"Ahsoka, why are we here?"

Ahsoka didn't turn around when one of the twins addressed her. No; she continued to walk, the tip of her fingers tracing along the wall as she put one foot in front of the other. Feeling the place, allowing the ethereal humming of life there to take her in again.

She was home, at last. She never thought she would be again.

The last night had been — nerve tearing, if anyone would dare to ask her. After the twins had awakened the entire house with their night terror and then proceeded to lock themselves together in Luke's room, nobody managed to get any sleep anymore. They all sat quietly in different spots of the house, but, eventually, each of them came to her to ask what had happened.

Because, apart from the twins, she was the only Force sensitive being there — and she had also grown amidst the Jedi and the Force itself — so it was natural that she would have the answers that normal people didn't.

They overestimated her, though. She had seen a lot of incredible things she couldn't explain during her time both as a Jedi and as an outlander, but she had never seen two people so connected through the Force as the twins were. She couldn't explain it, she could barely understand it. She assumed their intangible link originated in their blood ties, after all, they shared the same soul. Other than that, she was completely at loss.

She didn't think there were that many Force sensitive twins out there. She couldn't remember any from her days in the Jedi temple. As far as she knew, Luke and Leia were the first Force sensitive twins in generations. And if that wasn't enough, they were also the children of the chosen one.

She didn't know the repercussions of that; she didn't know how powerful they could be when their powers combined.

She was torn between her excitement of finding that out and her dread of what might happen.

But, back to their troublesome night. She couldn't give anyone answers, so everybody worried in silence. They would all occasionally walk past Luke's bedroom door, hoping that the sound of their footsteps would alert the twins that people wanted to know what was happening, if they were okay.

Because from the single conversation they had in front of everybody else? They didn't seem okay at all.

Unfortunately for all of them, they only made their presence seen mid-morning, when Leia stepped out of the room briefly to fetch some medicine for her brother, who was having what he referred to as — the worst headache of his life. She appeared out of there wearing a robe of Luke's over her pajamas, one so big for her it was dragging on the floor. She didn't seem very keen on chit-chat, but Padmé didn't let go of her until she accepted a trail of fresh fruit to take back with her.

Once she left, Padmé quietly commented that for someone who had mastered the art of looking fine when she wasn't, Leia certainly resembled whiter than a ghost. In silence, she wondered how Luke must be looking like, as he never cared about repressing his emotions.

Morning soon became afternoon, and they didn't step out for lunch either.

So Ahsoka remembered Padmé's humble request that she help the twins — help them with this power inside of them, help them learn who they truly one — and Ahsoka decided it was time for action.

She barged into Luke's room without knocking and found them lodged quietly on the big mattress. Luke was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, with one arm under his head and a wet cloth over his forehead; Leia was sitting next to him, with her legs crossed in front of her, crafting the zillionth braid of the day.

He was letting his mind wander away, she was holding herself to the tangible — both trying to find comfort on their little habits, and they were the complete opposites and somehow fit perfectly together.

Ahsoka stared at them for a while, well aware that her presence had been identified there and completely ignored. Only when she realized they would stay there for the rest of the day if they were allowed that she made herself seen.

She grabbed Luke's clothes from the day before that were hanging on the chair and threw them over at him, getting a hump from him. She found a comb over the vanity and threw it at Leia, who caught it in the air before it hit her.

"Get ready," Ahsoka said simply, "We're leaving."

Although they had been agitated, Luke and Leia remained perfectly still, too settled to move. Only when Ahsoka placed her hands on her hips and looked very scary — like an aunt having just caught her nephew and niece doing something bad — that the twins dared to start moving.

The three of them left together, and that was how they now found themselves in the ruins of the Jedi Temple in the middle of Coruscant.

The twins weren't very happy to be there, and Ahsoka didn't need their constant complaints to know as much. No, she could feel their apprehension from the distance, as she contentedly promenaded several meters ahead of them, forcing them to follow her.

Something told her that even though they despited the place, they wouldn't be very keen on being left behind and having to be there alone.

"Ahsoka, why are we here?" Leia asked, her arms firmly wrapped around herself. Next to her, Luke stood with his hands buried into the pockets of his pants, and they walked at the same pace, side by side.

