A/N: Hello again! I was absolutely thrilled with all of the positive response I got. Thank you all so much! I have two things to say.
One: A couple of you have wondered about how often I will update. I honestly do not have a set schedule for updating, most of the time I update as I write the chapters. In the past I have often tried to update within a week of the last update, and that has typically been a good system for me. However, that was mostly two year ago, and school has gotten harder. As much as I hate it, school comes before writing. I will try to update as much as possible, but realistically they will probably be sporadic until the end of the school year. I hope that doesn't discourage any of you from reading, but I also want you to know up front what the updating schedule is going to be like.
Two: I am not watching the movie while I am writing this. If I feel it necessary, I will look up the script of the movie to take dialog directly from the movie. Obviously this story is AU so I don't feel the need for everything to be word for word from the movie.
Other than that, hope you enjoy the new chapter. Responses to your reviews are after the chapter.
"Luke! What happened?" The teen wouldn't meet his dad's eyes as he shuffled into the room. He certainly didn't offer up any reason for how he had gotten in such state.
"Master Kenobi, Master Luke sustained the injuries when Owen Lars struck him. Once when Master Luke mentioned that we belong to Mistress Leia, and that she would be missing us, the second time was after he found out Master Luke had not followed his order to wipe both of our minds."
"Thank you Threepio." Obi-Wan cut off the protocol droid before he could just continue to talk. Instead he turned to where his son was barely standing within the living room. "Luke, come here." His voice was soft with no anger in his voice.
Luke approached slowly, still keeping his eyes on the ground. He stopped short of his dad and allowed the older man to close the distance between them. Gently his chin was lifted up until his bright blue met the other's stormy grey. There was nothing but love in them and Luke let his shoulders slump slightly.
Obi-Wan carefully moved his larger hand up to cup the boy's bruised cheek. The boy jerked ever so slightly at the initial contact but then closed his eyes and leaned into the warmth. His eyes closed and he let out a small sigh as he felt the Force flow from his dad's hand to sooth and heal the bruise.
Even after both knew the bruise was long gone they stayed that way for a few more seconds until the older felt a few droplets of wetness slide onto his hand. He gently pulled his son into an embrace and encircled him with his arms. He opened his side of their bond, a silent invitation, one that was immediately taken by his son.
He could feel the boy's tornado of conflicted emotions over the events of today. His son knew that he'd provoked his uncle, and knew he very easily could have stopped him. His son also knew that he wouldn't have approved. What worried him most was the very slim part of his son that harbored his negative emotions.
Delving into the darker emotions, he wasn't surprised by the boy's hate for his uncle and annoyance at his aunt. Obi-Wan brought them forward from the back of his son's mind and helped him release the feelings to the Force.
He however was surprised by the small amount of self-contempt the boy had also developed. Obi-Wan grimaced as he relived the memory that had brought about the feelings; he also cursed himself for not being there for his son initially. Gently he brought both of them from their shared meditation and looked his son in the eye.
"We need to talk." The boy nodded and bit the inside of his lip. Obi-Wan wanted to address the situation immediately, but also knew that his son needed the space. "Later, but we will talk. Now, would you like to explain why you've brought hope this dynamic duo?" Luke smiled slightly, and nodded.
"Artoo has a message from Leia for you. He wouldn't let me see it without you. Leia presumably told him that." As he said this, Luke lead his dad over towards where the little droid beeped eagerly. The pair sat down, and the elder motioned towards the droid. A second later the grainy video of a young woman came up.
"General Kenobi. Years ago you served Bail Organa, my father, in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack, and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed vital information to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of the R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."
Both dad and son were frowning at the end of the message, having seen through the young woman's brave mask to the worried girl beneath it. Silently they rose together, and both quickly retreated to their own rooms, each packing a bag.
His dad was already waiting in the living room when Luke emerged from his room. He had just taken a step into the room when he found himself on his knees breathing heavily, a hand over his aching heart. His dad was by his side in an instant, a hand on his shoulder. With tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, he looked up to meet his dad's worried gaze.
"Something happened to Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen…" Obi-Wan bowed his head at his son's news, and helps him stand back up. "We have to go check on them, there might be something we can do for them!"
