A Destiny Rekindled.
Vader finds Luke when he is sixteen, realising Palpatine's lies, he leaves the Empire and renounces the darkside. The Rebel Alliance won't aid him - because of his past serving the Emperor.
With no one he can to turn to, and enemies on all sides, Anakin still has his 'kidnapped' son to contend with - but when is doing the right thing ever easy?
OTHER INFORMATION.
_ Vader was healed after Mustafar and did not require the suit to survive.
_ Luke always knew who is father was - Anakin Skywalker, Jedi and hero - But was not aware that he had become Vader.
CHAPTER NINE.
"You can't ignore them forever," Anakin smiled at Luke. Sitting up in the cockpit, they had managed to escape Palpatine again; now they were on their way to an old republic outpost from the clone wars, it was far out in the outer rim - abandoned because Palpatine had deemed it to be too far out of the way to be effective, which was perfect for them.
"Yes I can."
Anakin sighed softly, "you're not a child Luke." Placing a hand on his son's shoulder, Anakin shook his head. "You have a right to be upset and angry, but you can't allow that anger to control you." he would not let his son make his mistakes, "we cannot survive, or defeat Palpatine if we're too busy fighting each other."
Luke looked at his father and shook his head, "they lied to me. My whole life," he still couldn't believe it, "she raised Leia and left me without even a 'I'm actually alive, but I can't come to see you'. Something to say that she actually cared," Luke's shoulders drooped. "I could have accepted that, but they didn't tell me anything, I went sixteen years believing she was dead."
Anakin closed his eyes, "I know that. But there's more to this," glancing at Padme he raised an eyebrow at Luke, "she gave up everything, lost everything she held dear - that would have very nearly destroyed her."
"She still abandoned me," Luke could see it no other way, even if it was to keep him safe, his mother had still stayed with Leia all this time. She had known where he was and had never made an attempt to see or even talk to him.
"She came here for you Luke," Anakin forced his son to look at his mother, "she may have 'abandoned' you. But the moment she heard you might have been in danger, she came running." Gently ruffling Luke's hair he stood, "just think about it."
"How can I forgive her though?" Luke asked, "how can I trust her, or any of them, after this?"
Cocking his head, Anakin frowned, "maybe... maybe you don't start with forgiveness or trust, maybe you start with a truce."
x
Padme looked up as Anakin sat down beside Obi-wan, "how is he?"
"Angry, confused, betrayed." Anakin shrugged, "take your pick." He did understand why Padme he done what she did, but Luke didn't, he felt abandoned and he had every right.
Leia shook her head, "why can't he understand, what Mom did was to keep him safe?"
"Because he was never told about any of this," Anakin smiled at her, "he spent his entire life under the belief that both his parents were dead - because he was never told I was Vader either." Shrugging Anakin looked back to where Luke was sitting, alone, in the cockpit. "Then in less than two days, his father is - or was - a monster, his mother is alive and has been living with a sister he never knew about, and everything he had ever been told is a lie."
Obi-wan closed his eyes, "as if we didn't have enough problems."
"I'm trying to help him to understand," Anakin sighed softly, "but..." Chuckling he shrugged, "... He's very stubborn." raising his eyebrows at Padme he grinned, "I wonder who he gets that from?"
Padme's lips twitched, closing her eyes she sniffed. "Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"
"Yes," his answer was so instantaneous, and had Padme's head snapping up, her gaze meeting his; eyes shining with hope. "he has spent the last day since he found out you were alive, retreating off to our bedroom to stare longingly at all the pictures of you.' Anakin told her, "he went from begging and pleading with Obi-wan to downright ordering him to taking us to you."
Reaching out tentatively, because he knew that Padme still didn't trust him, he took her hand. "he love's you Padme. It'd be easier if he hated you." His eyes closed, "hate is a lot easier to deal with than love. Especially, disappointed love."
x
Luke closed his eyes and shook his head, he didn't understand, couldn't understand why he hadn't at the every least, been told that his mother was alive and that he had a sister.
It wasn't fair, and everyone was acting like he was the one who was being unreasonable; everyone but his father anyway. Biting his lip, Luke sniffed, it wasn't fair; Leia had spent a lifetime with their mother, she knew her, to him she was a stranger.
Glancing back at the small group, he sighed; he had wanted to meet her so badly, had pictured the moment in his mind a thousand times - the reality had been a bitter disappointment.
Shivering, Luke hugged himself, he was cold.
x
Anakin raised his eyebrows as Luke approached, his son sat down beside him and tried to pull his cloak over him. "What do you think you're doing?"
Luke shrugged, "I'm cold."
The way he said it, those two words, inflected with the barest hint of a whine, had Anakin chuckling. Sighing he lifted the cloak and rolled his eyes, "get under."
His shivering stopped as the cloak draped over him, Luke grinned, snuggling close to his father, "I love you Dad."
Luke had no way of knowing how much those four words warmed Anakin's heart, or how they broke Padme's, he simply leaned his head against his father's chest and let himself gently drift into a peaceful doze.