Being there for each other and just that; because, at the end of the day, only they perfectly knew and understood each other.

"It's so beautiful here," Ahsoka commented, seemingly distracted, even though she was perfectly in tune with her surroundings. Her hands traveling across the walls, feeling the sparks of the past touching her soul again. "I had forgotten how beautiful it is here."

Luke frowned to himself; looking around, he didn't find the place beautiful. It was dark and the dust made him want to sneeze; above everything, he didn't have nice memories of that place, as the last time he had been there he had gotten in trouble and risked the life of everybody he cared for when they came to rescue him.

Now, there were no more stormtroopers around and silence reigned. The silence bothered him; there was no sign of life there, save for the three of them, and it brought him sadness. To know that a place that had once vibrated with life had now died, and he couldn't feel anything there.

Leia, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention to the inner decoration of the place. She was keeping her attention in check, ready for anything that might come threaten them — be it some creepy Force Ghost or some lunatic with a blaster. She didn't feel at ease and she would constantly look over her shoulder, making sure they weren't being followed.

Maybe growing up amidst the war had made her overly paranoid, but — that place gave her the creeps.

She thought she was walking amidst a graveyard.

"Can you hear its humming?" Ahsoka asked, almost hypnotized. She was twirling around herself, arms wide open, taking everything in. "This place… It's alive."

Leia and Luke eyed each other suspiciously.

"I don't hear anything."

"Me either."

"That's because you're afraid to listen," Ahsoka said, at last turning around to face them. She looked rather content, she looked whole. She couldn't remember the last time she felt like that. "Open your minds. Let the song of the Force in."

The twins looked at each other again; they didn't abide.

Ahsoka sighed.

"Look — I understand that what happened last night must have been really terrifying. But you can't be afraid of the Force, kids. The Force is part of who you are. Embrace it."

Luke seemed to reluctantly agree, and he forced the tension away from his shoulders; after all, he was a friend of the Force's, he had been ever since he learned of its existence. Leia, however, remained apathetic. She dreaded anything that would make her feel the way she did that night.

"I brought you here because the Force is so strong here," Ahsoka continued, her eyes lost amidst the architectural structure of the place, "It's warm, and it's welcoming, and it's colossal. You can almost see it."

"I don't think it's possible to see the ethereal," Leia denounced.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "My dearest Leia, you would have driven Master Yoda insane with that attitude."

Luke choked back a laugh; Leia remained indifferent.

Ahsoka slowly walked towards them. "I don't want you to be scared of this place, and I don't want you to be scared of the Force. I want you, the both of you, to see the light. To feel it. The light already lives bright inside of you; now, I want you to touch it."

Luke looked down, drawing invisible lines on the ground with his foot. Leia looked away.

Ahsoka frowned. "What? What is it?"

She stared at them, waiting for one of them to break and tell her what was wrong.

"I don't want to talk about it, Luke, much less to her."

"Maybe she could help us, Leia. Don't you want help?"

"She wouldn't understand…!"

"How can you know?"

"Well, forgive me, Luke, I don't recall her being there."

"Leia… I just want to sleep again. If I don't sort this out, I don't think I'll ever get another peaceful night of slumber again."

"You're overreacting."

"Am I? You didn't seem very keen on going back to sleep last night, either."

"That's because I had already acquired all the rest I needed."

Ahsoka was somewhere between perplexed and amazed at how long the two of them could last in awkward silence without breaking. Then, she realized how dumb that analysis of her was—

"Okay, can you engage now in a conversation that involves me?" she requested, fighting the urge to both roll her eyes and let out a chuckle. If the twins had grown up together, they would have driven everybody insane.

Unlike her, Leia offered no effort into hiding her own eye roll. Luke sighed, torn between his loyalty to his sister and the promise of working through their nightmare.

"Leia—"

"I can't be the one to stand between you and your wellbeing. You do what's best for you, Luke," Leia conceded, and even though there was sourness in her voice, Luke accepted her compromise gladly.

"Okay," he said gratefully, and placed his hand on the small of her beg; Leia still hadn't brought herself to face them again. "Okay, Ahsoka. You said that the light already lives bright inside of us."

