She can sense it.

"I will protect you and Luke," he replies, the helmet inclining to look at her. She has no idea what to say to that, to that note of fierce protectiveness in his voice. Any questions she had of if it would matter to him who she was are gone. It obviously does. That makes things easier and harder at once. "Had I known who you were before, you... would not have been harmed."

She... has no idea what to say to that, either. "Are you alright with this?" Leia asks, finally. He hasn't once indicated what he wants to do. He's doing it because Luke was insisting.

Vader is quiet for a long pause. "I will not let him harm you."

So he already said. It's about them, not what he wants himself. She doesn't quite know how to feel about that, especially since he doesn't feel very happy about something. "But is killing the Emperor right now really what you want to do?" Not that she's discouraging him from helping them, but it's not fair to him not to confirm that. "Especially with this plan?"

"It is a risk," he replies, tonelessly but she can feel his fear, "My master has always sensed any indication of... betrayal in the past. It is unlikely he will not come prepared."

A chill snakes through her. That's exactly what she's afraid of, too. But he's thought about turning on the Emperor before? That means he obviously isn't happy with what the Empire is doing right now. "If you were planning to kill him, how would you do it?"

Vader twitches. "I see no way he would not anticipate."

It can't be impossible, but Vader knows Sidious better than anyone, and it leaves her feeling increasingly uneasy. "I would recommend reassessing our plan, but it might already be too late for that."

"Yes," he agrees, quietly.

"If we can't finish the Emperor now, we can always... fall back," she points out, much as she doesn't like the thought, "The Rebellion will give you protection from him if it comes down to it." So long as he agrees to help them, they would, but if they fail to kill Sidious, Vader won't have anywhere else to go.

"It is Luke he desires most of all. And he will desire to turn or destroy you, if he learns of your identity," Vader responds, ominously.

"We won't let Luke go anywhere with him," Leia promises, desperately hoping that this is one she can keep. (But she already failed Alderaan, and her entire family is gone because of it. Her entire people.) "I've seen him before in the Senate. I don't think he would figure out now who I am." She doesn't know that, though. She's just trying to reassure him. And herself.

Vader doesn't seem overly convinced though, not that she can blame him. She wishes there was a better way they could've formed this alliance, but Luke was insistent, and she was desperate, and she hadn't actually thought it through. Hopefully, it won't turn out to be another terrible mistake.

***

Morning comes surprisingly quickly with how restless Luke is feeling. He hates the waiting, not even knowing when Sidious will get here. And then he suddenly senses it. He's coming, right now.

He didn't realize quite how afraid he was of where this could go until this moment. But all four of them are here together, and Sidious can't defeat all of them. Right? Assuming he's alone.

Luke lets his fear morph to anger and hate, lets it fuel him the exact way Sidious taught him. It's a little satisfying how he can use everything the Sith master taught him against him now.

He's waiting outside, hand on his lightsaber when the ship lands, and Sidious strides down the ramp, accompanied by four Red Guards. Which means they're already outnumbered, but the guards should be easy to deal with if no one else is nearby.

"I see you have been no more successful in your mission than Lord Vader," Sidious rasps.

"I haven't finished it yet, but I will," Luke shoots back defiantly. He does still want to carry out the mission if he's being honest. Mustafar is forever burned literally into his mind, but now isn't the time. And it would hurt Leia, so he... doesn't know what to do.

"With your foolishness, you are wasting your potential," he replies.

He definitely knows, but that's fine. Luke doesn't care to play word games. "That's my choice," he answers, flippantly.

"I have tolerated your defiance long enough, young Skywalker," Sidious hisses, something dark in his sickening yellow eyes, "Convincing Lord Vader to betray me will only end in both of your destruction. If you truly desired to be with him –"

"You weren't going to let us be together anymore," Luke snaps back, temper flaring, "All you care about is your own power and you're afraid we're stronger than you." And as an afterthought – "And my father didn't agree to come out here."

"Yet he will side with you for now, with as traitorous as he has always been. He has turned on everyone who once cared for him. Do you truly believe he won't do the same to you?"

Enough of this. Sidious is using words to throw him off-balance again, and now isn't a time to be thinking about the... things about his mother. He still doesn't know what to think of it, and doesn't really want to, either. "At least you'll be gone," Luke retorts, igniting his lightsaber.

The Red Guards instantly activate their electrostaffs, stepping defensively in front of the Emperor.

They do not have time or energy to waste on the guards, but Luke jumps forwards instantly, slashing at the two in front.

It's the only cue needed for Leia, Ben, and Vader to make their presences known. The other two guards instantly move to intercept them, and Leia attacks them. Ben goes straight for Sidious, vengeance burning in his eyes. So much for being a perfect Jedi. Vader quickly joins him, as the Sith draws two lightsabers out of his sleeves – it really doesn't matter, but still, why does he keep them in his sleeves?! –lunging at them.

Luke's blade moves in a blur, slashing at the flailing electrostaffs, trying to find some way past them. The guards are good, though, and they're well-trained for this. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Sidious Force-jump back away from the other two, throwing rocks and other random... objects at them.

Mostly aimed at the chest plate on Vader's armor, and even if his father manages to deflect or dodge them all, Luke's fury surges instantly. Sidious is the one who had that thing designed, and he knows all its weaknesses, exactly how to exploit it. It's far too easy to lose, because of that. A move oto slow, and his father's suit could be damaged, and that could mean – No. That won't happen. It won't.

Desperation surging through him, Luke Force-throws the two guards away from him, wrapping the Force around their necks and crushing.

Their bodies drop lifelessly to the ground, and Luke sprints for Sidious, only to have Ben thrown right at him. He nearly impales him as they land on the ground in a tangled pile, and Luke hastily shoves him, scrambling back to his feet, right as Sidious flips away from Vader again – why does he keep avoiding fighting? – and hurls Ben into the building's wall. He collapses, motionless.

That's not good. They can't afford to lose anyone right now. If they're going to take out Sidious, they need all the help they can get.

He's about to run to Vader's side, when the last standing Red Guard fighting Leia hits her with his electrostaff. She must've taken down the other one already, but she stumbles back with a yelp at the electricity jolting through her.

Luke jumps at him, lightsaber slashing through him mid-landing. Leia catches her balance, still breathing hard. "Thanks."

"Where're the reinforcements?" Luke demands, glancing up at the sky. He doesn't even hear the sound of approaching ships yet, and they sent a message to them the moment they realized Sidious was almost there.

