She tried reaching out to her brother through their bond but found there was something blocking her. Then she tried just feeling for his familiar presence and was really concerned. Leia knew how her brother felt in the Force better than anything. It was likely the very first thing she had ever learned in her life. Yet right now, at this impossible party taking place on what should be an abandoned world, Luke felt… wrong.

Leia was reminded of some artwork she had seen the last time she had been on Mandalore. The artist had portrayed the world around them with cubes and other shapes to represent what they saw, and in the end, had created something fully distinct from the original subject and yet representative of it all the same.

Luke's presence right now was like that painting. He was still very clearly recognizable as Luke, but each and every single detail was wrong.

What was going on here?

Leia made her way over to him, noting with distracted interest that the crowd seemed to part for her. The people here were intimidated by her presence. Maybe that was why Luke was dressed in that horrid outfit. She could see a lot of the others present wore it as well, it was some sort of uniform, he must have been attempting to blend in.

"Luke!"

He looked up from the conversation he was having with another flight suit wearing being, then did a double take.

"Leia? What did you do to your hair?"

What was with people today and her hair? Her hair was fine, and Luke knew better than to bug her about it. She hated, absolutely hated in a way she knew a Jedi should not, the way her mother was always criticizing her choices regarding her hair. It was fine, she liked it the way it was, and she had no intention of changing it in any way, save for cutting her braid off once she finished her Trials. Speaking of Padawan braids…

"I should be the one asking you that. Where did your braid go?" His hair was also far shaggier than it was a week ago. He must have had some sort of hair growth tonic. She couldn't imagine why.

"Braid? What braid? Huh? I'm uh… I'm sorry, I really am lost."

The man her brother had been talking to, and knowing Luke he probably had been flirting with him, gave her a strained smile. "I like the new look, Princess. It's really… Different?" He and Luke exchanged glances, and Luke shrugged.

"What is going on here?"

"Uhhh, a birthday party?"

"Yes you moof-milker, I can see that," she said.

"Hey! Why are you insulting me? If you want to insult someone go find Han."

"Who?"

"Oh no. What'd he do this time? It's probably bad if you're pretending you don't know him." He looked at her hair and robes again. "Is Han responsible for your new look? No, wait, that makes no sense."

She'd have to agree with him there. Nothing was making any sense.

She was also finding it disconcerting to be having an entirely verbal conversation with her brother in such a loud place. She had trouble focusing at times in environments like this and really was not used to being unable to communicate with him via their bond.

"Can I speak with you alone? Somewhere quieter?" She asked while casting an apologetic look at her brother's date. As soon as she asked, the man departed, slapping Luke on the back and winking at him as he left them.

"Where were you thinking of going?"

Lacking any better idea Leia gestured back the way she came. Luke gaped at her for a moment, was there something in that direction that she should be aware of?

"You aren't just doing this because you're mad at Han, right?"

How had her twin gotten so concerned with her relationship with some guy she didn't even know?

"Come'on Lu, I promise this has nothing to do with" she paused as she recalled the name "Han."

His grin was hopeful. It was also very strange. There was one thing in the universe she had thought she could always count on to make sense, and that was her brother. He was always there and he was always himself. It seemed that wasn't the case anymore. For the first time in her life, she couldn't figure out what he was thinking, at all.

She grabbed at Luke's hand, and they walked together back towards the tunnel Leia had come through. As they walked Leia took in her surroundings once more, feeling far more calm with her brother there.

Whatever this place was it was clearly very hastily put together, but not in a way where it could have sprung up overnight.

She still didn't understand how this camp had been built in the short time since she and Ahsoka had arrived on this planet, why the Force felt so wrong, or why she couldn't connect with her brother with it, but at least he was there with her.

She wasn't alone.

She wanted to share her joy at finding him here but kept encountering that strange block in their bond when she tried. She squeezed his hand instead, and he gave her a wide grin in response.

Finally, they reached somewhere where the sounds of the party were low enough for them to have a conversation in peace. She let her brother's hand go and leaned against the smooth face of the cliff.

"Where'd all these people come from?"

"Huh?"

"The people at that party?"

