Hehehehehe sooo...you all are not allowed to hate me, all right haha

I'm having way too much fun writing this :D

thanks for the reviews, i'm glad that you guys are enjoying this and have stuck with me through the writer's block and crazy schedules :D

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Enjoy!

Eius muttered a stream of swears in any language that he could think of, cursing the gundarks that had found his ship while he had set up the crime scene and switched out his lightsaber crystal. The damage that they had done to the ion drive, hyper drive, and dual drive system was enough to delay his departure from the planet, one that could cost him dearly if he didn't get the ship up and running again. The deflector shield could wait until he was safely off-world to fix.

Eius cursed again, snarling about gundark packs as he picked up his pace. He was almost done, but the others were already here. He could sense them back at the pirate outpost. He didn't have much time to fix the ship and get going before one of them realized he was there.

Eius' expression darkened as he sensed Luke, using some of his best expletives to describe him as he moved on from the ion drive to the dual drive system. If he could sense Luke, then Luke could sense him.

He was running out of time before this became his first mission with complications. Though he wouldn't mind crossing his other self.

Eius allowed himself a smile at the thought, doubling down to work on the system so he could get off of the Force-forsaken planet.

"Luke, slow down!"

Luke sighed, coming to a stop in the cavern that Ahsoka and he was currently exploring. His muscles ached, screaming in protest at the extent of exercise and movement he was putting them through, but he hardly paid it a second thought. It was just Yoda's swamp all over again; that's what he kept telling himself.

Ahsoka came even with him once more, scowling at him in a scolding way. "You know, we're supposed to be searching together, and given your current condition and the very strong words Anakin gave me in parting, I can't let you out of my sight. You're moving pretty quickly for someone who just got let off bed rest, and even then only for this special circumstance."

Luke smiled a little. "The Force can work wonders," he responded simply. "Besides, we're running out of time before he leaves. Whatever's keeping him here won't be keeping him busy much longer."

Ahsoka sighed, probably wondering how she had ended up with babysitting duty on the east side of the caverns while Obi-Wan and Anakin searched the west. When Luke had been able to pinpoint the other him's presence to the caverns before he was cut off, they had all decided to split up into two groups to find him. They dared not go by themselves, knowing that the dark Luke was capable of, yet also aware that they needed to split up if they were going to find him before he left. Before Ahsoka and Luke had left, Anakin had pulled her aside and all but threatened Ahsoka's life if anything happened to him.

Ahsoka huffed, following him with a scowl deeper into the cavern. The halls were dark and damp, unyielding to what was in their depths and putting the Jedi on their toes. At the moment, Luke was very grateful for his black clothes, which allowed him to blend in with the dark just as well as the other him probably could.

Both of them came to a halt as the cavern suddenly forked off in two different directions. Anxiety suddenly rose in Luke. Which way was the dark Luke? He couldn't sense anything that helped him know which way to go…

"We should split up," he stated softly.

Ahsoka was quick to disagree. "Um, no. We're not supposed to split up any more because he's possibly too strong for any of us to handle alone—especially you—and I'm under specific orders to keep you safe. You're not leaving my sight."

Luke met her stare calmly, arching an eyebrow challengingly. "We don't have the time to argue. Neither of us know which way leads us to him; if we're going to find him, we have to search both tunnels, and the only way to do that is to split. Otherwise, we're going to run out of time and lose him."

Ahsoka groaned, staring down the left tunnel for a moment before she slowly shook her head. "Anakin's going to kill me, but you're right. You better call me if you get into any trouble, all right?" Ahsoka demanded, poking him in the chest.

"I will," Luke assured her. "Be careful."

"You be careful," she responded. With that, they both went their separate ways.

"Where are you Mara Jade? You should be with me, at my side, carrying out your true master's orders…"

Back on Coruscant, Mara twisted in bed, letting out a low moan, her face scrunched up in pain. "No…"

"You are my Hand, my assassin. You answer to me; you know it's true. Your place is with me. Come join me on Korriban…join me in bringing the Skywalker family to their knees…"

Mara tossed again. "Master…"

"Come Mara. You must join me. You know where to find me…"

A planet of red and tombs and dark creatures. Cold air around her, a cold that somehow doesn't bother her. A looming building with statues of servants. And a figure perched on a throne, waiting for something, for someone's return…

Waiting for her.