"I don't know," Leia replies, breathlessly. There's nothing they can do about it right now anyway. All they can do is try to win this fight on their own. They have to, no matter what it takes. Sidious isn't going to stop until they're dead, or worse. He'd rather not know what the 'worse' is. But whatever happens, he's never letting the Sith get his hands on Vader again. He doesn't want to think about what he would do to him if he did.

That fear burns to an overwhelming fury as he spins to face Sidious, right as he's shoving Vader back from nearly lopping his head off. Vader skids a few paces back, nearly falling, and Luke feels the faintest flare of pain from his bond with his father, as he slowly stands again.

It's all he needs to jump at the Sith, half-blindly. Leia is right at his side, as their blades clash against Sidious'. He blocks one with each lightsaber, pulling back and slashing at them again, His movements are fast and deadly, and it's all Luke can do to keep from getting impaled. Vader is already on his feet, moving towards them, when Luke suddenly hears the low hum of approaching engines.

The faintest sound of explosions rings out seconds later, and – Force.

Of course, Sidious brought Imperial reinforcements with him. The other rebels probably aren't showing up because they're tangled in a space battle right now. This is not looking good. He expected something like that would happen, but he thought they'd at least kill Sidious and could find a way to sneak off-planet if the Imperials started overrunning them. But they haven't even managed to kill the Sith yet, and he has no idea what ships will be heading to the surface soon. There's no time for this.

The Force tightens around Luke's neck suddenly, just enough to throw him off-balance too long to block the blast of lightning. It crackles through him, a strangled scream escaping him as he goes down, the white-hot burning pain overwhelming all his senses.

It stops just as quickly as it started, leaving him on the ground, smoking, struggling to catch his breath. Vader is moving just slightly unsteadily as he swings at Sidious again. Enough for Luke to realize that Vader probably felt every bit of that and that's very bad, because –

Sidious unleashes another blast of lightning on Vader this time. He tries to block it, but the lightning crackles up his arms too fast, drawn by the suit, and it's too strong for Vader to block. Or at least it must be, because a burning pain swells up inside Luke, ripping through every inch of his body even if it's not happening to him, and that's all he can feel no matter how hard he tries to fight against it.

His father could be dying, he could be – He needs to get up and do something, but he can't because everything hurts too much, and –

Vaguely, he hears the sudden sound of explosions, and lightning stops abruptly but everything still hurts, and it feels like he can't breathe, and he has no idea if it's him or Vader, or –

Then he hears Leia and Ben saying something, talking on top of each other, and the sound of lightsabers right before lightning suddenly hits Luke again.

It's far stronger than last time, far more overwhelming, meant to – He doesn't know, but he hardly has the time to register screaming before the world around him fades into darkness.

Chapter Text

Heart pounding, Leia scrambles to Vader's side. He's still on the ground, unmoving, armor occasionally sparking from being electrocuted. And Luke is –

Laser shots are occasionally striking the ground around them, as the Imperial and Rebellion forces exchange fire overhead. One of the ships already came down to pick up Sidious, and they took Luke with them.

She tried to stop it, but she wasn't fast enough, not when there were stormtroopers everywhere. Still are stormtroopers everywhere, except the Falcon is shooting down at them now, keeping them distracted. But they need to get out of here before they get overrun.

They already were. Luke is gone, and she has no idea what's going to happen to him, but this is exactly what Vader was warning about. When he said Sidious was after Luke, not him, she didn't realize he meant this. Not exactly, and – Force. She can't lose her brother. She hasn't even gotten to know him yet, and they already had an entire life together taken from them, and she doesn't even know why.

And Vader is... she has no idea what exactly his condition is, but it doesn't look good. He's a cyborg. Lightning is drawn to him, and it could kill him easily. That's probably the one weakness he has.

The Falcon finally lands between them and the stormtroopers, the ramp lowering. Leia exchanges a wordless glance with Ben before they lift Vader with the Force, bringing him onboard.

It reminds her of the one million questions she still needs to ask him about everything.

"We need to get him somewhere," Leia says, crouching next to him, though if there's anything she can do right now, she has no idea. She didn't quite expect the overwhelming panic she feels at the thought of him dying here right now. She'd care for anyone, but this is even more personal. (He's her father and she hasn't even gotten the chance to start getting to know him.) "Is there anything we can do –?"

Ben crouches on Vader's other side, expression tight. "Not that I am aware of."

For now, all they can do is focus on getting out, and that's enough to spur her into motion. She scrambles for the guns, joining Chewie in shooting the pursuing Imperials, until they can make the jump to hyperspace.

Leia waits a moment, letting the rush of adrenaline wear off before she scrambles back to the hold. Ben is still sitting next to Vader, and she thinks he's at least still conscious enough to know that they're there, though she doesn't think he'd be able to speak coherently right now.

"Did you pick up the kid?" Han asks, stepping into the hold and then freezing.

Leia shakes her head. She'd told Han just a quick rundown of the situation when asking him to come out here. "The Emperor got him, and we... got someone else instead."

Chewie growls warily, sniffing the air.

"...Vader? The guy who the old fossil was fighting when Luke left?" Han repeats, incredulous.

"This will sound strange," Leia replies, trying to smother her amusement – which isn't hard in the tenseness of the situation, "But yes. He's helping us now. And we need to get him back to base to get treated."

"Shouldn't take long," Han says, still looking thoroughly mind blown.

"Hey, this isn't much stranger than you choosing to stick around."

"Oh, I'm only doing that because you don't want me to go," he snips.

No, she doesn't, for many reasons. Sometimes, being around him makes her remember Kier, and then she remembers losing him and Alderaan and she can't – she doesn't think she can handle that happening again. Not just for Han, but for anyone else. "Now isn't a good time for this," Leia replies, flatly.

"Whatever you say, Your Highness," he answers, disappearing into the cockpit.

Leia turns her attention back to Vader, lightly reaching out to touch his arm, above the area that's metal. Why is his arm metal, anyway? "We'll get you somewhere safe," she promises, in case he can hear, and from the slight twitch in his Force presence, he must've.

She should probably save her questions for Ben for a later time. And then, they need to focus on finding a way to get Luke back. Somehow.

***

Obi-Wan had a bad feeling about this mission from the start. They were banking far too heavily on Vader not selling them out. He was certain that Vader would, but that... isn't what happened.

He was helping them, planning to destroy Sidious. And while Obi-Wan isn't convinced he's not just doing this so he can take over the Empire in his stead, he seems to... care about the twins. Obviously, he knew Anakin would've. He would've been a good parent for them, too, because he... did do well at training Ahsoka.

