Chapter 159
The fearful and legendary Darth Vader was in the filthy Rebels' hands.
He felt so humiliated and raging that they had dared to strip him of his suit. He looked like Anakin Skywalker without it. Not that he actually looked like a human. He just ... felt like the weak and emotional Jedi he used to be without his suit. There was not a single person alive who had seen him without his suit and lived.
He hated being Anakin Skywalker.
"But is that such a bad thing? Anakin Skywalker was Padme's husband and Laetitia's father." A very quiet voice said deep in his mind.
He moved his head in confusion to hear where the voice came from and who it belonged to. He wanted to find out who had dared to tell him that Laetitia wasn't his daughter and kill them. But he couldn't find that person.
Now that he thought about it, that voice sounded a lot like the Anakin Skywalker he used to be. The voice was the human part of him ... The Anakin he had buried deep inside.
He had never heard that voice before. Not since he turned into ... what he was now. What the hell did it mean?
"You cannot imagine what it is to have such love for your children, and realize that they could tear the very fabric of our universe."
Vader ... no. Anakin had heard that when he was confronted by the Father on Mortis. Actually, he could relate to that. His daughter was very powerful, even since before she was even born ... But now, she was resurrected by the Force. She was the only one that cheat death ... She was both alive and dead.
What was he supposed to do with that? He knew that if she turned to the dark side and joined him, she would possibly become more powerful than he was, which was both amazing and horrifying.
No one should have that much power ... No one.
Darth Vader was interrupted with his thoughts when he noticed the door open. An old Clone Trooper from the Old Republic entered the room with 2 blasters in his hand. Vader recognized his old Captain right away.
Rex didn't say anything and just analyzed his old General carefully. He had missed his friend, but ... this wasn't his friend.
"Been a long time, General. Either you age horribly or the dark side had some negative effects." Rex broke the silence sarcastically.
Vader rolled his eyes and didn't respond. He didn't care about this old foolish Clone to waste his energy. He wanted to see his daughter ... But if he was here, did that mean that Leah was coming to see him?
He was disappointed when he saw that the next person coming in the room wasn't his daughter. But ... he was also raged to see his old apprentice. The one he had allowed himself to love like a son, and he betrayed him for his daughter.
HIS daughter!
"You pathetic fool." Vader finally said, not looking at his apprentice.
Thexan just chuckled. He could definitely see the resemblance between his Master and the love of his life, dark side or no ... But were those really the first words he chose to say to him after 3 years? He thought he would jump out of the restrains and simply choke him.
"Nice to see you, too, my old Master." He sarcastically stated, smiling.
Despite all the circumstances, he was happy to see him. Although, this was technically the first time he had seen his Master. Not Darth Vader and definitely not Anakin Skywalker ... He was ...
Thexan had no idea what he was, but he knew that he loved his daughter. He could feel it.
"The most powerful Sith Lord is outmatched by some non-Force-sensitive Rebels? Come on, Master. What are you really doing here? Why did you let yourself get caught?" He asked.
He was always good at analyzing data. Though, it didn't take a genius to figure out what really happened. No one could capture Vader, no Force-sensitive or non-Force-sensitive. It would never happen, but if it did, he would rather die than be captured and humiliated like this.
"You know why." Vader simply said.
"I know. But I would like to hear you say it." Thexan snipped.
Vader scoffed slightly with the breather. Did he have a death wish or what?
"You and Laetitia … You're both reckless and stubborn to a point that it irritates me." He stated.
Thexan just raised his shoulders innocently and smiled.
"I wonder who we learned that from."
Darth Vader couldn't argue with that. He was pretty stubborn and reckless ... in his old days. But that habit had not changed over time. How could he have expected his daughter and son, basically, to not be the same?
"You are never seeing her." Rex finally said. He had had enough of this small talk between the Sith Lord and the former Sith Lord.
"And I suppose you are going to stop me?" Vader asked in ridiculousness.
"If I have to." Rex strongly said through his teeth as he walked closer to the Sith Lord.
Before any of them could say anything, Thexan just sighed and pushed Rex away from him. This was not going anywhere, not that he expected it would.
"Rex's right. Even if she wanted to ..." Thexan tried to say, but Rex interrupted him.
"Which she doesn't!" He harshly said.
Rex knew how Vader ordered around his brothers to kill the Jedi. That is, after he killed the Jedi Masters and Younglings himself. He did nothing to stop them and actually helped them.
He also remembered how much Laetitia and Ahsoka were broken and cried over the fact that Anakin was no longer Anakin. How he maimed his own daughter and the girl he loved like his own daughter.
"Even if she wanted to, Leah's in no state to see anyone ... After she saw you like this, she passed out." Thexan explained quietly.
Vader didn't know how to feel about that. What was he thinking? He knew that is Leah saw him like that, saw what she did to him, she would be broken! She even passed out from shock. She was horrified by him.
What the hell kind of father was he?
