Luke stumbled, and nearly fell, then tried to catch up to his father, "Slow down!" he hissed, "I can't keep up."

Anakin looked over his shoulder and slowed down.

"Thanks," Luke gasped, managing to catch up, "Sorry, my legs are shorter than yours are."

Anakin smiled, "I understand, don't worry about it. Would you like to rest for a few seconds?"

Luke blinked at him, confused, "But if we do that, they'll figure out we're here."

Anakin laughed, and Luke found himself smiling, "Let them come. Together, we're unstoppable."

At the phrase, so similar to Vader's demand at Cloud City, Luke had to struggle to keep the smile on his face. Why did he keep remembering Vader just when he'd just managed to make Anakin smile? He wanted to feel safe and happy now, before he had to return to his own galaxy.

Anakin's laughter had turned to concern, as he spoke, "Are you all right, Luke?"

Luke looked up at him again, wanting nothing more than to tell him everything. I can't! He reminded himself, He's still ignorant to what's going to happen. Anakin had one hand on his shoulder, and Luke turned away, tortured, He should enjoy what time he has left. If he knew, it would only speed the process. He would only become evil sooner.

"You're worrying me," Anakin said, turning Luke's face back towards himself.

Luke looked deep into Anakin's eyes, wanting to drown in them, and never be forced to leave, "I'm sorry."

Anakin shook his head, hugging Luke gently, and Luke closed his eyes, pressing his face against Anakin.

What happened to my father? What did Palpatine do to him? Luke stepped back and looked at Anakin again, taking in the laughter lines on his face, and the gentle light in his eyes, I don't want Anakin to have to go through whatever it was.

"Are you ready to run again?"

Luke nodded, and ran in the same direction they had been traveling, trying to run away from his fears. But something dreadful had to happen to Anakin for him to need the armour Vader wore. It couldn't be within Luke's memory, because for as long as he could remember, news feeds showed Vader in the same uniform. What if he gets wounded while I'm here? What if I have to watch him become Vader?

"You're keeping up better now, aren't you?" Anakin asked, his voice laced with laughter.

Luke looked over his shoulder, and found his father struggling to keep up with him.

"I'm impressed that you've learned Force speed," Anakin said, finally catching up.

"What?" Luke asked, nonplussed, and still half lost in thoughts.

"Force speed. Using the Force to move faster. Or hadn't you noticed you were doing it?"

Luke shook his head, "I hadn't noticed. I'm sorry, I'm just…" Luke sighed, unsure of how to manipulate the truth, "Falling apart, I guess. I'm just leaving bits of myself everywhere."

Anakin nodded, "I know how you feel. Sometimes I think I feel that way all the time. It can feel as though the Jedi Order, all their rules, regulations, distrust, it feels as though it's tearing you apart, doesn't it?"

"I don't know. I barely even know of the Order," Luke said despondently. The Dark Side. He feels it approaching and taking hold. It's coming for him. I don't want him to go. I don't want him to leave my mom, and myself and Leia.

"Don't look so upset," Anakin said, "I didn't mean that quite as negatively as it sounded. Don't worry, the Order will love you. You're a perfect little model Jedi."

Luke found himself smiling again, and was slightly disturbed by the roller coaster path his emotions took around his father, "Thank you."

Anakin slowed down, "With any luck, the owners of the ship," he cringed, "The owners of the wookiees, will be around the next bend. Are you ready?"

Luke peeked around, and, sure enough, there stood a number of strange beings.

"What are they?" he asked, slightly awed, "I've never seen anything like them."

"Trandoshans," Anakin answered, "They're pretty common slavers. This shouldn't be too hard, but don't let your guard down."

Luke nodded, "I'm ready, then."

Anakin nodded, "On the count of three. One… two… three!"

Luke leapt out from their hiding spot, lightsaber blazing. He began to take down the droids that surrounded the slavers, fully expecting Anakin to be right beside him. As he realized that his father was not, he turned to look for him. Surely the droids couldn't have taken him down, could they?

Much to his dismay, Anakin was standing amongst the slavers, with his lightsaber activated, glaring at them. Two already lay dead at his feet, and the others seemed to be about to follow.

"No! You can't!" Luke shouted, racing towards Anakin.