But this is Vader, and Obi-Wan can't trust his intentions. Can't trust that he isn't going to try turning the twins to the Dark Side, corrupting them the same way he is. (But Vader is dangerously close to dying, and he has no idea how to feel about that. He should, but he doesn't. No idea why he – he doesn't want to see that, even when he already accepted that Vader was the one who destroyed Anakin. And yet – Obi-Wan doesn't want to see him die. That's happened before, and he can't go through it again.)

"Why were Luke and I separated?" Leia inquires, pacing anxiously in the room they're waiting in, near where Vader's being treated.

"If you were together, the chance of the Sith finding you would have been far too great," Obi-Wan replies.

"And he... never knew anything about us?" Leia asks, pausing.

Mustafar and everything that happened there still is something he doesn't like thinking about, whether he sees Vader as separate or not. "I thought he was dead, Leia."

"What Luke was saying about what you..." she trails off, expression tight.

Yes, about that, he did not torture him. (Well technically, it came close enough.) "We were fighting, and it got out of hand."

"I don't understand," she says, bluntly, "You always speak so fondly of him."

"Of Anakin," he corrects, curtly.

"They're the same person. Just because Vader is different from the person you know doesn't mean he's someone else."

But she wouldn't know that because she never knew Anakin. Or saw what Vader did. (He wishes he could stop thinking about it, but it's hard when Vader is so close and when they're supposed to be working together.) "They're not. He told me that himself. You don't know them, Leia."

She sighs, turning away. "I didn't," she agrees, "But I can see he cares about Luke. And... me."

"A caring that is warped by the Dark Side," Obi-Wan warns, "He already made Luke Fall. I don't want to lose you to that, too."

"You won't," she replies, "But you know, whatever's happened between you, he still deserves another chance if he wants one." She disappears out the door, but the room hardly feels empty with the words still hanging so heavily in the air.

Words Obi-Wan would rather not think about right now. But somehow, that inevitably makes him think about it even harder.

***

The first thing Vader realizes when he fades back to consciousness is that he doesn't sense Luke. He often instinctively reaches for his Force presence, but when he does that now, there's nothing. And that – that can't be right. If Luke is far away and unconscious, his Force presence could be this muted, or he was in Force null-cuffs –

But that would mean –

Force.

This is bad.

His body is still aching from his newest injuries, but that's hardly his concern right now. If anything, it's a welcome distraction from the sudden rush of fear that floods him, as he impatiently waits for the med droids to finish assembling him, and then let in his... visitors.

Leia and Obi-Wan step inside, and he feels instant relief that she's alright, at least. But Luke's absence is glaringly obvious –

"Are you... feeling better?" Leia asks, a mostly hidden touch of uncomfortableness in her gaze.

She – what? He doesn't remember the last time someone asked him that. Except Luke.

"Yes," he assures, dismissively, "Where is Luke?"

They trade a glance. "Sidious took him," Obi-Wan replies.

Vader knew it already, somewhere way inside of him, especially with how quiet his bond with Luke feels right now. His son is gone, and this is exactly what he feared most. He has no idea what Sidious is doing to him now, or if he – Yes, of course, he's alive, but he has to find a way to get him back. Somehow.

Because this is why Vader didn't want to go after Sidious in the first place. They lost once. Losing a second time would even easier.

"We'll find him," Leia says, stepping forwards. There's a fierce determination burning in her eyes. It reminds him of Padme, and maybe of what Anakin was once like, but it only scares Vader now.

"No," Vader objects, "I will go alone." He doesn't even know if they'll be able to get Luke out, and he's not going to risk Leia, too. They already failed against Sidious, and he... knows a fight a second time isn't going to end any better. If it's for his son, he's willing to risk himself, even if the sheer thought of facing Sidious again – especially alone – floods him with an overwhelming terror. Sidious was furious. He nearly killed him, and he won't have any hesitation doing it again. Or worse, he probably won't kill him, but make him wish he had far more than Vader already does sometimes.

"Now isn't the time for heroics," Obi-Wan cuts in.

Vader outright glares at him, not that it's visible through the mask. "I will not risk Leia senselessly."

"That I agree with, but in your state, you will never make it in and out with Luke undetected," he replies, curtly.

As if he's actually worried about that? Vader already knows his former master doesn't care for him anymore. If he had, he wouldn't have left him on Jabi'im a second time over. (Not that Vader didn't deserve it. Not that he deserves to have anyone care about him. He doesn't understand why his children do, even though they know what he's done.)

Probably, he's just assuming Vader's planning to go back to Sidious.

"I'm not letting you go alone," Leia interjects, arms crossed. Vader can feel her own fear. She's afraid for Luke, but he almost thinks it's more than just Luke she's afraid of, which is why she won't let Vader go alone. "We all stand far more of a chance if we're together."

She's not wrong, but he still doesn't want to risk Leia like that. (He doesn't know why it reminds him of Obi-Wan saying something similar once, a lifetime ago, on Mortis, right before every single one of them broke that promise.) This isn't something for him to decide, though. Leia's too stubborn to back down and he has no doubt Obi-Wan isn't going to let him leave alone, whatever the reasons.

"He will likely have Luke on Coruscant. We will have to infiltrate the palace."

Leia nods. "But at least this time, we're all better prepared to know how he fights. And we don't need to go after him again. You were right that we weren't ready for that. We'll just get Luke in and out as quietly as possible. You know this place better than any of us, so let's figure how this can be done."

The determination she speaks with is... encouraging. He'll do whatever he has to save his son from Sidious, but when Leia is on the line, too, and he's already so afraid of where this will go, it's hard to feel anything but a smothering fear. Even if he's letting that fuel him, there's still a part of him that's afraid whatever he does, this is only going to get worse.

But he can't do nothing, so he turns his focus to the layout of the palace instead, going over the best ways for them to get inside. They have a lot of planning to do.

***

Leia doesn't even have to be a Jedi to feel how afraid Vader is of what they're doing. Sidious was literally torturing him, so that's hardly a surprise. She feels a little bad about taking him along somewhere they're going to confront the Emperor again, but they can't do this without him, and he would never agree to stay behind, anyway.

She wishes there wasn't so much silent hostility between Vader and Ben, though, even if they aren't really saying anything to each other. It's just... exhausting.

They're on a stolen Imperial shuttle now, on the way to Coruscant. All Leia can do is hope this is going to work. She's perfectly aware that one of them could fail to make it out, or that they all could, but... Luke is her brother, and she's not going to let anything happen to him.

