Chapter 169

After he was left behind by Laetitia and captured by his brother and Master, Thexan found himself on Coruscant. He could feel the dark and cold presence of his father. He was being delivered to him ... And that was not a good thing.

Thexan wasn't afraid to die. He was prepared for it because he knew what he was getting himself into when he turned back to the light side of the Force, betrayed his 'family' and fell in love with Laetitia Skywalker.

Death was the possible outcome of any of those scenarios.

He was walking towards the Throne Room in the Imperial Palace that used to be the Jedi Temple. 2 Shadowtroopers were dragging him to the end of the hall. The weird thing was that he didn't have Force-restrains on him. Just normal ones for non-Force-sensitives.

He could bet that it was all his father's plan. He wanted Thexan to interfere and do something that could end his life. The question was, would Thexan really do that? What was Sidious planning to do? Who would die at the end?

He slowly stopped as he saw his brother and Master waiting for him. Arcann and Darth Vader standing besides one another without killing each other!

Guess there really is a first time for everything.

"You two get lost." Arcann scowled at the Shadowtroopers.

They left immediately, without questioning their Prince. They knew better than to mess with him. He was a true Palpatine.

Once they left, neither brother moved a muscle. Thexan and Arcann were just looking at each other with no emotion. Technically, Arcann was giving him a death glare, and Thexan was just looking at him calmly. He wanted his face to show his true feelings.

That he regretted nothing he had done.

"You idiot!" Arcann suddenly shouted at him.

"You would stand aside and actually help someone who wants to kill your family?"

"She doesn't want to kill you. Just father." Thexan quietly replied.

He knew that Laetitia hated Arcann, maybe even more than she hated Sidious. But he also knew that she wouldn't kill him. She didn't want to be the one who killed the brother her husband loved. She respected and loved Thexan more than that.

"That makes me feel a lot better! He is our father." He argued.

Now, Thexan was almost losing it. How could Arcann think of Sheev Palpatine as their father and stand by him? After everything he had done to both of them ... All of them.

"He is a murderer." Thexan calmly said.

"He is our father!" Arcann repeated himself.

"He is only a murderer."

"So what?! He's still our father! So what?!" He shouted.

"It's because he's our father! ..." Thexan shouted in rage with tears in his eyes.

"It's exactly why it's harder to forgive him. He's our father, but I can't understand him ... People died. So many people all over the Galaxy have died, and are dying every day because he's our 'father'. Every bad thing in the Galaxy has happened because of him." Thexan cried out, tears not leaving his eyes.

His honesty was making a monster, like Arcann and Darth Vader from afar, to reconsider things. He was absolutely tortured to be his son.

"I'm sorry ... I know you think I ruined our family when I left ... But the truth is, we never had a family to begin with. It was just the two of us. Father never protected us. He tried to kill us." He quietly said.

"And after you betrayed your own family, you crawled under the very bitch who is seeking to destroy them. Stop talking crap! What the hell did father do that was so wrong?" Arcann shouted in rage. He had no idea why their father was hated.

"You really don't know?"

"No, I don't. Because no matter what he's done, he is our father!"

"He is a monster! He taught us to love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be destroyed." Thexan strongly said with hatred in his voice.

He was getting tired of Arcann saying how they should stay by their father's side. It didn't make any sense. Was he that blind? Or just that angry and consumed in his own rage?

"And he was right. Look at you!" Arcann scoffed as he grabbed his brother by the collar. Maybe then, he could knock some sense into him.

"You think your love for the Skywalker bitch gives you strength? It's weakened you and might kill you ... Once we walk into that room and father sees you, you'll be dead. Just for her ... To 'protect' her."

"I can't imagine a better way to go." Thexan honestly said.

"And that is the most useless thing to do, because no matter what you do, she will die. Father won't rest until she's dead for good. And you wanna die, trying to stop the inevitable?" He stated, trying to change his mind.

"You can't change my mind, Arcann. So don't even try." He replied calmly. He didn't want to see his brother like this.

Darth Vader just stood aside while the two brothers talked to each other. He was angry enough, but wanted to keep it inside. Deep down, he wanted to save his apprentice.

Thexan had sacrificed a lot for his Master. He even risked his freedom, and everything he had, to free him from the Rebels, when he didn't even have to ... He protected his daughter as best as he could. He was in this situation because of her, and was willing to gladly give his life to save hers.

For one, Vader didn't know what to feel.

"How did you become this person? You used to be so strong and fierce. You were the Heir to the Throne!" Arcann shouted at him as he shook him.

