A/N: A tribute to Dev Sibwarra, who died in typical Star Wars tragedy.

Published: 03/18/2016

Warnings: Spoilers for Truce at Bakura.

The Tale of Two Slaves

Anakin Skywalker sighed as he phased out of existence. The last sight he saw was his daughter's burning glare.

His daughter…

Strong, beautiful Leia who looked so much like Padme it hurt.

So much that in his darkest the mere thought of her enraged him.

As Vader, he had felt as if the Princess of Alderaan solely existed to taunt him. She echoed Padme in her appearance and in the Force. She felt like Padme had to Vader's twisted senses and he'd felt burning fury for her. It was for this reason that Vader had refused to lift a hand when Tarkin ordered the destruction of Alderaan and it was for this reason he'd tortured her personally.

Not that he'd tried very hard.

She reminded him of Padme. It was both a curse and blessing for the girl. His rage made him want to make her scream. It also made him want to protect her.

The dichotomy of his emotions never did make sense. Not until the end.

As Anakin let his spirit wander off, he felt a disturbance in the Force. His spirit froze as he nearly toppled over.

What…

What was this?

What was this pain?

Without hesitation, the indivisible Force spirit phased to the location.

What he saw… Vader, whom Anakin had believed dead and gone, roared within him like a wild carnivorous beast with all the fury of a Krayt Dragon.

"I'm sorry, master." Dev apologized, disgusted in himself.

After all his masters had done for him! Taking him in, raising him, feeding him, giving him such glorious purpose! How dare he be furious at them? How dare he hate them? How dare any part of him resent his righteous masters?

What a disgusting thing he was.

Bluescale sighed and let one of his claws pat Dev's head.

Like an obedient dog, the boy gave a groan of relief and leaned into it.

"It's okay, Dev. It's a fault of your species. But you're working past it, and that's what matters."

Dev nodded. His master's were always so kind, so good to him. Humans like him didn't deserve such affection yet they gave it to him anyways.

Adoringly, he met Bluescale's eyes.

"Thank you, master."

The reptile nodded.

"Sleep, Dev."

"Kay." The boy yawned before dropping at the command.

The alien rolled his eyes. Honestly. Humans were so easy to control. Soulless beasts. They're only true purpose, really, was entrenchment. They served no other purpose. With that, the alien departed.

And Anakin Skywalker, his formerly blue form now a mix of blue, red, and purple, materialized.

The Force Ghost shook on barely controlled fury.

This… This was so much like him. A mindless slave, constantly broken down and forced to do his master's bidding. A mind twisted eternally. Glancing down at the teenager, Dev, Anakin knew then and there.

The boy, should he survive, would drown in darkness like he had.

Vader may be gone, but what made him was not. Vader had been born from years of emotions. From the memory enslavement to the desire to be free and to protect those he loved.

The darkside had always gripped at his heart.

Unlike the Jedi, he was unable to let go of emotion. To do so would make him a mindless servant. Ironic, then, that his emotional attachments were what broke him in the end and wrapped him in the very chains he'd hoped to forever avoid.

Slowly, the Force Ghost made his way forth.

This child…

He couldn't just leave him.

Freedom. He'd free the boy. He'd help the boy just like Qui-Gon had once helped him. He would-

"Anakin."

Anakin froze.

Slowly, he turned and gulped.

"Obi-Wan." Anakin usually avoided Obi-Wan. The guilt of murdering the closest thing he had to a father sometimes burned more than what he'd done to Leia.

She'd been a stranger to him that looked like Padme. Obi-Wan had been one of the two people he'd have literally done anything for once upon a time.

"Anakin, leave the boy."

Anakin stared blankly for a few seconds. But it didn't last long.

"Leave him? Are you insane? Look at what they've done to him! He-"

"And what will you do? Free him? Train him? Show him to channel the darkside that is literally clinging to you as we speak?"

That was true. There was a reason Anakin had gone from transient blue to deep purple.

Once upon a time, he might of argued.

Once upon a time, arguing with Obi-Wan had cost him everything. Looking down at the boy, then back at Obi-Wan, he came to a decision.

"You help him then."

Obi-Wan, who had been preparing for a long argument, nearly jumped from the shock. Anakin… Agreeing with him?

"I'm sorry? I don't think I heard that right."

"You're right, Obi-Wan. As I am, I can't help anyone. But you can. Help him. Please." Anakin pleaded.

