Thank you as always to SpellCleaver for the beta! 3

He'd finally been able to get some rest.

Some. Not a lot. But it was better than nothing.

The night had been blessedly uneventful, though he stayed up throughout it anyway. He'd had to slap himself a few times, but it worked. At least, until just before dawn, when he'd unwillingly fallen into a fitful slumber.

Yet his sleep wasn't invaded by another Force vision with his father.

At first he'd thought it was a good thing. But then he realized he likely wasn't meditating because he was looking for him.

So his dreams were filled with over-the-top nightmares about his father anyway. Sometimes he was back on Cloud City, having forgotten his lightsaber; sometimes he could hear his breathing throughout and around the ship, taunting him before the breathing turned into the monstrous roars of the creature.

And sometimes his father simply entered his shelter, took one long look at him and scoffed.

Pathetic.

Eventually he couldn't take it anymore and, ignoring his aching, exhausted body, he grabbed the water filtration bottle and a makeshift walking stick he'd worked on since he last left and headed out.

It should have been a simple task, going to and from the stream with clean water, but it took the majority of the afternoon. Several times, he had to stop and catch his breath, or wait until pain subsided. But being able to fill empty containers with clean water was enough to motivate him to keep going.

The sky was just starting to turn orange when it happened.

He'd reached shelter, leaning down carefully to pour the contents into his last jug, when the Force shrieked danger. Reacting on instinct even as he pushed the feeling away, he dropped the bottle, his good hand reaching to his waistband where he'd stuffed the dead pirate's blaster, and clumsily spun around.

Just in time to see a black, horned, dog-like creature come barreling towards him at full speed, fangs bared.

He fired twice, his first shot missing, the second hitting the creature dead between the eyes. It collapsed and rolled, stopping just at his feet. A terrible, foul stench rose up from the creature, and up close he realized that instead of fur, it was covered in scales.

He didn't have time to examine it further, though. More came bursting through the foliage, and he was firing again. Though he'd had plenty of practice shooting without the use of the Force, he wished he didn't have to now. But he couldn't risk it, not when he knew the Creature would likely sense it and come back.

If it already hadn't…

He killed one, then another. A fourth dog skidded and changed direction, prowling along the edges of the encampment, saliva dripping from its maw. Luke kept his eyes on it, resisting the urge to reach into the Force to look for others. He wasn't sure what species this was, but he did know predatory dogs tended to hunt in packs. How big was this pack? Had he killed most of them, or were there others circling around?

He hobbled until he could lean against the ship, protecting his back. The dog-thing hadn't stopped stalking back and forth, growling hungrily as it eyed Luke.

"What the hell is with this place and wanting me to get eaten?!" he grumbled under his breath. His grip tightened on his blaster.

He could kill the thing, but...it wasn't attacking. He wasn't an expert in all things Jedi by any means, but he had a feeling he'd know what Yoda would say if he were there.

Kill, a Jedi does not, unless absolutely necessary.

Or...something like that.

You are not a Jedi yet, Vader's mocking voice drifted back to him.

A Jedi might not kill the dog unless necessary, but Vader wouldn't hesitate. A Sith would neutralize the dog before it decided to attack him again.

Actually, now that he thought about it, Han would too. Most people would. It made sense. What if the dog decided to leave and find more friends?

Yet even with his finger over the trigger...he couldn't pull it. Not while it just prowled around.

He wished, more than anything, that he could freely seek guidance from the Force.

But the Force, evidently, was not keen on being ignored. Once more, against his wishes, he felt it flare in warning, this time from above him. He gasped, turning, pointing his blaster up…

Too late.

A blur of fangs, horns and scales came crashing down on top of him, claws digging into his chest. He screamed as his back hit the ground, his shoulder exploding, his vision blackening…

When it cleared, a fifth dog lay limp on top of him, jaw hinged open at an unnatural angle, yellow eyes unseeing. His blaster was still shoved into its chest, black blood oozing from the bolt Luke had instinctively given it as he'd gone down. Somewhere, distantly, he heard the whining of the other dog…

Then he felt the ground rumble once.

Twice.

Footsteps.

He knew those footsteps, and evidently the other dog did too, because it whined once more and scampered off into the underbrush.

But those thundering steps still came towards him.

