Blaze: here is the new chapter
Darth: that's awesome
Blaze: yup it is
Darth: how long is it likely to be?
Blaze: I don't know yet, probably five to eight pages
Darth: ah okay
Blaze: so here is chapter nine and I hope that you like it, reviews are much appreciated
Nine
Jedi Master Yoda was startled when the Force ghost of the late Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared before him in his little hut on the swamp planet of Dagobah. He examined the Force ghost with beady little eyes. "Hello Obi-Wan," he greeted the late Jedi Knight.
"Master Yoda," Obi-Wan's specter in the Force said softly. "I came to inform you of an important matter that I just discovered."
"This what is?" asked Yoda curiously.
"Something occurred on Tynna with Luke," Obi-Wan said softly. "And it has caused him to lose a substantial amount of his memory."
Yoda narrowed his eyes. "Bad it is?" he asked.
"Yes. From what I could gather while observing him from a distance, he remembers nothing but his name, the face of one person, and bits and pieces of only two others. Unfortunately, one of the persons that he remembers more about is Anakin."
"Shocking this is not. His son, Luke is," Yoda reminded the Jedi. "Remembers who else does he?"
"He remembers Leia's face and he remembers Han Solo," said Obi-Wan. "But other than that, he remembers no one, not you, not me, not even Artoo."
"Odd this is. Caused this memory lose what did?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted softly. "His thoughts are still like an open datapad but he doesn't even know. Vader's medic says that it's partial retrograde amnesia and that usually only occurs after severe trauma to the head."
"I suggest try speaking to him you should," Yoda said.
"I don't know. He doesn't remember me at all, Master Yoda, so there's no possible way to figure out as to how he will react to hearing my voice in his mind or seeing me appear at his side."
"Speak to Vader can you?"
"Anakin doesn't want to speak with me," Obi-Wan said sadly. Yoda knew that he still felt the unbearable grief when he was forced to fight his former Padawan, the boy that had become like a brother to him, after Anakin betrayed the Jedi Order and helped to create the Empire that Palpatine ruled with an iron fist. Although he refused to admit it, Yoda knew that Obi-Wan still felt that Anakin was still good at heart. He didn't believe it only because he knew that once someone started down the dark path, it would forever dominate their destiny.
"Needs his father Luke does now," Yoda said softly.
"But Anakin could easily turn Luke against everything he used to cherish and believe in," Obi-Wan reminded the old Jedi Master. "Not to mention, Luke doesn't remember the Emperor and that means Anakin could raise Luke to be loyal to his master."
Yoda didn't miss the fact that Obi-Wan continued to refer to his long time friend as Anakin rather than Vader. "Return his memories may, Obi-Wan," he said. "Then learn the truth he will. Know this Vader may, not now but later, when speak to his medic he does."
"That is true," Obi-Wan agreed. "I don't think he could risk losing his son's trust by spinning fabricated tales in Luke's mind and have those tales be proven false when Luke regains his memories, if he does."
"Sometimes temporary, retrograde amnesia is."
"I do hope it is. I would hate to have Luke not remember me or anything else. I promised Padmé that Luke would be well looked after but it's not only that. I have already lost one Skywalker, a good friend and a brother to me, I don't think I could bear it if I lost another."
"Great young Skywalker's destiny is. A temporary setback this is but hinder young Skywalker's fate this will not. Much to be learned and experienced in this setback there is for young Skywalker. Perhaps help young Skywalker this will."
"And what about Anakin? I don't believe that this is Anakin's destiny, I know that he is the Chosen One, I believe that just as Qui-Gon did before me. Even after Mustafar, a part of me still believed it to be true and will continue to believe it to be true until the prophecy has been fulfilled."
"A strong belief you have, Obi-Wan, hmmm?" Yoda said. "But misguided it may be. Chose his path Skywalker has. Corrupted by the dark side he has been. Once you walk down the dark path, forever shall it dominate your destiny."
"I don't believe that," Obi-Wan murmured. "The years I spent with Anakin has changed my thoughts on that. No one's destiny is set in stone and no one is controlled by their fate. You make your own destiny and no one can make it for you."