Obi-Wan reeled back.

He literally couldn't remember the last time Anakin had looked at him with such trust. It had been decades ago, before Palpatine had managed to sink his claws in Anakin, back before the Clone Wars themselves. It… It was shocking, really.

"I… Alright. I'll do what I can."

That beaming look that he hadn't received in such a long time made his dead heart skip a beat. Being a father had been exhausting but it wasn't anything Obi-Wan would trade for the world, even if he had basically failed at it in the end. Not that Anakin would agree anymore, but still.

The voices, or voice, really, Dev decided, was weird. And maybe evil.

His masters were kind and good and pure.

How dare the voice tell him otherwise?

Dev paled rapidly. He… Oh god, what had he done? The voice no longer spoke to him as it no longer needed too.

He was free.

Free, and…

Horrified.

Horrified and angry. Hate bubbled inside the teenager. A burning fury that he felt could annihilate planets churned in his core.

He was going kill them all. He was going to purge those filthy monsters. He'd kill them all. He would rid the Galaxy of such filth. He-

The darkside leads only to suffering. The voice was back.

Dev ignored it.

It twists all it touches. I know. I've seen it turn people into mockeries of themselves.

Dev ignored it.

"If I can kill them all, that won't matter. What matters what happens next?" He snarled at the air as he paced back and forth.

Suddenly, a figure materialized and Dev jumped back on surprise at the elderly scared figure before him.

"Anakin!" An exasperated voice, the voice, rang out as another figure appeared, this one of an even older man.

The first locked eyes with Dev.

"I embraced that same darkness. You know what it got me? I did it to save my wife." Then, the man laughed such a hysterical laugh that Dev and the old man both edged away slightly. "I choked her. I killed her. I killed my wife!" The man grinned. Dev flinched back. He'd never seen such a terrifying expression, human or otherwise. "I tortured my daughter, cut off my son's hand, killed the closest thing to a father I'd ever had- do you get it? I turned for family. And it twisted me into slaughtering them." The hysterics had stopped as the man gave him a serious look. "Don't repeat my mistakes." He concluded.

Dev glared.

"I have no family! I have no planet! I have nothing because they took everything!"

The man looked at him sadly.

"That's not the point." He shook his head. "The point is the darkside twists your intentions. You hate then now and it might give you the power you want, the ability to kill your tormentors, all of them."

Dev smiled. Yes. That was what he wanted. Screw the price.

"Anakin!" The elder warned, eyes wide with alarm.

Said Anakin locked eyes with the elder. "Let me finish, Obi-Wan." With that, Anakin, and where had he heard that name, turned back to him.

"It will twist you."

Dev shrugged.

"As long as they're dead, who cares? I have nothing to live for but they're destruction."

"Even if it means becoming them?"

Dev froze.

"Wh-what?"

"I turned to save my family. I destroyed it instead. Surrender to dark to destroy evil and I assure you, you'll make Ssi-ruuk look like a schoolyard bullies in comparison."

Dev, however, shook his head.

"No, you're wrong. That's-"

Anakin's glare froze his tongue.

"That's what all darkside users have said. That arrogance. I'll tell you here and now, you'll become far worse. Hell, you might even end up taking over and become their ruler."

Dev, however, shook his head. That was impossible. Ssi-ruuv abhorred humanity. They would never-

"They feared me, and they feared the Emperor. They will fear you too, and obey you. You'll rule them and bring darkness to the Galaxy. Is that what you want? To spread the same pain you felt across the stars?"

All Dev could do was shake his head.

"No, I don't want that. I-" desperately, his eyes locked with the ghosts. "What can I do?"

Anakin smiled and Dev had hope.

Leia glared.

"I told you to go away!"

Anakin Skywalker ignored the stinging tone and the ache they gave him and proceeded to the issue at hand.

"The 'Fluties' have a Force sensitive slave that they control through unrelenting hypnosis. They've done this since he was a child."

Leia blanched at that. These monsters sounded worse the more she learned of them. Force sensitive slave? Who could they possibly-

Suddenly, the message they had sent the Bakuran's flashed through her mind.

"Dev."

Vader, as Leia refused to call him anything else, nodded.

"I've managed to break their hold on his mind. However, the Ssi-ruuv won't stop. They'll bind him again." Vader told her.

Leia glowered.