Besides, if Sidious is able to twist people's minds and manipulate them to the point that Ben said, leaving any Force user with him is far too dangerous for the Rebellion. Especially when Luke already knows things about them – not that she truly believes he would turn against them, but still.

Vader seems just as restless as he was before the last fight with Sidious, though, from the way he's pacing in the hold.

Ben's disappeared to one of the side rooms, leaving them alone. Han and Chewie – who came along to be able to fly them out – are in the cockpit right now.

"I wish there was a better way we could do this," she says, finally, "But I don't know what else we can do."

"No plan would be without risk," Vader replies, after a long pause.

She can't tell if he's starting to feel more determined or resigned. Or if he's trying to make her feel better.

... That's an incredibly bizarre thought in and of itself.

"We will succeed, if that is our... destiny," he adds.

Also, an entirely unexpected comment from him, but he's not wrong. "Yeah," Leia agrees, "I suppose. You know, on Alderaan we have a saying. 'Hope is like the sun. If only you believe it when you see it, you'll never make it through the night.'" Even mentioning that name sends an overwhelming surge of helpless longing and emptiness through her. The true implications of her entire family and people being gone still haven't fully sunk in, but any moment that she actually thinks about it, it's... too overwhelmingly gutting to even think about. She didn't know it was possible to feel so empty. (Is that how Vader's felt all these years?)

It feels nearly impossible to believe the saying about hope now, but she can only cling to it even harder now. She has to believe that there's still a chance for the Rebellion to actually accomplish something, or she'll – She doesn't want to think about it. Alderaan can't have been for nothing. (All the people the Rebellion's hurt, if there was no way around it, can't have been for nothing.)

Vader twitches slightly, but he doesn't reply. She doesn't think he knows what to say, or maybe that phrase has as many or more personal feelings for him as it does for her.

Especially when she also has to just hope that they're all going to make it out of here, that she's not going to lose someone else. She's fine if it's her, to be honest, but anyone else...

And it hits her then, that for all she knows, it could be the last time she really has to talk to Vader, even if she refuses to accept that right now. And there's so much she wants to say to him, to know about him, first. (She wants the chance to get to know him. Even if not as a parent – because she can never replace her adopted ones – but as a blood relative nonetheless.)

"Do you mind if I ask you something... personal?" Leia asks finally, even if it's awkward. It is for both of them though, and that makes it a little easier.

"What is it?" he inquires, after a heartbeat of silence.

"Why weren't you there when Luke and I were... born?"

From the way his emotions suddenly start spiraling, it must be bad. Maybe she shouldn't have asked. "I was... unavailable."

She can't say why, but looking at him now, she gets the flash of fire and lava and something of a much younger Ben.

Is that – Force. "That was when Ben... injured you?"

"Yes." The reply is toneless, but she can acutely sense his pain.

"I... shouldn't have brought it up," she offers, apologetically. But since they're already talking about this – "When I was... younger, I always wanted to know my birth parents. Sometimes, my... cousin told me that I wasn't a real Organa and it... sometimes felt like it was true." Rarely, but there were moments. After she actually heard about her birth parents, accepted that they were gone, it was easier to let it go, to stop wondering about them. But now...

"You were... unhappy there?"

"No, I wasn't," she assures, even if she wonders a second later if that just made him feel even more uncomfortable about the whole situation. "But I still wondered about you," she adds.

He's quiet again, for a long pause. "You grew up a princess, something better than I could have... given you. I do not believe I am what you... expected." There's a barely veiled self-loathing in those words, and she wonders suddenly how much that's affecting the choices he's made. (However much of them were his choices. She's not really clear on that. But she can't help wondering if the way he views the Empire is the way she views the Rebellion, with that desperate belief that after everything she's been through and done, it has to be for something.)

"Maybe you weren't what I... envisioned," she admits, trying hard not to think about the Death Star. It makes talking about this at all hard, especially with how long she tried to avoid thinking about what it would mean to care about someone in the Empire. Maybe she doesn't want to, but she undeniably does, and she can't hide from that anymore. (Especially not when she has no idea if this will be their last talk. She can see that he – he cares about her too. He didn't want to bring her along because he's afraid of something happening to her, and that's enough for her to press forwards.)

"But that doesn't really matter to me. You're still – We're still related. Family."

Saying it out loud makes her feel exposed. Maybe it's just that it makes it feel real. And admitting that she already has family that she can lose again is terrifying. She doesn't think she could even handle that. She couldn't. Not again. Definitely not so soon.

Vader looks about as frozen as he feels in the Force.

Leia steps a little closer, not really thinking it through before she does it, when she lightly touches the metal of his right arm. Vader still evens further before he reaches up, taking her hand.

It's somehow gentle, despite the firmness of the grip and despite how much she can feel the metal fingers beneath his glove.

It's somehow calming, even if it makes her just as afraid for where this confrontation with Sidious is going to go.

***

Vader keeps his Force presence as tightly shielded as he can once they come out of hyperspace over Coruscant. He doesn't feel Sidious instantly reaching for him, prodding at his mind, and he's... cautiously hopeful that it means the Sith doesn't realize he's on planet. But still, he's bracing himself for the likelihood that Sidious does.

If he doesn't yet, there's no way he doesn't have people keeping close watch on Luke, waiting to report if anything happens.

They transmit the Imperial clearance codes as they approach a hangar at the palace, and they're allowed to land without interference. So far.

Leia and Obi-Wan are the first off the shuttle, knocking out two nearby stormtroopers and putting on their armor – despite how ridiculous it looks on Leia, but it's not like there aren't very short stormtroopers – before they start off through the palace, Artoo rolling along behind.

Reuniting with the droid had been... strange. Artoo was overjoyed to see him again, and it's starting to awaken the long-buried feelings inside of him, of what it truly meant to have... companionship with others. And Leia considers him family, somehow, despite that their initial meeting was far from positive. It drowns him with guilt to even think about it, but it's making him long for the past more than ever before. And for the not the first time since Luke first came into his life, it actually feels like... like he can have someone again. Like something can be different. He's already left Sidious. He's... He's still Vader but – but it's not the same as it was before.

But now isn't the time to get lost in those thoughts. He needs to focus. They take numerous back halls to avoid any stormtroopers, making their way down to the lower levels of the prison.

As soon as they've reached the general area, Artoo plugs into a wall port, breaking into the system to look at prison records.

This could be the moment that someone realizes they're here, and then they'll have to be fast. He keeps his gaze firmly focused on Artoo, trying not to remember the far too familiar agony of lightning burning across his skin. Refuses to let himself think about what Sidious will do if they're all captured here.