"The Force not even?"
"Perhaps it is the will of the Force that you create your own destiny."
In all honesty, Yoda never really thought of that before. He figured the only reason Obi-Wan knew this was because he was apart of the Force now and that meant he could see things that those still among the living could not. Perhaps the Force revealed something to Obi-Wan that the Jedi wasn't allowed to reveal to anyone else, a change in the fate of the Skywalker family perhaps.
"Meditate on this, I will. Try and speak with Vader you shall, Obi-Wan. Help his son, Vader must."
"I doubt he'll listen to me but I'll try, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan said before he disappeared and Yoda was left in the silence of his little hut.
Han watched as the Millennium Falcon landed in the hangar bay of the rebels base on the planet Adari. He was standing beside Leia and Starkiller, both of whom were talking quietly with each other. A part of him still didn't trust Starkiller but he did understand that Starkiller was helping them, even if it wasn't obvious yet.
He found himself hoping the kid was all right and his anxiety grew when Lando and Chewbacca walked down from the boarding ramp without Luke. "Where's Luke?" he demanded.
Lando glanced at Chewbacca before looking back at his friend and his dark eyes grew puzzled when he saw Starkiller. "Who's this?" he asked.
"Answer my question first," Han snapped.
Starkiller's brown eyes narrowed. "He's upset," he murmured. "And a bit concerned over someone, most likely the one you called Luke."
"How did he know that? Only Luke was able to do that," Lando protested.
"He's a Jedi," Leia said. "Well at least that's what we think he is, he denies it though."
"I am not technically speaking a Jedi but I do know about the Force," Starkiller replied. The fact that he carried two lightsabers clipped to his belt and could feel what others were feeling suggested that he was telling the truth about knowing about the Force, at least from what Han saw when he observed ol' Ben and Luke.
"So where's Luke?" Leia asked getting back to the original matter at hand.
"He wouldn't come with us," Lando said softly.
"What do you mean?"
"We found him in the clutches of imperials who were planning on turning him in to Emperor Palpatine or Lord Vader in order to acquire the bounty on his head," Lando explained. "But Luke was panicky for some reason and then he ran. Chewbacca went after him while I had a standoff with the imperials."
Chewbacca barked out something and Lando glanced at him.
"He said to get on with it," Han supplied helpfully not understanding everything the wookiee was saying but getting the gist of the comment.
"Oh right, well we found him speaking with Vader," Lando said. "Vader then spoke to the imperials who wanted to give Luke to the Emperor and had them arrested for threatening Luke and defying him. He then told Chewie and I to leave but we told him point blank that we weren't leaving without Luke."
"And that's why you weren't able to bring him back? Because Vader got a hold of him and wouldn't let go?" Han asked.
Lando shook his head looking distressed. "No, the reason we weren't able to bring him back is because Luke told us to leave him alone. He told us that he didn't remember us and to stop bugging him. I think when he crash landed on Tynna, he hit his head and has amnesia."
"Oh no," Leia gasped her chocolate brown eyes going wide with shock.
"Vader'll definitely use that to his advantage," Han growled.
"Not necessarily, not all types of amnesia are permanent," Starkiller said. "It's possible that this Luke is only suffering from temporary amnesia and it'll clear up soon."
"I'm not sure. If it does clear up then it isn't likely to be anytime soon. He truly looked frightened and yet he seemed to find comfort being near Vader," Lando said. He didn't add that it was likely knew Vader was his father do to the strong resemblance between them but Han and Leia knew that's what he had been about to add had Starkiller not been there.
"So what are we gonna do now?" Han asked quietly.
Lando shook his head. "Hope Luke gets his memories back and somehow escapes Vader's clutches. I think that's the only thing we can do," he said softly.
Han sighed. He really didn't like leaving Luke in the hands of the dark lord of the Sith, and second in command of the Empire, but he knew that there wasn't another choice. If Luke truly didn't remember anything, except perhaps his father, then trying to rescue him would only cause him to panic and that was the last thing Han, who considered Luke to be his younger brother, wanted.
