Disclaimer: George Lucas and his companies and their shareholders own Star Wars. Any unrecognisable characters and scenarios are mine.
The Fall and Rise
Prologue
"Father, please" begged the young man, writhing on the floor of the Death Star's throne room. "Help me." Darth Vader stared at the boy, his son. With each wave of organic electricity that pored from the Emperor's twisted hands and heart into the young man, the boy became weaker as his life force was drawn into the Emperor. Yet, Luke refused to give up on his father.
'That's so much like her' Vader thought, looking away. She, too had never given up on him, and he had allowed it to kill her. His turn to the Dark Side of the Force had brought about the one thing it was intended to prevent, her death. He had failed her. 'I cannot fail our son too' Vader decided as he turned to face Luke's plight once more. 'And I will not' he concluded. He threw himself at his once and former Master, the Emperor, and caught him by the waist. "Stop! No! What are you doing?" The older man demanded. Vader did not reply. His determination lent him strength and even though the lethal lightning was now trained on him, Vader was able to throw him over the reactor core safety railing. He barely heard the dying scream.
Suddenly, a hand broke through the fog and pulled him back from the abyss. Luke, his son had saved him and the two leant against the rail, gasping from exhaustion.
[15 minutes later]
Vader watched the chaos unfold as Luke dragged him through the dying Death Star. He half smiled ruefully. They were helpless without their Emperor. Men who had once cowered in fear and obedience before Vader now had no room in their panicked brains to spare a second glance. 'Where are they for their precious Lord Vader now?' he asked himself bitterly. It was another reminder of how blind he had been.
Luke reached a shuttle and laid Vader down panting with the effort. "Luke, help me take this mask off"
"But you'll die!" Luke protested.
"Nothing can stop that now, just once, let me look on you with my own eyes."
Luke removed his father's mask. Vader felt free and truly alive for the first time in twenty-one years, even as he felt himself dying. He saw Luke for the first time. Even damaged, blurred vision was better than the angry red shading enhancer he had been seeing the world in. In Luke, he saw all the people he had loved, his mother, his wife, his mentor; his friends come back to him.
"Go, my son, leave me."
"No, I'll not leave you here; I've got to save you." Luke told him, a desperate tone in his falsely cheery voice.
Vader felt everything become a blur." You already have, Luke. You were right about me. Tell you're sister, you were right." With that, complete once more, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, slipped away.
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