Chapter Two—Unclear

Vader stared at the small grey back pack for quite some time, before finally bringing his arm back form the flinging motion and holding it close to his body.

He began to step into his shuttle and expected the boy to follow him, however Luke saw this as a perfect opportunity to escape.

He made it two quick steps before a large black mechanical hand gripped painfully hard around his shoulder and yanked him back towards the shuttle.

"You will come with me." Vader commanded, still dazed from what he had just realized but of course that wasn't evident through the mask and vocalizer.

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! I WANNA GO HOME!" The five year old cried, extremely stressed and emotionally unprepared for being abducted immediately after seeing his Aunt's disturbing corpse.

Vader dragged him to the ship as the boy futilely struggled. Finally realizing his anger was becoming far too great to tolerate the child and it wouldn't do to act when his mind was so shocked, he stopped and put a very strong force suggestion to sleep.

Being strong willed and force sensitive Luke unconsciously fought it, but being five and exhausted he succumbed and collapsed on the sand.

Vader stared at the tiny body, it briefly flashed through his mind to pick him up and carry him to the ship but the thought was quickly suppressed.

Instead he used the force to lift the boy and proceeded finally off the force-forsaken planet. If there was a bright center to the universe, Tatooine was not it, that much had not changed since his child hood.

He looked over at the sleeping boy, and reaching into a compartment in the ship drew out a small tester with which he swiftly poked the boy's arm with.

An outstanding midi-chlorian count, unsurprisingly.

He stared at the mini-tester for a moment, it had the potential to test for blood relation as well.

However what was the point in confirming with miniscule power of technology what he already knew to be true through the real power of the force?

After Mustafar his confidence had waned, how could his wife betray him with who he thought was his brother in all but blood, and how could his force abilities fail him when he needed them most to make that fateful jump?

There had been a time when the force was all he would have needed to know this boy was his son, life had made him cynical and now he wanted more proof. Definite proof.

Deciding, Vader proceeded to quickly remove a small section on what was left of his right arm, above where his elbow should have been, before sealing the suit again. He waited only a second before the results were clear, and it was then confirmed the boy was his son.

Looking at the sleeping child beside him though, the face was enough to confirm it. The cheek bones were different, a touch of Padme. He seemed smaller, though he was only five, Vader thought that he would be still of a smaller build when he was older. His nose was similar, very similar, but not quite the same.

But the resemblance was uncanny, certainly striking. The blood test had been unnecessary, but it was done and now there would be no doubt. No going back.

They were soon back at the star destroyer, Vader still reeling over his discovery.

He arrived on the ship, strictly warning his underlings not to disturb him and to set course away from this planet soon; he sent them the coordinates where he had a lead on possible rebels and his crew immediately set work to jump into hyperspace.

Vader sat in his ship looking around the hanger before using the force once more to lift his son and steering clear of all aboard the ship he made his way to his own private rooms.

There was a guest room near his, completely unused of course. Who would want to room near him? Or have enough bravery for that matter. More stupidity than bravery would be required.

However for Luke the room would work well. He would be close to Vader and away from anywhere frequented by the crew.

He placed the sleeping boy in the middle of the bed and as he turned to leave the room, he glanced back once more over his shoulder before exiting.

Vader sat in his pod and closed his eyes tiredly and for the first time in a long time fell asleep, although it was not peaceful.

"Shh!" I called back, overly loud in a playfully stern manner as we snuck around the corner. The younglings laughed behind me trying to muffle the sound with their hands pressed against their mouths.

We lightly padded our way down the corridor, hunching over greatly despite the fact it didn't help us with our stealth at all. As we neared Obi-Wan's room one of the younglings tugged on my cloak, "Master Skywalker there's too many of them, what do we do?" He asked innocently but suddenly this was new, and not the replay of a forgotten memory.

His question took me aback and I wandered what he was referring to; all we were doing was a harmless practical joke on Obi-Wan, too many what?

I shook my head, "What do you mean?"

