AN: Oh god, an update. Finally. I apologize for the unintended and unplanned wait for this chapter. But life can be really really sucky sometimes. And writing, which I do for fun in my spare time, has to take a back seat to my two jobs, health, family, and my own sanity. Hopefully, I think I'm through this tough bit and things do seem to be getting better. Thank you, thank you, thank you all the comments I've gotten. I had quite a few new readers discover the series and comment on it. I read every comment. They do help motivate me to keep going, especially with this chapter. Thank you!
Luke swung his green lightsaber down; it slammed into the Emperor's red saber. The lightsabers hissed and hummed. Luke clenched his teeth and let out a soft growl as he pushed forward with everything he had. His muscles strained and ached. Sweat dripped down his face. He could feel his clothes sticking to his skin.
The Emperor was smiling. A soft chuckle escaped his lips. Then he pushed forward, causing Luke to step back and lose ground. Luke jumped back. His breath was coming in labored short breaths and wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his left arm. The Emperor was unphased. He stood there with a slight smile on his face. His breathing even; no sign of strain.
There was an unsaid question that lingered between them. Is it time to stop?
No. Luke adjusted his grip on his saber. It was not time to stop.
He came forward again. His saber was down low and pointing toward the ground. As he ran at the Emperor, he slashed up. Of course, the Emperor met the strike with his own blade. Luke let his blade bounce off the Emperor's and then jabbed it forward. Again, the green blade was knocked off. Luke swung his saber around. The red blade blocked it. It was quickly pulled away then jabbed towards Luke's face.
Luke ducked, the humming blade slid past his head, and he stepped forward. He brought his left hand, his free hand, up and pushed against the Emperor's sword arm. This knocked the old man off-balance, but he quickly spun around. The spin was powering a strong strike towards Luke, but he was ready to meet the blow.
The two blades locked and hissed as the fighters pushed their weight against their blades. There was a sudden surge of energy in Luke. He took a step forward and pushed. He knocked the Emperor's blade off which caused the old man to take a step back. A scowl flashed across the Emperor's face as he swung his blade. Again, Luke caught the blow, their swords locked, and Luke was able to push it off again.
The Emperor hissed as he withdrew his blade and then struck again. Luke dodged the blow then slammed his blade down on the red one, which sent both blades plummeting downward. There was a loud hiss and a streak of steam as the tips of the sabers dug into the metal floor of the service hallway.
"Ah, yes," the Emperor said. His voice calm and even. "There is much anger in you, young Skywalker. So much like your father."
Luke grunted as he pulled his blade back. Both blades hummed through the air then hissed as the blades struck again. This time Luke's bladed ended up on top. He pushed both blades down and leaped forward to get into the Emperor's unguarded space. But the Emperor was still a step ahead. He moved with grace as he stepped to the side, yet Luke was moving right with him. The two were almost performing a dance. Their bodies almost touching as they spun around each other. Each one of them waiting for the other to slip up, to just be a second behind too late, a fraction out of step with the other.
Then he saw it. The hair's breadth difference. Luke snapped his blade up. It hummed through the air as it came right at the Emperor's unprotected side.
Anakin.
A headache was pounding in Anakin's mind. A sharp pain was drilling between the eyes and on his temples. There was a throbbing at the base of his head. And hearing Vader's voice had only caused the pain to flare up and worsen. He was tempted to simply shut down his connection to the Force to help ease the headache, but Vader spoke up before Anakin could act.
I have secured Padmé and Ahsoka.
Thank the Force, Anakin said to himself.
Vader continued, They are secured on the Light Keeper. There were some pursuers, and I am currently trying to shake them and find a new place to lay low. However . . .
Anakin groaned. He didn't like the weight of that last word.
The clones from the 501st were waiting at the ship. Luke stayed behind and ran into Sidious. I need to go to the Republic Detention Center and get Luke.
What? Why is Luke at the detention center? Why is Palpatine there? Anakin asked.
There was a flare of annoyance from Vader. Because he went and freed Nuvo Vindi, he growled.