"Then what the hell do you want me to do, hm? Did you just bring it up because you knew I'd be helpless to do anything, huh? You're worse than I-"

"No!" Vader interrupted. "I want to link your minds. If you're bonded through me, it basically creates a reset. Even if the Ssi-ruuv erase the boy's memories again, it can be undone." Vader revealed.

Leia flinched back.

"Through you? You expect me to bind myself to you? You're insane if you think I'd ever agree!"

"If you don't, the boy is doomed." Vader countered.

"Why not Luke?" Leia demanded.

"He's trained in the Force. You are not. That makes a link to you neutral. It means the Ssi-ruuv won't be able to control you remotely. Luke, however…"

Leia flinched back.

If the enemy could remotely control Luke… By the Force, they'd all be dead.

But, binding herself to Vader?

"How do I know you aren't lying?" She demanded.

Vader looked at her with such a sad look that Leia nearly faltered. Nonetheless, she was not deterred.

Vader sighed.

"I… Know what it's like to be a slave." He confessed.

Leia blinked.

"What the hell does that mean?"

Vader's eyes glowed. It was only for a second but Leia caught it anyways. Ha! Reformed her ass!

"It means I was born into slavery, daughter of mine. I have always been a slave. I was born as one and ultimately died as one."

Leia flinched back.

That… That couldn't be true, right?

Vader, however, showed no sign of faltering.

Leia considered. Part of her wanted to yell. If Vader had grown up a slave, why enslave half the Galaxy? Why the horrors suffered by the Wookies and so many others? Why support the Empire?

However, a child's life hung in the balance. That alone made her relent.

"All right. But only for the boy."

Vader smiled.

Dev was falling. Deeper and deeper until nothing was left.

Just a mindless servant.

Vader bid his time.

Then, they ambushed his son and he released the seal he'd created with Leia's willing help.

Elsewhere, Leia nearly collapsed. So that's what Vader had meant. She'd felt her mind go whoozy when Dev had been enslaved again. If that was how she had felt, she didn't want to think what it would have done to Luke.

She hadn't expect the reverse to do the same. The utter relief she felt across the bond made up for it though.

Vader… Anakin might not be so bad.

Dev was suddenly in control. Then, without hesitation, he turned on Bluescale with a roar.

Skywalker seemed surprised but didn't let it get to him. He'd take what aid he could get.

Anakin's voice ring in his head.

Let me take control.

Dev blinked as he dodged a laser blast. Bluescale snarled in fury at the loss of his minion.

You can do that? He thought back.

Once. Anakin answered. And only once. Choose.

Dev hesitated only for a moment. The, Skywalker went down to a whack I the head.

Dev didn't have time to consider. He went down next and before he knew it he was falling again into that hypnotic eye. Had he accepted Anakin's offer then and there, perhaps things would have played out differently. Unfortunately, they didn't and he was enchained once more.

Skywalker convulsed.

He'd been poisoned.

Of that, Dev was sure.

The Force screamed a warning.

And the world burned.

Anakin closed his eyes.

It… Hadn't mattered.

Dev was dead.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Only another Force Ghost could do that. Glancing up, he met Obi-Wan's gaze.

"You made a difference, Anakin."

Anakin scoffed.

"Did I? Dev is dead."

"Physically, yes." Obi-Wan nodded. "But, more importantly… You saved his soul. That's what matters the most."

Anakin, however, shook his head.

"He did that himself. Dev was stronger than me. He spent his last moments healing his heart, something I never managed." Anakin admitted. "I spent years trying to fix my flesh instead. Look where that got me."

"... You really tried, didn't you."

Anakin froze.

Slowly, he turned.

Leia was looking at him oddly, as if she couldn't believe her eyes. As if he was alien to her perceptions.

"Leia-"

"I'll never accept you as a father." She began. He flinched. "I had a father. However, I… I can accept you as a friend and as a person."

Anakin's eyes widened. If he was human, he'd have cried.

"Thank you." He smiled.

Leia met said smile then departed without another word.

A few rooms away, Luke smiled. Dev might be gone but Leia's spirit felt lighter than it had since Endor, which was a relief in an of itself.

As for Dev, his spirit, having found peace, became one with the Force.

A/N: in the ordinal draft, Dev survives. One day I may make a spin off with him living but who knows. Long live the EU! Thanks for reading :) please review!