Artoo beeps, a worried note in his tone.

"Not here?" Vader repeats, "Where is he?"

Artoo beeps again.

"The records indicate he has been transferred to... somewhere on the far side of the palace." Either he's being kept somewhere personally near Sidious, or this is a trap.

"Next move, spring the trap." He roughly shoves aside the memory of the days he and Obi-Wan would've joked about that.

More than likely, it means Sidious is prepared for them. The only hope they have is if no one's realized they're here yet, but he... doubts they'll be able to get across the palace without someone seeing.

"Then we better get moving," Leia mutters, expression tight. He can feel her fear, too.

And he can't shake the feeling that something is about to go very wrong, and it's not just his fear talking. It's something more, just like the something more he was sensing before Sidious showed up the first time.

But all they can do is move, backing out of the prison level as quickly and unobtrusively as they can.

***

Getting to the mentioned side of the palace without anyone noticing them is nearly impossible, but Obi-Wan mind tricks his way past most of the stormtroopers, making them think they didn't see anyone important.

Most everyone is just carefully keeping their distance when they see Vader, but he highly doubts Sidious hasn't declared him a traitor already. There's no way someone hasn't already reported that they're here. Probably. Getting there is too easy, and Vader doesn't like it. From Obi-Wan and Leia's expressions, he can tell they're thinking the same.

This area of the palace definitely isn't a prison. Vader doesn't realize what it is until after he's stepped inside. It's been... converted to a carbon freezing chamber, or at least the equipment has been temporarily set out for one. He remembers it well, from the time he had himself frozen when going to the Citadel.

But what Vader senses only a second later is Sidious, moments before the Sith himself strides out of the shadows, hood pulled low over his head.

He can hear sudden movement behind him and knows without looking that stormtroopers are approaching to block off the exit.

It was a trap.

Of course, it was. And maybe, he's simply too afraid to feel afraid anymore because he suddenly just feels numb. All that matters is getting his children out of here alive – beyond that, it – it really doesn't.

"Lord Vader," Sidious rasps, "I see you have at last returned."

"Where is he?" Vader demands, refusing to back down, even if it feels like he should be kneeling right now, like he doesn't have the right to be standing.

"I'm surprised you can't sense it," he replies, "Your son is gone."

Vader stills, an overwhelming sickening horror and denial flooding him a second later. He can't feel Luke, no matter how hard he tries, even if he definitely never sensed their bond break. But that – He told him the same about Padme, and that was a lie. "You are lying," he retorts, with far more fierceness than he feels.

They can't have come all this way, only to be too late. They can't have.

"Your senses should be far more attuned than this, Lord Vader," Sidious chides. He gestures to the stormtroopers lingering behind him, and they move forwards, pushing forwards a hovercart.

It's Luke, but he's frozen in carbonite.

And Vader still can't sense him, even though the boy is right in front of him. Something about it feels and looks a little off, and he already knows that if someone is carbon frozen like this, their Force-presence is going to be extremely still, but he doesn't know if it's that or if he's just trying to reassure himself of something when he already knows what's really happening. When he already knows that –

Did Sidious really kill him? It's not as if Vader could put that past him, and he hears Leia inhale sharply behind him.

No, no, he cannot believe that Luke is gone, but he can see the evidence right in front of him. Except, it doesn't make any sense for the Sith to have frozen him, unless it's just to fool him, and he won't fall for that. But if –

"Before you question it further," Sidious goes on, "I had him frozen to preserve his body from further deterioration. I am well aware of what he means to you, Lord Vader. His death was unintentional, but it can still be reversed."

He heard that once, a lifetime ago. In the end, Padme died, anyway. But from what, he still doesn't know.

"That's not possible," Obi-Wan shoots back, sharply.

"And what would you know of that, Jedi?" Sidious asks, mockingly, "The Dark Side is the pathway to far more abilities than your Light provides."

"You told me the same for Padme, and you did not," Vader counters.

"And I would have, had the Jedi not taken her," he replies, smoothly. Is that true? He doesn't know, but he doesn't trust a word the Sith says anymore. He hates how much the words always start confusing him. Because he really doesn't know if she'd have survived if Obi-Wan hadn't taken her, but regardless, he's glad his children didn't grow up anywhere near Sidious. "I have looked into this further, and because of your unique connection with Luke, you should be strong enough to bring him back. Do you truly want to lose this chance to save your son?"

Vader's gaze darts back to Luke's motionless form. He's so still, and he's – His mind is screaming in denial, that there's no way that Luke could truly be gone, but he can... He knows what he sees and feels, even if something about that doesn't seem quite right.

And if Sidious is serious about a way to bring him back...

Vader can't trust him though, because the Sith wouldn't be offering this unless he had something to gain from it. Is he trying to win him back to his side like this? Is he –

Would it be worth everything he's done to the galaxy, to bring his son back?

But how can he really refuse if this is a genuine offer? Which he does not trust that it is, one bit. But he's fairly certain he's half in shock right now, because the notion of Luke being gone feels too unreal to – to anything right now. But can he really make Leia spend the rest of her life without her brother, especially knowing how much her biological family means to her?

"What would you require of me?" Vader asks, warily.

Sidious studies him for a long moment. He hates that look and it never fails to terrify him. "It will require a life for a life. Because of your bond, it will take your life to restore his."

Oh. Oh.

It makes sense, in terms of the Dark Side.

Sidious is just doing this because he wants Luke back, isn't he? And if Vader goes through with this, then he'll be gone and unable to interfere.

He doesn't want Sidious to want him anymore, but that the Sith is offering this mostly just to get him killed burns through his heart in a way he can't even describe. Not that it matters. If it means Luke will be alive again, he's more than willing to give up his own life.

"No," Leia bursts out, sharply, "Don't. He's lying, trying to trick us. There's no way he's going to bring Luke back."

Sidious motions and one of the stormtroopers fires a stunblast at her. Vader jerks forwards, but not fast enough to deflect the shot. She collapses to the floor, unconscious.

"She will remain unharmed," he assures, smoothly.

Probably, he shouldn't be showing any concern for Leia, if there's any chance Sidious doesn't realize – Vader turns back to Luke, desperately trying to decide what to do, now.

Sidious could easily use this as an opportunity to kill them all. There's no way he's genuine. But he's already counting on Vader giving in.

And he's not wrong to count on that either, but maybe this time Vader can try to be one step ahead of him too. With a certain determination he didn't know he was capable of feeling before, he takes a few steps closer.

"Anakin, stop," Obi-Wan warns.

It's the name that nearly freezes Vader for a moment.