"Well, I told you, since we weren't able to do anything for my birthday last week the others started talking about throwing a party for me." That made no sense, the two of them had celebrated together on their birthday. "Actually I think it was supposed to be a lot smaller than it ended up being. After I told people that it was your birthday and you'd actually be coming to the party more people got involved." He glanced back towards the party. "They'd really like to know you better Leia. I know you're their superior and all, but well, you're mine too and that hasn't stopped us from being friends."

This was without question the most confusing conversation she had ever had with her brother. "What?" She decided the best thing to do would be to change the subject. "There's an ancient Jedi temple around here."

"What? How'd you find out about that? Where?"

"I don't know where. Do you want to look for it with us?"

"Us? Who else are you looking for it with?"

"Aunt 'Soka is here. I left her by our ship. She couldn't sense any of the people over here though, which is weird."

"Who?"

Ok, that really was not funny. What sort of game was he playing at?

"Aunt 'Soka? My Jedi Master? Dad's old Padawan? Ring any bells?"

He looked as confused as she felt. "You… you have a Jedi Master?"

"No Lulu, I took the Trials and didn't tell you. My braid's only still here because I didn't feel like cutting it off after." she rolled her eyes at the absurdity of it all.

"Will you stop talking krayt spit and make some sense? I don't understand a word you're saying!" He yelled and then sighed and collected his thoughts before continuing, "Leia, when you said 'your Jedi Master', did you mean you have found one for me to train with?"

"What? I'm not making sense? You're the one who isn't making any sense!" Every time she thought this conversation couldn't get any more confusing he just had to go ahead and make it worse.

"Why are you yelling at me? Leia, please I'm trying to understand, really I am. Why don't you start over from the beginning, and maybe this time one of us will understand what it is the other is trying to say." Luke ground the words out, far more frustrated than he normally let himself get.

How committed was he to this act anyway? She certainly was over it. An idea came to her then, to actively remove the two of them from this dead end of a conversation. She grabbed his hand again and led him further along the cliff wall. The tunnel she came through had to be there, somewhere up ahead.

They went for a bit like that, Leia rushing ahead and dragging Luke behind her. Yet they encountered no break in the cliff's wall. The path Leia had used to enter this place was gone.

"Ugh! Where did it go!"

"Where did what go?"

"There was a path here through the cliff. I can't find it."

"There was?"

She tried sensing it, but not only could she find no indication of it, when she cast her senses towards the campsite where Ahsoka was waiting for her she felt nothing.

Luke was staring at her. "Were you just using the Force?"

She was prepared to start another fight with him until she actually looked at his face. He looked so confused, lost and also strangely hopeful. She studied him again with the Force, and saw that there was a loneliness to him she had not expected, as well as a growing sense of almost… betrayal?

Earlier she had been assuming that they were talking about the same things, but what if she was wrong? Had she been the one starting their argument?

A thousand variants of different people in her life saying to her "Don't rush into things so much Leia," "Your impulsiveness makes you sloppy," and "That's not the Jedi way." flashed through her memory, and she inhaled deeply and counted to five before exhaling and forcing her posture to relax.

Mindfulness. Right. "Luke, what is bothering you about me using the Force?" She promised herself she'd hear out whatever he said, no matter how confusing it was.

"So you were using it! Why… why didn't you tell me that you could? You know that I want to be a Jedi, that I am searching for whatever information I can to possibly learn… anything really, yet you kept from me that you can use it? All those times I've shared my frustrations with you, and," his tone switched from angry to sad, "you just never mentioned that you actually have a clue about what to do with the Force? Who is this Jedi Master? Why have I never met or heard about them before? I understand if you have to keep secrets from me for the sake of the Rebellion but… I really thought you supported me becoming a Jedi."

None of that made sense and part of her wanted to vent her frustrations at him over that. But she had promised herself to let Luke explain, so instead, she tried to figure out where to start unpacking that long stream of nonsense.

"You were unaware that I can use the Force?" That was one of the biggest sources of their miscommunication it seemed, and also the one that made the least amount of sense to her.

"Of course I was unaware of that! You never mentioned it, or let me see you use it before! Why didn't you trust me with that Leia? I thought you knew how much this means to me!" Wow, she hadn't really heard him get that mad since they had started their training at the temple.