"We'd better tell High Command," Leia murmured looking sad.
"I guess we'd better," Lando agreed quietly. "I was starting to like the kid too."
Starkiller was watching the exchange with narrowed eyes although he didn't say anything but his eyes were calculating as he observed the conversation between the three companions. He stayed silent as he followed Lando, Leia and Han when the three of them, with Chewbacca behind them, finally made their way over to the corridor that would lead to the High Command's conference room.
Vader knew he had gained some time in telling his master that Luke had escaped onboard the Millennium Falcon and he was currently chasing him but he didn't know as to how much time that was. And he still had to deal with the problem of Luke's memory loss. Will this memory loss jeopardize his ability to touch the Force? Why doesn't he remember the Emperor and yet remembers him? Was there any way to help Luke regain his memories? In all honesty, did Vader want Luke to regain his memories, especially of what happened little over half a year ago on Bespin?
Why are you suddenly starting to care for the boy? He scowled at himself
Because he is your son, his conscience murmured quietly in reply and Vader muttered angrily under his breath as he walked down the corridors and headed toward the Medbay where he was sure his son was.
He walked into the room and Milena walked over to join him. Vader glanced at the medical bed and noticed Luke was fast asleep with the little girl Sarai gazing at him with sleepy eyes. "How are they?" he asked turning his gaze to his medic.
"Tired," Milena replied. "Little Sarai was in shock, no doubt, after what happened on Tynna and Skywalker is merely exhausted due to physically exerting himself."
"Did you see any psychological trauma in Skywalker?" Vader demanded.
"Yes, he is suffering from a form of retrograde amnesia," Milena replied. "The only reason that he has retained some of his memories, that I can see, is because of his high midichlorian count."
Vader nodded sharply. "Is there a chance that he'll regain his memories?" he asked.
"Yes," Milena said. "He will regain them gradually, and keep the new memories that he makes now, although there is no telling if he'll regain his earliest memories or his more recent ones first. It is likely that he'll gain his recent ones and it'll go back from there. That could also explain as to how he is able to remember you and two others, he may have meet them or learned something about them recently."
Bespin, Vader thought. It was on Bespin that Luke had learned the truth of Vader being his father and once harboring the name of Anakin Skywalker. Luke remembered Bespin, although it sounded like it was extremely vague and therefore Vader doubted he remembered what else transpired on Cloud City half a year ago.
But that may be the first memory he regains, Vader thought.
"He will recover fully though, correct?" he demanded of the medic.
"Yes," Milena replied. "It'll take time but he will. But until he regains his memories, he will be increasingly panicky and may seek comfort from those he knows, especially if he stays on the Executor and is surrounded by people he doesn't know. It'll fall to you, Lord Vader, to make sure Skywalker is comfortable and help him when his memories start coming back."
Me? Comforting someone? Vader thought disbelievingly. The last person he had comforted had been his beloved wife, Padmé and that had been over twenty years ago. Vader doubted he had it in him to actually comfort someone when he's been so long alone in the darkness of anger and hatred.
But Luke's Force presence was like a beacon of light, a radiance that blinded yet comforted the dark lord of the sith, a luminosity that thawed the heart that had been so long frozen by hatred.
Vader found he was rather confused as to what to feel about the boy that was his son. The part of him that was still Anakin Skywalker, the part he has been trying to destroy for years, was happily accepting the light that flooded at him from his son and yet the part of him that remained Darth Vader was viciously struggling to push the blinding light away. And yet Vader found that he couldn't, his struggles against the light that reached out to him, called to him, whispered to him, proved futile.
"I wish to speak with him alone?" Vader said curtly ice blue eyes glaring at the medic as if daring her to object.
"Of course, my Lord," Milena agreed calmly before she walked over to join Sarai. "Come along, little one, let's go."
"But I wanna stay with Luke," Sarai protested.
"Lord Vader wants to speak to Luke but you can come back later, okay? Are you hungry?"
Sarai was about to protest but Vader heard her stomach growl, staging a rebellion against what the little girl had been about to say.