Biting his lip to keep from screaming, he used his good arm to push the dog's corpse off him. Then, he held his breath and unhooked the claws from his chest, blood instantly pooling out. He closed his eyes, using all of his strength to keep from making more than a pained groan, then rolled over.

The creature was so close now that he could hear branches snapping and cracking behind it. Panic overwhelmed him. He didn't know what it was yet, but he didn't have the luxury of finding out, especially now. There wasn't any time to attempt to stand, or even to figure out how to balance on his one good leg and arm and crawl, so he just began pushing and dragging himself as fast as he could into the ship.

Blood smeared through his shirt and into the mud, then across steel when he finally managed to slip in. He didn't stop, dragging himself deeper inside. His shoulders screamed and burned; his right arm felt like it was going to fall off from dragging his whole weight. Occasionally his foot would accidentally brush against his splint, and blackness would edge around his vision, but he refused to let himself pass out.

Not now. Not now!

Finally he managed to roll around a corner at the furthest end of the ship, swallowed almost completely in shadows. Now he did force himself to struggle upright, his good hand reaching up to apply pressure on the claw marks in his chest. Blood still oozed between his fingers. He needed to examine them and get bacta patches on them as soon as possible, but…

He carefully peeked around the corner...and abruptly pulled back.

The creature was right there.

He hadn't seen much, not enough to identify it, but he'd certainly seen enough to confirm his worst suspicions.

There had been claws as long as his leg. And a scarred snout pressed against the ground, baring teeth as long as his forearm.

Frozen, barely breathing, he listened to it snuffle. Smelling the dead dogs he'd killed. Smelling his blood. Then a snarl that echoed through the ship made him jolt painfully, but he didn't dare make a noise. Not this close.

Silence...followed by the ominous crunch of what Luke realized was bones as it started snacking on the corpses.

His mouth went dry, imagining getting caught by that thing...eaten…

That was the sound he'd make as the jaws closed around him…

Suddenly, Vader didn't seem so bad.

In fact, he thought, hardly feeling his own body anymore, now would be a great time for him to show up!

Instead, he was answered by a bone-splitting screech that made him yelp, He slammed his bloody hand over his mouth.

The monster was trying to dig into the ship.

He didn't dare move, hoping the sound of the creatures claws scraping against metal had covered his cry. The monster was too big to get inside, that much was obvious, but he also had no doubt it could tear it apart. The question was, how long would it take? Even his half of the ship wasn't small, and it had been built to withstand atmospheric changes in space. It wouldn't give easily but…

Eventually, it would.

The thing roared, and he squeezed his eyes shut, tears leaking down his dirt-smeared face.

It was about to be a long night.

Perhaps his last.

Vader was different.

Leia didn't know how different, or even how she knew that, but...she could sense it.

Maybe it was a Force thing? That bond thing he'd told her about? The thought of sharing any bond with Vader made her sick to her stomach, and she wished she could somehow change whatever it was that gave her that connection...but the fact was, she could sense a change in Vader.

He was still a dark, cold, angry presence...but somehow, it seemed diminished. He hadn't said much to her since he'd returned from wherever he'd gone in the temple. He didn't say anything on the flight back to his personal hangar on the Executor, either. She asked questions, but she was met with either one word answers or silence broken only by his mechanical breathing.

When they landed, she decided to try to get him to react by pushing a button she knew would elicit a reaction. "So...can I see Han?"

As she expected, he twisted around in the pilots seat, his gaze zeroing in on her. "No."

There. There was a little more of that cold fire she was used to from him. But...still a one word answer.

"Why not? I've been helping you-"

"Did you find anything of Luke?"

"No, but you said-"

"Then no. You can't see the Smuggler." He stood, and the ramp of the ship lowered...probably triggered by him using the Force on the switch. She wondered how often he did anything normal like opening a door with his hands.

Probably never.

She got up to follow. Now that she had him talking, maybe he would finally tell her what he learned. "What about you? What did you find?"

Silence.

Maybe not.

They exited the ship, and she again scoured her mind for anything she could use to get him talking. It was a dangerous game, pushing Vader's buttons, but she needed to know.

It was just as she was thinking this that her eyes caught sight of Luke's X-Wing.

"You still have it?!" she gasped, forgetting that she was technically his prisoner and began making her way over to it.

But Vader didn't stop her. She could feel his eyes on her as she approached the familiar ship, could feel him watch her closely as she reached up to touch the nose.