But he didn't think at all when he felt his daughter in the Force on Cymoon. She was alive after 3 years. He knew that she wasn't the one to die easily, but still. The records were clear that she had died by that Inquisitor's blade.
How did she survive? Where was she for the past 3 years if she wasn't with her Rebel friends?
"Do you have anything else to say?" Thexan broke the tense silence in the room.
Vader gave his apprentice ... former apprentice a death glare. He knew he wasn't asking him to reveal Imperial secrets. He knew him better than that ... So what was he asking?
"Then let me ask something. Did you know?" Thexan asked when he got no answer.
"What?"
"Did you know she was alive and where she was the last 3 years?" He angrily asked.
Leah knew he did, or Arcann told her he did. But he wasn't convinced. He couldn't see his Master as someone who would betray his daughter like that. He may want to turn her to the dark side, but ... at the end of the day, he still loved her and wanted to protect her.
Or that's what Thexan wanted to believe.
"How could I have? I only felt her presence in the Force 3 days ago after I felt her die on Nur trying to save YOU!" Vader snapped in rage.
Thexan frowned in confusion and a bit of relief. He could feel the honesty in his Master's voice. So he really didn't know. That was good. At least, he wasn't that gone. He was still reachable ... but only her.
"Where was she?" Vader finally let his guard down to ask. He wanted to know.
Thexan sighed and pressed his lips together. How was he supposed to answer that? He was happy that Vader didn't torture his own daughter, but he couldn't exactly say 'my brother held your precious daughter captive and used her as a beating toy for 3 freaking years'!
He may have hated Arcann, but he still wanted him alive. If Darth Vader found out, he would certainly murder Arcann, and possibly Sidious, without hesitation.
"After she died on Nur, she woke up in an Imperial prison. She was held captive there for 3 years." He vaguely said.
Vader frowned in total confusion. His daughter was in an Imperial prison? Why did he not know that?! If he got out of this Rebel 'prison', he would make sure that they would ...
"Let me stop you right there!" Thexan interrupted his thoughts as if he had heard what he was thinking.
"Rex, Han, Ahsoka and I already killed everyone there and blew the place to pieces. There is nothing more you can do ... not that we haven't already done." He lied to protect his brother.
Thexan didn't know if Vader believed that or not. He could never know what his Master was thinking.
"General Tirall?" A Rebel came into the room and interrupted them.
"'Tirall'? Where did that come from?" Vader thought to himself.
Thexan's name was Palpatine. He knew that he couldn't use that one, but did he just choose a random name?
"Coming ... I'll see what I can do to make sure you'll get a fair trial." Thexan promised his Master before he left him wondering.
Thexan was in his room, thinking about everything. He had a lot to think about. Laetitia, Darth Vader, Arcann ... Laetitia.
He knew now wasn't the time to talk to Leah about what happened between them. But he still couldn't not think about it. He had already made snippy comments to cheer her up, but deep down, he was ... afraid. He didn't want to lose her.
He suddenly tensed when he felt Laetitia behind the door. How did she get there when he just started thinking about her?!
"Come in."
Leah slowly entered the room. She awkwardly looked around, looking for words to break the silence. The last time she was there ...
"Is everything alright?" He finally brought himself to ask.
"Um ... I just wanted to ... What did he want?" She simply asked when she couldn't form any sentences.
She already had a feeling what he wanted, but she just wanted to hear it.
"He wants to see you, but I told him that's not happening." Thexan simply answered. That pretty much summed it up.
"Did he agree to it?"
"Does it matter? He can't force you to do anything you don't want to." He reassured her firmly.
Leah nodded in understanding, agreement, and a bit of appreciation. She really didn't want to see her father ... Not when he looked like that.
"I just can't believe it. Things were finally good, or getting good, in my life again. And then, he shows up and ruins everything!" She muttered in frustration.
"You can only be that angry at someone you love." He quietly said.
Leah scoffed bitterly as she rubbed her neck. She didn't love her father ... Or did she?
"Or someone you hate. I would think about anything else if I had time. I'm too busy spending every minute hating him."
"It doesn't take strength to hate someone. It takes strength to forgive them." Thexan stated, which earned another glare from Leah.
This time, she didn't argue. She didn't even want to admit that she loved that monster that had killed her mother, father and everyone else she had ever met.
Thexan didn't what to say to press. But there was something else he wanted to know.
"Can I ask you something?" He asked.
"Hmm?"
"What are you gonna do with him?" Thexan cautiously and slowly asked.
Leah could feel how worried and scared Thexan was for his Master, who wanted to kill him. She sighed. She knew she had the power to make everything go away, if she really wanted to ... But she wasn't sure if she did.
Did she really want him to get away with everything he had done? All the people he had killed?
"Can I ask you a favor? And it is not going to be easy." Leah bluntly said.
Thexan just nodded.
"Whatever it is."
She had made her decision. Her father deserved to pay for what he had done. She would never forgive herself if she forgave him.
Done :)