"I'll take that as a yes," Milena said before she gently guided Sarai out of the Medbay and Vader walked to Luke's bedside before gazing down at him. Luke had gained much of Vader's looks, his messy slightly dark blonde hair, his brilliant blue eyes, seen earlier on Tynna, and many facial features. However, the rest, such as his nose, his height and his slenderness, was purely Padmé.
Padmé. Just thinking of his beautiful but late wife brought back horrible memories that Vader would rather leave where they belong, in the past. He firmly told himself not to think about her or his past as he waited for Luke to wake up.
Luke stirred before blinking open his eyes and gazing around, his eyes filling with panic until he remembered where he was. He turned his gaze to Vader. "Father?" he murmured a bit sleepily.
"Son," Vader replied calmly.
Luke sat up before rubbing his eyes. "I must have fallen asleep," he said. He gazed around. "Where's Sarai?"
"My medic took the girl to get something to eat," Vader replied. He paused before adding, "Are you hungry?"
"Not particularly, no," Luke admitted. "Whatever happened to Sarai's parents."
Vader growled angrily. "Those idiots are still in the detention center, son," he said. "Although they won't be staying there long." He left it at that; if he was to keep his son's trust in him then he couldn't reveal what he was going to do to those idiots once he had the chance. He also knew, however, that if Luke regains his memories then there was a chance that he'll hate Vader.
A part of Vader hated the thought of his son hating him and that was, once again, the part that was still his weaker former self, the part that was still Anakin Skywalker.
"Where are we going?" Luke asked curiously after he gazed through the small portholes of the Medbay at the stars that flashed by.
"That has not been decided yet," Vader replied. In truth, they were on their way to check up on a rumored rebel cell hiding out on the planet Bellassa but Vader really couldn't afford to tell Luke that.
"Oh okay," Luke said. "Can I get out of bed now?" he asked.
Vader nodded and Luke slowly got off of the bed before swaying slightly until he regained his footing, saving Vader from having to catch Luke if he fell. A beeping sounded and Vader glanced over his shoulder as Artoo rolled over to join them, having powered on earlier.
"He's fine, Artoo," Vader said calmly clearly recognizing the little blue astromech droid that had become one of his best friends and his constant companion, aside from Obi-Wan, during the Clone Wars.
"You understand him?" Luke gasped his eyes shooting wide with shock.
Vader snorted. "Of course I understand him, Son," he said.
"But how?"
"That's none of your concern."
Artoo beeped and whistled.
"Yes, I know Artoo, Milena told me about what happened to Luke."
Artoo beeped a few times before trilling and whistling as he rocked back and forth.
Vader frowned, understanding most of what Artoo was saying. "Pirates attacked him when he was above Tynna and when he crashed, he hit his head?"
Artoo beeped an affirmative.
"That still doesn't explain as to why the last thing I remember before waking up on Tynna was a bright flash of light," Luke muttered.
Vader decided to worry about that later. "Come, Son," he said. "We will get you situated in my quarters for the time being and go find the girl Sarai," he added as an afterthought when Luke looked about to protest. Looking relieved, Luke nodded before following Vader as he led the way out of the Medbay and Artoo rolled after them.
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: that was chapter 9
Darth: I actually liked that chapter
Blaze: no duh
Darth: no need to be hurtful
Blaze: (laughs)
Severus: So what's going to happen in the next chapter?
Anakin: what are you doing here? You're not even in this story
Severus: yeah I know but Blaze invited her three top favorite characters to join her although Murtagh got lost
Blaze: (sighs) typical Murtagh. In answer to your question, Sev, Vader's going to be visited by an old friend, Luke will regain his first memory, and another character shall make an appearance
Darth: who's POV is it?
Blaze: Vader's, Luke's, and Boba Fett's
Darth: YAY! The Fett man is making an appearance
Blaze: more than an appearance, he's going to be one of the main characters
Darth: woohoo!
Blaze: (laughs) oops, long author's note. Oh well, please review and I will post chapter 10 as soon as I possibly can although I doubt it will be anytime soon and thank you to everyone who helped get me as many reviews as I have right now.