What? Why would he do that? Does he have any idea who he-
He does, Vader interrupted. The reasoning was that Vindi would be of assistance in figuring out a way to quickly overcome the biochip inside the clones.
Anakin huffed and rolled his eyes.
I told him not to pursue the matter, Vader grumbled.
I think you should know better by now that that boy does not listen to you very well, Anakin remarked.
Noted, Skywalker. Now go get Luke. I have kept up my end of this bargain. Now, keep up yours. You said you would reunite me with my son.
I did! Anakin took a deep breath. But, I will go help Luke.
There was a moment of tense silence. It was like a tightly pulled string ready to be plucked. A moment of anticipation.
Thank you, Vader said. The words came out awkwardly, and before Anakin could comment, the bond between the two was closed.
It was a good thing he was almost to the landing pads and that the detention center wasn't that far away Only the next district over. But that didn't account for whatever mess the airways would be with the attack still going on. He would need to pick a fast speeder. Maybe there would even be a disregarded clone fighter. Or even better yet, a Jedi fighter.
Luke couldn't breathe. Something cold was wrapping around his throat. It tingled and sent the hairs on his neck standing on end. He tried to swallow, but it was painfully too tight. He had dropped his lightsaber as his hands had come to grasp at his throat.
"Who trained you, boy?" the Emperor asked. Luke couldn't see him. He could barely see anything. His vision was blurry. "Your father? Hopefully not. I would imagine he would have done a better job with you. That is why you are so interesting, Luke Skywalker. A child of the Chosen One, who fell to the Dark Side, and yet you are so sickeningly light. The darkness never really sank its claws into you, did it? Oh, I see some scars, but not enough. Not nearly enough."
There was a pressure building behind Luke's eyes, in his temples, and at the base of his skull. Oh Force, it hurt.
"Now then, young Skywalker, tell me of your past," the Emperor hissed, "so I can know my future."
There was something sharp and cold drilling into his mind. Oily fingers were ripping his thoughts open and sifting through his thoughts and memories.
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side."
No!
Not this again. Not this moment. How many times would this event haunt him? The Emperor lingered, but then quickly pushed the memory aside. It was not what he was looking for, so he delved deeper. Luke grunted.
"Get out," he gasped out loud.
But the pain inside his head only grew worse. The fingers kept digging. Kept ripping his memories open.
"How are you feeling, kid? You don't look so bad to me. In fact, you look strong enough to pull the ears off a Gundark."
Han.
Hot pressure built up behind Luke's eyes. Inside his memory, he could see the medical bay of the Echo Base on Hoth.
"Thanks to you," Luke replied back.
"That's two you owe me, junior," Han replied back.
Leia entered the room and Han smiled at her with a devilish grin.
"Well your Worship, looks like you managed to keep me around for a little while longer," he joked.
"I had nothing to do with it," Leia snapped back. "General Rieekan thinks it's dangerous for any ships to leave the system until we've activated the energy shield."
The memory was pushed aside in disgust, but Luke desperately reached out for it. He wanted to see more of Leia and Han. Oh Force, how he missed them. The Emperor ripped into a new memory, threw it aside, and moved on to the next. Luke was reeling. He had barely any time to collect himself before a new wound was opened, raw and bloody, then it was thrown aside and a new one was created.
This had to stop.
"Get out!" Luke shouted.
He felt it. The Emperor lost his grip on Luke's mind, but then he came back with a vengeance. The fingers seemed to burn and slice through him. Luke screamed. He saw himself on Sergia as he felt Vader's presence. Then on Sho-Turon as R2 let out a mist screen as Luke ran away from the Partisans. The Emperor growled as he threw that memory aside for another. What was he looking for? He threw aside a memory when Luke was in the Ultra-Security Prison Strokill Prime to rescue the king of Mon Cala. Then a memory of when Jedha was quickly passed over with barely a thought.
Luke had to stop this. He was so annoyed with people constantly thinking his memories were free for the taking. He took an uneven breath through his nose. Then another. Breath by breath, he calmed himself. He separated his consciousness from the Emperor. He centered himself. He had to get the Emperor out of his mind. He had to push him out, but to do that he had to weaken him. He couldn't get to him physically. The Emperor had the Force wrapped around Luke's throat. What could he do?