"I thought you would have destroyed it."

Vader made a noise. "No."

"Why?" She ducked underneath, keeping her hand on the outer shell, examining the parts.

A pause. "Do you...have interest in mechanics?"

She snorted. "Not like Luke, no. But I know enough. Han's trusted me with working on the Falcon, and he doesn't trust many-for good reason." She thought back to Lando and Cloud City. He'd trusted Lando, and look where that had gotten them.

"Does Luke trust you to work on his ship?"

She shrugged, frowning as she bent to get a closer look. "I don't know; he's never mentioned it. But I did go with him to get parts once." Her frown turned into a scowl and she ducked back to shoot Vader a glare. "What did you do?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"This ship has been gutted!"

"How do you think I found your base?" He crossed his arms defensively over his chest.

"I know, but you know Luke's going to be pissed when he sees what you did, right?!" She took another look and groaned. "He worked so hard for those parts…"

"I thought he was dead," he reminded her pointedly. "Besides, I can give him a better ship."

"That's not the point."

"He shouldn't be flying a Rebel's ship…"

"It doesn't matter!" She came back around, hands on her hips as she faced him down. "He loves that ship! It has nothing to do with it being Alliance-issued! Don't you have any reverence for anything, or are you really more machine than man?!"

He was incredibly still.

Then, "I am a Sith."

As if that explained it.

She shook her head in disgust. "What happened down there? What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"There is nothing wrong."

"Liar!"

She watched his hands clench into fists...but somehow, even his rising fury didn't feel the same. Something had definitely happened.

"This conversation is pointless. You will go back to your quarters."

"And do what? Did you find where Luke is?!"

Silence. Again, that stupid silence. It was almost worse than him blowing up and threatening her. Almost.

"You didn't find him," she guessed.

He didn't deny it. He simply stared at her.

"Is that why you're in a weird mood?"

"I'm not…" He broke off...then turned to stare out at the stars. She'd noticed he seemed to do that, especially when he was trying to gather his thoughts or calm down. If she was honest with herself, it was a very Luke-like gesture, and it made her heart ache.

"I...was denied information," he finally replied.

Well. Now they were getting somewhere. Though again, it sounded tied in with the Force, and she didn't know more than what Luke and now Vader had told her.

She made a face, then asked, "What does that even mean?"

She should have gotten Yoda to tell her at least the basic rules of the Force.

"It means that because I am a Sith, and the Jedi Temple is full of the Light Side, I was denied answers to where Luke is."

He was so bitter, it sent shivers up her spine. There. There was the angry Sith she knew.

"Is that the only reason you're in such a bad mood?"

To her surprise, his shoulders slumped. "Young One, you are treading on thin ice." But his voice didn't have the same bite to it that it normally did.

She raised a brow at the expression of...endearment? She wasn't sure. "I usually am."

She turned back to Luke's ship, the only thing she had left that had been truly his, and reached up to touch it again. She closed her eyes, letting the cool metal ground her. "If you can't get an answer, why won't you let me try?"

She expected him to give her the same stubborn answer, or even question if she was so eager to join the Dark Side. But his answer was surprisingly honest. "I could train you to meditate. However, it has been so long since I meditated using the Light Side of the Force, I would end up training you to use the Dark Side. Is that what you want?"

She bit her lip. "No. Of course not." She turned around again. "But isn't that what you want?"

This time, he didn't answer that.

"So what now?" she asked, a hollow feeling spreading through her chest. She was back where she started, no closer to Luke than she was before. "Can you do that Meditation Thing and talk to him? Maybe I could give you a message for him, to convince him to at least trust me if not you…"

"It will not work."

She blinked, not missing the genuine bitterness and sorrow in those words. "Why the hell not?"

"Because any message I would give, he'd assume I did something terrible to you to get you to give it to me."

She winced. "Well. He has a point...and I couldn't just...learn meditation on my own?"

Now Vader met her gaze, appraising her. "Most Force Sensitives could not, no. But...as my daughter, probably. With time."

And time wasn't something they had much of.

"And there wasn't anything else Luke might have said that you could use to convince him?" It was weird asking Darth Vader to convince Luke to do anything, but she was starting to get used to having abnormal interactions with him. "Anything?"

Vader stared at her for a long moment. Then, reluctantly, he admitted, "He asked me a question that I refused to answer."