He just called him Anakin. He hasn't done that once since... Mustafar, actually.

But it – it doesn't matter. Not right now. This is for his children, and with that in mind, Vader kneels in front of Sidious.

Chapter Text

The amount of satisfaction Vader feels from Sidious is sickening, and he can't deny wondering how much any of this is real. Vader doesn't wait to be told what to do, reaching outwards to where Luke's motionless form is lying.

There's something... still not right about this, even if he can't make sense of what. Now that he's actually physically closer to him, it almost feels like –

Like there's something blocking him from reaching Luke. Which would mean... that maybe he's not dead at all.

... Vader doesn't know what to believe anymore, but he tries to prod forwards, determined to know. The news doesn't shock him exactly, not really, because he didn't fully believe his son was gone in the first place, but he doesn't want to make the mistake of assuming Sidious was lying if he wasn't, not if there's truly a chance to bring him back.

Keeping his children safe is the only thing that matters.

Sidious' presence prods sharply against Vader's mental shields, and it only takes him a second to realize that he's trying to latch onto his Force presence, to –

He's going to kill him, and suddenly Vader doesn't think this ever had anything to do with Luke at all. This is all a lie, isn't it? He tries to force Sidious back, but his master keeps trying to press forwards anyway, trying to rip past his shields.

The pain is nearly whiting out his mind, but it's not enough for him to stop resisting. He's not going to let Sidious kill him senselessly, and –

But he's almost certain that how much the mental invasion hurts still isn't as much as it probably ought to, for what Sidious is doing.

With how much his head is spinning wildly, it's hard to see anything with any clarity, but for a moment, he feels as though he's seeing through the eyes of another, staring into a vacant dark emptiness, barely aware that he even exists.

Luke.

That – that's what it's like to be carbon frozen. He knows from when it happened to him.

He's still alive. Whatever Sidious is doing to block him off so much that Vader can't feel him, he has no idea, but that reassurance is the only thing he needed. He still doesn't much care if he dies here – even if there's a small part of him that desperately doesn't want to, that wants the chance to actually know both of his children for real – but if he does, he's going to take Sidious with him.

Vader gathers the Force to him, a strength flooding him that he hasn't felt in so long, and he lashes out half-wildly. Sidious is too focused on the mental attack to see the physical one coming, and he goes flying across the room, landing right in the carbon freezing chamber. Vader doesn't wait, reaching out with the Force and flipping the device on.

Steam floods the room instantly, and Vader forces himself upright, nearly stumbling from the pain still stabbing through his head. Sidious' hold has already disappeared from his mind, though, and as soon as he's stable, he moves to the edge of the device, to make sure Sidious is still inside.

It must've been too unexpected for the Sith Master to escape, because he's already half-way frozen, mid trying to jump out.

Vader has no idea if it's a process Sidious will survive, but he – That's what he was going for. He doesn't know what he expected to feel, but right now, he just feels a lingering sense of emptiness and guilt as he stares into the pit where Sidious will... forever be.

It feels like he betrayed him on some level, even if he knows that's not true. Not really. Sidious did first long ago. And he was hurting Luke. Vader can't just forget that.

The stormtroopers seem to finally snap out of their shock, instantly raising their blasters to fire.

"Stop," Vader calls, "There is no need for this to end in battle. The Emperor you serve betrayed the Empire long ago."

Trying to talk them down from this won't be easy, but he's going to try, anyway. He doesn't want anyone else to die here, not if there's a chance they can avoid it. He just has to convince them of just how much Sidious betrayed the Empire.

None of the stormtroopers look too keen on a fight when they reluctantly back down, though Vader doesn't doubt that they could gather their forces to try again. Whatever happens now, they'll have to move fast.

And he'll have to make sure no one tries to free Sidious from the carbonite.

... that's assuming his master even survived the process, because carbon freezing is very, very tricky. He remembers before the Citadel, Obi-Wan had been very reluctant about it just for that reason. Vader is familiar with the process. Has been there – it was disturbing, but it was brief enough that it didn't really matter. It's very... dangerous to do to living organisms.

But they won. He's free from Sidious, and the mere notion is overwhelming. Even when he was away from him before, he wasn't truly free yet, and it leaves him feeling as lost as it does relieved. He'll have to figure that out, along with the fate of the Empire in... whatever they decide to do next.

But right now, he's just grateful that Luke and Leia are alright, that Sidious won't be able to hurt them anymore.

***

The world comes into focus painfully slowly around Luke. Literally painfully. He's been half aware of a... long nothingness of being asleep, but it was starting to feel too long to be asleep, not that it was something he really thought about. Didn't have the mental space to until this very moment, when he's being jolted back to consciousness.

He's lying on his back somewhere he doesn't recognize at all, and feels like he's been entirely frozen in place for –

Right.

Sidious had carbon frozen him. He can't help half wondering if that's what a coma feels like, because he was half aware of his surroundings, but also really not. Everything was still hurting from either Vader or himself, he was hardly sure, and since he was in restraints he couldn't move well enough to know anything anyway. He was still mostly out of it when they put him in. All he had known was that he had no idea if his father was going to survive, or if he – Or where Luke himself even is now.

His rising panic is quelled instantly though when he sees Vader standing next to him. He doesn't have to see an expression behind the mask to feel his concern. "Luke," he greets, "Are you... well?"

He pushes himself up with a groan, his limbs feeling annoyingly shaky. "Yeah," he replies, breathlessly. His father is here, wherever here is, and he's alive, and that's more than Luke could ask for after what happened. "Where are we?"

"In the palace, on Coruscant," Ben says, approaching. He glances sideways at Vader, though he doesn't say anything to him. If Vader notices the looks he keeps giving him, he doesn't respond.

"What happened?" Luke asks, moving to stand. His legs nearly go out from under him, and Vader catches his arm. He leans against his father's side for a few moments until he's able to actually stabilize himself again.

"You were captured," Vader replies, hand still lingering on his shoulder. "We came to find you."

"Sidious is frozen," Ben interjects, with no small measure of smugness.

"Frozen?" Luke repeats, incredulous. But reaching out with the Force, he can't feel Sidious' oppressive Force presence lingering far too close.

"He may have... fallen inside," Vader responds, dryly.

That means... this is over. They won. Maybe it didn't go anything like Luke was hoping, but they won. Sidious is gone. Finally. "You're... free," Luke breathes, completely impulsively throwing his arms around the cyborg. He just wishes his father was able to feel it, and the constant bitterness and anger he always feels towards Ben instantly snakes to the surface again, thinking about it.