Ahsoka tossed her brows together. "Yes…?"

"Well, that's the thing," he pulled on the collar of his tee, struggling to even breathe. "In our dream — Vader drained the light from us."

Ahsoka crossed her arms, looking at them seriously. For the boy and the girl who had defeated an Empire of evil — they looked so small.

"Vader is dead, Luke."

He shrugged.

"The damage was done long before his death."

Ahsoka shivered; Leia unconsciously took a step closer to her brother.

"Nobody can drain the light from inside you," she said, deciding to follow reason rather than emotions. "If either of you ever forsakes the light on you — and I'm not saying that you will — it'll be from your own volition. Light is a choice you've made for your life, it's who you are. Nobody has the power to steal your essence from you."

"It doesn't matter if it's possible to happen or not," Leia finally made herself heard, "We still experienced it as if it were real. It's not like an average nightmare from the common mind, because everybody else's subconscious doesn't pull other people into their dreams. This — This felt real. I could feel Luke's presence there as strong as mine, I could see and touch him. It might not be possible to happen but it still happened to us. Until you experience through your flesh and blood what it's like to have your essence drained from you, Ahsoka, you don't get to dictate how we feel."

"I'm not trying to do that," Ahsoka calmly said. "I want to understand, because you're right, I've never experienced something like that. Neither do I comprehend how you pulled each other into your nightmares, but I want to figure this out with you. I want to help you."

Leia laughed ironically. "I don't know how you're meant to help us if you don't know what we've been through."

"Because, unlike the two of you, I've been in the presence of the Force all my life," Ahsoka instructed, taking yet another step towards them. "I've been guided in its way, and I lived in its prime when it still reigned everywhere. I want to show you that the Force will always be your refuge."

Leia swallowed uncomfortably; next to her, she could feel her brother longing for this sanctuary that Ahsoka was promising them.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to find solace on the Force when the Force was responsible for — that."

Ahsoka was then so close to them that their presence could be easily mistaken for one.

"Open yourself to the Force. Let it in."

Luke was compelled to do it when Leia drastically pulled back and raised her hands up in self-defense.

"I don't want people in my head," she said desperately, "Don't invade my head, Ahsoka."

"I wasn't—"

"Don't," she said yet again, bringing her hands to her head, "I don't like when people search my mind."

"Leia," Ahsoka remained serene, understanding the necessity of proceeding with caution. "I'm not going to do anything that you don't want me to, okay?"

"Vader invaded our heads in our dreams," Luke explained, holding tight to his sister and trying to make it easier for her. "That's how he drained the light away from us, anyway, then left us for dead. It wasn't pleasant."

The Togruta remembered vividly how the twins had yelled at her the previous night when she had tried to grant them some peace through the Force, and she accepted Luke's clarification. However, Luke didn't seem to hold to that fragment of their nightmare, and while of course they were bound to have different experiences even in a shared dream, Ahsoka wondered if Leia's visceral reaction came from something else entirely.

"I won't violate your mind," she said to the both of them this time, "You have my word."

Although still anxious, Leia forced herself to bring down her hands, leaving them in closed fists by her sides. She nodded.

Ahsoka reached out and placed each of her hands in one of the twins' upper arms. "The Force surrounds all of us and binds us together. If you're comfortable to embrace it, all you have to do is to call for it, and it'll answer."

She felt one twin shivering, while the other was ready for it.

"You're right," Leia whispered, "I am scared of it."

"Your fear is valid, Leia," Ahsoka assured, "But the only way to overcome it is by facing it."

Her breathing pattern was fast and unsteady. "Why do I have to overcome it? I'm perfectly fine without it."

"You're not without it," Ahsoka said, "It was dormant, for a long part of your life, but not anymore. Now, you know it's there, and it's going to haunt you for the rest of your life if you don't brace it. I'm not saying that you're obligated to become a Jedi or even practice use of the Force, but you have to accept it's there, it'll always be, and it only wants to bring you aid and comfort. Rejecting it would be rejecting your own identity, and I know that you already struggle enough with it because of your heritage to Vader. But, Leia, the Force isn't Vader, and you aren't Vader either. You're your own person who just happened to be blessed with the Force at birth. Embrace it, embrace who you are, embrace the light inside of you, and you'll finally know who you are."