"What do you mean, I've never mentioned it or used it in front of you before?" The patient understanding thing was so much harder when you were dealing with your sibling and he was insisting on saying absolute banthashit.

He sputtered, trying to recall any examples of a time Leia had used or mentioned the Force.

It shouldn't have been hard.

Then his anger faded, and he seemed lost in thought.

"Were you using it to guide you during combat? Like when you pulled off that suicidal stunt on Vrogras Vas?" It was a sincere question, clearly, Leia just had no idea what he was talking about.

"I've never even heard of that place. What you are saying just doesn't make any sense, you've known we're both Force-sensitive for… well forever. Since we were old enough to understand what that means."

"Huh? Leia, I only met you a few months ago! You'd think the whole thing would be hard to forget, what with Han and I rescuing you from the Death Star and all. Well… we provided you with a ship and opened your cell door. You kinda ran that rescue, we were just the fools there to try and help." His smile suggested this was some sort of private joke, but whatever he was trying to reference went right over her head.

Screw patient understanding, he really was committed to just saying nonsense to her. "That is probably the most outlandish lie you've tried telling in your entire life. Of course we knew each other as younglings, we've always known each other! I'm trying really hard here to understand what you're saying because you're my brother and I love you, but you're making it really hard for me right now."

"I'm your what? Leia, come on, stop joking around and be serious. I've never seen you act like this before."

"You're my brother. Specifically my twin brother."

He laughed. "Leia, I'm like a week older than you."

"Five kriffing minutes, and they really don't count." She hated it when he teased her about being older and taller than her. He wasn't that much taller than her, and what difference did such a short amount of time make anyway?

He drew away from her, regarding her suspiciously. Then he closed his eyes and breathed in hard. She felt his presence touch up against her in the Force and gladly latched onto it. The bond wasn't as strong as she was used to, but it was there now, it existed. When he opened his eyes again there were tears in them.

"You… you're telling the truth. Somehow, you really are my sister. It seems so impossible, but also, right. This explains so much. The way I've always felt about you makes so much sense now. But... why? Why were we kept apart? What reason was there to separate us? Leia…"

Her brother hugged her then, squeezing her tight against his chest. She felt his emotions swirl about in the Force as if he had just had some sort of major revelation.

She didn't understand it, but she didn't need to. What she needed was to make sure her brother was ok.

She did not know how long they stood there, just holding each other, before she heard footsteps coming towards them as well as voices. One she recognized as the man she'd run into as soon as she'd exited the tunnel, the other was speaking Shyriiwook.

"...if we put off paying him back any longer, Jabba's going to change the terms of the bounty. Right now it's 50,000 credits, but once it says he wants me dead or alive, well there ain't no going back from that is there?"

"Han, is this really about the bounty?"

"Hey! What sort of ulterior motive could I possibly have?"

"You and the Princess had another fight. You know, maybe if you stopped insulting her and everything she believes in..."

"Oh, shut up Chewie."

"Her cause is a just one. You know what happened to Kashyyyk. To my family."

"Yeah, I know Pal. I know."

Had something happened to Kashyyyk?

Luke stepped away from her, and he turned to face in the direction the voices were coming from. "Should I actually say goodbye, or are you only thinking about leaving again Han?"

"Why're you out here alone in that corner? Shouldn't you be at the party, celebrating the great wonder of somehow surviving yet another year? And look, Kid, it's been fun but I've got a bounty to pay off, c'mon you know how the Hutts are."

Their bond may have been far weaker than Leia was used to, but she knew that something he said made Luke feel bad. As far as Leia was concerned, she was the only being in the galaxy that was allowed to do that.

"We were having a pleasant conversation until you arrived," Leia said as she stepped out of the shadows.

The man, this Han she kept hearing about, sputtered for a bit, glancing between the twins with outrage. "Oh, so the two of you were-"

His Wookie friend placed a hand on his shoulder "Leave it Han. You wanted to leave anyway. Let it go."

"You should listen to your friend and leave," she said, gesturing towards the Wookie as she spoke.

"You understood me, Princess?" "Since when do you speak Shyriiwook?" "Leia, how do you understand Chewie?"

The three questions rang out all at once, overlapping each other as the three men expressed their surprise. It was Luke's question that she chose to focus on.