"A Throne built on the blood of the citizens? Why don't you get it? I don't want to rule the Galaxy! I have absolutely no interest in it." Thexan shouted to finally make him understand.

"Just let me just ask you this. Do you pretend to be a Jedi when you're with her? Is that it? Is that why you prefer her over the Throne?"

"Actually, I don't pretend to be anything when I'm with her ... That's the whole point. I just get to be myself." He quietly answered.

Arcann just glared at his brother for a moment. He had changed so much since the last time they had seen each other ... But this was to be expected. Thexan was always questioning his father, even when he was Sith Lord.

He finally let him go as he walked away. If he grabbed him for one more minute, he was sure he would grab his lightsaber and just kill his brother to be done with it. He was fighting the urge to do it.

"Arcann ... you will never beat her." Thexan tiredly said.

He didn't want his brother to die, but he was getting tired of having the same conversation over and over again.

"Laetitia has people who will gladly give up their lives for her without hesitation. But all you have is treacherous scums, like that Bothan, Fey'lya. And Sidious, or as you like to call him, 'father' ... He is only using you out of necessity. You and I both know that he will throw you away the second he can." He stated the truth.

"Shut up!" Arcann snapped at him.

"I would love for you to save your life and give me an opportunity to prove your delusions about her wrong. But that is out of my hands. Father WILL murder you for this ... The only way you can save yourself is to shut up about your 'loving' girlfriend and apologize."

"'Wife'. It's 'loving wife', as of 3 hours ago." Thexan corrected him. He was proud to say that she was his wife.

Arcann just sighed and scowled under his breath. How could he be so stubborn? Did he really have a death wish?

Thexan just looked at his brother without saying anything. He had nothing more to say to him. They were done ... And he could feel that it was the last time they would ever talk to each other.

He just wiped the unshed tears off his face as he walked ahead. He was preparing himself for another conversation with his Master, and ... father-in-law.

Oh, that would go well!

But to Thexan's surprise, nothing happened. They just stared at each other without saying a word. Technically, Thexan couldn't tell if Vader was actually looking at him because of the mask. But he could feel that he was confused. Conflicted. He didn't know whether to hate his apprentice or love him.

Thexan just smiled in satisfaction as he looked down. The conflict and confusion that he felt was more than enough for him.

Suddenly, Darth Vader moved closer to Thexan. Even he had to admit, the sound of the breathing of him was ... sending shivers down to his spine. Poor ... everyone that felt that way.

He just stayed still as Vader grabbed his left hand and analyzed it. He was looking at the ring on his finger.

It was the one that ... Padme had given him on their wedding day. She had given the ring to Anakin Skywalker as a sign of her love for him. He never got to wear it because of the stupid Jedi Code, but ... he never forgot about it.

But the last time he had held it ... was when he gave it to his daughter. She was supposed to keep it safe for him. And she had ... until she gave it to Thexan.

Her ... husband.

Laetitia and Thexan were married now.

"Make sure I go back to my wife?" Thexan quietly asked his Master.

Now, Vader was completely confused. A part of him wanted to grab his lightsaber and rip Thexan's head off ... And the other ... was actually happy for him. Them. Leah had someone she loved enough to spend the rest of her life with.

But whatever they had was short-lived ... because there was no way to save Thexan from his father.


The Throne Room was so cold and filled with darkness.

Emperor Sheev Palpatine was sitting on his throne, waiting for his 'son' to arrive. What he had done was the worst kind of offense to him. He chose a Skywalker ... He chose her ... over him.

The person he wanted dead since before she was even born. His foolish son loved her ... enough to betray his entire family and what he stood for.

Arcann and Darth Vader brought Thexan to Darth Sidious. He was looking at the wall behind him which contained the map of the entire Galaxy. He didn't turn around but he could feel that Thexan and the others were there.

The light presence he had in the Force was ... disgusting.

"Welcome, my son." Sidious started with fake greetings.

"Father." Thexan spat the word. He truly hated him. It wasn't dangerous hatred. Just ... pure hatred.

Palpatine slowly turned around and saw his apprentice and sons. Arcann and Vader were standing aside while Thexan and Sidious were only keeping their eyes on each other.

"I never expected this from you. Arcann, perhaps. But you … I looked to you as my heir." He stated in fake disappointment.

"Why would you turn your back on your family? You know the consequences!" He desperately begged.

He honestly couldn't care less about his son. He knew that hurting Thexan was the best way to hurt Laetitia, so he wanted to enjoy it.