Leia looked up at Luke for reassurance; Ahsoka might be wiser on the ways of the Force but her twin brother was still her foundation. He was the one who shared this journey with her, not the Togruta.

"We'll do it together," he smiled at her, and Leia agreed with an emotionless face. He closed his eyes, so did she, and they became part of something larger than themselves.

"The melody of the Force… I can hear it, I think," Luke said, tilting his head to give his hearing a better angle, even though the sound of the Force wasn't tangible. "Its humming, it's…It's everywhere."

He twirled around himself, captivated by the grandiosity that swallowed him in. He felt life, he felt alive. If he closed his eyes again, he was certain he would have seen his ancestors, all the Jedi that came before him.

It was different from the last time he had come to the Temple, the one time where it had all gone wrong. Back then, he had been desperate, he had been in anguish after hearing things about Anakin Skywalker that had hurt him more than Vader had hurt him himself. That day, he had sought the place to search for answers, to search for the good man that his father once was supposed to be. Granted, today, he still wanted those answers, but he had found comfort in the Temple, he had found a balance within himself when once standing there only brought him disruption.

He listened to the song of the Force, and he wanted to sing along.

Next to him, Leia made herself small.

Ahsoka looked at her, concerned, already forgotten of the boy making himself one with the place. "It didn't work, Leia?"

She was looking down, and although she heard the voice addressing her, Leia didn't turn towards it. "It did. I worked alright."

Ahsoka frowned, "Then what's the matter?"

She sighed, perceiving her enthusiastic brother with the corner of her eyes. "I think there's something wrong with me."

Ahsoka crossed her arms. "Why…?"

"I…" she stuttered, "I don't feel Luke's eagerness."

Ahsoka walked so she was standing in front of Leia.

"Everybody perceives the Force in different manners, Leia," she said, "You're not expected to feel the same as your brother, you're not supposed to. Each of you is shaped by different life events and therefore you have different world views. You have your own unique approach to the Force, don't go think you're messed up because of it."

"Okay…" Leia reluctantly accepted. "Is it… Is it supposed to be this overwhelming?"

Ahsoka leaned her chin slightly down. "As I said, you and I would also perceive the Force in different ways. Luke finds comfort here, I feel at home again, and you… What do you feel, Leia?"

She pressed her lips together, at last gathering the strength to look at Ahsoka.

"It feels so cold, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka scowled, unsure of what the princess meant. She waited.

"It feels cold," she repeated, like the reiteration would help Ahsoka understand. Leia looked at her with her eyes big, revealing the blackholes she held inside. "When Alderaan was destroyed, it felt cold. All the warmth of life that came from the planet dissipated into a universe of coldness. It was so cold. Standing here, I feel cold again."

"You feel cold?" Luke jumped into the conversation, his head still astray so he hadn't listened to everything she said, only the last bit. "That's funny. I feel so warm right now."

Leia looked down again, and Ahsoka wanted to yell at him. Of course, Luke had no intention of dismissing Leia's relation to the Force, especially when he didn't even know what they were talking about; still, his words had done the job nonetheless.

"Walk with me," Ahsoka prompted, intertwining her arm with Leia's without an invitation.

Leia was caught off guard as Ahsoka pulled her and her own legs started to follow the Togruta's legs. Still, she couldn't help but turn her neck slightly back, "What about Luke?"

"He'll follow us," she concluded. "Or, we'll just play hide and seek. Whatever he's in the mood for."

Leia didn't find her remark as funny as it was intended to be.

"We once played hide and seek with Threepio at the Senate," Leia reminisced, "It wasn't fun."

"That's because Threepio is a pro in making everything less fun," Ahsoka laughed to herself, but the amusement disappeared all too soon.

As predicted, Leia heard Luke's steps following closely behind.

"Who we are as a person is a result of the things we have lived through," Ahsoka repeated, pulling Leia's attention away from her twin brother. "It doesn't surprise me, after everything you've been through, that you would feel the cold in this place. Just like it doesn't surprise me that Luke would feel its warmth. He was cold for most of his life until he left Tatooine and met you, and ever since then, even though he's had his fair share of cold moments, he's been warm."