Anakin spun to face him, and Luke caught a glimpse of yellow eyes. He shivered, just as Anakin's eyes reverted to blue and he shouted, "Luke! Duck!"

Luke did as he was told, throwing himself to the deck just as four lightsabers met where he had been a moment before. Blue? Green? I thought Sith used red lightsabers. He thought dazedly, rolling away from his attacker.

Anakin soared over him, leaping for his assailant, and Luke sat up. He turned to his father and attacker, who had reduced themselves to a mere glow of speeding weapons. I can't get in there, he thought, either one of them might accidentally take my head off.

He turned his attentions to the remaining droids, then herded the slavers into a corner with no exits.

Finally, he returned his attention to the duel his father was engaged in, and saw that it had slowed almost to a standstill. He was surprised to note that the assailant was also a droid, although considerably more adept than the ones he had been fighting, which seemed to have to consult one another on each shot. It had apparently lost two sabers in their fight, and Luke spotted them rolling around the room.

He watched in horror as the strange, ungainly droid locked sabers with his father, his two remaining blades scissoring Anakin's familiar blue one. Luke cast a final glare at the slavers, sincerely hoping it was a fraction as menacing as his father's from earlier, then raced towards the fray. As he neared the fight, the droid turned to him, and Luke was startled to see living eyes gazing out of the plastisteel casing. It gave him a meaningful stare, and began to slide its blades up Anakin's. As Luke finally came close enough to be able to be of help, the droid being gave a flick with both lightsabers, which sent Anakin's saber flying, along with one hand.

Luke flinched in sympathy, but Anakin just snarled in frustration, already wrenching off the remains of the glove that had covered his right hand, and Luke saw it was only a bundle of wires. Anakin seemed to turn off the artificial nerves, and managed to turn his head up just in time to see the droid's lightsabers both headed for his chest.

"Don't you dare!" Luke shouted, trying to achieve the same matter of fact flick that had taken his father out, but finding the resistance to be far greater than he'd expected. He managed to deflect it from Anakin's chest to the ground just to his right.

The droid-person laughed at him, and Luke began to quake slightly as the droid kept his saber still with one of his own, and began to spin the other one menacingly. He tried to use the same trick the thing had used against Anakin, sliding his lightsaber up that of the creature until it reached the hilt. Unable to use the same flick as he'd used against Anakin, Luke's blade simply slipped through the hilt and he was immensely glad as it flickered and died.

His opponent looked at the melted stub of weapon in his hand and snarled, tossing it aside. One lightsaber against one lightsaber, Luke told himself, I can do this. I've done this before.

Anakin had brought his lightsaber back to his left hand, and managed to stand, although Luke noticed suddenly that he had a slash across the living flesh of his left arm as well.

"Stay back!" Luke shouted, dodging a blow.

Anakin faltered, then allowed himself to sink to the floor. Thank the Force, thought Luke, I've never fought with someone else on my side before. I probably would have hurt him.

He dodged behind a desk, and the lightsaber sliced through it. Luke realized that Vader had been being careful with him back at Bespin, making sure he didn't kill him. That was when a very strange thing occurred to Luke. I don't want to die without saying goodbye to him! And though he tried to convince himself that the thought as of Anakin, he knew that it was in fact for Vader.

"Luke!" Anakin called, "His chest area is sensitive!"

His chest? Luke wondered, His chest looks just as indomitable as the rest of him! But he shrugged aside his uncertainty and used the Force to wrench it open. He tried to stab at the being's chest, but it deflected his saber and he found he couldn't get even close.

I need to distract him, he thought, I need… something to get his attention away from me. And much to his surprise, he found himself using a technique his father had used against him in their battle on Bespin, yanking a console off the wall and sending it at his opponent's head. The droid merely ducked.

Luke tried again, this time using a chair, which was also ducked, and Luke barely avoided crashing into himself. Why isn't this working?

"You have the advantage," Anakin told him, "He's not Force sensitive. You just need to summon one of the lightsabers I managed to separate him from."

"He's not Force sensitive?" Luke gasped, Well, thank the Force for that. If he was, we'd both be dead by now. I can't use two sabers… I have no idea how to dual wield.