The older man nods and lets his son run to their speeder. It was times like these he marvelled at boy's endless heart. Despite the open malice and contempt the boy's aunt and uncle had shown him, he still cared and worried about them. Obi-Wan himself feared the worst for Luke's relatives and could only thank the Force his son wasn't there.
Threepio, for once, seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and sat silently quietly in the speeder on the ride back to the Lars homestead. As it became evident the smoke billowing into the sky came from their destination, Obi-Wan rested his hand gently on his son's shoulder. He simply pushed their ride to go faster.
Reaching the edge of the homestead, Luke practically flew out of the speeder, rushing towards the entrance. Only he didn't make it very far, upon spying the charred remains lying haphazardly next to the door, his legs stopped working. The boy collapsed to his knees and promptly emptied his stomach of its meager contents.
In an instant his dad was kneeling by his side, arms wrapping around him as he was gently pulled into an embrace. A cry of anguish came from the boy's mouth as the Force reacted to his turbulent emotions. Obi-Wan let out a small gasp at the disturbance in the Force coming from his son, and quickly opened their bond to help calm him down.
The elder focused on soothing the younger, but in the back of his mind he was frightened. He knew there was no way he was the only one who felt that disturbance in the Force, and he worried about the consequences.
In a swamp, sitting on a log, a diminutive green form perked up; his ears twitching. He closed his eyes as the wave of anguish washed over him. 'Too young Skywalker-Kenobi is. Feel this sort of pain, he should not.' He bowed his head as he thought this.
A full grown orange Togruta woman stopped in her worried pacing as the Force disturbance hit her. She bit her lip and looked up to the night time sky, wishing there was something she could do. First, her Padawan hadn't showed up for their rendezvous, and now Little Skyguy was in emotional pain.
A crooked smile slowly spread, revealing yellowed teeth. He relished in the emotions the Force was amplifying. Now he only had to find the source and turn them to the dark side. While Vader was a good tool, a younger apprentice would be more devoted to him. A cackle escaped him as he thought to draw the young Force sensitive to him.
While the dad and son team silently comforted each other, across the galaxy two other relatives were facing off. The young woman glared up at the cloaked figure standing in front of her. They had met before, but never on good terms. Their last meeting, the day before, had been when her ship had been commandeered and boarded by the man in front of her.
She glanced behind him, longing for the freedom that lay beyond. However she knew that it would be futile to try and escape. All she could hope was that her message had safely reached General Kenobi, her dad.
She risked looking into the eyes of her captor, and her heart clenched when she saw sickly yellow staring back at her instead of the blue from the holos her dad had shown her and her brother.
"Princess Leia." The young brunette in question shuddered as her second father spoke. More importantly, he said her name even if it was with the title she had gotten from her adopted family. "What were you and Senator Amidala" He spat the name out and she did her best not to flinch at the ferocity. "Doing on the Tantive IV?"
For a second she debated in answering before she decided on her course of action. Leia steeled herself and spoke with the most diplomatic tone she could muster.
"Darth Vader, as I am sure you are are well aware, I am studying for the Legislative Youth Program under Senator Amidala. I am simply shadowing her, and I do not know the exact details of her mission. I am aware of no reason on which you could be detaining us." In response Darth Vader narrowed his sickening yellow eyes at the young woman.
"Where is your father?" The Princess of Alderaan nearly snorted. If only the man who towered over her knew. The knowing daughter looked up at her father and kept a neutral face.
"I am not aware of my father's exact location, however I can only assume that he is currently somewhere on Alderaan." Though Leia could only see glowing yellow eyes underneath the hood of his cloak, she knew Darth Vader was growing annoyed.
Before either of them could say anything else, they were both nearly knocked over by a strong wave of energy in the Force. The Princess let out a silent gasp as the wave of emotional agony washed over her. From the corner of her eye, she saw her father stiffen. He then looked at her with a more critical gaze.
"You're Force sensitive." It wasn't a question. The young woman froze as she stared at the man in front of her. He knew. The Dark Lord of the Sith knew she was Force sensitive.
In an instant, she drew up all of the shielding she knew how to. Leia shuddered as the presence of her father rushed at her, circling her defenses. His presence was icy and nearly pitch black. The Princess kept her shields as strong as she could knowing what was at stake.