"I guess you don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Leah far more than I fear you." Thexan replied strongly.

Vader stared at his former apprentice under his mask. He obviously had a death wish ... But he loved his daughter so much that he wasn't afraid of his father or what he could do to him.

What Thexan said filled Sidious with rage. He wanted to stay on track and act like the 'good guy', but when he heard that Thexan's 'love' was more powerful than his fear for Sidious, he stood up angrily.

"No! You miscalculated! You must have feared me more, boy! You would stand beside when an outsider, a SKYWALKER! ... takes our place, seizes your throne?!" He shouted in rage.

"You've grown weak. You're pathetic, a disappointment!"

"My hands are stained with the blood of millions. This damned family's legacy's dripping with it ... It's time a worthy ruler takes your place. You've never deserved to sit in that place or have that much power to begin with." Thexan bluntly stated.

"Thexan!" Arcann hissed to make his brother stop.

"I am beyond redemption. I can't change the past ... But I can atone for it and change the future. Your destiny is to be crushed by her ... And mine is to help her do it." He continued.

He really didn't care what he did to him. He would not go down without saying what he wanted to say. He knew that no matter what he said or did, there was no way he would make it out of that room alive.

And Laetitia knew that when she left him.

"I did NOT raise my son to serve or kneel to anyone!" Sidious scoffed in insult for himself.

"You have no son! You never did!" Thexan shouted back.

The entire room was silent. The echo of the shoutings trembled it, but it was unseen in the coldness that filled the room.

"Laetitia will crush you. You know it, and that's what scares you." Thexan said, looking at his father.

Darth Sidious sat calmly on his throne as he stayed silent in disappointment.

"Loyal to the bitter end ... My own son. My biggest disappointment. The foolish boy who chose a girl over power!"

"Don't pretend you care about me. A real father would have never done the things you did to your own children. You forced me to be a Sith Lord, made Arcann into an unrecognizable animal … And Vaylin? You really think what you did to her can ever be forgiven?" Thexan asked, without caring what he just mentioned.

Arcann moved uncomfortably and Sidious scowled under his breath. He actually dared to mention her and bring her into this? He knew it was unforgivable.

Darth Vader was completely confused under his mask. Who was he talking about? Who was this ... Vaylin? What did she have to do with any of them? And more importantly, why had he not heard of her before?

"Speaking of forgiveness, how has the young Skywalker forgiven you?" Sidious changed the direction of the conversation with a smirk.

"She's capable of many things you can't even comprehend to do." Thexan proudly stated. He didn't like the smirk on his face. That meant he was about to do something bad.

"Yes. yes, that is true. I have underestimated her." He admitted.

"But I would like to know how she has forgiven you for being Arcann's brother. Could she have really found a way to forgive and forget the person who broke her?" He sneakily added.

Thexan froze when he realized what his father was trying to do. He wanted it so Vader would finish off Arcann out of rage for what he'd done to his precious daughter. Or worse ... Arcann killing him.

"What?" Vader snapped back into reality when he heard Leah's name.

What was he talking about? How could Arcann have broken Laetitia? Those two hadn't even met in 10 years.

"Oh, did you not know, my friend? After your daughter was resurrected on Nur, Arcann kept her as a plaything and tortured her in unspeakable ways for 3 long years. I was not aware of this only until recently." Sidious lied in fake sympathy.

Vader knew that his Master was incapable of not lying. He knew that he was not telling the truth about what actually happened, but he didn't care. He heard what was important to him.

Laetitia was with Arcann when she was 'dead'. He was ... torturing her.

HIS daughter!

"Is this true?" He inaudibly gasped out in shock and anger.

"Yes, I'm afraid. You see, he …" Sidious tried to say, but Thexan interrupted him.

"Shut up!" He shouted to stop his father, which made him smile in satisfaction.

Now, you will learn what it is like to be truly punished for what you have done.

Before Thexan could even think of doing anything or saying anything, Darth Vader activated his lightsaber and attacked Arcann.

Done :(


This was chapter 169. Hope you guys enjoyed it, or ... cried with it. Let me know what you thought of it :)

I thought about Sidious' encounter with Thexan a lot. I hope this turned out alright. I wanted to show how Thexan felt when he was fighting his own family. He loves Leah, but ... they're still his blood.

Anyway, this chapter was all about Thexan's POV. The next will be mixed. We will see Laetitia's POV, and ... the chapter will end with a ... [wait for it] ...

A cliffhanger!

Yep! Don't hate me for it!

:D