If Ahsoka weren't holding tight to Leia's arm, it would have long fallen down.

"And what does that make me?"

"You're his opposite," she provided. "You only knew warmth, until you left Alderaan on that blasted day. You met coldness that day, and it's become a part of you ever since."

"Luke let go of his cold," Leia argued.

"You're not Luke," Ahsoka reminded her. "Feeling cold doesn't make you any less good."

"Doesn't it?"

"No," she assured. "Feeling cold because a tragedy happened here isn't a manifestation of this darkness that you're so sure that lives inside of you."

Leia's first instinct was to argue against that; she didn't.

"Being here… Connected to this place… Makes me sad," Leia whispered. "There's so much sadness here. Why can't I feel the good that once abode here, like Luke does?"

"You carry the burden of death," Ahsoka suggested, "He carries the burden of life."

"That doesn't make sense," Leia made a face, "Life is never a burden."

"It is when you're the only Jedi still standing, and you have to start this grand religion all by yourself, from scratch. Because, worst case scenario and it fails again, it'll be on him," Ahsoka explained calmly, although her heart ached for the boy. "You, on the other hand, carry the burden of death, of seeing everyone, everything you ever loved die with your own eyes. Leia, far from me to imply that you're responsible for what happened, but you will carry this burden for the rest of your life. What happened to Alderaan was a tragedy that only you can understand, but when you stepped here again and met the tragedy of yet another culture being shattered, it's reasonable that you'd be the only one that comes close to understanding."

With a sad halo around her, Leia accepted it.

"So, I'm destined to be chained to this sadness for the rest of my life?"

Ahsoka frowned at her choice of words. "Do you feel sad? Outside of the fabric of the Force?"

Leia shrugged. "Not necessarily. Not… All the time."

Ahsoka smiled sadly at her confession. "I think you're a very empathetic person, then. That's how the Force manifests in you, and it's nothing to be ashamed, or scared of. As a member of the Rebellion ever since its foundation, I might not have met you before but I always knew of you. Your compassion for others didn't go unnoticed, Leia Organa."

Leia knew it to be the highest praise coming from Ahsoka; still, she couldn't dwell on it. "Sometimes, I wish it had."

"Hm? What?"

"Gone unnoticed, I mean," she clarified, "I was very outspoken during my time at the Imperial Senate, never once standing by as the Empire committed atrocities against the citizens of the galaxy. Maybe, had I been a little quieter, pulled a façade while working with the rebellion in the shadows, Vader would have believed me when I told him I wasn't affiliated with the rebellion."

Ahsoka shook her head. "That's simply not who you are, Leia. It's not in your nature. You would never forgive yourself if you sat back in privilege and wealth while the rest of the galaxy suffered. Your power and status gave you a voice; you would always make the most of it."

Leia sighed in concession.

Even though their arms were already entwined, Ahsoka placed her spare hand over Leia's.

Upon realizing that the girls had entered a brief silence, Luke dipped in next to Ahsoka, almost like he was expecting her to walk arm in arm with him, too.

"What's my superpower?"

Both Leia and Ahsoka turned to him to give him dirty looks. He shrugged, not at all bothered by their reprimand and far more interested in the response he could get.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"You're pretty good in the martial arts," Ahsoka admitted. "When I first arrived and you thought I was coming to end the life of your mommy dearest, dang,boy, you gave me the fight of my life that day."

Luke was torn between blushing at the memory of his overreaction and smirking at the compliment.

"I don't assume you had that many people to train with, considering that the Jedi are all gone. So, to see you master your sword so smoothly… I'd even dare to say it comes to you naturally. Anakin was naturally good in combat too, you know. The more I get to know you, the more I see his reflection on you. You are his legacy, yes, and you're so much more than he ever was."

By then, his lips were stuck in a shy smile.

"Please don't assume that I think you're a superficial person, though," Ahsoka pleaded, "Just because the Force manifests significantly in your martialism, it doesn't mean you're shallow on your other capacities. No, I think you're a pretty clever kid as well."