"There's too many of us to sneak in, what do we do?" He asked again in a confused voice wondering why he'd needed to repeat himself. His tone lighter as he repeated himself.

"Oh, don't worry. His room should be empty, besides there's only five of you." I told him not understanding his concerns.

"Four," He whispered in a broken voice not fitting his age or the situation.

"What?" I questioned him as I whipped my head around and saw he was right there were only four.

He looked at me incredulously, "I didn't say anything master."

I shook my head as if to knock these strange hallucinations out of my mind and we proceeded to Obi-Wan's room.

"Master Skywalker there's too many of them, what do we do?"

I turned back to the boy, "What do you mean?! I don't understand..." My voice sounded strange to my own ears, only a little deeper.

"There's too many of us to sneak in, what do we do?" He asked again in the same tone he had earlier.

He stared at me with innocent blue eyes waiting for an answer.

"Don't worry, his room should be empty and besides there's only four of you." I said, repeating my earlier words save the number in a dazed stupor as we continued down the corridor.

"Three," He corrected in the broken voice again.

I look behind me to see he was right and there are only three children behind me.

"Where are you going?" I cried to the others.

"Master, we're right here. What do you mean?" I looked back down at the blue eyed one.

"The others, where are they?" I ask him sharply, beginning to be suspicious they were playing a mind game with me. My voice felt strange, my throat hurt and is was dropping again in pitch towards a baritone.

"What others? It's just us master."

I nodded and shook my head again, but as I began to turn back to the front I whipped around to face them again frantically as I caught a dark lurking shadow hovering over their heads.

But when I turned to look again it was gone. I looked around noting the deep, disturbing blood red of the carpet, it is not the same red. It is a red I know I am familiar with but cannot find that I can remember where I have seen this carpet before.

"Master what's wrong?" The blue eyed one asks again.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." My voice is even deeper, and has loss it's natural sounding inflection that human voices have.

"Are we still pranking Master Kenobi?"

"Of course." I try to smile but the muscles feel tense, and the gesture forced. My skin hurts now, it feels stiff.

We continue walking down the hallway but it seems darker now, not only more ominous but literally darker and I feel so confused as if I can't remember my own name.

"Master Skywalker, there are too many of them! What do we do?"

"What?" I turned startled back to the blonde haired, blue eyed boy convinced this time of what he said.

"Just that there are too many of us to sneak in master, what do we do?" He asks, sounding concerned for me and I suppose my outburst over his earlier question frightened him. I had a terrible headache and struggled to remember why I was there as I felt an unexplained despair clawing at the inside of my heart.

"There's only three of you, I don't think it will be a problem. His room should be empty."

"Two." The child corrects in that agonized voice again.

I look behind me and see only two children and as I turn my head around I immediately with draw my light saber and ignite it. I slash through air however as the black shadow that I had sworn I saw right in front of me is nothing but—nothing.

"Master are you alright?" The blue eyed, blond haired one asks.

"I'm fine," I reply, but my headache is beginning to become so painful it's dizzying.

We reach the wooden door that leads to Obi-wan's room and I stare at the door for quite sometime.

"Aren't you going in Master?"

"Of course." I nod my head to try to further convince myself of this.

Then the boy asks the same question yet again, and I know I have heard him ask this before in a much different situation...

"Master Skywalker, there are too many of them! What do we do?"

"What?" I ask tiredly even though I already know he will deny it.

"I said Master how will we sneak in, there are too many of us. What will we do?"

I began to open the door but turn to answer the boy as I do so, not looking in as the door slides open.

"There's only two of you, his room should be empty." I repeat, rubbing my hand to my head as my headache grows piercing.

"There's just me Master."

I turn to see only the blue eyed, blonde haired child.

"Where are the others?!" I cry out feeling like someone is driving a bolt through my skull.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" But no one answers me save the shadow that I had glanced lurking who re-appears in all it's frightening dark glory to push me through the door.

My air is knocked out of me and I fall breathless, but instead of backing into a simple Jedi's quarters I am falling and I look beneath me to see a swirling lake of red and fiery orange waiting to consume me.

