AN: Like Anakin Skywalker once said; "I'm deeply sorry master." I truly am for updating so late. My mind was wandering elsewhere, so that resulted in rough drafts for three stories I haven't posted yet. But nothing for this story. After re-watching the Rebels Season 1 finale for the twenty millionth time, I finally conquered my writers block.

laureas: I already answered to your review, but thank you once again!

Marquise de Jour: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Sorry I took so long to update, my April was nothing short of chaotic. Same with my May. Have you ever considering writing a fanfiction? I'm a terrible writer in most cases, but switching up already existing events comes naturally to me. Let me know if you plan on doing so. And may the force be with you!

aquamanisnotuseless: Thats what I'm aiming for. Great work on Vader's Ghost by the way. I always thought Obi-Wan should've done something about Anakin's dilemma after he died. Great minds think alike! Would you be interested in a collaboration project in the future? That would be fun. Let me know, and may the force be with you!

(Luke POV)

Walking through the woods with someone you just met and your crazy smuggler best friend sounds like a terrible idea. That's because it is. Jossk knew exactly what he was doing, but Han and I weren't familiar with natural danger. Han was used to pressing the trigger repetitively, while I was good with daddy issues. So when some giant creature I didn't know the name of shadowed over us, I was in deep trouble.

Until I realized it was just Mara's shadow combined with the shadows of a few trees. Oops. I must've looked spooked, 'cause she was struggling not to laugh.

"You should see the look on your face right now! It's probably similar to your initial reaction to your parentage," Mara said, red hair blowing dramatically in the wind.

"The kid's handling his family thing pretty well nowadays," Han added.

True that. Anakin's aura changed drastically after he miraculously lost what seemed like seventy years of age. Don't tell him I said that last part. Now he's a lot happier, at times his mood is as bouncy as his hair. The entrance to his mind is no longer heavily guarded. There's simply a mental security system that only allows certain people to get in now. As long as nobody brings up the worst chapters of his book, he's just good to be around.

Mara looked at Jossk and asked, "I believe we haven't met?"

"No, we haven't," Jossk replied, "I'm Jossk. During the days of the Republic I was a Jedi. And you are?"

"Mara Jade. Trained assassin and, regrettably, former Emperor's Hand. At least I wasn't his right hand. From what I've seen, that does horrifying things to people. Physically and mentally," Mara replied.

Way to go Mara, stirring up intense images in my head. I shook my head to rid it of the result of my father being a descriptive story teller. I didn't need to know every detail of when you were burnt to near death Dad! Anywho, Mara and Jossk were talking like old friends being reunited. They chatted about what they'd heard about the fiasco the Imperials were plotting, plans to start a new Jedi order, weird things that happened, etc., etc. My father came up multiple times of course, considering that he is the magnet of all chaos.

"Speaking of my father," I interrupted, "he's probably waiting for us. And I don't want to test his patience."

"Patience and Anakin don't mix. At all," Mara said.

"Can't argue with that," Han added, and our merry little band paraded through the woods.

The walk got boring really fast, and Han started singing, "I know a song that gets on everybo-"

Mara clapped her hand over his mouth and said, "Don't you even start with that."

I stifled my laughter and moved onward. We found Leia and my father playing rock-paper-scissors while Ventress was telling them there was no reason to do so.

"You're not even deciding something," she said as Leia used hand scissors on Anakin's 'paper'.

My father responded, "It's something to do. Mara's really taking her time with-" he saw me and the end of his sentence died, "-finding the others…"

"She found us," I said.

"So you say," Anakin muttered sarcastically.

Everyone laughed and Leia said, "We were just about to send a search team to make sure you didn't get lost. Or killed."

"A Star Destroyer just almost crushed us, that's all," Han replied dryly, "That's when we found this guy."

Anakin and Jossk stared at each other, then Anakin asked, "Do I know you?"

"Apple Pie Ambush of 30BBY," Jossk replied.

My father started laughing, "I remember that! Yoda got SO mad. He actually whacked me with his cane a few times."

"Makes sense," Jossk replied, "you were a prank legend as a padawan."

"Master Windu told me multiple times that he was close to throwing me out the window," Anakin said, then he got serious, "Ironic."

"You'd always be staring at the window," Mara added, clearly trying to keep his mood far away from the typical Vader-mood as possible, "it was like you were in your own little world. Then there was that one time you almost fell out."

"Only because you recklessly rammed that chair into me. But then you fell out and I caught you," Anakin retorted.

I cracked up instantly, "OH I've gotta hear this!"

(Flashback, Mara POV)

Vader's palace, a place I'd come to call home after a while. It was the closest I had to a home. I'm sure Vader agreed. He and I were the only ones who really came here for a reason other than the line of duty. As usual, Vader had retreated to his chambers, for reasons I knew all too well. That left me, a bored thirteen year old, with nothing to do.

I tried finding a way to stay occupied, but the most interesting thing would probably be investigating Vader's room, which was totally out of question. I plopped into the chair in his office. It was a fancy leather chair. That spun. Part of me was tempted to start spinning, but the other part of me said that wouldn't be very smart.

I gave in to childish instinct, and spun. I used the force to control the chair, looking out for fragile objects. Which wasn't hard since there are no decorations in this whole building. Yeah…he was in a major depression. What I wasn't looking for, was giant black clad men.

He was standing by a window, and my chair (it's actually his but who cares) crashed into him. It flew out the window, me with it. I started screaming, then I felt a strong hand clutch my wrist. Vader lifted me to safety, and I prayed no one was watching as I grabbed onto him for dear life. Totally freaked out, I was breathing heavily to the point where I almost sounded like my savior.

"I'm fine," I said quietly, "Perfectly fine."

(End Flashback, Luke POV)

And I thought my experiences with my friends were weird. Turns out the Empire wasn't just stuck up officers. It was stuck up officers, plus my father and Mara. Big difference.

Now, my group couldn't be more diverse. We've got Darth Vader with us for crying out loud! Whatever comes our way, we'll be ready for it.