Luke chuckled discreetly. "I wasn't thinking that. But I appreciate it. You know, it isn't easy being siblings with her."

They both knew him to be joking, but Ahsoka still felt the need to say, "Your intelligence is also manifested in different ways. While your sister is the very definition of book smart, you're emotionally intelligent. As a Jedi, that's the most important skill to acquire, and you've grasped it instinctively. You know how to use and manage your emotions in positive ways, to overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. You have to be very emotionally intelligent to stand before Vader and refuse to duel him because you felt there was still good on him. It takes a lot of strength and selflessness to accomplish that."

He was blushing again.

"It wasn't all that perfect, you know," Luke tried to rebuke her. "I almost caved into a power that I shouldn't trust when Vader threatened Leia. And, I did the same when I thought you were going to hurt Padmé."

Her lips turned up regretfully. "As I said, I see Anakin's reflection clearly on you. But, Luke, you were shown the power and you didn't choose to touch it, not even if it would spare the lives of those you love. Anakin embraced that power and brought his own doom, alongside the destruction of those he swore to protect. The most important difference here is that you'll do everything in your power to save your family, but just that. You won't ever overstep to the other side, because you know the wreckage the other side brings. You won't, it's simply not who you are."

And to show just how much she trusted him, Ahsoka opened her arm to him, and Luke accepted it. The three of them then walked in one coordinated rhythm.

Until Leia abruptly stopped, breaking the chain. She froze on her path, her face turned to the entrance of a room, a room like many others that they had already passed by.

Ahsoka rushed to her side, looking at the same room but not seeing anything out of the ordinary there.

"Leia, what is it?" she asked, a little desperately upon the sight of her blank expression. "What are you sensing?"

Leia dared to take one step towards there and just that. She couldn't bring herself to go there; it was overwhelming.

"It's so dark there…" she susurrated, feeling overpowered like she had never felt before.

Next to her, her brother stood. He didn't dare to walk in, either.

"I feel it too," he confided in a whisper. He reached out with his power.

Ahsoka simply watched them. She felt it too, once she focused her attention there, but she wondered if they felt something she didn't. She wondered what their powers combined were capable of.

"It's so sad, Luke," Leia almost cried, feeling the pain in her own heart. "It… It's enough to crush a soul."

Luke had his glowing eyes fixated there.

"It's where it happened," he said, convicted. He knew, and he didn't need to be there to feel the horror of what had occurred in that room on his very skin.

"It's where what happened?" Leia asked; she couldn't tell that much, she couldn't feel past the sorrow and the agony. Yet, she already knew she didn't truly want to know the answer.

"It's where he killed them all," Luke didn't falter, and none of them needed clarification on whom he was talking about. "All those younglings. They came to him for help, for protection, and he slaughtered them all with his own blade. Without pity, without remorse."

Leia tightly grasped his arm, both to comfort him and balance herself.

"How do you know?" she asked hoarsely.

"I saw it on a vision once," he reminisced with a burden, "I see it again now."

Leia anxiously nodded.

"They were just children," she grieved, out of breath. The knowledge added to all the death she felt coming from there — it was unbearable. "Luke, we were just children."

The question left in the air that didn't need voicing — would he have done the same to them?

Would the devil of their dream extinguish the light from within them, until only death was left behind, if only given the chance?

"Come on," Ahsoka brought them back from their trance by placing her hands on their shoulders. "Let's get out of here."

She practically forced them away.

In all honesty, she didn't feel that good standing there either.

A/N: er, this chapter is honestly so small in comparison, and it's honestly due to I didn't have the time to properly write this week. I almost didn't update today, but I felt bad considering that I also hadn't updated last week, so I pretty much put this together last night. It also has none of the things I had set aside for this chapter lol, so as I was writing it last night I just thought it best to split it in two and properly work on the things I want to cover when I have the time lol. sorry, I am rambling.

fair warning again - I'm now entering my finals week, and I've got about thirteen assignments due next week lol so if there isn't an update next Friday, that's why.

anyway, feedback appreciated! i liked played with the concepts of the twins being yin and yang, you know, complete opposites and yet in harmony.