I look back to the door way where the blonde haired, blue eyed boy is standing but his eyes are strangely dead like a corpse, eerily staring open as he claws at his throat as if he was being choked, and with a with a jolt I recognize him to be the son I had just found. He transforms into a terrified woman, with large brown eyes clouding with death, right as the fire consumes me and I am in agony screaming for the others who have disappeared and myself which is soon to be gone...

Vader awoke breathing heavily, not unusual for him but that nightmare particularly tazed him.

He often found himself tormented by dreams of what could have been, the life he and Padme could've had, this nightmare however he finds even more disturbing than those. However he brushed it aside, placing it out of his mind just has he had done with it's different predecessors. The always ended in burning.

These thoughts were not sith like, and he refused to be contrite simply because he was a father. After all he had been a father unknowingly for five years, the simple knowledge of the fact should not change him he thought.

Rubbing his eyes Vader placed his mask back on and left for the bridge, perhaps choking one of his idiotic subordinates would improve his mood he thought darkly.

He had the brief urge to check on the boy but quickly quashed it down, after all the door was locked so it was not as if the boy could escape anyhow he told himself, not admitting the real reason he had sought to see his son.

Striding to the bridge Vader looked out over the stars with his hands clasped behind his back as he so often did.

It was hard for him to reconcile that not twenty four hours previously he had been perfectly clear on his goals, his life, what he was doing. Yet now one simple discovery had thrown him into complete confusion.

Everything was unclear now, the thought came unbidden into his mind of the cloudy dead eyes in his dream. Everything it seemed, even his unconscious, was unclear.

When he was younger he hated meditating, why did he need to enhance his connection to the force? He was born of the force, what more connection could he gain.

Loosing so many of his midichlorians to lava however, had made him more desperate to spend time tapping into the force. The irony being that sith were not taught to meditate nearly as much as a Jedi.

He reached into the network and felt deeply around, there were the mundane presences of his crew that had been there this morning, then there was the fascinatingly already familiar presence that shone brightly. Like a supernova among rocks, it was unmistakable and impossible to miss.

Which unsettled him even more. His master, his powerful almost omniscient master, who would undoubtedly not allow the boy to stay with him.

He needed to find a way to shield the presence, he could certainly mute it himself, but to truly make him safe from Sidious then he would have to teach the child. Which he would do anyways when the boy was older, but for now he would have to learn to at least quiet his presence. And the boy would never go to Coruscant.

He would have to review all of the personal on his ship extensively, down to the last janitor. Sidious had eyes everywhere. Even then the boy would be kept secret, but it was best to dismiss those he thought suspect, just in case.

After intimidating his subordinates Vader grew tired and returned to his quarters to review newly received intelligence.

He passed through the boy's room on his way. He was still sleeping even hours later, his body trying to recover from the trauma of such upheaval.

As he looked down at his mussed head of hair and peacefully sleeping form, he couldn't help but feel a small sense of an emotion he couldn't name, but it wasn't anything he had felt in the past year.

It wasn't anger, annoyance, vengeance, triumph, or pain.

He found that it was something which after a five year absence he had a hard time labeling.

Whatever it was, it left him feeling slightly lighter than he had in a long time, a strong sense of assurance that life would somehow work itself out had taken over him. A very rare feeling for him.

Elsewhere in the galaxy...

Obi-wan pulled his hood even farther over his head. Scratching his beard slightly has he had always been prone to do since he had grown it so many years ago.

Bail Organa was already waiting for him with a grim expression when he stepped of his ship.

Obi-wan squared his shoulder and readied himself, he was sure Organa wouldn't like his proposal. But he hadn't been known as the negotiator for just any reason...

I do apologize for the huge delay in updating, I would like to say the next chapter will come quicker, but I can not make any promises. I have two other stories which are my priority right now, but when I finish them this story will be regularly updated. In the meantime I will try to write when I can, but I promise no matter how long it may take, this story will be finished.

Please, please review!