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.
x Once again a HUGE thank you to ForeverWildfire2.0, who's help with this chapter is greatly appreciated.
CHAPTER TWENTY.
The sound of running filled the hallways as the Skywalker family along with General Rieekan, Obi-wan and Bail ran to the hold. They were obviously in a panic. Quickly they made it to Anakin's cell, only to find it empty.
The door was open with no sign of forced entry... or forced exit. But Obi-wan was the first to notice something... something that quickly caught the others attention. There was a small puddle of blood near the wall.
Padme shakily asked, "Is that blood Anakin's?"
Obi-wan pulled out a small device. General Rieekan looked at it curiously. "What does that do?"
Obi-wan held it up. "This my friend, counts the amount of midichlorians someone has in their blood." He used a bit of the blood in the device. "If this is Anakin's blood, then it will be a very high count." They waited for the device to finish the analysis. Once it was done, Obi-wan held it out for them to all see it.
(1) 27,700
"It's Anakin's, that's for sure. He has the highest count I've ever seen." Obi-wan sighed. Padme looked out a nearby window. She wondered what had happened.
'Oh Anakin... where are you?'
xxx
Anakin groaned, his head throbbing painfully as he began to wake up. Opening his eyes, Anakin mumbled a small curse as he saw Palpatine standing in front of him.
"You have betrayed me."
Snorting, Anakin shrugged - or attempted to, discovering only then that he was held in a containment field, the force cuffs were also still locked tightly around his wrists. Looking at Palpatine, Anakin shook his head, "You betrayed me first." He said, trying to remain calm, "Seems only fair that I should return the favour."
Palpatine scowled, "You are going to tell me where the Rebel base is."
"I really don't feel like it," Anakin replied-
The lightning came out of nowhere, screaming in pain, Anakin closed his eyes as he realized exactly how this was going to be. As the force lightning dissipated, Anakin lifted his head, breathing deeply he grinned at Palpatine. "Well that was shocking," when Palpatine stared at him, unamused, Anakin rolled his eyes. "You Sith seriously have no sense of humor."
"If I recall right, you were also a Sith up until you betrayed me." Palpatine raised an eyebrow and smiled maliciously at Anakin. "Don't tell me you consider yourself a Jedi again?"
"You never fully turned me," Anakin told him, "my love for Padme, kept me from truly becoming a Sith." He was a Jedi, "I will always be a Jedi."
"You will tell me where the base is."
Raising his eyebrows, Anakin shook his head. "There is nothing you can do that will convince me to tell you," Anakin said calmly, "while my family is safe, with the rebellion, there is no way that I will ever give up their location." This time, he was prepared for the harsh, excruciating lightning... It didn't stop him from screaming though.
"Perhaps once you've had enough pain, you'll change your mind."
"Not likely," Anakin gasped through clenched teeth, panting as the lightning vanished, "I don't care what you do to me." His locked gazes with Palpatine, "nothing you do to me will ever convince me to give in."
xx
"Anakin turned himself over to you, and let himself be handled harshly. And yet here you are thinking that he escaped on purpose?" Padme asked angrily.
"Anakin has never willingly abandoned his family when they were in danger. I've known him since he was nine years old. Yes, him becoming a Sith was harsh for me, but he is back to his old self. Although he has a lot more restraint now." Obi-wan mumbled that last bit to himself mainly, but Anakin's family overheard him.
"Then how do you explain his disappearance?" Mon Mothma asked, she shook her head. "I am sorry, but you have to realize how it looks."
Luke frowned, "That doesn't explain his blood on the floor." Looking at Obi-wan. "What did Dad say to you?"
"All I heard was 'Obi-wan! There's a sp-'. From what I think... I believe he was cut off by something or someone else before he could finish telling me. However he did sound in a panic." Obi-wan said with worry obviously in his voice.
"Could he have been saying 'there's a spy?" Leia asked, folding her arms as she glanced at Mon Mothma, before looking at Obi-wan.
Luke froze at the concept... and swallowed. "If the rebellion does have a spy, then I think it would be safe to assume..."
"That the emperor has your father." Padme finished for him. She glanced at the other occupants in the room. "It would only make sense. Anakin betrays the emperor, so the emperor wants to get back at him."
"Or try and turn him aga-" Obi-wan was interrupted by Bail as he came running into the room.
"He's being tortured," The Senator gasped, "Palpatine wants him to reveal the rebel base."
General Rieekan frowned, "how do you know that?"
"It pays to have spies watching the Emperor," Bail said softly, "one of them, sent this recording."
"Tell me where the base is, Anakin. If you do the pain will end." The emperor said as he continued to shock Anakin with lightning.
"I'll never tell the likes of yo-!" Anakin screamed as the magnaguard brought the fire whip down over his back.
"Give in, and your suffering will come to an end."
Anakin looked up at Palpatine, "Nothing you do will make that happen." He grunted, his face strained as the whip came down again, "My family is safe..." Gasping, Anakin took a deep breath, "Luke will be trained by Obi-wan, and when he's ready, they'll both defeat you..."
This time, Anakin cried out as the fire whip struck him, his eyes closed and Anakin let out a slow breath. "... I can die happy, knowing that you'll get what you deserve."
Palpatine, laughed, "Oh I'm not going to kill you." Gripping Anakin's chin in a tight grip, the Emperor grinned evilly, "That's too easy..." The whip lashed his bare back, which was covered with strip-like burns where the weapon had come into contact with his skin. "...For your treachery, you will suffer beyond all imagining."
Luke stared in horror, his eyes wide. "Dad..." Swallowing, Luke clenched his fists. "We've got to do something."
Obi-wan nodded, "I know."
Luke was shaking, his eyes wide as he stared at the hologram of his father's torture. "We can't let them hurt him. We have to get him out of there!"
Gripping Luke's shoulder, Obi-wan forced him to look at him. "I know. Luke, I know." Obi-wan shook his head, "but I don't know how to get him out, and we don't know where he is."
xx
(1) 27,700 might not be the actual amount, but it's AN amount. So please excuse us if we're wrong.