It was another strange question he should not have been asking, in a long line of him saying and asking things that really made no sense, but she answered it just the same. "One of our teachers, when we were younglings, was a Wookie. Master Gungi," she spoke slowly and clearly as she would to a youngling. What was wrong with Luke?

The Wookie, Chewie, huffed his interest before responding, "I knew a cub named Gungi who had been sent to the Jedi to train. But he was killed with the rest of the Jedi. How do you know someone so long dead?"

"Dead? I just saw Master Gungi a week ago!"

Han sneered at her, "Oh, does this go along with whatever possessed you to chop all your hair off, and that laser sword you were waving about earlier?"

"She has a lightsaber? Leia, is it one of the ones we found with Grakkus the Hutt? Because you didn't say anything about keeping any of those."

Huh?

"No, I built it myself when I was a youngling. Just like you made yours." To emphasize her point she reached out and took the 'saber clipped to her brother's belt. Only it wasn't her brother's 'saber, it was their dad's. "Why do you have this?"

"It's my father's lightsaber," he said, and then gave her a confused glance, "uh, our father's lightsaber?"

Han looked at Luke with surprise but did not say anything.

"Yes Luke, I know that. Why are you carrying this one, and not your own? Does dad know you took it?"

"Leia, he's dead." His matter of fact tone grated at her.

"What! When? How? Why didn't you say anything?" No wonder Luke was acting so strange. Something had happened to their dad? She felt sick. Her father was dead?

What was it that Chewie had said? "Killed with all the other Jedi." She reached out again in the Force and felt nothing but a staggering emptiness.

"Are you ok? Leia? This… this isn't new information," Luke sounded flabbergasted, "He died a very long time ago, I thought you knew."

Han snorted and pointed one of his thumbs in Luke's direction. "It's practically the first thing the Kid says whenever he meets anyone, isn't it?"

Leia was barely paying any attention. She was still focused on the Force, on how dark and sad it somehow was.

She reached out with all of her strength towards where she could normally sense her father, and was met with an overwhelming cold. It rolled over her and choked her with its intensity. Yet in the center of that anger, of that hurt and sickening resentment, she felt something familiar. Something she knew.

For a moment, just a moment, the bond she and her father shared flared to life in full, and through it she felt endless pain. A voice, mechanic and unfamiliar echoed in her head, Luke? Luke is that you? …Do you know who I am Luke? She closed off the bond as quickly as she could, and felt him pounding against her defenses as she did. What she felt terrified her, and as much as she had wanted the reassurance her father was alive, what she had found brought her no comfort.

Her father was a Sith, and based on what she sensed, he had been one for a very long time.

She was shaking, could feel sweat already cooling against her body. She was so cold, why was she sweating?

The three men she'd been talking to were all watching her, not sure what to do. Some time must have passed, the men were in different places than they had been before. They looked panicked.

She tried to center herself. Except that action involved her reaching for the Force, and doing so only reminded her again of how wrong it felt.

How wrong everything felt.

She swallowed, and it burned in her throat like bile.

Now she noticed the things she had missed.

The scar on the back of Luke's hand, the one he'd gotten when they were six, was gone. His face looked more weathered, he'd been exposed to the sun too long without protection in the past. He was thinner, his smile more hesitant. She hadn't wanted to see those differences before, had overlooked them to focus on the comfort of attachment she had needed instead.

Another thought came to her, a way she could really understand just how deep this wrongness went. She still held her father's lightsaber in her hand.

If she wanted, she could get it to tell her what she needed to know.

She never liked it, but she was able to use psychometry. In this case, the need to know overwhelmed her usual hesitance. She focused on the blade in her hand and…

It came to her in flashes.

There were children, many of whom she recognized as Jedi she'd grown up around, dead. Cut down by this very blade.

There was her mother, pregnant, lying on the ground. Alive, but only just.

Her father's voice, full of such hate, "From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!"

There was her father, his limbs cut away from his body, falling into lava.

A pained cry, Uncle Obi's, "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!"

No.

No.

This… This could not be happening.

How was this happening?

She dropped the Sith Lord's lightsaber, her father's lightsaber, not wanting to see anything more.