"Yes," he replies quietly, voice hardly audible, hand still lingering on Luke's shoulder. But where they go from here, he has no idea. All he really cares about is that this means they'll be able to be together, without worrying about Sidious trying to tear them apart again.

Vader steps away from him after a few moments, crossing the room to where Leia is lying motionless on the floor.

... Right. He was wondering where she was, but he hadn't had long enough to actually think about it. "What happened to her?"

Vader pauses next to her. "She was stunned. She will... be fine."

Luke crosses the room anyway, crouching next to her. He doesn't know how long it's been when Leia starts to stir, finally opening her eyes.

She blinks, eyes going almost comically wild before she practically tackles him in a crushing hug. He lets out a startled squeak of surprise, as he catches her. He's glad to have her back, though the sudden emotional display is catching him by surprise. "Luke?" she asks, disbelievingly. "How are you – Sidious said you were gone." Wait, what?

"What –" he starts to ask.

Leia's expression promptly flips from relief to fear, and she twists around, scanning the room. "Vader?" she asks, expression instantly fading back to relief again as she stands a little unsteadily, turning to him, "You didn't do anything... rash, did you?"

"No," Vader confirms, after a long pause, "You were right that he was lying. Luke was still alive."

"What are you all talking about?!" Luke demands, hopelessly confused. Clearly, he's missing something huge right now.

Leia steps closer to him, looking almost hesitant, before wrapping her arms around him. Vader freezes, both physically and in the Force, before he almost awkwardly returns it. Clearly, they've... been doing a lot of talking in the time Luke was unconscious, because Leia seemed awfully wary about trusting him before any of this began.

He's glad, though, because it would be complicated if his sister didn't want to be around their father, when Luke wants to get to know both of them. He doesn't really know either, no matter how attached he is to them both, and he'd like for that to change.

But first of all, he'd really like some answers. "Why is everyone acting like I died?"

All heads finally turn to him.

Luke notes out of the corner of his eye that Obi-Wan seems thoroughly mind-blown over how Leia's acting, far more than Luke himself is.

"Sidious was... attempting to convince us of it. I could not sense you. I do not know what he did."

They thought he was dead? He genuinely can't imagine how they could've believed that, but he can't imagine how either of them would've been handling that, either. It wouldn't have been any easier than his last-minute panic before he lost consciousness, that Vader was going to die there.

"I'm fine now," Luke assures, "We all are." It still feels unreal to be free.

"What about the Empire?" Leia asks, "With the Emperor gone, we need to take action. Vader, could you... claim the throne before anyone else does?"

Vader twitches, likely caught off-guard. "There is a chance," he replies, a hint of uncertainty in his voice, "I am not in line for the throne, but I may be able to claim control before anyone else does. The Senate has already been dissolved, but many in Imperial top command will likely not be receptive of the change. They do not know me."

Leia huffs out a breath. "Well, then we'll have to make this fast. And give the populace a reason to actually support you. If the Empire opened talks with the Rebellion, maybe this war could quickly be brought to a close."

Dealing with a political nightmare is not something Luke much cares to get involved in, but it's something they'll have to deal with before they'll be able to have actual time with each other. Why does it feel like that's still perpetually out of reach? "I'll help you however I can," Luke volunteers.

***

The last moments of the fight with Sidious are still replaying on repeat through Obi-Wan's mind.

Vader nearly died. Again.

It wasn't through a fight, through Sidious nearly killing him. He was going to kill himself if it meant that Luke would be alive again.

And Obi-Wan has absolutely no idea what to think of that. He can't forget his acute panic in that moment, that Vader was about to die right there in front of him. About to kill himself. And he didn't want to see him die. He never realized how much it truly mattered until that moment.

He can't rightfully look at Vader and see him as nothing but a Sith either. There's nothing "twisted by the Dark Side" in how he was willing to sacrifice himself to bring Luke back. It – it was every bit something Anakin would do, and Obi-Wan's emotions are too turbulent to even make sense of now.

If Vader is Anakin, that means...

"You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker, I did. The same way I will destroy you." He had accepted those words, especially the way they freed him of the overwhelming guilt that had been crushing him for a decade. But now...

"He still deserves another chance if he wants one." Leia had said that only hours before An – Vader nearly died a second time.

Obi-Wan can't really say that she's wrong, either. Even if it doesn't change the things that Vader did. But he doesn't know how to accept that all this time Vader was Anakin. That everything Obi-Wan did was to Anakin, who wasn't truly lost in the first place if Luke and Leia are actually able to reach the person he used to be. He doesn't understand,and the only way he can find to make sense of it is to go talk to Vader himself.

It's not a conversation he's looking forward to, but the opportunity presents itself soon enough.

It's late in the evening, and Vader is at the Emperor's office at the Senate building. Obi-Wan was here with Leia, but she stepped out, leaving them momentarily alone.

"Anakin," he starts finally, uncertain what he's even going to say to him.

"What do you want, Obi-Wan?" His voice is tinged with bitterness, and maybe a hint of resignation.

"I thought you were lost," he replies, "But when I see you with your children, that is... not what I see anymore."

Vader stares at him for a long pause. "You told me I was gone. I did not believe you could be wrong."

That – what? "I don't understand," he answers, "I thought that because of what I... saw. I didn't understand how you could have done the things you did. If you can make better choices now, why would you have believed before that you couldn't?" He saw how Sidious was to Vader, how he was torturing him, and he can... understand why he was too afraid to try leaving long ago. Until he had both of the twins to help. But it makes him wonder suddenly, desperately, if – if that could've changed long before if Obi-Wan had... tried. He still doesn't fully understand how Anakin could've reached this point in the first place, though.

"I did not want to do any of it, but that changes nothing. I wanted you to end it twice, but you didn't."

He wanted to die – no, wanted Obi-Wan to kill him – and he has no idea what to say to that, or to the numb horror that it makes him feel. "Why would you want to die?" he demands, finally. Anakin nearly killed himself only yesterday after all, and he didn't even seem to care.

"I had no reason not to for years, until... my children. I betrayed you, and I understand why you do not want me, why you never did."

The words cut through him sharply, on multiple levels. He never really thought about how Vader felt about anything; he was just focused on seeing him as separate from Anakin. But now... he can't do that anymore. And he has no idea how to face the idea that Vader has been Anakin all this time, and Obi-Wan nearly killed him twice.

The last words sting, though. "I always wanted you, Anakin." If he hadn't, it wouldn't have gutted him so much when he lost him. (Not that he wasn't partly responsible for that, though, and he has no idea how to begin facing that.)