"Mara…"

"Master!" Mara suddenly gasped, sitting up in bed in a moment, lightsaber humming to life in an instant.

She was alone in the Skywalker's guest room.

Panting and wiping sweat from her brow, Mara deactivated her lightsaber, placing it on the nightstand once more. She was utterly drenched in a cold sweat, and she clutched at the sheets around her, eyes darting to each dark corner.

Her Master's words still rang in her ears.

"Come join me on Korriban."

Anakin sighed, crouching down on his knees as Nydri approached him. Her eyes had grown to a bright blue, the same color of blue as his eyes except glowing softly, signaling that she was with the light side of the Force, not the dark. Obi-Wan and he had gone to fetch her off of the ship before they started their search for his son. Both of them had agreed that she could help them find the boy before he left the planet.

"Come here Nydri…" Anakin murmured, stroking her head lightly as he pulled out the blood covered Padawan braid he had tucked away in his robes, allowing her to sniff it and pick up his son's scent. "Find him, please. Find him for me."

Nydri spent a long moment, picking up the right scent, before she stood alert, nose to the ground as she started to sniff him out. Hopefully she would be able to find him quickly.

Anakin stood and tucked the Padawan braid back into his robes, Obi-Wan watching him the entire time. "What is that?" he asked, nodding to the spot he had just put the strand of hair away.

"Luke's Padawan braid," Anakin responded stiffly, already following after Nydri. He could feel Obi-Wan's sympathy thick in the air; it was suffocating.

"Anakin, I'm sorry," he replied quietly.

"I don't want to talk about it," Anakin responded shortly, keeping his eyes glued to the path Nydri was carving ahead of them. "I just want to find my son."

"And what are you going to do if we find him? Embrace him and everything will be all right? I'm sorry Anakin but that's not how it's going to work. Considering everything that's happened and going on, it might be harder to bring him back to the light than you think."

"I'm not going to give up on him Obi-Wan," Anakin snapped.

"I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying that this isn't going to be easy, and you need to be ready. I was supposed to tell you earlier, before everything happened, but I obviously became sidetracked, but Luke had a vision of your son."

Anakin suddenly spun around, his emotions of dread and anticipation so strong that ahead of them Nydri actually stopped and whined, staring at them. "What did he see?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "Sidious has been working away at whatever good is left in him little by little, and Luke saw Sidious convince him that you never really loved him, that he was just a reminder of your loss of Luke and that he was never the son you wanted; that now that Luke's here you don't care for him because you have the son you really wanted, the one you've always wanted."

Anakin turned away, enraged and disgusted, as well as horrified. "How could he believe that? How could he even think that's true, even for a moment!"

"The same way you believed Palpatine would save Padme," Obi-Wan answered slowly, obviously aware that he was treading dangerous waters.

Anakin paused in his rant, looking away for a moment. "Then we've got to help him see through the lies before we even start to bring him back to the light," he said slowly. "That is what we're going to do first."

"Well then we better hurry. We have to find him before we do anything else."

"I know," Anakin told him, already resuming his stride forward. "Go on Nydri."

Nydri followed his directions immediately, continuing on her hunt for his son. Obi-Wan and he exchanged no more words as they proceeded silently through the cave, following Nydri as she lead them deeper and deeper into the caverns. Suddenly, she perked up, her pace quickening.

"I think she found something," Anakin said sharply, hurrying to match her pace. "She seems to be headed…east, the same section Ahsoka and Luke are in."

Anakin felt panic flicker through him, silently praying that the two would not stumble across his son themselves. Luke was in no condition for a confrontation, and with his son immersed in the dark side, there was no telling what he would do if the two crossed paths with one or no one around.

The results could prove disastrous.

Luke followed the damp halls of the caverns, one hand on his lightsaber, senses on high alert as he attempted to peer through the darkness. The Force was alive, dancing in apparent anticipation the deeper he delved into the winding cavernous corridors. The air seemed to crackle around him and he wiped some sweat from his brow, his hand trailing along the walls to offer some form of support. He couldn't help but feel he was getting closer, though he was perfectly aware he was in no condition to face anyone alone, least of all a dark version of himself.