"That's it?" It was so simple. Surely the guy who had manipulated Lando into turning on Han wouldn't say whatever he needed to in order to get Luke to talk. "What was it?"

"He…" Pause. "He…he asked me if I'd want him even if he wasn't Force sensitive."

She blinked. It was such a simple question, and yet coming from Luke, she knew it was intimately personal. Her heart ached with sympathy, even as she wanted to strangle him for choosing to still pursue that connection he'd always wanted with his father.

Even with Vader, even after everything Vader had done, Luke wanted it.

No.

He needed it.

"Why didn't you answer him?"

She already knew what Vader would say, but it didn't make her any less furious when Vader replied stubbornly, "Because I am a Sith, and it is irrelevant. He is Force sensitive, and nothing will change that."

She stared at Darth Vader for a good long moment. Then, quietly, she said, "You are a kriffing, idiotic nerf herder."

Vader stepped back as if she'd hit him in the...well, helmet. "What did you say?!"

Finally. There was that barely controlled anger she knew so well. The air seemed to plummet in temperature, and she shivered, but she didn't back down.

Instead, she swallowed the fear settling in her gut and moved forward...towards the Sith.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Luke has wanted nothing but to have any kind of connection with you!"

"It is not my fault he had unrealistic expectations."

Dismissal on the surface, and yet...

"But he had them! Fair or not, he had them, and you know what?! That's kriffing normal for an orphan! Pretending it doesn't exist doesn't make how he felt about those expectations change!"

"I am a Sith-"

"You are a father first!"

She was standing right before him now, and though he was standing his ground, she still felt as if she was attacking a cornered animal.

She didn't give a damn.

She pointed out towards space. "He is out there, in danger, and you are the only person capable of finding him! All he wants is some sort of acknowledgement that you want him because he is your son, not a stupid asset! And if you can't do that because you only see him as an asset, then yeah, he'd probably rather die than let you help him!"

"I will not let him-" Vader tried again, lifting a finger into her face.

She pushed it away.

Dangerous. This was so dangerous.

She was beyond caring.

Her brother was out there, and she couldn't do what was necessary to find him in time, and the person who could was Darth kriffing Vader and she was the only one who could maybe convince him to suck up his pride to help her brother…

An impossible task. But when had Leia Organa let that stop her?

"Do you know why I told you that I was your daughter?!"

Vader froze. She didn't care why.

"Because Artoo showed me a holo of you and my mother! You told her we were a blessing!"

"Artoo did what?!"

She ignored the anger in his voice. "I wouldn't have said anything if he hadn't!"

"And you'd be dead-"

"The point still stands! At one point in your life you considered us to be a blessing! You are clearly not the same man who once said those words, but that's the man who needs to step up and be the father Luke needs!"

"Anakin Skywalker is dead. He was weak. He...he couldn't save Padme…"

There was no mistake. She could feel her father's anguish like an old, festering wound.

Interesting. She'd never felt that from him before. She'd think about that later.

"I am not arguing for you to change who you are," she didn't even think that was possible, "but like it or not, you are a father. You don't get to be selfish anymore! You have to swallow your stupid pride and answer Luke honestly, because you and I both know you didn't answer because you didn't want to admit that you want him, Force sensitive or not!"

The silence was so deafening, she swore her voice echoed throughout the hangar. She was practically chest to chest with the man, her hands on her hips, giving him her best nasty glare.

It was a challenge to deny it.

He didn't.

"Sith...Sith don't love," he finally said. Though his voice modulator didn't allow much emotion in his voice, she knew he was crumbling. Whatever had happened in that temple...combined with her pushing…

He was crumbling.

She just hoped it would make him help her brother.

"Fathers do," she pressed. "You want Luke back?"

"My...actions have made that clear."

He was clearly out of his depth. He was lost, unsure of himself. It wasn't anything she'd seen before, not from Vader.

Maybe. Just maybe...there was still something of Anakin Skywalker left in Vader after all.

She tilted her head, leaning back. "Then go back and do your Force Bond meditation thing. Be his father. For five minutes, don't be a Sith."

I'm not sorry for the (sort of?) cliffhanger! :D
The song for this chapter is Man in Black by Sonya Belousova. Actually I pretty much listened to the entire Witcher soundtrack while writing this chapter.
Leave some love!
Love,
LadyVader23