Everything in her life would be forfeit if he knew. Her dad, her brother, be own Jedi Master, Padme and her Papa and the entire Rebel Alliance. She flinched whenever the dark presence slammed against her defenses, but the young woman stayed strong.
After what seemed like eternity, the presence retreated if only to circle around the perimeter, looking for an opening. Even when it felt like he was completely gone the brunette kept her shields up.
"You've been trained." Her father's voice was soft but dark, and she took a small step back. "Who trained you?" Darth Vader closed the gap between them, leering down at her. She shook her head, lips sealed. Leia wouldn't betray Ahsoka like that. There was a tense silence between the two of them, before they were interrupted by a low ranking officer.
"Sir! The Devastator is due to dock with the Death Star in a few minutes and your presence is being requested on the bridge." The officer shifted slightly under the man's glare. After a second he left the detention center, fleeing from his superior officer.
The Princess heard a low growl come from him, and she took a step backwards again. He stared at her for a few more seconds before turning away, his cloak sweeping as he exited the cell. The energy field reactivated as soon as he passed, leaving Leia alone.
Sinking down onto the bunk in the cell, she curled up on herself and tried not to cry as the weight of the situation really crashed down on her. She and Padme were in the Empire's clutches, her father's clutches.
They were being taken to the Death Star and escape was impractical. Her hand subconsciously reached for the top of her boot. Her fingers brushed lightly against the top of the hilt of her lightsaber, and a sad smile crossed her face. A whole lot of good it could do for her now. A few silent tears escaped her closed eyes as she allowed her exhaustion wash over her and take her into unconsciousness.
Obi-Wan stayed by Luke's side until the boy started to try and stand up. He immediately helped his son to his feet and led him back to the speeder. Luke didn't meet his eyes, and he followed his gaze which ended on the bodies of his aunt and uncle.
Gently rubbing his son's back, Obi-Wan used the Force to create a new grave next to the existing one of his son's grandmother. He carefully guided the remains into the hole and covered it before taking a brick from their home to make a grave marker.
The whole process took a few minutes, and the entire time Luke silently watched his dad work, never saying anything. What finally stirred the boy from his feelings was a concerned whistle from Artoo. Luke gave him a sad smile and ran his hand over the dome of the droid.
For once, Obi-Wan actually took the controls of the speeder, and started the drive towards Mos Eisley. Luke sat silently in the passenger seat, gazing across the dunes of sand for most of the ride before turning to speak to his dad.
"Are we looking for passage to Alderaan?"
"Of course. We're going to help your sister. Now we're going into Mos Eisley. A-"
"A wretched hive of scum and villainy. I know. You've told me before dad."
"Luke, I forgot to ask earlier; do you have your lightsaber?" The boy nodded to answer his dad's question. He quickly pulled up the side of his tunic to show the two lightsaber hilts clipped to a high belt. Obi-Wan gave him a sidelong glance, followed by a nod of approval.
They settle back into a comfortable silence, and Luke rested his hand against the two hilts. He let his mind wander, thinking about the vastly different weapons he had. One was very similar to his dad's, he'd made while Leia made her's when they were seven.
The other was his father's Jedi lightsaber. His dad had given it to him when he turned thirteen. He was well aware of the history behind the blade and the horrible things that had been done with it. The history didn't bother him, he just enjoyed having something of his father's.
His father's lightsaber was his first choice of weapon. He felt more connected to it than the weapon he'd made himself, and dueling with Ahsoka has proven he was no good at fighting with two sabers.
The rest of the drive to Mos Eisley was peaceful and uneventful, leaving Luke to occasionally let out a bored sigh. Both however tensed as they approached the city and saw the number of white specks crawling around. Obi-Wan reached over and grasp Luke's arm and gave it a squeeze of reassurance.
Obi-Wan slowed down as they entered the city, and allowed traffic the direct their ways. By the time the pair was stopped at a checkpoint, they were both calm and relaxed. The stormtrooper stopped them, looking suspiciously at the droids sitting in the back seat.
"How long have you had these droids?"
"About three or four seasons. They're for sale if you want them." Luke spoke up for them and gave the troopers a smile. They hesitated for a moment before looking at his dad.