The cavern opened up into a large room with the open sky above as he turned a corner, immediately crouching behind a cluster of stalagmites as he registered a ship in the middle of the room.

He'd found him.

Luke's breathing picked up and he peeked between the cracks of the stalagmites, trying to see if he could find the other him. It looked like the ship had been damaged, which explained why this dark Luke was still here and not gone already. His eyes scanned the area, trying to figure out if he could pick a form out from the shadows…

There, he suddenly realized, spotting the hooded form, packing away tools. It seemed Luke had found him just in time. Though whether or not Luke could hold him off a little longer, he wasn't so sure. He glanced down at his wrist, activating the small homing beacon that each of them carried. It was moments like these that he was glad that the device made no sound.

There was a sudden warning through the Force, but Luke had no way of avoiding what came at him. One moment he was firmly on the ground, the next he was flying through the air before he slammed into the wall.

The breath was knocked out of him, but he still reached for his lightsaber instantly, activating it and bringing it up to stop the arch of a blood red blade before it could fall on him. He gasped, sucking in air once more as he shakily held off the blade inches from his face.

"So. You're Jedi Luke?"

Luke froze at the cold-hearted sneer he heard in his own voice, finally looking the other him in the eyes. It was disturbing, seeing his own face inches from his own, staring at him in such a hateful way. Luke would believe he was looking at his reflection if it wasn't for the blood spattered all over this other him, or the molten gold color of his eyes.

"Not one for words, are we?" The other Luke spoke yet again, his snarled words causing Luke's stomach to twist painfully.

"What is there to say? It's not like you're going to listen to me," Luke finally replied. He mentally chastised himself for allowing the strain of holding off the lightsaber blade into his voice.

This other him smirked, lashing out suddenly and disarming Luke in one smooth move, pinning his wrist to the floor. The other hand, after sheathing the red lightsaber, closed around his throat. Luke held his breath as long as he could, determined not to let this other him hear him choking until he absolutely needed to breathe.

"What's so special about you?" the other him hissed, causing Luke to flinch. "You're weak, and you were only around for a few months. I've been here for twenty-three years, yet somehow you're the one who gets everything?"

"What…are you…talking about," Luke rasped, forcing out the words with what little air he was dragging into his lungs. "You're the one…who's had a…complete family…all these years. The one…who's been raised…a Jedi in…the Republic. How am…I…the one with…everything?"

His statement seemed only to enrage this other him further, his hold on his throat tightening and cutting off his airway completely. "You know what I'm talking about, don't play games with me," this other him snarled venomously. "My Father. How did you end up the one he cares so much about, the one he's proud of? How is it not me?"

"Luke…" Luke croaked out with what little air that was in his lungs. The other him slammed Luke's head hard against the rock floor and lights popped in Luke's vision.

"That name no longer holds any meaning to me!" the dark Luke practically roared at him, fury engrained in his features. "It's Eius. Darth Eius!"

Luke felt ice run through him at his statement. "Really? Because…that's…what F-Father said…in my time…before he…turned from…the dark."

The dark Luke picked him up off the floor at that point, pinning him to the wall by his neck. Luke clutched at the hand around his throat, struggling for air again.

"Then he was weak," the dark Luke snarled.

"L-Luke…" Luke tried again. "You've…got…to let go…of the…the dark side…" Luke gasped.

"Look who's talking," he shot back. Luke shivered as the dark Luke pressed a blade to his chest, images of the gutted Jedi flashing through his mind. "I can sense some of the dark side in you right now. You have no room to talk."

"Luke!" came a new voice. It was distant, echoing down one of the corridors across the cave. The dark Luke's head snapped around at the voice of Anakin before he met Luke's eyes again, the blade still pressed to his chest. Luke was sure his heart stopped for a moment. Was he going to kill him?

"You're lucky that my Master has a plan for you. Otherwise I would kill you now and be done with it. Though truthfully…I want to see what he has in mind play out first," the dark Luke whispered in his ear.

The next thing Luke knew, the blade was gone from his chest and he was struck at the side of his head hard enough that everything went black.

His last conscious thought was that he was entirely at this dark Luke—Eius's—mercy.