"Use the Force, Luke."
Luke couldn't help but scoff. That memory had come up on its own. It wasn't one the Emperor had ripped open, yet. And of course, he was using the Force. The Force was the only way out of this mess-
Wait.
He quickly dug that memory back up and flung it open wide. Then he pushed it on to the Emperor. The Emperor's fingers in Luke's mind paused. Luke could sense the surprise and interest as the memory played out.
"All wings report in," Red Leader said over the com. The X-Wing squads were getting into formation as they continued on their approach towards the Death Star.
"Red Ten standing by."
"Red Seven standing by."
"Red Three standing by."
Biggs. That was Biggs.
Luke couldn't dwell on this memory. He had the opening he had been waiting for. The Emperor was still and calm as he watched the memory, so Luke gathered everything he could and pushed. Everything jerked. The memory. His body. It felt like the room did so as well. Most importantly, the Emperor moved. He had been physically thrown back into the metal of the service hall. The Force hold around Luke's throat disappeared. He sucked in deep breaths as his legs gave out and he sagged to the floor.
Move, something inside of him said. Don't waste time. Move.
He used what little strength in the Force he had left to summon his lightsaber to his hand, then he painfully stood up. The Emperor was stirring as well. A raspy laugh echoed down the hall.
"So there was something useful in there after all," he said as he rolled over.
Luke was drenched in sweat. He could barely stand straight. His breathing was labored and uneven. He didn't have the strength for another duel or to push the Emperor out again. So he turned and ran. It took a second to get a good rhythm under his feet as his legs felt like mush and his feet like lead. He had made it about thirty steps when there was a sharp tug on his ankle and he slipped. He slammed into the ground.
He groaned as he rolled over. He could hear steps approaching. They were not hurried. They were slow and purposeful.
"I tire of this game," the Emperor said. There was a note of weariness. "It does not have to be this way."
The steps had stopped. The Emperor was directly next to Luke. He could feel the coldness radiating off of him like a fire radiated heat.
"I will not yield to you," Luke grunted as he rolled over and glared at the Emperor.
"Stubborn. Like your mother."
"Leave her out of this," Luke barked.
"Angry," the Emperor said smiling. "Like your father. You have that same spark he has. There is great potential in you, Skywalker. Have you ever stopped and listened to it? Listened to the whispers that yearn for power? You could have ended this by now. Things did not need to drag out so painfully long and tire you down to your bones and soul. Listen to it, Luke. Listen to that call. Take in that power, wield it, and then you would finally have the power to do everything you wished to accomplish."
"Like killing you?" he spat.
The Emperor paused and then laughed. When it stopped, glowing gold eyes were staring down at him.
"Yes," came the soft whisper. "You could kill me with it. You could right all the wrongs."
Memories flashed through his mind. He saw Biggs death. The slaves on Cymoon-1 falling one by one to the stormtroopers' blaster fire. The betrayal of Queen Trios as she revealed the location of the Alliance shipyard. And he saw Vader. Vader standing at the top of the steps in the carbonite chamber on Bespin. He saw him and Vader dueling on the gantry. Vader's blade slicing through his hand.
I am your father.
"You could change it," came a hiss.
That's what he was trying to do! He was trying to make things better! He was trying to save them!
Who? asked a slithering voice.
Everyone! Luke cried back. Biggs. The slaves. Han. Alderaan. The king of-
Alderaan?
Luke screamed. Get out of my head!
The Emperor laughed out loud. "Good, good. Unleash your anger!"
He couldn't take much more of this. His head was splitting apart. He was sure he had a nosebleed, but was too numb to feel the warm blood dripping down his face. His vision was blurring and starting to turn red. He had to stop- He could do this- He could-
Luke screamed again. His vision was completely red now. Blinding. Burning. Searing red.
It hummed and hissed towards him. Slicing towards the Emperor. Yes. Yes-
The Emperor's eyes widen. His face twisted in a mixture of shock and rage. He flung himself backward, but it was too late. The red light sliced through flesh and the Emperor screamed in pain.
Luke smiled.