Luke stepped off the lift and a grate slid closed over it. Vader was trying to scare him. He would not be scared. His friends were at stake. He had his training and his father's love on his side. For his father, his friends, the galaxy and himself he could win. He had to win.
Darth Vader's harsh breathing became suddenly apparent in the near-silence of the carbon freezing chamber.
In spite of himself, Luke jumped. He whirled.
Vader stared at the boy who had been brought into his trap. One hand held a blaster; the other was starting to inch towards his old lightsaber. For all appearances the boy was the one from his dreams. Appearances can be deceiving, he reminded himself and started towards the boy.
The boy certainly fought with the style Vader had been teaching his dream-son. However, in the few nights since they had last met he had learned some new tricks that Vader wasn't expecting. As such, the duel lasted much longer than it should have and Vader was unsure of his son's limits.
He was pushing his son far out onto a gantry when he decided that it was time to end the fight and speak to the boy. He twisted his saber in the same move he had used to disarm the boy in his dream and took off a little more than just his saber.
Vader felt sick as he watched his son screaming in agony as his hand arced away from him. What could he say to comfort the boy? How could he possibly make up for what he'd just done? In his horror, the words he had rehearsed started pouring out, unbidden.
"There is no escape, don't make me destroy you. You do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."
Luke looked up at his father from where he was crawling out onto a beam, trying to distance himself from Vader. "I'll never join you!"
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father."
Luke grabbed the sensor array at the end of the beam and swung his feet onto the surrounding rung. "He told me enough! He told me you killed him."
"No. I am your father."
"No. That's not true!" Luke screamed. His voice lowered to a very small whimper, "That's impossible!"
That scream of terror and pain was what it took to wake Vader from his horrified trance. "Search your feelings, Luke. You know it to be true."
"No!" Luke shouted, his body shaking wildly. "No!"
Vader reached out a hand to his son, waiting for the boy to take it and come back to him, "Luke. You can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Come with me. It is the only way."
Yes, come with me, my son. Come with me and our meetings in a forest clearing will be our reality. Join me as my son. I'll protect you. You can be happier with me that you could ever be with the Rebels. Just take my hand and all is forgiven.
Luke stared at his father, transfixed, for one more moment before his he fell. Vader stared in horror as the thin arms released the sensor array and he fell. He wanted to catch the boy, bring him back into his arms. He reached out, but he missed and his boy fell. Crying on the inside, he watched his son become a tiny speck deep in the reactor shaft, then disappeared.
As he fell, Luke twisted in the air. He could see the dark, fading dot that was Vader. For a moment he thought that Vader would leap after him, but the Dark Lord stayed where he was. The Dark Lord who claimed to be Luke's father.
Luke's body twisted again and he could see down the dark, seemingly endless, shaft. That's a long way down. He thought absently. He wasn't afraid. He had never been afraid of falling. Falling simply was not a frightening concept to him.
Looking down, he thought, This is a long way to fall. Landing is going to hurt. Maybe I won't land. Maybe I'll just go on falling forever. Forever is a long time. That would be a very long way to fall. It would be almost like flying. I love flying. Like my father. He loved flying too.
It can't be true, can it? Vader can't really be my father, can he? I feel like he is somehow. What's he going to do about this? I could bear falling forever, but what if Vader caught me somehow? Could I deal with that? I'm not sure.
I feel strange. This is like when I really manage to connect with the Force. It's odd. I'm not scared or angry. I just feel like none of it matters anymore. And now I feel like I'm turning. His body rolled again and he saw that he was heading towards a vent in the wall. I am turning. I wonder where this'll take me.
Luke flew into the tube and fell until he reached a flat spot in the pipe. He was just sitting up when the floor fell out from under him again. He fell through many more pipes and tubes until one of them finally dropped him into open air and onto a weather vane.
Luke looked down at the planet below him. I'm not sure I'm ready to die anymore. I want Leia and Han to know what happened to me. I don't want to be alone.
He clung to the weather vane and felt it start to give. He tried to climb up, to get back into the pipe. It didn't work. He slipped and the weather vane caught his knees.
In that moment, the serenity he had felt when falling was gone. In his sudden terror, he started calling out to Obi-Wan, to Leia, to anyone he thought could help him.
Then the two spokes he had been hooked on broke and he was falling again. Falling too fast, unable to stop himself. After a split second that felt like an eternity, his legs caught the next spokes, which cut deep into the fragile skin of his under-knees. He tried to catch the higher part of the vane with his arms, but he missed and swung to hang upside down.
From his new vantage point he could see a ship coming, squinting, he recognised the Millennium Falcon. It eased under him and a hatch opened. Luke released the vane and fell onto the hull. A man he didn't know launched himself out to catch him.
As warm arms, albeit unfamiliar, latched around him, Luke closed his eyes and relaxed against the man's chest. In moments, he was out cold.