"Let me see your identification." Obi-Wan calmly looked up at the stormtrooper and waved his hand in a small arc at him.
"You do not need to see my identification."
"We do not need to see your identification." The stormtrooper repeated this back in a monotone voice, and Luke did his best not smile.
"These are not the droids you're looking for." Obi-Wan ignored his son, and continued to focus on the troopers in front of them. He waved his hand a second time as he spoke.
"These are not the droids we're looking for."
"We can go about our business." Once again the older man waved his hand.
"You can go about your business." There was a second of hesitation, before the trooper started to wave them on. "Move along. Move along." This time Obi-Wan did as he was told and carefully drove away from the checkpoint. Once they were far enough away, a smile broke out on Luke's face, earning a chuckle from his dad.
"That's an appropriate use of a mind trick." Luke rolled his eyes, but still kept the smile on his face. It was an ongoing theme of his to stress when something was appropriate or not. His dad then parked the speeder outside of a bar.
The young blond nudged away the Jawas that immediately came over interested in Artoo and Threepio, as he climbed out of the speeder. They both ignored the golden droid's comments about the Jawas and moved towards the entrance of the bar.
The group walked into the bar, Luke sticking close to his dad. He however separated from the older man, when he took the droids back to their speeder at the bartender's insistence. When he reentered the bar, the young man tried to head straight towards where his dad was at the bar, but was stopped as two customers got up from the bar.
"Hey handsome, we can be a lot more fun than you and that old man." Luke frowned as he shook his head no. He then tried to politely move passed the pair, only to have his arm roughly grabbed, holding him in place. "Coming with us will be a lot nicer than going with him." Luke jerked his arm away, and started to reach for his lightsaber as he called his dad's alius.
"Ben!" His dad immediately turned towards him, and noticed the situation. Taking a step away from the Wookie he had been talking to, Obi-Wan drew but didn't ignite his lightsaber. Behind him, the Wookie let out a growl as he looked over over the scene.
The pair that confronted the young man threw a glare at him, and both grabbed a hold of him, blocking him from reaching his lightsaber. Luke let out a wordless shout, and tried to wiggle his way out of the men's grasp as they tried to drag him backwards.
The bright blue eyes met stormy grey, even in the low lighting of the bar. Watching his dad position his lightsaber, Luke nodded, putting his trust in his dad. He gave a small nod of his head, and all hell broke out in the bar as the blue blade sprung from its hilt.
In an instant the blond was free and by his dad's side as one of his attackers cried out. They were cradling the stump of their arm, the second portion lying on the floor. The greying ginger wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder and immediately steered him towards where the Wookie was standing. He pointedly ignored all of the other patrons of the bar, and introduced the Wookie to his son.
"Luke, this is Chewbacca. He's the first mare on a ship that might suit our needs." Luke gave the Wookie a nod in greeting and quietly followed him towards the back where a man sat with his feet on the table. Luke glanced over the man, and followed his dad's example; sliding into the booth across from the man. When he finally noticed them, he drew his feet off the table, and leaned towards them.
"Han Solo. Captain of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan system."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Time for me to respond to the reviews on the last chapter.
Beru Skywalker: Glad you liked it. Hope you liked this chapter as well.
ESVmartinez: It's really awesome to hear that you have read my story over an over again already. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last.
WhisperedxNothingsx: Don't worry, I plan to continue this story. I honestly wasn't sure if I originally wanted to post this story because of how weird the concept was, but I eventually just decided to wing it, and I'm really glad that I did. Thank you for your support. Hope you like was I did with this chapter.
rata2: Hope you liked this chapter as well.
SiriuslyPink: I hope I made it clear enough in this chapter, but if I didn't, no, Vader does not need his suit.
Guest (March 26): I'm really glad you like how I have the story set up. However, to answer your questions; you'll just have to wait and see to find out. Hope you loved the new chapter as much as the last.
ichigo urahara Shihoin: You'll have to continue to read to find out the answer to your questions.
OnceUponAReader: I plan to continue.
TheMagicalPixieHorse: Don't worry, I plan on continuing this story, even if the exact path isn't completely clear in my head. Hope you're just as in love with the new chapter as the first.
Tell me what you thought of the chapter! Until the next chapter!