He found the technique Anakin had suggested and the one he was already using melding seamlessly, and a lit lightsaber flew at the droid-being. As it slashed through his chest, Luke gave a sigh of relief, letting the other saber bounce harmlessly off his own, and then relaxing.

"Luke, he's not dead," Anakin warned, and Luke turned back to see him throw his last saber in Anakin's direction.

In a panic, he sliced through the droid vertically, then several times horizontally. Once he was completely certain that there was no way in the galaxy it could still be functioning, he turned back to his father, who had seated himself atop one of the desks, and was kneading the wound on his left arm with the stump of his left.

Luke clipped his lightsaber to his belt and ran back to his father, hugging him tightly, "I'm so glad you're all right."

Anakin smiled, returning the hug with one arm, and much weaker than Luke would have liked.

"You are all right, aren't you?"

"I've been worse," Anakin said, indicating the bundle of wires.

"Yeah, I guess. I – I thought he was going to kill you for a second there."

"So did I," Anakin said simply, "You did a great job."

Luke looked over at the slavers, who had stayed huddled in the corner he'd pushed them into, "What do we do about them?"

Anakin raised his left arm to his mouth and used the Force to turn on the comlink sewn into his glove.

"Master?" he asked, and Luke was silent, waiting, "We've found the slavers. We captured them, but I've lost—,"

"Not your lightsaber," Obi-Wan's voice sounded with disapproval, and Luke watched in amazement as Anakin grinned.

"Not this time."

"He lost his whole hand," Luke supplied.

Obi-Wan's voice sighed, and Anakin shrugged at Luke, smiling, "His right one, I hope."

"Yes," Anakin answered, "And below the point of previous amputation."

"I suppose we should call that a victory. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Anakin deactivated his comlink and looked at Luke with concern, "Are you all right? Did he manage to hit you anywhere?"

Luke shook his head dazedly, "No, I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine," Anakin reprimanded gently, "Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

Luke nodded hesitantly.

"Can you tell me?" Anakin asked gently.

"I – not here," Luke said, "Not with them listening," he gestured to their prisoners.

"There's no need to fear them, Luke. They don't deserve that respect."

Luke shook his head, "I don't respect them. That's why I don't want them to hear what I have to say. Can I help you? That slash looks painful."

Anakin shrugged and grimaced as he jogged it, "There's not much we can do here. Sit down, your pacing is worrying me."

Luke did as he was told, climbing back up onto the desk and looking down at his hands, trying to ignore Anakin's concerned gaze.

Finally Obi-Wan entered, bringing Han and Chewbacca with himself.

"Are you all right?" he asked Luke and Anakin.

They nodded, and he and the other two cuffed the slavers, and Han and Chewie began to take them back to their ship.

"Can you help him, Luke?" Obi-Wan asked, "I think that Han and Chewbacca might need someone to keep them from doing anything… uncivilized."

Luke nodded and stood. Anakin followed him readily, and he thought that Anakin didn't seem to need any help.

As Obi-Wan hurried to catch up with the other two, Luke carefully put his father's arm around his neck, despite Anakin's protests.

Once he had accepted Luke's help, Anakin asked, "What's wrong, Luke?"

Luke bit his lip. He didn't know how to explain to his father what he had seen, and sensed, and known was coming, without being forced to reveal the future.

"It's not the Jedi way," he managed at last, "Killing unarmed prisoners, I mean. It was wrong."

Anakin bowed his head, "I know, Luke. I'm sorry I frightened you."

"And it's not just that," Luke admitted, "Your eyes turned yellow, and… I felt something awful and evil."

"I'm very sorry," Anakin said again, "I get carried away sometimes. It happens to all of it doesn't it? I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention that to Obi-Wan, though."

"I won't," Luke promised, "But in return, can you promise me that you won't do that again, please?"

Anakin frowned, "I can't promise you, but I don't want to hurt you. I'll try not to, alright?"

Luke nodded, feeling immensely comforted, "Thank you. You scared me so much," he admitted, "I thought –," he felt himself stumble over his words again, "I thought I'd lost my new family after that's already happened… too many times."

Anakin nodded, kindly, understandingly, and Luke felt worse than ever. Anakin and Vader did in fact seem to be completely different people, neither affecting the other, and he worried that his own father, his own Anakin, was gone for good.