"You said I was dangerous, that I should not have been trained. You were not wrong."

"The boy is dangerous. They all sense it. Why can't you?" He tried not to think about that moment later on, mostly because he'd prefer not to think about how Anakin heard that. "I was not all right, Anakin," Obi-Wan replies, finally, "You might bear the weight of your own choices, but I can see now that... everything that led you to this point was not all your own responsibility."

He can feel Anakin staring at him, and not for the first time, he notices that he doesn't seem nearly as dark as he did when Obi-Wan first saw him on the Death Star again. He's growing lighter again, now that he has the hope for something to be better.

How much pain would both of them have been spared, had Obi-Wan tried reaching out to him on Jabi'im, even if it was far easier to accept that he was gone?

"I'm... sorry," he says finally, when Anakin still doesn't speak, "I should have seen it years ago. I know we have been on opposing sides for years, but maybe there's a chance we can... work past that."

At least, they can speak peaceably with each other again when they have to, though Obi-Wan can't imagine that there's a way to get back the relationship they had years ago, with how broken it is. They're both entirely different people now, and they'll... have to actually get to know each other again. If it's something either of them are ready for.

"Perhaps," Anakin agrees, a touch uncertainly. Not really surprisingly, either.

With how long they've been fighting, it will take more than one conversation to... make real progress, but he thinks that maybe it's worth trying. He doesn't want to make the same mistake again that he did twice over now.

***

A light breeze ruffles Leia's hair, as she leans against a balcony at the Imperial palace where they've been staying, staring out at the city.

"You seem thoughtful," Luke comments, materializing almost out of nowhere, at her side.

Leia still can't believe this is over, finally. The fight the Rebellion's been fighting all this time is nearly won, and the Emperor is gone, and... most of all, Luke and her father are still alive.

She hadn't been able to sense Luke when Sidious claimed he was dead, and she'd been so terrified that it was true, that her brother was gone and after the few hours they'd spent together, she would never get to see him again. But he's alright, and – and Vader didn't have to sacrifice himself to do it.

"I thought you were dead, Luke," she replies, mildly impressed at how even she keeps her voice.

"But I'm not," he assures, though his hand slips into hers, and she squeezes it back, tightly.

"I know, but... Vader was going to – Sidious claimed there was a way to restore your life. Vader was going to do it. Even if it cost him his." She can still hardly believe that he was about to. She was so afraid of losing him too, and that he was about to die right then –

And that's... she has no idea how to feel, that he was going to give up his own life to bring her brother back. She'd rather not think about it at all actually. It's too... She's just glad they're both here.

Luke freezes. "What?!"

Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned it, but she can't get that moment out of her head. "Don't worry. I mean... he's okay now, but I – it was so close for both of you. "

Luke nods, shifting closer to her. "You care about him. A lot," he comments.

She nods, not really looking at him. "Of course, I do."

"It's just... not really what I expected."

"Everyone I knew I lost on Alderaan," she replies, trying to keep her voice steady, no matter how close she is to breaking, even thinking about it again. Now that she's here on Coruscant again, re-remembering the days she was in the Senate, it's becoming so much more real. She's not ready for the moment it fully sinks in, and she shatters entirely. "I... used to want to know my birth family. I could never reject that chance."

He nods, giving her a half smile. "I'm glad. But... you know, we don't even know each other yet."

"Well, if we're staying here right now, we should have plenty of time to change that, right?" she points out.

"True," he agrees, "You're not going back to the Rebellion?"

"Maybe to... negotiate, but now this is where I want to be." She hasn't talked to Han or Chewbacca about it again, but something tells her they're going to agree to stay with her.

Even if they don't, this is where she belongs.

She's still afraid to hope for anything after Alderaan, but she can't quite suppress the steadily growing hope inside of her that maybe she really has a chance at having a family again even if it will never replace what she lost.

***

"You used to live here?" Luke inquires, as he, Vader, and Leia move through the halls of the palace. It's hard to imagine – the Dark Side is so strong here now, and while Luke doesn't mind that part, he definitely minds how much Sidious' Force-presence still lingers to the walls nearly everywhere they go.

"Long ago. The building has been changed entirely since," Vader replies, and Luke feels a sharp pang of longing from him, through their bond. He... probably shouldn't put this topic long, but he has so many questions.

"Is this where we would've stayed, if... things hadn't happened how they did?" It's useless to imagine a life where Vader raised him, where he grew up with Leia as his sister, but he can't help thinking about it right now, wondering what that would've been like.

"No," the reply is quiet, accompanied by another flare of pain, "The Jedi may have desired to take you, but had they, your mother and I would not have been allowed to raise you."

... Luke doesn't follow why, but he's pretty sure this is going to make him dislike the Jedi even more.

"Why not?" Leia objects, a little confused.

"I imagine Obi-Wan has taught you of the importance of refraining from attachments," Vader replies.

"A little. But he never mentioned... not being able to have families?"

"When the Order still stood, that rule was enforced –"

"That doesn't make any sense," Luke grumbles under his breath, though not loud enough to actually interrupt.

"I intended to leave the Order, to go to Naboo with your mother to raise you. I did not realize she was having twins. I believed it was a girl, and she believed it would be a boy. We chose names for both of you."

Luke has no idea how to feel about that – he never really thought much about who named him, but he's... glad it was his father. Leia looks even more overwhelmed at the words.

"Well, we can finally be together now," Luke offers, mostly to steer the conversation in a lighter direction.

"Yes," Vader agrees, quietly.

"Even if it isn't how any of us might have expected," Leia concurs, "I always liked climbing trees on Alderaan, trying to guess the types of ships that flew by. Sometimes I wondered if my birth parents ever did things like that, or if they'd find it as annoying as my... other mother did."

Luke can't help snickering. "I liked to climb on top of my hut to pretend I was flying. It drove Uncle Owen crazy." It hurts, remembering how they're gone forever. It feels like a different lifetime that he was trapped on Tatooine, wondering if he would ever leave.

"I had little to climb when I was that young, but I always desired to fly," Vader tells them. Luke feels a flare of amusement and longing at once.

It's good to know all three of them share something so similar. "What if we all went flying?" Luke proposes, perking up, "Together?"

He feels a flicker of something from Vader. It's not positive, exactly, but it's Lighter than Luke has sensed in him in a long time. Flying is something that ran in their entire family, evidently. "I believe that would be acceptable."

Maybe they've lost... a lot, and maybe their family will never truly be whole, but they have each other, and Luke thinks he can live with that. This, after all, is all he's ever wanted.